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Horror Fuel

‘Elea’ A Surreal Sci-Fi Game Experience Coming This September (Trailer)

Prepare to visit space in a sci-fi adventure into the surreal in the episodic game, “Elea”. Bulgarian developer Kyodai and worldwide Publisher Sodesco, are taking players to the year 2073 where Earth was struck with a terrible childhood disease that’s threatening mankind. The game follows Elea, whose husband was part of an expedition to a planet that’s believed to be habitable and will save mankind. Naturally, the mission goes awry and communication is lost after his ship and crew are not heard from again after they approached the planet. Years later a distress signal is sent from the ship and Elea joins a recovery mission where she goes on a surreal journey through time and space as she looks for her husband. The game is in first-person and heavily story driven as it’s inspired by the literary works of sci-fi pioneers Stanislaw Lem, Arthur C. Clarke, and Frank Herbert. The game will be out September 6th for the Xbox One

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 15, 2018
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Elizabeth Harvest (2018)

Elizabeth, recently hitched to brainiac science whiz Henry (played with equal parts charm and menace by Ciaran Hinds), finds herself living the high life in H-dawg’s opulent mansion, eatin’ fancy grub and generally havin’ a real princess style good time. Soon ol’ hubby has to skedaddle off on some business thing or anther and he leaves Elizabeth in the care of the servants; blind Oliver (Matthew Beard) who digs on flower arranging (as one does), and vaguely ominous Claire (a many nuanced turn from Carla Gugino)…and he also tells her there is one room in the house she must never enter. She of course does this a mere p.h. after he leaves and discovers a strange experiment…and when Henry discovers that she’s disobeyed he hacks her to pieces with a rather large knife. And then things get very, very strange…but to say more would give too much of the story away as nothing is as it seems or predictable! With

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Aug 6, 2018
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Occupation (2018)

Occupation begins with Reagan’s famous speech about the world’s differences being set aside and all mankind uniting if faced with an alien threat (also a large part of the plot of ’80’s comic book masterpiece Watchmen)…which is put to the test as a disparate band of residents of a small Australian town go about their daily lives until they are faced with just that…an invasion from beyond the stars that begins as they all enjoy a carnival where a football match…game…I don’t know, maybe it even isn’t football…I know jack shit-all about sports, and I’m sure the participants ability to kick a ball in no way foreshadows anything to come as the story plays out. Any way, a right unruly lot of armor clad star-borne bastards begin shooting up the carnival with their “pew-pew” lasers six ways to Sunday (in a spectacular action set piece). As the days (and months) progress our normal folk must rise up and become heroes

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Jul 20, 2018
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Arte Factum: Legends (2018)

In a post-apocalyptic version of the wild west, folks covet a storytelling device (itself a primitive tattoo needle) and relate tales of a strange orb, the arte factum (think Heavy Metal‘s Loc-Nar) and it’s passage from owner to owner…you guessed it my fine fiends, we have an arcane anthology on our horrid hands (and I’ll be giving my two cents on each segment as we go)! Our wrap around takes place in a saloon in that nightmare world mentioned above, and it acts as a hub for each yarn spun…also the Four Horseman show up because…who the fuck cares; it’s cool! First up we get a tale of a warrior tattooing himself with the artifact as a creature comes to collect a the glowing orb he possesses. This was brief, but cool…I’d like to see this tale expanded. Next up we get the story of an omniscient being who possesses that special sphere watching the lives of a couple in

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Jul 12, 2018
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: A.I. Tales (2018)

Usually when I have to lay my putrid peepers on an arcane anthology things take a turn for the horror biz, but recently I was sent a picture packed with yarns of a sci-fi bent, all with the theme of artificial intelligence as their linking narrative element. Let’s see how the disparate stories (these shorts are presented “as is” with no connecting framing narrative) of A.I. Tales stack up, shall we? First up comes Seed; the story of a man named Nathan (Nelson Lee, who also wrote and directed the film) who’s family and friends gather to celebrate his birthday, but rather than being a joyous affair things take a turn for the melancholy as our protagonist reflects on the life he has lead with the folks gathered, warts and all. So why is Nathan so glum…why because it is his 40th birthday and there fore he must be reduced to just his consciousness and give up his body in

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Jul 7, 2018
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Reviews: Trancers 1 – 3 (1984 – 1992)

