
Greetings, all. Ambush Bug here with another AICN HORROR: ZOMBIES & SHARKS column. No blah blah blah this week. Let’s just jump into the horror reviews!
(Click title to go directly to the feature)
Retro-review: NIGHTMARE CASTLE (1963)
Retro-review: SHOCKER (1989)
Retro-review: THE BASEMENT (1989)
WASTELAND (2013)
ALWAYS WATCHING: A MARBLE HORNETS STORY (2015)
MORITURIS: LEGION OF THE DEAD (2011)
CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES (2013)
THE EDITOR (2014)
THE FINAL GIRLS (2015)
GOODNIGHT MOMMY (2015)
Advance Review: ADALINE: THE CONJURED (2015)
And finally… Ghosts in the Graveyard’s “Better in Black!”


NIGHTMARE CASTLE (1963)
aka LOVERS BEYOND THE TOMB, ORGAZMO, THE FACELESS MONSTER, NIGHT OF THE DOOMEDDirected by Mario Caiano (as Allen Grünewald)
Written by Mario Caiano & Fabio De Agostini
Starring Barbara Steele, Paul Muller, Helga Liné, Marino Masé, Giuseppe Addobbati, Rik Battaglia
Retro-reviewed by Ambush Bug
It’s the old tale of infidelity, envy, and revenge that plays out in NIGHTMARE CASTLE, a tame, yet wildly entertaining old dark house from Italian director Mario Caiano, who often went by Allen Grunewald in reference to Edgar Allan Poe. And Poe’s influence permeates NIGHTMARE CASTLE.

Lies on top of duplicity on top of betrayal is the seven layer sandwich on the menu in NIGHTMARE CASTLE. The fun is seeing all of the back-stabbing and cheating unfold as even the damsels in distress here (Jenny and Muriel) are not without guilt. The fact that the “evil” doctor is justifiably upset about his cheating wives (Muriel with her suitor and Jenny with her psychiatrist) makes this an intricate play on the emotions. I understood and empathized with the doctor’s plight, but then again, he is portrayed as a conniving and sadistic bastard fond of whips and electrocution, so he’s not that likable either. It’s the topsy turvy way the script plays with who the viewer should side with that makes this all the more fun.

This BluRay rerelease contains a conversation with Barbara Steele, a special focusing on director Mario Caiano, trailers, and also two full feature films; CASTLE OF BLOOD and TERROR CREATURES FROM THE GRAVE, which I will also be covering in future AICN HORROR columns!


SHOCKER (1989)
Directed by Wes CravenWritten by Wes Craven
Starring Peter Berg, Michael Murphy, Sam Scarber, Camille Cooper, Ted Raimi, John Tesh, Richard Brooks, Virginia Morris, Vincent Guastaferro, Janne Peters, Wes Craven, Brent Spiner, Timothy Leary, Heather Langenkamp, Michael Matthews as the Evil Lips, and Mitch Pileggi as Horace Pinker!
Retro-reviewed by Ambush Bug
Wes Craven has crafted some deliciously depthy horror films that deliver in both long term resonance as well as immediate shocks. SHOCKER, unfortunately, isn’t one of those films. 1989 could be considered the height of the Freddy Krueger phenomenon. ‘87’s DREAM WARRIORS was a huge success, followed by another hit in ’88 with THE DREAM MASTER, a TV series FREDDY’S NIGHTMARES in syndication, kiddie costumes and lunchboxes based on the child killer in department stores, and with THE DREAM CHILD coming to theaters in ’89, it had to smart a bit for Craven who started it all but most likely wasn’t receiving any of the residuals on the evil bastard he created. So what do you do? You set out to make a new idonic horror monster, of course, and SHOCKER has that fragrance of desperation written all over it.

