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!

Order it on Amazon!

Book Review: Into the Cruel Sea by Rich Ristow

The same day I received Rich Ristow’s Into the Cruel Sea I finished it. Once I picked up the novelette, I couldn’t put it down because Ristow’s debut, released by Skullvines Press, is hauntingly engaging.

Seventeen year old Beth lives in the midst of paradise, but things certainly aren’t peachy-keen in her own life. Beth lives at home with her abusive father, meek mother and helpless younger brother on a military base on the balmy island of Bermuda in 1984. A few months prior, her boyfriend Wade butchered his own parents and disappeared without a trace. The only thing he left behind was a pile of clothes on the beach. As Beth mourns him and tries to move on, she is forced to face her violent father on a daily basis. Beth tries to cope by drowning herself in alcohol and drugs but that only dulls her intense anguish, which is both physical and mental.

Lately, Beth has been having intense and realistic dreams about Wade; dreams in which he returns to her a changed man, but not for the better. He has cold, clammy skin, is drenched in saltwater and has gills on the side of his neck! Beth soon realizes that the dreams are real and that Wade wants her to come with him…Into the Cruel Sea.

Like sunlight reflected off a crystal blue ocean, Into the Cruel Sea will dazzle you. Its pacing is just about perfect as it grabs your attention from the stunningly creepy prologue and keeps it until the thrilling ending. Ristow has crafted a fast-paced piece of fiction, but one that doesn’t skimp on characterization.

For such a short novel, the characters are all well-developed to the point where you can sympathize with them. Beth is the epitome of a teenage girl growing up trapped between a rock and a hard place. Ristow’s writing brings her pain and suffering to life and makes us care about Beth. Still, she is no pushover and eventually stands up for herself to make her own decisions. Of course, the novelette is more about this coming of age than anything else. After years of abuse at the hands of her brutal father and being trapped on the island with seemingly no happy future, Beth’s realization that she can leave everything behind is empowering and will have you cheering for her.

As for Wade, he is portrayed as the monster that rises out of the depths of the sea for Beth and as another obstacle to her happiness. Wade is like a zombie Romeo, returning from death to claim his long-lost love. His transformation from an odd boy who hears “voices” to a cold-blooded murderer to a menacing sea creature is as enthralling as it is brutal.

Speaking of brutal, there are some nicely done gore scenes throughout the book. Wade’s hands have turned into vicious webbed claws and his teeth have grown sharper, which just makes it perfect for him to slash people’s skin into strips of flesh. One particular grisly scene describes the aftermath of one of Wade’s attacks:

“He was covered in long gashes. Flaps of flesh hung from his lower jaw, exposing the upper and lower sets of teeth. One of his crushed eyes hung out of its socket.” 

While these scenes of gore are entertaining, they are never empty and we feel empathy toward the victims. Ristow expertly weaves emotion into the horror tale, which only serves to elevate the subtle terror further.

Into the Cruel Sea is as exciting and exhilarating as a dip into startlingly cool water whose depths you can’t quite make out. It’s a refreshing horror story that doesn’t rely on clichés to move the story along. Despite it’s unique and fantastical “mer-man” monster, it still manages to evoke emotion and be believable at the same time. If you’re looking for a quick read from a great new author, check out Into the Cruel Sea by Rich Ristow!

Available from Amazon!

Dust Devil (1992)

Haunting, mesmerizing and hauntingly beautiful, Dust Devil is a little-known classic that has finally been released how it was meant to be seen. Now available from Subversive Sinema in a definitive, 5-disc limited collector’s edition complete with the director’s “final cut” of the film.

A lone demon travels the dusty, hot and dry Namibian Desert of South Africa in human form, seeking out souls of the lonely and lost. Locals call him the Dust Devil (Robert Burke). He preys upon and is drawn to those that believe in nothing and have lost everything, killing them in ritualistic fashion. The desolate desert landscape, seeped in muted reds, oranges and yellows and filled with jutting rocks, steep sand dunes and deep canyons create the perfect backdrop to the loneliness and isolation that draws the Dust Devil to his prey. The demon is in the guise of an attractive man, wearing a long, dust-covered jacket, cowboy boots, cowboy hat and the perfect amount of stubble. It’s not hard for him to hitchhike, as his victims are usually more than willing to pick him up. Wendy (Chelsea Field) has just left her abusive husband and is driving across the desert to get to the sea. She decides to pick up the handsome devil as he is hitchhiking on the side of the road. Strange things start to occur as Wendy spends more time with the hitcher. Meanwhile, local police officer Ben (Zakes Mokae), who is haunted by his own demons, is investigating what appears to be a very vicious serial killer. Local shaman Joe (John Matshikiza) becomes involved with the investigation and tries to warn Ben that he is dealing with a supernatural force. Can Ben stop the Dust Devil before he kills again? Will Wendy escape the Dust Devil’s charismatic draw? Can both Ben and Wendy defeat their past demons to come together and defeat the Dust Devil?

