Partying With Ghosts, Subtitled Shark, Haunted House Insurance

If you’re a fan of fan-made horror films, you’re gonna get all tingly over the Friday the 13th homage, Here Comes the Night: Part 3, sequel to the F-13th fan films Here Comes the Night and Here Comes the Night: Part 2, all of which are free on YouTube™. Around a half-hour long and done on a budget that wouldn’t get you a hot dog and a diet soda at a hockey game (diet sodas are the preferred drink of hardcore hockey fans, who all look like Friday the 13th’s Jason Voorhees, blood and all), you at least gotta admire the passion that goes into these enthusiastic endeavors.

A bit ‘o background: “Produced by Jason Kays and directed by Tim McCormack, Here Comes the Night: Part 3 celebrates what fans love about Jason Voorhees and the classic 80’s slasher series. The epic conclusion to Here Comes the Night is finally here! Having narrowly escaped certain death at the hands of new friends and old enemies, Allison, Billy, and Suzie find safety at a cabin across the lake. However, as the sins of the past are revealed, and the lies of the present unfold, no one is truly safe at Crystal Lake.”

While you question my sanity to post this on Saturday the 14th instead of Friday the 13th (sorry — still using last year’s calendar because I don’t know why), here are a few out now/upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not be viewable on any day of the week…  

MAKO /Out now (Netflix™)

“Visiting the site of a sunken passenger ship, eight divers face a terrifying threat beneath the surface of the Red Sea.”

This shark movie came out in someplace called Egypt (never heard of it) in 2021, but it’s now on Netflix™ in our multiverse. It’s in Arabic with wonky English subtitles, so you can’t understand a thing the shark is saying. Too bad — with all those teeth, I bet it has perfect enunciation.

GHOST PARTY / Out now (VOD)

“The annual Halloween party at Auldcraft Mansion is no ordinary party. You have to be dead to be invited. This year something has gone horribly wrong and the family must bring in a living relative to help solve the mystery. This “live” theatrical play captures the true spirit, or spirits of family reunions.”

You have to be dead to be invited? As long as there’s no dress code and they put out some chips ‘n salsa. 

CONTACT: THE CE5 EXPERIENCE / Out now (VOD)

“Dr. Steven Greer and his team share their videos and photos of UFOs and extraterrestrial beings captured at CE5 events around the world.”

Those CE5 “events” are little more than UFO New Age retreats. The blurry UAP photos and videos are sorta interesting, but enough with the hippie chanting prayer circles to reach out to our space brothers; extraterrestrials already think we’re a bunch of dumbasses.

THE UNSETTLING / February 10, 2023 (VOD)

“Abena and Kwame, a Ghanaian couple, are struggling to recover from a devastating tragedy. They travel to Los Angeles for a vacation that they hope will help them find their way back to one another. Instead, during an awkward dinner with estranged friends, Vivian and Anthony, Abena is increasingly terrorized by an evil possessing the house. The house that was meant to provide refuge slowly stalks her, consuming her sorrow and trapping her in a nightmare. As her terror grows, it ultimately engulfs all four with horrifying consequences.”

They should’ve gotten haunted house renter’s insurance. And yes, that’s a real thing. I go through Obrella™ to cover my darkness-infested abode. Click here for a rate quote.

Unwelcome Aliens, Bigfoot Byname, Clown Killing Clown

When you look around your house/apartment/prison cell, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? The answer, of course is, “I sure could use a vinyl banner to liven up the place.” And really, there’s no downside to covering your bland walls with vinyl — they’re stain-resistant (mostly), easily cleaned (if that’s your thing) and will last longer than you. The folks HorrorDecor.com can make your decorating dreams come true with stylish and affordable vinyl horror banners.

Designed by Burnzig, these banners come in five choices: The Human Pin Cushion, The Forever Twins, Master of Knives and The Living Doll, cleverly recasting horror movie icons as old time-y carnival sideshow attractions. (That’s what came up on my job aptitude test.)

Each banner is $40.00 and measures 24” 30”. They come with silver colored metal grommets on all corners and can be used indoors or outdoors. I wouldn’t recommend outdoors as a stink criminal might steal it to garnish his/her inevitable prison cell.

