DREAM EATER and the Usual Found Footage Questions

DREAM EATER (Blu-ray)

2026 / 89 min

Alliance Entertainment

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

Because found footage is an overused gimmick, I always find myself immediately asking two questions while reviewing yet another one:

1. Is there an actual narrative reason for the movie to be shot like this?

2. Is this the type of story where characters would realistically feel compelled to film everything happening?

Regarding Dream Eater, the answer to both is largely no, though it isn’t completely without merit.

The basic story itself ain’t bad. Alex (Alex Lee Williams) has a history of chronic sleepwalking, but his actions while asleep are becoming increasingly dangerous, which includes purposefully harming himself. So his girlfriend, filmmaker Mallory (Mallory Drumm), begins to document things at the behest of a doctor. This being a horror movie, Alex’s behavior grows more ominously erratic and threatening, to both himself and Mallory. 

It later becomes clear that there are supernatural doings related to Alex’s family history, when his parents were part of a bizarre cult. After a meandering start, the film boasts a few creepy sequences, and there are times where found footage is effectively utilized to create tension. The climax, in particular, packs a few great jolts. And for a couple of non-actors, the two leads are pretty decent in their roles (Williams & Drumm are also the film’s co-writers & directors).

Available for birthday parties.

However, why the characters decide to document all this at an AirBNB in the middle of nowhere is anyone’s guess. If Alex’s sleepwalking problem is so dangerous to everyone involved, shouldn’t they stay where emergency help is close by? And since Alex’s condition is serious, shouldn’t a professional somnologist at least be on-hand? Elsewhere, the film struggles to justify why Mallory would be compelled to shoot every waking moment, including times she’s using her PC, having breakfast with Alex, and most distractingly, when her own life is in danger. 

I guess we aren’t supposed to think about such things, but since the novelty of found footage wore off years ago, I can’t help it. These days, it takes a hell of a lot for me to forget about the camera, which Dream Eater doesn’t always do. Is it a deal-breaker? Not necessarily, because the story itself develops into something just interesting enough to make it worth our while. 

I also gotta add that the packaging is terrific. The Blu-ray cover, slipcase and mini-poster all feature distinctly different (and creative) artwork. Such nifty physical accoutrements are increasingly rare these days - especially for a largely obscure film - but I’ll attest that physical media fans appreciate the effort.

EXTRA KIBBLES

BEHIND-THE-SCENES FEATURETTE - This is actually more of a Q&A with executive producer Eli Roth talking with actors/co-directors Alex Lee Willaims, Mallory Drumm and Jay Drakulic. Roth also gushes unabashedly about the movie itself, and is also a bit self-congratulatory when discussing how he ‘discovered’ the film and made creative suggestions regarding the reshot climax.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By the directors.

GALLERY

TRAILERS

MINI POSTER

EVIL NUN and the Ultimate Sin

EVIL NUN (DVD)

2025 / 90 min

The Asylum

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

For a fleeting moment, Evil Nun got my hopes up with its genuinely disturbing prologue, which has a nun crouched on a church floor, screaming in blood-curdling agony while in labor. After she gives birth, a dark-robed figure takes her baby away, then brains her with a hammer. It’s a scene more unnerving than anything in The Nun, the inexplicably popular film that mockbuster masters The Asylum are obviously ripping off.

Then the moment’s over, and the story itself starts with yet-another carload of young people who get stranded. And I gotta say…few things kill my enthusiasm for a horror movie faster than one that opens with a batch o’ kids stuck in the middle of nowhere. It’s one of the most overused horror tropes in history and the kids are always the same, which is indicative of a complete indifference to offering anything original. 

When all else fails, shine the flashlight directly at your own face.

But I get it. Originality has never been The Asylum’s modus operandi, so why start now? And admittedly, they’ve managed to crank out a few that are genuinely entertaining (if sometimes at their own expense). Not this time, however. The plot eventually has its characters trapped in the same church where the nun from the prologue died. Then they start getting picked off by an unseen entity…but not the nun herself, who instead “possesses” one of the girls, imploring her and her dwindling group of friends to find her missing baby. 

