Tag: gore

BRING HER BACK – Review

Just because the Summer movie season is officially in full swing (Memorial Day was last Monday, already), it doesn’t mean that there isn’t room at the multiplex for a daring original (and often brutal) horror flick amongst the family-friendly fantasies and the action “tentpoles”. Well that was the thought three years ago when a spooky Australian chunk of “nightmare fuel’ opened (some might say that it crawled out of the “bad place”) and alerted genre fans to a new pair of suspense cinema siblings, Danny and Michael Philippou. It’s title was really a “command”, TALK TO ME. And now the brothers have another adamant ‘request” for their sophomore effort, which veers a bit away from the supernatural to explore the real horror and caranage (lots of it) that human beings inflict when they pull out “all the stops” to BRING HER BACK.

The directing duo throws moviegoers “off balance” with the film’s monochrome opening images, as though we’ve popped in an old VHS tape that we shouldn’t attempt to view (shades of THE RING). After a few unnerving minutes, we’re back in the present day as a visually impaired teenager, Piper (Sora Wong) tries to interact with her school’s “popular girls”. Thankfully, her seventeen-year-old big brother Andy (Billy Barratt) shows up to take her home before the moment gets too awkward (the girls silently mock Piper). He scolds her for not using her cane, but Piper pleads that it’s too embarrassing to use. Home should be a safe refuge for both, but tragedy awaits when they find their father lifeless on the bathroom floor, having crashed through the shower door. After Dad is taken away by the authorities, the siblings have a meeting with the brusque Wendy (Sally Anne-Upton), the child services supervisor. Andy wants to be Piper’s legal guardian, but he’s months from eighteen and will have to provide a stable home. Luckily, Wendy’s got the perfect foster parent lined up. She takes them to the off-the-beaten-path house of former social worker Laura (Sally Hawkins), who has recently lost her own sightless daughter. It’s a big sprawling place that they’ll share with another orphan, pre-teen Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), a mute who silently wanders the yard. Laura seems to be kind and caring, but Andy soon becomes aware of her intrusive and nearly smothering behavior, leading to some tense confrontations. Yet Piper adores her, which puts Andy between a rock and a hard place. Can he get someone, perhaps Wendy, to believe his concerns over Laura’s “quirks” before his sister becomes too attached? Andy wants to leave with Piper, but what bizarre scheme is Laura planning for them?

For this follow-up flick, the Philippou brothers have scored a gifted veteran actress to anchor this twisted tale. And Laura might be the most twisted role of all, perhaps due to the powerful and completely unpredictable performance from Hawkins (hey, she starred in the Oscar-winning horror/fantasy THE SHAPE OF WATER). This “queen mother” appears to be a perfect fit for the just-orphaned duo, though some of her choices are far from the “foster parent manual”, especially has she shares a bottle of booze with her new charges. But that’s the least of her questionable “parenting” decisions. Hawkins commands our attention through the most vile and cruel acts, and keeps us “strapped in’ for the wild “ride”, if only to learn of her final destination. Barrat is the closest character to the horror “hero” as his Andy deals with his regrets over past violent acts, while trying to “sound the alarm” when nothing seems to make sense, especially in protecting his adored sister. But Wong as Piper is no mere “damsel-in-distress” as she tosses off some epic “burns” ( her “favorite activity” answer is hilarious), and pushes back on anyone, even Andy, who tries to pity her. But that fierce independent spirit may place her in greater danger. She erects a tough outer shell to contain her sadness. Also impressive is Phillips as the hovering, staring wanderer. His quiet, sullen stare reminded me of Karloff in THE OLD DARK HOUSE as we wonder if he’s a real threat or yet another potential victim of this haunted, decaying house.

