Young CriticSmile 2
The horror follow-up's increased scale dilutes its haunting nature Smile (2022) became a viral sensation before its release; the Paramount marketing team employed one person to stand behind home plate of MLB games and sm
Reviews tagged: horror
Young Critic
Young CriticTerrifier 3
Damien Leone's latest entry continues a worrying escalation of violence The Terrifier movies have been a fairytale for independent filmmaking; a ragtag crew starts a franchise using creativity, grit, and scant budgets. T
Young CriticThe Substance
The layered body horror film delivers Demi Moore's best performance Hollywood has been commenting on how women are discarded as they age as far back as All About Eve (1950). The issue has been discussed for over 70 yea
Young CriticSpeak No Evil (2024)
This remake misses much of the original's daring, but retains its unsettling build up It seemed that Parasite (2019) had shamed Hollywood into not remaking popular foreign language films and rather pushing for the origin
Young CriticThe Front Room
Clashing tones and performances sink this duo's directing debut Siblings can frequently make great filmmaking partners, from the Wachowskis to the Duffer brothers, and of course the Coens. Max and Sam Eggers are a new du
Young CriticBeetlejuice Beetlejuice
The sequel brings back familiar faces, but struggles to justify their reunion Tim Burton was lost in the studio system in the last decade, delivering duds such as the Dumbo (2019) remake, Dark Shadows (2012) and his Alic
Young CriticBlink Twice
Zoe Kravitz's debut is an effective social horror entry The jump from acting to directing is a ubiquitous one, as performers seek to become the multi-hyphenates that the filmmaking industry lauds. However, the transition
Young CriticAlien: Romulus
Fede Alvarez's entry in the franchise is an entertaining if unmemorable flick Despite approaching its 45th anniversary as a franchise, Alien has avoided the decline that has plagued series like Terminator and Star W
Young CriticA Quiet Place: Day One
The horror prequel struggles to justify its narrative A Quiet Place (2018) was a true experience in cinemas, using a simple concept, of lack of sound in a horror environment. Viewers were unwittingly roped-in to particip
Young CriticThe Watchers
Ishana Night Shyamalan's directing debut is pale imitation of her father's style Hollywood nepotism goes as far back as the creation of the industry, as family dynasties of actors going back centuries were adopted into m
Young CriticLisa Frankenstein
Zelda Williams and Diablo Cody deliver a nostalgic dark comedy Despite being a beloved screenwriter for film fans of the last 20 years, Diablo Cody has only penned 6 feature films. Her distinct and bold style has followe
Young CriticThe Exorcist: Believer
David Gordon Green brings his bland horror take to the Exorcist franchise next The Exorcist (1973) was the first horror film to break through as a blockbuster and critical success, becoming the highest grossing movie of
Young CriticA Haunting in Venice
Branagh's third iteration of Hercule Poirot continues to yield solid results Kenneth Branagh is quietly one of the most versatile and prolific directors of the last few decades. Starting in Shakespeare and moving into su
Young CriticThe Last Voyage of the Demeter
The adaptation of a chapter in Bram Stoker's "Dracula" proves an effective horror film Milking every last ounce of an IP is becoming a tiresome trend. Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” has been done to death on the screen, most re
Young CriticInsidious: The Red Door
The latest in this horror franchise struggles to justify itself Insidious (2010) helped kickstart a revived horror genre that spurted great original terror in the first half of the 2010s. We got the likes of The Conjurin
Young CriticRenfield
This original new take on Dracula devolves into a generic action-comedy Dracula has been done to death (pardon the pun) on screen, with so many iterations and variations on the concept that it’s hard to keep up. Neverthe
Young CriticCocaine Bear
Elizabeth Banks' take on the bonkers concept is a muddled and uninvolving affair Elizabeth Banks is, quietly, one of the most versatile and consistent actresses working in the last two decades. From comedies like Wet Hot
Young CriticScream VI
The newest entry in the meta-horror franchise is a surprising improvement on its predecessor Horror movies tend to be set in claustrophobic settings; be it a single building, the suburbs, or other isolating factors, for
Young CriticServant (Season 4)
The culmination to the wobbly, but winning Apple TV horror series M. Night Shyamalan was one of the big “signings” by Apple TV, when it first launched its streaming service in 2019. The American director made his first f
Young CriticThe Last of Us (Season 1)
The newest videogame adaptation is one of the best series in recent years The narrative has always been that cinematic video-game adaptations have never worked, that there is a “curse” on those who seek to make this arti
Young CriticKnock at the Cabin
M. Night Shyamalan’s latest is taut if unmemorable M. Night Shyamalan went from Hollywood Golden Boy with hits like The Sixth Sense (1999) and Signs (2002), to punch-line with Avatar: The Last Airbender (2014) and After
Young CriticM3GAN
This January horror movie is surprisingly competent Jason Blum and James Wan have dominated the horror genre for the past decade. Thus, to see them team up presages an intriguing film to come. However, when that film is
Young CriticHalloween Ends
The final film of the new trilogy is the worst of the bunch Curiously the “planned” trilogies for revisited franchises in recent years have all be horrendously planned. From the recent trio of Star Wars movies, to the Ju
Young CriticSmile
An unexpected, winning horror film The allure that people have towards scary films is a fascinating one; we seek to be horrified for the sake of entertainment. This is most easily provoked in viewers using jump-scares, w