Spirit Stalkers (2012)

Directed by Steve Hudgins

Written by Steve Hudgins

Produced by Steve Hudgins and PJ Woodside

Stars: Steve Hudgins, PJ Woodside, Jessica Dockrey, Michael Coon and Nick Faust

Release – USA- 18 June 2012 (Big Biting Pig Productions)

It's June 2012...we all know what that means...the premiere and DVD release of a brand new Big Biting Pig Productions movie! This Kentucky based film company never lets fans down with the annual release of a (sometimes two!) new film written and directed by either BBP founder Steve Hudgins or PJ Woodside, usually with both producing and playing some form of role in the film. This time up, hot on the heels of last years chiller The Creepy Doll, is Steve Hudgins (interview here) spooky, bloody and often downright scary Spirit Stalkers!

The film concerns a group of television ghost hunters, the 'Spirit Stalkers' of the title, who are facing  cancellation of their show unless they can pull something big off to boost their ratings. Enter Gloria Talman; a divorced parent whose home has become the host of all kinds of scary goings on. It is in this dwelling that the team will truly find the meaning of the word haunted and may just secure that all important rise in viewers - but at what macabre cost?

Well I am pleased to say that BBP has gone and done it again. Spirit Stalkers tells a great story which draws you in further and further until it completely contradicts your expectations with its chilling and clever reveals. This, again, can be attributed to another fantastic script by Steve Hudgins which goes to show there is always a fresh and original idea in any genre or sub genre which we may think we have seen many times before.

Co producer PJ Woodside was really impressive in this movie playing one of the lead roles; the tormented Gloria Talman. Until now PJ has appeared in previous movies in much smaller roles, the exception being in Hell Is Full where she played a cheated on housewife. In this movie she's centre stage and her role is a killer; excellent acting with a wide range of realistic emotions on display. Other performances are also impressive including Steve's hotheaded group leader 'Reuben', Jessica Dockrey (almost unrecognisable from her role in The Creepy Doll) as the questionable 'Angie' and Jessica Reynolds as Gloria's concerned daughter 'Kellie'. In all honestly though all of the performances were sound and there were certainly no poor ones to note.

There are some excellent scares in Spirit Stalkers. I cant go into spoiler territory here but I will say keep a close eye out for the bathtub scene (gave me a genuine chill) and keep those peepers glued to the screen for the final ten minutes as there is a brilliant reveal here and a lot of nasty surprises and scares to follow.

All in all Spirit Stalkers takes the haunted house/ghost story scenario, mixes it with a dose of the mockumentary style TV show and spins all of this on its head with a nice, original climax.
Please head over to the official Big Biting Pig Productions website and grab a copy of the film. If you don't you are MISSING OUT!

PIGS, TROUGHS AND TORN OUT INNARDS - AN INTERVIEW WITH EAMON HARDIMAN

               (Eamon Hardiman and Brian Gunnoe as 'Burt Fleming' on the set of PORKCHOPP3D)

Writer/Director/Editor, Eamon Hardiman recently took some time out of a busy busy schedule, to chat with Hacked in the Head about his movies and all things horror.Forming the production company Razor Sharp Studios in recent years, Eamon and his crew have strived to satiate genre fans with their vision of 'what its all about'. Earlier efforts Escape from the dead (movie short), Catholic Ghoulgirls and Vampire Whores from Outer Space soon made way for 2010's Porkchop, a kids-in-the -woods, body count flick, complete with T, A and deviant chainsaw action (!) Going from strength to strength, Porkchop was rapidly followed up by carnivorous kid comedy Zombie Babies and a filled to the brim with kills sequel to Porkchop; Porkchops/Porkchop 2: Rise of the Rind. Those lucky enough to have helped these guys out with their conclusion to the Porky trilogy, Porkchopp 3D (yeh you read right theres a third one coming and its in 3D!) will get to see what looks to be a blood soaked finale, once the film has been completed!
What follows is a chilling expose of the macabre mind of a West Virginian film maker.
Not really.....but it is a really fun interview.....enjoy.......


Hacked in the Head: Hi Eamon! Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. I thought to start with you could tell us a bit about how you formed your production company Razor Sharp Studios?

