Hellions (2015)

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Hellions (2015)

“Blood for Baby”!!!

What’s better than a Halloween-themed horror film being released during the Halloween season? Having said horror film being made by one of my favorite indie filmmakers, Bruce McDonald. In the horror world, McDonald is most well known for the 2008 film PONTYPOOL, written by Tony Burgess and considered by many to be an “unfilmable film.” Well, McDonald showed the world that with enough talent and vision that anything can be accomplished, and how he is back with HELLIONS, about a high school girl being terrorized on Halloween night by a pack of vicious trick or treaters. Everything I’ve come to expect from McDonald is here, and though the film stumbles in the fourth act, I still found this film to be hugely entertaining.

HELLIONS stars Dora (Chloe Rose), a high school girl who lives in a very sleepy town and who looks as though she is going through all the usual rebellions of a girl her age. Sure actress Rose looks too old to be playing a high schooler, but she brings so much charm and depth to the character that I was willing to overlook the casting choice. As the film opens, we see Dora hanging out with her boyfriend Jace (Luke Bilyk). They are talking about the Halloween party they are planning to attend later that night. It is Halloween and from the looks of it, the town they live in produces a lot of pumpkins. One character even notes that if it wasn’t for Halloween, no one would even know their town existed.

 

Later that day, Dora gets some troubling and distressing news from the doctor, and she tries to figure out how she is going to break the news to Jace and her mother Kate (Rachel Wilson). Just when Dora gets the courage to tell her mother what is going on, Kate tells her she really needs to take Remi (Peter DaCunha)–Dora’s little brother–trick or treating. Dora is all alone in the house, which is in an isolated location, and waits patiently for Jace to come pick her up for the Halloween party. Instead, a spooky kid in a pumpkin costume knocks on the door and Dora shares an intense, creepy moment with him. Then a little while longer, two spooky kids show up at the house. Then three. Then more. This isn’t going to be a good night for Dora as the kids terrorize her and let her know they want something from her and won’t leave until they get it.

Dora is NOT having a very good night!!

The set up and execution of the early scenes of the “kids” laying seige to Dora’s home are excellent. We get the style and substance that I’ve come to expect from McDonald. The kids are extremely creepy and very effective. McDonald also colors his scenes with some very distinct color schemes. At times, the film has a pinkish-red hue, while other times there is a bluish hue and a yellow hue that covers the screen. These colors aren’t just McDonald’s attempt at being “stylish,” but represent the mood of the scenes they are coloring. Towards the end of the film when things are looking bleak for Dora, the film takes on a darkish blue-gray hue and really helps set the mood for what is about to happen.

If this ain’t a mood-setter, I don’t know what is!!

Most of the film is Dora, alone in her home, defending and fighting off the little Hellions. Much of the success of this film rests squarely on the shoulders of actress Chloe Rose (Dora). She is strong, focused, a survivor, and Rose plays the role perfectly. Once you see her performance, you’ll forgive the fact she looks way to old to be playing a high school girl. But I’d rather have a great actress who looks a little older than the character she is playing rather than a younger actress who couldn’t pull off the role. Rose exhibits just the right amount of vulnerability so she doesn’t become a Rambo-esque character, but she also isn’t someone who will ball up into the foetal position and break down into hysterics. Rose did a fantastic job in her role as Dora.

At different times, two other characters come to Dora’s help–or should I say “help.” Dr. Henry (Rossif Sutherland) ends up stopping by Dora’s home and becomes involved in the horrors that are happening. He provides some insight into what he thinks might be going on. Later in the film, the town’s sheriff, Corman (Mr. Liquid Metal himself, Robert Patrick) comes to Dora’s rescue… sort of. He provides much of the explanation as to what is happening and does his best to protect Dora. 

Someone’s feeling a little peckish!!

During the fourth act, HELLIONS takes a detour into some surreal and trippy territory. While these scenes are stylish and beautiful to look at, they unfortunately derail the narrative that was established in the film up to this point. These scenes end up becoming more of a distraction from the main story. This is a shame that the film loses its focus for a little bit because up until this point, McDonald had given us a great story and ‘seige on a house’ plot. The stalk n’ slash scenes are really well done, and the way the mystery unfolds as to why this is happening to Dora was very well done.

If you can get past the surreal interlude, then I think you’re going to enjoy HELLIONS. McDonald is one of those rare filmmakers that delivers on both style and substance and doesn’t sacrifice one for the other. HELLIONS is a really fun Halloween time horror film that is perfect to watch all alone with the lights out. Check this one out.

My Summary:

Director: Bruce McDonald

Plot: 3.5 stars out of 5

Gore: 4.5 out of 10 skulls

Zombie Mayhem: 0 out of 5 brains

Reviewed by Scott Shoyer

Stay Bloody!!!

Filed under: Holiday Horrors, Independent Horror Scene, Movie Reviews, New Horror Releases, New Posting

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Exclusive Interview: 80’s Action Legend Michael Dudikoff talks Cannon Films and NAVY SEALS VS. ZOMBIES

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Exclusive Interview: 80’s Action Legend Michael Dudikoff talks Cannon Films and NAVY SEALS VS. ZOMBIES

Cannon Films legend Michael Dudikoff talks to SHOCK about his career, family and making a comeback in NAVY SEALS VS. ZOMBIES.

Now on DVD and VOD is first-time director and former NASCAR driver Stanton Barrett’s testosterone heavy NAVY SEALS VS. ZOMBIES, a tough-as-nails romp about a muscle-bound troupe of battle-scarred vets facing off against a horde of flesh-eating zombies.

Sure it’s all low-budget hokum, but there’s nothing wrong with low-budget hokum when it’s executed with this much earnestness. This straight-faced approach to shoot-em-up genre fare suited the Go-Go Boys, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus of the lamented Cannon Films, remarkably well in the 1980’s and that spirit is alive and well here. In fact, with its steel-jawed leads, urgent score and endless gun battles, NAVY SEALS VS. ZOMBIES indeed feels like a long lost Cannon flick. And the fact that Cannon legend Michael Dudikoff is in it, further hammers that vibe home…

Dudikoff, as most serious scholars of cult 80’s action cinema are well aware, was the golden boy of Cannon, having starred in scores of hit flicks for the studio, including the popular AMERICAN NINJA films, the scrappy AVENGING FORCE and the underrated ‘Nam drama PLATOON LEADER. But really, those credits only scratch the surface in what has been a long, varied and prolific career pretending to be other people in from of an ever vigilant lens.

