August is upon us, and as per usual: I’ve been at the movies. Let’s get into some recent reviews and whether I think they were worth the cost of my ticket.

Together (Neon, 2025) 📽️ Screen It

Ooh la la, I loved this film. I caught an early screening just so I could be among the first to say: go see this movie and go see it at the movies. While I personally have a love/hate/love again relationship with the sub-genre, the body horror in this film deserves the biggest screen and darkest room you can afford. I watched Together with my mom who gleefully reported to me afterwards every moment I physically leaned forward in my seat. Yes, there is much to see, hear and feel when watching this movie. Together follows Millie and Tim, a couple at a precipice: after 10 years of partnership, they are moving together to upstate New York and both reflecting deeply about sacrifice and commitment. The first half hour of the film feels like a surprisingly good romcom: I laughed, I gasped, I was invested in these characters and their relationship long before we reach the film’s catalyst into the bizarre and disgusting. Real-life married couple Allison Brie and Dave Franco handled this script like the pros they are, and because the film is basically a couple character study, their strong acting really helps land the ambitious plane. Michael Shanks’ writing is also really strong: Millie and Tim feel like regular people with real flaws, so much so that the empathy for them is gripping once they, alongside the viewer, start to slowly realize something is wrong. Chainsaw, contortive pinwheeling and shrieking aside, this is actually the most romantic film of the year. I’ve been telling all my friends, boo’d up and single alike, that this film will make you believe in love again. Not that it’s positive or even desirable necessarily but that it is a real, visceral human experience that some people are having. At its heart, body horror is about the grotesque. In my opinion, a well-done body horror project will leave me feeling icky. But in addition to the ick, Together did something else for me: I left feeling at peace. I’ve never been happier to be single.

Eddington (A24, 2025) 🚫 Skip It

Ari Aster is a director whose name warrants an automatic ticket purchase from me. Or at least, he was. His last 2 feature film projects have been such unexpected departures from his first 2 that I fear I may have to start actually researching before I show up. And don’t misunderstand me, I like weird (hello Together), but it’s critical to stick the landing. I will give Eddington this: it is what was advertised on the tin. (I just made the mistake of hoping the tin was underselling.) This movie was clearly conceived in 2020: the Covid-19 Pandemic is the film’s background, national protests in response to Geoge Floyd’s murder are the film’s middleground, and in the foreground you have Joaquin Phoenix, county sheriff versus his own wife portrayed by Emma Stone and also versus his mayor and political nemesis portrayed by Pedro Pascal. What begins as a lazy attempt at sarcasm eventually devolves into chaotic violence. (Fans of Beau Is Afraid (2023) will probably appreciate the last act.)

Here’s the thing: 2020 was a unique moment in history. Fascinating? Certainly. Worthy of a film? Undoubtedly. Worthy of this film? Hardly. The problem with making the news such a huge part of a story is that you have to credibly seat me in the period; it’s the crux of quality historical fiction to effectively dunk a viewer into the reality of the moment you’re attempting to capture. Aster takes a satirical, flattening approach to a period that was deadly and seriously traumatizing for many to live through. For those of us who were there, Eddington fails to adequately portray the intensity of the moment which makes the viewing experience feel pointlessly silly at best and disrespectful at worst. It also fails to credibly demonstrate the seriousness of the year which means viewers who weren’t old enough to remember 2020 themselves will only be able to view the film as silly.

The good? Joaquin’s acting is a treat, as always. There are also some diverting sub-plots involving romantic rivalry between 2 young boys portrayed by Cameron Mann and Matt Gomez Hidaka as well as a powder keg of family abuse dynamics between Emma Stone’s character, Louise, and her mother portrayed by Deirdre O’Connell. And finally, the videography has some really fun highlights involving movement and vantage that made my eyes light up. Ultimately, the b-plots and cool camerawork don’t make up for the incohesive plot and overdone runtime; truthfully, this film felt stale straight off the shelf. 

