Reviews
[TV Review] Chiller’s ‘Slasher’ Impresses With More Drama Than Kills!
There’s been some form of a horror renaissance in television. The rampant popularity of shows like The Walking Dead and American Horror Story is most likely responsible for the recent onslaught of great horror shows like the now-defunct Hannibal and lesser shows like MTV’s Scream. Chiller has caught on, and is now producing their first ever original series, horror or otherwise, Slasher.
Slasher stars Katie McGrath (victim of the most gruesome death scene in Jurassic World) as Sarah Bennet, the sole survivor of her family’s horrific murder, now moving back to her old home in order to find some form of closure. Her husband Dylan, played by Brandon Jay McLaren, accompanies her back to the quiet town that never quite healed from its wounds. Unbeknownst to them, however, a possible copycat murderer with a mysterious connection to Sarah is on the loose, while the original killer is still safely behind bars.
The show obviously borrows many elements from previous serial-killer centric programs, but fortunately decides to focus on an adult cast, instead of a teenage high school slasher story. Slasher’s presentation is also decidedly classic, with a Halloween inspired outfit for the titular killer that wouldn’t be out of place in the 80s. The main characters are also mostly connected in a deliciously cheesy soap-opera style drama regarding Sarah’s deceased family. While the premiere only consisted of the first couple of episodes, it seems as if viewers will have a blast guessing the killer’s identity.
Slasher’s first episode does a great job at rapidly introducing decently developed characters and situations, while not feeling like an educational pilot meant only to sell the show. It also introduces an interesting character dynamic between Sarah and man who murdered her family, as she visits him in order to gain some insight on the events that shaped her life. There’s an echo of the Clarice Starling/Hannibal Lecter moments in these scenes, though Bennet is only a civilian caught in between other people’s conflicts.
Secondary characters aren’t just victims waiting to happen, however. Bennet’s friends and neighbors are established in such a way that you actually care when they are confronted with danger. Characters like Robin and Justin, who could have been just an obligatory and uninteresting gay couple actually discuss how their relationship is viewed in their small community, and it impacts the story. Even unsavory old ladies are given some form of backstory, making sure that no one feels like a cardboard cutout.
The second episode begins to deal a bit more with the concept of loss, and how the killer is inspired by punishments for the seven deadly sins. As the plot thickens, the show begins to find its strength, although many of the whodunit elements in Slasher have been done to death in the past (no pun intended). As the body count rises, there’s also the matter of how many of these characters will be left standing for the second season, if there will be one.
So far, the killer’s appearances have been brief and far apart, which is a double-edged sword for the show. While keeping him away from the action onscreen makes us view him as some kind of omniscient monster hell bent on some sort of murderous mission, it also removes a lot of the slasher movie charm that the series boasts in its title. This could, and probably will, change in future episodes, but for now Slasher needs something more to keep the audience interested.
Personally, I’m looking forward to the third episode, as I wouldn’t mind tuning in once a week to slowly uncover the mystery behind Slasher. Katie McGrath is great as a protagonist and possible final girl, and the villain is menacing enough to sometimes even be scary. There’s still a lot of ground to cover, but so far this is another great addition to the horror television show roster. Chiller’s first outing with original programming is an unexpected success, and premieres on March 4th, at 9/8c.
Movies
‘Recluse’ Review – Harrowing Haunted House Horror With Lots Of Skeletons In Its Closet [Tribeca 2026]
A haunted house story is tense, terrifying storytelling when it’s properly executed. There’s been a growing tendency in horror to blend together harrowing haunted house stories with traumatic homecomings. A family member’s illness or death triggers a return to something dark that was intentionally left behind. Recluse hits all the tropes that one expects to find in this type of horror film, yet it manages to push this story in a daring, disturbing new direction that uses sound as a superpower.
It’s a unique lens to experience a familiar story about family secrets, generational trauma, unresolved grief, and the importance of not just legacy, but preservation. It’s a hell of a directorial debut from Henry Chaisson that’s guaranteed to get under the audience’s skin as they’re dragged through this painful, toxic tale.
Recluse is a gothic haunted house story where an isolated audio engineer, Joan (Sasha Frolova), returns to her family’s estate to check in on her father after he suffers a terrible accident. Joan suddenly discovers something much more sinister that paints her family’s tragedies in a very different light. Chaisson’s debut functions as a fascinating companion piece to this year’s undertone, which does a lot of the same things.
