Hillbilly Horror Show Volume 4 (2015) - Review

My fellow podcast host Mike has been telling me about Hillbilly Horror Show for a while but this is the first chance I’ve had to finally check it out. The format of the series is pretty familiar. A trio of hosts (Bo Keister, Scott Geiter & Rachel Faulkner) introduce a variety of genre related content. However, Hillbilly Horror Show isn’t exactly your typical horror host series. Rather than another retread of the tired formula of a host emulating some classic horror movie character while we are treated to yet another viewing of Night of the Living Dead we get something more in line with Joe Bob Briggs. Our three hosts are caricatures of southern trailer trash who have discovered a giant bag of short horror films and decide to sit down and watch them while taking part in various comedic situations.

Here lies the immediately noticeable difference from most of the horror host series out there. They are showcasing the best in short horror films. Most of these are newer films that many of us may have never had the opportunity to watch. It was refreshing to see these guys take a format that has grown pretty old at this point and attempt to make it different by moving away from public domain riffing into providing some quality content. It also helped that I found the skits to be pretty funny.

Volume 4 consists of 5 shorts films. The first is “Strange Thing” in which a young couple find a mysterious door in their home and decide to walk through it. This one was pretty surreal but fun and featured some cool special effects. Next up is “Til Death”. A group of friends who wish to return to the bachelor life run into some problems when they attempt to dispose of their wives. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. The humor is a bit on the dark side but there’s still a light tone to it that had me laughing throughout. The third film is “Foodie”. I can’t stand foodies so I am always on board for some skewering of how ridiculous and annoying they can be. The story itself is focused around a group of foodies who hold a secret dinner with some unique entrée’s. You’ll know where it’s going immediately but it’s the characters that make this one worth a watch. The fourth film is “The Hourglass Figure” and focuses on a housewife who discovers an hourglass that allows her to have one extra hour in her day. The problem is that overuse of the item can have some dire consequences. This was another entry that pretty successfully mixed in comedy with the darker moments. The fifth and final film was a super short entry called “Collision” in which the Earth is on a collision course with another planet. This one was actually really cool and completely different from the previous four and had a runtime of only a couple of minutes.

Overall I can now say I am a fan of Hillbilly Horror Show and am looking forward to checking out some of the other volumes. I really enjoyed the format and can appreciate that the content offers up something different from most of the other “horror host” series out there.

Once again you can rent volume four at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/9883/87394315

Score: 4/5

Pernicious (2015) Review

Pernicious is the newest film from James Cullen Bressack (Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys) starring Ciara Hanna, Emily O’Brien and Jackie Moore. The plot concerns three young women who have decided to volunteer their time in Thailand teaching children English. Unfortunately for our three heroines the home they have been placed in contains a giant gold statue of a child whose angry spirit has been trapped within. It doesn’t take long for the spirit to escape and wreak havoc as she seeks vengeance for her death.

From the opening scene of the film I was immediately impressed with the look of the film. The film was shot on locations throughout Thailand which is a huge asset to the films production value. The house where the girls stay as well as the multiple locations they visit throughout the movie all feel genuine. I loved the beginning of the film as our three leads make their way by to their home starting by car and ending by boat. It perfectly sets up a sense of location without having to tell us through dialogue.

The cast is also quite good. From the leads to the supporting cast everyone does a fine job. It was also a relief that as the film progressed the three girls never become overly annoying or mean. They are never setup as characters we want to see die. That’s not to say they don’t have their moments but I never found myself rooting against them which, considering how modern horror films typically work, is a good thing.

The only issue I found myself having with the film was with its tone. There’s a point in the movie where it turns from a pretty standard supernatural story into a Hostel type film. There are some scenes of extreme torture and violence that come almost out of nowhere and were a bit jarring on my first viewing. The effects are all good and the gore hounds will be pleased but it went against my expectations and I think these scenes could probably be completely removed without harming the film at all. Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good gory horror movie but Pernicious actually has a pretty cool premise and some genuine scares. There are scenes later on in the film where the spirit of the little girl is haunting our heroines and I was legitimately creeped out. I think everything would have gelled better had it stuck to one tone and gone with it but a repeat viewing may change my mind.

Despite finding the film a bit jarring at times I can say I enjoyed it. There’s really solid production value and the effects are well done. The cast is good and I found there to be several effective scares. Overall I can easily recommend checking out Pernicious.

