TAD Film Fest Review: Why Horror?

By Less Lee Moore

Why Horror? is for every person who’s been mocked for loving everything encompassed within horror film fandom. Horror writer and hardcore fan Tal Zimerman is the subject of this documentary from Nicholas Kleiman and Rob Lindsay that explores why people are drawn to one of the more maligned, misunderstood genres in popular culture.

(more…)

Podcast Alert: The ScreamCast

By Less Lee Moore

Our very own Brad Henderson has been unusually busy these last few months. When he’s not writing reviews for Popshifter, he’s also working on movie scripts, and producing a podcast called The ScreamCast, along with Sean Duregger and Brian Saur (a.k.a. Bob Freelander and Rupert Pupkin).

Although The Screamcast was initially created to review horror and other genre releases from Shout Factory, they have expanded the scope to cover releases from labels like Synapse, Vinegar Syndrome, Cult Epics, and others. The podcast also includes special guests, celebrity interviews, top ten lists, and more.

Now on Episode 36, The ScreamCast is something you really should be listening to. We’ll be updating you every time they put up a new podcast, so stay tuned!

Here are the most recent episodes:

Episode 36 – Soultangler (1987): Podcast includes Joe and Zach from Bleeding Skull Video who brought the movie back from VHS hell.

Episode 35 – Nekromantik (1987): Podcast includes Nico B. founder of Cult Epics.
(Check out Brad’s Popshifter review of Nekromantik, too.)

Reverse: This Sci Fi Short Needs Your Help

By Less Lee Moore

If you were lucky enough to catch After when it screened at Toronto After Dark Film Festival in 2012 (review), you will be excited about this news. Director Ryan Smith has new short film he’s working on called Reverse. It stars Mike Vogel (Cloverfield, Bates Motel, Under the Dome) and the pair has started a Kickstarter to help fund it. The executive producers on Reverse are Chad and Carey Hayes, who recently brought us The Conjuring and are currently working on San Andreas with Dwayne “The Rock” Johsnson.

So what is Reverse about?

(more…)

TAD Film Fest Review: The ABCs Of Death 2

By Less Lee Moore

K is for Knell, by Kristina Buožytė and Bruno Samper

The ABCs of Death was a worthy, if not always satisfying, exercise in horror anthologies (review). In some ways, it’s more ambitious than the V/H/S series; trying to fit in 26 films by 26 directors is a challenge, especially when the only common theme is death. While I quite liked the first installment, I think The ABCs of Death 2 is in many ways a better film.

(more…)

Music Review Belle Ghoul, Rabbit’s Moon & Doomsday

By Less Lee Moore

The delightfully named Belle Ghoul, featuring Christopher Tait (Electric Six) and Jesse Paris Smith (daughter of Patti and Fred), have a new EP called Rabbit’s Moon & Doomsday that is a must-hear.

Rabbit’s Moon & Doomsday opens with the spooky, retro psychedelia of “Lakes of Fire—complete with Hammond organ and a shouted chorus—which evokes the abandoned amusement park in Carnival of Souls. The Alice in Wonderland allusions in “Timepieces,” along with a moody, thoughtful melody, continue the gently somber tone of the EP. Tait and Smith’s harmonies are lovely, a combination of grit and gloss.

The instrumental “Momentum” sounds like an overture, with a piano motif and muted horns promising something around the corner. That something turns out to be “Winter’s Gone,” an anticipatory tune about the coming spring, complete with accordion and echoing vocals. “Around For The Weekend” is next, with two different, yet incredibly catchy melodies (one on piano and one on synth). It’s the kind of joyous song that was made for Thursday night plans. The last track, “Mystery To Me,” is solemn yet hopeful, with lonesome piano and gorgeous orchestral accompaniment. Tait’s gravelly voice reaches its lowest register and Smith provides ghostly harmonies as a counterpoint.

The six songs on Rabbit’s Moon & Doomsday are the perfect accompaniment for the chilly fall weather, and should keep you warm throughout the winter.

Rabbit’s Moon & Doomsday will be released by Elefant Records on November 10. The “Around For The Weekend” single, released on October 27, includes a remix of “Lakes of Fire” and another wonderful instrumental track called “Devoir (Imaginary Theme).”

Movie Review: Nightcrawler

By Less Lee Moore

Now film fans have another name to add to the list of cinematic creepers: Nightcrawler‘s Lou Bloom. He’s got Travis Bickle’s lack of self-awareness and Barry Champlain’s self-aggrandizing thirst for success, and he oozes ad copy-inspired monologues like Patrick Bateman. But who is Lou Bloom?

(more…)

TAD Film Fest Review: Open Windows

By Less Lee Moore

Even though I’ve never seen Nacho Vigalondo’s Timecrimes, I’d heard enough good things about it to interest me in Open Windows. The premise was intriguing on its own: the story of an actress, a murderous stalker, and an unwitting voyeur all told through computer screens. The cast was also a draw: Elijah Wood and Sasha Grey. Unfortunately, Open Windows is a huge disappointment.

(more…)

Concert Review: Lower and Merchandise at Wrongbar

By Less Lee Moore

Toronto, ON
October 15, 2014

Two of my favorite albums of this year are Merchandises’s After The End and Lower’s Seek Warmer Climes, so my attendance at this concert was guaranteed. Not only did both bands exceed my expectations, I discovered two more bands that are also compelling.

(more…)

Music Review: Iceage, Plowing Into The Field Of Love

By Less Lee Moore

I don’t care whose house is on fire
As long as I can warm myself at the blaze.
—Iceage, “On My Fingers”

Anyone who is surprised by the evolution of Iceage on their new album Plowing Into The Field Of Love hasn’t been paying attention. The seeds of the band’s sound were sowed early on, in songs like “New Brigade” and “You’re Blessed,” a seemingly haphazard collision of styles and sounds hinting that something far greater was in their future. That something has arrived and it’s one of the best things you’ll hear this year, if not for a long while, or at least until Iceage makes another album.

(more…)

Music Review: Electric Six, Human Zoo

By Less Lee Moore

The first Electric Six album I heard was I Shall Exterminate Everything Around Me That Restricts Me From Being The Master. As if that title wasn’t strange and unwieldy enough, I literally could not process what I was hearing. What the fuck was I listening to exactly?

After seven years and several albums, I’ve figured out more about Electric Six. But it doesn’t mean that every new album from the band doesn’t make me ask that same question again. Human Zoo, their tenth (!!), is perhaps weirder than most E6 albums, but is also possibly their most cohesive since Heartbeats and Brainwaves, which was itself a bit of an anomaly in the canon.

(more…)