In addition to the usual reviews and comments you would find on a horror movie blog, this is also a document of the wonderfully vast horror movie section of the video store I worked at in my youth.

Friday, February 27, 2015

Enter The Void

On this glorious Friday, I want to bring your attention to an important IndieGogo campaign. As some of you may know, Canadian gore gurus Steve Kostanski & Jeremy Gillespie's newest project is a dark little nightmare called The Void. Unlike their previous works with Astron 6, their intention here is straight up horror. Think stuff like Silent Hill and Event Horizon by way of H.P. Lovecraft and John Carpenter.

You may be thinking, hey The Void is going to camera this summer, why do they need more money? Well, that is a good question, with an even better answer. But I'll let these two maniacs lay it out for you themselves.



It basically comes down to these guys being able to properly deliver their warped vision with no compromises. If you've seen their previous work, you know that resources are basically the only thing holding these guys back - and barely even then.

So, take a trip over to the campaign page here and contribute. There's a ton of great perks available and you can take pride in knowing you helped make The Void's creatures come to life in all their splattered, sinewy glory. Welcome to the fold!


Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Trailer Tuesdays: Roberta Findlay

For the final Trailer Tuesday of Women In Horror Month, I am showcasing one of their more prolific filmmakers.

Roberta Findlay wore many hats during her long career in the business. She began making sexploitation flicks in the sixties with her husband Michael Findlay and the pair of them were on the vanguard of filmmakers that mixed sex with violence. In 1971, she served as cinematographer on The Slaughter, which would later be infamously re-edited as Snuff.

After the tragic death of her husband in 1977, she eventually moved onto more mainstream fare and directed several horror flicks including the ones below.





Monday, February 23, 2015

My Kind Of Girl.

After being foiled on several occasions by inclement weather and ill-conceived show times, I finally got to catch Ana Lily Amirpour's A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night.


In the lonesome town of Bad City, a nomadic vampire and a petty criminal cross paths and strike up a relationship.

So, was it worth the wait? Absolutely. I enjoyed this film for several reasons. First, Girl has this wonderful otherworldly essence. Bad City was sprawling yet only seemed to be inhabited by the dozen or so characters we see in the film and no one seemed to question the pit of dead bodies right on the outskirts of town. The film was shot in California, but to be honest if someone had said it was made in the Middle East, I wouldn't have questioned it.


I should mention that anyone walking in expecting a straight-up horror film may be disappointed, as in many ways it is barely a genre film. I liken Girl a lot to last year's Spring in that it is ostensibly a romance with one of the parties not being what they appear to be. The main difference here is that Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead are dialogue driven folks and Amirpour clearly favours a more minimalist approach. Considering what Girl does offer though, I had no problems with this whatsoever.


Amirpour uses visuals to tell the story, especially in the characterization of the Girl herself, for which Sheila Vand is terrific. I always appreciate performances that give us more with a look than any line of dialogue could. I also really liked the music in the film, which was good as I feel that the director may have leaned on it a bit too much in some sequences.

In addition to Vand though, the cat in the film almost stole the show. The more I think about the film, the more I am questioning whether it was actually about his adventures.


This feline's name is Masuka and he is one of the best cat actors I have ever seen! It was so refreshing to see a cat in a genre film that wasn't used as fodder for someone to find mangled in the last act. I'd love to see a spin-off movie with him!

I can also see how it may not be everyone's cup of blood, but I thought A Girl Who Walks Alone At Night was a vibrant and engaging tale about two lost souls (and a cat), and makes no apologies for foregoing the bells and whistles of modern genre storytelling. This is exactly the kind of stuff the film-going community should be nurturing.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

DKTM 254


It looks like we've got a one day reprieve from the deep freeze here. It's really sad when you're glad that it is only a single digit negative outside. Anyway, I'm running behind today, so here's today's all-video DKTM.

Blocks of Horror.

For those who aren't aware, Nerd Block & Rue Morgue have been running a short film competition over the last few months. Some of the submissions are well... something, but there are a handful that I'm happy to support. Here below are three of my favourites that were either extremely polished and/or showed some kind enthusiasm.





The contest is still accepting submissions and votes until March 16th. Click here to see the rest.

Trailer Trash.

A couple of trailers hit the Web this week. The first is a new trailer for one of my faves from last year, Justin Benson & Aaron Morehead's sophomore effort Spring.



I am a big fan of this movie. They took the great character stuff from their debut and expanded their act by moving from a stuffy cabin to the beautiful Italian countryside. Spring releases on March 20th. The second trailer is for local boy Gabriel Carrer's The Demolisher.



