Dying Breed

Dying Breed was actually the second ADHF III film I saw, but didn't get around to reviewing it until now. It's one of those films that seems so utterly cliche that you can't help but love it. And if you haven't already figured it out from the picture, this is a cannibal movie. So anyway, Dying Breed is about some friends who go to the jungles of Australia in search of a supposedly extinct tiger; the Tasmanian Tiger to be exact. Once they arrive, they stumble into a small town with hillbilly-ish residents who seem semi nice, even though they are strange. Once the friends get their lodgings and get settled in, it's off into the jungle to search for the tiger. What they find instead is a clan of cannibals who are looking for women to take and continue their lineage with. Um, eww? They're violent and won't hesitate to kill and eat anyone that tries to stop their pursuit. Very graphic and bloody, but a bit slow in places. I did enjoy this movie, but I was left feeling like there could've been a bit more. I give it 4/5 stars. If you like cannibal movies, give this one a go.

Happy Nightmares, my loves.

Perkins' 14

Perkins' 14 was one of my most anticipated ADHF films for this year. It started out as an idea pitched to the Massify.com website that was hosting a contest for the first ever fan-made After Dark film. When Perkins' 14 made it to the top, I was thrilled. It was the idea I was most looking forward to seeing turned into a film. When it finally came out on DVD, I rented it as soon as Blockbuster opened. I watched it by myself that night in the dark, and afterwards, I felt paranoid and creeped out; sort of like a panic attack waiting to happen. This film is about a man named Robert Perkins who watches his parents die at the hands of a muderer when he was only six or so. To get his revenge, he kidnaps 14 young children and keeps them hostage for years. He brainwashes them into believing that his parent's killer will one day return for him and these children must "kill for Perkins." Perkins is caught later on at a crime scene and taken into custody. The head cop, who's son was taken, realizes who Perkins is and sends another cop out to his house to investigate. Once the cop steps into the basement, all hell breaks lose. Perkins' 14 may seem like a zombie movie, but it's a thousand times better. Zombie movies are all cliche. These kids are not dead, but they've been drugged and brainwashed, so they act like zombies. Amazing suspense, blood, gore, etc. I loved every second of this film. Definitely one of the better ADHF films of this year. See this movie! You won't be disappointed.

Happy Nightmares, my loves.

From Within

From Within is one of the 8 Films to Die For/After Dark Horrorfest films. It's the fourth one I've seen, and in my opinion, one of the best. It's not scary or gory, but it has a psychological suspense to it, kinda like Penny Dreadful did in the first set of ADHF films. From Within is about a small town that's insanely religious. However, when people start dying by their own hand, the townsfolk start to get antsy. They blame Aidan, a local boy whose mother was killed by the town because they believed she was a witch. The pastor's son attacks Aidan, and when the son's girlfriend intervenes and begins helping Aidan, everyone claims she's been taken by the devil. The pastor and his son take her and try to expel the "demons" that have invaded her. Obviously it doesn't work because she's not possessed. The rest of the movie just builds up until the last 20 minutes or so when everything comes to a head. The climax is very rewarding and the ending is quite good. I was quite pleased with this movie and I'd recommend it to everyone. 5/5 stars.

Happy Nightmares, my loves.

Splinter

Mmkay, so after reading an article about this in Fangoria, although I cannot find it now, I was excited to see this movie. I didn't know it had been on Sci-Fi Channel on Valentine's Day, so I missed the TV premiere. It did just come out to DVD this month, so I rented it. Now I don't know if it was because I was tired or if the movie just sucked overall, but I did NOT like this movie one bit. The little cheers on the front of the DVD about this being the best and awesome...those are lies, at least in my opinion. The movie started off in an ok fashion, then got kinda lame. When the one couple is kidnapped/carjacked by the other couple and they hit something in the road, you think, ok, good stuff. However, the rest of the movie is so...I don't even know what word I wanna use here...maybe plotless? Stupid? Poorly done? Anyway, the actors attempt to pull off some actual acting, but they're so lifeless and the lines are so cheesy in most scenes that I couldn't even handle watching some of it. The one actor looks like a wannabe Screech(Dustin Diamond) and he's a total nerd with the worst dialogue ever. Ugh. And when they're hiding in the freezer and the "bad" guy is infected, they cut off his arm, yet you don't even see a stump and there's hardly any blood. Overall, this movie could've been a thousand times better if given the proper people to handle it. I was highly disappointed with this one. If you get the chance to see this on TV or watch it online free, do it. Save yourself the money.

