Redemptio (2019)

This docudrama, which combines real interviews with seven inmates of the Catlagirone prison with reenactments of their crimes, is the creation of writer/director Fabio Cillia.

According to the film’s distributors, One 7 Movies, “Redemptio is a docufilm of its own kind: thanks to a special permission from the Italian Ministry of Justice, Redemptio presents seven authentic interviews to inmates held in the Catlagirone’s jail (Sicily). All the interviews are genuine, as those men tell the story of their lives in prison: what they dream, what they hope, what they need. Different stories from different men, convicted for various crimes, from robbery to murder. Different men but with a common fear: what is expecting them outside, once they will finally be released.”

It’s kind of strange that One 7 Movies put this out, as they usually release stuff like Sex and Black Magic or Sex, Demons And Death. But if you’re interested in what a true crime documentary from Italy would be like, then you should check this out.

You can learn more by checking out CAV Distributing Corporation‘s site, who is releasing this in the U.S. or watch it on Amazon Prime.

Creature from Cannibal Creek (2019)

Take a look at this little guy in this movie. He’s awesome. He looks nothing like the poster art at all and for that, I respect the hell out of this movie.

It’s also about a religious family that kills sinners and then uses the meat from those infidels to survive through the harsh winters. So, you know, cannibals and swamp monsters, or as the title promises, Creature from Cannibal Creek.

Writer, director, producer, cinematographer, editor, costumer, sound designer, even one of the guys who is wearing the suit — John Migliore did pretty much everything in this movie that takes everything you loved about The Hills Have Eyes, moved it to a more watery setting and then brought in Swamp Thing.

How much influence does Wes Craven’s movie have on this? One of the bad guys is named Neptune!

If you love swamp horror and cannibals…do I even have to finish that sentence? I had a blast watching this one. I can fully admit that it’s a goofball cheap movie, but you know, the lifeblood of this site remains within films exactly like this.

You can watch this on Tubi or get the DVD from Wild Eye Releasing.

Punk the Capital: Building a Sound Movement (2019)

Washington DC was a center of American punk rock in the late 1970’s. Punk the Capital explores that era and gives voice to those who were part of it, celebrating musicians such as Bad Brains, Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye and Jello Biafra.

These bands, the music they created and the influence they still exert are powerful. James June Schneider (co-director, editor), Paul Bishow (co-director) and Sam Lavine (associate producer, co-editor) have assembled a document that feels alive and vital, one that makes you want to experience this movie no matter if you’re a punk fan or have never heard this music before.

How was a punk scene created in one of the most conservative cities in the world? How did the young punks work with older hippies to get places for their shows? And how did the sound of DC from 1976 to 1983 change the world of music?

Beyond rare performances by Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Teen Idles, The Slickee Boys, Faith, The Nurses, Enzymes and Chalk Circle, more than a hundred interviews with those who lived this time were conducted.

It all comes together to be a document that music fans should seek out.

Punk the Capital will be released on Blu-ray and DVD in the US for Record Store Day on June 12 via Passion River and in the UK for Record Store Day on July 12 via Wienerworld. A portion of all DVDs and blu rays sold through Dischord Records will go to the DC based charity We Are Family.

You can learn more at the official site.

Evil Everywhere (2019)

In 1985, an ancient evil started to kill a high school senior class in alphabetical order before it was stopped. Yet now in 1987, three friends discover that the evil force has returned and they alone can stop it.

Jake Davis must find Zeke Zanderfeldt (writer, director, editor and actor Mykee Morettini), the classmate who stopped the evil in the past and team up with occult mistress Julia Lochley (Corrinne Mica) to battle the demons that have come back. Dylan Mars Greenberg also appears as one of the past survivors, Sister Nun.

This movie is a sequel to Paura Tutto, a short that was a satire based on the films of Dario Argento. This may not be as over the top, but it still has a comedic edge that sets it apart from your average slasher.

Evil Everywhere is now available on demand and on DVD from Wild Eye Releasing. You can learn more on the official Facebook page.

Ape Canyon (2019)

We love Bigfoot movies enough to have an entire Letterboxd list devoted to them. Ape Canyon offers something that no other film on that list does. It’s a life crisis film wrapped up in a need to find a living sasquatch.

Cal Piker (Jackson Trent, who also was in Bad Witch) reappears in the life of his sister Samantha (Anna Fagan) and demands that she go to Oregon with him to look for Bigfoot, a trip that he has paid for with her credit card.

The trip to Ape Canyon means facing danger and being guided by the Bigfoot Investigation Organization, which starts with everyone’s money being stolen and then the group left in the woods to die.

Just as much a road trip and exploration of what happens when life doesn’t live up to our dreams, Ape Canyon is anything but just another bigfoot movie. Joshua Land, its director, also co-directed the aforementioned Bad Witch, which also nicely sidesteps convention. I really liked how past meetings with the mysterious monster are only shown in animated form. And now, I’m interested to see what he and screenwriter Harrison Demchick do next.

Ape Canyon is available on demand from Indie Rights. You can learn more on the official Facebook page.

SON OF KAIJU DAY MARATHON: Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is gorgeous, with fully-realized and realistic versions of the monsters I grew up loving so much. However, the truth is, I was always more than happy with their look even when they were played by men in suits.

