When Ginger Nuts of Horror founder, Jim Mcleod sent this to me, he attached a message stating that he had a feeling I’d want it. While I took it as a great honor that my relationship with Jim is growing, there is a part of me that rebelled against my personal tastes being easily identifiable. But he was right.
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With Alive, we are thrown immediately in the situation as Male (Cocquerel) and Female Patient (Stopps) wake up in a grungy hospital, both having undergone an excessive amount of surgeries and suffering from amnesia. As they try to remember their prior lives and regain their strength, they are assisted by The Man (Macfadyen). The story unfolds as you would probably expect, with the Man being more of a tormenting captor than the “savior doctor” he claims to be. While Female Patient tries to play along the best she can, Male Patient is obviously more resistant, causing the two men to constantly butt heads. I’ve seen it, you’ve probably seen it. Yet I was there for every second.

Alive succeeds mainly because of the core cast’s talent, as a good portion of the movie is with the patients in their hospital beds, while The Man tries to “mend them” through medicine, food, surgery, or physical therapy. While there are many plot elements that fall into cliché territory, especially regarding The Man’s childhood trauma and so on, Macfadyen handles it with a subtly and theatrics needed to make these mad scientist roles shine. This also is not to diminish the skill of Stopps and Cocquerel, who prove to be more than surrogates for the audience. Many reviews I’ve done recently have mentioned that while you don’t need likeable characters, they need to be compelling and the audience needs to CONNECT. I found no lack of connection or empathy here, especially with Stopps’ character.

Classified as a medical horror, there is no shortage of cringeworthy parts that are extremely effective. I can watch a monster or some supernatural being tearing through people and be fine but add the realistic horror that comes with surgery and my body tenses up. I will also mention that the violence does feel earned while avoiding the crossover into “torture porn,” which can happen very quickly if handled by a less skilled writer or director.

Caleb Watches Movies, returns to Ginger Nuts of Horror with a review of Human Zoo ​
The internet watches live, as reality-show contestants struggle against time to see who will stay in solitary confinement the longest and take home the one million dollar prize.

Director: John E Seymore
Writers: John E Seymore, John D. Crawford 
Stars: Robert Carradine, Jose Rosete, Rachel Amanda Bryant 

Caleb grew up all over the Midwest of the United States, but eventually settled on calling Saginaw, MI his home.  His earliest memories are of watching movies ranging from Tim Burton’s Batman to Back to the Future; which some would consider to be a horror film (his mom wants to sleep with him – come on).

He spent his time in undergrad at Saginaw Valley State University where he study the craft of acting.  He starred in over 20 productions there including Pippin, The Crucible, The Andrews Brothers, and One for the Pot.  He also received the award for Outstanding Theatre Major during his senior year.

Caleb decided to continue his theatrical education by attending grad school at Eastern Michigan University, where he received an MA in theatre performance.  There he developed his love for teaching and furthered his love of movie watching.  Caleb is currently an Adjunct Instructor at SVSU, where he teaches theatre to non-theatre majors and education majors.
 
In 2017, Caleb decided to develop his own creative outlet that would fulfill his desire to perform and his desire to watch movies.  So, he launched his YouTube channel called Caleb Watches Movies, where he randomly selects films that he owns from all genres and produces a review from the average person’s perceptive.  It is a great mixture of humor, performance, realness, and honesty.  The channel has seen tremendous growth in a short amount of time, and it is also Caleb’s catalyst to etch his legacy in a recorded medium.

He currently resides in Kalamazoo, MI with his wife, cat-sons and cat-daughters.
 
https://www.youtube.com/c/CalebWatchesMovies
 
https://www.facebook.com/CalebWatchesMovies
 
https://twitter.com/Calebwatchmovie
 
www.instagram.com/calebwatchesmovies/

When his father dies, Aaron (Michael Welch) returns home after years away to help his mother (Lin Shaye). Soon he encounters an ancient urn that contains a Djinn, which grants any wish he asks, but of course it comes with a caveat. Created by some of the minds behind Final Destination, it is marketed as a combination of that and the cult favorite Wishmaster, and it can’t be described any better. The story is Wishmaster told through the plot points of a Final Destination movie down to Tony Todd, purely there for an exposition dump.
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I have a special place in my heart for both of those series. They’re fun popcorn flicks, that have enough silliness where my non-horror-loving wife actually enjoys them. It could be a match made in heaven, and for many parts, when they’re allowing themselves to have fun with the ridiculousness of the plot, it is. The two leads (Welch and Shaye) do a great job with what a movie of that nature provides them, and there are some great effects. I can see the appeal and I want to be on the inside with those that really like it. The biggest issue comes from them trying so hard to make a “serious” horror movie, that it just sucks the life right out of something that could be a blast. Then again, the first Final Destination did the same thing, which is why the sequels embraced the silliness and pushed them to be more over-the-top.

