One Movie Punch

NARRATOR: “Welcome back to Reign of Terror 2019! 31 straight days of horror movie reviews and interviews. Today’s episode will feature Dave Horrocks and Chris Phelps, of The VHS Strikes Back Podcast, who will be reviewing 2007’s ’30 Days of Night’. A promo will run before the review.”

NARRATOR: “But for now, let’s turn out attention back to the fate of our host, in Part Four of “THE FINAL STRETCH”.” 

SCENE: Abandoned cityscape. 

NARRATOR: “The narrator, the TRUE hero of this story, couldn’t let Joseph get any closer to the next checkpoint, so he began making all the adjustments he could with the controls that remained.”

NARRATOR: “He made it night.”

JOSEPH: “What the...?”

NARRATOR: “He made it as cold as possible.” 

JOSEPH: “Where is all this snow coming from?”

NARRATOR: “And he summoned a bunch of new threats to stop Joseph dead in his tracks.” 

DAVE: “I see him. Yes, he enacted vampire protocol as you expected, O.M.S.” 

CHRIS: “Targets coming in from the west side. If we move as fast as we can, we can just make the checkpoint.”

DAVE: “All right. Let’s walk and talk, though.”

NARRATOR: “But they wouldn’t even start going, because just then, a vampire leaped out and...” 

CHRIS: “UV blasters ready. Let’s go.” 

NARRATOR: “...was charred to ash by... wait, Chris? Dave? I thought they were both already dead. How did they...?” 

JOSEPH: “What’s the status outside?” 

DAVE: “We’re part of Sigma Team, re-enlisting after our last encounter. Everyone’s supposed to just get one demo, but we found a stack of keys that hadn’t been used.” 

CHRIS: “Yes, that’s why for legal purposes, my name says Shmiss.”

DAVE: “And I’m Shmave.” 

JOSEPH: “Works for me.” 

CHRIS: “Anyway, we’re here with the new extended controls, but since we spawned in with you, we can’t use the same controls. So, it’s just the three of us to get you to the checkpoint. Just about halfway there.” 

NARRATOR: “But the narrator would make sure that wasn’t a possibility. He would just increase the difficulty level on the Alaskan vampires, so that...”

JOSEPH: “No, I want to try and reason with him. Shane!” 

NARRATOR: “Cried Joseph, obviously looking to cut a deal that would save his cowardly skin.” 

JOSEPH: “I can’t hear you right now, but I know you’re feeling pretty bad.”

NARRATOR: “Whined Joseph, who definitely wasn’t making insightful observations about my character’s development within this story.”

JOSEPH: “I know you probably just did all this to impress me. And you have.”

NARRATOR: “You’re damn right I have. I MEAN... noted Joseph rather astutely.” 

JOSEPH: “But this isn’t the way, Shane. What you’ve built here, it’s... it’s amazing. A fully functional horror movie simulator, with all the bells and whistles one might want.”

NARRATOR: “Joseph appeared to be on the right path. Perhaps there was a chance at redemption. The narrator relaxed his finger over the button that would increase the difficulty, making escape impossible.”

JOSEPH: “We could do so much with this technology. So much opportunity for horror movie and audio drama fans. So convenient for literally inventing whatever story needs to happen, because you’ve made all that possible. You.” 

NARRATOR: “Gosh, Joseph... I... I think we need to chat.”

NARRATOR: “And the narrator moved his character of the closest vampire, picking up the speed to outpace the others.”

SHANE: *as vampire* “Don’t shoot! It’s me, Shane! Ah, blah, blah, blah!”

JOSEPH: “Guys, turn around, it’s Shane. Watch for the rest. Keep one blaster trained on him. What do you want, Shane?” 

SHANE: *as vampire* “I vant to suck your blood!”

CHRIS: “I got him...” 

SHANE: “WAIT, DON’T SHOOT! That’s an automated response. We’re still working out the bugs in the vampire character.” 

JOSEPH: “I’m still taking a few steps back.” 

SHANE: “Look, I know I’ve gone a little overboard.” 

JOSEPH: “A little?”

SHANE: “But I heard what you said, and you’re right, I do feel bad.”

DAVE: “Multiple vampires, inbound.”

CHRIS: “I’ll handle it.” 

JOSEPH: “Quickly. Unless you want to call them back.” 

SHANE: “I can’t. Not without going back to narrator.” 

JOSEPH: “Awfully convenient.”

SHANE: “Hey, I didn’t write this.” 

JOSEPH: “Good point.”

SHANE: “Can we just go back to the part where you were praising me?” 

JOSEPH: “This is all magnificent, Shane. Beautiful rendering. Lifelike feel. I’ve seen plenty of movies do this, and novels, but an audio drama, I’m pretty sure that’s new.”

DAVE: “Not new, actually... there’s this one audio drama podcast that...” 

JOSEPH: “COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY NEW! It’s really amazing.”

JOSEPH: “And really, I don’t care what the others are saying." 

SHANE: “Wait, others?”

JOSEPH: “That this story sounds like an overdone rip-off of millions of other virtual reality worlds used as story settings, a little too similar to, say, ‘Ready Player One’ or ‘Wreck-It Ralph’ or ‘The Lawnmower Man’.”

SHANE: “I think it’s a bit better than ‘The Lawnmower Man’.” 

JOSEPH: “But the difference is that you really did it. And the world can be better for it.”

SHANE: “You think so?” 

JOSEPH: “Sure, Shane.”

JOSEPH: “But that’s not how this goes down. Waste him, guys.” 

NARRATOR: “And after a quick swipe of the UV blaster, Shane was thrust back into the narrator role, immediately jamming up the difficulty, and watching as hundreds of vampires tripled their speed. And Joseph started running because...” 

JOSEPH: “Hold up, guys. No need to run anymore.” 

NARRATOR: “I said, and Joseph started running...” 

DAVE: “Oh man.” 

CHRIS: “Can you see this?”

NARRATOR: “No matter. And the vampires closed in. Thirty meters, twenty meters, ten meters...”

NARRATOR: “What? What happened?” 

JOSEPH: “These admin controls are pretty sweet. You can literally change night into day.”

NARRATOR: “NO!”

DAVE: “What now?” 

CHRIS: “Continue forward?”

JOSEPH: “I can make it from here. He’s just up ahead in the next sandbox. I’m just going to lock in the environment to give us an advantage.” 

DAVE: “What do you have in mind?”

JOSEPH: “Oh, it just popped right into my head.”

CHRIS: “Oh, you don’t mean?”

JOSEPH: “I do. Now, head back out, let the rest of the team use this access key I’m issuing to meet me in the final room. I have an idea that will definitely work.” 

NARRATOR: “Change the environment? Let me just look out the window to... 1980s New York? What’s going on...?”

JOSEPH: “Find out tomorrow, in Part Five of “THE FINAL STRETCH”!”

NARRATOR: “Oh no! I’ve lost narration!” 

JOSEPH: “Where we’ll be joined by a whole host of individuals, and I’ll be reviewing a film that I watch every Halloween. And I will this year as well, once I take care of this business.” 

NARRATOR: “I need to set up some defenses, here.” 

JOSEPH: “Oh Shane...” 

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> 

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Hello and welcome! I’m Chris Phelps, and I’m Dave Horrocks. And we are The VHS Strikes Back, the show where we dust off the video player and go on a nostalgic journey to look at the good and bad movies of yesteryear.

Today’s movie is “30 Days of Night” (2007), the horror film was directed by David Slade and written for the screen by Brian Nelson, Steve Niles, and Stuart Beattie. The movie stars Josh Hartnett and Melissa George and is set in the northern Alaskan town of Barrow. There, the polar winter brings a sunset of 30 days and 30 nights. Which makes for a perfect hunting ground for vampires and the resident humans find themselves cut off and are in a battle to survive.

Spoilers ahead! 

With sunlight being a deadly adversary of nosferatu, it seems strange that no one would have thought of the idea before to have a vampire vacation in a place where the sunlight doesn’t show itself for a month. But that’s the concept created by Steve Niles, and after failed pitches with comics and movie scripts, eventually had the 30 Days of Night comic published by IDW in 2002. After the success of the book, the movie rights were picked up by Sam Raimi and Senator International.

The movie follows Josh Hartnett’s character, Sheriff Eben Oleson, and builds the mystery and suspense well as he encounters a number of unusual crimes, like the burning of the towns cell phones and slaughter of the town’s huskie dogs. As the vacationers start to arrive, some of the townsfolk are brutally murdered and we’re left in no doubt that this is a much more primal variety of vampire from the cuddly, sparkly ones we saw in the Twilight series.

The first two-thirds of the movie are gripping and supplemented by plenty of blood and gore served up by this group of savage and cruel vampires, led by head vampire Marlow (Danny Hudson). But after the promising build up, the movie takes the band of believability and stretches it to beyond breaking point with how the town residents manage to survive, and then take down the head vampire. This sadly ruins all of the tension that came before and exposes the fact that most of the characters are underdeveloped and we’re left wondering if we really care about them at all. 

This movie promised so much and does have a great premise and build up. If you’re a fan of vampire movies, then we’d recommend giving this a go and enjoying following the mystery and witnessing what an apex predator vampire would look like. But the ending is poor and really drags the film down.

Rotten Tomatoes: 51%

Metacritic: 53

One Movie Punch: 5.0/10

“30 Days of Night” (2007) is rated R and is available on Amazon Prime, DVD, and Blu-ray.

NARRATOR: “Welcome back to Reign of Terror 2019! 31 straight days of horror movie reviews and interviews. Today’s episode will feature Andrew Campbell, who will be reviewing 2017’s ‘One Cut of the Dead’, recently re-distributed to the theaters.”

NARRATOR: *aside* “How the hell did he get back in?”

NARRATOR: “But for now, let’s turn out attention back to the fate of our host, in Part Three of “THE FINAL STRETCH”.”

SCENE: Abandoned cityscape. 

NARRATOR: “No matter what I tried to do, the scenario did reset itself, and the zoom-bies were downgraded to shuffling walkers, which Joseph was having far too much fun with on his way to the next checkpoint.” 

JOSEPH: “You know, they don’t tell you just how much fun it would be to live in a zombie apocalypse. At least this part.” 

NARRATOR: “The last thing anyone wanted was Joseph being happy, of course. And yet, there he was, smashing skulls with random objects, and kicking heads down the street. The zombies, whenever they got close, got got, which meant Joseph made spectacular time through the cityscape and into what appeared to be a movie set.”

JOSEPH: “What?”

NARRATOR: “It wasn’t a movie set, though. Not really. It was a mobile video creation suite used by designers and editors to film and record their own movies within the world. It just looked like a movie set, but one you could move to wherever you wanted into the world.” 

ANDREW: “Pretty neat, eh?”

JOSEPH: “I’ll say. Are you an NPC?”

ANDREW: “Joseph, it’s me, Andrew! Besides, would I tell you the truth if I was?” 

JOSEPH: “Good enough for me. What’s all this?”

NARRATOR: “And Andrew said the exact same thing I just said, not that anyone could hear me anymore.” 

ANDREW: “So, I found this development area and have been seeing what it can do and not do." 

JOSEPH: “Sounds interesting. Oh crap...”

NARRATOR: “Joseph noticed some zombie stragglers wandering onto the set. A green aura suddenly appeared around them.”

ANDREW: “See, when they come within range, I can select them and modify their behavior.” 

NARRATOR: “Joseph watched as Andrew froze the zombies, then brought up a difficulty setting, behavior patterns, character stats, and all sorts of other information." 

ANDREW: “This way, we can get all the characters we need, or...”

NARRATOR: “He flicked a finger, and the zombie disappeared from the set entirely.” 

JOSEPH: “Almost like administrator controls.”

ANDREW: “Almost. We can affect the characters, but not all aspects of the environments. Most of them are templates based on classic movies. It’s all pretty amazing.”

