Reviews

I know that I am probably well in the minority on this one, but I ADORED Tate Steinsiek's reimagining/remake/reboot/whatever of CASTLE FREAK. It trades out the familial drama of Stuart Gordon's original in favour of slow burn erotic grotesquerie, and therefor it's pretty much the most delightfully putrid monster film you'll find this year. Shave off maybe 15 minutes from the runtime and there's a real gem in there for those who have similar tastes as I do.

SO, Dustin Ferguson did make a decent movie! Six years ago, he lensed this reasonably well-shot, visually ambitious giallo homage. It has characters, a tone, deliberate pacing, a sense of momentum and only a small dash of the Fergusonian padding issues that hold it back from being something I can say I loved. I am rather impressed, though. I recommend the Gloved Murderess for fans of Euro-sleaze who are trying to figure out how to do something similar on a shoestring budget.

My journey through the SoCal Cinema library continues with this attempt at an erotic thriller. At only 50 minutes long, it still feels like it goes on for an eternity. The pacing is non-existent and the two leads (who DO try to give the best performances they can) are simply miscast. There's not a ton to say here because not a lot really happens. Giving it two stars for the sake of the actresses, who could be put to use in better material that benefits them instead of this.

I genuinely WANT to like the work of Dustin Ferguson. The man (who for some reason insists on going by Dark Infinity now) cranks out an alarming number of titles every year and seems to have a solid knowledge of the stuff he's trying so desperately to emulate. Which is why I signed up for a month of his streaming service SoCal Cinema Studios on Demand. The hope is to catch up on some of his newer titles and hopefully come across some growth as an artist.

I chose Axed to Pieces as the first one simply because it had an appealingly short runtime and for the first 15-20 minutes, I was rather pleased. It's goofy as hell, but silly enough to be entertaining. Sadly, after those first few scenes, it falls back into Fergusonian padding and tedium that reminds me why I once dubbed him the new Nick Millard.

It is worth noting that he had a co-director on this one, so I suspect the good parts may not have been his doing. Still, it's his best to date, for whatever that's worth.

Despite the lackluster quality of the first couple entries in this series (and a rather middling third one), John Ward's entry into the Meathook Massacre series delivers as well as you can hope from a micro-budget slasher film. Pacing issues aside, the good outweighs the bad and it all leads into a truly entertaining final act that's highlighted by a wonderful performance by the always great Brinke Stevens.

It's not a masterpiece, but it delivers in ways the others simply couldn't and the results are every bit as fun as you could hope from a movie with a title like this. Ward is a more than capable director who has shown he can deliver the goods with limited resources and I personally look forward to whatever he does next!

Fred Vogel sheds his extreme horror roots in favor of something far more character-driven and the results are fantastic. Grainger Hinds and Damien Maruscak deliver powerfully compelling performances that kept me involved from beginning to its unexpected end. Easily the most fun I've had watching two actors play off each other in a long time. Diane Franklin also has a strong supporting role and it was really cool seeing her in something new. And it was really cool seeing a couple friends pop up in small roles. Fred's direction here is so confident that I'm sure it's a tell-tale sign of even more amazing stuff in the future. And not enough can be said of Rebecca Swan's amazing screenplay, which crackles with amazing dialogue that never once gets stale.

Cannot recommend this enough.

Every time I watch a Dustin Ferguson movie, I want it to work. I really do. I want this guy to show that he does have genuine love for film. But no...it never happens. This hateful, aimless, boring waste of time only further establishes him firmly as being the worst micro-budget director currently working. I can't even fully recommend it to people who enjoy shock movies because only 10-15 minutes worth of the film delivers on that aspect. The rest is aimless walking around and dull padding, just like every single other Dustin Ferguson movie I've seen.

I give it two stars instead of one because at least it wasn't Camp Blood 5. Dear god, I'm glad it wasn't Camp Blood 5...

When Donald F. Glut first announced Tales of Frankenstein, I was ecstatic. The promise of an independent but slickly made homage to my favorite story was very exciting, so obviously I did what I could in terms of donating to the project. And I'm so glad I did...this movie is awesome! I'm not generally big on anthologies, but there isn't a single story I disliked here. Each one was well-paced, well made and tons of fun. Each monster was executed perfectly, with the last one being my favorite. Genre film fans will also be pleased by the appearances of actors like Mel Novak (Game of Death), Jerry Lacey (Dark Shadows), Anne Robinson (War of the Worlds), Robert Axelrod (The Blob) and Swamp Thing creator Len Wein, in what would be his final film appearance. If I have any complaints, it's that I wish there was more to the wraparound segments and that the actually Frankenstein Monster was given a little bit more to do. Otherwise, almost no complaints. Frankenstein's Monster, mad doctors, vampires, a man in a gorilla suit...it's all there. Highly recommended!

