VHS and 80s Horror Spotlight - VIDEO

Sadly, I dropped an age restriction on this video due to violence and some swearing. Gotta protect those kiddos...even though they can lie about their age and still watch...but...:::ahem::::

This time I talk about my time in the dark ages of the 80s and some of the amazing hidden gems I used to rent back in the day. 

Sacrilege (2020)

I had the chance to see SACRILEGE and dove on it. I love English Folk Horror films and just finished watching the fantastic THE THIRD DAY, so I wanted to make sure I caught this one to keep the folk horror rolling. Now, the THIRD DAY is a mini-series and spans over six hours of time, so I knew I wasn't going to get that level here, but Sacrilege manages to entertain. 

Does it have its weaknesses? Sure. But, it held my interest and spun a fun yarn with material that can be very familiar to horror fans. 

In a very small, compact nutshell, we have four women who go away on holiday to a lodge out in the middle of nowhere. It's established that one of our folks (Payne) has a boyfriend that just got out of prison for putting her in a coma after beating her badly. What better way to get over it than to go away? They snag a hitchhiker along the way (classic DO DO IT item in horror) who tells them about this awesome festival filled with pot and partying, so of course they want to go. They witness a ritual....then comedy ensues. :::grin:::

Like I said, very familiar territory, but they keep things rolling and have some fun horror stops along the way. I'm not sure they had enough horror elements to fill out the film 100%, but the side relationship stories lifted their weight and kept things moving forward. When the horror bits hit, they ring true and they are a ton of fun. I even barked out a laugh or two at the surprising nature of a few them. 

With it's 1:23 runtime, it's very watchable. 

A Paul L. Smith-like (PIECES) performance from Chad Graham brought another fun aspect into the film. That classic, "I'm so sinister it hurts" vibe. The main cast of ladies are solid and keep the film in a higher level than some lower budget fair - acting well and bringing their "A game". That helped a lot. 

English Folk horror fans will want to check this out. Just give it a little wiggle room to present its story. It's a fun watch and deserves some love. 

DIRECTED BY   David Creed

STARRING

Tamaryn Payne (Stalled, Vendetta, Small Town Folk) Emily Wyatt (Mission of Honor, Rise of the Footsoldier: The Heist, Facilty 31, Sensation), Naomi Willow (NSR: The Jade, Bonded by Blood 2), Emma Spurgin Hussey (The Curse of Hobbes House, A Werewolf in England), Rory Wilton (An English Haunting, Fisherman's Friends)

SYNOPSIS

After accepting an invitation to join in with local celebrations for the Summer solstice, four young women find themselves in the grips of a mysterious pagan cult.They are offered up as a sacrifice to the cult’s mysterious ancient goddess, who has the ability to sense their greatest fears. Using this power against them, she turns their nightmares into a horrifying reality.

THE FUNERAL HOME ( LA FUNERARIA )

The Funeral Home was a solid little ghost story, but the real focus of the film really is just grim doom.

Bernardo runs a funeral home and lives in a house behind it with his family - his wife Estela and her daughter Irina. A mystery unfolds slowly as we watch the family spiral down into darkness. We get the classic bumps in the night and see that the family is doing its best to cope with whatever is going on in the house...and whoever is in there with them. 

People walk around like they are physically drained and without an ounce of joy in them. It's a very interesting take for the story. There's this feeling that everyone in the home is just being slowly crushed by gravity. Grim and resigned to just crawl through the day best they can. I loved that aspect of the film and that combined with the overall set design really set a mood that was very...very dark and sad. 

Now, this is a very slow burn and fans of a more CONJURING style of jump scare roller coaster may not find this to their liking. I, however, really enjoyed the trip. The acting is solid and the mystery around what is going on in the home is very well done and has some fantastic reveals as the film moves along. 

Mauro Iván Ojeda's writing and direction are fantastic. He manages to do a lot with the setting and lets the story unfold in a delightful way. I was riveted to the goings on and was all in on the ride. The way the story spun out along a very well defined line made it even more engaging. You're not just given everything via a spoon, but have to hang in there and work it out as the folks in the film work it out themselves. Loved it. 

I only had one item that I wasn't thrilled with in the film just because I'm not a fan of the type of plot point execution :::spoiler free::: , but I think it may just be on me and it was a very small bit of the whole, so I didn't really have all that hard a time making it through to the other side of it. :::grin::: All in all, I enjoyed the film and what it brought to the ghostly table. 

