New Fears Eve

Director(s) - Eric Huskisson (13 Slays Till X-Mas) and P.J. Starks (Volumes of Blood, The Preylude)

Starring - Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp, Christmas Slasher), Dave Sheridan (Scary Movie, The Devil's Rejects), and Hannah Fierman (V/H/S, Dead by Midnight (Y2Kill)

Release Date - 2025

Genre - Horror/Comedy

Tagline - "The doctor will slay you now!"

Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Just a week or two ago I made the remark in a review that there wasn't enough New Years themed horror titles.  We have a couple slashers and a zombie movie from the 80s along with a couple random ones that popped up here and there over the last ten years or so but nowhere near as many Halloween or Christmas themed horror titles.  I said this in the review I wrote for Screw Year's Eve and I was not expecting to get an email a few days later from director P.J. Starks for his newest slasher New Fears Eve.  I've known P.J. for several years now after befriending him when he was promoting his horror anthology film Volumes of Blood and was looking forward to checking this one out.  I want to take a moment to thank P.J. for reaching out to me to review this one!

     The film follows a small group of friends who work for a company ran by a complete douchebag and his suck up manager.  They are gearing up for their annual New Year's Eve party where several people were laid off before hand.  However, as the night gets going, people begin getting knocked off by a murderer wearing a plague doctor's mask.  

     New Fears Eve is a slasher codirected by Eric Huskisson and P.J. Starks.  I've been familiar with Starks and his work for many years now but Huskisson is fairly new to me.  I reviewed Huskisson's 12 Slays Till X-Mas a year or so ago and, sadly, I wasn't a fan of the film.  It had a few moments that I liked but the overall film was a bit underwhelming.  The same can be said about New Fears Eve.  I was really excited for this one but I just couldn't get into it.  It had some moments but the overall movie just wasn't for me.  The acting in this one is solid.  The cast does a great job at getting into character but there is a few scenes where the dialogue is a bit forced or has no emotional range.  This doesn't happen during the entire film and is only confined to a few scenes.  I don't know if the filming was rushed or what but these scenes do stand out.  The story for this one is exactly what I would expect from a film centered around New Year's Eve.  New Year's Eve is nothing more than a reason to get together and party so it makes sense that almost every film centered around the holiday focuses on that aspect.  New Fears Eve is no exception and I respect that.  However, while the film gives us a solid premise and takes great care as to give us a decent slasher story, it struggles with giving the viewer likable characters.  The characters are extremely cliched, especially for a horror comedy, which made it difficult for the viewer to associate with any of them.  I've said this a few times throughout the year and it may be because I'm old and hateful but I was really hoping many of them met a tragic end at the hand of the plague doctor.  Finally, the film has several really graphic death scenes.  The effects look great and are easily the highlight of the film.  I would have loved to see more gore but the deaths do fit the slasher film very well and that's all any genre fan can ask for.  Overall, New Fears Eve has a story that I was expecting with some kills that looked great but the characters are so unlikable.  This has nothing to do with the cast and their acting ability but it does make it difficult to finish.  I seriously wanted to like this one but it wasn't for me.  

Cement

Director(s) - Ceus Rob (Zombies from Sector 9, The VHS Strangler - The Giallo Tapes) and Inge Vanleene (Death Files, Slime)

Starring - Ceus Rob, Inge Vanleene, and Steven Daemers (The Salesman, Paranoia Tapes 2: Press Play)

Release Date - 2025

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "A decent into madness"

Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I love reviewing indie movies.  It's always an experience to sit down and watch someone's hard work and aspirations on my screen.  It's a lot of hard work to make a movie even if I don't like the movie in question.  It happens from time to time.  I can't like everything even if it's from a filmmaker that released a film that I enjoyed previously.  Several years ago I was asked to review Zombies from Sector 9 and loved it.  It was a great zombie flick that almost brought me back to the sub-genre after the years of Walking Dead clones and unimaginative zombie flicks that followed in the shows success.  A few weeks back the director Ceus Rob, or Rob Ceus, sent me a link to check out his newest film Cement: The Final Brick in the Wall.  I greedily accepted the chance to check it out.  I want to thank Rob for sending this one over for review!

