My Best Friend’s Exorcism Review

Grady Hendrix put out a book in 2016 called “My Best Friend’s Exorcism”, and it was a comedic horror novel with a lot to offer. I read the book, and was excited to see what the movie would be like. While the book had a great deal of humor to it, the movie doesn’t, and that’s where the comparisons start, but don’t end. I’m not going to do a compare and contrast here, because the book was just better in my opinion.

The movie has a simple plot, two friends have their lives changed when one of them is possessed by a demon. Their lives turned upside down, the only hope is to go through an exorcism, and hope that the demon gets out. Along the way we do have some comedic moments, but for the most part, it’s not that funny o f a movie.

Abby and Gretchen are the main characters and the ones that are dealing with the demon. The demon is not half bad, and the CGI work is good. The movie takes its time to move forward, but there’s a lot of throwback to the 1980s through musical moments. These solidify the characters, and you get a subplot here and there to level out the overall story.

I found the movie to be fun, it was drenched in the 1980s, and I loved that about the movie. It doesn’t take itself too seriously at times, but when it does get serious, it’s really good. Of all the exorcism movies, however, this is a tame one. The demon and exorcism isn’t something that gets too graphic, although there are some moments that make you think about other movies in the genre. It’s about “Goosebumps” level at times, and that’s not a bad thing, it’s got some soul to it, and it plays well.

Overall, “My Best Friend’s Exorcism” is a good overall movie. It’s horror comedy, but light on the comedy. It’s not graphic, it isn’t going to cause you to pull away a lot, but there are some good moments, and a nice sub plot that includes an interesting weight loss issue, to say the least. The movie flows well, it’s good overall, and definitely worth your time. You can stream it on Amazon Prime. 

Basket Case Review

The year was 1982 and a lot of horror movies were pushing the boundaries. The 1970s brought us some great stuff, and the 1980s would bring us a lot too. This time around, we take a look back at the cult classic, “Basket Case”. I reviewed “Basket Case 3” a long time ago, and I recently stepped back in time to watch the original, and well, it is as hardcore as I remember it.

The movie is simple enough, it is about conjoined twins, one of which has been cut off from their brother and now resides in a basket. You did not read that wrong. The brother is a deformed blob with sharp teeth and strong nails. The movie goes through the premise where the brothers seek revenge on the doctors that performed the surgery to separate the two. In the meanwhile our main character Duane Bradley goes to a hotel and stays there while he seeks out the doctors with his brother. Of course all hell breaks loose when the blob starts to get loose and attack.

The movie has a lot of gore in it. The killing scenes are all done with practical effects, and with camera cuts that are tastefully done, and give you just the right amount of scare. There’s even a nice contraption scene where someone gets sawed in half. The overall movie flows fast, it creates good atmosphere, and the gore and effects are pretty good. “Basket Case” definitely ramps things up towards the end and by the time we get to the final act, you’re either cheering for Duane or the blob. The two have it out at the end and we end up having a definitive end…or so we think.

There’s a lot of cool moments in this film, and it’s not scary, as much as it is gorey at times. There are two sequels to this one, but overall this is a classic cult horror movie with a good sense of pacing, and funny moments. It’s not meant to be played for laughs, but you can’t help but laugh at some of the moments, making this one an interesting romp for you to go back to if you haven’t in a while.

Angel Review

Angel (1984) Poster

I was first exposed to the movie "Angel" when I saw the poster at a video store in Inglewood, California. I was a kid, but the poster looked like a porno movie, and I always had a fascination with porno posters. This movie came out in 1984, and it is an exploitation movie, that has a tinge of horror, but mostly it's a thriller with notes of sexploitation. This is a grindhouse picture that would play in theaters alongside other B-movies, but it has some good moments. The movie was directed by Robert O'Neill, and stars Cliff Gorman, Susan Tyrrell, Dick Shawn, and Donna Wilkes.

The plot of this movie features an underage girl who is just an average prep school teenager by day, but at night, she becomes a hooker. She walks the streets with her friends, and they are all part of the sex trade, or performing on Hollywood Blvd. After you are introduced to both sides of her world, you start to meet her friends, and they are all performers, or prostitutes. Once the introductions are done, a serial killer strikes, killing prostitutes in brutal fashion. A rogue detective comes on board and talks to the ladies and men of the night and tells them to work in pairs and to keep an eye out, and that he's not going to bust them, he wants to get the killer. Well, the movie progresses and we see the killer stalking Angel and her friends, even her transgender friend, and things get way out of hand. When Angel has enough, she gets found out, her life starts crashing down, and she gets even, with a revolve and street justice.

