Greetings, all. Ambush Bug here with another AICN HORROR: ZOMBIES & SHARKS column. I’ve got some really cool films for you this week, but before that, as always…is this!
Check out this Kickstarter campaign for the new film ARTIFICIAL HORIZON described as; Despite all the warnings about the overuse of antibiotics and efforts by the pharmaceutical companies to keep pace, an antibiotic resistant pandemic decimates the planet. Eight survivors escape on a dilapidated 747. Little is known about the effect of the outbreak, just that it is safer to be in the air than on the ground. What lengths are the passengers and crew prepared to go to in order to survive? Are they safe to land, and what will they find when they do? Can they outrun the pandemic, where every minute counts? Think 'Contagion', meets 'The Road', set on a 747.
Sounds pretty cool to me. You can support this film on their Kickstarter page here! And below is the teaser for the film…
The maniacs at Astron-6 who brought you FATHER’S DAY and MANBORG is up to their old tricks with THE EDITOR, described as a giallo comedy which is definitely something unique, that’s what I expect from these off the wall filmmakers. Here’s the synopsis; Once revered as the greatest editor of all time, an editing accident reduced him to a ridiculed amputee. When his co-workers are murdered one after another, the editor is the prime suspect! Has he lost control of his psycho-sexual subconscious like a modern day Dr. Jekyll or Wolfman? Not even he knows for sure! Find out more about their IndieGoGo campaign and how you can help bring THE EDITOR to cinematic life here!
I’ve got another Kickstarter here, this one focusing on a lesser known series of murders that occurred here in the states just before the Jack the Ripper murders occurred in London. The documentary is called BLOODY WORK and it focuses on the unsolved murders in Austin, TX in 1885. The film reached its goal 70 hours into the campaign, but in the last few days of the fundraiser, the money collected will help more people see it. Check out the link to the BLOODY WORK campaign here and the teaser for the film below to see if it’s something you might want to support!

Looking for more horror to support? How about a new film from the Godfather of Gore himself, Herschell Gordon Lewis? Well, H.G. Lewis has a new film in the works called ZOMBIFICADOR, an anthology of five short stories starring Bill Moseley, Michael, and Todd Farmer. He intends to use only practical, old school special effects, which he hopes will make the film stand out from the cheap, CGI laden features which permeate the horror genre today. And to make sure there’s no studio interference, he’s running an IndieGoGo campaign to help the production. Find out how you can support ZOMBIFICADOR here! And here’s H.G. Lewis himself to tell you what it’s all about!
On with the horror reviews!
(Click title to go directly to the feature)
Retro-review: NINJA III: THE DOMINATION (1984)
Short Cuts: ONCE UPON A TIME IN 1977 (2013)
THE LEGEND OF THE PSYCHOTIC FOREST RANGER (2011)
WRATH OF CROWS (2013)
APARTMENT 4E (2012)
SKEW (2011)
Advance Review: DECAY (2013)
And finally…Lee Matthew’s 3:00 AM!

NINJA III: THE DOMINATION (1984)
Directed by Sam FirstenbergWritten by James R. Silke
Starring Shô Kosugi, Lucinda Dickey, Jordan Bennett, Dale Ishimoto, James Hong, Bob Craig
Retro-reviewed by Ambush Bug
From the director of BREAKIN’ and the actual mother lovin’ BREAKIN’ 2: ELECTRIC BOOGLOO comes NINJA III: THE DOMINATION. If this film were put in a time capsule and unearthed thousands of years in the future, I’m sure our giant brained ancestors would want to bury their giant brained heads in the sand. Hell, I grew up in the eighties and I’m ashamed of the styles and sights this movie beholds in terms of 80’s culture. In NINJA III: THE DONINATION not only will you see big hair, headbands, and legwarmers, but you also get big moustaches, deep Frenching, giant video games, pouring canned tomato juice down the front off oneself seductively, enormous headphones, and most importantly, aerobics!

That said, this is a pretty horrible action film that normally I wouldn’t cover on AICN HORROR if not for a few things. 1. It deals with an evil ninja possessing someone. 2. An exorcism occurs. 3. There are pretty amazing death sequences in here especially the opening sequence set on a golf course as a squad of cops gun down a ninja point blank and still don’t waste him completely.

