This week, we’ve got two new films, “Lore” and also “Humane,” both from 2024. Going back a few years, we cover a trio of books based on Clive Barker stories, “Midnight Meat Train” (2008), “Lord of Illusions” (1995), and “Rawhead Rex” from 1986.
Then, instead of a single short film, we’ll watch FOUR of them!
Note: This week, we’ve got another SURPRISE giveaway! Listen to the podcast to find out how you can get a free streaming copy of “A Quiet Place: Day One.”
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Full-Length Films:
Humane (2024)
· Directed by Caitlin Cronenberg
· Written by Michael Sparaga
· Stars Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Peter Gallagher
· Run Time: 1 Hour, 33 Minutes
· Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
We went into this blind and were very glad of it. It sets up the state of the world very quickly in a possible near future, and focuses on one wealthy family with many issues to start with. Then things get more complicated. And we’re pulled along wondering how things are going to end up and who is going to survive. And how. We both give it a strong thumbs up.
Spoilery Synopsis
We hear news reports of catastrophic environmental collapse. Things have gotten bad. There are now “population reduction goals” to cull off twenty percent of the population. Credits roll as we see masked people in white suits carrying bodies out of houses. There are posters everywhere asking people to “Enlist” in a euthanasia program.
Charles York talks to his wife Dawn about moving the piano into the bedroom. They’re not saying something, but they’re both crying. Jared, Charles’s son, said on a TV interview that he’d let his ten-year-old son enlist, which gets him a lot of flack from the other relatives. Rachel arrives with her daughter, Mia, and Charles says that this was supposed to be an “adults only meeting.” Noah, Charles’s other son, calls Grace and says he doesn’t want to go tonight. Ashley picks him up and whines about how hard it is to get an acting job. None of them know why Charles has invited them tonight.
Everyone finally arrives, and Dawn serves the fancy meal she’s prepared. Charles apologizes for working late so many nights when they were all growing up. He’s weird, and all the kids notice it. Charles announces that he and Dawn have chosen to enlist. The government is talking about drafting people for euthanasia, and he doesn’t want any of them to have to do it. Jared says those rules are for poor people, not people like them. None of the kids take the news well.
There are pro-enlistment ads on TV (voiced by David Cronenberg), and the voluntary enlistment number is under nine percent. The discussion soon gets political when they mention a whole bunch of undocumented immigrants volunteer for the cash payment. It’s all been blamed on the Asians, and Dawn’s restaurant was burned to the ground because of it. Jared works for the government, and he’s all in on the conservative point of view.
Charles goes into the kitchen and finds a note from Dawn. “I can’t do it.” The doorbell rings, and it’s Bob the euthanasia guy, who has shown up a little early. He’s friendly, chatty, and jokey about the whole thing.
Bob comes in and admires the house and wonders where Dawn went. Charles explains the situation and wants to reschedule, but Bob gets all serious. Charles can get out of the agreement, but he’ll go on a “list.” He decides to go through with it but doesn’t tell the kids what changed his mind. Bob gives him the injection, and he soon dies.
Bob says he needs a second cadaver to make up for Dawn. Someone else will have to go. Bob brings in men with guns. Someone will be volunteering, and they have two hours to do it. Bob doesn’t get paid without all the bodies. Also, he basically takes Mia hostage until someone “enlists.” Bob explains the penalties for backing out, which is why Charles went ahead with the procedure.
Jared wants to break the rules cause he’s rich, but Bob doesn’t care about that. In fact, Bob has detailed dossiers on each of them. If they can’t pick someone to die, he will by drawing straws.
Jared argues that Noah should give himself; he’s a junkie who killed someone in an accident. They all argue, and finally Rachel asks if they have to go through with it, or can they just get him a body to substitute. She also mentions that Noah already got his inheritance, so killing him won’t financially benefit any of them.
A fight breaks out, and everyone gangs up on Noah. Noah says he’s off the drugs and has a good future, but the others don’t care.
