Friday, 14 February 2025

The Gift (2000) - Horror Film Review


I requested a screener of the 2000 supernatural horror film The Gift but later discovered I already owned it on VHS. This wasn't a good sign for this Sam Raimi (Drag Me to Hell, The Evil Dead) directed movie as usually if I can't remember something it means it left little impression. I found the film to be a bit of a slow burn, but maybe due to being more mature, I found myself really enjoying this story, and it was a delight spotting a whole bunch of famous actors throughout this.

Cate Blanchett (Thor: Ragnarok, The Lord of the Rings trilogy) stars as Annie Wilson, a small town psychic who performs readings for the local townsfolk. After socialite Jessica King (Katie Holmes - Brahms: The Boy II, Miss Meadows) goes missing, her worried father convinces the local Sheriff (J.K Simmons - Spider-Man) to enlist Annie's help, and soon using her powers she is able to locate the body of the woman hidden in a pond of the property of local redneck Donnie Barksdale (Keanu Reeves - John Wick). After a trial however, Annie discovers her visions about the murder have not stopped, and that the wrong person might have been convicted of the crime.

The Gift is played super seriously and super straight, with the paranormal elements only popping up every now and again. At its heart this is a small town drama, made up of a variety of important characters who add texture to the film world. You have Donnie's abused wife, Valerie (Hilary Swank - P.S. I Love You), mentally ill mechanic Buddy (Giovanni Ribisi - Ted) and Annie's husband to be (Greg Kinnear - Mystery Men) all fleshing out Annie's character, with Valerie she is trying to do the right thing by her, with Buddy she is trying to be a friend to him, while with Annie's husband she is forced to confront her own past with relation to the husband of her three children who died a year or so previously. The three children also play a part, but felt much less developed and there just as a prop rather than feeling like living breathing characters. As the movie's most vocal antagonist, Reeves was on fun form, even if he seemed far too good looking and well presented to be playing a backwater redneck.

The story plays out like a murder mystery, including police procedure scenes, and a relatively lengthy court case sequence that makes up a lot of the second act. I found this all interesting in my more mature guise, but I will admit, I have a giant soft spot for films from the early 2000s, I have such a huge feel of bittersweet nostalgia for that time in my life. It was a delight spotting so many famous faces, with most the actors here doing great jobs. The horror is very slight, mainly taking the form of a couple of nightmare/vision sequences that Annie has, there are more elements of a thriller here, including a satisfying finale that works despite using old horror film tropes (the final encounter taking place at night during a thunder storm). Special effects were minimal, but the blood shown on screen was fine enough, and the make-up effects on the corpse looked effective.

The Gift is light on horror and high on drama, it can easily be seen as a slow burn. For me, I was there for the acting, and the tightly woven story that while predictable for the most part, I still enjoyed seeing play out to its thrilling conclusion. The Gift is currently streaming exclusively on ARROW in the UK.

SCORE:



Thursday, 13 February 2025

The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 13th February - Birthday Edition

Despite being a rotted corpse, this rotting zombie is one year older somehow today, having arrived at my forty third birthday. To celebrate I've not only taken a week off of my day job, but also crafted a trio of news stories to make you scream...possibly.

A crowdfunding campaign has been released for new Bigfoot movie, Fear The Fouke Monster. Inspired by the real life legend of a hairy swamp monster living near the small American town of Fouke, this follows in the footsteps of 1972 cult classic The Legend of Boggy Creek, which also was based on the same legend. Half of the movie has currently been shot and pre-editing has begun. Filmmaker Mark Francis says about his film "We kill women, children and pets in this film. This ain't no 'gentle giant of the forest!" An Indiegogo campaign is currently running, for more details, travel the link to find out more.

David Lynch inspired horror film Texas Nightmare has had an official trailer released. This comes from director Michael Merino and stars Sadie Katz (Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), James Pratt (The 3 Killer Pigs), Lew Temple (The Devil's Rejects), and Eva Hamilton (The Black Mass). The film sees a writer heading to an isolated home in rural Texas to work on a new book. They find themselves caught up in a battle against a local cult instead.


Finally for this Birthday Day, Gator Creek is coming to digital platforms in the UK and Ireland on March 24th from Vertigo. This survival film was directed by Taneli Mustonen and Brad Watson and features an ensemble of young stars. The story has a plane crashing in the remote Louisiana bayou, with the survivors discovering they are being hunted by giant alligators mutated by chemical waste dumped in the area.