Score: 3/5

Pernicious is due out in Theaters and VOD on June 19th, 2015.

Artsploitation Films Acquires "Der Bunker"

From the Press Release May 14th, 2015

Alternative North American film distribution company Artsploitation Films (www.artsploitation.com) has secured American rights to DER BUNKER, the wildly original German comedy which World Premiered at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival.

The film marks the directorial debut of German-born Nikias Chryssos and was a popular and critical hit at the festival with Exberliner.com calling it, "Funny, horrifying, theatrical, abstract, allegorical and mysterious.” The surrealistic and dark film is set entirely within a windowless bunker which houses a stern father, his swollen-legged wife and their precocious but learning-challenged son. A young graduate student (Pit Bukowski, Der Samurai) rents a room from them and begins to tutor the boy. And despite his obvious inability to remember the most basic knowledge, he is the darling of his doting but corporal punishment-loving parents who are grooming him to be president of the United States.

Artsploitation’s president Ray Murray says, “Der Bunker was so peculiar yet amazingly memorable, after acquiring a string of horror films, I felt we had to have this odd comedy. Reminiscent of the works of John Waters, David Lynch and Luis Buñuel, Chryssos creates a reality where conventional story-telling, and its accompanying logic, is left outside the steps, it will be a pleasure to present it to unsuspecting audiences!”

“We’re thrilled to be working with Ray and his team, and alongside their slate of exceptional titles” comments Xavier Henry-Rashid, Managing Director of Film Republic.

The film will receive a limited theatrical this fall with a DVD/Blu-ray and VOD slated for December, 2015. The deal was negotiated by Artsploitation’s Ray Murray and Film Republic’s Managing Director Xavier Henry-Rashid and Sales Executive Ameline Thomas on behalf of Kataskop Film and Geissendoerfer Film & Fernsehproduktion.

Hillbilly Horror Show Volume 4

Anyone who regularly listens to our show may have heard Mike speak about and recommend Hillbilly Horror Show. Apparently Mike's not the only one who enjoys the series as they're now onto volume 4!

From the Press Release - May 10th 2015

The fourth volume of popular horror-comedy series Hillbilly Horror Show is now available to stream online. For just 99 cents, catch some terrific horror shorts, laugh at the antics of Lulu (Rachel Faulkner, Ride Along 2), Bo (Bo Keister, The Cabining), and Cephus (Scott Geiter), and find out what Kim Jung Un has to do with all of it.

Hillbilly Horror Show helps promote upcoming talent by packing together an hour’s worth of brilliant short horror films from some of today’s most gifted filmmakers. In between each short, there’s some hilarious banter between the show’s oddball redneck hosts.

"We’re up to 4 volumes and each new episode seems to be better than the one before” Keister said in a recent interview. “As long as our audience likes what we’re doing, we’re going to keep going.”

Volume 4 begins in a strange way with STRANGE THING...keep those doors closed! Next, Bo & Cephus take a hilarious, horror-filled romp into the not-so-blissful side of marriage with 'TIL DEATH. After that, we've got a deliciously horrific feast with FOODIE, and round things out hanging the curves in THE HOURGLASS FIGURE. Be sure to stick around to the end for a surprise bonus short, COLLISION!

Below is a sneak peek of Volume 4 :





You can rent volume 4 here now.

Purists who like something physical to hold in their hands might want to get their hands on the new HILLBILLY HORROR SHOW : VOLUME 2 DVD, which you can pick up here. Volume 2 keeps this horror anthology series rolling, starting with the darkly hilarious short, HELP WANTED, which is guaranteed to make you rethink searching for a new job. Next up, we explore the war between vampires and angels in the slick action-horror flick, BLOODTRAFICK (Winner - Best Actress, Grace Huang - HollyShorts Film Festival). For the third short, we find a ghostly, modern day western called THE DEED. Look close, because that cowboy seems awful familiar. Finally, Volume 2 caps off with the chilling horror-fantasy, ROSE WHITE. HILLBILLY HORROR SHOW has been such a success that the producers have reunited for a new film project to star Keister and Faulkner called FINDING WALDO. Also starring Richard Riehle and Tom Proctor, the road-trip comedy is using IndieGoGo to secure its finance. You can get involved by clicking here.

