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Joseph Perry

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Movie Reviews (MidWest WeirdFest): Bad Witch; Squatchmore

Bad Witch In Bad Witch from codirectors Victor Fink and Joshua Land, Xander Perkins (Chris Kozlowski) is arrogant and not the least bit shy about using his occult powers until he finds himself on the wrong end of a dust-up over a girl, after which he tries swearing off using witchcraft. The power has a strong hold over him, though, and when he takes bullied, loner high school student Roland Grimm (Jackson Trent of North Woods) on as a protégé, things seem to work out well for the teenager until his conscience starts to weigh on him. Kozlowski handles the lead role winningly, playing Xander as a smarmy, selfish jerk with enough of a likable side to hold viewers’ interest without turning on the character. Trent plays the shy Roland wonderfully, and these two actors play off each other marvelously. In solid supporting performances, Clare Lefebure is terrific as Veronica, the girl who Roland likes but sees as out of

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Joseph Perry

Mar 19, 2020

Film FestivalsIndieMoviesParanormal

Movie Reviews (Arrow Video FrightFest Glasgow): Death of a Vlogger; The Cleansing Hour

Death of a Vlogger The U.K. faux documentary Death of a Vlogger uses the possibility of supernatural occurrences to explore the pitfalls of today’s social media world. It does so in a manner that is consistently entertaining, and though it offers some criticism on both internet fame seekers and the often callous audiences that follow them, it never gets too heavy-handed in its messages. Writer/director Graham Hughes stars as Graham, a YouTube personality who begins experiencing strange incidents in his flat after he has laser eye surgery. He is joined by his friend Erin (Annabel Logan), and the duo further explores the possibilities of what might be taking place in his home. Eventually, paranormal investigator Steve (Paddy Kondracki) comes aboard, seeking as many new likes and follows as he can get, only for the trio to be called out on their story by fellow YouTuber and skeptic Alice (Joma West). Hughes leads a strong cast, and he helms the film

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Joseph Perry

Mar 9, 2020

Film FestivalsForeignMoviesNewsParanormal

Ghosts, Religious Horror, and Obsession Are Slated for Boston Underground Film Festival 2020

Among the incredible films selected for the 22nd annual Boston Underground Film Festival are some mouth-watering horror movie options. The fest returns to Harvard Square, bringing with it five days of cutting-edge cinema to the Brattle Theatre from March 25th through the 29th. This year’s program boasts, according to BUFF’s press release, “a whole lot of unholy obsession, objectophilia, WTF thrillers, genre-spinning slashers, familial dysfunction, queer clairvoyance, and more!” Among the fear fare on display at BUFF will be U.K. writer-director Rose Glass’ gut-punch feature debut Saint Maud, a chilling and boldly original vision of faith, madness, and salvation in a fallen world. BUFF hosts the Boston premiere of this highly anticipated upcoming A24 release, with director Glass in attendance for a post-screening Q&A. The fest’s thematic strand of unholy obsession continues with the world premiere of the 2K restoration of Philip Ridley’s 1995 awe-inspiring The Passion of Darkly Noon, courtesy of the American Genre Film Archive and Arrow Films.

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Joseph Perry

Mar 6, 2020

Film FestivalsForeignMoviesParanormal

Movie Reviews (Women in Horror Film Festival): Horror Shorts — The Shadow, Asking for a Friend, Always Going Never Gone

The Shadow Writer/director/star Bridget Barbara’s period piece horror The Shadow drips with dread and foreboding from the opening frame and never lets up. A young woman (Barbara) showing signs of physical distress walks through a forest around sunset, has a meal while looking troubled, and then is confronted by the titular presence in her bedroom. Barabara gives a splendid silent performance, investing her character with a sadness that feels palpable, and shows a keen eye for framing haunting shots. Artfully shot by director of photography Derek Haager, the short recalls gloomy, Old World-set tales of the supernatural, and the score and sound design are terrific accompaniments. Asking for a Friend Winner of the fest’s Horror Comedy Short award, writer/director Kelsey Bollig’s Asking for a Friend is a humorous look at the strong bond of friendship between Blake (Jacqueline Bell), who has just come home from a hard day at work and is looking forward to a plate of nachos, and

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Joseph Perry

Mar 4, 2020

DocumentariesFilm FestivalsForeignMovies

MidWest WeirdFest Announces a Festival Lineup Filled with Monsters, UFOs, and the Supernatural:

The cinematic celebration of all things fantastic, frightening, paranormal, and just plain weird known as MidWest WeirdFest returns to the Micon Downtown Cinema in Eau Claire from March 6-8 for its fourth edition. Fans of narrative horror films, documentaries of the supernatural and unexplained, and offbeat, unusual film fare will find much to celebrate about in this fourth edition of the festival, which includes special side events, more guests, more films (including three world premieres), and two additional venue partners: Ivy Creatives and the Volume One Gallery. “When we started to plan on screening Hellier, we knew that Midwest WeirdFest had to be the first festival we submitted to, said Greg Newkirk, renowned paranormal investigator, co-creator/star of the hit paranormal series Hellier, and one of the fest’s headlining guests. “The festival’s commitment to celebrating the underground, the independent, and the just plain weird is a mission that’s very near and dear to our hearts, so we’re beyond thrilled to be

