Not since Jennifer Kent’s “The Babadook” has a filmmaker so creatively captured both the magic and the misery of childhood fears and fantasy.

A basic, by-the-numbers retread of Amityville tropes and classic chiller clichés in milquetoast movie form.

“Dead Ant” delivers a certain amount of fun, just not the whole kit ‘n kaboodle of craziness promised by its premise.

Polished or not, the movie is so lifelessly sloppy, it looks like a rough cut of a half-speed rehearsal.

“Better Watch Out” turns dark humor into darker horror with a wicked twist on home invasion thrillers no sane mind can see coming.

With unimpressive scope and a casual approach to inducing unease, “The Crucifixion” is a mediocre at best entry in the demonic possession subgenre.

The film is so specifically focused on ‘McKamey Manor’ that Schnitzer may as well have made the entire movie about McKamey and nothing else.

“Wish Upon” may be a textbook teen thriller. But that textbook is bound tight, with sharp corners, hefty content, and a crisp, glossy finish.

If “The Sound” could make one of its own, it would be a woof because the movie is a dog.

If you’ve remained a happy passenger on the “Child’s Play” train, your boarding pass is still good for an entertaining ride on “Cult of Chucky” too.

Gugino and Greenwood pair perfectly, matching each other’s moods and mindsets with countering conflicts keeping intensity elevated.

Whatever the unknown number of disposable DTV detritus I’ve reviewed is up to now, “Ryde” increases it by one.

From the Carrie White clone to the cheap coincidence of a conveniently populated cabin a few feet away, “The New Blood’s” setups are admittedly silly.

“Leatherface” can succinctly be summed up as an outstanding Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo effort that is only a mediocre “Texas Chainsaw” film.

If vicariously living a 3D experience in 2D makes little sense to you as enthralling entertainment, prepare for a second serving of dull disappointment.

When anyone asks me as a jaded horror junkie if there is any movie capable of rattling me, my first answer is “The Poughkeepsie Tapes.”

On the list of all-time dumbest ways a horror movie character comes back to life, only Freddy Krueger’s flaming dog piss resurrection ranks higher.

If it didn’t have two big stars and the clout of an A24 banner, I doubt people would pay one-tenth of the attention given to “A Ghost Story.”

“Among the Living” excels at eliciting reactionary impulses.  Getting an audience to invest in true immersion however is easier said than done.

“Entrance” brings to mind “Absentia” in that it is a small-scale “slice of life” slow burner wringing oppressive dread out of an ordinary existence.