SHARP SHOCK SHORT: STALKING MISS BARLOW

In my recent review of the twisted horror comedy Conjoined, I had plenty of great things to say about the movie’s deliciously demented leading lady, Keefer Barlow. So I was delighted when Conjoined’s co-producer Derek Huey contacted me, revealing that he had written and directed a short unofficial follow-up (kind of) to the film.
And I was equally delighted to be able to sit down with the short and review it for all of you.

Would this match up to the mad, manic energy of Joe Grisaffi's movie?

Read on...

STALKING MISS BARLOW (2014)

Dir: Derek Huey
Starring: Keefer Barlow, Drew Brown, Larissa Dali, Cara Cochran, Dan Braverman, John Dalbosco, Kelly Grace, Lance Henry, John Maciag, Lou Mires

SHORT SYNOPSIS: I’ll try not to spoil too much as this is a short, but read on at your own risk.

Keefer Barlow plays Miss Barlow, a jaded alternative universe version of herself. She has become embittered towards her career choice as an indie horror actress, feeling disdain and irritation towards the crew who make these movies and the fans who watch them.

When we first meet her she is in the midst of complaining about yet another night shoot, while her crew — including hilarious chain smoking grips Drew (Brown) and John (Maciag) and starstruck cameraman Jacob (Dalbosco) —  dismiss her as little more than a bitch with good boobs.

After catching a lift from director's assistant Catherine (Dali), Miss Barlow stops off at an all-night petrol station for cigarettes — but while she is inside Catherine is attacked and abducted by a mystery assailant.

After Miss Barlow makes her way home, we see the crew reconvening for another night of filming at a residential setting. However, somebody starts to pick them off one by one, working his way through the filmmakers as he draws ever closer to Miss Barlow. What does he want? Will Miss Barlow survive her inevitable run in with the maniac? And just how many cigarettes can Drew work his way through in the 24min runtime?

WHY IT WORKS:  Much like Conjoined, Stalking Miss Barlow is an immensely witty little film that slowly but surely goes to some VERY dark places. The humour is well-written with some crackling dialogue and some loving digs at the indie horror movie making process. Most of the characters are egomaniacs, soul destroyingly cynical, demented or some combination of the three, yet despite this, they are still kind of likeable. This is a film full of smartarses and each one delivers lip-curling, cutting putdowns and world-weary outbursts of indignation with such aplomb that you can't help but feel for them. This is some pretty damn fine writing by Huey!

Of course the characters are only as good as the cast that portrays them, and I don't imagine a single review for Stalking Miss Barlow will go by without significant praise for the titular heroine. Barlow is magnificent, perfectly encapsulating the bitter sadness of her character. She has superb comic timing, so while at the start of the film she is filled with snark and bitchiness, she never becomes so unlikeable that she loses our sympathy. Later on when the character is required to emote the more poignant moments of the script, in which we are shown her sad, lonely disappointment at the way in which life has gone, Barlow is equally fantastic. She really does have an excellent range to go with her cute good-looks. What a star.

The rest of the cast are pretty good as well, especially when you consider the fact that most perform other roles in the film-making process too.

Cochran has the looks and talent to go a long way in the genre, while Dalbosco has plenty to work with and proves pretty great when his character hits his stride. His is arguably the most complex character (after Barlow's of course) and he does smashing job at portraying both sides of Jacob's personality.

Maciag gave a surprisingly assured and nuanced performance as old pro John, while the very funny Brown gets some of the scripts finest moments and very nearly steals the show. I especially enjoyed his cool as hell drag on the cigarette gag during the baseball bat scene!

The cast are obviously well guided by Huey whose directorial talent is apparent even on this micro-budget. I've mentioned his talent for shooting comedy, but what I haven't yet touched on is how well he handles the scare side of things too.

There are a couple of legitimately great creepy scenes nestled in among the laughs and the pathos of Barlow's scenes. Using a giallo-style villain, clad head to toe in black with a motorcycle helmet obscuring his features, the short has a handful of shocks and some spine chilling moments. One brought to mind another fantastic horror short, Bedfellows, and was surprisingly suspenseful, while the final scenes that play out over the end credits descend into nightmare.

These scenes practically scream 'SEQUEL' and if I were to hear that this is the first on a series of shorts I would be delighted. There's plenty of scope for more and, most importantly, there is enough quality here to build interest in one. So, Shooting Miss Barlow, anyone?

SO WHERE’S IT AT? Huey assures me that a dvd will be available 'soonish' so be sure to check out the Pop-Up Picture Show official Facebook page for more news on that. Give them a like too, they deserve your support!

