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So for the next Grossfest 2027 guest announcement this youthful duo needs no introduction as they have seen and done it all in independent cinema as they are past Grossfest Lifetime Achievement Award winners. This cute duo truly oozes independent filmmaking through and through as their careers have spanned over five decades and not stopping now as they have us super excited for their next project that starts production in Spring 2027 called “Dracula vs. The Groovy Chick”. We are beyond honored and happy to have the ones and only David and Diana Silvio! (P.S. as you can see one picture can say a thousand words about these two.)
The Executioner II (Tubi) – I know there is a recent special edition of this forgotten action flick too for the physical media collectors. There is a serial killer or vigilante on the streets of LA cleaning up the streets as police and mob people are baffled who it is but both want rid of the person. The film looks more like 1977 than 1984 but adds to the exploitation of the flick that comes complete with Vietnam flashbacks, a gang bothering innocent people of course, a cop’s daughter needing “the dope” who gets into more trouble she can handle, a mob dude known as the tattoo man, and the detective who figures out his Vietnam buddy is the one going out looking for criminals. It is no “The Exterminator” but it does the job for those of who love these action type of flicks from the early 80s as I give it 2 stars.
Virus of the Dead (DVD) – A viral outbreak story is told across 15 segments of this anthology using cameras, phones, etc., that was edited together and shot by over a dozen directors. With the editing aspect you are able to see the progression of the outbreak through several people’s point of views, different parts of the world, and how they are reacting to it. For me this didn’t feel like a true anthology or a found footage film (as some critics called this 2018 project) but an independent zombie flick going for a different take on the genre? Definitely the project “5G Zombies” borrowed this idea and did a much worse execution of the concept. I enjoy zombie films as I just believe this concept isn’t for me. I think the concept was the right kind of thinking before COVID just needed that little something to make it stand away from the bloated zombie genre as I give it 2 out of 4 stars.
Friday the 13th Blood Loss (Blu-ray) – A fan made feature about the infamous Camp Crystal Lake that has Ari Lehman playing a bartender who begins to tell a story to two young men who are there just to piss around because like many they have heard about the legend of Jason. Apparently the legendary campground has been reopened again as the stories of Jason refuse to go away. But with a few recent nearby homicides and a child gone missing who fell in the lake this only fuels the community to wonder if Jason has returned. A down on his luck detective is brought in on the case of the missing kid more like fresh eyes to the case, plus a second chance for him to keep his job. As the detective digs deeper into the case he learns that many believe the lake is the source of all the problems that have surrounded this community for decades and talking to a ghost isn’t helping his sanity. Overall the film starts off solid having Jason involved but more of a background character like his ghost mother but in the end the film feels like a mess as the story feels like it falls apart and with no real ending other than the boy being found. Now, I also can see I am contradicting myself, but it felt there was no real ending to tie everything together as I can only give the project 1 ½ out of 4 stars.
Pantomime (Google Drive) – The latest short film from filmmaker Matthew Diulus who gives us a magnificently fun project about a clown found in a park. Also a reminder to stay away especially when they have signs on trees nearby declaring “Beware of Clowns”. Melissa Sapienza makes this short film special with her inherently creepy performance as the killer clown! Because of all that this film deserves 4 out of 4 stars.
Wrath of the Skunk Ape (YouTube) – An oldie but a goodie from 1997 out there free to watch from the early days of Mike Hartman and Silver Bullet Pictures. This SOV feature has an old dude hunting for the notorious creature in the woods that killed his brother many years before. For whatever reason when the skunk ape isn’t stealing campers’ beans and bananas it attacks unsuspecting campers and kidnaps beautiful women. This is some fun hijinx long before this crew made features like “Chubbies” and “Blood Orgy at Beaver Lake” as I give this feature 2 out of 4 stars.
Big Shark (Tubi) – Finally the project has been released into the wild for all of us to see as for years we would hear it wasn’t finished or played at some film festival no one heard about. Anyway, the cult star Tommy Wiseau wrote, directed, and stars in a shark film about three firefighters in New Orleans that are put into action to go kill a “big shark”! The film is as bizarre, absurd, and incoherent as advertised but I do quite enjoy Tommy Wiseau wearing a hat and gloves at all times throughout this mess whether he is in a wet suit or not and for that I can still only give 1 star for this.
