The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 6th August 2026

Yet another week, and the hot summer is continuing with seemingly no end. The poor grass is as yellow as straw outside my home, and I am awash in fans of various shapes and sizes, keeping my rotted corpse from decomposing in this humid heat. Onwards to the news.

At the start of July, indie psychological thriller, Farm House came to streaming on Amazon Prime Video, distributed by Bayview Entertainment. In this Frank Palangi directed and co-written horror, a house-sitters relaxing weekend turns into a fight for survival. Inspired by the real life Warren County serial killings, this also draws from true-crime and classic 1980s slasher tropes.   

Streaming platform BloodStream has been putting out some experimental vertical horror series lately, designed to be watched on a mobile phone. Coming to the platform are both Umbral and I Will Kill You. Umbral comes from Chilean director Gerson Vega and released on August 1st. The 9 episode series is a 'surreal nightmare about a man trapped in a dream world controlled by a mysterious entity, the lines between reality and dreams completely blurred'. The film is presented in Spanish, and a trailer can be seen here.

Finally for today, Italian found footage movie Watchful Eyes is a Found TV exclusive, premiering on August 7th in the United States, Canada and Italy. Directed by Gianluca Lasaracina, this follows Sebastian, a man attempting to rebuild his life after the death of his daughter, and losing his job. He gets a job as a janitor at a university, where he is tasked with covertly watching five students suspected of being related to an unexplained death of a university professor, but whose death may actually be more supernatural in nature.

The Rotting Zombie's News Round-up for July 2026

Another month of me being lazy when it comes to this blog. Since returning to work back in May, I've really struggled to find a way to fit both day job and blog into my life equally. This week though, for sure there will actually be five posts going up! (news flash; there wasn't!) Onwards to the news.

Cinema Epoch have acquired worldwide distribution rights to Vito Trabucco's giallo comedy thriller - The Delicate Art of Cooking Italian and Killing Your Wife. This follows a man whose weekend is upended when he kills his wife - from this point nothing is quite as it seems for the man. The press release states it pays homage to the suspense traditions of Brian De Palma, Claude Chabrol, and Alfred Hitchcock, and stars Vince Cusimano (Blade: The Iron Cross), Tania Fox and Katt Balsan. The Delicate Art of Cooking Italian and Killing Your Wife has a worldwide digital release planned for late October.

The first teaser trailer for corrupted The Wonderful Wizard of Oz inspired; Dorothy: The Haunting of Oz has been released. The story takes place on Halloween where a viral internet challenge results in nightmarish characters appearing in a Californian town. This is to be the feature length debut for 22 year old writer/director, Elijah J. Alvarez, and will star Adrienne Tabag, Caia Bonner, Jordan Sklansky, Aziah King, Andrew Wang, and Thomas Shan.

Bloodstream premieres supernatural horror Evil Follows on Tuesday, August 4th, alongside its TVOD debut. This is written and directed by Brendan Rudnicki, and is a demonic possession horror (one of my favourite sub-genres of horror). In the film, a mysterious box unleashes an ancient evil when Sarah opens it. With her now possessed, her husband and a spiritualist look for a way to defeat the entity.

SEGA Europe and Creative Assembly have collaborated for an event during the UK's premier horror film festival; FrightFest. Over the five days of the festival; Thursday 27th August to Monday 31st at the Odean LUXE Leicester Square, guests will get to play the prologue of upcoming survival horror video game; Alien Isolation 2. The first game is often said to be one of the scariest horror games ever made, and so it is with good reason people are looking forward to seeing what a sequel brings. Staying on the topic of Alien; that original stone cold classic will be playing in the main Dolby Cinema auditorium screen on the Sunday at 15:30. For more info, check out the FrightFest website.

Joe Pellegrino's short horror film, Nymphal, is streaming for free worldwide on YouTube currently. This surreal and psychological story sees a man and his daughter trapped in their trailer backyard and has been described as 'Lynch meets Lovecraft'.

Finally for today, production began this month on psychological horror anthology; The Hours That Keep Us. Writer/director Tommy Jay Dwyer is to bring together three interconnected stories of love, loss, and obsession. Leading the cast are mixed martial artists Paige VanZant and Mickey Gall, Zack Ward (Freddy vs. Jason), and pro wrestler Vinny Pacifico (Mr. Reset and the Society of Turnbuckle & Bone). Produced by Greatest Gram Productions and HollyWoot Film Group, The Hours That Keep Us will shoot on location in Massachusetts.

Alien Storm (2026) - Sci-fi Horror Film Review

Alien Storm, co-written and directed by Adam Werth (Devil's Knight, Arena Wars) is the latest film from Mahal Empire. Over the years there have been consistently entertaining movies put out by them. The budget may often be low, but these always looked like they were fun to make. With such an ambitious global story here, would that be able to be adequately told in a little over 70 minutes?

