CategoryReviews
Honest horror reviews of films, series, games and books — no hype, no spoilers, just whether it is worth your time and your nerves.
3,463 stories
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
Director Daniel Robinette takes viewers deep into the woods in the monster movie Tethered, starring Alexandra Paul, Kareem Ferguson, Jared L. Cook, Brody Bett, and Chris Demm. Warning some spoilers The film sees a mother raising her young, blind son in an isolated cabin in the middle of the forest. Daily she takes him out and teaches him how to trap, how to fish, and how to live off the grid. After she tucks him one night when he’s about ten, she walks out, abandoning him to face life on his own. But before she goes she drills a series of rules into his head, including never letting go of the rope that he ties around his waist before venturing into the woods, and always sharing half his food with the forest. The film fast-forwards to see Solomon now a teenager struggling with life. But when he encounters a hunter, his life changes forever. I’ll give the film this, the
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
The Strange Monster at the Rivera House In this Puerto Rican horror short, neighbors of a woman (Aidita Encarnación) are desperate to communicate with — or through — a mysterious presence in her garage. Writer/director Estaban Bailey has crafted a chilling work that takes place during a hot summer day — not a usual setting for a horror tale, but this enigmatic short is no usual tale. Well acted and eerie, The Strange Monster at the Rivera House (El Extraño en La Casa Rivera) is a nifty slice of short-shock cinema Pare Writer/director Lauren Sick’s Pare is a terrific Christmas-set chiller in which a young woman (Dana Drori) comes across a blood-stained jacket that looks suspiciously like one that belongs to her husband. Matters only get stranger — and decidedly creepier — from there. Sick builds the mystery and tension masterfully, assisted by a superb performance from Dori, whose facial expressions are fantastic. This short is open to interpretation, and
Continue reading →
BooksReviews
Plot The Wrong Woman, author Leanne Kale Sparks’ debut novel, is a classic and realistic police thriller novel that is remarkably engaging. The plot follows FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck and Denver Police Detective Adam Taylor as they investigate their own respective cases only to find links between the two. Full of suspense, drama, action, and very realistic (as far as I know) investigating, the plot of this novel is full of layers, depth, twists and turns, and intelligent intensity. With two major crimes and two investigators, through much of this novel there are really two plots. Both of them are extremely strong and equally gripping. Sparks really succeeded at creating a real sense of urgency that runs through the novel and keeps the plots equally intense, then increasing that as they weave together to make one very complete thriller. Characters Leanne Kale Sparks is obviously very gifted at creating characters. Each character brings something important to the story and
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IndieMoviesReviews
Charlie (Emily Bennett, who also co-wrote and directed this picture along with Justin Brooks) is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her paramour, photographer Simone (Emma Myles) to their Brooklyn apartment after an extended absence. As she awaits, Charlie wanders the apartment, alone, for extended periods of oddly indeterminable time. As the hands of the clock pass, our heroine passes the time via video messaging with her party hardy friend, as well as arguing with her bible-nut mother (Re-animator and From Beyond‘s Barbara Crampton) over the sinfulness of her lifestyle choices (also on computer screen… it’s apparent from the beginning that this film is both Covid-19 metaphor in some respects, as well as being filmed during the pandemic). Of course, this being a fright flick of sorts, Charlie also begins having blood drenched hallucinations and hearing strange voices and screaming coming from the vents… how does this relate to our protagonists’ mental health, and can she piece together why these events
Continue reading →
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MoviesReviewsSci-Fi
American scientists Quent Brady (Jim Davis, whom some of you geriatrics may remember from Dallas, but I’ll always think of his turn in 1979’s Charles Band produced sci-fi romp The Day Time Ended when I see his face) and Dan Morgan (Robert Griffin) get their jollies sending all sorts of living creatures into space to test the final frontier’s effects on animals. This gets fucked up lickity-split, and a rocket carrying space-mutated wasps crash lands of the coast of Africa sending the buzzing bastards into the not-at-all foreboding area known as “Green Hell”, where they then proceed to go on a rather unreasonable deadly rampage. Because they caused all of this with their reckless rockets (and were doubtless legally obligated to do so), Brady and Morgan head down Africa way and attempt to put an end to those wicked wasps… and maybe say “I’m sorry” to the families of those that the wasps killed… but probably not… Also there is
