Matt Donato
@donatobomb.bsky.social
SlashFilm | Bloody Disgusting | FANGORIA | IGN | AV Club | Many more outlets | Co-Host: @certifiedforgot.bsky.social | Critics Choice Member | 🍅 Approved
https://linktr.ee/MattDonato
https://linktr.ee/MattDonato
Pinned
Matt Donato
@donatobomb.bsky.social
· Oct 18
Seeing a lot of new Bsky faces! Allow me to reintroduce myself?
- I specialize in horror film criticism, but you can expect commentary on film as a whole.
- The Demon Wind, remake and “reds” guy
- @certifiedforgot.bsky.social co-host/creator
- Pop-punk lover
- AEW 💪
- Astros ⚾️, Texans 🏈
Welcome!
- I specialize in horror film criticism, but you can expect commentary on film as a whole.
- The Demon Wind, remake and “reds” guy
- @certifiedforgot.bsky.social co-host/creator
- Pop-punk lover
- AEW 💪
- Astros ⚾️, Texans 🏈
Welcome!
Chilling on a Saturday night? Gonna livestream with @pnemiroff.bsky.social about a number of topics:
- FNAF2
- AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH first reaction
- Critcs Choice noms
- and more...
Chat's open for live questions and comments as always, pop in!
- FNAF2
- AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH first reaction
- Critcs Choice noms
- and more...
Chat's open for live questions and comments as always, pop in!
December 7, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Chilling on a Saturday night? Gonna livestream with @pnemiroff.bsky.social about a number of topics:
- FNAF2
- AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH first reaction
- Critcs Choice noms
- and more...
Chat's open for live questions and comments as always, pop in!
- FNAF2
- AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH first reaction
- Critcs Choice noms
- and more...
Chat's open for live questions and comments as always, pop in!
Reposted by Matt Donato
There is a lot that plenty of people get wrong about Battle Royale. It is easy to highlight how cool or funny it is but this is also an intensely angry film where deep seeded pain can't help but boil over.
It hit hard in the early 2000s but it hits like a fucking truck now.
It hit hard in the early 2000s but it hits like a fucking truck now.
EP: BATTLE ROYALE (25th Anniversary)
BATTLE ROYALE to life essentially invented a new subgenre of dystopian teen cinema. Let's explore generational division, government-sanctioned violence, the disposability of youth, and that Hunger Games connection.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts!
BATTLE ROYALE to life essentially invented a new subgenre of dystopian teen cinema. Let's explore generational division, government-sanctioned violence, the disposability of youth, and that Hunger Games connection.
Listen wherever you get your podcasts!
December 6, 2025 at 10:37 PM
There is a lot that plenty of people get wrong about Battle Royale. It is easy to highlight how cool or funny it is but this is also an intensely angry film where deep seeded pain can't help but boil over.
It hit hard in the early 2000s but it hits like a fucking truck now.
It hit hard in the early 2000s but it hits like a fucking truck now.
tfw you write something negative about five nights at freddy's
December 6, 2025 at 9:35 PM
tfw you write something negative about five nights at freddy's
"Consumer-friendly," of course, probably means Netflix subscribers. This schmuck is saying it out loud before the goddamn ink is dry. "Windows will evolve." Because everyone famously loves how Netflix is handling its current theatrical releases!
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos says the streamer has no "opposition" to releasing Warner Bros. movies in theaters, but hints that "windows will evolve to be much more consumer friendly."
variety.com/2025/film/ne...
variety.com/2025/film/ne...
December 6, 2025 at 2:24 AM
"Consumer-friendly," of course, probably means Netflix subscribers. This schmuck is saying it out loud before the goddamn ink is dry. "Windows will evolve." Because everyone famously loves how Netflix is handling its current theatrical releases!
Echoing @monagle.bsky.social: "The idea of building community between indie publications is a great one; it's also a shining example of @defector.com using its leverage to make our industry stronger."
It's a pretty rad deal that gives access to multiple indie outlets that could use your support.
It's a pretty rad deal that gives access to multiple indie outlets that could use your support.
