After waking up from a year-long coma, an insecure young man must fight his controlling father in order to discover what really happened to his seemingly absent mother, as the true consequences of his past actions unravel before him. (IMDB)
It doesn’t go into much depth when exploring its themes and there is nothing here that is likely to surprise most people, but it is still a well-made, low-budget sci-fi/horror that will entertain with its solid direction and acting.
1976, Brian de Palma directs Carrie, the first novel by Stephen King. Since, more than 50 directors adapted the master of horror’s books, in more than 80 films and series, making him now, the most adapted author still alive in the world. (IMDB)
In a world where Gatekeepers seem to be regularly trying to fence Horror off as if it is an elitist club, it is great to see something so unashamedly celebrating one of the genre’s greats, and anything that encourages more people to love horror is worth celebrating
David Edwards loves talking about films. David Earl loves listening to David Edwards talk. In this podcast they both get to do what they enjoy. Available on Various Platforms I listen on Spotify
So, a couple of months back, I had no idea what Random Movie Generator was until a work colleague mentioned it, knowing I love films. More than likely it was to try and shut me up as most of the people I work with don’t really like talking about films as much as I do but, either way, its was a darned good recommendation.
Presented by David Earl, RMG provides a platform for David Edwards to provide movie new, tips, and insights into the relative merits of various cinema snacks all while flirting with the RMG herself, Mandy. Mandy is the main focus of the podcast – every week, Mandy generates 3 films for David Edwards to then randomly select one to watch and review the following week.
You may also get the odd movie-related YouTube video (yeah, genius or madness, you tell me) or accounts of David Edward’s cinema going experiences with blue dots on the screen or a cinema manager role play where he deals with recent bereavements among his team. You really don’t know what you are going to get each episode.
It’s a simple formula, which works brilliantly. It is realiably amusing and entertaining while retaining a modicum of “meat” for the movie-going geek. I am still not sure I am convinced that David Edwards is real, but when something is this much fun, it really doesn’t matter. Does David really subconsciously dress up as Indiana Jones to go shopping, or bedgrudge sharing his white chocolate oreos with his nephew? Who knows, but it is a lot of fun hearing about it.
You may remember David Earl from such movies as Brian and Charles (one of the best films of 2022) and Cemetery Junction as well as TV shows such as After Life and Derek. I must admit to not being as familiar with David Edwards, although he was also in Brian and Charles, but RMG has been an opportunity to get to know a little more about how the mind of a move-going genius/lunatic works and, quite frankly, I am now so invested in the chemistry between him and Mandy, I am in for the long-haul.
RMG is available on various platforms wherever you get your podcasts and you can also “subscribe” via David Earl’s Patreon, which will get you access to other stuff as well as watchalongs for the RMG.
Ultimately, RMG works because it doesn’t take itself seriously, but also has a clear respect for the subject matter at hand. Give it a whirl, I think you’ll like it.
From Wonderland Award-Winning author Sam Richard comes twelve more uncomfortable tales of sorrow, ruination, and transformation.
A young widow joins a spousal loss support group with bizarre methods of healing. An aging punk is stalked by something ancient and familiar in the labyrinthian halls of an art complex. A couple renting out a small movie theatre are interrupted by a corrosive force of nature. Through these stories of weird horror and visceral sorrow, Richard shows us ways grief can be transcendent-but only if we know which rituals to practice.
Something for everyone, but it will be triggering for some, especially those with recent, or deep relationships with grief. So, proceed with caution but, dare I say it, as upsetting as some of these tales can be, there is opportunity for catharsis and peace within them as well.
Stranded on a crumbling rig in Baja, a family faces off against a vengeful megalodon shark. (IMDB)
…not the best film involving a shark I have ever seen, but also not the worst. I enjoyed it, despite some flaws and if you temper your expectations, it’s worth a stream.
Set during a vicious storm, two criminal brothers on the run seek refuge in a desolate farmhouse. Taking the resident family captive, they find the house holds dark secrets of its own.(IMDB)
Little Bone Lodge does not mess about.
We barely have time for introductions to Mama (Joely Richardson) Maisy (Sadie Soverall) and wheelchair-bound Pa (Roger Ajogbe) in their remote farmhouse, before there is an unexpected knock on the door in the middle of a terrible and foreboding storm. Barely 10 minutes in and you are already suspicious of Mama, the set-up they have on the farm, and Matty (Harry Cadby) a troubled young man standing in the rain on the doorstep while his unconcious brother Jack (Neil Linpow) lies bleeding on the porch after their car ran off the road in the storm.
Tonight isn’t going to go the way anyone expected.
After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain. Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.(IMDB)
There was a lot of talk around SMILE when it was released but I didn’t get a chance to see it at the cinema. Since then, I have heard a lot of varying reports on how good it was, from the whole range of opinions; from one of the best of 2022 to literally one of the worst! So, when it turned up on streaming, we thought, let’s give it a go, how bad can it be?
Follows two best friends on their final night together, with a nightmare of drugs, bugs, and horrific intimacy. (IMDB)
If you are willing to eschew the body horror expectations that the poster promises and don’t think too hard about the plot, there is enough to enjoy. If you’re a big Cronenberg fan and are looking for a gory, body horror fix, then this isn’t the film for you.
See the full review at Ginger Nuts of Horror HERE.
A Spotify Original – GIMLET MEDIA Quiet Part Loud, created by Monkeypaw Productions, written by Mac Rogers and Clay McLeod Chapman. Directed by Mimi O’Donnell.
Disgraced radio host Rick Egan (Tracy Letts) has finally found his chance at reinventing himself: by chronicling the cold-case disappearance of several Muslim teens from Staten Island—a group he himself disparaged—in the wake of 9/11. But Rick soon discovers this is no ordinary hate crime, as his ill-considered investigations bring him face-to-face with an ancient American evil that’s ready to offer him a monstrous bargain.
QPL is every bit as good as you would expect from something that has been anywhere near Monkeypaw Productions and, as my first audio drama, I was very impressed.
Dark Mark Writing 