A strange unnatural mist has began to appear in key areas all over the globe. Areas afflicted with this mist lose contact to the outside world. This alarming news is something the American President (Kevin Sorbo - Devil's Knight, Without a Body) bizarrely has only just been informed of - informed that key cities around the world have already gone dark, and that many areas in the US are now in the process of being lost!
Frank is the owner of a successful business, and happens to be hosting a large dinner party at his mansion when the mist appears. With reports on the TV stating to stay inside away from the mist, Frank invites his guests to use his newly constructed bunker, to stay there until the all-clear is given from the government. This might be a too little too late step for the guests though, as it becomes clear that as well as the mist, some sort of monster has infiltrated the grounds of Frank's property.

To cover such a global feeling story in such a relatively short run time was quite ambitious and the scope of the story is never that well realised. The prologue and President's briefing scenes attempt to show this, but more successful was the small montage of different news anchors reporting on the unfolding story.
Within the film, there is some discourse about whether the creatures are alien or demonic. This was just one area where it felt like this was trying to be a low budget version of Signs. In this case, the creatures look more like men in monster costumes. What they lack in realism they make up in numbers, a decent amount appear. You may never forget these don't look like actual monsters, but I did think the glowing red eyes they had made for a unique look, especially in the mist.
There are plenty of action scenes and a high body count. Many kills are shown via fast editing of monster attacks, which sold the kills well I felt. Following previous films, this is quantity over quality, with a huge cast of characters, most of which barely get screen time to give themselves personalities, these are mainly here to be cannon-fodder for the aliens. Some of the cast at least are given more to them, to make them less than one dimensional - such as the rivalry between two former sport stars, and Brian, the loveable albeit stupid uncle character.

There were pacing issues here, and some less than great set-design. With the former, there was barely much of a story here at all. Characters go out of their way to get in danger, and the resulting finale felt rushed through. High action and high stakes for sure, but this finale felt uncomfortably constrained in a ten minute burst. It wasn't an abrupt ending, but ended soon enough that a block of text appears on screen to explain what happened afterwards.
The bunker door for the bunker played a key role in the story, yet the door itself looked pretty wobbly, with the two doors that make up it never really coming together and closing properly. Didn't seem very effective for a supposedly tough door. The mist was overused, though only in the sense that every time it appeared it made everything look the same misty white, obscuring the environments and making it hard to make much out. The bunker interior did look fantastic however, a highlight of the locations used in the movie.

Alien Storm may have been a bit overly ambitious, but I enjoyed it. There was a streak of nihilism that made for an interesting feel and vibe. There were bound to be some less than amazing acting in the large cast, but I enjoyed the characters, regardless of how simple they were. There were parts of this that reminded me of the zombie sub-genre of horror, never a bad thing at all to discover. Alien Storm was released on 21st July and is available to rent or buy on Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video.

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Lars Shrike Walks the Night (2024) - Sci-fi Film Review

Sci-fi is often a not too distant cousin to horror, so, the Gary Walkow (The Trouble With Dick) written and directed Lars Shrike Walks the Night seemed on paper like a good fit for this humble blog. I admit, more than anything, I was interested in this due to Kelsey Grammer (Frasier, Cheers) starring. This very low budget, indie arthouse thriller was far more slow paced than I had anticipated, full of philosophical musings rather than moments of action.

Lars (Grammer), suffering amnesia, finds himself wandering a strange desert. All he can remember is his name, and that he had recently escaped from a prison based on an alien prison planet. The man has the clothes on his back, and an A.I controlled rifle, which is rapidly losing power. Lars' journey sees him travel down a narrow ravine, which results in him somehow ending up in modern day California. In a library, Lars discovers that he may actually just be a character from a sci-fi novel, and decides to track down the author of the novel in order to try and discover the truth of who he actually is.

For the first ten to fifteen minutes, this looked like it would just be a very cheaply made sci-fi B-movie. I thought to myself that Grammer must have fallen on hard times to have agreed to star in this. Whether that is the case or not, this turned out to be a more intelligent film than first impressions had suggested. It is relatively early on when Lars finds himself on Earth, but much longer before he realises this fact. It was somewhat amusing looking at Earth technology through an alien lens. Taking the form of such moments as Lars believing homes to be prison cells, and being mystified when he attempts to use a PC.
The sci-fi plot soon transitions into a more arthouse look at what it means to be alive and having freewill. This becomes more a visual essay, and while light on action, there are some interesting ideas to be discovered here, but it is a slow paced film.

The majority of the movie has Lars on his own. There are a handful of side characters, but just the one felt like they were really integral to the story playing out. This isn't something that takes itself super seriously - the talking gun for example is patently ridiculous, while Lars continuing confusion when dealing with modern day Earth is always exaggerated. His wanderings through desert and later California is a lonely and isolating trek, his journey constantly narrated by David Clennon, who starred in the 1987 sci-fi movie tangential prequel; The Trouble With Dick. All the philosophical musings on the nature of man made for an interesting subject, but the story suffered as a result. It increasingly felt more abstract, culminating in an open ended finale, resolving this somewhat, without too much really happening.

