CategoryReviews
Honest horror reviews of films, series, games and books — no hype, no spoilers, just whether it is worth your time and your nerves.
3,430 stories
GamingParanormalProductReviewsSci-Fi
Many FPS games have evolved to become either as realistic as possible or very technical. This removes a lot of the fun for old-school FPS gamers like myself. I’ve played and reviewed some FPS games on here, and though they’re fun, they miss some of that over-the-top charm. Trepang Studios and Team 17 have brought the classic FPS feel with their game, Trepang2. In Trepang2, players take on the role of a soldier who escaped from a secret facility and is now on a mission to fight back against his captors, a corrupt corporation. The soldier may not have his memories, but he has superhuman abilities that make him skilled in combat, where he can use these skills against his enemies, both human…and something else. You will have to allow some time to get used to Trepang2‘s controls as they’re somewhat similar to other FPS controls and yet somewhat different. The game’s sound design is awesome. I can’t stress this
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Director Stephen Alexander’s Suburban Tale (AKA Tamso; India, 2023) is a dark, brooding film that becomes increasingly disturbing as it continually reveals new puzzle pieces throughout its running time. Its original Indian title Tamso means “from darkness,” which is quite fitting. Radhika (Rashmi Somvanshi, who also produced the film) is the estranged daughter of a family. Other extended family members refer to her as “that woman” and make it clear that they do not want her anywhere near the wedding preparations that are happening, although her father calls her back home because he wants her to watch over the youngest member of the family, a boy who seems to be possessed by a demon. When the boy, who emits a poisonous gas and snarls and rages, attacks the bride-to-be, Radhika is left alone in charge of him — and matters grow increasingly eerie and deadly. Alexander paces the film nicely, slowly divulging information as to why Radhika is shunned by
Continue reading →
MoviesReviewsThriller
A gaggle of friends make that classic fright flick mistake by stopping to pick up an attractive hitchhiker. The end result of that blunder finds our heroes drugged, dragged to some shady-ass building or another, and fitted with vials in the base of their skulls. They soon learn that their captor intends on harvesting their brain fluid in those vicious vials… fluid collected via episodes of extreme pain! Soon all captives within those wicked walls are giving and receiving the gift of torture porn in a bid to survive the ordeal, but in all honesty their chances are slim as fuck… Coming from Director Taylor Sheridan (who wrote 2015’s Sicario) and Screenwriters Eric Jay Beck and Rob Kowsaluk, Vile is an odd entry in the aforementioned torture porn sub-genre. Populated with intentionally rote characters, it’s hard to root for anyone in particular… which isn’t usually a problem, as torture porn flicks are often made on the strength of their effects
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Viking vampires and the foster care system… if nothing else, Beneath Us All combines two incredibly disparate elements and makes it all flow… The Gibbs, Todd (Sean Whalen, The People Under the Stairs, The FP) and Janelle (fantastic character actor Maria Olsen, Paranormal Activity 3, Starry Eyes, and many, many more) are foster parents who have a strained relationship when it comes to one of their wards, Julie (Angelina Danielle Cama) who is mortified by Todd putting an injured bird she found out of it’s misery. This causes Julie to flee to the woods, where surely nothing bad will happen to her… Well, nothing does happen to her at first, but she does make a rather unsettling discovery in the form of an ancient Viking vampire Frey (Yan Birch) who is more than ready to get back on his feet and rip the citizens of a nearby town a few new assholes! Frey wastes no time setting up shop in
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesParanormalReviews
Angela (Amelia Kinkade) and Suzanne (legendary Scream Queen Linnea Quigley) are the type of ladies that offer up shoplifting and ass showing (set to the sweet, sweet strains of Pac-Man for the Atari 2600) in equal measure… I’ll let you detectives figure out who is more responsible for what… they are also the type to throw a Halloween hootnanny at an allegedly cursed, definitely abandoned mortuary. Once the party commences drinks are consumed, dancing is attempted, and a séance is held… the latter of which ends up freeing a demon from it’s prison deep within the confines of the mortuary that possesses Suzanne… and eventually Angela after that ol’ crowd-pleaser; a girl on girl kiss goes down! After that we are one Bauhaus-set dance number and a lipstick eatin’ titty away from a full-on murderous monster mash that our heroes will be hard pressed to survive! Filled with oh-so-fucking much Grade-A wise-assery, hard-rocking tunes about computer dating, exclamations such as
