The Rotting Zombie's Round-up of Horror News for May 2021

You may have noticed my blog steadily getting clogged full of video game reviews lately. This isn't some new direction I am heading in, more that I've organised my games I'm currently playing a bit better which means a load of games I was near to finishing I have now finished. Aside from the Gears of War series things will soon get back to film-centric normalness! My news inbox now sits at 157 emails. I've said previously that I need to do more than one news post a month but it looks like I might actually have some time to get that done in the coming weeks. This news post shall be written over the course of one day, so time will literally tell how much I get through here.

WidowMaker Films have partnered with the UK based VIPCO (a film production and distribution company focussed on releasing horror) to provide VOD content in the US and worldwide. Films will include Zombie Lover (Jason Impey), Slutty the Clown, Jezebel (Joe Cash), and Cannibal Hookers (Donald Farmer). These will be distributed by Bayview Entertainment.

The Severin Films May line-up is as follows, all of these were released on both Blu-ray and DVD. On 27th April Deep Blood came out, this is an Italian sharksploitation that has been described as the 'Z movie version of Jaws'. Santa Sangre, Day of the Animals and Grizzly all arrived on 18th May. I own Santa Sangre on VHS and remember it as being a very weird film, it is described in the press release as an 'avant-garde classic' which may explain its weirdness. The other two both come from director William Girdler. Grizzly sounds like it's basically Jaws but set in a forest with a giant bear. Day of the Animals takes place in a world where animals have become very aggressive towards humans. Both of these star Christopher George, with Leslie Nielsen appearing in the later.

Some notable Arrow Video Blu-ray releases for May include A Ghost Waits, 12 Monkeys and Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection. A Ghost Waits is an endearing indie about a handyman who forms a relationship with a ghost in the house he is preparing for new owners, this released on 5th May. 12 Monkeys came from Terry Gilliam, it's a sci-fi time travel thriller that stars Bruce Willis as a convict sent back in time to try and find the cause of a virus which in the future has ravaged the world. This got a steelbook release on 25th May. Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection brings together six films from the low budget horror director. These include Monster A-Go-Go, Invasion from Inner Earth, The Alpha Incident, The Demons of Ludlow, The Game, and Twister's Revenge. The collection also released on 25th May.
The May lineup for the subscription-based ARROW platform included the fantastic Threshold, which I gave a 9/10. It is about a brother and sister who go on a road trip in order to fix an apparent curse the sister is convinced she has. Also on the platform now is the seasonal arrival of Ghouls & Gangsters, films here include Versus, Zombie for Sale, Wolf Guy and more. Unclean Spirits includes Demons, Demons 2, Mirror/Mirror, Dream Demon and Scared Stiff. Blood Lust includes The Reflecting Skin, The Sheltering Sky, the Bloodthirsty trilogy, The Addiction, Vampyres and Tenderness of the Wolves.

I've mentioned it previously and while not horror it does sound pretty out there. Starfunk and the Astral Pioneers is a space fantasy film that 'deals with the mythological tale of Funk Music Power. The story happens in a galaxy far from earth with characters who are masters of the power of funk'. This was created by Glenn Towery who currently has a Kickstarter running in order to secure the funds needed to bring his dream to life. For more details check out the Kickstarter page.

A short sneak peak at upcoming found footage horror The Alien Report (described as 'this generations The Blair Witch') has gone up on the Earths Dreamland website. This was the winner of the Mad Monster Film Festival and is about an 18 year old boy who has worked out how to secretly record his own alien encounters via a micro camera hidden in his hearing aid.

Scream Bloody Murder is to be the first feature film from director Shaw C. Phillips and is to star Scout Taylor-Compton, Robert Lasardo, James Duval, Vernon Wells, Kelly Reiter and Lauren Francesca. Phillips says of this "Its going to be a love letter to 90s slasher films in the style of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The movie will also have elements of films like Mean Girls as well as Revenge of the Nerds. So it will have some humour mixed in as well to the film". This was due to start filming in May.

