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Social media has been a part of Americans' lives for well over a decade and, in part because of its newness, some people argue that there is a dearth of research about its effect on us — particularly its effect on young people.

For the first time ever, the Centers for Disease Control's Youth Risk Behavior Survey assessed the frequency of social media use among U.S. high school students. Using that data, the organization drew some conclusions on the relationship between high school students' social media use and bullying, feelings of hopelessness, and suicide risk. The findings show that most students use social media frequently and it significantly affects their mental health.

SEE ALSO: Teens feel burnt out. Social media can make it worse.

The study showed that the vast majority — 77 percent — of high school students use social media at least several times a day, which the CDC defines as "frequent social media use." Female students use social media more — 81.8 percent — in comparison to male students' 72.9 percent. Heterosexual students reported using it more frequently than lesbian and gay students, 79.2 percent to 67.7 percent, but bisexual and questioning students reported using social media more frequently than students identifying with any other sexual orientation with 82.2 and 82.6 percent, respectively.

"Students who reported frequent social media use were more likely to be bullied at school and electronically bullied compared with less frequent social media users," the report reads. "Frequent social media users also were more likely to report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Frequent social media use was associated with having seriously considered attempting suicide and having made a suicide plan."

While those findings break down by gender, race, and sexuality, all groups surveyed — male students, female students, and LGBQ+ students — who reported "frequent social media use" were more likely to report feeling sad, hopeless, and seriously considering attempting suicide than their less online counterparts.

While social media can also help young people find community, express themselves, and create, this study is further confirmation that the darker effects also exist.

Since Apple discontinued its beloved MagSafe Duo charger, companies have been chasing a similar style of portable iPhone and Apple Watch charger. Belkins 2-in-1 Charging Travel Pad gets all the basics right, including accommodating StandBy mode. The biggest consideration is that it's not as minimal as Apple's past charger or even the sleekest option available now.

"Daily Show" host Jordan Klepper has made fun of the people on Fox implying that real men don't vote Democrat.

Among the 5,700 confirmed exoplanets astronomers have discovered outside the solar system, there are those considered ice worlds and water worlds, but what about a steam world? 

Well, they've done it. Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership of NASA and its European and Canadian counterparts, have indeed detected a sauna-like planet about 100 light-years away from Earth in the constellation Pisces. Some have called it the first direct evidence of a planet blanketed in wet heat. 

This humid alien planet, GJ 9827 d, is about double the size of Earth and has an atmosphere almost entirely composed of water vapor, according to a new study. Before now, such worlds were only theorized to exist in space. 

"It was a very surreal moment," said Eshan Raul, who contributed to the research while an undergraduate student at the University of Michigan, in a statement. "We were searching specifically for water worlds because it was hypothesized that they could exist. If these are real, it really makes you wonder what else could be out there."

SEE ALSO: Scientists haven't found a rocky exoplanet with air. But now they have a plan. Europa, left, and Enceladus are two moons in the frigid outer solar system suspected to have oceans under icy shells. Credit: NASA

Such a steam world is thought to have thick water-rich air, with a surface devoid of ice or flowing water. It's what scientists imagine icy moons of Jupiter, like Europa and Ganymede, would be like if they orbited near the sun instead of more distant reaches of the solar system. 

GJ 9827 d, a rocky super-Earth, is so close to its host star that it has an estimated surface temperature of 660 degrees Fahrenheit. For comparison, the average surface temperature of Earth is 59 degrees Fahrenheit. Because of the exoplanet's extreme heat, its atmosphere is likely a mix of gas, without clouds or distinct layers.

Scientists have found signs of hydrogen-rich atmospheres surrounding many worlds, but all of them have been around gas giant planets, like Jupiter. The hunt for a more terrestrial world swaddled in a protective atmosphere of heavier elements had eluded astronomers, though Webb has helped scientists find reasonable bets, such as 55 Cancri e, GJ 486 b, and LHS 1140 b. 

This is the first confirmed case of an exoplanet atmosphere where hydrogen is not the dominant component, said Caroline Piaulet-Ghorayeb, a doctoral student at the University of Montréal. The new paper, led by Piaulet-Ghorayeb, was published in Astrophysical Journal Letters last week. 

Since Webb opened for business, researchers have frequently used a technique called transmission spectroscopy to study exoplanets. When these worlds cross in front of their host star, starlight gets filtered through their atmospheres. Molecules within the atmosphere absorb certain light wavelengths, or colors, so by splitting the light into its basic parts — like a rainbow — astronomers can detect what light segments are missing to discern the molecular makeup of an atmosphere.

Researchers used the new Webb data, coupled with Hubble Space Telescope observations conducted earlier this year, to confirm the steam composition. A common problem with such studies is the potential for variability in signals based on stellar activity — like the spots that can form on the sun. After careful analysis, teams were able to rule out the possibility of botched data due to stellar contamination. 

Researchers will use the James Webb Space Telescope to continue studying GJ 9827 d, the first confirmed "steam world." Credit: NASA GSFC / CIL / Adriana Manrique Gutierrez illustration

While this planet would not be habitable for most life forms people are familiar with on Earth, the success of finding a terrestrial world with an atmosphere teeming with water means scientists are getting ever-closer to finding temperate hospitable worlds. 

Webb scientists are about to begin a massive study of rocky worlds outside the solar system, specifically in search of planets orbiting close to red dwarf stars — the most abundant type of star in the Milky Way — that could have air. The program, first reported by Mashable, has already picked the first two of about a dozen target planets to study.

"Now we’re finally pushing down into what these mysterious worlds with sizes between Earth and Neptune, for which we don’t have an example in our own solar system, are actually made of," said coauthor Ryan MacDonald in a statement. "This is a crucial proving step towards detecting atmospheres on habitable exoplanets in the years to come."