LIGHT OF BLOOD defies expectations. It's a no-budget epic of werewolves, spies, super soldiers and (most importantly) one man's crazed vision of a movie that would combine all these elements into a narrative feature.

Writer/Director Gustavo Perez stars as Tony Luna, the werewolf protagonist of this masterpiece of insanity. There are no words to describe it. One must truly see LIGHT OF BLOOD to appreciate it. Buy it now. You will not regret it and you never forget it.

Len Kabasinski should really be applauded for going back and re-editing his older films. Swamp Zombies had always been a fun movie marred by an overly long runtime. This new release trims it down from being over two hours long to being a solid 86 minutes. It flows better and is just a generally more satisfying watch. It's tons of fun and more or less delivers on what you'd want from a micro-budget zombie flick. It's not high art but it is exactly what the cover says.

Make sure you pick up the director's cut and set your mind to its more relaxed level before watching and you're bound to have a good time.

When another remake of Day of the Dead was announced, the horror community was already up in arms. And for good reason. The last two attempts at "reinventing" Romero's nihilistically grim third installment in his "Dead" series were total unmitigated disasters. And from the sounds of it, this one was going to be no different...

Low and behold, the film is released to scathing reviews left and right. And I won't sit here and pretend I don't get it, because I do, but I will say this...for whatever the hell it's worth, I personally thought it was very fun. It's trashy, cartoonishly violent (literal EXPLOSIONS of blood whenever someone gets bitten) and just plain silly at times. But I think that's why it works. It reminded me a bit of the Italian zombie flicks that were made in the wake of Dawn of the Dead and it seemed more focused on being an entertaining movie than trying to top the original.

The cast is generally pretty poor with Sophie Skelton making a bland protagonist (a sort of cross between Sarah and Dr. Logan from the original), Jeff Gum being an incredibly lame substitute for Joe Pilato's legendary Captain Rhodes and Marcus Vanco just being plain old boring.

The big exception here would be the top-billed Johnathon Schaech as our main antagonist Max. Max is essentially meant to be this movie's version of Bub, but whereas Bub was a lovable and sympathetic character, Max is a flat-out despicable monster from the get go. He makes a solid villain and the scenes where it's just him interaction with Skelton are genuinely effective. The third act really picks up thanks to shifting its focus mainly onto him.

So at the end of the day, it's not going to blow anyone's minds and if you walk into it wanting something on par with the original, then you're just asking to be disappointed. But if you're craving some old-fashioned splattery direct-to-video zombie action, you'll probably have a fun time with it.

Some idiot on here had the gull to claim this one was the worst since The Legacy and that just baffles me. Of course, we're all free to have our own opinions on these things, but that sort of statement makes nearly no sense at all. This entry is a stylish, well-written, well-acted and incredibly fun flick that delivers in ways the franchise hasn't been able to in a long while.

The plot centers around the puppets being caught in the middle of a battle between Allied forces and the nazis once again, with the primary players in the fight being Nazi telepaths (Tonya Kay and Kevin Allen Scott) and the mystic Dr. Ivan Ivanov (George Appleby) and American soldier Brooks (Paul Logan).

Beautifully shot by Howard Wexler and saturated in Mario Bava-esque hyper colorful lighting schemes, this is probably the most stylistically ambitious film in the series thus far. The screenplay by Roger Barron is also a step above average, offering some shockingly good dialogue and character dynamics. The characters feel real enough for us to care about, while still maintaining the pulpy tone that the Axis films have been aiming for. It also benefits by having the best villains in the series since Richard Lynch's turn as Major Kraus in Toulon's Revenge. Kevin Allen Scott and Tonya Kay manage to chew the scenery while still delivering strong performances. No one is phoning it in here. Needless to say, Paul Logan's trademark B-movie tough guy schtick makes him pretty easy to route for.

If I have any complaints, it's that some of the puppets look pretty poor (Blade especially) and the climax is more than a little rushed. But these two minor quibbles do very little to sway my opinion. Axis Termination is an immensely satisfying installment in the series, something it hasn't had in a very very long time.

Donald Farmer is a man who has made quite the name for himself in the indie horror world. His work has ranged everywhere from low budget direct-to-video flicks to micro-budget shot-on- DV sleaze.

With this new effort, Farmer gives us the story of a seedy cop named Warbeck (Jason Crowe) who finds himself transformed into an undead flesheater after being imbued with unholy magic by a voodoo sorceress.

