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
IndieMoviesReviews
Writer/director/producer/actor Fred Vogel’s 2001 found-footage free-for-all August Underground (co-written by Allen Peters) is light on story… in fact the entirety of the film’s 70 minute run-time can be summed up thusly: two serial killers on a spree of mayhem and murder film their exploits… but it’s in building that world… that depraved, disgusting world that this film shines. Our two main madmen are played by those aforementioned fellas… Vogel in front of the lens, and Allen behind it (and I’m sure plenty can be made of the psychological meaning behind the artist becoming one with their art)… and both uncredited for their performances… and the feature holds nothing back showing what these two rollicking rascals are up to, and what they are up to results in hard-to-watch, unflinching degradation and violence… so much so that you’ll swear you’re watching a real-deal snuff picture… and therein lies the genius of the piece. Along the way we are also “treated” to some
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Subject (2023) Australian shocker Subject centers on Willem (Stephen Phillips), who we meet when he is under arrest and in a police van, only to be taken away by mysterious agent Dalesky (director Tristan Barr), who offers him an alternative to prison. Willem, who proclaims innocence of any crime, accepts the offer, which involves observing a monster in the room next to his while being denied contact with any other human other than Dalesky, who conducts occasional question-and-answer sessions involving electrical shocks. Memories reminiscent of home movies cloud Willem’s mind, bringing back thoughts of his late wife Carrie (Cecilia Low) and their two daughters, most of which are unpleasant. Barr, working from a screenplay by Vincent Befi, builds the mystery and suspense terrifically, leaving open to viewer interpretation exactly what is happening to the highly troubled Willem. Phillips is on screen for the majority of the film, and he gives a fine performance depicting his complex character. Challenging, intriguing, and
Continue reading →
GamingParanormalProductReviews
It takes a village to raise a child they say, but what about one person to raise a village? That’s what awaits players in Covenant and Team 17’s adventure strategy Gord. Inspired by Slavic Folklore, how did this strategy game with horror elements fair? I would like to thank Team 17 and Covenant for the reviewing opportunity. Gord casts players in the role of the Steward representing the King as they help a group of nomadic villagers called the Tribe of the Dawn, led by the elder Boghdan, and establish Gords in the untamed wilds where dark forces, wildmen, and unknown horrors await. Along on your journey are the king’s emissary and a mysterious witch named Lynx. Now onto the game itself. Gord‘s controls at first may be a bit odd to players using controllers but after a while, you get pretty used to them, at the time of writing this I have not discovered a hotkey that will allow
Continue reading →
GamingParanormalProductReviewsSci-Fi
Focus Entertainment and its studio Deck13 Interactive have released their action RPG Atlas Fallen and were awesome enough to send over a copy for me to check out, a massive thank you to them for that as well as a thank you for being OK with the review coming out a bit late, so let’s check out Atlas Fallen! Atlas Fallen takes players to a fantasy world covered in sand and with corrupt gods. Players take on the role of the “Unnamed” a person whose station in society is so low, they have no name, who becomes the unlikely wielder of a special gauntlet that grants them powers to fight the monsters stalking the lands. The controls for Atlas Fallen are surprisingly easy to remember and handle with good response which is great for the hack-and-slash style combat (which I love). The soundtrack is pretty good and fits well with this twist on a fantasy world we find ourselves in.