I'm digging the retro revenge vibe and it's also nice to see actor Ry Barrett front and center on this one.

Hardcastle Lets It Go.

I always look forward to the work of Lee Hardcastle and this Friday, he unveiled his latest creation, a mash-up of Disney's Frozen and The Thing.



Experiencing the words of Donald Moffatt spoken by a claymation reindeer was just the pick-me-up I needed right now. Hopefully, it is for you too.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

VHS in the 3rd Dimension.


With all that talk of 3D last week, it kinda got me reminiscing about other fads during the home video boom. Video stores back then were so crammed with VHS titles depicting all kinds of lurid and graphic material that some distributors had to take things one step further to grab our attention...

They went into the THIRRRRD DIMENSION-SION-ION!!!!! So, with a little brain racking and some research I found seven such titles from back in the day.

First, there were the ones that feigned 3D by having raised covers. Two examples of this were the Imperial release of 1988's Black Roses and the Unapix release of 1997's Breeders.

Photo courtesy of boingboing.net

Photo courtesy of tower.com

Next there were the lenticular covers where the picture changed as you walked by them. Two examples were the Prism Entertainment release of 1990's Demon Wind and A-Pix's release of 1997's Jack Frost. I wasn't able to find a demo of Demon Wind's cover online, but fortunately I filmed my copy of the latter a while back.

Photo courtesy of Bargain Films.



Then, there are the really coveted cover boxes; the ones that really go the extra mile. Two such coverboxes are 1990's Shapiro-Glickenhaus release of Frankenhooker and Imperial's 1989's release of Dead Pit. I sadly do not own either of these, but fortunately the guys over at Lunchmeat do.




Now, my favourite is the Imperial (I guess you've noticed by now that these guys were pretty awesome) release of 1990's Metamorphosis. I was elated when I came across one of these at a thrift store and even more so when I replaced the battery and found it still worked.



Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little walked down memory lane. Talk soon, kiddies.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Trailer Tuesdays: Near Dark

In keeping with Women In Horror Month, here's a trailer for a film from my favourite female director, Kathryn Bigelow.



This was her only foray into horror (with the 1989 Jamie Lee Curtis vehicle Blue Steel decidedly being a crime thriller) and it's still widely regarded as one of the best vampire films out there.

I love the look, the score by Tangerine Dream and writers Bigelow and Eric Red's unique contribution to vampire lore. It also, after their memorable appearances in 1986's Aliens (directed by Bigelow's future husband James Cameron), reunites Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton & Jenette Goldstein who shine as members of a nomadic band of vamps.

Monday, February 16, 2015

Blood, Booze & Cupcakes.

I hope everyone had a great Friday the 13th. I certainly did, as my friend Serena threw a party “slash” movie night celebrating the film franchise at large.


There were even cupcakes!


We started out with the inaugural film, which came with a bunch of drinking game rules supplied by yours truly. Then, we watched Part 3 in 3D.


You know, you really don't realize just how many 3D gags are in that picture until you have to drink every time one happens.


I love these movies. They are like a horror security blanket. You always know what you're going to get and even though they follow the same formula, they each have their own personalities (i.e. part 3 is the 3D one, part 4 has the most well-written and likable characters, part 5 is the sleazy one, part 6 is the comedic, almost kid-friendly one etc.)

Anyway, enjoy your day off and we'll talk soon.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

DKTM 253


Hello everyone! I hope you all had a good Friday the 13th. This is what we're dealing right now...


So, imagine me typing this on my laptop under like a million blankets. Anyway, upward and onward. Here's what happened this week in horror.

South by South Horrors.

SXSW announced their midnight line-up this week. In addition to the two anticipated titles that played Sundance in January (The Nightmare & Turbo Kid) there are also a bunch of other goodies.

ABC's of Death 2 producer Ted Geoghegan sits in the director's chair for We Are Still Here, a haunted house tale featuring genre vets Barbara Crampton and Larry Fessenden.

Barbara Crampton in We Are Still Here.

Karyn Kusama follows her 2009 horror effort Jennifer's Body with The Invitation, about a dinner party where the hosts may have more sinister intentions.

Following in the footsteps of last year's winner The Babadook comes The Diabolical, featuring Ali Larter struggling to protect her two children from a malevolent presence inside their home.

Ali Larter in The Diabolical.

British bad boys Adam Mason & Simon Boyes tackle the home invasion genre with their gritty thriller HANGMAN.

