Phil counts down to the 14th Annual ANOTHER HOLE IN THE HEAD FILMFEST at the New People Cinema in Japantown, San Francisco October 25th - November 8th, 2017

One of the aspects I love about living here in the Bay Area is all the awesome films festivals that are held here. One of these is the upcoming 14th Annual ANOTHER HOLE IN THE HEAD FILM FESTIVAL, which is presented by SF IndieFest and will be held at the New People Cinema, located in Japantown, San Francisco. From October 25th through November 8th, 2017, fans of horror, sci-fi and fantasy genres can witness a total of 29 films and 94 short films during the festival's 15-day run!

The festival kicks off the festivities with the its Opening Night's Film MOHAWK, which is, "a historical Action/Thriller film dealing with a conflict between a small band of Native Americans and a group of brutal colonists during during the War of 1812." Screening before the feature is one of the 11 short film programs the festival is offering for fans. Entitled SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME, this program features, "an international collection exploring the themes of time travel and future technologies."

There are plenty on independent films screening at the festival this year, including the giant insect film DEAD ANT and Troma Entertainment Alumni Trent Haaga's 68 KILL, both on Saturday, October 28th at 7pm and 9pm, respectively, the zombie thriller THAW OF THE DEAD on Thursday, November 2nd at 7pm, and EMPIRE OF THE SHARKS screening Tuesday, November 7th at 7pm. Also screening at the festival is the dark horror/comedy TRAGEDY GIRLS on Friday, November 27th at 9pm.

The festival will also spotlight local filmmakers from the Bay Area as well. David O'Shea's 2012 film DAY JOB will be having its 5th Anniversary Screening on Sunday, November 5th at 7pm with O'Shea participating in a Q&A session with audience members. The supernaturally demonic movie SWEET KITTY will be having its wold premiere on Saturday, November 4th. Then on Saturday, October 28th at 5pm, Shorts Block #4 entitled STRANGERS WITH EYE CANDY features several local filmmakers' short films, including cartoonist and animator Levni Yilmaz, creator of the popular YouTube series TALES OF MERE EXISTENCE. Then there's CHRISTOPHER COPPOLA'S ART FILM TRILOGY & G-MEN FROM HELL, spotlighting prolific local filmmaker and festival alumni Coppola's TRILOGY being shown in the order they were produced plus his 2000 film adaptation of Michael Allred's comic book G-MEN FROM HELL starring William Forsythe, Tate Donovan, Bobcat Goldthwait, Gary Busey and Vanessa Angel with Coppola participating in a Q&A session afterwards. This screening will take place on Monday, November 6th at 9pm.

Then there's the awesome screenings of modern day cinema classics, including French filmmaker René Laloux's 1973 animated sci-fi film FANTASTIC PLANET and the 35mm film print screening of Oliver Stone's 1994 movie NATURAL BORN KILLERS, both on Monday, October 30th 7pm and 9pm, respectively. Then on Halloween night, the festival will be showing John Carpenter's iconic 1978 horror film HALLOWEEN at 7pm and then Rick Rosenthal's 1981 sequel HALLOWEEN II at 9pm, both shown in stunning black and white!!

Closing out the festival is the body horror film REPLACE, starring festival alumni and legendary genre actress Barbara Crampton! Show starts at 7pm on November 8th.

Plus so much, much more, it'll take another post to list them all!!

So what are you waiting for?  Mark the festival's date on your calendar and come out to the city for some amazing works of art! Individual tickets are $15 online and at the door. All-inclusive festival passes will be priced at $149, which includes all the films and special events. For the full festival schedule, visit the Another Hole in the Head's official website at www.ahith.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show! 

Phil's Halloween Horror Watch: Phil sees HAPPY DEATH DAY at the Cinelux Almaden Café & Lounge Theater - October 16, 2017

Hello and welcome to another installment of my horror movie marathon! Boy, I've been watching a lot of horror films this month!! One of them I saw this past Monday at the Cinelux Almaden Theater. The film has already garnered a lot of positive press and was the Number #1 film this past weekend!! It's hear that I saw HAPPY DEATH DAY, the newest film from Blumhouse Productions and Universal Pictures.