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviewsSci-Fi
I’m selective when it comes to playing RPGs, but when I was told about ELEX II, a game that combines sci-fi futurism with a medieval twist, I had to take a look. A big thank you to THQ Nordic and Piranha Bytes for the reviewing opportunity! ELEX II is an open-world third-person game where you play as Jax, the hero from the first installment of the series who after defeating one threat to the planet of Magalan, is the first to notice a new extraterrestrial threat set on terraforming the planet. Jax now is sent on a quest from a former foe to gather an army to fight the menace while working with different warring factions. Now onto ELEX II itself. The game’s controls will take time to get used to, especially if you’re using a controller as it appears that some of the buttons perform more than one action which can get Jax into trouble. For example, the button
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
My Stepmother is an Alien begins with Tom Jones’ cover of Prince’s Kiss, and every woman over the age of 65 within a mile from my dread dwelling spontaneously came. Once that was mopped up, I could carry on with my sinister synopsis… Widowed scientist Steven Mills (Dan Aykroyd) accidentally shoots a beam into space that effects the gravity of a planet light years away. Said planet sends out star-born sex-pot Celeste (Kim Basinger), along with a tentacle in a magic bag, to figure out why some Earth-slug fucked up their planet… but complication arise as Mills becomes so full of the horny for the goofy, off-kilter alien-in-disguise that he beds her and weds her within the space of 24 hours! While being a cheerleader for her Dad’s sex-life, Mills’ daughter Jessie (Buffy alum/band camp story generator Alyson Hannigan, albeit in child format) becomes suspicious of Celeste when she sees her doing weird alien shit like chuggin’ batteries… but not
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviewsThriller
Wired Productions and LKA are back after the success of The Town of Light to bring players face to face with horrors of loss and war with their new dark psychological thriller Martha is Dead. The game recently made headlines as the game will be heavily modified for PlayStation due to some of the game’s content that’s been deemed too disturbing, luckily for you gorehounds, the copy I was sent is unaffected by the modifications! I want to thank Wired and LKA for the reviewing opportunity! Martha is Dead takes place in Italy in 1944 where players take on the role of Giulia, a young woman obsessed with a local legend surrounding the lake near her family’s vineyard. While trying to set up a camera to capture the ghost of a lady in white, Giulia finds her identical twin sister Martha in the lake dead and after recovering her body and through confusion, she assumes the identity of her now-dead
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviewsSci-Fi
It’s been a long and bumpy road for CD Projekt Red after it released Cyberpunk 2077 a year ago to a Space X style disastrous launch (yep, I went there) that resulted in a major lawsuit ( four separate class-action lawsuits that were combined into one mega lawsuit) filed by fans and investors as the game failed to deliver on a couple of years of hype as the game at launch was described by many as incomplete and accusations were made against CDPR for knowingly releasing an incomplete game. It’s been just over a year, and several updates later, CDPR released Cyberpunk 2077 to next-gen consoles along with a major update promising to fix major issues. Did they really fix anything? Let’s see. I’ll admit, I did not play the game when it did first come out, another claim made against CDPR is that they kept many gaming journalists in the dark at launch and only gave review codes to
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsReviewsShudderStreaming TVTrailers
From the Adams family, no, not that Addams family, we’re talking about the filmmaking family, comes Hellbender, the supernatural witchy coming of age film premiering on Shudder in just a few days. Hellbender centers on 16-year-old Izzy (Zelda Adams) who suffers from a rare illness that has kept her isolated on a mountaintop with her mother (Toby Poser) her whole life. As Izzy begins to question her sickness, she pushes back against her confinement and secretly befriends Amber (Lulu Adams), another girl living on the mountain, but her newfound happiness is derailed after she eats a live worm as part of a juvenile game and finds an insatiable and violent hunger awakened within her. To understand the hunger, Izzy must learn the dark secrets of her family’s past and the ancient power in her bloodline. This movie is a family affair, with the Adams family writing, directing, producing, scoring, and editing the film. It’s the sixth feature from Wonder Wheel
