So I have to say I went into this movie, knowing a little bit of its background, and the fact that it dealt with the Black Metal community and culture, but apart from that I didn’t know fully what to expect. I thought it would almost be a historical documentary focused on the pioneers of…
Film
Finding God at the Grindhouse: Vestron’s THE UNHOLY Takes on Spiritual Warfare and the Reality of Evil
I don’t know exactly what I believe about the Devil. Fallen angel? Malicious overlord? Bullshit myth? All are highly possible. However, I know I have felt darkness and evil. I know that I have felt a heaviness that can only be described as demonic. I know that I believe in spiritual warfare… that much I’m…
A Tale of Two Disneys… BEAUTY AND THE BEAST vs. BAMBI
I recently received review copies of both the new live action Beauty and the Beast and the Signature Collection Anniversary Edition of Bambi. Receiving Disney releases for review is always exciting, especially with two children in the house. And, while both of my children are superhero loving young boys and these aren’t exactly big action…
Fantasia is Back… and it’s Stacked
The first announcement of titles at this year’s upcoming Fantasia Festival hit and it’s got some crazy good stuff… Without further ado, here are the ones that I am, personally, dying to see: and I’m particularly pumped for Mohawk, which doesn’t have a trailer yet, but sounds awesome and is from We Are Still Here…
PRISONER X: Hard and Smart Sci-Fi with Small Budget and Big Ideas
With a limited budget and talented – but unknown – cast, this film creates tension and genuine intrigue through a complex narrative with hard sci-fi concepts. Prisoner X is deeply contemplative, unique, and well made. Perhaps, it can feel a bit slow at times, but it ultimately achieves in being exactly the film it sets…
Forget about Schumacher’s Batman Films, Adam West is the only true BATMAN FOREVER
Growing up on Adam West’s Batman, Christopher Reeves’ Superman, and the Saturday morning cartoons of the 1970s, I prefer that the difference between the good guys and the bad guys be pretty cut and dry. While I liked the Tim Burton Batman movies, and even Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever (don’t hate!), I’m burned out on…
Over at FGBFF, We’re DYING OF LAUGHTER: A Short Film Block Highlight Reel
A Tricky Treat (USA/Canada, 2015) Dir. Patricia Chica I first saw Patricia Chica’s delightfully macabre short A Tricky Treat back in 2015, when it was going by the title Ripe N’ Bloody in a slightly truncated version for the 2015 Women In Horror Blood Drive PSA. I say slightly truncated, because even in its full…
AMERICAN GUINEA PIG: BLOODSHOCK Helps Define What REAL Torture Porn Looks Like
[Editor’s Note: WARNING! This review contains graphic images further down the page.] “Torture porn” has become an oft-cited buzzword in modern horror. In casual usage it points to the increasing use of gore to drive films: the glorification of reducing a sock-puppet human into pulp. Using violence as a crutch to entice viewers rather than…
THE KILLING OF AMERICA Reminds Us of the Darkness in the Heart of America
1982’s Mondo-style documentary The Killing of America is a graphic depiction the brutal side of society as told through the scope of escalating gun violence. Directed by Sheldon Renan and Leonard Schrader, it was released at the time in limited runs in a few theaters in the US and has only recently been available to…
Quirky Canadian LOST IN PARIS Reminds Us That Rom-Coms Can Actually Be Funny… and Can Actually Be Romantic
For 25 years, Fiona Gordon and Dominique Abel have been collaborating in some way, whether it be theatre or the silver screen. When it comes to film and directing, there has always been another person to complete a trifecta. Lost in Paris marks the first time Gordon and Abel have branched out to become a…
Opening Next Week: Award Winning FROM HOLLYWOOD TO ROSE is Candy Land, But on a Bus to LA
I’ve been to California twice. Once to be on a film program with The American Pavilion, and the second time was to visit some of my best friends. Both of my visits were to Los Angeles where I got a decent grasp of the city, its people, and the way some things work. I personally…
BLACK ROSE: Fun B-Movie Action or Grade A Crap Fest?
