Review: Gut (2012)

First I´d like to thank the filmmakers of Gut for providing me with a DVD-screener.
Something is missing in Tom's (Jason Vail) life. His marriage has lost its spark, his job is suffocating him, and his childhood best friend Dan (Nicholas Wilder) still clings to the past. Every day he goes through the motions, becoming increasingly detached from those around him. Dan thinks he has the solution, a mysterious video Tom's got to see to believe... tonight. What Dan shows him leaves Tom unsettled, flooding his mind with disturbing images and desires, and binding the two friends together with its ugly secret. One video soon follows another and another, blurring the line between reality and voyeuristic fascination, and threatening to dismantle everything around them. Gut is written and directed by Elias. As usual I won´t go into any details, this is to avoid potential spoilers that would riun the film for the viewer. The acting is top notch with strong performances from the whole cast, it´s looks beautiful with excellent camerawork and editing, the soundtrack is haunting and unsettling. This isn´t a gorefeast for the hungry gorehounds out there but there is gore and it consists of nice and very effective looking practical make-up fx. There is nudity, both male and female, and the film has one of the sexiest scenes I´ve seen for some time.
This review is based upon a DVD screener provided by the filmmakers.
For more information visit the official website: http://gutmovie.com/
The official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/gutmovie?ref=ts
Rating: 7 out of 7. Gut is fanfreakingtastic! The acting is first class, the production values are very high. It manages to be very creepy and erotically charged. This is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best films I´ll see this year and it gets my highest recommendations.

/JL

Review: Tinsel (2012)

First I´d like to thank Mikel Ledesma for contacting me and providing me with a screener.
The story of an escaped psychopath finds it's way into a young woman's (Alisha Revel) nightmares, turning a seemingly normal christmas party into a whirlwind of psychological thrills and twists. Tinsel is written by Kensley Grant and Mikel Ledesma who also is the director. The acting is good, there is just one or two exceptions, I especially like Alisha Revel as Sarah who is the main character, she manages to show off a large amount of emotions and her performance is pretty impressive.The pacing is pretty high, there is never a dull moment and there is a fairly high bodycount. There is some gore, pretty good looking practical make-up fx, but for the most part it´s limited to just blood. No T & A in this.
This review is based upon a passwordprotected online screener provided by the director Mikel Ledesma.
Rating: 6 out of 7. Tinsel is a very nice and effective slasher in the short film format but the gorehound and slasher fan in me just wish that it would have had a little bit more of the nice, in effect messier gore and a bit of nudity. It´s a slasher after all... If you´re a horror fan and especially a fan of the slasher genre you should check out Tinsel.

/JL

DVD review: The Sky Has Fallen (2009)

First I´d like to thank Doug Roos for contacting me and providing the DVD.
In a post-apocalyptic world, a new disease wipes out almost all of mankind within a couple of hours. Trying to avoid infection, people flee to remote locations, but they start seeing mysterious, black figures carrying away the dead and experimenting on them. Now, Lance (Carey MacLaren) and Rachel (Laurel Kemper), two survivors determined to fight back, must kill the leader of these creatures before the rest of humanity disappears. The Sky Has Fallen is written, produced, edited and directed by Doug Roos. Even though it´s made on a minimal budget the filmmakers have managed to create a very eerie and intimate atmosphere that dominates most of the film, you get no irritating oneliners or comic relief in this, and the soundtrack is fantastic! The acting, camerawork and editing is pretty good. The creature make-up fx design, both undead and the black figures, are top notch. There is plenty of blood and some gore but for the most part it´s limited to showers of blood and squibs as the main characters shots, hacks and slashes their way through the undead and the mysterious black figures. It´s all practical gore make-up fx and it looks good and it would have been nice to see a little bit more. Nothing for fans of T & A in this.
This review is based upon the DVD released by Lost Forever Productions LLC which can be bought from the official website http://www.theskyhasfallen.net/
Rating: 6½ out of 7.  It isn´t flawless but I enjoyed this, I thought it would be just another zombie movie but it´s so much more and it manages to put a new spin on the zombiegenre. Definitely recommended.

