4/20 Massacre: Review

While I have seen “stoner” Horror Films before (Hansel and Gretel Get Baked, Evil Bong), this is the first time I’ve ever seen a Stoner Slasher film. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when I sat down to watch it. What I got was a rather fun and bloody ride fueled by mayhem and Marijuana.

Our group of women, are on a camping trip in the mountains, and like all camping films, we get our obligatory “Local Police” run in who is played by Jim Storm (Dark Shadows 1966, Trilogy of Terror 1975). Our group of campers begin their trek to their camping spot and soon everything goes sideways.

This is again, the first stoner slasher film I’ve ever seen and it lives up to the genre. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much weed and blood in the same film before.

Its a fun film and very well written. Dylan Reynolds did a great job on this outing. He directed and wrote the film, put together a great cast, and from what I just watched, he has a great eye for shots. I’ll be looking for more of his work.

Our cast of leading ladies are

Jamie Bernadette as Jess (Nightstalker, Absolute Evil, Lake Death)

Vanessa Rose Parker as Aubrey (Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance)

Stacey Danger as Donna (Teen Wolf (Series), The Neon Demon)

Justine Wachsberger as Rachel (Sorority Row, Teen Wolf (Series))

Marissa Pistone as Michelle (Raze, Cruel Will, STORY: Occult)

The rest of the cast support the film greatly. They’ve created a fun slasher flick with the right amount of comedy added in. All in all with these ladies and the rest of the cast and crew, they’ve cranked out what I will go ahead and calla Future Cult Classic. I for one will be buying my own copy.

If you get the chance, give it a watch and smoke along.

 

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New Wrestling Horror Film: Parts Unknown

The folks over at Boston Film Family have released a trailer and poster for their new wresting horror film PARTS UNKNOWN and we are happy to share it and a brief overview of film!

Written, produced, and directed by Boston Film Family CEO Richard Chandler, PARTS UNKNOWN is
the story about how the infamous Von Strasser family (of professional wrestling fame) seek to violently
reclaim their notorious status through supernatural means despite being blackballed by forces within the
industry. The movie stars retired pro-wrestler/actor William DeCoff, pro-wrestling manager/actress Lizzie
Havoc, and Boston Film Family alumni Alexandra Cipolla, Alexander Hauck, and Sarah Michelle.

For more information on Boston Film Family, LLC, the company’s homepage can be accessed at Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/pg/bostonundead – or on the company’s website – www.bostonfilmfamily.com . The movie’s IMDb page can be found through the following link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5759188

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Monkey Farm: Review

Tonight I sat down and watched “Monkey Farm” from Catch Me Kill Me Productions. Directed by Ian Messenger, this docu-style found footage film, starts out a little shaky, but everyone seems to settle into their roles and they try move forward.  This particular film does something I haven’t really seen a lot of. They bring animal testing awareness to the forefront, while trying to scare you all at the same time.

Our activists start out the film interviewing experts in their fields about the harm that product testing on animals can cause. They find out about a facility where animal testing occurred, so they go to check it out and see what they can uncover. Of course, the more they find out and the more they look, the closer it gets to everything going sideways.

The film is well written and well directed, and they have a great looking cast, however its the cast that kept pulling me out of the film. The makeup and effects are solid, but its the line delivery that kept breaking the setting. I suggest giving this a watch either way. Everything this film has going for it, outweighs the little bit going against it.

Freak Rating

3.5/5

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Behind the Scenes of Dark Trepidation

Hello, FREAKS! If you haven’t heard, there is a horror film currently being shot in eastern NC, called DARK TREPIDATION. This film follows a couple hiking through a state park to see the White Falls, and Along the way they meet up with a photographer who is out on a photoshoot. But they will soon realize something is not quite right with the forest…

We have some cool behind-the-scenes pics and video for the upcoming horror film DARK TREPIDATION for you. The film is still pretty tight under wraps, so we cant show you any of the good stuff yet, but we do have some stuff that the filmmakers released to tease us with. The film is going to be released under Maine Genius Productions & Jay Big Productions.

