A well-balanced blend of Prohibition-era gangster thriller, western, and vampire movie, Bloodrunners is an intriguing prospect. It’s no game-changer, and it never shakes its TV pilot aesthetic, but it wears its hybrid influences well and betrays a knowing sense of its own absurdity. It’s 1933 and everyone, from mobsters to cops, are getting tired of…
I just finished watching the hilarious Slasher.com (or “S/ash.er,” as it’s expressed in the credits), which is a, um, slasher movie. Those aren’t usually funny, and this one probably didn’t set out to be comical in nature, but it is what it is: One of those elusive so-bad-it’s-good movies. Slasher.com begins with some faux news…
It Lives in the Attic? “It Lives in the Back of the Amazon Watchlist,” more like. Here is the latest from questionable auteur Steve Hudgins, the founder of Big Biting Pig Productions, a company specializing in ultra-low budget films made by him and his partner in crime, P.J. Woodside. The plot of It Lives in…
Directed by Nick McAnulty and Brian Allan Stewart, this found footage shocker, Capture Kill Release, seems like a natural progression in the tradition of films such as “The Honeymoon Killers” and “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.” Combining strong performances, a wicked script, and an appropriately dreadful atmosphere, it’s a worthwhile entry into a sub-genre…
In Havenhurst, a recovering alcoholic takes up residence in a Gothic apartment building in an effort to locate her missing friend, herself an addict, and finds a rabbit hole worthy of Lewis Carroll himself. The movie is truly effective at bringing the scares, with an atmosphere of unease and a typically amazing performance by Fionnula…
When I was young, “Poltergeist” scared me enough that I used to put a towel over my TV before I went to sleep. Obviously, this was a silly childhood fear, and I eventually outgrew the worry that my death would come at the hands of a spirit that emerged from my television. However, as I…
The first rule of a frightening film, as outlined in meta masterpieces like “The Cabin in the Woods” and “Scream,” is that in order to be punished, our protagonists must first transgress. Going somewhere they shouldn’t, engaging in nefarious activities, hurting another person (whether they meant to or not) . . . one or all…