Our friends at @defector.com are trying something really cool: if you subscribe to Defector this holiday season, you can get a complimentary subscription to @certifiedforgot.bsky.social or a handful of other great sites at no additional cost.
Give A Gift That Doesn’t Suck, Get A Gift That Doesn’t Suck | Defector
Big holiday news: If you buy an annual gift subscription to Defector or Normal Gossip before the end of December 2025, we’ll comp you a gift subscription to your choice of a participating site on the ...
defector.com
December 6, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Echoing @monagle.bsky.social: "The idea of building community between indie publications is a great one; it's also a shining example of @defector.com using its leverage to make our industry stronger."
It's a pretty rad deal that gives access to multiple indie outlets that could use your support.
It's a pretty rad deal that gives access to multiple indie outlets that could use your support.
In our latest @certifiedforgot.bsky.social episode, I traded @monagle.bsky.social for @bjcolangelo.bsky.social so we could have a 30-minute venting session about FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2!
If anyone was going to defend FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2, it was going to be @donatobomb.bsky.social and @bjcolangelo.bsky.social. Hah, that's not happening. In this special Uncertified guest episode, two of the loudest champions of Freddy Fazbear's film debut discuss where the sequel goes so wrong.
Podcast: 'Five Nights at Freddy's 2' Gets Uncertified (with BJ Colangelo)
Film critic BJ Colangelo joins Matt Donato to discuss 'Five Nights at Freddy's 2,' the latest adaptation of the popular video game series.
certifiedforgotten.com
December 5, 2025 at 9:06 PM
In our latest @certifiedforgot.bsky.social episode, I traded @monagle.bsky.social for @bjcolangelo.bsky.social so we could have a 30-minute venting session about FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2!
My FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2 review in @ign.com video form, narrated by me! Thanks for helping me sharpen my voiceover skills, Freddy.
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 Movie Review
YouTube video by IGN
www.youtube.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:05 PM
My FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2 review in @ign.com video form, narrated by me! Thanks for helping me sharpen my voiceover skills, Freddy.
Reposted by Matt Donato
Today MAN FINDS TAPE is out in the world in theaters and on VOD. So proud of EVERYONE involved, but a fun extra highlight is it is Jess’s first film! We executively produced this together and were both so thrilled with the movie everyone made. Austin filmmakers rule. Hope y’all love it!
December 5, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Today MAN FINDS TAPE is out in the world in theaters and on VOD. So proud of EVERYONE involved, but a fun extra highlight is it is Jess’s first film! We executively produced this together and were both so thrilled with the movie everyone made. Austin filmmakers rule. Hope y’all love it!
Reposted by Matt Donato
I haven't been very optimistic with y'all because I haven't been optimistic lately. 1/3 of shows, and thus writers rooms, are just gone. Because horror is one of the only things doing well, everyone is writing horror. But there's too much of it. Hollywood cannot make all the great scripts out there.
December 5, 2025 at 5:15 PM
I haven't been very optimistic with y'all because I haven't been optimistic lately. 1/3 of shows, and thus writers rooms, are just gone. Because horror is one of the only things doing well, everyone is writing horror. But there's too much of it. Hollywood cannot make all the great scripts out there.
"Plenty of debut filmmakers would kill to come out of the gate with Man Finds Tape ... what’s accomplished by blending subgenres and filming techniques into a singular vision deserves notice."
Hell yeah, MAN FINDS TAPE. Out this weekend. Seek it out.
Hell yeah, MAN FINDS TAPE. Out this weekend. Seek it out.
Tribeca Film Festival 2025 Review: MAN FINDS TAPE is a Creepy and Impressive Faux-Doc Debut - Daily Dead
Man Finds Tape is a faux-documentary horror show like many others…at first. A man finds a tape (duh) and begins chronicling his investigation into strange happenings, ultimately descending into supern...
dailydead.com
December 4, 2025 at 10:47 PM
"Plenty of debut filmmakers would kill to come out of the gate with Man Finds Tape ... what’s accomplished by blending subgenres and filming techniques into a singular vision deserves notice."
Hell yeah, MAN FINDS TAPE. Out this weekend. Seek it out.