The film's official synopsis: Blumhouse (SPLIT, GET OUT, WHIPLASH) produces an original and inventive rewinding thriller in Happy Death Day, in which a college student (Jessica Rothe, LA LA LAND) relives the day of her murder with both its unexceptional details and terrifying end until she discovers her killer’s identity.

I recall seeing the trailer and thought that it looked interesting. Basically, it looked like GROUNDHOG DAY meets MEAN GIRLS meets FRIDAY THE 13th all rolled up into one movie. While as generic that may sound, the film itself was a blast to watch!

First, hats off to screenwriter Scott Lobdell for coming up with a fun and clever script that had cool characters, great villain and inspiring kills! Lobdell is best known as a comic book writer, having penned several Marvel titles like Fantastic Four, Alpha Flight, Uncanny X-Men and Generation X, which he created with artist Chris Bachalo. legend has it that Lobdell wrote the film's script over ten years ago and Michael Bay was to produce it and star Megan Fox under its original title HALF TO DEATH. Then on October 11, 2016, Blumhouse Productions were going to make the film with Christopher Landon directing the project.  Landon is no stranger to the horror genre, having helming films like PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE MARKED ONES and SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE and was the writer for DISTURBIA, VIRAL, SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2-4 and the THE MARKED ONES. Landon does an exceptional job of crafting a solid film with that perfect balance of laughs, scares and mystery. A terrific job from these two individuals who know how to keep our interests!

Our heroine Tree Gelbman is portrayed by the very talented Jessica Rothe. Tree isn't your typical sorority rich bitch. There's a reason she's a self-absorbed, snotty and downright rude; she's been through a lot and throughout the movie she evolves and changes, but still has that cunning and at the end, she becomes that bad ass final girl horror fans have grown to love. Her companion on this never-ending day trip is Carter Davis, played by Israel Broussard. Both have great on-screen chemistry and it was great to see their characters interact with one another, especially Tree remembering everything and Carter always is the same person but not in the same sense as the previous day.

HAPPY DEATH DAY is a clever and entertaining slasher horror thriller that will keep you guessing all the way to the final scenes!! Don't give this movie a pass! Go to your local theater, grab some popcorn, snacks and drinks, and then sit back and have a good time!! 4 1/2 out 5 stars!! Highly recommended!! 

HAPPY DEATH DAY is currently playing in theaters nationwide, including at the Cinelux Theaters here in the Bay Area. To view showtimes, visit their website at www.cineluxtheatres.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil's Halloween Horror Watch: Phil attends the theatrical roadshow screening of VICTOR CROWLEY with Tiffany Shepis Live In-Person at the Osio Thater - October 8, 2017

Hello again and welcome back to my Halloween Horror Watch marathon! So in the previous post I mentioned that I was at the Osio Theater in Downtown Monterey to see two films. The second film would be a very special theatrical roadshow screening of filmmaker Adam Green's surprised latest installment of his HATCHET series VICTOR CROWLEY from Dark Sky Films!! To make the event even more amazing, Scream Queen actress Tiffany Shepis, who also appears in the film, was going to be there live in-person!!

The film's official synopsis: Andrew Yong has spent over a decade claiming that local legend Victor Crowley was responsible for the 2007 massacre that left over 40 dead. Yong’s allegations have been met with widespread disbelief, but when a twist of fate puts him back at the scene of the tragedy, Crowley is mistakenly resurrected and Yong must face the bloodthirsty ghost from his past.

Adam Green spent two years making the film in secrecy, which is an unbelievable feat unto itself!! On August 22, 2017, he surprised an unsuspecting audience during the “10th Anniversary” screening of the original HATCHET film that he held at the Arclight Theater in Hollywood with the film. Needless to say, the audience went completely batshit crazy!! The film received two standing ovations and Green announced that he would be taking the film on a theatrical roadshow around the country. As he mentions in his blog post after the screening he hopes, "that no one who saw the movie last night or who will be seeing it soon on this upcoming tour spoils anything about it on-line either." So, per Mr. Green's request, this will be a spoiler-free review.

