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Honest horror reviews of films, series, games and books — no hype, no spoilers, just whether it is worth your time and your nerves.

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Spoiler-Free Reviews: EVIL SUBLET and BAKEMONO (Another Hole in the Head Film Festival)

Spoiler-Free Reviews: EVIL SUBLET and BAKEMONO (Another Hole in the Head Film Festival)

eVil Sublet (U.S., 2023) Like most things in life, if rent sounds too good to be true, there must be some sort of problem. In writer/director/cinematographer/editor/producer Allan Piper’s horror comedy eVil Sublet — eVil referring to New York City’s East Village — couple Alex (Jennifer Leigh Houston, Piper’s wife and also a producer on the film) and Ben (Charley Tucker) find that out first-hand when they rent a fully-furnished apartment for incredibly low rent that turns out to be not only haunted, but the site of multiple past murders. The film aims more for satire and silliness than scares, though plenty of creepiness is certainly on hand. eVil Sublet sends up the housing crisis, pharmaceutical companies, political and sexual politics, and more as Alex and Ben try to cope with their spooky situation with the help of a large cast of supporting characters, including Sally Struthers as a woman living in a storage facility, Stephen Mosher and Pat Dwyer as

Continue reading →
Nov 23, 2023
Movie Review: Bloodthirst (2023) - Lionsgate DVD

Movie Review: Bloodthirst (2023) – Lionsgate DVD

In the remains of post-apocalyptic Earth, the small pocket of human’s that remain eke out a humble existence… but their lives are subject to static of the fang-bang variety as groups of viscous vamps feed off them with wickedly wild abandon. Enter: John Shepard (Costas Mandylor, the Saw franchise, and that rad live-action Fist of the North Star adaptation from the mid-’90s… which desperately needs a special edition release… but that’s another story), a crossbow wielding bad-ass with a bit of a secret who strides this Neo-Wild West with leather-clad purpose… namely the desire to pull a stake n’ bake on the Vampire Master (screen heavy par excellence Robert LaSardo) along with his paranormal paramour, the Vampire Queen (American Pie’s Tara Reid). Slowly John acquires a rag-tag group of companions to aid him on his quest… but will their combined might and Shepard’s grim determination be enough to eliminate those demonic vein-drainers and bring piece to a shattered planet?! There’s

Continue reading →
Nov 21, 2023
Movie Review: Crocodile Island (2020) - WellGo USA DVD

Movie Review: Crocodile Island (2020) – WellGo USA DVD

The Dragon’s Triangle is like an Asia-based Bermuda Triangle, but instead of the normal magnetic interference bringing down aircraft over the area (though that plays a part too), ol’ D.S. is lousy with pterodactyls which have a tendency to smash into planes en masse and causing them to crash on a remote island populated by the biggest fuckin’ crocodile in forever… like since prehistoric times “forever”! Enter: Lin Hao (Gallen Lo) and his daughter Yi (Liao Yinyue), who along with a handful of others have recently survived a passenger plane crash in the aforementioned location. Now as the few that remain try to survive both in-fighting and the harsh locale they’ll have to deal with not only crocodiles of varying size, as well as giant spiders that stalk the mist-covered forests of the island! Will Lin be able to keep his skin intact while also looking out for his daughter and the other passengers, or will they become just more

Continue reading →
Nov 20, 2023
Review: There's Nothing Sweet About 'Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey'

Review: There’s Nothing Sweet About ‘Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey’

So far, nearly a hundred horror movies have been released this year. Still, the title of strangest has to go to Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, which sets out to ruin your childhood by putting a horror spin on the lovable characters based on the iconic Winnie-the-pooh books by author A. A. Milne. The movie sees the days of adventures and merriment have ended, as Christopher Robin, now a young man, has left Winnie-The-Pooh and Piglet to fend for themselves. As time passes, feeling angry and abandoned, the two become feral. After getting a taste for blood, Winnie-The-Pooh and Piglet set off to find a new source of food: humans. In Blood and Honey, we get a disturbing version of Pooh and Piglet, turning them into half-animal, half-human creatures. Pooh is a constantly drooling, hulking monster, and Piglet has reverted to his primal state. I will say this: the actors’ masks look pretty good, even though their range of

Continue reading →
Nov 20, 2023
Digesting Cannibalistic Horror DO NOT DISTURB!

