Gruesome Magazine - Horror Movie Reviews and Interviews

This week, the Grue-Crew explore the deepest region of the mind and perception with two films that twist that WTF knife. The first film this week is RECOVERY from director John Liang follows a young woman struggling with PSD and addiction and memories that haunt her view on life. The second film is HEAD COUNT from director Elle Callahan explores a group of college students who encounter a creature who can take on the appearance of anyone it chooses. Doc Rotten and Vanessa Thompson from Horror News Radio. Jeff Mohr from Decades of Horror: The Classic Era. and Crystal Cleveland, the Livin6Dead6irl share their thoughts about this week's awesome collection of streaming horror films. Joining the crew this week is Horror News Radio co-host, Dave Dreher!

Gruesome Magazine Podcast - Episode 071
HEAD COUNT - RECOVERY

The patients and staff of a secluded heroin treatment center must do battle with more than their own demons as a mysterious killer begins picking them off one-by-one.

• Director: John Liang
• Cast: Stephanie Pearson, Hope Quattrocki, Liz Fenning

Release: Release: VOD June 4, 2019

A group of teenagers unknowingly summon a paranormal presence during their weekend trip to the Joshua Tree desert. This monster mimics their appearances to hide among them and seeks to separate them into groups of five to complete its deadly ritual.

• Director: Elle Callahan
• Cast: Isaac Jay, Ashleigh Morghan, Bevin Bru

Release: Coming to Theaters & VOD June 14

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This week, the Grue-Crew battle a bevy of beasts, boars, bugs, and bad, bad men. The first film this week is BOAR from director Chris Sun features genre favorite Bill Moseley teaming up with Nathan Jones to hunt down a hungry, mad boar in the Australian outback. The second film is THE PERFECTION from director Richard Shepard follows a talented young musician who seeks revenge on those who wronged her - but who exactly wronged who. Doc Rotten and Vanessa Thompson from Horror News Radio. Jeff Mohr from Decades of Horror: The Classic Era. and Crystal Cleveland, the Livin6Dead6irl share their thoughts about this week's awesome collection of streaming horror films.

Gruesome Magazine Podcast - Episode 070
THE PERFECTION - BOAR

In the harsh, yet beautiful Australian outback lives a beast, an animal of staggering size, with a ruthless, driving need for blood and destruction. It cares for none, defends its territory with brutal force, and kills with a raw, animalistic savagery unlike any have seen before.

• Director: Chris Sun
• Cast: Nathan Jones, Bill Moseley, John Jarratt

Release: Available on SHUDDER, June 6, 2019

When troubled musical prodigy Charlotte (Allison Williams) seeks out Elizabeth (Logan Browning), the new star pupil of her former school, the encounter sends both musicians down a sinister path with shocking consequences.

• Director: Richard Shepard
• Cast: Eric C. Charmelo, Richard Shepard

Release: Currently available on NETFLIX.

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This week, the Grue-Crew wrestle with the dead and the dying as the world falls away around our film's protagonists. The first film this week is THE NIGHTSHIFTER from director Dennison Ramalho features a morgue assistant who can speak with the dead. The second film is STARFISH from director A.T. White follows a grieving young woman who wakes up to find the world has ended as we know it. Doc Rotten and Vanessa Thompson from Horror News Radio. Jeff Mohr from Decades of Horror: The Classic Era. and Crystal Cleveland, the Livin6Dead6irl share their thoughts about this week's awesome collection of streaming horror films.

Gruesome Magazine Podcast - Episode 069
THE NIGHTSHIFTER - STARFISH

Stênio, the nightshifter of a morgue, has the ability to communicate with the cadavers that are brought to him every night.

• Director: Dennison Ramalho
• Cast: Daniel de Oliveira, Fabiula Nascimento, Bianca Comparato

Release: Currently available on SHUDDER

A unique, intimate and honest portrayal of a girl grieving for the loss of her best friend. That just happens to take place on the day the world ends as we know it.

• Director: A.T. White (as Al White)
• Cast: Virginia Gardner, Christina Masterson, Eric Beecroft

Release: STARFISH World Premiered at Austin's celebrated Fantastic Fest and had a limited theatrical release in the US, and will land on VOD May 28th.

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This week, the Grue-Crew head off to two remote locations: the snowy frozen wilderness and the vast emptiness of space. The first film this week is WINTERSKIN from director Charlie Steeds features bloodthirsty skinless creatures of the night. The second film is THE WANDERING EARTH from director Frant Gwo as all of humanity move the Earth itself to avoid extinction. Doc Rotten and Vanessa Thompson from Horror News Radio. Jeff Mohr from Decades of Horror: The Classic Era. and Crystal Cleveland, the Livin6Dead6irl share their thoughts about this week's awesome collection of streaming horror films.

