Horror Weekly

Brian Schell and Kevin L. Knights
  • 4.5 (4)
  • Film Reviews
  • Updated Weekly

Join Kevin and Brian for a weekly podcast episode. Every Friday, the guys release both a video and audio podcast episode that covers everything new in horror, along with a handful of great (and awful) movie reviews! www.horrorweekly.com

  1. 15h ago

    Passenger, New Year’s Absolution, Underworld, and The Stepford Wives

    We’ve got another fun mix of films for you this week. We’ll start off with “Passenger,” a fun road trip film. Next, we’ll celebrate New Year a bit late with “New Year’s Absolution,” both of which are newish releases. For our classics, we’ll watch the first of five “Underworld” films, and then go way back and visit “The Stepford Wives” of 1975. And we’ve got a very weird short film this week as well. All this, as well as the latest issue of “Horror Monthly,” issue #58, for July 2026, is out now! Check out all the back issues, as well as our other books, with one easy link: https://horrormonthly.com Mainstream Films: 2026 Passenger * Directed by: André Øvredal * Written by: Zachary Donohue, T.W. Burgess * Stars: Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, Melissa Leo * Run Time: 1 Hour, 37 Minutes * Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone A young couple living van life on the road encounter a car accident and end up unintentionally picking up a passenger while they are at it. It relies excessively on jump scares, but it’s quite good anyway. The main duo is really good together, and it’s well made. We were both entertained. Spoilery Synopsis Lucas and Daniel drive along the empty road late at night, and they’re both bored. They whine about Lucas’s dry mouth and needing to pee. Not long after, Lucas does have to pee, so they stop. When Lucas gets back to the car, Daniel is gone and the car is all scratched up. Suddenly, Daniel flies into the windshield, dropped from high up. Lucas gets back in the car and speeds away, but he keeps passing the same man on the side of the road, over and over. Credits roll. Maddie and Tyler pack up their big-city apartment to live in a van. They start their big road trip. Six weeks later, they’re living the mobile lifestyle, stuck in traffic and missing out on their reservations. Tyler proposes to her, right there in the van. Suddenly, a neighborhood watch guy bangs on the door and makes them move. They drive on, another hour to a motel. A car with a crazy driver overtakes them and passes; it’s Lucas, from earlier. He crashes the car not far ahead. The couple stops to help. Lucas starts to crawl out of the car, but something yanks him back in. Maddie hears something moving around out in the woods. They get to the motel for the night, but there just might be something hiding in their van. In the morning, they find a claw mark just like the one on Lucas’s car. The couple goes to a “Van Life” meetup, and there’s a lot of people there. Maddie notices a whole bunch of “Missing” posters on the wall. She meets a long-term van person, Diane, who vaguely warns her to stay off those lonely roads. That night, after leaving a gym, Maddie runs into some creepiness in the parking lot. The Passenger attacks her in the van, and she scares it off with Tyler’s St. Christopher medal. The dashcam that showed the man before, doesn’t work now. She tells Tyler, who doesn’t really believe any of this. Maddie buys a book that discusses “The Hobo Code” and learns that three slashes means “Not Safe,” and there’s a whole bunch of lore behind that. The van has three deep gashes in the side that won’t buff out. Maddie’s ready to go back to a normal life, but Tyler’s talking about living remotely forever. She’s hesitating marrying him because of the van thing; it’s not fun anymore. It seems like they’re just about to break up, when Tyler finally sees something unnatural. They run inside the van, and the creature shakes the whole thing crazily. Tyler can’t find his keys, so he gets back out of the van to look around for them. He sees the creature again, and now he understands what Maddie’s been telling him. “This thing latches onto you when you’re on the road,” Maddies explains. “Some people call him ‘The Passenger’.” Maddie wants to contact Diane, who seemed to know about the creature and warned her. They get a flat tire, and suddenly the bolts go missing. Something drags Madddie off while Tyler is stuck under the van. Maddie wakes up next to a car accident, where a car hit a motorcycle. Tyler catches up to her, no, it’s really the monster. The real Tyler shows up just in time to break the spell, and they drive off. They arrive at another camper meetup, looking for Diane. Diane just wants them to get out of here, as do all the many other campers. They all know about the trouble. “He’s the highwayman from Hell. It’s demonic!” There’s a St. Christopher church that might offer protection and weaken its powers. She offers to take them there. The demon kills Diane right there in front of them. Suddenly, it’s night again, and they’re still out on the road and almost out of gas. Maddie notices more Hobo Code symbols and follows them– off the road. They pass a bunch of old, deserted cars, all with the creature’s claw mark on them. Also, there are thousands of dead bodies in sheets, but Tyler doesn’t think those are real. But they all go “squish” and “thump” as the van drives over them. The demon appears inside the van and torments Tyler before being thrown outside. When Maddie reaches the holy grounds of the church, the creature starts to smoke and steam. She drives right through the wall of the church, with the creature on the hood, and he’s not happy about it. She ends up impaling him on the St. Christopher statue’s sword. The demon melts in front of her. The church explodes in fire, and Maddie gets out of the van to escape. She meets up with Tyler. Still, they’re out in the middle of the desert with no van or supplies. Somehow, the police show up (why? how?). Maddie and Tyler agree to get married and buy a normal house. Brian’s Commentary It’s the “Van Life” horror movie. The YouTubers all make this look like a fun lifestyle, but the movie shows the other side of it. Living in a van, your life will be full of overloud jump-scares. It looks good, it’s very well paced; the acting is good. Overall, I liked it a lot, but there are a lot of jump scares. Kevin’s Commentary It was heavy on the jump scares to make them a little predictable and annoying. Other than that, it’s a movie that moves well, and I thought the casting was excellent. There wasn’t a lot new here, but I enjoyed it. 2024 New Year’s Absolution * Directed by: Nick Leisure * Written by: Damion Stephens * Stars: Michael Copon, Joel Brady, Josh Gilmer * Run Time: 1 Hour, 25 Minutes * Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone A group of eight friends get together for a New Year’s Eve party. The movie takes a while letting us get to know the group. It’s short enough that the pacing moves things along really well. Then something happens and leads to something else, and it ends up being the worst party ever. It’s got some horror elements, but it seemed more like a crime thriller. We both thought it was very good. Spoilery Synopsis Claire and Damon are expecting guests for New Year’s Eve. Stuart and Travis are the first to arrive, with their dog. Travis brings his weird little dog, Cookie, to the party. They talk about Stuart’s new $50,000 antique car that doesn’t even have airbags. Jacob and Misty show up next, and he might be a fitness nut on steroids. Roy and Kira come last, and they’ve brought drugs. It starts raining, so Roy and Kira go to the bathroom for sex while Misty watches from afar. After, the four men play a game where they write out New Year’s resolutions and then draw them out of a hat. They have to try to do the thing over the next year. Stuart gets to write a novel. Roy has to apologize to someone. Damon has to do something for his spouse, even if it hurts. Jacob’s says he has to kill someone. Jacob gets angry and goes to leave. The others try to stop him, and he shows them that he’s got a gun. He then uses it to accidentally shoot Travis in the leg. Roy, who’s a doctor, starts working on the leg when his drugs begin to kick in. No one wants to call the cops because that’ll ruin Jacob’s career, so they put him in the bathtub to hold the bleeding. Damon tells the story of Ben, the fifth friend who died in a game-related sporting accident in 2014. Kira suggests the whole thing is just done to show off. They go back in to check on Travis who is very, very dead now. “People don’t just look the other way when white cops shoot gay black dudes, bro,” Jacob whines. Roy and Jacob, who are both at fault, cook up a plan to explain it all in the morning. Misty, who thinks Travis is hot, sneaks into the bathroom and finds he’s dead. She looks down his pants and leaves, oblivious to him being dead. Meanwhile, Damon is obsessed with cleaning up blood stains on the hardwood floors. It’s time for the countdown to the new year! As the others celebrate, Stuart finds Travis’s body. Kira says, “You couldn’t even wait till midnight to kill someone,” she says, also adding that Roy killed a patient out of negligence because of their game last year. Soon, she’s dead too. Claire and Damon come in and learn what’s been going on. Damon’s upset about the blood on the floor. Misty starts threatening everyone, which annoys Claire. Why not go for three? Claire stabs Misty. They pull out the knife, and she bleeds out all over Damon’s floor. Jacob then empties his gun into Claire. Jacob, Roy, and Stuart talk about their secrets. Damon snaps, comes out of nowhere, and strangles Jacob with the Christmas lights. Stuart didn’t do anything, but Roy says he will blame him for Kira’s death if he doesn’t help cover things up. Stuart runs outside, where he’s attacked by Damon, and both wind up in the swimming pool. Damon, who can’t swim, drowns. Now Stuart’s killed someone too. Roy comes up with a story that covers, well, some of it. Roy then spikes Stuart’s drink with all his drugs. Roy amends his story to include Stuart overdosing on medications. Roy then calls 911, he just woke up because

