TDHorror Retro Review

I know, you didn't think I was going to do it. You didn't think that I would actually get another review out by the end of this month. It's rare talent a procrastinator like myself has, waiting till the last minute. How's your Halloween been? Oh mine? Well I've sufficiently cut myself at work this morning, pissed a table off enough to give me a ten percent tip, likely damaged the relationship between my boyfriend's father and I, and managed to trigger my social anxiety. Sounds like every other Halloween. It's okay though because I'm at home watching movies now and plan to do so for the rest of the night. Maybe even do some editing on my short story. Whatever, I have another Retro Review. I watched this film a month ago and I was finishing the review this morning so I'm unsure about it. Not bad but the summary is awful.

"As the description may suggest PUMPKINHEAD is a slightly complex low budget horror film that offers a few nostalgic scares for its viewers. By complex I don't mean to imply it has necessary themes and layers but rather is able to evoke emotions from its audience, atypical for most horror films outside of scaring. There's a somber aura as the context is really quite depressing. No one really wins at the end of PUMPKINHEAD, there's a resolution but it's more inevitably sad than of a victory type. This isn't a pure slasher film either, as some try to suggest, it's an effortless blend of a monster movie and the popular slasher films for its era"

You may read the rest here. I'm going to try to have a review out to you guys real soon. I have like three started but not finished reviews....lets be honest I have like ten that I could post if I just got my shit together and broke through the writers block I have with them. But I will. And the horror shorts and of course I'll be doing a special Thanksgiving review...Blood Freak 2? If only it existed...

Happy Halloween. 

Twistflix for The Muse

Not often do my reviews matter much as, lets be honest, I'm reviewing older films that no one cares about from my recommendation standpoint. Not to mention my reviews aren't the strongest. But every so often I'm blessed to see smaller independent films and for some reason the filmmakers actually like what I have to say. Rufus Chaffee came to me a few months ago and asked me to write a review about his film The Muse. I did, having enjoyed it, I was happy for the viewing and left it at that. I never expected that my review would be quoted, yes QUOTED, on the main poster. From that I'll always be grateful to him and if this little blog goes no further than it is now I'm content with just having this. 

But that isn't the reason for this lovely post on Irrelevant Post Friday. It's because The Muse is finally available to view on Twistflix.

THE MUSE is waiting! Now available for streaming, download & purchase. Winner Best Film, Director and Actor at the Indie Gathering Film Festival, The Muse tells the story of one hit wonder musician Addison Taylor as he battles both writers block and a strange inspirational force at a secluded lake house. Blending chills, thrills and amazing original music, it has been called both "an eloquent thriller" by Bleeding Dead Reviews and "beautifully tragic" by Horror Hound Magazine . Check out the website at www.themusemovie.net and see it for yourself at www.twistflix.com/

Here's the Twistflix link and the film is also available for purchase and for digitial download on the site. It's only three dollars for a rent and it is worth it. My review of the film is here, if you need be reminded of how stunning I thought this little film was. I wish Chaffee all the best and I hope his film and future films get the attention they deserve. But that can only happen if you pay to watch the film, so please do.

Luke, I Am Your Father

I've been brewing over this for the past couple of weeks. But I'm convinced...that Sam from Trick 'R Treat is the offspring of Pumpkinhead.

Kay maybe not so much in looks...or maybe Sam's mom is in actuality the Alien from Alien. 

Okay maybe I'm not making any sense here but if.... 

SPOILER If you have not seen Prometheus you should just leave this post right the fuck now. Because I'm going to spoil all of it up in here.

If the Alien strand of DNA originates from the virus that Holloway got and he had sex with Shaw who births the first form of the face hugger who mutates into an even bigger face hugger, and then it mates with the alien who created humans, and it gives birth to the first strand of Alien DNA than I don't think it's much of a stretch for Pumpkinhead and the Alien to be Sam's parents okay? Dammit Ridley Scott.

