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Bitten (2008) - Short Zombie Film Review 26 Nov 9:37 AM (22 hours ago)

With a schedule that is relatively clear at the moment, I am once again at liberty to watch one of the short zombie films from the bumper DVD collection I am working my way through. Bitten was written and directed by Duncan Laing (Nightshift), and features one central idea over its 6 minute runtime.

The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge (2004) - Horror Video Game Impressions: 'Rotted Meat No.2' 25 Nov 8:55 AM (yesterday, 8:55 am)

The Job (2025) - Short Sci-fi Film Review 24 Nov 1:59 AM (3 days ago)

Arriving for a job interview, Todd (LeJon - Down and Out in Vampire Hills, Garden Party Massacre) finds the place deserted. Hearing a noise coming from behind a closed door, Todd's curiosity gets the better of him, he investigates and finds a strange large wire laying on the ground. He decides to plug it in to see what it was connected to and unknowingly awakens an A.I construct (Dawna Lee Heising - Ballet of Blood, Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance). This construct begins to interview Todd, with the man getting increasingly antagonistic with how much the A.I seems to know about him.

Over the course of around fifteen minutes, The Job takes the viewer on a journey that became more moving than its beginning might attest to. The interview process is really an excuse for Todd and the A.I to interact, with the job offer itself falling to the wayside. There is a darkness to Todd's past that he is forced to confront via the actions of the seemingly all knowing A.I. This is represented on screen via brief and scattershot flashback images. His reflections and revelations are married with music that makes things seem more poignant than otherwise may be felt. I did feel the flashbacks were a little too abstract, I got the gist, but wasn't sure of the time frame, especially with the appearance of a later prop. The set was devoid of much detail, but this worked in the short's favour. The A.I was represented as a figure on an apparent screen, I felt Heising was perfect for this role, looked and acted the part. I liked LeJon's character also, though the recurring cheesy music he keeps listening to didn't really do anything for me.

The Job was an interesting idea for a short, but the core plot kind of fell by the wayside a bit for something a bit more metaphysical. Obviously not a horror, but as always, I did wish for a little more darkness here.

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Plague (2009) - Short Zombie Horror Film Review 21 Nov 10:25 AM (5 days ago)

The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 20th November 2025 20 Nov 7:03 AM (7 days ago)

The brilliantly titled Girl in the Refrigerator has been released by BayView Entertainment on Digital platforms worldwide, including on FlixFling. This dark comedy fits neatly into the sub-genre of horror about normal people trying to hide the body of a person they have killed (two such examples that spring to mind are the excellent A Young Man with High Potential and Cold Blows the Wind). In this one, a man accidentally kills his girlfriend and makes the fateful decision to try and hide the crime rather than report it. You can probably guess where he decides to store the body to begin with. The dark comedy aspect comes in due to the man then deciding to spend the day drinking with his best friend, before falling for a next door neighbour, who he then invites to his home before remembering about the body. Girl in the Refrigerator was directed by J.Francis Juelkuvsky and stars Jimmy Bevetti, Jaclyn Francine and Maria Brenda.

Jim Haggerty's Unnatural Causes (2025) - Horror Anthology Film Review 19 Nov 9:33 AM (7 days ago)

It feels like it has been a while since I last watched an anthology horror film for review, and here at The Rotting Zombie, I sure like anthology films. Jim Haggerty's Unnatural Causes unsurprisingly comes from Jim Haggerty (Housewitch), with him directing, writing, and producing this. The anthology is made up of three short films and a wraparound segment.

With an opening wraparound segment that lasted ten minutes, I expected this part would get a lot of attention. After that opening however, there is barely any more of this. Famous actor; Vlad Eterno (Baron Misuraca - Seymour the Unfortunate Vampire) has passed away, and so two of his fans have managed to sneak into the funeral parlour to pay their last respects. They are surprised then when the man (whose mythos states he is an actual vampire) gets out of his open coffin. He hands the two girls a reel that contains the first three episodes of the horror TV show he had been working on before he apparently passed, before getting into an old car that then vanishes into thin air. Vlad acts as a Rod Serling type figure, introducing each of the three shorts, as well as providing closing comments on the stories that had played out. These parts served their purpose though were a little bland after the initial interesting set-up.

First proper short is Episode 1 'The Other' that feature just the two actors, but intriguingly, far more characters. Gail (Tina Krause - Phil Herman's Unearthed, Coven of the Black Cube) lives a seemingly idyllic life with her loving husband - Dr. Jack Perkins (Ray Taliercio in his film debut), until one day she receives an unexpected phone call. An angry woman with a familiar voice threatens Gail, telling her she should expect consequences if she doesn't leave what she perceives to be 'her' house and husband. Gail informs Jack who tells her there is nothing to worry about, but his actions to the viewer prove different, with this knowledge causing him to head out to remote woodland. From the familiar opening, this goes to unexpected places with a very neat idea. It perhaps got a bit wordy at times, with exposition dumps coming from long conversations, but I enjoyed how silly this became. A recurring small issue here was the blood, I don't know if it was due to colour grading, but the blood looked almost pinkish on screen, something that also happened in one of the later shorts.

