Category: 2010’s

Directed by Vincent D’Onofrio [Other horror films: N/A]

I probably like this film more than I have any right to, especially looking at what many others say about it. But after having seen it twice, Don’t Go in the Woods is still a movie I could see myself watching again down the line.

Let’s get this out of the way first, as I think it’s rather important: if you’re looking for a new horror favorite, don’t look here. Make no mistake, some of the kills are brutal in this one (the main weapon is a sledgehammer – could you imagine them being anything but?), but it takes about an hour to really start throwing out some solid horror, and in an eighty minute film, that might not do it for most, even if they’re fans of the genre. The story’s not dripping in creativity either, and if you didn’t see that plot twist from a mile away, I wouldn’t even know what to say.

The selling point of this movie is that it’s part-musical. As a fan of the occasional musical myself, I don’t think it’s a bad idea, and really, I think the fact that I like most of the songs in the film leads me to enjoy this movie more than most people seem to (the rating on IMDb, as of this writing, is 2.6/10). There are scenes of the band sitting around a campfire singing songs that last ten, fifteen minutes. No horror, just music. And I think that wouldn’t sit well with many. What can I say, other than I didn’t have a problem with it?

There were some decent kills, as I alluded to, and while there was some occasional gore, and a little splatter, I wouldn’t say that it was anything special. A sledgehammer to the head, along with a somewhat fun sleeping bag butchering, were probably my two favorite kills. That said, given the story’s not really that amazing, I don’t think it’s enough to recommend the film to hardcore horror fans.

Matt Sbeglia is really the only one in this movie who is noteworthy. Everyone else, for the most part, is either a generic cut-out or just okay. Many of them can sing pretty well (if that was indeed the actors actually singing), but as for a stand-out performance, Sbeglia gets the closest, and to be honest, he wasn’t that amazing.

Directed by well-known actor Vincent D’Onofrio, Don’t Go in the Woods, due to it’s being almost more a musical than horror, probably wouldn’t do it for many fans of the genre. How many good musical horror movies are out there anyway? Maybe 2014’s Stage Fright? So if you go in expecting a horror film, I think the long, drawn-out musical portions will disappoint. But like I said, I think most of the music is decent, so despite the bland story and terribly cliche twist, even after two viewings, I think this movie’s somewhat decent. Still below average, but decent.

6.5/10

Directed by Dennis Iliadis [Other horror films: The Last House on the Left (2009), +1 (2013), He’s Out There (2018)]

I watched this pretty much at random after hearing about it from a guy at work. Generally, I think the film is pretty decent with some good suspense, but I can’t help but feel I lose interest the closer we get to the conclusion.

The atmosphere throughout the film is pretty top-notch, and is helped along by the moderately small cast (three, maybe four important characters in whole). Story-wise, Delirium’s not the most original movie, but it is tense, and portions leave you wondering what is and isn’t reality. I also have to give props to the cinematography – while there were more jump scares than I’d have preferred, like I said, there were some pretty tense and atmospheric scenes, and those were done right.

Topher Grace does pretty damn well as a man suffering from both a tragic past and mental problems. Solid performance, and even his facial expressions stood out, so there’s little to complain about there. Patricia Clarkson’s character was certainly iffy, but her acting itself was perfectly adequate. Genesis Rodriguez was pretty impressive in her role, and rather cute to boot. Lastly, Callan Mulvey certainly possessed a threatening feel to him, but I sort of felt he came across as a bit generic.

It’s the finale that I had the most issues with, and I can’t even quite explain why that is. It’s not really rushed, but it sort of answered things almost too cleanly, which I know sounds an odd gripe. I just think I’d have liked a bit more mystery near the end than what we got. It doesn’t help matters that much of what we got at the end was highly hinted at before, so none of it really came as a surprise. As for the final scene, I can only hope things work out for the best regarding Grace’s character.

