Don't Look Up (2010)

I was a bit wary going into Don’t Look Up as reviews for this flick have been so atrocious. However, it was a lazy night and the trailer had piqued my interest so I decided to give it a looksie…plus, it is available via streaming on Netflix so it made it all that much easier to check out.

Don’t Look Up is actually a remake of the Hideo Nakata (of Ringu fame) film Joyurei and is directed by Fruit Chan (known for the wicked “Dumplings” short in Three…Extremes). This film is Chan’s American debut and I’ve been looking forward to seeing Chan’s next horror piece ever since relishing “Dumplings” so much.

Don’t Look Up is about horror film director Marcus Reed (played by the sexy Australian soap star Reshad Strik) who has intense psychic visions of paranormal events. However, he has found his perfect project to work on next and sets off for Romania where he is to film his big comeback. The film he is shooting is based on an old Romanian folktale about a young girl who promised her first born child to the Devil but was violently killed by villagers before she could fulfill her promise. Her vengeful ghost is said to haunt the decrepit location that Marcus has chosen to shoot his film, the same location where 80 years ago another film crew mysteriously vanished while attempting to shoot a film based on the same legend.

People soon start dying violent, “accidental” deaths as Marcus’ visions intensify. Will his visions help him in stopping the deaths or will they just drive him mad?

Don’t Look Up definitely has that Asian ghost story feel (especially with a few Ringu-inspired scenes involving creepy eyes and flies crawling out of a TV), coupled with plenty of nasty deaths and a few icky scenes. However, the convoluted and confusing plot really drags the film down. It really could have spent a little more time developing the backstory on the Romanian legend (what we get is a couple of paragraphs before the movie starts…lame) and the actual why and how of the supposed “haunting”. By the end, the film tries to clear things up with a “twist”, but certain points still remain unclear. Like what the F was up with the boils/tumors on the neck? Why did certain people go crazy? What exactly was the point with crew members dying? Did the ghost just want revenge or was it searching for a new baby-daddy? And why in the world did Marcus and his crew shoot his film in only one small, grimy room when they had the whole creepy building to use? It looked more of like a stage set than a film set.

It is a pity the plot was such a disjointed mess, since the initial premise showed promise. Sure, we’ve all seen horror films where a film crew is beset by something horrific, but the whole Romanian legend aspect was intriguing…too bad it got so mucked up in the writing and/or editing process.

I was surprised to see several recognizable faces in the film. Eli Roth is in the film for about 5 seconds (even though he is a huge selling point on the DVD cover) as a 1930s director (complete with a cool mustache and snazzy duds) who first tries to film at the cursed location. Then we get Henry Thomas (Red Velvet, Dead Birds) as a level-headed producer and Kevin Corrigan (Pineapple Express, Superbad) as an agitated crew member. The acting overall was fine, despite what other reviews have said. I actually liked the acting choices and thought everyone did a good job in their roles.

As for the special FX, there was some crappy CGI involving flies (they just looked like fuzzy black blobs), but there were also several creepy scenes. One in particular that involves a spontaneous birth is definitely groddy, especially when we see the baby hanging half in and half out of the birth canal as mommy walks toward the camera. Then there are the scenes with the previously mentioned flies, which would have probably been more effective had the CGI looked better. There are people attacked by flies, a body made up of flies, and, my personal fave, flies crawling into people’s eyeballs and eye sockets. Squirm! Then there are the requisite bloody deaths, the only memorable one being when a stage light falls on a crew member, making for a bloody awful head wound! Oh, and let’s not forget when Marcus carves one of those boils/tumors off a creepy old dude. Pretty icky. However, I wouldn’t call it a gorefest by any means, and the body count isn’t all that high.

Don’t Look Up doesn’t really deliver on scares and is overall a messy film full of plot inconsistencies, under-development and holes, but I still found myself kind of enjoying it. No matter how frustrating the plot issues were, the film kept me moderately interested. It would make a good background flick for when you are doing other things, or a good flick to enjoy with a sudsy brew (or two).

The bad reviews on this film are pretty exaggerated…it definitely isn’t the best movie you can choose to watch, but it does have its creepy and gross-out moments and isn’t the “worst movie ever made”. Dude, I’ve seen some pretty horrible films in my time and this one doesn’t even come close to being the worst!

Available on Amazon!

Walking Distance (2010)

Ever since I first saw Mel House’s Closet Space a few years ago, I’ve eagerly anticipated his next project. Though Closet Space had its flaws, its story was engaging and despite its low budget it had rather impressive special FX. The unique story and effects work made Closet Space a memorable viewing experience and really made me sit up and take notice of “Texas Blood” filmmaker Mel House.

Now, a couple years later, House has completed Walking Distance, a film I’ve been eagerly anticipating since I first heard about it. Like Closet Space, House has written and directed the film, as well as picking up a slew of other duties (producing, editing, etc. – even making a cameo in the film). Would House be as successful with Walking Distance as he was with Closet Space? Read on to find out!

The plot to Walking Distance is very complex and so ambitious it’s hard to describe in detail without taking up a few pages. So, I’ll just give you the official synopsis, found on the Walking Distance website:

“An idyllic, small, self-sufficient community. On the surface, it seems like the perfect neighborhood. Everything you could possibly need is within walking distance. But…the pastoral exterior conceals a dark past and an even darker secret. As a group of individuals – each with their own ties and agendas with the town and each other-converges on the enclave, strange things begin to happen. Very strange things. Strange enough to test – and then break – the very fabric of reality itself.

Walking Distance really shows Mel House’s growth as a filmmaker. Technically, it looks absolutely fantastic. It still has a slightly low-budget look, but it’s much slicker and professional-looking than Closet Space. It also has a much larger cast with recognizable names (Adrienne King, Debbie Rochon, Reggie Bannister, Shannon Lark, Peyton Wetzel, Katie Featherston) and a more complex storyline.

This complex storyline is the film’s one big flaw. House tries to cram so many different backstories, so much character development, so many ideas into the nearly two-hour-long film that I felt a bit overwhelmed. This is a commendable flaw, however. I’d much rather a film attempt more character and story development than none at all! Still, there were so many ideas crammed into Walking Distance that you don’t really get a chance to take a breath, so to speak. I feel like some of the characters didn’t have any real purpose (the activists, for example), because towards they end they just ended up dying anyway. And the multitude of characters robbed me a chance of really rooting for anyone.

Despite the film being overcrowded with ideas, overall it was a positive experience. The acting was quite good from all involved and it was a pleasure seeing familiar faces! For example, we get Reggie Bannister as a pedophile, Adrienne King as an executive for an evil corporation, Debbie Rochon as an abusive mother, Shannon Lark as an activist against the evil corporation and even Katie Featherston (Paranormal Activity) as the lead’s girlfriend. Speaking of the lead, Denton Blane Everett did a fantastic job in his role of Cole Gray. In fact, I can’t really say there was one bad actor in the large cast, quite an achievement for a low-budget film!

Also impressive were the special FX, again handled by Marcus Koch of Oddtopsy FX. There are liquefied remains, people on fire, people melting into each other – pretty much the stuff of nightmares! And it all looks fantastic. My favorite scene is one in which the characters of  are sitting naked in a bathtub full of blood and their skin is sticking and melting together. Very impressive and freaky stuff here! Not to mention the main monsters in the film, who are people that look like they’ve been to Hell and back, complete with black, charred skin that is still on fire in parts. These mysterious entities appear and disappear, leaving a trail of liquefied bodies (or in some cases, no bodies) in their wake. These creatures look very creepy and when their existence is explained, it all makes sense!

Lastly, we have the fantastic story. Though it is crammed full of ideas, making it beneficial to watch the film more than once to fully absorb them all, the story is extremely unique. I love the different avenues of horror Mel House likes to explore and Walking Distance is no different. This is definitely an intelligent horror film and the kind of quality film that horror fans deserve!

