Feral (2018) is directed and written by Mark H. Young, with help in the writing from Adam Frazier. It follows six young people—most of them seem to be in med school—on a camping trip in the California forest (it was filmed around Los Angeles). The film does not spend too much time establishing the stories or characters of the campers before they hear strange noises in the woods. Is it an animal seeking revenge on Gina (Landry Allbright) for her fur coat one of them suggests? (And I have to say that a long fur coat seems a strange article of clothing to take on a camping trip but Gina, generally, seems unprepared for the trip). Shortly afterwards, at about 14 minutes in, one of the group is attacked by a savage human-looking creature—the “feral” of the title. And from that point on, the group is on the defense and making the usual bad decisions—splitting up, leaving each other alone, falling asleep on watch, and refusing to kill people–things—they should clearly kill.
Tucker and Dale vs Evil is a perfect summer horror film. Horror movies set during summertime immerse audiences in physical activities—swimming, hiking, vacationing, camping—ideal plot devices for dropping heroes in the fight of their lives. Which is perhaps why, for many of us at least, Jaws (1975) keeps us out of the water, and Friday the Thirteenth (1980) compels many camp counselors to rethink their summer vacations.
But maybe more terrifying, though, are the types of rustic antagonists that audiences encounter in scary movies about rural America. Their summer getaways, although beautiful, offer up some nasty locals. Think Leatherface swinging his chainsaw, the banjo-playing rapists of Deliverance (1972), or the motel owners in Motel Hell (1980) who turn their guests into world-famous sausages, and we can begin to understand why city slickers prefer sweltering urban summers to provincial dangers.
Island Zero is directed by Josh Gerritsen and written by Tess Gerritsen, the best-selling crime author of the Rizzoli and Isles series. While undeniably low-budget, Island Zero has a lot going for it –including excellent writing and direction and some stellar performances—especially by Laila Robins as the local doctor, Maggie. There are also some powerful location shots as the director mines the Maine island of Islesboro for its bleak beauty.
Island Zero quickly puts us into the realm of a quite conceivable dystopian scenario as it follows a marine biologist, Sam (Adam Wade McLaughlin), who is trying to figure out why the local fish population seems to have vanished—“sudden unexplained collapse of the fishery” he calls it. His wife, also a marine biologist who vanished mysteriously at sea four years ago, had been studying fishery collapse—a phenomenon happening all along the eastern seaboard. When she disappeared, she had been working on the theory that the fish were being eaten by an apex predator that hadn’t yet been identified. Sam, still grieving, has picked up her work and has become convinced not only that she was right but that the mysterious predator has moved up to Maine.
The horror movie Final Girl (or Boy) is the character you’re rooting for! They’ve suffered brutal losses, witnessing their friends and loved ones succumb to whatever deadly consequence The Big Bad has in store for them. But what if the ones we’re supposed to be rooting for are just as capable of joining in the killing sprees if it means survival for them?
Well, here’s a list of the Top 10 Horror Protagonists (be warned, spoilers!) that you’d want to be near when something goes bump in the night!
Ask any horror fan of a certain age their favorite scary anthology series and odds are they are going to reference Tales from the Crypt. Because the show originally ran on HBO, no content was off the table which meant that gore, nudity, and profanity was in ample supply. This led to varied storytelling that incorporated all the major subgenres of horror while also providing a running through line of satire, largely courtesy of the show’s sarcastic mascot Cryptkeeper (voiced brilliantly by John Kassir).
Awhile back, I started a rewatch of the series in anticipation of M. Night Shyamalan’s expected reboot for TNT. And while, sadly, that revival never got off the ground, it did provide me a perfect excuse to revisit a childhood favorite. All seasons of Tales from the Crypt are now streaming on Amazon – and specific links are below. Read more