Absintian's Horror Reviews and Thoughts

The Boogeyman 2023 is a new interpretation of the boogeyman legend done a multitude of times in the past. Compared to those older entries this one focuses on the characters and their problems that the boogeyman is the catalyst to healing. The handling of grief when losing a parent at a young age and how the world reacts is written well. Meanwhile, the entity itself is not managed as well as the therapy. Will and his two daughters are stuck managing their own grief of their mother’s death. They are alone as everyone else around them, including the therapists, seem to act on script with little assistance to them. Will is a therapist himself and shows the greatest inability to manage. He can dispense help to his clients, but he himself has turned to the bottle. Going through the motions of being a good father, yet his discussions of the event leading to his wife’s death are few and especially not to his kids. Sawyer, the youngest, is having nightmares of something in her closet and other ...

Once upon a time in a Haunted house presents the story of an illegal immigrant taking a job at an unassuming home. She very quickly finds out that her job there is not a standard maid job and with her son in need of medical attention she will have to give the house what it wants.   The story plays out in a non-linear fashion, with the opening and closing sequences being a month after her arrival while the middle sections show us the day of her arrival at the house. The dark humor of the title cards adds a fun contrast to the film’s tension and oppressive themes. A moment of levity that doesn’t interfere with the overall tone.    The characters are all solidly fleshed out with only some small dialogue issues with a secondary character. The lead displays a good range from naive and fearful to seductive and predatory. We are given ample time within the short film to get to know her so her story is properly told. The clothing she wears and lighting on her to bring out her status within the...

IMDB Link Summer of ‘84 follows 4 friends; Davey, Tommy, Dale and Curtis whom are enjoying their summer. The highlight of their street is the nightime game of Manhunt. One team being hunters the others being the fugitives in a neighborhood wide game of hide and seek. During this game Davey notices a kid being assisted by his neighbor, Wayne. With Wayne’s good reputation as one of the town’s police officers Davey doesn’t think much of it. When a few days later the kid is not seen again and his picture shows up on a milk carton Davey suspects Wayne is the serial killer that was featured on the TV recently. While Davey’s obsession with conspiracy theories has made most adults not believe anything he says his friends believe just enough to help him spy on Wayne to find out evidence that Davey’s theory is correct. The characters work very well with each other, the group feels like a real group of friends with no artificial drama between them. Davey’s obsession is well built as a good reason...

IMDB Link Thomas returns to his home town after receiving a tarot card in the mail, a reminder of Moira a past lover he had when he was a young. On returning home he finds his home town undergoing great changes with new apartments and old friends there shunning him as a result of past deeds. We follow him and in a flashback watch the unfolding of his relationship with Moira. She was a woman told to be a whore and witch by his home down when Thomas was young. She was said to have many lovers and walk around the house nude. This is what brought Thomas and his friends to go spy on her. After a failed attempt at this he is injured and taken in by Moira. She heals his wounds and at the same time a relationship builds between them. He begins sneaking to her home and all the while the town talks down on her, blaming her for a curse on the town. While their relationship continues he begins being suspicious of her strange behavior. This leads to a rather fiery end to their relationship and what...

IMDB Link Travis and his parents are holed up in their home in the middle of the forest. In a survival situation with an epidemic raging within the world around them. After losing his grandfather the story follows Travis having to endure the horrors of the world and fear of what is outside. His dreams show him or show his mind attempting to come to terms with these issues. When a young family comes into their home things begin going downhill quickly as the latent issues that were there before become amplified once you add more into the mix. The plot is steady and straightforward. This works well and lets the characters take the forefront. Which all of the characters are well acted and solid. This brings the plot to be more driven by the characters themselves. Their needs and ideas is what pushes them through the story as the world itself has turned into a place where staying in one spot is both preferable but at the same time very risky. The tensions between Travis’ father and the new ...