Stag Night of the Dead (2010)

Stag Night of the Dead (2010)
Director: Neil Jones
Writer: Neil Jones
Cast: Sebastian Street, Sophie Lovell Anderson, Joe Rainbow
If the mysterious plague sweeping the nation wasn't bad enough, Dean is still going ahead with his doomed wedding tomorrow morning.

(Not Yet Rated)

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Arctic Blast (2010)

Arctic Blast (2010)
Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith
Writer: Jason Bourque
Cast: Michael Shanks, Alan Andrews, John Andrews
When a solar eclipse sends a colossal blast of super chilled air towards the earth, it then sets off a catastrophic chain of events that threatens to engulf the world in ice and begin a new Ice Age.

(Not Yet Rated)

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Husk (2010)

Husk (2010)
Director: Brett Simmons
Writer: Brett Simmons
Cast: Devon Graye, Wes Chatham, C.J. Thomason
Stranded in a desolate field after a car wreck, a group of young friends go in search of help. Coming to a farmhouse, they think they’ve found sanctuary. Instead they are drawn to the center of a terrifying supernatural ritual.

Light horror yarn about a group of youths whose car breaks down while driving on what seems like a never ending road, all they see is corn fields for miles except for one farm house in the distance. Thinking they've found somewhere to call for help they head towards the house, only is there something more to those creepy looking scarecrows other than to just scare crows.

Now I could have the wrong idea about Husk, as I caught it on Syfy and its possible it was toned down from the version shown at in the theatre at 2011's Afterdark Horrorfest or the DVD version. But the TV was dull as hell almost zero action, suspense or blood which for an horror about killer scarecrows isn't good. The plots sedate as well which didn't help plus side the acting isn't so bad and the film itself looks atmospheric enough. Maybe when more of the discs come out I'll buy Husk and give it a second chance, but from the TV edit I watched its a below average sleepfest.

(4 out of 10)

Prowl (2010)

Prowl (2010)
Director: Patrik Syversen
Writer: Tim Tori
Cast: Ruta Gedmintas, Joshua Bowman, Courtney Hope
Amber dreams of escaping her small town existence and persuades her friends to accompany her to find an apartment in the big city. When their transportation breaks down, she and her friends gratefully accept a ride in the back of a semi. But when the driver refuses to stop and they discover the cargo is hundreds of cartons of blood, they panic. Their panic turns to terror when the truck disgorges them into a dark, abandoned warehouse where blood-thirsty creatures learn to hunt human prey, which, the friends realize, is what they now are...

Lead character Amber as had enough of her small town and wants to venture to the nearest capital Chicago. Only she needs the help of her friends to get there, thankfully they lend her an hand and agree to drive her. Along the way they break down and thankfully are picked up a a truck driver who's luckily heading their way. Trouble then starts when they realise that he's not as helpful as they first thought, as he drives them to an abandoned meat processing plant to be sold as game for a pack of blood thirsty mutant humans.

Another of After Dark horrorfest's original produced movies, that slightly misses the mark. It does everything OK the cast look and act well together, the actions done well with quality looking wall climbing mutants (the mutants them self look very much like the vampires in 30 Days of Night.) the gores more implied than shown but you get a bit of blood. The pace is a little wayward at times and the plot offer's nothing new, ohhh and the camera man should go see a doctor for those shakes. But all in all not such a bad effort for a first feature, of the 3 After Dark Originals I've seen so far Prowls easily the best.

(5½ out of 10)

51 (2011)

51 (2011)
Director: Jason Connery
Writer: Kenny Yakkel, Lucy Mukerjee
Cast: Bruce Boxleitner, Jason London, Rachel Miner
Due to political pressure from the American public, the Air Force has decided to allow two well-known reporters limited access to the most secretive base on the planet. But when one of the base’s “long-term visitors” exploits this unprecedented visit as a chance to liberate himself and his fellow alien captives, Area 51 turns from a secure government base to a horrifying destination of terror.

(Not Yet Rated)

Fertile Ground (2010)

Fertile Ground (2010)
Director: Adam Gierasch
Writers: Jace Anderson, Adam Gierasch
Cast: Gale Harold, Leisha Hailey, Jami Bassman
Emily and Nate Weaver leave the city for the rural comfort of Nate’s ancestral home in the country. Once there, Emily is plagued by horrifying visions and haunted by the ghosts inhabiting their isolated new home. When Nate’s behavior undergoes a strange and fearful metamorphous, Emily fears she might be the latest target in a murderous tradition.

