Crash Palace Productions 2023: Recent Episodes
Billy Crash
Cocaine Bear: The Horror, The Horror My minimal understanding of artificial intelligence is as follows: it’s what happens when humanity gets smart enough to put menial tasks in the hands of machines, since machines can produce the same – if not better – results. This makes sense, as we lazy-ass humans have important things to […]
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Evil Dead Rise: High-Rise, High Concept? (This review contains SPOILERS) The world is always hard on the living, but the level of difficulty varies depending on a myriad of internal and external factors. Beneath the crimson-stew bloodbath of Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise, there is a keen understanding of classism, economic strife, and familial estrangement […]
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Outside the Top 5: An Introduction While The Last Knock podcast is predicated on mine and Billy Crash’s love for the horror genre, we are often faced with a quandary when it comes to addressing the best (and worst) of each year. Basically, it boils down to not having enough time to talk up all […]
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Best and Worst Horror Movies 2022: Interesting Take… Each year, Jonny Numb and Billy Crash come up with their best and worst horror movies for the year, but 2022 is a little different. One of the issues with current horror films is that fans expect so little from commercial and low budget horror that “good […]
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Skinamarink: An Inherent Risk I like ambiguous movies, but they carry an inherent risk: the outcome winds up either being worth your time, or a grift that leaves you feeling angry and cheated. I front-load a lot of good faith toward experimental movies, but at some point, the experiment needs to deliver – at least […]
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Halloween Ends: The Shape-shifter This review contains SPOILERS It’s a silly nitpick, but I don’t like the credit font in Halloween Ends. It’s pulled from Season of the Witch, that once-maligned, now-(mostly) celebrated third entry in the original series (you know, the one that had nothing to do with boring ‘ol Michael Myers). Feels like […]
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Allegoria: Shock Rock to Film It’s interesting to see how folks from other creative disciplines fare when they make the jump to film. Maybe it’s no surprise that novelists like Clive Barker and William Peter Blatty made auspicious transitions to directing features (both had screenplay experience), as narrative storytelling was already flowing through their veins. […]
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VHS Horror with Special Guest Collector: Greg Palko! When in comes to VHS horror collecting, Greg Palko, of Palko Designs on Twitter and Instagram, is one serious aficionado. His collection is vast, to say the least, and includes many rare samples even the most diehard horror fan may not be privy to. For the Love […]
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Double Feature: Death Game and Knock Knock Death Game: Bad Times Ahead Peter Traynor’s Death Game is a strange bird: the simple plot has financially successful father George Manning (Seymour Cassel) home alone while his wife rushes off to address an out-of-town emergency with one of their children. Cue a rainstorm that brings two soaked […]
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Into the Black Abyss: Deathstream Timing is a weird thing. Not too long ago, I raked Rob Savage’s Dashcam over the coals, citing it as the death knell of the Found Footage subgenre. Now I’m here to explain how Daniel Mark Young’s Into the Black Abyss: Deathstream pulls it out of the dirt. Even before […]
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Pearl: A Return to Form “Return to form” is a slippery little phrase in the film-critic world. It accompanies rave reviews of “comebacks” from established filmmakers who’ve had some stumbles since their last “good” effort. It’s also a backhanded compliment that implies a director’s most recent work carries an air of familiarity that corresponds to […]
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Dashcam: Shit, Oh Man! There are times when a movie strikes all the wrong chords and manages a bit of notoriety before fading from the fickle online discourse. The urge to hate on something can be very real indeed. But why draw attention to something you’d much rather see fade out of public consciousness altogether? […]
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Wishmaster 25th Anniversary: Wish On, Child Special effects guru, Robert Kurtzman’s Wishmaster turns 25 this year. At one point, I had considered the film a “guilty pleasure” but over time realized I was being ridiculous. The film, starring Tammy Lauren as Alexandra Amberson, Andrew Divoff as the Djinn, and potent appearances from Robert Englund, Ted Raimi, […]
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X: A Questionable Lark (This review contains possible SPOILERS) Ti West’s X feels like a lark, so maybe I should just lighten up and enjoy it as such. But for as much as it does right, it’s also questionable in ways that have nothing to do with its actual content. The inquiry at the core […]
