Shadow Castes: Book 1 - Aspects (2011) by Scott Harper - Horror Novel Book Review

I received the eBook version of author Scott Harper's Shadow Castes: Book 1 - Aspects way back in 2012. Once again, to my shame I have only just this moment (at time of writing) finished reading it. As can be gathered from the novel's title, this is the first book in a series (and from what I could find on the net, a sequel has yet to be released). Unlike other books of Harpers I have read, such as Predators or Prey? and Necromancer, this is purely the start of an ongoing story, rather than present a self contained story, it very much sets up future events with no real resolution to anything.

Felix is a tormented man. He is forced to live away from society in a remote woodland home due to being a werewolf. His daily struggle to control his wolf side is interrupted by the arrival of a beautiful woman; Nephele. She tells Felix that she travels the world seeking to help werewolves deal with their condition - being a werewolf herself who has discovered a way to co-exist with the beast within.
Elsewhere, psychic vampire Eugene lives in his Gothic mansion with his spirit guide; Charlotte. They want nothing more than to find a way to make Charlotte's form solid, as the pair are in love and want to be able to be together. A less noble psychic vampire named Drake is on the loose nearby, getting joy out of tormenting his victims.
Finally, there is the hunter; a tormented man living on the edge, determined to hunt and kill werewolves, due to his wife and unborn child being killed by one in the past. He teams up with a determined young woman after evidence of a werewolf pack hunting in the city is discovered.

Shadow Castes is a mixture of romance and horror. With the exception of the dastardly Drake, each of the subplots going on is made up of a male and female character either in love, or falling in love. Having read previous books of the author, I have come to expect his reluctance to make his female characters anything but flawlessly beautiful. Nephele is the chief of these characters, spending the majority of the novel naked, with a few sex scenes peppered in. I often state werewolves are my least favourite monster, but here at least things felt a little different. Werewolves here aren't people who literally transform into wolves, but the spirit of the wolf contained within them is able to manifest in a solid 'shell' that encapsulates the host.
The werewolf part was the main story in the novel, second in line was the hunter's story. I liked that this character initially appears as an antagonist figure, before vanishing for much of the middle of the novel. The next time he reappears there is more context provided that suggests he has good reason to do what he does. Then there is the Ying and Yang of Drake and Eugene. The former is notably cruel and horrid. Eugene on the other hand seemed completely wasted here. He spends the entire novel in his mansion not really doing anything of note at all.
Being the first book in a planned series, you could forgive the lack of much forward momentum in the story, but it would have been nice for all the various characters to at least be aware of each other by stories end.

Action is kept to a minimum here. There are moments of high action, but mostly each of the subplots have lots of romance and talking, but not much threat. This was well written and felt brisk with its 239 pages.
The preference for attractive flawless women works better with a novel that I feel is likely intended to include romance and horror both, and there is an adequate blend of the two genres here.

Never judge a book by its cover. With Shadow Castes: Book 1 - Aspects, I expected this to be romantic drivel, based on cover alone. To be fair, I enjoyed reading this, and I was surprised that the werewolves here were not irritating to me. Ending on a decent cliff-hanger (that may never be resolved), this was a decent start to a series, even if I did wish it contained a full story, alongside the beginnings of one.

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Crybaby Bridge (2026) - Horror Film Review

Directed and co-written by Sarah T. Schwab, Crybaby Bridge is a very slow drama based horror with some mild supernatural elements. A small, perfectly chosen cast round-out this horror, but the lack of much going on may make this not for everyone.

Will (Michael Laurence - Airplane!) and Evelyn (Florencia Lozano - One Life to Live) are relocating from the city to a remote rural town, mainly due to the fact that their 16 year old adopted teenage daughter, Samantha (Sydney Mikayla - General Hospital) is pregnant and has been getting incessantly bullied at her school as a result. Staying at a woodland camping ground while on the journey to their new home, the family hear a ghost story about a nearby bridge that the locals have nicknamed 'crybaby bridge'. The local legend states a pregnant woman jumped off the bridge, killing herself and her unborn child, and that now she haunts the place. Ignoring the warnings about the bridge, the family decide to head towards it, thinking they will take the scenic route to their new home. The location turns out to have a strange pull for Samantha, who gets plenty of time to be by it due to car troubles. It is while they are stuck in the area that they encounter a creepy local; John (Erik King - Dexter), someone who is linked to the bleak legend of the bridge.