/JL

DVD review: Dead Genesis (2010)

Seven months have passed since the dead took over. Cities have been abandoned. Society is trying to create order from the chaos. Both the military and hunting groups made up of ordinary citizens have taken on the task of fighting the undead hordes in a war aptly referred to as the War on Dead . Jillian Hurst (Emily Alatalo), a former news writer and amateur documentarian, has set out to make a propaganda film to support the W.O.D. She joins up with a pack of renegade hunters known infamously as the DeadHeads . The moral dynamics and hardships of fighting in a war against the flesh eating undead are told from several different perspectives. Made up of Christians, atheists and men and women of varying ages, the disparate band of anti-heroes seek to cleanse the landscape of the undead, with each DeadHead motivated by their own personal agenda. Everyday brings the possibility of death and horror, but also offers new bonds that redefine family and friendship. Dead Genesis is written and directed by Reese Eveneshen. Talk, talk and more talk. This film is slow and is seriously lacking in the action, horror and zombie departments and it is teetering on the verge of becoming tedious by focusing on lengthy dialogues and interviews which will probaby alienate it from many fans of the zombie genre. And it doesn´t get better when the acting, for the most part, is pretty bad. The camerawork and editing is amateurish and pretty bad and there is a lot of shaky cam. There are two brief scenes with really well made-up zombies, but unfortunately that's it. There is little gore, as you understand this isn´t a gorefeast but when it happens it looks pretty good. No T & A in this one.
This review is based upon the german region 2 DVD release from dtp entertainment AG, english audio track is available., this release is uncut but beware that there is a german DVD release that supposedly is cut 6 minutes.
Rating: 0½ out of 7. Dead Genesis is just lame, boring and bad! The film feels too long, not a very big surprise considering that much of it running time given to the dialogue between characters instead of giving us carnage. Do not buy! It´s not worth the money!

/JL

DVD review: Sudden Fury (1997)

Randall (Paul Murphy) is a small time crime boss with his eye firmly on his rivals cocaine stash and criminal empire. Randall and his right-hand henchman Jimmy (Andy Ranger) hire legendary hit man Walker (Nick Rendell), to take out his nemesis Harris. With Harris out of the way, Randall plans to take over the sole distribution of Cocaine for the whole South coast of England. It soon becomes apparent to Walker that Randall never intended to pay for his work. With his plan compromised Randall pulls out all the stops to have Walker killed, but is it Randall who should be worried? Double crossed and betrayed, the underworld better get ready for Walker! Sudden Fury is written and directed by Darren Ward. It´s a ambitious low budget feature, the acting is pretty bad but Nick Rendell is good as Walker, he´s the best actor in the film. The camerawork and editing is for the most part decent but once in awhile there are some really nice visuals. There is a lot of action and the film never gets boring with it´s display of gratuitously violence. It is extremely bloody and graphic, there is a lot of big juicy squibs as people get shot, often repeatedly, with blood spraying and it´s all practical gore make-up fx. We get more gore besides squibs, for instance one guy gets disemboweled but one of the best scene is when a guy is put on fire, his whole body is on fire and it´s a really freakin impressive! Add to this some scenes of sadistic torture. For fans of T & A there is some nudity and a sex scene that leaves a lot to be desired...
This review is based upon the region 2 DVD release from 4 Digital Media.
Rating: 4 out of 7.  Sudden Fury is ultra violent and entertaining. Yes, it has some flaws but Darren Ward returned to the screen a few year later with A Day of Violence (2010)  which is fantastic and highy recommended.  If you are a fan of bloody cinematic carnage you should check out Darren Ward´s films asap. 

/JL

Review: Monkey Boy (2009)

First I´d like to thank Marco M at EuroObscura for providing a screener.
A freak lived his entire lifetime closed down in a cellar far in the country. But one day the Monkey Boy (Andrea Melli), after the death of his "keeper", an old lonely woman, is forced to explore the world outside. The story is set during one night only, a short time to discover the world, but enough time to find Agata (Giovanna Gardelli), an autistic young girl, the only creature that seems to be able to communicate with him in that dark night full of weird lonely and unhappy characters called human beings. Monkey Boy is written by Chiara Parodi, Davide Zagnoli and Antonio Monti who also is the director. It´s a really good looking film, professionally shot and edited and the acting is good.The monkey boy make up-fx design is somewhat of a disappointment when shown in full light, it´s much more effective and looks much better when moving around in the darkness. With a slogan is "there are no bloodless fairy tales" you´d expect lots of blood and gore but the sad fact is that the film is severely lacking in the gore department. Fans of T & A won´t find anything in this.
This review is based upon a passwordprotected screener provided by EuroObscura., it´s uncut and has english subtitles.
Rating: 2½ out of 7. It didn´t live up to my expectations (yes, I know that expectations is dangerous as a reviewer) but I went into this expecting a horror fairy tale. It isn´t bad but I would hesitate to call it horror and instead call it dark fantasy.


