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+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 19 Primate

 

TITLE-Primate

SOURCE-Blu  Ray

I barely remember seeing ads for  this when  it was hitting theaters. Never heard many folks talking about it. Saw the Blu ray cheap,got a local pawn shop I have found  out that usually has new  releases  in a week after  they came out cheap. 

A family that lives  in Hawaii has a pet  chimp. One  of the daughters is coming home  to visit right when the father has to be  gone. So  she plans a party with her friends. Not knowing a mongoose with rabies in in  the chimps cage.Now our lead and her friends are trapped by a rabid chimp.

Simple plot and one I've seen before with other animals. What made Primate stand out is the level of gore. First few minutes got one  guy getting the skin ripped off his face. Got another scene where all the women are in the pool,the chimp fears water. They think they are safe,but the chimp shimmys out on some wires grabs one girl by the hair and rips her hair  out by the root.

Yea it's nothing  amazing. Just not use to see a studio film  with this levels of gore. More than  worth seeing. 

Primate gets a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 18 Pet Sematary II

 

TITLE-Pet Sematary II
SOURCE-DVD

I am  sure I saw this back in the day.  More than likely in a  2 year period where I got cheap/free rentals from a video store. But when I put  the movie on  I remembered nothing about it.

Ed Furlong is the  son  of a actress. He is on the  set of her newest film and  watches as she accidentally gets  electrocuted on set.  And wow is  it brutal. Which leads to his father taking  him and moving from California all the way to  Maine. His dad is Anthony Edwards and is a vet.

In this new  town  of course Ed stands  out. Making just one  friend,a local fat kid  with  a POS step dad. This  step dad is  a local cop and played by  the great Clancy Brown. The POS Step Dad shoots and kills  the fat  kid's dog Zowie. So of  course Fat Kid  and Ed go bury Zowie in the Pet Sematary and big  surprise  the dog comes back to life. 

Shit happens and the step dad dies and gets buried and  comes  back.  And that is when  the film  just goes off the rails. Clancy  is amazing in  this role and single handedly saves  this movie. 

I had heard for years how this was horrible,and it could be,if not for Clancy Brown. Him  as the piece of shit  cop saves this movie. He is so over the top and appears to be having  a blast. Like in  the scene where he kills a  kid using  a motorcycle tire.

Sure this ain't a classic like the  original. It is still one of the best sequels to a Stephen  King movie.

Pet Sematary II gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 17 Skeleton Man

 

TITLE-Skeleton Man

SOURCE-DVD

I had heard for  years how bad this "horror" film is. Had a friend that loved  shitty horror  claim it was one of the worst she had seen. So when I found the DVD for  a buck I had to grab it.

A man  removes a  skull from an  ancient  Indian  Burial ground. Causing  the Skeleton Man to rise from  the grave,hop on his horse and ride through the woods killing people. Skeleton  Man  is someone in a cheap leftover cloak  the production staff got from  an after Halloween sale at Walgreens.  And  Skeleton  Man has on a skull mask. The standard Skull mask  you find for 10 bucks  at any store around  Halloween. The horse Skeleton Man rides,it changes color from shot to shot.  Yep they didn't bother to  get horses that  look  similar  for this  film.

Fairly  quickly Skeleton Man kills off two "Delta Force" troops that are in  the woods. Never seen Delta Force dressed in cheap workout gear. Still their deaths brings in the only names this film  could get.

Michael Rooker,yea I know to many  he is Merle from Walking Dead,he is  always Henry from Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer to me. He is head of a another group of "Delta Force" Troops. Which also includes Casper Van Dien. I always wondered  how and why he went from big roles like  Starship Troopers and Sleep Hollow to made for SYFY tripe like this. 

The rest of the film  is  this group of "Delta  Force"members  trying to stop Skeleton Man. And if  this is legit Delta  Force wow recruiting standards have went way down  since I  was in the military.

