HAPPY 44th ANNIVERSARY PHANTASM!

MonsterZero NJ wishes a very happy 44th anniversary to one of my all-time favorite horror films and a true horror original… Phantasm! The Don Coscarelli classic was released on March 28th, 1979 and spawned not only a beloved franchise, but added The Tall Man (the late, great Angus Scrimm) to the list of immortal horror icons!

-MonsterZero NJ

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE ESTIMATES MARCH 24-26

(Remember, clicking the highlighted links brings you to the reviews here at The Movie Madhouse!)

1. “John Wick: Chapter 4” $73.5 Million

2. “Creed III” $10.4 Million

3. “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” $9.7 Million

4. “Scream VI” $8.4 Million

5. “65” $3.25 Million

6. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” $2.4 Million

7. “Cocaine Bear” $2 Million

8. “Jesus Revolution” $2 Million

9. “Champions” $1.5 Million

10. “Avatar: The Way of Water” $1.4 Million

-MonsterZero NJ

source: Box Office Mojo

BARE BONES: HORROR IN THE HIGH DESERT 2: MINERVA (2023)

HORROR IN THE HIGH DESERT 2: MINERVA (2023)

Faux documentary/found footage sequel has returning reporter Gal Roberts (Suziey Block) following the stories of the mysterious death of a woman named Minerva (Solveig Helene) and the disappearance of a young mother named Ameliana (Brooke Bradshaw). Both are close to the area where Gary Hinge disappeared and as various camera footage is examined and interviews made, the investigative reporter starts to believe there might be a frightening connection.

Second installment in what appears to be a growing franchise is again written and directed by Dutch Marich. The filmmaker turns up the spooky as it starts out with the investigation of the untimely and strange death of student Minerva Sound, using her phone footage, VHS footage from a creepy former tenant, and interviews and footage from a neighbor, EMTs and first responders. It paints a picture of something very unsettling going on around her remote trailer leading up to her mysterious death. It then leads Roberts to the disappearance of young mom Ameliana Brasher whose car broke down nearby. The dashcam footage and EMT footage paint a very chilling picture of what might have happened to her…one with a disturbing similarity to that of the disappearance of Gary Hinge. Marich crafts an effective and chilling found footage flick that eerily expands on what we saw in the first film and is definitely building towards something bigger. One hopes Marich keeps making these, his imagination continues to take us on a spooky ride and his eventual payoff is worthy of the journey. Bring on part three!

Horror in the High Desert review HERE…

-MonsterZero NJ

BARE BONES: WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY (2023)

WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY (2023)

British slasher takes the beloved characters and turns them into killers. Story has Christopher Robin leaving for college and thus leaving Pooh and company to fend for themselves. A harsh winter leads to them eating Eeyore to survive and this act twists them and gives them a hatred for humanity. They kill anyone who enters the 100 Acre Wood and when a group of girls rent a cabin in the area, Pooh and Piglet begin to murder them one by one.

 

Live action horror flick is written and directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield. Despite its novel and amusing premise, taking beloved children’s characters and turning them into serial killers, the film is basically a routine Chainsaw Massacre-esque slasher. There is some abundant gore, and the cast of young ladies are likable enough, but Pooh and Piglet aren’t scary and simply look like big guys in Halloween masks. This kills their threat factor as we are supposed to be under the illusion these are the Pooh characters turned savage and not humans in rubber masks. It’s an amusing idea that is not utilized as nearly as well as it could have been. It also might have been better served by having a more twisted sense of humor instead of playing it so boringly serious. Worth a look, but with minimal expectations.

-MonsterZero NJ

INDIE HORROR “THE REAPER MAN” ARRIVES APRIL 18th ON DIGITAL STREAMING!

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From the official press release…

“Gravitas Ventures has acquired the latest film from Tennessee-based filmmaker Jason Lockridge, director of Succuba and Down Bad: Life In The Hood.

A grieving wife summons a dark spirit with an insatiable desire for revenge in the chilling THE REAPER MAN, skedded for a digital bow in April.

Written and directed by Lockridge, and starring Jessica Jai Johnson (“The Stix”), K.J. Baker (“Nashville”),   Kenon Walker (100 Lives), and Jeff Halton (Hongo), the horror feature will be available April 18 on Digital Platforms.”

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-MonsterZero NJ

Source: Gravitas Ventures

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE ESTIMATES MARCH 17-19

(Remember, clicking the highlighted links brings you to the reviews here at The Movie Madhouse!)

1. “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” $30.1 Million

2. “Scream VI” $17.3 Million

3. “Creed III” $15.4 Million

4. “65” $5.85 Million

5. “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” $4.2 Million

6. “Cocaine Bear” $3.95 Million

7. “Jesus Revolution” $3.5 Million

8. “Champions” $3.1 Million

9. “Avatar: The Way of Water” $2.1 Million

10. “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” $1.5 Million

-MonsterZero NJ

source: Box Office Mojo

MONSTERZERO NJ’S MOVIE MEMORIES: HAPPY 42nd ANNIVERSARY THE HOWLING (1981)

HAPPY 42nd ANNIVERSARY THE HOWLING (1981)

The Joe Dante werewolf classic turns 42!!

The Howling was released 42 years ago, and its anniversary has brought back memories, as I saw it with friends at a special preview screening, weeks before it’s March 13th release, at the now long-gone Stanley Warner Theater in Paramus, NJ. Preview screenings were quite common back in the 80s before there was an internet and were used to spread advance word of mouth to promote movies before websites like Rotten Tomatoes and Bloody Disgusting did the job as they do now. As such, we didn’t know quite what to expect as the only knowledge of the movie came from Fangoria articles and brief commercials on TV. There was no Youtube to view trailers either. If you didn’t catch a trailer at your local theater with another movie, you missed it.