Stealing Chaplin is a dark comedy that came to TVOD/Digital platforms and DVD in North America. This comes from British director Paul Tanter (The Nights Before Christmas). This is about a true story of two brothers who dig up and steal the corpse of Charlie Chaplin. The film stars Simon Phillips (Age of the Living Dead), Doug Phillips (Butchers), Al Sapienza (House of Cards), Peter Woodward (The Patriot), Ken Bressers, Anne-Carolyn Binette, Liliana Vargas, Bianca Katz and Wayne Newton.

Denver based, Dark Rock artist Sharone has released the fourth and final official music video, Diamond from her latest LP, Morbid Illusion that released on 28th May via Devil Inside Records. She says of the song "I was trying to remain hopeful in a hopeless situation. I learned that the effort you put forth in those types of instances can cause serious damage to your soul and your mind. Sometimes when we feel lost we try to convince ourselves that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. 'Diamond' is about realising that light doesn't exist".

Swiss metal band Chaoseum have released a new music video for their track Smile Again, taken from their new album Second Life. The band are due to be back on a European tour in October, along with Fleshgod Apocalypse and Ex Deo.

Dark ambient act Long The Night have released a new full-length album titled Illusion. Long the Night is a side project of Derrick Stembridge best known for his Drifting in Silence work. Illusion is 'a sonic journey capturing the deep melancholy sound of things that are likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses'. 

Unknowndivide's new album is Existence, which is their second release. This combines elements of ambient, IDM, and techno with compelling rhythms and organic voicings. This is also a side project of Derrick Stembridge.

Finally, dark ambient act In The Absence of Words have announced the release of compilation album A Collection I. This brings together six long-form works that have been chosen to complement each other. The tracks were originally released between 2017 and 2019 on Bandcamp. A Collection II is due out towards the end of the year and will be made up of more melodic, song-orientated works from their catalogue.

Resurrection Corporation (2021) - Animated Comedy Horror Film Review

Resurrection Corporation is an Italian animated comedy horror film that was directed by Alberto Genovese (Sick Sock Monsters from Outer Space), with the story and screenplay written by Mattia De Pascali (Beyond the Omega). From the stark black and white nihilistic world the inspirations behind this are not too hard to figure out. The story does have some nice ideas behind it but there were certain aspects that didn't really sit right with me. The version of the film I watched had an English dub so I can't comment on the performances of the original voice actors.

Dottor Caligari has a problem and that is that he is a coffin maker in a town where no one ever dies. This is thanks to the Resurrection Corporation, ran by Potriantow, his company using secret means is able to bring back to life anyone in the town who dies. After his attempts to compete with him fail, Caligari and his assistant Bruta (a woman it is insinuated the Dottor created himself) head away to a remote castle where Potriantow's mentor is said to live. It is there they hope to learn the methods by which Potriantow is able to perform his trade.

The first noticeable thing about this film is its basic animation. In a post South Park world this isn't an issue and was one area that I think this really got right, there is some interesting directing meaning that everything isn't always shown from side on, but includes things coming into the screen as well . With some of the more disgusting parts (such as a room full of skinned corpses) this reminded me a bit of the style of David Firth. Keeping with that vibe this isn't a children's movie, there is some extreme (animated) violence with characters murdered and beaten including at least a couple of decapitations. I was totally fine with that, what didn't sit so well was the sexual abuse, mainly of Bruta. There was one uncomfortable scene where she is being molested, another bizarrely played for laughs where someone is trying to rape her. I didn't really get this character, she was treated as if she wasn't a real person, and she never reacts in a realistic way to her bad treatment.

Documenting the Witch Path (2017) - Horror Documentary Review

I first heard of the horror documentary Documenting the Witch Path back in 2019 and thought it sounded pretty cool. Originally I planned to watch this for review towards the end of last year, but with the pandemic nothing is certain and so it was a couple of months back that the director, Carl Sundström contacted me to let me know the entire documentary was now out to watch on YouTube for free. I have read complaints about how low on thrills this film is, but this is down to the apparent realism. This is a found footage combined with a real documentary apparent and so there are no conveniently placed sights or sounds caught on camera.

