horror | Film Festival Today

“The Ritual” Is Repetitive and Routine

June 4, 2025

“Bring Her Back” Grips Without Scares

May 30, 2025

“Sinners” Mixes Blues and Supernatural

April 18, 2025

“The Shrouds” Veils Best Features

April 17, 2025

“Cannibal Mukbang” Appetizes

March 24, 2025

“Devils Stay” Gives Familiar Scares

March 17, 2025

Brazen “Borderline” Is a Bizarro Ball

March 13, 2025

“Control Freak” Doesn’t Quite Scratch Its Horror Itch

March 11, 2025

“Bloat” Is Full of Hot Air

March 6, 2025

Sundance Review: “Together”

February 10, 2025

Middleburg Interview with “Left-Handed Girl” Director Shih-Ching Tsou
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 30, 2025
Filmmaker Shih-Ching Tsou is a longtime collaborator of Sean Baker’s. In her first helming effort, the 2004 Take Out, she shared directorial duties with Baker. Since then, Tsou has produced many of his later films, including the 2021 Red Rocket. She and Baker co-wrote the screenplay for Left-Handed Girl, though Tsou is the sole director on it. The movie follows a family of three—mom, a teenage girl, and a much-younger daughter (a southpaw, hence ... >>
Middleburg Interview with “Hedda” Star Nina Hoss
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 27, 2025
In the new film Hedda, from director Nia DaCosta (Candyman), German actress Nina Hoss (TÁR) plays Eileen Lovborg, former lover of the main character and now professional rival to that person’s new husband. An adaptation of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen’s 1891 play Hedda Gabler, the movie switches Eileen’s original gender from male to female (he is “Eilert” in the source text), and also moves the action to 1950s England. These changes ... >>
Middleburg Interview with “Come See Me in the Good Light” Director Ryan White
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 27, 2025
Documentarian Ryan White is nothing if not prolific, tackling a great variety of issues as he goes. In his latest movie, Come See Me in the Good Light, he profiles the late spoken-word poet Andrea Gibson (who was non-binary and used they/them pronouns), who died on July 14 of this year, fours years after receiving a diagnosis of ovarian cancer in 2021. Appointed the Poet Laureate of Colorado in 2023, Gibson was a star in their field. White ... >>
Interview with “Mistress Dispeller” Director Elizabeth Lo
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 24, 2025
The documentary Mistress Dispeller premiered at the 2024 Venice Film Festival (I reviewed it out of Toronto) and is now finally, in 2025, coming out in theaters via Oscilloscope (released October 22 in New York and today, October 24, in Los Angeles). In the movie, Lo (Stray) examines the titular Chinese profession, where someone (usually a betrayed wife) hires an outside party to break up an extramarital dalliance, With remarkable access to her ... >>
Middleburg Review: “Come See Me in the Good Light”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
October 20, 2025
Come See Me in the Good Light (Ryan White, 2025) 4 out of 5 stars Spoken-word poet Andrea Gibson died on July 14 of this year, at the age of 49, of ovarian cancer, leaving behind their partner—fellow poet Megan Falley—a number of pets, and a formidable body of work. In Ryan White’s latest documentary, Come See Me in the Good Light, we follow Gibson’s pre- and post-diagnosis journey, learning details of their life and anticipating their eventual ... >>

5 Films to See at Middleburg 2025
October 15, 2025
The 13th iteration of the annual Middleburg Film ...>>
5 Films to See at New/Next 2025
October 2, 2025
The New/Next Film Fest is back for its third ...>>
10 Picks for TIFF 2025
September 1, 2025
The 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (or TIFF) ...>>
Films to See at Fantasia 2025
July 15, 2025
For fans of the weird, wild, and wonderful, the 29th ...>>
“Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore” Interview with Director and Star
June 12, 2025
Director Shoshannah Stern makes her feature debut with ...>>