The Devil Knows His Own (2013)

(Online Screener Copy)

Directed by Jason Hawkins

Written by Jason Hawkins

Produced by Dara Davey, Jason Hawkins and Amber Smith

Stars: Dara Davey, Eileen Dietz, Patrick D. Green, Alicia Rose, Natasha Timpani, Michael A. LaFlamme, Simon Scott, Jason Hawkins. 

It was my absolute pleasure to be asked to put out the first review of Gravestone Entertainments new movie The Devil Knows His Own. Director Jason Hawkins and his amazing team delivered the skin crawlingly powerful  15: Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer recently, a film that honestly still plays on my mind every now and again today! While yes, it was a tough pill to swallow it was also a very very good movie with some stunning performances and some genuine frights. When I started to see the promo material for The Devil Knows His Own I was sold on its creepy imagery and plot details.

The film features Dara Davey (also co producer) as Jessica Ray, a woman married to the beautiful Lacey Middleton (Natasha Timpani who just BLEW me away in her role in 15) who is seeing a therapist, which audiences are let in on during the opening scenes. It appears that the two woman are not succeeding in their attempts to have a baby which leads to a confession from Jessica that there is very good reason as to why she cannot carry a baby herself. I don't want to give much of that away than I have because the film is very much about the childhood of both Jessica and her brother Ethan Ray (Patrick D. Green) and the horrors they endured at a young age. After learning of the death of their grandmother, Jessica, Ethan, Lacey along with Ethans girlfriend Melanie return to the siblings childhood home which incidentally has been left to Jessica as an inheritance. Unfortunately terrors of the past are going to become the horrors of the present and soon all manner of unsettling and macabre events start to occur.

The thing I loved most about this movie was its structuring as a horror/mystery. You are given just enough information about some of the things that happened to Jessica and Ethan as children, but the rest you are going to have to find out as you go along as the past is resurrected. I am honestly not ashamed to admit that there several 'holy fucking shit!' moments which made my horror loving little heart jump into my throat.  Again I dont want to spoil anything so all I will say is look out for the shower scene, the 'smiling man' and the 'window'.  As well as frights, there are a couple of well done gruesome moments which the G-hounds will love. In fact it reminded me of the time I interviewed Dara Davey for the site and in response to my question about 15 being graphic, she quite correctly pointed about that the film wasnt at all graphic....its just made in such a way you could easily convince yourself that it was (if that makes any sense!). The Devil Knows His Own however most certainly does have its share of grue towards the end which may just have you crossing your legs and covering your eyes.           

The cast were all exceptional - not one poor performance, with the core cast smashing it. Dara Davey and Patrick D. Green both portray damaged people with just the right amount of emotion - you feel horribly sorry for then but also fall in love with their characters in their own right. I can't say enough how fantastic these two are in their lead roles, particularly as the film hits its final act. Natasha Timpani and Alicia Rose also turn in great performances as the sympathetic partners to Jessica and Ethan with both of them having a meaty story of their own woven into the plot. Eileen Dietz (The Exorcist and Exorcist II: The Heretic) also makes several appearances as the deceased - and really quite terrifying - grandmother of Jessica and Ethan. 

One additional point I wanted to make was that I was so so pleased to see a gay relationship written as loving and natural rather than gratuitous. All too often you get token lesbians in horror films who are there simply for tittilation, so it was extremely refreshing to see Jessica and Lacey's relationship as something that just is what it is. 

The film is sheer brilliance in terms of scares and emotionally enticing characters. I liked 15  because it was an extremely well made and acted film that challenged my ability to see a film through to end. However I LOVED The Devil Knows His Own because I just cannot wait to see it again! I genuinely hope that this film slays at festivals. Please check out the official Gravestone Entertainment website along with the Facebook page for The Devil Knows His Own. This is one you will want to check out!

The Bible Belt Slasher II : The Holy Terror (2013) + Bonus Short The Bible Belt Slasher!