A very slow burn of a movie, so much so that by the halfway point about three quarters of an hour in, not much had really happened at all. Supernatural elements are suggested more than explicitly inferred to be real, the most really given are some audio hallucinations and nightmare sequences. That later part did have my favourite moment of the movie, where a school corridor and the bridge are edited together repeatedly, it looked great on screen. The supernatural element is so slight that it could easily be argued it wasn't an actual thing within the story of the film. With the appearance of John, this began to feel more like a thriller than a ghost story.

Due to the slow pace, there wasn't much need for grand spectacle. The story for the most part is grounded, and was well acted with the four central characters. Stand out actor for me was Lozano, her character of Evelyn wasn't the most likeable of people, but she felt like the heart of the family. Certainly more so than Will who was more of a reactionary character for better or for worse.
Some parts of the plot didn't appeal too much. Events ramp up for the third act, but I found myself missing the more drama centred earlier moments. Later, it seemed like the story was led slightly clumsily through a series of obvious and slightly derivative story beats. At times it felt like things were being thrown at the wall to see what stuck, such as a tonally odd end credit sequence that featured a reporter doing a series of slightly comical interviews with locals about the legend of the bridge.

Crybaby Bridge wasn't the most exciting movie. The subjects of teenage pregnancy, adoption were interesting in their own right, but this didn't work satisfactorily as either a drama or as a horror. It was well acted though, the four principal actors all doing solid jobs. Crybaby Bridge releases in the second quarter this year from High Fliers Films.

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The Rotting Zombie's Round-up of Horror News for March 2026

This time last month I was about to head to the other side of the world. Now, as of typing, I am back at The Rotting Zombie HQ. A very peaceful and relaxing holiday, even if the 30 hour return trip has given me some mild PTSD! Introverts do not like being sounded by people for so long. If there is such a place as Hell, then I imagine mine will be me stuck on the endless flight from Kuala Lumpur to U.K for eternity - when a child projectile vomits down the aisle in front of you within an hour of take-off, you just know it's going to be a great flight!
Last month's news post was tiny, let's see if I can improve on that this time around. Especially when I have so much news in my inbox. Onwards to the news!

The Demon of Serling is a bleakly comedic thriller about someone whose neighbour is a murderer. Coming from filmmaker Dylan R. Nix (10/31 Part 4, Sharp Candy), this has a man (R. Nix) discovering his neighbour; Mr. Yarley (David E. McMahon - He Never Left) is a serial killer. Rather than go to the police with this knowledge, events lead to the two men going on a '...transformative night'. The director says of his film: "We wanted to take the 'serial killer next door' trope and turn it into something more intimate and existential". The Demon of Serling is now available on Collector's Edition Blu-ray and Digital via Scream Team Releasing.

Chuck Morrongiello's Bad Bunny has surpassed 2.5 million views on YouTube, probably due to having a similar name as music artist...Bad Bunny. This rabbit monster themed horror has a woman heading to a remote cabin where she gets hunted by the titular creature. Bad Bunny can be seen on Tubi and Apple TV.

A new poster has been released for the latest film in the Scary Movie series. This comes to cinemas on June 5th. The comedy horror takes place 26 years after a group survived being stalked by a familiar masked killer. Now they find themselves once again the killer's target. Scary Movie is a parody that plays on horror film tropes and makes references to many horror films as part of its gags. I saw the first two films at the cinema and quite enjoyed them for what they were, even if the sex jokes and gross jokes didn't appeal. Back in 2022, I reviewed Scary Movie 3 where I gave it an acceptable 6/10 saying I '...appreciated the parodying of the horror films...'.

Psychological horror film, Broken Bird comes to US theatrical release on April 24th. Starring Rebecca Calder and James Fleet and directed by Joanne Mitchell, this is based on Mitchell's short film Sybil. In this one, a lonely mortician (Calder) searches for love, but her need for connection takes a disturbing turn. Broken Bird is one of six films developed by Catalyst Studios as part of its mission to '...champion female-led stories by woman directors and producers'.

Distort 2: The Dead Among the Trees is a FOUND TV exclusive, coming on May 1st. The found footage sequel is first to screen at the upcoming Unnamed Footage Festival in San Francisco before making its streaming debut. I haven't heard of this before, apparently, the sequel takes place once again in a remote Irish forest, picking up the threads from the first film. A musician returns to the woods alongside a documentary filmmaker to discover what really happened there.

