Stalk 'n' Slash: June 2010

The Abducted (2009) - Film Review

Jon Bonell’s 2009 horror flick THE ABDUCTED is a poorly written, badly made, diabolically acted, excuse for a movie. Churned out in an attractive box with a misleading synopsis, ABDUCTED is another example of a half-baked, low budget horror that should have never been made.

The blurb on the back tells us about a meeting in a public place arranged on the internet between two strangers. I’d like to point out that we see nothing of this. The Abducted starts with Valora (Kathleen Benner) already bound and gagged in a secluded shack. Her abductor is psychotic, Ridley (James Ray) who meets young ladies on the internet and kills them for sport. We never find out how Valora

There is a fantastic array of brilliant horror novels on the shelves these days, so why did I choose to review DEMONS AND OTHER INCONVENIENCES by Dan Dillard? Well, because I had the time -- the beauty of this book is that you can pick it up and read as much or as little as you please. Be warned though, once you get started it’s hard to stop and this book will snare you in its gloriously wicked clutches and drag you kicking, screaming, and sometimes laughing from one creepy story to the next.

A collection of 18 shorts this is easy reading at it’s very finest. But when I say ‘easy’ I don’t mean it isn’t scary, because some of the stories are more than a little disturbing – but that’s what us horror

Adam Green’s HATCHET 2 will have its World Premiere at this year’s Film4 FrightFest when it screens on Thursday August 26th. Green will attend the screening at London’s Empire Cinema along with some of his iconic cast, including Kane Hodder, Danielle Harris and Tony Todd to kick off what is expected to be the busiest event to date.

HATCHET 2 promises even more gore and darker humour. Green says “Having the World Premiere at the opening night of FrightFest is really a homecoming for my monster Victor Crawley and I. It’s

‘The Best Horror Film Of The Year’ it said, ’Unrelenting paralyzing fear’ it said. It was with great anticipation that I took Ti West’s 2009 horror THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL out of its case, the case that had made so many promises. I was in for an entertaining night of tension and fear. I pressed play -- 70 minutes later, yes, that’s right 70 bloody minutes! and things were starting to happen. It was a long time coming but after over an hour of nothing the last mediocre 20 minutes seemed refreshingly good. This is my only explanation for all the rave reviews this film is getting. But if it takes 70 minutes of nothing to make the end look good, then I really need to say little more about THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL.

When skint student Samantha (Jocelyn Donahue) is offered a lucrative babysitting job she sees it as an opportunity to get some much needed cash for her new home. Even though things are a little