CategoryIndie
Independent horror: micro-budget features, short films and first-time filmmakers doing more with less — and often doing it better.
2,257 stories
IndieMoviesReviews
One unexpected side effect of writing fright flicks for scads of years, and actually working in the horror biz, is that sometimes I’m called on to review something only to discover that folks are involved that I’ve worked with in one capacity or another. I always try and throw a disclaimer of some sort on those types of things, but honestly it’s becoming a lil’ too frequent, so soon I’ll begin to severely limit these types of reviews just to keep things square. To that end let me state, my reviews are always honest and upfront; but my scale of quality truly is unique. Let’s do a numbered list type of thing where I walk you through this shit… Yes, everything I review is sent to me for free in exchange for my honest thoughts. Yes, my thoughts are given with 100% honesty… but know this; I LOVE ultra-low budget horror (and exploitation), and if I feel something was made
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsParanormalShudderStreaming TVThrillerTrailers
RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has announced the release of the supernatural horror film HOST from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller, and the supernatural. Host marks the feature directorial debut of Rob Savage who co-wrote the film with Gemma Hurley (Shoot for the Moon) and Jed Shepherd (Multiplex). The film stars Haley Bishop (Angel Has Fallen), Radina Drandova (“Pickled Eggs”), Jemma Moore (Wonder Woman), Caroline Ward (The IMAX Nutcracker), Emma Louise Webb (“The Crown”), and Edward Linard (Golden Years). In Host, six friends hire a medium to conduct a séance during lockdown for their weekly Zoom call. Jemma decides to pull a prank and makes up a story about a boy she knew in high school who hanged himself. By doing this, Jemma inadvertently invites a demonic presence to cross over. Soon the friends begin noticing strange occurrences in their homes as the evil spirit begins to make itself known, and they all realize this night
Continue reading →
GamingIndieNewsProductTrailers
The debut game from Asmodev has left early access on Steam and will be fully released on December 28th. Their first game is a gothic dark-fantasy hardcore arcade-style game called Infernal Radiation. Mim, one of the game’s creators had this to say about the upcoming story: We wanted a story that would correspond with the gameplay. And we did it. Infernal Radiation is a chaotic ballad of love, betrayal and revenge. As always, everything we do in Asmodev is steeped in bloody romanticism” Infernal Radiation puts players in the shoes of an exorcist that’s stuck on Halloween Island where a power plant that harnesses the energy of hell to produce power has exploded and the radiation causes people to become possessed. Players will battle the possessed as well as demons and will face off against 20 demonic bosses. Players can go it alone or have a friend help in local co-op mode. Infernal Radiation will be coming to PC (Steam)
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
Kamikaze Dogfight and Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, have let loose the first trailer for the post-apocalyptic psychological thriller, Go/Don’t Go. Written and directed by first time filmmaker and actor, Alex Knapp, the film stars Olivia Luccardi, Nore Davis, Bettina Skye, Tom Essig, and Zoey Wagner. After an unknown cataclysm, Adam (Alex Knapp) is alone. The sole inhabitant of a vacant, unchanged world, or so he thinks. While attempting to stay grounded in the desolate landscape, visions come to him—the fateful night his best friend Kyle (Nore Davis) introduces him to the love of his life, K (Olivia Luccardi). As Adam’s mental state starts to unravel, he is plagued by lingering questions and uncertain realities about his world. His grip on what’s left starts to slip away—sending him spiraling towards a series of unforeseen consequences and unexpected truths. We’re incredibly excited to be partnering with Kamikaze Dogfight and Gravitas Ventures for the release of Go/Don’t Go. The broad
Continue reading →
Amazon Prime VideoIndieMoviesNewsStreaming TVTrailers
Mandao Returns, the sequel to writer-director Scott Dunn‘s 2018 sci-fi horror comedy Mandao of the Dead, has now landed on Amazon Prime. “Jay Mandao is not your average hero. He’s an astral projecting time traveler who spends his days hanging with his adult nephew Jackson, crashing on his scheming cousin Andy’s couch, and riding with his cabbie friend Fer. In the days leading up to Christmas, Jay tries to make contact with his deceased father Raymond but ends up contacting the ghost of B-movie star, Aura Garcia. Aura enlists the gang to astral project back in time to prevent her death. Jay quickly finds out that the more he messes with time, the more he falls down a rabbit hole of cults, conspiracies, and death. This Christmas is gonna kick astral!” Mandao Returns is headlined by Jenny Lorenzo (“Victor and Valentino”, “Gentefied”), Jim O’Doherty (“Third Rock from the Sun”, “Grounded for Life”), Sean Liang (“American Horror Story: 1984”), Scott Dunn,