  2. Jul 12

    Obsession, Hungry, The Black Sleep, I Spit on Your Grave, and Project: Blackwing

    We’ve got another fun mix of films for you this week. We’ll start off with the much-hyped “Obsession.” Is it as good as the Internet hype machine claims? How about “Hungry,” a movie literally based on Hungry Hungry Hippos. That couldn’t be any good… could it? We’ll then watch something really unusual. What if Star Wars was a horror film? “Project: Blackwing” is exactly that. We’ll then watch a couple of vintage classics, “The Black Sleep” from 1956 and “I Spit on Your Grave” from 1978. Good stuff! All this, as well as the latest issue of “Horror Monthly,” issue #58, for July 2026, is out now! Check out all the back issues, as well as our other books, with one easy link: https://amzn.to/4vlSZv3 Mainstream Films: 2026 Obsession * Directed by: Curry Barker * Written by: Curry Barker * Stars: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson * Run Time: 1 Hour, 48 Minutes * Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone A guy taps into some magic to make a wish that his crush will like him back. And the movie proceeds into a lesson of be careful what you wish for. It’s said that it was made on a small budget, but you wouldn’t know it. The pacing, direction, effects, story, and cast are all excellent. It’s an all around very good movie. We both really enjoyed it. Spoilery Synopsis Bear tells Nikki how much he loves her, and that she’s out of his league. No– he’s just rehearsing with friends; he could never tell the real Nikki all that. He’s afraid to even flirt with the real girl. Ian tries to give him tips on asking her out, but it’s obviously not going to work. Bear gets home and finds out his cat got into his drugs and died, which makes his day even worse. Credits roll. Nikki calls and wants Bear to meet her for trivia night, the one thing Ian warned him not to do. He goes to a store to buy her a necklace, but instead, he finds a “One Wish Willow,” which supposedly grants wishes. The clerk tells him not to come back and complain. After a trivia night with Ian and Sarah, Bear drives Nikki home. They talk, and she’s going to quit her job, where she works with him. We see that Sarah really likes Bear, but he only has eyes for Nikki. He’s just too shy to say anything and blows the opportunity badly. He forgot to give her the “One Wish Willow,” so he opens it himself. “I wish Nikki would love me more than anyone in the f*****g world!” Nikki comes back to the car, and her attitude seems different; she invites him inside. No, she wants to go to his place. He doesn’t want to take advantage, but she doesn’t make that easy, since she wants him to sleep in the same bed with her. Turns out, she doesn’t want to do any sleeping. Occasionally, she seems to “wake up” from whatever is controlling her. Bear Googles the One Wish Willow to see if they really work, and the consensus is “No,” they’re a scam. In the morning, Nikka has made a really gross memorial to Bear’s dead cat. At work, he tries to explain the previous night to Ian, but he doesn’t understand it. Nikki spends all day at work just staring at Bear. That night, Nikki shows up dressed for their date, and Bear didn’t even know they had one. She apologizes for being on MDMA last night, and she doesn’t remember much about last night. Soon, they are inseparable. Ian notices the sudden change in Nikki and tells Bear that something is wrong. Bear just has no confidence at all, and Nikki loves that more than anyone in the world. He knows what’s up, but he doesn’t stop, either. She watches him sleep. She wears his clothes. She gets just a little bossy. In the morning, he makes her promise “No more weird stuff.” Except he soon finds that she’s taped the door shut so he can’t go to work today. Sarah also thinks that Nikki is playing some kind of game with Bear, but he knows better. Sarah complains about the notes someone keeps sending her at work. Is Bear’s lunch sandwich made of weeks-old dead cat? Bear notices a customer-service phone number on the box of the One Wish Willow and calls it. The man on the other end says he can cancel the wish, but he can’t modify it. No, just kidding, he can’t cancel it either. “As long as you live,” says the man. “If you die, the wish will go away.” The man puts the real Nikki on the phone, and all she does is scream. At Ian’s party, Niki reads a story she’s been working on, and it’s…. Weird. The party games get awkward– really awkward. The party ends badly. It gets to the point where she waits outside the bathroom door when he has to pee. Bear tries to explain to Nikki that this is not normal. He just wants her to be normal. Later that night, Bear gets a text from Sarah, who wants to meet him in the park. “Kill me, please,” says Nikki without moving her mouth. Bear sneaks out to meet Sarah, who wants to know what’s going on. She explains that Nikki and Ian had been hooking up for years, and he believes this whole thing is to get back at him. Suddenly, Nikki shows up and beats Sarah to death with a brick. “This is all your fault,” she explains. Bear goes back to the occult shop, covered with blood, to buy another One Wish Willow, and the man inside knows all about them. It’s called ONE wish willow for a reason, since you only get one chance. Maybe he could get someone else to make a new wish. Ian says Sarah keeps texting him from Bear’s house, wanting him to come over. Nikki’s trying to lure him to his death. Bear explains about the wishes. Ian wishes for a billion dollars instead, and it starts raining money from the sky. Almost immediately after, Nikki shoots Ian in the head. Knowing this will end with his death, Bear puts the gun in his mouth and can’t do it. Instead, he takes a bunch of pills. He kisses her and falls over, dead. The spell is broken. Nikki wakes up and starts screaming. Brian’s Commentary How’s she going to explain all this to the police? It starts out normal enough, but spirals more and more out of control. The pacing is really good, it never slows down even a little bit. It’s pretty great. Kevin’s Commentary The most awful romance movie ever. But a great horror movie. I think I’d agree with the positive hype around this movie. It is a really good one. The whole package, all the elements are there. 2026 Hungry * Director: James Nunn * Writers: James Nunn * Stars: Madison Davenport, Tracey Bonner, Joaquim de Almeida, Michel Curiel, Samantha Coughlan, Olivia Bernstone, Jim Meskimen * Runtime: 93 minutes (1 hour 33 minutes) * Trailer Link: Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone A rogue hippopotamus in the Louisiana swamp makes sport of a tour group there to see the gators. It’s a very serious movie, supposedly loosely based or inspired by the action board game “Hungry, Hungry Hippos,” but it’s not for kids. It takes a little while to get to the mayhem, but it’s pretty realistic in how it gets there. It was a better than average people vs nature creature feature. Spoilery Synopsis We open on a swamp, with all the usual wildlife. There’s an alligator out there, but something big that we don’t see eats it. Credits roll. It’s New Orleans. Sistine (Tina) and Hannah talk to Rodrigo about an alligator tour in the bayou. Tina gets the phone call that she’s been fired for taking her approved vacation days. In the morning, the girls get on “Gator Joe’s” tour bus. There’s an older guy Tim, his daughter Sally, and her son, Mike, along as well. Dionne is there too. Rodrigo is their driver and tour guide. The group stops at the gift ship for a look at the trinkets and bones. Mr. Walker claims that the most dangerous creature he ever killed was a hippopotamus in Africa. He explains that they’re vegetarian, but they’re still more dangerous than you’d think. He explains that at the turn of the century, hippos were brought over here as a food source to replace cows, but it never caught on. The boat leaves, and Rodrigo homes in on the alligators, which all have tracking devices on them. They arrive where “Big Ben,” the largest alligator is supposed to be, but he doesn’t appear. They soon find Ben, torn into pieces, on the bank of the river. Tim gets scared; Dionne wants in closer for a better photo. They all start to argue. Something big hits the boat and capsizes it. Rodrigo gets injured, and everyone gets on the bottom of the capsized boat. Some of them climb into nearby trees. Rodrigo admits that they’re off course, as he took a bribe from Dionne to see Big Ben. Hannah thinks old man Tim, a retired firefighter, is pretty hot. Dionne just wants out of all this. Sistine is depressed about her mother’s medical bills and her lost job. The hippo returns, smashes into the tree, and knocks Hannah into the water. Tim and Sistine jump in to help, but both Tim and Hannah become hippo chow. They all see what kind of animal they’re dealing with now. Back at Gator Joe’s they notice the boat is five hours late returning. Walker has a tracker on all the boats and goes looking for them, alone. Next, we get a contrived scene where Sistine has to dive under the boat to retrieve the tracker and finds Hannah’s body under there. They pour gasoline in the water to scare off the hippo. They retrieve the tracker and turn it on, which alerts Walker as to where they are. The group watches as Walker’s boat approaches in the dark; he says it’s impossible that it could be a hippo. Everyone gets into his boat. Dionne goes berserk and pushes Mike into the water, and he’s promptly swallowed. Walker says there’s a change of plan: they’re all getting back up into the trees. He’s got some tranquilizers, but they might not be enough for the huge hippo. Sally, who just lost her father and her son, jumps into the water and swims off into the fog. The hippo attacks, bites Walker in the leg, but Rodrigo shoots it with one of the tranquilizers before dying. Walker, Sistine, and Dion

