31 December 2015

The Final Girls 2015 - REVIEW


I figured I could get in one more review for 2015 before we reign in 2016.  Being a huge slasher fan I was really excited for a new slasher movie to sink my teeth into.  This one has kind of a plot that I was not expecting and still is a slasher film in a way but is a little bit more than that.

Sitting in the car waiting for her mom  to come out of an audition is Max (Taissa Farmiga).  Nancy (Malin Akerman) comes out from the audition hoping it would be a success and regretting that the only film people remember her for is the cult slasher hit "Camp Bloodbath".  Distracted from the road ahead of her Nancy has an auto accident.  Max is ok but Nancy dies.  Shortly after  Max and her friends go to a screening of her moms movie.  Someone in the audience is after them and sends terror throughout the theater, as well as a fire.  Max cuts through the screen to get out of the theater but instead her and her friends are now in the movie with her mom!!

Like I said I was not expecting a plot that put real people into a movie.  Really cool the way they incorporated all the characters.  It's a little like Last Action Hero except it's actually a good movie.  The movie they are in is a ripoff of Friday the 13th but for slasher fans you will feel right at home.  I really don't have any big complaints about this movie in fact I loved it.  I loved the originality and trying something different.  Taissa Farmiga really stands out in this one for me.  She has come a long way since American Horror Story season 1 where I really did not like her at all.  Although, I loved her in Season 3.

The cast is rounded out nicely and all performances were pretty tip top in my book.  There wasn't any performance I really didn't like and if you can guess I am going to recommend that all horror fans watch this film immediately.  Which is why I am going to rate this one 9/10 stars.  Not too shabby for a direct to dvd/blu ray release.  Stay twisted everyone and have a Happy New Year. 


12 December 2015

A Christmas Horror Story 2015 - REVIEW


Tis the season for Santa Claus and who could forget Krampus??  I did not even know about the legend of Krampus till this year with this film, A Christmas Horror Story, and also the movie out in theaters now Krampus.  I mean what is better than a Christmas demon and anthology horror wrapped into one?  Christmas horror movies always hold a special place in my heart.  Some of my favorite horror movies revolve around Christmas and I'm hoping this one will just add to the list.

With this being anthology horror there is not just one plot.  Each tale is wrapped around by Dangerous Dan (William Shatner) a radio DJ who is trying to get everyone into the holiday spirit all while guzzling down a bottle of Whiskey.  Each tale of Holiday terror is equally creepy and terrifying.  Here you will find zombie elves, Krampus stalking a family in the woods, and Santa battling head to head with Krampus.  Who will win the battle?

I have to say I really, really, really enjoyed this movie alot more than I thought I was going to.  The wraparound story was pretty good but the stories are what really drove this.  No real big name actors to mention here but the movie was very well made and acted.  I really thought this deserved a theatrical release but I guess 2 movies dealing with the same subject matter may have been a little much. I really can't find anything that I really didn't like here.  It keeps you on your toes all throughout.  Even a few twists and turns to fuck your mind a little.  I really can't reveal too much because I don't believe in spoiling the movie for anyone.

I do have to highly suggest you run out and pick this one up or rent it if that's what you prefer.  When it comes to rating this one it is rather easy I would give this one 8 out of 10 stars.  Very much deserving of the high marks.  As always stay twisted everyone and Merry Christmas!!




09 December 2015

I Am Alone 2015 - REVIEW


In a time where found footage and reality TV are all the rage, it's getting harder and harder to find anything enjoyable about either one. Usually found footage is full of jumbled images, horrid audio and vomit inducing footage and I'm pretty sure I don't even need to get into the farce that is reality TV... *cough* Don't Be Tardy *cough*. Relax, I only saw about 5 minutes of it ONCE and that was more than enough for me. Point is that when filmmakers find something "catchy"... found footage... it gets done and done over and over again until viewers just scroll right passed it. I tend to do it quite often these days simply because it is so over done and for the most part not well. Which brings me to I Am Alone.

Survivalist and reality TV star Jacob Fitts (Gareth David-Lloyd) sets out to document his seven day adventure in the Rockies for episode 413 of his TV show, I Am Alone. Unbeknownst to him, a deadly virus has taken over the nearby community of Montrose, CO where his crew Mason Riley (Gunner Wright) and Adam Levine (Rory Zacher) have set up to interview locals and capture additional footage. With day one coming to a close and Jacob settling in for the night, he is attacked and bitten by one of the infected and is forced to try and complete his journey and rendezvous with his team before he is overcome by the virus. As chaos spreads rapidly throughout the town, camera man Mason is taken into CDC custody where Dr. Marlow (Marshal Hilton) reviews his footage in the hope that they can discover why it took Jacob longer than everyone else to be consumed by the virus.

