Category: World Cinema

The Monsters of MSPIFF

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The 42nd Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF) wrapped up on Thursday, April 27. Offering two weeks of local and international fare, encompassing fiction, documentary, animation, and practically every conceivable genre, it's an almost overwhelming smorgasbord for cinephiles in Minnesota. Initially, my plan was to see more than 40 movies throughout the festival, but I … Continue reading The Monsters of MSPIFF

Cold Skin (2017) Movie Review: A Lovecraft Film Deeper Than Most

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A story about much more than having sex with fish people. That aspect occupies a sliver of the runtime, is shot with care, and provides intriguing layers to the themes of hate and isolation. While the film may be inspired by Lovecraftian Deep Ones, Cold Skin is foremost a drama; elements of horror are secondary … Continue reading Cold Skin (2017) Movie Review: A Lovecraft Film Deeper Than Most

Groovy Stake is in the Heart: “Dracula A.D. 1972” Movie Review

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Hammer Films tried to court the swinging London demographic with this campy outing in which Count Dracula (Christopher Lee), after being killed by Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) in a prologue set in 1872, is rebirthed a century later by one of his acolytes (whose highly suspicious name is Johnny Alucard, played with zealous abandon by … Continue reading Groovy Stake is in the Heart: “Dracula A.D. 1972” Movie Review

You Won’t Be Alone (2022) Movie Review

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A lot of critics made the point that Goran Stolevski's artsy horror picture You Won't Be Alone is like Terrence Malick meets The VVitch—an accurate statement, though it does the movie a disservice. This is ultimately a very weird, singular vision, ambitious in the way that the best horror movies are (though You Won't Be … Continue reading You Won’t Be Alone (2022) Movie Review

Saloum (2022) Movie Review

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Congolese director Jean Luc Herbulot crafted this action-thriller set in the titular region in Senegal, an eerily abandoned network of marshes and waterways in which ghosts (literal and figurative) seem to lurk in the shadows. That's an apt setting for the story, which follows three mercenaries known as Bangui's Hyenas, who have become something like … Continue reading Saloum (2022) Movie Review