Mark H. Harris
Tomatometer-approved critic
Mark H. Harris is the creator of Black Horror Movies, a site dedicated to the portrayal of black characters in horror films. He has also written about film for entertainment sites like Vulture, About.com and PopMatters and is featured in the acclaimed documentary Horror Noire.
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Bones and All (2022) |
While Bones and All’s genre-defying nature is an acquired taste, it creates a fascinating universe buoyed by top-tier direction and cast. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Dec 16, 2022
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Bitch Ass (2022) |
Passable slasher fare, but it needs an influx of humor, innovation and money to be a real “game” changer. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Nov 28, 2022
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Terror Train (1980) |
While Terror Train has a good reputation among horror fans, until the hectic climactic battle between “final girl” and killer, it’s mostly run-of-the-mill slasher fare that distinguishes itself by... having Jamie Lee Curtis as the final girl. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Nov 18, 2022
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Terror Train (2022) |
I hesitate to call this remake pointless, because it’s certainly nice to have POC leads in a horror movie, but otherwise, it’s an inferior retread. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Nov 18, 2022
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The Invitation (2022) |
Forgettable fluff. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Oct 27, 2022
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Let's Scare Julie (2020) |
The opening half hour is a test of endurance that will have you contemplating your last will and testament. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Oct 14, 2022
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Sissy (2022) |
When all is said and done, Sissy might go down as a defining Gen Z slasher. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Sep 30, 2022
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Beast (2022) |
Beast walks that fine line between solidly entertaining and solidly ignorable. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Sep 23, 2022
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Saloum (2021) |
As much as the scenery, the direction and cinematography, the beauty of Saloum is in the characters. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Sep 16, 2022
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Scared to Death (1980) |
I swear, at least 30 minutes of the running time is made up of extended scenes of victims just walking around in the dark, begging to be killed. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Aug 26, 2022
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Day Shift (2022) |
Such are the frustrations of watching Day Shift, the biggest frustration of which is its squandered potential. It’s still an engaging watch that is genuinely thrilling in stretches, but you can see how it could’ve easily been more. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Aug 19, 2022
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Nope (2022) |
Like all of Peele’s movies, you feel like you need to go back and rewatch it to catch everything and formulate your theories, a fun exercise that rekindles our joy for cinema -- the positive side of Hollywood spectacle. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Aug 04, 2022
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Blackstock Boneyard (2021) |
The acting is too amateurish to sell the material, which raises the question of the appropriateness of mining a real-life tragedy for cheap thrills in the first place. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jul 22, 2022
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The Summoned (2022) |
First-time director Mark Meir does pepper in some striking visuals, though, and he’s able to make good use of the scenic locale, but it’s not enough to liven up the pedestrian plot. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jul 22, 2022
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Night's End (2022) |
There’s very little to it, like a 30-minute Twilight Zone episode stretched beyond its limit. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jul 22, 2022
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Incarnation (2022) |
The very basic story was presumably written with the limitations of the COVID age in mind, but that doesn’t excuse its lethargy, predictability and dearth of scares. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jul 22, 2022
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Good Madam (2021) |
A searing and thoughtful dive into the country’s legacy of racial and social status and how it continues to haunt South Africans a generation after the end of Apartheid. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jul 22, 2022
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Titanic 666 (2022) |
I'd hesitate to call Titanic 666 outright "fun" without some level of inebriation -- it could benefit from more campy, over-the-top moments -- but it's fast-moving, breezy, shallow popcorn fare that you can watch with a minimum of brain commitment. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jul 22, 2022
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Night of the Strangler (1972) |
[The] ingenuity in crafting booby trap kills and cunning in manipulating his victims' dysfunctional family dynamics are worthy of genre-based respect. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Apr 09, 2021
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The Devil's Daughter (1939) |
The Devil's Daughter is an all-black melodramatic semi-remake of Ouanga with no devil and with daughters so bland the devil wouldn't want 'em anyway. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jan 26, 2021
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Don't Look Back (2020) |
Despite its shortcomings, Reddick manages to deliver an attractively shot product with impressive practical effects for such a modest budget. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Dec 12, 2020
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Kindred (2020) |
While it's a fascinating character study, Kindred is a limp thriller. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Dec 04, 2020
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Son of Ingagi (1940) |
While it avoids most of the cringe-worthy stereotypes of the more comedic horror films of the time, Son of Ingagi also lacks the energy and humor, leaving a dry husk of a story that feels longer than its 60-minute running time. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Dec 02, 2020
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Storage 24 (2012) |
Like a high-end SyFy movie, Storage 24 is eminently watchable but only sporadically enjoyable. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Nov 25, 2020
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His House (2020) |
Given the quality of the story, performances and direction, it would be hard to justify overlooking His House when the Oscars roll around. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Nov 20, 2020