Gruesome Magazine Podcast - Episode 068
THE WANDERING EARTH - WINTERSKIN

Gunned down in the snowy wilderness and desperate for shelter, Billy Cavanagh is taken in by kooky old lady Agnes, unaware that her isolated log cabin is being stalked by a bloodthirsty skinless creature hellbent on getting inside.

• Director: Charlie Steeds
• Cast: David Lenik (Escape From Cannibal Farm) and Rowena Bentley (The House Of Violent Desire)

Release: From Dark Temple Films, and also starring Barrington De La Roche, Peter Cosgrove, Kate Davies-Speak, John Lomas, Harrison Nash, and Dylan Curtis, Winterskin available May 21 on digital.

As the sun is dying out, people all around the world build giant planet thrusters to move Earth out of its orbit and sail Earth to a new star system. Yet the 2500-year journey comes with unexpected dangers, and in order to save humanity, a group of young people in this age of a wandering Earth fight hard for the survival of humankind.

• Director: Frant Gwo
• Cast: Jing Wu, Chuxiao Qu, Guangjie Li

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This week, the Grue-Crew explore the depths of a number of serial killers, Ted Bundy in one hand and the inmates of a secret prison in the other. The first film this week is Death House from director B. Harrison Smith with a cast so large that it is considered the "Expendables of Horror". The second film is Extremely Wicked Shockingly Evil and Vile from director Joe Berlinger where Zac Efron chills you to the bone with a simple, seductive smile. Doc Rotten and Vanessa Thompson from Horror News Radio. Jeff Mohr from Decades of Horror: The Classic Era. and Crystal Cleveland, the Living Dead Girl, share their thoughts about this week's awesome collection of streaming horror films.

Gruesome Magazine Podcast - Episode 067
EXTREMELY WICKED SHOCKINGLY EVIL AND VILE - DEATH HOUSE

During an exclusive tour, a power breakdown inside a secret prison known as the Death House sends two agents fighting through a labyrinth of horrors while being pursued by a ruthless army of roaming inmates. As they fight to escape, the agents push toward the lowest depths of the facility where they learn a supernatural group of evil beings is their only chance for survival.

• Director: B. Harrison Smith
• Cast: Cody Longo, Cortney Palm, Adrienne Barbeau, and many more

Release: Available on NETFLIX

A courtroom frenzy ensues and sweeps 1970s America when a young single mother reluctantly tips the attention of a widespread manhunt toward her longtime boyfriend, Ted Bundy.

• Director: Joe Berlinger
• Cast: Lily Collins, Zac Efron, Angela Sarafyan

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This week, the Grue-Crew look for a new place to stay whether it be in rural Ireland or in a California suburb. The first film this week is ROOM FOR RENT from director Tommy Stovall where Lin Shaye decides to open a deadly BnB. The second film is THE HOLE IN THE GROUND from director Lee Cronin follows a single mother who encounters a devious doppelganger in an Irish village. Doc Rotten and Vanessa Thompson from Horror News Radio. Jeff Mohr from Decades of Horror: The Classic Era. and Crystal Cleveland, the Living Dead Girl, share their thoughts about this week's awesome collection of streaming horror films.

Gruesome Magazine Podcast - Episode 066
THE HOLE IN THE GROUND - ROOM FOR RENT

Lonely widow Joyce rents out a room in her house and becomes dangerously obsessed with one of her guests.

• Director: Tommy Stovall
• Cast: Lin Shaye, Oliver Rayon, Valeska Miller

Release: Available May 7, 2019, from Uncork'd Entertainment

A young mother living in the Irish countryside with her son suspects his increasingly disturbing behavior is linked to a mysterious sinkhole in the forest, and fears he may not be her son at all.

• Director: Lee Cronin
• Cast: Seana Kerslake, James Quinn Markey, Simon Kirby

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• Death House
• Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile (Netflix, 5/3)
• Isabelle
• Winterskin
• The Night Shifter (Shudder, 5/23)
• The Perfection (Netflix, 5/28)

This week, the Grue-Crew bounce from one extreme to the other - from the quiet small cast chiller to the ensemble gory thriller. The first film this week is MONSTER PARTY from director Chris von Hoffmann where three young teens attempt to rob the wrong house party. The second film is I TRAPPED THE DEVIL from director Josh Lobo which explores the possibility that the devil himself is locked away inside a basement during the holidays. Doc Rotten and Vanessa Thompson from Horror News Radio. Jeff Mohr from Decades of Horror: The Classic Era. and Crystal Cleveland, the Living Dead Girl, share their thoughts about this week's awesome collection of streaming horror films.

Gruesome Magazine Podcast - Episode 065
I TRAPPED THE DEVIL - MONSTER PARTY

A group of teenagers is invited to an end of year party at a mansion, but they soon realize there is a murderer among them, and the mystery begins as to which person holds the weapon that is killing everybody at the party.