In NAVY SEALS VS. ZOMBIES, Dudikoff takes a break from kicking-ass to play the rigid Col. Sheer, a roughneck military man whose guidance helps the heroes navigate the zombie apocalypse. For those of us raised on the actor’s presence, it’s comforting to see him back where he belongs, making unpretentious, escapist fantasies for those folks just looking for 90 minutes of fun, fantasy violence and maybe even a dose of morality.

SHOCK caught up with Dudikoff to talk about his work with the now defunct Cannon Films, his return to cinema with NAVY SEALS VS. ZOMBIES and, most poignantly, passing on the wisdom of his beloved father to his own children.

SHOCK: There’s a moment in Mark Hartley’s Cannon Films documentary ELECTRIC BOOGALOO, where you get pretty emotional discussing your feelings about Golan and Globus. It really must have been a wild time back then…

DUDIKOFF: Oh, man, you have no idea. I mean, where would you find such colorful characters today? These guys, well, they did deals on napkins and Menaham Golan, well, he truly was a little boy; he just loved the movie industry and being around that was captivating. He made me want to be part of this crazy business. He inspired me and just being part of the Cannon family was exciting. I never knew what I was going to do until I got the script and then, bang, I was doing it. And man, there were so many things I was told I was going to be; I was going to be SUPERMAN; I was going to be SPIDERMAN. At one point they said they were going to put me together with Charlie Bronson in a picture and that’s what I really wanted to do. That never did happen. But they were working on it…

SHOCK: Looking over your filmography, there is one title that I always grooved on as kid and that’s 1988’s PLATOON LEADER; I saw PLATOON LEADER before I saw PLATOON and I always preferred it. Do fans ever approach you about that picture?

DUDIKOFF: They sure do. That was based on a true story, a book. I loved that movie. We filmed it in South Africa. Playing that role was really exciting because a lot of the actors in that show, well, they really wanted to do some real acting. We all tried to make it better than it was written and we really collaborated. Thinking back on that, gosh, it was an exciting time. A lot of my fans wanted a sequel, in fact and strangely I heard that at one point the military was using it as a recruiting requirement to show to new recruits!

SHOCK: It’s a decent picture. I think any negative critical response wasn’t to the film, but rather the level of graphic violence in the picture which was extreme for its time.

DUDIKOFF: Yeah, I agree and that’s too bad, because war is that way and it is violent and you have to be ready for it. But I loved making PLATOON LEADER…

SHOCK: You’ve worked with so many directors over the years but never a race-car driver turned director. How did your NAVY SEALS VS. ZOMBIES boss measure up?

DUDIKOFF: Trust me, he was totally together. I enjoyed working with Stanton and I just hope he does more work and remembers to call me! You know, I think now we are craving the kind of no-nonsense movies we used to make in the 1980’s. It’s nostalgia, sure, but it’s also the fact that these were good, straight up genre movies. Stanton really wants to make these kind of quality genre movies. He wants to do good work. He’s very serious minded.

SHOCK: You play a grizzled military man in the film. Not a physical role but you are the anchor of the film…

DUDIKOFF: Yes. I based the character, Col. Sheer, on my father. My father was a military man and I tried to channel him, to capture what he represented to me. My dad was a man of no wasted words. He valued strength, integrity. He believed in getting the job done. Don’t quit. Just do it. He taught me to think before you speak. And that’s important. He was something else, let me tell you…

SHOCK: Am I correct in assuming he is no longer with us?

DUDIKOFF: Correct, my father has passed on.

SHOCK: Did he live to see your work during the Cannon years?

DUDIKOFF: Oh, my gosh, you wouldn’t believe how proud he was. See, my father was an artist too. He painted a mural in the house I grew up in and one time, when I came back home from doing AMERICAN NINJA and a few other pictures, on top of the painting on the wall was NINJA and three other movie posters of mine up there. I said ‘Why, dad? Why are you covering you art? You painted that!’ He said ‘Mikey, that is what it’s about. Look at that poster. Look at you and that flag behind you. This is what matters.’ Knowing he was that proud of me, that was the best feeling in the world. Because growing up, I was so very proud of him.

SHOCK: Do you have children of your own?

DUDIKOFF: I do, yes. In fact, recently I was talking to my kids about goals and dreams and telling them how important it is to follow your passions and dreams. My son says ‘Daddy what is your dream?’ I told him that I was an actor and I wanted to keep working and he said ‘But Daddy, when are you doing this? When are you going to follow your dream?’ See, he’s young and he never saw me go to work? So when I got the job to do NAVY SEALS VS. ZOMBIES, he saw me pack my bags and get ready to leave for the job and he met me at the door and he said ‘I’ll miss you daddy,’ and I saw it in his face that he really would miss me. And it was great because my son saw that it wasn’t just talk; he saw I was following my dreams, my passion. That it wasn’t just talk…

SHOCK: Are you enjoying this chapter of your career?

