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The Home for Independent Film and TV Reviews

We bring artistry, variety, analysis, and authority to our independent film and TV reviews — from new releases, film festivals, and anime to Criterion Tuesday, Throwback Thursday, and awards season highlights. Each review shines a light on the creativity and craft that make screen stories stick with us. Every week, new releases and articles, alongside dependable favorites, will keep you coming back to TwilightRoom. Founded by film critic Devin Esser and based in San Diego, California, we cover major film festivals as credentialed press.

Sharing reviews with your friends and joining The Twilight Weekly newsletter will help us grow our community. We look forward to establishing TwilightRoom as a place where independent voices can share what they see and help bring more great stories to light.

– Devin Esser,
Film Critic and Founder 

TwilightRoom Rating System

Unlike the star ratings and letter grades common in film criticism, TwilightRoom uses a 100-point scale for more precise evaluations. Because every film or show takes creativity and a large team of collaborators to make, each one starts with baseline points, placing most ratings between 50 and 100. A perfect 100 is reserved for work that excels at every level — from the writing and performances to the emotional impact that lingers long after the credits roll.

TwilightRoom Score
75/100

"No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the
twilight room
of the soul"

Ingmar Bergman

Recent Articles

A woman stands with her arms outstretched inside a circular rig of multiple cameras for a Film Monthly October 2026 feature.

Film Monthly – October 2026

The best movies of October 2026 were defined by their extremes, a month where the top of the list reached heights almost nothing this year has touched and the bottom sank about as low as film gets. Few months this year have had a stronger ceiling or a lower floor.
A man with a determined expression aims a glowing, futuristic handgun toward the viewer in this AFI FEST 2026 image.

TwilightRoom’s AFI FEST 2026 Watches Ranked & Reviewed

Our AFI FEST 2026 reviews, ranked, from Laika's Wildwood and Tony Gilroy's Behemoth! to new work from Werner Herzog, Brad Bird, Radu Jude, Céline Sciamma and Peter Berg.
Coraline crawls through a dark, swirling tunnel with blue and purple walls in this classic scene from the Laika Studios film.

TwilightRoom’s Laika Studios Films Ranked

TwilightRoom's full ranking of all six Laika Studios films, including its most recent project, Wildwood, from one of the best animation companies in the history of film.
Graphic for the Austin Film Festival 2026, taking place from October 29 through November 5.

The 14 Most Anticipated Releases of Austin Film Fest

TwilightRoom's list of the 14 films we are most anticipating for this year's Austin Film Festival, one of the best communities in the festival circuit!
AFI FEST 2026 poster with the dates Oct 21–25 in Hollywood, presented by Canva.

The 18 Most Anticipated Releases of AFI FEST

TwilightRoom's list of the 18 film's we are most excited for, screening at the AFI Fest, including some of the biggest award contenders of the year!
Vintage movie poster for one of the most influential horror movies, showing a terrified woman in a white dress being grabbed by a skeleton in front of a dark, spooky house.

Spooktober 2026 – 31 Nights of Frights Through Horror Cinema

TwilightRoom's Spooktober Marathon for 2026 is a journey through horror cinema history from 1910 to 2026, reviewing 31 of the most influential horror movies ever made, with a new entry added every day.
Robin Hood, often seen in a Robin Hood films review, wears a green tunic and feathered cap as he aims a bow and arrow in a forest.

The Outlaw Reforged: The Historical Timeline of Robin Hood in Film

This is our full ranking and examination of the full century of Robin Hood films, from Douglas Fairbanks to Hugh Jackman.
A side profile of a man from Jacques Tati’s filmography wearing a brimmed hat and smoking a pipe.

Jacques Tati: A Historical Timeline of Cinema’s Great Choreographer of Chaos

This is our full ranking and examination of Jacques Tati's filmography, from the early shorts through the final circus, alongside the ideas that defined all of it.
Alamo Drafthouse presents Fantastic Fest 2026, set against a background of lightning.

The Biggest Releases at Fantastic Fest 2026

These are the 16 biggest and most anticipated films of Fantastic Fest 2026, and we at TwilightRoom can't wait to cover them.
A videographer films a man sitting on a stool gesturing with his hands, as part of a feature on Matt Johnson’s filmography ranked.

The Guerrilla Auteur: Matt Johnson’s Filmography, Ranked

Twilightroom's ranking of all five feature length films from worst to best, some of the most creative and inventive storytelling in modern cinema all talked about here!
The symmetrical Grand Budapest Hotel, one of the top 25 films of the 2010s, is set against autumn trees with the hotel name above the roofline and 1968 displayed on the stone foundation.

TwilightRoom’s Top 25 Films of the 2010s

This list outlines TwilightRooms 25 best films of the 2010s decade, factoring in impact, success, and overall beauty and entertainment to give you the best entries from one of the best decades in film history.
Three people in purple robes stand around a flaming cauldron in a forest at night as a winged horse rises from the fire, captured in the style of the Fantasia Film Festival 2026.

Fantasia Film Festival Ranked & Reviewed

TwilightRoom’s ranking of the eight films and one TV show we saw at the Fantasia Film Festival, with our review of each…
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Bringing you the week’s top shows and latest films, ranked and reviewed so you can stay ahead of what’s next.

The Twilight Weekly: TV and Film coverage that delivers.

Logo featuring a stylized blue T and purple R sharing a yellow square within a dark blue frame, used as a button for a newsletter sign up.

Sign up for our free newsletter

Bringing you the week’s top shows and latest films, ranked and reviewed so you can stay ahead of what’s next.

The Twilight Weekly: TV and Film coverage that delivers.