THE DANMAN CAN

Curry Barker 's Obsession (2025) is an assured debut feature with excellent performances—a disturbing, reflective horror flick and a cool variation of W.W. Jacobs ' short story The Monkey's Paw (1902). Barker did miss a great opportunity to use both  Jennifer Paige 's original version of " Crush " and  The Dismemberment Plan 's downbeat  cover  in the film, though.

Damian McCarthy 's Hokum (2026) is a well-made, handsome-looking, and creepy film with good performances, but it's a bit too Mike Flanaganc ore for my tastes. Less boring than  The Innkeepers (2011) [ review ] but more boring than  The Shining (1980) [ review ].

I'm always wary of modern hype machine movies, but I ended up enjoying Kane Parsons ' feature film debut  Backrooms (2026) quite a bit, despite some shortcomings. I've never seen the web series, but my biggest gripe with the feature is the found footage aspect. To begin with, I'm not super into found footage films, but I also feel it wasn't necessary here and Backrooms would have functioned better without it. I was simultaneously glad it wasn't the driving force and bummed that it was there at all. That alone prevented me from awarding the picture another half star as a rating.  Still, I liked the ambiguity and the creepiness of this surreal low budget horror movie, the performances are good, and the fact that Parsons got the elusive Boards Of Canada to agree to use a song from their stellar new album, Inferno , over the end credits (and before said album, their first in 13 years, even dropped) is truly impressive.

Undoubtedly grand spectacle filmmaking, but I have the same problems with The Odyssey (2026) that I do with most of  Christopher Nolan 's movies, which is that the editing is oftentimes atrocious and the action is sloppy. Here, too, his out-of-sync style feels like it's designed to draw audiences back for revisits to make more money than as a fitting narrative device.  That being said, this picture is easier to understand and follow on the first viewing than much of his prior work (by virtue of the fact that the source material is so well known and that no great attempt was made to be faithful to the Greek origins; usually I'm not too bothered by anachronisms, but they were egregious here). Thankfully, most of the dialogue can be made out as well (unlike 2020's  Tenet   [ review ]) . The look and feel of The Odyssey is very much in line with  Denis Villeneuve 's Dune  films, which I'm not in love with either.  Overall, entertaining enough and worth se...

"He bugged me." Chris Walas ' The Fly II   (1989) was never going to be able to match the beauty of its predecessor [ review ], but it's a very solid sequel and a helluva monster movie, with good performances by Eric Stoltz and Daphne Zuniga , a strong score by Christopher Young , and exceptional/disturbing effects/creatures. "I had to give it up; it cost me an arm and a leg."

"Now are you happy?" "Delirious." Neil Jordan 's The Crying Game (1992) is a complex, sensitive, and moving film concerning identity, conflict, and kindness, with wonderful performances, beautiful cinematography, and a moody score. Neil Jordan Feature Films Ranked

Lamberto Bava 's  Delirium: Photo Of Gioia (1987) is an impeccably shot, stylish, at times surreal giallo with a bevy of Italian genre vets, copious nudity, a rocking soundtrack by Simon Boswell , and some creative murder tableaus. Lamberto Bava Films Ranked Giallo Feature Films   Ranked

My least favorite Evil Dead  film so far, Evil Dead Burn (2026) is about 15 minutes too long (at 109 mins it's the longest ED ), has that drab grey look that too many modern horror movies do, is yet another horror-movie-as-trauma allegory (yes, I know many, even older, horror films are as well, but they didn't feel so on the nose about it), and uses far too much CGI (the finale is particularly poor, in that sense, and just in general). EDB is not without merit though—it contains a lot of great gore gags (many of which appear to be practical effects?), some innovative camerawork, and I enjoyed it just fine. Solid overall, but here's hoping  Evil Dead Wrath (a prequel set in 1972) is better. You can find my reviews of the other films in the series here , here , here , here , and here . Evil Dead Franchise Films Ranked

"I love you. I loved you the moment I saw you. I'm mad about you. My little shoplifter. My sweet little pickpocket. My darling." Ernst Lubitsch Feature Films Ranked

"We all have our ghosts, Marshal." "God's got nothin' to do with it." Ted Post Feature Films Ranked

"Friends don't have a pecking order." John Woo 's Bullet In The Head (1990) is a very good film overall, but I found it overlong, repetitive, and I wasn't in love with large swaths of the score. It's perhaps Woo's darkest and most downbeat (and certainly most pessimistic) picture. There are some truly affecting moments, with some expertly shot sequences, but it's also haphazard in its construction (kinda feels like three different movies mashed into one). The drama in BITH worked better for me than the action. John Woo Feature Films   Ranked

"What's the matter with you?! You wanna spend the rest of your life living out of a shopping cart?! We could be on top again. We could be drinking champagne instead of Night Train."

"Here's my card. Johnny Tremaine's the name. Making rock stars is this man's game. You know, I think I see real talent. I almost even see Led Zep. You know, I think I could do for you girls what God did for mankind."

Akira Kurosawa 's ninth solo feature film and third collaboration with  Toshirō Mifune , Stray Dog (1949), is a solid noir police procedure. The film drags a bit in the first half (the pursuit in the second half is more exciting) and sits in the bottom quarter of my Kurosawa rankings, but it's got strong performances (the actors convey the sense of heat quite well) and striking camerawork Akira Kurosawa Films Ranked Top 20 Directors Film Noir Feature Films Ranked

Siege (aka Self Defense ) (1983) is a taut and lean, mean and downbeat thriller. A simple and singular picture with a gritty realism and an eerie synth score, Siege is a cool little Canadian genre gem. Recommended for fans of Assault On Precinct 13 (1976) [ review ], Vigilante (1982) [ review ], and Green Room (2015) [ review ].

Carl Reiner 's Summer Rental (1985) is light on plot but full of lighthearted fun, with plenty of laughs from the always lovable John Candy  (and Richard Crenna makes a great foil). Carl Reiner Films Ranked

I'm me babe I'm free babe Peter Weir Feature Films Ranked

One of  Stanley Kubrick 's  93 favorite films and an influence on  George Miller 's  Mad Max  (1979) [ review ],  Peter Weir 's cult feature debut, The Cars That Ate Paris (1974) concerns the secrets surrounding the strange inhabitants of a small town. A surreal slow burner building to a violent, frenetic finale. Recommended for fans of  The Wicker Man  (1973) [ review ] , Calvaire (2004), and Eddington (2025) [ review ]. Peter Weir Feature Films Ranked

Mario Bava ’s Four Times That Night (1971) is a visually inventive, if obviously problematic, sex comedy and very much a product of its time. Bava's comedic take on  Rashomon  (1950)—while certainly not one of his best efforts—features fantastic  production and costume design and solid performances. Mario Bava Feature Films Ranked

A lusty and tragic psychological thriller full of obsession, manipulation, and melodrama, Macabre (1980),  Lamberto Bava 's solo directorial debut, is a bit a slow burner, but it's beautifully shot, features a tense, hypnotic score, and good (if appropriately over the top) performances—all building to an explosive and disturbing finale. Lamberto Bava Films Ranked