Gross Movie Reviews #697

0

Nick Knight (YouTube/DVD-R) – Unbeknownst to me this was a 1989 TV movie or a prequel of sorts or just failed pilot that starred the great Rick Springfield (for the kids out there, dude was everywhere in the 80s). A couple years later they revived the idea in 1992 and called it “Forever Knight”, a vampire cop show that ran in syndication (like Xena and Hercules it depended where you lived and what channels you got in order to watch the program as it really didn’t have a set time). Detective Nick Knight is a crafty detective who gets results but only works nights for odd reasons to the rest of his fellow cops. A problem arises as a serial killer who kills almost nightly and his victims have been nicknamed the “vampire murders”. As Nick struggles with his vampirism a theft of a Mayan cup raises an eyebrow as this cup is believed to be used to cure vampirism as Nick’s master Lacroix (not the carbonated water) has come to town to taunt him. For a TV movie of 1989 it was pretty good but guessing the love story that had a sad ending in the pilot didn’t go over well for critics as I still enjoyed it overall and give it 3 stars.

R.L. Stine’s Pumpkinhead (Tubi) – This one surprised me it was a Tubi Original released this past Halloween as I just finally got around to checking it out. A mom of two moves to a small town of Red Haven “Where the Harvest Never Ends” as it seems too perfect since moving from New York after her husband died. The oldest kid Finn fits in immediately but young Sam doesn’t like the move and chooses to cut off a strange pumpkin in Mr. Palmer’s barn during the harvest festival. His older brother Finn returns the pumpkin but doesn’t return the next day as he is completely forgotten about except Sam knows. Help from a new best friend and an outcast they unravel the mystery of the cursed land the crops that grow on Mr. Palmer’s farm. The scarecrow thing was pretty cool and I quite enjoyed the non-happy ending to this feature as I give it 3 stars.

Nazi Supersoldier (Tubi) – Another low budget Nazi zombie film out of Germany that begins in May 1945, where an experimental super soldier project is underway in Berlin. Well we all know what happened then so now in present day there are rumors of a secret lab somewhere in the forest of Berlin. If a group of students can discover it they plan to use it for their thesis as they would do a proper TV report on the location. The group finds the secret lab but doing so unleash a thing called “Project Juso” that is impervious to weapons and looks like a bootleg ‘Violent Shit’ killer as he slaughters his way through the woods. I truly wanted to like this project but felt like the idea didn’t have enough plot behind it to make it fun or interesting as I can only give this film 1 star.

Mortal Game (Tubi) – Big game hunters travel to an island for the ultimate hunt but none have ever returned? Of course a new group of hunters who are flown in are sure they will find this unknown creature and have it for their trophy case. But of course in this Canadian flick the creature is the hunter as it feasts on all who come to the island. This movie really didn’t make a ton of sense and I really wanted the creature to be a werewolf or something but we can’t always get what we want like a great creature feature in this case as I can only give it a ½ star.

Orgy of the Dead 2 (DVD) – Andrew J. Chambers set out to make a love letter to the obscure maybe even cultish 1965 horror film and I believe the filmmaker accomplished their goal. Your coffin based host, The Emperor, likes to hang out in his cemetery with his lovely princess to see who they will entertain this evening? It just so happens a group of four have a car accident nearby, now three who are looking for help but instead stumble into a graveyard full of kink as The Emperor and his minions enjoy the dancing entertainment for the evening. Jessa Flux who plays one of the car accident victims is absolutely fun with her comments as she is crucified! This piece of entertaining sleaze will not be for all horror fans but I gotta respect what Mr. Chambers and crew accomplished as they should be proud of their efforts as I give it 3 out of 4 stars.

