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Sam Munster

Tag: Horror on Sea

2025: My year in horror – January

January 20th, 2026

It’s the second week of January and, somehow, I’ve only watched four movies so far this year. 2025 had a bloody brilliant start, with me going to see Nosferatu on New Year’s Day – 2026 hasn’t started with as majestic a bang! (Although seeing 28 Years Later and The Bone Temple as movies 3 and 4 has helped!)

Last year was absolutely brilliant for horror cinema and I thought I’d write a round-up of my year in horror. I fully planned to do this last January, wrapping up 2024’s movies. I mapped it out, got as far as February or March, got overwhelmed and ditched it. So this year, I’m eating the elephant in chunks (or whatever that weird phrase is) and breaking it down. I want to challenge myself to write more regularly and forcing myself into a 12 month retrospective is hardly the best place to start!

I am relying on love of my life, Letterboxd, to go through my year otherwise I won’t bloody remember anything. As I go month by month, I’ll link to various reviews and videos to mix it up a bit, in an attempt to make this somewhat digestible. I logged 311 films in 2025 (god knows how many I forgot to log…), covered 7 film festivals as press and got so many brilliant review opportunities. I’m a bit proud of myself, even if I don’t know what to do with that feeling.

New movies

Nosferatu was a wonderful way to start the year and I fell in love with how beautiful it was. The cinematography, costumes, score, performances and Orlok himself were all exquisite. In typical me fashion, I’d planned to write or record a full review but after I left this hilarious Letterboxd note I left it as it was. Nosferatu was also my second movie of the year – I went back to watch it again, this time on IMAX which really allowed me to see the glorious depths of the darkness.

After the excitement of Nosferatu, I was really excited for the rest of the year ahead. The first horror festival of the year was Horror on Sea (which is running as I write) which, for me, was a mixed bag of films. A few were awful, but don’t want to name names as I always feel terrible being negative about indie films. Plus, it may just not be my taste and someone else may love it. But there were also some pretty good and some absolutely great films.

Very Frightening Tales (2023), Take from Me (2024), Bring Me A Skin For Dancing In (2024) and Virus Detected (2025) were all enjoyable movies and with two anthologies in the mix, there’s usually something for me to love among the shorts.

My favourites of the festival were The Mill Killers (2024) and Protein (2024), two Welsh movies that I think were just brilliant. Both perfectly captured the feeling of small Welsh towns and I will always love seeing Wales portrayed on film. I’d definitely recommend both – The Mill Killers is available to watch for free on Prime and you can rent Protein on Prime too.

Marginalia (2025) was an absolutely gloriously absurd movie, which I’d really love to see again. It doesn’t seem to have been released in the UK yet, but I’m hopeful for a physical media release.

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A Stranger in the Woods (2024) is a great found footage movie you can watch for free with ads on Found TV or Plex. Horror on Sea also had some great shorts – I watched and enjoyed Sincopat (2023), Forever Yours (2024) and One Night Only (2023), another Welsh offering that I thought was fantastic.

The other new watches for the month were Books of Blood (2020), A Bay of Blood (1971), Room 6 (2006), Funeral Home/Cries in the Night (1980) and Swamp Thing (1982). I don’t recall any of them particularly standing out to me, as I didn’t rate or review any of them. But I’m always pushing myself to watch new-to-me movies, instead of rewatching, so I think that was pretty good going. I also watched Bottoms (2023) – not a horror movie, but I love queer movies and I’m definitely trying to watch more non-horror movies and push myself out of my comfort zone a little.

Talking of my comfort zone, though, I rewatched Hereditary (2018) and The Monster Squad (1987). Two movies I will always go back to for a dose of comfort and familiarity – just on opposite ends of the wholesome scale!

Podcasts

I put out two podcast episodes in January 2025, both with very different themes. For Horror Hyperfixations, I waxed lyrical about my love of Ghost Stories and talked to myself about my favourite play for over 3 hours. SPOILER – I ended up going to see Ghost Stories 4 times in 2025. Not that I’m obsessed, or anything…

And furthering my attempt to watch movies outside of the horror genre, I watched Transformers the Movie with my friend Kev for Speshul Features. I’ve never been a Transformers girlie, but the soundtrack slapped and there was a dinosaur robot. Sold!

Books

I go into most years with the goals of reading more, writing more, watching more, so reading Schrader’s Chord by Scott Leeds was a good start to inspire me to keep reading in 2025. When you’re late for work because you can’t put your book down, you know it’s good! (Spoiler: I didn’t read anywhere near enough last year, but at least I read!)

