PARANORMAN —SHOCKTOBER!
Animation, Black Comedy, Capsules Blog, Children's Cinema, Cult Film, FOUR STARS, Horror, SHOCKTOBER!
“ParaNorman” has its share of jaunty chase sequences to keep kids on the edge of their seats. No matter how…
Black Comedy
FRANKENWEENIE — SHOCKTOBER!
Animation, Black Comedy, Capsules Blog, Children's Cinema, Classic Cinema, Cult Film, FIVE STARS, Horror, SHOCKTOBER!, Social Satire, Video Essay, Women's Cinema
Looking back at Burton’s flawed 1984 version of “Frankenweenie” is informative for the many layers of corrective narrative tissue the…
DJANGO UNCHAINED — SHOCKTOBER!
African American Cinema, Black Comedy, Capsules Blog, Classic Cinema, Cult Film, FIVE STARS, Horror, Political Satire, SHOCKTOBER!, Social Satire, Transgressive Cinema, Video Essay, Women's Cinema
You know from Tarantino’s audacious choice of intro music — the haunting theme song from Sergio Corbucci’s iconic 1966 Spaghetti…
EDDIE THE SLEEPWALKING CANNIBAL — SHOCKTOBER!
Fine-tuning the nuances of cannibals, rather than zombies, proves modestly rewarding in a dark little comedy that owes more to…
SIGHTSEERS — SHOCKTOBER!
Black Comedy, British Cinema, Capsules Blog, FOUR STARS, Horror, Political Satire, SHOCKTOBER!, Social Satire
Blacker than the La Brea Tar Pits, director Ben Wheatley’s dark comedy about a couple of serial killer lovebirds is…
EATING RAOUL — SHOCKTOBER!
Black Comedy, Capsules Blog, FIVE STARS, Horror, SHOCKTOBER!, Social Satire, Transgressive Cinema, Women's Cinema
There is noting politically correct about this black comedy, and that’s exactly why you should watch it right this minute,…
A SERBIAN FILM — SHOCKTOBER!
Banned Films, BDSM, Black Comedy, Capsules Blog, Cult Film, FOUR STARS, Horror, Porn, Serbian Cinema, sex, Sexploitation, SHOCKTOBER!, Transgressive Cinema, War
There are no degrees of separation from a communal psychosis that affects every citizen. By putting the narrative in a…
MONSIEUR VERDOUX — SHOCKTOBER!
Black Comedy, Capsules Blog, Classic Cinema, Criterion Collection, Cult Film, FIVE STARS, Serial Killer, SHOCKTOBER!, Women's Cinema
Charlie Chaplin bought and adapted the story idea for his 1947 black comedy from Orson Welles, who wanted to cast…
FARGO — SHOCKTOBER!
Black Comedy, Capsules Blog, FIVE STARS, Horror, Neo-Noir, SHOCKTOBER!, Social Satire, Women's Cinema
From its meticulous use of contextualizing camera angles and flawless suspense-building sequences, the picture is the kind of Shakespearian black…
THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE — SHOCKTOBER!
BDSM, Black Comedy, Capsules Blog, Cult Film, Horror, Politics, sex, Sexploitation, SHOCKTOBER!, Social Satire, THREE STARS
High concept meets sustained graphic horror in Tom Six’s satirically challenged thriller that succeeds if only by the realistic treatment…
ANDY WARHOL’S DRACULA — SHOCKTOBER!
Black Comedy, Capsules Blog, Classic Cinema, Criterion Collection, Cult Film, FIVE STARS, Horror, LGBTQ, sex, Sexploitation, SHOCKTOBER!, Women's Cinema
Overlooked and underestimated, “Blood For Dracula” is a hidden gem of social satire. Cole Smithey.
AMERICAN PSYCHO — SHOCKTOBER!
Black Comedy, Capsules Blog, Corporate Corruption, Cult Film, FIVE STARS, Literary Adaptation, Neo-Noir, Politics, Porn, SHOCKTOBER!, Social Satire, Transgressive Cinema
Co-screenwriter/director Harron composes the film with Hitchcock-inspired compositions to charge the script’s paper-dry wit with a palpable combination of pulsing…
ERASERHEAD — SHOCKTOBER!
American Independent, Black and White, Black Comedy, Capsules Blog, Cult Film, FIVE STARS, Horror, Midnight Movies, SHOCKTOBER!, Transgressive Cinema, Video Essay, Women's Cinema
Made in 1976, “Eraserhead” provided an offset balm to the crush of Hollywood blockbusters like “Star Wars” by way of…
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Confucius comes into play. “Seek revenge and you should dig two graves, one for yourself.” Hala-fuckin-luya. Cole Smithey.
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
Black Comedy, Capsules Blog, FIVE STARS, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Drama, Romantic Fantasy, Serial Killer, Women Filmmakers, Women's Cinema
People ain’t no good. Writer/director Emerald Fennell makes quite a splash with this steely black comedy. Cole Smithey.
DEATH AT A FUNERAL
Blackmail, drugs, familial duties, and slapstick make for a hilarious recipe in this British comedy classic. Cole Smithey
DON’T LOOK UP
Co-screenwriter/director Adam Mckay deploys dry humor to our modern dystopia like spreading mayonnaise on a fresh wound. It may not…
COOKIE’S FORTUNE
Robert Altman’s small Southern town crime comedy from the pre-smart-phone-days of 1999 is layered with strokes of thematic depth and…
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
The title “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” sounds like an oh-so-earnest independent movie based on [ostensibly] real life events that…
AMERICAN PSYCHO — CLASSIC FILM PICK
“American Psycho” (made at the turn of the 21st century) is a significant connecting link between the ruthless culture of…
COLE SMITHEY’S CLASSIC CINEMA
