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Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Arrow Video FrightFest October Edition): Cyst

Imagine classic science fiction creature features of the past such as Fiend Without a Face mashed up with modern gross-out comedy gags and you are on the right track toward describing Cyst, a loving tribute to the black-and-white creature feature classics and clas-sicks of the 1950s and 1960s with a garish coat of cinematic color. With Cyst set sometime in those aforementioned decades, Eva Habermann stars as Patricia, a put-upon nurse in a medical clinic who serves notice of her intention to quit when physician in charge Dr. Guy (George Hardy of Troll 2) tells her that patent officials are due any minute to have another look at Get Gone, his laser invention meant to be a pain-free way of removing cysts. Patricia still bears the scars from one of his earlier attempts with the device, and she wants nothing more to do with it — though she must serve out the rest of the workday. Naturally, the machine doesn’t

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Nov 4, 2020
Horror Fuel

Popcorn Frights Film Festival Announces a Tantalizing “Wicked Weekend” Virtual Event for Halloween Weekend

Popcorn Frights Film Festival, Florida’s premiere horror-themed film fest, will hold a Wicked Weekend virtual event from October 29th through November 1st. What a way to spend the Halloween weekend this year! Wicked Weekend boasts 21 film premieres, including the world premiere of Smiley Face Killers starring Crispin Glover and the Florida premiere of supernatural thriller Spell, along with the North American premieres of such films as the paranormal thriller They Reach, the documentary about horror anthology movies Tales of the Uncanny, the chiller Babysitter Must Die, and the creature feature The Retreat. Following is the official press announcement. Hang on to your popcorn, boils and ghouls, Popcorn Frights is celebrating this spooky season with a Wicked Weekend virtual event taking place all through Halloween weekend, from October 29th-November 1st, featuring 21 film premieres, conversations, panels, and other special surprises. Come and escape into Halloween with us, it’s our favorite time of year! Highlights from the film line-up include the

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 21, 2020
Horror Fuel

Lund Fantastic Film Festival Presents Surrealism, Psychological Horror, and Science Fiction Among Its  2020 Hybrid Edition Selections 

Sweden’s Lund Fantastic Film Festival will offer both in-cinema and digital offerings for its hybrid edition this year. The fest boasts 14 amazing feature films and 6 curated short film packages for its October 28th through November 1st run. Horror Fuel has reviewed the insane Butt Boy and I have seen the Japanese psychosexual thriller Woman of the Photographs and the French dark fantasy Jumbo, and can absolutely recommend both. The rest of the superb lineup that I haven’t yet seen has me incredibly excited. Following is the fest’s official press announcement. Starting on October 28 and closing out on November 1, The Lund Fantastic Film Festival goes hybrid to present Swedish fans of all things fantastical with a smorgasbord of wholesome genre fare. With a lineup consisting of 14 features and 6 short film packages Lund Fantastic continues to represent all corners of the world in an effort to bring the best and most diverse international genre cinema to

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 20, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Sitges Film Festival): The Old Ways

The Old Ways is, above all, a folk horror film set in Latin America that also includes elements of possession and body horror, as well as blending psychological horror and gore. It tries to tackle a lot, obviously, and sometimes that feels like it loses focus, but strong performances from its three female leads and solid direction make up for that. Christina Lopez (Brigitte Kali Canales) is a reporter of Mexican-American heritage who was born in Veracruz but left as a child sometime after seeing — though not fully understanding — her mother being exorcised. As an adult, she returns to the area on an assignment to research witchcraft, faith healers, and other local supernatural traditions. The film wastes no time in establishing its occult leanings as Christina sees something frightening in a forbidden cave, faints, and wakes up to find herself held captive by an elderly woman (Julia Vera) and her adult son (Sal Lopez), receiving pieces of information

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 19, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Nightstream Film Festival): Bloody Hell

A man who wants to escape the attention of being a local infamous celebrity in Boise, Idaho, packs his bags for Finland, only to find himself getting more horrific and deadly attention there in director Alister Grierson’s U.S./Australian coproduction Bloody Hell. The film delivers strongly in both the fright-fare and humor departments, rating as a must-see for horror comedy fans. Rex (Ben O’Toole) foils a bank robbery by killing the criminals, but during the event, a bank employee is shot dead. Having to agree to a deal, Rex spends eight years in prison and finds himself hounded by paparazzi and citizens because some consider him a hero while others blame the employee’s death on his recklessness. Looking to get away from it all, Rex flies to Finland but on the way, a creepy couple states that he is “perfect for their son.” Soon, Rex finds himself hanging from a rope in a cellar, with one of his legs cut off.