DUDIKOFF: I’ll tell you something. I enjoy every moment of the business. I work hard. I am always willing and wanting to do good work. I’d like to work a little more but I’m here, doors are opening. I’m a fortunate guy and I have lots of versatility in my credits; I’ve tackled every genre and, gosh, these horror films are really big. I’d like to do more. But the point is, if you’re an actor, you just go out and work and do the job right. No ego. Just be humble and enjoy the ride…

The post Exclusive Interview: 80’s Action Legend Michael Dudikoff talks Cannon Films and NAVY SEALS VS. ZOMBIES appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

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Watch Let Me See Your Eyes in its Entirety

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Watch Let Me See Your Eyes in its Entirety

One of my favorite short films I watched this year, LET ME SEE YOUR EYES, which has had a very successful festival run, is now available to watch in its entirety. Directed by Anything Horror fav, Derek Cole, written by Jack Nathan Harding, and starring Harding and Stephen Twardokus, LET ME SEE YOUR EYES is one of those short films that leaves an impression (see my review here). Check out the plot summary below followed by the short film in its entirety. Let me know what you think in the comments below:

It’s ‘every man for himself’ in this post-apocalyptic world, where a biological mistake has turned most of the population into animalistic eating machines. And that’s just fine with R.J. As a matter of fact, this proud hermit has adapted well to the new world order. He’s even got heat, food, and a rare clean water source. For three years, R.J. has contentedly spent his days in a dark, cramped, and heavily barricaded room, drinking tea and reading paperback westerns by candlelight. One night R.J.’s routine is disrupted when he warily lets in a desperate young stranger. He soon realizes the person he let in may be more dangerous that anything he’s been trying to keep out.

Stay Bloody!!!

Filed under: Breaking News, Horror Short Films, Independent Horror Scene, New Horror Releases, New Posting

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Brazilian Horror! Chilling Thriller HARD LABOR to Open in NYC

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Brazilian Horror! Chilling Thriller HARD LABOR to Open in NYC

Acclaimed Latin American shocker to open in NYC this month.

Award winning Brazilian domestic horror film HARD LABOR (aka TRABALHAR CANSA) is set to open theatrically at New York’s Cinema Village on October 30th. The film will then expand its North American screen presence throughout the year. HARD LABOR is the feature debut by Brazilian co-directors Marco Dutra (WHEN I WAS ALIVE) and Juliana Rojas (SINFONIA DE NECROPOLE) and has been described as THE SHINING by way of Italian master Vittorio De Sica.

HARD LABOR riffs on very palpable economic issues that affect contemporary Brazilian society but masks them in a very strange and frightening dark fantasy film sheen.

Here’s the synopsis from the official press release:

Although emotionally in sync, Helena (Helena Albergaria) and her white-collar husband Otavio (Marat Descartes), suddenly find themselves at opposite ends of the labor force: just as she gets ready to open a grocery store (and become a business owner), he is fired from a “stable” job.

As Otávio goes through a series of humiliating and ego-crushing job interviews (and is forced to re-invent himself for a new job market), Helena jumpstarts her grocery store in a mysterious (and progressively deteriorating) building. Soon enough, her enthusiasm for a better future begins to give way to a dark, pervasive doom – and Otávio’s self-upgrading morphs into an eerie transformation.

Have a look at the trailer below and keep reading SHOCK for more on this unique, frightening film.

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Comic Review: ROWAN’S RUIN

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Comic Review: ROWAN’S RUIN

SHOCK’s comic Queen Svetlana Fedetov looks at the spooky 4-part miniseries ROWAN’S RUIN.

From THE CONJURING and INSIDIOUS to classics such as THE HAUNTING and BURNT OFFERINGS, there’s nothing more fun than piecing together the clues of a haunted house’s past as the watcher is thrust into the movies shocking conclusion. It’s that kind of hook that keeps horror fans coming back for more; the thrill of the chase, the morbid promises of terror. BOOM! Studios has decided to turn the archetypal supernatural mystery formula into their newest comic release, ROWAN’S RUIN, a tale of flickering shadows, locked doors, and whispered warnings. Mixing classic horror with modern technologies, the work offers up a story of isolation that preys on the creeping fear that we are never really alone and, with a mini-series format, promises a limited work that won’t over stay its welcome.

The series revolves around Katie, a well-off woman on the brink of her last summer break before grad school and the pressures of the adult world. Deciding to join a home-swapping website, she is over the moon when she is offered to swap houses with a woman in England for the summer and eagerly flies over there intent on having the time of her life. Soon though, she starts noticing weird things about the home, such her constantly dying batteries, strange traps around the yard, and the weird note from the homeowner that says to stay out of her bedroom. As much as she attempts to avoid the nagging feeling that something is definitely off, she can’t ignore that she is in over her head when the odd rumors of the house reach her ears. And, of course, there’s the nightmares…

ROWAN’S RUIN is nothing if not a fun read. It’s got a great, slow burn style without dragging itself through the pages or having too much of a ‘talking head’ vibe. The writer, Mike Carey, is no stranger when it comes to writing horror comics, having worked on DC/Vertigo’s classics LUCIFER and HELLBLAZER, and he brings that kind of experience to this original work. Everything is deliberately placed to suck in the reader only end right on the perfect burning point. Perhaps the only drawback is that none of the characters are that interesting. Katie is a standard, middle-of-the-road woman with a well-tailored jacket and jeans, her parents are kind but over-protective, and her love interest is a man who has a sexy accent and likes to take boat rides. Hopefully we some more original character work in the following issues, but so far, this is more story driven than character driven.

The art by Mike Perkins is more or less solid. The layouts are well done and the background are surprisingly detailed, creating an enveloping view of Rowans Ruin’s world. The soft watercolors by Andy Troy help to bring the look together with a dark palate and an eye for design. Unfortunately, some of the character movement gets a bit gobbed up with either splotchy faces or awkwardly stiff or enlarged limbs. It not such a big deal that it takes away from the experience, but sticklers for fine comic art might be a bit put off. Regardless, ROWAN’S RUIN is a fun read for those looking for a solid scare and a solid mystery to keep you up at night.

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Concert Review: FRIZZI 2 FULCI in Toronto

Shock Till You Drop

Concert Review: FRIZZI 2 FULCI in Toronto

SHOCK reviews the Toronto stop for the stunning FRIZZI 2 FULCI show.

The first few drops of rain began to fell on the small, black-clad and primarily male crowd lined up in front of legendary Queen street West concert hall The Opera House last night, but no one seemed to mind. This dedicated tribe of Toronto horror fans were here to see a spectacle that likely none of them thought they’d ever see in their lifetime; a live performance from an artist that, for most of them growing up, existed only in myth and as a secret handshake between others in that marginalized, spread out gaggle of fans that thrilled to the over-the-top films of director Lucio Fulci.

