Reviews

Hank & Jim is a short film that world premiered recently at Blood Bath 2: The Film Festival at the historic Texas Theatre in Dallas, TX.

The film tells the story of two monster hunter and killers, Hank and Jim, played by Frederic Doss and Brandon Slagle (respectively), who apparently wander the country looking for the serial killing freaks we all know from our favorite horror films. This particular killer, played by big, scary man Jayson Champion, has a victim in his sights and she's played by the incredibly talented, up and coming actress, Jennifer Stone who does a very believable job of playing the terrified scream queen who's demise is certain. She is so terrified that you, the viewer, are equally terrified for her.

The story is smartly written. It's both funny and scary. The technicals are solid as the film was directed, shot, and cut by a talented filmmaker, Samuel Haun. The acting is solid. Frederic Doss' portrayal of Hank, with very little dialog, is a must see. He demonstrates the ability to to say more with his body language and facial expression than any dialog he could have delivered. He is truly a talented actor. Brandon Slagle rarely disappoints in his performances, and this is no exception. I'm not so sure that being saved by Jim would be any better than slashed up by Jayson. Insanely funny and well acted, Jim is every girl's last bad boyfriend.

For now, this short will make the festival circuit, where it will hopefully draw the attention of an investor needed to make a feature length dark comedy that further explores the adventures of Hank & Jim.

I was lucky enough to have received this film as a screener and submission for the Pretty Scary Blood Bath Film Festival this past February and after viewing it, it was promptly selected to play at the festival.

Jen and Sylvia Soska are twin sisters from Canada and they are filmmakers - writers, directors, and actors - who, with their debut feature, demonstrate that they truly understand what goes into a great grindhouse action film. DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK's title alone is the stuff cult classic films are made of, but the story of four friends, a Badass, a Geek, a Goody Two Shoes, and a Junky who find a dead hooker in the trunk of the car and the insanity that ensues backs the title up to provide a film that rivals many of the classic grindhouse films of decades ago. There are fast paced fight scenes, ridiculously off the wall dismemberings, some good ol' butt kicking, and plenty of laughs found within this film. And yes, there really is a Dead Hooker in a Trunk. Plus the film features a cameo by El Mariachi himself, Carlos Gallardo, as God.

The acting works at every level. Each of the cast turn in a believable performance. The special effects are low-budget but they deliver a believable punch where needed. The story is fun, although a bit fantastical and over-the-top (this is fiction after all), leaves you laughing where you should, on the edge of your seat from time to time, and most of all - truly caring what happens to the characters.

Technically, the film is well executed. Cinematography and editing are well done. The score and soundtrack is exactly what you'd want to hear in this type of film.

While not perfect in every way, it is dark comedy done with a low-budget grindhouse mentality and I believe this film is destined to become a cult classic.

I am incredibly impressed by Ivan Zuccon's COLOUR FROM THE DARK. I think he did a great job adapting HP Lovecraft's COLOUR OUT OF SPACE to a 1940's Italian setting and melding the Lovecraft alien story with a Roman Catholic superstitious mysticism. And it was incredibly well acted and technically solid. The lighting and cinematography works to create visually stunning scenes.

I found all of the acting to be solid, even given the absence of Italian accents from most of the cast. Debbie Rochon continues to impress me, film after film, with her ability to shine in any role. Michael Segal is a young man that was able to look and act in a role much older man.

This is one low budget independent film I can confidently recommend.

SWEATSHOP is the story of a group of entrepreneurs, headed up by Charlie – portrayed beautifully by Ashley Kay, who crash an old abandoned warehouse to set up a rave to make a few quick bucks. They quickly find that the warehouse is not abandoned and is home to something that enjoys murdering intruders with a large and very brutal hammer made from sewer pipe and an anvil.

Joining Ashley Kay in this endeavor are Melanie Donihoo, Peyton Wetzel, Brent Himes, Naika Malveaux, Julin, Danielle Jones, Krystal Freeman, Vincent Guerrero. The film featured a cameo appearance by Fangoria's Michael Gingold too. And living every horror fan's dream – Jeremy Sumrall stalks, smashes, and brutalizes the characters as the Beast.

