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Joseph Perry

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Horror Fuel

Arrow Video FrightFest Glasgow’s 16th Edition Presents Six Sinister Features

Arrow Video FrightFest Glasgow serves up its 16th edition online from March 5–7, 2021, with a half-dozen films from the United States, Canada, and France. From the high-octane thriller American Badger to the film noir elegance of The Woman with Leopard Shoes (La Femme Aux Chaussures Leopard) to the throwback horror of Vicious Fun and beyond, the fest has booked an incredible selection of jaw-dropping cinema. Following is the festival’s official press announcement. Welcome to the 16th edition of Arrow Video FrightFest Glasgow, which, despite continuing COVID-19 restrictions, is back to present a virtual six-pack of tasty titles; an extravaganza of the dark arts that will leave you stirred, shaken and shocked. There will be six online presentations, including the UK premiere of Kyle Rankin’s controversial high school siege drama RUN HIDE FIGHT, starring Isabel May as a fiercely independent student taking on a quartet of invading shooters, and the UK premiere of OUT OF THIS WORLD (HORS DU MONDE),

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jan 14, 2021
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Go/Don’t Go

Alex Knapp writes, directs, and stars in his first feature at the helm, Go/Don’t Go. The film is a quiet meditation and character study of possibly the lone survivor in a postapocalyptic world. Go/Don’t Go plays more like a poetic drama about loneliness and the loss of love than typical postapocalyptic horror movies, thrillers, and science fiction films, so viewers expecting zombie hordes, mutants roaming the desert on souped-up vehicles, or agonizing deaths by virus should seek out other fare for that. Knapp’s film is difficult to describe as even a slow-burn because it doesn’t build to a thrilling or terrifying climax, though its ending is quite satisfying given viewer investment in the main character. Knapp portrays Adam, a socially awkward, painfully shy young man who is introduced by a friend at a social gathering to K (Olivia Luccardi in a moving supporting role), a woman who does her best to coax Adam out of his shell. The two fall

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jan 13, 2021
Horror Fuel

Final Girls Berlin Film Festival Announces Two Planned Events for 2021

The Final Girls Berlin Film Festival celebrates its sixth edition this year with plans for both a virtual component from February 4-7 2021 and a physical edition for Halloween weekend. Among its films directed and produced by women and non-binary filmmakers are the Italian chiller Darkness, moody German offering Time of Moulting, and creepy Argentian tale of the undead The Returned. Following is the festival’s official press announcement. The Final Girls Berlin Film Festival, Berlin’s premier showcase of horror films directed and produced by women and non-binary filmmakers, will return in the new year for the 6th time and first virtual edition. The fest will run from February 4—7, 2021, and include features, short blocks, and an impressive slate of talks and special offerings. Feature films will be geo-locked to Germany while several short blocks and all non-film programming will be viewable worldwide. This will be followed by a planned second in-person event to take place over Halloween weekend, October

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jan 5, 2021
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Another Hole in the Head Film Festival): Victim of Love

A brooding psychosexual character study that oftentimes flirts with the surreal, Danish film Victim of Love offers striking visuals and gripping performances. Writer/director Jesper Isaksen has crafted a fine debut feature with a brooding, hypnotic flair. Danish-American man Charly (Rudi Køhnke) is staying in the same Copenhagen hotel where his girlfriend Amy (Louise Cho) disappeared a few months earlier. He hits alcohol and cocaine hard, spending seemingly more time under their influences than actually looking for Amy, which he tells others is his reason for being there. Hotel bartender Felicija (Siff Andersson) is a goth denizen of the city nightlife, and she takes Charly on a whirlwind night of partying, and the two eventually wind up in bed together. Charly is haunted by visions of both Amy and a masked murderer, some appearances on the simple side and others much trippier. When Felicija begins to play in his visions too, the proceedings get much darker and more sinister. Charly is

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 29, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Another Hole in the Head Film Festival): F20

Croation shocker F20 may not deliver many surprises to fans of lover-gone-psycho cinema, but its vibrant style and gripping performances make the ride to the inevitable a stirring one. Director Arsen A. Ostojic’s thriller takes viewers on an unsettling ride with nods to slasher fare in its third act. Part-time university student Martina (Romina Tonković) reluctantly helps her widowed father Mate (Mladen Vulić) out at his pizzeria. She develops a crush on Filip (Filip Mayer), a young man her age who orders pizza delivery daily. Asserting herself into his loner lifestyle of playing first-person shooter games while his parents are on vacation at their forest cabin, she and her friend Irena (Lana Ujevic) coax him into going out for drinks and karaoke, and the pair eventually enter into an intimate relationship. Viewers are tipped off very early — some might argue too soon — that something might be amiss with Filip, but I’ll save the how and why to avoid