These two films make for a fascinating case of parallel thinking that tackles comparable subject matter through a similar lens, albeit in a bigger, less claustrophobic story in Recluse’s case. In fact, it’s the perfect horror film for anyone who was let down by undertone and didn’t feel like it brought enough to the table. It’s a considerably more conventional horror film, but this isn’t meant to denigrate its high quality. Recluse may hit some familiar notes, but it’s a scary, well-crafted haunted house horror story that goes for the jugular.
A gripping mystery that involves the tragic, unresolved circumstances that surround Joan’s mother teases a chilling connection to the recent horrors that have afflicted her father. Joan desperately tries to put these pieces together and give her family some sense of grander peace before she’s pulled under and becomes another victim of this festering curse that’s systematically worked its way through the Wyatt family. By doing so, Recluse digs into some deeper commentary on collective trauma, a very literal look at the “sins of the father” adage, and how one selfish decision can ripple through generations and fracture off into different dilemmas. By the end, Recluse has brilliantly flipped the powerful concept of legacy on its head by illustrating the horrors and sense of entitlement that can be born out of this idea.
A legacy is just another name for a curse under the right context.
”Listen” is a simple but powerful command from Joan’s father that she briefly obsesses over. In a way, it becomes Recluse’s grander mission statement, whether it’s in response to Joan listening to the people in her life, the signals that her body and mind are telling her, or the world’s greater whims. It’s important to reconnect with these grounding pillars, especially when it feels like control is slipping away.
Recluse excels with how audio and soundscapes can create entire universes that are full of rich details that transport individuals to these environments. There’s also a level of objectivity when it comes to audio recordings and the evergreen permanence that they’re able to provide. Joan’s career as an audio engineer makes sense for someone who wants to cling to hard evidence and proof of existence. It provides great insight into Joan without ever getting lost in contrived exposition.
Joan’s entire life is built around audio engineering, and so it makes sense that Recluse features excellent sound design that really goes above and beyond with its production elements. All of the sound design is expertly handled and turns the film into something special. These auditory elements intuitively keep the audience on edge so that they’re more susceptible to the actual scares that eventually strike. The smallest sound effect gets turned into a crushing, cacophonous assault. It’s a really effective way to build terror. Writer/Director Chaisson also handles the film’s music, which achieves a sublime, unnerving dissonance that further heightens the free-floating anxiety.
The story at the center of Recluse is slightly generic in some respects, but the film’s visual language and tone make it feel distinctly memorable. It also doesn’t hurt that the home that Joan returns to is basically an eerie art studio that’s full of contorted paintings. Recluse never struggles to generate mounting dread and terror that pump through every scene. Powerful, thoughtful cinematography consistently reinforces the film’s themes. Joan is constantly reflected in different surfaces or viewed through mirrors. She’s also often confined to tight, constricting framing that all speaks to her refracted identity during this moment of loss and her attempts to regain agency and control by making sense of something that’s seemingly unexplainable.
Recluse is full of truly disturbing visuals that make it seem like Joan is lost in a dream that turns out to be an extended nightmare. It’s a surreal journey reminiscent of invasive psychological horror like Silent Hill, with a touch of Sinister and Hereditary thrown in for good measure. There are so many individual frames that could endlessly fuel urban legends and creepypastas.
It does a great job with how it presents Joan’s fragile state of mind, where chilling flashes of the past sneak up on her and unresolved trauma manifests into unsettling imagery. There are endless shots that are obscured in darkness, or shadow is creeping in from the corners of frames like a suffocating force of nature. It’s very rare that a scene is fully lit. It leads to a very lonely, isolating atmosphere that’s easy to get lost in.
Chaisson’s debut stands out from the many other high-minded haunted house horror films without succumbing to the same pretensions that often drag down these stories. It’s a grief-stricken character study that’s full of upsetting visuals that scratch at something visceral and raw. The horror elements connect, and the answers to its grander mystery provide an appropriate and believable sense of closure. Those who are looking for an atmospheric horror film that isn’t afraid to be different while still channeling something real will appreciate Recluse.
Recluse made its world premiere at Tribeca; release info TBD.
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