Week 10 (Aug 23 – 29) – Mill Creek’s Mausoleum of Mumblegore: The indie wing of low-budget horror or the horror wing of low-budget indie.
A young boy named Roscoe (who grows up to be director and writer James Sizemore) encounters a mysterious portal leading to an underworld realm, where he is taken in and mentored in black magic by an elder demon named Dimwos (John Chatham)s. Raised into manhood away from human society, Roscoe is unaware that Dimwos acts as a gatekeeper holding back far worse forces.
Decades later, a sudden lapse in judgment shatters a sacred talisman, unleashing a horrifying clan of rogue demons into our world. Fleeing the unholy invasion, an adult Roscoe returns to his rural Georgia hometown to stop the carnage. He reunites with his childhood friend Eva (Ashleigh Jo Sizemore), who—unlike the typical damsel in distress—packs a rifle and plenty of spunk to fight back. As the feral demons slaughter locals, possess campers and raise an army of cemetery ghouls to march on the Peach Tree State, Roscoe and Eva must hunt down the monsters before they turn the entire world into hell.
The Demon’s Rook is a monumental independent effort shot almost entirely in the backyards, barns and woods of Sizemore’s family and friends in Georgia. Sizemore handled multiple duties on the production, including directing, co-writing, starring, editing and spearheading the extensive practical prosthetic makeup and creature effects. True to its underground roots, the film eschews glossy digital aesthetics in favor of saturated lighting—flooding smoky, styrofoam-built sets with vibrant greens, reds and blues. The synthesizer-heavy score leans heavily into the traditions of vintage Italian horror soundtracks.
Sure, it doesn’t always make much sense, but I’ll be frank. I don’t care. This movie feels like a metal concert and you don’t want to take someone to the show who doesn’t get it. Sometimes, you go yourself because you don’t want to hear any derision. As ths song reminds us, “If you want blood, you got it. Blood on the streets, blood on the rocks. Blood in the gutter, every last drop. You want blood, you got it.” It’s like someone set the ghost of Fulci loose in Georgia and that’s high praise.
You can watch this on Tubi.