While you’re taking down those worthless family photos to make way for these banners, here are a few out now/upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not brighten your living area…

BATTLEFIELD: FALL OF THE WORLD (aka ALIEN MONSTER INVASION) / Out now (Tubi™)

“A mysterious alien civilization’s military aircraft arrives on Earth. In order to resist the alien invasion, the military forces of various countries put politics and nationalism aside and join forces. Cheng Ling, who was struggling to survive in the ruins of the apocalypse, is inspired by this spirit and resolutely accepted the task of the defense commander, forming a strategic team with other soldiers in an attempt to destroy the alien attackers.”

I say let the aliens take over and leave them to clean up this toilet of a planet.

TAHOE JOE / Out now (Wicked Horror TV™)

“In 2022, filmmaker Dillon Brown set out with Green Beret and wilderness survival expert, Michael Rock, to document an attempt to find a missing person. What they found instead was a horror thought to be a myth.”

Tahoe Joe is another nickname for Bigfoot. Sounds like Vegas poker player’s name or that pension drunk with three teeth who sits at the end of the bar at the Tug Tavern and talks to himself.

THE LEGEND OF THE DARK CLOWN / Out now (Amazon Prime Video™)

“Jitters is a recent graduate with high hopes to one day be a birthday clown who entertains kids. When he cannot afford to pay back his student loans from clown college, he takes the only job available to a young inexperienced clown. He embarks on a life of crime when joins the Killer Clown Mafia. It’s blood in and blood out so once he kills for his crew, he has no way to leave without being murdered himself. He makes the decision to take out every evil clown in the entire city and goes on a massive killing spree in hopes to be free to become what he always wanted – a clown who entertains kids. In his desire to live his dream, he creates a nightmare and becomes a legend. He is an evil clown that kills other evil clowns.”

An evil clown that kills other evil clowns. So what happens after Jitters permanently deletes the entire evil clown population — sillycide? 

THE TOMORROW JOB / Release pending 2023 (Theaters/VOD)

“A team of thieves use a time-travel drug to trade places with their future selves to execute the ultimate heist. When interrupted on a job the team must fix their past mistakes to prevent disastrous consequences. A dynamic mix of genres, The Tomorrow Job is a high-stakes sci-fi action-adventure epic with heart, humor, and fun, and an ode to beloved heist comedies of the past.”

Time travel drugs have been around for a long time — just ask a hippie.

Space Trippin’, Corpse Cop-A-Feel, Intrusive Intruders

Here’s another thing you didn’t know you needed: Relic of a Jupiter Tomb statuettes. How you thought you’d get through life without ‘em is the million dollar question. Or rather, $325.00, which is the cost of owning one of these crazy cool and colorful and limited to 300 worldwide art pieces. To sweeten the pot, each statuette is hand-painted and airbrushed by master statue craftsmen, making each individual piece unique.

So what exactly are these things? Looks like something a hippie would dream of while tripping on Grateful Dead-grade acid. The artist known as Skinner writes of the statue’s origins: “The men found the relic within the monolithic sarcophagus of Jupiter. They had been trapped for days now, the storm outside having destroyed their ship, leaving them stranded. It was lucky that their space suits had kept them alive this long, but the oxygen wouldn’t last another day…”

Which reminds me — I need to get that hole in my space suit repaired before heading to the store. These statuettes, though, come with a two-sided removable helmet, which can be flipped to present a different design on each side. They come in a “soft touch” collector art box and ship with a certificate of authenticity signed by the House of Gog guys. Preorder ’em here.

While you go rummaging around a monolithic sarcophagus on Jupiter (Uber™ doesn’t go there, so just take the Space Shuttle), here are a few out now/upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not put YET ANOTHER embarrassing hole in your space suit…

THE ANCHOR / Out now (Screambox™)

“Sera, a nightly news anchor, receives a distressing phone call from a mother saying that a man is going to kill her and that Sera is the only one capable of solving her murder. When she discovers that the caller is real, Sera digs deeper into the case to reveal the shocking truth.”

