CategoryReviews
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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MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
Odds are you’ve had a friend that you really don’t like, but you kept around for some reason or another. That’s the kind of friendship that the two couples have in Barbarians, the new home invasion thriller from writer-director Charles Dorfman. Adam (Iwan Rheon, “Game of Thrones”) and Eva (Catalina Sandino Moreno, Maria Full of Grace) have been gearing up to sign on the dotted line for their new home, sold to them by their bully of a friend Lucas (Tom Cullen). Lucas and his girlfriend (Inès Spiridonov) join Adam and Eva for dinner in their new home. After listening to Lucas be an asshole all night, Adam and Eva learn Chloe is pregnant, which is a problem. Things come to a head when blows are exchanged between Adam and Lucas. Then the situation is suddenly made worse when three home invaders crash the party. Barbarians is wild, featuring constant drama and action, and gives viewers a story that will
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
Two Roman soldiers saunter up and proceed to take the biggest of info dumps all-over the place… thus are we introduced to the atrocities Emperor Gaius “Caligula” Caesar has been committing since taking control, and thus begins 1981’s Caligulasploitation fracas, Caligula and Messalina. Following that we get things started in the tackiest way possible as Caligula has consensual sex with his sister, before we segue into a softcore orgy… but bear with me, things are about to go off the rails in a fantastic way… See, Caligula and Messalina is directed by none other than Bruno Mattei (Rats: Night of Terror, and Shocking Dark, to name but a few… ), and one thing ol’ Bruno digs is stock footage (I’m looking at you Hell of the Living Dead) and he uses it here to spectacularly ridiculous effect with large patches of this film being culled from 1961’s The Colossus of Rhodes, and to say it was integrated seamlessly would be
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
South African offering Wesens (2020) is one of the more thoughtful found footage features in recent memory, focusing on the single-day investigation by four intelligence agents of a mysterious, unidentified object that fell from the sky onto remote farmland. Morné Visser plays the businesslike, skeptical head of the foursome; Pietie Beyers portrays a more open-minded character who becomes mesmerized by the dark, egg-shaped object; and Conradie van Heerden and Randy Januarie round out the group as assistants. As the men record their findings on what seems to be Super 8mm and 16mm film, the object begins to have weird, and possibly dangerous effects, on them. Wesens is wonderfully shot by cinematographer Tom Purcell, who thankfully avoids much of the shaky-cam trappings of the found-footage subgenre. Writer/director Derick Muller invests his science fiction film with elements of folk horror and psychological horror, and with the aid of his crackerjack cast members, serves up a thought-provoking film that addresses historical and political
Continue reading →
MoviesReviewsSci-Fi
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this blog post. The opinions I share are my own. Way the hell in the future, noble Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) is assigned a new position lording it over the desert planet Arrakis, home to “the spice” the most valuable substance in the universe (as it gains the user vast power of body and mind… which includes the ability to fold space itself, by the Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV to replace the repugnant and violent House Harkonnen, led by the bloated, floating psychopath Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), whom the Emperor is in cahoots with to eventually eliminate the powerful Duke and weaken the strength of House Atreides. Along for the ride to that great dust-ball are Leto’s son Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother, the Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), the Duke’s concubine and a Bene Gesserit witch who’s sisterhood possess vast
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MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
The new Scream movie has horror fans split down the middle. So, I guess it’s time to put my two cents in, seeing that the movie is headed to home release. The fifth movie of the franchise, set 25 years after the original murders, kicks off with a scene that pays straight homage to the original film’s opening scene, you know the one, with Drew Barrymore? This time the young woman on the phone with a killer is Tara, played by Jenna Ortega. After she survives an attack from Ghostface she is put in the hospital and her older sister Sam (Melissa Barrera) rushes back to see her after being gone for five years, only to find that Ghostface is hellbent on killing them both. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Scream movie without franchise stars Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette. The new cast includes Jack Quaid and Marley Shelton. To be honest, I don’t have any complaints
