I’ve seen a lot of hype for COMPANION, and boy does it deliver. Contemporary horror at its finest, as it paints a picture of modern relationships, the trappings of man, and what having power can do to unjust people. Elevated by a wired performance from horror girl Sophie Thatcher and on-the-nose yet effective directing from Drew Hancock, the messaging “Companion” brings is vastly needed in today’s society, which seems more apathetic than ever.

For a while now, the Chinese film industry has been growing and growing year-over-year. Bigger, better, and more polished, their tentpoles have come a long way in the past decade. China’s “Creation of the Gods” franchise, their attempt at making a big-budget LOTR-like franchise of the stories contained in the mythological “Investiture of the Gods,” is back with its 2nd installment, aptly titled “Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force.” Given the iffy quality of the 1st one, does this manage to surpass expectations?

In the 2023 Oscars, Netflix’s All Quiet in the Western Front got 4 awards - Best International Feature, Best Score, Best Production Design, and Best Cinematography. While the opinion on the film itself was mixed, the director, Edward Berger, was soon launched into relevance among critics and cinephiles. His new film, “Conclave,” is a smart political thriller with noteworthy ideas, accompanied by refined performances, tensionful writing, and elevated cinematography.

The movie event of this November is here: 2024’s “Wicked”, directed by Jon M. Chu, promises to be a high-flying adaptation of a beloved Broadway musical. But does it defy gravity or end up falling like an Oz tumbleweed?

An abstract ghost story that is very loose structurally, “Presence” is doubtfully neurotic, walking a darkly and frankly nightmarish path in telling a small-scale plot involving familial conflict, scaring audiences by redefining normalcy.

A detailed portrait of the harsh reality of Jim Crow South, Nickel Boys captivates with vivid and abstract storytelling, unique imagery and perspective shifts, and themes of survival and empowerment. 

I didn't think we could get more polarizing this year after the productive indie horror releases this summer (I SAW THE TV GLOW, LONGLEGS), but it seems like there are always creatives willing to go the extra mile. In what is sure to be the most shocking and diverse horror film released this year, The Substance delivers a greatly abashed look at female beauty standards, Hollywood egos, and the lengths that people will go to get stardom, all to such a twisted extremity that it is practically guaranteed to leave audiences speechless by the end of it.

I feel there’s something that needs to be said about social justice and how it relates to world issues. All around the globe, people are valiantly speaking out for what they believe in, be that basic abortion rights or the ceasefire to one of the most horrific conflicts in modern human history. “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” NEON’s lesser priority this awards season, is a towering thriller that shows what happens when powerful men go down the political rabbit hole, endangering those close to them with harmful and oftentimes wrong beliefs.