  3. Jul 5

    Palm Springs International Short Film Fest

    Last year, we did a bunch of horror short films that were presented at the Palm Springs International Shortfest, and guess what? They’re back again this year for more great shorts. We’ve got nine great shorts this time around. Unfortunately for us, they’re all still on the festival circuit, so we can’t include links to watch them, but if you keep your eye open for them, you may be able to spot a few of these later this year! All this, as well as the latest issue of “Horror Monthly,” issue #58, for July 2026, is releasing soon! Check out all the back issues, as well as our other books, with one easy link: https://horrormonthly.com Short Films: 2025 Short Film: Hand * Directed by: Jennifer Winterbotham * Written by: Jennifer Winterbotham * Stars: Sharlene Cruz, Dario Vazquez, Emma Ramos * Run Time: 18 Minutes * Submitted as an entry in the “Palm Springs International ShortFest” What Happens Amber and Justin are in the process of breaking up, and she’s taking it badly. As she walks back to her car in a daze, she accidentally cuts her hand on a cactus. Out of the blue, Justin slits his wrists, but that’s OK because she’s got bandages. Or maybe that was a dream. Later, she talks to her friend on the phone, and we see the cut on her hand and the breakup are real. At work, her hand starts bothering her, and she continues to hallucinate Justin. What exactly is going on here? Commentary So many horror movies could simply be avoided if people actually went to the doctor! Anyway, on to the important question— does mustard expire? We know something is off about Amber right from the beginning, but finding out the specifics takes some time, and it’s all very suspenseful. The hallucinations are really well done with the accompanying special effects. Great! 2026 Short Film: The End is at Hand * Directed by: Japhet E. Velazquez * Written by: Sam Gallen * Stars: Efren Ramirez, Richard Kind * Run Time: 9 Minutes * Submitted as an entry in the “Palm Springs International ShortFest” What Happens Frank calls the phone repair place, and he’s not happy about how long it’s taking to get his phone back. Meanwhile, the repairman gets to work on his phone and pulls out something gooey. Wait— is that blood? The repairman’s never had a job like this before! Commentary Richard Kind is getting up there in years, but his voice is still identifiable and hilarious. The creature and body horror effects are very good, and it’s obvious exactly what’s going on at all times. And be sure to continue watching (and listening) through the closing credits. 2025 Short Film: Ce qu’on laisse derrière / What We Leave Behind * Directed by: Jean-Sebastien Hamel, Alexandra Myotte * Written by: Jean-Sebastien Hamel, Alexandra Myotte * Stars: Jack Jackel, Jean-Sebastien Hamel * Run Time: 11 Minutes * Submitted as an entry in the “Palm Springs International ShortFest” What Happens Dan tries to watch TV, but his neck has a huge hole in it, so his head won’t sit up straight. He gets drunk and breaks into the hockey rink, where he hallucinates getting beat up. The guard comes in and sees the hole in his neck. What’s going on here? Commentary It is animated in a very psychedelic, dreamlike way, and it’s interesting to watch one thing develop into the next. Dan is remembering his tormented, bullied youth, and it’s not pleasant. We eventually find out about his neck-hole, and it’s not a fun trip. 2025 Short Film: MANTIS STREAM! LIKE & SUBSCRIBE * Directed by: Sarah Maerten, Lincoln Robisch * Written by: Sarah Maerten, Lincoln Robisch * Stars: Joseph Anthony Carroll, Sarah Maerten, Donald Inn * Run Time: 9 Minutes * Submitted as an entry in the “Palm Springs International ShortFest” What Happens A man proposes to a woman dressed like a praying mantis. It’s all a part of their livestream show. Craig is all very serious, but Mandy is only in it for likes and subscribes. He asks her for a mantis egg, and she pours them down his throat. Craig, on the other hand, chokes on the egg. She can’t help him because of her costume. The paramedics show up, and they’re into the “likes” again. Craig staggers outside, where the police are filming a thing, and he’s dying the whole time. Will Craig be OK? Will he get enough likes? Commentary It’s really dumb, but it’s also a representation of streamer culture, doing anything for likes. It gets weirder and weirder as it progresses, and it’s all really well done. The special effects are really impressive once it gets going as well. If you agree with my review, LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE! 2026 Short Film: Don’t Puke * Directed by: Daniel Chisholm * Written by: Daniel Chisholm * Stars: Janka Horakova, Claire Uicker, Mitra Adib-Moghaddam * Run Time: 9 Minutes * Submitted as an entry in the “Palm Springs International ShortFest” What Happens It’s Charlie’s birthday, and she’s out with her friends drinking… heavily. She leaves the bar looking for food and staggers around trying hard not to puke. As she walks up to Kebab Castle, she watches as another woman pukes and barely manages not to join in. Will she succeed? Commentary When that room starts spinning, there’s no getting off the ride. Anyone who’s tried to avoid barfing knows the terror involved. It’s fun, and fairly effective body horror at that! 2026 Short Film: Imago * Directed by: Ariel Zengotta * Written by: Ariel Zengotta * Stars: Didi Romero, Josh Plasse, Denise Blazer * Run Time: 13:20 * Submitted as an entry in the “Palm Springs International ShortFest” What Happens It’s Ana’s birthday, and everyone sings. She sees a bug on the table and just stares at it. Later, she laughs at Billy’s gringo accent. Things soon devolve to him admitting that he loves her. Ana’s mother calls, and they both panic ridiculously. Ana’s mother is having some kind of emergency, so Ana has to leave in a hurry. When Ana pulls back the covers, we see that her mother is turning into a big bug— that doesn’t keep her from arguing with Ana. “I’ve got like sixteen f*****g legs now!” And then it gets weird… Commentary The bug creature is really well done. The mother-daughter dynamics are more than a little on-the-nose. It’s very funny, and very well done. 2026 Short Film: Scissors * Directed by: Hanna Alline * Written by: Hanna Alline * Stars: Ethan Embry, Jenna Kanell, Georgia Bridgers * Run Time: 12 Minutes * Submitted as an entry in the “Palm Springs International ShortFest” What Happens A woman buys beer in a convenience store and flashes the clerk. A stranger, Terry, watches her do it, and he follows her out. Terry calls his ex on the phone, and she hates him so much it’s on her answering machine. Terry’s a stalker/serial killer, but he’s chosen the wrong house… Commentary Don’t mess with the lesbians! Terry’s maybe the worst stalker ever; he talked himself right out of the whole thing. Then again, sometimes a stalker isn’t the worst guy at the party. Very well done! 2025 Short Film: I have A * Directed by: Rory WT * Written by: Rory WT * Stars: Nathan Rizwan (animated) * Run Time: 5 Minutes * Submitted as an entry in the “Palm Springs International ShortFest” What Happens An animated man decides to list all the good things in life. Somehow, this goes terribly wrong. Commentary Horror? Well, it’s life and death; sometimes it’s pretty horrific. The animation is fun, and the rhyme is amazing. It kept reminding me of the “Pen Pineapple Apple Pen” from a few years ago. 2025 Short Film: What Are Grandchildren Made Of? * Directed by: Lindsey Susor * Written by: Lindsey Susor * Stars: Mike Gassaway, Jeanine Henry, Loralei Godwin * Run Time: 12 Minutes * Submitted as an entry in the “Palm Springs International ShortFest” What Happens Lilly’s grandfather forgot and left her in the car for many hours, and now she’s dead. Or is she? No, she’s back alive again. She can respawn after death. “You think this can help us pay off our car?” asks Grandma. Grandpa takes her out back and shoots her in the head. Then he goes inside, grabs, and does it again. Soon, there’s a whole pile of dead Lillys in the backyard. Yes, Grandpa’s found a way to pay off the car. Commentary So THAT’s how organ harvesting works. This is really clever and funny, and it actually makes sense, in a twisted way. The ending is great as well. Oops! Contact Info: Email: mailto:email@horrorguys.com Websites: * https://www.horrorguys.com * https://www.horrormonthly.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.horrorweekly.com/subscribe

  4. Jun 28

    Love is the Monster, Hold the Fort, Animals, Planet of the Apes, and Lost Highway

