Category Archives: Review

Banshee on the Loose: Damned by Dawn

Posted on Saturday, February 27, 2010 by Robert Hood

Damned By Dawn (Australia-2009; dir. Brett Anstey) Banshees have been seriously underused in ghost cinema, the few that have appeared being only marginally related to the legend — or best forgotten. Banshees have an unique and evocative presence in folklore … Continue reading →

Posted in Ghosts, Independent film, Review | 1 Comment

Claws, Blood, Boobs and Freaks

Posted on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 by Robert Hood

Review: Crustacean (US-2010; dir. L.J. Dopp) by Robert Hood Crustacean is a horror-comedy in the colourfully weird “Circus Freak” subgenre — a heritage that includes films that range from the heights of the horror classic Freaks (US-1932; dir. Tod Browning) … Continue reading →

Posted in Horror, Humour, Independent film, Review | 1 Comment

Destroying the World on a Budget

Posted on Monday, January 25, 2010 by Robert Hood

Review of Megafault (US-2009; dir. David Michael Latt) by Robert Hood The development of CGI as the standard methodology for SFX films, big and small, has not only increased the number of films that include giant monsters, even if only … Continue reading →

Posted in Apocalypse, Exploitation films, Film, Review | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Review: Razortooth

Posted on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 by Robert Hood

Razortooth (US-2006; dir. Patricia Harrington) A thoroughly generic example of its subgenre, Razortooth differs mainly in featuring giant mutated eels instead of giant mutated crocodiles, snakes, lizards, sharks, crustaceans, piranha, Chinese snake-heads, birds, ferrets, rabbits or whatever particular species the … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Giant Monsters, Horror, Review | 1 Comment

Review: Ba’al

Posted on Thursday, November 5, 2009 by Robert Hood

Ba’al [aka Ba'al: the Storm God] (US/Canada-2008; dir. Paul Ziller) Existing somewhere in the vast mid-range of cinematic quality, Ba’al is an entertaining B-film that aspires to originality (or maybe just deviation from the norm of low-budget genre films), even … Continue reading →

Posted in Apocalypse, Giant Monsters, Monsters in general, Review | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Review: Transmorphers: Fall of Man

Posted on Monday, September 7, 2009 by Robert Hood

Transmorphers: Fall of Man (US-2009; dir. Scott Wheeler) Somewhere midway along the continuum between “Good” and “Bad” in the subgenre where giant robots are depicted as alien invaders lies the 2009 Asylum film Transmorphers: Fall of Man. Shadowing Bay’s Transformers … Continue reading →

Posted in Apocalypse, Review, Robots | 1 Comment

Review: The Land That Time Forgot

Posted on Monday, August 24, 2009 by Robert Hood

The Land That Time Forgot (US-2009; dir. C. Thomas Howell) The Asylum’s latest foray into the world of B-film genre mayhem is an enjoyable adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novel, The Land That Time Forgot. Its blend of good-natured low-budget … Continue reading →

Posted in Dinosaurs, Film, Review | 4 Comments

Review: Monster Island

Posted on Monday, August 10, 2009 by Robert Hood

Monster Island (Canada/US-2004; dir. Jack Perez) On the most obvious level, the plot of this MTV “Special Movie Presentation” is driven by pop music aesthetics aimed at the typical MTV audience — hence the inclusion of Carmen Electra and Nick … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Giant Bugs, Giant Monsters, Review | Leave a comment

Review: Snuffin’ Zombies

Posted on Sunday, August 9, 2009 by Robert Hood

Snuffin’ Zombies (US-2008; dir. Karl Benacci) The opening scene of Snuffin’ Zombies offers hope that this no-budget zombie film might be a relatively classy affair. The rattling passage of a train and the effective music on the soundtrack are atmospheric … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Independent film, Review, Zombies | Leave a comment

Review: Ogre

Posted on Wednesday, August 5, 2009 by Robert Hood

Ogre (Canada/US-2008; dir. Steven R. Monroe) Looking like something Hammer Films might have concocted as their take on the giant monster sub-genre in the Age of CGI — replete with overt melodrama, an effectively used mini-budget, second-tier but professional actors … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Monsters in general, Review | 2 Comments