beyondthegore's Reviews

Peelers (2016)

8/10

"funny, gory and fills an appetite for a solid Saturday night film"

28 March 2017

Warning: Spoilers

It's been a long time since I have been able to label a film as 'fun', Peelers is hitting the scene with some much needed Splatter Gore! It's funny, gory and fills an appetite for a solid Saturday night film.

In the wake of previous zombie/stripper combinations (Zombies, Zombies, Zombies & Zombie Strippers) Peelers actually gets the combination right, it knows when to bring the noise, it knows when to build some tension and ultimately it knows what to deliver, gore, action, and unsurprisingly in a film where there are strippers........tits!

Producer Sevé Schelenz who seems to mainly have a TV background editing for a countless number of shows, sends a clear message to the horror scene – this is how to make a gory, light hearted horror comedy!

Former baseball star 'Billie Jean Douglas' is trying to enjoy her last night as a small-town strip club owner, a group of local miners come to the bar to celebrate one of the workers birthdays. The night seems to be going as planned until one of the workers goes to the bathroom and suffers a belt of exorcism projectile vomit – spraying a black tar like substance.......well everywhere! As the night starts to take a turn for the worst Blue Jean asks one of the group what has happened and we are given an explanation of what the miners discovered - an 'oil' like goo which seems to infect people......it slowly starts to spread around the strip club and becomes a fight for survival to see who can make the night!

Yes the plot is as simple as it sounds but it doesn't need to be complicated, I'm glad to see that the focus is on gore and comedy rather than a complex story which would not suit the film. There has clearly been a lot of thought in to the finer details of the film, the pacing is absolutely spot on, every moment where things seem to slow down a little we are given some character development or gore......or nudity! Naturally the first quarter of the film does play out as an introduction but it doesn't take long to get going and when it does the action sticks around until the very end.

Wren Walker as Blue Jean plays a great female lead and is a badass in her own right, in fact the majority of the cast all play standout performances which I am struggling to fault. Don't get me wrong there are a few wooden moments, Caz Odin Darky as club bouncer 'Remy' bears the brunt of the awkwardness, with some lines of dialogue which simply shouldn't have made the final cut........something just didn't work for Caz, his physique suits the role but his face is more male model than male bouncer!

Peelers absolutely exceeds in the gore department, it's not conventional 'blood' rather a black tar like substance which seems to be in abundance. Violent vomit episodes, decapitations, gunshot wounds and a handful of other creative deaths all fit the bill perfectly – there are a couple of moments of what I call 'dodgy CGI' which I felt personally did not fit in with the practical prowess of the entire film – ultimately this use of CGI was outshone by the practical FX and should have been left as is.

Now these aren't zombies in the normal sense – more infected than blood thirsty, they don't seem to feed on humans more to kill and maim. Usually at this moment I would be giving a speech about how they're not Romero zombies or something similar but it's really not necessary here, these infected are unique in their own manner and there's no need for comparison.

Overall Peelers is a thoroughly enjoyable horror/comedy with enough gore and nudity to entertain even the most casual horror fan, a much needed splatter entry to start 2017 with a gooey-bang!

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Smash Cut (2009)

4/10

Smash Cut from beyondthegore

27 March 2012

Two things might attract you to this movie; if you're like C, it's the prospect of seeing adult film actress Sasha Grey doing something other than swallowing massive meat (although why you would want to see her doing anything but that is a mystery to me), or you're like myself, and want to see a movie that is a tribute to the life and works of the God Father of gore H.G. Lewis.

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The gore, or lack of it, is another disappointment. The effects aren't really the problem, I realised that they were obviously fake to mimic some of the questionable gore props used in the 60s and 70s however I distinctly remember most of Lewis' gore being quite revolting and of bad taste. In 'Smash Cut' they are all played for a laugh which was a bit of a shame. In addition to this, and contrary to much of Lewis' ethos, many of the gore scenes are remarkably weak, nothing much is shown. On occasion the gore is there with some guts and plenty of blood, but certainly nothing which sticks in your head like in Lewis' movies.

