CategoryReviews
Honest horror reviews of films, series, games and books — no hype, no spoilers, just whether it is worth your time and your nerves.
3,430 stories
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 →
ForeignMoviesReviewsThriller
Gambir (Fachry Albar) is a fashionable mother fucker, all art galleries and high times… but all isn’t as it seems with our hero. See, awhile back, he and his girlfriend (later wife) Talyda (Marsha Timothy) went and made a baby out of wedlock, and since her parents would never approve, it’s soon abortion o’ clock, and the resulting fallout from that leaves Gambir weak in the crotch… permanently. None of this puts a damper on his art career however, and soon Gambir’s life casts of pregnant women contain extra baggage, namely aborted fetuses… for fuck’s sake dude… Anyway, the meteoric rise in Gambir’s career is matched only by his descent into rather poor mental health, and with the looming threat of his dark secret being revealed, he becomes caught up in the sick goings-on centered around the Herosase building… a structure who’s walls hide the viewing displeasure of multiple television screens that “treat” the viewers to scenes of extreme violence
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
Writer-director Russell Owen’s chilling new horror Shepherd, set to be released this May, centers on a man mourning the death of his wife. To get a change of scenery he takes a job as a shepherd on a remote Scottish island. Haunted by visions of a figure in a black robe, and nightmares of the accident that killed his wife, Eric (Tom Hughes) struggles to keep his sanity. Just moments after arriving on the island Eric’s dog, Baxter, begins to signal that something is very wrong, constantly growling and whining at unseen things. Strange and terrifying noises echo through the dilapidated cottage and land. And every time Eric closes his eyes night terrors plague him. When his only connection to the world, a boat captain, begins to tease that he must face the darkness of his past things go off the rails. The fog and mist-filled island and ramshackle home add to the feeling of isolation and tension. The cinematography
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
I’ve seen at least a hundred exorcism movies, and they were all pretty much the same, and the majority were just plain terrible, always featuring the same recycled ideas shuffled around to try and make a plot look new. When I sat down to watch The exorcism of God I just assumed it would be another low-budget trash version of The Exorcist (no offense). What I got, was shock, it was a new twist on the supernatural that left me impressed. I should probably tell you a little about it before we go any further. In the film, from director Alejandro Hidalgo, who co-wrote The Exorcism of God along with Santiago Fernández Calvete, comes the story of a priest, Father Williams, who while conducting his first exorcism briefly became possessed and did something terrible. He has spent his life trying to find forgiveness within himself while striving to be the best priest he can be. His life seems ideal until
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Talisman One person’s belief system is another person’s superstition, and director Reangsei Phos’ Talisman (Canada) finds school-age Yi (Sean Lu) torn between those two schools of thought. His family has just moved into a new house, and as his mother (Qingqing Yang) tries to protect the home against ghosts, his father (Danny Liang) admonishes her not to fill the young boy’s head full of nonsense. Strange things are indeed happening inside the house, which leads to shocking acts of violence. Phos balances solid family drama with well-paced suspense, including some blink-and-you’ll-miss-it occurrences which should keep viewers’ eyes glued to the proceedings. The cast members, including Pascale Behrman, all turn in solid performances. Wendigo The animated short Wendigo (Ireland, 2021) is an intriguing take on the North American First Nations mythological creature combined with other eldritch occurrences. Charlie (voiced by Marc-Ivan O’Gorman) is an inquisitive young man who wants to investigate first-hand what remains of the Olsen manor, site of some
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Upurga Director Ulges Ote blends blends folk horror, eco horror, surrealism, and absurdism to mystifying, eerie effect in his Latvian narrative feature debut Upurga. Andrejs (Igors Selegovskis) is a river rafting guide haunted by his inability to save a young woman from drowning. When his sister Mara (Elvita Ragovska) and her boyfriend Matiaas (Rihaard Sniegs) plan a trip to the wilds to shoot a vegan sausage commercial — along with videographer Oskars (Reinis Boters) and director/project manager Eva (Inga Tropa) — Andrejs insists on coming along to ensure everyone’s safety, though the others are far less concerned about that and more intent on having a good time and creating a worthy advertisement. Inspector Salins (Morten Traavik), the local park ranger, warns the group to respect nature and leave his jurisdiction within 30 minutes, but naturally the group members ignore his warnings. That turns out to be a poor decision, as exposure to the local flora makes them act in aggressive
