Movie Review: Midnight Peepshow (2024)

19 Monday Feb 2024

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I’ll say, straight off the bat, that I’m not the biggest fan of Horror anthologies, where there is a series of short stories interwoven with a greater arc that unites them all. The result is usually a mixed bag, with one or two strong entries and the rest flailing in the wind and easily forgotten.

So, to say that I was a little apprehensive is a fair statement when I came across this straight to VOD release, hoping to tap into the dark Web world and ensnare viewers with a bent or intriguing interest.

It’s an ambitious move considering the low budget attached to the feature and the constraints that come with it, as audience members drawn to this style of film, will be hoping for a gratuitous, gore-laden torture fest. Too heavy and you lose your average punter, too laid back and you’ll lose your core group, first drawn to the movie.

Where Midnight Peepshow excels is in the manner that it ensnared you, enticing you down the rabbit hole with a warped metaphor of Alice in Wonderland, tempting you to chase the Black Rabbit.

We’re presented with three tales to embark upon as we’re guided through various tales of mistrust, sexual masochistic vibes and debauchery.

The first tale, Personal Space (Directed by Airell Anthony Hayles) aims to set the precedent with a home invasion with a twist, as a couple are forced to endure a harrowing ordeal and their relationship is pushed to the limits.

The second is just as tense but with a more comedic tone as 3 guys and a girl awaken to find themselves bound and tied and only through a series of gruesome tasks can escape be possible. Presenting them with their challenges entitled, Fuck, Marry, Kill (Directed by Andy Edwards) is an unseen Gamesmaster, voiced by Zach Galligan.

Before, rounding out the trio of macabre narratives, The Black Rabbit (Directed by Jake West)  a man tries to win back the heart of his wife and follows her deeper into the dark Web only to face the most horrifying experience that he could have imagined.

The Prognosis:

The bond that ties the stories together may feel a little loose and unconstrained, but the journey is a twisted mix of curiosity, dark humour, and monstrosity that can only lead to ruin. It may struggle to ignite some passionate voyeurs, but there’s enough of a scent to lure you in and lean into the dank milieu from the three creators, despite its misgivings.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Dario Argento Panico

03 Saturday Feb 2024

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One could argue that no one has crafted such an impact on the horror genre nor weaved a unique style into the fold than Italian Maestro, Dario Argento. Director Simone Scafidi attempts to fashion a visual insight into the auteur’s life and work through a series of archival footage and mixture of interviews from industry admirers such as Guilermo Del Toro; Nicholas Winding Refn, and Gasper Noe; long-time collaborators, Michele Soavi and Lamberto Bava; and family members such as his sister Floriana and daughters Asia and Fiore. All of whom offer their own take on what made Argento such a remarkable talent. That’s not to say that Scafidi isn’t willing to look deeper into Argento’s character, skirting around some of the less than desirable attributes that can be carried by gifted and driven disposition. It’s an area that sparks the potential to venture into the lengths that an individual may go to in order to create their vision. This issue is that Scafidi merely dangles this observation before the viewer, little willing to venture below the surface of Argento’s veneer.

That being said, there is plenty to stoke the fire of creativity on show, and Dario Argento Panico produces a window into a remarkable career, including moments with the man himself, talking through his own observations and reasonings across a multitude of highs and lows, starting with his impactful beginnings and the animal trilogy, The Bird With The Crystal Plumage; The Cat O’Nine Tails; and Four Flies on Grey Velvet, including the Three Mothers trilogy, Suspiria, Inferno, and The Mother of Tears. Just the tip of the iceberg, but one that we can gracefully skate across an absorbing collection of works.

The Prognosis:

Dario Argento Panico is a documentary that testifies to the remarkable talent that the director has provided in the celluloid world. It will no doubt grip cinephiles and fans of Argento’s work, but there is lost potential here, where the director is all too willing to skim the surface, neglecting the urge to cut deeper into the character, and the balance between greatness and the sacrifice one makes to achieve high standards, damning all that may fall between. There are moments that Scafidi dalliances with the heart of an auteur and one can only wonder how far he would have pushed the knife, to cut open and dissect the things that maketh the man.

  • Saul Muerte

Dario Argento Panico is currently streaming on Shudder.

Movie Review: Hellhounds (2024)

25 Thursday Jan 2024

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Hell hath no fury like a woman and a biker scorned.

On paper Hellhounds is the stuff of a second rate horror novelists dream, building on a tried formula of werewolves and bikers. Throw in the mix a group of bounty hunters and some questionable members of the constituency and you’ve got a potboiler of a film.

Where one pack of werewolves bearing the films’ titular name, they are pitted against a fanatical order of werewolf hunters known as… wait for it… Silver Bullets. It’s comic genius.

