CategoryReviews
Honest horror reviews of films, series, games and books — no hype, no spoilers, just whether it is worth your time and your nerves.
3,465 stories
DocumentariesMoviesReviews
In 1956, Edward D. Wood Jr. began production on a film called Grave Robbers from Space. And even though it had been screened privately at the Carlton Theatre in Los Angeles in March 0f 1957, it wouldn’t be released until July of 1959 under it’s new title, Plan 9 from Outer Space. Over the years it has clawed its way to becoming a cult classic while still being saddled with the dubious honor(?) of being the worst film ever made. Of course over the years it has faced tough competition from films that threaten to overthrow the film from its throne of utter mediocrity. Such films vying for the lowest rung are Ishtar, Gigli, From Justin to Kelly, Grease 2, Glitter and Troll 2. The list could seriously go on and on, but these are these movies are knocking hard at the doors and windows trying to grab that crown. Now what was it that made Plan 9 so bad?
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
In an Alpine Valley town of Northern Italy there is a yearly festival held on December 5th. Many of the townsfolk take to the streets, disguised as a mythical (?) demonic creature known as Krampus. According to legend, the real Krampus walks hidden among them during this annual brouhaha, with the intent of stealing away with naughty and disobedient children. Throughout the years many children have vanished with no trace, and have never been seen or heard from again. On one such night a man named Manuel joins others from the town, who regale in this traditional celebration. After the festivities have died down, Manuel joins some of his fellow Krampus impersonators to imbibe and unwind. His very young son, Tommi, has just witnessed the frightening spectacle and pleads for his father’s attention. However, Manuel is having too good a time boozing it up to care. Tommi, having just been rebuffed by his father runs off on his own, finding
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
REVIEW BY KELLI MARKSMAN MCNEELY Takakura is a former detective. He receives a request from his ex-colleague, Nogami, to examine a missing family case that occurred 6 years earlier. Takakura follows Saki’s memory. She is the only surviving family member from the case. Meanwhile, Takakura and his wife Yasuko recently moved into a new home. Their neighbor, Nishino, has a sick wife and a young teen daughter. One day, the daughter, Mio, tells him that the man is not her father and she doesn’t know him at all. That is what the official synopsis of the movie says.. I also read some appreciating reviews about the movie. But according to me, It seems like Kurosawa lost his magic. This is a very average movie, nothing you haven’t seen before. The camera-work and acting is great but the movie and the whole plot was a huge letdown to me. The first half is something like the vein of ‘Cure’ (Kurusawa’s 1997
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviews
The place is Pennsylvania, and the time period is the late 1800’s. On a daily basis, trains teeming with orphaned children would arrive unleashing these urchins onto the city streets. One of these children, a solitary and destitute seven year old girl, is entrusted by an older woman to carry out a simple task on a nightly basis – deliver a plate of food to someone residing in the attic of the woman’s residence. However, there is one important rule she MUST follow, and that is for her to NEVER pass beyond the serving table in the attic. Albeit mundane and repetitive, this chore proves to be a simple enough way for the young waif to make some much needed money. But children are naturally curious and eventually it may get the better of this young girl. Who is the person living in this attic, and why are they being secretly confined? These maybe questions this young orphan girl won’t
Continue reading →
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MoviesReviews
Dwight Shroud has awakened to find himself in an asylum, but he doesn’t intend to stick around to find out how hospitable his hosts are. He is plagued by the horrific imagery that his madness projects upon everything and everyone he encounters during his confinement. During a session, Dwight subdues his doctor and makes his escape. As he tries to put distance between the asylum and himself, Dwight attempts to flag down an approaching car. The driver swerves and crash the car, in a fiery wreck. As Dwight tries to pull the badly burned driver from the car, and during the brief encounter each man assumes the other’s consciousness. Dwight begins to live under his newly assumed identity, but quickly learns that the madness which plagued his previous existence still remains. Furthermore, supernatural forces existing in the world outside the asylum begin to amass and torment him. What possible fate could be in store for an insane man, bedeviled by
Continue reading →
Reviews
Tall Men has something of an interesting history behind it; originally released in 2004 as Customer 152, the 13 year old film is being given fresh legs with a new title, a new distributer, and a release on Netflix in May. It’s a shame thin, given the films journey to the silver screen, that it isn’t any better. A phycological horror featuring evil debt collectors and faceless men in suits almost a decade before Slenderman hit the scene, Tall Men has a lot of good elements, but a lack of cohesion ultimately stops the film from rising beyond the sum of its parts. Terrence Mackleby isn’t very good with money, to the tune of seven maxed out credit cards, $80,000 in debt, and a declaration of bankruptcy. However when he gets a mysterious credit card in the mail, with only four percent interest, old habits prove to die hard. It’s not long before Terrence finds owing a lot of money
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
When walking through a local park or street market, one might encounter all manner of artists, performers or…well, performance artists. Mimes are likely the most popular choice to be relegated on the lowest rung of the performance artist ladder, but there is something even lower – the “living statue”. Because while mimes at least have the skill to make people believe they’re stuck in an invisible box, the “living statue’s” claim to fame is the ability to remain stationary for long periods of time. That’s nothing, because I’ve seen plenty of road construction workers do the same thing for better money. However, if you just happen to be dead center in the middle of of a zombie stampede, where they are attacking everyone or everything that moves, the ability to remain deathly still is a huge asset. So that’s where we find our main character, a “living Statue”, at the present. He is quite literally peering into the eyes of