Continue reading →
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IndieMoviesReviewsSci-Fi
Why does The Abomination begin with a sizzle reel of the best bits of what’s about to come in the following 90 minutes? Fucked if I know presently, but it does… but they try and claim it’s a nightmare our hero Cody (Scott Davis) is experiencing… Following that we dive into the story proper… hahaha, just kidding… this time it’s another non sequitur (a lil’ stalk n’ slay number here featuring some of the footage we just experienced) as Cody details his grizzly actions to his doctor while quoting the bible and claiming to be controlled by a monster he dubs “The Abomination”. Okay, now we start the story, as we learn Cody’s ailing, televangelist-addicted mother, Sarah (Jude Johnson) is suffering from a nasty lil’ tumor… which she barfs up. Well, that “tumor” goes right ahead and crawls inside of our hero… which makes his workday and non-stop country-fried fuckin’ around come to a full, and phlegmy, stop. So after
Continue reading →
HalloweenHoliday HorrorProductReviews
Scented Candles… they’re everywhere, some smell amazing as they are intended, some miss the mark but are still decent, and some are supposed to smell good… but don’t, seriously, how can you mess up pine?! but I digress, what if there are candles that are supposed to not smell good or smell strange ON PURPOSE? Well, you have The Stinky Candle Company the makers of candles that will get you thrown out of the house OR confuse the hell out of your dorm roommates. I want to thank Jeff and the other folks over at The Stinky Candle Company for sending over some of their candles for me to try out! The range of candles and wax melts they have in their arsenal of scents range from pleasant to Jesus Christ What The F*ck Is Wrong With You?! with some “Huh?” scents mixed in there… I have scents from each of those categories. First the more pleasant scents. My favorite
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
The Last Voyage of the Demeter, inspired by a single chilling chapter, “The Captain’s Log,” from Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, opens in theaters today. Is it worth all the hype? I can answer that. Just a heads up, unlike the majority of our reviews, this one does feature mild spoilers. Directed by André Øvredal, the film tells the terrifying story of the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to carry private cargo—fifty unmarked wooden crates—from Carpathia to London, with the crew unaware of the horrors they contain. The impressive cast for the film includes Corey Hawkins (In the Heights, Straight Outta Compton) as Clemens, a doctor who joins the Demeter crew. Hawkins gives a fantastic performance, bringing empathy and wonder to the film. Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones, The Nightingale) plays Anna, a stowaway. Once her reality is revealed, your heart breaks for her, but at the same time, she emotes a strength like no one else aboard. Javier
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Where the Devil Roams (2023) In arguably their darkest and certainly their goriest offering yet, filmmakers The Adams Family — John Adams, Toby Poser, and their daughter Zelda Adams — invest Where the Devil Roams with an inescapable air of dread. The family members play members of a traveling carnival troupe trying to eke out a meager existence during America’s Great Depression. Father Seven (John Adams) is an emotionally scarred war veteran who must be blindfolded when violence occurs around him, mother Maggie (Poser) possesses a vicious killing streak, and daughter Eve (Zelda Adams) — who is mute except for singing — photographs the gruesome aftermaths of Maggie’s murders. The motives for the murders vary but depend on Maggie, from feeling slighted or looked down upon by those in better financial positions than the family or by mistaking a man for a German, who Seven fought in the war. Where the Devil Roams blends killers-on-the-road and “bizarre carnival” elements, and
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Perpetrator (2023) Combining slasher, supernatural, and even superhero elements, writer/director Jennifer Reeder’s Perpetrator is a thrilling, chilling feature that is a deliciously twisted display of teen girls taking on the patriarchy. Jonquil “Jonny” Baptiste (Kiah McKirnan) is too much of a handful for her father, who ships her off just before her 18th birthday to her Aunt Hildie (Alicia Silverstone having a blast in an “Is she or isn’t she evil?” role). Hildie sends Jonny to a private girls’ school from which students go missing, and viewers see that their disappearances lead to gory proceedings. Jonny and her new girlfriend Aviva (Casimere Jollette) are on the case, though, and determined to solve the mystery. Reeder’s coming-of-age horror looks great, boasts a solid cast, is directed with verve, and provides a great deal of suspense, mystery, and no shortage of gore. Plenty of dark humor is on display, as well. Reeder follows up her 2019 feature Knives and Skin with a