The kills are decent,fairly gory and look good. Just you get dumb stuff like a scene where Skeleton Man uses a standard arrow to take down a helicopter. 

Normally  a film like this I can just sit back  and enjoy it  being  BIG DUMB  FUN. This  is just  dumb!

Skeleton  Man gets  a D+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 16 Office Killer

 

TITLE-Office Killer

SOURCE-Echo Bridge DVD

Oh Miramax,made a pile or aqquired a pile,then either  sat on  them for years or dumped them straight  to cable/home video. Office Killer is one  of  those films that got that treatment.

In 97/98 this came out,I  saw no press about it in the genre mags. Never even  heard  of it until 10 or so years ago when I bought a 20 pack of horror films  from Echo Bridge. 20 films spread across  4 discs. So 5  films a disc. And while the  film looked rough and  a bare step above vhs  I enjoyed it.

Skip ahead to early this year. Heard Vinegar Syndrome was releasing it on  a packed HD release. Dug out this old ass DVD to rewatch it and  see  if  it was worth a pricey upgrade. Thinking  I paid 5 bucks for this release. Then the DVD got knocked under the TV stand. I forgot about it. Found it a week  ago  and watched it today.

Carol Kane is a office worker,who also takes care of an elderly relative. Her workplace is downsizing so  everyone is worried about their jobs. Then  late one night working over  Carol accidently  electrocutes a co worker. Instead of  reporting it,she  takes the body home hides it in her basement. And now any co worker pisses her off she kills  them. And the co workers is a great cast. Got  Molly Ringwald in 1 of  the  2 horror films she  has starred in. As  the bitchy co worker that gets  downsized. Jeanne  Triplehorn a as another co worker.

More of a dark comedy/thriller than horror. But worth a watch. Not sure I will upgrade unless I can find it for  25 or less.

Office Killer  gets  a B-.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 15 Return to Silent Hill

 

TITLE-Return to Silent  Hill

SOURCE-Blu Ray

While I heard  about the Silent Hill games I never played any of  them much. By the time they were coming out  I was not playing  many modern video games. So that first  Silent Hill movie came out. I skipped it. Then  one day years ago wanting something to watch bought it on  DVD. Enjoyed it  and when I saw the trailers for Return  to  Silent Hill  I wanted to go see it. Never could work out a day that I could make it to the good theater up in Pearl MS. My local  theater charges too much  for subpar projection and sound. Day the blu ray came out  I bought it and like what happens  often it got  put on the  to be watched  pile and sat.

A young  man returns to Silent  Hill,possibly to save someone named Mary. And  it seems he is stuck in  a time loop. This isn't a film with a deep plot. It relies on  the  creepy images and sound to tell it's story. Which works well for  me. Again I don't know the games so I have no clue how close to the games this film is.

Our lead is an actor I have never seen  before and he  is decent in his role. The lead actress is another I have  never seen. She does a great job with her part. The rest of the  cast ain't bad.

I gotta say the practical FX work in the  film looks great. Got a few scenes that feel  like they are outta Society. Now the  CGI work... some is decent and some looks like junk from a PS1 game.

Hearing  this bombed,which sucks,cause I would  love to  see a sequel.

Return to Silent  Hill gets a B-

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 14 Hollywood Kills

 

TITLE-Hollywood Kills

SOURCE-Echo Bridge DVD

Sometimes you just  need a film  to kill  sometime. And this one  did that.

Hollywood Kills  is the perfect example of a great premise that gets  turned to  doo doo butter cause  of budget  and the cast.

A crazy  director likes to  invite young actors/actresses to his studio. Then  he  drugs them  and  hold "Auditions". Where he kills them while filming  the kills. This time a young female director in the bunch of  aspiring thesbians. So the crazy director takes her nails her to a director's chair. And  forces her to watch as one  by one  her friends are slaughtered.

See sounds decent. Coming out  in 2006 this was trying  to catch  some of the  wave of popularity that Saw/Hostel and other films like that had. Just Saw and Hostel had budgets higher than what  I paid for my first car and a cast that wasn't found by throwing  darts at  the Los Angeles phone book.

