I think it was last month that I once again purchased an eBook reader after my others all up and died on me. I have five years of back log when it comes to digital books and so I am taking a kind of slap dash approach to choosing which order to read them in. Day Rusk sent me his horror book Barkerton at the years start, and today I have finished reading it. As I always say I have not had too much practice when it comes to writing book reviews so apologies if I end up talking too much about the story and not so much about the structure and writing.
An evil presence for reasons unknown comes to the small remote town of Barkerton in America. This evil force is able to ignite the darkness that resides within the inhabitants hearts and after just a few days the place has become a nightmare world where brutality and insanity lurks around every corner. The evil has also caused the dead to rise up from their graves who turn on the living in their confusion. The few pure hearted souls that are immune to the chaos band together to try and find a way to escape the Hell that Barkerton has become...
I passed up the opportunity to review the very bizarre Mexican film We Are the Flesh earlier this year as it didn't exactly sound like something I would find that entertaining. However seeing it pop up on Shudder, and with it being an eligible contender for the 2017 Fright Meter Awards I decided to give it a shot. We Are the Flesh takes place in a seemingly post apocalyptic world, one where a teenage brother and sister have stumbled upon the dwelling of insane Mariano (Noe Hernandez) while exploring the ruins of an unnamed Mexican city. In exchange for letting them have a place to stay, and for providing them with food Mariano asks that they fulfil his dark desires. The longer they stay with the man the more his madness begins to infect them...
The Z Virus is a zombie web show that features episodes of around ten minutes in length each time. I enjoyed the first episode 'Bunker Fever' and was happy to see that episode 2 'Uninvited Guests' was even better. Each and every time I sit down to watch this I fully intend for the creators to drop the ball, and that the previous greatness was just a lucky fluke. For a show with an obvious low budget this shouldn't entertain as much as it does, yet once again I am genuinely surprised at how darn enjoyable and well paced these are. There will be inevitable spoilers for the previous episodes here.
The third episode takes place in the secluded house of Alex 'AJ' Johnson (Freddie De Grate) where he, his wife and daughter, neighbour David (John Kviklys), and two strangers; Zac and Apple are holed up. Due to the hostile introduction Zac and Apple gave in episode 2 tensions are running high, with David convinced that the duo know more than they are letting on...
In just ten minutes a lot of ground is covered with both character development, flashbacks, and action thrown in with more civil moments. De Grate continues with his quiet aura of respect he generates, but it is the character of David who has the biggest change. In episode 1 all we saw of him was a lone man exploring the strange new post meteor strike world. Here we get to see what type of a man he actually is, and it turns out he is a conspiracy nut with Kviklys channelling John Goodman's Howard from 10 Cloverfield Lane. For all of a few minutes the viewer along with the characters harbour suspicion about the origins of Zac and his companion, yet his story is then corroborated to the viewer by an interesting flashback sequence that involves some pretty nice juxtaposition of cold blooded murder alongside a peaceful mural in a church.
It was good to finally have an episode where I didn't notice any sound issues (both the previous ones had featured muffled dialogue at times). This is the second one in a row not to feature any undead whatsoever, again strangely I didn't mind as this lack of zombies actually fed into one of the story lines going on. This led up to the start of a nice reveal that is altered with a cliffhanging twist that I certainly didn't expect. The Z Virus at times feels like it is a perfect condensation of The Walking Dead, from the title sequence alone it is obvious that was an influence, yet so much ground is covered in such a short amount of time that it is hard not to be impressed. I really hope the rest of this six episode season continues to surpass my expectations. The Z Virus is available to watch at TheZVirusSeries.com, ScreenMagicTV.com, Amazon Prime, Vimeo, and at the ScreenMagic TV Roku Channel.
Dead Awake is what I would class a formulaic horror. It has at it's centre an evil antagonist being who the main character gets targeted by, and so they must research a way to stop it's hold over them, much like The Bye Bye Man, The Boogyman, The Ring, and countless others. This movie is very similar to the lot of them and while it isn't the worst example of this particular type of horror film it isn't really the best example either.
Kate's twin sister Beth (both played by Jocelin Donahue) is experiencing night terrors and she starts to become more and more convinced something in her dreams is trying to kill her. Kate, her parents, and Beth's boyfriend Evan (Jesse Bradford) all think it's just in her head but then one night she dies in her sleep. Soon Kate and Evan, as well as a friend of theirs are experiencing the same night terrors that Beth did, they discover that an ancient evil known as the 'night hag' has latched onto them and will kill them should they succumb to sleep. With the help of an expert in the field they set out to find a way to defeat this entity.
