Horror reviews

Collecting my (mostly) horror show and movie reviews. If you like it that's great but don't feel forced to engage, I'm doing this for fun and for myself :) Ask me if you want something tagged or need a trigger warning before watching a movie you found on my blog. ~

[horresco]

Speak no Evil (2022)

Plot

A family from Denmark meets a very friendly Dutch family on their Italy trip and is invited to visit them in their remote rural house in the Netherlands. Some serious conflicts arise when the families start having disagreements about etiquette, privacy and the treatment of the children...

Opinion

You may also like "Funny Games", tho unlike that one i found it a bit harder to root for or relate to the protagonists this time. The whole point is that the Danish family is a bit too passive and polite for their own good but as someone who is very much not that i found it a little bit frustrating to watch. It's atmospheric and interesting, slow but not boring. It just didn't really wow me in any way either sadly.

[horresco]

Hokum (2026)

Plot

Ohm Baumann is a successful writer who visits the hotel his parents -who are both deceased- had spent their honeymoon in. Before doing what he came there to do he learns about a legend surrounding the honeymoon-suite of the hotel. Apparently it has been locked for years because there's a witch trapped inside...

Opinion

It breaks my heart to say this because i was a huge fan of this director's other movies "Caveat" and especially "Oddity", but this one just didn't really do it for me. It still has a lot of atmosphere and chilling visuals but quite a bit of it was spooky-over-substance unfortunately, including some kinda poorly done jumpscares. The main character could be interesting because he has a pretty unique backstory but it's not explored at all. It's still a decent movie and a lot of people will enjoy it, but the bar was too high this time.

[horresco]

Lee Cronin's The Mummy (2026)

Plot

8 years after being kidnapped in Kairo as a child, Katie is found again in extremely strange circumstances: inside a sarcophagus, alive but not well. Her family brings her home and tries to live a normal life again but something is very off with Katie's "condition".

Opinion

I went in with low expectations and still got disappointed because it really isn't even funny bad. They're trying to do a lot of things at once and failing at all of them. Gross-out bodyhorror, shocking "i can't believe they did that" stuff, emotional self sacrifice, popcorn flick, exorcism story, and none of this works or sticks out. It's made for fans of "The Nun" or "Anabelle" and unfortunately that ain't me!

[horresco]

X (2022)

Plot

To film a porn movie that has some artistic value a film crew rents out a farm house in the middle of nowhere. Only people close buy are the elderly and very strange owners; a husband who wants the group to stay far away from him and a wife who seems like she can't get close enough...

Opinion

Boy i do love sex and violence! You will get Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibes basically right away because the whole setting really scratches that itch and the director seems to be a horror movie fan in general because there's a lot of references. It's well shot and has extremely well done gore, but the whole time i felt like i was missing something. The character motivations are either pretty stupid and poorly written or very deep and complex and i'm not smart enough to get it. It's not a bad movie at all, just had some "... what?" hanging around in the air that i found unsatisfying. Not bad, not flawless, a good slasher.

[horresco]

Anything for Jackson (2020)

Plot

A grieving elderly couple has a solid plan: To get their dead grandson Jackson back they simply have to kidnap a pregnant woman and put Jackson's soul into her baby using a satanic ritual. Easy! Unfortunately for them, things don't work as smooth as they had hoped..

Opinion

It is a horror comedy and my summary makes it sound extremely silly but it's actually at it's core a very suspenseful well written story! There are funny moments due to the complete absurdity of the situation but the story is fairly serious with good scares and good characters. Despite doing unbelievably evil things you still feel for the protagonists while also not wanting them to succeed. Really enjoyed it, good casual watch that a lot of people would like!!

[horresco]

La piel que habito (The skin I live in, 2011)

Plot

A plastic surgeon is researching a new type of skin graft that is immune to damage like burning and insect bites, but instead of testing it on lab animals like he claims he is instead testing it on a young woman kept in his house, who happens to really resemble his long dead wife...

Opinion

I wouldn't call it a great movie but i sure as hell would call it a "you will not guess what happens" movie because the synopsis does not prepare you. Kinda badly paced and more strange/ offputting than really thrilling for me personally but it sure is a movie and if you're curious you can go for it for that alone. Not for a casual horror movie night tho

[horresco]

Daddy's Head (2025)

Plot

The young boy Isaac loses his dad in a horrible crash and his only living contact is his dad's new girlfriend who also inherited the house. Despite them not being close they decide to give living together a try to avoid Isaac going into foster care. In this tense living situation Isaac is suddenly being visited by... something. And that something has his father's face.