Do You See Me? (2017) - Horror Film Review


Do You See Me?
I had assumed would be a slasher film, it shares similarities with that genre, particularly with Halloween. This follows the old adage of less is more, with the creepy clown stalking the protagonist rarely shown, but unfortunately is shown so very little that this Corbin Timbrook (The Belly of the Beast, Blood Ranch) directed and co-written indie horror felt like it wasted whatever potential it had.

Emily (Rya Meyers) is an ordinary woman who one day begins to receive disturbing messages from an unknown number that read 'Do You See Me' which is then typically followed up by the woman then spotting a creepy clown (Robert Ambrose) somewhere in the distance watching her. She contacts the police, but due to only herself ever seeing the clown, and her not keeping hold of any of the 'gifts' it leaves her, no one is really sure what to believe. As the days draw closer and closer to Halloween, the stalking increases, with Emily starting to fear for her life.


I get keeping the antagonist at arms length and rarely sighted as a way to build up tension, but this goes far too far with this concept. In total, in over eighty two minutes, the clown appears on screen for a literal total of about two minutes, and that includes the prologue where the clown kills his one and only on-screen victim. Many of the sightings appear in nightmare sequences the main character has. I figure that prologue was a compromise to actually make it seem like there was a genuine threat going on, but due to the rest of the movie this part felt almost unrelated. It also gets in the way of the mid-point notion that it is possible the creepy clown is all in her head. That might have been an interesting idea but the viewer knows that isn't the case.
It is hard to talk too much about the clown as it is on screen for so little time. When it isn't texting Emily (as an aside, she has the most sinister text message noise possible, I figured the clown had somehow made her phone make that noise, but no, it appears that is her own choice!), it stands around staring for seconds at a time. The Halloween comparisons are made here, with quite a few first person perspective shots of the clown watching Emily while hidden. I had expected this would lead up to a terrifying conclusion, but when the horror finally gets closer to home for the protagonist, I noticed that there was just four minutes of run time left before the end credits appeared, and what is shown in that time also included an epilogue scene!

I spent far too much of the movie expecting something more clever from this than it actually was. There are plenty of suspects as to who the clown could be, from Emily's jerk ex-husband Randy (Phillip Boyd), to oddball gym member Taylor (Taylor Piedmonte) and some weird neighbours. I even began to suspect it could be her ex-detective father's former partner, as the detective investigating the case mentions he used to work with her father, but this is never verified as that character is never shown on screen despite being around. Too much time is spent establishing that the protagonist is being stalked, but the threat not ramping up until far too late. I would have had the clown make an appearance properly much sooner into the movie than here, where his eventual inclusion almost felt like an afterthought.

Do You See Me? is good at ramping up the tension, but it squanders the potential and feels like it ran out of time to give a satisfying conclusion. There is far too much treading water, with the escalation coming far too late. For what you see of him, the clown had a suitably disturbing look to it, but did feel wasted, leading to a feeling of frustration that the story never really got going properly before it ended.

SCORE:

Tuesday, 11 February 2025

Radio Sessions (2025) - by Eamon The Destroyer - Music EP Review


Having previously reviewed Eamon The Destroyer's second album We'll Be Piranhas and EP Alternate Piranhas, I knew what to expect from latest EP titled Radio Sessions. This Edinburgh based musician creates mellow music with a rustic sound, something that could be hard to picture in a horror setting. I am forever trying to improve my music review game though, and so here is my latest attempt.

This EP brings together six acoustic versions of his songs, rocking in at around twenty six minutes in length. It begins with 'Nothing Like Anything' which at nearly five minutes is a chilled and rustic sounding intro. Trying to link it to horror, I could picture the lovely rural folks in Deliverance banjoing along to this.
Next comes 'Underscoring the Blues' which at just over two minutes is the shortest track on Radio Sessions. I really liked this one, had the feel of a sea shanty to it, short and bittersweet.
Middle of the EP starts with the classic 'We'll Be Piranhas', something I am familiar with, actually recognising this when it started. A sailor song, at four and a half minutes this made for a pleasant and mellow time.

The second half of the EP begins with 'Silver Shadow', a sad song referencing tepee tents, probably my second favourite track to be found here. 
Penultimate track is 'Avalanche', this to me sounded like a bit of a lost track from Blur's Thirteen album, not a bad comparison as Blur are on of my favourite bands.
Finally comes 'The Choirmaster', a peaceful end to a mellow EP. Sure, trying to link it to anything horror related is a fool's errand, but I thought Radio Sessions was a good listen, I really liked the stripped back feel. Radio Sessions was released on January 31st, Eamon The Destroyer will be releasing his third album later this year, provisionally entitled Full Picture Revealed.

