4o3v2h

Watched on Sunday May 18, 2025.

Watched on Friday May 16, 2025.

Watched on Sunday May 11, 2025.

Watched on Friday May 9, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday May 6, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday May 6, 2025.

Surely no movie in 2024 made use of more fabric than this one.

Around the one-hour mark, for about five seconds, I naively thought that just maybe I would be the first to describe this film as a pope opera. Maybe next time.

Watched on Wednesday April 30, 2025.

Watched on Wednesday April 30, 2025.

Watched on Sunday April 27, 2025.

I watched a shitty VHS transfer on Tubi for a very appropriate extra layer of grime.

Watched on Friday April 25, 2025.

I only recently discovered this HBO miniseries from Garry Trudeau and Robert Altman, whose fictional narrative intersects in real time with the real-life 1988 U.S. presidential primary elections, and while its overall substance was clearly an influence on Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing, I thought I’d note a few tidbits from Sorkin’s series that seem to be Tanner ’88 homages:

• Both series have a spare martial drumbeat over their “Previously on [this show]” intros
• Both series’ candidate/president has an undergrad daughter (Cynthia Nixon / Elisabeth Moss) with the Secret Service code name “Bookbag”
• Tanner ’88’s hypercompetent campaign manager, T.J. Cavanaugh (Pamela Reed), meet The West Wing’s hypercompetent press secretary, C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney)

Watched on Saturday April 19, 2025.

Watched on Friday April 18, 2025.

Watched on Thursday April 17, 2025.

Watched on Thursday April 17, 2025.

Watched on Sunday April 13, 2025.

Watched on Friday April 11, 2025.

Watched on Monday April 7, 2025.

Embarrassing, tedious Scorsese wannabe shit. Thought it would be a fun watch on a lazy Sunday and quit halfway through. Blah.

Watched on Sunday March 30, 2025.

Kinda wild to take in this tasty morsel of espionage competence porn on the same day it’s revealed that a cabal of U.S. cabinet secretaries accidentally invited the editor of a major magazine along for the ride when they planned a bombing using something they ed from the App Store.

Watched on Sunday March 23, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday March 18, 2025.

Watched on Monday March 17, 2025.

Watched on Saturday March 15, 2025.

My 2,000th film diary entry. 🙂

Watched on Saturday March 8, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday March 4, 2025.

Gonna tell my kids this is A Complete Unknown

Cusack is a pro who knows how to gracefully navigate insipid interview questions, and I’m sure he wouldn’t do it if it weren’t a decent payday, but it was still kinda hard to watch him endure a post-screening Q&A with a local corporate rock radio DJ and a theater full of middle-aged nostalgia freaks.

Steak is Quentin Dupieux’s first feature film, which I enjoyed more than I expected considering that I don’t much liking Rubber, the film he made after it, when I saw it some 15 years ago. Steak’s comic beats, bizarro world of Clockwork Orange-tinged perpetual high school, and bumping electronic soundtrack all cohere into a satisfyingly absurdist satire of conformity, reminiscent at times of Yorgos Lanthimos’s more accessible moments. And it’s perfectly paced: Less than a minute after my first peek at my watch, the credits were rolling.

Apparently Dupieux has been especially busy in the last five years, and now I wonder what I’ve been missing.

Watched on Sunday February 16, 2025.

Watched on Friday February 14, 2025.

Watched on Monday February 3, 2025.

Watched on Saturday February 1, 2025.

Watched on Tuesday January 28, 2025.

Watched on Sunday January 26, 2025.

Watched on Saturday January 25, 2025.

Watched on Monday January 20, 2025.

Boring and corny. Borny?

Watched on Friday January 10, 2025.

The Wrong Tros and A Close Shave, Wallace & Gromit’s finest outings, have such a wonderful economy to them. They're impeccably constructed, compact thrillers that fit a surprising amount of story into 30 minutes without ever feeling rushed. They accomplish this partly by never wasting a single shot, and also by maintaining a very limited cast of characters, which gives the audience space to properly soak in all the extraordinary attention to detail, including beautiful production design loaded with countless sight gags. With that in mind, the fact that W&G’s first feature-length film, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, retains the earlier films’ magic even as it vastly expands their world is something of a miracle. But unfortunately it’s not a miracle Vengeance Most Fowl, their second feature, is able to replicate.

Curse has a sprawling cast of characters who all have a stake in the outcome of the story, and even the minor characters are distinctly realized and never far from the action. But most of the ing players in Vengeance feel more like extras; they’re unmemorable and their limited participation in the plot might have just as well been satisfied by some simple headlines in Gromit’s newspaper. And the plot, though it serves up several dazzlingly complex set pieces, isn’t really that much meatier than those of the short films, and it’s stretched thin at 79 minutes.

