
Greetings, all. Ambush Bug here with another AICN HORROR: ZOMBIES & SHARKS column. As I prepare for tonight’s AICN COMICS: HORROR ON THE PANELED PAGE column at this year’s New York Comic Con, how about you all enjoy this helping of new horrors. But before we dive in, here are a few news bits you may find of interest.

Friend of AICN, Daniel Crosier is making an appearance on the Travel Channel new original mini-series, “Making Monsters” premiering on Sunday, October 2 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. This four-part one-hour series introduces viewers to the innovators and masterminds of the monster and creature animatronics industry. Crosier, author and illustrator on the nationally published DISTORTIONS UNLIMITED Comic book, has used his distinctive illustration on wood technique to give the book an organic look that lends its self to the horror genre. Along with Crosiers’ work in the comic books, he also sculpts. Crosier assisted Schell with the life-cast of The Engima to create a mask for the show. Find out more about this on the website here. Look for a special screening of “Making Monsters” will be held at the Denver Film Center/ Colfax located at 2510 East Colfax, Denver, Co 80206 on Oct. 27 at 7pm. Crosier and the team from Distortions will conduct a Q&A session after the screenings.
Next up, we’re in the middle of horror festival season. Unfortunately I can’t get to all of them, but here are a couple of note.

The Reel Terror 2011 Film Festival is playing next week on Saturday, October 22, Noon – Midnight at the CL Space in Tampa, FL. Reel Terror will include panel discussions with area filmmakers, celebrity appearances, screenings of scary movies shot all over the Bay area and the state, an awards ceremony and much more. Find out more about this event on the website here.


OK, let’s get started on the new horrors for review. Plus we celebrate Halloween again this week from a Halloween blast from the past at the end of the column with TRICK OR TREAT! Enjoy!
(Click title to go directly to the feature)
BURIED ALIVE (1990)
VLOG (2008)
DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND (2011)
AICN HORROR Celebrates Halloween with TRICK OR TREAT (1986)
And finally… Charles Pieper’s THE EARL OF BUREAUS

BURIED ALIVE (1990)
AKA TILL DEATH DO US PARTDirected by Frank Darabont
Written by David A. Davies (story), Mark Patrick Carducci (teleplay)
Starring Tim Matheson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, William Atherton, Hoyt Axton
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Well, hey. Everyone starts somewhere. Frank Darabont (best known for his genius adaptations of SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, GREEN MILE, THE MIST, and most recently the first season of THE WALKING DEAD) helms this tepid made for TV movie from 1990. If anything it’s a testament on how far Darabont has come as a director.

Leigh poisons Matheson with a toxin Atherton extracted from the ovaries of a tropical fish (the fuh?) and soon Matheson is six feet under before his time. Occasionally, shades of a future Darabont shine through as there are some effective scenes of tension as Matheson wakes up in his grave and comes home for vengeance against his wife and ex hubby, but there’s nothing here that rings as especially original or interesting, unfortunately. In the past, there’ve been some TV movies that are the shit. DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW comes to mind. This one is just shitty.

BURIED ALIVE is recommended to the Darabont completist, and even then, it’s bound to be pretty disappointing.
Kind of funny, all I could find was the Spanish trailer for this one…

VLOG (2008)
Driected by Joshua ButlerWritten by Joshua Butler
Starring Brooke Marks, Trevor Trout and Skyler Caleb
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
I guess I really am getting old. The way modern society thinks every second of their lives is interesting and worth sharing is a notion completely foreign to me. I guess some people need to think they are important in order to go on, as if they didn’t get enough hugs and confirmation as a youth or something. VLOG addresses that very notion as its star Brooke Marks (who plays herself) documents every second of her live on her onlive video blog. At first, Marks comes off as a vapid airhead who has to tell us she’s smart over and over and that she’s so objectified because of her blonde hair and nice rack. Soon, though, you end up feeling sorry for this sad soul who basically has no real confidants at all except for the fans of her vlog.

I don’t know if Marks does a good job of playing a vapid attention seeker or if she is one, but the performance is convincing either way. The film is presented in a multi-media format with some of it taking place on video, others on security cams, while others are regularly filmed. VLOG will definitely surprise you. Like CATFISH, though less subtle, VLOG does illustrate the dangers of living one’s life online.

DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND (2010)
Directed by Mark McQueenWritten by Bart Ruspoli
Starring Craig Fairbrass, Danny Dyer, Jaime Murray, and MyAnna Buring
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here!
Reviewed by Ambush Bug

More rancor was frothed at the concept of this film. With the cause of the plague being an energy drug gone wrong, having hyperactive zombies seems fitting. As I always say, if a zombie film is either a) done well or b) brings something new to the table. This movie does both. Sure there are those who hate the fast moving zombie, but I'm one who can appreciate them (thought I am an appreciator of the classics) as a different kind of monster alltogether. This film's zombies know parkour. Yes, that's right. Parkour. Sure, it's a bit crazy, but it also turns out to be a lot of fun. This is a frantic film, jutting around to different locales showing these leaping zombies attacking en masse. I had a lot of fun with it, seeing the zombies leap through small spaces, walk up walls, and hurdle cars and other obstacles. Adding agility to the zombies is somewhat of a natural evolution to the running zombie, in my book.

All in all, DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND is a horror film that's heavy on action and surprisingly textured when it comes to story. Most of the performances are decent (DEXTER's psycho ex-girfriend Jaime Murray plays a desperate survivor) by a UK cast who I am not familiar with. I had a lot of fun with DEVIL'S PLAYGROUND and if approached with an open mind (shedding all preconceptions of Dyer and your feelings about fast zombies), I'll bet you do too.
>

TRICK OR TREAT (1986)
Directed by Charles Martin SmithWritten by Rhet Topham (story), Michael S. Murphey & Joel Soisson (screenplay), James Wong & Glen Morgan (uncredited)
Starring Marc Price, Tony Fields, Lisa Orgolini, Doug Savant, Gene Simmons, Ozzy Osbourne
Reviewed by Ambush Bug


Also in this cast is Glen Morgan who went on to pen some of the cooler X-FILES and FINAL DESTINATION. It turns out James Wong and him were uncredited script doctors on this film as well. Plus if you ever wanted to see Doug Savant from MELROSE PLACE and DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES’ head go all ‘splody, this is the movie for you. Plus we’ve got cameos by a slender and slightly less arrogant Gene Simmons as a radio DJ and Ozzy Osbourne playing a rock and roll protester.

The dated aspects of TRICK OR TREAT are what makes this film so hilarious. Eddie’s friend talks about just getting call waiting. And music is played on cassette tapes is just so precious. The feathered and hair sprayed hairstyles are a riot as well. TRICK OR TREAT was made in a time when everyone was trying to make their own slasher franchise with FRIDAY THE 13TH and NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET flicks hitting the screens on an annual basis. In no way is this film a good film, but it is a fun one to unearth if you’re looking for an obscure Halloween treat by way of MTV’s Hairbangers Ball.
And finally…here’s surreal claymation treat called THE EARL OF BUREAUS by Charles Pieper. Check out more of Pieper’s stop motion work on his website here. Enjoy!
The Earl of Bureaus from Charles Pieper on Vimeo.
See ya, next week, folks!
THE DEATHSPORT GAMES’ Facebook Page
FAMOUS MONSTERS PRESENTS LUNA: ORDER OF THE WEREWOLF’s Facebook Page

Check out AH Digital: the source for international cinema!
Find more AICN HORROR including an archive of previous columns
on AICN HORROR’s Facebook page!