Gates of Gore's Independent Horror Reviews

Director: John Russo Cast: Debbie Rochon, Grant Cramer, John Mowod, Dawn Michelucci, Savannah Calhoun, Marilyn Eastman, Julie Wallace Deklavon Santa Claws was recently released in a 10th anniversary DVD from PopCinema. I was hoping that I would've gotten this DVD, so I'd have an excuse to review it, but it never came. I do, however, own the VHS that has a completely different cover than the one that was just released, which is cool with me. When the Christmas holiday recently came upon us, I decided to check out this film again. I haven't watched it since the first time I bought the movie, which was some years ago. The only thing that I remembered was that I didn't like the movie at all when I first viewed it. Has my mind changed, since that first viewing? Well, all I will say at this moment is that it did....but only a little bit. Raven Quinn is an erotic b-movie horror actress who's having serious problems in her marriage. However, that's not the only problem ...

2006 is about to come to an end soon and I have been lucky to see quite a few movies that impressed the shit out of me this year. So, without further adieu, here is my list of what I considered the best movies of 2006. 10.See No Evil (Director: Gregory Dark) 9. Carnage For the Destroyer (Director: Chris Seaver) 8. The Karaoke Kid (Director: Chris Seaver) 7. Last Rites of the Dead (Director: Marc Fratto) 6. Shock-O-Rama (Director: Brett Piper) 5. Destruction Kings (Director: Chris Seaver) 4. My Dead Girlfriend (Director: Brett Kelly) 3. Slither (Director: James Gunn) 2. Marty Jenkins and the Vampire Bitches (Director: Henrique Couto) 1. Murder Is Like Sex (Director: Keith Boron) I would also like to give an honorary mention to the best short films I've seen this year and those belong to Gonzoriffic Films. The Cannibal Sisters remake and their newest short film, Two in the Pink were amazing and very impressive. I am so looking forward to more from Andrew Shearer and the Gonzoriffic c...

Remember the good old days of Wizard Video? They released some really cool horror flicks back in the day like THE BOOGEYMAN, THE HEADLESS EYES, CARNIVAL OF BLOOD and the movie that I'm about to review...ZOMBIETHON. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and relive those days again, renting these movies from my all-time favorite video store called Ray's Rent A Movie. They had the best selection and I was always fascinated by the big porno-style VHS boxes that they carried in this store. ZOMBIETHON was one of those releases that I wish I owned, but sadly mine is just a clamshell case. I will keep looking around until I find that big VHS box though. Anyway, I should get to this review...... ZOMBIETHON doesn't really have much of a plot. Basically, the whole film is a bunch of clips from zombie films thrown together and this all takes place at a movie theater that is run by...you guessed it...zombies. Besides the zombies, there are a few women that are lured into this theater...

Poultrygeist needs your help-So does independent art! Body: Lloyd Kaufman's CALL TO ACTION! The Troma Team needs your help-So does independent art! --------------->>> Greetings from Tromaville! For 32 years, the Troma Team and I've been making our own brand independent films far removed (and happily in that truth may I add) from the Hollywood cookie-cutter system. Some of our films have been great and some of them have been, well, "Sgt. Kabukiman, NYPD". But what can be said about all of them is that they have been memorable. Our newest film, Poultrygeist: Night Of The Chicken Dead is our best film yet! And yet I fear it's doomed to failure or worse: to be completely ignored. You see, for years people have heard me complain that Troma's films (that's right, I said film.. 35mm film, damnit!!) have long been shut out of the system.. marginalized or just plain dismissed. Blockbuster won't carry us. The major theatrical chains won't play us. ...

