Film Review: ‘Evidence’ (2011) Presents a Familiar, and Entertaining, Found Footage Scenario

 Horror, J. Andersson  No Responses »
Mar 222012
 

A group of youths go out into the woods to shoot a documentary. They moan and whine and even more so when strange things start to happen such as weird sounds in the night, dark animal shapes that are just glimpsed. Some of them want to leave but others don’t and it all leads to nastiness.

This was a description of just about every single Found footage movie that has poured out on DVD at the constant rate of camera prices going down. Most of these are frankly crap, made by people who have no real understanding of how such a movie works. We get a few gold nuggets such as [REC] and Cloverfield, but these are few and far between. Evidence starts out EXACTLY like you Continue reading »

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Film Review: ‘The Whisperer in Darkness’ (2011) Continues the Trend of Masterful Lovecraft Adaptations

 Drama, Fantasy, Horror, J. Andersson, Sci-Fi  No Responses »
Mar 082012
 

the-whisperer-in-darkness 2005 faux silent movie Call of Cthulhu stands as one of the best adaptations of H. P. Lovecraft, if not actually the best. It worked around the pitfalls of presenting material that really can’t be “shown” as if it was made during the heyday of silent cinema and did an exceptionally good job of it with surrealistic miniatures and a strong set design. Now comes the next production from the very same filmmakers and this time we move forward in time with an adaptation of the short story The Whisperer in Darkness as a 1930-1940ish horror movie. My expectations were sky high.

The original short story deals with strange and alien creatures haunting a farmer in the forests of Vermont and the revelation of their purpose as Continue reading »

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Film Review: Richard Powell’s Short Film ‘”Familiar”‘ (2012) Gives Voice to Insanity and a Shape to Pure Evil

 B. Harris, Horror, Short Films, Thriller  No Responses »
Feb 212012
 

familiar John Dodd is living the normal, idyllic life of a hard-working American family man; two car garage, white picket fence, working wife and teenage daughter. Like most, they deal with everyday stress, but beneath the surface of John’s calm exterior though lies the seething soul of a man on the verge of collapse. Disgusted with his wife and her dinner plate conversations and fed up with the parasitic symbiosis of his offspring, an idea begins to form, a seed that promises to sprout into true freedom from a mundane existence. He doesn’t have to continue putting up with it all, there’s always another way.

When John’s wife informs him that she’s expecting, the fragile divide between sanity and the darkness of absolute insanity is shattered, leaving him with an unthinkable solution. As ideas begin taking hold, the voice within his head grows stronger, demanding he relinquish control Continue reading »

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Film Review: The Pierce Brothers Deliver Big Laughs with Delightfully Gory Horror/Comedy ‘DeadHeads’ (2011)

 B. Harris, Comedy, Horror, Zombies  No Responses »
Feb 192012
 

deadheads One fine evening Mike awakens in unfamiliar surroundings to discover the area overrun by flesh-eating zombies on a rampage. With no other option but to run and take cover, he stumbles into a guy named Brett hanging out in the forest. As if a zombie outbreak wasn’t bad enough, it becomes abundantly clear to Mike that he and Brett share something in common…they’re both dead as well.

What else are two self-aware zombies to do with themselves when they’ve no taste for the flesh of the living? Why, hit the bar for drinks of course! During their beer buddy convo, Mike realizes that he’d never taken the opportunity to tell his high school sweetheart how he felt before he passed on and with Continue reading »

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Film Review: Cage Returns in ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’ (2011) and Once Again Fails to Kickstart Consumer’s Engines

 Action, Adventure, B. Woodell, Demons, Fantasy, Horror, Revenge  No Responses »
Feb 182012
 

ghost-rider-2 Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. These words echoed in my brain while watching Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance as I went against my better judgment and gave the sequel a chance. The only enjoyment I had from the first Ghost Rider, was my friend turned to me in the theater and said, “Bennie, I’m getting sober, and this movie’s getting worse.” Sadly, with Spirit of Vengeance, I was embarking on the journey alone, with no one to share my pain.

Johnny Blaze (Nic Cage) has to save Danny (Fergus Riordan) from Roarke (Ciaran Hinds), who apparently is Satan or one of Satan’s helpers. That’s pretty much all I can tell you about the storyline because the film felt like one, giant Continue reading »

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Film Review: Cash Chin Man-Kei’s CAT III Classic ‘The Eternal Evil of Asia’ (Nan yang shi da xie shu – 1995) Still Delights with Sleaze & Frights

 Asian Cinema, B. Woodell, CAT III, Demons, Erotic, Exploitation, Fantasy, Horror, Martial Arts, Revenge  2 Responses »
Jan 282012
 

the-eternal-evil-of-asia The Eternal Evil of Asia is another wonderfully produced category III horror/voodoo/sex/comedy romp produced by legendary Wong Jing. Being one of the most prolific filmmakers in Hong Kong, anyone who knows what Wong is capable of, will have an inkling as to what they should expect in this hilarious tale.

