Enter the Dark (2011)

Enter the Dark is a short, 17-minute film from writer/director Todd Miró. To be honest, I was thinking this was going to be another Paranormal Activity-inspired flick, and to some extent it does share a similar style, but surprisingly it isn’t a cheap knock-off, but rather a creepy and effective short film.

Charles (Charles Yoakum) has a problem. There’s something in his house scaring his family and it just won’t leave them alone. They’ve all heard voices, seen dark shapes moving in the shadows, felt that uneasy sensation of being watched. Finally Charles captures something on his audio recorder that proves they’re not all going crazy. He decides to make a stand, enlisting the help of his long-time buddy, Rob (Rob Sandusky), to delve into the mystery of his unwanted guest and hopefully send it on its way. If they can somehow figure out what the entity is and what it wants, maybe they can all finally have some peace.

Rob’s worried about his buddy. He’s been acting really strange lately … well, even stranger than usual. Rob knows that things have been rough for Charles – struggling to make ends meet in a down economy, dealing with the unexplained disappearance of his brother-in-law, Marcus, and now these claims of some ghost harassing his family. Rob is skeptical that there’s anything paranormal going on, but he agrees to help his friend out if only to find out the real nature of the problem.

With the lights out, two friends are led on an adventure of paranormal encounters: cold spots, an eerie children’s book, unexplained apparitions and a final mystery that leads to a disturbing conclusion.

For a low-budget short, Enter the Dark looks polished and professional. The film is shown from multiple perspectives – from the hand-held, night-vision camera the men carry to just a regular “third-person” camera view. I liked how the perspectives switched back and forth from these cameras, keeping the viewer interested and the action tense. I also enjoyed how the majority of the film was lit by either the night-vision on the hand-held camera or a single flashlight. This gave the film a more claustrophobic, and therefore suspenseful, feel. Indie filmmakers should take note, because a high-quality look can be achieved on a budget, and Enter the Dark is a prime example.

The quality of the film isn’t just in the visuals, though. The acting is also top-notch, with actors Charles Yoakum and Rob Sandusky putting on convincing performances. I completely believed them as the two friends and I also really enjoyed their character development in the short. Kudos to the actors and to writer/director Miró for giving us realistic characters that were also nicely fleshed out, all within a very short running time.

The film also has some awesome creepy moments. The whole story starts slow with focus the character development discussed above, but it quickly builds to eerie scenes that lead up to a startling ending. I liked the overall subtle creepiness of the film plus the psychological aspects that were explored.

Enter the Dark is an entertaining, scary and thought-provoking short film that makes me look forward to future projects from writer/director Todd Miró. It is currently scheduled to screen at several film festivals, and I urge you to check it out if you get a chance! You won’t be disappointed…

Visit the film’s official site!

The Possession of David O'Reilly (2010)

After I heard someone call this the film that Paranormal Activity should have been, I knew I had to check it out. I wasn’t too thrilled by Paranormal Activity (I didn’t hate it, I just thought it didn’t live up to its potential), so I was eager for a film that may have done it right.

The Possession of David O’Reilly is a British film about a happy couple that agrees to temporary take in their friend David after he splits from his girlfriend. They soon discover that all isn’t right with David – he is increasingly paranoid, sleepwalks, wakes up screaming and claims to see supernatural entities. As the couple begins to experience unexplainable events themselves, they realize David’s wild claims may have some validity and soon find themselves in a fight for their lives.

Alright, so I may not have liked Paranormal Activity, but I liked this film even less. Whoever said this film is what Paranormal Activity should have been was on crack. This just feels like a cheap knock-off that was poorly made. It starts off promisingly enough, with David showing up ominously on his friends’ doorstep in the middle of the night. His deterioration occurs quickly as he starts hearing strange growlings and prowlings from outside. This was all fine and dandy, but we never seen him pre-crazy, so right off the bat I assumed he was certifiable and everything he saw was fake. Now, I’m not saying if that is how it turns out in the end or not, but just that seed of doubt pretty much made me dismiss the entirety of the film.

Though this film has been compared to Paranormal Activity, it is not all captured on hand-held video cameras from the characters. There is still plenty of shaky cam and shots from the characters’ perspectives, but they are not carrying around camcorders capturing everything. There is a motion-detection security system that the married couple has installed in their home, but though it is highlighted at the beginning of the film it plays a disappointingly small part in the film overall. This is a squandered opportunity in my opinion.

Also, the characters make so many stupid decisions you can’t really cheer them on, but instead cheer for them to die. They could choose to leave the house at any time, but instead remain cooped up inside waiting for the entities to arrive with the darkness. And was the weird sub-plot with the pregnant woman really necessary? It didn’t add anything to the story and when it was revealed who she really was this plot point just kind of disappeared from the rest of the film. It also didn’t seem believable that the married couple just believed David without much proof. If my friend started acting crazy you better believe I’d call the nut house to take them away instead of believing they saw scary monsters in the dark.

I did like that the monstrous entities could only be seen in the dark, but even this plot point was undeveloped. If it wasn’t dark, were they still able to kill in the light? If so, then why not just leave the lights on? I also didn’t like how much we saw of the entities. Less would have been more in this case, no matter how cool they looked.

There was also some very weird editing going on in the film. There are multiple scenes where the music swells dramatically, indicating that we should be seeing something…but the scene is empty of any creepy stuff. I even rewound the film to see if I had missed something in several scenes, but nothing was there. These scenes were so frustrating because instead of delivering scares they deliver absolutely nothing.

The Possession of David O’Reilly had some good ideas, but really failed to use them to make an engaging story. Instead, we get a confusing, messy story that doesn’t live up to any of its potential. Even Paranormal Activity is better than this frustrating film.

Buy it on Amazon!

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!

Boo (2005)

For years I thought I had already seen this flick, but I guess I just got it mixed up with other haunted asylum movies. I expected the film to suck, but surprisingly it was pretty entertaining. Despite the fact that it treads familiar ground, Boo’s writer/director Anthony C. Ferrante mixes things up with various characters, a chilling setting and plenty of spilled blood.

The film opens on Halloween night, where four friends decide to break into a supposedly haunted abandoned mental hospital. Meanwhile, a brother of a girl who disappeared a week ago seeks the help of a cop and they also enter the mental hospital. Once inside, the evil spirit of the asylum, a patient named Jacob (M. Steven Felty), won’t allow the new inhabitants to leave…alive. He proceeds to kill and then possess the intruders one by one…can anyone escape alive?

First off, I love movies set during Halloween! During the first few scenes, Boo has a couple of festive shots including pumpkins, scarecrows and a girl carving a pumpkin. The film keeps up the spooky spirit when characters enter the haunted asylum. I really thought that the decay and shadowy corners gave the asylum a life all its own and it was nice to see a setting used to its full potential.

Surprisingly, this film also had a lot of bloody set pieces! I was quite impressed with the makeup and special FX, especially since this was an independent production. Can you say exploding possessed corpses? That got your attention, didn’t it?!

However, despite the film’s strong first hour, the conclusion kinda tries to pack too much in and ends up backfiring on itself. There was just too much exposition on the background of Jacob (and a nurse, played by Dee Wallace Stone) and too many dumb character decisions. Until the ending, the film had great pacing, but the last 30 or so minutes just get bogged down with too much information. Another negative is that the acting is, at times, kinda iffy.

