31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 29 Hellmaster

TITLE-Hellmaster

SOURCE-Kings of Horror Youtube Channel

Ahh Kings of Horror  thanks to them  I got people to watch Vampeggedon. Hellmaster is one  I saw the  VHS in the  genre mags for sale. Sure I saw  it at a few video stores to rent and skipped it. Was looking for something to watch  remembered Kings of Horror and saw they added this in October this year. And it is the long THEM cut,about 5 minutes  longer than  the cut titled Hellmaster.

A prof at KIT has changed a pile of the students into demonic looking creatures. This prof is played by the late great John Saxon. Who does a lot with what little he was given  in the film. 

So we get these ghoulish creatures chasing students. And  who do the students have helping them? David Emge as  a  kind of odd monster hunter armed with a crossbow.

The makeup work on the creatures is nnice. Nothing super fancy but it stands out as at least a bit original looking.  The acting outside of Saxon and  Emgee is  ok at best and "Wow who owed who a favor" level.

Really what  makes this stand out from all the other DTV horror of the early 90s  is the  sound and light. There is always spooky ambient noise  in the background. Like  a constant howling wind. The lighting reminds me of the Italian  horror I would rent  in  the  80s.  Stuff like Demons.

Not sure this is worth  the 30 bucks or so I am sure VinSyn  wants for the blu ray.  Might track down  a DVD if it has one.

Hellmaster gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 28 The Curse of Humpty Dumpty

 

TITLE-The  Curse of Humpty Dumpty

SOURCE-Scream Factory DVD

Might have been 2 years ago I watched what I found out later was the 2nd part of this UK based horror trilogy. It wasn't amazing but it also wasn't total shit. Found this triple feature,where they cram 3 films on  one side of a dvd...

Two sisters learn their mother has dementia. So they take her back to the old family house out in the country to care for her. Once there they get settled in. See how hard it is to deal with a loved one with dementia. A doll that looks like the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty is found and that is when shit starts to happen.

Over the past 5 or so years there has been  a flood of cheap horror movies made in the woods of the UK. Some are good,some are bad. Having seen 2 of the 3 Humpty Dumpty films I can  say this franchise so far leans towards the good side.

The acting from  the 3 leads is good. The two sisters feel like real sisters. Arguing but still being there for their mom. The mother is great. She really appears to  be  suffering from dementia. The rest of the cast isn't as good.

Humpty Dumpty looks creepy. Decent  practical fx worked used to make him  appear to be alive,along with some guy in a suit shots.

I know at one time this trilogy was on Peacock. Betting Tubi has them all. Go give the first  one a try.

The Curse of Humpty Dumpty gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 27 Piranhaconda

 

TITLE-Piranhaconda

SOURCE-Prime Video

Around 14 years ago I watched when  it debuted on  the SYFY Channel. Back  then  every other month I would drive to  the coast to help out with  my  grandpa. I was over  at my cousin's house hanging out,her and her  family were  going  to see some nieces band concert.I elected  to stay at  their place.  Saw Piranhaconda was debuting put it on expecting to see  at most an  hour  before they got  back.  The concert went on  for  4 hours and by the time they got  home  I  was crashed out on the couch.

Down in Hawaii we got a film crew making a slasher  film,while a group lead by scientist  Michael Madson  is looking for eggs from a mythic creature. The mother that laid that  egg  is  out  to get her  baby back.

Directed by Jim Wynorski and produced by Roger Corman  this is a modern creature feature.  One that  decades  ago would have played drive ins on  double and triple  features for years. With  drive  ins sadly almost dead  the  new venue for  these  types of films back in 2012 was SYFY channel. Now  they just appear  on TUBI.

The creature of course  is  CGI and ok  looking  CGI. The cast is  made up  of  people you  are like I know them  but have no clue what their name is. Being filmed in Hawaii the scenery looks great.

Having seen  Sharktopus,by Roger Corman,I knew  going in what to expect.  And got what I expected.So kills. Lots of  shots of  women  in bikinis.  And a  decent way to pass 2 hours.

Piranhaconda gets a C-

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 26 Frankie Freako

 

TITLE-Frankie Freako

SOURCE-Prime Video

A tribute to all those  80s Lil creature films,stuff like  Ghoulies/Munchies/etc,Frankie Freako is another hit from Ashtron 6.  A group of Canadians that make lower budget horror/comedy films.

Our lead works at a advertising agency.  He is  left in charge of the  home he shares with his girlfriend. Is  up late  at  night watching  tv  and sees an  ad  for a  party line. For  those that weren't around in  the 80s it was a number you  called and talked to other people and  usually cost ya say 2 bucks a minute. Frankie Freako is the party line and when called Frankie and  2 other  freaks  appear.

