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Showing posts with label slashers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label slashers. Show all posts

December 23, 2023

Christmas Horror Capsule Reviews



I realize there are more holiday movies to watch than I could fully analyze. So I thought it might be fun to do capsule reviews of holiday horrors that are available on streaming services. Obviously, I don’t have access to all of them so let’s hit up what’s on Tubi.

And if you don’t know what Tubi is, why are you even here? You’re obviously not one of us. Off you must fuck.

DISCLAIMER: I decided to just highlight Tubi because after watching nine films, I wanted to set myself on fire. Ain’t no way I can watch the twenty offerings remaining on Tubi, let alone manage everything else on Prime, Shudder, YouTube, and Netfl…well, maybe not Netflix.

Do. Better. Netflix. (But don’t get rid of your Korean dramas, I beg you.)

Annyeonghaseyo

Holiday Hell

A woman goes into a curio shop to find a Christmas gift for her sister. The shopkeeper regales her with the terrifying tales of different items.

Jeffrey Combs. That’s it. That’s the only reason you need to go watch this. Do it. NOW. Seriously, this is the best film on the list and has a nice, if not predictable, little twist at the end.

 

Hell on the Shelf

A movie of found footage from a paranormal investigative crew in a supposedly haunted house.

Nothing new here. The origin story is about a pair of twin boys who fought over an Andy Elf doll, a doll that possesses whoever touches it and brings a bad fate, and one boy ends up dead. Terrible acting. Cheap effects for camera footage. Don’t worry about blinking and missing something because there’s nothing subtle here. It’s like Ghost Adventures up in this bitch, and I don’t mean that as a compliment.

 

The Killing Tree

Years ago a psycho killed a bunch of people he thought didn’t celebrate Christmas the right way. After his execution, his grieving widow puts his soul into a Christmas tree. Now he can continue his murder spree and finally kill the one that got away.

Just terrible; goofy special f/x; incredibly thin plot. Everything is awful.


It really is

The 12 Slays of Christmas

Three titty women become stranded in a snowstorm and take shelter in a mansion owned by a creepy old dude. He shares a plethora of terrifying tales with them, twelve to be exact.

The creepy old man, Ignacio Harrington (great name), is a fun character and the actor is fantastic. The three women can’t act for shit and the one who plays Christine looks like she has pink eye. It’s very distracting. But this is a most egregious self-service “film.” The twelve tales are basically trailers or snippets from eleven different Full Moon features, and the twelfth slay was the three women turning into monsters and killing the old man. Ooops, spoiler alert. This was a trailer compilation disguised as an anthology. As much as I love Charles Band, I was kinda mad when I finished this up. Luckily, it’s only forty minutes.

 

Sister Krampus

Two sisters visiting Europe during Christmas time cross paths with Sister Krampus, bride to the horrifying anti-Claus.

The nun gets involved with Krampus after Mother Superior kicks her out of the convent for DARING to be raped by American Soldiers (during WW2). In the present day she binds herself to one of the sisters. Not really sure why but do I care? No. Should anyone? Also no. The only important part is that after destroying the nun, Krampus is so relieved to be rid of the bitch that he restores life to murdered loved ones of the women who helped him out.

I just…ugh.

 

He Knows

Masked killer Sammy the Elf kills all the naughty folks in a small town during the holidays.

Sammy the Elf is pretty damned creepy and I loved the practical effects for the kills. But the end…whaaaa?


Nutcracker Massacre

A novelist visiting her family at Christmas becomes reacquainted with a mysterious Nutcracker doll with a mind and agenda of its own.

Okay, the “doll” is actually a 6’ figure. Who the fuck has a 6-foot tall Nutcracker in their house? The characters are poorly written; the story is the most convoluted bullshit ever. However, points for practical effects and a literal nutcracker death. But Patrick Bergen…what the fuck happened to you that you’re involved with this pile of shit?

 

Psycho Santa

The husband half of a bickering couple, traveling to a family gathering, teases his wife with stories about the legend of a backwoods killer Santa.

While I can appreciate the tales about Santa’s murder spree being shown instead of told, the acting is awful, obligatory nudity tiresome, and the back and forth from the stories to the couple driving gets boring after a while. There is SO MUCH FUCKING FILLER in every scene. This could have been thirty minutes shorter. In fact, it should never have existed at all.

