DEAD IN TOMBSTONE is the western from hell

RATED- UNRATED

RUN TIME- 100 MINS

WRITER(S)- BRENDAN COWLES AND SHANE KUHN

STARRING- DANNY TREJO, MICKEY ROURKE, AND ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL

DIRECTOR- ROEL REINE

Synopsis taken from IMDb

A gang overruns a small mining town murdering their own leader Guerrero (Trejo) in a cold-blooded power grab. Sentenced to eternity in hell he finds himself confronted by Satan himself (Rourke), offering a daring proposition: deliver the six souls of his former gang and he will escape damnation. With time running out, he sets out on a brutal rampage to avenge his own death. 

Starting with high paced action and explosives, and the settings, it's easy to see that this low budget production was done right. Made on just over $5 million, it comes off more like a theatrical release, which impresses me. To me, this motion picture comes off like "The Crow" meets "Tombstone". 

It's a revenge story, but done in a very graphic western portrayal. I don't usually tend to like westerns, but there's good types of flicks from every genre. Those horror buffs who say they "only watch horror" are people I find to be both liars and boring. If you're a cinema buff, you watch it all.

The action is over-the-top, but fitting, and the experience of watching from beginning to end, is nothing short of thrilling. It held my attention and never got dry or disenchanting. I find the story to be somewhat generic, and nothing creative. But, those watching this should know exactly what they're getting in for: a lot of bloody violence, one-liner jokes, and a fun experience.

What's disappointing to me, is that Mickey Rourke seemed to have left his acting ability somewhere else, because it isn't visible on screen. He just walks about and talks trash, antagonizing Danny Trejo, who also wasn't up to par with his performance. There's several times where it seems Trejo was just reading lines off of paper, and it makes his acting suffer. 

However, most surprisingly, Anthony Michael Hall is great in this! I haven't seen something by him that I've liked since "The Dark Knight". So it was exciting to see him not only pull off being completely convincing as the lead villain, but also looking the part!

There's some inconsistencies that this film has, such as, when Guerrero (Trejo) kills off his former gang members one at a time, they never show where their souls go. This left me a bit confused. When Guerrero dies towards the beginning and makes a deal with the devil, he's in hell instantly. However, once several of the gang is murdered at his hands, it shows several shots of Lucifer (Rourke) in hell walking around, but he's not in the company of the villains Guerrero has killed, although he's supposed to be collecting their souls. Makes no sense to me. Perhaps they're in limbo until all 6 souls are collected at once? That could be logical, but is kind of a throwaway theory once you see the end.

It may seem that there's a lot of negative things I have to say, but I actually did enjoy viewing it. And I found it to truthfully be a fun time, and a film that you can whip out and watch with the guys with beers chilling in the fridge and pizza is on its way. But, I think the need to make this such a violent action film caused the filmmakers to overlook several things, including performances. This is definitely worth a watch, and even an own, if you buy movies frequently. It's just not perfect, so know what you're getting into before you make that purchase. This movies passes my grades, but it's not worth any over-praising.

Entrance (2012)

RATED- UNRATED
RUN TIME- 83 MINS
WRITER(S)- KAREN GORHAM, DALLAS RICHARD HALLAM, PATRICK HORVATH AND MICHELLE MARGOLIS
STARRING- KAREN BAIRD, SUZIEY BLOCK AND FARLEY BURGE
DIRECTOR- DALLAS RICHARD HALLAM AND PATRICK HORVATH



Synopsis taken from IMDb
ENTRANCE is about the limits of our perception, how the things lurking in the periphery of our lives can lead to horrific conclusions; about how she fell out of love with the city, but it wouldn't let her go.




A friend recommended this film to me, because I have never heard of it before. It looked a little weird from the start, I wasn't sure it'd be my thing. But this is what I call a slow burning horror film. It takes it's time building up, never ceasing to be creepy. And you're always waiting for the payoff because you know it's coming.

This is a nice, little low-budget indie film. We follow the lead character around and watch her boring life day after day. She has no friends, other than her roommate, because she's new to the city. The realness that's portrayed in the film really builds up that sense of dread and loneliness that the lead character feels. It puts us right in her shoes with her.

Always on edge, she notices everyone around her, weary of them. You can see the fear and nervousness running all through her as she walks the streets of the city. Guys try and talk to her, cars follow her, she's really uncomfortable and out of her element.

Unbeknownst to her, there's noises coming from inside her house every night. She hears them a few times, but is too scared to act. Other times, it occurs while she's sleeping. She and her roommate are being watched by someone. Yet again, this is another one of those creepy home invasion movies. One of the scariest things is to think that you're not safe in your own place of living. 
It's a very unsettling and effective to think your not in control of the place you sleep every night.