Man-o-man did I ever love me some Trancers flicks back in my misspent youth…but I haven’t laid eyes on any of these scintillatin’ sci-fi thrillers in many a year. To that end, I was pleased as poison punch when the first three films in the Trancers series arrived on my demonic doorstep courtesy of those sexy lil’ devils at Full Moon Entertainment! So, let’s kick back, pop open a brew or twenty and dive into the first feature… Trancers (1984): In a Blade Runner style future (replete with voice over narration), Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) is a bounty hunter hot on the trail of master criminal Whistler (Michael Stefani); a bad motherfucker who can hypnotize folks turning them into zombie like creatures called Trancers (‘natch). Said trail leads our hard boiled hero back in time to 1985 where Whistler has traveled “down the line” (a process by which an individual can possess the body of their ancestor) to kill the

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Jun 17, 2018
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Shocking Dark (1989)

In Venice, after the amazing future year 2000, a toxic cloud hangs low killing all life. To make matters worse, there are hideous mutant creatures stalking the tunnels below the city…and they are turning people into monsters! In a totally original, completely unique bit of storytelling, a group of badass marines, a civilian woman (a scientist by trade), and a company man from the Tubular Corporation (a division of Radical Incorporated and Fuckin’ Awesome LLC) are sent in to investigate the infestation. What follows is Aliens…except for the ending, which inexplicably rips-off something else that you won’t believe! I’m going to go on the record here and state I don’t give a flying fuck how much director Bruno Mattei and Screen Writers Claudio Fragasso and Rossella Drudi stole from Cameron’s masterpiece; Shocking Dark is one hell of an entertaining fright flick in it’s own right, due mainly from a game performance from the legendary Geretta Geretta, fun creature suits, amazingly

Continue reading →
DanXIII
May 29, 2018
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Laserblast (1978)

Reptilian aliens arrive on Earth to retrieve a big ass laser gun from some sort of mutated teenager whom they quickly dispatch…but, a small plane scares them away before they can pick up the gun. Enter custom van drivin’ Mark Hamill surrogate Billy (Kim Milford), a down on his luck teen constantly left to fend for himself by his over-sexed Mother and hounded by some wacky cops (who complete with their own ragtime piano theme). Billy naturally finds the weapon mentioned previous, and begins to fuse with it courtesy of it’s funky fresh control medallion…slowly becoming a mutant himself. Soon a governmental agent, teen partying, vehicular scene padding, and “pew pew” lasers combine to form one hell of an entertaining sci-fi drive-In flick experience! Look, I’ll lay it out for ya; I’ve loved the hell out of Laserblast ever since I saw it on some regional sci-fi picture show or another in the late ’80’s. It’s chock full of hand

Continue reading →
DanXIII
May 13, 2018
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: The Jurassic Games (2018)

Sometimes I can’t even believe the things I have to type for this column…like this for instance: In the future, death row convicts are forced to compete in a virtual reality game show called The Jurassic Games, where they have to fight dinosaurs to win their freedom…so, this is The Running Man with dinosaurs…this may actually be genius (I mean someone is eaten by a T-rex before even five minutes have passed, so that is a good sign). Alliances and rivalries are formed among the convicts, dinosaurs eat people, and even more story elements are lifted wholesale from the Schwarzenegger classic (including corruption behind the scenes of the games, the “hero” convict being wrongfully accused, merch of the show being advertised during the broadcast…and on and on). Look, no one is ever going to say The Jurassic Games is original (and if they do they may need serious psychiatric help), but I’ll be damned if the film isn’t entertaining. It’s

Continue reading →
DanXIII
May 10, 2018
Horror Fuel

Short Film Review: My Monster (2018)

It’s always a good day here in the Crypt O’ XIII when I get to slap my putrid peepers on a new film from Izzy Lee (creator of one of my favorite short fright flicks of all time; Innsmouth), so let’s take a look at her new picture; My Monster! My Monster tells the Yuletide-set tale of Lily (Brea Grant) and her well-meaning lunkhead of a partner Rob (Adam Egypt Mortimer) who must contend with the fact that our heroine is having some seriously disturbing visions…namely of a figure calling to her from outside of her window each night. Well come to find out, this is no mere apparition, rather it is a creature from another dimension who has arrived on our plane of existence with a sinister purpose, that once fulfilled leads to delightfully absurd results! Filled with great paradigm shifting story elements, a cool, practically realized monster, a strong cast, and an unexpected sense of fun; My Monster

Continue reading →
DanXIII
May 1, 2018

More from Sci-fi

Horror Fuel

‘Elea’ A Surreal Sci-Fi Game Experience Coming This September (Trailer)