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ForeignMoviesReviews
1980’s Italian cinema will truly attempt to cash in on any and all exploitation crazes but none makes less (or more) sense than Caligulasploitation, a small collection of films created to ride the world-wide phenomenon that wasn’t 1979’s Caligula (directed by Tinto Brass, himself an Italian… with extra porn courtesy of Penthouse‘s Bob Guccione), a sleazy-as-fuck production telling of the last years of ancient Roman Emperor Gaius “Caligula” Caesar with a sky-high budget and an impressive array of actors on hand such as Malcolm McDowell, Peter O’Toole, and Helen Mirren. Rest assured, none of those mother fuckers will be showing up here… This brings us to Severin film’s new Blu-ray release of Joe D’Amato’s (Anthropophagus: The Grim Reaper) Caligula: The Untold Story… this ought to set the record straight! So what’s ol’ Caligula (David Brandon) up to in his “untold story”? Well a lot of torturing, fucking, and general absolute lunacy… you know, the same as in his “told story”
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
I’m in no way a fan of watching YouTubers, TikTokers, and the like, nor am I very big on films that use the social influencer method of storytelling or that have influencers, would-be or otherwise, as their protagonists. So when I say that I was bowled over by Deadstream and had a fun-tastic time watching it, it is no small compliment. This horror comedy from codirectors/cowriters Joseph Winter and Vanessa Winter is an absolute blast, paying homage to The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and similar 1980s horror movies boasting wicked practical effects work and makeup. Joseph toplines as Shawn Ruddy, a disgraced and demonetized former internet star trying to make a comeback. He plans to livestream as he investigates a haunted house, with the caveat that if he doesn’t investigate mysterious noises or occurrences, he will lose his new potential sponsors. Joseph gives a hilarious performance as Ruddy, with his revved-up internet persona giving way to screaming and cowardice
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviews
When it comes to gaming, especially horror gaming, the sound is important to add to the experience and transport you into the game itself. To do this you need a good headset and one name is on the tongue of many gamers who never disappoints, ASTRO, right now one of the best headsets on the market is Astro’s A10 gaming headset, and now they’ve released the latest member of the family of headset products, the A10 Gen 2 and thanks to the awesome folks at Logitech G/Astro I was able to get my claws on a headset to try out for you! The A10 G2’s come in Black, White, Mint, Grey, and Lilac (mine is in Grey), a subtle feature I noticed on the headset that may be ignored by many is that there’s brail on the inside of the headband indicating the Left and Right side making this product user friendly to those who are visually impaired. Upon putting
Continue reading →
MoviesReviewsSci-Fi
Coming our way from Corinth Films comes Drive-In Retro Classics: Science Fiction Triple Feature; a three film collection of ’50s budget sci-fi flicks (1950’s Rocketship X-M, 1958’s The Hideous Sun Demon, and 1957’sThe Brain From Planet Arous to be precise)! Let’s get this revoltin’ review sesh a rollin’ as we set our putrid peepers on Rocketship X-M: Humanity stands poised to land the first men (four of them actually… and a woman too; will wonders never cease?!!) on the moon thanks to the experimental rocket, RX-M (Rocketship Expedition-Moon). After encountering a mishap or two, the rocket goes a wee bit off course and actually lands on Mars! Once there, our heroes encounter traces of a once great civilization now reduced to a pile o’ crap, and the Martians themselves have devolved into crazed, radiation scarred cavemen! I’m sure a crew equipped to handle exploring a desolate, empty moon will have no trouble handling this unbelievable occurrence! The main fun to
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
When I sat down to watch director Le-Van Kiet’s shark movie The Requin I was banking that it would be a decent movie, after all, it stars Alicia Silverstone and James Tupper. Well, let’s just say I was more than disappointed. In the movie, “There’s terror in paradise when Jaelyn (Alicia Silverstone) and Kyle (James Tupper) arrive at a remote seaside villa in Vietnam for a romantic getaway. A torrential storm descends, reducing the villa to little more than a raft and sweeping the couple out to sea. Suddenly, another danger appears a school of great white sharks. With her injured husband watching helplessly, Jaelyn must battle the deadly predators alone in this tense thriller that rides an unrelenting wave of fear.” First off, the dialogue is awful. Silverstone’s character’s nonstop whining (like a toddler) was so f*cking annoying I was cheering for the sharks. In fact, I’d rather kiss a great white on the lips than be stuck on
