Entries from April 2009 ↓

Review by Fatally Yours

Decent horror-western films are hard to come by, though it seems the two genres would go together so well. Think of the desolate Wild West and how something horrific could stalk wayward cowboys or pioneers on such a lonely frontier. The wide open spaces, with no one around to help for hundreds of miles, could indeed turn ominous with the proper story. The history of the West itself is filled with stories of missing wagon trains, ghosts, ghost towns and strange creatures, not to mention the numerous Native American myths.

It really bums me out that there aren’t more horror-Western films, but luckily writer/director J.T. Petty (who gave us the amazingly subtle, but no less disturbing, Soft for Digging) has managed to craft this kind of menacing story with The Burrowers, recently released on DVD on April 21st, 2009 from Lionsgate.

Life in the Dakota Territories in 1879 isn’t easy. The few pioneers that rough it out there have to overcome the lack of civilization, harsh climate and the threat of Indian raids. Yet settlers experience a certain freedom in the Wild West…like Irish immigrant Coffey (Karl Geary), who fled the oppression of back East to start a new life on the frontier. He is even planning on asking for his sweetheart’s hand in marriage. Only, when he goes to visit her one morning, he finds four of her family dead and her, along with five others, missing. An Indian raid is the first explanation given for the brutal scene, and a posse, including experienced frontiersmen John Clay (Clancy Brown), Will Parcher (William Mapother), Coffey and a young teen hoping to become a man, is formed to hunt them down. They are soon joined by the cavalry, lead by the nasty Henry Victor (Doug Hutchison), who likes to belitte his cook and ex-slave Callaghan (Sean Patrick Thomas) and viciously torture Indians for information. The one brave they do catch can only warn them of “the burrowers”…and as people start disappearing into the night, pulled down into darkness by these “burrowers”, the group discovers that they are the ones being hunted and not by any Indians, either! They soon realize that the real enemy stalks them from deep within the earth and that what they face is far more terrifying than death.

The Burrowers delivers a beautifully menacing horror film and shows exactly why a Western setting works so well in the horror genre. The expansive plains evoke a melancholy loneliness during the day, but at night they achieve a more sinister feel. Just what are the long prairie grasses and dark shadows beyond the campfire hiding? What are the strange noises coming from the dark? This wonderful setting, coupled with cinematographer Phil Parnet’s panoramic views of the West during the day and claustrophobic shots at night, creates a tension-filled and frightening film that shouldn’t be missed.

Writer/director J.T. Perry doesn’t just let the scenery speak for itself, though. The story is also an extremely well-crafted monster tale that doesn’t sacrifice sophistication for scares. Perry wisely keeps the monsters in the dark for most of the film, teasing us with their strange sounds and small glimpses of the beasts. An enormous amount of tension is created by doing this, especially during the night-time scenes in which the monsters circle a camp of the posse.

Perry also includes the obligatory social commentary about white men abusing the natives, but also shows how distrustful the Native Americans were of white men. This adds some more tension to the story and the distrustful feelings of both the white men and Native Americans feel very accurate.

The stellar cast of actors also does a fine job of creating tension, whether between themselves, the natives or what lurks underground. Doug Hutchinson (Punisher: War Zone, Lost) was great as the villainous Henry Victor, complete with a mustache that curled at the ends. Clancy Brown (Carnivale, Lost), William Mapother (Lost, Prison Break) and Karl Geary were all wonderful as the “good guys,” bewildered by what “the burrowers” truly are but determined to push on and find the missing victims. Everyone was believable in their role, not the easiest thing to pull off in a period piece, and evoked the proper emotions, whether it was to loathe or love their character.

The film isn’t a gorefest but there are several nicely bloodied scenes that delivered. The creep-factor was more intense in this film than the gore, and the creatures and just what they did to their prey really got under my skin. The creature effects, by Robert Hall (who is making quite a name for himself in horror - check out his recent Laid to Rest [review] film), were pretty awesome and downright creepy. Some people have complained of the “look” of the creatures, but I definitely have no complaints. Everything from their movements to their maws to the sounds they made sent shivers up my spine!

The Burrowers is what I like to call “high-end horror.” It’s a more sophisticated, more nuanced film that doesn’t rely on cheap scares or stereotypical characters like some throw-away horror films. It has a menacing feel and a tense atmosphere that slowly build until the abrupt finale, where you can finally let your breath out! It is also one of the few horror films that has capitalized on a Western setting, which in turn makes it an even more eerie and frightening film!

