Grotbags is a British television series about a fictional witch called Grotbags, who was a popular fixture on children’s TV during the 1980s and early 1990s.

A character sculpted very much in the mould of the traditional pantomime villain, Grotbags was always played by actress and singer Carol Lee Scott in a costume comprising distinctive vivid green makeup and a witch’s cape and hat.

The witch character Grotbags originally appeared in Rod Hull’s Emu’s World. In 1991, Grotbags was given her own spin-offs series after Emu’s World was axed by Central Television.

The Grotbags series was created by puppeteer Richard Coombs and Carol Lee Scott around an idea of a puppet series. The scripts for the series were written by Bob Hescott and directed by Colin Clews.

Each episode rotated around Grotbags and her minions at cobweb-filled Gloomy Fortress, and their day-to-day lives. The series, which also featured the characters Croc (a crocodile), tin butler Robot Redford and manservant Grovel, featured panto-style singing and dancing and spawned the catchphrase: “There’s somebody at the door!”

After news that Grotbags star Carol Lee Scott had died on 3 July 2017, fans commented on Twitter.

One wrote: “Rest in peace Grotbags. You made my early years awesome. I was so scared of you!”

Another said: “Daleks. Zelda. Skeletor. Nothing – NOTHING – terrified me quite like Grotbags. Bravo! #RIPCarolLeeScott.”

Principal characters:

• Grotbags, the cantankerous witch
• Colin the Bat: a stupid bat who cannot fly very well
• Doris the Dodo: the last dodo, rescued by Grotbags from a desert island
• Norman Nettle: a grumpy nettle plant
• Grumble: Grotbags’ cauldron
• Lumpy: a gremlin who lives in Grumble

Posted in tribute to actress Carol Lee Scott, who died on 3 July 2017.

Wikipedia | IMDb | Official site

‘Captives stripped of their rights and sucked of their blood’

Dracula in a Women’s Prison is a 2017 American comedy horror film directed by Jeff Leroy (Alien Reign; Rat Scratch Fever; Werewolf in a Women’s Prison) from a screenplay by Vincent Bilancio (Dark Realm). Victoria De Mare, Robert Rhine and Rachel Riley star.

Ten years after the horrific events of Werewolf in a Women’s Prison, the Penitentiary of Sex and Violence has a new Warden. Young American Liz (Victoria De Mare) travels to the third world hellhole of Campuna to gather the remains of her sister, who mysteriously died in the jail. However, anyone who dies returns to life – as the undead blood slave of warden Drago, also known as Dracula…

The film is available via Vimeo on Demand where you can also watch the adults only red band trailer.

Main cast:

Victoria De Mare (Alien Reign; Killjoy’s Psycho Circus; Feast of Fear; et al), Robert Rhine (Party Bus to Hell; Alien Reign; The Chair), Rachel Riley, Elissa Dowling (Party Bus to Hell; Land Shark; Don’t Kill It; et al), Red Dodge, Nina Elle, Rebecca Lynn Hershfeld, Rebecca Hirschfeld, Ryan Izay, Penny Kuykendall, Sudesh Managodage, John Michaelson, Kristin Mothersbaugh, Layla Price, Puma Swede.

IMDb | Facebook | Thanks to The Reprobate for making us aware of this film

‘The Retro-Monster Comedy That’s Really NOT For Kids!’

Transylvania Television is an American TV series that has aired on various online platforms since 2007. It was created by Michael J. Heagle and Gordon Smuder. It stars the voices of Gordon Smuder, Michael J. Heagle and Charles Hubbell.

The show is a puppet-based sitcom for grown ups starring a nosferatu-like vampire named Count LeShoc, a party Yeti named Furry J. Ackermonster, Irving Batfink the majordomo of Castle LeShoc, Miss Mansfeild the disembodied skull, Esmerelda the gypsy woman, and Dwayne Frankenstein.

Although the last of the 51 episodes were created in 2012, there is apparently an intention to film new material in 2017.

900 year-old vampire Le Shoc is running a beat-down TV station in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania. He’s in dire need to pull it out of the toilet, so with the help of his Beatnik minion Batfink, they enlist college graduate Furry J. Ackermonster to be the station’s new manager. Assisted by the smartly stupid Dwayne Frankenstein, the three unleash the Frankenstein device that allows it to resurrect canceled shows and turns them into a twisted parody. The show takes aim at multiple B-movie monsters and clichés.

Reviews:

“Remarkably, and consistently, amusing, I can’t really go through the plot as there is pretty much not one.” Taliesin Meets the Vampires

Filming locations:

Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

IMDb | Official website |  Facebook

‘Here it is… a shark worse than its bite!!’

Gums is a British comic character: a shark with false teeth.

In 1976, Jaws was all the rage with kids, and British comic Monster Fun – published by IPC – was quick to cash in on the trend.

At the beginning of February 1976, the 35th issue of the comic – which specialised in humour strips with a mild horror flavour – debuted a new strip on the front cover, usurping the previous main strip Kid Kong.