Outside, Bob gets a call on the radio that they’ve apprehended Dawn, so he can stop and move on. He has Dawn taken to headquarters and doesn’t change anything. He tells Mia that her relatives are inside killing each other; he says they’re all bad people, worthy of dying.
Ashley pretends to make up with Noah but ends up leading him into an ambush from Jared and Rachel. The battle rages until Noah stabs Rachel in the neck, but she doesn’t die. The three finally tie up Noah and argue about who’s going to actually kill him.
Grace shows up looking for Noah, but Bob won’t let her talk to them. Bob’s people shoot her in the back.
When Jared, Rachel, and Ashley go back inside, Noah has untied himself and disappeared. He soon reveals himself, and he comes out slashing. Noah gets the better of all of them, but then he suggests “We need to get Bob.”
Bob’s timer goes off, and he and guard Tony find Ashley on the floor. It’s a trick, and the siblings soon take Bob and his men hostage. In the middle of all this, Ashley dies. They knock out Bob.
Bob wakes up on a table with an IV drip; they’re going to process him. Bob mentions that Rachel and Jacob’s children are already in custody. They’ll be going straight to prison. He wants to just take Ashley and go, but the others tell him Ashley isn’t really dead. Bob gives in and begs for his life; he offers them Dawn. Noah pushes in the needle.
We cut to sometime later, and Noah is giving a fancy piano recital. Rachel, Mia, and Jacob are all sitting in the audience, as is Dawn.
We cut to a news report, thanking Grace and Ashley for cheerfully enlisting. Bob comes on and says, “It was a beautiful procedure.”
Brian’s Commentary
Bob may be the nicest horror movie villain ever. I suspect if the government ever decided to kill twenty percent of the population that it’d be a lot messier and over a lot faster than shown here.
There’s a lot of political discussion in this one, but most of it is played for laughs and shock value. It’s sort of a cross between “Fahrenheit 451” (1966) and “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (2022) with a lot of humor thrown in.
I like it!
Kevin’s Commentary
I kept thinking the future portrayed in the movie isn’t likely in all aspects, but it’s possible. And that gave it a realistic feel. I really enjoyed how it unfolded, and we really couldn’t guess ahead of time how things were going to end up and who would survive at the end. The writing, direction, and cast all came together very well in this one, and I’d call it excellent.
The Midnight Meat Train (2008)
Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura
Written by Jeff Buhler, Clive Barker
Stars Vinnie Jones, Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb
Run Time: 1 Hour, 40 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
The horror guys have a split opinion on this one, with Brian not caring for it too much and Kevin sure that it fits somewhere in his top 100. It is very gory and bloody, dark and creepy, and there is a bit of a mystery going on, but most things are explained at the end.
Spoilery Synopsis
A bald man wakes up on a subway train, alone at night. He slips and falls into a puddle of blood. He struggles to get up and then notices a man in the next car, killing someone excessively. Credits roll.
We cut to Leon, a crime photographer, who goes home to talk to Maya. She’s made arrangements with Jurgis, an artist friend, to let Leon meet Susan Hoff tomorrow morning. This is a huge deal.
Susan wants to know more about Leon’s work, and he says he wants to “capture the heart of the city,” and she says, “You’re failing.” She says he doesn’t go far enough and dismisses him. We cut to blurry flashes of the bloody train. Jurgis says it’s encouraging that she gave him a little time, which means she sees potential.
Leon goes out that night with his camera and takes photos. He interrupts a woman getting mugged and gets photos of her and the thugs. They come after Leon but leave when they see a security camera. The woman thanks him, then runs downstairs to the subway and gets on the train, where a big man with a hammer kills her from behind.
In the morning, Leon reads the paper and sees the woman he rescued was murdered. She was a model. He goes to the police, and the detective thinks that Leon might be a stalker. Susan, on the other hand, really likes the photos of the mugging and the thugs. “Get me two more images that strong, and you’ll be a part” of her next show.
On the subway, one man tells a couple how modern and safe the subways are today. The big man from before knocks out the man’s eyeball with his hammer and then goes after the other two.
