30. MAN FINDS TAPE

Everyone has their broadly biased loves and hates when it comes to movies. Some people love all heist movies; some people hate all horror movies — that’s just the way it is. With that in mind, I know that this review of Man Finds Tape is extremely unfair because a few of my broadly biased hates are found footage, fake documentaries, and using “screen videos” from a cell phone. Man Finds Tape uses every single one of those filmmaking approaches, and despite being just 84 minutes, it felt like forever. I legitimately almost walked out.

29. NIGHTMARE BUGS

Truth be told, I probably should have skipped Nightmare Bugs. However, when covering a film festival, you try to see as much as possible in the name of discovery, even if you know it won’t be for you. As it stands, I’ve long known anime isn’t for me, so this is yet another unfair review. It’s fine, I guess? I don’t know. The artwork, especially on the monsters, is really well done, but as much as I tried, I just couldn’t get myself invested in the story. Will true anime fans enjoy it? Maybe? I honestly have no idea. Sorry, but I’m of no help here.

28. HER WILL BE DONE

Her Will be Done plays a little like if Call Me by Your Name was a Polish folk horror, with a dash of Stephen King’s Carrie thrown in for good measure. I have no doubt that there is an audience for this movie, but I’m not it since it’s another farmhouse horror, a la The Witch, that relies more on atmosphere, production design, and moody vibes than actual story. It’s just a slog of a movie that I struggled to stay awake during. However, I fully admit that could be a “me” thing since I seem to have this issue with a lot of similar movies. Maybe judge this one for yourself.

27. THE THINGS YOU KILL

I’ve never been a big fan of director David Lynch, so when things are described as Lynchian, it’s not exactly a selling point. Furthermore, Lynchian surrealism is hard enough to understand in English, so watching it through subtitles can make it doubly confusing. The Things You Kill is exactly that — an extremely slow, very Lynchian tale about a man dealing with generational inner darkness and feelings of inadequacy in a patriarchal society. It’s the type of movie whose meaning I needed to clarify after the fact, and honestly, the explanation I found on Google was far more interesting than the actual movie I had just watched.

26. CRUSHED

If one were to check out Crushed based solely on the appealing, almost family-friendly poster, that person would be in for a rude awakening because the subject matter at play here, which includes pedophilia and cruelty to animals, makes for an extremely uncomfortable viewing experience. And while I understand that showing the ultimate depths of humanity’s darkness is meant to really drive home Pastor Daniel’s (Steve Oram) crisis of faith, as a non-religious person, I just couldn’t relate to or invest myself in his inner turmoil, leaving me with the depravity but no thought-provoking moral conflict.

25. ODYSSEY

Odyssey is clearly going for something akin to Uncut Gems, but it struggles to maintain the audience’s interest because it fails to craft a compelling central character or tangible stakes. You’re essentially watching an insecure but egotistical real estate agent have the worst week of her life, but there is no true intrigue to the undercooked issues she is dealing with. So, by the time the out-of-nowhere (albeit well-done) finale of violence starts, you’re already checked out. Credit given where credit is due, though: Polly Maberly gives a great lead performance because I hated her character.

24. NO ONE WILL KNOW

Movies about ill-gained lottery tickets aren’t new, with Finder’s Fee and Your Lucky Day both coming to mind. Unfortunately, if you’ve seen either of those two movies, No One Will Know doesn’t offer much of a fresh perspective. Underwritten characters blend into a confusing story structure built on alternate viewpoints of single incidents and cutaway scenes depicting the various lies being ginning up. Granted, maybe something was lost in the subtitles, but the repetitive looping aspect of the narrative is extremely frustrating, even preventing the viewer from investing in the most basic “what would you do?” aspect of a story like this.

23. DOG OF GOD

If you go into Dog of God expecting the next Flow since both are animated films from Latvia, let me stop you right there. This movie could not be more different, with the only shared aspect between the two being beautiful animation (rotoscoping, in this instance). That aside, Dog of God is sure to be divisive. Hell, I’m internally divided. On one hand, I have no idea what I just watched or the point of the story. On the other hand, I was too captivated by the borderline pornographic imagery on screen to look away. It’s a scene, man.

