Inside No.9: Stage/Fright (2025) - Horror Play Review

When the great comedy thriller TV show Inside No.9 ended last year, I heard that the creators; Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith (Psychoville, The League of Gentlemen) were going to put out an Inside No.9 stage show as a final goodbye (titled Inside No.9: Stage/Fright). I fully expected this would stay within London and that I would never get to see it, but was delighted when I found out they were taking the show on tour. One of the locations was Milton Keynes, a city that is a half hour drive from my home.
For the past twenty five years or so I have loved their work. I remember being in English class while studying for my A-Levels and hearing classmates quoting the characters from The League of Gentlemen, making me want to check it out. I wasn't disappointed with that show, and Inside No.9 is basically that but with the creators more grown up, but with comedy no less dark and deranged 

Me and my father both had expected this new original stage based entry in the Inside No.9 series would tell one unique story over its two one hour halves. Instead it played with expectations a bit with plenty of rug pulls, misdirection and plays within the play. This gave the show almost an anthology feel to it that didn't let up from start to very showbiz ending. The self contained prologue taking place in the audience of a theatre production of Hamlet set things up well. Featuring dark humour and death this was a delightful introduction.
Before the story within the first half begins properly we get Shearsmith and Pemberton coming on stage to introduce it, as well as try to sell the idea that the theatre the play is being performed in is actually haunted. The majority of the first act is about two washed up comedians, who for a brief spell in the 1980s had had some semblance of fame on TV. They had performed under the name 'Cheese and Crackers', and the story told here is pretty much a recreation of season 4 episode 'Bernie Clifton's Dressing Room'. Shearsmith plays the straight one, someone who has moved on in life and left his comedic past behind. Pemberton meanwhile has an almost desperate feel to his wanting to bring their act back. A lot of the sketches they put on are the two washed up comedians re-doing past material, and purposely made to be cheesy and outdated, these were still quite hilarious to watch in their own right. Much of the humour coming from how outdated their references were, as well as out of vogue cultural impressions. Highlight was a very Inside No.9 feeling skit about two kidnappers who had accidentally kidnapped the wrong person, the incorrect person being a real life famous person that seemed like it would change based on where the show was being performed. Seeing it in Milton Keynes, the star here was a former Olympic long jump champion who I must confess I had absolutely no idea who he was until my father updated me in the intermission. Due to not knowing him, that section didn't work as well as it should have.

The interval came and we both said we had enjoyed it, I expected the second act would carry on the story, but instead it begins with a manic story set in an insane asylum that felt off kilter, macabre and darkly twisted in a way that really reminded me fondly of The League of Gentlemen. The characters here were larger than life, especially Shearsmith and Pemberton's roles, the former using that gravelly voice that echoed parts of both Papa Lazarus and my all time favourite character Geoff Tibbs. Their manic performances led up to a few gruesome jokes, including my very favourite joke of the entire show. Things are not as they seem and this leads into another story set on the stage of a theatre with a strong supernatural element to it. It even included some live action found footage segments of a character wandering around 'backstage' with a camera whose video feed is being projected onto the background of the stage. Once this story ends there are a few more misdirection and feints before the show finishes proper.

As expected, this is everything Inside No.9 but dialled up a bit. There is plenty of strong language, including a few uses of the 'c' word, and there is lots of death and violence over the two hour play. Multiple characters appear to be murdered on stage with a lot of inventiveness, from severed limbs and heads, to electrocution, and a face of sulphuric acid. All looked great on the stage (admittedly from my lofty position at the very back of the first floor of the seating area). I was pleased with the horror angle this went down. Often, the episodes on TV are more thrillers than horror, but here there were plenty of supernatural events, even if the idea the theatre itself was haunted always fell a bit flat when it was integrated into the show. It doesn't help that like everything in Milton Keynes, the theatre is relatively new compared to other places in the country.
I appreciated how beefy this felt, it would have been easy to just create an extended episode and have that be the show, instead there was a real effort to make use of it being played out on a stage, something the two main stars have plenty of experience with. There is no end of word play, Dad jokes, and inuendo that rarely failed to get a laugh. Even with the other actors who play roles there were laughs to be had, even though it was obviously the two leads who were the true stars.

It was such a pleasure to see these two people I have been watching on TV for the past 25 years or so in the flesh, I admit to being a bit starstruck watching these two, couldn't quite believe I was getting to be in the same room as them! That, and my love for their work may make me a bit biased, but minor quibbles aside, I really enjoyed watching Inside No.9: Stage/Fright and would certainly recommend it.

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Space Goblins (2020) - Short Animated Sci-fi Film Review

Space Goblins is a half hour long animated indie short that was created entirely by just two people; Amer Shihab and Harry Bryan. There is something about simplified animation that somehow puts me on edge, I find it strangely disconcerting. In the case of this short film that is not a problem, it just adds to the alien vibe.