Walking Distance is a huge step for indie filmmaker Mel House…it shows his amazing growth as a filmmaker and reaffirms my belief that he is definitely one of the top indie filmmakers to watch!

Walking Distance is making the festival rounds right now, so for more info on screenings and its DVD release, please visit its Official Site!

Vindication (2010)

In Bart Mastronardi’s debut feature film, Vindication,the theme of all-consuming guilt is explored by the lead character of Nicholas (Keith Fraser), a troubled and depressed young art student. After a failed suicide attempt, the lines between reality and fantasy begin to blur and madness overtakes Nicholas. As he tries to conquer his guilt and discover who he really is, this path leads him on a murderous and bloody journey of self-discovery.

Vindication is a very creative indie effort and has some pretty effective scenes, but it is not without flaws. One of its most glaring flaws is the running length, which is far too long, especially in regards to the nightmarish, languid way the narrative is constructed. Many of the film’s scenes feel drawn out, repetitive and unnecessary. Plus, it took its sweet time getting to the meat of the story after Nicholas’ attempted suicide.  Character development is important, but it shouldn’t be done to the extent where the audience loses interest in the actual story! When the film finally got around to the horrific part of the story, it lingered too long on unnecessary characters (like the bickering couple at the masked rave) or drew out scenes that should have lasted a few seconds or minutes. I think if this had been condensed into a short film it would have been much more effective, because as a feature length the film just doesn’t work, especially since I spent most of my time watching the clock instead of the movie.

The story and the way it was portrayed was pretty clever, but the script is cluttered with Shakespearean-inspired speech and quotations. At first I enjoyed this device, but by the end of the film I had grown tired of it. Like a play, the film is very dramatic, over-the-top and theatrical, reminding me of a classical Greek tragedy. Mastronardi uses lots of symbolism throughout the film, but like the dramatic Shakespearean-isms it sometimes comes on too strong. Mastronardi also utilizes some very interesting characters throughout, and while I enjoyed most of them (the blind seer, Nicholas’ personal demon, Nicholas himself) some of them just appeared (or disappeared) with no apparent explanation. Again, the story is in need of some serious editing to straighten out its more convoluted points.

Despite its flaws, I enjoyed the artistic and philosophical nature of Vindication. At its best, it reminded me of the superior indie films The Psychomanteum and Mercy, both which feature the same surreal atmosphere of Vindication. It has some nice photography, even though at times shots aren’t as clear as they should be. Still, it’s a well-composed film that shows some creative use of camera angles, especially for it being Mastronardi’s first feature.

Another one of the film’s strengths lies in the actors, especially the lead of Nicholas as played by Keith Fraser. Fraser really makes us care for his troubled character, even when he starts hacking up his buddies and random strangers. Through Fraser’s performance we feel Nicholas’ pain and really feel where he’s coming from (especially during the scene where he confronts his dickwad of a father, played viciously by Jerry Murdock). I also enjoyed performances by Zoe Daelman Chlanda as Nicholas’ dead mother, Cassandra, and Alan Rowe Kelly as Urbane, the blind seer (both references to Greek mythology). I also loved the small cameo by Raine Brown and Joe Zaso as an expectant couple. The performance that stole the show, though, was whoever played the demon throughout the film. I believe it was filmmaker Bart Mastronardi, but I’m not positive. Whoever it was, though, did a fantastic job at creating an eerie and unforgettable character!

Vindication may have its flaws and its avant garde feel may not be for everyone, but there is no denying that it is an ambitious project that is worth a look for fans of more psychological, artsy films.

Vindication will be released by R Squared Films in April 2010.

Visit Vindication on Myspace, Facebook and its Official Site!

Book Review: Dunraven Road by Caroline Barnard Smith

I really wasn’t sure what to expect with Dunraven Road, the debut novel from Caroline Barnard Smith. The back cover had a very vague description that didn’t incite my interest too much, and to be honest I just expected it to be another poorly written vampire novel.

On the contrary,I found Dunraven Road to be an engaging, fast-paced story that focused on human characters addicted to a blood-like drug called “red”, featured a vampiric cult and vampires that were both menacing and entrancing. Though the novel features several flaws, overall I found it a worthwhile read and a promising debut from Smith.

Dunraven Road is about a group of friends in a small English town begin experimenting with a strange but alluring drug called red and revere a vampiric deity called Lilitu. When their arrogant leader Zach decides to build a cult around the drug and Lilitu, staging lavish parties in an abandoned church, the friends find themselves in danger of losing themselves to the sweet allure of the red…as well as losing their lives to real vampires that move undetected among the drug-crazed cult.

As Zach drowns himself in red and loses himself in his powerful new role as leader to the drug-addled cult kids and partiers, one of the original group of friends, Sapphire, who is deeply in love with him, realizes she has special psychic powers and has disturbing visions of what the vampires have planned. With the help of Paul, a lovesick artist and several “good” vampires who’ve sworn off drinking blood, can Sapphire stop the invasion of vampires before they slaughter the smorgasbord of red partiers?

Though the book might be construed as a bit generic, filled with scenes of lavish parties, seduction and beautiful vampiric creatures, it is surprisingly very engaging and lures you in with the story Smith spins. The vampires may have some stereotypical attributes (being beautiful, loving blood), but Smith blurs the lines between the vampires and the druggies addicted to red. Instead of the vampires being the humans’ implements for destruction, the humans destroy themselves with the red drug and their own blood-letting rituals. Quite a nice twist, I thought. Also, the book forgoes all the usual nonsense of garlic, stakes, sunlight, mirrors, etc. as ways to deter/kill/identify vampires. Despite their beauty, the vampires in Dunraven Road blended right in with the humans and there were several startling reveals of people actually turning out to be vampiric entities.

As for the human characters who take center stage for most of the book, unfortunately they are a rather unlikable group. Most are hopeless addicts, womanizers, cheaters, thieves, killers or doormats. Also, it takes a while for anyone to be identified as the lead character in the book. Obviously, Sapphire is the main character towards the book’s end, but I wish Smith had spent more time developing her character from the first few pages instead of wasting time describing vamp attacks on the elderly (a plot point that never really goes anywhere and remains underdeveloped) or fawning over Zach’s wicked ways. Zach is talked about so much in the beginning that it appears as if he is the lead character, but after the vampires arrive he is no longer in charge and we see he is just a pawn in their game. And even though Sapphire becomes the heroine, through most of the book she is portrayed as weak and completely at Zach’s beck and call. In fact, most of the female characters in Dunraven Road act as if they are slaves to their male counterparts…even the evil vampire Gwyneth seems to solely rely on her sexual seduction skills and looks to get what she wants. This is disappointing, particularly because the author is a woman and I expected much more strong female characters from her.

Despite the lackluster and unlikable characters, the story itself is nonetheless engaging. I like how the vampires were different and weren’t susceptible to garlic, stakes, etc. I also enjoyed how there were two different vampire lifestyles – those that drank blood and those that abstained (vegan vampires – intriguing!!). There were also several twists and turns throughout the book that kept things interesting. I thought the inclusion of the “red” drug and how it tied back to the vampires was clever and inventive.

The writing style by Smith was clean, crisp and unobtrusive. Without any awkward sentences or clunky paragraphs to trip over, reading Dunraven Road was a breeze. The story was also very quickly paced and genuinely engaging (despite the poorly developed characters) so that you wanted to keep reading. Like the characters, though, there were some parts of the story that could have used a little re-drafting. For example, with the so-called “vamp attacks” going around you would think the authorities in such a small town would notice the wild parties Zach threw in his church or at least the influx of partiers and strange people coming to the town. Yet no mention is ever made of the authorities or any townspeople suspecting anything.

Dunraven Road is a shaky debut for Caroline Barnard Smith. It lacks a likable, focal main character to root for and has several plot holes, but it is also very well-written and engaging. Still, Smith is a promising writer and I look forward to what she does next…as long as she features some strong female characters in her next work!

Dunraven Road is available through Immanion Press.