(Not Yet Rated)

Re-Kill (2011)

Re-Kill (2011)
Director: Valeri Milev
Writer: Michael Hurst
Cast: Raicho Vasilev, Scott Adkins, Bruce Payne
It's been 5 years since the outbreak that wiped out 85% of the world's population, but the war between Re-Animates and Humans wages on. Most of the major cities are still uninhabitable. Within the few surviving cities, the Re-Ans have been segregated into "zones" and are policed by the R-Division of the QUASI S.W.A.T. Unit who hunt to re-kill the Re-Ans in the hope of quelling a second outbreak.

(Not Yet Rated)

Scream of the Banshee (2011)

Scream of the Banshee (2011)
Director: Steven C. Miller
Writer: Anthony C. Ferrante
Cast: Monica Acosta, Eric F. Adams, Marcelle Baer
An archeology professor unearths a dangerous artifact, unwittingly releasing a creature that is able to kill with the power of its bone-splitting scream.

(Not Yet Rated)

Seconds Apart (2011)

Seconds Apart (2011)
Director: Antonio Negret
Writer: George Richards
Cast: Orlando Jones, Edmund Entin, Gary Entin
Seth and Jonah are twins with a dangerous ability. Telekinesis. Things start to spiral out of their control as their classmates end up dying in twisted and bizarre ways. The police suspect them. But, jealousy begins to divide them and soon they can no longer trust each other. Leading up to a horrific battle against themselves.

(Not Yet Rated)

The Task (2010)

The Task (2010)
Director: Alex Orwell
Writer: Kenny Yakkel
Cast: Alexandra Staden, Victor McGuire, Adam Rayner
A group of unlucky reality show contestants must survive the night in a haunted jail.

(Not Yet Rated)

Slave (2009)

Slave (2009)
Director: Darryn Welch
Writer: Brett Goldstein
Cast: Sam Page, Natassia Malthe, David Gant, Howard Marks
Slave follows young American couple Georgie and David as they visit David’s father Robert’s stunning Spanish villa, hoping to get his blessing on their marriage. The relationship between the father and son is strained at best, not helped by the dark skeletons of Robert’s criminal past. When left to their own devices the couple embark on a hedonistic night out, with seedy nightclub owner Marlon offering the full VIP treatment. Georgie and David are separated for a brief moment, but in that brief moment their lives are changed forever…

Glossy kidnap drama about a young couple David & Georgie, because Georgie wants to have a little idea what her sons going to turn out like they travel to a fancy Spanish villa to meet David's estranged father Robert. Things don't go to plan as before they get to meet Robert, they're separated while in a local nightclub and Georgie goes missing. After a bit of a struggle David eventually finds out his wife to be along with various other beautiful women are being held on a rich Arabs boat, for his sexual gratification.

Stylish enough movie clearly helped by the fact its filmed in such a gorgeous looking Spanish resort. Sadly though due to pacing problems the film begins to drag midway in, and the twists are ultimately too predictable. The acting for the most part was OK, I especially enjoyed the actor playing the white Arab, also plus points for giving Howard Marks a cameo (during the 80's he was Britain's biggest drug runner, and recently had his own biopic 'Mr Nice') likewise both the direction and cinematography are good. To sum it up Slave's well worth a casual view, if the plot had been tweaked a little in places could of been something really special.

(6 out of 10)

Bloodwood Cannibals (2010)

Bloodwood Cannibals (2010)
aka: Bloodwood
Director: Joshua A. Siegel
Writer: Joshua A. Siegel
Cast: Joe Calavita, Nathan Anthony Carter, Kate Forsyth Corey
A documentary film crew is stalked by a pack of cannibals.

While trying to find a Yeti, A group of hack urban myth creature filmmakers get attacked by a bunch of cannibals. Low grade horror crapfest with a tired plot, zero gore and criminally unfunny gags. Avoid at all cost, even Troma would be ashamed to release junk like this.

(2 out of 10)

Yatterman (2009)

Yatterman (2009)
aka: Yattâman
Director: Takashi Miike
Writer: Tatsuo Yoshida, Masashi Sogo
Cast: Shô Sakurai, Sadao Abe, Kyôko Fukada
Every week, toy-shop owner Gan and his cute assistant Ai battled the evil Doronbo gang. The gang led by femme fatale Doronjo and her assistants-pig-nosed muscleman Tonzra and rat-faced mecha genius Boyacky-for pieces of the mystical skull stone, and every week the Doronbo gang failed (usually due to incompetence). Then there was a mushroom cloud, Gan and Ai did their Yatterman dance and the gang regrouped the following week to do it all over again.