That there though ends the line of fantasy and the reality when it sets in sadly lacks in meeting up to the premises potential. Not that you can squarely judge this on the dreams and aspirations writer, director Robert Conway places on his vision, but the budget and the effects are left wanting and the acting is too complacent to attach oneself to the films’ plot.

There are some moments of brutal exposition that can put the hairs on the end and the encounters albeit few and far between take some of the scenes and push them to the boundaries of what was possible given the restrictions. Ultimately though, this is a middle of the road affair without any real known destination.

The Prognosis:

This could have been so much more with a bit more thought and action placed behind it and admittedly some more bucks and better talent in front of the screen.

There are little to no scares and one can’t help but hope and wish that some practical fx were placed to rally up the lycanthrope factor.

  • Saul Muerte

Hellhounds is currently available on PRIME from to rent or buy.

Movie review: Suitable Flesh (2024)

24 Wednesday Jan 2024

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Music in film achieves a number of things: it establishes setting; it creates atmosphere; it calls attention to elements; it reinforces or foreshadleaningsows narrative developments; it gives meaning to a character’s actions or translates their thoughts; and it creates emotion.

(K. Kalinak, 2024)

Such is the weight that music has in films that to find the right balance is imperative in delivering the right intonation or mood to a piece. If it’s off kilter in any way, then you risk thrusting your audience out of the narrative and falling into an abyss of disconnection.  Unfortunately, this becomes common place during Joe Lynch’s latest offering from the directorial chair. It feels intentional but the choice to mix up the erotic ambience with mystery and intrigue, ends up feeling like a late night straight to tv from the 80s. 

One might argue that Suitable Flesh is aiming to present itself in this field, tipped as a successor to Stuart Gordon’s Lovecraftian classics, From Beyond and Re-Animator, it even boasts one of stars from both of these features, Barbara Crampton. And thank God as she is head and shoulders, one of the most interesting components to the film.

There is plenty to praise on the basis of its premise alone, but its execution gets too muddled through amplifying different genres with a hazy mix of confusion. Another example of how the composition never hits the right note throughout. 

When psychiatrist, Dr. Elizabeth Derby (Heather Graham) becomes involved and obsessed with one of her clients, Asa White (Judah Lewis – The Babysitter) she soon becomes entangled in an ancient curse; one with octopedal ramifications, another of Lovecraft’s signature themes arises. 

The first and second act hinges on this lustful interaction, accompanied by murderous deeds, and psychological leanings. So embroiled in this component that Lynch neglects to add any depth to the proceedings and skates along the surface hoping that the intrigue is salvageable enough to keep the plot afloat.

The supporting roles from Johnathon Schaech (Quarantine) and Bruce Davison (X-Men) are woefully underused, with the exception of Crampton who plays Derby’s confidante and lifelong friend, Dr. Daniella Upton, this is Graham’s picture to deliver, but too often she is trapped in a two-note affair, struggling to break out of her fixed portrayal of a woman in crisis.

Suitable Flesh’s saving grace comes in the final act, when Lynch finally decides to dial up the tension and leans heavily into a gripping climax, with a disappointing and predictable final reveal.

The Prognosis:

What promised to be a reawakening of Lovecraftian themes brought to light in the 80s, Suitable Flesh leaves you floundering, in search of something to grip onto, waiting all too late in the final act to serve up anything remotely appealing to its audience.

  • Saul Muerte

Suitable Flesh is available on Shudder from Fri 26th Jan. 

Kalinak, Kathryn, ‘What does film music do?’, Film Music: A Very Short Introduction, 1st edn (New York, 2010; online edn, Oxford Academic, 24 Sept. 2013), https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780195370874.003.0001, accessed 24 Jan. 2024.

Movie review: Roadkill (2024)

09 Tuesday Jan 2024

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Writer, Director, Actor, Warren Fast (Saving Grace) takes charge of his next feature wearing all 3 hats by attempting to turn the table on the stereotype killer on the road movie. 

The woven tale unfolds with a young woman (Caitlin Carmichael) encounters a hitchhiker (Ryan Knudson), both with whom come from a troubled past. The sticking point of the movie which separates the two being the paths that each has chosen to shirk the trauma that they carry. The journey they take leads them embroiled in a police manhunt for a notorious serial killer somewhere along the highway. What we’re promised is a fight for survival but ultimately simmers without coming to the boil.

Whilst Carmichael should be applauded for her take on The Driver and the non formulaic components to her character, all this comes unhinged by Knudsen’s bland Hitchhiker and Fast’s over-vigilant design on twisting the tale and the expectations on stereotypes. Once you know this pattern the road travelled becomes all too familiar and as such all danger or thrill is lost.

