Vindicated (2011) by Scott Harper - Horror Novel Review

Having read author Scott Harper's Shadow Castes: Book 1 - Aspects book earlier this year, I noticed that I also had a copy of the third book in his Wendy Markland trilogy. It all started with 2008's     Predators or Prey?; a vampire story that I was initially luke-warm on. Last year, I realised there was a sequel - the excellent Necromancer, which had zombies as the main enemy. Capping off the trilogy is Vindicated, returning to vampires, and a perfect finish to the trilogy.

I think this takes place roughly six months after the events of Necromancer. Monster hunter, Wendy Markland has headed to Florida, though has noticed a car has been following her the entire way. Confronting the driver at a gas station, he introduces himself as Colm Pryce - a fellow monster hunter who brings with him terrible news. He tells Wendy that she is being hunted by a very powerful group of vampires who call themselves 'The Kindred of Malignity'. Their leader is Adolph Larson; a vampire so strong that he has powers rarely seen (such as being able to be outside during the daytime). Colm also tells Wendy that what makes this group more dangerous is that each time a member is slain, the remaining members inherit that dead vampires strength.

Vindicated was a great end to the trilogy. Where Necromancer was an almost stand-alone story, this one has ties back to both novels. Never the most capable or enthusiastic of monster hunters, Wendy is really shown to be on the back-foot here. There never seemed a single point in the novel where she is doing anything but reacting to the actions of her attackers. As antagonists go, The Kindred of Malignity were pretty cool. I loved that each member was given at least a little bit of backstory to their characters. This gave an almost Kill Bill feel of the unique gang members all out to get Wendy. While in peril and out of her depth, she is helped by the group never seeming to ever take her seriously as a threat. The vampires are either really inept, or the apparently super vampires are not that much more dangerous than the normal type, with them spending the entire book constantly underestimating Wendy.

The horror comes in three key ignition points throughout the story. Each time the group get in a battle with Wendy and Colm you could be sure of a thrilling read. Lots of gory decapitations of victims, and lots of extreme violence given to the paper tiger vampires. I zoomed through the 281 page novel, barely able to put it down. By this point in the series I was really hooked, liking protagonist Wendy despite her continuing off-putting narcissistic qualities of constantly admiring her own body. Being a Harper book, of course this heroine is a flawless beauty, something she is well aware of. There is some growth to be found in her character, with her leaving the book a very different person at book's end than she was at the start. This was a transition I hadn't expected.

Vindicated was a great finish to the story of Wendy Markland. I really liked how flawed and ultimately human she was. She gets emotional, she makes terrible mistakes both in her actions and her priorities, but she really grew as a character over the course of her three books.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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.

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Bleeding (2024) - Horror Film Review

Bleeding is a vampire film that does things a little differently, not so different that I couldn't find a film to compare it to. The tale of blood addiction of course reminded me of classic cult film The Addiction, though here the story is even more grounded, taking the action and drama to a backwater American town. Written and directed by Andrew Bell (Let Me Play) in his feature length directorial debut, this serious drama provided a stark portrayal of misery, addiction, and loss.

This takes place in a world where a highly addictive and dangerous drug known as 'blood' is doing the rounds. The drug is harvested from the blood of people infected with a disease that causes them an unnatural thirst for non-infected blood. The danger being, taking too much can pass on the infection, and with death being the only solution the authorities have came up to prevent the out of control infected from quenching their thirst for blood, this isn't a great thing. A year previously, teen Eric's (John R. Howley) older brother caught the infection and had to be put down. This caused his mother to fall into an intense depression, with Eric himself turning to drugs to deal with the pain of the loss. When Eric discovers his cousin and best friend; Sean (Jasper Jones) had his hands on some blood, with the intention to sell it, Eric is shocked. After the drug is destroyed by Sean's cop father upon discovering it, Sean reveals that this is a terrible thing, as now he owes small town psychotic drug dealer - Dustin (Bell) a lot of money, having been given the drug to sell off of him. Breaking into a rich person's summer home in order to find stuff to sell to help pay off the debt, the pair instead encounter missing girl Sara (Tori Wong), who herself has become infected by the blood disease, and who is seeking a way to escape the country and make it to Canada where it is hoped a cure can be discovered.

