If you haven’t checked out Shinichirou Ueda’s indie horror comedy hit “One Cut of the Dead” by now then you’ve truly missed out on a prime piece of filmmaking. The film has been a festival darling, has become a hit on streaming and is being given excellent treatment for physical media collectors in a deluxe Steelbook. “One Cut of the Dead” is a genuine horror comedy gem that is best appreciated going in with as little information about it as possible. Although most reviews have given this advice of avoiding any and all spoilers, it’s sage wisdom that will only help improve an already excellent film.
Tag Archives: Horror
Dreamland (2019)
As a particular wedding is about to take place, a killer is hired to bring back the finger of an esteemed musician brought into the city for the wedding. As these man try to find a way out of their personal situations, things keep taking odd turns and forcing them to get involved.
Shorts Round Up of the Week: 5/26/20
It’s the return of Shorts Round Up of the Week! And this week, Emilie Black steps in to the driver’s seat bringing readers some reviews for four of the latest short films from very unique indie film voices.
If you’d like to submit your short film for review consideration, submissions are always opened to filmmakers and producers.
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971) [Blu-Ray]
I’ve come to appreciate “Let’s Scare Jessica to Death” more and more over the years, as it’s managed to separate itself from the other vampire films in the sub-genre. While other of its ilk manage to flaunt the concept of the vampire without much substance, John Hancock and writers Sheridan Le Fanu and Lee Kalchiem take an opportunity here. Here, the monster is brilliant used as a means as a dread filled allegory for paranoia, fear of unraveling sanity, and our latent fear of infidelity.
Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory (Lycanthropus) (1961) [Blu-ray/CD]
There’s a ghoul in school! And “Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory” is one of the weirdest and darkest werewolf movies I’ve ever seen. It’s tough to believe a movie from the early sixties is filled with such dread, violence, and sexual implications that becomes the backdrop for the narrative. Despite being a werewolf movie, Paolo Heusch’s movie carries with it a lot of giallo vibes, focusing on a mostly obscured villain that stalks and strangles their victims. Although there is the stalk and chase of the sub-genre, Heusch relies on a whodunit mystery that feels much in the vein of Argento.
Return to Return to Nuke ‘Em High AKA Volume 2 (2017): 2 Disc [Blu-ray]
It’s too bad when you go in to a Troma movie and know that this isn’t them at their best. While you can kind of blame it on lack of funding, “Volume 2” of the “Nuke Em High” movie series leaves a lot to be desired and never quite sticks the landing in regards to its slew of sub-plots and sidebars. Director Kaufman spends a lot of the first twenty minutes of the movie catching us up to what went down in volume 1 (with the help of narration by the late Stan Lee) and this gives the movie a chaotic pacing that’s tough to focus on.
Scoob! (2020)
I’d be lying if I said that I’m the biggest Scooby Doo fan around. Hell, I’m still stunned that Hanna Barbera has placed so much stock in the franchise for so many decades, but I digress. I had high hopes going in to “Scoob!” as every generation is introduced to Scooby Doo once again in some new form, and “Scoob!” seemed like the right avenue. Not only does it give us a new vision of Scooby Doo, but it makes tweaks to the mythos that I liked, while also establishing a shared Hanna Barbera universe. And yet, at the end of it all, I’d still rather have seen “Scooby Doo on Zombie Island” or “Scooby Doo and the Witch’s Ghost,” again.