Entertainment
Nearly Perfect Sci-Fi Thriller Is A Doorway Into Strange New Worlds
By Jennifer Asencio
| Published
The found footage genre is hit and miss: either it produces incredible thrills like Hell House LLC, or it is a bore until the big scare, like Paranormal Activity. Despite roots in found footage scenes from larger movies like Cannibal Holocaust, the genre began with the groundbreaking sleeper hit The Blair Witch Project, and there have been numerous knockoffs that have tried to capture the tone and the box office of that 1999 horror gambit.
Hostile Dimensions is more sci-fi than horror, but it uses the found footage concept to document the exploration of other dimensions the characters discover while looking for a missing graffiti artist.
What’s the logical thing to do when you find an uninstalled door in the middle of a room in an abandoned building? Take it home, of course! When protagonists Sam (Annabel Logan) and Ash (Joma West) do that while searching for graffiti artist Emily (Josie Rogers), they find out the door opens up to other dimensions.
The stunned duo are documentary filmmakers and decide to record further explorations around and into the strange door. Enlisting the help of friends and experts, they learn how the doors are used and film themselves as they pioneer new worlds. But for Sam, there is more to find beyond the threshold, and the search for Emily takes a dark turn.
Hostile Dimensions really seems like it was filmed with home equipment like GoPros and mini recorders. Unlike many found-footage films, where audiences are left wondering why the characters kept the camera rolling instead of escaping, this movie offers credible reasons for continuing to film during the action. We are constantly reminded by the characters that they’re documenting their experiences, especially when they turn to experts to research the strange doorway.
It also doesn’t fall into the trap of other found-footage movies, which document every… single… tedious… thing. Something is happening in every scene, and it uses its mockumentary format to excuse things like edits that gloss over long periods of time. It clocks in at 80 minutes and doesn’t waste a second of running time boring the audience with long sequences of people sleeping.
The movie was well received by critics because its writer and director, Graham Hughes, had already made Death of a Vlogger, another effective mockumentary horror, and Hostile Dimensions was a strong sophomore film for his resume. The praise mostly went to the good use of a small budget and the location scouting for the various settings that comprise the other dimensions. The lore and its supporting documentation are intriguing, introducing the audience to an ancient mystery hiding in plain sight, with an attention to detail spanning the ages of art and history.
It is not a perfect movie. Hostile Dimensions’ low budget occasionally bursts its seams, especially amongst some of the performers. It doesn’t rely on special effects, which are creative and practical but also sometimes betray their inexpensiveness. It’s also not exactly a horror movie, leaning more into its science fiction themes than bringing chills or scares.
Despite, or maybe because of, these flaws, Hostile Dimensions tells a story about a woman who wants to explore, even if it means leaving this world. It’s a universal tale that takes her and its audience to places best described as the uncanny valley, leaving an eerie resonance and an exciting, glorious resolution full of humor and mystery.
Would you open the door? Find out by checking out Hostile Dimensions on Amazon Prime or Shudder.
Entertainment
The DJI Mini 5 Pro drone has hit a record-low price this weekend — save $500 at Amazon
SAVE $500: As of March 14, the DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That’s $500 off the list price.
$1,099
at Amazon
$1,599
Save $500
The ban on DJI imports it naturally causing stock to drop, but it’s still possible to find popular models on Amazon (for now). And you can still find deals on some of the best drones from the brand, including the DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo. This bumper bundle has hit a record-low price on Amazon this weekend.
As of March 14, the DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That’s $500 off the list price for a limited time.
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We have seen this low price before, but we don’t know how long this sort of deal will stay live. Stock is going to dwindle at some stage. At that point, prices will surely jump. Until we reach that moment, we’re going to take every opportunity we can get to shop.