Produced By Jermaine M Nix,  Directed by Jason Bigart, Cinematography by Austin Bitikofer. Starring Nyzahir Muhammad, Rebecca Martin, Jermaine M Nix and Arianna Tysinger

https://www.facebook.com/millionaireWolf/videos/1851593961799993/

 

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Review for “Hell’s Kitty” (2018)

“Have you ever performed an exorcism on a cat?”

 

Director: Nicholas Tana

Cast: Dale Midkiff, Doug Jones, Adrienne Barbeau, Ashley C. Williams, Kelli Maroney, Courtney Gains, Barbara Nedelkajova, and Michael Berryman

Review By: Amanda Blake of Horror Movie Freaks

What a purrrrrfect reason for dog lover’s to hate cats even more. I, myself, am a cat lover and have 2 of my own. This movie made me question their loyalty just a little bit more than normal.

You know how everyone always says cats are demonic, evil, and out to plot the death of humans? Well, about the same scenario here. Take a cat named angel, infuse it with a demon, and her human is a Hollywood writer looking for love. Doesn’t sound extremely menacing, right? Wrong. This pussycat has an especially terrifying bond to her human that causes lots of mayhem for him.

I went into this movie thinking “Cujo”, kitty style. Boy, was I ever wrong. I was very delightfully wrong. The cast for this movie is incredible. But, even with this amazingly star-studded film, they don’t even mount up to the real star, Angel.

It has to be rough trying to make a living in Hollywood as a writer to begin with. The trials this poor man has to go through just to get a date and have them running out screaming a short time later, makes you wonder if having a pet is worth it. I suppose if it’s possessed, that would probably be a different story and you would try to just be rid of the pet. This poor man tries over and over again to save his beloved pet to no avail.

On top of all of that, you have a friend that lives next to you and barges in whenever he feels like. He even tries to help. The humans went through hell for this seemingly innocent kitty cat.

I really did enjoy this movie. It is definitely something new, bold, and more original. The acting was awesome, how could it not be? The cat was amazing, what cat isn’t?

It’s the perfect amount of cheesiness, mixed with bad jokes, blood, and chaos. You have never seen this all-star cast like this before…well, maybe…but I can’t let you in on that one. You will have to see for yourselves and I highly suggest you do! It is a fun, furry movie that will leave you wondering, “Is my cat possessed too?”.

You will be able to catch this purrrfect piece on VOD on March 13th, and DVD on March 27th, 2018.

 

      

 

 

 

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Review for “The Lullaby” (2018)

Director: Darrell Roodt

Cast: Brandon Auret (Dr. Timothy Reed), Reine Swart (Chloe van Heerden), Thandi Puren (Ruby van Heerden)

Review by: Amanda Blake of Horror Movie Freaks

In theaters and VOD – March 2nd, 2018

Is motherhood all it’s cracked up to be? It may not be for this new mom, Chloe. She ran away from home and came home to have a new baby. How did she end up in this predicament? Her mom, Ruby, does not agree with the decisions of this young mother, but she does seem to stand by her side. She tries to help her as she learns to now take on the motherly role. Chloe seems to be in for more than just being a new mom though. How normal is normal after giving birth your first time? I’ll let you decide.

The actors and actresses were fantastic. It all seemed so real, it was as if it was happening directly in front of me, no screen involved. Everyone seemed genuinely scared at all the right moments. The jump scares actually got me a little bit. I would feel like something was gonna happen at a certain point but it was timed to take you off guard, and it worked. I don’t get caught by jump scares, ever. This time I did a few times.

I love when movies take place in a smaller filming space as it seems more personable and leaves you wondering just how they are going to do anything with such a small space. This one really pulled it off. It’s out in the middle of nowhere in this small town, there was a couple extra locations but they were only used for a short time for what was needed. There was also no unnecessary dialogue that had nothing to do with what the movie was about.

