Eric Butler's Blog, page 11

Texas Author Con is 4 days away!

We are only four days away from the 1st Annual Texas Author Con. We've added some more writers since my last post. If you sign up before coming, you can get an extra entry into one of the giveaways happening during the event. Click here to sign up: ,More Chances To Win.

Here's all the info. Hope to see there!

There's going to be a ton of cool stuff to check out so stop by and discover a new favorite writer or book.

Happy 4th of July

First, I want to wish everyone a happy and safe 4th of July.

I've been spending some down time with the Mrs. & the girls, and I don't have the breakdown yet for 2018 in horror movies. It will be ready next week - after the Texas Author Con 2022 - for you to question which movies made the cut. After the Convention, I'm going to have some exciting news and updates. Stay tuned!

Until then, grab a book ...

Celebrate the 4th with ,The Pope Lick Massacre. Half-Man, Half-Goat, All Ax.

Going on holiday? Then check out ,The Shadow Within to learn what not to do when a blood thirsty murderer is in the area.

Stuck at home this summer? Take a trip to Victorian England and learn you can never escape ,The Sins of the Past.

Come to Donn, TX and discover what happens during the harvest. ,The Donn, TX Collection Vol 1 - collects Donn, TX 1952, 1969, 1865, & 1926. Then grab ,Donn, TX 2002.

Texas Author Con is almost here

We are only a few weeks away from the 1st Annual Texas Author Con. We've added some more writers since my last post. If you sign up before coming, you can get an extra entry into one of the giveaways happening during the event. Click here to sign up: ,More Chances To Win.

Here's all the info. Hope to see there!

2017 - Streaming services are getting into horror

And yet I haven't added any of those to this list. Netflix is starting to produce more original content at this time, and while some of it has good ratings ... I haven't watched them yet. They are on my ever-growing list of things selected to watch later, but all I ever seem to do is add more to it and never actually watch.

This is also the year I moved away from Blu-Rays and started buying many movies digitally when I simply wanted to watch them and not the special features. I am always slow to adopt new technology and ways of doing things. I'm surprised I don't still have a flip phone.

Now while one movie was a critical darling, and a kick-ass movie as well, I am going with a surprise at #1.

My #1 for this year is a surprise to me. When I saw the trailer for Happy Death Day the first time I scoffed. "How ridiculous," I thought and probably said out loud, but on an HBO free-view weekend, I noticed it was playing and I recorded it to view whenever. It took a bit, but when I finally did watch it, I was blown away. The movie is a great horror-comedy.

At the time, I didn't realize that the director is the guy who gave us The Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. Another interesting note, the writer Scott Lobdell is the guy who had to follow Chris Claremont after he was forced from the X-Men books in the 90s. But don't worry, this is actually good. You'll have to rent/buy to stream this one but it might pop up on HBO at some time.

Blurb - A college student must relive the day of her murder over and over again, in a loop that will end only when she discovers her killer's identity.

https://youtu.be/1NTaDm3atkc

So Get Out could have been #1, but this movie didn't surprise me at all. I expected it to be fantastic and it delivered. I took my son and his friend to it on opening night, and it did not fail to entertain. Jordan Peele pivoted from comedy and wrote & directed this amazing movie. Stream it with FXNow.

Blurb - A young African-American visits his white girlfriend's parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him eventually reaches a boiling point.

https://youtu.be/DzfpyUB60YY

So let's talk about It. The stuff dealing with the kids (most of the book & both movie versions) is so much better than anything with the adults. The first movie focuses on the kids, so it is really good. I also don't want to take away from Bill Skarsgard's take on the Pennywise character. Word of advice, stream this on HBO but hunt down the original TV mini-series if you want to see how the whole thing should have been presented.

Blurb - In the summer of 1989, a group of bullied kids band together to destroy a shape-shifting monster, which disguises itself as a clown and preys on the children of Derry, their small Maine town.

https://youtu.be/FnCdOQsX5kc

The Director of Wolf Creek teamed up with writer James Gunn(Guardians of the Galaxy & Slither) to give us a terrifying what-if scenario with The Belko Experiment. If you like Gunn's work, you will love this movie. If you hate Gunn, you still might like it since the director put his stamp on the project. Either way, it's way better than It Part 2. Stream it on tubi to find out.