Green proves that he still has it when it comes to delivering a film filled with laughs, blood and gore! The script is very funny and very clever, especially on how Victor Crowley comes back from the dead! It's rather quite genius if you ask me. It has a great three act story arc, fun characters and the kills are bloody plentiful. His directing is sharp, clean and fantastic; treating the Hatchet Army fanatics with a worthy installment in the HATCHET franchise!!

Actress Tiffany Shepis and I outside the Osio Theater.

The cast is incredible and give it their all! The iconic Kane Hodder returns once again as the indestructible Victor Crowley, who returns to kill again in his Honey Island Swamp again! The man hasn't lost a beat and his kills are freaking sick and bloody! Felicia Rose plays Andrew Young's publicist and she nails her part. Speaking of Young, actor Parry Shen brings depth to his role as well as laughs. Tiffany Shepis portrays Casey and is awesome in the part! Laura Ortiz of Holliston fame gives the performance of the year as Rose. Breakout Performance goes to actress Katie Booth for her portrayal of Chloe. She brings a lot of depth and vulnerability to the role and is phenomenal!

After the screening, Shepis participated in a fun-filled and informative Q&A with the audience. She recalled making the film in secrecy, working with Kane Hodder again, her humble beginnings as an upcoming actress, her Troma roots and what's up on the horizon regarding new projects she's currently involved in. Afterwards, she took pictures with her fans, and yours truly, finally got to meet this awesomely talented and lovely lady! This was one of the best nights of my life!

VICTOR CROWLEY is a funnier-than-hell, gore filled, bloody rollacoaster ride of a sequel of all time!! This was such a damn cool movie that I cannot wait for it to come out on Blu-Ray so I can watch it over and over again!! If this movie comes to a town near you, make it an effort to go see it on the big screen!! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

VICTOR CROWLEY is currently on a theatrical roadshow across the country. To view the film's schedule to see if it's playing near you, visit the ArieScope Pctures website at ariescope.com. To learn more about Dark Sky Films and their film library, visit their website at darkskyfilms.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil's Halloween Horror Watch: Phil sees BETTER WATCH OUT at the Osio Theater - October 7, 2016

Welcome back to another installment of my Halloween Horror Watch marathon! Today's film adventure took me back to the lovely coastal town of Monterey! There at the Osio Theater in downtown Monterey, they were showing two films that I was really excited to see (more on the second film later on). The first film I saw was the holiday horror film BETTER WATCH OUT, which was a wonderful way to start my cinematic day!

The film's official synopsis: This holiday season, you may be home, but you’re not alone... In this fresh and gleefully twisted spin on home-invasion horror, babysitter Ashley (Olivia DeJonge) must defend her young charges Luke (Levi Miller) and his best friend Garrett (Ed Oxenbould ) when intruders break into the house one snowy night – or so she thinks.

The cast is absolutely outstanding in their respective roles. Olivia DeJonge is just reveting as our main protagonist Ashley. Tough, vulnerable and fierce, she could very well become this generation's new final girl! Levi Miller's Luke characters is the personification of all us young boys who had crushes on their babysitters. I mean, who hasn't had that one babysitter who we used to dream about? Ed Oxenbould plays Luke's stoner best friend Garrett. Fun fact: both DeJonge and Oxenbould played siblings in M. Night Shyamalan's 2015 thriller THE VISIT. Overall, all three of them have excellent on-screen chemistry, which elevated the film for me. Really enjoyed their performances in the movie!