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It’s not the most exciting or well put together of updates, but I did it! Yay me! The rest of the year to come soon!
Watch brilliant short, “One Night Only”

March 6th, 2025

In typical me fashion, I’m excited by something new and have entirely cast everything else I should be doing aside. Scrolling Instagram this morning, I saw that ZooTime Productions have made their short “One Night Only” available on Vimeo.

For a whole bunch of reasons, I hadn’t actually shared my review of the short anywhere. But now is the time as I loved it and, as small as my platform is, I always want to champion indie film-makers. Especially as ZooTime Productions’ mission statement is “ZooTime is Wales on film. Welsh people and Welsh stories. We’re part of the foundation of Wales’ growing horror-based national cinema movement. Our goal is to celebrate and showcase these stories. To contribute to Sinema Cymru, and take these stories to worldwide audiences.” I’m nothing, if not an excited little gremlin who will shout from the rooftops about anything Welsh. I’m very proud of being Welsh and the history of the arts in Wales, so filmmaker Josh Harris is my people!

Anyway, enough of my rambles – here is the short! Do yourself a favour and cast it to your tv, if you can. It’s beautiful and deserves the biggest screen you can manage!

One Night Only is a brilliant short, achieving something that I find rare with shorts – really wanting more. I enjoy how stories can be told in a few minutes, creating a little world to be in for a short time. But writer and director, Josh Harris, has done such a good job with One Night Only that I wanted to spend more time with Bex and Rhian and really dig into their relationship. And that’s not a criticism – the film still feels perfectly contained.

It looks beautiful, with lovely cinematography and editing. It’s moody, dark and atmospheric and I loved it. The cast are fantastic, especially Welsh fave Steve Spiers, who I am always delighted to see.

I really can’t wait to see what Josh directs next, as I think what he can create in feature length will be incredible.
Horror on Sea – Darklands restoration and director’s cut

February 8th, 2025

UK, 85 minutes, Directed by Julian Richards

Darklands follows journalist Frazer Truick as he investigates the mysterious death of the brother of trainee journalist Rachel Morris. Delving deeper, Truick becomes convinced that the tragedy was murder, committed by a bizarre religious cult. But as the evidence unfolds, things take on a more sinister and potentially lethal significance for the reporter, as he becomes embroiled in devil worship, witchcraft and ultimately human sacrifice!

How I’d not seen Darklands before now is beyond me, but I’m so glad I finally watched it! Set in South Wales, Darklands follows Frazer Truick (played by Craig Fairbrass) who gets caught up in mystery, pagan rituals and human sacrifice, while investigating for the local paper.

Released in 1996, Darklands has had a 4K restoration ahead of its 30th anniversary. I was lucky to see the director’s cut, which hopefully means a new, shiny release this year or next! I’ve seen the poster for Darklands over the years, but had someone told me it was set in South Wales, with a recognisable cast of Welsh legends and featured the Welsh language and some cool pagan shit, I would have been straight on it! Director Julian Richards is from Newport, too – just down the road! I’m fully in my “embrace the Welsh language and culture” era, so I’m grateful I found it at just the right time.

It’s dark and grotty, with great performances, compelling characters and a really cool score and soundtrack. I was 10 when this movie was made and it was the most delightful snapshot of the valleys in the 90s (although we didn’t have ritual sacrifice in my village. I don’t think…) It’s been hailed as “the Welsh Wicker Man”, which I think is a fair comparison. I really enjoyed it and it’s definitely one I’d add to my collection and watch again.

If you like 90s horror, folk horror, Welsh horror… or a combination of all three, definitely check Darklands out and keep an eye out for screenings or a release of the restoration and director’s cut! Darklands is currently available to stream on Shudder.
Horror on Sea – When the Trash Man Knocks

February 6th, 2025

USA, 1 hr 39 mins, Directed by Christopher Wesley Moore

An agoraphobic woman and her son must face their fears when the killer who traumatized them returns.

If you ask me “do you want to watch a film with a name like ‘When the Trash Man Knocks’?” the answer is always going to a very enthusiastic “yes!”. You know that’s gonna be a good time. And it was! 🥳 (Plus, just look at that goddamn poster. Perfection 😍)

The Trash Man has been terrorising a small town for decades, hacking up bodies to make a new perfect family, disposing of the dismembered bodies in trash bags. Rad! 🗑️

I love low-budget slashers and When the Trash Man Knocks has fun kills, practical sfx and all the charm of an 80s slasher. Sure, it’s no cinematic masterpiece, but it’s made with love and it cheered me up when I was feeling sad. And, sometimes, that’s all we need!