There’s an overall hokiness to SHOCKER that I feel really revolves around central character Jonathan Parker (Peter Berg) who later in life turned out to be a pretty kickass director, but here shows that even good directors can give subpar performances in front of the screen. Here, Jonathan just isn’t very likable as the stiff jawed and whiny adopted child of police chief Don Parker (Michael Murphy) and boyfriend to hottie Alison (Camille Cooper). Sure Craven gives Jonathan a vulnerability in the clumsy way he runs into the goal post or falls over the water bucket like Adam Sandler in THE WATERBOY, but a lot of the reasons why this film didn’t grab me is because I just was annoyed with Berg’s performance from his initial intro to the goofy way he stands up to his birth father, who just so happens to be the murderous Pinker. I’m sure this isn’t a career highlight for Berg either as some of the scenes, as in the scene where Berg fights a reclining chair are just laughably bad.

The real problem here, though is that I think Craven was on to something. The reason why A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET was so successful was that it tapped into something all of us do, which is sleep and dream. SHOCKER makes a late in the game attempt to tap into another commonality among much of civilized culture—that being its addiction to the media. Though the television is pervasive through most of the film, it isn’t until late in the film that it seems Craven gets some ingenious ideas to play with as Pinker begins to manipulate the way we perceive television, leaping from one channel to the next within the TV world and travelling into people’s homes via cable TV. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t feel like Craven was able to grasp it completely and we are given the first draft of some really interesting stuff and some pretty lame stuff like Jonathan controlling Pinker inexplicably with a remote control, resulting in some really lame attempts at humor at the expense of the serial killer. While Nancy’s fight back against Freddy in the original NIGHTMARE was something to root for, Jonathan’s leap through the channels and vengeance via remote control just comes off as lamely comical and not really making a whole lot of sense. Centering the whole story on the power of love between Jonathan and his dead girlfriend being the thing that saves the day in the end doesn’t help in making this film more believable or consequential.

Apart from all of those negatives I listed above, there’s a really scary and brutal movie in SHOCKER somewhere. Pileggi gives an absolutely amazing performance as the rabid dog that is Horace Pinker. He is a brutal and relentless killer and though the horror he unleashes is often cartoonish and comical (most likely because of the MPAA restrictions). Still Pileggi is fully committed in this role to deliver something dark and dangerous. It’s too bad Craven chose to film much of the action in broad daylight or well lit rooms, automatically killing any sense of danger or threat. Had some nigh shots been incorporated or some creative shadows, I think this would have been a much more eerie film. Pileggi’s performance deserved to be in a movie filmed with a heavy amount of darkness, but that just didn’t happen.

The BluRay includes interviews with actors Cam Cooper and Mitch Pileggi, as well as a look at the hair band metal soundtrack, along with some previews, TV spots, and a smattering of other coverage. The BluRay actually looks really well and much clearer than I remember, especially the murky animations of a partially staticized Horace Pinker and the stick footage Pileggi and Berg fight through. While this is far from the perfect film, if you’re a Craven completist (or a glutton for punishment), you simply must have this Blu in your collection.

THE BASEMENT (1989)
Directed by Timothy O'RaweWritten by Timothy O'Rawe
Starring Dennis Driscoll, Kathleen Heidinger, David Webber, Scott Corizzi, Traci Mann, Pamela Kramer, John Paul Fedele, J.R. Bookwalter, Scott Hart, Carl Burrows, Robin Maynard, Michael Parsons, John Kolbek, Joseph Kolbek, Linda Manzione, Nicole Sims, Tom Thatcher, Victoria Castle
Find out more about this film here!
Retro-reviewed by Ambush Bug
THE BASEMENT is a good name for this film as it really is bargain basement quality scares. But what this low-fi anthology lacks in funding, it makes up for in love of horror as well as some pretty interesting stories


Tale three is called “Zombie Movie” and while the effects are ok, there is a cheesiness to this installment as it is about a hack movie director directing a bad zombie movie. It’s a little too meta for this film and if you’re going to make fun of the genre, you better do it well. Here the substandard production and worse acting just makes it a segment that pointlessly puts down the genre while trying to be a part of the genre. I didn’t like this installment in theory or in execution.

This film is not for everyone. It’s for the die hard VHS movie lovers who used to go through every film on the stands in the horror section of the video store. I was one of those kids and therefore, I kind of loved this low budget schlocker. This special presentation of THE BASEMENT comes with a VHS copy of the film, as well as other disks containing other lost Super 8 filmed messterpieces; CAPTIVES, VIDEO VIOLENCE 1 & 2, and CANNIBAL CAMPOUT. I’ll be covering each of these in future AICN HORROR columns.

