Popular reviews

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  Review by SilentDawn ★★★★½ 2

  85/100

  Can't deny how awful Norman Reedus is as the central cinema manager and former heroine addict, but there's a reason why this Masters of Horror episode begins with "John Carpenter's" prefacing the title; it's the sign of a master at the controls. Its budget may be slim and the script relies too frequently on blabbling conversation, but this is fucking terrifying in its implications. As cinephiles, we may try to rationalize our connection to the movie-going experience, that flickering light which feeds our mind and our hearts. Pure sensation and feeling washes over us, but the true nature is mysterious. It's what keeps us coming back, again and again for a fix. A ticket purchased, the stroll into the…

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  Review by nathaxnne [hiatus <3] ★★★★★ 2

  'Cigarette Burns' plays like John Carpenter's honoraria to Eurohorror, to the sheer power of the image and of film itself, to the obsessive hold that film and cinema can have over its devotees, the ritual practice of watching and rewatching, of the alchemical process of recording and transmuting the real into something more and other than the real, and of the need to make a record of having seen. 'Cigarette Burns' has no business being as immediately terrifying as it is, except that is its business. Udo Kier is saturated in decadent evil like a dog that has done nothing but roll in the filth of executed prisoners its entire life. There is no way that anyone, not even Norman…

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  Review by Dyrnott ★★★★½ 2

  One of my favorites from Masters of Horror! Rare legendary movie is a favorite story line for horror! Directed by the legend John Carpenter with legendary odd actor Udo Kier who is always a delight and everyone’s favorite Norman Reedus! Check it out!

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  Review by Sally Jane Black

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

  This one is about film, too, but also about obsession, criticism, and desperation, and it has a moment in which a man feeds his intestines through a projector, so instead of being fine, it's pretty great instead.

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  Review by Ian West ★★★½

  It's like The Ninth Gate meets In the Mouth of Madness with a Eurohorror touch, and I wish it could have been a full length feature. The real standouts are the film being searched for-which becomes its own character, the emaciated pale man portrayed by Christopher Redman and the great work by N and B of KNB effects, a solid score, and Udo Kier doing his best Udo Kier.

  
  Might be my favorite of the series?

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  Review by comrade_yui ★★★★

  i find young norman reedus to have an extremely disturbing visage, i don't know what it is exactly, he just looks like a fake person made of plastic and toothpaste, some kind of perverted simulacra of the human form

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  Review by Sam Thompson ★★★½ 2

  I am deadset in love with this thing.

  Cigarette Burns' narrative is like pure cocaine for me. It is right up my alley. In The Mouth of Madness is my second favourite Carpenter film and Cigarette Burns acts as a spiritual sequel to that. I love films about films. The effect of art on a person is something that is deeply interesting because it is different for pretty much any person and can drive people to do life-altering things. So when a plot comes along where a piece of media affects someone so much that there are deep psychological consequences, I completely eat it up. Carpenter is a master of making a small budget feel like a big one. The…

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  Review by Willow Maclay ★★★★ 2

  What is the nature of cinema? What is the nature of horror? John Carpenter’s Cigarette Burns asks these questions through the lens of the horror landscape of 2005, but in truth this was something that had been building for a long time. The definition of horror is revulsion, and in the context of cinema the horror film can do more than just that, but it’s primary focus is still to repel or scare. In the 70s you had The Texas Chainsaw Massacre which evolved into Cannibal Holocaust and filmmaking kept moving further and further into the world of extreme violence within horror culminating with films like Saw,Hostel and the French New Extreme movement to encapsulate this feeling that horror was…

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  Review by nightofthecreeps ★★★½ 1

  A cautionary tale for all Letterboxd users

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  Review by {Todd} ★ 4

  "Hey so whats up with you and the cigarette burns?" -Kirby,

  - John Carpenter Ranked: boxd.it/22Bdu
  - Horror Hunt #31 (Jan '21): boxd.it/aya9m "John Carpenter"

  Udo Kier!

  Yay, now I know what the worst John Carpenter film is.

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  Review by Slig001 ★★★½

  Essentially, it's a mash up of The Ninth Gate and In the Mouth of Madness but with a rare film instead of a rare book (actually it's a bit like 8mm). It has to be said that the short runtime gets in the way. There's some pacing issues and a few massive plot holes/illogical character decisions. However, there's definitely something about this that is captivating. I have to admit that I really want to see La Fin Absolute du Monde! There's numerous nods to classic horror films, which is always a win plus the whole meta film within a film thing is done very well. Cigarette Burns has a lot to say about the power of films and film directors…

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  Review by Afra Nariman

  There are some interesting concepts here that didn’t end up being fully realized; yet that is understandable considering the short-program format and low budget. Overall, despite constraints, Carpenter does well to create an engaging enough film that poses various questions regarding the responsibility of filmmakers who wield the "power of cinema."