Tag Archives: Horror

Dust Bunny (2025)

13 Friday Nov 2026

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Cognizance is confidence,
And knowledge makes a fellow brave.
But thinking one knows everything
Is the surest path to an early grave.

I know monsters are not real,
But should monstrosities exist,
My believing has no bearing
Once I’m in the monsters’ midst.
____________________

MPA rating: R (for violence but honestly it should be PG-13)

When people complain about there not being any original movies anymore, it’s a sign that they simply aren’t paying attention. While franchises may be Hollywood’s bread and butter, plenty of gems fly under the radar, and Dust Bunny is a prime example. Written and directed by TV maestro Bryan Fuller, the film is hard to categorize, towing the line between action, horror, fantasy, and family film to create a remarkably stylish and confident directorial debut.

Imagine if Roald Dahl wrote a dark fantasy in the John Wick universe. That comes close to describing Dust Bunny, wherein foster kid Aurora (Sophie Sloan) keeps having her families disappear, and she insists they were eaten by a monster under her bed. She eventually turns to her mysterious neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen), a hitman who can surely kill it for her, but they are soon beset by killers from without and a creature from below.

Part of the appeal of this genre mixing is that the characters think they are in different movies, so to speak. Aurora is entirely convinced that monsters that swim through the floorboards like a furry shark are real, while her new friend (known only as Resident 5B or Intriguing Neighbor) is equally convinced that she simply has a wild imagination and that his own wacky and ruthless world of contract killers is the true cause of her family troubles. In time, they bond over their loneliness and seek to protect each other, even as the fantasy and noir clash in deadly chaos, and Mikkelsen and Sloane have a great winking chemistry with each other, both well aware they know more than the other.

Another aspect I love is the production design, which I think was criminally snubbed for an Oscar nomination. The apartment building is an Art Nouveau time capsule from Hungary, and the ornate sets and dynamic wallpapers really give the film a unique and whimsical character. The costumes are also a stand-out, colorful and evocative of 1960s styles without ever specifying a time or place. So much of it is simply fun to look at, and there’s a chicken-butt lamp that made me laugh just seeing it.

In short, Dust Bunny is a strange delight, a showcase of hitmen and monsters and Sigourney Weaver firing guns in her heels. It also feels like a prime candidate for introducing older kids to darker themes; despite its R rating, much of it plays like a family film with zero profanity and little blood, though there are still mature elements like cutting up a body offscreen. With Hannibal and now this film, Mikkelsen and Fuller have a strong partnership, and I certainly hope they can collaborate on more projects like this.

Best line: (Intriguing Neighbor) “Monsters aren’t real.”
(Aurora) “Yes, they are. Don’t pretend.”
(Neighbor) “Grown-ups don’t pretend.”
(Aurora) “Grown-ups pretend not to be afraid, but they are… all the time.”

Rank: List-Worthy

© 2026 S.G. Liput
799 Followers and Counting

Don’t Breathe (2016)

12 Thursday Nov 2026

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Don’t breathe
Or speak.
Don’t dare
To peek.
You thought
Him weak,
But he’s
A freak,
And you’re
Dead meat
If not
Discreet.
If you
Should meet
Upon
The street,
You’d think
Him meek,
A sad
Antique.
But now,
You sneak,
Try not
To shriek.
The floor
Could creak
Or your
Heartbeat
Could bring
Defeat
In dark-
Ness bleak.
You hide;
He’ll seek.
___________________

MPA rating: R (for language, brief violence, disturbing plot elements)

As horror movies go, I must admit that Don’t Breathe has some seriously false advertising; there was a surprising amount of breathing on display. But I won’t hold that against this Fede Álvarez nailbiter because it’s exactly the kind of horror movie I prefer, one built on tension rather than gore, as well as an unconventional villain.

Three Detroit burglars – Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette), and Money (Daniel Zovatto) – are eager for a big haul and, despite some second thoughts, decide to rob an old blind man named Norman (Stephen Lang), a veteran who supposedly has hundreds of thousands of dollars hidden in his home. Underestimating the homeowner, the trio are soon faced with a far more formidable threat than they would have expected, one with secrets and well accustomed to the dark.