Filmmaker Chris Peckover directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Zack Kahn. Together, these two gentlemen made one of the smartest films ever! The set-up is straight forward, however, by the end of the first act, the film did a complete 180 degrees and the movie became something completely different. I can't remember the last time I was impressed with a movie, where I figured out the plot, only to have it surprise the hell out of me! Peckover's directing is sharp, percise and moves the film at an even pace. Really great filmmaking from this awesome filmmaker!
 
Originally titled as Safe Neighborhood, the film a big splash when it was the Fantastic Fest in 2016. It went on to garner acclaim at other festivals before being picked up for distribution by Well Go USA Entertainment.

BETTER WATCH OUT is my new favorite holiday horror film of all time!! This is one of the most original, entertaining and sick horror movie I've seen in a long time!! You owe it to yourself to go see this festive fright flick on the big screen!! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

BETTER WATCH OUT is currently playing in limited release in theaters nationwide, including at the Osio Theater in Monterey. To view showtimes, visit their website at osiotheater.com. To view the film's website for future screenings, visit www.wellgousa.com/theatrical/better-watch-out.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil's Halloween Horror Watch: BUCKOUT ROAD Trailer (2017) from Trimuse Entertainment - October 4, 2017

Festival Movie Poster (2017)

Hello again and welcome to another installment of Phil's Halloween Horror Watch marathon! Today I'll be doing something a little bit different. Instead of a horror film, I'll be talking about a horror trailer for an upcoming film. I recently received an email from my old friend Jessica Cameron, an actress and filmmaker I've had the pleasuring of knowing for years. Cameron is known withing the horror community, appearing in films such as THE FAMILY, THE BLACK DAHLIA HAUNTING, SILENT NIGHT and TO JENNIFER, as well as directing the films TRUTH OR DARE, MANIA and the upcoming project AN ENDING. She had sent me a press release for the new BUCKOUT ROAD trailer. I immediately downloaded the press release and viewed the trailer, which totally blew me away! With its ensemble cast, hauntingly beautiful cinematography and genuine scares, this is a film that every horror fan should put on their must-watch list. Below is the film's official press release:

                               BUCKOUT ROAD TRAILER RELEASED 

Matthew Currie Holmes’ directorial debut, Buckout Road, just won its first film festival award and released a full-­length trailer. This supernatural thriller, produced by John Gillespie & Brad Clark and stars: Evan Ross (The  Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Lee  Daniels’ Star), Henry Czerny (Mission: Impossible, Quantico), Dominique Provost-­Chalkley (Wynona Earp, Avengers: Age  Of  Ultron), Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon I-­IV) and  Colm Feore (House of Cards, Thor).

Watch the trailer here: http://buckoutroadthemovie.com

Having just started its festival run, BUCKOUT ROAD already won Best Thriller Feature Film  at the Hot Springs Horror Film Festival. This award-­winning film is also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director at the World Music and Independent Film Festival.

October screenings for BUCKOUT ROAD will be held in Nashville, Tennessee on October 7 at 3:15pm as part of the International Black Film Festival; and Toronto, Ontario on October 13 at 7:00pm as part of Commffest 2017.

Tickets for both screenings are available: IBFF (Nashville):
https://filmfreeway.com/festival/InternationalBlackFilmFestivalofNashville/tickets 

COMMFFEST (Toronto):
http://www.commffest.com/content/buckout-road

BUCKOUT ROAD might be known as the most haunted road in New York State, but nobody really believed it... until now. A college class projecton modern mythology turns deadly when a trio of students discovers a series of horrific urban legends surrounding Buckout Road may actually be true. The deeper they dig into the road’s dark, mysterious history, the more dangerous their quest becomes. From witches burning at the stake, to backwoods albino killers, to a modern, unstoppable stalker, writer/director and horror-­film aficionado Matthew Currie Holmes leave no genre unexploited in his loving throwback to late-­80’s midnight movies.

Matthew Currie Holmes had this to say about horror: My favorite thing about the horror genre is that, at its core, horror is good, simple drama... but with way higher takes.