Eamon Hardiman: I think it was probably out of boredom more than anything else. A few of us got ahold of a camera and started shooting a little comedy short film (that I hope no one ever sees) and then later when I started taking a filmmaking course we all got back together and shot some more stuff for my class projects. That lead to Escape from the Dead, our first attempt at making a real story come to life in a fairly serious manner and failing miserably. After that we made Catholic Ghoulgirls and Vampire Whores from Outer Space under Razor Sharp Productions and eventually during Porkchop post-production we changed the name to Razor Sharp Studios.

HitH: What sort of challenges has this presented to you, along the way? It has be incredibly rewarding to have started your own company, made some films and then secured distribution but I imagine it hasn’t come without its hitches?

Eamon: It’s tough. To really spend the time these things require, it’s almost impossible to work a normal day-job. If you CAN manage it, it has to be lenient as hell because you’re always having to take off and re-edit this or finish this or shoot this thing for two weeks in the woods. We’ve busted our asses for the past four years straight and gotten a movie out every year. Over the past one year period we actually shot TWO films: Porkchop 2 and Porkchop 3D. It’s tough on everything, relationships, friendships, even just physically. A lot of people come in and work on the movie for a week and then go home and go “oh man that was a grueling experience” and feel like they need to rest for a few days. For us it’s adding four more months of constant stress and work and scheduling and editing and ugh....it can really suck sometimes but it’s ultimately worth it.

Biggest hitches? Making a feature-length film entertaining on a $3,000 budget. Dealing with actors who quit on you at the last minute (every film has had at least one) requiring you to rework the entire script, re-do all wardrobe, and basically try not to blow your brains out while you call everyone you know trying to find a replacement. BUT like I said it’s all worth it in the end.

HitH: You have been releasing movies consistently for the past couple of years now and I love your methods in getting them made and out to fans. Running campaigns on Kickstarter/Indgiegogo helps you to raise the funds to get the film done and also allows people to be rewarded with DVD copies of the movie and much much more, which is great! Is this something you hope to continue to do?

Eamon: It seems to have dried up a bit. We didn’t get much help on the last one (but thanks to everyone who DID, you guys are amazing and let us continue to make these movies!) but I think beyond just raising money, for us it’s a cool way to get people more involved and let the fans (i feel like a douchebag everytime I refer to people as fans, i’m sorry) become a part of the movie. I think most people running the fundraisers just see the people who donate as dollar signs but for us, most of our money winds up coming out of pocket (sometimes even from our actors) so we really only continue to do them to get people involved (and so we can afford to eat on set and buy cool weapons and special effects supplies).

When folks donate to our projects or buy our merch, it all goes into the movie and goes up on screen. I see some of these things raising 20 grand for a short film and they actually GET IT! And the short winds up never coming out. We make an entire feature film that winds up getting distributed and actually seen by people....but haven’t had much luck fundraising. I don’t think we’ve ever reached our goal but it IS a fun thing and I like being able to make cool stuff like the t-shirts and dvds and in the case of Porkchop 3D, the lunchboxes so people have some limited edition stuff to show for their contribution and belief in the project.

HitH: Further to that -great news to hear of your recent securing of distribution for Porkchop 2: Rise of the Rind (self distributed as ‘Porkchops’ in 2011)and Zombie Babies, congratulations. What kind of extra features can fans expect from the official released of these movies? I remember reading that Porkchop 2 will be a slightly longer edit….. (Note people that these titles are released on September 25 courtesy of Independent Entertainment)

Eamon: Porkchop 2 is a little different now. The Troma international cut is a little longer, but the new US cut flows a lot better and eliminated some troublesome transitions. Both versions have audio tweaks to make some things better. I believe we have commentaries on both movies as well as some behind-the-scenes stuff. It’s not edited into a talking-head piece where we promote the movie, I think they’re pretty long stretches of BTS stuff showing the legitimate making of the movie. It’s pretty cool if you want to see how we make the movies and see me nearly have a mental breakdown. One of the movies has an hour-long thing I THINK....it’s been awhile since we put them together.

HitH: That all sounds fantastic, I am looking forward to seeing both titles hit the shelves! Not only have you made several movies already you have created a trilogy complete with a 3D conclusion – impressive. Do you think Porkchopp 3D is the end of the adventures of our favourite pig masked maniac? Or might another outing rear its head if time and money allows?