/JL

DVD review: The Taint (2010)

The water is tainted. The Taint poisons the minds of men. It turns them into raging misogynists: monsters who want nothing more than to crush women's heads with rocks (or other objects). When society is transformed into a land of sadistic violence and horrible brutality, it is up to Phil O'Ginny (Drew Buldoc) and his hot friend, Misandra (Colleen Walsh), to combat the horrible evil that is The Taint. Can they survive a world brimming with castration and endless head crushing? The Taint is written and directed by Drew Buldoc and Dan Nelson. It´s a feature film made on a very limited budget and the film makers do their outmost to shock and provoke the politically correct viewer as misogyny goes amok as the tainted water turns every man into a raving woman killer. The acting is "special" but that's part of the charm, the camerawork and editing is pretty good and the soundtrack is great. The pacing is good, I laughed almost all the way trough. We get a lot of blood and gore in The Taint, mostly practical gore make-up fx but also some pretty nice CGI. There is plenty of carnage in the form of penis mutilations and head smashing scenes. For fans of T & A there's nudity, there is some female nudity and a lot fake penises, mostly just hanging out of people's pants or ejaculating thick white goo into other people's faces.
The DVD can be bought from the http://www.taintmovie.com/
Rating: 6 out of 7. I had a big smile on my face, the dark and sick humor is reminiscent of South Park and I thought it was hilariously funny, weird and entertaining. It isn't a flick for everyone but if you are a fan of independent, low-budget movies you should check this one out asap.

/JL

DVD review: Blood Night (2009)

Long Island, 1978: A young girl named Mary Mattock gruesomely murders her family with a hatchet and is locked away for life in Long Island s notorious Kings Park Psychiatric Center. Ten years later, Mary escapes from the asylum, leaving a grizzly trail of bodies and blood in her wake. Gunned down by the police, Mary meets her own demise outside the sanitorium walls. This incident gave birth to the legend of Mary Hatchet s walking ghost and the mischievous night named in honour of her death, BLOOD NIGHT! Stemming from this real-life legend, Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet tells the tale of a group of teenagers enjoying their annual Blood Night festivities, when they come face to face with the reality of this haunting legend. One by one, the teenagers begin to disappear and meet their fate. As the body count rises, so do the unanswered questions about their missing friends and the secrets of Mary s horrifying past. Is there more to this legend than the vengeful ghost of Mary Hatchet? And if so, who will survive to tell the terrifying tale? Blood Night is written by Elke Blasi and Frank Sabatella who also is the director. The acting is pretty bad, genre fans will recognize both Bill Moseley and Danielle Harris in the film but both have given better performances in other films. The camerawork and editing is pretty good but some scenes are too dark. Sadly the film is pretty boring for some reason, it fails to create any real suspense and fails to engage me as a viewer. It could be that I find it hard to symphatise with any of the character and is is more or less just waiting for the T & A and the killer to strike. But I should point out that Blood Night opens promisingly, the first ten minutes are the best. Gorehounds should  check this one out, there is plenty of practical gore make-up fx most of which looks pretty good. T & A fans will enjoy this one as it contains gratuitous nudity, there is several scenes of full frontal nudity and a few sex scenes where the the girls are topless.
This review is based upon the region 2 UK DVD release from High Fliers, it appears to be uncut. According to the BBFC the film passed with no cuts made.
Rating: 3½ out of 7. Blood Night is a decent slasher, check it out if you are a fan of slashers.  

/JL

DVD review: Osombie (2012)

