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
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Dark Glasses Italian/French coproduction Dark Glasses (AKA Black Glasses; Occhiali Neri, 2022) is the latest from Dario Argento, and while it isn’t quite a return to form for the legendary director, it is arguably one of his better later-career offerings. High-end call girl Diana (Ilenia Pastorelli) loses her sight when she is pursued in a car chase by a serial killer who targets sex workers, and her vehicle crashes into another, blidning her and killing the parents of young boy Chin (Andrea Zhang). She visits him at the nunnery for orphans where he stays until placed with a foster family, and he escapes to live with her illegally. Naturally, the murderer is still pursuing Diana, which puts both her and the boy in peril. There are no surprises in Dark Glasses other than an eerie opening sequence involving a solar eclipse. After that, it’s pretty standard giallo/slasher fare, and not as stylish as viewers might hope for Argento’s first film
Continue reading →
BooksComic Books/Graphic NovelsReviews
Mad Shelley Comics has just released Halloween Girl, Vol. 2, the second chapter in its supernatural graphic novel series Halloween Girl. This latest installment in a planned 7-issue series based on creator Richard T. Wilson’s The Halloween Girl film and its sister web series, Under the Flowers. Halloween Girl, Vol. 2 continues this young-adult–oriented series in an intriguing manner, widening the world presented in the debut issue while dropping breadcrumbs of mystery for future story progression. Titular character Charlotte William is an 18-year-old ghost who can take on human form. Halloween Girl, Vol. 2 begins as she is trapped in a large house and about to be devoured by huge, spider-like creatures — and it doesn’t help that she suffers from arachnophobia and is stuck in her form that is least helpful for the precarious situation. Wilson’s writing is sharp and engaging, and he unfolds the story at a pace that is neither rushed nor too slow-moving. It might be
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
After surviving a freak plane crash as a child, Katerina (Svetlana Ivanova) has conquered her fears and is set to once again take flight with her young daughter in tow. Sometimes fear can be a life saver… Before the plane even leaves the tarmac, things start getting tense as shit as the weird/stressed passengers (what there are of them) and strange noises begin to take a hold on our heroine, bringing back the trauma… but, she refuses to give in and ditches her meds. I’m sure that’ll only help. Once in the air, a storm starts brewing, and our heroine begins reliving her past as things turn decidedly more nightmarish, not that the unblinking, unmoving flight attendants notice… but an in-flight heart attack seems to snap everybody to, and then all hell breaks loose… but is what is happening merely coincidence and a mental health speed bump, or is something more preternatural afoot? Director Alexander Babaev’s Row 19 is a
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
Cannibal Holocaust’s maestro of mayhem Ruggero Deodato is back baby! Well, he was in 2016, and after a decades long hiatus from fright flicks and sleaze he just went right the fuck ahead and dove into the deep end of the putrid pool… and let me assure you, the old chap hasn’t lost a single beastly beat! Based (loosely) on the true life 2007 murder case of Amanda Knox/Meredith Kercher, Ballad in Blood begins with a sex fueled Halloween night party/drug-fueled orgy with bonus naked crucifixion hybrid (ain’t they always cats n’ creeps) and slips greasily into the aftermath of said event, where pals Duke (Edward Williams), a drug dealer by trade, and Jacopo (Gabriele Rossi) wake up in the apartment of Jacopo’s girlfriend Lenka (Carlotta Morelli) to find their friend Elizabeth (Noemi Smorra) decidedly not full of life… probably due to the rather large wound on her neck. Anyway, ol’ Elizabeth was recording a whole light of the previous
Continue reading →
Advertisement
ReviewsStreaming TV
An accident at a military base unleashes the greatest plague mankind has ever known (nicknamed Captain Trips), and the resulting contamination begins decimating Earth’s population faster than shit through a goose. Adding to the apocalyptic calamity on hand is the fact that the hand-full of survivors that are seemingly immune to the disease begin having visions of either the kindly Mother Abigail (Ruby Dee) or the devilish Randall Flagg (Jamey Sheridan), and they are being called towards a rural cornfield in Colorado. Soon sides will be chosen, good and evil will have a final conflict, and the fate of the world will be decided! Comprised of one hell of a stellar cast, some impressive visuals, and gnarly effects and make-up, this adaptation of Stephen King’s epic The Stand is a fantastic fright flick that manages the Herculean task of boiling down the maestro’s dense work into something that both wouldn’t run 18,645 minutes in length and could actually be played