    We’re back with another collection of five films, some new, some not so much. We’ll open with the comedic “Hold the Fort” and then the not-funny-at-all “Love is the Monster,” both new releases. We’ll take a look at a creepy, long-ish short film, “Animals,” also from this year. We’ll then watch a couple of vintage films, “Planet of the Apes” and “Lost Highway.” Mostly good stuff! All this, as well as the latest issue of “Horror Monthly,” issue #57, for June 2026, is available! Check out all the back issues, as well as our other books, with one easy link: https://horrormonthly.com Mainstream Films: 2025 Hold the Fort * Director: William Bagley * Writers: William Bagley (written by), Scott Hawkins (story) * Stars: Haley Leary, Chris Mayers, Julian Smith, Tordy Clark, Hamid-Reza Benjamin Thompson * Runtime: 74 minutes * Official Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone Because they didn’t read their home owners association contract, a young couple find themselves in a battle with assorted creatures from a hell portal. It’s very funny while being full on horror with a gory body count. The effects, cast, and script were all very good. We thought it was really entertaining. Spoilery Synopsis An old man and woman argue about defending the house against something. There’s something wrong with their land, and she wants to sell the place. He refuses, but he may not have a choice. When the realtor and a new buyer come to look at the house in the morning, there are bullets everywhere and the old woman, covered in blood, says “We’ll sell.” Credits roll as a whole new subdivision is built on the spot. Lucas argues with Jenny about moving into a place with an HOA. She’s not a fan of HOAs, but he thinks it’s all pretty cool. They get an invitation to the annual equinox party tonight. Jerry, the HOA guy, shows up at the door. “Welcome to the Equinox. Please don’t die” says the banner at the party. Ted and Annette say there’s plenty of weird stuff that goes on here. They explain the legend of the equinox; once a year, a portal from Hell opens up and all kinds of creatures pour out to kill. The “Fort” that was here defends against the monsters, so now they can all get drunk and celebrate. Ted asks, “Can you shoot? You can always tell which neighbors are gonna last.” Jerry starts his presentation, and he talks about expecting a horde of witches. “Magic can’t stop bullets,” but the price of silver is going to limit their werewolf defenses. The Stick Man might be the worst of all of them, the leader of the dark army. Then there’s a raffle and Lucas wins a shotgun. Everyone jokes that there’s no way Lucas is going to survive the night. Jerry freaks out and says “They’re early tonight!” and everyone goes on full alert. We get a glimpse of the Hell portal, wide open outside. The witches attack, and one man dies right away, splattering Lucas with blood. McScruffy, the local weapons guy, shows up, and he’s armed for witches. It’s all very violent, but the witches are soon dead. Lucas, who doesn’t know guns, shoots McScruffy in the leg. Jerry explains that this is all pretty standard HOA stuff “Gotta pay for bullets and s**t,” he explains, which is why the fees are so high. Jerry then passes out because he ate too many cheesesticks with muscle relaxers in them. Three of the men inside the house turn into zombies. There’s a crazy battle, and soon there are five zombies. Everyone hides in the closet. Lucas tries to call 911, but they keep hanging up on him. “Didn’t you read anything in your HOA contract?” Ted explains that there’s no property tax here, so the portal to Hell is generally worth it. They explain about the kung-fu spirits that control the zombies, and Lucas thinks he can get to the special sword. When they get out of the closet, the zombies are gone. The fog rolls in. “He’s here,” says Jerry. Ted gives Lucas a sort of pep talk as they hear a werewolf outside. The two finally defeat the kung-fu zombies by working together. Suddenly, a huge werewolf shows up, and it takes forever for Jenny to figure out how to load the gun with silver bullets. Ted gets killed in the meantime, but that doesn’t keep him down. Lucas uses the mini-chainsaw on him. Lucas apologizes to Jenny for moving into an HOA. She says she would have liked the place under different circumstances. Jerry and Annette say that there’s another wave coming. Jerry wants to mix things up by attacking the portal with Annette’s moonshine bottles. Lucas, with McScruffy duct-taped on his back, runs toward the portal with a huge load of moonshine as they are swarmed by kamikaze bats. They fall down and lose the moonshine, but McScruffy has a huge bomb strapped to his chest, so that’s Plan B. Back in the clubhouse, something grabs Jerry, leaving Jenny and Annette alone. It suddenly gets really cold, and the Stick Man shows up just in time to kill Annette. As he moves in to kill Jenny, Lucas helps McScruffy to jump into the Hell portal with his bomb. As the portal explodes, so do the remaining monsters. One year later, new people move into the HOA, and Jerry shows up to invite them to a party tonight. Lucas and Jenny don’t expect anything will happen this year, and they’re part of the HOA. As the closing credits roll, we see the power of cocaine in large quantities. Brian’s Commentary Always read your HOA contract. At least now we really understand what those fees are for. It’s fast-paced, funny, and has excellent effects. I thought it was pretty great. Kevin’s Commentary This was really a lot of fun. Which continues into the closing credits with some outtakes. It’s well made and entertaining. 2026 Love is the Monster * Director: Alex Noyer * Writers: Alex Noyer, Hannu Aukia, Blair Bathory * Stars: Madeline Zima, Leonardo Nam, Kimberly-Sue Murray, Moe Jeudy-Lamour, Kristina Tonteri-Young, Milla Puolakanaho, Sheila McCarthy * Runtime: 86 minutes * Official Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone Multiple couples go on a therapy retreat in Finland, which is unfortunately the home of an ancient goddess of love who damages her playthings. Things aren’t quite right from the beginning and only go downhill from there. It’s well put together, a little on the slow side, but overall pretty good. We were entertained. Spoilery Synopsis We watch a commercial for a romantic retreat for couples. Lempo has many testimonials of people that it’s helped. “Free your hearts in the name of love,” the woman, Tina, says. We then cut to some kind of blood ritual of Lempo that involves glowing eyes and human sacrifice. Credits roll. Ana wakes up, hearing a bird inside the house. She doesn’t find a bird but does find the ghost of her dead boyfriend outside. Justin wakes up inside, and he has a weird vision as well. There’s no phones allowed in this resort, but it’s only three days, so they’ll probably survive that. They come outside and meet the rest of the guests: Harper says this place isn’t for everyone, but doesn’t get to finish her thought. They all notice the many loud birds on the island, and then Tina, their host, arrives. Tina shows an unusual interest in Ana, but mostly ignores Justin. Tina is weird. Blake introduces herself and mentions that Lempo is a Finnish word, and it’s also the goddess of birds. All the guests convene in the sauna, and they all beat each other with tree branches. After, something attacks Ana in the lake. She then starts noticing various people’s eyes glowing oddly. The group does an exercise looking at each other in broken mirrors and Ana sees Marko, her dead boyfriend, once again. Justin has no idea who Marko is; Tina accuses Justin of being unfaithful. Tina knows that Ana blames herself for Marko’s death. Everyone then gets naked and goes swimming after Tina paints herself with blood. There is much frolicking, and even Ana and Justin go at it. All the couples pair off for sex, and each pair behaves differently as Tina does a ritual. An old ghost-woman appears to watch all of them, as their eyes all glow. By the time they’re all done, one couple is dead; Petri and Blake dispose of the bodies. In the morning, Ana and Justin argue about their respective affairs. Ana runs outside and sees Tina and Petri being weird in the woods. All the guests are surprisingly hostile with each other. Ana wants to go home, and Justin thinks a lot of the strangeness is all in her head, which just makes her angrier. Petri explains that she can’t leave, as it’s Midsummer and all the taxis have shut down. Everyone wanders around outside, and they all notice just how many birds, both alive and dead, are all over the place. Ana sees Marko again, and this time, she follows him. Tina starts another ritual, and the old bird-woman, Lempo, is there. Everyone is in a trance except for Ana, who is there unwillingly. Tina cuts the old woman’s throat and puts the blood in a cup. Tina wants Ana to be Lempo’s new vessel; she forces Ana to drink the blood. Everyone else is some kind of trance. Justin and Harper have sex right there in front of everyone. Lance, Harper’s husband, wakes up and causes trouble while Blake grabs Ana and runs off into the woods. Blake admits that Marko was her half-brother, and she’s part of the Lempo cult. Petri sneaks up and stabs Blake in the back before coming after Ana. Some of the other couples have lethal difficulties. After killing Harper, Ana grabs a rowboat and heads away from the island– at least until Justin shows up begging her to come back for him. She’s captured once again. Tina and Petri use Justin to sacrifice Ana to Lempo. He resists, and ends up stabbing Tina. Petri prays to Lempo, who brings Tina back to life. Tina then rips out his heart with her bare hand. Out of nowhere, Blake, who isn’t dead, shows up and calls on a different Finnish god to stop Lempo-Tina. Blake doesn’t live long after