Gib (Shihab) and Gob (Bryan) are two bounty hunting space goblin brothers who we find out on a mission to capture a warthog themed alien who is on the run for not paying his taxes. The two track him down to a squalid planet, deciding to check out a remote and run-down strip club for clues as to his whereabouts.

I had expected the titular goblins to be bad and nasty people. Instead, this is almost like a 'day in the life of', with the story following these two determined and law abiding brothers who it turns out are surprisingly competent. This is a dialogue heavy film with many scenes of characters talking face on into the screen. Sometimes this works and sometimes this doesn't, such as the intro scene set on their spaceship that just seemed to go on and on with the character talking in a meandering way. Some of the dialogue did get to be amusing, such as a scene at a bar, and the chief of police who literally has eyes in the back of his head. There is one action scene and it was short but sweet.

The animation was basic, but it all looked good, reminded me quite a bit of creepy British animated sketch show; Monkey Dust or the animated segments from old children's program - Around the Bend! The film world is full of bright and vibrant colours, and there were some neat moments, such as the CG planet that shows behind the cockpit of the brother's spacecraft. Voice work was decent, a few of the more exotic alien types were a bit hard to understand, but that could well be due to my hearing rather than anything else. There isn't too much to be found here that would warrant its 18 rating, there is a small bit of animated nudity, and some scatological references. 

On the whole, Space Goblins plays its story unexpectedly straight, the goblins are not the meat heads you might expect them to be, and there is an enjoyable atmosphere, even if full of a little disquieting feel. The press release states this has earned a bit of a cult following, enough that there is a live-action feature film currently being made that continues the unsettling feel and looks quite promising from the teaser trailers.

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Trespassers (2016) - Short Horror Film Review

Trespassers (original title Inkräktare), is a Swedish short horror film written and directed by Johannes Persson (Feed). My best friend actually recommended this one to me, even if she wasn't too pleased that I scheduled it in for a watch rather than check it out straight away!

Having not too long ago returned from a hiking trip up in the mountains, Ali (Ardalan Esmaili) is going through the photos he took on his laptop, with the intention of sending them over to his mother to check out. Looking through the photos, Ali reminisces to girlfriend - Sara (Evin Ahmad), about the old couple they met who told the two a ghost story related to the area visited. He then notices a collection of photos that he doesn't remember taking, with Sara eventually admitting to him that on her own she had visited an unmarked woodland gravesite the couple had warned them about not going to under any circumstances. Briefly annoyed, Ali brushes it off with a joke about the supposed curse, but then the couple start to notice that every photo that was taken on that trip includes a mysterious figure in a white dress lurking somewhere in the background...

There are certain things about short horror films that I really dislike. Namely that so many of them seem incapable of coming up with an ending any more advanced than an attempt at a jump scare. Trespassers almost fell into this trap, for it does indeed include an ineffectual jump scare, but thankfully that comes prior to the end of this five minute horror. Ghostly images appearing in photographs is something I do have a fondness, I like the merging of the supernatural and technology. Lake Mungo springs to mind instantly, as well as the ever amazing Sinister, both featuring pleasing scenes of spooky photos.
I enjoyed the pacing of this one, and it was neat to head back and see the figure in white was in the pictures even before she was first pointed out.

The attempt at a jump scare aside, I thought Trespassers told its story well, the parts with the photos had some decent enough creepy moments, and the insert shot of a characters eye (digitally) going bloodshot was pretty cool looking. With clear and easy to read subtitles, and enjoyable pacing, Trespassers avoided the pitfalls of being another generic short horror.

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The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 11th September 2025

Summer has nearly been and gone now, I am looking forward to cooler weather, though it is still slightly sad to see the end of each season. Onwards to the news.

An Indiegogo campaign has recently been created for upcoming anthology horror film; Amityville: Descendants of Darkness. Coming from the ever reliable Phil Herman (I Slay on Christmas, Unearthed), the press release states this one is '...a descent into fear itself an exploration of how darkness refuses to die, only to evolve and strike again.' Check out the campaign page here.

Dragon Studios have announced they are working on a follow up to notorious 1979 'video nasty' Driller Killer, with the surprising title of Driller Killer 2. The film is to be a direct sequel that takes place decades after the events of the first one. Crime journalist Jayne Goodman investigates a series of new murders that not only appear to be inspired by the crimes that came before, but is also discovered that the original killer's twisted artwork contains clues as to who this new drill based murderer is. Driller Killer was an ok film, a bit too arty for my liking, but had decent atmosphere to it. The new film is going to star Eric Roberts, Beverly Randolph, and feature Denzil Washingon.