Vampires, this film deals with those blood sucking creatures of the night, but in a grounded way. The vampires here are those addicted to blood. Rather than grow fangs and seduce people, these blood junkies turn animalistic and out of control when needing to feed, as well as having a strong aversion to daylight, whose affect causes them to violently spasm. With a title screen of text explaining about the film's world, this begins its sombre and serious story. Much of the film centres on Eric and Sean, neither whom make for that likeable a pair. Both are swiftly shown to be addicts, though both are also given a somewhat sympathetic reason for why they are like they are. For Eric, it is the death of his brother and his broken mother. For Sean, it is his alcoholic father, with it implied the man may have turned to drink as a way to cope with having to murder the infected. The two protagonists had a good rapport with each other, though they spend much of the hundred and seven minute runtime bickering and pushing each other. Underneath all that, you can tell the bond they have. The film was light on characters, the remote woodland based town explains this, and with the story so focussed on characterisation rather than grand sweeping events, this worked out well. I really liked Dunn's Hank, the quiet way he spoke made me strangely like this antagonist. I also felt that Wong was great in her small role, especially the facial expressions she pulls when she is needing her fix of human blood.

Much of the film is dark and dingy, the characters morose and serious. Drug addiction is never presented as something 'cool', with characters under the influence near useless and odd behaving. There isn't much need for special effects, but these look decent on screen, lots of blood being spilt. Vampires here aren't really the focus, it is more centred on a world struggling under the community wide effects of substance abuse. Human antagonist dealers like Dustin are the real monsters here, seeing infected just as commodities to harvest from. There are scenes of action and gore, one early highlight being a found footage style scene of Sean's father's bodycam footage of dealing with an infected, shown from a first person perspective. The soundtrack was stripped down and often morose, the one inclusion of a heavy rock track worked in context of the scene where it was introduced, but was an off putting contrast to the depressive and bleak outlook of the movie when it began playing again over the subdued end credits.

There is nothing feel good to be found in Bleeding. It also wasn't a film that I was at any point bored with. This is one of those types of movies that fall into the peaceful types. Character are often quiet and talking with each other, meaning for someone like me who had taken a powerful sleeping pill the night before (for insomnia), and was still suffering the effects, I often struggled not to fall asleep, though this wasn't due to boredom on my part! The idea here has been done before, but the misery of the film world kept me glued, fully expecting a bleak outcome for all the unhappy characters involved. Bleeding came to SCREAMBOX exclusively on June 10th.

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

I've had a blissful and very lazy week off of work this previous week, and that is reflected in my blog output that features zero film reviews. Those will be returning next week in full force I am sure. Onwards to another selection of stories plucked out of my bloody mail sack.

Emmett Loverdale's Without A Name is now available on Amazon Prime. This horror, which stars Jeff Wittekiend, Desi Cruz Brooks, and Deborah Kay Johnson, is about a teenager who gets caught up in a youth worshipping cult that hates adults.

On June 1st, found footage streaming platform FOUND TV is launching an Indiegogo page for one of its first ever FOUND originals: A Possession in Lincoln County. This is currently in development by 105ive Films and FOUND TV. While the film will be coming to the streaming service, the only place to get the director's cut (with extra scenes and an alternate ending) will be from the Indiegogo page, with copies limited to just 500 on DVD/Blu-ray. Pre-orders for this director's cut of A Possession in Lincoln County can be found on the Indiegogo page here.

Gothic industrial metal band, Our Frankenstein have announced the release of new full-length album, Magnum Spire Hotel, which is out now via Reclamation Records. This has a concept theme of a haunted hotel with the press release stating 'Each floor takes listeners deeper into levels of psychological depravity, all building towards a grand ball at the top-where YOU are the guest of honor'.

Bitter Souls came to Amazon on May 15th after a limited theatrical run. The film tells the story of a murdered teenage girl whose boyfriend becomes determined to find her killers. To help him, he gets the help of Father O'Reilly (Karl Barbee) and voodoo priestess Mahlet (Destiny Brown) in order to defeat the evil houngan Immanuel.

Premiering on SCREAMBOX on June 10th (and additional VOD platforms) comes Bleeding, which was written, directed, and produced by Andrew Bell. The film takes place in a world where vampire blood is harvested as a drug. The story follows teenager Eric, who is determined to prevent his cousin Sean from getting into this shady world.

Finally for today, Shiver is a Christmas themed slasher film that is currently in pre-production, and is coming from writer/director Robert Resto. Principal photography is due to begin in January 2026. Based at a snowy ski resort, this follows a group of friends away on a Christmas getaway who of course find themselves being stalked by an unknown killer.

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

It is another month as I am often fond of saying. My personal life has somewhat calmed down a bit, with me not having to travel to Oxfordshire every weekend. I have managed to really mess up my back however, I put it down to getting old, but has been over a week now and it is still torture, fun times! Onto the news.

