Bone Hill Road
4 Gravestones: Reviewed by Kraven: The She-Wolf
This 2017 film opens with an abusive husband knocking his wife Emily around like a rag doll. When she has had enough, she tries to kill him but is unsuccessful. She takes her teen daughter Eden and makes a run for it. I thought this was an interesting way to start a werewolf movie that we have never seen before…let alone most films of any genre. Soon mother and daughter are on the road and on the run seeking refuge at Emily’s dad who lives in the mountains.
For the moment all is well as they drive and try to come to grips with their actions of escaping from a dangerous situation. However, what they just ran from is nothing in comparison to the events that are soon to come. It is night now and the moon is high in the sky as they drive down a very lonely road in the middle of the woods. Just then, something big and unknown ran in front of the car forcing them to stop and see if they had hit a deer or some other creature. They realize something is indeed out there just past the woods and as they try and leave they are attacked. They drive off but don’t get far as one of the creatures slashed one of the car’s tires. Minutes later they are surrounded by large harry creatures and barely escape the disabled vehicle and flee into the woods.
After coming upon a house, they seek safety within only to discover a new horror waiting for them inside. It turns out that a creepy man they met in a roadside store is now holding three women hostage within this very home. Shit, talk about jumping out of the pot into the flames. They are not having a good day here…..first Emily’s bastard husband, then werewolves, and now a goddamn maniac….what’s next Jehovah's Witnesses at the door?
After dealing with their new nightmare, they discover that the werewolves have followed them to the house and are lurking just outside. The acting in this movie is pretty damn good and the performance from the actor playing the killer is particularly good channeling the vibe of The Dark Knight’s Joker to perfection. Horror Scream Queen Leanna Quigley is a big part of the marketing of this film however sadly her role is a little short but very memorable just the same. The human main cast of Emily and Eden is played by Eli DeGeer and Ana Rojas Plumberg who are very good and come off very much like mother and daughter.
So now onto the werewolves and as we all know what makes or breaks a werewolf movie is how good or not the werewolf looks. With creature suits provided by Midnight Studios and yes, all creature effects were in camera and practical (Thank God!) with stunt performers that looked impressive. What was a real stand-out detail when it came to each of the three main creatures is that each werewolf looked different from the others. As much as I love the movie Dog Soldiers, each of the creatures looked the same and there was no diversity among them since they all looked identical. But here the werewolves are much more identifiable with each looking very different from the other giving them almost a personality of sorts. Now I don’t know if that was something intentional or if they could only get one of each suit and made do with what they had, but I thought it made for a nice little touch.
All in all, it’s a good little movie and makes great use of its small budget with limited locations and a small cast, and then puts a good chunk of cash into the werewolves because again, good werewolves make for a better movie. Bone Hill Road can be found on YouTube and on DVD and is a fun time for werewolf fans.
It Waits
4 Gravestones
When an evil creature is unleashed into a national park, a lone female forest ranger must face her fears and battle the beast to the death. While ranger Danielle (Danny) St. Clare tries to get over the events of her best friend’s death, she locks herself away from the world within her ranger station drinking her pain away. But what she doesn’t know is that an unknown creature is hunting the woods and killing anyone that it encounters.
When her boyfriend and fellow ranger pays her a visit, he tries to get her out of the funk she put herself in, they soon discover that there is something evil in the woods they are now being hunted. When the beast kills her lover, Danny must pull herself together and face the beast one on one if she’s going to make it out of the woods.
This is really a good movie and I’m shocked that it was wasted on going on to direct to video because this film has all the makings of a theater release. Hell, this thing is written by horror author Richard Christian Matheson and produced by television writer and TV series creator legend Steven J. Cannel. This movie has a good cast, a fantastic-looking monster, and a strong story.
The creature effects are all well done with practical effects with a performer in a well-crafted costume with little CGI when the demon opens his wings and takes flight. Plus a few shots of the monster flying, but for the most part, it’s played by a man in a suit. And it looks great! If you have not seen this 2005 movie yet, I say check it as it can be found on DVD or how I got to see it on YouTube.
It: The Terror From Beyond Space
4 Gravestones
This 1958 monster movie classic tells the story of an alien creature who gets aboard a spaceship and runs amok killing people one by one. And yeah, if this sounds like a certain 1979 horror movie classic you may know with that same premise, you would be right….only this movie did it first 21 years before Alien.
This is a really short movie with a running time of just hardly over an hour and feels like it could have been an episode of The Outer Limits or The Twilight Zone and tells the story of Earth’s second mission to Mars. It is while on the red planet that an unknown creature slips on board and begins killing crew members while on route back to Earth. With nowhere to go, the crew must fight the creature before the beast kills them in a cat-and-mouse game of death.
Although this is a very short movie, it plays well and holds your attention all throughout its run time. I have seen this movie only once and I was just a little Dark Soul many….many years ago and after watching it now, it surprisingly entertaining. The creature suit looks pretty good for a 1950’s monster movie although in some shots you can clearly see the costume crease at times when it walks, but hey its way better than most 50’s monster suits….yeah I’m calling you out Creature From Haunted Sea! Okay, so it’s not the fantastic costume of let’s say the Gillman from Creature From The Black Lagoon, but it passes and looks pretty good in its own right.
If you have never seen this little monster movie gem you should check it out as it can be found on DVD at Amazon or playing for free on YouTube.
