Customer Reviews

After Dark Horrorfest 8 Films to Die For (Borderland / Unearthed / Tooth and Nail / Crazy Eights / Nightmare Man / The Deaths of Ian Stone / Lake Dead / Mulberry St.)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was able to catch 2-3 of these in theaters and I've got to say they are a HUGE improvement from 2006's mediocre to horrible line-up. Also it's nice the 8 films to die for are being released in a pack w/ all 8 films instead of 7 films + you have to go buy the most popular one (The Abandoned) and pay extra for it.
Special effects are tons better as are the plots and the acting. I have high hopes for 2008 after seeing these! Don't let the mess than was the 2006 horrorfest turn you off of these!

I haven't seen these actual DVDs so I can't comment on the quality of the transfer or how badly they chopped the pan-and-scan. (And keep in mind that most of the films, with the notable exception of the two bigger-budget flicks, look like the directors were prepared for them to be chopped for TV presentations.)

This assortment is all over the map. I reviewed all the films in detail on my blog (the bit maelstrom) but of course those are just my opinions. I've noticed people have wildly different reactions to all the films. So whereas I was very favorably impressed by "Borderland" and thought "Lake Dead" would've been stale in the '70s, you might have the exact opposite reaction.

A short capsule:

The Unearthed: A small group of people is terrorized by a monster. High point: Lots of great outdoor shoots of southwestern desert. Low point: The actual monster. It's a CGI mess. It was about as convincing as "Large Marge" from "Pee Wee's Big Adventure".

The Deaths of Ian Stone: A man is repeatedly killed, and reborn into new life situations by mysterious demonic creatures. High point: Effective SFX and a deliciously evil performance by Jaime Murray. Low point: A "Buffy"/"Angel"-esque/superhero feel to the ending.

Borderland: Surprisingly taut thriller about some American boys who run afoul of an evil Mexican cult/drug cartel. High point: Sean Astin as the movie's Dennis Hopper. Low point: Based on a true story. Also, torture porn.

Lake Dead: Inbred hillbilly psychos terrorize college-age city kids trying to collect inheritance. High point: No shocking twists and turns to upset those of a delicate constitution. Low point: They're dead serious about this.

Mulberry Street: Brooding, atmospheric tale of New York taken over by wererats. High point: Strong characterization, film treatment radiates a claustrophobic, humidity, feels like summertime in a slum. Low point: 28 Days Later Youse Guys.

Tooth and Nail: Campy post-apocalyptic survival story. High point: A lot more humor than your average post-apocalyptic film and it can't ALL be accidental, can it? Low point: As badly thought out as every other post-apocalyptic thriller. Also, a lot of the humor probably IS accidental.

Nightmare Man: Man tries to check crazy wife who believes she is possessed by demonic spirit into hospital. Car trouble ensues, adjoining cast of college-age students end up holed up with crazy lady in isolated cabin where murder and mayhem ensues. High Point: Fairly brisk treatment of topic. Some might be surprised by ending (I wasn't). Low point: Still pretty constrained by ideas that were old when Sam Raimi did them in Evil Dead.

Crazy Eights: Relatively "big budget" cast (Frank Whaley, Dina Meyer, Gabrielle Anwar, Traci Lords) return with childhood friends to the asylum/laboratory/habitrail where they were raised. High Point: Good editing highlights the good acting. Low Point: Unfocused story makes the whole thing feel static.

There ya have it folks. I watch these things so you don't have to, folks. But most of the movies have something to recommend them, though I'd be hard-pressed to say that about "Lake Dead". That and the very professional, not low-budget at-all feeling "Unearthed" struck me as particularly boring.

Suggested serving: Get together with 6-10 of your similarly deranged friends and buy the set between you for the cost of a movie ticket each. Hold your own "After Dark" film festival (with popcorn! and hookers! In fact, forget the movies and the popcorn.)

Last year I went to see the first batch of After Dark Horrorfest Films to Die For in the theater. Then I rented all (but one) of them when they came out on DVD, and then I picked up all (but one) of them when the DVDs went on super sale. However, the second set of films did not come to a theater near me in the Zenith City and I decided to do the all 8 films 2 die 4 for $70 bucks when they came out on DVD and forego renting them to check them out. So I certainly spent less money on Horrorfest 2007 than I did on Horrorfest 2006, which may well explain why I am left feeling I definitely got less for my money. Note: This time the ratings get to involve decimals because I am a college professor and I want to assign numbers between a B- and a D-.

