Reed Alexander
Bio
I'm the foulmouthed horror movie critic. I post new reviews every Sunday, so stay tuned =D
Stories (281/0)
Reed Alexander's Horror Review of 'Crimes of the Future' (2022)
This was not a horror movie. This was a fucking Nine Inch Nails' music video. This was also everything Panos Cosmatos wishes he could create. Now, if we're doing Cronenberg, we know damn good and well shit is about to get weird. But like all artistic masturbation, are we really connecting, are we hitting the mark, or are we just jerking ourselves off? You know, this movie even made a point to ask that ironically, which I think is the brilliance of Cronenberg. Sure he has something to say, but he's also just as willing to admit he's jerking himself off.
By Reed Alexander9 months ago in Horror
Reed's Literary Horror Review of 'Unquiet Spirits' Edited by Murray and Smith (2022)
I'll be perfectly honest with you, ghost stories bore the shit out of me. I used to ghost hunt in my youth and after some pretty freaky stuff in real life, everything written seems quaint. I'm not even particularly excited about haunting movies. Ghosts really just don't do it for me. However, when I heard the premise of this collection, I jumped at the chance to get my hands on a copy.
By Reed Alexander10 months ago in Horror
Reed Alexander's Horror Review of "We Need To Do Something" (2021)
I love when simple concepts are done right. This movie reminded me of The Phone Booth (2002) in that it uses one setting and a simple concept and just runs with it. It proves one of my favorite points in really good horror. "Horror is often about not knowing." There is something so terrifying about the unknown and quite a lot you can do with just that as a concept.
By Reed Alexander12 months ago in Horror
Reed Alexander's Horror Review of 'Men' (2022)
You know, there was a lot to like about this movie but I don't think it quite pulled off what it was going for. Honestly, I'm not sure why it tried to be so psychedelic. It had a solid premise, a solid antagonist, well-developed characters, and immersive atmosphere. But you know A24 can't just leave it at that. There needs to be symbolism and hidden meaning and... well fuck. I just don't think it was necessary. It's like my review of Beyond The Black Rainbow (2010), sure, even donkey shows are art in some way shape or form. But is there really any value to being this cryptic when what you have already works?
By Reed Alexander12 months ago in Horror
Reed's Literary Horror Review of 'Resisting Madness' by Wesley Shouthard (2019)
This was a fantastic collection of just... fucking weird stuff. I'm not sure if I can consider the collection splatterpunk. Yeah, there was some of that, but it was actually second fiddle to stories that were just grimly weird. I'd call the collection "Weird Horror" personally, but believe me that does not diminish from the punch it delivers.
By Reed Alexanderabout a year ago in Horror
Reed Alexander's Literary Review of 'Blood and Mud' by John Baltisberger (2020)
Yeah, this was really good and I can definitely recommend it. I do have a huge gripe with horror that makes me want to root for the antagonist. One of the tropes I complain about the most is the tendency for horror to have victims that are all contemptible pricks. However, there are two important points to the first contemptible pricks of this story. First, they are white supremacists, a group called The Righteous, and I do love it when white nationalists, especially Incel white nationalists, get their comeuppance. I am a huge fan of comeuppance. As I've noted in the past, comeuppance can be cathartic.
By Reed Alexanderabout a year ago in Horror
Reed's Literary Horror Review of 'Tortured Willows' by Christina Sng, Angela Yuriko Smith, Lee Murray, Geneve Flynn
Lord, there is a lot of pain in the first few poems alone. I have to admit, I'm like... the worst guy to submit poetry to for review. But I felt that this collection really needed to be heard and I had to contribute what meager opinions I could on the matter.
By Reed Alexander2 years ago in Horror
Reed Alexander's Horror Review of 'Phantasm IV' (1998)
Most of this movie takes place in flashbacks from the first one, or in cars on a dirt road. The rest takes place in the desert. Talk about filming on a budget. I feel like they didn't get a permit to shoot most of this. I chuckled to myself watching it, imagining the director shooting incognito on long desert roads in the middle of the night to avoid fines.
By Reed Alexander2 years ago in Horror
Reed's Literary Horror Review of '3:33 AM' (2021)
I have to say, this book's characters are absolutely marvelously defined. This is probably some of the most detailed and engrossing characters and character development I've read in a long time. They're richly tangible and relatable with dialog that is both full and natural.
By Reed Alexander2 years ago in Horror
Reed Alexander's Horror Review of 'The Stairs' (2021)
A pretty solid piece of weird horror. Now, I tend to grade of a bit of a curve when it comes to independent horror movies, but I really didn't have to here. This little slice of weird stands well on its own. The acting was good for horror. We're not talking Academy Award winning performances, but still pretty solid. There was a little bit of ham, a few moments that registered as awkward, but hey, it's horror. Even the child acter did okay. The cast did a fine job and that's all that matters.
By Reed Alexander2 years ago in Horror
Reed's Literary Horror Review of 'Son of the Right Hand: Ze'ev Book 2' (2021), by John Baltisberger
In my review of Treif Magic (2020), I mentioned that Ze'ev was a matured anti-hero that understood the consequences of his action, accepted his fate, and made the leap into darkness without hesitation or angsty whining. Unlike John Constantine from Hell Blazer who persistently refused to take responsibility for his own mistakes the whole while complaining about the consequences.
By Reed Alexander2 years ago in Horror
