True fans of horror are no doubt familiar with the Afterdark Horrorfest. A sub-division of Lionsgate that nabs bloody cuts of choice from all over the world and serves them up to us hungry fanatics theatrically before hitting the home theater market. I'm actually still kind of pissed because my local theater no longer participates in this. I got to see as many films from the first three series' of films that I could jam pack into a couple of days each go round before finding myself left out in the cold on number four. Although I would get to see them all on my own television screen there just is nothing that can top the excitement of sitting in a crowded (or not so much, hence probably why they stopped doing it here) theater and waiting for the lights to go down.
Due to the immense success of the Horrorfest (in other neck stumps and wooded terrains than my own) the producers have now begun to make and release their own films under the moniker of Afterdark Originals. Eight more films to die for, courtesy of some of the newest in cutting edge writers, directors and producers. Being a longtime horror fan, as well as being the Gitche Manitou, I find myself rejoicing anytime that new horror flicks are released. By horror I do mean REAL horror and not this watered down shopping mall nonsense like Scream, Paranormal activity and all of these shitty remakes.
Let's face it, nothing beats a good REAL horror film. In my opinion nothing beats even a bad REAL horror film sometimes, if the heart is in the right place just prior to being ripped out. Hey, what can I say? I eat, breathe and shit horror.
The Afterdark series is like anything else. It's hit and miss. But they have turned out some cool stuff, absolutely. This past week I actually got to check out the first four of the eight films to die for in the originals series. The other four are soon to come. The first two of the upcoming flicks are made for Syfy channel exclusives and admittedly look rather cheesy.
51 is about aliens. Eh. I'm not big on intergalactic fuckheads. But hey, if I'm gonna watch all the rest I might as well see this one, right? (Recent note- I still haven't seen it and honestly I probably never will. I just can not dig on all this Star Trek aliens and robot shit.)
The Task takes on the world of reality television and comes complete with a demonic clown. Okay, so I gotta be honest here, I never got this whole scary clown thing. I mean, lots of people spend years of therapy and tons of cash trying to overcome fear of these circus garb wearing pussies. I mean, seriously...... these fuckers are more annoying than mimes. As if we ever thought mimes couldn't suck any harder. When I was a bitty tou, Ronald Mcdonald and Bozo the clown were kind of a big deal and..... well, yeah.... Ronald and Bozo? Just not proper horror movie fodder for me.
But look on the brightside.... this movie also has meddling kids being offed inside of an abandoned prison. Sounds good, no?(Recent note- I saw it..... and nope, it wasn't good. At all.)
RE-Kill.
Though there is no trailer posted on the site yet all that one needs to know is this.... zombies. Okay, I guess I'll give it a look. Zombies are kind of getting old though. Soon they'll be too decrepit to even jump a catfish, let alone a damn shark. (Recent note- I have also now seen this one and it's yet another boring ass zombie movie. You know, zombies walk around, they get shot, they fall down. Lather-rinse-repeat. So yeah, about that catfish thing......)
While salivating horror nuts are eagerly awaiting these films you can head on over to Netflix and rent the first four. The Manitou Beast checked them out and while I only found one to be really kick ass these films are still well made and a whole lot of fun and worth a peak if you're into the gruesome happenings. Hey, I'll pick some good old fashioned indie sleaze with tits and blood any day over some pg-13 rated Hollywood snooze fest.
Fertile Ground.
A ghost story. The plot is pretty typical but the action stays crackling. A couple loses their baby, only to find out that they could never actually conceive in the first place. They move to the country. Weird shit begins to throw down, like some baby making business. Nothing out of the ordinary, but if you dig flicks like the Amityville Horror this one will pass the time well enough.
Prowl.
I actually thought this one started out pretty good. It has a lot more in the character development department, but trust me there is a good reason for that. Some kids hitch a ride in the back of a semi after their car breaks down. Much death and mayhem ensues. A lot of the action takes place in a dark warehouse so it's a little hard to follow at times. But there is a nice plot twist and things do pick up towards the end. Not bad at all.
Husk.
This one cuts right to the chase within minutes. Killer scarecrows. Not great. But not terrible. Worth a look. Oh, and if you even remotely enjoy this one you should totally check out the greatest killer scarecrow flick ever made. It's called .... get ready for it...... Scarecrows.
A truly underrated gem of a film.
Seconds Apart.
This one gets my pick for the best of the bunch thus far. This movie about weird twins who have an affinity for being around people that appear to be killing themselves is creepy, dark, and has some really cool death scenes in it. This one melds genres very well. It's part horror flick. Part detective movie. Part character study. Be sure to pay very close attention to this one though. Trust me.
I am sure these Afterdark peeps are just getting warmed up and I'm cool with that. As I said before, they're hit and miss. But the hits are damn good, so keep 'em coming.
For more information check out the website-
http://www.afterdarkoriginals.com/
*****Original post date 5/29/2011*****
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