Movies
Dorian Gray (V)
“Even with several minor flaws, Dorian Gray fills the screen with enough booze, boobs, and blood to satisfy the desires of horror and literary fans alike. The film is a proficient tribute to Oscar Wilde’s original material while managing to escalate Gray’s depraved lifestyle and its consequences to even greater heights.”
Dorian Gray shuns overproduction and cheesed up dialogue in bringing Oscar Wilde’s Victorian gothic horror novel to life. It almost feels out of place for a period film to remain faithful to the source and play it straight (READ: It’s nothing like Robert Downey Jr. version of Sherlock Holmes or the Kate Beckinsale version of Van Helsing). Outside of several small doses of CGI, which were used to great effect for the infamous painting, Dorian Gray could be mistaken for a film made 50 years ago.
After inheriting his recently deceased uncle’s estate, young Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes) moves to London. He quickly falls under the guidance of Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth) who imparts his views on life to the impressionable youth. These views all boil down to one core belief that Firth repeats in various manners, “There’s no shame in pleasure.” Dorian transforms from a naïve and gentle youth to a womanizing pleasure seeker with no concern for anyone but himself. Of course, along the way he makes a pact with the devil – Dorian’s soul in exchange for eternal youth.
Firth routinely steals the scenes and is the true driving force behind the film. Several times I was laughing out loud at Firth’s witty replies and opinions on life. He’s got so many great one-liners (thanks Oscar Wilde) that you literally can’t wait for him to dispense another nugget of wisdom upon Dorian.
Barnes on the other hand, is listless, but passable in the titular role. Early on, his awestruck gullible act is a bit overplayed and, well, rather dull. As he turns into the playboy he gets better, but he never portrays with any conviction the truly tragic character the role demands. In fact, his turning from good to bad literally happens in one scene making it feel extremely rushed.
In the best scene in the movie, Dorian beds a young woman at her coming out party while the girl’s mother frantically searches for her. The mother finds Dorian half-dressed, alone in an upstairs bedroom. She questions him about her daughter’s whereabouts to which he plays coy. Dorian then seduces the mother and has another roll in the hay. After the mother leaves, Dorian lifts up the bed skirt to reveal the hiding and now traumatized daughter and quips, “Now, where were we?” A few moments later Firth admits to some party guests that he just lost “a game of double or nothing” to Dorian. Classic!
The film has plenty of small flaws to detract from an otherwise pleasant viewing experience. Particularly, some of the effects, which included some dodgy looking lightning flashes and a train that makes nary a sound, that is, until it runs over some poor soul. Also, oddly Dorian keeps objects that could clearly tie him to at least one murder casually lying around in his attic. Small things, but they do add up.
Even with several minor flaws, Dorian Gray fills the screen with enough booze, boobs, and blood to satisfy the desires of horror and literary fans alike. The film is a proficient tribute to Oscar Wilde’s original material while managing to escalate Gray’s depraved lifestyle and its consequences to even greater heights.
It’s nice to see an adapted film that sticks close (enough) to the source material and still manages to be entertaining to the end. And that is exactly what Dorian Gray accomplishes.
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Movies
Popcorn Frights 2026 First Wave Includes ‘Colony’, ‘Train to Busan’, Interactive Screenings, and More
Get ready for one of summer’s bloodiest events when the 12th annual Popcorn Frights Film Festival returns August 6-16 for 11-day of horror fun in South Florida.
The feat has unveiled its first wave of programming, kicking off with an opening double feature from master filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho, who will present the premiere of Colony, and the 10th anniversary of Train to Busan, in a breathtaking new 4K restoration.
Popcorn Frights is rolling out the red carpet for some special guests, too. Stephen Lang will be in attendance for a trio of screenings, including Don’t Breathe and Remains, the latest film from his son, Noah Lang. Actor Michael Ironside will be in attendance for the 45th anniversary screening of Scanners and the 4K restoration screening of Total Recall.
Also keep your eyes peeled for interactive screenings, new premieres, and the return of Popcorn Frights’ virtual offerings.
A second wave of Popcorn Frights 2026 titles with more than two dozen additional feature film premieres for in-theater and virtual programming will be announced next week.
In the meantime, read on for the packed first wave of Popcorn Frights 2026 programming:
IN-THEATER FEATURE FILM LINEUP
OPENING NIGHT DOUBLE-BILL
Colony
Florida Premiere
South Korea | 2026 | 122 Min. | Dir. Yeon Sang-ho
A professor attends a biotech conference, only to witness it spiral into catastrophe when a rapidly mutating virus is unleashed. As the outbreak spreads and the infected begin to transform, authorities seal off the entire facility.
OPENING NIGHT DOUBLE-BILL
Train to Busan
10th Anniversary Presentation
South Korea | 2016 | 118 Min. | Dir. Yeon Sang-ho
While a zombie virus breaks out in South Korea, passengers struggle to survive on the train from Seoul to Busan.
Best Served Cold: How a Revenge Film Was Buried for Decades
World Premiere
United States | 2026 | 106 Min. | Dir. Eric Zaldivar
A documentary tracing the stranger-than-fiction saga of THE FARMER (1977), a forgotten independent revenge thriller that vanished into obscurity only to become one of the most sought-after cult films of the 21st century.
