Horror – Matthew Liedke on Film

Halloween Adventures in B-Movie Horror 2026 Part 1

Welcome back one and all to another journey into the world of low-budget spooky entertainment from years gone by.

For those new to the site, every October I go into the world of B-movies. The type of flicks that were going to home video while more mainstream horror movies were entering theaters.

To begin this year, I have a couple movies spanning the 1970s and 1980s, featuring a mix of kills, styles and acting abilities. Let’s get 2026 underway with our first film released in the middle of the 70s.

REVIEW: ‘Other Mommy’ is a mostly unmemorable horror flick

Jessica Chastain is somewhat frightening here but not quite as scary as who she played in “Zero Dark Thirty.”

The latest film starring the Academy Award winner is another horror project from the studio Blumhouse. In the picture, helmed by Rob Savage and penned by Nathan Elston, Chastain portrays Ursula Martin, a woman who hasn’t quite struck the right balance between her career and home life.

As a result, her daughter Bella (Arabella Olivia Clark) makes a friend with an entity who takes on Ursula’s appearance, earning the name Other Mommy. As Bella becomes hesitant to growing closer with the entity, though, the supernatural force starts becoming aggressive and terrorizing those around her.

REVIEW: ‘Resident Evil’ adaptation strong on style, weak elsewhere

I was a bit mixed on both of Zach Cregger’s projects so far in the 2020s, and that trend continues with his latest work.

This time, the writer and director helmed an adaptation of a video game. While it shares the “Resident Evil title, though, what’s shown on screen is a completely independent side story taking place outside of the saga that rolls out in the game series.

The movie stars Austin Abrams as Brian, a medical courier who takes on one more delivery late at night because of a good payout, requiring him to drive to another city in snowy conditions. On the way, he encounters a woman who’s out of sorts because of an illness. He soon learns that this illness causes terrifying mutations and has spread to the city he’s going to with the medical package.

REVIEW: ‘Leviticus’ is an intriguing, compelling horror entry

“Leviticus,” AKA that part of the bible referenced by President Jed Bartlet when verbally taking down a homophobic radio host in “The West Wing.”

It’s also a 2026 horror flick written and directed by Adrian Chiarella. Set in rural Australia, the movie centers on Naim (Joe Bird), who relocates to a small factory town with his mother (Mia Wasikowska) after the death of the family patriarch. There he meets and starts a relationship with another boy in town, Ryan (Stacy Clausen).

However, when their relationship is uncovered by the rather religious community, both are sent to meet with a priest known for conducting rituals as a sort of conversion therapy. The results are frightening, as both begin encountering a dangerous entity hell bent on destroying each of them.

REVIEW: ‘Backrooms’ boasts good premise, but stumbles in execution

I’ve heard some horror stories about the retail space, but this one might take the cake.

In “Backrooms,” a film inspired by online horror stories, Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as Clark, a furniture store owner whose career as an architect was completely derailed. Clark is also coming off a difficult divorce, which he discusses regularly with his therapist, Dr. Mary Kline (Renate Reinsve).

His furniture business isn’t going well, either, as sales have dried up. His latest round of bad luck comes when the electricity at his store starts going haywire. While looking into the issue, though, he discovers a doorway to a sprawling, labyrinth-like alternate realm. He soon becomes obsessed with the space, to the concern of those around him.

REVIEW: ‘Obsession’ wastes interesting ‘Monkey’s Paw’ concept

I honestly wish I had just played “Yandere Simulator” for two hours instead.

For those unaware, yanderes are characters appearing in Japanese anime and manga who have a major obsession with their love interest, usually to a violent point. That sort of character is represented in Nikki over the course of “Obsession,” where she’s played by Inde Navarrette. However, the film centers on Baron “Bear” Bailey (Michael Johnston).

Bear has long been wanting to ask Nikki, his coworker at a music store, out on a date, but hasn’t worked up the courage. He finds a solution, though, in a small trinket that says it can grant any wish. He wishes for Nikki to fall completely in love with him, and expects it to do nothing. However, it works better than Bear could have imagined.

REVIEW: ‘They Will Kill You’ will entertain you

After “You’re Next,” “Satanic Panic,” “Ready or Not” and a RON sequel, we get the next movie in the Woman Surviving Evil Rich People Cinematic Universe.

In “They Will Kill You,” Zazie Beetz stars as Asia Reaves, a woman who gets a job as a maid in a New York high rise building after a 10-year prison sentence. Her stint behind bars was because of an incident involving her attacking her abusive father to protect her younger sister.

Now out of jail, Asia is looking to get her life together with her new job. She’s also looking to reconnect with her sister who she hasn’t seen in years, and is committed to using this opportunity to find her. However, she soon learns that the owners of the building have ulterior motives, namely sacrificing their new maid to Satan to keep their immortality.

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REVIEW: ‘The Bride’ is an abomination

First “Lisa Frankenstein,” and now this. Yeesh.

Written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, “The Bride” is a retelling of “Bride of Frankenstein.” However, rather than take place in the 1800s, this one is set in 1936 Chicago. The movie centers on Ida (Jessie Buckley), a young woman who is killed one night at a mob bar after she’s suddenly possessed by the spirit of Mary Shelley.

Meanwhile, Frankenstein (Christian Bale), the monster who took the name of his creator, has become exhausted from a century of loneliness and wants a significant other. With the help of a Chicago-based scientist, Dr. Euphronious (Annette Bening), they resurrect Ida, creating a wife for the monster. Their ensuing escapades result in havoc and chaos.

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REVIEW: Though fun, ‘Psycho Killer’ plays premise too straightforward

Slasher meets police procedural? Sure, why not.

That’s what’s offered up in “Psycho Killer,” where the film’s protagonist, Jane (Georgina Campbell), is hunting a murderer who’s slaying across the country. The latest in his rampage took the life of Jane’s husband and fellow Kansas state trooper. Vowing to bring him to justice, Jane launches a national endeavor of her own, trailing the suspect.

As she tracks down the man, known only as the Satanic Slasher for the symbols he leaves behind, the killer manages to find new victims. With a major deadly event planned by the killer to finalize his effort, the pressure is on Jane to stop him.

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REVIEW: ‘Frankenstein’ is a gothically gorgeous creation

Guillermo del Toro was made for this.

The latest movie from the visionary director is right up his alley, from the story itself to the aesthetic. The film is of course an adaptation of the 1818 Mary Shelley novel. In del Toro’s take, Oscar Isaac portrays Baron Victor Frankenstein. The movie picks up with the doctor in the cold wilderness of the North Pole. There, he’s found by a Danish Naval crew from a nearby ship.

It’s to the captain of that ship (Lars Mikkelsen) that he tells his story. He describes how he had a vision of stopping death after his mother’s passing, which led him into a career of medicine and science. Then from there, how it led him to bringing the Creature (Jacob Elordi) to life Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Frankenstein’ is a gothically gorgeous creation”