Room Six is an upcoming feature film that is set for a Digital Debut release on North America VOD platforms and DVD on May 2nd 2025. This horror thriller is about a college student named Maxx who is working the night shift at a remote rural motel during summer. After the arrival of two strange brothers coinciding with some suspicious incidents, Maxx decides to check out the brothers' room, and is horrified by what she discovers. Co-written and co-directed by Hobart Miller and Michael Panico, the cast includes Sophia Echendu as Maxx, and Mickey O'Sullivan and Jack Ball as the two brothers.

Coming from writer/director Joe Leone, and starring Remiara Eve, Adrienne Laurén and Robert J. Morgalo, is the very indie looking Greet Your Demons. This award winning movie (Best International Feature at Thilsri International Film Festival and the Athvikaruni International Film Festival) is about a comatose girl who has to mentally and literally battle her personal demons in order to be able to wake up. Greet Your Demons is out on Digital Platforms, including to rent/buy on Amazon Prime Video.

Dystopian action film Special Needs Revolt! is out now on Amazon. Directed by Adrian Esposito, this is about a man with Down syndrome (Nolan Tierce - Clowns in the Woods) who wakes up from a two year coma only to discover the US has been turned into a brutal dictatorship thanks to President Trump...checks notes...thanks to President Kruger (Bill Weedon). He leads a group of social outcasts to try and overthrow the dictator. The cast include many actors with disabilities.

Classic silent horror film Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde was been released by BayView Entertainment LLC with a brand new score by Michael Richard Plowman, it is out on Digital Platforms worldwide. The classic directed by John S. Robertson also has a restored picture.

Dracula Eternal is an upcoming vampire film that features Mike Ferguson (Beyond the Flood), Cody Renee Cameron (The Mayans), LeeAnne Bauer (When It Rains in LA) and Denise Milfort (Dead on Arrival). After a woman's best friend falls ill and her fiancé vanishes, she gets caught up in a battle against ancient evil.

The Transparent Woman is a horror film that comes from BayView Entertainment LLC. It is available to rent/buy on Amazon Prime Video in the USA and Canada. Directed by Domiziano Cristopharo, this tells the story of blind woman, Anna, who moves with her husband to his rural childhood home. While alone during the day, Anna begins to suspect someone or something is in the house with her.

Feral Female is a horror comedy that is written, directed and starring Jared Masters (Slink). In LA's Griffith Park lurks a deranged killer; Ebba (Kate Ly Johnston), a woman raised by wolves. A big game hunter (Masters) is called in to deal with the menace. The film comes out later this year.

Finally for this month's round-up is Italian horror Scarrafone, which is out to rent/buy now on Amazon Prime Video in the UK, USA, Canada, and Mexico. Starring award winning actor Sebastiano Pigazzi (And Just Like That...), this is about a woman named Agnese who lives an isolated life in the middle of nowhere, and who happens to have a strange guest locked up in her house.

The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 10th April 2025

This year has been a transition from my more sedentary existence of last year. Not all good, but I am certainly learning lots of interesting things. With that out the way, onwards to a trilogy of horror news, starting with music.

US Dungeons & Dragons inspired power metal group Behölder have released a lyric video for their track 'Eyes of the Deep', which is the second single from the group's upcoming second single from the upcoming debut album; In The Temple of the Tyrant, which is due to release on April 25th via Black Lion Records. The new single is billed as a '...Lovecraftian-style mystery/horror' and sees a man infiltrating an ancient temple in a bloody search for his missing son.

A new trailer has been released for R rated comedy horror Sanguine Teeth On a Driftless Road. Written and directed by Austin Galante, this follows four black vampires who have gone on a road trip to a cabin in the woods. The film stars Jason Horton, Matthew Kenner, Jason Rouse, Galante, Charlie Mac, Douglas Montoya, Tony Lee Gratz, Duane Daniels, Michael Oilar, Kristin McCabe and Tiffiny Saggio, while the soundtrack features music with Snoop Dogg, KRS-ONE, Galante, and Jeff Ryon.

Finally for today, First State of Fear is an upcoming anthology horror film that sets out to explore Delaware's scariest legends. The set up has a group of paranormal investigators sharing three scary stories during a Halloween ghost hunt, but is there any truth to the stories being told? Featuring Michael St. Michaels (The Greasy Strangler), Mark Haynes (Stream), Amber Brook (The Amityville Barbi) and Illsun 4K (Pretty Face), this comes from the makers of Slaughter Beach, with Clockout Films having launched a Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that with its modest goal looks set to be achieved. For more details, head to the Indiegogo page here.

Renfield (2023) - Comedy Horror Film Review

It is one of those rare moments on my site where I am almost up to date with movie reviews. I was originally going to watch a different film today, but decided to instead invoke the 'own choice' clause. The film I decided to watch was Renfield, something I had wanted to see for a while, mainly due to it starring iconic actor Nicholas Cage (Willy's Wonderland, Mandy).

