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
GamingIndieProductReviews
Again I find myself exploring the radioactive nightmare that is Chernobyl, but this time I’m exploring the fictional S.W.A.N. Institute in this psychological horror S.W.A.N. Chernobyl Unexplored. I want to give a thank you to Volframe and Art Games Studio S.A. for the review opportunity! S.W.A.N. Chernobyl Unexplored takes players back to the exclusion zone 9 months after the nuclear meltdown and evacuations after signs of life were detected at the S.W.A.N. (Syndromes Without A Name) Institute. Players are part of a rescue team sent in but soon after arriving, all members of the team are separated and we are forced to explore the institute and all its puzzles and nightmarish creatures alone. Onto the game itself! This is a first-person puzzle exploring game and right away if you’re wondering, yeah it’s, unfortunately, following the same formula of other first-person psychological horrors where the scenery changes when you turn corners, open doors that lead nowhere, and when you turn around
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
What’s worse than having your father commit suicide right in front of you? Not knowing why. Moments after waking from a coma Helen (April Pearson) is hit with the news that she has been out for over a year, her father is dead, and that she delivered a baby all while in a coma. The moment she arrives home, she sets out to learn the truth behind her father’s death, not knowing that ghosts from his past would return to haunt her. I had no expectations when I began watching The Kindred, but what I discovered is a damn fine film. From the beginning to the end it is intense, and the story is fresh. As the film plays out, we get so many surprising twists and turns that left me on the edge of my seat. April is absolutely incredible, and it’s easy to tell that she put her whole heart into her role. What we get is a
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
Future Year 1994: Miami U.S. of A. and the sweet disco sounds of Black Inferno by the De Angelis brothers fills the air with the funkiest of fuckin’ funk! Why do I mention the De Angelis brothers at all, well the music that plays as our “heroes” straight up murder a dude in his home sounds a lot like a piece of the score from Anthony Margheriti’s Yor: The Hunter from the Future (which they also composed the music for)… wait, you want to know why those dudes killed that other dude? It’s because Mike Ross (a truly game Christopher Connelly, he of Fulci’s Manhattan Baby and Mattei’s Strike Commando fame) and his partner Mohammed (ne: Washington… though Ross still calls him “Wash”… or more accurately “Warsh”… in a (not so) stunning (because this was made in the early ’80s) and hilariously accented display of cultural insensitivity… oh, and he’s played by Tony King) are top-notch mercenaries employed by the
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsShudderStreaming TVTrailers
Director Arseniy Sukhin (Lockout) takes us deep underground in his sci-fi horror The Superdeep, inspired by a true story and location. The Russian Kola Superdeep Borehole is the largest drilling project in the world, attempting to drill as far as possible into the Earth’s crust. After reaching depths of nearly seven miles below the surface, unexplained sounds resembling the screams and moans were reported and the borehole was shut down. This is where the fiction kicks in. When a small team of scientists and military personnel set out to unearth the source of a terrible illness, they end up discovering the greatest threat that humanity has ever faced. Milena Radulovic (The Balkan Line) stars as Doctor Anya, the scientist who is part of the mission. After a terrible event in the past that forever scarred her, she takes the assignment hoping to redeem herself. Unfortunately, her character makes stupid decisions after stupid decisions throughout the entire movie. Let me ask
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ForeignMoviesReviews
It’s 2072, and shit is Blade Runner as fuck. In this foggy, moving billboard landscape a new form of extremely popular motorcycle sport has arisen, and no one is better at it than ol’ Drake (Jared Martin, who you may remember from the ultra-gory late ’80s War of the Worlds television show)… and while the fans love him to itty-bitty pieces, the network sees him as a hurdle in the way of promoting further, more deadlier entertainment… namely a program where death row prisoners are offered a chance at redemption by competing in a “to the death” blood sport! A solution is soon reached; send in some whistling dime store Droogs, have them off Drakes’ lady, and when Drake goes Blood Simple on their asses, throw him in the hoosegow… thus making him a criminal and eligible to “participate” in the new gladiatorial games. Once in training he meets his rag-tag team; acid-scarred dude, Fred “the Hammer” Williamson, mohawk karate