The special effects crew of Kristi Bouls, Marcus Koch, and Mike Oliver were challenged by director and co-writer Stacy Davidson to create some of the most brutal but realistic kills you'll find anywhere in low- budget indie horror and they rose to the challenge. This film features more smashed heads than any film I've ever seen. The Beast wields a mighty hammer as his signature weapon but is found improvising with barbed wire, needle nose pliers, garden shears, machetes, and other nasty little implements he keeps around for odd jobs. The Beast even creates a new ball gag that is disturbing enough to make the average horror fan sick.

The technical merits of this low-budget "smasher" flick are incredible. Stacy Davidson not only co-wrote and directed but also shot and edited the film. The film is paced beautifully. Everything from location to lighting to score to effects to makeup pull together to create a visual and auditory stunning cinematic experience. I do not know the budget on this film but it looks like it cost a million or more pretty easy.

There really was very little I found to dislike about Sweatshop. The story works. There's no backstory to explain why The Beast is there and why he kills all who enter his domain and it's just not needed. This film is about the here and now. Charlie and her friends are hoping to make a small fortune but they picked the wrong place and they pay with their lives. The acting works – each of the cast delivers a performance that complements the story, their character, and each other's performance.

I received this film from the director, Matt Page, after seeing a scene from it in Frederic Doss' actor's reel. I loved this film. It was a fantastic black and white western about an old west outlaw that returns from the grave in search of his gold. It is a western with a zombie which should not be confused with a zombie western. The actors are all do a very good job. My favorite character is Loudmouth, played by Frederic Doss.

This film is only 21 minutes long and in that time it delivers a great story told by great actors. It is shot beautifully on an old west set in Santa Fe, NM.

If you get a chance to see this film at a local festival or in any compilation of short DVD's, I recommend it. It's really worth the watch.

This was, bar none, the best ghost story in years. Famke Janssen and Bobby Cannavale were phenomenal. Famke was able to pull off every aspect and every emotion of the role. I've seen her now in Taken and 100 Feet and completely impressed by her acting ability.

The ONE death scene in the film was incredibly well done. The special f/x were phenomenal from blood to breaking bones to complete and total contortions of the human body. The CG'ed Michael Pare as the ghost of Michael was incredibly well done.

Technically the film scores well in my book. It's well shot, lighting is beautiful, and the score adds to the mood to build suspense incredibly This is a must see film for the horror fan. It really is quite terrifying.

First and foremost, before I get into the review of this film, I have to say something: Just because you watched the film, did not like it, and have little good to say about it does not mean the positive reviews are fake. So get off your high and mighty horse and recognize that your opinion is your opinion. Shame on you for suggesting opinions different than yours are fake or shill.

Now on to the review: I enjoyed this film. It was a slow-burn horror film. I thought the acting was incredible. The camera-work was well done and the lighting was good. The story was troubling and dark. I watched this film in anticipation of the next scene throughout the film. Yes, it was predictable but honestly, what horror film isn't these days? The story was a bit of a retelling of May and Misery, but enough differed to make it worth watching. For those who like their films full of zombies, werewolves, or fast-moving slashers with high body counts, this film will bore you. But if you like variety in your horror you'll find this cerebral film different and much more enjoyable than any of the remakes and reimaginings done on budgets far greater than Nobody Loves Alice.

I rented SKINNED ALIVE, a name given to James Tucker and Joshua Nelson's film originally titled EAT YOUR HEART OUT by LGF, a few weeks back. I later found that the film is available as a "Producer's Cut" from melissabacelar.com in a beautifully and appropriately named DVD "GORE WHORE" and of course I had to own it.

GORE WHORE is a better title for this film than either EAT YOUR HEART OUT or SKINNED ALIVE. Melissa Bacelar, Lost Angeles Films, stars as a zombie ghoul-like prostitute, Pandora, that feeds her ravenous appetite for flesh by consuming her johns. Jack Dillon co-stars as the lonely and pathetic Jeffrey, who in a desperate attempt to find love after being rejected by all of his female co-workers and pretty much every other female he's ever known, turns to prostitutes. Jeffrey asks his "dates" to go to dinner with him after doing "business" and finds rejection in all of them, until one day Pandora comes calling. They fall in love - aaaaawwwwww - and Jeffrey is willing to look past the fact that not only is Pandora not Jewish as he is, but she's a flesh-eating undead ghoul or zombie. Joshua Nelson plays a character, only known as the Stalker, who's looking for Pandora and pretty much killing every pimp along the way in an attempt to find her. Alan Rowe Kelly cameos as Mama - a sick and twisted madame of a brothel and pimp that Pandora works for. Alan Rowe Kelly's performance is excellent and twisted. I love an actor that performs in cameo and supporting roles as though it was the most important role in the film and puts 110% of his talent into the role.

