They Reach (2020)

 

What a nostalgic blast....

In 1979 a science loving young lady stumbles upon a tape recorder in a junk shop. She takes it home unaware that it contains a recording that will unleash a dark entity that wants to be brought back to life. She must enlist her friends and family in a race to stop the evil.

Throwback film is a more akin to MONSTER SQUAD, GOONIES and the kid team up films of a couple of decades back then any recent horror film. It also echoes Don Coscarelli's  grossly under appreciated KENNY AND COMPANY and its real sense of the lives of kids of a certain age at that time. 

And while it feels like it belongs grouped with those other films, it has in fact carved it's own place. Its a film that takes the dress of a years ago and used it to wrap up a nifty chilly story.  I like that th old is mixed with the new. There is a modern sense to things, for example the mere fact  that we have a girl in the lead is something we would never have had at the time this was set. And while the blood and gore is minimal how they are shot feels modern.

What delighted me is that, having grown up at the same time, and being right about the same age as the characters in the film, I can honestly say they nailed the time period. Yea, maybe the turns of phrase might be slight anachronistic once or twice, but for the most part they got the time period right. That is why I mentioned Coscarelli's KENNY AND COMPANY, which was made in 1976 and is a representation of the same time period (minus the Star War references)

I had a blast. 

This is a great film.Its a great horror film  and great horror film for the family. That is not a knock, only a statement that in a time where blood, gore sex and foul language fill horror films this is one you can pretty much show anyone who wants to be scared.

Highly recommended. The film hits VOD November 3rd

BLACKJACK: THE JACKIE RYAN STORY (2020)

 BLACK JACK is a disappointing film. The story of Jackie Ryan hailed as one of the greatest street basketball players of all time and allegedly the greatest 3 point shooters ever, the film is weirdly devoid of  basketball.

This is pretty much about Ryan's life with his family and his friends.  Basketball is there, it hovers around the edges but the way the story is told it doesn't really seem t be the point of things. I mean there isn't as much as you would think there would be. I mean  there is so little here that I honest to god have no idea why anyone would tell his story. He was a great player? Really? I haven't seen anything here that would make me think so.

I blame the script. Full of clunky lines and characters that seem more like stereotypes then real people none of this feels real. Listening to Ryan talk to his friends and family I was laughing. It sounds like someone took every cliche about Brooklyn and put them together. It left me wondering how the hell do you make David Arquette give a bad performance? I never believed this for a second.

Worse I never cared. I really didn't care about Jackie or anyone in this film. As presented here he is an also ran and he never 

 A miss.

Jaws Unmade: The Lost Sequels, Prequels, Remakes, and Rip-Offs

John LeMay is at it again with yet another book taking a look at an influential film that spawned sequels, rip-offs and failed projects put together in the hope of getting on the gravy train. After doing Godzilla and King Kong LeMay turns his sights on the original  summer blockbuster Jaws.

As with the earlier books in what is now is a series LeMay looks at the original film before moving on to the sequels and rip-offs.  What is interesting this time out is LeMay includes several films that are considered rip-offs but were in production before or  during the production of Jaws.

What I find amusing is how many films were started as comedies but then went sideways. The various incarnations of Jaws 3 all started as comedies (including the legendary Jaws 3 People 0) before it was decided that if they made a joke of everything they would lose the ability to ever make another serious film. Another film Up From the Depths was shot as comedy until Roger Corman blew a gasket and cut the life out of it and reshot the effects.

As with all of LeMay's books  everything he found that he could find a reference for is included so odd projects, like some of the Orca sequels (King Kong vs Orca) where all we have is a supposed title. While these projects are lacking in detail they are full of food for thought as we are left to wonder what they were thinking.

Reading the book I was grandly entertained. I was so entertained that I started to make a list of all the films I haven’t seen or haven’t seen in years since the chapters have me jonesing to revisit them.

While you can find much of this information else where LaMay has brought it together and strug it together so that In the end this book is a blast.