The Invisible Raptor (Tubi) – Tyler Corp. is a secret research center that is connected to an amusement park called “Dinoworld”. So of course there is research on the only invisible live raptor! Being the intelligent creature it kills its captors and escapes! As nearby residents seem to be getting eaten up it’s up to the bumbling staff of Dinoworld to track down the creature to stop it terrorizing all who live there. The film has its moments with chasing dinosaur shit, small wieners, dinosaur sex, and a hilarious house party that just becomes a smorgasbord for the raptor but its nearly two hour running time has too many lulls throughout as I can only give it 2 stars.

Darbie’s Dreamhouse (DVD) – This newer Donald Farmer flick has quite a talented cast as Jessa Flux stars as Darbie… She is a ten year old Alice’s doll who has several dolls but when Alice isn’t around the dolls have their own life in Dolltown, USA. This is where Darbie and all her friends and boyfriend included come to life. Well Darbie’s boyfriend Ben is planning a surprise birthday party this Saturday with Beach Blanket Ben, Rodeo Darbie, Danger Darbie, and Ditzie Darbie as they try to exclude Darbie’s sister Tripper because they feel she will spoil it. Well they were not wrong as Tripper believes Ben is cheating on Darbie so she tells her sister all about his cheating. This sends Darbie in a rage as she needs a root beer and her butcher’s knife to show her so-called friends they cannot take her boyfriend Ben or mess with Darbie’s perfect doll life! The project is a bizarre live action independent oddity that will have you smiling from ear to ear over Darbie’s killing spree as I give this wild project from Mr. Farmer 3 out of 4 stars. (Also much respect to Jessa Flux for being one of the writers).   

Any comments please send to grossmoviereview@verizon.net or www.facebook.com/grossmoviereviews .

Plus you can always go to the greatest T-shirt place online or if you are in Texas visit the store of “Fast Custom Shirts” where T-shirt Joe is the only place you should purchase your horror T-shirts: Go to www.fastcustomshirts.com and support!   

Gross Movie Reviews #695

0

Waltz (YouTube) – An interesting take on the Alice in Wonderland story where Alice is from across the pond and has come to the states to get away from mother but also find steady work as a copyrighter. When her job goes south Alice leans on her good friend and photographer Calvin looking for answers on what to do next? But when she struggles mightily to find a job in her field she becomes more desperate for money as she comes across an opportunity to do erotic photos for the website “Biggest Fan”. Calvin who actually likes Alice but Alice only sees Calvin as an end to a means and ignores his warnings; Calvin begrudgingly helps Alice anyway with the erotic photos. As the money rolls in Alice ups the ante with a date with a fan that helps bring in a stalker to Alice. Now said stalker dressed as the Mad Hatter kidnaps and tortures Alice for the mere purpose of teaching her a lesson! The small cast is wonderfully talented including David Dietz who gives viewers someone to really care about in the end. The movie is an entertaining tale of terror but the one flaw of the picture might be the torture scenes or back and forth between the characters of the stalker and Alice that felt like it was giving away a little too much or leaving nothing to the viewer’s imagination. No matter what I think this is a super solid independent terror that all involved should be proud of as I give it 2 ½ out of 4 stars.

The Actor’s Curse: A Tale of Twisted Fate (DVD) – This anthology involves an older man full of regret and booze as he sits to write in his journal four stories. These stories involve an abusive filmmaker getting  his dick hacked off, an overlooked actor seeking revenge from beyond the grave, a down on his luck Spanish filmmaker who is given his 100th chance on a documentary about South American vampires that he doesn’t take seriously, and the troubled past of a make-up artist catching up to the individual. Once written all the tales come to life all at once causing horror to the troubling older man. A very serious and direct anthology that really could be taken several different ways by several viewers which means great work to all involved as I am not a huge fan of anthologies but liked this stuck to good storytelling and not using filler to fill up a feature as I give the anthology 3 out of 4 stars.

Any comments please send to grossmoviereview@verizon.net or www.facebook.com/grossmoviereviews .