Opinion

It probably needed like 10% more to really catch me. It's good! It's spooky and has some really creepy effects, reading up on it i think some parts went over my head entirely which is my fault really. Just a little more finesse in the writing or the ending and it would've really won me over, it's not bad tho! Might need to rewatch it with new context.

[horresco]

Bugonia (2025)

Plot

Two men kidnap the CEO of a pharmaceutical company because they believe she's part of an alien race plotting the destruction of humanity. To prevent this, the kidnappers want to force their captive to organize a meeting with her leaders during the upcoming lunar eclipse.

Opinion

This movie it advertised as a sci-fi comedy which is honestly a stretch because it's extremely dark, i think slow sci-fi horror would be way more appropriate. I loved it! Really enjoyed the plot and the very creative imagery in certain scenes, EXTREMELY violent at times and your sympathies move from character to character and scene to scene. It's dark and it's creative, i would've changed some things about the ending but i can't complain because i enjoyed the movie quite a bit. But seriously don't go into this expecting a comedy..

[horresco]

Keeper (2025)

Plot

Liz and Malcolm have been dating for a year and decide to spend some romantic time in Malcolm's cabin in the woods far away from everyone else. Seconds after arriving the mood starts shifting as Liz experiences visions and strange situations..

Opinion

Some very interesting visuals and ghost designs but pretty poor writing unfortunately. What held a lot of it back for me especially was the incredibly bizarre way everyone behaved. I was really struggling trying to make sense of all human interactions in this one, the people were completly unable to communicate in a way that was comprehensible for the audience. This is fine if you're trying to make a character weird or eerie but sadly this also applied to the main character and that ain't great. I didn't love the movie- but i did enjoy the ghosts!

[horresco]

Poor things (2023)

Plot

Dr Baxter, a scarred and eccentric scientist, hires one of his students to document his recent experiment: Bella. A young woman who- without getting into spoilers- has a very unique brain. As Bella matures and learns about the world she yearns for more than just being locked in the doctor's castle all day and as soon as she figures out what sex is all bets are off and she runs away with a lawyer to see the world and have tons of sex while doing so!

Opinion

I don't get it. I was ready to love it, seeing how it has fantastic reviews, is some weird artsy thing and had people yell about how disgusting and sexual it is- those are usually green flags for me! And i did enjoy a lot about it, the soundtrack is super bizarre and unique, the sets are wonderful and there's a lot of very good side characters i found interesting and likeable (Willem Dafoe stealing the show). But man i got nothing out of the story. I thought the pacing was awful and the main character so uninteresting, i just felt nothing for her and didn't care about her in the slightest. If she was at least in an interesting story, but since the movie is very character focussed and i didn't connect to that character it just fell flat for me. And then it really drags and feels way longer than it has to be... Sorry, another one where i guess i am simply not smart enough to see the appeal and that's ok sometimes.

[horresco]

Together (2025)

Plot

Millie and Tim are a couple moving away from the city for Millie's new teaching job but their relationship has been quite tense for a while. Trying to have some fun together they decide to go on a hiking trip near their house which is cut short by a rainstorm and them finding refuge in a strange cave. Spending the night in the cave Tim decides to drink some of the stagnant water inside, because really what's the worst that can happen?

Opinion

There we go! Great movie, i had a wonderful time. If i wanted to be really nitpicky i personally think the actual horror elements were so strong i wanted the tone of the ending to be a bit more horrible and dark but i also get that most audiences don't like watching films that make them feel awful. Fair enough! Practical effects, an interesting and unusual premise and it's all well filmed too. If you enjoy horror movies there's simply no reason to NOT watch this one.

[horresco]

Body Bags (1993)

Plot

A woman is working the night shift at a gas station and runs into strange visitors, a man obsessed with his hairloss undergoes a brand new procedure and a baseball player gets an experimental eye transplant after an accident- all stories told by John Carpenter in a morgue, where else!

