The Intruder

 



Director - Deon Taylor (Dead Tone, Nite Tales: The Movie)
Starring - Meagan Good (Shazam!, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues), Dennis Quaid (Innerspace, Pandorum), and Michael Ealy (Almost Human, Barbershop)
Release Date - 2019
Genre - Horror/Thriller
Tagline - "Your house.  His home"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I get a lot of movies in to review.  A good portion are movies that are sent to me to review that I had never heard of before.  These movies usually are releases of older films on blu or indie movies that are just now making circulation.  I like getting these random movies in the mail because I never know what to expect.  However, not all these movies are ones I've never heard of before.  I sometimes see a movie I'd really like to check out so I reach out for a review copy.  Several months back I saw the trailer for The Intruder and thought it looked like a fun popcorn flick.  When I received the press release for the film a few weeks back I contacted them about a review copy and I couldn't wait to see to check it out.  It looked like a fun dark thriller you could watch with a bowl of popcorn and some beer. 
     The film follows young married couple Annie (Good) and Scott (Ealy) Russell who purchase their dream home from the older Charlie (Quaid).  Charlie is an innocent older man who loved his home but after losing his wife two years ago he no longer can bare the thought of living there alone.  He plans on moving to Florida to be closer to his daughter.  However, Charlie never really leaves.  He continues to visit them at the most inopportune time which leads Scott to suspect that Charlie is stalking them.  Scott confronts Charlie and soon he is hit by a speeding truck and sent to the hospital after he uncovers some secrets that Charlie is trying to keep hidden.  Scott fears for his wife's life and Charlie's true intentions are revealed while Scott is in the hospital.
     The trailer for this one really held my attention.  It looked like a fun popcorn flick that would be predictable but entertaining.  The movie was entertaining for the most part but the first half of the film made me think that this was going to be a negative review.  The acting in this one is fucking phenomenal.  Meagan Good and Michael Ealy were great together.  Their chemistry is perfect on screen and they work so well together.  However, Dennis Quaid was the real star of the film.  His mannerism changes drastically in the last portion of the film and his performance is fucking insane.  This part was very intense and he delivered an unforgettable performance.  The story for this one works for a mainstream thriller that you would watch in theaters or late night with some non-genre fans but it is rather predictable.  You know exactly where the story is going and the "twists" the film thinks they are throwing at you extremely predictable.  You can see them coming a mile away.  It has solid pacing but some of the scenes are too dialogue heavy.  Finally, The film does have an on screen kills with minimal effects alone with a little blood but nothing for the horror fan with an appetite for gore.  The film relies heavily on the story for the chills and not carnage.  Overall, The Intruder is a clichéd theatrical release with a great cast and some fun atmosphere.  The film may be predictable but you will still find some entertainment with it.  Check it out now on blu, DVD, and VOD.  

 



