This website is dedicated to horror movies (independent and mainstream), beer, Full Moon, Spookies, Graveyard Shift, Leprechaun sequels, massacre films and watching every god damn horror film ever made or die trying!
So for our next guest announcement this writer, director, actor needs no introduction at all but we are going to give this awesome person one anyway! They are no stranger to Grossfest as they are quickly becoming famous for their wonderful film work that has spanned nearly twenty years, have been our friend for quite a long time, helps other filmmakers and actors locally along the way, has introduced a lot of Indy fans to other cool young filmmakers and actors, but you would undeniable know and enjoy them for their electric personality. This award winning filmmaker is known for movies such as: Everyone Must Die, Captain Z and The Terror of Leviathan, The Meowy series, Amityville Christmas Vacation, but what has gotten all the Indy folk in a crazy frenzy are the absolutely fun trilogy of Caroushell movies! It wouldn’t be Grossfest without him… the one… the only… cannot be duplicated only imitated… STEVE F’N RUDZINSKI!
Oh yinz are in for a treat with this next Grossfest guest announcement. This actor, producer, director’s career has spanned over four decades and may have just hit their stride as they are working more now than ever in the independent genre. Sometimes this talented soul goes under the radar of some Indy fans but when their name is mentioned or the film that first help burst them on the scene makes our eyes light up. This guest isn’t flashy but does get respect from peers when their name is mentioned. They are known for such projects as: Deep Undead, The Jacker Trilogy that first started in 1993, Amityville Thanksgiving, Sharkhouse, Turkey Day, and Bloodbath, Horrortales.666 Part 2 & 3, but the title that always gets the hardcore Indy fans’ ears to perk up would be Burglar from Hell! The Gross brothers are privileged to introduce yinz to the legendary Phil Herman!
For this next Grossfest 2025 guest announcement is a person I would call a “super talented Swiss Army Knife” of independent cinema as they have carved out a career over the past decade plus I have not seen since the likes of Debbie Rochon or Tiffany Shepis! They have done everything from acting, stunt work, producing, writing, directing, podcasting, you name it this person has done it! This person has quickly become someone all Indy filmmakers strive to have in on their project and they just got started. Would not be surprised if Hollywood comes (if they haven’t already) calling for this person sooner than later as they might be known for their excellent work in such projects: Swamp Zombies 2, The Profane Exhibit, Mrs. Claus, Halloween Horror Tales, Teacher Shortage, Return to Splatter Farm, Legend of Crick Foot, with upcoming projects such as Terrifying T-Rex, Return of the Corn Zombies, and Amityville Pool Toy Massacre. This next guest isn’t just another pretty face in the crowd her drive and body of work has proven that. Grossfest folks we are honored to introduce yinz to the one and only Mel Heflin!
Tin Roof (Blu-ray) – Rising star in filmmaker Rebecca Rinehart returns to the director’s chair with her latest feature that takes place at Cedar Falls Summer Camp. The wonderful summer camp after decades of being open is about to be closed because of several accidental deaths that worries the mayor. But others who grew up going there don’t want it to close and try to come up with a solution to save the camp. The five friends who are trying to save the camp decide to go back to Cedar Falls Summer Camp so they can get digital content to get the word out about the closing. But it becomes a big problem when a terrible event occurs that causes the group to uncover a long hidden truth about the deaths. This movie felt like it never got quite going like it was missing a gear or something that makes the story pop. Saying that Rebecca is a talented filmmaker and if it makes any sense I feel she hasn’t found that right project to show off how good she is but hope she keeps trying as I give this project 2 ½ out of 4 stars.
Accion Mutante (4K/Blu-ray) – This rarely seen but much celebrated Spanish/French production from 1992 finally has gotten the restoration treatment from Severin and allows us to remove our U.S. bootlegs under the title ‘Mutant Action’ from our collections. This post-apocalyptic dark comedy cult hit is set in a future time where good looking people rule the world and a terrorist group of so-called mutants plan a kidnapping. Ramon and others of ‘Mutant Action’ kidnap the daughter of Orujo and during their getaway things do not go as planned including the daughter falling in love with Ramon. Ramon double crosses his team in order to collect the ransom but of course that doesn’t go as planned either as the best way to describe this cult film is: a crazy sci-fi film of chaos from beginning to end. This new release has all kind of goodies for fans to enjoy and highly recommend this film of Alex de la Iglesia to anyone that looks for something different to watch on a regular basis as I give it 4 stars.
Sting (DVD) – An American/Australian production about a space rock hitting earth landing in a dollhouse of an apartment. The rock hatches with a space spider emerging and being found by a young girl named Charlotte who moves through the duct work of the apartments. She places it in a jar, gives it the name ‘Sting’, and begins to feed it. The space spider wastes no time escaping to feed on small animals and quickly humans in order for it to grow and learn. There is a lot going on around Charlotte story wise but that doesn’t take away from we got a space spider trying to eat up everyone in this apartment building during a cold snap. Give this fun killer spider stuff 4 stars.