All is not doomed to a dead end however, as we are treated to a Danielle Harris cameo (always a highlight) as a waitress at a diner and there are flickers of humour and moments of pace in amongst the tumbleweeds, so keep your eyes peeled if you are considering getting behind the wheel for this one.

The Prognosis:

While it is evident that Fast is attempting to ignite the classic 80s and 90s action thrillers, it lacks pace, stalling at the starting line and struggles to catch up with the premise that he tries to sell the audience.

All Fast, but not necessarily that furious, lacking the punch in the gut that will hook you in and leaving the satisfying impact that we come to expect from the sub-genre.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Dark Harvest (2023)

18 Saturday Nov 2023

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Dark Harvest has one thing that elevates it above the usual fodder and crop out with its originality. The world in which created by writers Michael Grilio and Norman Partridge and helmed by director, David Slade (Hardy Candy; 30 Days of Night) to create their vision is one that never falters and holds its own until its brutal conclusion. 

Set In a Midwestern town, where its residents are trapped in a bloody ritual that pits their teenage boys in a Lord of the Flies, Battle Royale in order to sacrifice the mythical Sawtooth Jack. The prize on offer in their sacrificial bid for freedom is the town’s highest accolade and the promise of a rich harvest the following year. 

At the heart of the movie is Richie Shepard (Casey Likes), a delinquent who has rebelled against the system since his older brother previously vanquished the fabled creature. Harried by his upbringing and forced onto a path towards a truth that he may not be able to handle, Richie is accompanied by a small group amongst his flock and a stranger to the town, Kelly (Emyri Crutchfield) they must take on the barbaric formalities and unearth the horrifying secrets the town has kept buried all this time.

The Prognosis:

In many ways, this feature happily tows the line of predictability with the outsiders, the only hope to rise up against the evil oppressors. Authoritative figures such as parents, law officials, and other unlikely towns’ representatives will either stand in their way or refuse to lift a finger to help. What sets it apart is that Dark Harvest has a strong identity and the mythology, albeit a harrowingly dark enterprise, is enough to shake you to the roots, and leave you feeling hollow by its bleak outlook.

  • Saul Muerte 

Dark Harvest is currently streaming on PRIME.

Movie review: Night of the Hunted (2023)

11 Saturday Nov 2023

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Shudder has been down this lone sniper road before and arguably travelled it with better results in one of their earlier Exclusive and Original features, Downrange. In this instance, Night of the Hunted takes up the plight with Alice (Camille Rowe – No Limit) who is heading home with her work colleague / lover, John (Jeremy Scippio) when they choose to stop off at a petrol station; a decision that will make a drastic turn in their lives when they come under attack from a hidden assailant, armed with a sniper rifle.

As the horrifying events unfold Alice comes to the realisation that this is no mere stroke of the wrong place, wrong time and that she has been specifically targeted by a man with a violent vendetta. Alice can’t rely on her social skills to talk her way out of this predicament, but must rely on her wiles and the limited resources that a petrol station can offer, in order to have any hope of survival. All the while, she comes under psychological scrutiny from the shadows of both her past and the killer in the night.,

The Prognosis:

Director Franck Khalfoun has produced mixed results in his canon of work thus far, which has never quite hit the mark since 2010’s Maniac. With Night of the Hunted, a remake of Spanish film, Night of the Rat, is once again middle of the road affair for Khalfoun. While Rowe manages to portray a woman under siege, carving through the emotions of grit, determination, vulnerability and loss (and even tips the balance of audience backing at one point), the run of the mill is all too predictable, refusing to veer outside of the comfort lane. 

  • Saul Muerte 

Night of the Hunted is currently streaming on Shudder.

Movie review: Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor

11 Saturday Nov 2023

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It’s a rare thing these days to reach the fourth instalment of a franchise and to say that it has not only surpassed its original enterprise but made a far richer experience as a result, but that is exactly what writer, director Stephen Cognetti has been able to achieve with Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor. By releasing himself creatively from the shackles of Abbadon Hotel, which marked the location of the three previous features and expanding the Hell House universe into another setting, Cognetti can afford to embellish his vision, and explore new terrain whilst still using the code from which he had initially begun his found footage horror genre journey.

When a group of internet sleuths, Margot (Bridget Rose Perrotta) and Rebecca (Destiny Leilani Brown) decide to embark on an investigation into the Carmichael murders and choose to stay at the family abode, they encounter a far sinister world that arcs back to the satanic rituals performed at the Abbadon Hotel. Accompanying them into the paranormal examination is Margot’s brother, Chase (James Liddell), who is struggling with his own mental issues, a component that throws questions around the stability of the group. The further down the rabbit hole of inquiry they go, the more they begin to turn inward, becoming mistrustful of one another and feeding on the phenomena that engulfs the manor. 

