Writer/director Kurtis David Harder’s 2023 film Influencer is a tight thriller with a dose of social commentary. His sequel, Influencers, is much broader in scope, especially regarding its characterization, commentary, and the overall stakes. It’s rare for a sequel to match the original, but Influencers breaks the mold in that regard. Though the film has some flaws, it’s an entertaining romp that leads to a knock-down, drag-out finale.
At the end of Influencer, the villain, CW (Cassandra Naud), was left for dead on an island, while Madison (Emily Tennant) barely escaped. The sequel picks up a few years later. CW somehow survived and moved to southern France. She masks her past, tries to bury her homicidal tendencies, and falls in love with Diane (Lisa Delamar). Initially, CW succeeds in starting over. That all changes, however, when Diane and CW meet a British influencer named Charlotte, played by Georgina Campbell, at a posh resort. CW doesn’t like the attention Charlotte bestows upon Diane, and well, anyone who has seen the first film likely knows that CW can’t subdue her murderous impulses for too long.
Madison, meanwhile, was arrested by police in Thailand and blamed for the murders that CW committed. Eventually, she, too, tries to start over and buries her online persona. However, that doesn’t stop the harassment or stalking. She’s even questioned about the murders on a true crime podcast. Madison just can’t quite clear her name or escape her past. Eventually, she realizes that CW survived and tracks her to France to finish things off once and for all.
In the meantime, there’s another subplot regarding a right-wing bro influencer, Jacob (Jonathan Whitesell), and his girlfriend, Ariana (Veronica Long). It’s she who tells Jacob that he has to be more radical online to drive likes and subscribers. It’s a bit of a half-baked commentary on the rise of the Joe Rogan-type podcasters and the white male insecurity and radicalization crisis. Eventually, Jacob and Ariana get swept up in Madison and CW’s crossfire.
It can’t be understated just how damn good Naud is once again as CW. She’s makes for a sly and cunning villain. But in the sequel, she’s given far more backstory, and for the most part, the film is shown from her perspective. In this film, CW has grown far more savvy, utilizing all sorts of technology and tracking to avoid culpability for her previous actions and to keep tabs on Madison. Tennant’s Maidson, on the other hand, is far more vulnerable this time around, facing increased online backlash, before developing a steely determination to stop CW.
One of the film’s major flaws is the suspension of disbelief it requires. For instance, it’s never stated how exactly CW escaped the island in the first place. There’s no plausible explanation for it, and it’s a gaping hole that the script never fills. At one point, Diane asks CW about it, but CW skirts around the answer. It’s simply a little too unbelievable. Additionally, though the film touches upon the explosive rise of far-right bro influencers, not enough is done with this, despite Jacob and Ariana’s storyline.
That said, the film reaches an explosive conclusion and a bloody showdown between CW and Madison. It’s one hell of a payoff, too. There’s also potential here for yet another sequel. Maybe a trilogy? I wouldn’t mind seeing that. Overall, Influencers maintains the tension of the first film, while pushing the characterization deeper. There are some major plot holes, but still, this is a worthy follow-up that addresses the pressure of influencer culture, before arriving at a fisticuffs finale.
Influencers will stream on Shudder beginning December 12.
For HorrorBuz.com, I recently interviewed Hell House LLC series creator Stephen Cognetti about his latest film, 825 Forest Road, debuting on Shudder this Friday. We chatted about the film’s more traditional narrative storytelling, haunted histories, small town America, and the fact he filmed in the Victorian-looking town of Jim Thorpe, PA, localish to me.
825 Forest Road stars Joe Falcone as Chuck Wilson, who, after a family tragedy, moves to the sleepy town of Ashland Falls with his little sister, Isabelle (Kathryn Miller), and his wife, Maria (Elizabeth Vermilyea). Yet, as the family soon finds out, the town harbors a dark secret.
What was your experience like transitioning from the found footage genre to more traditional narrative storytelling?
Stephen Cognetti: It was a great transition for me to leave found footage behind. I shot this right after Hell House 3. It was in between Hell House 3 and Hell House: Origins, so this happened between two found footage films. It was great to step away from found footage and do a traditional narrative. That’s the style of filmmaking I like doing in production, but I also love found footage horror, as a consumer of it and making it as well. I had fun making the Hell House movies, and I have fun watching found footage movies myself. But I had already done three found footage movies and I wanted to do something else. It’s a specific kind of filmmaking. It’s fun to do, but it’s not a kind of filmmaking to always live in. It’s good to try other styles of filmmaking.
