The Turtle Boy

Author: Kealan Patrick Burke

Synopsis:
Two best friends, Timmy and Pete, go up to the pond one afternoon. They see a weird boy there dunking his feet in the water and letting turtles nipple at his flesh. Rattled the boys run away. After Timmy tells his parents what they saw, it starts off a chain reaction and pulls up neighborhood secrets.

My Take:
This novella is a quick read. It draws you in with the friendship of youth and pulls at your heart with suspected child abuse. About half way through it turns into an eerie ghost tale.

Rating: So Good





Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

The River, Season 1 (2011)

Starring: Joel Anderson, Bruce Greenwood, Leslie Hope


Synopsis:
Renowned TV personality/explorer sets out for unknown area of the Amazon. He never returned and is pronounced dead. Months later his ship's emergency beacon goes off. His wife assembles a crews to find him. The crew includes their son, and editor, and ship's original mechanic. And the expedition is funded by the network, which wants everything filmed for a new series.
What the crew finds in their search is mystery, terror, and magic.

My Take:
I liked many aspects of the show. The characters are decently developed. The overall story about trying to find Dr. Emmet Cole. And legends surroundings the Amazon are fascinating.
I also became annoyed by several aspects as well. It's suppose to be "found footage", yet many shots are obviously not from the cameras of the crew and the technique gets a little old. A couple of episodes simply tried to do too much, especially when there is a lot of homage to classic horror movies. And no matter how many crazy things these people see, none are ever too shaken up about it.
I hope it does get another season. There seems to be far more to explore. And with a few tweaks, the show could become really good.

Favorite Episode: "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" (Episode 8)
The last episode of the season. Lincoln gets shot and dies. They summon a demon to help bring him back, but he ends up possessed.

Rating: In the middle





Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Drive (2011)

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Premise:
A mechanic and stuntman for the movies also acts as a getaway driver. And he's good at it. Better than good. He falls the girl next door and in order to keep her safe, helps her husband pull a job. Things go terribly wrong and the driver finds himself in deep trouble.

My Take:
The reason I included this movie is because of the gore. It has some of the most graphic and real looking gore I've seen in awhile. And it's incredibly violent.
A girl gets their brains blown out and their little, slow moving chunks of visceral flying in the air. A person gets their arm flayed open with a razor and veins are shown pouring the blood out. Then there's a foot stomping of the face into pile of goo.
I am a fan of the director's film and most of the cast. So much is said with each character and never a word is spoken. They all have depth in their expressions.
I could rave on, but just go and watch the movie!

Rating: Mind Blowing






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Legend of the Werewolf Woman (1976)

AKA: Werewolf Woman


Director: Rino Di Silvestro

Premise:
A woman believes she is a werewolf.

My Take:
This movie doesn't really know what it wants to be. It starts out with a woman who thinks she's the incarnate of a past relative, who was thought to be a werewolf. She's put in the psych ward, escapes, falls in love, gets raped by thugs, takes out her revenge on them, and finally is caught by the police. Throw in terrible acting on top of it all.
Avoid.

Rating: Steaming Pile






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Higanjima: Escape from Vampire Island (2009)

Director: Tae-gyun Kim

Premise:
A group of teens decide to investigate a mysterious island only to find out it's inhabited by vampires.

My Take:
The movie didn't really do much for me. There's not a lot of gore or action. And the story isn't up to par either.

Rating: Warning






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

The Bleeding House (2011)

Starring: Patrick Breen
Director: Philip Gelatt

Premise:
A mysterious stranger stops by a house where the family has a dark secret.

My Take:
A decent movie. The stranger's attentions are revealed fairly early, but the family secret slowly rises to the surface.
One could do worse for entertainment.

Rating: In the middle




Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Frayed (2007)

Starring: Tony Doupe, Anthony Blakely
Director: Norbert Caoili & Rob Portmann

Premise:
As a child Kurt killed his mother. Years later he escapes from the mental institution and leaves a trail of bodies. His father, the Sheriff, must track him down before he gets to finds his younger sister.

My Take:
A slow moving film with some twists and turns, some obvious and others not. It could have used a few minutes trimmed. The movie has some gruesome kills, they look very realistic. The opening sequence is flat out gross.
In the end, I say watch this movie. It's better than a lot of them in this sub-genre.

