The Devil In I is a 2014 song and music video by American nu-metal band Slipknot produced by Greg Fidelman and the band themselves. The song is the second single taken from 5: The Gray Chapter, a Roadrunner Records release.

Reviews:

“chugs out of a warbling doom line at the beginning and sets itself onto a morose but tuneful course with moody guitar chimes, dirge-loaded bass and empathetic swills from Corey Taylor … The choruses are a little too safe, but a massive and quick-stepped breakdown plus a grinding bridge thereafter keeps the song robust and hectic.” Blabbermouth.net

Lyrics:

Undo these chains my friend
I’ll show you the rage i’ve hidden
Perish the sacrament
Swallow, but nothing forgiven
You and I can’t decide which of us was taken for granted
Make amends
Some of us are destined to be outlived

Step inside, see the devil in I
Too many times, we’ve let it come to this
Step inside, see the devil in I
You’ll realize i’m not your devil anymore

Under the words of men
Something is tempting the father
Where is your will my, friend?
Insatiates never even bother
You and I, wrong or right
Traded a lie for the leverage
In between the lens in light
You’re not what you seem

Step inside, see the devil in I
Too many times, we’ve let it come to this
Step inside, see the devil in I
You’ll realize i’m not your devil
I’m not your devil anymore
Your station is abandoned
Fool you ’cause I know what you’ve done
Sensation depravation
You should’ve burned when you turned on everyone

Video:

Wikipedia

Mark of the Witch – formerly known as Another – is a 2014 supernatural American horror film written and directed by Jason Bognacki (The Red Door).

Epic Pictures are releasing the film in the US digitally and on VOD on June 6, 2016.

Main cast:

David Landry (The Blood Let; Teeth and Blood; Terrordactyl), Maria Olsen (Agoraphobia; Hacked Off!; Impuratus), Lillian Pennypacker, Nancy Wolfe (The Attic Expeditions), Michael St. Michaels and Paulie Rojas.

Plot:

A beautiful young woman is driven into a dark underworld of demonic possession, desire, and extreme indulgences when she learns she may be the devil’s daughter…

Reviews:

” … you need a good deal of persistence to stick with Mark of the Witch until the end. Its ambitiously artsy stream sometimes undermines the narrative, which goes through fits and bursts of disjointed sequences between more coherent moments.” Becky Roberts, Horror Talk

“Mark of the Witch is not exactly what you called scary – perhaps freaky at best – and with its slim plot and game but hardly outstanding performances. However, if you’re looking for change of pace to something a little more reflective and considered, then perhaps it is the picture you should seek out.” Jack Kirby, Nerdly

“For a film that is only 80 minutes long, Mark of the Witch likes to waste its short run-time. If the film maintained a normal speed it would barely hit the hour mark. I enjoy a bit of slow-motion horror as much as the next horror fan, but when the majority of the film is shot in this way it becomes frustrating and any ounce of slow-mo meaning is quickly lost.” Jessy Williams, Scream magazine

“Mark of the Witch is a long and painful 76 minutes that, had it played out at normal speed with a little less padding, it could have made for a fun short or episode of a horror anthology. As it is, it’s slow, unnecessarily weird and cheap looking, with the wide-eyed central performance from Paulie Rojas the only thing worth sitting through it for.” Chris Ward, Flickering Myth

Trailer as Mark of the Witch:

Trailer as Another:

IMDb | Facebook

WH

Arachnicide is a 2014 Italian action horror film directed by Paolo Bertola (Virtually Dead; The Witch of Malbacco). It is also known as L9 Commando.

The film is unleashed on DVD in the US on May 10, 2016 via Midnight Releasing.

Main cast:

Riccardo Serventi Longhi, Crisula Stafida, Gabriel Cash, Filippo Galati, and Marco Conte.

Official synopsis:

“After years of experimenting, a researcher succeeds in creating an incubator that accelerates plant and animal growth. This technology is controlled by a powerful criminal organisation and is being used to accelerate the growth of plants needed for the manufacture of narcotics and illegal drugs. To destroy the laboratories they operate, the United Nations put together an elite team of operatives.

The L9 Commando is a task force composed of six of the best soldiers from different Special Forces Units. After successfully taking down the drug operation, the L9 Commandos are called on for an important mission that brings them to Albania, where they discover a sinister plan that could destroy everything. Arachnicide or die!”