March 10th saw the release of suspense thriller - Do Not Open to Digital video. The film is about a married couple in their fifties who head to a secluded cabin hoping to fix their fracturing relationship. The couple are given one rule at the place; to never open the door at the end of the hall, but as their vacation goes on, the man feels himself increasingly compelled to find just what lies beyond the forbidden door. Do Not Open was shot in 4K HD resolution and is said to offer a surprising ending. 

Two Giallo themed horror films are now available on TubiTV and Fawesome TV. In Boy of Your Dreams, a college student awakens in a rental guest house to find her phone missing and a serial killer  hovering over her. In The Mother's Eye, a woman's normal night is altered when she realises a serial killer is after her.

Axes and Os is a Valentine's Day themed slasher that is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Tubi, Screamify and Relay. Headlined by Jamie Bernadette (I Spit on Your Grave: Déjá Vu), this sees a group of girls on a weekend getaway hunted by legendary Valentine's axe murderer - Luther Dremel.

Onlyfangs star August Kyss and Vida Ghaffari have joined the cast of Harley Wallen's upcoming psychological thriller; Blur. This takes place within the modern music industry, and is told through the 'fractured perspective' of Jenny. The film looks at how ambition, desire and power can both intertwine and corrupt.

Horror comedy Sorority of the Damned has came to Amazon Prime Video. Co-directed by Stranger Things alum Joe Davison, the press release states this 'celebrates the golden era of creature features'. In the film, a clumsy handyman discovers he is the last in a long line of demon hunters. He finds himself called to the challenge when a devoutly religious house mother (Felissa Rose) opens a portal to Hell that brings forth four elemental witches (including WWE star Katarina Leigh Waters).

Finally for today, Freestyle Digital Media have acquired thriller feature - The Man with the Silver Case. It is due to gets its Digital debut in North America on April 7th. This film sees a desperate man who agrees to deliver a suitcase to a shadowy organisation. He finds himself pursued by others who are happy to kill anyone in their way to get their hands on the case's contents.

Thera Will See You Know (2025) - Short Sci-fi Horror Film Review

Back in the early days of my blog I was constantly getting emails telling me about the films featuring prolific actor and filmmaker - Kim Sønderholm (Little Big Boy: The Rise and Fall of Jimmy Duncan). It was a blast from the past then when I received an email talking about a new short sci-fi/horror film that he has directed called, Thera Will See You Now. This short felt very current with the advent of A.I, the themes covered here I have already seen in a more mundane way in real news, with our current very basic 'A.I'.

The intro text gives an alternate timeline of the past six years. Starting with the Covid pandemic, this timeline suggests the lockdowns lasted a lot longer and there became an epidemic of loneliness, leading to high suicide rates. A.I was used more for connections, leading to present day where a controversial A.I led emotional support network was created. The short takes the form of a series of these support sessions. Maya (Mie Gren), Jacob (Sønderholm), and Louise (Sara Amlund) have joined an A.I led support group to help them with the issues they are facing in their lives. Louise has been struggling to come to terms with the death of her son, Jacob has been having dark thoughts, while Maya has become increasingly reclusive after escaping from an abusive relationship. As the sessions go on, all three start to become more positive and accepting of their thoughts, but does the A.I really know what is in their best interests?

Watching The Job late last year, I thought the idea of a self help A.I was decent, but that one was lacking in the more darker moments. Thera Will See You Now has the same idea as that one, but with a more jaded outlook. The 12 minute short is presented as if it is playing out on a PC screen. Initially having the screen split into four quarters for the first session, subsequent ones begin to put the characters on full screen so you can better see the emotions in their faces as they speak. I had a decent idea where the story would go, and indeed it did lead to that conclusion. The illusion of watching events on a PC screen were good, and the special effects used to represent the A.I construct were not bad.

I wasn't blown away by Thera Will See You Now, but nor did it do anything badly. I enjoyed its story, one that felt timely judging from some of the more crazy A.I based news stories I have read about lately. The short can be streamed online for free here.

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The Rotting Zombie Presents: Breaking News! Banned from X!