Osama bin Laden has returned from his watery grave and is creating a secret army of zombie insurgents. When Dusty Miller (Eve Mauro) discovers her conspiracy theorist brother Derek (Jasen Wade) is on a solo mission to find and kill Bin Laden (again), she travels to Afghanistan to rescue him, and falls in with a NATO Special Forces unit on a secret assignment; but when the group crashes headlong into the growing zombie apocalypse, Dusty and the troops must find the root of the zombie insurgency before it infests the world. Osombie is written by Kurt Hale and directed by John Lyde. It´s a mix of action and horror, it´s professionally shot and edited ( no shaky camera), the soundtrack is good and the acting is decent. I really like the concept, no surprise really as it incorporates action, war and horror with lots of gunplay and swordplay. What´s not to like? :) I must point out that the actionscenes were well executed and looks good. They're playing it straight but there are a few cheesy scenes. The zombie make-up fx design looks really good, lots and lots of computer gendered gore make-up fx especially in the form of juicy squibs and for the most part it looks pretty good. There is a enormous amount of headshots in this film. We also get some gory swordplay as the character Tomboy (Danielle Chuchran) carries a samurai sword for close encounters. Also noted that they use CGI for muzzleflashes, airplanes and helicopters but this is small budget effort so you can´t expect them to get real Blackhawk choppers and so on. The props, weapons and costumes for the special forces team look good, much better than your average indie effort.  No T & A this time, would have loved to see a little bit more of Danielle Chuchran but the character Chip (Corey Sevier) keeps taking off his jacket and shirt all the time throughout the film and I guess we could regard that as male topless nudity..
This review is based upon the region 2 UK release from Signature Entertainment.
Rating: 6 out of 7. I found Osombie to be very enjoyable with a lot of gory action and lot of zombies.. Check it out. It is well worth a watch.

/JL

Review: Lost Woods (2012)

Darrin Noland (Joey Brown) leads a deliberate and careful life, but when his old friends spring a camping trip on him it's a good time he can't run from. The escape turns south when Darrin finds out the unsettling news that Warren (Garret Vander Leun), someone he has avoided since junior high, is also along for the ride. Darrin attempts to avoid an awkward reunion but horrible events caused by a mysterious creature force him to face his regretful past and take on his beast within. Lost Woods is written by Joey Brown and Nathan Ellering and Phillip Ellering who are the the directors. The acting is decent, the cast has good chemistry and it´s har not to like the characters. There are several nice and funny moments before the film turns goes into horror territory. The camerawork and editing is good, the soundtrack is nice and fitting. There is a little bit of gore, both practical make-up fx and computered gendered gore. I think the Sasquatch creature design, classic man in suit, looks really cool and it´s obviously the fx highlight of the film. I´m think that they might have used some CGI in a few scenes to create the creatures different facial expressions. No T & A in this film.
This review is based upon a passwordprotected screener provided by Midnight Releasing. Lost Woods will be released on DVD region 1 on June 5, 2012. 
Facebook - Midnight Releasing
Facebook – Lost Woods
Official Website
Netflix Queue
Rating: 5½ out of 7. I found Lost Woods to be a quite a enjoyable little flick. Sure it has som flaws but it´s a nice mix of comedy and horror, something that is difficult to pull off. The creature is awesome! I wish there would have been more gore, almost all the killings are too clean, I mean free from blood and gore. Check out Lost Woods if you like monster flicks.

/JL

DVD review: Madison County (2011)

A group of college kids travel to a small, mountain town called Madison County to interview the author of a tell-all book on the accounts of several grisly murders that happened there. But when the kids get to Madison County, the author is no where to be found and the towns people act like they haven't seen him in years. They also say that the killer never existed and the murders never happened. However, when the kids start digging around to get their own answers, they find out that the stories may be more real than the townspeople are letting on! Madison County is written and directed by Eric England. Yes, it´s quite obvious that we´re on familiar territory and I´ll have to admit that I have a soft spot for backwoods terror flicks like The Hills Have Eyes and Wrong Turn and I don´t mind that the film makers following the cliché' blueprint. It´s a pretty slow moving flick (which necessarily doesn´t have to be a bad thing) and there are some actually pretty tense scenes when things get moving. The acting is pretty good, the camera and editing is good, the visuals are fine and the soundtrack is excellent. The killers look, he wears a pig mask, is cool but isn´t very original as the killer in the recent Porkchop (2010) and it´s sequel Porkchops (2011) also wears one. The killer is pretty brutal and straightforward but I´m pretty sure that the gorehounds will be disappointed, there are some gore but not at all the amount you´d expect, it appears to be all practical gore make-up fx which is nice. Fans of T & A will probably be disappointed that there is only brief topless nudity in the film.
This review is based upon the region 1 DVD release from Image Entertainment.
Rating: 4½ out of 7. Madison County is pretty decent despite being somewhat of a disappointment, it failed to live up to my perhaps unfair expectations after reading the synopsis and seeing the trailer which looked awesome. Worth a watch if your a genre fan!

