RAW REVIEW: HOUSE OF... 2

Or to give this film it's full, NSFW title — House of Whores 2: The Second Cumming.

Not exactly subtle, is it? But then, those of you who read my review of Tom Komisar, Daniel Murphy and Paul Arnone's first film in the sadistic, perverted home-invading clowns series know that they weren't softly-softly with their approach there.

So you can imagine my slightly nervous delight upon being granted the chance to be one of the first UK reviewers to get a look at the film. Why nervous? Because HM&M Films, the folks behind HoW2 claim it's even more extreme than a predecessor that I said  'punches you in the face, then kicks you in the balls'!

Fasten your seat belts, folks, I think we're gonna need them...

HOUSE OF WHORES 2: THE SECOND CUMMING (2015)

Dir: Tom Komisar, Daniel Murphy
Starring: AC McCray, Montana Skylar, Cheyenne Summer, Tom Komisar, Daniel Murphy, Riley Grey, Lindsey McIntyre, Vergena Fields, Linda Schrader, Peter Barnone, Craig Lemons, Tiffany Smith, Eric Reaume, Kaleigh Loemer, Frankie V, Nurse Hatchet

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

HoW2 opens with the return of the still disturbingly sexy Nurse Hatchet, instructing a clown-masked surgeon, Sluggo (McCray) and his nurse, Naughty Nina (Fields) to take a hapless young woman (McIntyre) and make her 'like them'. After a brief bit of genital-destroying surgery with an electric whisk, the girl is fitted with a sex-doll like mask and becomes the latest member of the sadistic home invader/entertainment team, Skanko.
The rest of the movie follows the twisted exploits of the perpetually furious Slasho (Komisar), British sleaze Shago (Murphy) and their cameraman/hulking violent psycho Smasho (Barnone), along with their new recruit.
The clowns host their own online show in which they humiliate, violate and ultimately mutilate victims for the viewing pleasure of their baying audience.
This time, the focus of their attentions is a hypocritical televangelist, Father Nelson (McCray again) and the two vapid and promiscuous girls he took in as a part of his charitable work for Teens With Abusive Tendencies: Mandy (Skylar) and Candy (Summer). 
With a couple of interludes along the way featuring adult film star Riley Grey and an unfortunate young mother (Loemer), Nurse Hatchet's crew are all set to make their next body-fluid soaked masterpiece...

THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Hooooo boy... Murphy, Komisar and co have done it again. Taking all the insanity of the previous film, then building on it, House of Whores 2 ratchets up the madness with gleeful abandon.
Everything that worked in the first film is back — the sterling work of Komisar and Murphy has really found its groove now, with both slipping straight back into the skin of their twisted characters. Komisar's seething, gruff delivery is flawless, while the frenetic physical acting of Murphy is once again on point. The iconic Nurse Hatchet is also back, and this time she's given lots more to do. Revealed as the terrifying mastermind behind the clowns, she maintains her aura of mystery, yet giving her character a purpose makes her all the more frightening.
Elsewhere in the cast the new additions impress, especially the superb McCray in his dual role of Sluggo (the Q to Slasho, Shago and Smasho's 00 agents) and the seedily insincere Father Nelson. He's so good in both roles that I honestly didn't realise it was the same guy underneath that creepy clown mask, even with his distinctive physique. 

The very attractive Summer and Skylar also deliver the goods, playing the young (and decidedly slutty) objects of the clowns' (and Father Nelson's) attention with a tongue-in-cheek charm. The pair also bravely hold their own during a couple of more gruelling scenes late on. Credit must also go to Grey and Loemer for how gamely they go along for this deeply disturbing ride too.
Another welcome return for this film is the kick-ass music of Mixtress Demonatrix that runs throughout. From the sleazy, saxy theme to the pounding dance track used during Nurse Hatchet's gory, raunchy Blood Dance and Necromance, the score is absolutely awesome.
However, the best and brightest thing to return for HoW2 is the sick, black sense of humour that runs throughout the film. Little touches that worked so well last time, such as the clown-penned subtitles, wacky 'boink'-style sound effects to accompany a claw-hammer to the skull and the brilliant flickering silent-movie interlude, are back, but there's also a lot more humour in the writing. There's no way anybody should be able to find something to laugh at in a scene in which a young mother pushing a pram is abducted and violated before her screaming baby is shot and her breast milk expressed for Shago to savour, but the HoW boys manage it. Heaven help me, I actually laughed out loud at what was happening on screen.
There's a real talent in taking the most deplorable and reprehensible acts and making them entertaining — Komisar and the jolly nice Murphy have this talent in spades.
Much like the original film, this is a micro-budget flick (the IMDB estimates it was made for just $1000!), but this is something that the filmmakers use to their advantage. The rough-around-the-edges look just adds to the realism of the footage, as if it's some horrifying Dark Web show created for (and by) the most depraved of browsers. The violence and gore effects never seem to suffer as a result of what must have been some pretty tough budgetary constraints, while the remarkably swift time in which this film was produced since the first instalment doesn't indicate a drop in quality in the script or plot. 

The film boasts more of the same — but more, more, more! It features some hideously vile set pieces, a larger cast and even more laughs and a whole new level of nudity (you thought Nurse Hatchet's bloody striptease was a bit strong in the first movie? Just WAIT until you see what she does this time!) 

My kudos gentlemen, for what is a legitimately impressive (and repulsive) achievement.

THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Just as everything that worked in House of Whores is back in this sequel, so too are the areas that I found less impressive.

Much like the first, I feel it's entirely necessary to warn potential viewers that this is an EXTREME film. It willfully pushes the envelope — we have plenty of sordid and sadistic events here and if you're the type of casual horror fan that enjoys sitting down at the cinema with the latest Lionsgate or Blumhouse big budget teen horror flick, House of Whores 2: The Second Cumming is going to smash you over the head with a beer bottle and piss all over any squeamish qualms you may have. Rape, necrophilia and any number of body excretions are present here — you have been warned.