Less a film and more a study into the nature of humanity, Lars Shrike Walks the Night soon loses its sci-fi disguise. Grammer was great in his unexpected role, but the slow pace and more artsy feel meant that while the dialogue might have had merit, what actually happens wasn't quite as exciting. Lars Shrike Walks the Night came to VOD on July 24th.

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The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for 21st July 2026

The best laid plans of mice and men, a Saturday mostly wasted, instead of concentrating on this little blog. One film review down, but not the three I intended. Still, tomorrow is another day, hopefully I will get a good working ethic then!
Of course, none of that makes sense now, this was written last week prior to be deciding to be lazy and take a week off blogging. I blame the hot weather! Onwards to the late news.

Coming out on July 28th is Cleopatra Venom's new horror film - The Withering, on Digital video. The film concerns an old woman with terminal cancer. This lady becomes obsessed with a strange amulet she gets a hold of. This device siphons the life force of others in her town, keeping  her fit and healthy. The more she uses this however, the more sick the rest of the town become, as she becomes younger and stronger, the town begins to die, and is up to the woman's sister to come to the town's aid and destroy the device.

The Hoodoos is a supernatural horror comedy that became available to stream from July 1st on Amazon, Google TV and Vudu. Directed by Jonathan Waler and written by Sean-Michael Argo, the film is a combination of voodoo and a heist. The synopsis has a heist crew breaking into an abandoned plantation and stealing Confederate gold coins. With begrudging sorcerer in tow (due to magical wards), the crew head out, unaware that they will each encounter a sentient voodoo doll that is thirsty for mayhem.

Finally for today, news that Bayview Entertainment have acquired indie thriller; Grace of God. This Doomsday cult horror comes to streaming this summer. Written and directed by JT Kris, the film follows a 13 year old girl who becomes indoctrinated into a cult, and upon realising its darkness, seeks a way to escape.

Birdcall (2026) - Short Horror Film Review

Birdcall is a fifteen minute short zombie(ish) film that tries its best to hide its indie budget. Directed by Justin Calandriello, and written by Halle Kott, the individual parts of this all work, but would it flow together in a satisfying manner?

The intro (bizarrely told via a puppet show), introduces us to the world of Birdcall. An avian disease has made the jump to humans, the disease causing victims to first rot, before making them become homicidally violent, and then finally mutating them into a new form. Scientist Jon (Sam Beaton) and his wife, Rosie (Vassiliki Gicopoulos) have travelled to a remote cabin. Rosie believes it is due to her insulting a superior of Jon's back at the facility that they have been sent away from the main facility, but unknown to her, Jon is infected, and has travelled to the cabin in order to test out a cure he has been working on.

There were a mix of styles here that meant at points the short didn't flow too smoothly. I liked the weird intro section, an easy and effective way to bring viewers up to speed on the film world. The whole short takes place inside the cabin location, the unnerving sounds outside indicating they are trapped here. The two characters are the focus of this short, and at times they revert to found footage moments where they leave video diaries. Jon was very arrogant, and him and Rosie's marriage is explored via dialogue indicating she is with him and his people for protection, making her initially quite a submissive character.

The plot goes as expected, some nice make-up to sell Jon's obviously increasingly rotting body. The constant monster calls from outside added atmosphere, though some of the sound effects did sound a little generic. The cabin was a decent location, but the side plots of what Jon and Rosie are doing did feel a little sporadic. 

Birdcall does a lot with a little, much of the horror implied rather than shown. The core-story wasn't something unique, though the set-up made for a little change. This was a good enough entry in this type of single location infection horror. Birdcall has its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival as part of the Official Selection of the Weekend Fantastique du Cinéma Québécois on July 31st.

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The Rotting Zombie's News Round-up for June 2026

It isn't an exaggeration to say I have been taking a casual approach to my blog these past few months. Being back working full time in a day job has led to a struggle at finding a work/blog balance. With my health on the way to being rosy (a persistent back issue has plagued me these past few months) -  onwards to the news once again!

Deadlocked: Dad of the Dead is a horror-comedy from writer/director Casey Jackson, to stream exclusively on Screamify from July 1st. Taking place entirely in a public restroom (bringing to mind Stalled), this 84 minute movie has an accountant and his daughter trapped in the place, alongside a bunch of strangers, after a zombie outbreak occurs.

Alien Storm (not the classic Megadrive/Genesis video game)is debuting on July 21st, coming from Mahal Empire. The film is about a rich businessman who is forced to flee, along with his guests, into his high-tech secret bunker when a strange fog spreads over his estate. They soon find they are not alone, with an alien presence inside the compound. 

Autonomous is a vertically shot horror thriller series that takes place entirely inside a self-driving car. This sixteen episode show was designed specifically to be viewed on mobile. Directed by Kyle Valle and starring Erin Áine and Domenic Jungling, this sees a man trapped inside a self-driving car that refuses to change its route. Autonomous is available to stream now on Screamify.

The Mortuary Assistant is a new demonic possession film that is a Shudder Original. Based on the video game of the same name, this comes to Blu-ray, DVD, and digital on 20th July thanks to Acorn Media International. Directed by Jeremiah Kipp (Slapface), this follows Rebecca (Willa Holland - Arrow), a new mortician working the night shift, who discovers a demonic entity has latched onto her.