Imagine a more demonic looking Garbage Pail Kid and  that is Frankie  Freako. The three freaks wreck  the house. Glue  our leads boss to  the floor of  the basement. Then end  up  taking  the lead to their home  world. Where we me the corrupt leader.. 

The freaks and our lead stumble and  bumble their way to victory against the evil tyrant. Head  back to our world thinking it is all over. Nope the evil tyrant comes through the portal and we get a wild battle.

Evil defeated our lead gets a phone call  his girlfriend is on  her  way back.  He has an  hour to get the  house back to how it was. The Girlfriend gets there and we learn she went to college with  the female  freak. And we end with Xmas music playing as the credits  roll.

Sure the  story isn't  much  new. It  is  the great practical  FX that make this film stand  out. When the lead and the three freaks  first  get to  their  homeworld it is a long sequence  of stop motion miniture  work that looks really good.

Just saw Shout Factory has the full film up  on their Youtube channel

https://youtu.be/dxBAptawFdU?si=2not7njMnwH41uoW

Frankie Freako gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 25 RL Stine's Pumpkinhead

 

TITLE-R.L.Stine's Pumpkinhead
SOURCE-TUBI

I heard about this last year and planned on watching  it. Thinking it was connected to  the old Pumpkinhead Franchise,it isn't. Needed a film for 31  Days of Horror and gave  this a shot.

New family moves  to a small farming  town.  Mom and her two  sons,the dad is  dead. The  older brother  tries to  help the younger brother get  over the death  of their  father. The younger brother's new friend tells them about  a farm  where vegetables are given  away in a festival. 

They got and the new  friend,sorry no one in this film's name stuck in my  memory,warns the younger brother to not mess with the  farmer's pumpkin. Being a dumb  kid he of course steals it. 

Of course the farmer notices his prize pumpkin missing and  the younger brother is told  to  bring  it back. Being a good kid the older brother sets  off on  his bike at night to return it. And  just vanishes.

The next day the mother acts  like she only has one  child. And the  friend  tells the younger brother how  kids  just vanish and are forgotten  about. But that the town oddball might know more.

So off into the woods to meet up with a grown man who lives  in a camper.  He tells them  to "Dont  move you are surrounded by landmines" then walks right by them.... Seems he  is sure  the farm is connected to the  missing  kids. And  his living outside  of the area is  why he is the only  adult that remembers the  missing kids.

Plan is made they are gonna get the brother back. Using  fireworks  the farmer  is distracted. We get a twist and  then the gut punch of an ending.

SPOILERS

The older brother and the  missing  kids  are found! But now the mother  and everyone else  it appears has no clue who the  younger brother  is....

Guess that will be resolved in the next film. Which has already been made.Worth  seeing,there is some creepy  scenes. But go  in remembering this is a kids/young  teens horror  film. 

R.L. Stine's Pumpkinhead gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 24 Water Park Shark

 

TITLE-Water Park Shark

SOURCE-TUBI

There  is  enough cheap  made  Shark movies I could do 31 in October. And  this one is one  of the better  ones.

A former  football star has returned  to his  hometown. He is  gonna be security at the  local water park. Which is  where his former football coach works. And the  coach  is great has various  COACH TIPS. But  sharks have invaded this water park,seems the park  gets it's water from a source with  sharks. And with interest in  the park  dying  can it survive this attack  of sharks?

Dumb and fun and shockingly better than  I expected. The acting isn't  bad. I was  expecting local  community theater level acting and instead got made  for Lifetime channel level acting. The FX work is decent. And whatever waterpark this was shot at looks great.

The stand out in  the  film is the toothless shark that loves candy,kknown as Gummy. Great little twist that helps add to  how fun this  film is.

Just remember going  in this is gonna be a bit dumb. A big cheap. The kind  of film  back in  the day we would  rent drink a few beer and  watch while cracking  jokes.

Water Park  Shark gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 23 Summer of Fear

 

TITLE-Summer of Fear

SOURCE-Artisan DVD

I saw this Wes Craven made for TV,at  least in the States,film a  long ass time  ago on  VHS. Sure  it was a dub. Really didn't remember much about it. Then good brother CodyLL offered me his DVD. Knowing I needed  stuff  to  watch in October I  took him up on the  offer.

Linda Blair,when  she was doing a streak of Made for TV movies,lives  on a ranch with  her brothers and parents. A cousin  of her's loses her family so moves in  with them. The cousin and Blair get a long at first. Then  Blair's horse attacks the cousin. Stuff starts  missing and Blair is  suspecting this cousin is a witch.

A bit over 1 hour and 38 minutes this film  really feels  like a 70s made  for TV horror film.  Seem a few of them as a kid and  many more as an  adult and  they got a feel and  look that stands  out. The pacing is a bit slow. With really enough plot for a 60 minute feature stretched out.  Thankfully the cast helps cover this minor flaw.