I LOVE THIS FILM. It's sick, it's gory, it's well acted, and technically well-executed. The story works quite well. Melissa Bacelar is as beautiful covered in blood and eating flesh as she is on the cover of LOW RIDER magazine. The principal actors all hit the mark and execute well in character. The f/x are low-budget but believable and naaaaasty! This is my favorite screenplay from Joshua Nelson (Savage Roses Films) who has also written a couple of my other favorite low-budget horror films: Aunt Rose and Pink Eye.

The biggest injustice to this film is the stupid "saw-like" hanging skin mask or SKINNED ALIVE title that just makes no sense.

Greg Arce wrote this story in 2000 and released this film on to the world in 2001. SAW came about 4 years later. Did the writers of Saw, who lived in Melbourne in 2001 lift the Saw storyline from Den? I don't know. But, to say SAW is DEN is a bit of a stretch because, as much as I liked SAW, DEN is far too intelligent and dark of a film to be compared to SAW. If the writers stole the premise from DEN they dumbed it down with traps and heads being ripped in half.

Greg Arce plays a character named DEN and he abducts 4 people, each related to the other in some common skeleton in the closet. He engages them in debate and conversation, all along with the premise that they control their fate and the fate of the others. This film is intense, intelligent, and dark. Each of the 4 are forced to consider their faith, their value on human life, and their religious views.

Warning: If you Google this film for reviews, there are several out there that give away the ending. The end was shocking as Den reveals the reason for this little game, so if you don't want it ruined for you -- don't read too many reviews or articles The acting is solid and incredibly believable. The film is an emotional ride that you'll never forget. There really is not a lot of blood or gore. Greg relies on the script and the actors to hold the audience not a bunch of fancy traps and heads being ripped in half.

This is a must see film. But, therein lies the problem, it's only available in Australia as a region 5, PAL disc. I bought mine on eBay and watched it on a region free universal DVD player.

It is worth the hassle. This film is a masterpiece and should get US distribution even if its 7 years late coming.

Marcus Koch directed and did the special fx for this Joe Davison written clown slasher film starring Raine Brown and others. When you watch this film, you'll understand why I say "Raine Brown and others" -- Raine's performance of Christine Gleason is so incredibly over-the-top that it pretty well overshadows all actor performance except for that of Jack Amos as Gurdy the Clown.

This film features 9 kills in the first 12 minutes of the movie as Gurdy the Clown wreaks havoc and commits mass murder in a random half-way house. And from that point on there are more than enough bloody, gory, violent kills to keep even the most demanding of slasher horror fans from becoming bored.

Joe Davison wrote a fantastic story with a really cool twist, that I will not get into here because the film releases on DVD on the 8th of December here in the United States so I really do not want to ruin this film for you.

Marcus, as the director and creator of special f/x, is genius. The technical aspects of this film, from lighting to camera-work, to the directing of characters and development, to every single kill stand heads and tails above most slasher films to include those put out by mainstream big budget studios.

Buy this film. You'll not be disappointed in Raine or Jack's performance. Another fanstastic performance is found in Jeff Dylan Graham's short appearance as one of Gurd'ys victims. If ultra-violent, gore and blood, and incredibly terrifying clowns are your thing - then you'll absolutely be into 100 TEARS.

I bought this DVD Game with a gift certificate at amazon.com. Of course, with a name like Slumber Party Slaughterhouse I really had very low expectations when I put it in my DVD player.

The premise is simple: Paul Tard gets uninvited to a graduation party with hookers by his buddies so that his girlfriend can have his hooker. He decides to deal with the pain of finding out his girlfriend is cheating on him with his friends and being uninvited from the party by enjoying a little internet porn on his laptop in the bath tub. OK.. yeah, yeah, you know where this is going - the laptop falls into the tub, fries him, he dies and he is visited by a heavenly angel and an evil angel and is given the choice to forgive his transgressors and go to heaven or seek revenge and go to hell. You, the viewer, make this decision. of course, you know the game has got to be more fun if you select revenge, so I did. The devil angel allows Paul to possess each of the hookers to kill his friend and then bring his friend back from the dead to kill the hooker but only IF you get the slasher trivia question correct.