That’s right, kids…despite the misleading title, there is no evil nun (unless you count her being knocked up in the first place). But that’s the least of the movie’s problems. While performances are serviceable, a few of the kills are okay and the film is competently made, the story and characters are hopelessly generic. Since it doesn’t even qualify as so-bad-it’s-good, Evil Nun ends up committing the ultimate sin of being boring and forgettable.

THE DARK HALF: What's in a Pen Name?

THE DARK HALF (Blu-ray)

1993 / 122 min

MGM

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

George A. Romero is, of course, the Godfather of the modern zombie movie. Without him, the genre as we know it might not even exist. And 100 years from now, people will still be talking about the original “Dead” trilogy. His other films, the ones that don’t feature gut-munching? Not so much.

Creepshow notwithstanding, most of Romero’s work outside of the zombie genre has largely been forgotten…sometimes for good reason, but just-as-often due to circumstances beyond his control. An example of the latter is 1993’s The Dark Half, one of the few times the fiercely independent director worked with a major studio. Unfortunately for him, that studio was Orion Pictures, which was famously falling apart at the time and resulted in this film being unceremoniously dumped into theaters two years after it was completed.

Too bad, really, because while no masterpiece, The Dark Half is one of Romero's better films that doesn’t have ‘dead’ in the title, and a pretty faithful adaptation of Stephen King’s novel (especially in terms of its tone). Timothy Hutton plays Thad Beaumont, an author whose literary work goes largely unnoticed, but the violent, sleazy potboilers he writes under the pseudonym of George Stark are bestsellers. Rather than be blackmailed into keeping his identity secret, Thad decides to go public as the real author of those books…effectively ‘killing’ Stark through a publicity campaign.

"I see you've highlighted the naughty bits."

But Stark (also Hutton) refuses to die. Coming back to life in flesh and blood, he starts murdering everyone who had a hand in killing him off. And because he was Thad’s creation in the first place, they have the same physical traits and finger prints, meaning Thad is Sheriff Pangborn’s (Michael Rooker) primary suspect as the bodies pile up. Thad and Stark also share a telepathic connection of sorts, each knowing how the other thinks…which stems from the former’s childhood, when emergency surgery revealed the remains of an absorbed twin in his brain.

For the most part, it’s an intriguing story inspired by King’s experiences related to his own pseudonym, Richard Bachman. Romero, who also adapted the screenplay, does a good job establishing a consistently dark tone and depicting the ominous presence of sparrows (symbolically important to the story). Largely free of the visceral gore Romero is known for, things still get plenty bloody at times. Elsewhere, the overall performances are quite good, especially Hutton in a dual role. Amy Madigan is less effective as Thad’s wife, though that’s largely because her character mostly just exists to be put in peril.

But just like the original novel, the final act leaves something to be desired. As much as I’ve always enjoyed Stephen King’s work, sometimes he struggles to stick the landing and The Dark Half is a prime example. Similarly, Romero doesn’t appear to know how to effectively end this thing, resulting in an uninspired conclusion that’s also maddeningly abrupt. Other than that, this is an underseen, underappreciated horror thriller from a director who did more during his lengthy career than make zombies shamble.

EXTRA KIBBLES

GALLERY

TRAILER

SHELBY OAKS: A Hodge-Podge of Tropes

SHELBY OAKS (Blu-ray)

2025 / 91 min

Neon/Decal Releasing

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

Hey, at least Shelby Oaks isn’t another found footage film, which I feared it was going to be during the first ten minutes before settling into its story. Unfortunately, the shift to a traditional narrative doesn’t help that story much.

“Paranormal Paranoids” is a popular YouTube series featuring four hosts visiting places that are supposedly haunted. While investigating the abandoned ghost town of Shelby Oaks, three of the hosts are brutally murdered and the last, Riley Brennan (Sarah Durn) goes missing, presumably kidnapped by whoever killed her co-stars. Since it was all caught on camera, the incident becomes an unsolved mystery with worldwide attention.