Carl Sundström and his two friends, Robin Franzén and Nathaniel P. Erlandsson are indie filmmakers from Sweden. Their latest project is to see them head to a lake in the county of Vasternorrland known locally as 'Witch Lake'. The legend goes that in the 17th Century over 300 women were executed in Sweden, accused of being witches. As well as being burnt alive many of these victims were also had to endure a 'Witch Trial' which involved their limbs being bound and then being thrown in a lake to drown. It isn't long into the friends research that they learn the lake they had planned to travel to wasn't in fact the real Witch Lake. A representative of the nearby town states the real lake had been sealed off from the public but refuses to state the reasons why. An internet search confirms these details, and it's made all the more mysterious by the fact that a lot of money was invested in making the place into a tourist attraction until it was suddenly all closed down. Intrigued by all this and thinking there could be a story in it Sundström decides to find this hidden lake and document his findings.

I spent a good deal of this wondering if any of what was happening really was real or not. Finally I began to think there was a  half truth to what was going on. The lack of anything really happening here led me to suspect this was at least partly real. Moments such as 'Blair Witch' style carefully placed stones and totems felt like something right out of a found footage movie, but that is almost as far as the horror extends to. Without going into any kind of spoilers there are elements of this that really are real, though the true aim of the documentary is far different to what it appears on the surface. Another element of realism is the frequent interviews with the cast after the fact, there is no effort to pretend that they didn't survive, instead this part creates expectation of something actually occurring on the creepy banks of Witch Lake.

A Quiet Place Part II (2020) - Horror Film Review

It isn't often I leave the comfort zone of my hometown and head further afield, but upon getting the opportunity to see an early screening of A Quiet Place Part II I headed out to Leicester Square in London. From what I recall this movie was originally due out a week or so before all cinemas closed in the UK last year. It is fitting then that it is the first film I have gotten to see in a cinema since before the pandemic began here. I liked A Quiet Place, I liked the idea behind it and so I was sure a sequel would be hard to mess up. While this doesn't deviate much from the formula of the first film it does build on the foundations, uses the same returning actors and again makes much use of the idea of sound as the catalyst for horrors to come. There will be unavoidable spoilers for the first film here.

The prologue takes place on the day the monstrous aliens arrive from space. It turns expectations on its head by having a very noisy first ten minutes, the complete opposite of the first films near silent opener. A family day at little league baseball turns into a nightmare for the Abbott family. Made up of Lee (John Krasinski), Evelyn (Emily Blunt) and their children that includes among them Marcus (Noah Jupe) and deaf Regan (Millicent Simmonds). Also caught up in the craziness of this initial attack is Emmett (Cillian Murphy - Batman Begins, 28 Days Later), a friend of the family whose introduction in this flashback sets him up for a larger role later in the film.
The rest picks up immediately after the end of A Quiet Place. The surviving Abbotts - Evelyn, Marcus, Regan may have finally discovered a way to kill the invading monsters but their farmstead lay in ruins and they are forced to leave, especially as Evelyn has a new-born baby to protect. They head up into the hills where Lee had identified other survivors may have been hiding. Here they encounter a despondent and potentially dangerous Emmett who has lost all hope in the world due to the death of his family. Evelyn is just looking for a place to hide but Regan is determined to share their discovery of the monsters weakness with the world, and upon finding a way to do this she secretly heads out on her own.

A Quiet Place Part II builds on what has come before but doesn't do much to significantly expand on the overall story. It felt similar to John Wick: Chapter 3 in that by the time the end credits role characters are essentially in the same position they were the previous time. A lot of what happens throughout the story is down to characters making bad decisions, and this can often be down to reasons that feel more believable than bad writing, especially when it comes to the young teens. A lot of the peril that happens here could have been avoided if not for the supreme danger the world is now in. One accidental knock of an object, one unavoidable outburst of sound brings the monsters running. A theme this time around seems to be about hope, how having it can imbue you with meaning and give you life. The people shown to be lacking it are sometimes just as bad as the monsters.

