Bronzi’s back! That’s right — the sixtysomething Hungarian action star born Robert Kovacs who was performing in a European Wild West stage show when director Rene Perez saw his photo on the wall of a bar and thought it was an undiscovered Bronson movie. Since then, he’s been in From Hell to the Wild West, Death Kiss, Cry Havoc, Once Upon a Time in Deadwood and now this movie.
After the death of his brother, Mick Kovacs (Bronzi) heads to America to get justice and get sent directly to the Pleasant Hill Penitentiary where he learns that his brother’s death was no accident. So he does what he does best: he kills everybody.
Much like The Shawshank Redemption, this movie was filmed in Ohio’s Mansfield Reformatory. Unlike The Shawshank Redemption, this movie is filled with CGI bullet wounds and a thin plot, but come on. You know what you want, this movie has it and you’re going to probably love it as much as I did. This is the kind of movie perfect for a lazy weekend afternoon or late night drinking session.
Gary Jones also directed Mosquito and Boogeyman 3, as well as working on the visual effects for 68 movies in the last decade of so.
As for Bronzi, his next movies include Mat Rats, a wrestling movie in which he plays The Dago and two Scott Jeffrey-directed movies, Exorcist Vengeance (yes, Bronson and exorcism combined, as they always should have been) and The Gardener.
Escape from Death Block 13 is available on demand and on DVD from Uncork’d Entertainment. You can learn more on the official website and Facebook page.
Horror is a film genre that has been seen as having no social value at best and as dangerous and Satanic at worst by the Christian community. In this documentary, director Tyler Smith (who also co-wrote the film with Reed Lackey) and host Bill Oberst, Jr. explore the world of scary movies, finding the psychological, emotional and spiritual complexities within the genre.
I was expecting something very different than what this film delivers, as it is quite even-handed and really explores nearly every facet and subgenre of horror. We had the opportunity to speak with Oberst Jr. last year — check out the interview — and found him to be both kind, open minded and incredibly knowledgeable about horror. There’s an insightful moment at the beginning of this where he discusses the divide between a career of playing monsters and a life of faith.
Smith also made Reel Redemption, another open-minded faith effort that even defended the slasher genre against the position of Siskel and Ebert.
While concentrating mostly on American film, there’s plenty of time discussing the faith and lessons one can learn from films that outright challenge belief, including Silver Bullet and The Exorcist. Unlike many of the talking head documentaries on horror, this focuses on The script at hand and Oberst Jr. is perfect at keeping the pace and energy right where it demands to be. This isn’t someone breaking in to tell you that this sequel is their favorite one in the series. This is a film with something critical to say about how horror can be a part of a faithful life and not a secret sin.
Depending on your own personal spiritual life or lack thereof, I recommend this film. Watch it with an open mind and — at worst — you can appreciate the breadth of movies that it covers.
Valley of the Shadow: The Spiritual Value of Horror is currently available on the ReDiscover Television streaming platform and on demand on Vimeo.
March 2022 Update: Uncork’d Entertainment has announced Reed’s Point will be released to DVD and Digital platforms on April 12, 2022. You can follow the project’s ongoing developments on its Facebook and Instagram pages. In fact, you can now watch Reed’s Point as a free-with-ads stream on Tubi.
Advanced Release News:
You’ve enjoyed the work of director Dale Fabrigar and producer Suzanne DeLaurentiis (got her start as an actress in the ’80s slasher Evil Judgment; produced Academy Award-winning writer Bobby Morceso’s 2006 mob flick, 10th and Wolf) with the Lance Henriksen-starring D-Railed (2018). The duo returns — with 310-credits strong acting warhorse Joe Estevez (Hell Asylum) — in a tale about New Jersey’s mythical Pine Barrens, a legend that’s fed the narratives of horror films dating back to one of the first found footage mockumentaries, The Last Broadcast (1998).
In a tale co-penned by DeLaurentiis, a vehicle crash in the Pine Barrens leads to a missing teen and stirs the once forgotten conspiracy theories regarding the infamous Jersey Devil legend. On the anniversary of the crash, Sarah Franklin (Sasha Anne), convinced her cousin Kelsey is still alive somewhere in the Jersey woods, returns to the crash site with Alex, Kelsey’s boyfriend (Evan Adams). They soon come to discover what’s lurking in the barrens. . . .