How did you come up with the mythos surrounding Helen Foster and her ghost? Is she based on any specific local folklore?
Stephen Cognetti: She, specifically, is not based on any folklore. The whole story is based on any small town America folklore. I left New York City and moved to a small town in the Scranton [Pennsylvania] area. This town has its history. Everyone I met always had a story to tell about the town’s history. I imagined, what if one of these stories is about a ghost? I wanted to create my own fictional small town folklore and small town legend. What if it wasn’t a legend but something still affecting the town to this day? If you talked about it, you’d talk about it while looking over your shoulder because you don’t want to bring too much attention to yourself by talking too much about it. If you talk about it to a newbie, it’s a secret warning.
The truth of it came from my own move from New York City to small town Pennsylvania and learning about the history. It didn’t have any ghosts in it, so I created my own.
The idea of locations with haunted histories factors heavily in this film and even the Hell House series. Can you comment on that aspect of your work?
Stephen Cognetti: I can’t actually answer that because I think it’s organic and comes with each story. I’m a history guy. I love history. I was a film major and history minor in college. I took every history class that I could. I love history as a story. There might be, in the back of my head, a story that derives from some place. I think that goes to Hell House and 825 as well, along with films coming up in the pipeline that haven’t been announced yet. It’s always been of interest to me. I don’t know why that is, other than I have a love of history itself.
Speaking of small towns, you filmed this in Jim Thorpe, PA. For anyone who’s never been there, it looks like a Victorian town. What factored into your decision to film there?
Stephen Cognetti: I started exploring towns all around Northeastern Pennsylvania, Southeastern Pennsylvania, Central Pennsylvania, and everywhere. I drove into New York, too. I spent a lot of time driving. Jim Thorpe had a bit of everything. It already had that whole look, that look like it has history. Every building looks like that. The town is cool. The people are great, and it’s a good town to shoot in. It was accessible for me and everyone working on the film coming in from New York. It fit the accessibility, and it had the look.
825 Forest Road is also about loss and family dynamics. Can you touch upon the relationships in this film, especially between Chuck and his sister Isabelle?
Stephen Cognetti: I think Chuck starts out as a sympathetic character and a central character in the film. That’s how the first act is presented to us. As the film goes on, especially as we see Isabelle and Maria’s stories, Chuck can be considered an antagonist in this. He’s not actually any hero at all. I love that development of him and when you see him from a different perspective than his own. When you see him from a different perspective, he’s aloof and has a poor way of dealing with people going through something. I think everyone knows a person like that. Chuck is the kind of person that’s only there to lend very broad support but doesn’t understand it. He thinks he does, but he doesn’t really understand it. Therefore, he can’t really offer any help. He thinks he knows everything. When you see Chuck in other perspectives, you see he’s not the guy presented in the first act. His personality has a lot of flaws
825 Forest Road haunts Shudder beginning Friday, April 4 as part of their Halfway to Halloween celebration.
It pains me to say this, but we’re not getting a new Friday the 13th film anytime soon, even if there are plans to launch a “Jason universe,” which basically just means more merch and video games. Recently, series creator Sean S. Cunninham, who also directed the first film, went on record and said a new film isn’t happening in the near future. Most likely, it’s because the rights are so screwed up between different film companies. There was also a lengthy lawsuit between Cunningham and the OG screenwriter Victor Miller over franchise rights. In short, it’s all still a mess. Meanwhile, after Bryan Fuller pulled out of the “Crystal Lake” project, the TV series on Peacock now seems iffy at best. It’s been a frustrating ride for Jason fans, for sure.
Still, even if we won’t see Jason slice and dice Camp Crystal teens anytime soon, gore hounds have a reason to be excited. In a Violent Nature, written/directed by Chris Nash, slashes into theaters this Friday. I implore horror fans: GO see this movie. If you want to read a spoiler-free review of the film, check out my piece at Signal Horizon. I promise that I really didn’t spoil much of anything.