The Philippous built upon the promise of their first flick, giving us a modern fear fable full of shocks and surprises, courtesy of the original story from Danny and co-writer Bill Hinzman. Some might post “trigger warnings” or other cautionary advice. I’ll just say that the scares and sights of TALK TO ME seem very tame to many of the brutal sequences that have been created to make the most jaded “gorehounds” squirm in their seats. This is some rough s…stuff concocted by an expert makeup team, enhanced by some inspired editing choices from Geoff Lamb, punctuated by effective music bursts from Cornel Wilczek. By the harrowing final act showdown, most of our questions are answered in an exhausting crescendo of chaotic carnage. It’s one well-made “thrill ride” that many may never wish to endure again, unless they bring a friend to another screening to revel in their reactions. Aside from the searing set pieces, the Philippou brothers give the entire story a feeling of menace and a sense of moral and physical “rot” while illustrating the devastating after-effects of grief (maybe the story’s true “monster”). For those cinephiles with a strong heart (and stomach), BRING HER BACK is a true nightmare-inducing “chiller thriller”. Consider yourself warned (or perhaps encouraged)…


3 Out of 4


BRING HER BACK is now playing in select theatres

PRETTY BOY – Review

A scene from PRETTY BOY. Courtesy of Lionsgate

Psycho slasher flicks are hard to predict on the quality scale. Some viewers only care about the gore level. Others look more for novelty in the methods of dispatch; the more studious types may  seek more in the plot and character vein to understand they whys of the situation. PRETTY BOY is pretty good on the first two, but weak on the third. What I didn’t know before watching was that this 2021 movie is a sequel, picking up right after the events of 2019’s BLIND. I then watched it, too, and probably would have liked this one better if I’d seen them in the correct order. But not by all that much.

The eponymous masked murderer has a fixation on a blind former starlet (Sarah French). As this one opens, he’s schlepping her body around Hollywood Hills for reasons I still don’t understand after seeing both when he comes across a Valentine’s Day party at someone’s home, and starts killing those folks.

We learn a bit about them, but not enough to care who might survive. Despite his lack of dialog, we also learn more of Pretty Boy’s backstory, which is suitably sordid, if not fully credible.

Gore junkies will be more satisfied by the sights and sounds of the slaughter, including plenty of blood and a few unique methods of offing the co-stars. The body count is higher and more visceral than in BLIND. Other plot and character details matter little.

Now that you know what to expect, make your own decision on which parts of the genre you find most motivating, and choose accordingly. That’s the best non-spoiler advice I can offer.

PRETTY BOY is available VOD and on digital platforms starting Tuesday, May 27, 2025.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars

TRIM SEASON – Review

(L-R) Julia (Alexandra Essoe) and Emma (Bethlehem Million) work in the cannabis factory, in TRIM SEASON. Courtesy of Blue Harbor Entertainment

If you’re in the mood for a splatter flick with more gore than logic, TRIM SEASON might be your ticket. We first see a woman in the woods killing herself as if driven by an unseen force. Cut to a city, where we meet a couple of twenty-somethings, Emma (Bethlehem Million), who is strapped for cash; and her big-sisterly pal Julia (Alexandra Essoe). At a bar, they’re introduced to a guy who offers them temp jobs trimming marijuana plants. It’s quite lucrative, paying $5,000 for two weeks of seasonal work. The recruiter drives them along with a few others to a remote forested region miles from the nearest paved road. Though the year isn’t specified, it seems to be set shortly before weed growing was legalized.

They’re met by armed guards, followed by the farm’s creepy owner (Jane Badler) and her two sketchy sons. Badler is gracious and hospitable, yet with an underlying chill in her bearing. The latter will, of course, come to dominate the proceedings. Emma, who started with more doubts than the others, soon learns they were not groundless. Her more adventurous friend Julia tries to keep her calm to make the best of their situation. When the plot’s essential bad things start happening to the ladies, it becomes apparent that there’s no escape from Badler’s turf and that something supernatural is in play. Not in a recreational sense of the last word before this sentence.

The cast is an assortment of the requisite personality types, played by relatively unknown actors, other than Badler. That’s a plus in these gore-fests, whether they’re comedic or suspenseful. There’s less predictability about who will die, and in what order, since that usually correlates with their relative fame levels. Deaths occur in a variety of icky ways, as the genre must generate. Little visual or auditory detail is spared. Ain’t nobody gonna be dyin’ quick and easy, no how.

The story is almost as sketchy as the baddies’ character. Questions will remain unanswered for those who concern themselves with the cerebral more than the visceral. But if blood lust is your motivation, dive right in.

TRIM SEASON opens Friday, June 7, in theaters and on demand.

