Category: Blog of Damien S. Riley

Psychedelic drugs have featured in many rock and roll films as well as some horror. Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” is replete with drug intended images and music. Many many more seek to do the same. While a mixed bag as far as quality, these films are beloved to college students and the career aged folks in love with the music. But that raises an important question: can a drug induced experience be enjoyed by many people?

Read my full written review of “Hager” as well as my other horror reviews at HorrorNews.net where I am a longtime contributor.

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This all star cast can’t really make it amazing, but it’s entertaining nonetheless.

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Explicit content and language! Synopsis: Sensing evil, a haunted house tour guide seeks a medium’s help only to be warned that she is facing a vengeful power beyond her control.

Review: In the places it succeeds as a horror film, “Sisters of the Plague” effectively uses creepy music, cinematography, and forest settings to create a sense of foreboding. I’ve related to you many times before that it’s this sort of thing that I prefer to the so-called “Grief Horrors” coming out with such frequency. This film uses its sense of creepy cinematography to ratchet up the tension and fear. Furthermore, the setting in an outskirts town makes for a damn creepy experience. Unfortunately the experience falls flat when too much attention is given to the girl’s sick, desperately-coughing father. Her lesbian roommate wants to be rid of him once and for all. It reminded me of Poe’s “Tell Tale Heart” the way they discuss the annoyance of the old man here.

Read this and all my written reviews at HorrorNews.net where I am a regular contributor.

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Please make a mental note in your memory that , despite my low rating of this film, I love and respect independent filmmaking. They can be amazing. One example is “The Alchemist Cookbook.” In that film a guy tries to summon supernatural assistance and it messes him up big time. But there are no spooky connotations to the souls of duped cult members coming from the grave. I hope the next film I watch and review will be much better than this one. Why is this called horror? Read my full written review at Horror News dot Net where I am a long term writing contributor on horror films.

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“American Fright Fest” never gives up on itself. We have the director to thank for this I suppose. Whether it should have given up on the cutting room floor is an individual choice each horror fan has to make. It is indeed scary at times, which is surprising for its PG rating. Dylan Walsh of “Nip and Tuck” Fame is looking slightly old and certainly less adept with his lines. He’s Spencer Crowe, a fallen from grace horror director who is trying to make a comeback. To color it up a bit, he rents out an old insane asylum and laces cameras in various locations. (Read my full written review of this and and all my horror movie reviews at: Horror News dot Net )

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“The Dawn” (2020) is a drama, horror, thriller film now available to watch on Prime Video. It stars Devanny Pinn in the lead role, known for Crossbreed (2019) and Casey Anthony: An American Murder Mystery (2017). She has no nude scenes that I know of, please inform me is you know any (asking for a friend). Stacy Dash also plays a small role (Clueless). It was directed by a man named Brandon Slagle who is just starting out in his career but has apparently received “record rentals” (a few social media posts I read) as an indy director on Red Box. I am sad to say, this will not be breaking any rental awards anywhere. I don’t think even Stacy Dash’s fame could help this plot and production.

While the creepy moments (or attempts) are present, this film doesn’t present its intent until the last 4 minutes. At that point, it disjointedly claims to be a prequel to the “Amytiville Horror.” Every Horror fan knows the bar is high if it were to be that prequel. Perhaps that’s why the director didn’t reveal it was meant to be that until the end. The production and plot sink it. An example of things going right is “Exorcist.” We know why and how the young girl gets possessed and it gives us permission to be scared, repulsed, disgusted, etc. Remember that lovely pea soup sputtering out? “The Dawn” doesn’t even try to work the possession in. There is a brief encounter with her great grandfather who is Native American but even that scene gives us little to go on as this mystery of possession ensues.

Read the rest of my written review at HorrorNews.net.

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Not half bad! It’s a moderate budget sci fi mystery horror. Well worth watching. Laura Fraser is so so beautiful. I want to go watch everything of hers.

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An incredible rendering of humanity through a WWI backdrop. I really loved this one. Listen to this current episode of my podcast for more of my thoughts on this impeccable film. Go see it and take someone.

Show transcript:

Speaker 1: (00:01)Welcome to Riley on film. I’m your host, Damien Riley. You can find out more and subscribe for free [email protected] now on with the show,

Speaker 2: (00:22)please listen carefully today I saw a 1917 and what a film it is. I have to say, it looks kind of funny here on the screen of internet movie database because you have two years right next to each other in 1917 and 2019 I didn’t know that this film came out 2019 I figured it came out 2020 but apparently it came out right. Oh look at this. It came out the 10th of January, 2020 but they’re still listing it as a 2019 so I wonder what will happen there for Oscars. Definitely this thing is up for Oscars, especially the lead role, I believe his name is. Well, you know what, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I need to go down and check out what his name is, but I know he was in the horror film marrow bone. That’s what it was called. It had it all the brothers and sisters and it was kind of creepy, pretty good movie.

Speaker 2: (01:28)I didn’t think it was that great, but he uh, he was in that and he was okay and he’s just got these eyes that you remember well he does a much better job in this. Uh, I could of been the script, could’ve been the story, but boy, he just stands out in this and I definitely think he’s going to be up for best actor. So let me look down here and make sure I got his name right. Just like I’m let you all know. It looks like George Mackay. I got a tiny picture in front of me. I just blew it up. Definitely. This is George Mackay and George Mackay’s man and a lot of stuff. He’s a face. Many of you will recognize from captain fantastic Peter pan pride, how I live now and others including marrow bone.

Speaker 2: (02:17)This film is rated R. it definitely has some bloody scenes. Nothing too gory. But this is definitely a film that is not for everybody. I wouldn’t call it an out and out war film, but let’s just say it’s on the battlefield. Uh, people are killed. People kill all the rules of war. And we all know as we have heard that war is hell. Now, president Trump likes to pretend that if you’ve got enough money, you can buy enough war machines and nobody can topple you. Well, unfortunately for us, he may find that that’s not true in this film. We learned that war is hell and there’s no place it. But we also learned that there are small victories even in a hell like war. And we have George McKay taking us on that journey. This is an Epic drama. As I said, it is war based, but it is an Epic drama. It has an 8.7 out of 10. I call that a nine with 16,962 votes. And it only came out, I guess what’s that yesterday? I think today’s the 11th as I’m recording this. Yep. So it came out yesterday and there’s already 16,000 basically 17,000 votes.

Speaker 2: (