Greetings, all. Ambush Bug here with another AICN HORROR: ZOMBIES & SHARKS column. Before we jump into this week’s eclectic and deliciously indie batch of horrors, here’re some bits of news you might enjoy…

Devastated by the death of her younger sister, Lily Morel seeks solace at the spiritualist community of Cassadaga. But instead of finding closure, she contacts something else – the vengeful ghost of a murdered young woman. With her life crumbling all-around her, Lily races to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding the woman’s death – a task that will bring her face-to-face with a sadistic serial killer known only as “Geppetto”.
All I know is that poster is damn cool! Hopefully, I’ll be able to check this one out soon in a future AICN HORROR column!

Official ColdWater Trailer 1 from I.D. ENTERTAINMENT on Vimeo.


Kismet Entertainment Group announces the first official teaser trailer for the upcoming Dog Soldiers: Legacy web series. Dog Soldiers: Red was filmed in Northwest Arkansas in the last weekend of August 2011. “The trailer brings back a sense of the unique werewolf style that we have all come to love from the original Dog Soldiers film” stated Kismet vice president D. Eric Allen. Allen produced the teaser and is the oldest son of David E. Allen, producer and financier for the original film. Based on a modern-day version of “Little Red Riding Hood”, multiple members of Allen’s family took part in the Ryan Lightbourn-directed trailer including his grandmother Pat “Nan” Allen who plays the awaiting grandma and his sister Emmy Allen who portrays “Red”.

“We would like to thank our fans for their continued support and for having faith that the Dog Soldiers title will continue to expand into the future”, said David E. Allen, president and CEO of Kismet Entertainment Group.
For more information please visit the Kismet Entertainment website or email dogsoldierslegacy@gmail.com
And now, on with the new horrors!
(Click title to go directly to the feature)
Fantastic Fest Review: THE SQUAD (2010)
AICN HORROR Book Review of PATIENT ZERO!
THE CREEPY DOLL (2011)
THE HOUSE OF BLACK WINGS (2010)
THE MAN WHO COLLECTED FOOD (2010)
THE PACK (2010)
And finally… Alfred Hitchcock presents Ghost Stories for Young People: The Helpful Hitchhiker!

THE SQUAD (2010)
AKA EL PARAMODirected by Jaime Osorio Marquez
Written by Diego Vivanco & Jaime Osorio Marquez
Starring Juan Pablo Barragan, Juan David Restrepo, Andrés Castañeda, Mateo Stevel, Daniela Catz
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here!
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Genre mash-ups are tough to pull off. Most of the time one of the genres is stronger than the other, more researched, more fleshed out. The best type of genre mash-ups could be categorized in either category without debate. I guess I’m thinking about films like SE7EN which could be drama or mystery or even horror. ALIEN could be sci fi or horror. Though on a more independent scale, THE SQUAD is the same type of film; equal parts military story and horror with both areas equally effective. Though it doesn’t have the found footage motif, THE SQUAD could be best described as CASUALTIES OF WAR meets THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT as a squad of Colombian soldiers happen upon a decimated military base and a woman who the soldiers claim is a bruja (Spanish for witch).
Technically, the film is a masterpiece in making the most out of a singular location and a limited budget. Everything is shot along what looks to be an abandoned army base and the muddy terrain surrounding it. The film consists of only a handful of actors and though the locale doesn’t shift, the scares are all due to Jaime Osorio Marquez’s talented lenswork and a powerful script which intensifies as the story goes on. This film doesn’t let up until the very last horrifying moment which consists of a shriek which resonates long after the picture goes dark. Marquez does a fantastic job of translating a somber and dour mood with the claustrophobic locale and a dire situation.

THE SQUAD is a powerful film which, depending on how you view it is either an effective horror film using witchcraft as a metaphor for the real horrors of war. Fantastically acted and directed, THE SQUAD is definitely a film in need of an audience, so seek it out. It played at Fantastic Fest last night. Find out where you can catch this terrifying film here!