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
In ye olden times, muscle-bound, hooded, scarlet aficionado the Crimson Executioner is thrown in the iron maiden (so fuckin’ metal!) for operating a personal torture dungeon where he passed judgment on anyone that stuck in his crazy craw! Flash forward to the fantastic modern year of 1965, where a gaggle of goofs arrive at a remote castle to shoot some hot pics for an upcoming horror photo-novel to be written by a dude named Rick (Walter Brandi). The only problem with that is, said dread domicile is inhabited by ex-actor/full-time psycho Travis Anderson (Mickey Hargitay), as well as his tight-pants wearing man-servant. You know what else, Anderson believes he actually is the Crimson Executioner, so it’s really little fuckin’ surprise when the casts numbers begin to dwindle thanks to all manner of tricky traps! Speaking of said “traps”, the reason Bloody Pit of Horror is so much damn fun is because of those exact set-pieces… well those and a bit
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Allegoria, the debut feature from writer/director Spider One, finds tortured artists and torturing artists alike. This anthology film is a dark dive into the psyches of musicians, painters, actors, and others and serves up a variety of horror elements. In the opening installment, acting teacher Robert Anderson Wright (John Ennis) demands that his students show him a monster. Ennis is pitch perfect as a hard-nosed instructor, giving an all-in performance that isn’t short on flying spittle. Next up, angry artist Marcus Muller (Bryce Johnson) gets inspiration for his latest painting from a decidedly dark source. Johnson invests Muller with the proper amount of pretentiousness and cynicism, and what he confronts is disturbingly realized. In the third segment — and probably the most viscerally brutal — screenwriter Eddie (Edward Hong) gets a lesson in crafting a slasher flick from an expert source (Adam Marcinowski). If it’s slasher action you crave, this section delivers. Next, sculptor Ivy (Scout Compton) volunteers to help
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsThrillerTrailers
Lionsgate is gearing to unleash the puzzling horror film Escape the Field, about a group of strangers who wake up in a huge cornfield. They must work together, using the items they woke up with, and beat mazes to escape. But they aren’t alone, something deadly lurks amongst the rows. Escape the Field features a cast that includes Shane West, Jordan Claire Robbins, Theo Rossi, Tahirah Sharif, Julian Feder, and Elena Juatco. First off, all but two characters are not only unlikable, they are dicks, giving viewers zero reasons to care about what happens to them. The only two likable characters are played by Theo Rossi and Jordan Claire Robbins who give decent performances. The rest, well, they lack character development and depth, but that’s not their fault. They just serve to raise the body count. The constant trips the characters make back and forth to retrieve items they forget are a bit obnoxious. It wastes so much time that
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
Dynamic bite-sized fright flick maestro Izzy Lee is back with her newest creation Memento Mori, and this brief morsel is one to devour as soon as you lascivious lot can! Memento Mori concerns the scientific misadventures of a scientist (Megan Duffy)… bet you couldn’t see that one comin’ at ya! Anyway, said scientist is busy at work in her early ’80s laboratory when she receives a strange signal… and to say more would be to say too much, so against type I’m gonna shut my monstrous mouth… and I better not hear any applause from you cats n’ creeps! The film itself runs a scant minute and sixteen seconds, but let me tell ya, every sinister second is dripping with atmosphere! The lab set looks fantastic, and is filled with all manner of gizmos and doo-dads that look era accurate to my admittedly untrained putrid peepers. Duffy (who has been in loads o’ stuff, but were going to go with
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviews
Ever wanted to be the Devil and command your own army to spread darkness across the land? Well, now you can in Rogue Lords, a turn-based roguelike game from NACON, Cyanide, and Leikir Studio that came out for PC in September and has since won two awards for Best Art Direction for a PC game, and Best Character Design. Now Rogue Lords is out for consoles and I was able to give it a try! In Rogue Lords, you take on the role of the devil who’s been stewing in hell after an embarrassing defeat against Van Helsing and his demon hunters. The time for vengeance is at hand as you summon devoted followers who will carry out your orders to fight back against the good in the world. Your devoted followers who you give orders to are made up of nine famous villainess people from fiction and folklore such as Baron Samedi, Bloody Mary, The Headless Horseman, and more!
