White: The Melody of the Curse (2011)

AKA: Hwa-i-teu: Jeo-woo-eui Mel-lo-di


Starring: Eun-jeong Ham,
Director: Gok Kim, Sun Kim


Premise:
A group of pop idols gain instant fame with a song called "White". As each member attempts to become the vocal lead, they suffer a horrible accident until the last singer realizes the song is cursed.

My Take:
Way too much bad pop music for my taste. And the curse/ghost was rather lame too. The cast is decent though.

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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Lust For A Vampire (1971)

Starring: Ralph Bates, Yutte Stensgaard
Director: Jimmy Sangster


Premise:
An all girl boarding school is ran in the castle of a family who the village suspects to be under a vampire curse. One of the attendees is actually a reincarnated heir of the family fortune.

My Take:
I found this tale rather mundane and boring and throwing too much into the story with curses, reincarnations, and vampirism. Not one of Hammer Studios best efforts

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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Walking Dead: No Way Out [volume 14]

Author: Robert Kirkman


Premise:
The Alexandria Safe Zone gets attacked by mass amounts of zombies. The start to break into the compound and the groups fights for their lives.

My Take:
Each issue of this series leaves me wanting me more. And this one has a couple of serious "holy shit" moments in it. But in between those moments are a few characters changing and doing what is best for the group safety which adds the extra layer of drama. In the end, they group makes a stand and suffers losses.

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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Adam Chaplin: Violent Avenger (2011)

Starring: Emanuele De Santi, Denny Richards
Director: Emanuele De Santi


Premise:
A man summons a demon who takes control of him, in order to find out who murdered his wife. 

My Take:
This is one crazy ass flick. I have never seen anything quite like it which is a huge bonus. The demon makes this man into a super strong, ultimate killing machine. And lives on his shoulder. The splatter content is high. A solid effort by the writer, director, actor, composer De Santi and should be one to watch out for in the future.

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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From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series, Season 1 (2014)

Starring: Wilmer Valderrama, Robert Patrick, D.J. Cotrona, Zane Holtz, Jesse Garcia, Eiza Gonzalez, Madison Devenport, Brandon Soo Hoo, Jake Busey, Don Johnson


Premise:
Two brothers are being hunted by Texas Rangers as they try to escape the United States and make to a safe haven in Mexico. They take a family hostage and wait for their contact at a strip club with turns out to be full of vampires

My Take:
The first season is really just an extended version of the original movie.  Some background character depth is fleshed out for main participants, a couple new characters are added, and the overall story is tweaked a bit with a huge back story concerning the vampires added. For the majority of the series, I felt like I had seen this done before by a better cast and with story that wasn't so series. The last few episodes take it off in a new direction and it does leave it open for more exploration for more seasons. Maybe I will like further season better. For now, the show is mildly interesting.

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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Pee Mak Phranknong (2013)

AKA: Pee Mak

Starring: Mario Maurer
Director: Banjong Pisanthanakun


Premise:
A soldier returns home from the war with four friends who life he saved. He wants to show them his village and introduce them to his wife and newborn baby. Something is a strange upon their arrival with rumors that his wife died during childbirth and is a ghost which is endangering them all.

My Take:
A decent movie with which plays heavy on a mans decision to believe what is true or what his heart is telling him.

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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Curse of the Devil (1973)

Starring: Paul Naschy
Director: Carlos Aured


Premise:
Countess Bathory puts a curse on the family who burned her at the stake during the Inquisition. Years later a descendant angers a gypsy who knows of the curse. She summons Satan who releases a seductress upon the young man. She bites him, which turns him into a werewolf. Soon a body count starts to add up in the village and people are searching for a culprit.

My Take:
If you take away the outlandish premise, which as you see throws a lot in the mix to come up with a story, then it is a watchable movie. 

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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A Field In England (2013)

Starring: Michael Smiley, Reece Shearsmith, Richard Glover, Julian Barratt, Peter Ferdinando
Director: Ben Wheatley


Premise:
During Civil War in 17th century England, a group of deserters are captured by an alchemist and forced to search for buried treasure in a mysterious field.

My Take:
Ben Wheatley continues to be one of the most interesting directors making off beat horror flicks. This movie is a true mind melt with it's story and editing technique. It will require another viewing on my part and even then, there is lots left up to the viewer to decide. 

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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Cryptid: The Swamp Beast, Season 1 (2014)

Starring: Britt George, Rachel G. Whittle, Jimmy Lee Jr.


Premise:
In a Louisiana town, the local police and animal control services investigate deaths they think is caused by an animal.

My Take:
This series is shot and edited like a documentary, but it is all reenactment with professionals. However what sets it apart is that it's a single story set over the course of the entire series and the mystery keeps getting stranger as it goes on. There is a good amount of suspense and local folklore thrown in the mix. It makes for an enjoyable series.

