Paranormal Activity’s Modern Hauntings

Paranormal Activity. 2007. Directed & Written by Oren Peli. Starring Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Amber Armstrong, and Ashley Palmer. Solana Films/Blumhouse Productions. Rated 14A. 86 minutes. Horror ★★★★ When done correctly, I am a huge fan of found footage. Whether it's using the thriller style, as I recently enjoyed in the film 419, or …

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Area 51: Oren Peli’s Extraterrestrial Blunder

Area 51. 2015. Directed by Oren Peli. Screenplay by Christopher Denham & Oren Peli. Starring Reid Warner, Darrin Bragg, Ben Rovner, Jelena Nik, Roy Abramsohn, Frank Novak, and Glenn Campbell. Aramid Entertainment Fund/Blumhouse Productions/IM Global/Incentive Filmed Entertainment/Room 101. Rated R. 91 minutes. Horror/Sci-Fi/Thriller ★★ Right back to the supposed McPherson Tape, later given a bigger budget …

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Beauty in the Breakdown: Alex Ross Perry’s Perfectly Uncomfortable Queen of Earth

Queen of Earth. 2015. Directed & Written by Alex Ross Perry. Starring Elisabeth Moss, Katherine Waterston, Patrick Fugit, Kentucker Audley, Keith Poulson, and Kate Lyn Sheil. Washington Square Films. Unrated. 90 minutes. Drama/Thriller ★★★★★ Opening with such a tightly framed shot of Elisabeth Moss' Catherine, Alex Ross Perry completely submerges us immediately into her world. …

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Sightseers a.k.a Caravan Holiday Massacre

Sightseers. 2012. Directed by Ben Wheatley. Screenplay by Alice Lowe & Chris Oram; additional material by Amy Jump. Starring Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Eileen Davies, Roger Michael, Tony Way, Seamus O'Neill, Monica Dolan, Jonathan Aris, Aymen Hamdouchi, and Tom Meeten. BFI/Big Talk Productions/Film4/Rook Films/StudioCanal. Rated 14A. 88 minutes. Adventure/Comedy/Crime ★★★★★ I'm a hardcore fan of …

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Kevin Bacon Tries to Kill Deviant Kids in Cop Car

Cop Car. 2015. Directed by Jon Watts. Screenplay by Christopher D. Ford & Jon Watts. Starring Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Camryn Manheim, and Shea Whigham. Audax Films/Dark Arts Film/End Cue/Park Pictures. Rated R. 86 minutes. Thriller ★★★★ Ever since last year's Clown I've been waiting to see another directorial effort from Jon Watts. Contrary …

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The Roost: Ti West’s Zombie Bats Are Coming for You!

The Roost. 2005. Directed & Written by Ti West. Starring Tom Noonan, Karl Jacob, Vanessa Horneff, Sean Reid, Wil Horneff, Barbara Wilhide, Richard Little, John Speredakos, and Larry Fessenden. Glass Eye Pix. Unrated. 80 minutes. Horror/Thriller ★★★★ In my recent review of Ti West's The Innkeepers, I mentioned being a huge fan of him generally. So …

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Haunted Historical Horror: Ti West’s The Innkeepers

The Innkeepers. 2011. Directed & Written by Ti West. Starring Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, Kelly McGillis, Alison Bartlett, Jake Ryan, Brenda Cooney, George Riddle, John Speredakos, and Lena Dunham. Glass Eye Pix. Rated R. 101 minutes. Horror ★★★★1/2 Every time I've got a particular bias going into a review, one that I can recognize, I …

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Turbo Kid: Blood, Nostalgia, Video Games, & a Whole Lot of Fun

Turbo Kid. 2015. Directed/Written by François Simard, Anouk Whissell, & Yoann-Karl Whissell. Starring Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Edwin Wright, Aaron Jeffery, and Romano Orzari. Epic Pictures Group/Timpson Films. Rated R. 93 minutes. Action/Sci-Fi ★★★★★ Always interesting to see the different 1980s (& further) throwbacks coming out now over the past 8 years or so …

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