Continue reading →
More from Reviews
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Dark Glasses Italian/French coproduction Dark Glasses (AKA Black Glasses; Occhiali Neri, 2022) is the latest from Dario Argento, and while it isn’t quite a return to form for the legendary director, it is arguably one of his better later-career offerings. High-end call girl Diana (Ilenia Pastorelli) loses her sight when she is pursued in a car chase by a serial killer who targets sex workers, and her vehicle crashes into another, blidning her and killing the parents of young boy Chin (Andrea Zhang). She visits him at the nunnery for orphans where he stays until placed with a foster family, and he escapes to live with her illegally. Naturally, the murderer is still pursuing Diana, which puts both her and the boy in peril. There are no surprises in Dark Glasses other than an eerie opening sequence involving a solar eclipse. After that, it’s pretty standard giallo/slasher fare, and not as stylish as viewers might hope for Argento’s first film
Continue reading →
BooksComic Books/Graphic NovelsReviews
Mad Shelley Comics has just released Halloween Girl, Vol. 2, the second chapter in its supernatural graphic novel series Halloween Girl. This latest installment in a planned 7-issue series based on creator Richard T. Wilson’s The Halloween Girl film and its sister web series, Under the Flowers. Halloween Girl, Vol. 2 continues this young-adult–oriented series in an intriguing manner, widening the world presented in the debut issue while dropping breadcrumbs of mystery for future story progression. Titular character Charlotte William is an 18-year-old ghost who can take on human form. Halloween Girl, Vol. 2 begins as she is trapped in a large house and about to be devoured by huge, spider-like creatures — and it doesn’t help that she suffers from arachnophobia and is stuck in her form that is least helpful for the precarious situation. Wilson’s writing is sharp and engaging, and he unfolds the story at a pace that is neither rushed nor too slow-moving. It might be
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
After surviving a freak plane crash as a child, Katerina (Svetlana Ivanova) has conquered her fears and is set to once again take flight with her young daughter in tow. Sometimes fear can be a life saver… Before the plane even leaves the tarmac, things start getting tense as shit as the weird/stressed passengers (what there are of them) and strange noises begin to take a hold on our heroine, bringing back the trauma… but, she refuses to give in and ditches her meds. I’m sure that’ll only help. Once in the air, a storm starts brewing, and our heroine begins reliving her past as things turn decidedly more nightmarish, not that the unblinking, unmoving flight attendants notice… but an in-flight heart attack seems to snap everybody to, and then all hell breaks loose… but is what is happening merely coincidence and a mental health speed bump, or is something more preternatural afoot? Director Alexander Babaev’s Row 19 is a
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
Cannibal Holocaust’s maestro of mayhem Ruggero Deodato is back baby! Well, he was in 2016, and after a decades long hiatus from fright flicks and sleaze he just went right the fuck ahead and dove into the deep end of the putrid pool… and let me assure you, the old chap hasn’t lost a single beastly beat! Based (loosely) on the true life 2007 murder case of Amanda Knox/Meredith Kercher, Ballad in Blood begins with a sex fueled Halloween night party/drug-fueled orgy with bonus naked crucifixion hybrid (ain’t they always cats n’ creeps) and slips greasily into the aftermath of said event, where pals Duke (Edward Williams), a drug dealer by trade, and Jacopo (Gabriele Rossi) wake up in the apartment of Jacopo’s girlfriend Lenka (Carlotta Morelli) to find their friend Elizabeth (Noemi Smorra) decidedly not full of life… probably due to the rather large wound on her neck. Anyway, ol’ Elizabeth was recording a whole light of the previous
Continue reading →
ReviewsStreaming TV
An accident at a military base unleashes the greatest plague mankind has ever known (nicknamed Captain Trips), and the resulting contamination begins decimating Earth’s population faster than shit through a goose. Adding to the apocalyptic calamity on hand is the fact that the hand-full of survivors that are seemingly immune to the disease begin having visions of either the kindly Mother Abigail (Ruby Dee) or the devilish Randall Flagg (Jamey Sheridan), and they are being called towards a rural cornfield in Colorado. Soon sides will be chosen, good and evil will have a final conflict, and the fate of the world will be decided! Comprised of one hell of a stellar cast, some impressive visuals, and gnarly effects and make-up, this adaptation of Stephen King’s epic The Stand is a fantastic fright flick that manages the Herculean task of boiling down the maestro’s dense work into something that both wouldn’t run 18,645 minutes in length and could actually be played