This bundle includes the DJI Mini 5 Pro drone, the DJI RC 2 camera-drone remote controller, a set of filters, three DJI Mini 5 Pro Intelligent Flight batteries, three propeller sets, a shoulder bag, and more. You’re getting everything you need to start flying and capturing footage in one convenient package.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro features a one-inch CMOS camera with 4K HDR filming at 60fps. You can opt for 4K 120fps for slow-motion filming, and night flying is a possibility thanks to the 360 degree Nightscape Omnidirectional Sensing and Nighttime return-to-home function.
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It’s a truly stellar option for content creators and anyone looking to capture epic footage.
Score the best-ever price on the DJI Mini 5 Pro this weekend.
Entertainment
How to watch the 2026 Oscars online for free
TL;DR: Live stream the 2026 Oscars for free on 7Plus, RTÉ Player, or ITVX. Access these free streaming platforms from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
Yes, the Oscars are almost here. It’s time for the film industry to come together to congratulate itself. Expect stunning gowns, polite clapping, fake smiles, and chaotic acceptance speeches. The group chat is going to come alive for one night only.
Whether you’re interested in the red carpet looks, the musical numbers, the award winners, or the sweet unpredictability of live television, you can watch this special event without spending anything. So clear your schedule and invite your sassiest friends. There’s always something from this night that causes a huge stir, and we wouldn’t want you to miss out on the drama.
If you want to watch the 2026 Oscars for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.
What are the Oscars?
The Academy Awards (the Oscars) are the awards for artistic and technical merit in film. The Oscars are widely considered to be the most prestigious awards in the film industry.
When are the 2026 Oscars?
The 98th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Comedian Conan O’Brien is set to host the show for the second consecutive time in 2026.
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How to watch the 2026 Oscars for free
The 2026 Oscars are available to live stream for free on a number of platforms:
These streaming platforms are geo-restricted, but anyone can access for free with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in another location, meaning you can unblock free streaming sites from anywhere in the world.
Live stream the 2026 Oscars from anywhere in the world by following these simple steps:
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Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)
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Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)
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Open up the app and connect to a server in a location with access
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Visit 7Plus, RTÉ Player, or ITVX
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Live stream the 2026 Oscars for free from anywhere in the world
$12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee)
The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch the 2026 Oscars before recovering your investment.
What is the best VPN for the Oscars?
ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to access free live streams, for a number of reasons:
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Servers in 105 countries
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Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more
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Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure
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Fast connection speeds
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Up to 10 simultaneous connections
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30-day money-back guarantee
A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).
Watch the 2026 Oscars from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.
Entertainment
The Saviors review: Adam Scott and Danielle Deadwyler delve into suburban paranoia in a sharply funny thriller
We all tend to imagine ourselves as the hero of our stories. The trouble with that is it requires someone to be the villain. That way of thinking can get dangerous when tumbled into our personal wells of prejudice, paranoia, and need for validation. From this well of mind-bending emotions springs The Saviors, a clever genre thriller with a lot to say beneath its slippery surface.
Following in the footsteps of eavesdropping-centric thrillers like Rear Window and The ‘Burbs, The Saviors begins with a middle-aged white man with too much time on his hands. In an average suburban American town, Sean Harrison (a smartly cast Adam Scott) is unemployed and on the verge of divorce from his wife, Kim (Till‘s Danielle Deadwyler). He’s hungry for a purpose when he meets Muslim siblings Amir (Theo Rossi) and Jahan (Nazanin Boniadi), who are renting the Harrisons’ guest house for a few days. So, when Sean notices some strange things around his home after their arrival, his suspicious eye travels to the guest house’s door.
What follows is a provocative tale with a sharp sense of humor and an ending that’ll make you want to watch it again — immediately.
The Saviors blends sci-fi spookiness with comic paranoia.
Co-written by Travis Betz and Kevin Hamedani, and directed by the latter, The Saviors begins with a trippy dream sequence. Sean and Kim awake in a crisp, white bedroom, whispering sweet nothings to each other as if this were the final act of a Nancy Meyers rom-com. Then a strange sound draws them away from the bliss of their bed.