The Prognosis:

Presented through video journals, the story unfolds through the four nights that the trio chose to spend at the Carmichael residence, all the while the audience knowing that none of the group would be heard from again. Did they simply disappear? Or did something consume their souls? Will the tapes uncover the truth to their disappearance? It’s a narrative that is no stranger to those familiar with the Hell House LLC franchise, but Cognetti still manages to weave a strong narrative out of it and emboldened by experience also produces a worthy tale to tell.

  • Saul Muerte 

Hell House LLC Origins: The Carmichael Manor  is currently streaming on Shudder.

Movie Review: When Evil Lurks (2023)

07 Tuesday Nov 2023

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Demián Rugna has just directed his most ambitious and ostentatious movie yet. Where Terrified made certain horrorphilia fans sit up and take notice, his follow up feature, Satanic Hispanics was a little underwhelming. When Evil Lurks ramps it back up a notch with a haunting tale grounded in native folklore. Set in a remote village, the film follows two brothers Pedro (Ezequiel Rodriguez) and Jimmy (Demián Salomon) hear gunshots in the dead of night. When dawn breaks, their investigations lead them to a corpse, severed in two and then to a home of demon possessed man. There are rules around the removal of the possessed, known as ‘rottens’ to be held by experts, but with the afore-mentioned corpse, led to be one of these ‘cleaners’ and with the local authorities dismissing the case, the brothers are asked by the landowner, to help dispose the body themselves. In doing so though, they unleash a harrowing evil that slowly consumes and infects all that come in its path.

Once this virus is exposed, Pedro and Jimmy try to round up their family with the aim to get as far away as possible. Their choices lead them down a pathway to hell, exposing all the truths and fears that they have wished to lay dormant.

As the horror unfurls, so do the dwindling hopes of survival as the main narrative centres on Pedro’s pursuits in saving his family, but in doing so, unearths his own failings with brutal and mortifying ferocity. In many ways, in life, Pedro has dug his own grave, by walking away from life’s troubles, so when he is forced to confront them, he must do say in a test of his mettle, but Director Rugna, will wring out every ounce of desperation to push his protagonist to the limit, using evil as the insipid sponge to soak it all up and feed of his weakness.

The Prognosis:

It’s possible that Rugna has delivered one of the most unexpected sleeper hits of the year, but you won’t be fooled into a false slumber as When Evil Lurks is a dark expose on the frailties of humanity. It unleashes a melee of fears from the characters involved, and ventures to the brink of despair, and in doing so asks, ‘can humankind rid themselves of past traumas, or will they be forever doomed to repeat them, embedding the emotional scars deeper and deeper?

  • Saul Muerte 

When Evil Lurks is currently streaming on Shudder.

Movie review: Mastemah (2023)

07 Tuesday Nov 2023

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As Mastemah opens, we’re presented with a disturbing, albeit poetically portrayed scene following a hypnosis session that sees a patient throw himself out of a high storey building, plummeting to his death. This singular moment sets up the narrative to pose a couple of important questions that run throughout the film; is this a result of hypnotic persuasion? Is there something darker that has a hold on the psyche? It’s a subject that is clearly of interest to director and writer, Didier D. Daarwin, who delves deeper into the subject with his protagonist/antagonist, Louise Wilmens (Camille Razat – Girls With Balls), a character who spends most of the film seemingly questioning her own actions and reactions that are presented. When Louise sets up her own practice in a remote setting, following the afore-mentioned events, one could view this as a time for healing and the isolation from a city lifestyle, but is there something more sinister at play?

To allow this internal journey to spiral forever inward and thus project manifestations outward, the character of Louise takes on a series of patients, primarily a brooding enigmatic male figure, Theo (Olivier Barthélémy) who embodies a stereotype of mysterious masculinity. The more embroiled Louse becomes in unpacking Theo’s mind, the more she succumbs to both hers and his sexual being. These perceptions murky the water to the point of confusion and winds its way down to a complex conclusion.Throw into the mix a mentor figure in Francois de Maestre (Tibo Vandenborre) who continually questions or queries and in some cases supports Louise’s actions, that the audience is further trying to figure out who or what is pulling the strings, so that by the time the climax occurs, we’re left floundering rather than grasping securely to what has been proposed.

The Prognosis:

There’s plenty to unpack in Daarwin’s vision, which much like the psychological mind can lead one astray. The issue is with the execution and in presenting a convoluted analysis, and in deliberately being aloof in what helms the theoretical, the audience struggles to be convinced and lost in the mix.

  • Saul Muerte 

Mastemah is currently streaming on Shudder.