3D Terror: “Friday the 13th Part III” (1982) Review

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I have seen Friday the 13th Part III for the first time and to be honest my expectations weren’t all that high to begin with. When I saw it, I was kind of disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, it has some great things going on but it just feels weak when looking at the original and Part 2, which are far better. What worked for me was the cool compilation of what went down in the previous installment (that’s great seeing in every F13 sequel), the opening credits were VERY groovy and so 80s, the kills as usual are inventive and bloody, some of the characters (Shelly, Fox & Debbie) were so much fun, this is the one where the infamous hockey mask of Jason Voorhees was presented for the first time and the scene in which we see that is EPIC, I loved how cheesy it got sometimes and of course the obvious 3D gags that were fun in 2D too. Jason was played extremely well by Richard Brooker as well, may he rest in peace.

Now this movie had lots of flaws! First of all it has a really bad final girl (Dana Kimmell as Chris) who did nothing else than screaming, hiding and whining without pulling out a good fight. I find it an insult compared to Alice and Ginny… This is really a comedown after the spectacular Part 2 if you ask me! The movie in general has bad acting, and some really annoying characters. I also feel that the dream sequence has been done to death in the third entry, it feels tired and repetitive. The final act is nowhere near as suspenseful and powerful as its predecessor. I found Part III okay but nothing special, could’ve been much better, its still not entirely terrible. Still recommend it to the horror fans in general to give this a watch. Might consider upgrading to Blu-ray… Again, its too bad this never got re-released in Real 3D, the way it was made for.

–Ferdi Akkulak

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A to Z Horror: “Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed” (2004) Review

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I have watched Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed for the first time (“G” of #AtoZHorror in August) and I thought this sequel wasn’t on par with the original but I could’ve expected that. This movie took a whole different direction and that was definitely noticeable with the storyline, characters and locations. What I liked about this movie was that Emily Perkins’ character: Brigitte, was given a lot more screentime and more to do. Her character was somehow interesting to follow and the performance by the actress was outstanding, you could see that her acting grew in those 4 years after the original. I also really loved Tatiana Maslany as Ghost, really fascinating character that came out of nowhere but her character was really likeable and I love how she bonded with Brigitte. I even surprisingly liked the story and the locations, they’re nowhere near as good as the original but it wasn’t a huge issue in this sequel for me.

Things I didn’t like in Ginger Snaps 2 were how small the role of Ginger (played by the fabulous Katharine Isabelle) got… They should’ve given her more screen presence as her character is far more likeable than Brigitte and they’re sisters at the end of the day. The ending, while surprising, also felt a bit rushed to me… I did feel that the make up effects were a great improvement over the original. I liked some of the plot twists in this one! This is not a bad sequel, it could’ve been worse but it could’ve been better too… Its well worth a watch if you are a fan of the original Ginger Snaps and I recommend it to horror fans in general too. It was a fast paced sequel that had its flaws but managed to keep most cliches at bay. Interesting to see how Ginger Snaps Back – The Beginning will be…

–Ferdi Akkulak

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Slasher Studios Podcast: David Zernhelt (The Camp Crystal Lake Diaries)

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On this week’s episode of Slasher Studios Horror Podcast, our hosts Andrew Beirl and Kevin Sommerfield will be chatting with author David Zernhelt about his brand new book, The Camp Crystal Lake Diaries : An Exploration Into Friday The 13th. The fun begins Wednesday night at 10PM central so make sure to call in with any questions you may have for David!

To listen live or to check out an archive:
Slasher Studios Podcast: David Zernhelt (The Camp Crystal Lake Diaries)

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The Robinsons Present… A Tribute to Slasher Studios

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As many of you many know, Slasher Studios’ second slasher feature, Dismembering Christmas, was successfully funded last week through Kickstarter. We cannot wait to make this the gory Christmas slasher that you’ve been waiting for and cannot thank you enough for the incredible support. As a reward, we have a very special gift for the backers from the punk-pop group The Robinsons. We worked with them on Don’t Go to the Reunion and they are back creating some kick-ass Slasher Studios tunes just for you!

The Robinsons would like to thank all of the Dismembering Christmas Kickstarter backers for supporting independent artists and for helping another slasher reach the screen. We are huge fans of Slasher Studios and recently recorded songs inspired by their films. The EP will be released online for free this Halloween via Ramone to the Bone Records, but, as a backer, you will be able to download the tracks now by using the link provided in the most recent Kickstarter email. Thanks for supporting indie cinema and indie music!!

Like Dismembering Christmas on Facebook:
Dismembering Christmas Facebook

Like The Robinsons on Facebook:
The Robinsons Facebook

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A to Z Horror: “Friday the 13th Part II” (1981)

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I have finally watched Friday the 13th Part 2 for the very first time (“F” of #AtoZHorror in August) and I dare to admit that I loved it slightly more than the original, which I love too! This is one of the best slasher sequels I have ever seen along with the likes of Scream 2. I love how the continuing story picked up after the events of the original. Its definitely my favorite installment of the Friday the 13th franchise as of yet.

I thought the characters were very likeable, and my favorite character was of course Ginny played by the talented Amy Steel. Her tour de force performance won me over and I crown her as the best F13 final girl! What a smart, intelligent, witty and loveable character she portrayed! Props… I really liked every kill, loved how some of them were really unexpected and turned into a jump scare. I really dug the score in this as well, done by the always amazing Harry Manfredini! This is such a well done sequel, I fell in love with the characters and I thought it was very fast paced too, no loose ends! I adored the small but memorable part of Adrienne King (Alice) in this movie. The suspensefull final act is hands down my favorite part of the movie cause we saw a strong female heroine being born! I also kind of dug Jason in the sack mask to be honest…

All by all, a fantastic slasher sequel and an amazing installment in the F13 franchise that I highly recommend to all you slasher fans! This is getting an upgrade to Blu-ray from me, that’s how much I loved it! Cannot wait to see the segment of Part 2 on the Crystal Lake Memories documentary and to watch Part 3!