Finally for today, coming this Halloween season is Melon Heads; a Eddie Lengyel written and directed horror coming from Fright Teck Pictures. The film, whose cast includes among them Alicia Marie Spurlock, Tara O. Horvath, and Brainslav R. Tatalovic, is about four students who as part of their final assignments, head to the abandoned mansion of the mysterious Dr. Crow.

Ibuprofen (2025) - Short Horror Film Review

Described as a psychological absurdist horror, micro-short film Ibuprofen is the first film I have seen that has come from Bahrain. I admit to having never heard of the country, but a quick Wikipedia search states it is an island country in West Asia, situated on the Persian Gulf. This three minute horror was written, directed, edited and had cinematography all done by Abdulla Naji Mahmood, and while obviously low budget, this had some neat weirdness to it.

A student travels through the maze-like corridors of his university one evening, desperate to find out what his grades are. Almost giving up, the young man eventually locates his tutor, but that isn't the end of his confusing quest.

The director's statement for this short says how it was made as a comparison against his real life struggles of attending university, due to issues he faced with what he terms 'administrative incompetence'. Even before having read the statement I could see similarities within my own experience of having attended uni and battling against bureaucracy. The best horror often holds itself up as a mirror to societal issues, so in this respect it works well.

It begins with a dizzying over-lapping montage of the student wandering the halls, the camera at a slight angle to give an off-kilter feel. Classic horror moments are added to this, such as the appearance of a stern looking stranger who completely ignores the students questions. Even the meeting with the tutor itself infuses the scenes with an unsettling feel, with the man sitting at an empty desk in the middle of a large dark room. The way the film was shot and framed was the highlight of this, even without anything particularly sinister happening there was an on-edge feel.

A lot of ground is covered in the three minute run time, the surreal feeling added to with dialogue that confuses both the viewer as well as the protagonist character. With the student chewed up and spat out, the titular ibuprofen makes its appearance, seeming in a meta way to be both there for the student's complicated experience, and for the viewer themselves.
Being a very indie feeling film there are some constraints, not from the camera work nor the acting, but I did have some struggles with the sound design. At times the soundtrack was louder than the dialogue being spoken, and the foley work at times felt a bit distracting, such as the tapping of the students feet as he walks leading me to thinking I accidentally had a different video playing at the same time. You could argue this adds to the feel of surrealness that permeates Ibuprofen.

I have recently been re-playing the video game Alan Wake, and this short reminded me fondly of the Twilight Zone styled live action mini-episodes you find in that game (called 'Night Springs'). Ibuprofen may have left me feeling a little baffled as to what had gone on, but I genuinely enjoyed the atmosphere of this strange little movie.

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Joe's Diner (2015) - Horror Videogame Impressions: 'Rotted Meat No.1'

The list of video games I own and have yet to play have gotten to such an amount over the years that I fear I will likely simply not even get around to playing some of them. Due to this, I have been more harsh lately, skipping games if I feel I am just not 'getting' them. This gave me the idea of creating a new series of posts. Titled 'Rotted Meat', these won't be reviews, but instead the impressions I had of certain games, and what led to me abandoning them. The first of these is Joe's Diner...

The Synopsis:

The game is a horror survival game that takes place out in the desert at a remote diner (Joe's Diner obviously). You play as a night-time employee of the diner, and have unusual tasks assigned to you. The place happens to have been built on the site of a Native American burial ground where two rival chieftains were buried. The hate they share for each other even resides in death, and so one of your jobs is to diffuse any supernatural occurrences that might arise due to the spirits of the chieftains still warring.

How the game felt:

This is one of those horror games where you are defenceless, and instead of fighting, you must sneak around the environment trying your best not to get killed by the evil spirits. Having a limited shift time, the game is split into different nights, much in the way of Five Nights at Freddy's, though here you are free to walk around rather than stuck in a single room. The game was unremarkable, basic looking, and really not a lot of fun. 

Reason for abandoning the game:

I started playing this shortly before upgrading to a Playstation 5, and Joe's Diner was one of the rare games that wasn't backward compatible on the new system, leading to me ditching it. Sure, I could have hooked up my Playstation 4 had I really wanted to play this one again, but I found the game super boring and dull, and so I really wasn't bothered about ever going through the minor hoops to return.

Black Pearl (2008) - Post-Apocalyptic Film Review

Black Pearl is the re-release of a micro-budget epic originally released in 2008 under the title 10,000 AD: Legend of the Black Pearl. Co-directed by Raul Gasteazoro (The Protector) and Giovanni Messner, with a story written by Gasteazoro (who also co-stars), this film has a very impressive amount of ambition, but its indie budget and super serious, yet hard to follow plot makes this not so much a black pearl, more so, a diamond in the rough.