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Notes-to-Self: A Jack of All Trades Christopher Alan Broadstone has no desire to be the next Stephen King. A writer first and foremost, he’s also a jack-of-all creative trades: DIY filmmaker (Human No More) and musician (About 9 Times; The Judas Engine). When he commits to art – regardless of medium – he commits in […]
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Crimes of the Future: Creative Evolution The challenge of describing David Cronenberg and his body (heh, heh) of work in new and exciting ways has become an exercise in futility. “Genius!” they cry. “Visionary!” they hail. “The King of Venereal Horror!” they shout with glee. Long ago, these descriptors felt unique enough to properly encompass […]
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Men: An Impressive Experience When it comes to choosing a seat for the theatrical experience, I always want to put myself in front of any cacklers, talkers, or narrators. I find it less distracting to have the folks who simply cannot shut up behind me, lest I get distracted by their impatient and/or otherwise fidgety […]
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Ted Raimi: Starring in Failure! Ted Raimi is a bona fide horror legend. A talented character actor who is comfortable playing everything from an unsightly female demon named Henrietta (in his brother Sam Raimi’s genre classic Evil Dead 2), to Ash Williams’ goofy sidekick, Chet Kaminski (Ash vs Evil Dead) to his recent turn as […]
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Rob Zombie’s Halloween: Turning the Knife 15 Times Rob Zombie’s Halloween reboot from Dimension Films has been trashed by many a horror fan over the past fifteen years. Granted, this comes from those enamored with John Carpenter’s original from 1978. Well, it’s hard to argue when many consider the Carpenter version to be the penultimate slasher […]
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Texas Chainsaw Massacre: An Unwieldy Franchise Let’s face it: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has been a franchise as sluggish and lumbering as its iconic villain – and as unwieldy as his cherished weapon – for decades now. Since its first sequel (directed by series originator Tobe Hooper) in 1986, the cannibal family has been subjected […]
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Broadcast Signal Intrusion: The Search for “Truth” There’s a junction in any good conspiracy thriller where the viewer realizes, usually in tandem with the protagonist, that they’re in over their head. You’re both invested to the point where you simply can’t stop the search for the truth (however precarious the notion of “truth” may be) […]
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Top Six Swedish Horror Films Yes, I want to visit Sweden for its people and culture, as well as its rotten shark delicacy. But Sweden has also produced some quality horror films, especially after 2000. Best Swedish Horror Here’s their best of the best in ascending order: 6. The Monitor (aka Babycall; Norway/Germany/Sweden, 2011) 3.5 […]
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Top Six New Zealand Horror Films New Zealand is the land of the kiwi. Yes, that is a moniker for the people of the beautiful island based upon the kiwi bird (thanks to cartoonists from the early 1900s). Though the island for its civility and beauty, they have produced some high quality horror films. Comedy […]
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Best Horror Films 2021: Too Many to Choose From? There have been some solid films to make development of the Best Horror Films 2021 list a daunting task. Yet, after watching 100 of last year’s films, Crash and Numb have worked diligently to bring that list down to the best of the best. On the podcast, […]
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Black Christmas: A Dark Universe Christmas has come and gone, and after two years of dread-filled build-up for obvious (familial tensions; economic worry) and not-so-obvious (whose ominous cold symptoms will cancel the party?) reasons, the world has had to adjust to alternative ways of carrying on with time-tested traditions. Thankfully, the annual “Is Die […]
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Cold Horror: Six Frosty Picks for the Season Sure there’s holiday cheer for whatever you’re celebrating, but if you live in the right place on our big blue marble it can be friggin’ cold! And this is why Numb and Crash have picked six cold horror films to make your world even frostier. Cold as […]
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The Autopsy of Jane Doe: Morgue Check-in In December 2016, André Øvredal unleashed The Autopsy of Jane Doe upon the world. Starring the great Brian Cox as Tommy Tilden, with Emile Hirsch as his son Austin, the pair run a funeral home. Due to a pressing case of multiple murders, Sheriff Burke (Michael McElhatton) […]
