Wolf Cop (2014)

I'd been waiting for ten months to see this movie, and the wait was worth it. Canada has a recent wealth of talent when it comes to new independent horror movies, and this instant modern Cult Classic is one of the many fine new entries Canada's indie film scene has to offer to the horror world. Wolf Cop pays tribute 80s movies, both horror comedies like Night of the Creeps, and "so bad they're good" horror/horror action movies like Maniac Cop. Wolf Cop presents itself as a "so bad it's good" action/horror-comedy, and it delivers in every sense even managing to be clever and actually "good" at times. The visual quality of the film is very low budget ( I was reminded of fellow indie Canadian horror film Suck (2009)), the acting for the most part is either adequate or over the top (done intentionally though) and the movie actually has surprisingly effective and decent practicalspecial effects. The tagline for the movie is "half wolf, half man, all cop!" and I must say the movie delivers. The movie never takes itself too seriously which is why it is so much fun to watch. The movie has a decently surprising plot that involves pagan rituals, lunar eclipses, and shape-shifting lizard creatures. The main character is given super powers such as super strength and agility, not only from just "being a werewolf" but also from alcohol, how cool is that?!  I'm a die hard 80s movie fan in general but I also LOVE 80s horror movies and from time to time 80s action movies, and Wolf Cop pays homage to the best qualities of all of those. The movie becomes a buddy cop movie at one point in the film, has THE best homage

-paying mock 80s sex scene ever, the sex scene is worth the price of admission for this movie alone. The sex scene takes place in a jail cell after a "little red riding hood and The Big Bad Wolf" sex joke, and just all of a sudden there's dozens and dozens of candles all over the jail cell and a great 80s Canadian one hit wonder tune playing on an also seemingly appearing out of nowhere boombox. The movie also has a pretty decent soundtrack, and more wolf puns and "Big Bad wolf" references than you can shake a stick at. My major beefs with this film are 1) They show a man's penis falling off (either partially real or all prosthetic, it did not add anything to the film and I didn't need to see that), 2) There's a horrible Wolf Cop "theme rap" at the end of the movie, which I think

paid tribute to the Maniac Cop 2 rap at the end of its credits, but was still horrible, 3) some of the acting was legitimately bad and some of the characters (like the main character in human form) are completely uninteresting husks of human beings lacking any personality. The movie is still a lot of fun though and best enjoyed amongst a group of friends after having a couple drinks. The movie is currently streaming on Netflix, and I give it a 4/5.You can watch the trailer here.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014)

The world's first Iranian Vampire western is fantastic. The movie is based on a graphic novel and the title character has vigilante qualities making her similar to Batman, ready to avenge the mistreated women of Iran. The movie has gorgeous black and white cinematography (that echoes classic German expressionism), and a heartwarming quirky romance (very different from the sappy melodramatic likes of Twilight). The movie also has great commentary on the state of Iran's youth abandoning tradition, the youth's relationship with their parents, drugs and addiction, as well as commentary about loving one's self and finding one's self worth. Plus the movie has great shots of a Vampire skateboarding, and a fantastic soundtrack. My only problem with the film is the cynism expressed by the title character, though the cynical dialogue she spews is similar to dialogue from other modernized vampires in film such as from Lestatt in Interview With the Vampire, Let the 

Right One In (2008) or some of the dialogue from the main vampire's in Neil Jordan's most recent vampire film Byzantium (2012). I did like how the main character seems to see her cynicism questioned by the romantic interest, and the ending was refreshingly different from some of the other most recent vampire films. While the movie is set in Iran, it is filmed

in southern California. Most of the cast and crew though are from Iran though and the movie is shot in the authentic language. This movie is a must see for all horror/vampire fans, as well as festival favorite at artsy film festivals winning many awards and should appeal to art-film fans. The movie has a "certified fresh" 96% critic rating out of 91 reviews and only four of those being "rotten" or bad, and a 76% fan rating.The movie is currently available on instant streaming on Netflix. I give the film a 4.5/5, and you can watch the trailer here. 

House of the Devil (2009)

I usually stay away from anything demonic or of the like, but this is a really great psychological retro-themed horror film definitely worth a watch for any horror fan. On one level the film has a bunch of similarities to Rosemary's Baby, but at the same time it also feels like a mini version of The Shining (both in location size and film length) or a haunted house film. The plot centers around a college student hard-up for cash answering a flyer that advertised needing a baby sitter, but upon arrival to the babysitting job she finds out the couple who put out the ad are actually childless. The film is dialogue-less for most of the movie and there's a small cast of about five characters in total or so. The film is stylized after movies from the late 70s and early 80s and is set in the 80s. The fashion and cars are vintage as well as the 80s walkman the main character carries and the music she dances to while "babysitting", and the film's synth soundtrack. The film's feel is reminiscent of some of Poanski's films like The Tenant, as well as some of Dario Argento's 70s films too. All in all this movie was a great psychological thriller with some unexpected scares and it was also surprisingly fun, I found myself dancing in my seat and drumming along to the film's dance sequence set to the 80s one hit wonder The Fixx's One Thing Leads to Another. It can also get surprisingly violent  The film has a cameo by horror veteran Dee Wallce (The Howling, Critters, Cujo, The Frighteners, E.T.) and has character actor great Tom Noonan (Heat, Manhunter, Last Action Hero, Monster Squad) in a creepy role as well. This film was director Ti West's big break, he then went on to make more successful horror films like V/H/S, The Innkeepers, and his newest film produced by Eli Roth called The Sacrament which is available to stream on Netflix and was heavily promoted by them upon the film's release. House of the devil is featured in Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See book, and is available to stream on Netflix as well. I give the movie a 4.5/5 and you can watch the trailer below:

The Ward (2010)

