Viewings: October 2025

Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia's The Platform was such an enthralling, sci-fi thriller that it made me check out his two other films, post haste. Sadly, they're significant downgrades from his stellar debut; his latest effort amongst the worst watches of 2025. Still, that doesn't tarnish my appreciation for The Platform (technically, the sequel does a tiny bit) for its hellish concept and biting social commentary; earning it the coveted Dada Debaser Film of the Month™. Highly recommended,

 

Film:

 Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid, 1943)*^

Obscene Desire (Giulio Petroni, 1978)*

Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983)

Graveyard Disturbance (Lamberto Bava, 1987)

Until Death (Lamberto Bava, 1987)

Chainsaw Scumfuck (Alex Chandon, 1988)^

Creep (Christopher Smith, 2004)

Hush (Mark Tonderai, 2008)*

The House of the Devil (Ti West, 2009)

Byzantium (Neil Jordan, 2012)*

Coherence (James Ward Byrkit, 2013)* 

Circle (Aaron Hann, Mario Miscione, 2015)*

The Platform (Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, 2019)*

Deadstream (Joseph Winter, Vanessa Winter, 2022)

The Platform 2 (Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, 2024)*

The Long Walk (Francis Lawrence, 2025)* 

Rich Flu (Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, 2024 / 2025)* 

Night of the Reaper (Brandon Christensen, 2025)*

Other (David Moreau, 2025)* 

V/H/S/Halloween (Various, 2025)*

 

Television:

 Whicker's World - A Handful of Horrors: I Don't Like My Monsters to Have Oedipus Complexes (Charles Denton, 1968)*

Prisoner Cell Block H - Episodes 1 & 2 Series 1 (Various, 1979)*

Mastermind - Episodes 12-15 (Bill Wright, 2025 / 2026)* 

 

*First time viewings.

^Short film. 

 

Dada Debaser Notes:

• You know horror directors have gone full meta when The House of the Devil, a fantastic throwback to '80s horror, is also being referenced in Night of the Reaper, a not so great throwback to '80s horror.
• Hard to believe David Moreau, the director behind one of the best films of last year, could deliver such a terrible effort this year with Other. Not even Olga Kurylenko in her undies could save this indulgent snoozefest.
• A random Letterboxd'er described The Long Walk as Stand By Me meets Punishment Park, which is accurate, but nowhere near as good as those films. Imagine if George A. Romero got to direct it in the '80s like he originally planned to, instead of the bloke who did The Hunger Games films!
• So glad Deadstream finally got a Blu-Ray release, as it's one of the best horror comedies in years. Also pleased the Winters' excellent short film To Hell and Back from V/H/S/99 (2022) is included as a bonus extra.

Other stuff I enjoyed: Don't know how anyone can find the time to write an in depth film review every day of the month, but Arena of the Unwell's 31 Days of Halloween reviews were hilariously entertaining reads. I also enjoyed a video on Eagle's Doomlord in my YouTube home page. A rare algorithm win.