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House of the Dead II: Dead Aim (2005) - Horror Film Review 28 Feb 12:50 PM (16 hours ago)

A university science professor trying to perfect a serum to resurrect the dead (a short but sweet role by cult actor Sid Haig - The Devil's Rejects) results in the accidental unleashing of a virus that turns the students and teachers of the university into flesh hungry ghouls. Catching the attention of a zombie hunting organisation known as A.M.S, they send two agents; Nightingale (Emmanuelle Vaugier - Saw II) and Ellis (Ed Quinn - Werewolf: The Beast Among Us) as well as a small group of soldiers to the place of learning. Their mission is to retrieve a blood sample from patient zero, with the hope a vaccine can be created from the blood. They are working against the clock however, the army planning to destroy the place by missiles in order to contain the contagion.

This was cheesy, predictable, and silly in a way that if not purposely done, was still a good reflection on the cheesy video games that the property spawned from. Over the hour and a half runtime there are many easily avoidable deaths, groan worthy one liners, and stupid ideas. One of the things I most love about zombie films is that it doesn't matter if the plot is particularly good, as long as there are enough undead I am going to be happy, content to switch off my brain and let the goofiness and mayhem wash over me. Unlike the first movie, this one remembers to be entertaining, from the start to the finish there isn't really a let-up, with the action forever increasing, and the odds of survival getting more and more ridiculous. Side characters mainly existed to be swiftly killed, it was funny how fast the soldiers were defeated, even one of them who stated he had fought the undead before, kept mistaking zombies for survivors until his luck ran out. Most memorable of these soldiers was Bart (James Parks - Kill Bill: Vol 1, Vol 2), a self serving and cocky man who was as entertaining as he was sleazy. I liked Nightingale and Ellis, they didn't have much to them other than tonnes of bravado and a willingness to be cold as ice when it came to dealing with the recently infected, but they did remind me of the protagonist duos you would see in the games.

Initially in small numbers, the amount of walking corpses increases as the film goes on. There did seem to be a bit of main character energy with the protagonists, as they are able to survive intense close quarters fighting of large groups without getting bitten or scratched, while the more expendable characters instantly get bitten. To be fair to them, by the end of the movie the zombie actors direction seems to be 'pretend you are in a mosh pit at a hardcore music festival' as they seemed to do little more than rush the heroes with their arms windmilling in large circles! There is plenty of blood, plenty of action, and a couple of references to the games. The games are not known for their deep stories, and this is the same, the plot is incredibly basic and fitted the vibe of a short and sweet arcade machine light gun game. Some later story beats were more silly than serious, but it gave a reason to increase the tension and threat level. Zombies were plentiful and looked the part, often appearing in huge groups. Nothing like the games, there were just zombies here and no other creatures, and those zombies look like former people rather than lab grown monstrosities. I was fine with this though, I was more than happy that the film was enjoyably dumb rather than a lesson in tedium. I also appreciated how this was linked to the first movie, rather than being a completely self contained story. Lastly, I enjoyed the bleak ending to this, always good to see in these types of movies!

With zombie films it is never so much 'is this good?' but more 'is this fun?' House of the Dead II: Dead Aim is not a good movie, but it was an enjoyable one. The university setting might not be the most original, in fact, there is little here that is original, but there are spirited performances from people who are likely all too aware of the level of film they are acting in. The story might be incredibly basic, but I kind of get the feeling that was the intention, and being from the early 2000s (that I have huge nostalgia for), this was a zombie film that did exactly what it set out to do, mindless entertainment.

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The Rotting Zombie's Round-Up of Horror News for February 2025 27 Feb 8:45 AM (yesterday, 8:45 am)

New werewolf film Byte is now on Tubi. The weird synopsis states a group of friends discover a phone app that claims to be able to transform people into werewolves, which coincides in a series of gruesome attacks around town. Written/directed by Eddie Lengyel (St Patrick's Day: The Sluagh Awakens), this stars Kayden Bryce (An Intrusion), Marshall Vargas (Specter) and Carlie Allen (Shredded).

