HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: 10/31 PART III (2022)

10/31 PART III (2022)

Second sequel to the indie Halloween set anthology flick 10/31 once again presents a horror movie marathon hosted by Malvolia, the Queen of Screams (Jennifer Nangle). It tells four tales, by more indie filmmakers, all taking place on Halloween with some faux trailers included, too.

After some faux trailers and a brief introduction by Malvolia, the tales begin. We start out with House of the Mummy. Newly single Wes (James Morris) buys a life-size mummy prop in a strange going out of business thrift shop for his Halloween haunt. Of course, the mummy is no mere prop as Wes and his shrew of an ex-wife (Emily Ashby) find out on Halloween night. Tale written and directed by Michael Ballif is fun and looks very Halloween as the director has a good visual style, even on a tight budget. Gore and make-up are minimal, but are effective enough, and the cast are adequate and get the material. A fun one with Halloween spirit to open this anthology.

Second story is The Locksmith from director Jacob Perrett from his script with Taylor Rhodes. Story has a real estate agent (Karlee Miailov) selling a house with a dark past…a house they may not have been completely vacant when sold. On Halloween night she returns to the house to drop off a set of keys and finds the new owners dead and the killer making himself at home. Also, an effective tale with a creepy killer and some simple but effective kills.

Next up is Old Man Gross about a group of friends (Yasmine Qudah, Justin P. Martin, Rosaria Eraso and Brucelicious Morris Jr.), on Halloween night, deciding to prank an old man who was reputed to be a very nasty and abusive teacher back in the day. They break into his house and find it’s a house of horrors, complete with body parts and ill-fated victims. This tale is directed by Brad Twigg from a script by Todd Martin and Melissa Sapienza. Old Man Gross might be the bloodiest of the four tales with the most gore and Old Man Gross himself is quite an effective killer.

Fourth and final story is Hack in the Box from writer/director Zane Hershberger. This story features four pretty girlfriends (Marissa Sabatucci, Jordan Beltz, Sable Griedel and Bridget Murphy) battling a nasty creature inside a Halloween jack-in-the-box. This is the shortest of the four tales but also one of the most effective with some nice gore, atmosphere and spooky sequences.

Overall, this was yet another fun and spooky anthology from this indie franchise, featuring a different set of directors than the first two flicks, save for a returning Zane Hershberger from the original. The stories here are smaller scaled but fairly consistent quality wise. The makers show potential, with these four spooky stories having some nice Halloween spirit 🎃 along with some great electronic scores from Rocky Gray! Bring on Part IV! 10/31 Part III is available from Scream Team Releasing!

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 3 (out of 4) jack-o-lanterns.

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INDIE HORROR ANTHOLOGY “HOW DARK THEY PREY” GETS A TRAILER AND POSTER!

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From the official synopsis…

“From Film Valor, and directors Jamison M. LoCascio and Adam Ambrosio, HOW DARK THEY PREY coming to Amazon Prime Video and Watch Movies Now on September 15.

Four dark tales about the haunting nature of man and the unknown from WWII to Alien investigation, finding the occult, and kidnap with torture, the highly anticipated horror anthology is written by Adam Ambrosio, Anthony LoCascio and Jamison M. LoCascio. Starring Josiah Schneider, Timothy Paul Jobe, and David Johnson.“

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-MonsterZero NJ

Source: Film Valor

HALLOWEEN HORROR ANTHOLOGY “TALES FROM THE OTHER SIDE” GETS A POSTER AND TRAILER!

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“Do You Dare Watch Them All?”

 

From the official synopsis…

“Uncork’d Entertainment has acquired horror anthology TALES FROM THE OTHER SIDE featuring genre staples James Duval (Go, The Doom Generation) and Vernon Wells (The Road Warrior, Weird Science). The film, which plays off of the popular theme of kids seeking danger and biting off more than they can chew, was written by Gordon Bressack, James Cullen Bressack and Zack Ward.

TALES FROM THE OTHER SIDE will be released on digital and DVD in June.

Three kids want to have the most legendary Halloween night ever. Their trick-or-treat adventure brings them to the home of the local town legend “Scary Mary”. Is she as terrible as the legends say? One thing is for certain, she knows just the right tales to give these three kids the scare of their life. Sharing six unique stories that lead the children down a mysterious path to the unexpected.

Pablo Macho Maysonet IV, Jamaal Burden, Scotty Baker, Jacob Cooney, Lucas Heyne, Kern Saxton, and Frank Merle direct the segments which are written by likes of James Cullen Bressack, Zack Ward, and the late Gordon Bressack.