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
A trio of lethal luchadores, El Apache (Tino Zamora), Manny (Manuel Ramirez), and Guero (Art Paul) by name, botch a robbery and find themselves well and truly on the lam. Their numbers soon reduced by one due to misadventure; our deadly duo find themselves in the home of a couple of lovely ladies, Starletta (Sparkle Soojian) and Violet (Nikki Curtis Jones) to be precise, that seem more than accommodating to our protagonists… that is until some supernatural shit hits the fan right quick! Full of grindhouse bravura, bad dudes, strange transformations, and femme fatales; Day of the Pigs does a hell of a lot to satisfy the ol’ terror tooth in it’s brief twelve minute runtime. Writer/Director Michael S. Rodriguez (along with Raul Cantu on story assist) brings quite the fully fleshed out concept to life in this one boils n’ ghouls and presents a world of larcenous masked madmen, southern belle witches, body horror, and most importantly… bacon, and
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsTrailers
A desperate woman plagued by haunting night terrors seeks out unconventional help in The Spiritualist, now out on Digital and VOD, from Midnight Releasing. Written and directed by Carl Medland the film stars Julie T. Wallace, Jane Merrow, and Ian Reddington, the film centers on Laura, a woman suffering horrific night terrors and sleep paralysis. She believes the sinister spirit haunting her is the ghost of her mother. Scared and desperate, she reaches out to the spiritualist to host a seance with her friends in the hope of finding an answer. My favourite day on set was the day of the séance, I mean who does not love a good seance in a horror movie, I knew I wanted to create a seance that stood out and felt more sincere than what has previously been portrayed in horror films. As someone who is very spiritual, I did not want to do this sequence a disservice.” – Director, Carl Medland states.
Continue reading →
IndieInterviewsMoviesNewsTrailers
Award-winning actress Honey Lauren, known for her roles in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Wives of the Skies, and “Deadwood,” and seventy-five other projects, sat down with us to talk about her role in the supernatural indie film Sweet Taste of Souls which is out now on streaming services. Directed by Terry Ross, the film follows four struggling band members who stop at a lonely roadside cafe for a slice of pie they find themselves imprisoned in the deranged cafe owner’s (Honey Lauren) bizarre art collection and must battle a sinister force with an appetite for souls. Horror Fuel: “If you will tell our readers about Sweet Taste of Souls?” Honey Lauren: “Sweet Taste of Souls is a horror feature. It takes place in a small mountain town in California. It’s about these kids who are in a band and they stop at this pie shop, which I own. Throughout her life, terrible things have happened to her. She has become what
Continue reading →
Holiday HorrorIndieMoviesNewsTrailers
Listen up horror fans, Bloodmoon Pictures has just announced that the holiday horror anthology 13 Slays Till X-Mas is now on pre-sale! Get your Blu-ray or grab a special signed copy today! 13 Slays Till X-Mas is set on December 24th, Christmas Eve, with five seemingly random men who are invited to a dive bar by a mysterious e-mail. They decide to pass the time by resurrecting the old tradition of telling scary stories on Christmas Eve. As each takes turns spinning yarns of yuletide terror it becomes evident, they may be harboring a dark and deadly secret. The film is from writer-producer P.J. Starks, the creator of Volumes of Blood, and producer Eric Huskisson (The Confession of Fred Krueger, VOB: Horror Stories)and features thirteen Christmas themed stories of merry mayhem from Brittany Blanton (Seasons Greetings 2), Sean Blevins (Trick or Treat), Jed Brian (Unlisted Owner), William Capps (After the Slasher), Alex Clark, John Hale (The Conduit), Blair Hoyle (Five
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesShudderStreaming TVThriller
RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has announced the release of Spiral, from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller, and the supernatural. In the film, a same-sex couple moves to a small town so they can enjoy a better quality of life as they raise their 16-year-old daughter. But nothing is as it seems in their picturesque neighborhood. And when they see that the folks next door are throwing a very strange party, being the new family in town suddenly feels extremely dangerous. Directed by Kurtis David Harder (What Keeps You Alive), Spiral was written by Colin Minihan (Z), and John Poliquin (Still/Born). The film stars Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman (“American Horror Story”), Ari Cohen (It franchise), Jennifer Laporte (“iZombie”), Ty Wood (“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”), Chandra West (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry), and Lochlyn Munro (“Riverdale”). RLJE Films will release SPIRAL on DVD for an SRP of $27.97 and Blu-ray for an SRP of $28.96.