Eamon: I’ll do part 4 in a heartbeat if someone comes up with a $20,000 budget. We’ve got a pretty great idea for a sequel. I wanted it to be Part 2 but we couldn’t afford it. Luckily, with what happens to Porky in this one it will still work as a Part 4. It would definitely be the greatest of the series. PC3D was a $3000 to $5000 budget. Imagine what we could pull off for 20.

HitH: Sounds intriguing and I hope a possibility in the future! What’s the plan with the release ofPorkchopp 3D? I understand you are in full on editing mode right now. From what I have heard of the film it’s geared to blow Porkchop and Porkchop 2 out of the water. Can you tell us some more about the plot of the film?

Eamon: It’s fantastic so far, but I’m biased. The plot is a whole bunch of the surviving characters from Porkchop 1 and 2 band together to hunt down Porkchop once and for all. At the same time, a group of partying teens hole up in Burt Fleming’s cabin in the woods (ehhh? cabin in the....nevermind). The two groups’ paths cross and....3D bloodbath.

I haven’t talked to any companies about the release. We’re only going to send the copies out to the folks who invested and maybe do a small run of copies ourselves....but most likely we’ll try to get a theatrical run for awhile or a series of theatrical screenings across the country and while doing that, see if we can find a distribution company who will release it on 3D Blu-Ray and actually put glasses in the DVD case and all of that. The 3D is just so cool! I hope everybody can experience it. Hell, even the red-and-blue DVD version totally works, much better than any other 3D films I’ve watched with the glasses.

HitH: Whoa, sounds like a total kill-fest - cant wait! I am also pleased to see returning names from previous films, that's going to be great to see.On that note, I wanted to ask you about some of your favourite characters/performances across your movies. Stand outs for me include Erin Russ as the (disturbingly) nympho ‘Rachel’ in Porkchop, Missy Dawn (and not just because she’s your girlfriend!) as mean girl ‘Hannah’ in Porkchops and Brian Gunoe in both Porkchop movies and Zombie Babies!

Eamon: LOVE those characters. I’m a big Richie fan (Chris Woodall from Porkchop 1 and Porkchop 3D). I REALLY dig Pig Girl from 3D (not just because she’s my girlfriend), and I’m particularly fond of Shawn C. Phillips’ character from Zombie Babies.

HitH: Yeh I have to say, from the photos released so far, Pig Girl looks, if this is possible, even creepier than another certain 'pig girl' who will not be named due to spoilers! (meaning you NEED to grab a copy of Porkchop 2!) Now I also read recently that you are not keen to make a ‘straight’ horror movie - I think it could be really interesting – is it something you might consider in the future after entertaining us some more with the likes of flesh munching infants and sickle wielding pig men?

Eamon: Our next film is, on the surface, a horror/comedy but (if I do my job right) it’s going to scare the shit out of people. Folks like John Landis, Joe Dante....they’re able to combine the two in such a brilliant way where you laugh, laugh, laugh, then go “holy shit that’s fucked!” and then ease back into laugh, laugh, laugh...there are some scares here and there in the Porkchop series but this will be a full-on “holy shit that’s fucked!” film as well as a (hopefully) “how the fuck did they do that????” movie.

HitH: Exciting stuff! Being a big horror movie fan, what are your all time favourites and why? What are your thoughts of all the recent remakes and big budget horror movies? So many I have seen recently have failed to impress. Carrie for example is possibly my favourite horror film of all time yet I am both a bit depressed and curious about the upcoming remake……

Eamon: I’m a big “Just Before Dawn” fan. I think that might be the best slasher ever made. American Werewolf in London has been a massive inspiration. I tend to like the movies that no one will ever remake. Of course, I said that about Fright Night....but I don’t really mind remakes. Some cool stuff has come out of it like the original The Thing (and the remake of THAT wasn’t bad), The Fly, etc. Miami Vice was pretty cool. I think us (the horror fans) screaming “NO DON’T YOU DARE REMAKE DAWN OF THE DEAD” or whatever is us saying “our stories aren’t important enough to be reinterpreted by other filmmakers.” And I don’t think that’s a very good image to portray, especially in a genre so looked-down upon as horror. If Nightmare on Elm Street gets remade fifty times, doesn’t that seem to say “Hey, this is one of the classic stories of all time”? That’s a very very good thing for the industry and for the fans. As long as we have access to the originals, we’re not losing anything. If anything, it’s bringing more fans to horror. If you’re looking for Hollywood to deliver the type of horror you want, you’re looking in the wrong place.

