The Fear Review

This week on The Fear Review, we’re talking about Night Nurse, the new IFC psychological thriller from writer/director Georgia Bernstein. This one was a miss for both of us, but for slightly different reasons. William could see the ideas the movie was reaching for — power dynamics, manipulation, obsession, and a dreamlike atmosphere — but the script never fully convinced him of the central relatio...

We finally reached the end of our Road to Evil Dead Burn, and this one put both of us through it. William loved how relentless Evil Dead Burn is. Amy walked away completely spent after one of the most intense horror experiences she's had in a theater. The gore is bigger. The action is faster. But what surprised us most wasn’t just how bloody it gets, but how mean this movie feels compared to the r...

We wrapped up our Road to Evil Dead Burn by revisiting the 2013 remake of Evil Dead… and it completely changed Amy's opinion of the movie. William still thinks it's one of the strongest entries in the franchise thanks to its brutal gore, smarter character setup, and relentless horror. Amy isn't convinced. After watching Bruce Campbell's original trilogy for the first time, the cabin just isn't the...

Continuing our Road to Evil Dead Burn, we’re talking Army of Darkness — and this one completely surprised Amy. After avoiding it for years because she thought it was basically Monty Python with horror, Amy finally watched Army of Darkness all the way through…and it became her favorite Evil Dead movie so far. We talk about why this one feels more like Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Th...

We’re continuing our road to Evil Dead Burn with Evil Dead II, and this is the movie where the franchise really starts to feel like the Evil Dead everyone remembers. The original was straight horror. This one brings in the slapstick, the bigger Deadites, the chainsaw hand, and the moment where Ash finally becomes Ash. We talk about why this sequel feels so different, why Amy had more fun with it t...

We’re kicking off our Road to Evil Dead Burn with the movie that started it all: The Evil Dead. William has loved this franchise for years. Amy thought she knew it because she knew Ash, the chainsaw, and the quotes. Turns out, the original is a very different beast. Before the boomstick, before the one-liners, and before Ash became the Ash everyone remembers, Sam Raimi’s 1981 original was a gritty...

We checked out Forbidden Fruits on Shudder, and it ended up being a fun one. For most of it, Amy and I were both enjoying the cute, witchy, glossy vibe. It kind of feels like if the girls from The Craft listened to Spice Girls instead of The Cure. Then the last stretch kicks in and reminds you very quickly that, yes, this belongs on the horror aisle. In this episode, we talk about the movie’s tone...

Backrooms and Obsession have been standouts in a really good stretch of horror lately, and Leviticus belongs in that conversation. This one is basically conversion therapy It Follows, which is a weird combination, but it works. William thought the horror hook was strong, simple, and effective. Amy had a harder time with the heavier side of the movie and spent most of it wanting to get these kids o...

The Voices of Our Mother takes a very different approach to possession horror, but does the ending make the journey worth it? William and Amy had very different reactions to Shudder's latest original horror film. William appreciated the slow-building mystery and thought the payoff delivered one of the more original possession stories he's seen in a while. Amy agreed the ending was strong but wasn'...

Amy did something she's never done before on The Fear Review: she walked out. Not because of the horror. Not because of the gore. Because she couldn't take another minute with the characters. This week we're reviewing Find Your Friends, the new Shudder Original that follows a group of young women whose desert getaway spirals into violence. While the film aims to explore party culture, toxic friend...

The Wayans are back with a new Scary Movie, but did they actually go as far as the marketing promised? Amy was laughing constantly and gave Scary Movie a Full Price, calling it a fun return to the franchise's slapstick roots. William had a great time too, but came away wishing the comedy had a little more bite. In this episode, we discuss whether this style of parody comedy still works in 2026, wh...

Can a movie be so well done that it's bad for you?vThat's the question at the center of our review of OBSESSION. William thinks the film succeeds at exactly what it sets out to do, but Amy thinks that's precisely the problem. From its relentless tension and disturbing imagery to one of the bleakest horror experiences we've had in a long time, OBSESSION left us completely divided. Is making an audi...

BACKROOMS completely caught us off guard. What started as a creepy liminal horror movie slowly turned into one of the most isolating and emotionally draining theater experiences Amy’s had in a long time. This wasn’t just jump scares or creepy hallways. The sound design and hidden footsteps had Amy literally covering her ears and wishing she had noise-canceling headphones. We break down how the dis...

