comedy horror tagged posts

September 19, 2019, Posted in  Reviews Comments: One comment

Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Writers: Guy Busick, Ryan Murphy

Cast: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien, Andie MacDowell, Henry Czerny, Nicky Guadagni, Elyse Levesque, Kristian Bruun

Producers: Bradley J. Fischer, William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, Tripp Vinson

Music: Brian Tyler

Cinematography: Brett Jutkiewicz

Editors: Terel Gibson

Cert: 18

Running time: 95mins

Year: 2019

What’s the story: Newlywed Grace (Weaving) sees her wedding night become a wedding fright when her in-laws hunt her in a lethal game of Hide and Seek.

What’s the verdict: When it comes to the most unofficially remade movie ever, 1932’s The Most Dangerous Game must be a contender for the top spot...

August 24, 2019, Posted in  Reviews Comments: One comment

Director: Graham Hughes

Writer: Graham Hughes

Cast: Graham Hughes, Annabel Logan, Paddy Kondracki, Joma West

Producer: Graham Hughes

Music: Cullah

Cinematography: Kevin Walls

Editor: Graham Hughes

Cert: 15 (TBC)

Running time: 88mins

Year: 2019

What’s the story: A documentary entitled Death of a Vlogger investigates the strange story surrounding a YouTube filmmaker, whose flat is seemingly haunted by a poltergeist.  

What’s the verdict: Ironic for a film about the paranormal, Graham Hughes’ third directorial outing breathes fresh life into the mockumentary format. Wrapped in this initially standard looking horror mock-doc is an effective chiller and a blackly comic spin on social media stardom.

Graham (Hughes) is a likeabl...

August 25, 2018, Posted in  Reviews Comments: No comments

Director: Mike Mort

Writer: Mike Mort

Cast: Mike Mort, Jennifer Saunders, Paul Whitehouse

Cert: 15 (TBC)

Running time: 85mins

Year: 2018

What’s the story: Maverick cop Chuck Steel, haunted by the death of his wife, finds himself protecting the city from wino vampires… or trampires!

What’s the verdict: Cinematic success or failure often boils down to timing. With the current obsession for 80s nostalgia, Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires arrives right on time to crest that wave.

Yet, this infectiously fun mash-up of 80s action clichés and horror tropes has been a pet-project years in the making. Chuck Steel himself (imagine Dirty Harry without the sensitivity training) has been percolating with Welsh writer/director Mike Mort since his teens.

14-minute short Chuck Steel: Raging ...

August 25, 2018, Posted in  Reviews Comments: No comments

Director: Ezequiel Endelman, Leandro Montejano

Writers: Ezequiel Endelman, Leandro Montejano

Cast: Anahi Politi, Camila Pizzo, Silvia Montanari, Victoria Del Rosal, Augustina Del Rosal

Cert: 15

Running time: 82mins

Year: 2017

What’s the story: In mid-80s Buenos Aires, on the anniversary of a fashion model’s fiery death during a photoshoot, magazine staff members begin disappearing…

What’s the verdict: Blood and Black Lace directed by Pedro Almodovar best describes Ezequiel Endelman and Leandro Montejano’s love letter to the films of Mario Bava, Dario Argento, and other Italian masters of suspense.

The writer-director duo have a blast weaving the giallo style and plots into their own deliciously dark movie...

August 24, 2018, Posted in  Reviews Comments: One comment

Director: Shinichiro Ueda

Writer: Shinichiro Ueda

Cast: Takayuki Hamatsu, Yuzuki Akiyama, Kazuaki Nagaya, Harumi Shuhama

Cert: 15

Running time: 96mins

Year: 2017

What’s the story: When an undead outbreak interrupts filming on a low-budget zombie movie, the director insists on working it all in. But, that’s just the beginning of the story…

What’s the verdict: Large budgeted zombie fests on screens big and small are content to feast on ideas George A. Romero coined 50 years ago. True zombie smarts are now found in the indie sector. A place where pocket money budgets are surpassed by ingenuity and ambition.

Shinichiro Ueda’s One Cut of the Dead may be this trend’s ne plus ultra movie...

August 23, 2018, Posted in  Features Comments: No comments

Mike Mort’s infectiously fun mash-up of 80s action clichés and horror tropes has been a pet-project years in the making. Chuck Steel himself (imagine Dirty Harry without the sensitivity training) has been percolating with the writer/director since his teens.

The 14-minute short Chuck Steel: Raging Balls of Steel Justice played the festival circuit in 2013 and set the template for Steel’s feature debut. Lovingly detailed Claymation style stop-motion animation, violent splatter, unabashedly un-PC jokes broad enough that no-one should take to Twitter…!

We sat down with Mort to discuss the making of his glorious mash-up of Wallace and Gromit and Stallone’s Cobra. 

Rob Daniel: I had a blast with Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires...

August 30, 2017, Posted in  Reviews Comments: One comment

Director: Adam Green

Writer: Adam Green

Cast: Parry Shen, Laura Ortiz, Kane Hodder, Dave Sheridan, Katie Booth, Felissa Rose, Krystal Joy Brown, Chase Williamson

Cert: 18 (tbc)

Running time: 87mins

Year: 2017

What’s the story: The sole survivor of the Hatchet trilogy finds himself facing resurrected monster Victor Crowley, together with a film crew and student filmmakers.

What’s the verdict: Victor Crowley, Hatchet’s disfigured, ‘roided up bogeyman, was thoroughly dead by the end credits of instalment #3.

But, at the request of no less a personage than the late, esteemed George A. Romero, Adam Green has revived Victor for the fans.

All done in that Blair Witch surprise announcement way, with Green’s purported recut of 2006’s Hatchet actually being a brand new movie unveiled a...

August 23, 2014, Posted in  Reviews

Director: Jeff Baena

Writer: Jeff Baena

Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly, Paul Reiser, Cheryl Hines, Matthew Gray Gubler, Anna Kendrick, Molly Shannon

Cert: 15

Running time: 91mins

Year: 2014

The lowdown: The “ambulant deceased” genre gets a (love) heart transplant in Jeff Baena’s gruesome romzomcom starring soon-to-be-hot Dane DeHaan and Aubrey Plaza. She is Beth, recently dead from a snakebite. He is Zach, her grieving boyfriend who wonders why Beth’s family have suddenly shut him out. And realises it is because his expired amour may not be as gone as he first thought. Indie filmmaking is wed to zombie traits in a perfect double bill movie with Shaun of the Dead.

The full verdict: Best known as cuddly goth April in Parks & Recreation, Aubrey Plaza’s two-parts Bu...