Leon is out with his camera again, and this time, he gets a photo of the big man as he emerges from the subway. He sees that the man is wearing an odd ring, and the man notices Leon as well. Later, he sees a hand wearing that ring in one of the photos he took of the mugging victim.
In the morning, Leon starts following the man when he comes out of his hotel. He follows him to where he works in a slaughterhouse as a butcher. That night, the man is oddly calm and doesn’t make a single unnecessary move as he waits for just the right subway train. Leon tries to follow but is delayed by an overzealous security guard.
On the train, the man does his thing and whacks a man but gets sick in the middle of it, and the man fights back. There’s quite a battle between the two, and it even gets the attention of the train driver. The driver shoots the victim to finish him off and then says, “I’m very disappointed in you, Mahogany. Now clean up the mess.”
Meanwhile, Leon goes home and proposes to Maya. Afterward, he dreams of the murder train, but this time, it’s he who is the killer.
We cut to the big man, Mahogany, as he cuts growths that look like barnacles off his own chest. He’s either really tough, or it doesn’t hurt. He saves the little pieces in a jar.
Leon starts researching murderous butchers, going all the way back to 1895. He continues to follow Mahogany at work at the meat processing plant. Mahogany spots him and chases him around the hundreds of hanging sides of beef with a huge knife. Leon eventually escapes and goes to his regular diner and orders steak; he was a vocal vegan before, but something has changed.
Maya complains that Leon has become obsessed with the butcher when he should be working. He’s got a whole crazy-wall about missing people, and he thinks Mahogany has been butchering all the missing people. Maya comes to the conclusion that Leon’s losing his mind over conspiracy theories, and she’s not wrong.
Leon continues to follow Mahogany on the train at night. Two young men board the train, and Mahogany takes out his hammer. Leon cringes behind a seat and watches him kill them; he takes many photos of the men being dissected. Mahogany removes the men’s teeth, fingernails, and eyeballs. He shaves their heads and then hangs them upside down from the ceiling like sides of beef. Then he turns and smiles at Leon before knocking him out.
Leon awakens, upside-down, hanging from the ceiling. Monsters tear at his flesh. He wakes up again, this time in the basement of the meat processing plant. He goes home to Maya. He has strange runes carved into his chest.
Maya and Jurgis go to Mahogany’s hotel room to get Leon’s camera back. She finds his murdering tools, knives, and other nastiness, such as his medicine chest full of scabs. Jurgis does find the camera, but Mahogany returns and kills him. Maya runs away and goes to the police, but they aren’t helpful at all. Maya goes to the diner and takes her boss’s pistol.
Meanwhile, Leon goes to Susan’s big art show. This is his big break. He’s got one of the scary photos of Mahogany on display. He walks away as if he’s in a trance; “I got a train to catch.”
The police detective stops Maya, and she knows more than she should. She tells Maya which train Jurgis is on. She gets on that train. Meanwhile, Leon goes to the meat processing place and grabs some big knives. He goes to the abandoned subway stop beneath the plant and boards the train when it comes by.
Maya finds a bunch of butchered bodies and freaks out. Jurgis is there, and he’s not quite dead yet. She shoots at Mahogany, but he knocks her down. He’s just about to smash her with the hammer when Leon yells from the other end of the train car.
The two men start fighting amongst the bodies, and it’s a messy, brutal battle. This goes on for far too long until Leon pushes Mahogany out the open door.
Maya goes to Leon, who is in shock. The train finally slows down and stops. The lights go out. The driver comes in and tells them to “step away from the meat.” Monsters enter the train and start eating the bodies. Leon and Maya get off the train as the creatures eat their meal.
Mahogany shuffles in, not dead at all, and the two men fight some more. They throw skulls at each other. Leon goes berserk and kills Mahogany, who says one word, “Welcome,” before dying.
The driver says, “He didn’t have what it takes anymore. I envy you.” The driver then pulls out Leon’s tongue and eats it. He explains how long this has all been going on, since before humanity existed. They feed the monsters a little as an act of worship in exchange for power and to keep them in check. The driver then cuts Maya open and pulls out her heart.