SCORE:

Monday, 10 February 2025

Round the Decay (2025) - Horror Film Review


Round the Decay
is the latest indie film from writer and director Adam Newman (Everwinter Night) and takes the form of a creature feature with a large ensemble cast. With my screener of this film, I also received a note saying that the version I watched for review wasn't the complete version, with VFX being worked on, the sound mix not in its final form, and the monsters voice not finalised. As a result, I won't let those elements effect my thoughts in this review.

After a short prologue in which early American settlers reveal they have summoned a monster as revenge against the ingenious population, the story moves to present day. The remote town of Newport has fallen on hard times, with tourism down, something that Bart (Cary Hite), the new owner of the local hotel hopes to remedy. Also in the area are a group of young adults, who have came to climb the nearby hillside. Unfortunately for them, they stumble across an abandoned mine which happens to be the home of a monstrous creature called the Wrexsoul (Rachel Pizzolato), the same creature that had been summoned in the prologue. Added to the mix are a group of redneck hunters who seem intent on capturing the young friends, and the shady townsfolk who seem to know more about what is going on than they initially let on.


There were a large cast of characters here that on the one hand meant lots could be happening concurrently, but also had the downside of making it hard to remember who was who. Key characters for me where Munroe (Damian Maffei - The Strangers: Prey at Night), a monster hunter from out of town who serves as a device for the viewer to have the backstory of the creature explained in a somewhat natural feeling way. Other highlights were Gregory Newport (Jamie Dufault) as a descendent of one of the founding fathers of the town, and the frat boy styled slightly loveable idiot James 'Muffin' Ford (Jay Voishnis - Everwinter Night). With so many characters to be found in the film, it did take a while to get going properly. The first forty five minutes were more mysterious, with the various groups discovering strange things on their own. The monster itself didn't appear until the forty five minute mark, but with an hour left to go still, it meant that plenty of this creature was shown.

The Wrexsoul did look like someone wearing a monster costume, but I thought it had a cool design to the mask part of the suit. I also thought it was really cool that the monster was able to speak, but only by mimicking the words of people it had encountered. Despite this limitation, it uses this ability to have some basic communication with the protagonists at times. There were plenty of death scenes, and featured a pleasing amount of blood and gore squirting out everywhere. One later scene featured a whole cast of characters being attacked, it did make for a thrilling sequence, but the vibe was ruined slightly by it being obvious actors were just running backwards and forwards in front of the camera, rather than feeling like the characters were trying to flee the location they were in! The special effects were one of the highlights of Round the Decay, despite the not so stellar monster costume, the action scenes were exciting and well choreographed with pleasing effects used.


I couldn't help but feel that nearly the first half of this horror felt a bit longer than it needed to be. The film rapidly improved once the horror finally properly started, making me wish more of the movie had been as interesting. I felt that there were maybe too many characters hanging around to try and find a time to explain their particular backstory to the viewers, though the large cast also led to a large body count. Round the Decay came to theatres on January 31st from Dreamscape Productions.

SCORE:

Thursday, 6 February 2025

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - The Tomb - Impressions of the new Zombies map


I mentioned Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's 'Zombies' mode briefly last month, but this was a swift overlook of the mode as a whole, covering the first three maps. It has been a while since I spoke about a map in isolation, but now, with the release of fourth map 'The Tomb' it felt like it was the time. 'The Tomb' is the first map released for the new game that felt like it had some personality to it, something that couldn't but help remind me of the more classic Zombies maps of old.

The story is as convoluted as ever, especially as I have yet to finish the story quests on the prior three maps. Following on from whatever events occurred during third map 'Citadelle des Morts', the four heroes - Weaver, Maya, Carver, and Grey arrive at an ancient holy burial site said to be the resting place of the Sentinel Artifact, something that is said to be able to bring the dead back to life. They find unlikely help in the form of Archibald; an English explorer from an earlier time who is somehow able to guide the team. Of course, being a Zombies map, they also discover plenty of the walking dead.

The map might not go back to as claustrophobic as the ones of old, but it is closer than the other maps have been this game. The location has a logical circular design to it, while 'Revelations' style gateways allow you to teleport to the four key locations. Starting off outside in a dig site, the rest of the map takes place within the tomb, dark and dank locations where it can be difficult to see the enemies. A central hub area takes place in a mystical zone that looks like a location ripped out of The Elder Scrolls Online, vast giant mushrooms and the backdrop of a starry sky. I liked the location due to how different it felt compared to the more realistic and slightly dull previous maps. I got echoes of 'The Frozen Dawn', as well as the Ancient Greece themed map whose name and game eludes me.
The default enemies here are zombies as expected, these ones had an older look to them, coming across as more ancient and dusty, like the creatures for the classic Blind Dead series of Italian zombie films. The special round again brings the spider monsters and flying insect creatures, while bigger boss creatures I've encountered so far include a giant beast covered in electricity, and mimics; large monsters who are initially disguised as helpful items.

