Kuroneko (1968)

Director: Kaneto Shindô


Premise:
A mother and daughter are raped and killed by a group of samurai. Later a different group of samurai are found slaughtered in the area. A man is sent to investigate and stop what is obviously ghosts.

My Take:
A beautifully filmed movie with lucious black and whites and gorgeous shadows. A solid tale too with a good underlaying theme. Fans of subtle horror or old horror should seek this out this classic movie from Japan.

Rating: So Good






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Under the Dome (2013)

Starring: Dean Norris, Mike Vogul, Rachel Lefevre, Natalie Martinez, Britt Robertson, Alexander Koch, Samantha Mathis, Colin Ford, MacKenzie Lintz, Aisha Hinds



Premise:
A small town in Maine is suddenly cut off from the rest of the world by a mysterious dome and no one knows why or what caused it to happen.

My Take:
I was highly disappointed in the series. Maybe I expected too much.

Favorite Episode:
"Pilot" - The story is set nicely by introducing main characters and the situation before the dome drops and causes chaos after it cuts the town off.

Rating: In the middle





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The Lords of Salem (2013)

Starring: Sherri Moon Zombie, Bruce Davidson, Ken Foree, Meg Foster, Judy Geeson, Jeff Daniel Phillips
Director: Rob Zombie


Premise:
A radio personality at a Salem radio station receives a wooden box with a record in it. She plays the record over the air which seems to put several women in a trance. It turns out the record was sent by witches who are looking for revenge for past sins of the town.

My Take:
I'm not sure if an auteur divides horror fans more than Rob Zombie. If nothing else he makes a good looking and stylish film. But in this effort there is much more as he mostly opts away from the gore and violence and focuses on a slow burning, psychological tale that is drenched in the bizarre. Mostly, I think the film works and if not for the abrupt ending it would have rated higher. If you like moody horror with a great soundtrack then give it a watch.

Rating: In the middle





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Twixt (2012)

Starring: Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern, Elle Fanning, Ben Champman
Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Premise:
A writer stops in a small town on a book tour and gets caught up in a murder mystery.

My Take:
This movie just feels like a mess. There's a washed up alcoholic writer with financial problems. A crazy ass sherrif who wants to colaborate with the writer on a book about murders happening in his town. The writer is visited by the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe who helps him detail the story, which is the center of the town's oldest mystery. And let's not forget about the child ghost who visits him. Throw that mix in with complete strangness of the secondary characters and its gets to be too much. To me, all of those issues could have been looked over if not for the typical bailout ending which is much closer to the writers personal grief than he expected. Yawn!

Rating: Warning





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Fabled (2002)

Starring: Desmond Askew
Director: Ari Kirschenbaum


Premise:
A man thinks his girlfriend is having an affair with her psychiatrist. He also believes that his co-workers are conspiring against him. His dog is missing and he thinks the monsters are out to get him. 

My Take:
An interesting piece where nothing is quite as it seems and much needs to be determined what is in the main characters head and what is reality. Often it is a fine line. Tight direction and good acting can be found but for me, the end didn't come together as solid as I would have hoped. Still it's an entertaining flicks.

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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Outpost: Black Sun (2012)

Starring: Richard Coyle, Catherine Steadman
Director: Steve Parker

Premise:
A former Nazi is trying to perfect the power of an undead army while in hiding. A girl out for revenge and a journalist know his secret and with the help of a group of NATO soliders search for the man.

My Take:
This movie is a sequel to under rated original in name only. And there is not much originality here. But the movie is well acted and looks good, for what its worth.

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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Black Magic 2 (1976)

 AKA: Gou Hun Jiang Tou


Director: Meng Hua Ho


Premise:
Doctors in a hospital start to notice strange things going on with patients. They suspect black magic is involved.

My Take:
When the movie starts out revealing an old black magic priest who drinks breast milk to stay young in appearance, then you know it's going to be a wacky ride. The priest also takes dead bodies and make them a zombies. There is also demon fetus action, worm puking, and spurting blood. Interesting to say the least.

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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The Road (2012)

Starring: TJ Trinadad
Director: Yam Laranas


Premise:
Three teens are murdered on an abandoned road in a style similar to a murder case decades earlier which leave the police investigate both crimes.

My Take:
An interesting tale which has different timelines edited together to show the current murder investigation, the former murders, and the reason which started it all. A solid cast helps the cause. Nothing groundbreaking but the Pinoy take on the subject makes it worth watching.

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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Mountain Monsters, Season 1 (2013)

Premise:
A group of West Virginian search for cyptids in the Appalachian Mountains.

My Take:
The format is like all shows of this nature: Investigate, try to trap the creature, and fail. However this cast does it in style. It's a likeable group of characters with the own mountain way of doing things  by building crazy traps and being very loud. All I can say is that its better than many of these types of programs.

Rating: In the middle

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A Little Bit Zombie (2013)

Starring: Kristen Hager, Stephen McHattie, Crystal Lowe,
Director: Casey Walker

Premise:
A group of friends spend the weekend at a cabin in the woods. One of them is bit by a mosquito carrying a zombie virus, which causes him to slowly turn. And zombie hunters are hot on their trail.

My Take:
The movie definitely plays up the comedy with a splash of gore. The comedy over the top and meant to be. The cast works as does the slight twist on a familiar story. There are far worse movies in this sub-genre.

