System Shock (2023) - Sci-fi Horror Video Game Review (Playstation 5)

As much as I tried back in the day, I just could never get into PC gaming. I have long heard of System Shock, not only one of the first immersive sims to be created, back in 1994, not only was it the pre-cursor for Bioshock (which shares much of its DNA), but it's A.I antagonist SHODAN, regularly features highly in the top video game antagonists of all time lists. In 2023, a remake was finally released, rather than reimagine the game for a modern day audience, this remake instead remains very faithful to the original game. Due to that, while I loved my time with this, it also could be quite frustrating with the sometimes outdated mechanics it presents.

In 2072, in a dystopian cyberpunk future, a nameless hacker is caught while trying to steal the designs for a military-grade neural implant from the all powerful TriOptimum Corporation. They are taken to Citadel Station, owned by the corporation, and it is there that an executive offers the hacker a deal. The executive is Edward Diago, and he states that he wants the station's A.I; SHODAN to have its ethical constraints removed and control of it handed to Diago, likely for shady means. This is something that the hacker is able to easily do, and in exchange they are promised they will be given the neural implants they had originally tried to steal the plans for. Sometime later, the hacker awakens in the medical bay of the space station, having been fitted with the implants. It soon becomes clear something terrible has happened, the removal of SHODAN's constraints has made it fully self-aware, and also unfortunately, completely mad. The A.I has decided it is a God, and that humanity must worship it. It has reprogrammed all the robots aboard the station to be lethally hostile, and the crew have suffered fates worse than death in many cases. Those not killed immediately have either been transformed against their will into brainwashed cyborgs, or experimented on with mutagens that has mutated them into mindless monsters. Contacted by Rebecca Lansing (a counter-terrorism consultant), she promises the hacker that in exchange for their assistance in stopping SHODAN, they will be exonerated for their crimes.

The immersive sim label is a relatively new one, think games that take place within logically built worlds where most of the objects can be interacted with in some way. System Shock is a first person adventure game that sees the player working their way through the vast maze-like levels of the space station while thwarting SHODAN's many sinister plans for human domination. Despite being a remake, the game is presented faithfully to the original, the textures are old-school in look, though with a modern engine that gives the game world a wonderful look. It is also balls to the wall hard. At the onset of the game you are presented with four different difficulty sliders. I opted to have objectives, puzzles, and cyberspace on an easier mode, while I made the fateful and unchangeable decision to leave the combat on normal.
The game plays much like Bioshock, though an earlier version that isn't as smooth to play.
Each level of the space station is a huge meandering maze that is very easy to get lost in. To me, it felt like if Bioshock had been created with the sensibilities of original Doom in mind. The eight or so floors are all giant and took a long time to work through. Having expected an 8 or 9 hour experience, I was rocking around 20 hours by the time the end credits appeared. Each floor followed a familiar format for me, I would search out the medical bay (which would grant you resurrection should you die), and the charger for the energy weapons. While you have access to guns, ammo is never in too plentiful a supply, equalled with a limited sized inventory and you would need to be clever with item management, with not enough space to be able to carry all the different weapons you would find. Something that was impressive to me was the state of the game world. Enemies once killed stay dead and don't respawn. When new enemies do appear, they come into the world in a logical way, arriving on lifts from beneath the floor. Even cooler, if you do die and resurrect, any damage you have done to enemies remains, so piece by piece you can slowly take out the ever increasing amounts of robots, cyborgs, and mutants without feeling you are not making any progress. There is also a useful quick save function. For boss fights and later areas of the game the resurrection doesn't work. Thankfully, boss fights can be quite easy with the right assortment of power-ups and weapons. Even with objectives set to easy, it wasn't always clear exactly what you should be doing, so I had a lot of moments where I felt almost aimless in my travels, though this added to the feeling of exploration rather than frustrated.

I loved playing through this, but I would be lying if I didn't find it as frustrating as Hell at times. Even with virtually infinite lives and a static game world, I found the amount of enemies, and the lack of too much ammo and health to be a pain. I sometimes felt that it would have been more enjoyable if I had just stuck the combat onto easy also. The space station is vast and a little bland at times, but it is designed in a logical way that I so love with immersive sims. It is littered with audio diaries and the occasional written message, with the former fully voiced. SHODAN is a constant presence, her corrupted and distorted threats and over confidence made her be a memorable antagonist, I can see why people have placed her so high on those lists.
Splitting up the adventuring, there are also slight puzzles to solve, I'm glad I put these on easy as I could see them getting boring if much more complicated, even more different are the cyberspace sections. Typically used to open locked doorways, cyberspace places you in hallucinogenic flying stages where you blast computer programs that appear as shooter type flying enemies. I have heard complaints about these parts, but I found them a nice break from the endless adventuring in the game proper.

I am very glad I finally got to play System Shock and see some of the origins of the immersive sim. The game does feel dated even with its modern benefits applied to it, and it can be frustrating more often than not, but the feel of being trapped onboard a hostile space station was well realised, and the story, while basic, had a great and memorable antagonist. System Shock 2 is meant to be even better, and with that having had a modern remaster, it will be the next game I play.

SCORE:

The Twilight Zone: Season 2 (1960-61) - Horror TV Show Review

In 2020, I brought the Blu-ray box set of classic horror/sci-fi anthology series The Twilight Zone. This well known black and white series, hosted, created, and often written by Rod Serling, has lasted the test of time, with stories that are still relevant today. Season 2 is made up of 29 episodes as opposed to the first season's 36, but is still a lengthy runtime. This time around, I would argue that there are not actually any dud episodes, some of certainly better than others.