Emotional Support Shark (Blu-ray) – A Mark Polonia flick that doesn’t fall into his usual stuff but also not exactly the killer shark film horror fans would be used too. Tim Hatch is Virgil the janitor for the local aquarium attraction that has sharks. Virgil is quite attached to the sharks as he spends time everyday to talk and watch them. Virgil truly feels these amazing animals are his only friends as this project takes the slow burn approach with shark psychology and physiology that builds up pressure on the main character of Virgil as he feels only comfort with them. There is a part in the film where Virgil is under pressure to pay his bills as he is behind but he has no internet and then two minutes later he is looking at something on a laptop, lol. As the walls are closing in Virgil of possibly being fired, poked fun at by the beautiful receptionist, bullied by his supervisor, etc. Virgil has dreams of someone killing people with a shark mask. It is a fun pressure cooker I believe most are not used to seeing from Mark as you start to wonder if there really is a killer, is Virgil the killer, or is there something entirely different going on here? Definitely a very different killer shark film from the independent filmmaker as I give 3 out of 4 stars.
Hey Chuck (DVD) – A short film project from Broaden Torture Productions that is quite entertaining nine minutes of a young man being followed by a demented individual. This demented individual tortures the young man and only speaks the words “Hey Chuck” while following him… everywhere! And its hilarious where they have him followed so if you need a few laughs this is worth checking out as I give it 3 out of 4 stars.
The Final Wasteland (DVD) – Another feature from the Broaden Torture guys as they head to their final wasteland convention knowing they will with to contend with their old friend Dan. Things seem to go well until finally they begin to interact with their friend and all hell breaks loose as Dan makes sure it is the last convention the boys attend. I give the project 2 out of 4 stars.
Pigskin (YouTube) – Another interesting short film project from MMH Productions as they are tasked with making a quickie film about a killer football player. The crew takes an hour and a camcorder and came up with this with the promise of a sequel soon. MMH Productions is constantly coming up with off the wall independent projects and mainly short film style but don’t sleep on this talent as I like how weird Mr. Hunter gets when it comes to the features as I give this 2 out of 4 stars for its on the spot idea.
Our next guest for Grossfest 2027 is just an absolute sweetheart who has taken the independent world by storm with her perky, peaceful, joyful talent and personality. But don’t let that fool you as this actor has been hard at work the past six years showing off at break neck speed what they got to offer in such titles as The Legend of Crick Foot, Killer Campout II, The Slasher Nurse, Return of the Corn Zombies, along with many other soon to be released titles Crackcoons, Shriekshow 2, and In the Midnight Hour, Black Sheep! Of course we can only be talking about the lovely Chanda Rawlings!
For our next Grossfest 2027 guest announcement is someone who will only be there for one day (Saturday) but one day is all we will need for this talented underground filmmaker. This person retired several years ago from being a filmmaker to pursue a dream of owning a toy store and running one of the biggest toy shows on the east coast in Ohio. But there are quite a few of us that remember such titles as Toxic Shock Zombies, Slashing Prices, Holy Shit… Zombies!, and a few others including the famous unfinished project Incest Bernie: The Legend of Blood Forest that just hit for all of us in the early 2000s. Now this person in pursuing their dream (Toyhio) brings in thousands of toy collectors on a regular basis to their show that runs a couple times a year. We are so happy to bring into Pittsburgh not just a talented person but a great longtime friend as we can only be talking about… Rick Fusselman!
For our next Grossfest 2027 announcement this filmmaker we have known for a couple decades now. This independent filmmaker is a Long Island-based writer / producer / director and actor. In 2001, he and his partner, Robert Harrison, created the self-distributing film production company Ramsteer Films. Among the short films featured in Ramsteer’s catalog of titles are Remover (2001), Bad Review (2003), and Secretary’s Day! (2005). This person not only wrote, directed, and produced a number of these shorts, but also handled wardrobe, editing, set design, cinematography, and special make-up effects as well as acted in all of the films. Ramsteer Films disbanded in 2006.Some of this person’s acting credits include Mulva: Zombie Ass Kicker! (2000), Chosen (2004), Ski-Wolf (2008), Blitzkrieg:Escape From Stalag 69 (2008) and Mulva: Demon Ass Kicker! (2026).Also acted in a few sketches on Troma’s EdgeTV (2000) and has helped produced a number of recent films, including Screamwalkers (2023), The Ex-Change (2025), Nazi Werewolves From the Moon (2026) and the upcoming documentary What an Institution: The Story of Police Academy. In 2022, released a Friday the 13th tribute film, Victim No More, and has plans to release its feature-length anthology sequel, Loose Ends – Victim No More Part II, in 2027. This person’s career has been all over the place proving you can do what you love but also be a cool person to get to know as we can only be talking about our good friend… Bob Heckman!