SAVE $60: As of Oct. 11, the Samsung 27-Inch Essential S3 Curved Monitor is on sale for $119.99 at Amazon. That's a saving of 33% on list price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung 27-Inch Essential S3 Curved Monitor $119.99 at Amazon
$179.99 Save $60.00 Get Deal

We spent a lot of time looking directly at screens. Whether it's for work or play, our eyes are always distracted by screens. So why not upgrade to the best quality on offer?

If you work from home regularly, or you just need to upgrade your home office, Amazon has some great deals to help you do this for less. Including a limited-time deal on the Samsung 27-Inch Essential S3 Curved Monitor.

This monitor features a 1000R curvature to improve your comfort by mimicking the natural curvature of the human eye. It also supports a refresh rate of 100 Hz to reduce lag and motion blur. Another impressive feature is the advanced eye comfort technology that reduces eye strain by minimizing blue light and minimizing any irritating screen flicker.

And if you're a gamer, this screen is perfectly kitted out for that. You can optimize game settings, change colors and image contrast, and offers a game mode that allows you to adjust any game to fill the screen so you can view every detail.

As of Oct. 11, the Samsung 27-Inch Essential S3 Curved Monitor is available for $119.99, a saving of 33% on list price.

Oh hey there! If you're here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we're serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today's answer.

If you just want to be told today's word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for October 11's Wordle solution revealed. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: Hints and answers for October 11 Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

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Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What's the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles used to be available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it. Unfortunately, it has since been taken down, with the website's creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn't any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle's Hard Mode if you're after more of a challenge, though.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for October 11 SEE ALSO: Mini crossword answers for October 11 Here's a subtle hint for today's Wordle answer:

Breezy.

Does today's Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no reoccurring letters.

Today's Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with...

Today's Wordle starts with the letter G.

SEE ALSO: Wordle-obsessed? These are the best word games to play IRL. SEE ALSO: Hurdle hints and answers for October 11 The Wordle answer today is...

Get your last guesses in now, because it's your final chance to solve today's Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today's Wordle is...

GUSTY.

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for October 11

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Wordle.

SAVE $50: As of Oct. 11, the Bose Ultra Open earbuds are on sale for $249 at Amazon. That's a saving of 17% on list price, and the lowest-ever price on Amazon.

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If you thought the end of Prime Day meant the end of great deals, think again. Amazon still has incredible offers on a huge range of products, so if you didn't find something for yourself during the main event, there's still a chance to secure a saving. And if you're looking to upgrade your earbuds, we've found a fantastic new deal for you.

The Bose Ultra Open earbuds are designed for music lovers who still want to be connected to their surroundings. They work by resting just outside your ears rather than fitting inside the ear canal like standard designs. This positioning uses Bose’s open-ear audio technology to direct sound precisely toward your ears, allowing you to hear music clearly without blocking external noise. This type of earbud is fantastic for running, walking, and any outdoor activity where it pays to stay aware of your surroundings. They're also water resistant so won't cause any issues on rainy days.

SEE ALSO: I tested the best headphones and earbuds for working out during my daily run

But don't think this design means you scrimp on sound quality. With a name like Bose, you know you'll be getting some of the best sounds around. Bose still manages to create an immense, full sound even though the buds don’t seal in your ears.

As of Oct. 11, you can grab these earbuds for 17% off at their lowest-ever price of $249. The deal is available in Black, White, and Moonstone Blue options.

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for October 11's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: Hurdle hints and answers for October 11 What is Connections?

The NYT's latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications' Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Tweet may have been deleted

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

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If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

Tweet may have been deleted

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for October 11 SEE ALSO: NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for October 11 Here's a hint for today's Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Adore

• Green: Plunge

• Blue: Pure profit

• Purple: Audacity

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Cherish

• Green: Quick Jump in the Pool

• Blue: Movies

• Purple: Additional Benefit

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections #488 is...

What is the answer to Connections today

• Cherish: RELISH, SAVOR, TREASURE, VALUE

• Quick Jump in the Pool: DIP, DIVE, SPLASH, SWIM

• Additional Benefit: BONUS, EXTRA, FROSTING, GRAVY

• Brashness: BRASS, CHEEK, NERVE, SAUCE

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

SEE ALSO: Mini crossword answers for October 11

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

Connections: Sports Edition is a new version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.

Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for October 11's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable SEE ALSO: Hurdle hints and answers for October 11 What is Connections Sports Edition?

The NYT's latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication's sports coverage. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Tweet may have been deleted

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there's only one correct answer.

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If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

Tweet may have been deleted

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

SEE ALSO: NYT's The Mini crossword answers for October 11 Here's a hint for today's Connections Sports Edition categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

• Yellow: Adore

• Green: Plunge

• Blue: Pure profit

• Purple: Audacity

Featured Video For You Connections: How to play and how to win Here are today's Connections Sports Edition categories

Need a little extra help? Today's connections fall into the following categories:

• Yellow: Places Where One Scores

• Green: Basketball Defenses

• Blue: Houston Sports Athlete, Past and Present

• Purple: Fictional Coaches

Looking for Wordle today? Here's the answer to today's Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today's puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today's Connections Sports Edition #18 is...

What is the answer to Connections Sports Edition today

• Places Where One Scores: END ZONE, GOAL, HOOP, PLATE

• Basketball defenses: MAN, PRESS, TRAP, ZONE

• Houston Sports Athlete, Past and Presen: ASTRO, COMET, ROCKET, TEXAN

• Fictional Coaches: BOMBAY, BUTTERMAKER, DALE, LASSO

Don't feel down if you didn't manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we'll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

SEE ALSO: Mini crossword answers for October 11

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Connections.

NASA, in 2030, will plunge the aging International Space Station into the ocean.