Black Rose is one of those baffling films that you can’t believe even got made in today’s day and age. How did this get any funding? This film is such a surreal experience. It’s like watching an action film starring a random extra who got his butt kicked in a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, who…
Blax Like Me: Ron Van Clief Kicks Major Ass in THE BLACK DRAGON’S REVENGE
As this is the first post in a new series, let me begin with a brief introduction. You see, I’m a suburban white ass honkey. I grew up in a quiet and safe suburban town that I eventually realized in my teenage years was rife with racial profiling. It was an honest to God Mafia…
The Friday Fighters Take a Bloody and Animated Trip to the SEOUL STATION
Confession Time: I haven’t seen Train to Busan yet (I know, I know). [Editor’s Note: When I read this, I can’t help but hear Luke reading this confession as if John Cusack’s below question in High Fidelity] I’m probably going about this backwards, watching the prequel first, but considering the quality of Seoul Station, I’ll…
Bold Decisions and Creative Camerawork Mark CRACKBABY BILLIONAIRE as Fucked Up Low-Budget Gem
John Miller has been a polarizing figure in the world of low budget horror. He burst onto the scene with a movie he co-directed with Chris Woods (of Sleaze Box) called Amerikan HoloKaust that was immediately met with love and disdain (equally). The movie was ugly, nihilistic filmmaking at its best. I saw the film…
THE DISMEMBERED: Garagehouse Kills It with Unearthed Horror Comedy
When a film begins with this disclaimer, it can’t be horrible. This is quite possibly the single greatest opening disclaimer ever put to film. Not only is it clever and tone setting; but for 1962, it’s incredibly original. Moreover, the film is a horror comedy with an emphasis on the comedy… and we know this…
TILTing in the Wrong Direction at Tribeca 2017
Kasra Farahani’s Tilt recently played at the Tribeca Film Festival. It’s a tale about an aspiring filmmaker’s slow descent into madness after his wife has become pregnant with his child. And the key word here is slow. As in so slow that the film moves in slow-motion while being trapped in quicksand. This was a…
WHISKEY GALORE is a Glass Half Empty, But Some May Think It More a Glass Half Full
Whiskey Galore! is a comedy romance WWII era film from Arrow Films that is a remake of a 1949 film of the same name. And it definitely lives up to its namesake. There is plenty of whiskey in this film. In bottles and in line after line of dialogue. So much that you could make…
Kickstart My Heart: Indie Horror INNER GHOSTS Needs You
The Kickstarter Campaign is underway and I was able to ask the writer and producer, Paulo Leite. They hit their goal but are working on a final push with just over 2 days to go at the time of this post. The project was inspired by 3 things. On one side, we felt some frustration…
THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE and Onto Arrow Blu-Ray
[Editor’s Note: Last May, Arrow released both The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave and The Red Queen Kills Seven Times together as a set, Killer Dames: Two Gothic Chillers by Emilio P. Miraglia. This past April, Arrow decided to let folks order one or the other separately if they wished, as well. So,…
THE RED QUEEN KILLS SEVEN TIMES and Arrow Kills it Again and Again
[Editor’s Note: Last May, Arrow released both The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave and The Red Queen Kills Seven Times together as a set, Killer Dames: Two Gothic Chillers by Emilio P. Miraglia. This past April, Arrow decided to let folks order one or the other separately if they wished, as well. So,…
We Caught Up with Harry of GARAGEHOUSE and EXHUMED… He’s Pretty Awesome
You may have noticed me blab about releases coming out via a boutique releasing company called Garagehouse Pictures hailing from my home city of Philadelphia. If you haven’t keep watching, because they’ve got many more that interest me releasing in coming months. And, I’ll be reviewing their latest, a 1962 regional horror comedy called The…
ALIEN: COVENANT is Better than the Internet Haters are Telling You!
I have a tendency to avoid trailers and hype around big releases, especially when it is something that I am excited for. Alien: Covenant IS one of those titles and I had to try hard as fuck not to read reviews, hype and hate on the internet. I wanted the purest viewing experience and made…
Arrow Gets Blaine High with their Release of BRAIN DAMAGE
Frank Henenlotter has been having a major resurgence over the past few years. Films like Basket Case and Frankenhooker are undeniable pieces of trash-cinema gold but For one reason or another there has never been a great release of one of his finest films to date, Brain Damage. Leave it to the wonderful weirdos at…
Sunday Squabble: Arrow’s Release of DONNIE DARKO is a Great Edition of a Great Film… or is It?
Friday Fights getting posted on Sundays seem to be a thing lately. Fridays get crazy, then Saturdays follow suit. In this week’s case, I had this almost set Friday night, then finished it yesterday, then my computer died. When I turned it back on, it reverted to an unedited version… so, I’m finally almost done…
THE UNTOLD, IN-DEPTH, OUTRAGEOUSLY TRUE STORY ABOUT SHAPIRO GLICKENHAUS ENTERTAINMENT… Wow, That’s a Mouthful
The Untold, In-Depth, Outrageously True Story of Shapiro Glickenhaus is the first book from Marco Siedelmann to cover this awesome world of working class films that has been pushed out of the current model. His new book, Stories from the Trenches, is all about the life and films of great B-movie director from this era…
Move Over Squatch, We’re in CHUPACABRA TERRITORY
In the grand tradition of Sasquatch hunting, Chupacabra Territory (aka Lair of the Beast) riffs on such packs of adventurers questing to track a mythical creature. In the case of this film, Harry Henderson isn’t their target, but instead it’s the Chupacabra – literally translated, “the goat sucker”. It is said to have been spotted…