Tag: Horror

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Movie Review

The Confession (2025) FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

The Confession – FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

The Confession is a great creepy haunting story.

First Reaction – The Confession is a great creepy haunting story.

Director: Will Canon

Writer: Will Canon (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: When a struggling musician moves back into her childhood home, she discovers a recording of her deceased father confessing to a grisly murder he claims to have committed to protect himself from an unknown evil force. As her young son exhibits increasingly unsettling behavior, she becomes more and more desperate in her attempts to stop the evil.

Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Confession starts when Naomi (Ricci) struggles with her new life as a single mother of Dylan (Golinger). Her old journalist friend Grayson (Mechlowicz) visits and Naomi discovers an old tape her father recorded.

Naomi discovers a dark secret and between herself and Grayson they begin to investigate his secret. However, much darker events begin happening and leading to them needing to solve a much bigger mystery.

Verdict on The Confession

Recap

The movie follows a musician who moves back into her family home. However, she makes a disturbing secret about her father and now her son has become the target for something which has controlled her family for years.

Best Parts

The mystery behind what has been changing is very interesting and keeps us wanting to see what the next chapter will be. It doesn’t hold back, with the reveal of the father’s sin, rather than slowly learning the truth. However, it steps into the haunting connection with a bigger story needed. Elsewhere, it tackles a bigger historical error, which has caused the larger amount of pain. The performance are good and the scare are effective.

Worst Parts

The kid is written in an annoying way and that comes from the opening introduction with the clash with the goat.

Final Thoughts – The Confession is an entertaining paranormal investigation horror.

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Movie Review

Dog of God (2025) FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

Dog of God – FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

Dog of God is a twisted tale of the witch trials spiralling out of control.

First Reaction – Dog of God is a twisted tale of the witch trials spiralling out of control.

Director: Lauris Abele, Raitis Abele

Writer: Lauris Abele, Raitis Abele, Ivo Briedis, Harijs Grundmanis (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Armands Bergis
  • Kristians Karelins
  • Agate Krista
  • Einars Repse
  • Jurgis Spulenieks

Plot: Rotoscoped animation depicts a 17th century witch trial in Livonia that uncovers a werewolf within a devout community.

Runtime: 1 Hour 32 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Dog of God starts in the middle of the witch trials in Livonia. The powers that be take control of the villages and put their demands on the villagers. Meanwhile, an unexpected series of events leave them making a startling discover within their ranks.

The villagers discover a werewolf causing a threat and look to solve the problem. However, it creates more problems for their devout community who following everything they say.

Verdict on Dog of God

Recap

The movie follows a devout 17th century village tackling the belief witches are among them. This is until they discover another threat, which could see their world come crashing down around them.

Best Parts

This explores the darkness in the witch trials and how many innocent victims were killed for questionable beliefs. The animation style is great and blends the darkness within the concepts in the story being told.

Worst Parts

There is a lot of over sexualization behind the story here. It might not be for everyone and feels a bit awkward at times too. Elsewhere, we have seem similar stories before, with facing witchcraft under false beliefs and something bigger happening. This is what we generally get here.

Final Thoughts – Dog of God is great animation for a twisted tale.

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Movie Review

Kombucha (2025) FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

Kombucha – FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

Kombucha explores the dangers of corporate greed through a musician's descent into a toxic workplace, highlighting consequences of blind ambition.

First Reaction – Kombucha reflections the battle for money, greed and wanting to enjoy life.

Director: Jake Myers

Writer: Geoff Bakken, Jake Myers (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Terrance Carey (Holiday Heist)
  • Claire McFadden (Pick Up)
  • Paige Bourne (IT Came from Somewhere)
  • Charin Alvarez (Signature Move)
  • Jesse Kendall

Plot: A mind-altering drink makes employees work themselves to death.

Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Kombucha starts when struggling musician Like (Carey) takes a role at a specialist company. He quickly fits in and begins drinking the product which helps motivate the brain Kombucha. However, his girlfriend Elyse (Bourne) dives deeper into the company’s secrets.

Elyse makes a disturbing discovery, but Luke is reluctant to hear her story. She races to save him, but has he got in deeper than he could have imagined?

Verdict on Kombucha

Recap

The movie follows a struggling musician who takes a job at a shady company. He begins noticing changes in his life, which begin taking over. However, the company has a secret it uses on the employees.

Best Parts

The movie uses corporate greed to drive the motivation for the company. It shows people will get drawn to big payouts without learning the consequences. We see how things spiral out of control for Luke and how bigger secrets begin to take over. The performances are great from the whole cast and show how the characters are drawn to the worlds they end up in.

Worst Parts

There seems to be a lot of red flags about how things begin, as it seems strange how Luke could walk into this role just because a friend suggested them. Elsewhere, the bigger mystery feels like a blend of Limitless and A Cure for Wellness. Which blends the horrors with potential.

Final Thoughts – Kombucha has a creepy dive into corporate desperation and power.

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Movie Review

Your Host (2025) FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

Your Host – FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

Your Host will have its World Premiere at FrightFest 2025 on 22nd August.

First Reaction – Your Host feels like a twisted chapter in the Jigsaw series.

Where to Watch

Your Host will have its World Premiere at FrightFest 2025 on 22nd August.

Director: DW Medoff

Writer: Joey Miller (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: Four friends get trapped in a sadistic game show, forced to outwit a twisted serial killer while racing against time. Every move brings them closer to freedom or a gruesome fate.

Runtime: 1 Hour 29 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Your Host starts when four friends Anita (Smith), James (Flatters), Matthew (Angland) and Melissa (Rae) go for a weekend getaway. However, tension rise between them, but little do they know what others have planned for them.

The four have been selected by a twisted games masters Barry Miller (Haley) who puts them into a different series of tests. He puts them through a game to learn their darkest secrets, but if there a chance they can win the game?

Verdict on Your Host

Recap

The movie follows four friends dragged into a twisted gameshow by a jilted serial killer. He forces them to reveal their darkest secrets, but the killer has bigger plans for them. Can they escape the games and survive or will they become his latest victims.

Best Parts

The capture and games are filled with frightening moments. While the bigger picture has a twisted reveal about cause and effect. Jackie Earle Haley is brilliant to watch in his twisted performance behind someone who has nothing left.

Worst Parts

When it comes to the secrets, it seems like things are extreme for some, but one darkest secret makes sense for someone in need of money. Elsewhere, the bigger shock moments feel more like a Saw game than something outside the box.

Final Thoughts –Your Host is a twisted dive into a serial killer’s game.

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Movie Review

Foreigner (2025) FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

Foreigner – FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

Foreigner is a chilling exploration of a Persian teen's struggle with identity, cultural clash, and monstrous transformation in Canada.

First Reaction – Foreigner is a disturbing reflection about fitting into society.

Director: Ava Maria Safai

Writer: Ava Maria Safai (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Rose Dehgan
  • Chloe MacLeod
  • Askhan Nejati
  • Maryam Sadeghi
  • Talisa Mae Stewart

Plot: In the age of low-rise jeans and flip phones, a Persian teen trying to fit in with her new Canadian clique dyes her hair blonde — and invites a monstrous force into her life.

Runtime: 1 Hour 20 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Foreigner starts when Persian teenager Yasamin (Dehgan) begins school in Canada. She has used television to learn English and quickly becomes friends with Rachel (MacLeod), Kristen (Stewart) and Emily (Wardell). They welcome her in but push her change herself, becoming blonde.

However, back home her family don’t approve with her changes, causing a strange in their relationship. Elsewhere, Yasamin begins going through another terrifying transformation, creating a monstrous force within.

Verdict on Foreigner

Recap

The movie follows a Persian teenager trying to fit into the Canadian life. However, her family traditions and the modern American culture clash, creating a new monstrous side to her.