Continue reading →
MoviesParanormalReviews
Zoe is a young woman looking to live life on her own terms. She has quit, or at least intends to, so that she can avoid falling into the same work-a-day drone trap her father did. The first step, or rather many steps, is a ten day hiking trip along the legendary Appalachian Trail. She will be accompanied by two half brothers (Brian and Sam aka Cheese), a computer programmer (Dan), and a trail guide with a VERY sketchy past (Drake). They begin their ten day trek, but rather than continue traveling along the marked trail, they are led off trail by Drake. He justifies this by claiming that it will make for a better and more exciting hiking trip since taking the main trail really doesn’t require any skill or assistance from a guide. And while Robert Frost may have waxed poetic about taking the road less traveled by, this group of hikers will learn that they would have
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
The author Thomas Wolfe was of the mind that you can’t go back home again. He even went as far as to write a book with that exact title. Sometimes circumstances make it necessary to go home, whether we want to or not. Such is the case for Claire, who is returning home because her mother, Susan, has just passed away. Claire and her husband, Aaron, take possession of and move into her childhood home, finding little has changed over the years. Not long after taking up residence in the house, Claire begins to recall the emotional anguish her mother caused her to endure as a child. Being her mother’s only daughter, her little princess, was a part of Claire’s young life that came with a great deal of emotional turmoil. And as the only child to an overbearing mother, sometimes she needed a friend to turn to. Even if said friend was…imaginary? This should be a happy time in
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
Francisca is a young woman with a peculiar understanding of death. As a girl, she lived with her parents in a secluded country home. As part of her daily lessons, her mother, formerly a surgeon in Portugal, taught her about anatomy and how to be unaffected by death. One day an unexpected visitor would fracture their peaceful and serene country existence. While Francisca’s father is away the stranger murders her mother, but is then subdued by her father when he arrives home moments too late to save his wife. The stranger is neither killed by her father nor arrested by local authorities, and is instead held captive in their barn. Francisca’s mother is interred, unceremoniously, to a grave in the nearby woods. And while neither Francisca nor her father show any emotion throughout this ordeal, it’s not to say they aren’t somehow deeply affected by the experience. For years Francisca lives with only two companions: he father and Charlie, the
Continue reading →
More from Reviews
DocumentariesMoviesReviews
In 1956, Edward D. Wood Jr. began production on a film called Grave Robbers from Space. And even though it had been screened privately at the Carlton Theatre in Los Angeles in March 0f 1957, it wouldn’t be released until July of 1959 under it’s new title, Plan 9 from Outer Space. Over the years it has clawed its way to becoming a cult classic while still being saddled with the dubious honor(?) of being the worst film ever made. Of course over the years it has faced tough competition from films that threaten to overthrow the film from its throne of utter mediocrity. Such films vying for the lowest rung are Ishtar, Gigli, From Justin to Kelly, Grease 2, Glitter and Troll 2. The list could seriously go on and on, but these are these movies are knocking hard at the doors and windows trying to grab that crown. Now what was it that made Plan 9 so bad?
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
In an Alpine Valley town of Northern Italy there is a yearly festival held on December 5th. Many of the townsfolk take to the streets, disguised as a mythical (?) demonic creature known as Krampus. According to legend, the real Krampus walks hidden among them during this annual brouhaha, with the intent of stealing away with naughty and disobedient children. Throughout the years many children have vanished with no trace, and have never been seen or heard from again. On one such night a man named Manuel joins others from the town, who regale in this traditional celebration. After the festivities have died down, Manuel joins some of his fellow Krampus impersonators to imbibe and unwind. His very young son, Tommi, has just witnessed the frightening spectacle and pleads for his father’s attention. However, Manuel is having too good a time boozing it up to care. Tommi, having just been rebuffed by his father runs off on his own, finding
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
REVIEW BY KELLI MARKSMAN MCNEELY Takakura is a former detective. He receives a request from his ex-colleague, Nogami, to examine a missing family case that occurred 6 years earlier. Takakura follows Saki’s memory. She is the only surviving family member from the case. Meanwhile, Takakura and his wife Yasuko recently moved into a new home. Their neighbor, Nishino, has a sick wife and a young teen daughter. One day, the daughter, Mio, tells him that the man is not her father and she doesn’t know him at all. That is what the official synopsis of the movie says.. I also read some appreciating reviews about the movie. But according to me, It seems like Kurosawa lost his magic. This is a very average movie, nothing you haven’t seen before. The camera-work and acting is great but the movie and the whole plot was a huge letdown to me. The first half is something like the vein of ‘Cure’ (Kurusawa’s 1997
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviews
The place is Pennsylvania, and the time period is the late 1800’s. On a daily basis, trains teeming with orphaned children would arrive unleashing these urchins onto the city streets. One of these children, a solitary and destitute seven year old girl, is entrusted by an older woman to carry out a simple task on a nightly basis – deliver a plate of food to someone residing in the attic of the woman’s residence. However, there is one important rule she MUST follow, and that is for her to NEVER pass beyond the serving table in the attic. Albeit mundane and repetitive, this chore proves to be a simple enough way for the young waif to make some much needed money. But children are naturally curious and eventually it may get the better of this young girl. Who is the person living in this attic, and why are they being secretly confined? These maybe questions this young orphan girl won’t
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
Dwight Shroud has awakened to find himself in an asylum, but he doesn’t intend to stick around to find out how hospitable his hosts are. He is plagued by the horrific imagery that his madness projects upon everything and everyone he encounters during his confinement. During a session, Dwight subdues his doctor and makes his escape. As he tries to put distance between the asylum and himself, Dwight attempts to flag down an approaching car. The driver swerves and crash the car, in a fiery wreck. As Dwight tries to pull the badly burned driver from the car, and during the brief encounter each man assumes the other’s consciousness. Dwight begins to live under his newly assumed identity, but quickly learns that the madness which plagued his previous existence still remains. Furthermore, supernatural forces existing in the world outside the asylum begin to amass and torment him. What possible fate could be in store for an insane man, bedeviled by
Continue reading →
Reviews
Tall Men has something of an interesting history behind it; originally released in 2004 as Customer 152, the 13 year old film is being given fresh legs with a new title, a new distributer, and a release on Netflix in May. It’s a shame thin, given the films journey to the silver screen, that it isn’t any better. A phycological horror featuring evil debt collectors and faceless men in suits almost a decade before Slenderman hit the scene, Tall Men has a lot of good elements, but a lack of cohesion ultimately stops the film from rising beyond the sum of its parts. Terrence Mackleby isn’t very good with money, to the tune of seven maxed out credit cards, $80,000 in debt, and a declaration of bankruptcy. However when he gets a mysterious credit card in the mail, with only four percent interest, old habits prove to die hard. It’s not long before Terrence finds owing a lot of money
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
When walking through a local park or street market, one might encounter all manner of artists, performers or…well, performance artists. Mimes are likely the most popular choice to be relegated on the lowest rung of the performance artist ladder, but there is something even lower – the “living statue”. Because while mimes at least have the skill to make people believe they’re stuck in an invisible box, the “living statue’s” claim to fame is the ability to remain stationary for long periods of time. That’s nothing, because I’ve seen plenty of road construction workers do the same thing for better money. However, if you just happen to be dead center in the middle of of a zombie stampede, where they are attacking everyone or everything that moves, the ability to remain deathly still is a huge asset. So that’s where we find our main character, a “living Statue”, at the present. He is quite literally peering into the eyes of
Continue reading →
MoviesParanormalReviews
Zoe is a young woman looking to live life on her own terms. She has quit, or at least intends to, so that she can avoid falling into the same work-a-day drone trap her father did. The first step, or rather many steps, is a ten day hiking trip along the legendary Appalachian Trail. She will be accompanied by two half brothers (Brian and Sam aka Cheese), a computer programmer (Dan), and a trail guide with a VERY sketchy past (Drake). They begin their ten day trek, but rather than continue traveling along the marked trail, they are led off trail by Drake. He justifies this by claiming that it will make for a better and more exciting hiking trip since taking the main trail really doesn’t require any skill or assistance from a guide. And while Robert Frost may have waxed poetic about taking the road less traveled by, this group of hikers will learn that they would have
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
The author Thomas Wolfe was of the mind that you can’t go back home again. He even went as far as to write a book with that exact title. Sometimes circumstances make it necessary to go home, whether we want to or not. Such is the case for Claire, who is returning home because her mother, Susan, has just passed away. Claire and her husband, Aaron, take possession of and move into her childhood home, finding little has changed over the years. Not long after taking up residence in the house, Claire begins to recall the emotional anguish her mother caused her to endure as a child. Being her mother’s only daughter, her little princess, was a part of Claire’s young life that came with a great deal of emotional turmoil. And as the only child to an overbearing mother, sometimes she needed a friend to turn to. Even if said friend was…imaginary? This should be a happy time in
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
Francisca is a young woman with a peculiar understanding of death. As a girl, she lived with her parents in a secluded country home. As part of her daily lessons, her mother, formerly a surgeon in Portugal, taught her about anatomy and how to be unaffected by death. One day an unexpected visitor would fracture their peaceful and serene country existence. While Francisca’s father is away the stranger murders her mother, but is then subdued by her father when he arrives home moments too late to save his wife. The stranger is neither killed by her father nor arrested by local authorities, and is instead held captive in their barn. Francisca’s mother is interred, unceremoniously, to a grave in the nearby woods. And while neither Francisca nor her father show any emotion throughout this ordeal, it’s not to say they aren’t somehow deeply affected by the experience. For years Francisca lives with only two companions: he father and Charlie, the
Continue reading →