Ros Gentle, Michael Broderick, Rafael Delgado Jr., Chelsea Vale, Anna Harr, Hunter Johnson, and Andreas Rodriguez join Duval and Wells on the cast list.”

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-MonsterZero NJ

Source: Uncork’d Entertainment

BARE BONES: GRAVE INTENTIONS (2021)

GRAVE INTENTIONS (2021)

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”

 

Grave Intentions is an indie horror anthology that features magic shop proprietor Madam Josephine (Joy Vandervort-Cobb) using the tales told as examples of harmful intentions bringing bad results. They are told as a warning of how powerful intent can be, while she also teaches us about her craft.

 

The tales here are presented from a number of writers and directors and unfortunately, with a less than 90 minute runtime, the five tales appear more like vignettes than actual stories. The Bridge Partner has a meek woman (Beth Grant) being tormented by her aggressive bridge partner (Sharon Lawrence). It simply doesn’t go anywhere. The Disappearance of Willie Bingham is an unsettling tale that has a criminal paying for his misdeeds in a very disturbing manner. It’s effective. Violent Florence is a chilling and violent tale of a troubled teen (Charly Thorn) and a resilient feline. This one has it’s chills. The Son, The Father… features a family (Lucas Oktay, Colleen Carey and director Lukas Hassel) and a series of mean-spirited practical jokes that go too far. This segment is silly and the weakest. The final segment, Marian, is about a little girl (Johanah Basanta) stalked by a malicious entity. This is the only segment that feels like a complete story and is the most effective one by far. The casts vary in performance, with veterans Sharon Lawrence and Robert Forster doing quality work in The Bridge Partner segment. Vandervort-Cobb also seems to be having fun as our hostess Madam Josephine, while little Johanah Basanta does great work in Marian. The production value here is good for a low budget indie and the FX work is effective enough, as the flick as a whole doesn’t try to overstep it’s budget. Overall, this anthology is worth a look, but lacks the constancy in story quality to make it a real sleeper hit for the spooky season. Grave Intentions premieres 10/15/21 on VOD.

 

THE SEGMENT CREATORS…

The Wraparound segment is written by Brian and Jocelyn Rish, who also directs

The Bridge Partner is written by Peter S. Beagle and Gabriel Olsen, who also directs

The Disappearance of Willie Bingham is written by Michael L. Fawcett and Matthew Richards and directed by Richards

The Son, The Father… is written and directed by Lukas Hassel

Violent Florence is written and directed by Jaime Snyder

Marian is written by Levi San Luis and Brian Patrick Lim who also directs

-MonsterZero NJ

HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: BAD CANDY (2021)

BAD CANDY (2021)

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

Flick is a Halloween set anthology that centers around a pair of DJs, Paul (Zach Galligan) and Chilly Billy (Corey Taylor), who tell spooky stories on their radio show on Halloween night. Amongst the tales we are trick r’ treated to are one of a little girl (Riley Sutton) with a special power, who gets back at her abusive father (Kevin Wayne) on Halloween, a nasty old man (Bill Pacer) who pays the price for tainting candy and a lonely mortician (Haley Leary) who has a little too much fun with a corpse.

Halloween horror is directed by Scott B. Hansen and Desiree Connell from their script with Thacker Hoffman. It’s a noble low budget effort that shows a love for horror flicks and Halloween. There are some really great Halloween visuals and it’s too bad the stories are definitely a mixed bag. Almost none of the tales feels like a complete story, though some, like the opening story with little Kyra getting bloody revenge on her drunk jerk of a dad, at least are entertaining. Others, like a delinquent (Ryan Kiser) being trapped in a bathroom by a costumed killer and another about a ride share driver (Kenneth Trujillo) and his buds hunting other humans, are dull and seem to have no point. At least the final story about ghost hunters in a haunted house with a past, climaxes the flick on a spookier note and feels more like a complete story that involves our DJs. The gore effects are good, and the cast all perform adequately, but the film could have used some more atmosphere and some legit scares and suspense. The direction is a little flat.

Overall, this is a heartfelt effort that doesn’t quite hit the mark. There are plenty of really cool Halloween visuals and creepy costumes, but the stories never felt complete, save for the final one, and a couple are just plain dull. Maybe one or two less stories and a little more time spent telling the others might have helped. A bit more character and story development to get us emotionally invested. It’s still worth a look on VOD, as the spooky season nears, just don’t expect a new Halloween classic.

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 2 and 1/2 (out of 4) jack-o-lanterns.

