Following a whirlwind romance, Katie follows Jay to Los Angeles to spend a few more days with him. After he has to leave for work, she is left alone in his apartment where odd things are happening at an accelerating rate.
Tag Archives: Horror
Top 10 Best Shorts of 2017 According to Emilie Black
2017 was a crazy year for film short and long. I saw 880 feature length films and 131 short films. Of those I chose my favorites have already been posted for the features here and here. The shorts were harder for me to sort through so it took longer to get this out there for you all to read. I decided to use shorts that were part of my festival coverage for the year so a few have creating dates before 2017 and I also decided to not include what I have seen online as those were too numerous. So without any further ado, here are my top 10 Shorts Films for 2017:
Ruby (1977) – Special “Elite” Edition [Blu-Ray/DVD]
The cult classic that spawned from the big craze from “The Exorcist” is finally on blu-ray in its original glory, as it was once butchered for television and altered for a wider audience. “Ruby” is a goofy film, albeit one of the most successful independent horror movies of all time, starring Piper Laurie whose undead husband begins haunting the family through her deaf and mute daughter. Despite some really striking scenes of horror, and some fine hammy performances from Laurie and the like, “Ruby” is pretty much a stinker.
The Old Dark House (1932): Cohen Film Collection [Blu-Ray]
You could almost attribute the invention of the sub-genre involving travelers trapped in a house with a bunch of demented folks to James Whale. While there are no chainsaws or torture devices anywhere, you could see where the seeds were sewn for films like “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “The Haunting.” Whale’s film “The Old Dark House” presents glimmers of dark comedy and some pretty funny one-liners but through and through it’s an atmospheric and very creepy tale about a travelers trapped in a house with a psychotic brood. During a horrific rain storm, a group of travelers in the country side of Wales find themselves soaking wet and seeking shelter from the cold water barreling down on them.
Five Reasons Why “Cloverfield” is still Pretty Fantastic
Yesterday marked the decade anniversary of the release of “Cloverfield.” It was in 2007 that Bad Robot unleashed an amazing and painfully addictive viral campaign for what was essentially a modern giant monster movie. Taking to the internet as the primary tool, fans speculated for over a year what “Cloverfield” was from theories about a Cthulhu apocalypse film to “Voltron,” and fans even created their own monster designs for what the monster would and should logically look like.
There was even a mysterious online game that had zero to do with the movie but capitalized on the mystery, nonetheless. “Cloverfield” ended up being a wonderful film, and the start of an anthology movie series that involved human struggle, a mysterious marketing campaign and a giant behemoth of some kind. With “Cloverfield” now a decade old and two more mysterious movies from the series coming very soon, I look at five reasons why the movie is still so fantastic.
Mom and Dad (2018)
When a disease sweeps the area, all parents become crazed killers going after their offspring. In one house, a teenage girl and her little brother try to survive while their parents do all in their powers to kill them.
Ice Cream Man (1995): Limited to 2,500 Slipcover Edition [Blu-Ray/DVD]
Full Disclosure: This copy of “Ice Cream Man” was purchased at my own discretion.
One of the last relics of the video store, I vividly recall coming across the cover to “Ice Cream Man” at least a dozen times and wondered what horror Clint Howard would dole up from the back of a truck. Years later, “Ice Cream Man” has caught on as a surreal and self-aware horror thriller that packs in a lot of gore, grue, and goofy black comedy that makes it a collector’s item. From Jan Michael Vincent shooting a bunch of mental patients, to the Ice Cream Man using Ice Cream as a symbol of his sexual repression and rage, to really bad padding to make one of the child actors look heavy, “Ice Cream Man” has earned its status as a cult classic since video stores shut down permanently.