JOSEPH: “How much time is left on your demo?”

ANDREW: “Oh, this mode doesn’t have a time limit.”

NARRATOR: “Oh crap.” 

JOSEPH: “You don’t say.”

NARRATOR: “Crap. Crap. Crap.” 

ANDREW: “Yeah, in fact, I have the rights to override any demo character’s time limit as necessary. Heck, I can even give you all the controls I have, if you want.”

NARRATOR: “NO!”

JOSEPH: “Oh, I want. I very much want.” 

ANDREW: “Okay. It will take a bit to load, and the changes won’t take effect until you reach the next zone, but let me just hit a few buttons, and...”

NARRATOR: “And suddenly, Joseph’s chances of survival increased dramatically, with every new button on his now very, very smart phone. Each icon said pending, but it gave him another sickening injection of hope.”

JOSEPH: “Well, this will be very helpful.”

ANDREW: “I imagine so. You want to see what’s been captured so far?”

JOSEPH: “Sure.” 

NARRATOR: “Oh no.”

ANDREW: “The system has been capturing your progress as you moved through the simulation.” 

NARRATOR: “The two began reviewing the footage, showing Joseph’s progress along the way.” 

JOSEPH: “This is fascinating. Can you get a message to One Movie Spouse?”

NARRATOR: “Don’t! Don’t tell them anything! But... but ripping out the narration function for everyone meant that the narrator couldn’t communicate with any of the characters anymore, unless he was directly present. And the narrator watched as Joseph detailed a series of plans for One Movie Spouse and the rest of the team, knowing that he was closer to victory than ever should have been possible.” 

NARRATOR: “The narrator would only get one more chance, and he was going to make the most of it... tomorrow, in Part Four of “THE FINAL STRETCH”, where we’ll be joined by the VHS Strikes Back Podcast, who will be reviewing ’30 Days of Night’, and a horde of vampires make quick work of Joseph.”

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Hello film fans! 

Andrew here. I was not about to let the Reign of Terror end without talking about today’s film. For more than a year now, this movie has made the festival rounds, gotten the occasional one-off screening and then bootlegged onto a streaming service, before skipping VOD entirely and getting picked up by Shudder in September. Turns out, this film’s wild path to U.S. distribution is a perfect match for its roller coaster ride of a story.

Today’s film is “One Cut of the Dead” (2017), the Japanese horror comedy which made its Texas premiere at the 2018 Fantastic Fest. The plot of the film revolves around... well, hold up. Before we get into those details, let’s talk about its genre. As if the “of the dead” in the title didn’t give it away, the film is yet another zombie comedy (or zomcom if you can stomach the portmanteau) in a never-ending stream of them. I am still totally in love with the musical zomcom “Anna and the Apocalypse” (Episode #425) – or see the show notes for a link to the piece I wrote about the film for DailyGrindhouse.com and their month-long celebration of rock & roll and horror. This Summer even saw indie favorite Jim Jarmusch throw his hat in the ring with “The Dead Don’t Die” which sports a stellar ensemble cast... along with mixed to unfavorable reviews. Just two weeks ago, Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o’s “Little Monsters” premiered on Hulu. And of course, a little picture called “Zombieland: Double Tap” is playing right now on a couple thousand screens. In a crowded marketplace, I’m happy to report that the originality of “One Cut of the Dead” stands out from the rest of the horde. 

The film starts with a zombie shuffling towards... well, before we get into all that, let’s quickly delve into the hype surrounding “One Cut of the Dead”. When the term was first coined, a “cult film” typically referred to an obscure motion picture beloved to a small, devoted fan group long after its theatrical run. Typically, it was difficult or impossible to even locate a copy. Nowadays, nearly every film ever produced can be accessed in seconds through a streaming service or purchasable via video-on-demand - not to mention the illegal channels where I’m sure you could snag a shaky camcorder bootleg of “Joker” right now if you wanted to have a miserable Tuesday night.

“One Cut of the Dead” managed to achieve cult status in the US long before it was ever released to the masses. Made on a $25,000 microbudget, the film opened in Japan in June 2018, where it would gross a staggering $25 million – one thousand times its budget. Despite this success, Third Window Films, the very small global distributor, struggled to get the film released in the US until it showed up unannounced late last December on Amazon Prime via their Prime Video Direct program. This allows producers of low-budget films to get eyes on their work.

It was a Christmas miracle... until it wasn’t. Turns out, it was an unauthorized bootleg of the film, which lead to Amazon being taken to task for not vetting their content. Eventually, I caught the film in January at a special one-off screening at the Alamo Drafthouse hosted for “Top Brass” members – people who watch an embarrassing amount of films at their theaters. After popping up at the occasional event over the next six months, Shudder finally came to the rescue and unleashed the film in September.

Okay, so that zombie of the beginning of the film is about to chow down on a young lady when... well, that’s really all you need to know about the story. 

Three pieces of advice: (1) Don’t watch the trailer; you’ll think I’m crazy and it won’t make you want to watch the film. (2) Do not read the Wikipedia entry, the plot synopsis, or any other reviews. We’ve been together a while now. You trust me, right? (3) Hang in there for the first 30 minutes of the film; it will be worth it.

What makes “One Cut of the Dead” fantastic? This is a zombie film told through one long, uninterrupted shot with no CGI that manages to completely turn itself on its head. It is incredibly clever and, like a great murder mystery, all the clues are there the whole time. I will say, I’ve seen this film twice with greatly diminished returns. It’s best viewed with a group of rowdy friends, so whip this one out at the end of your Halloween party to cap the night.

“One Cut of the Dead” (2017) is a magic trick of Japanese independent horror cinema with global appeal. Fans of all zombie films, whether straight horror, zomcom, romzom, or even Rob Zombie... should consider this a must-see.

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% (CERTIFIED FRESH)

Metacritic: 85 (MUST SEE)

One Movie Punch: 8.8/10

“One Cut of the Dead” is not rated and is currently streaming on Shudder.

Alright, assuming Joseph can survive for two more days, I’ll be back on Friday as we return to your regularly scheduled programming. Fantastic Fest 2019 brought the heat and we have a ton of new films to discuss. See you then.

NARRATOR: “Welcome back to Reign of Terror 2019! 31 straight days of horror movie reviews and interviews. Today’s episode will feature Brandi and Sunni from the Book of Lies Podcast, who will be reviewing 2002’s ’28 Days Later’. A promo will run before the review.”

NARRATOR: “But for now, let’s turn out attention back to the fate of our host, in Part Two of “THE FINAL STRETCH”.” 

SCENE: Abandoned cityscape.

NARRATOR: “Oh, it’s going to be an exciting episode. Because this is the one where Joseph perishes. I can feel it. I can’t say that I know it, as I’ve been losing control over this environment now for days, but he’s now walking into the most dangerous parts of the simulation. Which is, conveniently, where I’ve hidden my avatar’s lair. Not that he knows.” 

JOSEPH: “I’m really not liking the looks of this.”

NARRATOR: “Before Joseph stood hollowed out buildings, some leaning into others, with random trash bits floating across the streets like urban tumbleweed. It was quiet. Unnaturally quiet, except for the slight breeze.” 

JOSEPH: “What’s that?”

NARRATOR: “What’s what? All I see ahead of you is... wait a minute." 

JOSEPH: “Looks like two figures trying to wave me over.”

NARRATOR: “It was two figures, one waving Joseph over, the other pointing to a relatively intact building. Oh, wipe that smile off your face.” 

JOSEPH: “So blessed! HEY! I SEE YOU! I’M RIGHT HERE!”

NARRATOR: *laughs* “But now both figures were waving their hands down, attempting to hush Joseph, but he obviously didn’t understand what they were saying. Oh, this is great. Now he’s running toward them!”

JOSEPH: “THANK YOU! I CAN’T WAIT TO GET OUT OF HERE! LET’S GO!”

NARRATOR: “Joseph ran towards the pair, and as he got closer, he could finally make out their hand motions. One was telling him to be quiet without making a sound. Joseph stopped immediately and began to hear a rumble.”

JOSEPH: “What the...?” 

NARRATOR: “The other was motioning behind him, and when he turned, he saw it. A giant herd of zoom-bies, running towards the three of them, arms flailing, making ravenous noises. The rumble got louder as they crossed the distance in record time.” 

BRANDI: “Let’s go, Joseph!”

NARRATOR: “Joseph took off running, which only drove the zoom-bies into a frenzy, causing some in the lead to stumble over and trip up those behind them. It would be comical if it wasn’t so deadly.”

JOSEPH: “You don’t have to tell me twice!”

SUNNI: “RUN!” 

NARRATOR: “The three of them ducked into the only building available, shutting the door behind them. It was... steel-reinforced? Are you serious? Fine!”

NARRATOR: “It was steel-reinforced, but they locked the door and pushed some furniture in front of it, anyway. Multiple thuds hit the door, and the snarling grew louder. Sadly, though, the door was holding.”

JOSEPH: “Say, you wouldn’t be...”

BRANDI: “I’m Brandi!” 

SUNNI: “And I’m Sunni!” 

TOGETHER: “And we’re from...”

JOSEPH: “Book of Lies Podcast!”

BRANDI: “Way to steal the thunder.” 

JOSEPH: “Sorry.” 

SUNNI: “Listen, we’ve got some information you need to know. The person behind this is...”

JOSEPH: “Shane.”

SUNNI: “Oh. So you know?” 

JOSEPH: “Well, not everything. I should stop interrupting. Been doing it this whole crossover!”

BRANDI: “Tell me about it.” 

SUNNI: “So, anyway, I think we know where you’re located.”

BRANDI: “Because we were there at the start.” 

NARRATOR: “They were?”

SUNNI: “We were. Flashback transition please.”

SUNNI: (As Narrator) “We were on our way to your One Movie Punch Secret Volcano Liar to investigate whether you were a scam or not.” 

JOSEPH: “What?!”

BRANDI: “It’s what we do. And while we were on our way there, we ran into One Movie Spouse when we stopped for gas and got to talking.” 

AMY: “It’s so great to run into you two here!”

SUNNI: “So, he’s actually legit?”

AMY: “Afraid so. Podcasting is so lucrative!”

BRANDI: “But how does he do it?”

AMY: “You should go ask him! Here, I’ll tell you how to get to the lair.” 

JOSEPH: “Wait, she just gave you directions to the lair?” 

SUNNI: “Do you want to know what we know or not?”

JOSEPH: “You’re right, go on.”

BRANDI: “So, we headed to the lair, but got stuck behind this other car, with a rather spacious trunk. Once we figured out it was heading the same direction, we kept our distance, until we saw it speed up...”

SUNNI: “...then saw YOU fly up into the air. And after you hit the ground, this person got out the car, then threw you into the trunk, and drove off.”

BRANDI: “We drove up to see if anyone else was left, but we looked up and the other car was gone. So, we went back to the gas station, but Amy was gone, and when we tried to report it to the police, well, they laughed it off.” 

SUNNI: “I mean, would YOU believe there was a secret volcano lair?” 

BRANDI: “So, after that we were going to drive back home, but then we saw an interesting ad in the local paper. WANTED: Video game testers to try and break a system. See website for details.”

JOSEPH: “That would be weird, especially in .”

SUNNI: “I mean, I didn’t even know there were volcanos in .”

BRANDI: “So, we went undercover, and that’s when we found out this demo for the ultimate horror movie game experience. We contacted Amy, and got a demo set, and sure enough, by the time we jacked in, there you were.

SUNNI: “She began rallying the troops after that, but the problem was that each person could only have a short window to try the demo. And we were no closer to finding out your location, until it dawned on us.”

BRANDI: “Where would be the smartest place to hide an extensive technical achievement, with enough raw power to power and cool the servers? Where could a car have disappeared that quickly?”

JOSEPH: “The volcano lair.” 

SUNNI: “Bingo. The police still don’t believe us, but Amy and the crew are on their way over to the lair now. Three days tops, and... shoot.”