Prepare to visit space in a sci-fi adventure into the surreal in the episodic game, “Elea”. Bulgarian developer Kyodai and worldwide Publisher Sodesco, are taking players to the year 2073 where Earth was struck with a terrible childhood disease that’s threatening mankind. The game follows Elea, whose husband was part of an expedition to a planet that’s believed to be habitable and will save mankind. Naturally, the mission goes awry and communication is lost after his ship and crew are not heard from again after they approached the planet. Years later a distress signal is sent from the ship and Elea joins a recovery mission where she goes on a surreal journey through time and space as she looks for her husband. The game is in first-person and heavily story driven as it’s inspired by the literary works of sci-fi pioneers Stanislaw Lem, Arthur C. Clarke, and Frank Herbert. The game will be out September 6th for the Xbox One

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 15, 2018
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Elizabeth Harvest (2018)

Elizabeth, recently hitched to brainiac science whiz Henry (played with equal parts charm and menace by Ciaran Hinds), finds herself living the high life in H-dawg’s opulent mansion, eatin’ fancy grub and generally havin’ a real princess style good time. Soon ol’ hubby has to skedaddle off on some business thing or anther and he leaves Elizabeth in the care of the servants; blind Oliver (Matthew Beard) who digs on flower arranging (as one does), and vaguely ominous Claire (a many nuanced turn from Carla Gugino)…and he also tells her there is one room in the house she must never enter. She of course does this a mere p.h. after he leaves and discovers a strange experiment…and when Henry discovers that she’s disobeyed he hacks her to pieces with a rather large knife. And then things get very, very strange…but to say more would give too much of the story away as nothing is as it seems or predictable! With

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Aug 6, 2018
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Occupation (2018)

Occupation begins with Reagan’s famous speech about the world’s differences being set aside and all mankind uniting if faced with an alien threat (also a large part of the plot of ’80’s comic book masterpiece Watchmen)…which is put to the test as a disparate band of residents of a small Australian town go about their daily lives until they are faced with just that…an invasion from beyond the stars that begins as they all enjoy a carnival where a football match…game…I don’t know, maybe it even isn’t football…I know jack shit-all about sports, and I’m sure the participants ability to kick a ball in no way foreshadows anything to come as the story plays out. Any way, a right unruly lot of armor clad star-borne bastards begin shooting up the carnival with their “pew-pew” lasers six ways to Sunday (in a spectacular action set piece). As the days (and months) progress our normal folk must rise up and become heroes

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Jul 20, 2018
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: Arte Factum: Legends (2018)

In a post-apocalyptic version of the wild west, folks covet a storytelling device (itself a primitive tattoo needle) and relate tales of a strange orb, the arte factum (think Heavy Metal‘s Loc-Nar) and it’s passage from owner to owner…you guessed it my fine fiends, we have an arcane anthology on our horrid hands (and I’ll be giving my two cents on each segment as we go)! Our wrap around takes place in a saloon in that nightmare world mentioned above, and it acts as a hub for each yarn spun…also the Four Horseman show up because…who the fuck cares; it’s cool! First up we get a tale of a warrior tattooing himself with the artifact as a creature comes to collect a the glowing orb he possesses. This was brief, but cool…I’d like to see this tale expanded. Next up we get the story of an omniscient being who possesses that special sphere watching the lives of a couple in

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Jul 12, 2018
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: A.I. Tales (2018)

Usually when I have to lay my putrid peepers on an arcane anthology things take a turn for the horror biz, but recently I was sent a picture packed with yarns of a sci-fi bent, all with the theme of artificial intelligence as their linking narrative element. Let’s see how the disparate stories (these shorts are presented “as is” with no connecting framing narrative) of A.I. Tales stack up, shall we? First up comes Seed; the story of a man named Nathan (Nelson Lee, who also wrote and directed the film) who’s family and friends gather to celebrate his birthday, but rather than being a joyous affair things take a turn for the melancholy as our protagonist reflects on the life he has lead with the folks gathered, warts and all. So why is Nathan so glum…why because it is his 40th birthday and there fore he must be reduced to just his consciousness and give up his body in

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Jul 7, 2018
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Reviews: Trancers 1 – 3 (1984 – 1992)

