Gory Indie Horror recommended by Author / Bone Tomahawk & Brawl in Cell Block 99 director S. Craig Zahler
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- DirectorBrian PaulinStarsNette DetroyBrian PaulinJoe OlsonKevin's wife passed away while giving birth to their first born child. He can not cope with the lose of of family and becomes obsessed with making contact with her by any means possible.Atmospheric. Creative. Great music. My favorite shot on video horror ever by the king of indie horror, Brian Paulin.
Certainly, the viewer needs to accept certain things that come with a micro budget labor of love like Fetus and undoubtedly some viewers want quickly-edited bloody action movies (28 Days Later and The Descent) rather than atmospheric isolated horror, which is my preference (eg. Rosemary's Baby, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scarecrows, City of the Living Dead, Inside, Profondo Rosso, The Shout, Lost Highway). I imagine that if this piece (and Bone Sickness) were shot on film in the seventies and rediscovered now, they would be ubiquitously categorized as "essential cult."
((I don't have a problem with shot on video stuff (which this is), especially when the compositions and lightning are as thoughtful as they are here and i believe there is a some benefit to the extra visual information you get at 29.97 fps, a different level of reality, even if the image isn't quite as pretty. It's not better than film, but different with it's own quality.))
When comparing Fetus to Paulin's seemingly best known work, Bone Sickness, Fetus is altogether better realized-- the compositions, lighting, acting and effects are of a higher caliber-- but Fetus is less ambitious in terms of its scope. So Fetus is more professional and less flawed than Bone Sickness, but it does not reach as high or sustain its crescendo for nearly as long. I also appreciate the fact that Fetus is done in a completely serious way, rather than the jokey splatter of Jackson or Evil Dead II or Shaun of the Dead kind of stuff.
The music is strong, and in an older Giallo style, which helps the vibe. There are certainly some moments that confused me-- audio & effects ideas that didn't fully translate-- but this movie and Bone Sickness are the best shot on video horror movies I've seen, and they overachieve in so many departments (inventiveness, craziness, atmosphere, gore, etc.) that all the flaws are easily forgiven. - DirectorBrian PaulinStarsKevin BarbareGriff BrohmanBrian DeClercqKristen is caring for her Terminally ill husband who is suffering from a degenerative bone disease. With no cure available she turns to a friend to help find an alternative form of medicine that has unimaginable side effects.Another resourceful, atmospheric, creative, and beautifully scored indie splatterwork by Brian Paulin.
- DirectorMichael Todd SchneiderStarsBen TatarNikki McIntyreJustin AlvarezAlthough a bit ambiguous to outside viewers, the relationship between Mr. Ben and Sydney is quite healthy. They lead separate lives away from each other, able to devote personal time to their hobbies. Mr. Ben buries himself in his studies while Sydney goes out and parties, super-70's style. No worries, they always begin their day with a meal and end it with a prayer.Patient viewers will be rewarded: ...And I Helped is in no rush, which is part of its appeal, and it gets better as it progresses, heightening tension and atmosphere and overall interest.
- DirectorFrançois GaillardChristophe RobinStarsAurélie GodefroyClara ValletAnna NaigeonTormented by erotic visions of her mysterious neighbour, Angela discovers the object of her desire brutally mutilated in her flat. Now, she can see the deranged killer's next victim. Can she escape from a violent destiny written in blood?Indebted to Argento & Fulci. Sharp looking and fun throughout.
- DirectorOlaf IttenbachStarsOlaf IttenbachAndrea ArbterAndré StryiTommy finds a cursed mirror and a diary in an attic in the new house they moved in. The mirror starts to give Tommy horrible and gruesome visions as his crush keeps rising from the dead.Sick and claustrophobic early Ittenbach. His best.
- DirectorOlaf IttenbachStarsBeate NeumeyerBernd MuggenthalerEllen FischerA young drug addict reads his little sister two macabre bedtime stories, one about a serial killer on a blind date, the other about a psychotic priest terrorizing his village.Hell = Creative Torture.
Has some dull stretches, but contains Ittenbach's finest seqences. - DirectorStephen BiroStarsEight The Chosen OneScott GabbeyJim Van BebberTwo women are abducted by a group of snuff filmmakers and brought into a Hellish nightmare of unmistakable brutality, viciousness and destruction that will leave every viewer shocked, amazed and awestruck.Deliberately paced vivisections are the meat of this nearly plotless gore exploration, which in quite a few ways tops the original Japanese Guinea Pig series whence it sprung. Although many will complain of the lack of dramatic content, this movie is a hideous spectacle that displays creativity in ways other than developing an interesting "plot" or "characters"...and these ways are for the most part exceedingly nasty. It is no small achievement that after nearly an hour of carnage, Biro, Koch, Bebber, and company manage plumb the most disturbing depths in the final gore sequences and epilogue.