Next up is Episode 2: 'The Drag', another half hour short that again deals with infidelity, something which is the unifying theme of all three of the short films here. Wanda (Debbie D - I Slay on Christmas, Jacker) has been cheating on her husband; Tom (Tom Ciociari - Amityville Thanksgiving) with Jerry (Andrew Murano also in his film debut). Tom is well aware of this fact and has a plan that will resolve the issue without causing him any trouble with the law. Later, Jerry gets the assistance of his lawyer friend; George (Justin Levine), who gives him a similar solution that Tom used for how Jerry can get out of his loveless marriage to Polly (Stacey Brook Schwart - From the Inside). An unexpected supernatural element made this one stand out, leading to a predictable yet enjoyable Tales From the Unexpected type finish. The attempt to show a 'Hell' type place didn't really work out, the budget limitations gave this less of a powerful feeling than it deserved.
Levine's George was the stand-out character and so it was a pleasure to see him reprise his role for the third and final short - Episode 3 'Exhumed Innocent'. In this one, with her husband having apparently take his own life, Carrie (Bec Fordyce - Killer Shoes) is free to be with the man she had been cheating on him with. With her dead husband's witch daughter suspecting foul play, she intends to use a spell to return her father to life, so that he can get revenge on those who wronged him. First though, she needs to have the body exhumed. After a bizarre dancing sequence at the start, this goes along in a familiar route with some fun death scenes. It seemed an odd decision to have the returned man look normal and not ghoulish, but it didn't detract. While it was obvious where the story would end up going, it had a near laugh out loud unexpected scene towards the end that I don't think anyone could have seen coming.

The anthology was very indie in its look, background interference was abound, especially in outside scenes, and some of the acting was occasionally not the most amazing. Despite that, I enjoyed this, I thought each of the stories had some unexpected moments to them, with the first two in particular having interesting ideas. There is nudity here in each of the three shorts, with the second featuring some full frontal nudity, not really needed, but I guess that is a plus if that is your thing. Special effects were basic, but they were fun to see regardless, and fitted the indie vibe of the anthology well. Overall, Jim Haggerty's Unnatural Causes wasn't perfect, but it maintained an entertaining feel throughout.

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Stranger Things Burger and Wings - Food Review 18 Nov 8:33 AM (8 days ago)

Split between getting a succulent Chinese meal and a KFC this evening (at the time of typing, in the middle of Storm Claudia), me and my best friend decided on the later, primarily to try the new Stranger Things Burger and Stranger Things Wings. She suggested I could review it as a blog post and I let her know that I don't do such low-brow content on my site anymore. A few hours later and that seemed like a better idea for a lazy blogger, so here is the review.

Released in time for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things, I had my misgivings about the Stranger Things Burger prior to tasting it. I often find KFC's limited time meals disappoint more often than not, though thankfully that wasn't the case here. The packaging was pretty neat, having vines from the upside down over the box, the show's logo on the side, and on one side it has 'Hawkins Fried Chicken' rather than the correct restaurant name.
The biggest visual change for the burger is its red colour. No idea why red was chosen, but the black sesame seeds on top went well with that colour change. The burger consists of a Spicy Zinger fillet with cheese, pickled slaw, burger dressing, and a special extra ingredient; 'Secret Sauce' (it's literally called that). I was expecting the sauce to be spicy, and it was, but not to as high a degree as I had anticipated. It also manages to have a sweet taste to it at the same time as spicy. For a limited time food item from KFC it wasn't bad at all, we both quite enjoyed it.

Asteroid Vixens (2025) - Comedy Sci-fi Film Review 17 Nov 12:38 PM (9 days ago)

Xex (Kate Ly Johnston - Feral Female) is a fembot, who alongside a floating robot A.I, has travelled to Earth in their spaceship to abduct beautiful women and impregnate them with embryos of hybrid humanoids. Their mission sees them fighting off would be adversaries, while travelling around the globe across time and space looking for suitable candidates.

This sexploitation indie B-movie revels in its purposely cheap looking sets and features no end of female nudity. Despite this there was a lot of variation with scenes set in many different locations. This was almost an anthology of sorts, lots and lots of different things going on, with the lead characters having a slight Mystery Science Theater 3000 feel to their scenes. These were the best parts of the movie, with the space ship represented externally as an obviously CG creation, and internally with a smallish room covered in foil. Computer screens and read-outs are obviously just bits of paper stuck to the walls rather than actual props, and the impregnation beam is a very bright and artificial looking CG effect. I loved the A.I, represented on screen by what appears to be an upside down plastic bowl suspended from the ceiling by a string, with foil strips hanging off of it. This was by far my favourite character, and the scenes on the ship were my favourite moments. Neither of the two characters speak out loud, with it being stated it is all via telepathic communication. Their conversations are almost nonsensical, with both characters going on about the things they are trying to do. They were all universally entertaining, with much of the comedy coming from their discussions. The A.I has a text to speech sound to it, making what they speak about all the more amusing. A special mention to the couple of interview scenes here also, they gave me a real feel of classic parody news show The Day Today with the reporters disinterested delivery.

Zombies and Cigarettes (2009) - Short Zombie Horror Film Review 14 Nov 1:26 PM (12 days ago)

At the end of a day at the shopping centre where he works, Xavi (Samuel Viyela) is treating himself to his favourite ice-cream. On his way out, while trying to impress a girl he is attracted to; Carol (Aroa Gimeno), he accidentally knocks over some cases of a new perfume, and gets covered in the stuff. Almost straight after chaos erupts at the centre. Without explanation, a zombie outbreak has occurred, causing panic as shoppers and staff alike try to flee the fast moving, flesh hungry ghouls that have infested the mall. Xavi accidentally slips over and knocks himself out, waking some time later in a back area store room, having been rescued by three others. The ice-cream merchant, Carol, and sports shop employee - Kendo (Javier Ríos) bring Xavi up to speed, informing him of their plan to make it to the underground staff car park where they are going to use Kendo's boss' car to escape.