Don’t Breathe starts by playing with your sympathies. Needing money to escape her abusive home life, Rocky at least has a good reason, but just the notion of stealing from a disabled veteran feels especially wrong. Yet the tables are quickly turned when Norman proves to be ruthless and depraved in his own way. From there, it’s a highly entertaining game of cat-and-mouse as the robbers seek to stay quiet enough to outwit the threat, his lack of sight proving to be a boon and a liability in various situations.

Levy and Minnette are great under stress here, while Lang makes for an iconic antagonist, quiet, pitiless, and more tenacious than you’d ever expect from a senior citizen. With its dark locked-down environment and tense chases, I can see why Álvarez was a good choice for Alien: Romulus. If he can make even an old man scary, he clearly knows what he’s doing in the horror genre.

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2026 S.G. Liput
798 Followers and Counting

The Black Phone (2021)

10 Tuesday Nov 2026

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The phone is ringing,
And it’s for you.

There’s no one on the other end,
No wicked foe, no missing friend,
But no one has a message to send,
And it’s for you.

You hear a ragged breath and pause
To listen to the creaking jaws
Of no one breaking nature’s laws,
And it’s for you.

Their words are ringing in your head,
A warning no one could have said.
The ring is loud; the line is dead,
And it’s for you.
___________________

MPA rating: R (for language, brief violence, and terror)

Writer-director Scott Derrickson may not yet be a household name of the horror genre, but he’s getting there. An adaptation of a short story by Joe Hill, The Black Phone is set in 1978 suburban Colorado, in the midst of a rash of child kidnappings attributed to the Grabber. After his sole friend becomes a victim, outcast Finney Blake (Mason Thames) soon suffers the same fate, spirited away in a black van only to wake up imprisoned in a basement. While his psychic sister Gwen (Madeleine McGraw) searches for him, Finney is toyed with by the unstable Grabber (Ethan Hawke, hidden behind a menacing mask), and a phone in the basement delivers calls from the predator’s former victims.

The Black Phone works on many levels: as a semi-autobiographical portrait of 1970s suburbia, as a coming-of-age for a kid fighting for respect, and as a serial killer tale with a supernatural twist. Hawke is a threatening presence, a victim of some trauma that has made him unpredictable and bloodthirsty, and the mask seems custom-built to join the ranks of iconic killer Halloween costumes. The phone is likewise effectively creepy in its lack of explanation, a way for Finney specifically to gain insight on the danger facing him from those who could not survive it previously. The role of the psychic sister feels ancillary to the more interesting elements but still contributes in an unexpected way by the end.

The Black Phone isn’t the scariest horror out there and borrows some beats from other films like Misery, but it has all the ingredients for a memorable chiller. Thames especially was a fantastic find as the child actor lead, and it’s gratifying to see him get higher-profile roles since, like in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon. Now, as someone with a disconnected landline in the house, I’ll just be praying that it never rings.

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2026 S.G. Liput
799 Followers and Counting

Good Boy (2025)

05 Thursday Nov 2026

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He fed me this morning and ruffled my ears.
I licked at his face, and it tasted like tears.
He packed up and moved for the first time in years,
But I love him.

The new place is dusty; he gave me a tour,
And when it gets dark, from behind the closed door,
I hear things, like… crying? It’s hard to be sure,
But I love him.

I’m getting this feeling that something’s not right:
The coughing continues long into the night.
He hugged me a while and a little too tight,
But I love him.

My ears could use ruffling, my bowl needs a fill.
The house has a definite desolate chill.
He’s not waking up; I’m not sure if he will,
But I love him.
_____________________

MPA rating: PG-13 (brief language, intense scary moments)

While it might be tempting to write off a horror film built on a gimmick, it all depends on how well it delivers on said gimmick, and it’s a treat when it does. Good Boy made some waves last year as “the scary movie with the dog,” even landing a historic acting nomination and win for its canine star Indy at the Astra Film Awards. It’s a credit to animal actors in general, though I would say that performance owes more to the direction and editing than the dog himself.

