A Darker Fifty Shades: The Fetish Set

aka The Fetish Set

Director - Shane Wheeler 

Starring - Bill Oberst Jr. (Zombieworld, Circus of the Dead), Sarah Nicklin (Disco Exorcist, The Sins of Dracula), and Glenda Galeano (Mistaking Spell)

Release Date - 2015

Genre - Horror/Thriller

Tagline - "When play becomes slay"

Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     The book series Fifty Shades of Grey took taboo sexual acts and turned them into something women in book clubs now giggle about.  This can be seen everywhere from parent meetings, salons, and even church.  Women were curious as to what the book was about and once they started reading the perversion unfold on each page they were hooked.  The book became a bestselling series and it was only a matter of time before it was turned into a movie.  Now, several other film has began to pop up using sex as the basis of their stories to appeal to those that have lust in their hearts.  One of those films is the newest Wild Eye film A Darker Fifty Shades: The Fetish Set.  I would typically avoid a film like this because the whole fetish thing does not appeal to me.  Who in their right mind would pay a beautiful woman to beat the shit out of you?  Anyway, I did not pass this one up because Wild Eye was releasing it, powerhouse actor Bill Oberst Jr. starred in it, and I refuse to pass up any film with Sarah Nicklin's name attached to it.  I reached out to Wild Eye and they were nice enough to send me a copy to check out.

     The film follows a group of working girls that are professionals when it comes to sexual pleasure.  One night one of the girls is attacked in a hotel room and is badly beaten.  The other girls retaliate and kill the woman beater.  However, they quickly learn that they killed the wrong man and try to cover their tracks.  However, they are not in the clear once the body is disposed of.  They then become the prey of a sexual predator in every sense of the word.  The man, The Wolf (Oberst), sets his sights on the pretty little things and starts to hunt them one by one to fulfill his sexual previsions and fantasies.  

     I went into the film with a certain expectation for the film and assumed it would take me on a certain adventure.  To some extent the film did tell the kind of story I thought it would.  However. the film quickly changes gears and takes me down a path I would have never expected and I fucking love that!  The acting in this film is pretty solid by most of the cast with my favorite performances belonging to Sarah Nicklin and Bill Oberst Jr.  Sarah has a natural on camera charm that just radiates.  She is very beautiful andextremely talented.  Oberst once again shows why he is the best at what he does.  Every character I have ever seen him play steals the scene the second he walks into it and this film is no exception.  I would also like to acknowledge the performance from Glenda Galeano who went above and beyond the convention with her performance.  The story for this one will definitely throw you a curve ball.  The film starts out sexual in nature and pushing the boundaries before switching it up and taking you down a warped and twisted road lead by The Wolf.  A lot of thought went into the story but the film has a hard time executing the story which results in a lot lost in translation.   Finally, the film does skip on the on screen kills and special effects.  Instead, it relies heavily on a erotic story that will take the viewer down a road they have never been before.  Overall, A Darker Fifty Shades: The Fetish Set is a fun film that draws the viewer in with some great suspense and an amazing cast.  The film is sexual in nature but not as perverted as the title suggests.  I recommend this one.

Mrparka Review's "Visceral: Between The Ropes Of Madness" (Unearthed Films) Video Review

All Hell Breaks Loose

Director - Jeremy Garner
Starring - Mike Bazanele (The Children of Terra Firma), Nick Forrest, and Joshua Lee Frazier (Grimm)
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror/Action/Comedy
Tagline - "Get the girl...save the say"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     In 2011 the indie horror scene saw a rise in exploitation films that tried to pay tribute to the grindhouse films of yesteryear and we have the Grindhouse double feature to thank for that.  I personally love these type of films because they offer up so much absurd humor and story lines with films like Dear God No!   Sadly, these biker-fueled exploitation flicks did not last long as a trend but we still see a few of these films pop up here and there and I welcome them with open arms.  Recently, I came across a link for a crowd funding campaign for the film The Cemetery People from Frenetic Films.  I reached out to them about the crowd funding and checking out their other films and they were kind enough to send me a review copy of their 2014 film All Hell Breaks Loose featuring Danger Ehren from Jackass.  