Fans of story and acting will want to check out La Funeraria for sure. 

Curse of the Blind Dead (2020) and kitchen chat

 

I really dug Curse of the Blind Dead. While I wished I had a little more BLIND DEAD action, I thought it was entertaining and a fun watch. 

Check out the video review below! 

SPOTLIGHT: Christopher Goodman

https://www.instagram.com/goodman_artist_director/

https://www.christophergoodman.com/

 Well, I had an interesting trip down the rabbit hole over the past few days. HA!

I saw an image on Instagram that gave me the creeps in a great way.....

I posted it to the Facebook group and circled back around to give credit to the artist - a must when you can, I feel. I went to his site -    - and saw that he is a man of many talents. Super creative soul. I was hankering for a horror short and fired up his short THE GOOD SAMARITANS. 

The Good Samaritans - Short Horror Film FrightFest 2018 from Christopher Goodman on Vimeo.

It was really solid and had some groovy effects work in it. Unlike some other shorts I've seen in the past, the storytelling is tight and lean, moving rapidly and not overstaying it's welcome. It lingers in one area and doesn't bite off....heh....more than it can chew or overstretch what they are able to take on in the time and budget allowed. 

I followed the road along to his Vimeo page and saw that he had done another short I featured here a while back called BLIGHT which I've reposted and raved about many times in many spaces in the past. It's friggin fantastic and an amazing effort with cool effects and solid acting. Man...beyond cool on the effects - downright stellar! 

Blight from Christopher Goodman on Vimeo.

I needed MORE! hehehehe

Next up was THE MAYFLOWER which was another "one room show" , but this time the setting was space in this sci fi horror tale. I dug it as well. It could have slipped into the "seen it before" category, but it really brought some exciting and new ideas to the table the made this a solid and original tale. 

Dropping back another year in history, I checked out FOOL'S ERRAND and was happy that Chris was still solid in 2017! heh.  Again, his writing is what really sells me on his shorts. What could have been another in a series of killer mummy shorts and films has a bit of a twist that takes this short up several notches and separates it from the rest. 

And last on the FEATURED LIST but far from least is his first short FLESH ART. Again, a solid little tale that doesn't overstay its welcome with some grand gore and zombie/infected effects work. It's not trying to be more than it is and manages to bring a lot of cool storytelling into the mix without leaving the cozy confines of the set. While it may not reach as far as some of his other work, it doesn't really NEED to to be a pleasing little horror tale.  

Now...I did catch a more recent offering called BLACK ICE that - while cool and very watchable - just didn't have the same magic for me, but even that short was amazing and really well done. The story itself just didn't ring the same way with me personally, and that's perfectly fine and reasonable. :)

Now...I mentioned earlier that he was a "creative soul" and it's time to cover some of his other talents. 

His concept work - amazing. He's done concept work for DOCTOR WHO, WATCHMEN (TV series), RED DWARF, THE OUTPOST, PEAKY BLINDERS, and more! 

Solid 3D work as well. I believe a lot of the sets and places in his shorts may be 3D, so this skill is most likely super important as well. 

And....a feature is what is really needed here. Even if it's an anthology feature of short films tied together with a through-line story. His writing is so good. I'd love to see what he could do with more time and cash seeing that he's knocking it out of the park with the shorts he's done so far. 

But, maybe that's not even on his radar and short tales is what he enjoys and wants to continue making. If that is the case, I hope that there are more avenues for short features where his work can be seen. 

Fantastic work, Mr Goodman! :) 

Creature Features Anniversary - January 9th

Man....1971. 

Creature Features was a major part of my childhood growing up. My Mother was a huge horror hound at the time (still is!) and she got me into horror films at an early age. Golden oldies from the 40s and 50s to start with. I loved them. 

I started trying to watch Creature Features around when I was 8 or 9, most likely. I tried to stay up and watch, but would usually fall asleep at some point during the first or second commercial break. As I got older, I was able to stay awake longer and longer until I was able to sit through the whole show without having to be shaken awake by someone. hehehe

A major part of my life. 

This is the 50th Anniversary video they made to celebrate. 

Strip Nude For Your Killer (1975)

 

I had to produce a video in defense of one of my favorite giallo films (...with one of the hardest titles to speak about in public...) STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER  ( Nude per l'assassino ) from 1975. A wild ride I really enjoy PACKED with giallo goodness and J&B!  And....the lovely giallo Queen Edwige Fenech.