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsThrillerTrailers
IFC kicks off 2022 with See For Me, director Randall Okita’s home invasion thriller that centers on a determined and independent blind young woman named Sophie (Skyler Davenport). Sophie makes extra cash by house and petting setting. Her latest gig takes her to a beautiful remote home. As she gets comfortable, she’s unaware that she will soon face three professional thieves (Pascal Langdale, Joe Pingue, George Tchortov) out for a big score. Sophie is guided through the house by a “See For Me” app that connects visually impaired users with people who can aid in all types of tasks including navigating and reading. In the film, Kelly (Jessica Parker Kennedy) serves as Sophie’s guide who becomes a key character, helping Sophie hide and defend herself. If you think Sophie would be a harmless pushover, simply because she can’t see, you would be sorely mistaken. She is tough, but she’s also realistic. There’s no superhero-style fighting or unrealistic events. This character
Continue reading →
Reviews
At least the third in a recent group of fear-fare films dealing with the “weeping woman” ghost from Mexican folklore, The Legend of La Llorona is well made but fails to deliver any original shudders. Carly Candlewood (Autumn Reeser) reluctantly goes on a trip to Mexico with her husband Andrew (Antonio Cupo) and their young son Danny (Nicolas Madrazo), which Andrew has planned so that he and his wife might reconnect both emotionally and physically after the death of their baby girl. As cinematic fate would have it, their lodging is a mere short walk away from the stomping grounds of the titular spirit, who seeks out children to replace the one she lost in life. Jose Prendes’ screenplay has some issues, including the relationship and dialogue between Carly and Andrew. Both characters come off initially as highly unlikable — she as an over-the-top characterization of a grieving mother and he as a selfish, hard-headed jerk — and by the
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Two sisters, the timid, practical Elizabeth (Mary Buss) and artsy free spirit Alma (Ginger Gilmartin), reconnect with their friend, the suave and worldly writer Wesley (Ben Hall), after two decades apart. Over the course of many (bizarre ’70s era) meals (all announced in separate vignettes), the trio catch up… and we delve deeper and deeper into the triangle’s various psychoses while the atmosphere grows ever more like an extended fever dream where a normal relationship drama becomes something that grows completely into a psychotropic soap opera replete with a “love” triangle, strange offspring, and a whole mess of red wine. Let me sum things up a bit early and announce: “Holy fuck did I love Climate of the Hunter!” Set in a Neo-Romanticized Pseudo-Transylvania (all humble cabins sitting among leafless trees under slate grey skies) of sorts, director Mickey Reece (who also co-wrote the film along with John Selvidge) put a fiercely unique spin on the ol’ vampire biz… yup,
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
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. As if you couldn’t guess from the above. our pals over at Warner Bros. Home entertainment have just released a swell collection of George Miller’s entire Mad Max franchise, all on glorious 4K UHD so you can see every dry grain of sand in those barren locales. First up comes 1979’s Mad Max: Just a few minutes into the future, the roads down Australia-way are a complete battleground thanks to psycho criminals doing whatever the fuck they please, traffic laws be damned! One such miscreant, The Nightrider (Vincent Gil) by name, goes on a rampage injuring police and causing major havoc. Enter “Mad” Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson), number one law enforcement machine… and exit the Nightrider in a rather large explosion. This goes over like a fart in a submarine with Nightrider’s pals; the
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsShudderStreaming TV
What would you do if you found the man that sexually assaulted your daughter? That’s what the indie film For the Sake of Vicious, from directors Gabriel Carrer and Reese Eveneshen, is all about. The movie follows a vengeful father out for justice against the man who assaulted his young daughter. After beating the shit out of the man he seeks help from a nurse who becomes trapped as murderous men descend on her home. Nick Smyth plays the role of Chris, the avenging father. I was so impressed by the level of emotion Smyth emotes and the way he made his character feel real. Also, I was quite impressed with the fight he puts up against the masked men, and boy did he put up one hell of a fight! Speaking of fighting, this movie has a ton of action, and it doesn’t mind getting bloody and gory. My favorite blow came from actress Lora Burke (Romina) when she