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Ghostbusters: Afterlife – an Impossible Weight “Lots of fan services [sic] but that’s what we asked for.” – IMDb “Top Review” of Ghostbusters: Afterlife I kept wondering when our collective nostalgia machine – a metaphysical database of shared memories and beloved IPs – would reach peak capacity, causing a rift in the space-time continuum and raining hell down on the general pop-culture populace. In that regard, it kind of makes perfect sense that Ghostbusters: Afterlifeis the chosen form of the destructor. Even the most cynical of films exhibit a clear distinction between commerce and creativity. Ghostbusters: Afterlifemelts these two notions together with the consistency of so much marshmallow goop. Its goal is not to tell a story, but to cross the generational streams with enough conviction to get you (or your kids) to shell out for the tie-in merchandise lining store shelves right now. Case in point: when science teacher Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd) picks up a carton of Baskin-Robbins at the cleanest and most desolate Wal-Mart in the known universe, only to discover a bunch of CGI Stay-Puft Marshmallow Kids. Shot and cut like a commercial, it conveys one thing: why not head out to Walley World after the movie and pick up the plastic-and-plush likenesses of these Minions-esque cuties? Not a Creative Engine In other words, Ghostbusters: Afterlifeis Ghostbusters as a brand, not a creative engine. It anticipates audience mentality in hopes of giving us exactly what we want, while actively avoiding any fresh creative territory. It’s the fusion of test-audience notes and blogger complaints into Hollywood creative prerogative. (And in that sense, it’s a lot like David Gordon Green’s sequel-erasing Halloween reboot.) I’m old enough to admit that Ghostbusters has been a brand since its initial box-office success. But in the past, the creative teams placed storytelling, comedic interplay, and visual spectacle above the inevitable flood of videogames, action figures, and cereal tie-ins. And, like many others, I was an active consumer of all that stuff in the late 1980s. Total Protonic Reversal In a move that signals a sort of total protonic reversal, Jason Reitman – son of Ivan, who directed the ’84 and ’89 films – has taken the helm, draining most of the humor from the proceedings and slathering the story in sappy sentiment. Because this time, it’s personal (I guess). It’s interesting how Reitman and co-writer Gil Kenan take what should be an exciting premise, full of discovery and adventure, and reduce it to a rote coming-of-age tale. For the generation that grew up with the original films and Saturday-morning cartoon, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is jammed with as many in-jokes and Easter Eggs as you can imagine…but is that really a good thing? I don’t hate remakes on principle; I can even appreciate little nods to what came before. But Ghostbusters: Afterlifeis comprised almost entirely of references of its forebears, to the point where it fails to convey any personality of its own. The Kids Aren’t Alright The plot hurriedly introduces Egon Spengler’s daughter Callie (Carrie Coon) and her children: Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (the increasingly charmless Finn Wolfhard). The family has fallen on hard times, leaving them to inherit Egon’s ramshackle dirt farm in the middle of an Oklahoma wheat field. Of course, this unappealing piece of real estate presents more than meets the eye. Ghostbusters: Afterlifeunderlines “Stranger Things”’ continued influence on popular culture, to the point where casting Wolfhard has less to do with his thespian talents than snagging interest from the kids (and kids-at-heart) who made that Netflix series a hit. That said, Trevor’s gawky presence barely registers, since his adolescent tendencies are so woefully generic (he has a crush on waitress Lucky (Celeste O’Connor) and is into fixing cars). What’s more, his character disappears for abnormally long stretches of the film, as if Reitman and Kenan didn’t know how to properly incorporate him into the plot. More head-shaking decisions include making Lucky’s appearances so random that she never acquires any real agency (she has a boyfriend – though that angle isn’t explored – and her dad’s the chief of police). By the time she puts on a Ghostbuster uniform, it feels more like an obligation than a logical character development. Similarly, Podcast (Logan Kim) – who befriends Phoebe during their shared summer-school stint – is not quite obnoxious, but also not very endearing. In another bit of pop-culture recycling, his character is basically a tech-upgraded version of Data from The Goonies. On top of that, how does he have such expensive-looking podcasting gear? As one-note supporting characters, Lucky and Podcast are steamrolled by the unbalanced script. Even Trevor and Phoebe’s personalities would be non-existent if they weren’t so heavily intertwined with the already-established Ghostbusters mythos. But at least the filmmakers spare us the requisite bullying Phoebe and Podcast would encounter in any other teen movie. Small victories, amirite? The Grace of Phoebe Ghostbusters: Afterlife belongs to Grace, who is beguilingly good as bespectacled genius Phoebe. It seems unfair that her