Gareth David-Lloyd has won several best actor awards for his portrayal of Jacob Fitts and rightfully so. His depiction of a man thrust into an unimaginable situation was both gripping and captivating; most notably while he was watching videos sent to him from his wife. His on screen presence is a refreshing addition to the independent film community.
The film also had solid performances by Wright, Zacher and Hilton.

Filmed mostly with GoPro cameras attached to the actors and surveillance footage, I Am Alone displays some remarkably good cinematography and clean shots. Working in conjunction with the real town of Montrose, CO and a large amount of locals who stepped up as extras didn't seem to intimidate director Robert A. Palmer one bit. With only a couple of short films on his resume, he seems to have delved into I Am Alone with steady feet to create an authentic and emotional film that captures the human side of a zombie apocalypse. Accompanied by a score that is reminiscent to that of 28 Days Later, the film manages to keep the pace fairly well.

However the film is not without it's flaws. Some of the dialogue becomes trite and watered down toward the end and the scenes inside the CDC bunker, while relevant to story progression, are distracting and a bit intrusive at times. Also, the main point of the film being the evolution of the virus within Fitts is hard to comprehend when the viewer isn't given information on how long it took to overtake everyone else (unless I missed it). Nevertheless, I Am Alone is most definitely worth a watch, especially by those who are fans of the zombie and found footage sub genres.


The Chosen Now Available on Netflix


Los Angeles, California–On July 24th, Terror Films released its first horror film, The Chosen in a co-distribution partnership with Supergravity Pictures. The film was released on various platforms, including iTunes where it has remained in the top 100 of all horror films for over 8 weeks. As of December 1st, the film is now available through an exclusive SVod deal on Netflix and will be available at Redbox starting December 15th.

The film centers around Cameron (Kian Lawley), a directionless 19 year-old destined to never leave his hometown. He is thrust into the role of hero when his 10 year-old niece, Angie (Mykayla Sohn), becomes possessed by the mythical demon Lilith. With only six days to break the demon's grip on the child, Cameron, with the help of his sister (Angelica Chitwood), must perform the unthinkable task of systematically killing his family members. He must do this in order to rid his niece of the demon and bring peace to his fractured household.

First time feature film director, Ben Jehoshua stated “the story behind The Chosen was sparked when I was sitting at breakfast with my friend and co-writer, Barry Jay Stich. We were talking about our favorite horror films of all time, which led to the topic of our families and how often you hear people say, ‘I’d do anything for my family.’ But then I asked myself, would they really? That was our starting point. My brother Judah, who is an occult fan, suggested the Lilith storyline. We’re Jewish and wanted to explore our own mythology rather than Christian possession or the Greek themes that so often make their way into Horror films dealing with possession.”

Terror Films’ Joe Dain, Miles Fineburg and Jim Klock produced the film and The Chosen stars Kian Lawley, Elizabeth Keener, Angelica Chitwood, Mykayla Sohn, Barbara Goodson, Chris Gann, Casey James Knight, Emily Killian, Dayna Devon, Harv Popick and Penelope Richards.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/137642361

Downloadable version: https://app.box.com/s/3bnk5v61ew0pn72n6m4bba0mncq3c9t5

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/the-chosen/id1035045930

Netflix:http://www.netflix.com/search/The%20Chosen?jbv=80064518&jbp=1&jbr=0

RedBox on December 15th: http://www.redbox.com/movies/the-chosen

Ourbreak: The Mutation Volume Two Now Available


Outbreak: The Mutation, Volume Two in the Trend-Bucking Zombie Trilogy, Releases a Deadly, Unstoppable Zombie Horde on the World—Hailed as “A Frightening, Violent, and Gory Un-Dead Story”

Masterfully crafted by Scott Shoyer, The Mutation, the powerful second volume in the Outbreak trilogy, continues to break the stagnant mold of zombie fiction as it ensnare and brings readers along in a deadly last chance attempt to save the world from complete annihilation. The Mutation takes place two years after a deadly virus swept across the world. Not only does Shoyer have his readers follow two groups of people as they fight for survival, but he again takes readers where they have never been before—this time on a horrifying trip inside the minds of the deadly zombies themselves. The Mutation is intense, violent, and brings the genre back from the dead.