Despite the negatives, Boo was still a nice surprise and had a pretty engaging story. Give it a rental this Halloween season!

Available from Amazon!

A Whisper in the Dark (1976)

I gotta tell you, I love slow-burning, mysterious ghost stories. The psychological impact of such films leave me wanting more, so I eagerly seek out titles I’m unfamiliar with. Such was the case with A Whisper in the Dark (aka Un Sussurro nel Buio), a 1976 production from Italy.

In this film, a wealthy family is vexed by the existence of Luca, the imaginary friend of their 12-year-old son Martino. Mother Camilla is affected the most, so much that her nerves are shot. It doesn’t help that she has two bratty daughters, or that her mother, The Countess, is visiting the mansion and her husband is a philandering fool. However, everyone soon begins to fear Martino and his imaginary friend Luca.

Why you ask? Well, it seems that anyone who has anything bad to say about Luca or Martino has something bad befall them. For example, when his sisters play a trick on him, Martino tells them Luca will get back at them. That afternoon, the sisters are to attend a party but it starts pouring rain. Even when they try to attend, their car gets a flat tire. In another instance, Martino discovers his father is having an affair and the adulteress is scared away by a toad placed in her bath.

Pretty tame stuff, but it spooks the family enough that they bring in an “expert” to analyze Martino. When the professor threatens to take Martino away he mysteriously dies. Are all these instances mere coincidence or does Luca really exist?

A Whisper in the Dark starts off very strong. It has the creepy atmosphere of the surrounding countryside and forest, plus the foreboding mansion that lend it much gothic beauty. Then there are some spooky scenes, including Martino “interacting” with Luca, an artful shot of a lone red balloon floating through the gardens, the light sound of a child laughing, a swing swinging on its own, a weirdly unsettling kid’s costume party and a very effective scene where Camilla is kissed by invisible lips.

There is no doubt that the film is beautiful, lushly shot by director Marcello Aliprandi and cinematographer Claudio Cirillo (who actually plays a detective in the film and also does a cute intro before the film!). However, the film never really goes anywhere and the creepy scenes are far and in-between. Mostly we see the family interacting (dear lord those sisters are grating! If I was Luca I would have gotten rid of them long ago) instead of any real ghostly activity. And the fact that there is only one death was pretty disheartening. Of course, since the film is so ambiguous this is supposed to make us question if Luca really exists or if everything is just unhappy circumstance, but for me this wasn’t enough.

While I enjoyed the psychological games the film played with the audience, I just wish a little bit more had been done to scare the audience instead of puzzle them. The ending gives no resolution, but repeats a similar pattern of Martino telling everyone that Luca prefers peach jam on his toast, not plum (yes, a table setting and food is laid out for the invisible Luca). Previous to this scene is a bizarre dream-like sequence where Camilla decides to take care of Luca’s ghost (since he may be her own miscarried child) for herself and through fog and snow leads him out of the mansion’s gates. The next morning she wakes up on the muddy ground (sans snow or fog) and finds Luca back to his old tricks at the breakfast table. So much for resolution…

A Whisper in the Dark is a film I desperately wanted to love. Ghost stories are my absolute fave and the right ones send a delightful shiver down my back, but this film only left me mildly interested. While it is a beautiful film and has its unsettling moments, more should have been done with it. If you are like me and like subtle, atmospheric horror it does deserve at least a look, though!

Available from Amazon!

Death of a Ghost Hunter (2008)

Ever since The Blair Witch Project there have been a plethora of “found footage” faux documentaries. Some are good while others are just groan-worthy. Can you guess which category Death of a Ghost Hunter falls into?

Death of a Ghost Hunter is about paranormal investigator Carter Simms (Patti Tindall) investigating a supposedly haunted house. The history of the house is that an entire family was slaughtered there, including husband, young son and daughter. Supposedly, when the mother discovered them all dead she blew her brains out because she couldn’t deal with their deaths. There have been reports of a haunting ever since this tragedy. The owner of the house, who has never lived there himself, tells Carter she will be joined by a few other people to help her document anything that occurs.

I wasn’t expecting much out of this movie, but the first half hour or so was actually pretty promising. We found out the whole cursed history of the house and one of the investigators (a 20-something church girl who was there to ensure the dead were “honored”) becomes especially affected by the surroundings. There is also a very creepy moment where the investigators discover something in their footage (a little hand gripping a doorframe and a small head slowly peering around – ya, it’s on the DVD cover) that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end!

However, this was the ONLY scary part of the film and the rest just went downhill from there. The other “ghostly” appearances were too obvious and the special FX looked lame. The best films make you believe something is there but either don’t show it or only show a peek, but in most of Death of a Ghost Hunter they show too much and it ruins the tense mood of the first part of the film.

Also ruining the mood were the many plot holes and plot inconsistencies. When the investigators found a bunch of incriminating photos I practically threw up my hands and said, “Right. Like the police wouldn’t have found those!” Or how the police couldn’t have figured out the killer from all the forensic evidence.

When the mood is ruined for the rest of the film I pretty much stopped caring about the characters. I thought the actors all gave okay performances, but their characters were written just kinda blah. A huge backstory wasn’t necessarily needed, but something that would make the audience relate to them would have been nice and perhaps make us care for them more.

To top it all off, the “finale” dragged on for far too long and really should have ended with the death of a ghost hunter (I’m not giving anything away, it’s all there in the title!). Instead, it was drawn out for another 20 minutes or so (all I know is that it felt like FOR-evvvver!). At this point I just wanted the movie to end, but it just kept going and going and going…

I will say that the “Jesus box” (a huge box with crucifixes all over it that is worn over the head and has an eyehole to see out of) used throughout the film and prominently in the end was pretty creepy.  However, that and the previous scare I mentioned do not make a good movie all on their own. This film was just riddled with too many pacing, storyline, character and mood problems to call it a good (or even okay) film. I understand the limitations of plot, but if they had stayed away from the cheesy ghost visuals (with the exception of that first scare) and beefed up their story a little bit and shortened the ending I think it would have made a much better film. As it stands, though, Death of a Ghost Hunter is a weak entry into the faux documentary subgenre.

Available from Amazon!

Book Review: Pay Phone by Brandon Ford

In Pay Phone, Brandon Ford’s (author of Splattered Beauty) newest novel, charming serial killer Jake stalks victims from his tenement, calling a pay phone he can see from his isolated apartment and luring victims up where they meet their grisly deaths. Jake may be a charismatic and handsome young man, but he is haunted and tormented by the voice of a mysterious woman named Susan.

One morning Jake spies a very special victim from his perch…one who looks almost exactly like Susan. Amazingly, she answers “his” pay phone and the two strike up a conversation. Jake learns her name is Chelsea and she is a struggling actress trying to make it in the big city. Jake thinks this one is different and that she may be able to stop him from his murderous ways, but Susan’s voice whispering in his head tells him different.

