The Conjuring: Last Rites

It wasn't as famous as the “Amityville Horror,” maybe because the “Smurl Haunting” doesn’t quite have the same ring. However, it still generated a 1991 TV-movie and a book by Ed and Lorraine Warren. They definitely considered it one of their major cases, so it makes a fitting conclusion to the Conjuring film series—but fear not, the “Conjuring Universe” should continue without them. Ominously, this time around, the demon in question seems to have a personal connection to the Warren family in Michael Chaves’s The Conjuring: Last Rites, which opens today in theaters.

In 1986, three generations of the Smurl family lived in their blue-collar suburban home, along with their new housemate, a demon. As a confirmation gift, Grandpa Smurl bought his granddaughter the most evil-looking mirror you could ever imagine. Obviously, that was a profound mistake. While the local diocese is ill-equipped to help the Smurls, the Warrens’ family friend, Father Gordon, understands the peril of their situation, but the demon gets to him before he can rouse the Church bureaucracy.

However, the Warrens’ grown daughter Judy traces the good Father’s final steps back to the Smurls. Ed and Lorraine had retired from paranormal field work, because of his heart condition. However, when they see the “black mirror,” they understand this case is personal. They previously encountered it in the prologue, which was the only case they walked away from out of fear.

The real-life Warrens were divisive figures, even among paranormal believers. Frankly, viewers should really just consider them original characters to the Conjuring Universe, because Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga portray them with such appealing earnestness. These films also position them as spouses and parents first and exorcists second, which is why the audience emotionally invests in them so easily.

Chaves previously helmed The Nun II and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It in the Conjuring Universe, so he has a clear affinity for the characters and the franchise’s more subtle approach to horror. Like its predecessors, Last Rites transforms everyday objects into sinister tools of the demonic. It is a slow build, but the mounting sense of dread is incredibly potent.

Despite their unfortunate name, the Smurls are a convincingly realistic family, who do not look like actors trying to dress down. The Conjuring films are always about families helping families, but that is especially true of Last Rites. As usual, the Warrens devote considerable time to consoling the distressed Smurls. It is not just their natural compassion. It is also part of a conscious strategy to disrupt what the Warrens identify as the second of the three stages of demonic activity: “infestation, oppression, and possession.”

Somnium: California Brainwashing

Dr. Katherine Shaffer’s treatment could be called “brainwashing for success.” If that sounds like the worst self-help program ever, it is because it is. Yet, since her clinic is in Hollywood, she has plenty of clients. Dakota certainly cannot afford her program, but she needs a job, so she starts working as the clinic’s night-minder in director-screenwriter Racheal Cain’s Somnium, which opens this Friday in LA.

Dakota left her small Georgia town with considerably more dreams than money. Rather recklessly, she faces potential eviction almost as soon as she moves in. Unfortunately, nobody is hiring, because of Newsom and Bass. Then she almost stumbles into the Somnium clinic, where Dr. Shaffer hires her, with practically no questions asked.

She will work the night shift, watching over patients in the sleeping pods. As part of Dr. Shaffer’s therapy, they receive subliminal positive reinforcement that will help them achieve their goals when they wake—except when it goes wrong. According to Noah, Shaffer’s deputy, sometimes the treatment drastically alters patients’ personalities. He should know, since he is conducting some kind of secret off-the-books research during late night hours.

Since she works nights, Dakota should have her days free for auditions. However, she has had little luck on that front either, even though Brooks, a mysterious producer, offered vague but tantalizing promises to help career. Frankly, it is weird that Dakota wants to be an actress, because she obviously has never seen any movies. Otherwise, she would have recognized Brooks as the sinister serpent that he clearly is.

As a film, Somnium exhibits loads of atmosphere, but most of the tension comes from whether or not Dakota will be rendered homeless and destitute. At times, the film seems to promise the laidback California-cool rendition of A Clockwork Orange, but Cain frustratingly keeps all the mind-warping skullduggery beyond arm’s length. Clearly, she prefers to imply rather than show, but at some point, genre business must be taken care of.

FrightFest ’25: Where is Juan Moctezuma

Juan F. Moctezuma II might be the only filmmaker who ever cost Roger Corman money. According to filmmaker and Moctezuma scholar Alaric S. Rocha, Corman financed the filmmaker’s final masterwork, but the Mexican auteur disappeared with all the film and negatives, never to be heard from again. It is hard to believe Corman could get played like that, so maybe that’s our first clue something Andy Kaufman-ish is going on in this documentary (should that be in quotes?). Either way, Rocha provides an affection tribute to Mexican macabre cinema in Where is Juan Moctezuma, which world premiered at FrightFest 2025.