We are just gonna come right out of the gate with guest announcements as we got a huge reaction with this one at our past show. This filmmaker all their life has just wanted to make movies. Their outrageous comedic humor, writing, directing has become a celebrated staple in the independent community throughout the 90s,00s,10s. Within the past couple years there was a documentary about their work that was absolutely wonderful called “Zero Budget Heroes”. This person has given you characters like Mulva, Teenape, and such films as Sexsquatch, Terror at Blood Fart Lake, The Weirdsies. This extremely talented, funny, super cool individual with their band of misfits has made over 65 films and doing it for 35 years… we can only be talking about the one, the only from Low Budget Pictures… Please welcome to Grossfest 2027, Mr. Chris Seaver!
After the Millenium (Blu-ray) – This is an excellent 2 ½ hour deep dive documentary into Chris Carter’s creation that changed television in 1996. With X-files slowly becoming a huge hit on Fox, the network turned to Chris to do it again as we got a very dark show about groups within the government that work outside of the lines preparing for the oncoming millennium that some believed would be the end of mankind? The show centered on a retired profiler in Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) who has a talent unlike most profilers to get in the killer’s mind. This dark departure from the X-files is something I think people at the time claimed to be ready for but were not as this show went to places that wasn’t seen before on networks. This documentary is such a nerd thing but great thing if you were a fan of the show as it has interviews with everyone (except Terry O’Quinn which I am not sure why as they all spoke well of him). The doc breaks down many episodes, how they were getting on television, to the reason the show was getting canceled as most behind the scenes blame television watching habits were already starting to change in 1999. I loved how deep this gets into the Frank Black character but it was really cool to see Lance Henriksen just relish the idea of speaking about the character again. If you were a big nerd for the show in the 90s like I was this will satisfy the hunger to know more as I give it 4 stars.
Second Chance (YouTube) – Grey Valley is a location where it seems there is a struggle between God and the Devil or who actually believes in them? This 2020 film is about a christian community dealing with a cult that has shown up to revive Satan as the cult believes in the second coming. Many in the town ignore or ignorant to the fact that bodies are beginning to pile up and this cult is going to take over. Kudos to the filmmaker for taking on some cool old school horror that I believe with a tweak here or there would get the independent film in fun creepy territory. I enjoyed the concept but the one thing that kept bothering me was the music as from beginning to end if there was different music that more fits the theme of this feature I believe there would be more eyes on this project as I give it 2 out of 4 stars.
Scribbles from the Crypt (DVD) – This anthology comes in different with its August Underground/Nekromantik imagery to begin the project with its four stories that hit more like a lost 80s SOV film. First story has a man reflecting on his madness and murder, the second story tackles a man’s obsession with death, as the third story is about a woman who has always felt she had more in common with the dead than the living, and the last story deals with a young woman seeing it through to become a witch. Surprisingly this anthology kept my interest and succeeded where some others failed because of it embracing its low budget, knowing the idea of an anthology flow and connection, the passion behind this felt genuine, understanding of editing, but also its play with colors and being a little abstract at times. This was quite a piece of entertainment that I haven’t heard much on so take a chance and check this independent project out as I give it 3 out of 4 stars.
Popeye Resurrection (Tubi) – Another sequel into ITN Entertainment’s franchise that I am not sure why I am still paying attention to as a survivor (Cassie) from the last entry is trying to get over the horror of the Popeye experiment. Cassie having nightmares long after and isolating herself mostly except for the roommate she has to cope with the problem. Cassie’s roommate convinces Cassie to take a trip to her cabin with her just to get away? But they don’t mind the cult members already hanging out in the cabin as they wait for nightfall to plan bringing order to chaos as they want to have a ritual to bring Popeye back. Popeye comes back for ten minutes, the slaughter is on, Cassie must confront her nightmare, and this feels completely lazy and boring as I can only give this terrible sequel a ½ star.
Water Park Shark (Tubi) – Same person that gave us “Sharknado” gives us a new fun shark terror flick in which sharks have entered a water park. Wicked Waves water park has a celebrated football player come back home to work at the water park for a second chance. As Austin Dillard finds his way around, sharks are finding their way through the park’s drain system to attack unexpecting humans. Of course the mayor/owner of the park doesn’t want word to get out as the park is not as popular as it once was so of course he is trying to use all the electricity from the park to help mine for crypto in his park basement bunker. The high current is what makes the sharks search out the park to feed! It’s hilarious and fun but it lacks one thing and that would have been a premiere of SyFy Channel during “Shark Week”. It was a yearly fun thing that made it an event for horror movie fans to get killer shark movies every year. But now it just doesn’t feel right and actually feels it takes a little something away from watching something this fun as I give it 2 ½ stars.