Continue reading →
ProductReviews
That’s right, you didn’t read the title wrong, this is a whiskey review! Many of us like to let loose and enjoy our favorite slasher films while treating ourselves to a nice glass of spirits. The problem is, too many whiskeys and other spirits are pretty generic and too…normal. This also extends to their bottles. You want something you can display on your shelf to make guests go “What’s that?!” instead of “Hey I have that too.”. Allow me to introduce you to Von Payne Spirits with their signature whiskey, Von Payn Black. I want to give a big thank you to Von Payne for making this review possible by allowing me to responsibly try their whiskey! Von Payne Black is a whiskey that’s infused with black currants, a type of berry found in Europe. What makes this whiskey stand out among the rest is the bottle! This hefty decanter bottle is adorned with a metal Gargoyle stopper that is
Continue reading →
More from Reviews
IndieMoviesReviews
Writer/director/producer/actor Fred Vogel’s 2001 found-footage free-for-all August Underground (co-written by Allen Peters) is light on story… in fact the entirety of the film’s 70 minute run-time can be summed up thusly: two serial killers on a spree of mayhem and murder film their exploits… but it’s in building that world… that depraved, disgusting world that this film shines. Our two main madmen are played by those aforementioned fellas… Vogel in front of the lens, and Allen behind it (and I’m sure plenty can be made of the psychological meaning behind the artist becoming one with their art)… and both uncredited for their performances… and the feature holds nothing back showing what these two rollicking rascals are up to, and what they are up to results in hard-to-watch, unflinching degradation and violence… so much so that you’ll swear you’re watching a real-deal snuff picture… and therein lies the genius of the piece. Along the way we are also “treated” to some
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Subject (2023) Australian shocker Subject centers on Willem (Stephen Phillips), who we meet when he is under arrest and in a police van, only to be taken away by mysterious agent Dalesky (director Tristan Barr), who offers him an alternative to prison. Willem, who proclaims innocence of any crime, accepts the offer, which involves observing a monster in the room next to his while being denied contact with any other human other than Dalesky, who conducts occasional question-and-answer sessions involving electrical shocks. Memories reminiscent of home movies cloud Willem’s mind, bringing back thoughts of his late wife Carrie (Cecilia Low) and their two daughters, most of which are unpleasant. Barr, working from a screenplay by Vincent Befi, builds the mystery and suspense terrifically, leaving open to viewer interpretation exactly what is happening to the highly troubled Willem. Phillips is on screen for the majority of the film, and he gives a fine performance depicting his complex character. Challenging, intriguing, and
Continue reading →
GamingParanormalProductReviews
It takes a village to raise a child they say, but what about one person to raise a village? That’s what awaits players in Covenant and Team 17’s adventure strategy Gord. Inspired by Slavic Folklore, how did this strategy game with horror elements fair? I would like to thank Team 17 and Covenant for the reviewing opportunity. Gord casts players in the role of the Steward representing the King as they help a group of nomadic villagers called the Tribe of the Dawn, led by the elder Boghdan, and establish Gords in the untamed wilds where dark forces, wildmen, and unknown horrors await. Along on your journey are the king’s emissary and a mysterious witch named Lynx. Now onto the game itself. Gord‘s controls at first may be a bit odd to players using controllers but after a while, you get pretty used to them, at the time of writing this I have not discovered a hotkey that will allow
Continue reading →
GamingParanormalProductReviewsSci-Fi
Focus Entertainment and its studio Deck13 Interactive have released their action RPG Atlas Fallen and were awesome enough to send over a copy for me to check out, a massive thank you to them for that as well as a thank you for being OK with the review coming out a bit late, so let’s check out Atlas Fallen! Atlas Fallen takes players to a fantasy world covered in sand and with corrupt gods. Players take on the role of the “Unnamed” a person whose station in society is so low, they have no name, who becomes the unlikely wielder of a special gauntlet that grants them powers to fight the monsters stalking the lands. The controls for Atlas Fallen are surprisingly easy to remember and handle with good response which is great for the hack-and-slash style combat (which I love). The soundtrack is pretty good and fits well with this twist on a fantasy world we find ourselves in.
