⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thursday, September 3, 2026
Night of the Skull (1974) (Spain)
aka Night of the Assassins
Jess Franco gets his lovely trash-stained hands on the plot of a German krimi in this Spanish made murder mystery. When well-off Lord Archibald is murdered, a group of greedy and sleazy folks are gathered in his manor for the reading of the will. His abused daughter (the lovely Lina Romay) is left everything and the shafted parties are not happy. This doesn’t last when it is revealed there is more family arriving and another will is found in London. Adding to the confusion, a hooded and skeleton-masked stalker is knocking off the party in ways prophesied in something called The Book of the Apocalypse. Twists upon twists complicate the plot and it seems everyone may be hiding something, even the brilliant Scotland Yard inspector who has come to assist a local detective by the name of Bore. The women are lovely, the mustaches are full, Lina Romay gets whipped by her drunk stepmother, and a séance leads to murder in this often overlooked Franco romp. It’s an endearing time which hits most of the right notes to fit into that comfortable level of innocent-ish Eurosleaze.
Stalking (2023) (UK)
⭐️⭐️⭐️
The discovery of an old camcorder in the middle of the woods leads three camping young men down a terrifying rabbit hole involving a dangerous entity that has plagued mankind for centuries. After coming across the campsite of the vanished videographer and going through his collected notes, they initially laugh off the writings on the humanoid creature known as The Rake. It seems one of them may have a deeper connection to all the strangeness which would explain why he almost immediately becomes so invested in everything. As the hours crawl on, the more interested dude decides they need to return the shit to the campsite and forget about what they found. If only things were ever that fucking easy. The level of pitch-black visuals and awkward lighting complimented by the ramblings of the trio may add to a realism a whole bunch of filmmakers miss in found footage but it’s also a trade you’re making for anything thrilling. Luckily, once they start diving into the deep end and something notices their presence in the woods, writer/director/editor/producer/actor H. Owen Richardson shows why he’s so damn reliable at this kind of horror cinema and uses the darkness to his advantage. They decide to keep filming because the discovery of a skull has them worried that they need to maintain their innocence in case any authorities come across the abandoned campsite and the materials that the trio are attempting to return from whence they came. As you know, footage don’t get found because people are triumphant in dealing with the supernatural. It’s good, it’s just spends a little too much time being indecipherable for how long it is.
The discovery of an old camcorder in the middle of the woods leads three camping young men down a terrifying rabbit hole involving a dangerous entity that has plagued mankind for centuries. After coming across the campsite of the vanished videographer and going through his collected notes, they initially laugh off the writings on the humanoid creature known as The Rake. It seems one of them may have a deeper connection to all the strangeness which would explain why he almost immediately becomes so invested in everything. As the hours crawl on, the more interested dude decides they need to return the shit to the campsite and forget about what they found. If only things were ever that fucking easy. The level of pitch-black visuals and awkward lighting complimented by the ramblings of the trio may add to a realism a whole bunch of filmmakers miss in found footage but it’s also a trade you’re making for anything thrilling. Luckily, once they start diving into the deep end and something notices their presence in the woods, writer/director/editor/producer/actor H. Owen Richardson shows why he’s so damn reliable at this kind of horror cinema and uses the darkness to his advantage. They decide to keep filming because the discovery of a skull has them worried that they need to maintain their innocence in case any authorities come across the abandoned campsite and the materials that the trio are attempting to return from whence they came. As you know, footage don’t get found because people are triumphant in dealing with the supernatural. It’s good, it’s just spends a little too much time being indecipherable for how long it is.
Atakan: The Bloody Legend (2020) (Russia)
aka Devil’s Relic
Mostly annoying students and their young professor journey through the catacombs of St. Petersburg to find the titular legend. Atakan is a gigantic slab of granite on which Pagans sacrificed humans. The boulder supposedly had supernatural powers and went missing sometime in the thirties after the paranormal division of the Soviet government investigated it. One of the students (Nora, who definitely has a thing for Professor Mitin) is “fortunate” enough to have had a grand-pappy who saw the rock whilst building a subway sometime in the fifties. His whole crew died but he managed to make it out alive. Of course, he was institutionalized for his story but he conveniently sketched a map in the journal he kept. Now an impromptu and ill-conceived field trip is in progress and horrible shit is about to befall this unlikable group. Nora and the professor were planning on doing the trip with only each other for company but Nora’s bestie rightfully distrusts the professor and her brother and his idiot friend tag along. They’re also joined by one of the dude’s exes as they make their way through the club where the entrance to the catacombs is located. So that’s our group and not one of them is even remotely worth getting to know. Almost immediately they’re beset by troubling occurrences: disturbing journal entries, ear-piercing sounds, mild injuries, camera malfunctions, serious injuries, irritating Russians… the usual. The deeper they go, the worse things get and the malicious supernatural power of the sacrificial stone is realized too late to help most of these dinks. Violence and stupidity are the name of the game and it unfortunately fumbles an intriguing idea which makes it even more insulting.
