
Greetings, all. Ambush Bug here with another AICN HORROR: ZOMBIES & SHARKS column. Two columns in one week! Yay horror! For those who missed the last one, here’s the link from Tuesday’s AICN HORROR column.
On with the horror reviews!
(Click title to go directly to the feature)
Retro-review: THE VINCENT PRICE COLLECTION II: THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964)
Retro-review: HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1985)
Retro-review: EVILS OF THE NIGHT (1985)
PLAY HOOKY (2014)
THE HORROR NETWORK Vol.1 (2013)
WRONG TURN 6: LAST RESORT (2014)
THE SQUAD (2012)
THE SCRIBBLER (2014)
LIFE AFTER BETH (2014)
WHITE SETTLERS (2014)
EXISTS (2014)
V/H/S VIRAL (2014)
And finally…Marc Roussel’s THE LAST HALLOWEEN!

THE LAST MAN ON EARTH (1964)
Directed by Ubaldo Ragona & Sidney SalkowWritten by Richard Matheson (screenplay & novel), William F. Leicester, Furio M. Monetti, & Ubaldo Ragona (screenplay)
Starring Vincent Price, Franca Bettoia, Emma Danieli, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, Umberto Raho, Christi Courtland
Retro-reviewed by Ambush Bug
Just like Will Smith’s I AM LEGEND (without all of that annoying Will Smith-ness) is THE LAST MAN ON EARTH starring horror icon Vincent Price. Though heavy on narration by Price, this film is somewhat similar to Will Smith’s mostly solo adventure in that it spends a lot of time illustrating just how alone the titular character of Morgan truly is.


PIT & THE PENDULUM, THE HAUNTED PALACE, WITCHFINDER GENERAL, FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES, THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH


HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982)
Directed by Tommy Lee WallaceWritten by Tommy Lee Wallace
Starring Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, Dan O'Herlihy, Michael Currie, Ralph Strait, Jadeen Barbor, Brad Schacter, Garn Stephens, Nancy Kyes, Jonathan Terry, Al Berry
Retro-reviewed by Ambush Bug

Through the years, my appreciation for the third installment grew though for numerous reasons. Firstly, it’s a pretty awesome story about a small town factory making masks made from dust from Stonehenge that will cause some kind of Armageddon once Halloween arrives. Playing into the toy gimmick fads of the 80’s where every kid had to have that specific toy; be it a GI JOE toy or a Cabbage Patch Kid and parents would tear each others’ eyes out to please their children by getting one, HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH actually spoke to the rise in consumerism just as much as DAWN OF THE DEAD. Making the masks a must have toy for the world may be insane to think of now, but back then it was a totally believable concept that there were dastardly notions behind these seemingly harmless toys.

Another plus for me was the lovely Miss Stacey Nelkin whose doe eyes and innocent, yet seductive demeanor in this film kicked my pre-adolescent hormones into overdrive. Nelkin, like everyone else in this film, suffers from a somewhat goofy script (especially pairing her up romantically with a man twice her age), but man, that tiny, curvy cutie did it for me back in the day. Speaking of inappropriate, another aspect of awesome this film sports is the undeniable sexual charisma of Tom Adkins who once again (as he does in Carpenter’s THE FOG) beds just about anyone no matter what the age difference or how many flaws his characters have. Here, he’s an alcoholic doctor with two kids he neglects and a nagging ex wife, yet he still manages to dibble and dabble with just about every female in this film and somehow still be looked at as the hero. Mr. Adkins, I salute you.

So while flawed, there’s a lot to like about HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH. Some think the film is the best in the series. I am not one of them, but I understand that the film does have some fantastically big ideas in it and maybe someone with a Halloween sack-load of creativity might someday return to the flawed story and update it (I know it’s sacrilege to suggest that, but sometimes a good remake can come from a flawed film—i.e. MANIAC). This blu is pretty light on extras. Just a making of featurette called STAND ALONE, Horror’s Hallowed Grounds visits the locales where the film was made, and a few trailers and stills. Still, this is the best this film has ever looked and if you’re a fan of SEASON OF THE WITCH, this is something of a must have, despite the fact that it is Shape-less.
HALLOWEEN (1979)
HALLOWEEN II (1981)

