YellowBrickRoad (2010) #375

Some movies have such unique and creative concepts but end up failing to deliver a solid film from beginning to end, which only frustrates the horror movie loving fan. "YellowBrickRoad" is such a film, beginning with a strong first half but somehow losing its way, just like the characters in the movie do, in the final half. The story introduces elements that are never explained and the ending feels like the writer had just given up and threw in a random final scene just to be done with it all. Watching the film, I felt cheated by the ending because the movie did introduce a very unique element in particular and I enjoyed the journey that the characters were forced to endure.

I honestly don't know how they could have explained the "why's" and "how's" of some of the questions that are left unanswered within the film. It may have been best if the film makers had decided to use tried and true story elements rather than trying one that they themselves could not explain. Luckily, only one of the several characters is left to deal with the odd and wonky ending.

What I did enjoy about the film is that the characters do die off in believable and interesting ways, including one of the more unique and violent acts I've seen in a few months. I also appreciated seeing how the characters dealt with their individual emotional and psychological break downs after they passed the point of no return.

The movie is about the residents of a small New Hampshire town who one day left en mass up a trail that headed north and was called the Yellow Brick Road. All of the residents either died from hyperthermia or were killed in violent ways; some were never even found. There was only one known survivor but he was delirious and couldn't help the authorities figure out what had happened. 50 years later, a group of professionals, including two cartographers and a psychologist, embark on a multi-day hike up the Yellow Brick Road to see if they could find any clues.

Crowsnest (2012) #374

I'm a fan of the point of view, found footage sub-genre and so I'm willing to give most movies with this premise a chance even though these films are quickly running out of unique and interesting sceniores. "Crowsnest" is a film that has some unique moments that I hadn't seen before in a "found footage" movie but it also contained plenty of scenes I've seen before, which sadly slowed the film down and tested my patience. When the film was finished, I was left feeling slightly disappointed and wishing for an extra few scenes that could have made the movie truly unique and fresh. The actors and the characters they portrayed were all in their mid twenties/post college age and felt too similar and typical to really root and cheer for; as always, there's always the one character that has to spell out the coming doom and danger and does a super cheesy job of it. 

Without spoiling the unique scenes too much, I'll simply say that this film felt inspired by "The Blair Witch Project", "Wrong Turn", and a little bit of the original "Jeepers Creepers"  for excitement. 

Imprint (2006) #373

If anyone was going to create an episode that was going to be considered too outrageous and inappropriate for a Showtime Channel original series, it would be the famed Japanese director Takashi Miike. His entry in the "Masters of Horror" series proved to be too much for Showtime executives to air as planned, so instead this episode is only found on DVD. The content within is a bit graphic at times and the torture scene is overly gratuitous to the point that I feel that this particular production could be as offensive as the material seen in "A Serbian Film". Some people may disagree with that conclusion but I would say that "Imprint" is at least darker and more horrific than his well known film "Audition".

An American is travelling across Japan in the 1800's looking for a woman who he promised to come back to an marry someday. His journey takes him to an island populated with whores and their masters. The American is forced to stay the night on the island so he agrees to the company of a whore, choosing one that stays in the shadows while the others clamour for attention. The whore begins to tell the American that she knew his bride to be, Komono, and that Komono had recently killed herself. He refuses to believe the story, so the whore tells him more about her own history and the reasons that led to Komono's suicide. The whore repeats the story several times, adding new details and truths with each telling until the American can't take anymore and acts upon his grief, a grief that haunts him for the rest of his life.

Pelts (2006) #372

"Pelts" is Dario Argento's second entry in the "Masters of Horror" series, a piece that has an equally creepy cast of characters but an even stronger story than his first offering with "Jenifer". Singer/actor Meatloaf stars as Jake Feldman, a fur trader and craftsman who is obsessed with an erotic dancer who won't give him the time of day. When one of his trappers calls him with an offer of a lifetime for a stock of perfect raccoon skins, Jake is forced to see what the old man is offering. But when Jake and his assistant arrive to buy the skins, they find that both the hunter and his son have died very gruesome deaths. Jake takes the pelts and brings them to his shop and has his team begin creating the perfect coat. But one by one the employees die horrible deaths as well. This does not stop Jake in his quest and takes the completed coat to the dancer's apartment where he coaxes her into having sex with him in exchange for the coat and the chance to model it at an upcoming fashion event. Afterwards, Jake falls victim the the pelts curse and soon the dancer is claimed as a victim as well.