Sounding very interesting, I Hate Found Footage is a blend of found footage, horror, comedy, and puppets! It follows two roommates who head into the woods to make their own found footage movie. The horror doesn't come from the puppets (the protagonists are these), but still sounds like something unique. This comes from Michael Rock and will debut globally on July 24th, with FOUND TV+ members getting access one day early.

On 1st July, Slashercise premieres on BloodStream, the film being a homage both to slashers, and to workout videos of the 80s. Written and directed by Ama Lea (Deathcember), this is about a masked killer named Meathead, who targets the fitness clubs of Los Angeles. The ensemble cast includes Vanessa Decker (Terrifier 2), John Bloom (The Hills Have Eyes), Keli Maroney (Night of the Comet), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), and Lisa Wilcox (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master).

Cleopatra Venom have announced the release of Portraits of the Apocalypse, coming to digital and DVD on 14th July. The film takes place in Buenos Aires after a mysterious infection spreads throughout the city, and tells four different stories, from the perspective of a journalist, a soldier, a mother, and a stranger. This award winning film was written and directed by Nicanor Loreti, Fabián Forte, and Luca Castello, and alleges to reimagine '...the zombie outbreak through a distinctly South American lens'.

Luke Sparke; the Australian director of Primitive War, has released a first-look teaser trailer of his next dinosaur film, with a working title of Dinosaurs of the Wild West. A Kickstarter to raise funds for this goes live on 7th July where a full trailer, project title and exclusive rewards will be unveiled.

Finally for this month's news instalment, the first look of slasher film - The Stutterer has been revealed. The press release states 'While structured as horror, the film does not glorify violence. It explores fear, shame, trauma, and the long-term emotional effects of being made to feel "less than." Even the killer's mask functions as a metaphor...' Currently attached to the project are Eric Roberts, Rhonda Shear, Lloyd Kaufman, Mel Heflin, Brinke Stevens, Markin Carvalho, and Kobi Frumer among others.

New Year's Absolution (2024) - Horror Film Review

 

When I began watching the Nick Leisure (Last the Night) directed and Damion Stephens written New Year's Absolution, I assumed it was going to be a slasher. It didn't take too long to realise this falls into the smaller sub-genre of horror, I've clumsily named 'friends do an annual meet-up and end up tearing each other apart over one night of madness'. Indeed a smaller sub-genre, but one I have enjoyed in the past with movies such as The Invitation, and other such ones that annoyingly I cannot recall the names of.

Ever since they were young, a group of friends have been meeting annually to celebrate the new year. Each year, ever since they have known each other, each of the friends have written an anonymous new year's resolution that is then picked at random out of a hat. These resolutions are treated super seriously, with the friends carrying them out even if it's to their own detriment. The meet-up is hosted at neurotic Damon's (Joel Brady - Men in Black 3) new modern house where he lives alongside wife, Claire (Shala White). His guests are surgeon Roy (Michael Copon - Night of the Demons) and his new girlfriend, Kira (Siddalle Diaz), work-out obsessed cop - Jacob (Josh Glimer) and wife Misty (Victorya Brandart - Birdemic 3: Sea Eagle), as well as stylishly gay Stuart (Rafael Siegel - Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles; uncredited) and his boyfriend Travis (Lamondo Hill II).
The evening begins well for the friends, with them all happy to catch-up, but things turn sour when it comes time to pick their resolutions and one of the friends picks a resolution that simply says 'kill someone'. In anger at receiving this twisted resolution, the man storms out, and during an attempt to get him to stay, a gun is accidentally discharged and someone is shot. Rather than alert the authorities, the group decide to deal with this matter themselves, setting off a chain of events that see misery and ruin come to the majority of them, with past tensions combining with current problems to disastrous effect.

It was a good half an hour into this 85 minute film before the thrills and horror set in. I admit I was getting a bit impatient for anything of note to happen, but this first act did do a good job of introducing the cast of characters and their various personalities. I have seen films where it takes much longer before anything happens, so it wasn't the worst opening. With the next two acts being so darn hypnotic, I can stomach the slow start. There is effort made to make the constant escalation seem natural, and for the most part this works. I would say there was at least one incident that seemed out of character, just there to keep the story moving forwards.

I loved the foreshadowing on display here. One of these moments was a bit overplayed with constant references to it, but I did enjoy that each of the friend's resolutions do indeed come to pass, albeit, in the most darkly twisted ways possible. It gave the feeling that each of these resolutions came to be a fortune destined to happen in a monkey's paw type fashion. The interactions between the cast of eight were fluid and fun, giving the feeling of a puzzle slowly being pieced together. There was reliance on not just dialogue, but subtle physical moments to give an idea of the groups loyalties with each other.

