Frightening Strikes

The Mummy is a wild and winning blend of possession horror and adventure, with a good chunk of sensationalist gore. Don’t expect anything resembling the Boris Karloff classic or the Brendan Fraser-era swashbuckler - this is something else entirely. Director Lee Cronin takes a familiar framework and reworks it into something darker, stranger, and very much his own. Katie Vanishes Charlie and Laurie Cannon are raising their children in Cairo when their daughter Katie vanishes from their home. The police are called, and a young officer, Zaki, is assigned to investigate. Keen to make an impression on her first case, she is overruled by a dismissive superior officer, who throws suspicion on the parents, and the investigation falters. Eight years later, the Cannons are back in the United States, trying to maintain as normal a life as possible, but are deeply scarred and still haunted by the loss of Katie. Until a phone call changes everything. Unnatural Aging Katie is found alive, inexplica...

The Wretched opens with a terrifying scene as a babysitter arrives at a house for what should be a routine job, only to stumble into something far more sinister, witnessing an unspeakable act that traps her in a hellish nightmare. It sets the scene for a witch-in-the-woods horror film that blends teen thriller elements with folk horror. Thirty-five years on, we’re introduced to Ben, who is staying with his dad for the summer after his parents’ divorce. Already battered emotionally and physically - his broken arm the result of a bungled attempt to steal from a neighbour - Ben arrives as a defensive, chippy teenager, testing the boundaries of his newfound adulthood, but still young enough to need a guiding hand. So Far, So Beverly Hills 90210 Next door, a young family has moved in for the summer, and mum Abby and her son, Dillon, unwittingly have a brush with a ghoulish witch in the woods as she tries to tempt Dillon into her lair. Although thwarted, the creature isn’t put off easily...

Body Cam is the latest film from director Brandon Christensen, whose early work greatly enjoyed. His more recent outings ( Puppet Master , Night of the Reaper ) didn’t quite have the same impact, but putting that aside, I waslooking forward to see what he would do with this new story of two police officers responding to a domestic disturbance that spirals into something far darker than either of them is prepared for. A Nightmare With no Escape When officers Bryce and Jackson arrive at a rundown property to attend to a routine domestic distubance, a volatile confrontation escalates into a tragic shooting. Faced with the consequences, the pair agree—after heavy persuasion from Bryce—to manipulate their body‑cam footage and engineer a cover-up. But as the night unfolds, something far more unsettling is revealed and what starts as a desperate attempt to hide the truth quickly descends into a nightmare, as the officers realise that whatever they’ve tried to bury may not stay hidden—and may...

Anything for Jackson is one of those little gems you come across every now and then and wonder why you hadn’t watched it before. It had been on my radar for a while, but I’d never quite felt compelled to commit. The idea of an elderly couple performing a reverse exorcism didn’t feel like a “must-see”. That said, taking the plunge turned out to be a good decision. This is a surprisingly elegant and well-handled horror from Justin G. Dyck—better known for films with “Christmas” in the title. An Ancient Satanic Ritual Henry and Audrey Walsh are an affluent but otherwise unremarkable couple. Henry is the town doctor, Audrey his composed and quietly driven wife. After the loss of their grandson, Jackson, they turn to an ancient satanic ritual in an attempt to bring him back and repair their damaged lives. Early on, Audrey and Henry kidnap a pregnant woman and hold her prisoner in their home in order to perform the ritual and the couple go to great lengths to acquire the knowledge they need...

Black Phone 2 shifts the focus away from Finn and places Gwen at the centre of the story, leaning further into the supernatural elements hinted at in the first film. The sequel explores how both siblings continue to deal with the aftermath of their ordeal while introducing a renewed threat as The Grabber returns for revenge — forcing them to confront the killer once more and revealing deeper, darker connections to their family’s past. Life After Survival The story resumes four years after the original. Finn and Gwen are older and changed by what happened to them. Finn has become a rather angry young man, clearly still struggling to process his trauma. Gwen, on the other hand, is moving into adolescence and beginning to look outward — including a growing interest in Ernesto, the brother of Robin and one of The Grabber’s victims. The siblings are as close as ever, but Finn is trapped in the prison of his trauma, unable to talk about his experiences. As Gwen tries to help him through it,...