Heretics (2024) - Horror Film Review 26 Feb 11:59 AM (2 days ago)

A bunch of teenage friends are having a drunken garden party one evening. With the alcohol flowing and the friends running out of ideas for what to do, one of them suggests that they head to the abandoned Simmons estate (no relation, my surname is 'Simmonds'!). It is a local place rumoured to be inhabited by crazy homeless people, which teens in the area visit as a test of their courage, to see if they can last the night there. Things briefly go well, but it isn't too long before the group find themselves under assault from a group of murderous demon worshipping cultists.

Firstly, I thought how the found footage aspect was presented was different to the normal way. There is some text at film's start but instead of stating the following was to be recovered footage found it is instead praising a demon named Lilith. I thought that screen and the one at the end of Heretics was probably the best idea here. This falls into all the usual generic tropes of the genre. It begins with a far too long introduction, twenty seven minutes of dumb teenagers playing drinking games and flirting might have intended to give the characters some fleshing out, but it just made me dislike them more than I would have without that part. By the half hour mark the teens have finally got to the abandoned house, I noted that it was thirty three minutes when the first moment that could be considered horror happened, and from here it is somehow all downhill.
Things progress predictably, lots of people filming for absolutely no reason, the scared teens constantly running into the basement rather than making any attempt to break the multitude of weak looking windows in the house proper, constant excuses as to why they shouldn't just try and escape, and then the third act. Third act goes full shaky cam, lots of really blurry and hard to see scenes put against static camera recordings that were so dark it was hard to make much out. This wasn't exciting, instead the most action packed section of the film felt plain dull.

There were too many characters to care about, none of which had much personality to them. Stand-out was Eva (Neeley Dayan), only because her being the only religious character made her easier to remember than the rest of the idiotic teens. I also enjoyed seeing prolific actor Eric Roberts (Devil's Knight, Down Below) in a small role here. I assume a lot of the dialogue was improvised as it was mainly made up of characters saying the same things in different ways over and over again. A bit where Jessica (Shelby Wright) films a video message for her parents while sniffling was a blatant homage to The Blair Witch Project, making me roll my eyes. The cultists unfortunately came across as comically cartoonish. When they first appeared, climbing through windows they briefly looked like a threat as it appeared they were wearing balaclavas so seemed intimidating. It soon became clear they were idiots too, black robed and wearing goofy black masks, it was hard to take them seriously, not helped by their bumbling around and Scooby-Doo type reveals of who they actually were. One thing Heretics does get right is the amount of on-screen deaths, with a large cast comes a large body count thankfully, and the sticky looking red blood looked good on screen.

Heretics had little bursts of good ideas but all too often it was content to be a derivative copy of found footages from before. This wasn't all terrible, and if for some reason you are in the mood for a brain dead found footage then Heretics will be right up your street.

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Schicksalsweg (2024) by Schatten Muse - Music Album Review 25 Feb 12:32 PM (3 days ago)

The album has a simple, repetitive, and often addictive quality to its music. Sometimes sounding like a soundscape such as with 'Vergangen' and closing trio 'Es Stirbt Ein Teil Von Mir', 'Verlorene Seelen', and 'Zerrissenheit'. Music is by Shelmerdine, with all vocals/lyrics coming from Sylvia Fürst, and the lyrics are different to what you might expect. A lot of the time the vocals are more of a narration or incantation. I don't know German so the words mean nothing to me, but with the atmospheric music it sounded like a spell being spoken. Looking back to the press release it states the lyrical concept is about '...darkness, melancholy, isolation, philosophy of life and death, solitude, madness, depression, desperation, surrealism, expressionism, (and) existential philosophy...'.