Dust Devil is a hypnotic and hallucinatory film that left me breathless. Combining African folklore with a spaghetti western look and throwing in some grisly murder scenes, Dust Devil impressed me at every turn. The pace is slow, but it is mesmerizing and never drags. From the opening scene where the Dust Devil is picked up by an unsuspecting victim and taken to her house where he first takes her photograph, then breaks her neck while they have sex and mutilates her body, painting the walls with her blood and burning the building to the ground to the final showdown in a ghost town between him, Wendy and Ben, I couldn’t take my eyes away from the screen.

Robert Burke, who plays the Dust Devil, is equal parts charming and frightening. His demon has some very human needs and there were parts where I even began to empathize with him. The brutality of his killings, though, told a different story, of a demon who hunts the unloved and lonely and takes their souls. Chelsea Field as Wendy and Zakes Mokae as Ben were stellar in this as well, portraying broken, lonely and angry souls.

The score and soundtrack work wonders to support the dark mood and atmosphere of the story, giving it an almost dreamy (if not nightmarish) quality. The original music by Simon Boswell (also included in the 5-disc set) is stunning and evokes many emotions. Some of the music is very similar to what you might hear in old spaghetti westerns and only adds to the rich visuals of the film.

Visually, the movie is absolutely gorgeous. Different camera angles are used to portray different emotions and the backdrop of the barely habitable desert echoes the emptiness and despair of the characters. People and cars rise out of the heat lines of the desert, as if rising out of the ocean. Towns are desolate, with tumbleweeds and trash blowing in the hot wind. Everything is drenched in red dust and yellow sand. The Dust Devil walks on and on, finally disappearing into the sunset…

Subversive Sinema has released a wonderful limited edition that finally gives justice to Dust Devil. Originally, Dust Devil was released by Miramax, who chopped up the film beyond recognition, getting rid of 20 minutes…all without director Richard Stanley’s approval. Stanley (after he finally tracked it down) recut the original negative with his own money and finally it is seeing a release through Subversive. The five discs include two versions of Dust Devil, the final director's cut and a longer work print version, three of Richard Stanley’s documentaries, The Secret Glory, Voice of the Moon and The White Darkness, the soundtrack CD and bonus features.

Dust Devil is a spellbinding, entrancing movie that invades your subconscious and whose images will stick with you for days. It comes highly recommended.

Available on Amazon!

Death Tunnel (2005)

I was excited to see Death Tunnel after being creeped out by Spooked: The Ghosts of Waverly Hills, a documentary the filmmakers made while shooting Death Tunnel. Death Tunnel was shot at the infamous Waverly Hills Sanatorium, notorious for being one of the most haunted places in the United States (see my review of Spooked for more background). Ghosts and things in the dark scare me, so seeing the ghost footage and hearing stories about the Sanatorium in Spooked really gave me the heebie jeebies. I was hoping to get the same effect with Death Tunnel…after all, it was made by the same filmmakers (the Booth Brothers) and was shot at Waverly; what could go wrong? Everything, apparently…

Five girls attend an initiation party called “Truth or Scare” and are selected to partake in a game. All five of them wake up on separate floors of an abandoned mental hospital with bags over their heads. “Five girls…five floors…five hours,” an ominous voice echoes over the loudspeaker. What started as a set-up by frat boys is quickly taken over by the vengeful ghosts of the institution as each hour a girl meets her death. As the clock ticks down, the body count grows as the girls race to find a way out of the massive structure.

This movie is one big sloppy mess. First of all, there is hardly any character development so I didn’t care who lived or died. Secondly, the film doesn’t set up the premise clearly enough. Sure, I could figure out what was going on, but a little narrative structure could have helped instead of throwing the audience willy-nilly into the “story.” For example, what was the purpose of the initiation party? How and why were the girls chosen? What was the point of sticking them all in a mental hospital? They weren’t given any instructions or goals to achieve, were they just supposed to sit tight? Oooooh I forgot, they were supposed to run around in their lingerie (yup, they were all dressed in lacy little numbers, hopefully so their cleavage could distract from their bad acting) and take showers in the nasty and surely germ infested shower rooms. Seriously, who would get naked let alone shower in a long-abandoned, haunted building? The shower scene alone infuriated me with its implausibility and utter stupidity. Yahhh…let’s show some boobies, even though the character’s actions make no sense!

For being filmed in one of the most haunted places in America, Death Tunnel sure is a snooze. There are absolutely no creepy or scary moments anywhere in the film. It felt like a rip-off of Thirteen Ghosts and House on Haunted Hill, just without any of the tension of the two films. The use of jump cuts and flashy editing techniques are an attempt to scare the audience, but don’t succeed. The ghosts are cliché and their back stories are barely touched on. One ghostly appearance focuses on two women, hand in hand, as they walk through the halls naked. Not an iota of explanation is given for these two ghosts. Apparently, two dead, naked chicks are scary enough without having to delve into their back story.