This is the same kind of movie that you would expect from Charles Bronson and others at Cannon. It's a good movie, in the sense that it has the tropes of a grindhouse movie, with bad acting, illicit elements of sex, and of course vigilante justice. That alone makes this movie one of the many standouts that you'll get to see when it comes to the world of cinema. It's the start of a 4 movie picture series, and it features the same premise nearly every time, with a woman that is working the streets by night, but by day is a normal school girl.

I'm not sure if this is a true to life tail, but it has a bit of sex, violence, and mostly drawn out dramatic moments. It's nonsensical at times, that's for sure. There's a bit of film grit to the movie, and at times I think it's similar to a porno movie that would star Ginger Lynn from the same time frame. In fact, some of the sets even looked like one of her movies that I reviewed online before.

"Angel" is a movie that walks the line between sexploitation and horror. It's not quite horror, it's more exploitation and grindhouse than anything else. It's a stellar ride, and it's something that many people will enjoy, but it's definitely not purely horror. It's a sign of the times, and something that wouldn't get made today. I love the plot, the killing fields, and the idea of the main character being a prostitute trying to make ends meet. She makes the choice, she's not being exploited.

You can order Angel from 1984 by clicking here, and getting the trilogy in one box set. Or you can order below:

Stalled Review

What would you do if you were in the bathroom when the zombie apocalypse happened? Seriously? What would you do? That’s the premise that comes forward in this cult classic, Stalled. Stalled is a movie that I didn’t want to watch for a while, but eventually had to, because I didn’t want this site to die. So here we go, my thoughts and opinions about one of the cleverest zombie movies I’ve seen in a long time. I kid you not, this was creative, and fun.

Stalled came out in 2013. I was aware of the movie, but didn’t really watch it at the time. The movie was written and directed by Dan Palmer, and boy did he do a good job. Hats off to you Mr. Palmer, what a hell of a movie you created, with the help of others of course, but still, this is written very well if you ask me. Of course, no one asked me. If you are looking for a zombie Christmas movie, here it is, a Christmas treat with zombies and a bathroom stall from hell!

The plot is simple. W.C. is a maintenance guy at a high rise and he gets trapped inside of a bathroom stall when the zombie apocalypse goes down. That’s it. Simple plot, and it slowly moves forward into a nightmare. The movie progresses from W.C’s point of view. He eventually realizes that there is a girl in another stall, and the two try to escape, only for the woman to eventually has an emotional crisis about being fat, and gets eaten alive while our anti-hero ends up watching through a peep hole. There’s an identity crisis going on, and I wrongfully thought that it was another cheap ending, but nope, this was smart, it swerved me.

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Overall the gore is tight, the cinematography is good. However, I do have one major critique. The camera stops moving a lot. There are times when you don’t hear anything, and the camera is fixed, with nothing going on. It’s worse than Kevin Smith’s early work. That’s really jarring, but perhaps the method is to get you nervous, sucked into the plot, and waiting for what goes on next. Whatever the case is, Stalled really picks up steam in the third act and never lets go.

There’s comedy, there’s horror, there’s gore, and there’s even a little hot lesbian action! (I kid, but not really)

At the end of the day, Stalled is one of my favorite horror movies that features zombies. This is a quick, 84 minute romp through a “what if” scenario that you no doubt have talked about with your friends, while throwing back a few drinks. I loved it. Even though the pacing was a bit off sometimes, and the quality of film isn’t on par with a lot of mainstream releases, this British horror movie got me hooked fast. I recommend checking it out, especially for the brain bashing toilet humor that is sewn throughout. Great job!

You can purchase Stalled on DVD by clicking here, and why wouldn’t you? It’s damn good!

Barrio Tales Review

Barrio Tales Is Available On DVD HERE

I never get screeners anymore. I did at one point, but these days, no one trusts me enough to send them. That happens, I guess. So whenever you see me review anything, I don’t get it for free like some other sites. Oh, and if I say anything bad about any film, unlike “Freddy in Space”, send it to the director or anyone involved. I’ll man up and stick to my guns about what I say. Unlike that site, and writer. I would like to say that if you are a man enough to write a negative review or opinion, you should be man enough to stand by it if someone else tweets the director. Otherwise, go to hell.

Now, let’s get into the movie “Barrio Tales”, a Latino version of the classic 3 story horror tropes. A couple of brothers directed this, Jarret and Brent Tarnol, and I was immediately drawn to it because the cover looked like a Cypress Hill cover. The movie’s tag line stated, “Terror, from south of the border”, so boom.

