CategoryReviews
Honest horror reviews of films, series, games and books — no hype, no spoilers, just whether it is worth your time and your nerves.
3,462 stories
ForeignMoviesReviewsThriller
Coming from a period of massive social upheaval in 1970’s Italy, the “Years of Lead” as they were called, inspired filmmakers of the time to dip their toes in all-manner brutal crime pictures (the poliziotteschi genre), and our fine fiends at Arrow Video have collected some of them in the aptly named Years of Lead collection, a series of five films on Blu-ray that represent the era to a “T”! First up comes 1975’s Savage Three which concerns Turin-based computer programmer Ovidio (Joe Dallesandro), and his two pals Peppi (Guido Di Carli) and Giacomo (Gianfranco De Grassi); a trio of bored-ass mother fuckers that aren’t above starting a soccer riot, stealing a car, and riding folks down if they like their wheels better… ya know, just for kicks! Making matter worse, the men all have shitty home lives, and are in danger of being replaced by machines at work, which in turn fuels larger and larger crime sprees featuring those
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviewsThriller
Otsuya (Ayako Wakao) has it all, being the daughter of a well-off merchant type back in the days of yore down Japan-way. Not content to live a life on Easy Street, Otsuya falls head over ass for one of her father’s employees (read dirt-poor bastard), Shinsuke ( Akio Hasegawa) to be precise. Anyway, the dynamic duo decide to beat feet and elope, because you can bet demons to diamonds that Daddy Dearest would never approve of that bit of bad romance. Speaking of “bad”, that whole eloping idea was right shit and long story short; Otsuya ends up a prostitute who’s fortune gets even more like a puddle of puke when she meets a shady-as-fuck master tattooist who decides Otsuya’s ivory-white skin would make one hell of a canvas for his latest work; a big-ass monster spider with a human face, and right on her back that shit goes. Along with her new ink comes the ire of nearly fuckin’
Continue reading →
GamingReviews
Artist extraordinaire Tony McMillen (creator of the horror effects biz/coming of age tale Serious Creatures that every, single one of you monster mother fuckers need on your beastly bookshelves right away) is getting ready to launch a Kickstarter campaign to get his latest creation, the ’80s video game influenced Attaboy in your hairy lil’ hands, and he just so happened to grant yours cruelly an advanced look-see at his tale of advanced robots and the perils of fatherhood… Presented in an over-sized “treasury” format, Attaboy relates the tale of the eponymous robot boy; the creation of a kindly scientist and a soon-to-turn rogue Motherboard, who must stand against a fleet of mechanical menaces. It’s also about exploring the existence of a game that might be completely hallucinatory (even the name of the games supposed creators, Alucinari offers credence to this)… and I haven’t gotten to the juicy part yet cats n’ creeps! At it’s center, Attaboy is a story of
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
How far would you go to help keep a sick loved one alive? How willing would you be to enable an addicted family member? At what point would you begin to say “Enough is enough” in either of these scenarios and actually act on it? These are just three of the questions explored in writer/director Jonathan Cuartas’ arthouse horror feature My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To. Three siblings live a bleak existence in their suburban home. Thomas (Owen Campbell) is the youngest, and he needs human blood to survive. He isn’t a typical fright-fare vampire, though. He is weak, often barely able to move without the help of his siblings, and totally dependent on them to survive. His brother Dwight (Patrick Fugit) rounds up unsuspecting homeless people under the guise of driving them to a shelter, and then takes them home where sister Jessie (Ingrid Sophie Schram) does the nasty business of draining the victims’ blood into
Continue reading →
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Film FestivalsReviews
Norwegian feature To Freddy (original title Til Freddy; 2020) finds the titular character, one of a group of friends planning a final camping trip after graduating university and heading into the workaday world, becoming increasingly paranoid after a box found randomly in the woods predicts that he will be killed by a member of their group. The film is a well-crafted thriller with horror overtones. Freddy (Nicolai Narvesen Lied) is worried about his future, and more than a little distrustful of social media, having recently abandoned it altogether after receiving targeted ads after a phone call. His friend Viljar (writer/director Viljar Bøe) finds a box containing birthday cards and messages anonymously addressed to Freddy. Curious, Freddy reads one that says one of his friends will kill him at a precise date and time during the camping trip, and that the trip cannot be cancelled. To prove the validity of this prediction, Freddy has instructions to perform specific games of chance