The best way to describe the, “trying to make a serious horror movie,” is there are a slew of movies that make every building decrepit, every character look “off,” and so on. This ultimately desensitizes us as an audience, so when the scares come around, they don’t have the punch that they should. If you were to witness a horrible act in a dark, grimy alley it’d be scary, yes? But if you witness that same horrific act in a normal-looking house, that contrast can make it more impactful. This also translates to a major challenge for the characters. We are made to believe that Aaron is selfish, moving away to Chicago from his quaint hometown to pursue a bigger and better life. He hasn’t visited in years and rarely checks on his parents to the point that he didn’t even know his own father was fighting a disease for some time. Yet when he returns home and we witness how he’s treated by the community and even his own mother, which her grief is not enough of an excuse for what she says to him constantly throughout the movie, and not a surprise why he didn’t return. I sure wouldn’t.
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In the end they threw every scary aesthetic imaginable at the wall in hopes that at least one would stick. Instead we are left with a story having multiple personalities and the viewer spending the time like a cheerleader for a losing team, rooting for them to turn around while the minutes went from double to single digits, then to seconds, then… BZZZZZZZ.
 
2 out of 5

Director: David Marmor
Writer: David Marmor
Starring: Nicole Brydon Bloom, Giles Matthey, Taylor Nichols

There’s the Los Angeles I know!

1BR plays off interesting philosophies that I’ve been thinking about for some time, and this review is allowing me a unique opportunity, even if obliquely, to have a larger discussion that has piqued my interest. Thanks to the success of films like The Farewell, which clearly lays out differences between eastern and western philosophies, showing how the west values individualism, while the east is more likely to demonstrate how one best contributes to society. In the wake of a global pandemic and witnessing how many western nations and its citizens reacted, it had many of us having to make the choice between our own needs and what is best for masses. This movie does not really explore this question, actually it veers on the side of western individualism while treating the other as cult-like, but it allowed me to show where my head has been lately and for that I’m grateful.

The story follows a green Los Angeles transplant, Sarah, as she is searching for her first apartment to start a new life and claim her independence. She comes across the perfect apartment complex, affordable, safe, overly friendly, and community based. However, Sarah soon finds herself terrorized because with all rental agreements there is a catch. To obtain the perfect community, you must shed your individualism for the betterment of society. Don’t worry, this realization happens within the first act of the film, leaving us primarily with the focus being on the brainwashing of Sarah and her acceptance of community-over-individuality, so anything I’m saying aren’t really spoilers.

I must begin with that movie is technically strong, and I found myself engaged throughout. While the twists and turns don’t come out of the blue, like the “creepy character” is actually her true ally, as well as some other clichés that are used for constructing the narrative, its strength is in Marmor’s vision, making any of the trivial issues fade while he materializes a captivating story.
The biggest flaw lies with the character’s arc (hero’s journey or however else you wish to say it). The journey as we are made to believe should go like this: A woman who has been controlled or coddled throughout her whole life finally claims her independence. As the mantra in the movie goes, “it’s my own fucking life.”

However, when we meet Sarah, she is already in the process of claiming her independence, getting out from under the control of her father, and taking over her own “fucking life.” So, the hero’s journey we are given instead goes: A woman claims independence, is brainwashed into shedding her individuality for the betterment of the community and claims her independence again. While this version is still accomplishable, it doesn’t really impact us or allow us to empathize with Sarah’s struggles and growth as effectively as it could. We are also left with these elements like her “controlling” father is willing to listen to what she has to say and is trying his best to make amends for his past infidelity. While elements like this may seem insignificant, they diminish the power that 1BR is attempting to obtain.