Man-o-man did I ever love me some Trancers flicks back in my misspent youth…but I haven’t laid eyes on any of these scintillatin’ sci-fi thrillers in many a year. To that end, I was pleased as poison punch when the first three films in the Trancers series arrived on my demonic doorstep courtesy of those sexy lil’ devils at Full Moon Entertainment! So, let’s kick back, pop open a brew or twenty and dive into the first feature… Trancers (1984): In a Blade Runner style future (replete with voice over narration), Jack Deth (Tim Thomerson) is a bounty hunter hot on the trail of master criminal Whistler (Michael Stefani); a bad motherfucker who can hypnotize folks turning them into zombie like creatures called Trancers (‘natch). Said trail leads our hard boiled hero back in time to 1985 where Whistler has traveled “down the line” (a process by which an individual can possess the body of their ancestor) to kill the

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Jun 17, 2018
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Shocking Dark (1989)

In Venice, after the amazing future year 2000, a toxic cloud hangs low killing all life. To make matters worse, there are hideous mutant creatures stalking the tunnels below the city…and they are turning people into monsters! In a totally original, completely unique bit of storytelling, a group of badass marines, a civilian woman (a scientist by trade), and a company man from the Tubular Corporation (a division of Radical Incorporated and Fuckin’ Awesome LLC) are sent in to investigate the infestation. What follows is Aliens…except for the ending, which inexplicably rips-off something else that you won’t believe! I’m going to go on the record here and state I don’t give a flying fuck how much director Bruno Mattei and Screen Writers Claudio Fragasso and Rossella Drudi stole from Cameron’s masterpiece; Shocking Dark is one hell of an entertaining fright flick in it’s own right, due mainly from a game performance from the legendary Geretta Geretta, fun creature suits, amazingly

Continue reading →
DanXIII
May 29, 2018
Horror Fuel

Blu-ray Review: Laserblast (1978)

Reptilian aliens arrive on Earth to retrieve a big ass laser gun from some sort of mutated teenager whom they quickly dispatch…but, a small plane scares them away before they can pick up the gun. Enter custom van drivin’ Mark Hamill surrogate Billy (Kim Milford), a down on his luck teen constantly left to fend for himself by his over-sexed Mother and hounded by some wacky cops (who complete with their own ragtime piano theme). Billy naturally finds the weapon mentioned previous, and begins to fuse with it courtesy of it’s funky fresh control medallion…slowly becoming a mutant himself. Soon a governmental agent, teen partying, vehicular scene padding, and “pew pew” lasers combine to form one hell of an entertaining sci-fi drive-In flick experience! Look, I’ll lay it out for ya; I’ve loved the hell out of Laserblast ever since I saw it on some regional sci-fi picture show or another in the late ’80’s. It’s chock full of hand

Continue reading →
DanXIII
May 13, 2018
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: The Jurassic Games (2018)

Sometimes I can’t even believe the things I have to type for this column…like this for instance: In the future, death row convicts are forced to compete in a virtual reality game show called The Jurassic Games, where they have to fight dinosaurs to win their freedom…so, this is The Running Man with dinosaurs…this may actually be genius (I mean someone is eaten by a T-rex before even five minutes have passed, so that is a good sign). Alliances and rivalries are formed among the convicts, dinosaurs eat people, and even more story elements are lifted wholesale from the Schwarzenegger classic (including corruption behind the scenes of the games, the “hero” convict being wrongfully accused, merch of the show being advertised during the broadcast…and on and on). Look, no one is ever going to say The Jurassic Games is original (and if they do they may need serious psychiatric help), but I’ll be damned if the film isn’t entertaining. It’s

Continue reading →
DanXIII
May 10, 2018
Horror Fuel

Short Film Review: My Monster (2018)

It’s always a good day here in the Crypt O’ XIII when I get to slap my putrid peepers on a new film from Izzy Lee (creator of one of my favorite short fright flicks of all time; Innsmouth), so let’s take a look at her new picture; My Monster! My Monster tells the Yuletide-set tale of Lily (Brea Grant) and her well-meaning lunkhead of a partner Rob (Adam Egypt Mortimer) who must contend with the fact that our heroine is having some seriously disturbing visions…namely of a figure calling to her from outside of her window each night. Well come to find out, this is no mere apparition, rather it is a creature from another dimension who has arrived on our plane of existence with a sinister purpose, that once fulfilled leads to delightfully absurd results! Filled with great paradigm shifting story elements, a cool, practically realized monster, a strong cast, and an unexpected sense of fun; My Monster

Continue reading →
DanXIII
May 1, 2018
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