Narrated by Renfield (Nicholas Hoult - Mad Max: Fury Road, Warm Bodies), this tells the story about how Count Dracula's (Cage) familiar Renfield was able to escape his masters control and reclaim his life. Set in modern day in a crime filled city, Renfield, both with the help of a toxic dependency self help group and by witnessing the courage of police officer Rebecca (Awkwafina - Raya and the Last Dragon voicework, Jumanji: The Next Level), decides to stop working for the powerful vampire, and to try and live a normal life. Upon learning of this however, the count decides to team up with a violent crime family led by Bellafrancesca Lobo (Shoreh Aghdashloo - Ghostbusters: Afterlife) in order to punish humanity for Renfield's betrayal.

The style of the film reminded me a lot of Zombieland, both featuring a protagonist who narrates the film, while using select flashbacks that include the use of freezeframe. The comedy here is also ultraviolent, with torrents of blood being spilt during the handful of some very over the top action sequences. These sequences were loads of fun, featuring assailants being decapitated, and limbs ripped off in amusing ways. All these scenes are made possible due to the power that Renfield has, by eating bugs he is able to briefly assume some of the power that Dracula has, given him super strength and speed. For me, these moments were nearly the highlight of the whole movie. Dracula looked great on screen, using some lovely looking special effects of him turning into bats or mist, and the make-up effects used for him were always really good looking. Despite being a bit of an idiot he is shown as all powerful. The use of flashback sequences to show his past battles with vampire hunters was neat. I loved that the flashback to when Renfield and Dracula first met was done in a black and white style, and as if old movie footage was being used (turns out it actually was old footage, with Hoult and Cage digitally added to the scenes!).

The plot is relatively straight forward, but it told its story in an entertaining way while introducing a bunch of fun characters. I expected Cage would steal the film due to his weird acting style and I have to say he doesn't disappoint, his wild expressions and the perfect delivery of his lines draw attention to him constantly, I loved how much he seemed to relish being the Prince of Darkness, albeit, one who may be all powerful, but is also shown to be a bit of a petty bully to Renfield. Hoult was good in his role also, I assumed he would be as I don't recall a film of his where he hasn't shined. I was also pleased to see Ben Schwartz (Sonic the Hedgehog voicework, Parks and Recreation TV show) playing a large part as the son of the crime boss, bringing lots of silly manic energy and over confidence to the role. Awkwafina did a solid job as the co-protagonist, and had some funny lines, though she was overshadowed by the other stronger lead actors.

I expected to like Renfield, vampires may not be my favourite movie monster, but I do like them, especially Dracula himself (outside of his portrayal in that terrible Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode). With oddball Cage playing the role, there was no way he would disappoint. Outside of the casting choices and special effects there might not be too much here to bring you back for a return trip, but I did have a blast watching this. Renfield is currently streaming on Netflix.

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Necromancer (2009) by Scott Harper

The shame, the absolute shame. Back in the beginning years of my blog I was all too eager to accept book after book for review despite having a terrible track record for the length of time it takes me to read such things. Back in 2012, author Scott Harper sent me some of his novels for review. It took me until 2019 to read Predators or Prey? Now, some six years later I have gotten around to reading the sequel to that book; Necromancer. 

Two years ago, former con-artist Wendy Markland discovered to her horror that vampires were actually real. That knowledge dramatically changed her, and now she scours the web looking for similar reports, having decided to dedicate her life to hunting the undead. Having recently found strange reports of the dead coming back to life in the small remote town of Pinewick, New Jersey, Wendy heads there, expecting to possibly once again encounter vampires. She is shocked to discover that this time around it is zombies causing chaos, another mythical monster she had not believed to be real. Despite not being what she expected, she is determined to find the source of the outbreak and stop it, but that source turns out to be something even more horrific than the walking dead.

I gave Predators or Prey? a respectable seven rotted zombie heads out of ten back when I reviewed it. This was despite my misgivings with aspects of the story. I had no idea that Necromancer would instead deal with zombies rather than vampires, I think if I had realised that I may have gotten to this one sooner. I disliked the protagonists of that prior book, but it was at least good to see Wendy wasn't quite so insufferable this time around, and I also appreciated that her former partner and love interest Jacob was out the picture. The book did a good job of bringing readers up to speed on what had previously happened, while it would be useful to have read that first novel, I don't think it is essential reading. Her determination and desire that no one else should suffer like she did made her more likeable and less selfish feeling, though she wasn't without her issues. I don't know if she is intended to be a narcissist, or if it is the author's desire to make her seem like the most beautiful woman who ever lived, but she is back once again shamelessly admiring her naked body in mirrors whenever she gets a chance, an off putting aspect of her character. This comes to a head with a few awkward sex scenes that went into a little too much detail for my liking, I even skimmed past the second one as it was not what I wanted from a horror novel.

