Horror DVD Releases March 23 2010

New DVD Releases this week March 23 2010 : Horror


After Dark Horrorfest Vol. 4 (Dread / The Final / The Graves / The Hidden / Kill Theory / Lake Mungo / The Reeds / Zombies of Mass Destruction)

All 8 films of the 4th installment of After Dark Horrorfest in one gift set. Films include Dread, The Final, The Graves, Hidden, Kill Theory, Lake Mungo, The Reeds, and Zombies of Mass Destruction.

Kill Theory: This is an above average slasher, with a sort of "Saw" flavoring (though nowhere near as gory). A group of graduating college kids holed up in a cabin are told only one of them can survive till the morning or they'll all be killed. The rare slasher where the character development actually pays off.

The Graves: Mal-direction and less-than-tight editing make the actors look bad (even Tony Todd!) in this "Texas Chainsaw" meets "The Devil's Rain" story. Two girls are stalked by maniacs in mining town, then by crazy culty townsfolk. Standout performance by Bill Moseley. The Grave sisters themselves are easy on the eyes and had good chemistry. Marred by run-of-the-mill-ishness and some unbelievably bad choices.


Zombies of Mass Destruction: Sharp, funny, campy, gory, and fast-paced for the first two thirds. A Persian-American woman and a gay couple return to their hometown in time for a zombie invasion. Very left politically, but okay until political bent takes over last third, when movie bogs down with torture scenes, and a church confrontation. With "Dread", Best in Show.

Hidden (Skjult): Broody Norwegian film about a crazy guy who goes back to childhood home and the bodies start stacking up. Is he doing it? Or is it the changeling who he left to his abusive mothers' devices on the night he escaped? Almost had me believing it wasn't going to end in the obvious way.

Dread: Clive Barker produces first-time director Anthony diBlasi in this tense adapation of Barker's short. Little boy Quaid sees his parents murdered with an axe and grows up with nightmares--fear of the axe murderer's return. Two film students are seduced by the idea of studying dread for their final project, but when the results don't deliver what Quaid wants, he goes to greater and greater extremes to get them. Disturbingly violent, with plenty of typically Barker-esque mixing of sex and horror. Best in Show with "ZMD".

The Reeds: English movie about something haunting the Norfolk Broads. Many attempts to distract from actual story (which is run-of-the-mill) tend to dilute the effect it should have. A rather typical, somewhat muddled ghost story, with some very good moments.

The Final: Boorish kids are punished by their oddball classmates. "Breakfast Club" meets "Silence of the Lambs". Or something. Extreme stereotypes clash. Movie depicts terrible torture, but in an oddly bloodless and detached way.

Lake Mungo: Not a horror movie. Realize that going in. If "The Reeds", "Hidden" and "The Final" feel low key, they're high-powered adrenaline-fueled thrill rides compared to Mungo. This movie is a documentary about the family and friends of a missing girl, with the family being semi-sorta haunted by the missing girl. Since it's all happening in the past, with the people relating in the present, a great deal of potential menace is gone. Since it's all secondhand, it's also a little abstract for anything really visceral. if you can stay awake, it's not bad. Stunning video of Australia.

Zombies of Mass Destruction

A conservative island community is under attack! Port Gamble, Washington is being overrun with brain-eaters, and the people seem powerless to stave them off. A ragtag band of rebels led by Frida (Janette Armand), an Iranian college student suspected of being an Iraqi terrorist, and Tom (Doug Fahl), a gay businessman who has returned to town with his partner to come out to his mother, tries to turn the tide and push the invading hordes of undead back.
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