'Smash Cut' delivers an experience which is occasionally close to the great Lewis movies of old, too often though it forces the formula too far, with the 'bad acting' coming off a little to camp, and many of the jokes coming too close to seeming like a bit of a micky take. There are many aspects of the movie which fall short, but overall, the main problem remains that for a movie attempting to pay homage to the God Father of gore, it's not anyway near gory enough.

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Paranormal Activity 3 (2011)

7/10

Paranormal Activity 3 from beyondthegore

27 March 2012

Everyone has their own opinions about handy cam films and I think they simply boil down to you either liking them or disliking them. Personally I have been a bit of a fan of the Paranormal Activity films which is probably safe to say the opposite of the majority's opinion however I think taken at face value they deliver probably the best they can in terms of scares and atmosphere.

Paranormal Activity 3 is basically a prequel to the other two films, it goes back to 1988 to try and shine some light on the events that took place in the first two films. There was already a mention in one of the previous films that there was an entity with them in their childhood and these are the video tapes that show exactly what took place in that time.

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Overall this is probably my favourite of the three films (closely followed by the first) I felt that it was more polished than the other two, delivered more effective punchier scares, built on tension a lot better and generally for me did the job and that was make a solid handy cam supernatural film! Whether it will hold the same weight on a DVD and out of the cinema I don't know but either way i thoroughly enjoyed it! Read the full review at: beyondthegore

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Evil Grave: Curse of the Maya (2004)

2/10

Dawn of the Living Dead from beyondthegore

27 March 2012

Sometimes I would deem a film too bad that it's actually good. This can be because its that bad its funny therefore worth a single watch but this film is actually THAT bad I'm willing to ruin every single "highlight" of this film to get my point across as I am confident by the end of this review you will not be watching it any time soon.

Then there are the effects. My word I have seen better graphics come from my buttocks. Usually sending ripples through my trousers as the gas immitions tear through the atmosphere. Everybody knows what the sun looks like yes? The big yellow thing up in the sky, but I think the director is taking us for a ride here because I'm pretty sure the sun they keep showing me has been made in Microsoft Paint. In fact I think the five suns they keep showing me are made in MS Paint. In fact I think all of the graphics were made in MS Paint. I'm sorry but I just couldn't humour the effects used in this film. Zombies fading in to bushes, scenery fading away like it was never there, it was all awful. The gore/blood was bearable but nothing spectacular, it looked like blood which is always good, body parts being pulled out of victims also looked OK, but it's used it many other films and 10.2million times better.

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Street Trash (1987)

8/10

Street Trash from beyondthegore

27 March 2012

Throughout the film you really do get the idea that it must have been as much of a laugh filming it as it was watching it. The situations, even when they are not violent, are crude and vulgar enough to keep you entertained – the chapter entitled 'Detachable Phallus' is particularly amusing. The characters themselves are developed enough and the actors play the parts they are meant to represent well, every now and then a new character is introduced but you know what fate he/she is going to incur.

The gore is top notch, the melting scenes are brilliant and in each case have their own edge. Either the person melts only identifiable by the odd limb left behind or in one memorable occasion the subject explodes! In each case you really look forward to seeing who takes the next swig of viper. The melt scenes are not the only gore scenes, there are other scenes scattered here and there, one in particular is the death of the 'bad' character - I will let you view that one for yourself.

There is only one negative, the pace after the first melting scene slackens but once the film picks up speed (and body count) this minor lapse is both forgotten and forgiven.

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2LDK (2003)

6/10

2LDK from beyondthegore

27 March 2012

For those of us not familiar with seeking accommodation 2LDK simply stands for two bedrooms, living room, dining room and kitchen. Bought in a cheeky box set with Suicide Club and Moon Child (reviews to follow soon). I was not expecting much to be fair.

Now the thing I like about this film is that it doesn't mess about, as the envy builds between the girls small problems in the house which usually wouldn't mean anything get turned around as ammo and a chance for them to argue with each other. It's not long before the crap hits the fan and these two girls want to pull each other's hair out.literally. We get to see a much darker side to both characters as the film progresses.

