
Greetings, all. Ambush Bug here with another AICN HORROR: ZOMBIES & SHARKS column. Sorry for the delay in last week’s column, but here it is in all its glory! It’s kind of a rough week, but there are a few diamonds in there. On with the horror reviews!
(Click title to go directly to the feature)
Book Creeport: IN THE DARKNESS, THAT’S WHERE I’LL KNOW YOU Novel (2015)
Retro-review: JACK THE RIPPER (1976)
Retro-review: Hauntings 4 Pack: SALEM WITCH TRIALS (2002)
ALBERT FISH: IN SIN HE FOUND SALVATION (2007)
OUTPOST DOOM (2009)
From Asia with Lust Double Feature Vol1: CAMP (2014)/HITCH-HIKE (2014)
PAIN IS BEAUTIFUL (2015)
HOUSEKEEPING (2013)
Advance Review: VOICES FROM THE GRAVE (2014)
Advance Review: VALLEY OF THE SASQUATCH (2015)
And finally…51 Deep’s LANDLINE!

IN THE DARKNESS, THAT’S WHERE I’LL KNOW YOU (THE BLACK ROOM parts 1-4) Novel (2015)
Written by Luke SmitherdRead and reviewed by BottleImp
Science fiction, drama, humor, horror, and yes—even romance—are expertly blended in the novel IN THE DARKNESS, THAT’S WHERE I’LL KNOW YOU, written by Luke Smitherd. Originally published in four parts as THE BLACK ROOM in 2013, the complete story is now available on amazon.com and should be required reading for fans of any of the genres listed above (or simply those who love a good page-turner).
The reader is thrust immediately into the mystery that is the heart of the story, as Charlie Wilkes wakes up not in his own room, but in a black void whose only feature is a large “screen” that shows him a glimpse of the outside world. It’s not long before Charlie realizes that this screen is showing him the view through someone else’s eyes, and that for all intents and purposes, Charlie is trapped inside someone else’s head. That someone is a young woman named Minnie, and when Charlie attempts to communicate with her, it just reinforces the thoughts that Minnie had been having for weeks: she’s losing her mind. In a bid to prove that he’s a real person and not simply a delusion, Charlie convinces Minnie to go seek out proof of Charlie’s existence. And, believe it or not, that’s when things get really weird.
I’m not going to give away any more of the plot because that would deprive new readers of the sheer excitement that comes with reading this novel. Smitherd (whose books THE STONE MAN and A HEAD FULL OF KNIVES I’ve previously reviewed for this column, and who’s become one of my favorite new authors) excels at avoiding the obvious and cliché in his work. Every time I thought I knew where the story was headed, IN THE DARKNESS, THAT’S WHERE I’LL KNOW YOU takes a deft turn down an unexpected and intriguing new path. What begins as a “Twilight Zone”-esque tale of the unexplained is carefully crafted into a character-rich drama, an exploration of what it is that draws us together as souls seeking to connect with other souls. This gentle theme, reminiscent of the best works of Ray Bradbury, lulls the reader into a warm sense of comfort before Smitherd drives the story into the blackness of shocking horror.
None of these shifts in tone are arbitrary; IN THE DARKNESS, THAT’S WHERE I’LL KNOW YOU is shaped with an exquisite precision that culminates in a climax that leaves the reader exhausted from the dizzying thrill of emotions. As I said earlier, the novel is focused on the characters, and Smitherd makes Charlie and Minnie (along with the other people that are drawn into the story) real—they’re not perfect cardboard cutouts or hackneyed “types” that so often pop up in genre fiction; you believe that these people really exist and could live right next door to you. And so you care about them, and that makes their experiences within and without the Black Room incredibly intense and engrossing.
If you missed this book in its original serialized format, now you’ve been given another chance to read one of the best books in the sci-fi/horror genres—or any genre, as a matter of fact—that I’ve had the pleasure of reading in recent memory. Luke Smitherd is an up-and-coming author that readers should keep their eyes on, and IN THE DARKNESS, THAT’S WHERE I’LL KNOW YOU is this young author at his best.
When released from his bottle, the Imp transforms into Stephen Andrade, an artist/illustrator/pirate monkey painter from New England. He's currently hard at work interpreting fellow @$$Hole Optimous Douche's brainwaves and transforming them into pretty pictures on AVERAGE JOE, an original graphic novel to be published by Com.x. You can see some of his artwork here.

