Movie Review: Dropping Evil (DVD, 2012)

Review By: Rob Sibley

Dropping Evil is a mind fuck of a movie, it's soul goal is to fuck with you. It accomplishes all of this in spades. I love it when an Independent film shoots for the stars. What the filmmakers did with D.E. Was take a high concept idea and make it on a low budget. But due to some creative cinematography, editing and post production tinkering they were able to pull it off.

The plot concerns... well it's an easy film to spoil. So the basic premise is four friends go on a road trip, one friend is a Jesus freak. They want to loosen that one friend up a bit some they put some LSD in his drink... think is are crazy Christian loses his shit are starts bumping off his buddies. Oh and did I mention there is a “Cabin in the woods” style corporation watching these folks via a camera that's been implanted in the eye of one of the friends?

Movie Review: Bonnie and Clyde vs. Dracula (2008)

Silly title? Maybe, but this little gem balances camp and serious intentions fairly deftly, and mixes it all up with some visual style, effective period detail and a jaunty pace. Oh, and the acting is pretty good, too. It's the kind of thing you used to see all the time, often produced by Roger Corman, in the 60s and 70s: minor but engrossing genre films made by talented young directors eager to make their mark. The kind of thing you don't see too often anymore.

Buy Bonnie and Clyde vs. Dracula on DVD

The story doesn't waste much time with explanations and elaborate set ups. It simply follows two parallel plots which come together in the third act. Both story lines revel in genre cliches, and yet are full of surprises and are never boring.

Movie Review: The Frankenstein Syndrome (2011)

Man, was I happy to see this film. Let me clarify that statement. I'm never really happy at the thought of watching movies that come out of the Phoenix film community. I'm not knocking the whole group of people that works out here, but there have been far more bad films than good made in our fair city. I should know. I'm in many of them. In fact, I'm only really proud of one of my performances. Recently, there has been an upswing, and that can be credited to a few small groups. The product has been getting better, and The Frankenstein Syndrome is the perfect example of what can really be done on a true independent level.

Buy The Frankenstein Syndrome on DVD or Watch it Instantly

I don't want you to think that I'm stroking this movie because our own David Hayes is in it. That will never be the case. He and I have collaborated on some turds, and you won't see those reviewed here. I'll just watch them alone in a dark room while "Fade to Black" plays in the background on repeat. What we have here is something the Phoenix film community can be proud of, and I'm proud of Dave for his work here. It's good. In fact, I'd hold this film up to any studio horror film. It's better than most these days.

The Frankenstein Syndrome Available July 5th from MTI!

Featuring our very own David C. Hayes and Hal Astell!

Pre-Order The Frankenstein Syndrome on DVD!

A beautiful young stem-cell researcher, Elizabeth Barnes (Tiffany Shepis), joins a secret research group attempting to develop a stem-cell based universal healing serum. Despite opposition from the project leaders she quickly develops a serum that can bring the dead back to life - but with horrific results. When one of the project's security guards is murdered and then re-animated, Barnes and her team must contend with a man, who at first, is like a child but quickly becomes something much, much more.

Movie Review: The Violent Kind (2010, Blu-ray, Image Entertainment)

Lately I've been on a on a independent crime film kick with my most recent viewing being Simon Rumley’s superb Red White and Blue. I was expecting a similar film when I slipped the Butcher brothers' film The Violent Kind into my Blu-ray player. Boy, was I off. Really the only things these two films had in common was sadistic violence and lead characters that appeared to never bathe. Image Entertainment has just recently released The Violent Kind on both Blu-ray and DVD. Is it comparable to other well-made independents or does it stand out on its own? Let's have a look!

Buy The Violent Kind [Blu-ray] or DVD

The Violent Kind available now from Image Entertainment!

On May 10th, Image Entertainment unleashed The Violent Kind, a wild and unpredictable story that explores the dominion of evil on the highways. Directed by the Butcher Brothers (The Hamiltons) and a horror hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, The Violent Kind will be available on DVD for an SRP of $27.97 and on Blu-ray™ for an SRP of $29.97.

Buy The Violent Kind on Blu-ray or DVD

Movie Review: Blood Oath (2010, Troma)

The folks over at Troma have been tackling a lot more indie horror titles as of late - The most recent releases being Blood Junkie, Grim and our review for today, director David Buchert's, Blood Oath. I enjoyed some parts of both Blood Junkie and Grim but in the end they felt like mediocre missed opportunities. Does Blood Oath turn the corner? Unfortunately, no it doesn’t and it's easily the worst of the three.

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Blood Oath is pretty ridiculous from the get go. The killer in the film looks like Captain Caveman with Edward James Olmos' complexion. He wields a giant blade which he slashes, and disembowels campers with who are in search of this mysterious cabin in the woods. Yet another cliché campfire story is told about the urban legend that involves this "house of death" and how they actually find the place, I have no idea. The movie is so dark it's as if a camera crew wasn't even brought on board for the project. I mean fuck, someone flick their lighter on , or something. A minor redeeming value that Blood Oath hold is that it's fairly gory - though most though most of the FX are badly executed. One notable decapitation will have many viewers falling out of their chairs at how bad it is.