attempt to essay a multi-layered character is nearly undone by the filmmakers’ efforts to reduce her character to grist for the marketing machine. But with her distinctive glasses, deadpan manner, and various bodily tics, she makes Phoebe shine amid a sea of sameness. Unfortunately, Callie (audience surrogate for the parents who don’t want to be there) and Grooberson (audience surrogate for the cool parents who took their kids) are marginal presences. Coon and Rudd do what they can, imbuing the lamest jokes and most undercooked emotional developments with their formidable talents, but the script leaves their efforts unrewarded. Middle of the Road The first half of Ghostbusters: Afterlifeisn’t particularly entertaining (save for a “gotta see it in IMAX” set piece where the kids chase a ghost through downtown), but I didn’t expect it to get any worse. Ultimately, I thought it would maintain its middle-of-the-road stance till the end. But that’s before Reitman and Kenan steer the plot into a shameless rehash of the 1984 film (with bad CGI). Gozer is back. The Gatekeeper and Keymaster are back. Dogs and cats, living together, mass hysteria. And that’s to say nothing of a catastrophically misguided, double-edged deus ex machina. What bothered me is how none of it feels earned. The underdeveloped plot leaves every cameo, every familiar quote, every nod to what’s come before feeling like an unabashed Frankenstein’s monster of borrowed parts. I suppose my moment of mass hysteria came upon discovering this was the filmmakers’ goal all along. I guess the joke’s on me! Worse yet: there’s such a lack of distinction in the ghosts – and such a protracted build-up before they appear – that Ghostbusters: Afterlife doesn’t even compensate for its narrative flaws with visual spectacle. By comparison, the matte paintings and photographic effects in Ghostbusters I and II went further in creating a convincing synthesis of fantasy and reality. To the Lack of Wonder When I was little, I built my Saturday mornings around The Real Ghostbusters. I ate the teeth-rotting cereal bearing their namesake. I had my parents buy me the action figures. They’d record backyard movies of me and my brother playing Peter Venkman and Ray Stantz, respectively. It was fun to have these extensions of a franchise I loved; one I considered a formative part of my personality. At its best, film has the power to put you in a position of awe and wonder, as if you are a kid again. That’s what makes the medium so damned transcendent. The lack of wonder in Ghostbusters: Afterlifespeaks to its lack of new ideas. I was left thinking about those improvised home movies, running around with a plastic proton pack on my back, dodging invisible ‘ghosts.’ Nothing here matches that sense of wonder, naïveté, and carefree misfit humor. 1.5 out of 5 stars
The Plot Sickens: Did Jonny Numb actually like Halloween Kills?
Crash Analysis Support Team
Jonny Numb Jonny Numb (aka Jonathan Weidler) is only unstoppable when it comes to word count. He co-hosts The Last Knock horror podcast with Billy Crash, and his writing can also be found at The Screening Space.
THE LAST KNOCK horror podcast is a Crash Palace Productions’ featured show. Besides this site, you can find THE LAST KNOCK on iTunes and Spotify and more, with new shows posted every other Sunday at 9 PM ET.
Crash Palace Productions website design and creation from Brian Yount Digital Enterprises with banner and THE LAST KNOCK art from Palko Designs. Logo designs from Paul Belci.
(Ghostbusters: Afterlife movie still from Columbia Pictures.)
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The Last Knock horror podcast opens the door to a Cult Trio…
Cult Trio: Down the Rabbit Hole The Last Knock podcast prides itself on “cult” appeal, and is no stranger to cult activity – just check out the episode in which we surveyed the appeal of Cults in Horror.
So why the revisit?
Well, after a recent marathon of three very different cult-centric horror films, Jonny Numb felt there was more to unearth on the subject…
Cult Trio of Terror From Satan worshippers in small towns, to dramatizations of real-life tragedies, to backwoods believers, a sense of perspective lends credibility to cult cinema.
Basically, if we aren’t lulled by the philosophies of our fictional cult leaders – or the actions of the outsiders trying to get in – we won’t believe in anything else, either.
But when done well, cult films create a sense of discomfort and urgency that bring us face to face with real-world fears…or even fears beyond our mortal plane.
This week, Jonny talks turkey about The Devil’s Rain, Guyana: Cult of the Damned, and Welcome to the Circle – three horrors that take distinctly different paths in chronicling cult activity.
The plot sickens: THE LAST KNOCK brings you Hodgepodge of Horror XVI! THE LAST KNOCK horror podcast is a Crash Palace Productions’ featured show. Besides this site, you can find The Last Knock on iTunes and Spotify and Vurbl (and more) with new shows posted every other Sunday at 9 PM ET.
Crash Palace Productions website design and creation from Brian Yount Digital Enterprises with banner, gif, and all The Last Knock art from Palko Designs.
The Last Knock always supports independent cinema!