"Borderland": Once again the first Horrorfest movie I saw was the one I ended up thinking was the best of the bunch, but I still pick last year's "Reincarnation" as my top choice (I like it more each time I watch it and I love the ending). "Borderland" about a trio of Texas University students, male I should point out, who make the mistake of going south of the border, where they run afoul of a gang of drug runners who engage in human sacrifice so they will be invisible to the police. Based on a true story this is not a great horror film but the most solid of the octet (Ranked #1, Rating: 4.3).

"Unearthed": Trapped in a town in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico, some unlucky travelers and the hot babes who hold key positions in the town have to deal with creatures unearthed from an archeological dig. Nothing really interesting ever happens and the explanation for the monster really cuts against the grain. At least it is all uphill from here (Ranked #8, Rating: 2.3).

"Tooth & Nail": This is the movie I have talked about the most, but only because the premise for this post-apocalyptic tale is that in the year 2012 we run out of gas, and that ends up destroying civilization. Fortunately little happens in the first part of the movie so you can spend your time thinking of all the massive holes in the set up before we get to the action. However, the payoff (or should I say punch line?) is decent enough to redeem this one in the end (Ranked #5, Rating 3.3).

"Crazy Eights": An impressive cast for a B-horror flick and a pretty good creepy location where most of the action takes place, but the script gives them little to do. A bunch of twenty-somethings who have been friends since they were kids (but forgotten the being kids part), confront their haunted past in an abandoned hospital. Are they guilty and deserve their fates or are they innocent blood? Damned if I could figure it out (Ranked #6, Rating 3.2).

"The Deaths of Ian Stone": This is really a science-fiction film and while the premise is good--why is the title character reliving the same day only to die in a different way each time?--the explanation is too convoluted and the villainess too hokey for this one to really work (Ranked #4, Rating 3.4).

"Nightmare Man": The masked figure from a woman's nightmares shows starts chasing her through the woods where she stumbles on a cabin with a couple of couples who become the entrees for the killer. The obvious answer turns out to be too obvious in this one, but the problem is the ending, which suddenly takes things seriously and can be accused of going way too far (Ranked #7, Rating: 2.5).

"Lake Dead": Clearly the bottom choice for a lot of people and the most sicko movie of the bunch, but that is why it actually sticks out for me as one of the most memorable movies and therefore deserves to finish ahead of more forgettable fare. This is a splatter flick where the rationale for why people are dying is sick and twisted, but the hero actually keeps his head and uses his brains to get back into the game, always a plus with me. Just be warned that what will gross you out here is not the blood and gore (Ranked #3, Rating 3.4).

"Mulberry Street": Whatever those rats are carrying it turns human beings feral and a half-dozen poor souls are stuck in their crappy apartment building trying to stay alive. This movie has the best job by a director and a cast, and if it did not take too long to get to the action it would have been the cream of the crop (Ranked #2, Rating: 4.2).

Without the decimal ratings I gave two 4s, four 3s, and two 2s to the Horrorfest 2007 films for an average rating of 3.0. My averaging rating for last year's films was a 3.7, so that would be empirical support for the contention that this year's crop was a step down. That is not to say that these movies saved from the DTV bin are the dregs of the Lionsgate library because I made a point of going out and rating the last eight DTV Lionsgate horror films I saw that were not part of either Horrorfest and their average rating was 2.6. It might be depressing to think that these are the best of the lot, but that seems to be the case. Still, I have already decided that I am renting before buying next year.

P.S. Hey, people, decide if it is "Horrofest" or "Horror Fest" once and for all and stick to it, okay?

I watched all of the first After Dark Horrorfest and some were good, some weren't that good. I haven't bought them all yet, but I'm working on it, but I was excited to see they had done another year. I started renting them, like I did with last year, and was impressed. These films surpassed the original 8, IMHO. I'll list them in order that I liked them in with a short review.

1) Borderland: This one received massive rave reviews and so I kept it for last. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. Not a very familiar cast, but the story sounded good. Started off like torture-porn, but at the end, I was mortified. I think it helped that it's based on a true story. Shocking, gruesome, and downright scary. Sean Astin was phenomenal in his role. I recommend this one.

2) Frontier(s): While not being an official selection, I consider it part of the series. I hated Hostel. I'm not afraid to say it. This one was what Hostel should have been. In French, but very scary. Similar in style to Borderland, but stands on its own. The acting is well done and the effects are top notch. Superb ending.