     The film follows a couple with an eye for drugs and murder who find themselves out of both.  In a plea to get fucked up, they work with some friends to rob, kill, fuck, and get fucked up.

     I went into this one completely blind.  I knew nothing about this film but I remember reviewing Zombies from Sector 9 and how much I enjoyed it.  Sadly, Cement was not for me.  I liked the premise but the film just didn't work for me as a feature length film.  Maybe if it was a short with a runtime of around 30 minutes then it would have been more enjoyable.  However, the movie the was way too long for me.  I seriously wanted to like it, and I did like a few things with this one, but the overall film just wasn't for me.  The acting in this one is a lot of fun.  I loved the characters in the movie but the dialogue and delivery is very awkward.  A few scenes are unintentionally funny due to the dialogue and how stiff it was delivered.  It doesn't really take away from some of the scenes but it does make a lot of the scenes that are dialogue heavy feel a lot longer than they really are.  The story for this one is interesting enough but is stretched too thin for the run time we do have.  I liked the idea of the film's protagonists being possible siblings and lovers who will easily kill if needed.  Honestly, I could find myself following these two anywhere if there was more to the story than just killing, getting fucked up, partying, and more getting fucked up.  The film really needed something more than dialogue heavy scenes that lead to nothing.  Finally, the film doesn't shy away from violence.  We have some rape, murder, disfigurement with some minimal effects.  The film is on a tight budget and the effects reflect that.  Overall, Cement has the makings of an unforgettable underground horror film but the lack of a coherent story and heavy dialogue scenes that go nowhere makes it difficult to finish.  I wanted to love this one but couldn't.  

The Last of Us Season 2

Creator(s) - Neil Druckmann (Uncharted) and Craig Mazin (Mythic Quest, Chernobyl)

Starring - Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget), Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, Game of Thrones), and Isabela Merced (Superman, Transformers: The Last Knight)

Release Date - 2025

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "Every path has a price"

Format - UHD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I've decided to revisit one of my favorite sub-genres this year after spending sometime away from it after it's rise in popularity.  I've always been a fan of zombies but I took a major break over the last few years when The Walking Dead brought them into pop culture and hundreds of unimaginative clones started hitting store shelves.  I figured enough time has passed since it's premier in 2010 so I decided to dive back into the show and zombies in general.  I ventured through The entire Walking Dead series, it's spinoff series, webisodes, and shorts before moving on to some other movies like Romero's Dead series.  A few weeks back I received the second season of the acclaimed horror show The Last of Us which was adapted from an award winning game.  I really enjoyed the first season and couldn't wait to dive into this one.  

     This season picks up with Ellie (Ramsey) and Joel (Pascal) living in the Jackson community after arriving at the end of season 1.  Joel and Ellie's relationship has became strained but Joel refuses to turn his back on Ellie.  What neither of them know is that a group from Seattle have camped in a lodge near their community who plan on making Joel pay for what he had done in the hospital on their way to Jackson.  They are able to find them and kill Joel before leaving when an army of infected rip through their walls.  Ellie is able to get back to Jackson during the aftermath and once they are done refortifying their walls she sneaks out with Dina to find the group responsible for killing Joel.  

     I can't tell you if either season of the show is faithful to the game but I can tell you that this show is damn good even though it reminds me a lot of previous zombie films and series that came before it.  It's hard to make a zombie show stand out and if you can't then you need to make it be entertaining which it does.  The acting in this one is very well done.  The entire cast is great and several of these performances becoming iconic yet Bella Ramsey receives hate for her role.  She's crushes her role here but her character is hard to like.  I understand the importance of her character and how she connects to the story but there is several scenes where I had high hopes that she would meet her end.  That has to do with her acting ability and not her as a person.  The story for this one continues what was started in the first season but doesn't go as far as I had hoped.  We follow Joel and Ellie who start to fall apart while their lives adjust to having a safe place to live.  However, after Joel's death we follow the survivors as they disagree on their course of action.  While the infected are a serious danger, the real danger is the survivors they encounter which is similar to other zombie shows like The Walking Dead, Z Nation, and so many more.  It's not something new or groundbreaking but it works with the story around Ellie who can't be infected and the zombies that are infected with a fungus that takes over.  It's all works into something fun but doesn't really reinvent the wheel. Finally, the series has a lot make-up effects and even more visual effects.  The make-up effects used on the close up scenes look solid but most of the visuals used are noticeable and cheap looking.  I would have loved more practical effects, especially with the gore, but you can't win them all.  Overall, The Last of Us Season 2 is a worthy season to the original run of the show.  While I can't verify how close to the game the show is, it's very entertaining if you are looking for a horror centered show to check out.  