For Immediate Release
Austin, Texas – While nobody will deny zombie fiction’s huge surge in popularity, both readers and critics alike are currently crying out for wholly unique, mould-breaking narratives that don’t succumb to the recycling of the same old ideas. Thankfully, Scott Shoyer has stepped up to the plate with gusto.

Volume one of Shoyer’s Outbreak trilogy has already injected literally new blood into the market. In The Hunger, readers were captivated as a seemingly innocent day at the zoo led to a violent and world-threatening zombie apocalypse. In volume two, The Mutation, Shoyer further explores the world that he created in volume one and details how two groups of survivors are coping with their fight for survival. In true Shoyer style, he now explores new territory by taking the reader on a horrifying trip inside the minds of the deadly zombies themselves.

Synopsis:
Zombies have overrun the world making human beings an endangered species. The zombies are getting stronger, smarter, and deadlier. The remaining human survivors are finding it more and more difficult to fight them off. Amidst this apocalyptic war, two separate groups of survivors are drawn to the small, seemingly dead town of Spicewood, Texas—but for very different reasons. There is Walt and his group of ex-addicts, and Wilder and Butsko, two of the only characters who made it out of The Hunger alive. Each group believes that what lies in Spicewood, Texas could alter the course of the war with the dead. But what they couldn't know is that what also lies in Spicewood, Texas might be the source of the outbreak itself and the very end to all life on earth.

“The Mutation continues to explore the world I created in The Hunger,” explains the author, founder of the popular AnythingHorror.com website and community. “In the first volume I traced the origin of the outbreak back to those lovable creatures that live all around us—animals. Readers loved the source of the outbreak. But now the virus has mutated, and The Mutation will take readers into the same world, but with seemingly unstoppable zombies who have gotten stronger, smarter, and deadlier.”

Continuing, “The Outbreak trilogy was designed from the ground up to give the zombie genre something new. As strange as it sounds, zombie fiction can often have a distinct lack of zombies, with the human drama taking center stage and dragging readers away from what they really want—zombie action. I promise my readers that the violence, gore, and horror will keep coming at them hard and fast, while also having interesting, strong characters that drive the narrative forward.”

It is a creative cocktail that appears to be working; readers have come out in force with rave reviews for volume one, Outbreak: The Hunger. For example, one Amazon customer comments, “This was an exhilarating read. The author brings a new and terrifying twist to the zombie horror genre. I read this book in one nail-biting sitting. The unimaginable horrors of this story will keep me up for many nights and will have me looking at my beloved pets with a wary eye. Great read.”

Early praise for Outbreak: The Mutation suggests Shoyer has successfully continued what he started in The Hunger. David Bernstein, author of Toxic Behemoth, writes, “Shoyer raises the stakes with his second book in the Outbreak series, giving us an even smarter, deadlier and harder to kill enemy. Loaded with brutal violence and military action and an ending that took me by total surprise, Outbreak: The Mutation is a must read!”

Joe McKinney, award-winning author of Dead City and The Dead Won’t Die writes, “Scott Shoyer steps into the ring swinging as he continues with the next harrowing volume in the Outbreak series. As I've come to expect from him, he handles his action with a sure hand, both violent and furious, and his characters with unrelenting viciousness.”

Outbreak: The Hunger and Outbreak: The Mutation are both published by Severed Press. Outbreak: The Mutation is available on amazon.com in both eBook and paperback.

For more information about the author and his other published works, visit his Author Page on Amazon.

About the author, in his own words:
I’m a horror writer who is also a life long fan. I draw inspiration from everyday situations and then put them through my twisted filter to hopefully shock, disgust, and entertain you.

I find my heaviest influences from the writings of H.P. Lovecraft and Clive Barker. With my Outbreak trilogy I get to write about the sub-genre I grew up on—zombies—and while doing so I get to add my unique twist to it. In addition to zombies, I also love writing about more human monsters and I have many more ideas for novels, short stories, novellas, and scripts. I recently wrote a short script for a brutal, violent Joker-Batman confrontation, and I am currently writing a series of novellas that are heavily influenced by Lovecraft. I’ve created my own Lovecraftian world full of nightmarish creatures and madness—including horrible things that live in the darkness.

In addition to my two Outbreak novels, I currently have four short stories published in four different horror anthologies. You can check out all my writings on my Amazon Author Page.

Contact: Scott Shoyer / scott@anythinghorror.com