Join us at Scarefest!

Hello, FREAKS! This year we are sponsoring the CONRAD STUDIOS booth, and will be joining them at the table all weekend. Please swing by and chat with us! We will be there to help promote the upcoming film THE RAVE, along with talking about the new Slasherverse films. Did i mention we will be right across from Freddy Krueger himself, Mr Robert Englund??? Should be an awesome weekend at Scarefest X!

If you plan to cosplay for the event, make sure to look for us, or stop by the booth to get your picture taken and we will post them up on our social media pages. If you want to see the guest lineup, or buy tickets please go to the OFFICIAL SCAREFEST SITE

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Wreak Havoc Horror Film Fest: Film Reviews Pt. 1

Hello, FREAKS!

We recently had the pleasure of attending the Wreak Havoc Horror Film Festival in Greensboro, NC and wanted to take a moment to talk about the festival, as well as the films.

The event is held at the historic Carolina Theater in downtown Greensboro. This was the 3rd year running for the fest, and let me just say, they do an awesome job! The panel of judges really have a good eye at selecting some of the best horror films running the festival circuit.  The event is set with short film blocks, with feature films mixed in, and periodic breaks throughout. Dan Sellers and Sammie Cassell are the show runners here. Dan is the Festival Director, and President of Wreak Havoc Productions, LLC and Sammie is the assistant Festival Director, and Vice President of Wreak Havoc Productions, LLC. Both really great guys. Even though they were running around all over the place to keep things rolling, they still made to time to stop and talk to the people in the audience. Though, I may have talked to the point of annoying Sammie, HA! But seriously, Wreak Havoc Horror Film Festival gets the HMF seal of approval. Highly recommend checking it out next year, and for all you filmmakers out there, they start accepting submissions after the first of the year!

Now lets dig into the films. I’ll be reviewing my top picks from the event, and in the order in which they screened at the festival. This will be a brief rundown, and spoiler free(for the most part) review. I will also write a few  full reviews, apart from this list, over the next few days. This will be films from the first night of the festival, part 2 will be posted soon.

MIDNIGHT SHIFT

“A rural Sheriff’s Deputy encounters a horrific situation for which he was totally unprepared, and it’s completely captured on his body cam”

The world premier of this film was actually held on the first night of the film fest. This film is shot in first person, from the view of a body cam on a police officer. While “found footage” isn’t my favorite type of film, this one actually works. I like the use of the body cam, especially considering today’s climate revolving around a social outcry for more body cams on officers. But back to the film. The camera work, along with the editing in this film, I thought worked very well. The film felt like it was actually shot in real-time, when in fact there are a few edits, but they are hidden perfectly. I was also pleased with the use of practical effects in this film. Overall, I would rate this film 7/10

Written & Directed By Dan Sellers

To view the full cast and crew, please visit the IMDB Page

 

 


NIGHT of the SLASHER

A teenage girl must commit horror movie sins such as drink alcohol, do drugs, and have sex to lure a killer and finish him off.”

This film is a unique take on slasher films, and bases its self on the theme of the classic slasher films mixing comedy along with the “Slasher” clichés. Such as the fact the the main character has a check off list of all the ways to be killed in a horror film, and the killer mask is a hilarious jab at Michael Myers, as its a Spock mask. That was a laugh out loud moment for me. I think the director did really well with this short film. The SFX looked really nice with the knife attacks, wounds and blood. The editing stood out to me as well. The fight scene Ifound to be put together quite well. Overall, I would rate this film 7.5/10

Written & Directed by Shant Hamassiam

To view the full cast and crew, please visit the IMDB Page

 

 

 


CREATURES of WHITECHAPEL

“A twisted new take on the Frankenstein legend – and the madness that surrounds it.”

