Everything Seems to Work Out: Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Director: Taika Waititi

Notable Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Jeff Goldblum, Idris Elba, Karl Urban, Anthony Hopkins, Benedict Cumberbatch

 

Even within the now-rather-infamous Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the Thor series represents a fascinating part of it. While Iron Man set the tone for the series, the initial run of films was meant to represent various genres within the franchise. Sure, there was a common thread of spectacle, humor, and just enough heart; the Thor series felt so much more serious than the rest. For Thor’s first two films, the Shakespearean tones that blended with the fantasy elements of gods and monsters were initially met with mixed results from audiences and critics. While Thor represented a key cornerstone of the MCU, the character’s adventures were the weakest part of the initial ‘Avengers Initiative.’ 

 

However, during the ‘second phase,’ the MCU found a way to get the more cosmic aspects of the Marvel world to resonate with audiences: by making them funnier, brighter, and more entertaining. It worked for James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, so it could work for Thor, right?

 

Do A Person's Feelings Die with Them: Shikoku (1999) Review

Director: Shunichi Nagasaki

Notable Cast: Yui Natsukawa, Chiaki Kuriyama, Michitaka Tsutsui, Toshie Negishi, Ren Osugi

 

While the J-Horror boom of the late 90s and early 00s provided enough creep factor and impressive tonal scares to influence an entire generation, one of its better aspects was the films that used the emotional echoes of sadness and melancholy. Shunichi Nagasaki’s 1999 film, Shikoku, might be one of those intriguingly overlooked gems. Encased in a somber tone, this folk-horror ghost story effectively crafts a dreamlike haziness in its visuals and narrative, less a scare factory and more akin to a grim-toned fairy tale. While its narrative punch feels like it pulls back to avoid moving too far into melodramatic flair, which doesn’t necessarily always work in its favor, Shikoku is a film that deserves a gander for its subtle theming and impressive visuals for those looking for perhaps a less aggressive J-Horror tale. 

 

When Hinako, played by Yui Natsukawa, returns to her childhood home in Shikoku, she learns that her close friend from childhood, Sayori, has passed away in high school. As old memories resurface and a rekindled friendship with another childhood friend, Fumiya, begins to grow into something more, Sayori’s ghost starts appearing to her old friend. However, as Hinako starts to look into matters, she finds that Sayori’s mother, a medium, might be trying to resurrect her lost daughter. 

 

Behold, The Beholder: The Eye (2002) Review

Director: Oxide Pang Chun, Danny Pang Phat

Notable Cast: Angelica Lee Sin-Jie, Lawrence Chou Chun-Wai, Candy Lo Hau-Yam, Edmund Chen, Yut Lai So, Chadatirud Lertaveesin, Yin Ping Ko

 

In college, I became obsessed a bit with Asian ghost films. Sure, it was the 00s, and everyone and their mom had jumped on the J-Horror boom a little, but I started digging much further and trying to get my hands on everything that I could. One of those was The Pang Brothers’ massively underrated The Eye (2002). Although it would be remade and memory-holed by most of the cinematic world in 2008, this Hong Kong horror film had managed to capture quite a bit of attention in the social circles I was navigating. That’s on top of the fact that the Pang Brothers were quickly becoming a new name in Hollywood at the time, even if those 15 minutes of fame would quickly fade thanks to a system that handicapped so much of their more interesting approaches with limited budgets or incredibly terrible scripts. 

 

Nonetheless, The Eye was a film that I had latched onto, and my memories of watching it on a possible bootleg I purchased at the FYE where I was working were very positive. Now it's damn near 20 years later, and Arrow Video has decidedly graced us with a new 4K release in the US, and I was eager to finally get a chance to revisit a film that definitely struck a chord with a much younger me. 

 

The Eye might secretly be one of the best ghost films in the post-2000s cinematic era. There’s something uniquely intimate and soft about the film. It works in subtle ways, less concerned with scares and traditional ghost horror and more focused on the growth of its lead character, Mun, as she comes to terms with her abilities and what they mean both to her and thematically. 

 

Chasing Your Dreams: Somnium (2025) Review

Director: Racheal Cain

Notable Cast: Chloe Levine, Will Peltz, Peter Vack, Grace Van Dien, Clarissa Thibeaux, Draya Michele, Jonathan Schaech, Gillian White, Steve Eifert, Bries Vannon

 

You know, Somnium has such a fascinating premise, and it is one hell of a hook. An overnight "sleep sitter," Gemma, played by Chloe Levine, works for a clinic that uses sleep suggestions on rich folks to change their habits and ideologies, and she struggles to adapt to her new life in LA. She made the trek from her small town in Georgia to be an actress all by herself, and now, as she desperately tries to get auditions with no real understanding of how the system works, she randomly stumbles into this job at Somnium that analyzes, reprograms, and writes dreams and feelings into people. Even on a baseline plot level, well, shit, I’m intrigued. It’s blending 1980s dream-science-fiction cinema with a more modern, slow-burning personal horror. Yes, please, go ahead and put my name on the list for that. 