 

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BARE BONES: THE MORTUARY COLLECTION (2019)

THE MORTUARY COLLECTION (2019)

Horror anthology finds pretty, young Sam (Caitlin Fisher) looking for work at the Raven’s End mortuary. The caretaker is spooky mortician Montgomery Dark (Clancy Brown), who begins to weave stories of the supernatural and the macabre at Sam’s insistence. Dark begins to tell a series of tales from a slinky pick-pocket (Christine Kilmer) encountering a Lovecraftian medicine cabinet, to a womanizing, college stud (Jacob Elordi) finding his comeuppance with a mysterious new co-ed (Ema Horvath), to a husband (Barak Hardley) driven to desperate measures with an ailing wife (Sarah Hay) to Sam’s own tale of her babysitting encounter with an escaped psychopath (Ben Hethcoat). As the stories unfold, we find that there may be far more to the Raven’s End Mortuary than just it’s grave history.

Anthology is well directed by Ryan Spindell from his own script. The stories are fairly consistent and while none is particularly original, or scary, they are all entertaining and well presented. Spindell has a very good visual eye, and the stories all look spooky and atmospheric, especially with the wraparound filmed in Oregon’s Flavel House Museum, which was one of the locations for The Goonies. The last story and the wraparound are the best, with some creepy FX, chilling moments and spooky revelations. The gore and make-up effects are top notch all around and the cast seem to all be having a good time, especially Brown as mortician Dark and Fisher as the feisty Sam. Fun anthology is streaming on Shudder and is certainly worth a look for horror anthology fans and quite fitting for the Halloween season.

-MonsterZero NJ

HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: THEY LIVE INSIDE US (2020)

THEY LIVE INSIDE US (2020)

(Clicking the highlighted links brings you to corresponding reviews and articles here at The Movie Madhouse!)

Flick from the makers of the The Witching Season web anthology takes one of those tales and expands it to feature length. The story is simple. Writer Jake (James Morris) is looking for inspiration, so he and his daughter Dani (Emily Broschinsky) stay in a haunted house on Halloween. The Booth House has a past filled with witches, madmen and murder and Jake may get more inspiration than he bargained for.

They Live Inside Us is written and directed by Michael Ballif and acts as both stand alone film and an anthology film in itself, as we visualize Jake’s various story ideas as he writes them. These segments are filled with Halloween imagery and many of the popular tropes, such as masked killers, living scarecrows and killer clowns (each played by lead Morris) all chasing a pretty woman (Hailey Nebeker). In between the segments, we see writer Jake slowly feeling and seeing the effects of staying in an allegedly cursed house with a terrible past. It’s not quite as fun as the bits born of his writing ideas, but it certainly has it’s spooky moments as the house brings Jake’s tales and it’s own story to life. A Halloween horror would not be complete without some spooky reveals and Baliff provides them in a chilling last act. It’s moderately paced, but that suits the type of story it is. On a production level, the film looks good. Ballif has a really strong visual eye, especially for the All Hallow’s Eve inspired stuff and his cinematography gives this some nice atmosphere and Halloween spirit. There is also a really cool house location and a very atmospheric score by the aptly named Randin Graves.

The cast is solid. James Morris is good as Jake. He could have been livelier in a few scenes, but nails it when it counts, such as his scenes with dead wife Cynthia (Stevie Dutson). He also has fun playing all the film’s Halloween creepers. Emily Broschinsky is good as Jake’s precocious, paraplegic daughter Dani. The two actors have a nice chemistry together and sell being father and daughter well. Hailey Nebeker gets to show various degrees of fear as the “Woman in White” in Jake’s stories. The actress does however, get to do a bit more once Jake’s stories and the house’s history collide.

This movie shows a lot of love for the spooky season and of horror films in general from Michael Baliff. It’s not perfect, but one can really see the labor of love put into it and Baliff’s passion for all things Halloween and horror, show through. Baliff knows the tropes well and knows how to use them effectively. It’s certainly worth a look and has enough spooky moments to make it a nice new flick for watching during The Witching Season. Available to rent on streaming networks such as Amazon Prime and on blu-ray.

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 3 (out of 4) pumpkins.

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HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: 10/31 PART II (2019)

10/31 PART II (2019)

Sequel to the indie Halloween set anthology flick 10/31 once again presents a horror movie marathon hosted by Malvolia, the Queen of Screams (Jennifer Nangle). It tells five tales, with some fun trailers this time, by a host of new indie filmmakers, all taking place on Halloween.