Rating: In the middle





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The Stone Tape (1972)

Starring: Jane Asher, James Como,
Director: Peter Sasdy


Premise:
A group of scientists are brought together in an old castle to invent a new recording medium to replace tape. They find a ghost haunting a room and come up with a theory that the haunting is merely a recording in the castle walls due to the violent event and each human mind interprets it differently. Then they set out to prove the theory.

My Take:
I was a little disappointed in this cult classic. The acting is over the top (and at times bad) and the majority of the effects are nothing more than colored lighting and camera tricks. Now, for a forty year old movie it is quite ahead of its time as these scientist use science techniques to explain the disturbance. It's too bad the didn't explore that aspect more. Still, it's worth watching due to it's innovative story even if the technology being used is forty years old.

Rating: In the middle






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Penumbra (2012)

Starring: Cristina Brondo
Director: Adrián García Bogliano, Ramiro García Bogliano


Premise:
A woman is showing an apartment to a possible tenant. As she waits with the buyer's agents things soon start to seem amiss and a solor eclipse is nearing.

My Take:
The first half of the movies plays out as dark comedy with a lawyer having a bad day while trying to sell an apartment. She's getting in a fight with a bum, loses her keys, missing an important business meeting, and other little things keep piling up. A number of associates of the buyer start showing up, each one more strange than the next, and she starts to suspect something is amiss. And it is, turns out these people are part of a smal cult who believe the solar esclipse will give life beyong their life. For me, the movie works very well even if the explanation behind the cults motives are a bit odd and unexplained. However the tension is excellently built, the comedy is subtle, and the acting is great.

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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Dark Skies (2013)

Starring: Keri Russel, Josh Hamilton, J.K. Simmons
Director: Scott Stewart


Premise:
After strange occurrences begin happening to family members, the mother begins to suspect aliens have targeted them.

My Take:
The movie does a great job at building up suspense and creating turmoil with in the family as the try to sort out what is happening to them. Sure, it goes down familiar territory and the ending isn't a big shocker, but it's done well with solid direction and acting.

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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True Blood, Season 6 (2013)

Starring: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, Ryan Kwanten, Alexander Skarsgård, Carrie Preston, Nelsan Ellis, Todd Lowe, Deborah Ann Woll, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Rutina Wesley, Chris Bauer, Joe Manganiello


Premise:
The round up of season six goes something like this: Bill goes super vamp after drinking the blood of Lilith, the first vampire. The Governor of Lousiana starts an all a war against vampires by siezing property, having a curfew, and tainting the True Blood drink with a deadly virus. Sookie, Jason, and their fairy grand-father tries to fight off Warlow, a vampire-fairy hybrid who is to claim Sookie for his bride. Andy deals with raising his four fairy daughters. Terry falls off the deep end once again and deal with the guilt of killing his army buddy. Alcide has the responsibility of being the new werewolf packmaster. And Sam is on the run with his new friend.

My Take:
Truth be none, I think the series has basically ran its course. It's always been a show to through too much at the viewer and not really give satisfying conclusions. This season is no exception and it grows tiresome.

Favorite Episode: none

Rating: In the middle (barely)

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The Exorcist Chronicles (2007)

Starring: Richard Cross
Director: Will Raee


Premise:
A doctor is hired by the Catholic Church to perform exorcisms.After several strange cases, he breaks down and disappears. Years later a documentary team attempts to locate him and ask him about the exorcisms.

My Take:
This movie is a (fake) documentary with in a (fake) documentary as film makers try to find out what happened to a dcotor who performed exorcisms and filmed the process to prove possesions are real. Most of the movie consists of several cases the doctor goes on during the early 80's but occasionally cuts back to the modern era where the film makers finally make their discovery. It's poorly acted and predictably due to back script.

Rating: Warning (Severe)







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The Unseeable (2006)

AKA: Pen Choo Kab Pee


Director: Wisit Sasanatieng


Premise:
A pregnant girl from the country goes to Bangkok searching for her husband. She stops at an estate outside the city and asks for help. There she finds things are as they appear.

My Take:
A disjointed film which keeps the viewer guessing throughout as pieces of the puzzle are revealed. A surreal quality hangs thick throughout in this well told tale.

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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The Collection (2012)

Starring: Josh Stewart, Lee Tergesen, Emma Fitzpatrick, Andre Royo, Chris McDonald
Director: Marcus Dunstan


Premise:
The lone survivor from a serial killer known as "The Collector" is forced to join a group of  bounty hunters to rescue his latest victim.

My Take:
While the original was a interesting and fairly unique the sequel is one of the most terrible pieces of garbage I have witnessed in quite some time. It looks rushed together and feels incomplete. I'm not sure how much of the story ended up on the cutting room floor, but the story seems like a bunch of chunks of knowledge were missing. Throw in the over the top, non-stop action scenes and gore sequences which baffle me (not in a good way) and I barely made it through the movie. Good luck watching it.

Rating: Steaming Pile

 





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Ground Zero

* Book 13 in the Repairman Jack series

Author: F. Paul Wilson



Premise:
With the help of a long lost childhood friend, Jack uncovers the real reason purpose to the 9/11 attacks: to release an ancient creature that turn the tides in the favor of The Otherness and cause the Ally to lose interest in Earth.

My Take:
If you dont know from past reviews, this is one of my favorite series of novels. It's been awhile since I read last one and know that the series is complete, I feel like I need to kick it gear to finish. This novel reveals a lot in the entire "Secret History of the World" mythos. Many pieces come together in the novel and of course it's filled with quality Jack.

Rating: So Good





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