 

Even more fascinating is how Somnium is treating its core ideas around ‘dreams.’ There's this interesting idea that the big city can feel dreamlike to someone from a small community (a feeling I know all too well, growing up in a farm community in South Dakota) and that everything can feel like both a threat and an opportunity. For Gemma, played with such a passionate, wide-eyed balance of confusion and fake confidence by Chloe Levine, it is the dream. The big city, the possibility of success, and leaving behind a life that felt like it was suffocating, particularly after a rather hard breakup with her hometown boyfriend, Hunter. Chasing the dream in a place that feels like a dream while working in a dream clinic. 

 

Fanning the Flames: Scream 7 (2026)

Director: Kevin Williamson

Notable Cast: Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, Isabel May, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Roger L. Jackson, Anna Camp, Joel McHale, Celeste O’Connor, Sam Rechner, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace, Mathew Lillard, Kraig Dane, Ethan Embry

 

You know, just when you thought things were going pretty fuckin’ well, Paramount and Spyglass had to go and do something real dumb and fire Melissa Barrera. The ‘rebooted’ Scream series found a lot of interesting paths to address creatively with both Scream (2022) and Scream VI for its new characters, and the producers/studio decided it would be a great idea to just detonate a landmine under the whole thing. The ripple effect of that decision was wild. They lost Jenna Ortega (who had found a very strong following in young viewers), and they lost their director, Christopher Landon, who went on to make the highly entertaining Drop in 2025. It didn’t quite look like the Scream franchise was, perhaps like Scream 4, going to be able to see this new era through.

 

However, Scream VI did make a franchise high best in theaters, so never count out the bean counters when it comes to a horror franchise. Thus, Scream 7 exists. To be fair, while this seventh entry into the meta-slasher iconic series does rank towards the bottom, it isn’t the horrific train wreck that I was expecting. Bringing back Kevin Williamson and Neve Campbell is one hell of a pivot, particularly since producers/studio seemingly gave the latter the middle finger regarding her involvement in Scream VI, and there are a lot of interesting aspects of this film that carry it through. Sure, it's very obvious that this was a script rushed through into production, and the overall thing feels more like a spin-off than a legitimate sequel, but it features some fantastic kill sequences, and Kevin Williamson is bringing a lot of old-school solid filmmaking to it, so it doesn’t feel quite like a side dish. For that, I will give it credit. 

A Stitch in Time: The Bride! (2026) Review

Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal

Notable Cast: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Peter Sarsgaard, Penelope Cruz, Annette Bening, John Magaro, Jeannie Berlin, Jake Gyllenhaal

 

When the trailer for your film features the slogan “Here comes the motherfucking bride” in big bold letters, one might expect that audiences might be prepared for an audacious cinematic experience. The title ends with an exclamation mark. It’s not like it’s trying to necessarily hide the fact that it’s going to be a rather wild ride of a film. Yet, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s second feature-length film, The Bride!, was met with a lot of pearl-clutching and some dismissiveness from critics and audiences alike regarding its messy nature and the bold choices it makes in its writing, characters, design, and overall intentions. 

 

Well, if there’s one thing that I love in a movie, it’s audacity. Whether it works or not, I’ll take a film that swings for the fences and tries to throw its weight around. Given that the Frankenstein mythos, including The Bride of Frankenstein, has been adapted in one million ways for various audiences and with varying degrees of success, please give me something that, as a film, feels as scattered, sewn together, and fighting for life as its characters. To quote one of the iconic film critics, Joe Bob Briggs, “The only sin of a movie, in my opinion, is to be boring.” And The Bride! is certainly not that. Far from it. 

 

In fact, The Bride! might end up being one of the best films I’ve seen this year. It’s absolutely crafted with a sense of rage at the world, where a repeated phrase, “I would prefer not to,” becomes a war cry against expectations, social pressures, and a system built against you. Gyllenhaal takes the Bride of Frankenstein concept, updates it for the modern meta-textural era, and adds a lingering undercurrent of ‘fuck you’ to the conventions of storytelling and cinematic language. Yet, it still manages to feel humane with its characters and honest with its messages, and never feels like it's screaming just for the sake of screaming. There’s a heart beating in this monster, and just like its two leads, you might not always hear it because of what you see on the surface, but it's there nonetheless. 