In a Violent Nature upends the slasher formula by showing everything from the POV of Johnny the killer. During the second half of this film, which features two of the gnarliest kills I’ve seen in a long time, this technique really, really works. I will admit that the pacing in the first half is a bit of a slog, with lots and lots of walking around in the woods. Still, In a Violent Nature does something remarkably different and it’s likely that future creatives will perfect what Nash attempts.
In a Violent Nature is probably the closest thing we’ll get to a new F13 film without it being a F13 film. It’s largely set in the woods and features a mad man picking off naive 20-somethings who step into his territory. Again, two of the kills especially are brutal and relentless. Those two sequences alone are worth the price of admission for horror fans. Though I had a screener for this, I plan to buy a ticket just to see how the audience reacts to a few of the grisly scenes.
It’s refreshing to see a slasher that’s not part of a long-running franchise. Do we really need another Scream entry, for instance? While In a Violent Nature didn’t work for me on all levels, I still very much enjoyed it and what the filmmaker tried to do. It’s important to support original horror instead of waiting around for familiar 80s slasher icons to return to the big screen. This film feels like a creative burst of energy that a well-worn subgenre desperately needs.
In a Violent Nature bleeds into theaters this Friday. It’ll hit Shudder at a later date. If you want more recommendations for summer slashers, check out my list of favorite summer slashers I wrote for 1428 Elm.
If you’re a horror fan, the Scare Package anthologies are a must-see. They’re loaded with nods and references to several genre films and classic tropes. They’re a solid blend of horror and comedy with a few noteworthy cameos, too. Just prior to the physical release of Scare Package II, I had the chance to interview the anthology’s creator Aaron B. Koontz for Signal Horizon Magazine.
Check it out by clicking here! Meanwhile, Scare Package II is now available on Blu-Ray and DVD, as well as VOD and Shudder.
It’s been some time, maybe since The Blair Witch Project, that a horror movie has been debated as much as the indie feature Skinamarink, directed by Kyle Edward Ball. After leaking at Fantasia Festival last year, the movie became a viral sensation. Tik Tok users especially took to the platform to talk about how much the $19,000 debut freaked them out. Since its release in theaters recently, it’s also drawn pushback. Just read the user comments on IMDB or Twitter. Go on YouTube and type in the film. You’ll see plenty of videos by social media gurus claiming they either love or hate the film and all of their reasons why.
Like Blair Witch, Skinamarink became a sensation largely through word of mouth and the internet. No, there isn’t a website for the film with missing person posters, but it’s generated the same sort of buzz and harnessed the power of the web much in the same way as the influential 1999 found footage feature, which was also shot for little to no money.
I saw Skinamarink during its initial theatrical release a few weeks ago, before it expanded to more theaters, and I do believe this movie should be watched at home, either on a laptop or flatscreen, just before bed. While I’m an advocate for movie theaters, I don’t think this movie is best seen that way. What it does well is play up childhood nightmares and anxieties, namely the fear of losing one’s parents. There are familiar images here, including scattered Legos, a fuzzy TV, and a plastic telephone. Yet, it’s how Ball uses these images that make the film effective, at least for me and some other viewers. It all goes back to Freud’s theory of The Uncanny and making the familiar suddenly haunting. Heck, even a plastic telephone becomes downright terrifying here.
I have many more thoughts on this film, including the way it puts you in a child’s perspective. To read more of my take on this film, click here to access my piece on it for Signal Horizon. In the meantime, Skinamarink is still paying in some theaters, and it’s now streaming on Shudder. I advise simply surrendering to the experience that is this film without expecting any clear narrative.
Genre films had a heck of a year the box office, and in fact, may have very well saved the box office post-COVID. While franchise staples like Scream and Halloween Ends made a pretty buck, it was the breakout films and movies unattached to franchises that really deserve accolades this year, films like Barbarian, The Black Phone, Smile, and Pearl(Mia Goth for an Oscar nomination, anyone?). I have no doubt these films will be re-watched in the years to come, and because this was such a strong year for horror, I sometimes wonder if people will look back on 2022 the way that they look back on 1984, 1978, and other benchmark years for the genre, wishing they could have seen some of these films in the theater for the first time.
Without further ado, here are my top horror films of 2022.