EVILS OF THE NIGHT (1985)
aka DEMON’S NIGHTDirected by Mardi Rustam
Written by Mardi Rustam, Philip Dennis Connors
Starring Neville Brand, Aldo Ray, Tina Louise, John Carradine, Julie Newmar, Karrie Emerson, Bridget Holloman, David Hawk, G.T. Taylor, Keith Fisher, Tony O'Dell, Kelly Parsons, Dawn Wildsmith, Amber Lynn, Jerry Butler
Reviewed by Ambush Bug

The plot is threadbare. Basically, alien vampires in tight fitting spacesuits land on earth and abduct young people because their blood is strongest. They enlist a pair of bumbling garage workers in ski masks to abduct kids and then synthesize their blood. Basically the movie serves as a means to showcase young bouncy ladies in and out of dress and running from monsters. I lost count at the amount of nude scenes this one sports and while titillating, I grew bored of the nudity after I realized that’s all there is to this film.

If you’re looking for a film to mock and are planning a shitty movie marathon, EVILS OF THE NIGHT is the perfect film to choose. And while there are folks out there who love bad movies (I’m one of them), this may prove hard for even them to feel affection towards.

PLAY HOOKY (2014)
Directed by Frank S PetrilliWritten by Jason Chester, Vincent Kulish, Frank S Petrilli
Starring Becky Byers, Kim Kleemichen, Vincent Kulish, J. Wright Chester, Theresa Davis, Tom Petrone, Bob Waters
Find out more about this film on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug

That said, there is a bit of low fi charm at play in PLAY HOOKY, which knows it’s got no budget and tries to make the best of it. A group of kids (some of which look to be high school age, while others look to be well into their thirties) decide to ditch school and go to an abandoned warehouse building in order to party and have fun. After about 40 minutes of set up as the kids creep ever closer to entering into this spooky multi-leveled and multi-roomed building with only a few cameras, some alcohol, and some weed to entertain themselves. Upon entering the building, something seems off and some of the cast actually feel it. Soon they find themselves on the run from some kind of monster who is picking them off one by one.

That said, this is a rough film to endure and only the most staunch DIY enthusiast will be able to sit through the whole thing. The first 40 minutes is absolutely grueling to sit through and up until the final chase scene which is rather effective, the movie drags with unnecessary and unfunny back and forthings between the cast that will most likely have you reaching for the remote to stop the tape or at least fast forward it. PLAY HOOKY feels like a demo reel from someone proving a movie can be made in order to get some real money to do a real movie. Sure there is a bit of charm to it in terms of how little one can spend on developing a movie with no budget, but this one is only for the horror fan who must experience everything.

THE HORROR NETWORK Vol.1 (2013)
Directed by Joseph Graham (“Edward”), Manuel Marín (“Merry Little Christmas”), Lee Matthews (“The Quiet” & “3:00”), and Brian Dorton (“The Deviant One”)Written by Joseph Graham (“Edward”), Manuel Marín (“Merry Little Christmas”), Lee Matthews (“The Quiet” & “3:00”), and Brian Dorton (“The Deviant One”)
Starring Nick Frangione, Artem Mishin, Jan Cornet, Brian Dorton, Charlotte Armstrong, Jenni-Lea Finch, Brad Anderson, and Macarena Gómez
Find out more about this film on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
THE HORROR NETWORK isn’t really concerned about coming up with a catchy way to thread a few short films together such as adhering them to spelling out the alphabet or having them all be found footage or anything like that. When producers Brian Dorton and Douglas Conner chose 5 short films out of over 200 short films to make this horror anthology, they were looking for quality scares over some kind of connecting tissue. The result is one of the most successful anthologies I’ve watched in ages as all five of these shorts are abundant in quality scares and moments that will make your bones rattle. Below are a few thoughts on each installment.





Every one of these installments are rock solid and producers Brian Dorton and Douglas Conner seem to have a good eye at spotting talent. Here’s hoping this HORROR NETWORK has more volumes and as long as the installments are as good as the ones used in this film, I’m looking forward to watching what else these producers can find as this is a strong batch of short film work that deserves to be seen.