The space agency is banking on commercial companies to build and operate future habits in orbit around Earth. One of them could look like Haven-1, built by the space technology company Vast. The Southern California company has released the final designs for its sleek-looking Haven-1 capsule, which SpaceX plans to launch on its workhouse Falcon 9 rocket as early as 2025.

While the program has a dependable rocket, a reliable SpaceX craft to take occupants there, and a billionaire founder, the timeline for the construction and then launch of a capsule with life-support systems by the second half of 2025 is certainly ambitious. Mashable has reached out to the company for more information on the plans and progress for Haven-1.

SEE ALSO: NASA scientist viewed first Voyager images. What he saw gave him chills.

Vast does have the benefit of hiring a retired NASA astronaut, Andrew J. Feustel, to advise the capsule's design.

"I’ve flown three missions to space, and we are learning from those experiences and innovating to improve the way we can live and work on a space station," Feustel said in a statement. "From communication and connectivity, to private space and interacting with others aboard, to advancing human progress on Earth and beyond, every detail has been designed with the astronaut experience at the core of our work."

The video and images below show conceptions of this design. In sharp contrast with the International Space Station — a cluttered space laboratory dominated by walls burgeoning with equipment and wiring — Haven-1 is minimalist and neat. Lots of equipment, it appears, is stored behind spartan wall panels. The capsule even includes "fire-resistant maple wood veneer slats, bringing natural warmth into what has traditionally been a sterile, necessity-driven interior," the company explained.

The interior layout of the Haven-1 capsule. Credit: Vast A conception of the common area on Haven-1, with a large window overlooking Earth. Credit: Vast

An important factor that might contribute to the likelihood of Haven-1 launching is that it's a single, relatively small capsule (for reference, see the layout above.) In contrast, the International Space Station — which nations began building in the late 1980s — is the "largest humanmade object ever to orbit Earth," NASA explains. It took 42 flights to deliver the main pieces of the station.

It's "larger than a six-bedroom house with six sleeping quarters, two bathrooms, a gym, and a 360-degree view bay window," the space agency said.

The labeled elements of the sprawling International Space Station. Credit: NASA

Vast has solar system ambitions well beyond its initial capsule. If Haven-1 is realized, and it safely harbors a 4-person crew, the company plans to build and then launch a larger module in 2028. Eventually, in the 2030s, it hopes to build "Artificial Gravity Stations" that can house 8-person crews. These longer-term plans, of course, require the financial commitments of deep-pocketed customers, like perhaps a certain national space agency that needs a place to conduct science in low-Earth orbit.

Meanwhile, NASA's ambitions in the coming decades are to the moon and beyond. The agency plans to build a permanent lunar presence, where it will harvest water preserved in frigid craters, and perhaps build a fuel depot for endeavors to Mars or resource-rich asteroids.

Featured Video For You 10 mind-blowing discoveries from the James Webb Telescope

Nicolas Cage wages war on a gang of hostile Australian surfers who stole his surfboard.

That's the elevator pitch for The Surfer, a trippy psychological thriller directed by Lorcan Finnegan (Nocebo, Vivarium) and written by Thomas Martin. But there's more afoot within the riptide of this strangely hypnotic film, which ruminates on toxic masculinity and unprocessed trauma while putting Cage through the absolute ringer.

SEE ALSO: How Nicolas Cage memes shaped 'Dream Scenario'

Taking creative cues from Ozploitation classics of the Australian New Wave like Wake in Fright, Finnegan simultaneously reveres and villainizes the Australian landscape, blurring the line between reality and surrealism while throwing everything he has at the Hollywood star. Cage delivers a characteristically unhinged performance, though he's at the risk of being upstaged by an exceptional Julian McMahon.

What is The Surfer about?

Equal parts tense survival thriller and coastal Western, The Surfer essentially takes place within one location: the confines of a beachside parking lot in the fictional suburb of Luna Bay, Western Australia. (It was filmed in Yallingup, located in Wadandi Country, the traditional land of the Wadandi people.)

Credited just as "The Surfer," Cage's character is a man bursting with nostalgia and idealism. Returning to the Australian town he grew up in after a life in California, he's anxious to finally buy his childhood home and reunite his family. He's a classic divorced dad, waxing lyrical about surfing as a metaphor for life in speeches aimed at his estranged teenage son (Yellowstone's Finn Little). But his lofty quest to close the deal and secure a seaside utopia is disrupted by hostile locals, who won't have a bar of him.

When the Surfer attempts to go surfing with his son, he comes face to face with the Bay Boys, a gang of surfers determined to "keep the riffraff out" of their waves — i.e. non-locals. They're brilliantly described by a carpark-dwelling character crudely credited as "The Bum" (Nicholas Cassim) as a "bunch of fuckin' yuppies cosplaying at being surfers." Dedicated to their mustachioed gang leader Scottie "Scally" Callahan (a brilliant Julian McMahon), this hollering group of violent bleached blondes in tank tops humiliate and harass Cage's protagonist, stealing his surfboard and creating hell for him. As for the local police officer (Justin Rosniak), he's in Scally's pocket too.

As soon as he arrives at the Luna Bay break, the Surfer starts to lose. With dwindling personal effects, increasing dehydration, no allies, and a teetering grip on reality, the Surfer wages an uphill battle against his downhill enemies. Somehow, Finnegan and Martin manage to concoct a never-ending supply of misfortune for their protagonist, all while presenting the locals as deeply corrupt and self-serving. But there's more to this place than it initially appears for the long-suffering Surfer.

The Surfer traps Nicolas Cage in the parking lot from hell.

The entirety of The Surfer is set within an asphalt arena, the beachside carpark overlooking the waves that Cage's character so desperately wants to surf again. That the Surfer himself is contained to this bitumen plain mirrors his denied access to the beach. However, this limitation doesn't mean the film is boring by any means, thanks to Cage's signature slow-burn unraveling.