Continue reading →
More from Indie
IndieMoviesReviews
One unexpected side effect of writing fright flicks for scads of years, and actually working in the horror biz, is that sometimes I’m called on to review something only to discover that folks are involved that I’ve worked with in one capacity or another. I always try and throw a disclaimer of some sort on those types of things, but honestly it’s becoming a lil’ too frequent, so soon I’ll begin to severely limit these types of reviews just to keep things square. To that end let me state, my reviews are always honest and upfront; but my scale of quality truly is unique. Let’s do a numbered list type of thing where I walk you through this shit… Yes, everything I review is sent to me for free in exchange for my honest thoughts. Yes, my thoughts are given with 100% honesty… but know this; I LOVE ultra-low budget horror (and exploitation), and if I feel something was made
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsParanormalShudderStreaming TVThrillerTrailers
RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has announced the release of the supernatural horror film HOST from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller, and the supernatural. Host marks the feature directorial debut of Rob Savage who co-wrote the film with Gemma Hurley (Shoot for the Moon) and Jed Shepherd (Multiplex). The film stars Haley Bishop (Angel Has Fallen), Radina Drandova (“Pickled Eggs”), Jemma Moore (Wonder Woman), Caroline Ward (The IMAX Nutcracker), Emma Louise Webb (“The Crown”), and Edward Linard (Golden Years). In Host, six friends hire a medium to conduct a séance during lockdown for their weekly Zoom call. Jemma decides to pull a prank and makes up a story about a boy she knew in high school who hanged himself. By doing this, Jemma inadvertently invites a demonic presence to cross over. Soon the friends begin noticing strange occurrences in their homes as the evil spirit begins to make itself known, and they all realize this night
Continue reading →
GamingIndieNewsProductTrailers
The debut game from Asmodev has left early access on Steam and will be fully released on December 28th. Their first game is a gothic dark-fantasy hardcore arcade-style game called Infernal Radiation. Mim, one of the game’s creators had this to say about the upcoming story: We wanted a story that would correspond with the gameplay. And we did it. Infernal Radiation is a chaotic ballad of love, betrayal and revenge. As always, everything we do in Asmodev is steeped in bloody romanticism” Infernal Radiation puts players in the shoes of an exorcist that’s stuck on Halloween Island where a power plant that harnesses the energy of hell to produce power has exploded and the radiation causes people to become possessed. Players will battle the possessed as well as demons and will face off against 20 demonic bosses. Players can go it alone or have a friend help in local co-op mode. Infernal Radiation will be coming to PC (Steam)
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
Kamikaze Dogfight and Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company, have let loose the first trailer for the post-apocalyptic psychological thriller, Go/Don’t Go. Written and directed by first time filmmaker and actor, Alex Knapp, the film stars Olivia Luccardi, Nore Davis, Bettina Skye, Tom Essig, and Zoey Wagner. After an unknown cataclysm, Adam (Alex Knapp) is alone. The sole inhabitant of a vacant, unchanged world, or so he thinks. While attempting to stay grounded in the desolate landscape, visions come to him—the fateful night his best friend Kyle (Nore Davis) introduces him to the love of his life, K (Olivia Luccardi). As Adam’s mental state starts to unravel, he is plagued by lingering questions and uncertain realities about his world. His grip on what’s left starts to slip away—sending him spiraling towards a series of unforeseen consequences and unexpected truths. We’re incredibly excited to be partnering with Kamikaze Dogfight and Gravitas Ventures for the release of Go/Don’t Go. The broad
Continue reading →
Amazon Prime VideoIndieMoviesNewsStreaming TVTrailers
Mandao Returns, the sequel to writer-director Scott Dunn‘s 2018 sci-fi horror comedy Mandao of the Dead, has now landed on Amazon Prime. “Jay Mandao is not your average hero. He’s an astral projecting time traveler who spends his days hanging with his adult nephew Jackson, crashing on his scheming cousin Andy’s couch, and riding with his cabbie friend Fer. In the days leading up to Christmas, Jay tries to make contact with his deceased father Raymond but ends up contacting the ghost of B-movie star, Aura Garcia. Aura enlists the gang to astral project back in time to prevent her death. Jay quickly finds out that the more he messes with time, the more he falls down a rabbit hole of cults, conspiracies, and death. This Christmas is gonna kick astral!” Mandao Returns is headlined by Jenny Lorenzo (“Victor and Valentino”, “Gentefied”), Jim O’Doherty (“Third Rock from the Sun”, “Grounded for Life”), Sean Liang (“American Horror Story: 1984”), Scott Dunn,
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