Trailer:

IMDb | Artwork by Gary Marta Design

‘Evil comes home’

The Darkness – formerly 6 Miranda Drive – is a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed by Greg McLean (Wolf Creek) from a screenplay co-written with Shane Krause and Shayne Armstrong (Bait). Blumhouse Productions, Chapter One Films and EMU Creek Pictures produced the film.

On March 5, 2014, director Greg McLean said, “The story is based on a true story that was relayed to me first-hand many years ago about an actual haunting.”

Filming began in April 2014 in Los Angeles with a reported budget of $5 million and ended in May the same year.

The film was released in the US on May 13, 2016, by BH Tilt in coordination with High Top Releasing.

Main cast:

Kevin Bacon (Tremors; Flatliners; Stir of Echoes), Radha Mitchell (Silent Hill), David Mazouz (Gotham), Lucy Fry (Vampire Academy), Matt Walsh and Jennifer Morrison.

Plot:

As a family returns home from vacation at the Grand Canyon, they innocently bring home a supernatural force that preys off their own fears and vulnerabilities, threatening to destroy them from within, while consuming their lives with terrifying consequences…

Reviews:

” … a dumbass, inexpensive horror flick which means anything real is thrown away so that poorly rendered CG ghosts can hover about and smash up windows. The final third of the film goes haywire with portals, talismans and chanting, none of it particularly scary or even interesting. When you find yourself yearning for the thorough world-building of the Insidious franchise, you know you are in trouble.” Jordan Hoffman, The Guardian

” … a horror film made up of long stretches of time in which nothing much of anything happens, and is only occasionally punctuated by brief bursts of pure, concentrated boredom. There are times when it feels as if the producers challenged themselves to see how little it needed and still meet the legal definition of a movie.” Peter Sobczynski, RogerEbert.com

“Greg McLean, the Australian director of the Wolf Creek movies, is a capable enough filmmaker, and he has a talented cast that brings more to the drama than other such films, but it’s hard not to feel like they’re being wasted on such weak material … The Darkness offers very few new scares, mainly because it’s so haunted by the ghosts of far better horror movies.” Edward Douglas, New York Daily News

“The filmmaker [McLean] seems handcuffed by the strictures of über-producer Jason Blum, the horror genre’s new William Castle, which usually require a PG-13 rating and an abundance of predictable fake scares accompanied by bludgeoning stomps and shrieks on the soundtrack. This enterprise is so listless that one can’t even work up a proper head of self-righteous steam over the spooky Native American clichés that drive the plot.” Chuck Bowen, Slant

“It’s vaguely endearing to watch Bacon and Mitchell actually try to act their way through the film’s family drama, as though it weren’t a perfunctory pretext to jump scares. The Darkness needs their chops. It needs anything to distract horror fans from the fact that there’s nothing new here—not the pets that can smell the trouble, not the doorway to the other side, not the expert exorcist type consulted in act three.” A.A. Dowd, A.V. Club

“The Darkness is the sort of horror movie where after the family leaves the haunted house they go back to settle things once and for all… and opt to do so at night. It is the sort of movie where the family bring in experts to help them break the curse but then the experts prove entirely irrelevant. In short, The Darkness offers little to differentiate itself from any number of other horror films and sometimes even from The Brady Bunch.” Josh Lasser, IGN

” … leads to slow, pensive walking and sudden startles. And boredom and disbelief on our part . I mean really, what could have convinced Bacon and Mitchell to sign up for this boring mess? To quote Dana Carvey’s Church Lady, “Could it be… Satan?” Jim Judy, Screen It

Cast and characters:

• Kevin Bacon as Peter Taylor
• Radha Mitchell as Bronny Taylor
• David Mazouz as Michael Taylor
• Lucy Fry as Stephanie Taylor
• Matt Walsh as Gary Carter
• Jennifer Morrison as Joy Carter
• Parker Mack as Andrew Carter
• Ming-Na Wen
• Trian Long-Smith as Sammy Levin
• Paul Reiser
• Tara Lynne Barr as Kat
• Judith McConnell as Trish
• Krista Marie Yu as Tasha
• A.J. Tannen as H. Quinlan

Wikipedia | IMDb

The Haunting of Alice D is a 2014 American supernatural horror film written and directed by actress Jessica Sonneborn (The House Across the Street; Piranha Sharks; One Night of Fear). The original titles were Alice D and Tainted.

Main cast:

Kane Hodder (Jason Vorhees in four Friday the 13th films and Victor Crowley in the Hatchet films), Al Snow (WWE wrestler), Juan Riedinger (Jennifer’s Body; Grave Encounters), Josh Hammond (Jeeper Creepers 2) and Megan Hensley (The Crazies).