Thankfully, the horror part of the book was solid. Having expected a book about vampires, I unintentionally ended up reading two books at the same time that were about the walking dead, but they were so different in tone that this didn't cause me any confusion. The undead were wonderfully described here, and the zombie virus even spread to animals, giving some exciting moments. My very favourite part of the novel had Wendy and a few others battling a zombie bear out in the pouring rain. Was such a thrilling chapter! There is a definite antagonist creature for this novel, and he was written to appear fearful. My two complaints with him were firstly that he was supposed to have a mystery helper, but this characters identity was never really made much of a secret, meaning their eventual reveal wasn't shocking or that interesting. Secondly, with the book fast approaching the end and the story unresolved I thought maybe things would end on a cliff-hanger. Instead, the story is neatly tied up, but in a way that felt a little bit rushed with the climatic battle occurring within a brief chapter.

I don't particularly have fond memories of the first novel, so this knocked my socks off a bit with how enjoyable I found Necromancer. Sure, I could do without the sex scenes and Wendy's bizarre obsession with her perfect body, but the horror here was cool, the small town characters that Wendy befriends enjoyable, and the writing did a fantastic job of making the events come to life in my minds eye.

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Let the Right One In (2008) - Horror Film Review

I saw Swedish vampire film Let the Right One In a long time ago originally, likely very soon after it came out. It has been over a decade at least, so with the film coming to digital platforms in the UK and Ireland, I felt it was time to revisit the cult classic. Directed by Tomas Alfredson (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and written by John Ajvide Lindqvist, this slow burn coming of age vampire movie was nominated for a BAFTA, and had seventy six wins and fifty eight nominations in total worldwide.

It takes place entirely in a small Swedish town in winter, most of the scenes taking place at night or in the evening. Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) is a twelve year old loner whose only attention at school is from the local bullies. One evening he meets a strange twelve year old girl named Eli (Lina Leandersson) who tells him that she recently moved into the next door apartment from his. With the hopes of finally having a friend, Oskar begins to spend more time with the girl despite her not really giving much information about who she is. Elsewhere, there is a series of murders in the small town, that unknown to Oskar is related to Eli. She is actually a vampire, with her ward getting too elderly to supply her with her regular blood supply (he being the one doing the killing), she has turned to Oskar, seeing something common with him due to both their social isolation, but not wanting him to share the same life long fate as her ward had.

This is nearly two hours in length but the time just flew by, despite me already remembering many of the story beats. I guess that shows how much the film had stuck in my mind, as I remembered key scenes from this, and even recalled how it ended, something I can't say I can do for many films. This is yet another example of a slow burn horror done right, and if you are after a peaceful film then this is a great example. There are screams every now and again, but for the most part this is a film that paces itself well, lots of scenes of not much noise, characters quietly speaking amongst themselves. The setting is perfect for the story being told, the snowy landscape adds a lot of atmosphere, and of course, red blood on white snow never fails to look good. Oskar was interesting as the bullied protagonist, having to put on the pretence of being happy while at home with his mother, keeping his unhappy existence a secret. Eli was also a great character, she doesn't talk much, but the increasing closeness between the two young teenagers felt natural, and I liked how there could be seen an ulterior motive for why Eli is getting close to the boy, something that is never implicitly brought up.

Being a vampire, Eli is shown able to climb sheer walls, have super strength, and an aversion to sunlight. There are plenty of scenes where she is attacking people, but this is always done in an understated way, or with the dramatic finale, mainly takes place away from the lingering shot from under a swimming pool. The violence never felt gratuitous, and was carefully considered, being used as and when the story required it. Blood effects look great here, the blood being the right colour and consistency to shine on camera. Special effects were also impressive, there was great make-up effects to show a character who had badly mutilated their face, a scene where a character bursts into flame, and an almost amusing scene when a character is attacked by multiple cats!

Rather than take the route of high action and high horror, this instead looks at the subject of a vampire from a more cursed perspective, with Eli doing what she needs to survive but not enjoying what she has to do, and Oskar finding an unlikely soulmate due to both being outcasts of a type. The story isn't deep, but it is effective, focussing more on the relationship between the two lead characters rather than a more extravagant story. I don't mind vampire films, and watching Let the Right One In, I was reminded of how good and different this particular one felt. Vertigo Releasing brought Let the Right One In to UK and Irish audiences across digital platforms on 20th January.

