Friday 2 May 2014

The Devils Show (2014)





(Screener copy)

Directed by Robert Noel Gifford

Written by Robert Noel Gifford

With Robert Noel Giffords Death Hours transformation into The Devils Hours I decided to revise my initial review after Rob was so kind as to send me a copy! Therefore I will include my original reviews of Dirty Little Dead Things and The Wishing Box (both of which reward repeat viewings) and also include a review of new horror short Believe in me Not. The Devils Show is a great collection of creepy horror shorts which show a great deal of talent for the unexpected and original. 


Dirty Little Dead Things:

Stars: SUZI LORRAINE,
DARIAN CAINE, JACQUELYN VELVETS, KERRI TAYOR,
JESSICA RECEK, ROBERT N. GIFFORD 


Well Dirty Little Dead Things was very similar in theme to No Strings 2. A group of beautiful woman fall foul of a doll out for blood as a mysterious parcel is passed from one to the other. The difference in Dirty Little Dead Things is that all five ladies dissed and dismissed the wrong dude (Mr Gifford himself!) and he has found a macabre and murderous way to bring toys to life, to do his bidding, Very bad news for Jacquelyn Velvets, Suzi Lorraine and co as the nastiest looking of little fiends is dispatched to their homes to take revenge on them. I loved the little doll in this, he was like a larger version of the Tiki doll in Trilogy of Terror and far uglier, not only that but he is one vicious little fella! The first victim in the short is given the longest run around, terrorised by the doll, Trilogy of Terror style, before being horribly hacked to death and lets just say our puppet friend shows no mercy on this lady! The doll then makes his rounds, ending the lives of the other unsuspecting woman such as an impaired Suzi Lorraine, who has no hope in escaping our little pal! In short, Dirty Little Dead Things provides a wickedly fun 25 minutes, taking the very best elements of No Strings 2 and condensing them into a gruesome little horror flick which will satiate any fan of the killer toy sub genre. Great work Rob!


The Wishing Box:

Stars: PHIL LEWIS, JACQUELYN VELVETS, KYLEE NASH, CATHY ST. GEORGE, KERRI TAYOR, ROBERTA ELLEN, ROBERT N. GIFFORD, VANIA BEZERRA, DIAMOND

The Wishing Box is the second, and slightly longer segment, of Robert Noel Giffords, Death Hours part 1 and reflects the things I love most about Robs work. You get your mysterious legend at the start, part acted and part textualised, in order to explain why the following mayhem is occurring. Following this we get a variety of characters experiencing the bad side of a malignant collection of stones which are home to hundreds of demonic souls. During this short we are treated to the ill effects of the stones on various characters, including that of Jaquelyn Velvets and her down and out husband as well as Kylee Nash's character Krista, and those unfortunate enough to be involved with her! There are some decent, bloody scenes in this short, particularly in Kylee Nash's segment...and for those so inclined...Ms Nash shows some skin...a lot of skin! I really enjoyed Jacquelyn Velvets role in this movie, I was a big fan of her in No Strings 2 and I think she does a great job in both this short and Dirty Little Dead Things (playing two easily discernibly different characters) . I hope she goes onto the take the indie horror world by the horns! 

Believe in me Not:


Stars: ANJU MCINTYRE, KYLEE NASH


Believe in me Not features Anju Mcintyre as a young woman, haunted by the demonic spirits which invade her home. Upset at her boyfriend, Anju does a great job of carrying the short film, largely on her own, getting worked up about the way he has treated her while unaware that dark forces are slowly but surely coming for her.....

Believe in me Not may well be my favorite of the three short films on offer here. The best thing about it was the atmosphere of sheer dread running through the majority of it before horrible things really start happening. We follow the main character as she goes about her business, knowing that the strange parcel she has received cannot be anything benign, but unsure of exactly whats going to happen next.

When the bad stuff does kick off, there are some nice creepy scenes, the demonic entity creeping around the hallway is excellent and gives a truly "what the FUCK is THAT!?" moment.

The ending is great, just when you think its all over the evil that invades the house has more tricks up its sleeve and has a wicked plan on cornering its next victim.....

Another creepy, dark outing from Rob, with the usual imagination and offbeat effects that I have loved since watching No Strings 2: Playtime in Hell. I'm really looking forward to Robs segment in the upcoming horror anthology Blaze of Gory and also a new cut of No Strings 2...bring it on!

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