Thr33 Days Dead: The Sort Of Fishing Trip That Includes Running From Zombies

Thr33 Days Dead is a zombie horror film directed by John M. Ware. The plot follows a group of friends who head down to the lake for a spot of fishing, however their trip is ruined when they find out that their town has been overrun by zombies.

I enjoyed this film it resorted my faith in a tired sub-genre. Very much like found footage, zombie horror has been done to death, but this film proved to me there is still more life within the genre. I thought the film treated its zombies with a great deal of care, giving homage to past classics while trying for something new.

I thought the film had a few good scares that I didn’t see coming, so I will give it props for that. The more comedic elements were hit and miss for me, sometimes it made me laugh when I don’t think I was supposed to, and other times funny moments left me cold.

The acting is all solid, the actors seem to care about the film and are trying; that is evident in their performance. I thought Bryan Boylen was particularly good, and his performance made the film for me.

Overall, a nice unique zombie film that restores my faith in the subgenre even if the tone sometimes goes in the wrong direction.

Pros.

Restoring the sub-genre

Handling zombies with care

Good performances

Some good scares

Cons.

The more lighthearted moments and a lot of unintentional laughs

4/5

Reviewed by Luke

Vampires Vs. The Bronx: The Conspiracy Theorists Were Right, Gentrification Is The Work Of Vampires

Vampires Vs. The Bronx is a comedy horror film directed by Oz Rodriguez. The plot sees a group of gentrified vampires try to buy up and take over the Bronx, killing residents as they go, it is down to a group of young kids to defeat the hordes of the undead.

This film was one of the best horror comedy films I have seen in a while, it did both in spades. The jokes made me laugh, or at the very least smile, and the chills were quite effective when used; the bodega scene speaks for itself.

I enjoyed the gentrified twist of Vampires and I think that it worked well as a more meta comment on societal change and keeping one’s identity. I liked the Vivian (Sarah Gadon) twist, I thought though it was quite obvious, I was glad that they developed her character rather than just have her as a plucky helper character for the main group. I also enjoyed it when Vivian became the evil vampire general, I thought Gadon played the character well with just the right amount of menace.

I also thought it was an inspired choice to go a bit more old school and out there with the vampire characters, like at one-point Vivian is flying after the boys, I just think it adds extra whimsey to the film and is a nice difference addition.

Overall, a fun film that is far deeper than it might first seem. Very much worth a watch.

Pros.

The vampires, and going old school

The comedy and the horror

Developing Vivian

The surprisingly emotional turn with Tony (Joel ‘The Kid Mero’ Martinez)

Cons.

Slightly familiar

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Anonymous Killers: A Smart Gorefest

Anonymous Killer is a crime horror film directed by A.R Hilton. The plot sees a group of killers, from various walks of life, get captured and tortured and forced to judge one another by a mysterious man who seems to know them all deeply.

I enjoyed this film, I would say it is a thinking person’s Saw and I mean no disrespect to any with that, as I enjoy Saw as well, but this just feels better from a character point of view. The characters in this film have strong focus, we explore their pasts and their drives to get to know them on an almost intimate level; this might be some of the finest character development I have seen in a film all year.

I thought the threat and menace was there and done well, the gore didn’t overpower the film either. That is a common complaint of a lot of people with the Saw films, but I have to say the gore here is done tastefully well, but is still grisly at times.

I enjoyed the building mystery; it genuinely surprised me and went in a direction I wasn’t expecting it to go. No spoilers here though.

Overall, a well-acted, well written crime thriller that keeps you guessing and always on edge. It has just enough gore to appeal to gore fans, without too much that might put off more casual horror viewers. Don’t sleep on this film, make it your Halloween watch.

Pros.

Well written characters that feel fully developed and real

A nice amount of gore used tastefully

The mystery is compelling

The threat and the menace

Strong acting

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Prophecy 3: God’s Plan

The Prophecy 3 is a fantasy action thriller directed by Patrick Lussier, serving as a continuation of the Prophecy series. The war in Haven rages on, and now the Angel of Genocide Pyriel (Scott Cleverdon), has arrived on Earth to finish what Gabriel (Christopher Walken), started and wipe out the Nephilim and the humans with them.

This film completes the obvious character arc of Gabriel, and makes him a hero, which it turns out was God’s plan all along. Yes, this time around Gabriel wants to save the humans, as he himself is now one, and fight along side them to defeat Pyriel. I enjoyed seeing Walken play the character differently, it gives him chance to flex his charm and show his more loveable side.