Continue reading →
GamingNewsProductReviews
Ever wonder what it would be like to fight for survival in the middle of the Amazon? I try not to, but Creepy Jar has now made that possible without having to leave the comfort of my air conditioning! Ladies and Gents let me introduce to you the psychological thriller that will test your gaming survival skills, Green Hell. Green Hell follows Jake, who recently wrote a book about a tribe in the Amazon that has yet to have been contacted by the modern world, going with his wife Mia to make contact with the tribe as Mia can speak the language. 30 days into the expedition, something goes wrong and Jake is alone and lost in the jungle with little to no memory of what caused his accident while fleeing from the tribe. Now onto the game itself! When it comes to the game’s controls, they can be a bit tricky, you can tell the game was originally made
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
Fred Wilson (played to the scenery chewing ultimate by the late Charles Grodin), an executive douche-nozzle of the Petrox Oil Company, believes a mysterious and uncharted island, surrounded by a permanent bank of thick-ass fog (official meteorologist lingo), may be the source of a huge oil deposit, and sets sail with a full crew at his disposal. But alas, the crew is not all that’s aboard, as primate paleontologist Jack Prescott (a mega-laid back Jeff Bridges… yes, I know that’s can go without saying… ) has stowed away on the vessel, and he has all manner of historical accounts of the island they are heading to es no bueno… oh, and that fog mentioned up yonder may be caused by the breath of a giant creature. As if that weren’t enough in the uninvited guests department, the ship also picks up a castaway, an actress named Dwan (don’t ask, it’s fuckin’ stupid… oh and she’s played by the ever-awesome Jessica
Continue reading →
ProductReviews
Spring cleaning is coming to an end and now comes the time when you are deciding if you want to add new décor, let’s face it, if you’re reading this you’re not like most people, you’re unique, dare I say you’re probably considered an eccentric, so traditional home décor won’t suit you. Luckily there’s a place like D.C. Based Peculiar Artifacts! With a wide range of shirts and home décor, I’m honored to have had to chance to have my own unique piece of art to hang in my home, a framed poster of Candyman done in the style of Art Nuvogue and Byzantine! Big shout out to Kevin for making this review possible! Candyman is not the only horror icon done in this style, there’s more to choose from as well as other amazing works. The picture is done well with great detail, printed on high-quality paper. A closer look at the picture and you can see the effect
Continue reading →
DocumentariesMoviesNewsReviewsStreaming TV
Shock Docs has a history of putting out the best documentaries on frightening subjects such as the real stories from everything from the Amityville murders to documentaries about legendary killers like Ed Gein. They’re back again, this time with a documentary exploring the true story that inspired The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do it which just opened in theaters and premiered on HBO Max. Shock Docs: The Devil Made Me Do It dives deep into the true story of the case of Arne Johnson, who murdered his landlord and used the possession defense in court for the first time in American history. Arne Johnson’s (played in The Conjuring 3 by Ruairi O’Connor) experience with the supernatural began when his girlfriend and her family moved into a new house. Soon her little brother David began to show troubling signs of being possessed. That’s when the Warrens became involved. Out of desperation to help the young boy, Arne made the mistake
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsParanormalReviewsTrailers
The third installment of The Conjuring Franchise, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, has now opened in theaters and landed on HBO Max. Here’s what I think. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson return to their roles as the famous real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, which explores the real store of Arne Johnson, which marked the first time in U.S. history that used a demonic possession as a defense in a real murder trial. Consider this your warning, there are mild spoilers ahead. While we’ve known about the film’s plot for a while now, there were surprises in store for fans with many aspects of the story (both real and created) kept under wraps, such as the curse. For that we thank them. I hate watching a film that’s already been spoiled to death in trailers and by advertising campaigns. I’m guessing you’re wondering if it’s scary. The