In lieu of putting up a film review this Friday (as is tradition, an old charter, or something), I have breaking self indulgent news that nonetheless could have an impact on this site. For reasons unknown, I have been banned from X (Twitter as it will always be to me)! I went to stick up my latest review post and link and recieved a message saying 'After careful review, we have determined your account broke the X Rules'. Further investigation (well...a dive into my junk email) revealed the following:

I've read through their 'authenticity' guidelines and really can't see that I have broken any of them. I do find it a bit insulting I have been accused of being inauthentic, when this site is entirely written by me, and provides my personal thoughts and feeling on whatever media I cover. It could also be (as it says) due to me having been reported by someone (perhaps someone unhappy with a negative review!), but I go more towards it being randomly done by a bot scrapping the site for spam accounts and inadvertently flagging my poor account.
In one respect it is a bit of a relief to be off of X, even if it wasn't by my own choice. I joined Twitter just before it got big, and due to that, I had by far the most followers on that platform (over 4000). In recent years it has become full of hate speech (that the rules ironically state is forbidden), and more unappealingly, it is owned by a petty man-child who thinks it is perfectly fine to do Nazi salutes and meddle in elections. It has been a legitimate private concern of mine to be using a platform such as that, but due to the biggest follower count, I felt I had to use it.

This is all to plug the other social media sites I use to promote my blog. I'm not saying these are perfect sites either, but at least they have a slightly less dirty feel than X did. I don't know if being off that platform will reduce review and news requests sent my way. To be honest, I have zero idea how anyone finds their way to my site! Thankfully, this isn't a business here, I do it as a fan of horror, and as an excuse to practice my typing skills.

Anyway, if you could see it in your heart to follow me on any or all of the following it would be greatly appreciated. If you can't be bothered; well that's fine also!

Facebook: The Rotting Zombie

Threads: the_rotting_zombie

Bluesky: @therottingzombie.bsky.social

If you are really desperate then you can also check out my barely used YouTube channel also:

The Rotting Zombie

Anyway, that is it, moan and shameless plug over. Next week I will be travelling to Melbourne and then returning home to good ole blighty, so I likely won't be able to get any posts put up until the week after when I am safely nestled back in The Rotting Zombie HQ.

Cedar Mills (2025) by Dylan James - Horror Novel Review

I received an eBook version of Dylan James' Cedar Mills back in June of last year, and at the time of typing I have just finished reading it. That may seem like a long time, but with my reading pile of shame as bulky as it is, that for me was actually lightning fast, though, obviously nothing to be proud of. I am getting as much reading done as I had hoped on my relaxing visit to Australia to visit family.

Back in the late 1990s, a biker witnesses his gang being torn to shreds by a monstrous creature out at an abandoned mill near the sleepy town of Cedar Mills. In present day, wanting to write an article about the history of the town for his school yearbook (and choosing this mostly forgotten event), a high school student heads out to the area to take some photos. This proves to be fateful, with the boy's last photo taken before he is abruptly killed being of that same creature that was reported about all those years ago. The town sheriff who was investigating this death has the case taken off her by a shady branch of the government, but not before she had recruited a disgraced former detective, now P.I - Tom, to investigate the case off the books. With the government covering up the death, Tom reaches out to the murdered boys friends - high schoolers Jake Evans, DeShawn, Angela, and Alexis, with an offer to tell them what he thinks really happened to their friend. Before much information can be traded however, they are ambushed by agents who had been following Tom, and they are forced to go on the run, as the agents are determined to hide the truth at any cost.

Cedar Mills started off coming across like a Stephen King type of small town horror. This is the type of town where everyone knows everyone else, and gossip spreads rapidly. From the thrilling prologue set in the 90s, events get moving rapidly. I figured the pacing of the story would see Tom and friends investigating the strange goings on in the town in a Stranger Things type of fashion. Instead, the novel is roughly split into three distinct parts. The early small town horror transitions into more of a road trip story, before coming together for an action packed third act that is pure creature feature horror. The story went to some unexpected places, with the story getting more wild than I imagined. I can't say I thought too much of the epilogue, mainly due to the rather abrupt cliff-hanger ending.

There were a lot of grim moments here. The creature itself is very deadly, a green reptilian type of huge monster with blade-like appendages for arms. The scenes of it killing victims were all very exciting, especially with how powerful it is. More detestable for me were the three government agents. Led by the psychotic Hives, they appear in some of the more miserable parts of the book. There even came a point where I had to take a break from reading - too much bad stuff were happening to likeable protagonists and likeable side characters alike! Despite a lot of the main characters being teens, they don't escape without harm. The story kept me going, as well as my assumption that these horrible agents would eventually get their comeuppance! 