In the blink of an eye, the tone shifts from serene to panicked. Sean is bleeding. The future is uncertain and threatening, and then he wakes up for real. This time he’s on the couch. He’s rumpled, real, and really annoying his wife, who’s readied herself to welcome their Airbnb guests to the house out back.
Dressed primly, Amir and Jahan are polite and warm, expressing appreciation for two strangers giving them space in their home. Through sign language, Jahan praises Sean’s cooking, the smell of his chili lighting up her face with a broad smile. But as they share a meal, Sean finds some of their comments strange, like their unfamiliarity with the sound of crickets. Soon, a hummed melody (“Seven Nation Army”) spurs him to suspect Jahan isn’t deaf as her brother claims. Then there are the tremors that shake their house, and the inexplicable green lights that suddenly pierce their windows. Things are getting undeniably strange, in a Twilight Zone way.
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Still, Sean’s uneasy about broaching the topic with a wife who already finds him ridiculous. But neither does he want to confide in his parents (Colleen Camp and Ron Perlman), who’ve fallen down a right-wing conspiracy rabbit hole. His construction worker sister, Cleo (Kate Berlant) isn’t much better, and eagerly fans the flames of Sean’s paranoia. After all, isn’t the president coming to their cozy town for a visit? And isn’t he visiting a landmark near Sean and Kim’s home?
While Kim initially dismisses Sean’s suspicions, demanding he think outside his “white bubble,” TV news hums about increased security and fear of terrorist threats. Before long, she too grows nervous about their guests. From there, the couple plays amateur spies, and the adventure of it all has reignited their connection — and their sex lives. But at what cost?
The Saviors delivers a surprising parable without getting preachy.
Hamedani doesn’t shy away from modern American politics through ambiguity. Though he avoids dropping the names of real politicians, his characters speak frankly about neo-Nazis, Islamophobia, and white privilege — particularly when it comes to life in suburbia. Yet, the film never veers into feeling like a lecture, because of the propulsive thrust of its central mystery: What are these guests up to?
Some clues are strange, but potentially innocuous. However, a second act sequence that reveals a peek into what even Sean and Kim can’t see dares the audience to buy into Sean’s suspicions. After all, the film is bound to his perspective, setting him up as the hero of The Saviors. But this movie would be boring if things weren’t what they seem. Still, even if you’d guessed that, I doubt you’ll predict where Hamedani and Betz’s sci-fi story winds up. I was not just surprised, but elated to be surprised. Watching the clues stack up, I was confident — cocky, even — that I’d unlocked the mystery that The Saviors ticks down to in its climax. I was wrong, and so I wanted to see The Saviors again to see where I, like Sean and Kim, went wrong.
The first time through The Saviors works as a solid genre thriller. The deceptively simple story is about a couple torn apart by ennui, but reunited through an adventure built on voyeurism and paranoia. But the sci-fi flourishes of unworldly glows, bizarre devices, and mysterious visitors heighten the stakes beyond divorce to life and death. Our imaginations are tantalized, enticing us to seek out exotic elements, and thereby ignoring more domestic red flags.
Like a great whodunnit, The Saviors opens up on reflection, blooming with the clues we overlooked the first time. The story shifts as our understanding of Amir and Jahan has. So, in a sense, you get two movies in one, just by watching The Saviors a second time. Better yet, the performances work both ways. All four leads — Scott, Deadwyler, Rossi, and Boniadi — are tasked with playing performances that work in two contexts. Some scenes that were once funny, flip to become menacing, and vice versa. It’s all about perspective.
A true find out of SXSW, The Saviors is a marvel. Hamedani and company have carefully constructed a film that’s part dark comedy, part sci-fi thriller, part cautionary tale. And yet for all this, it never feels muddled or messy. Keenly helmed and sharply performed, The Saviors is a must-see.
The Saviors was reviewed out of its world premiere at SXSW.
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