huffmanhorrors

I had kind of written off the long black haired Asian ghost movies, but I have to admit I kind of really enjoyed this one. It takes place in Thailand and is about the "Ghost House" that is used in regards to paying tribute to spirits. It's not perfect, but it was entertaining for a low budget film. I always enjoy Scout Taylor Compton in any film I see her in. She has a quality that I like about her. While I enjoyed her in Rob Zombie's Halloween, I think she has done better work in movies like this one where she is required to carry much of the movie and she does great in that regard.

The direction is also very good in the film, even when the script fails. Some shots are composed in a elegant way, bringing the dark beauty of these shrines to life. It's not a gory film, nor should it be. It's simply not that kind of film. Still, there are some very creepy moments in the film and I really thought the dark force that threatens the characters was really well done and scary.

All in all a good low budget film, raised slightly be earnest performances from a decent cast and some truly creepy scenes.

After the online Facebook hype and the rave reviews, much like the film "Don't F**k in the Woods," I was looking forward to seeing this. It is an 80's tribute film, same things MANY low budget people are doing today. So much so that it has ALMOST worn out it's welcome and I LOVE 80's movies. This one has some nice production value and a nice look, even if some of the basics of film production seem to be ignored. And when a film uses a tagline promoting itself in the same breath as "Slumber Party Massacre" you had better deliver. It ALMOST gets it and then takes a nosedive off the deep end of the pool.

Why do almost all low budget films today have to have a group of people who are so nasty. First of all, they are all the same characters. Over and over. And the writers always make me hate them. Terrible people. I have no emotional investment at all in any of them. This is what the originals did right. Watch Halloween, Slumber Party Massacre and Prom Night. Why did I like them? I found people to care about. Even Terror Train and Motel Hell gave us defined characters. It is one thing to want to make a tribute to those films, but these low budget teams today are missing the vital points. They copy the music, they try and outdo the gore, they steal the formula. But they don't get it at all. Maybe when they are better at their craft.

I watched a PG film, Happy Death Day along with this. And I loved it. I normally hate PG movies, especially horror movies. If it would have been gorier, it would have been perfect. The same with Final Girls from a few years ago. Too tame in the gore for me, but great movies. Really good writing. This movie could have been as good, and should have been, but the writing let it down. And the gore. This film should have really went all out with the gore. I wanted to love this, but it was not bloody enough and I had no one to care about.

Still, I do see promise in the film. I would like to see what this team can do as they get better and have a few movies under their belts.

I picked up She Kills at Family Video. I was happy to find it and gave it a spin. I liked the film for the most part. One of the selling points was the tribute to the old style grindhouse movies. It was also my biggest problem with the film. Director Ron Bonk tried so hard to be a certain type of film he forgot to make this one more his own. It is like a greatest hits of scenes from other films I have seen. But they did it first and they were original. There have been many films it seems trying to do this type of tribute film. It's all one scene after another copied from better movies with a bunch of animated digital scratches thrown on it. Ron's film is better than most. I think he knows about these types of films and maybe even experienced them. But I also feel that this style he chose overall kind of hurts the film. She Kills has enough crazy and original ideas that it did not need the gimmicks. I really loved the Sadie character and I think Jennie Russo did a very good job. Overall the acting is in pace with the story and the overall feel of the film. It is over the top. Some of it is fun and pretty well done while some is a bit annoying.

Taking inspiration from films like "Thriller: They Call Her One Eye" and many exploitation films of the 70s, She Kills moves at a good pace and has good technical quality. The sound design is fun in places and the acting, while not great, is fun and ads to the insanity. It's a wild ride to be sure, and one that I intend to take again when I rewatch the film. There is so much going on, I am sure I missed some of the gags. Action moves pretty quickly and the lighting is really good as well. I have to hand it to Ron and his team for going places many films only hint at, without making me regret watching. It's still all in fun. So many films today seem to just push atrocities in my face and tell me it is entertainment. It's not. It is disgusting and I turn it off. Ron keeps things fun and light, no matter how nasty it gets.

Ron Bonk also did one of my two favorite Hi-8 segments so I am looking forward to what he does next. After the disappointing Empire State of the Dead, I feel he is back on track with this film. It is a good movie to watch with friends who are open minded and get a laugh out of movies like this. In the end, I was entertained and that is what we watch movies for. I gave it 5, and would have gone a bit higher if so much of this didn't feel stolen from other films. But I give it an A for effort! Makes a nice triple bill with Night of Something Strange and Dreaming Purple Neon. All films that express love for an age of cinema sadly long gone. And all of them, like this movie, are really crazy movies where anything can happen, and probably will.

You have to admit, a title like this is hard to live up to. I am not even hard to please. I love low budget and even micro-budget cinema. The issue is, with all the hype online, the fact that it played Film festivals where other movies were shut out and the good reviews, I expected it to be a fun, wild ride. I was happy it wasn't a slasher film as that would be too expected. But the Creature in this Feature is a guy in trash bags with a Halloween mask from Spirit that has been doctored. And I could even forgive THAT if the film were more fun. The story is the same old retread "Group of jerks in the woods." Talky to the extreme, the 73 minute running time feels like 2 plus hours. And the online reviews obviously must be friends with the director. It's basically his show here as his name is pretty much every credit. We get that it's a Shawn Birkett film, how can we not? Just on the DVD box his name appears no less than 8 times in a small block of credits, not to mention the actual film.