Each episode features host Serling typically appearing on set, but distant from the characters of the particular episode. His preamble telling the viewers that the protagonist has unknowingly just entered 'the twilight zone', to quote children's cartoon Johnny Bravo; 'a place where ordinary things don't happen very often'. The episodes are roughly twenty minutes in length and mainly are serious, sometimes humorous, sometimes creepy, and near always telling some sort of morality story. I thought season 1 had a few too many comedy episodes, which had been a problem as they were never funny. There are a few more light hearted ones to be found here, but none that straight up irritated. 'The Whole Truth' is probably the weakest episode to be found here, but even this one wasn't bad so much as a bit forgettable. It features a dodgy used-car salesman who finds himself unable to lie. 'Mr Dingle, the Strong', another one that tries to be funny, also didn't really resonate, this one about a weedy man who is imbued with miraculous strength by a passing Martian.

Season 2 can be clumsily divided into horror, time travel, and sci-fi, and there is a good mix of these. The best of the horror comes early with episode 5 - 'The Howling Man'. In this one, a man lost in a storm stumbles across a remote monastery where the monks there warn him that in a cell they have imprisoned a man who they claim is the literal devil. Both 'Twenty Two' and 'Shadow Play' take place within nightmares the protagonists are facing, and the sinister 'Nick of Time' (that stars the legendary William Shatner as a man who comes to believe a diner's fortune telling machine is actually able to predict the future) was another strong stand out.
There were more time travel episodes for season 2, some were interesting but less novel ('Back There' where a man finds himself back in time on the night of Abraham Lincoln's assassination and tries to prevent it). A time travelling jet airliner ('The Odyssey of Flight 33') did something different, reminding me a bit of The Langoliers, and iconic episode 'A Hundred Years Over the Rim' has a pioneer on the search for essential aid, stumbling into modern day America.
Finishing the suite with sci-fi, you have the haunting 'The Invaders' that sees an isolated woman living in a remote homestead encountering tiny alien invaders, and the fantastic penultimate episode 'Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?' that sees two state troopers arriving at a remote diner, convinced that one of the people within is actually an alien in disguise.

Being classics have their downside occasionally. There were a couple of episodes whose twists I knew simply through osmosis. I would have loved to go into 'Eye of the Beholder' with no knowledge, but knowing what was going to happen, despite having never seen it before, meant it was an exercise in patience for what felt like an obvious twist. There are classic morality tales that also were obvious, but these are classics, such as 'The Man in the Bottle' that is essentially a Monkey's Paw tale where wishes granted by a genie lead to unexpected outcomes. One of the best isolated in feel episodes was season closer 'The Obsolete Man' - this took place in a dystopian 1984 type future where anyone deemed not useful to the oppressive state are forced to voluntarily be executed. This had a wonderful antagonist played with gleeful malice by Fritz Weaver, and sadly tells a story that feels all too relevant in relation to the severe deep dive into fascism and cruelty that America has been plunging all too willingly into in the real world. It was also fitting for me as my day job have decided to make me redundant as a nice Christmas present, I too am 'the obsolete man'.

With timeless stories that are still relevant today, season 2 of The Twilight Zone was very interesting to watch. This isn't a show that should be binge watched, I liked to digest the stories, limiting myself to just one episode a day. Wonderful and classic TV whose style has rarely been bettered.

SCORE:

Super Happy Fun Clown (2025) - Horror Film Review

Once again facing redundancy from a bill paying job, I am reminded why I started this blog. Films in general are all about escapism for the most part, and horror films fit into that perfectly. For the average person, no matter how bad the real world is for them, it doesn't compare to the fantastical horrors that can be found within the world of movies. I often judge films more on how well they are able to create the distanced feeling of leaving the world for a bit, and with the Patrick Rea (They Wait in the Dark) directed and Eric Winkler written clown slasher - Super Happy Fun Clown, you have a horror that successfully achieves that. This was based on the 2023 short film of the same name, that also featured Jennifer Seward (The Stylist) in the leading role.

Jennifer (Seward, credited solely as 'Super Happy Fun Clown') has had a hard and disappointing life. Raised by a cold and abusive mother, married to an abusive dead beat husband, and stuck in a dead end office job, the only relief she gets is when she goes 'clowning'. Obsessed with clowns from a young age, she has created the persona 'Jenn-O the Clown', in her spare time going to the local park where she entertains the children there. As she has gotten older, she has also developed an unhealthy fascination with serial killers and classic movie monsters. These three disparate things come together one year, when Jennifer finally snaps and decides to plan something really memorable for Halloween that will give her the fame she has been searching for her whole life.

The film begins with an exciting flashforward prologue, in which Jennifer dressed up like a clown, is holding a detective at gunpoint, while his partner demands she let him go. The film then leaps back twenty years, with the majority of the movie then showing how events got to that desperate stage. The part set in the early 2000s is only the first act, and doesn't take up too much of the 87 minute runtime, but it is key in showing both the protagonists early fixation on clows, but also how demanding and impossible to please her mother is. The time skip to the movie's present day works well in filling in the blanks of what has happened to Jennifer in the years following that. Being a mute clown, you could be forgiven for thinking this is just a film that is trying to ride on the coattails of Terrifier's wild success, but this clown is treated suitably different, mainly in that Jennifer has a life outside of dressing up. Her type is based on mute clowns, something that she sticks to resolutely when in her get-up. So far so Art, but the difference is that she is a normal, and even dull person when not in the make-up. It seemed Ying and Yang, with Jennifer miserable and meek, but the bright and colourful persona she has created seems to breathe life into her whenever she changes. 
The film doesn't entirely focus on this damaged person, with the detectives from the prologue getting their own much smaller side story, basically of being bored working in a small town, and not expecting much excitement to happen. I initially thought Nicole Hall (VY) and Matt Leisy (The Friend) were too young in age to be playing the role of detectives, but then realised that it is me that is old now rather than them being too young! I enjoyed their rapport with each other, and it became a cool combination in the third act when Jennifer is fully on her murder-spree, and the detectives are shown constantly one step behind as they try and locate her.