Note: What’s up with the one-man shows as of late? Never fear, Jonny Numb and Billy Crash are still The Last Knock duo! But due to extreme work demands, COVID-19 vaccine recovery, jury duty (both at the same damn time!), Numb’s script writing, Crash’s novel and anthology writing, and film pre-production, time has been a wayward mistress. The pair will get on the same wavelength soon enough!
(The Devil’s Rain still shot from Sandy Howard Productions.)
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Halloween Kills: The Specter of Looming Expectation
(This review contains SPOILERS) The real boogeyman hanging over 2018’s Halloween was not Michael Myers, but the specter of looming expectation. After all, this was the film that wiped the prior sequel-slate clean to deliver what was thought to be the definitive sequel to 1978’s Halloween.
Director David Gordon Green, who co-wrote the script with Danny McBride and Jeff Fradley, approached the task with copious fan service, to the point where the film felt too beholden to John Carpenter’s original to break any new ground. Furthermore, the winks and nods to some of the allegedly discarded sequels – not to mention Rob Zombie’s much-maligned versions – came off as disingenuous.
Sure, Jamie Lee Curtis was back as Laurie Strode, but she had faced off against her Shatner-masked nemesis in Halloween H20 before being unceremoniously dispatched in Halloween: Resurrection. And her characterization in the ‘18 film didn’t carry much beyond a well-toned Linda Hamilton physique and attitude. It did introduce Laurie’s daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak), but more as #MeToo placeholders than fully fleshed-out characters. The closing scene – in which the three bloodied and bruised women embrace – was poignant but robbed of impact by the general lack of interest up to that point.
An Impossible Weight After a COVID-induced delay, the midsection of Green’s trilogy is finally here. And, once again, Halloween Kills carries an impossible weight on its shoulders. The hype and enthusiasm only seemed to grow as the release date lurched from 2020 to 2021.
Unlike the “certified fresh” 2018 film, Kills has garnered lukewarm-to-negative reviews from fans and critics alike. Some voices in the social-media wilderness aside, most people’s expectations – percolating since they declared their love for the previous film – were doused with a bucket of cold water.
That said, where does my opinion fall? After all, I’ve been upfront with my admiration for Zombie’s Halloweens and my dislike of Carpenter’s original (for as much as I’ve tried to love it over the years, it’s a bore). And, like I said, Green’s take certainly didn’t thrill me.
Unflinching Extremes I admire the balls on Halloween Kills. The violence goes to unflinching extremes, not unlike the Zombie films. There’s queasy stuff about the perils of mob mentality in a place that hasn’t healed from the wounds of the past (all the kids from ’78 are grown up now, and still hanging out in the Haddonfield homestead).
Karen and Allyson become beacons of concern and recklessness, respectively – synthesizing Laurie’s traits (the virginal babysitter and the bitter vengeance-seeker) in a manner that gives the trio more agency than the previous film.
I also appreciated the sly running commentary toward the two oppositional approaches at play (the checks and balances of law enforcement clashing against mob rule), and how neither solves the “problem” in the end. In fact, both approaches actively worsen the situation.
Maybe that’s what I liked most about Halloween Kills. Intentionally or not, it posits Michael Myers as unstoppable “evil” – but also the equivalent of an Internet troll, hiding behind an avatar, striking quickly but leaving irreparable damage before dashing back into the shadows. You never know when he might pop up. And like certain repulsive folks on social media, he seems to get off on the suffering of others.
Semblance of a Man I love the moment near the end where Karen holds out Michael’s mask while taunting the impassive killer. Green strategically films actor James Jude Courtney from a distance, or in obscured close-up. What we see is the semblance of a man with something unknowable behind those “devil’s eyes.” But what is beyond doubt is that this seemingly invincible troll has been rendered vulnerable – naked in the eyes of those who should fear him – without his signature Shatner mask.
The scenes of a gathered mob chasing after a suspect at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, chanting a cheesy slogan (“EVIL DIES TONIGHT!”) as the situation gets increasingly out of hand, parallels the Capitol siege of January 6, not to mention the empty, all-caps provocations that frequently go viral on Twitter. Despite popular opinion, shouting about a particular outrage does little to work toward solving said outrage – if anything, it obscures the root cause of the problem even further.
To that end, it’s painfully ironic – almost parody – how Michael makes short work of an SUV full of gun-toting townsfolk early on. These characters shoot like folks in a movie mob – blowing out windows; not paying attention to how many shots fired; not anticipating a ricochet. It certainly feels like there’s a gun-reform comment lurking beneath the carnage. We know the situation won’t end well (it’s far too early for the boogeyman to “die”), and Green uses this scene of over-the-top violence to segue into a moment of quiet tension as Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards) hides from Myers. The juxtaposition of screaming and barnstorming violence against silence that borders on the queasily serene.