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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Atomic Brain Invasion (2010)

Starring: David Lavallee Jr, Sarah Nicklin, Brandon Luis Aponte
Director: Richard Griffen


Premise:
A group of teenagers try to stop aliens from kidnapping Elvis who happens to be performing in town.

My Take:
Definitely a movie which doesn't take itself seriously as it is a throwback to sci fi flicks of the 50's. The cast does a good job with the outlandish material and I sort of like the alien. In the end, I really just uninterested in the whole thing.

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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Kill The Scream Queen (2004)

Starring: Bill Zebub
Director: Bill Zebub


Premise:
A killer lures wanna be actresses to auditions where he ends up raping them and making snuff films.

My Take:
Most of the movie seems pointless to me. There really is no story just a lead character torturing woman after woman. The only clever part is the reason why the movie is made this way is actually explained by the killer to one of his victims. And it makes sense in the confines of the movie but also makes it very uninteresting.

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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Monsters & Mysteries in America, Season 2 (2014)

Premise:
Eyewitnesses are interview about the strange things they have seen and recreation of those accounts.


My Take:
Much like the first season, the show's stregth is finding interesting and lesser known cryptids (Melon Heads, The Rake, Big Muddy Monster, Dover Demon, Shadow People, and others), theories (bigfoots are aliens), and paranormal hotspots. The recreations are weak and most witnesses come of as not very reliable.

Favorite Cyptid:
In episode 12 the show discusses Peppie, the Lake Peppin monster which is supposedly a "nessie" like creature. This was one I have never heard about before and found intriguing

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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Walking Dead: Too Far Gone [volume 13]

Author: Robert Kirkman


Premise:
In this volume the gang tries to fit in with the new community and accept their roles, while a gang of outsiders threaten the community.

My Take:
There is a lot of grittiness and tension in this volume. And big payoff at the end, which wasn't quite expected. 

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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Haunter (2013)

Starring: Abigail Breslin, Stephen McHattie, Peter Outerbridge
Director: Vencenzo Natali


Premise:
A teenage ghost is repeatedly haunted with the day she died and tries to figure out why and who is responsible while trying to save the current teenager living in the house from her same fate.

My Take:
This is a very smart script which caught me off guard several times with it's haunting within a haunting. A top notch cast plays the material with ease. The movie also looks great. Several nice scenes of thick, rolling fog. One of the more original movies I've seen in awhile.

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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Sin Reaper (2012)

Starring: Lance Henriksen, Helen Mutch
Director: Sebastian Bartolitius


Premise:
A woman having nightmares about an castle goes to Germany to confront her fears. 

My Take:
There is little plot involved and it cant decide if it wants to be a slasher film or an moody mystery. It fails at both. There are, however, and plenty of bad accents in this silly movie which is extremely boring. 

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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Warehouse 13, Season (2014)

Starring:  Saul Rubinek, Joanne Kelly, Eddie McClintock, Allison Scagliotti, Aaron Ashmore



Premise:
Secret agents find artifacts which hold special powers.

My Take:
Series final season crams a lot into six episodes. It wraps up the cliff hanger from the previous season, has a couple of great stand alone episodes full of comedy, and wraps things up on a good note. This has been a unique and quirky series that I enjoyed over the last few years.

Favorite Episode:
"Savage Seduction" - the agents find themselves sucked into a Spanish Telenovella in order to find an artifact.

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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Darkest Night (2013)

Starring: DJ Perry, Anne Gauthier, Issa Litton
Director: Noel Tran


Premise:
A family gathers for the holiday at a mansion in the Philippines. Soon strange events and unexplainable things occur. 

My Take:
It's a very story centering around black magic and demons. Unfortunately, with the found footage style of filming so many of the scenes are dimly light where it's hard to tell what is happening and drawn out dialog. I would have liked to seen more about the demon worshiping cult.

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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Odd Thomas (2014)

Starring: Anton Yelchin, Addison Timlin, Willem Dafoe,
Director: Stephen Sommers


Premise:
A young man has the ability to see the dead. When he finds out a disaster is on the horizon that will change the town forever, he tries to do what he can to prevent the situation. 

My Take:
Not a bad movie, which is based on a very interesting Dean Koontz novel. It's a solid cast and good mystery which adds a few tweaks from the novel. 

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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Unidentified (2013)

Starring: Perry Shan, Colton Dunn, Eddie Mui, Eric Artell
Director: Jason Richard Miller


Premise:
A group of friends go to Las Vegas. After they borrow money from a bookie they skip town and end up getting lost in the desert where strange things start to occur.

My Take:
The movie has the typical found footage pitfalls. It would have been more entertaining as a regularly filmed flick. A likeable cast holds it together. The second half holds a decent mystery but again with the found footage format, the good ideas are not fully formed.

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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