Indeed last night was an important night for Italian horror film aficionados and yet, so few actually came out for the Toronto stop of maestro Fabio Frizzi’s acclaimed FRIZZI 2 FULCI North American tour (the performance has been selling out everywhere else). The show is the revered composer’s love letter to his late collaborator Fulci, whose gory, operatic dark fantasy films have long obsessed serious genre cultists around the world. Still, the low attendance was irrelevant; in fact, the intimacy the sparsely populated room provided made the performance more akin to a private party. And, oh, what a party…

Following a special VIP reception, in which friends and fans had the chance to hang out with both Frizzi and his special guest, Toronto-based GOBLIN keyboardist Maurizio Guarini (who provided keyboard effects for many of Frizzi’s signature recordings), the composer and his band took the stage at 9:30. Behind the performers, a massive screen was erected; on it, clips from the many films – from 1975’s FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE to 1977’s THE PSYCHIC to 1981’s THE BEYOND – unspooled while Frizzi, holding court center stage, conducted, strummed and plucked his acoustic guitar and bashed his keyboard while his rapturous vocalist Giuletta Zanardi, worked her pipes overtime.

From the first few notes, the audience was electrified. Frizzi, a commanding yet relaxed and friendly presence, engaged the crowd with Italian-accented anecdotes about Fulci and his life in cinema, before drifting back into yet another gorgeously orchestrated performance of majestic cues that most of us in the crowd knew inside and out and yet have never, ever experienced in such a sophisticated, opulent way.

And while it was a kick to see leather-clad Metal-heads swaying like pseudo-hippies to the gentle, Dylan-esque songs from FOUR OF THE APOCALYPSE, the energy really started to swell when the band reached 1979’s ZOMBI 2. Re-orchestrating the goofy calypso music that opens the soundtrack album as a harder, guitar driven prog-groove gave way to the mother of all sequences, wherein Guarini sauntered onto stage and added to the screeching ascent of the infamous “eyeball” track. As a moldering zombie mitt pulled actress Olga Karlatos closer to her retina-decimating splinter demise in that legendary scene, Guarini and Frizzi pounded their keys while the band skillfully, gently tweaked subtleties in the original track and Zanardi wailed like a banshee, whipping the crowd into a near religious frenzy.

Here’s a clip from the performance:

The CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD sequence (which Guarini inexplicably opted to sit out, despite having played on the soundtrack) was just as wild, though a mix up with the video projection caused the notorious gut barfing-bit to be cut short. Thank heavens John Morghen’s head drilling remained and the band took that shocking, bloody scene to superlative heights of elegant perversion.

Frizzi also played some new material from director Scooter McCrae’s short film SAINT FRANKENSTEIN, lush music that proved that he remains a vital, relevant contemporary composer. By the time the band reached its final encore, a performance of the signature soundtrack for THE BEYOND, fans were united in what felt like a hazy, orgasmic dream. Many of us had misty eyes (this writer included) and all of us knew, as we stepped out into the now pouring rain, that we had witnessed something special, something that we’d likely never see again.

Even if we do end up seeing it again.

Because there really isn’t anything like your first time…

The post Concert Review: FRIZZI 2 FULCI in Toronto appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

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The PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES International Trailer is Here!

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The PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES International Trailer is Here!

The Pride and Prejudice and Zombies international trailer is here!

Lionsgate UK has revealed the first highly-anticipated Pride and Prejudice and Zombies international trailer, which you can view below!

Written and directed by Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down), Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is based on the book by Seth Grahame-Smith and stars Lily James (Cinderella), Sam Riley (Control), Jack Huston (American Hustle), Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows), Douglas Booth (Jupiter Ascending), Matt Smith (“Doctor Who”), Charles Dance (“Game of Thrones”) and Lena Headey (300).

A zombie outbreak has fallen upon the land in Jane Austen’s classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England. Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) is a master of martial arts and weaponry and the handsome Mr. Darcy (Sam Reilly) is a fierce zombie killer, yet the epitome of upper class prejudice. As the zombie outbreak intensifies, they must swallow their pride and join forces on the blood-soaked battlefield.

Steers told EW in July that they didn’t go for laughs in adapting the material. “The idea was that it was Pride and Prejudice set in this alternate world and then for everyone to play it straight,” he says. “The movie’s big wink is that there is no big wink. It’s definitely not camp.”

Lily James says that the Bennet girls will see some real action in the film. “Rather than knitting and crocheting, they’re polishing muskets,” she says, adding that Elizabeth is “the most badass zombie slayer there is.” 

 Screen Gems will open Pride and Prejudice and Zombies in U.S. theaters on February 19, 2016.

What better way to get in the mood for #WorldZombieDay, than with the FIRST LOOK at PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES https://t.co/sixvksmkkg

— Lionsgate UK (@LionsgateUK) October 9, 2015

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Terrifying Anthology Chiller MÉXICO BARBARO Gets Trailer

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Terrifying Anthology Chiller MÉXICO BARBARO Gets Trailer

Nightmarish Mexican horror film gets release date and new trailer.

Acclaimed Mexican horror omnibus MÉXICO BARBARO (see our interview with one of the filmmakers, Gigi Saul Guerrero HERE) comes to DVD and digital download on November 3rd from Dark Sky Films and SHOCK has just gotten a peek at the new trailer.

And it’s a lulu….

From the press release:

Eight Mexican directors have united to create a film anthology featuring the most brutally terrifying Mexican traditions and legends, brought to vividly shocking life. MEXICO BARBARO presents haunting stories that have been woven into the fabric of a nation’s culture, some passed down through the centuries and some new, but all equally frightening. Stories of boogeymen, trolls, ghosts, monsters, Aztec sacrifices, and – of course – the Day of the Dead all come together to create a film that is as original as it is familiar… and as important as it is horrifying.

Keep reading SHOCK for more on this dark, deranged magnum Mexican opus soon…

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Fashion Slasher! Slick Trailer For Chloe Sevigny Shocker #HORROR

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Fashion Slasher! Slick Trailer For Chloe Sevigny Shocker #HORROR

High fashion, screaming teens and Chloe Sevigny in #HORROR trailer.