Pay Phone is a quick, easy and suspenseful read from indie author Brandon Ford. The characters, from the twisted Jake to innocent Chelsea to greasy landlord Ackley to Chelsea’s bitchy roommate Haley, are all fleshed out and given ample background, though this isn’t always necessary. For example, there is a sub-plot about Haley trying to sleep her way to the top of her company that doesn’t quite fit. Though Ford goes to great lengths to describe her anguish, her chunk of the story seems unjustified considering her abrupt leave of the story. However, it’s not like Haley’s subplot took anything away from the meat of Pay Phone, and her feelings of isolation, frustration and disappointment mirrored all of the other characters’ feelings and fit the tone of the book.

I also enjoyed all of the shocking and perverse revelations about Jake, his relationship with Susan and the grisly way he dispatches of victims. There are some very gory, explicit descriptions throughout the book, including necrophilia, which are sure to satisfy gorehounds and extreme fiction readers alike!

The pacing of the novel is quick, and Ford has the ability to suck you into the story and make you want to keep reading all the way through. The character of Jake is oddly likable, despite all the horrific things he does, and you just don’t want to stop reading about this psycho. Though there are some instances in the plot that aren’t entirely believable (it’s very convenient that Chelsea decides to pick up the pay phone – and who in their right mind would actually pick up a germ-infested pay phone? Ick!), but because of the breezy nature of the novel I was able to overlook the inconsistencies of the plot and just have fun.

If you are looking for a disturbing but quick horror read this summer, look no further than Brandon Ford’s Pay Phone…just don’t pick up if you ever hear a pay phone ringing; you never know who is on the other end!

Available from Amazon!

Red Mist (2008)

After loving Paddy Breathnach’s hallucinogenic and freaky Shrooms, I was excited to check out Red Mist, another film from the Irish director. In Shrooms, Breathnach combined many different horror tropes to create a very inventive and visually stylish film, something I hoped would be replicated in Red Mist. Breathnach does use familiar horror scenarios in Mist, but they are so cliché that the film is just a bore to sit through.

The story is about some stereotypical med students (the good girl, the goth, the bookworm, the asshole, the rich girl, the sensitive guy, etc.) who apparently think they are all still in high school because they pick on socially awkward stutterer Kenneth (Andrew Lee Potts). As in most horror films of this ilk, a prank goes horribly wrong and dear old Kenny ends up on a coma. No one wants to implicate themselves, so they decide to keep the secret within the group and not tell the police or hospital staff. The only one who seems upset over this decision and the overall situation is good girl Catherine (Arielle Kebbel), who feels somewhat responsible since Kenneth had a crush on her. She secretly pumps Kenneth full of experimental drugs that she hopes will pull him out of his coma…unfortunately all that awakens is Ken’s spirit and it’s out for revenge! Kenneth’s spirit begins taking over bodies and killing off the group one by one as payback for leaving him in a coma. Can Catherine stop Kenneth before she’s next?

I really wanted to like this movie since it was directed by Paddy Breathnach, but the more I think about it the more I dislike it. It just felt so generic and predictable, not to mention how silly the premise was. I mean, a coma patient’s spirit possessing others’ bodies and killing people for revenge? Really??? The story just kinda plodded along, and while the direction was competent the film just couldn’t keep my interest, especially with some gaping plot holes (since when can med students pick up any drugs they fancy in the hospital pharmacy?). The film tries to combine elements of a slasher movie, medical drama and possession tale but here the combo just doesn’t work. While the clever combination of sub-genres worked in Breathnach’s Shrooms, here it just feels trite and lazy.

Besides the snooze-worthy story, the characters are pretty unlikable. They try to give Kenneth a tragic backstory, but it never really goes anywhere and the opening scenes (which are quite horrifying and effective) are never really referenced again in the film. Plus, all of the other characters are stereotypes and even the final girl Catherine is bland, so there is really no one to truly root for. The acting varies from grating to annoying to tolerable, so it’s not like the actors make their characters any more likable.

To top it off, none of the deaths are memorable. One girl gets her head slammed multiple times in a car door, another gets her wrists slit open, one slams her head repeatedly against a mirror and stabs herself, a dude gets seduced and then gets Drain-O poured down his gullet, yada, yada, yada. Nothing to write home about.

The only positive thing about the film was the direction, which creates a surprisingly claustrophobic feel in such sprawling hospital. The lighting, believe it or not, is also very well done and while it’s not something I talk about in every film review I believe it bears mention here. However, technical details will not save a doomed film, and the fact still remains that there are better, more entertaining films out there besides Red Mist. Shrooms, for example!

Red Mist was a disappointing effort from director Paddy Breathnach. It’s just plain boring, too cliché and its premise is silly (but not in a good way). Furthermore it has shoddy character development and the acting isn’t what you would call Oscar worthy. It may have nice direction and technical details, but those alone don’t make a memorable film and already Red Mist is dissipating from my memory. Skip it.

Available from Amazon!

Fugue (2010)

After viewing director Barbara Stepansky’s film tense psychological film Hurt last winter, I was excited to check out her newest effort, Fugue, which promised another psychological storyline, only this one included the possibility of the supernatural.

Fugue’s premise is based upon a rare disorder called a fugue state or dissociative fugue, which according to Wikipedia is “characterized by reversible amnesia for personal identity, including the memories, personality and other identifying characteristics of individuality. The state is usually short-lived (hours to days), but can last months or longer.”

Fugue begins with Charlotte (Abigail Mittel) moving into a new house with her older, college professor boyfriend Howard (Richard Gunn). Charlotte has just suffered an accident that is barely hinted at, but that’s okay because she and Howard are trying for a baby and seem happy for their new start. However, it’s not long before Charlotte begins to sense a malevolent presence in the house and begins seeing visions of a threatening black-haired woman. She comes to suspect that something horrible happened in the house, and is determined to find out what…but at what cost?

I wasn’t as impressed with Fugue as I was with Hurt, but that doesn’t mean it was necessarily a bad movie. On the contrary, it boasted a story with plenty of twists and turns, excellent acting and even a few disconcerting scares.

The story’s details felt unique, even if the whole “is she crazy or isn’t she” angle seems overplayed. Luckily, writer Matt Harry balances out these clichés with plenty of surprises. In fact, I enjoyed how Fugue messed with your head, and just when you thought you had it all figured out it threw you for a loop and took the story in an entirely different direction. However, the story also tended to drag in places and didn’t quite grab my attention from the start. The film’s saving graces were its unexpected twists and turns as well as a bloody finale, which turned it from typical psychological thriller to something much more engrossing.

Also superb were the performances by all involved, but especially Abigail Mittel as Charlotte. Mittel made her character believable and likable (perhaps even when she shouldn’t have been), and I found myself rooting for her the whole time. I also thought Richard Gunn did a fine job as her boyfriend, who patiently endured or tried to explain away Charlotte’s ghostly visions.

The direction by Stepansky really captured the claustrophobic feel of the house and surrounding garden terraces. It made you feel boxed in and trapped, adding even more tension to the film. While the film was more a thriller than anything else, Stepansky included several nice scares and disturbing scenes. The ghost haunting Charlotte looked marvelous with a few simple effects of blurring out her eyes and mouth. Plus, the action scenes near the end really wake the film up and were filmed in such a way that they really put you in the moment.

