HOUSE CALL (2011) Short Film Review

Directed by: Erik L. Wilson

Starring: Aimee Bello, Michael Jordan, Brad Egger, Janet Gawrys

Once again I found myself watching a horror short, and once again I have been thoroughly impressed. Erik L. Wilson's HOUSE CALL is a great supernatural revenge thriller which is heading to festivals including Chicago Fear Fest, so keep an eye out for it.

Janice (Bello) has committed an unthinkable act, murdering her abusive e-boyfriend in order to begin a new life with her boyfriend Steve (Jordan). But on the night of their one year anniversary, a touch of black magic unleashes the murderous spirit upon the couple to exact revenge.

As a premise it doesn't get much simpler than that, but at around 17 minutes HOUSE CALL has no need for an in depth plot. Although even with the 17 minute running time, Erik Wilson manages to get some good character development and a bit of a slow burn going which cranks up the tension and creates a genuinely creepy atmosphere. 

HOUSE CALL is visually stunning and not only because it was shot with the Red One camera, it also has some great practical effects and even the CGI didn't look to bad for the most part. The actors do a great job too, especially Michael Jordan in the latter part of the film and writing and editing were both spot on. If I have one criticism it is that I didn't really feel any empathy for the characters, and as a result didn't care whether any of them lived or died. But apart from that HOUSE CALL is a solid supernatural revenge flick with great visuals and an eerie atmosphere, and is well worth checking out if you get the chance.

AMONG FRIENDS Official Poster

It's no secret that I love Danielle Harris, from HATCHET to CHROMESKULL, STAKE LAND, FEAR CLINIC and yes even Rob Zombie's HALLOWEEN, she is one of my favorite scream queens. And being her directorial debut, it seems that AMONG FRIENDS will be everybody's first opportunity to see if she does as good a job behind the camera as she does in front of it. Check out the poster and teaser trailer below.

Synopsis: "AMONG FRIENDS is a twisted horror about a dinner party gone wrong. Set against an 80s backdrop, good times take a dark turn when one in the group hijacks the evening in the name of Integrity. Through an attempt to help the others come clean about secret betrayals against one another, it's revealed who's willing to cut through the bone to expose the truth. This feature directorial debut of Scream Queen Danielle Harris stars Christopher Backus, Jennifer Blanc, AJ Bowen, Dana Daurey, Brianne Davis, Kane Hodder, Kamala Jones, Alyssa Lobit and Chris Meyer"

OUTPOST II: BLACK SUN International Trailer

After first watching OUTPOST I was a little confused. I couldn't make up my mind whether the soldiers were supposed to be zombie-Nazis or ghost-Nazis or maybe zombie-ghost-Nazis. But in the end it didn't matter because it turned out to be a pretty enjoyable film. If you're excited for a little more zombie-ghost-Nazi action then check out the trailer below for OUTPOST II: BLACK SUN. The trailer is German and there are no subtitles but who really needs them to get the gist of a 2 minute trailer anyway?

Synopsis: “The year is 1945, the closing stages of WW2, and a German scientist by the name of Klausener is working on a frightening new technology that has the power to create an immortal Nazi army. Flash forward to present day, and a NATO task force is hurriedly deployed to Eastern Europe, where a sinister enemy appears to be mercilessly killing everything in its path. But this is no ordinary foe. Only Helena, a gutsy investigator on the trail of the notorious war-criminal Klausener, accepts the reality of that they are facing a battalion of Nazi Storm-Troopers, a veritable zombie army on the march. With the help of Wallace, a man who’s been chasing Nazi secrets for years, the two of them team up with a Special Forces Unit to venture deep behind enemy lines. Their mission to fight their way back to the source of this evil army and prevent the seemingly inevitable rise of the 4th Reich.”

Full Body Character Posters Revealed For DARK SHADOWS

After releasing a series of terribly ugly close-up portraits, Warner Bros. Pictures have now revealed another series of posters featuring full body images of the characters. Each has a separate theme and color scheme to suit the different key characters, but they don't look very appealing to me in fact I think they just look cheap and inconsistent. But never mind what I think about them, you can check them all out yourself below.

Synopsis: “In the year 1752 Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England, to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass, and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet — or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Brouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire and then burying him alive.

Two centuries later Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles.

Also residing in the manor are Elizabeth’s ne’er-do-well brother, Roger Collins (Jonny Lee Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter, Carolyn Stoddard (Chloe Moretz); and Roger’s precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family to caretaker Willie Loomis, played by Jackie Earle Haley, and David’s new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.”

THE SWEET HAND OF THE WHITE ROSE (2010) Short Film Review

Directed by: Davide Melini

Starring: Carlos Bahos, Natasha Machuca, Leocricia Sabán

Although Davide Melini's THE PUZZLE was a great little short, this more recent offering is an improvement in just about every way with a bigger budget, better production values and a longer running time than its predecessor.

THE SWEET HAND OF THE WHITE ROSE begins with Mark (Bahos) who has just had a fight with his girlfriend Mary (Sabán) and is now drinking and smoking at a nightclub. In walks Mary to confront him but Mark ignores her and leaves. Mark's narrative explains the fight with his girlfriend and the fact that the road he is now currently driving down is a familiar one. In fact he is so confident with his familiarity of the winding road that he picks up his phone, a decision which will haunt him for the rest of his life. We are then introduced to a young girl (Machuca) credited only as White Rose and are shown how her path crosses fatefully and fatally with Mark's.

Right from the beginning it is obvious that this film is a noticeable improvement over THE PUZZLE especially in regards to the budget and the cinematography both in style and quality. A similarity with the former film however is the fact that it has very few spoken lines, with most of the story told through narration. Usually I'm not a big fan of narration but I felt that in this case it actually did a fine job of moving the story along. The acting is great too with all characters playing their parts perfectly, and the atmosphere was perfect.

A couple of very small criticisms would have to be the music for one, which I thought didn't entirely suit a few scenes. The second criticism I have is to do with the English dubbing however that is probably just personal preference, I have always preferred subtitles over dubbing. But these minor problems didn't bug me for long and didn't detract from the overall viewing experience. 

To summarize, THE SWEET HAND OF THE WHITE ROSE is a great looking and stylish film from Melini. It is an improvement over THE PUZZLE and not only is it an enjoyable film but it also holds a special message. Well worth checking out if you have a spare 15 minutes.

To check out a whole bunch of goodies including posters, stills, movies, interviews and reviews of Melini's work you can head here.