Midget Zombie Takeover
– (2013) – A small group of friends attending a hot tub party encounter zombies, one of whom is short. This feels like nothing more than a weekend shoot among non-actors and non-filmmakers flaunting how characters with zero personalities can resist a handful of meandering zombies. Nice try, title, but the only midget involved sits within the brain of this dud’s creator.
Last Shift
– (2014) – A rookie police officer on her first night in a closing precinct experiences a wide variety of haunts. This is a constant battle between two elements: bad drama and bad horror. Each area lacks fleshing out, leaving us with a dull lead battling trivial ghostly shenanigans. There’s simply not enough known about anyone or anything involved, which cripples any chance this had at becoming suspenseful. You can’t fear what you don’t care about.
Don’t Move (2026)
– (2026) – Something is picking off patrons of a wooded religious retreat, prompting strangers to band together in the name of survival. A mostly lame experience that begins with perhaps the cheesiest family ever committed to film, yet the characterizations only worsen thereafter. There isn’t a single person who’s realistically relatable, so when the horror finally kicks in we accept reprieve in their deaths. Far more irritating that intimidating.
Hallowarrior
– (2026) – The supposed last girl on Earth spends Halloween alone (naturally) until she’s visited upon by three other survivors and multiple human monsters. A post-apocalyptic dud that only identifies a few characters, yet can’t do anything significant with any of them. The entirety takes place in one location, so there’s no chance new sets will distract anyone from the monotony. Worse still, the lead is referred to as “Pumpkin” so many times that one might actually want to smash her against pavement.
Buddy
– (2026) – When the mascot of a children’s show starts killing its co-stars, the survivors flee to a protected realm. Meanwhile, in the real world, a woman who believes she forgot about having one of her children is sucked into the show. In other words: huh? The first act is by far the highlight as the morbidity is both disturbing and humorous, but this runs out of gas shortly thereafter. Though some sadism remains, repetition creeps in and drags down the initial enjoyment.
V/H/S/Mixtape
– (2026) – Anthology of four stories that focus on singing puppets, a couple trapped in a cube, a mysterious musician, and a killer recording her murders. If the sole intention of each story was to create a massive headache, then congrats filmmakers, you succeeded admirably since each segment is magnanimously earsplitting. Some of the practical F/X are fine, but they don’t come close to saving the weak stories, the irritating acting, and the utterly meaningless interludes.
– (1986) – A beach restaurant serves up human meat. Fails at every single aspect of competent filmmaking, and makes one wonder why anyone would waste their energy conceiving something so utterly worthless. Fueled by bad humor and Satanic mumbo jumbo.
– (1971) – A male witch/magician conducts spells on enemies until people close to him try to bring him down. The plot is unclear and sometimes silly, but does offer insight into witchcraft. The acting is above average and the length is short, but none of the events grip.
– (1989) – The killer dad escapes from a mental hospital and shacks up with an unsuspecting mother and son. Only slightly different than the original, especially in terms of subtle violence and pace. Another sitcom drama with a working structure.
SexSquatch
– (2013) – A group of friends decide to party in the realm of a raping, murdering yeti. Purposefully cheap and cheesy, and never pretends it’ll end up in the annals of credible filmmaking. Provides plenty of fun with some truly funny lines and sight gags. Not for everyone, but only runs 58-minutes.
Night Creature
– (1978) – A man who’s isolated on an island to hunt a black cat gets an unexpected visit from his family. Annoying characters and an overblown metaphor ruin what the pace couldn’t kill. Dreadfully dull.
Deathdream
– (1974) – A solider who’s reportedly killed in action returns home, but he’s not quite the same. Showing early on that the lead is actually dead ruins the all-too obvious twist, but a deeply disturbing and creepy finale saves the day. Overdramatic at times, but ultimately effective.
The Plague of the Zombies
– (1966) – A doctor investigates voodoo related incidents that cause the dead to rise. Steadily builds an involving mystery through minimal horror and witty dialog. Hard to judge since the genre took the zombie notion to more exciting heights, but even for the atmosphere alone this is commendable.
Hell House LLC
– (2015) – A group of friends open a haunted house attraction in an actual haunted house. Begins as any other found footage cheapie, but what sets this apart from the others is a genuine creep factor throughout. It’s sometimes hard to tell what’s happening, especially toward the end, but there are plenty of moments that elicit chills.
The Nightmare Never Ends
– (1980) – An author who claims God no longer exists is taunted by a demonic Nazi who doesn’t age. Has a lot going on, from religion to disco, but doesn’t stand on solid enough ground to take seriously. A bit too muddled at times, but gets credit for attempting a plot as outlandish.