(Not Yet Rated)

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Star Vehicle (2010)

Star Vehicle (2010)
aka: Bleading Lady
Director: Ryan Nicholson
Writer: Ryan Nicholson
Cast: Dan Ellis, Sindy Faraguna, Nathan Durec
Star Vehicle follows the downward spiral of movie driver Donald Cardini, a self-professed movie buff with a penchant for explosive violence when provoked. Driving the stars of low-budget movies, along with their fragile egos, to and from locations in the middle of nowhere, pushes Don's buttons in all of the wrong directions. When Luke, the young and self-absorbed writer/director challenges Don's authority, murder and mayhem ensues. The movie's Scream Queen' starlet, Riversa Red, to her dismay finds herself the target of Don's obsession. With his encyclopedic knowledge of her "body" and body of work, Don worms his way onto Riversa's good side, no easy task. Not knowing whether to fear or friend Don, Riversa finds herself at the center of a cyclone with Luke and Don both vying for her attention. A mysterious Hotel Bellboy and an unknown "watcher in the woods" lend themselves to the growing suspense as the cast and crew hold-up at Forest Grove Lodge.

Plots about a low budget horror production that goes wrong, when the movies driver Don Cardini starts to pursue the films lead actress scream queen Riversa Red. Starts innocent enough with him being overly helpful but eventually Don goes too far and starts killing the crew and co-stars.

A few of the little horror genre gags are fun to start with, but the idea becomes boring way too soon. With minor hits like Live Feed, Gutterballs and Hanger behind him It's FX artist turned director Ryan Nicholson's weakest feature to date, and no doubt the reason why it struggled to get a distribution deal for so long.

(3 out of 10)

A Nocturne (2007)

A Nocturne (2007)
Director: Bill Mousoulis
Writer: Ali Alizadeh, Bill Mousoulis
Cast: Chris Anderson-Peters, Billy, Patrick Boyle
X and Z are a vampire couple, living in an old warehouse in inner-city Melbourne. Over the course of one night, they go about their regular business, teaming up with the poet-cannibal Seers and another vampire Vee. After a strange encounter with the mysterious Rola, the fabric of X and Z's world begins to change. A philosophical vampire film.

Philosophical low budget vampire tale from Australia, that comes off more like Mike Leigh's Naked than any vampire movie I've seen before. A Nocturne seems to sidestep any idea of a plot, instead we see the vampires meditate on their almost junky like situation of facing their own hopeless existence just to feed. I'd recommend both Abel Ferrara's The Addiction and George A. Romero's Martin over this, both better thinking mans vampire tales, but if you're in the mood for a zero budget shoegaze vampire movie then maybe A Nocturne will suit your tastes.

(5½ out of 10)

Troll Hunter (2010)

Troll Hunter (2010)
aka: Trolljegeren
Director: André Øvredal
Writer: André Øvredal
Cast: Otto Jespersen, Hans Morten Hansen, Tomas Alf Larsen
A group of students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter.

Shriek horror I here you cry, not another found footage steady-cam horror flick. Well it is but hold your horses for a second its actually pretty good. A pair of young filmmakers try and uncover a series of grisly bear attacks in Norway, when they track a nearby loner hunter who they believe is involved, they find out he's actually involved in something much more bizarre than just bear trapping. Turns out he hunts Trolls (yeah those hairy creatures from fairytales, who usually scream at people clap clopping over their bridges). See we find out the government have been covering up any sightings of these mythical beasts for years out of fear it would cause a general panic among its citizens.

Troll Hunter or Trolljegeren to give it its real Norwegian name works thanks to a couple of things, one being the fantastic scenery we see as we track the hunter, then while he tracks the trolls. Another plus point is the subtle use of cgi, yeah the trolls are shown but the cgi's never overhanded feeling. Easiest way to sum it up is that its very much like a cross between Twister and Cloverfield. Some fans mention the film loses any sense of being scary once we see the hairy big nosed children's fantasy book looking trolls, but for me they added to the uniqueness of the movie and gave it a very western European feeling. My one disappointment is the use of religion during a scene the hunter claims the trolls can tell if you're a Christian or not. For what it was, it wasn't so bad (imagine how bad it could of been, those shockingly bad Syfy creature features spring to mind), also nice to see its already gaining a cult following around the world.

(7 out of 10)

Cropsey (2009)

Cropsey (2009)
Directors: Barbara Brancaccio, Joshua Zeman
Writer: Joshua Zeman
Cast: Greg Cusick
Realizing the urban legend of their youth has actually come true; two filmmakers delve into the mystery surrounding five missing children and the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances.

Uneasy view documentary about a series of missing children (only one ever found dead) during the early 80's in the Staten Island district of NY. The locals turned this true life crime into an urban myth giving the bogeyman responsible for the disappearances the nickname of Cropsey. The police finally charged someone with one of the murders, a local vagrant named Andre Rand, whose own history involved working in a local mental institution Willowbrook (this is when Cropsey as its most impact as it shows footage from an expose of Willobrook by Geraldo River). Well made low-fi docu containing found news footage and interviews with family, police officials and various people from the community (the makers send and receive letters to Andre Rand but he never grants them access to interview him in person). Does have slightly dodgy moments, like when it slips into almost faux Blair Witch type drama when the crew go inside the old long since closed Willowbrook building with flash lights. Worth a view even if it never uncovers any fresh evidence on the disappearances.

