Welcome to the Author Archive for Alison Lanier

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Alison Lanier, True Crime: Ali is a video game writer who lives in Providence, RI. She has an MFA in fiction. She has also written for BUST Magazine, Ms Magazine, Atticus Review (where she was film review editor 2015-2019), and elsewhere. She has almost definitely read more Batman comics than you.

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• Where Exactly Do You Find An Ending? The Final Chapter of 'Natalia Grace'
• 'The Women Are the Problem': The Enduring Mistake of 'Nosferatu' and Misogyny
• No, 'The Substance' Doesn't Hate Demi Moore
• 'Biggest Heist Ever,' the Most Absurd True Crime of 2024 Just Landed
• 'Skin Hunters' Title Is Somehow Its Least Disturbing Element
• Guru Jagat Was Not Alone: 'Breath of Fire' Review
• The Menendez Brothers Docs Feel Like an Apology for Ryan Murphy's 'Monster'
• 'Chimp Crazy' Is Delivering on 'Crazy'
• Meet the 'Tiger King' Successor, 'Chimp Crazy'
• 'Dirty Pop' Makes an Awkward-and Controversial-Attempt at a Reckoning
• 'The Man With 1000 Children' Is a Glimpse into the Depths of Fragile Masculinity
• 'Perfect Wife' Review: I'm Getting Real Tired of 'Don't Believe This Woman' True Crime
• True Crime in Real Time: The Fallout of 'Dancing For the Devil'
• 'The Jinx: Part 2' Ended Up Unweaving Its Own Story
• The Strange Excellence of 'The Jinx: Part 2'
• There Isn't Much to 'What Jennifer Did,' But Netflix Has a Bigger Problem
• 'Ctrl+Alt+Desire': The Story of a Cult of One, Grant Amato
• 'Brandy Hellville': Welcome to a Nightmare of Deadly Consumerism
• 'The Program' Is a Powerful True Crime Reckoning for the 'Troubled Teen' Industry
• 'The Octopus Murders' Review: The Absorbing, Unhinged Investigation into the Death of Danny Casolaro
• 'The Truth About Jim' Is a Fascinating Account of Evil
• 'They Called Him Mostly Harmless' Takes Aim at the Heart of True Crime
• 'Raël: The Alien Prophet' Review: Human Clones, UFOs, Sex Slaves and Prophets
• 'American Nightmare': Start Your Year Off with Rage at Police Incompetence!
• The Verdict on the 'Curious Case of Natalia Grace'
• 'Great Photo, Lovely Life' Is Brutal and Important Storytelling
• 'Gwyneth vs. Terry: The Ski Crash Trial' Manages the Impossible
• Review: 'Born In Synanon' Becomes an Exercise in Collective Memory
• 'May December' Is One of the Best True Crime Movies Ever
• The Ending of HBO's 'Love Has Won' Docuseries Explained [Spoilers]
• Max's 'Love Has Won' Cult Documentary and Death by Colloidal Silver
• Should I Watch 'Escaping Twin Flames' or 'Desperately Seeking Soulmate'?
• 'Gen V' Finale: This Spinoff Has Teeth
• 'Five Nights at Freddy's' Is Sure a Movie that Happened
• 'The Enfield Poltergeist': How to Tell a Meta-Ghost Story
• What 'Gen V' Gets Right About Harm
• 'The Ringleader': Why the Hell Are We Still Talking About the Bling Ring?
• 'Savior Complex': There Can and Should Be No Redemption for Renee Bach
• Curtains for Season Three of 'Only Murders'
• With Heart, Humor, and Horror, 'Gen V' Is a Rewarding Spinoff
• What in the Cosplay Hell Did 'Ahsoka' Do to Mary Elizabeth Winstead?
• 'The Murdaugh Murders' Season 2 Is Some Deeply Disturbing Stuff
• 'The Golden Bachelor,' or Why I'll Give Hours of My Life to this Hollow Franchise Reboot
• Review: Netflix's 'Scout's Honor' Is an Important Story Buried in a Sea of Content
• The Delight of Red Herrings on 'Only Murders in the Building'
• The 'Telemarketers' Frustrating and Damning Ending Explained
• Max's 'Telemarketers' Tracks the Criminal Rise and Influence of CDG Telemarketing
• Wholesomeness, Humor, and Homicide: 'Only Murders in the Building' Returns
• The Last Bastion of Fun in the DC Cinematic Universe
• AAA Games Coming to the Big Screen
• 'Burder of Proof's Catch 22 and the Messy Business of True Crime and Hope
• The Alex Murdaugh Murders and What Exactly Is True Crime Doing in Real Time?
• The Delicious Awkwardness of 'I Think You Should Leave'
• The Trite, Insipid Tragedy of 'Citadel'
• 'The Ultimatum: Queer Love': The Ultimate in Queer Assimilation Narratives
• Does Anybody Do Quiet Tragedy like 'Happy Valley'?
• The Russo Brothers' Terminally Slick 'Citadel' Runs on Eye Candy
• Review: 'Brooklyn 99's' Andy Samberg and Melissa Fumero Reunite in 'Digman!'
