Author: Dominic Duquiatan
A mockumentary framing offers a nice spin to the found footage genre. While most found footage films are shot and arranged in an amateur fashion to preserve their realism and home video sense, mockumentary is its counterpart. Here, the believability of the horror comes from one’s flair in crafting conceivable documentation of something purely fictional.
Khavn De La Cruz, or simply Khavn, is a Filipino director best known for his 2010 crime comedy film Mondomanila. His works never cease to emanate with his knack for creating gritty and unsettling features that defy the Philippine cinema landscape. However, Mondomanila overshadows his earliest attempts to dare the conventions of filmmaking. His Three
The found-footage subgenre of horror is probably the most threadbare among its kind. The cinematic possibilities and the amount of legroom where a creative might pull a stunt out of it are unquestionably finite. That is because the “found footage” conceit itself is the “stunt” that is supposed to manifest only once in a while
Anthony Hickox seems to have fun recalling the past that he managed to come up with another story about anachronisms and horror film icons in Waxwork II: Lost in Time. But despite its promising vision of bringing horror icons back on the screen again, it only proved one thing: nostalgia is not enough to salvage
Braindead is an utterly quirky, thoroughly cringey, yet ultimately entertaining grotesque black comedy from esteemed director Peter Jackson. He sure has an extensive filmography, ranging from epic fantasies to science fiction madness that truly stamped his admired capacities as a visual storyteller. However, one can find his freakish inclinations in this genre melange. Significantly inventive,
Waxwork, Anthony Hickox’s directorial debut, is a half-baked comedy horror film with a tedious build-up, unmemorable characters, confusing lore, and a long-overdue payoff. Although it already fell at the first hurdle and keeps falling flat, one can find amusement in some elements overshadowed by its poor directorial choices. The setup of the film is simple
Sucking dry its predecessor’s persisting legacy as one of the preeminent vampire movies of the 21st century, 30 Days of Night: Dark Days forces a change of pace and goes kaput in delivering an equal or even ranging proximity with the first installment. Withdrawing from the first film’s zealous efforts just to push a sequel,
Discussions on snuff films will always include the controversial Japanese horror series Guinea Pig, which garnered a cult trailing that even prompted an FBI investigation after its release. However, other horror films occupying the same premise are either overlooked or unseen due to lack of audience regard or distribution. One of them is Kim Jin-won’s
30 Days of Night, David Slade’s second offering in a diverging filmography, manifests itself as a stimulating spin for survival film junkies and vampire lore hounds. Notwithstanding falling short of connecting its characters to the viewers and leaving several holes unattended, it still has neat touches that would delight even modern viewers who are desensitized
“You become what you believe” seems to be an enthusiastic phrase until you watch Josh Stifter’s black comedy horror Greywood’s Plot. Born out of a low-budget production and undying devotion of four friends, Greywood’s Plot is an admirable endeavor that proves imagination is man’s only limit. Screening at U.K’s biggest horror film festival, Frightfest 2021,