22. SWORD OF VENGEANCE

When your poster advertises “Mad Max meets Highlander,” you’re kinda setting yourself up for failure because that is an almost impossible hype line to live up to. Sadly, Sword of Vengeance does indeed fail to rise to the moment. Don’t get me wrong, I can see where the comparisons make some sense, but they are extremely superficial and mostly applicable to the world-building done here. Otherwise, Vengeance lacks exciting action, charismatic characters, or a compelling narrative. If you squint, you can see a bit of the two classics it was compared to, but it’s Fury Road with no fury and Highlander with paltry highs.

21. THE HOME (HEMMET)

If not for Anki Lidén’s performance, I’m not sure much would be memorable about The Home (not the same as The Home with Pete Davidson, see below). Overall, this is a by-the-book possession flick blended with a story about dementia and abuse. However, writer-director Mattias Johansson Skoglund never links these ideas in a way that is wholly satisfying, and the things happening on screen don’t always make sense; or worse, they are unnecessary diversions. On the plus side, Skoglund does a solid job of creating an unsettling atmosphere (even more than he establishes legitimate scares, frankly), although that could be on me since I think old people are creepy.

20. ROQIA

Of all the horror subgenres, exorcisms are the most tired. With that in mind, I appreciate that director Yanis Koussim does something rather fresh with the idea. By using possession to explore Islamic radicalism instead of the typical Catholic good v. demonic evil story, we are given a unique perspective with cultural relevance, even if the film ultimately succumbs to usual tropes. That said, while there is an unnerving atmosphere throughout, it’s painfully slow, which surely isn’t helped by the subtitles. One prayer is constantly repeated by the exorcist, so it became so much redundant reading that it completely pulled me out of the experience.

19. NINA

Nina, a Spanish thriller, does a terrific job of evoking the atmosphere of neo-noir and European westerns of the 70s through its score, production value, and set and costume designs. The performances are no slouch either, especially Patricia López Arnaiz. However, the pacing is a bit too languid to truly capture the audience in the early going. In fact, I was never fully engaged until a reveal around the midway point, which results in everything that came before feeling like an unnecessary prologue. Following said reveal, the film re-establishes its purpose, causing viewers to lean forward in their seats with more interest. Sadly, it’s too little, too late.

18. THE HOME

While The Home has plenty of gore, semi-effective jump scares, and an excellent symphony of violence in the final 10 minutes, it overall falters due to extremely sluggish pacing and a general feeling of cheapness. I’m honestly surprised this wasn’t released directly to Shudder, but I guess Miramax figured Pete Davidson was a box office draw. Speaking of Davidson, he’s not exactly miscast, but his character here is basically the same as his characters in Big Time Adolescence and The King of Staten Island, which makes this performance little more than adequate for horror. Overall, this might have worked better as an episode of Tales from the Crypt.

17. WE BURY THE DEAD

We Bury the Dead does a decent job of creating a zombie world with genuinely fresh rules, but writer-director Zak Hilditch buries those rules under the same ol’ zombie movie tropes we’ve seen time and time again. He also doesn’t flesh out Ava (Daisy Ridley) enough to truly hook the viewer, leaving her journey mostly superficial and wavetop to the point where her climactic moment — the entire point of the story — comes and goes without much catharsis or resolution. Hilditch does well as the director, demonstrating a good eye and getting great performances from his cast, but his script sinks the ship a bit.

16. DEATHSTALKER

As a big fan of Steven Kostanski’s 80s tributes Psycho Goreman and Frankie Freako, not to mention having an affinity for old-school sword-and-sorcery movies, I was super excited for Deathstalker. On the surface, it has everything I’d want in a modern homage to movies like Krull: terrific practical effects, lovingly shoddy visual effects, fantastic creature design, and self-aware weirdness. So, I’m puzzled as to why I found it so flat and (mostly) lacking in fun. It’s almost like Kostanski is showing too much reverence for the genre, so it veers into being too self-serious. Perhaps this is an expectations problem, and a second viewing is needed.