My biggest complaint of the film probably won’t affect its official release at all, but I think it’s worth mentioning that the audio levels were absolutely awful and I couldn’t understand about half of the dialogue. Why you ask? Throughout the ENTIRE film there is an annoying music track that drowns out the dialogue. The constant music ruins the mood of the film instead of enhancing it. The film would have greatly benefited from less music and more silence, or at least have balanced audio levels. One minute I was cranking up the audio to hear dialogue, the next turning it wayyyy down so I wouldn’t have to hear the repetitive music. I think the fugue that Charlotte plays on the piano and keeps humming would have sufficed for music as opposed to the tiresome score used throughout the film. I hope this is an issue they resolve before released Fugue to the public, because this grating annoyance made it difficult to sit through.

Despite that and a few pacing problems, Fugue was a low-key indie thriller that kept me on my toes with its twists and turns. If you happen to see it at a film festival and enjoy slow-burning thrillers don’t pass it up!

For more info, visit Fugue’s Official Site!

Golden Earrings (2010)

Golden Earrings is the debut feature-length film from first-time filmmaker Marion Kerr. I had been looking forward to Golden Earrings ever since I heard that it would be screening at Dances with Films Festival this June. As a strong supporter of seeing more women in horror, especially behind the camera, I was pleased as punch to see that Kerr not only handled both writing and directing duties in the film, but also starred in it! That is the kind of hardworking filmmaker I like to see in indie films! Not only that, but the film is very well done!

One night, a group of L.A. friends gather in an apartment to send off their friend Sara (played by writer/director Marion Kerr). Sara is heading to her parents’ house for the weekend after having a nasty fight with her boyfriend. Her best friend and roommate, Ronnie (Julia Marchese), is especially concerned for Sara, but everyone convinces her Sara is fine and not to worry. Sara leaves and Ronnie along with friends Fay (Lauren Mora), Julian (John T. Woods), Jack (Teddy Goldsmith) and Alex (Anthony Dimaano) continue to hang out.

Later that evening, Ronnie convinces everyone to mess around with a Ouija board, but they appear to make contact with a spirit that died that very evening in a car crash named S-A-R…well, Ronnie chucks the Ouija board before the spirit can finish spelling, but you get the idea. Everyone is understandably upset, most of all Ronnie, who insists that someone is playing a trick and kicks everyone out after they deny any involvement.

The next day, Sara’s mother calls saying Sara never showed up at home and can’t be reached on her cell. Over the next few days, Sara’s friends are fraught with worry, wondering what could have happened. Hit hardest is Ronnie, who slowly comes undone when she considers the possibility that Sara might be gone forever.

Eventually Ronnie starts to experience supernatural elements in the apartment. An old record plays in Sara’s room, objects move, doors close, drawers open…all signifying to Ronnie that Sara has returned to the apartment.

Golden Earrings is more of a drama/thriller film than straight-up horror, but it is a very nuanced, “grown-up” film. Watching it, it’s hard to believe that this is Kerr’s first film since everything is so tight and focused. It looks absolutely fantastic and immediately sucked me into its story.

The first things that really struck me were the stellar acting and writing. When we first meet the group of friends the dialogue is playful and witty, really drawing us into the story and making us care for the characters. Additionally, this engaging writing is coupled with some amazingly realistic performances by all involved. THESE are the kind of actors indie productions should strive to use! Each and every one of the actors was very natural, very believable and very likable. Of extra special mention is Julia Marchese as Ronnie. She gives an awe-inspiring performance as Ronnie. Her character not only faces jealousy, love, loss, alienation, loneliness and guilt, but she also faces being haunted and friends who simply doubt her and blame her “visions” on her ego. Marchese lets all these tumultuous emotions and experiences express themselves in her body language and facial expressions, but has the ability to reign them in, resulting in a nuanced performance instead of one that’s over the top. Her performance is subtle, but so good that you can see her character’s cracks and manic energy just starting to surface in the beginning of the film. When her emotions let loose it is an intense experience, resulting in a lot of suspense for the rest of the film.

I also enjoyed the film’s story. Even though Kerr opens the film with a dialogue-heavy scene and nothing much happens for the first 30 minutes, I was still enthralled by the likable characters and clever dialogue. Good writing really goes a long way, remember that indie filmmakers! Once the film picks up steam, Kerr adds some surprising twists and turns that not only make sense but also add even more depth to the film. The film may start off as straightforward, but the ending certainly threw me for a loop!

I also appreciated how Kerr kept it simple effects-wise. The haunting scenes were appropriately creepy without having to resort to cheap gimmicks, tons of fake-looking CGI or cheesy special FX makeup that would have taken away from the sophisticated feel of the story. Keeping it simple certainly proved effective and added to the overall “grown-up” feel of this psychological thriller.

My only tiny complaint is that some of the camerawork is a bit amateurish. This only happens in the first few scenes of the film, though, when some shots are a little wobbly, but thankfully doesn’t happen for most of the film. I also thought the name of the film was a bit mystifying (unless I missed something in the film alluding to the significance of “golden earrings”…anyone want to enlighten me?). However, neither of these small quibbles affected my overall enjoyment of the intense experience that was Marion Kerr’s Golden Earrings.

This is how indie filmmaking SHOULD be done!

Visit Golden Earrings’ Official Site!

Shock (1977)

Shock was legendary director Mario Bava’s final film before his death. That right there should be enough reason to get anyone to check this film out, but luckily it’s also a fine film that lives up to its title!

Shock is about a family – Dora (Daria Nicolodi), her son Marco (David Colin Jr.) and new husband Bruno (John Steiner) – who move into the old house Dora shared with her first husband/baby-daddy Carlo (Nicola Salerno). It seems that dear old Carlo was an unstable piano player and died under mysterious circumstances, leaving Dora very traumatized. When Dora and her new family settles into the house, strange things start to occur – furniture moves of its own free will, Dora suffers intense nightmares and little Marco starts to behave rather oddly. Is the move back to the house causing Dora to go a little mad or has Carlo come back from the grave to torment his ex-wife?

Surprisingly, I had never seen Shock before (I don’t know how it slipped by me since I’m a huge Bava fan!), but I’m so very glad I finally got around to watching it because Shock was everything I was hoping it to be! It is full of creepiness, scares, and yes, even shocks!

I loved how it blended the is-she-crazy-or-isn’t-she storyline along with the supernatural/haunted house theme AND the creepy kid bit. Not only that, but it blended these different sub-genres successfully. The film flowed smoothly and all these different storylines fit together very well.

There were also some truly memorable scenes, including one where a rotting hand strokes Dora’s cheek as she sleeps, some disturbing sexual advances young Marco makes towards his mommy, a nice scare involving a rotting hand bursting through the grass, razors hidden between piano keys, a basement that leaks blood and so on. The evocative score also helped build a sense of dread, as did the forebodingly dark lighting throughout the film. Even when the action is set outside a dreary pallor hangs over the film, echoing Dora’s fragile state.

The action was primarily focused on Dora and Marco (hubby Bruno is a pilot, so he was usually away for days at a time), which in the hands of lesser director might get boring In Shock this is certainly not the case and my eyes were glued to the screen watching as Dora spiraled into a hysterical state and things became progressively worse in the household. It also really kept me guessing and the conclusion, which is carefully hinted at, was extremely satisfying, ending on a decidedly downbeat tone. Acknowledgement should also be given to actors Daria Nicolodi (a fan favorite in Italian/Euro horror), David Colin Jr. and John Steiner. Had there performances not been up to par they really would have dragged the film down, but luckily they were all at the top of their game. Nicolodi and Colin Jr. must especially be recognized since, as mentioned above, they were the main focus of the film. Nicolodi was excellent as the caring but unstable mother and Colin Jr. was downright creepy (and a little bit sleazy) as the young son. Really impressive acting from Colin Jr., especially considering his young age!