RATING: 1.5 out of 4 stars

A scene from TRIM SEASON. Courtesy of Blue Harbor Entertainment

HUNT HER, KILL HER – Review

Natalie Terrazzino in HUNT HER, KILL HER. Courtesy of Welcome Villian Films

There have been dozens of films in which an innocent woman is forced to summon previously untapped toughness and resourcefulness to fend off a group of assailants. An early example is a blind Audrey Hepburn in WAIT UNTIL DARK whose home is invaded by thugs mistakenly thinking some drugs were stashed there. Among the grittier, bloodier explorations of the premise is 1978’s I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE, which spawned a slew of sequels and imitators including its next-generation return bout, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE: DÉJÀ VU, in 2019.

In HUNT HER, KILL HER, Natalie Terrazzino plays a woman on her first night as the janitor in a large industrial facility. She’s worried about her sick child left in the care of a neighbor. She starts hearing sounds that are troubling, since she’s supposed to be the only one there for the whole night.

A mysterious package is delivered by a rather dodgy courier. She soon finds herself under attack by a handful of masked intruders, with no idea who they are, or why they’re after her. Is she just unlucky enough to be in the way of a heist? Are they using the premises for some criminal enterprise? Or could she be the target? Her life depends on defeating them, no matter which motive is driving their lethal engines.

What ensues is a typically unlikely set of dodges, defenses and counterattacks throughout the large, labyrinthine building. This plain, mild-mannered woman must become the “Die Hard” version of Bruce Willis, with a touch of MacGyver, to survive the night. What happens isn’t all that surprising. These flicks are all about the methods by which the woman survives. Ruby Rose headlined something similar in 2020’s THE DOORMAN, though that one established her character’s trained fighting skills up front. Terrazzino appears far less qualified for this unexpected survival struggle.

Fans of gore-fests will find plenty of ickiness in the proceedings. The whole ordeal is about as disorienting for the audience as the star, since we never get a full sense of the size, configuration and contents of the premises as she frantically scrambles to hide, set traps and fend off the attackers. Nothing special about her or the mostly-anonymous assailants. Or the plot. This one, which was directed by Greg Swinson and Ryan Thiessen from a script by Swinson. just scratches a particular cinematic itch of tables being rightly turned by an underdog in the bloodiest of displays.

HUNT HER, KILL HER opens in theaters on Friday, March 3, and is available for streaming on multiple VOD platforms as of April 14.

RATING: 1.5 out of 4 stars

ALMOST HUMAN – The Blu Review

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Writer and director Joe Begos’ ALMOST HUMAN (2013) may draw influence from the oft-remade “Body Snatcher” genre of science-fiction, but where he strives to stand apart is by bringing the classic standard to the modern grindhouse horror audience. This is a gory, violent rendition of the concept of alien creatures taking over human bodies and controlling them from within like robots. While this approach has its niche market, I always contend that viewers should try and look past the gore and violence but still embrace it as they experience the film as a whole, then make judgments based on more than simply the visceral sights and sounds that may prove distasteful on their own.

ALMOST HUMAN, not to be mistaken for the short-lives futuristic sci-fi television series that aired the same year, presents itself with a surprisingly low key, unassuming disposition of simplicity. The film avoids the more darkly comedic, or slyly self-deprecating trends that have fared well for films like HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN, instead investing in a more dialogue-conscious, character-driver story that allows the audience to connect more closely to the human element of the horrific events that unfold on screen.

That’s awfully deep talk, so let me move beyond that now and discuss the more visceral traits. ALMOST HUMAN, perhaps shockingly, is not as gratuitously violent and gory as may have been suggested. Granted, I am coming from years of exposure to the type, but the true horror here comes from the cast and script. While the special effects are noteworthy, not over-the-top but realistic, their used sparingly, relative to the genre. Its the anticipation and drama that keeps the viewer on edge in this film.

ALMOST HUMAN stars Josh Ethier as Mark Fisher, a man returned home after having disappeared two years prior in a mysterious flash of blue light. Graham Skipper plays his friend Seth Hampton, one of a small clutch of witnesses who have tried to move on with their lives while fully aware of the unforgettable events that occurred. With Mark’s return, however, something has changed. He has changed and he has a mission.