Juan F. Moctezuma II is not Juan Lopez Moctezuma, who directed several horror films and had producer roles on two Jodorowsky films, but they share remarkably similar career arcs. However, Rocha’s Moctezuma now remains shrouded in mystery after disappearing with 1,000 Paths of Death, a sort of supernatural riff on The Searchers that Corman paid for (seriously, do you believe the King of the B’s would let that happen?).

Regardless, Moctezuma cuts a swath through every Mexican genre tradition, including Aztec folk horror and 1960s leftwing protest allegories. He too worked on Jodorowsky’s first two Mexican productions, just like his near-namesake.  Along the way, he earned a fitting nemesis, The Scorpion, the luchador who married Moctezuma’s muse. In fact, many of his films were deliberately conceived as gambits to win her heart back.

Scary Movies XIII: Noise

It is a lot easier to close your eyes than to close your ears. Ironically, in this case, Joo-young’s hearing aid finally represents an advantage. She has so much underdog cred (working a blue-collar factory job, with her hearing impairment), Joo-young looks like a natural “final girl” candidate. Regardless, finding her semi-estranged sister will be her primary goal in Kim Soo-jin’s Noise, which screens tonight as part of Scary Movies XIII.

Joo-young briefly lived with Joo-hee, but she tired of her sibling’s erratic behavior, so she moved out—right before things really got weird. According to the cops, Joo-hee has been missing for weeks. Yet, as soon as Joo-young moves back in, the crazy neighbor below complains of the constant noise coming from their empty apartment. This noise-rage taps into reportedly common Korean complaints, stemming from high population density and cheap concrete construction. Such inter-building noise is less of an issue here in New York. That’s why we love our “pre-war” buildings.

Indeed, the brutalist apartment complex is rife with weird, disconcerting noises. Even Joo-young can hear them when her hearing aid is turned on. Joo-hee’s boyfriend, Ki-hoon, does not have that option, but he doesn’t understand the degree of the audio distortion he will have to contend with when he offers to help Joo-young find her sister.

Rather cleverly, the FSLC paired Noise with the similarly audio-themed Rabbit Trap for their press screenings, but the public screenings fell on different days. Maybe that is just as well, because the two films together constitute an exhausting sensory overload. However, that also means both sound teams did some incredibly potent work.

Kim also cleverly capitalizes on Joo-young’s reliance on voice recognition apps and her on-and-off hearing aid to cleverly build suspense. Yet, despite a vibe and style clearly inspired by classic J-horror and K-horror, screenwriter Lee Je-hui maintains a coyness whether the film is supernatural horror, or a devious murder mystery of human origins and design. Either way, there are some deeply unnerving moments, thanks in large measure to the sinister sound.

Scary Movies XIII: Rabbit Trap

Daphne Davenport was on pace to become another Laurie Anderson or Naim June Paik. She describes her concrete-adjacent electronic-distorted found music as “influential” rather than popular. Unfortunately, true fame will probably elude her, because she is a character in a horror film. She hoped to discover some inspiring natural sounds with her recording engineer husband Darcy, but they also find a sinister wild child in director-screenwriter Bryn Chainey’s Rabbit Trap, produced by SpectreVision, which screens tonight as part of Scary Movies XIII.

Daphne is the “artiste” and Darcy is her enabler. He spends hours doing the legwork, roaming the Welsh moors, making field recordings of squishy-squashy natural noises, which she samples into her industrial soundscapes. It is a reclusive life, but apparently, they needed to get away from the London scene. They are also clearly carrying a lot of baggage that they never discuss, but it comes to a boil when the kid shows up.

Even the Da-Da’s notice how cagily their visitor remains nameless. However, the wild child brims with knowledge regarding the local animals and flora. The strange youngster even seems to have a special connection to the rabbits, especially the dead ones. Indeed, the nature child should remind Nat Kind Cole fans that “Nature Boy” is actually an extremely creepy song. Yet, despite this squirreliness, Daphne forges an unhealthy attachment to “the child,” which encourages not-so-subtle attempts to undermine her marriage.

Soon, Darcy starts freaking out over their little stalker’s behavior. He also passes out and loses time after ill-advisedly walking into a fairy circle. Admittedly, the little weirdo warned him not to do it, but he did so anyway, losing time and consciousness as a result.