We cut to later as Leon puts on the ring and a suit. The detective gives Leon a subway schedule, and he gets to work; he’s Mahogany’s replacement on the Midnight Meat Train…
Commentary
The gore shots in this one are exceptional and excessive.
The detective is wearing a necklace with the same symbol as Mahogany’s ring. Later, she gives Leon his train schedule, so she’s obviously in on it as well.
This one doesn’t really work for me. It’s long and slow. It’s one of those slow-descent-into-madness stories, but we know all along that the killer is real. We also don’t find out until the very end why Mahogany has been killing all those people, and even then, it’s all a little rushed and vague.
Lord of Illusions (1995)
Directed by Clive Barker
Written by Clive Barker
Stars Scott Bakula, Kevin J. O’Connor, J. Trevor Edmond, Famke Janssen
Run Time: 1 Hour, 49 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
It’s a tale of magic and good versus evil with a splash of noir thrown in. There are some slow places and pretty cool places. After some disappointments with his previous adaptations, Clive Barker took the helm on this one, and if you can obtain his director/author commentary track, it’s interesting to hear what he has to say. Some of the special effects look dated, but it tells a story. Kevin is very fond of this one, sticking with it as one of his top 100 horror, but Brian was a little meh. You’ll have to see it for yourself to decide.
Spoilery Synopsis
We open on a very run-down farmhouse in the desert in 1982. Nix does a whole magic show, where the dark one has renamed him “The Puritan.” He holds fire in his bare hands until Swann and his friends arrive with guns. Nix has a kidnapped girl tied up in one corner and a colorful baboon in the other. Nix wants Swann to beg him for power. Nix digs his fingers into Swann’s head to give him “God’s eyes.”
Swann looks at his friends, but he sees monsters now. He’s in the process of transferring his power to Swann when the kidnapped girl shoots Nix in the back. That doesn’t kill Nix, so they put his whole head inside a complex iron mask to bind him. Nix appears to die.
Thirteen years later, in New York City, Detective Harry D’Amour gets a visit from Loomis. Harry is well known for investigating occult things. We flashback to his dealings with an exorcized boy. Loomis wants Harry to find Mr. Tapert in L.A.
Harry gets to L.A. and sees a billboard for Swann, a magician. He follows Tapert to a fortune teller downtown. Harry follows him inside and is attacked by a crazy man who bites him. The fortune teller, Quaid, one of the people who shot Nix, is full of knives, like a pin cushion. Also, there is Butterfield, who used to hang out with Nix. Before he dies, the fortune teller gives Harry a quick palm reading. He says, “the Puritan is coming home.”
We cut to Philip Swann and his wife, Dorothea, the little kidnapped girl, all grown up. She tells their assistant Valentin to find Harry for her, which takes him two minutes. Valentin says Swann is no magician; he’s an illusionist. Magic is real; illusion is trickery. Dorothea wants to hire Harry to protect Swann from something she doesn't understand.
That evening, Swann gives a show, and Harry is invited to sit with Dorothea. There are dancers, and then Swann makes a big appearance. Butterfield is there as well, behind the scenes. Swann does a knife trick that goes brutally wrong, and he’s killed. The audience screams and runs away, except for Dorothea, who takes it badly.
Harry sneaks under the stage and encounters Butterfield and his associate. They want to know who killed Swann; it wasn’t them. He died before they could get him. There’s a fight, and Butterfield’s creepy friend is killed.
Harry goes to “Magic Castle,” a place where all the stage magicians seem to hang out. He meets Walter Wilder, an old illusionist who’s good with cards. He sends him to see Vinovich, another illusionist. Vinovich says everything Swann did was tainted. “He was evil!” One of Vinovich’s guests, Billy Who, suggests that Harry check out a guy who used to be called Nix.
Harry asks Dorothea about Nix, and she definitely remembers him but lies about it. Valentin then offers Harry $30,000 to go home. Harry goes to see Jennifer, one of the other people from the raid on Nix. She’s in an asylum, and she blames Swann, who told her that was all done and finished– but it’s not. She tells him about Nix, who is coming back. Jennifer then runs out in front of a car and is killed.