Continue reading →
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MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
Odds are you’ve had a friend that you really don’t like, but you kept around for some reason or another. That’s the kind of friendship that the two couples have in Barbarians, the new home invasion thriller from writer-director Charles Dorfman. Adam (Iwan Rheon, “Game of Thrones”) and Eva (Catalina Sandino Moreno, Maria Full of Grace) have been gearing up to sign on the dotted line for their new home, sold to them by their bully of a friend Lucas (Tom Cullen). Lucas and his girlfriend (Inès Spiridonov) join Adam and Eva for dinner in their new home. After listening to Lucas be an asshole all night, Adam and Eva learn Chloe is pregnant, which is a problem. Things come to a head when blows are exchanged between Adam and Lucas. Then the situation is suddenly made worse when three home invaders crash the party. Barbarians is wild, featuring constant drama and action, and gives viewers a story that will
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
Two Roman soldiers saunter up and proceed to take the biggest of info dumps all-over the place… thus are we introduced to the atrocities Emperor Gaius “Caligula” Caesar has been committing since taking control, and thus begins 1981’s Caligulasploitation fracas, Caligula and Messalina. Following that we get things started in the tackiest way possible as Caligula has consensual sex with his sister, before we segue into a softcore orgy… but bear with me, things are about to go off the rails in a fantastic way… See, Caligula and Messalina is directed by none other than Bruno Mattei (Rats: Night of Terror, and Shocking Dark, to name but a few… ), and one thing ol’ Bruno digs is stock footage (I’m looking at you Hell of the Living Dead) and he uses it here to spectacularly ridiculous effect with large patches of this film being culled from 1961’s The Colossus of Rhodes, and to say it was integrated seamlessly would be
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
South African offering Wesens (2020) is one of the more thoughtful found footage features in recent memory, focusing on the single-day investigation by four intelligence agents of a mysterious, unidentified object that fell from the sky onto remote farmland. Morné Visser plays the businesslike, skeptical head of the foursome; Pietie Beyers portrays a more open-minded character who becomes mesmerized by the dark, egg-shaped object; and Conradie van Heerden and Randy Januarie round out the group as assistants. As the men record their findings on what seems to be Super 8mm and 16mm film, the object begins to have weird, and possibly dangerous effects, on them. Wesens is wonderfully shot by cinematographer Tom Purcell, who thankfully avoids much of the shaky-cam trappings of the found-footage subgenre. Writer/director Derick Muller invests his science fiction film with elements of folk horror and psychological horror, and with the aid of his crackerjack cast members, serves up a thought-provoking film that addresses historical and political
Continue reading →
MoviesReviewsSci-Fi
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the DVD I reviewed in this blog post. The opinions I share are my own. Way the hell in the future, noble Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) is assigned a new position lording it over the desert planet Arrakis, home to “the spice” the most valuable substance in the universe (as it gains the user vast power of body and mind… which includes the ability to fold space itself, by the Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV to replace the repugnant and violent House Harkonnen, led by the bloated, floating psychopath Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), whom the Emperor is in cahoots with to eventually eliminate the powerful Duke and weaken the strength of House Atreides. Along for the ride to that great dust-ball are Leto’s son Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother, the Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), the Duke’s concubine and a Bene Gesserit witch who’s sisterhood possess vast
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
The new Scream movie has horror fans split down the middle. So, I guess it’s time to put my two cents in, seeing that the movie is headed to home release. The fifth movie of the franchise, set 25 years after the original murders, kicks off with a scene that pays straight homage to the original film’s opening scene, you know the one, with Drew Barrymore? This time the young woman on the phone with a killer is Tara, played by Jenna Ortega. After she survives an attack from Ghostface she is put in the hospital and her older sister Sam (Melissa Barrera) rushes back to see her after being gone for five years, only to find that Ghostface is hellbent on killing them both. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Scream movie without franchise stars Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette. The new cast includes Jack Quaid and Marley Shelton. To be honest, I don’t have any complaints