In some ways, Rabbit Trap is like an Enys Men, flavored with an extract of Blow Out, which makes it ten times more grounded. The folk horror runs heavy in these parts. The atmosphere is thick and it has amazingly clear audio fidelity. The grungy 1970s period details are also highly evocative. Frankly, this is a world you wouldn’t want to visit, but it definitely sounds massively eerie.

Witchboard, Chuck Russell’s Reboot

It used to be a garden variety Ouija board that picked up a bad passenger, but for the reboot, it has been upgraded to a very rare and very evil antique. That will not be a trade-up for those who handle it. At least the food is better this time around, because the setting moved from California to New Orleans. However, a young woman still falls under the sway of a creepy forerunner to the magic 8-ball in Chuck Russell’s Witchboard, which opens today in theaters.

Emily, her fiancé Christian, and their friends were out foraging for mushrooms when she stumbled across the evil board. They weren’t for recreational purposes. They are for the opening of Christian’s hipster restaurant. Apparently, everyone was so busy planning for the premiere, they missed the news of the museum heist that made off with a notorious witchcraft relic.

The board still basically works the same way. It just has more bells and whistles. Ominously, Emily grows increasingly obsessed with the board’s divining powers, after it leads her to her misplaced engagement ring. Indeed, the recovering Emily has an addictive personality that makes her acutely susceptible to the board’s malevolent influence.

Nobody really thinks about why the board was there in the first place. Anne Ricey-looking Alexander Babtiste, a wealthy expert in the dark arts, commissioned the theft, but was double-crossed by the hoodlum now decomposing in the forest. Ill-advisedly, Christian’s torch-carrying but well-meaning ex, Brooke, refers Christian to Babtiste for occult guidance. Clearly, he does not have Emily’s best interests at heart.

Russell and co-screenwriter Greg McKay’s screenplay wildly departs from the 1986 original, but Babtiste’s shadowy conspiracy to resurrect a notorious 17^th Century witch is the best thing going for the film, admittedly in a wacky and outlandish kind of way. There are times when the film ventures quite deeply into the tall weeds of left field (to compound metaphors).

Went Up the Hill: A Ghost Story

When you reach a certain age, nursery rhymes start sounding creepy. Jack and Jill are definitely old enough, so maybe the irony of their names should have been their first warning. He journeyed to New Zealand’s least populous South Island to mourn his long-estranged mother, but maybe she isn’t really gone, at least not completely in Samuel Van Grinsven’s Went Up the Hill, which opens today in theaters.

The late Elizabeth’s grieving wife Jill is surprised to see Jack at her wake, while Jack is surprised that she is surprised, because Jill called him, asking him to come—or so he thought. Nevertheless, Jill immediately agrees he should be there and runs interference with Elizabeth’s inhospitable sister Helen. Jack never really knew the mother who gave him for adoption at a very young age. Yet, he and Jill quickly bond in their radically different forms of grief.

Jack yearns for answers from his mother, which Jill helps facilitate when Elizabeth’s spirit (call it whatever you prefer) takes possession of her body. The supernatural communication works both ways, allowing Jill to talk to Elizabeth when she possesses her son, in turn. The process just requires both son and wife to be asleep, allowing Elizabeth to jump from one body to another. Initially, the ghostly encounters are consoling, but viewers soon start to suspect the deceased profoundly mistreated both Jack and Jill.

Went Up the Hill is an unusually elegant and austere ghost story—so much so, some critics argue it isn’t really horror. Yet, Van Grinsven’s film is far scarier than supposed horror movies like Get Out or Bodies Bodies Bodies. Those films have their merits, but they aren’t really scary. In contrast, there are moments in Hill that will chill you to the bone and make your hair stand on end. In terms of tone and potency, it compares favorably (but does not surpass) Assayas’s Personal Shopper.

Shaman: Missionary Horror

According to this film, Christian missionary work is tantamount to a deadly sin. Candice and her family came to Ecuador to provide food, teach English, and share the faith that has provided them inspiration and sustenance. Evidently, this is evil, in a “white savior” kind of way, so they will pay, horrifically, in Antonio Negret’s Shaman, which releases this Friday in theaters and on digital.

Frankly, Candice’s faith is fairly well earned at this point. From her perspective, it was thanks to God’s blessings that her husband Joel overcame his severe drug addiction. Their faith and gratitude led them to their current missionary postings at the foot of the Andes, but their son punky Elliot is less than thrilled with the arrangement. Nevertheless, their faith has been rewarded with yet another baptism as the film opens. Of course, that bores Elliot, so he wanders into a cave, where he awakens the ancient evil spirit, Supay.