Gums was the story of a Great White shark off the coast of Australia that is terrorising locals – until, that it, his false teeth get stuck in a surfboard and are seized by surfer dude Bluey. Over the run of the strip, Gums and Bluey would battle for ownership of the teeth, with Gums retrieving his ‘choppers’ one week and Bluey snatching them back the next. The comedy came from the wacky schemes both used to secure the teeth.

Given that it was a one-joke strip, Gums was surprisingly entertaining and non-repetitive, and it’s toothless shark developed a real character that readers loved.

Initially illustrated by Bob Nixon (and later, Alf Saporito) and written by Roy Davies, Gums proved immediately popular, remaining the cover strip for the rest of the comic’s run. It ultimately outlived both Jaws mania and Monster Fun itself, transferring to Buster comic when MF was cancelled with issue 73, and the strip eventually ran until May 1984.

David Flint – this post first appeared on The Reprobate

Image credits: Comic Vine

‘We survived!’

Kuso is a 2017 American body horror black comedy film directed by Flying Lotus [Steven Ellison] from a screenplay co-written with David Firth and Zack Fox.

The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2017. It was reported that many people left during the screening, with Flying Lotus later stating that “only like 20 people out of like 400” walked out. Kuso will be released on streaming platform Shudder on July 21, alongside a limited theatrical release

” …there’s a feeling that this film is a kind of psychic scream, similar to those that feature in the Japanese animation Ellison is clearly fond of […] Kuso is in part a gross-out comedy but it is also full of truly artistic and psychedelic visuals that hint at meaning beyond the degeneracy.” Luke Shaw, Eye for Film

“That Ellison has a unique, genre-defying musical sensibility is amply demonstrated by the film’s soundtrack (for which Aphex Twin and Akira Yamaoka also created original tracks), by far its best element. Neither is there much cause to quibble in terms of the acting, design, or technical contributors, in that they did as instructed with what professional aplomb could be mustered — good efforts expended to an unfortunate end.” Dennis Harvey, Variety

“As a cringe-inducing work of art that piles on the shock value over and over again, Kuso does its job. While John Waters may have gone soft in his old age, Ellison has elevated the gross-out bar, veering into — and going far beyond — the obscene. For someone who sees a few hundred films a year, Kuso is a stand-out.” John Fink, The Film Stage

“Kuso is a hallucinatory, scatological, grotesque, and occasionally hysterical work of utter mania, the kind of wild cinema that cuts through the noise of all safer, more marketable filmmaking. It will more than likely repel as many viewers as it attracts, if not far more of them, but those willing to let Ellison walk them through his 93-minute nightmare will find something challenging, revolting, and eminently watchable. It’s a horrorshow from which it’s impossible to look away.” Dominick Suzanne-Mayer, Consequence of Sound

“I don’t believe so many talented artists, musicians, set designers, and comedians would make this film if they didn’t want it to say something. But the copious gore, the cruel extended rape joke, the abortion sight-gags, and any number of other vomit-inducing pseudo-goofs are so distracting and disorienting that making sense of the film would require a repeat viewing.” Chris Plante, The Verge

“Kuso is already earning a reputation as the grossest movie ever made. It’s definitely a worthy contender, giving Freddy Got Fingered and any of The Human Centipede movies a run for their money. Unlike those films, Kuso can’t even be described as a gross out comedy or torture p*rn. It belongs in a genre that can’t be classified and shouldn’t be classified. Every image is vile, every character is ugly, every moment that goes by is an assault on all five senses.” Nick Spake, flickreel

Cast and characters:

• Iesha Coston
• Zack Fox as Manuel
• Bethany Schmitt as The Buttress
• Shane Carpenter as Charlie
• Oumi Zumi
• Mali Matsuda as Angel
• Tim Heidecker as Phil
• Hannibal Buress
• Donnell Rawlings
• Anders Holm as Teacher
• Regan Farquhar as News Pirate
• David Firth as Royal
• George Clinton as Doctor Clinton

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘They owned the streets… until now!’

Gangsters, Guns and Zombies is a 2012 British comedy horror film written and directed by Matt Mitchell (The Rizen and sequel; It Never Sleeps) from a screenplay co-written with Taliesyn Mitchell. The LMV production stars Vincent Jerome, Huggy Leaver, Fabrizio Santino.

Official synopsis:

The whole “zombie thing” has been hyped up so much that everyone thinks it’s the end of the world! Of course, where one man sees the dead rising from the grave, another sees opportunity. Q had a plan: drive the robbery getaway van, deliver everyone to the safe house and get paid – a nice, simple, plan.

Unfortunately, this is the first time Q has been a getaway driver. He’s coping pretty well though, considering; Tony (the guy who is ‘in charge’ of the job) is a murderous nut case, Danny was shot and is now bleeding all over the money in the back of the van, the Sat-Nav has a mind of its own, there’s a guy in the back living up to his name “Crazy Steve”, the safe-house already has police at it, and this whole “zombie thing” seems to be quickly becoming more of a “zombie apocalypse thing”.