- DirectorWilliam WesleyStarsTed VernonMichael David SimmsRichard VidanCriminals hijack a plane and force the pilot and his daughter to fly them to Mexico. However, an unexpected landing finds them in a cemetery inhabited by killer scarecrows.Palpable atmospherics and a consistent sense of menace.
- DirectorBrian PaulinStarsChristina AmaralJack AnthonyKevin BarbareThe story is about David Gates, a cryptozoologist who is hired to film his investigations. One of them being a mysterious town where all of it's inhabitants have vanished without a trace. David uncovers far more than he anticipated and puts his own life at risk. Afterwards David begins to feel the bizarre effects from the town within his own biology. Mean while he is sent by his investor to film an exorcism. Something that is completely outside of his expertise. Already suffering from unnatural symptoms, David, who is now reluctantly in the presence of pure evil, fears that multiple inhuman forces are tearing him apart from inside.Another atmospheric, creative and original gem by my favorite horror director of the 21st century, Brian Paulin. More of a slow build experience than his last three movies, so be patient with this one.
It contains stronger performances than in his previous outings (both Olsen & Paulin) and a stunning end sequence.
Like other Paulin movies, Cryptic Plasm is a DIY confluence Italian Horror (especially Fulci), the Guinea Pig series, Tetsuo: Iron man, anime, and 80s horror, but in the end, his approach and varied influences yields a very distinct art. Nothing else feels quite like a Brian Paulin movie...except other Brian Paulin movies.
Like Blood Pigs, Bone Sickness, and Fetus (which is my top favorite Paulin movie), Cryptic Plasm shows things that few micro budgeted movies would dare attempt and for me these achievements in scope and vision overwhelm any and all technical flaws ...and often enhance the atmosphere and personality of the piece.
Recommended to people who want to see distinct, homegrown, creative indie horror. - DirectorJohn PoloniaMark PoloniaTodd Michael SmithStarsJohn PoloniaMark PoloniaTodd Michael SmithThree brothers (one who is slow and another who is adopted) have disturbing and violent hallucinations while their mother is at work.A zenith achievement in the 'kids with a camcorder' horror sub-genre. (This can be found as a bonus feature on the Polonia Brothers' Splatter Beach, which I cannot recommend.) Hallucinations is an isolated, unsettling, creative, and unfiltered cabin fever exploration of morbidly-inclined youths.
- DirectorBrian PaulinStarsTanya HennesyBrian PaulinRich GeorgeStephen and Ian are ruthless drug lords who are in the middle of a war with their rival Billy Rae Douglas. One night Stephen and Ian escort two girls home with them, who actually seem to be stranger than they are. The next morning they wake up and the girls are gone, and Stephen and Ian are not feeling so well and soon find out their lives have been changed forever. They find out that the girls were Angels that infected them with a vampire type virus. In exchange for immortality, Stephen and Ian along with the other hordes of Vampires, are to kill off the human race so that the Angels can take back what should have been theirs. The Vampires begin their slaughter until the Demon world steps in to put an end to the Angel's plans, for the Demons are satisfied with the way the three worlds co-exists.
- DirectorBrian PaulinStarsJoe OlsonRich GeorgeRichard CaronNinety nine percent of the world has been destroyed by a bio-chemical war. The survivors try to continue on by hunting and consuming the living dead.Another creative and gory fx showcase by the king of shot on video splatter, Brian Paulin.
- DirectorDustin MillsStarsBrandon SalkilErin R. RyanAllison EganDr. Peter Poole has contracted cancer, so he decides to use himself as a guinea pig for a serum to cure the disease. But the serum turns out to have extremely nasty side effects and causes Peter to go lethally around the bend.This piece gets better and more uncomfortable as it progresses.
- DirectorMarian DoraStarsCarsten FrankVictor BrandlTobias SickertAn internet advertisement placed by a man with a cannibalistic obsession brings yields a willing victim to serve up his own flesh in this dramatic account of the crime that shocked the world.The most disturbing picture on this list. A genuinely uncomfortable viewing experience that seems like some kind of confluence of Peter Greenaway aspirations and the gory leering of HG Lewis. Moody as hell, claustrophobic, and disgusting. Chances are, this isn't for you.