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Murder-Set-Pieces (2004)

7/10

Murder-Set-Pieces from beyondthegore

27 March 2012

You cannot have avoided the hype, and subsequent 'fan' abuse surrounding this film. Refused by three editing studios, 200 litres of blood used and over 30 deaths; this film caused somewhat of a stir it would seem. Now, as you have probably gathered from my other reviews, I do not care about director reputations or hype, I judge films from their own merits and this is exactly what I'm going to do here, so cast aside any preconceived prejudice and read on with an open mind.

With statistics like those mentioned above plus the admitted use of real prostitutes this film was clearly aiming to be one of bad taste. This fact, coupled with a $2 million budget and the recruitment of the 'Toe Tag' team (made famous from the 'August Underground' films) on special effects should really set this film apart from countless of its lower budget 'amateur' peers. I was looking forward to it.

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If its gore you want then this is your film. However, as bloody as it may be, don't be fooled by comparisons such as 'Maniac'. This film just doesn't feel as insane or brutal as that; if it's that sort of depravity you are seeking then I think you might be disappointed with M.S.P. It's got all the right ingredients tons of misused women, gratuitous nudity and violence, rape, child murder and there's even a bit of anti semitism thrown in for good measure, and, oh yeah, the murderers a Nazi whose grandfather was friends with none other than Mr Hitler himself. I mean to jest because rather than actually being offensive it feels a bit over the top. They really couldn't have aimed to offend any more people.

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Zombie Lake (1981)

1/10

Zombie Lake from beyondthegore

27 March 2012

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There is no real plot. The zombies themselves look really really poor, simply men with green paint on. It's embarrassing to watch as the 'actors' emerge from the lake with most of the green makeup washing of with each clichéd lurch. The blood and gore is not really worth mentioning as all of it is off screen with the simple ketchup spray of blood on the floor or grass to give indication of death.

To top this movie off the dialog itself is really poor, and the UK DVD disc I viewed has quite possibly the worst dubbing ever; it was quite clear that all the voices were done by a single man and woman.

Overall, this film has to be seen to be believed, ironically enough I strongly urge you just to take our word for it – and for the love of god don't watch it. I honestly mean it; this film is simply not worth watching. It's barely a movie by my definition of the word. It's an insult to the genre.

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War of the Dead (2006 Video)

2/10

War Of The Dead from beyondthegore

27 March 2012

Sounds good, it really isn't.

Another zombie film which just has you asking two questions, the first, why did they bother making it? The second, why did I bother to watch it through to the end? The answers, well only those involved in the project and the almighty himself knows the answer to the first, the second, well I would have felt guilty reviewing a film which I hadn't seen in its entirety, and having just watched 'war of the dead' for the full 90 minutes I now appreciate how terrible an eternity in purgatory could be.

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Overall, the story was a good enough idea, but the film was pretty poor. I'm a fan of low budget films but it always amazes me that people aren't able to realise the scope of their projects. Bottom line is, if you haven't got the budget for decent makeup or gore; don't bother making a zombie film. This is truly the case with 'War of the Dead' it had reasonable potential with its story, but was seriously below par on delivery and clearly on resources.

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Bone Sickness (2004 Video)

8/10

Bone Sickness from beyondthegore

27 March 2012

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Beyond a shadow of a doubt, whilst all the above is simply average, the gore is where 'Bone Sickness' stretches its decreped head above the crowd; this movie has got more gore than a nuke in an abattoir and it's easily the goriest non-comedy zombie movie I have ever seen!

The gore effects are amazing, and when you consider that they were clearly home made, it puts bigger productions to shame. Up to the 50 minute mark there is the odd scene of gore, an appetiser for what is to come; a little bit of flesh ripping, some circular saw cutting and some disgusting stools! Then, as the clock strikes the hour the gore flows freely. Literally every type of mutilation possible is performed. Faces ripped off, disembowelling, heads punched in, brains eaten, zombies shot to hell; the works. All the effects are shown in full glory, and whilst granted they look a little exaggerated in parts, they sure make an impact.

