POLTERGEIST (Blu-ray Review) - 20th Century Fox

USA/2015
Directed By: Gil Kenan
Written By: David Lindsay-Abaire
Starring: Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jared Harris
Color/94 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: September 29, 2015

The Film
A family moves into a home in a suburban neighborhood and they quickly begin experiencing strange events leading to a full on attack from angry spirits on a night when the three children are left home alone and they abduct the youngest daughter. The family must find a way to enter the spirits plane of existence and rescue their daughter before the spirits use her as a guide to find their eternal rest and the family loses her forever.

This is a remake of the classic Steven Spielberg production that was directed by Tobe Hooper and follows the storyline and events of that 1982 film pretty much straight on. In fact this version of POLTERGEIST feels like a checklist of notable scenes from the original, making sure to get some version of them into the final picture no matter how insignificant they end up being. Things being stacked behind someone's back in an impossible fashion? Check. Spirits in the TV with the line "They're here."? Check. Creepy clown doll? Check. So on.

A cast headlined by Sam Rockwell should be solid and able to carry the picture but instead Rockwell is very uneven in his performance, which hurts the entire rest of the cast in turn. This family is going through some incredibly terrifying and tragic events, and even without their daughter being sucked into the netherworld in the closet, their normal day to day life hadn't been going well but you wouldn't know that from the performances and reactions to the cast. The amount of concern shown is that of passing the remnants of a car accident on the side of the highway... a passing thought hoping everything is okay but not putting too much emotion in to it. "Wow, look at that... I hope everything is okay. I'm sure they're fine. Oh I love this song!"

The movie gets at least one thing right however, it gives us a glimpse into the other side where the spirits are holding young Madison, something the original film didn't do. And question CGI aside it did have an eerie look to it. On top of that the movie as a whole isn't awful, the negatives outweigh the positives but really the entire thing just feels like a Cliff Notes version that was copied down minutes before class. It's all there and it is watchable but the heart and soul of the original is missing.

The Audio & Video
20th Century Fox delivers a gorgeous looking and sounding Blu-ray. The 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is stunning. Colors are rich and vivid while black levels are deep and inky with no blocking issues. Skin tones are natural and fleshy with no waxiness and surface detail is very high. The DTS-HD lossless audio sounds great and really booms when needed. There's no issues in the mix job or with any damage or distortions. It's no surprise that a major motion picture from 2015 has a brilliant A/V presentation but it is worth praising nevertheless.

The Extras
-Alternate cuts of the film including the unrated extended cut and the PG-13 theatrical cut
-Alternate ending
-Still gallery
-HD Ultraviolet digital copy of the film

The Bottom Line
When it is all said and done POLTERGEIST is a harmless remake that will have its detractors and its fans I'm sure. It isn't worth getting too excited about either way and if you're looking for a recent horror film for your Halloween marathon viewings POLTERGEIST is an easy watch at the very least.

POLTERGEIST is available HERE

October Horror Challenge 2015 - Day 2

A very late night/early Friday morning viewing of Tremors was perfect. A comforting favorite that was easy to unwind and relax with before calling it a night after celebrating a friend's birthday and a Ravens win over the hated Steelers. There's nothing more to say about this one.

The Poltergeist remake was on deck later in the day and it seemed like a weak checklist of scenes from the original without creating a full investment from the audience like the original did. The acting was uneven and writing lacked common sense. It was surprising to see a family go through such a bizarre, scary and tragic series of events and treat it with such a passive attitude. It's as if they were driving passed the aftermath of a car accident on the highway and it grabs their attention for a few fleeting seconds before they turn their attention back to the road ahead of them never to think of the accident again. I'll sum up the film as "watchable, but little else."

After attending the Monster Mania 32 convention where I was finally able to meet George Romero and talk to him for a few minutes about his film Martin, I came home and popped in GHOST TOWN. I had been anxious about watching this one since Scream Factory announced it and the wait was finally over only to be disappointed. I like the movie but it isn't very exciting. The setting is good and there's some great makeup work on the main villain but overall the movie's cover art conjures up more interesting ideas than the film can deliver on. I enjoyed it but not nearly to the level I thought I would.

Today's Rundown
Tremors - 8/10
Poltergeist - 4/10
Ghost Town - 6/10

RUN, HIDE, DIE (DVD Review) - Image/RLJ Entertainment

USA/2012
Directed By: Collin Joseph Neal
Written By: Allison Monda
Starring: Allison Monda, Alicia Mendez, Ivey Bronwen
Color/75 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: September 1, 2015

The Film
A year after the tragic death of her husband, Addison and four of her friends get away from the real world with a trip to her in-laws cabin for a brief moment of peace and fun however one of the girls is hiding a secret and they're not alone as their trip quickly turns into a night of terror.

The best thing about RUN, HIDE, DIE, originally titled "The Anniversary" which I feel is a far better fit and doesn't have the cheap direct to video feel than the title it has been released under does, is that it knows when to end. The film is a quick 75 minutes, it doesn't linger around like that last late night guest at a party who refuses to leave. The script which was written by star Allison Monda gets us where we need to be and tells us what we need to know without as much as pumping the brakes. This is like riding in the carpool lane to splatter town.

The main draw of the film will be for slasher and torture fans as that makes up almost the entire second half of the film. There's no shortage of bloody violence and the gore is on display here. There's no real surprises here and the film is quite predictable but it doesn't make it any less enjoyable. This is popcorn horror through and through. The real downfall of the film is Addison's friends being quite the annoying and/or entirely too Plain Jane bunch. The supporting girls are plain and bland. I'm not expecting Shakespeare or anything, after all this is popcorn horror driven by bloody torture, but the attempts at creating interesting and developed friends for our lead are weak and half-assed.

The film feels that it could have been made at any time between the 1980s and today and I love that fact. No it isn't amazing and the characters are thin and the script isn't amazing but sometimes being average is good enough for a night's viewing.

The Audio & Video
The DVD from RLJ Entertainment looks okay but for a film shot digitally I expect better. There's a lot of compression issues and pixelation even in scenes without rapid motion or that are particularly dark which are usually the problem areas. When these issues aren't present the 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer has a neutral color palette, and moderately sharp detail level. A 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound audio track is more than capable of handling the English dialogue and score. The mix is well done and the track is free of damage or distortions.