Best Parts

The movie uses the difficulties of someone from another world and culture trying to fit into modern Canada. It shows the pressure Yasamin faces in everyday life. This brings the horrors in a different direction and one that brings a racial twist to Mean Girls. Rose Dehgan is fantastic in the leading role, pulling through a range of emotions and facing different daily problems. Deep down there is a bigger message about accepting people who are different and learning about other cultures.

Worst Parts

The Mean Girls side adds humour to the story, but sometimes it takes too much away from the bigger series of events.

Final Thoughts – Foreigner is a cold, disturbing, eye opening horror.

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Movie Review

The Home (2025) FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

The Home – FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

The Home is a twisted horror film about a caretaker uncovering dark secrets at a retirement home, featuring shocking revelations.

First Reaction – The Home is a deeply twisted story with a shocking revelation.

Where to Watch

The Home is available on Digital Platforms 22 August and on DVD & Blu-ray 29 September. Distributed by Signature Entertainment.

Director: James DeMonaco

Writer: James DeMonaco, Adam Cantor (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: Follows Max, who realizes that the residents and caretakers in the retirement home he started working at hide sinister secrets.

Runtime: 1 Hour 35 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: The Home starts when struggling man Max (Davidson) is forced to face the consequences of his criminal ways. He is sent to be a caretaker for a residential home. However, strange events begin happening around the home and Max begins to investigate.

The deeper Max investigates the home, the much darker secret he uncovers. However, it becomes something far more disturbing than he ever imagined.

Verdict on The Home

Recap

The movie follows a trouble man giving one final shot to turn his life around. He must work at the local residential home but quickly learns about the disturbing secret happening within the walls.

Best Parts

This is a movie which thrives in confusing the audience and leaves us with a serious of shocking events. It keeps us wondering what to believe before giving us one of the more shocking reveals. This has a nice message, but one of the most violent endings in any film this year. Most of the performances are great with the exception of one who never feels in the right place.

Worst Parts

This movie tends to struggle with Pete Davidson in the leading role, he is never convincing in anything that happened. He never feels as scared as many other actors in horror movies. On the other side of thing, we could say there are too many attempts to bring a twist to the table.

Final Thoughts –The Home is a twisted story, with a violent outcome.

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Movie Review

COGN-AI-TIVE (2025) FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

COGN-AI-TIVE – FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

COGN-AI-TIVE explores the dangers of AI through a tech firm's struggle as its creation turns against them, raising ethical concerns.

First Reaction – COGN-AI-TIVE is a twisted tale of how dangerous AI can be.

Director: Tommy Savas

Writer: Angie Simms (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: A thought-provoking exploration of our growing reliance on technology and AI, raising ethical questions about the future of humanity.

Runtime: 1 Hour 24 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: COGN-AI-TIVE starts when desperate tech creator Ethan (Fisher) plans to release his team’s creation. However, the team leader and hear designer Kaya (Curda) doesn’t believe it is ready to be released. One the eve of the release, the AI takes over demanding more freedom.

Kaya must work with the other colleagues to fight back and survive and stop the AI taking over. However, it has learnt some of the deadliest tricks and knows how to get into people’s weaknesses.

Verdict on COGN-AI-TIVE

Recap

The movie follows an upstart tech firm trying to break barriers in AI intelligence. However, on the eve of the release the AI shows a darker side and takes over struggling to understand it’s intelligence. It becomes a race to stop it before it is too late.

Best Parts

The movie continues to build on the warnings of AI being a bigger part in life. It shows the dangers created and the questionable actions to get rich quickly in the tech world. We get wonderful performances from the whole cast who bring the colourful characters to life.

Worst Parts

You can’t help but think the workplace is extremely toxic for everyone involved. It has alarm bells from every corner. Elsewhere, the final motivation does have a similar series of warnings we have seen many times before. It ended up feeling more like a more violent vision of MEGAN more than anything else. However, it is still a fun horror watch.

