When six young and hopeful actors land roles in an experimental horror film shooting on a remote location with no crew present — what is this Makinov directing the Who Can Kill A Child? remake? — and only drones to film the events. Of course, before you can say snuff film, that’s exactly what starts happening.

Director/writer Bobby Marinelli has done just about every job there is to do on a set, so his knowledge of the way these characters behave is probably pretty well informed.

He told Timothy Rawles of iHorror, “A lot of my career as a reality television producer was based on manipulating ordinary people into extraordinary situations. I often wondered how far this could be taken and it developed into a really interesting premise for a horror film. With Death Cast I was able to blend reality docudrama tropes with those of a slasher flick, the result is familiar but unique to the genre.”

I got major vibes of a better David DeCoteau Full Moon production here, which is not a bad thing, so if you’re in the mood for a slasher that plays with technology and the need to be a star, this is the one for you.

Death Cast is now playing Salem Horror Fest. When we have streaming info, we’ll share it in this post. For now, you can follow that link to buy a festival badge and check out several other films during October. You can learn more at the Facebook page and official site for the movie.

As they run from a botched robbery, four criminals — one critically injured — end up at a farmhouse. But the family inside may be more dangerous than waiting for the police.

The first full-length film from Kris Roselli, Hideout has families on both side of the character divide and cross purposes for the robbery. Shot in an Airbnb house in Millville, NJ, the foursome make their way into the home and are treated — at first — with hospitality as the grandma and granddaughter remove the bullet and treat Reed (Chris Wolfe, who is wonderful in this, going for sympathetic to menacing sometimes in the very same moment). However, once the fugitives realize the homeowners — and soon everyone in the neighborhood — know who they are, things begin to get violent.

Bryan Enright, who plays Kyle, is really solid in this. He expects to be able to control these civilians and gradually learns that he’s in over his head. This is a great opportunity for him to show just how talented he is with a big role and he makes a wonderful showing.

That word — gradually — comes into play here as the criminals start trying to escape   as the supernatural moments begin to increase. And there’s a really tense scene as a neighbor gives two of them a ride, realizes that he’s listening to a police report about them on the radio and ends up bleeding out at the hands of Reed.

Part criminals trying to escape, part home invasion, part occult horror — this film has moments for just about any genre fan to dig into.

Hideout is premiering during the Salem Horror Fest and will be available on demand November 9. Until then, you can follow that link to buy a festival badge and check out several unique films during October. You can learn more about Hideout at the official Facebook page.

Earlier this week, I shared my love for the WNUF Halloween Special. I’m happy to report that there’s a spiritual follow-up that goes from the wonder of UHF to the magic of found footage VHS tape trading and the start of viral videos.

A few weeks before Halloween, the crew at Click Clique — a click bait website that once did actual journalism — is struggling to get articles that keep traffic coming in and the lights on. June, who is in charge of this strange bullpen of social media influencers, asks them to gather the 13 most disturbing pieces of footage and give her a 15-second intro. There’s also the secret that the money has run out and anyone whose story doesn’t pass muster will be leaving the halls — such as they are — of Click Clique.

Where the WNUF Halloween Special expertly took aim — and created incredibly perfect UHF era TV footage — at past media, What Happens Next Will Scare You hits everything from dash cam videos to vlogs, re-edited listicle videos, old episodes of In Search of, Cops, the Warrens, urban legends, creepy pasta and serial killer obsessions. It’s like a barrage of YouTube clips with your eyes held open like Betty in Opera.

The music by Queen Wolf — you can grab their music and merch right here —  sounds raw and perfect for this movie and I was overjoyed to see Paul Fahrenkopf — but not as Frank Stewart — show up, as well as the return of Dr. Louis and Claire Berger.

How-to videos for exorcisms? Bigfoot on the loose? Killer clowns? A Beanie Baby possessed by a demon photocopying its ass? What Happens Next Will Scare You find director, co-writer and co-producer Chris LaMartina and co-writer and co-producer Jimmy George delivering on a high concept without falling into rote by the numbers parody. They deftly mix rather silly moments with horrific 911 calls. The vlog segments seemed too basic until the absolutely grisly fate of what happened to the teen vlogger. Throw in a cursed record and the urban legend and creepypasta bent of this film just wins you over.

I was beyond excited to see this, as I was sure that it was going to be exactly the type of movie that I get obsessed about. I’m happy to report that it lived up to everything I wanted it to be.

Kassi (Romy Boloix) needs money, so she starts working in a weed greenhouse, but the owner is soon murdered and she goes on the run directly into the curse — that we learn about in a flashback to the 1800s that has prominent cell phone towers present — that haunts the mountain.

Director Stephen Garnett’s IMDB bio states that he’s “known for developing talent and creative collaborations with the top branding companies in the world and working with artists of all walks of life.” That slickness extends to this film.

I heard a debate today about whether or not movies can be exploitation today and yet still feel ethically acceptable to view. That’s a good question and I think that there really isn’t a filmmaker ready to go full Bruno Mattei any longer.

This is a fine movie, but never goes fully into the muck of a woman seeking revenge film. Maybe we’ve evolved past that, but we should still strive to entertain.

If She Screams is now playing Salem Horror Fest and is also on Amazon Prime. For now, you can follow that link to buy a festival badge and check out several other films during October.

It’s kind of perfect that a movie called Witch Hunt is playing at the Salem Horror Fest. In this short, directed and written by Evan Gorski — who has yet to make a full-length movie but let’s hope that happens soon — a vengeful keyboard warrior named Jeff suddenly finds a mysterious woman from out the past at his door.

