Directed by William Lustig, 1988
Written by Larry Cohen
Welcome back to AYIF.  That’s right people, I have returned from the grave to bring you more wonderful treats form my must-see list.  Sorry for the delay, but I have been hard at work helping Pete over at Horror Squad.  So I’ve been lax in my writing about [...]

Written and Directed by Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza, 2009

I like that the original [REC]’s real-time unraveling of an apartment building under quarantine for a mysterious virus that turns the infected into fluid spewing, flesh clawing maniacs is logistically conducive to a sequel. I really like that returning filmmakers Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza can [...]

Written and Directed by Michael Dougherty, 2007

Trick ‘r Treat is the holy grail of Halloween themed horror films. Not because of the notoriously long path writer-director Michael Dougherty’s film has had to take to finally get released (a refresher: TrT was finished and first shown back in 2007 and, despite an overwhelming reaction to its [...]

RESIDENT EVIL: UMBRELLA CHRONICLES
Developed and Produced by Capcom, 2007
Being the fanboy I am of the RESIDENT EVIL series, I never learned my lesson with the previously released gun-games (RESIDENT EVIL:SURVIVOR & RESIDENT EVIL: DEAD AIM) and so I went ahead and bought the series omnibus spectacular, RE: UMBRELLA CHRONICLES.
As for the story, it takes [...]

Directed by Roy Ward Baker, 1972
Written by Robert Bloch

A young psychiatrist, Dr. Martin, is looking to fulfill an empty job position in an insane asylum.  He arrives at the asylum, and upon meeting with the head physician he’s told the reason why a job opening exists.  One of the former doctors has him/herself gone crazy, [...]

Directed by Marcus Dunstan, 2009
Written by Marcus Dunstan & Patrick Melton

If we’re going on track records alone, I’m not the kind of person who should be cheerleading THE COLLECTOR.  I’m rather indifferent to the first FEAST, but don’t care for the sequels.  I stopped being interested in the SAW franchise after part two, which admittedly [...]

Written and Directed by Alex Horwitz, 2009

In the not too distant future the self explanatory Z-virus has swept the globe, nearly claiming all of civilization until Dr. Ben Jacobs (John La Zar) discovers the miracle cure.  Masses of undead are under control, all that remains are a few stragglers immune to Dr. Jacobs’ treatment, sadly [...]

F.E.A.R. 2: PROJECT ORIGIN
Developed by Monolith Productions
Published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Being a fan of the original F.E.A.R. (and to a lesser extent, the two non-canon expansions) I was fairly excited for this sequel. The original F.E.A.R. accomplished a lot in terms of the tech, combat, and the level of terror, which sets the standards [...]

Published and Developed by Capcom, 2009
It has been about four years since the near-masterpiece RESIDENT EVIL 4 hit shelves and changed the series and the entire survival horror genre (for better or worse).  Leaps and bounds were made in terms of combat and pacing, replacing most of the puzzles and backtracking with faster paced gameplay [...]

Directed by Dennis Iliadis, 2009
Written by Adam Alleca and Carl Ellsworth
Remakes are a funny thing.  No one asks for them.  In fact, we all complain about them.  When they’re at their worst, remakes inspire more vitriol from fans than any other breed of film within the genre.  When they’re at their best, we are struck [...]

Written and Directed by Pascal Laugier, 2008
Watching MARTYRS is like staring into a blast furnace.  Pascal Laugier’s film is a smoldering cell of anger and heat and hate and marvel.  It’s difficult to watch head on and downright painful to endure over time.  To be honest the experience is one I hesitate to recommend.  However, [...]

Written and Directed by James Watkins, 2008
More and more I find myself musing, “Now normally I don’t like movies about a couple being tortured in the woods, but…” It has gotten to the point where I wonder if I do harbor some undeclared love for pieces of garbage.  Then along comes a film like EDEN [...]

Written and Directed by Nacho Vigalondo, 2007
Time travel is a hobby of mine.
Well, in theory.
Whether approaching it with the mind of a scientist or the mind of a storyteller, it is the ultimate logic puzzle.  The intricacies of cause and effect across multiple planes of existence, the construction (and, conversely, deconstruction) of it is is [...]

Directed by Patrik Syversen, 2008
Written by Patrik Syversen and Nini Bull Robsahm
I am not inclined to be a fan of backwoods, hillbilly horror.  I get it.  The villains don’t live in a city, so they must be inbred.  Hur, hur.  The only thing they know how to do is live in the filthiest conditions possible.  [...]

Directed by Gregg Bishop, 2008
Written by Joe Ballarini
DANCE OF THE DEAD will charm the zombie hell out of you.  That’s a one sentence, back-of-the-box review if I’ve ever seen one.  And for the record, I have.
See it, enjoy it.  ‘Tis a rather linear experiment, really.  If you do step one, you’ll arrive at step two.  [...]