Digesting Cannibalistic Horror DO NOT DISTURB!

We’ve all been there. Stuck in a rut, going in circles in a dead end relationship, feeling like the only way out is to dive deeper in. This seems to be where newlywed couple, Chloe (Kimberly Laferriere) and Jack (Rogan Christopher) are when they arrive in Miami for their honeymoon during the opening moments of John Ainslie’s DO NOT DISTURB. Spoilers follow. Neither one of them seem to like the other very much, and the strained relationship is barely hanging on by a thread. We learn that Chloe was pregnant, but lost the baby, and is hoping to try again, while Jack is simply looking to party. He gets his wish when they hang out with another couple at the hotel for a night of cocaine and liquor. Things escalate quickly and it turns into a full-blown swingers session, but Jack gets jealous, and physically pulls Chloe out of there. They argue about it, but quickly move on. This happens

Continue reading →
Nov 19, 2023
Movie Review: Beast From Haunted Cave (1959) - Film Masters Blu-ray

Movie Review: Beast From Haunted Cave (1959) – Film Masters Blu-ray

Beast From Haunted Cave begins the only way it could; with skiing, day-drinking, and an opening credit shout-out to South Dakota as we are introduced to smarmy criminal Alexander Ward (Frank Wolff) and his gang, who’s ranks include his boozy-floozy gal pal Gypsy Boulet (played to rum-soaked horny… yet tragic and sympathetic perfection by Sheila Carol), who plan on robbing a nearby bank vault containing some gold bars. In order to get that goal accomplished, our villains pose as cross-country skiers and hatch a plan to set off an explosion in a nearby gold mine to create a diversion for their heist. Of course this being a creature feature, the setting of said explosive unleashes a pissed off long-legged spider thing which pursues them to their hiding spot… namely the remote cabin of ski guide Gil (prolific anime voice over artist Michael Forest) who becomes both an unwitting pawn in the evildoer’s plan, and horny for Gypsy… a lot of

Continue reading →
Nov 19, 2023
Spoiler-Free TV Series Review: MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS (2023), Episodes 1–4

Spoiler-Free TV Series Review: MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS (2023), Episodes 1–4

Terrific acting, well-written drama, and beautifully crafted kaiju attacks highlight Apple TV+’s series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, based on Legendary’s MonsterVerse, taking place after the battle between Godzilla and the Titans as seen in Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters combines conspiracy thriller, family intrigue, and monster movie mayhem elements deftly, though viewers may find the time- and location-hopping a bit jarring at first. Obviously, the narrative is a nonlinear one, and even once some initial timelines are established, new ones are introduced. Viewers who can keep track of this approach will be kept on their toes, while others who just give into the flow of the proceedings shouldn’t find themselves too lost. After a kaiju-riffic cold open to the first episode, we are introduced to Cate Randa (Anna Sawai), who travels from San Francisco — she was an extremely up-close witness to Godzilla’s 2014 emergence in San Francisco — to Tokyo to deal with her recently deceased

Continue reading →
Nov 17, 2023
Spoiler-Free Film Review: Wickedly Evil (2023)

Spoiler-Free Film Review: Wickedly Evil (2023)

Director Garry Walsh’s genre-bending Irish feature Wickedly Evil (AKA Bad Things in the Middle of Nowhere, 2023) finds gangsters Frankie (Joseph McGucken), Dancer (James Farrelly), and Gaz (Darryl Carter) hiding out in rural Ireland after pulling off a heist. The robbery was not without its problems, though, as Gaz is bleeding out from a gunshot wound, he and Frankie have kidnapped Clare (Louise Bourke), the daughter of a local crime family, and a woman who lives next door to the hideout named Sadie (Cat L. Walsh) just might be on to the men. The worst of their problems is yet to come, though. Wickedly Evil is billed as a horror comedy and although there is plenty of tension on tap, viewers expecting horror throughout — like with the 2020 U.K. holed-up criminals vs. the supernatural feature The World We Knew, for example — will likely come away disappointed. Blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shots of something unusual going on in the background are peppered

Continue reading →
Nov 16, 2023
New Featurettes Surface As 'Saw X' Is Unleashed On Blu-Ray

Movie Review: Does Saw X Live Up To The Hype?