I have only dipped my rotted toes into this new map, but it is the first one this game that had me actually excited to go back to and play some more. The more fantastical design set it apart from the less atmospheric ones received so far, and as a whole it looks fantastic, a neat design, and plenty of places to go. With 'The Tomb', you finally have a round-based Zombies map that feels it can compare even slightly to the classics of old.

Wednesday, 5 February 2025

Vampire Clay (2017) - Horror Film Review


Directed and written by Soichi Umezawa, Vampire Clay is the second blood sucking body horror watched for review this week, continuing a trend of unplanned for themed movies. This surreal horror had some great special effects, but sometimes felt like the budget couldn't adequately display the story it wanted to tell.

While doing some gardening, a small earthquake reveals a sealed bag of clay buried in the clay. Miss Aina (who had been doing the gardening) decides to take the bag and put it in her small rural art school. One of the students then ends up using the clay from within the bag, unaware that this clay is a living creature that feeds on blood and other bodily fluids in order to sustain itself. Soon, the school finds itself under attack from a clay based creature that is able to transform its victims into clay, and absorb them entirely into itself.


The stop motion effects used throughout Vampire Clay were impressive, as were the special effects used to show the carnage it was able to bring about. From moving small phallic looking objects, to a clay mouse, and clay tentacles, this bizarre antagonist had a feel and look of The Thing to it. One of its abilities is to create a clay replica of its victim that can then be used to trick others into becoming new victims. Being made of a soft clay means it is easily damaged, and is able to use this to its own advantage, such as using items embedded in its soft flesh as weapons. The make-up effects looked fantastic, giving characters 'infected', a look of being part clay and part human. Later on there is a short fully stop-motion sequence that looked more effective due to the stop-motion being jerky and unnatural looking. It also had a fun ability to transform body parts it is able to touch into clay itself, an early highlight being a girl who smashes her now clay arms against a table top, resulting in her arms being ripped off!

The story was simple but barrelled along at a fast pace, and never really lets up once it gets going fully. There was a fun way at the forty five minute mark to have a relatively lengthy five minute or so origin story for the clay monster, narrated by a key character. The small cast of characters didn't have too much to flesh them out, other than Aina, whose backstory of trying to make it big in Tokyo is represented by some scenes that play out dialogue free. Up until the last ten minutes I thought this wasn't doing much wrong. I found the ending both stretched out, and a bit confusing. I think I got what the film was going for, but it wasn't really shown on screen in the most cohesive way.
A lot of the soundtrack felt more jolly than the events being shown, giving a nice juxtaposition between the onscreen horror and the music alongside it.


Vampire Clay was an entertaining, often darkly comedic horror that delighted due to the special effects, in particular the clay effects, both stop motion and make-up wise. The story was simple, making for the feel of a body horror that had a unique vibe to it, and some very messed up moments that I was totally on board for. Vampire Clay is streaming exclusively on ARROW.

SCORE:


 

Tuesday, 4 February 2025

The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Tuesday 4th February 2025


Another small news trio of horror stories to curdle your blood...possibly. In real life everything is going tickity-boo, life has a way of being unexpected at the exact time you need it. Onwards to the news.

February 25th sees the release of dark comedy Daddy on Blu-ray and DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment. It takes place in an alternate future universe where the government must grant permission for men to become fathers. Four such men are invited to a remote workshop to see if they are eligible, finding the place deserted, the four decide to do their best to prove their worthiness, unsure if the situation they find themselves in is all part of a test. Special features include a commentary from the directors/stars Jono Sherman and Neal Kelley, plus a bonus web series, an extended scene, and an improvisation reel.


Also releasing on February 25th is Dinner With Leatherface, a documentary that explores the life of actor Gunnar Hansen. The doc includes actors from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre describing their experiences making the iconic movie, as well as a variety of actors from other films he featured in. Extras include a commentary with writer/director Michael Kallio and editor Josh Wagner among other items.


Finally for today, Metamorph has released a new single and video for 'Hiss Kiss'. The press release states this is a '...celebration of the snake's magic and the promise of rebirth', and that the track is a 'gothic dance floor anthem'. This is taken from album Mabon, which is due for release on 22nd September.

Monday, 3 February 2025

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.