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The Ghost That Wouldn't Die (2024) - Short Horror Film Review

I watch many films for review on this site, and many of those swiftly fade from memory. Morbid Colors was an alternative take on the traditional vampire story, blending punk ethics and a road-trip story. It was one of the rare films that did stick around in my mind. I was surprised when in 2023 a sequel emerged in the form of short horror Real Cool Time, which took the story in an interesting direction. That mini-sequel blew me away, and so hearing there was a new third film in the series, the twenty four minute long The Ghost That Wouldn't Die, I was expecting great things.

This third film again features Devin Crane (Lanae Hyneman) in a leading role. The woman, afflicted with an insatiable thirst for blood is on tour with her band to promote their new album. Devin has discovered recently that the aids she has put in place to control her violent urges are no longer working as they once did, and struggles to maintain a sense of normality as her life begins to fall apart as a result.

I didn't think this was quite as good as Real Cool Time, but this was still a darn good short that was a welcome return to the hellish existence of Devin Crane. I thought it was a neat idea to have much of the film shown in black and white, and her being on tour surrounded by people was a large change from the isolated setting of the first short. Like The Addiction, there is a good contrast drawn between the need for blood and...well, addiction. Devin at her worst, with anti-social behaviour and going through the motions, was able to blend in with her appearing to be a stereotypical rockstar, rather than someone struggling to keep things together for more supernatural reasons. There are some good scenes featuring tour manager Leigh (Kevin Roach - Compression), and I also enjoyed the facial expressions of her band and support band, with much of this presented on screen dialogue free, aside from the morose narration of Devin, and a discordant atmospheric soundtrack.

Once again written and directed by Matthew Packman, with Jakob Bilinski (director of Compression) as director of photography/colourist, this was an effective and moody short that translated the struggles of Devin well onto the screen. I like that the lack of audio from the scenes playing give Devin a disjointed and far away feel. That even in a room packed with adoring fans she is separated living in her own head. It was wonderful to see Kara Gray once again reprising her role as Devin's sister Myca, with this very creepy looking figure seeming to be the personification of Devin's addiction. From start to finish the editing and style of shots here combined to make something that felt just that little bit special.

Having enjoyed Real Cool Time, I expected I would also like The Ghost That Wouldn't Die, and thankfully this was another great entry. As much as I liked Morbid Colors, it wasn't perfect, but it has been a nice surprise to see how much better these shorter sequels have been, with the quality of the filmmaking seemingly ever increasing.

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The Yorkie Werewolf (2024) - Comedy Horror Film Review

I've said it before and I will say it again; werewolves are just about my least favourite type of movie monster. Thankfully, the Michael DiBiasio-Ornelas written and directed comedy horror The Yorkie Werewolf does things a little differently, with a unique take on the traditional werewolf. With an amusing first email speaking about the movie, I had hopes the humour within the film would appeal, as humour can be so hard to get right. On the whole it succeeds, though does have its less good moments.

Jenny (Isabella Jaimie) is a witch living in a small American town. In the past there had been a localised war between the creatures of the night and the mafia based in the town, but a peace of a kind had been secured. This all changes when Jenny's coven are attacked by the mafia, with her mother ending up dead. In the process, Jenny inadvertently gets cursed to be a werewolf, though rather than a ravenous wolf, she instead turns into a pint-sized were-Yorkshire terrier (played by Risa Mei - Unicorn Overlord voice work). Teaming up with a timid vampire named Chris (Jacob Rainer), they set out to get revenge against the mafia boss - Big Nick (Juan Salvati), someone who turns out to not only be Jenny's father, but who is also a powerful warlock.

Comedy horror films can be a bit hit and miss, and there are some types of humour that just do not appeal to me, and which do rear their head in this movie. Still, I loved the in medias res prologue that had a chaotic scene out in snowy woodland, with various terrified mobsters being attacked. It displayed some of the simple, yet genuinely amusing dialogue that can be found throughout The Yorkie Werewolf. My hopes appeared to be dashed in the very next scene however when recurring jokes about bodily functions started up, something I never find funny. Thankfully, while there is a bit of a recurring joke around wind to be found throughout the story, those type of jokes were kept to a minimum and so I was able to look past them. The jokes here were never stomach achingly funny, but they did make me smile on occasion, again, especially with the silly dialogue that I loved. Maybe my favourite line in the movie was when someone was dying and they exclaim "Agh no! I had big dreams!"
Jenny made for a bit of an anti-hero, someone who is feisty and whose temper can sometimes get the better of her, but was likeable enough. Chris was similarly not that bad a character, a few fun jokes around his blood intake, and I liked how weedy he was, despite being a vampire. Salvati gave a spirited performance as the antagonist here, reminding me more than anything of a less scary version of Pop from English sitcom The League of Gentlemen. He made for a fun villain and he fitted the comedic tone of the film world well.

