Schizo (1978)

AKA: Amok

tarring: Lynne Frederick, Stephanie Beacham, John Leyton, Jack Watson
Director: Peter Walker


Premise:
Newlyweds try to start their lives together but the girl is getting stalked by her step-father who has just been released from prison for killing her mother.

My Take:
It's an entertaining movie which has some parts easy to figure out and a couple which caught me a tad off guard. There's a little gore and Walker weaves a fun tale. 

Rating: In the middle






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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9 Miles Down (2009)

Starring: Adrian Paul, Kate Nauta
Director: Anthony Waller


Premise:
A hired security patrol heads to a remote site in the desert to find out what happened to a team of scientists who are attempting to drill farther down into the Earth than has ever been done before.

My Take:
The movie is slightly better than I anticipated. It's basically two actors in one setting with the patrolman trying to figure out if the lone survivor at the camp is real or demon released from Hell. 

Rating: In the middle






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Hitchcock (2012)

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Jessica Biel, Scarlett Johannson
Director: Sacha Gervasi


Premise:
The aging director searches for his next movie to film. He chooses a book called "Psycho" which no studio wants to make. Hitchcock and his wife put their own money into the film and in the process change horror cinema.

My Take:
A look inside the relationship between the legendary director and his wife Alma (played by legendary actors themselves) and not a lot into the director's process. Still it's a good flick to set back a gain a little insight on one of the best directors of all time and his most controversial film. 

Rating: So Good






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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In the Dark

Artist: Harley  Poe
Released: 2004




My Take:
Harley Poe has been making music for quite awhile. And many beyond Indiana have probably never heard of the band (or with in the state either). They bring a unique sound of rockabilly punk with dark and horrific lyrics. Their songs tells stories and at the core have a message. Plus the song titles are great, "Corrupting My Better Half", "Transvestites Can Be Cannibals Too", and "In the Dark" are just a few of the gems on this album.

Rating: So Good



Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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American Mary (2013)

Starring: Katharine Isabelle
Director: Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska


Premise:
A medical student falls drops out after being raped by her professor and enters a world of revenge and making body modifications.

My Take:
A fascinating character driven story as we watch this sweet and hard working surgeon in the making turn into a callus, cold person who falls into a seedy, underground world. With tight direction and a few script cliches along the way the Twisted Twins make another interesting flick.

Rating: So Good






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Blood Reunion (2012)

Starring: April Hartman, J.P. Brady, Richard Houghton
Director: Jim Devault

Premise:
A woman returns to the town she grew up in to face the past memories of her mother being murdered. Soon after the small town is plauged by an old curse, a vampire. And there is a possibility the two things are connected.

My Take:
A definite low budget, B movie that is far better than it should have been. It takes a filmsy idea and makes it work. I've watched far worse movies in my day.

Rating: In the middle



Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Evil Dead (2013)

Starring: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jessica Lucas, Elizabeth Blackmore
Director: Fede Alvarez


Premise:
A group of friends go to an isolated cabin to help one of them kick their drug habit. They find a strange and ancient book which unleases a demonic power.

My Take:
This remake tries to be it's own film and some what succeeds. It has dark themes and a serious tone right from the beginning. And it works.... right up until the final act where it all falls apart and seems like a cheap way to get a typical end result. It's too bad because the first seventy minutes are tight with suspense and filled with a huge amount of blood, gore, and splatter. Not to mention the utter beating a couple of the characters take as all hell breaks loose.

Rating: In the middle

 



Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Snow Beast (1977)

Starring: Bo Svenson
Director: Herb Wallerstein


Premise:
A Bigfoot attacks a skiing lodge during an large and annual event. A hunter is brought in to kill the beast.

My Take:
Not very entertaining stuff here. It's actually rather laughable and very dated.

Rating: Warning (but remeber this was a made for TV movie from the 70's)






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Hannibal, Season 1 (2013)

Starring: Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Laurence Fishburne


Premise:
The FBI brings in a former profiler after he's had a nervous breakdown to help out with a case. He is under the care of a top psychiatrist who has a few secrets of his own.

My Take:
This series is one of the most captivating shows I've seen on the big four networks in quite some time. I constantly found it hard to believe the censors allowed so many disturbing and graphic scenes play over the air. Mikkelsen makes the Hannibal character all his own with sophisticated and deviant manner. And Dancy is no slouch as the mentally frail Will Graham. The series starts off dark and moody and keeps it up until the end. It's an easy show to get sucked into. Plus, I'm a fan of the creator Bryan Fuller.

Favorite Episode:
I'm taking the cheap way out. I loved every episode.