This type of criticism is a matter linked back to conception and the writing stage, as everything else from the directing to the acting to the technical aspects are great accomplishments. Yet with stories like these that are more character-study oriented than spectacle-driven you really need both the acting and the script to be flawless, as that’s where our focus will lie since there isn’t the spectacle or effects to divert our attention.
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Don’t get me wrong, I will watch this again and may even buy it because there is something in it that’s intriguing to me and deserves more attention. I would love to see what Marmor could do with another person’s script, because I think he would blow us away. Ultimately for me, 1BR is one of those that doesn’t necessarily check any boxes to standout as an outright great horror/thriller film. It’s not really scary, disturbing, or suspenseful, its theme is underutilized, and the character’s journey isn’t fully realized. Although it is well done, I felt it is a tarnished gem that just needed a little more polishing. 
 
4 out of 5

Review by Craig Draheim

BLUE FINCH FILMS PRESENTS APARTMENT 1BR – AVAILABLE DIGITALLY ON JUNE 8 ON THE FOLLOWING PLATFORMS:
iTunes – Amazon – Sky Store – Virgin – Google Play 

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Caleb Watches Movies, returns to Ginger Nuts of Horror with a review of Arachnophobia.

Arachnophobia is a 1990 American black comedy horror film directed by Frank Marshall and starring Jeff Daniels and John Goodman. It was the first film released by The Walt Disney Studios' Hollywood Pictures label, as well as being the directorial debut of Marshall. The film's story centers on a newly discovered Venezuelan spider being transported to a small American town that produces a new species of deadly spiders, which begin killing the town's residents one by one.

Shooting took place in Venezuela and California and the film was released in the United States on July 18, 1990. It was a modest commercial success, gaining $53.21 million at the box office and received generally positive reviews from critics.

Remember Tim Burton’s Batman? It was fun and the world felt like a hyper-stylized comic book. Then Christopher Nolan’s “serious” interpretation came along, attempting to put Batman in the real world. Now imagine someone sitting around going, “I wanna make a gritty version of Fright Night.” That’s what Frank Sabatella’s The Shed feels like it’s trying to accomplish. So, does it work?

The Shed is about a troubled teenager, Stan (Jay Jay Warren), who is from the wrong side of tracks and just going through the motions until he turns 18, which everyone assumes he’ll end up in jail. He spends most of his time ditching class with his friend, Dommer (Cody Kostro), hating the world and wishing they could get back at all the horrible people in their life. Then his life is changed when a vampire ends up in Stan’s work shed to escape the sun, presenting him and Dommer with an uneasy conundrum. Do they use this monster to free themselves of their tormentors or face near-certain death trying to stop it?

This is one of those concepts that lends itself to be a great low budget movie. Allowing for building of tension without the need to show a lot and character depth through moral dilemma. The opening promises potential, especially in representation of the shed. Proof of Sabatella’s skill is in the fact that he makes an old, rusted shed a character of its own. Unfortunately, that shed is given more authentic character-arc and depth than most of the non-inanimate cast. That’s not for lack of trying. The movie is filled with moments to hear these characters’ struggles like an episode of Dawson’s Creek. These teenagers feel like they were written by an adult, because at 30 I still don’t have the emotional understanding that they do. I can get over teenagers sounding like mature adults or walking stereotypes (which there are), if the movie is engaging, but it wasn’t for me.

It was unable to avoid the obstacle that plagues many ultra-low budget movies… What to create with a limited budget? Yes, a low budget should not limit your creativity, but it may alter how you tell that story. If you took at the concept of two bullied teens that are one degree away from being the kids from Columbine, put a vampire in their shed, strip away the pointless love interest, and make it 80 minutes… That’s terrifying. Instead there’s a struggle between going for a personal story that fits to making a standard vampire tale with the obligatory “suit up” scene and having characters become grizzled vampire slayers. So, as it’s transitioning to this vampire slayer flick, you end up with something that feels incredibly tame. It’s not a good sign if you find yourself rooting for the vampire to provide at least one unexpected element.

I can go on by pointing out the strange quirks that borderline plot questions, but I feel no one wants to read my ramblings on was I a weird teenager for NOT sleeping in my clothes every night, utilization of too many “it was just a dream” scares, or if you know it’s killed by sunlight, why take the wood pieces off to expose the sun into the structure? And so on.
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In the end it was a fine movie that’ll be a great showcase for all involved. However, any reflection the audience will have after watching it will be all the different ways it could’ve been more effective.
 
2 out of 5

 
It may seem somewhat odd to read a review of a four-year-old film but as it didn’t pick up much of an audience first time round - and it’s now to be found lurking on the magical carousel on Amazon Prime - I thought it worthy of the attention of the fine tasted horror aficionados who frequent Ginger Nuts of Horror. Much like The Autopsy of Jane Doe and Wake Wood, it’s a film probably best discovered by being stumbled upon by accident. I shall attempt my level best to keep this review as spoiler free as possible.
 