At 1 hr 39, it felt a bit long and I would have preferred a zippy little 80 minute film that focused more on the killer and his adventures. But I had fun with it and enjoyed it all the same.

When the Trash Man Knocks is available for free on Plex in the UK and on Tubi in the states. If you love 80s low-budget slashers, give this one a go – it’s actually not trash! (I’ll see myself out…🙈)
Horror on Sea – Marginalia

January 21st, 2025

USA, 1 hour 5 minutes, Directed by Mark Beal

In this medieval story of witchcraft and intrigue, Sister Trista is summoned to Karnstein Abbey with the task of assisting the nuns with mourning their recently departed abbess.

As she stays there, it is revealed that the abbey is actually a nest of demon-worshiping witches with a plan to wreak havoc on the earth. Trista, though, has a secret of her own which may turn the tables on the Karnstein witches.

Marginalia is an absolutely beautiful film, set in a medieval convent. It’s in black and white and features absolutely gorgeous medieval illustrations, stop motion and a lovely score. While I wasn’t particularly gripped by the story itself, the mix of stunning visuals and sound design had me absolutely captivated. But to be fair, there’s a good chance I was swooning so hard over the visuals that I didn’t pay enough attention to the plot (ADHD problems!)

It’s definitely an “arty” production, but I love that and genuinely wish we got more movies like this. It’s one I’ll definitely revisit and will absolutely buy if it gets a physical release.
Horror on Sea – Virus Detected: A Technology Anthology

January 20th, 2025

UK, 1 hour 30 mins, Directed by Charlie Bond, Paul Cousins, James Hamer-Morton, Geoff Harmer, Chris Josty, James Morrissey, James Plumb, Samuel Rush

When an electrical storm hits during a late-night talk show, a radio DJ receives persistent phone calls from a mysterious caller warning her and telling her stories of electrical appliances having been affected by the storm. Are they true, or just calls for attention?

Virus Detected – A Technology Anthology is an absolute hoot. It’s funny, well written and tied together by a radio DJ taking listener calls during a worldwide electrical storm. All sorts of gadgets start going wrong, from a toaster, to VR headsets. Each short has a different director and the production value is high across the whole film. The performances are great, too!

The Toy was my favourite segment – I think you can imagine what that is about! It was very funny and campy and the line “it’s essentially an Alexa, in the shape of a dick” had me giggling.

Virus detected felt really fresh and fun and I really hope we get more anthologies that are this good. Also, cue a very excited me when I recognised the voice of Dhean Morris (AKA Dheanasaur on Tiktok and Instagram) who was really bloody great (and just one of many Welsh people involved in this film – bendigedig!)

I’m definitely going to be keeping an eye on everyone involved in the production, to see what they do next!
Horror on Sea – A Stranger in the Woods

January 17th, 2025

Hungary/USA, 1 hour 24 minutes, Directed by Józef Gallai

A young film student is about to make a documentary about an elderly man who has been hiding from the world for many years. But as secrets from his past come to light, their strange relationship takes a fateful turn. Starring cult-classic horror film legends Bill Oberst and Lynn Lowry.

A Stranger in the Woods is a really interesting found footage movie. I had no idea where it was going and it kept me guessing throughout. Edith is a film student, who goes to interview a recluse living in the woods for her final uni project. The subject of her documentary is mysterious and unpredictable and wonderfully played by Bill Oberst Jr.

While it didn’t have any standout moments of horror for me, I spent the entire duration of the film incredibly tense as found footage films scare the heck out of me. A combination of camera footage, police body cams, 911 call recordings and night vision had me on edge – each of those alone are guaranteed to make me feel uncomfortable. The small, remote location is claustrophobic, adding further tension. We rarely venture outside of the house and when we do, it’s inside a car – trapped with someone who is increasingly erratic. This film will have you shouting “just leave! Why wouldn’t you just leave?!” at the screen, while also enjoying the entirely stupid decisions made by Edith.

If you like found footage horror in the vein of The Visit, Creep and Speak No Evil then you’ll love this!
Horror on Sea – Protein

January 12th, 2025

UK, 1 hr 40 mins, Directed by Tony Burke

A gym-obsessed serial killer murders and eats a local drug dealer (for their protein), inadvertently sparking a brutal and bloodthirsty turf war between rival gangs.