We cut to various people we recognize as Nix’s old cultists walking around killing people around the country. Dorothea awaits Harry’s call, but Valentin isn’t letting his calls through.
Billy helps Harry break into the Magic Castle’s secret room. They get hidden files, but only barely. There are books and drawings about Nix. Some kind of apparition scares Billy, but Harry sees that it’s just a hologram.
Harry goes back to Dorothea’s house, where she has Swann’s coffin set up. She’s been lying to him, and he wants to know about Nix. Nix taught Swann some real magic. As they have sex, Valentin calls someone on the phone.
Harry gets chased around the house by a CGI creature and fire that follows him around. Harry then pries open Swann’s coffin and finds the body inside is rubber and plaster; Swann’s not dead. Later, Valentin admits that Swann faked his own death to avoid being killed for real.
Harry stakes out Swann’s funeral and follows a man to a secret place. Swann levitates a car over Harry’s head and drops it but changes his mind about killing Harry with it at the last moment. He’s angry that Harry is banging Dorothea but knows Harry can help.
Butterfield nabs Valentin and tortures him for the location of where Nix is buried. Meanwhile, the cultists return to their cult house, waiting for Nix. Butterfield kidnaps Dorothea, so Harry and Swann team up to rescue her.
Butterfield and Dorothea head out to the burial place to resurrect Nix. Valentin digs in the desert while Dorothea tries, unsuccessfully, to escape. Nix does, in fact, turn up.
The cultists, and there are a lot of them now, shave their heads and look to Butterfield as their leader. As Butterfield removes the iron mask, Nix regenerates fairly quickly. He doesn’t look good at all, but he is up and about. He offers his followers “The wisdom of the grave,” and then clouds come out of his forehead, it rains, and all the cultists sink into the resulting mud– mostly. Some are just stuck in the floor.
Meanwhile, Swann and Butterfield fight, but Swann has magic on his side. Harry runs from room to room, looking for Dorothea, and eventually finds her and Nix. Swann is right behind him, and soon, the two magicians talk about joining forces.
Nix quickly beats Swann and then goes after Harry. Dorothea shoots Nix right in the hole in his forehead. Naturally, he gets right back up again and goes after Dorothea. She watches Nix transform into something terrible, but in the meantime, Swann levitates Harry to push Nix into a bottomless tunnel to Hell.
Harry and Dorothea run outside as something comes up out of the pit and dissolves Swann’s body. Finally, Nix explodes, and the hole seals shut.
Commentary
Clive Barker had such bad luck with his previous films that he insisted on directing this one. It’s mostly about the difference between stage illusionists and “real” magicians. The acting is good, the film looks good all around, but it definitely drags in places.
This is one of Kevin’s favorite movies - in his top 100 horror, but I thought it was overlong, and there were just too many leads to follow up. The special effects do not hold up at all.
Rawhead Rex (1986)
Directed by George Pavlou
Written by Clive Barker
Stars David Dukes, Kelly Piper, Hugh O’ Connor
Run Time: 1 Hour, 29 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
This was just okay. An ancient creature arises from where it was imprisoned and has to be dealt with again. The premise is solid enough, but it wasn’t a great movie back in the day, and it hasn’t held up well. It was an excellent short story by Clive Barker stretched out into a full movie, and it’s said that the author himself wasn’t pleased with how it turned out.
Spoilery Synopsis
We open on some men working in a field as Howard Hallenbeck drives into town. He stops at a small local church and takes photos of the graveyard. Two of the three workmen give up and go home, but the third really wants that stone obelisk out of his field. A storm rolls in, and the obelisk leaks some kind of smoke or gas as lightning strikes it. All at once, the obelisk falls over, and a woman in the church starts screaming. A monster rises up in the field and kills the man who released it.
Howard talks to Declan O’Brien and says that Reverend Coot gave him permission to do some research about the old church. Not long after, O’Brien touches the church altar and gets a vision. He pulls his seared hand away and laughs maniacally.
Howard takes his wife, Elaine, and two annoying children, to the Tall Man Inn. She really wants to get out of this backwater town and just go to Dublin.