Created by Alan Ball, 2008
Pilot episode STRANGE LOVE Written and Directed by Alan Ball
HBO doesn’t make bad shows.  Mind you the bar may not always lock up a notch, but a bad show they’ve never put to series.  After the pilot episode, my personal jury is still out on whether they’ve raised the bar or [...]

Directed by John Flynn, 1994
Written by Andrew Kevin Walker, story by Brian Owens
Some jackass hack named Andrew Kevin Walker has been hounding me in the comment section to review BRAINSCAN, “his 1994 mind-bending masterpiece starring Eddie Furlong”.  I’d never heard of it until old Andy poked his persistent finger in my side again and again [...]

Directed by Jonathan Levine, 2006
Written by Jacob Forman
It is no secret that I’ve been tracking ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE for years now.  Literally years.  On multiple occasions I’ve lambasted Senator International for withholding the film from the US (it has not only played internationally, but is available elsewhere at retail before ever seeing [...]

Directed by Ronny Yu, 2008
Written by Daniel Knauf
Now here we go.  The early reviews of “FEAR ITSELF” all indicated that the show failed to kick off until episode three.  The early reviews were right.  FAMILY MAN, written by “CARNIVALE” creator and scribe Daniel Knauf, has an excellent script tailored specifically for the rise and fall [...]

Directed by Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, 2007
Written by Alexandre Bustillo
Centerfold to French horror nu-waver-cum-2007-fest-favorite INSIDE is, well, a festival of gore the crimson of which you’ve likely not seen in a while. I am normally not wont to praise a film whose visual brutality takes precedent over story, but there is an adventurous [...]

Directed by Carter Smith, 2008
Written by Scott B. Smith
I hope with desperation that THE RUINS does well at the box office. DreamWorks, Red Hour Films and Spyglass Entertainment deserve the financial reward. Carter Smith, Scott B. Smith and the film’s five producers deserve the commercial approval, which is the only approval the [...]

Written and Directed by Michael Haneke, 2008
Michael Haneke is a difficult filmmaker for me to review.  The man is a dense master worthy of the Kubrick comparison ax.  He can cut a scene like no ones business and he can stretch a take to the limit and beyond.  His rapport with actors is boundless, coaxing [...]

Directed by Jamie Blanks, 2007Written by Everett De Roche
I’ve been circling STORM WARNING for weeks now, always suggesting to watch it, always finding an excuse not to, often landing on the knowledge it was made by the guy who did URBAN LEGEND. The IMDb plot description did little more to muster interest, "A yuppie [...]

Written and Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom, 2007

I imported Shutter on a whim nearly three years ago.  This was when I was going to FSU, living by myself in a one-bedroom.  More specifically, it was during a period when I was watching Asian films almost exclusively — somewhere in the neighborhood of 12+ per [...]

Directed by David Slade, 2007Written by Steve Niles and Stuart Beattie and Brian Nelson

Despite all of the sub-genres, all the crossovers and all the remakes, there are only two kinds of horror films, each defined within five minutes of its run time; 1) that which opens with a brutal slaying of a character unimportant to [...]

Written and Directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, 2006

Clocking in at a very trim 77 minutes, featuring only two characters (not counting the opening pair, who exist only for an introductory jolt), and hailing from the land of Haute Tension, Ils is a near plot-less exercise in sustaining the slasheresque chase for as long [...]

Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, 2007Written by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and Rowan Joffe & Jesús Olmo, Enrique López Lavigne

The torch has been passed.  Not just from original 28 Days director Danny Boyle to 28 Weeks director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, but from the apocalyptic consumer cannibalism of Romero’s Dead -ilogy to today’s Rage infected culture of [...]

Directed by Christopher Smith, 2006Written by Christopher Smith and James Moran

Judging by how many people ask me where the image at the top of the site came from, Christopher Smith’s first film, Creep, never really reached the audience it deserved to.  However, The UK’ers sophomore film, Severance, undoubtedly will.  It is a simple and affable [...]

Directed by David R. Ellis, 2006

Snakes on a Plane delivers.  Period.
That’s the only question anyone wants answered after months and months of hype machine out of control.  So if that was all you wanted to know, you can stop reading now. 
It seemed there were only two possible outcomes.  Either Snakes on a Plane was [...]

Written by Stephen King, 2006

Leave it to Stephen King to not only find a way to bring some originality back to zombies, but to also make cell phones threatening past those silly brain tumors.
King’s severely pessimistic tale opens on the day of the apocalypse and ends a few weeks later, giving the reader a very [...]

Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom Wongpoom, 2004. Review originally written 5-23-05

Once I actually bought it, it took me a while to get around to watching it, but it’s worth the wait. I’m a huge fan of the new wave of Asian cinema, but admittedly my knowledge of the Thai scene is extremely limited so [...]

Directed by Christopher Smith, 2004

Our heroine, Kate, falls asleep waiting for a train on the London Underground while on her way to try to sleep with George Clooney. That really is how the plot kicks off. She wakes up alone and trapped in the sealed subway system. A train passes by (despite [...]