The first 3 films listed here are currently available on DVD and Blu Ray, while "Wolf Creek 2" will be released for rental on June 24th 2014.
"The Lords Of Salem" – (2013) - Sherri Moon Zombie stars in this Horror/Thriller from Director/Husband Rob Zombie as a disc jockey whose troubled life is thrown into further flux by a cursed recording and a trio of witches (Judy Geeson, Patricia Quinn and Dee Wallace).
Where the first one-third of the film is effectively creepy and atmospheric, the narrative drops out completely, forgoing coherency and suspense for empty imagery. I’m thinking Zombie was hell bent on emulating the brooding, slow-burn tone of Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” without understanding why it worked and failing to have one of those pesky things called a script on hand. Most importantly, there simply aren’t nearly enough shots of Sheri’s bare butt to have erased the multiple scenes featuring a nude and grimy 65-year-old Meg Foster.
Regarding Zombie’s filmography: I felt "House Of A Thousand Corpses" was just plain awful while "The Devil’s Rejects" was a mean-spirited misfire. His 2007 remake of "Halloween" was a surprisingly effective guilty pleasure, but its 2009 sequel was a meandering dud. It may not be time for Zombie to hang it up as a Director, but his days of being allowed to write the scripts for his films should be over.
Skip it- it’s a mess and my pick for worst film of 2013.
1.0 out of 10
Director: Rob Zombie
Cast: Sheri Moon Zombie, Bruce Davison, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Judy Geeson, Meg Foster, Patricia Quinn, Ken Foree, Dee Wallace and Maria Conchita Alonso
Run-Time: 101 minutes
MPAA: Rated R for disturbing violent and sexual content, graphic nudity, language and some drug use
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“Jug Face” – (2013) - If you’re looking for something really frickin’ weird (and different) in the horror genre, look no further than this little yarn of an insular backwoods community that worships a bloodthirsty, ages old entity living in a nearby pit and the pregnant teen girl (Lauren Ashley Carter) that attempts to escape after discovering that she’s been marked as the next sacrificial offering. I’ll remember Sean Bridges’ performance as the kind-hearted, simpleton sculptor who is periodically possessed by said entity, fashioning jugs with the likenesses of the next community member to be sacrificed while entranced. Sean Young, playing the young girl’s mother, has not aged well…
The film works around a shoe-string budget commendably well, the sense of impending doom is undeniable and there are veins of originality, though the narrative moves at a glacial pace and the film ends on a down note.
Needless to say, it’s not for all tastes.
6.0 out of 10
Director: Chad Crawford Kinkle
Cast: Lauren Ashley Carter, Sean Bridges, Kaitlin Cullum, Larry Fessenden, Katie Groshong, Daniel Manche and Sean Young
Run-Time: 81 minutes
MPAA: Rated R for bloody violence, language and brief sexuality
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"In Fear" - (2014) - A young couple on their first date seek out a party located somewhere in the Irish countryside but quickly become hopelessly lost. Tensions between the two rise as they drive aimlessly about on a dark and rainy night and in unfamiliar territory. The two soon realize they're being manipulated by an unseen force with malicious intentions...
This is perhaps the most tedious and outright stupid horror film I’ve encountered in some time. The protagonists are brain-dead just to propel the story along while the narrative is filled with lapses in logic and implausible events that a child would question.
A third party enters the picture about two-thirds of the way through and every sensible audience member/potential viewer will be able to tell right away that something is very “off” about him- why in the world wouldn’t our two protagonists?
The final shot is a masterstroke of frustration- skip this sumbitch.
2.0 out of 10
Director: Jeremy Lovering
Cast: Iain De Caestecker, Alice Englert and Allen Leech
Run-Time: 85 minutes
MPAA: Rated R for some disturbing violent content and terror, and for language
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"Wolf Creek 2" - (2014) - Director Greg Mclean returns to helm this sequel to 2005’s unexpected (and underseen) Australian horror gem with uneven results- the further gruesome exploits of bloodthirsty sociopath and accomplished pig killer, “Mick Taylor” (John Jarrett), are marred by a few too many lapses in logic and implausible events (negative elements that the ’05 film avoided). The film is somehow meaner spirited than its predecessor, with certain developments smacking of poor taste.
Jarrett’s once again legitimately menacing, yet strangely charismatic as the relentless serial killer preying upon unwitting tourists across the outback- he’s disgusting, fearsome and vile… yet he’s got all the best one liners. Perhaps it’s a bit of a mistake by the filmmakers to have this potential horror icon devolve into the same wisecracking Freddy Krueger that marred the Elm Street sequels, though there are indeed a handful of darkly funny moments here involving the character.
Potential viewers can expect a few suspenseful moments strewn about, including a late-film, high-stakes trivia game involving Australia’s history, fingers and an angle grinder. The cinematography, utilizing the gorgeous Adelaide, South Australia countryside, is pristine stuff.
For myself, the hands-down highlight of the film was a hugely entertaining, absolutely hilarious sequence involving a high-speed duel, a big rig and several unfortunate kangaroos… all set to “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens.
I enjoyed Mclean’s ’05 original film and his 2007 killer crocodile follow-up, "Rogue", but find myself thinking that the “Splat Pack” member should have passed on this and moved on to something else. Much like all successful horror film ventures, the filmmakers just didn’t leave well enough alone.
6.0 out of 10
Director: Greg Mclean
Cast: John Jarratt, Ryan Corr, Shannon Ashlyn, Phillipe Klaus and Shane Connor
Run-Time: 106 minutes
MPAA: Unrated but the equivalent of a hard R for extreme violence, blood, gore and language
For what it's worth-
Wolf Creek (2005) – 8.0
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