GIALLOctober 2020: Eye in the Labyrinth (1972)

 Looking at a little giallo nugget that seems to be well loved in the Giallo Community.

Come follow us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/TheHorrorSho/ Giallo Realm on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GialloRealmOfficial

Horror Show: Blaxploitation Video

A small overview of a few of my favorite horror Blaxploitation films of the 70s. This episode is packed with silliness and swearing! Times below.

Visit the Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TheHorrorSho/ Blog: https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/ 3:50 - Blacula 9:29 - Sugar Hill 14:19 - Ganja & Hess 19:56 - Abby 25:25 - Horror Noire

music: DARK STEP by Silent Partner - YouTube Audio Library

 

HOST (2020)

So good

NOTE: This is a spoiler free review. Do yourself a favor and view this film WITHOUT WATCHING THE TRAILER FIRST! You will be glad you did. A two minute trailer for a 56 minute film can give a lot away! 

Last Monday I heard about this new "computer screen" horror film called HOST. I saw the screenshot and tried not to roll my eyes. 

"Ok...another UNFRIENDED thing. Cool...I liked that one." 

Then I saw what people were saying about it and took a bit more notice. During the course of the day, reviews kept popping up all over the internet raving about the film. Now, this wasn't studio hyperbole, this was coming from horror folks I knew and respected. I zoomed :::grin::: over to Shudder to view it....but found that I was a few days early and had to wait. 

Last night...the waiting was over. 

I started watching the film on my television and stopped a few minutes in after seeing the format. 

"No...no, this needs to be seen on my computer." 

I raced to my iMac and started the film up again and I was glad that I did! It's PERFECT for late night viewing in the dark via computer. Especially in this era of covid ZOOM meetings and the Cult of Quarantine.

Host tells the tale of six people having an online seance through....ZOOM, the online meeting app. (If you are like me, you are very...VERY familiar with ZOOM right now) With their medium Seylan at the helm, they dive into the mysterious astral plane. :::::DRINK:::::  ;)

My spoiler free mini-video review can be seen here....    It's silly, but I was inspired. 

I'm not sure how they did it, to tell you the truth. I mean, the general "horror over online meeting" concept has been done for sure. The aforementioned UNFRIENDED did a really good job of bringing the paranormal and computer tech worlds together and was very entertaining. But HOST brings something new into the mix - several new things, really. 

Thanks do the wonders of SHUDDER, they didn't have to try and pad out the story to meet the requirements of a theater run film. This allowed them to keep the film down to a wondrous 56 minutes or so. They packed that time with tons of great content and a strong story.

They used small ZOOM meeting knowns to their advantage all over the place which added a lot to the production. People waiting to get into the space, putting themselves on mute, messages popping up saying the meeting was going to end soon, and microphones being turned up to max so people could hear things better all had me grinning from ear to ear. There are more things in this particular bucket that I will let viewers discover for themselves. 

Making use of the new, virtual environment created with the use of six or seven separate locations joined together via cameras and microphones added tension in very interesting ways - again, spoiler free. 

I'd love to see another film on the making of this film, to be honest. Gemma Hurley, Rob Savage, and Jed Shepherd wrote a stellar script and Savage's direction was amazing. Picture staring at a large painting of a town, then zooming into a few of the town's locations and back out again as you stared at it. That's what HOST managed to feel like. You see all six folks, then from time to time you explore one of their apartments or homes. It was incredibly dynamic and engaging. It really brings a lot of NEW to a sub-genre that I thought was tapped out. 

But...more than anything else mentioned here...the acting. 

Haley Bishop, Jemma Moore, Emma Louise Webb, Radina Drandova, Caroline Ward, Seylan Baxter, and Edward Linard sold the film 100%. Subtle, nuanced, and BELIEVABLE performances all around brought a much needed feeling that these were all real people. They seemed like they all knew each other and that they had a history with each other. Subtle changes in the way they interacted felt very real to the point where I actually forgot that they were actors for a moment. So, when the shite hit the fan and things started to go south, I was concerned for their well being. 

AND....they didn't look like they were "acting scared", they looked like they were truly freaked out. 

I'm going to stop there before I say too much. 

HOST brings a ton of fun to the table and is WELL worth a viddy. I'll be watching it again this weekend...on my computer....in the dark....