WASTELAND (2013)
Directed by Tom WadlowWritten by Tommy Draper
Starring Shameer Seepersand, Jessica Messenger, Mark Drake, Rachel Benson, Gavin Harrison
Find out more about this film here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Yep, it’s another end of the world zombie film. But while most of these focus on a group of people tearing apart each other in a secluded location proving that we are the true monsters, WASTELAND instead decides to focus on one man’s survival, which makes it more interesting than your usual zombie fare.

The film does a really nice job of conveying a feeling of dread and loneliness. Actor Seepersand does a decent job in the lead, as he is given a lot of emotional beats to hit throughout this depressing narrative. But while the character is very much a sad sack, I found myself invested in Scott’s plight and rooting for his gal pal to come back. The horror is at a minimum here. This is much more of a story about hanging onto hope while the world falls apart around you and WASTELAND does a great job of fleshing out this world with a small budget and some well placed CG effects to the landscape. If you’re looking for an action packed zombie romp, this ain’t it. But WASTELAND has a lot of soul and is quite gripping in the tragic and lonely tale it tells.

ALWAYS WATCHING: A MARBLE HORNETS STORY (2015)
aka THE OPERATOR, MARBLE HORNETSDirected by James Moran
Written by Joseph DeLage & Troy Wagner (web series "Marble Hornets"),Ian Shorr (screenplay), Victor Surge (characters)
Starring Chris Marquette, Alexandra Breckenridge, Jake McDorman, Alexandra Holden, Rick Otto, Shashawnee Hall, Blair Bomar, David Pevsner, Michael Bunin, Morgan E. Bastin, Graham Clarke, Tim Seitter, & Doug Jones as the Slender Man/the Operator!
Find out more about this film on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Depending a little too much on the notion that simply seeing the Slender Man is enough to be scary, ALWAYS WATCHING: A MARBLE HORNETS STORY ends up being only partially successful in what it tries to be.

The concept of a pervasive and unrelenting force stalking someone that is unseen by the naked eye, but vivid in the lens is the type of horror that feels more at home with some of the J-Horror that was often based on new technology during the early 2000’s. Given that this film borrows from concepts of that era of horror as well as hacks into the current and wavering found footage trend automatically makes this film feel somewhat dated in the concept alone. That said, there are some really well done moments in ALWAYS WATCHING that make it somewhat worthwhile as the faceless monster gets closer and closer to the three protagonists. Having the Slender Man show up not only on the background, but also in the form of subtly placed mannequin dummies as they pass store windows, faceless art models sitting in the corner, and other forms make this film fun as you are constantly scanning the screen for the stalking Slender Man. Reminiscent of Michael Myers in this sense, I have to admit, it is pretty thrilling every time the Slender Man shows up.

That said ALWAYS WATCHING culminates in a rather satisfying and action-packed climax and while the Slender Man doesn’t do much physically, the swath he cuts into these peoples lives is pretty devastating. ALWAYS WATCHING: A MARBLE HORNETS STORY is successful here in doling out the suspense and tension pretty evenly, but it is a bit dated and bound to annoy those already sick of the found footage subgenre.

MORITURIS: LEGIONS OF THE DEAD (2011)
aka MORITURISDirected by Raffaele Picchio
Written by Tiziano Martella & Raffaele Picchio (story), Gianluigi Perrone (screenplay)
Starring Valentina D'Andrea, Andrea De Bruyn, Désirée Giorgetti, Francesco Malcom, Giuseppe Nitti, & Simone Ripanti
Find out when and where you can see this on the film’s website and Facebook page!
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Man, the premise of this one had me at “hello.” Gladiator zombies rise to inflict brutal death to a group of party-goers who stumble upon their burial grounds. Plus is an Italian horror film, none-the-fucking-less! Italian zombies! A new Italian zombie film and this time they are gladiator zombies? Hellz yes!