The only calls I get are from guys with Indian accents named Jerry saying they’re calling from a tech support office in Ohio to tell me my computer is infected with a virus and that they can fix it for $798.00. Fairly priced. 

CONFESSIONS OF A NECROPHILE GIRL / December 2022 (DVD)

“Based on the true life story of American necrophile Karen Greenlee. Karen relives the most important moments of her life through a video diary, from childhood to first love and the scandal about her sexual attraction for corpses.”

Not sure where one draws the line with this subject matter, but if your bar is set high for watching live people have sex with dead people, give Nekromantic (1988) a loving gaze.

BERMUDA ISLAND / January 20, 2023 (Blu-ray/DVD/VOD/Select Theaters)

“Passengers on their way to a tropical paradise crash at sea and find themselves on a deserted island. Desperate to survive the elements and infighting between survivors, they find that the island has more in store for them than they could ever imagine.”

Like what exactly — exploding coconuts? Inflatable mermaids? Monkey butlers? Should be all of that.

GO AWAY / Release pending 2023 (VOD)

“Liz and her boyfriend Mark travel to a remote home in the woods to visit Sherry, her estranged mother. As Liz and the rest of her family try to put their differences aside long enough to survive dinner, an unexpected knock at the door turns into deadly chaos when a group of masked intruders take the family hostage and force them to play a deadly game of hide and seek.”

Social protocol dictates you call first before dropping by. Masked intruders can be so rude. 

A Kaiju Reborn, Airborne Apes, Post-Puberty Exorcist

The Gods of All That Is Kaiju have FINALLY answered my last call prayers. Gamera, one of the greatest giant monsters ever in the history of ever (spinning Frisbee™ flight abilities, plasma flames blasting out of mouth AND butthole area, Osmond-sized teeth), is coming back after being in hibernation since 2006. Kadokawa Daiei Studio and Netflix™ just announced they’re working on a project called Gamera: Rebirth for 2023. After I post this blog, I’ll need to go swap out my under garments because, you know…

From Joblow.com: “A giant, fire-breathing, prehistoric turtle monster, Gamera was first introduced to audiences in the 1965 film Gamera, the Giant Monster, which begins with an atomic bomb waking him from a long slumber in the Arctic. Over the next six years, Gamera returned in Gamera vs. Barugon, Gamera vs. Gyaos, Gamera vs. Viras, Gamera vs. Guiron, Gamera vs. Jiger, and Gamera vs. Zigra. When the studio was struggling with financial issues in 1980, they cut together a bunch of stock footage Gamera: Super Monster. Gamera then took a fifteen year break before being brought back in a trilogy of films directed by Shusuke Kaneko. Those were Gamera: Guardian of the Universe, Gamera 2: Attack of Legion, and Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris. The most recent film was 2006’s Gamera the Brave.”

While we look for a time machine to transport us to the premier of Gamera: Rebirth’s exact day and time in 2023, here are a few out now/upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not taste as good as giant prehistoric turtle soup…

ALL EYES / Out now (VOD)

“Allen hosts a podcast about strange people and paranormal phenomena. One day, he gets fired from his job. He’s totally distraught, but soon enough, he comes across a case that just might revitalize his career. He’s contacted by a widowed farmer named Don who claims there’s a monster living in the woods near his house, so Allen travels to the man’s home to interview him and see him capture the beast.”

WTF?!? Monsters live in the woods? Dang — I live right next to some woods. This really upsets my stomach area. Sure, Bigfoot lives in there as well, but he’s not really a monster. He’s more of a Naturalist/organic hippie free spirit who just happens to occasionally scare the kale outta people.

CRYO / Out now (VOD)

“In an underground facility, five scientists wake from cryosleep with no memory of who they are or how long they’ve been asleep. They soon make a shocking realization: a killer is hunting them down there, and may even be hiding among them.”

Waking up with no memory of who they are or how long they’ve been asleep sounds like they had an epic night at the Tug Tavern instead of an underground facility.