This is a trio of tales, like “VHS” and other movies, and it starts with a couple of young adults going to Mexico to score some drugs. When they get there, they end up meeting a Mexican guy that tells them to beware of where they are going, and what they are looking for. As the two question where the drugs are, the sage of sorts tells them 3 stories of Mexican horror, and each one has a different moral, pushing the limits of horror and generalization.

The stories go from cannibalism, witchcraft, and a monster myth. Each one is a short version of horror tropes that you already think about. From teens getting made into edible goods, to witches getting their revenge on a mean person, to the unkillable monster, each option has a Latino twist to the classic horror stories that you already know about. My favorite of the trio of stories is the opening one. A young maid gets drowned by some rich kids, only to end up having revenge taken upon them by witches that hear of the news of the death of the Latino maid. It’s a quick tale of how treating people badly, could result in reaping some serious consequences. This one really felt like “Scream Queens”, with a bit of humor and visual style overall, good stuff.

“Barrio Tales” is a fascinating movie that flows fast, and has some nice cinematography, and decent acting. At times it feels like “Scream Queens”, and at other times it feels like “Tales From The Crypt”. Either way, it’s a lot of fun, and definitely worth checking out overall. The gore was minimal, the horror elements were fine, and for an independent movie, it has some gusto. I’d give it an 8 out of 10, and definitely a rental. I definitely had fun.

You can pick up "Barrio Tales" on dvd by clicking here.

They Live Skateboard Decks From Baker Skateboards - Out Now!

Ever see the movie "They Live"? of course you have! Well, every now and again I see skateboards put out in tribute of horror movies. This is one of them. Baker Skateboards just put out a series of skateboards in tribute of the movie "They Live" and they are featured below. They feature the same style of serious elements that you saw on screen when Roddy Piper would put on those special glasses.

If you're interested in purchasing these skateboards, you can do so by going to Amazon by Clicking Here. You will receive free shipping. I think these are worth putting up on a wall, personally.

Baker Skateboards Obey Series - Order Here

Baker Skateboards Obey Series - Order Here

Baker Skateboards Obey Series - Order Here

Baker Skateboards Obey Series - Order Here

Exterminators of The Year 3000 Review

Exterminators of the Year 3,000 VHS

This is an interesting science fiction trope, but man was it tough to get through. It took me a few attempts to finally see the whole thing, and it’s not easy to watch. This is a foreign film that was originally done in Italian and Spanish. You can tell the dubbing is terrible from the VHS that I got my grubby hands on. The dubbing was beyond terrible, but hey, all for the love of horror and science fiction right? “Exterminators of the Year 3,000” may very well be one of the worst, best, and yet terrible movies that I’ve had to power through in a long time. It’s rough, I’m not going to lie. You probably won’t like it.

The opening sequence was badass. I loved it. It very much has a “Mad Max” feel to it. Some great driving in the desert, and some gnarly crashing, with a lot of practical effects and stunt drivers pulling some turns in the sand. The movie starts with this notion that there is no more water, and that there may or may not be droids driving. I wasn’t sure. As the renegade driver gets out of his car and see son a dead dude, another drives away with his car, leaving him to chase again, and this is the best part of the movie.

From that point we get taken to a movie that is very much like “Mad Max 2”, only now there’s no water on the planet and it’s up to one man to go out and try to save the village. This is where I kept fighting myself to pay attention, but it’s not simple or easy to work with. Everyone is fighting for water, and it very much feels like “Mad Max” with an even lower budget than that movie had. This is an obvious rip-off, but I tried to keep with it and hope that there was going to be more back story, or perhaps less cheese, but nope, things kept going that direction.

This is an abysmal rip off, but I loved how the movie had some cool driving. I’ll give it that. As for the VHS I got my hands on, it’s ok I guess. I’m not a diehard for this movie, so you can easily scope this out if you want to watch it. However, aside from the cars and stunts, this movie is abysmal. It’s by far one of the worst movies I’ve seen in a long time, but the stunts are still cool, so I guess I’ll give them that. From what I read, the writers didn’t have the most fluid grasp of the English language, and well, it shows. If you get to watch this one, maybe you’ll like it, I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it so much that I didn’t finish it, so I guess that counts for something right? “Exterminators of The Year 3,000” is not a high recommendation, unless you absolutely must see the influence that “Mad Max” had on the 1980s movie scene.

Believe it or not, "Exterminators of the Year 3,000" is on Blu Ray. If you buy it here, and you like it, drop me a line and you can guest post a review. Otherwise, this stands as one terrible movie in my book. 