As with the rest of the series, the attention to detail in Vengeance is incredible, but the 16-year gap between it and W&G’s previous film (2008’s A Matter of Loaf and Death) is noticeable, mainly in how many effects previously done in-camera are now relegated to post-production. For a series whose charm owes a lot to its tactility, the incorporation even of reasonably tasteful CGI is disappointingly conspicuous, and Vengeance has no shortage of water, fire, and other effects that were clearly not animated by hand. (Thankfully, other divergent techniques used, like 3D-printed puppet parts, are more seamless.)

The good news is, even a lesser entry in the Wallace & Gromit canon is still a pretty great movie, and Vengeance Most Fowl has miles more imagination and ingenuity than virtually any other mass-market animated film in the last 15 years.

Oh, and obviously RIP Peter Sallis, but wow is Ben Whitehead’s performance of Wallace spot-on. I was maybe 30 minutes into the movie before I even ed Wallace had a new voice.

Watched on Saturday January 4, 2025.

Watched on Saturday January 4, 2025.

Watched on Saturday January 4, 2025.

Watched on Saturday January 4, 2025.

Watched on Saturday January 4, 2025.

Watched on Saturday January 4, 2025.

Last updated: January 26, 2025

In the notes for each film is a link to an up-to-date list of all the horror films I’ve seen from that year (which works on the Letterboxd site but apparently not the apps), so you can check out the competition and marvel at my poor judgement and/or lack of cred.

Caveats:

• I don’t love all these movies. I don’t even like all of them. Some years are just thinner than others. So I’ll be on a mission to beef up my horror vocabulary from the years with unsatisfying picks.

• On the flip side, some films I adore aren’t in this list because there was something else from that year that was even better.

• I’m going strictly by Letterboxd/TMDB’s sometimes questionable genre classifications, which makes for some conspicuous omissions.

• Some of these I haven’t seen in a long time, and my memory of them is foggy, but my gut said they were the best option.

• I still haven’t seen horror movies from some years in the earlier decades, so, as the title implies, the list has some holes.

• The Substance

  See all 2024 contenders

• When Evil Lurks

  See all 2023 contenders

• Speak No Evil

  See all 2022 contenders

• Titane

  See all 2021 contenders

• The Invisible Man

  See all 2020 contenders

• The Lighthouse

  See all 2019 contenders

• Suspiria

  See all 2018 contenders

• Revenge

  See all 2017 contenders

• Raw

  See all 2016 contenders

• The Witch

  See all 2015 contenders

...plus 78 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

See the blog post

Every October, I put together a big schedule of horror films to watch, focusing mostly on ones I haven’t seen before. The schedule, a mix of theatrical screenings and home viewings, is published for posterity and for the sake of anyone who might like to me.

This year I seem to be nostalgic for the age of Satanic panic, as I’ll be doing concurrent, chronological deep dives on The Exorcist and The Omen, two franchises with doe-eyed children in the grip of the devil, both of which started in the ’70s and both of which introduced new installments in the last year. Other series getting an overdue look include The Stepfather and The Strangers.

Also on the docket, thanks to the Criterion Channel, are some made-for-TV fright flicks and a full week of classic giallo films, the latter narrowed down by choosing only ones whose titles are full sentences. Other odds and ends are peppered in as well, and more additions are likely as the month goes on.

As always, I haven’t seen most of these films before, so don’t take them as recommendations per se, but none of them were included frivolously. If you decide to watch any, I hope you enjoy. Have a horrific month!

• The Spell
• Someone's Watching Me!
• The Stepfather
• Stepfather 2
• Stepfather 3
• The Strangers
• The Strangers: Prey at Night
• In a Violent Nature
• When Evil Lurks
• Death Walks at Midnight

...plus 16 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

See the blog post

Every October, I put together a big schedule of horror films to watch, focusing mostly on ones I haven’t seen before. The schedule, a mix of theatrical screenings and home viewings, is published for posterity and for the sake of anyone who might like to me.

I’ll often use this month as an opportunity to catch up on a franchise, and this year, for reasons suring understanding, the new, tenth installment of the Saw series has prompted me to watch every single one of its predecessors. I haven’t especially enjoyed the few I’ve seen before, but maybe this perverse immersion therapy will help me understand the cynical series’ enduring popularity.