Plus you can always go to the greatest T-shirt place online or if you are in Texas visit the store of “Fast Custom Shirts” where T-shirt Joe is the only place you should purchase your horror T-shirts: Go to www.fastcustomshirts.com and support!

Review of Brad Sykes’ latest project

0

Transylvania Tapes (DVD) – Latest project from the talented independent soul Brad Sykes takes us to Bucharest! A dramatic horror found footage/documentary mash up that follows a young woman Mara was born in Romania but moved to L.A. when she was very young. After a family member died in the past year she found tapes of what her mother made in 1997 looking for a possible family property but disappeared mysteriously. Mara travels across the world to make a documentary about her following in her mother’s footsteps to also hopefully find some answers. Mara’s mother was an actress and in theater during the 80s and was very popular in the area as she uses this to help track down some old peers of her mother’s to interview. As Mara gets deep with some of these interviews a curse is mentioned several times which of course Mara refuses to listen to warnings about looking for her mother. The film is quite intriguing and beautiful as this somewhat found footage film comes off genuine compared to many from the past. What also helps this project along is the actor that plays Mara; Valeria Badiuc absolutely has a natural charm that lures you in to be interested in her journey. Now I was a little upset Charles Band or his castle were not in the film and the film runs a little long for me at 109 minutes but Ms. Badiuc’s performance and Mr. Sykes using the beautiful landscape and buildings as a character itself lends this to be a must watch independent film in 2026! I give this light mash up 3 out of 4 stars.

(This will be showing at Grossfest 2026)

Last show of the year for Grossfest and The Gross Brothers

0

This will most likely be our last event of the year…? So come on by and see our end of the year blowout of movies as we keep promoting Grossfest 2026! One time only horror movie DVDs – 2 for $5 just DVDs (stuff we have not had out yet… good chance these could go quick for the people that love physical media)

Also on two other tables we will rom/coms, non-horror, disney related titles, etc. VHS, DVD, Blu-rays ALL FOR $1! Plus we will be selling all TV box sets for… $1! Need to see Dead Zone season one, we got it, need to catch up on Gilmore Girls we got it, random season of Angel, we got it, I believe there is a couple seasons of Robot Chicken and Aqua Teen Hunger Force all for a DOLLAR! So come check out the year end Grossfest blowout sale!

Krampus returns to the Monroeville Mall!

A Holiday Vendor Market featuring crafts, gifts and decor for your holiday season. Merchandise ranging from spooky to festive to Old World Traditional. Many local vendors showcasing their unusual wares.

And of course, our annual visit from Krampus himself! Krampus will be doing a traditional “Photos With Krampus” on his mall throne set.

Admission Tickets available:

All Access $10.00 – Includes Photo with Krampus on the throne set with a live Krampus. Includes admission to the vendor area.

Standard $5.00 – Includes admission to the event room. (does not include photo with Krampus).

Krampus Photo Set and Vendor room open at 11AM. We are using a newly expanded floorplan in our new Time and Space Event Space. All vendors and Krampus will be in the same large event space.

Children 12 and under get free admission with adult. The venue is the Time and Space Event Space of the Monroeville Mall.
Our new super-sized space is upper level across from Victoria Secret. Enter mall on the Dick’s / Party City end. Free parking!

Special Guest for Friday (July 31st) only for Grossfest 2026

0

Well we got one more guest for yinz to enjoy at Grossfest 2026 but for Friday only as they couldn’t stay away from Grossfest any longer and beyond ecstatic to be hanging with us meeting all the Grossfest fans. You remember those beer commercials “with the most interesting man in the world”? Well this person is the real life version of that as they had to miss the past few Grossfest shows because of their investigating, writing, acting, panel production and starting new shops with jewelry and clothing! No lie this person is also an expert on the Bigfoot, werewolves, and those pesky aliens if you are keeping track… Without a doubt we could only be talking about “the most interesting and pure bad ass woman in the world” we like to introduce yinz to Christine M. Soltis!