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 13, 2020
Horror Fuel

Canada’s Blood in the Snow Film Festival Announces Its 2020 Digital Lineup

Blood in the Snow Film Festival (BITS), Canada’s premiere fear-fare fest, is going digital and nationwide this year with a tantalizing 11-night lineup. From the excellent Anything for Jackson and its devil-worshipping grandparents to the appealing documentary Hail to the Deadites and its celebration of The Evil Dead fandom, to Bloodthirsty and its lycanthropy tale, and beyond, BITS promises to deliver shocks and shivers galore across Canada. Following is the fest’s official press announcement. The BLOOD IN THE SNOW FILM FESTIVAL (BITS) unleashed its newest batch of Canadian terror, which takes over Halloween this October 28 to November 7 on Super Channel for 11 incredible nights. For the first time, horror and sci-fi fans across the country can experience all the thrills and chills BITS has to offer with a must-see creepy collection of 10 features and 4 shorts programs airing on Super Channel Fuse. The festival kicks off with ANYTHING FOR JACKSON, (dir. Justin G. Dyck) which sees elderly

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 7, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Twisted Dreams Film Festival): VHS Massacre Too

Whereas the documentary VHS Massacre (2016) took a nostalgic look at the decline of VHS and other physical media, its new sequel VHS Massacre Too focuses on such current issues as the lack of interest and even refusal of large streaming platforms — currently the most popular mode of movie consumption — to feature low-budget exploitation films. The documentary takes a sound look at the problem and how it affects independent filmmakers, cast, and crew members. Director Thomas Edward Seymour kicks the film off with film critic Joe Bob Briggs and others discussing exploitation films, censorship, and related topics from the Hays Code onward. It’s a brief but informative introduction and sets the table well for later censorship discussions, such as Blockbuster Video’s refusal to carry certain types of movies. Briggs is just one of several talking heads in the documentary. He provides fine insight on how films can become obscure and even lost without physical media. Filmmaker and actor

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 5, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Celebration of Fantastic Fest): The Boy Behind the Door

No exaggeration: The horror thriller The Boy Behind the Door, from the writing and directing team of David Charbonier and Justin Powell, is one of the most tense, gripping films I have seen in ages, and it had me squirming in my seat and shouting advice and encouragement at its young protagonists throughout the film. It’s a sure bet for my list of top 10 horror films of 2020. Bobby (Lonnie Chavis) and Kevin (Ezra Dewey) are best friends, preteen boys who harbor dreams of someday escaping their smalltown existence to go to a sunny place like California together. While tossing a baseball around in the woods, the two are abducted. Bobby escapes from the trunk of the car where he was left to die and starts to run away from the property where they were taken. Then he hears Kevin’s screams and breaks into the kidnapper’s house to try to rescue his friend. That’s all you should know in

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 3, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (NOLA Horror Film Fest): Parable

South African feature Parable is all over the place, in the best sense of the term. At times loopy, at other times bitingly satirical, and at still others creepy and unnerving as all get out, director Beer Adriaanse’s film is a blast. Teenager Esther (Jane de Wet) gets caught by her father in the act of kissing another girl, and he sends her off to a Christian camp where the controversial Reverend Day (Michael Richard) means to “cure” her of her sapphic desires. When Esther proves hard to “cure,” Day proclaims that she is possessed by a demon. The thing is, somewhere along the line, Esther does indeed find herself in the clutches of a diabolical force. Meanwhile, high schooler Kasper (Jay Hlatshwayo), his drug-dealing buddy Loyd (Danny Meaker), and their friend Lina (Carla Classen) are entering their gated community when Day drives in to hide Esther in one of the houses there. She scratches Kasper, forming a psychic bond

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 28, 2020
Horror Fuel

H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary with a Stellar Streaming Version

More than 60 feature-length and short films inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft are slated for this year’s H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, which marks the 25th edition of this highly revered cinematic event. Festival directors Brian and Gwen Callahan are taking the fest online this year — as they did in June with Portland Horror Film Festival — which opens up H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival to a much larger audience than in the past. As one of H.P. Lovecraft Film Fesetival’s selection judges, I can personally attest to the quality of the films that the fest has on tap. These include the wild, wooly, and jaw-dropping ride The Hill and the Hole, based on a short story by Fritz Leiber, in which a state-employed archaeologist comes across a strange, undocumented mound in a highly remote area, and the Estonian portmanteau Eerie Fairy Tales, which collects a fine group of occult stories, ancient myths, and urban legends. A complete lineup

