Independent filmmaker Anthony Spadaccini always had a keen visual eye, leaving no stone left unturned. You can tell by watching his films that he takes great pride in every shot and every camera angle. His films are an emotional experience, but even more than that, they are a visual experience to remember. You feel as though you are entering another dimension or another universe. You are a little uncomfortable, scared, and unsure, yet you can’t look away and you can’t wait to see what unfolds next. It grabs the viewer right from the get go and doesn’t let go.
Tag Archives: Horror
Head Cases: Serial Killers in the Delaware Valley (2013)
Independent filmmaker Anthony Spadaccini always had a keen visual eye, leaving no stone left unturned. You can tell by watching his films that he takes great pride in every shot and every camera angle. His films are an emotional experience, but even more than that, they are a visual experience to remember. You feel as though you are entering another dimension or another universe. You are a little uncomfortable, scared, and unsure, yet you can’t look away and you can’t wait to see what unfolds next. It grabs the viewer right from the get go and doesn’t let go.
Nightbreed (1990): The Director’s Cut [Blu-ray/DVD]
Thanks to the advent of home entertainment and a wonderful company like Scream Factory, director Clive Barker is finally able to realize his original vision for the cult horror film “Nightbreed.” While the film itself has gained momentum and respect over the years as a dark and morbid tale of monsters from the underworld facing human cruelty, Barker’s experience making the movie was a bitter one he often recollected with anger and sadness. With his Director’s Cut, he’s not only able to salvage old footage that he was forced to edit out of his narrative, but he re-structures “Nightbreed” in to practically an entirely new movie. One that’s better than the original cut.
Shadowzone (1990)
I tried very hard to stay awake and somewhat alert through “Shadowzone” but mid-way I had a difficult time even keeping my attention on the convoluted plot. With the tagline “Beyond Alien! Beyond The Thing!” Cardone’s science fiction horror hybrid is so beyond boring. Director J.S. Cardone definitely steals from the former films wholesale, but none of it ever amounts to a remotely entertaining horror science fiction film. I’d sooner watch 2011’s “The Thing” before I watched “Shadowzone” one more time.
Raze (2014)
It’s gratifying that “Raze” blew me out of seat from the first blood drenched bone crunching five minutes. Because once it starts with a bashed in blood soaked face, it never stops being an electrifying series of vicious fight scenes. “Raze” embraces its grindhouse exploitation tropes so unabashedly, I can imagine if this were made in 1975, it’d star folks like Pam Grier, Uschi Digard, and Lina Romay, with Joe Estevez playing Doug Jones’ part. That said, “Raze” is a mind blowing action thriller all on its own, that is so simple yet so damn entertaining.
The Fright File: 150 Films to See Before Halloween (Digital)
The main flaw to “The Fright File” is that author Dustin Putman only offers three films out of 150 made before the seventies. A portion of the list are films made in the seventies, while most of the films are from the aughts and are as recent as 2013. While I don’t mind being given suggestions for films as recent as 2013, I wouldn’t have minded stumbling on to a hidden gem or two. For folks looking for a primer on films that are essential to horror fans, “The Fright File” surely isn’t a bad book. But for horror fans looking to discover something new and completely out of left field, this isn’t really the book to turn to. That is unless you’re a fan of Dustin Putman’s writing, and want to see his thoughts on various horror films.
Our Top 10 Best Films of 2013
2013 is probably one of the best years for film I can think of since 2010. There was a great surge in dramatic fare, indie fare, and so many great horror films arrived in to theaters for fans to savor and consume.
Surely, there were flops, and really bad films, but there were so many really great films, which is refreshing when you consider the state of Hollywood and cinema’s entire transformation from a theatrical presence and home media in to a digital realm where physical media is slowly disappearing.
It was a tough task to take our favorites of the year and decide on ten of our favorite, but in the end these ten won out as our favorite of 2013.