John of the Dead's Horror Flick Reviews

Director – Ruairi Robinson

Cast – Max Records, Jenni Fontana, James Nardini

Release Year – 2011

Reviewed by John of the Dead

While looking for something to watch I came across BlinkyTM, which I had never before heard or read about, and immediately jumped on the opportunity to give this a watch when I noticed its “short” status as I have been aiming to watch and review more horror shorts. I have always had a strong love for robots in horror films, and seeing this was going to be a killer robot flick I went in with high expectations, and my expectations were met.

Alex Neville is a young boy with few outlets to deal with his parents’ crumbling marriage going on before him…until he comes across the newest sensation in best-friend-technology, Blinky. All is great at first, but when Alex takes his anger out on Blinky he makes the mistake of a lifetime.

Coming in at only 13 minutes in length, BlinkyTM gives us a story that covers numerous emotions and occurrences for such a short runtime, which I applaud writer/director Ruairi Robinson for. Set in a world not too far into the future, robots are being used for anything and everything, and Alex’s Blinky is used to full potential to serve as best friend, maid, and psychotic killer. We watch Alex as he struggles to cope with his parents constantly arguing and disintegrating their marriage, and we feel wonderful joy when he finds the companion he has been looking for, albeit one that lacks a soul. It does not take long for Alex to become tiresome of Blinky, who only wants to help and play, but is unable to be a serious substitute for a human being, who can show affection, love, and give advice at the right times. We then are exposed to Alex’s breakdown over Blinky, which then kicks the horror in gear, and with pretty fun results.

Robinson’s direction was great, and his background in SFX really shows as he makes great usage of Blinky with very good CGI and plenty of action utilizing him. The performances are not overly believable, but each actor involved plays his/her part well, and much emotion is provided for the viewer to witness as we go from lows to highs to lows again, although most of that involves Alex. The horror itself is great, and slowly builds until the film’s gore-inducing climax. Robinson’s execution of the horror was great in its slow development, which never felt rushed nor poorly paced in this short piece, showing that this man from Ireland really has the talent to deliver an enjoyable horror experience.

Overall, BlinkyTM is a sweet horror short that gives us a cool story coming with plenty of emotion and well-executed horror. The SFX are great and Robinson provides good horror for the type of film this is, making for a recommended watch if you can find it.

Rating: 7/10

Director – Gonzalo López-Gallego

Cast – Warren Christie, Lloyd Owen, Ryan Robbins

Release Year – 2011

Reviewed by John of the Dead

The very first moment that I heard of Apollo 18 I was hooked, and the trailers only furthered my interest. Despite some pretty bad efforts (Atrocious) I do have a love for “found footage” horror films because I enjoy the mystery associated with the footage, and combined with my love for horror in space, as well as horror combined with factual events, I went into Apollo 18 with high expectations that were sadly never met. While the overall storyline is an interesting one that also comes with a few decent chills, Apollo 18 is a failed effort that never delivered the solid horror that I expected, making for one of the biggest disappointments of the year.

Decades after the top secret mission Apollo 18, nearly 100 hours of video shot by the astronauts was found and edited into a film displayed on the internet. The contents of the film contain the deadly events that occurred when Apollo 18 astronauts landed on the moon and found something they never knew existed.

Sometime’s it’s the story, other times it’s the direction – this time it’s both. Unsurprisingly, I loved the overall storyline due to the numerous elements it mixed, but the screenplay itself is what really had this film doomed from the start way before production kicked in. What doomed the film so early? The answer is simple: a lack of horror. Good “found footage” films tend to start off small with the horror and slowly build into awesome horror that kicks you in the face during the final act, but Apollo 18 missed out on that. The film started off with the small elements of horror (as I expected) but never developed into the truly scary experience that I was expecting and of course hoping for. We get a few cool scenes here and there, along with a few jolts, but when the end credits hit me I immediately thought to myself “Seriously? That’s all?”, while overhearing couples saying “We should have seen Shark Night 3D instead”, seriously. In addition to the failure to reach horror potential, writers Brian Miller and Cory Goodman(Priest) threw in some heavy cliches that I saw coming with ease, which were not necessarily bad in their own right but did nothing to help look past the films other faults, which they could have done. Their screenplay is not without its positives though, which includes good character play/dialogue, interesting developments involving the moon, and an antagonist that I had never seen before. Too bad he screwed everything else up.