/JL

DVD review: Dead Survivors (2010)

A terrible virus has turned the inhabitants of an entire city into bloodthirsty zombies. A small group of survivors around the elite fighter Chris Burnside (Michael Krug) tries to wait out the epidemic in hiding. When their shelter is invaded by a horde of undead, they have to flee. The town is now deserted and dangers lurk everywhere. After the fuel has run out, they fight on foot through the woods. Quite unexpectedly, they discover an old manor house, which stands for the response to the virus, and a few other nasty surprises. Dead Survivors is written and directed by David Brückner. The character Chris Burnside is supposed to be a highly skilled fighter but I´m not that impressed, he seems to prefer to settle things with blades or martial arts instead of using his gun but the thing is that the action is only passable. Granted, some things you can still watch. It seems as if the choreographer designed the fights to look like a mix of basic course martial arts and backyard wrestling but it looks pretty embarrassing. I simpy don´t understand why you should fight zombies with kicks and wrestling moves when you can use a gun or machete. The film is very reminicent of the Resident Evil films in the way that it´s more action than horror and  The pacing is pretty good, it never gets boring but the acting is pretty bad but the lighting, editing, music and cinematography is decent. There is surprisingly little gore in Dead Survivors, some of it is practical make-up fx and some are computer gendered. The filmmakers also use some pretty bad CGI for muzzleflashes, Blackhawk helicopters, explosions and to enhance some of the surroundings but I've seen things from American studios that looked worse. No T & A in this one...
This review is based upon the region 2 DVD release from Warner Vision Group, it´s uncut and german language only.
Rating: 4 out of 7. Dead Survivors is something of a disapointment as I had high hopes for it. The influence of the major Hollywood productions is the biggest weakness of Dead Survivors and it lacks the blood and gore that hardline zombie fans demands. I must nevertheless say that I´m sure Dead Survivors will find its fans and I've seen far worse.

/JL

DVD review: Ikenhisu: To Kill with One Blow (2009)

Oshota Funakoshi (Amy Chang) is not your every day plain Jane, elegant, erotic, and an outstadning figure best describes her presence. Underneath it all she´s a killing machine. The ancient art of Ninjitsu Kota-kan (The Art of Assassination) runs through her blood stream. Her father Daiyito Funakoshi (Tomas Trinidad) was co-funder of Robotic Prosthetic Technologies. To gain the advantage for Military contracts, Daiyito merged his company with the Talbert family representing the Nano Micro-Tech Corp of the U.S. Two weeks after the union Daiyito was found dead. His daughter Oshota assuming the worst believes that he was murdered. Now her ony goal in ife is to find the killer or killers who murdered her father. After all her father was the one who taught her the ancient art of Ninjitsu. Ikenhisu: To Kill with One Blow is shot and edited, written and directed by La'Mard J. Wingster who also is the producer and plays the character Mychal Harris. Yes the plot sounds good and it has potential but the acting ranges from mediocre to bad and the storyline is hard to follow, the camerawork and editing is semidecent and the soundtrack is similar to a computer game. The running time of 86 minutes the film is boring and overlong. The highlights of the flick is the fight scenes (using swordplay and martial arts) but these are badly choreographed, shot and edited and just plain bland. The film has some bad computer gendered gore make-up fx. No T & A in this one but the ladies sometime fight in their underwear.
This review is based upon the Region Free DVD release from ASC Productions.
Rating: 0 out of 7. Can´t recommend Ikenhisu: To Kill with One to anyone, spend your money and time on something else.

/JL

DVD review: Alien Armageddon (2011)

For years, UFO sightings have been documented around the world. What were once mere sightings have now become brutal attacks of epic proportions. As the human race faces total annihilation with every major city destroyed, only Los Angeles remains. Left with the task of saving humanity from extinction, a group of cowboys is the world´s last stand in this Alien Armageddon. Alien Armageddon is written and directed by Neil Johnson. Atrociously bad acting, semidecent camera work and editing but the soundtrack is pretty good.The actionsequences are really poor and uninspired and consists mosty of ridiculousy bad shootouts. A lot of amateurish looking computer generated special fx in the form of spaceship, explosions, muzzleflashes and squibs. There is a little, and I mean little, gore towards the ending of the film but it is also computer gendered. There are a few practical creature make-up fx which looks pretty good. No T & A and this one.
This review is based upon the region 1 DVD release from Phase 4 Films.
Rating: 0½ out of 7. OMFG Alien Armageddon is really bad, even if it has a running time of just 95 minutes it feels overlong and boring. Don't waste your money on this.

