#horror thriller review

[hannahwatcheshorror]

DON'T MOVE (2024)

💁‍♀️Strong Female Lead

“See what you made me do?”

We love a title that gives us instructions: Run, Hold Your Breath, Let the Right One In, Talk to Me (Smile, Hush, Swallow)… And I just started watching Yellowstone (which is its own horror story) so I recognized the lead actress in this movie.

⭐⭐⭐.5

(Trigger Warning Suicide Attempt)

Iris goes to the top of a mountain to very heavily consider jumping off but is stopped by a rather odd but kind gentleman who some of us recognize from American Horror Story. After befriending the young man and walking back down the mountain with him she finds his car has parked her in and she can’t really get into hers… All part of his plan as he shocks her into unconsciousness. When she wakes he informs her that the paralytic is already taking its effects, he dosed her while she was sleeping. She has 20 minutes before her body is completely numb and she runs (which only makes the poison in her system work faster), the whole time the mad man follows behind.

She loses him for a moment and thinks she is safe with a kindly old man who was out mowing his lawn but the killer was too clever for all that, found the old man and killed him. He nearly killed her in the process of covering his tracks but the clever girl knew he wanted to save her so that he could have the satisfaction of killing her. In the car ride she finds out the killer is a doting father and husband via a phone call he takes, the whole thing reeks. Reminds me of The Den you have the version you show the world and then the real version of you… Yikes.

Oh, there was a bit with a police officer who almost figured out that Iris needed help but he went the way of all the authority figures in Kristy (aka he made an attempt but ultimately failed). Finally, Iris is taken out in a boat to where she is gonna get killed and she asks her murderer to do something but she gives him a switcheroo and stabs him instead then wrestles him out of the boat and shoots him! It was very impressive of her especially coming off of her paralysis but she powered through because she couldn’t let that fucker kill her! Pretty cool movie, I have some questions about how this guy was doing all his killings but it reminded me of Woman of the Hour just more fictional and fantastical.

----------------------HANNAH WATCHES HORROR---------------------

[thehorrormaven]

Charity Anthology Open Call: We Bite Back

I am excited to announce that through my indie publisher, Pride with a Bite, we are putting together an anthology of queer horror/horror-adjacent and non-fiction works, and all proceeds will go to benefit Human Rights Campaign. As a part of the queer community, this is a cause near and dear to my heart. With the amount of hatred and abuse I have experienced since the election results, as well as…

[lavandulawrites]

I watched The Silence of the Lambs yesterday for the first time and god was it amazing. The acting was phenomenal and absolutely chilling. Sir Anthony Hopkins is definitely one of the best actors and I love him even more now. He truly scared me and his character is definitely one of the most haunting characters I have ever seen in a film. Jodi Foster’s performance was excellent and it was easy to forget that she was acting.

I have been wanting to watch The Silence of the Lambs for a good while, but I have been afraid that it would be too gory for me to stomach. Although it was indeed gory and gross, I had no problems watching it (it was more the anticipation that certain scenes would be extremely disgusting that scared me).

My pulse was rather high at most parts of the film, but I am glad there weren’t any jump scares (?).

However, at the scene where the lights went out when Clarice is confronting Buffalo Bill, I was terrified and had to have my hand ready to cover my eyes (though I thankfully didn’t need to).

I’m not too fond of horror movies as I hate jump scares (I’m extremely jumpy when it comes to that), but this movie was right up my alley. It being a psychological thriller was what made me love it so much, as that is one of my favourite genres.

Clarice Starling is definitely one of my favourite female characters in film. She strong and extremely intelligent and overall very well written.

The symbolism in the movie was amazing and the more you looked, the more symbolism you found.

I definitely recommend this movie for those who can stomach it. It’s a much watch.

[saydesole]

Must Watch 10/10

[tiffsflickpicks]

“Don’t look at the acts. Look at the works.”

The House that Jack Built (2018)

Dir. Lars von Trier

Horror/ Crime

tiffsflickpick score: 3.5/5

rotten tomatoes: 60%

This movie dives into the mind of a serial killer “Mr. Sophistication” . It is chilling and disturbing… with high levels of gore. While this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, I think Jack’s mind (Mr. Sophistication) is shown to be extremely fascinating. He is intelligent and he isn’t shown to be a one dimensional character. Shown as “incidents” , we see his murders take place over 12 years as he led by Virgil (Inferno) to the underworld. It is almost like a confessional. If you can stomach it, it is definitely worth a watch.

[lifesarchive]

OUT THERE SCREAMING edited by JORDAN PEELE (REVIEW)

quickly: the ‘horrors’ of blackness have its natural and supernatural roots revealed (bad cop with a third eye / grandma’s love is deadly / wandering man running from nothing / in vivo alien invasion / unstable ex’s / sea siren with your sister’s face / dead man’s swamp revenge / serial killer targeting black robots / white men ruining the atmosphere / daddy’s secret / chaos in the dark / part woman part fish-devil / black magic as an HOA / grief and its blindness / games that ghosts play / negro folk tales as an american requiem / prison industrial complex goes A.I. / black magic as an addiction / whiteness as psyche and psychosis)

A fantastically original collection of short horror stories that span quite a range of horror sub-genres (sci-fi, thriller, romance, and even americana). All unapologetically Black. A superb addition to the limited number of Black horror anthologies (Tales from the Hood, anyone?).