Director Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego has hit and miss with his direction of this film, giving us awesome atmosphere throughout the film with his usage of awesome sets, namely the surface of the moon and the claustrophobic scenes of our astronauts making themselves at home in their small shuttle. While I usually enjoy the look of POV filmmaking, I was not happy with his execution of this filmming style, which came off quite grainy and lagged a lot as well. Now, I know this film was meant to come off that way so that it can appear that the footage was really shot back then, but I heavily disliked it because it held back the horror, which is the hole point of the darn movie. Lopez-Gallego managed to deliver a few good jolts here and there, and in fairly good fashion, but despite his overall execution of the horror being mostly positive there is just not enough horror in this film. The acting performances are good, each coming from “uncredited” actors, and the usage of the antagonists was positive, although the FX could have been much better (which would have also been scarier) had the film come with a higher budget.

Overall, Apollo 18 is a film with a unique storyline that suffers from a poor screenplay and mediocre execution that kept it from achieving full potential. This really could have been a very scary film and one of the best of the year, but in the end the horror is limited, seldom scary, and nowhere near the level that it should have been.

Rating: 5/10

Director – Kevin Munroe

Cast – Brandon Routh, Sam Huntington, Peter Stormare, Anita Briem, Taye Diggs, Kurt Angle, Andrew Sensenig, James Hébert, Kent Jude Bernard

Release Year – 2011

Reviewed by John of the Dead

When word hit that there would be a live-action adaptation of the Dylan Dog story, a popular Italian comic series from the mid-1980s (which Cemetery Man is a spinoff of), I thought to myself, “Great, another iconic horror story ruined by Hollywood”. The film suffered a limited release that did nothing to aid its poor critical reviews, but I still went into this piece hoping to enjoy it and that is exactly what happened. Yes, that is right, I enjoyed this one. Sure it ventures from the original storyline and does not give us anything we haven’t seen, but Dylan Dog: Dead of Night was a fun and well-crafted effort that gave me pleasing results despite what the “critics” say.

Brandon Routh(Superman Returns) stars as Dylan Dog, a supernatural private eye who has since left his supernatural doings and now focuses on private investigation. When he receives a call from a woman whose father was brutally murdered by a werewolf, Dylan sees the need to go back to his old ways and save the city of New Orleans from a war between warring monsters who have grown tired of hiding in the dark.

I will admit now that I am not overly familiar with the entire Dylan Dog series, as I have not read every issue or any of the “specials” and am mostly reviewing this piece as a film of its own, not an adaptation of previous work. From the other reviews I have read it seems the film is constantly lambasted by the writers comparison of the film to the original work, and while I may touch base on that slightly and tell you the differences I noticed, this review is not a compare and contrast, but a simple review of this horror film.

For starters, I love the Dylan Dog storyline of a paranormal investigator taking on the monsters that hide within his city, New Orleans (London in the comic series). While cliché and overused in the superhero sub-genre, Dylan Dog left his work as a paranormal investigator for a reason, but as usual the work of a hero catches up to you and he is forced to once again take on the monsters that blend in with mankind so easily, but this time the stakes are higher. There is a war brewing between werewolves and vampires, and Dylan Dog’s journey to keep the warring parties at bay takes us for a joyride through many different elements of horror, such as zombies and the lore behind werewolves and vampires, all with favorable results and that Dylan Dog “wit” that fans love. Numerous action scenes adorn this piece, giving us plenty of monster ass-kicking and the kicking of monster ass via a crafty arsenal at Dylan’s disposal, namely a sweet revolver often loaded with bullets designed to take down certain types of monsters. His sidekick, Marcus(Sam Huntington; Superman Returns), provides most of the comic relief for this film, giving us non-stop dimwitted actions that eventually result in him becoming part of the undead, which only furthers the comic relief he provides. Some may balk at the usage of Marcus instead of Dylan Dog’s comic book sidekick, Groucho Marx, but the studios simply could not acquire the rights to the character, so there you go. We get many worthwhile characters used in this piece, some creatures and some human, and they all provide positively to the film and its pacing, leaving me to marvel that Sahara and A Sound of Thunder writers Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer could deliver a solid 107 minute watch that never left me bored or un-entertained, although the film did lost a bit of spice during the final sequence, but not enough to deter a solid positive rating.