The look of this film, from the sets, to the lighting, wardrobe and use of colors was absolutely amazing. it had a lot of pop to it, and set up the atmosphere for the film very well.  This take on the Frankenstein legend, and other legends, is very unique and actually ties the story together quite perfectly. While all the acting by Carlee Baker, Barrett Ogden and Rick Macy was top notch, I feel like Carlee Baker’s performance really stood out.  Looking forward to seeing more of their work. The use of practical effects were spot on, even the CGI it had in parts worked quite well.  This short was honestly my pick as best film of the whole festival. Now I can see why this film has won so many awards around the world. Overall, I would rate this film 9/10

Directed By Jonathan Martin

Written By Jonathan Martin & Rebecca Martin

For full cast and crew, please visit the IMDB Page

 

 


LITTLE ANGEL

“When Laurie’s car breaks down on a dark, stormy night, she fears the worst – no cell signal, no one around – until she sees the Little Angel Bed and Breakfast. Is it a safe haven from the night, or are her terrors just beginning?”

The story of this film was very intriguing to me, as I love films that takes what we think we know about something, then turns it in a whole other direction. For this to be basically a no-budget film. Having worked on no-budget sets before, I was highly impressed. Kevin Murray did a fantastic job in the directors chair. The effects worked really well with the Angel, the film looked great, and it gave off a very creepy vibe in the darkness of the bedroom. I would rate this film 7.5/10

Written & Directed By Kevin Murray

For full cast and crew, please visit the IMDB Page

 

 

 


THE JIGSAW

The purchase of a mystery Jigsaw Puzzle from a strange and unsettling vendor leads a man to an evening of frightening consequences”

I think the thing I like most about this film is how simple, yet effective it is. The story of this short, is pretty much covered completely in the brief summery above, but by God the film just works. It looks good, the acting is great, casting is perfect I think. It is always amazing to me when a filmmaker can do something like this, with something so simple. I would rate this film 8/10

Written & Directed by Basil Al-Safar & Rashad Al-Safar

For the full cast and crew, please visit the IMDB Page

 

 

 


FAMILY POSSESSIONS

“After moving into the home of a deceased relative, a family discovers they may have inherited more than just the house.”

I had been looking forward to seeing this film for quite sometime, after I read that our very own HMF VIP Felissa Rose was appearing in the film. So I was stoked to see that it would be shown at this festival. The film had a good story line to it, but I did have one complaint, and that would be that I felt the story kind of slipped near the end. I loved where the film was going throughout the film, until near the end and a few things happened that somewhat took away from the overall film for me. The house wasn’t overly creepy looking and seemed like an everyday house that could have creepy haunting stories floating around it. Which I really liked. I loved the use of practical effects in this film. I don’t recall any CGI, just good old fashioned effects. Sadly you don’t see that as much as you used to, but it seems to be coming back around. I would rate this film 6.5/10

Written & Directed By Tommy Faircloth

For full cast and crew, please visit the IMDB Page

 

 


FLESH

“If that annoying stack of papers on your desk represents the lives of flesh and blood people, remember that. If you don’t, someone may remind you.”

While I will admit, this isn’t one of my favorite films of the night. I think the film is ok in its own right, just not for me. But the reason I am listing it, is for one reason. Acting. John Schmedes knocked his role of Sam out of the park on this one. I was seriously blown away by his performance, and honest was kinda shocked not to see him take best actor. I have never seen any of this mans work before, but I can guaranty you I will now. I cant really rate this film, in an overall rating, so I’m going to break it down a bit. For acting, specifically John Schmedes, i’m going 9/10. For the rest, I’m going  5.5/10

Written & Directed By L.C. Cruell

For full cast and crew, please visit the IMDB Page

 

 


 

Well FREAKS, this concludes my part 1 post about the Wreak Havoc Horror Film Festival. Stay tuned for Part 2!!

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Movie Monsters: DOLLS, PUPPETS & TOYS

Hey FREAKS! It is once again time to post up the latest Movie Monsters from our friend Jeremy at B Terrible Productions. In this episode we learn about the DOLLS, PUPPETS and TOYS that have captivated us through the years in horror films. Be sure and take a moment to LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to Jeremy’s channel.

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Feature: THE BASEMENT

A group of international students explores a basement that has been abandoned for years. But what starts off as an exploratory séance ends in bloody mayhem when a malicious entity is summoned.

 

Official Trailer

To rent, or purchase, the film please see the links below!

