CategoryIndie
Independent horror: micro-budget features, short films and first-time filmmakers doing more with less — and often doing it better.
2,261 stories
IndieMoviesNewsThriller
Thomas Haley makes his feature directorial debut with Breakdown. It also marks the feature film debut for his production company H2 Crew Productions. Breakdown is Haley’s passion project and has been in the works for a few years. Its release is well-timed given the current pandemic and shares similarities with the film’s grim reality. In the film, “a mysterious virus has wiped out much of the world’s population, with the remaining sick being corralled in quarantine zones, as one man fights to find a cure to save humanity, and himself.” Haley also stars in the film described as, “his most intense role released to date,” carrying much of the film’s heavy themes. He is surrounded by a stellar supporting cast including rising scream queen Brooklyn Haley (Paranormal Arracion, Camp Twilight, Slice and Dice), Corey Sorenson (Chicago Fire, Patchwork, Palo Alto), Jessica Cameron (Truth or Dare, Silent Night, All Through The House), and John Marror (Envy, Desert Moon). Described as a
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Industrial repairman Eddie Marino (the great Robert Forster) has a real problem on his grease-stained hands. You see, his wife Vickie (Rutanya Alda) got slappy with a gang of denim-clad Warrior wanna-bes called The Headhunters, and they returned the favor by using her as a pin-cushion, and blasting the couple’s son Scott (Dante Joseph) to pieces with a double-barrel shotgun. To make matters worse, The Headhunters are cleared of the murder charge thanks to some legal loopholes, and in a bizarre twist of fate, Eddie actually goes to jail for assaulting the judge. All is not lost however, as Eddie’s steel workin’ pals are a covert group of vigilantes lead by tough-ass mother fucker Nick (the legendary Fred “The Hammer” Williamson), and when he gets back on the streets Eddie and the boys are going to bring serious bodily harm to every mother fucker that’s done him wrong! Coming from director William Lustig, Vigilante was his attempt at creating a
Continue reading →
Amazon Prime VideoHBO MaxHuluIndieMoviesNetflixNewsReviewsShudderStreaming TVThriller
Kelli’s Top 10 Picks 10: Girl Bella Thorne stars as a young woman seeking out the father that assaulted her mother when she was a kid. She’s learned that he’s threatening her mother and she’s begun a journey to put an end to it. But things may not be as they seem. When she arrives she discovers something disturbing and becomes the target of two brothers who desperately want the cash her father has hidden somewhere on his property. 9: The Wretched A defiant teenage boy, struggling with his parents’ imminent divorce, faces off with a thousand-year-old witch, who is living beneath the skin of and posing as the woman next door. 8: The Dark And the Wicked On a secluded farm in a nondescript rural town, a man is slowly dying. His family gathers to mourn, and soon darkness grows, marked by waking nightmares and a growing sense that something evil is taking over the family. 7: Ghosts of
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
In a story ripped from today’s headlines, a gaggle of folks turn up missing in the dense woods surrounding a small mountain town which ends up being the fault of a dragon. To combat this rather large pain-in-the-ass, the town’s mayor calls in an elite military squad who proceed to trek into those wicked woods and hopefully put an end to all of this legendary creature bullshit. So, these folks walk around, gettin’ their Predator on, while also dealing with a headstrong forest ranger (Arielle Brachfeld) and a death cult that worships the titular beastie. They also fight the dragon… eventually. With that synopsis you can guess what you are in for with Dragon Soldiers… and if you can’t I’ll tell ya! This is a well done, low-budget creature feature that knows damn well it’s Predator with Dragons and it doesn’t give a singular fuck… and you just know that everyone in front of and behind the camera was having
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
One unexpected side effect of writing fright flicks for scads of years, and actually working in the horror biz, is that sometimes I’m called on to review something only to discover that folks are involved that I’ve worked with in one capacity or another. I always try and throw a disclaimer of some sort on those types of things, but honestly it’s becoming a lil’ too frequent, so soon I’ll begin to severely limit these types of reviews just to keep things square. To that end let me state, my reviews are always honest and upfront; but my scale of quality truly is unique. Let’s do a numbered list type of thing where I walk you through this shit… Yes, everything I review is sent to me for free in exchange for my honest thoughts. Yes, my thoughts are given with 100% honesty… but know this; I LOVE ultra-low budget horror (and exploitation), and if I feel something was made