Morale of the tale - never trap and kill a raccoon on scared land.....

What made this episode standout, in a positive way, is that each death was related directly to how the character was involved with the raccoon pelts. Watch for the connections!

Plague Town (2008) #371

"Plague Town" was a random film I picked up at my local video store (Scarecrow Video), a movie that I had never heard of before but one that looked promising enough. I felt that the first scene was interesting and that it set up several possible story lines but what followed was a complete and utter disappointment. Just because a movie has a low budget doesn't mean that the actors have to be untalented or over act their various parts. Simply because a movie has a low budget doesn't mean that the plot has to not make sense. Being low budget isn't an excuse! The lighting is fine, the make up is effective (especially for the character Rosemary), and the film quality is respectable. The rest of the film after the scene is nonsense and a waste of valuable movie watching time.


A dysfunctional family is attempting to take a vacation together in the middle of the Irish countryside. They miss their bus back to civilization after the two sisters get into a fight with each other. When night comes, the older sister leaves with her boyfriend and the two soon come across a local who becomes agitated and shoots the boyfriend as the older sister runs off into the woods. The father figure goes out to find help and is killed by two little girls wearing masks. The mother and younger sister are attacked by a mob of teenage children, with the mother being killed by being hit in the head repeatedly with a hubcap. Soon the sisters find each other and try to escape the weird little town with the weird population of mutant children and the adults who keep trying to have normal babies....

Retreat (2011) #370

"Retreat" is a suspenseful but simple film about a couple who are out on a tiny island with a single large cottage, trying to enjoy their vacation/work on their marriage when I bloodied solider collapses on the pathway to the house. The tension quickly builds when the solider, Private Jack Colman, tells the couple, Martin and Kate, that there has been a deadly epidemic released in England and elsewhere and that the three must quarantine themselves away in the cottage. The virus has a 100% kill rate and the victims are dying slow painful deaths as they cough up blood as their lungs quickly deteriorate. At first Martin and Kate do as they're told, but as Jack's behavior starts to shift and his story stops making sense, the two try to find a way out of their hostage-like situation and a means off the secluded island.

What makes this film work so well are the strong performances of the three lead actors. Cilian Murphy isn't a stranger to this kind of film, and Jaime Bell and Thandie Newton prove without a doubt that they also know how to play off the tension that is growing between the characters. This is a solid film that first time director Carl Tibbetts should be proud of and I can't wait to see if he creates any other tense, chilling films in the future.

Phantasm 2 (1988) #369

I'm a firm believer that Don Coscarelli never planned to turn "Phantasm" into a series and that a sequel only came about because the studio that he worked for demanded one and soon! It took nine years for it to come, but eventually the world was given "Phantasm 2". It appeared that the studio had other demands as well, including the recasting of the main character and no funky dream sequences or abstract events. This doesn't mean that "Phantasm 3" is any easier to follow! The sequel is almost just as loopy and bizarre as the first film. And like many sequels that came out in the 80's, everything had to be bigger than before; there are now different kinds of flying orbs, including a gold one with a targeting ray, and let's not forget Reggie's four barreled sawed off shotgun. Even though it has changes and it might not be the sequel that Coscarelli wanted to first give us, I thought it was a fun and enjoyable little movie.

The film picks up six years after the original, with Mike having spent the last few years locked up in an asylum. He fakes his recovery and makes his escape after having repeated dreams about a blond girl who will soon be in danger from the Tall Man. (I honestly thought it was the neighbor girl who's grandmother gave him a fortune telling). Mike meets up with Reggie who soon comes to believe Mike's crazy idea after his house blows up minutes before they arrive. The two load up on weapons and gear and head to the West Coast looking for the Tall Man and his minions. It's in the deserted little town of Perigord, Oregon, that the two find Liz and the Tall Man; along the way they also pick up a hitchhiker named Alchemy who Mike doesn't trust. Soon there are dead bodies, minions, flying orbs, the Tall Man, and fighting. Like most classic 80's horror movies, the villain is defeated and the heroes make their getaway only to be fooled yet again as the Tall Man has the last laugh.