In addition to Joe Estevez, the film co-stars — in her first feature film role — lymphoma survivor and social media influencer, Sasha Anne (Instagram, TikTok, You Tube). The film also stars Anthony Jensen, whose work we recently reviewed in Jared Cohn’s fun shark fest, Swim (2021). Since we’re huge fans of director David DeCoteau — to the point we watch his Lifetime movie offerings (A Christmas Cruise and A Husbandfor Christmas) — we recognized Evan Adams, here, who made his acting debut in DeCoteau’s most recent holiday offering, The Wrong Valentine.
Currently well-received on the festival circuit, Reed’s Point will become available to streaming platforms in early 2022. Our thanks to Sasha Anne for the opportunity to allow B&S About Movies to be the first to review the film prior to its distribution. And don’t forget to check out Anthony Jensen in Swim and Evan Adams in The Wrong Valentine!
We wish actress Sasha Anne and producer Suzanne DeLaurentiis all the best of success in their joint efforts. Do stream Reed’s Point — and look for the Wild Eye Entertainment DVDs at your favorite retailers where hard media is sold.
Our Post-Release Review
So, to expand upon what we learned about the film in the pre-release press kit: After we watch an effective opening titles sequence — complete with news report voiceovers regarding a series of missing person cases in the Pines Barrens — we meet three high school friends on their last day of school and first day of summer vacation. Yes, it’s time to cut loose before heading off to college. So Uncle Greg decides to take his daughter, Kelsey (Madison Ekstrand), niece Sarah (Sasha Anne), and Kelsey’s boyfriend Alex (Evan Adams), on vacation.
Yep, cue the errant deer in the headlights. In the middle of the Barrens. And let lose The Jersey Devil. And reveal the within-a-dream flashback: one where Sarah is tortured by her witnessing the death of her uncle (in a decent, in-camera effect: he’s clubbed with his own torn-off arm) and Sarah being dragged off into the woods by a Bigfootesque creature. Sarah knows what she saw. She’s convinced Kelsey is still alive. The cops stopped searching or caring. She knows people thinks she’s crazy. . . .
A year later: Sarah and Alex are journalism students working on a story about the legend (there’s a long-standing feud between two backwoods families in the area, natch) for the school newspaper. Their editor, reluctantly, lets the duo run with the story, under one condition: do not go into the woods for research.
Yep. They go into the woods. And there is no Jersey Devil. Nope. There is a plot twist. There is a Jersey Devil.
Look, we won’t sugar coat: IMDb’ers and digital film critics haven’t been kind to this film. As usual: streamers are placing A-List filmmaking comparisons against a low-budget horror film released on the Uncork’d Entertainment direct-to-stream-DVD shingle. So why is everyone expecting an A24 or Blumhouse “shock scares” summer tent pole — or a retro-Paramount Friday the 13th knock off — for that matter. The streaming machine (Hey, Tubi) needs product — and Reed’s Point is a solid product where your streaming coin isn’t wasted.
As I watched, I found all the disciplines, well, on-point. The cinematography is crisp and well-framed, the acting — which everyone seems to take issue with — is what you’d expect of the Lifetime “damsel in distress” variety. Reviews I’ve read take issue with Sarah’s personal appearance: she’s not attractive, therefore, she can’t act? Balderdash! Shelley Duvall doesn’t trip my trigger (that’s my hang up), but there’s no doubt Ms. Duvall is stellar in Stephen King’s The Shining. And I was already a fan of Evan Adams’s effective work in The Wrong Valentine. If anyone is a weak link in the thespin’ department, here, it’s Joe Estevez with his crazed, warning-the-meddling-kids-Scooby Doo shtick. But he is supposed to be the crazy and irrational local, so. . . .
When Reed’s Point was officially released to streaming platforms five months later after our advance review, we gave this debut project from actress-producer Sarah Anne another look/new take on April 15, 2022 — in addition to my own take, now added to this review. As is the case with films — and you know how funny they can be — I enjoyed this low-budget take, more so than my contemporary, as an advanced screener.
The original festival trailer, courtesy of Sasha Anne.
The new theatrical trailer issued by Uncork’d Entertainment and OC Trailers.
To learn more, you can visit Uncork’d Entertainment on their website or Facebook page.