There was a bit of an odd feel with adult Jennifer's early scenes. Her clowning is shown via montages that have stripped back guitar music to them, and the repeated scenes of her heading back home and attempting to entertain her miserable husband while still in character had a slight arthouse feel to it. Her kills when they begin are wild and varied in the way that slasher killers' kills often are. Strangulation, gunshot, vehicular homicide are just a few of the methods she uses. The killer isn't a threatening character, Jennifer isn't hulking or sinister, but this becomes one of her advantages, as she is able to get close to her victims without them suspecting anything is wrong. The kill scenes are never over the top, but they use special effects to great...effect, such as showing a hole going all the way through someone's head after they are shot, and another victim flailing around while on fire.

I had a super happy fun time with Super Happy Fun Clown. It was nice to have a movie maniac that had a very human side to them. She may have killed innocents, but she wasn't unlikeable, and that isn't to say I was rooting for the sexually repressed killer, but the film does a good enough job of explaining the experiences that created her, and it is always nice to give females the chance to be evil. With fun kills, good pacing, and decent special effects, this worked as escapism, and so gets a rotted thumbs up from me. Super Happy Fun Clown streams exclusively on streaming platform Bloodstream from January 1st. 

SCORE:

The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Tuesday 16th December 2025

My work decided to pull out all the stops when it came to this years Christmas gift, giving me the wholesome and thoughtful present of redundancy. It has really made this festive and happy time of year feel really special. Onwards to fictional horror with three terrifying news stories.

Bight is the directorial debut of Maiara Walsh, with this erotic thriller arriving on VOD and digital in time for Valentine's Day - releasing February 10th. Lily Allen is the latest person in the news who is serving as a reminder that open relationships often do not work out, and that sounds to be the case with this film. In this, husband and wife; Atticus and Charlie, visit the home of close friends, Sebastian and Naomi. The press release states that 'Throughout the evening, their turbulent lives will push them to succumb to dark temptations and provocative explorations of an open relationship, all leading toward a devastating fallout'. Bight stars Walsh alongside Cameron Cowperthwaite (Fallout TV show), Mark Hapka (23 Blast) and Maya Stojan (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D TV show)

Vertigo Releasing have announced the digital release of Peter Hall and Paul Gandersman's supernatural horror; Man Finds Tape. This takes the form of a fictional documentary that sees a woman returning to her childhood Texas based hometown to investigate a cryptic message about mysterious footage that appears to show disturbing footage of events no one in the town appears to recall happening. This is due to come to Apple TV, Sky Store and YouTube Movies on January 19th.

Finally for today, the official trailer and poster for Doll of Deceit has been released. This dark thriller comes from director Josh Warmenhoven and stars Sandy Johnson, David J. Paul, Amanda Jensen, Rex Seaton and Shawn Alexander Thompson. A woman's affair with a handyman is discovered by her husband leading to '...a suspenseful tale of captivity and an eerie transformation that blurs the line between reality and nightmare'.

Onlyfangs (2025) - Comedy Horror Film Review

I am an appreciator of puns and play on words and so I thought Onlyfangs was a great name for a movie (I have a box full of elastic bands on my desk in my current job that I have written 'onlybands' on). This comedy horror, co-directed by Angelica De Alba and Paul Ragsdale (Murdercise) doesn't let its larger than life story get in the way of some genuine horror moments, and the humour also is dark enough that it doesn't detract from moments of horror.

Wes (Drew Marvick - Bridge of the Doomed, It Stains the Sands Red) is a video editor who in his spare time attempts to hunt monsters with his geeky friends, to no success. One evening, he happens to actually capture footage of a real vampire, though the footage is so bad that no one believes his claims. The vampire is part of a group of all female killers led by Scarlett (Nina Lanee Kent - Murdercise), who for decades have hunted and killed humans for their blood, mainly males. Not wanting their identity to get out, the group attack Wes and his friends, intending to kill all of them. With Wes however, they find someone who isn't afraid of them. Instead, he is overjoyed; his life long obsession with monsters being a real thing having finally been confirmed. With the vampires living in squalid conditions, Wes offers them a suggestion - rather than kill people for their blood, he suggests that with his help, they create an online platform where paying customers can request for the women to suck their blood. This would both make them rich, as well as stopping the needless killing of victims. This actually works, and soon Onlyfangs is a worldwide success, with the client's not suspecting the blood suckers are the real thing. However, it seems that Scarlett may have an ulterior motive for creating so many new vampires, and with their fame, enemies, such as conspiracy nut Ridley (Anthony lave To'omata - Murdercise) have emerged, determined to prove to the world the monsters they actually are.

It took me around thirty minutes before this film clicked for me. Before this, I found it cheesy and really not that entertaining, I was wondering how I was going to endure the two hour runtime. It really picked up when the titular idea came into play. That isn't to say it didn't occasionally feel bloated. There was a good chunk where the quality dipped when Onlyfangs is introduced, with a series of disparate scenes of vampires around the world sucking their clients blood. It didn't really gel with the idea that by exposing themselves, the vampires would attract the attention of the sinister master vampires. After this, it became more focussed, leading to some great moments underneath all the titillation.