After you watch you can check out the interview with Rob Savage here:
https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/behind-the-scenes-of-host-a-british-horror-film-shot-on-zoom

MAGGIE MAY - Etheria Film Festival on Shudder

Reviewing the amazing MAGGIE MAY from Director Mia Kate Russell starring Katrina Mathers and Lulu McClatchy!

The short film is part of the Etheria Film Festival and is currently up on SHUDDER.

DAWN OF THE DEAD zombie celebration movie list

DAWN OF THE DEAD was released April 20th, 1979 and it changed horror cinema forever. George Romero hit it out of the park yet again, creating a socially relevant horror epic that people still hold near and dear. I know that it was in constant rotation in my teen years as my friends and I rented and re-rented the movie to watch during weekend late night horror movie marathons.

As I became older, I saw how significant the film was for horror and the zombie genre. From the story points to the makeup effects, DAWN was a groundbreaking horror film that people will never forget.

But, are we done with zombie films now? Is the current zombie cycle over? These things are cyclical, moving from zombies to vampires to aliens, usually. (Sadly, werewolves seems to miss the horror cycle rotation...not sure why...). 

I still love a good zombie film. I have several that I think are well worth a viddy. Check out my list and let me know what you think!




Dawn of the Dead remake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j69OPw9nFHw
I thought I was going to HATE this remake, but...nope....I friggin loved it. I was turned around by the opening scene and was giddy with joy all the way through. I know some people still shun this film, but....aside from a few trope issues of the 2000s, the film is a super solid horror vehicle that took the brilliance of Romero's DAWN and made some interesting changes to make it work for modern audiences.



Night Eats the World
https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2018/12/the-night-eats-world.html
I thought this was a super solid film showing one man's struggle to stay afloat by himself during a zombie outbreak.





WILD ZERO!!!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_D9OjDoQ0
ROCK AND ROLL ZOMBIE MADNESS FROM JAPAN THAT NEEDS TO BE IN ALL CAPS WITH LOTS OF EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!!!!!!!!   SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!



Night of the Hunted
https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-night-of-hunted.html
An arthouse alternate zombie style film from the wondrous Jean Rollin. Beautiful and haunting, but not a traditional zombie film. Be warned. :::grin:::



Dead Set
https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2012/08/dead-set.html
One of my all time favorite zombie epics of all time. TV studio employees and actors deal with a zombie outbreak. A brilliant 5 episode series.




Dawning of the Dead
https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2017/11/dawning-of-dead-2017.html
A fun, lower budget UK zombie offering that was highly entertaining.



Burial Ground
https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2017/05/burial-ground-1981.html
Classic Italian 1981 horror film that must be seen if you love 80s horror. It's bonkers.



Mutants
https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2013/12/mutants.html
Stylish French zombie film that straddles sci fi and horror. Again, not traditional zombies, but so good.




Train to Busan
https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2016/09/train-to-busan-i-love-you.html
I think we've all heard of this film by now. TRAIN TO BUSAN is one of the best zombie films to be released in the past 20 years. While it may be hard for some to "get" some of the Asian cinema elements of high drama, it's a ride that not only shocking, but also heartfelt.



Shaun of the Dead (D'uh)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIfcaZ4pC-4
Yeah...it's great. :::grin:::   No need to talk about it more.




Wyrmwood
https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2015/08/wyrmwood-road-of-dead.html
Aussie zombie goodness. MAD MAX meets an early Peter Jackson film.



Nightmare City
https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2014/10/nightmare-city.html
More Italian horror goodness from the 80s. Zombies....with weapons!



The REC Series of films
REC3 - https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2013/03/rec3.html
A fantastic series of zombie films with a twist. [REC] 1 and 2 are fantastic and, while the series tends to take a dip after that, they are still highly entertaining films.


Undead
https://youtu.be/Ok8J-xyS4H0
Another cool Aussie zombie offering that has a lot of fun with the genre. Strange comedy elements abound as well.



Sugar Hill
https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2012/11/sugar-hill.html
A classic "blacksploitation" zombie film that is a must see. For the longest time, I thought it was just a black crime film from the 70s, but it's actually a super cool, voodoo zombie extravaganza!



STACY: Attack of the Schoolgirl Zombies
https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2012/11/stacy-attack-of-schoolgirl-zombies.html
Bizarre j-horror zombie goodness with wild visuals, a crazy story, and a TON of blood and gore!




