If you sit through all the end credits of ATM, you’ll be treated to a series of intercut montages showcasing the graphic handiwork of its villain: an impressively detailed series of blueprints, overhead photos, layout plans and other visual implements of his devious plot. Someone clearly went to a lot of trouble putting these props together, and it’s a shame a similar amount of care wasn’t lavished on the scenario preceding them.

INTRUDERS is going to frustrate a lot of people. It’s as stylish and well-produced as any Hollywood thriller, and with a conventional story, it probably could have made a satisfying movie. Instead, this third feature from director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (28 WEEKS LATER) strives to be remarkable, sacrificing straightforward thrills in order to grasp at deeper meanings.

I’m going to write this review in the first person, forgoing the usual third approach as, well, I may have been the only Monster Kid alive who really dug Louis Letterier’s remake of CLASH OF THE TITANS.

As 2012’s SXSW film portion of the festival draws to a close, its opening night—a rousing evening of the perfect CABIN IN THE WOODS, and gory, romantic fun of [REC] 3: GENESIS—seems far removed from the current state of mind. Preceded by three days of a decidedly Northeastern climate (i.e. low 50s and pouring) , the fest gave way to sun, but maintained an air of bad omen, as a grayish storm made its way into theaters, crafting a genre lineup whose strong and most effective works have tended to be the heaviest and most somber as well.

Genre is a perfect means of expression. Heightening real world anxieties by way of darker, fantastical material is artful, creative and exciting. But what happens when a filmmaker’s personal exploration of their own illness, by way of demonic violence, is almost too literal? CITADEL, an Irish film from newcomer Ciaran Foy is such a work. A heavy, by all means eerie, atmospheric and strong debut, weighed down by its obvious intention.

The dissolution of a marriage is inherently frightening. An often anxiety-ridden and sobering act of disillusion, it's of course prime material to filter through genre, perhaps most amazing and grandly explored in Andrzej Zulawski's POSSESSION. Existing on a similar plane of paranoia and our darker natures, Christoffer Boe's somber and unnerving slow burn BEAST is probably best left to those confident they won't be signing papers anytime soon.

Every few years, a foreign film crosses the pond to remind us how a genre movie is supposed to be. THE RAID: REDEMPTION, an Indonesian flick starring Iko Uwais and directed by Welshman Gareth Evans, doesn’t just give the action genre a swift kick in the nuts, it attacks your jaded moviegoing sensibilities like a machete to the face. (Those on the East Coast can check out our free FANGORIA screening tonight; see details here.)