After opening with some amusing trailers, the best being Treaters from Zane Hershberger, and then an introduction by Malvolia, the show begins. We start out with A Samhain Liturgy written and directed by Tory van Buskirk. It’s a classic tale of a babysitter (Rhema Srihartiti) encountering peril and evil on Halloween night. The tale is a mash-up of more than one classic horror scenario, has some very disturbing moments and follows the classic tropes with a few twists. It can be gruesome at times and the make-up FX are well rendered. Lead Rhema Srihartiti makes a nice heroine as teen babysitter Holly and Devin Douglas, a very creepy kid as Tommy.

Second story is Dead Lift from director Stephen Wolfe. Story finds down on his luck rideshare driver Jeremy (Tim Robinson) picking up a very ominous passenger (William McCarthy). The segment is spooky and atmospheric, but also a bit talky and feels like it wears out it’s welcome long before it’s over. Dead Lift also stars Ashley Nief as Jeremy’s long suffering girlfriend Whitney. Does score points for trying to do something a little different and having a bit of a Phantasm vibe in spots.

Next up is the very comical and cheesy Apache Hatchet Massacre II from director Max Groah. Basically a story of a Halloween party being held in a cabin on an ancient Native American burial ground. There’s a lot of overacting and the segment comes across as very cheap looking and just plain silly. It doesn’t feel like it fits in with the rest of the stories, which take a more serious approach and look far better produced. It simply comes across as filler. Thankfully, AHM II is mercifully short.

Fourth story is Overkill from writer, director Drew Marvick and is an amusing tale of two serial killers (Aaron Strong and David E. McMahon) fighting over the same sexy babysitter (Anastasia Elfman) on Halloween night. Segment is amusing and features some good gore, but is another segment that seems like it’s a bit long for it’s one sentence scenario. On the plus side, the segment does feature some nice nudity from shapely Lauren Fogle (as “Hot Chick”), which is a rarity for this anthology series.

Fifth and final tale finds Tory van Buskirk back writing and in the director’s chair for Sister Mary, a story of a sexy nun with a dark and bloody secret. It’s an effective segment with some disturbing moments, plenty of blood and lead London Grace does a really good job as the disturbed, conflicted, tormented…and possibly haunted?…Mary.

Overall, this was another fun and spooky anthology from this indie franchise, featuring a different set of directors than the first flick. Like the original 10/31, the stories are a bit uneven, but the makers show potential and most stories have Halloween spirit 🎃 along with some great electronic scores from Rocky Gray! 10/31 Part II is available to stream on Amazon Prime!

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 3 (out of 4) jack-o-lanterns.

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Sorry, this is as close to a trailer as I could find!

HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: THE WITCHING SEASON (2015-2017)

THE WITCHING SEASON (2015-2017)

(Clicking the highlighted links brings you to corresponding reviews and articles here at The Movie Madhouse!)

The Witching Season is an indie web anthology series, currently found on Amazon Streaming, created by Michael Ballif and is five stories filmed between 2015 and 2017. All the stories are set on Halloween and are filled with pumpkins, scarecrows and masked individuals to ad the nuance of horror’s favorite holiday.

First story is written and directed by Baliff and is entitled Killer On The Loose and finds a pretty young woman (Hailey Nebeker) running for her life on Halloween night. She makes her way to an isolated home and with finding no one there, she enters and hides. Sure enough a masked man (James Morris) with a machete enters after her and now she is trapped alone inside with him. This was an effective tale and was atmospheric and suspenseful and even if we figured out where it was going to end, it was still creepy fun.

Second story, Princess, is written and directed by James Morris from a short story by Baliff and finds pretty single mother, Kendra (Anita Rosenbaum) moving into a new house with her little girl, Jamie (Emily Broschinsky) at Halloween. Jaime finds a box of toys in the basement including a creepy stuffed rabbit she claims is called Princess. Soon strange things start happening and it’s almost as if Princess has a sinister life of it’s own. Another atmospheric and creepy tale even if we’ve seen the evil doll scenario dozens of times before. It still works.

Third story is called Not Alone and is also written and directed by Morris. This story finds a man, Kyle (Sean Hunter) listening to UFO reports on a radio show and having some strange occurrences begin happening in his home. That’s about it. It is atmospheric, but doesn’t really go anywhere. It’s some weird things happening, a spooky climax and that’s it. Not Alone is the shortest and weakest of the five.