  5. Jun 21

    All Five “Prophecy” Movies 1995-2005

    Hey guys– we took the week off. Instead of new films, we’re posting five films that were originally published as “member only” reviews from HorrorWeekly.com. Yes, this time, we’re looking at all the Christopher Walken “Prophecy” films, from 1995 to 2005. Some were great, some weren’t, but hey, it’s Walken, so we were enthralled. Mostly. All this, as well as the latest issue of “Horror Monthly,” issue #57, for June 2026, is available! Check out all the back issues, as well as our other books, with one easy link: https://horrormonthly.com Mainstream Films: The Prophecy (1995) * Directed by Gregory Widen * Written by Gregory Widen * Stars Christopher Walken, Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen, Eric Stoltz, Viggo Mortenson * Run Time: 1 Hour, 38 Minutes * Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone It’s an interesting take on ideas of creation and good versus evil. It’s helped a lot by a strong cast, with Christopher Walken being an especially bright spot with what he brings to the movie. It’s a little slow at the beginning but builds well. We’d give it a thumbs up. Spoilery Synopsis Simon says that he remembers the first war, Hell was created and many angels died. Lucifer fell and it was all terrible. He never thought there would be another war… Credits roll. We cut to a big church in the middle of a ritual to ordain new priests. Thomas Dagget watches the process, but when it’s his turn to be ordained, he has a weird vision and screams. Years later, Thomas is now a police detective; “Heaven showed me too much.” Simon is perched unnaturally on a chair. Simon pulls out Thomas’s thesis; he wrote about angels. He smells something and then stops a demon who breaks through the window. He pokes out the demon’s eyes and then throws the demon out the window, and Thomas comes to investigate. The only lead is a newspaper from Chimney Rock. In Chimney Rock, it’s a funeral for an old man who died at age 85. Simon is there, clearly injured from his battle. He opens the old corpse’s mouth and kisses him. The coroner tells Thomas that the dead man never had eyes, and he’s very weird overall with both male and female sex organs. He was carrying an old handwritten Bible with an extra book at the end about a second war in Heaven. Gabriel checks out the room where Simon and the demon fought. He smells things. He talks to Jerry, who looks post-suicidal. He wants Jerry to steal stuff from the police station evidence room. Mary is playing hide and seek and finds Simon. Katherine, her teacher, comes looking for her and has a conversation with Simon, who’s hiding upstairs. He gives Mary something, and she gets sick. Katherine drives Mary home to the reservation. Thomas translates the new book and it predicts a new war of the angels and demons, that hasn’t happened yet. The weird corpse in the morgue is Usiel, an angel. Meanwhile, Gabriel finds the body in the morgue and burns it. Jerry recovers all Usiel’s things, but the Bible isn’t there. The two of them set off for Chimney Rock. Gabriel calls Jerry a “talking monkey,” his name for humans. They dig up the body of the old man Simon already met. The soul that Gabriel wants is gone from the man now. Gabriel tracks down Simon; he wants that soul. He does not want to be replaced by talking monkeys. Gabriel sets Simon on fire, demanding to know where the soul is. Katherine comes to school and the police are there, looking at what’s left of Simon. Meanwhile, Mary, a Native American, is acting sick, so her people pray over her. Thomas arrives at the cemetery where the old man is being buried a second time. The gravedigger tells Thomas about Simon’s body being found. He talks to Katherine, who mentions Mary and her strange illness. Thomas researches the old Colonel, who was accused of doing human sacrifices during the war; there’s even a film. The old man even left behind a box full of faces. He was a special kind of evil, which makes his soul a weapon that Gabriel wants. Thomas goes to the church and Gabriel finds him there. He’s weird but doesn’t really do anything. Mary dreams about the old Colonel. Gabriel visits the school and looks inside the children’s mouths for the soul. Thomas and Katherine visit Mary; she’s got the old Colonel’s soul inside her. Thomas knows that the angels want that dead, psychotic Colonel. She tells him about Gabriel. Katherine takes Thomas to the old shut-down copper mine; she thinks Gabriel is in there. They see thousands of angels, impaled on spikes. Thomas and Katherine go to Mary’s house and find Gabriel there. Jerry attacks Thomas while Katherine tries to distract Gabriel. Katherine shoots the propane tank and blows up the house, which clobbers Gabriel. But Mary says that to really kill Gabriel, they need to cut his heart out. The good guys take Mary to the Indian village to have a magic procedure done. Mary tells Thomas that this place is defensible; “One man could hold off an entire battalion.” Since Jerry’s dead for real now, he needs a new servant. He goes to the hospital and resurrects Rachael, who committed suicide. Katherine gets a very special visit from Lucifer himself. He explains the angels’ motivations and purposes. The Colonel was the “blackest soul” on Earth, and Gabriel wants it to help him win. Lucifer is actually here to stop Gabriel. He makes her an offer. Gabriel and Rachael visit a local diner, and Rachael isn’t appreciating still being alive. Lucifer visits Thomas next and gives him some tips. Night falls, and Gabriel approaches the place where the Native Americans are doing their songs. Thomas has set up boobytraps for Gabriel. There’s a bit of a battle, and Lucifer ends up confronting and killing Gabriel. Meanwhile, the ritual completes and Mary coughs up the Colonel’s soul which is destroyed by light from Heaven. Lucifer wants Katherine and Thomas to go home with him, but they refuse. He leaves them unharmed. Brian’s Commentary I saw this when it came out and remembered this being more interesting than it was. About all I remembered from the original watch was the way the angels perched up above everything like birds; it’s still a neat touch. It’s very slow for the first hour, but the intensity of the last half hour is worth the wait. What really makes this movie is the casting. How did they get all these big-name people involved? It holds up pretty well; there are some subtle special effects, but they all mostly still work. It’s good! Kevin’s Commentary The cast really does help this one a lot, elevating the movie quite a bit. I also saw this when it came out, and this was my second viewing thirty years later. How time flies. I thought it held up well enough to entertain me overall. The Prophecy II (1998) * Directed by Greg Spence * Written by Gregory Widen, Matt Greenberg, Greg Spence * Stars Christopher Walken, Russell Wong, Jennifer Beals, Brittany Murphy, Eric Roberts * Run Time: 1 Hour, 27 Minutes * Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone This one was a little bit of a step down from the first one, but not too much. There are some new characters, and a couple of actors are replaced, but Christopher Walken is still here doing his thing, with a little more dark humor to liven things up. It’s a worthy sequel. Spoilery Synopsis We hear a voiceover from a man who has had visions of the end of Heaven and Earth as credits roll. Valerie Rosales is a nurse, and we open on her drive to work through the downtown area of the city– until someone falls onto her car. Meanwhile, at a monastery, there’s a bunch of screaming from one of the monks, Thomas Daggett, from the first movie. Lucifer walks in a dark alley and says it’s time for Thomas to go. He kisses the ground, which then breaks open and releases someone from Hell. We soon see that it’s Gabriel, and he goes straight to Thomas. He burns up Thomas and the whole apartment. Valerie talks to the man she hit with her car; he’s Danyael, and says he’s harder to kill than that. He’s being released, so they have a talk about her work and her lack of a husband. Naturally, they end up having sex a few moments later. This results in her getting visions of angels. Later, Danyael reports to his boss, who asks, “Is it done?” They are soon attacked by two opposing demons. They both beat the invaders, but Gabriel comes sniffing around afterward. He kills Danyael’s boss, Rafael. Valerie wakes up with a headache and her belly hurts. She gets a test, and sure enough, she’s pregnant, and it’s only been two days. The doctor says, no, she’s in the second trimester. We cut to Izzy and Julian, two whiny teens who are about to complete a suicide pact… as Gabriel watches. He swoops in afterward to revive Izzy; he needs a new servant. Valerie gets a call from the police; Danyael killed one of the demons, and they have the body. Joseph, the coroner from the first film, has seen this before, four years ago. He tells Valerie his experiences. A bit later, Gabriel burns that body as well. Valerie goes to see Father William about Thomas, and the old priest tells her what Thomas told him. He talks about a Nephilim, a child of angels and humans. She goes home and finds Gabriel there, waiting for her. Danyael breaks in and interrupts Gabriel before he can kill her. Danyael ends up taking her to a nearby church and tells her how important she is; she’s going to have a Nephilim. She doesn’t believe him, so he shows her his true form. He wants to take her to Michael for protection. Gabriel takes a radio and a gun from a policeman, and Izzy shoots herself with it, to no effect. He hears a report about a break in at a nearby church and goes right there; that’s where Valerie is. Danyael arrives just in time to rescue her, but he drops Father William’s book. Gabriel soon wakes up in the morgue and walks right out with Izzy. Meanwhile, Danyael takes Valerie to Eden, or what’s left of it to see Mi

