protean depravity

  There are spoilers in this blog post, so maybe see the movie before reading, but definitely go see it!  The best horror movies are those that take us to a place of emotional vulnerability, and then hit us with supernatural terror. Hereditary did it, The Babadook did it, and now  Obsession  does it... Horror's newest enfant terrible Curry Barker's first big budget production will soon start ravaging movie theaters and justly so. I have had the opportunity to see Obsession twice - at the past Fantasy Filmfest Nights and at the Creepy Crypt Sneak Preview this past weekend - I didn't know what I was going to see as it was a sneak preview, but I still would have gone if I had known that it is Obsession. The movie is a hoot.

When I was a child in my early teens, perhaps as a way to rebel against the classic fairy tales I was reading growing up, I found a special kind of fascinating escape in stories and books which featured peculiar characters, the weirder the better, the more interesting for me, going through unconventional adventures, thus providing fresh outcomes, outlooks and lessons than your habitual happily ever after. I could lose myself for hours in those stories, utterly hypnotized.

Here come the crime write-ups from the past month or so, enjoy!

I only recently discussed all the upcoming movie screenings in Berlin, and today  Final Girls Berlin  announced their spring program under the title " A Night to (dis)member! Underdogs celebration, open air cinema, and more!"  so here's a quick addition to that post because guys, it's awesome!

"We're learning to love the things that we hate", sang New Model Army's Justin Sullivan in the early 90's, and presumably still does so today. While Sullivan condemns politically numbed people, consumerism, and a Huxleyan kind of artificially happy society, this year's Fantasy Filmfest Nights ascribed this phrase a more individual notion and made it this year's focus, it seems like, at least for the few movies I saw. I was a little sick this weekend and still am a bit, so not very ideal, but in between bouts of nausea I could force myself to go see at least the minimum amount I planned on seeing. Family; the sacrifices we make, the things we gain, the boxes we need to fit into, the roles we have to play, the ways we have to bend and warp our ways to fit in, what's good for us, what's at stake for us if we don't comply - all these were themes explored during this year's Nights. Let's take a look at the films.

The latest short reviews are here, enjoy!

The 2026 film festival season ends with Fantasy Filmfest Nights this upcoming weekend, but that's no reason to despair because there are lots of fun screenings that can keep you busy until the next big festival. Except for the last Fantasy Filmfest screenings and the Final Girls in March, my film year was really nothing to brag about, and I didn't really see many films that left an impression on me. I hope that will change in the coming months, so let's take a look at some of upcoming film showings and unscheduled titles which give me hope that this year might still turn out to be a good cinematic year.

A Creepshow Animated Special -  Survivor Type   There was a time in my life when I was so preoccupied with life itself, migrating to Germany, financial problems, familial problems, health problems, mental health problems, moving to Berlin, the only big city which back then was affordable for poorer people - unfortunately that's not the case anymore - and finally losing my job... Everything was so "too much" that I didn't read much horror because I felt so done. For years. No Stephen King. And when I lost that job, I was on the lookout for something that made me happy, if only for a little bit, if only for a little while. That's how I discovered the Otherland Bookstore during my search, where I'd spend time talking about books to Hannes Riffel, who is the original founder of the bookstore, and talking to Jakob Schmidt, with whom I vibed well and who has always had an excellent taste in books. It was during one of those conversations that I remember talking to H...