Much like its real world similar namesake, this features plenty of scantily clad, and occasionally topless  women. The film has a whole bunch of montages, with many of these being sexy videos of the vampires dancing erotically. I get this was for the vibe of the online platform, but it was undeniably also there to entertain, and featured a bit too much for my liking. There was a feeling of female empowerment, with the female characters all being strong willed and capable of defending themselves, but they also came across at times a bit like sex objects rather than characters in their own right. This didn't apply to the lead vampires, all of which had interesting personalities. I wouldn't go as far to say they were likeable, as they were definitely anti-heroes, at times killing innocent people. That goes for Wes too, mainly he was a decent character, but he had a bit of a pathetic streak to him where he would act like a child in front of his mother. Maybe my favourite character was the gangly super-geek Quentin (Shane Meyers). Initially he seemed to be in the film purely for his wild facial expressions, but his relationship with one of the main vampires was fun.

The humour was not as in your face as I expected, and was mild at best. It did work though, and led to some quietly humorous moments, such as the fourth wall breaking part where Wes announces the first of the many montage sequences. These montages had some stylish parts to them. The film is stylish when it wants to be, with a late film montage of the vampires going on a killing spree wonderfully shot and edited. There is plenty of blood to be found, of varying quality, but it all looked good to my eyes. The fangs of the vampires looked universally good as well, so that didn't detract in the slightest. Some later special effects seemed a bit lacking, but they just about worked. The music was also excellent. The film's score itself has some lovely eighties sounding synth work, while the actual songs chosen were also good, fitting the 'alternative' look and feel of the film well.

The story did its job, but it did feel a little dated with what it was referencing. Everything felt a bit early 2020's, with references to mask wearing, Covid jabs, and the crazy beliefs of MAGA type characters. That would have worked at the time, but with the dark downward trajectory that America appears to be in, in the real world, this all came across as a bit bittersweet to see. From an outsiders perspective, that once great country appears to be dying, so this felt like a relic from the recent past, rather than covering topics that are more relevant in the current time.
Onlyfangs was very well made, and had an enjoyable cast of almost loveable misfits. A bit too much of a focus on scantily clad females for my liking, but the horror moments worked, and the slightly meandering plot did have some strong moments, that made for a genuinely thrilling conclusion. Nearly great, this blood soaked fang filled adventure was a good bit of escapism that had plenty of effective moments, and a good amount of quality filmmaking.

SCORE:

Hintersommer (2025) by Vlimmer - Music Album Review

Earlier this year, Vlimmer (one of Berlin based muscian Alexander Donat's many musical monikers) released a five track EP, and now he is back once again, this time with Hintersommer - an album proper, bringing together ten tracks over 45 minutes. With the lyrics in German, I look to the press release that states they are about '...illness, loss, and the fear of watching loved ones fade'. Not speaking German myself, that would obviously be a bit lost on me, though the email I received did say that it was hoped the music would speak to me, even with not understanding the lyrics. As always, I have no place reviewing music, I know next to nothing about it, but shall try my best.

It begins with 'Abb. 1' that after an excellent musical intro launches into the opening track with a pounding beat and a pulsing tune. I felt this was a great way to start the album, and something that continues with the hummable 'Gleichbau' and 'Sommergesicht'; both sounding high energy and grand tunes to listen to. 
After this point the album takes a downward descent in terms of energy, taking on a more isolated and frequently downbeat feel with some shoe-gaze sensibilities at times. There is 'Diskoloration' with its slight folk-horror type elements to the sound, the classic Vlimmer eighties sounding 'Firmament' and the slower sounding 'Interieur'. The speeding drum beat of 'Hirnklammer' is one last foray into a faster paced sound before 'Augenboden' and 'Ganzteil' bring things to a more reflective and introspective, though suitably dramatic finish.

It is always good to hear new Vlimmer, and Hintersommer didn't disappoint, continuing with the sound I've come to know while maintaining good music with many of the tracks getting better and better with each fresh spin.

SCORE:

Unboxing (2025) - Horror Film Review

I'm starting off on a bit of a self absorbed tangent here, but screw the UK's pathetic Online Safety Act. That bit of Orwellian government control masking as the flimsy excuse to 'pRoTEct thE ChiLDrEn' has made it increasingly irritating to get to watch horror films online. Sure, I could just verify my age using any number of potentially dodgy verification programs that sites have been forced to use, but I am a bit of a belligerent swine and don't want to have my personal details potentially stolen. All that is to say, it took me slightly longer than usual to get to watch Australian horror Unboxing for review (written, directed by, and starring Mitchell Holland), but one VPN trip to Albania later and I was able to get on board the misery train of this nasty thriller. Off topic slightly for sure, but seeing as the protagonist's woes stem from his having revealed personal information online, it was a tiny bit relevant!

Holland stars as Thomas Faker; an amateur streamer who has dreams of being able to make a living from the streams he produces. The man has gotten into doing unboxing videos - receiving packages in the post and opening them live on camera. To add extra spice, Thomas has been using the dark web to buy mystery boxes, hoping the thrill of what could potentially be inside will lead to his streams exploding in popularity. His latest purchase turns out to be a foul smelling and blood soaked teddy bear, but before Thomas can even really begin to process this, he begins to receive a series of increasingly twisted packages left outside his apartment at regular intervals. Each of the packages pulling the increasingly alarmed man into darker and darker horrors.

