Kristy: Lower V. Upper Class Horror

Kristy. 2014. Directed by Oliver Blackburn. Screenplay by Anthony Jaswinski. Starring Haley Bennett, Ashley Greene, Lucas Till, Chris Coy, Mike Seal, Lucius Falick, Erica Ash, James Ransone, Mathew St. Patrick, and Al Vicente. David Kirschner Productions/La Sienega Productions/Electric City Entertainment. Rated R. 86 minutes. Horror/Thriller ★★★★ There's nothing absolutely unique to Kristy. I can't say there's …

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Carpenter, Cults, & Cruel Hauntings in Last Shift

Last Shift. 2015. Directed by Anthony DiBlasi. Screenplay by Anthony DiBlasi & Scott Poiley. Starring Juliana Harkavy, Joshua Mikel, J. LaRose, Natalie Victoria, Sarah Sculco, Kathryn Kilger, and Mary Lankford Poiley. Skyra Entertainment. Rated R. 90 minutes. Horror/Thriller ★★★1/2 Marketing has dubbed Last Shift as a cross between Satanic style horror and John Carpenter's amazingly tense/low …

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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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The Hypnotic Criminal Lure of Hyena

Hyena. 2014. Directed & Written by Gerard Johnson. Starring Peter Ferdinando, Stephen Graham, Neil Maskell, Elisa Lasowski, MyAnna Buring, Richard Dormer, Gordon Brown, Tony Pitts, Orli Shuka, Gjevat Kelmendi, Thomas Craig, Lorenzo Camporese, Shaban Arifi, Alfred Doda, and Mem Ferda. Film4/Number 9 Films. Unrated. 112 minutes. Crime/Drama ★★★★★ With the endorsement of Nicolas Winding Refn …

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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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Gerard Johnson’s Tony: Portrait of a British Killer

Gerard Johnson examines a Dennis Nilsen-ish monster who is, sadly, all too human.

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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