If you’ve ever joked or wondered about your pet reacting to the supernatural as an explanation for odd behavior, Good Boy takes that idea and runs into the dark cellar with it. A Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Indy belongs to first-time director Ben Leonberg in real life and to the ailing Todd (Shane Jensen) in the film, who deals with an unspecified lung disease by moving into his grandfather’s abandoned house in the woods. While Todd, his face always out of camerashot since everything is from Indy’s point of view, explores and reminisces without much concern, Indy is able to notice the increasingly hostile presence within the house, hiding within shadows and preying on his owner’s worsening health. But what is a dog to do against such a dark force?

Like another film I hope to review soon No One Will Save You, I am fascinated when a film manages to tell a compelling story with a minimum of dialogue, letting character come through via action and expression alone. While there is dialogue from Todd and a few others, Indy is clearly the star, and the surprisingly dark tale of death and grief that plays out is as affecting as it is because of his naturally lovable role and his clear love for his master. Restricting the camera to his level also breeds a fantastically foreboding atmosphere, letting him encounter creepy things that a dog surely doesn’t understand and allowing uneasy dread to morph into some expertly delivered jump scares.

While it’s debatable whether a dog actually deserves an acting award, I think the film absolutely merits its accolades. The editing especially sells Indy’s reactions, thanks to the Kuleshov effect, which wrings emotion and meaning from one shot (like the dog’s face) based on what was just shown before. It certainly makes me curious to see what Leonberg’s next film will bring. Good Boy surpasses its simple premise, serving as both a technical showcase of human and canine talent and a darn good haunted house flick.

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2026 S.G. Liput
799 Followers and Counting

Hokum (2026)

02 Monday Nov 2026

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‘Tis dark tonight
And darker still
The heart of one
With time to fill
With thoughts in thrall
And alcohol
And none to slow
Their slide downhill.

‘Tis dark tonight,
And darkness grows
Where monsters sleep
And shadows doze.
With one mistake,
The spell could break
And fell a fool
Like dominoes.

‘Tis dark tonight,
And dark it stays
As long as men
Walk wicked ways.
We’re terrified
The more we hide
Until the morning’s
Warming rays.
___________________

MPA rating: R (for brief violence, corpses, intense scares)

As many others do, I dove into the horror genre this October, more so than in past years, intending to deliver some reviews before Halloween, which obviously didn’t pan out. But even if spooky season is over, the racing hearts need not stop, and, despite a title that many would only know as a folksy dig from Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, Hokum is one of the best chillers of the year.

Adam Scott plays depressed author Ohm Bauman, who travels to a remote Irish hotel to spread his parents’ ashes in the scenic place where they had once honeymooned. He’s a thoroughly unpleasant guy, prone to writing misanthropic endings and insulting people to their face, and he certainly doesn’t pay heed to the rumors of a haunted suite where a witch is supposedly imprisoned. Through a series of twists and turns, he finds himself trapped in said suite and is forced to come face to face with both malevolent forces and his own guilt.

A lot of horror films often feel tied to a gimmick or mixed with humor to ease the impact of the scares, which I often tend to like, so I was impressed with how straight Hokum plays its haunted hotel scarefest. It may be par for the course with many horror fiends, but for me, this film scared the crap out of me. It fosters a genuinely creepy atmosphere, starting out with just an uneasy gloom and eventually filling you with dread every time the lights go out or line of sight is broken. And even if it telegraphs some of its jump scares rather obviously, they’re still effective more often than not.

Beyond the shocks, I also enjoyed the non-supernatural story at play, with a human villain getting their comeuppance in parallel with Ohm coming to terms with his own grief and misanthropy, reflected artfully in the depiction of his novel’s ending, which bookends the film. I understand that the Irish director Damian McCarthy has become a bit of a star in horror circles, and I can see why. It’s the kind of non-gory horror I prefer, so I’ll have to check out his other films, but maybe during the day… huddled under a blanket.

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2026 S.G. Liput
799 Followers and Counting

Hope (2026)

20 Sunday Sep 2026

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I hope we won’t be spotted.
I hope it’s safe to stay.
With every hour
More we cower,
The more I feel like prey.