For more information about BUCKOUT ROAD and to view the trailer please visit:
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://buckoutroadthemovie.com
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/buckoutroad/
TWITTER: @buckoutroad

I, for one, cannot wait to see if this film will be screened at either my local film festival or movie theater. The movie has the making of being a future Best Horror Film award winner in the upcoming year and a major calling card for its director Matthew Currie Holmes. So if you able to attend the film screenings mentioned above, then you should definitely attend!!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil's Halloween Horror Watch: THE BARN (2016) from Nevermore Productions Films - October 3, 2017

THE BARN Poster (2016)

THE BARN
Starring Mitchell Musolino, Will Stout, Lexi Dripps, Cortland Woodard, Nikki Darling, Nickolaus Joshua, Ryan Nogy, Linnea Quigley, Ari Lehman
Written by Justin M. Seaman
Cinematography by Zane Hershberger
Edited by Justin M. Seaman
Produced by Justin M. Seaman, Rocky Gray,  Sebastian Page, Christopher Vertosick, Lee Walker, Lee Walker
Directed by Justin M. Seaman
Released by Nevermore Productions Films

Hello again and welcome back to my Halloween Horror Watch marathon. There's been a lot of hype about today's film! It's garnered rave reviews from a plethora of media outlets for it's homage to 80's slasher films with it's authenticity towards visuals, scares, gore and poster artwork. So let's all take a trip down to THE BARN and see what's inside for us, shall we?

The film's official synopsis: It's Halloween 1989, best friends Sam and Josh are trying to enjoy what's left of their final Devil's Night before graduating high school. But trouble arises when the two pals and a group of friends take a detour on their way to a rock concert, finding an old abandoned barn and awakening the evil inside. Now it's up to Sam and Josh to find a way to protect their friends and defeat the creatures that lurk within "The Barn."

The film's visuals and ascetics contribute to the feel of nostalgia for this reviewer. It looks and sounds like it was ripped from 1989! I had to pinch myself while watching the film to remind me that it wasn't the 80's again! When doing a retro-styled horror movie, it must trick the viewer into thinking that it's from that particular place and time and this fright flick accomplishes this in spades!

Writer/director Justin M. Seaman does a tremendous job of recreating that late 80's slasher vibe by having a smart script, interesting characters, sympathetic protagonists, terrifying monsters and awesome gore and bloodshed to make the horror hounds happy. He loves horror films, and his film is the perfect example of how it should be made, look and sound. His compositions are that from classic 80's horror films, appealing to this viewer's love of the genre. He is able to set the tone within the film's first five minutes, which is not an easy feat to accomplish. But Seaman does this without breaking a sweat and gives us one hell of a movie!!

The whole cast is fantastic in their respective roles, especially our two male leads Mitchell Musolino and Will Stout as Sam and Jeff, respectively. Their on-screen chemistry is solid and I had a blast watching these two guys play off with one another. Nikki Darling is just stunning hot as Nikki Howell. Lexi Dripps shines as Michelle, who has this down-to-earth personality that you just want to fall in love with. Also appearing in the film are Scream Queen icon Linnea Quigley as the extremely nagging Ms. Barnhart and Ari Lehman, the screen's very first Jason from the original FRIDAY THE 13th, as the local television horror host Dr. Rock.

I also wanted to do a quick shout out to the entire art department, special effects make-up team, costume and set designers for re-creating that awesome 80's look! Another ingredient that takes me time to that era is the film's poster, designed by the talented Marc Schoenbach of Sadist Art Designs! His work is just outstanding!! Make sure you check out the rest of his artwork at sadistart.blogspot.com!

THE BARN is the most horrifyingly radical, gore-filled, bad ass, retro-slasher film of the year!! There's a reason that the movie has garnered so much acclaim! This is one entertaining horror film that you all should definitely see!! My horror pick for every Halloween season to come!! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!! 