At least the kills  are  all practical. The  best is  a broken champagne bottle shoved into someone's  mouth. The  worst is when  the  crazy director cuts the  lady director's eye lids off,so she cant shut her  eyes. And it  looks like those fake "nasty eye" appliances you would find near Halloween at places like  K-mart and TG&Y.

Barely and  hour  and 20 minutes including the  opening and closing credits the film still fills  too long. Maybe cut  the film down  to 30 minutes  and  it  would work decently  as part of  a horror anthology film or  an episode of a TV show  like Tales from the Crypt,Tales from  the Darkside or Creepshow.

The cast... only one person in  the cast have I seen  in  anything before.  The actor that  was Scutt Farkus in  A Christmas Story. And his part is tiny with little  screen  time.

Overall  I say don't buy this.I got it on  a set that was 20 horror films for 5 bucks. And feel like even  at 25 cents a  movie  I  overpaid for Hollywood Kills. Maybe if  you have to see it  track  it down on TUBI  or one  of the other  FAST apps.

Hollywood  Kills gets  a D+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 13 Final Remains AKA Mortuary 2005

 

TITLE-Final Remains AKA  Mortuary (2005)

SOURCE-Echo Bridge  DVD

Remember like 10 years ago  when Echo Bridge had the license for a pile of Dimension and Miramax  films? You could get a 20 pack of movies,5 films per DVD,for 5 to 10 bucks depending on the store. And this wasn't your normal Mill Creek/Brentwood/Diamond Public  Domain or Grey market stuff. You got real "winners" like Dracula 2000 and  that Halloween  with Busta Rhymes (RIP TheFUCKERFROMHELL).

On  one of these packs  I discovered this forgotten 2005  slasher comedy. Looks like it was shot on video and  cause it is crammed onto one disc with 4 other  films it looks like a ex rental VHS.  The sound was also  a bit low.  Normally I watch movies  in  the living  room on  the large tv.  And  that  one I can normally keep the volume at 14 to 17 for a DVD  and hear it clearly. This one I kept  having  to bump it up  to 20 or even  25.

A bunch of college age teens  want  to party in their small town. A killer is on the loose and  a man suspects the killer is hiding out  at the local funeral home. And of course the teens goto the funeral home  late one night to party.

Thankfully this is only 76 or so minutes.  A bigger budget and  more professional cast would have this at the  level of forgotten horror that  Vinegar Syndrome would release with a limited to  2k  slipcase  edition. But this has  a budget around  what a family of 4 would spend on a 3 day trip to Disney World.

The kills are not bad. I like the look of the killer,surgical face  mask and shower cap. Being  a homage to 80s slashers we  do  get some nudity.  With one scene feeling very gratuitious. 

When we finally learn  who the killer is I wasn't surprised. My short list of who  it  could be was 2 people.

Betting  this is  streaming on say Tubi or one  of  the other FAST services. And  if  you like slashers  and comedy it is worth watching. I doubt  I will ever upgrade from  this DVD.

Final Remains gets a C-.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 12 It's Alive

 

TITLE-It's Alive

SOURCE-DVD

Somehow as a kid  in the early  80s I ended up with a vhs tape with the first of this trilogy of films on it.  Watched it over and over as a kid. Then  kind of just forgot about it until last year when I found the trilogy on  DVD for cheap.

A expecting father enters the  delivery room to see everyone dead and a trail of blood. His new born  son is a mutant baby that kills. And the rest of the film is this father trying to find his son and protect him.

Great concept,playing off the various "these drugs if taken when pregnant will mess up your baby" scares of the 60s/70s,and Larry Cohen does a good job. Just wow this movie is slow as fuck. We don't see the mutant baby clearly until almost the end. Which makes the film feel a bit like  a 50s drive in  monster movie. When we do it looks a bit like a Cabbage Patch kid put into a microwave.