 

Psycho Santa 2

The still alive but burned Psycho Santa from part 1 returns to kill everyone. Or something. I JUST CAN’T. You’re on your own to watch this one.

Cocktails engaged…

Slayed

Five years after a Christmas Eve massacre destroyed a small community, the murderer returns. But someone is ready for him.

Not really ground breaking stuff going on here but the acting is better than most everything else on this list. I have to admit to really digging the characters of Crandle (who was on scene for the original massacre five years prior) and Jordan (the new security guard with a secret – or not really; it’s kind of obvious actually.)

 

All righty. That’s all I could handle this time around. Maybe I’ll try to do this every year but spread it out over a few weeks so I don’t need to get blackout drunk in order to survive with my sanity intact. But I’ve linked the trailers for the capsules and for each offering in the list below.

 

Happy Holidays!

 

Elves

Nights before Christmas

Chrismassacre (no trailer available)

All Through the House

Santa Claws (couldn't find a trailer for this - it's from 1996 if that helps!)

Once Upon a Time at Christmas

Good Tidings

*Jack Frost

Mother Krampus

Christmas Craft Fair Massacre

*A Christmas Horror Story

All the Creatures Were Stirring

The Christmas Tapes

Black Christmas (2006)

*Better Watch Out

Unholy Night

The Santa Suicides

Hogfather

Amityville Christmas Vacation

A Christmas Slay

Silent Night Bloody Night

*Christmas Evil

Slay Belles

*Rare Exports

Bunch of Riff Trax: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians; Magic ChristmasTree; Santa Claus; Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny

 

*These are actually very well done films, or so bad they’re highly entertaining, so I do recommend you watch them.




December 21, 2016

Movie Review: The Orphan Killer (Blu-ray)

Reviewed By: James D.

The Orphan Killer is quite possibly one of the better slasher films in the indie market right now in terms of good gore and bloodshed. The kills and torture were really well done. The story focuses around Marcus, and his baby sister Audrey. When he was 6 and she was 2, their parents were killed when they got robbed. They were sent to a home, where Marcus took his parents death harder than she did. He acted out and got more violent. The nuns punished him by making where this old theater mask and treating him like some sort of freak. While Audrey found a home and a family, Marcus took it hard and vowed revenge on her.

My problems with this film are the pacing and the use of the flashbacks. You get a great kill and some adrenaline going, and they whip up this flashback that made no sense. The music in some scenes did not fit…I would have loved less music and more mood of the characters and their emotions, rather than loud music, or some female folk singer. The other negative, was the set up to the barb wire scene. Talk about something that was just dragged out getting to the point, and the conversation he has with his sister once he strings her up was just horrible.

May 23, 2015

Movie Review: "The Killer 4 Pack" (2014; MVD Visual/SGL Entertainment)

...as an ardent and embraced lover of genre films...especially those produced independently, and on nothing less than a shoestring-budget (...I've found that they tend to try harder, aspiring to be something great, despite their limitations), this viewer...every year, about the May time frame...harbors a desire...a dream...a fantasy, to attend the Festival de Cannes, in France, and exclusively, albeit waywardly partake of the genre film offerings, often featured there. Just wander about the film festival, taking in and 'binge-watching' (...man, don't you just love these social 'terms of the moment') the newest of the new, and some often nostalgically celebrated, as far as the realm of horror and dark fantasy, both big-budgeted and micro-budgeted alike...

...alas, this viewer's own financial limitations have, at least for the time being, curbed any possibility of one day attending the internationally renowned film festival (...understandable, as word has it, the cost of attending the yearly fest, is one of those 'ouch' level of expenses...Yikes!!); still, such obstacles hardly gives cause to cease and desist the dream itself. And as amiable consolation and substitute for what cannot be, but might be, one day...well, there's always the much more compact and convenient venue of home video. Browsing the store shelves...or perhaps more succinctly, the item entries listed over at Amazon or Ebay...one cannot help but express a measure of exhaustion, in filtering though the countless multi-movie collections, out there. Public domain trash, side-by-side with mainstream pairings and couplings. Bargain basement bounty...titles, merging over titles, blurring into more and more titles. It would be so easy to miss the occasional jewel, or jewels amongst all of this generic colored glass...tarnished jewels, to be sure, but jewels, nonetheless...