10 WORD WRAP-UP: Barlow impresses again in smart, funny, scary short — sequel please!

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 HANOVER HOUSE

After I reviewed the wonderfully fun Tickle (which you can read, right here) the director of that film, Corey Norman, asked if I’d be interested in taking a look at his feature-length picture The Hanover House.
I had such a great time with Tickle that I leapt at that chance to see what else this talented film-maker had in store for audiences. However, I was shocked to see that this one had been billed as a very different type of flick, far less fun and much darker in tone.
Could Norman succeed at a very different ballgame? Read on…

THE HANOVER HOUSE (2014)

Dir: Corey Norman
Starring: Brian Chamberlain, Casey Turner, Anne Bobby, Daniel Noel, David J. Shaffer, Erik Moody, Shannon Campbell, Matthew Delamater, Jenny Anastasoff

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

Robert Foster (Chamberlain) is a man who is haunted by his past, not least the broken relationship he has with his estranged parents. His long-suffering wife Shannon (Turner) shows patience and support, even when Robert's behaviour leaves a little to be desired. Things finally come to a head when, after a phonecall out of the blue informing him of his father's sudden death, Robert clashes with his mother (Bobby) and vile uncle Frank (Shaffer) at the funeral.

Leaving abruptly and with his emotions already running high, Robert accidentally hits a young girl with his car. Frantic and desperate for help, Robert heads to a nearby farmhouse in search of assistance. However the building is not what it seems and soon the metaphorical phantoms of his past become all too real and set about waging a very real war on his senses. 

Will he and Shannon survive the night? What does the House want from them... And will it claim its toll?

THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Much like Jennifer Kent's The Babadook, this is a film very much about grief. It is no coincidence that the ghosts of Robert's past re-emerge in the wake of a personal bereavement. The water torture of the house's tricks, slowly but surely dissolving his mental defences one drip at a time, strikes exactly the way in which the death of a loved one does, hitting you with memories long since forgotten, forcing you to re-examine the past for, as far as that relationship goes, there will be no future.

It feels like an intensely personal movie, and that is arguably its strongest point. The characters are realistic, to a fault in fact, as both Robert and Shannon have moments in which they display human fallibility. They are written well and so is the story by director Corey Norman and co-writer Haley Norman, even if the steady wave of depressing and grim events from the leads' past does veer perilously close to unrealistic at times.

The cast are also excellent, more than up to the emotional rigours of their characters' roles.

Chamberlain is given the most eye-catching work, portraying an emotionally wrecked man even before the story can start to torture him. At times the character he plays is unlikeable, an individual whose issues make him angry and without patience, yet Chamberlain is able to portray the character with enough of a hint of vulnerability that we still feel sympathy for him. As the movie progresses and the house starts to consume Robert, Chamberlain is then able to add enough menace and seething intensity to the role to crank up the scares. With a resemblance to Lost's Matthew Fox and a great acting range, I expect we will see plenty more from him.

Turner too is fantastic. At first she seems as if might be a little wishy-washy, a weak victim a la Shelley Duvall in The Shining, included to scream, look scared and plead with whichever menace she has to deal with at that time. But as the movie progresses she becomes so much more, playing an active role in unlocking the house's mysteries and given a far more complex part than mere victim. It's impressive work from a very talented actress.

Also bringing great performances to the movie are Bobby, Noel and Shaffer.

Genre veteran Bobby (who will be familiar to readers from Nightbreed and for her voice work in the Bioshock video game series) is as awesome as ever as Robert's unkind, self-centred mother. This is an actress who has built a well-deserved reputation for quality and her work in The Hanover House demonstrates exactly what she can contribute to a movie. 

Shaffer has a string of horror credits to his name and plays the sleazy uncle Frank perfectly. He doesn't have a lot of screentime but he makes the most of what he does have, including one truly stomach-churning scene.

Finally Noel impresses as the apparition of Robert's father. Ranging from benevolent and kindly to sinister and murderous, Noel needs to bring a lot to this performance and he is more than up to the task.

I mentioned The Shining earlier and I think it is no coincidence that at times this movie feels a lot like Kubrick's masterpiece and other haunted house classics such as The Amityville Horror and the Poltergeist movies. Norman is clearly a fan of the genre (as displayed in the note-perfect era feel of Tickle) and for the most part these subtle nods feel more like loving homage than plagiarism.

With creepy phonecalls, possession, black-eyed spirits, crackling radios, swarms of flies, disembodied voices and reality warping hallucinations, The Hanover House brings the full haunting box of tricks to the table and they are fantastically brought to life (well, undeath) by Norman's assured and accomplished direction. He clearly has a strong vision and movie oozes with a clammy, brooding atmosphere because of it. I especially admired his use of low camera angles and shadow to add a palpable sense of tension to proceedings. 
Furthermore, the house itself is a superb location. Norman shot the film in a purported real haunted house. After seeing what Norman was able to do with the setting, it is very easy to imagine how this reputation has been built.
This is not a fun Eighties creature flick like Tickle, instead this feels like a classic and disturbing Seventies haunted house movie. Knowing the genre highs that this type of movie reached during that period, perhaps there are no greater compliments than that.

THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): As I mentioned before, the grim and depressing events of The Hanover House mount up in unrelenting fashion. This is not a feel-good film, there is not a single moment of levity throughout its short, sharp 73min runtime. I know that is kind of the point, but it does start to feel a little oppressive after a while. Then again, some readers may think that’s a good thing?
I praised the actors in the movie, and for good reason, but a couple of the supporting parts didn’t quite hit the highs of the stand-out stars. I know that with a low budget flick such as this there are bound to be some less experienced cast members so I suppose this is only to be expected. Luckily these are few and far between and don't much affect your enjoyment of the movie.
I‘ve mentioned the budget and, while the film did a great job with what it had, sometimes the restrictions that it caused did raise some problems. There were a couple of decidedly iffy effects moments, most notably during the latter stages of the movie. This is a real shame, but for the most part, the effects up until that point are pretty good, so it definitely isn't a total bust.
Finally, while I was discussing the various nods to other successful haunted house flicks earlier, I mentioned that it usually felt like homage. However, there were a couple of instances in which I felt as if a haunted house movie checklist had been used during the filming process. I understand that there is bound to be a lot of crossover — every genre has its tropes, that is how we are able to categorise them after all — but at a couple of points the film drifted dangerously close to derivative. It wasn’t just a case of ‘seen this before’, when the budgetary constraints were taken into account, a couple of times it became ‘seen this before… and better'.

THE VERDICT: I’m going to recommend The Hanover House. It’s a good, if not great, addition to the haunted house sub-genre. It is a well-crafted, well-shot and far richer viewing experience than many of you may be used to from an indie horror. It has several deeper themes, some fantastically well-rounded characters and doesn’t forget to bring the scares either. It’s well worth your time and, if you’re a fan of more psychological horror movies, you really should check it out.
Until then, be sure to check out the film’s official Facebook page too. It offers plenty of updates and news on the movie, plus it gives you all the chance to show your appreciation with a Like. So you probably should!

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.

FRIGHTFUL FUN: THE EVIL WITHIN – THE MOVIE

I love a damn fine horror video game and one of the most incredible to come bouncing down the pipeline in a very long time is The Evil Within.
Guided by the twisted vision of Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami, this is an equally terrifying and filmic gaming experience.
So I was delighted to discover that some genius (or possibly maniac) has brilliantly edited together all of the games cutscenes with some of the best gameplay moments to create a feature length movie following the steps of Detective Castellanos in his efforts to apprehend the deadly Ruvic.
You need to check out the wonderful work of YouTuber Gamebill Studio (Nabil Ayari), this is a great watch — although for those of you who haven’t yet completed the game, needless to say there are some pretty massive spoilers!
Interested? Well, here it is!

This is awesome, we need more animated horror and this is just one of the ways in which it can be achieved. Great work, sir!

Anybody out there got anything similar for me? Send it my way!

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: WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU

Some short films cause such an instant wave of positive responses that they are almost immediately acquired for feature length adaptation. Whether it be the premise or the execution, something about the film screams ‘SUCCESS!’ and studios are never slow to act.
Rob Grant’s What Doesn’t Kill You is one such short. As soon as it appeared on my radar after its extremely well-received screening at TIFF last year, it was already gearing up for the full-length treatment.
I recently spoke with producer Luke Black who was kind enough to extend me the offer of a screener of the short. Would I see the same potential as everybody else? Or would this one crash and burn?

WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU (2014)

Dir: Rob Grant
Starring: Connor Jessup, Alex Harrouch, Aidan Greene

SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: This is a short so I’ll try not to spoil too much, but read on at your own risk.

On the night of a winter prom, friends Marshall (Jessup), Leonard (Harrouch) and Dermot (Greene) are pursued by the bullies who have made their lives a misery for so long.
As they speed along the icy roads, the boys are involved in a horrific car accident, spinning off the road and into a snowy ravine. Marshall finds himself stood beside the vehicle, completely unharmed — yet he doesn’t seem surprised by this. Suddenly Leonard’s screams ring out as the front of the car in which he is trapped is consumed by flames… until he too suddenly finds himself in the snow outside the car, also completely unharmed.
Together the boys pull Dermot from the backseat, but are shocked to see that he has suffered a catastrophic spinal injury and appears to be paralysed.
Then Marshall has an idea as to how to help Dermot… and it’s messy.
Will Leonard go along with the plan? How did they survive unscathed? And how far is Marshall really prepared to go? 

WHY IT WORKS: Well, where to start? I suppose it would be the fantastic and compelling premise, the hook of Grant and co-writer Stuart Marks' story. What Doesn’t Kill You instantly grabs your attention through the breakneck (or perhaps that should be breakback) chase scene, followed by the intriguing mystery of what is happening and building to an electric edge-of-the-seat crescendo when our leads' central dilemma comes to the fore.

Taking the hot topic of high school bullying as a leaping on point, then building into something more fantastical is an astute step. Not only are we all now aware of the sickening depths to which today's vilest bullies will sink (Marshall himself speaks of an incident in which his tormentors stubbed out a lit cigarette on his face), we are also aware of the dreadful and terrifying reactions this can bring out in psychologically damaged and dangerous individuals. It's a story that brings real world fears with its subject matter.