As a kid this was one of my favorite films. One I know I saw at least once a week. Rewatching it  now it isn't as good as I remembered. Which kind  off sucks. The film isn't bad. Just my brain had built it up as this gore  soaked forgotten 70s classic. Which it isn't.

It's Alive gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 11 Bambi the Reckoning

 

TITLE-Bambi the Reckoning

SOURCE-ITN/Scream  Factory DVD

Few years back when I watched the first entry in the Twisted Childhood Universe films I made a joke about "I want a killer Bambi  movie". Not knowing just 3 years later I  would get it.

Not  long after  the Bambi  movie  we all know Bambi meets a doe.Then  have an offspring that dies and Bambi gets exposed to toxic waste and  mutates into a giant killer deer.

And we also got a family gathering at their mothers home,a mother  who is suffering from dementia,and  guess what that home is in the woods Bambi lives  in.

Now  years back  I bought a few films from ITN,who I dubbed International Turd Network. Mostly cause almost all their films were made overseas and they all sucked. This was the exception.

Instead of folks in  obvious rubber masks this film has decent CGI FX for Bambi. The actors/actresses feel more like the crew  tracked down people  that do acting  for a living and not  "Hey didn't your cousin  once star in  the little theater production  of Driving  Ms Daisy?" 

So  far the other 3 Twisted Childhood  films work  mostly cause it is seeing  a person from your younger years now out there  killing people. This one works because it has a decent script. You could take  away the connection to the Disney animated film  and  it would  still work.

Bambi The  Reckoning gets  a C+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 10 Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare

 

TITLE-Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare

SOURCE-Scream Factory DVD

Now I saw and enjoyed both Winnie the Pooh horror films. So when I saw the same universe Peter Pan horror movie I grabbed it. And like with most DVDs/Blu Rays I buy it sat on  the to be  watched stack for months.

Peter Pan  is a sick man. He kidnaps kids and "sends them to Neverland" by killing them. After forgetting to go pick up her brother after school,Wendy learns Peter Pan kidnapped her brother and is trying to get hi back,

I like how the writer took the basic Peter Pan  story and twisted it. Reminds me of how at one time the comic book Fables the big bad guy was planned to be Peter Pan,that got stoppedd cause at least during that time frame Peter Pan wasn't public domain in the UK.

And quickly I wanna speak on  all these "horror" fans I see complaining about "All these films taking childhood things and making them  edgy and evil" Ok yea I get that but just don't watch the films then. Nope they will go watch it knowing they will hate it. And I do not get that at all. I got more free time than most and I don't have the time to watch something I know I won't enjoy.

Overall this ain't a bad film. The acting isn't bad. The FX work is well done. I would say it is a step above Winne the Pooh Blood and Honey part 1 and almost as good as it's sequel.

Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare gets a C.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 09 The Devil's Dolls aka Worry Dolls

 

TITLE-The Devil's Dolls aka Worry Dolls
SOURCE-IFC Midnight/Scream Factory DVD

Made a bit over a decade ago,and shot in Natchez,Canton and Jackson MS,this is the second  feature fro the director.

A serial killer's worry dolls end up in the hands of a crafty young girl. Who uses their parts to make charm bracelets. Which are sold at her mothers junk store. Seems these dolls are possessed by the evil spirit of the serial Killer

Each person that buys one of these charms gets possessed and starts killing. Like when one guy attacks a corner store owner with scissors. Once the leads figure out what is up they start trying to find everyone who bought one of the charms.

Decent acting some good gore and helps it is shot in  locations I know somewhat. Like one scene I knew they filmed in Jackson cause I saw a place I have been often.

The film is a mixture of serial killer+possession horror. It works. But also this is a movie that if I hadn't found it for a buck I wouldn't have bought it. The kind of film you are wanting something to watch so scroll through TUBI ffor an hour and decide on this.

