There are films influenced by John Carpenter, and then there are films that appear to have broken into John Carpenter’s house, stolen his synthesiser, rifled through his VHS collection and driven away in his car. Adam Wingard’s Onslaught falls firmly into the second category. Imagine Assault on Precinct 13 colliding with Universal Soldier in a…

Being a therapist means listening to people’s problems without screaming, “What on Earth possessed you to do that?” Unfortunately for Sabrina Nolan (Alivia Levie), the protagonist of Sean O. McGuiness’ She Listens Alone, one of her clients eventually gives her enough reasons to start screaming for entirely different reasons. Sabrina works remotely through the Better…

If somebody pitched Demon Dancer: Sua/Nara as “a ballerina allows a demon to possess her so she can hunt other demons while incorporating ballet into martial arts”, we’d probably assume they’d recently watched Ballerina, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and several anime series during a particularly aggressive caffeine binge. Yet that is essentially the playground writer-director…

Cinema has already given us killer tomatoes, a murderous car tyre and, memorably, killer condoms. Humanity has apparently exhausted all sensible objects capable of turning against us, because we’ve finally reached the point where a leopard-print thong can hunt people. Civilisation has peaked. Reno Anastasio’s Killer Thong is a 95-minute Canadian comedy horror made on…

Johnny Yong Bosch has spent more than three decades kicking people, voicing people, occasionally voicing people who kick other people, and generally building the sort of career that makes scrolling through his credits an endurance event. Many will remember him as Adam Park from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo and Power Rangers Turbo,…

Creature features have thrown almost every conceivable predator at unfortunate groups of humans over the years. Sharks, crocodiles, alligators, bears, lions and enormous snakes have all had their turn, so perhaps it was inevitable that someone would eventually realise the hippopotamus has been seriously underrepresented. Director James Nunn’s Hungry attempts to rectify that, transporting a…

Cinema has spent well over a century working with the horizontal frame, so there is something initially strange about watching a feature film turn itself on its side. Yet that is precisely where Argentine writer and director Sebaztian Baz finds the identity of Sombras Chinas. Shot in a native 9:16 vertical format and constructed around…

There is a moment in Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma when faded scream queen Billy Presley attempts to explain what made the fictional Camp Miasma films work in the first place. While young filmmaker Kris Williams is approaching the material through identity, representation, cultural interpretation and enough film theory to make you instinctively…

Low budget horror has always been one of the great training grounds for filmmakers. You don’t necessarily need expensive sets, enormous crews or recognisable stars to make something effective. A house, a few willing actors, some fake blood and a strong idea can sometimes be enough. Give Me Something Good, written and directed by Clay…

There are independent films made with small budgets, and then there are films made with practically nothing at all. Noblestone belongs firmly in the latter category. The 94 minute British independent feature was written, directed, produced, photographed, edited and scored by Albert Goya, who completed the film at just 19 years old after working on…