Speak No Evil
This film premiered at Sundance 2022’s Midnight section, and for me, it was the breakout. Director Christian Tafdrup’s feature has a nasty and bleak ending, one that haunts you long after the credits roll. The story follows a Danish family that visits a Dutch family they met on holiday. It should be an idyllic weekend, but something seems off. To say much more would spoil this one, especially its shocking ending. Sometimes, the world is simply evil without much of a reason for it. For many, I suspect this film will be a one-time viewing, and that’s just fine. I almost feel bad for recommending it…almost.
Here’s another that debuted at Sundance 2022, and it’s a good chaser for Speak No Evil. Director Mimi Cave’s horror-comedy is a warning to women: be careful about the men you meet. Fresh follows Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones), who meets handsome and charming Steve (Sebastian Stan) at a grocery store. Frustrated with dating apps, she gives him her digits. Immediately, Noa is smitten and accepts Steve’s offer for a romantic weekend getaway. Bad idea! Let’s just say that Steve has some very, VERY peculiar appetites.
Jordan Peele returned this year with his third feature, the sci-fi/horror spectacle Nope. This may be Peele’s most polarizing film to date, but it’s also his most direct film about Hollywood, specifically the way it uses people, swallows them, and spits them out. There are SO many scenes to talk about in this film, especially those sequences with Gordy. Likewise, there are so many praise-worthy performances here, especially Keke Palmer as Emerald Haywood, Steven Yeun as Ricky Park, and Daniel Kaluuya as OJ Haywood. This contains so much Spielberg influence that it really should be seen on the big screen. I have no doubt academics will be writing about this film for years to come. I highly suggest reading Richard Newby’s take.
Prior to this year, it’s been a hot minute since Ti West directed a horror film. Well, he returned and gifted us with not one, but TWO genre films this year, all part of a brand-new trilogy. X has serious Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibes, meaning it feels gritty, grainy, and even a little bit dangerous. Set in the 1970s, X follows a film crew shooting a porno. Suddenly, they’re terrorized by an elderly couple, including Pearl (Mia Goth), who once wanted to be a Hollywood starlet. We’ll get to her more in a minute. Goth also stars as Maxine, who just may have the X factor to make it in Hollywood. Yes, she pulls double duty here as both Pearl, under a lot of make-up, and Maxine, and she excels. She’s the new scream queen in my book, along with her X co-star, Jenna Ortega. I can’t wait to see what these women do next.
Just months after releasing X, Ti West dropped his second film in the trilogy, Pearl, a technicolor throwback and prequel. Set during the Great Depression, this time we learn Pearl’s story, and boy, does Mia Goth give it her all. There’s one specific monologue in the last act that clocks in at nearly eight minutes long. Somehow, it’s spellbinding. How many other films of late can pull that off? There are also some nasty kills here, and a maniacal, yet pained grin that Goth sports during the end credits that you just won’t forget. This is my favorite Ti West film to date, a story about stardom and what happens when dreams don’t materialize. Oh, and after seeing this, you’ll never look at the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz quite the same away again.
After seeing Jakob’s Wife a few years ago, I was convinced that Travis Stevens is an indie horror director to watch. His third feature, A Wounded Fawn, only confirmed that feeling for me. Like Fresh, this is another feature about a bad, bad dude, Bruce (Josh Ruben), who charms an art lover, Meredith (Sarah Lind), to go away with him for a weekend. Once again, bad idea! Bruce is a psycho who murders women and makes them into his personal trophies/art. However, this time, he gets more than he bargained for when past victims return as the Furies. Yes, the second half of this movie feels like a Greek tragedy/drama, complete with the masks, togas, and all. This is surreal arthouse horror and my favorite feature by Stevens to date.
Director Chloe Okuno’s film has crazy Hitchcock vibes, especially Rear Window. However, this time we feel the effects of such grotesque voyeurism and stay in the female’s perspective, specifically Julia’s (Maika Monroe). Julia just moved to Bucharest with her husband and suspects that a stranger who watches her from the apartment building across the street just may be a serial killer who decapitates women. Watcher moves at the perfect pace and builds to an ending that you won’t soon forget.
