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Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Hunter Hunter Is A Dark Horror Thriller Done Right

When I sat down and hit the play button to watch writer-director Shawn Linden’s Hunter Hunter I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I got was a great, truly dark film about family and desperation. The film centers on a couple, Joseph (Devon Sawa) and Anne (Camille Sullivan), and their daughter Reneè (Summer H. Howell) living off the grid in the remote wilderness. They make their money by trapping so when a wolf begins to steal the animals in their traps they set out to hunt it down. When they stumble across the wolf eating an arm they realize there is another killer (Nick Stahl) lurking in their own backyard. First off, let me give a warning to animal lovers, Hunter Hunter is going to be a bit hard for you to watch. Just cover your eyes when you have to though because the movie is worth it. Hunter Hunter is a dark, tension-filled, gripping tale and at some points

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 14, 2020
Horror Fuel

Hulu Review: ‘Run’ Starring Sarah Paulson

Hulu’s original thriller Run is breaking records on the streaming service. So, I wanted to see what all the fuss is about. And I really enjoyed it. Sarah Paulson (“AHS”) stars as Diane Sherman, a mother consumed with her desire to protect her teenage daughter Chloe (Kiera Allen) who is bound to a wheelchair and suffers from a host of other medical problems. But everything is not as it seems and Diane is hiding a dark secret. When her daughter begins to uncover the truth and tries to escape Diane’s world is thrown into chaos. The first thing I noticed right off to bat is that it appears the story took a lot of inspiration from the true story of Gyspy Rose Blanchard, the young woman whose mother kept her sick for her entire life. But have no fear, Run‘s events differ a lot from Gypsy’s life story. First off, this movie is intense and features a lot of tension

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 6, 2020
Horror Fuel

Short Film Review: Nova (2020)

Dr. Nova Thorpe (Kelly Kula) is racing against the clock to get a warning out about impending doom related to a top secret experiment she’s involved in… but is said threat already in the room with her? Running a scant eight minutes, Nova, the latest short film from writer/director David McAbee makes a lot of very little; to wit: we have one actress (the aforementioned Kula who does a fantastic job of selling the dire straits she has been tossed into), one room, and some rock solid cinematography (courtesy of David C. Smith). Adding to the overall top-shelf quality of this short is the fact our heroine’s degeneration is captured in nearly one continuous shot (which rumor has it was achieved with the help of a remotely operated robotic arm) and features some great make-up effects created by Chanel Panagiotopoulos. There’s not much more to say really; if you love a tense sci-fi tale told right (and right quick) then

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Dec 6, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Paintball Massacre (2020)

A gaggle of ol’ school chums get together for a bit of the reunion n’ paintball combo that sits so well with telephone operators from Biloxi between the ages of 22 and 22. Long story short, these folks get balls deep into feudin’ and fussin’, but that shit is small potatoes compared to the fact that a masked maniac has joined the (soon to be) ghoulish game, and he’s brought the tools to guarantee that there will be a higher than normal body count (which for paintball usually hovers somewhere between zero and zip) in this contest of champions! If Paintball Massacre is anything, it’s a damn good joltin’ jaunt into our beloved stalk n’ slay genre! What makes this one such a great time you may (or admittedly may not) ask? For starters, it has a great cast that manage to convey both horror at the murder biz befalling them, and a solid sense of comedic timing (yup, this

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Dec 5, 2020
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Silent Running (1972)

Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) spends most of his time aboard the spacecraft Valley Forge caring for the ship’s verdant greenhouses while the rest of the skeleton crew tears ass through the corridors of the vessel on dune buggies… when they aren’t shooting pool, playing poker, or generally acting like complete assholes. Speaking of the Forge; the ship is part of a space fleet that contains all of the Earth’s remaining flora after the planet has succumbed to a catastrophic environmental event, and they’ve been cultivating those plants for eight long years, and to say Lowell is attached to his job is an understatement. Imagine his outrage then when the orders come down from above to jettison the greenhouse pods from the fleet and nuke them… and imagine how he’s not going to sit still and let that happen… at least not to his greenhouse. After eliminating the crew, Lowell makes a desperate gambit to pilot the ship through Saturn’s rings

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Dec 1, 2020
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: The Black Cat (1989)