The 17 minute short horror starts with a small prologue that takes place deep into the film. It did feel a little pointless as it didn't really leave me with too many questions. I really enjoyed the film. Often with bigger budget movies, there would be sets instead of real locations, here, it is obviously a real shopping centre that has been borrowed for the movie. The initial outbreak was fantastically and chaotically done. People running around, falling over, getting trapped in revolving doors, falling off balconies, while the running zombies leap at their victims to drag them to the ground. So much was happening in this scene that it was a real delight to watch. My favourite part had a man wearing a chicken suit run past the camera just as the iconic 'Wilhem scream' sound effect plays. 
After this exciting intro, the action moves down to the service floor where there is less spectacle, but still a decent amount of undead running around. I thought this part was also fun, though a scene where the floor is plunged into darkness for an extended amount of time seemed a bit pointless.

The zombies looked great in that low budget indie type of way. Plenty of people firing guns at them, and some nice close up action, such as Xavi's use of a metal baseball bat. It seemed some of the effects, such as blood on the floor may have been CG, but if it was, it wasn't that distracting, and makes sense the owners of the shopping centre wouldn't want fake blood spilled everywhere. Blood looked great, and the make-up effects for damage to characters was satisfyingly fun.
The story of the outbreak and end to the zombie outbreak was very simple, especially with how it concluded. This did fit the vague amusement of how hard forgettable Xavi is trying to be the main protagonist, but really he doesn't really achieve much, ending the film much as he was when he started.

Zombies and Cigarettes has barely an ounce of originality to it, but it didn't need to It tells a straight forward indie zombie story in a very capable way. There are plenty of undead, plenty of entertaining characters, and of course, as the title may suggest; plenty of people smoking cigarettes for some reason.

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The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 13th November 2025 13 Nov 8:41 AM (13 days ago)

VIPCO and BayView Entertainment have released horror TV series - The Hallow Ian Horror Hour: Season 1, it can be found on Digital platforms worldwide, including Plex (here). The first season is made up of 8 episodes, each of which is said to be made up of '...the best in short-form horror'. They include independent short films and music videos featuring a cast of multi-award winning actors, these are interspersed with hosting segments that include such things as small skits, interviews, and the history of Halloween. Season 1 was directed by E.E. Tallent, Sam Arias Mostovoy and Ty Huffer.

Zombeer (2008) - Short Zombie Horror Film Review 12 Nov 10:12 AM (14 days ago)

After being found drunk on the job one too many times, the head brew master at a Dutch brewery is told that going forward he is only to work nights at the place. This turns out to be fateful for the alcoholic as alone at night he accidentally tumbles into a giant vat of beer. Of course the man drowns, but he also somehow gets infected by the boiling beer, and the process turns him into a zombie. The next day at the brewery it is business as usual, but the batch of bad beer soon begins to spread and turn all who consume it into flesh hungry ghouls.

Zombeer is a prime example of how it isn't really important to have the biggest budget when making a zombie film. This does everything you would want, though the zombie part of this did come slightly too late into the film. The undead are plentiful and look great on screen (as always there isn't much need for complex make-up effects), but the best part is relegated to an end credits sequence. Weirdly, this begins with a Japanese news report that hadn't been translated - no idea what that part was about. It then goes into a neat found footage segment showing an unfolding zombie outbreak in daytime city streets. It was a shame the very best part of the short took place over end credits.
The story is functional, and the acting is purposely a bit exaggerated, but fitted the events that never took themselves too seriously, obviously realising the silliness of the situation.

Zombeer didn't outstay it's welcome, and for a zombie short it was a lot of fun. The brewery location was one of the best things about this, and I appreciated the special effects were practical rather than CG. Worth a watch, fun in that neat brain-dead type of way that only indie films about the undead seem able to succeed at.

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The Lighthouse (2025) by Social Youth Cult - Music Album Review 11 Nov 9:05 AM (15 days ago)

It opens on 'Venus', a booming start that took me by surprise due to not realising how loud the volume on my earphones was. I thought this was a great start, the sound and the singing reminding me of a slowed down version of the manic The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster. Next comes first single; 'Close to Nothing', a repetitive beat being the through-line during the five minute introspective Interpol twinged track - another good one. The end of the first third of the album brings 'The Man in the Photo', another great repetitive back beat, with lyrics almost spoken rather than sang, this was possibly my favourite track of the album.
A change of sound for fourth track 'She's Dread' with a classical music starting beat. Slow and ponderous, transitioning into a faster finish, yet another good song that doesn't feel overlong despite the five minute length. Meandering (in a good way) 'Strange Times' is next in line, with 'Dead Space' and 'The Fall' leading things into the end of the album. The later increases the speed from the shoe-gaze feeling previous two. Final track is titular 'The Lighthouse', 5 minutes in length but sped by.