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Wild Zero (1999)

2/10

Wild Zero from beyondthegore

27 March 2012

First off the band, the music which dominates the movie is really rubbish punk and the sound quality is appalling, real low bit-rate which distorts and clinks through your speakers. With that annoyance, throw in some bad acting and a really poor script and you have got a film with a pace which mimics the consistency of a zombies brain.

It was genuinely boring to watch - C didn't even make it all the way through! I thought that after such a bad start the zombies at least will save it... Sadly no! They are as bad as the sound quality! Annoying and frustrating are two such consistencies in the movie. Take my word for it, its not gory, its not funny, and whilst the plot sounds imaginative and interesting, it is hideously executed.

Avoid this movie, no wonder we only just heard of it.

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Eaten Alive (1976)

3/10

Death Trap from beyondthegore

27 March 2012

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With every other aspect of the film being some what uninspiring my hopes still hinged on the violence in the movie. Let's be honest at least a crocodile attack should be reasonably savage, and blood/gore in water effects are hardly difficult to achieve. There is a relatively lengthy build up to the first death which took some watching; however, when the killer brandishes a full length scythe I thought things were looking up. Sadly, as with all other aspects of the film, the first death, and all subsequent ones, were as unimaginative as the rest of the movie, with most kill shots lingering on the expressions on the victims faces rather than on the wound with only bits of blood shown from even the strongest of blows. My hopes remained on the cardboard-croccodillus to deliver the goods but again, just a bit of blood followed the victim wrestling with an obvious puppet.

Overall this movie does nothing to improve Mr Hoopers reputation as a one hit wonder. TCM was a strong movie; it was grimy, brutal and atmospheric; 'Death Trap' isn't. Many reviews I read consider the killer in the movie to be its strongest point, and despite being mad, I found it difficult to access him, or any other aspect of the film, on any level. It should have been good, but with a pace which essentially stops, a set of boring characters and locations and very little gore I find it difficult to see why I would recommend this movie to anyone. There are plenty more movies from that era which excel, and indeed influenced many movies, in the 1980s. Watch them instead, this is one which deserves to be forgotten.

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Husk (2011)

7/10

Husk from beyondthegore

27 March 2012

As you will read no doubt on all my reviews of recent films in the series, the 'After Dark' label is renowned for offering solid, traditional horror; and by that I mean that if you are looking for innovation, you won't find it here. That said; whilst the movies offered this year tread familiar ground, I sometimes feel knowing what you're going to get has just as many arguments for than against. Ironically, so does the movie 'HUSK', an enjoyable supernatural slasher, which, for every fresh idea it presented seemed to open up another plot continuity or bad horror cliché; a movie which critically comes across a lot worse off than the overall viewing experience actually proved to be! Bear this in mind when reading this.

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This aside, pretty much everything else about 'HUSK' was a success. The locations were naturally creepy, the scarecrows suitably creepy and the deaths nice and brutal. There was come commendable pacing of shots, pitching the suspense scenes just right – a confidence which was rewarded with some genuine jumps and chills. The gore too, although limited, was nicely graphic – nails through the hands was a lovely touch, if you will forgive the pun! The ending too was a fantastically sadistic piece which really left the movie on a high.

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The Devil Inside (2012)

4/10

The Devil Inside from beyondthegore

26 March 2012

It's always going to be hard to make an 'exorcist' film, you have a massive history to try and compete against. This is true in many genres but usually there's some sort of twist on plot or other angle you can take, however 'The Devil Inside' focuses purely on Exorcism and in my opinion just doesn't cut it for me.

Found footage films are always up against it, as stated in other reviews they really are love or hate, the main problem being is what you are going to show in the actual footage has to be pretty damn powerful to hold any kind of weight and I just felt this let me down.

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Overall 'The Devil Inside' I cannot recommend. I've been lucky when it has come to horror at the cinema of late, "Insidious" and "The Woman in Black" being stand outs and I was hoping to carry on my run. I left the cinema fairly disappointed and wished that it could have been better. However the boring script and dialog coupled with the lack of scares really hindered the efforts of this film. If you're after a solid 'Exorcist' style film watch the daddy itself or "The Exorcism of Emily Rose", they deliver something which this doesn't, quality.