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Book of Blood (2009)

You’ve either read Clive Barker’s collection of short stories Book of Blood or you haven’t. The film Clive Barker’s Book of Blood, written and directed by John Harrison, is faithfully based on two of Barker’s tales from the book, Book of Blood and On Jerusalem Street, the wrap-around stories of the collection. The good news is that you don’t have necessarily have read the stories to enjoy the grim and ultimately grisly atmosphere of Book of Blood…but you may need some patience to watch the slowly unfolding, yet unique, film. That patience will definitely pay off in the end, though.

The film opens with a bang as a girl is gruesomely murdered by unseen spirits in a large, forebodingly dark house. We then meet paranormal expert Mary Florescu (Sophie Ward) as she is teaching a class on the paranormal, where she meets college student and medium Simon McNeal (Jonas Armstrong). Mary is investigating the very house where the girl was brutally murdered and, since she feels a special connection to her student, invites Simon to assist her.

Mary and her assistant, Reg (Paul Blair), set up cameras and other equipment to record any strange occurrences in the house, and sure enough Simon begins to have violent contact with the spirits. As the sexual tension between Mary and Simon grows and as Simon experiences more and more paranormal activity, they discover that the house is a crossroads for the dead and that the dead want their stories told…

Book of Blood was a tense, enjoyable story, but one that may require some patience to watch. The pacing is pretty slow and scenes can feel repetitive at times. The pacing didn’t bother me too much, because I was too caught up in its unique story and dark atmosphere. I liked that Book of Blood isn’t your typical horror film and tries something different. It’s not every day that the spirits carve their stories into the flesh of a human!

Being a Clive Barker adaptation, I was surprised that this film doesn’t have much gore but plays more like a haunted house/ghost movie. The introduction scene is sufficiently shocking (a very surprising and gruesome “face peel”) and the subsequent scenes featuring spirits writing on their living “Book of Blood” were squirm-inducing. Yet the meat of the film doesn’t offer much blood-letting, instead choosing to focus on the characters and their actions.

I’m not complaining here, though, and really enjoyed seeing the characters develop and reveal their hidden natures. Mary’s obsession with Simon definitely feels a bit taboo in the Electra/Oedipus sense, and there are plenty of steamy sex scenes that titillate and torment both characters and audience. I also liked the unexpected surprises in some of the characters…not is all what it seems!

The movie is ominously wrapped in dark shadows. From the menacing house they are investigating, filled with dark corners, to the gray, overcast skies shown the few instances where the characters are outside, the film’s bleak palette visually conveys its spooky subject matter. The black shadows made me uneasy and really made me wonder about what was lurking within them.

The film’s visual highlight comes toward the end when the veils between our world and the dead’s world are lifted and what we’ve expected to see emerge from the shadows finally come forth. We see the wispy ghosts, eyes as black as the darkest pits in Hell, trudging up from their grim Purgatory to scrawl their stories in blood on Simon. The spirits’ design is both beautiful and frightening, so many props to the film’s visual effects department! I really loved the look of both the ghosts and of their hellish home.

Book of Blood is a highly enjoyable Clive Barker adaptation, but for some horror fans its proceedings might be a bit slow. Nonetheless, if you enjoy a chilling, slow-building ghost story, Book of Blood may be just for you. It doesn’t compromise its values to become a PG-13 horror flick filled with screaming teeny-bopper actors, but sticks to Clive Barker’s original story and high standards to deliver a unique vision of pain. For that alone it definitely deserves the attention of serious horror fans.

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The Manitou (1978)

We all bitch and moan about the state of horror and the death of originality in Hollywood, but looking back on older flicks perhaps they had a bit too much creativity! Take, for example, the zany 1978 film The Manitou, which features, among other things, a midget medicine man, ghostly lizards (well, actually, someone dressed in a lizard costume), Tony Curtis dressed as a psychic, a levitating granny, Native American demons that look like a giant eye and lots of colorful, bright lasers!

The film starts with Karen (Susan Strasberg) visiting her doctor after discovering a fast-growing tumor on her neck. The doctors aren’t sure what to make of it, but it definitely looks like a fetus, so they schedule her for surgery. Concerned that the doctors aren’t telling her everything, Karen contacts her old flame Harry (Tony Curtis) for help. Harry is a psychic who scams little old ladies out of their money, one of the reasons why Karen left him. Nonetheless, Harry agrees to stand by her as she goes through the surgery…only it doesn’t go as planned. The doctors are unable to remove the growth because their scalpels are turned against them. Karen is moved to another room and monitored and Harry contacts some his psychic friends to hold a séance and find out if an evil spirit is behind Karen’s affliction. It turns out the evil spirit is none other than Misquamacas, a 400-year-old medicine man who plans on raising hell as soon as he’s reborn.

Harry visits an old professor (Burgess Meredith), who wrote something in a book about reincarnated medicine men, and he suggests that Harry hunt down his own medicine man to “fight fire with fire”. Harry tracks down John Singing Rock (Michael Ansara), who agrees to help him fight the evil medicine man.
When Misquamacas finally “hatches” from Karen, the real showdown begins…can Singing Rock and Harry save Karen and the world before it’s too late?

The Manitou is one crazy, over-the-top flick! The first half of the film starts off pretty solidly (who doesn’t love to watch Tony Curtis prance around pretending to be a psychic or watch a little old granny become possessed, speak in a Native American language and levitate before being tossed down a flight of stairs?) but the last half of the film, where the midget-sized medicine man is born, just devolves into pure schlock. I seriously question how any of the actors could take their roles so seriously when there were rogue lasers and ghostly lizards to deal with. How many takes did it take for them to act with a straight face?

The director behind the film, William Girdler (who also co-wrote the film), is behind such schlocky fare like Grizzly and Day of the Animals, but The Manitou is beyond bizarre. It takes a special kind of horror fan to really appreciate this odd and “out there” horror flick, but purveyors of the peculiar will no doubt enjoy The Manitou for its sheer strangeness.

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Book Review: One if by Heaven, Two if by Hell by Rick Maydak

Boston barkeep Ethan Reyes has the disturbing ability to read minds. To him, this ability is more of a curse than a gift as people’s private thoughts assault him day in and day out. Ethan numbs himself against the onslaught with copious amounts of alcohol, but people’s thoughts keep worming themselves into his head anyway.

Ethan has had his ability all his life, but a frightening encounter with an ugly, toad-like demon when he was a child had made him keep quiet about his mind-reading. It now appears that the demon is back and not only is it killing people around Ethan, but tempting him to join him. When Ethan doesn’t give into temptation, the demon makes a mental prisoner out of Ethan’s object of affection, Taylor, after she is the victim of a brutal gang rape and slips into a coma. The demon hopes to force Ethan to do his bidding in bringing about the end of the world, but Ethan is more powerful than he believes himself to be.

Can Ethan defeat the demon or will the world be lost?

Combining a Biblical background of angels and demons with bloody passages, One if by Heaven Two if by Hell is a pretty intriguing read. Unfortunately, it gets bogged down by inadequate editing, some unbelievable actions by the lead character and a rather rushed ending. This didn’t completely ruin the novel for me, but nonetheless the flaws were glaringly evident.

The film jumps right in and introduces us to lead character Ethan Reyes, but I never felt a connection to him. Also, some of his actions just seemed ludicrous, like when he watches the woman he loves get gang raped and does nothing to stop it. After that, he came off as more and more unlikable as he seemingly bumbles through scene after scene, until, of course, he goes through a “transformation” that makes him into a seemingly braver, stronger badass. This radical change in character was just a bit too much for me to believe.

While the book overall felt dragged out, the ending felt both rushed and yet like the author was still trying to drag out the action. Even though Ethan is sure the demon is harming Taylor, it seems like he feels no sense of urgency in getting to her. He even stops to remove one of the demon’s dead victims from the ceiling where he has been pinned…like the police wouldn’t track down Ethan now that his fingerprints and DNA are all over the place?? Plot holes like this spoil the book in certain parts, but like I said before they don’t make the novel completely irredeemable.