Hell yeah, MAN FINDS TAPE. Out this weekend. Seek it out.
"Five Nights at Freddy's 2 gives sequels, video game adaptations, and gateway horror movies a bad name."
Yeah, it's bad. I've never rated anything lower than a "4" on @ign.com, but there's a first time for everything.
Yeah, it's bad. I've never rated anything lower than a "4" on @ign.com, but there's a first time for everything.
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 Movie Review - IGN
Review: Five Nights at Freddy's 2 gives sequels, video game adaptations, and gateway horror movies a bad name.
www.ign.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:51 PM
"Five Nights at Freddy's 2 gives sequels, video game adaptations, and gateway horror movies a bad name."
Yeah, it's bad. I've never rated anything lower than a "4" on @ign.com, but there's a first time for everything.
Yeah, it's bad. I've never rated anything lower than a "4" on @ign.com, but there's a first time for everything.
For a good 15 minutes, as I tried to write my FNAF2 review, Rogers just kept getting closer and closer to me so I'd pay attention until I was almost falling off the couch ... then he just flat out mocked me.
Just boys being dudes.
( @donatobomb.bsky.social wrote this way for 20 minutes because Rogers wanted uppies.)
( @donatobomb.bsky.social wrote this way for 20 minutes because Rogers wanted uppies.)
December 4, 2025 at 7:52 AM
For a good 15 minutes, as I tried to write my FNAF2 review, Rogers just kept getting closer and closer to me so I'd pay attention until I was almost falling off the couch ... then he just flat out mocked me.
FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2: I defended the first FNAF, but I cannot muster positivity for this malfunctioning sequel. Scott Cawthon takes sole writing duties—an atrocious screenplay that Emma Tammi cannot save. It's all disjointed promotion for a third film and no payoff. Where'd the third act go?
December 4, 2025 at 6:00 AM
FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S 2: I defended the first FNAF, but I cannot muster positivity for this malfunctioning sequel. Scott Cawthon takes sole writing duties—an atrocious screenplay that Emma Tammi cannot save. It's all disjointed promotion for a third film and no payoff. Where'd the third act go?
Seated for one of the last horror movies of the year! Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 time.
December 4, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Seated for one of the last horror movies of the year! Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 time.
Reposted by Matt Donato
This is heartbreaking. Tammie always went the extra mile to not only make sure I had everything I needed for my fest coverage, but also made me feel so welcome at Sundance. She brought an exceedingly rare personal touch and will be greatly missed.
All of us at Sundance Institute are profoundly saddened by the passing of Tammie Rosen, Chief Communications Officer, following a courageous battle with cancer.
December 3, 2025 at 9:37 PM
This is heartbreaking. Tammie always went the extra mile to not only make sure I had everything I needed for my fest coverage, but also made me feel so welcome at Sundance. She brought an exceedingly rare personal touch and will be greatly missed.
Reposted by Matt Donato
GOOD LORD thank you @donatobomb.bsky.social ...to be in the top damn 5... 😍
So @donatobomb.bsky.social put out his final Best Horror of 2025 list and I... don't actually have any jokes to make? I'm charmed that two overlooked films we talked about on the @certifiedforgot.bsky.social podcast, HIM and THE DAMNED, both made the final cut. Good list!
The 20 Best Horror Movies & TV Of The Year, Ranked
It's been a good year for horror movies. Here are the best horror movies and TV shows of the year, ranked.
www.inverse.com
December 2, 2025 at 10:58 PM
GOOD LORD thank you @donatobomb.bsky.social ...to be in the top damn 5... 😍
Reposted by Matt Donato
TIL that the actor who turned into a leprechaun in Leprechaun 3 grew up to become an Oscar nominated screenwriter. I just think that's neat.
December 2, 2025 at 8:57 PM
TIL that the actor who turned into a leprechaun in Leprechaun 3 grew up to become an Oscar nominated screenwriter. I just think that's neat.
I remember writing for a website that would question my new-release indie horror coverage, but then every time one of those titles would hit streaming and the views on my review skyrocketed, they’d be like, “wait, what?”
I was 2x, 3x traffic on buzzy new theatrical releases. Never failed.