The Extras
Extras? What extras?

The Bottom Line
It's predictable, you've seen it before and the DVD release isn't the best and somehow I still can't knock it too hard. RUN, HIDE, DIE knows what it is and despite its shortcomings it isn't the worst film of the type I've seen recently. Or maybe I'm just in a good mood today.

RUN, HIDE, DIE is available HERE

I-LIVED (DVD Review) - XLRator Media

USA/2015
Directed By: Franck Khalfoun
Written By: Franck Khalfoun, Brian Breiter
Starring: Jeremiah Watkins, Sarah Power, Nic D'Avirro
Color/96 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: August 11, 2015

The Film
I won't go into great depth on the film itself as our previous review perfectly sums up my feelings toward the film and nothing changed on a 2nd viewing. It's a rather unspectacular let down from a director I had hoped would continue making great movies after his remake of Maniac.

The Audio & Video
XLRator Media gives us a nice DVD for the film however with an anamorphic widescreen transfer that has good sharpness for a standard definition release. Detail is decent and the picture is quite clean and attractive overall. The English audio is handled with a 5.1 Dolby Digital track and sounds very clear and crisp and has a well done mix with the score. There's no damage or distracting background noise present.

The Extras
Aside from a trailer the lone special feature is a downloadable app second screen experience that syncs up with the film's dialogue and soundtrack to offer a unique viewing experience. Unfortunately my phone doesn't have a current enough operating system (and my phone is not particularly old) to try it out.

The Bottom Line
I'm not a fan of the film but the DVD is solid and though I'm not a fan of gimmicks that take the viewer's attention away from the film itself I must admit that the app download feature fits very well with the theme of the film and is an interesting idea.

I-LIVED is available HERE

EXTREME JUKEBOX (Blu-ray Review) - Troma

Italy/2013
Directed By: Alberto Bogo
Written By: Andrea Lionetti, Alberto Bogo
Starring: Alessio Cherubini, Elisabetta Loi, Guglielmo Favilla
Color/80 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: August 18, 2015

The Film
The town of Nova Springs is a hotbed of musical talent and fandom. Hard rock and metal rule and you're either a star on stage or a groupie or fan hanging out at the local record store or nightclub. Unfortunately a masked killer known as Naughty Rocky Boy is butchering people with a variety of instruments turned weapons. Naughty Rocky Boy isn't the only killer though, as one of the local hands has unearthed a cursed record of a deceased rock legend unleashing the mythical Killer Of The Woods on the town.

EXTREME JUKEBOX is Italy's answer to heavy metal horror. This slasher has a bodycount that Jason Voorhees wouldn't snicker at and a good bit of blood to go with it. It also feels like it should have been made around the time Jason was found on the silver screen on an annual basis. The film so badly wants to be cool but it feels like a middle school student in a rock band t-shirt awkwardly standing against the wall at a school dance all alone. The music references and styles are so far out of date that it is almost embarrassing. I was ready for an Axl Rose cameo, really. Both killers have a goofy get up that look silly and one reminded me of the DVD artwork from Full Moon's The Dead Hate The Living. Intentionally cheesy doesn't have to equal stupidly bad.

Watching the film is awkward, as it is choppy and at times all over the place jumping back and forth between storylines that hardly intersect. It isn't that the film is difficult to follow, and it shouldn't be, it is after all a slasher film, but the editing makes the film feel all over the place. It's one of several big problems that plague this movie.

What I had hoped would be a great addition to rock 'n roll horror movies such as Rock 'N Roll Nightmare, Hard Rock Zombies and Black Roses, all of which use their scripted music to add to the genuinely cool vibe of the film and are campy in the best of ways, EXTREME JUKEBOX is the exact opposite. It tries to force itself in to being cool and is low quality cheese instead of being that expensive imported stinky stuff it could have been. I hate to use the word but EXTREME JUKEBOX is a "poser" of what it longs to be.

The Audio & Video
Troma releases this Italian production on Blu-ray with a 16x9 anamorphic widescreen transfer and things looks good with a nice sharp picture and a strong color palette. Detail levels are high while black levels are good but suffer a little bit from crush. The Italian audio features English subtitles that are timed perfectly and are usually translated very well, only occasionally suffering from the odd awkward translation. The audio is well mixed and levels are steady with no signs of damage and no background noise.

The Extras
-Behind the scenes documentary
-Slide show
-Trailers

The Bottom Line
I wish EXTREME JUKEBOX lived up to the quote on the back cover of the Blu-ray that reads "The most brilliantly demented Italian film since Argento's Deep Red." but unfortunately it is far from brilliant and in absolutely no way, shape or form in the same league as even Argento's worst efforts.

EXTREME JUKEBOX is available HERE

CUB (Blu-ray Review) - Artsploitation Films

Belgium/2014
Directed By: Jonas Govaerts
Written By: Jonas Govaerts, Roel Mondelaers
Starring: Maurice Luijten, Evelien Bosmans, Titus De Voogdt
Color/85 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: August 18, 2015

The Film
A cub scout troop takes a weekend camping trip to the forest where things take a turn for the worse when Sam who believes in the scary stories his troop leaders have told. After encountering a feral boy and his brutally psychotic father Sam's fears of the supernatural have become frighteningly real and the whole troop is in danger.

CUB touches on themes of fairy tales, ghost stories, urban legends and fantasy stories. It is a killer in the woods style slasher film without the campiness of many slashers. CUB is a mean film and it doesn't take more than a single look at how Sam is treated by just about everyone or the scene with Baloo's dog. Director Jonas Govaerts wasn't interested in making a horror film that plays nice with its audience. This is a visceral viewing experience.

The acting is quite good, especially for a cast made up mostly of young teens. There's never a single moment where I think that a character is acting or that any performance takes me out of the movie. It's all very natural and organic feeling in front of the camera. The great performances are aided by wonderful direction and cinematography by Nicolas Karakatsanis. But perhaps the best part of the film's visual look and soundscape is the score by Steve Moore of the synth rock band Zombi. Moore is no stranger to scoring films as he is responsible for the scores for The Guest and Gutterballs among other horror films. The electronic score perfectly adds to the emotion and feeling being visually expressed on screen without forcing itself upon the audience. It is perfectly melded into the movie so you pay just enough attention to the score itself to enhance the rest of the film.

