RAW REVIEW: PANDAMONIUM (2020)

Long term readers of this blog will be all too aware of my love for Mycho, the independent cinematic universe helmed by the extremely talented MJ Dixon.

With a whopping eight feature-length films already released, ranging from typical throwback slashers to psychological thrillers, from sci-if infused action flicks to supernatural chillers, the Mychoverse is a rich interconnected viewing experience.

Now, ahead of its premiere at the 2020 Horror-On-Sea Festival, Dixon and co offered me a chance to look at their latest effort in yet another sub-genre.

Pandamonium expands on the story of Slasher House II’s stripper hating, panda mask-wearing Jakob Jakushi - this time going the comedy-horror route.

Would Dixon’s talents lend themselves to giggles as well as gore?

Read on...


PANDAMONIUM (2020)



Dir: MJ Dixon

Stars: Oriana Charles, Will Jones, David Hon Ma Chu, James Hamer-Morton, Lee Mark Jones, Derek Nelson, William Marshall, Dani Thompson, Chloe Badham, Charlie Bond, Tatiana Ibba, Annie Knox, Nad Abdoolakhan, Martin W Payne, Pablo Raybould, Charlie Clarke, Susan Lee Burton


SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: I’ll try not to spoil too much here but continue at your own risk.

Arielle (Charles) has landed an admin job at top law firm Killmore & Percival. However, rather than be overjoyed at her big break she comes to realise that she is now working with a group of hard-drinking, drug-using, sexist city boys, headed up by the truly obnoxious Damian Hook (Hamer-Morton).

Forced to work late on her first day, she finds a sympathetic fellow new starter, Daniel (Jones) but things soon unravel when Damian and his cronies hire a team of strippers lead by tough as nails Jasmine (Thompson) - who lets slip a secret about Arielle’s past.

However, the arrival of Jasmine and her crew spells trouble in more ways than one - they have drawn the attention of the notorious Stripper Ripper, panda-mask wearing Jakob Jakushi (Hon Ma Chu). Now with a prime selection of victims assembled in one place, Jakushi won’t rest until he has killed them all - and anybody who gets in his way.





THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): I’ve always been a fan of Mycho’s darker more serious films - as my glowing reviews of grim psychological thriller Hollower and the spookily supernatural Bannister DollHouse will attest. So I approached Dixon’s first crack at full-on comedy with some trepidation.

Thankfully, my fears were utterly misplaced. Of course, some of the wisecracks that he has written for his teen characters and the always acid-tongued Red are side-splitters, but even they could not have prepared me for how smoothly the Mycho team have made the transition to humour.

It’s a non-stop barrage of gags, some well-performed physical comedy and just enough black humour to keep things suitably dark for a movie about a misogynistic panda-headed serial killer.

That’s not to say that the script is all fluff - there’s a strong theme of female empowerment throughout (as there so often is in the Mychoverse works) which might come as a shock to those who will inevitably make snap judgements after reading the synopsis, and some surprising emotional depth to boot.

It’s easy to care for characters when they are written so well and portrayed as brilliantly as they are here.

The frankly wonderful Charles gives what might be my favourite performance in a Mycho movie yet. Her well-rounded character is given plenty to do over her arc and whether she is inspiring sympathy or awestruck admiration, she manages it effortlessly. This is one actress I cannot wait time to see more of.

Equally great is young Tom Hardy-alike Will Jones, who shows real likeability along with serious acting chops. Remember that name, he’s going places.

I also loved the work of Thompson who manages to inject some nice humorous moments into her tough girl performance. I’m crossing all non-essential appendages that we’ll see her cross paths with Red one day.

Speaking of comedy, none deliver as many laughs as our deplorable city boys, with Hamer-Morton chewing the scenery with great aplomb every time he’s on screen. He reminds me of Ralph Inneson’s Chris Finch from The Office - a huge twat but so unapologetically awful you can’t help but grin every time he pops up.

The same holds for the delightfully deranged Lee Mark Jones and Nelson. The pair were in some of the funniest moments in the movie, and while they may not have been the subtlest characters their OTT energy was precisely what the film needed. Bravo gents.

Rounding out the frightful foursome was a familiar Mycho face in the form of Marshall. He’s great too as are the other returning Mycho alum.

Regular readers will know how much of a fan I am of the terrifically talented Badham - so I was delighted to see her back again - while a welcome albeit short appearance by the great Payne also added massively to the film.

In truth there are no weak links - Bond, Ibba and Abdoolakhan are all ace - but one of the very biggest pleasures came from seeing the return of the incredible David Hon Ma Chu. A horror movie is as only as good as its threat - and in this case, we have a superb performance. He made a big impression during his extended cameo at the beginning of Slasher House II - here he has so much more to do and really makes the most of it. It’s difficult to portray a character when your facial expressions are covered all the time, but his laconic and derisive delivery makes for a chillingly realistic yet bizarrely charming psychopath. He makes Jakushi a Ted Bundy-like bear headed buddy and it totally works. A post-credits message suggests there might be more to come for this character - if David Hon Ma Chu is attached then count me in.

It’s not just the wit, warmth and performances that make Pandamonium a must watch - the film never forgets that a horror movie needs scares too. There are some tense set-pieces scattered throughout the film, shot with Dixon’s usual impeccable timing and eye for framing, and the kills are shockingly brutal at times.

Dixon’s eye-catching use of colour (a trademark in Mycho’s output) is as on point as ever while the snappy editing (especially during a Commando-esque tooling up sequence involving office stationery) gives an already electric flick even more energy.

THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): It is becoming boring to write this caveat to low budget indie horror, but once again I need to stress that Pandamonium was a labour of love assembled on a shoestring budget. The cost of this movie is probably less than that spent on catering for your typical big studio Hollywood horror movie.

Pandamonium looks fantastic for a film with such humble resources - but it is still a low-budget film. This means that at times it can become a little rough around the edges. Please do adjust your expectations accordingly- it’s very much worth it.

For example, the offices of celebrated law firm Killmore & Percival don’t exactly suggest the workplace of a top affluent business. There are no wide bright marble hallways or pristine boardrooms with huge mahogany tables. Instead, it’s a more typical looking office setting. I’m sure with a bigger location budget and unlimited research time Dixon would have shot in a building straight out of LA Law. Instead, the Mycho team did what they do best - take what is available and scale it up to purpose. This is just one more reason to praise their work, not a stick to beat them with.

While I praised the work of the larger cast, it does feel as if a few characters could have used a little more screen time. Of course, when you have a slasher movie you need bodies to up the body count, but it does feel as if a couple of characters have little more than a few minutes of meaningful screen time before they are dispatched. This is a tough one to address - make the movie much longer and it can risk feeling bloated. Ultimately I suppose this is a testimony to Dixon’s characters - the only flaw I could find was that I wanted more!




THE VERDICT: For the last few years MJ, Anna and their team at Mycho have asked me to check out their latest movies ahead of their big premieres at the Horror On Sea Festival in Southend each January. And every year I have been inspired to write ebulliently positive reviews for their efforts.

This streak continues with Pandamonium.

Die Hard meets Severance by way of Halloween, this mishmash of mirthful and murderous mayhem is a resounding hit. Great comedy, superb performances, some killer horror sequences and a lightning pace that never lets up make this another indie must-see from Mycho.

Trust me in this case you will have no choice but to grin and ‘bear’ it!

Pandamonium will premiere at Horror on Sea on 18 January. You can buy tickets for the event here.

In the meantime, why not read more about the movie at its official Facebook page. Or better yet, hit up the Mycho Patreon and help them create more quality indie horror.

If you haven’t already, do please check out and Like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House @HickeysHorrors

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.

RAW REVIEW: SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK

The Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark books, like R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps and J.B. Stamper’s Tales For The Midnight Hour series, have amassed a cult following among children of the 80s whose first experiences with horror came within their pages.

However, rather than Alvin Schwartz’s fine writing, it was the book’s illustrations by Stephen Gammell that haunted a generation of budding genre fans. And it is these images that serve as the visual inspiration for the long-awaited movie adaptation.

So could this modern take on classic childhood terrors bring a little darkness to today’s audiences? Or would it be a tall tale too far?

Read on....

SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK (2019)

DIR: André Øvredal

STARS: Zoe Margaret Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Zajur, Natalie Ganzhorn, Austin Abrams, Dean Norris, Gil Bellows

SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: I’ll try not to spoil too much but continue at your own risk.

Set in 1968, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is the story of a quartet of teens - bookish budding author Stella (Colletti), mysterious outsider Ramone (Garza), uptight and squeamish  Augie (Rush) and crude comic relief Chuck (Zajur) who discover a cursed book as they attempt to escape the attention of jock bully Tommy (Abrams) and his goons on Halloween night. 

Penned by local legend Sarah Bellow, the book - consisting of a number of short spine-chilling tales - was said to be written in the blood of the children she murdered. 

After removing the book from a suitably creepy haunted house, our protagonists are shocked when new stories start to appear within its pages... featuring several familiar characters.

THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): A clever little puzzle box of a film, the clever set-up of this story allows writers Dan and Kevin Hageman to implement a number of stories from the anthology-style source material in ways that specifically reference each character’s own fears and hang-ups. 

Taken from American folklore and in some cases urban legends, these stories provide the necessary jolts, while the narrative structure stops the movie from simply feeling like a collection of short films.

Trollhunter and The Autopsy Of Jane Doe helmer Øvredal is becoming something of a force within the genre and his team ensure that the flick boasts expert pacing, tonnes of atmosphere, and some genuine scares along the way.

The teen cast are strong, with each putting in a believable and endearing performance. Colletti makes for a fine female lead, while Garza and Rush both display fine comic timing.

The leads are ably backed up by a strong supporting cast who do plenty with a less integral characters. Abram’s swaggering bully and Ganzhorn’s pretty but self-conscious high schooler stand out in a cast with little in the way of weak links. Elsewhere familiar faces Norris and Bellows also add gravitas to proceedings - with Bellows in particular seeming to have lots of fun with his role as a cynical town sheriff.

However, the real stars of the film are the fantastically creepy monsters, brought to life by fantastic effects work and top physical performers such as Javier Botet and Troy James. The Toeless Corpse, the Pale Lady, Harold the scarecrow, the Jangly Man... each feels as if sprang straight from Gammell’s haunting illustrations and is more than capable of carrying a horror movie on their own. That we get so many top-drawer boogeymen in the 1hr 47min runtime is spoiling us!

At the heart of so many of the movie’s heart-stopping set pieces - from the inexorable pursuit through the ‘red room’s’ corridors to the stalking sequence in the moonlit cornfield - Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark doesn’t shirk when it comes to the first word of its title - and that’s before we even get to the brutally disturbing body horror of classic urban legend ‘The Red Spot’...

THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is a strong and atmospheric genre flick - yet the film is not without its flaws. 