I thought this film was a step up from the second but is still behind the first. The main reason for this is Cleverdon’s Pyriel. Pyriel is a much better antagonist, than a played-out Gabriel and has much needed presences and menace, I enjoyed seeing him ham it up as a very over the top evil villain and he looked like he was having fun.

The ending to this film also adds a nice sense of finality to the series as it feels like a lot of the lore and plot stuff has been tided up neatly and can be filled away; I am aware that there are two more sequels and maybe one day I will watch them.

Overall, still a lot of pulpy heavily 90’s fun and a decent final note.

Pros.

Cleverdon

Walken

The ending

Gabriel becoming the hero, even though it was cheesy and predictable

Cons.

It feels unnecessary

The production quality is still quite low

3.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

The Tell Tale Heart: Look What You Made Me Do

The Tell-Tale Heart is a horror short film directed by McClain Lindquist. The film serves as a modern reimagining of the classic Edgar Allen Poe tale of the same name. The plot sees a man (Sonny Grimsley), be driven to madness and murder and we the audience are left to put the pieces together.

Sonny Grimsley might be my favourite performance of the year so far, or at least in my top 5. This narrator character perfectly capture the sense of the original tale and is so wonderfully disconcerting throughout, you never want to turn your back on him. There is an elements of mania to the performance that really heightens it into being something special.

I really enjoyed the practical effects in this film, I thought they had a great retro feel to them and the horror as a whole reminded me of classic 80’s pieces; I will admit I am a sucker for a good practical effect.

I thought the film itself was quite scary and threatening and had many moments in its short runtime that sent a chill down my spine. I would easily recommend this to any horror fan. You don’t need to be familiar with the Poe original to enjoy this either which is helpful for newcomers.

Overall, an incredibly strong horror short that is reminiscent of early Sam Raimi or Joe Dante which is high praise indeed.

Pros.

Sonny Grimsley

The scares

Being friendly to newcomers as well as a good adaption of the Poe original

The effects

Nicely paced and perfectly edited

5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Cannibal Holocaust: THE Video Nasty

Cannibal Holocaust is an Italian cannibal horror film directed by Ruggero Deodato. The plot recounters the final days of a group of budding documentarians as they head to the Amazon jungle to try and make contact with the tribes.

So, yes before we get into it, I just want to say that don’t want this if you are easily offended. There is real animal death in this film, and very vicious rape scenes which are both very off putting. I myself had to look away during some of these scenes as I thought that it was just needlessly vulgar. I think an argument can be made that these scenes were only put in the film to add a shock factor that would lead to its infamy, making it more of a must see for a certain type of people.

That aside, I enjoyed parts of this film. I enjoyed how the film subverted our expectation in having the missing teens be the real villains of the piece rather than have it be the savage evil tribe trope again. I thought it was a nice comment on the fact that just because someone is classed as ‘civilised’ it doesn’t mean they are. I read the whole thing as a commentary on colonialization.

I enjoyed the sense of tension especially in the later stages of the film, when it feels like the whole of this world has become hostile and there is this looming sense of death that just doesn’t go away. The frights are physiological as you see the level of human depravity just below the surface.

Overall, not an easy watch, but one that is worth your time as a comment on the past and human nature.

Pros.

Not using the evil tribe trope

A strong sense of tension

Interesting themes and comments on society

Cons.

It is not an easy watch

A lot of the more vulgar elements feel done for little more than shock value

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Suspiria: Witches Everywhere

Suspiria is an Italian supernatural horror film directed by Dario Argento. The plot sees an American ballet dancer transfer to a prestigious German dance school. However, as Suzy (Jessica Harper), settles into her new life she soon comes to realise things are far more sinister than they appear; and a grizzly string of murders reinforces that point.

I enjoyed the dream like quality of this film, the breaks with reality helped in this respect as you were never quite sure whether what Suzy was seeing was real or whether it was some elaborate hallucination/ dream.

I thought though very crude by today’s standard, when the horror was used it was used well and even though the makeup and effects were not hugely scary it still served to unease me. It reminded me slightly of the first Nightmare On Elm Street film, in tone and aesthetic; clearly Freddy and Craven borrowed a few things.

I thought the acting was good, Harper didn’t have a huge amount to work with as most of her scenes would either be reactionary, or her running and or falling to the ground, but that was the way a lot of female characters were written in that time period of horror cinema, so it is not unusual.

