All Hallows’ Eve 2 (2015)

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

I don’t go in to movies wanting to dislike them, which pleases me when a movie manages to surprise me the way “All Hallows’ Eve 2” did. It’s still a mixed bag of horror, but when you get down to it, it’s still a solid anthology film that corrects a lot of the original film’s errors. Plus the mascot is just so much more appealing this time around. I won’t say “All Hallows’ Eve 2” is a masterpiece, but it’s strong enough to recommend to horror fans looking for a good time. Director Jessie Baget recruits a group of really interesting indie filmmakers to lend their shorts for this sequel, and while some of them are mere tricks, others are absolutely wonderful treats.

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The Root of the Problem (2013)

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

Director Ryan Spindell’s short horror film is something of sheer brilliance if only for the fact that he perpetuates the horror of the dentist. Going to the dentist is something no one enjoys doing and “The Root of the Problem” plays upon that fear by taking a young woman and putting her in to the hot seat of delirium and what may or may not be a heinous plot to take her wisdom teeth.

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Mosquito (1995): 20th Anniversary Edition [Blu-ray]

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

The first time I ever watched “Mosquito” was on late night cable on the USA Network when cable channels were fun. Right around the nineties when horror was kind of a killjoy with overly serious horror movies, “Mosquito” is that hard shot that really goes down well. It has gratuitous nudity, giant monsters, stop motion, and even Gunnar Hansen brandishing a chainsaw a few times. How can you bash something that genuinely tries to make the most out of very little? Director Gary Jones comprises a fun little science fiction horror fest in where an alien crash landing turns the local mosquito population in to truck sized predators that get off on feeding on people in the worst ways. Apparently mosquitoes just aren’t biased when it comes to feeding off of living things, so when the ship crash lands, the mosquitoes begin feeding on the blood of its dead alien pilot.

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Digging up the Marrow (2015)

Posted on October 7, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

You figure a pro like Adam Green would remember rule number one about film making: Never star in your own movie. Green isn’t exactly Woody Allen, and doesn’t take his advice opting instead for a starring role in a movie that’s thick with smug nods and pats on the back from Green to Green. I don’t mind a little self indulgence from filmmakers, but “Digging up the Marrow” focuses on a guy who’s barely in to his film career and wants to convince the world he has a hardcore rabid fan base. He advertises it as such.

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R.L. Stine’s Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls (2015)

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

I don’t know how they keep recruiting these Disney stars to headline the RL Stine movies. Disney always seems to have such a tight grasp on them. In either case, “Cabinet of Souls” is the very definition of an RL Stine story, except with a much longer format. It surely sports the same mold and aesthetic with a small town, teen protagonists, and evil villains that seek to ruin their innocence somehow. It stumbles on occasion, and there’s a clear lack of wit that you can usually find with Stine’s yarns, but it’s a pleasing movie; especially if you’re a fan of Dove Cameron, Katherine McNamara, or Ryan McCartan.

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Monsters University (2013)

Posted on October 3, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

With Pixar’s “Monsters University,” the company has its heart in the right place once again, except it’s in a different spot this time around. With their prequel, Pixar creates a respectable and fun companion piece to “Monsters, Inc.” Pixar’s dabbling in to the ever heinous prequel works as a part of the mythology of Sullie and Mike Wazowksi and how they became companions. If Mike isn’t a scarer why does he work at Monsters, Inc? And how did Sullivan become such a great scarer? It’s because of the bond that the pair share; and the prequel gives us a wider back story on the core characters of the monsters series.

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Tales of Halloween (2015)

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

I’m enjoying the rush of Halloween themed movies coming to theaters thanks to talented and ambitious filmmakers. If there’s any holiday deserving of a sub-genre it’s Halloween. “Tales of Halloween” is a near perfect anthology horror film that embraces the holiday and uses it as fuel to tell some weird, wild, creepy tales all set around a small town celebrating the wicked holiday. Much like “Terror Tract” and “Trick r Treat,” the anthology is set around a small suburb where inexplicably terrifying and nasty things happen on the holiday. Like “Trick r Treat,” most of the stories connect with each other and garner references to the former tale. It assures that audiences will have to watch the film over and over to catch every Easter Egg thrown to us.

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