Tag: Horror

Movie Review: Backrooms

Rating: 7/10

I want to start this review off by admitting I knew absolutely nothing about the liminal space aesthetic online, or that people even found liminal spaces creepy, I never frequented “4chan,” and I barely even know what a creepypasta is, so it should come as no surprise that I was not aware of Kane Parsons’ Backrooms web series prior to the release of his feature film of the same name, but of course I made sure to delve into the origins of Backrooms to help myself prepare for my viewing of the feature film, and I must say, I do find it fascinating. Fascinating because we’re reaching a revolutionary moment in cinema where young online content creators are being taken more seriously by Hollywood and are given the opportunity to fully realize their vision, and considering how Backrooms and Curry Barker’s Obsession are both killing it in the box office, and given that these films are actually good, it’s safe to say the kids are alright. Taking the surreal and eerie aesthetics of the web series and amplifying them for the feature film, Kane Parsons and co. translate the series quite well to the big screen. The set design is beautifully unsettling with it’s piss-colored yellow, the “found footage” scenes are perfectly executed and suspenseful, which helps revitalize a genre that has become stale, and the surrealistic nature of the film brings to mind David Lynch, and with the help of screenwriter Will Soodik, characters with traumatic backstories are incorporated into this world, but therein lies the problem. The characters we’re supposed to care about are frustratingly underdeveloped. It’s like the film is a battle between Backrooms’ signature eerie aesthetic and the character driven screenplay, and the former wins. This unfortunately makes the characters unimportant or hard to sympathize with. At the beginning we get a glimpse into our protagonist Clark’s mind as he attempts to cope with his alcoholism and failed marriage, and his therapist Mary Kline is also working through trauma related to the demolition of her childhood home and her mother’s institutionalization. We’re led to believe these characters will have a fleshed-out arc, but unfortunately there’s no payoff as the film spends more time focusing on aesthetics and long drawn out scenes to immerse you into the world of the Backrooms, and not enough time investing us into the characters emotionally, so any kind of tension or suspense that’s supposed to be there when these characters interact is non-existent. Which leaves this film a great looking surrealistic nightmare devoid of emotional weight. However, there’s enough disturbing and deeply unsettling visuals and horrifying moments to prevent this film from falling flat, and had they just focused on “Async’s” research on the Backrooms instead of a shoehorned plot of a man who discovers the Backrooms inside his furniture store, this film would’ve been a lot better. They should’ve stripped the film of its traditional narratives and turned it into a series of avant-garde atmospherics à la Skinamarink, but hey, this film was a fun watch nonetheless. Though this film is far from perfect, Kane Parsons has my attention, and I’m excited to see what he does next. 