Continue reading →
More from Reviews
MoviesNewsReviewsTrailers
Director Daniel Robinette takes viewers deep into the woods in the monster movie Tethered, starring Alexandra Paul, Kareem Ferguson, Jared L. Cook, Brody Bett, and Chris Demm. Warning some spoilers The film sees a mother raising her young, blind son in an isolated cabin in the middle of the forest. Daily she takes him out and teaches him how to trap, how to fish, and how to live off the grid. After she tucks him one night when he’s about ten, she walks out, abandoning him to face life on his own. But before she goes she drills a series of rules into his head, including never letting go of the rope that he ties around his waist before venturing into the woods, and always sharing half his food with the forest. The film fast-forwards to see Solomon now a teenager struggling with life. But when he encounters a hunter, his life changes forever. I’ll give the film this, the
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
The Strange Monster at the Rivera House In this Puerto Rican horror short, neighbors of a woman (Aidita Encarnación) are desperate to communicate with — or through — a mysterious presence in her garage. Writer/director Estaban Bailey has crafted a chilling work that takes place during a hot summer day — not a usual setting for a horror tale, but this enigmatic short is no usual tale. Well acted and eerie, The Strange Monster at the Rivera House (El Extraño en La Casa Rivera) is a nifty slice of short-shock cinema Pare Writer/director Lauren Sick’s Pare is a terrific Christmas-set chiller in which a young woman (Dana Drori) comes across a blood-stained jacket that looks suspiciously like one that belongs to her husband. Matters only get stranger — and decidedly creepier — from there. Sick builds the mystery and tension masterfully, assisted by a superb performance from Dori, whose facial expressions are fantastic. This short is open to interpretation, and
Continue reading →
BooksReviews
Plot The Wrong Woman, author Leanne Kale Sparks’ debut novel, is a classic and realistic police thriller novel that is remarkably engaging. The plot follows FBI Special Agent Kendall Beck and Denver Police Detective Adam Taylor as they investigate their own respective cases only to find links between the two. Full of suspense, drama, action, and very realistic (as far as I know) investigating, the plot of this novel is full of layers, depth, twists and turns, and intelligent intensity. With two major crimes and two investigators, through much of this novel there are really two plots. Both of them are extremely strong and equally gripping. Sparks really succeeded at creating a real sense of urgency that runs through the novel and keeps the plots equally intense, then increasing that as they weave together to make one very complete thriller. Characters Leanne Kale Sparks is obviously very gifted at creating characters. Each character brings something important to the story and
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Charlie (Emily Bennett, who also co-wrote and directed this picture along with Justin Brooks) is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her paramour, photographer Simone (Emma Myles) to their Brooklyn apartment after an extended absence. As she awaits, Charlie wanders the apartment, alone, for extended periods of oddly indeterminable time. As the hands of the clock pass, our heroine passes the time via video messaging with her party hardy friend, as well as arguing with her bible-nut mother (Re-animator and From Beyond‘s Barbara Crampton) over the sinfulness of her lifestyle choices (also on computer screen… it’s apparent from the beginning that this film is both Covid-19 metaphor in some respects, as well as being filmed during the pandemic). Of course, this being a fright flick of sorts, Charlie also begins having blood drenched hallucinations and hearing strange voices and screaming coming from the vents… how does this relate to our protagonists’ mental health, and can she piece together why these events
Continue reading →
MoviesReviewsSci-Fi
American scientists Quent Brady (Jim Davis, whom some of you geriatrics may remember from Dallas, but I’ll always think of his turn in 1979’s Charles Band produced sci-fi romp The Day Time Ended when I see his face) and Dan Morgan (Robert Griffin) get their jollies sending all sorts of living creatures into space to test the final frontier’s effects on animals. This gets fucked up lickity-split, and a rocket carrying space-mutated wasps crash lands of the coast of Africa sending the buzzing bastards into the not-at-all foreboding area known as “Green Hell”, where they then proceed to go on a rather unreasonable deadly rampage. Because they caused all of this with their reckless rockets (and were doubtless legally obligated to do so), Brady and Morgan head down Africa way and attempt to put an end to those wicked wasps… and maybe say “I’m sorry” to the families of those that the wasps killed… but probably not… Also there is
