CategoryIndie
Independent horror: micro-budget features, short films and first-time filmmakers doing more with less — and often doing it better.
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IndieMoviesReviews
Detective Ryan Calhoun (Matthew Tompkins) is having a shit go of it as of late as he is plagued by the events surrounding the rather strange murder of his best friend…a murder that involves the local forensic hospital. Being a blithe spirit (read sad sack borderline psychotic), our here tap dances into danger’s gaping maw and sets about investigating that sinister structure to uncover the truth, but instead of your normal procedural, Ry-man is tossed six ways to Sunday! I gotta tell you creeps; Writer/Director Jon Keeyes kinda pulled the rug out from under ol’ XIII with The Harrowing…and that is a thing of wicked wonder indeed! With it’s deft blend of psychological thrills, and supernatural shocks, this film rises (severed) head and shoulders over the typical “spooky asylum fraught with jump scares” that pictures of this genre usually fall prey to…rather, things play out like a walking nightmare, and all sense of reality becomes nicely skewed. Along with that
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
You know how I do the ol’ “Once in a blue moon, a horror short comes along that really tickles the ol’ preternatural pickle…” routine, then I lay my award losing “This ain’t it” punchline in there to thunderous (or is that nonexistent…) applause? Well, this ain’t that! Date From Hell weaves a terror tale of two mismatched lovers; the meek Bobby (Samuel Brett Howard), and the manipulative Susie (Ava L’Amoreaux). these two get into a bit of a lovers spat before engaging in some rather strange date night rituals…but things are soon complicated by the arrival of a third wheel…and a potentially psychotic one at that. I can’t say more without givin’ away the entire thing…but let’s just say this fright flick goes in some deviously delightful and unexpected directions boys n’ ghouls! Written (along with Co-Writer/Producer Tracee Beebe) and Directed by Ven Scott (who in turn is the vocalist for metal band Runescarred…and you know how we love
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNetflixParanormalReviewsStreaming TV
To honor their fallen friend, four dudes decide to go hiking in Sweden (trust me, it isn’t as rando as it sounds…these dudes were going to rough it in just such a manner before their bro got all pulped AF by some thieves). Anyway, woods, cold, hikety-do! Almost immediately these fools find and ignore the tell-tale signs that you should just give up trudging through the woods and go the fuck home and play some Xbox or some such shit; namely ancient runes carved everywhere, large animal carcasses hanging from trees, strange effigies of inhuman figures located in “abandoned” cabins…Anyway, as you may have surmised, something ancient and evil lives in them thar woods, and our heroes are about to be in for the nightmare ride of all nightmare rides as they try to survive not only the beast and his faithful throng, but also the guilt they harbor inside their souls! Directed by David Bruckner (Southbound, V/H/S), with a
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Frank Zito (Joe Spinell) didn’t exactly have the best of childhoods what with growin’ up the son of an abusive prostitute and all…but damn it; a boy’ll love his mommy no matter her faults. You can just imagine how ol’ Frank feels when his mother finally buys the farm courtesy of a car accident…yup, he’s all broken up all right…so much so that he wanders ol’ Manhattan-town and murders rando women (hookers, disco chics, nurses…Tom Savini…wait, what?!!) whom he scalps and places their hairy brain flaps on top of mannequins that he keeps littered around his unreasonably terrifying (and purple) studio apartment. All this horror biz does get put on hold here and there however when Frank meets a gorgeous photographer (Caroline Munro)…a girl that makes him function like an actual human being…but how long will that last? Comprised mainly of a series of hardcore murder-filled vignettes hung on the barest skeleton of a plot (lunatic kills women and keeps
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsTrailers
From director Jon Keeyes (American Nightmare) comes The Harrowing starring genre icons Michael Ironside (Total Recall, Starship Troopers) and Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy, G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra). Haunted by the ritualistic killing of his best friend, a vice detective (Matthew Tompkins, Sicario) determined to discover the truth goes undercover into a forensic hospital and is plunged into his own personal hell where demons might be real. We’ve carefully crafted an intelligent, suspenseful, tense thriller that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats while driving them down a road of psychological twists and turns. Right out of the gate, we pull them in with an explosive opening sequence and then keep them guessing as the mystery unfolds until we blow their minds in the final moments. Being able to construct such an intricate puzzle like this – that is both entertaining and thought-provoking – has been a joy.” Jon Keeyes, writer and director of the film said.