After a blistering start, 'The Lighthouse' settled down into a more slow and thoughtful pace. I felt some of the tracks, particularly in the middle, did sound a little bit similar to each other, but that isn't to say any of the 8 tracks here were bad. A good debut album. Social Youth Cult are currently doing a bunch of UK dates, with Grand Central in Manchester on 16th November, Lubber Fiend in Newcastle on the 23rd, and Mist Rolling Inn at Nottingham on the 28th of this month. Their debut album is out on all streaming services, CDs, and cassette copies available. There will also be a limited run of vinyl LPs.

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Jacker (1993) - Thriller Film Review 10 Nov 7:45 AM (17 days ago)

A criminal that has become to be known as 'the jacker' has already been on a crime spree prior to the start of the movie. This mystery assailant, true to his name, carries out car jackings, murdering the victims of these attacks. Meanwhile, Mike (Herman) has fallen under the eyes of the police after his girlfriend commits suicide. Known to the viewer is the fact that not only did Mike murder his girlfriend and then made it look like she had taken her own life, but he is also the notorious jacker! His suspicious behaviour alerts detective Jackson (Patric Jackson in his sole film acting role), who soon finds his own woe when his younger sister is murdered. Jackson and his sister's former boyfriend; James (Barry Gaines - Jacker 3: Road to Hell) start to investigate Mike, while the police also start to have suspicion after a second woman he was intimate with is found dead in his flat.

Truth be told, I figured the sheer fact of Jacker being an indie film in the early 90s would make it a tough film to watch. Of course, this was before the advent of better technology made it easier for indie films to be made, so the sound design and camera work will be rougher than what you may be used to. There is lots of background interference, even with my bad hearing, at the worst of these times I was still able to understand the lines being spoken by the actors. The footage isn't the greatest quality, with a real VHS home movie look to scenes. Panning around locations has a noticeable shake to the footage, and occasionally lighting looks a bit blurred. Unexpectedly, this didn't detract from Jacker but instead added to the atmosphere of it. Never coming across as found footage, this nonetheless occasionally achieved an almost voyeuristic quality to the scenes, ignoring the often rough acting of some of the more minor characters, and with a squint in your eyes, it has a very vague feeling of a snuff film in some scenes, lovely stuff.
The plot actually felt more involved than with the third movie. There is a constant feeling of Mike barely getting away with his crimes, and welcoming the police suspecting him, where in the third film he seemed more like a force of nature, killing much more randomly while the police are utterly powerless to catch him. I did know how the film was going to end, having read a synopsis prior to watching the third film, but even so, it was nice seeing how events led up to what I knew was going to happen.

Herman is great as the nihilistic antagonist, more so than in Jacker 3. This killer delights from causing pain (or so he says), and there is even a little dive into his backstory. Much like with that third film, Mike is often amused when carrying out his crimes, and still features the iconic hat, and typical method of death by a single gunshot to the head. Special effects are minimal here, guns are fired in an exaggerated manner without any sort of effect other than the sound of a gunshot. It was neat to see Debbie D (I Slay on Christmas, Doomsday Stories) in a role here, as her character became an integral part of the third movie, though it does turn out her death was retconned, as here it seems not only did she definitely die, but the police had taken her body from Mike's flat, whereas in the third movie she states she had been assumed to be dead by him and dumped in woodland. Jackson was a good contrast to the killer, and his journey of revenge was fun to watch. With secondary characters it had to be co-directer Stanski who stood out. He not only plays three almost identical looking characters, but they always appear together in the same scenes, with the camera awkwardly cutting to make it look like they are interacting with each other. The humour here is intentional, maybe due to knowing that some of the actors really were not the best at delivering their lines, but it blends in well with the horror. When in the thrilling finale the jacker ends up being chased by a man on a child's skateboard, you know this isn't trying to take itself super seriously!

I came to Jacker expecting that I would be in for a terrible 90 minutes, that the time this was made would prevent it from being entertaining. I was surprised then at just how competent this was. Sure, it is very rough around the edges, but it tells a complete feeling story, fits the length of the movie without feeling drawn out, and even with some dodgy delivery of lines, has a cast of characters who were for the most part fun to see on screen.

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For God's Sake Wake Her Up (2024) - Horror Film Review 7 Nov 10:39 AM (19 days ago)

The Rotting Zombie's Round-Up of Horror News for October 2025 (Late Edition) 6 Nov 8:52 AM (20 days ago)

The official trailer, poster and first images of Scream 7 are now available. I am hideously behind in the series, so this will be the third new one in a row that I haven't been able to get too excited about. From a distance I do always think the art design for the posters is great. As a series this will always hold a special place in my heart, I still remember the night me, my sister, and friend watched the brand new release of Scream on VHS; the film that really cemented my love for the horror genre.
Enough about me...Directed by Kevin Williamson, Scream 7 story has a new Ghostface killer appearing in the quiet town where series icon - Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has built a new life. She discovers her daughter (Isabel May) is the next target of the demented slasher.

The official trailer and poster for the Johannes Roberts directed Primate is out now. The first I heard of this was me and my friend having the trailer pop up about it, we both agreed it did look like it could be entertaining. From what I recall of it, the film is about a group of friends whose pet chimpanzee has gone murderous, something like that. Primate comes to UK cinemas on January 30th next year.

