Bryce Hanson

The House that Jack Built isn’t getting a wide release until December 14th, but we went to a one night only showing of the director’s cut a month early at the Cinema 21 in Portland. So this is a rare instance where we can provide a review well in advance of a wide release. The film tells the story of an unassuming, yet prolific serial killer named Jack. It's told through a series of 5 short vignettes of some of his notable kills. It’s told over the course of 12 years from the mid-late 70’s to the mid-late 80s and takes place in the rural Pacific NorthWest of the United States. Jack’s nom de guerre is Mr. Sophistication, which he writes on the grisly photos he takes of his victims. Throughout the film Jack's descriptions of his personal condition, problems and thoughts are told through a recurring conversation with the unknown "Verge". Jack views himself as a sophisticated man and the story is told through his own mixture of arrogant and narcissistic sophistry. The House … [Read more...] about The House That Jack Built Review

If you want to watch Suspiria (2018), please consider renting or purchasing the movie through this amazon link to help us support the podcast. We went and saw Suspiria, and there is a lot to unpack with this one... Suspiria takes place in the politically tumultuous 1977’s Berlin and follows a young woman, Susie Bannion, played by Dakota Johnson, seeking out her dream to dance in the famed Tanz Dance Academy under her idol Madame Blanc, played by Tilda Swinton. Not everything is right in the dance academy. The movie opens with a frantic and distressed dancer Patricia, played by Chloe Grace Moretz, visiting her psychiatrist, Dr. Josef Klemperer, played by...Lutz Ebersdorf (We’ll get to him later). Patricia’s frantic and panicked statements about the academy come off as schizophrenic and delusional to Dr. Klemperer, but are an omen of things to come. We find out that the dance studio is undergoing a crisis of leadership as the company is split between having the unseen … [Read more...] about Suspiria (2018) Review

Halloween is the direct sequel to the original Halloween released in 1978 that ignores the story lines and continuity of the 9 other sequels and/or reboots. There have been so many Halloweens, that this is the third one called, just, Halloween. This round is helmed by David Gordon Green who wrote it with Danny McBride. Yes, that Danny McBride. … [Read more...] about Halloween (2018) Review

Spiral is an independent horror film that we got an advance screener for. The filmmaker for Spiral reached out to us on Facebook and invited us to review the movie. This made us feel like hotshots, so of course we’re going to do it. It was… interesting. … [Read more...] about Spiral Review and Interview with Robin Block from In Search of Darkness

Hellfest is a traveling horror night that rolls into town and a group of friends get VIP passes to go and enjoy the spooks. Think of it as a haunted house that covers an entire theme park. Little do they know that hidden among the park employees is a masked killer that picks off visitors that aren’t scared. Hellfest is Directed by Gregory Plotkin, and I feel he took a huge Plotkin on the slasher genre. Plotkin has spent most of his career as an editor, most notably Second assistant editor on Weekend at Bernies 2, as well as Get Out, and Paranormal Activities 2-5. His only other feature length film directing credit is Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension. It stars Amy Forsyth as Natalie, the protagonist returning home from school to visit her grade school BFF Brooke played by the distractingly beautiful Reign Edwards. Along for the ride and generally being an annoying presence is Taylor played by Bex Taylor-Klaus. Each one has an arbitrary boyfriend to accompany them to the park … [Read more...] about Hellfest Review

The Evil Within is the first and only film from writer, director Andrew Getty. The film follows a mentally handicapped thirty year-old man named Dennis (Frederick Koehler), and tangentially, his older brother John (Sean Patrick Flanery). Dennis is haunted by his dreams, where a nefarious presence played by Michael Berryman, seeks to torture and ultimately possess him. The nightmares quickly become reality as the evil presence communicates to Dennis in his waking hours through his reflection in a creepy antique mirror that his brother John has thrust upon him. His manipulative reflection quickly instructs the befuddled protagonist to commit heinous acts to escape from his nightmares and show the world he is smarter than they think. … [Read more...] about The Evil Within Review

The Nun is another entry in the Conjuring Universe. This film delves into the backstory of the scary painting from The Conjuring 2. If that seems unnecessary to you, than you will probably find it unnecessary to watch this movie. If however, you just can't get enough of the world of the conjuring, then this is a decent entry in that series. … [Read more...] about The Nun Review

The Little Stranger is a little known horror film that came out in 2018 that toes the line between murder mystery and horror movie. It is very English in it's sensibility and might remind you more of the Turn of the Screw or The Remains of the Day than The Conjuring … [Read more...] about The Little Stranger Review

The Meg is a run-of-the-mill, but well-executed monster movie starring Jason Statham and the sovereign nation of China. Jason Statham plays Jonus Taylor, an expert rescue diver who is retired after a tragically failed rescue, which Jonus blames on a giant fish or something (but no one believes him). He is brought out of retirement after another diving accident befalls his ex-wife who was researching the deepest, hidden depths of the ocean. Before her video feed cuts out, she says “Jonus was right!”. … [Read more...] about The Meg Review