Gates of Gore's Independent Horror Reviews

  Cast: Sheri Moon Zombie, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Daniel Roebuck, Richard Brake, Jorge Garcia, Cassandra Peterson  Director: Rob Zombie  This is the origin story you've all been yearning for. Witness how Lily and Herman first met in their ultimate love story....from Transylvania to 1313 Mockingbird Lane.  I'm a huge fan of the original series from the 60's. I was really skeptical when I heard Rob Zombie was tackling this subject. I mean, if you know his style, you know he does a lot of trailer trash films that are set in the 70's, but I did keep track of what he was planning and my hopes kept getting higher and higher as his filming was going strong. I never thought Rob Zombie could ever create a vulgar-free film, but he nailed it perfectly. His vision of The Munsters was done with so much love and you could tell. It was both silly and heartwarming just like the original series. From beginning to end, The Munsters had me rolling with laughter. I know a lot of people a...

  Cast: Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Brittany Snow, Martin Henderson, Kid Cudi, Stephen Ure, Owen Campbell  Director: Ti West  A film crew rents a guest house from an elderly couple to make an adult film.  As the night goes on and tensions rise, they are killed off one by one in really gruesome fashion by someone that is observing what kind of filth they are making. First of all, I have to admit that I am not a fan of the films that A24 comes out with. For the most part, they are completely boring and uninteresting to me.   I am the type of person that can't get into films that are known as "slow burns" because I have a tendency to fall asleep. However, X is a much different kind of horror film. Sure, it's still slow-paced, but the storyline is very interesting that you actually don't even realize how long it's taking for the first murder begins and one that happens, you are in for a wild ride. X is set in the rural backwoods of Texas in the 70's and that made ...

Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Anthony Michael Hall. Kyle Richards, James Jude Courtney  Director: David Gordon Green  After the events of HALLOWEEN 2018, Laurie, Karen and Allyson have escaped the wrath of Michael Myers with Michael trapped in the burning basement of Laurie's compound. However, evil never dies as Michael escapes from the burning building and is more pissed then ever as he goes on the most brutal and bloodiest killing spree to date (forget the RZ versions please). I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of HALLOWEEN KILLS ever since it was first announced for 2020. And then the unthinkable happened, COVID hit and the movie was pushed to 2021.  I was really worried that the movie was going to be pushed again, but I am so thankful that it didn't occur and HALLOWEEN KILLS has finally been released worldwide. Now, let me get into my thoughts on what was my most anticipated movie of the year. Holy shit, HALLOWEEN KILLS was what I was exp...

 Late last week someone had leaked out the trailer for HALLOWEEN KILLS. I didn't have any idea, so I never watched the poor quality that was floating around. The trailer was due to be dropped this week, so what was the studio going to do about this?  Well, you guessed it, they released the official HALLOWEEN KILLS trailer within hours of the leak and that means Halloween came early for us hardcore fans. We all had to wait a year for this movie to finally come out since theaters were closed due to the COVID restrictions and lockdowns. Now that things are getting back to normal and theaters are opening up again, we are finally back on track with movie releases.  So with that said, will HALLOWEEN KILLS live up to expectations? I watched the trailer and let me just say....YES!  I had heard early on that this new Halloween film will be the most brutal and bloody of all the Halloween films and that is including the Rob Zombie movies and that is saying something there. The ...

 Cast: Thomas Haley, Corey Sorenson, Jessica Cameron, Brooklyn Haley, John Marrott, Jerry Broome Director: Thomas Haley An unknown virus has ravaged the world. While a majority of the infected are quarantined away from civilization, a lone man fights to come up with a cure to save humanity. BREAKDOWN is the directorial debut for Thomas Haley and I must say I was very impressed.  During these difficult times we are actually living in, this movie really hit you in the gut of how worse things can get and if you are asking "just how worse can it be?", imagine being one of a few survivors of a mysterious plague. Now that is truly horrifying.  Not only is Thomas Haley the director, he is also the star of this film and I thought he did a great job. I really hope to see what he will come up with next.  There's really not much in the way of interactions with the few characters here, but that made it scary for me. Just being alone in a world that have mostly died off is upsett...