Someone Dies! (2024) - Comedy Sci-fi Film Review 5 Nov 12:49 PM (21 days ago)

An apparent detective (Joseph Graham - Nothing Really Happens) turns up at an apartment complex with a desperate quest in mind. He has received a letter in the post stating his young daughter has been kidnapped, and that to get her back he needs to go to this apartment address to do something or other. Pretending to be a police detective, he gets access to the place where he discovers a small but assertive young woman - Jane (Amy Anderson who also co-wrote this), she had gone to the flat to purchase a small Japanese sword from the owner; dim but kind hearted Glenn (John Wessling - Coming Out). The detective assumes they are not to be trusted and so goes a bit manic, threatening the pair with a gun. Things calm down enough to the point where the trio form a uneasy truce, and together they discover that under the sink in the kitchen, for whatever reason, is a time machine, and that this has to be linked to the kidnapper's letter.

This is a bizarre and crazy indie film that delights in its eccentric cast and zany situation. For the majority of the movie it is just the three characters, each unique and memorable in their own way. The detective is like a bull in a china shop, his over the top and outlandish behaviour made him very appealing, even if his character is meant to be not the best person. He really reminded me of Saul from Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, but in a detective form. I enjoyed how extreme his behaviour is from the get-go, how he seems to effortlessly draw people into his mad plans and theories. Glenn was a close second favourite, this mild mannered loveable idiot had some of the best dialogue within the film. Then there is Jane, someone whose personality isn't as extreme, but plays the 'straight man' archetype, pointing out flaws in the other characters reasoning, and acting as a mediator, attempting to understand the detective while not being shy to point out his many flaws. In general terms, the dialogue was Someone Dies! strongest point. For all the plots of time travelling cupboards and kidnapped daughters, the meat of the story is the three characters talking with each other.

I found the core story to be a little too confusing, of course with time travel stories that is often the case. I always felt like there were some core parts of the plot that I just didn't clock, something that isn't always helped by the way it is presented to the viewer. The detective arrives in the story due to the letter about kidnapping he receives. This letter seems to have a lot to it, but is never shown on screen for long enough a time to be able to be read. This led to blind spots for me, I wasn't entirely sure why he had gone to the apartment, nor what he was meant to be doing while there. At some point the carrying storyline moves from rescuing his daughter, to wanting to travel back in time so that he can be a better father to her. I didn't really understand why the other characters get so caught up in this with him, as a lot of the threat is perceived and not actually real. Time travel doesn't feature too much, but there are some parts to it. Early on for instance, the detective shoots Glenn. Later in the film his arm is suddenly fine, but instead the man has a missing eye. I liked how unexplained the time travel part was, characters never really understand where exactly things are sent in time to.

In addition to the clever dialogue there are visual gags, including a recurring idea that I loved. Much of the film is silent in terms of soundtrack, but music does appear for dramatic moments. In a genius move, this music is always manually initiated by characters, due to a music deck they have. So for instance, after the detective is shot at while in his car, tense music begins as he flees back to the apartment. Heading in, he sees Jane and Glenn dancing to the soundtrack, which is shown to be playing on the tape deck. This recurring joke of the music being actually within the movie was wonderful, I never got sick of that. As clever as the plot seemed to be though, the core carrying line never clicked with me, I always felt a bit bemused and confused as to what was going on, that did get in the way of my complete enjoyment.

Someone Dies! had an undeniable charm to it. It did get exhausting at times playing catch-up to the characters who seemed like they knew what is going on, I wish some parts of this had been explained better. This indie comedy sci-fi film was entertaining, great characters and fun moments led to something that was neat to watch. Someone Dies! had it's digital release on Amazon on October 21st.

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Poppy Playtime: Chapter 1 'A Tight Squeeze' (2021-22) - Horror Video Game Review 4 Nov 7:17 AM (23 days ago)

The Lighthouse (2019) - Horror Film Review 3 Nov 12:39 PM (23 days ago)

In 1890, an old lighthouse keeper (Willem Dafoe - Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) and his new assistant (Robert Pattinson - The Batman) have arrived at the remote island where the lighthouse they are due to work at is located. The keeper tells the young man that he is exclusively going to tend to the light during night shifts during the four weeks they are stationed there. This is seen as strange as it goes against regulations not to split the shifts, but it soon becomes clear that the old man sees the light as something almost religious, and jealously guards the entrance to it. After a terrible storm prevents the boat from the mainland coming to collect them at the end of their allotted time, the two men's sanity slowly erodes over being stranded on the small barren island.

I was enthralled with The Lighthouse from the beginning. The small non-wide screen view, the black and white footage, and the serious acting had me drawn in to this world. The film mainly features just the two characters, this becomes the most fascinating part of the movie as both iconic actors nail their roles, easily able to carry much of the film on their own shoulders. Dafoe as the wonderfully stereotypical sounding former sailor shone throughout. Pattinson was as good in different ways, but neither character was likeable or even intended to be. There became a feeling of all this being part of some metaphor with the increasingly surreal and hallucinogenic images, such as the assistant discovering a mermaid out on the rocks, or the keeper's strange worship of the lighthouse light. This increasingly descent into madness is reflective of the characters who both go very off the rails. The meat of the movie seemed to be the complex relationship they had with each other, almost like a dysfunctional father and son one. Vast chunks of the film felt a bit like a multi-episode Dragonball Z fight, instead of fists, the two adversaries taking it in turns to verbally decimate the other.