In actuality I'm not sure if that's what happened. That's just sort of the conclusion I drew from the entire thing. I watch Prometheus last night for the first time and I kind of felt like:

Kind of felt slightly confused and a little bit jigged of a good film experience. And if your sitting there thinking okay what does Chase from House have to do with anything, it fits because I'm watching Dead Silence right now on AMC, kay? Which really doesn't fit either because Jason from True Blood is in Dead Silence, not Chase. But they both have Australian accents so it works in my mind.

Happy Irrelevant Post Friday/Follow Friday. Whichever is relevant to you.

Press Release: Indie Horror Short "Microcinema" Official Selection of Jersey Gore and Shockfest Film Festival

From the Garden State to the Golden State, “Microcinema”  

Goes Coast to Coast in November!

Indie Horror Short “Microcinema” Official Selection of Jersey Gore

and Shockfest Film Festivals

MASSACHUSETTS (Oct. 9, 2012) – The hits keep coming for Massachusetts-based Harvest Tide Productions first online and internationally self-distributed horror short independent film “Microcinema,” written and directed by Harvest Tide co-founder Skip Shea. “Microcinema” will be screened at the brand new Jersey Gore Film Festival, http://jerseygorefilmfestival.com, Nov. 3, at the Darress Theater in Boonton, NJ; and as part of the official line up of the popular Shockfest Film Festival of Hollywood, http://www.shockfilmfest.com, November 16 and 17, at the Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, CA.

“It’s exciting to see our short film continue to get such notice from both the new and underground as well as the established film festivals,” said Shea. “And I’m especially pleased that horror fans on both coasts will have the chance next month to experience our six little minutes of  big entertainment.”

“Microcinema” won the 2012 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Honorable Mention Award for Best Horror Short. And within a few short months of its release in 2011, “Microcinema” wowed critics and audiences last year at numerous horror film festivals and screenings including in 2011 the 1st Annual Danish Horror Film Festival: THE TURBINE at Spinderihallerne, Vejle, Denmark; All Things Horror Shudder Fest at the Somerville Theater in Somerville, MA; Short Horror Films at AS220 in Providence, RI; the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival; and before Canadian horror film fans at Fright Night Theater presents: ABSENTIA & Microcinema at the Staircase Cafe Theater in Hamilton, Ontario; and at the 2012 Shock Stock Convention at Centennial Hall in London, Ontario.

Starring Alex Lewis and Aurora Grabill, “Microcinema” (www.watchmicrocinema.com) is the story of Peter Martell, a highly educated, well-to-do young man with too much free time on his hands. He spends it watching snuff films. One day he makes the bold decision to cross the line from observer to participant, aspiring to bring a philosophical element to his own kind of snuff films. Ready to go to work, he tracks his first victim into a haunted New England wood, where the boundary between participant and observer takes a different turn.

In 2011, “Microcinema” scored on several best-of lists and gained momentum as a cult favorite and a hit with horror reviewers. Chris Conduit of The Conduit Speaks,www.theconduitspeaks.com put “Microcinema” as the best horror short of the year giving it his Conduit Award. Danielle Holman writing for Truly Disturbing Horror, www.trulydisturbing.comlisted “Microcinema” as one of the five best horror films saying, “Skip Shea’s seven-minute short film is deserving in the ranks of the big films as it’s able to accomplish more in less than ten minutes than an hour and a half feature length film.” In her Bleeding Dead, http://bleedingdeadfilmreviews.blogspot.com/ she has called “Microcinema” “…one of the most important horror films of our time.”

Shea has accumulated a long list of awards and accolades for his films and screenplays. His comedic short film “Choices” won Best New England Film at the 2012 Massachusetts Independent Film Festival. A feature-length script for “Microcinema” was a semi-finalist in this year’s Shriekfest in Los Angeles and his comedic short screenplay “The Bar” took runner-up in the Comedy Short Script category at the 19th Annual Woods Hole Film Festival.

