In my twenties, I discovered the work of comic creator Dan Clowes and became a big fan. He specialized in quirky, esoteric slice of life stories that often exposed the hidden ironies of existence and the hypocrisies of humans. He often did so with flawed characters who were their own worst enemies. Perhaps Clowe’s biggest…

A while back, I went through a phase of reading a lot of contemporary British thrillers. They tended to share several qualities: there was usually a sympathetic young woman who found herself in a moral quandary—debating whether she should report the malfeasance of the boss she was in love with, for example. There was at…

There was a certain over-the-topness to horror films made in the 90s-2000s. They reveled in disgusting images, like fingernails being peeled back from fingers, verminous rats, or bodies completely shorn of skin.  This was the culture of the time. (Trust me, I was there). Grunge music embraced the idea that life was ugly and you…

When I learned the concept of “Pretty Lethal”, in which a group of ballerinas face off against gun-wielding thugs, I had to admit it was ingenious. Ballet is a physically intensive practice, and why wouldn’t those leaps and jumps translate well to ass-kicking? Beyond that, the movie has Uma Thurman, who is a touchstone in…

Years ago, as a teenager, I saw what I think is one of the great horror films, “The Stepfather.” (I’m talking about the original, though the sequels and remake aren’t bad.) I definitely crushed out on Jill Schoelen who played the teen girl protagonist. As the years passed, I heard tell of a somewhat obscure…

This novel starts off with a sentence you will not easily get out of your brain. (Whether you want to says a lot about who you are as a person. I was happy to let it live rent-free for a while.) It proceeds with a tale of Kenneth, a narcissistic, nihilistic car salesman who has…

I’m the first to admit that horror movies pre-1960 lack something compared to the modern era. You want teenage virgins being slowly bisected by a power saw? (Of course you do!) Or gore-dripping skeletons climbing out of their flesh prisons? Or a sword wielding ghost decapitating six people at a time?  Well, you’re not going…

I know what you’re thinking: didn’t you just review this movie, Wil Forbis? Incorrect, mein Freund. I recently reviewed “Initiation,” a 2020 slasher with heavy themes. This is “The Initiation,” a 1984 slasher featuring Vera Miles of “Psycho” fame. Got it? And how was it? An absolute blast! Just when you think 80s horror has…

This was a strange one, but in a good way. The film starts at a frequent event in slasher films: the college fraternity party. Beautiful, barely clothed young people are acting stupid, getting wasted, and hooking up. I instantly hate all of them and can’t wait for them to die. (I will add that I…

I have a difficult relationship with the work of Sigmund Freud. On the one hand, I think he offered a lot of insight into the working of the human mind, particularly popularizing the somewhat ethereal notion of the unconscious. While this hidden layer of the psyche is hard to define, I do believe it exists.…

I watched 2001’s “The Pledge“ starring Jack Nicholson and directed by Sean Penn a few years after it came out. At the time, I proclaimed the neo-noir the greatest film ever made. (The world, committed as it is to ignoring my sage proclamations, took little notice.) I was, in particular, in awe of Penn’s directing,…

Evil kid movies have a long history going back to “The Bad Seed,” first shown on screens in 1956. That lineage runs straight through 1976’s “The Omen,” where the trope goes biblical. I fondly recall Macaulay Culkin’s turn as the archetype in 1993’s “The Good Son.” And there’s what is possibly my favorite film, “Orphan.”…

You might be familiar with director Sam Peckinpah’s 1971 film “Straw Dogs“ in which a nebbish character played by Dustin Hoffman faces off with thugs in rural England who want to invade his house and violate his wife. 1986’s “Bullies“ is like “Straw Dogs“ idiot younger brother. It’s the same setup, though the family arrangement…

About 20 minutes into 2025’s “Bring Her Back“ I was worried it was one of these modern movies where nothing is ever explained, and the mystery just kind of festers until the end. And I wasn’t really in the mood for such a movie on that particular evening. I’m glad I kept going, because it…

1981’s “Delusion” (also known as “The House Where Death Lives” and boy does it ever) is an absolute gem of a movie. If you’re a fan of slow-burn psychological horror with sexual tension and psychological layering, you’ll love it. Our story begins with young Meredith (Patricia Pearcy), a home nurse who gets a gig caring…