The Devil's Dolls gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 08 Good Boy

TITLE-Good Boy

SOURCE-Shudder Blu ray

Heard about this movie last year and planned on watching it and just kind of forgot to. Earlier this year saw the blu ray was wanting something  to watch early in the morning with my dog,Maggot Ass the Wonder Mutt,and put it on. But kept being distracted and really only half watched the film.Now having seen it fully,I see why it got loads of praise.

A man with a chronic lung illness moves into his grandfather's house way out in the woods. It is just him and his dog Indy. The man's sister is sure the house is haunted and that is what killed the grandfather. And Indy keeps seeing stuff that is spooky. 

I was really surprised by this film. Went in not expecting that much,had heard early on the dog playing Indy was new to acting. And owning a stubborn dog I was figuring this would not work. Nope Indy is amazing. The sequence near the 3/4th mark with Indy figuring out how to escape being chained to his dog house was so well shot. 

The various spirits and supernatural entities in the film got a spooky look to them. Which helps makes the film have this creepy vibe. 

What can I say I'm a sucker for a film where the dog is the hero.  And watching Indy try his best to save his owner got me right in the heart.

For extras we get a Making of and a BTS featurette. Plus a decent commentary with the director and the producer.

Now for me this was worth buying,and I keep a sub going to Shudder. Give this a watch to see one of the more unique modern horror films.

Good Boy gets a B+

 

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 07 Phantom Brother

 

TITLE-Phantom Brother

SOURCE-Terror Vision  Blu Ray

The 80s the decade that produced piles of slashers. And cause of the lowered cost of consumer grade video cameras started the Shot on Video Horror sub genre. Phantom Brother is a mash up of horror+comedy plus shot on video+slasher. And for a low budget shot on Betamax,yep on one of the commentaries we learn this wasn't shot on VHS but the superior tape format,this isn't bad. It is actually funny and the lack of a budget doesn't hurt it that much.

The only survivor of an accident that killed the rest of his family,a young man gets raised by the crazy Hickman family. Now grown this young man has to clean up the mess left when  the ghosts of his dead family kill anyone that enters their old abandoned home.

Phantom Brother is just various reasons for people to enter this home and then be killed by the Black/White mask wearing Phantom Brother. We start off with two couples going there to make out. After getting the required for the era topless nudity Phantom Brother shows up with a sharp weapon and kills. Or how when a group shows up to film a sleazy horror film in the home. What surprised me is the ending twist wasn't what I figured it would be.

Loaded with a pile of commentaries this release from  Terror Vision is loaded. Having listened to 2 of the commentaries so far I gotta say they are fun to hear. 

Phantom Brother got a now rare VHS release. That on the extras is mentioned to sell for over 200 bucks. For a long time a crappy upscale rip of the VHS was on Youtube. This blu ray looks decent,considering it was filmed on Betamax tape. The sound has a tiny bit of hiss,but I was expecting that.

If you want a horror/comedy that has way more ambition than budget this is worth tracking down.

Phantom Brother gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 06 Copperhead The Snake Movie

 

TITLE-Copperhead the Snake Movie

SOURCE-Terror Vision Blu Ray

Last year I think it was in November Terror Vision had a deal,3 random blu rays shipped for a total of I think it was 30 bucks. Got 2 of these packs planning on watching them for this years 31 years of Horror. Copperhead is up first.

Made in the first half of the 80s,I keep seeing conflicting dates mostly 83 and 84,this is a low budget snake horror film. Way out in the woods of Missouri a wildlife painter lives with his family. And a kind of scummy family moves into a nearby abandoned church. A church that is packed with mice and copperheads.

Seems this family is on the run  cause of some gold they stole from Peru. The dad is a gun nut,with not long after he first meets the painter and his family,the dad is whipping out a pistol and shooting a glass jar with a snake in it. Then shoots the snake a few times. Oh yeah real snakes were killed in the making of this film. Forgot the opening scene is a copperhead eating a rat. The Blu ray claims to have a cruelty free version,I haven't watched that version.