  Cast: Helen Rogers, Alexandra Turshen, Lauren Molina, Larry Fessenden Director: Dan Berk and Robert Olsen  After a night out of partying, 3 female friends sneak into a secluded, remote mansion to have more  fun. However, what was supposed to be good times, things turn horribly wrong. I didn't know what to expect when I came across this film. I actually thought this was going to be something about body horror, but I mean with that title and not reading the description, how can you not think that way.  When I started watching this movie, I discovered it was not what I was expecting, but that's not a bad thing, is it? BODY was more of a thriller about 3 women who get more then they bargained for when they get caught by the groundskeeper of the mansion and what ends up happening until the very end. Plus this movie takes place during Christmas and I thought I knew every holiday horror films, so it's great to come across one I had never heard of. I was quite impressed wi...

Cast: Cailee Spaeny, Zoey Luna, Nicholas Galitzine, Michelle Monaghan, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone, David Duchovny  Director: Zoe Lister-Jones After moving with her mom to a small town to live with her new stepfamily, a young girl discovers her new found powers that she had and with the addition of 3 of her classmates, their powers grow more powerful then they expected. Does this sound familiar? Well it should, especially if you are a fan of the 1996 film, THE CRAFT. When news of THE CRAFT: LEGACY was let out, it was reported that they were planning a remake/reboot and I was really pissed off with it. Fortunately, they eventually didn't go down that road and THE CRAFT: LEGACY turned out to be a sequel instead. However, the movie was really disappointing in so many ways.  The 4 main actresses did a decent job with what they were given, but I just wish it was more. Unlike THE CRAFT, there were no development with the characters nor did they show their private lives, which would'v...

  Cast: Kathryn Newton, Vince Vaughn, Uriah Shelton, Misha Osherovich, Celeste O'Connor, Alan Ruck  Director: Christopher Landon  An infamous serial killer mysteriously swaps bodies with a 17 year old high school girl after he attacks and stabs her with an ancient dagger. When I first heard that a horror version of FREAKY FRIDAY was in the works, I was not enthusiastic at all about this news. I mean, can't Hollywood come up with their own ideas?  However, my mind was changed upon learning that Christopher Landon was behind this and he did both HAPPY DEATH DAY films and they were incredibly fun. FREAKY (leaving off the Friday part of the title) was the biggest surprise for me. I knew what I was in for from the first 10 minutes or so. The killings were quite bloody and brutal. Sure, the characters that were killed off first, you really didn't care about. Or basically any of the murder victims for that matter.  Kathryn Newton who portrayed the young high school stu...

  Cast: Sarah Paulson, Kiera Allen, Pat Healy, Erik Athavale, Sara Sohn Director: Aneesh Chaganty A young girl discovers the horrible truth about her mother and what she's been doing to keep in her life forever. I have been really excited about this movie being released earlier this year, but due to the pandemic, it was pushed back for months and now, thanks to Hulu, RUN is finally available for all that subscribe to the streaming service.  But is it worth your time? Let me dive further into it and see. First of all, let me say that even though it is labeled as a horror film, I wouldn't place RUN in that genre. For me, it is a thriller and nothing more than that, but there's nothing wrong with that. I was really excited about this movie coming out because of the always awesome Sarah Paulson. You know her more for starring in AMERICAN HORROR STORY, but she also stars in the new series, RATCHED that can be streamed on Netflix. Both series shows just how much of a crazy bitch ...

Cast: Terry Alexander, Dee Imbert, Elizabeth Piper S, Geoff Lerer, David Morwick, Marcus Slabine, Lori Cardille Director: Marcus Slabine What was supposed to be his last day at WORX, Radio DJ Harry Cunningham takes a mysterious call online that tries to force him to reveal a dark secret from the past. However, when he refuses, bodies start piling up and Harry's last day could really be his last forever. I have known Marcus for many years, ever since he had his own movie review site. I was really disappointed when he had to shut down his website for good. He had such an incredible knowledge for films, so when I found out that he was venturing into his own brand of movie making, I was so excited. THE LAST CALL is his first film and I thought it was so good. It only runs 17 minutes, but it gets down to business and that's what I love. I was so happy to learn that Terry Alexander was starring in this little film. If you are a George Romero fan, then you will know him f...