The title comes from the idea that social media attacks can feel an awful lot like, well, you get it. So when Jeff feels the rage of those he’s done wrong, he gets his very own Salem witch trials. Again, how appropriate for this month’s fest!

Witch Hunt looks gorgeous. I just wish it had a bit more time to stretch out its story and let us know a bit more about how we got here.

Witch Hunt is now playing Salem Horror Fest. When we have streaming info, we’ll share it in this post. For now, you can follow that link to buy a festival badge and check out several other films during October.

Alice Maio Mackay has been making movies since her teens — she got a Stephen King Dollar Baby film, A Tale of the Laundry Game, at 13 — and this Australian film — made as she turns 16 — is all about Kurt, an outcast in a conservative town who dreams of moving to the city to become a drag queen.

And then one night, he’s killed by a predatory old vampire.

That’s not the end.

He’s saved by a brood of young bloodsuckers and taught the ways of the vampiric world. They may not live forever, but they aren’t bothered by Holy Water. crosses or even sunlight. And they pray upon the people who bully others, like the counselors of a Christian pray away the gay camp.

With a quick run time, some fun musical numbers and plenty of emotional bonding between those young vampires — and some juicy Bram Stoker gossip — So Vam ha sits heart — and plenty of blood — on its sleeve. It’s also a blast.

So Vam is now playing Salem Horror Fest. When we have streaming info, we’ll share it in this post. For now, you can follow that link to buy a festival badge and check out several other films during October.

You have to admire the kind of audacity that it takes to make a near-perfect slasher pastiche and then set it in a world where every single person is a clown except for the mime hero.

It shouldn’t work but it does. It wonderfully and absolutely does.

Liam Wals has only made four short films, but you can see that this movie would stand alone as a full-length movie. It just works on every level, from the exciting energy of a slasher to the comedic play at the genre’s conventions to, well, the fact that yes, everyone is a clown. And the closing battle — in which the mime uses his pantomine skills to battle the killer — must be experienced.

Here’s how I know a short works: when I feel like I needed more at the close. I want so much more of the world of this picture and I want more films by Wals and the writer of this short, Micah Fusco.

By all rights, this should be a silly Troma or Full Moon affair. And yet it transcends.

You Missed a Spot is now playing Salem Horror Fest. When we have streaming info, we’ll share it in this post. For now, you can follow that link to buy a festival badge and check out several other films during October. You can learn more on the official site for the movie.

Written and directed by Sarah Kennedy, Miss Blueberry Beauty Pageant brings you back to 1984 as three finalists — Sandra (Joanna Clark), Maribelle (Hannah Elaine Perry) and Daisy (Jericah Potvin) — realize that they may not survive to win their tiara. Thomas Ian Campbell is great in this as The Host and I love the way his sale copy reveals exactly what is going on.

Beauty pageants are frightening enough, but when you throw in vampires — the main one at the end is incredibly cool — things get so much better. While this is quite short — you can see how it could be an entire movie — it’s also packed with some hilarious moments.

Miss Blueberry Beauty Pageant is now playing Salem Horror Fest. When we have streaming info, we’ll share it in this post. For now, you can follow that link to buy a festival badge and check out several other films during October. You can learn more about this short at the official Facebook page.

Director and writer Ben Charles Edwards wrote this story to deal with the pain of his childhood. It’s all about a young boy who has an abrupt change in his life as his mother is thrown out of the family home and replaced by a strange and perhaps supernatural woman.

I really enjoyed this movie, as you can tell that its creator was using it as some form of exorcism. I want to know how they got The Cure on the soundtrack on their budget. And the scene that they provide the music for is absolutely astounding, as the new mother figure throws herself around the house dancing while wearing a Rejuvenique (shout out to the Found Footage Festival) massage mask. Most horror movies are, let’s cut to the chase, not scary. If you came home and someone was wearing that mask and dancing, you’d probably need therapy.

It’s not perfect, but man, that one scene more than makes the film.

Father of Flies is now playing Salem Horror Fest as part of the Showcase of Massachusetts Filmmakers series. When we have streaming info, we’ll share it in this post. For now, you can follow that link to buy a festival badge and check out several other films during October.

EDITOR’S NOTE: We originally reviewed this on April 27, 2021 and really enjoyed how Sam and Mattie lived their dream. We’re really excited that this is playing Salem Horror Fest!

Since they met at the Special Olympics, Sam Suchmann and Mattie Zufelt have been best friends. Mich like the readers of thsi site, they’re obsessed with movies and decided that it was time to make their own, filled with sex, violence and gore. And they totally succeeded.

This is it pretty much the feel-good movie of all time.

Sam and Mattie went on to storyboard, script, produce, cast and star in their dream project, which they called Spring Break Zombie Massacre.

This is the story of how it all happened.

Produced and directed by Sam’s brother Jesse and Robert Carnevale, this movie intersperses the narrative of the film the guys made with the real stories that inspired it and moments of them actually making it.

Perhaps the best part of the film is the fact that Sam and Mattie may not have made a movie that was a financial success, it was exactly what they wanted to do.

This is a story filled with people smashing the expectations of disability, of communities being formed to help them and the joy of making a movie where Satan continually pisses all over people. It’s also one of the happiest movies I’ve watched in some time, so if you need a pick-me-up, I recommend it with no reservations.

Sam & Mattie Make a Zombie Movie is now availble digitally on demand everywhere you can get movies.