Highly recommended

Halloween Ghost stories

 

Here's five hours of ghost stories for Halloween

For the Sake of Vicious (2020) Blood in the Snow 2020

Romina is a single mom who arrives home from her job as a nurse to discover two men in her home. Alan is injured. He was beat unconscious by Chris who wants him to confess to his roll in the death of his daughter. Chris needs Rmina to keep him alive.  Things get ugly, really f-ing ugly, when Alan gets a phone and calls for help. The trouble is help is not the police, but a biker gang, they are there to get payback and they don't care about collateral damage.

Violent and ugly, this film is a lean mean pretty little hate machine. This is a film that wants to show the evil that men do and it wants to do so as simply as possible. There is little set up. We get just enough to hook us and give us enough to have a basic idea of what is going on. Once the table is set the film just goes at light speed to the end.

Honestly I don't think a lot of this makes sense, but then again things just move to the end. We don't have time to worry about it because the film is too busy just trying to entertain. Sense isn't what the film is interested in, motion is, as is the burning desire to entertain, and on those counts the film scores highly.

This is a must see for fans of action, especially of the violent sort.

Thoughts on Fire Will Come (2019) (aka A Sun That Never Sets)

 Amador comes home from prison. He was sent to prison for starting a fire that burned up the surrounding land. He stays with his mom and goes through his days.Meanwhile loggers are slowing removing all of the trees to build more homes.

Stunningly beautiful film is full of haunting images and moving performances. This feels less a narrative than a documentary of  life lived.  We are in these places  watching life unfold...

That said this is a film of the slow cinema ethic. Things seemingly unfold in real time. There are silences. Where many directors will slow things down and it doesn't feel natural, the rhythms here feel perfect. The story has to be told this way. This is the lives of the people on the screen and this is how they go. Anything else would be wrong.

I have been chasing this film since the 2019 New York Film Festival. I can honestly say that it was worth the wait. This is a film with people and places that will haunt my memory- and yours too once you see it.

Recommended.

Carnacki Tales for Halloween

Purgatory Road (2018) hits the UK on November 2

 

Years after their father kills himself  when a thief steals his last dollar a priest and his brother travel the country giving absolution, and killing anyone who confesses to being a thief. Complications arise when a certain woman comes into their lives...

This small scale thriller entertains. Moving along at a good clip, the film grabs us early and drags as along as we  watch a man of god going off the rails and straight into hell.  It is a journey that makes us sit forward in our seats as we wait for the next terrible thing to happen.

I liked this film a great deal. I liked that it wasn't a big and flashy Hollywood thriller but a small scale engine that is designed to move and keep you on the edge of your seat. If you can take the film for the pretty little fear machine it is I think you'll have a good time.

Recommended

Hall (2020) Blood in the Snow 2020

 Microcosm horror film about the beginning of an outbreak of a disease in a hotel.  It follows what happens when a young family of three checks in and then has to deal with the outbreak…which includes the father. Will mother and her daughter be able to escape?

If you ever wondered what might happen if a strange disease broke out  while you were in a hotel this film gives us a good idea. While we don’t know what the ultimate progression of the disease is going to be, it’s a most assuredly not pleasant.  What ever is happening to these people I wouldn’t want to experience it.

While the film takes a little bit to finding it’s footing, once it gets going it is really good and makes you wonder why no one made a small little gem like this before.  This is a largely realistic (with in reason) take on the start of an outbreak  and its chilling.

If there is anything really wrong with the film is its effort to try and give us an explanation of what is happening. As much as I like the one scene cameo for Julian Richings, the film doesn’t need it. This is a film about the start of something terrible, we don’t need all the details, especially since the final fade out gives us all we need to know.

Recommended

Call of the Cthulhu For Halloween

Five Flies on The Blood in The Snow Shorts: MISHA, REMBOBINE, SOUL CONTACT, DOOR DOWN THE HALL and THE PROBLEM WITH LADY WEREWOLVES

 

MISHA
People come to take a sick young girl away..
Neat little thriller could be a set up for something larger

REMBOBINE
A young boy connects with his sick grandfather via a walkman
Charming little film. What is this doing at a horror festival?