Director Kevin Munroe did a swell job executing this piece, giving us great atmosphere and consistently awesome sets that made for the fun visual experienced that I hoped this film would deliver. I was iffy on whether or not he would succeed given his only feature film prior to this was TMNT, an animated piece, but he proved that he has the talent required to give us a good horror experience, and a fun one at that. The fight scenes were great and we were not given any more CGI than what was needed, and each of the actors involved, Brandon Routh, Sam Huntington, Taye Diggs, Peter Stormare, Anita Briem, and Kurt Angle provided good performances that fit their roles very well and aided to my enjoyment of this piece that I strongly feel has suffered unjust criticism.

Overall, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night is an enjoyable adaptation of the famed comic series that despite pissing off numerous fanboys by not following the storyline to the “T” still provides a great horror experience for those who can watch this with an open mind. The story is cool, fun, witty, and contains numerous elements of horror and horror lore, and Munroe’s direction solidly delivers each element in enjoyable fashion, making for one of the most fun horror films of recent time.

Rating: 7/10

Director – Jim Mickle

Cast – Connor Paolo, Nick Damici, Danielle Harris, Kelly McGillis, Michael Cerveris, Sean Nelson, Bonnie Dennison

Release Year – 2011

Reviewed by John of the Dead

While I thought writer/director Jim Mickle’s debut film Mulberry Street was a borderline-positive watch that could have given us much better results, it was very obvious that he had some great directing talent and the ability to deliver some unique writing ideas. Because of that, I went into Stake Land, his sophomore effort, with expectations of enjoying the piece, but I had no idea that I would enjoy this unique vampire tale as much as I did. Giving us a great modern day take on the vampire sub-genre that bleeds artistic beauty and great horror, Stake Land is a breath of fresh air for the horror genre that delivers a great experience – once again proving that Hollywood really needs to give these undeveloped directors a shot.

When a vampire epidemic spreads across the land and turns America into a wasteland, Martin(Connor Paolo; World Trade Center) and “Mister”(Nick Damici; “Law and Order”, Mulberry Street), who Martin owes his life to, travel across the wasteland in hopes of reaching what was formerly Canada, now deemed “New Eden”. This wishful thinking will not come easy for the two, as the epidemic is far from over – however they have more to worry about than just vampires as mankind often latches on to drastic decisions when faced with economic and political turmoil.

If you know me then you should know that I am not the biggest fan of the vampire sub-genre. In all honesty, my reason for my disinterest in the sub-genre is that they simply do not scare me, at least the traditional vampires we get in horror films. Stake Land changed my perception of the vampire sub-genre, at least regarding modern day vampires, and that lies much in the fact that this film delivers great horror and played off much like the films we receive in possibly my favorite horror sub-genre…zombies.

The storyline takes off quick, immediately throwing us into the horror resulting from the vampire onslaught, and the film’s heavy drama element also kicks in early as well. The young Martin is forced to grow and toughen up quick if he wishes to survive the ordeal, forced to abandon his dying parents and allow himself under the wing of a master vampire killer, “Mister”. I loved that the overall storyline was simple, simply focusing on our characters as they try and make their way towards a safe haven that they believe still exists despite reports from others they have come across, but this film offers much more than just a simple journey. They come across numerous obstacles along their trek, most of which are vampires although we do get non-vampires that are still just as dangerous, namely religious fanatics who feel the vampires are sent from God to cleanse the earth and cannibals who take the easy way out in searching for food. Each of the numerous encounters Martin and Mister come across inflicts them emotionally as they are forced to kill in vicious stake-to-the-heart fashion, save someone, or find someone who provides them comfort in this dark day and age. This storyline played off like most great zombie films, focusing mostly on the survivors and how they react socially to the epidemic and then focusing on the horror at hand, while still delivering good horror of course. I really enjoyed the heavy drama element mostly because of how well executed it was, but also because it did not detract from the horror like the drama we get in other horror/drama films. The take on the vampires was great as they were not the typical vampires we see but savage beasts that resembled the “infected” seen in 28 Days Later, except they can only be killed via a stake to the heart, which just ups the tension and the ante given the kill sequences must occur up close and personal. At 98 minutes this screenplay was well-crafted and superbly executed to give us awesome pacing and just the right amount of horror and drama at just the right times, and I applaud writers Nick Damici(who also portrays “Mister”) and Jim Mickle for this great story.