A familiarity with the cult source material (which is definitely less well known this side of the Atlantic) is definitely a bonus as some sequences may seem odd or confusing without knowledge of the stories. The dog scene lifted straight from Me Tie Dough-ty Walker is great for us fans but borders on goofy if you don’t understand the significance of the creature’s strange growls and whimpers. 

And while the sheer number of suitably spooky antagonists is a strength, it also serves as a weakness as they have very little depth beyond ‘scary creature chasing character X’ if you don’t know the story (or stories in the case of the Jangly Man) from which they came.

Also the movie’s historical setting seems rather arbitrary, contributing little to the plot other than a more relaxed attitude to racism among some of the more unsavoury characters, a rather shoe-horned and poorly explored Vietnam draft subplot, and some political digs toward Nixon and the current U.S. government. 

It feels like there really was a bigger message behind choosing this era as the setting for Sarah Bellow’s revenge - sadly it seems that it may have got lost in translation along the way.

THE VERDICT: Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark is good old-fashioned spooky fun - an ideal gateway flick for teens who want to get into horror, much like the original book served way back in 1981.

Fans of Shwartz’s hit trilogy of books will be delighted, while I suspect this eerily atmospheric and legitimately frightening big screen introduction will introduce a whole new generation to the chills within their pages.

Proving a hit at the American box office, a second chapter appears inevitable at this stage - and I will be first in line for More Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark.

If you haven’t already, do please check out and Like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House @HickeysHorrors

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.

RAW REVIEW: CLEAVERS: KILLER CLOWNS

The second part of my double-bill of reviews for films by the talented folk at Mycho sees us return to the story of Carlton Layton A.K.A. Cleaver the killer clown.

With the character first appearing in Slasher House, then his own movie Cleaver: Rise Of The Killer Clown, he’s become a real cornerstone of the burgeoning Mychoverse.

So is this Cleaver razor sharp? Or is the whole thing getting rusty?

Read on...

CLEAVERS: KILLER CLOWNS (2019)

Dir: MJ Dixon
Stars: Georgie Smibert, Gemma Louise Troughton, Paul Rogers, Jessica Michelle Smith, Holly-Anne Dodkins, Kimberley Lasi, Matthew Baunsgard, Derek Nelson, Olivia Krys, Jimi James, Ben Manning, Chloe Badham

SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: I’ll try not to spoil too much here but continue at your own risk. Also, this is a direct sequel to Cleaver: Rise Of The Killer Clown, so it will spoil that movie. You have been warned.

Continuing shortly after the blood-thirsty events of the first Cleaver, the film opens in 1995 as police officers Jody-Ann (Georgie Smibert) and her partner Hatcher (Jimi James) are on the trail of notorious murderer Carlton Layton (this time played by Paul Rogers). Upon locating his battered old ice-cream truck, the officers fall afoul of Cleaver and his recently recruited daughter Mary-Beth (Holly-Anne Dodkins).

Five years later Jody-Ann is still searching for her missing partner, causing a great deal of discomfort with local law enforcement in each town she stops at.
The situation only worsens when she is responsible for the capture of a woman named Misty (Gemma Louise Troughton) who claims to have inside knowledge as to the whereabouts of Cleaver. Out for revenge herself, Misty wants out of jail in exchange for the information - putting Jody-Ann in a tough position.

Meanwhile recovering drug addict Tanya (Jessica Michelle Smith) is on a trip through the Mid West with her family, inept dad Larry (Matthew Baunsgard), oafish brother Artie (Derek Nelson), Artie’s infuriating girlfriend Chase (Olivia Krys) and bossy new stepmother Tiffany (Kimberly Lasi) who is just a couple of years older than Tanya.

With tensions already running high, the family cross paths with a seemingly lost and innocent Mary-Beth. As they descend on an isolated farmhouse, they have no idea what awaits them...

THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): As I wrote in my recent review for Mycho’s fantastic Bannister DollHouse, the rapidly expanding Mychoverse affords the company plenty of opportunities to diversify their genre offerings. The original Cleaver was a babysitter in peril flick that paid loving homage to the grandfather of that sub-genre, Halloween. CleaverS branches out into another popular Slasher domain, the grimy grindhouse road trip, as inspired by the classic Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

It’s an inspired touch, giving the movie a completely different yet still cohesive feel to what has come before. This is in no small part due to Dixon’s assured direction. CleaverS is clearly another labour of love for the microbudget maestro, and that care practically radiates out of the screen.

Considering their decidedly meagre resources, the films in the Mychoverse are always great looking. Mycho movies often have a Bava or Argento-esque style of lighting, with bold colour palettes and striking framing. There are shots in this movie, such as the moment in which the police officers discover Cleaver’s seemingly abandoned ice cream truck, that are among the very finest Dixon has ever shot.

Of course, visuals alone are not enough to carry a film - it requires a strong plot. CleaverS is one of the most complex storylines to come from the minds of the folks at Mycho, as evidenced by the sizeable cast. More importantly, each character serves a purpose other than to ratchet up the body count. There are proper character arcs for everybody and more than a few surprises along the way.

CleaverS also explores some fascinating themes, especially that of fatherhood and the role a dad should play in protecting his children. This is best evidenced in the contrasts between cheery but weak Larry and his dysfunctional family and the psychotic but doting Layton.

One might not expect a movie titled CleaverS: Killer Clowns to tackle such weighty subjects, but Mycho has and done it well to boot.

