Yolanda Ramke and Ben Howling’s short zombie film is a masterpiece. It’s mature, beautifully told, and I was teary eyed by the final scenes. “Cargo” is set during a zombie apocalypse, and both directors only garner eight minutes to tell a story teeming with epic potential. It could be a feature film, but as a short glimpse at a world of the undead, it’s a slice of humanity set amidst monsters in a rapidly decaying land.
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) [Blu-Ray]
Things didn’t quite turn out well for Peggy Sue. She spent most of her teen years alienating her parents, and running around with Francis Ford Coppola’s creepy nephew, and grew up to be a very bitter divorcee whose only good friendship is with her daughter. Now appearing at a high school reunion, she has to face her old friends and her ex-husband who is now a creepy business man. After collapsing at the reunion, Peggy Sue awakens to find herself a teenager once again.
Vows (2013)
Part of the “Withered World” web short series, director Jon Davis offers his own harrowing tale of humanity and horror with “Vows.” A short that pictures two people trying to gain a year’s worth of marriage in only a day, director Davis sets down on a young couple anxious to seal their vows. Only because someday soon it won’t mean much.
Die Like an Egyptian (2013)
Director Matt Mamula’s “Die Like an Egyptian” is a bittersweet and gripping short documentary about our attempts to control our own death’s in a manner that allows us the illusion of control in the after life. For us, old age and mortality can be horrifying and harrowing a prospect, and director Mamula spotlights an older man who is racing against time to build himself a prominent memorial that will not only give him relevance after death, but perhaps help him garner a sense of control.
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (Unrated Version) (2013)
“Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” is the best “Evil Dead” sequel we never got. It’s a fast paced horror action hybrid with witches that are monstrous, powerful, and absolutely disgusting. To offset their frightful appearance, Hansel and Gretel are there to stomp on their heads and provide merciless deaths while providing biting bon mots. “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” channels Sam Raimi in many ways; I almost expected Ash to jump out from the woods at some point yelling “Yo, She-bitch!”
Communion (2013)
You can describe “Communion” as a revenge movie. If you technically want to refer to it as such, it counts in some way. Our protagonist Joe is spending most of his time questioning his faith and belittling his own life, when he’s not mourning the death of his son with his wife, who seemingly spends her time in her son’s room weeping over his toys and cuddling with them.
Dragonworld (1994)
While Charles Band and Moonbeam films tend to be silly on occasion, they’re hardly ever bad. “Leapin Leprechauns” was goofy but fun and while “Dragon World” can be occasionally silly, it’s kind of a fun film in its own right. It’s a version of “King Kong” that doesn’t really opt for violence, so much as it tries to tell a story about friendship. Director Ted Nicolao obviously has little budget for the film, so when we see the film’s creature Yowler the Dragon, most times it’s only just his head and most of his neck. On long shots it’s claymation super imposed over live action footage.