Shudder Day: Hallowarrior (2026)

 It's been a busy week and, besides, getting this one out closer to Saturday is ideal.

This is...

It is Halloween.

Everyone can celebrate, right?

Not so much.

A worldwide plague has apparently killed most of the people on Earth.

The plants and environment are also dying.

It's been 4 years for our Heroine and she's trying to enjoy the Holiday all alone, with only memories and grave markers.

She gets her wish for company when a Couple arrive with a young woman in tow.

The Wife leaves to get the rest of her Family, but it soon becomes clear that they have bad intentions.

Our Heroine uses her Mom's gun to stop the Husband.

...but the Family arrives before the duo can leave.

If you've got someone in a Tilda Swinton mask staring through your window, things have gone south!

Can her and her new friend trust each other enough to work together?

Will they survive the night?

Is this also Channing Tatum?
To find out, stream the Film now.

A good to great example of making the most of a low-budget with creativity and style.

The Film looks great.
You accept that many shortcuts are taken - Tell Don't Show with the plague, for example- and realize that they spent the money where it was needed most.

Putting in a House surrounded by, well, nothing really helped the feeling of them being trapped, in spite of the wide open space.

This definitely feels more than a bit inspired by The Strangers and/or The Purge. 
That's not to say that it is a bad thing if they managed their own unique looks.

Pacing is a bit weird, but also not terrible.

It is a good, low-budget Thriller with a Halloween vibe that is a bit short.
That said, I felt what they were going for.

A Film that falls short of being a truly amazing Film.  It might make your Halloween rotation in the future, depending on your mood though.

Poor Bastards of Cinema: The Redeemer (Son of Satan)

 In a Film about killing people who have Sinned, what happens when you haven't?

In The Redeemer (...Son of Satan!), the titular killer is planning to take out six targets.

To do, however, he has to replace the Caretaker...

He pretends to be someone doing an inspection.

He drops the keys by the pool to make the man pick them up...

...and shoots him, dumping the body in the pool.

He's dead.

In the aftermath, the Redeemer takes the body and makes a mold of it.

He does it for a mask...to look like someone that they wouldn't recognize.

I get that you BOTH can't be the Caretaker(s), but you could send him away.

Oh, and his body is later displayed to scare the victims.  One last indignity.

Did the guy commit some sort of sin?  Probably.  
Did he deserve to be a body on the pile just because he worked at the Building?  No.

The moral: don't trust strangers.
Ever.

VHS for the Win: The Redeemer (Son of Satan)

 After looking at the actual Film, I might as well cover the alternate release it got.

In the '80s, VHS came about and *most* Films found their ways onto it.

Many of them were rebranded or retitled for release.

This is one of those cases...

I guess this Title is not a lie.

You definitely don't get context of the Film and why it is so weird.

Is it a better Title than The Redeemer?
You decide!

Tubi Thursday: Night of the Demons (1988)

Is this a great Film to show at your Halloween Party?

Since I don't ever go to those, I'll help you find out...

It's Halloween.  What are you going to do?

Me- I'm going to watch Vincent Price Movies.
They, however, are going to a Halloween Party at an abandoned Funeral Home....as you do.

They get plenty of party favors, aided by Linea Quigley distracting the Clerks by bending over.

Quigley showing skin in a Horror Film?  Shocking!

Everyone enjoys drinks and dancing at the Party.

All goes well until they do a ritual to summon a spirit (or two).

Shockingly this- and the broken mirror- go poorly.

The Hostess is the first to be possessed and kills the guy who looks like Bulk from Power Rangers.

Quigley is also possessed and the killing begins.

The Cast is whittled down via methods like stabbing, eye gouging, neck snaps and more.

Shockingly, the Film's lone Black Guy is still alive (for now).

The survivors must find a way out or try to survive until sunrise.

Either way, it won't be easy.

They made 3 more of these (and a Remake), so clearly something went right.  
The End.

A fun little Horror Film, even if it does take a bit of time to get going.

In a way, it makes for a good Party Film.  Everyone can get settled in and maybe a little tipsy before the bodies pile up.

As a Dario Argento fan, I do wonder how much his (he produced and co-wrote it) Demons inspired this one.  It features people getting killed and turning into latex-faced monsters.

It's not the only Film to do it, mind you, but how many others also have Demons in the Title?

Putting that aside, the Film features your usual assortment of stereotypes like Horny Guy, Fat Guy, Goth Girl and Final Girl.
I could have probably done without Creepy Brother Who Talks About His Sister's Tits though.