Besides Linda  Blair  you got a young Fran Drescher as Blairs  best friend. and many of the  others in the cast I knew their faces . Looking them  up some  were from  soap operas. The cousin....  more than  a feew times I was sure it was Michelle  Baurer.

Betting this is the  first film Wes Craven  directed  that was  filmed on 35mm,which  is why this DVD looks really nice  even if it  is framed  for TV. Speaking of Craven he is on  the  commentary and  offers  some decent info on the film. Mentioning that Linda Blair had "just gotten better"...guessing this was during her partying days.

Worth seeing? Yea it is. Worth  owning? Maybe if you find it cheap. 

Summer of Fear gets a C+.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 22 Beast from Haunted Cave

 

TITLE-Beast from Haunted Cave

SOURCE-Shout Studios channel on Youtube

Was looking for something  to watch  today. Wanted something short plus something  I had never seen. This came up in my YT feed and what the hell it is barely over an hour give it a watch.

Some crooks are planning on robbing a company. The plan is set of explosions in a nearby mine and while everyone is dealing with that they gonna steal the  gold and haul ass on skis to a cabin  out in the middle of no where.But when the explosions happen it releases a beast. Got our crooks  in the cabin and the beast outside killing them off.

Simple plot. Did a bit of research and this was made in South  Dakota while Roger Corman was also filming Ski Patrol Attack,a WWII movie. Using mostly the same cast and locations. 

Monte Hellman directs and this is his first feature film. And even early on you can see that Monte has an eye for capturing moments. Lots  of interesting  angles and shots  in the  film. Which normally you don't see in cheap films  like this.

The beast? Looks cheap but betting the  budget  for it was 20 bucks. What makes this film stand out rom the 100s of creature from this era. 

Made cheap and it shows some this is worth seeing at least once if you got any interest in low budget horror film making.

Beast from Haunted Cave gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 21 Ghoulies

 

TITLE-Ghoulies

SOURCE-MVD 4k UHD

I can clearly remember being  10 or 11 and seeing  the trailer for  Ghoulies. And  I wanted to see it. It looked like  a more  horrific version  of  Gremlins. No theater near me got the film. And almost a year later  finally Video  Showboat got  in the tape. Rented it and HATED IT.  The  Ghoulies are barely in the  film  and pre-teen me wanted small monsters running wild.

So since  the  first one sucked I skipped  the sequels. Decades  later I saw Ghoulies goto  College and loved it. Earlier this year saw this 4k  and  it  was 12 bucks. Took a chance.

At a old home a Satanist is  trying  to do  evil. A wild party is going on. With Law & Order's Mariska Hagerty as one of the cast. I do enjoy seeing her in  stuff like this. Back when she knew how to act  and just didn't make the "I gotta crap but  can't"face she makes on SVU now. You end up with  dwarves,Ghoulies and other evilness running all around  this place  as our heroes try to prevent them from taking  over the  world.

Seeing the film now without the idea that it is gonna  be  like Gremlins I actually enjoyed it.  I can  see why it go so many sequels. Now it  isn't an  amazing  hidden gem.  But it is much  better  than I remember.

The 4k looks  great  sounds good and I love how it comes with a poster that makes the cover look like  a CED. 

Ghoulies gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 20 The Stepfather Remake

 

TITLE-The Stepfather

SOURCE-Screen Gems DVD

Having seen the original back  in the  day when  this remake was announced I wondered why? I  get remaking  films that were good but had flaws. The Stepfather had no flaws. Decided to  wait till  I could get the DVD in  thru Netflix by  mail,remember that? Got it in,watched  it and it was decent. Totally forgot about it until I  found the above pictured  copy at a junkstore cheap.

So this is  an ex-rental DVD. Which means a great  super tough case,these Blockbuster cases are great and much better than  the eco-cases we get  now with most releases. And yea I  gotta get  the "$9.99 sale" sticker residue on the bottom right  corner.

The film  starts off with  our lead  having just killed  another  family.  He targets widowed or freshly divorced women  with kids. Ends  up married to  them and as  the family disappoints him he  kills them and then moves to another state and starts  up again. 

After moving the Stepfather  meets Sela Ward in a grocery store. They start talking  and 6 months  later when Sela's oldest son is coming back  from reform school and learns he has a new step dad. 

The  new Stepfather starts cracking,like when  the younger son  is  told to turn the TV  down and doesn't. So Stepfather gets a bit  rough with the kid. More and  more cracks are showing, with  the  oldest son and his girlfriend noticing  them.

Decent remake. Still wasn't needed.  Good cast with Sela Ward standing out as the best in  the film.  Still  it's a film  I doubt I watch  again for a long time. Glad  I paid  a buck or less  for this.

The  Stepfather Remake gets a C+