Shock kind of lacks Bava’s visual flair from earlier films, but that doesn’t make it any less effective. As a modern haunted house/ghost story the austere visuals work quite well and I think any kind of flashy visuals would have taken away from the story. Plus, there are plenty of memorable scenes (those mentioned above, as well as many more) without the need for Bava’s typical gothic and/or over the top stylings.

Shock may not be Mario Bava’s most sophisticated work, but it definitely is a film that creates a sense of creeping uneasiness that is extremely effective. And you just can’t go wrong with flying razors and a kid possessed by his own dad putting the moves on his mom!

Available from Amazon!

After Dark Horrorfest 4 - All 8 Films to Die For Reviewed (2010)

I finally got around to checking out all of After Dark Horrorfest’s “8 Films to Die For” since they were only in theaters for two seconds!

I don’t feel like writing a lengthy review for each film, so I’m going to do a quickie review of each and list them from best to worst.

Note: All synopsis are courtesy of Netflix. Yeah, I’m lazy like that sometimes.

1.) Hidden (aka Skjult)- Kai Koss (Kristoffer Joner) returns to his family’s eerie woodland estate and makes plans to sell the house, hoping to put the memories of his tragic childhood behind him. But a presence even more wicked than his abusive mother has taken up residence in the place. Pål Øie (Dark Woods) writes and directs this atmospheric horror flick from Norway. Karin Park, Arthur Berning and Bjarte Hjelmeland co-star.

Definitely the best of the bunch, Hidden’s atmospheric story was intriguing, mysterious, and, best of all, scary! The psychological thriller is methodically paced and offers plenty of twists and turns. It is also gorgeous to look at (the creepy house, the weird, woodland-themed hotel, the eerie woods)! I also enjoyed how it is a mixture of haunted house/ghost/serial killer/slasher themes and makes you think. If you like subtle horror that slowly gets under your skin, Hidden is for you!

2.) Lake Mungo – When a series of inexplicable supernatural events strikes their home, Russell (David Pledger) and June (Rosie Traynor) Palmer try to figure out exactly what is behind the tragic drowning death of Alice (Talia Zucker), their 16-year-old daughter. A psychic (Steve Jodrell) might be able to help them. Joel Anderson writes and directs this psychological thriller; Martin Sharpe, Scott Terrill and Tamara Donnellan co-star.

Another methodically paced spookfest, Lake Mungo plays like a faux docu-drama where family members, police, doctors, neighbors, etc. are interviewed about the drowning death of Alice and subsequent home video is shown that appears to capture Alice’s ghost. The spook-factor comes from the fact that this film feels so real and offers some definitively creepy grainy video evidence of a haunting. The film loses some steam after a twist towards the middle, but the creepy images will haunt you for days!

3.) The Graves – When sisters Megan (Clare Grant) and Abby (Jillian Murray) Graves go on a road trip before recent college graduate Megan starts a job in New York, their fun search for a silly roadside attraction turns into a nightmare after they stumble into evil Skull City. The supernatural residents of this abandoned mine town like to rip out visitors’ souls, and after Megan is badly wounded, Abby must fight to save them both in this bloody spine-chiller.

While the two previous films are subtle and psychological horror, The Graves is straight up survival horror as Megan and Abby try to survive the nasty residents of a former mining town. This is a fast-paced and entertaining film, especially since the two lead female characters are so strong and a joy to root for. However, it does become a bit repetitive after a while (they keep running and hiding) and it would have been nice if the townsfolk were a bit more developed. However, it’s a fun flick that doesn’t disappoint!

4.) Kill Theory – A celebratory vacation turns into a nightmare for a group of recent college graduates when a sadistic sociopath forces them into a horrific game: They must kill each other off until only one survivor remains. As tensions grow and the murders begin, relationships falter and new alliances are formed. Chris Moore directs this gory slasher flick that stars Agnes Bruckner, Taryn Manning and Patrick Flueger.

Though this sounds like a stereotypical slasher, it actually has some tricks up its sleeves and turned out to be pretty entertaining. It has an interesting premise that it follows through with until the end and even throws us for a loop with a nice twist! It does have its “meh” moments, but overall Kill Theory turned out a lot better than I expected it to.

5.) Dread – Assisted by two naïve classmates, duplicitous Quaid (Shaun Evans) conducts a devious research project examining students’ innermost fears. Once armed with data, Quaid methodically torments his hapless subjects, taking full advantage of their weaknesses. Adapted from a short story by Clive Barker, writer-director Anthony DiBlasi’s horror movie offers a potent mixture of heart-pounding thrills and extreme violence. Jackson Rathbone co-stars.

I was really looking forward to this film, especially since it was adapted from a Clive Barker story. However, I found it kind of boring and meandering. I lost interest in the film pretty quickly and was disappointed in its predictable story and ending. However, I will say that it has one of the best (worst?) scenes of torturing a vegetarian ever! The vegetarian is locked in a room and will starve unless she eats a hunk of groddy meat left in her cell. As a vegan, this scene definitely skeeved me out! However, that was the only scene that really “got” me…the rest of the film was pretty blah.

6.) The Final – Dane (Marc Donato), an unpopular high school student, leads a group of outcasts seeking revenge on the popular kids who harassed and humiliated them for years — and their plan includes gruesome forms of torture learned in history class and horror films. Confining the bullies at the remote house Dane inherited, the outcasts turn the tables and subject their victims to a night of grisly treatment in this gory horror flick.

Ya know, this film didn’t start out so bad, but after a while it just felt like a high school version of Saw. It definitely needed more character development of both the popular (victims) and unpopular (killers) kids. It really went downhill when the characters we are supposed to identify with, the unpopular kids, turn into the bad guys and start killing indiscriminately. When that happened I didn’t have anyone to root for or identify with so I was pretty ambivalent for the rest of the film. The set-up of the costume party to get revenge on the popular kids was pretty clever, though, and made for some great scenes! Too bad it went downhill after about 30 – 45 minutes. FAIL!

7.) Zombies of Mass Destruction (ZMD) – When flesh-eating zombies assault their idyllic town, a ragtag group of locals — including gay couple Tom (Doug Fahl) and Lance (Cooper Hopkins), Iranian American college student Frida (Janette Armand) and conservative Rev. Haggis (Bill Johns) — join forces to repel the brutal onslaught. Set in a paranoid post-9/11 America, this nerve-racking horror movie offers witty social satire as well as an abundance of blood and guts.

I just could not get into this movie and was bored all the way through. I don’t know what it was but it didn’t engage me at all. It just felt like any other zombie movie except with two gay dudes in it. I guess I was expecting it to be funnier or something, but I can hardly remember this film at all. Pass.

8.) The Reeds – When a group of London friends boating through Norfolk Broads takes a wrong turn in the dense, reedy waters, they find themselves haunted by a terrifying and ancient evil in this eerie spine chiller directed by Nick Cohen. It soon becomes apparent that they’re no match for the malevolent forces that lurk in the vast waterway. Eli Marienthal, Scarlett Alice Johnson, Geoff Bell and Emma Catherwood star.