Then, one morning she wakes up to find her dog missing. This really effects her because her dog is all she really had. He was her companion, and best friend. Now he's missing and the last time she saw him was in her building, in the next room from her, while she slept. So, she puts up flyers and calls everyone she can to try and get her dog back. Taking her dog was actually a really terrifying thing, to make her completely abandoned in a city she's already afraid of, puts you in that state of panic with her.

The acting is actually really well done, for once I can't really think of any bad, or poor dialog. It all just seemed very genuine, and that's what works for this film. That, and the mystery of what's going to conclude the film.

As the film reared it's end, things really get out of hand and it becomes a serious, nail biting horror film. We discover who is watching her and why. It seems so real, like you're watching it really happen. It's downright creepy, and not one I'd recommend if you're home alone, because things get crazy. This movie will send chills down your spine!

The ending leaves you with that eerie feeling, like you need to take a shower. It's not a happy movie, and it doesn't end very happily. It just sits with you for a while because, people really do act like this and do these things. So to have them done in such a realistic manor is really scary. The last 20 minutes of the film becomes like "The Strangers", and we've all seen how messed up and demented that film is.

If you're able to check this out, I highly suggest you do. It's on Netflix instant right now, that's how I watched it. As I said before, don't watch it alone, and especially alone at night. However, the first bit of the movie tends to be a bit too slow for my liking. So I'm not giving it as high of a rating as it could have gotten. But it's a good little effective movie.

Berberian Sound Studio will trip you out!

RATED- UNRATED
RUN TIME- 92 MINS
WRITER(S)- PETER STRICKLAND
STARRING- TOBY JONES, SUSANNA CAPPELLARO AND ANTONIO MANCINO
DIRECTOR- PETER STRICKLAND



Synopsis taken from IMDb
A sound engineer's work for an Italian horror studio becomes a terrifying case of life imitating art. 




Going into this film, I heard a lot of good things and nothing really negative. I've heard that it's like an acid trip, and that it's like a Stanley Kubrick film, reminiscent of "The Shining". My suspicions were very high on this one. I love atmospheric horror films, and that slow, dreadful feeling you get when watching them. So I was game from the start and ready to see what this film offered.

After seeing this film two days ago, I'm still mulling it over in my head. I'm still absorbing it, taking it all in. This is a movie I'm going to need to re-watch a few times, to make sure I've gotten it all. It left me with so many questions. It's very vague and confusing. Some don't like this type of horror, but I like any and all kinds. I like the way this movie was made, it's very artsy and classy for a horror film. 

Toby Jones (The Mist) does a great job as the lead in this film. His character Gilderoy is well played and portrayed. The films starts off a little slow, and I wasn't sure what was coming. But as the film built up more and more, we started to see the effect the music compositions are having on Gilderoy. It becomes a game of what's real and what isn't. It's a very effective and unsettling film.

The music and sounds going on in this film give you that annoyed, creepy feeling that comes along with watching the original 1974 "Texas Chainsaw Massacre". People claim that the noises are what makes the classic film so scary, and the same goes for "Berberian Sound Studio". It's a great film for those of us who don't want, or need every little detail explained to us. This is for those of us who like a little mystery in our horror.

"Berberian Sound Studio" is original, well acted, and well written. It's a horror film for the true horror fan. The fans who adore films from the 70's and even 80's. This isn't a torture movie, it isn't a gore movie. It's a pure horror film, that is borderline a psychological thriller. As a matter of fact, some may even genre it as a thriller. But to me, it's definitely a horror film.

As the film concluded, it became more intense and I started to understand it a bit more. Then it added more mystery and left me guessing. As I mentioned before, I'm going to be giving this a second viewing. I just want to let everything sink in a little more. But even after the first viewing, I can tell you that I'm a fan. I just want to make sure that I understand it as best I can. 

Much like "Kill List", I loved the mystery aspect of  the film and not knowing what just happened. A film that makes you think is a well written film, most of the time. I don't give films thumbs up, that's for other critics, but if I did give thumbs up, I would give this film two thumbs raised high. It's great to see another refreshingly original horror film to come out. Horror is doing all sorts of great things right now, if you just look beneath the surface...

THIS FILM GETS 4 REAPER SKULLS OUT OF 5

Twisted Tales of Madness and Murder (comic book)

"Detective Spurlock is a tormented cop with a heavy cocaine addiction and a penchant for prostitutes. Done something wrong? He is more than willing to look the other way-for a price. Under his rough exterior, Spurlock is a man who is haunted by his own demons. Demons that threaten to take him down and destroy his very existence. As he weaves his way through one horrifying crime scene after another, he leaves his own trail of destruction in his wake creating one twisted experience."