This is definitely one of the best horror-Westerns ever made, and so far one of the best films of 2009! Go see it!

Watch the trailer:

Review by Fatally Yours

I really, really want to review this movie…but since I couldn’t see most of it I really don’t know how!

Let me explain…apparently Alien Raiders didn’t have enough of a budget for LIGHTING and so everything was in the dark, making it impossible to see what was happening on-screen! Now, I’m all for dark shadows and dark scenes within a film that help ratchet up the suspense, but this was just ridiculous. I couldn’t even see the special effects (which I finally got to see in all their gory glory in the special features) they used and couldn’t quite tell who ate it (or was getting eaten) throughout the film.

The more I think about it, the angrier I get, because if Alien Raiders had used some decent lighting, it would have been an excellent horror film that’s a mix of The Thing, The Mist (review) and Intruder (review). Unfortunately, the lack of decent lighting is so glaring that it takes away from the film’s finer points.

As a small-town supermarket closes up for the night, the remaining group of clerks and customers suddenly find themselves in the middle of a hostage situation as a group of black-clad, gun-totting intruders start killing people for seemingly no reason. Except that the intruders seem to believe that something alien is in the store…something that is hiding within a human host…something that needs to be destroyed before it is set loose upon the world.

Now, isn’t that a fresh idea for a horror film? Sure, it’s a bit derivative of The Thing, where director Ben Rock got his inspiration from, but it certainly has its own original storyline, written by David Simkins with the screenplay by Julia Fair. It definitely feels a lot fresher and more tightly wound than most mainstream horror movies released today. I also like how the story immediately throws you into a chaotic hostage situation and you don’t know what is going on or who the intruders are or what their purpose is. This intro really grabs you by the throat and gives you a good shake. Then, unfortunately, the action moves to the back of the supermarket, where there is no good lighting and everything gets lost in the dark. The story is still strong as it unfolds, but we just can’t SEE it!

The movie has its nice gory bits, but without proper lighting they are pretty much lost on the audience. Even the “king” makeup, which is impressive when we see it in full light in the special features, is lost in the darkness of the film. There are so many great lighting techniques that could have been used, especially utilizing the eerie glow of freezer and produce lights, but they are merely used to create atmosphere instead us being used to light the action.  As it stands, most of the gore effects are indiscernible from the shadows, which really is a pity after you see what a great job was done with the effects in the special features.

I can’t stress enough that had the lighting been decent, this film could have been one of the better films of the year! Everything else - acting, directing, etc. - is excellent. Though there aren’t really any recognizable faces in the cast,  every one of the actors did an excellent job. The direction by Rock is also pretty solid, though the use of shaky-cam is a bit overdone, especially when combined with the darkness of most of the shots.

While the film has an atrocious title (and dorky cover) that makes it sound (and look) like another crappy Sci-Fi Channel movie (they definitely should have stuck with their original title of Supermarket!), I was surprised at its engaging and tense storyline. Nevertheless, it was disappointing to see such a promising film be ruined by bad lighting.

Watch the trailer:

IFC Films continues to stock up on their horror titles as they've now added Glenn McQuaid's I Sell the Dead to their 2009 line-up. Starring Dominic Monaghan, Ron Perlman, Angus Scrimm and Larry Fessenden, the Slamdance Film Festival selection will hit limited theaters and VOD on August 14. In the film, body Snatchers Arthur Blake and Willie Grimes have pillaged their last grave. With just five hours before Arthur follows Willie to the chopping block, he recounts his life story to Fr Francis Duffy. It soon becomes clear that Blake and Grimes were no ordinary grave robbers. And through his stories the priest learns that not all corpses are equal.

I still don't know how I feel about the new trend of taking a respectable story and throwing a horror element into it. While the original concept might have been appealing, it's now becoming as bad as remakes and Asian horror craze as everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. Tonight it was revealed that the director of Dead Snow is taking on the tale of "Hansel and Gretel", only in the film the duo become witch hunters. Don't get too excited, at least until you see Dead Snow this summer from IFC (yuck).

What do you consider a horror movie? I think everyone has their own opinion.Horror movies to me mean scary, gory, frightening and shocking movies.

Does anyone remember this film: About eight people dressed in orange and blue uniforms are stripped and dropped into a room where they are trapped.