The Dead Pit

Director - Brett Leonard (The Lawnmower Man, Man-Thing)
Starring - Jeremy Slate (My Name is Earl, Starman), Cheryl Lawsom (Reckoning, Virtuosity), and Stephen Gregory Foster (Baywatch, Joan of Acadia)
Release Date - 1989
Genre - "Drop in anytime"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     I grew up on 80s and 90s movies.  When I was younger I would rent any genre from the local video store.  I honestly didn't give a fuck if it was horror, sci-fi, comedy, action, and so on.  I was a cinema fan.  When I started to obsess over horror in the early 2000s I found myself drawn to 80s horror.  The style, the music, the sets, and the practical effects usually make for a fun time.  Several years back I came across a DVD of the 1989 Code Red release The Dead Pit.  I had never seen the film before but the price was super cheap on the DVD so I grabbed it.  I never found the time to check it out.  A few weeks back Code Red partnered with Dark Force Entertainment to re-release the film on blu with a collectable glow in the dark sleeve and I was lucky enough to get a copy. 
     The film follows a Jane Doe who is being taken to a mental asylum until she is able to regain her memory.  The asylum is a strange place and she tries to survive but she keeps feeling as if something sinister is lurking in the basement.  What she doesn't know is that a doctor was killed there 20 years prior by the active doctor after it was discovered that he was doing inhumane experiments on the patients trying to cheat death.  Her arrival coincided with an earthquake that has stirred the Earth beneath the asylum and waking the dead doctor along with his legion of undead mental patients. 
     Horror flicks from the 80s have a certain charm about them.  Some horror fans refuse to admit that some movies from this decade were bad so they say shit like "the movie is so bad that its good" or "its bad but so much fun."  I have a hard time with labeling movies like that.  If I had fun with the movie then I consider it a successful film.  A movie's intent is to entertain the viewer.  The Dead Pit is one of those movies that horror fans either love or hate  so when Dark Force and Code Red announced a blu release of it was met with skepticism and excitement.  Some of my horror friends that liked the film was actually pretty excited for this release while others scoffed at the idea.  When Dark Force initially announced the blu release they wanted to do a light up sleeve similar to the old Frankenhooker VHS from back in the day.  Sadly, this fell through and they went with a glow in the dark slip with an embossed cover.  This was cool when I was in elementary school and it was a Goosebumps folder but as an adult I can't justify spending $35 for a bluray with an embossed glow in the dark slip that will fade and flatten over time when you put it on the shelf with other films in your collection.  Hell, $20 for the movie I just watched was pushing it.  The movie was fun once I reached the 45 minute mark but up until that point I felt like it was a huge mistake throwing it in the bluray player.  The acting in this one is rather rough even when compared to the no budget horror films that I typically review.  The cast doesn't feel attached to their characters and their performance reflects that.  Many of the scenes that has something pivotal to the story lacks the desired impact because the cast is just lazily going through their dialogue.  With that being said, Cheryl Lawson is a screamer.  She puts every fiber in her being into her scream.  It's so loud that it will quickly get on your nerves and force you to turn the volume down.  The story for this one does not work for a film that is an hour and forty minutes long.  I liked the story as a whole but the first forty minutes is a pain to sit through.  The undead mental patients in the basement was a fucking cool angle but the movie takes way too long to get any momentum and is rather predictable once we get to the meat of the film.  A good 30 minutes or so could be shaved off this film to make it more enjoyable.  There was several times I caught myself falling asleep and had to get up to walk around.  A movie should not put the viewer to sleep.  With that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the last 30 minutes of the film as predictable as it is.  Finally, the film does have some on screen death but it's not the deaths that draws the viewer's attention.  It's actually the effects for the evil doctor's crude experiments on his patients.  These effects are fucking fantastic and a few of the gags actually had me rewinding to take a better look at.  I was not expecting this quality of practical effects from this oddball horror film.  Overall, The Dead Pit is far from perfect but it was well worth my time.  The blu release from Dark Force and Code Red does not justify the $35 price tag.  The glow in the dark embossed slip will not withstand being placed on a shelf with other blus and the special features are minimum.  If the film is released late in a standard blu for $15 or $20 I would suggest picking it up. 

 

 



Divorced Dad

 



Director(s) - Conor Sweeney (Chowboys: An American Folktale), Adam Brooks (The Editor), Matthew Kennedy (Father's Day), and Steven Kostanski (Leprechaun Returns)
Starring - Matthew Kennedy, Gilles Degagne, and Adam Brooks
Release Date - 2018
Genre - Comedy
Tagline - "He's hopeless but you're not, maybe!"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)

Rating (out of 5):