Directed by: Tony Masiello and Tim Ritter Remember the good old days of USA Up All Night back in the 90's? Those were the best times and those great memories were brought back with Zombarella's House of Whorrors. Very beautiful and very busty Zombarella presents it's viewers with a SOV suck fest called Tales From the Mausoleum from director Fred Olen Wood. We are also presented with lots of commercials, trailers and 1-900 numbers to titilate your senses. First of all, I didn't know what I was in for when I started watching Zombarella's House of Whorrors, but from the very beginning I smiled the entire time. I remember staying up late night watching these kinda of programs including all those adult 1-900 numbers and this film made me extremely happy. Some of them were a bit ridiculous, but I had a lot of fun watching them. I think my favorites are 1-900-Get-Cream and 1-900-Date-A-Mate. I'd call them if I could. I loved all the trailers that are includ...

Cast: Sheri Moon Zombie, Bill Moseley, Richard Brake, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Dee Wallace, Danny Trejo, Sid Haig Director: Rob Zombie After the shootout with the police, Otis, Baby and Captain Spaulding are finally apprehended and sent to prison. 10 years later Otis, with the help of half brother Foxy escape from police custody and go on a bloody rampage determined to get Baby released from the joint. Now reunited Baby, Otis and Foxy decide to head to Mexico to hide out, but there's an unexpected surprise awaiting for them that could be their final standoff. 3 From Hell takes place right after the events from The Devil's Rejects and was really shocking because that shootout should've killed them, but my some miracle they survived and are finally sent away for their bloody, brutal crimes. I think that The Devil's Rejects had the perfect ending, so we really didn't need a follow-up, but you know what? It worked! Sheri Moon Zombie and Bill Moseley return...

Cast : Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper, Ross Anderson, Anson Boon, Jose Palma, George Somner, Ami Metcalf, Morfydd Clark, Annamaria Serda, Savannah Steyn Director: Alexandre Aja As a Category 5 Hurricane is approaching, a young woman and her father become trapped underneath their family home. Desperately trying to escape the rushing water that is flooding the house, they are also being hunted by man-eating alligators and now it's become their biggest fight for survival. I have always been a huge fan of disaster films, especially when it comes to massive weather situations, but what's even better is when they include a horror element with it and that's what we get with CRAWL. When I first heard this movie was being made, I was so happy. However, my excitement became even greater when I found out that not only was Alexandre Aja sitting in the director's chair, but Sam Raimi was producing it. Now I knew that this movie was going to be killer and man, was I right....

Cast: Dani Kind, Finlay Wojtak-Hissong, Romeo Carere, Steve Lund, Maria Nash, Naleda Majola, Richard White, Sara Canning, Celina Martin Director: Danishka Esterhazy It's Harley's birthday and his family has a big surprise for him, tickets to attend a live taping of his favorite TV show, The Banana Splits. As the adults and kids begin filling the studio with excitement, the head of the network has announced that they are pulling the plug and this will be The Banana Splits' final episode. However, this doesn't set right with The Banana Splits themselves and they go on a bloody, murderous rampage. The original Banana Splits TV show was way before my time, I wasn't born yet, but thanks to cable, the show aired in reruns, so I had the chance to check out this wonderfully psychedelic kids show and it was amazing. More than 40 years later it was announced that The Banana Splits was going to be turned into a horror movie and I was completely appalled by this i...

Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Gabriel Bateman, Brian Tyree Henry, Mark Hamill, Tim Matheson, Marlon Kazadi, Beatrice Kitsos, Ty Consiglio Director: Lars Klevberg A young boy named Andy receives an interactive Buddi doll from his mother as an early birthday present, but what he doesn't know is that this particular doll had previously been maliciously reprogrammed and will soon go on a gory killing rampage all in the name of a best friend. Hollywood is still at it with all these remakes and now we get CHILD'S PLAY. Why? I get that they don't have many ideas of there own, but why mess with this franchise that is actually still going strong. The last one just came out 2 years ago, but what can we do? We just don't have a say in the matter. With that being said, let me talk about this film. I was a bit hesitant going in because the original CHILD'S PLAY is such a classic and for the most part, remakes are a bit of a disappointment, unless you get the right people invol...

