Movie: Phantasmagoria (2014)

Premiere: 
May 20, 2014 (Cannes Film Festival)

Country of origin: Italy / France

Directed by:
Mickael Abbate, Domiziano Cristopharo, Tiziano Martella

Written by: 
Mickael Abbate, Domiziano Cristopharo, Tiziano Martella

Distributed by: EuroObscura
Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Drama, Thriller
Runtime: 1h15min
Starring: Venantino Venantini, Maya Dolan, Sophie Pâris

The reason this caught my attention is because of the Italian actor Venantino Venantini, known to me from Paura nella città dei morti viventi (1980) (City of the Living Dead). In that film, he plays a very brutal father, not a huge role, but very, very memorable. 

(Paura nella città dei morti viventi (1980)

I was curious to see what more he had done and found out about this movie, wonder if I’ll even recognize him. 

This film Phantasmagoria was provided to me for this review by EuroObscura.

Jumping into this anthology movie, we start with a solid, long, old-school intro credit, then we are taken right into a Tales from the Crypt-style segment. A carnival-like, fortune teller skeleton is our host and presents the first story. I love this setup, Tales from the Crypt is one of my favorite shows. 

 

Diabolique – Director: Mickael Abbate – 15 min
The story follows an Italian film team in the south of France: three women and one man, seemingly set to record a sci-fi movie. A fun little touch, they start humming the X-Files intro, which I absolutely loved. But almost immediately, you notice something isn’t right.
 

It reminded me a lot of Blink Twice (2023). The setting adds to the unease: an abandoned mansion called La Diabolique where the townspeople acting strangely, that gave off a faint Twin Peaks vibe. The short starts strong, but unfortunately, it loses momentum toward the end, wrapping up too quickly. I kind of lost track of what was really happening before it concluded. The only super sad part was that the film crew in the short never really got to shoot anything for their sci-fi movie, they just talked about it a bit and then relaxed and all the strange story happens around them. 

WAKE UP!

I give this 4/10 – Because good effort, but it’s too personal for others to really grasp fully.

 

Our skeleton host guides us into the next story.

 

 

My Gift to You – Director: Tiziano Martella – 20 min
In this segment, I knew we would see Venantino Venantini, listed on IMDb as playing the grandpa, so let’s see if we find him.

The story starts on October 31, 1993—Halloween.
What a brutal start. A very memorable scene. A young girl, Sarah, walks in on her loving grandfather, well played by Venantini, as he shoots himself. Before doing it, he says, “this is my gift to you.”
That’s an incredibly heavy moment. For a child to witness that and then to frame it as a “gift”… it immediately sets a deep psychological weight. It’s not just shocking, it lingers.

Nineteen years later, in 2012, Sarah is still trying to understand why he did it. What she finds doesn’t come as a clear answer at first. It feels more like a dark psychological dream than an explanation. But eventually, something does emerge, just not something she was ready for.

The story stays quite open-ended. You understand most of what happened, but the details are left for you to piece together. It leans heavily into dreamlike and symbolic visuals, which fits the very, very dark themes it explores.
I’d give it a 5/10. The psychological terror comes through well, especially because of what Sarah experienced.

 

 

After another short visit from our skeleton host, we move into the third and final short.

 

A Snake with a Steel Tongue – Director: Domiziano Cristopharo – 30 min
This one starts off very bloody, with what appears to be a prostitute killing her client. It sets up a mystery right away. Who is the killer and why? The face is hidden, possibly behind a mask and it’s not even clear if it’s a woman or a man. That gave me strong giallo vibes, I was hoping it would turn into more of a detective-style story.
We follow a man who checks into a sketchy motel. It seems like the place has been closed for some time, but he’s allowed to stay there for just one night. The place and its innkeeper gives it an uneasy feeling. As things progress, the motel clearly isn’t what it seems and the connection to the opening murder becomes more and more intriguing. The innkeeper repeatedly insisting that vodka is the best choice right now adds to the strange atmosphere.

By the end, the story shifts and becomes a bit confusing, though that seems intentional. It leans into a slow, looming thriller style where you’re constantly wondering what will happen next. The end was interesting, even if the path there feels a bit uneven. Unfortunately, the audio mix was also somewhat inconsistent, which took me out of it at times.
I’d give it a 4/10. It has a nice and interesting twist, but overall it didn’t fully land for me.