Luckily, Tony knows of another Safe House on the coast. Not so luckily, Danny dies of natural-ish causes and then rises from the grave…

Reviews:

” The whole approach to the film’s horrific action is done in a mild-mannered or tongue-in-cheek way but the filmmakers ensure the horror crowd are pleased with lots of blood squirting and spraying over everywhere.” Bat, Horror Cult Films

” …I was less than enthused at the prospect of Gangsters, Guns & Zombies. But to its credit, the film is frequently imaginative, occasionally fun and always action-packed.” Joel Harley, Horror Talk

“Cleverly, the first act of the movie is played out predominantly in the van as the gangsters escape, with the madness going on outside in miniature zombie movie vignettes, some of which are somewhat scary and some of which are frankly hilarious.” Love Horror

” …a terrific horror film, a very funny comedy and not at all annoying in the way most geezer gangster pictures are.” MJ Simpson, Cult films and the people who make them

“In terms of horror, the film is never scary and seldom tense. But Alexandra Vlcek’s splattery FX work is kept busy during the film’s first half (oddly, the pace slows during the latter half), ensuring gore fans are well catered for with lots of practical bitings and shootings.” Stuart Willis, Sex Gore Mutants

” …this is a film that looks good and is put together with a definite technical craft and understanding of film. It is not a group of miscreants with a camcorder trying to give us motion sickness, instead there are fluid camera shots, an editor that knows what they are doing and all in all a very professional feel to the film.” The Lair of Filth

Main cast:

Vincent Jerome, Huggy Leaver (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), Fabrizio Santino (It Never Sleeps), Cassandra Orhan, Charlie Rawes, Frank Rizzo, Jennie Lathan, Simon Mathews, Josh Myers, Sharon Lawrence, Siobhan Callas, Chris Manning-Perry.

Filming locations:

Rutland, England, UK
Manor Way Business Park, Swanscombe, Kent, England, UK
Whitstable, Kent, England, UK

IMDb | Facebook

‘Fear has a new address.’

The Haunted House on Kirby Road is a 2016 Canadian comedy horror film directed by Stu Stone (making his directorial debut, Scarecrows being his next helmer – he’s an actor in Tar; Vampire Apocalypse; Donnie Darko) from a screenplay co-written with Adam Rodness (Scarecrows). Nina Kiri, Chris Kapeleris and Sammi Barber star.

Searching for one last adventure before graduating high-school, six stoner best friends try to debunk the urban legend of a local haunted house that may be responsible for the disappearance of Howard Greenfeld, a local teen who was said to have gone missing years ago…

Reviews:

“Had it stuck to playing with horror tropes I think it would have been a much better film, but as it is it’s still a good popcorn flick with not too much gore and some very unsettling special effects for the ghost. You’ll see the ending coming, but it isn’t a bad trip getting there.” Laura MacLeod, The Movie Critic Next Door

” …takes an age to get going and then rushes through over-familiar material – but it has a kind of Prom Night-ish amiability that’s disarming. Even if it’s hard to warm up to Truggers and Lucky, the rest of the kids are at least decent company while the plot-wheels are spinning en route to Kirby Road.” The Kim Newman Web Site

” …once the film moves into fright mode it gets creepy fast. Not only can the entity kill, it can possess your corpse, giving the film a bit of zombie action as well. Another nice twist is that you have to make eye contact with the thing to be affected, which makes looking where you’re going or dodge a dead friend a bit of a problem.” Jim Morazzini, Beneath the Underground

Main cast:

Nina Kiri (The Heretics; Let Her Out), Chris Kapeleris (Beyond Hell), Austin Duffy, Sammi Barber (Scarecrows), Andrew Pimento, Samantha Cole.

Filming locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

IMDb

‘Peek-a-boo.’

Boo 2! A Medea Halloween is a 2017 American comedy horror film written and directed by Tyler Perry (Boo! A Medea Halloween). It also stars Brock O’Hurn and Lexy Panterra.

Madea, Aunt Bam, Vivian and Hattie Mae venture to a haunted campground and the group must literally run for their lives when monsters, goblins, and the boogeyman are unleashed.

Meanwhile, Joe and a new character (also played by Tyler Perry) are getting high while experiencing some turbulence in the campground’s abandon building…

The film will be released by Lionsgate on October 20, 2017.

Main cast:

Tyler Perry, Brock O’Hurn, Lexy Panterra, Patrice Lovely, Diamond White, Jc Caylen, Yousef Erakat, Cassi Davis, Inanna Sarkis, Elizabeth Hinkler, Tito Ortiz, Taja V. Simpson, Chandra Currelley-Young, Wil Gonzalez, Emily Hinkler.

Filming locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Wikipedia | IMDb

The Manor – original title: Le manoir – is a 2017 Belgian/French comedy horror film directed by Tony T. Datis from a screenplay by Bernardo Barilli, Dominique Gauriaud, Marc Jarousseau and Jurij Prette. It stars Marc Jarousseau, Nathalie Odzierejko and Ludovik Day.

When friends decide to get together and celebrate the New Year in a remote mansion, they plan on making it a memorable occasion, even if it means being cut off from the outside world.