BRANDI: “Demo’s running out.”

JOSEPH: “So, what do I do?” 

SUNNI: “Well, this scenario will reset itself in a bit, so I’d get some rest. Then, keep following the map towards the ultimate goal. Shane’s losing control of the system as we adapt more parts of it. We’ll tame the zoom-bies a bit to get you to the next zone.”

BRANDI: “Time’s up!" 

NARRATOR: “And with that, they both disappeared, leaving Joseph alone in a room, with nothing but the sound of growling monsters. Time to increase the firewalls for a much bigger fight, which will continue tomorrow in Part Three of “THE FINAL STRETCH”, when we’re joined by Andrew Campbell, who will be reviewing “One Cut of the Dead”! Wait, Andrew Campbell? How did he... well, it doesn’t matter, because this time, Joseph will not survive...”

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>

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Today’s movie is “28 Days Later” (2002), the horror film directed by Danny Boyle and written for the screen by Alex Garland. Starring a relatively unknown in the U.S. at the time Cillian Murphy, Naomi Harris, and the 8th Doctor himself, Christopher Eccleston.After animal rights activists unleash a rage virus on the whole of the UK trying to free infected chimps, a group of people must fight their way through hordes of infected to find a safe haven and possibly a cure.

“28 Days Later” breaks away from the typical slow-moving zombie movie cliché of its predecessors. These infected aren’t true zombies since they aren’t reanimated dead people. They’ve been infected by a virus that drives them the beat their victims to death rather than eat their brains. 

When it debuted in 2002, it was one of the scariest horror movies to come out in a long time. There were no masked boogeymen or a single killer stalking their victims for fun. No one was safe from infection, even kids were a threat, and that wasn’t the norm in horror movies at the time. I don’t think I heard a negative word about it from anyone who’s seen it. 

If you’ve never seen “28 Days Later” and you want a good scare, you should put it on, turn off the lights and test your bravery. There are a couple of jump scares, but mostly your heart is racing because the infected are fast and everywhere and they coming after you. 

“28 Days Later” (2002) is one of the scariest one of the scariest movies of the 2000s.

Rotten Tomatoes: 86% (CERTIFIED FRESH)

Metacritic: 78

One Movie Punch: 10/10

“28 Days Later” (2002) is rated R and is available on YouTube, Amazon Prime, iTunes, and it’s currently playing on Starz.

NARRATOR: “Welcome back to Reign of Terror 2019! 31 straight days of horror movie reviews and interviews. Today’s episode will be a classic horror movie review from our... let’s call him a hero, Joseph for the 2018 reboot, ‘Halloween’.”

NARRATOR: “Before the review, however, we’ll be running a promo for Sponsor Sundays. If you like what you’re hearing, and want to support future projects, head over to patreon.com/onemoviepunch to support the podcast. All sponsors get to force Joseph to review a movie of their choice, with just a few exceptions. You’ll also find exclusive content, including part two of an interview with Johnny Daggers, about 2016’s ‘Blood on the Reel’, and many related topics.”

NARRATOR: “The interview will be publicly available for a limited time. At least until Joseph makes it back home. If he makes it home. Will he? Let’s turn out attention back to the fate of our host, in Part One of “THE FINAL STRETCH”.” 

SCENE: Prison transport bus.

NARRATOR: *bothered, as if speaking to someone else* “The Final Stretch? That’s not what’s supposed to be next, I thought...”

NARRATOR: *suddenly turning attention to microphone / back in character* “When we last left Joseph, he had once again narrowly escaped an attack by Frankenstein’s Monster, with the help of Keith Lyons and the aid of what anyone would clearly consider cheating. Sure, perhaps the person narrating this story is losing some control over the characters, but control doesn’t really matter if Joseph keeps climbing on buses without considering the consequences.”

JOSEPH: “Oh great. A prisoner transport bus. At least I’m on this side of the cage. That one guy back there is HUGE! And... what’s this?”

NARRATOR: “Joseph saw... well, Joseph, dressed in a prison guard’s uniform, introducing himself while keeping an eye on the prisoners in back.”

JOSEPH: “Hello there. I’m Joseph, assigned detail for this bus. How can I help you?”

NARRATOR: “The other Joseph suddenly froze, expecting an answer, and before the real Joseph’s eyes, and conveniently right below his doppleganger’s face, appeared a number of options to select from.” 

JOSEPH: “Interesting. Let’s try, ‘Find out more about the prisoners.’” 

NARRATOR: “Prison guard Joseph began to animate again.” 

JOSEPH: “You’re lucky we picked you up out here. We’re doing a prisoner transport, and there’s not much traffic out here. We should be at our destination in just a moment. Oh look! The sun’s coming out!”

NARRATOR: “Indeed, the sun was coming out, which not only brought fresh light, but also revealed a world of color around both Josephs. It was stunning, but when the real Joseph turned back to the other Joseph, his doppleganger was back to frozen, with other options available.”

JOSEPH: “Not much of a conversationalist. Okay, let’s try, ‘Who’s the big guy in the cage?’” 

JOSEPH: “Yeah, that’s a mean one. Michael Myers. Yes, thee Michael Myers. Not the fake one from the movies, but the real deal. It would sure be awful if he were to escape."

NARRATOR: “Joseph looked back at the big prisoner, whose face somehow remained in the shadow, no matter how he looked. And yet, he could feel the prisoner’s eyes judging and weighing him carefully, exploring his many, many weak points. Joseph shivered in fear.”

JOSEPH: “They did a great job with this. I wonder if...”

NARRATOR: “He reached into the pocket of his jeans, which had replaced his desert fatigues, and pulled out the dumb phone. He was hoping for more options, but alas, there was nothing new...”

JOSEPH: “Huh. That’s new?” 

NARRATOR: “What?!” 

JOSEPH: “Unmute narration.”

NARRATOR: “But Joseph wasn’t able to update that setting.”

JOSEPH: “Shane?" 

NARRATOR: *attempts to disguise voice* “No, no. Ummm, pay no attention to the omnipresent voice.”

JOSEPH: “Shane? What the hell is going on?” 

NARRATOR: “But the narrator was silent...”

JOSEPH: “I heard that, too.”

NARRATOR: “Well, you see, I’m... uhhh... trying to help you. You know, like the others.” 

JOSEPH: “Oh, good!” 

NARRATOR: “What other settings do you now have?”

JOSEPH: “Let’s see. Tutorials. That would have helped earlier. Lore cards for the various horror monsters. How to fight. Again, would have been helpful. Here’s one that says fast forward.” 

NARRATOR: “Oh, I would definitely do that one.”

JOSEPH: “I don’t know. This movie didn’t end up well from this point.” 

NARRATOR: “Everything will be fine. Trust me.” 

JOSEPH: “I don’t think I can outrun Michael Myers, Shane.”

NARRATOR: “It doesn’t actually fast forward the scenario. It’ll just skip you to the next level. It’s just how we hacked things.”

JOSEPH: “Oh. Well, in that case.”

NARRATOR: “Joseph pressed the button, and the scenario fast forwarded, thrusting the bus forward at unreasonable speeds straight into a tree.” 

NARRATOR: “And there, laying on the ground, was Joseph’s body, thrown from the bus in the crash, limp, bleeding out, really to succumb to the darkness. He had tried so hard to survive, but he couldn’t, and now... One Movie Punch was finished. It would be the last podcast to not include Shane in a multi-episode crossover. He had finally gotten his revenge.” 

JOSEPH: “They really make these NPCs look realistic.” 

NARRATOR: “WHAT?!” 

JOSEPH: “Yeah, there’s this other feature I just found, too, called shielding, that allowed me to survive the crash. I’m also getting messages now from the other team members. If I can just survive until Halloween, not only will that nicely round out this month of podcasts, but I’ve been told they can not only save me, but defeat you.”

NARRATOR: “NEVER!” 

JOSEPH: “Feel that power draining away? We’re looking for wherever you are, and when we find you...”

NARRATOR: “But the narrator... the guy in control...” 

JOSEPH: “Time to use these boosts. Map function shows my next quest point up ahead, with two players waiting. Time to run. We’re coming for you, Shane.” 

NARRATOR: “He disabled narration for everyone, because he wasn’t going to stopped by the likes of Joseph, or his friends. And he wasn’t going to accidentally help him anymore. In fact, I’m going to stop asking if Joseph survives and will simply ask, will Joseph die tomorrow? Find out in Episode Two of “THE FINAL STRETCH”, when we’re joined by Brandi and Sunni of the Book of Lies Podcast. Now, where have I heard those two names before?”

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Today’s movie is “Halloween” (2018), the Blumhouse Productions and Universal Pictures revival of the Halloween franchise, directed by David Gordon Green, and written for the screen in collaboration with Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, based on the iconic characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. Forty years after the original killing spree, a prison bus transporting Michael Myers (Nick Castle and James Jude Courtney) overturns, releasing him from the psychiatric prison he’s been trapped within for decades. Now Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), having prepared for this moment her entire life, tries to protect her estranged daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), as Myers restarts the killings. 

Spoilers ahead. 

The original “Halloween” is often cited as the birth of the Golden Age of the slasher film. Although it wasn’t the first, and came four years after “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” (Episode #035), it was easily the most popular, and by the time I was old enough to rent R-rated films (with written permission), there were racks on racks on racks of slasher films, launched primarily by the popularity of this one film. It has been years since binging on entire franchises in one caffeine-soaked evening with friends, laughing hysterically at the campier kills, and jumping at each background movement. So much comes back to the original “Halloween”, and much like the copycats and homages that followed, the franchise itself turned into its own self-hating movie machine, with multiple reboot attempts, even with Jamie Lee Curtis, and impossible to retcon. How can this possibly be different? And after seeing it, how can it possibly be this good? 

You can tell that everyone involved with this production took a lot of care with doing it right, especially with the mixed results since the original. We’ve all seen plenty of reboots go wrong in our time, and one of the mistakes is generally not paying attention to the elements that made the original a hit. For the original “Halloween”, that’s Jamie Lee Curtis, that’s the first-person camera work, that’s Carpenter’s iconic score, and that’s the brutal realism of a murdering psychopath. Bringing those elements into the modern day also requires reexamining a lot of contemporary racism and sexism that existed in films at the time, especially in developing Laurie Strode after forty years of trauma, and two generations of family that have followed, each looking at Laurie’s trauma through a very different lens, and each only able to process from their own unique perspective, one that can never know the sheer terror that Laurie felt. It’s never explicitly said, just as many of Michael’s kills are never explicitly shown, and that “just enough” storytelling lets our imaginations do the walking. 

Two more items in this love fest. First, Judy Greer absolutely nails a scene towards the end, during the final confrontations with Michael, one I don’t want to spoil for the two or three people who haven’t seen it yet. Second, thank goodness they brought back John Carpenter to advise on everything, but most especially the music. Combine that with all the classic camera angles and the awesome art direction in the title sequences and transitions, and you have a successful whatever you want to call it. And for those who wonder about more entries in the franchise, let me just say that while they might be monetarily successful, they may also be another string of flawed attempts to recapture what was done here. I’m willing to be proven wrong, but I suspect this is the last best attempt to close out the franchise, and maybe try something brand new with those that survive. Let’s evolve, and not repeat. 

“Halloween” (2018) is the follow-up story that we deserved to the iconic John Carpenter classic, a film that respects the best of the source material and evolves all of the elements for the modern day. It is an unexpected grace note to what has been a lackluster franchise, reminding us of the haunting realism of the original film. Horror fans have probably already seen this film, but even non-horror fans who want a small taste of the golden age of slasher films should definitely see this film in the theaters, preferably with a sizeable audience. My spouse is proof that you don’t need to have seen the original, or even like horror films, to enjoy this one.

Also, note to self. Show spouse original “Halloween”, right after tomorrow’s review.

