thriller | Film Festival Today

Series Review: “The Silence” Is a Grim but Defiant Portrait of Human Trafficking

January 18, 2023

Film Review: Electrifying Mother-Daughter Mystery of “Missing” Lights up the Screen

January 13, 2023

Film Review: “M3GAN” Fuses Humor and Horror

January 5, 2023

Film Review: “The Pale Blue Eye” Too Often Sleepwalks Through Its Mystery

December 22, 2022

Film Review: With Riveting Storytelling, “Nocebo” Overcomes Horror Conventions

November 3, 2022

Middleburg Review: I Choose to Stay for Marvelous “Decision to Leave”

October 22, 2022

Film Review: Even with Great Performances, This “Old Man” Is Confused

October 13, 2022

Film Review: “See How They Run” Tries Too Hard to Mimic the Real Deal

September 15, 2022

Film Review: Strong Third Act Redeems Otherwise Generic Horror-Thriller “Where’s Rose”

August 29, 2022

Film Review: “The Black Phone” Comes A-Creepy Calling

June 23, 2022

Sundance Review: “In My Mother’s Skin” Is Bloody Real
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
January 26, 2023
In My Mother’s Skin (Kenneth Dagatan, 2023) 3 out of 4 stars. The year is 1945, and the Japanese still occupy the Philippines. As two children, a sister and brother, watch a soldier and Filipino collaborator enter their sumptuous home accompanied by their father, the girl tells a tale she heard of how a Japanese man speared a baby with his bayonet. There are atrocities all around, in other words, and no such thing as innocence anymore. Prepare ... >>
Sundance Review: “Little Richard: I Am Everything” Showcases the True Architect of Rock & Roll
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
January 25, 2023
Little Richard: I Am Everything (Lisa Cortés, 2023) 4 out of 4 stars.* Richard Wayne Penniman (1932-2020), otherwise known as Little Richard, is one of the 20th-century’s greatest musicians, yet has never yet received a documentary treatment. Thanks to director Lisa Cortés (All In: The Fight for Democracy), that error is now rectified. Her profile of the star undertakes not only to highlight his artistic achievements, but to remind us of his ... >>
Sundance Review: In “Kim’s Video,” Art and Life Are One and the Same
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
January 23, 2023
Kim’s Video (David Redmon/Ashley Sabin, 2023) 3½ out of 4 stars.* Any cinephile who lived in New York City in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s (the latter two were my era) remembers well the wonderful video-rental chain Kim’s Video. Stocked with a wide variety of options—initially on VHS, then also on DVD—Kim’s was a popular destination for those looking for what they might not find at a place like Blockbuster’s. The rise of Netflix spelled the ... >>
Series Review: “The Silence” Is a Grim but Defiant Portrait of Human Trafficking
By Heidi Shepler
January 18, 2023
The Silence (Dalibor Matanic, 2021) 3½ out of 4 stars. [Content warning: while not gratuitous, The Silence contains graphic depictions of sexual assault against teenage girls.] The Silence opens in Osijek, Croatia, where a veteran with acute PTSD rides a bicycle along a peaceful river. He’s horrified to see that the river is full of dead bodies, but then stops short and reminds himself to take a picture. He often sees horrors that aren’t there, ... >>
Film Review: “On the Trail of Bigfoot: Last Frontier” Explores Bigfoot and Beyond
By Matt Patti
January 16, 2023
On the Trail of Bigfoot: Last Frontier (Seth Breedlove, 2022) 2½ out of 4 stars. Seth Breedlove is a writer, director, and producer of several documentaries involving urban legends. He has covered subjects ranging from the Mothman to skinwalkers to the Bell Witch. Breedlove has produced and directed several films involving Bigfoot, as well, all donning the title On the Trail of Bigfoot. With On the Trail of Bigfoot: Last Frontier, Breedlove is ... >>