National treasure Steve Oram (Kill List, Sightseers, The Canal) plays Joseph Solomon. Solomon is an occultist, a shaman, a magus – but he’s a far cry from your Doctor Strange “By the Omniscience of the Ancient One!” type. Instead, Solomon is just a bloke who decided to pick up a battered copy of Ars Notoria instead of Loaded back in his teens, a guy who’d rather have attended the occasional ritual magick ceremony than watch Leicester City play at Filbert Street. He’s a track-suited John Constantine.

​Solomon is a damaged human being, whether that be from his dabbling with the occult, or his alcoholism.  His magical services are being paid for by the equally broken Sophia (played by Catherine Walker), grieving and bitter at the death of her only child. She’s rented a remote house in Wales and has entrusted Solomon to lead her in an arduous rite from the Book of Abramelin, a month long ritual to summon a Guardian Angel in order that Sophia can speak with her dead offspring.
 
A Dark Song is as much character study as horror, a tale of two disparate personalities –equally lost souls forced to endure each other as much as the gruelling elements of the ritual. Despite the occasional glorious exterior shot of the surrounding Irish countryside pretending to be Welsh, the house is claustrophobic and has them both voluntarily trapped within its confines – in some ways, this is an ideal film for the lockdown we found ourselves in.
 
Solomon talks Sophia (and therefore, us too) through the preparations for the ritual. They are elaborate. Any doubts that Solomon is a con-artist and charlatan out to con Sophia are quickly dispelled. The magic here is real.  It is demanding, it is complicated, and it requires resilience and sacrifice. The territory they are preparing to enter is dangerous, and it is a journey not to be undertaken lightly.  As Solomon explains to Sophia, “This world will be merged with other worlds, and others will hear.”

 
As a related aside, I’m an absolute sucker for films that take themselves seriously.
 
As an eager overly excitable six-year-old, it was the lasers and the flying spaceships in Star Wars that excited me and held my attention. As an adult, I can appreciate that the universe looks used and lived in, and that space travel isn’t about flashy gleaming aerodynamic ships and silver space suits – it’s about nuts and bolts and heat-scorched paintwork and functional yet uncomfortable outfits. In a recent re-watch of Return of the Jedi, my attention was drawn to the Alliance helmets they wear on Endor. Some are imperfect fits, and they’re all scratched and battle worn. This isn’t super space soldier armour™ but mass-produced stuff that’s been dragged out of a rebel storage crate – or more likely, taken from the head of a previously living Rebel. I can buy the mysticism of The Force because the rest of the film feels real enough.
 
Alien works because the Nostromo feels like a real place, and the crew feel like real flawed people. They’re not Dan Dare and Digby – these ladies and gents are under-paid and overly-pressured workers wondering where their next bonus is coming from.
 
Solomon describes some of the magical rituals and preparations in A Dark Song in such matter-of-fact terms he may as well be reading from an Argos catalogue. There are instructions that must be followed, and you believe every word that spills from his lips. Magic isn’t about wands and hand-waving and Abracadabra – the complex and precise incantations are a programming language for reality ­– you just need to know how to use them and know the risks.
 
I was reminded of the recent Grant Morrison 2010 documentary Talking with Gods. For those of you not in the know, Grant Morrison is a Scottish comics writer who was nabbed by the Americans as part of the British Invasion of the late eighties (which also involved Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman) – I wax lyrical about one of Grant’s finest works at https://gingernutsofhorror.com/features/biff-pow-take-that-cthulhu-of-superheroes-and-elder-gods-david-court. In it, Grant talks about his own experiences with magic. I’m a lapsed Christian now fully committed to atheism, and, despite the fact I write of angels and demons, don’t believe in them or pretty much anything supernatural. However, to hear Grant talk, for the duration of that man talking about it, I am utterly convinced of the genuine nature of magic. He is coherent, authentic, and utterly, utterly convincing. The architecture of A Dark Song – the dark vein that pulses in every piece of scenery, body language and every line of dialogue – is as convincing and genuine as that.

