Movie Review: The Vigil (2019)

The Vigil (2019)
Directed by Keith Thomas
Starring Dave Davis, Malky Goldman, Menashe Lustig, Lynn Cohen

When this screener came across our desk and I read what the story was about, I was excited to see a different take or angle on a subject used many times in the horror genre, one taken from a Orthodox Jewish side. A troubled young man agrees to be an overnight “shomer”, someone who watches and prays over a recently deceased member of the church. With such a simple story, I was curious to see what this picture could offer. What I found out was that no matter the background, religious beliefs, or any of that, the feelings of guilt, horror, and creepiness can be found all around us. Continue reading

Movie Review: Prince of Darkness

(1987)
Director John Carpenter
Starring Donald Pleasence, Jameson Parker, Victor Wong, Lisa Blount, Dennis Dun, Susan Blanchard, Annie Marie Howard, Ann Yen, Ken Wright, Peter Jason, Alice Cooper, Thom Bray, Robert Grasmere, Ken Wright

This is another one of those examples where you have an opinion of a film from the first time you view it, but then at some point in your life, you revisit it to find yourself seeing something more than that first time. I was there opening weekend for this new Carpenter flick and don’t remember if I actually knew anything about the story before hand, but would never miss out on seeing his latest. My first thoughts were that even though I loved the music, I didn’t feel the same way about the film. I felt it was too slow and honestly the idea of a liquid evil or monster was just damn silly. I was also a little confused at who they were trying to bring from the other side, Satan or Satan’s father? Just a little too disjointed for me. At least, at that time. While my love of the score Carpenter did never wavered, eventually scoring a copy from a Japanese CD release (at a pretty penny), I never thought to go back to the film. I mean, if you don’t like something, why go back? But when one of Shout Factory’s Blu-rays came out, I picked it up during a sale and I figured I better give it another shot, trying to be a little more open-minded this time. Continue reading

Movie Review: Spider Baby

(1968)
Directed by Jack Hill
Starring Lon Chaney Jr., Carol Ohmart, Quinn K. Redeker, Beverly Washburn, Jill Banner, Sid Haig, Mary Mitchel, Karl Schanzer, Mantan Moreland

The first time I saw this film was on a shitty VHS bootleg that was barely watchable. This was still years away before it would released on laserdisc and VHS, and eventually DVD and Blu-ray. But even watching the grainy print on video, you could see something special in this strange movie. Thankfully we don’t need to worry about bootlegs anymore since there have been a couple of different special edition Blu-ray releases by now. How great to be a movie fan these days. Continue reading

Movie Review: Night of the Demon (1957)

Night of the Demon (1957)
Directed by Jacques Tourneur
Starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis, Athene Seyler, Liam Redmond, Reginald Beckwith, Maurice Denham

There are those films regarded as classics, even amongst the horror genre. This is one of them. Released here in the states as Curse of the Demon, the story is a simple battle between the forces of good and evil. But it is also about what you believe in and if maybe, just maybe, there is something out there in the dark waiting for you. That the supernatural and all that goes with it, is real. Continue reading

Movie Review: The Brides of Dracula

(1960)
Director Terence Fisher
Starring Peter Cushing, Yvonne Monlaur, David Peel, Martita Hunt, Freda Jackson, Miles Malleson, Andree Melly, Marie Devereux, Michael Ripper

While most “normal” critics would look down on a horror film, yes… even ones from Hammer Studios, this is a perfect example of how well made these pictures really were, from the acting, the production design, to the look and lighting of the entire running time. If you ever doubted that, just watch this 2K scan of The Brides of Dracula recently released by Shout Factory on Blu-Ray. Continue reading

Movie Review: The Old Ways (2020)

The Old Ways (2020)
Directed by Christopher Alender
Starring Brigitte Kali Canales, Sal Lopez, Julia Vera, Andrea Cortés, AJ Bowen

One of the key elements for a good horror film is to really hook the audience in caring about what is going on. To do that, you need good, believable characters that the audience will invest time with them. That way when these characters are in peril, it pulls at the audience’s emotions. Now in the ’80s, we had all those slasher films with cookie cutter characters because we were there to see the all the new and creative ways they would die and the special effects surrounding them. Nothing wrong with any of that, because they were going down a particular path in horror entertainment. Nobody went into Slumber Party Massacre III for a good character study or a memorable storyline.

