Embodiment of Evil (2008)

AKA: Encarnacao do Demonio

Starring: José Mojica Marins
Director: José Mojica Marins


Premise:
Fresh from his forty year prison release, Coffin Joe returns to his neighborhood to watch over the dead and search for a woman to continue his blood line.

My Take:
It picks up flawlessly in the Coffin Joe series. Complete craziness and beautifully filmed graphic imagery of torture, splatter, and nudity fill the movie. The color palette simply pops in each scene. My only complaint is a few logical gaps in the tale but it kind of adds to strange.

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 Off Season (2004)

Starring: Don Wood, Angus Schrimm, Larry Fessenden, Christina Campanella
Director: James Felix McKenney


Premise:
A couple move to a run down motel in rural Maine so he can write a play. They find the room was once rented by a famous horror author who may have some secrets and possibly harbors a ghost from the author's past.

My Take:
I enjoyed the story, even though it really didn't bring much new to the table. However, the movie just seemed to lack over all and makes it hard for a person to really get into it.

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 Thompsons (2012)

Starring: Cory Knauf, Samuel Child, MacKenzie Fergins, Joseph McKelheer, Elizabeth Henstridge
Director: The Butcher Brothers


Premise:
A family of vampires are on the run from the law after a killing spree trying to protect themselves from harm. They try to find an old society of vampires to safely house them in Europe.

My Take:
I seem to remember really enjoying the first movie about this clan of vampires (The Hamiltons). Unfortunately the sequel didn't do a lot for me. It was kind of predictable. 

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.

Plaugue of the Zombies (1966)

Starring: Andre Morell, John Carson
Director: John Gilling


Premise:
A doctor goes to assist a former student in a rural town where people are mysteriously dying.

My Take:
Hammer Studio takes zombies based on traditional Hatian voodoo lore. You know it's going to have some style and that fact alone basically makes it a watchable movie. A good story and acting move the film along.

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.

Citadel (2012)

Starring: James Cosmo, Aneurin Barnard
Director: Ciran Foy


Premise:
A man watches his pregnant wife die at the hands of street kids and is unable to help her. He now must raise his newborn baby while battle a severe case of agoraphobia. The kids keep coming for him and the baby.

My Take:
I often enjoy movies which have an original premise and have more depth than they appear at first glance. This flick has both. The street kids aren't exactly what seem and the man's phobia battle creates a lot of nice friction. Plus there's James Cosmo chewing up scenery as a priest hell bent on aradicating the kids. Lots of tension here and it's most definitely worth watching.

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.

Raaz (2002)

AKA: Secret

Starring: Bipasha Basu
Director: Vikram Bhatt


Premise:
The spirit of a man's mistress wants revenge and seeks it by trying to destroy his wife

My Take:
The movie has some decent twists and an interesting story. But for a lot of people who aren't familiar with a Bollywood film it will be hard to get through due to the 2.5 hour run time, numerous musical number, and the loads of melodrama. If one goes into it knowing those details and not expecting scares then one might enjoy watching it.

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.

Asylum Blackout (2012)

AKA: The Incident

Starring: Rupert Evans, Richard Blake
Director: Alexandre Courtès


Premise:
The cooks at an insane asylum get locked in with the inmates when a storm knocks out the power. Soon the inmates revolt and the cooks are fighting for their survival.

My Take:
I honestly didn't expect much with this movie. By the end it was fairly watchable. It was well acted and beautifully shot movie to go along with a tad shaky script.

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.

The Harrowing

Author: Alexandra Sokoloff


Premise:
Five students stay in their college dorm over Thanksgiving Break. In their boredom the group accidentally conjures up a malaevolent spirit.

My Take:
The author does a great job of taking a familiar tale and making it into much more than anticipated ghost story. This makes the final two acts of the novel a very quick read. The characters are flushed out with nice, individual details. All of this made me a satisfied reader at 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.

Amityville Horror II: The Possesion (1982)

Starring: Burt Young, Rutanya Alder, Diane Franklin
Director: Damiano Damiani


Premise:
A family moves into a home built on an Indian burial ground. Their oldest son becomes possessed and goes on a killing spree.

My Take:
Much to my surprise I had never seen this sequel (or at least dont remember) and it ended up being fairly solid. What surprised me the most was each distinctive act as we get to know the family and their problems, the haunting and possesion occurs, the tragedy and aftermath with the priest trying to save the young man. The practical effects hold up well, even thirty years later.

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.

Compliance (2012)

Starring: Dreama Walker, Anna Dowd,
Director: Craig Zobel


Premise:
A prank caller poses as a police officer and has a restuarant worker interrogated by her manager.