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 23, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: The Hex

Reine Swat makes her feature film directorial debut with The Hex (originally titled Heks, and AKA Her Mask), a South African horror tale involving witch doctors and human evil. The film is rich in atmosphere but it also has some confusing elements. After witnessing her mother being killed upon her return to her native South Africa, a British Girl (Coco Lloyd as Dilanne) then travels to that country to spend time at her aunt’s (Mary-Anne Barlow) home while trying to unravel the mystery of her mother’s unsolved murder. The aunt’s occupational therapist (Mari Molefe van Heerden) has been sworn to secrecy about a skeleton in the family closet, but believes that Dilanne should be informed. Plagued by weird visions, Dilanne seeks the help of a witch doctor (also van Heerden), and the intrigue begins to slowly build. The Hex has an eerie look to it, but relies on jump scares and a series of hallucination sequences to jolt. Any atmosphere

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 16, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Another Hole in the Head Film Festival): Murder Bury Win

Rich in sharp dialogue, amusing situations, and cast members wonderfully bringing their easy-to-root-for characters to life, writer/director Michael Lovan’s Murder Bury Win is a delightful crime comedy with horror elements. From nail clippers to bear traps and beyond, if it can be used as a murder weapon, the protagonists in this film have most likely thought of it. That’s because the main trio is made up of three would-be board game developers. Chris (Mikelen Walker), Adam (Erich Lane), and Barrett (Henry Alexander Kelly) are three game-nerd friends who are trying to come up with a product that can challenge Murder Wall as the next big thing. Chris is interested in the challenge, Adam is interested in the potential money, and Barrett is interested in the collaboration. After the three buddies fail in their crowdfunding effort for the titular game, they are invited by legendary indie game developer V.V. Stubbs (Craig Cackowski) to show him their game. Impressed, or at least

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 15, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Another Hole in the Head Film Festival): The Last Thanksgiving

Writer/director Erick Lorinc’s low-budget horror indie The Last Thanksgiving delivers big time on the practical effects gore and gags, but falls a bit short on its humor and social commentary goals. Set on the titular holiday, the story sees a group of restaurant employees made to work on Thanksgiving attacked by a cannibal family. The reason for the invasion and violence has to do with the family’s history — I’ll leave out details here so as to avoid spoilers — but their focus of attacks is on those who disrespect the holiday, in their viewpoint, by working on the holiday. The set-up is there for the aforementioned social commentary, but the delivery falls a bit flat with jokes about indigineous peoples — delivered by the villains, who are corrected at one point by an understandably upset near-meal protagonist — and the other attempts at comedy don’t land much better. The acting ranges from good to scenery chewing to a bit

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 14, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Another Hole in the Head Online Film Festival): The Deep Ones

If you are looking for a new exploitation movie version of H.P. Lovecraft’s work, look no further than The Deep Ones. It’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth mashed up with Rosemary’s Baby, Humanoids from the Deep (complete with rape scenes, as in that film; be warned), The Stepford Wives, and tentacle porn, for starters. Lovecraft literary purists will probably shudder at that description, but B-movie aficionados should find plenty to enjoy here. Starting off with naked bodies galore, the film sees Alex (Gina La Piana) and her husband Petri (Johann Urb) renting a seaside vacation home to try and get their minds off of Alex’s miscarraige and reconnect more. Hosts Russell (Robert Miana) and Ingrid (Silvia Spross) Marsh welcome them in an uncomfortably friendly manner, soon taking Petri out on a boat ride where they hypnotize him while the local doctor (TimothyMuskatell in drag) ingratiates herself with Alex. Naturally, there is a reason for everyone’s fake friendliness, and if you guessed

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 9, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: The Glass Man

Writer/director Cristian Solemino’s thriller The Glass Man premiered at London’s FrightFest film festival 11 years ago to great acclaim, but then was tangled up in rights issues. Shot in 2009 during the credit crunch, the film is finally available in the United Kingdom, still timely — if not even more so than when it was made — and delivers a riveting story with some top-notch performances. Andy Nyman (cowriter, codirector, and star of 2017’s Ghost Stories) gives a magnificent turn as Martin Pyrite, a businessman who we soon learn is hiding the fact that he was fired from his job from his wife Julie (Neve Campbell). His credit is shot and his bank account is down to pocket change, yet he still tries to keep up the appearance with her of being successfully employed, pretending to go to work every day. Going to his old job to complain about the bad reference they gave him, he is treated as persona