We get lots of thick southern accents from folks that I bet might have done a few community theater plays or local commericals. Lots of guns shooting stuff. The family in the  church feels like the relatives of Ethal and her son from Friday the 13th part 5.

The ending connects us back to Peru and  we get to see the snakes get their revenge on the scummy family,and it was better done  than I expected.

Being a Terror Vision release this is LOADED with extras. You get a few commentaries,interviews with the family that made the film. A film made by the son of the director called Motorhome From Hell. A commentary on that extra film. 

Go in knowing this a cheap regional horror. Made by most a crew of locals. Kind of surprised I had never heard of this until getting it. On one  of the commentaries the director  claims copies of the VHS release was in videos stores all over the States. I never saw it and was in plenty of stores back  in the 80s.

Copperhead The Snake Movie gets a C+

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 05 Tremors 5 Bloodlines

 

TITLE-Tremors 5 Bloodlines

SOURCE-Universal Blu Ray

Still kind of amazed that Tremors has had 6 sequels,yes there is 2 more after this one,and a tv show. Yea that first film was a blast. Great cast,good fx work. 

Part 4 was a prequel set a long time ago.  So years later when part 5 Bloodlines was made they went back to the standard story. Burt Gummer goes where the Graboids are and fights them. 

This time it is South Africa and he gets stuck with Jamie Kennedy as his side kick. Being a new Tremors film they give us a never variant of the Graboids. We already got the biped Shriekers and the flying Assblasters. This film adds a new type that  looks like a snack with a graboid head.

I wasn't expecting much going into this. It premiered on SYFY channel. And after how just average part 4 I figured this would be cheap cash grab  attempt to revive a franchise that might should have stayed dead.

I was WRONG! Not really a fan of Jamie Kennedy,he was decent in the first Scream film but since then he annoys me more than makes me laugh. His chemistry with Michael Gross shines. The rest of the cast was made up of folks I haven't seen  before. Betting since this appears to have been filmed on location it was South African based actors/actress.

Two scenes stand out. Burt and Travis(Jamie Kennedy) are out in the brush. Huge herd of cows around them. And a massive Graboid is near. To distract it long enough to get to safety they try to get the herd to stampede. Nicely shot and paced action scene that worked. The other was near the end when using a trick a kid showed Jamie early on  they draw out the big Graboid. And while that is happening you have a stunt man "Jamie Kennedy" on a dirt bike grinding  up the snake graboids with it's tires.

Think about it ,this is the 5th film in the franchise,and there has already been a one season long TV show,you know going in if you are a fan of Burt and the Graboids. I am and really enjoyed this one.

Tremors 5 Bloodlines gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 04 The Legend of Boggy Creek

TITLE-The Legend of Boggy Creek
SOURCE-Sterling Entertainment DVD

Pretty sure I saw this at least once as a kid on late night TV in the early 80s. And over the decades had some many people just a bit older than me talk about how scary it is. When I found the DVD in a junkstore for a buck I took a chance.

The film is a weird blending of documentary and horror. Seems the  cast  is made up of lots of people from the town it is set in. Foulke Arkansas. Which means some of the cast is horrible and some are ok. The little you see of the creature ain't bad. But you see so little of it. And the movie is just so SLOW. I don't mind a slower film. This one is almost dreadfully slow. Add in the DVD I got is a obvious VHS rip. 4:3 smeary as hell picture. Sound that is mono. Plus it appears it ain't a brand new vhs nah they went to Movie Hutt and got the copy that had been rented 100 times. Then found a 2 head vcr to rip it with.

The story...swamp  monster is attacking people in a small rural town in the south. That is it.

Yes I know it is one of the earliest Bigfoot movies. And it appears for a generation that was kids when this came out it is SCARY AS FUCK. I had just woke up maybe an hour before viewing it this time and was so bored 45 minutes in I almost dozed off.

I have been told a nice looking Blu Ray is available. Plan is get that and give this a rewatch. See if better picture and sound can help save this movie in my eyes.

