November - 2020

ARCHIVE:

5 Things Sickle is Thankful For

5 Things Sickle is Thankful For

This is a year that I find more important than ever to try and evaluate the things to be thankful for...so what does that mean in the horror space? Let's take a look at five things I'm thankful for in 2020 when it comes to horror. 5. Host and Horror's Adaptability The circumstances of this year obviously put a stranglehold on cinema, and horror wasn't immune, but it also didn't fade away. Like life, horror...uh...found a way. A great example of this was the indie film Host re

Run Far Away: Sickle's Take on Hulu's "Run"

Run Far Away: Sickle's Take on Hulu's "Run"

Run follows a girl who begins to suspect that her mother may be purposefully keeping her sick in order to profit from the sympathy and to keep her under her control. Run Review Despite some good acting and a few moments of genuine suspense, Run is familiar and predictable, in large part due to its clear intent on being a fictional portrayal of the true story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and her mother Dee Dee Blanchard as they introduced the common person to munchausen by proxy. W

Bunsen: Sickle's Review of "Tremors: Shrieker Island"

Bunsen: Sickle's Review of "Tremors: Shrieker Island"

Tremors: Shrieker Island follows a ragtag group led by the famous graboid hunter, Burt Gummer (Michael Gross), as they try to stop a legion of genetically modified graboids and shriekers unleashed on an island by an egotistical game hunter. Tremors: Shrieker Island Review What is there to say about the latest in the Tremors series at this point? I am a massive fan of the first film, the second holds a degree of nostalgia and appreciation, it takes a sharp dip in the third ins

Drifting: Sickle's Review of "Hosts"

Drifting: Sickle's Review of "Hosts"

Hosts follows a family that unwittingly invites their now-possessed neighbors into their home for a holiday dinner, only to fall victim to the entities' vicious delights. Hosts Review While watching Hosts, I hadn't seen this much potential in a [seemingly] microbudget horror film since Absentia. Absentia is the bar I have set for all horror films scraping by with a minimal budget (scraping so closely to the bottom of the proverbial barrel that it's inescapably apparent on scr

Stranded: Sickle's Take on "Blood Vessel"

Stranded: Sickle's Take on "Blood Vessel"

Blood Vessel follows a ragtag crew of Allied survivors stranded on the open sea after their civilian ship is sunk during WWII. After coming upon a seemingly abandoned Nazi vessel, the group thinks they just may have lucked out, but the cargo within the ship's depths holds the sinister secret as to the fate of the original crew. Blood Vessel Review I could tell from the opening scene not only the level of quality to expect, but also the general method used through the level of

Invasion of the Flower Snatchers: Sickle's Review of "Little Joe"

Invasion of the Flower Snatchers: Sickle's Review of "Little Joe"

Little Joe follows a plant breeder who helps design a flower (named Little Joe, after her son) that releases pollen that makes you feel happy. But the flower's ability to alter emotions proves to be only the beginning of its effects on the brain. Little Joe Review The Invasion of the Body Snatchers concept has been tackled many, many times; from self-titled tales to more subdued films like The Invasion. The concept was most culturally relevant in the 1950s original, which use

Ari Bertino: Sickle's Take on "The Dark and the Wicked"

Ari Bertino: Sickle's Take on "The Dark and the Wicked"

The Dark and the Wicked follows an estranged brother and sister that return home to their parents' farmhouse to help their weary mother and their ailing father while he lays on his deathbed. After a terrible incident, it slowly becomes clear to the siblings that there is a sinister darkness lurking on the farm. The Dark and the Wicked Review Unfortunately for The Dark and the Wicked, it is about to suffer a critique fueled by the hype that preceded it...There is simply too mu

Sheriff Strange: Sickle's Review of "The Wolf of Snow Hollow"

Sheriff Strange: Sickle's Review of "The Wolf of Snow Hollow"

The Wolf of Snow Hollow follows a sheriff-in-waiting who must balance his divorce, his relationship with his daughter, his alcoholism, his father's health and reluctant retirement as the current sheriff, and, most pertinently, a string of grisly murders in which the victims are torn to shreds as if done by a large predator. The Wolf of Snow Hollow Review I am unfamiliar with director (and writer and actor) Jim Cummings, but he apparently has quite the cult following behind hi

Snowflake: Sickle's Review of The Lie

Snowflake: Sickle's Review of The Lie

The Lie follows a divorced couple as they try to cover up for their teenage daughter after she is responsible for an accident that led to her friend's death. As the lies pile up, the parents must decide just how far they are willing to go to protect their daughter from her own sins. The Lie Review Let's get this out of the way now...The Lie is not a horror film. It is, at most, a mild thriller that a good portion of the family could sit back and watch. Despite a semi-morbid (