The two highlights of Delirium are the tense atmosphere and Grace’s solid presence. While neither fully makes up for the ending, I do think that the film is generally pretty okay, and you could certainly do worse. As it is, it’s probably around average, but I’ll boost it a bit due to the factors I rather liked. One last thing worth noting – Dennis Iliadis, the director of this film, also did The Last House on the Left remake from 2009, so I’m happy to see that he’s both still operating in the genre and making better films.

7.5/10

Directed by Paul Morrell [Other horror films: Huff (2013)]

I think that Filth to Ashes, Flesh to Dust reached for goals that they couldn’t quite realistically attain, but while the movie is certainly repetitive, I don’t think it’s all that bad. Unfortunately, it’s not particularly good or even memorable.

The special effects were decent. It’s not an overly gory film, but at the same time, they certainly don’t shy away from the good stuff. An okay throat-slitting, a decent decapitation, and a few other highlights exist, and though none are memorable, I think that most of them were competently done. The same could be said for the camerawork, while we’re at it – it was certainly shaky and amateurish, but in the end, it got the job done.

Most of the actors and actresses here didn’t really stand out. Linda Bella acted stoned out of her mind half the time. Allison Ochmanek did a pretty good job playing a racist bitch, almost a little too well. As the main character here, Derrick Bishop was pretty commendable, as was Bianca Lemaire in her role, though I sort of wish she had gotten more screen-time. Our serial killer, played by Nicholas J. Leinbach was moderately threatening, but I don’t think they fleshed his character out nearly as much as they should have.

For the most part, this film could be summed up as “running from killer, fighting, and running again.” Very little in the way of additional story was added. Sure, having one of the characters still getting over the murder of their girlfriend was a bit deeper than the norm, and in fact, some of their scenes had an almost-artistic look to them, but it didn’t combat how repetitive the film started to become.

I’ve got to talk about this, though, and that’s the basis of the film: a serial killer targets those he believes to be inferior, such as minorities and drug addicts. There’s a well-to-do little rich girl who says racist things casually (such as referring to a black friend as a ‘monkey’ behind her back – that kind of bullshit), along with another guy who truly thinks that whites are above blacks and Latinos on the evolutionary ladder. In today’s political climate, I think this movie addresses some pretty heavy topics (and this came out before Trump assisted in heightening racial tension), which was both a surprise and somewhat of an issue. I don’t know if you can accurately look at sociological reasons for racism whilst in the middle of a subpar slasher, but at the same time, I sort of do appreciate the intent.

Filth to Ashes, Flesh to Dust is a movie that has something to say, and that’s somewhat unique for a low-budget slasher film. Certainly, this movie tried to do much more than they reasonably could, but that’s probably something to applaud them for. No doubt, there are some decently-done emotional scenes in the film, especially the finale. But after having seen it twice now, I don’t really think it’s a movie that I would go back to. It’s competently-made, and some aspects are done quite well, but it’s far from the most enthralling piece of cinema.

6/10

Directed by Damien Leone [Other horror films: All Hallows’ Eve (2013), Frankenstein vs. the Mummy (2015), Terrifier 2 (2022)]

Originally a short from 2011, and then edited into the anthology All Hallows’ Eve in 2013, this film follows the homicidal Art the Clown as he dispatches multiple victims in inventively gory ways.

Plot isn’t really a high point of this film, but then again, I don’t think it really needs to be. No background information is given on Art, and he doesn’t utter a word during his stunning performance, but for a film like this, I don’t feel that’s a terrible drawback. What mattered was the gore and tension, and this movie has it.

Art the Clown was damn creepy. Even before he started killing people, he made me feel more than a little uneasy. A damn creepy performance by David Howard Thornton utilized facial expressions and hand gestures to amazing effect. Just by his actions in the pizza restaurant – that smile, his staring – it freaked me out. And I watched this during the day. I cannot imagine watching this in the dark of night. Seriously, Thronton’s performance here was one of the freakiest I’ve seen in a long time.