Mark of the Werewolf

Director - Dennis Vincent (Rage of the Mummy, The Aurora Monsters: The Model Craze That Gripped the World) 

Starring - Bryan Clark (DinoGator, The Curse of Halloween Jack), Stephani Anson (To Say Goodbye is to Die a Little, That Time of the Month), and Gio Drasconi (The Yorkie Werewolf, Stories of the American Mafia)

Release Date - 2025

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "She warned them..."

Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I say this every time I review a werewolf flick but we, as horror fans, don't get enough of these damn things.  Seriously.  If I'm lucky, I might get one or two a year to review which is a damn shame.  I'm not bitching about the other sub-genres that I get to review but I would love a lot more werewolf and occult flicks to review.  A few weeks back I was contacted by Joe Demuro to review his sequel to Tales of Dracula along with the 2025 indie horror flick Mark of the Werewolf.  I was looking forward to Tales of Dracula 2, but Mark of the Werewolf really caught my eye.  The artwork and title made my mind race with imagination.  I couldn't wait to check it out.  I want to thank Joe for sending this one over for review!

     The film follows model and aspiring actress Brooke who is deep in the woods for a shoot with two other beautiful models.  What they don't know is that the cabin they rented for the shoot was once owned by a disciple in a cult.  Now, the state rents it out to those looking for a cheap getaway.  However, she refuses to sit around idly while strangers stay in her home.  She uses her powers to summon a wolfgeist to kill everyone on her land.  

      I went into this one immediately after Tales of Dracula 2 thinking this was a sequel or something of that nature but it wasn't.  Both films does feature Joe DeMuro as a werewolf and I believe both films feature effects from the same artist but that is the only connections that I could find.  Mark of the Werewolf is the kind of film I would expect when I hit play on a werewolf flick.  It's brutal with a fantastic looking creature and a story that makes it stand out from the others.  I really enjoyed this one and can see other genre fans digging their teeth into it as well.  The acting in this one very well done.  The cast does a great job in front of the camera but the characters they all brought to life was very unlikeable.  Most movies I review have at least one character I can associate with or want to see make it out alive.  That was not the case with this one.  I seriously wanted to see them all meet a gruesome end at the hand of the wolfgeist or the cult.  This might be because I'm old and cranky now but I did not like a single character in the film.  The story for this one is a lot of fun especially for an indie horror feature.  I don't recall another werewolf film using a supernatural ritual to bring about a wolfgeist to kill people.  This was a pretty cool story that leaves itself open to so many possibilities for future films especially when you consider how little the cult was used in this story.  We have a lot of backstory and lore to explore and I hope we get more of it.  Finally, the film has one of the best looking werewolves I've seen in film.  It was menacing and looked amazing.  The movie needs to be seen just for the beast alone.  However, it also has several amazing kills with some top notch practical effects.  Most of the kills are memorable and look great.  Overall, Mark of the Werewolf is a fucking fantastic indie werewolf flick that many genre fans are going to love.  While the characters are unlikable, everything else about this film is a lot of fun.  Check it out.  

Tales of Dracula 2: Dracula Meets the Werewolf

Director - Joe DeMuro (Tales of Dracula) 

Starring - Wayne W. Johnson (Night of Something Strange, Star Trek Phase II), Tom Delillo (Cyberkill, Hollow's Ridge), and Olga N. Bogdanova (Graveyard Shark, Castle Rock)

Release Date - 2023

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "The fang and claw death match!"

Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I've been reviewing films over here at Horror Society for over a decade but it doesn't feel like it has been that long.  Honestly, it feels like it has been a handful of years at most but that is about it.  It's crazy to think that I've been here for as long as I have and I'm grateful the opportunities that writing for the site has presented to me.  September of this year made exactly ten years ago that I reviewed the indie tribute to Universal monster movies Tales of Dracula from director Joe DeMuro.  It doesn't feel like it had been that long but I just looked up my review of the film and was shocked by the date.  The reason I'm talking about this is because Joe recently sent me a copy of the film's sequel, Tales of Dracula 2: Dracula Meets the Werewolf.  I knew I had seen it but didn't remember a lot about it so I turned to my review to familiarize myself with the film.  Once I did that I was ready to dive into this sequel.

     The film follows a man who has been marked by the curse of the werewolf to transform into a heinous creature every full moon with an insatiable appetite for flesh.  He partners with a group of Ramani people to destroy Count Dracula with an ancient cross but betrays them when Dracula promises to cure him of his curse.  Things then take an unexpected twist when Dracula crosses paths with his brother, the original werewolf.

     I went into Tales of Dracula 2 after rereading my review for the first film and then revisiting it.  I liked the first film.  It's a solid tribute to the classic Universal monster movies while giving viewers a somewhat original story.  I went into the sequel hoping I would be getting more of what we had already established in the first film but that wasn't the case. The movie had a solid start but wasn't able to follow up with that.   The acting in this is a bit uneven but not bad.  Wayne W. Johnson is a man that has appeared in several films that I've reviewed over the years, including one of my favorite indie horror flicks Night of Something Strange, and he always does a solid job.  He goes above and beyond to get into character with this one but his dialogue was so bad.  I love campy and cheesy horror but the dialogue given to his character just didn't work.  It almost felt like a parody of the drive-in era Dracula films that were a dime a dozen back then.  It doesn't fit the film and created some unintentional humor for the most part.  Tom Delillo returns as the man cursed by the werewolf and delivers another solid performance as well.  He does a great job at pulling on the viewer's heartstrings which may be exactly what I said in my review for the first film but it still holds true here.  The supporting cast is hit or miss but they all suffer from extremely awkward dialogue that doesn't fit the look of the film at all.  The story for this one is not enough for a feature length film.  It runs for around an hour but some of it could be trimmed down to about 40ish minutes.  With that being said, the story kind of goes nowhere.  Dracula prevents his assassination by a werewolf only to fight his brother who was the first werewolf.  I liked the lore that was provided but it's not fully explored as I would have liked.  I feel like the story had more planned and something happened preventing them from giving us their original vision.  Finally, the film has some make-up effects that look great with a lot of traditional methods used to give viewers that classic Universal monster magic.  However, if you want blood and gore then you will be very disappointed.  Overall, Tales of Dracula 2 doesn't live up to the first film.  It does miss it's mark and feel incomplete.  I wanted to like this one but just couldn't.  Skip it.  

The Long Walk

Director - Francis Lawrence (Constantine, I Am Legend)

Starring - Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza, Old Guy), David Jonsson (Alien: Romulus, Murder is Easy), and Garrett Wareing (Dead Sea, Agonist)

Release Date - 2025

Genre - Sci-Fi/Horror

Tagline - "The task is simple: walk or die!"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

      I love when I get to review the film or television adaptations of Stephen King's work.  He had such a huge impact on my childhood.  I've mentioned in several reviews how watching Tom Savini's Night of the Living Dead as a kid is what got me started with horror but it was Goosebumps and a few novellas from Stephen King that really kickstarted my obsession.  Goosebumps caught the brunt of my obsession but the few books of King's that I did have I read over and over again until the spines wore out.  I've been fortunate to review several adaptations of his works over the years and always get excited when the opportunity presents itself.  A few days back I received a copy of The Long Walk to review.  This is one I had always heard about but never had the chance to read it.  This made me really interested in the film and even more so when I saw that it was helmed by Francis Lawrence who also directed Constantine and I Am Legend.  I couldn't wait to jump into this one!