With these eight characters, many of them I assumed would not survive the film. This was the case, and it became entertaining to see the various ways they are removed from the story. Each death scene is different, and range from the accidental to purposeful. Blood effects were great, with the blood looking really gloopy. The vibe initially had some dark humour to it, such as Damon being more concerned with blood getting on his new flooring than the fact people have died. As the story progresses, things get darker and more sinister, leading to an interesting conclusion.
This had a good soundtrack as well, including a montage sequence set to the classic New Year's Eve tune that everyone knows.

I like these types of film, and New Year's Absolution was a good example. Some parts became far-fetched, but almost like a Rube Goldberg machine, once the separate parts started to move, it was fascinating to see the plot play out. Scatena & Rosner Films' New Year's Absolution releases on July 14th on VOD and digital, including Amazon Prime Video, Fandango At Home, DISH Network, and DirecTV.

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Amityville: Descendants of Darkness (2026) - Horror Anthology Film Review

After a few weeks of being pretty much off of this blog, I've made an attempt to return, though a lingering trapped nerve in my rotted back has really slowed me down a lot! Master of anthologies; Phil Herman, is back with his 16th anthology; bringing another collection of low budget indie horror tales, this time in the form of Amityville: Descendants of Darkness. Kind of set out like a presentation, this brings together four short films and a wraparound segment that use the mythos of the real life, allegedly haunted Amityville house as their basis.

The wraparound segment is a presentation by Dr. Marsh (Tiffany Sinclair) about the history of the Amityville house, explaining to the viewer that the place was just an entry point for evil, and even with its destruction that evil still lingers. She was an odd character and the actresses delivery of her lines made these in-between moments captivating to watch. There was an intimate feel helped by good set design and some moody lighting. Not much really happened in these parts but they worked well at setting up each of the stories.
'The Shed' (written, directed, edited and produced by Todd Sheets - Final Caller) was the first film, running roughly 20 minutes. Three small-time crooks have travelled to a shed on the edge of the Amityville property due to rumours that money is buried there from a robbery that took place back in the 1970's. The trio; Frank, Danny and Scarlett (Dilynn Fawn Harvey) soon find themselves at the mercy of a demonic cult, who are angry at having their resting place disturbed by the intruders. Meanwhile, Father Anson (Mike Reeb) heads to the shed after a series of arthouse style nightmarish visions. This one was an early highlight, the exaggerated acting and the cartoonish digital effects combining to make this feel like a horror comic brought to life, in the style of Tales from the Crypt. There was an almost Evil Dead Rise level of blood and gore here, extremely bloody and gruesome, but also with a feeling of the tone having its tongue firmly in its cheek. It all culminates with the arrival of the priest, whose unexpected fight scene channelled Peter Jackson's Braindead. A fun start to the anthology, and special mention to the collapsing scarecrow moment; it looked great on camera.

Next up was 'The Possessed Relic' by Marcelo Fabani (I Slay on Christmas segment 'The Best Company'). This brought with it a complete change in vibe, taking place far from Amityville, and the only short not to be in English. The idea for this one was that even objects taken from the infamous house could be cursed. Moody husband, Santiago (Stan Lubo) discovers an old red rocking chair out on the street outside his apartment block, and decides it will be a nice addition to his new cosy corner he is working on in his apartment. The pacing here was a bit odd, it takes place over a series of days, with each day introduced via a title card, and each day including one moment of horror, I'm sad to say this didn't leave much of an impression on me. The core cast (including a dog) were all good, and there were a couple of stand-out moments such as when Santiago discovers what has happened to his missing pet. It kind of abruptly ended before I really knew what was going on.

Halfway through and the third film is 'Blood Moon over Amityville' by Derek Braasch (Phil Herman's Unearthed segment 'Ties That Bind'). Here, a hard boiled detective (Joe Jauch), still living with regret over an unsolved case 5 years previously that resulted in the death of a girl, is guilt tripped into going out for one last look for answers. His search leads him to an abandoned apartment complex where he does find answers of a sort. An early bar scene was a highlight of this one, but this film sped along at such a quick pace that the ending took me completely by surprise. A little underwhelming, but I did enjoy the film noir feel and the detective character.
Finally, we have 'Echoes of the Damned' that was directed by James Panetta (Jacker 3: Road to Hell) and written and produced by Herman. In this one, couple Jack (Herman on fine form) and Megan (Debbie D - Jacker 3: Road to Hell) move into a home that had been built on the former site of the Amityville house. Troubles for the couple begin straight away, with Jack in particular being plagued with hellish visions of the location's dark past. There was a great collection of odd-ball characters here, in particular, very strange next door neighbour Karen (Deanna Marie - Clown Motel 3: Ways to Hell) whose persistent manic grin became almost distractingly weird!

Amityville: Descendants of Darkness had four distinctly different shorts. While I would say only the first and last were the ones I really loved, the other two were still well made and featured some good scenes. From the comic book horror of 'The Shed' to the more traditional horror of 'Echoes of the Damned', this anthology remained interesting throughout. I always have a lot of time for anthologies, and so enjoyed my time with this one.