After all that hype and the Film Fests and the rave reviews from these so-called Horror sites, this just simply wasn't the film ANY of them described. I guess that is the problem I am having. I have seen these same reviewers attack films I like for bad acting or pacing issues and pretty much all that I found wrong here, yet they acted like this film was simply perfect. So when I watched the film, it actually hurt. Had I not read that stuff. I probably would not feel so disappointed. As it stands, I gave it a 3 for effort, but execution was lacking. They just announced a sequel. That was another reason I rushed out and got a copy. But why make a sequel to a film like this one? A great title does not mean a great time at the movies.

There are some good things about the film, some of the cast tries very hard while others almost derail the film entirely. The technical aspects are all pretty decent. I can hear what everyone says for the most part and the dark woods scenes are lit well enough to see most of what is happening. Many of these micro-budget movies don't get that right so I am happy about that. Music was OK, but forgettable. I am hoping things improve for the sequel, as I really liked the "Last Girl" in this one and hope she comes back for part 2. But I think I'll wait until I can get it free on Amazon for that one.

Sadly, 3 stars. I really wanted to give it more.

Part of a triple feature Horror night at Regency Cinema Valley Plaza 6 Theaters in North Hollywood on January 26th, Bonehill Road was a real highlight for me. Nerve shredding suspense, unexpected twists and turns and kick ass practical monster effects fuel Bonehill Road, the newest horrorfest from indie director Todd Sheets. The emphasis in the script is on character development and building intense terror rather than just one gore scene after another. And the film has much more impact thanks to this approach. There are some superb set pieces building to an impressive final third in a remote farmhouse surrounded by very effective werewolves, whose intelligence matches their savage and violent attacks. The pacing is perfect, allowing us to live with the characters as well as feel every outburst of violence and horror.

The best element of the movie, what really makes it rise above other low budget productions, is the script and how well the characters are brought to life by a small but very talented cast who really do an incredible job. I appreciate that director Sheets didn't insult his audience by giving us poorly drawn characters who do the dumbest things. These people are smart, and make realistic decisions. Nothing here happens by "chance" and no one acts like a fool and makes terrible decisions. We can truly understand the way these characters act and behave.

The central focus of the film is the Mother and Daughter team of Emily and Eden, played to perfection by Eli DeGeer and Ana Plumberg. Their interactions really seem real, and the chemistry between the two is honest and touching. Some of my favorite scenes involved just the two of them, trying to unravel a mystery in the dark woods of Bonehill Road. There's a consistent focus on these characters and the ways they are affected by this unreal and terrifying situation. It's incredibly intense and visceral, like all monster movies should be, but it also aims for the heart. The incredible level of acting in this low budget monster film rivals many big budget movies and makes a film about werewolves very believable. The audience I was with truly connected with the film on an emotional level..

Scream Queen Linnea Quigley really does a great job as well, putting in a performance that will surprise her fans, as well as those used to seeing her in much lighter roles. Here she plays a character who, though only in the film for a short time, is a major turning point in the story. We've seen her in bigger parts for sure, but I can say with some certainty that very few of her movie characters have the impact on the viewer as this.

With Bonehill Road, Sheets has taken a classic monster movie and proven himself as a genuine talent and force to be reckoned with in the genre. His take on werewolves is original, and although it had a small budget, Sheets has created a tight little terror film with great locations, sets and 100% practical effects that really deliver on the gore and the scares. The end result is intriguing, shocking, unpredictable and most importantly, realistic, playing perfectly to the documentary feel that Sheets strives for in the camerawork. Gritty and realistic but not falling into the whole Shakycam trap.

A movie like Bonehill Road is further proof that in this age of ghosts, zombies and dull teenage-themed slasher films, werewolves should receive some sort of celebratory recognition as still being scary. The beasts on Bonehill Road are vicious and pack a very real amount of horror on the screen. This is not just a good werewolf movie, it's a very good movie, period. The Audience reacted perfectly, screaming and cheering at all the right places. Meeting the cast and crew at the screening only made the night that much more special. We were able to ask questions and give our opinions straight to the people who worked so hard to bring this wonderful movie to life.

Werewolves were always my favorite monsters growing up, while all my friends preferred Vampires. There have not been many really great werewolf films since the 80s but Bonehill Road really is worthy of being added to the short list.

A well-constructed horror story with beautiful camera shots and lighting in the Dario Argento mold, House of Forbidden Secrets was a good Friday night frightfest. The build-up is nicely put together and you don't need to wait too long before scary things occur within the building. It takes a little bit of time to introduce the characters and set up the story, not in a "slow burn horror" kind of way like The Witch or Ring, but it does have something to say, storyline wise. The Previous occupants still present an ancient evil waiting deep in the bowels beneath the property, waiting to cross back into our world for some bloodthirsty revenge. Director Todd Sheets proves to have a good sense of style and mood, he crafts a film that works and doesn't want to pander to a younger, "hipper" audience for the sake of doing so. He does not pander to audiences who are used to super fast "music video" type editing either.

The tone, the setting, the music, the lighting and the twists in the plot were all produced to get maximum thrills on a meager budget. And I think it worked well here. It's obvious that everyone on this film worked very hard to make something original but that plays like an old Horror movie from the 70s or 80s. Though there are a few hitches, as is the case with most low budget movies, the film takes on a very ambitious story and ends up being a successful endeavor in which the plot, production, and effects are just enough to let the few budgetary glitches slide by barely even noticed. Much better than films that spend millions of dollars and fill the screen with CGI, If you allow yourself, you can be completely pulled into the film itself and take it for what it is, a fun throwback done right. House of Forbidden Secrets was exactly what I had hoped it would be, a fun way to spend an hour and a half.