So, is it worth the purchase price? YES!! The actresses are all incredibly hot and believe it or not do a good job with the characters. Each of the kill scenes is violent and gory and fun. One scene involves two hookers, three nerds, a guy in a chicken suit, and a guy in a clown suit. Oh yeah.. this movie/DVD game is just that much fun.

If you are looking for good clean intelligent fun - stay away from this DVD. However, if you are looking for hot naked scream queens and lots of blood, guts, and gore in a simple plot with a simple premise - then this DVD is a must have!

The Bullions are a backwoods, inbred family of cannibalistic killers. Don't stop reading now and tell yourself that you know this story, it's been done before in many films such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Motel Hell, and even the House of 1000 Corpses, as this film delivers a new story in this well-done sub-genre.

Alan Rowe Kelly wrote and directed "The Blood Shed." Yes, many of the familiar elements of the sub-genre are found here. Grandma's wheelchair bound, says very little, and is reminiscent of the Grandpa played by Ken Everett (RIP) in TCM2. The inbreeding is evident in the children. Alan Rowe Kelly plays the daughter, Beeftina, and pulls this role off to the "T". And yes, there's a dinner scene or two that will surely make the weak stomached viewer wretch in disgust as the Bullion family eats some of the most disgusting food I've ever seen.

So, what makes this film different? It's a well written and directed independent film with actors that deliver a product well worth watching. It's a bit of a parody with homages paid to its predecessors. These inbred cannibals live in New Jersey. It seems almost like something you'd get if you crossed "Hairspray" with "TCM" and as bad as that may seem, it really worked quite well.

The cinematography, kills and gore f/x, costumes, and score all play into making this a great film.

Plus, Alan Rowe Kelly, has chosen B-Side to distribute this work. You can download it for $2.99 or $7.99 (portable download or DVD download) or buy the DVD for $12.99. If you buy the download and then decide you'd like the DVD B-Side will only charge you the difference between the two.

Buy this film. I'm quite sure you'll enjoy it.

"I'll Bury You Tomorrow" is a great film as the story is 100% original, it's not a retelling of any other film that I am familiar with. Allow me to steal from IMDb's plot summary and synopsis written by Alan to sum this film up in a paragraph: Is there love after death? The small rural community of Port Oram can answer that. When deranged young Dolores Finley (Zoë Daelman Chlanda) appears out of nowhere to begin work at the Beech's Funeral Home, the local mortuary soon becomes more than just a quiet place of rest. Dolores' passion for cadavers gives new meaning to the phrase "disturbing the peace". Written by Alan Rowe Kelly {alanrowekelly@yahoo.com Zoe is phenomenal in her portrayal of Dolores. The rest of the cast, including Alan in his portrayal of the mortuary's make up artist, Cory, do an incredible job at truly bringing their characters to reality. They are all to be commended for this performance.

The use of makeup f/x with heaping helpings of gore, blood, and prosthetics truly pleased this independent horror film fan. We have dismemberments and disembowelings. We are treated to a strangulation of one victim with another victim's intestines. The blood flows freely as Dolores and Jerry work their way to a decent body count.

This, folks, is the stuff Hollywood should be looking for. Instead, they waste their money on remakes and sequels while creative geniuses like Alan, create low budget horror gems such as this. This, my friends and fans of independent horror is the stuff we should be buying and watching.

Lars E. Jacobson wrote this movie and the box claims it is based on a true story. Which true story its based on or inspired by is not relevant. What is relevant is that Lars E. Jacobson understands what makes a movie horrifying. The plot to this movie is pretty straightforward. A woman, known only as Mom, convincingly portrayed by Colleen Porch, gives birth to her baby boy and begins a descent into madness and psychosis created by the all too common condition, post-partum depression. She begins to see things in drawings made by the children. She believes her husband, an over-the-road trucker who is gone frequently, is cheating on her. And of course, she begins to kill her children, one by one. OK.. enough said about the plot because too much more would spoil this movie if you haven't seen it. And from what I can tell this film isn't trying to make any sort of social statement about post-partum depression. But, many of us know the story of Andrea Yates and mothers like her that simply snapped and killed all of their children in a post-partum depression induced psychosis. Thus this story is all too real and thus all too disturbing.

