Lycan (2017)

Starring: Dania Ramirez, Jake Lockett, Craig Tate, Rebekah Graf, Parker Croft, Vanessa Angel, Gail Grady
Director: Bev Land


Premise:
Six college students reaching a legend of a local werewolf for their college assignment come to find out that the legend is all too real.

My Take:
An average werewolf movie where kids get lost in the woods and get killed off slowly while trying to unravel a mystery. The story isn't great and the acting isn't either.

Rating: In the middle

Watched: Midnight Pulp

Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Underworld: Blood Wars (2017)

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Theo James, Lara Pulver, Charles Dance, Tobias Menzies, Bradley James
Director: Anna Foerster


Premise:
Selena continues her battle to end the war between vampires and lycans

My Take:
Not being a fan of the series I am not even sure why I watched this supposed final installment. I found it to be not very interesting.

Rating: Warning

Watched: Starz

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

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rhea, Michael Ealy, Theo James, Kris Holden Reid
Director: Mans Marlind, Bjorn Stein


Premise:
Humans now know of the lycans and vampire living among them and are doing what the can to terminate all. Selene wakes up from being captured and tries to save her daughter, the half breed hybrid, who is part of medical experiments.

My Take:
The entire series of films is getting rather tiresome and silly. Not that the franchise was ever great. If you like the series then you'll probably enjoy this installment.

Rating: Warning

Watched: Netflix DVD

Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Howl (2015)

Starring: Ed Speleers, Shauna Macdonald, Holly Weston, Rosie Day, Sam Gittins, Calvin Dean, Sean Pertwee, Amit Shah, Elliot Cowan
Director: Paul Hyett


Premise:
A train breaks down in the wilderness that is the home of a pack of werewolves.

My Take:
The movie creates a decent amount of suspense before cutting loose on the action. The majority of the characters are absolutely annoying. The computer effects vs natural special effects for most parts of the movie don't really help the cause either.

Rating: Warning

Watched: Netflix DVD

Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Wolves (2014)

Starring: Lucas Till, Stephen McHattie, Jason Momoa,
Director: David Hayter


Premise:
A young teenager, who always thought he was different, sets off to find where his birth parents came from only to discover it's from a community full of werewolves.

My Take:
This is a bad coming of age story with with werewolf bloodline side story thrown in. The  poor special effects. It's just bad all around and wastes McHattie and Momoa.

Rating: Warning (big time)

Watched: Showtime




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

AKA: Lobos de Argos / Attack of Werewolves

Starring: Gorko Oxtoa, Carlos Areces
Director: Juan Martinez Moreno


Premise:
A man returns to his family village to accept an award. What he doesn't know is the whole town are werewolves due to a curse by the man's family. The town is now looking to reverse the curse.

My Take:
An entertaining movie that has just the right amount of absurdity and humor. The special effects are a tad laughable at times though.

Rating: In the middle


Watched: DVD purchase




Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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What We Do In the Shadows (2015)

Starring: Jermaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonny Brugh, Rhys Darby
Director: Jermaine Clement, Taika Waititi,


Premise:
A group of vampires agree to tell the story of the living in a modern world to a documentary team.

My Take:
A slick and funny movie which smartly pays homage to different types of vampires portrayed in movie lore over the years.

Rating: So Good


Watched: Netflix DVD

Fringes of Horror by Sean Kimmel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
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Late Phases (2014)

Starring: Nick Damici, Lance Guest, Ethan Embry, Tom Noonan, Tina Louise, Rutanya Alda
Director: Adrian Garcia Bogliano


Premise:
A retired Vietnam vet finds a werewolf is killing off residents of the retirement community he lives in.

My Take:
I enjoyed the the original premise. The practical special effects were a pleasant surprise. The entire cast delivers the goods. However, with all these solid offerings there is something which I cant place that holds the film back. Still it's very enjoyable

Rating: In the middle


Watched: Netflix DVD

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 7 (2014)

Starring: Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgard, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammel, Debrah Wol, Chris Bauer, Nelson Ellis, Carrie Preston, Lauren Bowels, Kristin Bauer van Straten, 


Premise:
In season 7, vampires with the Hep Virus invade Bon Temps. They infect and kidnap people before Sookie bands a small group together to save the town.

My Take:
While I think the series has been failing for a couple of seasons now, this final season is an utter mess and worse it is mostly boring. Major characters die, characters came back in the fold, and many characters go against their type that has been beaten over our heads for season (that is not character development, that is desperation). Honestly it feels like the writers didn't even care about a true story, they just wanted to wrap it all up in a neat little Hallmark moment and drag the nothingness out as long as they could. And for a series known for over the top gore and sex, there is little of both in the final season. I really disliked the entire season.

Rating: Warning

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Being Human, Season 4 [US version] (2014)

Starring: Sam Huntington, Sam Witwer, Meaghan Rath, Kristen Hager


Premise:
A vampire, a werewolf, and ghost co-habitat in attempt to live a normal life.

Season 4 sees Sally become more than a ghost as she continues to develop powers of black magic and time jumps to alternate realities, Josh and Nora's marriage becomes rocky as they are introduced to a pack of werewolves and Josh's wolf manifests into something more dangerous, Aiden finds out his wife never died and is a vampire and a hunter who wants to kill all the vamps who feed on humans, and the gang is introduced to a new presence living in the house.