Gears of War: Ultimate Edition (2015) - Sci-fi Video Game Review (XBox One)

I've recently started playing through all of the Gears of War games and with the very first one in the series I decided to play the newer remastered version that came out in 2015 on the XBox One, rather than the original 2006 XBox 360 version of the game. After the boredom of Gears of War: Judgement I was hoping this would put me back on track and thankfully it did, remaining as fun and exciting as the game I remembered in my mind.

Gears of War takes place fourteen years after 'Emergence Day'; the day in which a vast army of monsters poured forth from within the ground of the planet Sera. The battle between these monsters (known as The Locust) and the humans has continued ever since. The game begins with Marcus Fenix (voiced by John DiMaggio), a former COG soldier being freed from prison by his old war buddy Dom (Carlos Ferro). He is reinstated and put in charge of Delta Squad that eventually is comprised of him, Dom, cocky engineer Baird (Fred Tatasciore), and former Thrashball star Cole (Lester Speight). They are tasked with obtaining a resonator. This device is meant to be able to map the Locust's underground tunnel network, it is hoped that by doing this a lightmass bomb can be detonated to destroy their main stronghold.

This game is still so much fun to play. The cover based combat never grew tired, I loved the various times you would roadie run from cover to cover, slowly pushing forward, and occasionally getting the opportunity to flank enemies. The game is full of set pieces and a lot more variation than I remembered. There is a driving level, levels set at night in which you have to stay in light to avoid getting killed by monstrous birds, boss fights against huge monsters, there's even a level set on a moving train. This variation keeps the game feeling fresh from start to end, even if the end features a very frustrating final boss. There are a bunch of weapons used throughout the six or so hour campaign but the only one really worth using was the Lancer, this being is an assault rifle with a chainsaw attached to it, and the other worthwhile weapon named 'Hammer of Dawn' which is essentially a satellite targeting system. 

Autumn: Dawn (2021) by David Moody - Zombie Horror Book Review

It all started in 2001 with the release of Autumn, a zombie book with a difference by horror author David Moody. Things seemed wrapped up in 2013 with the release of an updated version of his anthology book Autumn: The Human Condition that seemed to be a final farewell to the wonderful series. The Autumn books are not only my favourite zombie books ever written but also my favourite horror books. I have liked Moody's other works, such as the Hater series, yet they never resonated with me as much as these ones did. it helps that one of my fears is large crowds, something that the undead of these stories epitomise. In fact Moody is the only author whose work has ever been able to give me nightmares (one that took place in and around the bunker from his short story Duck and Cover). I was beyond overjoyed to learn there was to be a new trilogy set in the Autumn universe, I did not expect it at all. I admit I was also kind of nervous. Having this new book set earlier on in the apocalypse made sense, but I couldn't quite see how the setting of London would feel much different to the setting of Autumn: The City. Thankfully I turned out to be very wrong.

The premise for Autumn is that a deadly virus one day unexpectedly sweeps itself around the globe, once it is finished over 99% of the world's population lay dead, leaving behind a stunned and traumatised minority of survivors. To make things even worse the dead don't stay dead, they rise up as zombies, not the typical flesh hungry ghouls you would expect, but ones who have an intense attraction to any kind of movement or sound. Autumn: Dawn takes place around 40 days after this rapid infection occurred and takes place in London. Due to the large population there are more survivors, but that also means there are far more undead whose numbers essentially trap the living within the city.

I'm not going to lie, the first chapter of this new book I was a bit unsure with. It is written from a first person perspective which led me to worry the whole book would be written this way. I came to appreciate it more after the chapter ended and the book settled into a more traditional writing style. This first chapter felt like it would have been right at home in Autumn: The Human Condition, it was pretty much a self contained short story that worked at swiftly bringing the reader up to speed, as well as being able to zoom past the initial rising of the dead. Having the main story take place 40 days in was a good point to set it, this was when the zombies started to become more hostile to the living and there is a gradual increase in this hostility over the course of the novel.

Gears of War: Judgement (2013) - Sci-fi Video Game Review (XBox 360)

At some point last year I decided I was going to play through all the military sci-fi action game Gears of War. I believe there are five mainline games as well as spin-off Gears of War: Judgement which serves as a prequel, taking place before the rest of the games (some strategy games to but I have no interest in those). Due to that I started with Judgement and was disappointed to see this really did feel like a spin-off. The story is very low stakes even if I did like the way it was told. The game takes a far more arcade like approach to its gameplay leading to an often bland experience that favours enemy encounters over any kind of variation.

Gears of War takes place on a planet that is in the middle of an apocalyptic war. During an event known as 'Emergence Day' an army of monsters named The Locust unexpectedly poured forth from within the planet. The first Gears of War game took place fourteen years after this event but Judgement occurs much sooner to that. You play as the four members of Kilo squad with each chapter having you playing as different member. Kilo squad is made up of the wise cracking engineer Baird, former 'Thrashball' player Cole, the gruff former UIR soldier Paduk, and fresh cadet, Sofia. In the present the group are on trial due to the unauthorised use of a rare lightmass missile. The game's six chapters then take place as flashbacks, with each squad member in turn recounting how they came to disobey orders and fire the missile.

I hate the way this game was designed, it was by far the most off putting aspect of Judgement. Where before you would have large levels that featured a lot of set pieces and variation here instead you get short snappy missions that range from around five to ten minutes in length. This makes the game feel like the sort of one you would get on a handheld console, one designed for brief spurts of play. I hated the flow of the game constantly getting interrupted with the score screen, and I hated the option to have additional challenges. At the start of each mission you get the option to change some of the mechanics, it is dressed up in game as the character you are currently controlling disputing the official testimony during their court case. I found more often than not it just made things more frustrating, while adding little to nothing to the dull story. It doesn't help that the locations you travel to are bland and lifeless. During the course of the game you go to a military academy, a scientist's mansion, an old town, a naval base and various other places. For the console the game is running on these all look nice enough but they follow a very similar pattern in how they play out with minimal effort to make them stand out much from each other, aside from one that had you wearing a small mech suit.

Hades (2018-20) - Horror Video Game Review

I'm lately making a concerted effort to get through the backlog of games I currently have on the go. One such game was the Greek myths inspired Hades, a roguelike created by the superb Supergiant Games (Pyre, Transistor, Bastion). With massive replayability and an engaging amount of dialogue with the many characters you encounter along the way this four level dungeon crawler succeeds in being a video game that is just plain fun to play.

You play as Zagreus, the teenage son of Hades, lord of the Underworld. He is on a determined quest to escape the realm of the dead and search for his mother up on the surface. Hades has other plans however and sets the many denzions of the below under his control against his son. Zagreus has allies in the form of the Gods of Olympus who bestow upon him their many boons that can make both him and his weapons stronger.

So Hades is a roguelike. For those unfamiliar this equates in this particular instance of each floor of the dungeon being made up of a series of random chambers, each chamber has its own random reward, whether that be boons from the Gods, health and weapon power ups, or even gold and gems. Upon death you respawn back at the starting area with all your progress reset, that is except for the gems and soul gems you have collected along the way. Gems can be used to make improvements to your home, and exchanged for various useful items. The soul gems are used to upgrade the abilities for Zagreus, making him more strong.

Carrion (2020) - Horror Video Game Review (Nintendo Switch)

Carrion was a game that sounded so awesome on paper that the moment it was released I snatched it right up. This is a pixel art style Metroidvania (one huge level with upgrades that allow you access to more and more of it) but there is a huge difference to many games of this type.It has been described as a 'reverse-horror game' and by that it means you play as a monster, while humans are fodder for you to kill and consume.

Carrion takes place within a research facility and the game begins with you escaping your containment unit. As to how you got there, that is revealed by a series of flashbacks as you progress through the four to five hour game. The monster you control is a red, amorphous tentacled monster that oozes and rolls around the environment. The many tentacles means you can climb around all the walls and ceilings of the many places you go to. You are able to ooze through vents, smash down doors and break windows in your bid to escape the facility. You start the game quite small and weak, however nearly all the humans you come across are defenceless and can easily be consumed by manipulating a tentacle to bring them to your gaping maw and eat them for health. Upgrades received by collecting your captured genetic code grants you all kinds of cool new abilities as well as massively increases your size. These abilities range from less exciting ones such as the ability to smash vents, to being able to turn into a mass of worms in order to swim through water, turn invisible and even getting the ability to possess humans in order to get them to flip switches and take each other out.