Rating: In the middle (with upside)





Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Dont Be Afraid of the Dark (2011)

Starring: Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce
Director: Troy Nixey

Premise:
A young girl moves into her father's new mansion. It hides a terrible secret. Creatures want to take the girl all for themselves.

My Take:
I liked this version better than the original. The kid is great and the explanation behind the creatures ties in perfectly. Plus you get them more.

Rating: So Good




Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Requiem for a Vampire (1971)

AKA: Caged Virgins


Director: Jean Rollin

Premise:
Two woman on the run find a remote castle. They find it inhabited by a group of people in the middle of turning into vampires and they want the girls to bring them victims.
The castle actually is home to the last living vampire and he is tired of living.

My Take:
Like most of Jean Rollin's movies, there are hit and miss for me. This one misses, despite the fact it's one of the more straight forward stories he's done.
All the staples are there. You might like it more than me.

Rating: Warning





Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)

Starring: Laura Bittner, Christopher Nicholas Smith
Director: Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman


Premise:
The third entry in this series focuses on the sisters (from the two previous movies) as children. And their mother's boyfriend capturing the strange occurrences on camera.

My Take:
Another nice outing in the series. I figured out the why the demon was haunting this family way before it was made known. Still, a movie that make me jump three times gets a vote of confidence. A nice, believable cast too.


My Take: So Good







Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

The Fugue (2009)

Starring: Rosie Sowa
Director: Peter Awad

Premise:
A young artist thinks she sees the ghost of a childhood friend. Her and a detective try to solve the mystery.

My Take:
A slow movie that at times seems to go no where. But I loved the subtle cinematography in the movie. And the strong lead character kept my interest.
Others might not see it my way, but I'd give it a look.

Rating: In the middle






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Of Unknown Origin (1983)

Starring: Peter Weller
Director: George P. Cosmatos

Premise:
A man finds a large rat in his New York Townhouse and tries to exterminate it himself

My Take:
Kind of like Jaws, but with a rodent. I loathe rats, but rarely got uncomfortable watching the movie.
Still it's not a bad movie. Peter Weller is rather awesome as he becomes more and more obsessed with killing this huge rat.

Rating: In the middle






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Psycho

Author: Robert Bloch

Synopsis:
Norman Bates run a motel off the main highway. He also cares for his mother. One night a mysterious woman on the run checks in. She doesn't check out. Mother didn't like her and left Norman to clean up the mess. Soon a private investigator, a sister, and a boyfriend start looking for her. And what they find is far more twisted than they imagined.

My Take:
The novel, originally published in 1959, is a tad mild compared to other works of today but it still packs a punch. Bloch creates a fascinating character and story. In the process also created a horror icon.
I can only imagine the impact the story had fifty years ago, much like the movie.

The Hitchcock movie follows the novel closely. It elaborates on the robbery parts and holds out the big secret till the end.

Rating: So Good




Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

A Hole In My Heart (2004)

Director: Lukas Moodysson


Premise:
A young man hides out in his room while his father makes a porn movie.

My Take:
A movie that will get under your skin. It's full of disturbing scenes and demeaning situations. I love the editing techniques. In the end the movie is really about a group of people dealing with loss and tragedy in their own sick way.
It's definitely worth watching if one can tolerate the strong content.

Rating: So Good




Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Strip Nude For Your Killer (1975)

Director: Andrea Bianchi

Premise:
A model dies during an abortion. Soon after the people in the model agency she worked at start dying.

My Take:
Not the best giallo but certainly not the worst. It's filled with all the staples of this type of movie.

Rating: In the middle





Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Dark Island (2010)

Starring: Jai Koutrae
Director: Sam Gorski, Niko Pueringer


Premise:
A group of soldiers go to a remote island known for testing bio warfare after losing contact with the team there.

My Take:
When I saw the black smoke monster in the opening minutes I knew trouble loomed. I was correct. Nothing kept my interest in this movie.

Rating: Steaming Pile





Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

13 (2010)

Starring: Sam Riley, Ray Winstone, Mickey Rourke, Jason Stratham, Michael Shannon
Director: Géla Babluani

Premise:
A young man takes the identity of another man and finds himself involved in a high stakes game of life and death...where there is only one winner.

My Take:
I love the original French movie. The remake follows it closely (it has the same director) and has a stellar cast. But somehow the American version loses some of the intense emotional the impact.
Worth watching if you've never seen the original.