Bambi: The Reckoning (Tubi) – Now I am not expecting a whole lot from this CG garbage as I just wanted to see a deer fuck shit up! And to their credit they gave me a mutant deer fucking people up. Anyway, deer and a few other animals drink the toxic waste that has been spilled in the forest, they mutate, now the animals are pissed. As Bambi stalks a family living out in the middle of the woods, a small group is trying to contain the mutant animals to dispose of them so there is no evidence of what has been done. You got a whiny kid, a crazy grandma, and a mutated deer that just fucks humans up… yep I enjoyed as I give it 2 stars.
Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare (Tubi) – This is an odd but interesting tale of a dude calling himself Peter Pan who is looking for boys to take them to Neverland, shooting up Pixie dust, and has a strung out woman living with him named Tinkerbell. A bizarre and somewhat brutal tale of a serial killer who snatches up his latest victim Michael but whose sister Wendy refuses to give up trying to find who snatched up her brother. But this isn’t any regular kidnapping as Peter Pan goes on an oddity of killing spree of a school bus and Michael’s friends’ family. For whatever reason this delusional serial killer believes Michael is his chance to be young again in Neverland but it soon becomes an unsuspecting bloodbath of a feature that I was glad I watched as I give it 2 ½ stars.
Venus Die Trap (Tubi) – This independent project attempts to be an intentional B-movie old school style as it mixes old stock film footage with new stuff shot to fill in certain scenes. The story is pretty basic as it centers on a small town in North Carolina where a meteor has fallen to earth in the nearby woods. The residents quickly see weird things happening and blame the meteor out in the woods as venus fly traps have mutated then attack people! The fate of the community rests in the hands of an innocent botanist named Sally. The film has its moments, it doesn’t overstay its welcome on screen, it is a fun homage to movie stuff that if old enough your parents witness these projects at the drive-in as I give is a solid 2 out of 4 stars.
Blood and Rust (Tubi) – In small town Ohio a young man named Lamont believes he is doing the right thing by running his father’s diner and taking care of the transit homeless that wander through from time to time. But Lamont when alone believes he is just a hamster on a hamster wheel running to nowhere especially after he loses his father to a strange animal attack. Enter our other main character Belko the vampire hunter as Lamont learns the hard way vampires are in town to feed and take over. Lamont is all about helping to save this town as long as it helps the homeless and the sheriff doesn’t get involved as the sheriff gives Lamont a hard time. Little that Lamont knows this life changing event can finally help him get off that so-called hamster wheel of life? The concept and how I explain it makes the film sound a lot better than it is… I mean there is a great idea in there I just felt it wasn’t executed well as I give this project 1 ½ out of 2 stars.
Sonny Boy (Blu-ray) – What if I told you there is this bizarre project released in 1989 that stars Paul Smith, David Carradine, and Brad Dourif you would most likely say “I’m in!” To top it off let me just point out David Carradine does the main song and plays a woman in the film. Plus, Paul Smith owns a cannon that he uses to shit people with if they cross him? Those who have seen this understand and respect the bizarre beauty of this film. This oddity of a story begins in 1970 at a remote hotel where Weasel (Brad Dourif) steals a car unknowingly with a baby in back as he brings it to Slue and Pearl as they are a couple criminals who run a desert town with their wheeling and dealing ways. The couple, mostly Slue, raise the child in their bizarre wicked way to help them take down people who don’t agree with their antics. Years go by until the baby is a full grown adult and the small town has had enough of these criminals. This was a film that you would only hear stories of existing for years as I was lucky enough to get my hands on a bootleg tape many moons ago but now has a great cleaned up physical media copy that needs to be seen in order to understand anybody that has described this wild project! If you are a big movie buff and have not witnessed this you need to fix it right now as I give this project 3 ½ stars.
Invisible Shark (DVD-R) – Independent filmmaker Douglas Waltz is at it again with this wild idea that would make you think old school SyFy channel would have made three of these? No they didn’t as Mr. Waltz makes his David “the rock” Nelson picture where a small town sheriff and deputy are forced to believe there is a shark in their waters when a mangled body washes up on the beach. No one sees the attacks but they see the aftermath as this invisible creature attacks residents of Poloniaville! It takes some time but the police figure out because of the killer animal’s invisibility it doesn’t play by the rules of a regular shark which can work to their advantage of saving the residents. This project is truly wild and insane but this rough cut proves Mr. Waltz believes in giving viewers something wildly strange that they might be missing in their movie watching as I give it 2 ½ out of 4 stars.