You can also learn more about Suzanne’s production career with our June 2021 interview regarding her Amazon Prime horror series, Saturday Night Scares.
About the Author: You can read the music and film reviews of R.D Francis on Medium and learn more about his work on Facebook. He also writes for B&S Movies.
If you’ve spent any amount of time amid the digitized realms of B&S About Movies, you know us good sons of the “City of Bridges” Spider Man-swing off the steel girders over The Three Rivers for the VHS ’80s resumes of Fred Olen Ray and David DeCoteau — so much so that we make it a point to follow the newest phases of their long careers in providing “damsel in distress” flicks and holiday-centric romance films for Hallmark and Lifetime. If I must be “chick flicked” into watching a Christmas movie, the cottage industry of made-for-streaming and small network Christmas movies flowing down the Ray-DeCoteau confluence is my cup o’ muddy Allegheny River water.
Okay, so how did we end up, here . . . beyond having David DeCoteau behind the lens? Why are we reviewing a Valentine’s Day-centric flick released this past February on Lifetime — just after Halloween on the cusp of Thanksgiving? Well, Sasha Anne, the star of the upcoming Reed’s Point, reached out to B&S About Movies about her new film — and we noticed that Evan Adams, her co-star, stars here — with Vivica A. Fox. Yeah, it’s those “Six Degrees of David DeCoteau” that we live for in our cramped cubicle farm along the Allegheny shores.
Yeah, as you look over David DeCoteau’s “Wrong” franchise, you’ll notice a second common denominator in the franchise: Vivica A. Fox — yes, Vernita Green from Kill Bill: Volume 1** and Jasmine Dubrow from Independence Day — is the franchise producer, as well as starring in 22 of the films. About her work in the made-for-TV series franchise, she told Jennifer Moos in The Wrap:
“I get to cast myself in characters that normally Hollywood wouldn’t even give me an opportunity to play. I’ve played a detective, a principal, a mom. The only thing David DeCoteau, the director, won’t let me play is the villain, because I’ve always got to deliver that catchy phrase: ‘Well it looks like you’ve got the wrong cheerleader’ or ‘You’ve got the wrong Valentine’ or ‘You’ve got the wrong Mr. Right.’ And people are like, ‘I can’t wait for her to deliver the line.’ . . . I’m doing good producing and starring . . . we film them in 10 days, so that’s why we are able to do so many.”
Vivica, if you’re reading this: no offense intend. You’re wonderful, and we know you’re “bringing the guys to Lifetime,” and this is stone cold truth. However, the B&S staff are movie dorks and we’re coming for the David DeCoteau fix. And that’s (our) squishy-body soft-as-veal truth.
Yes. We have this box set. Why? David made ’emall!
Okay, let’s unpack this gushy “chick flick,” shall we?
Also starring Mariah Robinson and Michael Bergin (J.D Davis from TV’s Baywatch and a few of DD’s Lifetime X-Mas and “Wrong” flicks; he’s a college admissions professor, here), this dark holiday offering tells the story of an about-to-graduate high school senior, Emily (Robinson) who, after grieving over the death of her father, decides to love again . . . and the fact that her birthday falls on Valentine’s Day isn’t helping. A bright student under the wing of her History Club teacher, Ms. Connelly (Fox), she find the courage to date David (Evan Adams), the “new boy” in school and member of the scholastic club. Oh, you know it: David is the heartthrob from hell. His screws aren’t just loose: they’re missing. And it’s not just that he’s nuts: there is an ends to his sociopathic means. As with any socio-Lothario: Emily can’t date anyone else, but David can date whomever he wants . . . including Emily’s best friend, Michelle (Jacqi Vene, effective in what is sure to be her first of many Lifetime romps).
As is the Lifetime model: The houses these kids live in — complete with single moms (we delve into that narrative milieu with our recent “Slasher Month” review of Seduced by a Killer) — are amazing, like British royalty-rock star-A List actor amazing. The school campus (not rivaling the use of Stadium High School in Tacoma, Washington, in 10 Things I Hate About You, but still. . .) is amazing. (You should have seen the dump I spent the four “best years” of my “real” lifetime. The college campus wasn’t much glamour-better.)