NARRATOR: “Welcome back to Reign of Terror 2019! 31 straight days of horror movie reviews and interviews. Today’s episode will feature our own Keith Lyons here at One Movie Punch, who will be reviewing 1939’s ‘Son of Frankenstein’.”

NARRATOR: “However, in lieu of running the One Movie Punch promo, we’ll be running a promo for our good friends at the Massive Late Fee Podcast. A promo will run before the review.”

NARRATOR: “But for now, let’s turn out attention back to the fate of our host, in Part Seven of “WORLD WITHOUT COLOR”.” 

SCENE: Cemetery

NARRATOR: “Joseph walked back into the cemetery, where absolutely no threats were located since this wasn’t even supposed to work. It would only be a matter of time, of course, before more threats arrived, but he was taking this moment to reassess his surroundings.” 

JOSEPH: “At least the flying saucer is gone.”

KEITH: “A little ‘Plan 9 from Outer Space’, eh? I love the cult classics.” 

JOSEPH: “Keith! It’s good to see you!”

KEITH: “Well, what you can see, anyway!” 

NARRATOR: “Keith Lyons was a spectral figure, much like his other team members had been earlier in the adventure. Obviously, this was also not supposed to be happening, which was clearly upsetting the narrator, if no one else.” 

JOSEPH: “So, what do we do now?”

NARRATOR: “Indeed. What DO we do now, when the narrator doesn’t even know which direction the story is going anymore?" 

KEITH: “Well, we’re waiting for a bus, actually.”

JOSEPH: “Oh, I guess that makes sense.” 

KEITH: “Given everything else, I would hope so.”

NARRATOR: “Joseph began walking around the cemetery, looking for any other clues.” 

KEITH: “Oh, I’ve already searched everywhere. I already collected all the loot.”

JOSEPH: “I know, but I figured... YIKES!!” 

KEITH: “Oh, that. Don’t mind that.” 

NARRATOR: “Laying on the ground next to an empty grave was the body of Keith Lyons, hand frozen pointing up towards what must have been his attacker.” 

JOSEPH: “But...” 

KEITH: “Well, how else would I be a ghost?”

JOSEPH: “Are you dead?”

KEITH: “Sort of. I mean, I am now, but I wasn’t when I first got here.”

JOSEPH: “Where is here?”

KEITH: “We’re still working that out, but...”

KEITH: “Uh oh.”

JOSEPH: “What?” 

KEITH: “Uh, sounds like the guy who attacked me is back.”

JOSEPH: “That can’t be...” 

NARRATOR: “But it was! Finally! Thank you! Frankenstein’s monster, guided by Ygor, turned towards Joseph, extending his hands out, and walking towards Joseph.”

JOSEPH: “We should run!”

KEITH: “Nah. Watch.”

NARRATOR: “He walked forward slowly. Very slowly. Comically slowly. What’s going on here?”

KEITH: “We’re not able to get you out quite yet, but we’ve figured out ways to hack the system.”

JOSEPH: “The system?” 

NARRATOR: “The monster had now taken... a single step? That can’t be right. Someone needs to fix this.”

KEITH: “Yes. You’re trapped within a very realistic simulated environment.”

JOSEPH: “I guess that makes sense, when you say it like that.”

KEITH: “We need to get you out of this particular sandbox, and back into the colorized one. And then from there, a short run through a bunch of zombies and vampires, and then we should be able to zero in on your physical location.” 

JOSEPH: “Did you say zombies and vampires?”

KEITH: “Yes. What massive horror crossover would be complete without them?” 

NARRATOR: “Fixed that... I MEAN, Frankenstein’s Monster began to move at his normal pace, which was still slow, but not one step every minute, for crying out loud. Joseph and Keith looked back at the monster, but also heard a bus approaching.” 

JOSEPH: “Guess this is where we part ways?”

KEITH: “Afraid so. Look, just keep in mind that while you can’t physically die within this simulation, you can be emotionally harmed. And since it’s been 26 days since you’ve been gone...” 

JOSEPH: “26 Days?!” 

KEITH: “...well, we’re not sure how much longer you can keep going. We’ve got two moles up ahead to explain why, once the bus ride is over. You should probably go.”

NARRATOR: “But there would be no hope for Joseph, as the monster had arrived, and reached down... freezing in mid-air?” 

KEITH: “I won’t be able to hold it forever.”

JOSEPH: “Thanks, Keith!”

NARRATOR: “Joseph walked towards a heavily armored bus, boarding it, while the Monster continued to glitch. No one understood what was happening.”

KEITH: “That’s not true.” 

NARRATOR: “Wait, you can hear me?” 

KEITH: “Look, just because you muted narration for Joseph, doesn’t mean we can’t hear you. We’re closing in, by the way.”

NARRATOR: “Well, perhaps that’s the case, but will you find and save Joseph in time? Find out tomorrow in Part One of “THE FINAL STRETCH”, which will feature a classic movie review from Joseph of last year’s ‘Halloween’ reboot. Let’s hope Michael Myers can finish the job, shall we?”

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Hi, Philly Film Fan here with another review for One Movie Punch. You can follow me on Twitter @PhillyFilmFan. Today’s movie is “Son of Frankenstein”, the classic Universal horror film from 1939 directed by Rowland V. Lee and written by Wyllis Cooper based on characters created by Mary Shelley. 

No spoilers.

In 1931, Universal Pictures created a sensation when it released two films starring relatively unknown actors: “Dracula” (1931) with Bela Lugosi in the titular role, and “Frankenstein” (1931) with Boris Karloff in the role of The Monster. It was the beginning of a decades-long era that saw the studio create some of the most memorable movie monsters audiences had ever seen, such as Karloff in “The Mummy” (1932), Claude Rains in “The Invisible Man” (1933), Lon Cheney Jr. in “The Wolf-Man” (1941), and a couple of random guys as the “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954). In 1935, Karloff returned to his signature role in “The Bride of Frankenstein”, one of the rare sequels that manages to improve on the original. In 1939, he would don the famous makeup (created by the legendary Jack Pierce) for the third and final time in “Son of Frankenstein”.

It’s easy to overlook “Son of Frankenstein” because it can’t help but be overshadowed by it two predecessors, both of which deserve to be on any list of the greatest horror films of all time. But “Son of Frankenstein” made important contributions to the Frankenstein mythology. This is the film that introduces Ygor, played by Universal’s other great horror star, Bela Lugosi. Also, this is the first film to feature a “Dr. Frankenstein”. The original Frankenstein dropped out of medical school and was referred to as “Herr Frankenstein” in the original and “Baron Frankenstein” in the sequel (after the presumed death of his father). 

While the titular role of Dr. Frankenstein is played by Basil Rathbone and the iconic role of The Monster is played by Boris Karloff, the true star of this film is Bela Lugosi’s Ygor. Lugosi had a chip on his shoulder ever since turning down the role of The Monster in the original “Frankenstein” and clearing the way for Karloff to become a star. Karloff’s career would go on to surpass Lugosi’s own and it would be a source of bitterness for the rest of his life (see Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood” (1994) for more details). But in this film, Lugosi sweeps into Karloff’s signature franchise and manages to outshine his rival by delivering one of his greatest performances, and forever linking his Ygor to Frankenstein in the popular imagination. 

While “Son of Frankenstein” may pale in comparison to the original “Frankenstein” and “Bride of Frankenstein”, it is still an important part of cinematic history that should not be overlooked. Also, anyone who is a fan of Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein” is in for a pleasant surprise when they see Lionel Atwill’s portrayal of Inspector Krogh.

Rotten Tomatoes: 91%

Metacritic: NR

One Movie Punch: 7.5/10

“Son of Frankenstein” (1939) is approved by the Motion Picture Producers & Distributors of America. You can currently purchase ‘Frankenstein: Complete Legacy Collection’ for less than $20 online, which includes DVDs of “Frankenstein” (1931), ”The Bride of Frankenstein” (1935), ”Son of Frankenstein” (1939), ”The Ghost of Frankenstein” (1942), ”Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man” (1943), ”House of Frankenstein” (1944), ”House of Dracula” (1945), AND ”Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948). What are you waiting for?!

This jawn was brought to you by Philly Film Fan. For more movie reviews, follow me on Twitter at PhillyFilmFan where I’m participating in the #365Movies challenge. That’s P-H-I-L-L-Y-F-I-L-M-F-A-N. Thanks for listening.

NARRATOR: “Welcome back to Reign of Terror 2019! 31 straight days of horror movie reviews and interviews. Today’s episode will feature our own Andrew Campbell here at One Movie Punch, who will be reviewing 2017’s Fantastic Fest feature, ‘Tigers Are Not Afraid (Vuelven)’.” 

NARRATOR: “However, in lieu of running the One Movie Punch promo, we’ll be running a promo for our good friends at the Super Media Bros. Podcast. Every episode, Okami and Midnight Agent Raw delve into the culty-est of cult classics. A promo will run before the review.”

NARRATOR: “But for now, let’s turn out attention back to the fate of our host, in Part Six of “WORLD WITHOUT COLOR”.” 

SCENE: Industrial hallway / Night Vision 

NARRATOR: “Joseph walked forward, night vision goggles on, noticing the desert fatigues had returned to his normal clothing. He had never worn night vision goggles before, so he spent an inordinate amount of time waving his hand in front of his face...”

JOSEPH: “That’s so cool!”

NARRATOR: “...when he should have been concerned about the crash behind him, of whatever figures were likely coming after him now.”

JOSEPH: “Crash? What crash?”

JOSEPH: “Oh, that one!”

NARRATOR: “ Up ahead, a light source began to emerge, and Joseph slipped the goggles off, now able to see enough to increase the pace and make it to...” 

JOSEPH: “Another room?” 

ANDREW: “Yes, that’s correct. Let me just close this.”

JOSEPH: “Andrew!”

ANDREW: “Yes. Now, much like last time, I don’t have a lot of time, but we need to get you out of this world. 

JOSEPH: “Why is everything still black and white?”

ANDREW: “It’s just how this place is, as far as we can figure.”

NARRATOR: “The room was lit by two lanterns, flickering against the walls, one of which was a deep, dark color.” 

ANDREW: “Okay, so, it took us a while, but we’ve finally come up with a plausible solution.” 

JOSEPH: “Awesome! I want to go home.” 

ANDREW: “With this.” 

NARRATOR: “Andrew extended his hand, displaying a single piece of chalk.”

JOSEPH: “Chalk?” 

NARRATOR: “Seriously, chalk?” 

ANDREW: “Not just any chalk. Magic chalk.”

JOSEPH: “What makes it magic?” 

ANDREW: “Well, it was one of three pieces given to me.”

JOSEPH: “Where are the other two?” 

ANDREW: “How do you think I got press credentials for Fantastic Fest and inducted into the Austin Film Critics Association?" 

NARRATOR: “Joseph wasn’t happy about that, but he respected the hustle.”

JOSEPH: “All right, how does this magic chalk work?” 

ANDREW: “Well, I don’t understand all the specifics, but if you draw a door on the wall over there, and wish to be taken somewhere, it will fulfill your wish.”

JOSEPH: “Seems simple enough.” 

NARRATOR: “Of course, this was all a bunch of malarkey, but Joseph didn’t know that, as he walked up to the wall, drew a door, and then turned to Andrew.”

JOSEPH: “Where can I go?” 

ANDREW: “I think the only rule is that it has to be a classic movie.” 

JOSEPH: “That’s...” 

ANDREW: “Oddly specific? Agreed.” 

NARRATOR: “Joseph turned back to the wall, beginning to write out a movie title.”

JOSEPH: “Son... of... Frankenstein...”

NARRATOR: “And, of course, nothing happened, because this was never going to..." 

ANDREW: “I think it’s working!" 

NARRATOR: “Much to everyone’s surprise, especially mine, the chalked-out door became a real door. A real crypt door at that. Joseph walked up to it, and opened up the door, revealing the same cemetery he had started.” 