Blurb - In a twisted social experiment, eighty Americans are locked in their high-rise corporate office in Bogotá, Colombia, and ordered by an unknown voice coming from the company's intercom system to participate in a deadly game of kill or be killed.

https://youtu.be/jP2Ow2CX6OQ

For some reason, people seem to love to hate Director Gore Verbinski but he's one of my favorites. So, I was super excited to check this out when it came out, but like most movies, at this time I ended up waiting to get it on VOD. By that time all the hate had been released and I really didn't know what to expect.

Now I'm not a huge fan of Dane DeHanne but he does a well enough job in this film playing off of Jason Isaacs. The movie hits all the right notes, and the cinematography is great. Check it out on tubi.

Blurb - An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company's CEO from an idyllic but mysterious "wellness center" at a remote location in the Swiss Alps, but soon suspects that the spa's treatments are not what they seem.

https://youtu.be/JF1rLFCdewU

I've always liked the idea that this movie is the introduction of the Venom symbiote but either way, Life is full of scary what-ifs. Daniel Espinosa (Child 44, Safe House) directs this with an all-star cast that should have had Ryan Reynolds as the star, but his schedule forced him into a supporting role. This allowed Jake Gyllenhaal to slide in. The movie is inspired by the classic Alien and was Skydance's first R-rated film. You can stream it on Pluto-TV.

Blurb - A team of scientists aboard the International Space Station discover a rapidly evolving life form that caused extinction on Mars and now threatens all life on Earth.

https://youtu.be/LeLsJfGmY_Y

I'm a sucker for a shark movie, and I thought 47 Meters Down is very entertaining. Not much to it so if you go into panic attacks at the thought of being trapped at the bottom of the ocean with a bunch of sharks, you may want to pass. Check it out on HULU.

Blurb - Two sisters vacationing in Mexico are trapped in a shark cage at the bottom of the ocean. With less than an hour of oxygen left and great white sharks circling nearby, they must fight to survive.

https://youtu.be/ddYSGGJAKOk

Originally set to come out in 2014, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter was delayed when Milla Jovovich became pregnant. While this movie was made 4 years after Retribution, it takes place just weeks later. Many of the characters from that movie don't make it to the Final Chapter and it is assumed they were killed. If you want more info on their exact fates, you can read them in the novelization. They, of course, rebooted the series but there's nothing like Paul W.S. Anderson and Milla Jovovich action zombie flicks. Stream it on Pluto TV.

Blurb - Alice returns to where the nightmare began: The Hive in Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse.

https://youtu.be/79Sd4GtOXuI

I'm a big Joel Edgerton fan and I found It Comes at Night another standout performance. Check it out on Showtime.

Blurb - Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, a man has established a tenuous domestic order with his wife and son. Then a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge.

https://youtu.be/6YOYHCBQn9g

Last up is Alien Covenant. Listen, if they make an Alien movie it's got a 99% chance of making it on my list. Now I know many hate Scott coming back to his baby and doing all these prequel films, but I found each one fascinating. There's supposed to be a 3rd (& possibly 4th) to get us closer to Alien in the timeline but Disney bought Fox and the film is now in limbo. You can stream it with FXnow.

Blurb - The crew of a colony ship, bound for a remote planet, discover an uncharted paradise with a threat beyond their imagination, and must attempt a harrowing escape.

https://youtu.be/svnAD0TApb8

Getting closer to the 1st Texas Author Con

We are only a few weeks away from the 1st Annual Texas Author Con. We've added some more writers since my last post. If you sign up before coming, you can get an extra entry into one of the giveaways happening during the event. Click here to sign up: ,More Chances To Win.

Here's all the info. Hope to see there!

2016 Horror - I might be missing some big ones

I'm gonna be missing some favorites from this list of 10, but what can I say? I haven't seen them and I just don't know if I would enjoy them as much as the ones on the list below. I had trouble picking my #1 but I feel confident the one I went with is a good-good.