After a short wrap-up by our skeleton host, the movie ends with the credits and its great 80s vibe soundtrack!

 

So overall I say it was not a bad watch, not at all. It is always interesting to see how these anthology works, what is special most of the time is how one tries to fit a short story that is intriguing to watch and how complex one can make it.
I give this full movie 7/10 – Charming skeleton host and one did feel transformed into the worlds of these stories. It was nice to see the part Venantino Venantini was playing also. 

Links:
IMDB: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt3026102/
Homepage: https://www.facebook.com/Phantasmagoria.the.movie

http://www.euroobscura.com/

Article written by: Sonny Mikszath

Movie: María (2023)

(MAR.IA) 
Premiere: June 13, 2024 (Argentina)
Country of origin: Argentina
Directed by: Gabriel Grieco and Nicanor Loreti
Written by: Nicanor Loreti
Distributed by: Black Mandela, Camauer, Crep Films, Lahaye Media
Genre: Horror, Scifi, Thriller
Runtime: 1 h 21 min
Starring: Sofia Gala Castiglione, Malena Sanchez, Sergio Boris

 

Screener version
This sci-fi thriller is, to my surprise, not the first work of art from directors Gabriel Grieco and Nicanor Loreti. They have been directors for quite some time now. What surprised me is that the film does feel cheap. Their ambitions do not feel cheap, however, but the low production value still hurts the film. Here’s the plot.

Maria Black was once one of the world’s most important erotic actors—until the accident that took her life. Years go by. Sound engineer Ali is called to the set of a new erotic film, and everyone is surprised to discover that Maria Black is alive and well! The shoot gets out of hand and turns into a dramatic event involving blood, guns, and curious people wearing devil masks. 
 

As the title suggests, nothing is what it seems with Maria Black. In fact, the film highlights early on that she appears to be some kind of robot. And while the film doesn’t shy away from hinting at the obvious, it certainly takes a long time getting there.

The first problem is the strange ADR. The added dialogue made me wonder if the film is dubbed. It appears the movie was made in Argentina, however, so it doesn’t distract me that much. By the end of the day, I do get used to it—like watching an old kung-fu movie. It adds to the charm.

 The pacing is really off. It’s sad that the film is so slow, and once we get to the action, it has no energy. Whenever Maria shows up as a killer robot, the movie starts to feel even slower, as these scenes never really do anything for me. This is strange, as it should be the main thing I’m looking for here.

The cast is doing a good job, including the actress who plays Maria—Daria Panchenko. They show and give each other the kind of energy this movie needs. It is a wonderfully shot film! The lighting and different color palettes really work for me, and I think that is the film’s strongest point. I could live without the static flicker in the camera once Maria goes in for a kill. It looks distracting and takes me out of the movie.

5/10
All in all, it’s a decent effort, but nothing to write home about. I think the film holds up with a serious tone and a topic that doesn’t lose my interest, but I wasn’t that excited or entertained by the final result.

 

 

Links: 
www.black-mandala.com
IMDB

Article written by: Robin Andersson

 

 

 

 

 

Movie: Onkel Jens (2025)

 

(My Uncle Jens)
Premiere: March 10, 2025 (SXSW Film Festival, United States)
Country of origin: Norway
Directed by: Brwa Vahabpour
Written by: Brwa Vahabpour
Distributed by: Tangaj Production ,Filmreaktor
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Runtime: 1h38min
Starring: Peiman Azizpour, Hamza Agooshi, Sarah Francesca Brænne 

 

I actually got involved with Onkel Jens back in 2023, I did get the opportunity to have a sort of consulting role through a service the filmmakers used. I got to hear most of the movie’s ideas, its style and offer my opinions. I’ve done this for a few films over the years. What makes this one, extra interesting, is that it’s the first movie I actually get to see, where I shared my opinion this early on. Too bad I can’t remember my exact input. I do not know if I effected the movie, but I can hope I had some good input.

The movie follows Akam (Peiman Azizpour) a teacher whose life gets unexpectedly turned upside down when his uncle from Kurdistan, whom he hasn’t seen since childhood, shows up at his door, in the middle of the night, in Norway. The uncle Khdr, is played by Hamza Agooshi. Right from the start, I had the feeling something might be off with this uncle, what if this isn’t really his uncle? It made me think of a Swedish movie that plays every Christmas here, Can You Whistle, Johanna? (1994) In that story, a child pretends an elderly man at a Care home is his grandfather. 