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Remember when I put a revoltin’ review on Fred Vogel’s 2001 extreme torture porn experience, August Underground? Well, the powers that be made a follow up (with Vogel co-directing, co-writing, and once again acting) in 2003 titled August Underground’s Mordum, and as before, Unearthed Films have released a feature-packed Blu-ray edition of the frightful flick and placed it before my putrid peepers! As with the aforementioned previous film the premise here is light; a trio of murderous miscreants go kill crazy and film their conquests… each more stomach churning than the last. Things reach even new heights of depravity when a fourth killer makes the scene… and after all we have witnessed to that point, that is really saying something! As a film, August Underground’s Mordum isn’t as much of a story as it is a series of disgusting vignettes (each featuring rape, vomit, cannibalism, and oh so much more)… but that is where the genius… twisted as it is,
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsParamount+ReviewsStreaming TVTrailers
From director Lindsey Anderson Beer comes Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, the prequel to the 1989 classic Stephen King adaptation that taught us that “sometimes dead is better.” Set in 1969, a young Jud Crandall has dreams of leaving his hometown of Ludlow, Maine, behind but soon discovers sinister secrets buried within and is forced to confront a dark family history. Banding together, Jud and his childhood friends must fight an ancient evil that has gripped Ludlow since its founding and, once unearthed, has the power to destroy everything in its path. First, we should talk about casting. Jackson White stars as young Jud, a character made iconic by actor Fred Gwynne’s performance in the original. Jackson doesn’t exactly look like a young Gwynne, but he does give a great emotional performance, so I’m willing to look over it. Henry Thomas stars as Jud’s father, and while he has a tendency to play characters that seem distant, he showed more feeling here.
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsShort Films
In writer/director Sam Fox’s short film Fck’n Nuts, teenager Dan (Vincent Stalba) is crazy in love with Sandy (Maddie Nichols), so much so that he doesn’t heed her initial advice about not meeting her parents (Michele Rossi and William E. Harris). Viewers already have a pretty good idea about the parents being odd thanks to some of their dialogue and Sandy’s remarks, but once Dan steps inside the family’s home, things go absolutely insane. I had a strong feeling that things were going to be bonkers when I saw that auteur Joe Badon (The Wheel of Heaven; The God Inside My Ear; Sister Tempest) was a coproducer on this horror comedy, and my assumption was correct. Fox crafts a fun, surreal short that blends a nostalgic feel with absurd comedy, and there’s a set piece boasting great-looking practical gore effects sure to bring on the heaves for some viewers. You can check out the short’s trailer at https://vimeo.com/845566547/b39329d86e. Fck’n Nuts
Continue reading →
GamingIndieParanormalProductReviews
You have to admit dreams suck sometimes, especially those dreams where you’re dreaming within a dream. Nothing makes you feel more messed up than one of those, but what if it was a nightmare? This, is the question presented by Jesse Makkonen, Gamera, and Feardemic Games’ Afterdream. Thanks to Feardemic for sending me a copy to see if this is a dream or a nightmare. Let’s see! Afterdream is a 2D side-scrolling psychological horror where players take on the role of Jennifer, a young woman who just lost her father and has a lucid dream that makes her question if she’s dreaming or is awake. Controls in Afterdream are minimal, but I wish there were options to turn off controller vibrations, as having the controller vibrate for every little thing and draining battery life is quite annoying. The lack of spoken dialogue is made up for with a soundtrack that sets the mood. There are times. When spooky things happen,
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
DID I? (United States, 2023) When viewers first meet Genevieve (Alexandra Pica), the main character of director Sarah Tice’s DID I?, she wakes up disoriented, disheveled, and mysteriously bruised. She is also having a tough time at work, where she is an editor and aspiring writer. We learn that the relatively mild-mannered and introverted Genevieve is struggling with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), and her alter Stevie, who is no fan of Genevieve’s therapist Rachel (Raven Wynn), has a decidedly wild side to her. Tice, who cowrote the screenplay with Zachary Beckler, does an admirable job of focusing on more realistic depictions of DID rather than just presenting the sensational, though naturally any horror or thriller film attempting to tackle mental issues walks a fine line. The third act packs a highly disturbing, harrowing wallop that reveals the reason for Genevieve’s trauma. Tice, who worked with a microbudget, does fine work that belies the film’s meager budget, including digital wizardry, quick
