Two things I love in life: horror movies and theme parks. With that being said, as I head of the story behind Scream Park, I could not wait until my chance to view this film. The plot sounded fun, the running time was a solid 85 minutes and yes, I loved the title.

Scream Park takes place at Fright Land, the under performing theme park that is forced to close due to lack of attendance. The employees of Fright Land plan to throw one last party at the park after the gates close for the final time. The booze is flowing, the girls are putting out and oh yeah, the villains are killing!

The film had a nice look. The color tone is perfect for the film and the cinematography is decent, but the believable acting is what this film lacks. The acting isn’t atrocious, but some casting improvements could have been made. Perhaps a greater casting search could have benefited the film. Some of the roles are dull and boring and lines seem to flow a bit unnaturally. A few of the cast members did however do a great job, including the park owner (played by the outstanding Doug Bradley, otherwise known as Pinhead from the “Hellraiser” series).

The deaths and effects are well done and my personal favorite is the deep fryer death. I do wish the the story had a bit more going on at the beginning, but the last half was better paced as the killers began to pray on the employees and chase after our final girl. If you like horror movies and theme parks then this is a film to check out. It won’t “wow” you, but I feel the story is fun and unique enough and as we all know, indie horror can always use the support.

“Night of the Creeps” is a forgotten classic from 1986 that mixes just the right amount of humor with a nice dose of jump scenes. When the film was first released, it grossed only $500,000 at the US box office before being unleashed on VHS and on pay stations everywhere. I remember the first time I saw it being scared out of my mind and begging to sleep on the floor of my parents bedroom. While the film doesn’t scare me as it once did, the effects and the acting both hold up quite nicely. If the film does drag a bit in the second act, it comes roaring back for a killer finale. Good stuff all around.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film. I thought the cuts in the movie were seamless and it really did feel as though the movie was being shot in real time. The movie had a sense of fear and dread that have been missing from the Paranormal movies with some great imagery. Elizabeth Olsen was amazing in this film and after Martha Marcy May Marlene, she has risen to the top of my young actors to watch list. That’s not to say that everything in the movie works. With the expectation of Olsen, the other actors all come off a little hammy, overacting to a sometimes hilarious degree. The geography of the house is never very clear and it is sometimes very hard to figure out just what room each of the characters are in and even what floor they are on. There will be some viewers who will take offense to the ending or, rather, lack thereof. None of these flaws make me like the movie any less. This is an imperfect film but also one that takes a lot of chances and actually requires intelligence from its audience. It’s nice to see what I’ve been missing.

Words cannot simply describe the experience of watching “Evil Dead” (2013). For a remake, it feels more like a sequel than anything and I really mean that as a compliment. This is the rare movie that stays true to the original while adding a strong new story, likable characters, and more blood and gore than you will likely see all year. It is relentless in its terror and atmosphere and actually made me feel uneasy at several key moments. If this film had to be cut to receive an R rating, I can’t even imagine what the original NC-17 version looked like. Not everyone is going to come out of this film with the same admiration that I had for it. Those that like their horror “fun” may feel a bit drained by the entire experience but I remember that I left the theater shaking. Yes, I found it to be THAT good.