SCORE:

Friday, 31 January 2025

M3GAN (2022) - Horror Film Review


If the screener link received for a review doesn't work, then as a rule of thumb I will instead watch a film of my own choosing. Such was the case last Sunday, so I picked out M3GAN, a film I had been interested in seeing and which had recently been added to Netflix. The Child's Play series is a classic, killer dolls really can be creepy, that was the reason I found the Annabelle series of killer dolls so disappointing due to the possessed doll causing evil to occur around it, rather than it physically moving around and causing mischief. With this Gerard Johnstone (Housebound) directed and James Wan co-written horror, I had heard it wasn't as bad a film as had been expected.

When she is involved in a tragic traffic accident that results in the death of her parents, young Cady (Violet McGraw - Doctor Sleep, The Haunting of Hill House TV series) goes to live with her aunt Gemma (Allison Williams - Get Out). Gemma is a workaholic who is obsessed with her job at a toy company, and sees having to look after her niece as a burden she didn't want. Her interactions with the girl end up inspiring her to go ahead with her pet project - to make a life-like robotic childlike doll that is able to bond with its owner and use A.I learning to grow. Naming it M3GAN (played by Amie Donald, voiced by Jenna Davis), she gifts it to Cady and is impressed with how the girl takes to it. Unfortunately for all involved, she didn't programme in all the necessary protocols, and soon M3GAN starts to resort to extreme violence, to punish anyone who causes Cady to be upset.

I enjoyed this horror and thought the doll design was very creepy. It helps that I have a very mild fear of puppets anyway. The design purposely heads out into uncanny valley territory, leading to lots of fun moments where people initially mistake the doll for a real child. As much as I did love the design, the story did noticeably play it safe, going through the motions of escalation that were predictable to chart. Starting off with the neighbour's aggressive dog, M3GAN's path of mayhem ramps up on a traditional route, earlier victims being people who in a horror film sense could be seen to deserve the punishment they are given, before later victims are punished excessively. There were no real surprises to be found, from the expected ending shot allowing the possibility of a sequel, to information presented to the viewer early on, and that just so happens to be integral to stopping the killer doll in the climax.
The scenes with the doll being evil were fun to watch, but it was a shame that a lot of the kills were either toned down in violence or cut out completely to allow M3GAN to have a lower age rating. I thought it's ability to mimic voices was a decent idea however, it was effectively used as it set itself apart and made for some scenes that didn't feel as familiar as the general movement path of the story.

The film carries with it a bit of a quasi-dystopian vibe, especially with the toy companies ridiculous adverts. There is more than the feel of a Black Mirror episode with this one, but this does set itself apart from the original Child's Play movies, as technology is the root evil here. Gemma is a flawed protagonist, and could easily be seen as the inadvertent antagonist of the movie also, not only creating the doll and not programming it properly, but also relieved that it is acting as a surrogate mother to Cady, allowing her to pretty much ignore the child and allow it to be shaped by the doll. The message is about how the increasing reliance on technology might not be such a good thing for humans, especially in a world where a killer doll with access to all the information of the internet is able to have free reign. Special effects were great, especially with that doll, I liked the design, and its later 'battle damaged' look also appealed, even if it didn't go as far down that path as I had hoped. Characters were mostly fine, no one really stood out to me, I thought Ronny Chieng (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) was probably the highlight, bringing comedy to his role as the toy company boss.

I did like M3GAN, I thought it was effective as a new movie monster, and it had some nice ideas. The story in general did play out a little too safely, an obvious ramping up of threat, and an unsurprising ending occasionally caused me to realise that as much as I enjoyed this, it wasn't entirely something I hadn't seen before. M3GAN is currently streaming on Netflix.

SCORE:

Thursday, 30 January 2025

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


It is a new year and full of possibilities, a time to get out of the groove and expand your comfort zone. At least it is for a die-hard introvert like me. I usually fail to get my blog finished within two days, meaning I tend to work most the weekend on it. This is my last post of the weekend, and am hoping that this month my news round-up returns to a more full look.

Fright Teck Pictures have released a special anniversary edition version of Hellweek on Amazon. The film is about a group of mask wearing psychos who decide to target a group of college kids who enter the warehouse where the crazies live, as part of a hazing ritual. Directed by Eddie Lengyel, this stars Robyn Griggs, Brenna Lee Roth, Karen Fox, Rob Jaeger and Michael Reddy.


Areas of High Strangeness: Pennsylvania is out now on digital platforms from BayView Entertainment. This documentary sees members of the Demon Hunter Society heading out to Pennsylvania to investigate reports of Big Foot, Dog Man, and other cryptids thought to either be long extinct or not real.