My favorites were Wandering Devil (loverboy with wandering feet can outrun everyone but himself), The Rider (a dead man intervenes on behalf of two black women traveling alone), Flicker (an intermittent darkness unleashes chaos from the shadows), The Norwood Trouble (a group of black ‘practitioners’ will be damned if white rioters try to destroy their town), A Grief of The Dead (grief separates and reunites a pair of twin brothers), Your Happy Place (an incarcerated man must decide his reality after having it stolen from him), Hide & Seek (brothers learn to protect themselves with the same magic that wants to harm them).

★★★★★ Superb.

[nyxxhexx]

Then you'll love

My Darling Dreadful Thing by Johanna van Veen

4.5/5

If you're looking for Gothic horror, look no further. This sapphic romance is the epitome of the modernized genre (which means, of course, it's heavy on the trigger warnings, so check those out first!) If you love Bly Manor or The Salt Grows Heavy, you'll love My Darling Dreadful Thing.

Throughout the book, there was a distinct sense of the 19th Century though the book was set in 1954; it's a brilliant bit of world building that will make more sense once you've started the book. This perfect marriage of time periods really made the atmosphere feel Gothic despite the fact that the story revolves heavily around post-World War II.

At its core, like Johanna van Veen says in the foreword, My Darling Dreadful Thing truly is a love story. It's beautiful, heartbreaking, and handled with the love and care it needs to be. My only issue was that the culmination of the book was anticlimactic; there's a lot of buildup for something that happens with very little fanfare.

Still, that buildup is the beauty of the book. Van Veen interweaves the first person chapters with doctor's notes from sessions with the main character, simultaneously giving the reader deeper world building and gutwrenching foreshadowing. The information revealed in these sessions doesn't tip the story's hand too far; in fact, on the contrary, knowing how everything ends just cranks up the suspense infinitely.

So if you love queer romance, Gothic horror, ghost stories, or even just bog bodies, check out My Darling Dreadful Thing. I cannot recommend it enough.

[agentnico]

Sinners (2025) review

Bet Marvel wishes they could make a post credits scene like this!

Plot: Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their Mississippi hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

When it comes to the horror genre, primarily we are looking for one thing - solid scares (and a splash of gore for good measure). An aspect that you won’t usually find is multi-layered character work, as at the end of the day most of the cast are there simply to serve the purpose of being killed off in some gruesome messed up fashion. Which is totally fine; I am not here to complain or bad-mouth fun B-movie horror flicks - I’ve always got time for those. However Sinners, the new horror/adventure/thriller from director Ryan Coogler (Creed, Black Panther), is here to very much change up that stigma. There is genuine character development, where I found myself fully invested in the story and personal dynamics, that I completely forgot this was a vampire movie until they do show up half way through, and that’s when the movie goes really mad crazy. As much as I loved the suspenseful and gory second half, I really did appreciate the slow burn first half, as it made the character demises later on much more meaningful. It is too a reflection of how personal and meaningful this film must be to Ryan Coogler, with the 1930s Mississippi setting and the underlining themes of inequality and racism haunting throughout, but in turn also the visual aspect.

In a recently released video from Kodak on YouTube, Ryan discusses the visual language behind Sinners. The movie not only continues Hollywood’s recent return to celluloid, seen recently in The Brutalist, but also pushes the boundaries of what’s possible with analog formats and aspect ratios. By combining two different large film formats (Ultra Panavision 70 and IMAX 15-perf), Coogler can draw viewers deeper into the story – literally. The choice to switch aspect ratios during the film facilitates dynamic changes in how scenes are experienced, especially in IMAX theaters, where the screen size and shape fully showcase the transitions. The result is a heightened sense of immersion, a quality that Coogler intentionally pursued for a genre as visceral as horror. Not to throw around this overused online term, but “this is CINEMA” comes to mind when considering the passion and heart that Coogler is dedicating to this medium, and it’s evident on what you see when you go and watch Sinners.

Music needs to be mentioned too, as it plays an integral part in driving the core of what Sinners strives to be. The soundtrack is filled with southern blues songs, and it was a pure joy to really lose myself in the feels and motions of the score and singing, and there is a particular sequence about half way into the film that can be referred to as Coogler’s ‘magnum opus’ moment, as essentially it reflects upon the history of black music, and the one way to describe it is rad. The movie also holds its own self aware level of humour, as the evil vampires are Irish and as such they play, sing and dance to some very famous Irish folk songs, which resulted in a few amusing and entertaining renditions of the likes of “Rocky Road to Dublin” and “Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?”. Safe to say, I’m planning on picking up the Sinners soundtrack album vinyl record as soon as either Mondo, Waxwork or Made by Mutant inevitably announce it.

