Kiss Your Cousin and Watch Some Evil! “Hillbilly Horror Show Vol.1” review!

Posted by Steven Lewis on January 23, 2015

Bo, Cephus, and their kissing cousin Lulu lounge on their small trailer park camper couch drinking ice cold beer and watching a bag-filled of horror shorts discs. A fear-filled anthology containing four of the best horrifying shorts from some of the most talented and unknown filmmakers displayed for our country-bunpkin viewing pleasure.

For the most part, horror anthologies are the bane of my existence. The appeal of numerous plot lines, not intertwined, swells and overflows the mind. Trying to process it all is like dumping all your Thanksgiving leftovers down the garbage disposal and witnessing it clogging up trying to choke down week old Turkey, bits of yellow kernel corns, and de-gelatized cranberry jelly patties.

…but every once and awhile a worthy anthology gets it right, gets the gist of what makes the innards of good collection of horror shorts. I commend good compilation releases such as “Body Bags,” “Creepshow,” and “ABCs of Death.” Believe it or not or take my recommendation with a grain of salt, but “Hillbilly Horror Show Vol. 1” is on the same awesome level as those I’ve just listed in not so marketable fashion.

1: “Franky and The Ant”

Franky and his partner are hitmen and their current mark is a sexy, barely clad young lady. With bag over her head, the two men drag her to the isolated field where an open grave was previous dug. When the target is revealed to the two men, Franky has more in store for his partner and his target than what meets the eye.

“Franky and The Ant” is a quick-wit and smart short about lover revenge in a chilly cold-hearted and thrilling way. This short will make you think twice about the people who are close to you in more ways than one. Directed by first timer Billy Hayes, the festival winning short is a crime thriller with just the right amount of duration and enough story to make it compelling.

2: “Doppleganger”

In this stop motion short, a skeleton awakes alone in a cave and ventures out on a journey into the world. Walking across great lands and discovery the desolation of the world, the skeleton stumbles upon another skeleton. They’re both seemingly the same with only the lower jaw missing from the second skeleton. When the journeying skeleton extends a hand in friendship, friendship is not what the doppelganger is seeking.

Director Theo Stefanski creates a gothic and surreal looking info life after death and then death again. The message of nothing changes after death is a bit depressing in a comical depiction. The animation wonderfully constructed with love of classical inspirations. The short is short but the takeaway is everlasting.

3: “Amused”

Martha returns home to her snow covered house to find an insane individual munching on her daughter’s scalp. The crazed man then wears the detached scalp on his head and chases Martha through the cold countryside. With every hope of help, more terror lurks around every corner and its up to Martha to resolve her own salvation against the sinister amusement that has overcome the murders.

Cuyle Carvin is a vet in the film industry and with “Amused” being his first attempt at direction just proves that his experience is a test of time spent on the independent and Hollywood scene. “Amused” is well shot even if the film stock quality isn’t up to snuff; this might have been purposefully done give the tone and feel of the short a more retro sensation. The short has no dialogue and translate so well to the viewer that no chatter is necessary and I would go as far as unwanted. I would love to see more from Cuyle Carvin in the future in the horror genre and see a longer version of “Amused.”

4: “The Nest”

A small town diner has an award-winning, business-thriving honey from a deadly hive of over-sized, flesh eating swarm of bees that are kept secret. When a horse rancher and a government land inspector investigate the remains of a flesh-ridden horse, the diner owner and her dim-witted mute son strive to keep their hive a secret.

Saving the best short for last, Tim Zwica’s masterful short contains flawless acting and a story that fun as it is thrilling. Flesh eating bees. Who know that would be fun? The dark tone of the film’s cinematography surely heightens the appeal of the film and the special effects creates an allure that can’t be ignored. The Nest is produced by the ever-so-lovely Jennifer Scott who also plays a goth-hooligan girl who gets ravaged by the bees. “The Nest” might be a Syfy mega hit if it was made into a full length feature much in the same vain of “Sharknado” but I would predict that “The Nest” would have three times more success.

I’m hooked on “Hillybilly Horror Show” and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of Glamour model Rachel Faulker and her skimpy outfits. Horror shorts with girth, grit, and guts unlike any anthology I’ve seen in a very, very long time. The “Hillbilly Horror Show” is today’s Joe Bob Briggs with more redneck fun. MVDVisual brings volume one home and I would recommend this DVD, though the cover lacks much artistic enthusiasm, with award winning shorts as these filmmakers need more exposure and new talent is brooding behind the scenes of Hollywood.

Three FREE Horror Movies @99centnet aka 99 Cent Network!