JOSEPH: “Very handy!”

NARRATOR: “This is... unprecedented.”

ANDREW: “My window’s closing, but we’ve got folks lined up to carry you the rest of the way out of here.”

JOSEPH: “Window? I still don’t understand...” 

NARRATOR: “But finally... Andrew began to disappear.”

ANDREW: “Damn it. Joseph, the person behind this is...” 

NARRATOR: “...going to remain hidden, because Andrew would disappear just before revealing any vital information.” 

JOSEPH: “Kinda seeing a pattern, here, with learning anything substantial.”

NARRATOR: “Joseph turned toward the cemetery.”

JOSEPH: “No way out but through.” 

NARRATOR: “It was a cliché statement, one that could only come from someone who had been given an injection of hope. He now knew that people were working to save him, but he still, thankfully, didn’t know from who or what.”

NARRATOR: “Would his good mood continue? Find out tomorrow, in Part Seven of “WORLD WITHOUT COLOR”, when we’ll be joined by our own Keith Lyons, who will be reviewing, oddly enough, ‘Son of Frankenstein’, starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. I wonder what the odds of that are. Probably better than Joseph’s odds going forward...” 

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Hello film fans! 

Andrew here. As Halloween approaches, and the Reign of Terror draws to a close, it’s time to throw some praise on the streaming service that celebrates horror all-year-round. I’m not talking about Netflix, but props to them for their “Netflix and Chills” event which saw the release of a few horror series along with five original films, three of which premiered at Fantastic Fest. And I’m definitely not talking Hulu, whose recently-renewed “Into the Dark” monthly anthology series of holiday-themed horror has more misses than hits. You know I’m talking about Shudder. 

Shudder has picked up a number of Fantastic Fest titles over the last year including today’s film as well as Japanese zombie-comedy “One Cut of the Dead”. I have yet to rate any film a perfect 10 out of 10 in my time with the podcast, but “One Cut of the Dead” may come the closest. If you want an amazing experience, gather up some friends and throw this one on before you read or hear another word. 

Today’s movie is “Tigers Are Not Afraid”, the mysterious 2017 fantasy horror film out of Mexico written and directed by Issa López. Having made its world premiere at the 2017 Fantastic Fest, Shudder finally gave the film a brief theatrical run just last month before launching it on the streaming service a week later. “Tigers Are Not Afraid” stars Paola Lara as Estrella, a 10-year old girl living on the street after the disappearance of her mother. Estrella’s world is ravaged by the drug trade with gun violence an everyday occurrence. During a shooting near her school, Estrella’s teacher passes her three pieces of chalk, each of which will grant her one wish. With no family to look after her, Estrella joins up with a gang of young orphan boys led by Shine (Juan Ramón López) as they dodge the men who may have taken away their parents.

This film is engaging for all of its brief 80 minutes, helmed by a veteran writer/director telling a personal story through the medium of fantasy horror. As Estrella seeks the truth about her mother’s disappearance, she puts to use the three wishes given to her by her teacher and, just like any “monkey’s paw” tale, the results are not always pleasant. The film has garnered inevitable comparisons to the works of fellow Mexican director Guillermo del Toro for its use of surreal fantasy elements to propel the story. However, director López, likely constrained by a limited budget, makes minimal use of special effects and paints with such a subtle brush that the film is made all the better for it.

The narrative of “Tigers Are Not Afraid” is told through Estrella’s eyes or those of the boys with whom she runs. The interactions with the adult world are, outside of a few flashbacks, never positive. The children live together under a scrap-metal lean-to on the roof of vacant building in a sparsely populated city showing the weight of years living under cartel rule. Even the police officers are of no help to these children when it becomes clear they are on the run from a drug boss and a crooked politician. The acting is a little uneven, which you would expect from a cast of children, but Paola Lara is perfect throughout in the lead role. Her interactions with the boys are heartfelt and her encounters with the supernatural elements of the film are filled with genuine terror.

What makes “Tigers Are Not Afraid” fantastic? Horror films are at their best when they come with a relevant social message. “Get Out” dealt unsubtly with racism and the original “Dawn of the Dead” took on consumerism. “The Babadook” serves as a metaphor for mental health, while “It Follows” arguably did the same for HIV. “Tigers Are Not Afraid” shines a light on a grim reality facing many families south of the border. 

“Tigers are Not Afraid” (2017) is a tale of the true casualties of the violent drug trade, the children forced to cope with tragedy. Issa López’s film is a powerful rebuke of the glamorization of narco-culture. Fans of the aptly named “Terrified” (One Movie Punch #404) or 2007’s “The Orphanage” from “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” director J.A. Bayona will enjoy this film. 

Rotten Tomatoes: 97% (CERTIFIED FRESH)

Metacritic: 76

One Movie Punch: 9.0/10

“Tigers Are Not Afraid” is not rated and is currently streaming on Shudder.

With the Reign of Terror drawing to a close, I look forward to being back on the podcast each Friday bringing you the best films out of Fantastic Fest. The 2019 festival wrapped up a month ago and it brought in a bumper crop of movies from around the world that push the envelope of genre filmmaking. Many of these films are released in theaters or through Netflix in the weeks directly following the festival, so I may be popping in a little more frequently during November. Come back next week and we’ll discuss Taika Waititi’s brilliant satire “Jojo Rabbit”.

NARRATOR: “Welcome back to Reign of Terror 2019! 31 straight days of horror movie reviews and interviews. Today’s episode will feature Jimmy, Matt, and Kellie of the Pop Pour Review Podcast, who will be reviewing 2007’s landmark franchise starter, ‘Paranormal Activity’. A promo will run before the review.”

NARRATOR: “But for now, let’s turn out attention back to the fate of our host, in Part Five of “WORLD WITHOUT COLOR”.” 

SCENE: Darkness

JIMMY: “Who’s this?”

KELLIE: “I dunno. Seems familiar.”

MATT: “Looks like he lost his night vision goggles. There they are. Jimmy, help me sit him up. Kellie, get the goggles, let’s get them strapped on.” 

NARRATOR: “Joseph heard all of this faintly, slowly regaining consciousness, trying to process what happened last time.”

JOSEPH: “Who...”

KELLIE: *radio crackle* “O.M.S. - this is Bravo Team. We found him, somehow still alive. Our window is closing, but we can get him to Andrew.”

JOSEPH: “Andrew? What’s going on?”

JIMMY: “Easy, Joseph. Have a drink of this. It’ll help.” 

NARRATOR: “A canteen was placed to his lips, and he tasted a slightly sweet, slightly bitter concoction, somehow fruity and savory, and just a hint of...”

JOSEPH: “What is this?”

JIMMY: “Special recipe. Helps with recovery and memory. Don’t worry. No booze. Now, you know what’s in this room, right?”

NARRATOR: “Joseph tried to remember.” 

JOSEPH: “Cutouts?”

KELLIE: “Exactly. The carnival stores the cutouts in this room. I’m going to turn the goggles on.”

NARRATOR: “Once activated, Joseph saw the large cutouts. Some had holes for attendees to take pictures. He laughed at himself for being so scared.” 

JOSEPH: *laughing* “That’s funny. So, Andrew?”

KELLIE: “He’s up ahead. We gotta hurry, though, because...”

NARRATOR: “At that moment, a mysterious figure that registered as a white mass moved quickly behind the furthest cutouts. The night vision made the figure creepier that it probably should be.”

JOSEPH: “What was that?” 

MATT: “Trouble. Look, we can hold it off, but you need to head out that door. Jimmy!”

JIMMY: “I see it.” 

JIMMY: “Lock and load.”

MATT: “All right, Kellie. Get him to the door. I’m sure this isn’t the only one.”

KELLIE: “You got it.”

NARRATOR: “Jimmy and Matt turned towards the figure, now quickly darting behind the different cutouts. They began firing their weapons, emitting what looked like lazer bullets, each burst slightly blinding them. Cutouts exploded in larger flashes. It was becoming harder to track the figures.” 

KELLIE: “MOVE!” 

NARRATOR: “Kellie and Joseph ran towards the door. A second figure joined the first one, which was now bleeding from a missing arm. Jimmy and Matt kept firing, forcing Kellie and Joseph to look away towards the door. At another break in the fire, they looked back to see a third figure sneaking up behind the two of them.” 

KELLIE: “What? No!” 

NARRATOR: “They watched in horror as, quickly, the figure pounced on Jimmy, taking him to the ground. The lack of gun fire made Matt look over, just in time have a fourth figure drop down on him.”

KELLIE: “Go now!”

JOSEPH: “But...”

KELLIE: “Just go!” 

NARRATOR: “She shoved him through the door, then pulled it closed and locked it. Gunfire exploded from behind the door, as she screamed in fury at whatever was attacking them.”

JOSEPH: “Now what?” 

NARRATOR: “Joseph turned. It was another hallway, heading towards... another room? An exit? Find out tomorrow in Part Six of “WORLD WITHOUT COLOR”, when we’ll be joined by our own Andrew Campbell, who will be reviewing ‘Tigers Are Not Afraid’. Will Joseph survive another day, or will he finally be chalked up with the rest of the dead?” 

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KELLIE: “Hey guys, I'm Kellie.” 

JIMMY: “I'm Jimmy.” 

MATT: “And I'm Matt.” 

KELLIE: “And we are Pop! Pour! Review. We're guesting on today's Reign of Terror! You can find us on Twitter and Instagram @poppourreview, or via email [email protected]. You can subscribe and download the podcast on all the usual podcasting sites. Today we are doing... we're reviewing ‘Paranormal Activity’ (2007), the found footage horror film is written and directed by Orin Pelli.” 

MATT: “Okay, so, the film surrounds Katie and Micah, as they move into a house in the suburbs but soon become haunted by demonic presences every night. This is the... this is the first very successful franchise.”

KELLIE: “It's a lot scarier than the way you made it out to be.”

MATT: “I know.”

JIMMY: “Yeah. So, everyone to be warned, this will be spoilers. You... there will be a lot of spoilers.” 

KELLIE: “Spoilers.”

JIMMY: “We are giving away the ending in this review. Just to let you know.”

MATT: “So, let's start from the beginning. This film restarted the found footage genre after ‘The Blair Witch Project’ and that came out in 1999. This film has become a horror staple since its premiere and was a massive success in the independent cinema,  as well as horror cinema.” 

KELLIE: “Okay, well, let's talk about the movie itself. So, the movie's about a couple named Katie and Micah that move into a house which they thought was a perfect suburban home, but this house becomes less than perfect. It's no longer their ideal home. When Katie starts becoming haunted by spirits that she says have been attached to her since she was a child, this is when Micah, her husband. It’s her husband, right?”

JIMMY: “Or boyfriend."

KELLIE: “Or boyfriend. Whatever. Micah, her significant other, sets up a video camera in their bedroom, not for things that we... usually see people do that for.”

JIMMY: “To catch the demons.” 

KELLIE: “But to see what kind of spooky or spoopy haunting happens during the night.”

JIMMY: “Spoopy is my favorite Halloween word of all time.”

KELLIE: “I love spoopy. Spoopy should be an official word.”

JIMMY: “This movie is not spoopy. It is spooky. It’s scary.”

MATT: “I think it's spoopy." 

JIMMY: “It's spoopy.” 

MATT: “It's the definition of spoopy.” 

KELLIE: “It's definitely not spooky, especially from what I've heard of how you reacted to it." 

MATT: “I'm very terrified of spoopy movies.” 

KELLIE: “Matt tell us how you reacted to this spoopy movie after you first saw it.”

MATT: “You want the whole story?”

KELLIE: “Yes." 

JIMMY: “Well, I'll actually... I like to tell this story because me and him were like, ‘Let's go see a movie!’ And we want to go... we're going to go see ‘Couples Retreat’.”

KELLIE: “Oh my God, that was so different.”