The intro states that deep in the past there was a terrible war that completely destroyed the world. Nearly all evidence of humanities past has been lost, and the surviving people have reverted to a tribal existence devoid of technology. The Plebians make up the majority of the surviving humans, roaming the land in tribes. The Huron are evolved humans, they are able to use mystical powers that allow them glimpses into the past and future, as well as the ability to channel energy as well as an advanced lifespan. Recently a third group have emerged; the deadly Sinasu, these dark robed figures are sweeping the land wiping out Plebians wherever they go, and corrupt the Hurons into joining their mission.
It is destined that one day a warrior will arise who will be fated to locate the legendary black pearl - a MacGuffin that is said to have the power to restore the world back to as it once was. Kurupi (Julian Perez) is believed to be this fated warrior, and so he sets out on a quest to find the black pearl and save the world.

First things first, I got a wonderful sense of Horizon: Zero Dawn with the way this is set in the deep future, yet features characters who have reverted to a primitive lifestyle; almost caveman like in their appearance. These future humans wear animal furs, and fight with weapons made out of animal bones, and mostly exist out in the wilds. Like Horizon also, the ruins of past civilisation are very few and far between, little more than basic ruins, and a sole rusted tank. Sure, there may not be robot dinosaurs here, but the world has a dedicated atmosphere to it, and is the most Horizon like thing I have seen outside of the game (obviously, the film came out a long time before that game did, not suggesting it was influenced, but it had story beats that did feel similar).

The biggest thing that lets Black Pearl down is its near impenetrable story. It got to a certain point during my viewing of this when I just gave up trying to understand what was going on. There were a multitude of male characters who looked almost identical, all bare chested with long flowing dreadlocks, I was only really able to separate them via the clothes they wore. My plot synopsis I included earlier was completely based off the press release I received, without it I don't think I would have actually been able to say what goes on within the eighty minute mini-epic.
The film is split neatly between scenes of talking and scenes of fighting. The former almost always just featured the two characters, speaking extremely seriously, but in a way that made them hard to understand. For the first twenty minutes or so the characters don't even speak in English. I wasn't sure if it was a made-up language or not, but at a certain point the characters start speaking normally; stating that important matters should be spoken in their ancestors language. That was a decent enough explanation, but doesn't really explain why every single character after this point decides to speak exclusively in English. It made the film a little less exhausting to watch at least.

There are plenty of high energy fight scenes here, a couple of battle scenes, but mostly singular characters fighting amongst themselves. The choreography was mostly cool, but the frantic editing style of quick shots piled on top of each other made these fights a bit difficult to follow. It doesn't help that several include two different fight scenes happening at once, meaning the constant quick cut of shots felt even more hard to follow. There are some fun special effects, mainly related to Matrix style energy channelling, and I thought the black and white surreal flashbacks to the apocalypse were very well done. The quality of the film wasn't that high, plenty of blurry looking scenes, and the early subtitles looked a little low in quality also.

I enjoyed Black Pearl, it should be lauded for its ambition, its dream-like feel, and its impressive filming locations. The film's low budget is easy to see however, and more than anything, the near nonsensical plot made it really hard to care what was happening, especially when so many of the characters looked near identical to each other. Black Pearl is now available to rent or own on Amazon Prime.

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The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 4th September 2025

It is the last day of August (at the time of typing) and at risk of sounding like a broken record; I really can't get over how fast this year is going. I'm sleeping terrible at the moment, I wish that were due to horrific nightmares, but alas, it is just insomnia. Onwards to a trilogy of terrifying news stories plucked from the darkest recesses of my bloody mail sack.

The 9th annual Scumdance Film Festival returns to The Lost Church in San Francisco on September 27th. Described as the '...ultimate celebration of the weirdest and wildest micro-budget films...', the festival promises an eclectic selection of bizarre movies. Announced so far includes Dead, White & Blue, Good Boy, Rest Stop, Murder in the Park AKA No One Likes You, Soliloquy of One, and Wet Ingredients from the U.S. Also showing is Canadian kink/oddity Diva, Spain's El Encantador, and Scent Of A Shoes from Iran, among others. For more details check out the Scumdance website here.

Cult slasher, The Last Horror Film (Tromatic Edition) is coming to Blu-Ray on September 16th. Starring Joe Spinnell (Rocky, The Godfather) as a taxi driver with dreams of making the ultimate horror movie, this follows his journey to the Cannes Film Festival where he plans to give 'scream queen' Jana Bates (Caroline Munro - The Spy Who Loved Me) his script with the hope she will star in his film. At the same time this is happening, members of her crew start showing up dead, possibly due to an over zealous Vinny? Bonus features include an introduction by Lloyd Kaufman, audio commentaries, interviews, a short film - Mr. Robbie, and more.