Director: Mark Rosman Cast: Kate McNeil, Eileen Davidson, Janis Ward, Robin Meloy, Harley Jane Kozak, Jodi Draigie, Ellen Dorsher, Lois Kelso Hunt I absolutely adore slashers. I've probably mentioned that way too many times, but it's true and I will continue to say it until everyone knows it. I love watching an unknown killer, whether he's wearing a mask or not...slicing and dicing through flesh, especially those of stupid young college students...sorority girls to be exact. I'm not jealous of the sorority girls, even though I know for a fact that I would've never been excepted by any of them...but I digress. I was picking out some horror films to watch for the past Halloween season...well, just a few days ago and I saw my copy of THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW. I know it's on DVD, but I don't have that version, I just have the old Vestron Video that I had gotten from ebay a few years ago. Vestron used to release some great horror flicks back in the day until the...

Director: Buddy Cooper Cast: Matt Mitler, Ruth Martinez, Bill Hitchcock, Connie Rogers, Frances Raines, Morey Lampley, Jack Chatham, Bennie Moore In the late 80's or possibly early 90's, I'm not sure, my mind isn't what it's cracked up to be these days, but there was a video store that I would always frequent before it was changed to Movie Gallery...those bastards! It was more of a mom and pop store that would carry over 300 horror movies. I really miss those days...ahhhhh! Anyway, while I was in the back looking at all those wonderful horror movies, I came across one entitled THE MUTILATOR. I had never heard of it before, but from the cover and the description on the back, it was definitely my kind of movie. I decided to rent it, but after I brought it home and put it in the VCR, the damn tape broke. It was the only copy they had too, I was devestated...seriously, I was. Fast forward to 2001. We finally got a computer and I signed up for ebay. I was browsing the ho...

Director: Sylvain White Cast: Brooke Nevin, David Paetkau, Torrey DeVitto, Ben Easter, Seth Packard, K.C. Clyde, Clay Taylor, Michael Flynn When I first heard that there was going to be a new flick in the I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER franchise, I was expecting Jennifer Love Hewett and Freddie Prinze Jr to reprise their roles. At least that was the rumor last year, but we all know that alot of rumors don't come true. I'LL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (catchy title, ain't it?) was recently released on DVD, my sister picked it up for me at Movie Gallery, with a brand new cast and a new location. During a 4th of July celebration, a group of teens decides to play a prank on everyone at the local carnival with one of their friends' dressed as the fisherman with the hook. We all remember him from the first 2 in the series. Anyway, they thought the prank went off without a hitch, but soon finds out that one of their friends was accidentally killed during this ruckus....

Director: Steve Sessions Cast: Debbie Rochon, Brinke Stevens, Lucien Eisenach, Jeff Dylan Graham, Eric Spudic, Robyn Griggs, Kimberly Lynn Cole I have never been one to be afraid of clowns. I always thought they were too silly for words and all the movies that I have seen, pertaining to clowns, were not serious enough in my book to even want to check out. Well, I can't say that about KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE. It's not a serious movie, but a fun one at best. This brings us to the following movie that I recently got to check out entitled DEAD CLOWNS. Have you ever pictured a movie about clowns that were zombies? Well, that's what this movie is about and I gotta say that it rocks...hardcore! DEAD CLOWNS tells the story about a group of people that are being butchered and eaten by a group of dead clowns that have risen from the bottom of the ocean due to a fierce hurricane that have struck a southern sea port town. They may be clowns, but there's nothing funny about t...

Director: Steve Rudzinski Cast: Shawn Shelpman, Steve Rudzinski, Keegan Teel, Jessie Deep, Christine Schwesinger, Nic Pesante Back in May, I was introduced to the crazy world of Dark Mullet Cinema when I purchased a movie entitled LEGENDS. Upon viewing this little film, I was quite impressed. I really didn't know what to expect, but it came highly recommended and I am so glad that I checked it out. I might do a review of LEGENDS later on, but right now I'm doing this review of Dark Mullet Cinema's latest production called WOLFSTER (PART 1): THE VURSE OF THE EMO VAMP. That is such a great title, isn't it? Dave is having a terrible day. His best friend has forced him to go on a date with a girl who isn't quite his fancy. Not only that, but a vampire has moved into town and he wants a pet werewolf and he chooses Dave to be that werewolf. When this emo vamp starts reading his bad poetry halfway through his spell it causes Dave to be able to keep his free will and contro...