MATT: “Yes and yes it is.”

JIMMY: “And that was sold out. So I secretly bought tickets to ‘Paranormal Activity’.”

MATT: “And I'm getting a snack.” 

KELLIE: “Wait, hold on, how old were you Matt?”

JIMMY: “I was 18.” 

MATT: “So I was 16.” 

KELLIE: “You were like 15.” 

MATT: “15, but I wasn't into horror movies at all then. And literally, I'm literally getting, like, a snack. He comes up, he's like, ‘So, I have some bad news.’ I was like, ‘What?’ He's like, ‘We're not seeing the movie anymore.’ I was like, ‘Oh, so we're going home?’ He's like, ‘No, we're seeing “Paranormal Activity”.’ And then we are in line to literally go watch the movie and I'm, like, trembling.”

JIMMY: “I was like this because, this was when it was in like 30 theaters.”

KELLIE: “You were not 18 in 2007. You graduated high school in 2009.” 

JIMMY: “I was able to buy tickets." 

KELLIE: “So you were like 16 or 17.”

JIMMY: “I was able to buy the tickets.”

KELLIE: “So that makes you 13 or 14.” 

MATT: “Yes, I was not a big horror person at that point.”

JIMMY: “I was able to buy the tickets somehow and I just remember, yeah, he was terrified. I was laughing.”

MATT: “The guy next to us waiting in line was laughing at me because I was just like, ‘Jimmy, can we just please go home? Can we please go home?’”

JIMMY: “I was like, ‘No, we're going to see this movie.’ But I remember being like, ‘No, I did not like this movie at all.’” 

MATT: “You didn't like it?”

KELLIE: “You didn't?”

JIMMY: “No, I did not. The first one... I thought it was stupid.”

MATT: “Which one do you like?” 

JIMMY: “I like the second one.” 

MATT: “Oh, the first one was great.” 

JIMMY: “Do you remember me laughing hysterically?”

MATT: “No." 

JIMMY: “And the woman behind us turned around and said, ‘Please stop laughing. You're ruining the movie.’”

KELLIE: “I thought you really liked this movie.” 

MATT: “This... I don't remember that at all. I was a little too preoccupied, like my face in the seat.”

JIMMY: “I don't like the movie. Uh, did you guys like the movie?”

KELLIE: “Well, we already know Matt didn't like it.”

MATT: “No, I, thinking back now, I hated it just because it was scary, but like, thinking back, I actually really liked it.” 

KELLIE: “Um, I was terrified of this movie because I didn't see the one in... I didn't see the theatrical version. So, so I saw the one that they were showing at the film festivals with the original ending, which is 100% scarier than the theatrical ending. Like it is so much scarier. So in the theatrical ending isn't it that they like throw.” 

JIMMY: “Micah.”

KELLIE: “She throws Micah against the camera and that's it. In the, in the other ending they showed at the film festivals, it's her just standing in front of the camera for like another hour and then she slits her wrists, she kills the police officers I think, or something. And she comes back in the room and she's just staring at the camera and she slits her throat. I could not go to bed that night. I was so scared and one of my friends was sleeping over, and I was just like, texting the entire time, just being like, ‘I can't go to bed. I can't go to bed. We're so stupid, why did we watch that?’”

JIMMY: “Yeah, I remember seeing that on YouTube and I was like, that is a much better ending. But my name is in the credits of the movie.” 

KELLIE: “What?” 

JIMMY: “Yeah.”

KELLIE: “Why?” 

JIMMY: “Because they had this, like, bring it to your theater and anyone who did that, their name was in the credits of the movie on the Blu-ray.”

MATT: “But also I was, like, scared of that original ending just because like, for some reason, no matter if I see the jump scare coming, I will, I will literally, like, I will jump at a jump scare no matter what. Like, I am the definition of that person. So, like, when they threw the, uh, Micah, his body at the camera, I literally was like, nope. And I had like, like, my seat, like, I like, lifted off my seat. I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ That one sounds creepier, or the one you said, but I'm just like, that one made me jump.”

KELLIE: “I was so scared that Katie was going to walk into my bedroom, stand at the doorway with her, like, disgusting black demonic eyes and just like slit her throat in front of me.”

MATT: “I know." 

KELLIE: “I, like, was crying because of how scared I was.” 

JIMMY: “Yeah, I was, I got in trouble after taking him to that movie cause my parents were like, ‘No.’”

KELLIE: “You clearly lied. He was like 13 or 14, not 15/16.” 

MATT: “And look at us... and look at us now. I'm the one who can go to haunted houses. And you're terrified of yes.” 

JIMMY: “Yes.” 

KELLIE: “Yes, all right. So, on Rotten Tomatoes, ‘Paranormal Activity’ has an 83%, which makes it certified fresh. On Metacritic, it has a 68, which is positive. So, on a scale of one to ten, what do you guys give it? I give it a seven, because I was scared of it, but the up until, like, the last ten minutes of the movie, it is pretty boring.”

MATT: “I'll give, I'll just give it an eight, just because like, how scared I was during it, and just thinking back, just like, it's pretty, like, an original type story. I just, the way they did it, I thought it was different.” 

JIMMY: “And I'm going to give it a four because I thought it was silly.”

KELLIE: “Even though after that it was just found footage horror films were one right after another.”

JIMMY: “Yes, and that brings it to a six for Pop! Pour! Review that that's, that's, that's, that's...” 

MATT: “like just top shelf.” 

JIMMY: “It's just top shelf but it's, you know, like the cheaper, a little bit of the cheaper stuff but it's there.”

MATT: “It just made it.”

JIMMY: “It just made it. Good job, ‘Paranormal Activity’. You just made it into our good list.”

Rotten Tomatoes: 86% (CERTIFIED FRESH)

Metacritic: 68

One Movie Punch: 6.0/10

JIMMY: “So yeah, ‘Paranormal Activity’ is rated R for language and it's available for rental or purchase on all major streaming sites and it's perfect for a little Halloween spookiness.”

KELLIE: “Or spoopiness.”

MATT: “Always take the spoopiness.”

JIMMY: “Thanks for listening, and we hope you enjoyed our review of ‘Paranormal Activity’. Have a Happy Halloween from us at Pop Pour Review.” 

KELLIE: “Bye.”

MATT: “Booooo!” 

KELLIE: “Ew.”

Hi everyone!

Welcome to Reign of Terror 2019! 31 straight days of horror movie reviews and interviews with yours truly, our team of critics, and a host of other podcasts. That’s pretty much it. I’m sure since we’ve pre-loaded this episode back in September that nothing has happened to me, or that I’ve been kidnapped, or have fled from aliens, or have been shot out of a circus cannon, or fought a clown in the sewers, or watched my daughter save me from classic movie monsters, or found myself in a world without color. That would just be silly.

Because otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to say how excited I am to feature today’s review of “Tabernacle 101”. Out of the blue, I received a premiere screening invitation for today’s film from Yolandi Franken, who was beginning promotion for the film and reaching out to various individuals. We tried to connect before the premiere, and then life got in the way, and then after the premiere, we got screener details. Finally got in touch with Yolandi and Colm, and we lined up today’s interview. And right before we had the interview, my glasses snapped at the bridge, making getting interview prep complete and conducting the interview a small nightmare. It was worth it, though.

We’ll have a bit of a format switch for today. Instead of the usual trailer segments, we’re going to run the whole trailer audio for “Tabernacle 101” prior to the review. Throughout the review, I’ll be including segments from our interview where appropriate. And if you want to hear the full interview, it will be available in November as another Patreon exclusive. Unless someone has accidentally made all our Patreon media free and I am unable to find my way back to our podcast headquarters.

We will be publishing weekly exclusive content going forward, which you can only get by signing up with a monthly donation at patreon.com/onemoviepunch at any level. You’ll also be invited to request one movie review from yours truly, as long as we haven’t reviewed it yet, with just a few exceptions. All support goes to paying our expenses and to help us grow with our audience. 

Here’s just a taste of what you’ll be missing:

COLM: “Absolutely. We make, on the courses, an actual short film. And people love the shoot. They love all the preparation. The casting. And then the shooting, of course, for three of our days. And then it comes to the editing, and the sound post, and the music, and the coloring... A lot of people struggle with that because of two things. Number one, it’s quite technical, and it takes quite a bit of talent to do. And secondly, the time cost. You know, it just takes... we always say for every day of shooting, it’s four times the amount of time to actually do the post-production. So, totally what you’re saying is correct.” 

Subscribe to stay current with the latest releases.

Sign up at Patreon for exclusive content.

Connect with us over social media to continue the conversation.

Here we go!

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Today’s movie is “Tabernacle 101”, the science-fiction horror thriller written and directed by Colm O’Murchu, and produced by International Film Base. The film follows Frank (David Hov), a fundamentalist atheist who designs an experiment to prove no afterlife exists. However, after performing the experiment, he accidentally opens a portal through which evil beings have followed him back to control the world. Now, he must team up with Meredith (Mikeala Franco), a psychic medium, to save the world. 

No spoilers.

We’re blessed to live in an era where films costing upwards of $1 billion dollars are being made, and succeeding quite well, at the box office. Practical effects now transform cityscapes for historical pictures. Special effects have never been better. And the talent pool of known mainstream and independent producers has never been greater. Content consumers dream of never-ending franchises, on multiple platforms and media, as if infinite growth were actually possible. I love those pictures, especially when they live up to the cost. And I hate those pictures a great deal when they don’t, because high-cost flops take away potential dollars from other smaller projects exploring new territory. A bigger budget doesn’t necessarily mean a better movie, but it should be judged based on the budget, kind of like an order of difficulty when judging diving. 

Which is why Colm wanted to make one thing clear up front.

COLM: “It is a microbudget film, and I should say that right off the bat. We made it off an extremely low budget of $50,000 USD.”

“Tabernacle 101” is a microbudget film. Everyone should know before going into this film, so it can get a fair shake. For me, microbudget films are about two things. First, an exercise in having fun through making a film, which has been how more than a few of my favorite independent films have gotten made. And second, as a proof of concept for larger, better funded projects, the equivalent of a pilot episode for television. But in speaking with Colm, he gave me a third reason for making a film: therapy. 

COLM: “But what we actually happened was that we were very close to having this film financed called ‘Absolute Freedom’, which was budgeted at $2.5 million AUS, which is about $2 million USD. And we were all set to do some casting over in Los Angeles. You know, we were looking for a names and part of the film took place in California, most of it in the Australian outback. This film had been going great guns. We had been told we’d been financed. We’d been paid money. All this sort of thing.”

COLM: “When it collapsed, when we were over doing casting in Los Angeles, and, you know, that’s a very sobering event. We’d been working for three or four years on getting that money together, so when the main financier collapsed financially, it took our movie down, and therefore, that film never got made. And we were sitting around our production office down in Sydney and saying, ‘What are we going to do?’ And we just said, ‘Look, the best cure sometimes is just to go out and make a movie.’” 

I have certainly found creativity to be one of the few things that help me with managing my anxiety and depressive episodes. One Movie Punch, in many ways, has been just such a therapeutic tool. Creating something gives us meaning and purpose, especially when we live in a sometimes meaningless world. Clearly, the production team behind ‘Tabernacle 101’ were looking to find meaning in their lost opportunity with ‘Absolute Freedom’, or maybe more correctly, trying to fill the void left by that loss. That kind of loss can lead to asking a lot of big questions, which seemed to find their way into the themes of the film.

COLM: “Everyone has different perspectives, and one of the ones I found quite funny was that I had two very good friends who are what I call fundamentalist atheists. They basically preach atheism. If ever a discussion happened about religion or spiritualism or new age or psychics or mediums, they’d get so angry. And say, ‘That’s not true! You’re idiots! You have no proof!’ Blah blah blah blah.” 