I especially enjoyed the passages where Ethan entered into Taylor’s head while she is in a coma and got to explore her own personal sanctuary where she was hiding from the demon. These very descriptive passages really kept me reading. The descriptions of bloody violence that pepper the pages were also very gruesome and really made you feel like you were there, smelling the freshly-spilled blood and slipping on its coagulating puddles.

For a debut novel, author Rick Maydak certainly could have done worse, but One if by Heaven Two if by Hell still falls into the middle-of-the-road category. I enjoyed the overall story of good vs. evil, but I just had to suspend my belief a bit too much for some of the actions that the lead character took (or didn’t take, as it may be). The book also needed much more editing, as typos and grammatical mistakes pulled me out of the story. Still, I’ll look forward to Maydak’s next novel as he hones his craft a bit more and hopefully gets a better editor.

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Jack Be Nimble (1993)

Jack Be Nimble is a pretty obscure 1993 New Zealand horror film starring Alexis Arquette (back when “she” was a “he”) that deals with evil foster families, deaths by hypnosis and a psychic sister who has a rather icky relationship with an older, equally psychically-gifted man. It is a very dark and solemn film that really doesn’t have much of a strong plot, instead focusing on the odd characters scattered throughout and its somber atmosphere.

The film begins with two young siblings witnessing their mother have a nervous breakdown. When their father comes home, the mother has split, and the children are placed in an orphan’s home. Soon the siblings are separated as the little girl, named Dora, is adopted by doting parents, while little Jack is adopted by a cruel farming family. As Dora grows up with kisses, presents and lots of love, Jack grows up being mercilessly abused by his foster father, mother and four sisters, both mentally and physically. The two never stop thinking about each other, and eventually Jack builds a kind of hypnosis machine and dispatches of his cruel family, setting out on the road to find his sister. His sister has also developed psychic abilities and is able to pinpoint where Jack is. With the help of an older psychic, whom I suppose becomes her boyfriend (such awkward sex scenes…), she finds Jack and the two set out to find their biological parents. Yet, Jack harbors a lot of hatred for them, and Dora fears what he might do with his hypnosis machine. Also, Jack is being trailed by his four sisters, who are out for revenge for what he did to their parents.

Where to even begin with this odd little flick? I suppose the first thing I noticed was the somber mood throughout. This is a dark film that unflinchingly deals with child abuse and the ensuing psychological damage that occurs. It could also be seen as a study of nurture vs. nature, with two siblings being reared in extremely different circumstances. It is definitely not a “fun” horror flick and carries its grim tone throughout. The tone is almost otherworldly, like it was lifted straight out of a Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale.

Adding to the fairy tale-like atmosphere are the almost-caricatured characters of Jack’s evil family – from brutish father to uptight and cruel mother to the silent yet menacing four sisters. I also liked the use of chiaroscuro throughout the film. Deep, dark shadows dominated the first part of the film, only to be juxtaposed with lighter, brighter colors later in the film. Most of the film carried with it a bleak atmosphere, though, and utilized the contrast of light and dark to show just how black the darkness really was.

Story-wise, the plot wasn’t that developed, and it felt like writer Garth Maxwell (who also directed) was a bit all over the place with the psychic/telekinetic/hypnotic powers of the lead characters. Nonetheless, the result was intense interactions between the two siblings. Actors Alexis Arquette and Sarah Smuts-Kennedy, who played Jack and Dora respectively, had a great chemistry and really gave the roles their all. I was surprised at how intense and serious Arquette could act, considering I only remember him from The Wedding Singer and Bride of Chucky. And Smuts-Kennedy (poor girl, doesn’t she have a separate stage name?) was equally good as Dora, even in the intensely awkward sex scenes she had to do with the creepy older guy.

The film isn’t that gory or bloody, but the deaths were very satisfying to watch, especially since most of the victims deserved it. Jack’s hypnosis machine was especially intriguing, but it wasn’t explained much. I think he, like his sister, had certain telepathic abilities but needed the machine he built to channel them. Anyways, I really enjoyed seeing him getting payback against his family in rather satisfying ways. The ending when they must face the four sisters was pretty tense, with someone’s grisly death being somewhat unexpected and a bit of a letdown. And the strange last scene just seemed really unnecessary, like out-of-nowhere unnecessary!

Jack Be Nimble is a very odd, off-kilter horror film that feels more of like a twisted fairy tale rather than a straight-forward horror film. Despite its flimsy story, I was nonetheless intrigued by the characters and their abilities. Add in some evil people you can enjoy watching die via hypnosis and telekinesis and you’ve got yourself an overall satisfying, if not weird, horror flick! If you are looking for something completely different with a grim, somber feel to it, you should give Jack Be Nimble a look!

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Frightmare (1983)

Not to be confused with the 1974 English cannibal film of the same name, Frightmare (aka The Horror Star) is the story of recently deceased horror veteran Conrad Radzoff (Ferdinand Mayne) who claims that death will be his best performance yet! The night after he is entombed into his specially constructed mausoleum (complete with a blinking neon star), a group of drama students break into the crypt and decide to take old Conrad back to their place for some partying! After a creepy dinner with the diners all wearing masks, they each take turns dancing with the corpse and one girl even goes to far as to smooch him! They put Conrad back into his coffin, but are too tuckered out to take him back to his final resting place, so they just put him in their attic and call it a night.

The next morning the cops discover Conrad is missing from the mausoleum and his widow enlists the help of a psychic medium to find out where he is. Turns out he’s in hell, but is hellbent on returning and getting revenge on the young whippersnappers that disturbed his slumber. His widow heartily agrees, saying, “Burn them! Burn them! BURN THEM!”

Having been summoned, Conrad rises from the dead and stalks the kids in the house, killing them one by one.

What is so interesting about Frightmare is that it tries to bridge the gap from Gothic-tinged Hammer horror (think fog-shrouded cemeteries, genteel-looking old men in Dracula capes, damsels in distress) with the kids-being-stalked-by-an-unstoppable-killer slasher formula. I liked the “classic horror” atmosphere of the film, but the slasher aspect felt a bit off. The story had some holes (a cop, who looks more like a mafia don, keeps popping up but doesn’t add anything to the story), pacing problems, awful dialogue (“We did something BAD!”) and the kills left a lot to be desired. Even though the result is a mixed bag, this seemingly strange combination of old and new horror styles makes Frightmare worth a look anyway.

The film was written and directed by Norman Thaddeus Vane and one good thing about his script is that he spent more time developing the character of Conrad Ragzoff than he did the kids’ characters. I felt much more empathy for Conrad than I did any of the annoying college kids, who exist mostly to get picked off. Conrad is one of the best things about the film, and the character is obviously an homage to Christopher Lee. Actor Ferdinand Mayne even resembles Lee and has the same kind of aristocratic air as he does.

Speaking of Mayne, he was truly a joy to watch in this role, especially in the opening scenes when he is still alive and in the videos he leaves behind for the funeral and those that appear to greet visitors to his crypt. Another actor to note in the film is Jeffrey Combs, who plays one of the clueless kids in one of his earlier roles. Most of the actors who play the college drama students don’t have much to do, but they all do a pretty good job of playing stupid and dying horribly. Even the “Final Girl”, just sits around and whimpers and only survives because she faints dead away at the sight of the resurrected Conrad.

As for the deaths, Conrad kills most of the kids with telekinetic powers rather than with his bare hands. One girl spontaneously combusts into a fireball, another girl gets squashed by a flying coffin, a guy gets locked in Conrad’s crypt as it fills with poisonous gas, another guy gets decapitated by a flying sword, and so on. The only “hands-on” deaths occur when a guy gets his tongue/jaw ripped out and then strangled, a woman gets her mouth stuffed with a wad of cash and another guy gets stuffed into a coffin and burnt alive in the crematorium. It was disappointing that the deaths weren’t at all gory (especially since at least half of the film was trying for that slasher vibe), but it wasn’t a deal-breaker. Instead, the film treated the deaths in the more restrained, classic horror tradition instead of going all-out like a slasher flick.