At its heart, this is a story about power. These three boys have never had it, instead they have been victimised by those that do. But right now, in this instant, they suddenly believe that they are on the receiving end of an immeasurable force far beyond their comprehension. It is frightening and, to Marshall (the most tortured of the group) overwhelmingly liberating.

Jessup in the role of Marshall is awesome. He is likeable and sympathetic, yet he has an air of dark oddness about him. He's a character who has been pushed and beaten down to the point of no return (as we are shown in a chilling flashback sequence) but now his desperation has turned into a delirious euphoria. The bullying has broken him, but now he is pulling himself back together (well, something is) in a new, more dangerous form. He is loyal to his friends, idealistic and, through the degradation he has suffered, he is dangerously reckless with the sanctity of human life. Jessup gets this and runs with it to perfection.
He‘s a good-looking young man with damn fine acting chops — he’s going to go a long way.
Co-star Greene is equally brilliant in his role as Dermot. Dermot is the member of the group who seemingly has his life most-together — he had a date for the evening (a girl he clearly has strong feelings for) and even states that the only reason the bullies have targeted him is because of his friendship with the other two. This sums up his character, even before the accident and Marshall’s plan, he was always the one with the most to lose. Greene‘s character really is put through the wringer and this promising young actor is able to portray Dermot’s mounting desperation brilliantly. This is another sterling performance.
The final member of the central trio, Harrouch’s Leonard is a complex character. Arguably the weakest of the group, it is revealed early on that he had already attempted to end his own life to escape his tormentors long before the events of the film. Following the accident his indecision is palpable and the other boys attempting to convince him to side with them makes for the film’s most compelling moments. Harrouch emotes the character’s dilemma perfectly, never overplaying it and both drawing the audience onside with him and ratcheting up the tension as he does so. His performance is possibly the easiest to overlook initially but it is absolutely vital to the success of the short. That’s a hat-trick of hits from our leads, congratulations gentlemen!
I just mentioned tension, and that is something that the film delivers in spades. Grant’s direction is masterful, slowly cranking up the suspense until it becomes unbearable, his use of quick cuts and close framing adding to the effect of the wonderful storyline. The pacing is excellent, whipping by at a brisk pace without ever feeling underdeveloped or rushed, and the short is beautifully shot, feeling significantly more expensive than its modest budget would suggest. Imagining what this story will do when expanded and with a higher level of financing is really very exciting. What Doesn’t Kill You is a short film that works on its own, giving a satisfying conclusion,yet it still begs for expansion. I want to see more of what came before and I NEED to see the events that follow the film’s final moments. The possibilities are endless and, thankfully, we seem all set to see them realised.

SO WHERE’S IT AT? The short is still doing very well indeed on the festival circuit, so make sure you give it a look if you can. Check out the short film’s Facebook page for more news on where and when you can see it, plus all the exciting updates on the upcoming feature. You know the drill by now, Like it while you’re there. These guys definitely warrant it.

10 WORD WRAP UP: A great cast and fascinating premise make this a winner

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 MINIONS

The second short I've reviewed by Jeremiah Kipp (read my review of Painkiller here), The Minions is a very different offering.

While Painkiller was a sci-fi/body horror hybrid, The Minions combines a more psychological take on the genre with supernatural chills.

So, could this short match the dizzy heights of Painkiller?

Read on...

THE MINIONS (2014)

Dir: Jeremiah Kipp

Starring: Lukas Hassel, Robin Rose Singer, Cristina Doikos, Lauren Fox

SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: This is a short so I’ll try not to spoil too much, but read on at your own risk.

The short opens with William (Hassel) talking to the offscreen and creepy sounding Abigail (Fox) about an incident that occured in the past. He speaks about his journey through the streets of the city late one night and his bold decision to walk ‘The Witches Path’.
Abigail taunts him, claiming that he took that route hoping to see her, but William plunges on with his story.
He claims that he had nearly made it through this hazardous route when he came across two girls, Katrina (Singer) and Sarah (Doikos). Katrina is extremely intoxicated, collapsing in the street, and after weighing up his options, William heads over to lend a hand.
As the group stumbles back towards the girls’ apartment, we hear more from Abigail and witness Katrina’s breathy demands for a kiss grow more urgent and insistent as they progress.
What awaits them at their destination? Is this an innocent exchange… or a deadly one?