Opinion

Anthologies tend to not be my thing and i didn't get much out of this sadly. The first short film is completly forgettable, the second one was kinda quirky and fun and the last one had an interesting idea, but none of them are a must watch. Everything is pretty rushed and the wrap-around with John Carpenter as a sort of crypt keeper isn't funny enough to make it worth it. Big meh from me

[horresco]

Spontaneous Combustion (1990)

Plot

In the 50s a young couple volunteers to be subjects for nuclear tests and everything seems to be a great success! They survive and have a child, seemingly healthy despite their history of radiation. Shortly after the birth of their son both mother and father catch on fire and burn to death out of nowhere tho, which is not ideal. Their son grows up and seems to have a fairly normal life except for the fact high emotions sometimes make him (or other people) catch on fire. Trying to find an explanation for his strange ability he starts investigating his parent's death and those mysterious nuclear tests...

Opinion

This movie is sooooo close to being a hilarious guilty pleasure, the concept is just great, some of the scenes are insane, i honestly had a good time watching it but it also drags a bit here and there. Maybe a rewatch could win me over because it's kind of wonderfully silly. If you like B-movies this is certainly one of the better ones! Very compelling.

[horresco]

Christine (1983)

Plot

Arnie is down on his luck having to deal with violent bullies and being extremely unpopular in general, until he spontaneously decides to buy an old car and restore it. Despite his family and his one friend telling him it's junk he just feels oddly drawn to the oldtimer and becomes obsessed with it- and vice versa.

Opinion

This one sadly didn't win me over despite the good effects and the unique story idea. To me it just kinda dragged and was too silly to be scary and too serious to be fun.

[horresco]

Funny Games (1997)

Plot

A small family travels to their holiday home to have a nice time boating around the lake and playing golf, when two strange men come to visit and refuse to leave...

Opinion

I avoided watching "Martyrs" for the longest time because i heard people calling it extremely depressing and bleak. Good news tho, compared to "Funny Games" Martyrs is a day at the funfair! "Funny Games" is rough because really there is not much happening other than watching two men physically and psychologically torture a family to death and that's kind of by design. With basically no music or camera tricks the focus is entirely on the fantastic acting (especially by the female lead, wow!), the violence and the hopelessness of the situation. It's insanely depressing and there is no story to distract you from it, which according to the director is the entire point. I'm kinda glad i watched it becausee it's very interesting with odd 4th wall breaks, the acting is fantastic like i mentioned before and it sure is an experience. But i would also not really want to watch this again unless i wanted to feel very bad and kinda dirty.

Long story short, if you're meeting with a group of friends for halloween and each of you brings a fun horror flick to watch together and eat popcorn, maybe don't bring this one.

[horresco]

Hardware (1990)

Plot

In the far distant future of the 21st century the world is a mostly apocalyptic wasteland where scavengers roam, trying to make a quick buck with any scrap they can find and sell. When the two scavengers Mo and Shade try to sell their loot at their most trusted shop they meet a man who found something very interesting in the radioactive desert: some kind of skeleton looking robot drone no one has seen before. Mo decides to buy it and bring it to his girlfriend Jill who is an artist and might be able to use the scrap metal for one of her sculptures. It's christmas after all! What could possibly go wrong?

Opinion

You ever see a B-movie that only has maybe 80% of the budget but 140% of passion? They really gave it their all and it shows. Great sets, great effects, a very unique soundtrack. They're absolutely nailing the apocalyptic setting and worldbuilding while techniqually not having thaaat much to work with. It's still a kind of trashy B-movie/ slasher about a killer robot and some things don't make too much sense, some things look kinda cheap, but it's FINE. I had so much fun with it and thought it was delightful. If you don't expect big studio action sequences and can appreciate something smaller then this is great. Still counting this as a guilty pleasure tho because... well it is a low budget killer robot film. But it's good i promise!

[horresco]

Wicked City (妖獣都市, 1987)

Plot

The human world and the demon world are kept in peace by a treaty that has to be renewed every few hundred years. To make sure everything goes smoothly, the bodyguard Taki has to team up with another bodyguard from the demon world to protect an old man who's survival is essential for signing the treaty. But radicals from the demon world try to stop them by any means possible..

Opinion

Kinda thinish plot mostly because it's a pretty expansive universe that just doesn't have enough time to be explored, but very neat animation! This movie is preeeetty pornographic but i loved the demon bodyhorror and the art style. So if you like animation, bodyhorror and can deal with themes of rape okay-ish, this is totally worth checking out. If none of that is appealing to you the story won't save it and you can safely skip.