8.5
SXSW 2021: LANGUAGE LESSONS Review
A rare film like Language Lessons demonstrates that the Zoom call structure has potential for honest, effective drama and comedy, even when restricted to a desktop.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
8.5
7
SXSW 2021: GAIA Review
With climate change becoming a more important issue on a daily basis and the world in the grips of a horrific pandemic, it seems more appropriate than ever to see the production of more eco-horror films — movies that typically feature Mother
Posted by: Adam Patterson
8
SXSW 2021: THE SPINE OF NIGHT Review
The Spine of Night is the type of film that proudly wears its obvious inspirations on its sleeve and plays out like a pastiche for an audience that is very much in the know for what it is going for. Philip Gelatt
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
7.5
SXSW 2021: ALONE TOGETHER Review
No matter who you are or where you happen to live, the pandemic has profoundly affected us all in a myriad of ways, not the least of which is us being forced to isolate from one another, exacerbating people’s feelings of loneliness
Posted by: Adam Patterson
9
SXSW 2021: WOODLANDS DARK AND DAYS BEWITCHED: A HISTORY OF FOLK HORROR Review
A recent trend in the realm of horror documentaries has seen directors preferring to “go long” on their subjects, resulting in extended, daunting runtimes. Recent examples, such as Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (3 hours, 59 mins.), In Search of
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
7
SXSW 2021: HERE BEFORE Review
If anything, the taut psychological thriller Here Before serves as yet another feather in the cap of Andrea Riseborough and her ability to elevate most anything with her presence alone. Playing a grieving mother teetering on the precipice of madness when her
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
3.5
SXSW 2021: WITCH HUNT Review
Playing out like Part 1 of an ill-conceived YA series, Elle Callahan’s Witch Hunt hooks you in with its interesting premise but fails to deliver anything of substance. We’ve all seen stories like this multiple times over, from HBO’s True Blood to
Posted by: Adam Patterson
6.5
SXSW 2021: PAUL DOOD’S DEADLY LUNCH BREAK Review
Nick Gillespie’s ultra-violent satire is like if Joel Schumacher’s controversial Falling Down was updated for the generation that was raised on British talent shows like X-Factor and Britain’s Got Talent. Centering on one eccentric idealist who is pushed over the proverbial edge
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
8.5
SXSW 2021: FUCKING WITH NOBODY Review
The intimacy of the “influencer relationship” has always been suspect. How does one sift through the disingenuity of the online space to find any real affection when there are Instagram power couples who spend more time orchestrating their romantic selfies and composing
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
8
SXSW 2021: ALIEN ON STAGE Review
What happens when you combine a fleet of public transportation employees, a stage, a classic sci-fi horror film directed by Ridley Scott, and an endless spark of creative ingenuity? You get the West End production of “Alien…on Stage,” an amateur, from-scratch stage
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
6
SXSW 2021: EXECUTIVE ORDER Review
Sometimes nuance and subtext are the strongest methods in reaching an audience, allowing them to organically discover the meaning behind specific themes and attributes of a film. Other times, using a proverbial sledgehammer to bash the viewer over the dome is the
Posted by: Adam Patterson
6.5
SXSW 2021: BROADCAST SIGNAL INTRUSION Review
There is an enthralling line of dark-web, creepypasta intrigue running through Jacob Gentry’s Broadcast Signal Intrusion. which starts his sleek conspiracy thriller off on some strong footing. Set in the late ’90s, when the broadcast airwaves were unruly and full of potential
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
7.5
SXSW 2021: POLY STYRENE: I AM A CLICHE
It is the film’s personal, maternal angle that makes I Am A Cliché anything but.
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
7
SXSW 2021: DEAR MR. BRODY Review
In the economically bizarre world we live in – where the sizable population of the super-ultra rich could collectively cure world hunger multiple times over but have just decided not to – we have been programmed to view the very idea of
Posted by: Chris Luciantonio
SXSW 2021: THE SPINE OF NIGHT Gets a Teaser Trailer
Yellow Veil Pictures has released a teaser trailer for the upcoming animated dark fantasy film The Spine of Night, which is set to premiere at SXSW Online beginning next week.
The film, which is hand-rotoscoped, is written and directed by Philip
Posted by: Adam Patterson
SXSW 2021: GAIA Teaser Trailer
Ahead of its premiere at this year’s SXSW, a new teaser trailer has been released for the trippy looking horror film Gaia, which involves a park ranger who discovers a man and his son living in the forest, but also something much
Posted by: Adam Patterson