I wish there was a little more back story to better explain what I was watching and a little more backstory on the character development as well. Everything happened very quickly. On the other side though, as quickly as everything happened, the whole movie kept up the pace. There was a little bit of downtime but only to lead into the next happenings. I’m not even totally sure of myself as to whether I figured it.

There is a plethora of different things that happen that takes you deeper into the movie and the mindset of this new mom. It all leaves you wondering what you just watched and what all just happened. I’m still at this point trying to put everything together to try to make sense of it all. That’s another thing I love about these types of movies though too. They leave you guessing and wanting to watch it more to see if you’ve missed anything else in there that may give you more clues.

All in all, every movie has its ups and downs, this one definitely had a lot more ups than downs. I really enjoyed it. Definitely worth it! If you want to question your own sanity, you’ll love it too!

9/10

 

 

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Flay (2017) Movie Review

Directed by Eric T Pham
Written by Matthew Daley
Starring Elle LaMont, Dalton E. Gray, Johnny Walter, Violett Beane, Noé de la Garza

“After the death of her mother, an estranged daughter struggles to save her brother, and those around her from a malevolent faceless spirit.”

Despite what the misleading poster wants you to think, the first thing you should know about this movie is that it is about a chain. A killer chain. We know it’s a killer chain because of the red-tinted POV whenever anyone goes to touch it. These aren’t fancy chains, they’re just your standard haunted object chain that exudes a rippling CGI visual distortion chain. According to the intro monologue and montage an old Indian shaman was captured, chained and had his face flayed off so he put a curse on the chain as revenge. None of this was explicitly shown, in fact nothing is really explicitly shown in the movie.

If we compare this film to the Don Dohler’s formula of Blood, Boobs and Beasts we get a few drops of blood in the True Blood copycat title sequence. There are ample amounts of cleavage shots and even a flash of side-boob. And the beast? Well, you know what Slenderman looks like right? Just add more distracting CGI distortion to his face and you’ll get the idea.

Once out of the title sequence, the whole old Indian shaman flaying thing is discarded until tenuously recalled in the last fifteen minutes of the movie.
What we get for the most part is a bunch of admittedly earnest and sincere actors trying their best within their cliched roles. We’ve got the stoner, the slut, the nerd, the older sister, the handsome cop and a mother who dies by jump scare. It’s the soundtrack that is the real star here though. Hardly original but in keeping with the rest of the movie. It’s full of all the classic horror movie score tropes but elevates the film above it’s limitations with a solid sense of atmosphere. Although the film relies too much on the music to build the tension rather than what’s on screen.
The main problem is that this film it has many potentially great ideas and motifs that aren’t really connected that well throughout the story or just dropped altogether. There’s the haunted chain, an ongoing spooky water motif and there’s “Slenderman” and his soaking wet, long black haired and voyeuristic pal who is also afflicted with the same distorted facial CGI curse. These elements come and go through out but all seem disjointed until explained at the end.

What really hamstrings this film is it’s over reliance on CGI embellishment.
For all it’s faults, this film still has it’s own charm and sense of humor and stands proud on it’s PG-13 feet. I just wish there was more flaying. Might be time to rewatch Martyrs.

Flay is on VOD March 6th.

Flay Movie Opening Title Flay Movie Screenshot - Haunted Chains Flay Movie Screenshot - Heroine vs Bogeyman Flay Movie Screenshot - Typical Teen-kill Characters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVcwdZLv3i4

All screenshots taken from the trailer.

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Review for “The Plague 2”

Reviewed by: Amanda Blake from Horror Movie Freaks

Directed by: Emir Skalonja

Hello again all! Amanda here, with yet another review! You guessed it, this one is a sequel for “The Plague”. This movie followed exactly what I expected and wanted from it. It took off exactly from the point of the first movie, following the survivors.

This time around there was more action and more plagued. There was a few quirks and things that kind of made me go “huh?”. But those are the fun hidden things that I’ll leave you all to find for yourselves. I love looking for little things like that. It leaves me intrigued to see if there’s anything else. That also in turn, leaves me wanting to finish out the movie even more than I already do.