Yeah, sure, the people are perpetually perfect and physical stunning (even the guys), the locations and homes are over-the-top glamorous. So, yes, one could dump on the not-so-reality production of The Wrong Valentine. As Vivica told The Wrap: these films are shot in ten days. Sure, DeCoteau is stock-raiding his other Lifetime efforts for various (familiar?) establishing shots. Sure, maybe scripts, with slight tweaks, are equally-familiar recycled. Well, you know what: so were Roger Corman’s, as were DeCoteau’s old Full Moon boss, Charles Band’s films. It’s the same ’60s drive-in to ’80s VHS/cable business model: shoot ’em quick and shoot ’em cheap. It’s said that Roger Corman “never lost a dime on a movie” (well, outside of the Warren Oates-starring Cockfighter; that’s another review for another time). The only change is the distribution model of lower-tier cable channels (Lifetime is the “new” USA Network*˟ in these ‘ere parts, padre) and streaming platforms.
To this “wrong” installment’s credit: there’s a decent twist-ending you don’t see coming. Yeah, you may have seen it before, in other films of yore, sure: but you don’t see it coming, here, not this time. Yeah, you’ll also hear Vivica’s iconic one liner: “It looks like you had the wrong ________.” that makes us jump with “You go girl” glee.
Another recent Lifetime “slasher” we’ve reviewed: Dating to Kill, aka Seduced by a Killer.
Sure, I’m partial to David DeCoteau’s oeuvre and that may be disrupting my critical radar, but I enjoyed this Lifetime entry. It’s well-shot and DeCoteau pulls the best from his actors. The acting debut of Evan Adams (who could pass for Young Sheldon actor Montana Jordan, aka Georgie, who passes for a young Patrick Swayze) is thespian solid. He goes from sweet and warm to creepy-cold on a dime. And when he goes dark, he keeps it in his pocket: nothing is frantic over-the-top, as is the case with most obsessive-hubby films — especially those major studio features where those A-List actors are going for the Oscar gold. I see a bright future for Adams, as he certainly kept me engaged . . . like those days of seeing Matt Dillon for the first time in Over the Edge (1979). An actor is, of course, only as good as their script. Screenwriter Robert Dean Klein (Dark Ride), whose work we recently reviewed as part of our “Salem Horror Fest October 2021” week of reviews with the film 6:45 — and in his eighth-overall “Wrong” entry — provides Adams a well-arced character of depth . . . that eventually comes to elicit sympathy.
A great job by all concerned.
* David’s “Wrong” Flicks Resume The Wrong Roommate – 2016 The Wrong Child – 2016 The Wrong Student – 2016 The Wrong Crush – 2017 The Wrong Man – 2017 The Wrong Cruise – 2018 The Wrong Friend – 2018 The Wrong Teacher – 2018 The Wrong Stepmother – 2019 The Wrong Boy Next Door – 2019 The Wrong Mommy – 2019 The Wrong Tutor – 2019 The Wrong Cheerleader – 2019 The Wrong House Sitter – 2020 The Wrong Wedding Planner – 2020 The Wrong Stepfather – 2020 The Wrong Cheerleader Coach – 2020 The Wrong Real Estate Agent – 2021 The Wrong Fiance – 2021 The Wrong Mr. Right – 2021 The Wrong Prince Charming – 2021 The Wrong Valentine – 2021 The Wrong Cheer Captain – 2022 The Wrong High School Sweetheart – 2022 The Wrong Blind Date – 2022
All of David DeCoteau’s non “Wrong” and Christmas flicks — with things such as Bloody Blacksmith and Swamp Freak — can be found on his VOD RapidHeart.TV platform on Vimeo. You can learn more about his recent, direct-to-streaming offerings of Knock ’em Dead and Immortal Kiss at Rapid Heart Pictures. Fellow WordPress blogger Will Sloan sat down for an interview with David in July 2021.
About the Author: You can read the music and film reviews of R.D Francis on Medium and learn more about his work on Facebook. He also writes for B&S Movies.
The Killers Club is a web series where nature and nurture clash as Dr. Welles (Steven Bernstein) tracks down and kidnaps five serial killers, renames them by number and attempts to cute their urges by group therapy.
James Rufous came up with the concept and the first three 10-15 minute episodes were written and co-directed by Michael. Yeah, that’s his full name.
It’s an interesting concept and well made. The first three episodes are available on the YouTube channel and we’ve attached the first one below for you to check out.