Streaming service NYX UK has announced that they will be having a 'zombie week' on their service that is due to run from February 3rd to February 9th. It begins on the 3rd with Lucio Fulci's classic 1979 horror Zombie. Subsequent days see The Crazies, Night of the Living Dead, Tombs of the Blind Dead, Return of the Evil Dead, Night of the Seagulls, Nightmare City, and The House by the Cemetary being added to the service. A lot of classics to be found there.

The Stone: No Soul Unturned is out now on digital platforms including on Xumo Play, via VIPCO & BayView Entertainment. This horror was the winner Best Foreign Film at the Mammoth Lakes Film Festival. The film's story concerns a team of soul searchers who unleash psychological and supernatural terror after discovering an ancient stone. Written and directed by Philip Gardiner, this stars Andrew Gough, Sarah Dunn and Layla Randle-Conde.


The official trailer and poster for Heart Eyes is available now. Coming to cinemas on February 14th, this is about a killer named the 'Heart Eyes Killer' who operates on Valentine's Day by going after romantic couples.


Finally for today, with my inbox once again empty, a teaser trailer has been released for Linnea Quigley's Trash's Revenge, part of the Return of the Living Dead universe. The set-up suggests that the original film was indeed based on true events, and that the character of Trash (played by Quigley) is now washed up, but does happen to have a canister of the zombie making toxin kept in her basement.

Wednesday, 29 January 2025

Lizzie Lazarus (2024) - Horror Film Review


It seems this week's theme for films I watched for review is one of unexpected outcomes, with Grace Point and now the Aviv Rubinstien written and directed Lizzie Lazarus fitting that criteria. I make it a point to not read the synopsis before sitting down to watch a film and I think that really benefitted me with this one.

After an odd opening that sees the corpse of Lizzie (Megan Oesterreich) lying in a creek singing a song about dying, the film starts properly with two people deep in woodland carrying a corpse between them. It is soon revealed that the body is that of Lizzie, and that the two people carting it around are Lizzie's sister Bethany (Lianne O'Shea - A Taste of Phobia segment 'Somniphobia'), as well as her boyfriend Eli (Omar Maskati). In the past, after an argument with Eli, Lizzie crashed her car on route to her sisters, resulting in her death. Bethany being a believer in wild conspiracies and myths, had discovered a book in the local library that spoke of an area deep out in woodland that Native American's believed had the ability to bring the dead back to life after a specific ritual was performed. With her and Eli deep in mourning, she convinces him to help her dig up her sisters body and take it to this area, on the off chance that the legend about resurrecting the recently deceased is actually real.

Expecting a movie about a woman who can't truly die, I was surprised to find one in which the titular character is already dead. It was light on action, and if not for the fact the duel protagonists are carrying a corpse between them, this would appear as a straight drama. It was unique that the whole movie was the journey to this Pet Sematary style location, rather than that part just being the first act. As they slowly travel they converse on the nature of life and not only get to know each other, but get a good idea of how each of them perceived the type of person Lizzie had been. With so much dialogue and so little really happening, this conjured up the feel of a stage play, the amount of serious po-faced talking giving off a vibe of a darker Garden State.

There was a rich vein of black humour running through this, the set-up of two bickering characters awkwardly carrying a corpse was funny in itself, then there is the gallows humour that comes from them dealing with issues such as accidentally dropping the body, and running out of duct tape to keep the body bag they had created intact. It felt like the journey to the burial site was intended to be the core story, rather than what happens when they eventually get there. After twenty minutes had passed and it was still just two characters walking through woods, I hoped that it would turn continue this trend. Forty five minutes in, still walking through woodland, over an hour in, still the same, amusing in itself that the characters were doing exactly the same thing they had been doing when they were introduced. I would have been fine with it being simply conversations, but there are concessions to make things more exciting at times. These include having to sneak past a couple having sex in an abandoned car, or avoiding a passing hunter and his curious dog. Adding to the plot are a couple of short flashback sequences that show how Bethany first suggested her wild plan, as well as silent images of Lizzie back when she was living, that play out over certain comments the characters make about her. The two main characters were expertly cast, but I also thought Oesterreich was great as Lizzie, despite barely featuring in the conventional sense. Her most memorable part was the weird opening song she sings, but I guess the lyrics of that song were meaningful to the themes of the film.

I loved Lizzie Lazarus, the surreal story and setting had me engaged despite it mainly just being an hour and a half of two characters talking amongst themselves. It ends up going in a somewhat unexpected direction, finishing on an entertaining note that seemed to be a neat and satisfying full stop to end the story with. Lizzie Lazarus came exclusively to streaming platform SCREAMBOX on 14th January.