Michael B. Jordan plays two distinct characters in the film - and not in a gimmicky or disconnected way. These characters interact constantly - they're twins - which makes for a serious acting challenge. Jordan rises to the occasion, and the visual effects team behind the scenes pulls it off beautifully, with impressive execution on every technical level. Visually, the film is nothing short of stunning. Alongside Jordan, musician Miles Caton gives a remarkably strong performance in the second lead role. I was genuinely surprised to learn this was his first-ever acting role. What surprised me even more was the chap’s vocals, as you wouldn’t expect such a deep voice to come out of such a young lad. Hailee Steinfeld is radiating and dazzling, and Wunmi Mosaku provides emotional depth and gravitas. Jack O’Connell, as it turns out, has some serious Irish dancing skills which should not be left unmentioned, and Delroy Lindo pretty much stole the show anytime he was on-screen.

Sinners does not reinvent the vampire genre, as the story itself is pretty straightforward (reminiscent of From Dusk Till Dawn), yet it is the execution that makes it stand out. It's one of the best films I’ve seen in recent memory: energetic, gripping, occasionally funny, with a sharp script, top-tier directing, brilliant performances, and musical ingenuity that stuns scene after scene. It has all the makings of a strong contender for film of the year. Make sure to stay throughout the credits as there is a phenomenal 5-10 min sequence during them that is one of the best scenes of the whole film, as well as a fun musical moment at the end of the credits too. You’re welcome.

Overall score: 8/10

[pokcster]

https://www.instagram.com/pokcster/

[jessread-s]

hello I just wanted to ask if you have any good book recommendations that are thriller ,suspense and murder mystery for example the inheritance games or haunting adeline if you do know any books like these two please tell me thank you 😊.

Hello @lila-216 ! Thank you so much for your ask! 🫶📖✨🌷 I LOVE giving recommendations. If you need more individualized recommendations (ex: by trope) please let me know and I'd be happy to fulfill your request!

My favorite YA mystery/thriller books ₊˚ʚ 🔍₊˚✧ ﾟ.

The Naturals series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

The Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson

The Stalking Jack the Ripper Series by Kerri Maniscalco

One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus

Six Months Later by Natalie D. Richards

My favorite Adult mystery/thriller books ₊˚ʚ 🔍₊˚✧ ﾟ.

The Alex Stern series by Leigh Bardugo

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

In the Woods by Tana French

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft

The House Across the Lake by Riley Sager

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

[grenadesandroses]

this game increased my blood pressure during gameplay for sure. the first time I saw that mutant underwater-dwelling human(?) darting across my screen, I legit jumped off my seat. and I can't decide if I prefer the eeriness of being alone in vast, dark structures over the anxiety of not getting caught around other humans. I hate both, thanks. and what a great and solid game this is

[hannahwatcheshorror]

THE OUIJA EXPERIMENT - SUNK COST FALLACY

20:48

Awkward acting, clunky script, terrible lighting. Felt more like a regular home movie instead of a haunted home movie. Got twenty minutes in before I couldn’t stand the goofballs.

(1)

Are you kidding me, they tell the spirit that they are coming back tomorrow and they are actually going to come back tomorrow? They are already scared and uncomfortable, this is so dumb. Basically some dummies were playing with a Ouija board and the spirit didn’t want to say goodbye (one of the biggest rules of Ouija) so they promised the spirit they would come back the next day and it agreed to say goodbye but then why ever would they come BACK. “We told the spirit we would.” So that is their motivation for the whole movie? As if.

----------------------HANNAH WATCHES HORROR---------------------

[shallansolem]

ARC Review: Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

5/5 stars

Wow, this book is amazing. I don't even know how to start my review because there are so many important topics covered in Bury Your Gays. This book is jam packed with horror and action and queerness. I didn't want it to end. What a perfect thriller.

The author did an incredible job handling queer trauma and I literally had to stop and breathe a few times because it all hit so close to home. Growing up queer is hard and while the author didn't shy away from that, the author made sure we knew that there's joy in queerness, too. I also greatly enjoyed the discourse surrounding capitalism and AI and how queer identities are discussed.

Bury Your Gays is incredibly well written and a breath of fresh air amongst horror books (and this is coming from a huge horror fan). I'm already thinking about rereading it in the near future because so much happened. Truly, the queer horror book of my dreams. I wish I could thank the author for writing it. I have never preordered a physical copy so quickly.

PS. The ace representation in this book is 🤌🏽.

This book comes out on July 9th, 2024.

[batty4horror]

[thicarusposts]

🍒January Reads🍒

I’m still thinking about Night Watching! Reading it while snowed in was such a vibe

Can you recommend me any books based on my top 3 of the month?

[tristfulnico]

i will never ever EVER get over "i saw the tv glow"