Matt Donato
Matt Donato is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic who stays up too late typing words for What To Watch, IGN, Paste, Bloody Disgusting, Fangoria and countless other publications. He is a member of Critics Choice and co-hosts a weekly livestream with Perri Nemiroff called the Merri Hour. You probably shouldn't feed him after midnight, just to be safe.
Latest articles by Matt Donato
Tribeca 2021 Review: 'Ultrasound' is a boundless and beguiling sci-fi mystery
By Matt Donato published
There’s no world where 'Ultrasound' is for everyone outside “Planet Elevated Horror,” but even then, it’s scant on frights outside social anxieties.
Tribeca 2021 Review: 'Werewolves Within' is on the case
By Matt Donato last updated
Josh Ruben's 'Werewolves Within' is a frigid interpretation of Ubisoft's game about deception, survival, and convincing others you're not a werewolf.
'F9' Review: There's still gas left in the tank and family to spare
By Matt Donato last updated
F9 worships at the altar of “family” beyond retcons, resurrections, and more schmaltzy Toretto flashbacks than a Hallmark reboot of the speedster episodic could muster.
SXSW 2021 Review: 'Made For Love's pilot has the right stuff
By Matt Donato last updated
Cristin Milioti stars as a wife on the lam—who may or may not have been bugged—fleeing from her domineering tech-mogul husband.
Tribeca 2021 Review: 'We Need To Do Something' is a traumatizing descent
By Matt Donato published
Credit We Need To Do Something as one of those impossible to write about yet exciting festival discoveries that are so easy to spoil—so we remain vague.
'Untitled Horror Movie' Review: If 'Host' was a dull comedy
By Matt Donato last updated
I struggle with Untitled Horror Movie because it’s never horrifying, nor does this comedic interpretation of screenlife possessions ever desire to scare audiences.
Sundance 2021 Review: 'Censor' keeps its video nasty
By Matt Donato last updated
Prano Bailey-Bond's 'Censor' makes a horror film censor the star of her own thrilling tale of dread, death, and movie magic.
'Caveat' Review: More a lullaby than a nightmare
By Matt Donato published
If Caveat shares any DNA with Irish horror brethren such as The Hole In The Ground or Without Name, it's a "curio" classification.
'Spare Parts' Review: Missing a few pieces as advertised
By Matt Donato last updated
'Spare Parts' might charm some through its rock-heavy indie spirits, but it's a wholly unspectacular miss in terms of non-stop slaughterhouse excitement.
'The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It' Review: A lackluster replication that still scares
By Matt Donato published
'The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It' pulsates with spookiness that successfully ruins water beds, cereal boxes, and kennels for at least the night.
'Funhouse' Review: Big Brother but deadly
By Matt Donato published
Welcome to Furcas’ “House Of Fun,” where eight C-List celebrities—gossip bloggers to background singers—compete for a chance to win $5 million on a 24-hour livestream.
'The Retreat' Review: A lesbian couple fights back against hate
By Matt Donato published
'The Retreat' is indeed a lesbian slasher in that lesbians are targeted by bigotted rednecks who take the “bury your gays” phrase literally.
'A Quiet Place Part II' Review: Still silent, still deadly
By Matt Donato last updated
John Krasinski's 'A Quiet Place Part II' builds on the basics from the first to become an angrier, larger-in-scope creature feature.
'Dementia: Part II' Review: A stunt film that requires context
By Matt Donato published
Matt Mercer and Mike Testin's 'Dementia: Part II' pits a handyman against a forgetful old woman who starts to get bitey—made in only a month.
‘Profile’ Review: Cyber entrapment that’s elusive and extra
By Matt Donato published
Valene Kane and Amir Rahimzadeh mix diabolical charms and self-sabotaging ethics into a screen life cocktail that’s deceptively sweet then sickeningly bitter in 'Profile.'
'The Djinn' Review: When a wish becomes a curse
By Matt Donato published
For basic introductions into more vicious nightshades of genre difficulty, The Djinn flips its pages like one of Lucifer’s bedtime fables.
'Initiation' Review: A smarter slasher than expected
By Matt Donato published
John Berardo's 'Initiation' sharpens both its themes and its tool shed weaponry, as collegiate hookup culture comes under fire with impact.
'Benny Loves You' Review: Plushy punishment wins out
By Matt Donato published
Karl Holt stresses the comedy in his plushy best-friend nightmare 'Benny Loves You,' which becomes the film's saving grace and letdown in equal portions.
'Things Heard and Seen' Review: Does this horror tale even hear itself?
By Matt Donato published
'Things Heard and Seen' is so poignant, so frustrated, and alas, so unfortunately misinformed in how catharsis or empowerment emerge victorious from scalding narratives.
'The Resort' Review: One bad trip
By Matt Donato published
'The Resort' is a one-way ticket to Hawaiian Hell at an uneven seventyish minutes that muffs its paranormal paradise purgatory.
'Mortal Kombat' Review: A fatal victory, albeit not flawless
By Matt Donato published
Simon McQuoid's 'Mortal Kombat' reboot hammerfists its way into the hearts.
'Boys from County Hell' Review: Irish vampire comedy is a bloody good time
By Matt Donato published
Chris Baugh’s 'Boys from County Hell' checks all the required boxes while approaching fanged folklore with a revitalized approach that playfully scoffs at historied interpretations.
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