COLM: “As you know, the beginning of the film starts with that same sort of discussion, but it’s a radio interview happening between an atheist and someone with very strong faith. We found that very interesting how, in a way, atheism can be basically a fundamentalist belief. Like a belief, an absolute belief, that you have to convince and make other people feel small if they have beliefs. So that’s where the idea came out of. We said the premise was this: What’s the worst thing you could do to an atheist?”

I really like the story and the themes being explored in “Tabernacle 101”. I’m always up for a supernatural or horror or science fiction story, so fitting all three of them together to take a crack at the smarmy, self-assured atheist crowd sounds like fun to me. The film opening really sets the tone well, preparing the viewer thematically for the story that follows. 

Now, I know what you’re thinking. This sounds an awful lot like “Flatliners”, either the original 1990 from Joel Schumacher or the 2017 remake. However, resurrection stories go all the way back to ancient myths, and scientific stories about resurrection go all the way back to Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’, and later, Lovecraft’s ‘The Reanimator’. Even though the film uses a similar experiment, it’s actually one that’s appeared in multiple science-fiction stories in multiple media. And the experiment is really a catalyst for solving a problem, akin to a detective or buddy cop story, rather than testing the limits of human knowledge and scientific process. It wasn’t the only theme being explored, either.

COLM: “And now, if you go back to Galileo’s time, of course, the world was flat. You know, that was the scientific and Christian belief back then. And, of course, all the time we’re finding new breakthroughs in science which would have been magic a hundred years ago, like the mobile phone and the Internet. And then today, they’re reality and fact. So, there’s so much we don’t know that happens out there, and that was one of the other themes that I was exploring there.” 

I was also impressed with the casting for “Tabernacle 101”, particularly Mikeala Franco for Meredith, the psychic medium. Her character is easily my favorite thing about the film. Meredith is, ironically, the most consistent character in the film, given the often-dismissive depictions of psychic mediums in this film and in our actual world. Mikeala Franco builds off that solid base, absolutely fleshing the character out with her performance with the help of some really brilliant costuming and inspired set choices. I wasn’t the only person impressed with her, either.

COLM: “Yeah, and she’s so new. Like, I think she’s been in two short films before, but when she came into the room, just talking about her casting, when she left, we were cheering. It was, ‘We found her!’ It was really that strong. It was one of those great casting moments where you just go, ‘We found that particular character.’ The Meredith Palin psychic medium. She’s perfect. And she shot up to number one on our shortlist.” 

It’s discoveries like this that always make microbudget films exciting for me to watch. No one outside the industry really appreciates the difficulty of finding quality up and coming talent. Either talent can’t get into the ginormous talent management structure that’s built around the film industry, or they can’t get recognized adrift the sea of millions of aspiring actors clamoring to be noticed online. Without taking a chance on a film like “Tabernacle 101”, some of the talent on display would never get the opportunity to do a feature-length film.

Major studios can also generally film all at once, allowing actors to stay in character, remain focused on the project, and address any issues on a daily basis as they arise. Aside from Mikeala Franco, the other characters lacked the kind of consistency you might find from a complete, connected shooting schedule. Major studios have also become addicted to the re-shoot, a luxury that isn’t available for microbudget filmmakers, generally, since they can’t normally compensate talent to clear schedules or reacquire shooting locations. Sometimes the microbudget filmmaker needs to employ more difficult shooting schedules.

COLM: “Because it was a microbudget, one of the rules of microbudget is to have a deadline, and it was I think around August, and we said we’re gonna shoot the first part of it in November of the same year. And that’s what happened. We wrote the script over six weeks, then moved very, very quickly to shoot the film over several mini-shoots. Because sometimes that’s the best way to go with microbudget. I mean, if anyone out there wants to make a microbudget, trying to shoot it all in one hit, when you don’t have a huge budget is a really hard way to do it. So, we split it up into seven mini-shoots, that were about five or six weeks apart, and each were five days long. And that’s how we got the film shot.”

It’s not the only flaw in “Tabernacle 101”. The special effects are probably the biggest flaw with the film. Special effects are a risky proposition for any microbudget film, despite the incredible advancements in the available tools. When it comes to special effects, you get what you pay for, and in this case, the viewer doesn’t get much that blends in well with the rest of the picture. Retro science-fiction used strong stories to get around the lack of special effects, and sometimes modern science-fiction gets around bad stories by using special effects, but in the case of “Tabernacle 101”, we have an above average story being torpedoed by the special effects, most of which could and should have been written out of the film. Perhaps one day special effects tools will be easy and cheap enough that adding well-blended, special effects on a microbudget becomes possible. We’re definitely not there yet, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t tools available for the aspiring filmmaker.

COLM: “I’ll just throw a plug out for DaVinci Editing Systems. We just switched to that from Adobe Premier Pro, and DaVinci is free, believe it or not. So, we’re getting all our current course participants to use it because it’s free. They’re not stuck with this $300 bill a year from Adobe. And you get to have a great editing system, great coloring, and fair light/sound posting on it. Magnificent for those people who are on low budgets. And it’s becoming, like, one of those favorite editing software that I know a lot of indie filmmakers are using. I won’t mention the name of another podcast, because it’s your podcast, but he swears by it, and he’s a very experienced post-production person, so we just made the jump in the last month. And it’s absolutely fabulous.” 

“Tabernacle 101” is a microbudget science-fiction thriller that explores the relationship between faith and science, and their shared relationship to technology. The film boasts a great story and an excellent performance from Mikeala Franco, but also bites off way more than it can chew in the special effects department, which detracts from the overall experience. Microbudget fans, and science-fiction fans who love philosophical questions, should definitely check out this film.

Rotten Tomatoes: NR

Metacritic: NR

One Movie Punch: 5.3/10 

“Tabernacle 101” is not rated and is available for rent or purchase at Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, and coming soon to Apple TV. 

A huge thanks to Yolandi Franken and Colm O’Murchu for lining up our interview. Be sure to check out their work at internationalfilmbase.com. And be sure to check out the full interview on Patreon on Sunday, November 3rd, 2019, which will be available publicly for a limited time. 

See you tomorrow!

I hope?

NARRATOR: “Welcome back to Reign of Terror 2019! 31 straight days of horror movie reviews and interviews. Today’s episode will feature Nathan Gibbons from The One Where Show, who will be reviewing 2019’s ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’. A promo will run before the review.”

NARRATOR: “But for now, let’s turn out attention back to the fate of our host, in Part Four of “WORLD WITHOUT COLOR”.”

SCENE: Darkness

NARRATOR: “Darkness. Pure darkness. Joseph had stopped hearing the slow shuffle of the mummy that was chasing him, but the passageway had only continued in one direction. He felt his way along the way, hoping not to trigger any traps, or cut himself open on jagged rocks, or perhaps get bitten by one of hundreds of insects, many of which are quite poisonous...” 

JOSEPH: “NOPE!” 

NARRATOR: “Joseph stopped feeling his way along the way, which was just as well, because he felt he had emerged into a larger space. He certainly hadn’t seen it, and the space appeared to have no discernable sources of light. If only he had a light...”

JOSEPH: “The dumb phone!”

NARRATOR: “Joseph began to reach for his pocket, having completely and conveniently forgotten about the phone with limited capabilities. It wasn’t just able to receive calls and interact on Twitter. It could be a light.” 

NATHAN: “I wouldn’t do that.”

NARRATOR: “Squelched a speaker somewhere within the vast space." 

NATHAN: “Sorry about the feedback. It’s a work in progress.”

JOSEPH: “Nathan, is that you?”

NATHAN: “It is. Listen, I’m glad I’m able to speak with you. First, I wanted to apologize for that Takeover Tuesday, along with ditching you in that morgue and all that. I got turned around in Boston. It’s like they built the streets on old cow paths.” 

JOSEPH: “You’re not wrong. Luckily, I made it out of there alive. But here, I’m not so sure. It’s been a very weird ride so far.”

NATHAN: “I imagine it has. Actually, I have some information about that.” 

JOSEPH: “Excellent. Let me just get a look around here.” 

NATHAN: “Don’t!” 

NARRATOR: “Joseph paused, finger hovering over the wake button.”

JOSEPH: “Why? I could fall in a hole or something.”

NATHAN: “You won’t. Look, we were able to get you into this room to chat. The mummy won’t be following you anymore. Just listen.”

NARRATOR: “Of course, we all know Joseph has a problem doing that.” 

JOSEPH: “Why shouldn’t I take a look around?” 

NATHAN: “Because you’re not going to like what you see.” 

NARRATOR: “Joseph slightly retracted his finger from the phone.”

JOSEPH: “What do you mean? Exactly?” 

NATHAN: “I’m running out of time to explain. There’s a door on the other side of the room, which you’ll need to feel your way through. A box near you has a pair of night vision goggles.” 

NARRATOR: “Joseph felt around for the box, finding nothing.”

JOSEPH: “Are you sure there’s a box here?” 

NATHAN: “Positive. Placed it there myself. Please hurry.”

 

NATHAN: “You find it yet?”

JOSEPH: “Nope. Look, I’m just going to turn the light on the phone...” 

NATHAN: “DON’T! If you can’t see them, they can’t hurt you.”

NARRATOR: “He froze, a second time, which is a tool writers often use to deliciously build the suspense, especially in scary stories.” 

JOSEPH: “What else is in this room, Nathan?”

NATHAN: “So, it’s a sort of storage room.”

JOSEPH: “Storage room for what, Nathan?”

JOSEPH: “Ah, found it!”

NATHAN: “Great. Now, before you put the goggles on...”

JOSEPH: “Can’t find the latch.”

NATHAN: “It’s right there in front.”

JOSEPH: “I’m just going to turn on the light.” 

NATHAN: “NO!”

NARRATOR: “This time Joseph didn’t hesitate, activating the dumb phone, and its meager light, which nevertheless slowly illuminated the room, revealing a room literally full of monsters, all staring at him and his dumb, dumb phone.” 

JOSEPH: “Wha..?!?!” 

NARRATOR: “Joseph fell backwards, smacking his head against a large wooden panel, then crumpling to the floor, somehow knocking open the box, which had been placed with the handle facing the wall...” 

NATHAN: “Oops. That’s my bad.” 

NARRATOR: “...but thankfully spilled the goggles next to his body. Joseph peered into the barely illuminated darkness, trying to move himself back, but not also trying to retain consciousness. The last thing he saw before blacking out was the wooden frame he had hit, a cutout with a monster form, one he was pretty sure he had faced before.”

JOSEPH: “What?” 

NARRATOR: “It was the last thing he said before giving into the blackness. The phone was illuminating a storage room, full of large, wooden cutouts of horror movie monsters. They had been arranged to face the entrance, a fun scare if you’re expecting it. A deadly scare if you’re not.”

NATHAN: “Losing connection. We’ll try again, soon.”

NARRATOR: “The intercom clicked off. Soon the phone clicked off, once again drained of battery. And Joseph was returned to the darkness. What happened to him? Find out in two days, when we’re joined by Jimmy, Matt, and Kellie of the Pop Pour Review podcast, in Part Five of “WORLD WITHOUT COLOR”! And don’t forget to tune in for a special pre-recorded interview and review of ‘Tabernacle 101’, written and directed by Colm O’Murchu. The full interview will be available on Patreon soon. If Joseph can survive...” 

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Based on Austin Schwartz’s bestselling series of books, produced by Guillermo Del Toro, directed by Andre Overtal, and written by Dan and Kevin Hageman. “Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark” tells the story of four friends, played by Zoe Margaret Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, and Austin Zajur, who after stealing a dead girl’s book of scary stories, fear for their lives when the book starts writing stories that may have negative consequences for the teens. 

Potential spoiler warning.

For my money, there is a lot to like here. The majority of the actors are well cast in their roles, especially Colletti as the headstrong Stella, and Austin Zajur as Chuck, who serves as the comic relief. The creatures are well designed, as is the production and set design, but hey, it’s a Del Toro movie. What did you expect? The message of friends sticking together through thick and thin is positive and there are some well-deserved jump scares to boot.