3) Mulberry St.: This was the first that I saw, and I loved it. It started off slow, but the pacing really paid off in the end. Excellent acting and character development. Some shocks and jumps to be had. Very creative. The ending was the best of all of them. No real familiar faces in the main roles, which helps suck you in. You think of them as real instead of a face you see all the time.

4) Nightmare Man: This is a very cheap, poorly acted mess, but I really like it for some reason. Some scenes are genuinely creepy, and sometimes bends the rules of horror movies, but the ending was downright hilarious. Seems unfocused on where it wants to go, but it's not for everyone. The ending does seem to tread near the line.

5) The Deaths Of Ian Stone: This isn't so much a horror story as it is a sci-fi story as another reviewer said. Excellent concept and acting make it quite compelling. Slowly the story is unfolded, but the more that's revealed, the less I'm interested. The ending almost ruined a perfectly good story.

6) Lake Dead: The unfortunate titling of this one didn't make me all that interested, but I was quite surprised. It had some good effects and some pretty good acting, but the story seems kind of slow up until the end. Predictable and unexciting ending to a nice little slasher. Had real potential.

7) Tooth And Nail: This one was the one I wanted to see first, but held off. It had one of my favorite subjects of horror; cannibalism! I liked the look of the cast, as well, but Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones, and Robert Carradine are unfortunately cast. Had potential, but slow pacing and unexciting death scenes make it a bit of a snoozer. Ending, while good in parts, doesn't make up for the rest of the film.

8) Unearthed: An okay concept, poorly executed. The creature seems to have every skill short of magical powers. It seems very inconsistent with the creature. You don't get a very good view of it and the characters aren't very interesting. You don't seem to care for any of them and hope they die, but you barely get to see that. The ending slightly makes up for it.

9) Crazy Eights: Incredible cast! That's all it has going for it. I'm sure this will appeal to some, but seems too jumpy. There isn't much for scares or violence in this and the characters don't seem that interesting. The film is bizarre and afterwards, I still haven't figure out what I had just watched.

I recommend these films, and the original 8. I'm looking forward to the next batch. They can't seem to get here fast enough. These films seem better than most of the low-budget horror movies that I rent often. Take a chance, and let this annual event keep going.

Rent them individually before you decide to purchase the set because not all the movies are good, at least for that price. The three very best movies are Unearthed, The Deaths of Ian Stone, & Crazy Eights. The absolute worst is "Nightmare Man" which was such crap I was shocked it made it into the final 8. The story sucked, the dialogue sucked, the acting sucked even more, everything sucked! The writers\director tossed in some T&A to make up for all that it lacked and to distract the viewer from realizing just how bad this movie really is. I felt like I was watching a film student's final project before graduation.

I was so excited with last year's movies. No they weren't the big budget cinema releases most people chase after, but they were pretty good...especially for people into these types of movies. Then I heard that they were bringing more out this year. I couldn't wait!!! Maybe the over-excitement led to my disappoinment but this year, these movies aren't worth the paper the package art is printed on. There isn't one of these films I would recommend and it won't be long before they are edited for commercials and end up on a non-ratings night on Sci-Fi or USA. Save your money and let's hope that if the movie quality is this bad next year, they don't bother us with them. I am so let down by these.

The first Horrorfest collection was the best. This set can't compare. These movies look like they were cheap budget films with bad actors. Don't waste your time or money.

Save your money. These films have little or no plot making them hard to follow. The acting is bad also.Whoever makes these films should really consider improvements.

I bought the first Horrorfest pack and this second collection is better.
Lake Dead - This is a seriously sick and twisted movie; it was excellent.
Crazy Eights - A supernatural type film with a suspenseful start and a great finish.
The Deaths of Ian Stone - The harvesters were excellent, but the plot wasn't as good as the other films.
Unearthed - A good "alien" type of movie and the female sheriff should just stop drinking!
Tooth and Nail - a survival film of what would happen if the world ran out of gas in 2012; good.
Mulberry St. - This was excellent;do not eat when watching.
Nightmare Man - This had good scares and good twists.
Borderland - This is based on a true story which makes especially sick; good.
All of these movies are excellent for horror film fans; enjoy!

For those of us who are horror buffs and work too much owning a business, it is difficult to get out to the theatre. There are never enough horrors playing anyway. That's all we watch. So getting this "Horror Fest" package is just great. It keeps a great selection of horrors around to watch when WE want to watch them. ANd the movies are great too. Keep them coming!
Lenny & Kevin