The Queens 

Dramatic Horror!!! Wait, what?? Did you say "dramatic horror"?? IS there such a thing?? I mean, TRULY. Well, if San Francisco-based, Pakistani-born independent filmmaker Dr. Hassan Zee and this film critic have anything to say about it, there IS such a beast as experienced through the director's newest feature film set to officially debut October 4th in the City by the Bay. Folks, indie film will always be a bastion of experimentation and originality, and this film for me fits that bill.

Audition should be on everyone's list of Greatest Horror Film. So I urge you to give it a watch.  Maybe watch the last twenty minutes with your hands in front of your eyes. 

In all honesty, “Black and Blue” is a satisfying experience, complete with solid craftsmanship. With the help of cinematographer Dante Spinotti, Deon Taylor (the director) creates a murky, lived in atmosphere.

While the film didn’t hit me as emotionally as I wanted it to, I still enjoyed it. I simply wish there was a little more, particularly with the world building.

Not only does the system prevent upward mobility, but it makes it incredibly easy to slide from comfortably middle class to unhoused.

J Brooke, Incluvie Guest Columnist on 'Life and Beth' and 'Sort of': while living one’s truth is freedom, speaking it as a mandatory assignment can become captivity.