Morally, this story is all over the place. The cops are definitely not good because they show an excessive amount of force by gunning down a single ninja at point blank range. Then again, the ninja is hard to root for because he killed a bunch of cops. And Christie, though not in possession of all of her faculties, not only kills the cops, but any innocent bystanders who happen to get in between her and her target. Still, we have to root for true love to prevail, except the cop Christie falls in love with is one of the ones who gunned the ninja possessing her down in the beginning! GAH! MORAL CONUNDRUM!
You have to see NINJA III: THE DOMINATION for the horribly awesome exorcism scene alone. Here’s the beginning of it;
Now, what you don’t see in that clip is how Dickey then spins around and around head over heels, chained at the sides in a stunt that I have no idea how it was pulled off. So, so horrible, yet so hard to look away!

The whole thing ends abruptly but we know the movie’s over because Sho Kosugi says so right there before the credits. NINJA III: THE DOMINATION definitely works fine as a “so bad, it’s good” style movie worth laughing at.


ONCE UPON A TIME IN 1977 (2013)
Directed by Chris LukemanWritten by Chris Lukeman
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Low budget sci fi is always a lot of fun to see play out of screen. Most of the time, sci fi equals state of the art special effects, but there’s something fun and nostalgic about the old days when sci fi meant iguanas with fins glued to them, spaceships on strings, and firecracker explosions. ONCE UPON A TIME IN 1977 is a tad more advanced in the effects department, but the appeal of the film lies in its low fi approach.

The true standouts are the robots, metal puppets all decked out in seventies pimp gear to fit in. As these bots walk through the club like low tech Terminators, I couldn’t help but laugh. And you’ll do a lot of that if you check out this latest installment of the ONE UPON A TIME IN THE ‘70’s series.

THE LEGEND OF THE PSYCHOTIC FOREST RANGER (2011)
Directed by Brad MillsWritten by Brad Mills
Starring Aaron Corbett, Bhreagh Lafitte, Brad Mills, Colleen MacIsaac, Elizabeth Mills, Gabriel A House, Jeannine MacLean, Joshua Demeyere, Keith Morrison, Ron Newcombe, Samuel MacDonald LeMoine, Stefanie Peters & Michael G MacDonald as the Psychotic Forest Ranger
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Tell me if you’ve heard this one. A group of kids take a trip out into the middle of the woods for some sex, some drugs, some beer, and some good old fashioned fun, but darn it if there’s not a killer out there killing them all in creative ways one by one by one. It’s a premise that’s been done to death and I know you’re all sick of it. The thing is, THE LEGEND OF THE PSYCHOTIC FOREST RANGER knows you’ve seen this story before. In fact, it’s counting on you all to have seen all of those films in order to really appreciate it.

Turns out a noble intentioned forest ranger was killed in a forest fire. Or at least that’s how the legend goes. But it turns out the ranger isn’t dead, he’s alive and kicking and killing people in pretty ridiculous and gory ways such as stabbing a flaming log through someone or hacking him in half with an axe or maybe even poking them in the chest with a tiny key. Anything’s a weapon in the hands of this tubby ranger who giggles in glee while murderizing everything in his path.

Beware. The acting is as horrible as the plot is unoriginal, but I couldn’t help but giggle at the whole damn thing. This thing doesn’t even try to take itself seriously and it’s not trying to fool anyone about it either. As long as you have a good sense of humor aboot it, you’re going to have a good time with THE LEGEND OF THE PSYCHOTIC FOREST RANGER.

WRATH OF THE CROWS (2013)
Directed by Ivan ZucconWritten by Gerardo Di Filippo, Ivan Zuccon
Starring Tiffany Shepis, Debbie Rochon, Tara Cardinal, Domiziano Arcangeli, Suzi Lorraine, Michael Segal, Brian Fortune, Gerry Shanahan, Emanuele Cerman, Giuseppe Gobbato, John Game
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
I’ve got to give this film points for a) embracing some nice giallo influences and b) doing something different other than zombies, vampires, or serial killers. Boiled down to basics, WRATH OF CROWS is a prison story set in a bizarre row of cells where the guards and a slobbering man-dog act as judges, juries, and executioners to a group of shady individuals. The close confines of the setting make for a claustrophobic space for this atmospheric yarn and highlights some real talent in director Ivan Zuccon.

The stories of each of the prisoners are delved into in mini-vignettes, showing just enough perversity to indicate that everyone is there for a reason. These inmates truly deserve their sentence, still the tortures they receive from the guards are going to make even the strongest among the readers flinch and maybe even feel a twinge of empathy. This is mostly due to the close proximity with which Zuccon positions his camera, most likely due to the small spaces of the place this was filmed, but this also adds a layer of claustrophobia that otherwise wouldn’t have been captured.

Gratuity aside, this film is surprisingly clean and clear for my tastes. Digitally shot, I would have loved to see this film through a seedier filter. I think it would have added to the dank feel of the atmosphere and the creepy characters lurking in the cells. Still WRATH OF THE CROWS is a wicked and original little number that is going to please a lot of those who seek it out.