The festive mood turns sour soon enough when one of them disappears. It rapidly descends into a nightmare when their search for him leads to this discovery of Djamal’s corpse hanging by his penis. Trapped in the middle of nowhere, they’ll have to learn how to work together if they want to survive the night…

Reviews:

“The only R-rated aspects of The Mansion are pervasive drug use and dick jokes. Still, this is top-notch PG-13 caliber viewing experience. It’s light on gore and excessive violence, but that doesn’t make it sanitized—far from it. Fans of horror comedy and satirical eviscerations of youth culture will definitely want to give The Mansion a whirl.” Joshua Millican, Horrorfreak News

“Le Manoir is a very funny film, but once it ventures into full-fledged horror territory around the midway point, the safety of the characters becomes a concern […] Where most slapsticky horror-comedies avoid crafting characters that are actually worth cheering for, Datis spends a good amount of time building all of them up. While most never totally evolve past their stereotypes, the performers are generally charismatic enough that this doesn’t really matter.” Blair Hoyle, Cinema Slasher

” …you have to give Datis credit for observing horror movie traditions while tweaking and twisting them at the same time. The mansion itself also represents some very effective location scouting and set dressing. Recommended without reservations for horror fans…” Joe Bendel, J.B. Spins

“Whereas American & Canadian college kids find their ways to cabins in woods to celebrate Winter and Spring Breaks, European kids flock to castles. It’s the perfect setting for what is essentially a PG-13 (soft R for drug use, perhaps) live-action, 100-minute episode of Scooby-Doo for the New Millennium. Yes, these meddling kids even have a dog!” Joshua Millican,

Main cast:

Marc Jarousseau, Nathalie Odzierejko, Ludovik Day, Jérôme Niel, Yvick Letexier, Vincent Tirel, Vanessa Guide, Delphine Baril, Baptiste Lorber, Lila Lacombe and Willy Denzey.

IMDb

Nauséabond [translation: “Fart Stink”] is a French short horror film directed by Sean Delecroix and Thomas Pantalacci from a script by Sean Delecroix et Olivier Gissot. It stars Michelle Murat, Jean-Baptiste Plaetevoet, and the voice of Michel Gissot.

After fifty years of marriage, Robert’s ‘nocturnal melodies’ still prevent Sylvaine from sleeping…

Source: Horrorfreak News

‘In Wales, no-one can hear you scream’

Canaries is a 2017 British science fiction comedy horror film written and directed by Peter Stray, making his feature debut. It stars Robert Pugh, Kai Owen, Richard Mylan and Hannah Danie.

Wales: A group of friends at a New Year’s Eve bash hosted by Steve Denis, London’s 53rd-most-listened-to DJ (a returning local boy made good), are pitted against an invasion task force of creepy time travelling aliens…

Canaries has its world premiere at the Horror Channel FrightFest in London on 26 August 2017.

IMDb

‘A suburban nightmare’

The Ice Cream Truck is a 2017 comedy horror film written and directed by Megan Freels Johnston (Rebound). It stars Deanna Russo, Dana Gaier, John Redlinger and Emil Johnsen.

Mary’s husband gets relocated for work which allows her to move back to her suburban hometown. As her family ties up loose ends back home, Mary moves into their new house all alone and… waits.

Yet in this idealistic world, something seems very odd. The Ice Cream Man, a symbol of youth and good times, starts killing some of her neighbours. Mary soon learns that the suburbs are scarier in more ways that she ever remembered…

The Ice Cream Truck is released by Uncork’d Entertainment in theaters and on VOD August 18, 2017.

Reviews:

“We really can’t help but watch in fascination as the layers of repressed brutality hiding underneath the supposed safety of a suburban bubble, something that’s supposed to shield one from the brutality of the outside world, are peeled away and revealed to be a place of dangerous animalistic violence. Ultimately, The Ice Cream Truck is a hell of an exploration of unconscious fear, and it’s very much worth checking out.” Patrick King, Cultured Vultures

“Russo’s performance alone makes it worthwhile, and even though he doesn’t get as much to do as I would have liked, Johnsen’s performance as the ice cream truck driver is convincing and not without a hint of menace. The movie paints an uneasy portrait of suburbia that freely lives in a world of parody, but fortunately never falls into camp.” Chris Beaumont, Critical Outcast

“It may be a little too slow for your typical fan but I do believe there’s an audience for it if they find it. It felt like one of the more off beat horror movies off the 80’s & 90’s that were just a little too slow for mainstream but are remembered fondly by all […] The offbeat, scary but friendly portrayal of The Ice Cream Man by Emil Johnsen was perfectly fitting for the films pace.” Jason Minton, Without Your Head

“At no point in this film was I tense or frightened. I might have fallen asleep but couldn’t say because I didn’t miss anything. The acting is strong. The production is well done. The Ice Cream Truck is a nice looking movie, but like the ice cream being peddled onscreen, there’s no real substance to be found.” Nik Holman, Nerdly

“While The Ice Cream Truck is, overall, a successful film, it may have benefited from more emphasis on the horror aspect of its plot. The pacing is a bit slow at times when the focus lingers too much on the more dramatic side of the film, while the horror side often feels too short in comparison.” Luce Allan, Tn Horror News

IMDb

Related: Ice Cream Man (1995)

Vidar the Vampire – aka VampyrVidar–  is a Norwegian comedy horror film written and directed by Thomas Aske Berg and Fredrik Waldeland. It stars Henrik Rafaelsen, Kim Sønderholm and Thomas Aske Berg.