The film is available on DVD and VOD via RLJ Entertainment.

Plot:

In the late 1890s, Davenport House was a famously successful brothel, ruled with an iron fist by an owner notorious for his cruelty and insatiable greed. Virtually imprisoned inside these walls, young Alice was forced to endure years of brutality and sexual slavery – until she took murderous revenge on her captors and tragically ended her own life.

More than a century later, the latest Davenport heir is hosting a decadent bash in the newly renovated mansion – complete with drugs, prostitutes and just one rule: anything goes. But the “fun” has barely begun when strange, terrifying things begin to happen. Suddenly, the legend of Alice’s tormented ghost proves to be very real as the guests discover firsthand that vengeance never rests in peace…

Trailer:

IMDb | Facebook

‘500 years of marriage is enough’

Therapy for a Vampire is a 2014 Austrian/Swiss comedy horror film written and directed by David Ruehm. It stars Tobias Moretti, Jeanette Hain,
Cornelia Ivancan, Dominic Oley, David Bennent, Freud Karl Fischer, Erni Mangold, Lars Rudolph and Anatole Taubman.

The movie is also known as Der Vampir auf der Couch and Therapie für einen Vampir.

Plot:

Vienna, 1932. Count von Kozsnom has lost his thirst for life, and his eternally long marriage cooled centuries ago. Fortunately, Sigmund Freud, with his innovative new approach to solving life’s existential problems, is accepting new patients.

During their strictly nocturnal sessions, the good doctor suggests the Count appease his vain wife, desperate to see her own reflection, by commissioning a portrait of her by his assistant, Viktor, an aspiring painter.

However, Viktor’s headstrong girlfriend Lucy most intrigues the Count, as he’s convinced she’s the reincarnation of his one true love…

Reviews:

“The soundstagey look and TV-like lighting here are well suited to the movie’s wink-wink tone. Ruhm’s lively pace keeps the plot’s essential silliness from growing tiresome, even if it never kicks into the high-octane farce the picture seems to seek.” John DeFore, The Hollywood Reporter

” … takes relentless jabs at vampire lore and, most piercing of all, relationships and the vicissitudes of marriage. It does so in an invigorating way with heaps of wit to spare. But don’t worry, it’s not all top hats and snappy quips. There is enough blood splashed around to paint the walls.” Patrick Cooper, Bloody Disgusting

“David Rühm strikes a few satirical laughs coupled with silly visual effects, but levitation and obsessive-compulsive bloodsuckers eventually grow tiresome without non-stop foolishness. It’s cute and kitschy, but Rühm’s softcore take on vampire mockery pulls its punches and weaves a familiar, weightless connection between jilted-ish lovers.” Matt Donato, We Got This Covered

IMDb

‘He’s been watching you’

You Are Not Alone is a 2014 American horror film directed by Derek Mungor from a screenplay co-written with Chris O’Brien. Shot in first-person perspective, the film is a ‘stalk and slash’ horror seen entirely from the point of view of the ‘final girl’.

The film will be available in the US on VOD platforms – such as  VHX, Vimeo, and Amazon – on June 23, 2016, courtesy of B | Movie Studios.

Main cast:

Krista Dzialoszynski, David O’Brien, Mary Mikva, Keenan Camp, Nikki Pierce, Eric Wood, Katie Johnston-Smith, Tony Rossi, Jonathan Pitts.

Official synopsis:

An idyllic summer day turns into a living nightmare…

With school finally over, college graduate Natalie Wilner returns to her hometown to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend. But beneath the flags and fireworks lurks a dark, malevolent figure. After a night of drunken parties, she stumbles home and drifts off to sleep, only to be woken moments later by a loud knock on the door.

Experience one night of terror, through Natalie’s eyes as she fights to escape a relentless, knife-wielding maniac…

Buy Sharp Teeth DVD: Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

“Director Derek Mungor is to be admired for attempting a new approach to the slasher movie format by shooting You Are Not Alone in a first person perspective – not, we should emphasise, a found footage style – and to a point the film does succeed in bringing a fresh and unusual aesthetic to the table. If only we could say the same of its storytelling, we might have been onto a real winner here.” Ben Bussey, Brutal as Hell

“You Are Not Alone is a movie that has me torn. On the one hand the idea of a first person slasher movie is a good one and it’s used (eventually) to great effect. On the other hand, director Derek Mungor takes an age to get to any interesting horror-based action! The film spends over half, almost 60 minutes, of its already short 92 minute runtime just following the protagonist Natalie around her home town before we get to anything remotely creepy and sinister.” Phil Wheat, Nerdly

