Indie Horror Movies

Europa Report (2013) Review

February 20, 2014 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: An international crew of astronauts undertakes a privately funded mission to search for life on Jupiter’s fourth largest moon.

Quick Review: Europa Report is more Sci-Fi than pure horror but the documentary style used for this movie brings us closer to the braveness of space travelers and the terror they might have to face when confronted with the unknown.

Technically, Europa Report is flawless and really allows us to get closer to the astronauts using cameras placed within the ship as well as on the exterior of the spacecraft. And the footage actually looks like it could have been provided by the NASA.

The performances by most of the actors are spot-on and convey the claustrophobia of being trapped in such a closed space for so long.

But is it scary? Well, for one, it’s not Alien, and you will not find jump scares scattered throughout the movie. Europa Report is more about the growing tension and sense of helplessness that those astronauts have to endure.

Therefore, as I said in the beginning, Europa Report might not be a traditional found footage horror movie but I will take this one over an Apollo 18 anytime.

My Rating: 7/10

Director: Sebastián Cordero

Origin: US

Click Here To watch Europa Report Online Now!

State of Emergency (2011) Review

February 17, 2014 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: Chaos consumes a small town when a chemical facility explodes releasing a deadly toxin. Moments after the leak, the town’s residents show signs of mutation, causing the military to quarantine the area leaving any survivors helpless and trapped inside. The story follows Jim, a young man isolated within the red zone, as he eludes flesh eating zombies in an attempt to win back his freedom.

Quick Review: State of Emergency is an interesting low budget indie movie that spends more time focusing on its characters than it does on zombie attacks.

And it’s not as bad as it sounds actually. Quite similar to The Battery, strong leads and character development all make up for the lack of action on screen.

State of Emergency feels like an episode of The Walking Dead (you know one of this episode where not much happens until the end) with better dialog.

Unfortunately, technically it also sounds and looks like a TV movie. The sound mixing is quite awful and the score reminiscent of the numerous horror/fantastic shows on tv right now. The special effects are quite awkward but fortunately the zombies make-up are alright.

If you’re a fan of the post-apocalyptic genre and zombies in particular, you will enjoy State of Emergency for what it is, a low-key entry in the genre.

My Rating: 5.5/10

Director: Turner Clay

Origin: US

Click Here to watch State of Emergency Online Now!

The Creepy Doll (2011) Review

February 16, 2014 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: Newlyweds Jason and Kate Carraway are expecting a baby, but when Kate’s grandmother sends them Kate’s childhood doll collection, things get, well, creepy. Jason notices his bride slowly turning into someone he doesn’t recognize, and the doll may be causing it.

Leslie’s Review: I’ve heard they are making a movie about Annabell, the doll from The Conjuring, and this story reminded me of that subplot (I loved everything about The Conjuring), so I really wanted to like this movie.

It’s independent, it’s low budget, and the premise is intriguing. The one review on IMDB is favorable, so I thought I’d give it a try. It’s a good idea, but the movie lacks polished execution. There are a few dynamic shots (I really liked the black and white shots from the point of view of the doll), but the acting was a bit off, and the relationship drama dulled the horror feeling for me.

It comes together pretty well, but by the time we finally arrived at the end, I didn’t really care anymore.

At one point, Kate explains that where her grandmother’s family is from, little girls receive guardian dolls as gifts. Sometimes a bear or wolf would be found dead in the village, with bloody tracks leading away from the house. People said that the dolls came to life to protect the children. Occasionally, they’d find a man who had been killed the same way, and that was how the people knew he was a, “good-for-nothing scoundrel.”

I honestly feel like a movie about that story would have been more entertaining. Amazon Prime members can stream it for free right now, and I applaud the filmmakers for their idea and attempt, but I’m not sure I can recommend it.

Director: P.J. Woodside

Origin: US

Click Here if you want to Watch The Creepy Doll Online Now!

This post was originally written by Leslie Shaip. You can follow her rants and movie reviews on her blog: Gallimaufry

The Human Race (2013) Review

January 29, 2014 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: Veronica suddenly finds herself in a surreal and horrifying marathon race. The rules are simple: If you are lapped, you die. If you step off the path, you die. Many will start but only one may cross the finish line alive

My Quick Review: The Human Race is clearly inspired by Stephen King’s novel, “The Long Walk” but has its own “spiritual” twist, or so would the producers have you thought.

Clearly a very low budget indie movie (apparently shot within the span of 4 years) The Human Race is showing us humans at their worst: when faced with death, there is indeed not much humanity left in most of us.

There is nothing new here when looking at the themes on display and the script is thin as cigarette paper. It also does not help that most of the acting is off and/or down right annoying (looking at you, deaf couple) and that the gore is mostly limited to one special effect used over and over again.

There are some nasty things on display here (especially one scene involving a pregnant woman) and I actually liked both twists (the one in the first 10mn and the one in the end) but is it enough to actually recommend this movie?

Hard to say but it was entertaining enough and a nice escape from the usual slasher/found footage/zombie movies we usually get these days.

My Rating: 5.5/10

Director: Paul Hough

Origin: US

Madison County (2011) Review

January 15, 2014 by Eric S. Leave a Comment

Synopsis: A group of college kids travel to a small, mountain town called Madison County to interview the author of a tell-all book on the accounts of several grisly murders that happened there. When the kids start digging around to get their own answers, they find out that the stories may be more real than the townspeople are letting on!

Quick Review: Having really enjoyed Chilling Visions: 5 senses of fear and Contracted, I had great expectations going into Madison County, Eric England’s 2nd full length feature.

What I forgot was that England was only 22 years old when he wrote and directed Madison County and, knowing that, I’m quite blown away by how tight the direction is and how good the film looks for a very low-budget indie movie.

Eric England proves here that he is one of the best new talent working in the horror genre right now.

But enough with the compliments, Madison County, unfortunately, has a lot of flaws.

While the dialog sounds natural and the acting from most of the cast is above average for a slasher, the script fails to deliver enough scares and tension to keep us invested in the characters and what’s actually going on with our killer.

I liked the fact that the town is kind of covering the acts of the deranged killer but, somehow, everything stays at the surface level and I would have loved to dig deeper in the mythology of the town rather than spending more time with the kids or the killer chasing them.

For a slasher, Madison County is also severely lacking memorable kills or weapons and the killer does not have the intensity of a Michael Myers or a Jason, or even Victor Crowley (Hatchet).

As a result, Madison County is technically a solid effort from Eric England but fails to deliver a new icon in the slasher genre.

Rating: 5/10

Director/Writer: Eric England

Origin: US

Click Here to Watch Madison County Online Now!