There are some interesting ideas within the film, such as exploring the sordid past of the fictional asylum they are trapped in (which pretty much mirrors Waverly’s past, with a few embellishments). I wish some of the plot points (what few there were) had been more developed, such as the girls’ connections to patients or employees of the asylum. Waverly Hills has many specific ghost stories and I wish that this film had focused more on those to build tension.

The ending was bittersweet to me...on one hand, I enjoyed it but on the other it didn't add up. It just felt tacked on, like the filmmakers realized their film needed a little more weight and quickly wrote it in. Either way, it in no way made up for the rest of the craptastic film.

Overall, Death Tunnel is a squandered opportunity to shoot a horror film within one of the most notorious haunted places on Earth. It’s sad to think that the creepy location of Waverly Hills was so severely misused with this trite, convoluted, cliché mess of a movie. Stick to Spooked: The Ghosts of Waverly Hills instead of this shallow and laughable attempt at a horror movie.

Available on Amazon!

Afterthought (2006)

Afterthought is an intelligent, refreshing and slick-looking independent spookshow set in a hockey-obsessed high school in Wisconsin.

Kristy is a high school student is having reoccurring nightmares of a young dead boy. Her father passed away years ago, and she learns that he left her with the gift to see and communicate with the dead. Kristy is part of the popular hockey clique, which includes her best friend Mindy and her boyfriend and star player Elliot. The outcast of the hockey team is Kyle, who happens to be friends with Kristy. Kristy has a premonition about someone dying at the high school, and sure enough, a hockey player is murdered in the locker room. As more and more people die, Kyle comes under suspicion for the murders as he and Kristy grow closer, while Kristy is haunted further by the ghost of the little boy. Can the young boy help Kristy unlock the secret of his past and who is behind the murders?

First off, this independent feature has a very professional look to it. The opening credits alone grabbed my attention, as did the highly professional score and music. The production values throughout the entire film are very high, which is always a pleasure to see in an indie. The focus on quality really shines throughout the entire movie, from the production values to the acting, the story, the directing and the cinematography.

The story is surprisingly intelligent and keeps you guessing through to the end. The characters are wisely well-developed and I actually cared about what happened to them, unlike most horror films set in high school. The characters don't make stupid decisions and aren't stereotypes of high school students, but feel like real people you or I know. All of the actors do a great job, especially the lead in the role of Kristy.

The overall atmosphere is creepy and foreboding and the supernatural element of the creepy dead kid adds much to the slasher aspect of the film. The kid reminds me of the J-Horror kids like Toshio from Ju-On, but not in a bad way. The ghost child is very creepy, especially in his first appearance. There are plenty of jump scares, but not the cheap fake-outs featured in so many movies today. No, these scares are actually...scary (imagine that!)!

This film also captures the drama of high school life, especially being on a sports team. In this particular case, it's the hockey team and we get some great shots of a game. The backstabbing of high school is well-portrayed, as is the strong bond of friendship.

This movie was a real jolt to watch, a jolt that is sorely needed in the indie horror genre. It proves that you don't have to make a dumbed-down movie to be successful. Smart, creepy and a surprising and satisfying ending make Afterthought a winner in my book.

Dark Remains (2005)

As mentioned in a previous post, Friday night I set out to watch Dark Remains, Brian Avenet-Bradley's new film. I had previously watched Ghost of the Needle, and had been blown away by the creepiness that film contained. I couldn't wait to watch his next one. Though I don't think Dark Remains surpassed the storyline or creepiness of Ghost of the Needle, it was still a well-done, scary ghost story.

Julie and her husband, Allen, retreat to an isolated cabin to mourn the loss of their young daughter, who was brutally murdered in their own home. Julie is severely depressed and Allen encourages her to take up photography again. Julie begrudgingly agrees, and finds an old prison that was shut down. She begins photographing the bleak building, but when she develops the photos Julie finds ghostly images of her child. She begins taking more and more photographs which lead to more and more ghosts showing up in the prints. Meanwhile, Allen does some research on their cabin and finds many people who have lived there committed suicide. Is their child trying to warn them to get out before it is too late? Why are the other ghosts tormenting them? What secrets lie in the cabin and the old prison?

With lots of ghosts popping up at unexpected times, this movie definitely succeeded in giving me the creeps. As usual, Avenet-Bradley definitely knows how to scare the audience with a disturbing images and a haunting score to compliment them. Yet, the flash-ghost scares (much like Japanese horror movies like Ringu or Ju-on) become overused as the film progresses and lessen its impact. Also, the last third of the movie tends to drag and the ending wasn't as powerful as I'd hoped.

The acting is pretty decent, especially from the actor playing Jim (Scott Hodges), Julie and Allen's hick neighbor that seems to know more about the ghosts than he lets on. Those familiar with Ghost of the Needle will recognize Cheri Christian (Julie) and Greg Thompson (Allen) as having been in that film as well. The story is well thought out and extremely engaging, though, as mentioned previously, it does lag a bit towards the end.