APARTMENT 4E (2012)
aka SMALL OF HER BACKDirected by Russell Leigh Sharman
Written by Russell Leigh Sharman
Starring Nicole Beharie, Christopher J. Domig
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Though the poster looks pretty insidious, I struggle to call this one a horror. Maybe it functions as a thriller, but mostly APARTMENT 4E is a character study with two people trapped in a room together forced to try to understand one another. Personally, I love films like these. This one was originally a play and it shows as the locale basically stays in once cramped apartment. Making the film in this way, we don’t have to worry about expansive special effects, big budget thrills, and explosives, we are forced to rely on the interaction between the two leads for the action.

What works with this film is the interaction between the two actors. Beharie talks a mile a minute, with pressured speech and rapid pacing. She does crazy extremely well. Contrasting to Piper’s speech is the nebbish, nervous, yet even keeled responses from Domig who appears to be there with good intentions, but there is definitely something off in his delivery, as if he’s not being completely truthful. Seeing the two characters interact for an hour and a half may be exhausting for some, but to me, it was riveting that neither breaks character, and not a minute passed that had me wondering when this bizarre interaction was going to end.

In the end, APARTMENT 4E was a film I am glad I had a chance to see. As a horror film, it’s not really much. But as an intense character study of trust, mistrust, insanity, and connection, APARTMENT 4E excels.

SKEW (2011)
Directed by Sevé SchelenzWritten by Sevé Schelenz
Starring Rob Scattergood, Amber Lewis, Richard Olak, Taneal Cutting
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
It’s another found footage film. Yes, it is. Now, if you’re the kind who instantly roll your eyes at the subgenre and dismiss it because there have been a million and one found footage films released these days, then scroll to the next review. I know how you feel. Hell, every week I seem to find a new one to review, so I understand the feeling. Still, I’m of the mind that every film should be judged by its own merits. I find I happen upon surprises in film form by doing so. I know there are good found footage films out there. Ones that clutch the viewer and place them in the moment with the terror, with the horror, and take them on a ride through their eyes. SKEW is one of the good ones.

What makes SKEW stand out is the real feeling of dark unknowns at work that snowballs pretty much from the beginning of the film. The effect used, a swirling effect over the faces of those who are about to die, is original and something that may have been seen in creepy photographs, but there’s something cool about seeing it play out on camera. Though the film later resorts to shock, in your face, funhouse trickery, it’s these first moments that set the dire tone of the film and gives it a haunting feel.

One of the best things about SKEW is the ending, which actually is quite ballsy in its ambiguity. I don’t want to reveal it here, but the final moments of this film, though quite quiet, are pretty damn powerful. While still, we might not be certain we know the rules of the film as far as what happens when Simon’s camera captures someone in its view finder, we know it’s not good. And while some might be frustrated that everything is not tied up in a bow, there’s a bravery in the final frames that exudes more of a feeling of dread than anything else and sometimes that’s enough. It certainly is with SKEW, a found footage film worth finding.

DECAY (2012)
Directed by Luke Thompson & Michael MazurWritten by Luke Thompson
Starring Zoë Hatherell, Tom Proctor, Stewart Martin-Haugh, Sara Mahmoud and William P. Martin
Find out more about this film on Facebook here!
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Here’s another zombie flick for you to feast on. While it’s getting hard to distinguish one of these zombie movies from the next, DECAY goes out of its way to stand above the herd with some lofty ideas, but it’s the spooky scenes that really make this film stand out.

Though somewhat uneven, I liked DECAY a lot. It has a nice sense of dread and danger and the mood is definitely set on creepy as most of the film takes place in the labyrinthine levels below the facility. There’s a great attention to depth in this film as often, something is happening in both the foreground and further on down the tunnel in the background. Many a scare is formed because of this attention to space in the frame.

Though the set up feels much like an old school radioactive monster movie, the film towards the end unravels into the typical zombie chase scenes through the tunnels. Had writer/director Luke Thompson and director Michael Mazur maintained the level of wit throughout, I would have liked this better, but once the zombies are discovered, it becomes interchangeable with the other zombie flicks we’ve all seen. Still, the film does a great job maximizing the claustrophobic feels of the tunnels and also uses darkness quite well to hide the horrors shambling around in them until it’s too late. DECAY is worth seeking out if you are looking for some capable zombie scares.
And finally…here is a downright suspenseful and scary story that utilizes freaky ass sounds and juxtaposes them with incredibly tense imagery and situations. Don’t watch Lee Matthew’s 3:00 AM alone in the dark. You’ve been warned.
See ya next week, folks!




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