Farmer Dennis notices his barn door is swinging in the breeze; someone broke the lock. A very large humanoid monster tears him to pieces and then goes after Jenny, the man’s pregnant wife when she screams too loudly. Rawhead tracks her down and tries to kill her baby, but he doesn’t. A man stops by later and sees all the damage; he finds Jenny, insane.
The detectives are amazed that Jenny survived the vicious home invasion. Dennis’s body is simply gone, so they aren’t sure what happened to him.
Rawhead looks into a mobile home and sees the people inside. Andy and Katrina make out in the woods while Andy’s little brother, Neil, watches Rawhead eating Dennis. It attacks the couple, and Andy loses an arm. Howard is out taking a walk, and he gets a good look at Rawhead.
The police find the dead man in the field next to the obelisk, “That makes three.” Howard goes to the police and tells them what he saw: a nine-foot-tall thing that’s not human with burning red eyes. Surprisingly, the police don’t believe him.
Howard talks to Reverend Coot about the parish records, but they’ve all suddenly gone missing. O’Brien is there, and he’s looking more and more sketchy, like a man possessed. He finds a cryptic message about fear in the stained-glass windows. Then O’Brien smashes his camera.
Howard, Elaine, and the kids check out of the inn, bound for Dublin at last. Elaine sees something weird out in a field; it’s a scarecrow. Meanwhile, young Neil draws a picture of the monster for the police.
Minty, Howard’s daughter, needs to pee, so they stop the car and let her go in a field. She screams at the sight of a dead rabbit, and while both parents run to protect her, Rawhead stalks Robbie in the car, who’s oblivious until it’s too late.
Now the police believe Howard about the monster. Howard keeps going back to the church’s stained glass window that shows a red-faced monster. O’Brien talks about how people buried the devil alive, “the dark ones come back; they always do.” He believes the thing in the stained glass was what killed his son. He suggests that the church was built on something far older. Reverend Coot touches the altar and gets a burn on his hand.
Rawhead proves that he’s the worst thing to hit trailer parks since tornadoes were invented. This time, the police arrive in a timely manner. Rawhead grabs the police detective and hypnotizes him with his red, glowing eyes.
O’Brien summons Rawhead, who pees all over him as Coot watches. Coot calls the police as Rawhead comes after him. Everyone rushes to the church while Coot and O’Brien argue about who they serve.
Coot holds Rawhead at bay with a cross for about ten seconds, and then it attacks him. As the police stand around arguing, the chief detective pours gasoline under the cops and burns them all, including himself.
Howard can’t wait any longer and runs up to the church, but most people are dead. Coot tells Howard that there’s something wrong with the altar. O’Brien attacks Howard, but Howard’s a tough American, so that doesn’t last long. Howard grabs the altar and gets burned as well, but then he pries it open, revealing– a rock.
Howard brings the rock to Rawhead, but Rawhead eats O’Brien first. Elaine shows up as Rawhead terrorizes Howard, and she activates the magic rock. Howard says, “It had to be a woman.” The rock activates the headstones in the cemetery, and eventually, Rawhead is swallowed up by the earth.
Later, we cut to Andy’s funeral, with his annoying little brother there. Rawhead climbs up out of the grave right in front of him.
Commentary
The monster is extremely obviously a tall guy in a rubber mask, but it’s handled well. The acting, especially from David Dukes, who plays Howard, is really dull and bland. It’s very talky and stretched out.
If you like 80’s creature features, this is not terrible, but the monster effect has not held up well.
Indie Film:
Lore (2024)
Directed by James Bushe, Patrick Michael Ryder, Greig Johnson
Written by Patrick Michael Ryder, Christine Barber-Ryder, James Bushe
Stars Richard Brake, Andrew Lee Potts, Ben Crompton
Run Time: 1 Hour, 27 Minutes
Trailer:
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
This is an anthology of short tales with a good wraparound story. Four people camping in the woods with a guide have scary stories to tell around the campfire. That’s just harmless fun, right? This was consistently good through all the sections, and we really liked it a lot.
