Kudos to recent horror franchises for changing stuff up. 28 Years Later expanded its siege-horror foundation by steering it into the realm of post-apocalyptic dark fairy tale. M3gan 2.0, by contrast, doesn’t so much radically depart from its predecessor as significantly shift the emphasis of the genres it combines.
Author: Tony Kay
28 Years Later ups the scale and the heart–and it’s scary, too
Spoiler alert (not): 28 Years Later, the second sequel to director Danny Boyle’s influential 2002 shocker 28 Days Later, could hardly be better. And unlike 28 Weeks Later, the rather meh second film of the franchise, this new entry serves up something deeply emotional, stunningly ambitious, seriously creepy, decidedly distinctive from its predecessor(s), and exhilaratingly suspenseful.
SIFF 2025 Notebook: Color Book, New Jack Fury, Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass, Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers
One SIFFter’s coverage of most of his SIFF 2025 views.
SIFF 2025 Notebook: The Glass Web
This rainy city has always felt like a perfect Ground Zero for film noir, and Seattle’s been packing Noir Czar Eddie Muller’s touring Noir City film festival for years.
So it’s no surprise a noir did surface during the Festival. Kudos to SIFF, however, for getting their mitts on a genuine film noir curiosity (in 3D, no less) that also happens to kinda rule.
Final Destination: Bloodlines does the reboot thing right
No one would likely accuse the Final Destination horror franchise of being high art, but all five previous entries in the series deliver their respective thrills consistently.
Death of a Unicorn doesn’t know what the Hell it is, but you won’t be bored
Death of a Unicorn (2025 | USA | 104 minutes | Alex Scharfman) Make no mistake: Like the mythical beast name-dropped in …
Does Wolf Man deliver enough bite for modern audiences?
Wolf Man (2024 | USA | 103 minutes | Leigh Whannell) When director Leigh Whannell was tapped by Universal Pictures a few …
Nosferatu takes Robert Eggers Back to the Gothic Well
Nosferatu (2024 | USA, UK, Hungary | 133m | Robert Eggers) Writer/director Robert Eggers represents a genuine rarity in modern cinema—an idiosyncratic auteur who’s …
Are you not entertained by Gladiator II? It depends
Gladiator II (2024 | USA/United Kingdom | 148 minutes | Ridley Scott) Director Ridley Scott’s Gladiator became a stealth box-office smash back in …
Smile 2 serves up a Popstar Horror Picture Show
Smile 2 (2024 | USA | 127 minutes | Parker Finn) On a superficial level, Smile 2, writer/director Parker Finn’s sequel to …