Avenet-Bradley succeeds again in crafting creepy shots, along with the help of his wife, Laurence Avenet-Bradley, who reprises her role as cinematographer. Some scenes will make you ask, did I just see that? Avenet-Bradley wisely keeps things slightly hidden or slightly out of frame to give the audience maximum jump scares.

While the film does have its problems, I would highly recommend Dark Remains as a chilling alternative to the typical hack 'n' slash movies that are so prevalent today. It is a well-crafted, engaging and scary ghost story.

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Ghost of the Needle (2003)

So, tonight I'm planning on curling up on the couch, my black cat Havoc on one side, my wonderful boyfriend on the other and a big bowl of popcorn (perhaps even kettle corn!) on my lap to watch Dark Remains. I've been expectantly waiting for this particular movie to arrive after suffering a "very long wait" on my Netflix queue. Tonight, it should be at home!

Before I watched this film, I wanted to get a little taste of what I had in store. I ordered a film with the same director as Dark Remains, entitled Ghost of the Needle. I'm not sure what I was expecting, probably a badly done serial killer indie with lots of typical blood and misogyny. I couldn't have been more wrong. Ghost of the Needle proved to be a genuinely scary and taut movie, filled with suspense the entire way through.

A landscape photographer named Jacob relishes in taking girls back to his studio, conveniently located in the basement of an abandoned factory that his father owns. Once there, he injects them with a poison and takes photographs of their propped up, dead bodies before vacuum-sealing them in plastic. His agent has lined up an art show for him that will increase his exposure, but Jacob is sketchy about showing his private collection of gorgeous black and white landscapes. Still, his agent bullies him into doing it. One condition is that he must take a picture of a particular bridge at exactly noon on a specific day for the client. When Jacob arrives there, he meets Aimee, whom he takes back to his lair. She is a feisty thing, though, and doesn't give up without a fight. Jacob takes a tumble down the stairs while chasing her and takes quite a hit to the noggin'. When he wakes up he begins experiencing vivid hallucinations which lead him to believe that those he has murdered are out to get him...His client and his wife are somehow involved, and it seems that even his own father knows to much. Is Jacob losing his mind or are there sinister forces out for revenge?

I cannot think of one gosh darn bad thing about this movie, which makes me super-duper excited to see the director's (Brian Avenet-Bradley) third movie, Dark Remains. I kept jumping throughout the whole movie and was wholly engrossed in what was happening on-screen. I didn't even wanna get up to go to the bathroom because that would mean pausing the creepy sucker!

Everything was great about it, from the acting to the directing to the beautiful cinematography. I was a bit sketchy when I saw that Avenet-Bradley was also starring in the film as Jacob, but he pulled off both the direction and the character of Jacob flawlessly! For an independent film, I was mightily impressed with the overall production. Beautiful and creepy lighting, gorgeous cinematography, believable acting and an interesting and engaging story to pull everything together is what you can expect from Ghost of the Needle. The score and overall sound of the flick were great as well and really lend themselves to the at-times surreal atmosphere.

If you are looking for a suspenseful and gripping story that'll make you jump sky-high in your seat, look no further than this wonderfully done independent feature. I can't wait to see what Avenet-Bradley does next!

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The Legend of Lucy Keyes (2006)

After losing a child in an accident, the Cooley family moves from the city to the country to start fresh and try to heal some wounds. The father, Guy (Justin Theroux), is working on a project to bring a windmill farm to the small town to increase their use of green energy. Guy, his wife Jeanne (Julie Delpy), and their two daughters Molly (Kathleen Regan) and Lucy (Cassidy Hinkle) slowly settle into country living as well as their large farmhouse. Guy is working with local city council woman Samantha Porter (Brooke Adams) to get the windmill project approved by the town. While most of the townsfolk approve of Guy’s plan, there are a few dissident voices…

One of these is the Cooley’s neighbor, Jonas Dodd (Mark Boone Junior), who uses extremely smelly clam bellies, which he feeds to his pigs, to try to run them out of town. The stench is almost unbearable but the Cooley’s stick it out. There’s also Gretchen (Jamie Donnelly), the town crazy, who tells them not to build the windmills because the land is “historically significant.” Jean begins to research the house and finds out that a girl named Lucy Keyes lived there 250 years ago. One day, she went missing in the woods and was never seen again. Her mother, Martha Keyes, searched the woods for her daughter every day until her death. The legend goes that Martha still haunts the woods, and her spirit won’t rest until she finds her precious Lucy. Throughout all this, Jean has been hearing a voice out in the woods and seeing a figure at night. As more and more is revealed about the mystery, Lucy Cooley becomes involved and things take a sinister turn. Are Gretchen, Jonas and other townsfolk trying to scare the Cooley’s out of town or have they disturbed the ghosts of Martha and Lucy Keyes?