  6. Jun 14

    Hokum, Iron Lung, Exit 8, Chum, and Return of the Living Dead II

    We’ve got a lot of newer movies this week plus one oldie. We’ll open with “Hokum,” a cool haunted hotel story. “Exit 8” is a weird import that’ll get under your skin. “Chum” and “Iron Lung” take us into two very different oceans. Lastly, we’ll have some fun with “Return of the Living Dead II” from 1988. All this, as well as the latest issue of “Horror Monthly,” issue #57, for June 2026, is available! Check out all the back issues, as well as our other books, with one easy link: https://horrormonthly.com Mainstream Films: 2026 Hokum * Directed by: Damian McCarthy * Written by: Damian McCarthy * Stars: Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot * Run Time: 1 Hour, 47 Minutes * Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone An American writer visits Ireland to scatter his parent’s ashes and do some writing. But there might be ghosts and witchery afoot, and his trip gets more complicated than he expected. Adam Scott does a good job in a dramatic role, and the whole thing is well put together. The script is excellent, and we both thought it was very entertaining. Spoilery Synopsis A man in armor wanders across the desert and consults a map. He soon runs out of water but sees a big circle in the sand. We cut back to a man writing a story about the conquistador in the desert. “They were doomed,” says the story. The writer, Ohm Bauman, gets distracted by someone in his house. A ghost? He considers shooting himself, but decides to go to Ireland instead (is that better?). Credits roll. Ohm soon arrives at the remote hotel in the woods. A man inside tells the story of a witch to two terrified children. Ohm arrives, and he’s already pretty judgmental of the locals. The old man is the owner of the hotel, and Ohm makes an impression on everyone. Ohm has a photo of his mother standing next to a big redwood tree, and he tracks down the tree. He pours out his parents’ ashes on the tree. An old man, Jerry, watches and offers him a drink of moonshine. He’s also got some psilocybin-laced milk. They talk about the local goats which have a tendency to climb on cars and mess up the paint. Fiona, one of the staff, talks about the honeymoon suite, which is supposed to be haunted. The owner, old man Cobb, has locked a witch inside, or so they say. He tells Fiona about his mother, who was shot in the face by someone too young to prosecute. Alby, the bellboy, also believes the story. Ohm says it’s all “Hokum” and gets snarky with the man. Not long after, Fiona finds Ohm hanging from the ceiling, apparently dead from suicide. Ohm wakes up in an elevator, in black-and-white land. He later wakes up for real in the hospital, after having a vision of his dead mother. When he recovers, he goes back to the hotel, which is about to close for the season. He learns that Fiona has gone missing since his incident– but she’s not the first. Old Jerry, the man with the milk, has also gone missing under suspicious circumstances. Ohm wonders if she might have gotten into the Honeymoon Suite. On the way out of town, Ohm runs into Jerry in the woods. Jerry admits he killed his sick wife, but he had nothing to do with Fiona’s disappearance. He’s seen her ghost, and he has the key to the suite. The plan is for Jerry to go back after the hotel is closed and empty, but now he invites Ohm to go with him. The two soon arrive at the hotel, now closed for the season, and go inside. Turns out, Fergal, the manager, is still there and he chokes out Jerry and ties him up. Fergal takes Jerry and drives away. Ohm, on the other hand, hears the bell ringing for the honeymoon suite. It’s been neglected for a long time. He goes to sleep and dreams about how he shot his own mother. Mal comes in and wakes him up. Mal insists that there’s nothing in the creepy basement elevator shaft. When ohm finds what’s left of Fiona, Mal locks him inside the suite. We get a flashback to Halloween night and what actually happened to Fiona. Mal drugged her and took her to the honeymoon suite, where he put her in the dumb waiter and left her. She left a recording explaining that she was pregnant by Mal, who wasn’t happy. Elsewhere, Jerry escapes from Fergal and jumps out of the van. After trying to get out of the suite, Ohm notices that Fiona’s body is gone. He then watches the best children’s TV show ever. He then figures out how to take the dumb waiter down to the basement. After a quick look around, he finds that he’s trapped down there as well. He sees someone else down there just as the dumb waiter returns him to the suite. The witch follows him right upstairs, and, as she closes in, he remembers what he’s been told about chalk circles and uses it. In the morning, Mal returns and finds Jerry trying to get into the honeymoon suite. Mal explains how he drove Ohm to the airport last night. Ohm rings the bell, and Jerry knows he’s there. Jerry heads up to the honeymoon suite to free Ohm while Mal sets up a fire to start before heading to the honeymoon suite himself with his crossbow. He kills Jerry and intends to lock Ohm in again but also gets locked in himself. Ohm goes back down to the basement, taking the key with him. Mak gets ready to follow him. The witch makes another appearance, but this time, Ohm knows how to protect himself and starts to draw a chalk circle, but the witch is right behind him and grabs him before he can complete it. Mal comes down and finds the key among the witch’s souvenirs, and she gets him too. Ohm talks to the ghost of his mother and makes peace with her. Ohm gets out; Mal does not. Ohm goes down to the main floor in the elevator and finds the whole place ablaze. He passes out, but Fergal comes in and finds him. Some time later, Ohm works on his book in the hospital when Alby comes for a visit. He explains that they found Fiona and Jerry’s bodies, but not Mal’s. Alby admits he spikes Ohm’s whisky with Jerry’s mushroom milk. Was anything he experienced real? He finishes his book, this time giving it the happy ending that Fiona wanted. Brian’s Commentary There’s gotta be a better way to break a glass bottle. What was with the goats? The business with Ohm’s mother’s death seems a little tacked on, and I didn’t have much to do with the main plot. It’s a really well-done haunted house story mixed with a murder mystery, and most of it makes sense. Overall, I liked it. Kevin’s Commentary It was strange seeing Adam Scott in such a grim and serious role after seeing him in so much comedy, but he does a really good job with it. He’s been in other horror films, such as “Krampus” and “The Monkey,” but those had a thread of humor. This movie does not. I liked the script. The elements of bad people doing bad things in tandem with supernatural forces. It was a winner! 2025 Exit 8 * Directed by: Genki Kawamura * Written by: Kotake Create, Kentaro Hirase, Genki Kawamura * Stars: Kazunari Ninomiya, Yamato Kochi, Naru Asanuma * Run Time: 1 Hour, 35 Minutes * Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone A man becomes trapped in an endless subway station and has to complete a mission to escape. Kind of like a video game, which this movie is based on. We are both in agreement that it’s a cool idea and very well made. We are split opinion though, with Brian finding it too repetitious, and Kevin finding it just about right. Spoilery Synopsis A man scrolls through his phone on a crowded train. A businessman yells at a crying baby, which is sure to help. It’s all pretty unpleasant, so he cranks up the music in his earbuds. The man’s girlfriend calls and asks where he is. She’s pregnant and wants him to come to the hospital. Our guy starts coughing uncontrollably and uses his inhaler. He’s in the subway tunnels, so his cell signal isn’t very good. He approaches Exit 8, the way out. Suddenly, he’s alone; all the people are gone. He passes one man walking– twice. Did he just walk in a circle? No, he’s very clearly not going in a circle, and then he passes that man again. About the fifth time passing, the strange man stops and smiles maniacally. It soon becomes clear that something weird is going on. The Lost Man The Lost Man notices a poster for an “Escher exhibition,” with one of those famous impossible loops on it. Suddenly, the poster drips blood. He finds a sign about finding anomalies and turning back. “Do not overlook any anomalies.” The man starts taking photos of everything to compare for anomalies, but the photos in the phone get corrupted. The smiling man, however, clearly isn’t normal. He passes the sign for Exit 1 and then Exit 2, so he must be doing it right. He passes the photo booth and lockers we’ve seen before, but this time, he hears a baby crying inside one of the lockers. No– all the lockers have babies, which could indicate an anomaly. He spots the eyes of people in posters following him, and then makes it to Exit 4 and then 5. Progress! His girlfriend calls again, wanting to know where he is. He tells her he can’t get out, walking in circles, and she laughs at him. She can’t decide what to do about the baby, after all, the two broke up not long ago. He doesn’t see her right there in the tunnel with him, and he’s now back at Exit 0, needing to start all over again. He finds a little boy in the tunnel, but he might not be an anomaly. The Walking Man We cut to the Walking Man’s point of view, and he’s lost as well. He’s made it up to Exit 4. He also counts the posters, lockers, and photo booth. He, however, passes a girl in the hallway and walks with the little boy. The girl asks to join them on their search for the way out. She wonders if they’re dead and in Hell. She gets creepy fast, He turns back and hits Exit 6. He misses a weird doorknob and goes back to zero. No– he sees the stairway to Exit 8 and runs to it. The little boy with him refuses to go up there. The man runs up the stairs, and the little boy goes back into the m

  7. Jun 6

    Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Mist, Catnado, and Wishmaster 2