Being an adaptation of horror maestro Edgar Allan Poe’s 1843 short story The Black Cat, this film begins the only way it could; with a baby in the womb super-imposed with images of the cosmos. A visit to a movie set, some hair metal, and a baby having apocalyptic dreams later, and we know well and truly that Luigi Cozzi (Starcrash, Contamination) is following the original story to the absolute letter in such a slavish fashion that would make literary scholars the world over to rise up and shout “Skeet, skeet skeet!” Anyway, there’s also a freaky ass witch, and Caroline Munro involved in these goings-on as well. Not a lot of cats here so far, but I’m sure they’ll chuck one in at some point. (Edit: they do) So what exactly is going on in this picture? The long and the short of it all is; some folks want to make a horror movie about the aforementioned legendary evil

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Nov 30, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Anything For Jackson

How far would you go to bring back a lost loved one? That’s the subject of the supernatural horror film Anything for Jackson. Starring Sheila McCarthy, Konstantina Mantelos, and “Supernatural” actor Julian Richings, the film follows a pair of grandparents desperate to bring their grandson Jackson back from the dead, which includes kidnapping a pregnant woman and making a deal with a demon. The first thing I noticed about the film is its cinematography that was both dark and rich. Even when it featured a gritty look, it still somehow retained its beauty. As for the cast, bravo. It felt like they really put their whole hearts into it. McCarthy left me impressed. The way she emotes her character, Audrey’s, every feeling is top-notch. She really gave her character an air of authenticity. Richings appeared to be in a near-constant state of panic as his character Henry struggled to keep their plan on track. Mantelos did great as well, portraying

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Nov 30, 2020
Horror Fuel

DVD Review: It’s Just A Game

Writer-director Daniel Emery Taylor’s It’s Just a Game is headed to Blu-ray and DVD. I got a chance to review it and well, these are my thoughts. Brianna (Hannah Cohen-Lawlor) is a shy, bashful teen who is constantly getting humiliated by the other girls in her social circle. Her circumstances change when she is kidnapped by a bizarre incestual cult intent on summoning an ancient witch. Hannah Cohen-Lawlor, Sarah Kopkin, Leah Hudspeth, Rachel Marshall, Alicia Clark, and G Larry Butler star in It’s Just A Game, from Wild Eye Releasing. There are times that I hate doing reviews. I don’t enjoy picking apart a movie that a lot of people put their hard work into. But I think our readers deserve the truth, even if it is a bit harsh. This is one of those times. This low-budget flick has a host of issues, for example, 90% film is too bright, giving it a washed-out look. The strong “tracer effect”

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Nov 29, 2020
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: The Other Side of Madness (1971)

After a moody, dialog-free opening (a trend that will continue for much of the film’s runtime) that shows the Manson family planning the Tate-LaBianca Murders as ol’ Charlie observes, we shift our focus to some wild-ass hippie hootenanny taking place on the outskirts of the Spahn Ranch interspersed with scenes of the Family in court on trial for their murder biz! As the story unfolds we are introduced to the doomed starlet Sharon Tate (Debbie Duff), and before long we are balls-deep into the events of the night of August 9th and10th in all of their disturbing detail… all of which is presented in a fashion akin to a documentary, which makes the horror all the more impactful. Does this all sound a bit disjointed? Well it certainly is… but The Other Side of Madness has a shit-ton of energy and some truly arty-farty touches that makes the entire affair as hallucinogenic and fever-dream addled as the times would dictate!

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Nov 29, 2020
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: The Rental (2020)

Friends/couples Mina (Sheila Vand, A Woman Walks Home Alone At Night), Josh (Jeremy Allen White), Charlie (Dan Stevens) and Michelle (Alison Brie, she of the late, great Netflix series GLOW) head out to a loverly rental house situated along a scenic coastline for a lil’ r&r. The one in charge of said dwelling, Taylor (Toby Huss) by name, is a creepy-ass racist… but the house is so damn groovy our heroes shelve their feelings about the caretaker and they settle in for some of that good ol’ drinkin’, druggin’ and fuckin’ that is so popular with telephone operators between the ages of 22 and 45. As fate, and the screenplay, would have it, the friends begin to learn each other’s deepest secrets which causes relationships to fray… but what really causes static is the camera they find installed in the home’s shower. Now normally one would call the cops right quick after making a discovery such as this, but these