“Half boring and annoying, half tense and visceral, You Are Not Alone functions much better as an experience than it does a piece of storytelling, making the most of its gimmick and ideas. It’s a gimmick that could get old fast if it caught on, but as the only one of its kind, You Are Not Alone is… well, it’s the only one of its kind.” Joel Harley, HorrorTalk

“There is quality camera work on display here, and none of the head bobbing you might expect from a point of view shot film, also I love the abrupt choppy editing during the conversation scenes, rather than one long shoot different takes are spliced together that are charming to watch. This is quite a blood free affair, I guess in some ways a more realistic slasher, and there is no denying the sublime music but overall if not for that very same music this would just be plain average.” The Rotting Zombie

“It didn’t look or feel cheap at all, the actors were all pretty solid in their roles, and the people behind the camera definitely knew what they were about. It may take a while to get going (a long while), but once it does, it’s a pretty intense ride too, even if we do wish that intensity would have lasted a bit longer.” Improt, The Horror Club

“At its best, the film manages to build up tension to unbearable squirminess through the inescapable intensity of its POV. Each step of Natalie’s attempts at escape and self-defense is shown in excruciating detail, a focus on tiny things like locking doors and peering around corners in a way that couldn’t be captured in any other way … On the other hand, You Are Not Alone suffers from near-fatal pacing problems.” Tiana Bodine, Ravenous Monster

Filming locations:

Princeton and Walnut, Illinois, USA

IMDb | Official site | Facebook | Twitter

‘It wants you… body and soul’

Nocturnal Activity is a 2014 British erotic horror film written, executive produced and directed by Steve Lawson (KillerSaurus; Survival Instinct).

The film stars Raven Lee, Toni Lou Frost, Jonathan Hansler (Axed; Convention of the Dead) and Steven Dolton (Zombie Undead; Devil’s Tower).

SGL Entertainment is handling worldwide distribution via a Blu-ray and DVD release, plus VOD.

Meanwhile, in the UK, a ‘director’s cut’ of the film titled The Haunting of Annie Dyer is being released by 88 Films on DVD on 26th September 2016.

Buy: Amazon.co.uk

Plot:

Annie Dyer (Raven Lee) moves into a new apartment and quickly discovers she is not alone; a malevolent spirit repeatedly attempts to seduce her in order to possess her body as a vessel to carry out its vengeful mission…

Reviews:

“Relatively straightforward horror plot? Check. Plenty of nudity (“the cheapest special effect”)? Check. Long stretches of hot women sensually washing/exploring their bodies? Check. Absolutely minimal production design hidden behind lots of shot-reverse-shot close-ups? Check. Bit of blood and violence right at the end? Check.”MJ Simpson

Buy: Amazon.com

“This movie is amateurish, badly written and incoherent. The female lead and the psychic investigator are so poor at acting that they wouldn’t even get a part in a school play. The so-called special effects are pathetic. It has only two good things going for it. One is the lighting, which is subtle and pleasing to look at. The other is Jonathan Hansler’s performance as the sleazy landlord.” Morgan Scorpion, Amazon.co.uk

Filming locations:

London, England, UK

IMDb | Official website | Facebook

‘First they take your thoughts’

Brainstorm – aka Listening – is a 2014 American science fiction thriller written and directed by Khalil Sullins. It stars Thomas Stroppel, Artie Ahr, Amber Marie Bollinger, Christine Haeberman and Steve Hanks.

Plot:

Two cash-strapped yet ambitious Caltech grad students, David (Thomas Stroppel) and Ryan (Artie Ahr), are attempting to refinine their telepathy technology in the former’s garage. They meet the alluring and intelligent Jordan (Amber Marie Bollinger) who helps them with a major breakthrough (“You need nanotubes!”). However, Jordan’s presence creates sexual tension, and she is not all she seems…

Review:

Beyond the blandness of its original title, there is no doubt that Brainstorm‘s central premise about the possibilities of mind reading, and thought control is fascinating. Writer/director Khalil Sullins’s ambitious debut feature begins falteringly, yet soon develops into an involving sci-fi thriller that would have perhaps benefitted from some tighter editing and a more grandiose climax. Despite the obviously low budget, performances are more than adequate and location shooting in Cambodia gives the production a definite boost.