I hear the sounds approaching.
I fear their origin,
The smell of death
Upon its breath
As hope is wearing thin.
__________________

MPA rating: R (for violence and language)

I’m torn on whether I should catch up on a pretty deep backlog of films or focus on new releases, so I might as well alternate. One of several Korean imports in recent months, Hope is the latest film from acclaimed director Na Hong-jin, an apocalyptic alien invasion thriller that boasts the highest budget yet for a Korean film. Set in the (surprisingly heavily armed) rural village of Hope Harbor near the DMZ, police chief Ko Bum-seok (Hwang Jung-min) goes from investigating a mysterious dead cow to fighting for survival against a giant creature wreaking havoc on the town, with bigger implications as the scope of the danger spreads.

Despite an overlong runtime of over 2½ hours, Hope’s pace rarely falters, with the extended sequences of alien carnage being the main attraction. Whether it’s navigating narrow village streets or battling in beautiful green forests, the action is consistently thrilling and shot fluidly to capture the right balance of tension and movement, with echoes of Attack on Titan and Predator. Once seen, the monsters themselves suffer a bit from imperfect CGI, but they have a unique biology and thick hide that make them a particularly dangerous adversary for mere humans. Special mention is deserved by Jung Ho-yeon as a rookie cop with a truly badass introduction and Zo In-sung as a hunter with especially impressive plot armor.

The main drawback for Hope is that it is very obviously incomplete; it might as well be called Hope: Part One for all the closure it gives to… anything. After an exciting chase scene that gets a bit repetitive, something big and catastrophic happens for reasons unknown, and it just ends. There’s a sort of twist in the final moments that indicates the alien perspective will become more important, which could be really interesting in a sequel, which is supposedly already written but yet to be greenlit. But as the film stands now, it offers little beyond the action (admittedly very skillful, intense action) and a suggestion of a larger story that we may never see. One can only hope that a worthy Part Two will come eventually.

Rank:  List Runner-Up

© 2026 S.G. Liput
790 Followers and Counting

It’s What’s Inside (2024)

22 Tuesday Apr 2025

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(For Day 21 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a poem describing an abnormal version of an event as if it’s normal, so I took an outsider’s view of a wild party.)

The neighbors had another party last night.
I saw from a distance and rolled my eyes.
I got a nice view of each head light
As all of the guests rolled in.
It didn’t take long for the hahs and guffaws,
The drunken cheers and smoky highs.
They probably broke some local laws,
But, hey, I was used to the din.

And then, as usual, the screams began,
The frenzied shrieks of “Eek, he’s dead!”
It must be some weird game they plan
For when the tension loosens.
Threats were yelled and shots were fired, 
But I just tried to go to bed.
I checked in the morning, sore and tired.
More cops… what a nuisance….
________________________

MPA rating: R (for frequent language and brief violence)

I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of body swaps; when I was growing up, they always made for especially fun cartoon episodes (and you’d be surprised at how many there are). So a film with multiple body switches at its core had my interest from the get-go. A group of seven college friends reunite after eight years for a pre-wedding party at a remote mansion. To their surprise, an estranged pal of theirs named Forbes (David Thompson) shows up as well, bearing a mysterious device and inviting them to play a game in which they all trade bodies and then must guess who is who. When an accident leaves, shall we say, fewer bodies to go around, chaos breaks out as their weird fun transforms into competing self-preservation.

It’s What’s Inside gets a lot of mileage out of its uniquely trippy take on a timeworn concept, even if it can be confusing to keep the ensemble cast straight as they swap bodies and sometimes lie about who they really are. There’s initial interest from the idea of being one’s own friend temporarily and how that can affect one’s self-esteem and ambitions, but, once the shoe drops, the second half is a twisting whirlwind of intrigue and backstabbing that makes for a wild ride. I had some reservations about the ending, though, particularly how one character is punished excessively for more of an interpersonal offense, but It’s What’s Inside was still a fun watch exploring the dangers of body-swapping.