Jim Mickle’s direction is fantastic, expertly selling this film to us via great atmosphere in beautifully shot fashion. I first noticed his amazing cinematography in Mulberry Street, and he continues this artistic approach with this piece, giving us constant gloomy settings very reminiscent of the subject matter the story delivers and an amazing score whose music really aids the atmosphere. The horror is great due to this fancy camerawork, which gives us a full-frontal approach to the vampire kills and vampire killing provided by our two protagonists (among others), and Mickle does not shy away from the live-action gore or creature FX, leaving me already wishing he’d come out with another horror film and continue the progress he has shown. The usage of the vampires was great, and I had no problem with them running around at full speed and acting like maniacal maniacs. Their look was great and gritty, and most of them did not possess the super powers (although they were impervious to gunfire) that most vampires possess, which made for another unique take on this vampire sub-genre that I heavily enjoyed. I was very elated to see such great action scenes thrown into this piece, and although most of them consisted of Nick Damici kicking the ass we did get a fair amount of badassery from the young Connor Paolo as well. Horror fans should marvel at the inclusion of female horror icon Danielle Harris(Halloween 4: The Revenge of Michael Myers, and many others) in this film, who plays a fairly prominent role that aided in the drama element, as well as producer Larry Fessenden (and his forehead) in his cameo appearance as a bartender. The performances from everyone involved were awesome, which was another reason the film’s heavy drama element was so darn enjoyable, and it rounded off this superbly executed effort from one of horror’s hopefully formerly under-appreciated directors.

Overall, Stake Land is a great addition to the vampire sub-genre that not only gives us something unique but a damn good horror effort from a strong up-and-coming filmmaker, Jim Mickle. Perfectly blending horror and drama, Stake Land is sure to please those who want a serious effort that delivers the goods in awesome and high intensity fashion, making for one of the best horror films of the decade and one of the most enjoyable vampire films I have seen in a long while.

8/10

Director – Andres Muschietti

Cast – Berta Ros, Victoria Harris, Irma Monroig

Release Year – 2008

Reviewed by John of the Dead

I first came across Mama while searching for horror shorts after really enjoying Red Balloon, and while this film only lasts a mere 3 minutes it sure delivers a heavy dose of horror for its miniscule runtime, leading the way for a future feature-length effort after garnering the attention of Guillermo del Toro.

The very young Victoria is awoken from a nap by her frightened younger sister Lily who insists that they must leave the home immediately due to someone coming back home.

At just three minutes this short wastes little time on development and immediately throws us into the horror. This entire short pretty much plays like a scene taken from a full-length movie, which may not win it any awards but is a damn good showcase for writer/director Andres Muschietti to secure the production for making this a feature effort.

I loved the storyline and how quick it moves, especially the usage of the girls fearing someone who has “returned” to the home – which just so happens to be their demon-possessed mother. The bulk of the piece follows the girls as their mother chases them through the home, delivering a few good shocks and a climax that I saw coming but was forgiving towards due to this being a short piece and the ill-nature of the climax.

Muschietti’s direction is good, employing great atmosphere in a superbly creepy home and using exciting camerawork to sell the horror the story provides. The look of the mother was great, although it bled cheesy low budget CGI (it happens with these films) that I was very forgiving toward, however what really sold me was the Irma Monroig’s mannerisms as the demon possessed woman, which was definitely the highlight of the film and the source of the horror.

