Director(s) - Anthony Catanese (Sodomaniac, Girls Just Wanna Have Blood), Amanda Payton (The Crawler, Sleepless Nights), Tim Ritter (Earth Girls are Sleazy, Killing Spree), Todd Sheets (Clownado, Bonehill Road), and Brad Sykes (Plaguers, Hi-8)
Starring - Dilynn Fawn Harvey (Dreaming Purple Neon, Kiki Meets the Vampires), Kate Durocher (Jinn, Mystery Diners), and Fabiana Formica (Cemetery Man, Nero Wolfe)
Release Date - 2018
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Five new tales to blow your mind"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)
Rating (out of 5):
I love horror anthologies. In fact, I often proclaim that 80s slashers are my favorite films but in reality I can't skip on an anthology. I've reviewed so many amazing anthologies over the years. Some are movies that I often revisit. Films like Baron Von Laugho's Halloween Spook-A-Thon, Sharp Candy, Spine Chillers, Weird Fiction, and so on. Another horror anthology that I really loved was the 2013 anthology Hi-8. I remember when I was sent the film for review and fucking loved it. When news of a follow up was announced I was ready for it. The first was so much fucking fun. Sometime back Wild Eye, the company behind the release of the first one, sent me Hi-Death. I couldn't get to it right away but as soon as I could make time for it I did. Thanks Wild Eye!
The film follows two women visiting Hollywood who is doing a terror tour. They are visiting secret locations watching horror films. The first film they see is Death has a Conscience which follows a woman and her switchblade who encounters death. The second film, Death Dealer, follows a man who collects murder memorabilia. His dead end job does not support him the luxury of having the money to purchase these items so he has resorted to stealing the money only to get caught. The fourth story, Night Drop, follows a late night employee that finds a mysterious DVD after hours. His curiosity gets the best of him and he gives it a watch. The fourth story, Cold Read, follows an aspiring actress that responds to an audition but it is not a typical audition. The fifth and final story, The Muse, follows an artist that draws inspiration from something dark and sinister.
I was very excited to finally check this one out. It has some amazing filmmakers attached to it and I love the concept behind it. Sadly, it didn't go the distance like the first one did. Some of the segments were fun but a few of them was a bit of a chore to sit through. The acting in this one is pretty solid throughout. The segments are fairly consistent and the cast does a solid job. Some of the segments have characters that are a little more fun than others but the acting is consistent throughout. The stories in this one is very uneven. I really enjoyed Death Dealer and Death Has a Conscience. These two were my favorites in the film. I really liked how simple and direct the stories were. No smoke and mirrors with these two, so to speak. The Muse held my attention but the last 5 minutes or so could have been cut out of it. It serves very little purpose and just made the film drag on. Those handful of minutes felt like an eternity. The remaining two tales, Night Drop and Cold Read, along with the wrap around segment Terror Tour, were the low points of the film. Terror Tour is an interesting idea but doesn't truly work as a wraparound segment that ties everything together. Honestly, it's rather boring. However, it is a little more entertaining than Night Drop. This segment is the low point of the film. It feels like it was rushed through and tossed in at the last minute to give the anthology some run time. Finally, most of the segments deliver on the blood. Some have some solid practical effects and fun deaths while others make quick work of it. The effects are solid for most of the segments but some make better use of them than others. Overall, Hi-Death is not as fun as the original anthology. The fun stories were lacking but it does have some memorable moments. I wanted to love this one but at the end of the day I just couldn't.
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