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Bad Hair (2020) |
The script tries too hard in some areas but not hard enough in others, but on the whole, it's a refreshing genre take on intraracial politics -- like School Daze meets The Exorcist. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Nov 07, 2020
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Black Box (2020) |
Genre fans might find themselves a bit restless in the first half of the movie as it settles into its fantastic elements, but once the big reveal occurs midway through, the stakes are ratcheted up, and it's a tense ride until the end. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Oct 29, 2020
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Tales From the Hood 3 (2020) |
It's less ambitious than Part 2 but more consistent. While I would welcome a fourth entry, let's hope it's not spurred by the further deterioration of the American socio-political climate. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Oct 23, 2020
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Vampires vs. The Bronx (2019) |
Vampires vs. the Bronx's well-executed humor, likable characters, stellar cast (including small but memorable roles by Method Man, Zoe Saldana and Chris Redd) and infectious energy are more than enough for a good time. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Oct 10, 2020
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Friend of the World (2020) |
Friend of the World is an odd, interesting little movie that defies easy categorization. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Oct 02, 2020
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Antebellum (2020) |
Supposedly, the story came from a dream that Bush had, and while the movie is well-meaning, it ultimately feels very much like a dream: visually striking, but shallow and nonsensical. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Sep 24, 2020
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Spawn (1997) |
I would say I feel bad for a cast that's clearly above this material, but at least they got paid for it; I ended up in the red. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Aug 08, 2020
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Color Out of Space (2019) |
Color Out of Space is relatively restrained (certainly, compared to Cage's recent cult hit Mandy) for a movie with such eccentric personnel... - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jul 21, 2020
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The Clearing (2020) |
McIntyre is adept at delivering the goods in the action scenes, rendered in intense fashion by first-time director David Matalon. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jun 22, 2020
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Body Cam (2020) |
In and of itself, Body Cam is a solid yet unspectacular genre film, but against the backdrop of real-life social injustice and unrest, it takes on new life, resonating with the urgency of its time. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jun 04, 2020
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(undefined) |
[It] is so toothless - whether by plan or by ineptitude - that it's hard to tell if it's even supposed to be a thriller. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted May 08, 2020
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Karma (2018) |
...you haven't historically seen many black families at the center of those types of stories, so in this instance, Karma is very much welcome. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Apr 23, 2020
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Fatima's Revenge (2018) |
Despite its shortcomings, Fatima's Revenge has something to say that's worth committing to film - which is more than can be said about a lot of micro-budget efforts. However, it needs more experienced hands to push it to its full potential. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Mar 09, 2020
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Trick (2019) |
There's potential here for a decent, coherent fright flick -but this unscary mess, whose twists are as predictable as they are illogical and unlikely, is not that movie. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Feb 21, 2020
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Escape Room (2019) |
It's little more than a less dreary reincarnation of the Saw formula, but Escape Room does it with enough skill and production value that it makes for a fun, quick-paced diversion... - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jan 31, 2020
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Dying to Kill (2016) |
In the end, Dying to Kill is like a decent standup set; it has a few nice moments where you might find yourself chuckle, but you probably won't remember it in the long run. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jan 16, 2020
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Writers Retreat (2015) |
This old-fashioned whodunit premise provides some nostalgic entertainment, but it struggles to overcome the mundanity inherent in a plot that revolves around roundtable literary criticism. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jan 16, 2020
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Urban Cannibal Massacre (2013) |
Pretty much every protagonist here is a flat, dull horror cliché waiting to die. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jan 16, 2020
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Office Outbreak (2006) |
It's a great premise with a fresh mix of horror and observational - at times absurdist - comedy that's rough around the edges due to its limited budget. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jan 16, 2020
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Slew Hampshire (2013) |
[A]ny potential for depth is drowned in self-consciously outrageous content and generally hazy portrayals. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jan 14, 2020
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Coleville (2016) |
Coleville has an interesting premise... but ultimately, it's little more than a premise. Its ham-fisted execution feels like a blind shot in the dark at making a movie. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jan 14, 2020
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House of Wax (2005) |
House of Wax is admirable as one of the few movies - and even fewer horror movies - to feature an interracial couple without mention of race. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jan 10, 2020
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The Cavern (2005) |
Writer/director Osunsanmi... creates an atmosphere that's cramped, murky and realistic, eschewing an overwrought Hollywood soundtrack. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jan 10, 2020
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Bloodz vs. Wolvez (2006) |
It's basically an urban bastardization of Underworld. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jan 10, 2020
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Crazy as Hell (2002) |
[Michael] Beach's performance... carries the film, particularly in the powerhouse ending. - Black Horror Movies
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| Posted Jan 10, 2020
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