After taking a week off of my blog (almost), Unboxing was the first feature length horror I watched upon my return, and what a miserable and soul burning return this was! Randomly, it was also the second box based film I watched for review this week, following on from my review of short film BOX. Sometimes it does feel we are all living in a simulation!
There was no rush for events to ramp up quickly with this film, the tension can almost be tasted with how insidiously Thomas is pulled into the worst night of his life. From a realistic feeling start of him talking to his stream viewers about video games, this devolves into his increasingly unravelling persona with items received both downright creepy and far too personal for comfort, almost taking place in real time. One of the early reveals is an SD card that features multiple photos of him with his young brother, at that point I would be 'noping' out and contacting the authorities, but torn between the horror of what he is facing and an ever increasing subscriber count to his channel, he chooses to remain on stream, until that choice is taken entirely out of his hands by an apparent hack of his PC that prevents him ending the stream. The story became increasingly unsettling and suspenseful; the lack of any type of soundtrack or musical score added to this uncomfortable feeling, with even the ever present glare of his ring-light creating the feel of a judgemental and cold gaze, while the 'dinging' of the stream messages somehow became more and more threatening in sound.

The props are perfect, and perfectly deranged. From a box that is packaged with a combination of cotton wool balls and razor blades, to ones packed with the unsettling combination of rice and hair, things soon are quite dark here. Plenty of blood and plenty of grime combine to give an authentic look to the horrors uncovered (unboxed). Everything looked gross and mean in the best way. I thought the split between the view from Thomas' computer screen to more traditional film work was perfect for this, and Holland being the sole on-screen character for vast lengths of the 70 minute film did a fantastic and believable job. Enough is given to fluffing out his character (such as phone calls with his parents, and the believable way he reacts); this all combined to make him feel like someone with a history to him.
There were elements of the supernatural here that had some great editing to them, especially with one of the stream commenters whose ghostly distorted visage kept appearing in the room with the protagonist. That part while very neat, was a bit confusing for me. I could never really tell if that was meant to be literally happening within the story of the film, or if it was a stylistic choice to add more weight to the events of the movie for the viewer's benefit. Around the third act, a more rational and grounded horror is added with the arrival of the Police who have some urgent questions they need Thomas to answer for them, leading to some very tense and bad feeling scenes as viewer and protagonist alike begin to piece together what is happening. I would say of that third part, the film pulled together some of the momentum it had began to lose in the middle, but I can't say I fully understood the intricacies of the overall story, leaving me with some questions by the time the end credits rolled around.

Unboxing was a horrid little Black Mirror-esque indie film, and I say that in the best way possible. I felt uncomfortable watching this, and that in itself speaks of the success of the filmmaking here. This became like a car crash, something that was nasty to look at, but hard to look away from. Good looking special effects and make-up effects, a sustained feel of ever increasing peril, and a captivating lead combined to make for something that is well worth a watch. Unboxing is available to watch on Amazon Prime.

SCORE:

The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Tuesday 9th December 2025

After a week off doing posts on here (almost), I'm back and refreshed to once again pick up the mantle of the Rotting Zombie. In personal news, it looks like I am soon to be made redundant from my bill paying day job, so that's fun! Anyway, here are three terrifying news stories plucked from the depths of my bloody mail sack. Onwards to the news.

There are some new releases from Arrow Video US for January of next year. 13th January sees the limited edition 4K UHD release of Evil Dead Rise. I gave this film an 8/10 in my review back in 2023 where I stated '...I thought this was a solid and nasty horror film, one that doesn't shy away from allowing absolutely any character to become a victim'. The film is set in an apartment block where an earthquake leads to the discovery of a certain cursed book with the power to summon demons. The limited edition features a host of extras including a double-sided fold-out poster and a collector's booklet.

January 20th is when action/adventure thriller Snakes on a Plane gets its worldwide 4K UHD debut, featuring a brand new 4K restoration plus hours of special features. A Blu-ray release is also coming out the same day. The film does what it says in its title, with an FBI agent (Samuel L. Jackson - Pulp Fiction) getting caught in a trap from a major crime lord after a hundred poisonous snakes are released on a passenger plane where he is escorting an important eyewitness to the crime lord's crimes. I remember this film was ok, though I admit to never having had the urge to return to see it a second time.

Finally for today, anthology horror At Death's Door is now available on Tubi. Directed by Frank Palangi, this brings four stories based around the concept of how ordinary choices can lead to deadly situations. This stars Aaliyah Al.Fuhaid, Erica James, Frank Palangi, Jared Curtis, and Nicole Mecca. At Death's Door can be found here.

BOX (2025) - Short Comedy Action Film Review

I had a week off of my blog last week, partly due to having no urgent screeners to watch for review, and partly just because I felt like it. Anyway, I am back now, and the first review for this week is for Stephen Ready's short comedy martial-arts film - BOX. The email I received regarding this was just to announce it's existence, but I felt a review was warranted due to how darn good it was.

A man (Eric Jacobus - stunt coordinator on video game God of War: Ragnarok) is working one day when he has a cardboard box thrown at his head. Breaking the fourth wall, the man states that he bets the viewer thought the box was going to hit him, before out of nowhere he comes under vicious attack by a man wearing a black morph suit (Jason Chen-Leung - SOCAP_404), who taunts him by telling the startled man he will never know what is in the paper bag he is holding. This begins an intense martial-arts battle between the two (choreographed by Jacobus).