From the strong start I had high hopes for this, but the horror I desired never really came. I actually found the first part prior to the breakdown in sanity to be the more enjoyable part. The crazed later scenes ended up going on for so long that they felt a little stretched out past my particular patience. I get it wasn't the point of The Lighthouse, but I wish there had been more of a storyline that reached some sort of conclusion. The mystery of what the deal with the light is, is never revealed, nor more major plot points.
On the flipside of the plot, the actual filmmaking was very impressive. At times this gave me a real vibe of old black and white drama films from the 1950s. This is much more a drama than a horror, but the absurdist characters give plenty of moments to put some humour in, even if that is always tinged with an element of malice. The manic binge drinking scenes were a real delight.

The Lighthouse was obviously a very impressive film, something that the filmmaking and acting combine to make happen. Personally, while it never got anywhere near as terrible as Mother!, this still ended up going on for longer than I desired it to be, the last half hour in particular where it became more abstract. The Lighthouse can currently be streamed on Prime Video, though it is due to leave the service in about a week.

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The Black Phone (2021) - Horror Film Review 31 Oct 10:06 AM (26 days ago)

Based on a Joe Hill story of the same name (Stephen King's son), this creepy horror takes place in a small American town in 1978. There has been a spate of kidnappings of local children in the area which the police have been powerless to stop. The press have came to call the perpetrator 'The Grabber' due to the method they have of abducting their victims off the street in broad daylight. Finney (Mason Thames - How to Train Your Dragon) is a shy young boy who has been hearing about the rumours of the abductor, but has just been getting on with life. One day while walking home he encounters a magician struggling to get supplies into his van. Really not showing much common sense, Finny goes to help the man, only to get abducted - for this is the notorious 'Grabber'! He awakes in a soundproofed basement, his abductor promising he won't hurt the boy. There is a black phone in the basement, and despite being disconnected, occasionally it rings. For reasons unknown, this phone has supernatural abilities, allowing Finney to converse with previous victims, and by talking to these shadows, he begins to use their combined knowledge to try and find a way to escape. 
Meanwhile, his younger sister - Gwen (Madeline McGraw - Toy Story 4 voicework, Ant-Man and the Wasp), begins to have disturbing dreams that seem to hint as to the location of her kidnapped brother.

Much like with Nicolas Cage in Longlegs, the antagonist here is someone who is rarely featured, and becomes a more powerful and intimidating villain as a result. Hawke is on fine form here, short on dialogue, but big on creeps with the expertly designed demon mask he wears. I loved how the mask had interchangeable parts to it, when he is in a bad mood for instance, the mask is reflected by the lower half having an angry scowl to it. The Grabber was an interesting character, seeming to have almost split personalities going on with the way he acts differently based on his look. Little is revealed about this movie maniac, not any kind of explanation for who he is, or why he is doing what he is. This just makes him more compelling. The wrench in the works to change this from being another movie about a deranged murderous kidnapper is the supernatural element. Rather than have this be something only Finney experiences, it is made clear that the killer also hears it's unexplainable rings, but in his derangement has convinced himself it is all a trick of his mind. A large part of Finney's story takes place in the basement, the phone calls he has to prior victims represented by them standing around near him in a ghost form, bloodied and beaten as they were when they were murdered.

Coming from the director of Sinister (one of the scariest films I have seen in my humble opinion), I had hoped this would be equally scary. It isn't, but that isn't to downplay the atmosphere and lovely seventies vibe of the film. Dream sequences are often shown with blurry footage, as if they were being recorded on a Super 8 camera, and there are some arthouse style moments of the killer standing around looking suitably disturbing. The story, split between Finney's imprisonment and his sister's journey of her own, kept things from getting dull. For Finney, it is a journey of learning to finally stick up for himself, for Gwen, it is about accepting the powers she seems to have acquired from her late mother.
Violence crops up throughout the movie, though the actual on-screen body count is surprisingly low. It culminates in a satisfying and apparently conclusive finale.

I like Hawke in pretty much anything, so seeing him play a bad guy here was a treat. Sure, I understand why he doesn't get too much screentime, but his scene stealing scenes were a little too much few and far between. A sequel has recently released that appears to double down on the supernatural element, turning the Grabber into more of a Freddy Kruger type dream-invader. I will have to check that out, but for The Black Phone, I felt the blend of crazed killer and ghosts made for a unique feeling blend.

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Dr. Fright's Halloween Nights Presents Horrorfest (2025) - Horror Scare Maze Review 30 Oct 9:33 AM (27 days ago)

It is the beautiful month of Halloween once again and I find myself returning once again to Dr. Fright's Halloween Nights, this time under the Horrorfest banner. I first went two years ago for Route 666 and loved it, but heading back last year for Route 666 Vol. 2 I felt a little disappointed as it really was quite similar. As in previous years, for 2025 it is split into seven different horror mazes, the only difference being the seven mazes were split between four differently named tents. Was this third time the charm, and was there any innovation in the format?

With a 19:00 slot on Saturday 25th October we seem to have picked a great time. There was the shortest queue yet to getting into the maze, and throughout the queues were minimal. By the time we were leaving, the entry line had really gotten quite deep, so lucky us! The flipside if you can call it that is that this was the quickest we have gotten through the mazes yet, my friend estimated it was roughly half an hour from starting to coming out the end into the glorious food area. Ticket prices had definitely gone up, under £20 on our first visit, this time I believe tickets were around £30 each, similar to last year.