GALE: STAY AWAY FROM OZ / Pending release 2022/2023

“Long gone are the days of emerald cities and yellow brick roads in this dark re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy Gale is now an elderly woman, broken by years of paranormal entanglement with a mystical realm, which has now echoed down to her only living relative, Emily, who is being called to settle unfinished business in this terrifying world of Oz.”

Hoping this one is as bloodthirsty and barbaric as the 1939 original. It better not have dork dancing and ear gouging song interludes, though. Crossing fingers for flying monkeys.

BLOOD FLOWER / Release pending 2023 (Shudder™)

“Iqbal, a 16-year-old apprentice faith healer and exorcist, is tormented by visions of the dead and spirits from other dimensions. When a malicious spirit begins to wreak havoc around him, Iqbal is forced to harness his supernatural gifts to save his family and friends.”

A 16-year-old exorcist/faith healer who can see the dead from other dimensions. At 16 I was a paperboy.

Horror Camel, Half A Vampire, Death For Dinner

Art is horror. Conversely, horror is art. At least it is on the Bottleneck Gallery (bottleneckgallery.com) and the Hero Complex Gallery (hgcart.com) websites, where you can buy super awesome illustrated prints of classic horror/sci-fi movies. At around $60, these 24”x36” prints are more affordable than, say, a night out at the Tug Tavern.

Illustrated by some of the best artists in this sector of the known Universe, you can purchase prints of Planet of the Apes, Let The Right One In, Scream, The Shape of Water, What We Do in the Shadows, Beetlejuice, Alien, Aliens, Starship Troopers, The Addams Family, Mad Max: Fury Road, Prometheus, and more. Okay, you MIGHT’VE been able to snag these prints, as all are quite limited and probably already snapped up. But hey, bookmark those gallery websites and get in front of the grocery line for upcoming art.

While you take down your New Kids On The Block vintage (and collectible) posters to make room for Frankenstein, Dracula and The Creature From The Black Lagoon prints, here are a few out now horror movies that may or may not be better than an evening at the Tug Tavern…

BLOODLINES: THE JERSEY DEVIL CURSE / Out now (VOD)

“Something stalks the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. A demon said to inhabit the dark forests of these lands has stalked and terrified the locals for centuries, but what is the true story behind its dark origin? Said to be the thirteenth child of a witch, the Jersey Devil has long been known as one of the most popular urban legends in North America. But did you know its history stretches back thousands of years and hints at something far more terrifying than a simple ‘fairytale’? Now, uncover the roots to one of the most dramatic, and dramatically terrifying accounts of the Jersey Devil in recent memory.”

The Jersey Devil has been around for a long time, but he/she/it doesn’t have the same star power as Mothman or the Chupacabra. Probably because JD looks like a bat-winged camel with hooves of doom. Not very marketable. Time for a makeover — for starters, lose the hippie sideburns and get some new footwear.

DAMPYR / Out now (VOD)

“Haunted by nightmares, Harlan Draka wanders the countryside, shamelessly making money pretending to be a Dampyr (half-human and half-vampire) ridding villages of what the villagers naively believe to be evil monsters. But when he is summoned by soldiers who are under attack by real vampires, Harlan finds out the truth: he is a Dampyr. While trying to destroy a terrible Master of the Night, he will have to learn to manage his powers and further uncover his origins.”

So you’re half vampire, half human. Does that mean you suck yourself? 

THE FEARWAY / Out now (VOD)

“A young couple traveling down the freeway seem to be unable to get off the road after being hunted by someone intent on keeping them on the road.”

Then they shouldn’t have gotten a job with Uber Eats™.

MOST HORRIBLE THINGS / Out now (VOD)

“Looking forward to a once-in-a-lifetime experience, six single Twenty-somethings find themselves Valentine’s Day guests of an enigmatic host. Each of them have been offered money and the promise of love, if only they can survive through dinner.”

How could they not survive dinner? That green bean casserole is to die for.

Power Tool Terror

The Driller Killer is a lurid little ditty that came out in 1979. The title is way better than the flick, though. Regardless of the promise of exquisite gore and Broadway-caliber acting, it’s still a piece of crap all these years later. Except for the two chicks showering part. I’ll get to that in a sec.

