Ohad Mazaki

I absolutely adore what the Evil Dead series has been doingby letting these young filmmakers go completely batshit insane and flex their strengths with bigger budgets. And now with Evil Dead Burn, this franchise proves once again that it’s arguably the most consistent series out there. While it’s certainly my least favorite of the six so far, it’s still a relentlessly bloody good time, with Sebastien Vaniček infusing the series with a bleak and extremely gnarly new flavor. It’s utterly insane, demented, and deranged. Some of it is actually, genuinely, truly revolting. THE feel-bad flick of the summer— a deliciously fucked up, mean-spirited, and truly nasty installment that delivers nonstop hellish, gruesome extremism, even if it ultimately falls into some generic, underbaked screenwriting pitfalls. It still nonetheless manages to feel fresh thanks to its superb makeup work, standout performances across the board, and zany,slick camerawork. The quick match cuts, the close-ups, the mirror shots, that incredible oner in the middle, and the claustrophobic, minimalist aesthetic of that old, rotting house all beautifully come together to create an incredibly gross and grisly experience that genuinely had my ass tingling.

Big, bold, loud, unapologetic, and endlessly flawed, The Dark Knight Rises is an absolutely ridiculous, metal work. It’s blockbuster maximalism in its purest form. And while it certainly doesn’t always work for me— it’s incoherent, messy, and at times downright dull— it has such a confident voice and takes so many massive swings in true blockbuster fashion that I can’t help but respect what it’s going for. Massive, epic, and dumb as shit.

A Shakespearean, elegant, chaotic, epic, and beautifully human tragedy so monumental that its impact cannot be understated. A film as bold, ambitious, and everlasting as its immortal titular character. Almost 20 years later, The Dark Knight still remains the apex of CB filmmaking, with its indomitable, persistent, and unrelenting hope for the future in the worst of times and places— and its faith in people. A miracle. Batman’s unwavering commitment to justice despite his quiet suffering, personal sacrifice, and his…

An unhinged, over-the-top, nonsensical, satirical creature feature, An American Werewolf in London begins with plenty of promise. By the end, however, the only aspect that truly left a lasting impression on me was its absolutely incredible practical work. I’m genuinely in awe of this aspect, but unfortunately— and I can’t believe I’m saying this because I really wanted to love this— it ultimately fell a bit flat for me.