A couple of weeks back the latest DLC for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare was released. This 2nd pack for the divisive latest entry in the series was titled Continuum and as usual included four multiplayer maps and one Zombies map. Again as usual it is the Zombies map I am obviously interested in here. The initial map Zombies in Spaceland! was set in an amusement park during the 1980's, it was awesome. The second map titled Rave in the Redwoods had a Friday 13th vibe to it and was set during the 1990's. Continuing the trend of different time periods this third map Shaolin Shuffle is set in the 1970's. For some reason the setting of the 1970's doesn't appeal to me too much and so I found my response strangely muted when this was first revealed. As always this is my first impressions, not a detailed break down of all that is in this map.
The story is again told via unappealing vintage cartoon type sequences. Having vanquished the chainsaw wielding psycho of the 1990's our four heroes step through a portal that transports them to 1970's New York, a film version of that city that is in the grip of not only zombie apocalypse, but a strange rat type man who is haunting the area. Each of the four characters again resemble fitting characters from the time period, and so Shasheer Zamata's Sally is dressed like a disco queen, complete with huge Afro, Jay Pharoah's Andre is a beatnik, Ike Barinholtz's A.J looks like a pimp, while Seth Green's Poindexter has the best look appearing as a punk rocker.
Passenger Zero is a 17 minute short Irish zombie film written and directed by Brian O Regan in his debut short for Celtic Badger Media. As the short is freely available to watch on YouTube I will include it after my review, be sure to check it out as it is of high quality in a lot of places.
Paddy Murphy stars as Aiden; a man who picks up young wandering hitchhiker Eleanor (Audrice Styles) while driving through a forest. Having ran away from home and been in the woods for several days it is up to Aiden to break the news that a zombie apocalypse has swept the country, something that Eleanor finds hard to accept until she is face to face with the undeniable proof...
Truth be told I wasn't expecting too much from this, I had a feeling I would enjoy it as I paradoxically often have a lot of time for shorts, but I expected some bad acting/and or bad special effects. Both the main actors are great in their roles, especially Murphy who scene steals with his portrayal of a man in grief. There is a believability to the emotion he brings to the role, especially during the flashback sequences of him trying to come to terms with having been forced to kill his partner. Styles fits her role well also, but due to her quieter voice I often struggled to understand what she was saying. This wasn't due to her acting, it was more that the music playing over the short was louder than the dialogue which was especially apparent whenever she spoke. The music itself is mournful and adds to the feeling of loss that Passenger Zero creates.
There are a few zombies here and they all look the part, they have more of a realistic look to them rather than being covered in random make-up (don't get me wrong, I love that cheap looking style of undead too!). The sequences featuring them are fast paced with some nice editing, in general there is good directing here. I enjoyed the flashback sequences as they complimented the talking of the car scenes, but in terms of plot this isn't too original, such as the obvious ramifications for the character with an injured hand, I did still enjoy it though, again due to the decent acting, and the cohesive sense of place that is crafted here. Check it out for yourself below, it's worth a watch.
Echoplex is an indie first person puzzle game that is currently on Steam Early Access for both Windows and Mac. Now originally I had planned to do a review of this, however the whole meaning of 'early access' was brought home to me when a big update that fundamentally changed how parts of the game worked wiped my save. You know what? That is perfectly fine with me, it is still being worked on and by all accounts the changes made are based on player feedback, so if it is going to make for a better experience then by all means wipe my 90 minutes worth of game time. This has meant though that my planned review shall now be a preview instead. The game was originally released in 2015 but this version is greatly expanded and polished.
Presentation is the best thing that Echoplex has going for it, I was immediately impressed by the crisp attractive title screen, then even more impressed when the game actually started. All the cutscenes in this game are actually live action which I loved. It reminded me a bit of the parts in Prototype that had live action, both are chopped up, edited together patch works of information, this goes hand in hand with the mysterious story. In Echoplex you are a test subject in a research laboratory, a Portal style voice tells you that if you complete the challenges set to you that you will be able to regain your missing memories. The rest of my impressions will be from the version I played, though I will mention the changes I know about.