My Take:
This season throws a lot at you. But it does manage to tie it all together thoroughly, which is good since this was the final season. The last six episodes are top notch and the story concludes in an excellent fashion. I think in many ways, the American version out performed the UK version. Fans will no doubt miss this excellent program.

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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Being Human, Season 5 [UK version] (2013)

Starring: Michael Socha, Damien Molony, Kate Bracken



Premise:
As a vampire, ghost, and werewolf try to figure out how to live together and stay under humanities radar, they find an adversary in Satan who is living amoung humans, regaining strength, and waiting to  unlease Hell on Earth.

My Take:
The final season of the original UK series ends with the new cast (all the originals are now gone) getting redemption. It's an adequate wrap up for a show which lost steam the last couple of season. The new cast is likeable enough but it's not necessarily the same show it started out to be.

Favorite Episode:
none

Rating: In the middle

 




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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)

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

Starring: Famke Janssen, Lili Taylor, Bill Skarsgård, Landon Liboiron, Dougray Scott,  Penelope Mitchell, Kandyse McClure, Freya Tingley, Aaron Douglass


Premise:
A girl is mutilated in a small town where speculation turns to the gypsy kid and his mother who only just arrived with rumors of being a werewolf. He makes friends with the son of the wealthiest family in town, who can control people's mind, to track down the killer.

My Take:
I still dont really know what to make of this series. It is engaging and interesting and frustrating and confusing. Each episode hooked me enough to get to the next but at the conclusion I was rather bewildered at how it wrapped up and where it may go if there is a season two. There's a girl who thinks an angel got her pregnant, secrets surrounding the wealthy family, crazy experiments done by their company's head doctor, a werewolf hunter arriving in town, a deformed and monstrous girl (who is the daughter of the wealthy family) and plenty of other side stories to keep one intertested...or baffled.


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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Being Human, Season 3 [US] (2013)

Starring: Sam Huntington, Sam Witwer, Meaghan Rath, Kristen Hager


Premise:
A werewolf, a vampire, and a ghost share resident in a Boston house.

Season 3 has Josh and Nora battling another werewolf seeking revenge for his missing children, Aiden awakening from a year long burial to find out a flu bug has wiped out most of the vampires, and Salley makes a pact with a witch to become human, but it backfires and she starts showing zombie tendacies.

My Take:
By now the series has spun into something unqiue and completely different than it's UK counterpart, which is good. In fact, I think when one compare the two complete works side by side, the SyFy series is the better of the two. The theme for the characters this season is change and accepting resonsibility for actions.


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 Clearing

Author: Thomas Rydder


Premise:
A small town in Pennsylvania is tormented by a pack of larger than normal wolves with a hidden agenda.

My Take:
The author manages to put a new spin on werewolf lore yet keeps the familiarity of the lore intact. The book is full of rich characters, a realistic setting, and a nice plot which keeps the reader guessing at every turn. I ended up very impressed with this novel.

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.

FDR: American Bad Ass (2012)

Starring: Barry Bostwick, Bruce McGill, Lin Shaye, Ray Wise, William Mapother, Paul Ben-Victor, Kevin Sorbo
Director: Garrett Brawaith



Premise:
FDR gets polio after a werewolf attack which catapults him into Presidency, where he fights against the werewolf bretheran of Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito.

My Take:
A movie that doesn't take itself seriously and with the premise, that's a good thing. The nice assemble cast does the best they can with what's given but I simply didn't find the majority of the movie funny.

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.

Strippers vs Werewolves (2012)

Starring: Robert England, Billy Murray, Martin Compston, Steven Berkoff, Sarah Douglas
Director: Jonathan Glendening


Premise:
After their pack leader is accidentally killed in a strip club, a group of werewolf gangster rage war on the strippers who work there.

My Take:
A solid cast of familiar British faces cant save this mess of a movie. Most of the time it tries too hard to be funny and sexy but fails on both accounts. It certainly doesn't take itself seriously, but it should have just a tad.

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.

Werewolf: A Beast Amoung Us (2012)

Starring: Stephen Rhea, Ed Quinn, Steven Bauer, Nina Peeples
Director: Louis Morneau


Premise:
A group of werewolf hunters travel to town to take out a beast.

My Take:
This just isn't really a good movie. There seems to be chunks of the movie edited out that advance what little the plot. It's fairly simply to figure out who is the werewolf, despite all the red herrings. Plus throw in a stupid (and unnecessary) twist in the final act.


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.

Moon Dance

Author: S. P. Somtow



Synopsis:
A man is locked in a mental institution. He is suspected of being a notorious serial killer. A journalist comes to write book on his story only to discover a man suffering from multiple personalities and a mythical Indian folklore concerning shape shifters. As the writer uncovers more of the story, she finds out their family histories are linked.

My Take:
This is a massive book clocking in at around 550 pages. It is crammed full of beauty, mystery, and terror. It's amazing to me that an author born in Thailand and raised in the UK can write so detailed about the Old West America. He obviously did the research.
The tale effortlessly moves between the emerging young West of the mid 1800's and the 1960's while slowly making the connection between characters from both eras with savage and seductive writing.
A gripping tale.

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.