Otherwise, the list is made up of some recent films of critical acclaim, a handful of picks from 1994 to start filling out my conspicuously shallow personal horror inventory from that year, some selections from Criterion Channel’s seasonal collections (’90s Horror, Art-House Horror, High School Horror, Hopping Vampires of Hong Kong, Pre-Code Horror), and various other odds and ends, including some of my old favorites at the end of the month.

As always, I haven’t seen most of these films before, so don’t take them as recommendations per se, but none of them were included frivolously. If you decide to watch any, I hope you enjoy. Have a horrific month!

• The Boogey Man
• The Angry Red Planet
• Massacre at Central High
• Huesera: The Bone Woman
• Ravenous
• In the Mouth of Madness
• Mr. Vampire
• Twilight Zone: The Movie
• Onibaba
• Angel Dust

...plus 19 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• TÁR
• RRR
• The Banshees of Inisherin
• The House
• Speak No Evil

Every October, I broaden my cinematic horizons by putting together a big schedule of horror movies I haven’t seen yet. Learn more.

• The Blob
• Pumpkinhead
• Jack-O
• Barbarian
• Vampire's Kiss
• Neon Maniacs
• PG: Psycho Goreman
• The Fan
• The Fan
• The Last Broadcast

...plus 14 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story
• Her Final Fury: Betty Broderick, the Last Chapter

Every October, I put together a big schedule of horror films to watch, focusing mostly on ones I haven’t seen before. Learn more.

• Phantom of the Paradise
• Knocking
• Rapture
• Malignant
• Magic
• The Amusement Park
• Ghoulies
• Ghoulies II
• Titane
• Lamb

...plus 16 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Every October, I put together a big schedule of horror films to watch, focusing mostly on ones I haven’t seen before. Learn more.

• Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror
• Ganja & Hess
• Sugar Hill
• It's Alive
• Long Weekend
• The Invisible Man
• The Invisible Man
• Street Trash
• The Driller Killer
• Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight

...plus 14 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Every October, I put together a big schedule of horror films, most of which I haven’t seen before. Learn more.

• The War of the Worlds
• The Leopard Man
• Color Me Blood Red
• The Gruesome Twosome
• Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore
• Cure
• Lake Mungo
• Witchfinder General
• A Nightmare on Elm Street
• A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge

...plus 14 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Every October, I put together a big schedule of horror films, most of which I haven’t seen before. Learn more.

• Hold the Dark
• Mandy
• Kwaidan
• The Unknown
• Santa Sangre
• The Stepford Wives
• Rodents of Unusual Size
• Halloween
• Halloween II
• Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers

...plus 24 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

• The Florida Project

  Though its lush 35 mm cinematography is a prominent tell, it’s easy to forget that The Florida Project isn’t a documentary. Its child’s perspective gives it a dominant levity, but one that amplifies—rather than undermines—the gravity of the entrenched poverty on display. It’s an impressive feat, and a remarkably comionate film. Even if this particular story is fiction, it’s an all-too-rare opportunity to better understand some of the people hit hardest by real-life economic inequality. My favorite film of the year.

• Lady Bird

  Movie teens are too often written as the sophisticated iconoclasts their adult writers wish they could have been, with a strong identity calcified at a young age. One of my favorite things about Lady Bird is that it allows enthusiasms for Bikini Kill, musical theater, and a good cry over a Dave Matthews song to coexist in its title character. She’s not an archetype, just like most kids aren’t, in spite of their tribal aspirations. She goes through many of the motions one would expect in a coming-of-age story, but the film’s quick pace—most scenes don’t last longer than a minute or two—packs in enough little details to give it uncommon dimension and warmth.

• Raw

  The French have an unparalleled knack for transcendent gore, employing outlandish heaps of violence and viscera in service of storytelling that often achieves an intellectual and emotional resonance beyond cheap thrills. I’m a fan of many of the stomach-turning films stuck with the “New French Extremity” tag, but Raw might be my new favorite. An arresting depiction of the tangle of competing stimuli that accompanies a young person’s first taste of freedom, Raw is made all the richer by throwing cannibalism into the mix.

• Star Wars: The Last Jedi

  My initial take on The Last Jedi was mainly that it was very similar to The Empire Strikes Back (in a good way). I thought I could just leave it at that, but I ultimately allowed myself to be absorbed by all the online chatter from critics and fans, some of which is quite thought-provoking. My thoughts on the film are pretty jumbled at this point and I’ll be really curious to see how it holds up on a second viewing, but for now, I enjoying it enough to include it here.

Movies referenced by legendary horror punks The Misfits (the real Misfits, not any of that post-Danzig nonsense), either overtly or theoretically, per Misfits Central. Listed in alphabetical order.