     I follow a lot of filmmakers and production companies.  Way back in 2013 I ordered Father's Day on blu from Amazon.  I needed the blu for my Troma collection so but I had never heard of the film so it was a blind buy.  I probably would have never ordered this film if Troma was not attached to it but I'm fucking glad I did.  From that moment forward I was an Astron-6 fan.  I had to have more so I ordered their short collection from Troma along with Man-Borg.  When The Editor and The Void was released I had to have those as well.  They have yet to let me down.  Last year Astron-6 started working on a series on their YouTube channel called Divorced Dad.  It looked fun like a low-fi version of Tim and Eric.  Sadly, YouTube took them down when they aired an Isis skit.  This forced their hand so they turned to Kino Lorber to release the episodes on blu.  I went ahead and grabbed a copy while I could and I'm glad I did. 
     The film follows a divorced man, Divorced Dad (Kennedy), who starts a public access show with Gilles (Degagne) as his co-host.  Each episodes follows them as they explore different topics such as carpentry, fitness, homosexuality, and Bingo.





     I knew Divorced Dad was not going to be like the other Astron-6 releases.  The web-series episodic format was compiled together into one 50 minute film.  I found more than my fair share of laughs but the film was nowhere near as fun as their other releases.  The acting in this one is hilarious.  Matthew Kennedy really gets into his role and delivers some pretty funny moments.  Gilles Degagne is funny as well as the camera shy co-host with big aspirations.  They both work well together to make the show funny.  The story for this one works for one off episodes but when compiled together it does become a bit boring.  You still find the laughs but between the giggles you find a show that struggles to feel complete.  Some of the episodes are inconsistent and fail to gain traction.  I understand that they want to make the show feel like an authentic cable access show but the episodes just never lead to anything.  Finally, the film does have some blood and a few practical effect gags.  We get a funny scene with a screwdriver and another scene where Divorced Dad uncontrollably vomits.  Both are funny with decent practical effects but not as fun as some of the other Astron-6 films.  Overall, Divorced Dad is a fun watch for Astron-6 fans or fans of late night Adult Swim.  It has more funny moments than I can count but it just doesn't go the distance as their other releases.  You can check it out now on blu from Kino Lorber

 



Perversion Story



Director - Lucio Fulci (The Beyond, City of the Living Dead)
Starring - Jean Sorel (The Day of the Jackal, The Great Kidnapping), Marisa Mell (Ring of Darkness, Devil's Ransom), and Elsa Martinelli (Madigan's Millions, The Pleasure Pit)
Release Date - 1969
Genre - Mystery/Crime
Tagline - "What's the most incredible thing a woman ever did for $1,000,000?"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

 

 

     Italian director Lucio Fulci had a very interesting career.  Many modern genre fans know him for his Italian horror films but Fulci began directing movies almost 30 years before he became a horror legend.  At one point he was known for his spaghetti westerns before moving on to erotic and sexploitation films.  Once the giallo craze swept Italy he jumped on board and became on of the most iconic horror directors of all time.  Most companies scramble to release or rerelease his horror films on new formats because fans can't get enough.  Very few companies even bother to visit Fulci's work pre-giallo but recently Mondo Macabro released the 1969 sleazy mystery Perversion Story aka One on Top of the Other.  I had never seen this film and was lucky enough to get a copy in for review.  Thanks Mondo!

     The film follows Dr. George Dumurrier who is married to Susan (Mell).  Susan suffers from severe asthma but George is dedicated to his work and saving the clinic he works for so he is often away for business.  George has secretly been having an affair behind Susan's back and while away with his mistress in Vegas he gets a call that Susan has died.  A month later he receives word that she had taken out a large insurance policy on herself right before dying.  This prompts the police to investigate her death and they discover she was poisoned.  Now George is the prime suspect in the murder and he is convicted of the crime.  While on deathrow his brother spills the beans to George about how Susan is still alive and set him up all while having an affair on George with him.  George's brother and Susan leave for France before George is sent to the gas chamber and moments before he is sentenced to death a jealous lover of Susan's finds her in France and kills her revealing to the world who she really was. 