My wife and I cringed and turned out heads throughout this movie. But not because it is terribly gory or bloody, we love gore and blood. We turned our heads, much as a young child covers his eyes when the monster comes up, to avoid the truly scary parts of this film -- the mother in her madness killing her children. My wife actually pulled our 3 year old son up on to her lap and held him as this woman brutally murdered these children. The film was simply brutal and horrifying. Rarely does a film kill young children, but this one does it, does it in a horrifying and realistic manner, and does it in front of other young children.

The boy who plays the 10 year old son, Jimmy, who does everything he can to protect his siblings from the mother's rage is the actor Ridge Canipe. He is phenomenal. I can't imagine this film won't have a lasting effect on his psyche. The Mom is so believably portrayed by Colleen Porch that I'm quite sure when I see her in other movies I'll immediately have flashbacks to the terror of this film. The cinematography is phenomenal. The directors (Lars Jacobson and Amadreep Kaleka) create many very scary scenes and shots throughout the film. For example, there is one scene where Jimmy is hiding in the chicken coop and his mother, on her knees, looks into the chicken coop through the small entrance used by the chickens, and the look on her face and its framing in the doorway was most reminiscent of the classic Jack shot from Kubrick's THE SHINING.

Although I strongly recommend everyone watch this movie, we will likely never watch this movie again. The movie was simply too psychologically disturbing for the loving parents of three children to endure once more. This horror is real. There is no slasher, there is no zombie, there is no vampire nor werewolf, that is as real as Mom is in BABY BLUES.

As I don't really have a regular rating system that I use to give a film 5 out of 5 stars or whatever, I'll just say whatever rating system you want to use I give it all of them .. 5/5 stars, 10/10 skulls, 5/5 Holy Craps, whatever the case may be. The movie has it all, a great story, great acting, great cinematography, a perfect balance of blood and gore in its kill scenes, and great directing.

In the genre of horror films there is a sub-genre that has been denigrated with the label "Torture Porn". I prefer to refer to these films as A.R.T. films, as an acronym for Abduct, rape, and torture.

The Cellar Door clearly fits into the sub-genre of A.R.T. James Dumont plays Herman, a lonely psychopath looking for love but as with most kidnapping and torturing abductors hasn't quite figured out that you simply cannot force a woman to love you no matter how long you keep her in a cell in the basement. Michell Tomlinson, plays Rudy, the woman he has currently set his designs upon.

The film is pretty typical A.R.T. stuff. Herman, however, is a collector of body fluids, parts, and waste material and keeps pretty much every output of his victims. Trimmed toenails, feces, urine, and even tampons are stored carefully by this psychopath.

While, as other reviewers point out, it is true that the first victim does not follow through and ensure that Herman is dead when she manages to escape the cell before leaving the house only to be run down by him later, this really does little to detract from the film. It's also easy while watching the film in the safety on one's home, far detached from a brutal A.R.T. situation to wonder why the victim doesn't take more time to make sure the abductor is truly dead and just not out for a bit, there are two flaws in this as a script: 1> the film would've been only 10 minutes long and 2> most people, kept in a cell in a basement for long periods of time, are probably far more pre-occupied with escape than checking the pulse of their abductor to make sure he's really dead. I personally do not think the writer and director did this with any motive (as one reviewer suggested) to make women weak. It simply made the movie better and demonstrated Herman's strength.

I can clearly see why Jame, Michel, and the film won awards at Shriefest when it came out. The ending was brutal and bloody which I find to be essential in any A.R.T. film. The story works, the acting works, and all in all this was a great horror movie.

I loved this film! Wrestlemaniac is a fantastically gruesome piece of cinema!! The first two kills are off-screen, but they more than make up for it when you see a couple of the victims get their faces ripped off.

The story line was good (just don't' think too much about it), the characters were great, the three women were hotter than three dollar pistols, and the gore was gruesome.

Surprisingly good was the acting ability of Rey Misterio, Sr (not to be confused with the WWE star, it's his uncle). The other actors are all surprisingly convincing and believable.

If you haven't seen it, been thinking about it, or just wasn't real sure how good a slasher flick about a Mexican wrestler could be, just rent it, buy it, do whatever .. but see this flick. If you have ever wondered what it looks like to see a face ripped off by someones bare hands, then you have to see this film.