Okay, so we can all list horror movies and thrillers that are unintentionally funny, but the following movies blend humor with horror and thrills on

Something vicious is about to be set loose at Cannes as today a special trailer tease and images were released from Primal, a new Australian film about some brutal, bloody cannibals. Beyond the break you can check out a synopsis and the trailer tease, while the newly launched official website features more goodies (such as some gory pics).

To think it's been over seven years since the Asian horror craze entered this writer's home. During the time, one of my favorite (and probably one of the last descent) films to arise out of the midst of the frenzy was Ahn Byung-ki's Korean horror film Phone, which is now the latest to go under the knife to transform into a US remake thanks to Imprint Entertainment (Twilight, The Stepfather). Read all about it inside.

Overture Films has been going crazy over on their Twitter page for their forthcoming remake of The Crazies (set visit), which is still filming. The latest "tweet" features the best tease yet, read on for a look. Directed by Breck Eisner, the story revolves around the inhabitants of a small Kansas town who are beset by death and insanity after a plane crash lets loose a secret biological weapon into the water supply. Look for the infection in theaters February 26, 2010.

So today I was thinking about, you know, like, stuff and stuff, and I was all...hmm. Yeah. "Horror kinda nosedived as the 1980s went on and on." Then I thought about 1985 and I was all, "Well, that wasn't such a bad year." Then I thought about the fact that I used to wear nylon pants in the mid-80s, and how that was a terrible, terrible decision on my part...especially when one considers that I would generally couple said nylon pants with Chuck Taylors and Hawaiian shirts. What the fuck was I thinking?

Anyway, yeah, horror in '85. Some good movies, and a turn toward black comedy. Notable, perhaps. Perhaps not. I guess that's a decision you'll have to make for yourself, consequences be damned. Not unlike opting to pull up some nylon pants.


This film completely cordoned off a piece of my heart reserved forever and always for Linnea Quigley.


Gordon + Lovecraft + Combs + Crampton are mid-80s Fab Four as far as I'm concerned.



SAKES ALIVE. Why oh why can't I zip around the universe all nude-like, shooting lasers out of my eyes? It's all I want in the world!



Three things always spring to mind when I think of Fright Night: 1) Amanda Bearse's magically-lengthening vampire hair; 2) "Oh, you're so cool, Brewster!"; 3) Chris Sarandon's off-white cable-knit sweater.



I've never seen The Stuff. There, I said it.


This movie makes no sense and it's wicked gross. I fucking love it.



Oft-maligned, but I've always dug Day of the Dead. Maybe because it was the first Romero zombie pic I was allowed to see...saw it at the drive-in. Brain chaos ensued. "Yes, sir...fuck you, sir!"



Saw this once upon a time- and when I say "a time", I mean "a horror movie sleepover pizza party time"...meaning, I thought it stunk. Undoubtedly, I need to revisit it.


So...1985. Whatchoo tink?

This afternoon we scored the first hi-res look at Michael Myers (Tyler Mane) from Rob Zombie's forthcoming H2: Halloween 2, which picks up right as the reboot ended, following the aftermath of Michael Myers' murderous rampage through the eyes of the sister he hunted. This is your first close-up look at Myers' new mask that he'll be rocking in Dimension's film arriving in theaters August 28th. Don't forget to click here to watch the trailer!

While Jennifer Chambers Lynch awaits the release of Surveillance on June 26, the director is gearing up for Cannes with her next film, Hisss, which features astounding special FX work by Precinct 13's Robert Kurtzman, director of Wishmaster and The Rage, among others. This afternoon, we got their hands on two pieces of art for the film toplined by Indian star Mallika Sherawat and tackles the ancient Eastern myth of the snake woman who can take on various forms. Hopefully this sucker will slither its way into the States this year!

It has been almost exactly one year since Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo's bloody French horror film Inside finally hit DVD from Dimension Extreme. It has also been about that long since the directors walked off the Hellraiser reboot being developed by the Weinstein bros. This afternoon, Twitch Film brings us some of the best news this year as they've learned of the French duos next project, Livid, which is set in a small town on the Irish coast. Read on for a synopsis and some Cannes sales art!

Beyond the break you can check out the third one sheet for the Corbin Bernsen directed zombie pic Dead Air, which will be screening at Cannes later this month. After sitting on the shelf for nearly two years, hopefully we'll finally get to see this Bill Moseley starrer later this year. The story revolves around a radioshow team attempting to warn its listeners after a huge explosion turns zombies on the loose in L.A.