Spiral of Chaos Whereas the 2018 film began with a smooshed pumpkin inflating back to life over the opening credits, Kills offers a succession of carved visages lit by candles, deteriorating into decay and burnout. This visual metaphor is key to the film overall: when you burn a candle from both ends, the dueling flames eventually cancel themselves out, leaving darkness to reign.
Circling back to the Internet trolls who subsist on creating spirals of chaos, voices of reason are often obscured by the overpowering cacophony of two “sides.” It’s hard to see through the weeds when your outlook hinges on the inarguable steadfastness of your belief being the correct belief.
There’s a magnificently suspenseful sequence in Kills where one of the mental patients who escaped during the bus crash is mistaken for Michael Myers. Karen locates the man within an empty hospital corridor, and for a few minutes, displays a humanity that resonates with genuine tension and human drama. The conclusion of this sequence is alternately horrifying and tragic, hinging on Karen’s pleading cries drowned out by the bloodthirsty mob.
Shredding Skin In a move that brings Kills a bit closer to 1981’s Halloween II, Laurie spends most of the movie bound to a hospital bed with the wounds incurred from the previous film. (Those expecting a more active role for Curtis – as the misleading trailers proffer – will be disappointed.) That’s not to say her character is peripheral here. The wounded Sheriff Hawkins (Will Patton) becomes her roommate and relays his fateful 1978 experience to her.
These events are conveyed through a powerful prologue where the young Hawkins (Thomas Mann) makes a decision that winds up playing into the death toll 40 years later. The sequence daringly retcons the climax of the ’78 film in a manner that runs fluid with where the ’18 film picks up.
The alteration of Carpenter’s ending didn’t upset me in the slightest – in fact, it shows Halloween Kills shedding the skin of expectation that encased its predecessor.
World on Fire As with the ’18 film, Kills is still content to cherry-pick from existing series entries for some of its ideas. There are callbacks to the hospital sequence in Zombie’s Halloween II, not to mention the extreme violence of that film. The attention to mob mentality brings the palpable chill of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers to mind. And centering the action around Haddonfield Memorial is a direct callback to 1981’s Halloween II and its increased body count (in an ironic twist, the dimly lit, seemingly deserted hospital of that film has been replaced with a crowded, abrasively bright building in Kills).
These callbacks would be annoying if Green and his co-writers (McBride and Scott Teems) merely threw them up on screen as-is. The interesting thing about Kills is that, not unlike Zombie’s Halloween II, it seems more comfortable in its own mythmaking skin. This entry feels truly liberated from the hesitancy, narrative familiarity, and overt fan service that hobbled Halloween ’18.
And while Halloween Killsworks as an ultra-violent, modern-day “body count” picture and a piece of genuinely well-crafted suspense, it’s the needling observations on where we’re at as a species that render it so gut-stabbingly prescient. That this chaotic story wasn’t unleashed right before the 2020 election, or the events of January 6, allows its world-on-fire commentary to resonate even more now. Kills nails the unpleasantness of horror in appropriately ugly ways, presenting us with a cliffhanger that conjures nervous tension as it mercilessly slaughters one of the most likable characters in this new iteration.
Michael is a real motherfucker, and I can’t wait to see the places Green and company take him in Halloween Ends.
3.5 out of 5 stars
The Plot Sickens: Halloween never ends… Jonny Numb brings you Numboween!
Crash Analysis Support Team
Jonny Numb Jonny Numb (aka Jonathan Weidler) is only unstoppable when it comes to word count. He co-hosts The Last Knock horror podcast with Billy Crash, and his writing can also be found at The Screening Space.
THE LAST KNOCK horror podcast is a Crash Palace Productions’ featured show. Besides this site, you can find THE LAST KNOCK on iTunes and Spotify and more, with new shows posted every other Sunday at 9 PM ET.
Crash Palace Productions website design and creation from Brian Yount Digital Enterprises with banner and THE LAST KNOCK art from Palko Designs. Logo designs from Paul Belci.
(Halloween Kills movie still from Universal Pictures.)
The post Halloween Kills by Jonny Numb appeared first on Crash Palace Productions.
