FURY OF THE DEMON (2016) / ANTRUM (2018) Movie Review

Fury of the Demon (2016) d. Fabien Dulage (France) (60 min)

Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made (2018) d. David Amito / Michael Laicini (Canada) (95 min)

The concept of a “movie that kills” has been explored before, most notably in Ringu (1999) and its remakes/sequels, and also on the small screen with John Carpenter’s 2005 Masters of Horror episode, “Cigarette Burns.” Now, fans can enjoy a diabolical double dip of creepy cursed celluloid from both sides of the Atlantic, and while neither are perfect in execution, both offer enthusiastically macabre mythos designed to arouse imaginations and inspire conversations beyond the closing credits.

MANIAC (2012) movie review

Maniac (2012) d. Khalfoun, Franck (USA)

Like many, I utterly rejected the notion that a worthy update could be made of William Lustig’s skeevy 1980 slasher, especially since the original – while an undisputed classic – isn’t really that great of a film, surviving primarily on Joe Spinell’s go-for-broke central turn and makeup maestro Tom Savini’s lunch-buckling effects. Minus those time capsule elements set within a pre-Disneyfied Times Square backdrop, a direct remake seemed pointless. But as positive buzz arose from its various festival screenings, I began to grow cautiously optimistic. The truth is that it’s neither the train wreck that it could have been nor the instant classic that had been proclaimed, but rather a competent reworking that lives somewhere in the slightly-better-than-average arena.