Krampus (2015)

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Michael Dougherty is brilliant at completely rethinking and reformatting our image of popular holidays and the lore the masses have subscribed to for centuries. After doing an amazing job with Halloween, Dougherty tackles Christmas with what is easily one of the most demented holiday horror films ever made. “Krampus” is an intelligent horror comedy based around the lunacy of the holiday and how the hollow rituals and traditions practiced can build a sense of cynicism and pure hatred for what is supposed to be a fine time of year.

Continue reading →

Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2 (1986): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Forget what Hollywood has tried to feed you, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2” is the actual sequel to Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece, and is widely embraced by horror fans as such. It’s the wacky and surreal embracing of the madness from the first film carried over from the nihilistic cynical seventies, in to the consumerist eighties, where the Sawyer family is now devoting their lives to mutilating yuppies, and going around the world selling their own brand of chili that’s made of people. Hooper’s sequel is a massive tonal departure from the more disturbing original, introducing actual nemeses for the Sawyers including Lefty, a vengeful cowboy hell bent on bringing down the Sawyers, and Stretch, a hapless DJ who becomes the unfortunate recipient of attacks by the Sawyer family when she hears them murdering two victims when one of them calls her randomly.

Continue reading →

The Invitation (2016)

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

I will say for the record to avoid any and all spoilers about “The Invitation,” because Karyn Kusama’s film is a masterpiece that deserves an audience with the ability to soak in the full weight of the experience. Kusama’s “The Invitation” is one of the most competently made and mesmerizing horror thrillers I’ve seen so far this year. It’s a haunting and disturbing look at the unbearable pain of grief, and how so many are incapable of dealing with it that it allows for a predator to prey on them without fail.

Continue reading →

The Dead Room (2015)

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Emilie Black

“The Dead Room” was written by Kevin Stevens and director Jason Stutter who crafter a story seen many times to which they unfortunately bring very little that is new and very few genuine scares. After a family flees their new home in fear for their lives, a trio of investigators is sent by an insurance company to prove or disprove the family’s claim that it’s haunted by malevolent spirits. The haunted house sub-genre having been done to death over the last few years and throughout horror’s history is not re-invented here. Stevens and Stutter do have the advantage of being one of the few films about this set in New Zealand that I know of.

Continue reading →

Sex Murder Art: The Films of Jörg Buttgereit [4 Blu-Ray/2 CD Collector’s Edition]

Posted on April 12, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Now Available for fans of extreme horror and underground cinema, Cult Epics releases a four movie compilation of Jörg Buttgereit’s acclaimed genre films along with a near encyclopedic series of extras. Featured is “Nekromantik” the film that centers on a young man named Rob who collects body parts while disposing of corpses through his job. An avid necrophiliac, he ventures to steal a fully in tact corpse and brings it home to wife Betty, who is also a necrophiliac. Before Rob realizes, Betty gradually falls in love with the corpse, and leaves husband Rob for it. “Nekromantik” is still considered a volatile and controversial horror film even in the day and age where blood and grue are common place on mainstream television. Divisive and revolting, “Nekromantik” garners a large reputation both good and bad from horror fanatics.

Continue reading →

Justice League vs. Teen Titans (2016) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Once again DC Comics advertises a throwdown between titans that doesn’t totally deliver. True, the two teams of old and young battle, but it’s under wild circumstances, and it’s only a two minute bout at best. Sam Liu’s film should have been called “Teen Titans” and been done with it, but how else to cash in on “Batman v Superman,” I guess? The film is primarily centered around the building of the Teen Titans and their dynamics as a whole. The movie channels both the original animated series, and the cult classic “Young Justice” to offer up a movie that I wish would begin a new series of more exciting movies, showing how these teens have to work and fight in a world dominated by basic gods. That said, “Justice League vs. Teen Titans” isn’t a bad film, despite the criticisms and observations. It’s a very fine action adventure that focuses on the interesting interplay between Robin and Raven.

Continue reading →

Hush (2016)

Posted on April 7, 2016 by Emilie Black

A deaf writer lives and works in her secluded home in the woods where she gets few visitors. Then one night, a masked man shows up and stalks her in an unnerving game of cat and mouse. Director Mike Flannagan and lead actress Kate Siegel co-wrote Hush which all takes place in and around the lead’s, Maddie’s, home. The limited settings work here as Maddie is trying to escape this mad man without help or access to the outside world. This is a movie with a total of five characters, two of which support the bulk of the story. The characters here feel real, not caricatures of real people or stereotypes.

Continue reading →