Starring: Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chase Crawford, Tomer Karon, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Elisabeth Shue Have you wondered what it would be like if your beloved superheroes were really bad and corrupt? Well, that's what you get with the new series now streaming on Amazon Prime and that series is called THE BOYS. Based on the comic book series of the same name, THE BOYS is about a young man named Hugh, who teams up with a few vigilantes to seek justice after his girlfriend is killed by one of his childhood heroes  named A-Train. Billy Butcher, the leader of THE BOYS has his own agenda against the head superhero known as Homelander and wants his own vengeance. As the series moves on, we learn so many secrets as to where these superheroes actually came about and it's shocking. I, for one am not a comic book fan at all, except for very few movies that I did like, but I was actually p...

Cast: Zac Efron, Lilly Collins, Kaya Scodelario, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Dylan Baker, Jim Parsons, Angela Sarafyan, Hayley Joel Osment, James Hetfield Director: Joe Berlinger In 1969, a young woman abd mother named Elizabeth Kloepfer  meets a charming man named Ted Bundy and from there, their relationship grows. As Elizabeth thinks she has finally found the man of her dreams, Ted is keeping a dark secret from her that he is a serial killer. As his crimes finally comes to light, Elizabeth refuses to believe the truth that is staring her right in the face. I was very excited when I found out that Netflix was releasing this film and seeing the trailer made me even more happy. Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is a very well made film, told through the eyes of Ted's ex-girlfriend Elizabeth that is based on her revealing tell-all book, The Phantom Prince: My Life With Ted Bundy, which I would love to pick up and read for myself. Unlike other real life ...

Cast: Stephen Dorff, Vanessa Grasse, Sam Strike, Lili Taylor, Chris Adamson, Finn Jones, James Blood, Jessica Madsen, Sam Coleman Director: Julian Maury and Alexandre Bustillo After the murder of a Texas Ranger's daughter, young Jed Sawyer was taken into custody and placed in a mental hospital. 10 years later, Jed was given a new identity for his own protection. After a revolt from the other patients, Jed and a few others escape into the Texas badlands with the Texas lawmen out for blood and the Sawyer clan out to retrieve one of their own. Blood will be shed and Leatherface will be born. What the hell was this? I'm not usually hard on any movies. I always give them a biting chance, but it felt like a chore just to get through it and that hurts me. Leatherface is a prequel to the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise and I was so disappointed. I actually felt like I wasn't even watching a Texas Chainsaw Massacre film at all. What they gave us was a character-dr...

"I am Øystein Aarseth, aka Euronymous and I was brought to this world to create suffering, chaos and death. This is my story and it will end badly." Cast: Rory Culkin, Emory Cohen, Jack Kilmer, Sky Ferreira, Anthony De La Torre, Johnathan Barnwell, Valter Skarsgård, Wilson Gonzalez Ochsenknecht Director Jonas Akerlund Based on the book of the same name, Lords of Chaos centers around Euronymous, guitarist and founder of the Norwegian black metal band Mayhem. In 1987 Norway, a teenager known as Euronymous becomes obsessed with creating a whole new musical genre he calls true Norwegian black metal with his band, Mayhem. But as years go by and the band's popularity begins to rise, a power struggle ensues that leads to a very  brutal murder. The very first time I ever heard of Mayhem was back in the 90's when my family received a copy of The Watchtower. Reading the details of the shocking events that occurred has stuck with me for more t...

Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Will Patton, Haluk Bilginer, Virginia Gardner, Andi Matichak, Jefferson Hall, Toby Huss, Dylan Arnold, Rhian Rees, Miles Robbins, Omar Dorsey Directed By: David Gordon Green On Halloween night in 1978, Laurie Strode survived a night of terror by the hands of serial killer, Michael Myers. Now it's 40 years later and Laurie is living like a recluse, still traumatized by what she went through and getting herself prepared in case the day came when Michael were to come looking for the one that got away. But that time is about to come true... Being an obsessed fan of Michael Myers ever since I was a kid, I would get very excited every time a new installment of the Halloween franchise would get released Sure, not all of them are great, but I can certainly appreciate what the filmmakers were trying to do. However, when Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 came out, it shattered my heart on so many levels. It was such a disaster that I didn't ...