     The film follows an alternate 1970s where the US is a police state.  The military hosts an annual competition with boys from each state are selected, or volunteer, for the chance to win anything they want.  The contest is simple, walk a steady 3 miles per hour and you get three warnings if you drop below that.  You will be shot if you fail to maintain that speed after the three warnings.  

     I can see why Francis Lawrence was offered the job to direct this one due to it's similarities to The Hunger Games franchise that he started a decade ago now.  It's not the wildest or the most gruesome of the King adaptations I have seen but it was a fantastic film that I'm glad finally got off the ground.  The acting in this one is fantastic.  The film is overflowing with memorable characters ranging from legendary Mark Hamill's performance as The Major to most of the contestants.  The film's leads, Cooper Hoffman and Davis Jonsson, deliver great performances but they are among amazing performances from the entire cast.  I absolutely loved the casting in this one and will be replaying a lot of the scenes in my head when I take the time to read the original novel.  The story for this one has to be the influence for many of the competition based horror and sci-fi flicks that we've seen over the years.  Hell, I feel like this even influence King himself to write The Runningman.  I haven't read the novel, as I stated earlier, but knowing that it was written in the early 70s and follows people struggling in their police state as they compete to better themselves or die during the competition.  This is the same premise as Battle Royal, The Hunger Games, The Runningman, and to a lesser degree, The Condemned.  I love these types of stories and what The Long Walk does better than the others is that it brings about the humanity of the contestants.  These other films doesn't go to the lengths that this film does to show the characters pain and turmoil prior to the contest.  This is especially true in the film Battle Royal where the children are just tossed into the game.  Here we see that they are all struggling which is why they chose to risk their life and never see their families again.  We have great pacing, a lot of emotionally charged scenes, and a lot of dialogue heavy scenes that manage to hold the viewer's attention.  The movie is on the longer side of the run time but the action, character interactions, and pacing makes the time fly by.  Finally, the film has a lot of on screen deaths.  They are bloody and extremely violent but the use of computer generated effects are obvious.  While a few does have some light practical effects, the bulk of the scene us made up by visual effects over practical.  Overall, The Long Walk may not be my favorite Stephen King adaptation but god damn was it a lot of fun.  I really enjoyed this one and was surprised by just how violent the film was.  While I would have loved practical effects, the visuals were not that bad.  Check it out!

Screw Year's Eve

Director - Richard Tanner (Earth Girls Are Sleazy, Mother Noose Presents Once Upon a Nightmare)

Starring - Sushii Xhyvette Holder (Sushii's Sex Seance, Pandemic Thirst), Jessa Jupiter Flux (OnlyFangs, Curtains for Christmas), and Danielle Page (Strip Club Massacre, Zombie Horror)

Release Date - 2025

Genre - Horror/Comedy

Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Seasonal and holiday themed slashers have always been a favorite of mine.  Sure, I love almost all sub-genres of horror but I've always been particularly fond of slashers even before I found myself obsessed with the genre.  You can find slashers for every holiday.  We have a few for birthdays, Arbor Day, Independence Day, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Hannukah, and so on.  I love the fact that we have so many slashers for Halloween and Christmas but it has always bummed me out that we only have a handful of slasher flicks to dig into for New Years.  A couple has popped up in recent years but before those we were stuck watching the same few films over and over.  A few days back I was contacted by director Richard Tanner to review his new film Screw Year's Eve.  I was familiar with this one and graciously accepted the chance to check it out.  Thanks Richard for sending this one over!

     The film follows a young woman with a wealthy father who decides to throw an 80's themed New Year's Eve party in one of his warehouses.  The small town doesn't celebrate New Year's Eve anymore after a horrible prank gone wrong many years before but shrugs off the superstition.  The DJ sets up for the night and she gets ready with her friends before the party starts but once the music drops, so does the bodies.  One by one they are brutally murdered before she learns who the killer is and her family's ties to the horrible accident all those years before.

