Salem’s Lot (1979)

In the lead up to Halloween, watching more spooky movies this October! Salem’s Lot (1979) is based on Stephen King’s second novel and is one of my favourites of his books, setting the template for the ‘unimaginable evil in a small town’ plot he’d continuously return to (IT, Tommyknockers, Needful Things, etc). The CBS miniseries, […]

Black Christmas (1974)

Another horror flick for the spooky season! With another remake on the way (which I am interested in as its written by film critic April Wolfe), Black Christmas (1974) is a classic of the horror genre, a precursor to John Carpenter’s Halloween and the launch of the ‘slasher’ sub-genre. Even with early tropes of the […]

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) is director Barry Jenkins’ follow up to the award-winning Moonlight, an adaptation of the James Baldwin novel. Beautiful cinematography by James Laxton and lush score by Nicholas Britell. Lovely performances from KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King and Brian Tyree Henry. All of it working together to create a […]

Shoplifters (2018)

Shoplifters (2018; Manbiki Kazoku) is the first that I’ve seen of writer-director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s many critically-acclaimed films. It’s about a struggling family that make ends meet by shoplifting and who take in a young girl from an abusive home. Observational, funny and warm, there were moments that just had me tearing up instantly. At first, […]

Creepshow (1982)

When I was a kid, I stayed up one night to watch Creepshow (1982) – director George A Romero and writer Stephen King’s tribute to old EC horror comics – and it spooked me even though I thought I could handle it. Rewatching it after Romero passed away, I loved it – it feels like […]