I Wish It Had Been: Caitlin Marceau’s This is Where We Talk Things Out

For the last few years, Miller has written her mother Sylvie out of her life. The woman is a narcissist, a controlling force, a force of nature. However, while approaching the wedding to her beloved Florence, Miller finds herself longing for some kind of family connection. Her father died years ago. She has no real […]

He Who Connives Between the Rows: 1922 (2017)

Finding himself in the very city he despises and which caused him to kick off a slew of rash and poor decision, Wilf James (Thomas Jane) sits before the window to write out his confession. As he does so, the vermin in the hotel’s walls are growing restless, and with good reason. Human beings tend […]

If the Moon Brings Out the Loonies, Who Comes Out for Eclipses? The House of the Devil

When college student Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) finds an apartment off campus, it almost seems too good to be true. Especially when the landlady (Dee Wallace) offers it to her without the need for a security deposit. Just the first month’s rent and a promise to treat the place well is all she’s asking. So, cool. […]

Dissonance and Despair: S.A. Barnes’ Dead Silence

Claire Kovalik is the team leader of a deep space work group. They repair downed beacons and whatnot, work out at the ass end of space. Voller is the crass but skilled pilot, Kane is a mechanical subject matter expert and second in command, Lourdes is a comms specialist, and Nysus works software and computer […]

And Be Polite to All You Meet: Speak No Evil

Bjørn (Morten Burian), Louise (Sidsel Siem Koch), and their daughter Agnes (Liva Forsberg) meet a boisterous but pleasant family while on holiday in Tuscany. Patrick (Fedja van Huêt), Karin (Karina Smulders), and their shy son Abel (Marius Damslev) are friendly, complimentary, and swell. Sure, the boy has problems talking due to a birth defect with […]

Cult of Maternity: Just Like Mother

When Maeve and Andrea were growing up, the environment was a peculiar one. Several women ran the household, all called Mother. No males to interact with other than a child called Boy. Some odd ritualistic observances and wariness, particularly of a figure called Bloody Mary. It’s a situation that was resolved through government intervention and […]

Old Crimes Have a Way of Echoing: The Lake of the Dead

Crime novelist Bernhard Borge has a bit of a problem, he’s reached a moment of writer’s block and is struggling for a story that will grab him by the lapels and gallivant away with his interests. When he makes this announcement at a dinner party, one of his friends does the right thing and offers […]

I Should’ve Remembered; I Should’ve Known: Carole Johnstone’s Mirrorland

Cat is leaving the safe numbness of Los Angeles to head back home to Edenborough. Her twin sister El has disappeared while sailing, is feared dead. Cat knows better, of course. El is always one for grand schemes and demonstrations. There’s no real reason she should be gone, the ship she was aboard has inexplicably […]

Hungry, Always Hungry: Wendigo

Today, we continue our look at Larry Fessenden’s work as a director with the chilly, unsettling flick Wendigo (2001). Inspired in part by both folklore as well as Algernon Blackwood’s short story, it grapples with a family fraying at the edges finding themselves in unfortunate situation indeed. What should be a pleasant place to get […]

Fifth Business: Stephen King’s Revival

Jamie Morton first crossed paths with Charles Daniel Jacobs in 1962, when he was just six years old and playing with his army men in the dirt out front of his house. Jacobs arrived to meet the family, he was the new Methodist minister and Jamie’s dad was one of the deacons and responsible for […]

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