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Monday, 27 January 2025

Grace Point (2023) - Thriller Film Review


Unexpected is a word I would use to describe the Rory Karpf directed and co-written thriller Grace Point - a minimalist thriller that sets out to provide a wholesome message. Despite the movie being surprisingly tame, I was enraptured from start to surprising finish.

As a last resort for his son - Brandon's (John Owen Lowe) drug addiction, a desperate father (Winston played by Andrew McCarthy) has arranged for him to stay at a remote rehab centre deep out in the American countryside. Stopping off for petrol enroute, Winston manages to inadvertently anger a local redneck and so leaves the station in a hurry. Not much further down the road, the car they are travelling in breaks down and the angry redneck appears with friends in tow. During an altercation with the men (that Brandon records on his phone), Winston ends up getting shot in the stomach and with maybe his last breath implores his son to flee. This begins a nightmare journey through Hell for the boy, unsure if his father even still lives, he sets out on a crazed trek through the remote and hostile countryside, his goal to make it the twelve miles to the rehab centre so that he can seek assistance. Hot on his heels are the rednecks, led by Luther (Sean Carrigan) - the psychopathic leader of an isolated survivalist community who is none too pleased that Brandon has evidence of his crime against Winston. Out of his depth, Brandon's only help comes in the form of a former marine named Cutter (Jim Parrack - Lost Child, Suicide Squad) he encounters, who sees something in the boy worth saving.

There was a feeling of The Warriors to this thriller, with Brandon's road trip though an alien landscape where danger lurks at every corner echoing the gang's flight through New York. The somewhat generic opening turned into something more interesting, having a protagonist who was certainly more 'flight' than 'fight', his young age meaning he wasn't a match for anyone he encounters. Having a film start mid-story always appeals to me, but as the boy spends most the film running, to have a scene of him running through woodland before a 'four days earlier' message pops up, didn't make for the most exciting teaser of things to come. Forced to pull on reserves he didn't even know he had, and not able to trust anyone he meets, the film became a real thrill ride that carried a feeling of prolonged tension. As the lead character, Brandon was a bit annoying, this was purposeful with the story developing his character in a way that he starts to recognise his own flaws and begin to change. He may have been a bit pathetic, but I really enjoyed the learning journey he goes on, and the many varied characters he meets. Favourite character was Cutter, this PTSD afflicted former soldier was really likeable and had some great lines. I think my favourite line in the whole film was when he says "There's no getting away from pain Brandon. Sometimes it's best to face it head on." Luther appeared to be an intimidating antagonist, carrying with him an aura of quiet menace that made him feel like a genuine threat. It's good he had this aura about him as his actions didn't live up to his threatening words, more intent on trying to convince Brandon to join his community than to hurt him. A high threat level didn't translate into much on-screen horror or violence shown with those elements being mostly absent. Instead, the pacing is mainly made up of a wild cat and mouse game between the boy and Luther's men that included a whole bunch of thrilling chase sequences, including on foot, on bicycle, and on quad bike sequences.

With how focussed this was on Brandon's flight, the film had a minimalist feel to it, from the simple story being told, to the barren run-down locations. The protagonist is given depth via frequent childhood flashbacks that hint at what made him turn to drugs, and these scenes are used to empower him on his seemingly hopeless quest. There came a huge plot twist at the end that took me totally by surprise. I had a feeling that there would be a twist of some kind as there were some odd moments, but I assumed it would be a done to death twist, such as all the events taking place in the main characters mind. This though, was one of those moments that would make a second viewing show events in a completely different light.
For those who like their UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), the cast includes ESPN broadcaster Din Thomas, as well as former champions Aljamain Sterling and Chris Weidman.

As much as I enjoyed the story once it had been completed, Grace Point was high on thrills but low on on-screen peril. Luther looked the part of the all powerful antagonist, but really seemed to be more bark than bite when it came down to his actions. Usually that would be a deal breaker for me, but I did enjoy the direction the story went in, even if it perhaps wrapped things up a little too neatly. A clever film that explores the nature of addiction in a vaguely preachy yet still intriguing way. Grace Point is due to release on January 28th and his it's L.A premiere on 30th January.

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Friday, 24 January 2025

Rufus (2025) - Horror Anthology Film Review


It is completely coincidental, but Rufus is the second horror anthology film I have watched for review this week after Rampo Noir. Directed and mainly written by Mars Roberge, this indie horror brings together five stories of madness that each have a B-movie feel that gave them an endearing feel, and featured a variety of famous names.