A trio of lethal luchadores, El Apache (Tino Zamora), Manny (Manuel Ramirez), and Guero (Art Paul) by name, botch a robbery and find themselves well and truly on the lam. Their numbers soon reduced by one due to misadventure; our deadly duo find themselves in the home of a couple of lovely ladies, Starletta (Sparkle Soojian) and Violet (Nikki Curtis Jones) to be precise, that seem more than accommodating to our protagonists… that is until some supernatural shit hits the fan right quick! Full of grindhouse bravura, bad dudes, strange transformations, and femme fatales; Day of the Pigs does a hell of a lot to satisfy the ol’ terror tooth in it’s brief twelve minute runtime. Writer/Director Michael S. Rodriguez (along with Raul Cantu on story assist) brings quite the fully fleshed out concept to life in this one boils n’ ghouls and presents a world of larcenous masked madmen, southern belle witches, body horror, and most importantly… bacon, and
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsTrailers
A desperate woman plagued by haunting night terrors seeks out unconventional help in The Spiritualist, now out on Digital and VOD, from Midnight Releasing. Written and directed by Carl Medland the film stars Julie T. Wallace, Jane Merrow, and Ian Reddington, the film centers on Laura, a woman suffering horrific night terrors and sleep paralysis. She believes the sinister spirit haunting her is the ghost of her mother. Scared and desperate, she reaches out to the spiritualist to host a seance with her friends in the hope of finding an answer. My favourite day on set was the day of the séance, I mean who does not love a good seance in a horror movie, I knew I wanted to create a seance that stood out and felt more sincere than what has previously been portrayed in horror films. As someone who is very spiritual, I did not want to do this sequence a disservice.” – Director, Carl Medland states.
Continue reading →
IndieInterviewsMoviesNewsTrailers
Award-winning actress Honey Lauren, known for her roles in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Wives of the Skies, and “Deadwood,” and seventy-five other projects, sat down with us to talk about her role in the supernatural indie film Sweet Taste of Souls which is out now on streaming services. Directed by Terry Ross, the film follows four struggling band members who stop at a lonely roadside cafe for a slice of pie they find themselves imprisoned in the deranged cafe owner’s (Honey Lauren) bizarre art collection and must battle a sinister force with an appetite for souls. Horror Fuel: “If you will tell our readers about Sweet Taste of Souls?” Honey Lauren: “Sweet Taste of Souls is a horror feature. It takes place in a small mountain town in California. It’s about these kids who are in a band and they stop at this pie shop, which I own. Throughout her life, terrible things have happened to her. She has become what
Continue reading →
Holiday HorrorIndieMoviesNewsTrailers
Listen up horror fans, Bloodmoon Pictures has just announced that the holiday horror anthology 13 Slays Till X-Mas is now on pre-sale! Get your Blu-ray or grab a special signed copy today! 13 Slays Till X-Mas is set on December 24th, Christmas Eve, with five seemingly random men who are invited to a dive bar by a mysterious e-mail. They decide to pass the time by resurrecting the old tradition of telling scary stories on Christmas Eve. As each takes turns spinning yarns of yuletide terror it becomes evident, they may be harboring a dark and deadly secret. The film is from writer-producer P.J. Starks, the creator of Volumes of Blood, and producer Eric Huskisson (The Confession of Fred Krueger, VOB: Horror Stories)and features thirteen Christmas themed stories of merry mayhem from Brittany Blanton (Seasons Greetings 2), Sean Blevins (Trick or Treat), Jed Brian (Unlisted Owner), William Capps (After the Slasher), Alex Clark, John Hale (The Conduit), Blair Hoyle (Five
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesShudderStreaming TVThriller
RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has announced the release of Spiral, from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror, thriller, and the supernatural. In the film, a same-sex couple moves to a small town so they can enjoy a better quality of life as they raise their 16-year-old daughter. But nothing is as it seems in their picturesque neighborhood. And when they see that the folks next door are throwing a very strange party, being the new family in town suddenly feels extremely dangerous. Directed by Kurtis David Harder (What Keeps You Alive), Spiral was written by Colin Minihan (Z), and John Poliquin (Still/Born). The film stars Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman (“American Horror Story”), Ari Cohen (It franchise), Jennifer Laporte (“iZombie”), Ty Wood (“Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”), Chandra West (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry), and Lochlyn Munro (“Riverdale”). RLJE Films will release SPIRAL on DVD for an SRP of $27.97 and Blu-ray for an SRP of $28.96.
Continue reading →