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 28, 2020

More from Film Festivals

Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Arrow Video FrightFest October Edition): Cyst

Imagine classic science fiction creature features of the past such as Fiend Without a Face mashed up with modern gross-out comedy gags and you are on the right track toward describing Cyst, a loving tribute to the black-and-white creature feature classics and clas-sicks of the 1950s and 1960s with a garish coat of cinematic color. With Cyst set sometime in those aforementioned decades, Eva Habermann stars as Patricia, a put-upon nurse in a medical clinic who serves notice of her intention to quit when physician in charge Dr. Guy (George Hardy of Troll 2) tells her that patent officials are due any minute to have another look at Get Gone, his laser invention meant to be a pain-free way of removing cysts. Patricia still bears the scars from one of his earlier attempts with the device, and she wants nothing more to do with it — though she must serve out the rest of the workday. Naturally, the machine doesn’t

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Nov 4, 2020
Horror Fuel

Popcorn Frights Film Festival Announces a Tantalizing “Wicked Weekend” Virtual Event for Halloween Weekend

Popcorn Frights Film Festival, Florida’s premiere horror-themed film fest, will hold a Wicked Weekend virtual event from October 29th through November 1st. What a way to spend the Halloween weekend this year! Wicked Weekend boasts 21 film premieres, including the world premiere of Smiley Face Killers starring Crispin Glover and the Florida premiere of supernatural thriller Spell, along with the North American premieres of such films as the paranormal thriller They Reach, the documentary about horror anthology movies Tales of the Uncanny, the chiller Babysitter Must Die, and the creature feature The Retreat. Following is the official press announcement. Hang on to your popcorn, boils and ghouls, Popcorn Frights is celebrating this spooky season with a Wicked Weekend virtual event taking place all through Halloween weekend, from October 29th-November 1st, featuring 21 film premieres, conversations, panels, and other special surprises. Come and escape into Halloween with us, it’s our favorite time of year! Highlights from the film line-up include the

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 21, 2020
Horror Fuel

Lund Fantastic Film Festival Presents Surrealism, Psychological Horror, and Science Fiction Among Its  2020 Hybrid Edition Selections 

Sweden’s Lund Fantastic Film Festival will offer both in-cinema and digital offerings for its hybrid edition this year. The fest boasts 14 amazing feature films and 6 curated short film packages for its October 28th through November 1st run. Horror Fuel has reviewed the insane Butt Boy and I have seen the Japanese psychosexual thriller Woman of the Photographs and the French dark fantasy Jumbo, and can absolutely recommend both. The rest of the superb lineup that I haven’t yet seen has me incredibly excited. Following is the fest’s official press announcement. Starting on October 28 and closing out on November 1, The Lund Fantastic Film Festival goes hybrid to present Swedish fans of all things fantastical with a smorgasbord of wholesome genre fare. With a lineup consisting of 14 features and 6 short film packages Lund Fantastic continues to represent all corners of the world in an effort to bring the best and most diverse international genre cinema to

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 20, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Sitges Film Festival): The Old Ways

The Old Ways is, above all, a folk horror film set in Latin America that also includes elements of possession and body horror, as well as blending psychological horror and gore. It tries to tackle a lot, obviously, and sometimes that feels like it loses focus, but strong performances from its three female leads and solid direction make up for that. Christina Lopez (Brigitte Kali Canales) is a reporter of Mexican-American heritage who was born in Veracruz but left as a child sometime after seeing — though not fully understanding — her mother being exorcised. As an adult, she returns to the area on an assignment to research witchcraft, faith healers, and other local supernatural traditions. The film wastes no time in establishing its occult leanings as Christina sees something frightening in a forbidden cave, faints, and wakes up to find herself held captive by an elderly woman (Julia Vera) and her adult son (Sal Lopez), receiving pieces of information

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 19, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Nightstream Film Festival): Bloody Hell

A man who wants to escape the attention of being a local infamous celebrity in Boise, Idaho, packs his bags for Finland, only to find himself getting more horrific and deadly attention there in director Alister Grierson’s U.S./Australian coproduction Bloody Hell. The film delivers strongly in both the fright-fare and humor departments, rating as a must-see for horror comedy fans. Rex (Ben O’Toole) foils a bank robbery by killing the criminals, but during the event, a bank employee is shot dead. Having to agree to a deal, Rex spends eight years in prison and finds himself hounded by paparazzi and citizens because some consider him a hero while others blame the employee’s death on his recklessness. Looking to get away from it all, Rex flies to Finland but on the way, a creepy couple states that he is “perfect for their son.” Soon, Rex finds himself hanging from a rope in a cellar, with one of his legs cut off.