Bone Sickness (Blu-ray) – This somewhat forgotten Indy gem from Brian Paulin in the early 2000s may finally get the credit and kudos it deserves as the movie has found new life in this new special edition. So Alex is a young guy who is terminally ill with a wife Kristen who will do anything to extend Alex’s life or cure him of his terrible disease. Alex’s best friend Thomas comes up with an idea of feeding Alex bone marrow from the recently departed believing this could help him as Kristen is okay with this too. Alex unknowingly is being fed this and begins to go through some sick and gruesome changes that do cause him hunger for blood, nevermind this causing the dead to rise. As Kristen and Thomas believe they were doing what’s best for Alex’s hunger and health, the film slowly turns into this dream-like zombie gorefest that goes way beyond the usual independent zombie stuff we are used to. Paulin’s project is bizarre, gritty, and an absolutely exciting gooey splatterfest that needs to be cherished. Feels like a crazy combo of Meat Market meets Fulci! Rewatching this movie made me appreciate how freakin good it is and many of the filmmakers out there need to watch and rewatch ‘Bone Sickness’ to understand you can do what you do with passion and little money… It can be done! This special edition that is so worth owning has a new commentary with Brian Paulin and Rich George, another commentary from Cult Movie Obsessives, a new location tour segment, and a featurette “The Morbid History of Bone Sickness” along with some of the older extras from the previous DVD from in the early 2000s. 4 out of 4 stars from beginning to end!
Amityville Bloodlines (Blu-ray) – Oh I have tracked more down as we go with entry #83 from the young filmmaker Blaize Tudor as he brings this sequel to his ‘Amityville Bloodbath’. The 34 minute film brings in a few independent vets we all know and love to tell the story of Dr. Trevor and his experiment “Skull Face” who has been let loose in Amityville killing all big and small in the town. Because of the curse or legacy of Amityville this evil experiment cannot be killed. Also after listening to some of the commentary from Blaize Tudor it helped me understand ‘Amityville Bloodbath’ as I see this as more of a ‘Evil Dead/Evil Dead 2’ thing of its not a remake but not a true sequel also? Confusing, I know but I believe the young man Blaize has stumbled onto something that he left a lot that could be done with this idea unknowingly? I saw Skull Face as more of the curse of Amityville that could go full serial killer or supernatural killer as this got away from the Amityville house in general… Skull Face could be a ghostly entity that continues the curse of the town? Maybe to make a little more sense so yinz don’t feel like I am completely insane, think “In a Violent Nature” as I give this project 2 out of 4 stars. Also too would like to point out it was cool to hear Blaize in his commentary be somewhat critical of his past project connecting to this as some independent commentaries try to beat into you they made the perfect project.
Critter Collection Volume One (DVD) – Matthew Mark Hunter digs deep to give audiences eight short films of terror that deal with a boy being bitten by a cricket, a man being haunted by a roach in his motel room, a story about a giant centipede or Dinopede, a man collecting bugs and regrets the aftermath, two segments that were made nine years apart about a rat terrorizing a man, puppet bunnies fearing for their lives as one wants to leave the forest. So if you are not a fan of killer animals or bugs this no budget fun may haunt you as I give the project 2 ½ out of 4 stars.
Amityville Webcam (Blu-ray) – Welcome to entry #84 that has been floating around for a bit of time but getting to watch it on streaming or physical media form has only been made available recently. Premise of this entry into the series is about demons webcamming in their time off to play a role playing game where they are humans and deal with a possessed webcam. I give it credit for doing something different for sure but I believe it tells its story in 60 minutes and then just repeats for the next 40 minutes after. Again a solid different concept for the series but goes way too long. Don’t get me wrong this isn’t a ‘Mt. Misery Rd.’ mess as I can only give this entry 1 ½ out of 4 stars.
Last + Last After All (DVD) – An animated 16 minute short film broken into two segments of a possible post-apocalyptic Pittsburgh. The first one is about a person who just recently woke up in this new wasteland only to find out they might be the last human alive. The second segment is an odd pair wandering the wasteland. I would love to say I enjoyed it but to me it felt incomplete? But also I am not a huge animation guy so I could be missing something as I give this 1 out of 4 stars.