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsReviews
I took a gander at the Indie Irish horror film Don’t Leave Home. Before I tell you what I thought, you should know what the film’s about. When an artist (Karrie Cox) is called upon to visit the home of a collector and commissioned to create a custom artwork she thinks that her luck may have finally changed. She couldn’t be wrong. Once she arrives at the grand home she learns that the former priest is the wealthy collector that summoned her, but not everything is at it seems. One of her sculptures represents the strange disappearance of a young girl, who had her picture painted by the priest just before she went missing. Her only contact while at the home is with the priest, the woman (Helena Bereen) who runs the home and their driver (David McSavage) who are all very strange. Out of the cast, Helena Bereen stood out the most. Her character Shelly was dark and felt
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsThriller
Uncork’d Entertainment has announced the release of the crime-thriller West of Sunshine following its bravura bow at Venice where it received a standing ovation. Jason Raftopoulos makes his feature debut with the story of a father who has less than a day to pay back a gambling debt while looking after his young son. The film features powerful performances from Damian Hill (“The Leftovers”), Ty Perham, Arthur Angel (Red Dog), Kat Stewart (“Underbelly”), Eliza D’Souza (Predestination), and Kaarin Fairfax (“Picnic at Hanging Rock”). “Separated from his family and caught in a cycle of gambling and debt, Jim has less than a day to repay a violent loan shark. His day is turned upside down when he must look after his young son. Jim’s relationship with his son is tested as his plans to pay back the loan fail. When his last desperate effort to repay the debt puts his son’s life at risk, he must make a choice between his
Continue reading →
IndieNewsThrillerTrailers
The highly-anticipated horror film The 6th Friend, from star, producer, and writer Jamie Bernadette (interview), will open theatrically this January from The Asylum. To celebrate the announcement a new poster has been unveiled. For Bernadette (I Spit on Your Grave: Déjà vu, “Midnight, Texas”), news of a theatrical for the film is the best Christmas present she could’ve asked for. Having co-written the screenplay, I’ve lived with the 6th Friend – figuratively speaking – for a long time. I guess you’d say it’s my wonderfully wicked horror baby – I’m so darn proud of it. Hearing news of a theatrical from our distributor, The Asylum, is music to my ears and I just know audiences are going to love seeing the six of us try and evade the uninvited guest of the movie together in a theater! Here’s to offering horror fans their first bigscreen scream of the new year!”. “The poster tips audiences off to what they can expect
Continue reading →
IndieInterviewsMovies
I recently sat down for an interview with writer-director-Scream Queen Deborah Voorhees, who starred in Friday the 13th: New Beginning, to talk about her upcoming horror film 13 Fanboy, a film about a killer stalking actresses from the Friday the 13th franchise. I learned during our conversation that the film was inspired by true events which makes the movie more frightening in my book. The cast features some of the biggest names from the franchise, including 3 actors who have played Jason Voorhees. Kane Hodder (Jason: Friday the 13th VII and VIII, Jason Goes to Hell), C.J. Graham (Jason: Friday the 13th VI), Thom Mathews (Friday the 13th VI), Judie Aronson (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter), Jennifer Banko (Friday the 13th VII), and Ron Sloan (Friday the 13th V). The cast also includes, Drew Leighty (Never Hike Alone), Hayley Greenbauer (Chapters) and Vincente DiSanti who played Jason Voorhees in the fan film Never Hike Alone and “The Shape” in
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
This February the masses will meet The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot. One of the best films of the year is finally coming to home video. Starring none other than Sam Elliot, this epic tale written and directed by Robert D. Krzykowski and follows Calvin Barr who has lived with the secret since WWII, that he was responsible for the assassination of Adolf Hitler. Now, decades later, the US government has called on him again for a new top-secret mission. Bigfoot has been living deep in the Canadian wilderness and is carrying a deadly plague that is now threatening to spread to the general population. Relying on the same skills that he honed during the war, Calvin must set out to save the free world yet again. Sam Elliott (A Star is Born) stars along with Aidan Turner (The Hobbit), Caitlin Fitz Gerald (Masters of Sex), Larry Miller (Pretty Woman), and Ron Livingston (Office Space). The Man
Continue reading →
More from Indie
IndieMoviesReviews