The fight sequence here makes up the meat of this nearly 7 minute movie so it is a good thing that it is excellent. Equal parts intense and surreal, there are plenty of laugh out loud moments. The mystery assailant uses all manner of weapons to fight the man, including a sheet of paper that acts as a razor sharp blade, and most amusingly; in one part he uses a small child as a weapon! The combat between the two leads was fantastic, plenty of exciting shots, including classic up-close shots of fists and feet connecting with flesh. The meta nature of this gave plenty of surreal moments, such as the on-screen editor of the short getting a pencil in his neck at one point; his flailing around causing him to keep hitting his laptop screen, instigating real-time edits. For all the violence, this was never designed to shock, a bloodless affair, and one where quick edits mean the fighters rarely actually connect with each other. Not a problem in the slightest as it didn't detract even remotely.

Story-wise, this was far more poignant than it would first appear. Somehow, a tribute to a real life stunt man who died is inserted without it feeling out of place, as the narrator (Josh Petersdorf - voice work on video games Overwatch 2, Street Fighter V) talks about the joys of being a stunt man, and how fun and rewarding it is. The mix of this being a fight happening, melded with it also being a film that is being made on-screen was wonderful. Of all things, I somehow got a vibe of video game The Stanley Parable from this.

I was dubious when starting BOX if it would be a good fit for a review on this site, due to not being a horror. The weird and cool surreal vibe really won me over, as did the fantastic fight sequences, and the silly humour. I thought this was a great short, and you can check it out for yourself as it is currently on YouTube.

SCORE:

Poppy Playtime: Chapter 2 'Fly in a Web' (2022-24) - Horror Video Game Review

In a rare break from watching mainly horror films for review, I decided to spend this weekend (at time of typing) exclusively playing horror video games. Having had an unexpectedly fun time with Poppy Playtime: Chapter 1, I decided to pick up the second chapter; Poppy Playtime: Chapter 2 'Fly in a Web', due to it being in a sale for around £4. I wasn't sure if it would be value for money despite the low price, and it was that which put me off buying the more expensive Poppy Playtime: Chapter 3 & 4. Would this second episode carry on the surprising fun the first offered? This was the Playstation 5 version of the game which released in 2024, and, obviously, spoilers for Chapter 1 to follow.

The first chapter concluded with you defeating the monstrous Huggy Wuggy and making it to the area that had been highlighted in the VHS tape you had originally received in the mail. Instead of discovering your missing former colleagues of the Playtime Co. toy factory, you instead discover the titular Poppy Playtime; a small self-aware doll. Having freed her from the case she was trapped in, she promises to help you escape the factory, as it is something she also wants to do. With the way back out blocked, Poppy suggests you head deeper down into the underground complex to the toy test area where there is a train that you can use to leave the facility. Arriving there however, you encounter a new horror - Mommy Long Legs. This creation uses her impossibly long appendages to capture Poppy, and then reveals to you that in order to use the train, you must play three children's games with Mommy, with her giving you part of the train start-up code for each game you successfully complete.

I had hoped this chapter would be longer than the first, and thankfully it was. With the first one done in under an hour, this one took me roughly two hours to beat. By the time you get to the train station, the chapter goals are clear - playing each of the three games. These include a memory game called 'Musical Memory', 'Wack-a-Wuggy' that is similar to the classic 'wack-a-mole' game found at arcades, and a tense spin on musical statues, simply titled 'Statues'. These were all fun to do, and had a Portal type feeling of getting to head behind the scenes from the initial play rooms.
Gameplay is once again mainly made up of simple, yet enjoyable puzzles involving the grab handle accessory you are armed with. Previously, both hands were able to conduct electricity, this time around you get an upgrade - a green grab handle that is able to briefly store electricity. This creates opportunity for different types of puzzles, such as one section where you have to open a series of gates in order to push a minecart along some tracks.

Horror is again quite meek, though I would argue Mommy is just as creepy as the mute Huggy Wuggy. This antagonist is constantly talking to you, and seems to be angry that she had been trapped below ground on her own for so long. Her look is kind of like Stretch Armstrong crossed with Mr. Tickle, her arms, legs, and neck all able to stretch to ridiculous lengths. I thought maybe the long maze-like chase sequence the first chapter culminated with would again appear. More sensibly it is a lot more stripped back. There are a variety of short chase sequences, but more stream-lined, like the developers were well aware they couldn't get away with the exact same thing again. This was about as scary as chapter 1 (I.E: not very) but that did not get in the way of my enjoyment. 
I realised this time around that it is worth hunting down the secret VHS tapes. These tapes provide lore and backstory and were worth finding. Often they would include live-action footage of actors playing employees of the factory.

I had figured that a second round of Poppy Playtime might have shown a lack of variation. The toy testing area felt suitably different to the factory of chapter 1. Poppy Playtime: Chapter 2 'Fly in a Web' remains a most happy surprise, and of course has left me very interested in continuing the journey into this hellish facility.

SCORE:

Doom: The Dark Ages (2025) - Horror Video Game Review (X-Box Series X)

Oh modern day Doom, what a tangled web you weave. Of course, the original two Doom games are masterpieces; games that hold up as well now as they did at the time. For the longest time I was really enamoured with Doom 3, I loved the more serious approach and I loved the lived-in locations. My first impressions for Doom 2016 were not great. I loved the level design, but I felt it was more game-like in how it was created. Doom Eternal took things even further - adding in plenty of platforming, and annoying combat encounters where you had to use the right weapon for the right enemy. On paper, Doom: The Dark Ages sounded amazing, a prequel to Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal that had a focus on close-quarters combat. Now having completed the game, it does some things stunningly well, but other elements are sub-par. It might be an early indication to my thoughts on the game, but I played this on and off since it came out earlier this year, as such, parts of the story are a bit fuzzy to me - apologies if I get anything wrong!