For the negatives, any movie that casts Dean Norris, and has him do very little, should hang its head in shame. I really hope that they paid him well to make up for his underutilisation. Also, I know I have not mentioned that the film is also a period piece, but there is nothing really done in the time period it is set. Also (without going into details) the film does at times feel quite confused about its politics. And I know that some horror fans will be disappointed at how teen-friendly it is, but that shouldn’t stop them from enjoying the horror that is on offer. 

All in all, while these stories might not be the scariest, they are still fun ones to tell in the dark, especially if you are watching this as Baby’s First Horror Movie. The cast gets 15 points, the script gets 15 points, the direction gets 20 points, the Set Costume and Effects get 20 points, the message gets 20 points which equals 90 out of 100.

Rotten Tomatoes: 79%

Metacritic: 61

One Movie Punch: 9.0/10

You can catch it in cinemas.

NARRATOR: “Welcome back to Reign of Terror 2019! 31 straight days of horror movie reviews and interviews. Today’s episode will feature the cast of Dice Tower Theatre, who will be reviewing the 1932 classic ‘The Mummy’, starring Boris Karloff. A promo will run before the review.”

NARRATOR: “But for now, let’s turn out attention back to the fate of our host, in Part Three of “WORLD WITHOUT COLOR”.” 

SCENE: Pyramid Dig Site

NARRATOR: “When we last left Joseph, he had snuck his way into a party of spectral individuals, ducking into an Egyptian themed attraction. His pursuer, a mysterious, ruggedly handsome individual, was unable to follow him, and rather than confront this new character, Joseph merged with the party ahead of him, through a tunnel covered in hieroglyph wallpaper, until a light appeared at the end of the tunnel, emerging into the interior of a large tent.” 

MIKE: “It was at that point, a new narrator took over.”

NARRATOR: “Not again.”

MIKE: “One who knew the intricacies of this particular party, and could guide this adventure in the right direction.” 

NARRATOR: “Now, see here.”

BRIAN: “I say, old chap, take a look at these artifacts on this table.”

JORDAN: “Yes, very exquisite.” 

JOLEEN: “Gentlemen, who exactly is this individual?”

MIKE: “The group turned to look at Joseph, who immediately looked away in surprise, noticing he was now dressed in desert fatigues from the turn of the century.”

CARA: “Why, I’m not sure. Identify yourself.” 

MIKE: “Brian walked over to the tent entrance, to block any escape.” 

BRIAN: “Must have been someone who spawned in with us.” 

MIKE: “Unfortunately, Brian would learn the fate of breaking character during this session, when a rag wrapped monster grabbed him from outside the tent and dragged him outside.” 

BRIAN: “Oh, come on! I barely got to play.”

MIKE: “Life could be cruel, sometimes.”

NARRATOR: “Nice one.”

MIKE: “Thanks.” 

MIKE: “The event, of course, just spurred the group into action, running outside the tent to see where Brian had gone. They stared at a single pair of footsteps, heading towards an immense pyramid in the distance.”

JOLEEN: “We should follow these, to see if we can still save Brian. And you, whomever you are, you’re going to help.” 

JOSEPH: “Ummm, sure.” 

MIKE: “The group hurried towards the pyramid in the distance, making surprisingly great time considering the sandy path, following the tracks around to an entrance hidden by a boulder. What will the group do?” 

JOLEEN: “I say we enter the pyramid.”

JORDAN: “I agree.”

CARA: “I should probably roll to look for traps.”

MIKE: “And at that point, a giant albatross covered the sun overhead, before diving down and snatching Cara from the desert, to be carried off screaming towards the horizon, never to be seen again.” 

CARA: “Lame.”

MIKE: “The remaining two looked to Joseph.” 

JOSEPH: “Sure, let’s go below and not get snatched up by the giant bird.”

MIKE: “The group turned and entered the pyramid, stepping down into a path narrowing as they moved further into the structure.” 

JOLEEN: “Be careful. Ancient tombs tend to have traps and curses about them.”

JORDAN: “Oh, don’t worry. I have a +2 charm of protection, which...” 

MIKE: “...was absolutely no effect against a huge spike that ejected from the wall, immediately killing Jordan and pinning his body against the wall."

JORDAN: “Are you serious?!”

MIKE: “Which left just the two of them.” 

JOLEEN: “What say you?”

JOSEPH: “As little as possible from the looks of things.”

NARRATOR: “What? You’re not going to kill him for that?” 

MIKE: “I’ll allow it.”

JOLEEN: “But that’s not fair...”

MIKE: “Said Joleen as another spike ejected from the wall, which also pinned here against the wall, leaving her just enough time before she died to say...”

JOLEEN: “Great. Now some rando’s getting all the treasure. This is...” 

MIKE: “The fate of adventurers in a cruel, cruel world, seeking treasure beyond their wildest dreams. But now, before Joseph, the passage keeps narrowing, and the light from outside begins to dim. What will you do, Joseph?” 

JOSEPH: “I guess I keep going forward?”

MIKE: “And so he did, leading to a vital piece of information, which was that...”

NARRATOR: “And then suddenly, the other narrator was gone, because this story doesn’t need two narrators. Or is that three? Clearly too many. And now, we’re left with just Joseph, as he proceeds further and further into the dark, unknown passage.” 

JOSEPH: “I guess I should be glad I didn’t run into...”

NARRATOR: “Oh yeah, and a mummy totally entered the passage behind him, beginning to chase him down the corridor.” 

JOSEPH: “You bastard! More running?” 

NARRATOR: “Where would he end up? Find out tomorrow in Part Four of “WORLD WITHOUT COLOR”, which will feature Nathan Gibbons of The One Where Show, reviewing this year’s ‘Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark’.” 

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> 

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Today’s movie is “The Mummy” (1932), the Horror film directed by Karl Freund and written for the screen by Nina Wilcox Putnam, Richard Schayer and John L. Balderston. A classic story of ancient Egypt involving love, crime, and death. Starring Boris Karloff as the Mummy, Zita Johann as Helen Grosvenor, and David Manners as Frank Whemple. Even though it’s an 87-year-old movie that spawned a slew of derivatives and remakes you may have heard of, we wish to warn you there are... 

Spoilers ahead!

MIKE: “I'm Mike Atchley.”

JESSICA: “I'm Jessica Atchley.” 

STORMY: “I'm Stormy Cone.”

JORDAN: “I'm Jordan Thompson.” 

ARIANA: “I'm Arianna Atchley.” 

MIKE: “Today we watched ‘The Mummy’ with Boris Karloff.”

JESSICA: “I was very impressed at the throwback to the true nature of theater.”

MIKE: “Did you see any costume changes between twenty-one and thirty-two? Time periods. Do you see any changes in their costume?”

STORMY: “I don't know.” 

ARIANA: “It's cuz of the mummy.” 

MIKE: “Oh, the Mummy made a costume change.” 

STORMY: “Well, he did. That is right.” 

MIKE: “He cleaned up nice too. Yeah.”

ARIANA: “And when only his hands showed up, it was different.” 

STORMY: “And you can see he has, like, the makeup on his face. It's very subtle.” 

MIKE: “That's right.”

STORMY: “So, it just makes him look papery.” 

JESSICA: “Yeah.”

ARIANA: “I think it’s toilet paper.”

MIKE: “One-ply toilet paper and some spirit gum.” 

STORMY: “Yes.” 

JESSICA: “Yeah.” 

MIKE: “When the mummy was in the museum, and he was doing the ritual...”

STORMY: “Yeah.”

MIKE: “Right. And he had that lamp. In that lighting that was illuminating his face as he's going through all that. You see how it was cast in the shadows when she reacts to it. That interaction that's happening between the two... that really shows... that theater... that you can see where it came from a stage almost. Put with film. Film was less of the point. Its more the story was the point.” 

STORMY: “Yeah.” 

JORDAN: “I thought I would be scared a lot more. It's just not... it's not really there. It's more of... Imhotep trying to find his princess. Less of him trying to kill everybody. I think one of the cool things is they did this skip in years. And they don't show you how he comes to look like a human. It leaves a lot to the imagination of... Did he unbandage, and he looks like a mummy, and then had to kill people? Because we know of the Brendan Fraser version where you know he has to kill people.” 

MIKE: “Yeah.” 

JORDAN: “To take pretty much, like, their essence and to become human. And so they kind of skipped that whole period.” 

JESSICA: “Human essence equals Oil of Olay. There you go.”

JORDAN: “OK. So it's really... it's cool that they skip that and makes you wonder how did he come to look as he does now. And the fact that he had somebody had to chase him for him to kill somebody.” 

MIKE: “There's an interesting fact about the flashback sequence. Well, there's a credit that bothered me. Talking about the Saxon warrior." 

STORMY: “I saw that. Yeah.”

MIKE: “That was... the Saxons weren't at this time period. Yeah, there's the credit... Well, it turns out that they cut it, and it was supposed to show him chasing her spirit throughout time.” 

STORMY: “Oh.”

MIKE: “Yeah. So yeah.”

STORMY: “That's really cool. That's a shame that got cut.” 

MIKE: “That's pretty cool plot point.”

STORMY: “That's really interesting. That would have been a very, very cool thing to see.” 

JORDAN: “But out of all of the deaths, the only one that actually shows blood was when they were killing the slave. Who...” 

STORMY: “Yeah.”

JORDAN: “Who put the... help put the casket into the ground. Like, now that's the only time that showed any kind of blood was this poor slave dude. They just get speared.”

MIKE: “What made that acceptable?” 

STORMY: “Yeah.” 

MIKE: “I mean that's...” 

STORMY: “Like, why was that suddenly cool?”

MIKE: “Exactly. Everything else pulled the motif we talked about earlier, and then, ’Oh, and here's this impalement.’ Right?”

JESSICA: “Yeah.” 

MIKE: “That wasn't good times or... time period.” 

JORDAN: “Time Period. Yeah.” 

STORMY: “Also, I enjoyed the very musical style of the people falling in love. Just that it happened like, half of a second.” 

MIKE: “Was like, frozen.” 

JESSICA: “Yeah. Helen and Frank? Yeah, yeah. I kept thinking... I was like, ‘Okay. Is this, like, part of some weird spell?’” 

STORMY: “The first time he said, ‘I love you’, I was like, ‘Oh, didn't you meet like, less than 24 hours ago? What is happening? I mean, she didn't mind. Glad you guys are on the same page, I guess.”

JESSICA: “I really dug it when, right at the end there, ahe was beseeching the statue of Isis to help her. And then Isis comes back and just totally smote Imhotep.”

STORMY: “Yeah, the hero of the story was Helen and Isis. The Brendan Fraser one I watched... that one, I was a little bit too young, and the scene when they mummify him in the... in that version scared me so bad. In this one, it was still like it might, just because I have, like, I already had the pre-fear of the other one. But him getting wrapped up like, once he was covering his mouth, I was actually like, ‘Oh, I don't like that back, then, wrapping up his face so he can't breathe, and then putting him in the casket.’ I was like, oh, fear from that. How really grotesque that Brendan Fraser one was.” 

MIKE: “But, yeah. Overall, I had fun. I liked it.” 

JESSICA: “Yeah.” 

STORMY: “I like it too.” 

JORDAN: “It was a really good movie. Really good movie.” 

In conclusion, this masterpiece of the classic Universal Monsters still holds up today as a great movie. Proven to be a great way to explore the grim and the macabre. And yet, still retain the spirit of the stage with simply using atmosphere and mood. We recommend this as a great way to introduce the young and old alike to our beloved horror genre.

Rotten Tomatoes: 93%

Metacritic: NR

One Movie Punch: 9.0/10 

“The Mummy” (1932) is unrated and is available in many collections or streamed through Amazon, VUDU, Fandango and iTunes!

Thank you for listening, and Happy Halloween!