Sullins bathes each scene in specific colour filters (for example, most of the early tech experiments in the garage/lab are predominantly washed-out yellow), which is meant to accentuate the ambience , however sometimes proves to be distracting, creating an artificiality that reminds the viewer that they are, after all, just watching a movie. That said, the stark redness of the government research facility’s ‘listening’ room works well in contrast to the icy blueness of the scientists’ desk area.

The depiction of David’s marital breakdown lends authenticity to the proceedings yet also serves to slow the narrative down just at a point when the involvement of a typically nefarious CIA department begins to open the film up for the suspense we’re expecting to unfold once the baddies become involved.

Overall, there’s a Cronenbergian bleakness to the film that some viewers may find off-putting, yet arguably gives it a strength of paranoid purpose. Despite some unevenness, Brainstorm is an indication that Sullins has a talent that will evolve over time and this film is a good place to enjoy watching it develop.

Adrian J Smith, Horrorpedia.com

Other reviews:

“Director/screenwriter Khalil Sullins makes an auspicious feature debut with his audacious sci-fi thriller that’s as engrossing as it is thought-provoking. Exploring the nascent technology that will no doubt make mental telepathy a commonplace occurrence, and that’s a world we probably won’t want to live in, Listening features style to spare despite its obviously low budget.” Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter

“Listening displays courage: in embracing bold stylization and colors in an age of washed-out, gritty sci-fi; in not retreating from the more horrific aspects of the involved science; in not succumbing to a sugar-coated, traditional happy ending. That’s why it breaks my heart to say that Listening doesn’t live up to its full potential. There are too many leaps in narrative logic, too many cliched character motivations, too many predictable twists…” Nathanael Hood, The Young Folks

“Meditation as a countermeasure against a sinister mind-control conspiracy is a novel idea; too bad it’s wedged into a rickety framework of numbingly conventional dramatic complications, half-hearted eroticism, and pervasive humorlessness…” Jonathan Keifer, SF Weekly

“It feels like the Sullins is working at the very ends of his budget, yet still manages to create a stylish sci-fi flick.” Geek Tyrant

Buy Safecracker DVD: Amazon.co.uk

Filming locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA
District of Columbia, USA
Cambodia

IMDb | Official site

‘You won’t get out alive!’

Lake Nowhere is a 2014 American supernatural slasher horror short film directed by Christopher Phelps and Maxim Van Scoy, from a screenplay by Phelps and Ryan Scott Fitzgerald.

Inspired by the dusty days of VHS, Lake Nowhere is preceded by original trailers and commercials, intended to replicate the experience of watching a long lost bootleg tape.

In the US, BrinkVision is releasing the film on Blu-Ray (with special features, including a half hour behind-the-scenes featurette documenting the skeleton crew’s six fateful days on location at a remote lakeside cabin), DVD and VOD on August 16, 2016.

Main cast:

Wray Villanova, Laura Hajek, Nathan Andrew Wright, and Melody Kology.

Plot:

When a group of friends arrive at a desolate lakeside cabin, they are stalked and murdered by a Masked Maniac, whose lust for blood transcends our world. This age-old tale of senseless slaughter quickly spirals into the realm of supernatural horror and classic monster movies, as we learn the true power that lies within Lake Nowhere…

Reviews:

“The whole thing is presented with the tone, texture and camerawork, including quite a bit of unshowy handheld shots, of the low-budget shriekers from three decades past … the filmmakers aren’t arch or self-conscious about it, and don’t nudge you about how referential they’re being or play it up for satirical humor.” Michael Gingold, Fangoria

“Phelps and Van Scoy did their best in maintaining tone and atmosphere while simultaneously having the movie balance dark comedic elements and brutal gore with extremely small intervals in between. Despite the apparent guerrilla filmmaking techniques behind the scenes, the entire film had a picturesque and colorful presentation that contrasted with the violence…” Luiz H.C., Bloody Disgusting

“Performances are actually quite believable, and even a bit unsettling later on. The supernatural elements of Lake Nowhere provide some genuine spookiness to a film that easily could’ve relied on generic scenes of a masked murderer hacking and slashing his way through the cabin. Plenty of those sequences are still present, of course—and the practical special effects always deliver… Blair Hoyle, Cinema Slasher

IMDb | Facebook

‘In Cranberry Lake, Pro-Choice is Pro-Life’

Biker Warrior Babe vs. The Zombie Babies from Hell is a 2014 American horror film written and directed by Jeremiah Morehouse.

The film stars Brii Davis, Jake Dylman, Jessica Bloo, Caitlin Bentley, Nathan Bingman, Elise Eden, Ryan Francis and John Jacobs. Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman has a cameo role.