There was a good mix of action and more low-key scenes here, and as I said in my intro, this take on a werewolf was something memorable. Jenny changes into a tiny were-terrier who manages to look super cute, but is also shown to be very deadly. The costume design didn't look that realistic, but it really suited the vibe, gave a slight Ewok type look. There is a body count here, with a lot of blood shown on occasion, which was nice. The story was straight forward enough, it includes some drawn out scenes that didn't add much, but which were funny. I especially liked one long scene where Jenny and Chris visit gun shop owner Cliff (Roy Ward) and quiz him on the type of things he sells.

If the whole film had been bodily function jokes then I would not have enjoyed it as much as I did. Thankfully, most the humour comes from other sources, and while not laugh out loud did their job. I loved the werewolf design, and while some scenes seemed a little clunky with the pacing, overall, I had a good time with this. The Yorkie Werewolf was released on January 7th from Deskpop Entertainment.

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The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 26th December 2024

I hope all are having a great Christmas at the moment. For me, it is a chance to spend a few days with my close family, even if it has obviously lost the magic that was associated with it as a child. Horror never rests though, so here on this Boxing Day are three news stories of madness.

Jake C. Young's Daylight to Dark is coming to streaming platforms in 2025. Said to have a Tarantino feel about it, this comedy horror finds a brother and sister trapped in an isolated town that is swarming with vampires, with them eventually meeting up with a cowboy vampire hunter. This is a strange 'metaverse' spin-off of the 1997 cult classic film American Vampire, taking place in the same film universe as that one. This film is written by American Vampire's original screenwriter Rollin Jewett, and Danny Hitt reprises his role as the character 'Boogie'.

Jesus Cop is the new horror action film from writer/director Rob Gabriele. The film, which follows an immortal man as he hunts down a pair of hitmen turned serial killers, stars some notable names, including award winning actress August Kyss (Murdercise), Alex Petrovich (Switched at Death), Bam Margera (Jackass TV show), Lynn Lowry (The Crazies), and Kansas Bowling (Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood). Jesus Cop is currently in production in Ontario, Canada.

Finally for today, the January line-up for the ARROW streaming subscription service has been revealed. Notable releases in this action heavy month include Terror by Night that is a murder mystery/jewel heist movie featuring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes. Also coming is Dude Bro Party Massacre III, which sees a loner who infiltrates a popular fraternity after the death of his twin brother by a serial killer known as Motherface. Arriving January 13th is Incubus, that sees a man battling evil on a strange island full of demons and spirits.

Insane Like Me? (2024) - Horror Film Review

Insane Like Me? is a vampire film that was directed and co-written (alongside main actor Britt Bankhead) by Chip Joslin in his directorial debut. The story is ambitious and there seemed an impressive amount of characters in this indie film. There are moments of greatness to be found, but you have to dig deep for these scenes due to some bizarre choices made along the way.

Jake Morgan (Bankhead) is a combat veteran who has recently returned from a tour of duty overseas. He heads to an old abandoned hotel one dark night with his girlfriend Samantha (Grace Patterson - Reflect), her brother Will (Paul Kolker), and Will's girlfriend Josie (Meg Hobgood) on the pretext of investigating its shady past, but instead discovers a surprise party is actually being held there. The real surprise comes when it is discovered that many of the party guests are actually vampires, with Jake having to fight for his life to escape. Sadly, along the way, Samantha is captured by the monsters, and even worse, Jake is arrested by the local Sheriff (Eric Roberts - Arena Wars, The Expendables), who happens to be Sam's father and blames the man for her disappearance. With no one believing Jake's story about vampires, he is committed to an asylum for the criminally insane where he remains locked up for the next nine years. Eventually being released, Jake returns to the town, intent on finding out what happened to his beloved Sam, and determined to kill those responsible.

There are parts of this movie that were really quite bad, there are also some good moments, but these are slight in comparison. I thought the prologue set during the surprise party wasn't terrible, even if the very sudden reveal of vampires came across as a bit comedic. The way Jake with no prior knowledge of the creatures being real and is then suddenly able to start effectively fighting them was amusing, but it was a chaotic and fun scene. The first biggest problem for me was the time skip to nine years later. This seemed such a weird choice as despite Jake being in a sadistically run asylum for nearly a decade he is in fighting fit state both physically and mentally when he leaves, acting like only a few days have passed. I couldn't see any reason why it needed to be such a long jump in time other than Sam's sister Crystal (Samantha Reddy) having grown from a child to a young adult in that time frame, and so having more compassion for an obviously still grieving Jake. The script is frequently terrible, over explaining the most common concepts, while the acting is very patchy. Some characters like Jake and Crystal are decent enough characters (Jake reminding me of Jack Reacher a little bit), but there are a large chunk of the supporting cast who display some poor acting skills, or at the very least appear like they are saying their lines for the very first time.