Straddling the line between horror and suspense, The Legend of Lucy Keyes comes off pretty lukewarm. It is well put-together, with tight camera work, beautiful cinematography, an excellent story and polished performances, but it lacks atmosphere and scares. I wish some things had been developed more, such as Lucy Cooley’s point of view and Jeanne’s heartbreak at the loss of her other child. Also, it would have been interesting to focus on the similarities Martha Keyes and Jeanne Cooley share. This would have given it a depth that I think is missing from the film.

Since this is a ghost story, there’s not much gore shown except for bloodied pigs’ heads and some blood on the floor and on a knife. There is a murder of a child, but it is not shown in graphic detail. The ghost is only seen a few times, and the special effects are decent, but nothing spectacular and nothing too spooky. The real dread comes with each new reveal and twist in the plot. These include shady property deals going on with the townsfolk, secrets, hidden documents, the nightly screams Jeanne hears, Lucy Cooley’s new “friend” and the tragic pasts of both the Cooley’s and the Keyes’. All these elements come together in the end for a dramatic conclusion.

While this film has a great story and is supposedly based on true events, it just drags in too many places. The scenes are pretty repetitive, too – every night it’s the same as Jeanne wakes up in a panic, hears a scream through the wind, races to Lucy’s room to check on her and…goes back to sleep. Scenes like this get pretty stale after I’ve seen them three times already and nothing new or exciting happens. However, I was surprised to learn that this aired on the Lifetime Movie Network. For Lifetime, I suppose this is pretty good, especially with the mother/daughter bond theme it focuses on. I do like how they used a horror story to showcase how strong a mother/daughter bond can be!

Nonetheless, a seasoned horror viewer won’t be too impressed with The Legend of Lucy Keyes. While it has decent acting and an engaging storyline, it suffers from a serious lack of scares and lack of a creepy atmosphere. I would recommend this as a gift if you want to bond with your mother and slowly ease her into horror.

Order it on Amazon!

All is Normal (2006)

Review by Fatally Yours

Haunting and heartbreaking, this film commands attention with its strong silence. After watching this film, I had to ask myself how something so still and quiet can have such a big impact…but that is the effect that All is Normal has on the viewer...

Janet (Juliana Brafa) is in an abusive relationship with her controlling asshole of a boyfriend Bruce (Duane Wallace). Physically and emotionally bruised, she seeks help from an abuse counselor (Linda Blair). The counselor empowers Janet to leave the horrifying relationship and finds her a job in the middle of nowhere taking care of a house for sale. Janet leaves Bruce quietly one morning, with nothing but a big red suitcase and a big black eye.

Janet arrives at a large, isolated house far away from anyone and anything. The realtor, Paul (Greg Burgess), in charge of selling the house checks on Janet irregularly, making sure she keeps the place spic ‘n’ span. Janet spends her days cleaning the house, reading books and becoming friendly with Woody (Kyle Brosius), the cute guy who mows her lawn. Paul makes her keep a log of her daily chores and any odd occurrences, but most of the time “all is normal.” That is, except for the violent and powerful flashbacks Janet keeps having and the feeling that Bruce is going to track her down. Isolated from the world and alone with her memories, Janet is soon plagued with fear, paranoia and panic. With Bruce still out there, will she ever feel safe again?

A close study on the long lasting emotional scars of an abusive relationship, All is Normal has the ability to make the viewer feel the pain and isolation that abuse victims often experience. It serves as a reminder, a wake-up call that makes the viewer realize that there are thousands upon thousands of women like Janet who are abused by those that claim to love them. Like the doctors in the film who treated Janet after Bruce knocked her out, the signs of abuse are often overlooked or blatantly ignored by authority. The film uses its subtlety to snub its nose at such ignorance.

Juliana Brafa, who co-wrote and co-directed with Todd G. Bieber, plays Janet with a combination of strength and vulnerability that’s completely believable. Duane Wallace is terrifying as Bruce, every woman’s worst nightmare. He is sweet one minute, menacing and violent the next. Linda Blair gives a solid performance as the counselor and it was nice to see her in something a little different than the norm. The rest of the cast all give solid performances that could rival (and perhaps surpass) any big budget picture. As for the way the film looks, it is just gorgeous. There were many times that I even forgot I was watching a low budget flick. The use of color (most notably the color red) throughout the film was a clever motif that reminded me of Kubrick’s repeating color patterns in The Shining. The hue and intensity of the colors throughout the film were very vivid and beautiful. The scene featured on the poster, with Janet in bright red lying on the lush green grass, was one of the best shots based on pure aesthetics. Brafa and Bieber definitely knew what they were doing, in both the direction and the writing. I can’t wait to see what both of them do next.

All is Normal is a slow movie, one that doesn’t feature gore and nudity (Is that all you kids are into these days? C’mon!! Why do I feel I have to put a disclaimer on anything that doesn’t feature those two things?!), but it is terrifying nonetheless. It is a very socially conscious film that deals with the psychological terror of getting out an abusive relationship. I think all female horror fans should definitely watch this film. Like when you realize that the silence around you has moved from peaceful to unsettling, All is Normal is horrifying in its quietness.