⭐️
Mostly annoying students and their young professor journey through the catacombs of St. Petersburg to find the titular legend. Atakan is a gigantic slab of granite on which Pagans sacrificed humans. The boulder supposedly had supernatural powers and went missing sometime in the thirties after the paranormal division of the Soviet government investigated it. One of the students (Nora, who definitely has a thing for Professor Mitin) is “fortunate” enough to have had a grand-pappy who saw the rock whilst building a subway sometime in the fifties. His whole crew died but he managed to make it out alive. Of course, he was institutionalized for his story but he conveniently sketched a map in the journal he kept. Now an impromptu and ill-conceived field trip is in progress and horrible shit is about to befall this unlikable group. Nora and the professor were planning on doing the trip with only each other for company but Nora’s bestie rightfully distrusts the professor and her brother and his idiot friend tag along. They’re also joined by one of the dude’s exes as they make their way through the club where the entrance to the catacombs is located. So that’s our group and not one of them is even remotely worth getting to know. Almost immediately they’re beset by troubling occurrences: disturbing journal entries, ear-piercing sounds, mild injuries, camera malfunctions, serious injuries, irritating Russians… the usual. The deeper they go, the worse things get and the malicious supernatural power of the sacrificial stone is realized too late to help most of these dinks. Violence and stupidity are the name of the game and it unfortunately fumbles an intriguing idea which makes it even more insulting.
The Fear Footage (2018) (USA)
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Found footage anthology uses an intriguing wraparound story and some enjoyable spookers to stand out among a subgenre littered with plenty of the same old, same old. Police officer Leo Cole responds to a bizarre call involving an infamous house. A witness claims that the home where a young girl murdered her family and herself has suddenly reappeared one year after it was demolished. Sure enough, the house is inexplicably there and Officer Cole heads in to investigate. He finds a tape marked “The Fear Footage” in a VCR and pops it on in. We then witness three tales which make up the content of the tape, all seen through the eye of his body cam. So it’s a bit of found footage witnessed through the lens of found footage. In The Birthday Party, a ten year old boy films a confrontation with a possibly supernatural clown the night before his party. This is the weakest of the entries and is nearly sunk completely by piss-poor acting and a lack of excitement. There’s a few fine moments but it’s mostly a waste of time. In Storm Stalkers a trio of storm chasers, filming their latest adventure for a web series, take a wrong turn and accidentally run over a man who appears out of nowhere. This proves to be the least of their problems when a black-robed cult begins chasing after them and ends up leading them to a labyrinthine abandoned building where a black mass has been performed and something monstrous has been unleashed. Fast paced and fun, Storm Stalkers proves to be the best of the bunch. The third and final story is Speak No Evil and it involves a recovering drug addict looking to prove to his girlfriend that he hasn’t relapsed by filming proof of the strange noises he’s hearing at night from the woods right outside the back of his apartment. He turns up some disturbing history about massacred children, an abandoned church and a connection to his past that may just cost him his life. It gets a little goofy at the climax but it’s no cinematic sin and it doesn’t shamble around long enough to be offensive. Throughout the viewing of the tape, Officer Cole does some investigating and slowly peels away at the horrible secret within the house. He soon comes into contact with whatever presence was left behind and finds himself trapped. Everything moves by at a clip and there’s some wonderfully realized (if slightly goofy looking) entities haunting the film’s runtime. Outside of the first story, I enjoyed everything and if you got an itch for shaky-cam horrors you could do a lot worse.