Gator Face
World Premiere
United States | 2026 | 80 Min. | Dir. Padraig Reynolds
A Florida vacation becomes a blood-soaked fight for survival when a group of friends are hunted through the swamps by a savage cult that feeds its victims to ravenous alligators in the name of an ancient reptilian god.
Hallowarrior
Florida Premiere
United States | 2026 | 80 Min. | Dir. Ben Sottak
Desperate for companionship on a post-apocalyptic Halloween night, the Last Girl on Earth gets more than she bargained for when something far more sinister arrives on her doorstep.
Imposters
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2026 | 102 Min. | Dir. Caleb Phillips
After a couple’s baby is taken, the desperate mother learns of a way to get their baby back. However, her husband begins to suspect that what she brought back isn’t their son.
Marrow
World Premiere
United States | 2026 | 96 Min. | Dir. Mitch McLeod
A true crime Vodcast host declining in popularity receives the career opportunity of a lifetime when a mysterious stranger invites her into its dangerous world.
Sender
South Florida Premiere
United States | 2026 | 94 Min. | Dir. Russell Goldman
After receiving a series of packages containing unnervingly personal items, a woman tumbles down a paranoid rabbit hole to find her mysterious sender.
VIRTUAL FEATURE FILM LINEUP
Armageddon Road
US Premiere
Canada | 2026 | 85 Min. | Dir. Karen Lam
A hopeless romantic with big dreams is hired to chauffeur a mob boss’ girlfriend for a night. He’s blissfully unaware that his passenger has died and is now possessed by one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Broken Beak
Southeast US Premiere
New Zealand-USA | 2026 | 90 Min. | Dir. Christian Carroll
After the murder of her uncle, an activist Maori photographer returns to New Zealand to claim her inheritance. There she has visions of a monster called Broken Beak, and as more family members die, she is compelled to vengeful action.
If It Bleeds
Florida Premiere
USA | 2026 | 97 Min. | Dir. Matthew Hersh
A young and ambitious news reporter and her skilled cameraman delve into a series of gruesome murders that unfold throughout a chaotic and violent day.
Incubation
Florida Premiere
USA | 2026 | 91 Min. | Dirs. Victor Fink & Joshua Land
A teenager raised in pandemic isolation must fight to save his family when a violent stranger invades their cabin.
Mary Kwon Mary Kwon
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2026 | 94 Min. | Dir. Josh Park
A poet travels to her childhood home in the woods, hoping to uncover the cause of her mother’s disappearance in the same house. Two visitors unexpectedly drop by.
Variations of Violence
Florida Premiere
United States | 2026 | 71 Min. | Dir. Zachary Nichols
Consumed by the distant violence he witnesses daily, a military drone pilot drifts toward self-destruction, leaving his sister to face the intimate cost of war fought far away.
Woozy
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2026 | 89 Min. | Dir. Joey Bicicchi
A man’s structured life to cope with mental health issues unravels when a horrifying apparition called Woozy starts tormenting him, forcing him to confront his fears.
IN-THEATER RETRO LINEUP
Band of the Hand
40th Anniversary Presentation
United States | 1986 | 109 Min. | Dir. Paul Michael Glaser
Five juvenile lost causes are sent to the Florida Everglades where a war veteran tries to reform them using survival tactics. Their new skills and resolve are tested when a Miami drug lord targets them for trying to clean up their neighborhood.
Don’t Breathe
10th Anniversary Presentation
United States | 2016 | 88 Min. | Dir. Fede Alvarez
Three delinquents break into the house of a war veteran who is blind to steal his money. However, they discover that the man is not as defenseless as he seems.
Little Shop of Horrors
40th Anniversary Presentation with Live Shadowcast
United States | 1986 | 103 Min. | Dir. Frank Oz
A nerdy florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.
Polyester
45th Anniversary Presentation in Odorama, 4K Restoration
United States | 1981 | 86 Min. | Dir. John Waters
A suburban homemaker’s world falls apart when she finds that her pornographer husband is serially unfaithful to her, her daughter is pregnant, and her son is suspected of being the foot-fetishist who’s been breaking local women’s feet.
Scanners
45th Anniversary Presentation, 4K Restoration
Canada | 1981 | 103 Min. | Dir. David Cronenberg
A scientist trains a man with an advanced telepathic ability called “scanning” to stop a dangerous Scanner with extraordinary psychic powers from waging war against non-Scanners.
Total Recall
4K Restoration
USA | 1990 | 90 Min. | Dir. Paul Verhoeven
When a man goes in to have virtual vacation memories of the planet Mars implanted in his mind, an unexpected and harrowing series of events forces him to go to the planet for real–or is he?
Individual tickets and All-Access Badges for the in-theater experience—hosted at Savor Cinema Fort Lauderdale and Classic Gateway Theater—are now available. Virtual All-Access Passes can also be purchased for streaming access to the full digital lineup. To order an In-Theater All-Access VIP Badge, click here, to order a Virtual All-Access Pass, click here.
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