Overall, Mama is a great short film that provides non-stop horror throughout its three minute runtime, which may not seem like much but it sure as hell is a good way to get a quick scare in when you don’t have the time for a full-length effort. The horror is good and Muschietti’s execution is great, making for a film that I really hope makes it to full-length status.

Rating: 7/10

Director – Damien Macé, Alexis Wajsbrot

Cast – Rachel Bright, Niamh Palmer Watson, Gareth Bennett-Ryan

Release Year – 2010

Reviewed by John of the Dead

My buddy David aka “Double Barrel” turned me onto this horror short, and when David tells me something is worth watching it is definitely worth watching as he is never wrong. I knew nothing of the story going into this one, which I figured wouldn’t matter given it runs a mere 13 minutes and within the first 5 I would know what it was about, and I must say that with a storyline like this I am dying for this short film to be made into a full-length effort.

Julie, a young babysitter, finds herself constantly disturbed by the young girl she is babysitting one night. Julie assumes the girl is just having nightmares, but little does she know – the nightmare is in the home.

I love it when a horror films needs little time to give me a few good chills, and Red Balloon did just that for me. The idea of a babysitter facing any type of horror is not an original idea, but when you can take an unoriginal idea and still keep the viewer engaged then you have a winner. Our story is constantly moving with little time wasted and nothing but proper development taking place, which thankfully did not take very long for things to really get going. The horror provided was excellent, and came via a sweet twist very reminiscent of the incredible clown scene from Amusement. It was not an original idea, but it was one that is rarely used despite being creepy as hell and guarantee to deliver goose bumps as it did for me. The film does end rather abruptly, especially when all you want is more of the awesome antics going on, but hey – this is a short film.

Writers/directors Damien Mace and Alexis Wajsbrot, SFX maestros by trade, did a fantastic job delivering this film to us. The atmosphere is perfect, the sets are great, we get good performances from all (two) involved, and they execute the horror to perfection, resulting in some darn good chills that I did not expect to see in a short film.

Overall, Red Balloon is a great horror short that provides an effective story that results in great horror thanks to awesome direction. At only 13 minutes total the film will not provide as much horror as a full length effort, but the amount of horror you get in such a short package makes for a highly recommended watch if you can find it.

Rating: 7/10

Director – Thom Eberhardt

Cast – Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Robert Beltran, Sharon Farrell, Mary Woronov, Geoffrey Lewis, Peter Fox, John Achorn, Michael Bowen

Release Year – 1984

Reviewed by John of the Dead

The 1980s gave us horror fans numerous memorable films that will stand the test of time in our genre, and Night of the Comet is one of them. Giving us a pseudo-zombie tale that relies little on zombies and more on human interaction and conspiracy to sell the horror, the storyline is a unique one that still manages to deliver all of the most enjoyable 80s cliches, and complimented with good direction makes for one of the most memorable cult horror films of all time.

Regina(Catherine Mary Stewart) and her younger sister Samantha(Kelli Maroney), always at war with their sleazy stepmother who takes charge when their Army general father is overseas, find relief when a once-in-a-lifetime comet strikes Earth and turns nearly the entire population into dust. While the girls think they have the world to themselves, they soon find themselves facing otherworldly horrors in zombies resulting from the waste in the air, as well as a military conspiracy going to extreme measures to find an antidote.