SOUL CONTACT
A man has an encounter with a ghost.
The great Justin McConnell put his time in quarantine to good use with a wicked little supernatural comedy.  This is a wonderful little film that will make you feel warm and fuzzy.
Is there anything he can't do?
A great film from a great filmmaker

DOOR DOWN THE HALL
What is the deal with the locked door.
A creepy little confection that beautifully blends horror and nightmare.

THE PROBLEM WITH LADY WEREWOLVES
Two young women have an encounter one night...
Screaming to be a feature film this is a wicked little tale with two charming, if foul mouthed, young ladies. I loved this but feel slighted because its a short

Daughter of Blood In The Snow Shorts: ATTACK OF THE KILLER SCARECROW, CLOUT, DOWN DELORO RIVER, WE CAME FROM THE SEA, WEIRDO, YELLOW BLOOD and UNBORN

 

ATTACK OF THE KILLER SCARECROW
After a long night of trick or treating some friends head to a corn maze and run into a killer scarecrow.
Give this horror comedy an A for effort, this film largely hits all the right notes in all the right spots. However give the acting a C thanks to one not particularly good performance which takes the edge off the proceedings and making it feel completely unreal.
Worth a look as part of one of the Blood in the Snow programs, but chalk this up as a miss.

CLOUT
Web streaming star ends up bitten by something during a photoshoot that begins to change her.
A mix of comedy, horror and ick come together to create a funny/scary little film.

DOWN DELORO RIVER
Two men go to get some gold back that was supposedly stolen. However things go sideways and...well that would be telling.
nifty little thriller starts off as a period crime drama and then goes elsewhere. This is a super little short you need to see.

WE CAME FROM THE SEA
It begins with a man dumping a body into a lake...things get complicated after that.
I'm not sure if this works from start to finish, the effort to explain thins is a bit murky, but for most of its running time this film will keep you on the edge of your seat as you try to figure it all out.

WEIRDO
On the road home a kid is bullied.
I don't know is this makes any sense but it is mighty disturbing, which is enough

YELLOW BLOOD
A woman with an ordinary life has a strange encounter.
I have seen three versions of this plot in the last couple of weeks at three film festivals. If you haven't seen a variation of this (which I can't say since this is most wafer thin of the bunch) you will like this more than I did.

UNBORN
A woman has a disturbing relationship with a baby doll.
A sting in the tail chiller is going to make you feel uneasy.

Some Ghost Videos For Halloween

The Creeping Severed Head Of Blood In The Snow Shorts: SIGNAL, BALLAD OF THE SHARKASAURUS, CREAT(E)URE, PALLIDUS, THE FOREST and ESLUNA

This time out I'm mixing some of the web material....

SIGNAL
Alone in the wilderness, a man gets a signal....
While covering ground we've seen before this is so well done you won't car. Truly enjoyable

BALLAD OF SHARKASAURUS
In the old west, a sharkasaurus is released in from a mine and attacks the town.
A completely wrong in all the right ways comedy horror western. A must see

CREAT(E)URE
Three people are trapped on a subway by a monster that smells fear. 
Laugh out loud funny send up of the invincible monster genre will delight all monster lovers.

....And some Web content

PALLIDUS
A crew of a space hauler discovers that what they are hauling is dangerous...
Very good short space opera. I have no idea if this will go farther, but it's a solid little film/series so far.

THE FOREST
A music video about walking in the forest.
A solid little film.

ESLUNA:FIRST MONOLITH- Episode 3
Third episode of a science fiction series (each episode is about 10 minutes long) is good enough that I now want to see the entire series. Take a nibble and I'm guessing you'll want to do the same.