16. OTHER

Other, a familiar tale about a woman returning to the ancestral home after the death of a parent to discover strange occurrences, manages to keep viewers on their toes by never showing its hand until the very end. Director David Moreau uses a plethora of tricks — some good, some less so — to keep the mystery pumping, most notably by keeping the things that go bump in the night relegated to the shadows and out-of-focus background. Unfortunately, once the movie flips over its cards, it does so with such inelegance that it all ends up feeling a bit silly.

14. HONEY BUNCH

While there aren’t many scares in Honey Bunch, the beautifully mesmerizing 70s pastiche, to include some tremendous needle drops, helped keep me engaged even through the film’s slower moments. It certainly has horror-ish elements, but it’s more like directors Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli first crafted an oddball love story about what it means to be devoted to one’s partner, then very lightly sprinkled it with some suspense-thriller dust. Honey Bunch is ultimately better from the macro view once all is said and done than the micro view while you’re in it, but its dreamlike qualities had me entranced, nonetheless. Strangely, its whole vibe reminded me of The Lobster.

13. OMNISCIENT READER: THE PROPHECY

If you put Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Squid Game, and a bit of Pixels into a blender, you’d end up with something close to Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy, which is a lot of fun until it really isn’t. Despite the hit-and-miss CGI, an approach that skews a tad younger than I’d like, and some too-on-the-nose messaging, each developing video game-like scenario creates genuine moments of tension and decent action. However, the third act goes off the rails by mostly tossing aside all the elements that made the story intriguing in favor of throw-it-at-the-wall action noise and poor explanations.

12. EXIT 8

Unbeknownst to me, Exit 8 is based on a video game. I can 100 percent see how the game — a psychological horror walking simulator — would be equally addictive and frustrating, especially in VR. In fact, the movie adaptation does a great job of capturing the overall feeling of a VR game, particularly with the shot framing. However, as a non-participatory viewer, it becomes monotonous rather quickly despite director Genki Kawamura doing his best to switch things up around the halfway point. Still, Exit 8 is mostly effective, flaws and all, but it might have been better as an episode of an anthology series.

11. SWEETNESS

Sweetness is essentially a modern update to Stephen King’s Misery, specifically speaking on the current era of squads like Swifties and The BeyHive, where pop stars have reached near God-like status complete with faithful and extremely protective followings. As such, Sweetness naturally has moments of young adult, Gen Z cringe; however, they are offset by a willingness to go much darker than one might initially expect. For the most part, the movie — built on a tight-rope performance from young Kate Hallett — works, aside from the ending, which delivers a message that I don’t ultimately love.

10. MARCO

Marco is almost two movies in one. The first is an over-the-top action-revenge movie that is so ludicrously absurd that it feels like an SNL skit at times. I mean that in the best way possible. The violence, music, choreography, and stylish direction are the perfect amount of Bollywood bonkers. That movie is about 60 minutes long. The second movie — the one that surrounds the first one — is an additional 90 minutes of over-written and unnecessary exposition. Overall, Marco is like Kill meets RRR, and despite me wishing it was shorter, the ridiculous action sequences are just too damn entertaining.

9. BAMBOO REVENGE

Thematically similar to movies like Violation and Promising Young Woman, Bamboo Revenge is an imperfect but tight French thriller. There are a few moments where you need to maybe overlook a small detail to simply let the story unfold, but those moments don’t take away from the intriguing mystery at the film’s core. That is particularly true since there really isn’t time to get bogged down in the minutia given the brisk 87-minute runtime. Though I had my predictions — some right, some wrong — I was fully invested from beginning to end, and for a foreign indie thriller this lean, what more can you ask for?

8. BONE LAKE

Bone Lake generally lives up to the expectations set by the posters and the fact that it’s a sex-driven horror thriller with a puntastic title, delivering suspense, thrills, and laughs throughout its brisk runtime. The tension, sexual and otherwise, is palpable, and while there certainly is a feeling of erotic-thriller hotness, director Mercedes Bryce Morgan manages to create that atmosphere without being gratuitous (opening scene aside). Personally, I wouldn’t have minded if it went a little harder and got a little steamier, but I can’t complain with what I was ultimately given. Bone Lake is a wickedly fun ride.