Saw X is making waves at box offices, bringing in more than $100 million. Ahead of its November Blu-ray release, I got the chance to watch it, and I have some thoughts. The sequel is being hailed as “one of the best installments” by fans of the franchise, but is it really? Warning Spoilers! Saw X sees John Kramer participate in a medical trial that promises a cure as he suffers more and more from the cancer growing inside his skull. When he learns it is all a scam, he sets out to play a game with those involved. Not only does Tobin Bell return as Jigsaw, but so does Shawnee Smith, who has appeared in several installments as Jigsaw’s apprentice, Amanda. Directed by Kevin Greutert, Saw X is bloody and brutal, with audiences seeing victims doing things like cutting off their limbs and smashing bones to survive. Things fans have come to expect. Of course, there are a ton

Continue reading →
Nov 14, 2023
Product Review: Mystery Dice Goblin

Product Review: Mystery Dice Goblin

The night is cold and wet as rain thrashes at the window of a roadside tavern. You’re seated by the window while enjoying the warmth of the hearth and the growing warmth in your stomach from mead. Suddenly, you are joined at your table by a peculiar individual who’s two goblins in a trenchcoat. At their request, you keep your hand from picking up your weapon as they have an offer, more like an opportunity to aid in your adventure, so they offer you a bag of dice, but it’s a mystery to what they are. Do you take it? That’s what it’s like with Mystery Dice Goblins! I want to give a big thank you to Lee for contacting me and offering me this adventure! Mystery Dice Goblins is a DnD shop out of the UK that supplies adventurers with game night accessories, with their mystery dice packs being their top sellers. They were awesome enough to send me

Continue reading →
Nov 14, 2023

More from Reviews

Spoiler-Free Reviews: EVIL SUBLET and BAKEMONO (Another Hole in the Head Film Festival)

Spoiler-Free Reviews: EVIL SUBLET and BAKEMONO (Another Hole in the Head Film Festival)

eVil Sublet (U.S., 2023) Like most things in life, if rent sounds too good to be true, there must be some sort of problem. In writer/director/cinematographer/editor/producer Allan Piper’s horror comedy eVil Sublet — eVil referring to New York City’s East Village — couple Alex (Jennifer Leigh Houston, Piper’s wife and also a producer on the film) and Ben (Charley Tucker) find that out first-hand when they rent a fully-furnished apartment for incredibly low rent that turns out to be not only haunted, but the site of multiple past murders. The film aims more for satire and silliness than scares, though plenty of creepiness is certainly on hand. eVil Sublet sends up the housing crisis, pharmaceutical companies, political and sexual politics, and more as Alex and Ben try to cope with their spooky situation with the help of a large cast of supporting characters, including Sally Struthers as a woman living in a storage facility, Stephen Mosher and Pat Dwyer as

Continue reading →
Nov 23, 2023
Movie Review: Bloodthirst (2023) - Lionsgate DVD

Movie Review: Bloodthirst (2023) – Lionsgate DVD

In the remains of post-apocalyptic Earth, the small pocket of human’s that remain eke out a humble existence… but their lives are subject to static of the fang-bang variety as groups of viscous vamps feed off them with wickedly wild abandon. Enter: John Shepard (Costas Mandylor, the Saw franchise, and that rad live-action Fist of the North Star adaptation from the mid-’90s… which desperately needs a special edition release… but that’s another story), a crossbow wielding bad-ass with a bit of a secret who strides this Neo-Wild West with leather-clad purpose… namely the desire to pull a stake n’ bake on the Vampire Master (screen heavy par excellence Robert LaSardo) along with his paranormal paramour, the Vampire Queen (American Pie’s Tara Reid). Slowly John acquires a rag-tag group of companions to aid him on his quest… but will their combined might and Shepard’s grim determination be enough to eliminate those demonic vein-drainers and bring piece to a shattered planet?! There’s