Actress model and eternal badass Chloë Sevigny stars in what looks to be a very slick and seriously fashion conscious slasher/thriller; kind of a preteen giallo.

Kind of…

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY just premiered the trailer for the new flick #HORROR, which comes out in theaters and VOD on November 20th an is directed by fashion designer Tara Subkoff.

The cast also includes Natasha Lyonne, Taryn Manning, and Timothy Hutton.

I like the vibe of this one…a “dead teenager” film made with dollops of style and more than a dose of strange.

The post Fashion Slasher! Slick Trailer For Chloe Sevigny Shocker #HORROR appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

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Review: TALES FROM THE CRYPT Flicks DEMON KNIGHT and BORDELLO OF BLOOD on Blu-ray

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Review: TALES FROM THE CRYPT Flicks DEMON KNIGHT and BORDELLO OF BLOOD on Blu-ray

SHOCK takes a critical look at a double-dose of TALES FROM THE CRYPT features on Blu-ray.

Every horror fan should steep themselves in the legacy of publisher William Gaines’ lamented EC Comics, the line of inky pulp trash responsible for such immortal and controversial 1950’s-weened titles as WEIRD SCIENCE, THE VAULT OF HORROR and, of course…TALES FROM THE CRYPT. The formula for these often imitated, never duplicated comics classics were simple: good (or bad) people make bad decisions and are rewarded justly by creepy karma, usually in the form of some class of shambling, rotten, undead vindicator. And man, were these tales cold around the heart…

The 1972 Amicus-produced EC adaption TALES FROM THE CRYPT got it right, adapting 5 grim tales, casting A list British talent against type and reveling in cruel, phantasmagorical punishments for people who most assuredly deserved it. Years later, the Rober Zemeckis, Richard Donner and Joel Silver produced HBO TV series TALES FROM THE CRYPT took those tales and jazzed them up with slick production values, explicit violence, dirty sex and broad humor, usually in the form of the giggling (and awesome) Crypt Keeper puppet, who, like in the comics, provided wraparound commentary for these shocking stories.

So popular was that series that Universal Pictures soon green-lit what was to be a series of big screen feature CRYPT films, expansions of the HBO show that were meant to both capitalize on the fan base and hook an even bigger audience not yet savvy to HBO’s pay for play charms. Three films were planned(at one point, Tarantino’s FROM DUSK TILL DAWN screenplay was scheduled to be an entry) but, as of this writing, only two “official” CRYPT films were made, with Rob Cohen’s 2002 I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE remake RITUAL later attached to the franchise for its DVD release.

On October 20th, Scream Factory will release both “legit” Crypt flicks on Blu-ray but before then, allow SHOCK to assess the releases and the films themselves….

TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: DEMON KNIGHT (1995)

Horror fans that came of age in the 90’s have fond memories of DEMON KNIGHT, a film that wasn’t necessarily planned to be a TALES film but was modified to fit the format. Sort of. The film stars William Sadler as Brayker, a stranger who rolls into town and checks into a crumbling hotel, run by the great, and unfortunately late, CCH Pounder (who later on delivers the best middle-finger salute in film history).

The hotel is a rogue’s gallery of miscreants, grifters, greaseballs and broken souls and they’re played by an equally diverse set of actors like Thomas Hayden Church, Charles Fleischer and of course, the inimitable Dick Miller, all of whom deliver top notch, wonderfully committed turns.
While Brayker is setting up shop, a giggling bounty hunter (Billy Zane) appears and enlists the local authorities to help him find the supposedly dastardly drifter. And when he does finally find his quarry, he promptly sheds his skin (not literally, yet), decimates his Cop-panions and reveals his true nature: seems the grinning, faux-bounty hunter is in fact a demonic “collector” sent from Hell to retrieve the last of six keys that will unlock the portal between this world and the underworld. And guess who has the key?

Again, many horror fans of a certain vintage hold DEMON KNIGHT in very high regard and it’s easy to see why. The storyline is borderline epic, the special effects are stunning (the movie is virtual practical make-up FX meltdown), the cast is killer, the script is witty, Jada Pinkett Smith gives a career best performance as a tough heroine who faces down the Devil, the sex and gore firmly push the boundaries of its R rating, director Ernest Dickerson keeps it stylish and Zane…Zane…well, Zane gives the most batshit crazy, super-sonic performance since Nicolas Cage in VAMPIRE’S KISS. The man is a sight to behold and his manic energy keeps the entire thing glued together.

The only problem – and it’s kind of a big problem – is that despite its title and the fun, arch Crypt Keeper framing device, DEMON KNIGHT has almost zero to do with TALES FROM THE CRYPT. There’s no morality tale here. There’s no twist. There’s no bad-behavior-getting-punished-by forces-from-beyond-the-grave-stinger. There’s no sense of danger and the film aint scary at all. Instead what we have here is an enjoyable, campy, theologically-tinted monster mash, well-scripted, professionally acted and briskly paced. In fact, DEMON KNIGHT would fare far better had it been released as a stand-alone film without the baggage and expectations of the TALES title…

TALES FROM THE CRYPT PRESENTS: BORDELLO OF BLOOD (1996)

A supremely tacky follow-up to the surprisingly classy DEMON KNIGHT, director Gilbert Adler’s BORDELLO OF BLOOD casts smarmy, SNL “Weekend Update” comedian Dennis Miller as a smarmy P.I named Guttman who gets hired by former BAYWATCH babe Erika Eleniak to find her missing scumbag brother (played by a fresh out of rehab Corey Feldman). The trail leads him from grotty pool halls to the doorstep of a looming funeral home; said stiff factory is in fact a front for a demented backdoor brothel, run by a recently resurrected vampire queen named Lilith (played with leering charm by admitted non-actor and supermodel Angie Everhart) and its packed to the pantyline with bloodsucker hookers from hell.