The Ward is the latest film directed by one of my favorite directors, John Carpenter. It is a story about four or five girls in their teens/early 20s, living in a special security ward in an insane asylum during the 1960s. A new girl arrives and quickly learns this ward is no normal place. The film has wonderful cinematography, wonderful creepy hospital atmosphere, as well as a really nice 60s feel to it at times (a highlight is a dance scene in the ward set to a sixties vinyl single playing on the phonograph). The acting is also really good, but this movie is far from perfect. A lot of the scares in the film are given away by the musical score, or are just really predictable/cliche at times. The movie's mystery does remain a mystery for most of the movie, but I felt the ending was fairly anticlimactic as well as fairly predictable. This movie goes from an interesting compelling unique story to almost a "cop out" of a psychological thriller. The film turns out to be similar to another film I've reviewed on this blog called Identity (2003). There aren't any big name stars in this one, but all of the girls are fairly recognizable from various movies and TV shows made within the last ten years. This film is available to stream on Netlfix, and  I give this one a 3.25/5, you can view the trailer below:

John Dies at the End (2012)

This is the newest film by director Don Coscarelli (Phantasm series, Bubba Ho-tep [features Bruce Campbell as an elderly Elvis battling a mummy in a nursing home for crying out loud!], and Beastmaster). It is a wacky non linear film (what Coscarelli film isn't wacky?) that features Dave and John, two college dropouts who are also interdimensional paranormal warriors. This movie is like a cross between Buckaroo Banzai, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, and Ghostbusters. The plot is super confusing and don't even worry about understanding it because this film is purely enjoyable because of its weirdness alone, as well as its humor, the acting is good but this isn't a movie you watch for the acting, the heroes battle a monster made entirely out of deli meats and has an uncooked chicken for a head!

(that is not the main villain of the film though) This one has Paul Giamatti and Clancy Brown as its biggest name actors, and spoiler John doesn't die at the end. Who would have thunk this craziness didn't just come from the mind of Coscarelli, it was a book first, and a web-serial even before that. Genre wise this movie is a mix between sci-fi horror comedy and action. I'll say this I thought it was good, I didn't love it, but if it was a new TV show I would totally watch it, (I don't like most new TV shows)  it would be like a wackier more indie version of Supernatural. It's almost too wacky for me though, I give it a 4/5, view the trailer below:  

The Devil's Backbone (2001)

Why Pan's Labyrinth gets so much praise as Guillermo Del Toro's best film and Cronos (1993) and this film go unnoticed is beyond me. Both Cronos and this film are on the Criterion Collection and are Beautiful in many senses, visually, plotwise, set-wise, acting, effects, really great. Guillermo loves to use children in his pictures  (Cronos, and he produced The Orphanage) I believe he was probably influenced by the classic spanish film The Spirit of the Beehive, that I also recommend and love, this one takes place in an orphanage during the spanish civil war in the 1940s, and a boy from the orphanage encounters a ghost.  Whether you like Del Toro or not I recommend this one; Spooky, bloody and unique, it's like a combination of The Spirit of the Beehive, Au Revoir Les Enfants, and th violence of Pan's Labyrinth, I give it a 4.25/5; This film is also listed in Rue Morgue Magazine's 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See, view the trailer below: 

Twixt (2011)

Twixt (2011 [theaters] 2013 [DVD]) is the latest film made by legendary director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now). It was panned by most critics but is a good concept and does some things well even if it isn't that great as a whole. It's a horror movie narrated by Tom Waits featuring Val Kilmer as a washed up horror writer having long in depth philosophical discussions with Edgar Allan Poe in dream sequences all taking place within a Twin Peaks-like small town, to boot. Need I say more? The actual plot involves possible vampires/witchcraft and for sure serial killing/mass murder and ghosts. The movie even though very low budget and sometimes seeming amateurish with the cinematography retains a well polished dreamlike-ness to it which is appropriate because the majority of plot development takes place in dreams. The movie has a bunch of story elements that never get fully explained though, so they either just don't make sense and you have to accept them, or, for some of them they could have just cut that detail completely. But even though those flaws exist it still kind of works because most of the movie takes place in dream sequences, and how many of you fully understand and can make total sense of your dreams? I know I rarely can. The film makes up for whatever story flaws it may have with an interesting enough concept, some surprisingly hilarious scenes, an interesting cast, and some good acting (though there is some bad acting too). I give the film an A for effort and a 3.5/5 (P.S. the film also stars Elle Fanning and Bruce Dern). Below is the trailer, followed by the funniest scene from the movie IMO (val kilmer gets drunk while trying to write his next book after his publisher tells him "I don't want any of that 'fog on the lake' crap!"): 

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)

For the holidays this year I watched a Christmas horror movie last night, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010) It was pretty good, the movie is in Finnish and English, and the premise is some people dig up the REAL santa claus from all the scary old German fairy tales where he actually ate kids, and it's up to a kid and three adults to take him down. It has really good special effects, was funny at times and was overall very enjoyable. I give it a 4.5/5: The film is available for instant streaming on Netflix. Trailer below:

The Burrowers (2008)

The Burrowers  is about people in the great plains after the civil war who start getting attacked by an unknown force that turns out to be burrowing monsters. This film is a realistic unromantic look at the west (do not think John Wayne here) and combines it perfectly with the horror genre. The film has a similar feel to Dawn of the Dead (the 2005 remake) or Night of the Living Dead, and it is also a warning of what can happen when mankind messes with the environment and changes it irreparably The film largely uses makeup and traditional special effects for the monsters (a la Del Toro style). I give it a 4/5. The film has a feature article written about it in Rue Morgue(great Horror magazine based in Canada)'s 200 Alternative Horror Films You Need to See book and movie list.