Found footage anthology uses an intriguing wraparound story and some enjoyable spookers to stand out among a subgenre littered with plenty of the same old, same old. Police officer Leo Cole responds to a bizarre call involving an infamous house. A witness claims that the home where a young girl murdered her family and herself has suddenly reappeared one year after it was demolished. Sure enough, the house is inexplicably there and Officer Cole heads in to investigate. He finds a tape marked “The Fear Footage” in a VCR and pops it on in. We then witness three tales which make up the content of the tape, all seen through the eye of his body cam. So it’s a bit of found footage witnessed through the lens of found footage. In The Birthday Party, a ten year old boy films a confrontation with a possibly supernatural clown the night before his party. This is the weakest of the entries and is nearly sunk completely by piss-poor acting and a lack of excitement. There’s a few fine moments but it’s mostly a waste of time. In Storm Stalkers a trio of storm chasers, filming their latest adventure for a web series, take a wrong turn and accidentally run over a man who appears out of nowhere. This proves to be the least of their problems when a black-robed cult begins chasing after them and ends up leading them to a labyrinthine abandoned building where a black mass has been performed and something monstrous has been unleashed. Fast paced and fun, Storm Stalkers proves to be the best of the bunch. The third and final story is Speak No Evil and it involves a recovering drug addict looking to prove to his girlfriend that he hasn’t relapsed by filming proof of the strange noises he’s hearing at night from the woods right outside the back of his apartment. He turns up some disturbing history about massacred children, an abandoned church and a connection to his past that may just cost him his life. It gets a little goofy at the climax but it’s no cinematic sin and it doesn’t shamble around long enough to be offensive. Throughout the viewing of the tape, Officer Cole does some investigating and slowly peels away at the horrible secret within the house. He soon comes into contact with whatever presence was left behind and finds himself trapped. Everything moves by at a clip and there’s some wonderfully realized (if slightly goofy looking) entities haunting the film’s runtime. Outside of the first story, I enjoyed everything and if you got an itch for shaky-cam horrors you could do a lot worse.
Archaon: The Halloween Summoning (2020) (USA)
⭐️1/2
An ancient Celtic mask is purchased on the dark web and fucks up the lives of a small group of idiots. When you wear the mask it transports you into some kind of supernatural dimension and allows some dumbass demon to get ya. An expert tracks down the morons and tries to help. I can usually overlook bad acting but the line delivery here is hard to ignore. There’s a few interesting ideas gestating somewhere under the surface but they’re never unearthed. Don’t waste your time.
An ancient Celtic mask is purchased on the dark web and fucks up the lives of a small group of idiots. When you wear the mask it transports you into some kind of supernatural dimension and allows some dumbass demon to get ya. An expert tracks down the morons and tries to help. I can usually overlook bad acting but the line delivery here is hard to ignore. There’s a few interesting ideas gestating somewhere under the surface but they’re never unearthed. Don’t waste your time.
Funeral Siniestro (1977) (Colombia)
⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
The mysterious death of the family patriarch is just as troublesome to his daughter in Colombia as it is to innocent family members in every corner of the globe… at least, that’s what the pictures have taught me! Isabelita is left in the care of her stepmother who, like her American, Spanish, British, Japanese, Italian, Indonesian, Indian… (you get the idea) counterparts is up to no good and has no issue getting Isabel out of the picture to get her hands on all the inheritance... but things get unexpectedly complicated in Jairo Panilla’s shoestring-budget familiar thriller. Isabelita’s uncle leaves for a week (he plans on raising the girl but his idea of selling the home and getting a good chunk of money for her schooling does not sit well with the bitter stepmother) and asks the young caretaker to watch over the hacienda and report back to him on any unsavory activity. I don’t think he much cares for his sister-in-law. Of course, Lucrecia, overhears this request and the caretaker isn’t long for this world. She’s a real bitch. Stepmom problems are a dime a dozen in genre films but Isabelita also has supposed supernatural activity to deal with. She claims she sees ghosts in the rural home and hears strange noises at night. That’s a lot on the plate for the world’s oldest looking child (non Burial Ground edition). Black magic is Lucrecia’s means to an end but she also ain’t afraid to get her hands dirty. On that note: I’ve never thought I would heap praise on the performance of a corpse but I really hope they didn’t actually kill the caretaker and he’s just really good at playing dead. Anyways, Isabelita’s concerns for her own safety worsen and an accident knocks out the area’s electricity for a few days. Lucrecia looks to be ready to make her move (she also looks stylish as hell in her pantsuit) but her plans hit a snag and she ends up on the other side of living thanks to a telegraphed impalement… which may not be the relief our hero so deserves. Alone in the dark (well, if you use your imagination) Isabelita has a very long and terrifying night ahead of her in a hacienda empty of everything but she and the very awake-lookin’ corpse of the woman who hated her ass. Cheesy organ music, locals used as actors, rough editing and an awkward, sluggish pace has my mind slipping into an Andy Milligan haze but some accomplished shots, the persistent doom-laden score and a heaping helping of atmosphere shake those cobwebs loose and open up my eyes to a completely unique experience. As my friend Allison would say, “Good shit.”