Grossfest 2026 – July 31st-August 1st

Friday 4-10pm

Saturday 11-7pm

Tickets: $15 for one day or $20 for both days

Vendor tables are $100 each and come with two passes

Movie room schedule will come closer to event and of course we have a tattoo room

www.grossfest.com

(Don’t forget to make your reservations sooner than later)

Comfort Inn Conference Center

699 Rodi Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15235

(412) 244-1600

Another stop has been to the Grossfest world tour as we visit the zombie mall in a couple weeks!

0

Living Dead Museum

Monroeville Mall, Monroeville, PA 15146, United States

Celebrating George A. Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD and other zombie films inspired by the the Living Dead series.

This year, 2025 marks the 40th Anniversary of THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD is the alternate sequel to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD that breathed new life into the “living dead” franchise in 1985. An of course the main timeline sequel from 1978 is DAWN OF THE DEAD, the film that made our very special shopping mall a place to celebrate these films and the current home to the Living Dead Museum.

We are assembling cast reunions, screenings and photo ops based on both of these films! RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 1985 and, DAWN OF THE DEAD 1978.

Our venue is the home of DAWN OF THE DEAD, the world famous Monroeville Mall!

A fan convention like no other, the reunion of both the place the movies take place and all of the people who made them, from the lead actors to your favorite screen zombies, to the people behind the scenes that made it all happen, it’s all here in the form of a huge fan gathering and convention.

-Celebrity Appearances-Movie Location Tours-Exclusive Parties
-Film Screenings-Official Merchandise
-Collectibles and Art-Exhibits and Panels
-Photo Ops
-Zombie fun and more!

Tickets are available to be purchased in advance as follows.

3-DAY PASS $40 standard Admission for all 3 weekend days. ($50 after Early Bird expires on Oct 10th)

VIP PASS $150 extremely limited capacity, includes Celebrity Mixer Party, swag bag of merchandise, early admission, Includes line priority for photo ops, autographs, etc., and front row seating at events stage. ($200 after Early Bird expires on Oct 10th)

FRIDAY SINGLE DAY $20 ($25 after Early Bird expires)

SATURDAY SINGLE DAY $30 ($40 after Early Bird expires)

SUNDAY SINGLE DAY $20 ($25 after Early Bird expires)

Tickets are available at the door during our event hours but are subject to selling out in advance. All attendees are required to have an event ticket to take part in any of the events for that day. You must purchase a Daily Pass, Weekend Pass or VIP Pass to access the event as a whole, including any of the activities such as celebrities, tours, parties, movies, vendors, panels, etc..

Some activities require an extra purchase such as tours, film screenings, after hours events, autographs, photo ops, etc..

Children under 10 do not need a ticket and are free with paid adult admission to standard entry (VIP Party requires a VIP ticket for every person). Tours must be purchased for each person. Children must be accompanied by adult. Limit 2 children per adult ticket for general entry.

Living Dead Weekend: 2025 general schedule. (Photo Op schedule, panel schedule and film screening(s) will be posted soon).
FRIDAY Oct 24
NOON VIP Check-In
NOON – 8:00 Vendor Halls Open
2:00 General Admission Check-In
2:00 – 8:00 Celebrity Signings & Panel Stage Events
6:00 – 9:00 Film Location Mall Tour
9:00 – 11:00 Film Screening w/ Cast Intro (title and details to be announced very soon)

SATURDAY Oct 25
10:00 VIP and General Admission Check-In
10:00 – 7:00 Vendor Halls, Celebrity Signings, and Panel Stage Events
1:00 – 4:00 Film Location Mall Tour
9:00 – 11:00 VIP Mixer Meet & Greet

SUNDAY Oct 26
9:30 General Admission Check-In
10:00 – 1:00 Film Location Mall Tour
11:00 – 5:00 Vendor Halls, Celebrity Signings, and Panel Stage Events

More information and guest lists at our website below.
www.TheLivingDeadWeekend.com

Info to apply to be a vendor:
https://www.thelivingdeadweekend.com/monroeville-vendors/ 

One more guest announcement for Grossfest 2026!