Continue reading →
More from Reviews
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 →
ForeignMoviesReviewsThriller
Gambir (Fachry Albar) is a fashionable mother fucker, all art galleries and high times… but all isn’t as it seems with our hero. See, awhile back, he and his girlfriend (later wife) Talyda (Marsha Timothy) went and made a baby out of wedlock, and since her parents would never approve, it’s soon abortion o’ clock, and the resulting fallout from that leaves Gambir weak in the crotch… permanently. None of this puts a damper on his art career however, and soon Gambir’s life casts of pregnant women contain extra baggage, namely aborted fetuses… for fuck’s sake dude… Anyway, the meteoric rise in Gambir’s career is matched only by his descent into rather poor mental health, and with the looming threat of his dark secret being revealed, he becomes caught up in the sick goings-on centered around the Herosase building… a structure who’s walls hide the viewing displeasure of multiple television screens that “treat” the viewers to scenes of extreme violence
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
Writer-director Russell Owen’s chilling new horror Shepherd, set to be released this May, centers on a man mourning the death of his wife. To get a change of scenery he takes a job as a shepherd on a remote Scottish island. Haunted by visions of a figure in a black robe, and nightmares of the accident that killed his wife, Eric (Tom Hughes) struggles to keep his sanity. Just moments after arriving on the island Eric’s dog, Baxter, begins to signal that something is very wrong, constantly growling and whining at unseen things. Strange and terrifying noises echo through the dilapidated cottage and land. And every time Eric closes his eyes night terrors plague him. When his only connection to the world, a boat captain, begins to tease that he must face the darkness of his past things go off the rails. The fog and mist-filled island and ramshackle home add to the feeling of isolation and tension. The cinematography
Continue reading →
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
I’ve seen at least a hundred exorcism movies, and they were all pretty much the same, and the majority were just plain terrible, always featuring the same recycled ideas shuffled around to try and make a plot look new. When I sat down to watch The exorcism of God I just assumed it would be another low-budget trash version of The Exorcist (no offense). What I got, was shock, it was a new twist on the supernatural that left me impressed. I should probably tell you a little about it before we go any further. In the film, from director Alejandro Hidalgo, who co-wrote The Exorcism of God along with Santiago Fernández Calvete, comes the story of a priest, Father Williams, who while conducting his first exorcism briefly became possessed and did something terrible. He has spent his life trying to find forgiveness within himself while striving to be the best priest he can be. His life seems ideal until
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Talisman One person’s belief system is another person’s superstition, and director Reangsei Phos’ Talisman (Canada) finds school-age Yi (Sean Lu) torn between those two schools of thought. His family has just moved into a new house, and as his mother (Qingqing Yang) tries to protect the home against ghosts, his father (Danny Liang) admonishes her not to fill the young boy’s head full of nonsense. Strange things are indeed happening inside the house, which leads to shocking acts of violence. Phos balances solid family drama with well-paced suspense, including some blink-and-you’ll-miss-it occurrences which should keep viewers’ eyes glued to the proceedings. The cast members, including Pascale Behrman, all turn in solid performances. Wendigo The animated short Wendigo (Ireland, 2021) is an intriguing take on the North American First Nations mythological creature combined with other eldritch occurrences. Charlie (voiced by Marc-Ivan O’Gorman) is an inquisitive young man who wants to investigate first-hand what remains of the Olsen manor, site of some
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Upurga Director Ulges Ote blends blends folk horror, eco horror, surrealism, and absurdism to mystifying, eerie effect in his Latvian narrative feature debut Upurga. Andrejs (Igors Selegovskis) is a river rafting guide haunted by his inability to save a young woman from drowning. When his sister Mara (Elvita Ragovska) and her boyfriend Matiaas (Rihaard Sniegs) plan a trip to the wilds to shoot a vegan sausage commercial — along with videographer Oskars (Reinis Boters) and director/project manager Eva (Inga Tropa) — Andrejs insists on coming along to ensure everyone’s safety, though the others are far less concerned about that and more intent on having a good time and creating a worthy advertisement. Inspector Salins (Morten Traavik), the local park ranger, warns the group to respect nature and leave his jurisdiction within 30 minutes, but naturally the group members ignore his warnings. That turns out to be a poor decision, as exposure to the local flora makes them act in aggressive
Continue reading →
