NEW BLOOD: THE INVITATION

THE INVITATION
XYZ/Drafthouse
2015 color
100 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Logan Marshall Green, Michelle Krusiec, Aidan Lovekamp, Mike Doyle, Jordi Vilasuso, Marieh Delfino and Jay Larson.
Written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi
Directed by Karyn Kusama
N/R contains language, violence, gore and sexuality.

The Invitation is a slow burning, psychological horror film that erupts in it's final moments. The film centers on a young man named Will attending a dinner party with his girlfriend. The dinner party is being thrown by his ex wife and her new boyfriend. At first everything seems normal over some drinks but the night slowly begins to get very weird and Will seems to be the only one realizing it. The movie plays with audience expectations as well as perceptions. I don't want to spoil anything by giving it away. I just want to say that the ending is worth the wait. At times the film feels a little slow in it's setup but it's only to establish a thick, dread induced atmosphere. Even the most meaningless actions feel sinister at points, Always keeping you on the edge of your seat. Featuring solid work all around Logan Marshall Green is really great in the lead he pulls off his character seamlessly. And might I say that the beard and longer hair look quite fetching on him. It all culminates to an unexpected, jaw dropping finale. The writing from Hay and Manfredi is inspired with nods to Hitchcockian horrors of yesteryear. The cinematography fits the proceedings well. It's stylish and foreboding as is the simplistic but effective score. But this all comes together beautifully because of the taut direction from Karyn Kusma. An unknown film maker that explodes onto the scene with this finely tuned masterwork of nightmare cinema. Although the film is not perfect it does seem to drag a bit early on it quickly moves past it, establishing an immersive, curious atmosphere before dropping the hammer into your face. ****.5/5

NEW BLOOD (NETFLIX): HUSH

HUSH
Blumhouse
2016 color
82 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Kate Siegel and John Galagher Jr. star.
Written by kate Siegel and Mike Flanagan
Directed by Mike Flanagan
Rated R for language, violence and gore.

Simplistic really works best. And this soon to be horror classic is a perfect example of what works so well in the genre. What seems to be just another home invasion flick soon transforms into something truly memorable. The film centers on a young deaf, mute woman in her house in the middle of the woods (never a good setup). She's a novelist working on her latest book. She's all alone and there is some backstory given to her having problems with her ex. Soon after a small setup she soon finds herself targeted by a masked madman armed with a bow and arrow. I don't have to tell you what happens next, it's pretty obvious. But it's the way in which the material is approached and executed that makes it so effective. Maddie played by Kate is not a run of the mill victim she's smart and the way in which her handicap influences her to look at the world works in her advantage. The movie moves along quickly at only 82 minutes. But every moment is taut, edge of your seat and thrilling. Most brilliant of all is the way Maddie approaches situations. Because she's a novelist she imagines different outcomes to the same scenario and bases her decision on that. Also smartly the writers and director give her an inner voice as to help the audience see where she's going. The combination of silence and darkly beautiful cinematography adds to the proceedings giving the material an artistic heft not often seen in genre films. It all culminates to an unexpected, sweaty palm inducing finale. I'm not sure why this film didn't find a theatrical release. Through a good marketing campaign and word of mouth this would have been a sure fire hit. Lucky for us it's available on Netflix, enjoy! ****.5/5

NEWISH BLOOD (HULU/AMAZON PRIME): VOICES

VOICES
Lionsgate
2014 Color
103 Mins.
Horror/Comedy
Ryan Reynolds, Anna Kendrick, Gemma Armeton and Jacki Weaver star.
Written by Michael R. Perry
Directed by Marjane Satrapi
Rated R for language, violence and gore.

I really wanted to love The Voices. All the elements seemed to be there but I had an underlying feeling after seeing the trailer it wouldn't blend as well as I would have hoped. Well my suspicions were correct. The Voices is by no means a bad movie and it has so many great elements, it just never decides on what it really wants to be. The film centers around Jerry played by a wonderful Ryan Reynolds. He's a shy guy, a little bit of recluse, nice with very little social skills. His best friends are his cat and dog who talk to him. The cat of course is instructing him to do very bad things, while the dog tries to lean him in the opposite direction. All goes south when his crush refuses his advances and things begin to get very grisly. What follows is a strange blend of whimsical comedy, dark humor and just oddity. The performance from the gorgeous Reynolds is solid. His Jerry has a surprising amount of emotional depth and it's a treat to watch the actor show a wide range while dealing with self imposed circumstances. The problem here is the direction. All though there are so many inspired touches, the movie has the potential to be a truly great, unique film instead it feels messy and a little unfocused at times making for an intriguing but ultimately generic experience. Some smarter choices would have held the film in it's fantasy state until it's final moments instead of inserting spurts throughout. It's a bit disrupting and keeps you from being immersed by the proceedings. In the positive the film is colorful and most of the humor hits. The performance from Reynolds is inspired but I feel as an actor he still lacks the commitment to get really ugly when need be. Not that I'm complaining he's built like a greek god. That being said The best part of the Voices are the musical credits after the film ends they are a potent reminder of the potential the film had but never truly achieved.
**.5/5