Four friends travel to Thailand on a bachelor party excursion, but the trip goes awry when they befriend a local wizard and accidentally kill his sister. They return to Hong Kong, but the wizard follows and begins picking them off one by one. The wife to be has to decide to make a personal sacrifice to save the man she loves and her brother Continue reading »

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Film Review: McIntyre’s ‘The Los Angeles Ripper’ (2011) May Have a Dull Edge but Still Cuts Deep

 Horror, T. Strauss, Thriller  No Responses »
Jan 222012
 

the-los-angeles-ripper Cute, chaste and innocent Kristy White (Celeste Martinez) moves to Los Angeles from rural Ohio in order to pursue a career as a metal singer. Staying at the home of her lump-on-the-couch Aunt Peggy (Beverly Bassette) and her self-obsessed party animal cousin Angel (Chase Monroe) while taking vocal classes, Kristy is the embodiment of fresh meat dropped into the shark tank that is L.A.

Meanwhile, L.A. local Grahm (Randy Tobin) spends his days wandering the streets of Los Angeles, enjoying the local color, selling and imbibing in the local drugs, picking up and having sex with the local hotties, and brutally killing them for kicks.

On a night out clubbin’ with Angel, Kristy is introduced to Grahm when Angel scores some “party favors” from him. Grahm takes an instant liking to Kristy, and, as he Continue reading »

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Film Review: Italian Splatter Films Shake in the Demonic Presence of ‘Adam Chaplin’ (2011)

 Demons, Extreme, Horror, Italy, J. Andersson, Revenge  No Responses »
Jan 112012
 

adam-chaplin My first encounter with this movie was through this trailer which at a first glance (well, the first minute of it at least) looked kind of cheesy, that very particular cheese that so many low budget shot on video gore movies tend to be full of. You know, just a movie without ever reflecting on narrative etc, just pour on the gore. This can be good in itself but very straining on your patience. But then came a couple of really striking scenes and I knew I had to have this. I hopped on the filmmaker’s website and about five minutes after watching the trailer I had ordered it. It arrived yesterday (a bit smashed up due to the fucking post office but working just fine) and I popped it into the DVD player to hopefully get an entertaining experience. And by God it is!

Adam Chaplin might actually be one of the best comic book movies I have ever seen. It is not based on a comic but the story, the visuals and most importantly – the violence, are all as if torn Continue reading »

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Film Review: There’s No Happy Honeymoon Awaiting These ‘Brides of Blood’ (1968)

 Asian Cinema, Horror, J. Andersson  No Responses »
Jan 062012
 

brides-of-blood Really, do I need to review this movie? Just look at those lovely pictures… they tell you everything you need to know. Blood, boobs and glorious rubber monsters. This is one of these movies that leave you with fluttering butterflies in your stomach.

A nice group arrives at an island in the Philippines to teach the natives the ways of civilization and look for any traces of nuclear testing. There’s the elderly professor, his horny wife that screws anything that moves (except for her husband) and the young guy who would like to screw everything that moves and inevitably will get into the pants of the chiefs wife. It seems the natives have a lottery going on for the village’s young females and the winner will be tied to a pole while an Continue reading »

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Film Review: Castro’s ‘The Summer of Massacre’ (2011) Breaks Kill Records & Hearts

 Horror, J. Holderness, Slasher Films  No Responses »
Dec 132011
 

summer-of-massacre Well for all of you horror fans clamoring for something different, unique? Original? Here ya go, Joe Castro give us an anthology, art house, slasher that broke the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest body count (155) in a film! You go Joe! No really, in all seriousness, this is a very original piece of work. This is also a gorehound’s delight. You will all be pleased to know that mixed in with the cg (because I know you were concerned) are enough practical effects to please any old school fan. Here the cg is used to enhance some of the meanest and most creative, some even funny kills to be put on screen. The CG is also used with art house flair and peppered throughout giving all of the stories an experimental feel. It needs Continue reading »

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Film Review: Lieh Lo’s ‘Black Magic with Buddha’ (Nao mo – 1983) Combines Outlandish Gore & Stunning Amounts of CAT III Sleaze

 Asian Cinema, CAT III, Exploitation, Extreme, Fantasy, Hong Kong, Horror, J. Andersson, Revenge  No Responses »
Nov 282011
 

black-magic-with-buddha I’ve learned something today. Evil Thai mummy brains aren’t something you should mess about with; it’s as simple as that. And if you do feel like keeping them for your own personal gain, make sure you feed them regularly. They tend to get rather mad if they are hungry. Like any other pet really. That’s something the protagonist of low budget Hong Kong sleaze Black Magic with Buddha learns when he goes to Thailand, takes home a brain with magic powers to use for his own personal gain. You see, our hero is somewhat of a looser. Only somewhat though, for a CAT III hero he is actually fairly likeable. He means well I suppose, he just doesn’t seem to think of the consequences of what he is doing, and the fact that it kills his sister and his wife’s family, well, he never seems to care that much about it. He comes off as Continue reading »

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Film Review: Nishimura’s ‘Helldriver’ (2010) Drives Levels of Splatter & Comedy to New Heights

 Action, Asian Cinema, B. Harris, Comedy, Exploitation, Extreme, Horror, Japan, Sci-Fi, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Zombies  1 Response »
Nov 222011
 

helldriver After a meteorite makes impact with Japan, it sends alien spores into the atmosphere, infecting humans with a virus that mutates them into flesh-eating fiends with little horns protruding from their foreheads. Japan, as the world knows it, ceases to exist and in its place is an island nation divided into two parts by a massive wall, effectively separating the living from the infected (read: zombies). To make matters worse, the horns of the dead are being illegally harvested, dried, ground up and sold on the black market as a new drug.

Factions within the current Japanese government are intent on halting the advance of the horde by putting together a special team, lead by Kika, and sending them into the infected zone. Their mission Continue reading »

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