Movie Review - LAID TO REST

This movie starts off slow. It also feels clumsy and amaterish, and the beginning scenes don't really do much to let you know that this film is going to take you for one hell of a roller coaster ride of terror.

LAID TO REST does have its laughable moments (intentional and unintentional), but it also has scenes of such outright terror that you might find yourself gasping at the sheer viciousness of the killer, aptly named "Chrome Skull" due to the chrome mask he glues to his face.

There are a couple of scenes which are supposed to "explain" the serial killer's actions, but really it's inconsequential. Just know that this guy likes to videotape every sick torture he inflicts on his victims. (Although it soon becomes obvious he prefers females, he's not above hacking up a male or two if they get in his way.)

In several cases, the kills are unexpected, including the method. This guy has some really wicked-looking knives, and the deaths he inflicts are not nice, neat, or clean. They're brutal -- hacking and sawing, like a butcher working with a dull blade.

A short spoiler-less synopsis: A woman wakes up, not knowing where she is or even who she is. But there is a maniac in a shiney metal mask who is intent on getting his hands on her. She manages to escape and flags down a passing motorist, who tries to help by taking her to his place for the night. The man and his wife are immediately targeted by the maniac, as well as everyone else who tries to lend aid.

I truly believe that the brutality alone in this film will give it a place in horror history.

My recommendation?

(With the lights on!)

Horror 4 Sale!

$3 each, which includes postage!
Click here to order. And to see what's included in each issue.
VISA and MasterCard accepted on a secured site.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Now You Can Get EENIE MEENIE at 45% Off!

But HURRY! This is a limited time offer!


Now you can get my best selling horror short here at Fictionwise!

Something lives in the big black plastic garbage bag. Something that isn't human. Something that depends on the goodwill of others to provide it with food. Fortunately, it's not particular if its meal is dead, long dead...or alive.

PANIC ATTACK!

WATCH THIS VIDEO! It's less than 5 minutes long, but it's phenomenal.

According to Horror Movies dot CA, Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez posted this little clip on YouTube on Nov. 3rd. Now he's become a hot commodity in Hollywood, and is getting calls from everyone. Why? Not only will you be blown away by this mini-movie, but he did it all with only $300!

Movie Review - IT'S ALIVE

Many, many moons ago, I remember watching the original IT'S ALIVE. It was scary as hell, but the ending with the father capped it for me.

Larry Cohen, the originator of the first movie, is also involved with this remake (and I use the term loosely, because other than the title and plot, there's very little of the original left in the script.)


The original movie's subtitle is "Something is wrong with the Davis baby. (which leads to the title "It's Alive", giving the audience reason to pause and wonder if the baby being alive is wrong, or...? This one's subtitle is "A baby's thoughts aren't always innocent." I don't know about you, but I always think of innocence in movies as being related to sexual innuendos. Or with being not guilty of a crime. Of course, I could be wrong. But I for one didn't think of this baby's actions being premeditated. To me, everything it did, it did to survive. For me, abject hunger is an overwhelming driving need, and that's what led the baby to do what it did. There was nothing related to "innocence".

The first movie was based in a Big City (aka New York or Los Angeles). The remake is based in New Mexico, out in the Middle of Nowhere, where the baby can wreak as much havoc as needed without pesky neighbors and the police interfering. The scenery is phenomenal, but I think the change is wrong. There's also a handicapped boy, whose role in this movie I have yet to figure out. Ditto for the scenes regarding the boy's new girlfriend.

If you go back and watch the original, the effects will seem cheesy to you, but were state-of-the-art for their time. In the remake, the baby is CGI, and the attacks are first rate. But in the long run, the remake is not worth the film exposed to make it.

My recommendation? I say rent BOTH films, and do a side-by-side comparison. If for no other reason, it's a fairly pleasant way to spend a rainy/cold/snowy afternoon or evening.

A Quiz

Programming Language Inventor?

Or Serial Killer?

BY LOOKING AT A PICTURE OF A PERSON, YOU HAVE TO DECIDE IF HE IS A COMPUTER GEEK OR A SERIAL KILLER. GO WITH YOUR GUT FEELING AND CLICK ON YOUR CHOICE. THERE ARE 10 PHOTOS. YOUR SCORE WILL BE GIVEN AT THE END.

Click the link below: http://www.malevole.com/mv/misc/killerquiz/

Good luck!

A Prime Example...

...of how NOT to make a movie trailer.
This is the link to the trailer for THE DISTURBED over on Cinema Vault. The movie has an excellent premise, but if you're like me, once you've seen it, you feel like you've seen the whole movie. Or at least the good parts.

(Thanks to Michael at Horror Movies dot ca)

News from After Dark Films!

After Dark Films is proud to announce the newest title for Horrorfest 4.


For more information, check out my website here.

Retrospective - After Dark Horrorfest 2

Not long ago, I reviewed my take on the very first set of films from the After Dark Horrorfest. To continue along in that vein (yes, pun is intended!), I present my mini-reviews of the second set of films.

BORDERLAND:
When three Texas University students travel to a Mexican border town on the eve of their graduation, the last thing they expect is to face their own deaths.Without warning, they fall prey to an ancient blood cult hellbent on finding candidates for human sacrifice. Based on true events, Borderland tells a story which blends the raw fear of Texas Chainsaw Massacre with the stark reality of In Cold Blood, evoking a world soaked in paranoia, fear, and dread.

Rent it. Definitely worth watching. Very unsettling.