Happy Nightmares, my loves.

Laid to Rest

I just saw Laid to Rest last night and it was amazing! Fascinating kills and lots of blood and gore. Definitely my kind of movie. Laid to Rest is about a young woman who wakes up in a coffin and has no idea who she is, where she is, how she got there, etc. She's locked in the funeral home, but when the owner of the home tries to save her, he's murdered. The rest of the movie is basically "Princess," as she's so aptly named by the man trying to help her, trying to escape from the crazy killer that's stalking her, aptly named Chrome Skull. It's a wild ride, and although it's only 90 minutes long, it never stops or lets you feel a moment of relief. The last 10 minutes are probably my favorite part. I can't really say too much more without giving the whole movie away, so if you're liking what you're reading so far, go rent this movie! It's fantastic!

Happy Nightmares, my loves.

Nightmares

Nightmares is a collection of 4 short horror films, all meant to terrify you. However, Nightmares is from the 1980's and is actually kind of cheesy/corny nowadays. I first saw this movie on tv when I was about 6 or 7. I don't remember the first film at all, but I do remember the other three. Chapter 1 is called Terror in Topanga, in which a woman feels the need to go out late at night just for cigarettes and ends up getting more than she bargained for. Chapter 2 is called Bishop of Battle and stars a young Emilio Estevez. It's about a teenager(Estevez) who is obsessed with the arcade game, Bishop of Battle. So obsessed, that he sneaks out of his house late one night and breaks into the arcade just to play. The ending bothered me as a kid and I had nightmares about it afterwards. Chapter 3 is called The Benediction and stars Lance Henriksen as a priest who has lost his faith. That is, until he starts being followed by a truck with tinted windows. The driver is pretty obvious once you see what's hanging from the rearview mirror, but it's still pretty decent. Chapter 4 is called Night of the Rat. This movie scared me so bad as a kid that I slept in my sister's room for a week. After watching it again now, though, it's a bit lame, but still scares me. It's about a family who hears something moving through their walls. After trapping and killing the baby rat, the family thinks everything is a-ok. WRONG! Mama rat is not happy and is out for revenge. All in all, for a movie from the 80's, it's not really that bad, but it's not really that scary, either. Special effects are kinda lame, but if you like cheesy 80's horror films, give this a whirl. Copies are insanely difficult to find, though, so I wish you luck in trying to find it. My score is 2.75/5.

Happy Nightmares, my loves.

Slaughter/After Dark Horrorfest

So Slaughter is actually the third ADHF film I've seen so far(the other two are Dying Breed and Perkins' 14). I have to say that the movie is 95 minutes long and about 45 minutes kinda drag on and are a bit slow, although they do build up the suspense and make you anticipate the "horror" the film is promising. Now if you're a gore hound like I tend to be, you will probably be disappointed in the film. Slaughter has very little blood, but what it lacks in gore, it makes up for in squeamish, cringe-worthy moments. The last 45 minutes or so are pretty decent. You've got two girls who look alike. Ones a city girl and ones a farm girl. Both girls also have unhappy pasts they're trying to forget. However, one girl's past is another girl's horror, as you get to see near the end. Piercing someone's skin with a giant needle? Check! Pliers, novacaine, and teeth? Check! Getting revenge on the person that caused your horrible past? Check! Now I don't think I gave too much away, so if you're liking what you're reading so far and you want to know more, I suggest renting yourself this little old film. Motive behind everything is fascinating and the ending is pretty decent in the way it sort of just...well, you'll have to see it and judge for yourself. All in all, Slaughter gets 3 1/2 stars out of 5 in my book. This year's ADHF is shaping up to be decent for once, and that makes me nothing short of happy.

Happy nightmares, my loves.

First Blog/Getting To Know You

M'kay, so here's the deal. This blog is gonna be dedicated to my love of horror films. I live and breathe horror, seeing as that's what I grew up on, hence my fascination with officially blogging about them. Now I suppose I should tell you a bit about myself before we begin. Here goes...

My name's Jasmine, but I go by Jazz.
I'm 24 and a stay at home mom.
I've lived in Pennsylvania my whole life, and I hate it here.
Horror movies are my best friends(not really, but if inanimate objects were cool enough to be friends, then yeah, the movies would be).
I also enjoy rock music and reading horror books.

Ok, so that's all you really need to know, so let's move on to the good stuff: horror film reviews.
See next blog for my first review.