Also, if you are used to more polished fare, the decidedly low-budget look may be a negative factor for some of you. Ok, so it's not a Michael Bay blockbuster — but you get a gun that squirts shit down a man's gullet, that seems like a fair trade-off to me!

Once again, the film is a little on the short side — it clocks in at significantly longer than its predecessor but I watched the Limited Edition extended cut of the film and it's still under 90 minutes. What's more, just like last time, an extended section of that runtime consists of Nurse Hatchet's interlude. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching this very sexy dance (and, erm, other things) but this runs for over quarter of an hour and seems to be made up of only about five minutes worth of footage edited, looped and repeated. 

Just like the first film, the story is once again ludicrously simple. Sure, there are lots more characters (including a welcome expansion to our troup of villains) but once again the film consists of a series of events and set-pieces rather than any real arc. Obviously that isn't what the House of Whores series is about, but if you aren't familiar with the previous movie you should know not to expect too much in the way of compelling characterisation and intricate, thought-provoking storytelling.

Instead HoW2 is a visceral experience, built around provoking a series of physical responses: laughter; disgust and even arousal. On this front it certainly delivers.

Finally (and I can't believe I'm saying this about a film in which a teenage girl is smothered with a plunger before her corpse is raped), but I actually think House of Whores 2 is a little less gruelling and mean-spirited than the first film. To be fair, I'm not sure I could have handled much more than the first movie threw my way, but by focusing more on the humour and less on the suffering of the clowns' victims, it feels a little less hard-hitting. I'm not saying this is a weakness per se, as I'm sure some viewers will be relieved to hear this, but the Guinea Pig fans may wish this was a little more sadistic. It's all a matter of taste.

THE VERDICT: House of Whores 2 is a vulgar and vicious work of depravity — and I loved every side-splitting second of it. I don't know how the supremely talented Murphy, Komisar et al do it, but once again they've taken something that nobody outside of a mental institution should like and made it HUGELY entertaining. 

If you've seen House of Whores (and if you haven't you can buy it direct from the folks at HM&M Films and Average At Best Films right here) and you dug it, you should need very little encouragement to pick up this more than worthy sequel. If you saw the first and weren't too keen, I'd still recommend giving the sequel a whirl — this time the guys ensure that we're in on their sick joke from the outset.

To conclude, those of you who stick around right to the very end of the credits will see a hint that Slasho, Shago, Smasho, Skanko, Sluggo, Swallo, Nina and Nurse Hatchet will return again. And God help me, I'll be one of the very first in line, eagerly anticipating even more boundary-blurring violation when they do.

If you want to buy House of Whores 2: The Second Cumming, you can preorder the DVD direct from HM&M Films and Average At Best Films here.

In the meantime, check out the film's official Facebook page here. Give it a Like while you're there, show some love!

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: PAY THE GHOST

Of all the actors to turn away from a very successful mainstream Hollywood career to take on genre projects, Nicolas Cage is far and away one of the most talented.
Sure, his work in the ill-advised Wicker Man remake was the subject of plenty of internet jokes, but this is the same man who starred in the fantastic Raising Arizona and scooped a host of acting awards for Leaving Las Vegas, before reinventing himself as an action hero in three of the biggest (and best) Hollywood action films of the late Nineties: The Rock; Face/Off; and Con Air.
Hollywood's loss has become our gain, and we've had strong outings in the likes of Ghostrider and Drive Angry in recent years, which have both been daft but great fun.
Now Cage returns to horror with Uli Edel's Pay The Ghost, a creepy story that emerged just in time to tie in with its Halloween setting.

PAY THE GHOST (2015)

Dir: Uli Edel
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Sarah Wayne Callies, Jack Fulton, Lyriq Bent, Veronica Ferres, Stephen McHattie, Lauren Beatty, Kalie Hunter

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

Mike Lawford (Cage) is a university lecturer who works all hours in an effort to secure a promotion that will provide a significant payrise, affording a far more comfortable life to Mike, his wife Kristen (Callies) and their young son Charlie (Fulton).

However, the increased workload means that Mike is often forced to miss key family occasions, leaving Charlie regularly disappointed.

After the latest of these sees Mike get home too late to go trick or treating with Kristen and Charlie, he instead offers to take his son to a nearby Halloween parade.

The two head into the bustling crowd and, after seeing an ominous cloaked figure and circling buzzards, Charlie whispers: 'Can we pay the ghost?', before promptly disappearing into the ether.

Frantic, Mike desperately dashes around the parade to find his son, but to no avail. Later a policeman informs Mike that most missing children cases are resolved within 24 hours.

One year later, Charlie is still missing. 
Mike and Kristen's relationship has crumbled, with her blaming him for the loss of their child. Mike has recently returned to work under the careful guidance of friend and colleague Hannah (Ferres), but he spends most of his time researching missing children cases, reporting his findings to decent but stumped police detective Jordan (Bent) and roaming the streets of the New York, pinning up missing person posters.

All seems to be lost, until one such outing leads him to an abandoned building with the phrase 'Pay the ghost' daubed on the walls. A meeting with an enigmatic blind man (McHattie) among the small homeless community sheltering within leads him to a dingy tunnel in which the disembodied voice of a weeping woman can be heard.

From here Mike's investigation takes a new tack, and spurred on by visions of Charlie and something darker and more terrifying, he looks to uncover the haunting secret behind the raft of unsolved disappearances around on Halloween each year in the city.

Can he discover the truth? Can he save his son and, with it, his marriage? Or will Mike pay the ghost?

THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Aside from a sterling cast of faces that will be familiar to genre fans, the strongest thing about Pay the Ghost is a surprisingly deep and emotional storyline. As a father to a young son I was probably more susceptible to sympathise with Cage's Mike, but even viewers with no such emotional baggage will be hard-pressed to remain unmoved by the character's plight.

The story (by Dan Kay, adapting Tim Lebbon's novella) feels that little bit richer with emotional weight and clearly defined characters, as is so often the case with literary adaptations.

What's more, the clever and assured camerawork ensures that the tension of each scene is fully realised. Mike's desperate search for Charlie is especially powerful, hitting you straight in the gut and making his fear palpable. 

The clever camerawork is also useful during some of the scarier scenes and contributes to a couple of well-worked jumps. 

But back to that strong cast — Cage plays Mike in a far more restrained manner than some may be expecting. You could be forgiven for assuming that Mike's desperate search for Charlie will be portrayed with Cage's trademark bug-eyed manic fervour. Instead he plays Mike as a broken man — a quiet academic robbed of all joy along with his son. It's interesting to see Cage rein it in and, for the most part, it works.

Besides Cage, the Walking Dead's Callies also impresses. She does a strong line in sympathetic, vulnerable women and this a role in which she definitely plays to her strengths. She's also given a strong arc and it's easy to root for Kristen and Mike to rediscover their relationship along with their missing son.

As you might have guessed, young Fulton doesn't have a huge amount of screentime, but he's a talented young actor and doesn't put a foot wrong while he is on camera. 

Elsewhere genre veteran character actor McHattie (who has one of those 'oh, HIM! I've seen him before!' faces) is great in what amounts to little more than an extended (but very cool) cameo, while German superstar Ferres lends some strong and capable support in her role as Mike's confidante and occasional exposition-spouter.

Finally, the film delivers some decent scares. It's not just the aforementioned jumpscares, there's a lot of atmosphere, presented beautifully by cinematographer Sharone Meir. With a seedy, rundown urban feel à la Candyman, there are also some creatively spooky flourishes along the way. Rows of grinning pumpkins sit on doorsteps and in windows, the shadowy religious iconography is presented by firelight and the grim-looking buzzards make for a very nice touch, while the tattered and burnt phantom at the heart of proceedings provides some decent chills.

With a story that takes in witchcraft and the practice of pagan rituals that date back to long before the birth of the city that currently bears their curse, it's a heady and spooky tale full of Halloween seasonal atmosphere. I very much expect it to become a TV regular in late October in the years ahead.

THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Sadly, while I enjoyed the cast of Pay the Ghost, not all of them were given much to work with. 

The super-talented Ferres is pretty much wasted in a role which is, ultimately, close to pointless.

So too was Bent, which left his character Jordan feeling like little more than a cliché used to forward a couple of minor plot points.

While Cage's Mike was far more well-rounded, I'm still not entirely sure his quieter performance was the right move. If a horror film throws some of the things at you that this one does, you have to think that it's trying to have a little fun. Cage is incredibly downbeat in his performance. I'm not saying that I feel this was a half-arsed effort on his part (unlike some critics I've read), but I think that some scenes could have benefited from his usual, more-lively screen persona.
Finally, as I was watching Pay the Ghost, I found myself thinking: 'Wow, this is a surprisingly personal little genre film. I'm digging this!'... and then that came to a screeching halt.

I don't want to spoil the ending here, but suffice to say the climax absolutely missed the spot for me.

With a superb 'ticking-clock' plot device and following on from a genuinely unnerving set piece involving scores of supernaturally abducted children, I was really buying into it. Then, for some reason that I simply cannot fathom, the scene devolves into a massive mess of poorly executed CG that robbed the closing moments of all the drama and tension that had been built during the preceding minutes.

What makes this even more galling is that I can see a practical way in which exactly the same outcome could have been delivered (one that made good use of the aforementioned spooky kids).

That the ropy CG was then followed by an eye-rolling action movie cliché — that actually provoked laughter from the crowd with whom I watched the film — was adding insult to injury.

The denouement itself was rather pleasant, but sadly my enjoyment of the film was soured somewhat by the finale.

THE VERDICT: Iffy climax aside, Pay the Ghost is a fun film that offers some nice characterisation, plenty of atmosphere and a good few frights along the way. It's not likely to top too many critics' -end-of-year 'best of…' lists, but if you're in the mood for a scary story on a quiet night in, you could do a lot worse than choosing Mr Cage for company. 
Give it a try and do let me know your thoughts in the comments below — I expect this one could prove polarising!
If you want to give Pay the Ghost a chance, you can buy it through Amazon here at a knockdown price!

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: SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE

Confession time — long before I was a horror blogger, read by literally thousands of discerning genre fans around the globe each and every week, I was a Cub Scout. That's right: dib dib dib, badges and woggles, the full shebang.

It wasn't to last forever, but for a few years I was a part of camping trips, good deeds for the day and even more badges.

Which probably means I was a little more susceptible to the charms of Christopher Landon's Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse than most. 

A zomcom that pits scouts vs the ravenous undead — surely this was worthy of a badge of merit? Or would it be best dead and buried?

Read on...

SCOUTS GUIDE TO THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE (2015)

Dir: Christopher Landon

Starring: Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller, Joey Morgan, Sarah Dumont, David Koechner, Halston Sage, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Lucas Gage, Niki Koss, Cloris Leachman

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

Ben (Sheridan) and Carter (Miller) are two teenagers who are part of a tiny and unpopular scout troop, led by Scout Leader Rogers (Anchorman's Koechner). Long term members, they have lost interest in the scouts, instead finding themselves more into the opposite sex than wreath knots and sheepshanks.

Ben has a serious unrequited crush on Carter's older sister Kendall (Sage) while his buddy has plenty of lust towards her vacuous best pal Chloe (Koss).