When a viral video of Bigfoot emerges, a once-popular influencer goes on a mission to film a video with the creature and get famous again, which really seems like this should be something that really happens.
An improvised film made in eight days and shot on location in the Redwoods and Los Angeles, this movie is all about getting likes and follows, no matter how close to ending your life you have to get.
Made by creative duo Sam Milman and Peter Vass, there’s a good chance that the like and submit buttons may not be the only thing that gets smashed. Here’s to an entire gaggle of influencers trying to hunt down the Jersey Devil, White Thang, the Fouke Monster, Altamaha-ha, Sharlie, Champy, the Loveland Frogmen, Taku-He and the Beast of Bray Road.
Bigfoot Famous is available from Gravitas Ventures.
What brings the hopeful to Hollywood? For a young rapper, it’s the chance to be a star. And for the apartment manager that he becomes friends with, those dreams are twenty years in the past.
Reggie (Ryan Silva, who also wrote and directed this) and his girlfriend Maya (Lora Lee) have lucked out and got a place from Frank (Freddy Andreiuci), who seems like a nice enough guy other than, you know, saying the worst word you can to a young black couple.
But when the young couple gets in a fight, Reggie has no one in Los Angeles to spend time with other than the old man that runs the place. Of course, they end up bonding — you can see that coming from the first scene. But this film is so natural and their conversations so intriguing that watching this film becomes a pleasure.
Unless I was sent this film, I probably wouldn’t have watched it. I’m glad that I did, because it was well-made and was the perfect movie for the mood I was in.
I just got back from Seattle a week or so ago and let me tell you, Bigfoot is just accepted out there. And you can see exactly how he can walk out of the terrain there; it just fits.
In Seth Breedlove’s new documentary, a sasquatch research group operating out of the Olympic Peninsula area of Northern Washington believe they have finally uncovered definitive evidence.
The Olympic Project is unlike many groups trying to find Bigfoot as they are “an association of dedicated researchers, investigators, biologists and trackers committed to documenting the existence of Sasquatch through science and education.”
They aren’t just a bunch of dudes in the woods knocking on trees and making what they think are sasquatch calls. Additionally, they utilize “comprehensive habitat study, DNA analysis and game camera deployment” all with the goal of getting actual empirical evidence.
In this film, the team travels deep into the forests of the Pacific Northwest and uncovers a nest site that may hold the key to understanding what people are encountering around the United States.
I always enjoy the work that Small Town Monsters puts into these and I found this the best of their Bigfoot films. The Olympus Project feels like the best opportunity for man to learn more about the creatures that live amongst us.
On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Discovery is now available to purchase or rent wherever you digitally watch movies. You can also check out the following documentaries by Small Town Monsters:
My happiness was increased when this movie completely flipped the script, taking this film well and far away from its 80s slasher origins and into a brave, funny and new place.
I’m very adverse to giving you the spoiler to this, but when the description of the film states “when something horrible happens to the only survivor of a bloody massacre, an insecure rookie cop must overcome his fears to stop further carnage” you kind of have to imagine that something major happens. I thought it’d be a homage to the final girl switch off that would happen in the slasher franchises but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Just when you think you have this one figured out, it goes off in the kind of bold new direction that will give anyone who was mindblower by Malignant absolute whiplash.
But hey, what do I know. People seem put off by the absurd twist just as much as I like it. And that’s why movies are awesome. We should be united in our disparate opinions, happy that we are able to feel and find different things in movies. Me, I like when films about alien mutant slasher killers have kind of a heart.
Why do I keep doing this to myself with all these post 80s slashers when I know that there’s a shot on video movie with low tone fuzz and horrible effects or an undiscovered by me direct to video mess that I’m actually going to enjoy? Well, consider me the Final Boy of these horrific modern slashers, enduring their badness for you, dear reader.
So yeah, some college victims decide to spend the night in a haunted manor when a stalker begins watching them and breaks in to grab an ancient Native American artifact. Michael Madsen is somehow in this movie, which surpasses me even as I’m writing that down.
Ring of Honor wrestler Vinny Marseglia does show up as the masked Damon, so if you’re into wrestlers in movies (and I’m speaking directly to Paul Andolina), get this. Yes, he’s playing the same role as Michael Madsen and let me tell you, wearing that mask is way better than any HGH or Trenbolone.
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