Natalie Erika James returns with one of the most physically uncomfortable horror movies we’ve seen in a long time. In this episode, we break down Saccharine’s disturbing body horror, escalating “hungry ghost” imagery, unsettling sound design, and the deeper emotional themes underneath all of it. What starts as psychologically uncomfortable horror slowly reveals itself as something much heavier abo...

Natalie Erika James’ horror films don’t just scare you — they feel physical. After revisiting Relic and Apartment 7A for our Natalie Erika James spotlight week, we sat down with Natalie to talk about Saccharine, sensory horror, body horror, sound design, trauma, and the emotional themes running throughout her films. We also discuss: • the emotional layers behind Relic • building Apartment 7A insid...

Apartment 7A takes the world of Rosemary’s Baby and filters it through Broadway ambition, bodily discomfort, manipulation, and psychological horror. This week on The Fear Review, William and Amy continue their Natalie Erika James spotlight with Apartment 7A, the psychological horror prequel centered on Terry Gionoffrio before the events of Rosemary’s Baby. Julia Garner and Dianne Wiest deliver inc...

Relic starts as a deeply creepy haunted house movie. Then it slowly turns into something emotionally devastating. For the first entry in our Natalie Erika James Spotlight Week, we revisited Relic years after first watching it and this time it hit completely differently. Between the shadowy figures, claustrophobic hallways, body horror, and the emotional weight underneath everything, this movie got...

Texas Frightmare Weekend is one of our favorite horror conventions every year but it can also become COMPLETE chaos if you’re not prepared 😅 After nearly 20 years attending TFW, we finally put together the convention survival guide we wish we had years ago. In this special episode, we cover: 🎃 autograph strategy 🎃 photo op mistakes 🎃 budgeting & cash tips 🎃 crowd survival 🎃 panels &...

A zombie outbreak hits immediately in This Is Not A Test and honestly? The opening had us completely locked in. Fast infected, chaos in the streets, and strong 28 Days Later energy had us thinking this was going to be a brutal zombie ride. Then the movie slows way down once everyone reaches the high school, and that’s where it lost Amy almost completely. In this episode, William and Amy break down...

Whistle had everything it needed to work… and somehow still never gets scary. We went into this expecting something tense and unsettling, but instead found ourselves calling almost every moment before it happened. The concept is strong, there are a couple creative kills, and there’s even a quick appearance from Nick Frost — but none of it adds up to actual fear. In this episode, we break down why...

Amy screamed during Hokum and still walked out feeling hopeful. Damian McCarthy’s latest haunted hotel story turns into something deeper: a haunted man confronting the past he never escaped. After revisiting Caveat and Oddity earlier this week, we close out our Damian McCarthy spotlight with what might be his most emotional and accessible horror film yet. It’s scary without being punishing, person...

After Caveat unsettled Amy the first time, we didn’t expect Damian McCarthy to do it again. But Oddity builds its tension differently. Instead of claustrophobia, this one leans into mystery — starting with a late-night warning at the door and slowly unfolding into something stranger, quieter, and harder to shake once it’s over. We talk about what makes the wooden figure so effective, how the story...

This week kicks off our Damian McCarthy Director Spotlight with one of the most quietly unsettling horror films of the last decade: Caveat (2020). A remote island. A locked harness. A house you can’t leave. And one very disturbing toy rabbit. We break down what makes Caveat so effective, why its slow dread works differently than most modern horror, and how McCarthy builds tension without relying o...

We’re closing out our Samara Weaving Spotlight Week with Mayhem (2017) a workplace horror-action movie that’s way more brutal than its reputation suggests. Before Ready or Not, Samara Weaving was already leaning into darker genre territory alongside Steven Yeun in this corporate meltdown nightmare about a virus that removes social inhibitions and turns an office building into a pressure cooker of...

Samara Weaving didn’t become a scream queen overnight. But The Babysitter is the movie where it really started. Directed by McG, this fast-paced horror-comedy blends brutal kills, dark humor, and unexpected heart into what feels like Home Alone written by Stephen King. What starts as a simple babysitting job turns into a night of survival when a kid discovers his babysitter is part of something fa...