Even with newer films, they can some times get caught up with the gimmick of the plot or whatever the special hook is. But then there are others that spend time developing characters who are wrapped around a simple but effective story, that grab the audience’s attention each step of the way.

Christopher Alender’s The Old Ways does just that. Continue reading

Movie Review: Creature (2011)

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Creature (2011)
Directed by Fred Andrews
Starring Mehcad Brooks, Serinda Swan, Dillon Casey, Lauren Schneider, Aaron Hill, Amanda Fuller, Wayne Pére, David Jensen, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Daniel Bernhardt, Sid Haig

There was a huge media hype when this movie came out, with ads and hype all over the internet. This little independent horror movie was getting a wide theatrical release and everyone was taking notice. Until it came out. The bad reviews started pouring in and it set a record at the box office as the worst opening in history, and was then quietly pulled from the theaters. Now I try not to get too excited about or buy into all this hype, especially when it comes from the internet since with a lot of these bigger sites, it’s in their best interests to promote something before they know what it is. Helps keeps those positive connections with the studios, you know? Remember all that pre-hype about the Friday the 13th remake? There you go. Continue reading

Movie Review: Blood & Flesh – The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson

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Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019)
Directed by David Gregory
Starring Al Adamson, Stevee Ashlock, John Bloom, Bud Cardos, Robert Dix, Tim Ferrante, Marilyn Joi, Gary Kent, Fred Olen Ray, Sam Sherman, Russ Tamblyn, Vilmos Zsigmond

Al Adamson’s films are really the epitome of what I consider a Turkey. It might not be well made, but it is usually entertaining. At the end of the day, that is all you can hope for in a movie. The more I had read and learned about Adamson, the more of his titles that I saw, like a few other low budget filmmakers, like Larry Buchanan, I discovered that I admired them more than their movies. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed the wacky titles they would put out, but knowing a little history behind the production and the people that made it, it made me appreciate it for what it was, and not what it wasn’t. That is one of the reasons that I think this new documentary is just fantastic. It gives newer fans a better perspective of this man and his work, showing a method to the madness, as the saying goes. And even for older fans that maybe wrote Adamson and his work off, it will give them a little more insight that might change the way they see them now. Continue reading

Movie Review: Curse of the Living Corpse

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The Curse of the Living Corpse (1964)
Directed by Del Tenney
Starring Helen Warren, Roy Scheider, Margot Hartman, Robert Milli, Hugh Franklin, Candace Hilligoss, Dino Narizzano

It’s funny sometimes how we discover different films that have either been hidden over the years, ones that you might not have heard of, or ones that simply come out with little or no fanfare and seem to slip away into obscurity. This film is a perfect example of this. Back in 2006, Dark Sky Films released Del Tenney’s more famous title The Horror of Party Beach on DVD. One of the special features was the inclusion of this title, which was originally released on a double bill with Horror back in 1964. The film stars Roy Scheider in his first feature film appearance so you’d think it would get more attention, but not so much. To say that Curse is a better film than Horror is really comparing apples to oranges. Or maybe hot dogs to steak. But I will say that it one that needs to be seen. Continue reading

Movie Review: The Descent (2005)

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The Descent (2005)
Directed by Neil Marshall
Starring Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring, Nora-Jane Noone

Early in his career, director Marshall broke not one, but two well documented theories. The first one was that if a film premiered the Sci-Fi Channel before hitting theaters or video, it meant that it wasn’t going to be that good. Such as Cherry Falls (2000) or Beyond Re-Animator (2003). So when I heard that this new werewolf movie called Dog Soldiers was going to make its debut on there, I never bothered with it. But once it hit DVD, and quite a few people were giving it quite a bit of praise, I decided to take that risky chance and give it a rent. I went out and bought the DVD the next day. That’s how impress I was with it. Continue reading