Winning by a hair is Don't Breathe. This is a fun and unique horror movie from the people who did the Evil Dead remake. Stephen Lang is a great character actor and it's great to see him out in the front here. He does a great job here. Check it out with the FX app.

Blurb - Hoping to walk away with a massive fortune, a trio of thieves break into the house of a blind man who isn't as helpless as he seems.

https://youtu.be/76yBTNDB6vU

M. Night Shyamalan gives us another fun and unsettling movie with Split. James McAvoy shines as the man with multiple personalities, and Anya Taylor-Joy builds off of her stellar performance in The VVITCH. You can watch it as a stand-alone, but know it is part 2 in a trilogy. If you want to watch all 3, it's Unbroken, Split, and Glass. It's a rent/buy to own right now.

Blurb - Three girls are kidnapped by a man with a diagnosed 23 distinct personalities. They must try to escape before the apparent emergence of a frightful new 24th.

https://youtu.be/84TouqfIsiI

While it is in the same universe as the 2008 monster movie Cloverfield, 10 Cloverfield Lane has few connections to the film. John Goodman brings his normal intense and fantastic abilities to the role and I'm a sucker for anything Mary Elizabeth Winstead does. Right now it is a rent/buy to own but I would think HBO or Netflix might get it at some point.

Blurb - A young woman is held in an underground bunker by a man who insists that a hostile event has left the surface of the Earth uninhabitable.

https://youtu.be/saHzng8fxLs

Adam Wingard, the director of one of my favorite horror films You're Next, got a shot to give us an updated version of Blair Witch. This is an actual sequel to the 1999 hit The Blair Witch Project and allows us to ignore the nonsense they titled Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2.

This is a scripted movie, but they do a good job of capturing the original's spookiness. In the end, I enjoyed it, and that is the most important thing. You can watch it on Epix.

Blurb - After discovering a video showing what he believes to be his vanished sister Heather, James and a group of friends head to the forest believed to be inhabited by the Blair Witch.

https://youtu.be/girSv9UH_V8

So I stumbled across The Void on Netflix many years ago. I'm happy I didn't just tag it to watch later and instead started watching it right away. The movie is a very well-done cosmic horror / Lovecraftian film, that starts strong and continues to pummel you throughout. I think one of the most impressive aspects of the film is the practical effects. There is little to no CGI used. Stream it on tubi, Shudder, and amc+.

Blurb - Shortly after delivering a patient to an understaffed hospital, a police officer experiences strange and violent occurrences seemingly linked to a group of mysterious hooded figures.

https://youtu.be/IkmSNt4moNg

So Morgan was a complete box-office failure when it came out. It was so bad, they pulled it after 2.5 weeks. I saw it years later for free and I liked it. I think Anya Taylor-Joy is perfect as the created humanoid, and she continues to show her abilities. If you have fubo you can stream, but most likely you will have to rent/buy to stream.

Blurb - A corporate risk-management consultant must decide whether or not to terminate an artificially created humanoid being.

https://youtu.be/rqmHSR0bFU8

James Wan is back to direct The Conjuring 2. He's becoming the king of the supernatural horror sub-genre. These are always well done and full of jump scares. You can watch it on Netflix & HBOmax.

Blurb - Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to North London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by a supernatural spirit.

https://youtu.be/VFsmuRPClr4

Between directing Trollhunter & Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Andre Ovredal directed The Autopsy of Jane Doe. He was inspired by The Conjuring and started looking for a similar project. Check it out on amc+.

Blurb - A father and son, both coroners, are pulled into a complex mystery while attempting to identify the body of a young woman, who was apparently harboring dark secrets.

https://youtu.be/dg8r7ph1DKE

The 3rd movie in the franchise, The Purge: Election Year, brings back Frank Brillo as Leo Barnes. Writer/Director James DeMonaco meant for the 3rd movie to be a prequel but since he was able to get Brillo, they went in another direction. Listen, it's a Purge movie ... you'll love it if you like the franchise. It's a rent/buy to stream, but I'd be shocked if it isn't back on HBO soon.