Amityville Bed & Breakfast (Blu-ray) – Entry #85 literally goes in a direction I am surprised it took this long to get too? This entry into the series has two brothers buying the haunted property cheap because of unpaid taxes. Their challenge for their streaming house flipping show is to fix up the property to make it a bed and breakfast to help the community get rid of the so-called bad PR the house has had since the original murders. As the Beaver brothers progress into the project and weird things begin to happen immediately they learn through some documents that everything might not be supernatural? The Beaver brothers struggle to deal with the so-called fixer upper as the crew keeps disappearing and cash runs low but they get through it all to accomplish their task in this very entertaining entry into the series as I give it 3 out of 4 stars.
Amityville Easter (Blu-ray) – Oh entry #86 into the Amityville series goes in the weird but not totally unexpected direction as a group of influencers head to the Amityville estate at the edge of the Amityville community for an interview with a famous widow that could mean more subscribers and money for them. The property besides being owned by a widow was also the site of a famous murder by a deranged half bunny/half human killer. The influencers were only allowed to be present on the property if they would agree to the widow’s terms and all their equipment was turned over to the butler when they arrived but this group is desperate for content. As they spend the night there things immediately get weird for the influencers from seeing the widow looking very sexual (best way to describe it) and the female influencers made to do an easter egg hunt? All this just for an interview that is believed to be a big pay day unless the half bunny/half human can stop killing them all. This project has its moments and I give it kudos for just being odd from the start so if you need to see a rather weird entry into the series? Look no further as I believe this would be way better to watch with a group as I give it 2 ½ out of 4 stars.
Cold Storage (On Demand) – It’s sometime after 1979 when Skylab is coming back to Earth and believed it has burned up in the atmosphere. A Dr. Martins gets a call about something weird in a small town and takes a couple special individuals to investigate only to find an experiment on Skylab has survived and evolved. The space fungus gets ahold of her and eventually it is contained and taken to a facility in Kansas where eventually the location is decommissoned and turned into a large storage facility bringing us to present day where two employees hear a beeping noise. They seek it out and by accident allow the space fungus to escape which can wipe out humanity. From there it becomes a hilarious gooey blood-soaked monster movie of sorts that has to be contained or else. The movie isn’t trying to out class today’s horror as much as it tried to be a modern day monster movie that will make you giggle and enjoy five years from now while watching it on whatever platform at that time. The point is: does it have flaws, hell yeah but take this for what it is as we don’t get many of these in the mainstream as I give it 3 stars.
Marra (DVD) – An independent animated project that isn’t my cup of tea but truly asks for you to give it the full attention it deserves. What seems to be inspired by a combo of ‘Beavis and Butthead’ series and the ‘Heavy Metal’ film lies a story being told through song by a young woman Marra who is dealing with some heavy shit. This film may hit differently with people because of its content as she tackles the dark places of her mental health trying to navigate it. What may seem bizarre to some will be a godsend to others. It doesn’t fit into one genre but it has beautiful imagery and songs that can suck you into this quite bizarre but possibly all too real world. Again this film is not aiming for my demographic but that doesn’t mean I should pass over it by any means. I even advise those that find this interesting may need to watch several times to catch everything there is to this project for that I give 3 out of 4 stars.
Hellfire (YouTube) – To put it simply this Stephen Lang’s ‘Pale Rider’ set in small town Texas 1988. Lang’s character walks into town and immediately is told to leave as they do not like strangers as the town and its people are used as one big drug connection. Dolph Lundgren shows up in a small role as the sheriff and Harvey Keitel shows up as the boss who oversees the operation throughout town. Lang’s character chooses to stay and try to change the outcome for people there? Even though I compare it to Eastwood’s ‘Pale Rider’ this one gets a bit bloody and bleaker as you watch and with that I give it 3 stars.
Monsterland (Tubi) – This 2015 anthology project sort of interested me from the outside when reading about it so I gave it a try. It is short films that are cobbled together from all over that deal with an underwater monster, a parasite, crazy goo, an old woman monster, an animated monster being killed by a walker, vampires, bizarre puppet show, experimental breast feeding gone wrong, and killer jellyfish. What this anthology lacks is cohesion! It feels more like a festival of short films just thrown together instead of an anthology that you could follow. There is a sequel but by the end of this project I had a bitter taste in my mouth which suggests to me that I do not pursue the sequel for a bit of time as I give this 1 ½ stars.
Blitz (Tubi) – An older UK action flick starring Jason Statham where he is a hard nose detective that must take on a cop killing serial killer. They know who it is but to have proof to bring him in is harder than it seems as the killer is killing cops who have arrested him in the past. You may have seen something similar in the past but with Statham it never gets old to watch him in action as I give the film 2 ½ stars.