The Last Knock horror podcast opens the door to Hodgepodge Horror XVI…
Hodgepodge Horror XVI: Sweet Sixteen Celebration Crash and Numb or Numb and Crash or whatever weird law firm we may be, brings you Hodgepodge Horror XVI!
In our longest running series, The Last Knock takes a look at ten horror films for Halloween!
The Films Well, there’s no fun for the episode if we just cough up the titles, but some are new, some are older, and many may be obscure.
Regardless, we hope to bring you a plethora of interesting choices for this year’s Halloween celebration!
SCREAM OUTs @strangepodnet @mrbluelouboyle @promotehorror @GreystoneRoman @palkodesigns @CroftWriting @VinegarSyndrome @MoviesFilmsFlix @SuzeLeighton @nicolemalonso @cybersphynx_v2 @iamgoreblimey @TraCee_tr @screening_space @SCRMRadio @possessed_radio @horroryear @oklahomaward @Kellimaroney
The plot sickens: THE LAST KNOCK celebrates Numboween with Jonny Numb! THE LAST KNOCK horror podcast is a Crash Palace Productions’ featured show. Besides this site, you can find The Last Knock on iTunes and Spotify and Vurbl (and more) with new shows posted every other Sunday at 9 PM ET.
Crash Palace Productions website design and creation from Brian Yount Digital Enterprises with banner, gif, and all The Last Knock art from Palko Designs.
The Last Knock always supports independent cinema!
Note: What’s up with the one-man shows as of late? Never fear, Jonny Numb and Billy Crash are still The Last Knock duo! But due to extreme work demands, COVID-19 vaccine recovery, jury duty (both at the same damn time!), Numb’s script writing, Crash’s novel and anthology writing, and film pre-production, time has been a wayward mistress. The pair will get on the same wavelength soon enough!
(Grizzly still shot from Hollywood West Entertainment.)
The post THE LAST KNOCK podcast presents: Hodgepodge Horror XVI appeared first on Crash Palace Productions.
Creating the Best Korean Horror Films List Normally, these country based horror lists are ten films or less, but more than half of the movies I have enjoyed from South Korea are beyond worthwhile. For a great nation known as the “Land of the Morning Calm”, it is amazing how many dark, atmospheric, and compelling horror movies they have created so far.
Breaking the best Korean horror films down to a tangible list is far from easy. Therefore, consider them in random order per star award. Most important, the last pair of films are definitely my number two and number one, and they are both deservedly on that “greatest horror films” of all-time list.
Best Korean Horror Films Top-20 20. The Wishing Stairs (2003) 3 stars
On rare occasions, a 29th step appears on a staircase at a remote boarding school. Whomever sets foot on that step will be granted a wish – that comes with a hefty price.
19. Train to Busan (2016) 3.5 stars
Busanhaeng is an intriguing epic of two heroic journeys told at the same time (and even a third). Commuters are trapped on a train at the start of zombie outbreak. It is epic in its scope.
18. The Call (2020) 3.5 stars
A single phone call connects a young woman in the present with another woman from the past. Soon a deadly game of cat and mouse transcends time and could change their futures forever.
17. Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) 3.5 stars
Apathy abounds as Yun-ju (Sung-Jae Lee) and his wife try to navigate their dull lives. But the one thing that gets to them both is a neighbor’s barking dog. And soon, dogs begin to disappear…
16. Phone (2000) 3.5 stars
Harassed by a caller, reporter Ji-won (Ha Ji-won) changes her number and even moves. Even so, the threats continue and her world becomes ever darker and ever smaller. Can she survive?
15. Cello (2005) 3.5 stars
In Chello hongmijoo ilga salinsagan strange things begin to happen to a cellist after she escapes a car accident. Now, the lives of her loved ones are under threat from ghosts and malice, and she must find the cause before she loses everything. This film becomes relentless.
14. Bloody Reunion (2006) 3.5 stars
Blood reigns supreme in Seuseung-ui eunhye, where a class reunion unleashes deep-seated hatred as old wounds are torn open. After the violence erupts, will anyone survive?
13. Wide Awake (2007) 3.5 stars
Ri-teon explores the terror of “anesthesia awareness” – where a boy is actually awake while enduring heart surgery. The end result of his trauma leads to murder. Yet, even after psychological treatment, a mystery still haunts him.
12. Epitaph (2007) 3.5 stars
A hospital in 1942 serves as the foundation for three intertwined stories in Gidam, when Korea was occupied by Japanese forces. This not a typical anthology and stories are far from the norm – and that’s a great thing.