The action in CUB starts a bit slow but the film never drags because of it. The characters are developed nicely so we learn enough about the handful of main characters so that we develop the proper feelings toward them without slowing down the entire film because of it. There's no shortage of horror and action in CUB even if it takes a bit to kick in to full gear and nobody and no thing is off limits. CUB has some excellent special effects on display with a mix of practical and mostly very well rendered CGI.

I can't speak highly enough of CUB. From viewing the trailer months ago I was anxious to see it but leery that I'd be let down as I frequently am from films that look promising from their trailer. Finding new high quality horror isn't as easy as it may have been at one time but the quality stuff is still out there and CUB is proof of that.

The Audio & Video
Artsploitation Films delivers CUB on Blu-ray in a beautiful full HD 1080p anamorphic widescreen 2.35:1 scope transfer where colors are vibrant and skin tones are fleshy and natural. There's no signs of waxiness from excessive DNR or any signs of edge enhancement. Black levels are deep and inky and artifact and compression issue free. Detail level is strong and the picture is quite sharp. The Flemish and French audio track is handled by a very crisp and crystal clear 5.1 HD track with optional English subtitles. The audio is free of any distortions or background noise and sounds really nice and has a fantastic mix between dialogue and the score. The subtitles are timed perfectly and translated perfectly.

The Extras
-"Of Cats & Women" short film
-Deleted scenes
-Special effects reel
-Music Video
-Trailer

The Bottom Line
CUB is one of the best all around horror productions I've seen in the last five years and is five years from now we'll still be talking about it as one of the best horror films of the decade.

CUB is available HERE

i-LIVED (2015)

USA/2015
Directed By: Franck Khalfoun
Written By: Franck Khalfoun, Brian Breiter
Starring: Jeremiah Watkins, Sarah Power, Nic D'Avirro
VOD/iTunes Release Date: July 7th, 2015

Josh is a recent graduate of Stanford University struggling to make it on his own reviewing new apps on his Youtube channel to make ends meet. Josh comes across a new self help app called i-Lived which provides you missions to help meet any personal goal you type into the app. Upon an initial review Josh isn't able to gain the six pack abs he had hoped for and gives the app a mediocre review but later finds that the app will bring him all of his hopes and dreams and even cure his terminally ill mother if he's willing to go the distance with the missions the app assigns him which get more and more dangerous with each passing day and engulf more of Josh's sanity as he goes along with them.

This is the third film I've seen from director Franck Khalfoun, the first being the middling stalk and slash film P2 and the second being the exception Maniac remake starring Elijah Wood. It was the style and finesse in the remake of Bill Lustig's classic exploitation horror film that I had hoped to see in i-LIVED. Though the film had a noticeably smaller budget, leaving less room for multiple location shoots and a better overall production value, there was still enough resources available to take the film's plot and have it succeed.

Unfortunately the slick direction we've previously seen from Khalfoun is lost here and this movie feels every bit of the inconsequential direct-to-video horror film that it is sadly destined to be (despite a very limited theatrical presentation). Khalfoun has no flair here with rigid camerawork and very elementary and basic shots. Our cast doesn't help matters as they stumble through the script either over or underacting or hamming it up to the nth degree. Jeremiah Watkins isn't all bad as our lead Josh but his performance is uneven. There's one scene that I felt he brought real emotion to which involves his elderly landlord and a lamp.

There's a very clear message on display in i-LIVED dealing with the endless obsession of new apps and features for the cell phones that seem to be glued to our hands these days and letting them take over too much of your mind. I can support that message and I think i-LIVED had potential to turn it into a good horror film and at times it did. i-LIVED has some well done moments sprinkled throughout but I look at it like grabbing a handful of trail mix and only getting one or two pieces of what you like and the rest is all peanuts. Yeah, it's nice you got something you liked at all but now you have a handful of dry peanuts to deal with.

And that dear reader ends up being what i-LIVED is worth, sadly- peanuts.

THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN (DVD Review) - Image/RLJ Entertainment

USA/2014
Directed By: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Written By: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, Earl E. Smith
Starring: Addison Timlin, Veronica Cartwright, Anthony Anderson
Color/86 Minutes/R
Region 1
Release Date: July 14, 2015

The Film
65 years after the town of Texarkana was terrorized by hooded killer the town once again falls victim to "The Phantom". Jami barely escapes an encounter with The Phantom and becomes obsessed with finding out the identity of this new killer. While Jami digs deeper in the mystery and history of the killings the bodies begin piling up in this typically sleepy town.

THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN was widely marketed as a remake to the 1974 film but in all actuality is completely a sequel. Similar events play out in this one but it's all in paying homage to the original killer. The film works as a slasher and a horror mystery with the major twists and turns the story takes. The script is otherwise pretty straight forward and simple but effective enough and carried by a solid cast.

The downfall of this film, and it is a glaring, in your face problem that you literally cannot look past is the direction and photography choices made. There are heavily slanted angles for absolutely no reason throughout the film. These are usually reserved as a way to show some sort of madness, craze or other emotion changing device for the audience. Not here, they're thrown around without any real reasoning whenever the director felt like putting them in. I could probably look passed these randomly inserted slanted angle shots if I didn't have to watch the film through an incredibly hazy and sweaty looking filter. I can guess that the director wanted to give the film a sweaty, humid look which I'd be okay with but large quantities of the film look like there's a heavy layer of condensation or Vaseline smeared all over the camera lens.

This really kills some of the better lighting designs the film has going for it in certain scenes that feature colored lighting. The hazy look drowns out the bright red lighting that gives the film a creepy atmosphere during certain scenes. It's unfortunate that this look wasn't changed after seeing how it turned out in the dailies because it looks really bad at times.