The bottom of the barrel is The Reeds, which just feels unoriginal and that you’ve  seen the same movie 100 times before. It boasts a few gross-out/spooky scenes (the scenes of the burned dog were sick), but overall the story is just weak and didn’t keep my interest. Even the “twist” at the end was predictable. I think I even started doing chores while this was on because I was so bored. Definitely pass!

Order the box set on Amazon!

Shutter Island (2010)

From the previews, Shutter Island looked like another slam dunk for legendary director Martin Scorsese. It looked like it was chock full of chills and thrills, from the surreal sequence of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character holding a woman who turns to ash to the foreboding look of the island itself. It continues to top the box office and even the reviews for it have been mostly positive.

However, I wasn’t too terribly impressed with this ho-hum thriller.

It’s 1954 and U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonard DiCaprio) arrives on the high security Shutter Island, home of some of the most criminally insane patients in the U.S., to investigate the disappearance of a female patient with his new partner, Chuck (Mark Ruffalo).

As Teddy and Chuck get deeper and deeper into their investigation, twists and turns appear around every corner. The man who caused Teddy’s wife’s death is supposedly a patient at the institution, there appears to be some mad Nazi-like experimentation going on with the prisoners, a mysterious lighthouse stands guarded day and night, the missing woman either vanished into thin air or had help, and the patients seem to be cooperating with the doctors to hide something from the Marshals. Through all this, Teddy has nightmares about his wife as her death haunts him.

As Teddy uncovers more secrets, he starts to believe that there is a conspiracy afoot and starts to believe he will never make it off the island.

I had been looking forward to Shutter Island ever since I first heard about it, but after seeing it I can say I expected a little more from it. I’m not saying it’s a terrible film by any means, but if you can guess the big twist just minutes into the movie, it’s safe to say it has some flaws.

Before we get to the flaws, though, let’s discuss its merits. The first thing I enjoyed was the woefully gloomy atmosphere. From the dilapidated cells of the institution to the constant stormy weather (oh ya, they experience a hurricane) and grey surf that pounds the rocky island and drab clothing of the nurses and orderlies, the film just gives off a dismal feeling. And the cinematography – from the dizzying heights of the high rocky cliffs to the claustrophobic cells of the institution – is breathtaking.

However, no matter how pretty it looks the film starts to drag after the first hour or so. There also aren’t very many “scary” instances, though there are quite a few horrifying ones. One occurs when Teddy sees an old woman with only a few clumps of hair on her head as he arrives to the institution (see preview). There are a few other startling patients Teddy has encounters with, but not many. And if you hope to see more scenes like the one where his wife turns to ash in his arms (as seen in the preview) you can probably forget about it – the main focus of the film is Teddy and his partner digging for clues in the rain as to the whereabouts of the missing patient, and later, what the institution is hiding.

While Shutter Island wasn’t a bad film, I was expecting something a bit more complex and interesting from a Scorsese “psychological thriller”. Yet, Shutter Island didn’t really thrill me and I left the theater thinking “meh”. Am I glad I saw it? Sure, but would I ever want to see it again? Probably not.

Available from Amazon!

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!

Diagnosis: Death (2009)

The big selling point of Diagnosis: Death is that it features the trio from cult comedy show Flight of the Conchords (Bret McKenzie, Rhys Darby and Jemaine Clement) but fans of the show shouldn’t get too excited…each are only in the film for less than a few scenes and none of them play pivotal characters.

Perhaps a better selling point for horror fans is that the official synopsis compares it to Peter Jackson’s early films like Dead Alive and Bad Taste…too bad Diagnosis: Death doesn’t remotely live up to this comparison. Perhaps a more precise title of the film would have been Diagnosis: Zzzzzzzzz, because it nearly put me to sleep.

Teacher Andre (Raybon Kan) and student Juliet (Jessica Grace Smith), both with terminal disease, are both undergoing experimental treatments at a drug-testing facility, lead by the Nurse Ratchet-type Nurse Margaret Bates (Suze Tye). A side effect of the drug is hallucinations, but when both Andre and Juliet start experiencing the same sinister visions of a horrific double murder that may have occurred at the facility, they decide to get to the bottom of the mystery…even if it threatens their lives.

Diagnosis: Death does have its moments of laugh-out-loud quirky humor, but that is the only part of the film that actually rings true. The horrific elements of the film fall severely short, complete with stereotypical Ju-On/Grudge-type scares (a creepy kid, suicide/murder, watery footprints, etc.) and horrendously rendered “ghosts” (including a ridiculously out-of-place scene where ghostly skeletons are boning…ok, that scene alone might be worth a rental). I will say there are some disturbing scenes, including a hanged woman and said creepy kid hiding under a desk, but they were too far apart and the rest of the film dragged.

The film felt unbalanced and at times it felt like I was watching two different movies – a comedy on one hand and a B-horror film on the other – and it just didn’t feel like the elements of horror and comedy ever melded together to create a cohesive film. It’s a pity that the pacing and storyline were so off, because the actors all did a good job. The film is based in New Zealand, and I believe most of the actors are from there. Raybon kan and Jessica Grace Smith were great in their roles, though their age differences made things a bit awkward at times. I especially enjoyed Suze Tye’s performance as the no-nonsense Nurse Bates. And, of course, The Flight of the Conchords guys all did a great job in their brief performances…but seriously, we are talking mere minutes of screen time, so don’t get too excited.

Despite a few positives, Diagnosis: Death arrives DOA and unfortunately can’t be resuscitated with even the quirkiest of humor. Unless you wanna see a couple of wispy, CGI skeletons doing it doggy style, steer clear!

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Sauna (2008)

I’ve always loved period horror films, especially those that features rich history and superstitious folklore come to life. Period horror films are few and far between so, when I first heard about the Finnish film Sauna, set at the end of the 1500’s, I was excited to check it out. I will say the name threw me off a bit, which to me sounded more like a been-there, done-that J-horror than anything else. Yet, when I popped the DVD I was immediately taken in by the eerie atmosphere of Sauna as I let the film chill me to the bone.

Sauna is set in 1595 at the end of a war between Russian and Sweden. A new border between the nations is being mapped out in the far reaches of northern border by a group of Russian soldiers and two Swedish brothers, the hot-headed soldier Eerik (Ville Virtanen) and the more cerebral and sensitive Knut (Tommi Eronen).

One night, Eerik and Knut seek refuge in a local peasant’s home belonging to a father and daughter, but after discovering some religious iconography pointing to the father’s Russian loyalties, Eerik kills the father. Knut tries to protect the daughter from Eerik’s violence by locking her in a shed. As they rejoin the group of Russian soldiers and continue their trek across the dismally gray landscape, Knut begins to see the peasant girl following them. Eerik tells him to snap out of it and confesses he never let the girl out of the shed and left her to die.

As the eerie images of the peasant girl continue to haunt Knut, the group presses on until they come across a village in the middle of a misty swamp. The village is uncharted on the map, so the group decides to stay there to decide whether the village goes to the Russians or the Swedes. Yet, there is something very unsettling about the village and its inhabitants. The weirdness seems to stem from the half-submerged sauna that sits apart from the village. In folklore, saunas are supposed to cleanse you of your sins, but this particular sauna seems to force people to face their sins.