“Microcinema” was originally a storyline for one of the episodes of Harvest Tide’s new horror web series “Longreach,” written by William DeCoff. “Longreach” follows the demise of Daniel Jedrek, the sergeant at arms for the Longreach Association, an ancient global charitable organization that takes charity to extremes. The Harvest Tide production team – Shea, DeCoff, Will Smyth and Emily King – agreed that “Microcinema” stood on its own in the burgeoning new online entertainment and media arena and delivers a brutal and gruesome tale to horror film fans. 

“Microcinema” is now available on the film’s website www.watchmicrocinema.com for 99 cents. The best horror for under a dollar.  

**********

What the critics are saying about “Microcinema”

“In what stands out as a giddy teenager spitting in the face of authority, Harvest Tide Productions and Uxbridge, MA’s own Skip Shea have crafted a short film that solidly runs all the lines of horror while establishing its own unique and disturbing storyline that scares (pun intended) away from the genre’s usual archaic tropes.” - Josh Lyford, Pulse Magazine.

“This is a 6 minute experience genre fans owe themselves. It’s rare these days to find full length Hollywood feature films that feel fresh, let alone 6 minute shorts made on tiny budgets.” - Life After Undeath Blog.

“The film is brave and unrelenting. It is a breath of fresh air to a lot of the common horror tricks that are being trotted out time and again." -Alexandra West, Scare Tactics Blog.

“Skip Shea is an adept director with equal ability to write, his short film gets more across than most full length films.  4 out of 5 Stars” - The Bleeding Dead Film Reviews. 

“You will not be expecting to see the events that unfold in this shocking short film.” - The Horror Spot

“The script itself deserves kudos for completely drawing your attention to the one aspect we would expect every horror film to contain and then suddenly shocks you with an element you rarely see in this genre.”  - The Scariest Movies Online 

“I figured I was in for one of three things:  a really solid work, a bite size film that left me feeling nothing, or one of those that makes me want to substitute rat poison for the salt on my dinner table.  Those are the three categories all art falls into for me, always. Yet, when it was all said and done, Shea’s vignette carved a whole new icky slot out just for itself. 9 out of 10 Stars” - The Conduit Speaks

“Brilliant. 8.5 out of 10 Stars” - The Gruesome Hurtzogg Horror Movie Review Podcast.

“4 out of 5 Stars” - Char Hardin

“What I find particularly interesting about Microcinema is its plot and how it seems to blend together torture, voyeurism, and a lot of other really weird horrific topics like snuff films.” - Horror Society 

“Microcinema Doesn't Disappoint” - Victor Infante, Worcester Telegram & Gazette

“The new indie horror romp Microcinema and it is a doozy.” - Truly Disturbing Horror

“Interesting short that starts as your usual slasher/serial killer fare before taking a wicked little turn.”  -Shaun Sjolin Cenobiteme Blog

“Unicornsblud Horror Review Stamp of Majestic Approval”  - Unicronsblud's Horror Reviews

“Twisted and sick but with a new vision.” - The Dr. Chris Radio of Horror

TDHorror Retro Review

This was suppose to be posted on Saturday to make the two post deadline for the month of September but complications, as in a slow computer, prevented it from happening. I figured what the hell though I never make the two month post limit anyways and this way it's more likely to happen for October because it's only the second.

"Viewers be warned DON'T LOOK NOW is a taunting thriller that takes you through a cautious two hour pace before delivering its only true shock and scare moment. It's a character heavy film in that not much occurs but the depth and understanding to Laura and John's loss. Essentially that is all the film is really about, a mourning couple who becomes lightly touched by the supernatural at the effect of their daughter's death. It's definitely a film study where there's an array of themes and motifs, almost as much as novel, where there's less of action and more of reaction"

You may read the rest here. I don't have much as far as updates since I posted a huge update post last Friday. Nothing has changed since, except I believe I finally came up with a good idea for the Bad Dollar contest. As of right now though I don't have any reviews planned for this blog, but I am (hopefully) going to the Mile High Horror Film Festival Saturday and I'm seeing two films as well as a lot of short films so I'm sure somewhere in there I'll find something to write about. Again I'll try to be as present on this blog as possible. Thanks for all your support. And please read and comment on the Retro Review.