But — despite their misgivings — the two boys have felt unable to quit the troop due to their friendship with earnest fellow scout Augie (Morgan) who has thrown himself into scouting since the death of his father a couple of years ago.
However, on the day that the three boys are set to go camping to celebrate Augie earning his coveted Condor patch, the other two receive an invite to the secret seniors party that Kendall and her friends will be attending that evening.
Jubilant, Ben and Carter stop on the way to the camp to obtain alcohol and, after Ben helps stunning strip club cocktail waitress Denise (Dumont), she fetches beer for them.
That evening things don't go exactly to plan when first Scout Leader Rogers doesn't show (having fallen victim to a shuffling undead attacker, an infected doctor from a nearby research laboratory), then Augie catches the pair attempting to ditch him. Heartbroken, he tells them to leave.
Ben and Carter head into town, but on the way they notice that the intimidating bouncer has abandoned his post outside the strip club and Carter demands that they sneak in. However, soon their youthful exuberance turns to terror when they come face to face with a ravenous zombie stripper and the undead bouncer.
Meanwhile, Augie heads to Scout Leader Rogers' Dolly Parton themed home and comes face to ghoulish face with his former idol.
As a deadly virus rips through the town, all three boys find their survival skills pushed to the limit. Can the town be saved? Will Ben and Carter reach the party? And will the boys mend their friendship before it's too late? 

BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): In case you couldn't tell, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is the latest entry in the growing zomcom sub-genre. Now, unlike some horror comedies that forget to actually be funny, Scouts Guide… is absolutely hilarious.
From the opening scene in which a bungling cleaner mimes and dirty dances along to Iggy Azalea and Rita Ora's Black Widow to some sidesplitting dialogue and some truly horrible grossout humour, this is a film that brings the laughs by the bucketload. The aforementioned Azalea/Ora collaboration isn't the only great musical choice in the film — an impromptu rendition of Britney Spears' Hit Me Baby One More Time and a particularly hard-hitting confrontation with a relentless zombie assailant playing out to the strains of Dolly Parton's country classic 9 to 5 both had me in stitches.
Having a veteran funnyman in the form of Koechner certainly doesn't harm the film's comedy-cred, but it's not just the Anchorman star who delivers. The three young leads are all excellent, each capturing the essence of the character (Sheridan's Ben is the nice, decent one, Miller's Carter is the smart-mouthed horn dog, while Morgan's Augie is the overly earnest, nerdy one). Sheridan is a good-looking young man and should have a long and successful career, while Miller shows excellent comic timing, reminding me a lot of long-term Kevin Smith collaborator Jason Lee. Morgan also brings some some excellent comedy delivery and could well prove a break out star in comedy flicks. Watch this space.
Each is absolutely superb and all three are given their moments to shine, especially during the macho, gung-ho splatterfest climax of the film.
What's more, the striking Dumont shows acting chops to match her good-looks as she delivers a strong performance as the no-nonsense ass-kicker that saves the boys' skins on a regular basis.
Elsewhere the wonderful Leachman ratchets up the laughs with a memorable turn as Carter's crotchety cat-lady neighbour.

Of course the cast are only as funny as the material they're given to work with and, thankfully, the writing team of director Landon, Emi Mochizuki and Carrie Evans, scripting Lona Williams' story, do a fantastic job, coming up with some disgustingly delightful set pieces. That so many of these involve body parts, of both living and undead characters, may well divide audiences. Personally, I found the scene in which Ben is forced to desperately cling onto something decidedly unsavoury to avoid falling into a horde of zombies side-splittingly funny.

However, the script isn't so shallow as to just give us a series of jokes — it also boasts some nice moments of real heart, most notably in the scenes exploring the friendship between the three male leads. Sure, there's a little romance along the way, but ultimately it is the bond between Ben, Carter and Augie that provides the real emotional hook for the film.

That Landon and his cinematographer Brandon Trost keeps the footage of the boys' antics so eye-popping throughout is a real bonus, especially during the aforementioned kick-ass climactic battle (in which the lads show off some seriously impressive home-made zombie-slaughtering hardware) and some surprisingly frenetic chase sequences as the fast-moving zombies (yep, we get running zombies again) mercilessly pursue our heroes. This is an area in which many horror-comedies fall short, but Scouts Guide... keeps the action exciting and, as is so important in the post Walking Dead zombie-movie landscape, the effects work is top notch, giving us some memorably horrific zombies along the way, plus provides some moments of stunning gore that would make the great Tom Savini proud. I'm loathe to spoil the finest moments here but suffice to say one zombie with a particularly gruesome facial injury at the heart of a hideous (and hilarious) set piece late on in the movie was especially memorable, while the reveal that the virus is not limited to humans provides another couple of great moments.

Credit really must go to Jared Baker's crew, the folks at Atomic Fiction and everybody else who delivered the fantastic effects of the film. Well done!

THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Like so many comedies, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is only as strong as its humour. There are few decisions as subjective as whether something is funny. With as many gags as this one spits at us, it's only natural that some may miss the mark, but for the most part, I found the humour was spot on.

I found the film highly amusing, but I know there are plenty of people out there who will find the gratuitous T&A, toilet humour and bawdier elements puerile. If you enjoyed the likes of American Pie, you'll probably dig this. If however, gross-out teen comedies à la the Farrelly Brothers are not your cup of tea, you may want to keep on walking.

Also, if you've come here expecting serious scares (and God alone knows why you'd pick a film with this title if that really were the case), despite some visceral moments in the film, this is a zomcom that focuses firmly on laughs rather than frights. Be warned.