WRONG TURN 6: LAST RESORT (2014)
Directed by Valeri MilevWritten by Frank H. Woodward
Starring Anthony Ilott, Chris Jarvis, Aqueela Zoll, Sadie Katz, Rollo Skinner, Billy Ashworth, Harry Belcher, Joe Gaminara, Roxanne Pallett, Talitha Luke-Eardley, Luke Cousins, & Radoslav Parvanov as Three-Finger, Danko Jordanov as Sawtooth, and Asen Asenov as One Eye!
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
It seems you just can’t keep a good family of inbred hillbillies down as this is the sixth installment of what looks to be a never ending kill count in the WRONG TURN series of films. Personally, while it had its moments, I wasn’t all too impressed at the first WRONG TURN, so I am a bit befuddled as to how it managed to shart out five sequels, but here we are at part 6, this one titled LAST RESORT, as it takes place in (you guessed it) a resort hotel in the middle of backwoods country.

While the story leaves a lot to be desired, there are moments in WRONG TURN 6 that are actually fun to see play out such as a nicely edited scene splicing the Danny’s first hunting trip with one of the inbreds hunting a police officer. And while this film quickly turns into a contest as to how gory one kill is compared to the last one, the gore is pretty impressive. The elaborately staged murders enacted by the three hilljacks prove that there might still be some bite in this series, even though it seems to be a series that serves to highlight one gory scene after another.

Worth noting is the gorgeous Sadie Katz, who did such a great job in HOUSE OF BAD, reviewed here and offers up an especially ballsy turn as a sexually repressed pervert here. There is a level of perversity that makes this particular installment of WRONG TURN more deviant than the last one (which I reviewed here), so this is a turn in the right direction for the series in terms of a more interesting way to go. The film has no qualms of using the boobs and blood motif over and over and over again here. It’s inevitable that there will be a WRONG TURN 7. I’m sure it’s already being made, but here’s hoping it maintains the level of smarm and gore that permeates this sixth installment. It’s brainless cinema, but WRONG TURN 6 is a smutty and gory kind of brainless cinema which isn’t always a bad thing.

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).

Though I don’t recognize any of the names of the cast, I was really put aback at how talented all of them were. There are some pretty intense situations this group of soldiers are put into involving a witch they find walled up in the abandoned fort. In many ways, this is film reminded me of THE THING as the story we don’t see about the former residents of the military base intensifies the power of this woman who may or may not be tearing this troop apart with witchcraft. Even the final moments call into question whether the woman has otherworldly powers or if the Squad is overcome by the chaos of war itself.
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. Find out where you can catch this terrifying film here!

THE SCRIBBLER (2014)
Directed by John SuitsWritten by Dan Schaffer
Starring Katie Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg, Eliza Dushku, Gina Gershon, Sasha Grey, Garret Dillahunt, Michael Imperioli, Billy Campbell
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
While superhero films are all the rage these days, it seems some distance between the grim and gritty style of superhero films has occurred lately. Though BATMAN VS SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE seems to be taking place entirely on rainy rooftops, the Marvel films seem intent on bringing the action into the light of day. Countering that move and maybe preempting DC’s stab at cinematic grim n’ grittiness is THE SCRIBBLER, a superhero-esque film that feels much more like THE CROW or DARK CITY than any spandex clad superhero we’ve seen in recent years.


The final act of THE SCRIBBLER is a bit convoluted, but the whole films serves as an origin story for THE SCRIBBLER hinting that there may be more to come and does a decent job of conveying that story. But what was most fun about this film was the offbeat actors having a hell of a lot of fun with the twisted characters they are playing. Seeing this as a showcase for some eccentric talent, I enjoyed this film, though some may say the age of the grim and gritty hero is over. I think there’s still room for this type of hero, especially when it is well realized as it is by this director and writer and well acted by this fun cast of misfit actors.

WHITE SETTLERS (2014)
Directed by Simeon HalliganWritten by Ian Fenton
Starring Pollyanna McIntosh, Lee Williams, Joanne Mitchell, James McCreadie, Dominic Kay
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
I found WHITE SETTLERS to be much more interesting in theme than execution.

The true standout here are the performances by THE WOMAN’s Pollyanna McIntosh and Lee Williams as the couple who are trying to start anew, moving from England to a farmhouse in the Scottish countryside. The land is the couple’s dreams come true until they find themselves invaded by men dressed in pig masks carrying knives and hatchets. What transpires is a game of cat and mouse in and around the house and through the thick Scottish forests surrounding the land.