Still, there are some pretty silly scenes throughout the film besides the previously mentioned death scenes. One was the partying scene where the kids pass around Conrad’s corpse like he’s a party favor, which is so disturbing it borders on ludicrous! Another more “laugh-out-loud” scene is the over-the-top séance scene where Conrad’s widow and psychic medium are trying to contact the dead Conrad. The ladies put on such hysterical performances here that I dare you not to laugh! The film also features some god-awful music and sound effects that sound just like one of those cheap Halloween party CD’s, complete with howling and growling.

Frightmare has a lot of issues and I think it would have a lot of problems connecting with horror fans today. Still, it is an interesting little movie that tries to combine old-school horror with the slasher formula. Sometimes it doesn’t succeed, but it is still interesting enough to check out, especially if you love Gothic-tinged horror movies. Though Frightmare isn’t a “must-see” for all horror fans, those that appreciate both the old and new aspects of horror filmmaking may just find themselves enjoying it like I did!

Buy it on Amazon!

Book Review: Garbage Man by Joseph D'Lacey

Joseph D’Lacey follows up his stunning debut novel Meat with an equally aware new horror novel, Garbage Man! This time around, instead of focusing on people’s blind faith and ignorance as to where their food comes from like in Meat, D’Lacey addresses people’s wastefulness and what happens to all the trash that is so irresponsibly disposed of.

As Meat was, Garbage Man is an eye-opening experience that asks relevant but difficult questions. Garbage Man further establishes D’Lacey as one of the most socially aware and most important horror writers of our time!

The town of Shreve is most well-known for its gigantic landfill. Every day more waste is heaped upon the already bulging area, with the denizens never really questioning where their waste will go once the landfill has reached max capacity nor really caring that they are poisoning the ground and surrounding countryside.

Mason Brand, once a famous photographer but now a reclusive hermit living in Shreve, hears “the calling.” Where once before he ignored it, this time he will heed the call and help usher in a new age as a new type of creature is born from people’s unwanted trash. This creature is fashioned from bits of rusty pipes, old appliances, scraps of rag and bone, garbage bags, food wrappers and anything and everything else that was put in the landfill. With Brand’s help, this creature and its brethren seek to rise up from the wastefulness of humans and establish a new order…

Eco-horror is poised to be the next big thing, and I believe that D’Lacey is at the forefront of such and important and frightening sub-genre. If you think about it, now is the perfect time for this sub-genre to emerge, with the crisis of global warming, devastating droughts, increased hurricane and tornado activity, mass pollution, extinction of animals, deforestation and on and on. Everyone should be concerned with these issues that hit close to home. I think that eco-horror and socially relevant horror novels like Garbage Man could make a big difference. Hell, D’Lacey’s Meat novel made me go vegan and I’ve no doubt that Garbage Man will make me take a closer look at my consumption and what I throw away.

I really admire D’Lacey for incorporating such tough issues into horror novels. Without being “preachy” he makes his readers question actions as seemingly mundane as what you eat and what you throw away. As you read his novels, a self-realization will take over that will make you question your own actions and how they effect your environment and the world at large, as well as how they effect yourself. D’Lacey is never forceful in his views, instead letting you come to your own big “ah-ha!” moment.

Garbage Man is no exception, with D’Lacey writing some very powerful prose. The novel is also extremely entertaining, creeping under your skin with the description of the “Garbage Man” and his slithering yet awkward brothers and sisters in the first stages of their lives. From otherworldly and weird these garbage creatures quickly turn menacing as they begin to grow and pose more a threat to Shreve.

The novel kind of feels like it is in two parts…one is the story of the citizens of Shreve, including Mason Brand, while the second part tells of the birth of the garbage monsters and their attack on the town. The characters are extremely well-developed, but I will say that maybe too much time is spent on the human characters as opposed to the creatures. I would have liked to see more creatures early on. Also, some of the characters’ secrets that are revealed in the first part of the book are never really brought up again…I was expecting their “secrets” (like a father that is a pedophile and a mother that has an affair with a much younger boy) that had been buried in the landfill were going to somehow resurface to haunt and torment them once the creatures were released. Unfortunately, they aren’t really touched upon again.

Other than that, Garbage Man was another stunning work from Joseph D’Lacey and a book that I could barely put down! It was a real page turner and really makes you think, just what if Mother Nature gets tired of our trashing her and decides to cleanse the planet…?

Better start recycling…

Available from Amazon!

Book Review: Through a Glass, Darkly by Bill Hussey

A new master of horror reveals himself with Through A Glass, Darkly as author Bill Hussey weaves a complex, darkly atmospheric story to give you chills on even the hottest summer day.

Detective Jack Trent has been having nightmares. Nightmares where a little boy he knows is horribly tortured and killed by some unspeakable evil. Trent knows that these visions aren’t only dreams, but premonitions of what is to come. When he suffered a traumatizing experience as a child, he received these special “gifts” of premonition, along with being able to see deep into people’s pasts and futures through touch. Trent has spent his entire life trying to keep his “gifts” under lock and key, but circumstances have arisen where he must use his gifts to protect those dear to him.

There have been mysterious kidnappings and brutal slayings of children, crimes that lead Jack Trent and his partner Dawn Howard to Crow Haven, an eerie and superstitious backwoods town. Crow Haven, like Jack Trent, has a deeply troubling past and many sins it is still paying for. A darkness that has plagued the town for centuries has returned…in the form of a creature that calls itself Dr. Mendicant. The Doctor intends to perform an ancient ritual to prolong his evil…the same terrifying ritual that Trent has seen in his dreams…

Can Jack Trent stop the Doctor and save the boy from his nightmares before it is too late? Can the centuries old evil that resides in Crow Haven be vanquished once and for all?

With Through A Glass, Darkly, Bill Hussey has created an intensely engaging and deeply disturbing book. It is so well-written that it’s hard to believe this is Hussey’s first novel. The words just seem to roll off the page pulling you deeper and deeper into the story, while the imagery is wickedly painted and the characters are all highly developed.

The approach Hussey takes is very “old school” horror, reminiscent of old black and white movies that featured creeping fog, stark trees, ancient rituals and truly evil villains. Yet, though the novel is steeped in classic horror, it has a very modern feel. The characters are varied and each of them is believable. Hussey does a great job at creating the tormented Trent and the back story of his “special powers” is indeed intriguing and adds that little something extra to an already solid story. The book is also peppered with other substantial characters, including Trent’s partner Dawn Howard, her endangered child Jamie, the wise Father Brody, suspected murderer Simon Malahyde, and the queer, withdrawn townsfolk of Crow’s Haven. Each of the characters is multi-layered, no matter how small their role in the book. The evil Doctor Mendicant is also one of the most frightening horror villains I’ve read of late…his raggedy “Crowman” appearances as well as his later transformations are downright unsettling!

The dark visuals are another place where the novel excels. Hussey’s descriptions of Crow Haven, as well as the surrounding Redgrave Forest, are bone-chilling. There is also shocking, cringe-worthy gore that soaks many passages in blood and bone. Probably the most shocking aspect of the gore is that young children bear the brunt of it. With bones snapping, brains being bashed in, baby fat being drained and other horrors perpetrated by the villain(s), it’s hard to stomach that most of it happens to young children, but it’s the horrifying torture and murders that are part of what make the novel so memorable!

Through A Glass, Darkly is a richly dark novel that proves that author Bill Hussey is one of the great new voices in horror fiction. Remember his name because I’m sure you’ll be hearing it a lot after this breakout book.

Available on Amazon!

Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)

Some movies have a reputation that precedes them, a reputation that has marked them as being “bad” movies. Most everyone you talk to about these movies tells you they are awful…The Exorcist II: The Heretic is one such movie that is loathed by most horror fans and critics (oftentimes called “the worst sequel ever made”), but I was curious to see if it was really as horrible as everyone claimed.

The verdict?

Yes, it is as bad as everyone claims!

It cinches its title as one of the worst sequels ever made with a ridiculously unbelievable script, horrible dialogue, bad acting and taking itself way too seriously. The result is a self-important but tiresomely dull movie.

Four years after a demon was exorcised from Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair), Father Lamont (Richard Burton) is put to task by the Catholic Church to get to the bottom of Father Merrin’s (Max von Sydow) death during the exorcism.

Meanwhile, Regan has grown into a chipper chubby-cheeked teen with no recollection of the exorcism, or at least that is what she claims. Her psychologist, Dr. Gene Tuskin (Louise Fletcher, who looks uncannily like Ellen Burstyn), thinks those memories are locked deep within her and wants to get to them. She introduces Regan to synchronized hypnosis (a process that involves little more than a tabletop machine with flashing lights that’s connected to electrodes), which will allow her to see into Regan’s subconscious (gee, sounds like a whole lotta unbelievable crap to me!).

Father Lamont comes to visit Regan and gets put in “synch” with her mind. He can see what happened that night and that the demon Pazuzu is still dwelling inside Regan. He then travels to Africa to hunt down Kokumo (James Earl Jones), the only known survivor (besides Regan) of an exorcism at the holy hands of Father Merrin. Add mumbo-jumbo about “good” and “bad” locusts, psychic connections that span continents and a big locust explosion at the finale and you’ve got an idea about the absurdity of the plot.

It’s sad, really, because director John Boorman, who wanted to create something wholly different than the first Exorcist, succeeded, but at the horrible cost of making a pompous, meandering and boring film. Visually, the film has its moments, with eye-catching aerial shots of red, rocky cliffs, plains and fields in Africa and the swarms of locusts, but those small moments do little to alleviate the pain of watching the remaining 95% of the movie.

The acting is cringe-worthy, with Linda Blair coming off as horribly annoying and the other actors faring no better. Of course, the source material, written by William Goodhart, could be the root of all the trouble. The dialogue (“When the wings have brushed you… is there no hope once the wings have brushed you?”) is atrocious and the situations and circumstances are just ludicrous. Not even the score, by the great Ennio Morricone (whom I usually love), is any good. It’s tribal sounds and demon-screeching just serve to grate nerves, very much like the rest of the movie.

This film had a grand scope when it first started, setting out to investigate exorcisms the world over from Africa to South America and beyond, but somehow its grand story became muddled and bogged down, both from the mythology laid down by the first film but also from its own preposterous storyline that became weighted with far too many questions it sought to answer. Between Father Lamont’s visits to the tribes in Africa and his “synching” with Regan’s mind, things become pretty unbelievable pretty quickly. And don’t get me started on the dream sequences!

Years of warnings from viewers and critics alike didn’t deter me from seeing this stink-bomb of a film, but hopefully it will save you the trouble. Unless, of course, you’re masochistic and enjoy being put through pain…then, by all means I would highly recommend Exorcist II: The Heretic!

Available from Amazon!

One Dark Night (1983)

The 80’s was a grand time for horror movies and it sees like you can always find a hidden gem no matter how many horror movies you’ve already seen. One such hidden gem is 1983’s One Dark Night (aka Dark Night aka Entity Force aka Mausoleum aka Night in the Crypt aka Night of Darkness aka Rest in Peace). It may not be a perfect horror movie, but it is one fun flick that will no doubt entertain!

High school student Julie (Meg Tilly) has always wanted to be one of the Sisters, an ultra-cool clique of girls that sports snazzy satin jackets and go around sneering at people. Problem is, Julie is dating jock Steve (David Mason Daniels), who just happens to be the ex of Carol (Robin Evans), the leader of the Sisters. To get back at Julie, Carol devises one last initiation for her…one where she must spent the entire night locked in a mausoleum.

Carol and her two Sisters Kitty (Leslie Speights) and Leslie (the cutie-patootie E.G. Daily!) fully expect Julie to back out once their plan is revealed, but Julie is determined to prove herself and accepts the challenge, even when boyfriend Steve tries to dissuade her from joining the silly clique. Julie is dropped off at the mausoleum and locked in, given only a sleeping bag, a flashlight and a “sleeping” pill to keep her company while the other girls drive off to plan other hijinks for later in the evening.

What the girls don’t know is that the famous psychic Raymar was interned in the mausoleum earlier that day. He died of unknown causes and was found dead, along with a group of equally dead young women, in an apartment that looked like a war zone. Silverware and plates were embedded in the walls and much of the furniture was smashed. According to some, Raymar was a “psychic vampire” and could drain the life energy from people. He is now entombed in a crypt, but can still use his psychic powers to terrorize, including moving corpses (and other objects, including busting out of his coffin) with his mind.

Meanwhile, Raymar’s estranged daughter Olivia (Melissa Newman) is discovering the truth about the father she never knew as well as her own psychic powers, much to the chagrin of her husband (played by Adam West! Yes, THAT Adam West!).

When Raymar unleashes his electromagnetic powers, Julie, as well as Carol and Kitty who have snuck into the mausoleum to spook her, are terrorized by Raymar as he tries to scare them with moving corpses so he can drain their tasty, tasty life force. Will anyone live through One Dark Night?

This gem follows the familiar pattern of 80’s horror that involved initiations (Hell Night, anyone?), but just because the formula is familiar doesn’t make this flick any less fun! From the cheesy dialogue to the atrocious fashions to the creepy corpses and spooky location, One Dark Night is a crowd-pleasing movie.

The story, written by Michael Hawes and Tom McLoughlin (who also directed), is surprisingly original. There aren’t many horror films that tell tales of psychic vampires, but this one tells it rather well (despite the cheesy instances of lightening bolts shooting out of Raymar’s eyes)! Also, I enjoyed the subplot of Raymar’s daughter Olivia and her discover of her father’s (and her own) powers. While at times it felt a little tacked on, overall it worked with the film and helped make things more interesting.

The acting wasn’t anything spectacular, but Meg Tilly was great as the determined Julie and the bitch Sisters were a hoot (except what was up with Kitty and her always chomping on a toothbrush??). It was also fun to see Adam West play Olivia’s straight-laced and stodgy husband.

The special effects on the corpses were extremely well done and the corpses looked amazing! The corpses here shouldn’t be mistaken with the “undead” or zombies, as they were just dead bodies that Raymar would control and move with his mind. So instead of walking, the corpses hovered a few inches off the floor, which was pretty damn creepy if you ask me. Also, there wasn’t any bloody gore to speak of, just raggedy old flesh and tons of maggots and worms! My favorite little snippet was when one of the girls was being suffocated by several corpses and she put her foot through the stomach of one of them. Maggots proceeded to spill out! Needless to say, it was wicked cool!

One Dark Night isn’t perfect, though, and some will find the dialogue a bit lacking and there are a few scenes that drag on forever. Did we really need a full-fledged tour of the mausoleum as Julie slowly walks through it?. Every hallway looked the same anyway! The ending and the subplot involving Olivia both felt a bit too convenient at times as well. If you want to get nit-picky, there were also some plot holes and characters that didn’t get developed. Despite these flaws, though, One Dark Night was entirely enjoyable and I didn’t get hung up on any of the negatives of the film.

There are few 80’s movies that can take you back to being a kid again, just kicking it in front of a late-night horror movie on TV, but One Dark Night is one that brings the joyful feeling back. This movie isn’t perfect and isn’t a horror masterpiece, but there’s just something about it that recalls the awesomeness of 80’s horror and just the love of horror in general.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, I highly recommend you do some for nostalgic terror! Just a tip, though, don’t watch the “Alternative Director’s Cut” unless you’ve already seen the theatrical cut. The director’s cut is very rough and utilized work prints that don’t feature sound. You definitely won’t have fun when you’re sitting there frustrated because you can’t hear what’s going on!

