Since its debut at Sundance in 2013, “In Fear” has garnered poster-worthy praise like “chilling,” “instant classic,” and “one of the best horror movies of the year.” ... My one-word sound bite to describe “In Fear?”  Annoying.

“The Den” understands how to make the “found footage” format an organic character of its own, rather than a cheap medium to record a story that could have been told any other way.

After seeing Teddy Roosevelt with buffed-up Popeye arms firing a laser cannon at mechanical Martian invaders, it becomes apparent that “War of the Worlds: Goliath” has fun ideas.

While not fully satisfying, “Cabin Fever 2” is actually an irreverently humorous gorefest high on entertainment value even when it is deficient in sense and structure.

“Cabin Fever” reflects a tone that is gruesome above all else, but relieved with enough quick pinpricks of humor to make for a mood of not-so-serious horror entertainment.

“The Returned” is a uniquely intelligent movie intent on proving that there is still new life to be found in a genre about the dead.

“Dead Shadows” never takes a rake to its dirt bed, which is definitely a missed opportunity, but there are seeds of inspired cinematic ideas to be found buried within.

“The Visitor” no longer has to be taken as the serious achievement it was meant to be at inception, and can instead be enjoyed as a wonderfully weird curiosity of nearly epic proportions.

... if you can look past tearing seams in the visual effects and an occasionally spotty structure, a solid story and a splendid cast make “Sparks” a surprisingly entertaining superhero alternative to summertime Cineplex fare.

... there is no mistaking the throwback vibe of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” meets “The Thing” that triple threat writer/director/producer Joe Begos wishes to evoke with his debut feature.

While my appreciation of the film’s merit has increased marginally, my conclusion is still that “Here Comes the Devil” is an over-interpreted example of ambiguity confused for artistry.

It makes sense that Cristian Toledo and Lucio A. Rojas are the writers, directors, and producers of “Zombie Dawn” because it is difficult to imagine them being able to get anyone other than themselves interested in their project.

“Holy Ghost People” appears to position itself as a psychological thriller when it is really a character study about purposeless people struggling to change that descriptive adjective.

“Patrick: Evil Awakens” walks in stride with its predecessor while adding a new layer of appeal for audiences accustomed to the increased visual shocks and faster step of 21st century horror.

Genre film fans walk away with newfound appreciation for an overlooked era of movie culture and a slew of suggestions sure to influence Netflix queues for many weeks to come.

In addition to being well-covered ground premise-wise, there is little here besides one actress and one ghost, which is one more reason why horror veterans are unlikely to find anything of interest.

Like it or not, the indescribable nature of “Patrick Still Lives” makes its quality debatable, but its entertainment value assured.

Films like “VHS2,” “The ABC’s of Death,” and even “Chilling Visions” have set a higher standard, and “Penny Dreadful” is neither polished nor tight enough to meet that same bar.

Franklin and De Roche are in no rush to push the plot towards the finish line, though this intention is deliberately styled from Franklin’s fascination for Hitchcockian suspense rather than a mistimed sense of pace.

“Stitch” is either a decent movie felled by too much ambition and tremendously bad visual effects, or it is a bad movie modestly elevated by decent performances from a capable cast.