Detective Ryan Calhoun (Matthew Tompkins) is having a shit go of it as of late as he is plagued by the events surrounding the rather strange murder of his best friend…a murder that involves the local forensic hospital. Being a blithe spirit (read sad sack borderline psychotic), our here tap dances into danger’s gaping maw and sets about investigating that sinister structure to uncover the truth, but instead of your normal procedural, Ry-man is tossed six ways to Sunday! I gotta tell you creeps; Writer/Director Jon Keeyes kinda pulled the rug out from under ol’ XIII with The Harrowing…and that is a thing of wicked wonder indeed! With it’s deft blend of psychological thrills, and supernatural shocks, this film rises (severed) head and shoulders over the typical “spooky asylum fraught with jump scares” that pictures of this genre usually fall prey to…rather, things play out like a walking nightmare, and all sense of reality becomes nicely skewed. Along with that
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
You know how I do the ol’ “Once in a blue moon, a horror short comes along that really tickles the ol’ preternatural pickle…” routine, then I lay my award losing “This ain’t it” punchline in there to thunderous (or is that nonexistent…) applause? Well, this ain’t that! Date From Hell weaves a terror tale of two mismatched lovers; the meek Bobby (Samuel Brett Howard), and the manipulative Susie (Ava L’Amoreaux). these two get into a bit of a lovers spat before engaging in some rather strange date night rituals…but things are soon complicated by the arrival of a third wheel…and a potentially psychotic one at that. I can’t say more without givin’ away the entire thing…but let’s just say this fright flick goes in some deviously delightful and unexpected directions boys n’ ghouls! Written (along with Co-Writer/Producer Tracee Beebe) and Directed by Ven Scott (who in turn is the vocalist for metal band Runescarred…and you know how we love
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNetflixParanormalReviewsStreaming TV
To honor their fallen friend, four dudes decide to go hiking in Sweden (trust me, it isn’t as rando as it sounds…these dudes were going to rough it in just such a manner before their bro got all pulped AF by some thieves). Anyway, woods, cold, hikety-do! Almost immediately these fools find and ignore the tell-tale signs that you should just give up trudging through the woods and go the fuck home and play some Xbox or some such shit; namely ancient runes carved everywhere, large animal carcasses hanging from trees, strange effigies of inhuman figures located in “abandoned” cabins…Anyway, as you may have surmised, something ancient and evil lives in them thar woods, and our heroes are about to be in for the nightmare ride of all nightmare rides as they try to survive not only the beast and his faithful throng, but also the guilt they harbor inside their souls! Directed by David Bruckner (Southbound, V/H/S), with a
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Frank Zito (Joe Spinell) didn’t exactly have the best of childhoods what with growin’ up the son of an abusive prostitute and all…but damn it; a boy’ll love his mommy no matter her faults. You can just imagine how ol’ Frank feels when his mother finally buys the farm courtesy of a car accident…yup, he’s all broken up all right…so much so that he wanders ol’ Manhattan-town and murders rando women (hookers, disco chics, nurses…Tom Savini…wait, what?!!) whom he scalps and places their hairy brain flaps on top of mannequins that he keeps littered around his unreasonably terrifying (and purple) studio apartment. All this horror biz does get put on hold here and there however when Frank meets a gorgeous photographer (Caroline Munro)…a girl that makes him function like an actual human being…but how long will that last? Comprised mainly of a series of hardcore murder-filled vignettes hung on the barest skeleton of a plot (lunatic kills women and keeps
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsTrailers
From director Jon Keeyes (American Nightmare) comes The Harrowing starring genre icons Michael Ironside (Total Recall, Starship Troopers) and Arnold Vosloo (The Mummy, G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra). Haunted by the ritualistic killing of his best friend, a vice detective (Matthew Tompkins, Sicario) determined to discover the truth goes undercover into a forensic hospital and is plunged into his own personal hell where demons might be real. We’ve carefully crafted an intelligent, suspenseful, tense thriller that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats while driving them down a road of psychological twists and turns. Right out of the gate, we pull them in with an explosive opening sequence and then keep them guessing as the mystery unfolds until we blow their minds in the final moments. Being able to construct such an intricate puzzle like this – that is both entertaining and thought-provoking – has been a joy.” Jon Keeyes, writer and director of the film said.
