Simon Alderwick watches and shares his thoughts on the gruesome pick and mix of horror movies available on Shudder and beyond. This week he looks at Fried Barry, The Reckoning and some other garbage.

Fried Barry (2021) is a psychotic joyride thru Cape Town’s underbelly, a sensual overload for fans of Crank, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas and Spun. This is world cinema for the jilted generation, Trainspotting meets Species. Did I mention it’s got aliens?

Fried Barry is stylish, gritty and dances the fine line between madness and genius.

Did I mention this film is awesome?

The perfect cure for lockdown boredom. You’ll be itching to get back out and mingling with degenerates – human or otherwise – as soon as you can after witnessing this adventure of a night out.

Did I mention the brutal soundtrack? Never have I heard such a decadent soundtrack since Pi: Faith in Chaos.

I knew I would love this film from the first few seconds of the opening credits. This is performance art. It’s visual anarchy. It takes unreliable narration to a whole new level. Think The Man Who Fell To Earth meets City of God. Did I mention I’m in love with this movie?

Set in 17th Century England as the bubonic plague ravages the population, The Reckoning (2020) is an eerie gothic drama filled with devil worship and witchcraft but the scariest thing here is that the story (or at least the backdrop of witch trials) is based on true events. 

The film sees a woman accused of being a witch after her husband dies. I’m not generally a fan of period films but this film harvests some of the darkest parts of British history to serve up an intelligent and unpredictable film. 

I also watched The Relic (2020) and part of The Funeral Home (2020) but I can’t remember a single thing about The Relic and the less said about The Funeral Home the better.  Time to watch Fried Barry again. Did I mention you should stop whatever you are doing and watch Fried Barry – right now?

Simon Alderwick is a poet and songwriter from the UK. His work is featured or forthcoming in Whatever Keeps The Light On, Re-side and the Squiffy Gnu anthology, among others. Follow him on Twitter @SimonAlderwick.