Sounds fun? Well, it is...mostly. Whenever Cannibal Cop chooses to focus on its titular character and not meandering with its dull supporting characters, it's actually a really good time. Crowe ups the sliminess really well and makes Warbeck a pretty intimidating "monster." Sadly, his scenes encompass maybe a little more than 45% of the actual runtime.

For what it's worth, I do recommend Cannibal Cop. I just think it'd be best to keep ones expectations in check and prepare yourself to savor the juicy bits of cannibal action we do get instead of expecting an all-out buffet.

Camp Blood 4 would be the worst slasher ever made (and a strong contender for worst horror movie ever made) if Camp Blood 5 didn't exist. Even more aimless and ugly than the fourth film, this one is just flat-out awful and further solidifies Dustin Ferguson as nothing more than an elaborate con-artist masquerading as a b-movie maker.

Loathsome, detestable, boring and filled to the brim with stock footage, CB 5 is as worthless as they come. Avoid at all costs.

Dustin Ferguson truly is this generation's Nick Millard. His films are dull, aimless, horrendously shot, pitifully edited and padded out to extreme lengths with stock footage from more impressive films. The difference is that while Millard used footage from his own films, Ferguson decides to ransack the work of real filmmakers like Mark Polonia and Dennis Devine.

This is the fourth in the Camp Blood series. While the previous instalments were imperfect but effectively fun low budget slasher movies, this one is a dismal, dreary affair with next to no plot, non-existent pacing and quite possibly the single worst villain ever committed to celluloid.

The only reason I give it two stars is because they play a really kick ass power metal song in the film and over the end credits. It's too good for this abysmal pile or garbage.

Wanna know the worst part? It's actually the best film I've seen from Ferguson. Let that sink in.

Brett Piper is no stranger to the world of independent genre film lovers. Triclops is his love letter to 50's monster movies, in particular the 1957 cult classic The Cyclops starring Lon Chaney Jr.

The plot is as simple as they come, with a group of people (among them the immensely likable Richard Lounello) searching a man lost in a bizarre secluded land filled to the brim with all sorts of cool critters, most of which are brought to life by Piper's masterful stop motion animation.

Fun, light hearted and an absolute joy for creature feature lovers, Triclops is as good as indie monster movie making comes.

Bernard Rose has successfully translated Mary Shelley's original novel by turning it into a Cronenbergian body horror tragedy.

The performances are stellar with Xavier Samuel making a heartbreaking Monster and Tony Todd stealing the show as a blind musician.

The direction is superb and horror fans will be pleased by the gruesome practical effects. If there are any weak points here, it would be the extremely brisk pacing and a few odd editing decision.

The ending is also frustratingly abrupt. Beyond that, it is nothing less than a triumph of genre filmmaking and the sort of thing I wish to see more of from the horror world.

"You know this story. The crackling lightning. The mad genius. An unholy creation."

And so opens up the lastest interpretation of Mary Shelley's legendary novel-turned-pop culture myth. So, what does this version add to the time-tested tale? Surprisingly, a fair amount.

An amalgamation of various film versions (taking most of its cues from Universal and Hammer), this film tells the origins of Victor Frankenstein through the eyes of a nameless hunchback who, after a quick and very nasty surgery, is dubbed Igor. It tells the story of how the world around Victor reacts to his experiments, from the conniving entrepeuneur to the over-zealous man of faith trying to stop him.

And how does it all hold up? Again, surprisingly really well. The chemistry between Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy sparks the film up quite a few notches while Andrew Scott, Jessica Brown Findlay and Freddie Fox all make good work of their admittedly under-developed supporting roles.

The direction by Paul McGuigan is energetic and lively, even if the pace is a tad too frenetic at times. The use of practical effects for the monstrosities that our heroes bring to life are impressive to behold and everything is boasted by a powerfully theatrical score by Craig Armstrong and some beautiful production design by Eve Stewart.

As I said, pacing is a tad too fast and certain bits of writing could've used some tweaking, but the cast and enthusiastic direction definitely make this a more than worthy entry into the Frankenstein mythos that I will gladly welcome into my collection as soon as it makes its to Blu-Ray/DVD.

I'm pleased to say that it is very much alive.

Dustin Mills is without a doubt my favourite director working in the indie horror scene nowadays. His films are weird, creative and 100% inspirational. That being said, not all of his stuff really appeals to me. I love his films Easter Casket, Zombie A-Hole, Heart Attack and Skinless, but some of his more mean spirited stuff isn't my cup of tea. That being said, that doesn't mean those entries are any less well-made or creative. And that goes for Applecart.