St. Francisville Experiment (2000)

If you want to see what would have happened if The Blair Witch Project was set in a haunted house, this is your movie! The faux documentary about chasing down ghosts based on an infamous New Orleans legend reeks of a Blair Witch rip-off.

A producer sets up four strangers to spend the night in the LaLaurie mansion to record any paranormal activity. The legend of Madame LaLaurie is infamous and is one of the many famous ghost stories from New Orleans. Madame LaLaurie was a very rich, very wicked woman that performed crude medical experiments on her slaves while keeping them chained up. She peeled off the skin tissue of one young boy, leaving the muscle tissue exposed so that it became infected. One woman's joints were all broken and she was forced into a cage too small for a large dog. Her joints reset at hideous angles so that when she was pulled out of the cage she resembled a crab more than a human. Another man had what appeared to be a botched sex change operation. Blood and body parts in jars were all over the room. All these slaves had been chained up in the attic of the LaLaurie mansion and were discovered when a fire broke out in the house. Before Madame LaLaurie could be arrested, she had already escaped. She was never caught. More and more atrocities were discovered, but many victims' bodies were never recovered. To this day, the LaLaurie mansion is supposedly one of the most haunted places in the United States.

This wonderful legend sets up an ominous mood as we are introduced to the four jackasses that are sent to investigate the LaLaurie mansion. We get blonde history student Ryan, annoying psychic Madison, cocky film student Tim and bland team leader Paul. The four are sent into the house armed to the teeth with ghost hunting equipment and are told they must spend the night and record any paranormal activity. Right away, a chandelier crashes to the ground, doors open and close, and the participants get more and more freaked out. They investigate each room, finding cold spots and creepy feelings throughout the house. In the basement they find an old doctor's satchel filled with bloody medical instruments. In the attic, a chair flies across the room. As the spirits of the house get more and more restless, the foursome doubts they'll be able to get out alive...

This movie started out great! The story of Madame LaLaurie and her hideous experiments is truly creepy...and was about the only creepy thing in this movie. First and foremost, let me tell you that I did enjoy Blair Witch - it was inventive and scared the pants off of me when I saw it in the theater. That movie really built the tension and things actually happened before the great finale to scare the characters and audience. In The St. Francisville Experiment, nothing much happens except for annoying characters scaring themselves. Ryan, the blonde history student, screams and giggles (at the same time) throughout the entire movie, which would be fine if there was something SCARY to scream (or giggle) at...but there's really no reason for her to be causing such a ruckus. And Madison...uggghhh...I vote for her as the Most Annoying Character of All Time. I was ready to throw my shoe through the TV if she mentioned being protected by white light one more time.

This movie just drags itself along, until the last 15 or so minutes when the characters decide to all split up to cleanse each haunted room. This part got to be surprisingly tense, but it was ruined by the laughable ending.

If you like watching rip-offs and cheap imitations of the real thing than you may enjoy this movie...if you are sick of watching faux documentaries that don't deliver the scares, skip this failed Experiment.

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Reincarnation (Rinne) (2005)

Reincarnation is one of the few new Asian horror films that is actually good. It is directed by Takashi Shimizu, who also gave us Ju-On, but don't expect any Ju-On-like scares...the terror here is more psychological than anything else.

In 1970, a doctor massacred 11 people (including his two small children) at an isolated hotel before killing himself. The motive for the murders was never discovered. In present day there have been a rash of mysterious disappearances coinciding with the filming of a movie about the massacre. Two seemingly unconnected girls, a college student and an actress in the film, begin having nightmares and visions about the hotel and the massacre that took place there, and when they visit the hotel, they discover that they, and those that have disappeared, may be the reincarnations of those that were murdered there so many years ago.

This film held me rapt from the first scene to the end credits...I was transfixed to the screen for the whole hour and a half, never even checking my watch (always a good thing). The storyline is interesting and is reminiscent of Kubrick's The Shining. The 8mm footage that the doctor took of the massacre is chilling and adds a real, documentary feel to the film. The first appearance of the ghosts of the murdered people is truly creepy and had me gripping the seat for the rest of the movie. I loved the whole premise of a movie-within-a-movie that gave us an accurate re-creation of the massacre.

The acting was wonderful, and I especially loved the actor who played the director and the expressive actress playing an actress in the film-within-a-film. The cinematography was great as well with beautifully ominous shots of the hotel and the eerie massacre shot all on 8mm by the doctor.

The build up to the climax had perfect pacing and the climax had a jaw-dropping moment. Reincarnation is one of the best Asian horror films I've seen in a while. It is suspenseful, has an interesting story, has some shocking parts (the on-screen death of the children, especially) and makes the viewer think. I am waiting for it to be available on DVD because I definitely want to add it to my collection.