7. HI-FIVE

Seemingly trying to recapture the vibe of early 2000s Marvel, Hi-Five is a Korean throwback to fun and funny superhero comedies like Tim Story’s Fantastic Four. Suffice it to say, it’s silly, but only in the most charming ways. And the special effects aren’t great, but that adds to the nostalgic charm. More importantly, though, the characters are engaging, the humor works (even through subtitles), and the soundtrack is full of 80s bangers. Look, I get comparing Hi-Five to Fantastic Four might not be a selling point, but it hearkens back to when superhero movies were a mostly light-hearted good time. I’d watch a sequel.

6. SLANTED

Skillfully blending Mean Girls with The Substance, Slanted is a clever satire about internalized racism and self-acceptance in the face of society’s treatment of minorities. It is, admittedly, a little too-on-the-nose and heavy-handed in its messaging; however, considering this likely was made for a teen audience, that obviousness can easily be forgiven because of how funny, sharp, somewhat heartbreaking, and perhaps most importantly, timely it all is. In her feature debut, writer-director Amy Wang announces herself as someone to keep an eye on, and I would love to see what she does with something a little more grown up.

5. WELCOME HOME BABY

Though it may be yet another movie about a woman who must return to the ancestral home following the death of a parent only to discover strange occurrences, I immediately bought into what Welcome Home Baby was selling. That is mostly thanks to a tremendous lead performance from Julia Franz Richter, who effortlessly pulls you into her unraveling as unexplainable happenings and creepy interactions continue to mount. Unfortunately, I can’t really discuss the overall themes and the metaphor at play without getting into spoiler territory, and this absolutely is a movie you should walk into blind. I’ll just say… Welcome Home Baby was a surprising and welcome discovery.

4. THE PIANO ACCIDENT

With The Piano Accident, director Quentin Dupieux has crafted a brilliant satire on the emptiness of internet fame, particularly as it relates to the Jackass-style videos that barter self-harm for celebrity status. But as great as his script is, it all hangs on the performance of Adèle Exarchopoulos as Magalie, an entitled, egotistical, and despicable human being that you can’t help but be drawn to and even feel sympathy for. Admittedly, I wonder to what degree hearing her awfulness in beautiful French softens her edges a bit, but the irreverently light-hearted tone that Dupieux peddles creates the same effect. This is a black comedy winner.

3. THE TOXIC AVENGER

This remake of The Toxic Avenger is a loving homage and tribute to Troma Entertainment and weird 80s B-movies (including the original The Toxic Avenger, obviously) much in the way that Black Dynamite is a love letter to blaxploitation movies of the 70s. It features all the hallmarks of the era’s cult classics: hilarious absurdity, buckets of blood and gore, a terrifically warped charm, and unparalleled self-awareness. The entire cast, but especially Kevin Bacon and Elijah Wood, know exactly what kind of movie they are making, and if director Macon Blair can maintain this level of commitment in potential sequels, I’ll watch every goofy-ass chapter.

2. CODE 3

Here's something I didn’t expect to have on my 2025 movie Bingo card: Code 3 is a gem of a movie and one of the year’s biggest surprises. Despite being marketed as a straight comedy, this is anything but. Yes, there are dark laughs, but only in the way that one must laugh in the face of tragedy just to get through the day. Otherwise, this is an honest and harrowing tribute to paramedics and a scathing indictment of the American healthcare system. It’s heartfelt, heartbreaking, and surprisingly moving, all the more shocking given the film’s overly photoshopped travesty of a poster.

1. GOOD BOY

Weapons and its director, Zach Cregger, have (rightfully) dominated the horror conversation recently, but both director Ben Leonberg and his feature debut, Good Boy, need to be mentioned right alongside them. Seriously, and surprisingly, this is one of the best and most creative horror movies in years thanks to Leonberg’s brilliantly novel direction and — I’m not even joking — perhaps the best performance of the year. Yes, I’m talking about Indy the Dog. I felt every bit of the pup’s fear, confusion, anguish, and concern, which drives an effectively innovative horror experience that is spookily disorienting and oddly heartfelt. Good boy!? Very good boy…