Doghouse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8rsPuFN8wg
Silly and fun UK zombie romp that explores the "battle of the sexes" with a zombie twist. A goofy zombie comedy and is highly entertaining.



One Cut of the Dead
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wBImbHqhFk
Went into this cold and wasn't disappointed. I don't want to say much about this for fear of ruining it, but it had an amazing story and some wild shots.



The Dead
https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2012/02/dead.html
Bringing the slow moving zombie back to the screen, THE DEAD takes place in Africa and has some grand scenes of high tension as a man makes his way through the treacherous African landscape made even more dangerous due to a zombie outbreak.




The Horde
https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2011/01/horde.html
High energy zombie madness from France. High on blood and tense action without letting much story get in the way of the thrills. ; )


Cemetery Man
https://horrorsho.blogspot.com/2010/09/cemetery-man.html
Stylish 90s film with zombie elements. In this non-traditional zombie film, Francesco Dellamorte takes his job at the cemetery very seriously...because he needs to re-kill the people who are buried there a little while after they are put in the ground. Beautifully shot with a comic inspired esthetic, Cemetery Man is a super cool and strange horror classic.





Hope this gives you something to do while you Shelter In Place! :) 

My short story "Sleeping" on the Scare You To Sleep Podcast

Photo credit - https://pixabay.com/users/xusenru-1829710/

The wondrous Shelby Scott read another one of my stories ( SLEEPING ) on her amazing SCARE YOU TO SLEEP podcast.

The podcast is fantastic - a collection of short stories read wonderfully with just the right amount of added folly sounds to bring them to life without being overwhelming.










The story is the third one here around the 33 minute mark, but all of the featured tales in this one are a ton of fun.


The original story can be found here:
https://malcojojo.blogspot.com/2007/09/sleeping.html

The Sublet (2015)

QUICKIE REVIEW: THE SUBLET

Well well well....here we go again with the "Hmph....that was actually pretty good," from me, but there it is...it was pretty good, actually.

Now, I don't want to give too much away here. It can be tricky with these movies.

So, Joanna and Jeff have a baby, lots of new pressures in their lives due to it, and have just moved into a sublet that proves to be a perfect pressure cooker for the stuff they are dealing with. They fall deeper and deeper into the new baby fire as they try to make Jeff's career as an actor work with Joanna as a full time stay at home mother - a job that is filled with daily pressures as it is.

But....is theirs the only sadness the sublet has seen? Is their pressure strictly related to the items listed above...or is there more to it?

I'm sure the trailer gives a lot away. :::grin:::

Basically a one-set-show, Tianna Nori and Mark Matechuk do grand jobs in what could laps into soap opera territory with ease. They get the new parent free fall right. This is really due to the script from Alyson Richards and director John Ainslie. Things get more and more strange as the movie goes on and what started off as a rather simple tale devolves into something more and more complex and off-putting as things go along. 

( I love when the detectives arrive - a fun performance from Mark Ettlinger and Jeff Sinasac! )

All in all, this was a fun watch! Currently on....you guessed it! SHUDDER!  :)

Bliss (2019)

QUICKIE REVIEW: BLISS

Writer director Joe Begos (Almost Human, VFW) brings us more goodies with BLISS - a modern tale of work, blood, drugs, and bad friends.

Artist Dezzy is under pressure to complete a painting. A lot of pressure. She's out of cash and out of time with her landlord wanting cash and the gallery wanting their goods. She needs a break from it all, so she goes to see her dealer. And that's when all hell breaks loose! A dark and bloody hell.

I kinda see this film as being THE HUNGER meets MANDY. It just came to mind. And I loved it. This sexy and visually stunning little trip goes all out with sex and violence at the forefront, but never overshadowing it's wild and twisting storyline of a persons decent.

Dora Madison turns in an amazing performance, just tearing things up like a little tornado. We even get fun little scenes with George Wendt and Abraham Benrubi as she starts to fall further and further into her new world and further down the path to some really dark areas.

Begos' story is fantastic and super solid. It's a very interesting take on a theme that can often be dull and dripping with tropes no one really wants to see anymore. He really took things to interesting areas and at a rocketing 80 minute runtime, it feels like a fantastic horror rollercoaster ride.


Check it!   AVAILABLE ON SHUDDER at the time of this posting!