Of course, this is a horror movie - and a killer clown one at that -so it’s not all gentle chin-stroking and stirring monologues about the futility of it all. We get plenty of kills along the way, with Cleaver and his little protege showing off their warped sense of humour with a series of deadly ‘prank’ style traps. Cleavers are all well and good but strategically placed piano wire shows true artistry!

These kills would be for naught if we don’t care about the characters getting offed, and despite the size of the cast, Dixon does a pretty good job of getting us onboard (or dead set against) them.

It helps that he has assembled such a strong cast - especially in his core group of leading ladies.

Smibert, Troughton, Smith, and Lasi are all fantastic, each bringing something different to the film, but complementing one another perfectly. I for one hope we will see plenty more from this talented group of actresses.

The same can be said for Dodkins who is clearly having a ball in her Harley Quinn-like role. I've got a sneaking suspicion the folks at Mycho aren’t done with her just yet, and I thoroughly approve.

I was also glad to see familiar Mycho face Chloe Badham pop up again. It’s little more than an extended cameo, but she is great once again.

And it’s not just the female cast members that bring their A-game.

Baunsgard is awesome, bringing several layers to his portrayal of Larry, and nailing it throughout.

Rogers also delivers in a major way.
(Ok, you’ll have to forgive this one but I’ve been dying to make this pun ever since I heard the role of Cleaver was being recast ) with Andrew M Greenwood stepping down as the lead antagonist, Rogers had some, ahem, ‘big shoes’ to fill.
Thankfully he does not disappoint. He manages to channel the essence of the character so the transition is not too jarring, but he also manages to bring some fresh ideas to the part, making it his own rather than a pale imitation.
Rogers is just one more reason why CleaverS connects.

More than any other movie in the Mychoverse to date, CleaverS feels most like an ensemble piece. This means the characters tend to get more to do, and also ups the danger levels as we are never truly sure who will make it out alive. It’s this level of danger and breakneck pave that propel us on towards some very dark revelations - including one that hints at some fascinating possibilities for the series moving forward.

Finally, I think real credit is due to Dixon for so effectively portraying his locations as those on an entirely different continent. I don’t think it will come as a huge surprise to hear that he didn’t fly his cast and crew over to the Mid West to shoot the film, instead cleverly using smartly dressed British rural locations and some expert tweaks on the colour scale to capture that sun-baked feeling. It’s truly masterful sleight of hand and warrants appreciation.
Bravo!

THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): A regular point I have to make when reviewing indie horror flicks is that the comparatively low budgets can often leave movies feeling decidedly less slick than the sort of James Wan produced/directed multiplex offerings you’ll find on nationwide release. So consider that point raised here.

Also, do please bear in mind that, while I praised CleaverS for making use of a sizeable and talented cast, the brisk pace of the film did leave me wishing that I could have seen a little more of some of them. Still, it’s a surefire sign of a good thing if you’re left wanting more!

Speaking of the cast, there are a couple of occasions on which this very British group of actors wobble with their American accents. However, I think it’s a testimony to their ability that these times are so few and far between.

Now, while not a weakness per se, I do feel a need to once again stress that this is a sequel. As such, some familiarity with its predecessor is definitely necessary to get the most out of CleaverS. It’s not impossible to keep up - and the clever opening scene does a pretty great job at bringing any newcomers up to date - but I’d recommend this as part of a double-Bill before calling a stand-alone. So why don’t you pick up a region-free copy of the superb Cleaver here before checking out the sequel at Horror-on-Sea in January?

Finally, and this is very much an issue of personal taste, it feels like CleaverS could have been a bit gorier. The title lends itself to plenty of bloody onscreen carnage, as does the throwback feel to genre classics such as TCM and The Hills Have Eyes. It’s not that the film is bloodless - far from it, in fact, it features a couple of decidedly graphic kills - it just feels like it could have been a bit more splatter.

THE VERDICT: Right up until I watched CleaverS, I said that Mycho had never disappointed me.
After watching CleaverS... that STILL holds true! It’s a slick, sick, killer clown flick that highlights everything right with the Mychoverse. It looks great, it builds and expands on its own already fascinating universe and it doesn’t scrimp on the scares either! There are still places that this story can go, and I cannot wait for MJ, Anna and all the other good folk at Mycho to take us there.

That not one but two great Mycho flicks should come along at once is incredible - that CleaverS and Bannister DollHouse should deliver while being so very different from one another is nothing short of a wonder. Attendees at Southend’s Horror-on-Sea Festival have a real treat in store this January. Want to be one of them? Well, you can buy tickets at www.horror-on-sea.com.

Meanwhile, keep up with CleaverS news at Mycho’s official website at https://mycho.weebly.com. And check out their Patreon here.

If you haven’t already, do please check out and Like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House @HickeysHorrors

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.

RAW REVIEW: MASK OF THORN

Anybody looking at Universal Studios' continued woes bringing its Dark Universe to fruition could be forgiven for thinking that it is extremely difficult creating an expanded cinematic universe in our beloved horror genre.
But those of you familiar with the work of British indie production company Mycho Entertainment would also know that this is certainly not true. As auteur MJ Dixon has proven since the release of the stellar Slasher House back in 2012, all that is required is a singular vision, careful planning and a whole lot of effort.
Fans of Dixon will be aware that some of the first seeds of the Mychoverse were sewn back in the short-film Thorn, when the titular hulking, masked slasher monster made his first appearance.
Since then Thorn has gone on to steal the show in Slasher House, then expand on his mysterious backstory in the movie's first sequel, 2014's Legacy of Thorn. It was in this film that we learnt the monstrous Thorn re-emerges in the small town of Avondale every leap year on 29th February.
So with four years nearly up, it's time for Dixon's masked maniac to re-emerge — he's back in the soon to be released Mask of Thorn, a prequel to Legacy.
So do Mycho have another micro budget masterpiece on their hands?
Read on...