I've been away for a few days because I took a road trip to Ohio for Rock on the Range, the largest rock festival in the nation. Rest assured that I'm back and ready to go.

Today I'd like to turn you all on to a comic book that was presented to me. As you all know, I'm a sucker for comic books and horror. So...when you combine them I'm going to be all over it like flies on crap. When asked to read and review this comic I jumped on it.

The original idea of this series caught my attention, and after reading the first issue it had my full focus. This isn't a comic book for children, it's very mature and adult in it's contents. So don't go trying to get your kids a copy. There's nudity, drug use and foul language used. It's perfect for the adult horror and comic fan!

It was darker and more raw and gritty than I was expecting, which pleasantly surprised me. A lot of horror comics try to dull down the seriousness, but I've always been a sucker for the ones with balls. The ones that aren't afraid to tell a deep, twisted story. This comic delivers on the latter. I've only read the first issue but by the writing I can tell that this is one that is going to have layers and layers of story and character development.

The illustrations were fantastic as well. I like the black and white approach, always have. I feel it works best for serious comics because it gives them the bleak, emotionless feeling they need to sink in the sinister storytelling. Black and white was used for James O'Barr's The Crow, and look how fantastic that turned out. The lines are drawn clearly and you can tell this was a comic made of passion. I sincerely wouldn't be surprised if you see this become a movie over the next couple of years. 

I love the fact that there's so much gore in it as well. Even though it comes off as a detective story, at it's core it's a horror story with gross and grotesque images that'll keep you reading without blinking. I've been asked to read some comics before for people and never felt the need to give them coverage. This one deserves it though, because I truly believe it's something magical and a breath of fresh air from the common type of horror comics you come across now. It has a lot of dark humor in it that you'll find disturbingly funny as well.

If you want to get your hands on this comic because you like good, rich storytelling and you like horror comics, then click any and all of the links below. I don't know how you could regret it.


Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Twisted-Tales-Madness-Murder-ebook/dp/B00CLCJ2LS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1367434500&sr=8-1&keywords=twisted+tales+of+madness+and+murder

Nook
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/twisted-tales-of-madness-and-murder-1-tadd-galusha/1115227567?ean=9781106926920

Itunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/twisted-tales-madness-murder/id641190580?mt=11

Stephen King's Carrie (Book 1974)

This was a book that I've had on my list for a while. And since I'm always chipping away at the Stephen King books I still need to get through, I figured it only fit that I finally bump Carrie to the top of my list.

This book surprised me by it's size. For those of you who don't know, Carrie is a small book. It looks more like a short story, especially since most of King's books are gigantic. Not as thin as say Cycle Of The Werewolf (my favorite short story by King) but t's still a slim book.

Instantly what I liked about this book was how it was a past-telling book. It starts off with everything that happens at prom and all already having happened. And while you're reading about Carrie, the book breaks off into segments from magazines and books as well as interview segments all depicting incidents that occurred that night and how they're lives have changed. And there's segments about the condition Carrie has.

Carrie however, was depicted as looking totally different from movie Carrie. Movie Carrie is slim, skin and bones and long blonde hair. In the book Carrie is chubby, has bad acne and has red hair. So that was an instant notice for me because I've seen the movie dozens of times so Sissy Spacek was the face of that character to me.

The book starts off with Carrie being picked on in the locker room for getting her first minstrel cycle and due to her mom being a religious fanatic Carrie was never told what a period was. So the movie was true to the opening scene in the book.

Carrie's relationship with her mom is pretty much the same, only a little crazier and a little more harsh. Carrie's mom is a friggin' whack job. The conditions in which Carrie was forced to live her life were cruel and unfair for any child. There's no wonder she was 'the weird kid' at school.

Everything pretty much goes down the same with the bully's in Carrie's gym class being punished for picking on her and Chris, the lead and main Bully instantly wanting revenge when she loses her opportunity to go to prom.

Carrie gets hooked up with Tommy, the cutest boy in school and they go to prom together. The bucket scene was the same but since it was a book it had great detail and made for a better visual in your head than on screen. The humiliation at this moment for Carrie is horrible, for once in her miserable life she got to be the center of attention only to have blood dumped on her.

I like the way it goes down in the book more than the movie because in the book she actually leaves prom hysterical. And then she kinda realizes that they should all be punished for proving her mom right that they'd all laugh at her and never accept her. Carrie actually looks the doors from the outside and is outside of prom looking in as shes murdering people with her mind causing all sorts of devastation. The visual of her standing outside the doors looking in covered in blood and murdering people. Great story telling and I liked that more than her being in the prom while doing it. However, I can see how being inside would make a better scene visually.

I thought the book over all was great. Another King classic.

THIS BOOK GETS 3 REAPERS OUT OF 4