From a story standpoint, I've heard some complaints about a lack of definitive rules, with the zombies' behaviour changing to match the necessities of the story. Personally, I don't take too much offence at this — when a film is setting out to make me laugh, I'm prepared to cut it a little slack when it comes to universe-building. Once again, I point out that we have running zombies, so if you're one of the disgruntled few who wants their undead shuffling and decidedly brainless, Scouts Guides' zombies are likely to cause a little disappointment, even with the awesome make-up used to bring them to, erm, unlife.
Elsewhere, as much as I loved Dumont's role in the film, ultimately her character is kind of extraneous to proceedings. She doesn't really have much of an arc and, a couple of key interventions at desperate times aside, she doesn't play a huge role in the script. Although sometimes characters can exist just to add a little flavour to a film, and in this regard she more than does the job. Recently cast members Miller, Morgan and Dumont hinted that there are ideas for a sequel should this film be a success, so here's hoping that if that should prove the case, Dumont will be given something a little weightier to do.
Finally, Koechner (arguably the funniest man in the film) plays a character who loses his power of speech far too early on. When you have a man who has such a wonderful talent for delivering gags, it seems a bit daft to do this, but thankfully, he shows an equally fun aptitude for physical comedy, so it's not a total waste.

THE VERDICT: Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is great fun — think Superbad meets Zombieland. It's a film that will appeal to anybody who doesn't take their horror-comedies too seriously and combines a talented cast with some superb visuals and plenty of laugh-out-loud gross-out humour. It may not quite hit the heights of zomcom classics like Shaun of the Dead and the aforementioned Zombieland, but it is still a fine movie and one that is well worth your time. It's already in US cinemas and will arrive on the big screen on this side of the pond this weekend. Check it out!

In the meantime, head over to the film's official Facebook page here. Why not give it a Like while you're there too?

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.

SHARP SHOCK SHORT: THE PACKAGE

I recently met talented young British film-maker Damon Rickard at a genre event thrown by the London Horror Society. It didn't take long for me to work out that this is a man who clearly knows the genre and I was delighted when he was kind enough to offer me access to not just his already released (and very successful) short film, The Tour (which will be reviewed here VERY soon), but also his brand-new short, The Package, which reunites Rickard with The Tour's leading man, Tom Gordon.
Is this film the gift that keeps giving? Or is it best kept under wraps?
Read on…

THE PACKAGE (2015)

Dir: Damon Rickard
Starring: Tom Gordon, Dan Palmer

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

The Package is the story of two men, former colleagues who conduct shady business for an unnamed but shadowy organisation, who now find themselves on opposing sides.
One of them (Palmer) has taken an item (the titular 'Package') forcing the other (Gordon) to turn to increasingly desperate measures to discover its whereabouts.
After Gordon's character is able to subdue and capture his former partner, the men become embroiled in a brutal clash of wills.
Will the torturer convince his victim to spill the beans? What HAS the thief done with the package? And what could it contain that is important enough to warrant this bloodshed?

WHY IT WORKS: The Package is an extremely intelligent piece of film-making that walks the line between thriller and horror. I don't want to spoil the plot here, because a huge amount of the enjoyment of this film comes from the way in which it manages to shock and surprise. However, I am prepared to say that it cleverly plays with expectations and flips what the audience thinks it knows several times. It's an enthralling tale that is content to take its time revealing its mysteries. That it builds to a genuinely surprising conclusion is a testament to the skill involved in crafting the tale.
The story (by director Rickard) is surprisingly simple but told in such a way that it hints at much, much more.
Pretty much constrained to a single location for the vast majority of its 14 minute runtime, and focusing on the interaction between two leads, it's pared back and lean story-telling, but that doesn't mean it comes without depth.
The characters have their motives and the interaction between Gordon and Palmer is riveting. 

Of course it doesn't hurt that the two are both sterling actors. Gordon is a very handsome man and he has some serious acting chops to go with his good-looks. I liked his work in The Tour and he's just as good here. As the character who seems most desperate he should be the most sympathetic, but as he systematically and relentlessly tortures his victim he becomes utterly chilling.

On the other side of the coin we have Palmer, who will be recognisable to genre fans for his work in Stalled, Small Town Folk and Evil Aliens. Palmer is a great actor and he understands how to manipulate audience reactions with the simplest of gestures and changes in expression. As the subject of the stomach-churning violence in the film, Palmer is given plenty to work with and he remains utterly believable throughout. 

As Palmer's character grimly resists his former colleague's work, Rickard also toys with his audience, taking our sympathy and turning it on its head.

As I mentioned before, the film primarily takes place in a single location, but what a location it is. Shot in an abandoned Victorian fort just outside Portsmouth, it's a fantastically atmospheric setting and Rickard and his director of photography Richard Bell know exactly how to capture that gloomy atmosphere. Alternating between grim, stony walls and rich deep shadows, the fort reflects the look (and personality) of Rickard's characters.

Now, despite the praise I've already heaped on this extremely accomplished short, some of you may be wondering how this tough-guy thriller qualifies as a horror film?

Simply put, the gruelling and violent torture section of the film is every bit as horrifying as any slasher flick and feels as hard-hitting as the likes of Hostel. However, unlike a lot of torture-p0rn flicks on the market, the gore and violence serve a greater purpose than to simply titillate the more blood-thirsty genre fan — the depths to which the characters are prepared to sink and the trials they are prepared to endure are a vital part of the game of cat and mouse at the very heart of the film. Yes, there is blood — but there's also plenty of brains too.

SO WHERE'S IT AT? The Package is touring the festival circuit at the moment. Get yourself over to the film's official Facebook page for more information on when it may be coming to a screen near you. Give it a Like while you're there too, Rickard and his team deserve it.