Perhaps the most fun offering is Deathgasm from New Zealander Jason Lei Howden.



It looks like another great line-up this year, and I can only hope most - if not all - filter on up to Canada in the next year or so.

Zombie TV.

BBC Three will soon be airing the world's first zombie reality show, I Survived a Zombie Apocalypse. The idea is for ten people to compete to stay alive, while completing survival tasks in the shopping center in which the game takes place. Here's the pitch.


I enjoyed watching Darren Brown's Apocalypse, so I'll definitely give this a whirl. It begins this evening, so click here for the show's home page on BBC3 for more info.

Trailer Bait.

There were a lot of trailer that hit the Web this week. First is the trailer for the new Guillermo del Toro picture Crimson Peak.



Great cast. Great visuals. I'm a little worried about the visual effects, but I'm in. Next, is the trailer for Jon Knautz's new film Goddess of Love.



I was a huge fan of his under-appreciated sophomore effort The Shrine and it looks like he is trying some new things here stylistically. I eagerly await this. Then, there is this trailer for the Blair Witch Making of documentary, The Woods Movie.



Love it or hate it, there is no disputing The Blair Witch Project's contribution to the horror genre. This'll make a nice double bill with Sticks & Stones, the 1999 exploration of the Blair Witch legend.

The Man Behind The Mask.

Lastly, here's some great news I wanted to share. Kane Hodder is joining Tom Savini's upcoming slasher video game Summer Camp. Here's the announcement video from the man himself.



Even though that “official” Friday the 13th game managed to put the kibosh on 5 vs 1 aka Last Year, I still hold high hopes for this one and Until Dawn. Be sure to look for them this year.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Friday Fun!

Guess what, guys? This year's calendar has on it not one, not two, but THREE Friday the 13th's!

To celebrate, James Rolfe - better known as The Angry Video Game Nerd - has been posting reviews of the Friday the 13th movies on his website, Cinemassacre.com. Click on the posters below to check them out.






He'll be posting reviews for Parts 6-10 during next month's tricadeca madness. Have a great weekend everyone and have a good Family Day/President's Day!

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Trailer Tuesdays: Pet Sematary

In keeping with Women In Horror Month, here's a trailer for one of the more high profile horrors helmed by a female director, Pet Sematary.



Though it has been ages since I've re-watched it, I recall Mary Lambert's take on this Stephen King classic was pretty solid, featuring some excellent special effect set pieces and a standout zombie performance from Miko Hughes.

However, this is another reason I brought this up. I'm sure you heard about Bart the Zombie Cat in the news. If not, this resilient little feline clawed his way out of the grave five days after being hit by a car and buried by his owner.

One down, eight to go.

Even though Bart suffered a broken jaw, severe head trauma and lost an eye, it looks like he is going to survive. Here's hoping he makes a speedy recovery and gets all the tuna and tummy rubs a cat could ever want.

Monday, February 9, 2015

Amen!

After being highly recommended by a friend of mine several months ago, I finally managed to check out Elliot Goldner's found footage offering from the UK, The Borderlands.


A team is sent by the Vatican to the English countryside to investigate unexplained events at a local church.

Now this is how you make a found footage film, people! I think it is a crime that this film is not more well known among horror fans, at least on this side of the pond. To be honest, I'm shocked that North American genre festivals weren't lining up to screen this after its showing at London's Frightfest in 2013.

The Borderlands has everything going for it. We spend a lot of time getting to know the two inherently likable leads Gray (Robin Hill) and Deacon (Gordon Kennedy) as due to some fine storytelling the setting was almost immediately unsettling. The use of the head cams was a stroke of genius for it not only supplied a more digestible viewpoint, but also sidestepped the usual why-are-they-still-filming logistics.

The scene of the miracle(?)

I can't really stress enough how much of a found footage master class this was. It should also be noted that without the benefit of a score, most of the tension had to be created visually and the skill involved in the last act was admirable. The best found footage films are able to harness the chaotic nature of the format, yet also be technically adept enough to show you everything you need to see. Blair Witch did it. [REC] did it. And now The Borderlands has done it.

The other thing it shares with those two classics is one hell of a finish. Even several days later, I am still thinking about it. I woke up the next day and wondered if it, in fact, had ended that way, or if I just dreamed it. The film's conclusion was as bizarre as it was disturbing and I don't think I've seen one as horrifying in quite some time.