If you love Asian horror movies, I highly recommend this film. Even if you aren't into the Asian horror genre but want something different from your typical hack-and-slash American horror that is more intelligent and engaging, go see Reincarnation!

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Head Trauma (2006)

Head Trauma is one of the creepiest films I've seen in a long time, independent or otherwise. It truly keeps you guessing with its surreal, dreamlike atmosphere and haunting images.

Drifter George (Vince Mola) returns to his hometown after a long absence to lay claim to his deceased grandmother's condemned house. The house is boarded up and has been trashed by squatters. Bits of trash, clothes, furniture and nasty bits of strange goo are scattered throughout the house. As George sets about cleaning the place, he has a run-in with his neighbor, Julian (Jamil A.C. Mangan). A misunderstanding leads to a scuffle in which George hits his head. After his head trauma, George begins having disturbing visions of a hooded figure, a girl who has been hung, a strangling in a hotel room, scribbled drawings and a car crash. George's dreams start to melt into his reality and he starts to question what is real and what isn't. After reconciling with his neighbor, they both continue cleaning the house, including the flooded basement which may be hiding the house's dark secret.

The film's dark, dream-like atmosphere adds to the horror and like George, we are confused and disoriented. The hooded figure that stalks George is definitely creepy, as is his grandmother's house full of dark corners and a dark past. The filmmakers' use of camera angles, lighting and direction all make for a foreboding and scary mood. I haven't jumped so much watching a movie in a while! The actors are also excellent...the acting alone is worthy of a big-budget picture, if not significantly better, especially the leads of George and Julian.

The end of the film wraps up all the loose ends and gives us an explanation of the events, though some is left open for interpretation. The ending reminded me of a David Lynch film, while the rest of the movie played sorta like Ringu or Dark Water (the originals, mind you!), but without the predictable scares. There is no gore in the film, but this doesn't affect its spook factor. The images alone in the movie will haunt you for days to come!

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The Ghost of Mae Nak (2005)

I love Asian horror - favorites include Tale of Two Sisters, Ju-On, Ringu, The Eye, Suicide Club and Battle Royale. The Ghost of Mae Nak just didn't work for me though. Don't get me wrong, the film is shot beautifully, but it just doesn't pack a punch like my fave Asian films do.

The beginning of the film introduces us to the ghost straightaway. Mak is having nightmares of a pale woman with a black mouth and black oval-shaped hole in her forehead. She's pretty freaky, but Mak is too happy engaged to Nak to pay too much attention to his realistic nightmares. Mak and Nak are to be married in a week, so they buy a run-down house in a section of Bangkok. Upon moving in, Mak's nightmares get worse and strange things begin happening. Anyone who causes the couple misfortune meets a bloody end. After Mak is put into a coma by a hit and run accident, Nak discovers that their new house was once Mae Nak's house.

The legend of Mae Nak is an old one in Thailand, in which Mae Nak was so in love with her husband (also named Mak) that her spirit survived beyond the grave to be with him. Now she is looking out for the best interest of Mak and Nak, another couple that has found true love - or is she? Things take an ominous turn as Nak discovers more and more about Mae Nak's vengeful ways.

Again, this wasn't by any means a horrible movie, it was just so-so. I think they showed Mae Nak way too soon in the movie, which made her much less scary. Also, the story was a little confusing at times, especially the back story of Mae Nak. I usually love Asian horror films, but this one lacked the strangeness and creepiness of most. The twist at the end was just tacked on for shock value, and it wasn't even effective, just hokey.

I did enjoy the scenes that showed Thai life and customs, like Mak and Tak's wedding and the bar scene that featured a hardcore band! I guess it just didn't feel like a horror movie, more like a Discovery Channel special on urban Thailand. It lacked any kind of creepy or ominous atmosphere, though it did have its share of cool death scenes. My favorites included a guy who is sliced in half by a glass window pane and another clumsy guy who manages to light himself on fire and get skewered on a barbeque.

I would skip this film unless you want some insight into Thai culture or want a very tame Asian ghost story with a heavy romantic angle. Good effort, but this movie just doesn't cut it alongside such creepies as Ringu, Ju-On, Tale of Two Sisters, etc.

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Burnt Offerings (1976)

Burnt Offerings - A film about a family (including Bette Davis, yay!) that rents a sprawling mansion for the summer from some odd owners. The owners leave their mother there for the summer as well, and the wife (Karen Black! Yay!) becomes overly protective of her. Strange things begin to happen at the house...hallucinations, fits of rage, secrets, plants coming back to life, etc. This was an odd, kind of boring movie. Though it is popular in some horror circles, I found it pretty boring. To me, even the ending was predictable.

There are some creepy scenes, though, including a driver that makes me shudder ever time he popped up. While the film wasn't as scary as I had hoped, it still has a creepy vibe that will no doubt be appreciated by many horror fans. 

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Masters of Horror - Cigarette Burns (2005)

This film is part of Showtime's Masters of Horror collection and is directed by John Carpenter, and Cigarette Burns is probably one of the best in the series.