The soft-reboot of Doom, had the Doom Slayer being freed from the magical coffin he had been imprisoned within in Hell. This prequel doesn't exactly show how he came to be trapped, but it does take place within a war between the forces of Hell on one side, and the people of Argent D'Nur and the angelic-like beings - the Maykrs on the other. By the time the game begins, Doom Slayer has been turned into a weapon of war. Controlled by the Maykrs', Doom Slayer is beamed down from their space station to whichever battle he is needed to assist in. While he isn't happy about being controlled in such a way, all know that Doom Slayer likes nothing more than to fight the legions of Hell. The leader of these legions is Prince Ahzrak, whose war is fought with the key objective of getting a magical McGuffin known as the Heart of Argent that the Argent D'Nur people have.

Early word on this new game was pretty good. People raved about the medieval weapons. For me, I always had some slight misgivings, namely that I found the levels set in Argent D'Nur to be the very worst that Doom Eternal had to offer. I find the blend of medieval and sci-fi not to be my cup of tea, so was concerned a whole game taking place around this reality would not resonate. Sadly, I was right to be concerned, the 22 levels within The Dark Ages are split between Argent D'Nur and Hell. This was a problem for me who just wanted more levels set on Earth or Mars. The levels are huge to accommodate the larger amount of enemies in stages, several of them are even larger, taking the form of small open worlds where you are tasked with objectives that can be tackled in any order. I found the majority of the levels to be universally bland - large open arenas that were light on world-building details. The medieval sci-fi levels being made up of castles, the Hell levels coming across like 80's metal album covers brought to life.
The level design wasn't even the worst part, the emphasis on story here could have been good...if the story was at all engaging. To feature a humanoid looking antagonist as the leader of Hell was a bit lame. I thought Prince Ahzrak was an awful character, stereotypical bad-guy with a real empty story that does absolutely nothing interesting over its twenty or so hour runtime. I couldn't care less about the lengthy cutscenes, I didn't like the characters, or the plot, nor did it give me a desire to fight.

That is the bad stuff out the way, but what The Dark Ages does is to intermingle the bad so closely with the good that it makes the whole experience a bit 'meh'. Good things then; the soundtrack is as perfect as you would assume. If you liked all the heavy rock of the previous two games then you will be right at home here. The gameplay is even better, it is sublime, with Doom Slayer feeling like you are controlling a tank in human form. With the focus more on up close combat, your hero is armed with an amazing shield. You can zoom towards enemies to shield bash them from quite a distance, you can throw your shield like a Frisbee, and incidental details like the boom and rumble when Doom Slayer lands from a great height never got old. You have an assortment of weapons, but truth be told, now you can use any weapon for any enemy type, I pretty much just stuck to the plasma rifle for the whole game. Fighting hordes of demons was so much fun, their increased numbers balanced by a lot of the normal grunts being incredibly weak, able to be killed in a single shot.
To split up the action there are two different game types also included. In one, you ride on the back of a sci-fi dragon in stages that reminded me a bit of Sega's Panzer Dragoon. These were adequate, if a little simple and forgettable. The same can be said for the levels that see you pilot a giant mech-suit. These again are perfectly fine but nothing more, taking the form of a small scrolling beat em-up battle against equally huge demons.

As much as I genuinely loved the visceral meaty combat, the whole aesthetic of the game world and the boring story always brought things down. It is a shame that the two elements are so intertwined as it left me not really having any desire to ever return. I miss the days when it was just Earth vs Hell, not alternate dimensions and sci-fi aliens. Doom: The Dark Ages is currently playable on Game Pass.

SCORE:

The Rotting Zombie's Round-up of Horror News for November 2025

I've been off my day job sick with a bad cold for the past few days (at time of typing), so thought I would make an early start on next week's blog posts. This is the second news round-up I've put up this month, due to forgetting to do one at the end of last month. With that out the way, onwards to the news.

First up, Contrition is a dramatic thriller that is out now on Digital platforms from BayView Entertainment. This takes the form of a time-loop film, with the protagonist trapped reliving the day his wife was murdered, trying vainly to find a way to prevent her death. I do enjoy time-loop films, this one was directed by Aaron Boltz, and stars Aaron Bennett, James Bond III, and Ashton Leigh.

Untouchables Entertainment have shown the first look of their upcoming horror film The Dark Domain: Mickey-vs-Winnie. It seemed as soon as old children's licences became public domain, everyone jumped on board to make identical sounding horrors about the iconic characters. Touted as the first 'public domain crossover film', this has Steamboat Willy era Mickey Mouse (Daniel Wilkinson as Dark Mickey) and Wiinie-the-Pooh (Gotay as Dark Winnie) battling each other, with the mouse described as 'Pennywise meets Freddy Krueger', and Winnie 'Jason Voorhees levels up into the Predator'. The plot sees a group of childhood friends returning to the woodland based reform school they once suffered at. Dark Mickey and Dark Winnie are monstrous entities that stem from the group's combined damaged psyche.

Blood Brothers: Life Harvest was one news story I was going to skip over until I noticed it is a zombie film. The film features two brothers who fight to protect their loved ones after a deadly virus sweeps the globe. Conflict emerges when one of the brothers is bitten by a zombie. This was co-directed by Brit and Diana Sellers, and stars Tommy Kramer, Rudy Ledbetter and Bobby Batson. This is out on Digital Platforms worldwide via VIPCO & BayView Entertainment.