Continue reading →
More from Reviews
GamingParanormalProductReviewsSci-Fi
Many FPS games have evolved to become either as realistic as possible or very technical. This removes a lot of the fun for old-school FPS gamers like myself. I’ve played and reviewed some FPS games on here, and though they’re fun, they miss some of that over-the-top charm. Trepang Studios and Team 17 have brought the classic FPS feel with their game, Trepang2. In Trepang2, players take on the role of a soldier who escaped from a secret facility and is now on a mission to fight back against his captors, a corrupt corporation. The soldier may not have his memories, but he has superhuman abilities that make him skilled in combat, where he can use these skills against his enemies, both human…and something else. You will have to allow some time to get used to Trepang2‘s controls as they’re somewhat similar to other FPS controls and yet somewhat different. The game’s sound design is awesome. I can’t stress this
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Director Stephen Alexander’s Suburban Tale (AKA Tamso; India, 2023) is a dark, brooding film that becomes increasingly disturbing as it continually reveals new puzzle pieces throughout its running time. Its original Indian title Tamso means “from darkness,” which is quite fitting. Radhika (Rashmi Somvanshi, who also produced the film) is the estranged daughter of a family. Other extended family members refer to her as “that woman” and make it clear that they do not want her anywhere near the wedding preparations that are happening, although her father calls her back home because he wants her to watch over the youngest member of the family, a boy who seems to be possessed by a demon. When the boy, who emits a poisonous gas and snarls and rages, attacks the bride-to-be, Radhika is left alone in charge of him — and matters grow increasingly eerie and deadly. Alexander paces the film nicely, slowly divulging information as to why Radhika is shunned by
Continue reading →
MoviesReviewsThriller
A gaggle of friends make that classic fright flick mistake by stopping to pick up an attractive hitchhiker. The end result of that blunder finds our heroes drugged, dragged to some shady-ass building or another, and fitted with vials in the base of their skulls. They soon learn that their captor intends on harvesting their brain fluid in those vicious vials… fluid collected via episodes of extreme pain! Soon all captives within those wicked walls are giving and receiving the gift of torture porn in a bid to survive the ordeal, but in all honesty their chances are slim as fuck… Coming from Director Taylor Sheridan (who wrote 2015’s Sicario) and Screenwriters Eric Jay Beck and Rob Kowsaluk, Vile is an odd entry in the aforementioned torture porn sub-genre. Populated with intentionally rote characters, it’s hard to root for anyone in particular… which isn’t usually a problem, as torture porn flicks are often made on the strength of their effects
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Viking vampires and the foster care system… if nothing else, Beneath Us All combines two incredibly disparate elements and makes it all flow… The Gibbs, Todd (Sean Whalen, The People Under the Stairs, The FP) and Janelle (fantastic character actor Maria Olsen, Paranormal Activity 3, Starry Eyes, and many, many more) are foster parents who have a strained relationship when it comes to one of their wards, Julie (Angelina Danielle Cama) who is mortified by Todd putting an injured bird she found out of it’s misery. This causes Julie to flee to the woods, where surely nothing bad will happen to her… Well, nothing does happen to her at first, but she does make a rather unsettling discovery in the form of an ancient Viking vampire Frey (Yan Birch) who is more than ready to get back on his feet and rip the citizens of a nearby town a few new assholes! Frey wastes no time setting up shop in
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesParanormalReviews
Angela (Amelia Kinkade) and Suzanne (legendary Scream Queen Linnea Quigley) are the type of ladies that offer up shoplifting and ass showing (set to the sweet, sweet strains of Pac-Man for the Atari 2600) in equal measure… I’ll let you detectives figure out who is more responsible for what… they are also the type to throw a Halloween hootnanny at an allegedly cursed, definitely abandoned mortuary. Once the party commences drinks are consumed, dancing is attempted, and a séance is held… the latter of which ends up freeing a demon from it’s prison deep within the confines of the mortuary that possesses Suzanne… and eventually Angela after that ol’ crowd-pleaser; a girl on girl kiss goes down! After that we are one Bauhaus-set dance number and a lipstick eatin’ titty away from a full-on murderous monster mash that our heroes will be hard pressed to survive! Filled with oh-so-fucking much Grade-A wise-assery, hard-rocking tunes about computer dating, exclamations such as