10 WORD WRAP-UP: A bloody and brutal character-driven thriller with real bite

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: THE FINAL GIRLS

It may not have been the first slasher movie, but Friday the 13th is certainly among the most influential films in the genre.
Without Sean Cunningham's seminal 1980 movie we wouldn't have had the wave of summer camp slaughter-fests that have come to epitomise slashers.
As a film that established so many of the 'rules' that meta-slashers such as Scream have popularised, it seems surprising to me that it's taken until now for a film like The Final Girls to hit our screens.
It's a rare thing for me to say this, but I'm going to implore you all now — if you have not yet seen the movie, PLEASE just buy/rent it straightaway and watch it totally blind. You're so much better served going in without a clue as to what it's about. Once you've seen that, come back and read this review. 

It'll still be here, I promise.

THE FINAL GIRLS (2015)

Dir: Todd Strauss-Schulson
Starring: Taissa Farmiga, Malin Akerman, Alexander Ludwig, Alia Shawkat, Thomas Middleditch, Nina Dobrev, Adam Devine, Angela Trimbur, Chloe Bridges, Tory N. Thompson, Lauren Gros, Dan B.Norris

SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: Once again, if you've not seen the The Final Girls I urge you to check it out before reading on. I'll try not to spoil too much but continue at your own risk.

Max (Farmiga) is the teenage daughter of actress Amanda Cartwright (Akerman), a talented starlet who never quite broke out after her scene-stealing turn as Nancy in classic Eighties slasher movie Camp Bloodbath. Still, she has done a good job of raising her daughter as a single mother and the pair share an extremely close bond — until tragedy strikes one night and Amanda is killed in a car accident.

One year on and Max is getting by, thanks to the support of her friends, including feisty Gertie (Shawkat), and things look up when hunky classmate Chris (Ludwig) shows an interest.

However, when Gertie's film-dork stepbrother Duncan (Middleditch) learns who Max's mother was he pleads with her to attend a special cinema double-bill of Camp Bloodbath and its sequel.

At the cinema things take a turn for the worse when Chris's possessive ex Vicki (Dobrev) arrives, then it explodes into a full-grown catastrophe when a fire breaks out. 

Desperate to escape, Max and her friends tear a hole in the screen and flee... straight into the woods surrounding the fictional Camp Bluefinch, stalking grounds of Camp Bloodbath's masked psycho, Billy Murphy (Norris, who does a wonderful job of channeling Kane Hodder).

Initially — and understandably — confused, the group are soon enlightened when a camper van of teenage camp counsellors arrives and takes them to the camp. On the way they become familiar with horny jock Kurt (Devine), easy good-time girl Tina (Trimbur), token nice guy minority Blake (Thompson) and, of course, doomed inexperienced Nancy.

Max is blown away by this second chance to spend time with her mother and super-fan Duncan is absolutely delighted to be able to witness the events of his favourite movie first-hand, stating that they'll be fine as long as they follow tough final girl and chief counsellor Paula (Bridges).

But when it becomes clear that nobody is safe from the machete of Murphy, the group are forced to write their own story, trying to keep themselves and the original victims safe as they seek to reach the end credits alive.

Can they convince their stereotypical new friends to ditch the behaviour that equals instant death in a slasher movie? Will Max be able to keep her mother alive this time? And herself?

THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Wow, I did not see The Final Girls coming. It's a fantastically clever and funny meta horror story, taking elements of both Scream and The Cabin in the Woods with lashings of Eighties nostalgia. This is one of the most unique plots I've seen in some time and really does play out as a love-letter to slasher movies — especially the ever-popular Friday the 13th.

The witty script, penned by M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller, combines so many elements — the most obvious being a straight up slasher movie, but it also adds elements of fish-out-of-water comedies (as our modern day and the Camp Bluefinch teens suffer a real culture shock in their interactions), satire (in which genre tropes are lovingly portrayed as irresistible universal truths), a regular teen comedy (Duncan and the acidic Vicki could have wandered straight in from the likes of Mean Girls or American Pie) and a surprisingly moving character driven drama.

Of course it is the nods to the genre that stand-out in the memory — characters hearing a familiar synthetic echo sound each time the hulking Murphy is nearby, certain phrases causing colour to drain from the world as the characters are propelled back in time in flashbacks, rock solid subtitles that our leads have to step over and hilariously realised slow motion in which puzzled would be victims can't understand why they're unable to run. What's more, cinematographer Elie Smolkin includes plenty of more subtle stylistic flourishes that utterly fit the film-making techniques of the mid Eighties while ensuring the modern day scenes look and feel as polished as any big studio release.

It's a rarity for somebody to take a concept and mine it for every single cliche and possible laugh, but director Strauss-Schulson hits every single target perfectly.

However, as thorough as he is with his deconstruction of the slasher genre, it never feels mean-spirited or as if this is a film that thinks it is above the subject matter. No, this is a loving, gentle homage, celebrating the tropes it skewers, willfully turning expectations on their heads by twisting and subverting these rules, especially when it comes to the surprisingly rich characters

And it really is the characters that are vital to the success of most of The Final Girl's plot elements.

It is the characterisation and the sterling cast that really drive the film along between its satirical set-pieces.

Each character has a clearly defined role in the plot, yet each is capable of surprising us at key moments in the plot — and many of them do. 

Perhaps the most straightforward is Farmiga's Max. A character whose whole existence is almost entirely defined by the traumatic event at the onset of the movie, her motivation is not just understandable, it's a built in cause for sympathy. Farmiga, who will be familiar to genre fans for her roles in TV series American Horror Story, is fantastic, using her naturally sad eyes as a perfect tool to establish the turmoil and grief at her character's heart. Her delivery is impeccable and she ably takes on her character's tougher side later in the film. It is her burgeoning relationship with Nancy that becomes the main focus of the film, more so than her blossoming romance with Chris or established bond with Gertie.

Thankfully, Akerman is also wonderful as the other part of this double-act. She runs with both sides of her dual-role. She impresses with her (admittedly brief) turn as Amanda, Max's ill-fated mother, where she is warm and heart-felt. She's a cool mum, the sort whose career proves both embarrassing and a source of admiration for her daughter. She's extremely likeable, even if she may be a little too youthful in her appearance to truly play an Eighties scream queen.