Moving on, there is another group of people introduced this time around, and they are not quite as nice, maybe even a bit more evil than the priest in the first one. They talk a lot about torture and seem to be holding these “followers” hostage. The sanctuary they are holed up in seems to be quite a safe place though, so maybe they’re not. Then again, they talk about a dark basement to stay away from. Hmmmmm…That doesn’t sound menacing at all! Let’s go check it out, it’s got to be fun stuff they are hiding. Maybe their stash. Maybe it’s something more sinister. I’ll leave that to everyone else to find out.

There was also more death. Mmmmm…death, the heart of any good horror movie. I felt like the plagued could be a little more vicious than they were portrayed, but at the same time, they seemed all the more menacing. They did not just rip their victims apart, they genuinely savored every bit of what they were doing. All in all, okay, they did not need to be more vicious than they were. They are just fine. More than fine even, I loved them! Their obsession for flesh and blood is something more to be scared of over them either being faster or slower, or more vicious.

Again, the sound track was right on. I’m a metalhead and they added something extra for my type of music lovers that was so much more awesome than I could have imagined. The makeup, yet again was spot on. I really enjoyed how certain things were shown, such as dead bodies that are torn to pieces. I almost had to question the sanity of the director because it looked a little more realistic than I was expecting.

Then there was the filming location. I can’t get over the place that was used in this movie. I have been in the middle of the woods on several occasions, not those ones exactly, and I don’t think I want to see the ones used in this movie anytime soon. If ever there was a place to give the ultimate feeling of creeped out, this is the place. The way some of the trees bend and twist is just unnatural.

This movie was filled with death, gore, reunions, more death, extra gore, and more action than the first one. The meaning behind it all is just incredible. There couldn’t be a more heartwarming message throughout the movie. Just goes to show, how much do we really look into the depth of a movie to see what they are actually portraying? There is something to be said about this movie and that is, the message in this movie could not be more true.

This one I decided to give a 9/10, I really enjoyed the overall of this movie. There is so much more to see than meets the eye.

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Death House Premiere! An Interview With Aleksandra Svetlichnaya

Death House: An Interview With Aleksandra Svetlichnaya

by: Stephen Ingves

 

For nearly two years I have observed an intense fervor for an independent film like I have never seen before. The way it has been continuously discussed and asked about within Horror Movie Freaks, amongst friends and of course over social media reminds me of the excitement and anticipation usually reserved for a select few of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters. It can be hard to match the passion horror fans possess for their favorite horror icons. Many of which we grew up with and who helped to shape and mold our love for the horror genre. And what helped drive this whirlwind of excitement was the fact that an unbelievable number of those favorites within horror were all brought together under a single banner…one title…DEATH HOUSE!!!

Originally written by the legendary Gunnar Hansen, who then worked together with the films Director Harrison Smith prior to Gunnar’s untimely passing, the film was truly dedicated to Gunnar. In fact prior to each take, many of the cast would say “This Is For You Gunnar”. Horror fans of all sorts were united by their love for the artists who’s careers have spanned a number of decades and covered a variety of styles within the genre. Actors such as Kane Hodder, Tony Todd, Dee WallaceAdrienne BarbeauSean WhalenFelissa RoseCamille KeatonMichael BerrymanSid HaigBill Moseley, and R.a. Mihailoff, along with so many others I can’t even name them all here, all star in this film! And believe me I’m not talking about cameos.

 

 

     I was blessed to get to see Death House alongside many of the cast at Scare-a-con in Springfield, Mass last June of 2017 and I’ve been struggling to contain my excitement so as not to spoil it for anyone else. Above is a picture from Scare-a-con of a panel where the director and several of the cast discussed the film. But the reason we’re here is Horror Movie Freaks is lucky to have such a great friend like Philip Rogers who put us in touch with Aleksandra Svetlichnaya!

 

 

     The multi-talented Aleksandra was cast as one of the prison’s security guards and was also a member of the incredible stunt team led by Jae Greene of Greene Monster Stunts! Together as a group they pulled off some absolutely amazing stunt work throughout this fast paced, thrill ride of a movie.