Director: Henrique Couto Cast: Shawn A. Green III, Michelle McLaughlin, Lisa Clarke, Henrique Couto, Plexi Starr, Amy Lynn Best, Nic Pesante, Andrew Shearer Marty Jenkins and the Vampire Bitches is the long awaited film from Freak Productions' own, Henrique Couto and quite possibly the best vampire film that has been made since The Lost Boys. Ok, there are probably other ones after The Lost Boys, but I don't have the time to think of them all, so I'm sticking with what I'm saying. I have been a fan of Henrique's work for over 2 years now and all of his movies have been a wild ride to watch and I mean that in an ever-so-loving way, so when I popped Marty Jenkins into my DVD player, I was thrown for a loop, as this film rocked my socks off and everything in between. I will explain more about that as I continue this review, but here's a little of what the plot is about. Marty is a loveable loser, who has just been dumped by his very annoying girlfriend. With Marty ...

Director: Andrew Shearer Cast: Natalie Cardona, Melisa Cardona, Mitsu Bitchi, Monica Puller, Arinn Dembo Back in 2004, I had the pleasure of checking out a short film called CANNIBAL SISTERS. It was a disturbing and pretty freaky little film that was directed by Andrew Shearer. If I'm not mistaken, I think I was the first person to have gotten the chance to check it out, that is before it was included on a DVD for the film DISASTER FOR CHRISTMAS. Anyway, fast forward 2 years later to the news that Andrew was going to be remaking his own film. I'm not too big on remakes, but I just knew that he could pull it off and let me tell you, he did not disappoint. I believe that the cast he got for this version is even better, although Monica Puller is in both versions, but for very different roles. It all worked out in such an unbelievable way that I never thought that this version could be even more freaky than the original. The plot is basically similar. A man attemps to rob a young w...

Henrique Couto, creator and host of The Freak Forum, needs your love and support. In order to keep the show running, Henrique is in need of some donations. After having to change servers, it is now costing some money to continue with the show each month and he really needs help from his loyal listeners and fans! Here's what you need to do. Travel on over to the Freak Forum page at MySpace ( www.myspace.com/freakforum ) and look to the left side of the page. From there you will see a PayPal subscription button. Click that and sign up for The Freak Forum Help Fund. It's only $2.00 a month, so it's not going to break you. We need to keep this show alive! If you can help out, Henrique would be very grateful, so please show him your love and support!

Director: Kevin Strange Cast: Kevin Strange, Joshitso Montoya, Cris Deveroux, Chad Cockstriker, Matt Ringering Dream Reaper is like a poster child of everything no budget and then some. I remember hearing about this movie at another site and getting the chance to see the trailer. I knew right then and there that I have to see this movie and luckily for me, a screener was definitely sent to me. Kevin Strange is one crazy mofo and I will tell you why! Dream Reaper tells the story of Willy Nutsack who is the leader of a metal group known as Dream Reaper (that's convenient, huh? hehe!). Things begin to escalate when Willy and bassist Dick start arguing about where the direction of the band should go. Willy just wants to do songs about sea monsters in a fantasy metal type of thing while Dick wants to do songs about love and relationships, in an emo fashion (oh god!). When they don't agree, Willy storms off to his place and starts watching "In Search Of" with Leonard Nimoy....

Director: Brett Kelly Cast: Brett Kelly, Caitlin Delaney, Anastasia Kimmett, John Muggleton, Ella Rose Zombie films are a dime a dozen these days. They all seem to have the same kind of formula, zombies rising up from their graves to munch on the living, but that's where the latest Brett Kelly flick, MY DEAD GIRLFRIEND differs. This one is a horror-comedy that really delivers on the laughs and the gore. Brett Kelly plays Steve, a college professor who just adores his girlfriend Amy. He wants to make the relationship a permanent one, but things go horribly wrong when he accidentally backs over her with his car, killing her instantly. After constant interruptions, Steve goes about trying to revive his lady love by using one of her witchcraft books and it works...she is now one of the living dead. To make sure that no one knows about this whole incident, he takes Amy to a cottage out in the woods, so they can be alone, but that's where the fun begins when their friends show up to ...