The new Call of Duty game was revealed last Wednesday, it is to be called Call of Duty: World War II. The reveal was cool and everything but it was the final piece of news that really stood out to me as it was announced there is going to be a Nazi Zombies game mode! There are no other details yet, but I suspect (and hope) it is going to be in the traditional style of wave based survival. In complete contrast to the goofy (but super fun) Infinite Warfare Zombies mode this seems like it is going to be far more serious and horrific. Also in news the demo for sci-fi survival horror game Prey is now up on the Playstation store, you should check it out, I haven't myself yet but will be trying it later. Outlast IIcame out last Tuesday, I am probably going to wait for it to go on sale as by a lot of accounts it is merely ok, with it getting some pretty average scores across the board. Lastly giant monster simulator Mighty Monster Mayhem came out on Steam VR/ HTC Vive earlier in April. This game lets you play as one of five different versions of iconic monsters as you rampage through 9 different cities in the single player campaign, or battle with or against friends in multiplayer. It has gone for a colourful cartoon style look rather than serious but sounds like it could be fun, check out the trailer...
Next for some news that has some good and bad parts to it. Hex Media's almighty Lord of Tears is currently available to watch and download for free, not only that but it is the special edition directors cut of the film that features a brand new edit and new sound design. Unfortunately the link (here) states this offer of the free film is not available here in the UK, or indeed Ireland, which sucks (this is due to distribution rights). Far more better news is that there is a prequel of sorts to Lord of Tears! This is titled The Black Gloves, is set in the 1940's and is filmed in black and white. A psychologist obsessed with the disappearance of his young patient, and the owl headed figure that haunted her dreams ends up arriving at a remote Scottish mansion where he discovers a reclusive ballerina who is also plagued with nightmares of the owl man. He soon finds himself caught up in terrifying events when he learns this figure is real. The film features Macarena Gomez (Dagon), Nicholas Vince (Hellraiser, Nightbreed), Alexandra Nicole Hulme (Lord of Tears), and Jaime Scott-Gordon (The Unkindness of Ravens). The Black Gloves is a co-production between Hex Media and Dark Rune Productions in association with 3rd Monkey Entertainment and Lights Out Productions and is due for release Autumn 2017.
More film news now with the announcement that the very fun Japanese retro horror comedy Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell is going to be coming out on limited edition VHS! That is a perfect fit for this entertaining film, it also came out on DVD on 24th April. Both the VHS and DVD can be purchased here.
Short Danish horror film The Night Circus is currently free to watch thanks to Ekko's shortlist. It was directed by Eskild Krogh and stars the prolific Kim Sonderholm (Harvest, Cannibal Fog) and is about two men who clean up mob hits discovering their business has turned very strange one fateful day. It is just 9 minutes long and features virtually dialogue so being a Danish short is not an issue. It's quite a mysterious film that builds up a nice atmosphere, check it out here.
I mentioned Indian exorcism film Islamic Exorcist just last week, and now have discovered that another exorcism film; American Exorcism is also coming out in May. Islamic Exorcistis due for release 26th May on VOD and Direct to Video, reportedly based on a true story it is about a couple whose adopted daughter becomes possessed by a demon and so the father is forced to kill it. American Exorcism is directed by Tripp Weathers and is due out on VOD and Direct to Video on May 2nd. In this one Damon Richter is brought back into the world of evil and exorcisms he thought he had left for good when he is brought news that his estranged daughter is in serious trouble.
Last but not least Midnight Releasing have picked up the rights to horror film WTF! for North American distribution. It is director/writer Peter Herro's first feature film and is a love letter to classic horrors. Rachel survived a brutal massacre in the past in which she barely escaped alive, and which claimed the lives of her friends. Now three years later and Rachel has gone to a party with her new group of friends at a secluded house in the woods, but it seems history is going to repeat itself. Will Rachel manage to survive this time as well? It is an interesting premise, see for yourself in the trailer...
You can pretty much tell exactly what type of film Strip Club Massacre is going to be from it's title alone; Shakespeare this is not. Instead we have an indie exploitation horror that doesn't take itself too seriously, but which does suffer from some occasional pacing problems.
After having the worst day of her life in which she gets fired from her job, evicted from her house, and finds her boyfriend cheating on her with her house mate, Megan (Alicia Watson) travels across country to stay at her best friend's house. Desperate for money she accepts a job offer from her friends boyfriend Bobby (Stefan Rollins) to work as a waitress in a local strip club, but sick with the abuse from the strippers she decides she wants to become one of them. However unknown to her three of the strippers are quite murderous and randomly kill clients and colleagues alike, and soon Megan finds herself on their hit list...
There has been a new breed of found footage horror movies lately, over the past year I have continually been impressed with what I have seen due to them innovating and trying new things. Chupacabra Territory though is quite old fashioned in it's found footage, the biggest inspiration seeming to be 1999's The Blair Witch Project. While it has been a while since I have seen a traditional 'lost in woods' film it still suffers from being pretty generic.