Liam Gavin’s film is terrific. It falters a little in the last act as it lapses slightly into traditional horror film territory but nails the landing with a moment of such breath-taking beauty and a boldness that genuinely surprised me. It’s a beautiful piece of work featuring two actors at the very top of their game. It’s a film ultimately about catharsis and redemption - of a sort - and is quite, quite unique.  Films confined to a single location for budgetary purposes are ten-a-penny, but this is proof that that needn’t be a hinderance to excellent – and smart - filmmaking.
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As an experience, it’s appropriately magical.

David Court is a short story author and novelist, whose works have appeared in over a dozen venues including Tales to Terrify, StarShipSofa, Visions from the Void, Fear’s Accomplice and The Voices Within. Whilst primarily a horror writer, he also writes science fiction, poetry and satire. His last collection, Scenes of Mild Peril, was re-released in 2020 and his debut comic writing has just featured in Tpub’s The Theory (Twisted Sci-Fi). As well as writing, David works as a Software Developer and lives in Coventry with his wife, three cats and an ever-growing beard. David’s wife once asked him if he would write about how great she was. David replied that he would because he specialized in short fiction. Despite that, they are still married. His new collection, Contents May Unsettle, will be his next release.
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Website: www.davidjcourt.co.uk
Twitter: @DavidJCourt

Because I want to get it out of the way, words could not describe the level of excitement I had at the thought of the team behind Pontypool reuniting and joined by Henry Rollins to do a surreal noir. Pontypool is in my top three of personal favorite zombie/outbreak movies and the most innovative concept. Check out the podcast, Faculty of Horror’s episode on Pontypool if you want to listen to two people that can articulate why that movie is so special way better than I ever can. When the opportunity arose to review this for GNOH, I jumped at the chance, willing to power through the spotty internet I am currently isolated in. I went in as best I could with no expectations and tried to avoid synopses or other reviews. Let us begin…

Taking away all the surreal moments, Dreamland is the story of a hitman (McHattie) who is tasked by his boss, Hercules (Rollins), to cut the pinky finger off a famous jazz musician (also McHattie). Once the hitman learns that Hercules has expanded his criminal activities selling child brides, he tries to find redemption in saving one of the girls. However, she has already been sold to the Countess’ brother (who’s a vampire), leading the hitman down a trail of poorly executed plans to find redemption. And yes, I said a vampire, but is treated more like a creepy pedophile (which aren’t all pedophiles creepy?) than a bloodsucker.

Dreamland is one of those movies that sadly will never escape the commentary of it being inspired by David Lynch/Alejandro Jodorowsky. Are there other surrealists that may be connected a little better as inspiration? Yes, but those are the two that primarily get thrown around in reviews. It fits the surreal movie checklist:

X         Doppelgangers
X         Plotlines/dialogue that abruptly end
X         Eccentric villains whose personalities counter the dark lifestyle they live
X         Characters prone to hallucinations or premonitions
X         Smokey cabaret club
X         A bohemian-like dinner party
X         Hypnotic jazz

I don’t mind using those elements at all, and based on the resources I believe McDonald had, he did well making one of those movies. The issue for me came from it feeling like it was trying to be one of those movies, which then you are left with this gut reaction of people creating something to show how smart they are. Don’t get me wrong, all of those involved are incredibly talented and intelligent. Pontypool despite its minimalism is very smart, but its focus is on the grounded characters, the well-developed world, ultimately putting the storytelling first. You can have a film that has more visual imagery (look at Terrence Malick); or a film that requires a shift in approach to create something more in line with cinematic poetry, but this is a film that is intended to be style over substance. However, there’s not enough style to counteract the lack of substance.

I’m sure there’s the assumption of, “well you’re biased because of your love for their older work.” I wish that were the case, unfortunately I think my love for all of their prior projects is why I’m defending it more than I normally would.

Stephen McHattie is superb at showcasing his acting chops in both roles and even Henry Rollins is fun to watch. Do not get me wrong, a gold bar is buried within that movie and it’s trying its hardest to unearthed. Some parts I wished if they cut back on the surreal elements, you would have a nice little stylish noir. Other times I think if they just went weird with it, then you’d have a trippy joyride. The film could have gone either way and been great, they just needed to make that decision during the writing phase.
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I’m sure there will be an audience for this, willing to debate every one of my concerns. For me, this was one of those frustrating cases where so much talent came together to create something that lacked an artistic destination. It felt safe, getting lost in the idea of trying to be someone else’s movie. And the more distance that comes between my initial viewing and these final words I’m typing, I grow less forgiving.
 
2 out of 5

Review by Craig Draheim