     I'll be honest about this one.  I went into it thinking it was a zombie flick of sorts.  I knew from the few posts floating around social media that it was a slasher flick but the artwork I had seen prior to viewing the film made me think that the killer was undead or supernatural.  That was not the case at all.  What we do have here is a solid slasher that doesn't try to look like an 80s slasher but does use a clever plot device to get fans into the nostalgia feel while delivering the traditional slasher story.  It's not a perfect film but it's entertaining as hell.  The acting in this one is a bit uneven but it's not the worst I've seen.  Some of my favorite actresses in the indie scene appear in this one.  We have Angel Nichole Bradford making a small appearance.  She does a solid job but in her role but it is short lived.  We also have a short but unforgettable performance from Niv Aranea.  Her character doesn't have a lot of screen time either but she makes the most of it.  Her character is one of the highlights of the film and brought a lot of laughs once she was sloshed.  With that being said, Sushii Xhyvette Holder, Jessa Jupiter Flux, Danielle Page, and Jon Devlin (Erecting a Monster, Phallacies) make the film.  Devlin brings in some humor and once shit goes off the rails he is able to flip his character completely around.  I've been reviewing films of his for several years now and I love seeing how he uses all this experience in new roles.  Sushii and Jessa absolutely nail their roles as well which is what was expected.  These two are indie horror icons and always go above and beyond with their roles.  This time the pair are matched with Danielle Page who is fairly new to me but she delivers just as big a performance as everyone I had previously mentioned.  She has several credits already under he name on imdb and I will be checking those out as soon as I can.  The supporting cast is solid as well and I would be here all day if I took the time to credit everyone for the great performances.  The story for this one is the traditional slasher formula set against a New Year's Eve party.  We have someone that was wronged several years ago, in this case it was a prank gone wrong, who is now picking people off one by one.  We don't have a masked killer but we do have a Krueger inspired sweater and a Misfit's Devilock hairstyle which somewhat makes up for that.  The premise of the film borrows from the classic slasher My Bloody Valentine where a horrible accident prevents the town from celebrating a holiday only for a group to disregard warnings only to die one by one.  That's one of my favorite slashers so I really enjoyed this one paying tribute to it.  Finally, the film has several deaths with a lot of blood but they are not really that memorable.  We get one super fun death featuring Niv Aranea's character that will stick with you for days after watching but the rest are easily forgettable with some minimal but decent practical effects.  Overall, Screw Year's Eve is not a slasher trying to capture that 80s look and feel.  While so many slashers try and fail to do that, this one uses a clever idea to host an 80s themed party and let nostalgia run with our imaginations.  It features a great cast and caters specifically to those of us that love the classic slasher formula.  This is one I highly suggest checking out!

     

Saint Drogo

Director(s) - Michael J. Ahern (Death Drop Gorgeous), Christopher Dalpe (Death Drop Gorgeous), and Wayne Gonsalves

Starring - Brandon Perras-Sanchez (The Spine of Night, Hollow Lake), Michael J. Ahern, and Matthew Pidge (Death Drop Gorgeous)

Release Date - 2023

Genre - Horror

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

    I grew up during an odd time in American history in an even odder area.  I've been a lifelong Appalachian resident which has it's own folklore, religions, and superstitions.  This gives those of us a unique view if you are not raised Christian.  I've been an atheist my entire life but that didn't stop me from being curious about all the different religions and so on that can be found along the creeks and hollows of my state.  I also grew up during the tail end of the Satanic Panic era and the Jonestown Massacre happening just a few years before I was born.  When I was little I saw other cults, like the Branch Davidians, getting a lot of news coverage for their deaths and so on.  I've never been a religious person but religion has always been an interest of mine along with being a major fear.  I'm not bashing those that have found religion.  Hell, my wife is a practicing Christian but I would be lying if I said I wasn't afraid of fanatics and what they would do in the name for their religions.  That's why I've always had a soft spot for religious horror and movies centered around the occult.  A couple months back I received the press release for Monster Makeup's Saint Drogo.  I shared it on the site and they were kind enough to send over a copy of the film for review.  I wasn't able to get to it right away but I added it to my list to review as soon as I could.  I want to thank them for sending this one over!