    Only one new film this week, a documentary about an old musical that you may have heard of: “Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror” came to streaming this week. Of course, we had to watch the original 1975 film as well. To offset all that fun, we had to watch 2007's “The Mist” to calm down. “Catnado” and “Wishmaster 2” both had us eager to Do the Time Warp Again. All this, as well as the latest issue of “Horror Monthly,” issue #57, for June 2026, is available! Check out all the back issues, as well as our other books, with one easy link: https://horrormonthly.com Mainstream Films: 1975 The Rocky Horror Picture Show * Directed by: Jim Sherman * Written by: Richard O’Brien, Jim Sherman * Stars: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick * Run Time: 1 Hour, 40 Minutes * Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone IMDB.com has a good succinct description. “A rain-soaked couple takes refuge in the castle of a transvestite mad scientist from outer space who is about to unveil his greatest creation.” They neglect to mention that it’s also a musical, and it’s got some songs in it. It was originally a stage musical titled “The Rocky Horror Show” which premiered in 1973 with Tim Curry and the same trio playing the servants and Jonathan Adams (now Dr. Scott) as the Narrator/Criminologist. It’s weird and funny, with very catchy songs. We’d recommend it. Spoilery Synopsis A giant mouth comes on screen and sings about sci-fi movies as credits roll. We cut to a wedding, as the happy couple leaves with rice and a cheering crowd. We get a quick look at Tim Curry in the background in a second role as the preacher. Plus Richard O’Brien and Patricia Quinn as church custodians (American Gothic custodians, at that!). And is that Nell Campbell as a third custodian? Best man Brad congratulates the groom, and then his girlfriend Janet catches the bouquet, so he may be next. Brad and Janet talk about their future, which leads Brad to sing to Janet, dammit. He wants to go tell his old teacher about their impending engagement. But first, we cut to a criminologist who introduces the case of Brad and Janet. He’s going to narrate the story for us. The young couple’s car breaks down on the road, and they have to walk to the nearby castle for help. They sing on the walk there. A strange hunchback man opens the door and reluctantly invites them in. There’s a party going on, and the two servants lead them to the party, where they all do the Time Warp (again). The criminologist enjoys that a little too much, but it’s more than Janet can handle. Their host, Dr Frank-N-Furter, makes an appearance, and he’s really something; something Brad and Janet have never seen before, at least. He explains in song how he’s a transvestite from Transexual Transylvania. He invites them up to visit his laboratory upstairs, where he’s got a whole audience awaiting to see his newest project. Yes, Dr. Frank-N-Furter has a whole Frankenstein setup, and he knows how to use it. Soon, the creature starts to move. He’s Rocky, and he’s here to sing another song. Dr. Frank-N-Furter clearly put some time into assembling this body. Frank is smitten with his creation, and he has to sing about that as well. Suddenly, a motorcycle breaks through the wall, and Eddie, a biker, breaks through and interrupts with a rock and roll number that has everyone dancing. Frank is not amused that he’s lost control of the event. Eddie was one of Frank’s previous experiments, and he’s lost half his mind to Rocky. Frank grabs a pick and kills him dead, ending the song. Then he sings and dances his way to the honeymoon suite with Rocky. The party breaks up, and Brad and Janet go to separate rooms, both watched by Riff-Raff and Magenta through the closed-circuit TVs. Frank visits Janet, who protests her innocence, but Frank’s all into that. She doesn’t protest all that much, though. Meanwhile, Riff Raff torments the monster because that’s what Frankenstein’s henchmen do, and Rocky escapes. Frank then visits Brad in the same way as Janet, and it has almost exactly the same result. Guilt-ridden Janet makes her way to the lab, sees Brad and Frank on the monitor, then finds Rocky hiding there. She sings her feelings to him; she’s got an itch to scratch, and she wants him to touch her, which he does, as Columbia and Magenta watch on the monitor from their room. Dr Everett Scott arrives at the front door, and he’s Brad’s old high school science teacher— and an expert on UFOs. Frank thinks this is all a conspiracy to spy on his work. Scott says he’s here looking for his nephew, Eddie. They all stop and have a very awkward dinner. Dr Scott sings about Eddie. Eddie sent him a note begging for a rescue, but it’s too late for that. Frank then makes it clear what happened to Eddie. Janet flees with Frank chasing and singing, and everyone makes their way to the lab again, where Frank petrifies Brad, Janet, and Dr. Scott into statues. All the action stops as Columbia yells at Frank about his behavior. He statues her too and Rocky for good measure. Riff Raff and Magenta argue briefly with Frank and then give each other sneaky looks. They’re up to something. Meanwhile, Frank has moved all the statues to a stage and releases them one at a time for a burlesque confession dance show. Which morphs into a pool orgy with Frank in the lead. And suddenly they are in a rocking chorus line song and dance. It gets just a little weird at this point. Riff Raff and Magenta break into the room, and they look different now. They’re definitely aliens, and they’ve revealed themselves. They’ve had enough of Frank’s extremes and are ready to go home to Transylvania, but first, Frank sings to explain himself and rejoice that he’s going home. But when he’s done, Riff Raff admits that only he and Magenta are going home, and he’s got a laser capable of emitting a beam of pure antimatter. Columbia is killed. And Frank tries to climb the curtain to get away unsuccessfully. Rocky freaks out at Frank’s death, but Riff Raff’s beam doesn’t work on him with just one shot. He finally dies when he falls from the RKO radio tower that he tried climbing with Frank’s body. As Janet, Brad, and Scott leave, the whole castle blasts off into space. The criminologist comes back to the scene and concludes the story. One final song plays over the closing credits, as well as an instrumental reprise of The Time Warp. Brian’s Commentary Most of the cast were pretty inexperienced at screen acting, but all of them went on to long careers (most are still alive fifty years later). This is all pretty tame by today’s standards, but this was way out there in ‘75. The main thing here is, of course, the very catchy songs, and the soundtrack is one of the best ever. This was actually only my second time watching it. I don’t know that I’d want to watch it every weekend, as some do, but it’s pretty darned good. Kevin’s Commentary It was, and still is to a lesser degree, a thing to go see the movie at the theater, preferably at Midnight, and participate with lines echoing and mocking the dialogue, use props (such as throwing rice during the wedding), interact with the screen, dance to the Time Warp, and there would often be a cast of fans (known as The Floor Show) acting out the movie in sync down in front and in the aisles - often in costume and makeup. In the late 1980s, I saw this 150 some times at midnight showings. I even played Frank-N-Furter, Janet, and the Criminologist a few times in The Floor Show when they were short on people and needed bodies. And of course, I joined in dancing the Time Warp every time. It took a lot of self-control watching this with Brian and not bombing him with the audience participation lines. I’ve also seen several productions done on stage, and they don’t always get the element of Frank being both trans and someone who could kick serious ass if he wanted to, which Tim Curry does have in the movie version. I watch this through a filter of nostalgia, and I still find it really entertaining and fun. 2026 Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror * Directed by: Linus O’Brien * Written by: Avner Shiloah * Stars: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Richard O’Brien * Run Time: 1 Hour, 29 Minutes * Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone There’s not a story to spoil. This is a documentary about how the play and movie came to be, interviewing actor writer musician Richard O’Brien and his past, and much about the people involved with Rocky Horror. It’s loaded with interviews and vintage footage and stills. Clearly the folks in this had a good time back in the day, and in the making of this documentary. It’s really well put together and a lot of fun to watch. Spoilery Synopsis We open on Richard O’Brien in New Zealand, talking about his “historic house.” We see a statue of Riff Raff in front of a museum. O’Brien then talks about his life as a barber. We then cut to scenes from the movie and views of the crowds as credits roll. We hear from a guy who talks about being gay and learning about the show; he often participated in the live show. He eventually became a drag actor. O’Brien talks about his early career and Method Acting. He’d been in several major parts in musical theater and then became a father to Linus, this film’s director. He eventually decided to write his own musical, and he sings “Science Fiction Double Feature” for us live. He wrote most of the play in a hurry because time was so limited. We hear from the costume designer next; most people turned down the job. Tim Curry and Nell Campbell explain how they got involved. They all talk about opening night at the theater, and the tickets sold out very quickly— a huge hit. O’Brien then talks about his sexuality in the younger days and how that went in the 50s and 60s— that just didn’t fly. His wife at the time didn’t approve, but his k

  8. May 31

    Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, Undertone, This is Not a Test, Lawnmower Man 2, Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, and Fallout Season 2