     The film follows a biker gang as they kill and plunder across America killing everyone they encounter and picking up women that have not been tainted by penis.  They cross paths with some newlyweds and kill the groom while abducting the girl.  They take her back to the bar where they plan on performing a ritual on her for Satan.  The leave the groom for dead and a man in white walks up to him and he rises from the dead.  He then tells the groom that he has to get his woman back before they complete the ritual.  He sets out to save his wife and is once again murdered.  The man in white then resurrects him again and has him partner up with a priest to get his wife back.  This plan also falls part and he is murdered.  The man in white resurrects him once again and this time the groom partners up with a sheriff where they hit the bar hard and gain the upper hand until they realize they are all demons and need the virgin to complete the ritual.  The groom then realizes that in order for the demons to die that he has to kill his bride instead of saving her.

     Before I go any further I have to confess my love for biker films from the late 60s and 70s with films like Werewolves on Wheels, Psychomania, and The Savage Seven.  These films were fun and serious in tone but the modern rise of the exploitation biker flicks threw in a lot of over-the-top stories with a lo of humor.  All Hell Breaks Loose takes us back to the time when these films were serious in tone but was able to add a few laughs in just so it couldn't be taken too seriously.  The acting in this film is great by the entire cast.  The bikers were perfectly cast.  They all fully immersed themselves in the role and for the most part they look authentic.  We also get some much needed humor from Danger Ehren.  The rest of the cast is great as well with the film's hero, the groom, who just happens to look like Zack Ward of A Chistmas Story Fame.  He does a great job portraying a reluctant hero.  The story for this one is one I have seen before even in outlaw biker films. However, none have the Heaven and Hell touch which is really something I did not see coming.  This is a great way to make the film stand out while paying tribute to the biker films of a time long forgotten.  Finally, the film does have several on screen kills but nothing that would satisfy the typical gorehound.  The point of this flick is to not shower the viewer in blood and guts but to give the viewer a great grindhouse experience.  Overall, All Hell Breaks Loose is a great film that has rich dialogue, solid story, and a few laughs.  The film feels like it should have Tarantino's name plastered somewhere above the title. This film has to been seen!

Headless

"In this "lost slasher film from 1978," a masked killer wages an unrelenting spree of murder, cannibalism, and necrophilia. But when his tortured past comes back to haunt him, he plunges to even greater depths of madness and depravity, consuming the lives of a young woman and those she holds dear."

Directed by Arthur Cullipher

Written by Nathan Erdel, and Todd Rigney

Starring Shane Beasley, Ellie Church, Kelsey Carlisle

Format: Online Screener (HD)

Release: 2015

This film is a total headfuck.

You ever see one of those horror flicks where the killer does all manner of inhumane and despicable
things to their victims?  Of course you have.  You ever wonder just how they could have become so depraved and what could possibly motivate them to continue their sadistic and cruel behavior?  Maybe you have,  or maybe you didn't put any further thought into it.  Have you ever been disgusted and repulsed to the point where you couldn't continue watching?

I'm asking all these questions,  because the answers are simple: You will.  Whether or not you have,  you'll find out.  And...  you just might be.

If you haven't watched FOUND by Scott Schirmer,  you should.  Its based on the novel of the same name,  by Todd Rigney.  That story contains a film within its mythos,  and that film is HEADLESS.  Easily one of the most brutal and intregal parts to FOUND,  it was a throwback to 70s underground indie horror exploitation that drove the killer in FOUND to commit his own atrocities. FOUND was so well received by the underground horror heads (heh heh),  that it spawned a successful crowdfunding campaign for a full length HEADLESS feature.

Having just witnessed the online screener from the campaign,  my mind is blown. I now understand how such a cruel and demented killer could be created. I could feel his pain.  His nightmarish hallucinations could drive any one to such lengths.

While this film contains incredibly horrific acts of intense brutality,  they seem natural for the monster committing them.  By the time it was over I realized had thoroughly enjoyed all which I had witnessed. Then again,  I'm a fairly twisted individual that knows it's all just entertainment.  Yet,  to be entertained by such heartless acts,  to cheer along at the ghastly images,  it makes me wonder... What the fuck is wrong with me?  Also, what the fuck is wrong with Arthur Cullipher and Nathan Erdel?