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Remember when I put a revoltin’ review on Fred Vogel’s 2001 extreme torture porn experience, August Underground? Well, the powers that be made a follow up (with Vogel co-directing, co-writing, and once again acting) in 2003 titled August Underground’s Mordum, and as before, Unearthed Films have released a feature-packed Blu-ray edition of the frightful flick and placed it before my putrid peepers! As with the aforementioned previous film the premise here is light; a trio of murderous miscreants go kill crazy and film their conquests… each more stomach churning than the last. Things reach even new heights of depravity when a fourth killer makes the scene… and after all we have witnessed to that point, that is really saying something! As a film, August Underground’s Mordum isn’t as much of a story as it is a series of disgusting vignettes (each featuring rape, vomit, cannibalism, and oh so much more)… but that is where the genius… twisted as it is,
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsParamount+ReviewsStreaming TVTrailers
From director Lindsey Anderson Beer comes Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, the prequel to the 1989 classic Stephen King adaptation that taught us that “sometimes dead is better.” Set in 1969, a young Jud Crandall has dreams of leaving his hometown of Ludlow, Maine, behind but soon discovers sinister secrets buried within and is forced to confront a dark family history. Banding together, Jud and his childhood friends must fight an ancient evil that has gripped Ludlow since its founding and, once unearthed, has the power to destroy everything in its path. First, we should talk about casting. Jackson White stars as young Jud, a character made iconic by actor Fred Gwynne’s performance in the original. Jackson doesn’t exactly look like a young Gwynne, but he does give a great emotional performance, so I’m willing to look over it. Henry Thomas stars as Jud’s father, and while he has a tendency to play characters that seem distant, he showed more feeling here.
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsShort Films
In writer/director Sam Fox’s short film Fck’n Nuts, teenager Dan (Vincent Stalba) is crazy in love with Sandy (Maddie Nichols), so much so that he doesn’t heed her initial advice about not meeting her parents (Michele Rossi and William E. Harris). Viewers already have a pretty good idea about the parents being odd thanks to some of their dialogue and Sandy’s remarks, but once Dan steps inside the family’s home, things go absolutely insane. I had a strong feeling that things were going to be bonkers when I saw that auteur Joe Badon (The Wheel of Heaven; The God Inside My Ear; Sister Tempest) was a coproducer on this horror comedy, and my assumption was correct. Fox crafts a fun, surreal short that blends a nostalgic feel with absurd comedy, and there’s a set piece boasting great-looking practical gore effects sure to bring on the heaves for some viewers. You can check out the short’s trailer at https://vimeo.com/845566547/b39329d86e. Fck’n Nuts
Continue reading →
GamingIndieParanormalProductReviews
You have to admit dreams suck sometimes, especially those dreams where you’re dreaming within a dream. Nothing makes you feel more messed up than one of those, but what if it was a nightmare? This, is the question presented by Jesse Makkonen, Gamera, and Feardemic Games’ Afterdream. Thanks to Feardemic for sending me a copy to see if this is a dream or a nightmare. Let’s see! Afterdream is a 2D side-scrolling psychological horror where players take on the role of Jennifer, a young woman who just lost her father and has a lucid dream that makes her question if she’s dreaming or is awake. Controls in Afterdream are minimal, but I wish there were options to turn off controller vibrations, as having the controller vibrate for every little thing and draining battery life is quite annoying. The lack of spoken dialogue is made up for with a soundtrack that sets the mood. There are times. When spooky things happen,
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
DID I? (United States, 2023) When viewers first meet Genevieve (Alexandra Pica), the main character of director Sarah Tice’s DID I?, she wakes up disoriented, disheveled, and mysteriously bruised. She is also having a tough time at work, where she is an editor and aspiring writer. We learn that the relatively mild-mannered and introverted Genevieve is struggling with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), and her alter Stevie, who is no fan of Genevieve’s therapist Rachel (Raven Wynn), has a decidedly wild side to her. Tice, who cowrote the screenplay with Zachary Beckler, does an admirable job of focusing on more realistic depictions of DID rather than just presenting the sensational, though naturally any horror or thriller film attempting to tackle mental issues walks a fine line. The third act packs a highly disturbing, harrowing wallop that reveals the reason for Genevieve’s trauma. Tice, who worked with a microbudget, does fine work that belies the film’s meager budget, including digital wizardry, quick
Continue reading →