Directed by Bradley Creanzo

Written by Bradley Creanzo

Stars: Bradley Creanzo, Taylor Raftree, Keri Korner, Greg Huneke, Stella DiFabio, Dan Del Ben, Travis Raftree, Andy Salmon, Siddharth Gupta, Genoveva Rossi, Nicolina Hemingway, Robert J. Huntley, Missy Heather Byron and Larry Baumer as ''Jason Fry''


The Bible Belt Slasher 

This review is largely going to be about Bradley Creanzo's awesome 80s inspired feature The Bible Belt Slasher II: The Holy Terror but first I want to touch on the short that started it all: The Bible Belt Slasher. In the short Bradley pulls off an entertaining revenge slasher all in the space of 25 minutes as a deranged, former mental patient goes gunning for the obnoxious teenagers who made him the butt of their joke. No lie when I say just how badly our crazed killer Larry Baumer (Jason Fry) takes out his rage on the young pranksters. Brutal drillings, drownings, bashings and even a mouthful of what appears to be DIY glue! As the group dwindles very quickly you soon wonder if anyone will survive this gore laden night!

I REALLY had fun with this short film. Some very very nice touches to support the fact that this is set in the 80s; the costumes work wonders and the party dance scene is not just a hoot but downright genius (plus I LOVED the track!!!). Well worth your time for a quick and fun slasher fix.

The Bible Belt Slasher II: The Holy Terror

Now...onto the sequel which is actually an 1.45 minute feature. The film sees the return of nutty Jason Fry as he sees fit to take an almighty revenge on those related to his former victims - all over the family friendly time of Christmas!

Rebecca Belle (Taylor Raftree) our lead girl, is sister of Regina (also played by Raftree) from the original short and after he makes his gruesome escape from the mental hospital, she is understandably concerned that she could soon become a new victim! Of course Jason has a lot of slicing and dicing to do before he gets to Rebecca so the audience can kick back with a nice cold beer and watch the madness commence!

The film features some great kills, some of which are Christmas inspired in keeping with the plot (ahem christmas star....) there is also a wince inducing disembowelment and lots of other messy kills. Good work on delivering the nastiness!

Maybe not all of the acting is incredible but its easily forgivable. I have never sat through an 80s slasher film judging it on the actors ability of lack thereof. However there are some definite standout performances which I really enjoyed! Taylor Raftree I found to be impressive in both roles of Rebecca and Regina. I preferred the Rebecca role purely because we get to know the character a lot more and she made for a great final girl, 80s jumper and hairdo and all! 

I have to applaud Bradley Creanzo who seems to be creatively involved in almost all aspects of this film including playing the major role of Dr Lander's, a man desperate to catch Jason Fry upon his escape. A great amount of heart and soul - not to mention slasher knowledge - has gone into this film which you can see from the outfits, music, dialogue and brilliant nods to other slasher movies. In addition the running time of the film really allowed Bradley and co to explore Jason Fry more fully as a character and flesh out his history both before the previous murders and since them. Using characters who have connections to those who died in the original short also works to excellent effect in binding the movies together and giving the sequel a more dramatic edge.

I cant wait to see what Bradley Creanzo comes up with next be it a new movie or a BBS part 3 - a good eye for the elements of slasher movies that keep fans flocking back is what the industry needs.

Check out the official Bible Belt Slasher II : The Holy Terror Facebook Page to find out more and be sure to pick up a copy as soon as you can!

Don't Go To The Reunion (2013)

Directed by Steve Goltz

Written by Kevin Sommerfield

Stars: Stephanie Rose Leigh, Brady Simenson, Matty Dorschner, Hannah Herdt, Nick Sommer, Mike Goltz, Tawnie Thompson, J.R. Watkins, Spencer Harlan.

Here it is folks - the moment you have all been waiting for....Slasher Studios, the macabre minds behind horror shorts Teddy, Popularity Killer and Blood Brothers, release their first ever slasher feature! The movie successfully reached its goal via its online fundraiser, giving horror fans the most excellent opportunity to be involved in the making of the film. Steve Goltz and Kevin Sommerfield (Slasher Studios ultrafriendly  co-founders) also very kindly offered all manner of cool perks in return for donations (hence I have been able to review the movie prior to its official DVD release later this month!). 