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsParanormalShudderStreaming TVThrillerTrailers
RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has announced the release of the supernatural horror film HOST from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller, and the supernatural. Host marks the feature directorial debut of Rob Savage who co-wrote the film with Gemma Hurley (Shoot for the Moon) and Jed Shepherd (Multiplex). The film stars Haley Bishop (Angel Has Fallen), Radina Drandova (“Pickled Eggs”), Jemma Moore (Wonder Woman), Caroline Ward (The IMAX Nutcracker), Emma Louise Webb (“The Crown”), and Edward Linard (Golden Years). In Host, six friends hire a medium to conduct a séance during lockdown for their weekly Zoom call. Jemma decides to pull a prank and makes up a story about a boy she knew in high school who hanged himself. By doing this, Jemma inadvertently invites a demonic presence to cross over. Soon the friends begin noticing strange occurrences in their homes as the evil spirit begins to make itself known, and they all realize this night
Continue reading →
GamingIndieNewsProductTrailers
The debut game from Asmodev has left early access on Steam and will be fully released on December 28th. Their first game is a gothic dark-fantasy hardcore arcade-style game called Infernal Radiation. Mim, one of the game’s creators had this to say about the upcoming story: We wanted a story that would correspond with the gameplay. And we did it. Infernal Radiation is a chaotic ballad of love, betrayal and revenge. As always, everything we do in Asmodev is steeped in bloody romanticism” Infernal Radiation puts players in the shoes of an exorcist that’s stuck on Halloween Island where a power plant that harnesses the energy of hell to produce power has exploded and the radiation causes people to become possessed. Players will battle the possessed as well as demons and will face off against 20 demonic bosses. Players can go it alone or have a friend help in local co-op mode. Infernal Radiation will be coming to PC (Steam)
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
Kamikaze Dogfight and Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, have let loose the first trailer for the post-apocalyptic psychological thriller, Go/Don’t Go. Written and directed by first time filmmaker and actor, Alex Knapp, the film stars Olivia Luccardi, Nore Davis, Bettina Skye, Tom Essig, and Zoey Wagner. After an unknown cataclysm, Adam (Alex Knapp) is alone. The sole inhabitant of a vacant, unchanged world, or so he thinks. While attempting to stay grounded in the desolate landscape, visions come to him—the fateful night his best friend Kyle (Nore Davis) introduces him to the love of his life, K (Olivia Luccardi). As Adam’s mental state starts to unravel, he is plagued by lingering questions and uncertain realities about his world. His grip on what’s left starts to slip away—sending him spiraling towards a series of unforeseen consequences and unexpected truths. We’re incredibly excited to be partnering with Kamikaze Dogfight and Gravitas Ventures for the release of Go/Don’t Go. The broad
Continue reading →
Amazon Prime VideoIndieMoviesNewsStreaming TVTrailers
Mandao Returns, the sequel to writer-director Scott Dunn‘s 2018 sci-fi horror comedy Mandao of the Dead, has now landed on Amazon Prime. “Jay Mandao is not your average hero. He’s an astral projecting time traveler who spends his days hanging with his adult nephew Jackson, crashing on his scheming cousin Andy’s couch, and riding with his cabbie friend Fer. In the days leading up to Christmas, Jay tries to make contact with his deceased father Raymond but ends up contacting the ghost of B-movie star, Aura Garcia. Aura enlists the gang to astral project back in time to prevent her death. Jay quickly finds out that the more he messes with time, the more he falls down a rabbit hole of cults, conspiracies, and death. This Christmas is gonna kick astral!” Mandao Returns is headlined by Jenny Lorenzo (“Victor and Valentino”, “Gentefied”), Jim O’Doherty (“Third Rock from the Sun”, “Grounded for Life”), Sean Liang (“American Horror Story: 1984”), Scott Dunn,
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
A trio of lethal luchadores, El Apache (Tino Zamora), Manny (Manuel Ramirez), and Guero (Art Paul) by name, botch a robbery and find themselves well and truly on the lam. Their numbers soon reduced by one due to misadventure; our deadly duo find themselves in the home of a couple of lovely ladies, Starletta (Sparkle Soojian) and Violet (Nikki Curtis Jones) to be precise, that seem more than accommodating to our protagonists… that is until some supernatural shit hits the fan right quick! Full of grindhouse bravura, bad dudes, strange transformations, and femme fatales; Day of the Pigs does a hell of a lot to satisfy the ol’ terror tooth in it’s brief twelve minute runtime. Writer/Director Michael S. Rodriguez (along with Raul Cantu on story assist) brings quite the fully fleshed out concept to life in this one boils n’ ghouls and presents a world of larcenous masked madmen, southern belle witches, body horror, and most importantly… bacon, and