     I rarely venture into the non-horror Fulci films.  Not because I don't want to but because its rare that I come across one.  Fulci was a phenomenal filmmaker and Perversion Story is yet another example of why he was the best at his craft and enjoyed a career that spanned 50 years.  This movie was very compelling and really had me guessing.  The acting in this one is great.  Marisa Mell is the real star.  She takes on two different roles with two different personalities.  She does a fantastic job with both.  She was perfectly cast for this role.  She is very convincing as the sick Susan and as the sexy Monica.  I also enjoyed Jean Sorel's performance.  His performance went through a wide range of emotion and was fantastic.  The supporting cast is also fantastic.  The characters are very enjoyable and this film has an amazing cast.  The story for this one is very entertaining and holds the viewer's attention very well.  The movie makes you think you are in for a sleazy good time but you are actually about to dive deep into a murder mystery that keeps you guessing as to who the real killer is.  There was a few times I rolled my eyes at a few of the more predictable moments but the real killer reveal did hit.  I really enjoyed the story and how Fulci approached it.  Finally, if you want blood you wont find it here.  We have a fucking fantastic rotting corpse and a few gunshot wounds but that's the extent of the practical effects.  Overall, Perversion Story was a damn entertaining murder mystery that will keep any viewer glued to the screen.  This is a fantastic Fulci film that any fan will want to add to their collection. 

 



Necro-Sexual

 



Director - Brian Rosin
Starring - Kansas Bowling (Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood, ReAgitator: Revenge of the Parody) and Andrew Thorp (The Landlords, The Alley Cat)
Release Date - 2019
Genre - Horror
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

 

 

     Reviewing for Horror Society has opened the door for countless opportunities.  I was a horror fan that had my favorite sub-genres that I loved but Horror Society has allowed me to step out of my comfort zone.  I've been able to check out so many amazing movies that I would have normally slept on.  A few days back I met director Brian Rosin on Facebook.  This indie filmmaker recently worked with another indie filmmaker, model, and actress Kansas Bowling on his first short Necro-Sexual.  I've reviewed some of Bowling's work along with a few films that she had roles in so I was excited to check out a new short from a new director.  Thank you Brian for sending it my way. 

     The film follows Amy (Bowling) who has a specific fetish.  She liked playing with the dead because she enjoys the feeling of being pregnant with maggots inside her vagina.  She loves feeling them take what they need from her body in order to survive.  In order to do so she must let the corpses rot and she lures men to her apartment in order to find new victims.

     I didn't know what to expect from Necro-Sexual.  The title made me think that the film was influenced by Nekromantik or some other underground horror film centered around necrophilia but I didn't know how it would be approached.  Necro-Sexual was a solid short but if the film was any longer it would have lost it's effectiveness.   The acting in this one is great.  The film has a small cast of just two with a small role from Andrew Thorp.  He does a great job but he is only in the film for a moment.  He appears and then dies but he does both those things very well.  Kansas Bowling is the main focus of the film and she was stellar.  She carries the film with her performance.  Her character is deadly and vile and Bowling is able to pull it off while making the scene feel sexy.  She is a phenomenal director and an amazing actress.  Expect to see more from Bowling.  The story for this one works for the short but any longer and it would have became a dry and boring film.  The short works because it is short but there was not enough meat on the bone so to speak to make the story stretch any longer.  The Nekromantik influence is clearly visible but director Brian Rosin is able to change it up just enough to make it his own.  It works and the film's run time works in his favor.  Finally, if you want blood and gore you wont find it here.  The film is disgusting and we do get some stock footage of meat and maggots along with a cool looking corpse but that's the extent of the practical effects for this no budget short.  Overall, Necro-Sexual is an unusual short about an unconventional love affair between a beautiful woman and larvae that feasts on flesh.  The film is a solid watch for anyone looking for something that teeters on the edge between depraved and sexy.  Check it out.   