In 2012 four friends head out to the remote Pinewood Forest in order to document evidence of the existence of the legendary Chupacabra creature. Despite warnings from the locals, and a park ranger telling them the trail they intend to take is closed off due to the dangerous animals that live there they still decide to continue. On screen text at the films start states that the footage shown was pieced together from cameras found in the area, and that the friends are missing, presumed dead, and so you can guess that things are not going to go well for them...
Currently my inbox is flooded with requests to watch films, and so I have been slightly neglecting actually watching films of my own volition. After being nagged at by a friend on the issue of making sure I make time to watch new horrors (that are eligible for the Fright Meter Awards of which I am a committee member of) I decided today would be the day I headed out on my own, and watch something of my choosing. As We Go On was on Shudder, and a contender for the 2017 awards I chose that movie, and I am kind of glad I did.
Clark Freeman stars as Miles; a man who has lived his life scared of everything due to his fear of dying, a fear that he gained after the tragic death of his father when he was a child. One day Miles decides to face his fear head on, he places an ad in the local paper offering $30,000 for anyone who can prove to him without a doubt that an afterlife exists. Of the hundreds of replies he receives he whittles down the list to just a handful of plausible people, and along with his sceptical mother Charlotte (Annette O'Toole) heads out to meet them to see if they can give him the proof he desires. However after discovering the answer he seeks he soon begins to wish he hadn't...
So back in December last year I mentioned the Manchester based Triple Six Horror Film Festival that was due to happen in 2017, well I have some further information on that as the full line up has now been announced and tickets are now on sale. So to save on time (and to be lazy) here is what the press release says of the event:
'The line-up includes nine feature films and 12 short films. Highlights include the 1990 horror sci-fi classic Hardware screening in 35mm with director Richard Stanley in attendance for a live Q&A following the screening. Also there is a world premiere for UK horror mockumentary Tone Death plus premieres for Quarries, The Forest of Lost Souls, Hounds of Love, Offensive and Roddy Piper's last film The Chair. Plus exclusive screenings with Cruel Summer and The Unkindness of Ravens.'
Weekend tickets cost £30 and can be brought here, sounds like there are going to be some cool films showing so if your in the area be sure to check it out!
The guys at Artsploitation Films have picked up the US rights to controversial abortion-themed horror Red Christmas. The film stars horror legend Dee Wallace (The Hills Have Eyes, The Howling, Halloween, Critters) who also co-produced. She plays the mother of a dysfunctional family living in the Australian outback who on Christmas eve are visited by Cletus; a mysterious deformed man, this man brings with him terror and violence. The film is said to bring together comedy, outlandish gore, and of course the topic of abortion. Red Christmas is getting a limited theatrical run in August and is due to be released on DVD/Blu-ray and VOD in October. Check out the trailer below...
Indian international horror film Islamic Exorcist has had the reveal of it's movie poster. The film made by controversial Indian film maker Faisal Saif is in English, and is to star Kavita Radheshyam, and apparently it is based on a true event. The film has been picked up by Cinema Epoch and is due to be released later this year.
Finally comes the new trailer for Red Eye; no not a remake of the 2005 Cillian Murphy film, but an entirely new film. I must have contributed to an Indiegogo campaign for the film at some point in the past as I'm always getting updates on its progress, yet have no idea what the film is about. They have released an official trailer which I shall watch now...wow, it has Jessica Cameron and Heather Dorff in it, after seeing them in bloody torture film Truth or Dare that makes me look more forward to this. It seems a bunch of teens head out to remote woodland to explore the legend of 'Red Eye' for a film project, but when out there they discover too late the legend is real. The film is getting it's world premiere on May 27th at the Gateway Film Center in Columbus Ohio. Check out the trailer for yourself below...
I had a very long day at work in my day job and so I really didn't feel like sitting down to watch a film for review. However my list is long and so I decided to see Teenage Ghost Punk (written and directed by Mike Cramer), and boy am I glad I did. This is a feel good movie in every sense of the word, for the entire hour and a half run time I was sat with the biggest grin on my face, it really cheered up my day.
Teenage Amanda (Grace Madigan), her young brother Adam (Noah Kitsos), and their recently divorced mum Carol (Adria Dawn) move to a new town to have a new start. After a series of strange events Amanda starts to suspect their new home is haunted, and it turns out it is. Brian (Jack Cramer); a ghost of a teenage punk who died in the 1980's haunts the building and soon him and Amanda start to hit it off, but with ghost hunters and a spirit medium in the area is this new love doomed to fail?