Despite the shitty look the film has it times it outshines its predecessor which is a vastly overrated film that I believe is as famous as it is for the simple reasons that it has killer artwork, The Phantom has a great look that inspired Jason Voorhees and was unavailable on DVD for years and was a heavily sought after VHS tape. The movie was frankly a bore with a couple of great moments tossed in to make it worth sitting through. This sequel done 40 years later is a solid horror film that suffers from poor technical artistic choices but remains an entertaining movie that deserves some of the recognition the original undeservedly has.

The Audio & Video
RLJ/Image Entertainment bring THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN to DVD with a 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen ratio that looks good for a standard definition release. Colors are strong and vibrant and black levels are handled decently. The filter used in photography keeps the disc from looking sharp because of the soft and sweaty photography style but that is a style choice by the filmmakers.

A 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound track handles the English audio with ease and grace. There's great clarity to the dialogue and the levels are mixed well and are quite stable without unnecessary. volume fluctuations. The track is also damage and background noise free.

The Extras
A trailer is the lone extra

The Bottom Line
Some questionable artistic decisions aside, THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN is a rock solid sequel disguised as a remake that easily outshines its predecessor. I wouldn't call it a modern classic but the good outweighs the bad and it certainly is entertaining.

THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN is available HERE

RAIDERS OF THE LOST SHARK (DVD Review) - Wild Eye Releasing

USA/2014
Directed By: Scott Patrick
Written By: Brett Kelly, David A. Lloyd, Trevor Payer
Starring: Candice Lidstone, Jessica Huether, Catherine Mary Clark
Color/71 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: May 19, 2015

The Film
A group of friends are terrorized by a giant weaponized shark that has escaped from a secret facility. Their college professor may have the knowledge to help them but its a battle to survive until help arrives.

I watched RAIDERS OF THE LOST SHARK while feeling a bit under the weather and not in the best of moods. The sheer ridiculousness of the entire thing ended up putting a smile on my face. This is not a good movie by any means. The shark effects look like a cheap plastic bathtub shark toy was super imposed on the screen and when someone is eaten by the shark they simply disappear with little or no trace. The acting is hilariously bad but instead of overacting we get incredible underacting. Watching the complete lack of emotion when friends are eaten or a plane explodes or meeting some strange scientist in the woods is a treasure I've only seen in this film. It really made the whole experience a bit surreal.

Sharks are all the rage in the world of B-movies lately and RAIDERS OF THE LOST SHARK should cement its place alongside the rest of the Syfy channel and straight to video cheese as a truly terrible piece of filmmaking that manages to find that special balance between being bad and fun. Get some friends together and a case of beer because there are plenty of drinking games to make out of this one.

The Audio & Video
Wild Eye Releasing does a nice job bringing this one to DVD. The image quality looks great with nice definition and sharpness. The anamorphic widescreen transfer has no damage and looks about as good as the digital photography is going to look on DVD. The 2.0 audio sounds good, if a bit quiet at times but that's more to do with how the audio was recorded during the production of the film than with Wild Eye's authoring of the disc. The audio is mostly crisp and clear and free of any distortions.

The Extras
Bare bones.

The Bottom Line
This Z-Grade cheesefest is fucking hilarious and if you've found yourself to be a fan of Sharknado or any of the countless similar films you'll want to have a night where RAIDERS OF THE LOST SHARK is included in your viewing.

RAIDERS OF THE LOST SHARK is available HERE

Exploitation/B-Movie Challenge 2015 - Days 2 and 3

Long worth the wait was DAY OF ANGER. I've wanted to see this one for years but the lack of an affordable priced DVD kept it from my eyes but thanks to Arrow's new Blu-ray which is gorgeous, I've finally been able to see this spaghetti western that is widely considered among the best the genre has to offer. I won't disagree there. Lee Van Cleef and Guiliano Gemma star in this film by the vastly underrated Tonino Valeri. Cleef and Gemma are damn near perfect with each other as the grizzled old gunfighter and his new understudy as they right some wrongs that have been done to them in the past. There's fun gunplay, fantastic photography and direction and a brilliant score from Riz Ortolani that really pulls the whole thing together and controls your mood. The horseback duel is a scene for the ages!

Following that was DEATH OF A SNOWMAN, an action/crime film from South Africa. Billed as blaxploitation on its DVD cover, I wouldn't call it full blown blaxploitation, but the influence is there. The movie itself is messy with a bit too much going on for its own good. The lighting is total shit in some scenes so that it's almost impossible to see what is going on. It's not all bad, as there are some fun action sequences like the one set around a truck carrying chicken cages but it isn't revered as a classic for good reason. 

The final movie of day 2 was CYCLONE from 1978, the same year as Snowman as a matter of fact. This mishmash of natural disaster, shark terror and cannibalism makes for an interesting piece of work. A glass bottom tour boat full of survivors from a vicious cyclone, some from a downed plane, others from various boats, try to survive in the middle of the ocean until help arrives but supplies of food and water quickly deplete and the survivors begin to turn on each other. CYCLONE has long periods where very little happens but remains strangely engaging and watchable. There's a few shocking moments that add excitement when needed. Overall it's a decent one. 

The lone movie for day 3 was ANIMAL. I'll sum it up as short as I can... a group of stereotypes takes a hike in the woods, they argue like assholes for 20 minutes before they're chased in the dark by some sort of weird bucktooth monster animal who has no problem dispatching of the biggest guy in the group. The rest of them get to an old house in the woods where they find a few more people hiding out from the animal. And thus begins the waiting game. Almost nothing happens after this. The animal pokes around looking for a way into the house despite broken windows and doors being boarded up with crappy plywood, something that shouldn't stop this megabeast from getting in. Every horror cliche under the fucking sun is on full display in ANIMAL and almost worn with pride. It's amateurish at best and even that is being a bit too nice. 

Today's Rundown

Day Of Anger - 8.5/10

Death Of A Snowman - 4.5/10

Cyclone - 5.5/10

Animal - 1/10

DIGGING UP THE MARROW (Blu-ray Review) - Image/RLJ

USA/2014
Directed By: Adam Green
Written By: Adam Green
Starring: Ray Wise, Adam Green, Will Barratt
Color/88 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: March 24, 2015

The Film
DIGGIN UP THE MARROW is presented as a documentary in the making, following real life film makers Adam Green and Will Barratt as they follow a man named William Dekker (Ray Wise) who believes he has found entrances to "The Marrow" an underground system of cities where real life monsters live.