After a long search, Candice retrieves the half-catatonic Elliot from the local Shaman’s dugout. His behavior changes drastically during the following days. At first, they suspect the Shaman dosed him with mind-altering substances, but eventually Father Meyer agrees to conduct an unsanctioned exorcism. The priest is a good man, but his faith has wavered, which is less than optimal for demon-dispelling, especially when the old, old-timers keep making ominous statements like: “your God has no power here.”

Honestly, the approach of director Antonio Negret and screenwriter Daniel Negret is so heavy-handed, it might leave fingerprints on your eyeballs. Obviously, they consider missionary outreach an original sin that demands retribution.

It is a shame, because the clash of cultures and beliefs could have provided an intriguing backdrop for a fusion of folk horror and demonic possession horror. (After all, Father Merrin managed to fight demons in Kenya throughout Dominion: The Prequel to the Exorcist.) In this case the Negrets also give their most compelling character, Father Meyer, decidedly shabby treatment.

Clown in a Cornfield, on Shudder

This is slasher horror, but it obviously brings to mind some of Stephen King’s greatest hits. Think of it as Children of the Corn, with Pennywise’s makeup and wardrobe. Obnoxious, entitled teens had better beware in Eli Craig’s Clown in a Cornfield, based on Adam Cesare’s novel, which premieres this Friday on Shudder.

After her mother’s tragic death, Quinn Maybrook’s father, Dr. Glenn, relocated to quiet Kettle Springs, MO, despite her reservations. She quickly falls in with the cool kids, but ironically Cole Hill and his pals are pariahs amongst Kettle Springs adults. Awkwardly, they were trespassing in the local factory, filming one of their smartphone horror movies on the very night the town’s main source of employment burned to the ground. Technically, they were cleared by the investigation, but everyone rendered unemployed still blames them.

One of their favorite subjects is Frendo the Clown, who was like the Mr. Peanut of Baypen Corn Syrup, which wasformerly manufactured at the now destroyed factory. Periodically, slasher killers have hacked up Kettle Springs teenagers while dressed as Frendo, as viewers witnessed during the 1991 prologue. Clearly, someone has revived the tradition, specifically with the intent of targeting Hill’s cronies. Inconveniently, for the Maybrooks, that now includes Quinn.

Craig and co-screenwriter Carter Blanchard deftly split the difference between knowing irony and faithful reverence for the old school slasher genre. Craig and company spare us the constant stream of hipster commentary. Yet, a sly sense of humor peaks through, from time to time, as when the Gen Z kids panic when confronting the mysteries of rotary phones and stick shift cars.

Katie Douglas and Carson MacCormac bring a lot of energy to the film and develop decent rapport as Maybrook and Hill. However, Aaron Abrams really elevates the film as Dr. Maybrook, who is unusually resourceful and relatable for a horror movie parent.

River of Blood: Light-Weight Cannibal Exploitation

Neither Margaret Mead or Napoleon Chagnon probably would have served as advisors on this film, even if they were still alive. The indigenous tribe in question is scary and it eats people. Sure, their guide talks a good game regarding the modern world encroaching and on their habitat, blah, blah, blah. Cultural relativity sounds all well and good until someone tries to eat you. That will be a real possibility when the tourists take a wrong turn in Howard J. Ford’s River of Blood, which releases this Friday in theaters and on VOD.

Ritchie and Jasmine are vacationing with AJ and Maya, even though AJ is sleeping with Jasmine. Frankly, it is a mystery why Jasmine would agree to such an affair, since Ritchie is exponentially richer and surly AJ clearly resents his success. Cheating on Maya happens to be a really bad idea too, since he works for her father. So, that is the baggage they take on their kayaking excursion with Nick an expatriate guide.

Nick is the most reasonable, level-headed character of the lot of them. Nevertheless, he finds himself stuck in the same metaphorical boat as his clients, when Ritchie gets into a snit and wanders off into cannibal territory. Of course, he makes them promise to turn back as soon as they retrieve their wayward friend, but we all know that isn’t going to work, because we’ve seen the prologue.

River of Blood is no Cannibal Holocaust. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is up to you to decide. As you might guess, Ford’s film is much tamer. Yet, there is a throwback grunginess that some cult movie fans will find refreshing. Despite the lip service to green and multicultural values, there is no getting around the fact that the indigenous people are out to eat to modern interlopers. Indeed, Ford and screenwriter Tom Boyle seem to be daring critics to label their film—gasp—problematic. So you have to salute their truly independent spirit.