12 years later, Riley’s older sister, Mia (Camille Sullivan), is being interviewed about the disappearance. She believes Riley is still alive, and after a surprise visit from a stranger (who kills himself on her porch), she discovers a tape in his hand. Instead of turning it over to police, Mia watches the tape, which seemingly confirms what she always suspected, much to the consternation of her semi-estranged husband. 

When DoorDash is late.

Mia’s marital woes have little to do with the plot - nor does the husband, for that matter - and is part of what sometimes makes the movie aimless and meandering. Compelled to look for Riley on her own, the search leads her to Shelby Oaks and the abandoned prison where the visitor at her door was once incarcerated, as well as an amusement park featured in Riley’s show. Further muddying the works are incidents from the sisters’ childhoods (depicted through flashbacks), when some kind of monster lurked outside their bedroom window.

These elements are tied together at the end, but writer-director Chris Stuckmann struggles to successfully combine supernatural and psychological horror, often resorting to cheap jump-scares over methodically building dread. Truth be told, Riley’s disappearance and Mia’s investigation aren't all that interesting to begin with, partially because we aren’t really invested in these characters, but mainly because - despite a couple of effective scenes - the story is mostly a hodge-podge of tropes we’ve seen before.

The film does come to a gruesome and somewhat creepy climax, punctuated by decent special effects. But it’s too little, too late. While Shelby Oaks is occasionally atmospheric and boasts a good lead performance by Sullivan, it's narratively convoluted and ultimately forgettable. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

MAKING OF SHELBY OAKS - A multi-chapter doc with plenty of behind-the-scenes footage and interviews.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By writer-director Chris Stuckmann.

“PARANORMAL PARANOIDS” - Four ‘episodes’ of the faux documentary series depicted in the film.

“THE FINAL TAPE” - Video footage used in the film.

“CRIME SCENE” GALLERY” - A few gory stills.

TRAILERS & TV SPOTS

FRIGHTMARE Gets Tromatized

FRIGHTMARE (Blu-ray)

1981 / 86 min

Troma Entertainment

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

1981’s Frightmare (onscreen title, The Horror Star) is a slasher film with a pretty cool premise, that of a legendary horror actor coming back from the dead to slaughter a batch young people. But while watchable and competently made on a low budget, there ain’t much in the way of panache.

Conrad Ragzoff (Ferdy Mayne) is a legendary (and arrogant) horror movie icon whose best days are behind him, resorting to appearing in a commercial. He’s also a murderer, having killed his director and agent for disrespecting him. Then after Conrad himself unexpectedly dies, a group of drama students steal his body and bring him to a big old house to party.

However, Conrad has a party planned of his own. He explodes from his coffin to commence offing these kids one by one. Sometimes the kills are creative and bloody, other times kind of unremarkable. Some of the cast is interesting, though. Bearing more than a passing resemblance to Christopher Lee, Mayne is wonderfully hammy, while former Hogan’s Heroes beauty Nina Talbot enjoys a few scene stealing moments. Then there’s pre-Re-Animator Jeffrey Combs in an early role, acting circles around his less gifted co-stars before losing his head.

Conrad Ragzoff: Motivational Speaker

But Frightmare is somewhat undone by a meandering pace and a story that seldom rises above perfunctory. Too bad, really, because the concept itself had the potential to put a wild spin on the old slasher formula. As is, however, the movie isn’t completely without merit. 

No stranger to home video, Frightmare has been released on Blu-ray before, but this time Troma Entertainment is doing the honors. The overall picture and sound are pretty decent, while the bonus features are a combination of those from Vinegar Syndrome’s 2015 Blu-ray and Troma’s own DVD release from 2005. The Troma-produced supplements have little or nothing to do with the movie itself, mostly just a bunch of self-promotion, some featuring the world’s oldest 12-year-old, Troma co-founder Lloyd Kaufman.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Man with a Camera is an audio interview with director of photography Joel King (and the best of the bonus features); A Gory Lesson From the Set of Meat for Satan’s Ice Box has Lloyd Kaufman discussing his participation in another low budget splatter flick (and has nothing to do with Frightmare); Troma in Times Square also has nothing to do with Frightmare; Perhaps you can  tell me why Radiation March is included here.