Vidar Haarr is a thirty-three year-old, sexually frustrated bachelor farmer who leads a Christian, monotonous and strenuous working life on his mother’s farmstead in the Western outskirts of Norway.

In a desperate attempt to break free from routine, Vidar prays to a higher power to grant him a life without boundaries. Unfortunately, his prayers are heard and Vidar wakes up one evening as the Prince of Darkness in sin city, Stavanger…

Vidar the Vampire will premiere at The Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund on August 23rd, 2017 and will screen at both Fantasy Filmfest, Germany and FilmQuest, USA in September, 2017.

IMDb

‘Fear the Second Coming.’

Seed of Chucky is a 2004 American supernatural comedy slasher horror film written and directed by Don Mancini (making his directorial debut), who created the series and has written all of the films. It is the fifth installment of the Child’s Play series, and sequel to 1998’s Bride of Chucky.

The film, shot in Romania, continues the series’ evolution from the pure horror genre of the first movie to a hybrid horror-comedy. It was the last Child’s Play film to be released in theaters and stars Jennifer Tilly, Redman and Hannah Spearritt. Italian composer Pino Donaggio provided the score.

Glen, the kind and benevolent son of Chucky and Tiffany, has a nightmare in which he murders a little girl’s parents. In reality, he is living a life of embarrassment and abuse as a ventriloquist’s dummy. After being forced to perform and locked inside a cage, Glen sees Chucky and Tiffany on TV and realizes that he is their son.

Desperate to know his parents, Glen tracks Chucky and Tiffany down to Hollywood, where they are first shown killing a man who is dressed as Santa Claus for a movie.

Jason Flemyng as Santa is killed off

Glen manages to escape his abusive owner, hitch a ride on a truck, and mail himself in a box to California. He wakes up in the prop room of Jennifer Tilly’s horror film, which includes the Chucky and Tiffany dolls. Glen uses the same voodoo amulet seen in previous films to bring them back to life…

Buy Blu-ray collection: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

“With its wealth of sly digs at Hollywood (Jennifer Tilly gives a hilarious, self-mocking performance and deserves kudos for it), its display of the most fun dysfunctional family to consist of animated child’s dolls and it’s liberal sprinkling of gore, Seed of Chucky takes the ideas alluded to in Bride… and simply follows them to their natural end.” Kevin Matthews, Flickfeast

“While Seed of Chucky has its moments, there’s just too much goofiness crammed into this one for it to stand up to Bride. Granted, Tilly is great in her role and she shows a real knack for the more comedic elements required of her here but she’s not enough to fix the one major problem with the film – the child doll is completely irritating. For a film that focuses on the character so closely, they did a bad job of making him tolerable.” Ian Jane, Rock! Shock! Pop!

“If you’re thinking of Seed of Chucky as a horror movie, you can forget about it. It’s not scary. If you do not by now find Chucky and the other killer dolls tiresome, I do (this is their fifth movie). If you like the way Jennifer Tilly has fun with her image (and, in what can only be called selfless generosity, with Gina Gershon’s image), Seed of Chucky is a movie to be seen on television.” Roger Ebert

“The horror is bland, the characterization is lame, the performances are phoned in especially by Jennifer Tilly who spoofs herself… oddly, and the film’s idea of comedy is having two dolls karate fight, which I’m still uncertain if it was played for comedy or not. Safely speaking, it’s a very bad film that won’t save a franchise that’s already DOA.” Felix Vasquez, Cinema Crazed

“Don Mancini pumps Seed of Chucky up into an outrageous work that quite takes one aback. He plays up the black comedy angle from Bride of Chucky by a factor of ten and delves into an arena that frequently verges on outrageously bad taste. Moreover, his one other ingenious idea is to set Seed of Chucky during the making of a Child’s Play sequel, casting Jennifer Tilly as herself and allowing some rather funny gags at both the meta-film and Tilly’s career.” Richard Scheib, Moria

Cast and characters:

• Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky (Chucky series; Malignant; Spontaneous Combustion)
• Jennifer Tilly as herself / voice of Tiffany (Bride of Chucky)
• Billy Boyd as the voice of Glen/Glenda
• Redman as Himself
• Hannah Spearritt as Joan
• John Waters as Pete Peters (Suburban Gothic)
• Jason Flemyng as himself / Santa (Eat Local; Forbidden Empire; The Bunker; From Hell)
• Steve Lawton as Stan
• Tony Gardner as himself
• Martha Stewart (uncredited, archive footage) as herself
• Rebecca Santos as Fulvia
• Keith-Lee Castle as Bill “Psychs” Sykes
• Paul Grossman as Little Boy
• Simon James Morgan as Richard
• Stephanie Chambers as Claudia’s mom
• Betty Simons-Denville as Claudia
• Debbie Lee Carrington as herself (DVD deleted scenes, uncredited)

Filming locations:

Almost entirely on the Castel soundstages in Romania

Wikipedia | IMDb

‘The student body is going home in a bag’

Seven Dorms of Death is a 2015 American horror film directed by Richard Griffin (Flesh for the Inferno; Murder University; Frankenstein’s Hungry Dead; et al) from a screenplay by Michael Varrati (Tales of Poe; The Sins of Dracula; 60 Seconds to Die) and Matthew Jason Walsh. It stars Jesse Dufault, Hannah Heckman-McKenna and Michael Varrati.

