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(Brooklyn Horror Film Fest 2026) THE CYCLE: Come for the Mystery, Stay for the Monster

By. Vanessa Maki

If every horror filmmaker lost their love or ability to create horror that  celebrates practical effects, we’d be doomed. Whether people want to admit it or not, creature features that give us memorable practical effects are typically the best kind of creature features. THE CYCLE, directed by Jordan Downey, starts as a slow burn that leads into a creature that’ll remind you how spectacular practical effects can be for the subgenre. This is a film that combines multiple subgenres into one big pot that simmers until it explodes.

THE CYCLE follows Meg (Deborah Ann Woll),  a doctor who has honed in on studying the ways in which people die and decay. When she’s pulled into an investigation regarding her estranged father, she soon finds out secrets about him and why he disappeared. The film builds up the tension and mystery that’s going on. And the slow burn actually works in the film’s favor. In fact, THE CYCLE being a more slow burn horror film at first helps us understand Meg as a character.

The pain that Meg has experienced for the past three decades is very evident in how she operates. She has trauma that she’s been carrying, and it’s all bubbled to the surface because of the police’s investigation.. There’s an expectation for her to be severely invested because her dad is the corpse they’re having her examine. But as the audience, we know that Meg is struggling greatly with the abandonment she experienced as a child.

Horror films that involve topics surrounding abandonment, grief, trauma, and the ways in which those things manifest in various people, can easily become repetitive to watch. THE CYCLE does mildly explore Meg’s feelings as well as how her father leaving affected her and her mother. However, the film is also interested in Meg gaining the knowledge she needs in order to move forward. Unfortunately for her and the other folks within the investigation, there’s something far more intense going on than Meg’s estranged father’s corpse.

As THE CYCLE gets through the portion of the film that’s very crime horror-thriller and mystery, we get more and more hints of what to come. Everyone involved fails to realize what’s happening until it’s too late. Occasionally in creature features there are characters who refuse to accept that something otherworld, unexplained, or supernatural is going on. Meg happens to be that character in this film, but it doesn’t come across as grating because she deals in scientific explanations regarding death. It makes her realization later in the film more intense.

 

If you’re aware of Deborah Ann Woll’s presence in other horror projects, then you know she fits quite nicely in the genre. Her performance as Meg throughout THE CYCLE combines strength, vulnerability, and curiosity. The journey that her character goes on is a full-blown rollercoaster filled with death, blood, and emotional unraveling. And it’ll make you wish she didn’t have to endure this at all.

 

Sometimes a horror protagonist just needs to embrace the monster. That's certainly the case in I LOVE PARIS, where an aspiring musician takes her transformation into a vampire surprisingly well. Vanessa Maki caught the wonderfully strange mockumentary at Brooklyn Horror Film Fest, finding plenty to enjoy in its unapologetically unconventional leading lady.

 

Once THE CYCLE gets to the point where the slow build starts to shift,  the film kicks into high gear and your eyeballs will be grateful. The film’s pivot from its THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) vibes is done as smoothly as it possibly can be. Downey’s grip on the subgenres he’s operating under is strong enough, and he pays homage in ways that aren’t tacked on.

The practical effects for this film will make you think about other creature feature films that relish in them.  While the mystery surrounding the creature becomes less of one for seasoned audiences, it’s not eye-roll inducing. If you think you know exactly what’s going to happen and why it’s happening, you might be pleasantly surprised. And that’s something to appreciate about THE CYCLE.

Bad CGI would’ve ruined the experience THE CYCLE provides, and it’s lovely that the special effects supervisor Patrick Magee’s commitment to practical effects is noticeable. In regard to the creature design, it’s a sight to behold and Trevor Newlin terrifies in his role as the creature itself.  There’s goop, gore, and downright startling imagery that you’ll happily dig your claws into.

 

While the film isn’t perfect, more specifically in the third act when it feels like they could’ve wrapped the story up sooner, it’s not a chore of a film to sit through until the very end. The creature feature action and gore will keep you distracted for the most part. And the third act is when you’re getting a nice helping of that.

THE CYCLE is one of those films that you have to check out and not be spoiled regarding what happens. Due to the well-crafted mystery throughout THE CYCLE, you’ll appreciate not knowing very much about happens. The film is very much worth checking out once it hits Shudder on October 23rd. Practical effects enthusiasts won’t be disappointed in the slightest.

 

A memorable monster can make a horror film stick with you long after the credits roll. Bee Delores makes a case for COBWEB in her How Do YOU Halloween? feature, revisiting the disturbing creature design and twisted family secrets that make Samuel Bodin's film such a nasty little Halloween treat.