WHY IT WORKS: This is an odd, but beautiful and thought-provoking little film. Taking the inherent otherworldliness that descends on bustling city streets when nights falls and the crowds disperse to be replaced by the outcasts and weirdos, The Minions delivers a real punch.
I have seen (and intervened on behalf of) those the worse for wear on an evening out, so it is easy to feel William’s plight. You feel concerned for your own safety, but know that those with less control over their situation are at even more risk. From this hook, and with the enigmatic mystery of Abigail’s words regarding witchcraft and the minions of the unholy ringing in our ears, we are taken on a taut, suspenseful and wonderfully atmospheric ride.
To me, one of the finest things about this short is how beautifully shot it is. Kipp and his cinematographer Brian Dilg create something that is dark and disturbing, yet visually astounding and visually gorgeous. Using a muted colour palette and the deep, dark shadows of night, it feels almost like a noir movie, yet maintains that air of the paranormal, the sense of the witching hour, throughout. This is a film that positively broods.
Speaking of brooding, the nuanced performance of the undeniably handsome Hassel is spot on. He’s fascinating to watch, oozing charisma and effectively dragging the audience along his character’s arc along with William. I don‘t want to spoil anything here, but the subtle gestures, expressions and mannerisms he brings along the way add to the unnerving atmosphere of the short. We will certainly be seeing much more from him in the years to come.
As much as Hassel nails his character‘s complex arc, the impressive Doikos is also able to show some superb range in her performance. Starting up as innocent and helpless, she becomes unsettling, creepy and off-kilter, before then taking yet another twist. It's impressive work from a clearly very talented actress.
The equally defenceless and seductive Katrina is brilliantly realised by Singer. She is excellent and her delivery of each and every line is note perfect.

Speaking of delivery, the unseen Fox is an awesomely enchanting presence, her dialogue positively bristling with a destructive yet enthralling spite. Who is she? What is she? What is it that she wants? We are never quite sure but even though we find ourselves scared of whatever answers we may discover, we still dig for them.

That is a description that fits the whole short. On one level Joseph Fiorillo's story can be seen as deceptively simple, albeit dangerously alluring. Yet on another it really warrants significant dissection and discussion. It deals with a surprising yet stirring central theme — we are all potential victims, right up until the point we become the predator. It's an examination of temptation, opportunism, coincidence and fate. 

We are never shown any overtly supernatural incidents, yet a lot of the story could also be interpreted that way. Are the surprising developments free will or the result of falling under a spell? Are the minions weaving a magic to enslave and alter William? Again, these are questions that we are left to answer ourselves.

What we are given, however, are some incredible performances, some truly sumptuous visuals and an intriguing and atmospheric tale that will stay with you long after the end credits role.

SO WHERE'S IT AT? The short is currently touring the festival circuit where it is gathering plenty of fans. Be sure to check the film's official Facebook page for news on when it may be heading to a screen near your or for any updates on a home release. While you're at it, give the page a 'Like' —  Kipp and his talented cast and crew definitely deserve it.

10 WORD WRAP UP: Moody and mysterious examination of urban angst and the occult

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.

SINISTER SIX: GREATEST JASON VOORHEES KILLS

This Friday will be the 13th of February.
Need I say more? I do? Okay, how about ki-ki-ki ma-ma-ma?
It’s time to celebrate one of the greatest screen boogeymen of all time, Mrs Voorhees’ beautiful, bouncing baby boy Jason! 
One of the more imaginative slashers, Jason has had some real high-points when it comes to the techniques he’s used to dispatch of the gormless teens that — despite a deathrate in the area to rival Pompeii — continue to flock to the shores of Camp Crystal Lake.
Now, I’m including those deaths caused by Jason himself, so the iconic Kevin Bacon throat stabbing doesn’t make the list, nor do any from A New Beginning. Here are six of my very favourites!

6. THE BIG FREEZE
Jason X, 2002
Who: Adrienne (Kristi Angus)

Jason X seems to be a polarising horror flick (personally, I dug it!) but one thing is for sure: EVERYBODY has to admit that the gruesome manner in which Jason disposes of teaching assistant Adrienne is a showstopper. After she attempts to perform an autopsy on the seemingly dead Voorhees, he springs to life and thrusts her face into a vat of liquid nitrogen, instantly freezing her face and head, before smashing her crystallised head against a stainless steel work service and callously throwing her headless body to the floor.
The scene is helped by the incredible special effects on display (which far surpass most Friday the 13th offerings) and re-establishes the freshly thawed out Voorhees as every bit as mean as he ever was.

5. BOXING BEHEADAL
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, 1989
Who: Julius, V.C. Dupree

Coming in the slightly misleading Jason Takes Manhattan (misleading because the big guy only spends the vast majority of the flick on a boat before spending a mere 10 minutes in NYC!), the Jason v Julius showdown is a classic Ft13 moment.

Impressive athlete and boxer Julius survives the bloodbath on the boat, but finds himself among the survivors stalked through the streets of the Big Apple by Voorhees. Separated from the group and cornered on a rooftop, He realises that flight is not an option... So Julius turns to fight.

He unleashes a volley of powerful blows at Jason but, after wearing himself out as he wails away at the unphased Voorhees, he gasps: 'Take your best shot, motherfucker...' To which Jason responds with a single haymaker so powerful it tears Julius' head clean from his body and down into the alleyway below.

This great gag is then followed by an amazing punchline - the head bounces down into an awaiting dumpster which promptly slams shut on it. Sheer poetry!