Things Crowdfunding Campaign

Filmmaker James Henry Hall is looking for support to help with the production of his new horror film "Things". Support independent horror!

From the Press Release April 28th, 2015

A moody and atmospheric horror film about a mysterious fortune-telling payphone directed by James Henry Hall ... Who is no stranger to the horror/thriller genre, his debut feature film, “SPIN” (A collaboration with his Uncle, Bret K. Hall) achieved critical acclaim, winning a multitude of awards at film festivals throughout the US and ABROAD, the most notable being, "The Festival Director's Pick" for BEST FEATURE FILM in the Salty Horror International Film Festival. They followed up "SPIN" with a horror short entitled, "HARBINGER" starring "The Conjuring's" Rose Bachtel. (The short is available via youtube) "THINGS" is a side project outside of that collaboration.

With all our proverbial heart, we hope you will partner with us to tell this tale … and help us make this MOVIE a reality … without Hollywood interference diluting what makes this story what it is.

Whether you share a good-will contribution, pre-order a copy of the finished film, or reel in one of our most exciting rewards, YOU ARE HELPING to tell a one-of-a-kind story.

Please help support THINGS by checking out the following link: igg.me/at/things/x/8730882

The Rohl Farms Haunting

Coming May 18th to limited edition DVD from Legless Corpse Films is The Rohl Farms Haunting. Support independent horror!

From the Press Release April 28, 2015

LeglessCorpse Films had acquired the found footage horror film ROHL FARMS HAUNTING. Described as “Blair With” meets “The Strangers”.

Two childhood friends, 21 years old, who are trying to create a documentary in Wisconsin, struggle to keep their friendship intact after a string of seemingly paranormal events lead to the staggering conclusion that a group of three strangers are behind the activity. Their quest to discover and convict the culprits via evidence captured on camera becomes the new focus on the documentary, resulting in a cinematic endeavor that could prove to be their last. With real locations, real people, and real relationships, this is the realest found footage film you will ever experience.

Written and directed by Cordero Roman. LeglessCorpse Films will release ROHL FARMS HAUNTING on Limited Edition DVD May 18th with a VOD release late summer from Self Destruct Films.

Podcast Episode 42

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Episode 42 is all about Van Damme and we're discussing three of his earlier releases. First up is Bloodsport where we contemplate just how much of this "true" story might actually be true. Next up is Kickboxer where we discuss how useful the forced split device could be when getting ready in the morning. Rounding out the bunch is Cyborg. Known for being a pretty bad film is Cyborg so bad it's good or so bad it's bad. We can't quite agree. We also discuss the current trend of horror in television, Daredevil and more! Enjoy!

The Cyborg Sequels Reviewed

Before recording our Van Damme episode I decided to watch all of the films in the Bloodsport, Kickboxer and Cyborg franchises. Below are my thoughts on all of the Cyborg sequels. These reviews and more can also be found on our Letterboxd page letterboxd.com/mtfeature

Cyborg 2

In this "sequel" to Cyborg Angelina Jolie plays a cyborg who has been unknowingly implanted with a deadly weapon to take out a rival tech company. I put sequel in quotes because they tenuously attempt to tie this to the first film through flashback footage but it doesn't really make any sense. Cyborg 2 is a bad movie but, as usual, I don't care so much about that as much as how entertaining it is. I don't go into Cyborg 2 with any expectation of a good movie. So, from that perspective it mostly works. Even though the entertainment comes from Jolie's performance, or lack thereof, and the cheesy effects it's hard to walk away from this saying it was boring. Also, while Drago is always a good choice for a villain he's still no Fender.

Cyborg 3: The Recycler

It's shocking to me how much I enjoyed Cyborg 3. First off I really liked the cast. Zach Galligan, Richard Lynch, Malcolm McDowell and some effects from John Carl Buechler...what's not to love for fans of b-movies? It also happens to deliver the most cohesive and probably most entertaining story of the three. Lynch plays a recycler who brings an army of humans to destroy a group of cyborgs to steal their parts causing an all out war. Galligan is the programmer who can help repair the cyborgs and prepare them for battle. There's also a cyborg who happens to be pregnant and Lynch wants it. Cyborg 3 is just a ton of low budget fun and easily gives the first a run for most enjoyable of the franchise.