JACK THE RIPPER (1976)
Directed by Jess FrancoWritten by Jess Franco
Starring Klaus Kinski, Josephine Chaplin, Andreas Mannkopff, Herbert Fux, Lina Romay, Hans Gaugler, Nikola Weisse, Ursula von Wiese, Francine Custer, Olga Gebhard, Angelika Arndts, Peter Nüsch, Esther Studer, Regine Elsener, Lorli Bucher
Retro-reviewed by Ambush Bug
While it might not be historically accurate, with Klaus Kinski playing the most nefarious serial killer in all of history, Jack the Ripper, you know at least the film’s going to be a hoot. And it is.

Kinski is at his most charming and his most brave in this film and it really does highlight the skill the legendary difficult actor possesses at his craft. In one scene, he’s charming his patients and rubbing elbows with socialites. The next he’s slicing a prostitute’s breasts off and grinding his pelvis into their corpses. This is one of Kinski’s more creepy performances and it’s pretty amazing to see how crazy he goes with the character. The switch between rutting madman and put-together doctor is subtle, but it’s made to best effect in the final scene when he is caught in the act. It’s a truly amazing sequence and an equally mesmerizing performance.

You’ll find tons of gratuitous nudity and gore in this one, much like Franco’s other films. The scenes where Kinski slices off the breasts of his victims are the most grueling. But it’s the way Kinski portrays this drooling, humping madman that gives this entire movie a sleaze factor that can’t be denied. JACK THE RIPPER has its rough edges, but the grimy grindhouse sleaze of both Franco’s vision and Kinski’s performance makes it very watchable.


SALEM WITCH TRIALS (2002)
Directed by Joseph SargentWritten by Mara Nation
Starring Kirstie Alley, Henry Czerny, Gloria Reuben, Jay O. Sanders, Kristin Booth, Katie Boland, Alan Bates, Rebecca De Mornay, Peter Ustinov, Shirley MacLaine, Shannon Lawson, Colin Fox, Camille Wainwright, David Hemblen, Susan Coyne, Nadia Litz, Dixie Seatle, Zachary Bennett, Bradley Reid, Tannis Burnett, Sophie Bennett, Elana Shilling, Amy Stewart, Mairon Bennett, Nancy Beatty, Tabitha Lupien, Megan Bower, Jackie Laidlaw, Nicky Guadagni, David Christo, Cara Pifko, Hannah Lochner, Linda Prystawska, Arlene Mazerolle, Irene Poole, Adrian Hough, Lindsay Collins, Julian Richings, Chris Benson, Heinar Pillar, Philip Sheperd, Oliver Becker, Bill Lake
Retro-reviewed by Ambush Bug
Look at that cast up there! There’re a lot of talented folks in this film which aired only once before falling into obscurity. That is, until now, as it is available on a four disk compilation of films about true life hauntings and strange occurrences which aired on TV. While some of them have been slightly enjoyable (THE HAUNTING OF FOX HOLLOW FARM and HAUNTING OF WINCHESTER HOUSE) others are not-so-much (GRAVE SECRETS: THE LEGACY OF HILLTOP DRIVE). The final film in the bunch is SALEM WITCH TRIALS.


There are some decent scenes here with solid acting from Alan Bates, Shirley MacLaine, and the like. There are some decent scenes where folks are seemingly overcome by the power of the witches and experience hallucinations that were fun. The theme of the destructive power of hearsay, how gullible people are, and how society is a judgmental thing (no matter what the affiliation) are prevalent throughout the film, but more times than not, I was over-longed and over-acted to death by this film. And while SALEM SWITCH TRIALS may be more accurate than THE CRUCIBLE, that doesn’t make it more entertaining.

ALBERT FISH: IN SIN HE FOUND SALVATION (2007)
Directed by John BorowskiWritten by John Borowski
Starring Oto Brezina, Joe Coleman, Bob Dunsworth, Harvey Fisher, Derek Gaspar, Nathan Hall, Cooney Horvath, Tony Jay, Katherine Ramsland, Donna Rawlins, Garrett Shriver, Kasey Skinner, Ronni Trankel
Find out more about this film here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
John Borowski has made a living chronicling the lives of serial killers in such films as CARL PANZRAM: THE SPIRIT OF HATRED and H.H.HOLMES: AMERICA’S FIRST SERIAL KILLER and delving into society’s fascination with serial killers in SERIAL KILLER CULTURE. One of his earliest and best documentaries of this kind is ALBERT FISH: IN SIN HE FOUND SALVATION.


With candid testimony from FBI profilers, historians, and serial killer collection owners, Borowski paints a colorful portrait of a very twisted man. While some of the dramatizations are over the top (seeing Fish interact with Jesus is a bit much), others, such as the simple cooking of a steak and close up on someone eating it while Fish accounts his acts of cannibalism in shocking detail make for some absolutely riveting material. ALBERT FISH: IN SIN HE FOUND SALVATION does a great job of asking interesting questions as what makes a serial killer and compiles them in an entertaining way as to save the most gruesome stuff (like the needles in the stomach and groin self-mutilation) for last. Paced in a fast and informative way, this doc pulls back the curtain of the most horrible men in American history.