The story takes place in Derry, Maine, the same fictional town that often serves as the setting for Stephen King’s tales of horror. Told with an indie-spirited perspective, ALMOST HUMAN could be called a minimalist backwoods alien abduction story, graphically interpreted for mature audiences, but its also an exhilarating, edge-of-your-seat film on a small scale. Ethier nails his performance as the cold, empty emotionless husk of a human body driven by its other-worldly host. Consider Schwarzenegger as the Terminator without the accent and a decent skill for acting, then dress him up like Paul Bunyan and you’ve got Mark Fisher.

ALMOST HUMAN is not your 50s sci-fi. It’s gritty, steeped in realism and yes, its violent. Why do I keep coming back to that? Because its important, but the horror isn’t entirely visual. The sound in the film plays a crucial role, both literally and psychologically. Lights and sounds become synonymous to terror and fear, whereas darkness takes an unconventional break from being the harbinger of doom. Viewing the film on blu-ray only greatly enhances this element of the film’s design. The sound becomes its own character symbiotic to the grotesque worm-like alien creature that have implanted themselves within their human hosts.

As for the special effects, the aliens themselves are handles much like Spielberg’s handling of “Bruce” the great white shark in JAWS. The less you see of the inhuman antagonist the better, generating a greater sense of fear and discomfort than can be realized by over use of special effects. Once again, this is where Begos’ use of sound plays an integral role. the aliens are far more present in the film as interpreted through the high-pitched, ear drum piercing shrieks they make. Like fingernails on chalkboards multiplied by a thousand. Add to this the short 80-minute running time and you have a compact sensory science-fiction slasher flick.

As for any lack of a happy ending in the story, this can be remedied by pleasant surprises within this blu-ray’s special features. Containing not one, but two feature-length commentaries: one with writer/director Joe Begos and Josh Ethier and another with this duo plus actor Graham Skipper and producer Cory Lockman. As if this weren’t enough for the average enthusiast, the blu-ray also includes a feature-length making of documentary, a behind-the-scenes featurette on the set with Graham Skipper, and the short film TOXIN, in addition to the standard inclusion of trailers, TV spots and photo galleries. Overall, the ALMOST HUMAN blu-ray is the total package that blends sci-fi and horror with an accessibly engaging but minimally cerebral story and lots of goodies. Oh, yeah… and, it has a chainsaw.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

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WOLFMAN Gets An R!

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I think that I am the only one of my friends who is legitimately looking forward to director Joe Johnston’s WOLFMAN (which hits theaters Feb 12th, 2010). I just love the Gothic feel and its visuals remind me of another favorite of mine, THE PRESTIGE. It just looks fantastic, despite its somewhat campy promotion.

To make matters better, Universal announced today that the film will be rated R for “bloody horror, violence and gore.” HECK YES. This is exactly what I needed to hear in order to solidify my word that this film will be pretty freaking rad. I’m glad we are getting to see some bloody wolf violence in this setting. I think we were all truthfully ready to give this film a pass due to the inevitable PG-13 rating and the toning down of the monster violence. I guess all naysayers can eat their own words and hope for the best now that this announcement has been made!


As I said, WOLFMAN hits theaters on February 12th 2010. Will you be there to enjoy it with me?

Source: /Film.com

I Heart Horror… with a speckle of comedy.

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Hello Fiends!   It is time to switch gears.   I will be doing this frequently.   I hope you don’t mind.   You don’t, do you?   GOOOOOOOOOOD.   Sometimes I will be giving a “Pick of the Week” in this column, but most times I will want to talk about a subject.

I was debating on writing about this subject last week, but decided against it.   As you know, ‘Drag Me to Hell’ is the current theatrical horror release, well mainstream anyway.   It came in 4th place on it’s first weekend, fell 3 spots last week to #7 and then fell another 3 spots to #10 for it’s 3rd week. I think it is safe to say that it will only be in theatres  until tomorrow or the following Thursday.