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Orphan (2009)

7/10

Orphan from beyondthegore

26 March 2012

"There's something wrong with Ester", and after watching this I will vouch for that! This film has always been in the background for me and it's always been one of those that I've never really been interested in watching however after someone's recommendation I thought I would give it a go. To be fair I was not disappointed.

The gore is effective where used, yes there's not bucket loads but what we do see is pretty brutal and it's clear that Ester is no stranger to drawing blood. Without ruining the plot ill stop there, I will say that the ending definitely caught me off guard. Even as it was happening I was pretty shocked. Yes the haters will say it's ridiculous and not feasible but I like it. Call it Marmite if you will! I thought the acting was solid, no cheesy one liners or cringe worthy script in sight! Everything was very well thought through production value was very good and location was spot on. I really am struggling to find many negatives and I think that speaks a good volume. Even the plot padding didn't bother me, for once I thought it was necessary to tell the story.

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Zombie Holocaust (1980)

4/10

Zombie Holocaust from beyondthegore

26 March 2012

It's supposed to be a zombie film, it's got a zombie on the box art and on the back cover. However 'Zombie Holocaust' has more cannibals and tits than zombies....and there's not much of that either! I love my cheesy 80's films mainly the reason that drew me to this title even after its poor scores around the net, it definitely has the 80's feel about it, the synthesizer is in full flow the attire is definitely 80's and it does have that classic feel. Shame it's a poor effort at a zombie movie.

Its only saviour that doesn't make this worthy of a zero are the few gore scenes it has. They are pretty savage and the effects have the 80's feel which is nice. One scene that stands out is where our team is ambushed by the cannibals and one of the unlucky ones is stabbed and has his eyes gouged out for a little cannibal snack! Nice! However these scenes soon die off and the dribble plot kicks in to full swing!

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1408 (2007)

6/10

1408 from beyondthegore

26 March 2012

Finally the dusty keyboard is in use. Not much of a cult film and very commercial but none the less horror. In all honesty I hadn't heard of it I had no idea about it and had no clue what it was about which I think is the best way to watch a film.

The start is amazing. We kick off with John Cussack (Mike Enslin) a paranormal investigator promoting his books and staying in a creepy location. He comes across as a true cynic towards the paranormal aspect of his job and he looks like he cannot be spooked by anything.

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If I could rate the film on its start I would give it a 8/9. However I just didn't find there were enough scares, it gets intense for about the first 15-20 minutes of Cussack being in the actual room after that I ended up getting bored.

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The Ghost Galleon (1974)

2/10

The Ghost Galleon from beyondthegore

26 March 2012

Clearly hoping to ride on the momentum of the success of his other two previous Blind Dead movies, Ossorio continues his franchise quickly, releasing 'Ghost Galleon' only one year after 'Return of the Blind Dead'. The result is a movie which, despite having a reasonable concept fails to live up to the standard set by the franchise and one which if I was honest was a bit of a struggle to watch.

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Overall you can see where this review is going, and if you weren't a fan of the franchise already, this movie is certainly not going to convert you! The only reason it gains any points at all is that the Templar zombies look as ominous as ever and the sets used give the movie a genuinely creepy charm. There is one decent gore scene but overall the pace of the movie moves as slow as the Templars. It's a shame, but thankfully Ossorio didn't leave it there.

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Dawn of the Dead (1978)

10/10

Dawn of the Dead from beyondthegore

26 March 2012

For me Dawn Of The Dead is so much more than just a zombie movie. It for me is a memory. I remember a time in my early teens when I happened to catch the end of a film on BBC2 in the early hours of the morning and then trying my hardest for months on end to find out what film it actually was. Eventually I managed to track it down and smile as not only had I found the film, it was and would remain to be my favourite zombie movie of all time! To this day this film doesn't get boring for me and I can happily watch it in all of its 2hour 10minute glory!

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Overall this film for me is the cornerstone of all zombie movies. It has your classic Romero zombies (not any of these new day marathon sprinting zombies that can outrun cars) in a setting that is bang on the money! The right amount of gore, character development and simple well executed plot means that for me this film is the benchmark and to this day nothing has touched it!

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