4. BEDBREAKER
Freddy vs Jason, 2003

Who: Trey (Jesse Hutch)

There are few Voorhees victims as instantly unlikeable as misogynistic tool Trey. After witnessing the callous way in which he treats cute girlfriend Gibb (the always wonderful Katharine Isabelle) post-coitus, we are itching to see him get his just desserts — and boy does Jason deliver. As Trey reclines facedown on a folding campbed (classy), Voorhees proceeds to brutally stab him over and over in the spine with his trademark, over-sized machete. This is pretty much already an awesome death, but what happens next propels it into legendary status.
Jason folds the bed, with Trey still in it. I’m talking full-on, calf-to-shoulder, spine-snapping folding here. Ooooooh.
This one narrowly edges out a similar folding incident from the heroic Sheriff Garris (David Kagen) in Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI. After pulling a Julius (see above) and trying to throwdown with the big J, Garris ends up getting the origami treatment too…

3. VAN VIOLENCE
Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI, 1986
Who: Nikki (Darcy DeMoss)

While Garris’s death in Jason Lives didn’t quite make the list, this one certainly does. After teens Nikki and Cort (Tom Fridley) decide to indulge in some hankypanky in her stepfather‘s RV they are interrupted when the power goes out. Upon discovering that the cord was intentionally cut, they decide to get the hell out of dodge and Cort burns rubber with the radio blaring.
Little do he and Nikki know that they have a stowaway. Cue Jason, who grabs Nikki by the head and mashes into the wall so hard that it leaves a visible impression of her face on the outside of the van.
This is made all the cooler by the fact that it is set to Alice Cooper’s Teenage Frankenstein. Awesome.

2. HANDSTAND HORROR
Friday the 13th Part 3, 1982
Who: Andy (Jeffrey Rogers)

Andy is a bit of a twat. He spends pretty much his entire time in the third Friday outing trying to impress people with his circus skills, such as juggling and tumbling. It is this last one that brings about his grisly demise. After bedding his girlfriend Debbie (Tracie Savage) he walks on his hands into the bathroom where she's showering to ask if she wants a beer. He then walks out of the room (still on his hands) right into Jason — who proceeds to bring his machete down between Andy’s legs, splitting him to the gizzard via the johnson.
Ooof!
A marvellously gory and surprisingly entertaining end, which is only made stronger by the reveal of his mangled remains in the rafters later on in the flick.

1. SLEEPING BAG SLAMMER
Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, 1988
Who: Judy (Debora Kessler)

This one is a kill SO iconic that the series has acknowledged and revisited it (albeit with some subtle tweaks) TWICE. In this genuinely brilliant scene, Judy has gone camping with her boyfriend Dan (Michael Schroeder). After they Dan pops out, Judy undresses in anticipation of his return. As she hears a figure approach, she assumes it to be Dan and calls out… to be met by a machete ripping through the side of the tent. She screams and desperately tries to hide inside her sleeping bag.
WORST. MOVE. EVER.
Jason proceeds to grab the bag, drag her outside, then, in one of the man’s most surprising, simultaneously brutal AND hilarious moments, violently swings the bag into a tree.
This is a kill so great I NEEDED to add a video clip.
Both the virtual reality segment of Jason X AND the 2009 remake paid homage to this death, as if confirming what I knew all along — this truly is the greatest Friday the 13th kill EVER.

So what do you think of the list? Are there any glaring omissions or choices you disagree with? Do you have a particular favourite moment of Voorhees violence that you feel I've overlooked?

Leave your comments below or drop me a message, it'd be great to hear from you.

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.

THE WEEK’S HORROR HEADLINES (2nd–9th February)

Not got time to trawl the web for all the top horror news of the last week? Well allow me to give you a bite-size breakdown of the all biggest nightmarish news!

1. POLTERGEIST REMAKE PICS AND TRAILER HIT THE INTERNET

Whatever your thoughts on remaking a legitimates genre classic, those pics are kind of cool. And the clown jump in the trailer below is GOOD STUFF!

2. POSTER SPILLS DETAILS ON REMAKE OF MARTYRS

Pascal Laugier’s 2009 extreme horror hit, Martyrs, is widely regarded as one of the most gruelling, disturbing flicks of all-time. So I remain sceptical as to whether Blumhouse Productions’ and The Safran Company’s remake — now revealed to be helmed by the Goetz brothers — can top it to take the title of ‘The Ultimate Horror Movie’. Hmmmm, let’s wait and see shall we?

3. HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN TO STAR IN WARTIME HORROR UNTÖT

So it seems that the Star Wars prequels’ Hayden Christensen will battle Nazi zombies in Untöt.
Produced by Solaris Entertainment, the synopsis reads: 
UNTÖT, meaning "undead" in German, is set towards the end of World War II in December 1944. During a blizzard, an elite military unit headed by Lt. Fredrick Hank (Christensen), is dropped behind enemy lines in the mountains of Poland to destroy a secret Nazi weapons facility. The soldiers must face their greatest fears when they encounter something they could never have been trained for. The undead.
I love a good wartime horror flick, so maybe this will deliver? Stay tuned…
Read Twitchfilm’s story here.

