Retrospective - After Dark Horrorfest I

After hearing the news that After Dark Horrorfest will continue at least one more year, I thought I would go back and see if I'd seen everything this venture had offered in the past. And if there was a movie or two I'd missed, there was my nifty little Netflick account I could utilize.

After Dark Horrorfest, 8 Films to Die For, was, in my opinion, a brilliant marketing strategy. Take eight independently made films that didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of making it to the big theatrical screen, and present them in a series of late-night and midnight showings in selected theaters in a nation-wide filmfest. Afterwards, release each film on DVD.

Boy, wouldn't you have loved to have been on the panel of judges who had to watch every entry and pick the final eight?

Considering I've seen every film offered in Series I, let me offer you my take and recommendation of each. If you've seen these movies and agree or disagree with me, please chime in!

1. THE ABANDONED
An American woman searching for her birth parents learns she has inherited a house in the middle of a forest in a remote area of Russia.

Rent it! That was one damn spooky house.

2. UNREST
A med student collapses upon sensing a "presence" about her cadaver. Her fears are strengthened by a mysterious death. She must find out the truth behind before its angered spirit can wreak further vengeance.

Rent it! I'll never forget the "tank" scenes.

3. PENNY DREADFUL
Young Penny goes on a retreat with her psychologist. The intention is to help her overcome her phobia of cars. But events find her in a nightmarish situation where her worst fears come true.

Skip it. Very slow and not that scary, IMHO.

4. THE GRAVEDANCERS
A group of friends' lives are invaded by a trio of hostile ghosts after they engage in a drunken bout of gravedancing during a wake for an old chum.

Skip it. Terrific premise, but it didn't pan out to be as horrific as I thought it would be.

5. THE HAMILTONS
A picture-perfect American family is always kind, loving and respectful to their neighbors… except that they usually wind up killing them.

Rent it! It has a fresh new "twist" on an old concept.

6. REINCARNATION (RINNE)
From the director of "The Grudge" and "The Grudge 2" comes a suspenseful psychological horror film that deals with the topic of reincarnation.

Skip it. Too many slow scenes.

7. DARK RIDE
Ten years after he brutally murdered two girls, a killer escapes from a mental institution and returns to his turf, the theme park attraction called "Dark Ride".

Skip it. Unless you'd like to see another typical mentally-insane-serial-killer-stalks-teenagers-who-invade-his-space movie.

8. WICKED LITTLE THINGS
Recently widowed Karen Tunny and her two daughters, Sarah and Emma, move to a remote mountain home which Karen has inherited from the family of her late husband.

Rent it. Contains a couple of nice surprises.