House of Blood in the Snow's Shorts: INGREDIENTS, KITTY'S NAUGHTY KNICKERS,LANDGRAVES, INNOCENCE, and ON THE WATER

INGREDIENTS|
Hitchcockian story of  a writer trying to come up with a story has a weekend with his roommate's cousin that becomes uncomfortable.
Where most of the Blood In The Snow are tasty treats this is an unexpected meal. Recommended

KITTYS NAUGHTY KNICKERS
The trials and tribulations of a young woman who sells her dirty panties on line.
I am not sure what this is doing at a horror fest but it is funny.

LANDGRAVES
A reporter goes into the frozen wilderness to do a story on a notorious rock duo. Things do not go well.
Good but a tad over long tale of creative madness.

INNOCENCE
A man explains why he is innocent.
A good little film is an acting tour de force for Richard Chuang

ON THE WATER
While on vacation a woman's brother disappears.
Slow building film doesn't stick the landing. What should be a big moment is much too small. Still it scares for most of it's run time so its worth a look.

Shall We Play? (2020) Blood In The Snow 2020

 Stacy is a teenaged girl with sleep issues. She keeps seeing the same two young girls in her dreams. She is also playing with a Ouija board like program called Shall We Play. As her life begins to spin out of control thanks to bullying Stacy begins to see the girls in real life and her mental condition begins to break.

I am not certain what I think of SHALL WE PLAY. This is undoubtedly a dark little tale that chills the blood. At times we can't be certain what's real and what isn't, which is good. The question for me is that I'm not certain how the mixing of horror and teen pain works.  While it actually does work creating a great wave of uncomfortable emotion I'm still trying to work out if it is for the right reasons. Is it for purely exploitive reasons or did the filmmakers have something more serious in mind? I don't know.  And while I don't like that I don't know, I do like that the film has forced me to ponder the really stupid things that teenagers do to each other.

I know you are probably wondering whether the film is good or not as a horror film, and the answer is it is quite good. Keeping the audience off balance and uncertain which way is up, SHALL WE PLAY? pushes buttons and doesn't take the easy way out.  We are made uncomfortable and even frightened by what we see. It is often chilling in all the right ways...

...and the chills don't go away so easily since the film is rooted in reality.

Recommended.

SHALL WE PLAY? plays tomorrow at Blood in the Snow. For details on how to watch it go here.

Scary Russian Stories For Halloween

 

Return of the Deadly Blood in the Snow Shorts: TRIM, TOO LATE, ESCAPE THE NIGHT, EXPECTING, FADE, FREYA, THE VISITOR and MOURN

 

TRIM
A young woman goes to get her hair cut and says something shouldn't have- spiralling things out in terrible way.
A twisted short which will make your skin crawl.

TOO LATE
A man, the late shift and his coffee.
A good animated film will make you rethink working overnight

ESCAPE THE NIGHT
The story of a pandemic where the disease turns people into bloodthirsty monsters.
A good film, but this is a proof of concept more than a full fledged film. If so I'm game to see where this goes.

EXPECTING
A childless couple has dinner with an expecting friend
This is wrong, it's really wrong.

FADE
A woman flees into the country.
A very good dark tale of abuse.

FREYA
The life of a young woman as seen through he relationship with her home personal assistant named Freya.
This is an uneven mix of horror, humanity and humor. At times an uncomfortable and funny look at modern life. Things  get sad  and I don't think the tonal shift works. It's good but the ending bre my heart.

THE VISITOR
A minute long short about a knock at the door. 
This is too short to talk about.

MOURN
A grieving young man walks into a shrinks office and begins to talk.
A slow building chiller that stings. Stay with this one.

More Blood in The Snow Shorts: DAY BREAK, A DINNER PARTY, ACROSS THE BRIDGE, AN IMPOSTER, THE SEANCE, MAMA'S HOME and THE PURGAMENTUM

 

DAY BREAK
A woman is haunted by something....
A good little film. I dare not say more...

A DINNER PARTY
A strange awkward dinner party between friends reveals what life during a pandemic of apocalyptic proportions.
And we think we have problems...

ACROSS THE BRIDGE
A little boy asks to play a game with his sister.
Beautiful looking film may not be narratively perfect but it packs an emotional kick.
Recommended

AN IMPOSTER
Chilling, and funny little film about a man who sees someone out his window.
Curious if this could lead to something more....