As far as the big-budget horror movies? I think where the big-budget horror stuff fails is that they ignore everything that MADE this stuff popular in the first place. It’s gore and boobs and offensive shit and scaring the hell out of people and originality. Piranha got it right. The sequel even got it right and a few other films have done it but mostly for this type of thing you HAVE to look to and embrace and support independent horror.

HitH: Totally agree with you on the big budget movie front. Most of what is being churned out is lacking the ingredients to satisfy the devoted horror movie fan. It's all big names, big budget, but no real connection with what people want to see in a scary movie. I agree that piranha got it right, it was the good, gory time it promised - I'm yet to see the sequel. I think this is exactly why indie horror is embraced so much by those who remember what a good old late night horror film really was. OK, rant over and moving on......tell us a bit about plans for making the new Razor Sharp Studios movie......

Eamon: Shooting next year so we can spend a year designing our monsters and FX and trying to fundraise a $70,000 budget. Any investors out there? This one will be a money-maker. :)

HitH: Monsters? Awesome. Finally Eamon, is there anything else you would like to tell fans out there?

Eamon: Thank you all for embracing Porkchop the way you have and for supporting our stuff. Our movies seem to keep getting better and a lot of it is from your input and support. We’re always learning and trying to improve on what we do. The scripts are genuinely culled from things I’ve heard that people liked, bitched about, etc. We make these things for YOU guys to watch and enjoy and I’ll keep trying to give you what you want while trying to surprise you at the same time. I’m not a guy trying to make a quick buck here, we’re trying to do something good for the community and the genre and I hope you’ll continue to go along on this ride with us and let’s see where we end up. It’s probably awesome and they most likely serve beer.

HitH: Thank you so much for a great interview Eamon - cant wait to hear more news soon!

Head over HERE to view the Porkchop 3D trailer, recently released...it looks all kinds of messy! Also if you make your way to the Razor Sharp Studios official website you can pre-order a copy of the movie along with other gory goods - but act fast because this is part of a limited 200 DVD run and these guys are known to run out fast!

Bloody Christmas (2012)

 

(Screener Copy)

Directed by Michael Shershenovich

Written by Michael Shershenovich

Stars: Steve Montague, Robert Youngren, Robert Arensen, Geretta Geretta, Adriana Kaegi, Mary Arden, Lloyd Kaufman, John William Young, James Balsamo, Vincent Notice, Vicky Wiese.









As Santa Clause begins to lose his usually jovial mind, a mental naughty list is growing long in Michael Shershenovichs dark horror comedy Bloody Christmas.

Opening with the bathtub suicide of a young woman (Demons very own hooker turned bubble faced monster Geretta Geretta) the movie introduces us to 'Rich Tague' (Steve Montague). Rich is an actor who bitterly reminisces on his time as an 80s action star, all the while unhappily stuck in his new role of Santa on a Public Access Television show. All of this ill feeling is having a horrible effect on Rich as he begins to fall into dream like fantasies of committing the most gruesome acts on those around him.

Bloody Christmas is a film of two halves. While we follow Rich Tagues descent into madness, Christmas Evil style, the local police are on the hunt for a despicable child murderer 'Father Micheal' (Robert Youngren). However these two opposing forces are fated to cross paths and when they do its safe to say viewers get a very Bloody Christmas indeed. In fact, it's one that leaves room for an even bloodier New Years Eve as per the very nicely executed final scenes.  Veering toward spoiler territory now so I will digress!



There are some great plus points to highlight about this yuletide terror flick. Robert Youngren excels as the horribly creepy Father Michael, a Priest who has taken it upon himself to wipe the earth of as many children (and others)as he can. This guy is one deranged man of the cloth, let me tell you. Steve Montague also plays his lead character Rich/Santa brilliantly. He does a really great job of portraying to audiences, a man who really has lost everything and completely snapped, blaming those around him for everything he despises about life. It was great to see Geretta Geretta back on the screen, its a shame it was such a short role. Her character 'Rosemary' is the thing that always jumps into my head whenever I see or hear about Dario Argento's Demons and I am sure that applies to many other horror fans out there also!