Blurb - Former Police Sergeant Barnes becomes head of security for Senator Charlie Roan, a Presidential candidate targeted for death on Purge night due to her vow to eliminate the Purge.

https://youtu.be/RXMp9fBomJw

Before getting Shazam!, David F Sandberg's first full-length feature was Lights Out. This is another film that tried to avoid CGI as much as possible and uses practical effects to scare the crap out of you. Check it out on HULU.

Blurb - Rebecca must unlock the terror behind her little brother's experiences that once tested her sanity, bringing her face to face with a supernatural spirit attached to their mother.

https://youtu.be/6LiKKFZyhRU

Get Bjorn again and discover your inner Viking

Listen I can only lead you to the water, I can't make you drink. But nothing says I can't hold your head under the surface until you relent and watch all of Robert Eggers' films. Especially his newest masterpiece, The Northman. To Celebrate its Vikingness, I have a couple of other films with Vikings you might like.

If you have Peacock Premium you can stream this beast of a movie - if you have Spectrum cable, you can get Peacock Premium for free. Once again Eggers gets it as close as he can to the period and gives us a taste of what being a Viking and a Viking slave is all about. The Northman is beautifully shot, well-acted, and brutal. I say this knowing he didn't have final cut, so I'm sure they ended up forcing him to add in something. Still, it needs to be seen.

Blurb - From visionary director Robert Eggers comes The Northman, an action-filled epic that follows a young Viking prince on his quest to avenge his father's murder.

https://youtu.be/oMSdFM12hOw

One of my favorite "monster" movies is The 13th Warrior. Based on Michael Crichton's book Eaters of the Dead, is a retelling of Beowulf. It is told through the eyes of an outsider played by the always fabulous Antonio Banderas. It was considered a flop when it came out but I was there opening week, and I try and watch it every year. You can stream it on tubi.

Blurb - A man, having fallen in love with the wrong woman, is sent by the sultan himself on a diplomatic mission to a distant land as an ambassador. Stopping at a Viking village port to restock on supplies, he finds himself unwittingly embroiled in a quest to banish a mysterious threat in a distant Viking land.

https://youtu.be/Ui7GUCzlBTM

If you like Monty Python you need to give Erik the Viking a shot. It's written and directed by Terry Jones and he was able to get a few of the Pythons to pop in. It's a challenge to the idea of religion, fate, and man's ability to guide his destiny, but wrapped in a silly and fun movie. This is another movie I watched all the time growing up. You can stream it on tubi.

Blurb - Erik the Viking and his men travel across the sea to find Valhalla to ask the gods to end the Age of Ragnarok.

https://youtu.be/Gdq8u9lTdlA

Outlander is kind of Predator vs Vikings - sign me up. Jim Caviezel plays an alien that lands on Earth to try and kill another alien before it destroys the populace. They get both aspects right and put together a fun movie. You can watch it on Amazon's Freevee app.

Blurb - During the reign of the Vikings, Kainan, a man from a far-off world, crash lands on Earth, bringing with him an alien predator known as the Moorwen. Though both man and monster are seeking revenge for violence committed against them, Kainan leads the alliance to kill the Moorwen by fusing his advanced technology with the Viking's Iron Age weaponry.

https://youtu.be/xHZdnFluTf8

Beowulf is one of the earlier complete motion caption films(the first to get a PG-13 rating) and one of the first 3D films. This movie has a big cast of superstar actors and the direction of Robert Zemeckis who embraced the technology for three straight films(this is #2). You can stream it on Pluto TV.

Blurb - The warrior Beowulf must fight and defeat the monster Grendel, who is terrorizing Denmark, then Grendel's Mother, who begins killing out of revenge.

https://youtu.be/DaShOr5AeKA

Pathfinder is a remake of a Norwegian film, and the director stated "twice Hollywood has remade one of my movies and somehow produced the worst movie ever." The only reason it's on my list is Karl Urban. Love him, and he does a decent job here. You have to rent/buy to stream this one, but if you wait, it might pop up somewhere for free.