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 9, 2020

More from Joseph Perry

Horror Fuel

Arrow Video FrightFest Glasgow’s 16th Edition Presents Six Sinister Features

Arrow Video FrightFest Glasgow serves up its 16th edition online from March 5–7, 2021, with a half-dozen films from the United States, Canada, and France. From the high-octane thriller American Badger to the film noir elegance of The Woman with Leopard Shoes (La Femme Aux Chaussures Leopard) to the throwback horror of Vicious Fun and beyond, the fest has booked an incredible selection of jaw-dropping cinema. Following is the festival’s official press announcement. Welcome to the 16th edition of Arrow Video FrightFest Glasgow, which, despite continuing COVID-19 restrictions, is back to present a virtual six-pack of tasty titles; an extravaganza of the dark arts that will leave you stirred, shaken and shocked. There will be six online presentations, including the UK premiere of Kyle Rankin’s controversial high school siege drama RUN HIDE FIGHT, starring Isabel May as a fiercely independent student taking on a quartet of invading shooters, and the UK premiere of OUT OF THIS WORLD (HORS DU MONDE),

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jan 14, 2021
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Go/Don’t Go

Alex Knapp writes, directs, and stars in his first feature at the helm, Go/Don’t Go. The film is a quiet meditation and character study of possibly the lone survivor in a postapocalyptic world. Go/Don’t Go plays more like a poetic drama about loneliness and the loss of love than typical postapocalyptic horror movies, thrillers, and science fiction films, so viewers expecting zombie hordes, mutants roaming the desert on souped-up vehicles, or agonizing deaths by virus should seek out other fare for that. Knapp’s film is difficult to describe as even a slow-burn because it doesn’t build to a thrilling or terrifying climax, though its ending is quite satisfying given viewer investment in the main character. Knapp portrays Adam, a socially awkward, painfully shy young man who is introduced by a friend at a social gathering to K (Olivia Luccardi in a moving supporting role), a woman who does her best to coax Adam out of his shell. The two fall

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jan 13, 2021
Horror Fuel

Final Girls Berlin Film Festival Announces Two Planned Events for 2021

The Final Girls Berlin Film Festival celebrates its sixth edition this year with plans for both a virtual component from February 4-7 2021 and a physical edition for Halloween weekend. Among its films directed and produced by women and non-binary filmmakers are the Italian chiller Darkness, moody German offering Time of Moulting, and creepy Argentian tale of the undead The Returned. Following is the festival’s official press announcement. The Final Girls Berlin Film Festival, Berlin’s premier showcase of horror films directed and produced by women and non-binary filmmakers, will return in the new year for the 6th time and first virtual edition. The fest will run from February 4—7, 2021, and include features, short blocks, and an impressive slate of talks and special offerings. Feature films will be geo-locked to Germany while several short blocks and all non-film programming will be viewable worldwide. This will be followed by a planned second in-person event to take place over Halloween weekend, October

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Jan 5, 2021
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Another Hole in the Head Film Festival): Victim of Love

A brooding psychosexual character study that oftentimes flirts with the surreal, Danish film Victim of Love offers striking visuals and gripping performances. Writer/director Jesper Isaksen has crafted a fine debut feature with a brooding, hypnotic flair. Danish-American man Charly (Rudi Køhnke) is staying in the same Copenhagen hotel where his girlfriend Amy (Louise Cho) disappeared a few months earlier. He hits alcohol and cocaine hard, spending seemingly more time under their influences than actually looking for Amy, which he tells others is his reason for being there. Hotel bartender Felicija (Siff Andersson) is a goth denizen of the city nightlife, and she takes Charly on a whirlwind night of partying, and the two eventually wind up in bed together. Charly is haunted by visions of both Amy and a masked murderer, some appearances on the simple side and others much trippier. When Felicija begins to play in his visions too, the proceedings get much darker and more sinister. Charly is

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 29, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Another Hole in the Head Film Festival): F20

Croation shocker F20 may not deliver many surprises to fans of lover-gone-psycho cinema, but its vibrant style and gripping performances make the ride to the inevitable a stirring one. Director Arsen A. Ostojic’s thriller takes viewers on an unsettling ride with nods to slasher fare in its third act. Part-time university student Martina (Romina Tonković) reluctantly helps her widowed father Mate (Mladen Vulić) out at his pizzeria. She develops a crush on Filip (Filip Mayer), a young man her age who orders pizza delivery daily. Asserting herself into his loner lifestyle of playing first-person shooter games while his parents are on vacation at their forest cabin, she and her friend Irena (Lana Ujevic) coax him into going out for drinks and karaoke, and the pair eventually enter into an intimate relationship. Viewers are tipped off very early — some might argue too soon — that something might be amiss with Filip, but I’ll save the how and why to avoid