Just last month I reviewed the film itself, which I loved and there's nothing I can say here that I didn't already say at length previously. So check out THIS review to find out more about the film itself. I will add that DIGGING UP THE MARROW movie absolutely holds up to a second viewing.

The Audio & Video
Image/RLJ have done a stellar job releasing DIGGING UP THE MARROW on Blu-ray. The image on the anamorphic widescreen 1.78:1 is sharp and clear. Detail level is high with flesh tones looking healthy and natural. The numerous dark scenes handle the black levels beautifully with no blocking or compression issues. The DTS-HD audio track is crystal clear though there's not a ton in the way of sound design that just shows how nicely recorded and mixed the audio is.

The Extras
-Audio commentary with Adam Green, Ray Wise, Will Barratt and Alex Pardee
-Deleted and extended scenes with introduction from Adam Green
-Monsters Of The Marrow - a half hour featurette about bringing the art of Alex Pardee to life for the movie
-Trailer

The Bottom Line
DIGGING UP THE MARROW is one of my favorite genre movies of the last few years and I can already tell you that I fully expect it to be a strong contender for my "best of 2015" list at the end of the year.

DIGGING UP THE MARROW is available HERE

HI-8: Horror Independent 8 (DVD Review) - Wild Eye Releasing

USA/2013
Directed By: Tim Ritter, Marcus Koch, Tony Masiello, Ron Bonk, Chris Seaver, Todd Sheets, Donald Farmer, Brad Sykes
Written By: Ron Bonk, Donald Farmer, Matt Hill, Alaine Huntington, Marcus Koch, Tim Ritter, Chris Seaver, Todd Sheets, Brad Sykes
Starring: Baker Chase, Alexis Codding, Travis Hoecker
Color/98 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: December 16, 2014

The Film
Shot on video horror was huge in the 80s and churned out some really dreadful movies that somehow managed to land distribution simply because it would sell. Occasionally though, some of these movies were actually pretty good, or entertaining at the very least. The format was cheap but had a distinct look that brings back quite a bit of nostalgia today. There's no doubt that it opened the door to almost anyone to make a movie. So what would happen if a group of modern day indie horror directors went back in time to use HI-8 cameras and tapes to film a horror anthology? The result is HI-8: HORROR INDEPENDENT 8.

It's pretty easy to figure out why there are eight chapters to this anthology film, with everything from zombies to slashers and rapists. Each director makes their own retro styled horror tale, some serious, some overly cheesy. This film feels like it could be straight out of 1989 with wild gore and creature effects and a genuine excitement that can be felt through the screen.

Yes, there is plenty of camp and cheese and this isn't Hollywood level stuff but it isn't meant to be. This is horror lovers making horror movies for nothing else but the love of doing it. This is the type of movie that you sit back with a few friends and a few beers, kick up the recliner and just enjoy. There's something for every taste in HI-8 whether you like the straight forward stalk and slash, or if you prefer monsters or if you're in the mood for something a bit weirder, it's all here and the movie flies by. HI-8 is a whirlwind of shot on video fun.

The Audio & Video
Wild Eye Releasing has given HI-8 a home on DVD and the results are solid. Taking into account that this was filmed entirely on video the DVD looks great. The picture quality is clean and as sharp  as you'd hope. Colors look good as well. The stereo audio track sounds good as well with quality mix jobs. There's no damage or excessive buzzing or popping.

The Extras
-Audio commentary with producers Brad Sykes and Josephina Sykes
-The Making of HI-8
-Teaser trailer
-Promo clip for "Gang Them Style"
-Promo clip for "The Scout"
-Promo clip for "A Very Bad Situation"
-Behind the scenes image gallery

The Bottom Line
HI-8 is a project full of fun and love by film makers that love horror and put their heart and soul in to everything they make. HI-8 may be low budget but it's extremely high energy and definitely worth checking out.

HI-8: HORROR INDEPENDENT 8 is available HERE

Ouija (Blu-ray Review) - Universal Pictures

USA/2014
Directed By: Stiles White
Written By: Juliet Snowden, Stiles White
Starring: Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto, Daren Kagasoff
Color/90 Minutes/PG-13
Region A
Release Date: February 3, 2015

The Film
 Best friends Laine and Debbie have played with Ouija boards since they were little girls. Now as they're getting ready to graduate high school, Debbie uses one alone and is disturbed by what she experiences and attempts to burn the board and planchette. After talking to Laine but not letting her inside Debbie's eyes turn white and she hangs herself.

With the tragic death of their friend lingering over them Laine and four other friends gather at the funeral and later decide to have a seance to attempt to talk to their friend, and make contact with a spirit that calls itself "D". The group stops playing after being spooked but each get a message of "Hi friend" and decide to return to the board as they think it is Debbie communicating with them. Quickly they find that it is not Debbie speaking to them but a malicious spirit with their mouth stitched shut and another named "Mother". One by one the friends begin to suffer similar fates to Debbie as their eyes turn white and are killed in mysterious ways. That is when Laine finds out the truth behind the board they're using, the spirits they've encountered and the living relative to the spirits and that intentions aren't always good. Laine and her sister attempt to end the evil by burning the board with the body of the evil spirits that haunt it.

About an hour in to OUIJA I thought to myself "Why is this rated R?". I quickly realized it wasn't. I have nothing against PG-13 horror films as I feel film makers can achieve a proper level of dread, suspense and horror in that rating if they're creative and skilled enough. Unfortunately OUJIA barely deserves the PG-13 rating. A few spooky looking ghosts or bodies is really all I can see separating it from a lesser rating. The film is bland as can be and plays out like a late 90s Scream clone but instead of being a slasher film it is a supernatural horror film. Exchange a fish hook wielding killer for this nasty spirit and I don't think the comparison is to see.