Finally for today, psychological thriller Unholy Communion comes to North American VOD platforms and DVD on September 5th. The film follows a police officer (Adam Bartley) as he investigates a series of murders of priests in rural Minnesota, uncovering as he does so he finds evidence that seems to implicate the whole community the murders have taken place in, including the officer's best friend - town dentist Paul Thomas (Vincent Kartheiser). Unholy Communion was written and directed by Patrick Coyle (Into Temptation) and is based on the novel of the same name from Dr. Thomas Rumreich.

Purge (2025) by Bryan Cassiday - Zombie Horror Novel Review

                              

Purge is the eighth book in the long running Zombie Apocalypse: The Chad Halverson series, and the third that I have read. Confusingly, I started with book seven; Cutthroat Express, before heading backwards to the sixth; Horde. Despite that, I have read enough of this series to recognise how thrilling it is. Purge may well be more of the same, but what glorious same it is! Unavoidable spoilers for previous entries to follow.

After his mission to find a cure for the zombie plague ends in failure, legendary CIA agent; Chad Halverson, returns, alongside Marta Costello, to the government bunker at Mount Weather, where President Mims is situated in order to report back to him. However, the previous book ended with them discovering the President had been assassinated in his office. This one starts with Secretary of State; Dean Uriah coming to the hasty conclusion that Halverson and Costello must have been the ones responsible for his assassination, due to them having failed their mission. Proclaiming himself the new President of the United States, Uriah has the two imprisoned. Halverson suspects that Uriah may have been the one behind the assassination, and with this knowledge, he soon escapes the bunker with Costello in tow. Halverson's plan is to head to the government bunker at Raven Rock and inform the speaker of the house about what has happened, as constitutionally he is next in the line of succession. Costello meanwhile tags along on the provision that on the way to Raven Rock they head into Washington D.C to check on the status of her beloved brother. Their journey is made that much harder not only by a squadron of SEALS who have been dispatched by Uriah to kill the two 'assassins', but also by the High Rolerz USA; a brutal biker gang whose leader Michael K has it in for Halverson after he killed his brother Bobby K.

Purge takes the form of a long road trip, one I wasn't prepared for. I imagined the trip to Raven Rock would be the first part of the novel, instead it is the core plot of this. On paper it doesn't really seem like much happens in this book, but I loved how simple this all was. The subplot of the presidents bunker makes another wonderful return, with the action every now and again heading back to see what the state of the stifling place is. With Mims and the previous President both being crazy in their own ways, it is no surprise that Uriah is equally crackers. Continuing the trend of the lack of air in the bunker, the subplot here mainly revolves around Uriah's solutions to the lack of oxygen. There are also subplots in the form of the SEAL team that has been dispatched, as well as one following the sole survivor of a group of self-flagellators who had been massacred by the High Rolerz who has become obsessed with hunting down Michael K and demanding an apology from him.
What I really liked about the road trip subplots was how the different characters keep going over the same route at different times to each other. It was interesting reading the different accounts of what happened, and how earlier events have affected the route for characters who later on travel down the same roads. As I have came to expect now, Purge ends on yet another ridiculous thrilling cliff-hanger that I was fully on board for.

The book is very easy to digest, this is the book version of any number of brain dead, yet very entertaining zombie films. It features lots of action, gun fights, battles with the undead, and characters restating their aims lest you forget. The zombies here are as gross as ever, I liked the inclusion of details around the various bugs and creatures that infest the undead. On more than one occasion a ghoul is described as having a moustache, before the character seeing it realises it is instead a bunch of maggots! At least one inclusion of a rat crawling out of a still walking undead's mouth. These are traditional slow walking zombies, balanced against a world where all the survivors in their own ways are at least a little bit crazy. Most humans hostile and angry to the hapless protagonists of each of the subplots. Life is cheap in this world, but it is also exciting. 

I knew before reading a single word of Purge that it would be another fantastic entry in the Chad Halverson series. I don't think I would ever get bored of reading these. It might not be Shakespeare, and the story beats can be occasionally predictable (outside of the wild cliff-hangers) but these easy to read, very entertaining, and action packed pulpy novels really scratch that zombie itch. I eagerly await the next in this lovely gory and violent series.

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The Priest - Thanksgiving Massacre (2025) - Horror Film Review

Say what you will about the films of Steve Lawson (St Patrick's Day Massacre, Wrath of Dracula), but his films certainly have a style that feels unique to him. Within about five literal seconds of his latest horror, The Priest - Thanksgiving Massacre starting, I had clocked it was one of his and so knew exactly what to expect. These low budget interior-set horrors are full of faults, but there is also something warming about them, I see Lawson's films as the comfort film of horrors. I have to say however, with a cast of just six (seven including a brief non-speaking though full-shrieking role), I think its a bit of a stretch to call what happens within the movie a 'massacre'.