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviewsSci-Fi
Why does The Abomination begin with a sizzle reel of the best bits of what’s about to come in the following 90 minutes? Fucked if I know presently, but it does… but they try and claim it’s a nightmare our hero Cody (Scott Davis) is experiencing… Following that we dive into the story proper… hahaha, just kidding… this time it’s another non sequitur (a lil’ stalk n’ slay number here featuring some of the footage we just experienced) as Cody details his grizzly actions to his doctor while quoting the bible and claiming to be controlled by a monster he dubs “The Abomination”. Okay, now we start the story, as we learn Cody’s ailing, televangelist-addicted mother, Sarah (Jude Johnson) is suffering from a nasty lil’ tumor… which she barfs up. Well, that “tumor” goes right ahead and crawls inside of our hero… which makes his workday and non-stop country-fried fuckin’ around come to a full, and phlegmy, stop. So after
Continue reading →
HalloweenHoliday HorrorProductReviews
Scented Candles… they’re everywhere, some smell amazing as they are intended, some miss the mark but are still decent, and some are supposed to smell good… but don’t, seriously, how can you mess up pine?! but I digress, what if there are candles that are supposed to not smell good or smell strange ON PURPOSE? Well, you have The Stinky Candle Company the makers of candles that will get you thrown out of the house OR confuse the hell out of your dorm roommates. I want to thank Jeff and the other folks over at The Stinky Candle Company for sending over some of their candles for me to try out! The range of candles and wax melts they have in their arsenal of scents range from pleasant to Jesus Christ What The F*ck Is Wrong With You?! with some “Huh?” scents mixed in there… I have scents from each of those categories. First the more pleasant scents. My favorite
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
The Last Voyage of the Demeter, inspired by a single chilling chapter, “The Captain’s Log,” from Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, opens in theaters today. Is it worth all the hype? I can answer that. Just a heads up, unlike the majority of our reviews, this one does feature mild spoilers. Directed by André Øvredal, the film tells the terrifying story of the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to carry private cargo—fifty unmarked wooden crates—from Carpathia to London, with the crew unaware of the horrors they contain. The impressive cast for the film includes Corey Hawkins (In the Heights, Straight Outta Compton) as Clemens, a doctor who joins the Demeter crew. Hawkins gives a fantastic performance, bringing empathy and wonder to the film. Aisling Franciosi (Game of Thrones, The Nightingale) plays Anna, a stowaway. Once her reality is revealed, your heart breaks for her, but at the same time, she emotes a strength like no one else aboard. Javier
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Where the Devil Roams (2023) In arguably their darkest and certainly their goriest offering yet, filmmakers The Adams Family — John Adams, Toby Poser, and their daughter Zelda Adams — invest Where the Devil Roams with an inescapable air of dread. The family members play members of a traveling carnival troupe trying to eke out a meager existence during America’s Great Depression. Father Seven (John Adams) is an emotionally scarred war veteran who must be blindfolded when violence occurs around him, mother Maggie (Poser) possesses a vicious killing streak, and daughter Eve (Zelda Adams) — who is mute except for singing — photographs the gruesome aftermaths of Maggie’s murders. The motives for the murders vary but depend on Maggie, from feeling slighted or looked down upon by those in better financial positions than the family or by mistaking a man for a German, who Seven fought in the war. Where the Devil Roams blends killers-on-the-road and “bizarre carnival” elements, and
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Perpetrator (2023) Combining slasher, supernatural, and even superhero elements, writer/director Jennifer Reeder’s Perpetrator is a thrilling, chilling feature that is a deliciously twisted display of teen girls taking on the patriarchy. Jonquil “Jonny” Baptiste (Kiah McKirnan) is too much of a handful for her father, who ships her off just before her 18th birthday to her Aunt Hildie (Alicia Silverstone having a blast in an “Is she or isn’t she evil?” role). Hildie sends Jonny to a private girls’ school from which students go missing, and viewers see that their disappearances lead to gory proceedings. Jonny and her new girlfriend Aviva (Casimere Jollette) are on the case, though, and determined to solve the mystery. Reeder’s coming-of-age horror looks great, boasts a solid cast, is directed with verve, and provides a great deal of suspense, mystery, and no shortage of gore. Plenty of dark humor is on display, as well. Reeder follows up her 2019 feature Knives and Skin with a
Continue reading →
ProductReviews
That’s right, you didn’t read the title wrong, this is a whiskey review! Many of us like to let loose and enjoy our favorite slasher films while treating ourselves to a nice glass of spirits. The problem is, too many whiskeys and other spirits are pretty generic and too…normal. This also extends to their bottles. You want something you can display on your shelf to make guests go “What’s that?!” instead of “Hey I have that too.”. Allow me to introduce you to Von Payne Spirits with their signature whiskey, Von Payn Black. I want to give a big thank you to Von Payne for making this review possible by allowing me to responsibly try their whiskey! Von Payne Black is a whiskey that’s infused with black currants, a type of berry found in Europe. What makes this whiskey stand out among the rest is the bottle! This hefty decanter bottle is adorned with a metal Gargoyle stopper that is
Continue reading →