You know how darn fun Night of the Creeps is right? RIGHT?!? Well Night of the Comet is Night of the Creeps before Night of the Creeps in regards to being a fun and classic 80s horror effort that also involves a comet. The one-liners and cheesy dialogue are positive, and this storyline embodies everything that was great about the decade. The idea of a comet hitting earth and bringing something drastic with it was not a new idea, but I had yet to see that tactic used to this effect and it made for an interesting storyline due to it leaving most of earth in a pile of dust and slowly turning the survivors into maniacal zombies. I enjoyed the idea of two young girls(sisters), the children of an Army general, serving as our main protagonists due to them being unlikely candidates for surviving the tough new land they live in due to their gender, but because daddy raised them to kick ass they have no problem employing hand-to-hand combat and securing/operating fully automatic Mac-10s, giving us the most unlikely of ass-kicking heroes. We get several other positive characters thrown into the mix, namely Hector(Robert Beltran), a traveler who joins forces with the young girls and of course serves as a love interest. I mentioned earlier that the zombie action takes a backseat, and that was one of the more surprising things I came across in this piece. I honestly went in expecting loads of sweet zombie action, but all in all I can say assuredly that there were less than 10 onscreen zombies in this piece, so be forewarned that this is not a devout zombie effort, just a cool film that uses the zombie element to a different level; the fear of turning into a zombie as a result of the toxic dust from a comet that struck earth. Most of the horror lies in the people/zombies our survivors come across after the comet hits, which includes the typical zombies as well as zombies that are able to think and move about normally, which was the case with the film’s infamous mall scene. While the first two acts of the film were positive, the third act really sealed the deal for me in how genuinely awesome it was, which was very surprising given most films do not deliver a strong third act, but Night of the Comet accomplished just that.

Writer/director Thom Eberhardt did a great job directing this piece, giving us awesome atmosphere (after the comet hits) very reminiscent of comic books / graphic novels. The red tint during the apocalyptic establishing shot scenes was great in putting us in the lonely and daunting atmosphere the story provides, and he endorsed bright and well-used colors ranging from the buildings our protagonists are in to the vehicles they drive and they clothes that they wear. You would think that such things would not make a huge difference, but whether you notice them or not, they definitely play into your visual enjoyment of the film. His execution of the zombies was mostly-positive, but he really sold this piece in part with the numerous actors involved and how well they portrayed their characters. Some were serious, others zany, but they all provided well for what the storyline called for, and that only added to my pre-existing enjoyment of this piece. Eberhardt adds high levels of “fun” with his execution, making for a truly memorable film that still remains a fairly under-appreciated horror effort to this day.

Overall, Night of the Comet is a great 80s horror effort that brings us a sweet story and great direction that delivers all of the fun elements we enjoy from that infamous decade. While this is not a devout zombie effort, there is much going on to keep viewers’ attention and make for one of the genre’s most enjoyable efforts.

Rating: 7/10

Director – Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Cast – Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laure Dougnac, Jean-Claude Dreyfus, Karin Viard, Rufus

Release Year – 1991

Reviewed by John of the Dead

The French have been making good horror films for decades, although it was not until last decade that they received the recognition they deserved with Martyrs, Inside, Them(Ils), and High Tension. Over a decade before any of them debuted City of Lost Children writers/directors Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet gave us a truly original tale with Delicatessen, a zany-plotted horror film that comes with the utmost in superb direction and makes for one of the most original horror films of the 1990s.

Centered in a post-apocalyptic age where food is so scarce it is used as currency, we follow a former clown who takes up an add as a handyman for an apartment complex situated above a delicatessen. Little does he know, the delicatessen/apartment owner has a knack for turning his handymen into unique feasts served to his tenants, but the plan is foiled when the landlord’s daughter falls in love with the man, sparking an all-out battle royale of insane proportions.

I was expecting a zany effort going into Delicatessen, but I had no idea that it would turn out as crazy as it did. It is supremely obvious that this film is way before it’s time, and even in this day and age it marvels the more creative films of the last few years. Never before have I seen a plot such as this one, although the idea of a newcomer being served as a dish by a cannibalistic antagonist is not a new idea, just an idea that was used in incredibly unique fashion. The daughter, Julie, falling for the new guy, Louison, was a cliché yet also unique way to bring about the carnage, which resulted in a latter half of the film consisting of constant battles between the two warring parties, the new guy and the girl’s father, Clapet. We get numerous odd characters thrown into the mix, with the most notable being an underground group of people known as the “Trogs” aka” Troglodytes” who are called upon to aid the girl and new guy in escaping her father’s apartment complex. The horror never really develops into a scary or gory effort, and stays somewhat in the background most of the movie. Nonetheless the storyline gives us enough to keep us horror hounds at bay, so long as you can appreciate the artistic approach afforded by the filmmakers.