Blurb - A Viking boy is left behind after his clan battles a Native American tribe. Raised within the tribe, he ultimately becomes their savior in a fight against the Norsemen.

https://youtu.be/6XM4LpL1iMc

I'm not I've seen the 1958 movie, The Vikings but for the longest time it was the Viking movie. I'm not sure if it will hold up to some of the more "accurate" films and shows of today, but it is Kirk Douglas so anything is possible. You'll have to rent/buy to stream this one.

Blurb - A slave and a Viking prince fight for the love of a captive princess.

https://youtu.be/Hyk9UScz4_8

2015 - Horror goes funny

There are a lot of movies I haven't seen from 2015 so my 10 may be missing some of your favorites. Something I noticed about this year is the resurgence of the comedy horror. I guess people got tired of the torture porn and they needed a laugh. Of course, my #1 is not remotely funny ...

Robert Eggers's first full-length film, The Witch, is a cinematic masterpiece. He filmed it in a way that makes you believe you are back in the 17th century. It also shows just how talented Anya Taylor-Joy is as this is her debut. You wouldn't know it, and would think she had been in the business for decades if it wasn't obvious she is so young in the picture. It's a film I often say must be seen, even by those who don't enjoy horror. You can check it out on Showtime, but if you wait I'm sure it will pop back on Prime.

Blurb - A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic, and possession

https://youtu.be/iQXmlf3Sefg

So Green Room is also not funny, and would have been #1 if not for The Witch. It's more entertaining, and seeing Patrick Stewart as the leader of a group of Nazi skinheads is a complete WTF. Anton Yelchin holds his own as the leader of the band trapped in the Nazi's compound. It hits all the right notes on tension, violence, and terror. Check it out on Showtime.

Blurb - A punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar.

https://youtu.be/yKdVYUXyBzU

I'm a big fan of writer/director S. Craig Zahler, and his first movie Bone Tomahawk. It was a long road to getting the movie made. The script was ready in 2007, cast in 2012 (with Timothy Olphyant in the Fox role, and then recast and made for release in 2015. The cast is outstanding, and I think movies like this has helped with the popularity of the rise in splatter-westerns in the indie horror book market. You're going to have to rent/buy to stream this one.

Blurb - In the dying days of the old west, an elderly sheriff and his posse set out to rescue their town's doctor from cannibalistic cave dwellers.

https://youtu.be/0ZbwtHi-KSE

One of my favorite horror-comedies is The Final Girls. This movie takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to the slasher genre, while giving us a touching mother-daughter reuniting sub-plot. I've seen it on HULU now and then, but you will have to rent/buy to stream it right now.

Blurb - A young woman grieving the loss of her mother, a famous scream queen from the 1980s, finds herself pulled into the world of her mom's most famous movie. Reunited, the women must fight off the film's maniacal killer.

https://youtu.be/zreNh78kTjg

Before Christopher Landon gave us the Happy Death Day Franchise & Freaky, he wrote & directed one of my favorite zombie movies Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. I'm huge fan of Tye Sheridan, and I love when a "serious" actor gets it and does a fun/funny horror film. If you have time I'd suggest you check out Joe, Mud, and The Night Clerk to see his fine work. You can stream this with PlutoTV.

Blurb - Three scouts, on the eve of their last camp-out, discover the true meaning of friendship when they attempt to save their town from a zombie outbreak.

https://youtu.be/ZOhSbNJ7MqI

Another horror-comedy smashes a bunch of sub-genres to give us Freaks of Nature. Here we find a place were vampires, zombies, and humans live together in a community. Sprinkle in an alien invasion and you have a recipe for some extremely gory laughs. It will pop up on tubi from time to time, but for now it is a rent/buy to stream.

Blurb - In the town of Dillford, humans, vampires and zombies were all living in peace - until the alien apocalypse arrived. Now three teenagers - one human, one vampire, and one zombie - have to team up to figure out how to get rid of the visitors.