Continue reading →
More from Reviews
GamingIndieProductReviews
Again I find myself exploring the radioactive nightmare that is Chernobyl, but this time I’m exploring the fictional S.W.A.N. Institute in this psychological horror S.W.A.N. Chernobyl Unexplored. I want to give a thank you to Volframe and Art Games Studio S.A. for the review opportunity! S.W.A.N. Chernobyl Unexplored takes players back to the exclusion zone 9 months after the nuclear meltdown and evacuations after signs of life were detected at the S.W.A.N. (Syndromes Without A Name) Institute. Players are part of a rescue team sent in but soon after arriving, all members of the team are separated and we are forced to explore the institute and all its puzzles and nightmarish creatures alone. Onto the game itself! This is a first-person puzzle exploring game and right away if you’re wondering, yeah it’s, unfortunately, following the same formula of other first-person psychological horrors where the scenery changes when you turn corners, open doors that lead nowhere, and when you turn around
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
What’s worse than having your father commit suicide right in front of you? Not knowing why. Moments after waking from a coma Helen (April Pearson) is hit with the news that she has been out for over a year, her father is dead, and that she delivered a baby all while in a coma. The moment she arrives home, she sets out to learn the truth behind her father’s death, not knowing that ghosts from his past would return to haunt her. I had no expectations when I began watching The Kindred, but what I discovered is a damn fine film. From the beginning to the end it is intense, and the story is fresh. As the film plays out, we get so many surprising twists and turns that left me on the edge of my seat. April is absolutely incredible, and it’s easy to tell that she put her whole heart into her role. What we get is a
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
Future Year 1994: Miami U.S. of A. and the sweet disco sounds of Black Inferno by the De Angelis brothers fills the air with the funkiest of fuckin’ funk! Why do I mention the De Angelis brothers at all, well the music that plays as our “heroes” straight up murder a dude in his home sounds a lot like a piece of the score from Anthony Margheriti’s Yor: The Hunter from the Future (which they also composed the music for)… wait, you want to know why those dudes killed that other dude? It’s because Mike Ross (a truly game Christopher Connelly, he of Fulci’s Manhattan Baby and Mattei’s Strike Commando fame) and his partner Mohammed (ne: Washington… though Ross still calls him “Wash”… or more accurately “Warsh”… in a (not so) stunning (because this was made in the early ’80s) and hilariously accented display of cultural insensitivity… oh, and he’s played by Tony King) are top-notch mercenaries employed by the
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsShudderStreaming TVTrailers
Director Arseniy Sukhin (Lockout) takes us deep underground in his sci-fi horror The Superdeep, inspired by a true story and location. The Russian Kola Superdeep Borehole is the largest drilling project in the world, attempting to drill as far as possible into the Earth’s crust. After reaching depths of nearly seven miles below the surface, unexplained sounds resembling the screams and moans were reported and the borehole was shut down. This is where the fiction kicks in. When a small team of scientists and military personnel set out to unearth the source of a terrible illness, they end up discovering the greatest threat that humanity has ever faced. Milena Radulovic (The Balkan Line) stars as Doctor Anya, the scientist who is part of the mission. After a terrible event in the past that forever scarred her, she takes the assignment hoping to redeem herself. Unfortunately, her character makes stupid decisions after stupid decisions throughout the entire movie. Let me ask
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
It’s 2072, and shit is Blade Runner as fuck. In this foggy, moving billboard landscape a new form of extremely popular motorcycle sport has arisen, and no one is better at it than ol’ Drake (Jared Martin, who you may remember from the ultra-gory late ’80s War of the Worlds television show)… and while the fans love him to itty-bitty pieces, the network sees him as a hurdle in the way of promoting further, more deadlier entertainment… namely a program where death row prisoners are offered a chance at redemption by competing in a “to the death” blood sport! A solution is soon reached; send in some whistling dime store Droogs, have them off Drakes’ lady, and when Drake goes Blood Simple on their asses, throw him in the hoosegow… thus making him a criminal and eligible to “participate” in the new gladiatorial games. Once in training he meets his rag-tag team; acid-scarred dude, Fred “the Hammer” Williamson, mohawk karate