Rufus ('Freeway' Ricky Ross) is a man in the hood known for his wild and frequently disturbing stories. The anthology features five of these that he is telling to various people such as neighbourhood kids and his wife (Rah Digga - Thir13en Ghosts). It begins with a fifteen minute short about a mortician named Stanley (Angelo Moore from the band Fishbone) whose hands accidentally get infected with the blood of a recently deceased criminal. He soon finds to his horror that he is no longer able to control what his hands do, leading him on a path of increasingly serious crime that he is powerless to prevent. I imagine it can be quite hard to make it look like your hands are possessed, while Moore doesn't reach the lofty heights of Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead II, he still brings an angle to it that was amusing. I loved how the character was just out for a peaceful and friendly visit to town before events spiral into increasing chaos. None of this was done as a serious horror, there is a real B-movie feel to the action going on, from generic sound effects to obviously CG blood. That just added to the charm. As simple as the story was, it was a fun entry point for Rufus.
Next up was a a very twisted tale that was really enjoyable to watch. Emily (Debra Haden) has recently arrived in New York and despite limited acting experience has landed the lead role in a play. To say anymore would ruin the surprise, but needless to say, her fellow cast members may not be exactly who they appear to be. Again there are obvious CG effects used, and it is assumed you will be able to piece together what has happened as certain transitions play out off screen. Roughly ten minutes long, this was very memorable and the highlight of Rufus for me.

The third short has Rufus telling someone on their way to a doctor's appointment about a story set at a hospital. At eighteen minutes long this one felt very stretched out, it did drag in places. Due to unusual brain patterns when two comatose patients (played by David Scott Greene and Princess Frank) are left together, their doctor, Dr. Saul (played to amazingly entertaining effect by Spookey Ruben, a Canadian musician) has isolated them in their own room. He may not know what is going on with their brains, but it turns out that the two men are able to communicate with each other via thoughts alone. The problem for these men is that they don't really like each other that much. The unexpected happens when a new nurse from Mexico - Luciana (Annalisa Guidone) arrives, she just happens to be the ex-girlfriend of one of the men, and more importantly, is able to read his thoughts and carry on conversations with the man. This short finishes on a 'to be continued' message which made me hope the later part would be have more variation in what was happening.

Next was a surreal one about a couple who are talking about the child they have adopted, hoping he fitted in with new friends. Around three minutes long, this had a fun pay-off that really demonstrates the silly stories that the character Rufus is able to come up with, seemingly off the top of his head. This is followed by one of the more bright and surface level cheery. It had a miserable veteran - Roger (Jim Sclavunos) discovering a series of exploding dolls in the area where he lived, though there was more to it than was expected. This was silly, had a great soundtrack and at five minutes did not outstay its welcome.
Finally was a return to the long hospital drama that picks up where the first one ended, bringing an additional half hour of surreal. Again, I thought Ruben was great here, but it just went on too long without there seeming to be much of an aim.

Rufus was quite entertaining, despite my personal least enjoyable of the shorts taking the space of half of the overall anthology. That one did have some fun ideas, and the general set-up was decent, it just felt a bit overlong. I thought the second short set in New York with the stage actors was excellent, and the rest all had their good parts. The wraparound segment was also decent, sure, not much might happen in it, but the characters featured in that part all came across as likeable. With anthologies there is usually always something worth watching, and with this one there are a good few. Rufus has not yet had its world premiere, but is planned to be shown at a film festival by the time March comes around.

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Thursday, 23 January 2025

The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 23rd January 2025


A second news post for this week, for both the news and screeners keep on coming. I currently have a bloated list of twelve films awaiting review, soon I will have to stop accepting screeners for a time. Onwards to the news.

Renner is an A.I themed thriller that stars Frankie Muniz. He stars as a computer genius who creates an A.I named Salenus to help him find love. Somehow, the man accidentally programmed the traits of his controlling mother into the code, with dark secrets emerging when he forms a relationship with next door neighbour Jamie. Directed and produced by Robert Rippberger, Renner heads to U.S theatres from February 7th.

American Psychopath is a new film from writer, director, actor, and rock star Frank Palangi. The film is about an out of town girl who becomes the target of a mysterious serial killer, and must discover the truth of what is happening in order to try and regain her missing memories. The film stars Erica James (Souls of the Damned) and will be coming soon to Tubi from Cinema Epoch/Palangi Films.


Finally for today, The Marketing Macabre Show hosted by Michael Joy has released its first episode. The show brings together various trailers from independent horror films, with the first episode featuring trailers for Pancake Man, A Hard Place and The Alien Report. There are also teasers for Space Goblins and Blackout as well as an exclusive clip from Black Daruma.