Cully has masterfully crafted a film that is as equally beautiful,  surreal,  atmospheric,  and lucid as it is sickening, perverse, gut-wrenching ,  and unapologetic. He and several colleagues from FOUND (Scott Schirmer,  Nathan and Kara Erdel,  Leya Taylor, and Shane Beasley reprising his role as the killer) have given us a peak into the mind of a demon not spawned from Hell,  but birthed of the torment that was all he had ever known.

Plot and story are definitely present,  and certainly not pleasant.  Headless could have easily just been a load of graphic,  sexualized violence to satisfy the sickos - and we get plenty of that -  but a tale is to be told,  and you will understand just where is "headed"  right from the start.

This film feels like it's from 1978. It looks gorgeous,  and sounds equally appropriate.  They made sure to use the right clothes and vehicles to get the proper atmosphere going.  Don't even get me started on the roller rink.  The killer's house is dingy and disgusting, he's living in a filthy old run down building on a farm.  

Shane Beasley provides an incredible performance as the Headless killer.  In the original short from FOUND,  he didn't have to do much but kill women,  eat their eyes,  and fuck their heads.  He gives so much more in this role for the feature film. We know and experience not only the horrors and pain he inflicts,  but those he has suffered as well.

Kelsey Carlisle, Haley Madison, and Ellie Church give great performances in their roles, proving they have what it takes to be scream queen material. There is an abundance of opportunity for wailing and agony from the victims in this film, and by its very nature, these women must scream!

There is comedic relief in all this gruesome slaughter.  Brian Williams' Slick Vic is a sleazy 70s roller rink tycoon scumbag asshole, paired perfectly with Ellie Church's Betsy.  Their on-screen chemistry is undeniable.  It's like they are married or something.  I also thought the hitchhiker scene was pretty hilarious, without even trying.  

The FX are all practical and fucking top notch.  There are gallons of blood, killer gore, gruesome mutilations, and those special things that only the Headless killer does to his victims.  Everything looks great.  

The music and score are so perfect.  At times the score is haunting, and it even gets chilling what music will be heard during some of the most gruesome scenes.

Its only February the bar just got set fucking high.  This film is absolutely everything I imagined it might and be much, much more.  This will surely go down as one of the sickest, most well-executed indie films ever.  It has instantly rocketed into my top 3 ever.  I cannot wait to get the dvd, blu, and Vultra Video vhs!!!!!!!  Fucking loved every second of this sick, fucked up shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As dark and twisted as film is collectively,  it's fun ride.  Stay in your seats,  though...  You might lose your head!

5/5 SEVERED HEADS

or

10/10 EYEBALL SNACKS

Zombieworld

Director(s) - Jesse Baget, Adrian Cardona, Rafa Dengra, Luke Guidici, Phil Haine, Peter Horn, Jared Marshall, Cameron McCulloch, David Munoz, Adam O'Brien, Zachary Ramelan, Paul Shrimpton, Vedran Marjanovic Wekster, and Tommy Woodard
Starring - Bill Oberst Jr (Coyote), Noe Blancafort (Losers), and Marc Velasco (Fibers)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "The end is near here!
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Now, I know what you guys and gals are thinking.  Why is he reviewing yet another zombie film?  Well, my answer for that is very simple and if you watch the trailer before reading my review then you will understand why I am reviewing this one.  A month or so ago another writer at Horror Society shared news of the upcoming zombie anthology film Zombieworld.  I will show my ignorance when I admit that I thought the announcement was for the sequel to Zombieland.  I am a fan of ZL and was looking forward to the sequel but when I looked into the film I quickly realized this film had nothing to do with ZL.  Instead, it was an anthology film that looked insane.  I had to see it and was lucky enough to get a review copy of it before it was released.

     The film follows news reporter Marvin Gloat (Oberst).  The world is going to hell as the undead begin to rise and take over the world.  Gloat then starts to refer to the world as Zombieworld.  Gloat was also bitten by the undead while trying to defend the news station.  He is able to fight them off so he could get back to reporting the news.  He covers different stories about zombie outbreaks including one of a man running through the woods while the undead is chasing him before he is overtaken by a zombie wearing a Santa uniform.  We are shown a video of the first zombie outbreak where Jesus tries to raise Lazarus from the dead only to fail and bring him back as a zombie turning everyone into the undead.  Jesus and Judas then fight zombie Pharisees, Romans, and cowboys using fish.  We then jumped to Ireland where a man rushes to check on his friend who was bitten only to turn and attack him.  There is also a segment featuring a woman that lives alone trying to survive only to keep reliving her former love who has since passed away.  We are also given news coverage of an unusual man who liked to cover his entire body with mud while listening to music.  However, when his batteries die he takes his frustration on zombies that are attacking the beach.  In between each segment we are shown clips on how to survive the apocalypse and "live" footage of people being attacked including a cop who is attacked by a woman and her boyfriend.  After all the segments are shown, Marvin finally succumbs to his bite and turns into a zombie.