Et Tu, Starring Malcolm McDowell & Lou Diamond Phillips

Sure, this Shakespearean production has been rocky, but imagine how much worse it would be if they were performing the Scottish Play. They are staging Julius Caesar instead, so Brent the director cannot fault the writer. However, the lead is objectively bad and many cast and crew members just rub him the wrong way. The theater’s sinister history inspires him to make sudden personnel changes in director-screenwriter Max Tzannes’ Et Tu, which just released on VOD.

Marcus has no talent, but his father is bankrolling the production, so he is playing Brutus. It is a shame, because his understudy Terrence can actually act. Margaret, the understudy for Portia would also be a trade-up, especially since she and Terrence have some off-stage chemistry percolating.

It sure would be nice to get rid of Marcus, especially since he rough-houses with the prop daggers. To make his irresponsible behavior worse, someone has been sharpening those stage weapons. The mysterious janitor seems to understand Brent’s dilemma, He also encourages the director’s worst impulses.

Et Tu is a scrappy little macabre tale that is often quite clever. It is probably safe to label it horror, considering there is more than enough killing, as well as mild supernatural overtones. Yet, instead of scaring viewers, it invites us to take voyeuristic glee in the deadly mayhem, which admittedly gets entertainingly bloody.

Eye for an Eye, Co-Starring S. Epatha Merkerson

This Bogeyman follows a long, time-honored tradition in horror. It targets bullies. EC Comics would approve. Bullying has often resulted in macabre comeuppance, but the so-called “Sandman” specifically responds to the bullied to call out their abusers. The guilty receive visits from the Sandman—in their dreams, but the physical scars are always permanent in Colin Tilley’s Eye for an Eye, which releases this Friday in theaters and on demand.

Anna Reeves’ grandmother May Roberts was a popular mean girl in high school, but she never graduated, because of the Sandman. Now, she is a mean old blind woman, but Reeves is sent to live with her anyway after her parents are killed in a traffic accident. Sadly, it was her sister, Reeves’ Aunt Patti who appealed to Sandman for relief from Roberts’ grief.

Out in the swamp, there is a tree where a blind little boy Vincent was reputedly killed by his bullies. According to local lore, if the grossly abused carve the names of their tormentors into the bark, the Sandman starts afflicting them with nightmares. When the sands in his hourglass expire, the Sandman then takes the bullies’ eyes as his punitive prize.

None of this should particularly concern a basically good kid like Reeves. However, she unwisely befriends Julie Cross and her nasty white trash boyfriend Shawn Heard, who thuggishly roughs up a young boy, breaking his leg, while stealing his skates. Much to her shame, Reeve stood by doing nothing to defend him. Her regret increases exponentially when Aunt Patti directs the traumatized boy to Sandman’s tree.

Weirdly, Eye for an Eye shares many common elements with Sidharta Tata’s Soul Reaper, from Indonesia. In both films, the young lead character is menaced by a supernatural stalker in their nightmares, after the accidental deaths of their parents. However, Soul Reaper is by far the more successful and scarier film.

Still, Eye for an Eye notably presents S. Epatha Merkerson, whom most viewers know from several thousand Law & Order and One Chicago episodes in a macabre context, as creepy Grandma Roberts. She is definitely unsettling, chewing the scenery and making the most of a role outside her typical casting zone.

Soul Reaper, Another Strong Horror Film from Indonesia

It is bad enough being in your own nightmare. Finding yourself trapped in someone else’s is even worse. Teenaged Respati discovers he has the power to travel to the dream dimension to witness other people’s nightmares—and their murders, whether he likes it or not. Unfortunately, he does not enjoy it anymore than the Nightmare Detective from the Japanese horror franchise. However, the new girl at school might have some helpful insight for him in Sidharta Tata’s Soul Reaper, which releases today on VOD.

Ever since the accidental death of his parents, Respati has suffered from vivid nightmares. Often, he witnesses their cruel final moments, but lately, he has also dreamed of murders before (or maybe as) they happened. Consequently, his health has suffered from what his guardian grandfather assumes is insomnia. Much to his shock, his recently transferred classmate Wulan seems to understand when he experiences a waking dream. She also has a capacity to consciously explore the dream realm, but it is much more limited compared to his.

Respati’s best bud Tirta makes an alarming connection between the victims he saw killed in his dreams. They all originally hailed from the same village. Ominously, it is the same village that was home to his grandfather for twenty years. According to legend, the villagers had elevated psychic receptivity thanks to the local flora. They also a had a murderous witch, until the villagers turned against her.

Soul Reaper follows in the tradition of Nightmare Detective (and to an extent, Nightmare on Elm Street), because it is the kind of horror movie that derives its terrors from the landscapes of the subconscious and nightmares. In fact, it does so quite successfully. Tata creates an atmosphere of dread that grows steadily heavier as the film progresses.