Posted by Steven Lewis on January 9, 2015

I just received some exciting news from my pals over at the 99 Cent Network! They’ve extended an offer to my readers here at Its Bloggin’ Evil! Three free horror titles can be streamed directly to you! No personal information. No charge. Just horror at your fingertips.

Your free movies are “Mold” (read my review here), “Zombie Undead,” and “Dead Creatures.” Just follow the instructions below and click the image when you’re ready for a free triple feature!

If you like what you see, more titles are available through the 99 Cent Network!

Evil Never Sleeps! “Coyote” review!

Posted by Steven Lewis on January 5, 2015

Cult actor Bill Oberst Jr. plays a deranged struggling writer with insomniac. Bill’s lack of sleep drives him to extremely hallucinate to the point of being dangerous to not only himself but to others. His derangement wields a bowie knife, a rust colored hammer, and a sporting bow and arrow as the hallucinations get weirder, stranger, and more violent and everyone that Bill comes into contact with becomes a target of his severe breakdown into insanity.

Who doesn’t love Bill Oberst Jr? The veteran actor has a unique look about him and his acting method brings stage and screen acting together into one great performance in Trevor Juenger’s “Coyote.” Without saying much through the entirety of the film, Oberst interpretation of one man’s sleepless delusions sports no talking head explanation. Rigorously and physically involved in the role, “Coyote” could not have been possible if it wasn’t for Oberst serious role indulgence.

The film is described as a blend between “Taxi Driver” and “Videodrome.” That description is entirely accurate. Full of body horror and plenty of schizo to go around, the surrealism in the editing by Juenger is remarkable pitted against budgetary restraints. Hard to follow, lost in translation, yet somehow by the end of the movie you get it, you just get it. You might even feel lost for the first hour and by the time the last half hour comes around, you’re just as angry, confused, and disturbed as Bill. You might even want to take out a person or two with a bowie knife.

“Coyote” won’t break much cinematic ground like “Taxi Driver” or “Videodrome,” but “Coyote” will be a great embarkment to a honorable homage and a surreal look into fresh art-house horror. If you like this type of material full of masochistic mutilation, visceral carnage, and a visual look into the mind of lunacy, then Wild Eye Releasing’s “Coyote” is for you.

Evil Is Only Skin Deep! “Skinless” review!

Posted by Steven Lewis on November 12, 2014

I’ve been following Dustin Mills and his films for quite some time now. From the ambitious, multi-role Zombie A-Hole to the from actual news to your for your home entertainment Bath Salt Zombies, producer, writer, and director Dustin Mills has all the makings of a great independent director. The latest indie feat for the ambitious director is “Skinless,” a fierce and grotesque body horror film that sparks a familiar resemblance to a certain David Cronenberg film but with more ooze and goo that will leave a sticky, slimy aftertaste sensation that makes the film difficult to look away from yet still hard to wash off once the credits roll.

“Skinless” revolves around brilliant scientist Dr. Peter Peele who suffers from a terminal condition of the cancerous melanoma. His only hope is a flesh-eating enzyme from an exotic worm. Peter’s research partner, Dr. Alice Cross, genetically modify’s the enzyme to attack only cancer cells. When Peter and Alice are refused backing funds for the project, Peter turns to a more radical approach to use his own body as a test subject even at Alice’s stern disapproval. The enzyme worked as the cancer cells were stricken from Peter’s body, but at the cost of losing all of his flesh and going through a metamorphose that drives Peter into a murderous monster.

It’s icky. It’s sticky. It’ll have your skin crawling literally of your muscle tissue. Dustin Mills and his body horror entry proves that heart still exists in independent films today. Brandon Salkil and Erin R. Ryan, a regular cast of actors used by Dustin Mills, star as Dr. Peter Peele and Dr. Alice Cross. These two have chemistry on screen making chemistry. Salkil co-wrote the script with Mills making his character, pre- and post- metamorphose, into completely separate entities. There is a serious tone change in Dr. Peele that results in Dr. Cross to change with him in the second act of this two act film. What I like about Salkil is his style of acting, much like his other roles in previous Mills’ work, resembles a “Dumb and Dumber” Lloyd Christmas from an alternative universe – fairly silly with a realistic handle and grip of tension and hostility.

Once you view “Skinless”, you might feel like you’ve had a dose of deja vu. I know I did. I started to compare “Skinless” to David Cronenberg’s remake of “The Fly” in which Jeff Goldblum plays an inventory who develops a transporter, uses himself as the first test subject, and has his DNA infused with a fly’s DNA. Much of the same qualities from “The Fly” are transposed to “Skinless” from the projectile digestive acids to the transforming fly-like-ticks each character develops through the metabolical change. Was “The Fly” a big inspiration for “Skinless?” I would like to think so since the evidence is hard to ignore, but is this an intentional homage or a re-write flying below the bar?