 



Critters Attack

 



Director - Bobby Miller (That Movie Show, The Cleanse)
Starring - Tashiana Washington (Shaft, Straight Outta Compton), Dee Wallace (Cujo, The Howling), and Jaeden Noel (Rogue, Killjoys)
Release Date - 2019
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

 

     It took me years to finish a Critters movie.  I had watched parts of the first film growing up but never actually got to watch the film all the way through.  Several years back I bought the DVD set and was able to make my way through them.  The franchise is like any other where the movies get worse as they go on.  The first two are fantastic while the second two are rough.  Several months back a new web-series was release on Shudder and the overwhelming negative reviews forced me to avoid it but when news of a new film was released I had to check it out.  Would it be better than the web-series and return with a fun horror flick?  No, it would not.

     The film takes place some years later with Aunt Dee (Wallace) keeping track of the Krites that crash on Earth when one just happens to do so.  She packs her bags and goes to a small town to stop them.  A young girl and her brother are asked to babysit a professor's two children while she leaves town.  What is supposed to be a normal evening turns dangerous when they find a white female Krite in the woods and the male Krites arrive to make a meal out of them.  They have to fight for their lives and do a great job until Aunt Dee arrives to help them stop the Krites before they take over the world again.

      I hate giving a movie sent to me a negative review.  I always feel like an asshole but I keep my reviews honest.  Critters Attack was not a fun movie. It was just a mess a movie that took me several days to actually finish it.  The acting in this one is extremely rough.  The main cast was either inexperienced or lacked direction.  The characters are extremely clichéd and so boring.  The cast does very little to make their performances stand out which results in one of the most boring movie experiences I've seen in a long time.  The story for this one feels like it was intended to be a horror film for children and then was rushed into a Critters film at the last moment.  I know the first film followed a young boy but this literally feels like it was something you could find on Nickelodeon around Halloween.  With that being said, the movie is so boring.  The movie has no action or excitement to hold the viewer's attention.  We get some scenes where the Krites are doing their thing but these were poorly approached and goofy as shit.  Finally, we do get some bloody scenes but they are quickly forgotten once we get the flying black mops being thrown across the screen with the cast grabbing it, pulling it to themselves, and then frantically trying to escape.  The blood and Krites look great when sitting still but once moving they look goofy.  Overall, Critters Attack is the weakest point in the Critters' franchise.  This movie is a huge waste of time.  

 



Rock, Paper, Scissors

 



Director - Tom Holland (Fright Night, Child's Play)
Starring - Michael Madsen (The Hateful Eight, Species), Luke MacFarlane (Supergirl, The Night Shift), and Jennifer Titus (Zoombies, Cheerleader Massacre 2)
Release Date - 2017
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Child's play no longer"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

 

 

     When I was in elementary school I was obsessed with 80s and early 90s vampire flicks.  This was around 1994 and I rented the Fangoria produced Children of the Night.  This opened a can of worms and I couldn't stop renting vampire movies.  One of these films that I rented and it stuck with me is the classic Tom Holland film Fright Night.  This is a classic that I often recommend new fans of the genre.  The characters are beautifully written and the scenery and sets or unforgettable.  I tried to follow Holland's career but most of his follow up films are movies I could not really get into.  His other known hit is Child's Play which is another one I don't really care for.  A few weeks ago I was asked to review a film Holland finished in 2017 but wasn't released until this week.  Rock, Paper, Scissors originally had the title Rock, Paper, Dead but that title was scrapped along with some seriously awesome artwork for the more generic title and artwork which is pictured above. 