It is available on Vudu, Amazon, YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Live, plus cable on demand.

Plot:

A botched demon summoning causes three friends to become the de facto saviours of their hometown, Cranberry Lake. It’s a race against time to correct the ritual before a legion of demonic zombie babies eat everyone in town…

Filming locations:

Heath and Newark, Ohio, USA

IMDb | Official site | Facebook

Tales of Poe is a 2014 American horror anthology film co-directed by Bart Mastronardi and Alan Rowe Kelly. It combines three of Edgar Allan Poe’s most popular stories: The Tell Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado and Dreams.

The film stars Adrienne King (Friday the 13th, Friday the 13th Part 2), Caroline Williams (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Halloween 2), Amy Steel (Friday the 13th Part 2, April Fool’s Day) Debbie Rochon (Model Hunger, Hell Town) and Lesleh Donaldson (Happy Birthday to Me, Funeral Home).

In the US, Wild Eye Releasing plans to distribute Tales of Poe on DVD and Digital HD in October 2016.

Reviews:

“Tales of Poe overcomes its budgetary limitations and manages to entertain its audience both visually and thematically. There are a few genuinely creepy moments that’ll chill your blood, and some fine performances that elevate the proceedings in a most elegant manner.” The Black Saint, HorrorNews.net

“Despite plenty of imagination, style and talent Tales of Poe is not the miracle that some reviews are painting it out to be. However, for precisely those reasons, it is a very, very good one. Thought-provoking and well-made, it is a feast for the eyes with a sterling cast and some real wit and imagination.” Hickey’s House of Horrors

“Tales of Poe is a refreshing ride into the mind of Edgar Allan Poe as it gives us three different and quite quirky takes on his work. My favorite would have to be The Tell-Tale Heart, everything about that segment just flowed so well and it was the perfect length. Loved it. Same goes for Dreams, I wasn’t familiar with that Poe story, but the visuals, the acting, it was a blast. But all in all, the segments came together well…” Chris Savage, Horror-Movies.ca

Wikipedia | IMDb | Facebook | Official site

‘No one escapes purgatory’

House of Purgatory is a 2014 American horror film written and directed by Tyler Christensen. It stars Anne Leighton (Cyrus: Mind of a Serial Killer; Hybrids; Grimm), Laura Coover, Brad Fry, Aaron Galvin (Die Cheerleader Die) and Brian Krause (Camel Spiders; Poseidon Rex; Plan 9).

Worldwide rights have been picked by Terror Films.

Plot:

Four mid-west teenagers who go looking for a fabled haunted house on Halloween night.

Once finding it, they slowly realize that the house is much more than a run-of-the-mill Halloween attraction – somehow the house knows each of their deepest secrets. One-by-one the house uses these secrets against the terrified teens, who soon find themselves in a battle to save not only their lives, but also their very souls…

Filming locations:

Ashwaubenon and Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA

IMDb

‘They are so dead!’

Not Another Zombie Movie – aka Not Another Zombie Movie… About the Living Dead – is a 2014 American comedy horror film directed by Donte Williams and Jack Johnson from a screenplay by Jay Davis (Choke on That).

The film stars Black Jack Johnson, Jay Davis, Will Cummings, Harold Dennis, Brian “Da Wildcat” Smith, David Perry, and Calvin Evans.

Plot:

Franklin and Mike find themselves trapped in the undead-infested Cyrene City, where they must attempt to lead a group of unconventional survivors to safety. As they join forces with the likes of a pregnant woman, a moronic arms dealer, and a mentally challenged man, they will have to determine which is worse: relying on each other or succumbing to the zombie mayhem.

While this uprising of zombies has overwhelmed the city, Mr. Roberts, the CEO of R2 Pharmaceuticals, has sent in a team of mercenaries known as the S.I.E.G.E into Cyrene City to recover the only known antidote for his own financial gain…

Buy: Amazon.com

IMDb | Facebook | Official site

‘One bad trip. Straight to Hell.’

Expressway to Your Skull is a 2014 American horror film written and directed by Michael Okum, making his feature debut. The film’s title is taken from the Sonic Youth song of the same name.

The film was released on DVD and VOD by Brain Damage Films in 2015.

Main cast:

Paul S. Tracey, Lindsay Atwood, Mark Aaron, Clint Riffo, Katie Royer, Karen Teliha and Don Yanan.