Rating: Instant Classic

 
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 Aswang Phenomenon (2011)

Director: Jordan Clark


Premise:
A documentary which tries to reveal what exactly the Aswang myth is, where the legend came from, and how the creature is viewed in it's native country of the Phillipines.

My Take:
I have always found the aswang to be one more interesting cryptos. The director digs deep into the Filipino folklore in an attempt to categorize the creature. Plus the interviews from locals, who hold firm belief in the creature, are riveting. If you are looking to know more about a unqiue crypto then watch this movie.

Rating: So Good






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Dont Look In the Basement (1973)

AKA: The Forgotten

Starring: Annabelle Weenick, Rosie Holotik
Director: S.F. Brownrigg


Premise:
A nurse takes a job in a secluded psychiatric home gets more than she bargains for as the patients start to take over the facility.

My Take:
The help of some unsettling looneys and a decent amount of gore off sets the rather predictable second half of the movie. It still manages a few surprises and chills. Not at all what I expected which is good.

Rating: In the middle





Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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War of the Dead (2012)

Starring: Andrew Tiernan
Director: Marko Mäkilaakso


Premise:
During WWII A group of American and Finnish soldiers are attacked by undead supersoldiers created by the Nazis.

My Take:
The movie looks great and has a nice mash up with the war theme, but it's just not that intriguing. These zombies are a bit much with their super abilities of strength and leaping.

Rating: Warning

 




Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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The Hounds (2013)

Starring: Andy Callaghan, Alice Knapton, John Doughty, David Drew
Director: Maurizio del Piccolo, Roberto del Piccolo

Premise:
Four friends decide to go hiking for the weekend. They stop to camp and end up finding a dead body, which ends up being possessed. In the mean time a police officer follows a shady character with a breifcase full of money.

My Take:
The movie is a farily interesting until the very lame ending. Unfortunately, the characters are so damn annoying that you care about them. And the acting is terrible too.

Rating: Warning

 




Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Dead End Drive In (1986)

Starring: Ned Manning, Natalie McCurry
Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith


Premise:
A movie drive-in is used to prison the unemployable and derelect youth, most of which dont care because they are provided food and shelther. One man however, decides to fight back.

My Take:
A movie set in the future where the world's economy collapses. A lot of social commentary in the movie disguised in the story. The horror comes with the governments ability to round up people against their will and imprison them.  

Rating: In the middle
 




Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Finding Bigfoot, Season 1 (2011)

Starring: Matt Moneymaker, James "Bobo" Fay, Ranae Holland, Cliff Barackman


Premise:
The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organisation searches the US to find the existence of this creature.

My Take:
These types of shows work only if the cast is likeable as the show itself follows a regular formula. And in this case, most of the four member cast aren't very likeable. Three want to believe in Bigfoot way too much and seem to come to a rationalation for nearly every claim people make and the findings while the other almost always denies those same things. When the host says almost every show that he has no doubt their is Bigfoot in the area they investigate even when the group has no substantial proof to it's existence, well you have a problem.

Rating: Warning



Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Axed (2013)

Starring: Jonathan Hansler, Andrea Gordon, Nicola Posener, Christopher Rithin
Director: Ryan Lee Driscoll

Premise:
After getting fired from his job, a very strict father takes his family out to the country where he proceeds to go a bit off the deep end.

My Take:
A familiar story with familiar characters which end up in a familiar situation.

Rating: Warning





Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Death Perception

Author: Lee Allen Howard


Premise:
Kenneth works in a crematory and has the ability to see how people died.

My Take:
It starts out slow and was really hard for me to get into. There's a nice murder mystery here though if one can stick with it. Well written with a good plotting and characters, and a fairly original tale.

Rating: In the middle

 




Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Texas Chainsaw (2013)

Starring: Alexandra Daddario, Tania Raymonde
Director: John Luessenhop

Premise:
A young, adopted girl finds out she is the heir to a large family estate. One with a pass and horrible secret.

My Take:
When a movie starts off with clips from the original movie (made in 1974) and picks up where it left off, then flashes forward to present day where a nearly 40 year gap is only around 20 years, well you got problems. Whoever wrote that information and thought it was plausible should never write another screenplay again. Even if the view stretches the timeline out the farthest one can; the age gap still makes no sense. And even if we are suppose to ignore this gleaming hole of a fact, the rest of the movie is filled with one dimensional characters doing unbelievably stupid things (like ramming a huge gated fence at full speed in a van because they are being chased by a maniac on foot). If you are a fan of the original then dont even bother as frustration will mount rapidly.

Rating: Steaming Pile






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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