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Joseph Perry

Feb 27, 2020

Film FestivalsForeignMovies

Movie Review (Final Girls Berlin Film Fest): Dark Whispers Vol 1

Dark Whispers Vol 1 is an Australian film that collects previously released short horror films from female directors into one impressive anthology. Fresh spins and unique takes on classic fright-fare themes abound. Director Megan Riakos’s new wraparoundThe Book of Dark Whispers concerns a young woman (Andrea Demetriades) who finds the titular tome while going through her recently deceased mother’s belongings. It’s an effective approach that comments on how traits and baggage are handed down from one generation to another, and how they are not so easy to rid oneself of. Birthday Girl (directed by Angie Black) A ghost story about grief rather than outright horror, this gripping short about a woman (Sarah Bollenberg) who takes an elevator ride with a little girl (Michaela Teschendorff-Harden) still delivers the chills. The Man Who Caught a Mermaid (directed by Kaitlin Tinker) My favorite of the bunch, this short about an elderly fisherman (Roy Barker) whose dream of catching a mermaid comes true is

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Joseph Perry

Feb 12, 2020

DocumentariesFilm FestivalsForeignMoviesParanormal

MidWest WeirdFest First Wave Announcement Promises Aliens, Monsters, Cryptids, and Demons

MidWest WeirdFest— a cinematic celebration of all things fantastic, frightening, paranormal, and just plain weird — has announced its first programming wave for 2020. The fourth annual installment of the festival takes place March 6–8, 2020 at the Micon Downtown Cinema in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. “MidWest WeirdFest is back with the type of cutting edge genre, paranormal, and underground cinema that our regular attendees have come to expect, and that first-time fest-goers are going to adore,” said festival founder and programming director Dean Bertram. “We are delighted to announce this year’s first wave of feature programming. From murderous puppets and ghostly encounters, through legendary beasties and UFOs, to Lovecraftian nightmares and serial killers, the festival’s 2020 program is loaded with weirdness — some of it real, some of it imagined, and much of it from that mysterious twilight territory that lays in between.” The first seven feature films announced follow. I saw Puppet Killer as part of Canada’s Blood in

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Joseph Perry

Feb 4, 2020

Film FestivalsForeignMovies

Movie Reviews (Horror-on-Sea Film Festival): Day of the Stranger; Millennial Killer; One Must Fall

Day of the Stranger Fans of Weird West films (such as Billy the Kid Versus Dracula [1966] and Curse of the Undead [1959]) and psychedelic westerns (for example, High Plains Drifter [1970]) should find plenty to enjoy in ultralow-budget U.K. outing Day of the Stranger. Advertised as “the only British guerilla-shot acid western ever made,” this film from writer/director Thomas Lee Rutter (Bella in the Wych Elm short [2017]; The Forbidden Four [2012]) delivers a haunting, surreal vision that begins as a boisterous, brutal take on western tropes before going into full-on phantasmagorical territory. Bounty hunter Caine Farrowood (Dale Sheppard) is under the employ of sadistic outlaw Loomweather (Gary Shail of The Bride [1985] and Shock Treatment [1981]) when things go south after a job and he finds himself on the edge of death. He then awakens to find himself at home with his pregnant wife Christina (Maryam Forouhandeh), who disapproves of his work. He soon heads out on a

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Joseph Perry

Jan 30, 2020

Film FestivalsForeignMovies

Movie Reviews (Horror-on-Sea Film Festival): The Barge People, The Psychics, Blood Tulips

U.K. shocker The Barge People is director Charlie Steed’s follow-up to his 2017 gorefest Escape from Cannibal Farm. In this new offering, Steed takes the basic premise for the original 1977 version of The Hills Have Eyes, moves the vacation location to British countryside canals, and adds some cool-looking monsters to the mix. The result is a fast-paced effort driven by one brutal onslaught after another, but greatly aided by some nice dramatic sequences involving loss and grief, and the breakdown of class differences. Sisters Kat (Kate Davies-Speak in a riveting performance) and Sophie (Natalie Martins) go on a canal barge trip with their boyfriends. The two men — nice guy Mark (Mark McKirdy) and obnoxious Ben (Matt Swales) — don’t get along from the start. When they accidentally bump the barge of some “You think you’re better than us?” types including hot-headed Ricky (Kane Surry) and Jade (Makenna Guyler) and later encounter the group in a watering hole that

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Joseph Perry

Jan 23, 2020

Film FestivalsForeignIndieMovies

Movie Reviews (Horror-on-Sea Film Festival): Horror Shorts — Lonnie Knutsengripper: Man, Myth and Movies; Off Fleek; The Pit; and Shredders

Lonnie Knutsengripper: Man, Myth and Movies This U.K. comedy focuses on Lonnie Knutsengripper, the fictitious, hard-drinking American producer and director of more than 300 “classic” horror films. He reminisces about two films that he made in England: Interred (1982) and its sequel, the Sh–house Strangler (1990). In the first film, a maniac flushes hapless victims down the toilet in his bar. The victims are “going down the pipe . . . alive!” according to one police officer. In the follow-up movie, the same killer escapes from an insane asylum and targets homosexual victims. As readers might guess, the comedy here is broad and occasionally lewd, but director Richard Rowbotham (who plays Knutsengripper) and screenplay writer David Fenn (who plays the killer) fearlessly keep the gags coming at a frantic clip in this microbudget tribute to microbudget shot-on-video horror features of yesteryear. Off Fleek Teenager Emma (Shona O’Sullivan) is having a “no phones at mealtime” dinner on her birthday with her

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Joseph Perry

Jan 15, 2020

Joseph Perry

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