Rating: In the middle (with upside)




Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Deadheads (2012)

Starring: Michael McKiddy, Ross Kidder
Director: Brett Pierce, Drew T. Pierce


Premise:
Two people wake up and realize they are zombies, despite the fact they can talk and have memories. The two decide to take a trip to find one's lost love and find out why they are dead. Naturally, they are pursued by the bad guys.

My Take:
The movie has a very likeable cast. There are also a few unique script spins and some good laughs. These factors make up for the movie's short comings.Give it a viewing.

Rating: In the middle (but a fun watch)

 



Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Plague Town (2008)

Starring: Josslyn DeCrosta, Erica Rhodes
Director: David Gregory


Premise:
An American family travels to Ireland for vacation. In an attempt to find some ruins they get lost and stumble upon a village full of mutant children.

My Take:
The movie starts out with a decent idea but quickly turns into the usual "people stranded and getting killed" movie.

Rating: Warning








Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

The Thing (2011)

Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton
Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.


Premise:
A Norwegian scientific team in Antarctica finds an alien spacecraft buried in the ice. They extract the alien corpse and soon it begins to take over the complex.

My Take:
John Carpenter's The Thing is my all time favorite horror movie. It's perfect. Period. So I had my reservations about the prequel.
The movie has a strong cast of fairly believable characters. It does a good job of filling in most of the blanks about what happened at the Norwegian base and the dig site. The movie tows a fine line between being similar to Carpenter's movie yet different with it's scenarios. While the CGI effects are above average, it in no way compares to the awesome special effects in Carpenter's version. And the prequel doesn't come close to building the same tension and claustrophobia as Carpenter's but then again, it doesn't try. It goes for the more out in the open and chaotic approach.

With all that said, one can't really compare this one to Carpenter's outstanding film. In in the end the movie is a true prequel and not a remake. The movie is quite enjoyable on it's own.

Rating: In the middle (but really fun)





Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

The Haunting of 24 (2005)

AKA: Lie Still


Starring: Stuart Laing
Director: Sean Hogan


Premise:
A man moves into a boarding house after a breaking up with his girlfriend. The landlord tells him all the tenants pride their privacy and dont enjoy being disturbed. Soon the man starts noticing strange occurrences.

My Take:
I'm big on atmosphere. This movie has lots of it. However, the story lacks and never really becomes too interesting.
Not terrible but will easily be forgotten.

Rating: In the middle






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Unhinged (1982)

Starring: Laurel Munson
Director: Don Gronquist

Premise:
After their car breaks down in the woods, three girls are rescued by the owner of a remote mansion. The host offers to put them up until help can arrive. Soon the girls find strange things happening.

My Take:
The movie had a reputation for being one of the "video nasties" and banned for several years in the UK. I honestly dont know why. It really isn't all that gory.
Familiar plot is brought down by terrible acting. The only thing that saved this flick was the incredible twist ending that I never saw coming.

Rating: Warning



Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Yoga: The Movie (2009)

AKA: Yoga Hakwon

Director: Jae-yeon Yun

Premise:
After a TV host loses her job, she enrolls in an intense week long yoga course. Soon those in the course realize the dire consequences to not following the strict rules laid out by the instructor.

My Take:
A decent flick with the familiar tones of many other Asian ghost stories. The setting and atmosphere adds a lot.
If one likes this type of movie, you could watch worse.

Rating: In the middle





Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Song of Kali

Author: Dan Simmons

Synopsis:
A magazine editor and his family travel to Calcutta to inspect a the origins of a new poem from author who died eight years previous. Upon trying to decipher the poem authenticity, he lead into a cult for the goddess Kali. He witnesses things he cannot explain and doesn't truly believe. But his life will never be the same.

My Take:
Dan Simmons is one of my favorite authors and this is one of the books I've been wanting to read for a long time. It does not disappoint.
There is a constant chill running throughout the entire novel as the plot slowly unwinds and gets more involved. The horrific moments here come from personal turmoil caused by the editor's desire to discover the truth.

My Take: So Good






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.

Beautiful (2011)

Starring: Peta Wilson
Director: Dean O'Flaherty

Premise:
Several girls from the same suburb go missing and are later found dead. A girl and the odd neighbor boy try to find out the truth behind the murders.

My Take:
Lots of odd characters fill this movie where the theme is no one really knows what happens behind closed doors. A solid cast and a intriguing story fill the screen.
Very similar to a David Lyncg type movie but no where near as awesome. But it's still worth your time.


Rating: In the middle




Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.seankimmel.com.