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2025 S.G. Liput
807 Followers and Counting

The Gorge (2025)

20 Sunday Apr 2025

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(Happy Easter to all! For Day 20 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for “a poem informed by musical phrasing or melody,” with the suggestion of rewriting a song’s lyrics. I’ve done that plenty of times before, so I considered the theme of long-distance relationships and rewrote the irregular lyrics of “Spitting Off the Edge of the World” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Perfume Genius, which was prominently used in this film.)

Distance, not too far
To meet your eyes.
Though I know where you are,
And you likewise,
Must, must wishes on a star
Be squandered on this expanse
That spans our hearts?
I’ll never mind the gap in between
Your heart and mine.
Standing on a cliff,
I see your sign.
I’ll never mind the gap in between
Earth and its star.
Never mind what if;
It’s not so far.

Lover, I wait and watch
With bated breath.
If you shoot, I won’t dodge
A welcome death,
But if you can stand the thirst,
That suffering deserves quite a dance,
Our favorite parts.
I’ll never mind the gap in between
Your heart and mine.
Standing on a cliff,
I see your sign.
I’ll never mind the gap in between
Earth and its star.
Never mind what if;
It’s not so far.
I’ll never mind the gap in between
Souls biding time,
Standing on a cliff
That’s worth the climb.
___________________________

MPA rating: PG-13

It’s unfortunate that films deserving of a theater release can easily be overlooked when only available behind the walls of a particular streaming service. Luckily, Apple TV+ is among my subscriptions, allowing me to watch The Gorge, which caught my interest just from the trailer (which gives way too much away, in my opinion; don’t watch it first). Directed by Scott Derrickson of Sinister and Doctor Strange fame, the film stars Miles Teller and Anya Taylor-Joy as a pair of world-weary snipers, one American and one Lithuanian, who are tasked with guarding remote outposts on either side of a deep and mysterious gorge. Despite the pit between them and orders not to communicate, they gradually develop a relationship, even as the secrets at the bottom of the gorge threaten to emerge.

I’ll say up front, as many critics have complained, that the premise of The Gorge does take a massive amount of suspension of disbelief. The secrecy around the giant hidden trench begs a lot of logistical questions (like how many giant pieces of paper did the eastern side keep in stock?), and the action of the latter half, often putting Derrickson’s horror roots to good use, does strain credulity. Yet this is one of those cases where I just didn’t mind, thanks in large part to Teller and Taylor-Joy, who share a remarkable chemistry and one of the steamiest dance scenes in recent memory (set to that wonderfully atmospheric Yeah Yeah Yeahs song). Taylor-Joy especially has never looked better, so maybe I just have a new celebrity crush. The Gorge is popcorn entertainment sadly relegated to small-screen streaming, a far-fetched but very watchable mashup of genres that I highly recommend.

Best line: (actually quoting T.S. Eliot) “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2025 S.G. Liput
806 Followers and Counting

Freaks (1932)

10 Thursday Apr 2025

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(For Day 10 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a poem that incorporates alliteration and wordplay, two of my favorite devices.)

The freaks reek (it’s in the name),
Reek of pity, guilt, and shame,
Of all those shattered might-have-beens
Their parents might have held for them.

Anomalies aren’t animals,
Just popular improbables,
While others claim it isn’t cruel
To void for them the Golden Rule.

Abnormalcy (abnormal, see?)
Says, hey, how great can normal be
When normal people tend to hate
The things to which they can’t relate?

Unusual, peculiar, odd,
Yet don’t all share the image of God?
Suggesting human value might
Be more than limbs or average height.

Normalcy can’t stand the thought
That there are lives it fathoms not,
Chained to common, standard, same…
But freaks are free (it’s in the name).
________________________

MPA rating: Not Rated (a strong PG)

I was familiar with Tod Browning’s pre-Hays Code horror classic Freaks, if only for its immortal chant of “one of us,” but I never sat through the short one-hour film until recently. It was notorious from the start for its portrayal of circus freaks played by actual sideshow performers with real disabilities, from a pair of little people (siblings Harry and Daisy Earles of the Doll family, who also played Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz) to conjoined twins (Daisy and Violet Hilton) to a legless “Half-Boy” (Johnny Eck) walking with his arms. In the film, one of the dwarfs Hans is targeted by the scheming trapeze artist Cleopatra, who seduces him for his money, fooling the circus freaks until it’s made clear that she is not “one of them.”