However, it's in her second role of Camp Bloodbath's Nancy that she really impresses. She's earnest, sweet, naive — a bookish girl ready to finally offer up her virginity, and with it her life.

Malin Akerman has stunning good looks, but because of this it feels as if people often overlook her acting talent. It's a shame because she is a very, very good actress and her work in The Final Girls is no exception.

The supporting cast are all very good, but special praise must go to the more colourful characters among their number.

Middleditch is great and shows some superb comic timing during his key scenes. He's a dork, but loveable with it, and he performs one of the very finest pratfalls I've seen in some time. 

Equally hilarious is the scene-stealing Devine who has at least half of the best lines in the film. Bringing lunkish, one-dimensional Eighties alpha-male Kurt to life with just enough tongue-in-cheek charm and (very deeply buried) sweetness to keep him entertaining, Devine's work is a riot. He is at the centre of some of the best scenes in the film, and he (along with Tina) are the ones with the most to learn from their latterday companions.

Speaking of Trimbur's Tina, she is also hilarious, literally twitching to get drunk and start cavorting nakedly, forcing our heroes to dress her in unwieldy layer upon unwieldy layer to protect her modesty and with it, her life.

Another hit among our ladies is the gorgeous Dobrev (of Vampire Diaries fame). A self-centred, high-maintenance bitch, Dobrev's flawless mean girl delivery shows comic timing that I haven't seen from her before. What's more, rather than remain a one-dimensional stereotype (like the joke characters of Camp Bloodbath) she's actually given a clearly defined arc and has a legitimately moving moment late on in the film.

This is possibly the most surprising element in a film that delights in providing plenty of unexpected twists and turns — among the stabs and sniggers it has plenty of heart too. Sure the laughs and in-jokes are what draw you in, but by the time the strains of Betty Davis Eyes starts to play during the climactic scene, it is the genuine emotional investment you've made in Max, Rachel and the other hapless victims of Billy Murphy that will keep your eyes riveted to the screen.

THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): I've seen some negative reviews of The Final Girls, and universally, the main problem with each of them seems to be that the movie is too much comedy, not enough horror.
It's true that there are decidedly more laughs than screams, but it doesn't totally forget to include the slasher jolts we've come to know and love. Go in knowing it's laughs with some slasher horrror along the way rather than vice versa and you'll be ok.

On a similar note, the film was not R rated in the States, and lots of old-school slasher fans have bemoaned the lack of nudity and violent gore.

I understand where people are coming from, but do feel a need to point out the real paucity of naked flesh in the first Friday the 13th. Sure, certain characters are portrayed in such a way that they would almost certainly get naked in a mid-late Eighties slasher movie, but I for one don't think that bare boobs are the only difference between a good and a poor film.

As for blood, I'm in two minds here. I think some of the kills could have been more graphic, especially some of the later ones during the ill-fated attempt to trap Billy, but I'd argue that the car accident provides a spectacularly gruesome image, and there are other suitably bloody touches scattered throughout the film. Just a couple more really could have made the world of difference.

I've also heard some people pick on the hilarious Devine, claiming he doesn't have the look of an Eighties jock.

Ok, maybe he isn't as muscular as the genre's blonde-mulleted alpha males (such as The Burning's Glazer) but he carries the role with so much swaggering attitude that he TOTALLY pulls it off. 

On a final note, I found the ending a little predictable, but that's not the end of the world. Here's hoping that it means we can expect more from this series.

THE VERDICT: If you have even a passing interest in the classic slasher heyday of the 1980s, you NEED to see The Final Girls.

Even if you don't, but you fancy some laughs instead of straight-up scares, you really should check it out. Well-shot and acted, witty, moving and utterly hilarious, this love-letter to our genre is worthy of affection in its own right. It's absolutely fantastic. 

The Final Girls is available to buy here in the UK right now! Buy it at Amazon here.
Visit the film's official Facebook page for more information. Give it a Like while you're there too, share the love!

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.

LIVE FRIGHTS: SCARENATION FRIGHTMARE

Horror comes in many forms — books and films are obviously long established sources of frights, but now there are far more immersive experiences for those seeking thrills and chills.
In recognition of this blossoming trend, I'm going to attend as many of these attractions as I can throughout the year and I'll post a brief review of my experiences here.
First up, a local Haunt — Apsley's Scarenation: Frightmare.

SCARENATION: FRIGHTMARE (October 2015)

Location: Frogmore Paper Mill, Apsley
Tickets: £25

Now in its 5th year, the annual Scarenation event returns to last year's site, Frogmore Paper Mill.
However, unlike last year's long, continuous maze, this year the team behind the attraction have opted for five separate Haunts — Hollywood Horrors; Infested; Afterlife; Freak Show; and The Puppeteer.
After a brief wait outside the tremendously atmospheric building (the world's oldest mechanised paper mill) the Hickey's House of Horrors party were granted access to the site. From outside we were able to see each of the five entrances (and, more importantly, spot which Haunt attracted the largest group of rowdy teens), then, after a brief chat with a ghoulish, urbane host in a victorian-style suit, we made our first choice — Freak Show.

FREAK SHOW
Coulrophobes need not apply! After a brief introduction from an intimidating lace and leather-clad ringmistress, we were led into the funhouse-style interior of the maze. Numerous grease-paint and mask sporting clowns were on hand to ensure we were never able to relax, regularly peering through windows or popping through curtains when we least expected it, while a brief sojourn through a ball pool was a fantastic addition, as too was a great and startling flourish towards the end.
In retrospect, this may have even been my favourite of the mazes and rest assured, whether you're the fearless leader or 'cowering-at-the- back' type, nowhere is safe from the clowns.

