Author Archives: Dan Clausen

Cross Bearer (2012, Screener Review)

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crossbearerDVDDirected by Adam Ahlbrandt

Cast: Isaac Williams, Natalie Jean, Victoria DePaul, Kacie Marie, Tim Cronin

OFFICIAL SITE

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I don’t believe anybody that isn’t horribly biased can disagree that religion, in the wrong hands can lead to—and has led to—not only discrimination but horrible acts of violence as well. Cross Bearer plays on this theme and showcases a fictionalized take on religious extremism that sadly, doesn’t seem so ridiculous in retrospect. There is no doubt that this film bathes in realism— or rather, it takes a shit and rolls around in it. Front and center are the harsher aspects of reality in the form of a no-holds-barred look at seedy strip club culture. Continue reading →

Mimesis (2012, Blu-ray Review)

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MimesisBLURAYDirector: Douglas Schulze

Cast: Allen Maldonado, Sid Haig, Lauren Mae Shafer, Courtney Gains, Taylor Piedmonte

Anchor Bay / Region A / Rated R / 2.35:1 / ENGLISH Dolby TrueHD 5.1 / SPANISH subtitles /  95 minutes

Disc Extras: Commentary Track with Director Douglas Schulze and Co-Writer Joshua Wagner

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There’s no doubt that the impact of Romero’s seminal zombie flick, Night of the Living Dead is still felt in modern genre films, TV and even comic books. Since the film’s release, it seems like nearly every part of the world has had their hand in the undead craft. Some of the more successful stabs at the living dead craze drew just enough influence from Romero’s work while also managing to put their own little spin on the living dead mythology, while others directly ripped it off, but any way you look at it they were all indebted to the guy who did it first. Mimesis takes the idea of an homage and takes it one giant step further. Continue reading →

Bloody Bloody Bible Camp (2012, DVD Review)

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bloodybloodybiblecampDVDDirector: Vito Trabucco

Cast: Reggie Bannister, Tim Sullivan, Ron Jeremy, Ivet Corvea

Maltauro Entertainment / NTSC Region 1 / Not Rated / 1.33:1 fullscreen / Dolby Digital Stereo / 90 minutes

Extras: Bloody Bloody Slideshow / Behind The Scenes Featurette / Special FX Discussion / Trailer / Commentary

BUY FROM TLAVIDEO

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Injecting humor into a horror film is by no means a simple task, and too many filmmakers have failed miserably at attempting to do so. Recent efforts such as Tucker and Dale vs Evil and The Cabin in the Woods found a near perfect blend between the humorous and the horrific. On the other side of the spectrum, there are films that deceive the viewer by cleverly disguising themselves as an “homage to the golden age of the slasher film” and come up short in their efforts to emulate ’80s horror, forcing the humor that was typically unintentional during that era.  Among the worst cases of the homage syndrome is a little film intriguingly titled Bloody Bloody Bible Camp. Continue reading →

Bath Salt Zombies (2013, DVD Review)

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bathsaltzombiesDVDDirector: Dustin Mills

Cast: Josh Eal, Ethan Holey, Jackie McKown, Dave Parker, Brandon Salkil

MVD Entertainment Group / Region 0 / Unrated / 16: 9 Widescreen / English Dolby Digital / 70 minutes

Extras: Commentary / Trailer

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The “bath salts” epidemic swept the US fairly recently, and if you have the means to be reading this, you’ve inevitably had your Facebook feed bombarded with talks of cannibalism and synthetic drugs. So, with that being said, I won’t bore you with the specifics, because you’ve most likely heard a friend or co-worker crack a joke at the expense of the victims of alleged bath salt tweakers. Now, just imagine those stupid jokes being fleshed out to create a full length low-budget zombie movie, aptly titled Bath Salt Zombies. Doesn’t sound very appealing, does it? Strangely enough, as quick as I was to dismiss it, I was so torn in that I was rolling my eyes at the idea and still found myself intrigued by it. Come to find out, this is one of the rare cases where something sounds worse on paper than it actually is.  Continue reading →