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsReviews
I took a gander at the Indie Irish horror film Don’t Leave Home. Before I tell you what I thought, you should know what the film’s about. When an artist (Karrie Cox) is called upon to visit the home of a collector and commissioned to create a custom artwork she thinks that her luck may have finally changed. She couldn’t be wrong. Once she arrives at the grand home she learns that the former priest is the wealthy collector that summoned her, but not everything is at it seems. One of her sculptures represents the strange disappearance of a young girl, who had her picture painted by the priest just before she went missing. Her only contact while at the home is with the priest, the woman (Helena Bereen) who runs the home and their driver (David McSavage) who are all very strange. Out of the cast, Helena Bereen stood out the most. Her character Shelly was dark and felt
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsThriller
Uncork’d Entertainment has announced the release of the crime-thriller West of Sunshine following its bravura bow at Venice where it received a standing ovation. Jason Raftopoulos makes his feature debut with the story of a father who has less than a day to pay back a gambling debt while looking after his young son. The film features powerful performances from Damian Hill (“The Leftovers”), Ty Perham, Arthur Angel (Red Dog), Kat Stewart (“Underbelly”), Eliza D’Souza (Predestination), and Kaarin Fairfax (“Picnic at Hanging Rock”). “Separated from his family and caught in a cycle of gambling and debt, Jim has less than a day to repay a violent loan shark. His day is turned upside down when he must look after his young son. Jim’s relationship with his son is tested as his plans to pay back the loan fail. When his last desperate effort to repay the debt puts his son’s life at risk, he must make a choice between his
Continue reading →
IndieNewsThrillerTrailers
The highly-anticipated horror film The 6th Friend, from star, producer, and writer Jamie Bernadette (interview), will open theatrically this January from The Asylum. To celebrate the announcement a new poster has been unveiled. For Bernadette (I Spit on Your Grave: Déjà vu, “Midnight, Texas”), news of a theatrical for the film is the best Christmas present she could’ve asked for. Having co-written the screenplay, I’ve lived with the 6th Friend – figuratively speaking – for a long time. I guess you’d say it’s my wonderfully wicked horror baby – I’m so darn proud of it. Hearing news of a theatrical from our distributor, The Asylum, is music to my ears and I just know audiences are going to love seeing the six of us try and evade the uninvited guest of the movie together in a theater! Here’s to offering horror fans their first bigscreen scream of the new year!”. “The poster tips audiences off to what they can expect
Continue reading →
IndieInterviewsMovies
I recently sat down for an interview with writer-director-Scream Queen Deborah Voorhees, who starred in Friday the 13th: New Beginning, to talk about her upcoming horror film 13 Fanboy, a film about a killer stalking actresses from the Friday the 13th franchise. I learned during our conversation that the film was inspired by true events which makes the movie more frightening in my book. The cast features some of the biggest names from the franchise, including 3 actors who have played Jason Voorhees. Kane Hodder (Jason: Friday the 13th VII and VIII, Jason Goes to Hell), C.J. Graham (Jason: Friday the 13th VI), Thom Mathews (Friday the 13th VI), Judie Aronson (Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter), Jennifer Banko (Friday the 13th VII), and Ron Sloan (Friday the 13th V). The cast also includes, Drew Leighty (Never Hike Alone), Hayley Greenbauer (Chapters) and Vincente DiSanti who played Jason Voorhees in the fan film Never Hike Alone and “The Shape” in
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
This February the masses will meet The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot. One of the best films of the year is finally coming to home video. Starring none other than Sam Elliot, this epic tale written and directed by Robert D. Krzykowski and follows Calvin Barr who has lived with the secret since WWII, that he was responsible for the assassination of Adolf Hitler. Now, decades later, the US government has called on him again for a new top-secret mission. Bigfoot has been living deep in the Canadian wilderness and is carrying a deadly plague that is now threatening to spread to the general population. Relying on the same skills that he honed during the war, Calvin must set out to save the free world yet again. Sam Elliott (A Star is Born) stars along with Aidan Turner (The Hobbit), Caitlin Fitz Gerald (Masters of Sex), Larry Miller (Pretty Woman), and Ron Livingston (Office Space). The Man
Continue reading →