–Ferdi Akkuklak

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A to Z Horror: “The Evil Dead” (1981)

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I finally watched The Evil Dead for the first time (“E” of #AtoZHorror in August) and this movie took me by surprise! I love how this movie succeeded with minimal ingredients but having maximum suspense! I can even say that I enjoyed watching it more than the remake of last year and I did not expect that to happen. Not only did it have lots of black humor, it also had some fantastic gore effects and make up effects. It was really frightening and disturbing in a lot of parts and I was even grossed out sometimes, which rarely happens when I watch a horror movie.

Bruce Campbell was amazing as Ash! Some comparisons, the remake had more character development and the characters lasted longer, in the original however the movie finds the perfect balance between horror and comedy. The remake was more serious. Both movies have things that work in its favor though. The Evil Dead is a cult classic in the genre and has so many memorable scenes that you can’t forget about this movie too soon. Highly recommend it to every horror fan who wants a killer good time! Can’t wait to watch the sequels, also besides Ash, none of the other characters were really memorable, but that is an obvious observation.

–Ferdi Akkulak

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“Eden Lake” Fires On All Slasher Cylinders

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So to start off, EDEN LAKE isn’t your typical horror slasher movie. Eden Lake goes where other mainstream Engilsh horror movies will stop.

Story
Eden lake is about a man and a woman who are going to a lake in the woods to camp there and have a romantic time. They get picked on by a group of teenagers but nothing serious is happening. Some time later the picking on gets worse and the teenagers do the harshest things from stealing till torturing. No spoilers, but the woman gets badass.

Scary and Gory?
These are important factors for horror slasher movies. So is it scary? It isn’t like supernatural movie scary A.K.A jumpscares. This movie is intense the whole time, you can say that due to the intensity it is pretty scary. So is it gory? This movie isn’t as gory as movies like ichi the killer or as bloody as the evil dead (2013), so it is not the whole time squirts of blood etc. However, when this movie is gory, it is pretty realistic and rancid.

The movie itself
But how good is the movie itself, acting, music, directing etc? The acting in this movie is pretty good and realistic, I loved Kelly Reilly because she did such a good job. The music in this movie was okay. The music was good but there are movies where the music really helps with the scariness factor but that wasn’t the case with this movie. The directing really surprised me because it is directed by James Watkins who made the woman in black and I didn’t really like that movie. However, in this movie the directing of him was really good and I hope he will make more movies like this in the future.

Conclusion
This movie was just amazing and it was pretty original for an not foreign horror movie. Everything worked for me. The gore and scaryness were amazing and I think that every horror fan would love that. However, I do think that you have to like movies like the last house on the left (2009) or I spit on your grave (2010) because this movie is pretty raw and not for the weak stomach or weak mind.

–Merik Westerveld

3.5

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“Dismembering Christmas” Hacks Up Kickstarter Goal

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WE DID IT!!!!! We just hit our Dismembering Christmas goal! THANK YOU to everyone out there who have either become a backer and/or shared the campaign. We are so excited to make this movie the bloody holiday horror slasher you have been waiting for. If you haven’t yet become a backer, there is still time. The more money we raise, the bloodier we can make this Christmas creation. Once again, thank you from the bottom of our slasher hearts. You guys ROCK!

To become a backer:
Dismembering Christmas Kickstarter

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“All Cheerleaders Die” is Gory, Good Horror Fun

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All Cheerleaders Die is the new comedy-horror film from indie directors Lucky Mckee and Chris Silverston. The film follows the story of 4 young cheerleaders who are all involved in a fatal car accident. Luckily for the girls, they are brought back to life by their friend Lenna who is a practicing witch. However, the spell has some pretty dangerous side effects as the girls soon learn after feasting on Lenna’s next door neighbor. With this new power within them the girls take a bloody and brutal revenge on the guys who chased them on the night of the car accident which led to their deaths.

Caitlin Stasey and Sianon Smit-Mcphee (both Australian actresses who had previously worked together on the Aussie drama Neighbors) head up the cast and do it pretty damn well for this Indie thriller. The other members of the cast also do a pretty decent job as well. The acting in this film is not the best but from the main five girls It is clear to see they had fun with this film as I felt their performances were very well done (for what they were given). It’s clear to see that the filmmakers were not trying to make the next big horror film they just wanted to make a film which is fun, sexy and bloody gory and this is by far what it is.

With a run time of 1 hour 29 min, this fast paced horror-comedy is by far the most fun I have had in ages with a horror film. Although some of the male actors were a little off with their acting it didn’t take away from the fun. This film had guts pulling off themes of sexuality, coming of age and mixing that with a mean girls vibe this is a total crowd-pleaser. Screening this year (August 2014) at Londons annual Fright Fest the film will make its UK DVD premiere on October 13th “014 with the film already receiving a Netflix and DVD/ Blu-Ray release in the USA and other countries.

This was such a fun movie and although not the best horror film, it did give me some things to think about. Overall the weirdness of the film and the supernatural elements of the film were very engaging and made for an epic film. However, it is safe to say that this will not be for everyone but festival fans and horror fans will be sure to love it!

–Ross Wilcock

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