I was 2x, 3x traffic on buzzy new theatrical releases. Never failed.
This is the way: own a bunch of longtail keywords. Be Page 1 for a bunch of movies that other sites don't even bother to rank for. If/when those movies become cult classics, enjoy the bump in traffic until other sites chase those keywords and outrank you. Do it all over again with another movie.
December 2, 2025 at 9:24 PM
I remember writing for a website that would question my new-release indie horror coverage, but then every time one of those titles would hit streaming and the views on my review skyrocketed, they’d be like, “wait, what?”
I was 2x, 3x traffic on buzzy new theatrical releases. Never failed.
I was 2x, 3x traffic on buzzy new theatrical releases. Never failed.
Reposted by Matt Donato
Over the last 30 days, we had 8,000 unique website visitors at @certifiedforgot.bsky.social and almost 150 newsletter registrations. I aways envisioned that success for Certified Forgotten would look like a passionate base, but increasingly, it looks like it's strangers who Would Like To Know More.
December 2, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Over the last 30 days, we had 8,000 unique website visitors at @certifiedforgot.bsky.social and almost 150 newsletter registrations. I aways envisioned that success for Certified Forgotten would look like a passionate base, but increasingly, it looks like it's strangers who Would Like To Know More.
AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH - Did you like the last one? It’s more of that but with … fire and ash. Stephen Lang and Oona Chaplin steal the show with their cartoon-ass villainy. The climax feels like run-it-back déjà vu? A technical marvel, but this one’s story runs in too many circles for 3+ hours.
December 2, 2025 at 6:45 AM
AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH - Did you like the last one? It’s more of that but with … fire and ash. Stephen Lang and Oona Chaplin steal the show with their cartoon-ass villainy. The climax feels like run-it-back déjà vu? A technical marvel, but this one’s story runs in too many circles for 3+ hours.
My night belongs to AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. See y’all in three hours and seventeen minutes!
December 2, 2025 at 2:25 AM
My night belongs to AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH. See y’all in three hours and seventeen minutes!
Reposted by Matt Donato
I believe the Certified Forgotten fellas were the FIRST EVER to invite me on a podcast back in 2020!
Can you believe it's been five years since we had @mereborders.bsky.social on the podcast? We sit down with Meredith for an in-depth conversation about Kickstarters, bookazines, and THE PEANUT BUTTER SOLUTION (one of the strangest pieces of gateway horror you'll ever hope to find).
Podcast: Meredith Borders on 'The Peanut Butter Solution'
Fangoria senior editor Meredith Borders returns to the podcast to talk about gateway horror cult classic 'The Peanut Butter Solution.'
certifiedforgotten.com
November 30, 2025 at 3:56 PM
I believe the Certified Forgotten fellas were the FIRST EVER to invite me on a podcast back in 2020!
Today on the @certifiedforgot.bsky.social site, we've got industry guru James Shapiro weighing in on Letterboxd's upcoming Video Store feature (launching in December).
Yet another company is venturing into "transactional VOD" distribution, but is the market there, and how can its model succeed?
Yet another company is venturing into "transactional VOD" distribution, but is the market there, and how can its model succeed?
Will Letterboxd's Video Store Be Good for Indie Horror?
Film distribution guru James Emanuel Shapiro explains why Letterboxd's Video Store strategy has good intentions but tough sledding ahead.
certifiedforgotten.com
December 1, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Today on the @certifiedforgot.bsky.social site, we've got industry guru James Shapiro weighing in on Letterboxd's upcoming Video Store feature (launching in December).
Yet another company is venturing into "transactional VOD" distribution, but is the market there, and how can its model succeed?
Yet another company is venturing into "transactional VOD" distribution, but is the market there, and how can its model succeed?
From my COLD DEAD HANDS.
when someone tells me not to use em dashes because AI uses em dashes
December 1, 2025 at 10:35 PM
From my COLD DEAD HANDS.
Reposted by Matt Donato
when someone tells me not to use em dashes because AI uses em dashes
November 30, 2025 at 7:48 PM
when someone tells me not to use em dashes because AI uses em dashes