Spoilery Synopsis
Credits roll as four hikers walk across a field toward the woods. Every year, they go on an “immersive experience,” and this year is supposed to be something scary. They follow a map until they come to a man named Darwin, who smiles creepily. He’s a bit scary himself, but then he says these four are the only attendees, and they should set up their tents. “This experience will stay with you for the rest of your lives.”
Darwin tells them about a 1993 party that found skulls nearby. After an investigation, over 3,500 dead bodies were found; no one knows who they were. He talks about an ancient evil that lived in this place long before men came here. He has a totem that allows them to communicate with the dead. “Who’s brave enough to talk to the dead?” He wants them to tell stories about things that scare them.
Mark says he’ll try it. “This is a story about shadows.” A man is being chased by a couple of men through town at night. The man breaks into a building to hide; he yells that he doesn’t have their money. It’s a big warehouse, and the three men play hide-and-seek for a bit until Daniel sees something weird in the shadow behind a box. It soon grabs and kills Barry, one of the enforcers.
Daniel finds Terry, the other goon, and tells him about the monster. The other guy doesn’t want to leave, he wants to kill “it.” Terry doesn’t live long after that. Jeff the security guard comes in, and Daniel tells him to call the police. Jeff’s got security cameras, and Daniel wants to see what’s on those tapes. The tape clearly shows Daniel killing Barry; no monster appears. It then shows him killing Terry as well. Jeff calls for the police, but Daniel hears the creature in the room with them. He’s right behind Jeff, but Jeff doesn’t see it at all. Daniel cuts his own throat to end the terror.
Back at the campground, we get the “Story of the Hidden Woman,” as a car arrives at a large house. A woman and her son arrive; they are moving in. Young Charlie goes off and explores the house they just inherited as his mother unpacks some boxes.
Night falls, and the mother thinks she sees a strange woman standing behind Charlie. The next day, she hears thumping coming from upstairs. Charlie’s outside, so she goes upstairs with a knife– to find nothing. We, however, see a ghost or something in there with her. Charlie says he’s had conversations with her and thinks it's his dead grandmother. It all seems to be centered around an antique phonograph machine, which she first throws away but it comes back. Then she burns it, and it comes back again. Mother decides it’s time to leave, but things only escalate from there with the creepy ballet-dancer ghost.
Donna goes next, and her story is set in a cheap hotel. A couple toast their anniversary; she’s not sure she wants to go through with this, but he says he needs the excitement. Steve wants the two of them to try something new, Cath is less enthusiastic. Steve takes the pill that the other woman hands him; they’re going to try some polyamory. “Whoever gets your body, only Cath gets your heart, right?”
Cath stays behind as the others go up to the room. The other woman makes him sniff something, and Steve goes all wonky. She draws runes on his back and then handcuffs him. Steve soon figures out that they aren’t playing the same game. Steve runs through the hotel screaming for help, but it’s oddly devoid of guests except for weird cultists.
He runs to his own room and finds Cath, also painted in runes. The ritual continues. He passes out, wakes up and finds he’s missing a finger, an eye, and a tongue. That’s not the only body part that he’s going to be missing. His heart does, in fact, belong to Cath.
The last camper tells her story, which involves “Hollywood Movies.” Three moviegoers walk up to the concession stand and order from Gareth, the tallest clerk ever. He calls the manager, who’s a twit. The theater itself is almost empty. The manager fires Gareth, who puts on a serial killer mask and kills the manager with a fountain pen and the popcorn basin. Gareth then closes and locks all the doors.
David sees all this and goes back for the others, but they don’t believe him. At least until they watch Gareth kill another viewer. Like all masked movie slashers, they soon find that Gareth is unstoppable. Even when David finally gets out, he doesn’t really get away.
“You fed them well,” says Darwin cryptically. “I wouldn’t dare” tell them a story, he says as he leaves the four alone to their tents.
In the morning, everyone wakes up and finds Darwin is gone, tent and all. They also find that he’s taken their phones, wallets, and watches. We see a news report about four bodies found in the woods and a “cinema massacre.” All their stories became true.