High-Stakes Robbery and a Risky Escape The film centres on estranged siblings Joe and Sid, who reunite after years apart to pull off a high-stakes robbery. The crime is intended to clear their debts, secure a future, and provide a better life for Sid and her young daughter. With the police closing in, they flee to an isolated farmhouse that Joe has secretly prepared as a hideout. Once inside, Joe guides Sid through a precise sequence of actions involving a hidden cupboard, clocks, and a strange notebook filled with time-travel instructions. The ritual opens a time loop, shifting them into an unspecified period in the history of the house. Joe explains the rules: they must remain there for fourteen days before they can return home. Sid is uneasy and anxious about the separation from her daughter but Joe manages to reassure her and the siblings settle in to wait. The plan, however, quickly unravels. When the fourteen days pass, they are unable to return to their own time and realise they...

Bring Her Back is a dark psychological horror that peers into the abyss of grief and the dangerous lengths we might go to in order to ease it. What begins as an intense study of loss gradually morphs into something far more disturbing, unfolding with a confidence that set it apart from more formula-driven genre entries. An Unconventional Presence Andy and Piper are step-siblings reeling from the sudden death of their father at home. With Andy just three months shy of legal adulthood, the pair are placed into foster care rather than being allowed to remain together independently. Their new guardian is Laura, an experienced social worker and counsellor who initially only wants to take in the younger, visually impaired Piper. She reluctantly agrees to accept Andy as well, on the condition that he maintains good behaviour. At first, Laura appears to be an unconventional but caring presence. Her eccentricities are easy to dismiss as quirky, and her background suggests she is equipped to sup...

Good Boy begins with a quietly unsettling image: Indy, the titular good boy, watching over his owner Todd, who lies unconscious with blood trickling from his mouth. Flickering lights and static from the TV unsettle Indy, who senses that something isn’t quite right. Todd’s sister, Vera, arrives just in time to call an ambulance, but the strangeness of the moment lingers. The Bond Between Man and Dog The film then shifts into a montage of Indy growing up alongside Todd—a warm glimpse into their bond that lays the foundation for everything that follows. It’s this connection, communicated almost entirely through behaviour rather than dialogue, that becomes the emotional core of the film. Once Todd is discharged from hospital, he insists on retreating to their late grandfather’s isolated countryside home, hoping the change of scenery will restore some sense of normality. Vera warns him against it, worried about his health and uneasy about the house, which she describes as “creepy” and poss...

Strange Harvest is a mockumentary-style found-footage film that follows a police investigation into a series of brutal murders in a San Bernardino suburb. The story is presented through interviews, recovered footage and TV news clips, beginning with the discovery of a local family killed and arranged in a manner that confounds the police and horrifies the community. As detectives look into the case, they uncover links to earlier murders carried out by an unidentified killer known as “Mr Shiny.” Mr Shiny Returns Progress is slow and the police hit a series of frustrating dead-ends, while Mr Shiny continues his reign of terror and taunts them with cryptic notes filled with obscure phrases and references to “Kaliban” and other cult-like curiosities. Interviews with two former detective partners — Lexi Taylor and Joe Kirby — help shape the film’s account of how the investigation unfolded. Their perspectives gradually introduce hints of something more ritualistic beneath the surface and su...

Before I Wake opens with a tense, unsettling scene that immediately establishes the stakes. A distraught man enters a child’s bedroom with a gun, seemingly moments away from shooting the sleeping boy, only to be interrupted at the last moment. It’s an arresting start that sets up the film’s blend of mystery and emotional unease. Rebuilding Lives We then shift to Jess and Mark, a married couple dealing with unimaginable grief after the accidental death of their young son. Hoping to rebuild their lives, they decide to foster a child. Their first placement is Cody, an eight-year-old boy whose background is patchy at best: his mother died when he was three, and both of his previous foster placements ended with the unexplained disappearance of one or both guardians. Jess attends a support group in an effort to work through her grief, while Mark prefers to manage his privately, but the couple seem united in their desire to provide Cody with stability and regain a sense of normality for all ...