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The Rotting Zombie's News Round-up for May 2026

I am (temporarily) back in employment, my old job I was made redundant from at the end of last year having hired me back for a few months, until the end of July. Due to that, I have become a bit haphazard with this old blog. My news round-up of the month was delayed, so that appears now. I am also currently waiting delivery of a new charging wire for my Kindle, so can't read any eBooks on my reading pile of shame for the moment. As a final rusty nail in the rotting coffin, I currently have a trapped nerve in my back, the joys of getting old! Onwards to the news...

On 21st April VCI Entertainment released the global Blu-ray debut of double-feature: The Slime People and The Crawling Hand. These are both new 4K scans from the original 35mm negatives. In The Slime People, a wall of fog has covered a city, and spear wielding slime people from beneath the ground have emerged to hunt humans. A few survivors team up to try and find a way to force the creatures back into the earth.
Meanwhile in The Crawling Hand, after a mission to the moon goes wrong, an astronaut wants his shuttle to be destroyed on re-entry to Earth. Scientists realising the man has been possessed by something on the moon, complies with his request, but a single limb survives the explosion and still possessed, it sets out to look for victims. The double feature comes with an assortment of extras including audio commentaries, poster galleries, and a collectible booklet.

BayView Entertainment has announced the worldwide acquisition of suspense thriller Sharp Obsession. Written and directed by Abraham Lopez, this is a feature length version the the award-winning short film, Hidden Lives. The film follows an aspiring singer-songwriter who is offered a place to stay after befriending a kind stranger. However, it doesn't take long for the woman to discover the dark controlling side of her new roommate.  

Also from BayView Entertainment is psychedelic horror, Exophoria, which comes from Kerry McArthur. This takes place in a secluded mountain town where a young doctor encounters two comatose teenagers. She discovers their condition is due to a dangerous and almost forgotten 1970's hallucinogen that allows users to share the same drug-induced nightmares.

Back at the start of April, the first official trailer dropped for Jared Masters latest film; mermaid horror - Tropical Parasite. This follows a treasure hunter who gets caught in a love spell by a water nymph, and cursed by a sea gypsy which sees the anti-hero infected by a rapidly spreading parasite. With Masters iconic grindhouse-style sleaze, the press release states this film is '...a wild unapologetic ride filled with blood, gold, and mutated horrors that will leave you gasping for air and begging for more'.

The final post for this truncated news round-up is news of Blood Witch, which got a late April VOD release. Coming from Black Coppice Films, this new horror comes from Chris Shane Sanders (writer/director/producer). Centuries after being executed for witchcraft, a mother and daughter are resurrected in modern day, they set out on a hunt for the descendants of those responsible for their deaths. 

Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma (2025) - Comedy Horror Film Review

I've had the screener for the Shane Brady (ApocaFISH) written and directed comedy horror film, Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma for a while now, and I almost didn't watch it this week due to nearly taking a complete week off of working on my blog. I might not have loved it, but I'm glad I did decide to check this out. The film looked like it was a lot of fun to make, even if some of the comedy on show here came across as a little mean spirited.

Partly based on real events that Brady went through in his personal life, Mark (Brady) and his wife, Amy (Augie Duke - Sincerely Saul, Exit 0) lose their $20,000 down payment on a new house in an online phishing scam. Unable to recover the money due to the unhelpful actions of their bank and the property company, the couple, along with their two children; Ralph (Owen Atlas - Little Evil) and Freddy (Collin Thompson - ApocaFISH), are forced to move to a motel in a rough neighbourhood. By good fortune, they end up discovering the home address of the hacker; a notorious criminal known by the moniker 'The Chameleon' (Chandler Riggs - The Walking Dead). With assistance from a very unexpected source, they manage to kidnap the hacker with the intention to torture him until he gives up his bank details so that they can retrieve their hard earned money.

The story of having the down payment for his new home stolen from him actually happened to Brady, and you get the feeling that this was a cathartic film to make for him. In reality, his hacker was never found, but here, he gets to portray his revenge fantasy in a light hearted, albeit occasionally quite dark horror where justice is served. Riggs' Carl Poppa in The Walking Dead was one of my favourite characters, so to see him here in a much more silly role was a lot of fun to see. Plenty is done to show him as a cartoonishly evil character - stealing from charities and vulnerable people, and such an unpleasant and self-centred person that he is shown at one point literally liking the smell of his own farts. That leads into some of the humour for me not really resonating, it was usually a bit juvenile for my old tastes. All the characters were over the top, it felt like the actors enjoyed making the film with their over the top and goofy portrayals. No one acts sensibly here, and that leads to entertaining parts such as a child actor playing a 40 something year old F.B.I agent, and the police's ridiculously protracted automated message (the comedic highlight of the film). There were lots of jokes about bodily functions, never something that appeals to me, so expect plenty of scenes based on vomit and defecation humour, most of which left me feeling a bit cold.