Currently in pre-production, Mangled: The Shelbyville Torture Tapes has had its first official look revealed by Horror-Fix Films. The docudrama is  slated for a first quarter 2026 wrap, and is to be directed by Ash Hamilton. It is set out as a true crime docudrama that is a look '...into a series of grisly mutilations that terrorized the Midwest, exploring not only the crimes themselves but also the lingering conspiracy surrounding the man believed to be responsible'. The feature is to be made up of a documentary blended with recreations of the crimes.

Massacre at Femur Creek is an award winning horror comedy that was directed by Kyle Hytonen and stars Adam Lemieux, Eric De Santis, Conall Pendergast and August Kyss. The story sees a groom heading away on a bachelor party with his friends. The partying is interrupted by the arrival of a psychotic killer. This is out on Digital Platforms now via BayView Entertainment.

Vertigo Releasing had a bunch of films releasing in November. These include time-loop comedy One More Shot that sees Minnie (Emily Browning) trapped in an endlessly repeating New Year's Eve party in 1999. Good Boy was a movie that I had intended to see at the cinema, but life sadly got in the way. This has the unique spin of being a supernatural horror film that is apparently shown from the perspective of a dog. Dead of Winter is a thriller that stars Emma Thompson as a woman who has headed to remote land to scatter her dead husband's ashes. It is while there that she stumbles across an isolated cabin where two desperate people have kidnapped a young woman.

Finally for today, on December 2nd, Italian Giallo film - The House with Laughing Windows gets its North American 4K debut. The film sees a man arriving at a remote Italian town to help repair the town's damaged church fresco, with local legend saying the fresco was originally painted by an artist who tortured his models to capture the right look for the dark picture.

Bitten (2008) - Short Zombie Film Review

With a schedule that is relatively clear at the moment, I am once again at liberty to watch one of the short zombie films from the bumper DVD collection I am working my way through. Bitten was written and directed by Duncan Laing (Nightshift), and features one central idea over its 6 minute runtime.

A woman (Claire Wilson - The Eschatrilogy: Book of the Dead) returns to her home in a panic, sporting a fresh and very bloody new neck wound. With it appearing obvious this is in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, things don't appear good for the lady.

Despite being just 6 minutes in length this managed to feel a lot longer. Sometimes in zombie fiction, the victims turn immediately, not so here. The short skips around in time, showing the woman's gradual transformation into a ghoul. This transformation seemed to take forever, each new scene showing her, I assumed she was now fully zombified, but each time it became clear she was still in the process of changing. I did like the initial panicked run through her house as she vainly attempts to sterilise her wound, but the later scenes kept leaving me expecting more interesting to happen. There is a recurring almost subliminal image of her children's bedroom that keeps popping up, but when that part makes an appearance in the short, it came across as unexpectedly amusing rather than harrowing. I don't think that was the intention.
Usually, make-up effects on the undead don't matter to me. Where the central idea is a woman's change into a walking corpse, the very thick layers of make-up on her became a bit distracting. There was plenty of blood however, I appreciated the incidental details around her home, such as a cracked and blood smeared mirror, and one bloody phone.

The central idea was neat, but I couldn't help but think that even at 6 minutes, Bitten managed to outstay its welcome a little bit. Not bad, and I liked the setting, but it felt like it was lacking a little something to really leave a deep impression. Sorry for the lack of images, I wasn't able to find any for the film online.

SCORE:

The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge (2004) - Horror Video Game Impressions: 'Rotted Meat No.2'

With so many video games to play and so little time it was obvious that some would fall by the wayside and become abandoned by me. For the second in my 'Rotted Meat' series about games I have given up on, the game I have chosen this time around is 2004's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge. I had heard at the time that while the game wasn't amazing, it was worth playing for the new musical numbers that appear within it. Would this be the case though?

The Synopsis:

Taking place a year after the events of The Nightmare Before Christmas; Jack Skellington has once again become disillusioned with Halloween. He decides to once again leave in order to find new inspiration, leaving Dr. Finkelstein in charge. This turns out to be a bad move; with Jack gone, Lock, Shock, and Barrell resurrect Oogie Boogie, who is very much in the mood for revenge. Contacted by Sally, Jack returns on Christmas Eve to find the town not only full of aggressive monsters, but also that it has been booby trapped by the inhabitants.

How the Game Felt:

The core feeling I have when thinking back to this game was how extremely dull it was. The game is a 3D action-adventure game that has you as Jack armed with a magical green whip. It takes place within a small series of open areas, with missions taking you back and forth from these locations. You eventually get the ability to change your costume, with the Pumpkin King and Santa Claus ones giving you different abilities. Boss fights usually take the form of musical numbers, with you required to input simple quick time actions to match whichever song is being played.

Reason for Abandoning the Game:

The lure of new music is what led me to this in the first place, but this proved to not be so amazing. From my memory, the music is repurposed from the film, albeit with different lyrics relevant to the situation being added. The new songs were ok but really nothing special, none of them remotely as good as the original songs. That isn't to say the music sounds bad, it sounds excellent, and includes at least one completely new song The main sin of Oogie's Revenge is just how tedious it is to play The back and forth across bland lifeless locations began to grate on me, while the simple gameplay was functional but again, nothing special at all. Even the thought of what I could be missing out on wasn't enough for me to be able to force my way through.