August 8, 2014

40th Anniversary Texas Chainsaw Black Maria DVD/Blu-Ray Streets 9/16!

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: 40th Anniversary Black Maria Ltd Ed

Exclusively Available Through Gorgon-Video.com Starting September 16th


It's been imitated and remade, but never equaled. Tobe Hooper's THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE rose from a notorious 1974 sleeper sensation to rank as one of the greatest horror films ever made. Now, to mark the film's 40th anniversary, Dark Sky Films is presenting the digitally re-mastered masterpiece on Blu-ray for the first time in a stunning Limited Deluxe "Black Maria" Collector's Edition box set.

THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE appears in an all-new 4K digital transfer and with a newly created 7.1 surround sound mix supervised by director Hooper (Poltergeist). This release marks the only transfer of the film to go back to the original 16mm A/B rolls, the actual film that rolled through the cameras. The Limited Deluxe "Black Maria" Edition of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE will be released at retail in October but will be available exclusively at www.gorgon-video.com for 30 days starting September 16, 2014. Fans of the film will recognize the unique packaging as a replica of the iconic 'Black Maria' cattle truck that comes to Sally Hardesty's rescue when she's being pursued by Leatherface, a fitting nod to the legions of TCSM enthusiasts who were instrumental in keeping the film at the forefront of the genre throughout for the past 40 years and a true collectible display piece.'

This four-disc DVD/Blu-ray combo pack will include a wealth of extras, including:
A Leatherface apron
Theatrical mini-poster
Five audio options
Four feature commentaries with the filmmakers and cast,
Several making-of featurettes
Deleted scenes, outtakes, bloopers, trailers and much more

November 27, 2013

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #122 - Turkey Trot

Jeff flies solo to talk about Thanksgiving movies, exploitation and more.

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August 9, 2013

Movie Review: I.B.S. (2013)



I’ve seen my share of gross out horror comedies. I’ve even been a party to some. There is a fine line that needs to be trod in order for these to be successful. When you’re dealing with subject matter like I.B.S. (which, in real world parlance, stands for irritable bowel syndrome) does, that line is even thinner. In all honesty, the film could have worked with a little more care and attention to detail. There are two ways for a film with this initial concept (the tag line is “When he’s gotta go, you gotta go”) to work. Either screw it up so bad and give the entire filmmaking world the finger on your way to cult movie status OR produce a fine-looking film that revels in its wrong-ness despite the quality. I.B.S. lets loose right down the middle and, if I may be so bold, would have benefited from a courtesy flush.

May 28, 2013

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #98 - Podcatastrophe

Kevin and Jeff join Camm Harston from Raise your Spirits and Ryan Ford and Jacob O'Neal from From the Underground to record live at Phoenix Comicon.

They talk underground music, how Jacob and Ryan got started, favorite slasher movies, the movies they love that others hate and more. They also wonder where Camm went. Yeah.

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May 13, 2013

Movie Review: Back Woods (2001)

Tony Masiello, of B-Movie Dumpster.com fame and director of the new documentary SOV: The True Independents, poops on Back Woods in the most hilarious video review of all time. Watch it in all its glory and then check out the two minute version of the film right below it.

Back Woods was written by and starred Cinema Head Cheese co-founder David C. Hayes many, many years ago and he just can't escape its enormous shadow.

WARNING: The review contains some foul language but what else can you expect. The poor guy just watched Back Woods!

October 30, 2012

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #70 - Classic Slashers

Dave and Kevin jump in on separate segments to talk about their favorite classic slasher movies. Dave starts with Halloween before getting into Scream and other great franchises. Kevin runs through the Friday the 13th series and figures out that American Psycho wasn't just about the greed of the 1980s.

Kevin also shares his thoughts on the Munsters remake Mockingbird Lane.

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You can always email us at cinemaheadcheese@yahoo.com or tweet us @CinHeadCheese.

Support Cinema Head Cheese and Abnormal Entertainment by clicking the links on our Sponsors page!

This episode is sponsored by the following:

Halloween Costumes