4. FIRST IMAGE FROM BIG SCREEN ADAPTATION OF STEPHEN KING’S CELL

How’s that for a cast? Samuel L Jackson and John Cusack reunite in a Stephen King adaptation (they first appeared together in 1408) along with Orphan’s Isabelle Fuhrman (yes, that really is her. Yes, she really has grown up!)
I was a big fan of Cell (not much of a shock to regular readers, my love of King is pretty common knowledge!), I thought it felt a lot like James Herbert’s twisted The Fog crossed with KIng’s own The Stand, so I’m looking forward to this!

5. M NIGHT SHYAMALAN WRITING A NEW SUPERNATURAL THRILLER

M Night Shyamalan’s early efforts were some of my favourite flicks of the new millennium. So I’m still kind of hopeful that he can rediscover that form with a lower budget genre effort. Bloody Disgusting has spoken to the man and learnt that even though his intriguing next movie, The Visit, hasn’t hit our screens yet, he’s already hard at work on another ‘small scary thriller’. Fingers crossed it’s more The Sixth Sense than Last Airbender…
Read Bloody-Disgusting’s story here.

6: NEW THIS WEEK

Two big ones get a home release this week. Jake Gyllenhall’s critically acclaimed Enemy (get it here) and Luke Evans’ Dracula Untold (available here). Let me know if you check either of them out, I’d be interested to hear your thought! 

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: SEE NO EVIL 2

 February is Women in Horror Month. There are some fantastic female filmmakers in the genre right now — just recently I’ve reviewed the likes of Audrey Cummings’ awesome Berkshire County, Shannon Lark and Lori Bowen’s delightfully deranged I Am Monster and Jill Sixx Gevargizian’s award winning Call Girl.
But today I’m turning to the queens of the new wave of horror, the biggest names to hit the scene in some time — Jen and Sylvia Soska, the twisted twins. Their debut feature, Dead Hooker In A Trunk made some big waves, while their follow-up effort, American Mary, has quite rightly been lauded as one of the best and most original genre flicks of the last five years. With a segment filmed in ABCs Of Death 2, plus a list of upcoming movies including Painkiller Jane, Vendetta and a segment in the all-femaled directed horror anthology XX, these extremely talented ladies meteoric rise shows no signs of slowing.
Last year I wrote a list of underrated horror villains and my inclusion of Jacob Goodnight from the slasher flick See No Evil was met with some derision by readers. Hey, you guys are entitled to your opinions here, but it seems that that the Soska sisters may have seen some potential in the big guy as they signed up to direct the sequel.
Could the twisted twins continue their run of hits? Or is it time to say goodbye to Goodnight?
Read on…

SEE NO EVIL 2 (2014)

Dir: Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska
Starring: Glenn Jacobs, Danielle Harris, Katharine Isabelle, Kaj Erik Eriksen, Greyston Holt, Chelan Simmons, Lee Majdoub, Michael Eklund

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

Amy (the ultimate scream queen, Harris) works long shifts at the city morgue and as a result (excuse the pun) both her career and love life seem pretty dead. She seems to have a burgeoning relationship with likeable co-worker Seth (Eriksen) and as their colleague, wheelchair-bound Holden (Eklund) teases Seth, we see that he is trying to pluck up the courage to ask her out on a date.

When the movie opens, Amy is set to go off shift and out to celebrate her birthday with friends — plans which are soon scuppered when the massacre at the Blackwell Hotel is discovered (see the first See No Evil for details)

As the morgue braces itself for an influx of corpses, including hulking mass murderer Jacob Goodnight (WWE's Kane, Glenn Jacobs), Amy cancels her night out to help.

However Amy's friends do not give up so easily and as she cannot go to the party, they decide to bring the party to her. Led by outrageous wild child Tamara (the always wonderful Isabelle), the gang are comprised of Tamara's punky boyfriend Carter (Majdoub), Amy's moody brother Will (Holt) and cute Kayla (Simmons), who just so happens to have a huge crush on Will.

The group descend on the morgue with a plentiful supply of booze, and soon Amy, Seth and Holden join them in partying away.

However, when the intoxicated and serial-killer obsessed Tamara and Carter decide to sneak off for a peek at the monster on the slab in the basement, they soon realise that the deranged Goodnight is not as deceased as they had been led to believe.

Soon the one-eyed maniac (donning a cool new mask) picks up where he left off and begins carving a bloody swathe through his terrified victims. Trapped deep in the bowels of the building, the group are soon involved in a desperate fight for survival. Who, if anyone, will escape the murderous Goodnight's clutches and live to see the morning?

THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): This horror flick unites two of the biggest female leads in the genre today. Quite simply, this is a horror fan's dream. Harris is as brilliant as ever, giving her character some extra depth and her trademark inner-toughness that makes her a lead you can't help but root for. In the past I've poured plenty of praise on Ms Harris for her continued great work in the genre, See No Evil 2 is yet another fine example of how much she can contribute to a movie.