Throughout Cedar Mills, I really struggled to put the book down. The short chapters and unfolding story over the 313 pages, kept me glued to the pages. I was a huge fan of where the story ended up going. Not that I haven't seen that type of thing done before, but I wasn't expecting that direction in this particular novel. Well written, action packed, and with a likeable collection of characters, I had a great time reading Cedar Mills, it did little wrong.

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No Through Road (2009) - Horror TV Series Episode Review

No Through Road I had assumed to be a short horror film. It was only while looking this up after the fact that I realised it was actually the first episode in a TV mini-series, with the three subsequent episodes coming out in 2011. I will be looking at this as if it were a short film as it certainly acts and feels like one. Written, directed and co-starring Steven Chamberlain, this effective British found footage horror did a lot of things surprisingly well.

It is 2008 and four English lads are out on a night time drive on the rural roads outside of Stevenage, with one of them filming the event on his new camera for prosperity. Their drive leads them to a tunnel that leads to an abandoned farmhouse and has a sign saying 'no through road'. It is after they decide to go through this tunnel that the strangeness begins. Carrying on their journey they keep encountering the same road sign time and time again, despite driving in a straight line. Seeing no traffic and constantly seeming to be driving in a loop, the boys get increasingly panicked, not helped by a disturbing loop of repeating music playing out over the radio. Just when they think they have finally escaped their nightmare, the real horror begins.

I thought this little horror was super effective. The gradual breakdown of the four friend's cockiness and bravado was done perfectly. The intro text stating the four were found dead in their car, and the outro text giving a link to a webpage should anyone who sees the footage can help the authorities work out what happened gave this an authentic feel. Editing was sublime, corrupted footage blending in earlier happier times of the four at home, distorted and creepy. Sticking so faithfully to found footage, this does drag ever so slightly at times, especially in the middle, and a lot of scenes of very dark and hard to see, even if this does make sense with this being 'natural' footage.

No Through Road succeeded due to its feeling of realism that resulted in a short that was at times unsettling, creepy and sinister. It can be viewed on YouTube.

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Garten of Banban VII (2024) - Horror Video Game Review

I have been barrelling through the Garten of Banban series of mascot horror video games these past weeks, mainly due to travelling to Australia for a month (at the time of typing). Hopefully I am still able to put up blog posts there using my laptop (I am!), this review is written four days before the long 25 hour plane journey starts. Garten of Banban VII is the first game in the series not to be released in 2023, and was the only one to be released in 2024. I also have to say it was mightily disappointing. As ever, unavoidable spoilers to follow.

After descending yet another elevator of the secret facility hidden under Banban's Kindergarten, you arrive on floor six - the domain of Syringeon. The previous floor having become overrun by Sir Dadadoo and his small army of corrupted creatures. You had fled the area with the intention of retrieving the missing piece of Queen Bouncila's magical sceptre; the only item capable of sending the giant slug and his naughty one minions back into her pouch. After finding the surgeon, he instructs you with locating Jumbo Josh, the green giant being somewhere in Syringeon's improbable city, and who the creature believes is the only one capable of stopping Dadadoo.

I have to say, I did not expect a city to be found on this particular floor of the facility. I reckon by now we must be getting on for a good half a mile under ground. After a brief but fun horror opening, you make it to the city. The rest of the game takes place in this small open world area, with you tasked with heading to various locations, such as a bar, apartment block and theatre, as you search for clues on Josh's whereabouts and find the items you need to capture him. Unfortunately, this is the most frustrating game in the series by far, frustration popped up at several annoying moments. Chase sequences are back, but there was one here that required a mix of running and pixel perfect jumps. I must have taken at least 50 increasingly angry attempts until I finally did that section. Then there is the drone, it has another upgrade that lets you control it directly. I had hoped this would make it less cumbersome to control, but alas, the controls are poor and its range is limited by invisible walls. There are also a lot less puzzles to be found here, a handful of ones that mostly revolve around memorising patterns.

The city was fine, populated by alien looking creatures who talk in a variety of languages, it wasn't anything exciting. It had a kind of 1920's American gangster type feel, the bar playing jazz music, and a misty vibe to the streets. I can't say I liked that aesthetic, for much of the two and a half to three hour game there was barely any horror to be found. You get the obligatory dream sequence which to be fair was pretty fun, but the lore here was minimal. The story of containing Sir Dadadoo started to feel like a bit of an unimportant sub plot, divorced from the bigger story of finding your missing child. I liked the twist ending, but other than that there wasn't many interesting events to be had, outside of an epic finale, and the death of a major character.