     The film follows a gay couple in a strained relationship as they head to P-Town during the small town's off season in search for their missing friend.  The man in question is the ex of one of the men who was working there during the summer.  However, both men started having horrible dreams about him and decide visit him there when they fail to contact him.  They quickly befriend a local who takes them around to various spots in hopes of finding him but are unable to do so.  This frustrates his ex who starts to alienate himself from his boyfriend and the local who has now turned to drugs and sex all night.  This leads him further into the secrets of the small town where he finds himself drugged and at the center of a huge party the wealthy locals are throwing.  

     I went into Saint Drogo completely blind.  The title alone made me think that the film was going to be a religious horror tale that would be heavy on Catholicism.  However, I was very wrong with that assumption.  The movie itself reminded me a lot of Richard Griffin's Beyond the Dunwich Horror with a lot of bearded men kissing...which is kind of funny when you think about it.  Honestly, this is well made horror movie that does a wonderful job at telling a story while creating tension and atmosphere.  The acting in this one is great which is very impressive when you consider how little on camera experience most of the cast has.  It was awesome seeing Johnny Sederquist (Ninny Nothin).   It has been a few years since I last saw them in a film and it was great seeing them here even though the role was small.  We also get a small role from co-director Wayne Gonsalves who really impressed me with his role in Death Drop Gorgeous.  His experience in front of the camera is very limited but he is very comfortable in his roles.  His dialogue is natural and feels genuine.  With that being said, Brandon Perras-Sanchez, Michael J. Ahern, and Matthew Pidge carry the film.  The supporting cast is fantastic and deserve praise as well but these three make the film what it is.  Their characters are very well written and they bring a lot of personality to their roles.  I hate that I'm not taking the time to mention everyone in the film for their acting but I'm lazy and it is what it is.  The story for this one is not what I was expecting at all and loved every minute of it.  We follow a couple in a rocky relationship.  One of the men is very inconsiderate and clearly still hung up on his ex while the other man is trying hard to have a social life and support him the best he can.  They take a "vacation" to a coastal town in the off season just to look for said ex and meet a guy interested in them both and a strange drug.  We then move into strange occurrences, a secret the town is hiding, and a gay orgy ritual ceremony before we finally meet the title character.  Its a story that sounds boring as fuck on paper but is executed exceptionally well.  The dialogue, characters, and story telling holds your attention through each scene and the pay off at the end is well worth it.  Finally, the film starts out with an amazing scene with some great gore before making the carnage take the back seat until the last leg of the film.  While the film does have a small body count, it make sure that the few deaths we do see count.  They look absolutely amazing and the last death in the film is sure to leave viewers feeling squeamish.  Overall, Saint Drogo is not what I expected but I fucking loved it.  I hate that it took me so long to see it but now that I have I can see myself revisiting it several more times before the year is out.  I highly recommend it!

Harvest Brood

Director - Joe Meredith (South Mill District, Variant)

Starring - Cidney Meredith (Variant II, Teratomorph), Robin File, and Anthony Leroy

Release Date - 2025

Genre - Horror

Format - Streaming (YouTube)

Rating (out of 5): 

     Several years ago I befriended artist and filmmaker Joe Meredith on social media after I saw several posts for one of his films.  I can't recall which film that was exactly by this point but I do know that I've been fortunate enough to review all of his films up to this point.  Well, that was until he released his newest film Harvest Brood for free on YouTube during Halloween.  I quickly shared the news on the site at the time but I wasn't able to check it out immediately due to the fact that I had already planned out my October horror binge.  However, I did toss it on my watch with for immediately after.  I'm glad I did because this one may just be my favorite film of his.

     The film is a documentary about a small town in Alabama that experienced a killing spree in 2006 with connections to local lore surrounding a strange family deep in the woods.