Barbarian is another film that borrows a heck of a lot from Hitchcock, specifically Psycho and the way the narrative and POV shift about halfway from Marion Crane to Norman Bates. Initially, director Zach Cregger’s film follows Tess (Georginia Campbell), who stays at a super sketchy Airbnb in a less than savory Detroit neighborhood. She soon finds out that someone else is staying there, Keith, played by Bill Skarsgard. Can Tess trust him? Before all of these questions are answered, the narrative suddenly shifts to AJ’s (Justin Long) story. He’s an LA actor facing a #MeToo-type scandal about to bring down his career. He also owns the house in Detroit, and in time, all of the characters find out that the house hides a hell of a lot of secrets. For me, Barbarian was the surprise horror movie of 2022, the one that really came out of nowhere and stunned at the box office.
Hatching is one of the best creature features that I’ve seen in years. It’s far more than that, though. Director Hanna Bergholm’s film follows a young gymnast, Tinja (Siiri Solalinna), who tries desperately to please her demanding mother. Tinja then discovers a strange egg, hides it, and keeps it warm until it well, hatches. This Finnish film has a lot of layers to unpack. It’s a psychological creature feature/body horror ride that contains a metaphorical gut punch and stellar set designs.
In short, Mad God is a stop-motion animation masterpiece that was about 30 years in the making, created over time by SFX guru Phil Tippett, who has worked on everything from Jurassic Park to Return of the Jedi. There’s no real plot here, so just sit back and enjoy the visuals, as Steampunk-looking miners descend the layers of hell and encounter all types of gnarly monsters. Enough said. Just go watch this on Shudder right now.
A few that came close, but ultimately, didn’t make the list: The Sadness, Prey, The Black Phone, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Crimes of the Future, and Master.
Here’s to 2022, quite a year for horror. We’ll see what 2023 brings. Just months into the new year, we’ll be treated to Brandon Cronenberg’s third feature, Infinity Pool, starring Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgard, and the sixth, yes sixth film in the Scream franchise. This time, Ghostface is taking over NYC. Let’s hope he’s actually there longer than Jason in Jason Takes Manhattan. Whatever 2023 brings, I’m here for it!
With the year winding down, it’s time for another best-of list! This is a piece that I wrote for Signal Horizon, naming my favorite exclusive and original content on the horror streaming network, Shudder. My larger best-of horror list for 2021 is coming, and it’s likely at least 1-2 of these picks will end up on that broader list. You can read my Shudder list here.
Believe it or not, in 2021, we’re going to have a never-before-seen Ceorge A. Romero movie. That film is The Amusement Park, shot in 1973 for the Luterhan Society as a means to raise awareness about elderly abuse. The film was lost for years but recently restored and rediscovered thanks to the George A. Romero Foundation and IndieCollect. Shot between Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, the 53-minute-long film debuts on Shudder on June 8.
There are no zombies in this one, but it’s on par with some of the most terrifying films the master of horror has ever directed. The amusement park concept stands as a terrifying and surreal allegory about the way we abuse the elderly. Lincoln Maazel’s nameless character suffers one abuse after another, from ticket vendors, to a biker gang, to dismissive youth who walk by as he writhes on the ground in pain. No supernatural elements are needed in this nightmareish vision of a careless and cruel society. Romero has always presented humans as worse than the monster, and this certainly rings true here.
For more of my thoughts on the film, check out my review for Signal Horizon.
The horror genre continues to redefine itself in the age of #MeToo and the 21st Century, rewriting old tropes, specifically the rape/revenge subgenre. I’m thinking of movies like M.F.A. (2017),Revenge, and to some extent, Promising Young Woman (2020). The latest is Violation, which released late last week on Shudder after its world premiere at Sundance earlier this year. The general premise is familiar for the subgenre. A young woman, Miriam (Madeleine Sims-Fewer), is raped by her sister’s husband. However, where the film goes from there is a wild, brutal affair, one that challenges expectations and also underscores the fallout and PTSD the protagonist endures after the rape and subsequent vengeance. Further, Violation makes a spectacle of the male, a reversal of standard horror rules.
Violation is a film I keep thinking about weeks after I first saw it and reviewed it for HorrOrigins (you can read the full review here). It’s another film that marks a change in the subgenre and an exciting future, filled with possibilities of what the genre can be when more women get behind the camera (the film was co-directed by Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli). Violation undoes traditional horror spectacle, while focusing mostly not on the blood and revenge, but rather the aftermath.
Brian Fanelli 