In what has been a crowded few weeks, there’s been a bumper car run of horror fare. 1/31, 2/7, and 2/21 all have films that aim to appeal to the same audience, reducing their collective chances of breaking out. One of them is quite the odd movie, and I arguably went into it expecting a much darker and cautionary tale than I ended up seeing. You can't be both a serious slasher and a bubbly romance at the same time - Heart Eyes proves this with an intriguing concept and tension set pieces being hindered by rough plotting and a so-so central romance - presenting an ideal take on the Valentine’s Day holiday that seems to perpetuate broad spectacle over constant dependability.

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.

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.

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.