“Saccharine delivers something intimate and disturbing—too unsettling to be solved with Pepto Bismol.”

$Positions, including a post-screening Q&A with filmmaker Brandon Daly led by Debby Ryan and Joe Swanberg, is at Gateway Film Center Saturday, May 23 at 9:30 pm. MORE: columbusunderground.com/debby-ryan-a...

In Obsession, I love that his name is Bear, and he denies Nikki a choice in their relationship. After so much discussion about women “choosing the bear,” it’s a sly way to point out the importance of having a choice at all.

Let’s talk cursed curios and react to Obsession (spoilers!) with a fantastic live crowd:

Two of the year’s best and one snoozer in this week’s haul of new films. Can you guess?

“Two Women shows that, six decades on, that shouldn’t stop you from asking what you actually desire in your life, whether that’s fixing the cable or “fixing the cable.”:

“Violence and destiny, family trauma, classism and misogyny, and rage—Is God Is finds poetry and honesty and blood in all of it.” Our review:

"This documentary serves as a reminder of how much journalism influences the public to demand change." Our take on Steal This Story, Please!

So @oscmy333.bsky.social & I just got back from @frightclub.bsky.social #Live w/ a early screening of #Obsession damn what a fun watch, talked #Fave #CuriosityShopHorror I was surprised #Cronos Didn’t make the list thanks to @gatewayfilmcenter.bsky.social & @maddwolfcolumbus.bsky.social for hosting

Don’t miss Obsession, it’s fantastic. Curry Barker "has a bigger, more expansive canvas here, but his storytelling instincts remain impressively hungry." Our take:

New Netflix doc Marty, Life Is Short is “an entertaining, funny, and star-studded salute to a guy who’s pretty easy to like and who, in the words of Tom Hanks, ‘moves at the speed of joy.’”

4 new flicks to break down this week, plus fresh studio news, join us:

“You might come for the funny talking sheep, but you can expect to be thoroughly delighted by the mix of Knives Out and Charlotte’s Web that was hiding in plain sight.” Our take on The Sheep Detectives:

“Is Mortal Kombat II as dumb as the first? Almost. Is it as fun? Not quite. But as a bloody, lightningy time waster, it’s A-OK. B-OK. It’s B-OK.”

New Netflix release Remarkably Bright Creatures “is no masterpiece, but it’s a really good-looking film brimming with heart and elevated by the time and care of one of the industry’s all-time greatest.”

Renny Harlin returns to shark-infested waters with Deep Water. The result: a derivative, unscary mess where counting borrowed movie references is the only fun. Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley deserved better. #DeepWater #RennyHarlin @maddwolfcolumbus.bsky.social

Found your new favourite weird horror movie: SALT ALONG THE TONGUE. A mother possesses her daughter to protect her from the evil eye. Food as a gateway. Dina Panozzo plays twins. This supernatural drama is like nothing else this year @maddwolfcolumbus.bsky.social

That bittersweet irony shadows everything about Didn’t Die, transforming its questions about loss from abstract genre exercise into something uncomfortably real. @maddwolfcolumbus.bsky.social https://gnofhorror.com/didnt-die-2025-review-zombie-dramedy-at-sundance/

Netflix’s “Swapped doesn’t do enough to set itself apart from other animated wonders, but what it does it does really well. It’s a powerful story beautifully animated and well told.”

“The food on display opens up a gateway to illicit desires and the past, with Proustian reverie giving way to demonic nightmares. There’s more than enough to chew on here.” Our take on Salt Along the Tongue:

“The Devil Wears Prada 2 ends up being a jacket that doesn’t fit quite as well as it did years ago, but it’s comfortable and it still looks pretty good.”

“Do I respect what Andy Serkis is trying to do? Yes. Do I wish he did it with an original story not named Animal Farm? Also yes.”

Heresy “gives you what you need to understand why women choose the bear.” Our take:

Deep Water “is caught awkwardly between giving in to sharksploitation silliness and striving for a well-plotted thriller.”