The music remained simple throughout, such as the pulsating drumbeats on opener track 'Angst', and the piano led 'Fluss Des Lebens'. Second track 'Illusion' with its atmospheric Silent Hill mist-world type sound began a trip-hop sound that followed on to my favourite track 'Transzendenz' with a Depeche Mode vibe to it and that title constantly being spoken. The only other track to mention on the forty one minute album is the mournful 'Charlotte Manchmal', a track that I quite enjoyed.

I wouldn't say this genre of music is one I would say I'm a giant fan of, but I still did enjoy what I heard here. I felt this was better with tracks which felt more like isolated songs, rather than some of the later ones that became a bit abstract and soundscape like to my ears. There was plenty to like here, so I am glad I gave Schatten Muse's Schickalsweg a listen.

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#Manhole (2023) - Thriller Film Review 24 Feb 8:14 AM (4 days ago)

The North Witch (2024) - Horror Film Review 21 Feb 5:46 AM (7 days ago)

Having recently been kicked out of the home she had been renting with two others due to them not liking her, Madison (Anna Shields - Lake Artifact, and who also wrote this one) phones an old friend to see if she can stay at her home. The friend, Gemma (Jessy Holtermann - The Hangman) tells Maddie that she is actually just about to go on a camping trip with friends to a remote area in Canada named 'The Barren Lands'. There is a legend of a mysterious vanishing cabin known as 'The Barren Cabin', and Gemma and her friends, who include among them Laura (Brianna Cala), Alice (Ameerah Briggs - The Hangman, Split), and Talia (Kaitlyn Lunardi - The Hangman) are hoping to find evidence of this house while on their trip. On the very first night there, the group find themselves caught up in a terrible storm, in the chaos they are all separated, with Maddie discovering an old cabin that she decides to take shelter in, unable to go too far away from it due to a bad leg injury she sustained during the storm. A few days later she is joined by Talia, but the woman's increasingly disturbing behaviour leads Maddie to suspect something isn't right with her, and she begins to fear for her safety.

This started great, an opening found footage style blurb that speaks about the legend of the vanishing cabin. A not so great ending blurb that attempts to sell the idea that during the making of the movie the film crew experienced weird goings on. This didn't seem to have anything to do with anything as up to that point The North Witch was set up like a traditional film. There are a cast of five friends initially but I wondered just what the point of all these people were. The story moves forward at a lightning pace, with Maddie finding herself alone in the cabin before even fifteen minutes of the film has passed. The set-up felt rushed to me, and due to most the characters having had barely any lines, or character development, I couldn't care less that they all seem to have vanished, likely dead. Much of the film has Maddie as the sole character, even when she is joined by Talia this still remains the same, as that character always seemed to be off doing her own thing. I did think Talia was the highlight of the movie, the actress getting to be really crazy without seeming over the top, a great range of insane looking facial expressions.
That own thing Talia was doing was mainly performing increasingly sinister self mutilation, from smashing her mouth in with a hammer, to getting into a bath of boiling hot water, to slamming a compartment drawer onto her arm until bone shows! It did all look good though, decent special effects selling the damage being done.

There is a strange method of some of the potentially more interesting ideas taking place in scenes that aren't shown on screen. Most of the film takes place in the cabin, a place that looked far too new for a building that is apparently from the sixties or seventies. I guess you could defend it by saying a building that disappears and reappears might not age in a normal way. The cabin interior never felt like it was in the middle of a forest, with the windows always not really showing anything. The few scenes set outside seemed in a different location entirely, with an altogether older looking building. Maddie wasn't the most likeable of protagonists, but she was fine enough. I did feel peril for her, trapped in a building with an increasingly erratic friend. I felt that the moments where she watches videos on her friends phone in a found footage manner were very good, some of those clips felt like they would have benefitted by being shown on screen, but it was a good way to show some of the more messed up things.
I wasn't that taken with the story, the idea that the cabin had been home to a witch in the past wasn't explained that well. More details on the backstory of the place would have been good, as well as more reaction from the characters that they were staying in a place that was only said to have existed in legend, as they seemed mostly unfazed to be staying there. Thankfully, the last twenty minutes are were things become to come together a lot better. There are a whole variety of twists, introduction of new characters, and a feeling that what the viewer is being shown can't really be trusted. I thought this third act was good enough to claw back an additional rotting zombie head to my score.