Dw i ddim yn hoffi cig, ond roeddwn i’n caru Protein 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

If you don’t speak Welsh, or aren’t learning on Duolingo like me, that means “I don’t like meat, but I loved Protein”. Ex-soldier Sion escapes to South Wales and inadvertently finds himself in the middle of a turf war between drug dealers. And he eats people. Lush. I hesitate to refer to this film as cosy, ‘cos cannibalism, but there’s something incredibly comforting about watching films and tv set in the valleys. The cast are excellent, with lots of familiar faces from Welsh and British film and TV.

Writer and director Tony Burke is English, (coincidentally from Southend, also the home of Horror on Sea) but has perfectly captured the valleys on film. As much as I’d love portrayals of Wales to be all about green valleys, lush waterfalls and male voice choirs, there ARE grotty towns, scummy people and drug problems. I live an hour away from Swansea and Llanelli, where Protein was filmed, and I have encountered many of these characters. It’s so real and grounded in reality, even during the scenes of cannibalism and gore. It’s not sensational, it’s not gratuitous, it’s a depiction that almost feels like you’re watching a documentary. The script is perfect – nothing feels hyperbolic, or a caricature of valleys people. I hear people speak like this every day. It’s probably how I sound, too. I especially relate to the mum in bed, shouting that she needs crisps. What a queen.

I was gutted to have missed this film at FrightFest last year, so was super excited and grateful when Tony got in touch to share the movie. It’s darkly funny, bleak and exciting and I loved every minute. Protein is based on the 2014 short of the same name, which I’ll have to track down and watch. This is Tony’s first feature as writer and director and I think it’s an incredible debut film. Da iawn, Tony!

Protein is screening at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff on Sunday 16th February, at 3 pm.
Horror on Sea – The Mill Killers

January 12th, 2025

UK, 1 hr 40 mins, Directed by Aled Owen

Four girls enter an abandoned factory to retrieve stolen money. Locked inside and hunted, the secret that binds them will be what tears them apart.

“This town is haunted. Not by ghosts. By ghost stories.”

The Mill Killers (originally reviewed as Scopophobia) is an absolute rollercoaster of a film, with tension aplenty. Friends Rhiannon, Mia, Sam and Erin return home to their small Valleys town, haunted by their past. A secret keeps their friendship going, but resentment bubbles under the surface.

I really enjoyed this movie, which will definitely need a rewatch as it’s fast-paced and exciting and my slow goblin brain probably missed loads. It’s a stunning film, with giallo-inspired use of colour and really lovely cinematography.

The cast were fantastic and were a real, believable group of friends. I loved that the main characters are all women and the film captured how toxic friendships can implode. Flawed characters are always really interesting and the performances made it feel like these girls really have gone through a lot together.

The chemistry between lead actress Catrin Jones and writer/director/producer/casting director and actor (impressive!) Aled Owen was palpable. Rhiannon suffers with Scopophobia, the fear of being stared at, and the anxiety and panic attacks were incredibly stressful and tense. As someone who has had panic attacks most of their life, I thought Catrin Jones did a brilliant job of portraying someone in the clutches of a panic attack and I still feel very stressed now!

There is some excellent SFX work and much more blood and gore than I expected. Always a nice surprise! The soundtrack is also great, with original songs from Welsh singer/songwriter GG Fearn. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Aled does next and what Welsh horror has in store for us.
Horror on Sea – Bring Me a Skin for Dancing In

January 11th, 2025

UK/USA, 1hr 26m, Directed by Randy Kent

After losing her twin sister, Helen goes to an English cottage where locals befriend her. She opens up about her childhood, but they introduce her to witchcraft, paganism, and mythological creatures.

Any film that opens with two women digging up a grave gets automatic points, in my book. Good for them ✨👯‍♀️✨

Bring Me a Skin for Dancing In follows Helen on a much-needed cottage retreat, after the loss of her twin sister. As is often the case, the locals are up to no good and Helen gets dragged into a world of paganism and witchcraft. A countryside holiday and some Satan shit? Sounds like a good time, I’m jealous!

There were a few continuity things that distracted me (the Neurospicy curse 😫), but they didn’t ruin my overall enjoyment. The ending had very weird “Society” vibes, which made me chuckle and I liked where the story ended up. The film is very contained, mostly set in the cottage, but I would loved the story to have delved into the locals a bit more. Really leaning into the folk horror and what goes on in small, rural villages.

Good fun, a great example of the British indie gems you can discover at film festivals like Horror on Sea.

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