I figured that each subsequent game in the series would be better and more polished. Garten of Banban VII however felt a bit of a mess. It felt like it was too ambitious for its own good, the amount of times I encountered invisible walls during my playthrough was ridiculous, and those moments of absolute frustration really hampered my enjoyment. This was ok, but really lacked the quality of the last few games.

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Portrait of God (2022) - Short Horror Film Review

I was idling on the back porch of my aunt and uncle's remote house when I happened across a Reddit post about really messed up films. Needless to say, the ones I checked out didn't live up to the expectations placed on them, but they were still entertaining to watch. The first of these was the Dylan Clark (Transfigure, Home Movies) written and directed Portrait of God. It seems that a feature length version of this short is currently in production.

A devoutly religious teenage girl; Mia (Sydney Brumfield - Blood Star) is practising a power point presentation about a painting supposedly of God, that only certain people who look at it are able to see the hidden image, and which gives those people a feeling of having seen the divine. After her first practice run she goes through her presentation again, but this time, when she gets to the slide that shows a photo of the painting, she notices that where before there was just a black canvas, she can now spot something lurking in the darkness.

Set across seven minutes, this certainly started off effectively. The second half of this mostly takes place within a black void, assuming this is meant to represent the black painting. This part while still good, didn't feel like it quite worked as well as the initial section set in the girl's home. I did appreciate the somewhat open ended finish to this, a nice ending shot. Both the special effects and the creature design were good, but I couldn't help but feel this should have felt more unsettling than it actually was.

I loved the central idea for Portrait of God and as a short horror it excelled at not following the tired format that so many short horrors go for, not a jump scare to be found thankfully. A solid performance from the lead, and I can see how this could be lengthened out for a feature length adaptation. Portrait of God can be viewed on YouTube.

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NFT: Cursed Images (2026) - Horror Film Review

A film about haunted NFTs feels like its lost its moment already. I seem to recall a year or so back NFTs (none fungible tokens or something I believe it stands for, basically digital images that are all unique and can be traded) were briefly popular. They seemed to be only for rich douche-bags, who would spend ridiculous amounts of money to buy them. NFT: Cursed Images was written and directed by Jonas Odenheimer (Classroom 6). This crypto-horror had some good ideas, but ultimately it had a lot of wasted potential.

James (David Wayman - After Death) has recently returned to London and has gone for a meet up with his old friends at the home of Kit (Patrick Shearer - Perception). The other friends are nerdy Dan (Durassie Kiangangu - Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania), James' ex; Cass (Mariah Nonnemacher - Terminator: Dark Fate), couple, Nes (Nobuse Jnr - The Group) & Julia (Jasmine Clark), and finally, tomboy Sarah (Amelie Edwards). While the group are enthusiastically deep in discussion about NFTs, Kit is mysteriously sent seven by someone unknown. These seven are part of a collection called 'Crypto Horror', which urban legend states to be cursed NFTs capable of killing people. Thinking nothing of it, Kit sends each of his friends their own one as a joke. The late night gathering ends and the friends go their separate ways, unaware that they are going to be haunted by their own personal NFT they were sent.

I don't know what it is about modern horror films being obsessed with having the most unlikeable protagonists, and this is a trap that NFT: Cursed Images falls into. My hatred for these idiots started early on when a painfully slow near fifteen minute sequence plays out where the characters drone on inanely about just what NFTs are. Characters then spend the rest of the movie making bad decision after bad decision as each inevitably come face to face with their personalised NFT demon. It becomes a bit of a farce with all the characters trying to locate one another, constantly acting very surprised when people aren't answering their phones. I mean, it's the middle of the night, it's hardly surprising no one is answering calls, if they were normal people they would be fast asleep! There wasn't a single likeable character to be found. You have the insufferable one who refuses to believe anything strange is going on, cowardly ones, selfish ones, and then the one person who seems to know what is going on fails due to his bizarre pick and choose in his research for how to defeat each of the seven! Basically, the plot of the movie couldn't have happened to a bigger set of morons.
The one interesting thing in terms of pacing is that despite being set over one night, there are constant small time skips backwards and forwards to accommodate the different characters going through their own mini-plots.