OUTPOST DOOM (2009)
Directed by Mathew KisterWritten by Mathew Kister
Starring Jeremy Cech, Rhyann Crooks, Steve Eaton, Jeff Gustafson, Braden Johnson, Mathew Kister, Carlin Mackie, Deejay Scharton, Jeff Schmidt, Tina Schmidt, Madison Vetter
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Low fi goodness and campy horror abounds in OUTPOST DOOM, a film I happened upon one Flashback Weekend many moons ago here in Chicago and sadly only got to check it out recently. But it’s good to know the film was definitely worth the wait.

Filmed in black and white (which is weird because the trailer below is in color), OUTPOST DOOM is a fun throwback to monster movies of old. There is a nice sense of paranoia that makes things feel more reminiscent of John Carpenter’s THE THING, but for the most part—from the campy music, to the shoddy FX, OUTPOST DOOM is a film lovers of old monster movies will die for.

OUTPOST DOOM has an anything-goes sort of demeanor that makes it instantly likable. It delivers on scares and atmosphere, so it makes the rough acting a little more digestible. While the script is a bit obtuse, it still delivers quite a few fun twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting. OUTPOST DOOM makes much with very little and is the epitome of watchable, entertaining indie horror.

From Asia With Lust Vol1: CAMP (2014)/HITCH-HIKE (2014)
Directed by Ainosuke ShibataWritten by Ainosuke Shibata
Starring Miyuki Yokoyama
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
I won’t be spending too much time on this double disk which is rather sleazily titled “From Asia with Lust” and featuring two recent “rapesploitation” films from Ainosuke Shibata. While I can tolerate all kinds of senseless violence, gore, and frights galore, films which hang their story on raping and torturing women really isn’t my thing. While I can sit through films like I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE and its ilk from the seventies since it was a rather extreme cinematic insecure over-compensation to the women’s lib movement that was going on at the time. Seeing these types of films now only makes me wonder why films like these are still made.


Looking at these films through a cultural lens, I guess the theme of abuse and rape towards women could be reflecting the treatment of women in Japanese culture and while women’s lib has taken leaps and bounds here in the US, this might be a more topical response to changing times in that country in terms of women’s rights. I’m not experienced in the state of inequality of women’s rights in Japan, but they certainly are not treated as equals in these films. Some might argue that director/writer Ainosuke Shibata is paying homage to the Japanese “pink films” which often mixed sex, violence, and revenge, but that doesn’t make it any more tasteful to me. While I’ll save judgment on those who might be interested in these “rapesploitation” films, I will say that neither is strong in nuance, theme, atmosphere, or emotional power. Both CAMP and HITCH-HIKE prominently feature the overpowering of women in devious and despicable ways, which made for some mighty uncomfortable viewing for me.

PAIN IS BEAUTIFUL (2015)
Directed by Chris StaviskiWritten by Chris Staviski & Lee Woodford
Starring Chris Staviski, Ivet Corvea, Elissa Dowling, Jessica Sonneborn, Mike Pfaff, Lynn Ayala, Brian McCulley, Tim Sullivan, DeeDee Bigelow, Paul Blatchley, Jeff Dylan Graham, Matthew Aidan, Derick Bates
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here!
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
This twisted take on torture porn is strong in story, but still has the rough edges of a low budgeter in terms of acting and pacing. Still, PAIN IS BEAUTIFUL is not at painful to sit through than most of its ilk.


The story does lag a bit towards the end as it is rather predictable the way it comes to a resolution, still the strength of the character and the seedy depths with which PAIN IS BEAUTIFUL will go makes it interesting for those who have the stomach for torture in their horror. There will be those who tune out immediately since this is a film that basically revolves around one person torturing another strapped to a chair. Often films of this type are often pretty one note, but the rich way Staviski and Woodford flesh out the madman makes this a bit more endurable than most torture porn.

HOUSEKEEPING (2013)
Directed by Jennifer HarringtonWritten by Jennifer Harrington
Starring Adriana Solis, Blair Wojcik, Monica Percich, Carlos Foglia, Peter Schlechter
Find out more about this film here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Reminiscent of the film DEVOURED, where a Mexican cleaning lady is haunted by urban horror and paranoia, HOUSEKEEPING is a subtle and visually powerful look at how the horrors of isolation and everyday life can chip away at ones soul.

