The Brentwood Strangler (2015)

Starring: Cheryl Ladd,
Director: John Fitzpatrick


Premise:
A woman goes on a blind date with a man who just happens to be a serial killer.

My Take:
There's some witty exchange between the two characters with not ever lying to his date.

Rating: In the middle

Watched: Youtube




Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
An affiliate of http://seankimmel.com/

Postpartum (2016)

Starring: Danielle Harris, Jenny Curtis
Director: Richard Bakewell


Premise:
A mother is convinced her children are possessed. She leaves them in care of a nanny and returns to find them dead. She is taken to a mental institution where she starts to see her dead children.

My Take:
The short movie tosses a lot at the viewer in a short amount of time. Not all of it works.

Rating: In the middle

Watched: Amazon Prime




Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
An affiliate of http://seankimmel.com/

Halloween: The Night HE Came Back (2016)

Starring: Leah Kellar, Bob Sleeper, Bruce Dale
Director: Dave McRae


Premise:
An actress moves to Haddeonfield, IL to help out her brother, unaware of the town's dark secret.

My Take:
A slick fan film continuing the story of Michael Myers. The short film looks good, has a solid story, and direction. It was made by people who love the series and it shows.

Rating: In the middle

Watched: Youtube

Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
An affiliate of http://seankimmel.com/

Never Hike Alone (2017)

Starring: Drew Leighty, Vincente DiSanti, Thom Matthews
Director: Vincente DiSanti


Premise:
A hiker documenting his travels stumbles upon an old kid;s camp know for it's murders from many years ago.

My Take:
This fan made short film is better than many of the Hollywood produced sequels/reboots of the Friday the 13th franchise. The movie looks great and the story ties in all the best aspects of the Jason lore while leaving the hokiness behind. This is a solid effort all around.

Rating: So Good

Watched: Youtube

Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
An affiliate of http://seankimmel.com/

Lake Nowhere (2014)

Starring: Laura Hajek, Oscar Allen, Paul Joseph Gagnon, Melody Kology
Director: Christopher Phelps, Maxim Van Scoy


Premise:
Some one or some thing is killing off teenagers staying at a cabin in the woods.

My Take:
The movie throws a tad of everything at the viewer in a short time with a supernatural element to this slash throw back. The results are mixed and the ideas are not completely flushed out.

Rating: In the middle

Watched: Shudder

Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
An affiliate of http://seankimmel.com/

Hyena's Blood (2014)

Starring: Jon Lange
Director: Nicolas Caicoya


Premise:
The newly formed DEA tries to stop the poppy trade from Mexico, but a rouge former agent does his best to make sure the drugs get the United States

My Take:
I received an email about a month ago from the director with information about his short film. I agreed to take a look at it.
While not horror, there is an exploitation quality to the short and a decent amount of bloodshed. It looks fantastic too. It would be nice to see this as a full length feature to help explore the historical background of the DEA and the Mexican poppy trade. As well as flushing out the characters more. However, I was quite impressed with the lead actor. If you happen to see this one around give the thirty minutes viewing.

Rating: In the middle


Hyena's Blood Trailer

Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
An affiliate of http://seankimmel.com/

Whistle And I'll Come To You (1968)

Starring: Michael Hordern
Director: Jonathan Miller


Premise:
A college professor has is belief that everything can be explained challenge when he stays at a remote village hotel.

My Take:
A nice short based on the classic story by M.R. James. The lead character is played to annoying perfection. 

Rating: In the middle



Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
An affiliate of http://seankimmel.com/

The short films of Luther Bhogal-Jones

A little different review this time around. I received a message from a writer/director Luther Bhogal-Jones to see if I would review his short Black Spot. I ended up watching all five shorts on his Vimeo page, though not all were horror related.

Black Spot -Shot in 3D (unfortunately I do not own 3D glasses). I had to watch the 2D version. Which probably lessened some of the impact. The film looks great and the actors play it well but in the end the story just didn't grab me.

Creak - I really enjoyed this one. It packed a good amount of intensity and suspense in it's short running time. Beware. Sometimes those strange noises coming from inside the house, are not the house.

The Crunch - A stylishly shot psychological tale about a pair of isolated computer programmers. It looks fantastic which leads to a few creepy moments.


My Take:
While most of these shorts have familiarity to their story they are all very watchable and entertaining. Bhogal-Jones definitely has some talent and I would like to see what he can accomplish with expanded ideas and full length feature.

Rating: In the middle

One can watch the above short films and others on here: 
Faster Productions Vimeo Page

Contact Luther Bhogal-Jones
Twitter: @fasterproductions
Facebook: Faster Productions Facebook Page





Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
An affiliate of http://seankimmel.com/

Haze (2005)

Starring: Shinya Tsukamoto
Director: Shinya Tsukamoto


Premise:
A man wakes up in room and doesn't know why he is there. He must endure physical and mental abuse to try and figure out what has happened.

My Take:
Shinya Tsukamoto is one of my favorite directors. His work is so cerebrally bizarre and brutual yet comes with a huge dose of humanity. This short is no different. He pacts more emotional pain in 20 minutes than some movies get all together. He makes a very basic storyline and turns it into unique perfection. I highly recommed watching this if you are a fan of his work or as a starting off point of the directors catalog.

Rating: So Good






Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
An affiliate of http://seankimmel.com/

Vampire Queen of Quezon City (2010)

Director: Khvan


Premise:
A cop is searching for a serial killer who is taking young girls. This disturbed man tortures, violates, murders, and eats these women.

My Take:
There is a lot of intense and explict scenes and imagery in this movie (including a hardcore rape scene). Plus several long and extended scenes of nothing important. It makes for a bad balance and ultimately a missed opprotunity on a familiar subject by a different culture than mine. However that's to say it doesn't have some merit with  great surreal moments known in the experimental film genre. The director is one to keep an eye on.

Rating: In the middle (but not for every one)

Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
An affiliate of http://seankimmel.com/

The Vampire's Ghost (1945)

Starring: John Abbott
Director: Lesley Selander


Premise:
In a port town in Africa, a bar owner reveals himself to be a vampire.

My Take:
A slow moving tale where the suspense and horror is minimum. Not terrible though.

Rating: In the middle



Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
An affiliate of http://seankimmel.com/

The Devil's Carnival (2012)

Starring: Sean Patrick Flanery, Dayton Callie, Briana Evigan, Paul Sorvino,
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

Premise:
Three souls enter a carnival ran in Hell to face judgment on their sins.

My Take:
Too bad the creators couldn't stretch out another 15 minutes for a full length feature because it is such a cool concept. I have read this is just the first episode in a hopeful series.
A fantastic cast, great music, and solid story makes this short extremely entertaining.

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.

Emotion (1966)

Director: Nobuhiko Ôbayashi


Premise:
A girl comes to the city and meets another girl, then falls in love with a vampire.

My Take:
I do enjoy experiment films, especially from this time period.
The story here is a bit soft and odd (typical for an experimental film) but the visuals more than make up for 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.