This is Raimi’s forth film under Universal Studios.   Two of those films,   Darkman & Army of Darkness (his fourth – ‘For the Love of the Game’), almost buried his career with Universal & Hollywood for that matter.   ‘Army of Darkness’ was considered a bomb and his kinetic interpretation of a vigilante scientist was even worse under the financial eye.   What is kind of funny is that both of those films are cult classics now.   The Horror-Comedy genre has always underperformed at the box office and Raimi seems to be the victim of loving this odd little sub-genre and executing it to the finest degree.   When talking about the general movie going public in regards to films like ‘Drag Me To Hell’, they either want to be scared or laugh out loud because the film is so bad.   Any in-between and the audience is lost.   Sure, us horror geeks will get it, embrace it and tell more people how much fun we had.

So, if you haven’t seen ‘Drag Me to Hell’, GO SEE IT NOW!!!   If you have, enjoy the following top 5 films that I love out of this little corner of horror flicks.

5: Idle Hands

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This was a film made for stoners, Jessica Alba ooglers & horror geeks. ‘Idle Hands’ was released back in 1999 and did very, very poorly in the box office.   Rodman Flender directed this little gem.   Granted, the dude directed ‘Leprechaun 2’, but don’t let that hold you back.   Christopher Baffa – who’s first official DP credit was Nacho Cerda’s ‘Aftermath’ – photographed this film and littered it with Argento-like flavor to compliment the morbid side of the tale.   Anton (Devon Sawa) wakes up one day to find that his parents are missing.   Later in the film, he finds out that they were murdered as he discovers their corpses inside his house.   However, he starts to wonder if he is completely innocent as his hand starts to “act up” and evidence points towards himself as being the murderer.   He seeks advice from his stoner pals Mick (Seth Green) & Pnub (Elden Henson) while trying to hook up with Molly (Jessica Alba).   The film is hilarious with a great little score by Graeme Revell and basically takes the ‘possessed hand’ gag from Evil Dead 2 and makes it into a full length film.   It’s a film that I don’t mind popping in time to time for it’s light-heartedness and the physical comedy that is performed by Sawa who gladly steps into the boots of ‘Ash’ from the Evil Dead series.

4.Behind the Mask

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Slasher films were definitely the product of the ’80’s.   Sure, there have been more recent slasher flicks like ‘Hatchet’, but how do you re-invent the slasher?   Meet ‘Behind the Mask’.   ‘Behind the Mask’ is a mockumentary that takes all the attributes of the slasher film and turns it around with a new perspective.   Why is it that the killer just walks and catches up with those fast kids?   The answer lies here.   The star of the show is played by Nathan Baesel, but he is complimented by Robert Englund in essentially a Sam Loomis (Halloween) type role.   The film is set in a world where Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger (ironic, I know) & Michael Myers are real killers, or psycho-slashers.   Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel) is in training to become the next great psycho-slasher.   While preparing for his slaughterfest and picking out the stereotypical characters, a documentary crew films him.   Think ‘Man Bites Dog’ but with a lighter touch.     This is one to see folks.   Scott Glosserman crafts not only an iconic look for our killer, but also a very entertaining film.

3.Murder Party

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This one is a film I have vowed to watch every Halloween.   I’m a sucker for films set on my favorite holiday, Halloween,  and if it’s a good flick as well, even better.

We are introduced to a lonely meter maid on his way home from what we can imagine was a crappy day.   While walking, he discovers an invite to a “Murder Party”.   Like a good guest, he whips up some pumpkin bread and makes a shoddy but creative costume out of duct tape and cardboard.   Once he arrives to the party – which only contains a small group – he realizes that it isn’t a party at all but more of an experiment.

The film can be predictable at times, but the troupe within the film makes it all work in very unpredictable devices.   It’s funny, dark and gruesome when one by one the organizers of said Murder Party start dying off.

This is a MUST SEE.

2. Dead-Alive

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Speaking of MUST SEE’s, ‘Dead-Alive’ (a.k.a. Braindead) was Peter Jackson’s earlier entry into his career.   After Meet The Feebles & Bad Taste, Jackson wanted to up the grue factor and bring something fun like the Evil Dead films.   Zombies run amok!   Babies are not safe & lawnmowers do more than cut grass.

The film is set back in the 50’s, this 1992 film tells the story of a man and his mum (yes…I had to say ‘mum’) and how far he would go to protect her after she has been “savaged” by a Sumatran rat-monkey and turned into a zombie.