Plot:

Ed and Amy, are a thrill-seeking couple in their twenties. After ripping off a drug-dealer “friend” for some serious cash Ed persuades Amy to steal away from the city to the backwoods for a camping trip to cut loose and “expand their minds”.

With a stash of drugs, Ed and Amy hit the road… but as they arrive in the woods their idyllic three-day trip slowly starts to turn into a nightmare: they encounter a so-called “hunter” named Charlie, a psychotic survivalist with a diabolical, mind-expanding scheme of his own…

Reviews:

“Like Wes Craven, Okum scrapes off the skin of civility on his characters to note the primal reflexes lurking under our socialised behaviours, and he takes on a theme other survivalist thriller makers tend to graze with less consideration – reducing the drama to a macho pissing contest where Ed has to essentially face Charlie on the level of caveman fighting for mating rights. Expressway to Your Skull, for all its rough edges, is a genuinely interesting and persuasive ground zero for a movie talent proving himself.” This Island Rod

“The performances here are top notch as well as I would imagine all of the cast, especially the creepy Mark Aaron as Charlie, will go on to do bigger and better things. Okum even is able to make bit parts like the hitchhiker (Katie Royer) stand out. This is a fun little flick. More style than substance and what substance is there has been done many times before. But good looking and well performed nevertheless.” Ambush Bug, Ain’t It Cool News

“You really get a good cornucopia of genres here, ones that will make you feel a wide arrange of emotions as you watch the young couple go through Hell. Suspense, Thrill, Horror, Romance… Expressway to Your Skull has it all. I also can’t fail to mention that it has a higher bloody count than other titles in its category. Viva la gore!” Horror Society

“This isn’t a standard horror movie, at least not by today’s standards. Expressway’s subject matter, film style, musical composition, and overall vibe would fit much better in the 1970’s; in a smoky video store next to Wes Craven’s Last House on the Left or Michael Winner’s The Sentinel. If you’re into that type of thing, then this one’s for you. If not – I say check it out for the final act alone.” Luke Rodriguez, Modern Horrors

IMDb | Official site | Facebook | Image credits: This Island Rod

The Anatomy of Monsters is a 2014 American psychological thriller directed by Byron C. Miller (Phantom Theater) from a screenplay co-written with producer Paul Morgan (director of short Ghosts in the Graveyard: Better in Black). The film’s working title was Witching Hour.

The film is released by Artsploitation Films on November 15, 2016 on DVD and VOD/streaming.

Main cast:

Tabitha Bastien, Jesse Lee Keeter, Conner Marx, Keiko Green, Meredith Binder, Asher Vast.

Plot:

Andrew Costello (Keeter), a seemingly normal yet homicidal young man, ventures out one night in search for prey. At a lonely bar he meets Sarah (Bastien), a young woman, takes her to a hotel room, ties her up and prepares for the kill… until he discovers the woman harbors secrets far worse than even he could imagine. What unfolds is a diabolical game of cat and mouse, and a soul bearing confession of love and death…

Reviews:

” …an unexpected atmospheric gem that is unafraid to devote much of its running time to old-fashioned dialogue. On that end, it’s definitely not a film for everyone, and likely won’t satisfy your hunger for a traditional horror romp. But if you’re in the market for an engaging character study, and can look past a few surface flaws, The Anatomy of Monsters will not disappoint.” Blair Hoyle, Cinema Slasher

“The bizarre framework for the entire love story is truly un-entertaining. The entire idea of a serial killer looking to make things work within their daily lives has been done better. Even charismatic killers exist in the forms of Dexter and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. If there was more time to re-write this script idea and re-edit this movie it may have been salvageable.” Ryan Mudd, HorrorNews.net

“Anatomy of Monsters isn’t an in your face horror film, but it is a subtle type of terror that slips into your mind and festers causing a great deal of unease and tension.” Ambush Bug, Ain’t It Cool News

“The sound is uneven – sometimes muffled and too loud in the same scene – and picks up room echoes on some sets. As for the score, instead of unobtrusively setting or enhancing the tone and emotion of a scene, it’s intrusive and at times seems counter to the scene’s needs. Despite the shortcomings, The Anatomy of Monsters is a good film. It’s a fascinating, well-acted, well-written study into the lives of serial killers.” Jeff Mohr, Gruesome Magazine

“As a viewer we are taken full force into the mind of a psycho, and it isn’t a fun place to be, that’s for sure, but goddamn if the folks involved don’t make it an engaging journey. I really dug the Anatomy of Monsters was cerebral, well written and acted, and really made me feel like I needed a few extra showers…” Daniel XIII, Famous Monsters of Filmland

“The cinematography is mediocre at best, with extremely shaky camera work that made me want to punch myself. It gets old quick and had me screaming tripod!!! or dolly!!! during these shots. The story certainly had potential, however the majority of it is two people talking in a hotel room with uninteresting tales to tell just didn’t do it for me.” Legless Corpse

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Revenge of the Spacemen is a 2014 American science fiction comedy horror film directed by Jay Summers, making his feature debut, from a screenplay by Connor Duffy. It stars Janine Sarnowski, Richard Raphael, and Janet Jay. The budget was just $150,000.