- DirectorShin'ya TsukamotoStarsTomorô TaguchiKei FujiwaraNobu KanaokaA businessman accidentally kills The Metal Fetishist, who gets his revenge by slowly turning the man into a grotesque hybrid of flesh and rusty metal.Very creative, but the sum is an overload and less impacting than the parts. This experimental barrage is equal parts hentai anime, Eraserhead, and Kamen Rider and displays a lot of ingenuity.
- DirectorBrian PaulinStarsMorgan DesautelThomas HeiglYan KaosA young couple who has been trying desperately to have a baby seek an alternative solution to their problem. Unable to afford regular surgery, they agree to have their unorthodox procedure steamed live, which includes the demise of an organ donor. Soon after their lives delve deep into the underground world of snuff films and Red Rooms.
- DirectorJames BellStarsLauren AbbottAmanda BellJames BellA guy struggling to find his place in life, starts his day looking for a job but finds the world he knew has regressed into a mess of confusion and the only one with the answers is too busy killing everyone.
- DirectorRobert HallStarsBrian Austin GreenThomas DekkerMimi Michaels"ChromeSkull" is the sequel to the 2009 horror hit "Laid to Rest." It brings back ChromeSkull, who barely escaped death in the first movie and is hell-bent on continuing where he left off... and forging a new path of terror and destruction.Bigger budget and slicker than everything else on this list, but loaded with incredible splatter gags and good performances. Meaner, sharper and better than its predecessor.
- DirectorJames BellStarsAmanda BellJames BellZach HillSet in a surreal future where everyone is on drugs and doctors are giving them out in return for body parts. The plot follows a couple (James and Mae Bell) with a deformed drug addicted baby as they go out and slaughter people to get drugs.
- DirectorTakuro FukudaStarsKazuhisa KawaharaA boy's nightmares about being stalked by a demon slowly transform into a terrifying reality.
- DirectorFred VogelStarsCamille KeatonDamien A. MaruscakHarvey DanielsA paralyzed soldier returns from war to his family in worse shape than anyone at home could imagine.The Toe Tag folks add some drama to their carnage, successfully.
- DirectorHideshi HinoStarsShigeru SaikiMari SomeiMasami HisamotoAn artist rescues a mermaid in a sewer who develops bleeding sores all over her body, paints a portrait with her oozes and eventually disjoints her.The most interesting of the Guinea Pig series.
- DirectorBrian PaulinStarsMike CappuccilliLynda CostaBrian DeClercqThree friends decide to try to make S&M films but their distributor is unhappy with the product and drops them. Desperate for money, Max makes a deal to shoot a rare kind of film for a large amount of money. A snuff film. Afterwards grisly things begin to happen to anyone involved.Uneven picture, but with some very good sequences, especially the stuff in the garage in the latter part of the movie.
- DirectorRyan NicholsonStarsAlastair GambleMihola TerzicNathan WitteA bowling night will turn into a bloody death match for a team of teenagers, as a deranged serial killer is taking them down one by one.Although advertised as "comedic," this nasty slasher throwback is vicious. Brutal as hell with incredible FX.
- DirectorMarc RohnstockStarsThomas SenderManoushTimo FuchsIncarnated on this Earth with the intention of obliterating all of mankind by creating an invincible army of undead legions, Necronos, the omnipotent mage, needs to locate a key element: a virgin witch.Ambitious gore fantasy that is engaging for its long running time.
- DirectorAndreas SchnaasStarsAndreas SchnaasMarc TrinkhausSteve AquilinaKarl the Butcher continues his violence on an isolated island, but this time he has his followers.Ridiculous and fun. Borderline "horror" but ambitious as hell shot on video genre mixup with plenty of splatter.
- DirectorLeif JonkerStarsGary MillerMichael GisickRandall AviksA small community is besieged by vampires. After he watches friends ravaged in a convenience store, a lone avenger goes off to do battle with the undead, armed with shotgun, chainsaw, and Holy water. Later he finds other survivors and they try to stay alive long enough to do battle with Liven, king of the vampires.High school gore project that is fun to watch and fun to think about kids making. Climactic sequence at the end is quite memorable.
- DirectorGabriele AlbanesiStarsDaniela VirgilioGeno DianaSanta De SantisAn Italian gorefest about a young couple being held captive by a sadistic backwoods family.Stivaletti of Fulci fame provides the gore. This one gets more interesting and bizarre as it goes...
- DirectorSatoru OguraA duo of guys capture and brutally torture a young girl to the point of piercing her retina.The most unsettling of the Guinea Pig series.