The characters are boring and paper thin, sure they seem like nice kids but none of them are the least bit interesting. Lin Shaye appears in yet another supernatural horror film and she's becoming more common in these types of films than Troma's Lloyd Kaufman is in Z-grade no budget schlock. I like the woman and think she's a fine actress but it's getting old seeing her in these films. The scare and shock moments of the film are laughable. Check out the dental floss scene and try not to laugh. The others are generic paint-by-numbers junk that was all the rage a decade ago. Are we back to it? I sure hope not.

The Audio & Video
Universal Pictures' Blu-ray of OUIJA is downright beautiful. The anamorphic widescreen 2.40:1 aspect ratio has great clarity and strikingly vivid colors. Detail level is very high in textures and surfaces while skin tones look natural and healthy. Black levels are deep and inky with no blocking or pixelation.  The English audio track is a DTS-HDMA 5.1 mix that sounds excellent. The mix is full and boisterous when it needs to be. Dialogue and score are complimentary of each other and there's no background noise or imperfections to speak of.

The Extras
-"The Spirit Board: An Evolution" (Blu-ray Exclusive) - A brief 4 minute look at the history of spirit boards and their place in our culture.
-"Icon Of The Unkown" (Blu-ray Exclusive) - Another four minutes spent looking at the experiences Ouija board users have had that influenced the film.
-"Adapting The Fear" - How about another four minutes? This time with a look at the cast and crew's opinion on Ouija boards.

The Bottom Line
To put it simply, OUIJA is not a good film. It is boring and mundane in every way and would be hard pressed to get a scare out of even the most novice horror viewer. 

OUIJA is available HERE

RPG: Real Playing Game (DVD Review) - Arc Entertainment

Portugal/2013
Directed By: Tino Navarro, David Rebordao
Written By: Tino Navarro
Starring: Rutger Hauer, Cian Barry, Alix Wilton
Color/102 Minutes/R
Region 1
Release Date: February 10, 2015

The Film
Ten very well off people who are old and dying are given the opportunity to pay a large sum of money and pick a new body to play a game in which a player must die every hour and the last person standing wins another chance and being young and healthy. The catch within the game is that when you kill an opponent you must properly identify the hologram of their true, old person self or you too will perish. With everyone from famous actors to computer wizards and special security there is a wide array of personalities playing made even more difficult to ID since each player could select a body of any gender or race.

As the game starts, the players wake up unaware of their surroundings and of the puropse of the game initially. Quickly they're refreshed as to what they're doing and what is at stake. Alliances are formed and broken, rules and boundaries are challenged and eventually 9 players perish. When the winner wakes up and empties his bank account for a chance at being young again he doesn't realize that reality and perception are not always the same.

RPG: REAL PLAYING GAME has an awful title. Let's not mince words there, it fucking sucks. Luckily the movie itself is a bit better. It plays out like a round of the classic board game Guess Who? mixed with the plot of Battle Royale. There's been a number of movies over the last decade, even some huge blockbuster series, with similar plots and RPG manages to be entertaining enough that the audience isn't groaning and asking themselves "this again?". Rutger Hauer co-stars and lends the film a big name as he plays Steve Battier, one of the aging players. Hauer doesn't have much screen time unfortunately as the vast majority of the film is spent with the younger bodies playing the game. Those ten players are all capable of their various roles and accents so the film avoids being hammy thankfully.

Unfortunately RPG doesn't do much to really set itself apart from similar movies. Yes, it is entertaining, mildly, but there's just nothing really original about it. The time spent on the game has long periods of down time. The kill scenes are mostly unexceptional and the writing has a few moments that are obviously meant to be big moments or twists in the game that really have no affect on anything. The moments set in the high-tech future, or present as it is, are meant to be socially profound but lacks the depth to make any real significant impact on the viewer. 

The Audio & Video
RPG looks wonderful on this DVD from Arc Entertainment. The transfer features 2.35:1 aspect ratio and a crystal clean look. Sharpness is quite good for standard definition and colors are very vibrant, especially in the futuristic scenes. The English 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track is mixed very well with levels complimenting each other. The track is steady and stable with no fluctuations that will have you reaching for the remote. Audio is crystal clear with no damage or background noise.

The Extras
A trailer is the lone extra

The Bottom Line
The movie is best viewied as entertainment for a night's viewing but probably won't have you standing up to applaud. A solid movie worth a rental but nothing more.

RPG: REAL PLAYING GAME is available HERE

The Atticus Institute (Blu-ray Review) - Anchor Bay

USA/2015
Directed By: Chris Sparling
Written By: Chris Sparling
Starring: Rya Kihlstedt, William Mapother, Harry Groener
Color/83 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: January 20, 2015

The Film
Dr. Henry West opened The Atticus Institute to test and discover people who may have psychic abilities such as E.S.P. and Telekinesis. While some subjects displayed traits that showed they may possibly have the abilities nothing would prepare Dr. West or his team for Judith Winstead. Ms. Winstead showed exceptional abilities in all of the categories tested that blew any previous subject's results out of the water. Eventually her abilities became too much to handle and the United States government stepped in. When their tests showed signs of demonic possession that they could not deny, the Department of Defense took control of the facility in an attempt to weaponize Judith Winstead. The events that followed are now being documented in this documentary.

THE ATTICUS INSTITUTE uses a faux documentary style of film making to add to the realism factor that drives the film. Director Chris Sparling relies on that realism to unsettle the viewer instead of going for wild makeup or special effects and never comes close to anything like what you saw young Regan do with a crucifix on her bed. The cast is great from top to bottom which is critical to keeping the film realistic and unsettling. 

Split between sit down interviews with those involved in the case and archival footage from the institute, THE ATTICUS INSTITUTE is mostly a success in what it attempts to do and create which is a documentary that a viewer may mistake for a true documentary that would be just as unsettling as the movie created. The only downfall is a few hamfisted moments of poorly done CGI towards the end of the movie.

The Audio & Video
Anchor Bay delivers a very attractive looking disc with an anamorphic widescreen (16x9) transfer that is very sharp with strong detail in textures, surfaces and close-ups. Colors are vivid and there's no sign of DNR or edge enhancement. The English audio is handled by a Dolby TrueHD 5.1  track that sounds pretty perfect. It's crisp and clean without and distortions. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

The Extras
-"Making Of" Featurette
-Deleted Scenes

The Bottom Line
An interesting take on demonic possession based horror films, THE ATTICUS INSTITUTE probably won't become a classic but it is worth a viewing for fans of the genre.