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 13, 2020
Horror Fuel

Canada’s Blood in the Snow Film Festival Announces Its 2020 Digital Lineup

Blood in the Snow Film Festival (BITS), Canada’s premiere fear-fare fest, is going digital and nationwide this year with a tantalizing 11-night lineup. From the excellent Anything for Jackson and its devil-worshipping grandparents to the appealing documentary Hail to the Deadites and its celebration of The Evil Dead fandom, to Bloodthirsty and its lycanthropy tale, and beyond, BITS promises to deliver shocks and shivers galore across Canada. Following is the fest’s official press announcement. The BLOOD IN THE SNOW FILM FESTIVAL (BITS) unleashed its newest batch of Canadian terror, which takes over Halloween this October 28 to November 7 on Super Channel for 11 incredible nights. For the first time, horror and sci-fi fans across the country can experience all the thrills and chills BITS has to offer with a must-see creepy collection of 10 features and 4 shorts programs airing on Super Channel Fuse. The festival kicks off with ANYTHING FOR JACKSON, (dir. Justin G. Dyck) which sees elderly

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 7, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Twisted Dreams Film Festival): VHS Massacre Too

Whereas the documentary VHS Massacre (2016) took a nostalgic look at the decline of VHS and other physical media, its new sequel VHS Massacre Too focuses on such current issues as the lack of interest and even refusal of large streaming platforms — currently the most popular mode of movie consumption — to feature low-budget exploitation films. The documentary takes a sound look at the problem and how it affects independent filmmakers, cast, and crew members. Director Thomas Edward Seymour kicks the film off with film critic Joe Bob Briggs and others discussing exploitation films, censorship, and related topics from the Hays Code onward. It’s a brief but informative introduction and sets the table well for later censorship discussions, such as Blockbuster Video’s refusal to carry certain types of movies. Briggs is just one of several talking heads in the documentary. He provides fine insight on how films can become obscure and even lost without physical media. Filmmaker and actor

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 5, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (Celebration of Fantastic Fest): The Boy Behind the Door

No exaggeration: The horror thriller The Boy Behind the Door, from the writing and directing team of David Charbonier and Justin Powell, is one of the most tense, gripping films I have seen in ages, and it had me squirming in my seat and shouting advice and encouragement at its young protagonists throughout the film. It’s a sure bet for my list of top 10 horror films of 2020. Bobby (Lonnie Chavis) and Kevin (Ezra Dewey) are best friends, preteen boys who harbor dreams of someday escaping their smalltown existence to go to a sunny place like California together. While tossing a baseball around in the woods, the two are abducted. Bobby escapes from the trunk of the car where he was left to die and starts to run away from the property where they were taken. Then he hears Kevin’s screams and breaks into the kidnapper’s house to try to rescue his friend. That’s all you should know in

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 3, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (NOLA Horror Film Fest): Parable

South African feature Parable is all over the place, in the best sense of the term. At times loopy, at other times bitingly satirical, and at still others creepy and unnerving as all get out, director Beer Adriaanse’s film is a blast. Teenager Esther (Jane de Wet) gets caught by her father in the act of kissing another girl, and he sends her off to a Christian camp where the controversial Reverend Day (Michael Richard) means to “cure” her of her sapphic desires. When Esther proves hard to “cure,” Day proclaims that she is possessed by a demon. The thing is, somewhere along the line, Esther does indeed find herself in the clutches of a diabolical force. Meanwhile, high schooler Kasper (Jay Hlatshwayo), his drug-dealing buddy Loyd (Danny Meaker), and their friend Lina (Carla Classen) are entering their gated community when Day drives in to hide Esther in one of the houses there. She scratches Kasper, forming a psychic bond

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 28, 2020
Horror Fuel

H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary with a Stellar Streaming Version

More than 60 feature-length and short films inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft are slated for this year’s H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, which marks the 25th edition of this highly revered cinematic event. Festival directors Brian and Gwen Callahan are taking the fest online this year — as they did in June with Portland Horror Film Festival — which opens up H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival to a much larger audience than in the past. As one of H.P. Lovecraft Film Fesetival’s selection judges, I can personally attest to the quality of the films that the fest has on tap. These include the wild, wooly, and jaw-dropping ride The Hill and the Hole, based on a short story by Fritz Leiber, in which a state-employed archaeologist comes across a strange, undocumented mound in a highly remote area, and the Estonian portmanteau Eerie Fairy Tales, which collects a fine group of occult stories, ancient myths, and urban legends. A complete lineup

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 28, 2020
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