MASK OF THORN (2017)

Dir: MJ Dixon
Stars: Eve Kathryn Oliver, Sophie Bryant, Maria Lee Metherington, Lydia Cashman, Martin W. Payne, Tracey Chatterley, William Marshall, Michael Batty, Eduardo Cupi, George Horn, Clarke Tribe, Atticus Machiavellian

SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: I'll try not to spoil too much here, but continue at your own risk.

Mask of Thorn opens with a superb sequence in Avondale General Hospital in the early Seventies. A mysterious patient, Mina (Metherington) who vanished some time ago, is admitted in a terrible state, desperately holding her newborn daughter close.
As the confused night skeleton shift try to tend to their charges, an unexpected power outage heralds the arrival of a colossal masked man who proceeds to butcher all in his way. Yet, as deadly as he is in his own right, it soon becomes apparent that the monstrous Thorn may not be acting alone.

Flash forward to the mid-Eighties and we meet sweet Bethany (Oliver), who is about to celebrate her sixteenth birthday, despite the reservations of her strict and uptight parents, Derek (Payne) and Joyce (Chatterley). As her parents leave to prepare for Bethany's party, they instruct her that somebody will come to collect her later that evening.
However, they reckoned without the influence of Bethany's bad-girl best friend Olivia (Bryant) and her group of rebellious pals who whisk Bethany away for a surprise party in the now empty high school building.
As the youngsters party, they are blissfully unaware that Thorn is once again stalking the streets of Avondale seeking prey... but he has a dogged adversary of his own.

THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Regular readers of this blog will know I've got a real soft spot for Mycho's output, even ranking Hollower among my favourite films of 2016 and penning this glowing review for Slasher House II. The feats that Dixon and his crew achieve with such modest budgets are truly bewildering, and I'm delighted to say that Mask of Thorn continues Mycho's run of indie classics.
Needless to say, a familiarity with the previous entries in the Mychoverse will be rewarded (with a couple of familiar, albeit younger, characters making a return)  but perhaps the greatest achievement that Dixon manages is to make this story strong enough to stand on its own two feet. There will be no confused head-scratching from first time Mychoers here.
Dixon's script is intelligent and full of references to classic horror movies, especially the Halloween franchise. I  couldn't help but laugh at fellow critics who came down hard on Mycho's Cleaver as a mere Halloween rip-off. They had clearly missed the point — that the killer clown tale was actually an intelligent and well-intentioned homage to the grandfather (and arguably the very greatest) of slasher flicks. This continues (albeit more subtly) in Mask of Thorn — from the Halloween II-esque hospital opening sequence (which was among my favourites in the movie) right through to the black robed cultists of the later sequels.
However, that's not to say that Mask of Thorn does not deliver in its own right. While the story skips the intricate flashforward/flashback structure of Legacy of Thorn, it's still very intelligent and delivers some superb spooky moments.
The film looks great, and I was genuinely shocked to hear that it cost about half of the budget assigned to Legacy — this is a movie that looks polished far beyond its means, from clever Eighties set aesthetics (and costumes), right down to some shockingly gruesome gore effects. Let us not forget, that despite its more complex mythology, Mask of Thorn is a slasher movie first and foremost, and slashers NEED to deliver a bodycount.
This is certainly on hand in this latest Mychoverse offering, with Thorn rending helpless victims left, right and centre with his trademark over-sized machetes, or his bare hands. There's a sizeable cast of suitable cannon-fodder, which the bad guy makes short work of.
However, there are also plenty of well-rounded characters who give the viewer more than enough to root for.
Of course, a character is only as good as the actor or actress that brings them to life, and Mask of Thorn boasts a quartet of exceptional actresses in key roles. 
Oliver brings a sweet naivety to our heroine Bethany. She's cute, likeable and portrays the character with a vulnerability that is key to gaining audience sympathy. She's certainly one to watch.
So too is the excellent young Bryant, who gives a real nuanced performance as Olivia, capturing her character's tough but loyal qualities brilliantly. Bravo, young miss!
Elsewhere the spiky Cashman (who Mycho fans might recognise from the spine-chilling short, In Tents) plays the baddest of bad girls Julia with plenty of attitude. She's clearly having a ball with her role and so did I! This is a fun character brought to life fantastically through a fun performance.
Finally, the exceptional Metherington is given plenty to do in her role and she is more than up to the task. She is absolutely great, and shows her full range throughout the film.
But it's not just the girls who deliver the goods here, there are some great performances fro  the guys too. I particularly liked Tribe's snarling tough guy act, while the icy buttoned-up work from Payne was also very impressive.
A lot of people seem to think that the role of silent slasher villain doesn't offer much of a challenge, but there are plenty of subtle touches required to make a memorable monster. Just look at how beloved Kane Hodder is with genre fans for his portrayal of archetypal boogeyman Jason Voorhees. These subtleties are not lost on Machiavellian who brings Thorn to life with a barely contained seething rage. He clearly gets how to do horror. 
I've always loved the character design for Thorn, and with his hulking frame, cruelly grinning skull face and otherworldly glowing blue eyes, Thorn looks as badass as ever here.
The final thing I want to single out for praise is the awesome Eighties-style end credit track by HockeyMask Heroes. Bringing to mind power rock anthems such as Dream Warriors by Dokken, He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask) by Alice Cooper or Shocker by The Dudes of Wrath, it's not just a great theme, it's a cool track in its own right. There are a few faux Eighties tracks on the movies soundtrack and, to a child of the Eighties, all are quite excellent. Top work gents!

THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Mask of Thorn is an exceptional low-budget slasher movie. However, it IS a low-budget slasher movie. Movie accustomed to the glossy production values of Blumhouse's cinematic blockbusters may find the more rough and ready feel of most of Mycho's works a little jarring. This is a great movie, a top-notch slasher, but do please adjust expectations accordingly.
For the most part Mask of Thorn overcomes any budgetary constraints but every now and then there is the odd, very minor lapse.
The same came be said of the cast — while the standouts mentioned above really are quite wonderful, some of the other actors don't quite hit their lofty standards. There are no consistently poor performances, but every now and then some line deliveries feel a little stilted or wooden. Still, this is very much a rare occurrence and certainly does not serve to provide any severe hindrance to enjoyment of the movie.
Finally, while the movie certainly expands on the mythos of Thorn, it still leaves plenty of unanswered questions, and isn't really the origin story that some fans may be expecting. Here's hoping in four years time we'll be seeing Dixon's metal-masked monster return once more — I'd certainly be down with a Birth of Thorn or Cult of Thorn tale!

THE VERDICT: In the past I've said that I'd love to see a studio throw a big budget at MJ Dixon to see what he could do with those sorts of resources. Well now I've changed my mind.

Mask of Thorn is the latest in a long line of exceptional fright flicks from Mycho that show Dixon and co don't need an astronomical budget to deliver. I don't want studio executives getting in Dixon's ear telling him what to do, I want more of this talented director's work on his own terms. I want the much needed follow-up to Cleaver, I want to see Mychoverse: Phase Two featuring Slasher House II's villains, and, most of all, I want to see Red and the Demon settle their long-standing feud once and for all.

In Mask of Thorn we see everything that has made Mycho a genre fan-favourite. It's a throwback slasher with modern attitude, blood and guts with brains, and one of the very finest UK indie horrors in years. Highly, highly recommended.

Mask of Thorn will be released in 2018. Until then, why not keep up with any news over at the film's official Facebook page, which you can find here. Give it a like while you're there too, I'm sure the guys and gals at Mycho would appreciate it.

If you haven’t already, do please check out and Like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House @HickeysHorrors

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.

RAW REVIEW: CAGE

Longterm readers of Hickey's House of Horrors may well remember my coverage of Brit chiller, The Cutting Room, back in May 2015. I imagine quite of few of you will in fact, as that review is my second most popular post here of all time!

So when the talented director of that film, Warren Dudley, asked if I'd like to take a look at his latest movie, Cage, which reunited him with Cutting Room star Lucy-Jane Quinlan, I was very quick to agree!  

More of a psychological thriller than an out-and-out horror flick, would Cage build on the tremendous potential on display in The Cutting Room? Or would it leave me wanting to Dudley behind bars?

Read on...

CAGE (2017)

Dir: Warren Dudley
Stars: Lucy-Jane Quinlan, Patrick Bergin, Jake Unsworth, Sharon Drain, Andy Costello

SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: I'll try not to spoil too much here, but continue at your own risk...

Gracie (Quinlan) is a down on her luck mother, desperate to regain custody of her child. With little in the way of income, Gracie has taken a job on a chat line to raise funds.  
While this pays the bills, it isn't enough to help in her legal battle.
All seems lost, until one of her clients (Bergin) offers to pay her handsomely for a special, 'one-night only' personal visit. At her wits' end, Gracie reluctantly travels to the meeting point... only to later wake up trapped in a cage in a large industrial building. With only her phone for company (albeit with the warning that any attempt to notify the authorities to her predicament will result in severe punishment), Gracie is chained and incarcerated, without a clue as to location.
As her mother (Drain) and worried boyfriend Eddy (Unsworth) try to work out where she is, Gracie finds herself at the mercy of the whims of her abductor...

THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): With just a single character onscreen, in what is essentially a single setting, Cage is a daring film. With what could be perceived as 'limited' scope, it would be very easy for an audience to lose patience and for attentions to drift if the film were to falter or stumble.
Thankfully, Dudley is more than up to the task. His story unfolds slowly and steadily, carefully deep-feeding the audience with its reveals and taking its time. That's not to say that it is dull, instead each revelation is given proper time to breathe and for the audience to process and feel its impact.
There are quiet moments in the film that have such emotional weight they hit far harder than any flashy big budget action sequences. I'll try to avoid spoiling them here (doing so really would rob the viewer of a lot of the enjoyment to be taken from the movie), but suffice to say one major reveal that was cleverly foreshadowed throughout the preceding scenes hits with a real gut-punch.
Of course, this story more than any other is VERY heavily reliant on its star delivering the goods. As the only face we see, Quinlan is asked to shoulder a massive responsibility to provide a compelling performance.
In my review of The Cutting Room, I wrote: She is quite the talent, handling some charged and challenging scenes with aplomb. She is definitely one to watch!
It seems that my words have been proven right. Quinlan is excellent in Cage, giving her character a natural likability and emoting impressively throughout the heavier scenes — no easy task when you remember that she has no other actor to hand with whom to bounce her performance off. She gives Gracie a flawed vulnerability, imbuing her with the quiet desperation that is so important to understanding some of the decidedly reckless acts she commits, and more importantly, she does a great job of getting the viewer to actually care what happens to her.
What's more, she even manages a pretty damn good American accent throughout the film too!
The voice talent also delivers the goods admirably, especially Drain's increasingly frantic mother and the cold, calculating kidnapper voiced by recognisable Hollywood talent, Bergin.
Drain provides emotional stimulus for Gracie's character, adding a more sympathetic, human counterpart for our lead to interact with. Voice acting is difficult to get right, often sounding somewhat stilted, but that's no problem here.
The impressive Unsworth is also very good, and gets the opportunity to deliver quite a range of emotions, a task with which he is more than up to the job.
Back to Bergin, we are given the villain of our movie, a character who is mysterious and clearly unhinged, even if he is able to remain deceptively calm and even charming. Exactly what this man's motives are is one of the puzzles of Dudley's clever puzzle box of a script, and Bergin is able to carry that across in subtle intonation and flawless timing. This is a talented, experienced actor and he shows that in spades with such simple but exceptionally smart delivery.
This focus on dialogue may make it sound like Cage is a static or listless visual spectacle. I'm pleased to say this is not the case.
Clever editing and camerawork ensure that the movie never feels stagnant, keeping the viewer's attention pinned to the screen. Dudley proved an accomplished filmmaker with The Cutting Room, but he was aided somewhat by the Found Footage style of that movie, a device that restricts ambition for the sake of authenticity. He has no such constraints here and, I'm very pleased to say, he more than matches the potential hinted at with his previous effort. Once again, Warren Dudley proves to be a director to watch out for.

THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Perhaps the most important point to stress is that Cage is very much a psychological thriller, not an out-and-out horror movie, per se. If you're expecting a substantial bodycount and gallons of gore, this slower, more intimate and personal story may not be for you.
Of course, one of the issues of any movie that presents you with a hypothetical conundrum (a 'what-if-that-happened-to-me?' scenario) is that it encourages you to put yourself in the lead's shoes and to formulate your own escape plan. It also encourages you to forensically nitpick that same lead's own efforts to free herself and, in Cage, there are a couple of moments when Gracie's behaviour may extract some weary sighs and eye-rolls. Very early on she starts to work her way through the potential padlock combinations on the chain that keeps her bound to the bed, but this is something she then regularly abandons, before coming back to it intermittently. As pretty much the ONLY way she could hope to free herself, this does beggar belief somewhat. I suppose this can be written away by the fact that Gracie, a woman who is already unravelling under the pressures and stresses of her life, is not thinking clearly. She has been abducted and has a number of fears relating to events on the outside of the cage, so perhaps she is struggling with rational thought? It's a strong enough reason to explain some of her less intelligent decisions, so perhaps we should just roll with that.
Furthermore, the titular cage itself is not as sturdy a structure as I imagine was envisioned during the writing of the movie. Sure, it's a decent size, but the bars do appear pretty breakable. Perhaps this is just a result of budget constraints, and I do need to remember that young Ms Quinlan is certainly not a 6ft 3, 15-stone lump like this humble reviewer, so she'd certainly struggle more to escape!
Back to those budget constraints. It's worth mentioning that Cage is clearly a lower budget movie than some of the big, shiny crowd-pleasers you're going to see at your local cinema. Dudley has very cleverly stretched his budget as far as it will go, utilising a stripped back cast and set to mask any shortfalls, but if you're more used to the likes of Jason Blumhouse's shiny horror flicks or glossy Hollywood thrillers, you may need to lower your expectations somewhat.

THE VERDICT: Cage is not a flawless thriller, but it is a very, very good one. Some minor grumbles aside, the intelligent plotting, skilled direction and a stand-out performance from a talented young lead make it a movie that is more than worth your time. 
Perhaps the biggest compliment I can give Cage is that it actually managed to raise the already high levels of esteem with which I already regarded its director and its star. I do hope these two continue to collaborate, because I cannot wait to see what they do next!

Cage is available to buy on DVD at Amazon here.
You can check out the movie's official Facebook page here

If you haven’t already, do please check out and like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House@HickeysHorrors

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.

RAW REVIEWS: GETTING SCHOOLED

There has been a real resurgence in nostalgia-tinted, Eighties throwback horror movies as of late.

And when you're talking Eighties Horror, was there any sub-genre more indicative of the time than the slasher movie?

One of the latest movies to join the swelling ranks of retro-slashers is Chuck Norfolk’s Getting Schooled. I was alerted to the film by Circus of the Dead director ‘Bloody’ Bill Pon (did I mention that you can catch CotD on iTunes now and that the DVD/Blu-ray is available for pre-order? Just checking…) and after doing a little research, was pretty hyped to see it.

After voicing my interest, the very cool guys over at Lucky Chucky Productions were kind enough to send a screener my way.

So is this a slasher that's too cool for school?

Or would I have to mark this one an ‘F’?

Read on…

GETTING SCHOOLED (2017)

Dir: Chuck Norfolk

Stars: Mayra Leal, Tom Long, Roland Ruiz, Jake Byrd, Susan Ly, Morgal Tyler, Ron Jeremy, Nick W. Nicholson

SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: I’ll try not to spoil too much here, but continue at your own risk.

The year is 1983 and a ragtag group of High School students are put into Saturday morning detention, including spoiled princess Hillary (Tyler), knife-packing delinquent Rusty (Ruiz), smart nerd Shelly (Ly), strapping jock Mike (Byrd) and social misfit Julie (Leal). When new substitute teacher Mr Roker (Long) enters the classroom, the wheelchair-bound Vietnam vet makes it clear that he’ll take no shit from any of them.