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsThrillerTrailers
IFC kicks off 2022 with See For Me, director Randall Okita’s home invasion thriller that centers on a determined and independent blind young woman named Sophie (Skyler Davenport). Sophie makes extra cash by house and petting setting. Her latest gig takes her to a beautiful remote home. As she gets comfortable, she’s unaware that she will soon face three professional thieves (Pascal Langdale, Joe Pingue, George Tchortov) out for a big score. Sophie is guided through the house by a “See For Me” app that connects visually impaired users with people who can aid in all types of tasks including navigating and reading. In the film, Kelly (Jessica Parker Kennedy) serves as Sophie’s guide who becomes a key character, helping Sophie hide and defend herself. If you think Sophie would be a harmless pushover, simply because she can’t see, you would be sorely mistaken. She is tough, but she’s also realistic. There’s no superhero-style fighting or unrealistic events. This character
Continue reading →
Reviews
At least the third in a recent group of fear-fare films dealing with the “weeping woman” ghost from Mexican folklore, The Legend of La Llorona is well made but fails to deliver any original shudders. Carly Candlewood (Autumn Reeser) reluctantly goes on a trip to Mexico with her husband Andrew (Antonio Cupo) and their young son Danny (Nicolas Madrazo), which Andrew has planned so that he and his wife might reconnect both emotionally and physically after the death of their baby girl. As cinematic fate would have it, their lodging is a mere short walk away from the stomping grounds of the titular spirit, who seeks out children to replace the one she lost in life. Jose Prendes’ screenplay has some issues, including the relationship and dialogue between Carly and Andrew. Both characters come off initially as highly unlikable — she as an over-the-top characterization of a grieving mother and he as a selfish, hard-headed jerk — and by the
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Two sisters, the timid, practical Elizabeth (Mary Buss) and artsy free spirit Alma (Ginger Gilmartin), reconnect with their friend, the suave and worldly writer Wesley (Ben Hall), after two decades apart. Over the course of many (bizarre ’70s era) meals (all announced in separate vignettes), the trio catch up… and we delve deeper and deeper into the triangle’s various psychoses while the atmosphere grows ever more like an extended fever dream where a normal relationship drama becomes something that grows completely into a psychotropic soap opera replete with a “love” triangle, strange offspring, and a whole mess of red wine. Let me sum things up a bit early and announce: “Holy fuck did I love Climate of the Hunter!” Set in a Neo-Romanticized Pseudo-Transylvania (all humble cabins sitting among leafless trees under slate grey skies) of sorts, director Mickey Reece (who also co-wrote the film along with John Selvidge) put a fiercely unique spin on the ol’ vampire biz… yup,
Continue reading →
ForeignMoviesReviews
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. As if you couldn’t guess from the above. our pals over at Warner Bros. Home entertainment have just released a swell collection of George Miller’s entire Mad Max franchise, all on glorious 4K UHD so you can see every dry grain of sand in those barren locales. First up comes 1979’s Mad Max: Just a few minutes into the future, the roads down Australia-way are a complete battleground thanks to psycho criminals doing whatever the fuck they please, traffic laws be damned! One such miscreant, The Nightrider (Vincent Gil) by name, goes on a rampage injuring police and causing major havoc. Enter “Mad” Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson), number one law enforcement machine… and exit the Nightrider in a rather large explosion. This goes over like a fart in a submarine with Nightrider’s pals; the
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsShudderStreaming TV
What would you do if you found the man that sexually assaulted your daughter? That’s what the indie film For the Sake of Vicious, from directors Gabriel Carrer and Reese Eveneshen, is all about. The movie follows a vengeful father out for justice against the man who assaulted his young daughter. After beating the shit out of the man he seeks help from a nurse who becomes trapped as murderous men descend on her home. Nick Smyth plays the role of Chris, the avenging father. I was so impressed by the level of emotion Smyth emotes and the way he made his character feel real. Also, I was quite impressed with the fight he puts up against the masked men, and boy did he put up one hell of a fight! Speaking of fighting, this movie has a ton of action, and it doesn’t mind getting bloody and gory. My favorite blow came from actress Lora Burke (Romina) when she
Continue reading →