Cage has been unpredictable in his film choices over the last few years, from his serial killer transformation in Longlegs to playing an amped-up version of himself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Here, he's tasked with carrying the whole film as a man just trying to get his stolen surfboard back and catch a wave, and Cage truly leans into gaslit delirium.

Featured Video For You 'Longlegs' cast on Nic Cage's total transformation

Cage's character is pushed to the brink in the film, as his characters often are. But here he's drinking beer out of puddles, eating dead rats, and having his bare feet shredded by carpark broken glass, completely at the mercy of what is by no means a remote environment. As Cage's character stumbles through misfortune after misfortune, the film cleverly and organically becomes a kind of survival drama set within a relatively busy beachside suburb. At many points in The Surfer, you're basically yelling at the screen for this man to get a hotel room and call it a day — two things pretty much always available to him during his turmoil. But there's a deeper reason for the Surfer's determination.

What Finnegan's production team manages to create within one seaside battleground is nothing short of impressive. But probably the most stunning achievement of the film is using Australia's idyllic natural beauty and surfing culture to dive into the sinister realities of toxic masculinity.

The Surfer dives into a particularly Australian brand of aggressive male behavior.

The Surfer is, at its core, a rumination on the harmful effects of hypermasculinity. But it's a particularly Australian, and particularly violent form of it, with the country's tendency to dismiss male toxicity and violence as "larrikin" behaviour. "Boys will be boys," a character literally says aloud in this film.

Finnegan and Martin use surfing culture and the terrifying Bay Boys to sharpen their focus on misogyny and superiority complexes, as well as hammering home Australia's skewed sense of local identity. (The film's local surfer gang, the Bay Boys, seems a subtle nod to the real surf gang from Sydney's Maroubra Beach, the Bra Boys.) While the film doesn't address the hypocrisy of such localism in a country with a violent colonial past, it does go hard on the general messaging of keeping outsiders out, locals in. "Don't live here, don't surf here," the Surfer is violently told by the locals. "Locals only" signs adorn the beach. 

SEE ALSO: How to talk to the men in your life about toxic masculinity

It's the head of this predatory pack who threatens to upstage Cage in The Surfer: McMahon as the chilling Scally. Swanning about with a deep tan and a bright-red beach poncho, this character is so blatantly yet amiably menacing that he gets right under your skin (and that of Cage's character) with cold finesse. Running his "Sanctuary" for young surfers and their problematically younger teen girl visitors — no girl surfers here, no way — Scally's whole deal is that modern men have "gone soft" and "haven't had to suffer." He preaches this to his young followers, encouraging them to unleash their inner "animal" within their beach haven. Under Scally's tutelage, the Bay Boys' abrasive, territorial behaviour isn't just allowed by the rest of the community, it's encouraged, with Cage's Surfer encountering the same level of anti-outsider animosity by other non-surfer locals he comes across in the lot.

In fact, there are only two characters in the entire film who aren't total assholes to the Surfer: his son and a confoundingly underused Miranda Tapsell (Top End Wedding) as a friendly photographer who helps him out. It's overwhelming, this unrelenting hostility. And it's been used as a weapon in many an Australian film.

The Surfer stylistically rides the Australian New Wave.

The Surfer is by no means the first to make a nightmare of Australia's natural environment, amping up the heat, sunlight, and mysteries of the bush for psychological thrills. But Finnegan appears to pay tribute to such Australian New Wave thrillers of the '70s and '80s like Ted Kotcheff's Wake in Fright, Everett De Roche's Razorback, and Tony Williams' Next of Kin. Wake in Fright is the most overt reference here, as a film in which an outsider is also driven to madness by the locals — a psychological state only intensified by the harsh heat and dangerous dehydration. 

Director of photography Radek Ladczuk, cinematographer for Jennifer Kent's brutal Tasmanian film The Nightingale as well as The Babadook, makes a Australian New Wave meal of The Surfer. Meticulously slow or audaciously fast zooms feel right out of the '70s, proving to be a hilariously kitsch but strangely authentic way to capture Cage's earnestness over his beloved waves. Lighting furthers The Surfer's slightly surreal feeling; the entire film feels like it's been drenched in a golden sunlight filter, which moves from idyllic to dangerously searing. The carpark itself glows in green-lit darkness at times, while the lot's cursed toilet block glows an ominous orange. Ladczuk takes full advantage of the strange distortions reflected by metal mirrors typically found in Australian public toilet blocks. 

Then there's that score by François Tétaz and sound design by Aza Hand, resulting in a hypnotic, bonkers smorgasbord of operatic singing, chimes and harps, and blissful orchestral overtures uniquely combined with the sounds of Australian wildlife. Cicadas chirp loudly and relentlessly, a kookaburra's famous laugh becomes a cursed rhythm, and buzzing flies rise as the Surfer's hold on reality slips. It's this combination of whimsy, threat, beauty, and overwhelming powerlessness that makes The Surfer deeply effective.  

Everything about The Surfer's one-line pitch sounds ridiculous (Nicolas Cage versus mean Australian surfers), but the film itself is a haunting set piece about localism, repressed memory, and toxic masculinity, boasting the wild ride we've come to associate with Cage. It's as far from a wipeout as you can get.

The Surfer was reviewed out of the BFI London Film Festival. The film will open in in cinemas early 2025.

So, what in the sweet heck did we just watch?

A family literally being haunted by the scuttling, Frankenstein-esque form of their dead loved one? One giant metaphor for grief? Or some combination of the two?

Despite its amusingly ridiculous title, Daddy's Head is a disturbing (and sometimes confusing) movie about bereavement and a family trying to repair itself after an unimaginable loss. It's also a film that leaves us with questions, so we've had a go at breaking them down here.