The Basement on iTunes

The Basement on Amazon

Directed By: László Illés, Vozo Zoltán Végh(co-director)

Written By: Gera Laszlo Krisztian

Story By: László Illés

Starring: Caroline Boulton, Takács Zalán, Richard Rifkin, Marina Gera and more!

For more info on this film along with the full cast and crew, please visit the IMDB.com Page

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IT (2017) – A Review By Josh Mabe *SPOILERS*

Hello, Freaks! I finally got a chance to go see the new adaption of STEPEHN KINGS literary classic, IT. So I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to post up a review. Please keep in mind, this review WILL have spoilers. So PLEASE, if you have not seen the film, stop reading this and wait until you see the film.

Over the past week and a half, this film has caused quite a stir. Breaking box office records for horror, drawing in not just horror fans, but it seems like everyone is going to see IT. In Facebook groups alone it has brought out the best, and worst, in people. In our group it even started a controversy between die hard fans and the people that disliked it. A couple people were ultimately banned over this. I know the horror community has strong feelings about their favorite films, but we should not let it get between us the way I have seen online. We are better than that. If you didn’t like the film or if you loved it, its an opinion. We all have them. But on the bright side, the popularity of this film means a lot to the future of horror. This proves that horror films deserve a spot at the table when it comes to major studio releases, and that you don’t have to water a film down with a PG13 rating to draw in more profits.

Before I get too far in, I do want to add that I went into this with a an open mind. I love the old miniseries, but I do not want to compare the two. One is a made for TV show, one is a film. They just both happen to be based on the same book. So without further ado, lets dive into this film.

After years of being let down by major Hollywood horror, I have to say, I was impressed. The film was shot on a fairly small budget, compared to other major releases, and I honestly think that is one thing that sets the film apart from a lot of others. With the smaller budget they relied more on settings, acting, lighting and getting the atmosphere right. The cinematography is amazing in the film.  The film has a very eerie dark look to it at times, and it worked. They also used a good amount of practical effects, but a lot were enhanced digitally. This is one part of the film that let me down just a bit. I’m not a big fan of computer effects, but all and all id say they used them well. The only parts that really jumped out at me as not being done that great, were the scenes when Pennywise comes out of the projector screen. It was all great until the moment he just kind of “appeared” there between slides in giant form. I feel like that scene could have been done a bit better, or just cut without him leaving the screen. The other moment was near the end, in the floating chamber when Beverly awakes and the shutter opens showing Pennywise dancing…Too me it just seemed odd with the shaky/rotating camera and the background didn’t flow well. Aside from that, the CGI looks the best that it can.

The practical effects look really good. I love the Pennywise look, and make-up. I think the make-up team did a fantastic job. The special effects team did really well also. I thought the bloody bathroom scene was done wonderfully, the looks of Georgie’s bleeding arm in the street, the stabbing and cutting scene all worked great. Top notch in this department. As for the score of the film, I think it fit very nicely. I have always been a fan of Benjamin Wallfisch and I believe he composed this beautifully.

The acting in this film really stands out. I have to give major props to the kids. They did a fantastic job. They felt like a real group of friends. Finn Wolfhard won me over on his acting ability in the Netflix Original series STRANGER THINGS. His portrayal of Richie was no different. He played the nerdy, yet wisecracking, personality perfectly. His jokes, and comebacks, felt natural and they were funny. Jack Dylan Grazer was hilarious as Eddie; the asthmatic, hypochondriac, worrier or the group. Jeremy Ray Taylor did very well as Ben; the awkward, over weight, new kid in school. Overall I would say all of the kids in the Losers Club showed some real talent. The biggest stand out for me though was Sophia Lillis as Beverly. The camera absolutely  loves her, and I thought  her performance was amazing. The tense, uncomfortable scenes with her abusive father were so raw and real. I predict she will have a very successful career in acting for years to come. I do wish we could have seen a little more back story, or build up on the bullies. They seemed way over the top bad to not have some reasoning behind it. For example the scene where Henry and gang attack Ben. They go from normal bullying, to carving his name in Bens stomach with the knife. That just seemed way out of place without some type of reasoning behind it. Same with their hatred for Mike. I do think, however, that Nicholas Hamilton played the part he was given pretty good. He seemed like a 80’s bully with his acting and the hair style. The other two bullies weren’t that special, or memorable. I did enjoy Patrick’s(Owen Teague) death scene in the sewer. The child zombie/creatures were actually pretty cool.

