In a Violent Nature (2024) #485

 

Watch the trailer here!

"In a Violent Nature" is gem in the horror genre, offering the audience a unique viewing experience that doesn't follow typical slasher film sensibilities. From the very beginning, the audience literary follows Johnny, the unstoppable juggernaut who is revied from his slumber after a golden locket is removed from his resting place within a worn-down fire tower. Most people seem to love or disklike this film for its long continuous scenes, I personally enjoyed the slow pace, I love the title, and I appreciate this unusual storytelling technique.

Johnny's reign of terror begins almost at once after a golden locket it found and taken from the fire tower, crawling his way up from the ground like the reanimated corpse that he is. The thieves are gone but he overhears an argument nearby. He follows the voices and finds a local that is setting illegal hunting traps around the nearby forest. Johnny enters the home and faces a mirror, where he looks into a mirror and has a slight hallucination of his father taking to him about his mother's locket. The spell is soon fades and Johhny finds a locket that looks similar to his, but before he can take it, he comes face to face with the trapper and chases him into the woods. The trapper becomes caught in one of his traps and Johnny kills him. He returns to the house only to discover that the locket is not his, so his search continues.

Now night, Johnny comes across a group of campers huddled around a campfire. One proceeds to share a local legend, which happens to be about Johnny's death. Johnny waits patiently until the next day to slowly kill each camper one by one, deliberate and effectively, one of which is extremely unusual and graphic.

Overall the movie is great for one viewing, enough to appreciate the unique storytelling technique that was used. The audience is given a simple, standard story that stays on course, a few kills, and some interesting traits for the villain that helps flesh out his character. It could have used some more violence to live up to the title and some additional character development, although that may have felt like padding to an otherwise straight forward film.

The Daemon (2024) #484

 

There will be spoilers!

Making its US debut, at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival now less, “The Daemon” is a powerhouse independent film of watery cosmic horror. It was the perfect feature film to begin the festival; a movie with a haunting musical score, great performances, engaging plot, and the under utilized Outer God Azathoth!

The movie focuses on Tom, whose father has recently vanished from his lakeside home. Tom skips out on his business and his wife Cassie and goes to his childhood home, where bad memories begin to haunt him. 

The movie then introduces Jess, and therapist working with parolees who are required to report to her once a week. After a harrowing session with Mani, Jess returns home in time to find Cassie, Tim’s wife and her husband’s sister, at the door. She tells them how Tom is acting strangely and won’t come home. Jess decides that the three of them will go help Tom and set things right.

Tom is less than pleased when Cassie and the others arrive, telling them that they should have stayed far away. He remains moody and distant, while Cassie pleads with him  to acknowledge and react to her. He continues to act odd, standing out at the lake’s edge in the middle of the night. 

The next day all hell breaks loose as bodies go missing, demonic faces appear, and the god in the water summons those who hear its call.

We were lucky to have one of the directors, one of the actors, a producer, and the editor there for an informative Q&A after the showing. Such moments endear the movie further and make it such a memorable event. I can’t recommend with movie enough, it’s a must see.

Director David Michael Yohe posing with a demon head.

The Return of the Film Festival pt.2

 Four years ago I wrote a quick blurb about attending the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival held in Portland, Oregon. I've been attending this festival on and off since 2000, where the headline film was "The Thing". I was living in Seattle then, and I looked forward to the annual trip to Portland the festival when I could afford it. I moved to Portland several years ago and I've been lucky enough to go every year since. This year looks amazing and I can't wait to see the variety of professional and amateur, full length and short, films that will be offered.

To celebrate, here is another list of some of the fantastic cosmic horror films to ever grace the screen at the HPLFF. Happy 29th anniversary!