A rushed first act, a long meandering second act, and an exciting third act make for a witch based horror that may have been poor on occasion, but also had plenty of strong moments to it. The North Witch comes from High Fliers Films.

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The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for February 20th 2025 20 Feb 2:52 AM (9 days ago)

Starting with some music news and industrial rockers Gillsaw have released a new single with their track 'Siren Comes'. This is the second single from the group, following on from 'Rizen' and this brings a '...relentless blend of metal, electronic, and industrial elements'. The track is about a man who is tormented by night by the titular siren creature.

Delicate Arch (2024) - Horror Film Review 19 Feb 8:51 AM (9 days ago)

With high pollution in the city causing health issues, four friends - film nerd Grant (William Leon), his ex-girlfriend Wilda (Kelley Mack - The Walking Dead TV series), stoner Ferg (Rene Leech), and alpha male Cody (Kevin Bohleber - V/H/S/Beyond segment 'Fur Babies') head out on a camping trip to the Utah desert. Their plan is to hike to a rock formation known as 'delicate arch', doing plenty of drugs on the way. The journey becomes increasingly surreal, and Grant starts to suspect that they might unknowingly be characters in a horror movie.

The story is really out there, from the start it is shown how this being a film means that part is able to interfere with the actual story going on. A prologue has a narrator (Katie Self - Silent Hill: Ascension web series) being able to influence a man to take his own life, serving as an early hint as to the strangeness of the film world. This then appears throughout, with Grant in particular seeming to sense he is inside a film, such as blacking out in-between scenes and losing time, commenting when the film is at its exact midpoint, literally measuring out the boundaries of the camera shot he finds himself in, as well as staring directly at the viewer. That part of the film takes a slight backseat to the drama of the four friends travelling across the desert. There is tension with Grant seeming to still have feelings for Wilda, while it seems she is secretly hooking up with Cody. As Grant indicates, Ferg serves as the stoner comic relief, and also can be seen as a catalyst for some of the strange events due to the amount of random drugs they have on them.

It sometimes felt that this was a little too much style over substance. I'm all for that in horror films, and for much of the run time it didn't disappoint. I particularly liked the mid-film point where after taking a lot of magic mushrooms the film starts to at first slip into an animated feature, before becoming all CG (via the use of AR). This made for a suitably trippy segment that was entertaining to watch. I liked also how there are three distinct types of film work here. Most of the movie plays out in a constricting wide-screen format, but at times we get horizontal phone footage instead, and with Grant having brought an old school film camera, there are also sections where it is grainy found footage type sequences. That third act lost it for me though, I didn't understand where the story was going, with many fake out segments that show various unhappy things happing to the protagonists before rewinding to suggest they didn't take place? Or that everything shown is taking place somewhere? I'm not too sure at all what was going on, there was a vague reference to the delicate arch rock formation maybe being a gateway to other worlds, but I just felt lost in the final ten to fifteen minutes. It wasn't badly made, there was impressive film work here, but I just could not follow what was going on and what I as a viewer was meant to make of it all.

Delicate Arch was a film that felt unique, similar ideas to Resolution, but that was no bad thing. The desert location helped the paranoia and isolation that the characters begin to feel, and I thought the direction was good. For me, I got a bit too lost with where the story went to, leaving me feeling a little dissatisfied when the end credits rolled. Described as a 'psychonautic horror', Delicate Arch came to the streaming platform SCREAMBOX on February 11th.