Sauna is a very deliberately paced and cerebral film that asks more questions than it answers. If you are looking for a ghost story filled with jump scares, look elsewhere, because Sauna is a much more of a thinking person’s horror film with many layers and subtexts. It raises many questions about guilt and redemption, salvation and repentance and at what cost can sins be cleansed. While these philosophical questions (and many more) are raised, the film never really seeks to answer them and instead leaves them up to the viewer to decide. The film is very ambiguous and it’s left open for interpretation by the viewer. Personally, I enjoyed the open-endedness of coming to your own conclusions that director Antti-Jussi Annila and writer Iiro Küttner offered the audience and how the consequences that the characters suffered really got you thinking.

I also loved the heavy, ominous atmosphere that Sauna offered. Throughout the entire film there is a palatable uneasiness that creeps up on you. Through the bleak cinematography (lots of gray skies, leafless trees, muddied water, dead grasses, etc.) and several eerie events like the appearance of the peasant girl to Knut as well as several dead villagers that scratched out their own eyes (reminding me of the Bible passage in Matthew 18:9 – “And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.”) and the stark and sinister sauna itself, the film builds tension and unsettles the viewer.

It is this eerie atmosphere where Sauna succeeds the most. Some horror fans might not appreciate its deliberate pacing, but I thought the slowly building suspense was well worth it! And the film’s final frightening images sent shockwaves through my system! Director Antti-Jussi Annila and writer Iiro Küttner, along with the amazing cast, have truly delivered an artistic, emotional and grim horror film, and while it is not for everyone, those who appreciate more cerebral horror films will no doubt enjoy Sauna.

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Book Review: The Black Act by Louise Bohmer

The Black Act by Louise Bohmer is a novel that opens a brand new whimsical world for fantasy and dark literature lovers. This novel establishes a whole new exciting mythology full of new creatures in a unique world.

The book explores the themes of forgiveness vs. condemnation, the strength of family vs. the strength of fate and doing what is right vs. the pull of the forbidden. The black acts discussed in the book span many generations of a particular witch family and show how one particular “black act” has cursed them.

The present day story opens with young witch, or Wise Women-in-training, twins Anna and Claire. They are being raised in the sacred valley of the mythical Wood People to learn how to use their inherited magical gifts for good. Yet a shocking ancestral secret threatens to unravel their peaceful existence. Anna starts having violent visions of her past kin while Claire starts acting out more and more and even starts secretly seeing a satyr in the woods.

As Claire threatens to bring the era of the Wise Women to a violent end through her actions, we get the backstory of the twins’ ancestors and see what black act marred their lineage and what exactly must be done to stop the curse.

Bohmer has created an enchanting and intriguing new world with the novel The Black Act. I love how she revisited many mythological creatures, like satyrs, and magically inclined humans, like witches, but added her own unique spin on them. The satyrs became these mysterious creatures literally made out of the elements of the earth, like bark, vines, dirt, moss and mushrooms. The witches had their own complex history of how and why they came to be and their own set of sacred oaths. I particularly loved the history of the whole land and how the Wood People (the mythological creatures) and the Dalthwein Clans (the humans, including the Wise Women) had fought many battles because of the hatred from a long ago human king before forming the fragile peace they have now. The rich history really wraps the story together and pulls you further into the complex mythology.

The novel is written deftly by Bohmer and she enthralls you with not only her unique mythology but also her engaging writing style. Her highly detailed descriptions of the Wood People make them both fascinating and frightening and her human characters are so developed that you feel like you know them. The book pulled me in from the opening pages and I finished it in merely two sittings!

The only thing I wasn’t too fond of was the last part of the book, where the two main characters of Anna and Claire, whom I cared about and emotionally invested in, are suddenly dropped and the rest of the tale is told by their descendant. Plus, the villains of the book, the ghosts of the two evil men who committed the first black act and started the curse, just don’t suffer enough for all the turmoil and death they’ve caused. I wanted their ends to be sweetly satisfying, but they get off far too easily and didn’t satiate my hunger for their blood!

Despite this issues, I still thoroughly enjoyed The Black Act and think that fantasy and dark literature fans will be enthralled with Louise Bohmer’s debut novel. I cannot wait to see what Bohmer does next with the memorable mythology she has created!

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Deadline (2009)

A good haunted house movie is an extremely rare find. Perhaps the most well-done and well-known haunted house movie among hardcore horror fans is Robert Wise’s 1963 film The Haunting. This is a film that still manages to creep under my skin as the ominous Hill House seemingly becomes a character itself and terrorizes the characters with strange noises and odd occurrences.

I am always excited to watch haunted house/ghost movies because they are one of my favorite sub-genres of horror, even though I usually end up disappointed that the film failed to scare me. So, I settled in to watch the new release Deadline with excitement yet trepidation…hoping it would utilize its atmosphere to the max but ready to be disappointed.

Was Deadline a rare haunted house movie that actually entertained or was it another flop? Read on to find out…

After an unexplained traumatic event, Alice (Brittany Murphy) retreats to an old Victorian house in the middle of nowhere to finish her screenplay under an encroaching deadline. Though isolation is what Alice was initially seeking, she soon feels as if she isn’t alone in the house. Strange noises, wet footprints and an ominous atmosphere start to make her feel paranoid. In the attic she finds videotapes of the house’s previous occupants, a newlywed couple (Marc Blucas and Thora Birch), and she soon finds that their damaged relationship mirrors her own tragic past. Are their ghosts haunting her or is it merely her own damaged psyche playing tricks on her?

From the synopsis you can tell this isn’t a terribly original movie, and yet the first few scenes pulled me into the story. The mystery surrounding Alice’s past and the beautifully gloomy Victorian house held my attention for the first 20 minutes or so, but from there the film treads familiar “haunted house” territory. There’s the obligatory spooky sounds (dripping water, strange creaking, etc.) a bathtub that seemingly fills itself in the middle of the night, lights that turn on and off, things that fall over and so on. While most of us would be calling the closest cab to get us out of there, Alice seems more intrigued than frightened. Even after discovering watery footprints leading up to the attic, she still takes the time to go through the previous occupants belongings, unbelievably not worried that an intruder might be in the house! There are several far-fetched instances like this throughout the film, where suspension of disbelief is pushed a bit too far.

The film is also peppered with several plot holes or unresolved plot points. We eventually find out that Alice was in an abusive relationship and she is scared her significant other has or will track her down. And yet, I don’t feel this part of the story was exploited enough for tension and scares. It kinda drops away, forgotten, until the last part of the film and even then it’s not utilized to its potential. Also, Alice’s closest friend Rebecca (Tammy Blanchard) gets calls regularly from a freaked out Alice, but never pays her a visit to make sure she is ok?  As for plot holes, the couple that lived there previously to Alice was reported missing, but the police never found the tapes that Alice discovered that would have explained their disappearance? And why didn’t Alice watch the “final” tape to start with? If she had, she would have been out there lickity split (but we wouldn’t have had a film, which actually might have been a good thing!).