FYI - could only find red band trailer so watch out.

https://youtu.be/WTefEfLisM0

Before directing Thor 3 & 4, Taika Waititi teamed up with Flight of the Concords' Jermaine Clement to give us the office style documentary focused on the modern-living vampire, What We Do in the Shadows. Although the two men wrote 150 pages for the screenplay, they never let anyone see it and often only gave a broad idea of what they were looking for. They would sometimes give distinct beginnings and ends of certain scenes just to keep the movie on track, but most of the film is ad-libbed. It's rent/buy to stream right now but I'd think they'd have it on HULU at some point. The movie is now a show on F, and you can watch that on HULU.

Blurb - Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are vampires who are struggling with the mundane aspects of modern life, like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts.

https://youtu.be/IAZEWtyhpes

From the man who brought us Trick 'r Treat, comes another holiday horror film, Krampus. It's a fun and playful take on the Krampus myth, and one of many films that came out that year looking at the horror of Christmas. It's a rent/buy to stream movie but I'd be shocked if it didn't pop up on a service closer to the holidays.

Blurb - A boy who has a bad Christmas accidentally summons a festive demon to his family home.

https://youtu.be/h6cVyoMH4QE

James Wan's partner in Saw and the first 2 Insidious films, Leigh Whannell, takes the director's chair for Insidious 3. This is a prequel, and takes us back a few years to give us a look at Elise Rainier's dealings with the spirit world. Check it out on tubi.

Blurb - A prequel set before the haunting of the Lambert family that reveals how gifted psychic Elise Rainier reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity.

https://youtu.be/3HxEXnVSr1w

While it isn't one of my favorite Guillermo del Toro films, Crimson Peak is a beautifully shot movie and a call back to the old gothic horror films that came out of Europe in the 60s & 70s. I may need to revisit it with fresh eyes, and give it another chance. You can stream it on Netflix and see for yourself.

Blurb - In the aftermath of a family tragedy, an aspiring author is torn between love for her childhood friend and the temptation of a mysterious outsider. Trying to escape the ghosts of her past, she is swept away to a house that breathes, bleeds - and remembers.

https://youtu.be/6yAbFYbi8XU

Register to win at Author Con in Richardson this July!

First off, I must apologize. I lost track of the day, and should have had a post ready to go this morning. I've been busy trying to finish the first draft of Donn, TX 1978 so I could have it available at the convention. I can't wait to share it with you.

While we wait for the day to come, the authors participating at the convention have put together some prizes. Everyone who comes will get a raffle ticket, but you can earn an extra entry by signing up early. This will help us know how many books & items to bring to make sure everyone gets a chance to discover some new and amazing stories. 2 shots to win some very cool prizes.

Click here to register

2014 - Horror takes an eclectic path

2014 gave us a good mix of original works & outside-the-box remakes. A ton of stuff came out so I'm sure I missed something popular or one of your favorites. We are still in my dark period, but this year does contain some of my favorite movies in the genre. So let's get to it.

First up is the movie adaptation of Joe Hill's novel, Horns. Hill is Stephen King's kid, and the novel is one of my favorites. Alexandre Aja brings his flair for horror to the director's chair, and Daniel Radcliffe takes on another role to shake off his Harry Potter type-casting. Radcliffe is fantastic as the main character, and yet when I hear he replaced Shia LaBeouf, I find myself wishing he had been able to do the movie. Check it out on tubi.

Blurb - In the aftermath of his girlfriend's mysterious death, a young man awakens to find strange horns sprouting from his forehead.

https://youtu.be/yg9GW3Krsi8

If Horns is 1a, It Follows is a close 1b. Before David Robert Mitchell wrote/directed the mind-bending Under the Silver Lake, he gave us this fun and scary pursuit film. Check it out on Netflix.

Blurb - A young woman is followed by an unknown supernatural force after a sexual encounter.

https://youtu.be/HkZYbOH0ujw

Director Jennifer Kent owns the rights to The Babadook and states there will never be another one as long as she does. I hope she keeps her word because this is a rare gem that doesn't deserve any watering down. Check it out on amc+ or Shudder.