THE BARN is currently available on DVD and it was just announced that it will be released on Blu-Ray very soon! To order your copy of the film, along with other cool merchandise, visit the film's website at thebarnmerch.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil's Halloween Horror Watch: PENNY PINCHERS: THE KINGS OF NO-BUDGET HORROR (2017) from SRS Cinema - Oct. 2, 2017

PENNY PINCHERS Poster (2017)

PENNY PINCHERS: THE KINGS OF NO-BUDGET HORROR
Starring: Lloyd Kaufman, Todd Jason Cook, Johnny Dickie, Tim Ritter, Todd Sheets, Donald Farmer, Phil Herman, Christopher Seaver, Dustin Ferguson,
Cinematography: John P. Brennan
Editors: Dustin Ferguson & John P. Brennan
Producer: Dustin Ferguson
Director: Dustin Ferguson
Production: Company: Sinister Studios
Distributor: SRS Cinema 

Welcome back to my Halloween Horror Watch marathon! Today's review focuses on a very special and unique niche within the horror genre: Shot On Video, or more affectionately called SOV. These films crept onto the shelves of local mom & pop video stores all across the country and horror fans rented these in drones. Out of this came a rise in SOV movies, and these filmmakers made history with their works of art. Often overlooked for their contributions to the genre, PENNY PINCHERS: THE KINGS OF NO-BUDGET HORROR finally pays tribute to these renaissance individuals and low-budget independent filmmakers.

The film's official synopsis: An eye-opening Documentary detailing the trials and tribulations of No-Budget horror filmmaking, featuring some of the world’s leading Directors in the genre!

This was a very interesting documentary to watch as I found my reminiscing to those care-free days of going to my mom & pop video stores (American Video Center and Branham Video were my favorites) and watch these awesome low-budget horror movies on VHS. And what we have here is testimony from these individuals who entertained me all those years ago.

The documentary starts off with the elder statesman of the bunch: Lloyd Kaufman, co-founder and president of Troma Entertainment - this country's oldest independent film studio. Kaufman has directed a number of cult classics, such as the TOXIC AVENGER franchise, TROMEO & JULIET, TROMA'S WAR, POULTRYGEIST: NIGHT OF THE CHICKEN DEAD and his recent films RETURN TO NUKE' EM HIGH VOL. 1 &2. Kaufman gives his 40 plus years of experience on the perils of low-budget independent filmmaking, its benefits and how the evil international movie studio conglomerates have taken over and pushed the indies on the outskirts.

Others filmmakers contributing their cinematic stories include Todd Sheets, who's list of 45 films credits include 1991's SORORITY BABES IN THE DANCE-A-THON OF DEATH (which was the first film of his I rented back in the day), PREHISTORIC BIMBOS IN ARMAGEDDON CITY, GOBLIN and the ZOMBIE BLOODBATH franchise. Sheets talks about how he was held hostage by his cinematographer on his first film and almost hung up his camera. Tim Ritter started his career with the film DAY OF THE REAPER all the way back in 1984 on video. His most famous movies include KILLING SPREE (1987), WICKED GAMES (1994), and CREEP (1995). The youngest out of the bunch is Johnny Dickie, who started making films at 12 years old, then made is first feature length film at age 14. His films include SLAUGHTER TALES (2012), TRASHTASTIC (2013) and CITY OF THE DREAM DEMONS (2014). He talks about making his short films, distribution issues and his take on being an indie filmmaker. Others directors being interviewed in the film include Todd Jason Cook, Donald Farmer, Phil Herman and Christopher Seaver.

The documentary was directed by the talented Dustin Ferguson. The Dodge City, Kansas born filmmaker has a total of 44 credits to his name, directing such films as THE LEGACY OF BOGGY CREEK (2011), DIE SISTER DIE! with Scream Queen icon Brinke Stevens (2013), CHEERLEADER CAMP: TO THE DEATH (2014), CAMP BLOOD 4 & 5 (both 2016) and TALES FOR THE CAMPFIRE (2016) and the sequel TALES FOR THE CAMPFIRE 2 (2017) with legendary Scream Queen and my good friend Debra Lamb. He has owned and operated several film distribution and production companies such as RHR Home Video, Shock Sinema and 42nd Street Films. In the documentary, he explains what made him want to become a filmmaker, the trials and tribulations of low-budget movies and why he still continues to still do this.