The biggest missed potential came from the seven demons haunting the group. Each one had its own unique look and design, from conjoined twins to a figure with an upside down face; these white skinned monstrosities were actually pretty neat, and unique to each other in a way that reminded me of Thir13en Ghosts. It was a shame that none of these appearances ever led to anything interesting happening. Each time the character would come face to face with their NFT demon and then the scene would end, before anything happened on screen. I loved the demon designs but I wish they had featured more heavily than here, where they were on screen roughly for about two minutes of this 75 minute horror.

NFT: Cursed Images had potential for sure. A bigger focus on the scenes of horror and more tension would have been better than annoying characters wandering around the streets. If you insist on populating the movie with idiots, then at least give them satisfying on-screen deaths. A lacking story and unsatisfactory plot path led to this all feeling a little pointless; much like NFTs themselves. NFT: Cursed Images came to steaming on Digital HD on March 6th.

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The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 11th March 2026

Currently in Australia, it has been a good time for my blog. Without the million distractions at The Rotting Zombie HQ, I am able to properly focus, even if the initial trip temporarily broke my laptop (darn loose connections!). My inbox is fit to bursting with news, so I shall release the valve for a second and drip out three news stories of terror.

Romantic horror film, Nuptials had its Digital debut on North American VOD platforms on February 13th, and came to DVD on February 17th. This sees a young couple on their honeymoon trapped in their bridal suite by a sinister presence, and slowly seduced to violence. This was written and directed by Sean Braune and features Ariana Marquis, Kevin McPherson, Annie Stone, and Denis Davicino.

Independent horror streaming platform; Screamify have announced Game Night - a 24-episode horror series to be released under its Micro Horrors initiative. Written and directed by Trent Duncan, this sees four friends who gather to play a mysterious board game titled 'Survive the Slasher'. After rolling the dice, they are transported into a real life version of the game, where armed with three lives each, they must survive deadly traps and avoid the slasher, all while trying to win the game if they want to survive. Micro Horrors are designed for mobile phone users, with vertically shot designed for immersive viewing.

Finally for today, Bitter Souls is now available on Amazon Prime Video and Tubi. This Tom Ryan (Theatre of Terror) directed voodoo horror sees a grieving boyfriend unable to deal with the brutal murder of his girlfriend. With the aid of a priest and a voodoo priestess, they set out to rescue the murdered girl's soul, coming to learn that bringing someone back from the dead comes with a terrible price.

Mamochka (2026) - Horror Film Review

Horror film Mamochka has a weird title (translates as Mammy), so it is fitting that it has a vibe that reflects that weirdness. Directed and written by Vilan Trub (The Dirty Kind), this psychological horror doesn't make an effort to make a lot of sense and is all the better for it.

After her detestable mother dies, she leaves her daughter Jane (Maya Murphy - Rosewater) a china doll that has been in the family for generations. This begins a series of strange events for the family. First, young son Brian (Stanley Trub) has an odd altercation with teenage babysitter Sarah (Sadie Stone in her film debut), and then it is the turn of husband Mark (Alexander Kollar - Kids Get Dead 2: The Kids Get Deader). Wanting to know more about the doll (specifically if it is worth anything to sell), Mark takes it to a doll expert who informs him that it is a 'Nazi' doll; a doll that was made in a German factory during World War II and may well have used the hair of a concentration camp victim in its creation. This leads the man down a rabbit hole into the history of the Nazi party. This causes him to get more sympathetic towards the Nazi ideology, and increasingly protective of the creepy doll.

With the feeling of an indie David Lynch film, Mamochka was odd to say the least. It is never entirely clear what is real and what isn't. Early on for instance, a whole day plays out for Mark, only for him to wake up in bed and realise it was all a dream. He then goes about his day that plays very similarly to what he had already experienced. This follows on from a black and white nightmare sequence where he discovers a cackling naked old woman in his kitchen! Characters appear who may not actually exist (standout being Dino Castelli - Jim Haggerty's Unnatural Causes). There are scenes of horror that end before their resolution and a very bizarre ending that leaves large swaths of the story unresolved.

Mamochka is never scary but it does carry with it a strange surreal vibe with events playing out using dream logic. Mark was fine as the protagonist, but I didn't really like or dislike him. I thought Castelli played the standout character here, seeming to be the physical manifestation of the doll's evil. Scenes were well shot, leading to some tense moments, and I thought the inclusion of classical music fitted the strange vibe well. The doll itself is a static object rather than something that is running around causing mischief. This works though, with it seeming to have a sphere of influence that is able to forever change anyone who enters the zone.