PATIENT ZERO Novel
Writer: Jonathon MaberryFind out more about this book here!
Reviewer: Lang the Cat
I finally decide to sit down and write a review of an author I have been enjoying for just over a year now, Jonathon Maberry. So, what happens? The power in Southern California goes out. Now, I have seen the recent batch of Toshiba commercials wherein someone drops a laptop and the power goes out, which results in the zombie apocalypse. So, after getting lights set up and checking my gear for said apocalypse and double check escape routes, I figure the mood is set to let you know about PATIENT ZERO.
Joe Ledger is just a cop. A Baltimore detective with military training, but no combat experience who finds himself stepping into a DHS (Department of Homeland Security, if you don’t follow governmental abbreviations, you might check the my review below for Larry Correira) case. Ledger ends up shooting a couple of guys, keeping a bad situation from becoming a slaughter. After the dust settles, Ledger thinks he is due for some desk time while a shooting review is completed and a chance to catch up with the violence he has committed. Instead, a government agency picks him up and delivers him for an interview. The interview is with a Mr. Church, the head of a small select group of government agents, Will Smith might have trouble catching up with. Church sees something in Ledger, the ability to judge a situation and do whatever it takes to resolve it. The test is also Ledger’s opportunity to find out what his job will be; in the next room is one of the men Ledger killed, but he is still up and very much alive. After Ledger kills the same man again, Church tells him someone has found a way to create zombies. Ledger’s combat skills and judgement convince Church Ledger should be allowed to meet the other candidates for the team they are setting up. Let’s just say in this instance, when Joe Ledger comes face to face with the best of the best, no written tests or badly designed furniture come into play.
What follows is a beautiful marriage of George Romero and Tom Clancy. The people killing zombies show the dedication of Clancy’s characters without the assumption that military service automatically makes you one of the good guys. Also, they have what Romero’s characters sorely need, discipline and a plan. Don’t look for women fainting at the sight of blood or bodies, yet don’t expect all the men to simply be stony-faced either. Jonathon Maberry writes characters who are not invulnerable, they do understand killing someone, no matter how well deserved, is harmful to the person doing the killing. But these people are tough and they look at the bigger picture. Maberry’s science is fiction based on fact, much like Critchton’s Andromeda Strain, frightening believable. His politics is expediency, whoever is willing to get the job done is a good guy, whoever wants to do anything to protect their job or make money (at the expense of saving the world) is a bad guy.
Many of you will recognize Mr. Maberry from his work in comics. He has written for Marvel Comics, including BLACK PANTHER, MARVEL ZOMBIES, PUNISHER VS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE and WOLVERINE VS THE MARVEL UNIVERSE. He has also written the novelization for THE WOLFMAN with Benicio Del Toro. If I get the chance I will also cover two other books by Jonathon Maberry, GHOST ROAD BLUES (The Pine Deep Trilogy) and the beginning of his young adult series, ROT AND RUIN. I strongly recommend PATIENT ZERO and all Mr. Maberry’s works for fans of smart fast paced action and horror.

THE CREEPY DOLL (2011)
Directed by PJ WoodsideWritten by PJ Woodside
Starring Kristine Renee Farley, Justin Veazey, Jessica Cook, Steve Hudgins, Cindy Maples
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here!
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Though shot on the budgetary low, indie director PJ Woodside knows the scary. Incorporating a mature script with real life problems and of course one creepy looking doll, THE CREEPY DOLL is either a possessed doll story or a descent into madness or maybe a little of both. The ambiguity of the origins of the terror in this story is part of it’s charm.



THE HOUSE OF BLACK WINGS (2010)
Directed by David SchmidtWritten by David Schmidt
Starring Leah Myette, Katherine Herrera, Michael Klug, Tirf Alexius, Amy E. Harmon
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here!
Reviewed by Ambush Bug

THE HOUSE OF BLACK WINGS is another low budgeter, shot on video with amateur actors and effects, but don’t hold that against this film. Sure some of the acting might not be the best, the camera work might be a bit shaky, and the music is a bit on the emo side, but all that aside, there’s a haunting little tale in this little film.

If all things emo annoy the shit out of you, this might not be the best film for you as everything from the music, to the actresses, to the subject matter are pretty dour, but director Schmidt pulls off some very cool scenes that instill chills and that edge of your seat feeling you get with thrillers with ten times the budget. The ending is a bit rushed and tidy, but the harrowing journey through THE HOUSE WITH BLACK WINGS is a little indie find worth watching.

THE MAN WHO COLLECTED FOOD (2010)
Directed by Matthew RothWritten by Matthew Roth
Starring Mike N. Kelly, Gary Wagner, Lila Miller, Russell Fox
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here!
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
The beauty of THE MAN WHO COLLECTED FOOD is how deliriously fucked up it is.


Though some of the performances are somewhat amateur, the leads in this film are pretty strong, mainly Miguel and his mother. The bombastic ending is over the top, but with the ridiculous concept the film is based on, I rolled with it. Basically, THE MAN WHO COLLECTED FOOD is an odd gem filled with gore and laughs that may shock the viewer depending on his/her level of addiction to all things geek at how close to home the film actually hits.

THE PACK (2010)
AKA LA MUETEDirected by Franck Richard
Written by Franck Richard
Starring Yolande Moreau, Émilie Dequenne, Benjamin Biolay
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Check out this moody and twisted exclusive clip from the film below!

I found this film to be utterly endearing in that it refuses to commit to one genre. At first it’s a PULP FICTION style flick where a guy and a girl meet and it looks like they both mean trouble for each other. Soon it turns into a biker revenge flick. Then an overbearing mother enters the picture and the tone shifts to a more HOSTEL-like atmosphere. Then the zombie mutants show up…

The Pack themselves seem to be channeling Doug Jones a la the creepy eyeball palmed beast from PAN’S LABYRINTH. They writhe around stiff armed and threatening, howling at the moon and giving off an utterly eerie vibe. The design of the creatures is strong with the gestures of the actors under the mask adding a lot of depth and terror to the creatures’ presence.

Plus the elderly sheriff has a “Fuck on the first Date” t-shirt, which to me, made me laugh out loud every time he was on screen.
And finally…our fourth installment of Alfred Hitchcock presents Ghost Stories for Young People: The Helpful Hitchhiker! Enjoy!
See ya, next week, folks!
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