• The Angry Red Planet

  The creature on the left side of the Walk Among Us album cover was taken from this.

• The Astro-Zombies

  The basis for the song “Astro-Zombies.”

• Blood Feast

  The basis for the song “Bloodfeast.”

• The Brain Eaters

  The basis for the song “Braineaters.”

• The City of the Dead

  The basis for the song “Horror Hotel.”

• The Creature Walks Among Us

  The theoretical basis for the album Walk Among Us.

• The Crimson Ghost

  The Misfits’ skull logo is appropriated from the title character.

• Daleks' Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.

  The theoretical basis for the song “Earth A.D.”

• Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell

  The theoretical basis for the song “Hellhound.”

• Fanatic

  The basis for the song “Die, Die My Darling.”

...plus 19 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Every October, I put together a big schedule of horror films, most of which I haven’t seen before. Learn more.

• Super Dark Times
• mother!
• 78/52
• The Void
• It
• Cloverfield
• 10 Cloverfield Lane
• Raw
• The Final Terror
• Häxan

...plus 21 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

My eight favorite films of 2016, in alphabetical order.

• Carol
• Green Room
• La La Land
• The Lobster
• Moonlight
• O.J.: Made in America
• Sing Street
• The Witch

Every October, I put together a sizable schedule of horror/thriller/exploitation films, most of which I haven’t seen before. Dates and times (subject to change) are listed for any friends who want to me. Also available as a handy Google calendar!

• Don't Breathe

  Saturday, 10/1, 8:40pm
  Showing at UA Court Street Stadium 12 & RPX

• What We Do in the Shadows

  Double Feature: Kiwi Comedy
  Sunday, 10/2, 2pm

• Deathgasm

  Double Feature: Kiwi Comedy
  Sunday, 10/2, 3:45pm

• Bloody Birthday

  Wednesday, 10/5, 8pm

• House

  Thursday, 10/6, 8pm

• Under the Shadow

  Friday, 10/7, 6:10pm
  Showing at IFC Center

• The Visit

  Saturday, 10/8, 9pm

• Jaws

  Triple Feature: Jaws
  Sunday, 10/9, 2pm

• Jaws 2

  Triple Feature: Jaws
  Sunday, 10/9, 4:15pm

• Jaws 3-D

  Triple Feature: Jaws
  Sunday, 10/9, 6:30pm

...plus 13 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

From BFI’s “What makes a film noir?” infographic, these are the 32 films that appeared most frequently in the 12 critics’ lists cited.

1. Double Indemnity
2. Out of the Past
3. Touch of Evil
4. The Big Sleep
5. In a Lonely Place
6. The Maltese Falcon
7. Laura
8. Kiss Me Deadly
9. Detour
10. Gun Crazy

...plus 22 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

My five favorite films of 2014, in alphabetical order.

• Boyhood

  In less skilled hands, Boyhood’s twelve years in production might not have amounted to much more than a (very ambitious) stunt, but instead, Richard Linklater’s landmark coming-of-age opus is accessible without being straightforward, and thoughtful without being ponderous. Its 165 minutes are breezy and unrushed, and yet it is over before you know it. I guess kids really do grow up fast.

• The Lego Movie

  This year’s biggest and most pleasant surprise, The Lego Movie demolished my expectations even as it categorically met them. At the end of the day, it is still a long-form ment, but its wit, inventiveness, and heart are an order of magnitude above peers whose toy-hocking agendas are less transparent. Self-aware and uncynical, it succeeds by practicing what it preaches: The Lego Movie believes in itself.

• Under the Skin

  Dark, hypnotic, and singularly unnerving, Under the Skin’s outsider perspective on humanity somehow feels more like an arty nature documentary than a work of science fiction, and it is probably the most memorable representative of either genre in years.

• We Are the Best!

  We Are the Best is as true a representation of being thirteen as I’ve seen. No gauzy nostalgia, no contrived precociousness, no bullshit. Just an unembelished look at three willful girls managing the bumps of early adolescence by making a delightfully inept racket at the tail end of punk’s first wave.

• Whiplash

  After many years of reliably solid ing performances, J.K. Simmons is finally out in front with a potentially career-defining role that is as compelling as it is troubling. Whiplash beat me up more than any other film this year, and I’m grateful for it.

Every October, I try to watch as many horror/suspense films that I haven’t seen before as possible. Dates and times (subject to change) are listed for any friends who want to me.