SEE ALSO: What to watch: Best scary movies What's Daddy's Head about? Isaac and Laura's bond is tested by their shared trauma. Credit: Courtesy of Rob Baker Ashton. A Stigma Films Production. A Shudder Release.

Okay, let's recap: James (Charles Aitken) is in a horrific car accident, and when he dies from his injuries, he leaves behind his young son Isaac (Rupert Turnbull) and his wife Laura (Julia Brown). While they're trying to come to terms with this shocking tragedy, and while Laura is deciding whether or not to become Isaac's legal guardian, strange things start to happen around the house.

Their dog chases an unseen animal out through the window. Smoke billows through the woods surrounding the house, even though there's no clear fire. Isaac begins to have visions of his dad — albeit a changed version of him — talking to him from the forest and an air vent in his room.

As tensions rise and Laura becomes convinced she can't handle being Isaac's guardian, the creature's influence over the boy starts to grow.

What's the creature haunting them, and is it real? Isaac is haunted by a creature wearing his dad's face like a mask. Credit: Courtesy of Shudder. A Stigma Films Production. A Shudder Release.

We finally get a clear view of the monster at the end of the movie, and it does indeed look like Isaac's father. But it's a nightmarish version of him, with the changing face mutated and twisted, the limbs distorted and spider-like. But although the thing looks like a bad dream, the film implies that it's not purely psychological; three different characters see the monster, and it's able to do real-world damage. In short, it's not purely in Isaac's mind.

But whether or not it's a product of Isaac's mind is a different question. The creature's appearance is the first clue. We know that Isaac is an imaginative child, as it's repeated throughout the film, and we know he likes to draw monsters as a hobby. But when Isaac visits his dying father in the hospital, James is covered head to toe in bandages. Isaac never sees the extent of James' injuries before his death, so Isaac's mind conjures up something terrible.

Although the movie leaves the monster's nature up to interpretation, our best guess is that the thing is a physical manifestation of Isaac's horror and grief at the sudden loss of his father. It's all of his too-big-to-process emotions — not just bereavement and shock, but also suspicion and mistrust of those around him — brought to life. It turns him against Laura, and it makes him want to lash out.

But, crucially, as we see at the movie's end, it can also be overcome.

What's the deal with that skeleton?

For all its horror, Daddy's Head has a happy ending.

After Laura has saved Isaac from the creature and stabbed it to death, we flash forward to an older Isaac (James Harper-Jones) going back to his childhood home. He goes into the woods outside his house and visits the weird little wooden structure that acted as the creature's nest when he was a child. Inside, he finds a picture of himself and his dad, and then he sees a skeleton on the ground with the skull split open down the middle. Older Isaac returns back to his new home and wakes up Laura, who he now calls "Mum."

This isn't made explicit, but our best guess is the skeleton belongs to the creature. Isaac finding its remains shows that the creature is indeed dead, and while the horrible emotions he experienced after his dad died are still there, they can no longer hurt him in the same way as they once did.

Perhaps Laura risking her own life to save Isaac from the monster was enough to prove to him that she loved him and he could trust her — and it was ultimately this realisation that killed the thing haunting him.

Daddy's Head is now streaming on Shudder.

Languages are more than just a means of communication; they encapsulate the essence of a person or community’s identity, history, and culture. But languages – and everything that comes wrapped up in their complex fabrics – don’t last forever. And unfortunately, it’s the lesser spoken, Indigenous languages that are at risk of slipping away first.

The global threat to linguistic diversity is critical. UNESCO estimates that an Indigenous language disappears every two weeks so that by the end of this century, we risk losing 3,000 unique languages forever. With time of the essence, it is vital we embrace modern technology to help preserve these precious assets, stretching back thousands of years.

SEE ALSO: "Time is up" to regulate AI, UN advisor says Why Indigenous languages matter

Indigenous languages are often spoken by small, marginalized communities, making them more susceptible to the overwhelming dominance of global languages. As the world becomes more digitally connected, Indigenous languages face a higher risk of disappearing. If they fade, their rich cultural heritage and histories will be lost alongside any daily usage.

Preserving and reviving Indigenous languages is essential for the survival of the communities that speak them, and has benefits for society at large. It guarantees that all cultures are acknowledged and protected, which is an important first step in building a more accepting and understanding global community.

SEE ALSO: AI's exclusion of Indigenous voices is history repeating itself How technology can help

Published earlier this year alongside our partners at UNESCO, we co-authored the Hello Indigenous whitepaper to help forge a pathway to digitizing endangered languages and expanding the role technology can play in bridging an increasing digital divide. This was a proud moment for us and a significant milestone for Motorola and The Lenovo Foundation’s Indigenous Language Support Initiative, launched back in 2021.

Since that time, and with over 90 languages incorporated in its smartphones, Motorola has supported the revitalization of languages including Kuvi, Kangri (India), Cherokee (North America), Nheengatu (Amazon region), Kaingang (South/Southeast of Brazil) and Maori (New Zealand). Notably, Motorola was the first phone manufacturer to provide Cherokee residents with a fully localised mobile phone user interface and full support for an Amazonian Indigenous language. Finally, most recently, Motorola added Ladin, one of Italy’s twelve minority languages, spoken in the Dolomites region.

Technology provides a means to keep languages alive, but it also fosters digital inclusion by providing chances for these languages to be used in fresh and innovative ways through their incorporation with user interfaces. It becomes a part of users’ digital identity, especially younger generations, and gives them a closer connection to their heritage.

Beyond accessibility, these tech solutions offer hope for the future of language revitalization. Since the Motorola and Lenovo Foundation's initiative, similar projects have been created, such as the first-ever Nheenghatu Academy of Language in Brazil and Lenovo's Aotearoa Bilingual Keyboard in New Zealand. We hope many more will follow.