• Brooke Shields' 'Pretty Baby' Documentary Is a Smart and Damning Portrait of Misogyny
• Amazon Prime's 'The Power' Does Its Source And Characters Justice
• The Most Boring Bachelor, the Most Brutal Finale
• Hulu's British Horror Series 'Wreck' Doesn't Come Together
• The Nerds Are Rising
• The Netflix Reality Cinematic Universe Is Upon Us
• Season 2 of 'Carnival Row' Has Transcended the Glossy Vanity Project Label
• Bane and Orgasm Spells Take Over Gotham in Harley Quinn's Valentine Special
• Netflix's Docuseries 'Gunther's Millions' Chronicles the Richest Dog in the World
• Netflix's 'Lockwood & Co.' Is Spot-On Spooky YA TV
• [Spoilers] 'Paul T. Goldman' Is True Crime in Its Truest, Messiest Form
• 'The Pale Blue Eye' Showcases a Gothic Detective Story and Stellar Performances
• HBO's Completed 'His Dark Materials' Delivers in Surprising Ways
• 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody' Is a Celebration but Not a Success
• 'Dragon Age: Absolution' Gives Fans a Satisfying Return to Thedas
• The Delight that is 'Murderville' Returns with Uproarious Holiday Special
• Prime Video's Middling 'Riches' Is a Misfire but Not a Disaster
• 'The Vow' Season 2 Is Over. What Did We Learn?
• Guillermo del Toro's 'Pinocchio' Delivers a Darkly Whimsical Anti-War Story
• 'People We Hate at the Wedding' Is Harmless Holiday Background Noise
• 'The Calling' Makes an Attempt at Jewish Representation; Too Bad It's Awful
• 'Mythic Quest' Makes a Triumphant Return for Season 3
• Emily Blunt's 'The English' Is a Brilliant Reincarnation of the Western
• 'The Suspect,' a Murder Mystery with Hot People, Is Not Very Good
• 'Tár' and the Language of Prestige
• Hulu's 'Reboot' Is a Stacked, Binge-Worthy Meta-Comedy
• More Sex Cult Anyone? HBO's 'The Vow' Part II Investigates the Keith Raniere Trial
• No Mercy in 'God's Country,' a Shocking Story of Devastating, Runaway White Privilege
• Why in the Algorithm Hell Did We Need a Bling Ring Documentary?
• Showtime's 'American Gigolo' Did Not Age-Up Well
• 'Blonde' Is a Horror Story, Both Monumental and Deeply Uncomfortable
• The Persistent Mystery of Netflix's 'Sins of Our Mother'
• 'Only Murders in the Building' Delivers Yet Another Delightful and Bloody Romp
• Prime Video's 'A League of Their Own' and How to Unwrite a White Savior Narrative
• The Post-Mortem of 'Irma Vep'
• 'They/Them' Is Very, Very Far from What It Was Aiming For
• Why Does 'Harley Quinn' Work So Damn Well?
• Gather 'Round and Laugh at Dumbass Grifter Hunter Moore, 'The Most Hated Man on the Internet'
• 'Moonhaven' Is the Top-Notch Sci-Fi You've Been Sleeping On
• Game Design is Dead; 'FBoy Island' Lives On
• 'The Boys' is Honestly What Zack Snyder Wanted 'Watchmen' To Be
• Everything About B.J. Novak's Directorial Debut 'Vengeance' Is Solid, Except B.J. Novak
• Claire Denis's 'Both Sides of the Blade' Is a Straight-Shooting Triumph
• 'The Girl in the Picture' is Powerful, Horrific, and Earnest as Hell
• Want To Be Even Angrier About the Self-Delusional Rich? Watch 'The Anarchists'
• The Ezra Miller Ruckus Is What True Crime Looks Like in Real Time
• 'Keep Sweet' Is True Crime Worth Your Time
• HBO's Fresh, Meta, and Mind-Twisty 'Irma Vep' Is a Blast
• Tom Hiddleston's Pretty Face Can't Save the Mechanical, Plodding 'Essex Serpent'
• Salvaging 'The Night Sky'
• Happy Pride, Folx: 'Gentleman Jack' Is Still a Damn Good Show
• No, Having a Baby in America Isn't Terrifying At All: 'Our Father' and a Failure of Legal Protections
• 'Humans Are the Actual Worst!': 'Love, Death, and Robots' Season 3
• The Unacknowledged Shirley Jackson Adaptation You Didn't Know You Missed
• Welcome Back to the Party: Franchising True Crime Fallout
• Showtime's 'The Man Who Fell To Earth' Fails to Land
• 'The Shining Girls' Is a Very Good Show with an Unfortunate Elizabeth Moss Problem
• Robert Eggers' Witchy Goodness and Feminine Monsters
• A Beautiful Slow Burn: HBO and Michael Mann's 'Tokyo Vice'
• The Tender Art of Not Being a Jackass
• 'Bad Vegan,' 'The Tinder Swindler,' and Making a Spectacle of Gaslit Women to Denounce Men