Chanbara Beauty (OneChanbara: The Movie, 2008) Movie Review

If you actually went out and spent the time to hunt down and watch “OneChanbara” (aka “Chanbara Beauty”), since it’s unlikely you’ll stumble across it while surfing your local channels, you really have no reason to complain about the film’s shortcomings. The movie sells itself: a bikini-clad...

April 5th, 2009 | Read More

Dead Snow (2009) Movie Review

When you think horror, you think Norwegians. Okay, maybe not so much, but the Norwegians sure are making a nice little name for themselves producing some interesting ditties to the horror genre. They’ve already offered up two of the more notable slasher titles of recent years in the “Cold Prey”...

March 28th, 2009 | Read More

Cold Prey 2 (2008) Movie Review

When the Norwegian slasher “Cold Prey” was released back in 2006, it was hailed by some as being the best example of the form for some years, being a back to basics slice of gory fun and genuine tension. Given its success, “Cold Prey 2” was always inevitable, and the film now arrives on region...

March 27th, 2009 | Read More

Manhunt (aka Rovdyr, 2008) Movie Review

Norwegian horror has been thriving of late, with a number of high profile hits such as “Cold Prey” and the zombie Nazi splatter comedy “Dead Snow”. Further adding to the country’s growing reputation for gore is “Rovdyr” from director Patrik Syversen, who had previously shown his dedication...

March 21st, 2009 | Read More

Ninjas Versus Zombies (2008) Movie Review

The press information for “Ninjas Vs Zombies” explains the concept and strategy behind this indie horror film. Screenwriter and director Justin Timpane “spent an afternoon in a Blockbuster looking for ‘the film they haven’t made yet.’ … By studying the small but fierce fanbases of Joss...

March 5th, 2009 | Read More

Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans (2009) Movie Review

For those curious about how that little neverending secret war between the Lycans and Death Dealers began (or as we in the sticks call them, them hairy werewolves and them pale, blue-eyed vamps), “Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans” tells that tale. Well that’s not really true. It doesn’t really...

February 15th, 2009 | Read More

Friday the 13th (2009) Movie Review

2009’s “Friday the 13th” is less a reboot of the franchise as it is a pseudo sequel to the 1980 original, with the film’s plot going about business as if the 200 or so “Friday the 13th” sequels that proceeded the 1980 original never happened. In this parallel world, Jason the machete wielding...

February 13th, 2009 | Read More

They Wait (2007) Movie Review

With Hollywood still churning out shot for shot remakes of Asian horror films, the generically titled “They Wait” comes as an interesting proposition, being a Western genre outing which attempts to actually integrate and draw upon Eastern motifs rather than simply throwing them together in the usual...

January 19th, 2009 | Read More

Phobia (aka 4Bia, 2008) Movie Review

Horror anthologies can be rather hit and miss affairs, ranging in quality from the excellent “Three” to the rather shabby “Black Night”. The awkwardly titled “4 Bia” (apparently playing on the word ‘phobia’, though causing no end of problems with pronunciation and search engines in the...

January 12th, 2009 | Read More

Death Bell (2008) Movie Review

Although summer has long been the traditional time for horror films in Korea, the 2008 season only saw one major release in the form of debut director Chang’s “Death Bell”. As such, the fact that the film proved to be a massive success, attracting over a million viewers and ranking as one of...

January 5th, 2009 | Read More

Pulse 3: Invasion (2008) Movie Review

In the third, and supposedly final, installment in the Pulse trilogy of movies the world has shunned technology and learned to live in a world without any communications devices. A world, ironically, that would not have been able to view this straight-to-DVD release. Truthfully, they would have been...

December 27th, 2008 | Read More

Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008) Movie Review

You can’t keep a good zombie down. Well actually you can, with a perfectly placed shot to the forehead, but that’s easier said than done. Just ask the residents of Raccoon City, the fictional town that was laid to waste when the Umbrella Corporation’s experiments went bad and produced flesh-eating...

December 18th, 2008 | Read More

My Name is Bruce (2007) Movie Review

Where’s a hero when you need one? Well don’t look in the direction of B-movie star Bruce Campbell, cause he ain’t got a whole lot for ya except a wandering hand and an insatiable appetite for hamming it up. In “My Name is Bruce”, fan favorite Bruce Campbell of “Evil Dead” fame plays a boozing,...

December 3rd, 2008 | Read More

Splinter (2008) Movie Review

“Splinter” is a movie that relies on three things to succeed: a decent premise, good actors, and creative, resourceful direction. What it doesn’t have, or indeed need is a big budget, high-priced actors, or CGI. “Splinter” is a Creature Feature that could have been made in the ‘80s or ‘90s,...

November 13th, 2008 | Read More

Clive Barker’s Book of Blood Trailer

“Book of Blood” is based on a Clive Barker story and is produced by the horror master, so right away you know what to expect: blood, barely hidden S&M, torture, and more torture. And the trailer for “Book of Blood” certainly doesn’t go easy on the gore, which features...

November 11th, 2008 | Read More

Doctor Vampire (1991) Movie Review

Following on from the success of “Mr Vampire”, the Hong Kong film industry as usual churned out all manner of knock offs covering pretty much every variation on the theme – hence, “Doctor Vampire”, an award winning concept if ever there was one. Originally released back in 1991, the film was...

October 17th, 2008 | Read More

Wasting Away (2007) Movie Review

People think that every angle on the zombie movie has been covered. Zombies attack small farmhouse… check. Zombie menace from outer space invades a tiny town and then threatens a small farmhouse… check. Satanic cult performs unholy ritual and causes corpses to rise from their graves and enact...

October 13th, 2008 | Read More

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007) Movie Review

Ol Jack Brooks has got himself a bit of a problem. You see, when Jack gets mad, Jack gets violent. Which isn’t exactly a good thing for our hero, being that he’s in his mid-20s, stuck in a dead-end job as a plumber, and spends his nights being dragged to night school by his nagging girlfriend. Things...

October 6th, 2008 | Read More

Hansel and Gretel (2007) Movie Review

“Hansel and Gretel” is Korean director Im Pil Seong’s follow up to his debut “Antarctic Journal”, a slow moving slice of ambiguous horror which although visually impressive managed to confound as much as it did chill. For his sophomore outing he has taken a similarly offbeat approach, drawing...

September 28th, 2008 | Read More

The Deserted Inn (2008) Movie Review

Mainland China doesn’t produce too much in the way of genre films, and even less that are of the supernatural persuasion. This has been especially true of late, with a recent directive from the notoriously strict State Administration of Radio, Film and Television actively discouraging anything fantastic...

September 24th, 2008 | Read More