McIntosh is a powerful presence here. The scenes where she fights back against the invaders is visceral and the actress really gives her all in physicality (as seen in the aforementioned THE WOMAN). It’s too bad the story isn’t stronger to support her performance. Much of this film has been told before in other home invasion tales and what is original comes and leaves in seconds, not really allowing the viewer enough time to establish these stabs at individuality. There are quite a few thrilling moments and some nice scenes of uber-violence, but the film left me wanting. Leaving a lot of unanswered questions isn’t a make or break thing with me and movies, but with so few questions posed, you’d think one or two would be answered by the end. Instead, WHITE SETTLERS feels somewhat flimsy in terms of story as it runs and runs until it gets almost winded and then just sort of ends with no real satisfaction.

EXISTS (2014)
Directed by Eduardo SánchezWritten by Jamie Nash
Starring Samuel Davis, Dora Madison Burge, Roger Edwards, Samuel Davis, Chris Osborn & Brian Steele as the Sasquatch!
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
As most of you know, I have a soft spot in my cold black heart for Bigfoot films. It is a genre made of very bad films, though sometimes a gem appears in the rough and surprises you. I’ve said before that a good Bigfoot film is about as tough to find as Bigfoot himself, but this year in particular, two films of the Squatchy kind have stood out as worth seeing. The first is Bobcat Goldthwait’s WILLOW CREEK (reviewed here) and the second being the subject of this review, EXISTS.

The cast is likable as well, though there’s not a lot of time for us to get to know them as they almost instantly hit the Bigfoot (they don’t find a body, but capture a glimpse of it on tape) and then are running for their lives from it for the rest of the film. Still, the acting feels pretty natural; an essential element of a found footage film.

Secondly, the film is made through multiple cams, often time switching POV’s and camera types mid-scene. And while, yes it is possible the survivors of this film would be able to collect all of the cameras and splice them together in order to make a sensible movie, the likelihood of this happening is small. On top of that, there is no indication that this film was spliced together from the different cameras. It worked in BLAIR WITCH because there were only two cameras filming, so cutting between the two wasn’t as big a deal, but in this film we cut from a dashboard cam, to a phone cam, to a helmet cam, to a hand held cam all in one scene. Again, if we are supposed to be believing this film is happening in real time, the presence of an omniscient editor or an omniscient orchestra only works against all of that.

My personal POV perspective peeves aside, I challenge anyone to find a better looking Bigfoot than the one who shows up in this film. Not only the way it looks, but the action involving Bigfoot in pursuit and its strength in action are all top notch here. There are some genuinely frightening moments in this film despite the fact that it breaks some rules of the found footage rulebook. And though it’s not a perfect found footage film, EXISTS is a really well done Bigfoot movie worth seeking out for believers and non believers alike.

LIFE AFTER BETH (2014)
Directed by Jeff BaenaWritten by Jeff Baena
Starring Aubrey Plaza, Dane DeHaan, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Cheryl Hines, Paul Reiser, Matthew Gray Gubler, Anna Kendrick, Garry Marshall
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Unfortunately, I know from experience that the number one thing people feel after someone close to them dies is regret. There’s always that nagging feeling that something was left unsaid or something should have been given more attention. You never know when the last moment you spend with a person will be, so you’re bound to take it for granted until you can’t have any more moments with that person. Under all of the zombie makeup and comical situations, that’s the serious and universal theme that hides beneath the surface of LIFE AFTER BETH, the first time directing effort from I HEART HUCKABEES writer Jeff Baena.

