Movie Reviews
Film and television reviewed the way I’d want to read them — with a rating that means something, an honest accounting of what works and what doesn’t, and craft notes for writers who want to understand how the machinery operates.
Each review includes a craft notes section for writers — specific observations about structure, character, world-building, and what the film does that you can actually use. Not theory. Technique you can steal.
Slasher (6)
May 19, 2026Black Christmas (1974)
A sorority house is terrorized by an unseen caller during Christmas break, in the proto-slasher that preceded Halloween by four years.
May 19, 2026Cheerleader Camp (1988)
John Quinn's 1988 American slasher film about a high school cheerleading squad attending a competitive summer camp where members are murdered one by one. Betsy Russell stars as the troubled lead in the canonical 1980s cheerleader-slasher entry.
May 19, 2026Friday the 13th (1980)
Counselors at a summer camp reopening after a drowning tragedy are stalked and killed by an unseen attacker.
May 19, 2026Psycho (1960)
Hitchcock's adaptation of Robert Bloch's novel about a woman who steals from her employer and stops at the wrong motel.
May 19, 2026Scream (1996)
Wes Craven directs the meta slasher about a high school targeted by a killer in a Ghostface mask who knows horror conventions.
May 19, 2026Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)
A traumatized young man dons a Santa suit and goes on a killing spree, in the controversial slasher that protested over its release.