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Nov 29, 2020

More from #review

Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Hunter Hunter Is A Dark Horror Thriller Done Right

When I sat down and hit the play button to watch writer-director Shawn Linden’s Hunter Hunter I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I got was a great, truly dark film about family and desperation. The film centers on a couple, Joseph (Devon Sawa) and Anne (Camille Sullivan), and their daughter Reneè (Summer H. Howell) living off the grid in the remote wilderness. They make their money by trapping so when a wolf begins to steal the animals in their traps they set out to hunt it down. When they stumble across the wolf eating an arm they realize there is another killer (Nick Stahl) lurking in their own backyard. First off, let me give a warning to animal lovers, Hunter Hunter is going to be a bit hard for you to watch. Just cover your eyes when you have to though because the movie is worth it. Hunter Hunter is a dark, tension-filled, gripping tale and at some points

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 14, 2020
Horror Fuel

Hulu Review: ‘Run’ Starring Sarah Paulson

Hulu’s original thriller Run is breaking records on the streaming service. So, I wanted to see what all the fuss is about. And I really enjoyed it. Sarah Paulson (“AHS”) stars as Diane Sherman, a mother consumed with her desire to protect her teenage daughter Chloe (Kiera Allen) who is bound to a wheelchair and suffers from a host of other medical problems. But everything is not as it seems and Diane is hiding a dark secret. When her daughter begins to uncover the truth and tries to escape Diane’s world is thrown into chaos. The first thing I noticed right off to bat is that it appears the story took a lot of inspiration from the true story of Gyspy Rose Blanchard, the young woman whose mother kept her sick for her entire life. But have no fear, Run‘s events differ a lot from Gypsy’s life story. First off, this movie is intense and features a lot of tension

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 6, 2020
Horror Fuel

Short Film Review: Nova (2020)

Dr. Nova Thorpe (Kelly Kula) is racing against the clock to get a warning out about impending doom related to a top secret experiment she’s involved in… but is said threat already in the room with her? Running a scant eight minutes, Nova, the latest short film from writer/director David McAbee makes a lot of very little; to wit: we have one actress (the aforementioned Kula who does a fantastic job of selling the dire straits she has been tossed into), one room, and some rock solid cinematography (courtesy of David C. Smith). Adding to the overall top-shelf quality of this short is the fact our heroine’s degeneration is captured in nearly one continuous shot (which rumor has it was achieved with the help of a remotely operated robotic arm) and features some great make-up effects created by Chanel Panagiotopoulos. There’s not much more to say really; if you love a tense sci-fi tale told right (and right quick) then

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Dec 6, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Paintball Massacre (2020)

A gaggle of ol’ school chums get together for a bit of the reunion n’ paintball combo that sits so well with telephone operators from Biloxi between the ages of 22 and 22. Long story short, these folks get balls deep into feudin’ and fussin’, but that shit is small potatoes compared to the fact that a masked maniac has joined the (soon to be) ghoulish game, and he’s brought the tools to guarantee that there will be a higher than normal body count (which for paintball usually hovers somewhere between zero and zip) in this contest of champions! If Paintball Massacre is anything, it’s a damn good joltin’ jaunt into our beloved stalk n’ slay genre! What makes this one such a great time you may (or admittedly may not) ask? For starters, it has a great cast that manage to convey both horror at the murder biz befalling them, and a solid sense of comedic timing (yup, this

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Dec 5, 2020
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Silent Running (1972)

Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) spends most of his time aboard the spacecraft Valley Forge caring for the ship’s verdant greenhouses while the rest of the skeleton crew tears ass through the corridors of the vessel on dune buggies… when they aren’t shooting pool, playing poker, or generally acting like complete assholes. Speaking of the Forge; the ship is part of a space fleet that contains all of the Earth’s remaining flora after the planet has succumbed to a catastrophic environmental event, and they’ve been cultivating those plants for eight long years, and to say Lowell is attached to his job is an understatement. Imagine his outrage then when the orders come down from above to jettison the greenhouse pods from the fleet and nuke them… and imagine how he’s not going to sit still and let that happen… at least not to his greenhouse. After eliminating the crew, Lowell makes a desperate gambit to pilot the ship through Saturn’s rings

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Dec 1, 2020
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: The Black Cat (1989)