Betsy (Blu-ray) – This Shawn Burkett film gives the independent werewolf genre a different spin as it deals with the aftermath of a young lady who is attacked in the big city. Shortly after Betsy goes to stay with a friend in a small quiet community to recover from the attack. As she tries to move on she is bombarded by nightmarish dreams as she notices some changes to herself. Not thinking one thing has to do with the other, bodies begin to pile up in the community as she tries dating among other things again. Doing an independent werewolf film is going to always be an uphill battle, especially trying to please horror fans because we all want a bad ass practical werewolf! So Mr. Burkett may have been screwed from scene one going in the direction he did as it doesn’t focus on the wolf as much as Betsy’s changes into said monster as the film progresses. There are a couple pacing issues in this story, yes, but no matter how I feel independent horror people may want to give this overlooked project a second chance as in the end it is a very solid entry into the werewolf genre as I give it 2 ½ out of 4 stars.
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Nightmare (Ultra HD/4K) – This film is also known to many as “Nightmares in a Damaged Brain” as this sadistic horror film had such an edge about it it kept getting pulled, recut R-rated versions, etc. during the late 80s just for it to be released in the VHS market. This newer 3-disc version is everything you could hope for as a fan and then some with this notorious 1981 horror film. Young kid George comes home early to witness something he shouldn’t have as the film announces quickly you are about to get something a little sleazy as it may look like a slasher but doesn’t play exactly like one. Many years later we see adult George receiving experimental treatment for his childhood trauma. Haunted by flashbacks George slowly loses his sanity and bolts to Florida to find his ex-wife and kids. His doctors are worried for not just their sake of their treatment but what is about to come with George’s breakdown. George finds his former family, stalks them, and kills anyone else that seems to get in the way of what he is doing there. This horror film still packs a punch and it is wonderful to see it all cleaned up and unrated as I was one of many horror fans who read about or tried to track down an uncut version many years ago. Plus bonus here kids, Savini sets the record straight on whether he worked on it or not as this was something Tom not often would talk publicly about. If you are an old horror nerd like myself you are going to want this version in your collection as I give this piece of fun sleaze 4 stars.
Auntie Lee’s Meat Pies (Blu-ray) – (This review is from ten years ago when I first found this glorious gem) Let me just say this any horror film that begins with Suicidal Tendencies “I Saw Your Mommy and Your Mommy is Dead” gets 4 stars no matter what comes next. But that just isn’t enough for this fun gem of unknown goodness! Karen Black stars as Auntie Lee, Pat Morita as the local small town sheriff, Michael Berryman as the weird dude (Larry) who takes care of the nieces’ cars after deliveries, and the very beautiful Teri Weigel. Teri may have done a lot of porn but always found a way into a stray horror film which I always enjoy finding. Teri is one of the best. But after jamming out to Suicidal Tendencies we are introduced to some lunatic who tries to carjack a young lady and becomes a victim himself for Auntie Lee. Auntie Lee for years has sold her famous meat pies to the local town folk of Penance. And these days now her nieces are all grown up they go out and lure men in for the taking. Usually if there is car trouble or car cleaning needing to be done it’s up to Larry until he is caught one day with a trunk full of bones! Pat Morita decides then with the bootleg David Bowie as a private investigator to try to bring down Auntie Lee. But the real question is will the sheriff bring her in or will he become the next meat pie? Everyone is awesome in this light-hearted “Motel Hell” horror film. This movie deserves to be seen by all horror movie fans as I give this fun meaty morsel 4 stars. (More to the review as a new special edition has finally put this film in print again). Already written the review, I didn’t know what else could lure you into this lesser known classic horror munchie with the great cast other than its now cleaned up, has a great interview with Michael Berryman telling stories about everyone on set. With this special edition this horror film truly gets a second chance in finding a bigger audience?
Cracula (DVD) – A recent release from Indy filmmaker Brad Twigg which takes no prisoners in his version of Dracula waking up in present times. A couple degenerates unknowingly find Dracula in his coffin at a storage unit in West Virginia where of course they open it looking for shit to steal. Meanwhile, Rick Sloan is a normal dude just trying to get past his parents’ death and clean up their affairs as he gets nothing in inheritance except this storage unit. Only to learn when seeing if there is anything for him to sell the unit is a crime scene! But that is only the beginning for Rick and Dracula as Old Drac has developed a taste for drug addicts as he reigns hilarious terror on the small West Virginia town. Rick on the other hand learns he is a descendant of Van Helsing as he teams up with an odd duo of vampire hunters who have arrived to put an end once and for all to Dracula’s blood thirst. Sounds simple and straight forward but Dracula isn’t just a menace he is gathering a small army of degenerates along with coming to grips he must go to “AA” meetings? Brad and company don’t skip out on handing you gore and nudity as they give viewers a disgustingly, slightly sleazy funny take on the Dracula story as I give it 3 ½ out of 4 stars.
