Santiago Mendoza (Harold Torres) is a successful tabloid crime photographer in Mexico City, who has developed a hard exterior in order to deal with the extreme violence he photographs. One night, Santiago intercepts an emergency call and while taking photos of a man consumed by rats, an accidental photo captures a sinister figure. A mysterious

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Bad City Review

V-cinema icon Hitoshi Ozawa, who has been a regular fixture in the films of Takashi Miike, plays grizzled detective Torada who has just been released from prison in order to head an investigation into a corrupt businessman turned politician, Gojo. With his small team,  Torada cracks down on Gojo and the Korean gang executing the

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The Offering

Jewish-themed horror movies are ‌rare but this year’s Fantastic Fest features at least two films that explore the rich and fantastic pantheon of Jewish folklore and the role of kabbalah, the intense study of mysticism, and the occult by Jewish scholars. Director Oliver Park and screenwriter Hank Hoffman delve into complex, familial themes of grief,

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“South African enfant terrible filmmaker and artiste-cineaste Manus Oosthuizen meets with Rotten Tomatoes-approved indie film critic Babette Cruickshank in an Echo Park sound studio. With key members of Manus’s crew joining, they record an audio commentary track for his new elegiac feature documentary “Razzennest.” But the session goes down a different path. The ultimate elevation

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“A flock of sea eagles attack the coastal town of Santa Cruz, California. Why did the birds attack? Who will survive?” The Birdemic series has been a guilty pleasure of mine, having stumbled on the first one slightly before it gained notoriety as one of the ‘best’ worst films ever made. I watched it more

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She Will Film Review

Veteran actress Veronica (Alice Krige) has just undergone a double mastectomy and has decided to go to a secluded retreat with her nurse in order to heal both physically and mentally from her recent trauma. Upon her arrival, she is met with the unwelcome surprise that her getaway is being shared by a group of

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Eyes of Fire Review

The seminal American folk horror film Eyes on Fire has been unavailable on home video for decades. Thankfully, the good people at Severin Films has given the title a 4k restoration overseen faithfully by the director Avery Crounse; an interesting inclusion in the 2021 Fantastic Fest line-up so people can see it on the big

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Zalava Film Review

A little bit of superstition never really hurts anyone and for most people their superstitions are pretty mild. That isn’t the case for the residents of Zalava, a small town in Kurdistan, as they believe that the only way to restrain a demon that has possessed someone’s body is to shoot that person in the

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Resurfacing from the depths of the 80s, Devil Story is an idyllic pick for 2021 Fantastic Fest, courtesy of the good folks at Vinegar Syndrome. A showcase of inept filmmaking, the utter mess of a film will certainly delight fans of trash cinema. Essentially,  Devil Story is a particularly special type of polished disaster, clawing

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Dead and Beautiful film still

Many look to the upper echelons of society with a peculiar sense of awe, lives where money is no longer a concern is something that has drawn people into these untouchable figures since the very creation of the class system. Whether the fascination is to loathe or admire the fortunate few and their luxurious lives,

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