After waking up in the basement of an unfamiliar apartment building, Joni begins searching for her missing sister, Emily. Along the way, various tenants warn her that she isn’t supposed to be there, and she’s pursued by a menacing, shadowy figure. Her curious arrival — and the search that follows — takes her through the building floor by floor, with each level introducing a new tenant and a new horror. As she ascends, she’s exposed to the frailties, fears, and insecurities of its inhabitants . A Wraparound Journey Tenants is a horror anthology that uses Joni’s journey as a wraparound narrative, linking seven stories about people undone by their personal demons. The segments vary in tone, mixing emotional drama, dark comedy, and supernatural elements. Among them are “Acting Rash,” in which a struggling actress’s vanity takes a grotesque turn; “Hoarder,” centred on grief and self-imprisonment; “Do You Need Something,” a twisted, funny tale of domestic irritation between roommates tha...

Part mockumentary, part found footage, and part traditional horror, Shelby Oaks follows Mia, whose sister Riley went missing twelve years earlier while investigating an alleged haunting with her vlogging team. The film opens with clips from Riley’s YouTube channel, The Paranormal Paranoids, where she and her team explore derelict locations, including the now-infamous town of Shelby Oaks. When they vanish during one of their investigations, the footage sets off a disturbing and increasingly frantic search for the truth. A Shocking Event Mia has never stopped searching for her sister, and when she’s interviewed for a new documentary on the subject, the renewed attention reignites her determination to get to the root of the mystery once and for all. After a stranger arrives at her home, a shocking incident leads to the discovery of a Shelby Oaks tape, featuring the last recordings of the Paranormal Paranoids. Mia decides to withhold this from the police (plausibly, in my view) and starts...

Directed and co-written by real-life content creator Kris Collins (KallMeKris) and co-starring her frequent collaborator Celina Myers (CelinaSpookyBoo), House on Eden follows a group of paranormal vloggers chasing the next big scare — only to find themselves in the middle of one. Mixing humour, tension, and creeping dread, the film uses its found-footage format to explore that uneasy space between performance and genuine fear. An Unexpected Detour We meet the team en route to film new content at a cemetery. Unknown to Celina and Jay, Kris has discovered a supposedly haunted house nearby and, since she’s behind the wheel, they realise too late that she’s made a detour. The property’s allure lies in its obscurity — few have heard of it, let alone visited. A quick call to real-life paranormal investigators Sam and Colby confirms that even they don’t know the place, which seals the group’s decision to explore. When they arrive, the house is immaculate yet inexplicably unlocked. They begin...

Until Dawn (2025) brings the popular horror game to the big screen, and like most game-to-film adaptations, it arrives with plenty of expectations. The story follows a group of friends trapped in a remote mountain lodge, where bad decisions and buried secrets turn deadly. It’s a mix of slasher tension and supernatural chills that tries to recreate the sense of unease and consequence that made the original game so memorable. The question is whether it succeeds — or if something gets lost in translation along the way. A Promising Setup Clover and her four friends set off on a road trip to retrace the steps of Clover’s sister, Mel, who disappeared a year earlier. Along the way, they learn of a remote area where several people have gone missing over the years, and curiosity drives them to investigate. Caught in a brutal storm, they stumble upon an abandoned house and begin to explore. Evidence suggests Mel had been there before — and it’s not long before a masked killer strikes, murdering ...

’Tis the season for horror anthologies, and this year the long-running  V/H/S  franchise grabs the blood-drenched Halloween baton with relish and and sprints screaming toward the finish line. The wrap-around story centres on the testing of a sinister new soda, “Diet Phantasma,” which quickly sets a dangerous tone before we’re plunged into a selection of Halloween-themed shorts. From haunted houses and urban legends to trick-or-treating gone horribly wrong, the anthology blends grotesque imagery, gallows humour, and a particularly disturbing entry involving disappearing children.  Tape by Tape “Coochie Coochie Coo” follows two high-school girls who go trick-or-treating one last time and experience increasingly bizarre and grotesque horrors when lured into a house by a local urban-legend figure. “Ut Supra Sic Infra” delivers a Spanish take steeped in Iberian horror atmosphere, centring on the sole survivor of a massacre at a Halloween party in an abandoned mansion...