    A mummy, a vampire, a zombie, and a cyber-entity walk into a bar… No, wait, they’re right here! This time around, we’ll start off with the new Mummy movie from Lee Cronin, then take a listen to the “Undertone,” both recent releases. Last year’s “This is Not a Test” will shamble on stage next, and then we’ll suffer through the second “Lawnmower Man” film (1995) so you don’t have to. Finally, we’ll take a look at another of the old Christopher Lee Dracula movies, “Dracula has Risen From the Grave” from 1968. As a special bonus, we’ll also talk about the mostly non-horrorish series, “Fallout Season 2” that just hit a physical media release. We liked it! All this, as well as the latest issue of “Horror Monthly,” issue #56, for May 2026, is available! Check out all the back issues, as well as our other books, with one easy link: https://horrormonthly.com Mainstream Films: 1968 Dracula Has Risen from the Grave * Director: Freddie Francis * Writers: Anthony Hinds * Stars: Christopher Lee, Rupert Davies, Veronica Carlson * Run Time: 1 Hour, 32 Minutes * Link: Spoilery Synopsis A boy rides his bicycle to the church; he’s the janitor. He goes to ring the church bell and notices that the rope is covered in blood. The priest comes in and climbs the long, winding stairs to the bell tower to find a dead girl hanging inside the bell with bite marks on her neck. “When shall we be free of his evil?” The priest cries. Time passes, and we see that winter has come and gone. A year has passed since Dracula was destroyed in the previous film, “Dracula: Prince of Darkness.” The monsignor comes to town, and he says he wants to “clean” the castle of its evil influence. The local priest is terrified to even talk about it and refuses to walk all the way up the mountain to the castle. It’s dark by the time he arrives and begins his blessing. The terrified priest runs away and falls down the mountain, injuring himself and cracking open the ice that has trapped Dracula. The priest looks and finds that… Dracula Has Risen from the Grave! The monsignor returns to the town and says everything is fine now; the castle has been exorcised. We soon see that Dracula has enslaved the priest. Dracula and the priest hop on a carriage and hurry to the nearest town, which just happens to be where the monsignor lives. Dracula has dinner on the way there, picking on Maria’s waitress friend Zena for a first course. The monsignor returns to his own city. He is raising his niece, Maria, his ward, and her mother. Maria’s boyfriend accidentally gets soaked in beer, which doesn’t impress the snooty monsignor. When the boyfriend mentions that he’s an atheist, that impresses the monsignor even less. The priest rents a room at the inn, and in the basement is a secret area where he hides Dracula and his coffin. Dracula tells Zena to bring Maria to him; he wants revenge on the monsignor. Zena does her job, and Maria is brought in before Dracula. He’s ready to bite her, but Paul interrupts and runs Dracula off. Dracula enters her bedroom later that night, uninvited, and finally bites her. The monsignor finds the bite marks and knows immediately what has happened. Dracula comes back the next night, and the monsignor runs him off with a cross and chases him across the rooftops. The evil priest bashes the monsignor in the head with a rock. The monsignor calls for Paul to help, and he explains everything to him before he dies. Paul catches on to the evil priest and makes him lead Paul to Dracula, who is in his coffin. Paul places the stake above his heart and impales him. It’s still not enough to kill Dracula because Paul is an atheist and will not pray. Dracula grabs Maria as he escapes. They both board a carriage driven by the priest, and once again, they head out of town. They all run to the castle. Maria pulls the big cross off the door and throws it down the mountain. Paul and Dracula wrestle, and Dracula gets thrown down the mountain and impaled on the cross. The evil priest comes to his senses and prays, causing the final death of Dracula. When we look again, Dracula is gone. Did he get away? Did he turn to dust? We don’t see what happened. Surely, we’ll never see him again, will we? Brian’s Commentary Several interior sets from previous Hammer films are noticeable here, from the previous Dracula film as well as Frankenstein Created Woman. It looks good and has a good story. Dracula actually gets lines this time, and not only that, but he also has a plan for revenge. Paul freely admits that he’s an atheist. I’m no expert on the customs of the time period, but I suspect that’s not something anyone would have admitted to a monsignor in the vague-1800s. Atheism is a common-enough status today, but it would have been likely to cause all sorts of trouble for him in town in those days. Still, it’s an important point later when Paul actually drives a stake through Dracula’s heart, and it doesn’t work. The necessity of prayer to kill a vampire is unique to this film, as far as I am aware. A lot of the plot has to do with Dracula needing to hide out because he can’t get back into the castle after the monsignor puts the cross on the door. Near the end of the film, he gets Maria to pull down the cross for him and throw it away, and that was good enough; why couldn’t he have simply told the possessed priest-servant to do the same about an hour earlier? 1995 Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace * Director: Farhad Mann * Writers: Farhad Mann * Stars: Patrick Bergin, Matt Frewer, Austin O’Brien, and Ely Pouget * Runtime: 92 minutes (1h 32m) * Trailer: Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone This takes place immediately following the first movie, and about six years later. Despite Jobe putting himself into the machine and leaving his body behind in movie one, he’s still alive and doctors reconstruct his damaged face so Matt Frewer can play him this time. It’s sort of a stand alone more than a sequel. And the opening credits call the movie “Lawnmower Man 2: Jobe’s War.” It’s tame and lame, pretty bland. Neither of us cared much for it. Spoilery Synopsis We open with some scenes from the ending of the previous film, where Cyber-Jobe gets out of the machine into the system before the building explodes. Dr. Benjamin Trace defends his Chiron Chip in court as credits roll. A body is retrieved from the burning facility, and it turns out to be Jobe. Dr. Cori Platt communicates with the man through a computer terminal, but then he can speak. He was burned and reconstructed, so he doesn’t look like Jeff Fahey now, he looks more like Max Headroom. Jonathan Walker, the owner of the company, wants Jobe to build the Chiron Chip for him. They put Jobe into the VR machine, and things get weird quickly. In Los Angeles, in the future, it looks like Blade Runner, but with less steam and more VR helmets. Peter, Jade, Shawn, and Travis steal access codes. Their group is like the Lost Boys meets “Hackers.” They all go into the VR world, but it’s a warzone now. With a little help from Harvey, the too-intelligent dog, they find Jobe, who has missed Peter. Jobe says Cyberscape is dying, and he needs Peter to find Dr. Trace. Walker talks to the senator about his nefarious plans. Peter comes to Dr. Trace’s house, and they talk about Jobe. Peter explains how the new and improved VR works; if you die in the game, you die in the real world. Trace jacks in and talks to Jobe about the Chiron chip, which he’s using to build a virtual world. Trace quickly comes to the conclusion that Jobe is insane. Jobe wants to know what “Egypt” means, and it’s some kind of encoded secret. Trace explains that the Egypt code would let Jobe access any system in the world. Walker uses Jobe to blackmail rich Democrats like the senator, who wants to revoke their license. Jobe then kills the senator by making his plane crash. Cori confronts Walker about putting the project online tomorrow. She’s worried about Jobe, but Walker doesn’t care. Trace warns Cori about Jobe yet again and then sneaks into the Virtual Light compound with the kids. They steal the Chiron Chip, and soon all the guards chase them as Jobe giggles on the monitors. This leads to all the good guys running to the exit and getting away. Turns out, they stole a fake chip, and Walker still has the real one. He gets the President of the USA to jack in along with many VIPs. Jobe is there with the Chiron Chip, and he makes it so that he has twelve hours until the global interface. He starts taking over systems around the world, but it’s not irreversible for another twelve hours. Jobe takes over a helicopter and crashes it into Trace’s house. He then creates computerized mayhem all over the world. Jobe wants people to hate their world and live in his. Walker confronts him and Jobe quickly shows him who the real boss is. Trace needs to go into the system and trick Jobe into destroying himself. They do a virtual sword fight, and the Chiron Crystal is destroyed. The Egypt thing takes over and destroys Jobe and the whole cyberworld. Trace and the others find Jobe, who’s regressing to his old lawnmower-man self. Walker comes in and grabs Peter, but he’s electrocuted instead. Everyone smiles as they go outside into the post-apocalyptic hellscape that is Earth. Brian’s Commentary Peter’s like five years older than in the previous film, but the world has gone full cyberpunk Blade Runner in that time. Jobe, whose body melted in the previous film, is back in a corporeal body again, which isn’t really explained. This feels like a sci-fi movie targeted towards children, and it’s just as logical as that sounds. Most of it makes no real sense. Plus, they’ve stolen a whole lot of plot elements from the various Star Wars movies. Why were the guards suddenly following Jobe’s orders? He was Walker’s slave, and a secret one at that. There’s surprisingly

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About

Join Kevin and Brian for a weekly podcast episode. Every Friday, the guys release both a video and audio podcast episode that covers everything new in horror, along with a handful of great (and awful) movie reviews! www.horrorweekly.com

Information

  • Creator
    Brian Schell and Kevin L. Knights
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    401
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Brian Schell
  • Show Website
    Horror Weekly