(6½ out of 10)

Let's Kill Uncle (1966)

Let's Kill Uncle (1966)
aka: Let's Kill Uncle, Before Uncle Kills Us
Director: William Castle
Writer: Rohan O'Grady, Mark Rodgers
Cast: Nigel Green, Mary Badham, Pat Cardi
A 12-year-old orphan who has just inherited a fortune is trapped on an island with his uncle, a former British intelligence commander who intends to kill him.

William Castle the director who usually has more gimmicks than your local joke shop turns his unique talent to this light almost Disney like 60's thriller. An orphan Barnaby who's just inherited his fathers fortune is sent to live with his eccentric famous sergeant major uncle on a remote island, only turns out his uncle is planning on doing away with the kid to gain the wealth for himself.

As much as I enjoy William Castles movies (especially his gems with Vincent Price) its a shame that most are too hokey to elevate them to anything more than entertaining time fillers, Let's Kill Uncle's problem is it seems to be aimed at kids apart from a few odd touches like the creepy crippled grounds keeper or the shark filled garden pond, even worse for the film overall is the kid playing Barnaby is truly obnoxious (and I mean everything from the kids arrogant manners to his nerdy clothes) you'll actually want his uncle to succeed in killing him. One of the poorest William Castle movies I've seen (no doubt why it's rarely mentioned by anyone).

(5 out of 10)

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Daughter of Darkness (1948)

Daughter of Darkness (1948)
Director: Lance Comfort
Writer: Max Catto
Cast: Anne Crawford, Maxwell Reed and George Thorpe
Daughter of Darkness is an atmospheric Gothic chiller following an Irish maid with an irresistible attraction to men. With the reputation as a temptress where even the local priest is attracted to her, she is forced to leave for England. Sexual desire soon descends into psychopathy, as she lures a carnival boxer and other men in her new town, whose desire for her results in their brutal downfall.

A young Irish servant Bess whose gained a local reputation as being a temptress, is forced to flee to England, leaving her Church maid job for one as a farm servant. Not understanding her own feminine charms she holds an unhealthy allure for most males she meets, the men unfortunately come off worse. Eventually things get worse for Bess as she kills those who try to win her affection.

I was left a little split over this film, on first impressions its a fantastic looking suspense melodrama. Yet something about the plot doesn't sit well, I think the key problem is how ambiguous Bess is. At first she comes across childlike then seems to know full well what she's doing, as a viewer you never know if shes evil or just tortured. Well worth a view as theres some wonderful moments especially the carnival and countryside locations.

(6½ out of 10)

Make-Out with Violence (2008)

Make-Out with Violence (2008)
Directors: Deagol Brothers
Writers: Deagol Brothers, Cody DeVos
Cast: Eric Lehning, Cody DeVos, Leah High
A tale of a boy trying to fulfill his unrequited love for a girl who has risen from the dead. It tells the story of twin brothers Patrick and Carol Darling, newly graduated from high school and struggling to come to terms with the mysterious disappearance of their friend, the bright and beautiful Wendy Hearst. When a drive through the countryside surrounding their suburban community leads to the discovery of Wendy's mysteriously animated corpse, the boys secretly transport the un-dead Wendy to an empty house in hopes of somehow bringing her back to life. As the sweltering summer pushes on, they must maintain the appearance of normalcy for their friends and family as they search for ways to revive the Wendy they once knew, or, failing that, to satisfy their own quests for love amongst the living and the dead.

Two weird brothers Carol & Patrick along with their younger brother Beetle and two other close friends Addy & Brian go into shock when their friend Wendy disappears one day believed dead. After a memorial service (not a fully fledged funeral due to having no body) the friends reflect on their time with Wendy and how empty each of their young lives feel without her. All until one day when Beetle finds Wendy's clearly dead yet still animated body on local wasteland. Both Patrick and Carol try to keep Wendy as if nothing had happened to her.

After a promising start (wonderfully narrated by young Beetle sharing what it was like growing up with his Dad and brothers and how Carol who became infatuated with Wendy) this dark drama come horror movie starts to tire, its story telling turned to teen angst and when Wendy is finally found the core story morphs into a second rate copy of the far superior Deadly Friend or Deadgirl. Shame could of been something greater than its sum, at times it oddly reminded me of the wonderful HBO series Six Feet Under.

(5½ out of 10)