Following a promotional push under its working title The Woods and a clever marketing reveal at this year’s San Diego Comic Con, the next instalment in the Blair Witch saga is here. Hailed as being a ‘game changer’ and directed by a ‘saviour’ of the horror genre, it is far from being either of those things. In fact, if you dare to turn around and move out of the corner what we actually have is a very cynical remake dressed up as a sequel… Beware major spoilers ahead!
In 1963, Herschell Gordon Lewis unleashed what many consider to be the first splatter movie. Filmed in technicolor and featuring tongue ripping and bathtubs of blood the film was made on a criminally low budget and became notorious for its explicit gore. Fast forward 53 years and we now have German director, Marcel Walz’s ‘torture porn’ re-imagining. (more…)
I saw 16 films at Frightfest 2016 and whilst it was evident much toil and graft went into making them, sadly some horrified me for the wrong reasons. Here are micro-reviews for the films which did not make my Top 10. (more…)
Paul is lonely. Dumped by his fiance at the altar, feeling lost in life and looking for meaning, he sleepwalks through his days. One night whilst dozing on the sofa, he is awoken by a TV advert for a health spa which promises to revitalise his life through a specialised detox. Intrigued by the possibilities, he signs up for the spa experience and heads off to a woodland retreat with a mixture of trepidation and hopefulness. However, the purification process is not quite as expected and soon he is facing his emotional baggage, both figuratively and literally. (more…)