At first glance, Body Melt is far better than other entries to our terrible film dungeon. The acting, script, direction, music and just about everything else are all immeasurably better than those in, for example, The Room or Birdemic. But the longer Body Melt goes on, the worse it gets. It's horrendously gory throughout and even after it's finished you may struggle to say … [Read more...]
Day of the Dead (1985) review by That Film Guy
Completing the original trilogy of George A Romero's Dead Series is the 1985 film Day of the Dead. Originally he had planned for Day of the Dead to be a sweeping epic zombie film, described as "the Gone with the Wind of zombie films," unfortunately budget limitations forced him to reconsider and eventually scale back production and script. It was released to an excellent … [Read more...]
Re-Animator (1985) review by That Film Punk
Re-Animator often gets forgotten when looking back at the golden age of blood-drenched, gonzo-horror zombie flicks. Your trusted reviewer is frequently aghast at the wannabe splatter-fiends who have either not heard of or not seen this grisly classic. One suspects a few factors for this lack of widespread acknowledgement. Director Stuart Gordon didn't go on to have quite the … [Read more...]
When the Lights Went Out (2012) review by That Film Punk
Loosely based on a (supposedly) true story, When The Lights Went Out is a British horror written and directed by Pat Holden. It tells the story of the Maynards, a young family who move into their dream house in West Yorkshire, only to find themselves terrorised by a poltergeist. With the ghost taking particular interest in 14-year-old Sally, parents Len and Jenny soon find … [Read more...]
Dawn of the Dead (1978) review by That Film Guy
Director and zombie aficionado George A. Romero is credited with bringing zombies into the mainstream of horror films. Sure there were some films released previous to his seminal work, such as the original zombie film White Zombie in 1932, but it was Night of the Living Dead that catapulted the shuffling re-animated corpses of loved ones right into the mainstream. Since then … [Read more...]
Berberian Sound Studio (2012) review by That Art House Guy
Berberian Sound Studio is the second film from writer / director Peter Strickland, following on from 2009's critically acclaimed Katalin Varga. Set in the 1970s, it centres on Gilderoy (Toby Jones), an unworldly, middle aged sound engineer who travels from his home in Dorking to the titular sound studio somewhere in Rome. Gilderoy has been employed to mix the audio for … [Read more...]
Dawn of the Dead (2004) review by That Film Punk
To the undiscerning zombie fanatic Zack Snyder's Dawn Of The Dead remake could be easily dismissed as just another ill-advised remake of a cult classic. After all, in the intervening years since this effort, studios such as Platinum Dunes have wreaked havoc on the canon of horror classics, results varying between passable and downright insulting. From Friday the 13th (2009) to … [Read more...]
Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010) review by That Film Klown
Some horror films start with a dramatic and frightening scene which drops the viewer straight into the action. Birdemic doesn't. In fact it never really starts. And it's not really a horror film. In fact it's barely a film. If you decide to watch it (don't) fast forward to exactly half way through. That way you'll only have to wait two minutes instead of 47 for anything at all … [Read more...]
The Final Destination (2009) review by That Film Brat
The quality of a film is a funny thing. Of course, everyone wants a film to be good, otherwise seeing it feels like a waste of time and money. But sometimes, a film comes along that's so bad in every respect, in it's acting, writing, direction, and story that it almost comes around full circle and becomes enormously entertaining. One fine example would by Tommy Wiseau's … [Read more...]
ParaNorman (2012) review by That Film Guy
Following on from the success of Coraline, Laika Studios have released an original film directed by Chris Butler and Sam Fell entitled ParaNorman. Using the same stop-motion methods of its predecessor, ParaNorman is a pastiche, satire and homage to 1960s horror films and the John Hughes films of the 1980s. Originally pitched to Disney as an idea, it was eventually created by … [Read more...]