Once it gets going, the Film has some creative kills, good visuals and a nice use of Chekhov's Gun.  It's not mind-blowing, but it might be worth a rewatch for me in the future.

Now, if she asks, her makeup looks perfect!

A somewhat overlooked- in spite of many Sequels and a Remake- Halloween Film.  Your love of '80s cheese will determine how much you love it though.

'70s Trash?: The Redeemer (Son of Satan) {1978}

 A Film whose Title confuses you almost as much as the Film itself does!

This is The Redeemer, a 1978 Film also released as The Redeemer... Son of Satan!  There's a third, vastly different Title, but that's for a different Post.

The Film appears to be the only Film made by its Director Constantine S. Gochis.  The man also has no Wikipedia Page, nor does most of the Cast.
Only Jeanetta Arnette does, as she's got credits as recent as 2021's Impeachment: A Crime Story.

The Plot is just plain bizarre.  A strange man invites 6 people to a 10-Year High School Reunion, traps them inside and plans to kill them all.

Thiis is why I've skipped my Reunions so far.  You never can be too sure!

Since it is the '70s, there's weird sounds, weird angles and lots of bizarre things going on.  It's a Film that never makes you bored...but definitely befuddled.

To see how this one and done turned out, read on...

The Film begins with a VERY LONG shot of this Lake, this weird bit of text and then a young man emerging from it.

He walks out of the water casually and boards a Bus to sing in a Church Choir.

A fire and brimstone Preacher in the Church rails against people who sin as the Film cuts to 6 different people that are apparently guilty of said sin.

This includes a Lawyer for the Mob, an Actor, a Letch and...a closeted Lesbian Woman?!?

Earlier, we saw a strange man kill the Caretaker and make a mold of his face.

Now he lets the group in and they find nobody, save for a full Buffet.

This lady is so concerned that she asks the same question twice in 30 seconds...

******

...and gets the same answer twice.  Did you do 'two for coverage' and not pick one to use?

Anyhow, they soon find the dead Caretaker and realize that they are locked inside by a crazy man, dressed here as Death (or Skeletor).

The letch- a former Jock who looks like Robert Wuhl- sneaks up on the killer...or so he thinks.

When he spins the chair around, a dummy is revealed...holding a flamethrower...which then goes off.

Ow.  His friend only decides to put out the fire...after he's fully engulfed.  Dick.

The killer takes out more of the group- via gunshot and falling knife- as he shows a strong flair for the dramatic.

What was his personal Costume Budget?!?

****^+**

With the Cast nearly all dead, he explains to one of them that he's planning to kill them over their various sins.

One of them, by the way, is one that even I had to look up.

The last survivor- manages to shoot the Redeemer, but is then killed by the marionette from earlier...somehow.

Now the final reveal(s).

We learn that this all happened in the recent past as the Preacher- who was obviously the killer- recovers from his gunshot wound.

He also has a double thumb on one hand, which soon transfers to the strange boy (along with his gunshot wound) as he leaves via bus (after killing a kid and framing someone).

He goes back into the water and...that's it?!?

The (confusing) End.

Well, you get lots of points for creativity- that's for sure.

Remember too that this is 1978...and the Film was actually shot in 1976.  These kinds of Films hadn't become the rage yet, since Friday the 13th and Halloween were years and months (respectively) away.

This one definitely does some weird stuff.
I can't fault it for trying stuff.

The execution is a really mixed bag, with confusingly long shots, a real lack of Editing and so-so Production Values.

The Plot will leave you thinking about it for days...but not necessarily because it is so clever.  It's not quite, say, Memento, but nor is it, say, Monster A Go-Go.

Oh and you can make out the kid walking away from the Lake in the final Wide Shot (even in 360p).
Whoops.

Next up, I want to revisit a Film that I only know from MST3K.  Does it have any qualities that make it good un-riffed?  Stay tuned...

Shudder Day: Infirmary (2026)

Am I tempting fate by watching yet another Found Footage Film this Month?

Will I be pleasantly surprised?

Let's find out...

A young Veteran is hired to work a low-stress Security Job.

The problem- it's the Night Shift job at a recently abandoned Hospital.

He's a bit traumatized by the older Security Guard who wants to razz him.

He is also a bit on edge due to some trauma from his time in Afghanistan.

The big, spooky hallways don't help.

They try to find a stranger that breaks in, but they disappear.

As our Hero tries to relax, the power goes out!