Continue reading →
More from Reviews
ForeignMoviesReviewsThriller
Coming from a period of massive social upheaval in 1970’s Italy, the “Years of Lead” as they were called, inspired filmmakers of the time to dip their toes in all-manner brutal crime pictures (the poliziotteschi genre), and our fine fiends at Arrow Video have collected some of them in the aptly named Years of Lead collection, a series of five films on Blu-ray that represent the era to a “T”! First up comes 1975’s Savage Three which concerns Turin-based computer programmer Ovidio (Joe Dallesandro), and his two pals Peppi (Guido Di Carli) and Giacomo (Gianfranco De Grassi); a trio of bored-ass mother fuckers that aren’t above starting a soccer riot, stealing a car, and riding folks down if they like their wheels better… ya know, just for kicks! Making matter worse, the men all have shitty home lives, and are in danger of being replaced by machines at work, which in turn fuels larger and larger crime sprees featuring those
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviewsThriller
Otsuya (Ayako Wakao) has it all, being the daughter of a well-off merchant type back in the days of yore down Japan-way. Not content to live a life on Easy Street, Otsuya falls head over ass for one of her father’s employees (read dirt-poor bastard), Shinsuke ( Akio Hasegawa) to be precise. Anyway, the dynamic duo decide to beat feet and elope, because you can bet demons to diamonds that Daddy Dearest would never approve of that bit of bad romance. Speaking of “bad”, that whole eloping idea was right shit and long story short; Otsuya ends up a prostitute who’s fortune gets even more like a puddle of puke when she meets a shady-as-fuck master tattooist who decides Otsuya’s ivory-white skin would make one hell of a canvas for his latest work; a big-ass monster spider with a human face, and right on her back that shit goes. Along with her new ink comes the ire of nearly fuckin’
Continue reading →
GamingReviews
Artist extraordinaire Tony McMillen (creator of the horror effects biz/coming of age tale Serious Creatures that every, single one of you monster mother fuckers need on your beastly bookshelves right away) is getting ready to launch a Kickstarter campaign to get his latest creation, the ’80s video game influenced Attaboy in your hairy lil’ hands, and he just so happened to grant yours cruelly an advanced look-see at his tale of advanced robots and the perils of fatherhood… Presented in an over-sized “treasury” format, Attaboy relates the tale of the eponymous robot boy; the creation of a kindly scientist and a soon-to-turn rogue Motherboard, who must stand against a fleet of mechanical menaces. It’s also about exploring the existence of a game that might be completely hallucinatory (even the name of the games supposed creators, Alucinari offers credence to this)… and I haven’t gotten to the juicy part yet cats n’ creeps! At it’s center, Attaboy is a story of
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
How far would you go to help keep a sick loved one alive? How willing would you be to enable an addicted family member? At what point would you begin to say “Enough is enough” in either of these scenarios and actually act on it? These are just three of the questions explored in writer/director Jonathan Cuartas’ arthouse horror feature My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To. Three siblings live a bleak existence in their suburban home. Thomas (Owen Campbell) is the youngest, and he needs human blood to survive. He isn’t a typical fright-fare vampire, though. He is weak, often barely able to move without the help of his siblings, and totally dependent on them to survive. His brother Dwight (Patrick Fugit) rounds up unsuspecting homeless people under the guise of driving them to a shelter, and then takes them home where sister Jessie (Ingrid Sophie Schram) does the nasty business of draining the victims’ blood into
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsReviews
Norwegian feature To Freddy (original title Til Freddy; 2020) finds the titular character, one of a group of friends planning a final camping trip after graduating university and heading into the workaday world, becoming increasingly paranoid after a box found randomly in the woods predicts that he will be killed by a member of their group. The film is a well-crafted thriller with horror overtones. Freddy (Nicolai Narvesen Lied) is worried about his future, and more than a little distrustful of social media, having recently abandoned it altogether after receiving targeted ads after a phone call. His friend Viljar (writer/director Viljar Bøe) finds a box containing birthday cards and messages anonymously addressed to Freddy. Curious, Freddy reads one that says one of his friends will kill him at a precise date and time during the camping trip, and that the trip cannot be cancelled. To prove the validity of this prediction, Freddy has instructions to perform specific games of chance