My Take:
I spent the first half of this movie furious at the stupidity of these characters going along with whatever a voice on the phone says without any real verification despite his vagueness and generalizations of why he needs them to perform the acts which become increasingly sexual. I understand people want to do the "right thing" and "no one wants to get into trouble" but this acts go to the extremes with different people. Then my rage surpassed I simply felt sorry for these characters. And the fact this same thing happened several times at different locations across the US just tells me people need to question more. A interesting movie that is sure to divide its audience.  

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.

I, Vampiri (1956)

AKA: Lust of the Vampire / The Devil's Commandments

Director: Riccardo Freda, Mario Bava



Premise:
Dead women are being found around Paris with their blood drained. The police search for reason why with the help of a reporter.

My Take:
This notable film in Italian horror cinema comes off looking great. I'd imagine Bava's influence has a lot to do with it. The story is a bit all over the place with several horror cliches tossed together (except vampires) but remains interesting. A person could watch far worse movies from the era.

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.

Sleep Tight (2011)

AKA: Mientras Duermes

Starring: Luis Tosar, Marta Etura
Director: Jaume Balagueró


Premise:
A concierge at an apartment complex spends his nights infatuated with a woman who lives there and stalking around her place while she sleeps.

My Take:
Intense and creepy are the two best words I can think of to describe this outstanding movie. As the time ticks away, layer upon layer is revealed focusing on the disturbing lengths this psycopath goes to be closer to the woman. It's truly frightening and pulled off with excellence by the actors and the director.

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.

Cathy's Curse (1977)

Starring: Alan Scarfe, Beverly Murray,
Director: Eddy Matalon


Premise:
A family moves into a manion belonging to the husband's father. Soon after the young daughter is possessed by a spirit.

My Take:
The story was decent, if not familiar, but I could not get past the extremely bad acting. The little girl was by far the best thespian on screen. And every thing else appears to be done with zero budget. Nothing is very memorable about this flick.

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.

Haven, Season 3 (2012)

Starring: Emily Rose, Eric Baflour, Lucas Bryant


Premise:
In Season 3, a serial killer is loose taking body parts from women for a new creation, Audrey finds out her time in Haven is about to end and with the help of Nathan and Duke, they try to find a way to stop it.

My Take:
It turned out this was the best season yet. Audrey is faced with a great decision to either leave Haven for another 27 years and stop the troubles or stay and watch the town destroyed. Of course between finding out she only has a few weeks before this will happen and the day it comes, there is so much happening. Lots of secrets are revealed.

Favorite Episode:
"Thanks For the Memories" - In the season finale we get so many questions answered and a new set of problems open up at the end. It's a great capper to a fine season.

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.

Leslie, My Name Is Evil (2009)

AKA: Manson, My Name Is Evil

Starring: Gregory Smith, Kristen Hager, Ryan Robbins
Director: Reginald Harkema


Premise:
A young, male juror becomes smittened with Leslie, one of the Manson women on trial for the LiBianca murders.

My Take:
What we have here is a Mansion movie with nothing to do with Charlie Mansion. The whole scenario didn't work for me. The main focus is on Leslie and how this boy basically refuses to believe she was capable of these cruel and murderous acts. Very little screen time is actually focused on Charlie Manson, the commune, and the details of the trial. This leads to very little character development for Leslie and why she fell under Manson's spell, which makes it hard to gain any sympothy for her, which makes it hard to see why this juror would develop feelings for her.

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.

Inseminoid (1981)

AKA: Horror Planet

Starring: Stephanie Beacham
Director: Norman J. Warren


Premise:
A crew is on a planet analyzing rock specimen when woman is impregnated by an alien and goes on a murderous spree.

My Take:
Wow. This is a stinker. I don't even know where to begin. The premise is decent but the execution is terrible (from script to acting to set pieces to the effects to the editing choices to ....). You get the idea.

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.

Straw Dogs (2011)

Starring: Kate Bosworth, James Marsden, James Wood, Alexander Skarsgard, Dominic Purcell, Walton Goggins, Rhys Coiro
Director: Rod Lurie


Premise:
A couple returns to the wife's small, home town in the Southern US. Soon they find the marriage being strained and a group of locals trying to bully them into their way of doing things. Not long after, conflicts arise and the couple makes a stand.

My Take:
The movie is well acted by a great cast but the script can decide what it wants to be. So many of the characters actions dont make sense. The wife is raped but acts like nothing happened (kind of). The husband is a pacifist but being shot at doesn't set him off and his wife getting attacked doesn't set him off. Instead he makes a stand after he hits the local guy who's mentally challenged, and accidentally kills a girl, with his car and the local mob is outstand his house wanting blood. The move is frustrating to say the least. This is no where even close to outstanding Sam Peckinpah original.

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.