In the early days of settlers arriving in America, a priest; Reverend Fuller (Mark Topping - Wrath of Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde) has had a disagreement with the town he was due to live in, so he took and his wife into the wilderness where he plans to build a forever home for them. Come winter and both are freezing cold and starving in their new and very small cabin. Driven mad by hunger, the priest kills his wife and starts to consume her. Realising what he has done goes against the teachings of God, the priest commits suicide, believing himself to never be allowed to go to Heaven.
In modern day, Tom (Jo Krayer) has invited his children, teenagers Noah (Brooklyn Ross in his film debut) and Andi (Holly Higbee in her feature length film debut) to spend Thanksgiving with him and his new girlfriend - Sara (Dani Thompson - Good Neighbours, Devil in the Woods) in a newly constructed woodland cabin. His separated partner, Cyndy (Liz Soutar - Powertool Cheerleaders vs the Boyband of the Screeching Dead) had only planned to drop off the kids, but with her car broken down, she is forced to accept Tom's offer to stay for Thanksgiving. Unknown to all however is that this new cabin was built on the foundations of the priest's cabin, and for reasons unknown he has resurrected under the house as a zombie.

With the prologue set hundreds of years in the past, I expected this would be another Lawson film set primarily in dimly candle lit smoky rooms. I was pleasantly surprised then to see the time skip to modern day. Sure, nearly the entirety of the movie takes place in a non-descript log cabin, but at least it is brightly lit! I didn't mind any of the characters here, and actually liked a couple of them. In particular, I found Krayer's Tom to be someone it was fun to follow. The parents may have split up, and they may have some arguments, but there is a reservedness to Tom and Cyndy's interactions that mean neither come across as seeming like horrible people. The same can't be said for Sara, just her being the only English character set her up to be a bit of a bad person. Her character was horrid, but if you are into that sort of thing there are some benefits to her being on screen, such as a scene where she is topless in a sauna. The best character, and sadly the least used was the priest. Topping may have been in the movie for a total of about seven minutes top(ping)s but his priest and later zombie-priest appearances were the highlight of the film. I did find it a bit comical that this potentially fearsome antagonist spends the majority of the movie literally trapped under the cabin, only able to interact with the cast by his arm reaching through a hole in the wooden boards under the place!

The story really wasn't the strongest point, and like the cabin itself, there were plenty of holes to be found. Surely when building the cabin they would have discovered some sort of evidence of the skeletons of the priest and his wife within the foundations, and the whole crux of Cyndy staying was due to no mechanic willing to come out to look at her car on Thanksgiving, yet it is shown later that taxi companies are still running services on that day, so she could have gotten away should she have really wanted to. There was also a bit of a silly reason given for why no character has a mobile phone on them. I did like the drama going on between the family, though Sara did stick out a bit due to always coming across as a horrid person even before the horror starts. My last complaint with the story was how the characters come to understand what is happening purely by an old diary. With little to zero evidence the group move into the third act of the film, fully convinced of the zombie priest despite not actually ever having seen him (aside from a glimpse of an arm at one point).

On the horror front, as stated, the villain is trapped under the cabin for virtually the entire movie. With a cast of just five potential victims there is no massacre to be found, but I will admit to being very surprised with just who the initial victim (in the present day section) was, I was genuinely shocked. The scenes set in the crawl space under the cabin were the most horror effective, and I did indeed wince when a character got their leg caught on a rusty nail while there, tetanus city! Special effects were sparse but they worked, maybe the blood looked a little too bright and gloopy, but it didn't take away from the scenes.

The Priest - Thanksgiving Massacre isn't a great horror film. The villain takes far too long to make an actual appearance, and there was a lot of wasted potential. I did however enjoy watching the film, Lawson always makes entertaining movies despite obvious limitations, and with this one, it did have some good moments over the eighty three minute runtime, and Topping was excellent as always. 

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Weapons (2025) - Horror Film Review

The second I saw a brief teaser trailer for the Zach Cregger (Barbarian) written and directed horror film Weapons, I knew I had to see it, it just looked so intriguing. Then I saw that my favourite zombie author David Moody (the Autumn series) had written a post recommending it. Even that didn't seal the deal, finally, it was my best friend saying that I needed to make more of an effort to see more popular horror films, that had me suggesting we go to the cinema. This is one of those films were I will have to dance around the general plot a bit, as the mystery was what so drew me to this in the first place.