Isabelle also impresses (as always). Hers is the fun character, a lot like her role as Gibb in Freddy vs Jason. She’s rowdy, drunk, outrageous and hilarious — a character who, in the hands of a lesser actress, could have been a one-note annoyance but as portrayed by Isabelle is one of the most likeable and sympathetic in the film. She has a number of laugh out loud moments in the film and is a delight to watch.
Yet these two big names aren’t the only ones to impress on screen, the entire cast of this film are fantastic. The impressive Simmons has a couple of top 'scream queen'-worthy moments and I hope to see her do a lot more work in the genre, she could become a very, very big star. The duelling male leads of Eriksen and Holt are both superb — each one nailing their role. Eriksen is immensely charismatic and his character really does get put through the wringer. He has the most drastic and clearest arc of all the characters and he is totally up to the task. Bravo, sir.
Meanwhile Holt’s Will could have been an unsympathetic (or even downright unlikeable) character, but Holt knows how to shade the performance, instead making Will’s concern for his sister all too apparent as his main motivation. Obviously he’s a good-looking guy too, so I imagine we’ll see plenty more of him in the future.
Some of the best work came from the always reliable Eklund. Eklund is one of those familiar faces who you recognise without necessarily knowing from where, yet you know he’s going to get the job done and get it done well. His great performance as the fun, spiky Holden is no different. Another excellent job from a very talented actor.
Finally we have Glenn Jacobs. I’ve said this before, but at 7ft tall and built like a grizzly bear, Jacobs is a walking special effect. He exudes menace and is as imposing a figure as they come. I was impressed by Jacob’s acting in the first movie, as a horror lead the character had surprising depth and complexity, and once again, when called upon to emote rather than eviscerate, Jacobs impressed. His physicality during some of the kills and attacks was breath-taking at times, especially during the moments where he displays his freakish strength as he mauls his victims.
So the cast all hit the spot, but that isn’t always enough to save a film. Luckily, See No Evil 2 is much more than a collection of great acting talent. The Soskas bring their trademark dark energy to the flick, with lots of continuing motifs present — especially the clinical and sterile inhumanity of medical tools and specimens. Jen and Sylvia have gained a reputation for cool and edgy film-making, packed with dark, disturbing visuals and a frenetic, unnerving energy. This is all on display in See No Evil 2, with some truly shocking moments. This is not just limited to the visuals either, with one particular point in the plot that totally caught me unawares. I'm not often surprised by the events of a slasher flick, so I doff my cap to writers Nathan Brooks and Bobby Lee Darby.

Back to the look of the film, and I particularly liked the way in which the sisters' expert camerawork transformed the morgue into a hellish dungeon, eerily sterile at some moments and a  grim, grimy hole in the earth at others.

By cranking up the atmosphere these very talented ladies are able to cause more chills in the movie's quiet moments than a lot of brash goreapaloozas pack into their entire run time. 

This is a movie that looks fantastic, it moves at a brisk and bristling pace and it includes some brilliantly shot set-pieces. Fans of the Soskas will not be disappointed and, if you aren't yet familiar with their work, this serves as a great introduction to the things they do so well.

WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): If I had one real complaint about See No Evil 2, it would be that Jacobs was given fewer complex acting scenes this time round. Don't get me wrong, he gets lots of neck-snapping, gizzard-ripping moments, but one of the things I liked most about the first movie was the complexity of the character. As much a victim as a villain, Goodnight was fighting an internal struggle against his cracked morality and the abuses of his puritanical mother. In this, after being reunited with his mother's corpse, he totally accepts her diabolical doctrine. I understand this was done for a legitimate story reason, making Goodnight a more focused, lethal threat,  but dang it, Jacobs is a fine actor and I got a kick out of seeing his range before!

Also, while the movie had some great shocks and cool splatter scenes (particularly towards the icky finale) gorehounds may be a little disappointed in the amount of blood and guts on display. Personally, I liked the way the movie built to its visceral highlights, but fans of the likes of Hostel and Saw should be warned that this is decidedly less bloody than those efforts.

Finally, as a big fan of the acting talents of Sylvia and Jen, I was disappointed with their cameo this time around. They rocked in Dead Hooker In A Trunk and were every bit as awesome as the Demon Twins of Berlin in American Mary, so I would have loved to see them do more in See No Evil 2. Oh well, I'll just have to take what I can get!

VERDICT: In your face, Goodnight-haters! This is a great modern slasher flick. The Soska sisters are now 3-0, and I can't wait to see what they have in store for us in ABC's of Death 2 and Vendetta. I thoroughly recommend you check out See No Evil 2. Not only does it have a horror cast to die for, it is smart, sexy and scary, and the newly en-masked (it's my blog, I can make up words if I like!) Jacob Goodnight is a brilliantly creepy and downright menacing movie maniac. Hey action-figure makers, get me a Goodnight to sit on the shelf with my Movie Maniacs and Cult Classics here at Hickey's House of Horrors. While you're at it, I'll take a Papa Corn too!
If you want to see what Jen and Sylvia have in store for us, head over to the Twisted Twins Productions Facebook page. Give them a big old like while you’re there too, they 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.