Jenna Kanell did well also, though of course was nowhere near as memorable as Thornton, no matter how cute she was. Same with Samantha Scaffidi – both of them can likely do well in the future (Kanell was later in The Bye Bye Man, though I’ve heard only negative things about that film). Neither was amazing, but they both did competently enough.

It’s true that the whole cat-and-mouse game, with Art chasing after a new victim just after killing the previous one, felt a bit old after a while, but given Thronton’s strong performance throughout the film, it didn’t really bother me all that much. What helped fight against the potential boredom was the strong gore – great gory effects throughout the film, and it’s certainly not for the faint of heart. Terrifier’s gore rivals some of the strongest stuff I’ve seen in recent times, so kudos to that department also.

Terrifier is a pretty tense and freaky movie, especially with the early scenes featuring Art. Talk about unsettling *shudders*. The ending was a bit weak, and if that was supposed to be a twist, then they need to try harder, but the gore and acting make this a film that I think many horror fans would enjoy, even without having previously seen All Hallows’ Eve.

8/10

Directed by Jackson Stewart [Other horror films: N/A]

As much as so many of the elements of this film work, it’s main problem is that the story Beyond the Gates presents comes across as hollow.

There’s a plethora of things to like about this film. The whole 80’s aesthetic, from fantastic synth music to creative lighting, was fantastic. A few good gore scenes within also, and most of the characters themselves (especially the two bothers) are pretty decent.

Acting was a mixed bag. The brothers (Graham Skipper and Chase Williamson) worked well together, though Skipper’s acting, at times, was a bit dicey. Williamson was pretty solid throughout. Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, From Beyond, and Chopping Mall being her classics) was nice to see, despite most of the time she just stared awkwardly into the camera.

Matt Mercer (probably best known for his role in the Contracted films) didn’t have much screen-time, but was decent when he appeared. While I didn’t care for Justin Welborn’s character (and he didn’t really seem to add much), his resume’s pretty impressive: aside from this, he was in 2007’s The Signal, 2008’s Dance of the Dead, The Final Destination, Halloween II, My Super Psycho Sweet 16 (despite the title, that movie was actually pretty good), Southbound, and some film’s I’ve not seen, such as The Crazies remake, The Bay, V/H/S Viral, and Siren. Basically, if you’ve seen much modern horror, this guy might stick out. Lastly, there’s Jesse Merlin, who plays a goofy store owner. He had a pretty fun presence.

Still, despite a moderately strong cast, the story still came across as rather shallow. Great gore at points, along with well-done 80’s nostalgic aesthetics can only do so much when the story itself is lacking. Especially in the last 15 minutes of the film, things begin to fall apart, and the previous ominous feel the film had sort of gets thrown out the window. I did like the idea that the brothers were fighting to save their father’s soul (given how different the two brothers are, it was a fun dynamic), but there’s not enough meat.

Beyond the Gates certainly had potential. What they do well, they do really well. Again, I’ll direct your attention to the film’s score, filled with fantastic music. The special effects, lighting, and gore were all expertly done. But in the end, the film’s just missing something, and because of that, despite all that this movie does well, it falls below average.

6/10

This was covered on Fight Evil’s second podcast. Listen below as Chucky (@ChuckyFE) and I discuss the film.

Directed by Michael Taylor Pritt [Other horror films: Fun Time (2015), Miles Before Sleep (2016), Night Howl (2017)]

This was the first 2017 movie I saw, and the second Michael Taylor Pritt film I was able to watch (Mile Before Sleep, which I previously reviewed, being the first one). And though this is one of Pritt’s newer films, I actually preferred Miles Before Sleep.

Before any of that, though, let’s briefly discuss this movie. A group of five friends go to a secluded house to party before two of them defect to Canada, but shortly after getting there, they’re stalked and killed off by a mysterious killer. The plot’s simple enough, and honestly, the film doesn’t throw many unique plot points out at you. The kills are decently done (especially one toward the end), but overall, I don’t know how memorable they’d be.