The older Guard is going to leave him alone to reset the breaker.

On edge already, being in the dark is not helping his state of mind.

He also starts seeing these medical mannequins everywhere.
Weird.

Can he survive the night?

What secret is this Hospital hiding?

Will they avoid ending on 'The Cannibal Holocaust' Shot for a change?

To find out, stream it now.

A Film that does so many things well...and just fumbles quite a bit at the end.

To start with, the Film has great atmosphere.  They used a real Hospital, which helps things.

The Film is very tightly focused, which also helps a great deal.

It can make interiors look unsettling and do much with something as simple as a creaking door.

They also build up some interesting lore about the place.  I wanted to see where it went.

The problem- it didn't go anywhere.
Weird shit happens.  It ends.  That's it.

If you want even a halfway decent answer, it's not here.  If they had delivered more, I would be praising the Film more.

I don't mind the low budget.  I like how they shot it.

Just actually make a proper ending or make one so insane that I still remember it (and not the Film).

I wanted to love this (honest), but it wasn't quite there.

Is this part of The Backrooms?

A Film that wrote 3/4 of a potentially interesting Film and then stopped.  For what it does do right, I'm optimistic about what the Director might do in the future.

SPOILER Theatre: Alternate Endings That Contradicted by Sequels

 Before I stop talking about the Grave Encounters Series (until they make a new one), I need to discuss the Alternate Ending.

I might as well cover 2 more to bring back SPOILER Theatre!

*Don't read this unless, well, you don't care about Decade plus old SPOILERS*

In Grave Encounters 2, the new crew discovers that the lone survivor has been trapped there for the 9 years since the last Film occurred.

Well, not in the Alternate Ending that was randomly uploaded to YouTube by the Creators a few years ago...

In it, the Groundskeeper finds him the next morning in a catatonic state.

A Detective- Garry Chalk- says that the case is open, but not being investigated.

...and the guy is all but comatose years later in a Psych Ward.
He only freaks out when he realizes that he's being filmed.

In Blade 2, the Film is all about him facing mutant Vampires and trying to save his thought-to-be-dead Mentor.

In an Alternate Ending...

Freaking Morbius shows up!

That's different!
We wouldn't get him until Sony's totally successful Spider-Man-less spin-off Series.

Finally, in The Descent: Part 2, the lone survivor is all but forced to go back into the Caves to clear her name and possibly rescue any survivors.

In the Alternate Ending (cut for American Audiences)...

Her escape from the Cave was just imagined!

She's still stuck down there.

Bummer.

If you know more that would qualify, why not leave a comment?
I won't bite.

Tubi Thursday: The Unearthly (1957)

 I decided to go back to the good, old days of terrible, cheesy sci-fi movies.  

John Carradine is here- naturally.

A woman is admitted to a Private Hospital run by Carradine.  He just wants to help her...right?

Yeah, no.

He's a Mad Scientist who is trying to find the source of immortality.

The source- glands.

It didn't work for this guy.

As luck would have it, a man is caught wandering around outside of the building.

He's caught by Lobo- Tor Johnson- and turns out to be an escaped criminal.

He's blackmailed by Carradine into being a test subject for him.

He has created a 17th gland and is trying to use that to make us live forever.
Who wants that?

The place has a few other residents, including this stressed out lady who Tor has a thing for.

There's also a constantly complaining guy.  He's...annoying.

Carradine tests his new gland on the lady above and it goes poorly.

Our Hero tries to convince the brunette that things are dangerous and she finally believes him.

When his escape attempt fails, he reveals that he is actually an undercover Cop.

Carradine flees, but the once comatose guy from Image #2 stabs him to death.

The Cops save the brunette from Tor and the Lady Scientist.

They go down to the basement and find a bunch of monsters (that are all over the Trailer and Poster).
...and that's it.  The End.

A Film that almost has a point...I think.

What do you want here?
It's got John Carradine.
It's got Tor Johnson.
It's got mutants (very briefly at the end)!
It's got lots of people smoking.
It has a 35-year-old 'young man' that John Carradine fawns over.

It's nothing special.  It's very stock.
Lots of these Movies were not made with a mission in made, a message to tell or even much thought.

This one is definitely a Mad Libs version of a 1950s B-Movie.
'They're trapped with a ____  ______ who is making ______ by experimenting on ______.'

It's alright.  I had a good time.  Don't judge me!

A really by the numbers Film.  Even so, it has John Carradine, constant smoking and Tor Johnson.