Dane DeHaan, who has had some pretty big roles of late from CHRONICLE to AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 to A PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, shows much more here in this movie that I gave him credit for. For the most part, DeHaan’s Zach is the Winona Ryder character in both HEATHERS and, especially, BEETLEJUICE who mopes around in mourning of his girlfriend Beth’s (played by Aubrey Plaza) death, which occurs in the opening moments of the film. Dehaan plays the straight man here, mourning cartoonishly at the loss, but also exemplifying the melodramatic goth vibe often seen in teens (though both DeHaan and Plaza clearly look older than teenagers in this film). DeHaan sits silently during the family meal (with his family made up of Paul Reiser, Cheryl Hines, and his overly macho brother played by Matthew Gray Gubler) and leafs through his all-black wardrobe for the right black shirt to wear. Towards the beginning of the film, I was especially impressed with the scenes DeHaan shares with John C. Reilly, who plays Beth’s dad. After losing Beth, Zach instantly starts forming a bond with Beth’s dad which develops into bordering on stalking. DeHaan does this straight-faced and serious, never really overplaying the situation for comedic effect and hitting every note right along the way. This is a range I’d never seen in the actor before and it impressed me.

Despite all of the serious themes of grief and loss, there’s a lot to laugh at here. There’s quite a bit of gore at play here, while still refraining from overuse. And while the scares are at a minimum, the emotional core of the film is going to hit a lot of people just right. Reminiscent of the Billy Connolly zom com FIDO from a few years back which dealt with some of the same themes in a funny way, LIFE AFTER BETH retains its dark tone, casting very human reactions to death against the ridiculous concept of the dead rising from their graves and not remembering that they died and attempting to assume their previous lives. It doesn’t hurt that some of the funniest people on the planet are saying all of these lines and reacting to these situations. Yes, there are some inconsistencies involving “the rules” of how the dead are getting up and walking around with embalming and burying corpses they way they are today, none of that is really taken into consideration here, but this film is not really about those kind of details. It’s about seeing a loved one just one more time and being able to say what you needed to say, all set with a darkly comedic tone. Seeing CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM’s Cheryl Hines and MAD ABOUT YOU’s Paul Riser react to zombies is priceless, as is seeing Jerry Marshall come back as a complaining zombie grandpa. With solid comedic performances, a consistently pitch black comedic tone, and a story that never makes fun of the genre, but has funny people react to it instead, LIFE AFTER BETH is a comedic horror film that will make you laugh while bringing up themes about loss that horror films rarely touch upon.

V/H/S VIRAL (2014)
Directed by Marcel Sarmiento ("Vicious Circles"), Gregg Bishop ("Dante the Great"), Nacho Vigalondo ("Parallel Monsters"), Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead ("Bonestorm"), Todd Lincoln ("Gorgeous Vortex")Written by Gregg Bishop, T.J. Cimfel, Ed Dougherty, Todd Lincoln, Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson, Marcel Sarmiento, Nacho Vigalondo, David White
Starring Emmy Argo, Amanda Baker, Dan Caudill, Stephen Caudill, Greyson Chadwick, Carrie Keagan, Jessica Luza, Randy McDowell, Michael Aaron Milligan, Nathan Mobley, Matt Peevy, Blair Redford, Cory Rouse, Jessica Serfaty, Justin Welborn, Rim Basma, Lindsay Clift, Laura Eschmann, Jade Gotcher, Tiffany Hamill, Jeanine Harrington, Temple Hull, Jackson James, Anna Kazmi, Niousha Khosrowyar, Kasey Landoll, Chloe Nichols, Kelsey Richaud, Jayden Robison, Cheyenne Scarborough, Faith Tollefson, Mark Stephen Ward, Taylor West, Nick Blanco, Angela Garcia, Emilia Zoryan
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Having been a fan of the first two V/H/S anthologies, I was looking forward to this third installment which threatens to take the horrific first person POV segments viral and spread the madness world wide. And while this installment offers very little in terms of explanation behind the mysterious video tapes, it does provide three and a half (the half being the wraparound segment) stories of varying effectiveness.




For some reason, though it’s listed on IMDB and has promoted as such being included, Todd Lincoln’s "Gorgeous Vortex" wasn’t in the version of the film I saw. Not sure why, but because there are only three stories and the wraparound, V/H/S VIRAL does seem a lot more insubstantial than the previous two entries. And while this film doesn’t really come close to the intensity of the first two V/H/S films, there are still quite a few scares and chills making this one worth seeking out.
And finally…A while back I reviewed Marc Roussel’s THE LAST HALLOWEEN and found it to be the perfect little Halloween spookfest. Now the short is available online for all to see, so I’m posting it here to celebrate this festive holiday season! Enjoy THE LAST HALLOWEEN!
See ya next week, folks!


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