“Charlize Theron’s real rock climbing and Taron Egerton’s cherubic menace elevate Apex above its script. A fun, physically demanding thriller.” Apex Review: Charlize Theron’s Real Stunts Save This Netflix Thriller gnofhorror.com/apex-review-... @maddwolfcolumbus.bsky.social

We wrote a preview of this weekend’s fun for @colsunderground.bsky.social

Loved Hokum! "Scene after scene balances a funhouse vibe with Irish folktale spookiness."

Lowery’s Mother Mary is a heady, silk-draped chamber piece about fame as a slow-motion disappearance. Hathaway bleeds on screen; Coel steals every frame. Difficult art, fully committed. No tidy endings, just something rare. gnofhorror.com/mother-mary-... @maddwolfcolumbus.bsky.social

“A squirm-inducing delight that leans hard into its R-rating. Pretty funny. Pretty gross.” Over Over Your Dead Body Review: Jason Segel vs. Samara Weaving in a Bloody Romp gnofhorror.com/over-your-de... @maddwolfcolumbus.bsky.social

We have thoughts:

Bunch of polarizing movies plus talk of a bomb threat, and moonwalking. Reviewing what we watched this week in the Screening Room:

Mother Mary “is a film that feels quite unlike anything else, and for any piece of art, sometimes that’s accomplishment enough.”

“"It’s definitely the way Kormákur frames the action, and the way his actors push themselves physically, that make Apex such a fun watch." Our Apex review, on Netflix Friday:

Despite a promising start and an impressive turn from Jaafar Jackson, Michael settles for reminders about MJ’s greatness that are "as nuanced as a fan club prize package.”

“Over Your Dead Body is an entertaining genre blast that’s pretty hard to ignore. And by pretty, I mean pretty funny. And pretty gross.”

I can count on one hand the number of Mummy films that are worth watching; they seem to be the most maligned horror movie monster, but does Lee Cronin's The Mummy beat all expectations or wrap up this monster for good? Read @maddwolfcolumbus.bsky.social review here gnofhorror.com/lee-cronins-...

Lots of blood and guts, shoot em ups, one terrible comedy and more at the movies this week:

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy “is very much an R-rated horror, at times taking itself too seriously and at others, delivering some of the nastiest comic gags you’ve ever seen during a funeral. I was unsettled at times and grossed out at others, but I must say, I was thoroughly entertained.”

“This entire premise sounds like something two guys thought was freaking hilarious while they were high.” Our take on Balls Up:

“Normal is a ton of bloody fun that you’ll kind of remember later but you’ll laugh and enjoy yourself now.”

“Screams from the Tower (streaming now) may not bring the same level of notoriety or impact as a Hughes or Apatow film, but it does operate in its own lane of sweetness and charm.” @brandonct.bsky.social has our review:

Exit 8 turns subway monotony into pure dread. Genki Kawamura’s liminal horror strips everything away. No gore. Just anomalies. Spot one or start over. Review gnofhorror.com/exit-8-revie... @maddwolfcolumbus.bsky.social @frightclub.bsky.social

Juggling 9 new flicks this week: a few really good ones and a couple really not good:

“For all the film’s erratic plotting and odd digressions—including an HR nightmare of an office subplot, parents beware—the animation is so singular and captivating that it makes up for everything else.” Matt Weiner has our review of Cha0:

In this latest take on Hamlet, “Reconsidering the cultural background within a South Asian culture doesn’t just freshen up the familiar. It impresses the universality and timelessness of the original work.”

With Faces of Death, writer/director Daniel Goldhaber “smartly brings that pre-viral legend into the internet age, tucking the bloody hunt for a serial killer inside the dulling nature of modern-day voyeuristic fetishes.”

"Is this a faux documentary? A true crime thriller? Found footage horror? It’s all of that, at least some of the time. You know what, just don’t worry about it and enjoy the clever way Hunting Matthew Nichols tips its hat to a variety of genre influences." In theaters Friday:

Five teen vampire movies that understand high school is its own kind of bloodlust. No hype. Just the good stuff: from 1987's The Lost Boys to 2016's The Transfiguration. Link in comments. gnofhorror.com/best-teen-va... @maddwolfcolumbus.bsky.social @frightclub.bsky.social

This week we debate pineapple on pizza, and the new flicks we watched this week:

"It’s also a stark reminder of what happens when we don’t just forget the past but idealize it." Our Rachel Willis reviews Two Prosecutors, opening this week: