Book Review: The First Days by Rhiannon Frater

Egads, I thought when I first started Rhiannon Frater’s novel The First Days, another zombie book?? I adore zombies as much as any of my fellow horror loving freaks, but it seems that every other horror fiction I pick up nowadays is zombie-themed. However, I was excited to check out Frater’s first “officially” published novel. Frater has built up a lot of buzz over the past few years by self-publishing her novels online; in fact, The First Days actually started as a serial and garnered quite a devoted following! I am always stoked to find new authors who offer up new visions of horror, and I was ecstatic to discover that The First Days wasn’t any old, run-of-the-mill zombie novel, but instead offered a fresh take on the popular genre.

The First Days starts with a bang…and the rending and tearing of flesh as one bright morning the dead start coming back to life and devouring the living. Two strangers, Katie and Jenni, must band together to escape the suburbs and the horror of their zombified families and flee to the Texan countryside. The horror doesn’t end there, as they must battle the hordes of fast-moving undead to seek safety and shelter with other survivors in a small fortified town.

The First Days offers zombie fans several new aspects to the genre. First, it is set in the wide-open landscape of the hot Texan countryside. The isolated location seems ideal for this apocalyptic tale and despite the sparsely populated towns dotting the landscape, there are plenty of zombies to overwhelm our heroines. Frater also re-tools the zombie characters a bit as well, giving us the frightful notion of fast-moving, highly aggressive (and sometimes cognizant and intelligent) zombies. While this certainly isn’t a new perspective, it’s still nice to see something slightly tweaked that makes for an all-the-more terrifying read.

The most unique aspect of the novel is that it features two female leads (yay!). They are flawed, have their moments of weakness and sometimes even act a little silly (like crushing on a guy during a zombie siege), but they are also strong women who will do anything to protect each other and when zombies (or people who’ve been bitten and therefore infected) need to be put down, they get the job done. I definitely appreciated seeing strong female characters who were developed so well and who I truly came to admire and cheer on. The rest of the characters were also well-developed, and I especially took a special shine to Juan, a cowboy and resident zombie expert who kept bemoaning the fact that the zombies were fast instead of slow like in Romero’s films.

The First Days is the first book in a trilogy that will be released by Tor Books. The second and third installments, Fighting to Survive and Siege, will follow quickly on the heels of First Days’ July 2011 release. However, they cannot be released quickly enough for me, as I am eagerly anticipating Frater’s next two books in the series!

Available on Amazon!

Burning Bright (2010)

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

-from William Blake’s “The Tyger”

The above is an excerpt from one of my favorite poems of all time, so when I heard they were making a film called Burning Bright a few years ago, I was pretty stoked. As time passed and I learned more about the project, things got…interesting. For one, the synopsis had me a little worried; it was basically about a young girl and her younger brother trapped inside a house with a killer tiger during the middle of a hurricane. Pretty silly-sounding, no? Secondly, it never got a proper theatrical release and was unceremoniously dumped on DVD a few weeks back. Another bad sign. However, I decided to give it the old college try anyway. I love tigers, I love Blake’s poem, I love nature-run-amuck films…how bad could it be? Well, while it certainly wasn’t terrible, it also wasn’t grrrrrrreat!

Teenager Kelly (Briana Evigan) is looking forward to attending college and healing from her mother’s recent suicide, but before she goes she must check her autistic younger brother Tom (Charlie Tahan) into a special home where he will be taken care of while she is away at school. One problem…her irresponsible stepfather (Garret Dillahunt) has squandered her savings meant for Tom’s medical care on purchasing a tiger for his planned “Safari Farm”. Kelly is forced to return home with Tom as a hurricane bears down upon their home. The despicable stepfather has other plans on top of spending all her dough, though.  During the night, with the house safely boarded up against the hurricane, he releases the tiger into the house with Kelly and Tom fast asleep upstairs. When Kelly awakens, she finds herself and Tom trapped in the house with a hungry, hungry tiger that hasn’t eaten in two weeks.

Ok, so besides the ludicrous sounding synopsis I was nonetheless intrigued. I mean, at least it wasn’t another remake and was actually trying something new. So starting off I was pretty interested in the film and willing to give it a fair shot. Now, the film had plenty of positives going for it, but I found myself quibbling over  illogical plot points more often than I found myself actually enjoying the action on screen. First, though, let’s get into the positives…

For one, I thought the characters were very well-done. They are developed just enough so that you hate the skeezy stepfather and feel empathy for Kelly and understand her frustration with having to care for tantrum-throwing Tom (“no touch!!”), who is both a burden and a responsibility. The tiger even takes on a personality all its own…though I mostly sympathized with the tiger and thought it was only doing what came naturally since its a-hole of an “owner” didn’t feed it for two weeks.

Speaking of the tiger, yes, a real one (actually, three separate trained tigers) is used…no CGI tigers here. There are a few scenes where the tiger is super-imposed on the background that look fake, but looking fake is definitely better than having a real tiger get hurt crashing through a glass door.

Since this is more of a “cat and mouse” suspense film, there isn’t much blood and no gore, but this film doesn’t need it. Director Carlos Brooks does quite a good job creating tension without needing to use flashy effects or grue.

However, there were so many unbelievable events occurring that I found myself questioning the logic of the script too many times. Perhaps it was a matter of too many cooks in the kitchen, as there were three writers on the film, but the plot holes were annoying no matter what the reason! Now, I’ve seen a ton of positive reviews for Burning Bright, so maybe it’s just me or maybe I was missing something, I just know that I was rolling my eyes way too many times during the film. And it bugs me that I was annoyed so many times because most of the time it was small stuff…but nonetheless these small instances added up fast and affected my overall enjoyment of the film, so I felt they should be noted. For one, Kelly was wandering around the house before she became aware of the tiger. Seriously, if the tiger was hungry it totally could have nabbed her then. Plus, you think the tiger would have heard/smelled Kelly and Tom upstairs while they were sleeping and busted into their rooms then. Later on, Tom is caterwauling as they are trying to hide – why didn’t the tiger go after them then? He could obviously hear them! All the while this was occurring in the early morning hours back at the house, the stepfather was sitting at a bar drinking beer. I don’t know what state the film is set in, but do bars usually open that early? Gah, I’m annoyed that this film makes me seem like a major nitpicker, but seriously all these (and more) nagging questions kept irking me!

If you can ignore the small stuff, Burning Bright is a pretty competently done film. It never really scared me, but it had its tense moments (especially when Kelly is hiding in the laundry chute). While it definitely doesn’t burn as bright as I would have liked it to,  I still think it at least deserves a rental.

Available on Amazon!

Frozen (2010)

I’ve never been a fan of the snow. In all my life I’ve probably been in it just a handful of times. I’ve never been skiing (unless you count that time when I was really young and my parents took me to the Swiss Alps), never been snowboarding and have no desire to do either. Though I live just a few hours from the mountains I’ve never been and have no plans to go. Snow is cold and wet, whereas I would much rather be warm and dry! I can appreciate the majestic snow-capped mountains, but always at a distance, thank you very much! This rant is brought to you by Adam Green’s Frozen, a film that furthers my belief that I should stay as far away from snow as possible!

Frozen is about friends Lynch (Shawn Ashmore) and Walker (Kevin Zegers) and Walker’s girlfriend Parker (Emma Bell) who head up to a ski resort one Sunday. Seeing as they don’t have enough money to pay full price for lift tickets, they bribe a ski lift operator to let them go up the mountain. They spend most of the day on the bunny slopes because it is Parker’s first time snowboarding, which irritates Lynch since the trip is traditionally bros only. As nightfall nears, the trio decides to go on one last decent run, even though the lifts are closing due to a blizzard coming in. The same lift operator grudgingly lets them go up one last time, but because of a miscommunication another lift operator shuts everything down while the trio is stuck halfway up the mountain. When they realize they have been left behind and no one is coming to rescue them, the three friends must go to tremendous lengths to survive the elements…because the resort won’t open back up for another five days.

This film must be given props solely for the fact that it was shot practically – meaning that this wasn’t shot on a studio set but was actually shot in freezing cold temperatures on an actual ski lift that was 50 feet in the air. If you have heard any of director/writer Adam Green’s terrifying tales of the production, you know that this in of itself was a horrifying ordeal! They shot through real blizzards, used real wolves and were really suspended five stories above the ground! For this, both cast and crew are to be applauded, especially since the film looks so great. Green used a cherry-picker type crane to get many amazing shots and luckily the film isn’t just one static shot of the actors in the lift. Instead, it moves around them and keeps things visually interesting.

Also, I know people are bitching about what they would do if stuck in a ski lift (“Dude, why don’t they just jump? It can’t be that high.” or “Why don’t they MacGuyver themselves out of the situation by sliding down the lift cable?”), but in actuality all of these possibilities are explored by the stranded friends and the results are pretty grim. Every little detail is explained so the story becomes very realistic…and therefore very scary. The film is incredibly tense, uncomfortable to watch and features several cringe-worthy scenes (which I won’t spoil here). The three kids are fighters, and do what they can to survive, but with limited options, plummeting temperatures and hungry wolves circling them, they can only do so much to stay alive.

Speaking of the characters, you really get to feel like you know them (perhaps a little too well) and can easily empathize with them. However, I will say that the female character of Parker came off a little too whiny for my liking. I would have liked to see her fight a little more and cry/scream a little less. Despite that, I felt the actors gave amazing performances (and it probably helped that they were actually freezing their asses off and experiencing a lot of what their characters were during the shoot). The bromance between Walker and Lynch was believable, and Walker and Parker were a cute couple. These weren’t the stupid stock characters you’d encounter in some horror films that you want to see die – they were ordinary, run-of-the-mill good kids who found themselves in a horrifying ordeal that you hoped they found a way out of. Unfortunately, they don’t all make it out alive…but the film definitely kept you on your toes guessing who will live and who doesn’t.

Besides Green’s simple-yet-effective story and well-rounded characters, I also enjoyed the humor he infused into the film. At the beginning of the film it is welcome, but he even employs it during some of the more tense scenes. Most of the time the humor worked, but other times it killed the tension and took you out of the moment. There were also some fun cameos throughout the movie – for example, one quick scene features Green himself and buddy Joe Lynch (director of Wrong Turn 2). Kane Hodder (who was stunt coordinator on the film) even makes an appearance as a snow truck driver and Green’s own fiancé, Rileah Vanderbilt, plays a potential love interest of Lynch. Horror fans will notice that even the characters are named after Green’s friends in the horror community. These are cute little perks that I and other horror fans definitely enjoyed!

However, after all that gushing about Frozen, I must admit it has its flaws and I didn’t enjoy it 100%. After the first half of the film, it started to drag a little bit and I wished the characters would start to actually DO something about their predicament rather than trade stories like they were Grandpa from The Simpsons. The film starts to drag a little bit and loses steam, not to mention a few implausible events that just didn’t ring true. After all the realism of the first half of the film, I was disappointed that I had to keep suspending my disbelief more and more as the film neared its end. This isn’t to say that it’s a bad film by any means, but just that towards the end it didn’t grab me as much as it should have.

I still left the theater chilled, though, and extremely grateful for the heater in my car! Frozen might not be perfect, but it was definitely realistic (for the most part) and to all the naysayers wagging their tongues about how such-and-such isn’t possible or so-and-so should have done this – well, I dare them to actually go see the film (or hey, better yet, climb into an actual ski lift during winter and get stuck up there themselves for a few days) before making such remarks. I, for one, know I’ll never again look at a ski lift without trepidation!

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Flicker (2009)

“When all hope is lost, there’s always a flicker.”

This is the basic premise behind the independent horror film, Flicker, for when there is the tiniest bit of hope there is a possibility of a way out from any horrific ordeal.

Of course, the film’s other tagline is “Keep your friends close and your enemy’s shovel”, which shows some of the dark humor that is injected into an otherwise depraved and hallucinagenic journey of survival against the odds.

Flicker is about a weekend camping trip to a small mountain town that goes horribly awry. Pretty (Katy Houska) and her boyfriend Jack (Babak Tafti) wake up in the middle of the night to discover that their friends are missing and have only left behind a bloodied tent. Their horrific journey leads them to discover maniacal cops, homicidal locals and an unforgiving landscape – all which stack the odds against their survival. Somehow, though, Pretty must find a way to cope with the terrifying elements surrounding her and figure out a way to escape the twisted situation.

Flicker is an extremely interesting indie film that stands apart from typical “survival horror” films because of several artistic and creative aspects its story is infused with. First off is the Grand Guignol way the film and Pretty’s mind are introduced. The opening scene features a demon-like announcer, called Pixie (played magnificently by Courtney Bell) on a stage. Her malevolent presence seems to inhabit Pretty’s mind and dreams and her exaggerated painted mouth, makeup and movements make her appear very threatening. Later in the film, Pretty dreams that Pixie is cutting her in half with a massive whirling saw on stage. These scenes give the film a much more whimsical, yet no less menacing, feel. These Lynchian touches really make Flicker stand head and shoulders above most indie horror flicks.

Also on the positive side are all the amazing performances given in Flicker. Kudos to director and writer Aaron Hendren for getting the actors to give it their all! Katy Houska is perfect as Pretty, who starts off as a normal girl but after her harrowing ordeal starts to fray at the edges until she triumphantly is reborn as an ass-kicking machine (and kudos for the actress for shaving her head for part of the role!)! Houska gives a very strong, commanding performance. As mentioned above, I adored Courtney Bell’s performance as the malicious Pixie. Also on the villain side, Kevin R. Elder gave a very eerie performance as the sadistic and sociopathic cop Buck. All of the members of the weirdo family that kidnapped and tortured people by putting them in an itty bitty wood box were phenomenal as well! In fact, there wasn’t one bad performance in the entire film, something a low budget film should be commended on! Plus, you can tell that the cast involved had a lot of fun making the film. There is an adorable lip synch reel that runs through the end credits with most of the cast bloodied up and singing along to the closing song – it’s hilarious and just makes you love the film even more!

For a low-budget film, Flicker looks pretty damn great. Hendren has a great directorial style that really pulls you into the story and his writing makes you care about the characters. The overall look of the film is very crisp, clean and professional and looks close to theatrical quality. There are some truly gorgeous shots of the forest, lake and surrounding countryside. I also loved the grain and color used and even the special FX look realistic and seamless.

My only complaint with the film is that it had a few pacing problems. I think it needed more padding and more going on in the middle, because things got repetitive with watching Pretty stumble through the woods. I also thought that the Pixie character should have been utilized a bit more towards the middle and end, because her character kind of just drops away with no explanation. I also thought the inclusion of another victim, Misty, was unnecessary and most of the action should have focused on Pretty, her boyfriend and their two friends instead of introducing other victims.

However, besides these few flaws I wholeheartedly enjoyed Flicker and loved its odd, hallucinogenic feel. I especially appreciated that filmmaker Aaron Hendren did something different with the whole “survival horror” subgenre and didn’t give us just another Texas Chainsaw Massacre retread. Flicker comes highly recommended!

For more info on Flicker, visit Egg Murders Productions Official Site!

The Canyon (2009)

What comes to mind when you think of the Grand Canyon? Wide, expansive spaces? Majestic views? Awe-inspiring vistas? Certainly fear and/or tragedy isn’t one of the first things you think of (well, I hope not anyway!), but the Grand Canyon has had its share of shocking deaths within its deep walls.

According to Wikipedia, “About 600 deaths have occurred in the Grand Canyon since the 1870s. Some of these deaths occurred as the result of overly zealous photographic endeavors, some were the result of airplane collisions within the canyon, and some visitors drowned in the Colorado River. Many hikers overestimate their fitness level, become dehydrated and confused, and must be rescued.”

The Canyon preys upon people’s fear of being lost in the wilderness and of nature in general. It tells the tale of city slickers and eloped newlyweds Nick (Eion Bailey) and Lori (Yvonne Strahovski) who decide to spend their honeymoon taking a mule ride down to the Grand Canyon’s floor. Problem is, they need a permit and permits have to be booked months in advance. They think all hope is lost, but then they meet weathered tour guide Henry (Will Patton), who promises he can procure the necessary permits and guide them down the Grand Canyon. Things start off well, but when they reach the canyon floor disaster strikes when Henry suffers a nasty fall off his mule and is bitten by rattlesnakes. Without their mules and no way to reach the outside world for help, Nick and Lori must find their way out of the canyon…before it is too late.

I’ll be honest, I was intrigued by the trailers for The Canyon. I thought there was a chance for the film, a take on the nature-run-amuck subgenre, to actually be good. Unfortunately, the film is as bland as vanilla and never pushes boundaries.

The best part of the film, the beautiful setting, is the most fleeting and ill-used. Sure, the characters are constantly surrounded by the towering canyon walls, but the Grand Canyon’s vastness isn’t quite captured. I wish director Richard Harrah and cinematographer Nelson Cragg had tried to make the titular character a bit more menacing and scary. It would have been nice to see the Grand Canyon become a character onto itself, but it became secondary to the other natural horrors experienced by the married couple.

Also, the script by Steve Allrich was painfully generic. The only thing that really stood out was the wily character of Henry (which also yielded the only stand out performance, by Will Patton). The characters of Nick and Lori were boring and I couldn’t really root for them because I knew so little about them. Plus, they make some truly bone-headed decisions (hey, let’s climb this cliff that goes hundreds of feet straight up! Hey, let’s not backtrack our steps but try to find another way out!). And, again, the biggest underdeveloped character was the Grand Canyon itself. It was supposed to be this formidable opponent of the married couple, but it really felt like the film could have been set anywhere and it wouldn’t have made that much of a difference. It really is a pity, because the Grand Canyon definitely has the potential to be formidable, but this film just didn’t capitalize enough on its location.

I kept waiting and waiting for The Canyon to become thrilling, but the moment never came. There were some shocking scenes (including a pretty tense amputation scene), but they never amounted to much. The Canyon is just far too safe and generic for me…and wasted a perfectly frightening setting!

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Book Review: The Werewolf's Guide to Life - A Manual for the Newly Bitten

Lycanthrope lovers rejoice! The new Werewolf’s Guide to Life: A Manual For the Newly Bitten, by Ritch Duncan and Bob Powers, is a quirky, fun and informative “how to” book that horror fans can really sink their claws into!

This manual-style book is written specifically for people who have been bitten by a werewolf and shows step by step not only how to survive, but also thrive as a lycanthrope. Check out the book’s description:

Have you been attacked by a wolflike creature in the last thirty days? Was it after the sun had set and under a full moon? If you answered yes to both of these questions, there’s a very good chance that you were bitten by a werewolf. You now have less than a month before the full moon returns and with it your first transformation into a savage, bloodthirsty beast.

-Werewolves are real.

-The majority of lycanthropes who do not have access to this book die during or shortly after their first transformations, generally due to heart failure, gunshot wounds, exposure, drowning or suicide.

-Hollywood horror movies are NOT to be used as guides to living as a werewolf. Their goal is not to educate but to entertain. As a result, they are largely ignorant of the realities of the conditions.

-Ignorance creates monsters; lycanthropy does not.

-You are not a monster.

The Werewolf’s Guide to Life cuts through the fiction and guides you through your first transformation and beyond, offering indispensable advice on how to tell if you’re really a werewolf, postattack etiquette, breaking the news to your spouse, avoiding government abduction, and how to not just survive but thrive. You cannot afford to not read this book. Your very life depends on it.

The Werewolf’s Guide to Life is a tongue-in-cheek romp that discusses living with lycanthropy. Besides what the description discusses, the book also covers issues such as different werewolf body types (The Big Bad Wolf, The Pug, The Papa Bear and The Lionthrope), tips on your first transformation (take off all rings, including your wedding ring, bring extra clothes, etc.) and even a handy food guide estimating how much food you will need the three nights out of the month when you’re a werewolf. It also explains hairy subjects like dealing with vampires (or, “the effeminate undead” as the authors call them!) and other werewolves, proper restraint systems, building a safe room, romance, health and avoiding doctors, government, police, werewolf hunters and “fur chasers” (people obsessed with werewolves). It even discusses the science behind lycanthropy and why and how it occurs!

Authors Ritch Duncan and Bob Powers have written a very fun (at least for non-lycs; for lycanthropes this is serious business) tome that runs in the vein of horror how-to’s like The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks! The book is an engaging read and very quickly paced, which means you can probably get through it in a few sittings. This is infinitely practical for new lycanthropes that need all the vital information they can get before their next transformation! It also boasts lots of quirky humor, not to mention the vast array of information it covers! If you have a werewolf question, it’s probably answered in The Werewolf’s Guide to Life!

Besides the informative manual-style of the book, it also features some amusing side notes, including “Famous Lycs Through Time” that includes a side box every 20 pages or so featuring people like social activist Rosa Parks, artist Norman Rockwell, comedienne Minnie Pearl, explorer Sir Francis Drake and many more! The book is also beautifully illustrated by Emily Flake, featuring pictures and diagrams that perfectly punctuate the items discussed by the authors.

The Werewolf’s Guide to Life: A Manual For the Newly Bitten is a devilishly delightful read that will have you howling with joy! Not only is it a vital read for lycanthropes out there, but also provides plenty of hair-raising fun for non-lycs as well!

Pick up your copy before the next full moon!

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Live Evil (2009)

Vampire flicks are always a staple in the horror genre, though their popularity tends to go through ups and downs. I’ve always dug vampires, and I’m glad to see that their popularity is on the up-and-up at the moment…and no, I’m not referring to the retch-worthy Twatlight. I’m talking about the great indie flick Thicker Than Water: The Vampire Diaries Part 1, the wondrous Swedish import Let the Right One In and the addicting TV show True Blood. These films and TV show succeed because they put a different spin on vampire mythology to keep it fresh and interesting without watering it down. So, when I heard about Live Evil, a new independent vampire film that dealt with the issue of vampires starving because humans’ blood was becoming increasingly polluted by chemicals, drugs and other impurities, I was eager to check it out.

In Live Evil, the vampire population is struggling to stay alive after humans have slowly but surely been poisoning their bodies with alcohol, drugs, disease, bad food, polluted air and so on. Vampires can only survive on “pure blood”, so getting a good meal is increasingly hard to find. Additionally, since there is so much competition in the food chain vampires have formed clans or gangs that are fighting amongst themselves.

One such group of vampires, including leader Benedict (Mark Hengst), his girlfriend Sydney (Osa Wallander), wig-wearing Baxter (Gregory Lee Kenyon) and feisty Yeal (Eva Derrek), is fighting its way west to Los Angeles to hopefully find some pure blood and hole up with their friend Max (Ken Foree) in Hollywood for a while. Unfortunately for them, a cowboy hat-wearing, samuri-sword wielding, vamp-hunting priest (Tim Thomerson) is hot on their trail. It seems a past incident has left The Priest at odds with these particular bloodsuckers and he aims to wipe every last one of them out.

I wouldn’t call Live Evil one of the best vampire flicks I’ve ever seen, but it does a pretty serviceable job. I especially liked the unique idea of tainted blood that writers Lance Polland and Jay Woelfel came up with. If you think about it, what vamp would want to drink our blood with all the chemicals and pollutants going into our bodies? Also, the story was treated with just enough seriousness but it did have its moments of fun silliness (vampire babies, anyone?) plus some great one-liners (“Goddamn vampire babies…they’re the worst”). Most of the film played it straight, though, and took its time to build its own vampire mythos (for example, most of them can go out into the sunlight).

The only part of the writing I didn’t particularly like was the development of the characters. I guess we are supposed to be rooting for The Priest the entire time, but I found him too blah, even though the writers tried to give him a backstory about his vampiric encounter as a kid. Yet, I didn’t feel any sympathy for him and kept cheering on for the vampires to off the decrepit old dude…sadly, that didn’t happen. I also would have liked to learn more about the individual vampires’ pasts and would have liked to have seen the female vamps with more personality. It feels like most of the girls in the film were put there for just T&A, which is a pretty sad thing in this day and age.

As for the acting, it was a bit shaky at times but you could tell the cast had a blast with the film. I really enjoyed the strong performance Mark Hengst gave as the lead vampire, Benedict. The actor who stole the show, though, was Kimberly Sanders as The Priest’s sidekick, Roxy, whom he picks up in a bar and forces at gunpoint to drive him around, chasing after the vamps. Roxy was a spitfire and reminded me a lot of Tara (Rutina Wesley) from True Blood! The film also features tons of cameos from familiar faces in the horror industry, including Tiffany Shepis and Ken Foree! Keep your eyes peeling during a party scene, because you’ll see lots of regulars from within the horror community!

As for the special effects, this low budget film really impressed me! It has several car chases and car crashes that you usually don’t see in a production this small! Yet, they were impeccably filmed and looked absolutely stellar! Live Evil also features lots of gory moments, but one of the best is towards the beginning of the film when a vamps head is decapitated! Sure, the effects tend to look a bit low budget, but I appreciate the fact that they are all practical and not CGI…plus, they look pretty cool! There are also scenes that are bathed in blood, sure to satisfy your inner Bathory.

Live Evil is a solid indie undertaking with a new twist on the vampire story. While it has its flaws, its interesting twist on “tainted blood” ultimately won me over. It comes out in limited release September 18^th and then on DVD and Video-on-Demand on November 3rd, so get ready to sink your teeth into this vampire tale!

Available from Amazon!

Eden Lake (2008)

Kids today are an awful bunch. Not only are most of them spoiled brats, but they also don’t seem to care for anyone (or anything) except for themselves. Across the world we are seeing their selfish behavior spreading…and even turning violent. It seems that not a week goes by without a news report of a child (or a group of children) shooting someone, stabbing someone or stealing something. How have supposedly innocent children fallen so far? Some people blame parents, while others blame DNA, ADD, violent video games/movies/music or just the environment the kids were raised in.

Well, I for one can’t stand most kids and think people should stop having so many if they can’t properly care for them. How many times have you been to the grocery store and seen an unruly kid causing a scene while their parent pretends nothing is happening? Take responsibility for your spawn, dammit!

The kids in Eden Lake aren’t much different…mouthing off to their elders, stealing things and generally harassing a young couple, Steve (Michael Fassbender) and Jenny (Kelly Reilly), who have decided to trek into the English countryside for the weekend. Steve picks an isolated spot next to a lake that is set to be developed into a sprawling housing community, but he and Jenny find they have company when they trespass on the hang-out spot of the local teens. At first, the kids only annoy them with loud music and their barking Rottweiler, but things soon escalate to the point where Steve and Jenny are fighting for their lives.

First off, after hearing so many good things about Eden Lake, like how brutal and shocking it was, I was stoked to check it out. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I found the film pretty dull, generic and banal. It’s just your standard “survival” horror flick featuring a couple stuck in the middle of nowhere who are terrorized by the locals. Only instead of crazy backwoods hicks after Steve and Jenny it’s just a group of snot-nosed kids. Even then their only real threat is the ragtag group’s sadistic leader, Brett (Jack O’Connell), who bullies his blokes into hunting down and torturing the couple.

The story, written by James Watkins (who also directed) just kinda limps along, staggering towards a finale that you totally see coming. I did like the fact that the ending wasn’t the typical “happy revenge” one, but by then I was too bored to really care. The script just seemed too generic and could have been lifted from previous horror movies (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Just Before Dawn, etc., etc.). The script is also peppered with clichés and I nearly spent the entire time yelling at the screen, “No, stupid, don’t trust HIM!!” or “Don’t run that way!” or “RUN!” The script just felt stale and trite…the only “new” thing with the whole story was the inclusion of the villains being teenagers (this film’s big shtick) – but that just wasn’t enough for me.

There is a fair amount of violence and lots of blood, but I wouldn’t necessarily call Eden Lake a gory film. There are lots of stabbings, beatings, even a child that is lit on fire, with the special FX being quite well done. Still, even a few scenes of shocking violence did little to pique my interest or alleviate my boredom.

I will also say that I did enjoy the direction by James Watkins. The aerial shots over the forest were spectacular and I loved the contrast of colors from the opening scenes (bright and cheery) to the middle and end scenes (dark, muddy colors). Where Watkins fails in the script he (nearly) makes up for in his crisp shots, but it’s just not enough to save the film.

I don’t know what the big fuss over Eden Lake is…to me it is just a run-of-the-mill horror movie that fails to deliver anything new or interesting. I’d recommend it strictly for a rental only.

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Rogue (2008)

Despite my utter hatred for Greg Mclean’s first feature film, Wolf Creek, I was highly anticipating his next film, Rogue. I may have had disdain for the terrible Wolf Creek, but I can’t deny that Mclean certainly has an eye for stunning shots. When Rogue was denied a theatrical release by its studio, Dimension (thereby leaving legions of horror fans scratching their heads), I assumed it just wasn’t worthy enough for theaters. Then, Lionsgate dumped Midnight Meat Train into a few second rate theaters (with rumors that this will also happen with Repo! The Genetic Opera). So apparently it’s now become a fad for major studios to discard their actually good horror films and not give them a theatrical run! Way to go Dimension for starting the trend! Anyways, after watching Rogue I can honestly say that this film did indeed deserve a theatrical run and it’s a pity that fans weren’t able to experience it on the big screen.

In the stunningly rugged Northern Territory of Australia, a group of tourists board a river boat to see the spectacular sights and hopefully catch a glimpse of some killer crocodiles that the Territory is known for. The group consists of a wide range of people, including a family consisting of father, daughter and dying-of-cancer mother, a man who wants to scatter a loved one’s ashes, a photographer, a middle-aged couple and even an American travel writer (Michael Vartan). Leading the river tour is experienced and spunky guide Kate (Radha Mitchell). After lazily drifting down the river and spotting more than a few crocs in action, the tour is nearly over…but after seeing some distress flares Kate decides to follow them. When they finally arrive to where the flare signal came from, there is no one around except for a half-sunken, overturned boat. Uh-oh…

Suddenly, the tour boat is rammed hard from something in the water and pretty soon everyone finds themselves stuck on a small island in the middle of the river. The group quickly figures out that they’ve trespassed on a giant crocodile’s territory and it’ll stop at nothing until all of its prey is dead. With the tide quickly coming in and night approaching fast, the group must figure out how to survive and out-wit the killer crocodile to make it off the rapidly-disappearing island.

Finally horror fans get a chance to catch this killer croc movie, although on DVD instead of in theaters. All I can say is that it is extremely disappointing that this fantastically thrilling film was not given a theatrical release. It is so tense and suspenseful on the small screen that I imagine on the big screen it must be downright terrifying!

The high caliber of Rogue is just remarkable, from the spectacular cinematography to the fantastic acting to the imposing and frightening crocodile. The first 30 minutes of the film play like a loving homage to the Northern Territory and should be used for their tourism board! The vast vistas of the Outback will leave you speechless and yearning to visit Down Under. There are also many great wildlife shots of crocodiles, birds, insects and other animals. The emerald river the river boat drifts down sparkles in the sunlight and contrasts against the high, red cliffs that border it.

And, then, after you’ve been dazzled by all that beauty…POW! Nature strikes! Things take a very hair-raising turn with the brazen killer crocodile stalking the marooned tourists. Not only that, but their safe haven (not much more than a mound of dirt) is quickly disappearing under the rising tide. The great acting by all involved really makes us care for each and every character (very well-developed by writer/director Greg Mclean). Each and every action they take is believable and expected in such a high-stress, life-or-death situation.

As for the crocodile, it looks unbelievably realistic! Director Mclean wisely only gives us quick glimpses of the croc in the beginning, but by the end we’ve seen its entire massive body (as well as more than a few frightening close-ups of its toothy maw) and it still looks amazing! I loved how when we first see the croc it is just a shadow underneath the water and we’re not sure what we’ve just seen until it suddenly strikes. There are also several moments that’ll make you jump out of your skin they are so unexpected, like the first tourist it decides to snack on!

Though this film ratchets up the tension and suspense in a thrilling manner, it doesn’t really have that much gore. We seen a few people get chomped on, but it mostly happens so quickly with the croc and its prey disappearing under water, so we don’t get a whole gory show. We get to see some nasty bite marks, but the film is a little lacking in the gore department. Despite this, it still manages to work extremely well even without copious amounts of blood.

The direction by Greg Mclean is utter perfection. Rogue opens showcasing Australia’s wide open spaces, but once the croc attacks ensue, the scope becomes entirely claustrophobic. This only adds to the fear factor of the film and Mclean pulls it off effortlessly.

One thing I felt could have been done better was the ending. Despite the realism that the first part of the film had, the ending felt kind of fake and hokey. A certain character’s actions just didn’t ring true with me and the finale was a bit unbelievable. Still, if you can overlook that Rogue is a damn fine film and along with killer croc movie Black Water, it is one of the best killer croc features ever made.

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Book Review: Bestial - Werewolf Apocalypse by William D. Carl

Author William D. Carl bursts upon the horror scene with his ferociously non-stop, action-packed debut novel, Bestial: Werewolf Apocalypse. Carl goes straight for the jugular by immersing the reader in a world overrun by werewolves, where a few remaining souls must fight tooth and nail (and fangs) for their very lives.

The book opens in the middle of a turbulent bank heist, but as soon as the full moon comes out people begin to change. Somehow, an experiment has gone wrong and a lycanthropic air borne virus has been unleashed on the populace of Cincinnati. Most people turn into werewolves, but there are a few that are miraculously immune to the virus. A group of unlikely survivors band together to escape from the thousands of bloodthirsty werewolves ravaging the city, but a military quarantine is intent on keeping anyone from leaving the perimeter, infected or not. Can the survivors find a way out of the devastated city before it’s too late?

I was hooked on Bestial: Werewolf Apocalypse from page one! I don’t consider myself much of a werewolf fan (partly because there has been such an absence of good werewolf horror material lately), but finally, William D. Carl has made werewolves scary again! Not only does the fur fly fast and furious in the novel, but Carl actually takes the time to focus on characterization. Each character has a backstory, emotions and feelings, so in a short amount of time you find yourself caring deeply about each character. It’s not hard to cheer on homeless teenager Christian, sassy and strong Chesnya or even thief-with-a-heart-of-gold Rick.

Even the werewolves, though ferocious and frightening, also gained my sympathy. After ripping apart prey all night as werewolves, humans are usually horrified when dawn approaches and they realize they’ve viciously eaten their loved ones. Some embrace their new bestial selves, but most go insane with thoughts of what evil deeds they’d committed the night before. This glimpse of the humanity of the werewolves really adds depth to a book that could have easily been just a rip ‘em up gorefest.

I also enjoyed Carl’s descriptions of a quickly deteriorating society. After the virus outbreak Cincinnati is quarantined from the rest of the world and every man, woman and child, werewolf or human, are on their own. There are no cops, no firemen, no government or order to speak of – it’s everyone for themselves. Though lasting only a short three days and nights of the full moon cycle, this demolishing of “the norm” really affects people quickly and Carl portrays this breaking down of society in devastating detail.

Also devastating is the carnage left behind by the werewolves. Gorehounds won’t be disappointed with the extremely graphic and bloody scenes described by Carl. Not only that, but the tension that Carl creates will keep you on the edge of your seat! One scene in particular where three characters meet – two seek refuge from the werewolves in an armored truck while another tries to escape from a collapsing high-rise building and they all eventually come together – will have you biting your nails in anticipation and suspense!!

Horror fans can’t go wrong with William D. Carl’s Bestial: Werewolf Apocalypse. It’s an action-packed thrill ride that invigorates the werewolf subgenre and isn’t afraid to bare its teeth.

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Book Review: Thunder and Ashes by Z.A. Recht

These days, zombie stories are a dime a dozen. It seems that just about every other horror book out there is about the walking dead. Authors must continually work harder to bring their fans something new and something they can really sink their teeth into.

Amidst all the zombie fiction, Z.A. Recht has unleashed his new installment in the Morningstar Strain series, entitled Thunder and Ashes. Thunder and Ashes is the sequel to Plague of the Dead and picks up three months after the end of the first book.

In this post-apocalyptic tale, most of humanity has been wiped out by the virulent Morningstar Strain, a virus that turns the infected into raging, cannibalistic flesh-eaters and reanimates the dead! Only small groups of survivors remain. One of these is a group of soldiers and civilians lead by General Sherman who is fighting its way across the country to get to Omaha to meet up with Dr. Anna Demillio, who may have the answer to infection.

Besides battling hordes of the undead, they must also fight off raiders who would kill them just for their supplies and a group of rogue government agents who are determined to kidnap Dr. Demillio so they can lay claim to her research for the vaccine.

Thunder and Ashes is a straightforward zombie tale that avoids social commentary or philosophical meanderings for a more direct and visceral approach. It’s a perfect summer read for when you need something that doesn’t require much thought (hey, I mean that in a good way!) and are just looking for some action to fill your time. We are treated to lots of skirmishes, not just with zombies (though those are fun, too) but also with other human beings. There is one passage in particular where the group lead by General Sherman faces off against a bunch of bandits and raiders that reminded me of a good ol’ Western shoot ‘em up!

The gore is also pretty cool throughout. There is everything from bloody zombie attacks to gunshot wounds to bombs going off and so on…All in all, lots of action going on most of the time! I also enjoyed how author Recht used both fast infected (“sprinters”) as well as slow, reanimated zombies (“shamblers”). The threat of the fast infected really added to the suspense and tension of the book!

On the down side, the character development in the book is weak and pretty much most of the characters are interchangeable. The dialogue all sounds the same and each character doesn’t have a strong enough voice to stand out amidst the large cast of characters. Also, the story isn’t that original and suffers a bit from clichés and stereotypical situations.

Still, Thunder and Ashes is an enjoyable and breezy read for zombie fans, even if you aren’t familiar with Recht’s first book in the series, Plague of the Dead. If you want an easy summer read that features plenty of blood and guts, check out Thunder and Ashes.

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Masters of Horror - Incident On and Off a Mountain Road (2005)

From the director of Phantasm and Bubba Ho-Tep, Don Coscarelli, comes this entry into the Masters of Horror series. A seemingly helpless girl is captured by serial killer Moonface, but she is intent on surviving. I enjoyed this movie very much - we are told Ellen's story in flashbacks as she tries to escape from Moonface...seems like she had lots of issues at home. I highly recommend this movie...it has great set design, a cringe-inducing torture machine (watch yer eyeballs!), and good character development.

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