When everything is going smooth this is pure joy to play. The feeling of empowerment as you smash and crush your way through room after room as the humans scream before you is fantastic and is where Carrion is at its best. To put in challenge however you come across automated defences, as well as soldiers who are able to deflect your attacks with large shields. It can be frustrating to be on a (literal) roll and then briskly be annihilated. I understand this was to stop the game being a cake walk but I can't help feeling the game would have been more fun without these sections of tough combat. For all the power you have to wreak havoc you are also somewhat of a glass cannon, able to be annihilated within seconds. The game is a Metroidvania in its design but each section of the facility is still within its self contained area. Each area usually has one new upgrade to discover, and there is very little need for backtracking. The game is designed well enough that you are forever moving forward. This is a relief as the samey looking levels and the lack of a map would have made backtracking very confusing. Often your goal is to destroy a set number of locks in order to open up a new area. As you play through the game these locks become more and more, with simple puzzles required to access the locks. This includes flipping switches, playing with the power grid, and finding your way past sealed corridors.  

On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Journey (2021) - Horror Documentary Review

I have seen a few of Seth Breedlove's horror documentaries now (Momo: The Missouri Monster, Terror in the Skies) and know that the format and style they go for makes for an interesting time. His latest one, On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Journey is a follow up to his miniseries On the Trail of Bigfoot and felt different to what a normal doc would be like. The 95 minute piece is made up of two distinct parts, the first is obviously the search for Bigfoot, but a portion of this is also dedicated to what it is like to create a documentary while in the middle of the global pandemic.

As the title suggests, this time around Breedlove and his crew have gone on a field trip. They have headed to Upstate New York in order to explore the vast mountainous and forest regions of the Adirondacks. Over six days they plan to search different areas, speak to locals who have sighted the elusive creatures and in all honesty, just get away from civilisation and get back to nature. They talk of how now more than ever the wilds is essential to be able to forget about all the trouble and strife, the worries of the pandemic. So do they actually get to see the creature? The answer will likely be obvious but I won't spoil it here either way.

Their search takes them to several locations which include Whitehall and the small town of Kinderhook. The actual parts where the crew head out into the forests are the most uneventful. These sections kind of blurred into one. The scenery looks stunning, but the actual investigation is mainly comprised of men all stood around with night vision on, looking at maps and talking amongst themselves. Far more interesting where the interviews with witnesses and the recreations. With so many different people all describing a similar creature you have to wonder if these things actually do exist or not. While I think it's unlikely it was still really interesting hearing about all this.

Ripper Untold (2021) - Horror Film Review

The title for the Jack the Ripper horror film Ripper Untold is apt for it certainly does tell a side to the infamous crime case that has previously been untold, albeit a fictional story that is content to tell its own version of events using parts of the reality as a springboard. There is no problem with it doing things this way and it was still fun to see an overlap between fact and fiction. This was both written and directed by Steve Lawson (Bram Stoker's Van Helsing, The Exorcism of Karen Walker) and tells a competent tale despite using a minimalistic cast. 

It is 1888 and the body of a prostitute has been found viciously murdered. On the case is Inspector Rees (Phil Molloy - Dysnomia) who is assisted by the troubled physician Thomas Locque (Jonathan Hansler - Evil's Evil Cousin, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince). As the body count rises, Rees comes under increasing pressure to find the killer, while Thomas becomes more and more concerned with the missing gaps in his memory.

The small cast is very noticeable but it is good filmmaking that this never really eats into the flow of the story. The Police station for instance seems to consist of just two people, Rees, and his ever present Constable (Marcus Langford -  Toxic Apocalypse). These make up part of the very small cast with a total of less than ten. Notable side characters include the tabloid reporter, Stubb (Chris Bell - Haunted 3: Spirits, Haunted 4: Demons, Haunted 5: Phantoms) and the corrupt assistant to Thomas, Dodd (Jacob Anderton - 13 Graves). The acting was mostly decent enough, there were at least one or two who felt less effective, though perhaps more due to their low impact roles that didn't have them do much more than stand still and talk.