The whole movie had a light-hearted laid back vibe to it, where everything that happens is layered with a ridiculous outlandish feel. This was reflected in the editing style that included large colourful text appearing on screen, fourth wall breaking moments, and plenty of montages and films with the film being shown. There was even a song and dance number at one point!. With the film having such a colourful feel to it, there was a surprising amount of violence, especially during the protracted and lengthy torture scene that made up most of the middle of the film. Obviously done in a revenge fantasy type of way, it led to some scenes that seemed very cruel. Special effects were never over the top gory, but there was still a decent amount of blood, and also had the affect of making the protagonists seem a bit psychotic with how conscience free these normal people turn to extreme violence. No slight on the actors, I liked the teenage boys, and a lot of the side cast were decent, and of course Riggs shined throughout, having a much larger role than I initially expected him to have.

I thought Hacked was enjoyable enough. Riggs was fantastic, and the story was often fun to watch. Humour can be subjective though, and a lot of the jokes here didn't really resonate with me, nor did I find the protagonists that nice a bunch to follow. That this was partly based on real events was a neat part of the movie, I enjoyed the text that would occasionally pop up to explain what parts actually happened, and the epilogue sequence was interesting; finding out what happened in reality. The film was effective at lampooning not only the hacker, but also other people who in reality were perceived as villainous, and despite some darkness to the comedy here in the middle part, it was a well put together movie that did get a lot of things right. Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma arrives on DVD and VOD on June 2nd in North America from S&R Films.

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The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 21st May 2026

In my personal life I'm back working in the lab I was exiled from these past four months. It may only be temporary for a little while, but I never realised how much I missed working; it satisfies the soul. Due to working full time again, I've had to re-jig my blog output. Gone are the days of watching one film each night, instead, I'm back to my traditional blog days, albeit, drafts on the Saturday (as my ink-stained hand attests to - by the way, first notepad of drafts filled!), and Sunday will see me write up the reviews. Onwards to the news...

Freestyle Digital Media have acquired the VOD distribution rights to the Abel Danan directed Moroccan based (at least partly) The Curse. This tells the story of a young Moroccan girl who moves to Paris to study. There she lives in solitude in her apartment, agoraphobia preventing her from leaving. It is while there that memories of the past and monstrous visions merge to bring her to the edge of sanity.

Cursed camera horror; Say Cheese, is now available on TubiTV and Fawesome TV. The film is about a strange camera that has the ability to capture the final moments before death, sounding very similar in style to the Final Destination series; no bad thing. Starring Frank Palangi, Cat Alesio, Erica James, Jodie Wells and Jake Navatka, CineDump said of this 'Stylish, eerie, and quietly mean, Say Cheese turns something comforting into something fatal...leaving viewers with the unsettling feeling that some memories are better left undeveloped'.

Finally for today, The Horror Collective/BloodStream have acquired worldwide rights to Last Chance Motel - a desert based horror co-written and co-directed by Danielle Harris and Scout Taylor-Compton, who also star. The film follows a newlywed couple whose choice of dream venue for their wedding turns into a nightmare. I guess it serves them right for choosing a desolate motel deep in the desert run by a 'bloodthirsty family with dark secrets'! Also in the star-studded horror cast are Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Monica Keena (Freddy vs. Jason), Robert Allen Mukes (House of 1000 Corpses) and Shane West (Salem). With Halloween being my favourite horror series, I have a lot of time for anything that Harris and Taylor-Compton are involved in.

Strawstalker (2026) - Horror Film Review

Strawstalker is a found footage horror, written and directed by George Henry Horton (Dark Obsession), who also co-stars. This takes a look at the falsities of influencer culture, a premise that never became too interesting, despite the horror beginning relatively early on.

The film has a wraparound segment to explain where the found footage that makes up the main story came from. Basically, small-time L.A based social media influencer Sandy (Vincent Ranola - Halloween Immortal) has been inadvertently shown up by two up and coming influencer superstars; Henry (Horton) and his girlfriend Haley (Branika Scott), when his day job as an Uber driver got exposed. As some type of revenge, he then broke into the property they were renting and stole a whole bunch of video recordings he found there. Sandy then edited all the footage he found into a cohesive and chronological 'movie', and so on his next live stream, he announces he is going to play the combined footage for his viewers, and also for himself, as he claims to have been 'black out drunk' when editing the recordings together and so can't recall a single detail that was on them.
The footage story itself charts Henry and Haley's new arrival to L.A, where they hope to cement their reputation and make it into the influencer big-leagues. As their base, they have rented a property in a secluded and private suburb. While there, they discover a creepy scarecrow hidden in the back garden, and this innocuous object begins to unsettle them, with it appearing to have been moved to a slightly different position each time they subsequently spot it.

Strawstalker had a few things going for it. As insufferable as Sandy was, he slightly grew on me. He became almost a proxy for the viewer, with the film occasionally cutting away to him where he gives his reaction to whatever has been going on in the main story. He is also the in-film reason for why the footage being shown has had sound effects and a suitably horror-like film score added to it.
The protagonists proper were even more insufferable, all of this extremely purposeful, as influencers here are never shown in a good light. The couple are constantly filming everything they do, with Henry in particular being very tiresome, constantly acting-up for the camera and goofing around in a clownish way. His catchphrase of "L.A baby!" with his British accent, was so bad, that purely by repetition I came to find it vaguely amusing. Outside of actual cameras being used for the footage, there are additional moments that comes from the couples phones, bodycam footage, and most interestingly, footage that was taken by the antagonist, where they are seen spying on the two. This all flows cohesively, but I found the strange montage that shows all the highlights of the film edited together into a 20 second clump at movie's start an odd choice, as it did kind of ruin some of the more action packed moments.

