Evil Review. DreadOut: an Indonesian Horror

Posted by EvilGamer on March 6, 2015

Oh how I miss the good old days of horror games on the Playstation 1 and 2. Sure we may see the genre coming back this generation but it just doesn’t feel the same. All the classic horror games we have played are either dying, abandon, or just kept from us like how Nintendo is handling the Fatal Frame series. We shall not give up hope though, as there is a game currently out now on steam that is oozing with nostalgic horror goodness!

DreadOut is an Indonesian survival horror game that was developed and published by Digital Happiness. The game is heavily inspired by the Fatal Frame games and is centered around a group of students who are trapped in a cursed and haunted town. DreadOut focuses on real life Indonesian folk lore and ghost stories, much like how Slender: The arrival is based on western folk lore character ”Slender man”.

I was not kidding about how this game oozes nostalgia. The atmosphere of DreadOut feels just like a Fatal Frame game, with it’s dark atmosphere and slow paced gameplay. When it comes to graphics, DreadOut is visually lacking. It’s graphic are very low res and look like what you might see on a playstation 2 or PSP game. Still the graphics have a charm and add to the creepy feel of the game and I love it! The design of the ghosts is what makes this game terrifying, nothing like walking down a pitch black corridor with nothing but your phone’s light on and then suddenly having a ghost based on a real life folk tale scare you! This just makes the game too bad ass.

The gameplay is very simple. It plays pretty much like a Fatal Frame game, it is in a third person perspective and you must use your smart phone to battle ghosts and find hints to solve puzzles. The game does promote exploration since there are collectibles for the player to find in order to unlock achievements. The player can also collect power items that will aid them in boss battles. The game has two endings; both good and bad. So make sure you try to get the true ending on your first play through so things can make a bit of sense.

Difficulty wise this game can be hard for new players. I admit that I died alot during the first boss battle, but this is a good thing since it forces the player to find out what the bosses weakness is and use it against them. Once you know how to defeat the enemies the game is quite easy to play. Unlike classic horror games, this game is not very long and that was kind of a bummer for me. The game is about 4 hours long, even shorter if you rush through it. For me I wished it was longer since I was starting to get so immersed into the story and wanted more.

For music in the game, it was amazing. The soundtrack fits perfectly and sounds so awesome during boss battles. My personal favorite track has to be the cover of Gloomy Sunday by Sarasvat; Which serves as the game’s main theme.

All I can say about DreadOut is that the game is amazing and I hope to god we get a sequel. There is so much unanswered questions to the story and so much content here to make a franchise off of. My personal rating for DreadOut is a 8/10. My only complaint is that the game was way too short but with the story, music, and some pretty cool innovative parts in the game that I wish we saw in other horror games made up for the game’s length.

So if you loved the old Fatal Frames, Silent Hills or even Resident Evil games. Then please go play DreadOut you won’t be disappointed.

DreadOut is available on Steam and Playstation 4 for $14.99

Second Lesson of Evil by Knowing Your ABCs! “The ABCs of Death 2” review!

Posted by Steven Lewis on February 18, 2015

Ready for the second round of ABCs of death? Twenty-six new directors sign, seal, and deliver twenty-six new stories about death and breathe a whole new life into this highly anticipated sequel to the highly popular 2012 anthology. The ABCs of Death 2 attempts to be callous, sick, and offers up more blood and gore than it’s predecessor while the ABCs are very elementary, its the death part that makes then alphabet more complicated.

When one glances the cover and see thats familiar figure of the death eating Grim Reaper holding a story book, one who knew nothing about the anthology would consider The ABCs of the Death to be strictly a horror genre, short story telling series in the same ballpark as “Creepshow,” which ironically enough has a similar, yet cartoony, ghastly Grim Reaper on it’s sophomore sequel DVD cover. That assumption is significantly mistaken. The Grim Reaper is all about the death in every sense of the way and “The ABCs of Death” productions resemble more of the controversial and ultra-violent “Faces of Death” series. If you scour the internet, or just have the entire collection, many of the VHS and DVD editions have a similar Grim Reaper, but again more cartoonish. The content though is all about death gathering home recordings of unspeakable acts of death from suicide, murders, and to accidentals just to name a few.