     Joe Meredith has a style of his own.  His movies and art is very unique and instantly recognizable with his movies being some of the most visceral that I've been fortunate to see.  Honestly, South Mill District is a film I often recommend to genre fans looking for something on the gruesome side of horror.  Harvest Brood did not disappoint.  I'm not really a fan of mockumentaries and found footage but this one holds your attention from beginning to end very well without the dull dialogue and pretentious acting.  The acting in this one is very well done.  We do get some of the acting that you would expect from a found footage type film with small talk and not a lot of emotional depth.  Luckily, these scenes are few and far in between.  The rest of the film is acted very well with some seriously fantastic performances from a cast with very little experience.  The story for this one is the kind of movie that I love with a family deranged mutant living in the woods killing people that cross their paths.  I've lived in Appalachia my entire life and any film with that kind of story instantly has my attention.  However, there is only so many ways you can spin a story like this so giving it the mockumentary spin to it does make it stand out from the rest.  With that being said, it's not as dull and boring as most other faux documentary and found footage flicks that I've reviewed in the past.  The film does a great job with the pacing and doesn't leave a lot to our imaginations.  Finally, the film is just as gruesome as I've come to expect from Joe and company.  We have a lot of fantastic practical effects that looks great.  If you've seen one of Joe's films then you know exactly how amazing his effects look and this one is no exception.  Honestly, I have no idea why this film is still on YouTube and not flagged.  Overall, Harvest Brood is another great film from a filmmaker with a true love for the genre.  The film doesn't do anything revolutionary for the genre but it does deliver on everything many of us love about horror.  I highly recommend checking it out.  

Baba Yaga

Director - Corrado Farina (They Have Changed Their Face, Fumettophobia)

Starring - Carroll Baker (Baby Doll, Kindergarten Cop), George Eastman (Antropophagus, Erotic Nights of the Living Dead), and Isabelle De Funes (Pont Dormant, Esprits de Famille)

Release Date - 1973

Genre - Horror

Tagline - "The psychedelic shocker based on the erotic comics of Guido Crepax"

Format - UHD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (Out of 5):

     I was really looking forward to this set when I received it for review.  Not only was Terror-Creatures from the Grave a movie, at the time, I had always wanted to watch but never had the chance but because it featured the 1973 film Baba Yaga.  Baba Yaga is one that I had seen pop up in so many horror groups and message boards but I never had the chance to check it out.  This just happened to be the last film in the set and I had high hopes that I would be ending it with a bang.  

     The film follows a photographer who is almost hit by a car driven by a strange woman named Baba Yaga.  She soon finds herself in the middle of strange occurrences.  Her camera seems to be cursed anytime she tries to take pictures of a living subject, a weird doll given to her by Baba Yaga is doing strange things, and everyone around her seems to be pushed further and further away.  She starts to suspect that Baba is a witch and is using her powers to alienate the young photographer so she can seduce or possess her.

     I went into this one only knowing that it starred Carroll Baker and had very little to do with the Baba Yaga folklore.  With that being said, this slow burn film didn't really give me that Italian gothic vibe nor did it feel like I was watching a horror title.  I seriously wanted to like it but this was one that had me absolutely bored to tears.  The acting in this one is great even from a cheesy mid-70s campy aspect.  The entire cast, aside from Baker, delivers what I would consider a reasonably grounded performance that works very well for a more modern horror title.  With that being said, Baker is extremely theatrical in her performance and stands out in every scene she is in.  I loved her performance but I feel that she was underutilized.  The story for this one is not enough to hold the viewer's attention over the full runtime of the film.  A photographer finding the most important aspect of her job becoming cursed and her entire life being pushed away as a witch forces her way into her life is a pretty solid story but the way it was shot leaves a lot of room for pointless scenes and a lot of dull dialogue.  This is one of those films that I find myself watching the clock more than I do the film.  We don't have enough going on to hold your attention.  Finally, if you want a bloody flick then you will be disappointed.  The movie is character driven instead of blood, gore, and atmosphere.  Overall, Baba Yaga is nothing like I expected.  It feels more like a supernatural drama rather than a horror tale.  I seriously wanted to like this one but it bored me to tears.  Skip it.