I also enjoyed many of the gore scenes in the film. There are some very amusing scenes of 'attack by Christmas paraphernalia', not to mention some balls-out -insane shooting scenes. Aside from the more comedic touches of violence, there are some more disturbing scenes such as the opening, so be warned.



There are some issues which I could waste time in dwelling on such as some weaker performances and varying sound quality, but you know what? This is an independent horror film, made on an extremely low budget and I always a feel if an indie can make up for any shortcomings with an entertaining film then - who cares? Bloody Christmas definitely entertains and puts an original spin on the holiday horror sub genre which I was really pleased to see. Hats off to Michael Shershenovich for not just writing another psychotic Santa movie involving a town full of gorgeous blonde's and tanned jocks being taken out in rapid succession. That's what this movie could have been, and while I am sure that would have had its very own entertainment value, I am glad this film was something new.

All in all I recommend catching this film when you are able to. Head on over to the official movie Facebook page for more information on the film and its release. I really look forward to seeing more from writer/director Micheal Shershenovich in the near future!

PISTOLS AT DAWN - AN INTERVIEW WITH LEE VERVOORT

Hacked in the Head got to spend some time talking with Lee Vervoort, a guy who gave us the gun toting west splattered with visceral horror in his 2009 film Gun Town. (Review here). Read on for Lee's answers and please check out his film!

Hacked in the Head: Hi Lee! Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. I have just had the chance to watch and review your feature length horror film Gun Town which is also your directorial debut.  Firstly can you tell us a bit about the film and why you decided to venture into the genre.

Lee: Thank you! Yes, the film tells the story of five high school graduates who venture toward no particular destination and wind up at an old tourist attraction. Unfortunately for them, the family who once ran the business is back with a whole new outlook on how to entertain their guests.

HitH: I love the whole hybrid genre approach of Western/Horror. Were there any particular influences which made you want to explore this for your film?

Lee: Yes, Tourist Trap and Westworld are among my two favorite films. they played a strong influence on how I created my story.

HitH: Two fantastic films! I rewatched Tourist Trap recently and I found it as effective and creepy as I did as a kid! Are you also able to talk about the budget for the film and any particular challenges you may have faced while making it?

Lee: The budget was microsopic. We had 8000.00 to make it with, and if you break it down, it was actually 6000.00 because 2000.00 went to making the DVD copies. As far as any "challenges", the whole production was a challenge! When you work with such small amounts of money, it is difficult to keep things going. You have to "rough it" to get the job done, but that's how I roll if I have too.

HitH:  How about the casting process. and how did you go about this? Any memorable performances you want to share?

Lee: I held my own castings. I like to do this so I can see first hand who everyone is and what kind of person they are. I commend everyone for their performances. I am not an easy person to work for. I particularly enjoyed Andy Graces performance because I had never met him before we filmed the movie. He is a natural actor who did exceptionally well with his part. But overall I pleased with everyone. Especially for sticking with me through the entire ordeal. Actors do tend to get very upset and walk off.

HitH:  I believe the film is available to purchase through Amazon via self distribution. Are there any plans for a further and wider release of the film? I would love to see it on UK shelves!

Lee: Yes, the DVD with 6 extra features are available through Amazon.com I would love to be able to supply it all over the world on shelves, but distribution is very hard to obtain sometimes. I am just as happy to accept the challenge myself and ship it to anyone in the world.

HitH:  Maybe one day but in the meantime I hope readers go and grab a copy from Amazon - there are lots of sellers who wont ship outside the US, so thats great news. Are you a horror fan in general Lee? What are some of your all time favourites and why?

Lee: Yes I am. My favorites include The ever so popular 80's films we all know and love along with the lesser known films such as Tourist Trap, Silent Rage, Westworld, Fortress, etc.

HitH: I also wanted to discuss with you, your plans to make a sequel to Gun Town which sounded great. Could you talk a bit about the fund raiser set up for this project and why, sadly, things did not go to plan? Also is there any way you may resurrect this idea in the future?

