July 16th: Featuring three very different films directed by women. We’ve got a directionless bartender taking a life changing modeling job, a teen coming to terms with her sexuality and her father’s addiction, and a jilted middle school theater teacher enacting an increasingly dark and absurd revenge plot. In Transit (2025): Director: Jaclyn BethanyScreenwriter: Alex…
July 14th: Big day for serious drama. Featuring a realistic story of addiction and recovery in Ohio, infidelity and attempted murder in 1920s China, and inter-generational conflict between rural midwives in the Andes. Union County (2026): Director: Adam MeeksScreenwriter: Adam MeeksProducers: Brad Becker-Parton, Ellyn Daniels, Martha Gregory, Tim Headington, Will O’Connor, Theresa Steele Page, Will…
July 12th: Day One for me was actually Day Three of the festival. That’s what I get for having a day job. I got off to a very strong start with the world premiere of indie horror gem Still Ohio, followed by new-to-me Oscar nominee Past Lives. In a way, both movies are about not…
Or, “What I Did on My Summer Vacation”*. As I’m sure our twelve dedicated readers will remember, I posted a rare non-Octoberween review last week (Still Ohio, check it out). I saw that film at the Maine International Film Festival (MIFF). Run by the Maine Film Center in Waterville, ME, the festival showcases work from…
That’s right, folks. Your favorite mostly-defunct Halloween blog is attending the 29th Annual Maine International Film Festival (MIFF). I won’t be reviewing every movie I see—Past Lives has already gotten its laurels—but I couldn’t wait until Octoberween to tout this future horror classic. Still Ohio (2026 MIFF Premier): The Plot: College freshman Ana (Fernanda Lopez)…
It’s Halloween, and we’re bringing our most jam-packed Octoberween in years to a close. Second Breakfast shared a delightful double feature with two very different takes on Frankenstein. I roamed across time and tone to bring you reviews of 28 Years Later; Fido; Good Boy; Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack; Lake…
Today’s Dracula vampire is brought to you by France (by way of Russia). The Vourdalak (2023): The Plot: The Marquis d’Urfé (Kacey Mottet Klein), an emissary of the King of France, takes refuge with a strange peasant family after being waylaid by bandits in 18th-century Eastern Europe. Told to seek aid from the elderly Gorcha…
Rooster Illusion 