Reno is a hot-tempered artist (angry hippie with a paintbrush) and his next masterpiece is the one that’ll pay the rent for him and the two chicks he lives with in a rundown slum. His agent won’t front him any cash. A crappy punk rock band just moved in downstairs and practices all night, every night. The New York streets outside are littered with the mentally ill, the criminally-minded and the stinky homeless. All this feeds Reno’s growing anxiety and ill mood.

His brain — not unlike rubber band suspenders — is about to snap. Then Reno sees a commercial on TV for a new drill that comes with a Porta-Pak™, which allows holder of said drill to move around without the tool coming unplugged. Remember, this was in 1979, long before batteries were invented.

Reno’s latest painting is that of a buffalo getting a proctology exam, hence the shocked look on the buffalo’s face. That’s what it looked like to me, anyway. Needing inspiration and a way to vent, he buys the drill and runs out into the night to make vents in the homeless. As immediately gratifying as this is, it doesn’t soothe his fraying nerves caused by the incessant noise from the band downstairs, his nagging girlfriend or his agent, who just told him his painting is the worst thing he’s ever seen. I ask you, would you not buy a painting of a buffalo getting a proctology exam? I sure as hell would. So Reno straps on the power tool and goes out to aerate as many people as he can. 

All of the killings are non-graphic, except for the close-up of his agent’s head when Reno takes his time on the screaming critic. Whaddaya know — the punk band’s noise comes in handy when covering up the shrieks of the power tooled. Reno’s girlfriend has had it and goes back to her husband. Guess who follows? [Insert revving power tool sounds here].

Oh, yeah — Reno’s chick roommates take a shower together. This was most excellent and absolutely integral to the plot, the message being that it’s important to maintain proper cleanliness and hygiene as it applies to all nooks AND crannies. I’m supportive of that stuff.

The Final Dead, Evil Clothes, Sex Zombies

Proceed with caution as there be spoilers ahead. For those who are hardcore (or even casual) Walking Dead fans, the final episode of Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln, whose father-in-law is hippie flute player Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull) was kind of a swerve.

Impaled by re-bar and barely escaping a herd/horde of walkers, Rick, bleeding out like a stuck pig, keeps passing out and hallucinating. Sounds like a night out at The Tug Tavern. Several past characters return to offer advice and to yell at him to wake up. Then he blows up a bridge over troubled waters, which cause a ton of zombies to cannonball into the raging river below.

Did Rick go ka-BOOM during the explosion? Not according to the last scene, which I won’t reveal. But it’s already in the works Rick will be back in not one but three impending Walking Dead movies, as well as directing a few episodes.

This is good news as I didn’t want Rick to go ka-BOOM. While we ponder the future of The Walking Dead without him, here are a few upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not make you wanna jump off a bridge…

CAM (November 16, 2018)
“An ambitious cam-girl wakes up one day to discover she’s been replaced on her show with an exact replica of herself. As this copy begins to push the boundaries of Alice’s Internet identity, the control that Alice has over her life, and the men in it, vanishes. While she struggles to regain what she’s lost, she slowly finds herself drawn back to her show and to the mysterious person who has taken her place.”

Okay, that’s gotta feel weird, being replaced by yourself. If that happened to me, I’d tell that guy to get a haircut and wear something else besides KISS T-shirts day in and day out for months at a time.

UGLY SWEATER PARTY (November 23, 2018)
On Christmas Eve at a campsite deep in the woods, an ugly sweater party is in full swing. Best friends Cliff and Jody arrive expecting some mistletoe action from the sexy twins who invited them, but soon realize that they are at a Bible camp. To make matters worse, Cliff is wearing a sweater possessed by the ghost of notorious serial killer Declan Rains. While the evil sweater slowly possesses Cliff, Jody also realizes that the party guests aren’t as innocent as they first seem.

An evil sweater. Welcome to the bottom of the barrel.

ARCTIC (February, 2019)
“A man stranded in the Arctic is finally about to receive his long-awaited rescue. However, after a tragic accident, his opportunity is lost. He must then decide whether to remain in the relative safety of his camp or to embark on a deadly trek through the unknown for potential salvation.”

