Shocktober: Obsession

Obsession

Given how much of our entertainment is about wish fulfillment or power fantasies, it’s kind of surprising how relatively few movies there are about good ol’ honest wishing. What was the last one, that Spider-Man “movie” where Dr. Strange ruins a boy’s life? These are always my favorite Twilight Zones, and, now that I think of it, this fascination goes way back to my childhood, when I countlessly watched the likes of Aladdin and DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp on repeat. Not only is it fun to see some lucky bastard get everything he ever wanted, only for it to blow up in their face; it’s even more fun to imagine your own wish, and how you’d legalese your way out of any monkey paw shenanigans. That’s especially true of Obsession, a movie where a bonehead thoughtlessly blurts out an ill-conceived wish and spends the rest of the movie making worse and worse decisions.

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Shocktober: Exit 8

Exit 8

Exit 8 is the most faithful video game adaptation ever made. Move over, Mario! Get lost, Lara Croft! Sayonara, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D. There’s a new video-game-adaptation sheriff in town, and it’s based on a walking simulator from indie game studio Kotake Create. I played the game last year, as I like to keep my fingers in many horror-media-flavored pies. The whole experience took me about 40 minutes, which is why I was shocked when I heard it was becoming a movie. How many video game movies are longer than the games they’re based on? And does this work against the movie or in its favor?

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Shocktober: Lee Cronin’s 12 Days of Frightmas

Hello, boils/boys and ghouls/girls, and HELL-come to Shocktober! This fear (year), we’re dedicating 12 terrifying days to the best, worst, and most cursed horror movies of the year of our Dark Lord 2026. What’s so special about 2026, you might ask?

There are still three months left in the year, and the horror box office has already reached $1.16 billion. Obsession, which was made for less than a million dollars, has grossed over $500 million. Backrooms has raked in just over $400 million. And if that weren’t enough, both films were directed by people under the age of 30. Our new generation of horror auteurs has arrived! But money isn’t everything.

Critically speaking, it’s been a robust year for fear. Half of the movies we’re covering have scored over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Some might call it a new horror renaissance. I call it a new horror renai-SEANCE. We’re summoning hits left and right over here.

And what’s the best part of all this? You, my dear reader, won’t know which reviews are dropping on which days. Ha! Did you really think we’d be doing 12 consecutive days leading up to Hallowe’en? That would be far too easy. No, much like a well-placed jump scare, we’re going to hit you when you least expect it.

After all, it’s the spooky season. We’re all entitled to one good scare, fright (right)?

Colin’s Favorite Albums of Summer 2026

Summer is dead and gone, and after another particularly sweltering one where I squeezed all there was to get out of a good summer, I’m ready for Fall. But first, before we get the sweaters and plastic skeletons out of the closet, let’s take a look back at some of the best music to come out during the warmer months. Considering this post ended up being a lot longer than I was anticipating, this apparently was a pretty good summer for me music-wise, filled with both some enjoyable high profile releases as well as more under-the-radar stuff. Let’s dive in!

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Criterion Month Day 30: Sentimental Value

Sentimental Value (2025)

I don’t know how adults do it. Every single day, you gotta find time to work, exercise, clean, make food, have hobbies, maintain relationships… so much, and it’s every day. I’m already someone who watches maybe one or two movies a week, the disruption of having to watch 10 extra films and write 10 blog posts in a month should be pretty minimal. And yet I maintain such a delicate balance that by the end of July, I’m all out of whack. And I just have myself and an adorable cat to take care of! Imagine having a spouse and kids and more! Ugh. No wonder there are so many stories about deadbeat dads.

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Criterion Month Day 29: The Secret Agent

The Secret Agent (2025)

Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent may have been smuggled into American cinemas late last year but it really had its cover blown this winter when it triggered considerable awards attention. At the Golden Globes it won Best Actor — Drama and Best Foreign Language Film and became the first Brazilian film to be nominated for Best Picture — Drama. At the 98th Academy Awards (which, by the way, have you started to think about how insufferable the 100th Oscars are going to be?) it earned four nominations, although it didn’t win any. While it may seem like a coup, once you see it, you can’t notice it has many of the hallmarks of the kinds of movies the Academy adores in the 21st Century – especially, and unfortunately, fellow 2025 critical darling One Battle After Another (with a tasteful splash of No Country For Old Men).

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Criterion Month Day 28: Flow

Flow (2024)

So I end my Criterion Month journey in a somewhat unfamiliar place, seeing as animation is not exactly the Criterion Collection’s forté. The only animated film I can remember ever reviewing for Criterion Month is the insane Fantastic Planet, but maybe there have been others. Either way, Flow was one of those rare cases where an international film crosses over to be a worldwide hit just because the amount of care put into it is undeniable. Also, it just has a built-in cross-over appeal because it’s not encumbered by a language barrier, seeing as all of the dialogue in the film comes in the form of meows, woofs, and squawks.

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