During the day Paola is an ordinary primary school teacher, but at night, she turns into…The Christmas Witch, a magical creature who brings gifts to the good kids.

That said, what is a Christmas Witch? Well, she doesn’t even come on Christmas! In Italian folklore, Befana is an old woman who delivers gifts throughout Italy on Little Christmas, which is called Epiphany Eve (the night of January 5), the night before the Catholic Church celebrates the manifestation of the divinity.

Some suggest that Befana is descended from the Sabine/Roman goddess named Strenia. Regardless, each year, she visits all the children of Italy to fill their socks with candy and presents if they are good, or a lump of coal,  dark candy or a stick (if they live in Sicily) if they are bad. She also will sweep the house, which is symbolic of sweeping away the problems of last year.

So wait…why are we covering this on our site? Stay tuned after the trailer.

So why did we watch it?

The director is Michele Soavi.

You read that right. The same man who made Cemetery Man, Stagefright, La Secta and The Church.

This is his first theatrical film since 2008’s Blood of the Losers.

Yes, let that sink in. The dude in the metal mask from Demons made a Christmas movie for kids.

Don’t worry — it’s pretty crazy, even if his visual style is a bit muted here.

The plot concerns Paola being kidnapped by Mr. Johnny, a cruel toymaker who got his childhood ruined by the Witch and is now seeking revenge. Six brave kids all learn the teacher’s secret and work together to save Christmas from commercialism.

So yeah. Merry Christmas early, everyone. You may have wanted something filled with gore and all manner of insanity like a rabbit that learns how to use a TV remote, but hey, you can’t pick what’s under your tree. Just enjoy this one, which you can find for free on Tubi and Amazon Prime.

This is the second film for director D.C. Hamilton, who worked with writer Brinna Kelly on The Midnight Man. They’ve teamed up again for this film and Kelly also stars as Penny.

Basically, it’s a conversation that begins again and again between two characters. Major points for having Jack Kirby be such a big part of their back and forth, which I doubt any normal people would use as the focal point of a conversation, but hey, I’m a Kirby fan. It reminds me of the Tarantino script doctored Silver Surfer discussion in Crimson Tide that seems to come out of left field.

The look of this film is heads and shoulders above most released to streaming movies and the idea and execution are, too. An intriguing little film that you should check out for yourself, The Fare is available on demand and on blu ray from Epic Pictures.

DISCLAIMER: We were sent this movie by its PR team. That has no bearing on our review.

Directed by Scott A. Hamilton, and scripted by Hamilton, Chad Morton, Nico Giampietro, and Rachel K. Ofori, What Death Leaves Behind tells of a man who, after a kidney transplant, experiences flashbacks and nightmares that he thinks are from his donor. This sends him down the path of vengeance for a person he has never met before.

Shot under the working title of The Kidney, the movie gives us the literal dictionary definition of the word non-linear at the start of the film. That’s important to remember as we get into the story of Jake, who gets a new kidney, which gets him off dialysis but also starts flooding his mind with memories and potential connections to a serial killer in Chester, PA.

It’s an intriguing idea, but moves pretty slow, to be honest. That said, you may find something you like within this picture. You can learn more at the film’s official site.

DISCLAIMER: We were sent this movie by its PR agency. That has no bearing on our review.

What if Lord of the Flies only had women? That’s pretty much the question posed by this 2018 movie, which was directed by Amanda Kramer.

The film begins with a disorienting earthquake that soon finds eight teenage girls trapped in a house together. As supplies begin to run low, so does their grip on reality and sanity.

One of the characters, Dolly, says “We’re not boys. We’re not brutal.” That’s not true. After all, I’ve had numerous young boys punch me in the face and I can’t remember their names, while the slings and arrows of women hurt you way worse and are so much more memorable.

Soon, Olivia (Gert from Marvel’s Runaways) and Piper (Annalise Basso, Oculus and Ouija: Origin of Evil) are vying for leadership over the pack of girls, who are soon dressed in increasingly strange and more fashion-forward costumes. Their world is dominated by worries of further earthquakes and the potential of a man who may have snuck into the house.

Ryan Simpkins, who was the young co-lead alongside Maggie Gyllenhaal in Sherrybaby, plays Dolly. Maya Hawke, who was such a breakout actress on the most recent season of Stranger Things, also appears.

The film comes off as quite similar to a stage play. Your willingness to deal with its long pauses and extended takes will determine how much you enjoy it, as well as how much you can deal with artier films. Don’t go in expecting a slasher movie.

DISCLAIMER: We were sent this movie by its PR company. That has no impact on our review.

Marla is the frightening story of a woman (Lisa van-dam Bates, who also does special effects and makeup on other movies) who gets an IUD implanted by a family friend turned doctor — not a great idea, huh? — who then commits a deranged act, which has deadly implications for those close to her.

I kind of love that Becca walked in during a sex scene in this film where the killer IUD ended up murdering Marla’s boyfriend Jake. I mean, it sprayed blood all over the place and pretty much tore him to bits. She said, “What are you watching?” And then she sat and watched much of the rest of the film in between kissing our dog Cubby. She misses most of the exploding men and wall to wall blood.

Jason Strange, who plays the doctor who inserts the IUD, has a story that might be more insane than this mocie. He was a fugitive during filming, having walked away from the halfway house which he was living in on probation for a 2006 armed robbery. Shortly after filming ended, a local newspaper ran a story about the film with photos of Strange on set. U.S. Marshalls saw that article and shortly afterward, they arrested him.

Marla is available on demand and on DVD from High Octane Pictures. You can learn more on the film’s official Facebook page.

Set in a lawless,  nameless county, Robbery follows Richie, a down-on-his-luck gambling addict who wants to escape his past. When his career criminal father, Frank, receives a dementia diagnosis, Richie realizes that in order to pay off his debts, he must exploit Frank’s illegal expertise while he is still able to.

Corey Stanton is the auteur of this movie, which moves back and forth through the lives of its characters.

Art Hindle, who was Chris Hayden in Black Christmas and Ted in the Porky’s movies, plays the elder man who is slowly losing everything, Frank. Jennifer Dale is great as the evil casino owner who decides to call in her debts, setting the heist in motion.

I enjoyed this movie way more than I thought I was going to. I’m looking forward to seeing what Stanton does next.

DISCLAIMER: We were sent this movie by its PR company.

G. Patrick Condon (Stephen Oates, Netflix’s Frontier) is a filmmaker who has taken money from loan sharks and drank it all away. Now, he owes them a horror movie and can’t afford the special effects, so he’s just going to kill the cast and crew.

Grace has always dreamed of being a famous actress and will do anything to get there. Her first big break is Condon’s film, but she soon learns that she can’t leave the set and will be recorded around the clock. And oh yeah, killed on film.

Incredible Violence is the first movie by G. Patrick Condon — yes, the same name as the character. Just like the movie you’re watching as it is being filmed, cast and crew were not told what scenes were being shot and when until right before shooting, which happened continuously over a two-week period. 

Just like Incredible Violence, the actors agreed to be locked inside the house for the entire filing of the movie and were only allowed to leave when their characters were killed. Well, trust me, they get killed left and right, as this is an incredibly bloody film. I’d say it’s amazing that the characters stuck around for the entire filming, but then again, isn’t that what happened for real? What happens when the director stops making decisions and the cameras keep rolling?

Incredible Violence lives up to its name while standing out from so many of the “me too” slashers that have clogged up streaming services and the shelves at WalMart.

Check it out. It’s now available on all streaming services and cable on demand.

DISCLAIMER: We were sent this movie by its PR company.