- DirectorFrançois GaillardChristophe RobinStarsJulie BaronGuillaume BeylardElina CalmelsIntent on spending a weekend of partying, five friends visit an empty old mansion, completely unaware of the ancient evil and the deranged leather-clad killer who lurk in the manor's dark corners. Can they escape from death's last caress?Not as stylish or atmospheric as Blackaria, but fun.
- DirectorNorbert MoutierStarsRobert AlauxFrançoise DenielPierre PattinA masked lumberjack stalks anyone who enters his woods. Throughout the film we get a variety of people who come in contact with the killer and they don't live to regret it.The slasher film equivalent of outsider art. Unhinged and wholly illogical, but engaging.
- DirectorGlenn TakakjianStarsMatt KulisPatrick BarnesTara LeighA virus from outer space transforms a bio-researcher into a blood thirsty monster. Chief researcher Dr. Vialini doesn't want the cops and public to know about this secret experiment. But he becomes lunch very soon. Its first victim is the lab's security guard. Suddenly, the guard's daughters get worried about him and go to the lab to retrieve their father. However, they have no clue what they're in store for. (UPDATED BY RYTHEBAYLORBEARSFAN89).Great creatures and practical fx set-pieces with some decent suspense.
- DirectorJörg ButtgereitStarsBernd Daktari LorenzBeatrice ManowskiHarald LundtA street sweeper who cleans up after grisly accidents brings home a full corpse for him and his wife to enjoy sexually, but is dismayed to see that his wife prefers the corpse over him.Very memorable ending and excellent music.
- DirectorÉric FalardeauStarsKayden RoseDavyd TousignantÉmile BeaudryA Hellenic word referring to the visible signs of an organism's decomposition caused by death. One day, a young and beautiful girl wakes up and finds her flesh rotting.A gross and simple tale and told with a steady hand.
- DirectorSonny LagunaDavid LiljebladTommy WiklundStarsAndreas VaehiYohanna IdhaMax WallmoTwo cheerleaders hitchhike with two handsome boys, but soon they are captured by a family of violent Swedes.Flawed, but Laguna really knows how to stage and cut intense suspense set-pieces.
- DirectorStefan SvahnStarsGordon RäckerSusanne SvahnDaniel FlüggerA group of teenage Goths tries to summon a voodoo god at an ancient graveyard. While being sedated through medicals and high on drugs, they get surrounded and butchered by awaking voodoo zombies.More atmospheric than most German splatter and fun.
- DirectorSonny LagunaTommy WiklundStarsHanna OldenburgRalf BeckThorbjörn AnderssonEmma is kidnapped and imprisoned by a trio of psychopaths.
- DirectorDon DohlerStarsDon LeifertTom GriffithRichard DyszelA science ship with three dangerous specimens collected from around the universe crash lands on Earth. A mysterious stranger named "Ben Zachary" shows up claiming to be able to save the day. Can he do what he claims?Less gory than the other pieces on this list, this movie has a pretty good set-up and some nice local (Maryland) color, yet the four distinctly different monsters are terrific and sustain the piece. Any one of of these could have carried a short, low budget picture like this, but Dohler gives us four. This picture might appeal to tokusatsu fans--I am one of those as well...
- DirectorRémy M. LarochelleStarsStéphane BilodeauJulie-Anne CôtéPhilippe ChabotMecanix tells the story of the last human beings who are forced to be the slaves of the strange creatures that rule this strange world.There is only one thing these beasts fear - the embryo of the universe : the origin of everything. The only hope that the humans have is to free themselves from this mecanic environment before they all die.Clearly the filmmaker likes The Quay Brothers and David Lynch as much as I do. Pretty ambitious.
- DirectorPeter MervisStarsRebekah KochanRobert BuckleyMark IrvingsenA babysitter begins receiving threatening phone calls from a man who has just killed an entire family.What starts out as a simple horror thriller goes in some surprisingly disturbing directions.
- DirectorSonny LagunaStarsHanna OldenburgRalf BeckAndreas RylanderWinona, a successful artist looking to get away from her stressful life. Her manager rents her a house in her home town where she runs in to an old boyfriend. They go back to the house, only to find out it is not as empty as they assumed.A simple slasher with a weird vibe. It's loaded with the tense suspense sequences that Laguna does so well.
- DirectorJohn PoloniaMark PoloniaTodd Michael SmithStarsTodd Michael SmithJohn PoloniaMark PoloniaTwo young twins are sent to spend time at their aunt's farm. What nobody knows is that the aunt's handyman is a psycho serial killer who dismembers his victims and stores their body parts in the barn.A well paced, odd, and occasionally disorienting hunk of homegrown horror and depravity with more than a few distressing surprises.