Continue reading →
Nov 21, 2023
Movie Review: Crocodile Island (2020) - WellGo USA DVD

Movie Review: Crocodile Island (2020) – WellGo USA DVD

The Dragon’s Triangle is like an Asia-based Bermuda Triangle, but instead of the normal magnetic interference bringing down aircraft over the area (though that plays a part too), ol’ D.S. is lousy with pterodactyls which have a tendency to smash into planes en masse and causing them to crash on a remote island populated by the biggest fuckin’ crocodile in forever… like since prehistoric times “forever”! Enter: Lin Hao (Gallen Lo) and his daughter Yi (Liao Yinyue), who along with a handful of others have recently survived a passenger plane crash in the aforementioned location. Now as the few that remain try to survive both in-fighting and the harsh locale they’ll have to deal with not only crocodiles of varying size, as well as giant spiders that stalk the mist-covered forests of the island! Will Lin be able to keep his skin intact while also looking out for his daughter and the other passengers, or will they become just more

Continue reading →
Nov 20, 2023
Review: There's Nothing Sweet About 'Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey'

Review: There’s Nothing Sweet About ‘Winnie The Pooh: Blood And Honey’

So far, nearly a hundred horror movies have been released this year. Still, the title of strangest has to go to Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, which sets out to ruin your childhood by putting a horror spin on the lovable characters based on the iconic Winnie-the-pooh books by author A. A. Milne. The movie sees the days of adventures and merriment have ended, as Christopher Robin, now a young man, has left Winnie-The-Pooh and Piglet to fend for themselves. As time passes, feeling angry and abandoned, the two become feral. After getting a taste for blood, Winnie-The-Pooh and Piglet set off to find a new source of food: humans. In Blood and Honey, we get a disturbing version of Pooh and Piglet, turning them into half-animal, half-human creatures. Pooh is a constantly drooling, hulking monster, and Piglet has reverted to his primal state. I will say this: the actors’ masks look pretty good, even though their range of

Continue reading →
Nov 20, 2023
Digesting Cannibalistic Horror DO NOT DISTURB!

Digesting Cannibalistic Horror DO NOT DISTURB!

We’ve all been there. Stuck in a rut, going in circles in a dead end relationship, feeling like the only way out is to dive deeper in. This seems to be where newlywed couple, Chloe (Kimberly Laferriere) and Jack (Rogan Christopher) are when they arrive in Miami for their honeymoon during the opening moments of John Ainslie’s DO NOT DISTURB. Spoilers follow. Neither one of them seem to like the other very much, and the strained relationship is barely hanging on by a thread. We learn that Chloe was pregnant, but lost the baby, and is hoping to try again, while Jack is simply looking to party. He gets his wish when they hang out with another couple at the hotel for a night of cocaine and liquor. Things escalate quickly and it turns into a full-blown swingers session, but Jack gets jealous, and physically pulls Chloe out of there. They argue about it, but quickly move on. This happens

Continue reading →
Nov 19, 2023
Movie Review: Beast From Haunted Cave (1959) - Film Masters Blu-ray

Movie Review: Beast From Haunted Cave (1959) – Film Masters Blu-ray

Beast From Haunted Cave begins the only way it could; with skiing, day-drinking, and an opening credit shout-out to South Dakota as we are introduced to smarmy criminal Alexander Ward (Frank Wolff) and his gang, who’s ranks include his boozy-floozy gal pal Gypsy Boulet (played to rum-soaked horny… yet tragic and sympathetic perfection by Sheila Carol), who plan on robbing a nearby bank vault containing some gold bars. In order to get that goal accomplished, our villains pose as cross-country skiers and hatch a plan to set off an explosion in a nearby gold mine to create a diversion for their heist. Of course this being a creature feature, the setting of said explosive unleashes a pissed off long-legged spider thing which pursues them to their hiding spot… namely the remote cabin of ski guide Gil (prolific anime voice over artist Michael Forest) who becomes both an unwitting pawn in the evildoer’s plan, and horny for Gypsy… a lot of