28 Years Later (Sony Pictures, 2025) 📽️ Screen It

Danny Boyle is back as director of the third installment of the iconic zombie series. It is gory, it is startlingly offbeat, it is fun. The film follows a young boy, Spike, who has been born and raised on an isolated island aware of the zombie threat but newly invited to join the ranks as a mainland hunter/forager alongside his father. Spike is a somewhat frustrating protagonist to follow: very opinionated and also incredibly unwise—but hey, that’s life at 12 years old. In any case, we follow Spike’s journey to heal his ailing mother, played by Jodie Comer which was a hell of a surprise to me in the theater. Hello, Killing Eve fans! Other cast highlights that were a surprise to me were Ralph Fiennes (generational talent, obviously), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kraven, Nosferatu, then this—booked and busy, beautiful man!), and Jack O’Connell (who I now love to see anywhere post-Sinners). So, you know the acting is stacked. You also need to know that this film is truly a treat for fans of the original 28 Days Later (2002), the opening outbreak scenes (some of which were featured in the trailer) felt like a love letter to the filmography from 2002: nightmarish in the dreamy swirling angles and pastel colors. I felt my body relax into the theater seat, immediately lulled into the familiar feeling of watching terror unfold through the hazy glaze of the early 2000s’ color grade. I also can’t share this piece without saying: I heard and saw things happening to human bodies that I had never heard or seen before. I am a horror fan but not a gore one, so I’ll spare my blog the details, but if you have not seen this poster for the film yet, I think you should before you watch. ‘Nuff said.

40 Acres (Mongrel Media, 2025) 📺 Stream It

Starring Danielle Deadwyler and Michael Greyeyes as a gorgeous Black-Indigenous interracial couple, 40 Acres is a post-apocalyptic survivalist horror film set in Canada. The film follows an industrious, cutthroat family under siege by a roving band of vicious cannibals. Highlights of the film include strong acting from Deadwyler and Greyeyes, quality storytelling that deftly manages to solidly seat us in the present while describing the relevant character histories, and some shocking acts of violence that will surely be a treat to fans of the genre. Though the plot is quite predictable, there are touching moments of tenderness and humor that hold the thread of a family film in the midst of the horror. I saw the film in theaters to support a Black-led horror project but even opening weekend showings were extremely limited, so it’s unlikely you’ll be able to find this in theaters weeks later. Even still, I couldn’t justify recommending this one at full ticket price—thoughtful details aside, this film is a bog-standard survivalist flick. Could be worth a watch for the right viewer, and a few dollars to stream at home seems fair. 

Other things I’m watching right now:

• Finally caught The Ugly Stepsister (Scanbox Entertainment, 2025) on streaming. Equally gorgeous and grotesque—another treat for body horror fans especially folks with a strong stomach for body modification. Dreamy, graphic, and gory. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
• Together writer and director, Michael Shanks, is being sued for copyright infringement alongside members of the cast and production company Neon. I’m intrigued and keeping an eye on the case.
• 28 Years Later filmed its successor film, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, concurrently and Nia DaCosta directed! I’m excited to see her addition to the franchise after her addition to the Candyman series. While I didn’t feel her adaptation was perfect, I did appreciate what it added to the lore of Cabrini Green.
• AMC+ made a huge splash at San Diego Comic Con last weekend with a bevy of panels, interviews and clever advertising for season 3 of Interview with the Vampire. This is easily my favorite television show airing currently, and I’ve been happily inhaling all the new content. All hail Rolin Jones!

• And not for nothing, since April, I have seen Sinners (2025) in theaters a total of 6 times in 5 different formats. I am impatiently waiting for whatever milestone anniversary re-release we have to reach before it’s back in 4DX theaters because no other formats beat those viewings for me. For my fellow Sinners fans, you can read my spoiler-full review here. And…I have a very exciting update on the horizon about Sinners. Watch this space or follow me on social media platforms to be in the know! (Hint: pre-order forms are involved.)
• Dita Von Teese in Las Vegas! Full review to come but know this: it was a breathtaking and entrancing show.