CineNiche

“Well you came and you gave without taking. But I sent you away, oh Mandy. And you kissed me and stopped me from shaking. And I need you today, oh Mandy” – Barry Manilow  So what do Barry Manilow and a coke-snorting, dirty-acid taking, Nicolas Cage in full Cage-Rage have in common? You guessed it, MANDY . There are a lot of reviews out there for the new Panos Cosmatos film. And, they’re all right. The bottom line implied by all critics and hometown reviewers is: this is must-see cinema. See it in a theater if you can, and if not, VOD will work. But above all else, see this film.   Whether you’re a viewer who takes notes while partaking in any visual media or you’re a viewer that is struggling with a Bachelor’s In Paradise habit, this film will grab you, rip you apart, and glue you back together. Additional assembly may be required after the destruction of your psyche.   The film plays out as a normal, lets put that in quotes, “normal,” revenge film. Lumberjac...

Welcome to Retro Flashback. This is where we dissect a horror film to see if it is an essential part of horror geekdom or mere copycat trash. We rate these films on their landmark status. Psycho, Halloween, Scream, and The Blair Witch Project are unquestionable landmarks. These film are a part of horror's lexicon and each began a separate movement in cinema. So where do movies like Re-Animator, Dead-Alive, or Street Trash end up on this scale? You'll have to come back to find out. In light of Don Coscarelli's return to the Phantasm series, lets look back to the 1979 classic that started it all. I apologize to the true geeks out there, we'll get to Redneck Zombies or Night School a bit later. Retro Flashback Presents: "You think you go to heaven... You come to us!"     Phan-tasm n. - Something that exists only in a person's mind. 1. a product of fantasy 2. a mental representation of a real object.   A tall old guy,...

  "I just saw a zombie shooting heroin." Two years ago Aaron Benson and Justin Moorehead made the highly ambiguous and ambitious low budget film RESOLUTION. At Horror-Movies.ca, I championed the film with a glowing review  and it also made its way into the 13 MIND BLOWING HORROR MOVIES OF 2013 as an honorable mention. For their first film, they tackled themes of friendship, drug abuse, the haunting re-occurrence of history, and indecipherable endings. Resolution, at its heart is a drama about two childhood friends. Without the horror, Benson and Moorehead would have created a great indie buddy film. With their second feature, they continue this concept. The horror of SPRING is secondary to the budding relationship of the story. I was provided the opportunity to see SPRING at the Telluride Horror Show last October. In all of my research leading up to the festival, I overlooked the fact that it was the same directors behind RESOLUTION. It was a rookie mistake, but when...

Adam Green's latest film is mostly a tribute to Adam Green. He wrote, directed, produced, edited, and starred in a film about monsters... and himself. If your a random horror fan, who for some reason doesn't know who Adam Green is, don't worry. DIGGING UP THE MARROW gives you a full recap of his career. It may come across as narcissistic at first, but Adam is so lovable that you watch in hopes that he will actually find monsters. The plot is simple: while Adam is gearing up for a new season of HOLLISTON he receives a piece of fan mail that sends him down the rabbit hole. The journals of William Dekker outline a new approach to what creates something monstrous. Armed with a camera and a never doubting belief in creatures, Adam and his long time friend/cinematographer Will Barratt set off to the Marrow (an entrance into the catacombs of freak city). Adam is willing to put his show and his life in jeopardy just for a tiny glimpse of otherworldly beings. By star...

We checked in with the festival and received our passes. Once we were official, we stood in line for the kickoff meal. The sacrificial pig was delicious. His meat coursed through our veins as we talked about our weekend to be. Some people were just winging their decisions on what films to see, but my days were carefully planned out. After two weeks of researching the films, I felt my choices were pretty solid.  Once the pig was devoured and greetings were made, the walk to The Nugget theater began. We made our way in droves to the first event. Our first outing was "Squirm," a short film showcase filled with extreme horror. No one in that audience was disappointed. I've never seen so much genital mutilation in such a short amount of time. The highlight had to be when a teenage girl and her parents walked out of K.W. Roach's stark and beautiful Dead Fuck. I guess the naked girl having sex with a decomposed corpse was a bit too much for the family. What I didn...

My journey began in New Orleans and took me to the secluded mountain town of Telluride, CO. The show kicked off at 5PM on Friday, but my adventure started on Wednesday. It would become my most beloved memory. My flight from New Orleans to Denver was at 6PM, but I was dropped off at the airport at 1PM. It gave me a few hours to kill. I was still compiling notes for The Horror Show, so the extra time was needed. The flight went first to Atlanta, GA then to Denver. I got in at 10:30PM and needed to juice my phone, so I sat in the airport for a while then made my way to the bus. There's a regional bus that takes you from the airport directly to Union Station - it takes 45min. When I got to downtown Denver, I had a custom google map to let me know where to go, but of course I got lost. What is there to do in Denver at midnight on a weekday? Not much. My first stop that seemed close on the map was a bar/arcade.  It took me twenty-five minutes to walk there with a 20 lb. pack...

So you've spent 20 minutes on Facebook, a half an hour going through your news feeds, and you are waiting another 20 minutes for a life in Candy Crush (insert any fad game here: Angry Birds, Clay Jam, Temple Run, Song Pop, Words With Friends, Flow Free ect.), and you still don't feel like doing anything useful with your life.  Well here's a new way to waste time: The IMDB Game. At first glance The IMDB Game may seem like its only for cinephiles, but that is not the case.  Sure film geeks may do a bit better, but anyone can play. The Rules: Pick a random number 1-100, or two random numbers 1-100.  Now go to the IMDB Top 250 and see the corresponding film, then go to the Bottom 100 and see what terrible movie you chose.  With the two movie titles link them any way you can.  You can use actors, directors, screenwriters, and crew members. Here's an example:  If you choose 46 you will get Citizen Kane from the top 250 and The Blade Master from the bott...

Cineniche's editors were given the opportunity this year to invade the Telluride Film Festival. It was a week of celebrity sightings, immense beauty, intense hiking, and film premieres. We have close friends who have given up on the modern hustle that city life can be. It has been to their benefit, we have never seen the couple more at rest. They moved out to the tiny village nearly a year ago and now live in the serenity of a mountain paradise. Telluride, CO is a mountain town nestled in the middle of nowhere. It sits at an elevation of 8,750 feet and boasts a population of around 2,500. Originally established as a mining town, it has now become the alternative to Aspen. Seeing a ski resort during the summer is odd because you see all the paths that lay in wait of that first snow. Besides the great slopes, Telluride is also a host to countless festivals. This brings us to the film fest. Each year as film festivals gear up for their time to shine, th...

We were not expecting much from David Morlet's Home Sweet Home.   Due to Alexandra Aja's transition to western filmmaking and the overall tonal shift that has occurred in his films since working in Hollywood, we had it ingrained in our minds that the same fate would befall any other director of the French Extremeties.  Morlet's Mutants  is a suspenseful semi-zombie ride.  He uses his skill here to reinvent the home invasion film. Whether it's Ils, The Strangers, Straw Dogs, Funny Games, or even The Purge  all home invasion films begin with getting to know the family.  Most horror dictates that the audience should learn about its victims and gain a connection prior to their destruction.  It is believed that our caring of them and their lives before the disaster will make the impact of their situation even more dire. This is true, nearly all the greatest horror films follow this formula.  No one would feel for Reagon had they not seen her as a...