Hour of Victory (2020)

Director: Engr. Henry Mgbemele
Starring: Onny Michael, Destiny Etiko, Adim Christian, Ebere Okaro, Joseph Daniels, Obi Okoli. .Nigeria. 4h +

This charming Nigerian production is built up around a family drama, a brother and sister are caught up in a terrible cycle, having recently lost their father only to later find out their mother is gravely ill and in need of emergency operation that costs a mere 2Million Naira. The siblings struggle against bad luck to raise the money to save what’s left of their family.

Willow Creek (2013)

Director: Bobcat Goldthwaite
Starring: Alexie Gilmore, Bryce Johnson .USA. 1h 17m

Set in Humboldt County, California, and filmed over 5 days, a film now commonly known as the Blairquatch Project emerges from the forest to (not) wow it’s audience with the adventures of a Bigfoot enthusiast who drags his girlfriend into the wild to hunt bigfoot for his birthday treat.

Short Movie Roundup 27 December 2020

We made it to the end of 2020, well nearly, I still have a few bingo slots open Doomsday Androids from the future and Dream Demons, did anyone have Storm Bella on theirs?

So this is going to be the last round up but I will be posting my top films of 2020 shortly.

I was contacted back in August and asked to check out some short movies, , sadly this was a time when I couldn’t dedicate much time to the shorts and took breaks due to all the crazy covid hours I was working. Either way, two of the peeps were quite rude and never gave me much more than a copy and paste set of directions, two others were a bit more human. Sadly one of the shorts isn’t visible online so I couldn’t really review it and share it with all of you. luckily they understood this and we wished each other the best, but the cream of the crop chased me up a couple of weeks ago and I do apologise, that it’s taken me so long but I’ve found a gap in services and it’s my pleasure to squeeze YourHorrorShow (https://twitter.com/Yourhorrorshow) into my 2020 findings of the year.

Welcome to the Horror Show Teaser

Well we all know how much I love men in masks!! Instant Fan Girl moment *faints* I love the set up, it looks like a Robert Kurtzman, a touch of Tales from the Crypt with some Sideshow mystery, and he built this for us *faints again*

The Warrior (2011)

Director: Gavin O’Connor
Starring:Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Morrison. .USA. 2h 20m

Back in 2011 the warrior was quite a breakthrough movie for the time. While it remains an emotive glance into the lives behind the men in the ring, as does for MMA what the Wrestler did for.. wrestling I do wonder what the movie would be like if made today after the UFC explosion of talent and headline grabbing antics.

I Eat Your Skin (1964/1971)

(a.k.a. Zombies, Zombie Bloodbath and Voodoo Blood Bath)

Director: Del Tenny
Starring: William Joyce, Heather Hewitt, Betty HyattLinton, Dan Stapleton .USA. 1h 25m

There’s a kitchy comic wanderlust feeling about this movie which is what makes it so memorable, no matter how cheesy or racist it ends up, it’s from the mid 60’s it’s going to be questionable by todays standards but it had a great vibe, a goofball story and possibly the first suicide bomber zombie?

Written, Produced and Directed by Del Tenny in the mid 60’s there wasn’t much scope for getting the movie released until 1971 when it was unshelved and became a drive in legend with a similar named production called I Drink Your Blood (1970) and as off key freaky duo they work together however with the addition of savage natives, zombies and evil scientist neither are really all that scary. Tenny’s other swinging flicks include The Horror of Party Beach and The Curse of the Living Corpse both from 1964 and share all the psychobilly themes of any halloween tiki party.

Onus (2020)

Director: Alex Secker
Starring: Daniella Faircloth, Erin Leighton, Tony Manders .UK. 1h 28m

A new contender to join the ranks of British Folklore Horror, and while it’s clear to see the distinctive influences floating around in Alex Seckers detailed dark thriller, I personally just felt that it didn’t ignite in a way that it should have but I do have respect for the bold attempt to scare audiences with those folk figures and rituals we don’t want to believe are real so we can sleep safe at night, however I feel that this is a first draft of something that could have been massively great.

With the limited budget this well crafted movie works it’s curious magic within one large country home with only a handful of cast. Alex manages to set up a miniature Wicker Man (1973) highlighting a history of pagan worship and ritual all hidden under the cloak of smug rich faces.

Snowtown Murders (2011)

Director: Justin Kurzel
Starring: Lucak Pittaway, Daniel Henshallm Lousie Harris, Frank Ćwiertniak, Anthony Groves .Australia. 1h 59m

This brutal Australian serial killer movie is a slightly overbearing,  a nearly unwatchable portrait of a gruesome man and a blighted community with his smug smile and ability to sweet talk a community into assisting his plot to torture and kill.

Justin Kurzel’s cold nightmarish story based on the timeline of killing of Australia’s most notorious serial killer focuses more on the town and folk surrounding him, in particular a young teenage boy forced into his grisly covert operations. The title reflects the wintry name of the south Australian Townsend in which all the murders were carried out. Kurzel’s camera hovers around the dated dinner tables and community halls sneaking a social eye over these events where a cunning jackal like predator twists and turns the perceptions of “innocent” folk to help him track and pin down people who he doesn’t believe should exit anymore.

All Hallowes Eve (2013)

Director: Damien Leone
Starring: Katie Maguire, Catherine A. Callahan, Marie Maser .USA. 1h 23m

I won’t even attempt to hide the fact that I get so confused with the history of Art the Clown. I vaguely remember seeing clips of him appearing in YouTube mixes and totally missed Terrifier (2011) which seems to have been remade in 2016, after this unsettling anthology All Hallows Eve, which successfully captures the spirit of Halloween in a very disturbing way and sets itself apart from all the other spooky anthologies.

The Tyrant Prince (2020)

Director: Chigozie Oduah
Starring: Yul Edochie, Uju Okoli, Nobert Waski Oguegbu, Ngozi Evuka, Joseph Daniels, Rita Arum, Mike Oscar Isamede .Nigeria. 4h +

Nollywood always comes across as being quite different when it starts to mix mythology and special effects battles which is how this epic opens, with what appears to be an angry prince dueling evil entity however as the film kicks into gear we start to learn that this prince isn’t as violent as he first appears, switching back and forth through time we learn about this doomed royal family with a king is laying in a coma to which his traditional African doctor cannot wake him and in the meantime his son spends his time throwing his weight around and persuading people to do whatever he wishes. His girlfriend is belittled in front of the servants and ordered to kiss his feet when he’s angry with her, on top of this a further insult is that  any women in the village has to be made availabel to him

Short Movie Roundup 13 December 2020

Bloodletting – Alter

I don’t usually add trigger warnings but this film does deal with ideas surrounding miscarriages. A woman, learning to deal with loss, finds her life a recurring cycle of pain and blood as she struggles to blend in with her support and help group.

There’s a somber overtone of Katia Mancuso’s film, littered with hurt and grief. maybe not a horror per say unless you’ve been in a similar situation but definitely a difficult watch to see someone struggle so much and with no way to help other than through care and time.