MORITURIS is definitely not what you expect. I’ll leave it at that. But in the end, it offers what you want out of a film about gladiator zombies: brutal kills and evil people. The less known about MORITURIS the better before going into it, but once in, gore and horror fans are not going to want this film to end!

CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF FRIDAY THE 13TH (2013)
Directed by Daniel FarrandsWritten by Daniel Farrands
Produced by Thommy Hutson
Narrated by Corey Feldman
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
No true FRIDAY THE 13TH fan should go without watching CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF FRIDAY THE 13TH. As a fan of the series, it’s something I was dying to see from the first second I heard it was being made and knowing it was from the same folks you brought us NEVER SLEEP AGAIN, which looked at the entire A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET series, I knew the project was in good hands.

Now, those of you who poo poo this series as lowest common denominator should just scroll on past this review. Only those who get that special tingle down their spine when they hear the “Ch-ch-ch-ha-ha-ha” or the “Kill-kill-kill-ma-ma-ma!” for the purists will understand the thrill it is to see almost every living cast member interviewed and almost every kill dissected in succession. While I will admit that the F13 franchise is simplistic, there’s some kind of perfection in the simplistic repetition of the FRIDAY THE 13TH films, but somehow, Farrands tells the story in a way to make them all distinct and interesting.

Much like the format of NEVER SLEEP AGAIN (reviewed here), each chapter of the documentary focuses on one film in the series, focusing first on inception of the film, the production, actors stories, the actor playing Jason, notable deaths, and finally box office, audience, and critical reaction. Sure it’s a repetitious format, but these are repetitious films and by formatting them in this manner, each film stands out as unique. Again, those not in the F13 camp are not going to understand why this is a hugely important and entertaining filmic experience, but if you are like me and are among the devotees that love the series, CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES is a must see.

THE EDITOR (2014)
Directed by Adam Brooks, Matthew KennedyWritten by Adam Brooks, Matthew Kennedy, Conor Sweeney
Starring Adam Brooks, Conor Sweeney, Matthew Kennedy, Paz de la Huerta, Udo Kier, Laurence R. Harvey, Tristan Risk, Sheila Campbell, Jerry Wasserman, Samantha Hill, Brent Neale, Lance 'The Snake' Cartwright, Jasmine Mae, John Paizs, William O'Donnell, Mackenzie Murdock
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
After dazzling me with the off kilter awesomeness of MANBORG and FATHER’S DAY, I was afraid the talented writers/directors/actors at Astron-6 were hanging up their funny and going a more serious route from what I saw of their newest feature THE EDITOR’s trailers. But this love song to all things Giallo is a tune set to a wonky beat as the film doesn’t so much as make fun of those Italian gore/mystery noir films of the 70’s as much as it just tells a goofy tale surrounded by what made those films so distinct in the first place.

The beauty of THE EDITOR is how is straddles the line between being a serious film set in the Italian Giallo 70’s and a farce of those same films. Those films were melodramatic to the nth degree with ultra-machismo sensibilities, dubbed voices, and reactions that are way over the top and beyond. So the antics that go in on THE EDITOR aren’t really that far off from the way those “so bad they’re good” Italian movies from the 70’s actually played as. Most likely and obviously given the authenticity of the film, the folks behind this film feel like super fans of this genre of filmmaking as they are spot on with the gritty and Grindhousey way things were filmed, the overly-complicated plot twists, the obvious red herrings, and clichéd actions and dialog. While this film is absolutely outrageous at times, for a good long time, this film could play off as an unearthed gem from the seventies if no one were the wiser it was a farce. It’s this authentic method with which Astron-6 tells this story with attention to deep focus, layered action in the foreground and background, the color palette of deep crimsons and blues, stiff acting, bad dubbing, and the gratuitous gore and nudity that makes it all the more entertaining and fun.