A global blueprint forward

The Hello Indigenous whitepaper was our call to action to support language diversity worldwide. Collaboration is at the heart of the paper's strategy, given it was developed in conjunction with Indigenous communities to ensure the accuracy of the digitalisation of their languages. By detailing Motorola's approach to integrating these languages into its user interfaces, it also establishes a model the wider industry can apply. The paper shows even a language with limited speakers — Ladin has only 32,500 — can find a place in the digital landscape.

The UN General Assembly declaring 2022-2032 the International Decade of Indigenous Languages will help sharpen minds, but action must then follow suit. As the global focus on Indigenous languages grows, technology holds the potential to bridge the gap between cultural preservation and modern innovation. The work done in smartphones for Motorola and the Lenovo Foundation, supported by UNESCO, is just the beginning. With sustained investment, collaboration and innovation, digital technology can become a powerful ally in the revival and preservation of endangered languages.

Janine Oliveira and Juliana Rebelatto are the leads of Motorola's Digital Inclusion of Indigenous Languages Initiative.

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"Beware of narrative and form. Their power can bring us closer to the truth, but they can also be a weapon with a great power to manipulate."

This statement isn't just part of a speech introducing the work of Disclaimer's lead character, award-winning documentarian Catherine Ravenscroft (Cate Blanchett). It's also a direct message from Disclaimer writer and director Alfonso Cuarón (Roma, Gravity) about how to watch the show. A slippery psychological thriller, Disclaimer prompts you to question its every moment, all while digging into the devastation of long-buried secrets come to light.

SEE ALSO: 40 shows we can't wait to see this fall What is Disclaimer about? Cate Blanchett in "Disclaimer." Credit: AppleTV+

Central to these secrets is Catherine, whose documentary work tends to focus on exposing the dark secrets of others. But when a self-published novel titled The Perfect Stranger shows up on her doorstep, she recognizes herself — and a troubling moment from her past — within its pages. It doesn't help that the book opens with a disclaimer that "any resemblance to persons living or dead is not a coincidence." Now, Catherine not only has to find the person responsible for writing the novel, she also has to stop its contents from imploding her relationships with her husband Robert (Sacha Baron Cohen) and her son Nicholas (Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog).

Disclaimer doesn't hold back on revealing the "who" and "why" behind The Perfect Stranger's existence. Running parallel to Catherine's panic is a revenge story rooted in grief. The avenger in question is retired teacher Stephen Brigstocke (Kevin Kline), who's lost both his son Jonathan (Louis Partridge, Enola Holmes) and his wife Nancy (Lesley Manville, Queer). Jonathan passed away 20 years ago while alone on vacation in Italy, in an accident linked to Catherine (played in the past by Leila George) and infant Nicholas. Nancy died from cancer more recently, and upon going through her things Stephen finds a manuscript for The Perfect Stranger. It's Nancy's account of Jonathan's accident and the events leading up to it, which she pieced together with the help of some explicit photographs. The discovery lights a fire in Stephen, and he'll stop at nothing to burn Catherine's life to the ground.

SEE ALSO: 'Daddy's Head' review: Grief stirs up scares in this atmospheric creature feature Disclaimer plays with time and form to create a story where nothing is as it seems. Louis Partridge and Leila George in "Disclaimer." Credit: AppleTV+

Disclaimer unravels these many story threads over a variety of timelines, moving between Jonathan's final vacation as it's described in The Perfect Stranger, Catherine's growing distress, Stephen's revenge plan, and his and Nancy's mourning of Jonathan. Each arc comes with its own specific stylistic flourishes to place you in the mind of the person telling or experiencing the story at that moment, hammering home Disclaimer's ideas of narrative manipulation.

These flourishes are at their most visible during Jonathan's vacation scenes, which open and close with iris wipes to reflect both The Perfect Stranger's storybook account of these events and the movement of Jonathan's camera shutter as he photographs the world around him. Long, mostly static shots in the vacation sections also evoke Jonathan's photography, reminding us that we're seeing these moments through a specific lens. Cinematographers Emmanuel Lubezki (who has collaborated with Cuarón on projects like Children of Men and Gravity) and Bruno Delbonnel (Amélie, The Tragedy of Macbeth) contrast these more fantastical trips through Jonathan's past with cooler tones in the present, an effective reminder of the harsh reality Catherine and Stephen find themselves in.

SEE ALSO: 'The Franchise' review: New HBO comedy asks if superhero films are 'killing cinema'

Cuarón also incorporates voiceovers into the present. Catherine's flaws and worries are laid out to her in second person by an unknown narrator (Indira Varma). A guilty conscience, perhaps? Meanwhile, Stephen delivers his own internal monologue with chilling, poetic focus, the vengeful hero of his own story.

In lesser hands, this combination of different storytelling styles might be a confusing jumble, or simply too much. But with Cuarón to guide the way, every element of Disclaimer — from its varying narrators to the occasional near-preposterously heightened sex scene — fits together to build a devastating tapestry of how one event can shatter so many people's lives. And with all these conflicting voices at play, Disclaimer asks, "Whose story do you really believe? Which narrative will you throw your allegiance behind?"

Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline are astounding in Disclaimer. Kevin Kline in "Disclaimer." Credit: AppleTV+

Guiding us through Disclaimer's labyrinth are Blanchett and Kline, whose performances dig up the raw pain at the heart of the show's addictive thriller elements. As Catherine, Blanchett is a tight ball of nerves that gradually unspools as she reaches her breaking point. You may be tempted to draw comparisons between Catherine and Blanchett's role as Lydia Tár in Tár — both are renowned public figures whose lives are coming under sudden scrutiny — but Blanchett's Catherine is far more vulnerable and pained than her steely, commanding Lydia.