We cut to Darwin, explaining the storytelling game to another group of campers. “Trust me, they are listening…”
Brian’s Commentary
In the first story, there may or may not have been an actual monster. The second one, with the ghost, is really well done; the dancer-ghost was a really cool ghost effect. The cultists, or whatever they are, in the third story are really cool-looking as well. The fourth story is more or less played for laughs, but it’s a good send-up of slasher movies. All four of the creatures are really well done.
If you pay attention in the movie theater segment, you can see posters for the other segments on the theater’s walls. It’s probably the only time you’ll see “death by popcorn scoop.”
Richard Brake, as Darwin, the “camp host” has something creepy to say between each segment, and he’s absolutely perfect here. The rest of the actors do well with what they have, and none of the segments feels dragged out or padded. It all works really well!
Kevin’s Commentary
I really appreciated how consistently good it was throughout. Sometimes anthologies are hit-and-miss, but this wasn’t like that. The cast, direction, and effects were all very good and it moves briskly. They had good locations for shooting, too. I give it a big thumbs up.
Short Films:
Short Film: Lovely (2023)
Directed by Naomi Shroff-Mehta
Written by Naomi Shroff-Mehta
Stars Ashwini Ganpule, Susie Abraham, Elyse Ahmad
Run Time: 16:19
Watch it:
What Happens
Ria and her mother run a convenience store, and they keep stock in the basement, which doesn’t have electricity. When it’s time to go down there, Ria’s mother insists that Ria stay out of the basement. Also, her mother offers Ria some face cream to make her more beautiful. It seems to be working, but when Ria runs out, the extra bottles are in the basement…
Commentary
Ria’s mother goes on about how “it’s working,” but there’s a price to be paid. The “woman in the basement” is obviously up to something, and we soon see what it is.
Sometimes, the overbearing and overprotective mother is right. Sometimes.
It’s good!
Short Film: The Sound (2021)
Directed by Patrick Stagg
Written by Patrick Stagg
Stars Marcus Klein
Run Time: 11:43
Watch it:
What Happens
A man takes a break from digging in the backyard. He comes inside for a drink of water and starts hearing an odd ticking sound. Or is it a knocking sound? Could it be a drip? What the hell is that sound!?! He starts searching for the source of the strange sound, and the situation devolves from there.
Commentary
When it ends, it’s clearly inspired by an Edgar Allan Poe story, but I didn’t really see that as it unfolded, which is good—I was expecting something cheesier, but the suspense pays off here.
There’s only one actor and almost no dialogue until the end, but it’s very effective!
Short Film: The Door (2022)
Directed by Andrew Froening
Written by Andrew Froening, Amanda Troisi
Stars Reba Landers, Brian Pollock, Christopher Kai
Run Time: 12:27
Watch it:
What Happens
Natasha goes to visit her weird Uncle Paul. He’s definitely odd, as he insists that all doors either be open all the way or closed all the way. He’s obsessive about it. Why? He says this place is his penance, and he cannot leave. He’s almost scary, so she goes up to her bedroom, but she’s not really careful with the bathroom door—and learns why he is the way he is.
Commentary
Uncle Paul’s definitely got a “Sling Blade” vibe going on, and it really works. No one actually explains the situation, we see it all unfold, and the “rules” soon make sense. We don’t really get an explanation for what happens, but we don’t really need one.
I really like this one!
Short Film: 048 (2024)
Directed by Luke Cloarec
Written by Luke Cloarec
Stars Mason Sturgess, Lee McLeod, Charlie Bettesworth
Run Time: 10:08
Watch it:
What Happens
Jake wakes up in the middle of the night to find Sydney knocking on his door. She says she saw someone in her room and wants him to check it out. He does, and, of course, there’s no one there.
Until there is…
Commentary
It’s well done. It’s obviously a student film or something, filmed in a motel room and hallway. Still, it’s well-paced, looks and sounds good, and is unsettling. The acting could be better, but it’s a good effort and fun to watch.
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Theme song: "Galactic Rap " Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License ttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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