Loaded with gratuitous nudity, raunchy and ridiculous sex, uncoordinated action sequences, and sopping wet gore, THE EDITOR is a film you watch with your horror-appreciative friends with massive amounts of beer and a bellyful of laughs just waiting to escape. If you’re not familiar with Italian Giallo films THE EDITOR is paying homage to, first, I recommend you go out and check out as many of those films as you can as they are most definitely awesome. You can start with Argento and Bava and then move on from there. I could see this film falling flat for a lot of folks who have not experienced this type of cinema before. But if you’ve seen even a few Italian Giallo films from the 70’s and 80’s, you’re going to get a lot of the jokes and send ups here. I laughed out loud almost the entire way through THE EDITOR, a film that is equal parts gory farce and authentic Giallo. Astron-6 are a cadre of creative souls that I can’t get enough of and having conquered the world of Giallo here, it’ll be interesting to see what they will come up with next.

THE FINAL GIRLS (2015)
Directed by Todd Strauss-SchulsonWritten by M.A. Fortin (screenplay), Joshua John Miller(screenplay)
Starring Taissa Farmiga, Malin Akerman, Alexander Ludwig, Nina Dobrev, Alia Shawkat, Thomas Middleditch, Adam Devine, Tory N. Thompson, Chloe Bridges, Angela Trimbur, Lauren Gros, & Dan B. Norris as Jason Voor—I mean, Billy Murphy!
Find out more about this film on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Knowing nothing about this film going in is the way to enjoy it the most. So if you don’t want to be spoiled in the least, know that THE FINAL GIRLS is good. Surprisingly good. So surprisingly good that it’s the type of film I can’t wait to pass on as a recommendation to friends. It’s a fantastic love letter to the slasher film that manages to pay homage without making fun of it. If you’re a fan of slasher films, then do everything and anything you can to see this film. Skip past my review below and just see it. OK?

Meta, yes. But while SCREAM made fun of the genre for its conventions, there is a quality about this film that celebrates all of the great stuff that goes on in those conventional horror movies. Though it obviously follows the FRIDAY THE 13TH formula right down to the machete wielding masked man monster wronged as a kid, THE FINAL GIRLS also pays homage to THE BURNING with the origin of its slasher Billy Murphy (Dan B. Norris). Rules of who fits the final girl template are mapped out pretty concisely here and it really feels like writers M.A. Fortin & Joshua John Miller and director Todd Strauss-Schulson know and love these types of horror films as much as you and I do, celebrating slasher tropes such as have sex or show your boobs, you die, rather than ridiculing them for being there as the SCREAM films did.

The slasher films finally have their WIZARD OF OZ in THE FINAL GIRLS, a fantastic foray into a magical and fantastic world that just happens to be haunted by a seven foot man-monster with a machete. The comedy hits the mark, I’d say 90% of the time, and if the big beating heart this film possesses doesn’t reel you into the story, you might need to check your pulse. The final act of the film even manages to be pretty scary and action packed as director Strauss-Schulson (who previously only directed one film prior to this one, A VERY HAROLD & KUMAR 3D CHRISTMAS) swoops the camera around at breakneck speed and puts out masked killer in actions that highlight how cool he can be. In a year where there isn’t a FRIDAY THE 13TH film for fans to enjoy, THE FINAL GIRLS is the next best thing and is probably the most gripping, fun, and exciting film of this type in ages. This is the film that deserves all of the praise films like CABIN IN THE WOODS and SCREAM for taking a look at the genre through a meta lens, but this film honors the proud tradition of the slasher in modern horror. It’s the type of movie that makes me proud to be a fan of horror. I can’t recommend this film more. See it, horror fans. I think you’ll love it as much as I did.