A struggling theater manager (Norman Reedus, who played one of the brothers in Boondock Saints) is hired by wealthy Mr. Ballinger (Udo Kier) to track down the print of an infamous film called La Fin Absolue du Monde (The Absolute End of the World). It seems this film was only screened once, which resulted in a bloodbath at the festival where it first played.

Mr. Ballinger is a collector of rare films and various "props" from these films, and is obsessed with finding the only print of this film. The theater owner, Kirby Sweetman, agrees to find the film for a fee of $200,000. This is how much he owes the theater owner, who also happens to be his dead girlfriend's father. In flashbacks, we see that Kirby's girlfriend Annie committed suicide. He is still haunted by her death and Annie's father blames Kirby for her death.

Kirby is a discerning theater manager, and only screens rare and fine films such as Argento's Deep Red (which I was delighted to see up on the marquee as Profundo Rosso) He is soon obsessed with finding such a rare film as La Fin Absolue du Monde. He tracks down people who have seen the film or know about the film. Most of them are obsessed with the film and yet others are secretive about it, that is, unless they are dead. All people who have come in contact with it have been profoundly changed, such is the power of the film.

**CAUTION - SPOILERS AHEAD**

As Kirby gets closer to it, he begins to see things, specifically a circle with images of his dead wife in them. These circles are "cigarette burns," which indicate a reel change in a movie. He eventually begins seeing other images, images that are directly from the film. He learns that the film shows a divine being, an angel, being sacrificed. He is told that the act is so intimate and brutal that it changes everyone who is connected to or watches the film.

He finally tracks down the director's wife, Katja. She speaks of the power it has over people, and how her husband tried to kill her and then committed suicide after watching the film one too many times. Katja gives Kirby the film, telling him she wished it was never made.

Kirby delivers the film to Mr. Ballinger, who watches it with champagne until he eviscerates himself and loads his intestines into the projector. His butler also watches the film, and cuts up his body before stabbing himself in both his eyes. Kirby ends up watching the film as well...

**END SPOILERS**

This was a thoroughly disturbing and unsettling movie. I wasn't sure how the 1 hour time constraint would suit Carpenter, but he handled it expertly. I liked how Carpenter tackled the idea that films really do have the power to change us. Though many deny it, films can have a profound impact on the audience or certain individuals.

I haven't seen any other installments of the Masters of Horror, but I do hear that Carpenter's Cigarette Burns is the best in the series. This film will haunt me for a while.

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The Ring 2 (2005)

Let me preface this review with saying I loved The Ring. It is one of the few films that turns me into a trembling, sniveling shadow of my former self EVERY time I watch it. In fact, I enjoyed The Ring more than the original Ringu. It is a genuinely creepy film that gets under my skin every time. After watching The Ring, I was petrified of all unlabeled VHS tapes. I even went through all my VHS to make sure they were labeled...if they weren't I HAD to watch them (for the safety of humanity!) to make sure they weren't THE tape.

The Ring left such a strong impression on me, I was hoping The Ring 2 would have at least a little bit of that chutzpah. I knew it would probably be pretty bad, but I just wanted to be scared, or at the very least creeped out. No. Such. Luck.

Rachel and her son Aidan have moved to a small town in Oregon to get away from the memories of what happened in Seattle. They settle down to try to lead a normal life, one that doesn't involve a vengeful ghost of a girl down a well. Rachel, working at the town's small newspaper, learns of the death of a boy who was found in front of his TV, his house flooded, his scared girlfriend hiding in the basement. She has a hunch that Samara and the tape are back, and boy is she right! It appears Samara is after Rachel and Aidan, not for their lives, but for their life. Now Rachel must figure out how to get Samara out of their lives for good...

Ugh...they COULD have done so much with this movie. It was not scary at all. In fact, I jumped only once - that was within the first 10 minutes. Speaking of the opening, I felt like I was in a cheesy teenybopper slasher flick. It was too damn generic. After the infamous video was played, we learn teenybopper boy made teenybopper girl watch it in order for him to survive. She ends up covering her eyes and not watching it, much to the chagrin of teenybopper boy. Now for the ONE scene that scared me - it was a shot of Samara's hand reaching out of the well. That's it! It was a surprise scare, too, which doesn't count in my book. It's just a cheap trick. Anyone can do a surprise scare with the right music and editing.

Whereas The Ring built up dread through it's blue-imbued atmosphere and the unraveling of the mystery, The Ring 2 relied heavily on deer and water imagery. I will not dignify the awful deer scene, but let's just say I felt like I was stuck in a very bad 50s creature-feature.

I felt no dread during this sequel - I just awaited the next laughable scene. Samara's adoption story seemed tacked on and created to give an easy solution on how to get rid of her, though I did enjoy seeing Sissy Spacek in the role of Samara's birth mother.

The Ring 2 was a letdown. It was not scary, it was not creepy, it just plodded along until the lackluster ending. That's it - BORING!

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