     Most of you reading this know my stance on the current zombie craze.  Sure, I watch The Walking Dead every Sunday and still try to read the comics and novels whenever I get the chance, but the show has ruined the state of zombie films.  So many films now try to pit survivors amongst themselves while dealing with the undead.  Very few try to give the viewer anything new or entertaining.  However, after watching the trailer for Zombieworld I knew this film would be nothing like the dozens of zombie flicks littering the shelves at Wal-Mart.  The acting in this one is hit or miss.  There is way too many segments for me to pick apart but when dealing with a film that has segments from different directors this is very common.  Some have a terrific cast that is truly shocking by how much talent they have while others have some that need more experience to make their roles believable.  With all that being said, holy fuck was Bill Oberst Jr, awesome.  I have yet to see a film where he did not steal the show.  The stories for this one vary in degree while held together by the newscast story.  Most are nothing new but are fun for the most part.  The highlights of the film is the segment involving Jesus and the other involving the man covered in mud.  Both are bloody and fun as hell.  The rest vary in quality.  My biggest complaint with the story is that some segments did not fit the zombie apocalypse newscast angle.  One did not involve a zombie at all and another involved a young man getting drawn into a video game that is very similar to House of the Dead.  Both were good segments but did not fit the film.  Most of the stories offer up some humor as well which really makes light of all the gore that we are given.  Finally, this anthology is the bloodiest I have seen in a very long time and I doubt another one will surpass it anytime soon.  Most of the death scenes use practical effects while a few others use some visual effects but they are not bad.  In fact, they add to the gore.  Overall, Zombieworld is a violent film that really does deliver on the blood and gore.  This is a film we will not forget about anytime soon.  Fans of anthologies, horror comedies, and gore should really check this one out!

Pernicious

Director - James Cullen Bressack (Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys)
Starring - Ciara Hanna (Power Rangers Megaforce), Emily O'Brien (Project Bigfoot), and Jackie Moore (Atlantic Rim)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Evil never dies, it waits"
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Ghost films are gaining in popularity and we have the found footage film Paranormal Activity to thank for the sub-genre's revival.  Personally, I find this to be a sub-genre that has so much potential but it is wasted on boring films that would rather hit you with a jump scare than give the viewer anything worth a damn.  However, I am always open to check out any film but I always have my expectations set before hand.  Last year director James Cullen Bressack announced he was working on a supernatural horror flick titled Pernicious and he would be flying to Thailand to film.  I like most of Bressack's films and was curious to see how this one would turn out after his hit Blood Lake.  About a week or so ago he reached out to me to check out the film and I graciously accepted.  Thanks for hooking me up James!

     The film follows three American girls that travel to Thailand to teach for the summer and have a good time away from mommy and daddy.  The home they moved into has a gold statue of a little girl that they pay no mind to at first.  However, they noticed that it is missing the morning after they invite three British guys over for the night.  They assume they were drugged after they wake and find their belongings gone along with the statue.  They panic and call the people they are renting the home from and learn that the home never had a statue like the one they are describing.  They try to recollect if the statue was ever there and then they all tell stories about the horrible dreams they had the night they were drugged.  They all tell chilling stories in which they brutally murdered the British men.  They try to track the statue down and learn that it is called a kumari which is a statue of a small child that has died and was dipped in gold.  These are usually a sign of good luck and used for necromancy.  They also learn that the family that lived there turned their daughter into one after the mother, who was pregnant at the time, commits suicide.  Now, the little girl is possessing the three women and killing at random.  