Any way you dissect it, one can’t deny the special effects from the crew with one name to mention in Brandon’s Salkil’s wife – Sherriah. There’s something to be said for creativity and invention in body horror films because without the transformation of Dr. Peele to this skinless, fleshing eating thing, you would literally have no movie. Some of the puppetry might some dated and cheesy, but campy and still can put a ripple up your spine to think and feel like you’re going through the flesh-deducing change yourself.

Whacked Movies and MVD bring you the latest and greatest of Dustin Mills Productions with “Skinless.” Check it out on DVD on November 18 and watch this sleazy take on a gory-glorified body horror film.

Evil Review: The Evil Within

Posted by EvilGamer on October 31, 2014

So I was going to do a video review of this on our Youtube channel but I just haven’t had the time to record or edit so I’ll just write my review here. Before the review I’ll like to wish all of you a Happy Halloween! Watch horror movies or do what I’ll do tonight, play horror games! Anyway lets talk about The Evil Within, this game had to be my most anticipated game of the year. I was so excited when I heard that Shinji Mikami was coming back to horror, that I could hardly wait. For those who don’t know who Shinji is, he is the original director of the Resident Evil games, he pretty much created Resident Evil but unfortunately his last one was Resident Evil 4 and I’m sure you can tell it was his last because all Resident Evil games after that were terrible. So Shinji has put together his own development team, partnered up with Bethesda and gave us The Evil Within.

In the game you play as Sebastian Castellanos, a detective of the Krimson city police department. After a dispatch call, Sebastian and his team go to investigate a gruesome massacre at the Beacon Mental hospital but is later lured into a nightmarish world. The first thing you’ll notice in the game is that the graphics are very well done. The lighting is probably the best I’ve seen in a horror game and it sets the mood very well in the environment around you. Character and monster designs are excellent, environments were detailed and gritty, and the gore physics oh the gore physics were awesome! If you love blood and guts then this game has it, but If you can’t handle the sight of it well then there is an option for you lower the blood but wheres the fun in that?

Character development in the game is good but VERY limited, you won’t learn shit about the characters unless you collect documents scattered throughout the game. Sebastian’s back story only unfolds through documents and letters you find and the same goes for the main antagonist Ruvik, who may I add is my favorite character in the game. He is voiced by Jackie Earle Haley and he does a fantastic job. Ruvik also acts as the nemesis of the game, if you have played Resident Evil 3 and you remember that nemesis would chase you at random moments of the game, well Ruvik will do the same. He will randomly spawn in the world and chase your character. The story of the game is very unique but It is confusing as hell, you will not know ANYTHING about the game on your first play through. You will need to research and play through the game several times to understand the story.

Now this game is BRUTAL it is hard, if you think this game is easy and you can get through it without dying well your wrong. You will die a lot in this game, it is punishing and some times just plain out fucking you up. Minor enemies of the game can be difficult, even in small groups they can over power you, I can say that I have died a total of 65 times in the entire game and there is a total of 15 chapters. There is an upgrade system in the game where you can upgrade your weapons, abilities, inventory, etc. In order for you to upgrade your character you will need ”green gel” which you get as rewards for defeating enemies and bosses.

For everything that is good about this game there are of course some minor things I didn’t much care for. First thing is that there is a season pass. Now I hate when companies announce downloadable content before the game is even released and they try to sell us a season pass. You can thank games like Battlefield with it’s Premium passes and Call of duty for my hatred of season passes. But the good thing about the Evil Within’s season pass is that you get three upcoming expansions for $20 so I have to admit that’s pretty good. The second thing that isn’t really a bad thing but it just threw me off is that the game is always in a widescreen mode. Like when you play a DVD and it’ll ask you if you want to watch in wide screen, well that’s what the game is doing. It has a bar up top and a bar at the bottom, not sure why they added this, I guess for a more cinematic experience but either way I hope they patch it to where you can disable it. Now the the thing that I’m really getting tired of seeing in horror games, especially Resident Evil is the damn chainsaw enemies. I’m so sick of chainsaw enemies I know that they were scary in Resident Evil 4 but they just aren’t scary anymore because Capcom milked that same tactic over and over again. I hope Shinji doesn’t bring back these stupid chainsaw enemies in a sequel. The final problem I had with the game is it’s lack off true horror. It may have a creepy atmosphere but for a veteran horror gamer like me, it just didn’t deliver that feeling of terror and fear of what will happen next.

Before I give my personal rating of the game I’m going to change how I rate these games. So now I will rate them from 1 to 10 so for the The Evil Within I’m going to give it a very high 8/10. It is a very good game and it is worth playing, especially if your a big Shinji Mikami fan like me.