THE ATTICUS INSTITUTE is available HERE

The Houses October Built (Blu-ray Review) - Image/RLJ

USA/2014
Directed By: Bobby Roe
Written By: Zack Andrews, Bobby Roe, Jason Zada
Starring: Brandy Schaeffer, Zack Andrews, Bobby Roe
Color/91 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: January 6, 2014

The Film
A group of friends set out in a cross country RV trip to discover the best and most extreme haunted house attractions in the country and document their trip. They interview employees and guests at each haunt as they search for the underground haunt known as The Blue Skeleton which is supposed to be as extreme as it gets. Their trip becomes increasingly disturbing and potentially dangerous as they get closer to Blue Skeleton until they finally get their chance to experience the haunt for themselves.

I've previously sung the praises of THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT in a full review of the film itself back during the October Horror Challenge and more recently on my Top Ten Films Of 2014 list so I'll let those posts do the talking for this film. I will say that I was pleased to find out that my first return viewing of the film still yielded seriously entertaining results and that it holds up well. 

The Audio & Video
Image/RLJ deliver a gorgeous looking and sounding disc for THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT. The 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer has a very sharp picture with vibrant and vivid colors. Detail level in textures, surfaces and skin is high. Black levels are handled very nicely with no compression issues or blocking, which is very important for a film that largely takes place in dark settings. There are no signs of edge enhancement, or excessive DNR. The picture is crisp and not at all waxy. The 5.1 DTSHD-Master Audio track sounds crystal clear with a steady mix job. Levels don't fluctuate when they shouldn't and there's no distractions such as background noise or damage such as crackling or popping. English subtitles are available. 

The Extras
-The Houses October Built- a 94 minute documentary from 2011 that inspired the feature film. (Best Buy Exclusive)
-"Behind The Screams" Featurette - An inside look at the haunts
-Deleted Scenes (24 minutes)
-"Portrait of a Scare Artist" photo gallery
-Cast carvings by The Pumpkin Geek

The Bottom Line
When one of your favorite films of the year gets a beautiful Blu-ray release with a healthy dose of special features how could you not recommend it? Highly recommended! 

THE HOUSES OCTOBER BUILT is available HERE

Hole In The Wall (2014)

I couldn't wait to sit down and write this review upon finishing the film. I wanted to talk about HOLE IN THE WALL with anyone I could. Unfortunately for me very few people have seen it at this point so I will talk to myself about it in this review. Sit back dear reader, and enjoy until you get the chance to view this wonderfully offensive film.

HOLE IN THE WALL is an anthology film with the only rules being filth, sleaze and horror. The film starts with "A Message From The Underground", a PSA style message to the audience that really should be taken to heart. If you're at all unsure if you want, or more importantly should, view this film, heed this warning. The film gets underway with "The Plainfield Chopper" as a man dragging a wrapped body into his barn while a weird boy watches him. The boy is invited up to experience death. We visit this duo repeatedly through the film as it serves as the wrap around to the various other stories in the film. Each time we come back they are a bit further along in their sadistic fun with the body, making sure not to lose a drop of the blood because the blood makes everything better.

The first chapter of the anthology goes straight for the jugular. The viewer, along with their stomach and their morals are put to the test with "Scumbag". If you manage to make it passed this diabolical delight of bizarre sadism, animal cruelty, necrophilia and murder you may continue with the rest of HOLE IN THE WALL. You'll have to get passed scenes involving shit, semen and blood all with sex and violence mixed in. I promise you'll never look at your fingers the same way again.

Congratulations if you made it with your lunch in tact. And if you didn't, you can live out the rest of HOLE IN THE WALL vicariously through the rest of this review.

"Ed Gein D.D.S." is next and shows what happens when you resurrect an infamous serial killer through black magic and he has a penchant for practicing his own brand of dental work on his victims. This is an uncomfortably brutal take on the already violent and disturbing history of the infamous serial killer. Then comes "Last Dance", a sexually charged piece of filth straight out of John Waters' world. I hope you're prepared to see anything you can imagine because it is possible that "Last Dance" has it and makes sure you're repulsed by it. "Last Dance" is a snow covered descent in to a fucked up family filled with sex and madness.

By this point you've either gone to confessional and been told to say 1,000 Hail Marys or you've lost all inhibitions and are well on your way to become a drooling raving maniac. It's okay to admit that you've thrown up, turned of the film and turned it back on because you just can't look away.

You've been welcomed back with "Siren" a surreal and psychedelic piece of drug fueled horror with victims far and wide. I love "Siren" for the fact that it can easily be taken as a straight forward horror film or a piece of psychological horror using drug use as the catalyst for driving someone to the brink of insanity. We learn the origins of the Chopper in our wrap around story in "Our Song Is My Blade" as a ghostly woman and her disembodied voice haunts a man telling him to kill, and kill he does. "Our Song..." is beautifully violent and brings the story full circle to an over the top climax of blood and guts that looks like it is straight out of an H.G. Lewis film. And just when you think you've survived HOLE IN THE WALL there's a last punch to the gut post credits with "Glory Hole". It is quick but it will certainly have you re-thinking not walking out during the credits.

HOLE IN THE WALL pushes the limits of decency in ways that haven't been seen since films of the 1970s. It is filled with disgusting, despicable and depraved content and is a purely fucked up film. HOLE IN THE WALL doesn't solely rely on being gross and offensive though, there are some truly creative and artistic moments in both the writing and direction of these shorts. From the character interaction in Derrick Carey's "The Plainfield Chopper" that comes off organically with the Chopper almost becoming a teacher of sorts to his new "apprentice", to the heavily colored lighting and direction by Carolyn Baker in "Siren". Derrick Carey showed more directorial skill with the haunting work in "Our Song Is My Blade" with the ghostly voice over work and shots of the woman driving the man to kill.

We shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking that this movie isn't a total gross out though and that is the case with Greg Johnson's "Last Dance". If someone didn't know better they could easily mistake this for something John Waters made in the 60s or 70s. It oozes of the Dreamlanders and Waters' signature sleaze. And fans of more straight forward horror will find plenty of it to enjoy with Cory Udler's ridiculously vicious "Ed Gein D.D.S". When I first heard the title to this short I had no idea what to expect but I half expected some sort of weird spoof. I was happy to find that wasn't the case and it is just an off the wall title for an off the wall piece of nastiness.

The film closes making sure the viewer knows that HOLE IN THE WALL is all about being gross and offensive and filled with motherfucking sleaze in the cherry on top that is Steve Goltz and Kevin Sommerfield's "Glory Hole". I can't say enough about HOLE IN THE WALL it goes places that most filmmakers don't dare think about, let alone actually make and release.

It isn't uncommon for anthology films to be a bit disjointed and lacking in quality throughout but that is not the case here. While the shorts provide the viewer a great mix of content and tone, it is all filthy. Even when there are bits of comedy thrown in it fits the overall tone of HOLE IN THE WALL completely without yelling "I''m fucking funny please laugh at me!" at the viewer. The humor that is present is sick and will make you question if you should laugh, if you're even able to laugh instead of still processing what you've already seen.

HOLE IN THE ALL is a filthy horror anthology made in full by Wisconsin based filmmakers. If this is what drinking the waters of Wisconsin will have you make and enjoy I need to relocate ASAP because I fucking loved this movie. HOLE IN THE WALL is a quality blend of sleazy horror and fantastic filmmaking that strikes many different chords in perfect harmony. HOLE IN THE WALL is ready to turn the independent horror world on its fucking head. I can't wait to get a chance to own this film. 

You can find out more information on the film such as release dates, festival screenings and more at the film's official Facebook page HERE

The Addicted (DVD Review) - Revolver

UK/2013
Directed By: Sean J. Vincent
Written By: Sean J. Vincent
Starring: Jenny Gayner, Sean J. Vincent, Thea Knight
Color/90 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: June 24, 2014

The Film
A quarter century after an apparent suicide in a drug rehabilitation clinic a group decides to break in to the now abandoned facility to try and capture some of the reported paranormal goings on on film. Then, another group does the same. It doesn't take long for the evil with in to appear, along with a masked killer who seems to enjoy nothing more than strapping his victim to a table, shooting them up with needles and using a nail gun to kill them. The dark truth behind the clinic's history is exposed but will they ever be able to leave?

Let me just say that I probably couldn't tell you half of the details about THE ADDICTED because the audio recording is so fucking bad that it just sounds like very quiet mumbling. This gets even worse when the masked killer talks because apparently the director thought it was a better choice to have his dialogue recorded live through a thick mask which makes the already poor audio recording sound even more incomprehensible. Imagine trying to hear someone talk through a thick rubber halloween mask after eating an entire peanut butter sandwich sans milk. That may give you the idea.

What I was able to make out of THE ADDICTED didn't have me all that upset that I was struggling to understand the dialogue. The effects were corny and nothing exactly surprising or new and inventive happened. I did like the killer's mask as it looked like some kind of comic book version of a killer crackhead.

The Audio & Video
Revolver gives THE ADDICTED a home on DVD. The transfer looks okay, probably as good as it could ever look given the photography of the film. There's constant compression and artifacting in darker scenes. Brighter scenes fare a bit better but still don't look amazing. As I mentioned, the audio is so damn muffled thatit's near impossible to make out most of the dialogue, especially from the masked killer. I don't fault the audio issues, or really the video issues on the transfer work done as they can only work with the material they were given.

The Extras
None.

The Bottom Line
There's nothing here I can honestly recommend spending your time on. Take a pass this one.

THE ADDICTED is available HERE

Favor (DVD Review) - Horizon Movies

USA/2013
Directed By: Paul Osborne
Written By: Paul Osborne
Starring: Blayne Weaver, Patrick Day, Cheryl Nichols
Color/102 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: July 8, 2014

The Film
Old time friends Kip and Marvin have gone down different roads in life. Kip is handsome, has a beautiful wife, a nice house, a high paying job and their first baby on the way. Marvin looks years older than he is, has been out of work for months and is falling behind on his bills. The pair hasn't seen much of each other in recent times until one night Kip shows up at Marvin's house in the middle of the night needing help from his old friend. Kip has accidentally killed the woman he's having an affair with and asks Marvin for help hiding the body. Believing in being loyal to your friends no matter what, Marvin handles the situation for his friend. In the ensuing days Marvin begins to ask some favors of Kip, little things like a loan to pay the bills, being set up on a date with one of his wife's friends and so on.

The guilt weighs on Marvin and he starts showing up at Kip's house and work every day, acting stranger and asking for more and more. Kip tries to stay away from Marvin but eventually agrees to give him a job and shortly after has to fire him. Marvin and Kip have a final encounter in Marvin's house that has deadly consequences as the "do anything for a friend" mentality has completely destroyed both of their lives and ended it for one of them.

FAVOR works because Blayne Weaver and Patrick Day are great as Kip and Marvin and carry Paul Osborne's script. The idea of FAVOR is a simple one but the independent production is a success with the twists it takes in the third act. You may know where it's going or you may be surprised but it is an engaging thriller from start to finish. FAVOR isn't perfect, I found the female cop particularly annoying but it rises above its modest production budget to be a solid thriller. 

The Audio & Video
Horizon Movies gives FAVOR the DVD treatment with a 1.78:1 widescreen transfer that looks okay. The image is softer and grainier than is preferred. This has to do with the original photography of the film itself. It doesn't look bad but it isn't very sharp either. The stereo audio track is mixed well and is clear. Levels are stable and there's no background noise.

The Extras
-Audio commentary with director Paul Osborne and stars Patrick Day and Blayne Weaver
-"Party Favor": A behind-the-scenes look at the making of FAVOR
-Phoenix Film Festival "Life Of An Indie Actor" Panel
-Q&A with cast and crew
-Scoring FAVOR featurette
-"Midnight" music video
-Deleted and extended scenes
-Trailer

The Bottom Line
FAVOR was unexpectedly entertaining and competent. I definitely recommend giving it a viewing

FAVOR is available HERE