Remembering Corey Hall, Detroit Film Critic and Personality, Dead at 43

Corey Hall, the witty yet thoughtful film critic for the Metro Times, died over the weekend at the age of 43. 

“What came out of his mouth wasn’t always kind, but it was always honest and completely heartfelt.” — Rob St. Mary, culture reporter

He was a well-known presence on 101.9 WDET’s airwaves, appearing on monthly film panels on “Detroit Today” and creating off-the-wall recommendation lists for “CultureShift.” 

We’ll miss having Corey’s wickedly funny and intelligent take on cinema on-air, and our thoughts go out to his family and friends. 

Click on the player above to hear Corey Hall’s colleagues remember the film critic, his words and opinions.

Courtesy Hall Family

“I think Corey’s incredible knowledge of film comes from growing up near the venerated Thomas Video,” says former WDET reporter Rob St. Mary. The store was known as a gold mine of eclectic and hard-to-find films, the kind of place that bred film geeks in Metro Detroit for decades. 

CultureShift’s Amanda LeClaire sat down with St. Mary and former Metro Times movie critic Jeff Meyers, who often shared space and debated with Hall on cinema and everything else. 

“He had the most oddball mix of tastes,” Meyers says. “He could like really highbrow art, and he could like Japanese kaiju movies.”

With a background in standup comedy and a well-loved emcee at Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle and the Magic Stick, Hall’s sharp brand of humor would filter into his writing and commentary. 

Watch: Corey Hall’s standup from 2017

“What came out of his mouth wasn’t always kind, but it was always honest and completely heartfelt,” St. Mary says of Corey. “And whether you agreed or disagreed, Corey made you feel the power of the message.”

Meyers agrees. 

“Opinions matter to him,” he says. “For Corey, he was always committed to his ideas.”