While I cannot fully recommend it, it does have it's audience and it is a film that I think anyone who is interested in independent art should check out. It's mean, honest and punctuated by some strikingly creative sound design.

Frankenstein vs. The Mummy is far from being as great as it could have been, but it still manages to be one hell of a fun way to kill a Friday night!

Victor Frankenstein is attempting to create life, but ends up using the brain of his evil assistant Carter, creating a violent psychopathic monster. Meanwhile, a young Egyptology professor discovers an ancient Mummy that is soon walking around, leaving a bloody trail in it's path.

Those expecting a non-stop monster brawl will be disappointed, as the two titular creatures don't face-off till the film's finale. However, the journey there is refreshingly well-made, acted and written! The make-up for the monsters is top-notch and we really do get to feel for our human protagonists. If I have any complaints, it's that I find the film overly long and it drags a fair bit during the first act. Also, Frankenstein's monster was WAY too unsympathetic.

Nonetheless, I totally recommend this flick to any monster fans who need a bit more of Frankenstein's patchwork experiments or mummified ghouls in their lives.

Seventh Son was okay. The CGI was pretty bad, I never found myself caring about a single characters and the action scenes were uninspired. It doesn't help that the whole thing looks like it was shot with the softest focus imaginable and contains one of the most boring, contrived attempts at a love story I've ever seen. However, it has some good stuff going for it.

Bad effects aside, some of the creature designs were quite nice and Jeff Bridges did manage to get a couple laughs out of me. Ben Barnes is a total vortex of charisma, though. Christ, poor guy just can't do it...Julianne Moore and Djimon Hounsou made good villains but I feel like they might have made them too sympathetic. They made the monsters into such victims that it made the heroes looking like total sadists, leaving us with no one to really root for.

Overall, it's not the worst thing ever but it's definitely not something anyone needs to rush out to see.

Man, I first caught wind of this flick last year when I saw it while scrolling through Netlfix. Being a Keanu fan (and not ashamed to admit that), I thought I'd give it a shot. Needless to say, I enjoyed the hell out of it! I thought it was a fun, stylish character driven fight flick that we simply don't get to see much of anymore.

Keanu plays Donaka Mark, a psychotic sadist who runs an illegal fight ring. He finds himself frustrated by the lack of "interesting" fighters and recruits Tiger (played by Tiger Hu Chen), a young and naive master of tai chi. What follows is an almost Faustian tale of Tiger's rise, fall and struggle to regain his former honour.

Maybe I make it sound a bit too grandiose, but it really is a damn good fight film. It has a solid cast, decent cinematography, well choreographed fight sequences and a strong enough script to carry all its action.

P.S. Fans of 'The Raid' might be interested to know that Iko Uwais has a cameo towards the end.

Shoot 'Em Up is good, silly over the top fun. Clive Owen makes for a good enough lead, Paul Giamatti is a great weirdo villain and Monica Bellucci, Julian Richings and Stephen McHattie round out a pretty solid supporting cast.

The soundtrack is fantastic (Motorhead, Iggy Pop and Devin Townsend!!) and the action is appropriately over the top. It does have some pretty wonky pacing (for a movie that's only 86 minutes, it feels pretty long) which hinders its re-watch value for me, but it's not a big enough flaw for me to think any less of the film.

Overall, Shoot 'Em Up is a pretty hard film to hate. It's just filled with too much raw energy to not be entertained for its entire runtime.

It does what it needs to do. It's a Nic Cage actioner where he has to save his daughter from a psychopathic villain who used to be his best friend. That's all you need to know. All that's left is to shut off your brain and try to have fun with it.

Nicolas Cage does what you'd expect from him, and if you're a fan of that, then the odds are that you'll get a kick out of him. Josh Lucas really steals the show as the main baddie and Danny Huston does a fine job with his supporting role.

All in all, a fun flick to kill a night at the end of a long day with. Go in expecting little more than that and you'll probably leave pleased.

AWIL is easily one of my all-time favourite films. It's creepy, funny, well-paced, well- shot, fairly well acted and boasts some truly glorious effects work from Rick Baker.

David Naughton plays a backpacked who is attacked by a mysterious monster and finds himself cursed to become a werewolf. It sounds like standard monster movie fare, but John Landis manages to turn it on its head and creates a wonderful, darkly comedic flick. It's only major flaw is the lack of a memorable musical score, but this is made up for by it's excellent use of moon-themed songs (Blue Moon, Bad Moon Rising, etc.)

All in all, a fantastic genre piece that has stood the test of time and has cemented itself as my all-time favourite werewolf flick.