Gordon Kennedy as Deacon in The Borderlands.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I am a big fan of this movie and urge you to seek it out. Where can you see it? Well, Imdb lists a domestic release of Feb 24th, and even though a company called Grindstone bought the US rights about a year ago, I couldn't find anything more about actual distribution. So who knows? All I can say is, keep your eyes peeled.

Sunday, February 8, 2015

DKTM 252


Hey everyone. It'll be a quick one today, as I have to head downtown this morning to help out on a friend's shoot. Here's what I got for you.

Doing It Old School.

It seems there has been a shift lately from parodies of eighties tropes to nineties tropes. First, there was Too Many Cooks and then the funding campaign for Strafe. Now, there is THIS delightful lampooning on nineties food and drink commercials. Enjoy!



It Makes Music.

Maddneningly, we have to wait until March to see David Robert Mitchell's awesome horror It Follows, but fortunately the terrific score by Disasterpiece is now available online.



I adore the music of this film and feel it is one of the best horror film scores in a while for connecting visuals with music. Again, I can't stress this enough... When this film releases. FUCKING GO. To all the people bitching about the Poltergeist remake trailer that Hollywood doesn't make original movies anymore, you are only proving them right if you don't support It Follows.

Okay, rant over.

The Red Stuff.

With it now being Women In Horror Month, so comes the latest video for the Massive Blood Drive. Here below is the latest compilation of shorts, featuring bits from the Soskas, Jessica Cameron and Jill Sixx.



Wednesday, February 4, 2015

A Blu C's

The ABC's of Death 2 Blu-ray released yesterday.


It's a solid package with a lot of content. I was glad to see that producers Ant Timpson & Tim League made an effort to contact all twenty-six directors for supplemental material. For the most part, they were successful as three quarters offer bonus materials of some kind.

I was really happy to see that there were almost a dozen making-of supplementals, including ones for five of my favourites - A, D, S, W & Z. 

The gooey denizens of “D”

Fans of the Soska Sisters will be glad to know that their behind-the-scenes featurette clocks in at almost twenty minutes. I would add it also makes a good drinking game - take a swig every time someone mentions “tentacles”“porn” or “rape”. I myself can never get enough Tristan Risk.

Tristan Risk in “T”

In addition to the brief EPK vid by AXS-TV, there is also a round of commentaries. Again, Timpson & League wrangled almost all of the filmmakers for these. Though obviously brisk, some are informative, some - like the commentary for B - are playful and some - like the one for K - are downright off-putting.

Dana Meinrath in “F”

During the lengthy end credits, Timpson & League go into detail about the project. I was elated that they started off by praising my friend Chris Nash for his efforts and told the story of his inclusion into the project. They also tease of an ABC's of Death 3, for which I will no doubt draft another contest entry.

As I said in my original review, ABC's 2 was far superior to its predecessor, and now it has a nice home video package to go along with it. I feel it is worth owning, at the very least as a conversation piece you can bust out at get togethers - with your cinephile buddies, not tea with your in-laws, unless of course, your in-laws are cool - and debate which is your favourite.

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Trailer Tuesdays: Devil Times Five.

Did I mention I fucking HATE WINTER? I've spent more time shovelling snow this past week than I did all last year. If winter had a face, I'd punch it. Then set it on fire. Then douse those flames with my urine.

But, I digress.



I chose today's trailer for more than just its wintery appearance, as February is Women In Horror Month. For the next four weeks, I'll be posting trailers for films made by the fairer sex. The above movie was co-written by Sandra Lee Blowitz.


For a more detailed (yet somewhat hazy) rundown of this picture, click here.

Sunday, February 1, 2015

DKTM 251


Hey all. It's Game Day! Well, to be honest, I don't really follow football much anymore, but the SuperBowl remains a day to get together with my best peeps, gamble and drink. I can't really think of a better way to spend a Sunday. Whatever you end up doing, I hope you have a blast. Here's what I've got for you this week.

Nice Form.

Here's a short I came across this week called Night Swim by Rod Blackhurst & Bryce James McGuire. It's brisk & well shot; two of the three things that make a great short film. Enjoy!



Dead Wars.

I found some cool artwork in my Facebook feed this week. First, is the work of artist collective Red Ape who envisioned the Star Wars Universe after a zombie apocalypse. Here's a taste.




I think we can all agree that last one is a bid improvement. For the rest via Moviepilot.com, click here.

Dead Disney.

Then I came across the art of Rob Carlos, who put a zombie spin on our beloved Disney princesses.




For the rest, again via Moviepilot.com, click here. And to check Carlos' website, click here.