Back to Onkel Jens. The filmmakers cleverly keep you questioning things. There are awkward but realistic moments, especially when Akam ends up leaving with two others in a dorm, Pernille and Stian, they are a bit split about what they think of Uncle staying there, transparent communication is important. To them Khdr introduces himself as “Jens”. The film becomes a bittersweet exploration of Akam trying to handle his uncle, who insists on staying with him for just a “few days”. Akam is too nice, trying to manage both love and patience, it comes with a price.

 

All the performances are solid and the story strikes a good balance between drama and comedy. One line early in the movie had me laughing hard: Akam is standing, looking a bit confused at his uncle, who is sitting down and says casually, “Why are you standing there? Sit down, your flagpole!” That was funny. There is also a well crafted side story about a struggling student that I really liked.
 

The music throughout the film is mostly in Kurdish style, but at one point, Kjell Höglund’s Genesarets sjö starts playing, a Swedish melancholic song. It fits surprisingly well, even if it caught me off guard.

The screener I got, came with Norwegian subtitles, that was really good as the characters sometimes speak Kurdish.

Onkel Jens is a bittersweet story about family bonds, full of warmth, awkwardness and heartfelt connections. I give this culturish journey 8/10. 

Homepage:
https://tangajproduction.com/

https://filmreaktor.no/productions/onkel_jens

IMDB
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28514971


Article written by: Sonny Mikszath

Movie: Snow Angel (2023)

Release: January 20, 2023 (Canada)
Directed by: Gabriel Allard
Starring: Catherine Bérubé, Olivier Renaud, Kimberly-Sue Murray, Paul Doucet, Alexandre Nachi
Distributed by: Black Mandela

 

 

I got a screener copy of this from Black Mandela, a distribution company from New Zealand. It originally premiered in Canada back in January 2023. I do not know if my version was a different cut then the 2023 release, it stood 2025 on the file.

The movie begins with the aftermath of a devastating car accident. A man stumbles out of a wreck, a woman lies on the ground with a bottle of alcohol next to her and another car holds a couple inside with tragic results. From here the focus shifts to a woman named MJ. She lives alone in a lodge in a small mountain town, chopping wood, making coffee and quietly going about her life. But something is off.

The present-day story of MJ is cleverly inter-cut with flashbacks to a gathering in the past. At first they seem like warm memories, friends and laughter, memories that connect back to the night of the accident, giving us small clues.

One of the film’s strongest elements, comes from its well made editing, there is a scene with a spoiled milk bottle in the present that is matched with a violent outburst from the past and the transition sends chills down the spine. This back-and-forth structure builds an unsettling rhythm that makes the viewer constantly question what is remembered.

As the story progresses it becomes more and more low-key surreal. What is really going on with MJ? Is she haunted by guilt perhaps... 

Snow Angel is a slow-burning movie, quiet and emotionally heavy, yet it carries an intensity beneath the surface. Even when I thought I had figured things out, the atmosphere and editing kept me hooked all the way through. Well acted by Catherine Bérubé that play M.J, she taps into all kinds of emotions, very believable.

 

I rate this one: 8/10
Great edit and a chilling puzzle about guilt, memory and what really happened on the night of the party.

Links:
https://black-mandala.com/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7582428/


Article written by: Sonny Mikszath

  

Movie: The Blood Moon (2025)

 

Release Date: September 7 - 2025 (Kan-Kan Cinema & Bar, USA)
Written by: Patricia Blanchfield, Connor Noble
Directed by: Connor Noble
Starring: Elizabeth Deckard, Mikael Drobny, Patricia Blanchfield
Distributed by: Falling Star Cinemas

 

  

 

Indie cinema has a way of sneaking up on you and Blood Moon does just that. From the first moments, you’re thrown into a gothic-fantasy vibe, a monster called Ontomus, a sacred knife and whispers of a cursed bloodline. Already the echoes of vampire lore ring true, reminiscent of shows like Kindred: The Embraced, but with a distinctly indie spin. 