 

 

We were fortunate to be able to speak with Aleksandra about her experience filming Death House, along with some of her other current projects and her work as a producer, stunt performer, director and writer.

 

 

Hello Aleksandra! Thank you so much for taking a few minutes to chat with us at Horror Movie Freaks!

     –Hi Stephen, I’m more than happy to do it. Thank you so much for your interest in my work!

Would you mind telling us a little bit about where you are from? Are both your parents Russian and were you born in the U.S.?

I was not. I was born in Kharkov, Ukraine. My parents are Russian and Ukrainian by heritage and I was raised in a Russian-speaking household.

I know you are a director, actress, writer, producer, stuntwoman, and even worked in the Costume department. Do you have a preference and is there a particular direction you see your career taking? Also what helped expose you to so many of the facets of the filmmaking business?

There’s basically one thing that answers both of those questions – I have a hard time keeping my nose out of all the things! Professionally, I started in the Costume department and then finagled my way into everything else. But on a non-professional level, I always enjoyed all sorts of creative things: writing, drawing, performing. Essentially, I don’t like to limit myself to any one (or five) creative outlet(s). Ideally, I would like for my career to continue in the same fashion. I would always be extremely hands-on with all aspects of my own projects, like the DINNERVERSE, and then hop over to other projects as an actor, writer, director, costume designer – whatever!

That’s fantastic and speaks of the tremendous amount of talent you possess to be so well rounded and proficient in so many areas of filmmaking. I’m happy you mentioned DINNERVERSE, so we can jump back to Death House in a second. I was wondering if you could explain a little about your film series DINNERVERSE and what the series itself consists of?

-The DINNERVERSE is a short film anthology series that I write, produce, direct and act in. It is very much a mixture of genres, including horror, comedy and action-adventure. The series features a kickass female protagonist and Girl Power is always an important theme for us.

-Each short film, or “course” stands alone on its’ own and you’re able to watch them in any order. But there are definitely Easter Eggs and connective threads throughout the courses to bring the DINNERVERSE together and make things more interesting and fun! Currently “Dinner” and “Breakfast” (which screened and had a panel at San Diego Comic Con 2017!) are available for public viewing on our YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQnYxtJl1o4Z_vnBP1sXu0w

 

 

DINNERMOVIE 4 and 5 (working titles) are currently in Post Production and will premiere later this year. I think it’s also important to note that the entire series so far has been created on a completely $0 budget! Everyone on the cast and crew is insanely talented and has generously volunteered their time to this project. I am so grateful for that!

WOW! To complete all you have done on a $0 budget is unbelievable! It undoubtedly speaks volumes about not only your talent but the dedication, loyalty and drive the team you have assembled around you also has. Also congratulations on all of it’s success at various screenings and film festivals! Would you mind providing just a small gist of what someone could expect from some of the shorts in the series?

Expect the unexpected! The series is built on breaking stereotypes in film, especially those about women. There are always important issues being addressed, but expect to be entertained at the same time. I like to push the boundaries with the themes, be it girl power or horror, but also with what one can expect from an independent, $0 budget series, created by a blonde “model-type” girl.

Sounds extremely intriguing! And one thing we have always been at Horror Movie Freaks are huge supporters of indie projects. What inspired you to create the theme behind this series?

-I started doing martial arts when I was ten with Shotokan karate and have tried my hand..get it?..literally? 🙂  at many other styles at this point. With that background, I thought I would be doing action roles when I got into acting and instead all I was getting were the “helpless pretty girl” type roles. Which was so wrong for me on so many levels. So I opted out of that nonsense and decided to create my own short film, which was the original DINNER movie. This allowed me to do fight choreography and stunts and all that stuff  that I had been dying to do, but it also created an opportunity to represent women in a way that I could be proud of. People are always shocked that I do martial arts and stunts, and I like to challenge the popular expectations of women on screen, in film and in life. Why is a young, blonde woman automatically seen as a victim? Why is it shocking that she can throw a punch? Young girls need to see different ideas. Wonder Woman was a huge dose of girl power last year and now the women of Black Panther are showing girls, and boys, that women can be generals among other things. At the end of the day, that drives me more than anything else.