What makes this film so amazing is that, apart from voiceovers from Lucy’s best friend, her brother, and the owner of the condo, Solis is the only person in this film. Having only one actor in a film might become tedious but director/writer Jennifer Harrington keeps things interesting by writing text on the screen and focusing on snapshot imagery rather than simply lingering on Lucy going about her day to day. In doing so, Harrington paints the screen with atmosphere filled with gloom and desperation. Lucy is walking through life with the weight of the world coming down around her and these scribbles over her form and still imagery capturing her at her weakest and most burnt out moments only heighten the magnitude of her situation.
The resolution of this descent into madness tale is as satisfying as the way the story ratchets up the stakes in the rest of the film before it. HOUSEKEEPING is about much more than one woman’s torment, but the way society’s pressures can smother a person without the right support system to fall back on. Seeing how dark and desperate Lucy’s torment is and how she is willing to accept and perform these tasks (no matter how horrible they are) make this one of the most compellingly wicked little films I’ve seen in quite a while. This is a slow burner and quite experimental in format, but the way everything plays out is truly macabre and unique. HOUSEKEEPING isn’t your run of the mill horror, but it’s great horror nonetheless.

VOICES FROM THE GRAVE (2014)
Directed by Laurence Holloway, Richard StoudtWritten by Richard Stoudt, Laurence Halloway, & Joe Evans (“All Hallows Eve”), Richard Stoudt, Laurence Holloway (“Invitation” based on the short story “Mark of the Loser” by Gary Brandner), Richard Stoudt & Laurence Halloway (“Repossessed”), Richard Stoudt & Darlene Stoudt (Wraparound)
Starring Chris Labadie, Michael Hanelin, David Nelson, Scarlett O'Neil, Maryam Cné, Michelle Green, Bobby Shook, Sean Ryan McBride, James Leatherman, Brandon Thomas, Sarah Masters, Corey Livingston Henderson, Scarlet Fry, David C. Hayes, Stephen Kessen, Jonathan Medina, Jessica Nelson, Andrew Presler, Danielle Schultz, Don Teply, Rose Urgitus
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Low budget seems to be the flavor of the week this week on AICN HORROR, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Laurence Holloway and Richard Stoudt wrote and directed this anthology which is thematically sound and filled with indie charm despite the fact that it didn’t cost a million dollars to make.




VOICES FROM THE GRAVE might carry a “Don’t drink and drive” message, but that message doesn’t overpower it or make it unwatchable. With some clever narrative twists and turns, despite the low budget and some dodgy acting here and there, VOICES FROM THE GRAVE still makes for a twisted, fun time, ending on a note that successfully culminates all of the story elements into one clever and satisfying resolution.

VALLEY OF THE SASQUATCH (2015)
Directed by John PortanovaWritten by John Portanova
Starring Bill Oberst Jr., Jason Vail, David Saucedo, D'Angelo Midili, Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, Connor Conrad as the Beast!
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Always on the lookout for that elusive treasure known as a good Bigfoot film, VALLEY OF THE SASQUATCH makes a lot of the right decisions and leads to one of the more entertaining films of the subgenre.

The aforementioned criteria for a good Bigfoot film are all met here. Writer/director John Portanova (who wrote a pretty cool ghost story with THE INVOKING and the not so hot alien low budgeter THE DEVICE) fills his directoral debut with a decent situation and some capable actors willing to go the extra mile to make the drama necessary and believable. Seeing the film highlight the differences and similarities between the father and son here is really fleshed out well and tossing in a family of angry Bigfeets as a threat, shoves the metaphor of the struggles between familial relations front and center. From a storytelling and thematic standpoint, this is a well crafted little movie.

VALLEY OF THE SASQUATCH is reminiscent of THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK at times during the final attack on the cabin and avoids that Saturday night ScyFy movie feel most Bigfoot films have these days. With some strong story elements, along with some fun Bigfootin’ action and a cool costume design, VALLEY OF THE SASQUATCH is a Bigfoot film worth stomping about.
And finally…here’s a fun take on telephone horror with a twisted sense of humor. Described as a tale of a landline telephone, and the horrors it will bring when a man, waiting for a phone call, begins getting calls from someone else. Someone terrifying.
You won’t soon forget 51 Deep’s latest short, LANDLINE!
Look for another AICN HORROR column Friday!


Be sure to tell your comic shop to order his new comic PIROUETTE (out now!) from Black Mask Studios!


Interested in illustrated films, fringe cinema, and other oddities?
Check out Halo-8 and challenge everything!
Look for our bi-weekly rambling about random horror films on Poptards and Ain’t It Cool on AICN HORROR’s CANNIBAL HORRORCAST Podcast every other Thursday!