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
In ye olden times, muscle-bound, hooded, scarlet aficionado the Crimson Executioner is thrown in the iron maiden (so fuckin’ metal!) for operating a personal torture dungeon where he passed judgment on anyone that stuck in his crazy craw! Flash forward to the fantastic modern year of 1965, where a gaggle of goofs arrive at a remote castle to shoot some hot pics for an upcoming horror photo-novel to be written by a dude named Rick (Walter Brandi). The only problem with that is, said dread domicile is inhabited by ex-actor/full-time psycho Travis Anderson (Mickey Hargitay), as well as his tight-pants wearing man-servant. You know what else, Anderson believes he actually is the Crimson Executioner, so it’s really little fuckin’ surprise when the casts numbers begin to dwindle thanks to all manner of tricky traps! Speaking of said “traps”, the reason Bloody Pit of Horror is so much damn fun is because of those exact set-pieces… well those and a bit
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Allegoria, the debut feature from writer/director Spider One, finds tortured artists and torturing artists alike. This anthology film is a dark dive into the psyches of musicians, painters, actors, and others and serves up a variety of horror elements. In the opening installment, acting teacher Robert Anderson Wright (John Ennis) demands that his students show him a monster. Ennis is pitch perfect as a hard-nosed instructor, giving an all-in performance that isn’t short on flying spittle. Next up, angry artist Marcus Muller (Bryce Johnson) gets inspiration for his latest painting from a decidedly dark source. Johnson invests Muller with the proper amount of pretentiousness and cynicism, and what he confronts is disturbingly realized. In the third segment — and probably the most viscerally brutal — screenwriter Eddie (Edward Hong) gets a lesson in crafting a slasher flick from an expert source (Adam Marcinowski). If it’s slasher action you crave, this section delivers. Next, sculptor Ivy (Scout Compton) volunteers to help
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsThrillerTrailers
Lionsgate is gearing to unleash the puzzling horror film Escape the Field, about a group of strangers who wake up in a huge cornfield. They must work together, using the items they woke up with, and beat mazes to escape. But they aren’t alone, something deadly lurks amongst the rows. Escape the Field features a cast that includes Shane West, Jordan Claire Robbins, Theo Rossi, Tahirah Sharif, Julian Feder, and Elena Juatco. First off, all but two characters are not only unlikable, they are dicks, giving viewers zero reasons to care about what happens to them. The only two likable characters are played by Theo Rossi and Jordan Claire Robbins who give decent performances. The rest, well, they lack character development and depth, but that’s not their fault. They just serve to raise the body count. The constant trips the characters make back and forth to retrieve items they forget are a bit obnoxious. It wastes so much time that
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
Dynamic bite-sized fright flick maestro Izzy Lee is back with her newest creation Memento Mori, and this brief morsel is one to devour as soon as you lascivious lot can! Memento Mori concerns the scientific misadventures of a scientist (Megan Duffy)… bet you couldn’t see that one comin’ at ya! Anyway, said scientist is busy at work in her early ’80s laboratory when she receives a strange signal… and to say more would be to say too much, so against type I’m gonna shut my monstrous mouth… and I better not hear any applause from you cats n’ creeps! The film itself runs a scant minute and sixteen seconds, but let me tell ya, every sinister second is dripping with atmosphere! The lab set looks fantastic, and is filled with all manner of gizmos and doo-dads that look era accurate to my admittedly untrained putrid peepers. Duffy (who has been in loads o’ stuff, but were going to go with
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviews
Ever wanted to be the Devil and command your own army to spread darkness across the land? Well, now you can in Rogue Lords, a turn-based roguelike game from NACON, Cyanide, and Leikir Studio that came out for PC in September and has since won two awards for Best Art Direction for a PC game, and Best Character Design. Now Rogue Lords is out for consoles and I was able to give it a try! In Rogue Lords, you take on the role of the devil who’s been stewing in hell after an embarrassing defeat against Van Helsing and his demon hunters. The time for vengeance is at hand as you summon devoted followers who will carry out your orders to fight back against the good in the world. Your devoted followers who you give orders to are made up of nine famous villainess people from fiction and folklore such as Baron Samedi, Bloody Mary, The Headless Horseman, and more!
Continue reading →