The Ritual: Based on the “Real-Life” Story of Emma Schmidt

Father Carl Vogl’s book, Begone Satan was like the 1930’s equivalent of Jay Anson’s Amityville Horror. It convinced a lot of otherwise skeptical readers that Satanic supernatural horror might really be real. Anson’s book had multiple movie treatments, of radically varying quality. Now the case Father Vogl (and also Time magazine) documented has inspired David Midell’s The Ritual, which opens today in theaters.

Father Joseph Steiger is a man of the cloth, but he also considers himself a modern man of reason, so he is stunned and confused when his Monsignor orders him to host the exorcism of Emma Schmidt. The exorcist will be Father Theophilus Riesinger, a Capuchin priest with a history of battling demonic possession. In fact, he already attempted a previous exorcism of Schmidt several years prior.

However, Father Steiger is skeptical, He frequently suggests Schmidt would be better off with a psychiatrist rather than an exorcist. Unfortunately, she and Riesinger arrived while he was amidst a full-blown crisis of faith, precipitated by his brother’s shocking suicide. Frankly, viewers might think the chaos unlashed during Riesinger’s exorcism sessions, which injures several attending nuns, should convince the good Father (and he is a good Father) that something uncanny and evil plagues Schmidt. However, doubt is powerful and it undermines faith, making men vulnerable to evil.

Indeed, doubt is a very human weakness, which is really the film’s bedrock theme. It is Father Steiger’s doubt and Father Riesinger’s guilt that the Evil One exploits. Yet, their weaknesses also make the priests ever so human.

Arguably, Dan Stevens might just deliver his best performance since Downton Abbey portraying the very American looking and sounding Father Steiger. He is keenly sympathetic, even when he chastely flirts with Sister Rose (his “work wife”). Similarly, Al Pacino does his best work in years as Father Riesinger. Admittedly, his accent is highly dubious, but at least it is consistent. More to the point, he forgoes all his usual tics, mannerisms, and Hoo-ah’s, disappearing into the character instead.

The Unholy, Based on a James Herbert Novel

Late horror novelist James Herbert was often dubbed by critics “the British Stephen King,” but his American publishers were never able to translate those comparisons into sales for their editions. Believe me—I was once involved with such efforts. At least the book was good. Six film adaptations did not push him onto U.S. bestseller lists either, even though several were quite well-made. It opened to little fanfare, but the archetypal horrors resonate surprisingly deeply in director-screenwriter Evan Spiliotopouplos’s The Unholy, produced by Sam Raimi and based on Herbert’s Shrine, which airs tomorrow for service personnel on American Forces Network.

Gerald Fenn is a lot like many journalists, but he got caught fabricating his fake news stories. Ten years into his disgrace, Fenn survives by reporting on questionable occult phenomenon for a tabloid. Although a reported cattle mutilation is too bogus even for his standards, he finds a potential consolation prize when he unearths a kern doll on the farmer’s land. Unwisely, he smashes the head to make it look creepier.

The next day, the deaf-mute orphan Alice Pagett is miraculously cured. She claims she heard the Virgin Mary speak to her and then channels her divine power to cure others. Soon, Banfield, MA appears on track to become the next Lourdes. Boston’s Bishop Gyles assumes control of the scene, while Monsignor Delgarde from the Vatican investigates whether the reported healings truly qualify as miracles.

However, her guardian-uncle, Father William Hagen has visions of a demonic figure standing behind Pagett. That would be a very different Mary. Mary Elnor is a witch-turned-demon, who sold her soul to Satan, before the Puritans sealed her into the Kern baby during the prologue. Fenn botched this assignment even worse, but he valiantly fights to make amends.

Spiliotopouplos’s adaptation of Herbert’s novel embraces big, cosmic themes of good and evil, taking direct inspiration from the Biblical commandment against worshipping false idols. It also reflects a current split in the Church, represented by the smooth Cardinal Gyles and the more conservative Monsignor Delgarde. Regardless, the good Father Hagan is indeed a good Father, who might have been the most sympathetic priest portrayed in film during the entire year of 2021.

The film’s second great strength is its cast of character actors, very definitely including William Sadler, whose portrayal of Father Hagan is often quite poignant. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is suitably rumpled as Fenn, who perhaps fittingly loses his cynicism when confronting the horrors that unfold. Diogo Morgado (best known for playing Jesus in multiple projects) is a forceful, reassuring presence as Monsignor Delgarde, who demonstrates faith and intellectual rigor are not mutually exclusive. Cary Elwes (playing according to type) is amusingly slick and wily as the shortsighted Bishop.