      The film follows Peter (Macfarlene) who is arrested for killing and torturing young women.  He is locked away in an asylum but after years of treatment he is released.  The cop that arrested him (Michael Madsen) is now retired and spends his free time following Peter to ensure other innocent women does not fall victim to him.  Peter tries to live a secluded life but the sister to one of his victims moves in beside him after spending years training to get revenge on him and gets close with him posing as an author writing a book about Peter and the murders.  Peter tries to keep his cool but does snap but she is ready and soon we realize that the trauma she suffered from losing her sister has pushed her over the edge of madness as well.
     The artwork for the film didn't get me excited to see this one but the images on the back of the DVD made me think this was going to be a gruesome horror affair which is something that Holland is not known for.  His films are very much horror related but they are rarely gruesome or brutal.  Sadly, this film was not as brutal as I thought it was going to be.  The acting in this one is extremely strange.  Madsen plays the same character he always plays.  He's so accustomed at playing the same character over and over that he doesn't act anymore.  He shows up and says his lines before moving on.  The rest of the cast feels like a soap opera with extremely loud dialogue, distant emotions, and confused looks by the entire cast.  MacFarlene and Titus just seem so out of place in their roles.  I'm sure they both are amazing actors but their roles are almost laughable.  Their reactions to the scene are so dry or forced that its extremely difficult to keep a straight face.  Also, the age casting is so fucked up that I was laughing at the locker scene.  You have some drastically older women playing 16 year old cheerleaders.  They are noticeably older which is another reason I was laughing at the casting on this film.  It's like the casting director owed someone a favor or just didn't give a fuck.  The story for this one was painfully clichéd especially if you have watched any of the extreme horror films in the last ten years.  We follow someone who was sexually abused growing up and now torture and kill women.  Nothing new there at all except Holland removed the extreme from the equation and we are left with a Wal-Mart horror film with some blood.  The movie has a snails pace and a few twists that you can see coming from a mile away.  Finally, we do get a few on screen kills that don't shy away from the blood.  We get buckets of the red stuff in the last portion of the film with some solid practical effects but the kills are ones we have seen hundreds of times now with nothing to help the viewer remember them. Overall, Rock, Paper, Scissors is a clichéd horror film that offers very little for the viewer.  The acting is strange, the story is predictable and unoriginal, and the kills are forgettable.  Fans of Holland may want to check it out but this paint by numbers horror film is one I will not be revisiting. 





Hellboy



Director - Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, Doomsday)
Starring - David Harbour (Stranger Things, Suicide Squad), Ian McShane (John Wick, Deadwood), Milla Jovovich (The Fifth Element, Resident Evil)
Release Date - 2019
Genre - Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Tagline - "Demon. Hero. Hellboy"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     People are often too critical of a film before seeing it.  I know its stupid reading a review and the critic says people are too critical but it's true.  People never give movies a chance.  People, especially genre fans, will shit all over a movie before seeing it just because of who is directing it or who was cast in it.  I'm a huge fan of the first two Hellboy films.  They are perfect dark fantasy action flicks with one of the richest and compelling stories I've ever seen.  The comics are amazing but these films are damn near perfect.  When Del Toro announced he was not helming the third film I was a little worried and when Ron Perlman was not cast as Hellboy I still had my doubts but I didn't bash the film.  I was still excited for a new Hellboy film.  I wanted to check it out when it was in theaters but work got the better of me so when a physical release was announced I reached out and was lucky enough to get one.  I'm glad I requested it because I truly enjoyed this film. 

     The film follows paranormal investigator Hellboy (Harbour) who works for his father with BRPD to stop supernatural forces from killing the innocent.  Hellboy's fate is tied to an evil queen known as the Blood Queen who was dismembered and spread across all Europe by King Arthur but now she is awakened and Hellboy is tossed in a battle to protect his own kind or the humans that raised him as one of their own.