Amityville 3-D Review

The year was 1983 and Amityville as a franchise started on another release. This is the third in the series, and once again the haunted house became a mere parody of the original story, and book. The movie features the classic 3-D treatment, and even though you can’t really get the same effect today, you certainly see where it was meant to be in 3-D. Orion Pictures apparently only put out one of these things. Oh, and the Lutz family sued over the story here, and it was meant not to be a “sequel” or at least it couldn’t be marketed as such. Whatever the case is, this movie came out and it’s part of a larger legacy of the haunted house sect. “Amityville 3-D” is, well, not that grand.

The thing that stood out this time around, was the fact that Lori Loughlin and Meg Ryan are in the movie! They don’t get top billing, but they are in there. Meg Ryan, for whatever reasons reminded me of Amber Lynn, the porno star, and therefore I just kept wanting to see here show up on screen. I know, I’m weird. Other than these little elements where I would think about adult cinema history, this movie really tried my patience. It’s a slow moving romp for the most part. Tony Roberts does very well here, but the surrounding cast seems forced through the acting elements, and it’s just not a good movie.

Now, the death sequences are interesting, and there are some elements of 3-D that still stand out as a result of the production. The larger story, however, and the “gore” that you expect from the series doesn’t really come out. The house does seem to come alive as a writer and skeptic moves in. I liked the story of the debunking magazine, and liked the opening, but overall, the speed of the production really was a troublesome thing. It’s a boring movie at times, and while it does pick up at the end, most viewers most likely gave up on it. I did appreciate the pick up at the end, as things really started to get out of hand, and the “hell house” came alive.

Overall, “Amityville 3-D” is not the best in the franchise. However, there are a few cool camera tricks, and seeing a young Lori Loughlin and Meg Ryan is really cool. Other than that, this is one that you don’t necessarily need to see, unless you’re like me, and have to see everything horror at least once or twice, or in the case of this movie, 5 times.

Pick up “Amityville 3-D” on Blu Ray as part of a larger set, or something else by clicking here.

5 Killer Zombie Movies You Probably Saw But Don’t Remember Much About

I hate zombies.

They give me the creeps.

Ok, that’s not true, I just think that the genre is stale for the most part. While many people will try to argue with me, those people don’t have a blog that has been reviewing horror since 2008, do they? My eyes were burning today, and therefore I decided to call my day early, and this thought crushed my mind, “what are 5 killer zombie movies you would recommend?”, and of course 5 came to mind. Honestly, about 50 came to mind, but I narrowed down the list to just 5 killer zombie movies that you probably saw, but don’t remember, or haven’t seen, or you just want to see because you’re awesome and you want to actually oblige my humble request to buy something via the links provided. Whatever the case is, here are 5 killer zombie movies that you should have seen, should see, or maybe you have forgotten about, as chosen by me, the guy that is still pounding the keyboard like there’s no tomorrow.

Juan of the Dead

This zombie movie came out in 2011, and it’s absolutely a great little gem. It’s a movie that is in Spanish, so it has a soft spot in my mind. The movie is like taking “Shaun of the Dead” and filming it in Cuba. What else can I say? This thing has everything you’d expect from a zombie movie, only done with a Spanish edge. There are a lot of gags here, and some great visual effects. From practical effects to digital elements, there’s a lot to look at here, with some great nods to the classics, and some great elements of new material. The name is funny, the characters are hilarious, and you know? It’s one of those movies that you either saw and loved or you saw and forgot about. It came out in 2011, it’s been a few years, have you seen it? No!? What do you mean no? Maybe it’s on Netflix, I don’t know, I don’t subscribe to the service. Juan of the Dead, it’s a “killer” zombie flick, man.

Cockneys vs. Zombies

This is a personal favorite of mine. It’s another UK zombie film, and has a great amount of humor. Some of the humor is done with “one liners” and some of it is done through physical language. I love the characters, and love how things progress from bad to worse. The old guys in this movie are absolutely wonderful, and make me wish I grow up to be a badass Englishman, instead of a tired old Mexican. It falls through the same tropes that you would expect from a zombie movie, only it has cockney language, and, well, zombies. I don’t know what to say about this one, it’s fun, it’s fast, it’s a grand standing UK gem if you ask me, which you didn’t.

Night Life

This movie came out in 1989 and it was most likely panned. If you didn’t catch this one out, then I’m going to question whether or not you love horror movies or not. This is a horror movie that features a great deal of comedy, and some nice visual effects overall. This movie features a bullied teen, a zombie uprising, a pretty girl, and a fast paced plot. It’s equal parts undead, equal parts sex comedy, equal parts horror movie. Scott Grimes puts on a classic with this one. I don’t see it mentioned much, so here you go, a shot at watching a classic from the close of the 1980s.