BORDELLO was put together quickly and reportedly wasn’t exactly the cheeriest of sets (according to Feldman in the supplemental making-of dock, both Miller and Eleniak were a pair of diva-jerks on set) and that lack of camaraderie shows on screen. The make-up effects are less impressive as well (handled primarily by Canadian whiz Todd Masters), but really that’s more indicative of the fact that, well, these are just vampires after all and outside of fangs, arched brows and contacts, there aint much left to do with them…

That said, BORDELLO is in many ways a superior TALES FROM THE CRYPT entry. Adler had previously directed episodes of the show and the film feels like an amplified episode, brightly lit, garish and tricked out with even more sleaze, sex, blood and general luridness. Miller is miscast but often very funny, veteran Charles Band alumni actor Phil Fondacaro is great as Lilith’s liberator and henchman and the great Chris Sarandon (FRIGHT NIGHT) steals the movie as a guitar wailing televangelist whose treatise with the vampires is uneasy at best. And, in true CRYPT style, there is indeed a dose of nihilism injected into the finale that draws the flick back to its EC roots.

Scream Factory pack both discs with their usual assortment of A1 extras, the highlights of both which are a double-dose of features charting the behind the scenes action; they’re edifying and funny as hell and will make you care even more about the films themselves.

All in all, though, if it’s a real deal cinematic TALES FROM THE CRYPT experience ye be seeking, stick with George A. Romero’s 1982 classic CREEPSHOW. That’s as close to the pulp genius of Gaines and company that we’ve yet to see…

Yet.

The post Review: TALES FROM THE CRYPT Flicks DEMON KNIGHT and BORDELLO OF BLOOD on Blu-ray appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.

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Exclusive Poster Reveal: Author Ken Hanley’s THE I IN EVIL

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Exclusive Poster Reveal: Author Ken Hanley’s THE I IN EVIL

SHOCK gets an eyeful of the promo poster for Ken Hanley’s new book THE I IN EVIL

I’m always thrilled when people I admire use their spare time to make stuff that matters and my colleague, current FANGORIA Managing Editor Ken Hanley has done just that, using his talents as a word wrangler to take his art to the next level.

Hanley is on the cusp of unleashing his first book, a satirical monster mash self-help epic called THE I IN EVIL, due out October 20th from Skyhorse Publishing. The book (featuring illustrations by Marvel and DC artist Adam Wallenta) has already been earning rave reviews from famous folk like SPLICE director Vincenzo Natali who calls it “…a thoroughly original, highly entertaining and witty offering for all the needy monsters out there, lurking in the shadowed corners of the world and within the darker regions of the soul.”

Tom Holland, director of CHILD’S PLAY and FRIGHT NIGHT simply says, “It’s Bat-shit crazy”.

From the press release:

FANGORIA Magazine’s Ken Hanley has devoted his life of uplifting the spirits and changing the lives of monsters across this great nation of ours. Vampires, Mummies, Wolfmen, Gill-men and Monsters (Frankenstein’s or Otherwise) will finally be able to step out of the shadows after reading THE I IN EVIL and be the social, conscientious citizens without the psycho-and-sociological issues that plague mankind every day.
THE I IN EVIL is not meant for humans. This book contains dark, terrifying truths and the author relinquishes any and all responsibility for any actions taken against monsters or themselves as a result of this book.

SHOCK is pleased to be able to give you the exclusive premiere of the alarmingly cool Todd Spence illustrated promotional poster for the book. Have a look below…

To pre-order THE I IN EVIL go HERE.

Do it for your inner ghoul…

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Review: Keanu Reeves Gets Kinky in Eli Roth’s KNOCK KNOCK

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Review: Keanu Reeves Gets Kinky in Eli Roth’s KNOCK KNOCK

Eli Roth’s latest is a misfired splatter satire.

KNOCK KNOCK’s opening plays like one of those Penthouse Forum “name withheld by request” letters but director Eli Roth quickly dumps the sexy stuff in favor of presenting a cautionary tale about the consequences of infidelity.

When we first meet the Webbers they are a happy, 1% family with a home perched high in the Hollywood Hills. Karen (Ignacia Allamand) is an artist with a major show coming up at a Los Angeles gallery, Evan (Keanu Reeves) is an architect and their adorable kids are, well, just adorable. They even have a French Bulldog named Monkey. Cute.

With Karen and the children off to the beach for the weekend Evan is home alone, listening to KISS 1976 album “Destroyer” at top volume, caught up in his work. It’s raining cats and dogs when he hears a knock at the door. (NOTE: This is the Penthouse Forum “name withheld by request” part.) On his doorstep are two drenched women, Bel (Ana de Armas) and Genesis (Lorenza Izzo), scantily clad party-goers looking for directions and a phone. “You don’t look so dangerous,” Evan says as he invites them in, “Worst case scenario, I think I can take both of you.” 

Things quickly get flirty with talk of threesomes, flight attendants and clothes being thrown in the dryer. By the time the sun rises the next morning everyone has gotten naked, vows have been broken (NOTE: This is the end of the Penthouse Forum “name withheld by request” part.) and the girls have taken over the house. Destructive and dangerous, Bel and Genesis stage a home-invasion-with-a-twist topped off by staging a fake game show called Who Wants to Punish a Pedophile? 

KNOCK KNOCK, directed by Eli Roth is based on the 1977 film DEATH GAME starring Colleen Camp and Sondra Locke (both are producers on this film) and is a deeply unpleasant movie. It’s supposed to be nasty, so in that way it’s wildly successful, but that won’t make me any more inclined to sit through it again. I guess you could call it a message film about the evils of faithlessness but the moral gets lost in the shenanigans. Evan is repeatedly punished for his transgression but the Dangerous Duo’s repetitive cat and mouse games get tired very quickly and, save for the odd bit of dark humor—like Evan accidentally “Liking” a sex video on Facebook—the movie is a one trick pony. 

What makes KNOCK KNOCK unusual is the male lead’s complete inability to protect himself. Time after time he is close to getting free only to bollocks it up. As a result he lands in some very bad situations giving Bel and Genesis the upper hand throughout. But don’t confuse this with a grrrl power movie. In the end, it’s little more than a down ‘n dirty exploitation flick that aims to be provocative but instead paints all its characters as victims and knocks female empowerment back twenty years.    

