No One Gets Out Alive

"No One Gets Out Alive" (2021, Santiago Menghini, The Imaginarium, Netflix).

Ambar (Cristina Rodlo) moves to Cleveland after her mother dies. As an undocumented immigrant, she finds herself at the mercy of some devious and exploitative characters, including Red (Marc Menchaca), the owner of an old boarding house who demands rent in cash up-front in exchange for not asking Ambar any questions. The boarding house is large, run-down and apparently, only accepts female tenants. Ambar experiences some odd things in the house, but chalks it up to other tenants' behaviour. Besides, she has bigger concerns like finding a job. 

After a co-worker scams her out of most of her savings and the spooky happenings in the house become more intense, Ambar seeks help from a distant cousin, Beto (David Barrera), but when he is unable to help her, she is forced to ask Red instead and this plays right into his and his brother Becker's (David Figlioli) grim plans...

A fairly serviceable haunted house story with a cast of interesting characters and exploration of some very real life horrors. The effects are good and Rodlo cuts a sympathetic protagonist who is also very resourceful. 

The film doesn't go into much detail of the history behind the spookiness and it feels a little unexplored which robs the ending of a bit of oomph. An impressive creature is present, but we don't get too much time with them and it feels less like a 'less is more' approach and more of an 'out of the blue' approach as a viewer. 

Currently available on Netflix.

[Image: The Imaginarium, et al]

Hani

Mercy Christmas

"Mercy Christmas" (2017, Ryan Nelson, No Mercy Pictures, Other Paw Films) is a festive holiday cannibal film.

Santa brought me this film for Christmas this year. Thanks, Santa.

Michael Briskett (Steven Hubbell) receives an invite to Christmas dinner from the office cutie, Cindy (Casey O'Keefe), and thinks he's won a watch. But after arriving at her family home, he discovers that he might not like what's on the menu...

The DVD box is littered with positive reviews and comments about the gore level of the film. While the film is a purposefully cheesy, low budget piece and does not deliver quite the level of gore I was hoping for, it is pretty funny and hosts some performances which were far superior than I went in expecting as well as a few recognisable faces. The sense of humour keeps the film going despite the cat being out of the bag fairly early in the plot, but the 83 minute run time also does not outstay its welcome.

Our family of religious, social climbing cannibals are both caricaturistic and delightfully reprehensible and, once the chaos ensues, we are treated to some funny fight scenes and physical humour with a definite festive slant. I never knew that fairy lights could be so practical. Our small band of victims/heroes aren't developed very much given the run time but definitely keep the audience on side and deliver a few good comedy moments also.

While it's nothing groundbreaking, "Mercy Christmas" provides that lighthearted black humour someone like me tends to enjoy around this time of year and will most likely enter my annual viewing rotation.

[Image: Other Paw Productions, et al]

Hani

3 From Hell

"3 From Hell" (2019, Rob Zombie, Lionsgate, Saban Films, Spookshow International Films) is the second sequel to Zombie's "House of 1000 Corpses" (2003) and follows the 2005 sequel "The Devil's Rejects".

Following on from the events of Rejects, we learn that our three antagonists, Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig), Baby Firefly (Sheri Moon Zombie) and Otis Firefly (Bill Moseley) have survived the police shootout and are now being tried for their crimes. But Otis manages a breakout, with the help of his half-brother, Foxy (Richard Brake), and attempts to spring Baby so that they can continue their murderous ways...

I am quite fond of "House of 1000 Corpses". "The Devil's Rejects" took the characters in a slightly different direction, tried to make them more real and had a different style, and although I prefer the first film, it seemed like a fitting end to the villainous Firefly family. Especially that surprisingly elegant final scene. The concept of a third film seemed therefore a little odd, especially considering that it would undo the finality of its predecessor. Although  I went in as open minded as I could be, I'm afraid for me this film did not hit the mark.

The overall feel of the film is similar in tone to Rejects with a grimy 70's aesthetic. The scenes with Baby in prison are interesting and lean heavily into the exploitation grindhouse film feel which I liked. However, the scenes felt overly long and in jumping from style to style the film feels a little rudderless with the expected hostage situation playing out like they're already bored. The banter between our murderous maniacs feels a bit tiresome and less fluid than it did in the previous films.

Baby's high-pitched maniacal flower-child act feels more wearing this time around without having so many other familiar characters for her to bounce off of. There's a few scenes where it's hinted at something sadder and more poignant but overall she feels more two dimensional than she could have been. Otis is still giving his speeches, showing no mercy and seems mostly unchanged, and for the short scene with Sid Haig we get a good level of nostalgia for Spaulding and it's easily one of the best scenes in the film.

