Author: Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins

In the thematically rich fantasy Level 16, teen-aged Vivien (Emmy-nominated actress Katie Douglas) and Sophia’s (Celina Martin) are locked away in a sterile top secret facility where they’re taught the finer points of “feminine virtues” by Miss Brixil (Sara Canning), a Stepford-like headmistress, and left to question what fate awaits them when they age out of the institution. Wedding of-the-moment concerns (think The Handmaid’s Tale) to throwback aesthetics (think Joss Whedon’s criminally under-appreciated Dollhouse by way of Argento employing a desaturated palette), writer/director Danishka Esterhazy (Black Field, H&G) crafts a sinister allegory that packs a wicked feminist punch. “Level 16…

[CARGO] ** USA 2018 Dir: James Dylan 80 mins When Anthony Peterson (Ron Thompson) awakes trapped inside a large empty container he tries to gather any information on what has happened to him. The only other object inside the container is a mobile phone. The phone rings and when he answers he is met by the disguised voice of a man that tells Peterson he has been kidnapped. Not only that but they have his wife and if he does not wire them 10 Million dollars as ransom in the next 24 hours they will rape and murder his wife…

SOUNDBITE **** USA 2018 Dir: Michael Coulombe. 4 mins The latest from prolific filmmaker Michael Coulombe – released through his YouTube channel – is a marvellously unsettling exercise in minimalistic horror. A young woman (Taylor Murphy-Sinclair) immersed in the technological world that consumes us all (earphones, laptop, Smart Phone) receives an audio file accompanied by an image of a skull on her computer screen. The words “do it” are repeated over and over again. Coulombe’s short joins an increasing number of technophobic 21st century horror films designed for our screen-dominated culture and destined to be watched on the kind of…

A who’s who of horror and sci-fi team for a brand-new creepshow, TERROR TALES! From writer-director Jimmy Lee Combs, a film that brings together cast from Friday the 13th, Maniac Cop 1 & 2, George Romero’s The Crazies, Wes Craven’s The People Under the Stairs, Sleepaway Camp, Critters 2 and more! When Michael wakes up he is horrified to find that he is riding shotgun with a psychopath (Christopher Showerman, “Supergirl”) who reveals to him that his wife and daughter are held captive in the attached cargo trailer. The trailer is rigged to release a deadly toxin when triggered by…

PRODIGY *** U.S.A. 2018 Dir: Nathan Leon 110 mins “Prodigy” (2018) … In the near future, a young teen boy with visions seemingly predicting the end-times goes on the run with his estranged father. Together, they must evade those wanting to control the boy and those who wish to refute his claims… at any cost. Written and directed by Nathan Leon, “Prodigy” is an ambitious thriller whose inspiring ideas are never fully realized. The concept of a child gifted with visions concerning the end of the world is not a new one, but this film had some intriguing ideas which,…