HaHa oh I get it!…pun certainly intended! lol  With as much progress as we have made there are still some of those old ridiculous stereotypes as you just mentioned that we still must shake and rid ourselves of. But you are certainly doing more than your fair share in making that happen. I truly love not only how well rounded you are but the fact that you took charge and set yourself up to be able to do the type of work you have always wanted to do and work that suits you! You are most definitely an inspiration to others, especially when it comes to hard work and creating your own path.

I’d love to ask about your stunt work. I have an incredible amount of respect for those that put their bodies on the line as stuntwomen (esp Zoe Bell  lol) and men. How did you get involved in stunt work and is there an example you could share of a stunt that maybe didn’t go as planned?

-Zoe Bell rocks! I have exactly zero business being in the same sentence as her! I initially started doing on camera stunts for the DINNERVERSE series and had my first opportunity to be a part of a professional stunt team with Death House.

As far as stunts not going as planned – with indie filmmaking, things don’t go as planned all the time. Of course we always prepare extensively for stunts as it’s very important to me to run a safe set, but the Universe still throws curveballs your way. On the original DINNER shoot, we had a lot going on while shooting the fight sequences – it was dark, we had one light and a fire pit, and the actor playing our monster creature had difficult special effects lenses on that limited his vision. Long story short, during a sequence where we were supposed to roll to the ground and I would flip him over my head, he ended up falling on top of me and smashing his foot directly into my face. My response?…”Is the makeup ok!?!?!”

Are you a fan of horror movies in general and if so is there a particular horror film or TV show that at a young age possibly helped you become a fan of the genre?

-For me, everything goes back to “Buffy” – the TV show mostly, but yes, the movie as well. I found “Buffy” at the perfect time in my life and she impacted my journey to a huge extent. I honestly don’t believe that I would be the person I am today without her. And that includes being a fan of horror.

We had the pleasure of Harrison Smith joining us on the Horror Movie Freaks podcast while you guys were still filming Death House around May or June of 2016 and I can’t even describe what a humble, down to earth, engaging gentleman he was then, when I met him last June at Scare-a-con and again a couple weeks ago at Mad Monster in Charlotte, NC.  Truly a genuine individual. And from the beginning I heard nothing but amazing things about Jae Greene and Greene Monster Stunts. Can you touch upon what it was like working with Harrison, the stunt team and being a part of a project that included so many iconic personalities in film whos careers literally span more than four decades?

-I can’t even begin to express how thankful and humbled I am to have been a small part of such an incredible project. This film is going to be something very special. I have Jae Greene, the stunt coordinator, to thank for bringing me on board. I have said this before and I will say it again, the entire stunt team was fantastic to work with. I learned so much from them all and have made some great new friends – what else can you ask for?!  And Harrison is a great director to work with. He is extremely efficient, but also produces very high quality film work. And believe me, that is not a common combination!

    That must have been an absolutely amazing experience and I can’t thank you enough for taking the time to speak with us about your career and your time filming Death House! We wish you all the best and nothing but great success moving forward. Thank you so much Aleksandra!

-I appreciate the support so much! Thank you!

 

 

 

    Please be sure to check out the Death House trailer below along with getting out to support and enjoy this one of a kind masterpiece in theaters! The film will premiere Fri March 2nd at Regency Van Nuys Plant 16 in California and on March 4th at the Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg, Pa.  After that the film will expand to all or most major markets in the US on Mar 9th and again on Mar 16th. Please check out the Death House Facebook page for all theater information. The FB link is provided below!

Death House FB link: https://www.facebook.com/DeathHouseHorror

Death House trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97ZMB4CsABk

 

 

Also included below is the link to the DINNERVERSE Facebook page where you can find all information and updates for Aleksandra’s film series! 

DINNERVERSE FB link: https://www.facebook.com/Dinnerverse/

 

 

 

 

 

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