     Supernatural films can be fun and rich in story but very few are done in a way that it can hold the viewer's attention.  Most just try to make the viewer jump and not take advantage of the the sub-genre that can have some amazing stories.  However, Bressack is able to combine a great story with horror giving the viewer a great supernatural flick.  The acting in this one is great.  The three female leads are beautiful and talented.  They all bring different personalities that work well at creating different characters.  I have seen so many films with a female cast where all the women act the same making it hard for the viewer to take them seriously.  However, these three set themselves apart instantly and they all have great on screen chemistry.  The story for this one is your typical supernatural/haunted house type film with a very unique and disturbing back story.  This one goes above and beyond what most supernatural tales spin as their back story and when it is all said and done, you will have some chills running along your spine.  The film also starts out with a lot of action and carnage unlike most supernatural flicks and continues on the same path but somewhere around the three quarter mark the film does get a little bland until picking up again.  Finally, one would not expect to see some real death scenes in a supernatural flick but this one hits your hard with some blood and gore.  We get some real brutal deaths and some great practical effects.  Overall, Pernicious is a film for the real horror fans.  If you are looking for a movie theater and popcorn flick then you are in the wrong place.  However, if you want something sexy, bloody, and heinous then check this one out!    

Naked Zombie Girl

Director - Rickey Bird Jr. (Mable)
Starring - Meghan Chadeayne (Rhonda Rides to Hell), Ali Dougherty (Unearthly Exchange), and D.T. Carney (Sand Sharks)
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror/Comedy/Exploitation
Tagline - "The fate of the world lies in the hand of one woman, and in her other hand a chainsaw"
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Lately I have watched and reviewed more zombie movies than I have my entire time writing reviews.  I typically watch and review one about once a week or so but this time I have watched and reviewed almost four this week with another one about to go up not long after I finish this one.  Zombies are everywhere right now and the films are going to continue to pour out from studio after studio.  Most do not try to give the viewer something new and original.  All they want to do is capitalize on the zombie craze.  However, some do give the viewer something fun and different and when I find a film that does I have to see it.  Sometime last year I found a picture someone had shared on Facebook for the film Naked Zombie Girl.  That titled hooked me along with the beauty of Meghan Chadeayne.  I tried to contact someone about the film and was unable to reach anyone and over time I forgot to follow up on that.  A week or so ago I remembered I never contacted someone about the film and tried it again.  This time I succeeded and was lucky enough to have a screener link sent to me.

     The film begins with a young woman driving an old Cadillac with another girl in the back and a guy riding shotgun.  The car stops and the young man dies from a bite while the young girl in the back is dragged out of the window by the undead.  The driver (Chadeayne) drags herself from the vehicle while the undead is grabbing at her.  They are able to rip her clothes off but she is able to escape.  She makes her way to a nearby shed where she finds a chainsaw Evil Dead style and begins wreaking havoc on the undead.  After slaying countless flesh-eaters, she meets a good ol' boy in a truck who takes her back to his place to clean herself up.  However, after a long shower she discovers that the apartment building is now overrun by the undead and she has to once again fight them off with her chainsaw...naked.

     Sometimes all you need to make a movie is a simple story and an amazing title.  I sometimes watch a film that has a simple story that is ruined because the filmmaker tries to over-complicate it.  However, Bird did not and gave the viewer a film that is simple in story and fully delivers on the title.  The acting in this film is solid but is something that is hard for the viewer to really determine due to the way the film was shot.  However, I do have to make a comment on just how beautiful Meghan Chadeayne is and how demanding her role truly was.  She truly deserves all the credit she can get for her performance.  The story for this one is simple and fun but one we have seen before but never with a beautiful, nude woman wielding a chainsaw.  The simple, sexy, and bloody take on the zombie apocalypse is something that fans of true horror are begging for.  The film is also done in a Grindhouse style that reminded me a lot of the PS3 port of House of the Dead.  That was a solid game and works well as a movie.  The only downside to this story is that it is so simple that the cast and crew could not turn the film into something more than a 30 minute short.  Finally, the film has some great on screen kills and superb practical effects that will take any viewer back the day when gore was king and Dead Alive was flying off the video store shelves.  The film also incorporates some visual effects as well but only use them to add to the practical effects and the scenery and it works very well.  Overall, Naked Zombie Girl is everything you would expect from a film that has that title and then some.  The short is sexy, gory, and fun as hell.  I can not recommend this film enough!