There was a time when Japanese horror films seemed to carry an unshakable reputation for being inherently more unsettling than their Western counterparts. During the J-Horror surge of the 1990s and early 2000s, many titles were crowned “scariest ever” and often inspired looser, less effective Western remakes. Whether these films are objectively scarier is subjective, … Read more

Hannibal Lecter stands among fiction’s most chilling and fascinating serial killers. Synonymous with brutality and bloodshed, he is also a figure of eerie refinement and formidable intellect. That paradox—extreme violence wrapped in cold, cultured composure—has made Lecter one of the most influential villains in modern cinema. The Hannibal franchise, adapted from Thomas Harris’s novels, has … Read more

Nitram (2021) Director: Justin Kurzel Screenwriter: Shaun Grant Starring: Caleb Landry Jones, Judy Davis, Anthony LaPaglia, Essie Davis James Baldwin famously wrote that “artists are here to disturb the peace.” Few contemporary directors embrace that challenge as directly as Justin Kurzel. Known for confronting transgressive Australian figures in films such as Snowtown Murders and True … Read more

George A. Romero is often credited as the father of the modern zombie film, and with good reason. Before his landmark 1968 feature Night of the Living Dead, the word “zombie” typically evoked the image of voodoo-controlled, mindless servants from Caribbean folklore. Romero reimagined the creature as a shambling, flesh-eating threat that would go on … Read more

The Last Duel (2021) Director: Ridley Scott Screenwriters: Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon Starring: Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Ben Affleck Ridley Scott, the director behind landmark films such as Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise and Gladiator, remains one of cinema’s most influential and prolific filmmakers. His career has alternated between towering … Read more

Halloween Kills (2021) Director: David Gordon Green Screenwriters: David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Scott Teems Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, James Jude Courtney, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Anthony Michael Hall, Thomas Mann Halloween Kills arrives as the next chapter following the 2018 revival of the franchise, picking up mere minutes after that film’s conclusion. … Read more

A couple of years ago, Australia’s pop icon Kylie Minogue released the knowingly cringe-worthy travel jingle “Matesong,” a deliberately kitsch invitation to British holidaymakers. Australia may be famed for laid-back beaches and sun-soaked getaways, but it has also been a fertile ground for vivid, inventive horror and thriller cinema ever since the Ozploitation boom of … Read more

The Power of the Dog (2021) Director: Jane Campion Screenwriter: Jane Campion Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee What lies beneath the rough exterior of men? Is traditional masculinity simply another form of power? Jane Campion examines these questions by taking us into a particular moment of American history—the vast, often unforgiving … Read more

Spencer (2021) Director: Pablo Larraín Screenwriter: Steven Knight Starring: Kristen Stewart, Timothy Spall, Jack Farthing, Sean Harris, Sally Hawkins Pablo Larraín, the Chilean director known for his distinctive approach to historical portraits, follows his celebrated study of Jacqueline Kennedy with Spencer, a bold and intimate film about Diana, Princess of Wales. Larraín’s earlier work demonstrated … Read more

The Purge series is an alternate-history thriller-horror phenomenon that has earned large box-office returns on relatively modest budgets. The franchise includes five films and a two-season television series. Each entry varies in focus, but the central premise remains consistent: one night a year, most crimes are legal in the United States, with a few narrowly … Read more