11. Black House (2007) 3.5 stars
An insurance agent concludes that a client is murdering people to collect insurance premiums. Can he discover the truth behind the doors of Geomeun jip? If he doesn’t, he may lose his life in the process.
10. Whispering Corridors (1998) 4 stars
The worst part about school isn’t all the work, it’s the dead student that comes back to class… Jin-Ju returns every three years leaving a trail of blood and death behind her. From classmates to faculty, no one is safe from Jin-Ju’s wrath.
9. Tell Me Something (1999) 4 stars
There’s nothing like finding mismatched body parts from men spread across the city of Seoul. A detective’s only clue is a connection to an artist and that’s not even half the mystery. He must put the pieces together before the body count continues to rise?
8. Sorum (2001) 4 stars
Take a creepy apartment building full of weird tenants, add in a 30-year-old murder mystery, and let the madness ensue. It would be a miracle if anyone survives to pay next month’s rent.
7. The Uninvited (2003) 4 stars
A man with no childhood memories witnesses the death of two girls – who start to haunt him. He thinks he’s going mad until meeting a narcoleptic psychic who can see them as well.
6. R-Point (2004) 4 stars
During the Vietnam War, a South Korean military base detects a radio signal from a missing squad, presumed to have been killed in action. A rescue squad heads out to find them on sacred ground and the soldiers will face something they never thought imaginable.
5. Spider Forest (2004) 4 stars
Dreams and reality clash when a television producer finds a dead man hacked to death in a remote cabin. Near the body is the producer’s girlfriend, whispering “Spiders” before she dies. But after he awakes in a hospital, he becomes the number one suspect for the killings.
4. Kingdom: Ashin of the North (2021) 4 stars
Based on the television series, Ashin (Si-ah Kim) loses her tribe and her family by unscrupulous men. But a rare, wild ginseng plant may raise the dead as a grown Ashin (Jun Ji-hyun) unleashes her revenge.
3. The Wailing (2016, USA/Korea) 4 stars
In a small village, a local policemen must determine why a mysterious infection has lead to so many people killing their families. If he doesn’t act fast, he may lose his daughter – and much more.
2. Moebius (2014) 4.5 stars
In this dialogue-free powerhouse, a betrayed wife brings a knife into the bedroom… Explore a twisted implosion of a family in disturbing, unbridled fashion. The tension is fierce, to say the least!
1. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) 5 stars
A cinematic and storytelling masterpiece, two sisters leave an institution and return to their childhood home. They have to cope with a hostile stepmother and a nagging spirit, as their world continues to fall apart, minute by breathless minute.
Best Korean Horror: Runner’s Up All are 3 out of 5 stars and definitely worth a watch. I know I Saw the Devil is a major favorite among many horror fans, and I get it. But one important plot point nagged the Hell out of me, and I just can’t shake it…
The 8th Night (2021),The Guard Post (2008), I Saw the Devil (2010), Office (2015), and Thirst (2009).
The Plot Sickens: Crash presents a list of Best Irish Horror Films!
Billy Crash
Also known as William D. Prystauk, he loves great, in-depth characters and storytelling in horror, and likes to see heads roll. However, if you kill a dog on screen he’ll cry like a baby. Crash, an award-winning screenwriter and novelist, co-hosts THE LAST KNOCK horror podcast on iTunes and Spotify (among other venues), and can also be found on Twitter, LinkedIn, IMDb, Amazon, Behance, YouTube, and Instagram. He’s currently in pre-production on a dramatic thriller feature while working on the fourth novel in his award-winning Kink Noir crime thriller series.
THE LAST KNOCK horror podcast is a Crash Palace Productions’ featured show. Besides this site, you can find THE LAST KNOCK on iTunes and Spotify (and more) with new shows posted every other Sunday at 9 PM ET.
Crash Palace Productions website design and creation from Brian Yount Digital Enterprises with banner, gif, and all THE LAST KNOCK art from Palko Designs. The Last Knock always supports independent cinema!
Note: What’s up with the one-man shows as of late? Never fear, Jonny Numb and Billy Crash are still The Last Knock duo! But due to work demands, COVID-19 vaccine recovery, and individual writing projects, time has been demanding. The pair will get on the same wavelength soon enough!
(Moebius movie still from Kim Ki-Duk Films.)
The post Best Korean Horror Films by Crash appeared first on Crash Palace Productions.