The Curse of Aubrey Ernshaw (2020)

AKA Blood Harvest

Director: Thomas Robert Lee Starring:Catherine Walker, Jared Abrahams, Sean McGinley, Jessuca Reynold, Don McKellar. USA. 1h 34m

For the most part, The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw is a slightly perplexing pagan tale, seeming to take roots from a host of folklore horror classics but while it’s a masterclass of cinematography and there’s nothing negative to be said about the acting, there’s just not really enough here to bite into, or at least nothing we haven’t seen done better elsewhere.

I am Zozo (2006)

AKA Are You There?

Director:Scott Di Lalla .
Starring.Demetrius Sager,Courtney Foxworthy, Kelly McLaren, Caleb Courtney USA. 1h 25m.

As part of my Occult A-Z I have been watching some of the best and worst that cinema has to offer and pretty early on I was easily set on this being the end of the list but i’m afraid that the list will end on a low note.

I‘m a huge supporter of lower budget movies but what they lack funds they do have to make up with some passion, some drive, a bit of energy!! But this is little more than entry level horror, which is a shame as the whole Zozo mythos is pretty interesting and usually harbors a few jumps and sleepless nights.

Friend Request (2016)

Director: Simon Verhoeven.
Starring. Alycia Debnam-Carey, William Moseley, Connor Paolo, Brit Morgan, Brooke Markham, Sean Marquette, Liesl Ahlers. Germany/South Africa. 1h 22m.

Not remembering where this came during the more recent spate of social media horrors, it seem that the idea of the supernatural being broadcast and manipulating people through the internet isn’t something new but something that works better on paper or maybe by being narrated on YouTube on the Creepypasta channels. But this English language German horror does offer some brilliant jump scares but lacks the substance in between.

Laura (Debnam-Carey) is one of the more popular kids at college, who lives a privileged and beautiful life, one day she accepts an online request from a loner called Marina (Ahlers) the two strike up a friendship, albeit it at arms length when Laura notices the dark and disturbing imagery on Marina facebook page. Laura starts to notice how possessive Marina is getting and lies to her about an upcoming birthday party claiming it’s going to be a quiet one but the photos of her enjoying a lavish dinner date with her friends and family get uploaded and Marina confronts her in the dinner hall, as the argument gets heated Marina hood falls down revealing a bloody scalp from her habitual hair pulling.

Warlock III : End of Innocence (1999)

Director: Eric Freiser

Starring: Bruce Payne, Ashley Laurence, Boti Bliss, Angel Boris, Paul Francis, Rick Hearst, Jan Schweiterman . USA . 1h 34m

I only discovered there was a third installment of Warlock about 10 years after it had been released, maybe because it was a direct to DVD release or possibly because no one was talking about it, cos it just wasn’t up to par with the first two films.

You can tell when a film has no budget as the sets and locations shrink down to a minimum, and this one house film is incredibly dull and quite boring.

Seemingly inspired by the now cult classic Warlock theme, an enchanted and highly determined Warlock who travels through time to be reborn and usher in the new beginning by raising Satan, originally the films see the Warlock travelling the world getting into all kinds of hijinx, tricking and slaughtering as he goes, but it’s down theatrics now…

Hereditary (2018)

Director: Ari Aster
Starring: Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Gabriel Byrne. USA. 2h 7m

Boldly highlighted as the most frightening film of all time, Hereditary certainly does have its moments and a dark twisted ending but is it really all that horrific? It’s undeniably creepy and boils into a crescendo of violence and psychological demise, but what it doesn’t offer are hoards of false jump scares, buckets of blood or unbelievable torture porn.

It’s hard to detail the movie as it’s subtle approach and devilish details makes it something that once explained will ruin many surprises. The movie does manage to support a constant feeling of dread for the first 90 minutes it’s hard to really see which direction the film is taking, hard to know what’s real and what might be a dream and ultimately it lines up a powerful ending that won’t be predicted by the more discerning horror fan.

E-Demon (2018)

Director: Jeremy Wechter
Starring: Julia Kelly, John Anthony Wylliams, Christopher Daftsios.  USA. 1h 26m

It’s quite easy to simply explain this movie as being a demonic indie version of Unfriended (2014) but that would be doing it a disservice as it’s actually better than unfriended, not only is the creepy atmosphere more enhanced it has much better setups to it’s more shocking moments.

Launching with a masked figure warning us about “certain events”and truths that have to be exposed to the public, an  Anonymous style broadcast is a stark warning from the E Demon Resistance that opens with a group of friends start a routine web chat, and start to enact their favourite past times which is basically pranking each other which they lightheartedly called “getting freaked”.  The first uber elaborate prank involved a young man speaking with his grandmother who warns him about a haunted trunk and witchcraft. He proceeds to go into the loft where he has opened the trunk and starts to perform a ritual which results in him releasing a deviously clever demon that had been trapped for centuries in Salem, Massachusetts.

Warlock (1989)

Director: Steve Miner
Starring: Julian Sands, Lori Singer, Richard E Grant . USA . 1h 43m

The beauty about Warlock is the links to folklore and the sharp dressed bas ass warlock played by Julian Sands and the uber charismatic Richard E Grant as the hunter. Both Brits have amazing screen presence but were able to empower their own characters while not overshadowing each other.

David Twohy has first conceived a story about a witch being persecuted during the crazed 17th Century and was seeking revenge but the film developed into some more sinister as the writing progressed, instead of take down and revenge, we just have a evil mastermind obsessed with releasing Satan onto the earth.

Favourite Scene – Viy (1967)

In this 1960’s folklore inspired horror fest, a young monk, Khoma;  is tasked with saying prayers over the body of a beautiful maiden who is in fact a witch and she terrorising him each night, the tormenting intensifies until the last night where the showdown unleashed all the goblins and trolls the witch can muster and the novice monk has an epic show down and has to basically exorcise the witch. This show down is amazing and I feel that for these scene alone the film should be recognised by more people.

The Witch : Post Discussion

Please note that this post discussion is a post discussion! Therefore it’s full of spoilers and discloses information about the ENTIRE film, including the beginning middle and yes the ending, and also these films…damn there is no other films like it..

So if you’ve not seen The Witch (2015) or any of the above, it’s probably better not to read on, instead please check out my spoiler free review here.

THE FILM
There’s something captivating in the demise of this pious family. Since the release of the Witch in 2015 it’s been hard for audiences to fathom what is going on in this occult horror, the curiosity has helped the $1 million gross over $37 million at the box office. Often being found to be boring and diving audiences as it strays away from loud noises, false jump scares and screaming teens flashing a bit of boob, it’s not even all the subtle in it’s approach, there are torturous scenes and graphic violence throughout but as the perceptions of witchcraft are subdued to a mysticism they aren’t perceived as being scary by modern and young audiences. The horror isn’t just aimed at Christians although the Satanic backing does raise many eyebrows and questions, but the ingenious aspect is that it argues on both sides of the religious coin.

Haxan (1922)

Day 8 of 31

Director: Benjamin Christensen
Starring: Astrid Holm Anna Jean-Luc Ponty (William S. Burroughs 1966 version) Benjamin Christensen as Satan/The Doctor Elisabeth Christensen Karen Winther. Sweden. 1h 31m

After reading a copy of the Malleus Maleficarum Christensen spent two years researching the history of Witchcraft and the hellish witch trials and after securing the funding he produced the most expensive silent movie of all time. Haxan is split into 4 plays, the first play details the primitive concept of the cosmos and using ancient artifacts it depicts the solar system and hell.