Kline's Stephen is no less pained, but he gets some flashier chances to chew the scenery and does so with gusto. From Stephen's increasingly nasty plans to his flowery inner monologue, Kline turns his character from a grieving man who wears his wife's cardigans to feel close to her into a full-fledged villain. Or does Catherine actually deserve what's coming her way? Everyone who reads The Perfect Stranger certainly seems to think so.

Cuarón's direction and Disclaimer's excellent leading performances — as well as strong support from the ensemble, especially Manville and George, who's tasked with a deceptively tricky part — help carry the series over the occasional clunky hurdle. Cuarón has referred to Disclaimer as being like a seven-hour-long movie, and that shows in some uneven pacing and bloat between episodes. Elsewhere, any exploration of the wider consequences of "cancel culture" — including a moment where Catherine is outright told, "You're so canceled" — falls mostly flat.

Despite these blips, the overall effect of Disclaimer is one of intrigue and of questioning the layers of narrative you see before you. With its commitment to formal changeups and a brutal knockout of a finale, Disclaimer is a puzzle that gets under your skin and refuses to leave.

Disclaimer premieres Oct. 11 on AppleTV+, with a new episode every Friday.

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Okay, maybe I’m not quite ready to fill Madison Square Garden, but let me tell you, the Skoove piano lessons app has me channeling my inner Billy Joel. I always thought I’d have to take boring (and low-key intimidating) traditional lessons to play “Piano Man,” but I learned it from home.

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The first thing you notice about Sebastian Stan’s performance as Donald Trump in The Apprentice is the voice — or rather, the lack thereof. By now, years of listening to speeches and sound bites (not to mention multiple SNL impressions) have accustomed us to Trump’s exaggerated intonations and speech patterns. So when Stan’s Trump first speaks, meekly and with few traces of the voice we’ve come to know so well (minus the slightest hint of a “‘uge” or “peoPLE” here or there), it’s a shock to the system.

SEE ALSO: 42 movies you'll want to see this fall

For director Ali Abbasi's biopic, that’s the point. Trump didn't just become the bloviating, corrupt egomaniac we're all far too aware of overnight. No, someone molded him to that point, and according to the film, that someone was notorious lawyer Roy Cohn (Succession's Jeremy Strong). Cohn and Trump's mentor-apprentice relationship kickstarts The Apprentice's propulsive, if not always effective, dissection of the making of Donald Trump.

What's The Apprentice about? Maria Bakalova and Sebastian Stan in "The Apprentice." Credit: Pief Weyman

The Apprentice frames Cohn and Trump's first meeting as that of an ingenue making a deal with the devil. As Trump sits awkward and alone in an elite New York City club, Cohn locks eyes with him from across the room. Strong's unbreaking gaze and some foreboding synths courtesy of composer Martin Dirkov drive home the fact that this man is the baddest of bad news. But after one conversation about how Trump and his father (Martin Donovan) can beat a federal lawsuit concerning racial discrimination against tenants, Trump takes Cohn on as his lawyer. In turn, Cohn takes Trump on as his protégé.

SEE ALSO: 'Hard Truths' review: Mike Leigh explores deep-seated anguish through darkly funny realism

Cohn teaches Trump his three major rules for winning at all costs. One: "Attack, attack, attack." Two: "Admit nothing, deny everything." Three: "No matter what happens, you claim victory, and never admit defeat." If you pay even an ounce of attention to American politics, it's not hard to read any of these tactics onto Trump's presidency and re-election campaign. But in The Apprentice, we get to see Trump try these strategies out for the very first time, using them in his efforts to build a real estate empire and even court his first wife Ivana (Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm).

Sebastian Stan makes a solid Donald Trump, but Jeremy Strong's Roy Cohn is the standout. Jeremy Strong and Roy Cohn in "The Apprentice." Credit: Pief Weyman

As Trump embraces Cohn’s teachings and grows into a ruthless businessman, Stan’s performance changes too. He takes on many of the mannerisms we associate with Trump today, from his exaggerated hand movements to the rambling quality of his speech — the latter also comes courtesy of screenwriter and journalist Gabriel Sherman.

But even while Stan becomes “Trumpier,” his performance never veers into caricature. As horrifying as many of the things Trump does in this movie are — including an upsetting scene of marital rape — it’s clear The Apprentice doesn’t wish to ridicule outright. Instead, it lays out its version of events and the man who caused them and lets their absurdity and evil speak for themselves.

SEE ALSO: Watch Sebastian Stan become Donald Trump in 'The Apprentice' trailer

Central to this absurdity and evil is Cohn, played with scene-stealing intensity by Strong. Each focused stare demands your fullest attention, to the point that you feel like you're under a microscope alongside Trump or the other men Cohn sizes up. But Strong's Cohn isn't just all extreme evil, all the time. He finds some humor in his performance, often accentuating Cohn's tirades with a turkey-like neck bob that may just be the most mesmerizing thing in the film.

Since Strong's Cohn is such a magnetic presence, it makes sense that The Apprentice's best scenes are the ones Cohn and Trump share. Here, Abbasi's vision is clearest, showing us the genesis of a monster and the man who created him. It feels almost like a '70s-tinged Frankenstein story, with a graphic late scene of Trump undergoing liposuction and surgical treatment for his bald spot furthering the connection.

What can The Apprentice say about Donald Trump that hasn't already been said? Maria Bakalova and Sebastian Stan in "The Apprentice." Credit: Pief Weyman

Unfortunately, once The Apprentice jumps from the '70s to the '80s — a change accompanied by a visual shift from warm, grainy film to the cooler wobble of VHS — Cohn and Trump's scenes dwindle. By this point, Trump is rampaging through the real estate world, on a quest to go higher and higher. Meanwhile, out of sight, Cohn is dealing with his AIDS diagnosis. His absence throughout this portion of the film speaks louder than a hundred long-winded Trump speeches. Not only are we missing out on The Apprentice's best performance, we're also missing the twisted friendship that makes it tick.