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviewsSci-Fi
I’m selective when it comes to playing RPGs, but when I was told about ELEX II, a game that combines sci-fi futurism with a medieval twist, I had to take a look. A big thank you to THQ Nordic and Piranha Bytes for the reviewing opportunity! ELEX II is an open-world third-person game where you play as Jax, the hero from the first installment of the series who after defeating one threat to the planet of Magalan, is the first to notice a new extraterrestrial threat set on terraforming the planet. Jax now is sent on a quest from a former foe to gather an army to fight the menace while working with different warring factions. Now onto ELEX II itself. The game’s controls will take time to get used to, especially if you’re using a controller as it appears that some of the buttons perform more than one action which can get Jax into trouble. For example, the button
Continue reading →
MoviesReviews
My Stepmother is an Alien begins with Tom Jones’ cover of Prince’s Kiss, and every woman over the age of 65 within a mile from my dread dwelling spontaneously came. Once that was mopped up, I could carry on with my sinister synopsis… Widowed scientist Steven Mills (Dan Aykroyd) accidentally shoots a beam into space that effects the gravity of a planet light years away. Said planet sends out star-born sex-pot Celeste (Kim Basinger), along with a tentacle in a magic bag, to figure out why some Earth-slug fucked up their planet… but complication arise as Mills becomes so full of the horny for the goofy, off-kilter alien-in-disguise that he beds her and weds her within the space of 24 hours! While being a cheerleader for her Dad’s sex-life, Mills’ daughter Jessie (Buffy alum/band camp story generator Alyson Hannigan, albeit in child format) becomes suspicious of Celeste when she sees her doing weird alien shit like chuggin’ batteries… but not
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviewsThriller
Wired Productions and LKA are back after the success of The Town of Light to bring players face to face with horrors of loss and war with their new dark psychological thriller Martha is Dead. The game recently made headlines as the game will be heavily modified for PlayStation due to some of the game’s content that’s been deemed too disturbing, luckily for you gorehounds, the copy I was sent is unaffected by the modifications! I want to thank Wired and LKA for the reviewing opportunity! Martha is Dead takes place in Italy in 1944 where players take on the role of Giulia, a young woman obsessed with a local legend surrounding the lake near her family’s vineyard. While trying to set up a camera to capture the ghost of a lady in white, Giulia finds her identical twin sister Martha in the lake dead and after recovering her body and through confusion, she assumes the identity of her now-dead
Continue reading →
GamingProductReviewsSci-Fi
It’s been a long and bumpy road for CD Projekt Red after it released Cyberpunk 2077 a year ago to a Space X style disastrous launch (yep, I went there) that resulted in a major lawsuit ( four separate class-action lawsuits that were combined into one mega lawsuit) filed by fans and investors as the game failed to deliver on a couple of years of hype as the game at launch was described by many as incomplete and accusations were made against CDPR for knowingly releasing an incomplete game. It’s been just over a year, and several updates later, CDPR released Cyberpunk 2077 to next-gen consoles along with a major update promising to fix major issues. Did they really fix anything? Let’s see. I’ll admit, I did not play the game when it did first come out, another claim made against CDPR is that they kept many gaming journalists in the dark at launch and only gave review codes to
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsReviewsShudderStreaming TVTrailers
From the Adams family, no, not that Addams family, we’re talking about the filmmaking family, comes Hellbender, the supernatural witchy coming of age film premiering on Shudder in just a few days. Hellbender centers on 16-year-old Izzy (Zelda Adams) who suffers from a rare illness that has kept her isolated on a mountaintop with her mother (Toby Poser) her whole life. As Izzy begins to question her sickness, she pushes back against her confinement and secretly befriends Amber (Lulu Adams), another girl living on the mountain, but her newfound happiness is derailed after she eats a live worm as part of a juvenile game and finds an insatiable and violent hunger awakened within her. To understand the hunger, Izzy must learn the dark secrets of her family’s past and the ancient power in her bloodline. This movie is a family affair, with the Adams family writing, directing, producing, scoring, and editing the film. It’s the sixth feature from Wonder Wheel
Continue reading →