Unless a polar bear eats his head off and snacks on his entrails as if unheated lasagna.

RABID (2019)
“Rose, a young woman who, after an accident leaves her scarred beyond recognition, undergoes a radical untested stem-cell treatment. While turning Rose into the belle of the ball, the experimental transformation comes at a price.”

A remake of David Cronenberg’s same-named 1977 classic, which was a remake of his 1975 sex zombie movie, Shivers (1975). Check out the plot: “The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are being infected by a strain of parasites that turn them into mindless, sex-crazed fiends out to infect others by the slightest sexual contact.” Forget condoms — wear a wet suit.

Demonic Beekeeper, Horror TV, Holiday Shark

Getting giddy for the upcoming premier of American Horror Story: Apocalypse. The teasers are eerie and stylishly cool, an AHS trademark. Kinda like expensive perfume TV commercials.

Some background info in case you’ve been living under a rock: “American Horror Story: Apocalypse is the eighth season of the FX horror anthology television series American Horror Story. It will premiere on September 12, 2018. Series co-creator Ryan Murphy (Glee, Feud) has confirmed that the new season will be a crossover between Season 1 (AHS: Murder House) and Season 3 (AHS: Coven).

While we count down the days until TV becomes good again, here are a few just released/upcoming horror/sci-fi movies that may or may not stink like expensive perfume…

SANTA JAWS (available now/SyFy™ Channel)
“Trying to survive the family Christmas, Cody makes a wish to be alone, which ends up backfiring when a shark manifests and kills his entire family.”

Not surprised — the title alone has inspired countless memes, so it makes sense that someone would capitalize on it. Personally, I would’ve gone with Mama Shark, in tribute of Mother’s Day. If Mama Shark tells you to go clean your room and you don’t do it, the living room rug will likely need to be forensically vacuumed to get what’s left of your torso/face/leg meat out of the absorbent fibers.

WHAT KEEPS YOU ALIVE (August 24, 2018)
“Jackie and Jules are a couple celebrating their first anniversary at a secluded cabin in the woods belonging to Jackie’s family. From the moment they arrive, something changes in Jules’ normally loving wife, as Jackie begins to reveal a previously unknown dark side — all building up to a shocking revelation that will pit Jules against the woman she loves in a terrifying fight to survive.”

Sounds more like a regular relationship than a horror movie. But then again, aren’t all relationships kind of a horror movie when you think about it?

HELL HOUSE LLC II: THE ABADDON HOTEL (September 14, 2018/Limited)
“The sequel picks up eight years since the opening night tragedy of Hell House LLC; still many unanswered questions remain. Thanks to an anonymous tip, an investigative journalist is convinced that key evidence is hidden inside the abandoned Abaddon Hotel. This evidence that will shed light on: the hotel’s mysteries, many unsolved deaths and disappearances.”

Didn’t see the first one, so I have little insight here. Hey, I was BUSY. Supergirl on The CW™ isn’t gonna watch itself. Did a bit ‘o research — Abaddon is defined as this: “In the New Testament Book of Revelation, an angel called Abaddon is described as the king of an army of locusts.” Sounds like a beekeeper.

THE DAWNSEKER (September 4, 2018)
“2245, the Earth’s sun has dwindled and no longer provides the energy needed to sustain human life. Five hired mercenaries travel to an uncharted planet to collect a rare mineral known as stardust to replenish the dying star. After their spaceship crashes on the alien planet, they are stalked and hunted by a creature far more advanced than anything they have ever encountered before.”

Stardust is the hippie/druggie code name for cocaine. Sprinkle a pile of that on the dying sun and that thing will fire up and want to party. It’ll be a short party, though. Other than that, this one sounds suspiciously like The Predator.

Mother Nature Gone Wild

Nature’s Grave (aka, Long Weekend/2008) — an Aussie horror flick about Mother Nature teaching humans a hard lesson about peeing in the woods. It’s also is a remake, which came out in 1978. Didn’t see that one. I bet they had 1970s’ haircuts and hippie clothes in that one.