Great characters like Uncle Les and kooky one-off characters really make the film.   The cover touts it as being “The Goriest Movie Ever Made”.   According to the amount of fake blood used, it still is.   It’s a good time, with quotable dialogue and great physical and camera effects.   Jackson perfected one of his camera tricks with this film, something I call the “wipe mask”.   This is where he would have an object wipe from right to left or left to right across the screen to hide a cut.   This is usually used to have an effect blend perfectly into the scene.

Peppered with comedy, blood and technical wizardry…this was the first footprint of a great director and is a neccessity for all horror fans.

1. Evil Dead 2

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Now, you didn’t think I was going to let this one slip.   Let’s face it, as much as you want to get those obscure movies in any horror film list, there is a reason this one is a classic.

Raimi basically remade ‘Evil Dead’ by cutting out a few characters and rewriting the basic story on what happened on the initial trip to the cabin.   Fanboys didn’t cry.   It improved the story and set the manic tone for what is now known as one of the best modern American horror film of our time.

Back in 1987, Freddy was already in his 3rd entry while Jason was taking a breather between Jason Lives and The New Blood.   What was being released that year were films that were introduced to a unappreciative audience, but would later become cult hits.   A list of other highlights in 1987 were:

  • Angel Heart
  • Bad Taste
  • Blood Diner (mainly a personal favorite of mine)
  • Creepshow 2 (The Raft is the only reason why I’m mentioning it)
  • The Gate
  • Hellraiser
  • The Hidden
  • The Lost Boys
  • Near Dark
  • The Monster Squad
  • Nekromantik
  • Night of the Demons
  • Argento’s Opera
  • Predator
  • Prince of Darkness
  • The Stepfather

All these films are pretty influential or at least we hold something in our hearts about these films.

Evil Dead 2 was one of the best films to come out of that year.   Often imitated but never replicated, the film was a perfect blend of horror and comedy and showed that laughing along with inanimated objects, that suddenly became animated for no reason, was perfectly normal.

If you own DVD’s and like horror…this should be in your collection.

Honorable Mention: The Convent

Maybe it is a guilty pleasure of mine, but this film is so damn stupid but fun at the same time.   It’s quotable and fun to look at.   Mike Mendez, who went on to direct The Gravedancers, spent years trying to get this film off the ground and spent even more trying to get it distributed.

Adrienne Barbeau, Bill Moseley and even Coolio show up in this one.   A group of college students try to complete a dare of spraypainting their letters on the walls of a haunted Convent.   However, they get more than they bargained for when some of them are possessed by satan’s spawn.   Yeah, it is a rip off of Night of the Demons, but I remember waiting for a long time after reading about it in Fangoria to see this film.   I laughed a lot.   Maybe more than anyone should, I thought.   However, in the 20 years, or more, that I have been watching horror films – I have shown this to some friends and they all quote the same lines I do and love it.   It’s stupid, it’s funny and the blacklight photography that makes up for the demon’s looks are awesome.

Once the first possession happens, the energy of this film just doesn’t let up.   Plus, Adrienne is a badass biker chick that sports a shotgun with a mission to send these demons back to hell!

Rent this one with a case of beer and I guarantee you that you will have a fun time.

Well, a new plot was dug recently, so it’s time for me to go 6 feet under and feed off more cinematic wonders.

Adiós!

Review: ‘Black Sheep’

Recently I rented the movie Black Sheep.

This is where you say, “Oh, the one with Chris Farley? Yeah, I’ve seen that, it’s a classic!”

And I say, “Nooo, This is a movie that was made in New Zealand about man-eating sheep. IT’S AWESOME!”

At least that is the interaction I have had with every person that I have spoken to about this particular movie. But it really is AWESOME! Imagine, the beautiful New Zealand countryside full of fat contented sheep. But on one particular farm there is illegal genetic engineering going on that, once it gets out of hand, causes 50,000 sheep to run-a-muck tearing innocent people limb from limb because of their sudden and insatiable appetite for human flesh. The heroes of this movie are a an attractive pair (of course). One is a young man with a preexisting sheep phobia and the other a young female animal rights activist named Experience.

The movie, with it’s wonderfully over the top gore is played out completely straight faced while still embracing how ridiculous it’s story is. If you enjoyed Dawn of The Dead or Slither, you will enjoy this flick as well.