The Watkins Book of Urban Legends

Engaging and insightful, rekindling the joyousness in the contemplation of the “it’s true, I swear!” secondhand stories we all tell.

/ October 14, 2024

Last Straw

The viewer gutting it out to the bitter end will be treated to some unexpected flourishes that are arguably worth the wait.

/ September 20, 2024

Inherit the Witch

For a few rare moments it all comes together for something approaching chilling, but the finished results are lacking.

/ September 18, 2024

The Vourdalak

A beguiling film that rewards patience, The Vourdalak looks like nothing else that’s graced our screens for years.

/ September 15, 2024

The Baykok

Frightful Folklore of North America: Illustrated Folk Horror from Greenland to the Panama Canal is available from Watkins Publishing.

/ August 20, 2024

The Beast Within

Stunning cinematography, strong performances and a palpable sense of isolation make for powerful viewing.

/ August 11, 2024

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person

Faith in its characters and directorial vision, rather than gore and gimmicks, elevate this picture into a fable about morality.

/ June 9, 2024

The Coffee Table

The simplicity of its narrative arc is its biggest strength, allowing the script’s jet-black humour to work its absurd wizardry.

/ May 12, 2024

Lovely, Dark, and Deep

Consummately juxtaposes the staggering beauty of its locations with their immense (and somehow suffocating) vastness.

/ March 22, 2024

Lord of Misrule

William Brent Bell's irreverent world throws the viewer into what feels like something between a fever dream and a nightmare.

/ January 8, 2024

Herd

Herd implores us to ask the most important question at the heart of every great zombie fable: who are the real monsters?

/ October 22, 2023

Ghosts, Monsters and Demons of India

This trek through the dark corners of India’s cultural imagination gives a layered, textured view of the supernatural world.

/ September 12, 2023

Hunt Club

Hunt Club is an erratic, nebulous mess, but in many ways it perfectly mirrors and satirises the absurdity of toxic masculine ideals.

/ August 13, 2023

Swallowed

A more delicate expression of the body horror subgenre that is closer to reality and, arguably, more tragic and disturbing.

/ April 18, 2023

V/H/S/99

A gritty, bitty car crash into memory lane that impressively stitches its eclecticism together like a grotesque mixtape.

/ March 23, 2023

Lunacy

As a carefully cultivated horror story that resonates in the fear-laden recesses of modern life, Lunacy is a book to savour. 

/ February 22, 2023

Bitch Ass

Some memorable performances, but ultimately fails to make us squeal or laugh. Go in with low expectations to enjoy the ride.

/ December 5, 2022

Most Horrible Things

Fails to find the level of wit necessary, yet in spite of so much, Most Horrible Things is compelling, exciting and surprising.

/ November 15, 2022

Vampire Cinema: The First One Hundred Years

A charming visual guide offers the convincing case that the vampire genre tells us more about who we are than we may think.

/ October 30, 2022

The Deep House

A suffocating rollercoaster that breathes new life into an enervated subgenre, trapping us into a nightmare that refuses to let go.

/ October 28, 2022
Malachi Pullar-Latchman

Hounded

Throwing subtlety aside, Hounded is a straight-up lampoon of the kind of snooty toffs that believe the world is their birthright.

/ October 26, 2022

Stephen King: A Complete Exploration of His Work, Life, and Influences

With sleek production and sheer enthusiasm peppered throughout, this is an excellent companion to King’s own words on his craft.

/ October 12, 2022

The Watkins Book of English Folktales

This reissue, one of the most comprehensive on English folklore ever published, is a gift to the whole world, not just England.

/ October 5, 2022

The Retaliators

Objectively superficial and messy, but that doesn’t mean it fails to entertain; The Retaliators is arguably brainless genius.

/ September 13, 2022

The Witch

Commitment to authenticity creates a genuinely foreboding, oppressive climate that engulfs The Witch and its characters.

/ July 25, 2022

She Will

Haunting cinematography and subtle, constant terror are a perfect reflection of the patriarchy’s oppression of women.

/ July 21, 2022

Sick & Beautiful

A surreal psychodrama charged with urban decay and all the hopeless decadence a 21st Century audience could ever want.

/ July 3, 2022

Lingering

A psychological depth that pushes the meaning of ‘haunting’, urging readers to question the origins and nature of evil.

/ June 22, 2022

Friend of the World 

Packed with big ideas that outshine its minimal budget, this Troma is daring, interesting and resolutely not for everyone.

/ June 17, 2022

The Righteous

A reluctance to spiral into the supernatural or grotesque prevents The Righteous from landing its message with conviction.

/ June 10, 2022

The Prey: Legend of Karnoctus

For fans of action with a twist of gore and a knowing wink, the laugh-out-loud Prey has a genuine sense of fun at its heart.

/ June 6, 2022

Night Caller

Both authentic and reverent of the genre’s greatest hits, Night Caller is as gleefully distasteful as the films that inspired it.

/ May 13, 2022

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair

A delirious trip into the culture of the terminally online, with a sense of unease that's repellent and deeply relatable.

/ April 29, 2022

England On Fire

A enchanted wonderland to change the way you see England, not for showing anything new, but what has been there all along.

/ April 28, 2022

The Sacred Spirit

Interesting and intense directorial choices find the sweet spot where absurdity, anxiety and satisfaction coexist in harmony. 

/ April 13, 2022

Father of Flies

Unreliable characters in an ethereal setting drive this powerful parable on disintegrating families and stolen childhood.

/ April 11, 2022

Agnes

Peppered with deadpan comedy, Agnes is a film of two halves that examines faith, loss, and what it truly means to be possessed.

/ April 4, 2022

The Exorcism of God

Creepy set pieces compound sequences that build to crescendo and do not relent, while quiet moments offer little solace.

/ March 27, 2022

Kissing the Lizard

Justin David tells a touchingly twisted tale, a story with a spinning compass that won’t let you figure out where home is.

/ March 23, 2022

The Beta Test

A cautionary tale for the post-Weinstein generation that lampoons the futility of Hollywood’s facile approach to money-grubbing in all of its glory.

/ March 18, 2022

Amulet

With an allegory that seethes on its underbelly, Amulet is a disturbing and enigmatic picture that reflects a strikingly bleak view.

/ January 27, 2022

Soaking in Strange Hours

Teeming with macabre delights, Erik Hofstatter’s story is one that you don’t so much read as ravish.

/ December 12, 2021

Prisoners of the Ghostland

The world Sono builds is engrossing and overwhelming, but the narrative never appears to shift out of first gear.

/ September 18, 2021

Jakob’s Wife

Hallmarks of the vampire genre coupled with a small-town America backdrop challenge patriarchal institutions.

/ August 19, 2021

My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To

Incredible performances drive an emotional weight that oozes a transcendent power guaranteed to haunt you.

/ June 28, 2021

Initiation

Despite some shortcomings, Initiation, particularly in the wake of #MeToo, should be applauded for tackling these issues with gravity.

/ May 24, 2021

Threshold

An impressive slow burner that develops beautifully through to a spine-chilling climax, with unexpected, shocking results.

/ May 9, 2021

I Blame Society

This at times excruciating feminist satire is propelled forward by Gillian Wallace Horvat’s delightfully deadpan delivery.

/ April 19, 2021

Willy’s Wonderland

An unapologetically ridiculous, trippy ride that will satisfy ardent fans of carefree horrors and, of course, Nicolas Cage himself.

/ April 12, 2021

Little Nightmares II

With a strangeness equalled by its unambiguity, Little Nightmares II has a fearless simplicity that allows the eerie, ethereal beauty of its visuals, music and sound effects to shine.

/ February 10, 2021