Abattoir (2016) - Horror Film Review 29 Oct 9:26 AM (28 days ago)

After her sister and nephew are brutally murdered in their home, investigative reporter Julia Talben (Jessica Lowndes - 90210 TV series) becomes obsessed with trying to find an explanation for it. She discovers that quickly after the tragedy took place, someone purchased the house and removed the room of the crime from it. This leads her down a rabbit hole where she first discovers that a mysterious person named Jebediah Crane (Dayton Callie - Fear the Walking Dead TV series, Halloween II) has spent the past fifty years or so purchasing the buildings where murders took place and removing the room that was the crime scene. She then learns an even stranger fact; each of the victims had originally lived in a small town called New English. With the hat-trick of surprises culminating in Julia discovering her birth mother (who she never knew) also happened to come from New English, she decides to travel to the remote town, with her ex-boyfriend - detective Declan Grady (Joe Anderson - Horns, The Crazies) hot on her heels. There she discovers a town-wide conspiracy spreading back decades, the elusive Jebediah Crane, and a huge mansion made entirely out of murder rooms.

I didn't expect much from this horror, but it was actually a lot different to what I expected it to be. I had thought this would be a Seven clone, taking place in a city with a serial killer on the loose. Instead, it was something entirely different. While not Lovecraftian in nature, this does include a unique and strange town that holds a terrible secret, so there was some crossover.
Immediately apparent was the sometimes terrible script. Some characters fare better than others, and some manage to make their cheesy lines work and some struggle with them. The worst character for me was Grady, he comes across as the most stereotypical hard-boiled detective imaginable, all of his lines just sounded so artificial and corny, a feeling that Julia seems to mimic in every scene she is with the man. Some characters seemed to be given life by the script. A mid-movie highlight was the eccentric Allie (Lin Shaye - Ouija: Origin of Evil, Insidious), and for a time I thought she was going to be the stand-out actor in the movie. She effortlessly stole every scene she was in, but there was a second character who came to be the most interesting to me. I thought Callie was fantastic as the antagonist. There was a slight feeling of Needful Things to him, and the backstory that he had apparently been to Hell and managed to return was decent. He doesn't appear a huge amount, but when he does it always made for some enjoyable scenes.

This had elements of a mystery, a thriller, and a horror to it, with each act feeling like a slightly different genre of movie. Things really got interesting in the short third act, in which the house of murder finally makes its appearance for the final twenty minutes of the roughly 100 minute horror. A feeling of Thir13en Ghosts to this part, and despite some CG that wasn't the best, I had also seen far far worse. I loved the set design for this. Truth be told, I did really enjoy this part of the movie. There is a decent amount of horror here, but it was often diluted by that aforementioned weak script. Some parts did stand-out, such as a videotape Julia receives of her sister's murder, and an old projector that shows Jebediah back in his glory days.

A film about a mansion made up of stolen rooms where people have been murdered was a really cool idea. It was a shame that the movie took so darn long to actually get to that part, I wish the third act had lasted longer than the scant twenty minutes we are given. I did enjoy the whole mystery aspect from before that bit, but I felt that the story was never really explained too well. I didn't look too closely, but I had the feeling I would be able to pick holes in things if I had done so. Abattoir was a better film than I had expected, and certainly had its moments, but the weak script and some odd story decisions meant this just missed out on being a classic.

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Fortnitemares 2025 - Thoughts on the Halloween event 28 Oct 9:25 AM (29 days ago)

The story in recent years has really began to suffer in Fortnite, with it relegated to just an excuse for the new season to exist. It shouldn't be a surprise then that the introduction of 'Fortnitemares' was quite jarring. Elsewhere we had been in the middle of a season about battling a giant bug invasion, but that was swiftly punted out the window with zero fanfare in order to bring horror to the chapter 6 island. The changes much as last year, are vast, lots and lots of giant pumpkin decorations and Halloween decorations in general popping up over the map. There are also a variety of new P.O.I's that have appeared. The 'Fortnitemares' challenges result in you earning a cool original skin of a killer wearing a pig mask.

First with the main Battle Royale mode. What little story there is links the invasion of horror to Doja Cat of all people! For some reason, Epic have decided she is the face of 'Fortnitemares' 2025, with her appearing in the game as a boss character under the name 'Mother of Thorns'. She isn't the only new boss on the map however, she is joined by the returning original creation Ultima Carver (basically a pumpkin knight), as well as the iconic Jason Vorhees from Friday the 13th films! There is also a camp based location added that you might encounter the hockey-mask wearing maniac at. Classic Halloween items such as the pumpkin launcher and witches broomstick return, but these pale in comparison to the new Scream weapon added to the game. Head into a phone box and you emerge dressed as Ghost Face, complete with large knife and a phone with which you can use to highlight any enemies in the area.
Over in OG Battle Royale things are more muted, the map gets a Halloween makeover and some classic weapons, but that's about it. Horde Mode once again returns. In this mode you usually battle hordes of zombies, culminating in a large boss fight. There is a crossover this year with K-Pop Demon Hunters, with you able to hire them to fight alongside you, as well as use their unique powers. The zombies have been swapped out for surprisingly bland looking demons, but there is the addition of extra boss fights, including a neat one against a giant ghostly banana character.
Most interesting for me was with Reload. A brand new island has been released; Nitemare Island. As the name suggests, this is pure horror based, with locations such as 'Spooky Suburbs', 'Creepy Cabins', and 'Retail Ruin'. I really don't enjoy Reload as a game mode, but it was very cool to have a whole map dedicated to horror.