Zombie

Ah, the 70s. The 1970s brought on a lot of great movies, and this is one to not miss. Lucio Fulci put on a showcase of all things schlock, gore, and fun with Zombie. This is a part of a series that doesn’t always translate so well. If you’re into Italian horror, then you are going to love the gore here, which has a lot of cool elements. You even get a killer moment where a zombie takes on a shark! The undead here are funny at times, the practical effects are great, and you know what? The Italians can really put on a good horror showcase. Zombie is a great little movie to track down.

Dawn of The Dead (2004)

This remake was absolutely hardcore. It’s bleak, very bleak. It took on a whole new meaning when Zack Snyder took a classic and reworked it. It has gore, it has taboos, and it holds up surprisingly well. This is a fast, gut wrenching movie with a lot of action. It’s speedy, and it doesn’t pull any punches. Just when you think you got this thing all sewn up, you realize that no one is going to get out alive. It’s a sickening, twisted, and dare I say humorous romp. There are some points of contention, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a killer zombie flick that you should go back and watch again. Released in 2004, it has a tremendous amount of gore, and visual design elements to keep you grounded in all things zombie.

There you have it, a collection of 5 zombie movies that you probably saw, forgot about, or just don’t want to revisit. I did. I love them. I love horror, and I’m just going to get back to my queue of movies that I have to watch, because I’m an idiot still writing a blog that no one reads. Woot?!

American Horror Story Freak Show Made Me Tear Up A Little

I hate the term binge watching, but I did it recently. I once again fell for the Netflix plan. I picked it up and it was fine, but I don’t love Netflix. That’s for another day. I did manage to have it in time to see all of American Horror story Freak Show. I won’t go into a lot of details or try to review every single episode. Instead, I’m going to talk about 5 major points that I liked and possibly didn’t like about it. It’s not a perfect showcase, and it’s not my favorite of the series. My favorite so far was “Coven”, but this time around there were a lot of elements to like about it. I would even go as far as to say that I wouldn’t mind getting it on blu ray, and that’s very rare for me. I don’t buy a lot of blu ray, but I do admire those that have good collections. I’m just not a collector any more, at least not like I once was.

The Characters

The characters involved with “Freak Show” are amazing. I loved them all in their own unique ways. I even loved Jessica Lange. I loved her portrayal, and the compassion that she had at times for her “freaks”. I thought Sarah Paulson was absolutely amazing too. Every character and actor that was in this show was grand, and I loved every little nuance about it. The characters had charm, they had a sense of belonging, and just held a lot of great elements overall. I liked the way each one was portrayed, and each one had something to love about them.

The Costume and Lighting

The visual design flow of “American Horror Story Freak Show” is bar none some of my favorite design ever. The design flow that was done here was fabulous. From the lighting changes, to the fish eye lens changes, the colors used, and the prominent changeover of lighting and set pieces. I loved the costumes, I thought each puzzle piece fit the theme very well and that’s something that I don’t usually pay attention to.

The Overall Horror Themes

There are some stark themes here. The homosexual “Strong Man” story really hit hard. The “lobster boy” connection was heavy handed too. I loved the killer clown concept, and I love the throwback to “Houdini” at one point. The overall horror themes here run all over the place. They pick up on all sorts of fears, and just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, the ending wraps up the insanity of the show. I loved it. I loved the pieces and the continual storytelling.

Neil Patrick Harris

There was a lot of hype about this. I read a lot about Neil Patrick Harris jumping into the show. I didn’t see it air, but when he showed up for 2 episodes, holy crap. This guy can really act, and the creep factor that was involved with his character rose to all new levels. I loved the sensuality of the story he was in, and the overall colors, themes, and psychosis involved is absolutely brilliant. That made the show for me, and they certainly chose a great point to throw him into, in my opinion.

The Tipping Point (Crying)

Few shows get me. Few movies get me. However, when the ending started to showcase the true nature of the larger story line, I teared up a lot. I teared up with the connections to the “Asylum”, and I teared up when the “Freaks” were treated as disposable figures. I couldn’t help it. Maybe I’m a freak? I don’t know. It was heavy handed. But the revenge angle and the finale was great in my view, and I liked how it was all wrapped up. I also loved the musical cues from Lana Del Rey to David Bowie, the sound design was absolutely great in the series.

“American Horror Story Freak Show” is perhaps the best of the series. I am now watching “Hotel” and I am not as fascinated. I don’t care about vampirism. I don’t care about Lady Gaga, and I sure as hell do not care about Los Angeles. I highly recommend “Freak Show” however. I can’t wait to dive into the Blu Ray and see it again.

If you're going to pick up "American Horror Story: Freak Show" do so HERE.