The story and pacing is all over the place, with the core story never being explained very well and full of plot holes. Later revelations have you questioning the motivations and decisions of certain characters, while parts such as Will and Josie somehow attributing the prologue vampire attack to them being drunk and seeing things was ridiculous. Characters vanish off screen presumed dead only to appear live and well later on, while other characters leave scenes and are then later revealed to have been killed without it shown on camera. The motivations for the antagonist are very unclear, and while it was fun to see the very prolific Roberts in a role more than a guest appearance for a change, his character wasn't the most well developed.

After the entertaining prologue it is about thirty five minutes until the horror begins again. This downtime almost felt like a different film, mainly following Crystal and her insufferable friends, and showing Jake's apparent recent return to town. It does pick up for the final act, and the action scenes were never dull. Special effects are nearly non existent, with vampires dragging their victims to the ground while CGI looking blood spurts out. The blood effects on characters does look great however, so it wasn't all bad. It culminates in a confused return to the prologue hotel where characters make all sorts of bizarre choices. There are some good moments, the cars used are great looking, I loved the bit where Jake pins a vampire to a tree with the car he is driving. In general the action scenes are solid with plenty going on, and there were some kill scenes that I would expect to usually be shown off camera actually shown, so that was cool.

Insane Like Me? wasn't a good film, with the main issue being the story and the way it was presented. When it comes to action there are some good moments here, but with such a wonky script and some half hearted performances this didn't stand out as one of the better ones in the genre. Insane Like Me? releases June 4th on Cable and Digital VOD across the US and Canada from DeskPop Entertainment.

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Feeding on the Living (2022) - Short Horror Film Review

I first heard of Nicholas M. Garofolo back in 2019 when I reviewed the short horror film Deranged Foxhole. Since then I have seen several short films that he has been in, with one of his recurring roles being Dave Slade. Feeding on the Living is the third Dave Slade film, having not seen all the previous ones it did mean I was a bit confused where things stood on the timeline.

This synopsis is the film as I saw it, so I might be incorrect on some elements. Coney Island based Dave Slade (Garofolo) has given up his time-travelling ways and decided to try and live a normal life. He is contacted by his former handler (Dave Sweeny who also directed and co-wrote this alongside Garofolo) and warned to stay away from a certain woman. Ignoring these words, Slade decides to approach a mysterious woman he spots, Alvara (Arina Ozerova) and talking with her he realises she is a vampire, though she teleports away before he is able to attack her. It turns out her psychotic boyfriend Silas (Warren Chao) is also a vampire, and that he has a particular bone to pick with Slade as he has the knowledge that in 2030 Slade will kill him.

Feeding on the Living is just over twenty six minutes long and uses that time frame in a compact fashion. I have to admit that my memories of previous short films Garofolo has starred in had me remembering them as being very low budget and a bit rough looking. I was surprised then at just how good this short looks. Constraints are used to add mood and vibe, rather than something that held the filmmakers back. A key example is that the majority of this short is set at night, yet the scenes were obviously filmed in daylight with a blue filter used. You can see the sun shining off the sea, people walking along holding shopping bags, and an artificial filter put over the night sky to show stars. This all added a surreal feel that perfectly complimented the off-kilter story. Special effects were another idea that were used to great...well, effect. I particularly liked the look of a vampire who had holy water thrown in their face, the steam on screen obviously wasn't real, but something about it just worked.

The story could occasionally be hard to follow, but this third film in the series doesn't do too much to try and fill viewers in, I did appreciate the couple of flashback sequences to events in previous entries. Slade is a character who never appears completely serious, he is treated as a threat at times, yet whenever he speaks he has lines that can always be taken as comedic. I thought Chao was great as a bad guy, loving the way he said his lines. I also thought the fight montage between him and Slade later on was pretty amusing.
Maybe the highlight of the whole film was the wonderful soundtrack, there are a variety of songs and instrumental tunes played and all fitted perfectly into this, even led me to watching the entire end credits due to liking the music playing. As always, this is filmed at Coney Island, and gives a really unique look, I do like that so many short films Garafolo stars in are set in this iconic location.

My expectations were low for this, but I had a blast watching this. Occasionally scenes of dialogue between characters felt a little long winded and unnatural sounding, but outside of this, I loved the surreal feel to the film and enjoyed this far more than I expected. Feeding on the Living can currently be viewed on YouTube and has been picked up by Fawesome TV & OTT Studio.

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