The horror may start at around fifteen minutes into this 82 minute movie, but it never really progresses to anything that interesting. Sometimes the horror is so well hidden in the background of scenes that I didn't even spot it, when I did spot it, it was always tame. The scarecrow moving around on its own while out of shot was hardly the epitome of terror, I never really understood why the couple found it all so scary. Until the third somewhat wild act, not much of note really happens. There is a slight body count, though being a found footage, I expected it was likely the protagonists wouldn't survive the events. The deaths never looked anything special on screen, and the suggested supernatural element to this was only shown poorly, given a bit of an amateurish feel; set pieces hard to excite. There are no scary moments to be found here, perhaps the point, as the director has stated the film was designed to be campy, and that events while played straight, were not really meant to be taken too seriously.

Strawstalker wasn't all bad. The live-stream segments were done just as well as in other films that use a similar concept, and the wraparound segment at least added something slightly fresh. Overall, there wasn't much entertainment to be found, with it often bordering more on the realm of boredom. Strawstalker can now be rented or brought on Digital HD services in North America, including Amazon Prime.

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

You know you've been spending too much time on your own when you have to double check to make sure what year it currently is! The monthly news round-up for April is a week late, mainly due to feeling a bit fed up last week and not in the mood to blog; something I can do if my schedule isn't too stuffed. My bloody news sack on the other hand is indeed too stuffed; over 200 emails about potential news bursting to get out. I will siphon some of that here. Onwards to the news.

Take From Me comes from first-time filmmaker, West Eldredge. It looks at themes of longing and addiction using vampiric motifs, I imagine in a similar way that cult horror The Addiction did back in the nineties. This horror has been picked up by BayView Entertainment, and has won awards on the festival circuit, including 'Best Feature Film' at the Red Rose Film Festival, 'Best Actor' at the Romford Horror Festival, and the 'Audience Award' at the Alexandria Film Festival. Take From Me is available to rent or buy on streaming services worldwide, and also out on region-free Blu-ray.

Also from Bayview Entertainment is Jason Pitts' The Forest Through The Trees. This cult-based indie horror has a trio out in woodland searching for a missing woman, who then stumble across a demon worshipping cult. This too is out now on streaming platforms worldwide.

Shane Aquino's horror - Blackout has been acquired by Uncork'd Entertainment, with the film having its digital and streaming premiere on May 5th. The film takes place in a world where the sun has inexplicably vanished, along with a global power outage. In this dark new world, the survivors are hunted by 'The Ushers' - entities who haunt the living. This does sound interesting to my rotted ears.

Sasquatch Within is a psychological horror film coming from Gregory Hatanaka (Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance). From the title alone, this sounded like a werewolf film but with a bigfoot instead. A slightly deeper look suggests it might be a film about a secret villain locked in a room with innocents. If that sounds like something you would want to watch, then you're in luck. The full film is currently streaming for free on Cinema Epoch's YouTube channel, with additional releases planned for Tubi and Fawesome.

Staying on the bigfoot theme, Freestyle Digital Media have acquired Squatch, an adventure horror that comes to VOD platforms on March 10th in North America. After a man inherits his father's estate that includes a remote woodland cabin, he travels there to spend the weekend with a potential love interest. Instead they come face-to-face with the titular creature, and so begins a desperate fight for survival. This is directed by Tom Chaney, and written by him and Bill Conger.

The official trailer for found-footage feature length horror, Last Look has been released. The film's intriguing premise has a high-profile social media influencer who discovers a unique deck of battle-style collectible cards. When he begins the game, he realises too late that each card summons a new monster into reality, and that, while streaming the whole thing, he must win the game to end the nightmare. Likened to a horror based Jumanji, this was directed by A.J Bennett.

The Plague was released on streaming platforms, including Amazon, Apple TV, Sky Store, YouTube Movies, EE TV and Rakuten from April 20th. Written and directed by Charlie Polinger in his feature length debut, and starring Joel Edgerton (The Gift), this had its debut at the Cannes Film Festival where it received an apparent 11 minute standing ovation and won 'Best Sound Creation Award'. This has been described as 'a tense, darkly humourous coming-of-age story about masculinity, peer pressure, and the horrors that fester when cruelty masquerades as a game'.

Finally for today, crowd-funded indie horror adventure Echoes of Dread arrives on Blu-ray and DVD this month thanks to Eagle Films, with a streaming release later this summer. This comes from filmmaker Philip Cook, described as a '...contemporary supernatural thriller rooted in digital-age terror'. The story follows a digital creator who discovers a cursed film that had been hidden for over a century. Sharing it online, she unknowingly spreads the curse to all who watch the film.