The overall value of “Lesson of the Evil” as a meaningful film is debatable, although it is assuredly a demented portrait of a sociopathic psycho like only a twisted visionary can create.

... the downside is that the movie features a rote story framed in a milquetoast production where nothing stands out as noteworthy one way or the other.

From a fox mixed with a woodlouse to a falcon merged with who knows what, “Blood Glacier” is at its demented best when throwing monstrous mutations on top of outmatched scientists.

Simultaneously sad, sweet, inspiring, and even suspenseful, “Bottled Up” is a fascinating, and at times heartbreaking, David versus Goliath story where Goliath unfortunately emerges as the victor.

The true intention of “App” is to reinvigorate the moviegoing experience with a playful dose of creative fun. In that regard, “App” succeeds.

Anyone able to conceptualize the horrifying history fueling the fiction may find “The Sacrament” almost as terrifying as the real thing.

The result is a movie capable of commanding attention when the sexiness fires on all cylinders and the bizarreness mystifies before getting too far ahead of itself.

I’ve heard more emotion from Siri when asking my iPhone to find a sushi bar with a good happy hour than these girls offer after anyone in their friend circle dies.

“All Cheerleaders Die” makes an inspired mix out of familiar concepts and unfurls in a manner that is unusual and unexpected, but nearly always entertaining.

“Blood Shed” struggles to be unique against a script and a story that is poorly paced and confusingly underdeveloped.

“Mr. Jones” is a movie that is almost on its way to telling a frighteningly Lovecraftian yarn, but ultimately finds itself distracted by overindulgent artistry.

“Axeman” makes a strong case for suggesting that the “Friday the 13th” homage/ripoff would be better off cooling its jets in the freezer indefinitely until someone figures out a fresher angle to make it interesting again.

“P.O.E. Project of Evil” comes up with a collection of horror shorts that cannot exactly be described as “good”, but there are still enough oddball oddities on display to make it bizarrely fascinating in just about the weirdest possible way.

... it is always pretty to look at and never flat out dull, and that makes “Witching and Bitching” a fun and entertaining ride through elaborately wild territory.

“What We Do in the Shadows” has achieved nigh universal acclaim from those more prone to falling in love with the hypnotic charm of a satirical vampire mockumentary.

“LFO” dances around fascinating possibilities to be sure, but the final delivery is funneled through a stifling plotline that has too little payoff.

“Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead” evolves ... along its natural arc of “Evil Dead” homage by practically skipping the double dog dare of the second movie and going straight for over-the-top “Army of Darkness” outrageousness.

... the cleverness in the collective charm of everything mentioned above ends up working in unison to put “The Babadook” at the top of the list for the most emotionally engaging horror film of 2014.

"Rigor Mortis" is a border-blending fusion of Japanese ghost story and Cantonese vampire fiction spiked with sensationalized martial arts action as the cherry on top.

If a film by David Lynch mated with a movie from John Waters, and that offspring tried morphing into a Farrelly Brothers comedy , the result might look something like “R100.”