Overall, I enjoyed this film I thought the dream like elements worked and it had a fun yet still scary campy horror vibe.

Pros.

The scares

The practical effects

The campy fun

The dream like parts and the accompanying music

Cons.

A poorly written female lead

4.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Saint Maud: The Lord Making You FEEL

Saint Maud is a British psychological horror film directed by Rose Glass. The plot sees clearly unhinged Maud (Morfydd Clark), begin caring for faded American movie star Amanda (Jennifer Ehle). As she is performing her duties as a private care nurse she can’t shake the feeling that she was made for more and that God is communicating through her or to her in some way. As her ‘connection’ with some form of higher being intensifies so does the horror.

I would say that this film is going to be very stark with viewers, you will either love it or you will hate it. That said however, I find myself somewhere in the middle. Though I think the premise and the story is well told and intriguing, I think structurally and as a horror film it is disappointing.

So, this is very much like Robert Egger’s The Witch, use your enjoyment of that film as a barometer for this. By that I mean it is incredibly slow, it builds and builds itself over time and then explodes in the final ten minutes into an all-out wild spectacle. I found myself bored by it for the majority and then these last ten minutes scared me and made me take notice.

I think the concept is interesting, the idea of is Maud really communing with some kind of higher power/ demon or is she just losing her mind has been done before, but never in as much detail as this. The film never gives you a definitive answer one way or the other it is entirely on you to decide. I enjoyed this aspect of it.

Overall, your enjoyment of this will come down to your horror sensibilities. I saw people leaving my screening mid film. I enjoyed what it was trying to do, however I found it to be a disappointment ultimately.

Pros.

The ending

The showdown, you know what I mean

The premise and the interesting plot

Cons.

It is not scary

It is very slow

3/5

Reviewed by Luke

Sputnik: The Realities Of The Russian Space Program

Sputnik is a Russian horror film directed by Egor Abramenko. The plot retells the events surrounding the Sputnik USSR space mission, this time when the cosmonauts return to Earth they bring with them, unknowingly, an alien parasite.

So this film is far from perfect, but it does do a few things right. Firstly the look of the alien itself is really convincing, though it is only used sparingly, the CGI on it looks top notch. I was honestly shocked by how good it was. Secondly, the horror and the tension is effective when used and there were multiple moments that had me in a cold sweat.

My main issue with this film is the staggering pacing issues. There are parts of this film that feel so slow that you almost want to give up with the film all together. These might only be ten-minute segments, but they feel like hours of your time. Moreover, I wasn’t really sold by any of the acting, it all just felt very average to me; no one blew me away.

Overall, though there are good elements and the CGI is strikingly good, it just isn’t enough to keep your attention during the slow parts. The acting doesn’t invoke anything and the scares though effective are spread too thin.

Pros.

A few good scares

The alien looks quite good

An engaging story when it is moving a quick pace

Cons.

Patchy acting

Painfully slow at times

It needed a few more good scares

2.5/5

Reviewed by Luke

Wolf Creek 2: Making A Hero Out Of A Cold Blooded Serial Killer

Wolf Creek 2 is an Australian horror film directed by Greg McLean. We again follow Mick Taylor (John Jarrett), the tourist killer extraordinaire as he cleans up his part of Australia once again from those evil invading backpackers. This is vaguely based on a true story, incredibly loosely though.

So yeah basically this time around Mick is the hero, or at least the main focus of the film. We don’t really get a protagonist (maybe the English dude), we just get a series of characters for Mick to pick off over the course of the film. None of them seem to have any shred of personality or character development, but I’ll get to that.

Maybe the executives realised that no one really cared about the boring vanilla survivor characters from the first film hence the Mick focus this time around. Also this film plays up Mick’s craziness a lot more, making him way more manic and almost strangely a lot more comedic too. Though I didn’t like the first film, at least the way it portrayed Mick was accurate to the cold-blooded killers that his character is based on, here he is a one liner cracking, goofy, pain sponge that can get up from any hit with minimal damage. They turned their villain into somewhat of a joke.

Jarrett is again the best part of this film and is clearly having fun and you can tell that throughout, sadly it does not translate to audience enjoyment.

Pros.

Jarrett is having fun

Cons.

Sadly it is not fun to watch

They don’t have characters just victims

They make Taylor less scary

The jokes don’t work

1/5

Reviewed by Luke