As for Pennywise, I think Bill Skarsgård did a really good job with the character. I do believe it was pretty true to how I would picture Pennywise from the book. He made Pennywise a very dark and creepy entity. I enjoyed the scene when he was attacking Eddie, and Bill & Richie overcame their fear and went through the Not-Scary-At-All door. The reaction moment that Pennywise had when sensed what they had done, just stood out to me. Also again at the end, when they all face off and start losing their fear of Pennywise, you can really see the fear creeping up in Pennywise’s face. To me that shows some skill on his part to pull that off so well.

He just has that look that fits the role. Pennywise looked really good on camera, from the outfit to the make up, it worked. If I had one complaint about the character, it would probably be his voice. In general, I think he did fine with the voice, and he sounded playful, yet creepy. But a time or two, on a couple words, it almost sounded a little Scooby Doo-ish, So that was a bit distracting for me in those brief moments.

The writing and directing in the film were solid. Andy Muschietti I feel brought the script to life in a really good way. As I had said before, by Hollywood standards, IT didn’t have a huge budget. So I give a lot of credit to Andy for making this film do something that no other American horror film in the last several years has been able to pull off. Make the film feel like a horror movie. That may seem like an odd statement, but I believe it is true. When you look at other big Hollywood horror films, they are geared toward the “mainstream” audience. They have a big budget look to them, lack on story telling and character development, rely on jump scares to the point it ruins the movie, and are generally rated PG13 which I feel takes away from what a horror film should be. Horror films need to push the limits, take risk, and try to scare you without relying on throwing money at something until it works. That takes an eye for the art. This film feels like you are watching a horror movie. Its a feeling I have missed so dearly over the years. Its hard to describe what I mean by feel. Its the same feeling I get when I watch the classics like Halloween, Last House on the Left, or The Thing. Its a hint of dread, of darkness and suspense. Not so much fear, but a craving for more. A want. You want to see more. You want to see what this world inside the film has to show. To me, that’s what makes a horror film. I’m not saying I haven’t enjoyed horror movies over the recent years, because I have. But they didn’t give that feeling.

IT did something you don’t see much of in Hollywood horror. It wasn’t afraid to kill kids. I mean in opening part of the film we see Georgie’s arm ripped off, and the kid crawl away bleeding and screaming. That caught my attention from the very start. I touched on it earlier, but I wanted to bring up jump scares again. It seems more and more films rely on jump scares to be scary. I’m not a fan of that. I like jump scares, don’t get me wrong, but there is a huge difference in using jumps scares vs relying on them. IT uses them wisely. The director knew when to use a creepy reveal rather than throwing it out as a jump scare. I’ll give an example. The scene where Stanley faces his fear of the painting in his fathers office. When the picture fell, I was expecting a run of the mill, him turn and BAM jump scare. But it wasn’t. The camera turns and we see the figure in the back ground looming behind him before the attack. A few other scenes take this route, and it was refreshing to see.

The film does have a scene that drags on too long, to the point that it honestly got a little uncomfortable. That’s the seen with the kids at the lake. Unlike some reviews that thought it should have been cut completely, and was just sexualizing children, I didn’t really feel it went THAT far. As I understand kids, especially being set in the 80’s, swam in their underwear a lot. I have, Its what kids did, and its believable and realistic. My complaint is once they got out of the water, that scene went on a little too long showing them in their underwear. It seemed weird watching. I feel like the scene could have been done a little better by having them getting dressed for that scene by the lake. As I said, I don’t think its a major thing, or impacts the film in a negative way like some have said, just my opinion and how I felt about it. The only reason I even brought it up is I see it mentioned a lot.

Overall, I highly recommend this film. It brought horror back to Hollywood, and the box office numbers reflect it. I will be going back to see them film in theaters at least once more to take my daughter, and honestly I am looking forward to a second viewing myself.