Our two directors, Marc Caro(The City of Lost Children, Dante 01) and Jean-Pierre Jeunett(The City of Lost Children, Amelie) did an incredible job delivering this cool story to us, with amazing cinematography and awesome sets that left me marveling at how sweet of a visual film this is for its time. Had this been 2005 I would not have second guessed it, but for a 1991 film to look this good is utterly amazing and shows the directing prominence both of these directors harbor(which is evident given their other film credits). We get positive performances from the numerous actors involved, each delivering their own quirky mannerisms and insane antics and adding to the already fun atmosphere created by Caro and Jeunett in this truly memorable experience.

Overall, Delicatessen is a great French horror/comedy that gives us a unique tale complimented by superb direction exceeding in all levels. The horror is neither scary nor gory and in fact a bit subtle, but it is present enough to make for a good horror experience in this zany and insane early 90s flick many years before its time.

Rating: 8/10

Director – D.J. Webster

Cast – Robert Sampson, Will Bledsoe, Joe Turkel, Camilla More, John Diehl, Wendy MacDonald, Alan Blumenfeld, Ken Lesco

Release Year – 1990

Reviewed by John of the Dead

I had never once heard of this piece before viewing it, but its title and storyline had me stoked and hoping that I would enjoy this one, and despite a “dated” feel and a few faults I found this flick to give me what I wanted to see.  With a heavy sci-fi influence and numerous creative elements blended into a slightly far-fetched but enjoyable story, The Dark Side of the Moon is a positive early 90s flick that I enjoyed and appreciated due to its somewhat rare status.

It is the year 2022 and the maintenance ship SPACECORE is en route to repair nuclear-armed satellites orbiting the Earth.  When an unexplainable systems error leaves the ship and its crew stranded on the dark side of the moon, then come across a NASA shuttle what disappeared 30 years prior, and after docking with the shuttle they come face to face with a nightmare centuries in the making.

I love when horror and sci-fi are blended together, especially when it involves space.  Alien was absolutely genius in giving us the simple tagline: “In space, no one can hear you scream.” and plays directly into why I enjoy horror films that involve space, because there is simply nowhere for our protagonists to run outside of their vessel.  I have seen horror films that involve the moon, but never one that focuses on the dark side of the moon, and I found that simple idea to be a genius and genuinely creepy one.  The mechanical failure that hinders the ship and leaves it stranded in the dark side lead the way for the numerous clichés that would come about in this film, but if you go in expecting a cliché watch then those clichés turn into the ones you appreciate, not the ones you cannot get over.  When our crew members face the arrival of the NASA space shuttle is when the horror starts to develop, giving us a few chilling scenes when we learn that NASA halted launching shuttles over 30 years prior and when the crew members board the shuttle and find not only a haunting scene but allow the entity aboard the shuttle onto their vessel.  While I would have preferred a creature effort regarding the antagonist, we are instead given a supernatural being that slowly picks off each crew member and inhabits their body for its own evil doing.  This of course results in much character conflict as they begin fighting with one another over who could be possessed, much like in John Carpenter’s The Thing, which aided the storyline in pacing and keeping things interesting given the entire film takes place on a space vessel/shuttle.  If you know me then you know that I love nowhere to run scenarios, and our protagonists being trapped in a vessel out in space definitely counts as such, and makes for some good tension as a result.  I loved the idea of the writers, Carey and Chad Hayes, throwing in the usage of the Bermuda Triangle, something that has always interested me but an element that we rarely see in the genre despite it sometimes giving us good results (Triangle).  In addition to this, we are also given a Satanic element thrown in, one that I never saw coming and definitely appreciated as it only added to the unique storyline.  I have seen numerous films involving Satan in one way or another, but never one that involves him in space, which I found pretty cool and unique in its own right.  Simply put, this storyline gives us horror, space, the Bermuda Triangle, and Satan all in one film, and for the most part…the story works.  It may be a bit far-fetched to some when we see how the Bermuda Triangle ties into the satanic element and the ill-fated space mission, and downright cheesy in how easy all of this comes together, but as I mentioned earlier: if you know what you are getting yourself into there should be no major problems with the story.