Early one morning in a quiet American town, seventeen children inexplicably all suddenly leave their homes and run off into the night at the exact same time; 02:17. Despite a desperate search by the authorities in the coming days and weeks, no trace of these children are found, they appear to have vanished into thin air. It turns out the children were all from the exact same school class and that the only student who didn't vanish was quiet Alex (Cary Christopher). Despite being interviewed extensively, Alex is unable to give an explanation why the rest of his class all ran away from their homes. This has also caused a problem for their teacher, Justine (Julia Garner - Ozark TV show), with the parents angry and wanting answers, they have taken to blaming the teacher, convinced that she must have had something to do with what happened. Archer (Josh Brolin - Avengers: Endgame, Deadpool 2) is one such parent, more driven than most to find out what happened. After some strange events, Archer teams up with Justine, both determined to try and solve this baffling mystery.

I had heard that this played out a little differently to a single straight plot line, and in my head I figured this might even turn out to be a mockumentary in the vein of something like Lake Mungo. That didn't turn out to be the case but it still did something that I love in shows and films. The same stretch of a couple of days is shown from the perspective of several different characters. These characters each have a title card for their part of the film, and their storylines overlap with other key characters in neat ways. I guess technically you could argue Justine or Archer are the protagonists, but over the two hour film I would estimate they get around a third of the overall runtime. Other key characters include cop Paul (Alden Ehrenreich - Oppenheimer, Solo: A Star Wars Story), junkie James (Austin Abrams - Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, The Walking Dead TV show), school headmaster, Marcus (Benedict Wong - Annihilation, Doctor Strange) and of course the young Alex. I really enjoyed this way of showing the film, with each of the anthology type segments ending on a cliff-hanger that makes you desperate to return to the individual stories.

Being rated eighteen, I expected there might be some moments of strong horror. There is a smallish body count, but each of the deaths are really quite violent and gnarly. From a car accident that has crushed the victim's head into paste, to people being torn limb from limb, there are some gross scenes that were a delight to see. Special effects throughout were good, adding to the bizarre film. Starting with a prologue (narrated by a character who doesn't even appear to be in the film outside of her opening and closing narration), the weird way the children all ran away with their arms out at their sides like aeroplanes was so interesting to see. The mystery is explained as best as it can be, and this turned into a different type of horror film to what I had figured it might be. While not scary, this has some freaky moments, typically involving a grotesque ginger haired woman appearing in the most unlikely of places.
Creggar has stated this was a kind of analogy for children with alcoholic parents, writing from personal experience of how scary and alien it can be to return to a home were the caregivers cannot be trusted. It leads to some very unsettling sequences involving screaming manic figures. Rather than getting more scary, the finale actually became quite cathartic, with me and plenty of other cinema goers laughing at the mayhem that unfolds in a satisfying fashion.

I enjoyed Weapons. I liked the parallel overlapping stories going on, and the make-up effects were impressive. I also liked how a story was made out of such a bizarre start, even if it never quite lived up to the lofty expectations I had built up in my head. Sometimes a little slow, Weapons nonetheless felt wholly original, and something that I think will remain quite memorable.

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The Rotting Zombie's Round-Up of Horror News for August 2025

I still cannot get over how quickly this year is going by. Each work week flies by in such a flash that it feels my life is spinning towards oblivion, day bleeding into day ever quicker. With that out the way, we are heading towards the end of a long and frequently hot summer, and onwards to the news.

The official trailer for horror The Boatyard has been released. The film is about five college students get stranded out at sea after the boat they had been partying on all day breaks down. They are rescued by a stranger (Mike Ferguson) who offers to take them to his boatyard, but he may have violence on his mind. This comes to streaming services in the UK starting 22nd September.

On September 30th, Blue Underground release British cannibal classic Raw Meat (also known as Death Line) in a brand-new 4K restoration from the original uncensored camera negative. I remember seeing that film about fifteen years ago, have fond memories of it. The synopsis has Inspector Calhoun (Donald Pleasence - Halloween) and a detective investigating the disappearance of an unconscious man in the London Underground. They come across an urban legend about a group of workers who became trapped after a tunnel collapse during the construction of the Underground, and to survive resorted to cannibalism, with their descendants still living there. Special features on the 4K UHD + Blu-ray film includes an audio commentary from co-writer/director Gary Sherman, producer Paul Maslansky, and assistant director Lewis More O'Ferrall, as well as a new audio commentary from film historians Nathaniel Thompson and Troy Howarth. Alongside plenty of other extras.

The Arrow Video US release schedule for September 2025 includes both Hellbender and Creepshow 2. Hellbender is a heavy metal supernatural horror that comes from John and Zelda Adams and Toby Poser. It follows teenager Izzy (Zelda Adams), someone who lives a simple life in a remote woodland home with her mother (Toby Poser). After meeting a new girl, Izzy learns something unsettling about her family history. The limited edition Blu-ray is due for release on September 16th and includes a variety of special features including a brand new audio commentary and video essay, music videos, a short film, and an illustrated collector's booklet. Creepshow 2 is released on September 30th in a brand new 4k restoration from the original negative. This classic anthology features three stories of terror, and the 4K release promises hours of special features.