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Dead on Arrival - Escape Room Review 18 Feb 8:18 AM (10 days ago)

The escape room we went for was titled Dead on Arrival, rated five out of five stars for difficulty, and three out of five scare factor, and apparently just a 13% escape rate. As we arrived I overheard the previous group saying they had failed the room, and with me and my father having no real idea what to expect with an escape room, I expected we wouldn't survive. After being led blindfolded to the escape room, the introduction story plays out over a speaker. The set-up states that we had gone to hospital after an accident and family members had been told the injuries were not major. For some reason able to hear the room around us but unable to move or respond, we are alarmed when the heart rate monitor goes wild and our family are told we have sadly passed away. Awakening some time later, we find ourselves in a morgue, with it soon dawning on us that our death was faked in order to sell us to some type of dark web buyer. We are given an hour to escape the room before our captor returns to deal with us.

As films such as Escape Room and...well, Escape Room had already taught me, this is made up of a series of rooms, rather than literally one room. I found that rather than abstract solutions to puzzles, it all revolved around unlocking various types of locks that are sealing doors, drawers, and cupboards shut. Different to what I had expected, we were able to ask for hints at any time, seemingly infinitely should need be. I think that we asked around four times for hints, including the very first room that to my knowledge contained the most obscure puzzle of the whole lot, that didn't instil much hope of us escaping. Obviously, I'm not going to go into too much detail on the puzzles for fear of spoiling, but there were some fun ones here, though also some that appeared a bit broken. A great one that took me straight back to the Resident Evil games saw us lining up a series of x-ray photos to spell out a number, but some of the photos seemed a bit faded, so we had to get a lot of assistance to get the numbers correct. My personal favourite had us in a security room having to enter a series of questions on a PC, with the added difficulty of the mouse and keyboard being portioned off, away from the screen. Initially a two person job, I realised that thanks to my long arms I was just about able to move the mouse and see the screen at the same time, making for a much quicker time with that part! Puzzles in general were not too difficult, the difficulty came more from not being sure how props worked, such as the process to turn off a fan in one room, and working out what the relevance of a locked away severed hand was. It was all a learning process though, going forward I will know more what to expect. 

Finally with less than five minutes left, we escaped the cold morgue and its secret rooms via a narrow passageway. Truthfully, I found this a lot of fun. I had feared that constantly being watched by the games master over the cameras would make me feel a bit awkward and hesitant to give any suggestions, but the feel of being inside a survival horror video game removed that fear of embarrassment. As my first escape room experience, I enjoyed Dead on Arrival, especially as we were able to work together to solve the clues and escape!

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Bokshi (2025) - Horror Film Review 17 Feb 6:31 AM (11 days ago)

The Gift (2000) - Horror Film Review 14 Feb 1:46 PM (14 days ago)

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.

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The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 13th February - Birthday Edition 13 Feb 1:29 PM (15 days ago)

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.

Do You See Me? (2017) - Horror Film Review 13 Feb 12:23 AM (16 days ago)

Radio Sessions (2025) - by Eamon The Destroyer - Music EP Review 11 Feb 9:08 AM (17 days ago)

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.

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Round the Decay (2025) - Horror Film Review 10 Feb 1:40 PM (18 days ago)

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 - The Tomb - Impressions of the new Zombies map 6 Feb 11:46 AM (22 days ago)

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.

Vampire Clay (2017) - Horror Film Review 5 Feb 11:32 AM (23 days ago)

The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Tuesday 4th February 2025 4 Feb 8:13 AM (24 days ago)

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.

Let the Right One In (2008) - Horror Film Review 3 Feb 9:13 AM (25 days ago)

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

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

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

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

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M3GAN (2022) - Horror Film Review 31 Jan 8:41 AM (28 days ago)

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.

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The Rotting Zombie's Round-Up of Horror News for January 2025 30 Jan 8:11 AM (29 days ago)

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.

Lizzie Lazarus (2024) - Horror Film Review 29 Jan 10:53 AM (last month)

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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Grace Point (2023) - Thriller Film Review 27 Jan 8:53 AM (last month)

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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Rufus (2025) - Horror Anthology Film Review 24 Jan 12:38 PM (last month)

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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The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 23rd January 2025 23 Jan 8:20 AM (last month)