/JL

DVD review: War Machine (2010)

A terrorist force rises from the third world, it´s target: The United States of America. The US Military creates a new special mission strike force to exterminate the terrorists. The threat has come, Prepare for war. War Machine is written by Bradley Johnson and directed by Rene Perez. It´s similarites to G.I. Joe can´t be missed, some of the characters are VERY recognizable but I believe War Machine originally began it´s life as a G.I. Joe fanflick so this is intentional but in order to avoid legal difficulties the names of the characters have been changed or is quite simply not mentioned. It´s a film by fans for fans. We get shootouts, ninjas, martial arts, computer gendered squibs and quite a bit of topless nudity. It feels like a mix between a comic book and grindhouse, with larger than life heroes and several scenes of nudity, gore and violence. The acting is amateurish and in some cases voice overs are used for some members of the cast. There is humor, both intentional and some unintentional. The fight sequences are quite nice, nothing extraordinary but I enjoyed them. The camerawork and editing is decent. There is no gore to speak of, well there are the computer gendered squibs, although I prefer practical gore make-up fx but in shoestring indie productions I think it´s ok now and then to resort to cgi. I´m pretty sure that fans of T & A won´t be dissapointed as there are several scenes of topless nudity and  the girls are exotic, good looking and sexy. This review is based upon the region 1 DVD release from iDiC Entertainment
Rating: 6 out of 7. I really enjoyed this film from beginning to end, skip the big budget pg13 crap from Hollywood and check out War Machine instead as it´s much more entertaining, more violent and sexier.

/JL

Review: Father's Day (2011)

The urban legend known as 'The Father's Day Killer' began some years after the demise of serial rapist/murderer Chris Fuchman. Since the 1970s, the use of contraceptives has tripled in North America alone and a generation of fathers fell asleep with the covers pulled tight, buttocks clenched. †The story has become a fire-side cautionary ritual on camping trips, often used by fathers to warn their sons of the dangers of unplanned pregnancy. That deep seeded fear of penetration, violation and eventually death waned as the murder and rape of fathers continued to decline all over the world. Unfortunately those numbers didn't remain low, and it would seem that the legend is not yet complete. Father's Day is written and directed by the members of Astron-6 (Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy, Jeremy Gillespie, Conor Sweeney and Steven Kostanski). Professionally shot and edited. A lot of interesting visuals and it has a nice grindhouse feel to it with scratchy film, degraded footage and so on. The soundtrack is excellent. Good cast giving intentionally over-the-top performances,
Plenty of blood and gore, both practical and computerer gendered gore make-up fx which for the most part looks great. There is even some claymation in it. Plenty of T & A, both female and male nudity. I should point out that Amy Groening is freakin hot, she´s sexy as hell as Chelsea. Some prudish viewers might be a bit offended that there are a couple of graphic scenes where we see Fuchman rape his victims.
This review is based upon a screener supplied by Troma. The Father's Day 3 Disc Blu-Ray / DVD Combo All Region is due to be released on or about 6/12/2012.
Rating: 7 out of 7. Father's Day is unpredictable and inspired and very entertaining. It's wonderfully absurd, very funny, very gory and is sure to provoke a of prudish people. This is a must buy for me! Check it out

/JL

Review: Axed (2010)

First I´d like to thank Joshua Long for sending me a dvd-screener of his film.
Bruce (Kazuya Wright) must slip and slide through the blood, the guts, the infected and a rag tag army militia that are hell bent on cleansing the town of all life. Then the dead start coming back to life. Axed is written, proudced and directed by Joshua Long and it´s a thrilling 30 minutes long ride in hell. It´s a zombie fim made by zombie film fans for zombie film fans. It´s a incredibly beautifully made ​​film with very nice and strong visuals. In post production they have added tracking glitches like scratches, faded colors and so on to create the feeling that you´re playing an old VHS. The acting is strong though there isn´t very much dialogue, the atmosphere is tense and unsettling. The terrror and action never seems to let go. Gorehounds will love Axed, we get both practical and computered gendered gore make-up fx. There is a plenty of gore and for the most part it looks very good.
This review is based upon a screener provided by Joshua Long.
Rating: 7 out of 7. Axed is f*cking fantastic! It´s a half an hour of adrenaline. It´s gory, intense and very entertaining. I loved every minute of it. Strongly recommended!!