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 23, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: The Hex

Reine Swat makes her feature film directorial debut with The Hex (originally titled Heks, and AKA Her Mask), a South African horror tale involving witch doctors and human evil. The film is rich in atmosphere but it also has some confusing elements. After witnessing her mother being killed upon her return to her native South Africa, a British Girl (Coco Lloyd as Dilanne) then travels to that country to spend time at her aunt’s (Mary-Anne Barlow) home while trying to unravel the mystery of her mother’s unsolved murder. The aunt’s occupational therapist (Mari Molefe van Heerden) has been sworn to secrecy about a skeleton in the family closet, but believes that Dilanne should be informed. Plagued by weird visions, Dilanne seeks the help of a witch doctor (also van Heerden), and the intrigue begins to slowly build. The Hex has an eerie look to it, but relies on jump scares and a series of hallucination sequences to jolt. Any atmosphere

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 16, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Another Hole in the Head Film Festival): Murder Bury Win

Rich in sharp dialogue, amusing situations, and cast members wonderfully bringing their easy-to-root-for characters to life, writer/director Michael Lovan’s Murder Bury Win is a delightful crime comedy with horror elements. From nail clippers to bear traps and beyond, if it can be used as a murder weapon, the protagonists in this film have most likely thought of it. That’s because the main trio is made up of three would-be board game developers. Chris (Mikelen Walker), Adam (Erich Lane), and Barrett (Henry Alexander Kelly) are three game-nerd friends who are trying to come up with a product that can challenge Murder Wall as the next big thing. Chris is interested in the challenge, Adam is interested in the potential money, and Barrett is interested in the collaboration. After the three buddies fail in their crowdfunding effort for the titular game, they are invited by legendary indie game developer V.V. Stubbs (Craig Cackowski) to show him their game. Impressed, or at least

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 15, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Another Hole in the Head Film Festival): The Last Thanksgiving

Writer/director Erick Lorinc’s low-budget horror indie The Last Thanksgiving delivers big time on the practical effects gore and gags, but falls a bit short on its humor and social commentary goals. Set on the titular holiday, the story sees a group of restaurant employees made to work on Thanksgiving attacked by a cannibal family. The reason for the invasion and violence has to do with the family’s history — I’ll leave out details here so as to avoid spoilers — but their focus of attacks is on those who disrespect the holiday, in their viewpoint, by working on the holiday. The set-up is there for the aforementioned social commentary, but the delivery falls a bit flat with jokes about indigineous peoples — delivered by the villains, who are corrected at one point by an understandably upset near-meal protagonist — and the other attempts at comedy don’t land much better. The acting ranges from good to scenery chewing to a bit

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 14, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Another Hole in the Head Online Film Festival): The Deep Ones

If you are looking for a new exploitation movie version of H.P. Lovecraft’s work, look no further than The Deep Ones. It’s The Shadow Over Innsmouth mashed up with Rosemary’s Baby, Humanoids from the Deep (complete with rape scenes, as in that film; be warned), The Stepford Wives, and tentacle porn, for starters. Lovecraft literary purists will probably shudder at that description, but B-movie aficionados should find plenty to enjoy here. Starting off with naked bodies galore, the film sees Alex (Gina La Piana) and her husband Petri (Johann Urb) renting a seaside vacation home to try and get their minds off of Alex’s miscarraige and reconnect more. Hosts Russell (Robert Miana) and Ingrid (Silvia Spross) Marsh welcome them in an uncomfortably friendly manner, soon taking Petri out on a boat ride where they hypnotize him while the local doctor (TimothyMuskatell in drag) ingratiates herself with Alex. Naturally, there is a reason for everyone’s fake friendliness, and if you guessed

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 9, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: The Glass Man

Writer/director Cristian Solemino’s thriller The Glass Man premiered at London’s FrightFest film festival 11 years ago to great acclaim, but then was tangled up in rights issues. Shot in 2009 during the credit crunch, the film is finally available in the United Kingdom, still timely — if not even more so than when it was made — and delivers a riveting story with some top-notch performances. Andy Nyman (cowriter, codirector, and star of 2017’s Ghost Stories) gives a magnificent turn as Martin Pyrite, a businessman who we soon learn is hiding the fact that he was fired from his job from his wife Julie (Neve Campbell). His credit is shot and his bank account is down to pocket change, yet he still tries to keep up the appearance with her of being successfully employed, pretending to go to work every day. Going to his old job to complain about the bad reference they gave him, he is treated as persona

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 9, 2020
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