Peter and Carla are a young married couple whose marital status is like a shipwreck — on the rocks. Heh. This is due to Carla having an affair, getting knocked up and having an abortion without first finding out IF the kid was actually that of Mr. One Night Stand. They argue, call each other names interjected with swear words, bicker constantly…sounds like normal married life to me.

Going camping for the weekend to see if they can save what’s left of their relationship, they head for the out-of-the-way (yeah, I could’ve said isolated, BUT CHOSE NOT TO) Moondah Beach on Australia’s North Coast, a pristine wooded and beach-y area, a perfect place to discard empty beer cans and cigarette butts. And pee.

They find a dead sea cow washed up on shore, a first clue things aren’t cool. Then snakes start getting panties in a twist. Then ants wanna build an ant farm on your face. Then Peter finds other campers’ bodies hanging from trees. Then the bugs start bugging them. Then there’s that ghostly black figure in the water, which I think is a metaphor, but is more likely Aqua Sasquatch.

Freaked out, Carla takes off in the joint custody Jeep™, leaving Peter to wake up the next day with the dead sea cow laying next to him. Yeesh — that’s the last time he’s gonna go on a Foster’s Lager™ bender. You’ve heard of coyote ugly? This is 112 times worse.

Running like hell to get the hell out of there, Peter stumbles across his dead wife. OK, one problem solved. Trying to escape Nature’s wrath, though, for all the thoughtless crimes against leaves and various bushes, Peter is surrounded by super mad foliage. And still that dark figure lurks nearby, making him freak the double heck out.

All of the stuff leading up to the final moment is horror lite, but it’s the unforeseen gnarly death scene at the end that will catch you off guard enough to actually make startled sounds come out of your spit valve.

And if you really want a cool “nature strikes back” film, hop on down to the video store and rent Frogs (1972).

Wipe Your Feet On The Hazmat

Terrorists set off dirty stink bombs over a busy downtown Los Angeles. How anyone could tell the difference is beyond me. The fallout of the explosives leaves the normally smog-thickened skies even grayer than usual, with a toxin that gently covers the city and neighborhoods in a snow-like ash. Breathe it and you’ll die a slow choking death during the course of several days. I could live with that. 

Brad, a married but unemployed musician (i.e. “hippie”), watched all this action on TV, and tries to get into the city to find his wife. The cops are blocking everyone’s attempts to breach the blockade with deadly force (i.e., tax-payer bullets). The news broadcasts tell everyone to stay inside and to cover up all the windows, doors, pet holes and any other means for the stink air to get in. Brad, though, is frantic to get to his wife. He should be—she pays the bills.

Just when he’s about to go postal, Lexi (his wife) shows up, coughing and spitting up and begging to be let in. And here’s where the whole thing hits the gas with both feet. He won’t let her in because she’s infected. Snap! Sure, he doesn’t want to do this, but he doesn’t want to die from her germs, either. Apparently all those “til death do us part” wedding vows were just meatloaf filler. He has her stay out on the back porch away from the city’s hazmat team systematically working its way through each neighborhood, looking to “round up” the infected.

She and a little kid make for the local hospital since Brad is being a total butt and won’t let them in. After she leaves, the hazmat crew show up on his doorstep and has a nice little conversation filtered through a shower curtain: Has he been in physical contact with any one infected? Is the house secure? Does he have any deodorant, as the house is topping 100 degrees (it is L.A. in the middle of summer after all) and is he stinking up the place? Yes to all of the above.

The hazmat team staple a red tag on his door, but won’t tell him what it means. Then his wife shows up, telling him the hospital is a war zone. Many farewell phone calls are made to family members, a lot of crying, a lot of “not feeling so fresh.” Just when you think Brad and Lexi’s day couldn’t get any worse, the authorities come round and toss her into a confinement vehicle. It’s here where we find out what the red tag on Brad’s door means — and it’s a real pant-twister.

Right At Your Door (2006) is one of those rare “homeland horror” movies that uses zero special effects and turns up the tension with frantic, situational dialogue and static news broadcasts. But Brad’s gonna have to re-think his infection risks if he doesn’t want to end up sleeping on the couch the rest of his married life.