Director D.J. Webster did a mostly-positive job with this one, although that will surely be open to interpretation based on who watches this piece. Fans of campy horror who can appreciate a low-budget effort will find his direction to suffice for such a film, but those looking for a film that does not feel like an amateur effort may not find him as favorable as I did. His atmosphere and sets are great, especially when you consider the film’s low-budget and DTV status. The atmosphere he uses is dark, gloomy, and spooky, which came set up perfectly by the storyline’s usage of mechanical failure to leave the ship with only low reserve lighting for most of the film. His execution of the horror was good, giving us a fair amount of gore and a full-frontal approach to a few awesome kill sequences, however the acting jobs from nearly everyone involved are just below average, but that is to be expected with a film of this nature.

Overall, The Dark Side of the Moon is a fun and cheezy early 90s effort with much 80s zaz still left over from one of horror’s greatest decades. The story blends numerous elements together into one surprisingly cohesive effort that despite being a bit far-fetched still makes for engaging material. The cheese is high and the horror is worthwhile, making for a fun horror/sci-fi flick that I recommend for those who know what they are getting into.

Rating: 7/10

Director – Bernard Rose

Cast – Charlotte Burke, Elliott Spiers, Glenne Headly, Ben Cross, Gemma Jones, Samantha Cahill, Jane Bertish

Release Year – 1988

Reviewed by John of the Dead

I first heard of Paperhouse while searching for rare horror films from the 70s and 80s, and immediately pounced on the opportunity to finally give this one a watch. While not an outright horror film and more of a drama/fantasy, Paperhouse still gives us a fairly strong horror element to warrant this review, and comes with a very enjoyable and captivating story sure to leave you with a memorable experience.

Anna, a young social outcast misunderstood by all who know her, one day discovers a magical link between a drawing pad she owns and her unconscious dream state. She is captivated by a mundane house containing a young disabled boy that she often sees in her dreams, and as she tries desperately to increase the link between her real life and her fantasy world she inadvertently welcomes a horrific entity that she never saw coming.

Going into this piece I really did not know what to expect. I knew of a strong fantasy element, but I had not clue as to what writer Matthew Jacobs would do with this adaptation of Catherine Storr’s novel. From the get-go we are thrown into the somber and dilapidated world that Anna lives in, constantly bombarded by her nonsensical teacher, classroom bully, misunderstanding mother, and the absence of her father who is constantly working far away from home. When she discovers the link between her drawing pad and her dream state is when the fantasy element kicks in, which starts off subtle at first due to her drawings being of simple fashion, but the element soon grows stronger as Anna spends more and more time in her fantasy world, trying to aid the young boy, Marc, in recovering his ability to walk and eventually leave the home she drew for him. Doesn’t sound very horrific eh? As I mentioned earlier, the horror element in this film is second to both the drama and fantasy element, but I must say that when the horror does kick in it kicks in with full force for the duration of its long sequence. This is sadly the only sequence of horror in the film, but it was worthy enough of my reviewing praise as was the awesome fantasy element sure to please those looking for a simple and unique storyline that everyone can enjoy.

Director Bernard Rose(Candyman) did a great job executing this effort, using the most of what little budget he had to make for a pretty engaging film thanks to great atmosphere and execution that compliments the storyline. We get great usage of Anna, portrayed by Charlotte Burke in sadly her only ever acting performance, and Burke does a fantastic job in moving the story and carrying the film for us. The emotions Anna faces are polar opposites of one another at times, and Burke was very believable while expressing her character, which saddened me when I learned that she failed to continue an acting career with such talent. Rose’s execution of the fantasy element is great, making for a feel-good experience during most of the film, and I am glad to say that his usage of the horror element is dead-on awesome as he used simple yet effective tactics to make for a high intensity horror sequence that aided this film in its uniqueness along with its fantasy and drama feel.

Overall, Paperhouse is a great pseudo-horror film that is sure to please those of you looking for a unique film experience, just do not expect a devout horror film going into this one. The storyline is great and complimented with Rose’s direction it makes for a captivating effort blending multiple genres together into one highly under-appreciated film overall.

Rating: 7/10