Continue reading →
More from Indie
IndieMoviesNewsThriller
Thomas Haley makes his feature directorial debut with Breakdown. It also marks the feature film debut for his production company H2 Crew Productions. Breakdown is Haley’s passion project and has been in the works for a few years. Its release is well-timed given the current pandemic and shares similarities with the film’s grim reality. In the film, “a mysterious virus has wiped out much of the world’s population, with the remaining sick being corralled in quarantine zones, as one man fights to find a cure to save humanity, and himself.” Haley also stars in the film described as, “his most intense role released to date,” carrying much of the film’s heavy themes. He is surrounded by a stellar supporting cast including rising scream queen Brooklyn Haley (Paranormal Arracion, Camp Twilight, Slice and Dice), Corey Sorenson (Chicago Fire, Patchwork, Palo Alto), Jessica Cameron (Truth or Dare, Silent Night, All Through The House), and John Marror (Envy, Desert Moon). Described as a
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Industrial repairman Eddie Marino (the great Robert Forster) has a real problem on his grease-stained hands. You see, his wife Vickie (Rutanya Alda) got slappy with a gang of denim-clad Warrior wanna-bes called The Headhunters, and they returned the favor by using her as a pin-cushion, and blasting the couple’s son Scott (Dante Joseph) to pieces with a double-barrel shotgun. To make matters worse, The Headhunters are cleared of the murder charge thanks to some legal loopholes, and in a bizarre twist of fate, Eddie actually goes to jail for assaulting the judge. All is not lost however, as Eddie’s steel workin’ pals are a covert group of vigilantes lead by tough-ass mother fucker Nick (the legendary Fred “The Hammer” Williamson), and when he gets back on the streets Eddie and the boys are going to bring serious bodily harm to every mother fucker that’s done him wrong! Coming from director William Lustig, Vigilante was his attempt at creating a
Continue reading →
Amazon Prime VideoHBO MaxHuluIndieMoviesNetflixNewsReviewsShudderStreaming TVThriller
Kelli’s Top 10 Picks 10: Girl Bella Thorne stars as a young woman seeking out the father that assaulted her mother when she was a kid. She’s learned that he’s threatening her mother and she’s begun a journey to put an end to it. But things may not be as they seem. When she arrives she discovers something disturbing and becomes the target of two brothers who desperately want the cash her father has hidden somewhere on his property. 9: The Wretched A defiant teenage boy, struggling with his parents’ imminent divorce, faces off with a thousand-year-old witch, who is living beneath the skin of and posing as the woman next door. 8: The Dark And the Wicked On a secluded farm in a nondescript rural town, a man is slowly dying. His family gathers to mourn, and soon darkness grows, marked by waking nightmares and a growing sense that something evil is taking over the family. 7: Ghosts of
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
In a story ripped from today’s headlines, a gaggle of folks turn up missing in the dense woods surrounding a small mountain town which ends up being the fault of a dragon. To combat this rather large pain-in-the-ass, the town’s mayor calls in an elite military squad who proceed to trek into those wicked woods and hopefully put an end to all of this legendary creature bullshit. So, these folks walk around, gettin’ their Predator on, while also dealing with a headstrong forest ranger (Arielle Brachfeld) and a death cult that worships the titular beastie. They also fight the dragon… eventually. With that synopsis you can guess what you are in for with Dragon Soldiers… and if you can’t I’ll tell ya! This is a well done, low-budget creature feature that knows damn well it’s Predator with Dragons and it doesn’t give a singular fuck… and you just know that everyone in front of and behind the camera was having
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
One unexpected side effect of writing fright flicks for scads of years, and actually working in the horror biz, is that sometimes I’m called on to review something only to discover that folks are involved that I’ve worked with in one capacity or another. I always try and throw a disclaimer of some sort on those types of things, but honestly it’s becoming a lil’ too frequent, so soon I’ll begin to severely limit these types of reviews just to keep things square. To that end let me state, my reviews are always honest and upfront; but my scale of quality truly is unique. Let’s do a numbered list type of thing where I walk you through this shit… Yes, everything I review is sent to me for free in exchange for my honest thoughts. Yes, my thoughts are given with 100% honesty… but know this; I LOVE ultra-low budget horror (and exploitation), and if I feel something was made
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsParanormalShudderStreaming TVThrillerTrailers
RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has announced the release of the supernatural horror film HOST from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller, and the supernatural. Host marks the feature directorial debut of Rob Savage who co-wrote the film with Gemma Hurley (Shoot for the Moon) and Jed Shepherd (Multiplex). The film stars Haley Bishop (Angel Has Fallen), Radina Drandova (“Pickled Eggs”), Jemma Moore (Wonder Woman), Caroline Ward (The IMAX Nutcracker), Emma Louise Webb (“The Crown”), and Edward Linard (Golden Years). In Host, six friends hire a medium to conduct a séance during lockdown for their weekly Zoom call. Jemma decides to pull a prank and makes up a story about a boy she knew in high school who hanged himself. By doing this, Jemma inadvertently invites a demonic presence to cross over. Soon the friends begin noticing strange occurrences in their homes as the evil spirit begins to make itself known, and they all realize this night
Continue reading →
GamingIndieNewsProductTrailers
The debut game from Asmodev has left early access on Steam and will be fully released on December 28th. Their first game is a gothic dark-fantasy hardcore arcade-style game called Infernal Radiation. Mim, one of the game’s creators had this to say about the upcoming story: We wanted a story that would correspond with the gameplay. And we did it. Infernal Radiation is a chaotic ballad of love, betrayal and revenge. As always, everything we do in Asmodev is steeped in bloody romanticism” Infernal Radiation puts players in the shoes of an exorcist that’s stuck on Halloween Island where a power plant that harnesses the energy of hell to produce power has exploded and the radiation causes people to become possessed. Players will battle the possessed as well as demons and will face off against 20 demonic bosses. Players can go it alone or have a friend help in local co-op mode. Infernal Radiation will be coming to PC (Steam)
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
Kamikaze Dogfight and Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, have let loose the first trailer for the post-apocalyptic psychological thriller, Go/Don’t Go. Written and directed by first time filmmaker and actor, Alex Knapp, the film stars Olivia Luccardi, Nore Davis, Bettina Skye, Tom Essig, and Zoey Wagner. After an unknown cataclysm, Adam (Alex Knapp) is alone. The sole inhabitant of a vacant, unchanged world, or so he thinks. While attempting to stay grounded in the desolate landscape, visions come to him—the fateful night his best friend Kyle (Nore Davis) introduces him to the love of his life, K (Olivia Luccardi). As Adam’s mental state starts to unravel, he is plagued by lingering questions and uncertain realities about his world. His grip on what’s left starts to slip away—sending him spiraling towards a series of unforeseen consequences and unexpected truths. We’re incredibly excited to be partnering with Kamikaze Dogfight and Gravitas Ventures for the release of Go/Don’t Go. The broad
Continue reading →
Amazon Prime VideoIndieMoviesNewsStreaming TVTrailers
Mandao Returns, the sequel to writer-director Scott Dunn‘s 2018 sci-fi horror comedy Mandao of the Dead, has now landed on Amazon Prime. “Jay Mandao is not your average hero. He’s an astral projecting time traveler who spends his days hanging with his adult nephew Jackson, crashing on his scheming cousin Andy’s couch, and riding with his cabbie friend Fer. In the days leading up to Christmas, Jay tries to make contact with his deceased father Raymond but ends up contacting the ghost of B-movie star, Aura Garcia. Aura enlists the gang to astral project back in time to prevent her death. Jay quickly finds out that the more he messes with time, the more he falls down a rabbit hole of cults, conspiracies, and death. This Christmas is gonna kick astral!” Mandao Returns is headlined by Jenny Lorenzo (“Victor and Valentino”, “Gentefied”), Jim O’Doherty (“Third Rock from the Sun”, “Grounded for Life”), Sean Liang (“American Horror Story: 1984”), Scott Dunn,
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
A trio of lethal luchadores, El Apache (Tino Zamora), Manny (Manuel Ramirez), and Guero (Art Paul) by name, botch a robbery and find themselves well and truly on the lam. Their numbers soon reduced by one due to misadventure; our deadly duo find themselves in the home of a couple of lovely ladies, Starletta (Sparkle Soojian) and Violet (Nikki Curtis Jones) to be precise, that seem more than accommodating to our protagonists… that is until some supernatural shit hits the fan right quick! Full of grindhouse bravura, bad dudes, strange transformations, and femme fatales; Day of the Pigs does a hell of a lot to satisfy the ol’ terror tooth in it’s brief twelve minute runtime. Writer/Director Michael S. Rodriguez (along with Raul Cantu on story assist) brings quite the fully fleshed out concept to life in this one boils n’ ghouls and presents a world of larcenous masked madmen, southern belle witches, body horror, and most importantly… bacon, and
Continue reading →