Legend of Boggy Creek gets a D-

31 days of Horror 2026 Day 03 Sinners

 

TITLE-Sinners

SOURCE-4K UHD

I heard about this movie when I was being made. The film being set in North Mississippi I was semi interested. Heard it was a horror film and really wanted to see it. Grabbed the 4k and planned on watching it soon. Late one night started it and was loving it and halfway through I was so tired I couldn't stay awake. Stopped the film went to bed. 

Today get up wanted something to watch. Saw the 4k was still sitting in a stack by the player in the living room and started it up. Bit over 2 hours later I was done and  saw why the film was getting so much praise.

Based in Clarksdale MS,a tiny town up in the Delta region of the state,we got a set of twins,Smoke and Stack,who have come back from working for the mob in Chicago. Their plan is open up a juke joint in this old mill. The man they are renting the mill from acts a bit odd. First half of the movie is mostly the twins gathering people to work at the juke joint and usicians and singers to perform there.

Then  almost right at the halfway point we get a twist. Seems vampires are real and one is in the town. And this drama becomes a horror film. With a juke joint full of folks while the vampires  outside keep adding more members and trying to get into the building.

And even after the vampire issue is taken care of we get another twist. Seems the guy who owns the mill is part of the Klan. And he had planned on coming with his group of inbred moronic crackers and burning the juke joint down. 

Gorgeously shot,with some great musicial numbers. And the cast is packed with folks that while you will not know their names you will know their faces. 

Sinners gets a A-.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 02 Basket Case 2

 

TITLE-Basket Case 2

SOURCE-Synapse DVD

8 years after the first film we finally got a sequel. Dwayne and his brother survived the last film and a lady that has a house full of freaks helps sneak both of them out of the hospital. 

The rest of the film is mostly the two brothers becoming part of this family of freaks. Belai finding a female that is in the same shape as he is. And Dwayne falling for the young lady that lives there helping her "Aunt". And we got a reporter and PI trying to find the brothers.

Yea this isn't as good as the original film. Matter of fact first time I saw it in the early 90s on Showtime I was mega disappointed. Gone was the scuzzy vibe that first film had. The increase in budget also hindered this sequel in my eyes back then. Now I think it is one of Frank Hellenlotter's better films. 

The highlight of the films is the look of the various freaks. Each who has a talent that makes them stand out as much as their odd appearance. 

This DVD includes two extras. One is a 20+minute piece on the film. Lots of good info about the making of the film. Then we get a short interview with David Emgee. Who plays Moonface in the film. This isn't as good. 

Basket Case 2 gets a B.

31 Days of Horror 2026 Day 01 Black Swarm

 

TITLE-Black Swarm

SOURCE-Maneater films triple feature dvd pack

Back months ago I started gathering cheap dvds of horror films. Every year I cover 31 horror/Halloween themed films on this blog each October. So I'm always needing stuff to watch for this. Saw for a buck each two Triple packs of these made for SYFY channel CGI creature feature films.

Black Swarm has a lady moving back to her home town. Along with her young daughter. She is gonna be a local cop. All seems ok. Until a local homeless man is found dead from wasp stings. Then we find out there is mutant wasps in the area. Created by Robert Englund. If you get stung by them the Queen Wasp gets control of you.

With that simple plot they managed to fill 90 odd minutes and not make the film feel padded. Decent acting,the guy playing the Ice Cream Man is a stand out. Yea the wasps are CGI but they are small so it being cheap CGI doesn't stand out as much as it normally would in a film of this monetary level. 

This is the third film I've watched off those two Triple feature packs and all three were worth seeing. Not sure if they are worth owning. And most of these Maneater Films movies are on Tubi or Fawesome or another of the FAST services.

Black Swarm feels like the modern version of those 60s creatures on the loose films. Stuff like Monster from Green Hell. But unlike Green Hell,Black Swarm is entertaining from start to finish.