Vietnam: Kill Zone (YouTube) – Another new release from Mark Polonia that deals with 1970 Vietnam where Tim Hatch who plays Fitzpatrick, a combat photographer who is placed with a small platoon to record the ‘The Two Step Platoon’. Not the usual Mark Polonia project as fans will be surprised as Fitzpatrick tries to capture the story of this platoon as they find a random priest in the jungle. This priest is someone of importance as the platoon is now told of a new mission of getting this dude to the rescue point to be airlifted out of the action. For me it’s hard to gauge if Polonia fans will get behind this project as this isn’t aliens, sasquatch, amityville, etc., but Tim Hatch does do a great job as a combat photographer for this project. Mr. Hatch has come a long way from ‘Mummy Shark’ as I give this project 2 ½ out of 4 stars.
Alien Swamp Beast (Tubi) – A 2019 film from Robert Elkins that I missed so I needed to correct that as a meteor falls from the sky into a swamp near a farm. A boy from the farm heads on over and tracks the green rock down only to be confronted by a group of criminals who just robbed the bank in town. On the run these baddies waste no time killing the boy only for the green rock to bring him back to life as this large ass swamp creature! The alien swamp creature looks pretty bad ass and tracks down everyone to kill them. The creature was cool but the film itself drags and felt it lacked some heart as it comes off as a bad homage to ‘Swamp Thing’ instead of doing something else cool since you got the cool creature thing as I can only give the project 1 ½ out of 4 stars.
Backrooms Bigfoot (YouTube) – I cannot blame the filmmaker for making something like this but also I am just not into the whole ‘Backrooms’ thing but that didn’t stop me from watching another Sasquatch film. Anyhow this contains info on why maybe Sasquatch is so elusive as a man goes searching for the creature only to find himself being transported to endless hallways out in the middle of the woods. As more people disappear being curious about Sasquatch, it hits social media the backrooms might not be the best idea for people? This project has two good things going for it that makes it watchable: first Phil Herman as a survivor of so-called backrooms and Sasquatch gives the movie some depth. It is an interesting character that stands out. Second, pretty much Sasquatch just bashes all the victims into a bloody pulp. Its weird but it is a thing as I give the movie 2 out of 4 stars.
Faces of Death (Shudder) – This remake had me on the fence of if I wanted to see this or not? But after a few trusted people told me a few things about it since its theater release I was actually kind of excited to watch it. Well so glad I did as it was a thrill ride for me. The story focuses on a young woman Margo who has had trauma in her life as she works for a content company called ‘Kino Moderation’. An app just like a YouTube, etc., where she works behind a computer viewing all videos helps review what videos are allowed or not on the app to be watched. One regular day she finds an execution video that is somewhat disturbing but believes is fake? Then not too long after comes across another that is posted that now makes her question if it is truly fake? The other end of this is a killer that has a fetish or condition or two but likes using the original ‘Faces of Death’ for inspiration. The killer is creating content as Margo continues to let this affect her as she takes the work home to investigate further of these videos. The more she investigates and gets fired unbeknownst to her she has possibly become the next victim of the killer. I quite enjoyed the recent ‘Silent Night Deadly Night’ remake. And this knew you gotta do something different as this project knew how to incorporate some present day commentary on content and how it is consumed. This was definitely a 4 star flick for myself and so happy how the original was incorporated into the story.
Die Die Delta Pi 2: The Burnt One (Blu-ray) – Sean Donohue is back writing and directing this sequel as it deals with a couple young ladies get the idea of reopening the Delta Pi sorority because they cannot afford the rent. Their thinking is why not? They have heard about the murderous history but this would be a great way for the school to pay for the housing and plus Jesse and Riley can run the sorority. In order to restart they first have a car wash but what really gets it going of course is having a toga party and a couple cute guys there for their party. Sounds great until a new killer has arrived to haunt Jesse and Riley as the underfunded cops cannot stop the bodies piling up in this quick nostalgic slasher. Sean Donohue’s style, tight script, and just enough little nods gives this quick moving slasher sequel enough to keep independent cinema fans more than excited as I give the entertaining sequel 3 out of 4 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 towww.fastcustomshirts.comand support!
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