Winifred Meeks (2021) - Horror Film Review

Winifred Meeks is a supernatural horror set in and around an old farmhouse in England. It was written and directed by Jason Figgis (Children of a Darker Dawn, The Ecstasy of Isabel Mann) and would be a perfect introduction for people who don't like horror films, as the horror here is very slight. Whether that is a good or bad thing depends on your mood, but at the very least this was a very well shot film with some great cinematography.

Anna James (Lara Belmont - Long Time Dead) is an author who has rented an old farmhouse close to the sea in order to begin work on her latest novel. With relationship troubles and a looming deadline she figures the time away on her own will allow her to really get into her work. After experiencing unexplainable events, mainly in the form of an often glimpsed woman, Anna begins to suspect the house she is in may be haunted.

You have to give credit to Winifred Meeks for its stubborn refusal to really go anywhere with the story. It isn't long into the movie that we get our first glimpse of the titular ghost. Normally you would expect a gradual ramping up of the ghostly goings on over the course of the film, here though things never really escalate past the occasional sighting of the figure, and hearing her speaking. This gave the film a bit of a static feel, whether you are ten minutes or an hour into the film not much has actually happened. That also includes the plot, Anna spends nearly the entire film completely alone and not really doing much other than her usual silent routine. With fifteen minutes left to go something eventually occurs, but to be truthful not anything much more exciting than the power going out. I think your enjoyment of this would depend on your mindset going in. For me, I watched this as soon as I woke up today from the comfort of my own bed. I used to have a girlfriend who would insist on falling asleep with a film playing, I myself cannot sleep if there is any sort of noise and so there was a vague compromise in that I would choose a film I knew would be quiet. If I had still been with her nowadays I would have probably included this in rotation as aside from one or maybe two screams (one of which was from a film playing on TV) this is a mellow and low threat type of film.

The Twilight Zone: Season 1 (1959) - Horror TV Show Review

The Twilight Zone is a show that almost everyone has heard of, and for good reason, it remains a stone cold classic and one that still holds up today despite first airing over sixty years ago. A year or so back I picked up the complete collection on Blu-ray and after getting my dad the complete box set on DVD for Christmas I have entered into some sort of race with him. This show really is the Black Mirror of its time, while it could be accused of being quantity over quality, the good to great episodes, at least in season 1 far outweigh the bad ones (of which there are a fair few).

Season 1 is made up of a beefy 36 episodes, each one features an intro and an outro voiced by series creator Rod Serling, who also wrote a bunch of the episodes. The show is in an anthology format, each episode self contained featuring unique characters and settings. The thread holding them all together is that the protagonist of each episode has unknowingly strayed into the 'twilight zone', a place where the normal rules of the world no longer apply. Usually this is used to nightmarish effect but not always. There are a bunch of episodes that are sweet and feel good, and a less successful bunch of episodes that are played for comedic effect. The settings vary and are not always restricted to the (at the time) modern day of the 1950's, quite a few are sci-fi in nature, some are Westerns (Mr. Denton on Doomsday and Execution) while others take place during wartime (Judgement Night, The Last Flight and The Purple Testament). Nearly all of the episodes have some type of morality tale they are imparting, and most end with a usually cruel final twist that often manages to elicit a chill.

Similar to Black Mirror fears of the time are used in some of the stories, most notably fear of atomic war which pops up in a bunch of the episodes, such as Time Enough at Last (a man finds he has all the time in the world to do his favourite pastime of reading when he becomes the sole survivor of a nuclear holocaust) and Third from the Sun (a group of people plan to pilot a spaceship off their planet due to an impending nuclear war).
There are also the more common worries that people exhibit that resonate today, such as people who yearn for the simpler times of the past (The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine, Walking Distance, A Stop at Willoughby).