Without Cohn around as much, The Apprentice throws us into a stretch that might as well be summarized as "Trump's greatest hits from the '80s." This includes several moments that gesture at Trump's future in politics, including Trump taking in Ronald Reagan's campaign slogan, "Let's Make America Great Again." (Earlier footage of Richard Nixon saying "I'm not a crook" also points to Trump's own criminal activity.) Yet these nods to the future fall flat, playing like dull historical Easter eggs instead of knowing comedic beats.

The latter sections of The Apprentice also hit us over the head as much as possible with things we already know about Trump: his lies, his affairs, his willingness to shove others under the bus so he comes out on top. These elements are all deeply ingrained in the current political moment, and you would hope that in an election year, a Donald Trump biopic might have more to add beyond rehashing his worst qualities. (Although that may be a useful reminder for some voters.)

The Apprentice almost transcends its rehashing of history thanks to Cohn and Trump's dynamic, which brings to the screen a genuinely fascinating relationship that may not currently be the most general knowledge. Sure, Trump is a showy figure, but it's his relationship with Cohn that makes for The Apprentice's dark, oozing heart.

The Apprentice was reviewed out of Fantastic Fest. It hits theaters Oct. 11.

Grief haunts a young boy and his stepmother in Daddy's Head, the second feature from director Benjamin Barfoot (Double Date).

SEE ALSO: Best horror movies to watch tonight: Scary movie picker

The film premiered at 2024's Fantastic Fest, where attendees also celebrated the 10th anniversary of Jennifer Kent's The Babadook, and it's hard not to put the films in conversation. Both deal with grief over losing a father figure and a husband, both center on a woman struggling to raise a troubled boy, and both feature a terrifying creature who might as well have jumped straight out of a child's imagination. Yet Daddy's Head forges its own path too, mixing its Babadook influences with folk horror to create an unsettling portrait of how grief can rip us to shreds.

What's Daddy's Head about? Matthew Allen in "Daddy's Head." Credit: Courtesy of Rob Baker Ashton

Before Daddy's Head launches us into a nightmarish creature feature, it introduces us to a nightmare that's all too real. Young Isaac (Rupert Turnbull) must say goodbye to his father James (Charles Aitken), who's being taken off life support following a devastating car crash.

Isaac has already lost his mother, and since James had no next of kin, his legal guardian is now his stepmother Laura (Julia Brown). While Isaac and Laura aren't close, Daddy's Head sidesteps the evil stepmother trope. Instead, early glimpses of home video from back when James was still alive paint Laura as someone trying to understand Isaac, even as he processes the arrival of a new maternal figure. At one point, seeing how much he loves drawing, Laura gifts him a set of colored pencils. Isaac is less than thrilled. It's a quietly brutal moment, one in which you can empathize with both Laura and Isaac. She hopes for connection, while he is still struggling with massive life changes.

SEE ALSO: 'The Babadook' filmmaker Jennifer Kent on how her character became an LGBTQ+ icon, and why we will never see a sequel

The uneasy distance between Laura and Isaac becomes fraught in the wake of James' death. Laura was certainly not ready to lose her husband, let alone be the mother to his son. Every night, she numbs herself with wine and home videos, all while weighing the option of surrendering Isaac to social services. Unsure of his own fate, Isaac plays games and yearns for his father's return.

You might think that return impossible, given the fact the film opens with flashes of his bloodied, pulverized face. Yet somehow, some aspects of James follow Isaac and Laura back to their sleek, ultra-modern house, turning their grief into a literal horror show.

Daddy's Head finds horror in the grieving process. James Harper-Jones in "Daddy's Head." Credit: Courtesy of Rob Baker Ashton

The spooky occurrences in Daddy's Head start slow and disparate, with flashing lights reminiscent of police cars blasting through Laura and Isaac's windows, and unexplainable fires popping up in the forest that surrounds them. Here, the film falls into a pattern: day scenes that ramp up the tension between Laura and Isaac, then creepy night scenes where a wine-drunk Laura experiences these strange happenings. Between this pattern and a series of rote jump scares, Daddy's Head falls into a bland routine for a time.

Luckily, things pick up with the arrival of the titular monster, a scurrying, smiling replica of James' head. (Or could it even be the real thing?) It lurks in air vents and calls to Isaac from the forest with a raspy voice that, yes, recalls the Babadook. Of course, Laura believes the creature to be a figment of Isaac's imagination, especially given all the grotesque monsters he's drawn around his room. Even its form — and the film's own title — suggest a silly, childish monster.

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However, as proof of the creature's existence quickly grows irrefutable, how Laura and Isaac choose to deal with it will define their relationship going forward. Will they give in to the monster? Will they continue to deny its existence? Or will they band together and find common ground in this shared, traumatic experience? In this, the monster becomes a stand-in for grief, and for the emotional limits it pushes us to. Both Brown and Turnbull deliver moving work as two people with very different routes to take through mourning. Brown is all unsureness and numbness, while Turnbull brings a vulnerable rage to Isaac's pain.

Barfoot wrings scares from areas besides grief as well, especially when it comes to atmosphere. James designed the house Laura and Isaac now suffer in, effectively trapping his family in a prison of his presence. An unsettling wooden structure Isaac discovers in the woods makes for a folk horror-tinged counterpoint to the main house, and an ideal lair for the monster that lurks within. The slightest flicker of James' smile in the structure's dark depths is enough to send you cowering back in your chair. Equally chilling is the fact that Isaac appears not frightened by this sight, but instead comforted, his very perception of the world warped by loss. Yes, he may be haunted by a disembodied head, but grief and its impact are the real monsters here.

Daddy's Head was reviewed out of its world premiere at Fantastic Fest. It premieres Oct. 11 on Shudder.