DRUNK IN A GRAVEYARD: THE SEANCE
Amusing but disposable two minute short about a message from the great beyond.

MAMA'S HOME
A little girl hears a noise upstairs when is left alone.
I'm not going to spoil it but it doesn't quite work but it's great idea. This really should be something longer

THE PURGAMENTUM
There are weird noises coming from underwater microphones...what could it be...
A slow building chiller with a great end.

Scary Halloween Videos

 

The always great Blood in the Snow starts Wednesday October 28th

The best thing I can say about Blood in the Snow is that this is the festival you go to to see all the films that will be playing all the other festivals next year or the films that everyone will be talking about very soon.

Blood in the Snow  (BITS) is a great festival. I have been covering the fest for the past five years and it’s an absolute delight. The films are great  and the people who run  it are even greater.  And make no mistake that last part is key.  Going  to fest if the people running it are unfriendly kills the whole experience.  However if you go to a fest an the staff is great and the crowds are friendly, it really doesn’t matter how good or bad the film screening is because you are just going to end up having a great time.

Sadly this year BITS is going virtual so there will be no hanging out with everyone. On the plus side the fest being virtual means everyone can attend. This year the fest is going to be found on the SUPER CHANNEL (who clearly know a winner when they see it) and you can buy passes for the films here. (Actually all the information on how to screen the films is there)

This is a fest that I love so much I try to see everything they program. And true to that feeling,  I’ve seen all everything except one short and two bits from the web which were not offered to the press. Having seen essentially the entire fest I can say it is once again outstanding. While there is a film or two I wasn’t thrilled with, it is purely because in a high quality fest like BITS some films are bound to be better than others in comparison. If I saw them away from the bounty of the fest I know I would have liked them more. I ask that you keep that in mind as you read my critical reviews.

I started reviewing the short films earlier today (that piece is here) . I am going be reviewing all the short films in the days before the festival starts. I want you to know all of the collections are worth your time (as are the shorts playing with the features). A word of warning my reviews are grouped randomly and not by section because that is how I watched them (I find I respond better to the films that way). There are some real winners here (and some truly f-ed up films as well) so I highly recommend you watch all of them. As much as I will upset some directors by saying this, the shorts as a group, are probably more satisfying than the features (and the features are really good). DO yourself and see the shorts. (And  because I love his films I have to give a friendly shout out to Justin McConnell’s SOUL CONTACT which is in the comedy group and is amazing- A review is coming)

Because I have no life I have previously reviewed some of the films previously. They can be found here:

TOTO
DON'T TEXT BACK
MORBUS
HAIL TO THE DEADITES
BLEED WITH ME
ANYTHING FOR JACKSON (this is one of the great horror films of the year)

As I said short reviews will appear over the next few days and feature reviews will appear closer to when they screen.(Just pick a film and see it- trust me)

It’s all good so check out the selections and get access to a bunch of things.

(Once more all the information you need is here)

Blood in the Snow 2020 Shorts: ENDGAME, FROM THE DARK, EAT YOUR CARROTS, FROSTBITTEN, GREATEST HORROR FILM EVER MADE, LETTING GO and WIISZA

 

ENDGAME
A dad tells his gaming son a story about a kid like him who wouldn't stop gaming. Creepy story that you think will have a laugh off ending instead catches in your throat. A neat chiller

FROM THE DARK
It was a dark and stormy night and two brothers deal with a darkened house. A nifty thriller where it all comes together in the end.

EAT YOUR CARROTS
A funny film about snow men as told by a young girl. This is a small joy

FROSTBITTEN
An okay music video about preventing frost
bite

GREATEST HORROR FILM EVER MADE
A writer goes through various scenarios to try and come up with greatest horror film. Extremely funny film send up all the cliches of horror film to great effect. This is one you'll want to share with your horror buddies

THE LETTING GO
Creepy.

WIIDZA
A First Nation story of a competition between medicine men