Troma Entertainment have picked up the rights at the recent American Film Market (AFM) and plan an extras-packed Blu-ray release.

Official synopsis:

‘Revenge of the Spacemen descends onto earth in a flying saucer, leaving a few witnesses in a small redneck town in a state of shock. Unable to convince other backwater locals that what they saw was more than a hallucination, the witnesses embark on a mission to find proof of the extraterrestrial invasion.

When the gang turns up a couple of missing backwater cretins who recount their tales of anal-probed alien abduction, compounded with a seriously out of this world case of gas, townspeople finally start to believe. The noxious gases go from unbelievable to unbearable, and it takes a boozy backyard standoff to eradicate the extraterrestrial BDSM terror!’

Filming Locations:

Medina, Ohio, USA

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Never Open the Door is a 2014 horror film directed by Vito Trabucco (Psycho a Go-Go; Bloody Bloody Bible Camp; Slices) from a screenplay co-written with producer Christopher Maltauro. The movie is an homage to the original Twilight Zone, Outer Limits and Alfred Hitchcock Presents series.

The film will be available to rent or own from December 6, 2016, via Amazon Instant Video and Google Play. The same date, Blu-ray and DVD releases are issued. These will include interviews with the cast and crew, behind-the-scenes footage and other extras.

Main cast:

Jessica Sonneborn (Psycho a Go-Go; One Night of Fear; House Across The Street), Kristina Page (The Haunting of Alice D), George Troester, Deborah Venegas (Bloody Bloody Bible Camp), Matt Aidan, Mike Wood, Steven Richards.

Plot:

Three happy couples retreat to a cozy secluded cabin in the woods to enjoy Thanksgiving. A badly wounded stranger appears at the door, and when they let him in, he throws up blood and collapses on the floor. As he dies, he points towards the lovers and croaks his final words: “Never open the door”.

The dumbfounded group of friends start to panic as one of their own inexplicably disappears. Doubt rises by the minute and mistrust soaks through the cabin. As strange men surround the cabin, escape becomes paramount. Who will open the door?

Filming locations:

Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, San Bernardino National Forest, California, USA

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‘This doll is very special…’

Heidi is a 2014 American found footage horror film about a seemingly demonic doll; it was written, produced and directed by Daniel Ray (Bogyphobia).

Wild Eye Releasing has announced that they have acquired exclusive distribution rights for Heidi.

Main cast:

Samuel Brian, Joei Fulco, Joey Bell, Eva Falana, Elizabeth Callahan, Michael Monteiro, Marilyn Weinmann, Nicoleta Radu, Lindsey Cruz, Cazi Greene, Diem Bell, Ava Gianna, Carl Windom Carlito, Bobby Briggs, Ricky Leyva.

Plot:

After discovering a mysterious doll in an attic, two high school friends are increasingly plagued by a series of disturbing and unexplained events…

Reviews:

“Whether it is a possessed doll or a satanic cult, this movie will make you look at dolls in a different way. And the creepiness of the titular doll is on a whole new level of creepy. Whether or not you are a found-footage fan, I’m sure this movie sets you on point with how you will feel towards the subgenre.” Jack Saint, Weng’s Chop magazine

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‘Back on the prowl’

American Beast – formerly known as Solitude – is a 2016 horror film directed by Livingston Oden and Taylor Scott Olson. It stars Armin Habibovich, Victoria Lachelle, Brent Latchaw, Alex Cotant, Glen Stone, Kelly Lavasseur and Amy Correll.

The film will be released on DVD in North America on January 3rd through Sony Pictures. Screenbound issued the film on DVD in the UK on 3 October as Beast of Prey.

Official synopsis:

After his mother’s death, James Erikson discovers her old storage locker filled with journals and newspapers of his family’s history. As he researches it, he finds out about the evil that his family has tried to contain for several generations, beginning in 1939 on a mysterious piece of property in a small town called Solitude…

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