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Parenting Horror! Fright Flicks HIDDEN and JUNE Reviewed

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Parenting Horror! Fright Flicks HIDDEN and JUNE Reviewed

SHOCK takes a look at two new releases that deal with the horrors of parenting.

This one’s for mom and dad…

It may seem a cliché to say (that’s because clichés tend to be steeped in truth) but once you have children, and if you truly take to being a parent, you quickly learn the true meaning of terror. It’s hardwired into our primordial ooze: once we make our own people, once we are tasked with overseeing the care and well being of something/someone who cannot function without our aid and loves us simply because of that relationship, real deal dread locks its claws into your guts and doesn’t leave until you’re dead. Because we know what the world is. We know that beneath its pretty sunsets and shimmering lawns and smiling faces and illusions of immortality lurks a dangerous ball of pain and violence, with predators skulking around, yellow-eyed and drooling in the dark.

As Lillian Gish says in Charles Laughton’s 1955 morality tale masterpiece NIGHT OF THE HUNTER:

“It’s a hard world for little things…”

Indeed it is.

And since cinema exploits and meditates on all of our varying conditions, it goes to follow that its direct portal to primal dread, the horror film, would draw out the poisons of parenting with bloody, sadistic glee. From the kid killer of Fritz Lang’s M, to the aforementioned NIGHT OF THE HUNTER to Nicolas Roeg’s DON’T LOOK NOW to Lars Von Trier’s ANTICHRIST; the horror of procreating and the dangers and misery it can make are alive and well on screens big and small, past, present and, no doubt, future.

Here, SHOCK looks at two new releases that deal with the terrors of being a parent in various imaginary worlds that mirror our own…

HIDDEN (Warner)

Written and directed by sibling duo The Duffer Brothers (whose previous work includes penning episodes of the M. Night Shyamalan approved, Lynchian TV series WAYWARD PINES), HIDDEN is a hidden gem indeed. TRUE BLOOD and MELANCHOLIA star Alexander Skarsgard plays a father who, along his his daughter (Emily Alyn Lind) and wife (Andrea Riseborough), is barricaded in an underground chamber and has been there for almost a year. Their sun-free hiding hole is dark, dank and miserable; rats sneak in and steal what’s left of their rations and they all live in terror of a roaming species of post-apocalyptic monsters that live above ground, beasts they have dubbed the “breathers”. And yet, like Viggo Mortensen’s character in the filmed adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s THE ROAD, it’s up to dad to keep up morale and protect his child from succumbing to despair.

Yet, with their food sources almost depleted, the father must make the difficult decision to leave their dismal, but at least protected, sanctuary and face the dreaded “breathers”. What they discover instead provides the twist in the tale, which we will not reveal here, of course, but the journey to get there pushes the parents to their limits and beyond as they resort to unthinkable measures to protect their baby in this brutal new world.

HIDDEN is an absolutely first rate horror film. Moody, dark, exceptionally well-acted by the three leads and genuinely terrifying. And, oh man, is that twist a doozy. Maybe not quite PLANET OF THE APES “wow”, but still palpably shocking. Perhaps a tad slow for some horror fans (not this one), this is a thoughtful film that betrays typical zombie flick conventions and comes armed with genuine soul.

JUNE (RLJ Entertainment)

Co-writer/director L. Gustavo Cooper’s JUNE is a very different film that attacks a different angle of parenting terror, that of the parent that is blinded by their child’s true nature. Essentially a spin on classic “bad seed” movies like, er, THE BAD SEED and THE OMEN, JUNE tells the tale of the titular moppet (played skillfully by THE WALKING DEAD’s Kennedy Brice), a pretty kiddy who, after being born to a woman that barely escaped a Satanic cult, is tossed from foster home to foster home; each and every time, June blows it by having her eyeballs fill with black blood and adopting an adult’s screeching voice while growling out threats and fucking things up with her psychic tantrums.

Eventually she ends up with a kindly couple (STARSHIP TROOPERS’ Casper Van Dien and actress Victoria Pratt) who do their damndest to de-damn the kid. But as things begin to unravel rapidly, Dad does some research on her past and tries to convince mom that their dear, deadly daughter must depart. Little does he know that when it comes to that bond between mother and daughter, Hell hath no fury like.

Cooper is a very, very talented director. A true stylist who isn’t afraid of painting his canvas with broad strokes and whose style is very akin to a grandiose Italian or Japanese approach to horror. This aesthetic both works for and occasionally against JUNE, especially since the human drama is so finely etched. When we see Van Dien (who is excellent, by the way) begin his descent into mania, it’s effect is betrayed by the ho-hum CGI and dastardly vocal effects that mark June’s outbursts. The film is still a quality piece of work and exceedingly well produced on what was no doubt a lower budget. But a little more subtlety would have pushed JUNE from good to great…

Extras on HIDDEN are non-existent while JUNE has a lengthy, if superfluous, making of feature that is essentially a flurry of talking heads praising each other. Both pictures offer a glimpse into how treacherous a territory parenting can be and, while differing in their approach,  both treat their stories seriously; they make a fine Friday night double feature.

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Ridley Scott Teases New Characters for ALIEN: PARADISE LOST

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Ridley Scott Teases New Characters for ALIEN: PARADISE LOST

A new group of travelers will join Shaw and David in Ridley Scott’s Alien: Paradise Lost

Director Ridley Scott continues to spill the beans about his upcoming Prometheus sequel Alien: Paradise Lost, this time filling in Awards Campaign on the state of Engineer homeworld (ironically nicknamed “Paradise”) once Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and David (Michael Fassbender) cruise in on their croissant-shaped spaceship, as well as some other new arrivals.

“It’s going to be it’s own separate thing because they are going to the planet of the Engineers and they are going to see what happened there. It was a disaster,” Scott says. “And they will be in that alien craft that takes them there, but with a new group that’s incoming, a new group of travelers in the beginning of the first act.”

Sounds like Scott needed to feed some more characters into his Xenomorph meat grinder, so it could potentially be a new group of humans from the sinister Weyland Corporation coming in to bring bioweapons back to Earth, some military grunts ala James Cameron’s Aliens or possibly an entirely new species we haven’t seen yet. As for the fate of the Engineers, given the havoc we’ve already seen unleashed in previous films it’s not hard to imagine a full-scale monster epidemic may have broken out across their planet, although there could be something even worse in store.