Written By: Steven Sandoval

Movie Review: Obsession

Rating: 9/10

Hype can be very annoying. The flavor of the month movies or TV shows start to plague your feed on social media platforms while fans won’t shut up about them or make exaggerated statements like “best movie I’ve ever seen.” More often than not I find myself giving in to the hype, only to be underwhelmed, and that isn’t contrarianism, it’s just that I’m either too picky, too critical, or just have shit taste. The most recent example of that is how I was the only person on the planet who didn’t like Weapons, but every once in a while a movie comes along that lives up to the hype, and proves itself to be something more than just the flavor of the month, and right now that movie is Obsession. OH.MY.GOD. Taking a familiar and rather outdated monkey’s paw trope, but elevating it to its most visceral heights, 26 year old director Curry Barker has struck gold with Obsession. This movie is terrifying, emotional, funny, unsettling, gross, anxiety-inducing, and will evoke just about every emotion known to man, and that’s due to impeccable direction, perfectly timed scares, phenomenal acting, and subject matter that looks surface level on paper, but executed in a way that provokes much thought and discussion. If you’re reading this, chances are you already know the premise. Our protagonist Baron “Bear” Bailey has feelings for his friend Nikki Freeman, but doesn’t have the courage to express his feelings to her, so when he buys a “One Wish Willow” novelty toy that claims to grant one wish per person, he breaks the toy wishing for Nikki to love him more than anyone in the world, and that wish comes true, but backfires very horribly sparking a chain of horrifying acts committed by his now obsessed girlfriend Nikki. Now, I’m sure every possible interpretation of this film has already been expressed through countless reviews or think pieces, but allow me to express my interpretation. Underneath the truly unnerving and uncomfortable Horror scenes, this film comments on the problematic nature of how men view and pursue women. Bear starts off as a pitiful, but likeable guy. You want him to gain confidence and find true love, but when Nikki makes it perfectly clear she’s not into him, instead of moving on, he makes the wish out of frustration, and when he finally gets what he’s always wanted, it’s clear from the start that something isn’t quite right with Nikki. It’s clear she’s being controlled by some sort of outside force. Bear recognizes this, and even expresses how he’s worried about this to his best friend, but instead of taking that opportunity to help her in some way, he lets his personal desires get the better of him and takes advantage of this new version of Nikki who would do absolutely anything for him. This new version of Nikki isn’t the real Nikki he fell in love with, but she’s attached to him and she gives him the love he’s always yearned for. Who’s the real villain here? Is it Nikki, or the guy too cowardly and impatient to let things happen organically? It’s most certainly the latter. This raises the question, if given the opportunity would a lot of men skip the time and effort it takes to truly get to know their love interest and prove themselves to be a worthy partner, just to get what they truly want, sex and their own personal cheerleader? It’s almost as if Bear didn’t really love who Nikki was as a person, but was in love with the idea of being loved by her to fill an empty void. How well did he know her? Did he just love her because she was nice to him? When he realizes the new Nikki isn’t the Nikki he once knew, it’s too late, and now he’s suffering the consequences of his selfishness, because what ensues is some of the most horrifying events I’ve seen in a film in a very long time. Brilliantly portrayed by actress Inde Navarrette, Nikki is terrifying but far from being the villain, because she can’t control it, and though she commits many vicious acts, the fault isn’t hers, it’s Bear’s. That’s what this movie is about at its core, and those themes combined with some very grizzly images and Oscar-worthy acting from Navarrette makes for a Horror masterpiece. Every second of this film is captivating. I’ve seen just about every fucked up Horror film there is to see, so I’m desensitized, but this film truly gave me anxiety and made me jump a few times. That never happens to me. I haven’t been this impacted by a Horror film since 2018 when I watched Hereditary in theaters. Obsession is that damn good. I can’t recommend this movie enough. 

Written By: Steven Sandoval

Movie Review: Faces of Death

Rating: 8/10

When I first heard there was a new Faces of Death movie coming out, my initial reaction was, “why?” Long gone are the days of shocking films and barf bags. Was this going to be another installment in the franchise? Was this going to be a straight up remake of the original? If you’re going to make a Faces of Death movie in 2026, there’s going to be expectations from fans expecting another Mondo film filled with exploitative death scenes, so how do you bring the concept of Faces of Death to the modern age? Well, director Daniel Goldhaber gives us the answers to these questions with his meta, thought-provoking, and yes, gory reimagining of the infamous film. The film follows a content moderator for a TikTok-esque social media platform who discovers a series of viral videos featuring murders heavily influenced by scenes from the original Faces of Death movie, and she makes it her mission to identify the serial killer behind these videos. Interesting premise, but is the movie worth a watch? Hell yes. Daniel Goldhaber has cleverly brought the morbid curiosity and Real vs. Fake debate that surrounded the original film to the modern age.  The film is an effective commentary on the current state of internet addiction and everyone’s yearning for viral popularity. Damn near everyone in this film is chronically online and constantly searches for that dopamine hit from a “like” on their posts, but this movie is in no way preachy. It has a fun 80’s Slasher element featuring some gnarly practical effects, a killer synth-heavy score, and some damn good suspense, and unlike most movies in the realm of the Slasher and Pseudo Snuff films, the violence actually serves a purpose and rarely comes across as gratuitous. The acting is also very solid and believable. Barbie Ferreira perfectly conveys a range of emotions, and Dacre Montgomery really sinks his teeth into his role as the killer, and looks like he’s having the time of his life playing it. Now, I’m willing to bet most fans of the original Faces of Death will be letdown by this movie. This movie isn’t for the real life gore-seeking fans who probably frequented rotten.com in the 2000’s, but honestly, would it really be necessary to make a film like the 1978 Faces of Death? The original was a product of its time. It was a movie that catered to people looking for something taboo to watch, and in the current world we live in where most of us are desensitized to violent content thanks to the accessibility of the internet, a movie like the original wouldn’t serve a purpose, because we’re all exposed to gory and violent content online anyway. A movie like the original probably wouldn’t even be green-lit. However, if you’re looking for a movie rich in thought-provoking themes, suspense, and of course violent kills, then give this one a shot. 

Written By: Steven Sandoval