HOMOEROTIC HUMPDAY: DREAMMANIAC

DREAMANIAC
Wizard/Full Moon
1986 Color
82 Mins.
Horror
Thomas Bern, Ashlyn Gere, Bob Pelham, Brad Laughlin, Lauren Petersen and Sylvia Summers star.
Written by Helen Robinson
Directed by David DeCoteau

Sure to give Nightmare on elm st. 2 a run for it's money as the gayest horror movie of all time. The rarely seen Dreamaniac which features a poster that inspires you to think that it's going to be a female Freddy Krueger ripoff is in fact a softcore t&a horror flick at first glance. But when you stop even for a moment to think about it the homoerotic subtext is so abundant it becomes increasingly clear that the only exploitation going on here is of the male actors. The film centers on a young man who performs a ritual and ends up unleashing a succubus at a sorority party. The film begins with a nude young man walking slowly through a dimly lit hallway until finally coming upon a naked young woman taking a blood shower. It's of course a dream sequence as the effeminate Adam awakes horribly startled. His girlfriend (lol) soon arrives and tells him of the evenings plans. A sorority party if you can call it that with minimal paper decorations, a few bottles of liquor and like 7 people in which the boys out number the girls. The succubus makes her appearance and what follows is some of the most tragic, unintentionally funny sequences ever captured on film. Some examples include death by power cord while an white underwear clad young man slowly dances and touches himself, a young man that is stabbed while drinking out of a punch bowl in daisy dukes and touched up with some whipped cream and another guy killed while the succubus is giving him a blow job in a strange porn like angle. The guys are scantily clad throughout the movie while the girls remain mostly covered. It doesn't really matter what the film culminates to because it's a big hot mess. Although the main character Adam does like to slowly touch his chest and stomach and there's a scene where a girl who discovers her boyfriend cheating and throws up on the girl. Camp Gold. The film was of course directed by David Decoteau whose responsible for homoerotic treasures  like the brotherhood series, leeches and Voodoo Academy as well as some straight up hardcore gay porn films like New Wave Hustlers, Make it Huge, Totally Awesome, Fleshtone and Never Big enough. Dreamaniac's story line is messy and incoherent for the most part and the gore is cheap and silly. Full moon's transfer of this lost film is expectedly foggy with quick cuts and a messy soundtrack. So if your looking for a trashy, terrible film that only works because it doesn't work at all and features lots of scantily clad young men trying to be sexual while getting doused in fake blood than Dreamaniac stands way above the pack.A hidden, campy piece of cinematic coal from yesteryear. ***/5

I JUST HIT 2000 VIEWS TIME FOR A GIVEAWAY CHALLENGE!!!!!!

I JUST HIT 2000 VIEWS!!!!!

As a celebration I will be giving away one blu ray copy of It Follows to the first person who subscribes to my blog, shares the post, leaves a great comment and emails me at Rcavellero34@gmail.com with the exact dialogue that Hayden Panettiere's character Kirby says when the killer asks her the question about remakes in Scream 4. Good luck guys and keep on visiting for fresh updates on all things HORROR!!!!!!

Here's some cool horror gifs for you to enjoy!!!!

RETRO HORROR FIX: THE VAGRANT

THE VAGRANT
Canal
1992 Color
91 Mins.
Horror/Comedy
Bill Paxton and Michael Ironside star.
Written by Richard Jeffries
Directed by Chris Walas
Rated R for language, violence gore and sexuality.