 

Panic Fest 2026: Cruel Hands (2026) Review

Director: Al Kalyk

Notable Cast: Mavournee Hazel, Diesel La Torraca, Josh McConville, Genevieve Lemon, Harry Greenwood, Iolanthe, Glenda Kalyk

 

I can already see it now. The comments that will cascade down from the internet as horror fans react to Cruel Hands and its 1970s-inspired stylistic choices. Comments about how it's ‘not horror enough’ or that ‘it's not a real horror film’ will garner thousands of reactions and probably just as many arguments around the spectrum of genre labels.

 

You know what? Good. Cause quite frankly, Cruel Hands is the kind of film that will need a bit of online discourse to push it further into the genre fans’ circles for viewing. Call it what you will, horror, thriller, dark drama, or whatever other sub-genre you want. This 1970s-inspired slice of atmospheric tension and visceral domestic horror is worth watching. It’s one of those palpable, character-driven, slow-burning old-school horror films that manages to curdle into the crevices of your heart and mind. Powered by some incredible performances, a steady hand at tone and atmosphere, and a real sense of grounded grit to its writing, Cruel Hands manages to be both subtle and impactfully hard-hitting. It’s the kind of throwback film that should be garnering some real fans when it finds a full release. 

 

Panic Fest 2026: Grind (2026) Review

Directors: Ed Dougherty, Brea Grant, Chelsea Stardust

Notable Cast: James Paxton, Christopher Rodriguez Marquette, Rob Huebel, James Urbaniak, Barbara Crampton, Vinny Thomas, Aubrey Shea, Courtney Pauroso, Ify Nwadiwe, Jessika Van, James A. Janisse, Sharlene Cruz, Jon Gabrus, Teri Gamble, Hannah Alline, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Anastasia Washington, Bries Vannon

 

Well, if you’re going to make a socio-political satire horror film, taking a shot at the gig economy is a great way to do it. In an age where satire is essentially dead, thanks to real-world events that could not possibly be any dumber, it’s nice to see a film like Grind succeed at being successfully funny and manage to be creatively empowered to have something to say while doing it. It helps that the talent in front of and behind the camera are working with the same spirit and tenacity to make it all work, but Grind manages to blend comedy and horror in some refreshingly fun and smart ways. Each story in this anthology has its own distinctive voice without betraying the film's overall intention, and the combination proves to be lethally hilarious. 

 

Panic Fest 2026: Frogman Returns (2026) Review

Director: Anthony Cousins

Notable Cast: Nathan Tymoshuk, Alexis Allotta, Natalie Tran, Chelsey Grant, C.Andrew Kogolenok, Brian Villalobos, Benny Barrett, Tom Ringberg, Karen Schovajsa

 

“Time to croak, bitch.” 

 

Despite the surprising amount of world-building that erupted in the third act of Frogman, I’m not sure I would have expected there to be a sequel. Yet, the film proved to be something of a massive cult hit, and when Frogman Returns was initially announced, I was pretty stoked. While the original certainly used the tropes and style of found-footage horror well, balancing comedy, horror, and exploitation into one slurpy stew, its third act went fully off the lily pad and straight into the deep end, with some wild ideas and wicked body horror. It’s the kind of film that comes with a built-in cult following. 

 

Frogman Returns follows in those leaps and hops with an eagerness to extend and deepen the insanity of Frogman’s world. Powered by some returning cast, a slightly meta approach to the original, and the pace of the Energizer Bunny on crack (is the Energizer Bunny even still a thing? Probably in Frogman’s world as a real cryptid), this sequel does go bigger, badder, and bolder with the ideas planted by its predecessor. And, don’t worry, the third act goes even more bizarre than expected. It’s insane and ‘ribbit-ing.’ You know, like riveting but for frogs. Or something. Sorry, I’ll show myself the door. 

 

Panic Fest 2026: Ivan (2026) Review

Director: Damien Fannon

Notable Cast: Anna Mirodin, Tayna Clarke, Julia Tomasone, Stephen Bogaert

 

When I read that Ivan would be a film centered around a piece of technology, specifically an AI device named - you guessed it - Ivan, I do not think I would have ever expected that the film would be a period piece. Not that it’s given a definitive year, or does it make the horrible mistake of littering the film with a plethora of needle drops and references to pop culture, but Ivan surprisingly takes its audience back to a time and place where having an electronic device that can watch, hear, and talk to you is almost beyond understanding. 

 

It’s one of the bold choices that Ivan makes throughout that sets it aside from many of the other films in this year's Panic Fest. Director and co-writer Damien Fannon takes a familial drama and inserts this technological horror aspect as the catalyst to address many dark family issues, and manages to craft a rollicking thriller that regularly sidesteps expectations and delivers a surprisingly potent mix of horror and drama. And that’s before the ending slams its audience with two or three new layers of intensity.