/JL

DVD review: Popularity Killer (2011)

After a young girl is found murdered, a group of teens at Payton High must piece together the horrifying travesty. The teens soon discover the mysterious killer is praying on only the popular students in school. As their friends die one-by-one in the most gruesome ways possible, they realize that being "in" may not get them out alive. Popularity Killer is written by Kevin Sommerfield and is directed by Steve Goltz, it´s 20 minutes long slasher short film. The characters are well-known, acting is decent, good camerawork and editing. The killers outfit is reminiscent of Scream and Alice sweet Alice. The gore make-up fx, all practical, looks good but there are several kills that I think have potential to be much gorier but that´s just the gorehound in me speaking...
Fans of T & A will be dissapointed as the is zero nudity in this flick despite the film makers following the slasher formula.
This review is based upon the Slasher Studios release, it´s region free and unrated. It can be bought from their website http://www.slasherstudios.com/
Rating: 5 out of 7. Popularity Killer is pretty good and if you are a fan of slasher flicks it´s defintely worth checking out.

/JL

DVD review: Natasha (2007)

Young and spirited exotic dancer Anna (Algina Lipskis) flees her native Russia after witnessing the murders of her boss and her cousin, Natasha (Algina Lipskis). Arriving in a small village in England, she assumes her dead cousin´s identity, and befriends the local vicar´s daughter, Christine (Jenna Harrison). When secretly taken photos of the two making love are posted on a porn website, the Russian gangsters finally track her down. With the help of a sexy, but aggressive Russian policewoman, the vivacious "Natasha" eludes the criminals. Natasha is written by Carl Austin and Jag Mundhra who also is the director. The acting is pretty decent just don´t expect to find any Oscar-winning performances. Algina Lipskis is stunningly attractive and does a good job, the character Anna is strong, clever and knows how to use her sexuality to manipulate men and is able to look after herself. It´s professionally shot and edited, it looks very good but the sountrack is pretty bad...  There is some gore, practical make-up fx which looks good at first but looks amateurish in close ups. Fans of T & A will love this film, there is plenty of topless nudity and a couple of sexual situations throughout and it´s all nicely done and erotic. Algina Lipskis has an amazing body that she doesn't at all mind showing off. The sexscene (it´s hardly a spoiler as Maverick Entertainment has it printed on the DVD cover) between Algina Lipskis and Jenna Harrison is very nicely done!
This review is based upon the region 1 DVD release from Maverick Entertainment.
Rating: 7 out of 7. I enjoyed this film thoroughly and it´s one of the sexiest movies I have ever seen. You get a funny, touching, sexy and suspenseful fick. Worth a look for sure. Now I´m going to try to find more films with Algina Lipskis in them, not only is she absolutely gorgeous, she is also a good actress with good comedic timing

/JL

Review: Symphony in Blood Red (2010)

First I´d like to thank Marco M at EuroObsura for providing me with a screener.
During a psychoanalytic session, a psychologist suggests her patient to enter a specialized clinic, but her suggestion unleashes his latent madness. His delirium will drive him to kill once more, as it already happened in the past with his first lost love. After getting rid off psychologist´s corpse, he decides to carry on the "therapy" by himself recording his feelings in a crazy "crescendo" with a small camera. Symphony in Blood Red is written by Antonio Tentori and Luigi Pastore who also is the director. There are noticeable influences from Dario Argento´s work. It´s a good looking film being professionally shot and edited. The soundtrack by Claudio Simonetti is very good. The acting is pretty good. The film is violent and quite gory, the gore make-up fx are designed by Sergio Stivaletti but this isn´t a gorefeast, it´s more like a violent thriller. For fans of T & A there is some nudity.
This review is based upon a passwordprotected online screener provided by EuroObscura, it´s uncut and has english subtitles.
Rating: 6 out of 7. Symphony in Blood Red is highly recommended to fans of Dario Argento and the subgenre called giallo.

/JL

DVD review: Recon 2023: The Gauda Prime Conspiracy (2009)