Production on Alien: Paradise Lost is set to begin in early 2016, with Rapace and Fassbender set to reprise their roles of Shaw and the android David, respectively. Jack Paglen (Transcendence) and Michael Green (Green Lantern, Blade Runner 2) are providing the screenplay. 20th Century Fox has set a tentative May 30, 2017 release date for the prequel-sequel, although given its close proximity to Rian Johnson’s juggernaut Star Wars: Episode VIII (May 26) that slot could potentially change.

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10 Upcoming Horror Movies to Look Out For

AnythingHorror Central

10 Upcoming Horror Movies to Look Out For

Overall, 2015 wasn’t the greatest year for horror releases. We had the standard big studio releases that focused on “themes of the month” (cookie cutter ghost stories and the such) and we had some rather disappointing indie horror releases with the occasional good one thrown in. Hey, it is a numbers game. Watch as many horror films as I do and you’re bound to see some decent ones. Well, it is October and lucky for all us that the last part of 2015 is looking like it is going to be filled with fun, solid horror offerings. Over the last month we’ve been treated to the Elijah Wood starrer, COOTIES, Eli Roth’s THE GREEN INFERNO and M. Night Shyamalan’s THE VISIT (review to come). But the rest of 205 looks just as promising. Let’s check out what’s coming our way:

A CHRISTMAS HORROR STORY

This film was released on October 2, 2015 and I have it all queued up and ready to watch. This is an anthology-like movie that has interwoven stories loosely connected. Some of the stories include a family that brings home a very odd Christmas tree, a student’s documentary project that takes a frightening turn, a Christmas spirit that wreaks havoc, and Santa himself facing off against evil.

THE FINAL GIRLS

I’ve watched the trailer for this on at least a dozen times and every time I watch it it gets better and better. This one is about a girl grieving the loss of her mother, a famous scream queen from the 1980s, who then finds herself pulled into the world of her mom’s most famous movie. Reunited, the two women must fight off the film’s maniacal, masked killer. Think THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO meets FRIDAY THE 13TH!! THE FINAL GIRLS is slated for an October 9, 2015 release.

KNOCK KNOCK

Eli Roth really wants to dominate the Halloween season and offers up another tasty genre film that has been getting great buzz. In THE GREEN INFERNO we get Roth’s love letter to the classic Italian-cannibal flicks of the 1970s and 1980s, but with KNOCK KNOCK, Roth turns the typical psycho male killer formula on its ear. In the film, Keanu Reeves plays plays a loving and happily married man who lets two younger girls into his home who then proceed to seduce him, hold him hostage, and subject him to all kinds of horrors. This one is also slated to drop on  October 9, 2015.

CRIMSON PEAK

Perhaps the most anticipated horror film of 2015 is Guillermo del Toro’s CRIMSON PEAK. This is del Toro’s return to the gothic ghost story that originally made him a household name. In the film, an aspiring author (Mia Wasikowska) moves in with her mysterious new husband (Tom Hiddleston) and his sister (Jessica Chastain), against the wishes of a close friend (Charlie Hunnam). As she tries to cope with a recent family tragedy, she slowly realizes the house is not just a structure, but a living, breathing being. This is another captivating trailer that I’ve watched over and over again. CRIMSON PEAK is set for an October 16, 2015 release.

THE DIABOLICAL

Here’s a ghost story coming our way, but don’t be too quick to brush this one off as just another INSIDIOUS clone. In THE DIABOLICAL, a single mother (Ali Larter) faces a strange, violent, paranormal presence in her home, and when paranormal experts refuse to help, she takes matters into her own hands. This one sounds like it will offer us something a little different. Look for this one in theaters on October 16, 2015.

THE LAST WITCH HUNTER

Granted, this one sounds more like an action flick than a straight up horror movie, THE LAST WITCH HUNTER also sounds like it may be fun. Directed by Breck Eisner and starring Vin Diesel, Elijah Wood, and Michael Caine, the plot revolves around a man (Diesel) who is cursed with immortality after killing an all-powerful Queen Witch. Centuries later when the witch and her minions seem to be coming back, Diesel must hunt her down and slay her again. Look for THE LAST WITCH HUNTER on October 23, 2015.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE GHOST DIMENSION

Here’s our seasonal release of the next entry into a franchise that should’ve died out a long time ago!! In what is being promised as the last in the series (I’m not buying it), a family discovers a bizarre video camera in the garage that helps them see supernatural forces manifested in physical form. As they get to the bottom of the mystery that started years and years ago, they witness more terror than they can imagine. This one is also getting a October 23, 2015 release date.

SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

This is another one I’m really looking forward to!! In it, a group of boy scouts find themselves scrambling to get their wits about them when the zombie apocalypse hits. They need to rely on their boy scout training to save the day. David Koechner–who is always fantastic–stars as a scout leader, and Cloris Leachman herself also stars. Look for this in theaters on October 30, 2015.

KRAMPUS

Just in time for Christmas is KRAMPUS, an ancient, evil monster that’s notorious for terrorizing children during the holiday season. A young boy accidentally summons Krampus on Christmas Eve and his family must band together to fight it off and to survive the holiday season. KRAMPUS is written and directed by TRICK ‘R TREAT maker, Michael Dougherty, so expectations are high. Look for KRAMPUS in theaters on December 4, 2015.

VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN

This is a retelling of the classic Mary Shelley story told from Igor’s (Daniel Radcliffe) perspective. We see the troubled young assistant’s dark origins, his redemptive friendship with the young medical student Viktor Von Frankenstein (James McAvoy), and become eyewitnesses to the emergence of how Frankenstein became the man – and the legend – we know today. This one won’t be out until November 25, 2015.

I think we’ve got some definite winners in this crop of upcoming horror films. Which ones are you most interested in seeing?

Stay Bloody!!!

Filed under: Breaking News, Creature Flicks, Holiday Horrors, New Posting, Upcoming Releases, Zombie Flicks

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