Director: Mark Pirro Cast: Forrest J. Ackerman, Bea Lindoren, Rachel Latt, Braddon Mendelson, Darwyn Carson, Dan Hartel In the early 90's, I used to listen to this radio show that was hosted by Dr. Demento. I'm sure everyone knows who I'm talking about, he used to play all kinds of novelty songs from back in the day. Well, I was more in tuned to his Halloween show every year and I will always remember one song he would always play called NUDIST COLONY OF THE DEAD. It was such a great song and one that you could just sing too...or maybe that was just me, I don't know. Anyway, it wasn't until years later when I found out that this was a real...honest to goodness movie. I was quite surprised because I had never heard of it when I used to listen to the song, but always thought "man, what a cool movie this would be". I tried my best to hunt down this movie because I was very anxious to see it. I'm not sure if I saw it in a catalogue or maybe I found it onli...

Director: Gary Cohen Cast: Paul Kaye, Art Neill, Jackie Neill, Bart Sumner, William Toddie Back in the 80's, I remember going to these mom and pop video stores and heading straight for the horror section. Those were the good old days. Nothing like it is now, with big chains like Movie Gallery and Blockbuster. This brings me to the movie that I am about to review entitled VIDEO VIOLENCE. As I was watching this film again, it brought back tons of memories. I don't mean what the actual movie is about, in which I will get to in a minute, but the video store that this movie takes place in. I used to go rent movies from a store like this one and I wonder if these types of video outlets even still exist. If they do, let me know because I miss them so! But I digress....anyway, let me get on to what this movie is all about. A video store owner has just discovered that the locals are not what they seem. All they want to rent are violent and gory horror flicks. When a mysterious videotape...

Director: Brett Piper Cast: Misty Mundae, Julian Wells, A.J. Kahn, Caitlin Ross, Erika Smith, Rob Monkiewicz, Michael R. Thomas The first time I ever saw a Brett Piper film was just 2 years ago, which I think was SCREAMING DEAD. I was quite impressed with what he came up for with that film. Next up was BITE ME and I knew that it couldn't get any better than this, but boy, was I ever wrong. I was fortunate enough to get a copy of Brett's newest film entitled SHOCK-O-RAMA, which is actually the name of the company that released this awesome flick. I love how that works out, like they are being spoofed themselves. Anyway, SHOCK-O-RAMA stars Misty Mundae as famous horror actress, Rebecca Raven, who is so tired of being the object of sexual desire in the horror flicks that she stars in and when she gets ready to tell this to the studio execs, she gets fired from the company. After telling them off, she decides to take a vacation out to the country for some quality alone time. Of cou...

Director: Marc Fratto Cast: Gina Ramsden, Joshua Nelson, Christa McNamee, Constantine Taylor, Gaetano Iacono, J. Scott Green, Mary Jo Veruto, Kevin T. Collins LAST RITES OF THE DEAD is the newest film from New York-based company, Insane-O-Rama and quite possibly the greatest zombie flick of our time, not counting Romero's zombie films, but that's another story that can and will be discussed at a different time. After the success of Insane-O-Rama's vampire epic, STRANGE THINGS HAPPEN AT SUNDOWN, I was anxiously awaiting what the compnay would come up with next and how they could top such a great flick. By George, I think they've done it! LAST RITES OF THE DEAD follows the story of Angela, a young woman who has just been killed by her angry ex...however, Angela isn't dead....she's one of the undead. She's not the only one though, all over the world the recently deceased have come back to life and these are not your typical zombies either. They are organized, i...