     I heard some not so great things about this Hellboy release.  A lot of my horror minded friends ripped this one to shreds but that didn't stop me from wanting to see it.  I love the world that author Mikle Mignola had created so I couldn't wait to dive into it.  I can see why so many were turned off by the film but I honestly loved it.  It was a ton of fun.  The acting in this one is inconsistent.  Some of the cast is fantastic in their roles while others were a little underwhelming.  Ian McShane was fantastic as Professor Broom.  He doesn't match the Broom in the comics but that doesn't stop him from delivering a stellar performance.  With that being said, I wasn't feeling David Harbour as Hellboy.  He just seems to be stuck in his Hopper character but painted red.  Hellboy in the comics was a hard ass and rough around the edges.  This Hellboy just seems confused by everything and the scenes that require him to be tough is almost laughable by his portrayal.  He clumsily fights and his reactions are just so forced.  He was the weakest of the film.  The story for this one is a little goofy but it is still a fun watch.  The King Arthur angle is different and fun but it does make the movie feel a little goofy.  I like the legend of King Arthur but in a Hellboy film it does feel cheap especially with where they take it.  Aside from that I really enjoyed it.  The mythology around the creatures in the film and the pacing is great.  I would love to see more of this adaptation of Hellboy with more aspects of hell in it.  Finally, the film has plenty of practical effects and just as much CGI.  The practical effects we get are top fucking notch but the CGI is horrible.  It stands out like a sore thumb and makes a great scene feel cheap and rushed.  With all that being said, this film is fucking brutal.  We get so many bloody kills that I was not expecting.  The body count in this one is extremely high which adds another aspect of fun to the film.  Overall, Hellboy is far from perfect but still an entertaining ride.  This is a popcorn flick that I will be revisiting extremely fun. 



 



The Night of the Virgin

 



Director - Roberto San Sebastian (Making Of, The Line)
Starring - Javier Bodalo (Ghost Graduation, The Devil's Backbone), Miriam Martin (Campus, Rabia), and Victor Amilibia (Velvet, Nun)
Release Date - 2016
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "Evil has no gender"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I just spent the better part of a week watching the Spanish horror franchise [Rec].  I'm not a fan of found footage so the first film was a bit of a chore to sit through but the second film on was fantastic.  After checking those out I was ready to move on to something else.  I checked out my review stack and saw the 2016 Spanish horror comedy The Night of the Virgin that was sent to me a few months back from MVD.  This was the perfect follow up to the [Rec] series.  Thank you MVD for sending this one over for Horror Society and myself to check out. 
     The film follows virgin Nico (Bodalo) who is at a New Year's Eve party pressing his luck with any woman willing to show him any attention in hopes of finding one just drunk enough to sleep with him.  After many failed attempts he meets the mature Medea (Martin) who takes him back to her place.  She is a bit of a odd duck but he only has one thing on his mind.  He goes with her and she gives him a strange drink before the two settle in but things take a dark turn when her boyfriend Spider starts calling and knocking on the door interrupting them.  To make matter worse is he finds a cup of blood in the bathroom.  When she passes out from drinking he decided to rub one out with her panties but accidentally mixes her blood in the cup with his cum setting in motion an even stranger night for the young man.
     I had heard a lot about this on social media.  After posting that I had received this in for review I had several people comment that this was a fantastic film and one of their favorites of the year.  I was looking forward to it but I can honestly say that it was not as awesome as I was lead to believe.  It was a solid watch but it was far from amazing.  The acting in this one is great.  I really liked the characters and the cast does a fabulous job at bringing them to life.  I love when a movie gives the viewer unusual characters instead of boring clichéd characters.  These characters were very fun and made the movie just as fun.  The story for this one is different and kept the viewer on their toes but it does get rather slow and boring in several scenes.  I liked the goddess angle and the fertility but some of the dialogue heavy scenes were a bit of a chore to sit through.  A little tighter writing and some slight editing would make this film so much more enjoyable.  With that being said, the humor in this one is extremely flat.  The comic relief struggles with the timing and the jokes just don't pack the punch the scene really needs.  Finally, we do get some great on screen practical effects.  The deaths, or death, is very limited in this film but we get several amazing and bloody gags.  The film does not shy away from the blood for sure.  Overall, The Night of the Virgin is a entertaining film but still has it's faults.  I had fun with it but I don't see myself revisiting this one in the next few years.  Check it out.