- DirectorDustin MillsStarsJessica CookErin R. RyanMandi MonroeMeticulously, a deranged masked murderer targets five beautiful women, intent on torturing them to death, one by one. The crazed psycho won't stop until they all suffer by his blade. Are the torturer and his prey connected in some way?A nasty slasher picture that gets much better as it progresses. Surprisingly well thought out storytelling.
- DirectorMarcus KochStarsDan EllisLillian McKinneyAndy WintonA man is imprisoned by a psychotic doctor who tortures him in increasingly gruesome ways in order to extract chemicals from his bloodstream. Along the way, he develops a relationship with a female prisoner.
- DirectorDoug UlrichAl DaragoStarsAl DaragoAlbert Darago IIITony Murphy Jr.A faceless storyteller relates three tales of terror: 1) An ancient evil necklace gradually takes possession of a man's soul in "Satan's Necklace;" 2) A guy goes off the deep end after discovering his wife's infidelity in "Sliced in Cold Blood;" and 3) A man becomes so obsessed with a video game that he can't stop playing it to the point that he eventually gets pulled into said game for real in "Level 21."
- DirectorJames BellStarsAmanda BellJames BellZach HillSet in a surreal future where everyone is on drugs and doctors are giving them out in return for body parts. The plot follows a couple (James and Mae Bell) with a deformed drug addicted baby as they go out and slaughter people to get drugs.
- DirectorJames BellStarsAmanda BellJames BellA short surrealist gore film, from visionary cult filmmaker James Bell (the madman behind underground hits Tantrum, Manuer, Nutsack Pt. 1: Lucifer's Cosmonauts), about a wheelchair bound man finding love in all the wrong places.
- DirectorMarian DoraStarsThomas GoerschTatjana LommelJanna Lisa DombrowskyA wealthy couple of perverts lures a prostitute to a seemingly innocent yachting cruise under the sun; however, by the end of the day, she will end up humiliated, and, above all, violated. But, is this the end of her nightmarish ordeal?
- DirectorBret McCormickStarsScott DavisJude JohnsonBlue ThompsonAn old woman coughs up what she believes to be a tumor. While asleep, the thing crawls inside of her son and reproduces inside him, then causes him to go on a killing spree to feed it.
- DirectorAndreas SchnaasStarsOliver SauerCornelia De PablosAndreas StoekA group of friends stumble onto the killing grounds of a cannibalistic loner who then mercilessly stalks down the party, one-by-one. When only a small group remains, they decide to take a stand against the murderer and fight for their lives.This SOV splatter reel from Schnaas delivers a LOT of DIY gore. Most underground movies are content with knives that squirt blood and animal innards purchased from the grocery store, and while those are apparent in A2000, so are lot of handcrafted fake limbs, heads, and torsos...and effort.
- DirectorJim WhiteakerStarsKate AlexanderJonathan ZeichnerCaleb DreneauxFear chokes the free-wheeling underbelly of San Francisco's punk scene as a killer stalks the night to feed an unspeakable appetite. Community suspicion focuses on Disease, a band that is tainted by groupie deaths allegedly induced by the drug DZS, and on "The Creeper" a misshapen outcast from the bowels of the city. A writer probes the gruesome murders and the story hits close to home, as the web of death devours neighbors, friends, and lovers.
- DirectorJ.R. BookwalterStarsPete FerryBogdan PecicMichael GrossiAn elite anti-Zombie team is assembled by the Government to cope with an ever-growing undead infection and the religious cult zealots who fanatically protect the festering foes.
- DirectorScott SchirmerStarsGavin BrownEthan PhilbeckPhyllis MunroA horror-obsessed boy discovers his older brother is a serial killer.
- DirectorFred VogelStarsBethany NewellPerry TiberioJessica KennedyA teen girl's psychotic ex-boyfriend follows her friends to Redsin Tower, where a night of partying quickly becomes a fight for their very lives.The most creative and atmospheric Toetag / Vogel venture. I hope to see them make more along the lines of this one.
- DirectorWill MacMillanStarsWill MacMillanRon KologieShamus SherwoodCenters around a cop and two brothers hot on the trail of a murderous card game in which masked participants must murder the loser or be killed themselves.A neon, shot on video nightmare with a terrific mood.
- DirectorJames BellStarsAmanda BellJames BellNathan Rumler