UNEARTHED:
After a sinister crash on the highway in a small New Mexican town, people start disappearing and animals and nature begin dying. The Sheriff (Vaugier) investigates, only to actually witness a killer creature and realizes that the creature is the reason for the disappearances and deaths. After surviving an attack, The Sheriff and others try to survive the creature and being killed.

Skip it. A homogenized version is shown on SyFy Channel. Makes for a good Saturday afternoon no-brainer.

TOOTH AND NAIL:
A group of young people, called Foragers, fight to survive against a band of vicious cannibals, known as Rovers, in a post-apocalyptic world which has been depleted of fossil fuels.

Rent it! Great acting, and suspenseful! A very good post-apocalyptic film.

CRAZY EIGHTS:
Circumstance brings six childhood friends together to face their past, and a secret they share.

Skip it. Again, you can watch the edited version on SyFy. This film boasts a very worthy group of actors, but something about the movie just fell flat for me.

NIGHTMARE MAN:
After receiving a mysterious demonic African mask in the mail, ELLEN MORRIS is attacked by a "being" she refers to as THE NIGHTMARE MAN. Her doctors and husband, William believe Ellen is a paranoid schizophrenic and needs to spend some quality time at a mental facility for further examination.

A definite Rent It. The maniac killer is one thing. The twist at the end is the cherry on top.

THE DEATHS OF IAN STONE:
"Deaths" tells the story of an all-American guy who is murdered each day by horrifying pursuers, only to wake up in slightly different lives to experience the terror of being murdered again.

Rent it. In fact, I bought this film because the underlying thread is the power of love. What one man endures in order to save the woman he loves just got to me.

LAKE DEAD:
Beneath the calmest surface lies the deepest nightmare.

Again, another film sacrificed to SyFy. Basically, sisters inherit an old motel and accompanying lake from their dead grandfather. Why is it inbred families are never from the city?

MULBERRY STREET:
A deadly infection breaks out in Manhattan, causing humans to devolve into blood-thirsty rat creatures. Six recently evicted tenants must survive the night and protect their downtown apartment building as the city quickly spirals out of control.

Rent it! Although not quite a zombie flick, it has a twist I enjoyed. You get a real "taste" of claustrophobia, and the feeling of rising fear is palpable.

Movie Review - GRACE

I'm glad I've birthed my sons, and they're already grown. Because women who plan to have babies, and especially nurse them, should not see this movie.

This one hits you in the maternal gut.

Basically, here's the gist of the story. A couple who are desperate to have children are finally blessed when the woman gets pregnant. Despite her mother-in-law interfering, the woman decides to have a midwife tend to the birth.


There is an accident. The husband dies. Seriously injured, the woman is told her child is dead, but she decides to carry it to term anyway. And here's where the horror enters the room because the woman soon discovers her baby is alive. And it's not hungry for milk.

GRACE is not overtly bloody, but the psychological horror is extreme. The acting is top-notch. And this film "feels" Hollywood, even though it's not.

What's more, I gotta give this film kudos for taking the "undead" into a whole new realm. I wouldn't be surprised if GRACE takes its place in horror annals, and future movies will be compared to this one.


This movie will stick with me for a long time. It's that powerful.

My STRONG recommendation is to:

Cut Slide Movie Montage

Got this from Twitter, via Syfy. To me, these types of deaths in movies are the most blood-curdling, but I love 'em!

Warning, this is EXTREMELY GRAPHIC. You have been warned.


Cut Slide Movie Montage - Watch more Funny Videos

http://www.break.com/index/cut-slide-movie-montage.html

Book Review - AFRAID by Jack Kilborn

The US government spends billions of dollars training soldiers to kill. Now they’re attempting an alternative approach. Instead of turning soldiers into killers, the military has trained five psychopathic murderers to be part of a classified Special Forces unit.

Codename: Red-Ops

They are the most fearsome weapon ever created, meant to be dropped behind enemy lines. Their goals: Isolate. Terrorize. Annihilate. Five Hannibal Lectors with Rambo training. But something horrible has happened...

Welcome to Safe Haven, Population 907

A tiny community of families, retirees, and artists, nestled between Big Lake and Little Lake MacDonald in the northwoods. One road in, one road out, thirty miles away from everything. A town so small and peaceful they don’t even have a full time police force.

Hell has come to Safe Haven

On their way to a mission, the Red Ops helicopter has crashed just outside of town. The team is now roaming free in the wilderness, heading for the nearest lights. Heading there to do what they do best.

Soon the phone lines are cut, the cell phones jammed, and the road blocked. Safe Haven’s only chance for survival rests on the shoulders of an aging county Sheriff. And as the body count rises, he’s quickly realizing something terrifying—maybe the Red Ops haven’t come to his small town by accident...

Safe Haven, Wisconsin. Population 907. . . 906. . . 905. . .

Are you afraid of the dark? You should be. You will be.

~~~~~~~~

I knew I was getting into something great when I heard myself whisper "Oh, shit!" while reading.

I think the above blurb (found on Kilborn's website here) is enough explanation as to what the story is about. What it doesn't give you is the flat-out stomach churning atrocities dealt to these residents. As a woman, I wasn't much impressed with the details and descriptions about what kinds of guns, etc., were being used, but I could understand why that information was crucial to the story. I'm normally not a fan of military type stories, but the blurb drew me to this book, and I'm so glad I bought it.

This is definitely one story I would love to see in film!

My recommendation?

After Dark Horrorfest 4 - Updates and Synopses!

Check it out! I've gotten some fresh news from After Dark Films about Horrorfest 4, and I've uploaded the posters and synopses now. You can view the latest information here.