Also, whenever I hear studios say things like how this movie “brings together Godzilla and King Kong in an ecosystem of other giant super-species, both classic and new” I throw up a little in my mouth.

Imagine my surprise when I didn’t hate this. And for once, my wife, who consistently looks at kaiju movies and says, “I don’t get it” was into one of them. I blame her young age and not growing up on a steady diet of Gamera, Rodan and Ultraman.

This movie also reimagines Godzilla and the other kaiju as almost Lovecraftian elder gods that owned the Earth before we did. I’m fine with that as well. And I’ll sit through human drama as long as I get the payoff of sweet, sweet lizard on dragon violence and thankfully, this film delivers.

Michael Dougherty, who wrote Superman Returns — a movie I despise on a level that I will legitimately fistfight people over — and Trick ‘r Treat directed this movie.

I really don’t need a pushed shared universe to enjoy a movie. As it is, Godzilla fans kind of built their own continuity in the Toho films. But that’s what people want in a post-Marvel Cinematic Universe and here, they get it, leading into the next film’s battle with Kong.

That said, the scene where all the various kaiju bow to Godzilla? Yeah, that was awesome.

The Tangle (2019)

Written, directed by and starring Christopher Soren Kelly, The Tangle is the story of what happens beyond the internet. The film is all about a secret government agency that watches over the Tangle, which is packed with nanobots and microdrones that make up the air, the water and the blood of human beings. Now, there is no way to keep a secret, as every thought is made up by the S.O.L. (Secure OnTangle Line), made up of quantum encrypted hard drives implanted in the brains of its users, which is everyone.

A secret government agency called the A.S.P. (Army of Simply Purity) watches over the Tangle from within technology safe rooms, safe from being, well, entangled inside the internet reality that has taken over the world. When a field agent is murdered in one of those rooms — the first murder in three years — the Tangle may be compromised.

The main suspect is Carter Carmine, a private detective who was one of the people who helped to create the Tangle. He’s had the hard drive removed from his brain, but he already somehow figured out how to keep hidden from the Tangle. So what is he hiding?

It turns out that the tools that can fix the Tangle and solve the murder are ones that existed before technology took over. Can reality be saved?

This is Kelly’s first full-length film and it’s already a winner. I’m looking forward to what comes next, because this film is filled with unexpected moments and ideas. You can learn more at the Facebook fan page.

The Tangle is available on demand.

The Wrong Cheerleader (2019)

More power to David DeCoteau for making movies still after decades of directing. Most of his latest output has been a series of The Wrong… movies starring Vivica Fox like The Wrong ValentineThe Wrong Mr. RightThe Wrong Real Estate AgantThe Wrong StepfatherThe Wrong Teacher and so many more.

In this installment, Vivica is Coach Flynn, but the main story is all about one of her cheerleaders named Becky (Cristine Prosperi, who is also in Bring It On: Worldwide and The Wrong Neighbor and The Wrong Prince Charming), who falls for a boy named Rob who ends up trying to possess every moment of her existence.

How did I know that this, of all the movies on the set came from DeCoteau? Because for all the cheerleading girls, the majority of the action is focused on male abs. Hey — the dude knows what he likes and keeps making movies. More power to him.

Want more cheerleader movies? Then grab Lifetime’s new Cheer! Rally! Kill! 5-Film Collection, which features this movie and four others on DVD.

Undercover Cheerleader (2019)

Autumn is a new student in a new school that…yes, has daddy issues and yes…is somehow talented enough to become a top cheerleader with little to no effort. However, she’s also working undercover, as the cheer team needs taken down a peg and the high school newspaper feels like the folk to do the job.

It turns out that all of the cheerleaders take laxatives to stay skinny and then there’s also a mystery maniac stalking all of them. So while the nod to the slasher made me happy, I really wanted more out of this. But hey — it’s a cheerleader movie made in 2019, not something playing a drive-in in 1975.

Could Autumn’s new boyfriend be a killer? Why are girls so mean to one another? And how does dance translate so well to cheering? I have so many questions, which means that I have to keep watching movies like this to increase my knowledge base.

Want more cheerleader movies? Then grab Lifetime’s new Cheer! Rally! Kill! 5-Film Collection, which features this movie and four others on DVD.

The Cheerleader Escort (2019)

This is closer to what I wanted out of a cheerleader movie from this set. Again, a new girl, a new school, an instant admission to a cheerleading team and then, the new girl can no longer afford to go to college, so she gets into a prostitution ring that’s run by her coach and a bunch of alumni who she trusts until its too late.

I kind of love that this movie is shot in around three locations with a minimal budget to the point that the basketball game looks like the least athletic sporting event you’ve ever seen. Big points for the giallo like scene and killing off one of the cheerleaders by shooting her up with drugs, as well as the main girl deluding herself into thinking that the scummiest man you’ve ever seen could possibly love her and even the other guy more age appropriate to her also has a girlfriend and she still keeps giving him signals like she wants him. Everyone in this movie is either a moron or a horrible person except for the roommate who never ever leaves her room and seemingly only exists to be a sounding board and the only sign of ethnicity in this entire movie.

This movie also has more Canadian accents than an 80’s slasher. 

You can get this as part of Lifetime’s new Cheer! Rally! Kill! 5-Film Collection, which features four other cheerleader movies on DVD.