 

Howling heroine and future horror queen Dee Wallace knows there is something lurking in the woods!

For those unfamiliar… The Howling is a true horror classic and is regarded as one of the best werewolf movies ever made. Joe Dante, fresh off of Roger Corman’s Piranha, re-teamed with writer John Sayles for a fun and spooky tale of lycanthrope loose in the California hills that was based on a book by Gary Brandner. After a traumatic close call with a strangely animalistic serial killer named Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo), young newswoman, Karen (Dee Wallace) is sent to a holistic retreat by her therapist, Dr. Waggner (Patrick Macnee) for treatment. But unknown to Karen and her husband, Bill (Christopher Stone), The Colony is actually a haven for werewolves that the therapist is trying to civilize…and that a certain, Eddie Quist was one of his ‘patients’. Some of the pack have other ideas and are looking at Karen as their next meal.

 

Rob Bottin’s amazing transformation FX that beat Rick Baker’s American Werewolf work to theaters by five months!

We all loved it! It was fun, scary and Rob Bottin’s make-up, gore and werewolf transformation effects blew us away. The mix of twisted humor and horror elements was perfect! It’s been my favorite werewolf movie ever since…sorry American Werewolf in London. Personally, I am not a fan of the sequels that followed and was very disappointed at the route they took with Howling II, which has now become a cult favorite all these years later after initially being scorned. Why they didn’t do a direct sequel and bring back Marsha (Elizabeth Brooks) was beyond me and how they screwed up a sequel that starred the great Christopher Lee, I’ll never figure out.

 

There is something malevolent and hungry stalking a remote retreat in the California woodlands.

Accepted by horror fandom as a horror classic and one of the best werewolf movies of all-time, The Howling has remained effective all these decades later and Rob Bottin’s prosthetic transformations effects still lauded as a far better than any CGI could hope to be. Dee Wallace is also renown as one of the queens of modern horror and it’s still counted as one of legendary filmmaker Joe Dante’s best movies!

HAPPY 42nd ANNIVERSARY THE HOWLING (1981)

-MonsterZero NJ

 

MONSTERZERO NJ’S IRISH HORRORS TO WATCH ON ST. PATRICK’S DAY 2023!

The annual celebration of all that’s Irish is upon us! As St. Patrick’s Day 🍀 is here, those with horror in our Irish hearts 💚 can have plenty to watch with their corned beef and carnage! So, here is a list of Irish made…or themed…horror flicks to send shivers down your shillelagh!

(Click on the titles below to get to our reviews of the films covered here at the Movie Madhouse!)

1. The Hallow

2. From The Dark

3. Wake Wood

4. Grabbers

5. Let Us Prey

6. Isolation

7. Shrooms

8. The Devil’s Doorway

9. Dark Touch

10. The Canal

11. Citadel

12. I Am Not A Serial Killer

13. A Dark Song

14. The Lodgers

15. In Fear

16. The Hole In The Ground

17. Rawhead Rex

18. Into The Dark: Crawlers

19. Halloween III: Season of the Witch

20. Leprechaun

Conspiracy theorist Shauna believes aliens have taken over the local college campus on St. Patty’s Day in Crawlers!

-MonsterZero NJ

BARE BONES: HORROR IN THE HIGH DESERT (2021)

HORROR IN THE HIGH DESERT (2021)

Faux documentary/found footage flick follows the investigation into the disappearance of hiker/survivalist Gary Hinge (Eric Mencis) by a reporter (Suziey Block), a private investigator (David Morales) and Gary’s sister (Tonya Williams-Ogden). Gary disappeared while hiking in the Nevada High Desert and after weeks of futile searching, new evidence starts to point to Gary’s possible fate.

Written and directed by Dutch Marich this is an effective and well-made flick. The cast are a big part of why this works by giving convincing performances that help the audience believe they are watching real people and real footage. Marich also gives the film some nice atmosphere to keep us intrigued and a bit unnerved. The mystery portion works well and is engaging and a little unsettling. We get clues from Gary’s blog footage along the way, and then the last night and reveal come from the missing man’s found camera. That footage is spooky and works well enough, though it’s not as scary as we would have liked. Once you see what there is to see for more than a few minutes, it starts to lose its effect. Overall, this was a solid effort by Marich and succeeds far more than it fails, which it really doesn’t do aside from a climax that could have been scarier. Worth streaming on Amazon and Tubi if you like faux documentaries and found footage.

-MonsterZero NJ

BARE BONES: THE LAKE (2023)

THE LAKE (2023)

Thailand giant monster flick has some rather large eggs showing up during a particularly stormy season. When a child innocently takes one, creatures begin to show up in the remote village and spread destruction and bloody carnage.

 

Flick is badly directed by Lee Thongkham and Aqing Xu from a dumb script by Thongkham. It’s a hodgepodge of scenes from other better movies thrown together without rhyme or reason. Some examples being why in an entire village does no one figure out that mama monster simply wants her egg and baby back and why the hell does one of the survivors have a physical and psychic link to the captured baby anyway? It makes no sense. Very little is explained here as even the creatures’ origins are only hinted at with brief mentions of a local legend and the effects of uncharacteristic storm activity. Other than that, we are on our own. The flick is slow paced, and the monster action is sporadic. It’s a shame as the creature effects are mostly practical and are very good with even the brief CGI looking very well rendered. The action can get quite bloody, though the editing is slipshod and the acting not much better. At least the cast does play it straight as do the directors. The ending is anticlimactic, and the film’s epilogue is outright laughable. Too bad, as it has a cool monster that is far better quality than the movie it’s in. Extra half star added to the rating for the FX crew’s wasted efforts.

 

-MonsterZero NJ