Dark Waters

Housewife

Nina of the Woods

Await the Dawn

The Return

The Fall of Usher

Suitable Flesh

 

Baskin (2015) #483

Baskin Movie Trailer

"Baskin", the debut feature film by director Can Evrenol, is perhaps one of the most surreal and mind-blowing movies of 2015. It is a phantasmic trip through the bowels of Hell, drenched in a creepy atmosphere from beginning to end. Style is as tantamount while the narrative is effective in its simplicity. Mr Evrenol’s use of orange and blue tones help create stark and engaging visuals, a wise choice over the typical straight blackness.

The film is overflowing with symbolism and Turkish cultural references, with so many little clues easily slipping by without being noticed. The movie is entertaining as hell but if you recognize the symbolism, then the film is that much more rewarding. Beware, the narrative is not presented in a linear fashion, sometimes looping back around in an unexpected way, making "Baskin" one of those films that you will need to watch more than once, when you're ready, to be able to fully enjoy. I love that every detail has a purpose.

A spoiler free review, "Baskin" follows a Turkish police squad during a seemingly typical night on patrol during the night in some rural area that's never truly defined. They begin their night at a family-owned restaurant, experience some odd events on the road, and finally end up in an Ottoman-era police station in the haunted town of Inceagac. The night is a steady decent into Hell itself and its frightening denizens caught between agony and ecstasy. Hell is very sexual and violent, and escape is impossible.

When Evil Lurks (2023) #482

 

I've been finding myself drawn to films that are more nihilistic and haunting, and "When Evil Lurks" is a perfect example of just that. Not since "Martyrs" have I seen such a bleak film that also had a theatrical release, which is how I first watched this movie. The pacing of the movie is perfect as it allows a thorough, but not complete, world building to be established, and how desperate the situation becomes for the main characters. This is a world where demons are an accepted fact and the concept of organized religion is a concept from the past. 

Pedro and his brother Jaime live on a farm in the rural countryside. One night they hear gunshots and decide to see what the commotion was about the following morning. Near the farm they find a person horrible torn apart by some unknown person or beast. They follow clues to a nearby house, where a woman lives with her two sons. The eldest son has become "rotten", a living host to a demon waiting to be born. It's quickly determined that the person found torn apart was on their way to deal with the demon infestation. When the local police decline to help, the hapless brothers, along with an arrogant neighbor, are forced to handle the matter themselves. But there are rules in dealing with the possessed, and when the rules are not followed, a domino effect of horrible events begin to take place.

One of the best world building features of this movie are the rules that must be followed. They seem like an old nursery rhyme or old wives' tale. These rules include not using electric lights, using guns, violence against the possessed, to stay away from animals, and never say their name. Throughout the course of the film, we see what happens when the rules are followed or when they are broken. Another intriguing act of world building is added the vaguely defined Cleaners, those who are able to abort the demon infecting the Rotton. This attention to detail feels like we've witnessed the creation of a new unique movie monster.

 

The spread of evil around the Rotten is quick and insidious. Both animals and humans can be infected, and when they are, they act out in violent and unexpected ways. Causing the death of an infected will infect pass the evil on to the next person which may cause them to self-harm or kill the nearest person. Pedro and Jaime, along with the Cleaner Mirta may be the only ones who can stop the chain reaction of death and stop the birth of a real demon!

Watch the trailer here!

Cult of Chucky (2017) #481

 

Movie preview here!

Chucky is back and ready for action. "Cult of Chucky" resumes right where "Curse of Chucky" left off with wheelchair-bound Nica placed in a mental institution and framed for the murders caused by the psycho possessed doll. The mood is similar in tone as the previous film, opting for a more serious and tension building atmosphere instead of the over-the-top zaniness and black comedy elements of the films in the middle of the franchise. Brad Dourif, Fiona Dourif, Jennifer Tilly, and Alex Vincent all reprise their famous roles and Don Mancini continues to write and direct the films.