From here we popped straight next door to Infested, where a fantastic creepy little host did a superb job of getting us all on edge before we'd even walked through the door (singling out the female in our party for 'special attention') before revealing the creepy backwoods/countryside theme of the attraction and then sending us inside.

INFESTED
Starting in narrow winding corridors filled with weeds and overhanging branches, the constant drone of flies makes the initial stages of the Haunt pretty nerve-wracking… but that's nothing compared to the point at which you are plunged into total darkness and have to navigate your way through a twisty, turning course using a length of hosepipe as your only guide. Needless to say, you aren't alone in the dark and a sudden appearance from a torch-wielding scarer with a mass of spiders on her face caused one of the most memorable jumps of the night. It was a pretty good section of maze, however, a group of girls behind us seemed to reach hysteria pretty quickly and I felt the actors went a little easy on us all from that point.
However, Infested is not just one maze. After a brief pause in a waiting room during which another wonderfully creepy host warned us about the 'freaks' in the following section, we were sent on our way once more. This time there was lighting and if the actors had gone easy on us before, the hooded, insect covered young man who served as both guide and chief-tormentor on this section was certainly not as restrained. He clearly knew his craft and had the leader of our group (ahem) yelping and cowering multiple times. This section also boasted arguably the most striking nightmarish image of the evening, before finishing with another top drawer flourish.

Back into the open air and time for another chat with the devilishly good, grey-suited Victorian host. He suggested a change of pace — maybe we should give Hollywood Horrors a go?
Who were we to argue?

HOLLYWOOD HORRORS
Inspired by iconic films that have haunted moviegoers for decades, this maze (which was possibly the most well-lit of the Haunts) boasted a series of recognisable horror movie scenes, all with a little added interactivity.
The host for this Haunt was the most chatty (and least in-character) who gave us a brief rundown of the rules (plus a series of risque gags, including a couple which poked gentle fun at my physique!) before sending us on our way.
I shan't spoil the films from which this Haunt drew inspiration, but will say there are some very well-known titles here. There was a small disappointment when it seemed as if a certain character was sadly absent from the scene in which he should appear, but this was more than made up for by the superb bit of misdirection in another section that had all of our group asking as one: 'Where the Hell did SHE come from?'. 
What's more, there were a pair of great actresses who managed to freak out EVERYBODY who crossed paths with them. The final scene also deserves praise for the effortless way in which it incorporates the industrial setting to maximum effect.
This was good fun, but slightly less extreme than the other mazes of the evening. It's great for film-buffs and is the Haunt that I'd suggest attendees visit first on a trip to Frightmare.

Three down, two to go, and now we decided to brave the 'most extreme' of the mazes — Afterlife.
As we stood there, all more than a little anxious about the 'extremity' of the maze, our bespectacled creepy bug host from Infested once again made an appearance, proceeding to scare the living daylights out of a young girl in the queue ahead of us. Top work!

AFTERLIFE
We were warned in advance that any physical impairments or claustrophobia could make this one unbearable, then kitted out in kneepads and work gloves.
Needless to say, we were pretty nervous. 
Then the leader of the group with which we were travelling was fitted with a head-torch and a small hatch was slid open at ground level.
You see, Afterlife is a Haunt through which you are forced to crawl on your hands and knees.
At first this was pretty terrifying, with actors lurking behind curtains and growling, howling and croaking (as well as seizing hands and other extremities when you least expect it). However, a small flaw was soon exposed. Our group was combined with another to make it a more appropriate size. Alas, the first group (including the torch wearer) shot away into the maze of tunnels, leaving the stragglers of our group far behind. 
Soon we became hopelessly lost in total darkness. This was definitely creepy, however, I became so discombobulated that I ended up taking one of the tunnels for the scarers and wound up lost behind the scenes!
Eventually it became a bit of a slog and a maze that should have taken just 10 minutes took me closer to 25 to successfully navigate! 
A great idea for a maze, some superb frights (there are holes in the ceiling that the scarers use to full effect) but perhaps some kind of harness or 'hold the ankle of the person in front' rule could be utilised to prevent those as dopy as myself from wandering astray!

So, sweaty from the exertions of Afterlife we made our way out into the cool night air once again before heading to our final maze — The Puppeteer. A friendly security guard chatted with us, filled us in on the rules of the Haunt, then sent us into the plastic wrapped domain of The Puppeteer and his creations.

THE PUPPETEER
A more typical Haunt, consisting of security fencing to create a 'track' wrapped in sheets of plastic (with plenty hanging down to obscure the way ahead), this haunt used a clever combination of grisly mannequins and actors to keep the attendees on edge. The actors here all took on far more deranged and lively personas than in the other mazes, regularly singing, shrieking and laughing hysterically. What's more a highly efficient scare section involving strobe-lighting and a pigtailed 'dummy' that doesn't want to be left behind was genuinely creepy and had me shuffling forward a little faster than I needed to! 
In fact, here, more than anywhere, the person at the back had the most to deal with as the Puppeteer's creations love their new playmates so much they regularly fall in behind the group and continue tormenting you.
The final reveal of the Puppeteer was perhaps a little underwhelming, but the set-up of the last scene was such that it gave us all one last jolt before we burst out into the cold October night air.

VERDICT
Scarenation: Frightmare is a fantastic attraction and each of my group spoke glowingly about our experience afterwards.
With refreshments and toilets on site, basic amenities are taken care of and, at a little under two-hours, you get plenty of 'Boo!' for your buck. This was my first time at a Scarenation event, but it's safe to say that it won't be my last. For those of you in the area, this is a fantastic seasonal scare and well worth your time. Check it out!

Scarenation: Frightmare is running until Saturday 31 October.
You can buy tickets to the attraction at the official Scarenation website here.
Visit their official Facebook page for more info. Give it a Like while you're there too, share the love!

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.