As always, the changes and new modes are just one half of the coin, with horror themed skins being the other. This year has been the most expensive yet if you wish to get all the crossovers and unique creations. There has been so many this year. Crossovers include Friday the 13th, Poppy Playtime, Wednesday, Terrifier, The Black Phone, Scream, and even the cast of Scooby-Doo have appeared, complete with the Mystery Mobile as a vehicle type you could buy. Original skins have also been strong - a magma version of Ultima Carver, werewolves, vampires, and my personal favourite original skin - a monstrous knight with a huge mouth in its stomach area.

I realise it is quite sad to spend money on digital skins in a video game, but I see 'Fortnitemares' as my version of Christmas. It really makes the month of October feel more special. I might not agree with many of the extortionate costs of the skins and accessories, but I have really enjoyed this year's 'Fortnitemares', would recommend.

Paranormal Investigations (2025) - Horror Film Review 22 Oct 8:22 AM (last month)

This has turned out to be a lengthy review. I thought Paranormal Investigations was a great film despite some little missteps. It would have been nicer to have a little more variety during the third act, and it would have worked better with a more authentic looking antagonist, but I enjoyed the flawed characters and their internal bickering, and I really did adore the way the movie was presented and edited together, quietly amusing. Director Raymond Wallace said of his film:

Jacker 3: Road to Hell (2025) - Thriller Film Review 17 Oct 8:29 AM (last month)

Thirty years previously, a serial killer known as 'the Jacker' (Herman) went on a notorious killing spree, his modus operandi typically being to murder his victims during carjackings. Despite his large amount of victims, the police were never able to capture him due to the killer seemingly striking at random, before one day vanishing without a trace. Now, with no explanation other than possibly due to it being the anniversary of the original killings, the Jacker is back, once again creating a large kill-count. This causes Gloria (Debbie D - Phil Herman's Unearthed, Doomsday Stories) to reappear; a survivor of the original Jacker killing spree who went into hiding after he failed to kill her. Now she begins to have troubling nightmares about the man, seeming to have some type of psychic connection with the killer, and realising he is back she desperately tries to alert people.

Did I have much of an idea what was going on? No. Did I have a fun time watching this very low budget thriller? Hell yes. It begins with a prologue sequence in which a man shoots his wife dead, before being killed in turn by a policeman. Before he goes however, he is able to transfer his essence into his young son. I wasn't sure of the importance of this scene, but it does set up the murky possibility that the Jacker is supernatural in nature. This supernatural element doesn't appear heavily, but it is referenced again later in the film, and you could argue the many nightmare sequences characters have are also a cause of this.
The story is split between a multitude of characters, some of which only appear in order to become more victims for the serial killer, some who have their own little subplots going on, such as journalist Chris (Christopher Kahler - Phil Herman's Unearthed, He Sees You When You're Sleeping), and of course Gloria; the main protagonist but whose story mainly takes place away from the new killings. Jacker's storyline has him back on a meandering murder-spree, he of course kills people whose cars he has stolen from them, but also his fair share of home invasions, and happenstance while out walking the streets of the city. He makes for an entertaining villain, seeming to get pleasure out of his motive-less killings, and he talks a fair bit. It was also amusing that many people seem to recognise who he is before they are dispatched by him; the event from the past having left a scar on the city.

There are a whole bunch of death scenes, the Jacker's weapon of choice usually being a gun which he uses to single shot his victims. There are some closer kills, even one severed penis to be found here! Scenes typically have these characters begging for mercy, and occasionally even getting that mercy. Favourite of these had to be Butch Patrick (Eddie from The Munsters) playing a fictional version of himself outside a fan convention. There are a few scenes with female nudity, often feeling like these were only there for titillation. There were also various scenes that were played for comedic effect, with the indie feel of the film world these moments fitted in seamlessly with the more dramatic scenes. Perhaps part of his supernatural powers, perhaps just to make the film flow more smoothly; Jacker appears able to be exactly where he wants to be at any given point. He flits around between scenes, so one moment he will be invading a home, next scene he will be out walking in woodland, the next scene he will be meeting someone to try and buy guns, with no rhyme or reason to why he is where he is. He made for an entertaining antagonist, but he didn't make for a cohesive feeling character, a force of nature rather than anything deeper.

Despite being a bit lost as to what had come before, I enjoyed Jacker 3. I liked how the killer wasn't needlessly cruel, living to kill, not living to torture, and I liked the cheerful way he goes about things. The plot involving Gloria did feel very disconnected to his storyline, at times this slightly felt like two separate movies playing out in the same film universe. Jacker 3: Road to Hell was an entertaining indie thrill ride. Don't always expect the strongest of acting (especially during the amusingly wooden news segments), and don't expect too much plot, but this was a solid indie film which never became dull.

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The Rotting Zombie's News Anthology for Thursday 16th October 2025 16 Oct 8:22 AM (last month)

Retro slasher Brute 1976 is now available on VOD and Digital platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Vimeo On Demand, and YouTube Movies via Cinephobia Releasing. This Marcel Walz (Pretty Boy) directed slasher earned a respectable 7/10 rotted zombie heads in my August review, where I stated 'Brute 1976 wears its inspirations on its sleeve, and it benefits from not trying to pretend it is something wholly original'.