After 20 years of intergalactic war, humanity must make a final stand against the Ma'har invaders. Dispatched to the treacherous deserts of Gauda Prime. Lieutenant Sharp (Andy Bradshaw) and his unit must find and destroy the enemny´s central weapon, the dreaded Ma'har dream machine. The obstacles are daunting - giant mutated creatures and an army of zombiefied sand troopers stand between the unit and their objective. They must thwart a devious politician and her hideously disfigured mercenary, the face.  Political intrigue will prove as challenging as the monstrous fauna of Gauda Prime but Sharp´s team are humanity´s only fighting chance against the deadly Ma'har armada. Recon 2023: The Gauda Prime Conspiracy is written by John Fallon and Christian Viel who also is the director. Bad acting, even more intentional comedy than in the earlier films. The camera work and editing is semidecent. There isn´t much action and the actionsequences that are there are pretty boring. There is some gore, both practical and computer gendered fx. All aliens, spaceship, dropships and so on are CGI some look decent and others look pretty bad...
There is a 70's Blaxploitation flashback that is TOTALLY out of place and overlong, but fans of T & A will appreciate it as it features plenty of nudity.
This review is based upon the region 1 DVD release from Critical Mass.
Rating: 1½ out of 7. Recon 2023: The Gauda Prime Conspiracy is more comedy than action in a sci fi setting and it ain´t good comedy. It might work as entertainment for the moment but I was looking at the clock several times while watching it, yes it´s that boring....

/JL

DVD review: Recon 2022: The Mezzo Incident (2007)

New lieutenant Sharp (Andy Bradshaw) leads a new unit of tough, witty and trigger-happy space marines through the perils of Mezzo, a hostile ice planet in order to destroy a underground Ma'har facility. What they will encounter wil defy their imaginations as they tackle giant man eating snow worms, an underground city of Cyborgs, a slew of murderous alien entities and maybe, finally, the ever elusive Ma'hars. Recon 2022: The Mezzo Incident is written by William Alexander, John Fallon and Christian Viel. It´s a film filled with clichéd characters, the super bad female soldier, the tough leader, etc. One of the creatures (a floating creature with one eyeball ) is very similiar to one in John Carpenter´s Big Trouble in Little China. The camerawork and editing is amateurish. There is comedy, both intentional and some untintentional due to bad acting, bad fx, bad dialogue and some hilarious situations. The actionsequences are bad, party due to editing. They fail to excite and it´s pretty boring when characters shooting at each other from 10 feet away can´t seem to hit one another. The setting of the ice planet is pretty nice. There are lots of computer gendered spaceships, dropships, aliens, robots, a cyborg and backgrounds. There is some gore but sadly it´s mostly badlly computer gendered gore. There is some nudity and the stunningly good looking Gillian Leigh is back as Fooks.
This review is based upon the region 1 DVD release from Terra Entertainment, it´s unrated.
Rating: 2 out of 7. If you take it for what it is Recon 2022: The Mezzo Incident is decent entertainment for the moment so give it a chance you might enjoy it.

/JL

 Gillian Leigh as Fooks



DVD review: Recon 2020: The Caprini Massacre. (2004)

In the year 2020, the Earth has become a barren rock from radioactive devastation. Protected by the Galactic Marine Infantry, (GMI), the remaining human race, struggling for survival on a distant star, is terrorized by the evil Ma’har alien race. While on a reconnaissance mission in the Caprini system, Sergeant Sharp /Andy Bradshaw) and his GMI soldiers discover the Ma’hars hidden laboratory where they’ve been creating a horrific breed of terrorists. The aliens’ new bio-weapons are reproductions of mankind’s mythical creatures - zombies, werewolves, vampires… Sergeant Sharp and his elite squad find themselves in an action-packed battle with the bloodthirsty monster assassins. But, the greatest danger of all may be from a former GMI soldier with a grudge, who now works for the deadly Ma’hars. Recon 2020: The Caprini Massacre is written William Alexander, Allan Barnes, Andy Bradshaw, Allan Yuk-lun Chou and Christian Viel who also is the director. We get some not so decent acting from some members of the cast provides some unintentional comic relief. The camerawork and editing is semidecent... The gung ho Galactic Marine Infantry is obviously inspired by the colonial marines of James Cameron´s classic Aliens, one look at them and you´ll see what I mean but to be fair they actually look pretty cool in their uniforms, body armour and so on. Sady the action isn´t very exciting and is sometimes downright boring. There is very little gore so I won´t comment on that, the creature designs aren´t very good, they use both practical make-up fx and computer gendered creatures. CGI is also used for the spaceships, dropships and robots, some of it looks pretty decent but some look really bad. There is a moment of T & A in the first scene of the film and I wish we would have seen more of the stunningy beautiful and sexy Gillian Leigh who plays the character Fooks.

This review is based upon the region 1 DVD release from Maverick Entertainment Group, according IMDB the title is Power Corps and it´s registered under that name.
Rating: 2 out of 7. Recon 2020: The Caprini Massacre is ok entertainment for the moment but not much more than that.

/JL

 Gillian Leigh as Fooks