Writer/Director: Chris von Hoffmann
Cast: Sam Strike, Virginia Gardner, Brandon Micheal Hall, Robin Tunney, Julian McMahon, Lance Reddick, Bill Engvall

Release: Available on SHUDDER

A man descends into paranoia after trapping what he believes to be the devil in his basement, but things take a dark turn when his family unexpectedly arrive for Christmas.

Director: Josh Lobo
Cast: AJ Bowen, Susan Burke, Jocelin Donahue

Release: Available April 26 from IFC Midnight

This week, the Grue-Crew queue up a pair of NETFLIX creature features with prehistoric bats and imaginary killer friends. The first film this week is MERCY BLACK from director Owen Egerton where three young teens conjure up a nightmare that haunts them for years to come. The second film is THE SILENCE from director John R. Leonetti which explores the apocalypse in a world overrun by hungry, vicious flying monsters. Doc Rotten and Vanessa Thompson from Horror News Radio. Jeff Mohr from Decades of Horror: The Classic Era. and Crystal Cleveland, the Living Dead Girl, share their thoughts about this week's awesome collection of streaming horror films.

Gruesome Magazine Podcast - Episode 064
THE SILENCE - MERCY BLACK

Fifteen years after stabbing a classmate to conjure an imaginary phantom known as Mercy Black, Marina Hess is coming home. She's being released from psychiatric care to live with her sister and young nephew. But in the years since her crime, the myth of Mercy Black has gone viral inspiring internet rumors, stories, and even copycat crimes. Marina is haunted by what she has done and the phantom she imagined. Though she would rather leave the past buried, her nephew becomes increasingly obsessed with Mercy Black. To save him, Marina must face her past and uncover the truth behind Mercy Black. What she discovers is a very real and very deadly horror that will stop at nothing to claim her and her nephew.

Director: Owen Egerton
Cast: Daniella Pineda, Austin Amelio, Elle LaMont

Release: Currently Available on NETFLIX

When the world is under attack from terrifying creatures who hunt their human prey by sound, 16-year old Ally Andrews (Kiernan Shipka), who lost her hearing at 13, and her family seek refuge in a remote haven.

Director: John R. Leonetti
Cast: Stanley Tucci, Kiernan Shipka, Miranda Otto

Release: Currently Available on NETFLIX

Recently, the Grue-Crew reviewed THE HAUNTING OF SHARON TATE on the Gruesome Magazine podcast. Our review of the film was mixed but positive, basically praising the director, actress Hilary Duff, and the cinematography; but, we were not certain we fully understood the intention of the film itself. Now, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to interview the director of the film, Daniel Farrands. We are grateful Mr. Farrands was available to fill in the clues and plot elements we missed along the way. And, boy, did he ever. This 45-minute interview is ripe with behind the scenes tidbits and insights.

Daniel Farrands is a director, writer, and producer who began his genre career writing the screenplay for Halloween 6: The Curse of Michael Myers. He is also the producer of The Girl Next Door, The ID, and The Haunting in Connecticut. He is also responsible for a series of horror movie documentaries: Never Sleep Again The Elm Street Legacy; Scream The Inside Story; Crystal Lake Memories; and. more.

More recently, Daniel Farrands is behind the camera once again for The Amityville Murders, The Haunting of Sharon Tate, and the soon to be released The Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson. While the interview centers around the making and the script behind The Haunting of Sharon Tate, we do touch on the other films and his entire career.

Join Jeff Mohr, Crystal Cleveland, and Doc Rotten for this must-listen interview with the director, producer, and writer Daniel Farrands.

This week, the Grue-Crew revisit a murder requiring 40 whacks - and then 41 - and follow a group of friends battling their demons. The first film this week is SOUL TO KEEP from directors David Allensworth and Moniere Noor where two siblings return to their family home to find a demon waiting in the basement. The second film is LIZZIE from director Craig William Macneill which explores the characters and mysteries involved in the infamous Lizzie Borden murders. Doc Rotten and Vanessa Thompson from Horror News Radio. Jeff Mohr from Decades of Horror: The Classic Era. and Crystal Cleveland, the Living Dead Girl, share their thoughts about this week's awesome collection of streaming horror films.

Gruesome Magazine Podcast - Episode 062
LIZZIE - SOUL TO KEEP

Beelzebub, a powerful demon hellbent to possess and consume souls, goes after siblings and their lifelong friends at a rundown country house.

Director: David Allensworth, Moniere Noor
Cast: Derek Long, Sandra Mae Frank, Jordan Theodore

Release: Currently available on VOD

A psychological thriller based on the infamous 1892 murders of the Borden family.

Director: Craig William Macneill
Cast: Chloe Sevigny, Kristen Stewart, Jeff Perry 

Release: Debuts on SHUDDER (US/CA) on April 11, 2019