Continue reading →
GamingNewsProductReviews
Ever wonder what it would be like to fight for survival in the middle of the Amazon? I try not to, but Creepy Jar has now made that possible without having to leave the comfort of my air conditioning! Ladies and Gents let me introduce to you the psychological thriller that will test your gaming survival skills, Green Hell. Green Hell follows Jake, who recently wrote a book about a tribe in the Amazon that has yet to have been contacted by the modern world, going with his wife Mia to make contact with the tribe as Mia can speak the language. 30 days into the expedition, something goes wrong and Jake is alone and lost in the jungle with little to no memory of what caused his accident while fleeing from the tribe. Now onto the game itself! When it comes to the game’s controls, they can be a bit tricky, you can tell the game was originally made
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
Fred Wilson (played to the scenery chewing ultimate by the late Charles Grodin), an executive douche-nozzle of the Petrox Oil Company, believes a mysterious and uncharted island, surrounded by a permanent bank of thick-ass fog (official meteorologist lingo), may be the source of a huge oil deposit, and sets sail with a full crew at his disposal. But alas, the crew is not all that’s aboard, as primate paleontologist Jack Prescott (a mega-laid back Jeff Bridges… yes, I know that’s can go without saying… ) has stowed away on the vessel, and he has all manner of historical accounts of the island they are heading to es no bueno… oh, and that fog mentioned up yonder may be caused by the breath of a giant creature. As if that weren’t enough in the uninvited guests department, the ship also picks up a castaway, an actress named Dwan (don’t ask, it’s fuckin’ stupid… oh and she’s played by the ever-awesome Jessica
Continue reading →
ProductReviews
Spring cleaning is coming to an end and now comes the time when you are deciding if you want to add new décor, let’s face it, if you’re reading this you’re not like most people, you’re unique, dare I say you’re probably considered an eccentric, so traditional home décor won’t suit you. Luckily there’s a place like D.C. Based Peculiar Artifacts! With a wide range of shirts and home décor, I’m honored to have had to chance to have my own unique piece of art to hang in my home, a framed poster of Candyman done in the style of Art Nuvogue and Byzantine! Big shout out to Kevin for making this review possible! Candyman is not the only horror icon done in this style, there’s more to choose from as well as other amazing works. The picture is done well with great detail, printed on high-quality paper. A closer look at the picture and you can see the effect
Continue reading →
DocumentariesMoviesNewsReviewsStreaming TV
Shock Docs has a history of putting out the best documentaries on frightening subjects such as the real stories from everything from the Amityville murders to documentaries about legendary killers like Ed Gein. They’re back again, this time with a documentary exploring the true story that inspired The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do it which just opened in theaters and premiered on HBO Max. Shock Docs: The Devil Made Me Do It dives deep into the true story of the case of Arne Johnson, who murdered his landlord and used the possession defense in court for the first time in American history. Arne Johnson’s (played in The Conjuring 3 by Ruairi O’Connor) experience with the supernatural began when his girlfriend and her family moved into a new house. Soon her little brother David began to show troubling signs of being possessed. That’s when the Warrens became involved. Out of desperation to help the young boy, Arne made the mistake
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsParanormalReviewsTrailers
The third installment of The Conjuring Franchise, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, has now opened in theaters and landed on HBO Max. Here’s what I think. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson return to their roles as the famous real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, which explores the real store of Arne Johnson, which marked the first time in U.S. history that used a demonic possession as a defense in a real murder trial. Consider this your warning, there are mild spoilers ahead. While we’ve known about the film’s plot for a while now, there were surprises in store for fans with many aspects of the story (both real and created) kept under wraps, such as the curse. For that we thank them. I hate watching a film that’s already been spoiled to death in trailers and by advertising campaigns. I’m guessing you’re wondering if it’s scary. The
Continue reading →