A cursed stage play that is about to be performed at a New England college. Unfortunately for the director, the young cast, and anyone else unlucky enough to be involved with the production, someone has deadly plans for the play!

Reviews:

“Taken all together, this is a beautifully hot mess, that any fan of the genre will watch with glee in the same way one would watch an April Fool’s version of The Simpsons or Family Guy (also taking place in Rhode Island!), where the references are more visual than just

verbal connections.” Richard Gary, Indie Horror Films

Seven Dorms of Death is an eighty-nine minute delight. It that will appeal to those of us who grew up with an unquenchable thirst for low-budget opuses […] Griffin, as always, finds the right note to create his special blend of admiration filled genre spoof instantly…” Andrew Buckner, A Word of Dreams

“It’s impossible to convey the surreal nature of the experience of watching this production. Griffin has really outdone himself this time, breaking just about all of the conventions of filmmaking to inspire an hour and a half of continuous laughter, defying audience expectations in ways that a less daring director would not risk.” Michael Bilow, Motif magazine

“The story for this one is one we have seen so many times before.  In fact, it reminded me a lot of the college slasher Murder University from Griffin. Griffin takes the “who-done-it” angle that is typical for slashers and S.O.V. flicks and made it fun. The film never discloses the killer and dances around who it is making it funny for the viewer to witness while turning every cliche inside out.” Blacktooth, Horror Society

“I enjoyed the obvious homage to Lovecraft, but it’s not every day you get to see The Beyond aka Seven Doors of Death parodied. I think I even saw a nod to Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man at the end. And I’m pretty sure the twist regarding the killer’s identity is one that’s never been done before, which is quite an accomplishment.” Erin Lashley, Seven Doors of Cinema

Buy DVD: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

IMDb

Hell No is a 2013 American comedy horror short film directed by Joe Nicolosi from a screenplay co-written with John Freiler and produced by Stephanie Noone. It stars Alex Dobrenko, Ashley Spillers and Jessie Tilton.

Imagine a realm where the most horrifying terrors of the underworld emerge to wreak bloody vengeance upon any who… hmm? What’s that? You wanna go literally anywhere else? Yeah, good idea let’s get out of here…

Reviews:

“Spoofing several classic horror movies and sub-genres, Hell No plays like a string of trailers with a witty voiceover and clever use of fake review quotes (“You will believe your eyes!”) […] It’s a funny idea, done very well.” Gore Blimey Blog

IMDb

Please feel free to comment about Hell No below…

‘We love eating them, now it’s their turn!’

Attack of the Killer Donuts is a 2016 comedy science fiction horror film directed by Scott Wheeler (Avalanche Sharks; second unit director: Empire of the Sharks; Sharknado 4) from a screenplay co-written by Nathan Dalton, actor Chris De Christopher (Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre; Piranhaconda) and producer Rafael Diaz-Wagner (Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre). It stars Fredrick Burns, Kayla Compton and Lauren Compton. C. Thomas Howell has a cameo role as a cop.

A chemical accident turns ordinary donuts into blood thirsty killers. Now it’s up to Johnny, Michelle and Howard to save their sleepy town from… killer donuts!

Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk

Reviews:

“As ludicrous as it sounds, this low-concept, low-budget schlock horror-comedy from vfx artist Scott Wheeler (Xena: Warrior Princess) is far from unwatchable and even manages to entertain for most of its first hour, before succumbing to creative burnout — and a bizarre kind of sentimentality — in its final stretch.” Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter

“The story makes for fair part buddy-comedy and part outbreak pic. It’s a strange blend of things, but it has a few tense moments and the jokes never disappear for long. Those comical moments only last for a moment or so as director Scott Wheeler pulls out all the stops and we’re soon trapped in what is an often riotous, unpredictable situation.” Matt Molgaard, Addicted to Horror Movies

” …while the movie is fun it just never becomes a greatly entertaining one as well. It’s funny at moments but more often than not it’s being too much of a lame and simplistic movie, featuring a silly premise that never fully pays off. Horror-wise the movie is especially a weak one. There is no good gore, no real fun killings and certainly not any tension or good scares either.”Frank Veenstra, Boba_Fett1138

“Attack of the Killer Donuts is not as good as say ThanksKilling, but it’s just as entertaining and does enough that it stands well on its own merits; it’s good but not great and it’s funny yet not entirely over the top […] The CG isn’t spectacular, but given the scope of the budget, I think the killer donuts looked pretty decent and they even had some cute moments.” Valkor, The Other View

“The film has the most fun with the donut attacks – of squealing donuts rolling and leaping around, jumping out of the fryer en masse […] However, beyond the ridiculousness of the title concept, Attack of the Killer Donuts is far too penny-pinched. It is a cheap and sh*tty film with just not enough chutzpah or effort made to make it more than that.” Richard Scheib, Moria

Main cast:

Fredrick Burns, Kayla Compton, Lauren Compton (Depraved; Death House; ClownTown), Chris De Christopher, Alison England, Phillip Fallon, Michael Gaglio, Aaron Groben, Ben Heyman, C. Thomas Howell (Bigfoot Wars; Camel Spiders; The Hitcher), Christine Nguyen, Grant O’Connell, Jack O’Connor, Justin Ray, Jed Rowen.