Fourth story is called They Live Inside Us and is written and directed by Baliff and stars James Morris as a writer (and other various roles) who breaks into the Boothe House where a infamous murder/suicide occurred. He’s there to get inspiration for a horror script he is writing and let’s say he gets it in droves. An interesting and spooky story that is the longest and possibly best of the tales and is another atmospheric entry from series creator Baliff. It also stars Stevie Dunston as Mrs. Boothe who appears in all of the writer’s various scenarios.

Fifth and final tale is called Is That You and is another directed by Morris from a story he co-wrote with Baliff. It’s a short and simple tale where a spooky nursery rhyme comes all too true for a girl, Whitney (Karlee Broschinsky) stuck home on Halloween night with an injured leg. There isn’t much to it and like Not Alone it’s basically someone in a house with weird occurrences going on around them until a spooky ending. It’s atmospheric, but again, like Not Alone, it really doesn’t go anywhere just sort plays out and then ends.

I enjoyed this web anthology series which shows a lot of love for the spooky season and horror films from the series creative team of Michael Baliff and James Morris. Even the weakest of the tales had some Halloween spirit and all were atmospheric. Both directors got good work out of their cast of unknowns and seem to handle their multiple chores on each story quite well. Baliff seems like the stronger of the two behind the camera, though Morris shows potential even if all three of his stories followed the same format. He did create atmosphere. There is some great cinematography all around and some effective music on each story by Randin Graves and the series opening credits is quite effective at setting the spooky tone. A well done labor of Halloween love from creator Michael Baliff and collaborator James Morris. Can’t wait to see more from these guys!

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 3 (out of 4) pumpkins.

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HORROR YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: GHOST STORIES (2017)

GHOST STORIES (2017)

British horror anthology has an interesting premise. Professor Phillip Goodman (Andy Nyman) has spent his career debunking supernatural events and exposing fraudulent psychics. Professor Charles Cameron, a renown paranormal investigator in the 70s, who hasn’t been heard of for years and is assumed dead, summons Goodman and tasks him with a challenge. He must debunk the only three cases that Cameron failed to. One is the case of Tony Matthews (Paul Whitehouse) a night watchman in an abandoned asylum who is seeing things go bump in the night. The second is that of Simon Rifkind (Alex Lawther) a meek young man who claims to have hit a demonic goat creature with his father’s car and is now hunted by it. The third is the case of Mike Priddle (Martin Freeman) who is haunted by a malevolent spirit while his wife lay in the hospital in painful labor. As Goodman investigates each case, it may be himself that he ultimately learns the truth about.

Flick is written and directed by star Nyman and Jeremy Dyson and is a spooky affair. The story set-up is quite intriguing with a skeptic, who has made a career of exposing frauds and hoaxes, being called upon by a like individual to solve three cases the man could not. As such, the three stories are very spooky, especially the first two, as Goodman faces what could be actual supernatural occurrences, unlike the frauds he’s used to dealing with. The second case “Simon Rifkind” is by far the creepiest with the young man’s home life being as unsettling as the story he is telling, his own house being scarier than the demon infested woods that his tale takes place in. The film generates the creeps with little blood or CGI and uses some nice spooky locations to add atmosphere. If the film stumbles a bit, it’s that the three stories seem a bit rushed and feel like they could have gone on longer. Also, the last act reveal/wrap-up is a bit disappointing compared to what has passed. After being rushed through the really spooky stories that could have used more attention, we get a reveal that has been done before and seems like a bit of a let-down after such a clever set-up. It evoked a “that’s all?” reaction instead of a “that’s fricken’ creepy” which it needed.

The small cast is solid. Co-writer/director Nyman was fine as Goodman, though he could have used a bit more presence. Paul Whitehouse is good as Tony Matthews, the working class man who has seen things he cannot explain or comprehend in our first case. Alex Lawther is positively creepy as the odd Simon Rifkind, who may be more unnerving than the idea he ran over an actual demon. Martin Freeman is good as Mike Priddle, a self centered business man haunted in his home, while his poor wife suffers an unusually grueling labor in a hospital. As for who plays Charles Cameron…you’ll have to watch to find out.

Overall, this was a spooky flick that only loses it’s grip in the final act when we get our big reveal. Star Nyman and his collaborator Jeremy Dyson deliver some spooky goods in their three cases, as well as, a clever set-up. Not able to end the flick on the same level of scary and clever is the only stumbling point the flick has. It’s not that the finale doesn’t work, it does. It’s just that we were expecting something more…unexpected. Still very much worth a look, as the three cases do deliver and we wish they had more attention spent on them than with our wraparound story.

-MonsterZero NJ

Rated 3 spooks.