Back in the day Troma purchased a lot of films from different companies who were going out of business to build up their catalogue. Yes, Troma’s name is all over the old DVD and their logo is on the back on this Blu-Ray but Troma didn’t have anything to do with the making of the film. I only say this because the streak that Troma has isn’t a very good one. Luckily. we have Vinegar Syndrome who is going through Troma’s catalogue and pulling the good flicks out of the depths of their toilet and giving them a proper release.
Leigh Janiak’s first directorial effort, Honeymoon, wants very much to successfully blend the feel of an indie dramedy with science fiction films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Unfortunately, it doesn’t succeed in either capacity.
Owing as much to Emerson, Lake and Palmer as they do to John Carpenter and Fabio Frizzi, Detroit instrumental synth-rockers Voyag3r (pronounced “Voyager Three”), create harrowing sci-fi soundtracks for non-existent films. Their first full-length release is called Doom Fortress, and it is precisely as happy as it sounds.
Who thought the Cabin Fever movies would keep going? I didn’t. I enjoyed the original Cabin Fever because Eli Roth was blending old school horror with a modern touch and it was a blast. Roth made a throwback film without calling it a throwback and succeeded in many ways. He left this franchise alone but continued making films like Hostel. Ti West stepped up to the plate next and made a sequel called Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever. This movie went into a different direction but kept the comedy and gore and did so in a way that it didn’t feel like much of a sequel aside from recurring characters. Even though Ti West disowns the film I still think it is a great addition to the franchise.
I’m pretty sure most people would agree that The Thing is one of the best monster flicks out there. Since its release there hasn’t been anything like it. Just a few years ago there was a The Thing prequel that I enjoyed to an extent, but it is flawed and doesn’t even come close to the original. Of course, we get decent monster flicks every now and again but John Carpenter made something very special with The Thing.
I watch and review a lot of found footage films so I feel I’m well versed in the subgenre. I’m one of those people who love these movies and want to see more of them. When Willow Creek was released I thought it was going to get pooped on because it was not only found footage but also directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, coming off films like God Bless America and World’s Greatest Dad. Following up these movies with a found footage horror film about Bigfoot is not what anyone would expect but I was pleasantly surprised with the idea.
The first season of The Walking Dead was nothing short of brilliant (review). It went through some growing pains—literally—in Season 2, figuring out how to deal with a new showrunner as well as twice as many episodes. The criticisms of that season have been discussed to death and don’t need a rehash. Season 3 expanded the show’s scope further with even more new characters and 16 episodes. Amazingly, Season 4 is better than the excellent Season 3 (review); those who gave up on the show after Season 2 should definitely try and catch up, as it is on par with those first six episodes.
Between artwork mishaps and title changes, distributors are getting worse at promotion. I understand their target audience perspective and get the logistics behind it, but that doesn’t change how dumb it is.
In the beginning of the year a film was circulating festivals with the title Nymph. That recently changed once the film was picked up and distributed in the US as Killer Mermaid. Of course the title Killer Mermaid is bland and straight to the point, but the title is the spoiler. I was pissed. While watching the film we are anticipating a mermaid and that’s fine, but it actually isn’t revealed until nearly the end of the film. The fact that it is a mermaid is meant to be the twist, but we are flat out told what it is in the goddamn title and the cover of the DVD.
Who doesn’t love horror anthologies? Who doesn’t love comics? Even if you think you don’t like either, you’ll probably change your mind once you find out about The Gates of Misery.
Here’s the synopsis:
The Gates of Misery is a horror anthology comic set in Mount Misery Cemetery. The comic features three unique tales of terror, each illustrating a different character’s journey to the grave and how their souls came to be trapped within the Gates of Misery. Issue #1 features tales by genre filmmakers Steven Kostanski (writer/director Manborg), Brandon Cronenberg (writer/director Antiviral), and Jon Knautz (writer/director Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer). Each story is illustrated by Matthew Therrien (Manborg: The Official Comic) and coloured by Shira Haberman (Manborg: The Official Comic).
Those are some serious horror pedigrees right there, people. If you’re attending this weekend’s FanExpo Canada in Toronto, please check out booth #5229 in the Rue Morgue/Festival of Fear area. They’ll have posters for sale for $20 and all proceeds will go towards the comic.
The project needs $3,500 by September 30 so do what you can to make sure this happens.
Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1329688494/the-gates-of-misery
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegatesofmisery
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Mt_Misery
Official Website: http://www.thegatesofmisery.com
Rat movies seem to sprout up every once in a while over the years. I’m pretty sure none of them have been big successes but they are always fun in a cheesy way. Seriously, rats are the things that are killing people? Just fucking run away! Unless you are dealing with humungous rats, I’m sure this wouldn’t really pose a problem.