0

So this was a delightful surprise for Grossfest 2026 as we haven’t seen such a talented and rising star in the independent genre maybe since the likes of no one? Seriously Grossfest fans this person has done it all in such a quick time as they have done over 65 projects in literally five or six years. This person is one of if not the hardest working talents in the independent film business as we speak! Their presence on screen is literally eye popping and we can assure you they will be making it to Hollywood like a Tiffany Shepis. This wildly multi-talented person can play any role you ask of them and disappear in the character to bring them to life like no one else before them; if acting isn’t needed they do make-up, stunts, direct… This person is paving a new way for talented people in the industry and as soon as their name is mention yinz all will agree. They have been in projects such as: Night of the Axe, Wolf Hollow, Debbie Does Demons, Amityville Ripper, Waspzilla, Crackcoon, Night of the Dead Sorority Babes, and many more! It is absolutely our exciting pleasure to introduce yinz to the ultra-talented … Angel Bradford!

Grossfest 2026 – July 31st-August 1st

Friday 4-10pm

Saturday 11-7pm

Tickets: $15 for one day or $20 for both days

Vendor tables are $100 each and come with two passes (tables will go up to purchase soon)

Movie room schedule will come closer to event and of course we have a tattoo room

www.grossfest.com

Comfort Inn Conference Center

699 Rodi Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15235

(412) 244-1600

We got another announcement for Grossfest 2026 see who it is!!!

0

For our next announcement for Grossfest 2026 is also quite exciting as we consider this person an absolute independent film legend. This person’s career started at a young age in the late 80s and as soon as I mention any of the projects this person has been a part of yinz will exactly know who it is… They pretty much grew up in the independent scene doing whatever it takes to be a part of a project: grip, production assistant, extra, and then graduated to speaking roles, being a writer, a producer, a director! This person has seen it all and done it all but what makes it special to have them back to Grossfest since their last appearance it seems they challenge themselves to say “hold my beer to themselves” and “wait until you get a load of me” to Indie fans with such recent genre changing projects ‘Her Name was Christa’ and ‘Side Effects May Vary’… The only person in the room that might be able to tell just as many stories about independent filmmaking as David and Diana Silvio (A Grossfest Lifetime Achievement Award winners mind you), we of course can only be talking about a person that may have the most interesting career in acting but also might be considered the nicest person you’ll ever meet at a convention… We like to introduce yinz to MR. JAMES L. EDWARDS!   

Grossfest 2026 – July 31st-August 1st

Friday 4-10pm

Saturday 11-7pm

Tickets: $15 for one day or $20 for both days

Vendor tables are $100 each and come with two passes (tables will go up to purchase soon)

Movie room schedule will come closer to event and of course we have a tattoo room

www.grossfest.com

Comfort Inn Conference Center

699 Rodi Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15235

(412) 244-1600

We yet have another guest to introduce for Grossfest 2026!

0

Our next guest announcement is always one of my favorites at a convention as her presence on screen always jumps out from the movie and she is just as awesome meeting in person. Her work as an actor has been great but the more intriguing recent move that I think will be absolutely delightful is her move to directing as she recently finished up a horror musical “I: scream” which I believe will have independent film fans begging her for more… Of course we are introducing to Grossfest 2026 the lovely, the talented, the beautiful Aleen Isley!

Grossfest 2026 – July 31st-August 1st

Friday 4-10pm

Saturday 11-7pm

Tickets: $15 for one day or $20 for both days

Vendor tables are $100 each and come with two passes (tables will go up to purchase soon)

Movie room schedule will come closer to event and of course we have a tattoo room

www.grossfest.com

Comfort Inn Conference Center

699 Rodi Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15235

(412) 244-1600