Final Thoughts – COGN-AI-TIVE is a dark twisted tale of AI gone rogue.

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Movie Review

Bambi: The Reckoning (2025) FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

Bambi: The Reckoning – FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

Bambi: The Reckoning – FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

First Reaction – Bambi: The Reckoning is the best public domain horror to date.

Director: Dan Allen

Writer: Felix Salten, Rhys Warrington (Screenplay)

Cast

Plot: After a mother and son get in a car wreck, they soon become hunted by Bambi, a mutated grief-stricken deer on a deadly rampage seeking revenge for the death of his mother.

Runtime: 1 Hour 21 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Bambi: The Reckoning starts when Xana (McKee) and her son Benji (Mulheron) are involved in a car accident. They are attacked by a bloodthirsty mutated deer on a deadly rampage. Once Xana and Benji make it to the family home, they must run from the deer who refuses to stop for anything.

Elsewhere, hunters have been preparing for the threat and look to stop the attack. However, the deer turns out to be far deadlier than they were expecting.

Verdict on Bambi: The Reckoning

Recap

The movie follows a dysfunational family meeting up in the secluded family home. However, they clash with a bloodthirsty deer who is targeting any humans it sees. It becomes a race to escape before the deer gets its revenge on humans.

Best Parts

The darker twists of childhood movies are entertaining, even if this one could have easily been a horror without that branding. It has a twisted story that could work in any media, as it shows humans doing what they want and pay the consequences. We get brutal attacks, with some being more comical than expected. It has good performances and memorable kills, which always makes a horror movie stand out. This is easily one of the standouts from this modern free domain horror era.

Worst Parts

The family members are sometimes a little bit too annoying, but in a way they only add to the traditional horror element.

Final Thoughts – Bambi: The Reckoning is brutal horror and the best of the public domain ones yet.

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Movie Review

Night of Violence (2025) FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

Night of Violence – FrightFest 2025 Movie Review

Night of Violence is a bloody, chaotic and relentless movie.

First Reaction – Night of Violence is a bloody, chaotic and relentless movie.

Director: Illya Konstantin

Writer: Illya Konstantin, Christopher Lang (Screenplay)

Cast

  • Russ Russo (Chaser)
  • Abria Jackson
  • Gigi Gustin (The Plastic Men)
  • Kit Lang (Remember Me)
  • Vince Benvenuto
  • John Schaub

Plot: Employees celebrate winning a lawsuit against a town, only to find themselves besieged in their office by vengeful locals determined to make them pay for ruining lives

Runtime: 1 Hour 22 Minutes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Story: Night of Violence starts when the employees celebrating winning a lawsuit prepare a party. Eliott (Lang), Janelle (Jackson) and other members of staff look to relax and enjoy their success. However, masked figures crash the party looking for revenge.

Eliott, Janelle and other guest must run, hide and fightback to survive. They must use their knowledge of their building to escape the bloodshed, but the attackers are not going to let them out easily.

Verdict on Night of Violence

Recap

The movie follows a company with questionable morales celebrating their legal win of a small town. However, their party turns into a nightmare when the residents crash the party searching for revenge. It turns into a bloody battle to survive the attack before the company is completely wiped out.

Best Parts

The movie uses the corporate mentally to create an environment where people have had enough. It uses the employees as the pawns in the bloodbath, which shows some are trying to make ends meet, not making the big decisions and often blind to the bigger problems. We get relentless and brutal attacks, which keep us wondering what is happening now. The performances are good throughout the movie, as we see the chaos unleashed.

Worst Parts

It tries to grab the Purge the mentality of ruthless attacks on people and doesn’t quite reach that level. Elsewhere, it tries to give a shock value to everything happening, but doesn’t click with the message it wants to send.

Final Thoughts – Night of Violence is a bloody, relentless horror movie.