Set in Europe in 1815 during the Napoleonic wars this period drama/thriller from director Bill Thomas and writers Bill Thomas/Ian Thomas follows the story of British soldier John Cross who is sent by his superiors to investigate a strange local disease. The film is being released on DVD in the UK exclusively by 101 Films. This follows on from other genre period films such as Dead Snow.
The film stars Roland Bearne, Jp Berry, Alex Bevan and Matthew Neil.
Writer/Director Micha Webley brings us a moving and thought-proving film for the post-iraq world where many soldiers are returning to society suffering from PTSD and struggling to settle back in to ‘normal’ life. Released on DVD in the the UK by 101 Films.
The film stars Chadwick Boseman (Marvel’s Black Panther), Tory Kittles (True Detective), Billy Zane ( & Peter Greene (Pulp Fiction)
Some may draw parallels between this film and Scorsese’s Taxi Driver; but the central character here is at-least one step removed from Travis Bickle. You could see it as a re-imagining for modern times but it’s effective in it’s own right none the less. Continue reading
Hazard blends psuedo Reality TV & Found Footage; although it isn’t really a found footage movie, released on DVD in the UK by 101 Films.
Written and directed by Lou Simon the film stars Norbert Velez, Aniela McGuinness and Todd Bruno.
Based around the fictional hidden-camera pranks show ‘Scary Antics’ where a group of friends wants to set up Jacob, a disturbed young man who is having problems adjusting after his father’s death, at a chemical factory. Jacob is convinced that the factory is haunted, and now Scary Antics is going to prove him right.
Written by Benjamin Gummery
From director Dave La Mattina, I Am Big Bird is a documentary that tells the story of Caroll Spinney from his upbringing and youth, his career in entertainment and right up to the present day. Released on DVD in the UK by Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment.
Continue reading
Horror Month – June 2015
Here is our review of one of the big summer horror releases – Insidious Chapter 3 by co-editor Lewis Mainwaring
This is the directorial debut from Leigh Whannell (writer of Insidious trilogy & SAW I, II & III).Horror Month – June 2015
To celebrate Horror Month on IndieMacUser, here is a selection of our previous horror reviews.
Unfriended (originally released in 2014 as Cyber-natural at the Fantasia Festival) is a ‘found footage’ supernatural horror film directed by Levan Gabriadze, written by Nelson Greaves, and produced by Timur Bekmambetov, Jason Blum, and Greaves.
“This film is a very unique of the found footage genre; however due to the computer screen aspect of the film I personally couldn’t connect with the characters. I feel that this due lack of character development in the script not the performance. I would still recommend people to see it and I do believe that this film will eventually become a cult favourite like the Blair Witch project.” 3/5 Continue reading
101 Films have released this classic film from Jean-Claude Van Damme and director Sheldon Lettich (Writer -Rambo III) on Blu-Ray in the UK for the first time as part of their ‘Cult Classics’ collection .
Upon receiving news that his brother in Los Angeles is seriously injured, Lyon Gaultier (Van Damme) deserts the French Foreign Legion from a remote outpost in North Africa. Fleeing from two of the Legion’s security force who have orders to bring him back at any cost, Lyon reluctantly turns to the illegal, bare-knuckles underground fighting circuit to raise the money he needs to help his brother’s family.
This story of the conflicted fighter who is expected to throw a fight is nothing new in Cinema; these stories have been told many times. The foreign legion element is the only thing that is new here; but not that new. Released in 1990, this film seems like a hang-over from the 80s. And as if we needed it pointing out, the largely distracting music cues that burst in at various times make this abundantly clear. Is this really necessary? The cinematography really dates this film as-well, shot like a wannabe Rocky.
Poltergeist is a 2015 American 3D supernatural horror film directed by Gil Kenan, written by David Lindsay-Abaire and produced by Sam Raimi.
This film is the latest Hollywood reboot and is a remake of Steven Spielberg‘s and Tobe Hooper‘s 1982 film of the same name.
The film has been released worldwide today (22nd May 2015).
The film stars Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Saxon Sharbino, Kyle Catlett and Kennedi Clements as the Bowen family move in to their house which unbeknownst to them is possessed by evil spirits.
The iconic house and location is imitated well by the film; the only adjustment being bringing the film into the present; incorporating more modern elements such as the use of GPS technology and a TV reality star (Jared Harris).
Ben: This looked and felt very digital and I would prefer if the film-makers had held onto more of the charm of the original. However I enjoyed the performance of Sam Rockwell as out-of-work father Eric and Jared Harris is the slightly comical paranormal investigator Carrigan Burke. 3/5
Lewis: I found the film used CGI to much making it look on times tacky. The original managed to create supernatural occurrences without this technology and still provided a vision astounding cult classic. Also I found the portrayal of ‘Madison’ this films version of ‘Carol Anne’ (portrayed by the late Heather O’Rourke) flat and on times wooden. If you want to see this film done properly watch the original !!!!!! 1/5
If you like Horror articles, reviews and more check out our Horror Month running throughout June. We have interviews with horror genre icons and much much more !!!!!!!!
The original Poltergeist is available now on Amazon.
Lewis Mainwaring & Ben Gummery
The Indie Mac User Team
Written by Lewis Mainwaring & Benjamin Gummery.
Unfriended (originally released in 2014 as Cyber-natural at the Fantasia Festival) is a ‘found footage’ supernatural horror film directed by Levan Gabriadze, written by Nelson Greaves, and produced by Timur Bekmambetov, Jason Blum, and Greaves. The film is a joint venture between Universal & Blumhouse Productions; although shot independently. Continue reading
Reviewed by Lewis Mainwaring & Benjamin Gummery
Avengers: Age of Ultron is the 11th installment in the Marvel Cinematic universe; following 2014’s hit Guardians of the Galaxy and is the follow-up to 2012’s The Avengers.
This film is written & directed by Joss Whedon (The Avengers) and stars Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, Aaron Tyler-Johnson as Quicksilver, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, Paul Bettany as The Vision, Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and James Spader as Ultron. Continue reading
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