Horror movie reviews artfully conducted by four classy broads and one token dude.

The Bloodlust 8/17/26 The Bloodlust 8/17/26

308 | Mārama

Not Rated
Runtime: 1hr 29min
Written & Directed by Taratoa Stappard
Stars: Ariana Osborne, Toby Stephens and Umi Myers
Premiered at TIFF September 7, 2025
Released in US theaters (limited) April 17, 2026
RT: 100% critics / 81% audience
Synopsis

Mārama journeys to England from New Zealand when she receives a letter from a mysterious man claiming to know the secrets of her past. When she arrives she quickly realizes she has been misled, but is forced to stay on at a castle surrounded by pilfered articles from her homeland and a creepy man who knows much more about her past than he’s letting on.

Corrections

While editing I realized I misspoke about two things (at least!) on this episode. I catch things while editing all the time, but usually I just beat myself up over them. This time I thought I’d issue a correction, even though I realize most listeners don’t look at the website. Sometimes my mouth says the wrong word despite my brain knowing the correct one, y’know?

It’s the Toronto International Film Festival, not Independent.
Bluebeard is the wife-murdering guy in the folktales I was talking about, not Blackbeard. Pretty sure Blackbeard is just a pirate.
Thank you for your attention to these matters.

Join us again in two weeks when we’ll be reviewing Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which is currently in theaters.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The Bloodlust 3/16/26 The Bloodlust 3/16/26

298 | The Bride!

Rated R
Runtime: 2hr 6min
Written & Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal
Stars: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale and Annette Bening
Released in US theaters March 6, 2026
RT: 59% critics / 73% audience
Synopsis

In 1930s Chicago, Frankenstein’s Monster is still around and still lonely, so he seeks out Dr. Euphronious to make him a mate. The lucky lady is Ida, who has coincidentally also just been possessed by the spirit of Mary Shelley into making a scene in front of the mobsters she was partying with, which gets her thrown down some stairs.

Horror Homework

This episode:

Cronos - 1992 - Guillermo de Toro - HBO, Criterion
We Are What We Are - 2010 - Jorge Michel Grau - Kanopy or rental

Next time:

Ganja & Hess - 1973 - Bill Gunn - Kanopy, Criterion, Hoopla
Tales from the Hood - 1995 - Rusty Cundieff - Starz or rental

Join us again in two weeks when we will be reviewing undertone, currently in theaters.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The Bloodlust 7/21/25 The Bloodlust 7/21/25

281 | The Damned

Rated R
Runtime: 1hr 29min
Directed by Thordur Palsson
Written by Jamie Hannigan
Stars: Odessa Young, Joe Cole and Siobhan Finneran
Premiered at Tribeca Film Festival June 6, 2024
Released in US January 3, 2025
RT: 90% critics / 47% audience
Currently Streaming on Hulu
Synopsis
A widow is tasked with running an isolated fishing outpost in Iceland at the end of the 19th century. When a ship wrecks on some rocks off the coast, she makes the decision not to rescue the passengers, dooming her crew to madness and danger.

Join us again in two weeks when we will be reviewing The Rule of Jenny Pen, currently streaming on Shudder and AMC+

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The Bloodlust 4/28/25 The Bloodlust 4/28/25

275 | Sinners

Rated R

Runtime: 2hr 17min
Written & Directed by Ryan Coogler
Stars: Miles Caton, Saul Williams and Michael B. Jordan
Released theaters April 18, 2025
RT: 98% critics / 97% audience
Synopsis
Twin brothers return to their home town in 1930s Mississippi to open a juke joint with money stolen from the Chicago mob. Opening night festivities take a turn for the worse when vampires arrive at the juke joint to be let in.

Join us in two weeks when we review Repo: The Genetic Opera, which is currently streaming on Prime.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The Bloodlust 12/30/24 The Bloodlust 12/30/24

267 | Nosferatu

Rated R
Runtime: 2hr 12min
Directed by Robert Eggers
Written for the screen by Robert Eggers, inspired by Nosferatu and Dracula
Stars: Lily-Rose Depp, Bill Skarsgård and Nicholas Hoult
Released in theaters December 25, 2024
RT: 86% critics / 75% audience

Synopsis

The mysterious Count Orlok makes plans to move from his ancestral castle to the homeland of his obsession, Ellen Hutter, throwing the lives of her loved ones into chaos and leaving bodies in his wake.

Join us in two weeks when we review both of the Smile films, which are currently available on streaming or rental.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The Bloodlust 7/22/24 The Bloodlust 7/22/24

256 | Longlegs

Rated R
Runtime: 1hr 41min
Written & Directed by Oz Perkins
Stars: Maika Monroe, Nicolas Cage and Blair Underwood
Premiered at Beyond Fest May 31, 2024
Released in theaters July 12, 2024
RT: 86% critics / 63% audience

Synopsis

Rookie FBI agent Lee Harker uses her psychic abilities and apparent personal connection to help her catch elusive serial killer Longlegs, who has been implicated in several “family annihilator” murders over the past 30 years, and whose coded letters are the only physical connection to the crime scenes.

Join us in two weeks when we review The Night House, available on demand.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The Bloodlust 7/8/24 The Bloodlust 7/8/24

255 | MaXXXine

Rated R
Runtime: 1hr 43min
Written & Directed by Ti West
Stars: Mia Goth, Kevin Bacon and Michelle Monaghan
Released in theaters July 5, 2024
RT: 75% critics / 78% audience

Synopsis

We rejoin Maxine six years after the events of X, as she’s about to make her crossover from porn star to horror movie star. Unfortunately, her friends once again start turning up dead, throwing a wrench into her big plans.

Join us in two weeks when we review Longlegs, in theaters on July 12th.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The Bloodlust 5/6/24 The Bloodlust 5/6/24

251 | Late Night with the Devil

Rated R
Runtime: 1hr 33min
Written & Directed by Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes
Stars: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon and Ian Bliss
Premiered at South by Southwest March 10, 2023
Released in theaters March 22, 2024
RT: 97% critics / 81% audience

Synopsis

A late-night talk show attempts to grab big ratings during sweeps week with a paranormal-themed Halloween episode, which ends up taking a sinister turn

Join us next time when we'll review Double Blind, now streaming on Prime.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The Bloodlust 5/15/22 The Bloodlust 5/15/22

200 | TBL Watch Along - Eyes of Fire

Due to technical difficulties (read: muting her new mic without realizing it) we’ve regrettably lost Jamie’s track for the first half of the recording. We still think you’ll enjoy this commentary track so we decided to share it with you anyway.

Directed by Avery Crounse

Written by Avery Crounse
Stars Dennis Lipscomb, Guy Boyd, Rebecca Stanley
Rated R
Runtime: 1hr 30min
Released in 1983
RT: no reviews from critics, 69% audience

Synopsis

A preacher is accused of adultery, and he and his followers are chased out of town. They become stranded in an isolated forest, which is haunted by the spirits of long dead Native Americans.

Next up, it’s the third movie from Alex Garland. We don’t know about yous, but we’re real excited for this one. So join us next time when we’ll be reviewing Men.

Theme music: "Secret of Tiki Island" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/