If you come to this weird horror expecting a cohesive story then it may leave you frustrated. It has the feel of a half remembered dream where it is not so much about the story, but about the atmosphere. As will be evident with this review (not one of my best!), I may have struggled to understand the intention of this horror, but this created a tone and feeling that at the very least will have you thinking. Mamochka opened the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival in the UK on January 16th and had a limited VOD release on January 27th. It is currently available on Amazon Prime in the US and UK.

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Zombie Maelstrom (2014) by Bryan Cassiday - Horror Book Review

Bryan Cassiday's Zombie Apocalypse: The Chad Halverson Series is one of the most action packed zombie sagas I have read to date. I've so far approached the series in a strange order. Starting with book 7 - Cutthroat Express, before heading to book 6; Horde, and then late last year reading the latest novel, book 8 - Purge. Following on from that latest review, the author asked if I wanted to see where it all began, and sent me the first book, 2014's Zombie Maelstrom. After a two day speed run (for me anyway who is typically a very slow reader!), I have finished this first book, and it did not disappoint.

The world is in a bit of a state, there have been multiple reports of a strange new virus coming out of China which is able to reanimate the dead and has started to spread around the world. A lot of those details have been kept secret, though as a CIA agent, Chad Halverson has been briefed on those. The deadly virus has yet to reach the U.S.A and it is hoped that will long continue. After his brother, Dan, is involved in a serious car accident, Chad is enroute to L.A via plane to visit him. As the plane nears the L.A airport, the crew and passengers alike notice a strange yellow smog covering the whole area. The pilot informs the 200 passengers that he has been unable to raise the tower, and that he is going to have to perform an emergency landing without their help. Landing mostly intact, everyone evacuates the plane only to be surprised there is no help awaiting them on the runway, in fact, the entire area appears deserted, as much as can be made out in the thick smog. Taking charge, the captain, Roger, leads the group to the terminal, noticing that something bad seems to be going on in the air traffic control tower. Fearing a terrorist attack is responsible for the airport being deserted, Roger leads a group of armed volunteers to the tower. It is here the terrible discovery is made; the virus has reached America, and the airport, and at least L.A has become infested with the walking dead.

Cassiday's series is always insane with crazy event after crazy event forever tying to one-up themselves. It isn't much of a surprise then to see the novel pretty much open with the plane's emergency landing. It was cool to see that even from the very first pages, this series was firing on all cylinders. From the first page to the last, the action virtually never lets up. For me, it was neat to see Halverson (however briefly) operating in a world before the apocalypse had began. The smog obscuring everything made a great introduction to readers and characters alike to the dead new world. It is actually 40 pages before the first zombie is seen on page, and from this point their inclusion is relentless, barely a page going by without more of the rotting rotters trying to feast on the hapless protagonists flesh.

The story here is simple, with the events of the nearly 300 page novel taking place over just a day or two, as it charts the destruction of the 200 strong cast until it is just a handful of survivors. The novel is roughly split into three sections, the initial discovery at the airport, a doomed siege at a nearby restaurant, and then the road trip to try and escape the overrun city.
The undead are an insatiable constant threat, driven wild with blood-lust, traditional George Romero type ghouls who are slow moving and can only be stopped by destroying the brain. Chad is as awesome a protagonist as ever, even at this early stage he took to zombie killing like a fish to water, and a good portrayal of his internal struggles as he is made to deal with hard situations, such as not knowing for sure if someone bitten will definitely become a ghoul.
Roger, Tom, Rosie, and Mildred among others never had too much to them, Roger's gradual crumbling under pressure of being in charge was shown well, and detestable bank manager Lemens was fun to hate.
The plot is carried along by 51 short and snappy chapters, often ending on a mini cliffhanger designed to keep you reading on. Many of these chapters ended in the same way, often with the arrival of more zombies, or the sound of panic from off-page. The third act ramps up the action for a chaotic finale, even if it did seem a bit odd how quickly a self made militia rose up and claimed L.A for themselves!

It may just be constant undead battling from beginning to end, but I often struggled to be able to put Zombie Maelstrom down. I was hooked following Chad and the other survivors journey, and seeing what crazy event would happen next. A blistering start to Bryan Cassiday's Chad Halverson series - blood soaked popcorn for the brain.

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