  

 

  

The opening concert is a delicious mix of Queen of the Damned-style vampiric theatrics and Green Room’s claustrophobic intensity. Alex the goth lead singer commands the stage, his music a hybrid of Trent Reznor angst and Marilyn Manson’s dark energy. The camera work, audio and low-budget have a deliberately 90s style, giving the movie a nostalgic texture that is bit chaotic at times but perfect for the tone.

 

 

Dillon she is sharp, sarcastic and unmistakably the most grounded character as she navigates the night’s wild events. Her interactions with a demanding ex, chaotic friends and mysterious figures feel lived-in and messy. A testament to the indie aesthetic. Humor is subtle, offbeat and often arises from tonal collisions, sad music under a ridiculous outburst, chaotic editing that becomes part of the experience and performances that vary from natural to awkward, adding to the film’s charm.

The movie shows vampire hierarchy, rituals and hidden clans that´s letting viewers sink into the atmosphere rather than chasing every detail, that gives Blood Moon its unique flavor, part Kindred, part Buffy and all indie rebellion.

 

The music, setting and style feel like a lost 90s/2000s gem, emo pop, skate-punk vibes and dark eyeliner make it all feel nostalgically raw. Dillon’s sharp wit and occasional defiance cut through the chaos, keeping the film grounded, while Alex’s brooding presence maintains the gothic allure.

Blood Moon is messy, playful and hypnotically dark. Its imperfections, shaky audio, uneven performances and a bit of jumpy editing, it all become part of its charm, giving it a heartbeat no studio film could replicate.

6/10
Offbeat humor, teenage rebellion and vampire intrigue, collide to deliver a film that’s as unpredictable as it is stylish.

IMDB | Facebook

Article written by: Sonny Mikszath

Movie: The Man in the White Van (2023)

Festival Release: 14 Okt 2023(USA) – Public Release: 13 Dec 2024
Written by Warren Skeels and Sharon Y. Cobb
Directed by Warren Skeels
Starring Sean Astin, Madison Wolfe, Brec Bassinger, Skai Jackson
Distribution: Relativity Media | Produced by Legion M and XYZ Films, Garrison Film

 In a well crafted cinematic 1970´s landscape, The Man in the White Van delivers a masterclass in suspense, tension, and emotional depth where this movie blends psychological horror with the raw confusion of adolescence, keeping viewers hooked from start to finish.

The story revolves around Annie, a 15-year-old girl struggling to find her place in a strict, business-minded family. Played brilliantly by Madison Wolfe (known for I Kill Giants and The Conjuring 2), Annie embodies the inner turmoil of a teenager caught between the pressure to conform and the desire to break free. Her sense of isolation within her family is palpable, and Wolfe’s nuanced performance makes Annie not only relatable but deeply sympathetic.

 

 

The external threat that compounds Annie’s confusion is a mysterious man in a white van who begins stalking her. What could be a simple narrative device is instead elevated by the filmmakers, making the van feel like a menacing, almost supernatural entity. The stark contrast between the white van, often shown gleaming in the sunshine, and the dark figure lurking behind the wheel, creates an unsettling sense that the van itself is alive—reminds me of Christine´s sinister car, yet uniquely its own. This eerie portrayal of the Jaw like van, paired with the film’s unsettling score and cinematography, builds an atmosphere of dread that is both subtle and suffocating.

The film’s structure, jumping back and forth between 1971 and 1975, adds layers of suspense. Each timeline shift reveals a new piece of the puzzle, gradually converging on a nail-biting climax. Though we may have a sense of what’s coming, the tension never wanes. The filmmakers do a fantastic job of keeping us on edge, even as we anticipate what will happen next. 

 

Some standout performance comes from Sean Astin (best known for The Goonies and The Lord of the Rings), who plays Annie’s father, William. Astin brings a grounded, authoritative presence to the film, perfectly portraying the well-meaning but emotionally distant patriarch of a family on the brink. His dynamic with Annie is fraught with tension, as he struggles to connect with his rebellious daughter. Brec Bassinger as Annie´s sister Margaret and Skai Jackson playing the best friend Patty perfectly.

The real triumph of The Man in the White Van lies in its ability to tap into the emotional chaos of being a teenager. The brilliant writing by Warren Skeels and Sharon Y. Cobb, paired with Skeels’ expert direction, and the unforgettable presence of the van itself, this film is a must-watch for thriller fans.

10/10 for its ability to captivate, terrify, and resonate on every level.

Article written by: Sonny Mikszath