The familiarity of the story in addition to the niggling plot problems really dragged this film down for me. It started fairly strongly, but soon became repetitive and even boring. There was little suspense or tension, and I really feel that more should have been done to make it scary. A lot of important plot points (like Alice’s abusive ex) were just left on the backburner, when they could have been used to really crank up the tension. Plus, the big finale was a real let-down and you can pretty much see it coming (and Alice should have seen it coming, too).

One of the film’s only good points was the evocative score, which really added to the overall gloomy atmosphere of the location. Also, the cinematography by Ross Richardson was stunning, capturing the dark shadows of the old house and making it a character onto itself. I also appreciated that there weren’t many cheap jump scares and director/writer Sean McConville relied on atmosphere over shocks. I just wished he had pushed it a little further and capitalized more on Alice’s turbulent past and fragile mental state.

Horror fans will most likely not enjoy Deadline. It is too by-the-numbers to keep the interest of well-watched horror fans. However, it may appeal to those with little experience in the horror genre and more mainstream audiences.

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Book Review: Creeping Shadows - Three Dark Tales

Creeping Shadows is a novella anthology that contains three different stories from authors Alan Draven, Brandon Ford and Jessica Lynne Gardner. The novellas differ from historical supernatural horror, to a story based on recent true events to a tale about an ancient Aztec curse. I loved the variety of the stories and how they each offered something completely different to readers!

The first story, Vengeance is Mine by Alan Draven, re-envisions the the tale of Jack the Ripper. The infamous Whitechapel butcher, whose actual name is Vincent Fowler in this story, starts off attending the prestigious Royal Academy of Surgeons of England but gets kicked out for a distasteful prank as well as his low social rank (his mother was a prostitute and he feels the Academy has always looked down upon him for that shameful fact). After traveling to America, Fowler returns many years later to seek his vengeance on London and begins killing prostitutes. Yet, as much as he relishes spilling their blood and bodily organs, he begins to be haunted by a specter of one of his victims…and this ghost just won’t quit until she gets revenge!

I really enjoyed how masterfully Draven wove true facts throughout his fictional story, even paying attention to the little details! The whole class war aspect of the Jack the Ripper case, in which he was supposedly trying to draw the attention of the aristocrats the the poorer areas of London, was even explored! And his hatred of prostitutes is very well established as his own mother was one. As someone who is very much interested in the macabre Jack the Ripper case, I definitely appreciated Draven’s careful following of the facts in the case and how his own interjections fit squarely into the facts as well.

Furthermore, the novella was very quickly paced and a very exciting read. It was interesting to get to take a peek inside Jack the Ripper’s head and see exactly what he might have been thinking. Plus, the gory killing scenes were quite shocking, even if you already knew all about the case and its victims. The inclusion of the supernatural was an added treat!

The next novella, Merciless by Brandon Ford, was probably my least favorite and didn’t seem to quite fit within the other two novella’s supernatural themes. It is based on a true story about two young high school girls abducted by a madman. They are brutally raped and beaten within an inch of their lives, but they work together to try and escape the madman’s clutches, even as he drives them further and further away from anything familiar.

There is no doubt that Merciless is a horrifying story, but its unfortunately something we read about in the news every day (the original story it is based on is here) and I don’t necessarily want to read about it in my leisure time. While the story is well-written, it just doesn’t offer anything new or original like the other two stories contained in this anthology. Still, this is more personal preference and there is no denying the talent of Ford’s writing…I just wish the subject matter had been a bit more engaging.

The last story, Sugar Skull by Jessica Lynne Gardner, is probably my favorite of the anthology. Someone or something is killing Latinos with a rare poison that the police can’t track down. The victims all had a sugar skull shoved down their throats coated with what appears to be a Central American poison. When Annabel’s father is also found dead, she, with the help of her mother and a forensic specialist, must track down the killer, who appears to be tied to an ancient Aztec curse.

Sugar Skull was a fantastic story that I just couldn’t put down! More so than the other novellas in the anthology, I found myself glued to the pages of Sugar Skull, rooting for the characters to solve the supernatural case! I really loved the uniqueness of the story and appreciated that the author used Dia De Los Muertos and Aztec legends as the backdrop for the tale. I also thought that the villain turned out to be very frightening! I still get the heebie jeebies when I think about it! I also enjoyed the tragic backstory of the villain and the sacrifice it took to finally stop the killings.

Creeping Shadows is an extremely engaging, creative and worthwhile anthology. It definitely lives up to its title and you will definitely be checking over your shoulder after reading the stories contained in Creeping Shadows! I highly recommend this book to pretty much all horror fans, because it definitely has something for everyone!

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Book Review: The Picture of Contented New Wealth by Tariq Goddard

The Picture of Contented New Wealth is an intellectual horror story set in a creepy old house in the English countryside. Something evil has been lurking in its dark paneled walls for as long as the house has stood, but ever since the Conti family has moved in the presence seems more…malign.

The evil presence soon reveals itself as demonic in nature, no matter how unbelieving the secular family is. Mrs. Conti soon becomes possessed and her young son falls under her power. It is up to the incredulous Mr. Conti to find a way to save his family.

Here is the official book description:

“In the brilliant red doom of a Hampshire Sunset, Brigit Conti can hear a voice behind her ears that is not her own. Bed-bound, and complaining of a rare bone disease that no Doctor can diagnose, her husband fears that the house they have purchased is a portal through which an older, more malign energy has passed, possessing his wife and son. Through their successive deterioration, his secular and agnostic world-view undergoes a metamorphosis, drawing him to a strange man from the hills: the Rector, their unlikely saviour. Or are he and his family merely victims of their own self-serving yuppie way of life?

The Picture of Contented New Wealth is a gothic tragedy set in the nineteen eighties, bringing proper characterization and a literary sensibility to the traditional horror story. Its mix of generic elements and mystical realism deal with the irreducibility of evil and its successful normalization in to our daily and dominant reality.” 

This eloquent novel is not your typical haunted house or possession story. Author Tariq Goddard weaves some heavy philosophical and religious themes throughout the novel, yet “heavy” shouldn’t be taken to mean that they weigh the book down. These themes help bolster the book’s story and make perfect sense in the grand scheme of things.

Goddard makes wonderful use of the large house the Conti’s move into, called Tyger Tyger, which, of course, brings to mind William Blake’s poem The Tyger (“Tyger! Tyger! burning bright/ In the forests of the night,/What immortal hand or eye/Could frame thy fearful symmetry?”). And Tyger Tyger House certainly does burn bright…with all the fires of Hell! Its long, shadowy corridors, whispering voices, shadowy figures and things that just don’t seem right certainly sent shivers up my spine! The experiences the family members face in the house are downright unsettling, including their son claiming to play with the family’s long-dead cat or their au pere’s horrifyingly real nightmares.

Equally horrifying is the possession of Mrs. Conti. Her husband is so disbelieving of the supernatural that he thinks she is just mentally ill, but after his continued experiences with both the house, strange occurrences and his sick wife, comes to believe in the supernatural. Mrs. Conti’s attacks keep getting worse, her appearance changing along with her demeanor. Her transformation is chilling to read and yet you can’t help but wanting to read more.

I haven’t personally read any of author Goddard’s previous works, but I sincerely hope that in his literary future he decides to write another horror novel. The Picture of Contented New Wealth crawled deep under my skin and remained there long after I had finished reading it. Its metaphysical horror story will certainly get you thinking all the while you cower under the covers!

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