As the group uneasily settle in with each other an accident occurs, rendering the teacher unconscious. The students panic and try to revive the man, however, when Roker comes to he experiences violent flashbacks to his war days and proceeds to attack the teens with ruthless and ferocious abandon.

Barely able to subdue him, they lock Roker in a supply closet and try to work out what to do next.

However, little do they know that Roker is former Black Ops and now, in a state of paranoid delusion, he has mistaken them for Viet Cong adversaries and he is prepared to use every last trick he learned in combat to take each and every one of them down…

THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): When creating a throwback horror movie, one of the most important aspects is nailing the feel of the era. This is something that Getting Schooled manages admirably.

It’s not just in the fashions and soundtrack, the characterisation and dialogue is straight out of some long-lost John Hughes Bratpack movie. This is only fitting for a film that plays out like some kind of bastard offspring of The Breakfast Club and Friday the 13th — with a little Full Metal Jacket thrown in for good measure.

This might sound like a bizarre mix, but it really runs with the premise, delivering a fun and at times frightening product.

The writing by director Norfolk, as well as Steven Scott Norfolk and Tim Norfolk is sharp, clever and, most importantly, feels like a real love-letter to the multitude of slasher flicks that packed the shelves of video stores back in the Eighties.

The dialogue sounds authentic, while the characterisation manages to conjure recognisable genre stereotypes (jocks, badboys and brainiacs among their number), but still make them individuals that you actually care about by the time the blood starts flowing.  

Of course, it helps that the film has collected a fine cast of very good actors, including adult film star Ron Jeremy in a very humorous turn as the school's cynical janitor.

At its core the movie is anchored by a trinity of sterling performances.

First, the very pretty Leal is a perfect fit for her character. She’s likeable and manages to give Julie a fine mix of toughness and vulnerability. She has a number of horror credits to her name already and I’m going to be sure to look up more of this talented actress’ genre work.

Second, Ruiz is clearly having a ball as badboy Rusty, which makes his performance all the more enjoyable for us, the audience. He nails the bravado and swagger of iconic slasher tough guys like A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Rod. It's hard work balancing the dickishness of such a character without just making him utterly unlikeable. To his credit, Ruiz pulls it off.

The final part of this successful and important triumvirate is Long’s barking mad Roker. This is a very tough role as Long is faced with the unenviable task of making a character who is unable to walk seem a legitimate threat to a cast of young characters depicted as being in their physical prime. However, much like the immense Stephen Lang in Don’t Breathe, Long delivers such a ferocious, no-nonsense performance that soon any and all doubts about the danger he might lose are soon dismissed.

He plays the role pre-breakdown like a tough teacher who is clearly not one to take any shit. Post-breakdown he becomes utterly unhinged, a savage, violent monster without mercy or morals.

In short, Long is utterly brilliant.

Of course, the cast are only as good as the material with which they work, and the plot of Getting Schooled, while very simple, delivers a solid, no-frills thriller, with a surprising amount of heart. The set-pieces are pretty nail-biting, while the gory kills are shockingly violent and often particularly gruesome, for those of you who like a horror to boast some splatter (and who doesn’t appreciate a little bloodshed in their slashers?).

It is in each of these scenes that we are also treated to a demonstration of cinematographer John Hale’s skills, as he and Norfolk show some real flair in bringing the horrific to life in a visually striking manner. The colour palette accurately reflects the films of the era to which Getting Schooled so clearly pays homage, but it also creates a captivating look for the movie in its own right, especially during the climactic moments.  

Yet as good as the film looks, I keep returning to its heart. The closing moments of the movie are surprisingly poignant, and may even elicit the odd tear.

I know, genuine emotion in a throwback slasher! Who’d’ve thunk it!?

THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): As great as Getting Schooled looks, it is worth reiterating that this is a lower budget indie movie. If you’re used to slick, polished, Blumhouse-style wide-release horror movies, you may need to adjust your expectations accordingly.

These budgetary constraints, on very rare occasions, affect the production values of the film, hampering some effects shots for example, but they also have a knock-on effect throughout the movie. 
For example, some of the cast are relatively inexperienced, which means that some line delivery can be a little rough around the edges. Take into account that budget restrictions often also come with time constraints and you can see how how some scenes may not hit as hard as others. It’s clear that the cast are all very much invested in their parts, it’s just that sometimes one or two of them slightly misjudge moments. Luckily these moments are few and far between and only add to the throwback Eighties Slasher feel.

However, I do want to add that the team behind Getting Schooled have clearly worked very hard to get this movie as slick as it can possibly be and they have done a pretty damn good job with the movie.

It is that throwback feel that works as both a blessing and a curse to the movie. In short, if you never enjoyed Slasher movies during their heyday, I very much doubt Getting Schooled is going to convert you to the cause. However, if (like me) you are a child of the Eighties (and in particular, a fan of Eighties horror movies) I’m pretty sure you’ll love it.

THE VERDICT: What a pleasant surprise Getting Schooled turned out to be! It manages to be a familiar homage to the slasher classics of yesteryear, while still displaying some imagination of its own. But perhaps more importantly, it’s fun and frightening, with some tremendous performances and real emotional weight and pathos.

Pardon the pun, but Getting Schooled is a real ‘class’ act!

If you want to check the movie out, it’s currently on Amazon Prime here; Vimeo here; Vudu here or on Googleplay or iTunes. So what are you waiting for?

You can read more about Getting Schooled over at its official Facebook page here. Give it a like while you're there too, these guys deserve it!

If you haven’t already, do please check out and like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House@HickeysHorrors

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.