GOODNIGHT MOMMY (2015)
aka ICH SHE ICH SHEDirected by Severin Fiala & Veronika Franz
Written by Severin Fiala & Veronika Franz
Starring Susanne Wuest, Lukas Schwarz, Elias Schwarz, Hans Escher, Elfriede Schatz, Karl Purker, Georg Deliovsky, Christian Steindl, Christian Schatz, Erwin Schmalzbauer
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
In horror, more times than not, the goal is to lure the viewer or reader in and then attack them when their guard is down with horrifying images that often challenge ones perception of what is right or wrong, up or down, inside or out. The whole concept of tension is to lure the viewer in by having them trust the film, only to pull the rug out from under them and give them a thrill. From the very beginning; with the dream like setting and the playful behavior of twins Lucas and Elias (played by real life twins Lucas and Elias Schwarz), I just didn’t trust this film. It gave me an ooky feeling from the get go. Blame Serling or O’Henry or M. Night Shamalayan or whoever, but the surreal landscape and cold look of every scene in GOODNIGHT MOMMY made me proceed with caution. Because of that, I feel GOODNIGHT MOMMY is going to be another one of those polarizing films. The type of film that some folks love for the weirdness of it all and the type some folks will call stoopid because they were able to see through the mist and call the bluff of this film early on. As a person who appreciates the road traveled rather much more than the arrival at a destination, I felt this is one of the better horror films you’re going to see this year.


Now on top of the twin stuff (which is weird enough), there is an abundance of surreal landscapes, silent action and imagery, hissing cockroaches, flames, sickly cats, and weird masks. Even if twins don’t freak you out, it’s more than likely that something from the list I just threw out there will. This is a film designed to unease from frame one until the last and I found it to be successful in doing so pretty much the entire time. The simplistic and cold way this film is presented doesn’t capture these imagery in a shocking fashion, which makes it all the more disconcerting that a dead cat floating in kerosene can be presented in the same cold manner as a beautiful green field and both have such an other worldly and serene presentation that it all feels like some kind of twisted dream you can’t get out of.

I was able to pin down where this film was going early on and I’m sure savvy filmgoers will be able to do so as well. That said, this awareness of what was happening in the story didn’t take away from GOODNIGHT MOMMY being so damn effective in conveying a sense of uneasy dream with the threat of a dark nightmare looming just in the periphery. GOODNIGHT MOMMY is much more than just the hook and the twist. It’s about mood and playing with the way we perceive what is real and what is not supposed to be. Flipping expectations and what we know is right and wrong on it’s head, GOODNIGHT MOMMY is a film that will not be forgotten once seen.

ADALINE: THE CONJURED (2015)
Directed by Bidisha ChowdhuryWritten by Bidisha Chowdhury
Starring Jill Evyn, Lane Townsend, Jeremy Walker, Emily Claeys, Pamela Finney, Sergio Alejandro, C.S. Boris, Anne Hallinan, Val Garrahan, Elise Scarlott, Dixon Phillips, Cole Panther, Warren Serkin, Camille Grenier, Mackenszie Drae
Find out more about this film here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
I try really hard to watch films all the way through, not matter how bad they are. ADALINE: THE CONJURED truly tested that rule as I just wanted this one to end. Some work on editing and pepping up the way a scene looks and plays could go a long way in making a film like this work. As is, ADELINE THE CONJURED just didn’t bring anything new to the table, and what it did bring needs a lot of work from a directing and editing perspective.

The intentions of ADALINE: THE CONJURED are noble. It tries to flesh out the lead character and make her likable, but clichéd and cardboard characters are littered throughout this flm and even if the characters weren’t so two dimensional, the pacing is horribly off. The film simply moves at a snail’s pace, lingering on conversations that lead nowhere filled with uncomfortable pauses in between cuts. This film needs a really good edit. As is, the scenes pass at a tedious rate. And while the name of the film might the slow minded that it is a part of the ADHD style scares of the CONJURING/INSIDIOUS films, ADELINE: THE CONJURED just doesn’t have the speed or muscle to even be in the race with those types of films. Not that those films are amazing, but ADELINE: THE CONJURED still doesn’t hold a candle to those theatrical releases.
And finally…being a big fan of the goth music the kids are listening to these days, I really liked this catchy new video from the shock rock band Ghosts in the Graveyard called “Better in Black!” If you like what you hear below, check out their website and Facebook page here!
And check out this macabre little ditty, “Better in Black” by Ghosts in the Graveyard below!
See ya next week, folks!
Ambush Bug is Mark L. Miller, original @$$Hole/wordslinger/writer of wrongs/reviewer/interviewer/editor of AICN COMICS for over 13 years & AICN HORROR for 4. Follow Ambush Bug on the Twitters @Mark_L_Miller.


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