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
1980’s Italian cinema will truly attempt to cash in on any and all exploitation crazes but none makes less (or more) sense than Caligulasploitation, a small collection of films created to ride the world-wide phenomenon that wasn’t 1979’s Caligula (directed by Tinto Brass, himself an Italian… with extra porn courtesy of Penthouse‘s Bob Guccione), a sleazy-as-fuck production telling of the last years of ancient Roman Emperor Gaius “Caligula” Caesar with a sky-high budget and an impressive array of actors on hand such as Malcolm McDowell, Peter O’Toole, and Helen Mirren. Rest assured, none of those mother fuckers will be showing up here… This brings us to Severin film’s new Blu-ray release of Joe D’Amato’s (Anthropophagus: The Grim Reaper) Caligula: The Untold Story… this ought to set the record straight! So what’s ol’ Caligula (David Brandon) up to in his “untold story”? Well a lot of torturing, fucking, and general absolute lunacy… you know, the same as in his “told story”
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
I’m in no way a fan of watching YouTubers, TikTokers, and the like, nor am I very big on films that use the social influencer method of storytelling or that have influencers, would-be or otherwise, as their protagonists. So when I say that I was bowled over by Deadstream and had a fun-tastic time watching it, it is no small compliment. This horror comedy from codirectors/cowriters Joseph Winter and Vanessa Winter is an absolute blast, paying homage to The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and similar 1980s horror movies boasting wicked practical effects work and makeup. Joseph toplines as Shawn Ruddy, a disgraced and demonetized former internet star trying to make a comeback. He plans to livestream as he investigates a haunted house, with the caveat that if he doesn’t investigate mysterious noises or occurrences, he will lose his new potential sponsors. Joseph gives a hilarious performance as Ruddy, with his revved-up internet persona giving way to screaming and cowardice
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviews
When it comes to gaming, especially horror gaming, the sound is important to add to the experience and transport you into the game itself. To do this you need a good headset and one name is on the tongue of many gamers who never disappoints, ASTRO, right now one of the best headsets on the market is Astro’s A10 gaming headset, and now they’ve released the latest member of the family of headset products, the A10 Gen 2 and thanks to the awesome folks at Logitech G/Astro I was able to get my claws on a headset to try out for you! The A10 G2’s come in Black, White, Mint, Grey, and Lilac (mine is in Grey), a subtle feature I noticed on the headset that may be ignored by many is that there’s brail on the inside of the headband indicating the Left and Right side making this product user friendly to those who are visually impaired. Upon putting
Continue reading →
MoviesReviewsSci-Fi
Coming our way from Corinth Films comes Drive-In Retro Classics: Science Fiction Triple Feature; a three film collection of ’50s budget sci-fi flicks (1950’s Rocketship X-M, 1958’s The Hideous Sun Demon, and 1957’sThe Brain From Planet Arous to be precise)! Let’s get this revoltin’ review sesh a rollin’ as we set our putrid peepers on Rocketship X-M: Humanity stands poised to land the first men (four of them actually… and a woman too; will wonders never cease?!!) on the moon thanks to the experimental rocket, RX-M (Rocketship Expedition-Moon). After encountering a mishap or two, the rocket goes a wee bit off course and actually lands on Mars! Once there, our heroes encounter traces of a once great civilization now reduced to a pile o’ crap, and the Martians themselves have devolved into crazed, radiation scarred cavemen! I’m sure a crew equipped to handle exploring a desolate, empty moon will have no trouble handling this unbelievable occurrence! The main fun to
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
When I sat down to watch director Le-Van Kiet’s shark movie The Requin I was banking that it would be a decent movie, after all, it stars Alicia Silverstone and James Tupper. Well, let’s just say I was more than disappointed. In the movie, “There’s terror in paradise when Jaelyn (Alicia Silverstone) and Kyle (James Tupper) arrive at a remote seaside villa in Vietnam for a romantic getaway. A torrential storm descends, reducing the villa to little more than a raft and sweeping the couple out to sea. Suddenly, another danger appears a school of great white sharks. With her injured husband watching helplessly, Jaelyn must battle the deadly predators alone in this tense thriller that rides an unrelenting wave of fear.” First off, the dialogue is awful. Silverstone’s character’s nonstop whining (like a toddler) was so f*cking annoying I was cheering for the sharks. In fact, I’d rather kiss a great white on the lips than be stuck on
Continue reading →