PENNY PINCHERS: THE KINGS OF NO-BUDGET HORROR is a fascinating, informative and intimate examination of low-budget, independent filmmaking and the love and passion these artists bring to their craft and to the genre! A lot of blood, sweat and tears go into making these cinematic gems and the horror community as a whole should know these talented filmmakers and watch their films!! 5 out 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

PENNY PINCHERS: THE KINGS OF NO-BUDGET HORROR is currently available on both limited edition Blu-Ray and VHS. To purchase a copy for yourself, visit the SRS Cinema website at www.srscinema.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil's Halloween Horror Watch: POOL PARTY MASSACRE (2017) from Floating Eye Films - October 1, 2017

POOL PARTY MASSACRE Blu-ray Cover

POOL PARTY MASSACRE
Starring Kristin Noel McKusick, Margaux Némé, Crystal Stoney, Jenifer Marvick, Destiny Faith Nelson, Nick Byer, Mark Justice, LeeAnna Vamp, Alexis Adams
Written by Drew Marvick
Cinematography by Brian Mills
Edited by Brian Mills
Produced by Drew Marvick and Brian Mills
Directed by Drew Marvick
Released by Floating Eye Films

Slasher films hold a special place in my heart. It could be because I grew up during the dawn of the slasher craze that swept America, especially during the 1980's: The FRIDAY THE 13th, HALLOWEEN and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET sequels, the SLUMBER PARTY MASSACRE films, SLEEPAWAY CAMP, and THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE movies for starters. It seemed like every week there was a new slasher film in theaters that begged for my attention. The love for this genre continues to this very day, which brings me to today's review for the film POOL PARTY MASSACRE, which I picked up at the Sinister Creature Con in Stockton back in June.

The film's official synopsis: When Blair, a high maintenance young socialite invites some friends over to her parents house for an intimate pool party, they are unaware that a serial killer is hiding inside the house. What started out as a relaxing summer day by the pool quickly turns into a nightmare as the unknown killer begins to stalk and murdering the young girls one by one.

Original Movie Poster (2017)

Writer/director Drew Marvick's film is a loving homage to those awesome 80's slasher films that we grew up on. The women are hot, the kills are gory and it's entertaining and fun to the max!! His set-ups and compositions are excellent, there's awesome character development, the film flows smoothly and has a fantastic third act (which I won't be revealing because this is a spoiler-free review). It also helps that Marvick is a fan of the genre and that love resonates within each frame of the movie. I can't wait to see what this talented filmmaker does next!

Another aspect that I enjoyed was the characters themselves and there's plenty to fall in love with. There's bitchy spoiled brat Blair Winthorpe, played by the stunning Kristin Noel McKusick. Margaux Némé plays Blair's BFF Nancy (and is the love of life). Adult film star Alexis Adams appears in the film as the sexy Tiffany. All of the cast have great on-screen chemistry and viewers will have a good time watching all these beautiful ladies get bumped off one right after the other. Also look special cameos by LeeAnna Vamp, hubbie Cameron Lee Vamp and Marvick himself.

And last, but not least, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the kills in the film, which will make hardcore horror fans scream like Catholic school girls! They are freaking outstanding and bloody as hell! And there's a lot of blood, guts and gore to be found here!! Hat goes off to special makeup effects artist Christopher Arredondo for supplying the fun and boodshed!!

POOL PARTY MASSACRE is a totally radical slasher movie that will entertain you to death!! This is the perfect flick to watch with pizza and drinks! The movie is a bona fide cult classic in the making and the perfect tribute to the heyday of 80's slasher movies!! 4 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

POOL PARTY MASSACRE is available on both Blu-Ray and DVD. To purchase a copy for yourself, and other cool memorabilia, visit the film's website at poolpartymassacre.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!