274 | The Dead Thing

• Unrated 

• Runtime: 1hr 34min

• Directed by Elric Kane

• Written by Elric Kane and Webb Wilcoxen

• Stars: Blu Hunt, Ben Smith-Petersen and Katherine Hughes

• Premiered at Fantasia Film Festival July 26, 2024

• Released (limited) in US theaters February 11, 2025

• RT: 83% critics / no audience score

  Synopsis

  A depressed young woman goes on a series of meaningless dates in Los Angeles. When she makes a connection with a man who then ghosts her, she begins to follow him and investigate his life.

Join us in two weeks when we review Sinners, which will be in theaters on April 18th.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

273 | Red Rooms

• Not Rated 

• Runtime: 1hr 58min

• Written & Directed by Pascal Plante

• Stars: Juliette Gariépy, Laurie Babin and Maxwell McCabe-Lokos

• Premiered at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival July 4, 2023

• Released (limited) in US theaters September 6, 2024

• RT: 96% critics / 75% audience

  Synopsis

  A taciturn model is obsessed with the trial of a notorious murder suspect, who allegedly tortured and killed three young girls in “red rooms,” murders-for-pay that are streamed over the dark web to the highest bidder.

Join us in two weeks when we review The Dead Thing, currently streaming on AMC+ and Shudder.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

272 | MadS

• Rated TV-MA

• Runtime: 1hr 29min

• Written & Directed by David Moreau

• Stars: Lucille Guillaume, Laurie Pavy and Milton Riche

• Premiered at Fantastic Fest September 21, 2024

• Released on streaming in US October 18, 2024

• RT: 93% critics / 71% audience

  Synopsis

  A guy encounters a frantic woman on the road who pulls him into a frightening series of events.

Join us in two weeks when we review Red Rooms, currently streaming on AMC+ and Shudder.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

271 | The Monkey

• Rated R

• Runtime: 1hr 38min

• Written & Directed by Osgood Perkins, based on the short story by Stephen King

• Stars: Theo James, Tatiana Maslany and Christian Convery

• Released in theaters February 21, 2025

• RT: 78% critics / 59% audience

  Synopsis

  Twin brothers discover their father’s dark secret - a toy monkey whose drum playing equals a grisly death from someone nearby. They soon learn that the monkey is attached to their family, bringing destruction wherever it turns up.

Join us in two weeks when we review MADS, currently streaming on AMC+ and Shudder.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

270 | Oddity

• Rated R

• Runtime: 1hr 38min

• Director & Writer: Damian Mc Carthy

• Stars: Carolyn Bracken, Johnny French, Steve Wall

• Premiered at Overlook Film Festival April 5, 2024

• Released in theaters July 19, 2024

• RT: 96% critics / 77% audience

  Synopsis

  A psychic medium attempts to uncover the truth behind her sister's murder at the site of the crime.

Join us in two weeks when we review The Monkey, in theaters on February 21, 2025.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

269 | Presence

• Rated: R

• Runtime: 1hr 25min

• Directed by Steven Soderbergh

• Written by David Koepp

• Stars: Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan and Callina Liang

• Premiered at Sundance January 19, 2024

• Released in theaters January 24, 2025

• RT: 87% critics / 54% audience

Synopsis

A dysfunctional family moves into a new house and begins to suspect that it might be haunted.

Join us in three weeks when we review Oddity, currently streaming on AMC+.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

268 | Smile & Smile 2

Smile

• Rated R

• Runtime: 1hr 55min

• Written & Directed by Parker Finn

• Stars: Sosie Bacon, Kyle Gallner and Kal Penn

• Premiered at Fantastic Fest September 22, 2022

• Released in theaters September 30, 2022

• RT: 79% critics / 77% audience

Synopsis 

Psychiatrist Rose witnesses a disturbing event at work which leads her to believe that a demonic entity has malicious designs on her.

Smile 2

• Rated R

• Runtime: 2hr 7min

• Written & Directed by Parker Finn

• Stars: Naomi Scott, Rosemarie DeWitt and Lukas Gage

• Released in theaters October 18, 2024

• RT: 86% critics / 81% audience

Synopsis 

A global pop star is next in line to be terrorized by the insidious Smile entity. However, her increasingly erratic behavior is seen as a drug relapse and career meltdown instead of the desperate cry for help that it is.

Join us in two weeks when we review Presence, which will be released in theaters on January 24th.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

267 | Nosferatu

• Rated R

• Runtime: 2hr 12min

• Directed by Robert Eggers

• Written for the screen by Robert Eggers, inspired by Nosferatu and Dracula

• Stars: Lily-Rose Depp, Bill Skarsgård and Nicholas Hoult

• Released in theaters December 25, 2024

• RT: 86% critics / 75% audience

Synopsis 

The mysterious Count Orlok makes plans to move from his ancestral castle to the homeland of his obsession, Ellen Hutter, throwing the lives of her loved ones into chaos and leaving bodies in his wake.

Join us in two weeks when we review both of the Smile films, which are currently available on streaming or rental.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

266 | The Coffee Table

• Rated 16+

• Runtime: 1hr 31min

• Written by Cristina Borobia and Caye Casas

• Directed by Caye Casas

• Stars: David Pareja, Estefania de los Santos, Eduardo Antuna

• Premiered on September 28, 2023 at Fantastic Fest

• Released on April 19, 2024 in theaters

• RT: 88% critics / 78% audience

Synopsis 

Jesus and Maria are a couple going through a difficult time in their relationship and, to top it off, they’re adjusting to being new parents. To help shape their new life, they decide to buy a new coffee table - a decision that will, unexpectedly, change everything.

Join us in three weeks when we review Robert Eggers’ new film, Nosferatu, releasing in theaters on Christmas Day.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/