Lee: Well, people wanted a sequel. I wrote an incredible script and tried to raise a large budget for this one. Unfortunately the general public doesn't seem to take the same interest. If I can find the money elsewhere, I'll certainly proceed with it. It's just very frustrating to try and make a good movie when it all lies on the money needed. I almost gave up completely, but I think just taking some time to sit back and re-group is what I need.

HitH: I hope you are able to get the movie going, it would be great to see where you might go next with the story and I will certainly be keeping my eyes open for any new developments! I can also see you have done quite a lot of acting as well and played a key role in Gun Town. What made you want to 'make the leap' to writing and directing!

Lee: I love to entertain people. Writing and directing my own film gave me that chance. Hopefully I can continue to do so.

HitH: Finally Lee - is there anything else you would like to tell readers?

Lee: Sure. Please do support independent film! We work very hard to bring you the best entertainment we can as the independents. Creating your vision on small budgets is no easy task. We appreciate everyone who takes the time to watch our movies. Personally, I encourage honest reviews from the viewers. I never have been a fan of asking for good reviews, it isn't real. Too me, creating a film should be for the fans. I have no interest in trying to see how many awards I can win or competing with other filmmakers, I just want to make the best film I can to entertain the viewer. That's who it's for!
Thank you for the interview and thank you to all of you for reading. Please feel free to visit my personal website at www.leevervoort.com and be sure to grab a copy of Gun Town on Amazon.com I'll ship anywhere in the world!

HitH: Lee, thank you so much again for taking the time to to talk to us and I look forward to seeing what you have up your sleeves next, very soon.

The Sky Has Fallen (2009)

(screener copy)

Directed by Doug Roos

Written by Doug Roos

Stars: Carey McLaren, Laurel Kemper and Drew Anstine

Release: Self released DVD - available here!









I was pleased to be contacted by writer/director Doug Roos to ask me to check out his post apocalyptic horror film The Sky Has Fallen. The trailer for the film looks excellent and I was instantly sold on the gruesome make up effects.

After a rather chilling opening which explains the epidemic which has taken its grip on the world, the movie introduces Lance (Carey McLaren). Lance is a survivor of the horrors which has wiped out most of humanity and he has had to learn how to fight back against the mysterious black figures which are lurking everywhere and turning the dead into the undead! Enter Rachel (Laurel Kemper) - a fellow survivor whose family has been killed, leaving her to fend for herself in a very dark version of the world she once knew. After being saved by Lance she joins him on a desperate and dangerous mission to locate, and destroy, the leader (Drew Anstine) of the shadowy figures who are haunting them. The pair are thrust into a bloody fight for survival in order to end the reign of shadow men and also stop the legion of murderous undead from making a meal out of them!

I really enjoyed this film, it takes the whole post apocalyptic angle in an original direction and I appreciate that. In criticism I would say that some of the initial dialogue between Lance and Rachel comes off as a bit forced but this definately improves and a good chemistry soon becomes apparent. The performances in general of both Carey and Laurel are also strong and engaging so this really helps to keep viewers interested.

As mentioned before via watching the trailer, the make up effects in this movie are excellent. Gruesome wounds inflicted on the newly resurrected dead are visually brilliant and impressive. The gore effects themselves as people are hacked through and dismembered are well done and there are buckets of the red stuff flying about.

I'm really impressed with the quality of the film in general, it's shot perfectly clear, the sound is spot on and the whole thing is edited consistently well throughout.

I recommend picking yourself up a copy of this film by following the link above. Support indie cinema and enjoy Doug Roos entertaining interpretation of the end of the world as we know it!

Gun Town (2009)

Directed by Lee Vervoort


Written by Lee Vervoort


Stars: Christianna Aronstam, Tim Emery, Lee Vervoort, Andy Grace, Weston Brann, Joshua Harrison, Lauren Hoffman, Andrew Thornhill, Morgan Graham.


Release: DVD (US) 1 December 2009







Gun Town - a place where the wild west meets grisly horror - is the directorial debut of Lee Vervoort.