Foxy can't help but feel tacked on as a character, and I wonder why they couldn't just rename the film. It's not Brake's doing and he does give a few needed elements of humour to punctuate between Baby's mania and Otis' self-righteousness, but the character can't help but feel a little jarring and out of the loop.

Overall, I found the film to be a little boring and felt it lunged from one scene to another in a disjointed manner. It relies a little too much on nostalgia but didn't, at least for me, feel like it was aimed at fans of the original two films and was a less fitting ending than the Firefly's deserved. A strange ride, but unlikely to be one I'd go on again.

[Image: Lionsgate]

Hani

Ready or Not

"Ready or Not" (2019, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Mythology Entertainment, Vinson Films, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures) is a dark comedy horror about marrying into families with weird traditions.


Grace (Samara Weaving) has only known Alex Le Domas (Mark O'Brien) for 18 months, but she knows he's the one and they're getting married. Alex is from a rich family famous for their boardgame empire, but Grace does not love him for his money and is worried that his family dislikes her. Grace is an orphan, so the family's perception is important to her. Alex is really nervous about the whole thing, which Grace attributes to wedding nerves. The wedding is held at the family's large stately home and seems like a classy, but snooty affair. That night, however, instead of having an ordinary wedding night or drunkenly falling into a bridal suite, the couple are taken into a secret family room where it transpires that the Le Domas' have a quaint family tradition of letting a spooky box belonging to their long dead family benefactor, Mr. Le Bail, choose a game for the new family member to play. Grace takes a card from the box reading "Hide and Seek" and with that, is told to hide whilst the family members arm themselves with antiquated weaponry and begin to hunt the poor unsuspecting bride down or else face the deadly wrath of Mr. Le Bail.


A fun film which balances comedy and gore in good measure and offers a good selection of entertaining and over-the-top characters to enjoy amongst the carnage. It has the right pitch between the humour and the gore and the on-edge dread we feel whilst in hiding with Grace. There are also a few very well timed twists and turns and overall I enjoyed second guessing where we were going in the end.


The acting is solid in all cases, but Samara Weaving particularly creates a strong and sympathetic protagonist in Grace. She's likeable, relatable and swears like a sailor. The end result is very engaging and, at the end of the day, all the characters have a pretty good reason for doing everything they do... except for perhaps Alex, who could have possibly thought this through a little more in the long run.


Definitely a crowd pleaser, by the audience reaction around us last night and certainly a film with a rewatchability factor. I would certainly put it on my shelf along with the likes of "Tucker and Dale vs Evil" for a fun, Friday film.

[Image: Fox Searchlight Pictures, et al]

Hani

Us

"Us" (2019, Jordan Peele, Monkeypaw Productions, Universal Pictures) is a horror film about a family who are confronted by violent doppelgangers.

We meet Adelaide (Madison Curry) as a child with her parents at the pier attractions. While her parents are distracted, she wanders off and finds her way to a hall of mirrors. Whilst inside she sees something terrifying...

Adelaide (Lupita Nyong'o) is now all grown up. She, her husband, Gabe (Winston Duke) and their two kids, Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex), are enjoying a holiday at her family's cabin. After a day at the beach with their friends, the Tylers, Adelaide appears out of sorts and tells Gabe about the encounter she had in the hall of mirrors. Gabe, naturally does not believe her, but soon they notice a family standing threateningly outside the cabin. A family that looks disturbingly familiar...

An unsettling and thoughtful film that also delivers a fair amount of violence, gore and action. The moments of comedy are well timed, amusing and compliment the more tense points of the film. I enjoyed that the film felt almost nostalgic in its story telling, styling and scoring but was set in present day.

The characters are well rounded and relatable which makes it all the more effective when we meet their doppelgangers who are similar yet animalistic and antithetical in nature. There isn't a bad thing to say about any of the cast's performances, but Nyong'o's emotional performance steals the show both as Adelaide and her counterpart.

The film makes a point of not answering all the questions raised leaving a couple more holes than was perhaps necessary but delivers enough turns in the plot to leave you pondering over it in the wake of viewing. An amusing piece that says a thing or two about human nature and what defines a villain.

[Image: Monkeypaw Productions, Universal Pictures]

Hani

Society

"Society" (1989, Brian Yuzna, Wild Street Pictures) is a body horror film which was actually the directorial debut from Yuzna who brought us "Re-Animator" and "From Beyond" so... you know what you're in for.

Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock) is a teenager in Beverly Hills. He lives with his wealthy parents and sister, Jenny (Patrice Jennings). Despite his luxurious lifestyle, Bill feels alienated from his highfalutin family, and this is the main focus of his weekly meetings with his therapist, Dr. Cleveland (Ben Slack). Bill becomes obsessed with finding out what's going on when Jenny's ex-boyfriend, Blanchard (Tim Bartell), gives him a cassette tape which seems to implicate his family in a disturbing and murderous act. As Bill begins to delve deeper into the mystery of his family and the apparent elite cult that they are a part of, he begins to suspect that he may be more alone than he thought.... And that his enemies may have gruesome plans for him...

An entertaining and gooey horror comedy which builds to a fairly disturbing and equally funny climax. The effects (by Screaming Mad George (Joji Tani)) are surreal, perverse and delightfully gruesome and are, in all fairness, the true star of the film which is admittedly a little clunky in the plot department.

This is definitely a must-see for any body horror fan and will leave you chuckling and possibly also a little traumatised.

[Image: Wild Street Pictures]

Hani

Leatherface

"Leatherface" (2017, Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo, Campbell Grobman Films, Mainline Pictures, Millennium Films, Lionsgate Films) is a prequel to the 1974 original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and the eighth film in the franchise. It is, however, admittedly only the third film in the franchise that I have personally watched. 

The film follows the character who will become Leatherface, Jed, giving some background on his upbringing and the traumatic events which lead him to become the chainsaw wielding, face-book collecting villain that we all know today.

The film has suffered some negative critical response which is largely undeserved in my view. It manages to exist within the same universe and setting as the 1974 original in a fairly believable way, despite being made more than 40 years later. The characters and action have a familiarity that ties it in to the franchise very well.

The Sawyer family are instantly recognisable as characters and are pitched at correct ages to tie in to the original film. Grandpa Sawyer particularly, in his more mobile 'youth', is a nice nod to the character's future. While the shock factor maintained within the original film is not reclaimed, "Leatherface" pays a strong homage to Hooper's original.

The identity of teenaged Jed is kept as a 'secret', although it's not exactly well hidden. However, he is joined by a host of other characters on, not a slasher style spree, but a Bonny and Clyde style kidnap roadtrip. This change of pace really appealed to me as it further explains the changes in Jed's mental situation from young man with some serious issues to young maniac intent on collecting faces. The film is not a purely Slasher film, managing to blend mental asylum, road trip, body horror and slasher genres into a gory adventure.

The death scenes are gruesome and intense with a bit of necrophilia also thrown in for added ick factor. This film certainly accomplished a few scenes which made me squirm.

An origin story for a much appreciated ('loved' seemed like the wrong word) horror icon that manages to create a worthy plot and character development, with strong performances from the cast. I'm not usually one for reboots, prequels and remakes, but for once this one played out as a refreshing change of pace, an homage to the original and not an attempt to kick start another wave of franchise additions or change the outcomes for the characters.

[Image: Lionsgate Films, et al]

Hani

The Greasy Strangler

"The Greasy Strangler" (2016, Jim Hosking, Drafthouse Films, Rook Films, SpectreVision, Timpson Films, Filmrise) is a surreal dark comedy horror film about a killer who strangles victims to death while wearing nothing but a layer of grease... It's also a film about love, betrayal, weirdos, nakedness and disco... Kind of.

Big Ronnie (Michael St. Michaels) is a strange man who runs a disco walking tour with his son, Big Brayden (Sky Elobar). The tour offers little in the way of facts, disco or free refreshments; much to the chagrin of the customers. The father and son also live together, hang out a lot in their underwear and eat a lot of excessively greasy food; just the way that Big Ronnie likes it. Big Ronnie also enjoys moonlighting as a greased up murderer in the buff, washing himself off at the end of his escapades at a car wash run by his blind disco friend, Big Paul (Gil Gex).

Big Brayden meets Janet (Elizabeth De Razzo) on one of his father's walking tours, and the pair fall in weird love, much to the distaste of Big Ronnie. The perturbed Ronnie begins a campaign immediately to win Janet over from his son.

A very marmite movie that will either have you rolling your eyes and laughing or completely repulsed. Maybe both. The characters are outlandish and dirty and the dialogue is purposefully stilted. If you're up for watching some fully frontal nudity with a lot of swinging prosthesis' and a fair amount of cartoonish gore then this is the movie for you.

This is a film that will stay with you forever and have you wondering why you watched it for weeks, possibly years, to come. And yet, like me, the experience has probably taught you nothing and you will definitely watch more like it in the future.

[Image: Drafthouse Films, et al]

What a pair of bullshit artists!

Hani