The Darkside of Society, Narrated by Julian Sands

Many horror movies, like Texas Chainsaw Massacre pretend to be “based on a true story.” Brian Yuzna’s Society actually was, but screenwriter Woody Keith, now known as Zeph E. Daniel, did not realize it, even though it was his story. He had just repressed the horrors he endured. It is crazy stranger-than-fiction testimony you might not totally believe, but you will never be bored by Larry Wade Carrell’s documentary, The Darkside of Society, which releases today on VOD.

If you know the cult classic movie, Daniel never claims to have survived the grotesque body-horror conclusion referred to as the “Shunting.” Instead, he explains how his parents, especially his mother groomed him to be the sacrifice of a satanic ritual, much like the lead character, Bill Whitney. That’s right, the much maligned “Satanic Panic” was in fact based in grisly fact.

According to Daniel, his mother was the chief architect of his torment, or at least her satanic witch personalities. She also had nurturing Christian personalities. However, her dark side nearly killed Daniel several times.

If any of this is true, Daniel deserves great sympathy and tremendous credit for overcoming such adversity. Also, his expression of Christian forgiveness sounds genuine and laudable. On the other hand, if this is an extended put-on to create a prequel to Society that is equal parts David Lynch and Andy Kaufman then hats off to Daniel and Carell. Either way, it is an eerily fascinating film that takes the so-called “Satanic Panic” seriously, instead of trying to laugh it away.

Indeed, Darkside is unlike any other horror movie documentary, in which the cast-members prattle on about how gratifying it is to be a part of something that still means so much to the fans. Aside from Daniel, the only major cast or crew members who appear in Darkside are Yuzna and special effects artist Screaming Mad George. However, horror filmmaker Richard Stanley (who is also an abuse survivor) appears to discuss the kind of ritualistic menacing Daniel describes.

Constantine: City of Demons—The Movie

In the DC Universes, nobody inspires more confidence than Superman, but magic represents his second greatest weakness after Kryptonite. Occult detective John Constantine is far less reliable or trustworthy, but he is still your better bet to exorcize a demonic possession. Unfortunately, his oldest long-suffering friend Chas Chandler must ask his help for exactly that reason in Doug Murphy’s DCanimated feature, Constantine: City of Demons—The Movie, which would make appropriate viewing today, even though it feels a little awkward to celebrate Constantine’s birthday if you know the sad circumstances of his birth.

Indeed, Constantine endured his share of trauma, which made him the miserable sod fans know and love. Having survived his tragic family life, Constantine embraced his magical lineage, but his first foray into dark magic ended in disaster. As a result, he was admitted to Ravenscar Mental Hospital, where loyal Chandler still regularly visited him.

Eventually Constantine’s swagger returned and his mastery of the occult arts grew. Consequently, Chandler understands his old friend will be more help than modern medicine when his daughter Trish falls into a supernaturally induced coma. Given their shared history, Constantine cannot deny him. Unfortunately, that is exactly what the responsible demon was counting on, as he explains when he lures Constantine to Los Angeles.

City of Demons might be the goriest DC movie ever (and it is hard to think of anything from Marvel that comes remotely close). Regardless, if you enjoy demonic horror, this film delivers. At least it is a film now. City of Demons was compiled and expanded from an original CW Seed series, but it never feels episodic.

The Moogai, from Australia

It is sort of like a supernatural dingo, who is out to steal Sarah’s baby, Jacob. Unfortunately, few people believe in that folky monster, much like Meryl Streep’s cradle-snatching dingoes in A Cry in the Dark. Sadly, that even includes Sarah herself (at least for most of the film). Of course, her long-absent birth-mother, Ruth knows only too well the creature exists, because she only barely survived an encounter with it during her childhood. She is the best hope to save Jacob, but Sarah’s skepticism (and the “dominant” white culture she is responding to) make Ruth’s mission even more difficult in director-screenwriter Jon Bell’s The Moogai, which opens in theaters this Friday.

Sarah is actually crushing it brokering M&A deals for her firm. Arguably, she is sort of having it all, balancing her career in finance with motherhood. That luck ran out when she went into labor with Jacob. Technically, the difficult delivery killed her for several seconds, but somehow the insensitive Anglo-Aussie doctor revived her.