Available on Amazon!

Shrooms (2008)

Shrooms, a gem from the Emerald Isle, proves that Ireland can create a creepy horror film. Director Paddy Breathnach knows how to build an imposing atmosphere with misty moors, murky marshes, wispy woods and a haunted house. The film’s only fault may be the script (written by Pearse Elliott), which feels a little derivative of other horror films at times. Still, the stylish direction and spooky scenes more than make up for the lack of originality in the story.

Five American friends travel together to Ireland, where they meet their friend Jake (Jack Huston), who promises them a “trip” of a lifetime. You see, they’ve come to Ireland not only to see Jake, but to camp out in the Celtic countryside and try some magic mushrooms. They drive to an isolated location in the misty woods, where the only other people around are a pair of slobbery backwoods hillbillies (guess they have ‘em in Ireland too!). They set up camp on a beautifully green meadow next to a marsh and go mushroom hunting. Jake warns them about a potentially lethal species of ‘shroom, one that is crowned with a black top (that looks oddly like a nipple). It is said that anyone who survives eating the deadly mushroom suffers strange side effects. These include being able to commune with the dead, see the future, shape-shift or turn into a sadistic, bloodthirsty killer.

Unfortunately, goodie-goodie Tara (Lindsey Haun) didn’t receive the memo and, eager to prove that she can let loose, gobbles up the first mushroom she sees, which just happens to be one of the deadly poisonous ones. After overdosing, she comes to in Jake’s arms (swoon) and he takes her back to camp so she can sleep it off, only she begins having strange, nightmarish dreams.

Meanwhile, everyone else huddles around the campfire, listening to Jake tell the story of the mad monk and his victims who supposedly haunt the woods and the nearby abandoned boarding house. This sadistic monk used to mercilessly beat and kill the children under his care, until one of them decided to take revenge and poisoned the monk’s soup with the black-cap mushrooms. Well, instead of killing him the mushrooms made the monk go absolutely mad and he ended up killing everyone in the boarding house. The house now sits abandoned, but every year missing and even mutilated bodies are reported in the woods.

The next day, Tara swears she keeps seeing shadowy figures and premonitions of her friends’ deaths. When people start to go missing and turn up dead, no one is quite sure if what they are seeing is real or just a really bad trip. Tara tries to convince them that it is all real and that the mad monk is killing them off one by one.

In regards to the story, it isn’t all THAT derivative of other films. Despite the well-trodden premise of a group of young adults stuck in the woods being stalked by an unimaginable evil (sound familiar?) there are quite a few moments of originality throughout the film. I thoroughly enjoyed the “magic mushroom” idea and how I (along with the characters) wasn’t exactly sure what was real and what wasn’t. There was also a touch of black humor in the film…just wait for the hilarious talking cow!! I also enjoyed how writer Pearse Elliott incorporated several different subgenres (the backwoods hillbillies, the ghost story, the psychic/supernatural elements, etc.) while still maintaining a fluid, cohesive story that never felt bogged down or awkward. The pacing was also excellent and kept me glued to my seat until the shocking ending (yes, I really was surprised!).

The characterizations were a little shaky, but the film established who was who (though I still had trouble telling the two brunettes apart) rather quickly and soon after that people began getting butchered so it really didn’t matter too much! The acting also was so-so, but it worked for the film. The real standout was Kristen Bell look-alike Lindsey Haun as Tara. The other actors didn’t stand out (except for hunky Jack Huston, who played Jake) as much, but they all did a competent job overall.

The most striking things about the film, though, were the visuals. Without the spectacularly creepy direction and cinematography, this would not have been the same film. From the herky-jerky movements of the mad monk (much like Samara’s movements in Ringu) moving through the foggy forest to what was hiding in the shadowy depths of the marshes, the film is beautifully unsettling. The blue, green and gray colors used really invoke a sense of isolation, abandonment and coldness.

There isn’t much gore to speak of, but in this film it wasn’t really necessary and I didn’t miss its absence. There is, however, a choice scene that will resonate with male viewers involving an oral amputation. Many of the other gory bits happen off-screen, but it’s a whole lot scarier when left to your own imagination.

Some people will call this film just another run-of-the-mill horror flick, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching it and believe that the future will only bring good things from director Breathnach, who is currently working on the interesting sounding Red Mist, about a psychotic coma patient that goes on an out-of-body killing spree.

I highly recommend giving Shrooms a shot…it’s a real trip!

Buy it on Amazon!

City of the Living Dead (1980)

I picked up City of the Living Dead (aka The Gates of Hell) on my last jaunt to my favorite store, Second Spin. I was convinced I already owned a copy or had at least watched this Fulci flick, but I was delighted to find I had NOT seen it.

City of the Living Dead has pretty much been slammed by critics, much to my chagrin. Why this sweet little supernatural/zombie flick packed to the teeth with gory goodness has been so lambasted is simply beyond me, for I thoroughly enjoyed it.

In the town of Dunwich a priest (Fabrizio Jovine) commits suicide in a cemetery and opens up the gates to hell. Meanwhile, a psychic (Catriona MacColl) has a vision of this priest and the hell on earth that will ensue after his suicide. This psychic seems to die from fright during the séance, but awakens after she’s been buried alive. A newspaper reporter (Christopher George) poking around her grave for a story rescues her. She then convinces him the world will end in 48 hours unless they find this mysterious town of Dunwich and stop the undead priest from unleashing hell on earth. Back in Dunwich, the undead priest is hard at work and zombies are rising from graves and killing people. When the psychic and reporter finally find Dunwich, they team up with a few others, including a psychologist (Carlo De Mejo) and a young child (Luca Venantini), to fight off the impending zombie apocalypse. Can they stop it before it’s too late?

I am really surprised more people didn’t dig this movie, because I thought it was abso-fucking-lutely fantastic! When you go into a Fulci flick, you have to realize that you won’t get a very well-developed story or even one that makes sense. What you will get, however, is a highly atmospheric and stylized, gore-filled treat! City of the Living Dead is no different, packed with eerie shots of a fog-filled cemetery, a creepy, undead priest and some cringeworthy gore!

The visuals are outstanding, with Fulci creating some seriously nightmarish images. Characters keep seeing the creepy priest appear and disappear, zombies begin stumbling around the nearly-deserted streets and the city of Dunwich begins to take on a very apocalyptic feel. Fabio Frizzi’s dark score helps to heighten the atmosphere and kept me on the edge of my seat!

Besides the sinister visuals, Fulci gives us a heaping plateful of his trademark ooey gooey gore. Once the priest puts the impending apocalypse into motion, people start behaving a little…oddly. In one very memorable scene, a father catches his daughter hanging out in the garage with a guy and suspects the worse. He punishes the man (who in earlier scenes we see is a disturbing sexual deviant, played by none other than Italian horror icon Giovanni Lombardo Radice) by drilling right through his skull in a fantastically shot scene! In another legendary scene, the priest appears and makes a girl cry blood tears and slowly regurgitate her own intestines. Truly a sick, sick sight, but oh so worth it!

Now, no matter how much I enjoyed this flick it still has some very serious flaws. The most glaringly obvious is the poor storyline. The story itself is pretty nonsensical and there are plenty of plot holes to jar your enjoyment of the film. Believability MUST be suspended quite a bit to believe the sequence of events portrayed in the film. Example – without any explanation, the zombies in this film, including the undead priest, can teleport. Pretty handy for freaking people the fuck out! Also, the psychic coming back to life after nearly being buried alive is pretty implausible…didn’t they stuff corpses with embalming fluid and whatnot back then?

The dialogue is pretty horrendous as well, with the characters endlessly babbling about Dunwich being built upon the remains of Salem, going back and forth on how they must stop the priest and on and on. The film gets a lot better towards the end when there is more screaming than talking. Yet, I found myself being able to overlook the bad dialogue and just enjoy the action happening on-screen.