Immaculate (DVD) – A young woman Cecilia is heading to a convent in Italy where she was directed to go and take her vows. After a few weeks of being there and finding her place in the convent it is revealed she is prego without sin. Of course there is some strangeness surrounding the event as she cannot escape the convent but apparently the symbol of Jesus’ sacrifice will get you prego?! Along the way Cecilia uncovers there has been many failures but she is the exception as she will give birth to an unholy demon. Had a tough time getting through this one especially seeing ‘The First Omen’ before this and believe they did it better? But this one just left me feeling meh as I can only give it 2 stars.
Lisa Frankenstein (DVD) – Every once in a while we get a horror film/dark comedy that is able to grab horror fans and non-horror fans together and this was the one for 2024. Lisa is a young lady who hasn’t found love yet but does quite enjoy spending time in the local cemetery that is considered haunted. Her obsession of one grave in the cemetery is brought to life one night after a strange storm. The young man from the grave comes to visit Lisa sending her into a frenzy of helping her undead friend soon to be boyfriend as she sews human parts to him. Yes, there is a scene of Lisa sewing a dick to her undead boyfriend. As the bodies begin to pile up Lisa learns there will be a price to pay for finding love. This retro horror flick set in 1989 carries that ‘Heathers’ vibe of dark but fun horror/comedy style that plays like a Disney teen flick gone to the dark side as I give it 3 ½ stars.
K. The Butcher Shitter (YouTube/remake) – First, just a little background on watching this flick. The digital screener and trailer got the filmmaker’s YouTube channel banned so it was sent to me by download. Second, for those who may not know this is a remake of ‘Violent Shit 2’ which talented filmmaker Alex Wesley had total consent from Andreas Schnaas to go make an updated version in his own vision as Alex and those who worked on the project were huge fans of the original series. Set in October 1992 a reporter is looking into the cruelest murders ever committed and surprised to learn Karl the Butcher had a son. Now the son is on a gory rampage in the forest to avenge his father as his mother looks on. It has all the craziness of the original you expect to please fans like nudity, cannibalism, gore, bloody boobs, a dick being cut off, and head drilling. You know everything to satisfy the small but rabid fan base of this movie series. Like it, hate it, never heard of it you got to respect this low budget gore film and its history as it’s not exactly my cup of tea but I do know ‘Violent Shit’ fans will be happy there is another entry to this long running series as I give it 3 out of 4 stars so enjoy.
Spooks Run Wild (DVD) – A lost art of a cheap comedy from 1941 where Bela Lugosi appears as a bootleg Dracula named Nardo but there is more to it than that. Some underprivileged teenagers are sent to a camp outside of town to help get them on the right path. But the same night they show up not only it is reported a monster is on the loose near the town, a strange man shows up to the old Billings estate that has sat empty for years. The boys escape under darkness from the camp and stumble into the estate after one of their buddies is shot in a graveyard nearby. From there weird hilarious things happen causing the boys to be scared of the strange man Nardo and his assistant who suddenly showed up to lurk around the estate. Think low budget Three Stooges in a strange haunted house as I give it 2 ½ stars.
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!
Another big announcement: For our next Grossfest announcement we will be introducing yinz to one of the hardest working people in independent cinema over the past few years. Their popularity is getting bigger by the day as they have been in such great Indy films: Cannibal Hookers, Shingles the Movie, Murdercise, Bigfoot Exorcist, along with over a dozen more projects in production. Most likely by time Grossfest rolls around in August she will have appeared in over 50 movies if not more? She combines her hard work with her next door girl charm to be one of the most in demand actresses there is… we like to introduce yinz to the awesome Jessa Flux.
Once again almost no introduction is needed after Grossfest 2024, back by popular demand we present to yinz the multi-talented tattoo artist Angel O’Connor!!! Her work speaks for itself and Grossfest fans absolutely loved her!
So this just happened and the Gross Brothers are so happy to be a part of these! Head on over to http://www.lunchmeatvhs.com and get you a copy of Bathtub Shark Attack and Spirit Animal on beautiful VHS! Thanks to Josh Schafer and Ted Gilbert for making this a reality and also to everyone who has been a part of making these amazing films!
Splatter Theater: Behind the Scenes (DVD) – In summer of 2011 filmmaker Sean Donohue filmed a behind the scenes documentary of a live stage show called ‘Splatter Theater’ in Tampa, Florida. I being me always interested in some of Sean’s earlier work I was able to come in possession of this project. A younger Sean Donohue was able to catch all the gory lead up to the day the show open to the public as we get a lot of Styx soundtrack through the 40 minute film. Also a fun cool present on this same DVD is Sean’s short film ‘Bloody English’ where a pantry-sniffing psycho waits inside a home to kill a couple. The short is followed up by an interview of Sean and his work on the short film. But my question into this early work especially while he did this interview segment, “what is up with that weird bruise on your head dude?” If you are one of those people that like seeing how stuff gets constructed then you’ll enjoy Sean’s early work here as I give it 3 out of 4 stars.