While the film doesn’t shy from depicting the grotesquerie of sideshow oddities and wringing horror from it, it’s surprisingly empathetic for its time, presenting them as actual people with hopes, relationships, and emotions, living life despite their limitations. It’s Cleopatra, the beautiful but undeniable villain of the tale, that voices disgust toward her fellow circus members, so her comeuppance feels more like a cautionary tale than mere exploitation. It was odd for me watching the climax of the film since I really thought I had seen clips of it but didn’t remember that it all happened in a driving rain storm, making it even more memorable, one would think. Owing to its pre-Code daring, Freaks is more notable than the typical product of its time, both creepy and compassionate in equal measure.

Best line: (the celebrating freaks) “We accept you, one of us! Gooble Gobble!”

Rank: List Runner-Up

© 2025 S.G. Liput
805 Followers and Counting

Peninsula (2020)

28 Sunday Apr 2024

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(For Day 28 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was for a sijo, a Korean form similar to the haiku but with longer lines of 14 to 16 syllables, for a total of 44 to 46 syllables. It seems like a tricky form to get right, but I tried my best with the six-line format, ending up with 45 syllables. And of course, I had to pair it with a Korean film.)

For the dead, we spare no thought,
Heedless without a gutted grave.
The shells we humans wear
Serve us well before our final molt.
What remains is not you, not me;
May it never crave your fear.
____________________________

MPA rating:  Not Rated (a light R seems about right)

Train to Busan was an anomaly for me, a Korean zombie film that I genuinely loved as it showcased character growth and action over gross-out horror so common to the genre. The animated prequel Seoul Station only reinforced its predecessor’s uniqueness, since that was merely another exercise in apocalyptic nihilism. So I was cautious in approaching Peninsula, the standalone sequel set in the same zombie-infested South Korea as Train to Busan. While it feels more like the zombie dystopias I tend to avoid, Peninsula proved to be a pleasant surprise.

Four years after South Korea was overrun by fast-moving zombies and sealed off from the rest of the world, former Marine officer Jung-seok (Gang Dong-won) is haunted by the day his world fell apart, losing his sister and nephew in the undead chaos. When he and his bitter brother-in-law (Kim Do-yoon) are approached by mobsters to return to Korea, they sneak back into the desolated Incheon to retrieve a truck with $20 million, only to be confronted by both zombie hordes and a violent rogue military unit that has taken control of the wasteland. With a handful of resourceful survivors (Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Re), Jung-seok must outmaneuver both living and dead to find a way off the peninsula.

At first glance, Peninsula has many of the familiar trappings of the zombie movie: swarming hordes, abandoned cityscapes, evil humans acting worse than the zombies. One thing I liked about Train to Busan was that it was comparatively less violent than others of its genre, owing to the fact that the characters didn’t have access to bloodletting weapons like guns or swords. In contrast, Peninsula has no shortage of guns, making it more of a conventional shoot-em-up actioner, though it at least doesn’t turn into a full-on gorefest.

So, as many middling reviews have pointed out, this sequel doesn’t match the original for creativity or emotional payoff, but it comes closer than I would have expected. While Jung-seok doesn’t have quite the selfless character arc of Seok-woo in the first film, the way his guilt motivates him to do better still becomes poignant by the end, and the story presents a satisfying karma of evil or selfish characters getting their due. Plus, despite the “conventional actioner” complaint earlier, the action is thrilling throughout, particularly a fantastic, Mad Max-level car chase toward the end.

Though Peninsula is more violent and less inspired than its forerunner, I was glad to find that it is not a complete departure from what made Train to Busan so good. Zombie movies are such a well-worn format by now that there needs to be something to set new installments apart, and I can certainly get behind car chases, heist thriller elements, and an emotional core.

Rank:  List-Worthy (joining Train to Busan)

© 2024 S.G. Liput
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