Gun Town, an old abandoned Western themed tourist attraction has a history coated in blood. It seems back when business was booming, owner Frank Bailey Snr had some severe anger issues. After a particularly bad day at the office he loses the plot, causing death and destruction and thus turning his 'Gun Town' into a true horror show. Sadly for a group of five friends who happen upon the apparently deserted attraction, Frank was released from the nut farm after serving his lengthy sentence. Now he and his equally maniacal family lie in wait for them and Gun Town is truly back in business. Only the toughest of the group will make it out intact as the insanity festering within the Bailey clan comes full circle - as stated on the DVD, it really is 'draw or die'!

I enjoyed the characters in this movie. Particularly the goofy Jerry (Andrew Thornhill) and fun and rather incredulous Tracy (Lauren Hoffman). As for the villains, Frank Snr (played ominously by director Lee Vervoort) is creepy as hell - his face hidden by a unsettlingly blank mask. His wife, Mrs Bailey (Morgan Graham) is also nicely deranged and murderous and is played very well. I also really liked the touch with the eerie looking mannequins - extremely reminiscent of the oddball yet chilling Tourist Trap. There is a really notable scene where the character of Tracy is frightened by what she thinks is a mannequin and makes a jokey comment at it - viewers are soon shown however that it wasn't as lifeless as it first appeared. In fact this is the creepy scene which kicks the rest of the movies action off until the very end so I thought that it was particularly effective.

The movie is exceptionally well shot and easily belies its small budget. There are also zero sound issues which is always great to see in an indie.

Check out the site soon for an interview with Lee Vervoort who not only wrote and directed Gun Town but also produced, acted in and did the stunts for it! Please grab a copy of the film as well, it's a great little watch with a nice original setting and some truly scary characters!

Blood Junkie (2010)

Directed by Drew Rosas


Written by Drew Rosas


Stars: Nick Sommer, Mike Johnson, Sarah Luther, Emily Treolo and Andrew Swant


Release: DVD (US)  May 10 2011, Courtesy of Troma Entertainment



This is exactly the kind of movie that made me want to start this blog in the first place. Slasher films set in the 80s which really capture the feel of those horror movies you grew up with to a fine detail. I have been lucky enough so far to review some of the best examples of this trend such as Panman, Presidents Day, Bloody Bloody Bible Camp, Porkchop, The Sleeper, Raymond Did It and more - so why I let this little beauty slip under my radar is beyond me. I had heard of it and then I obviously forgot about it again because the current reviews would have made me buy a copy - even if I had no money left in my bank account! Many thanks to writer and director Drew Rosas for bringing the movie back to my attention and shipping me a copy so fast after ordering!

So Blood Junkie is set in 1989 and features a couple of teenage girls who make the wrong decision to join a couple of immature guys on a camping trip. Aside from the blood spill that awaits they have one further horror to deal with - Laura's kid brother Andy, who has been bribed not to breathe a word to his folks for a measly five dollars (should have aimed higher kid!) . I have to add that the kids in this movie had far bigger balls than I did at that age! Being the 80s and all with the lack of today's technologies - if Laura and Andys parents had have called to check in, they would have been screwed!

After a creepy campfire story it soon becomes clear, that in keeping with the theme of these types of movies, these kids are in the wrong woods. As they begin to be taken out one by one by a maniac wearing a creepy gas mask its do or die and lead girl Laura has to protect her brother and keep her own head!

As mentioned the film really does a great job of capturing the spirit of 80s horror movies. The hair, the clothes, the music, the pot smoking and a villain you could start a franchise with - all elements which are excellently detailed. The soundtrack is great - in places it reminded me of (actually another Troma release I just realised!) Girls School Screamers - not a bad thing mind - I'm probably in the minority but I LOVE that movie!  I thought Nick Sommer and Mike Johnson were very naturally funny as lead guys Craig and Teddy and  I also really enjoyed the wilder of the two lead girls 'Rachel' , played by Emily Treolo. That said I really didnt have an issue with any of the acting.

Blood Junkie comes highly recommended for those looking for a gory, funny and nostalgic good time. Its well made with a loving detail to 80s slasher flicksso it more than gets my vote! Check out the official movie website where you can grab a copy.... while you are there check out the new movie from Drew Rosas and co; Billy Club, which looks like its going to be another excellent slasher flick with, I have to say, the most awesome looking of killers!