3 AUDIO COMMENTARIES - 1) By writer-director Norman Thaddeus Vane; 2) By David Del Valle and David DeCoteau; 3) By members of a podcast called The Hysteria Continues. All three are listed as separate bonus features.

INTRODUCTION - By Lloyd Kaufman and Debbie Rechon, which mostly consists of the former trying to be funny.

MUSIC VIDEO - “Innards!” is a musical tribute to, you guessed it, Troma and Lloyd Kaufman.

ARTWORK GALLERY

TRAILER

EVIL DEAD RISE(S) Again in 4K...Now with Bells & Whistles

EVIL DEAD RISE Limited Edition (4K UHD)

2023 / 96 min

Arrow Video

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

The second film of the rebooted franchise (with a third on the way), Evil Dead Rise was released on 4K by Warner Brothers not even three years ago. I don’t know if Arrow Video’s version is a rerelease of the exact same transfer or if they did another one on their own. But I guess it doesn’t matter since they look and sound exactly the same. However, WB’s version was essentially a bare bones release, with no bonus features (unless you count the digital code).

Conversely, this Limited Edition from Arrow is loaded with substantial supplemental material (most of it brand new) and ample incentive for Evil Dead and 4K fans to purchase it again, who won’t be disappointed. And if one’s thinking of upgrading to 4K, unless price is an issue, this one is definitely the better choice. Those bonus features are listed below.

As for the movie itself…though stylish and atmospheric, Evil Dead Rise isn’t quite as ambitious as Fede Alvarez’ stellar 2013 remake, if only because writer-director Lee Cronin is content to tell the same story in a different setting. Other than taking place in a crumbling urban apartment building, it’s business as usual...which ain’t necessarily a bad thing. Sudden change isn’t always welcome in horror, especially regarding a franchise with such an awesomely simple concept to begin with: Book gets found, book gets read, people get possessed. 

This time the book is found by a teenager along with a couple of dusty old vinyl records. Both were stashed there in 1923 by a priest who was dumb enough to record himself reading aloud from the book. Naturally, the kid plays the record. Of course, you know the rest…

The floor is lava. 

…or maybe you don’t, but fear not. As with every other film in the franchise, no previous experience is required. Evil Dead Rise tells a stand-alone story that never operates on the assumption the audience has seen the other films. It quickly establishes - or reestablishes - its premise before the blood & body parts fly. In that respect, this might be considered more of a spin-off of Alvarez’ Evil Dead than a traditional sequel (maybe even another remake). 

Still, longtime fans will certainly appreciate the numerous references and Easter Eggs which pay homage to Raimi’s films - some obvious, others subtle - including the classic eyeball gag from Evil Dead II. Speaking of which, one aspect where Evil Dead Rise definitely equals its predecessor is the abundance of gruesome, gonzo violence, which is impressive and accomplished with good ol’ fashioned practical effects.

Elsewhere, the characters are mostly perfunctory, but the overall performances are pretty good, particularly Alyssa Sutherland as bedeviled mother Ellie. Though the familiar story precludes any real surprises, Evil Dead Rise is a nasty good time, with plenty of unnerving scenes, a few effective jump scares and enough blood to fill a swimming pool. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review.

INTERVIEWS - Come Get Some is an interview with actor Lily Sullivan; Mommy Deadite is an interview with actor Alyssa Sutherland; The Deadite's Daughter is an interview with actor Gabrielle Echols; The Levitating Dead is an interview with actor Anna Maree Thomas; Conjuring Deadites features make-up effects artist Luke Polti; Chopping Up Deadites is an interview with editor Bryan Shaw; Sonic Possessions is the an interview with sound designer Peter Albrechtsen; Music to Swallow Your Soul is an interview with composer Steven McKeon.

FEATURETTES - Raising a New Evil Dead is a 7-minute featurette from 2023; Behind the Scenes was shot on-set by writer-director Lee Cronin.

“GHOST TRAIN” - A 16 minute short by Lee Cronin, filmed in 2013.

CONCEPT ART & STORYBOARD GALLERIES

TRAILER & TV SPOTS