My rating for IT(2017), is a very rare one from me. I give this film a 9/10.

For more on the film, and the full cast & crew, please visit the IMDB Page

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Feature: DEATH TO THE WORLD

Since Nick’s arrival, Weston has been plagued by fear and murder. The unprepared police force has proven to be an asset to Nick, and the small town has become a safe haven for his dark deeds. Nick’s life begins to unravel, however, as new relationships threaten to reveal his secret – a secret he has killed to protect. But he soon discovers that he is not the only one with secrets..

 

 

Director: Shane Gillis
Writers: Rick Gardner (co-writer), Shane Gillis (co-writer)
Stars: Josh Carples, Rudy Banes, Lindsay Garrett

You can also check the film out on AMAZON PRIME, and be sure to check out the full cast and crew at the IMDB PAGE

Tell was what you think in the HMF Facebook Group!

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2017 “IT” Review – (Spoiler free)

“IT” (2017)

     Well…after what felt like a long wait for the films release, I just returned from the theater after seeing “IT”. While I’m dying for original ideas and material in today’s filmmaking, I’m also one of the few that enjoy remakes/reboots as usually it’s a new or updated take on subject matter or a story I’m already a fan of. They don’t replace the originals by any means but at times I have been pleased with the way a remake has left the cheesy acting and dialogue at the door and reintroduced the fear factor in a character. Plus I’m happy to have more Leatherface, Jason and Freddy (yes even if not R Englund). I don’t know that I would necessarily classify 2017’s “IT” as a remake as opposed to a new theatrical adaptation since the original go around was a made for TV mini-series, but the difference in this situation for me is I truly disliked the “original” from 1990 and to be honest wasn’t even sure I wanted to go see this film…

     But boy am I glad I did!!! To say I was pleasantly surprised would be an extreme understatement! To start I was impressed at the sheer number of emotions the film was able to elicit. Everything from fear and tension to humor, anger, disgust and a hell of a good amount of creepiness. The dialogue amongst the group of friends was fantastic and quite hilarious at times which provided some nice levity. I also thought for the majority of them their acting was tremendous. This adaptation was pretty damn creeptastic and while I’m rather desensitized at this point in my life after all I have seen, the movie could definitely be scary for some. There were a few jump scares and in your face..make you feel like you’re being chased scenes but they didn’t feel overdone. While not overly gory there was enough blood, missing limbs and feel it in your chest tension that I was happy.

     When It comes to Bill Skarsgard’s portrayal of Pennywise, I thought this character was a very difficult undertaking for him as fans natural reaction will be to immediately want to compare him to Tim Curry. Possibly placing him in a no win situation much like Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger. For a variety of reasons I’m going to avoid any comparisons between the two as Curry was from the “old guard” of extremely talented and multifaceted entertainers. Along with the TV mini-series having been made nearly 30 years ago. However, considering the shoes Bill was tasked with filling, I thought he did an incredible job. The entire film itself had a much darker and scarier feel than the mini-series which I loved and certainly did not possess the hokiness I felt the mini-series brought.

     

     

 

     I did have the opportunity to ask a couple moviegoers their opinion of the film as I was leaving, looking for other people’s take on the film as I had avoided all reviews of the film prior to going.

Chris M had this to say “Curry was great in IT but Skarsgard took the intensity to a whole different level which made Pennywise even scarier. That, combined with the humor and acting by the kids made the movie just come together.”

Marcos H shared “IT was incredible. Best thing about it was it wasn’t a remake of the TV mini-series and instead was taken from the source material (the book) which made it more terrifying than the original and was a great movie all around.”

 

     I would definitely recommend horror fans at least give it a chance with an open mind whether they happen to be a Stephen King fan or not. As a stand-alone horror film I found “IT” to be extremely entertaining and fans (unless they have already heard) should be very pleased at the surprise revealed directly before the credits begin to roll.

     I feel pretty comfortable giving 2017’s “IT”  out of 5

 

     Check out the trailer here:  https://youtu.be/FnCdOQsX5kc

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