The nightmare that Nica finds herself in continues as she's transferred to a medium security mental institution after she finally admits that she was responsible for the murders of her family and not a small, scary looking doll. Dr Foley believes that being in a group setting may help her heal. Nica is quickly introduced to the staff and some of the other patients at the institution. Some seem nice while others are hostile to her being there. Much to Nica's chagrin, Dr. Foley introduces a Good Guy doll during a session, which is quickly claimed by a patient who had killed their own child. 

Nica becomes suspicious when she has a mysterious visitor stop by a present here with a second Good Guy Doll, a gift from Alice, Nica's niece. The visitor tells Nica that she was Alice's legal guardian but Alive had recently passed away. Distraught, Nica tries to kill herself that night. One of the dolls is actually Chucky, and when he finds Nica passing from her self-inflicted wounds, he decides to torment her, calling for help but leaving a message for her to find. Knowing that one of the two dolls is alive, Nica and her friend Malcom try to discover which doll is the real killer before it's too late. One by one the patients and staff die before Nica finds out the truth about the Cult of Chucky.

 

Mr. Mancini delivered a fantastic looking film for having a budget of $5 million. I found some scenes to be very beautiful and effectively filmed, and the updated effects to Chucky's facial expressions worked out well. Due to advances in technology, Mr. Mancini was able to film some aspects that he has been trying to use since "Child's Play 3".

 

Favorite moment - The movie begins with Andy trying to live a normal life and is out on a date. When it ends suddenly but not surprisingly so, he goes home and begins his usual routine...torturing a disembodied head of Chucky!

 

 

Suitable Flesh (2023) #480

    Making appearances at film festivals around the county during the autumn of 2023, "Suitable Flesh" is a grand return of a H.P. Lovecraft story adapted for the big screen. If this feels like a movie Stuart Gordon might have made, it's because it is written by his long-time screenwriter Denis Paoli, the gentleman responsible for the screen plays of "Re-Animator", "From Beyond", "Castle Freak" and others. The amazing Barbara Crampton is back as well, both co-staring and co-producing the film. With familiar creatives like these two working on a new Lovecraft movie, "Suitable Flesh" is also a film by noted director Joe Lynch, a man with his own vision and sense of production. Most of all though, "Suitable Flesh" is all about Heather Graham in the lead role as Elizabeth Derby. Heather dominates the screen in every scene that she's in, seducing the characters in the story as well as the audience watching the narrative unfold. 

   

"Suitable Flesh" is an inspired take of Lovecraft's story "The Thing on the Doorstep". I truly appreciate the new title because this is both a homage and its own story, touching on some but not all of the original story's main plot points. In this version the gender roles have been flipped and the demeanor of the characters are more relatable than the original story. This Derby is not a timid, mother smothered occultist wannabe, but rather a successful therapist who feels her life has become stale. Work is dull, her sex life with her husband is boring, and life seems repetitive. 

Elizabeth's life takes a drastic turn when Asa White shows up at her office, asking for help. She is initially intrigued by his request when he tells her that he has read her book about out of body experiences and that he has been having such moments. Asa is a nervous and anxious young man, and he begs for Elizabeth to visit his house so he can further explain what he's concerned about. Then Asa's phone rings, and when he answers it, he appears to have a seizure of sorts, but in a few moments he's fine and displaying a nearly opposite set of behaviors; confident and egotistical. Unknown to her, Dr. Derby had just witnessed a mystical body swap between Asa and his sorcerous father Ephraim. She agrees to visit Asa at his house, which in turn begins a chaotic spiral of events of body swapping and mistaken identity that involves Elizabeth, Asa and his father, and even her best friend Dr. Daniella Upton.

While there are noticeable differences between "Suitable Flesh" and "The Thing on the Doorstep", the spirit of the story is here and presented in a fun and memorable fashion. The film also has some interesting editing choices that also help set it apart from other current horror movies. The pacing is great and the movie ends with a violent, chaotic crescendo. 

Watch the movie trailer here!

https://youtu.be/e52fRshVMRU?si=dKlsM6rqS75QZ2hz