Being an adaptation of horror maestro Edgar Allan Poe’s 1843 short story The Black Cat, this film begins the only way it could; with a baby in the womb super-imposed with images of the cosmos. A visit to a movie set, some hair metal, and a baby having apocalyptic dreams later, and we know well and truly that Luigi Cozzi (Starcrash, Contamination) is following the original story to the absolute letter in such a slavish fashion that would make literary scholars the world over to rise up and shout “Skeet, skeet skeet!” Anyway, there’s also a freaky ass witch, and Caroline Munro involved in these goings-on as well. Not a lot of cats here so far, but I’m sure they’ll chuck one in at some point. (Edit: they do) So what exactly is going on in this picture? The long and the short of it all is; some folks want to make a horror movie about the aforementioned legendary evil

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Nov 30, 2020
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Anything For Jackson

How far would you go to bring back a lost loved one? That’s the subject of the supernatural horror film Anything for Jackson. Starring Sheila McCarthy, Konstantina Mantelos, and “Supernatural” actor Julian Richings, the film follows a pair of grandparents desperate to bring their grandson Jackson back from the dead, which includes kidnapping a pregnant woman and making a deal with a demon. The first thing I noticed about the film is its cinematography that was both dark and rich. Even when it featured a gritty look, it still somehow retained its beauty. As for the cast, bravo. It felt like they really put their whole hearts into it. McCarthy left me impressed. The way she emotes her character, Audrey’s, every feeling is top-notch. She really gave her character an air of authenticity. Richings appeared to be in a near-constant state of panic as his character Henry struggled to keep their plan on track. Mantelos did great as well, portraying

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Nov 30, 2020
Horror Fuel

DVD Review: It’s Just A Game

Writer-director Daniel Emery Taylor’s It’s Just a Game is headed to Blu-ray and DVD. I got a chance to review it and well, these are my thoughts. Brianna (Hannah Cohen-Lawlor) is a shy, bashful teen who is constantly getting humiliated by the other girls in her social circle. Her circumstances change when she is kidnapped by a bizarre incestual cult intent on summoning an ancient witch. Hannah Cohen-Lawlor, Sarah Kopkin, Leah Hudspeth, Rachel Marshall, Alicia Clark, and G Larry Butler star in It’s Just A Game, from Wild Eye Releasing. There are times that I hate doing reviews. I don’t enjoy picking apart a movie that a lot of people put their hard work into. But I think our readers deserve the truth, even if it is a bit harsh. This is one of those times. This low-budget flick has a host of issues, for example, 90% film is too bright, giving it a washed-out look. The strong “tracer effect”

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Nov 29, 2020
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: The Other Side of Madness (1971)

After a moody, dialog-free opening (a trend that will continue for much of the film’s runtime) that shows the Manson family planning the Tate-LaBianca Murders as ol’ Charlie observes, we shift our focus to some wild-ass hippie hootenanny taking place on the outskirts of the Spahn Ranch interspersed with scenes of the Family in court on trial for their murder biz! As the story unfolds we are introduced to the doomed starlet Sharon Tate (Debbie Duff), and before long we are balls-deep into the events of the night of August 9th and10th in all of their disturbing detail… all of which is presented in a fashion akin to a documentary, which makes the horror all the more impactful. Does this all sound a bit disjointed? Well it certainly is… but The Other Side of Madness has a shit-ton of energy and some truly arty-farty touches that makes the entire affair as hallucinogenic and fever-dream addled as the times would dictate!

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Nov 29, 2020
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: The Rental (2020)

Friends/couples Mina (Sheila Vand, A Woman Walks Home Alone At Night), Josh (Jeremy Allen White), Charlie (Dan Stevens) and Michelle (Alison Brie, she of the late, great Netflix series GLOW) head out to a loverly rental house situated along a scenic coastline for a lil’ r&r. The one in charge of said dwelling, Taylor (Toby Huss) by name, is a creepy-ass racist… but the house is so damn groovy our heroes shelve their feelings about the caretaker and they settle in for some of that good ol’ drinkin’, druggin’ and fuckin’ that is so popular with telephone operators between the ages of 22 and 45. As fate, and the screenplay, would have it, the friends begin to learn each other’s deepest secrets which causes relationships to fray… but what really causes static is the camera they find installed in the home’s shower. Now normally one would call the cops right quick after making a discovery such as this, but these

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Nov 29, 2020
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