The mysterious death of the family patriarch is just as troublesome to his daughter in Colombia as it is to innocent family members in every corner of the globe… at least, that’s what the pictures have taught me! Isabelita is left in the care of her stepmother who, like her American, Spanish, British, Japanese, Italian, Indonesian, Indian… (you get the idea) counterparts is up to no good and has no issue getting Isabel out of the picture to get her hands on all the inheritance... but things get unexpectedly complicated in Jairo Panilla’s shoestring-budget familiar thriller. Isabelita’s uncle leaves for a week (he plans on raising the girl but his idea of selling the home and getting a good chunk of money for her schooling does not sit well with the bitter stepmother) and asks the young caretaker to watch over the hacienda and report back to him on any unsavory activity. I don’t think he much cares for his sister-in-law. Of course, Lucrecia, overhears this request and the caretaker isn’t long for this world. She’s a real bitch. Stepmom problems are a dime a dozen in genre films but Isabelita also has supposed supernatural activity to deal with. She claims she sees ghosts in the rural home and hears strange noises at night. That’s a lot on the plate for the world’s oldest looking child (non Burial Ground edition). Black magic is Lucrecia’s means to an end but she also ain’t afraid to get her hands dirty. On that note: I’ve never thought I would heap praise on the performance of a corpse but I really hope they didn’t actually kill the caretaker and he’s just really good at playing dead. Anyways, Isabelita’s concerns for her own safety worsen and an accident knocks out the area’s electricity for a few days. Lucrecia looks to be ready to make her move (she also looks stylish as hell in her pantsuit) but her plans hit a snag and she ends up on the other side of living thanks to a telegraphed impalement… which may not be the relief our hero so deserves. Alone in the dark (well, if you use your imagination) Isabelita has a very long and terrifying night ahead of her in a hacienda empty of everything but she and the very awake-lookin’ corpse of the woman who hated her ass. Cheesy organ music, locals used as actors, rough editing and an awkward, sluggish pace has my mind slipping into an Andy Milligan haze but some accomplished shots, the persistent doom-laden score and a heaping helping of atmosphere shake those cobwebs loose and open up my eyes to a completely unique experience. As my friend Allison would say, “Good shit.”
Cucuy: The Boogeyman (2018) (USA)
⭐️⭐️
A big and ugly boogeyman is snatching up some piece of shit bullies in a small town. Sofia, recently placed on six-month house arrest for beating the shit out of some assclowns who were picking on her hearing impaired sister, begins to look into the nefarious happenings. With the help of her sis and the hunky dork who lives across the street, she plans on unraveling the mysterious disappearances. Could it be her new creepy neighbor who is obviously hiding something in his basement? Well, if you read the first sentence you would know that’s not the case. It’s the standard Rear Window plot bit with a supernatural bent and a cool looking monster lurking in the shadows. The heroine is likable and the idea is neat enough but there’s really not much meat on the bone to merit any return viewings. It’ll probably end up airing on SyFy and that’s exactly where it belongs.
A big and ugly boogeyman is snatching up some piece of shit bullies in a small town. Sofia, recently placed on six-month house arrest for beating the shit out of some assclowns who were picking on her hearing impaired sister, begins to look into the nefarious happenings. With the help of her sis and the hunky dork who lives across the street, she plans on unraveling the mysterious disappearances. Could it be her new creepy neighbor who is obviously hiding something in his basement? Well, if you read the first sentence you would know that’s not the case. It’s the standard Rear Window plot bit with a supernatural bent and a cool looking monster lurking in the shadows. The heroine is likable and the idea is neat enough but there’s really not much meat on the bone to merit any return viewings. It’ll probably end up airing on SyFy and that’s exactly where it belongs.
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