The design of the killer’s mask (which is partially glow-in-the-dark) is pretty cool, and other small things, such as the atmosphere (save for the ending, which I’ll expand on shortly) work out well.

The acting’s a mixed bag – I rather liked most of Pritt’s acting, and others, such as Alyssa Cordial and Rob Pemberton, did a pretty good job, but some of Bridgette Kidd’s lines felt forced. Actually, quite a bit of the dialogue was flaky, and sometimes fell a bit flat, but most of the time, that was tolerable.

One of the places this was most notable, though, was the reveal of the killer. It felt a bit rushed, and I think that’s something that could have been done better. The final ten minutes felt rather out of place, though. Obviously, I won’t go over plot points, but let’s say that the ending, in my opinion, came out of left field, and really, I didn’t feel the final ten minutes were necessary.

At an hour and 15 minutes (the final five minutes being credits), I think the movie could have been cut down a little bit, maybe trimming the ending (or removing it entirely) and a few scenes throughout the film. Miles Before Sleep, not counting the outtakes, was around 53 minutes, so given how this one was about twenty minutes longer, I couldn’t help but feel as though it was dragging a few times throughout the film.

All this said, it’s a perfectly acceptable low-budget slasher flick. It’s more formulaic than Miles Before Sleep was (or at least that’s my impression), but I rather liked the group of friends as a whole, and thought that they did well together. It’s a bit below average, but for a fan of lower-budget horror, it may well be worth checking out.

6/10

Directed by Paul Arnone [Other horror films: N/A], Tom Komisar [Other horror films: House of Whores 2: The Second Cumming (2016), Blood Moon River (2017)], Daniel Murphy [Other horror films: And Then YOU Die! (2013), Night of the Dolls (2014), House of Whores 2: The Second Cumming (2016), Blood Moon River (2017), Horror, Madness & Mayhem Vol 1 Snuff Party (2017), Slaughterhouse: House of Whores 2.5 (2017), Death Care (2020)] & R.J. Cecott [Other horror films: Blood Moon River (2017)]

I have to say, that was certainly something. In it, three women are sexually tortured and humiliated when three individuals in clown masks come to a home where a porno shoot was about to start.

The gore is cheap but done decently enough. Cheese graters to penises, power drills and electric saws to vaginas, and feces and urine to mouth. The film as a whole is 43 or so minutes (53 if you add in the extra ten minute footage of masked Nurse Hatchet dancing and spreading blood over her body), and has the unique feel of a slapstick movie to it. Corny sound effects, repeated scenes, some ragtime music thrown in, some animation and “amusing” captions, all juxtaposed with brutal scenes of rape and sexual abuse. This super low-quality film is pretty sadistic and sick, despite the playful nature much of the content is portrayed with.

Thinking on it, House of Whores makes me think that some friends watched House of 1000 Corpses one too many times and decided to make a film of moderately attractive girls being brutalized. House of 1000 Corpses, while an odd film, never had the level of slapstick that House of Whores has, though. I will say, the three clowns (Slasho, Smasho, and Shago) were acted pretty well. They seemed legitimately screwed up, and had that frantic quality and bizarre mindset you might expect from these types of people. Which brings me to another comparison, being Hate Crime (2012). Now, Hate Crime had a higher budget, and dealt with a family being tortured as opposed to three women, but the same idea permeates both: mentally unstable people torture and kill for kicks.

House of Whores isn’t a great movie, but if you’re going out of your way to find it, I can’t imagine you’d expect anything different. It’s watchable, and it’s pretty sick (did I mention forcing a woman to suck on her bloody tampon? No? Well, now I did). Is it something I’d watch multiple times? Not at all, but I am glad that I’ve seen it at least once. God help anyone else who suffers the same fate. An effective, if not a bit too silly, movie.

6/10