Continue reading →
Nov 19, 2023
Spoiler-Free TV Series Review: MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS (2023), Episodes 1–4

Spoiler-Free TV Series Review: MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS (2023), Episodes 1–4

Terrific acting, well-written drama, and beautifully crafted kaiju attacks highlight Apple TV+’s series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, based on Legendary’s MonsterVerse, taking place after the battle between Godzilla and the Titans as seen in Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters combines conspiracy thriller, family intrigue, and monster movie mayhem elements deftly, though viewers may find the time- and location-hopping a bit jarring at first. Obviously, the narrative is a nonlinear one, and even once some initial timelines are established, new ones are introduced. Viewers who can keep track of this approach will be kept on their toes, while others who just give into the flow of the proceedings shouldn’t find themselves too lost. After a kaiju-riffic cold open to the first episode, we are introduced to Cate Randa (Anna Sawai), who travels from San Francisco — she was an extremely up-close witness to Godzilla’s 2014 emergence in San Francisco — to Tokyo to deal with her recently deceased

Continue reading →
Nov 17, 2023
Spoiler-Free Film Review: Wickedly Evil (2023)

Spoiler-Free Film Review: Wickedly Evil (2023)

Director Garry Walsh’s genre-bending Irish feature Wickedly Evil (AKA Bad Things in the Middle of Nowhere, 2023) finds gangsters Frankie (Joseph McGucken), Dancer (James Farrelly), and Gaz (Darryl Carter) hiding out in rural Ireland after pulling off a heist. The robbery was not without its problems, though, as Gaz is bleeding out from a gunshot wound, he and Frankie have kidnapped Clare (Louise Bourke), the daughter of a local crime family, and a woman who lives next door to the hideout named Sadie (Cat L. Walsh) just might be on to the men. The worst of their problems is yet to come, though. Wickedly Evil is billed as a horror comedy and although there is plenty of tension on tap, viewers expecting horror throughout — like with the 2020 U.K. holed-up criminals vs. the supernatural feature The World We Knew, for example — will likely come away disappointed. Blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shots of something unusual going on in the background are peppered

Continue reading →
Nov 16, 2023
New Featurettes Surface As 'Saw X' Is Unleashed On Blu-Ray

Movie Review: Does Saw X Live Up To The Hype?

Saw X is making waves at box offices, bringing in more than $100 million. Ahead of its November Blu-ray release, I got the chance to watch it, and I have some thoughts. The sequel is being hailed as “one of the best installments” by fans of the franchise, but is it really? Warning Spoilers! Saw X sees John Kramer participate in a medical trial that promises a cure as he suffers more and more from the cancer growing inside his skull. When he learns it is all a scam, he sets out to play a game with those involved. Not only does Tobin Bell return as Jigsaw, but so does Shawnee Smith, who has appeared in several installments as Jigsaw’s apprentice, Amanda. Directed by Kevin Greutert, Saw X is bloody and brutal, with audiences seeing victims doing things like cutting off their limbs and smashing bones to survive. Things fans have come to expect. Of course, there are a ton

Continue reading →
Nov 14, 2023
Product Review: Mystery Dice Goblin

Product Review: Mystery Dice Goblin

The night is cold and wet as rain thrashes at the window of a roadside tavern. You’re seated by the window while enjoying the warmth of the hearth and the growing warmth in your stomach from mead. Suddenly, you are joined at your table by a peculiar individual who’s two goblins in a trenchcoat. At their request, you keep your hand from picking up your weapon as they have an offer, more like an opportunity to aid in your adventure, so they offer you a bag of dice, but it’s a mystery to what they are. Do you take it? That’s what it’s like with Mystery Dice Goblins! I want to give a big thank you to Lee for contacting me and offering me this adventure! Mystery Dice Goblins is a DnD shop out of the UK that supplies adventurers with game night accessories, with their mystery dice packs being their top sellers. They were awesome enough to send me

Continue reading →
Nov 14, 2023