I just discovered this camptastic little horror flick that was a little ahead of it's time. The film centers around a new yuppie home owner who moves into a quaint little house and discovers he has a mega creepy vagrant who lives to visit his newly purchased humble abode. His paranoia increases as things begin to move, people go missing and body parts begin to show up. This film is one of those oddball, very dark clever horror comedies that would be better accepted nowadays. In accordance with the nasty horror and dark humor the film offers a light social commentary on classes as well as an exploration on the anxiety of  buying your first place. Surprisingly the film moves along briskly and in truly unpredictable ways. It would have been easy to present the situation as something more accessible. But instead the film makers take a more challenging approach playing on audience expectations as well as their own fears taking the story far past where you think it would go. The culmination of events is shocking and innovative. Although with that build up it does leave a bit to be desired. And even though The Vagrant has a bit too much crammed into it's 91 minute run time which starts to make  the proceedings feel a bit stretched out. It's a surprisingly solid hidden gem. A film that's flown under the radar for me at least for most of my whole genre loving life. Definitely worth a visit if you haven't seen it! ***.5/5

HORRORESQUE: HARDCORE HENRY

HARDCORE HENRY
STX/H.Bros.
2016 Color 
90 Mins.
Action/Sci-Fi/Thriller
Sharlto Copley, Danila Kozlovsky, Haley Bennett and Tim Roth star.
Written by Ilya Naishuller and Will Stewart
Directed by Ilya Naishuller
Rated R for language, violence, gore, nudity and drug use.

I went into this film with the lowest of expectations. Despite a multitude of positive buzz the trailer left me feeling like the film would be gimmicky and loose it's luster after the first ten minutes. Well I'm happy to say that I enjoyed the hell out of Hardcore Henry. The film is a completely immersive first person experience. Similar to playing the most bad ass video game ever. The story is light but surprisingly involved. It centers around Henry who awakens to his wife and discovers he's been reborn with a whole bunch of strong robotic parts. He has no memory or voice and immediately finds himself on the run. He quickly learns to fight and runs into an array of charismatic one note characters who quickly ends up being dispatched in gory fashions. As he moves from one breath taking spectacle to the next he discovers clues along with new missions/destinations he must get to if he wants to survive and save his wife. It all culminates with an awe inspiring, goregasmic showdown of epic proportions. Watching the film is similar to playing a video game as you the audience are Henry. Like a video game some characters and story lines are rushed through but the experience is incredibly immersive to an almost  unbearable point. The acting is fittingly hammy and the first person execution from Ilya Naishuller is inspired. Now let's talk about the gore of which there is a spectacular amount. Not since Dead Alive has there been such a display of goretastic goodies which range from severed heads, hands being torn apart, hearts being torn out, faces being dragged against buildings, gouged eyeballs being used as weapons and lots and lots of meaty blood and so much more that I don't want to ruin. Not all of Hardcore Henry is perfect, the film suffers from having a too cheesy, over the top Luc Bessonish villain who has cool but overly ridiculous telekinetic powers and the female lead Haley Bennett, so good in "Kristy" leaves much too be desired here. Also the story feels like it should culminate to just a bit more but regardless there has never been a film like this and it is one hell of an awesome fucking experience. As a cohesive movie it may not hold up but as a wild fucking experience it pushes the bar for movie going up to an exponential level of cinematic craziness.
****/5

RETRO FRANCHISE KILLER REVIEW: CANDYMAN 3-DAY OF THE DEAD

CANDYMAN 3: DAY OF THE DEAD
Artisan
1999 Color
93 MIns.
Horror/Thriller
Tony Todd, Donna D'Errico, Jsu Garcia and Wade Williams star.
Written by Al Septien
Directed by Turi Meyer
Rated R for language, violence and gore.

Insipid, convoluted, unnecessary, ridiculous, unintentionally funny these are all terms used to describe this ultra terrible fake sequel to the Candyman franchise. Obviously intended for straight to video/dvd consumption in 1999. Day of the Dead makes Farewell to the Flesh looks Oscar winning. It all starts off with a young big breasted woman walking in her cotton white panties and a very small t shirt in an all white bathroom. There's a cheap jump out scare of laughable proportions with some truly loathsome acting to accompany it. Much of the film follows suit. The film centers on a young woman played by playmate? Donna D'Errico , a descendant of Candyman's bloodline, I think. She's supposedly a popular artist but her works looks of the cheap HS variety. She of course becomes entwined in the myth and people start to die all around her. The acting gets worse as the film goes along including a truly "Scary Movie" moment as her best friend is attacked by the title killer and a sex scene featuring one dimensional characters and a glue on swarm of bees. Tony Todd so good in the other films is awful here and seems hammy and bored. it doesn't help that the film is directed by a person with no talent and the screenplay displays a generic, silly culmination of events that goes nowhere but includes being kidnapped by an snm gang of Candyman worshippers, lol. And most offensive of all the effects are so beyond awful featuring but not limited to a 99 cents store Halloween chest plate filled with plastic bees. Considered to be one of the worst sequels of all time. Day of the Dead was dumped to a quiet DVD/Video release and justly so. Now more than 15 years later the film is barely remembered. My advice stop with the second so that the franchise retains some type of credibility. After having survived this entry it's ruined the overall effect for me. .5/5