Dear October,

Happy Irrelevant Post Friday. As like last month I couldn't go without posting at least one, albeit at the end of the month but here it is. There's not much to say as far things go, as you've noticed I've still been pretty much on hiatus with this blog and will continue to be for the most part. For a few reasons actually, which I'll explain.

As of the moment I hate my job. I plan on quitting in the near future and finding a better job but honestly I don't want to be a server for the entirety of my life. I love writing, and not reviews. Don't mistake I enjoy doing those too but my real dream in life is not to be the next Roger Ebert (can you imagine??) but hopefully something along the lines of the next Clive Baker. I do want to be a fiction writer and hopefully not a struggling one, but I'll honestly settle for struggling writer over struggling server. This being my dream I need to start writing my own stuff again because I'll tell you as of right now one hundred percent of my writing goes towards this blog and the stuff at TD.

Also when I started this blog it's because Netflix decided to sit on a giant stick and became stuck up technology snobs who cared only about money. Basically I liked writing reviews on Netflix but they took away the friends page which made it hard to do that, and also without much purpose. Anyways back then I only really wrote reviews when I felt I had something different to say about the film than everyone else. And often times now I find myself forcing to write a review (Psycho II) and I don't like doing that. Because then I'm just saying to just say something. I prefer when my writing has more purpose behind it. It senseless for me to write a review about a movie I was indifferent too.

Out of all this though please don't take that I'm leaving this blog in anyway. Of course not, I love being part of this community and I love writing reviews. I'll still post reviews but they may or may not be on a weekly basis. TD reviews will still be the same (twice a month, next one is tomorrow) and I'll keep features like the horror shorts. I'm not doing the top five lists for next month because it's too much work and will distract from my original writing. Again I hope all my followers stay with me and check back regularly. I will try to get at least three reviews to you a month as well as the TD. And regardless without the Top Five Lists I'll still have cool stuff since it's Halloween. But again thanks for your support and for reading, if I didn't have you I'd of quit this long ago.

Happy Irrelevant Post Friday/Follow Friday. Whichever is relevant to you.

TDHorror Retro Review

Another Retro Review. Discouragement is starting to fill the void that was once passion for writing film reviews. Maybe this is to my ignorance but I thought these Retro Reviews would get me a lot more feedback than my blog reviews. I can understand nobody commenting on a small time blogger's post but a site like Truly Disturbing? Maybe the truth is I'm not good at writing and they don't hold any interest. I don't know, I'm not quitting yet but honestly what's the point if no one reads or bothers to comment.

"Off the sandy shores of the ocean Gonza's Deli frequents many customers, luring them in for it's atmosphere and quality food. Little do these customers know though that Gorza's Deli is a front for what I presume to be illegal alcohol sales and a six hundred year old cannibal cult that serves to Satan and the uncontrollable lust for flesh. The customers that frequent Gonza's Deli don't appear out of the normal, which is a clear sign of evil cult followers as most of them are. The facade doesn't foul the good side though as the brother of Gonza, or the man who stands outside the Deli and warns people not to go in, is plotting to destroy Gonza and his human butchering Deli once and for all."

And as usual you may read the rest here. I don't have much else to say this week, maybe it's just a bad day or night, I'm not sure. But I'm likely not posting any film reviews this month for this blog because I have a lot of movies to watch for TD and for next month's Top Five Lists (remember that promise I made that I watch the films throughout the year, yeah about that...). It's best this blog stays on hiatus. If it convinces you any more how depressed I am about the lack of comments I forgot to mention that I did write this review within two weeks of the last review, give or take a day. I can't even be proud of myself anymore. I did it but who cares?

At least there's one thing, my mopping and feeling sorry for myself is likely more scary than Gore-met, Zombie Chef From Hell. So there's your horror for the day.