While City of the Living Dead certainly has its flaws and isn’t the best Fulci flick around, it still has a certain charm that made me love it. For those that haven’t experienced Fulci’s unique style of filmmaking (shame on you!) I would NOT recommend this film. It’s a little too all over the place for a starting point. Instead, I’d suggest first checking out Zombi or The Beyond. Still, those that haven’t yet peeped this gorelicious treat are truly missing out on an atmospheric and grue-filled flick!

Available from Amazon!

Beneath (2007)

I saw the film Beneath just a few nights ago, but it is already rapidly fading from my memory. There have been many mindless straight-to-video releases in 2007, and while this new release is significantly better than many of those, that doesn’t necessarily make Beneath a good movie.

After causing the crash that burned her sister Vanessa (Carly Pope) alive, Christy (Nora Zehetner) has had psychic visions. Though her sister survived the crash, she was badly burned and horribly disfigured. Soon after Vanessa began home treatment, she died. At the funeral, Christy became convinced that her sister had been buried alive. Now, years later and after lots of counseling, Christy is 20 years old and returns to her hometown determined to find out what her visions mean and to find out what exactly happened to her sister.

She visits her brother-in-law John (Matthew Settle) in his creepy old house. Her young niece, Amy (Jessica Amlee), tells her that a “dark thing” stalks the house and lives in the walls. Also living in the house is John’s strict and stern mother, Mrs. Locke (Gabrielle Rose). Christy’s visions and suspicions intensify and she becomes even more convinced that something was very fishy with her sister’s death. Does the dark thing that Amy sees have anything to do with her sister’s death? Why are John and his mother so secretive and protective of the house? Is Christy going crazy or is something more sinister happening at the Locke estate?

Beneath wasn’t a bad flick and it certainly was better than most brainless horror movies released direct-to-DVD, but I found it very unmemorable. It lacked that certain something (like a cohesive, solid plot) to be considered a well-done horror movie. This was disappointing because I found the beginning to be completely engaging. After a while, though, the movie just began to drag and become repetitive. Story lines were vaguely explored only to be dropped. For example, it is lightly touched on that the Locke’s are closing their mine and many workers are pissed off at them…but this plot point isn’t followed through and ends up just feeling useless. The inclusion of a hunky police officer (Warren Christie) got my hopes up, but his relationship with Christy is standoffish and unhelpful (and ultimately boring). There are many other plot holes or awkward, underdeveloped plot points that really bog down the middle of the story, and even an impressive finale can’t make up for the lackluster chunk of the movie.

Despite the film’s pitfalls, it still boasts great performances from its actors. Nora Zehetner is impressive as the unwavering and determined Christy. She makes her character likable and you really want her to succeed in the end. Jessica Amlee as the young Amy is also a standout and gives a strong performance. Even though she has a very short time on screen, it was still fun to see Carly Pope, whom I remember from the TV show Popular. Every one else in the cast does a wonderful job as well and the acting might be the only thing about this movie I didn’t have a problem with.

Director Dagen Merrill (who also penned the script) does a pretty impressive job directing. I loved the very end of the film and the chase through the labyrinth-like Locke estate. The mansion looked amazingly dreary and spooky. There were quite a few good scares, just not quite enough to please me. Still, Merrill’s directing is much better than his writing, which I really think hurt the film.

Beneath is a solid movie if you only watch the first and last halves of the film. The middle is just too convoluted and messy for my liking and lacks tension or scares. If you are scouring the aisles looking for a horror rental, I wouldn’t make this your last resort but I also wouldn’t recommend it too highly. Put it at the top of your straight-to-DVD flicks list and at the bottom of your theatrically released horror film picks.

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The Black Cat (1981)

I was excited to learn that Lucio Fulci had directed The Black Cat, based on the Edgar Allen Poe story of the same name. I figured it would be another Fulci film that just might stand proudly among the greats Don’t Torture A Duckling, Zombi and The Beyond. Unfortunately, I was sadly disappointed by the boring Black Cat.

The Black Cat tells the tale of Professor Miles (Patrick Magee), a man obsessed with communicating and talking with the dead. He sneaks into the cemetery at night like a common graverobber, seeking to record the voices of the deceased. He also has a black cat, whom he has some kind of psychic link to. Meanwhile, Jill (Mimsy Farmer) is a visiting photographer in the small town who is intrigued by Professor Miles’ experiments. When deaths that appear to be accidents start occurring, Jill believes Professor Miles’ black cat is to blame.

I would tell you more, but I was too busy fast forwarding through the oodles of extreme close-ups fixed upon people’s startled eyeballs.

I think the most disappointing thing about The Black Cat was that it was only loosely based on Poe’s tale and hardly resembles it at all (except for the end). Instead, we get a killer cat that stalks people and appears and reappears at will. Sure, it causes an impalement, a couple to die from gas poisoning, a woman to burn alive and lots of scratches, but the film plods along and is unusually subdued for Fulci. It even seems devoid of his usual panache and relies way too heavily on the close-ups of eyes to signal tension between characters.

This subdued approach let me down big time…it seemed to lack the shocking images of The Beyond and Zombi as well as lacking a tense storyline like Don’t Torture a Duckling (probably my favorite Fulci film). The story meandered, went nowhere and doubled back, losing me along its uneventful journey.

The acting and the characterization were also off as well. The acting is nothing special with the exception of some performances that were so outlandish it felt like they were falling into parody. Example: when a woman’s house went up in flames, she ran directly to a room engulfed in fire and tried to beat at it with a pillow. Her stupidity is rewarded as she goes up bigger and brighter than a Roman candle. This unbelievable action is only one of several instances where the characters’ kooky actions just don’t make sense. Many a time I was left rolling my eyes and reaching for the fast forward button.

I think had I been in a lazier mood, The Black Cat could have been a little better, but as it stands I still think it is a film that falls very short of the standard Fulci set with some of his other films. The Black Cat may be worth checking out if you are a Fulci completest, but anyone else is recommended to check out other, better Fulci films.

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The Gathering (2002)

For a release that has been held back so long (it was finished in 2002!) and finally released direct-to-video, The Gathering ain't half bad. It kept me entertained throughout, the performances were great and the story was solid.

While walking through the English countryside near the small town of Ashby Wake, Cassie (Christina Ricci) is hit by a car and suffers amnesia. Close by, a 2,000 year old church, long buried in the English countryside, has just been uncovered and has a very unusual crucifixion scene. Instead of facing the congregation, a statue of Christ on the cross sits with its back to the church. Surrounding the altar are other statues of people, all facing Christ. This arrangement has some very ominous undertones, and the Catholic Church wants to keep it hush hush. Helping with the restoration of the church is Simon Kirkman, whose family takes Cassie in after his wife Marion hits her with a car. After her accident, Cassie begins having strange and bloody visions. She forms a close bond with the Kirkman's young son, Michael, who is still suffering after his real mother's death and also hears and sees strange things. Cassie soon finds out that the Kirkman's large house used to be a child's home run by the Catholic Church. It was shut down after the clergy were accused of molesting young boys. Simon also discovers some disturbing things about the figures in the church. Are Cassie's visions connected to the old church and the past of the children's home or is Cassie just suffering from a large knock to her noggin'?

From beginning to end, this movie never bored me. The unraveling mystery coupled with the three different stories (of Cassie, of the old church and of the history of the Kirkman estate) had me enthralled the entire time. The picture looks great, with large, sweeping vistas of the English countryside contrasted against the dark and claustrophobic church scenes. The director, Brian Gilbert, crafts some fine scenes of suspense and the actors, including Christina Ricci, all do a great job. My only complaint would be the predictability towards the end of the film and a few muddled plot points.

It's really a pity that this film took so long to be released, as it is quite good, especially compared to all the crap being released. This supernatural thriller reminded me of The Others with a touch of the Da Vinci Code. The figures and visions that Cassie sees, the religious secrecy and the town's dirty secret all made for a thrilling ride and The Gathering is a great way to spend an evening.

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