The movies premise goes a little something like this; a group of popular kids play a spiteful prank on high school horror film nerd Scott Rantzen (Brady Simenson) which has a terrible effect on the poor guy. Moving on with their lives the friends go their separate ways until ten years later when they are invited to their high school reunion. Our beautiful lead girl Erica Carpenter (Stephanie Rose Leigh) gets coerced into attending against her best wishes and in true slasher tradition she will really wish she hadn't bothered. Soon all those involved in the prank against Scott are dying horrible deaths and the killer will soon be closing in on Erica who is going to have to literally fight for her life. Has Scott returned for revenge? Or does someone else hate the A List of Hamilton High??

Wow. What a true love letter to the sub genre. The movie is absolutely rife with slasher movie references and fun nods. For example, check out the characters names; how about the bullied kid Scott Rantzen (Slaugher High?) or our lead girl Erica Carpenter (Halloween?) or even fun and spunky Megan Cunningham (Friday 13th?). The hat tipping is just everywhere covering films such as Prom Night, Night School, Madman and many more. I just loved how this film was both a slasher flick in its own bloody right and also a total homage to the films Steve and Kevin adore the most. 

There were some great performances in the film with Stephanie Rose Leigh, Mike Goltz (as grade A arsehole Joe) Hannah Herdt (as down to earth Jessica) and  Matty Dorschner (as kind and clever Brandon) the definite standouts. A special mention to Spencer Harlan who really shines later on in the film. In regards to the writing some of the dialogue is downright hilarious and lends the film a decent comedy angle amongst all the killing. 

There's also some sweet kills none of which I intend to spoil but I will say the guys did a great job in delivering on the bloody goods with a low budget! Speaking of which the film itself looks fantastic and that's with aforementioned small budget - it's fantastically shot and I am betting Slasher Studios are so very proud of the final result. 

Oh and by the way...the film has a KILLER ending....,

Grab your copy of Don't Go To The Reunion HERE, these start to ship out on or around the 15 August so I urge you to invest in this movie - LOTS of cool special features too!

'House of Bad' Director unleashes 13 Girls!

I had a great time watching and reviewing Jim Towns effective haunted home film House of Bad. so it is quite the honour to share with you the press release for Jim's new horror film 13 Girls soon to go into production. The film sure sounds like it is going to take the supernatural elements rife in House of Bad to a whole new level!

Read on for the official stuff:

13 Girls press release:

Cameras will roll on Jim Towns’ new thriller 13 Girls this October, reuniting the writer/director of House of Bad with his leading actress from that film- blonde, whiskey-voiced Sadie Katz.

Katz will play a troubled detective trying to solve the group suicide of an entire classroom of Catholic schoolgirls. As she gets closer to the truth, she must face her own devils if she is to help thwart a demonic plot to usurp the world of Man.

Katz has most recently appeared in Chavez: Cage of Glory and Scorned, which she co-wrote. Other talent already attached includes Jamie Bernadette (Reel Evil, Axeman at Cutter’s Creek, The 6^th Friend), Erik Preston (Halloween 4- The Return of Michael Myers), William Christopher Ford (Karate Kid III) and Australian actress Stef Dawson (Wrath).

House of Bad, which Towns describes as a ‘haunted heist flick’, is due out in February through Osiris Entertainment. He is also in development on A Man with a Gun, starring Tony Todd, which he wrote and is also producing.

13 Girls will shoot in Hollywood and the South Bay area, and is being produced by Towns’ Shadow Kamera Films and through independent financing.

I for one cant wait to see what these guys come up with next and you can find out more about the film via its official Facebook Page. I also hope to share more news on this film with you as it comes in!

PJ Starks releases trailer for WBKR Zombie Run!

Not so long ago I had the absolute privilege of reviewing Mr PJ Stark's awesome indie horror flick Hallows Eve: Slaughter on 2nd Street. 

Now it is a pleasure to share with you the recent zombie promo that PJ directed in aid of the WBKR to be held on 23 September 2013 in Owensboro Kentucky!

The short  features a fun, gruesome little chase through a park with numbers of grotesque undead folk popping up all over the place! Makes me think PJ could have a could zombie feature up his sleeve....ummmmm....

Please check out the promo here:


   



To sign up for the zombie run head on over to www.wbkr.com - sounds like great fun to me!!!