Joe Vampire (DVD) – Another early Sean Donohue project that he co-directed with Mike Niche in 2012 and released in 2014. This feature stars Mike Christopher from ‘Dawn of the Dead’ fame as Joe Vampire who was bitten during the Civil War but now deals with today’s society of just trying to blend in the background. A young woman named Melissa catches the eye of Joe while at a hole in the wall bar where they don’t exactly hit it off until Joe Vampire saves her in the alley from being assaulted. From there the two quickly develop a connection and after a renewed conversation Joe feels the need to come out to Melissa that he is a vampire. Instead of being scared off she becomes obsessed with becoming part of the undead. Now enters an old friend in Drake to Joe and not so good things could be coming for Joe Vampire and his afterlife. This is one of those projects in my opinion has a great concept but wrong lead actor? Mike Christopher didn’t do anything wrong and clearly has a connection with the Melissa character that goes beyond the screen but felt a lesser known lead actor might have been the way to go in this Indy project as I give 2 ½ out of 4 stars.
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (On Demand) – A young man Chan Lok-kwun looking to be paid for his services so he can get his ID is screwed over by Mr. Big (Sammo Hung). In turn Chan grabs a bag believing its money and not a sack full of drugs and goes running from the gang. Its 1980 Hong Kong and Chan get chased into the citadel. This is a walled off society from the rest of Hong Kong that actually existed! Chan might be able to defend himself against the thugs of Mr. Big but he cannot defend himself when he is facing ‘the barber’. This older man hands Chan his ass without dropping his cigarette and explains if he stays he must become a functional part of what they all do there. The young man just wants to make enough money in order to travel and get his ID but slowly the real identity of Chan comes out that causes Mr. Big and son to try a takeover of the walled in city! The fight scenes are unlike some of the most top notch stuff on screen and this story just sucks you into this 1980 Hong Kong universe. If you are a fan of such titles ‘The Raid’ or ‘Triple Threat’ please give this action/fantasy a try because this will be one of the best movies you watch in 2024 as I give it 4 stars.
Jason in Indianapolis A Friday the 13th Tribute (YouTube) – The film is a fan made project from Samuel L. Schmucker who has made a few fan films in his career so this shouldn’t be a surprise but also got cameos from CJ Graham, Bill Russell, Mel Heflin, and Heather Harlow. To put this version in perspective it looks like this Jason is before part four and six where Jason still has some human traits. So one day Jason kills an Indy wrestler in the woods of Crystal Lake and “mother” begins to speak to Jason about a house a few states away? Along the way Jason is spotted in several wooded areas and kills all who comes near until he reaches his destination. According to news sources this abandoned house somehow belongs in the Voorhees family? Not one of the most exciting fan films plus Jason crossing state lines didn’t really work in ‘Jason Takes Manhattan’ so viewer beware as I could only give this 1 out of 4 stars.
Buttcrack (DVD) – A rather odd film released by Troma and that is saying a lot that was released in 1998 about a young man Brian and his annoying roommate Wade nicknamed “Buttcrack”. Brian has wanted to get more serious with his girlfriend Annie but Wade keeps getting in the way with his buttcrack. One day Brian accidentally kills Wade in the bathroom only to be cursed by Wade’s sister who happens to be a witch. Not long before an undead Wade pays a visit to Brian believing everything is good but with the help of Preacher Man Bob they are both in agreement something needs to be done to put Wade back in his resting place. The film then becomes a hilarious misadventure of dealing with the undead. I have known about the film for many years as I just never found time to watch it. Always one of those films that kept slipping my mind when I would hit the video store, etc., and wish I would have watched it years ago as I believe the film didn’t exactly thrill me at this time? Maybe it’s because I wasn’t a huge Mojo Nixon fan? Was never into him so that could have impacted my opinion? If anything I do respect the cult following of this project and finally glad I did find the time to watch this feature as I give it 2 ½ stars and cross it off the list of stuff I need to watch.
Zombeez (Tubi) – Some small town farms are losing honeybee hives for unknown reasons in this low budget feature. This concerns Jess the coroner as she sells honey on the side and knows this could affect the whole town? Along comes Jake the bug guy to investigate the problem but the real problem is Jake left Jess at the altar three years ago so it is a little messy trying to figure out what’s wrong with the bees. Quickly the bees begin to attack and kill people so the mystery isn’t so much about the chemical that mutated the bees that are now killing people but how you can kill the bees? With weed smoke folks! You had me at CGI zombie bees but there is no way this movie should have pushed 100 minutes as this would have been perfect at 65 or 70 minutes… But still a fun cheesy low budget pick for those like me that love killer bee flicks as I give it 2 ½ stars.
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!
Okay folks October 5th, Saturday,11-1… You can take pictures with director Maddie Deering and Bill Thummer (aka Tim Gross, yes I will be dressed as the character) promoting Bathtub Shark Attack and Tales from the Gross Side co-directed with Daniel Boyd. Pics will be free , all we ask is not just check out our Indy films but the others that will be around us!!! Cinema Wasteland or www.cinemawasteland.com for more details on the whole event October 4-6, 2024!
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