Yes, there are fantastic horror elements to “The ABCs of the Death” as well making this hybrid of an anthology that more entertaining, but the sequel relies a lot on the human element. The nature of man is cruel and vicious and most of the 26 films are based on this true to form fact. For example, “C is for Capital Punishment” by director Julian Barratt tells the story of a lynch mob trying to justify the disappearance of a village girl, Aharon Keshales “F is for Falling” involves the tautness of a rifle-toting Palestinian boy who discovers a Israeli fighter dangling from her parachute chords stuck in a tree, or Vincenzio Natali’s “U is for Utopia” in where a society made up of thin, good looking people living their lives while the ugly people are hunted down and burned alive.

What I also like about “The ABCs of Death” is the various culturally inspired films. There are directors from all over the glob spanning from Japan, England, France, Argentina and Nigeria just to name a few and all of who incorporate their own culture and style in the mixture. Some introduced comedy while others took a stylish-serious route and others just wanted to scare the pants off you. The couple animated shorts weren’t as rememberable as in the first anthology, but certain “D is for Deloused” by Robert Morgan will at least make you have underlining nightmares.

Some of the more memorable shorts stood out over all the rest. One in particular was Steven Kostanski’s “W is for Wish” which took a late 80’s to early 90’s take on a fantasy toy commercial where two children wished to be a part of and then actually went into the world where it was like nothing they expected. In fact, carnage and chaos (and awkwardly weird and fantastic) was the maelstrom these kids were thrusted into making their fantasy a real and deadly nightmare.

Magnolia Home Entertainment scores big with the sequel to “The ABCs of Death” and I’m sure the company won’t stop at just two. Expect more great films from lesser known directors and more blood and guts than ever. In the meantime, pick up your copy of “The ABCs of Death 2” on DVD or Blu-ray because you never know when you might keel over and die!

Good Night, Good Luck. Dying Light is out now!

Posted by EvilGamer on January 27, 2015

The most anticipated zombie game of the year is now out! Dying Light is a first person zombie horror game that takes place in a overrun city that has been blocked off from the outside world. Survivors must work together or fight against each other to reach the air drop supply crates in order to survive.

Dying Light is now available on XBOX ONE, Playstation 4, and PC

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.

It Takes Real Evil to Cure an Addiction! “Malignant” review!

Posted by Steven Lewis on January 22, 2015

Allex’s life is meaningless. Losing his wife spun a web of alcoholism that drained his motivation to live. But Allex is about to get a little help from a man in black; a rogue scientist looking to cure Allex’s addiction in the most radical of sense. When Allex wakes up after a black out binder, a stitched up incision is on his chest and a video that shows him on a murderous rampage. Allex doesn’t remember a thing. Being terrorized by a scientists who thirst to cure Allex of his alcoholism and stagnant life is nothing short of bitter sweet.

Lets start off this review with a positive. Brad Dourif will forever stand out among his fellow cast mates. Dourif has accumulated over the years the manners and the techniques to build a sinister villain even if the legendary “Chucky” voicing actor plays a character that lacks major cojones. In “Malignant,” Dourif is the rogue scientist playing havoc on Allex’s life and the subtle approach Dourif brings is exactly how I would have imagined it as his character is brilliantly spiteful and usually where there is brains, there is less braun.

“Malignant” drives a stake right through the heart of alcoholism subject matter. Most people flounder the way the main character Allex does when they’re under the spell of the drink. Director Brian Avenet-Bradley introduces a cruel and diabolical intervention where pro-choice to cure one’s self is non-existent. Now, the fix isn’t exactly quick and nor is it ethical and moral, but when you need to start living your life again, what better way than to slash the throats of the drunks around you?

With a good amount of positives for the film, “Malignant” certainly isn’t anything spectacular to where you desperately need to watch it right away. But I certainly encourage the message behind the film and can back good Dourif performance even if it’s not his best. Another positive is the lobotomy surgical scenes will have some eye lids squint with visual displeasure and I can contest that the effects are realistic and not at all cheesy.

What I can’t escape from is the main character’s poor choices. The screenplay holes are major because the character Allex makes too many poor choices driving my dislike for Allex high and hoping that he gets what he deserves, for being idiotic, in the end. Played by Gary Cairns, Allex’s woes with this loss of his wife, played by the smoking Sienna Farall only in flashbacks, are felt, but I felt like his life with alcohol could have been more depressing. Cairns portraying a depressed drunk certainly needed more boozing and loathing of life.

“Malignant” isn’t benign. This is a good solid DVD release by MVDvisual with great presentation and clarity that makes the surgical scenes that more fearing. Watching it for Brad Dourif alone if you’re a fan of his work or watch one night when the mood for a thriller takes you over. Test the waters as you may find this film evilly enticing.