• The Devil's Backbone

  Friday, 10/3, 8pm

• Pet Sematary

  Double Feature: Stephen King
  Saturday, 10/4, 7pm

• The Mist

  Double Feature: Stephen King
  Saturday, 10/4, 9pm

• Dead of Night

  Double Feature: Britain Then and Now
  Sunday, 10/5, 1pm

• The Woman in Black

  Double Feature: Britain Then and Now
  Sunday, 10/5, 3pm

• Troll Hunter

  Double Feature: Comedic Creature Features
  Saturday, 10/11, 7pm

• Grabbers

  Double Feature: Comedic Creature Features
  Saturday, 10/11, 9pm

• White Zombie

  Double Feature: Heavy Metal Namesakes
  Sunday, 10/12, 1pm

• Black Sabbath

  Double Feature: Heavy Metal Namesakes
  Sunday, 10/12, 3pm

• Trouble Every Day

  Double Feature: New French Extremity
  Monday, 10/13, 8pm

...plus 25 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Every October, I try to watch as many horror/suspense films that I haven’t seen before as possible. This is the first year the films were somewhat carefully selected and scheduled in advance. They span seven decades and eight countries. Dates and times (subject to change) are listed for any friends who want to me.

• Don't Look Now

  October 1st (Tuesday)
  8:00 p.m.

• The Changeling

  October 4th (Friday)
  8:00 p.m.

• Halloween

  October 5th (Saturday)
  7:00 p.m.

• Halloween II

  October 5th (Saturday)
  9:30 p.m.

• The Innocents

  October 6th (Sunday)
  1:00 p.m.

• Ju-on: The Grudge

  October 6th (Sunday)
  3:00 p.m.

• Possession

  October 7th (Monday)
  8:00 p.m.

• Gravity

  October 12th (Saturday)
  2:00 p.m.
  Playing at BAM Rose Cinemas (tickets)

• [REC]

  October 12th (Saturday)
  9:00 p.m.

• Repulsion

  October 13th (Sunday)
  1:00 p.m.

...plus 13 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Every October, I try to watch as many horror films that I haven’t seen before as possible.

• Corman's World
• Not of This Earth

  My review of all three versions of Not of This Earth

• Not of This Earth

  My review of all three versions of Not of This Earth

• Popatopolis
• The Wasp Woman
• Not of This Earth

  My review of all three versions of Not of This Earth

• Sinister
• Insidious
• The Innkeepers
• Hostel: Part III

...plus 8 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

Every October, I try to watch as many horror films that I haven’t seen before as possible.

• Hostel
• Saw
• Saw 3D
• Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
• Hostel: Part II
• Paranormal Activity 2
• Dog Soldiers
• The Others
• Cannibal Holocaust
• The Crazies

...plus 4 more. View the full list on Letterboxd.

I only saw 32 new movies in 2012, and while plenty were good, none of them particularly blew my mind. With a few exceptions, I steered clear of big budget studio fare and stuck mostly to documentaries and unassuming indies. There were several critical darlings of different shapes and sizes that probably would have made my year-end list if I had gotten around to seeing them, but I didn’t. From what I did see, I couldn’t come up with 10 that were worthy of a Top Ten list, so I settled on this Top Seven.

Since this is my first full year of keeping a comprehensive film diary, it’s interesting to see how the ratings I gave films when I first saw them didn’t necessarily correspond to their order (or inclusion) on this list. It’s making me think more about how time factors into assessing the merits of a film. There are movies I saw months ago that I would rate higher or lower now based on my memory of them, which speaks to both the faultiness of memory and the necessity of reflection before judgement.

1. Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters

   An excellent profile of one of the greatest and most distinctive photographers of our time, and a fascinating exploration of the process behind his striking images.

2. The Imposter

   The most unbelievable true story of the year, expertly juxtaposing seemingly fictional dramatizations against all-too-real talking head interviews.

3. Indie Game: The Movie

   A surprisingly affecting look at the sleepless and stressful lives of the makers of high profile, independently-produced video games, and how they express themselves through their work.

4. The Innkeepers

   A good, old-fashioned ghost story with a fantastic lead and just the right amount of delightfully maddening ambiguity.

5. Michael

   A spare, unflinching, masterfully suspenseful drama whose main character, a kidnapper/pedophile, competes with his prey for the audience’s sympathy.

6. The Queen of Versailles

   This documentary walks an impressive line between schadenfreude and empathy as a billionaire family gets hit hard by the recession in the midst of constructing the largest single family residence in America.

7. The Cabin in the Woods

   A postmodern love letter to horror movies. Although its premise is ultimately a bit too crazy for its own good, its dissection of the genre is more sophisticated and entertaining than that of its precursor, the Scream franchise.