Blurb - A single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.

https://youtu.be/k5WQZzDRVtw

James DeMonaco returns to the Purge universe to give us The Purge: Anarchy. I love this one, and if you squint, you might see a bit of the Punisher in this version. You'll have to rent/buy to stream to this one.

Blurb - Three groups of people intertwine and are left stranded in the streets on Purge Night, trying to survive the chaos and violence that occurs.

https://youtu.be/XzFCDqKE4yA

The Town That Dreaded Sundown is a weird one. It's kind of a loose remake of the 1976 film, which is based on a true story, but also a sequel in a way. It should be up there with the classic slasher films. Check it out on tubi.

Blurb - 65 years after a masked serial killer terrorized the small town of Texarkana, the so-called "moonlight murders" begin again. Is it a copycat or something even more sinister? A lonely high school girl may be the key to catching him.

https://youtu.be/iFnQ250vdAg

I've talked Cooties up a ton on this site. It's funny, and a great take on the zombie genre. The cast is great and knows how to operate in an ensemble atmosphere. Check it out on tubi & VUDUfree.

Blurb - A mysterious virus hits an isolated elementary school, transforming the kids into a feral swarm of mass savages. An unlikely hero must lead a motley band of teachers in the fight of their lives.

https://youtu.be/G_he1HiLy0A

John Erick Dowdle gets the horror director trifecta(Quarantine, Devil) with As Above So Below. This is the first production to secure permission from the French Government to film in the catacombs. You'll have to rent/buy to stream this one.

Blurb - When a team of explorers ventures into the catacombs that lie beneath the streets of Paris, they uncover the dark secret that lies within this city of the dead.

https://youtu.be/Fq358xHbzN4

Stephen Sommers's last time in the director's chair(he's not dead, but The Mummy only gets you so much grace) was for the adaptation of Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas. I'm not sure if this would have ever become a series but the death of the main actor, Anton Yelchin, puts a dent in it. Still, this is an entertaining movie and worth the watch. Check it out on Prime, tubi, & Roku.

Blurb - In a California desert town, a short-order cook with clairvoyant abilities encounters a mysterious man with a link to dark, threatening forces.

https://youtu.be/CV_7tOWGvio

Kevin Smith continues his journey into horror with the completely bizarre Tusk. He worked out the idea on his podcast and took 15 days to film the complete film. Justin Long is fantastic as the brash Pod-caster, and Michael Parks is captivating as Howard Howe. I'm not even sure it's a good movie, but it needs to be seen.

Side note - Johnny Depp disappears into the role of Guy Lapointe. It was originally offered to Quentin Tarantino, but he passed. You need Showtime to stream it.

Blurb - A brash and arrogant podcaster gets more than he bargained for when he travels to Canada to interview a mysterious recluse... who has a rather disturbing fondness for walruses.

https://youtu.be/BCQJnOn0ru0

After Wolfman flopped, Universal kept the Universe going with Dracula Untold. They are desperate to have Universal Monsters be a viable universe but they never seem to get the right people in charge. However, this is an interesting and fun take on Dracula - more action film than horror. Luke Evans is perfectly cast as Vlad and I think it would have been great to see a sequel that shows us how he evolved into the character from Bram Stoker. Check it out on HBOMax.

Blurb - As his kingdom is being threatened by the Turks, young prince Vlad Tepes must become a monster feared by his own people in order to obtain the power needed to protect his own family, and the families of his kingdom.

https://youtu.be/_2aWqecTTuE

Sandwiched between 2 amazing movies, Sinister & Doctor Strange, director Scott Derrickson gave us Deliver Us From Evil. If you like possession movies, this is a fun ride. Like most of these, it is loosely based on a true story. You will have to rent/buy to stream this one.

Blurb - New York police officer Ralph Sarchie investigates a series of crimes. He joins forces with an unconventional priest, schooled in the rites of exorcism, to combat the possessions that are terrorizing their city.

https://youtu.be/YWDM_p68HAQ