Of course, he prescribes plenty of rest, but Sarah starts to fear sleep, because of the freaky nightmares, featuring an eerie looking little girl and a nasty monster with long taloned fingers. Ruth would know that is the Moogai, because it left the scars that still mark her face. However, Sarah remains rejects all the old superstition. Believing her mother abandoned her, she instinctively distanced herself from aboriginal culture. Her blokey husband Fergus is more receptive to tradition, but he still assumes she suffers from an acute form of post-partum psychosis.

To suggest Bell’s use of the Moogai as a metaphor for racist Australian policies towards the Aboriginal population is heavy-handed would be an understatement. Alas, The Moogai is definitely the sort of film where the message comes first and everything else is secondary.

That is a shame, because the Moogai is creepy monster that taps into universal fears of childhood boogeymen, regardless of viewers’ cultural backgrounds. Indeed, Bell displays sound instincts when it comes to deciding how much of the monster to show throughout the film.

The Woman in the Yard, Opening in Brazil

Garden gnomes will not look like such eye-sores after a day of staring at her. Unfortunately, there is nothing kitschy about the veiled woman regally sitting in her chair, who appeared in front of Ramona’s house one morning. Ominously, she seems to get closer and closer without visibly moving. Understandably, she quite alarms Ramona’s two children, especially since the grieving widow might have a pretty good notion as to why she is there—and it isn’t good. Regardless, the figure in black won’t be leaving anytime soon in Jaume Collet-Serra’s Blumhouse produced The Woman in the Yard, which opens in its final major international market, Brazil (or rather Brasil), this Thursday.

Ramona has not been coping well with  her husband David’s death, for especially painful reasons that will be revealed later, but astute viewers will have already guessed. Arguably, her teen son Tay (for Taylor) has largely been taking care of her and his little sister Annie, but inconveniently, that did not include paying the electric bill. With the power out, neither he nor his mother can recharge their phones, so the family finds themselves stuck in their isolated fixer-upper farmhouse, to face the woman alone.

For a while, she just gives cryptic, but spooky and vaguely threatening answers to Ramona’s questions. However, around late afternoon, she “reaching into” the house through the sunlight, to torment the family in a more “hands on” manner.

In fact, the first two acts are quite effective at establishing the atmosphere of mystery and dread. Collet-Serra and cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski literally just filmed shadowy woman sitting on a chair, but they make her truly scary. Even though she remains chairbound nearly the entire film, Okwui Okpokwasili also hits the perfect note of eerie but hard-to-pin-down supernatural menace.

Yet, to the film’s great detriment, the ending has been widely considered both a considerable disappointment and highly divisive—with justifiable reason. Frankly, it is easy to imagine Sam Stefanak’s screenplay originally had a darker, edgier conclusion that was toned down with meat cleaver edits. As it currently stands (or rather sits), the film ends quite abruptly, leaving the audience with [perhaps unintended] unresolved ambiguities.

Daydreamers: Vampires in Vietnam

The rules for these vampires will sound familiar. Sunlight and fire are sure ways to kill them. They are also vulnerable to silver, but its best to aim for the heart. Of course, once you are a vampire there is no going back—except Nhat’s faction believes they can change back, through sheer discipline and alternate blood sources. However, his brother Marco’s clan thinks differently and hunts accordingly. They also happen to be the better looking vampires in Timothy Linh Bui’s Daydreamers, which is now playing in very limited theaters.

Nhat “lives” cooperatively with the “House Boat” vampires, led by Vy, who aspires to follow the example of a folkloric monk, who cured his vampirism with a diet of rat blood and will power. According to the legend, it took him more than a few centuries, which leaves plenty of time for Nhat’s fellow vampires to succumb to their hunger.

Marco is the lover of Trieu, the Vampire queen of Ho Chi Minh City. They are definitely vampires in the hedonistic Anne Rice tradition. Nhat’s vampires scrupulously observe the ancient vampire rule: “kill no human,” which Trieu’s vampires corrupted into “leave no witnesses.” Despite their differences, Nhat is initially happy to reconnect with Marco. However, he inadvertently reveals himself to the mortal Ha, during their celebratory clubbing. For Marco and Trieu, this problem is easily solved. However, Nhat becomes Ha’s protector instead.

The basic story, credited to Bui and Doan Si Nguuyen, incorporates a lot of familiar vampire terrain, with amble precedent in the Lestat and Underworld franchises. However, Daydreamers’ vampire backstory, including the undead flight from Europe to Indochina and the legend of the monk, gives it a richer texture. The exotic Vietnamese setting also helps distinguish the film from its legion of competitors. In fact, the tone shares a kinship with some of Joko Anwar’s creepier Indonesian horror films.