Analog horror - The McKinney Family Home Videos Volume 2 premieres exclusively on streaming service FOUND TV on September 5th. The first film in the series arrived on the service in late 2024, and this sequel expands on the mythos built up previously by presenting a newly discovered tap that sheds more light on the workings of the Church of the Holy Mother.

Deathstalker Productions has teamed up with Vista Street Entertainment and Sterling Entertainment to produce Witchcraft XVIII, the latest entry in the long running direct to video supernatural horror series. Starting in 1988, this features warlock William Spanner in his never ending battle against his cursed bloodline to protect the innocent. The script for the movie is currently in development, with a crowdfunding campaign launching soon.

There was supposed to be more to this months news round-up but I forgot to actually finish writing this post, so professional. Now to find an image to use for the cover. See you next month!

Blood Red Beach (2025) - Comedy Horror Film Review

Blood Red Beach is the twenty third feature film from Mad Angel Films and is indie comedy horror at its finest. Obviously not the highest budget, but its enthusiastic cast combined to make watching this a blast. This was directed by Matthew A. Peters (Graveyard Shark, Big Brood) and written by Mark Joseph Peek (Axegrinder 666).

Three hundred years ago, a pirate named Captain Roderick Cross (Peek) was cursed by his former lover when him and his crew were burning her for witchcraft on a small deserted island. The curse killed his crew, and then the pirate was told that he was cursed to become a ghost for eternity, doomed to forever roam the island he was on. He was told that the only way to break this curse was to find every piece of his pirate's gold, but before dying, the witch told Roderick that she had hidden that away where he would never find it.
In present day, a group of friends have been invited to the new island based home of their eccentric rich friend; Preston (Berndale March - Graveyard Shark, Romeo 3000). The friends, who include among them Ruby (Stephanie Ward - Graveyard Shark, Big Brood), Kip (Graveyard Shark, Brackish), Austin (Jesse Wakeman (Summer of the Wolf), and his girlfriend Britt (Graveyard Shark) have a small party down at the beach at night. Preston introduces a strange woman; Cara Fey (Big Brood), she gives each of the friends a gold coin and then tells them about the legend of the cursed ghost pirate. Preston then tells the group that the next day he was arranged a treasure hunt for his friends. Split into groups and following clues, the friends are tasked with finding a chest full of gold that has been hidden somewhere on the island. After most the friends have gone to bed, the strange woman returns to the beach, where she performs a ritual that resurrects Captain Roderick Cross spirit into a zombie form, and tells him how to finally locate all the gold pieces of his missing treasure.

To begin with, when the prologue started, I was a bit concerned about the generic pirate accents and the predictable and well trodden dialogue. That concern lasted for all of about thirty seconds as I quickly realised this was all intentional. That then applies to the rest of the dialogue over the course of the eighty five minute comedy horror. Frequently cheesy and melodramatic, but said enthusiastically from a cast who appear to be having a blast. Best of all was March, he was the highlight of Graveyard Shark, and again his manic over the top character he played became a sublime highlight. His over exaggerated hand movements, the over emphasis he puts on his lines, it was just all so hilariously perfect. Peek was another highlight, it is always good to have a strong antagonist, and while a single pirate wandering around singing pirate shanties and attacking the friends doesn't sound like much, Peek brought to him a strange likeability, and gave the pirate his own twisted sort of code. Rather than being a wholly slasher type character, this bad guy is often as likely to leave his victims alive than to kill them. For him, the only reason he is after the group is to retrieve his coins that each of them holds. This creates some interesting scenes where you can't be sure that just by meeting the antagonist people will die for certain.
I found almost all the characters to be enjoyable to follow, from the token stoner, to Ruby and Kip. They all seemed a part of the film world and bounced off each other well. I wasn't so keen on the two couples within the group, but they still had some decent moments.

The death scenes were fun on the whole even if the special effects didn't look super realistic, but again, this fitted the light hearted vibe that saw survivors not really that bothered about the friends they lost. A throat slash, severed limb, and a death from a cliff were all neat looking, giving a bit of variation. The island setting might not have wowed, but it worked for the pirate theme. In terms of the story, this was as basic as they come, mainly a low budget homage to The Pirates of the Caribbean. It served its purpose but there were not many surprises to be found.

Blood Red Beach doesn't take its acting seriously, but that it is due to the remit being to be larger than life characters, so it works. I guess its indie look could also put some people off. In a world as frequently bleak as it seems at the moment, I found this was a great way to be whisked off to some goofy horror world for an hour or so, escapism at its indie finest. Not perfect by any means, but the fun was higher than the faults for me. Blood Red Beach is out now on Blu-Ray, DVD, VHS, and also as a limited collector's box set exclusively through Mad Angel Films website (here).

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