Filming locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

IMDb

‘Being dead is easy, it’s getting married that’s the real killer’

A Little Bit Zombie is a 2012 Canadian comedy horror film directed by Casey Walker (producer and on set visual effects supervisor of The Void) from a screenplay by Trevor Martin and Christopher Bond. It stars Kristopher Turner, Crystal Lowe and Shawn Roberts.

Infected by a virus, a mild mannered HR manager attempts to fulfill his overwhelming desire for brains, all while trying to keep it together so as not to incur the wrath of his bridezilla-to-be…

The movie was crowdsourced through Walker’s initiative ‘My Million Dollar Movie’ over a five-year period, during which he raised over a million dollars by allowing people to back the film by “purchasing” a frame.

Buy DVD: Amazon.co.uk

The film received its world premiere on February 4, 2012 at the Victoria Film Festival in Victoria, British Columbia and was released on to DVD on July 16, 2013.

Reviews:

“The film is a very funny and unique take on the usual zombie film, and even the zombie comedy, through its use of some outrageous characters, screwball comedy and familial situations that had me and the audience laughing pretty continuously.” Shelagh Rowan-Legg, Screen Anarchy

“The jokes are silly, but deft. The acting and staging is all high quality. The script is clever and quick.  The only real complaint is that the movie really didn’t know how to end. Things go off the rails a bit then veer back and everything just kind of stops. That’s a minor complaint in the larger scheme.” Jim Davis, More Brains

“I’d hoped to really enjoy it, but found it downright tough to get through at points. That isn’t a slight against the movie- one of its trailers warns that it’s for “immature audiences”, so take it as you will. I guess I just found that after while, it grated on me. Mean friend Craig calling Steve “gay” over and over again for wanting to eat a dude’s brains instead of a girl? Eh, just not my type of humor.” Andre Manseau, JoBlo.com

“I can watch blood and guts all day and night, but the multiple scenes of Steve drooling every time the word “Brains!” is said made my stomach flip. That said, it is a funny running joke throughout the film — one of many. The ending, though abrupt, is a winner, going out on a high note and leaving the viewer wanting more. I was surprised at how much I liked A Little Bit of Zombie. It’s a low budgeter, but one with a lot of heart and some great comedic moments.” Ambush Bug, Ain’t It Cool News

“A Little Bit Zombie is never scary, at any point, but scary wasn’t what it was going for. The film was going for comedy horror and on most levels, it succeeds. It’s more comedy, with a horror backdrop, but regardless, by the film’s end it is fairly successful at both.” Tyler Doupe, ComingSoon.net

” …there were an abundance of Evil Dead references, as just looking at the poster above should tell you, but there was little zombie killing and only a smattering of gore. Again, it came down to the spot-on cast keeping me interested in their bumblings on how to deal with Steve’s “condition”. A certain amount of credit must naturally go to the writers Trevor Martin and Christopher Bond, but I can’t stress enough how important the cast were in making this a successful venture.” Jay Clarke, The Horror Section

“The latter half of the film, which is driven by Crystal Lowe’s determination to make the wedding go ahead and accept the fact that her fiancée is a zombie emerge the most successfully with some wacky scenes involving he going shopping for brains or the two girls setting out to seduce a guy that nobody will miss for him to feast upon […] I don’t know if A Little Bit Zombie ever produced any genuine laughs from me, but I at least emerged with a smile. Amiably silly.” Richard Scheib, Moria

“The additional zombie hunters story is generally just filler between new developments within the core group. They are both well portrayed characters, but the film would have remained equally good without them. It wouldn’t have been difficult to script other ways to introduce the same plot devices. The bottom line is this picture is laugh-out-loud funny. It never lags and achieves the perfect balance of comedy and good characters…” Sarah Gopaul, The Digital Journal

Buy Blu-ray (English audio): Amazon.co.uk

Cast and characters:

• Kristopher Turner as Steve (The Brotherhood III: Young Demons)
• Crystal Lowe as Tina (R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour; Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon; Thralls; Snakes on a Plane; Scary Movie 4; Wrong Turn 2: Dead End; Black X-Mas; Final Destination 3)
• Shawn Roberts as Craig (Resident Evil: The Final Chapter; Feed the Gods; Diary of the Dead; Skinwalkers; Thralls; Land of the Dead)
• Kristen Hager as Sarah (Manson, My Name Is Evil; Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem)
• Stephen McHattie as Max (Mother!; Awakening the Zodiac; Wolves; Haunter; Torment; Pontypool; Death Valley; Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby; et al)
• Emilie Ullerup as Penelope Pendleton (Blackburn; Death Do Us Part; Witchslayer Gretl)
• George Buza as Capt’n Cletus (The Brain)
• Robert Maillet as Terry ‘Terror’ Thompkins
• Neil Whitely as The Professor
• Spider Allen as Ringmaster
• Melanie Rainville as Bearded Lady
• Richard Rowntree as BBQ Bill
• Trevor Martin as Master Baiter / Cory Cortex
• Christopher Bond as Pizza Guy
• Rob Roy as Battered Local

Buy: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca

Filming locations:

Principal filming at Sudbury, Ontario, Canada during June 2011.

Wikipedia | IMDb | Official site

Scared Stiff is a 1953 American musical comedy film directed by George Marshall from a screenplay by Herbert Baker and Walter DeLeon (The Cat and the Canary), loosely based on the 1909 play The Ghost Breaker by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard. It stars Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.

The team’s ninth picture, Scared Stiff is essentially a remake of Paramount’s previous effort, The Ghost Breakers (1940), also directed by George Marshall. The studio had also filmed two versions in the silent era The Ghost Breaker (1914) directed by Cecil B. DeMille and The Ghost Breaker (1922) starring Wallace Reid.

Mary Carroll (Lizabeth Scott) inherits her family’s ancestral home, located on a small island off Cuba, and, despite warnings and death threats, decides to sail to Havana and take possession of the reputedly haunted castle. She is joined by nightclub entertainer Larry Todd (Martin) who, believing he has killed a mobster, flees New York with a friend, Myron (Lewis).

Once on the island the three enter the eerie castle and, after viewing the ghost of one of Mary’s ancestors and fighting off a menacing zombie, find the key to the castle’s treasure…

Reviews:

Scared Stiff goes on far too long – it takes over 90 minutes before we get to the island, with the plot being dragged out by an interminable series of musical numbers and much runnings around hotels and ships at sea. It is also lazily developed – it reaches the end without ever explaining whether the hauntings are real or not.” Richard Scheib, Moria

” …besides the opening number with Dean Martin, Lewis is incorporated into all the other songs, so there’s no avoiding him. There’s a bit of nice atmosphere in the haunted house scenes, but compare the zombie here with Noble Johnson’s great zombie from the Bob Hope version, and you can’t help but come up disappointed.” Dave Sindelar, Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings

“Both the original film and this later iteration essentially function as vehicles for their stars, and suffer from rather lame, unnecessarily complex screenplays — but Scared Stiff, unfortunately, is even more awkwardly paced than its predecessor, taking 80 long minutes to finally bring the protagonists to their spooky destination…” FilmFanatic.org

” …mostly sticks to the original except for the addition of several bad song and dance numbers and even worse comedy routines.” Peter Dendle, The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia

“George Marshall directs it all with an appropriate light touch.” John Stanley, Creature Features

“Oddly enough, a comedy highlight in the picture is handled by uncredited Frank Fontaine, playing a drunk who thinks Martin is a ventriloquist when he is caught talking to Lewis, hidden in a trunk at dock side. The comedy team is in its element in the story’s slap-stick harum-scarum.” Variety, December 31, 1952

Buy on DVD: Amazon.com

“True enough, Mr. Lewis does shiver and jump in the most extravagant ways when stranded alone in the recesses of the haunted castle to which he and Mr. Martin are led by Lizabeth Scott […] However, these vigorous pretensions of terror and agony appear decidedly labored and mechanical in this scratchily put-together film.” Bosley Crowther, The New York Times, July 3, 1953

Cast and characters:

• Dean Martin as Larry Todd
• Jerry Lewis as Myron Mertz
• Lizabeth Scott as Mary Carroll
• Carmen Miranda as Carmelita Castinha
• George Dolenz as Mr. Cortega
• Dorothy Malone as Rosie
• William Ching as Tony Warren
• Paul Marion as Ramon Cariso / Francisco Cariso
• Jack Lambert as Zombie
• Tony Barr as Trigger
• Leonard Strong as Shorty
• Henry Brandon as Pierre
• Frank Fontaine as the drunk on the pier

Wikipedia | IMDb

Posted in memoriam to Jerry Lewis. His comedy routines weren’t to everyone’s liking but he pleased many people, especially his loyal fans.

‘Samantha is his dream. Lucas is his nightmare’

Little Evil is a 2017 American comedy horror film written and directed by Eli Craig. It stars Evangeline Lilly, Adam Scott and Owen Atlas.

Gary (Adam Scott) marries Samantha (Evangeline Lilly), the woman of his dreams, only to discover her six year-old son (Owen Atlas) may be the Antichrist…

The Netflix film will be shown on September 1, 2017.

Main cast:

Evangeline Lilly, Adam Scott, Owen Atlas, Clancy Brown, Tyler Labine, Donald Faison, Chris D’Elia and Bridget Everett

IMDb