Bottom Shelf Reviews

      When I was a child I had two ingrown toenails at the local physician's office.  It wasn't two the same day, but within a year of each surgery for my big toes still haunts me today twenty years later when I am simply clipping my toe nails.  Those were two of the worst experiences of my life, until watching The Cropsey Incident .  Now they have been bumped down to two and three, respectfully.         Where do I begin with this so-called "movie".  I just feel sorry for everyone involved from the actors, camera crew, the pizza provided during breaks, and even the wasted space on the SD cards the filmmakers...I mean people used to capture this abomination.  Did anyone read Filmmaking For Dummies   while brainstorming ideas for this between their mothers bringing them Hot Pockets in the basement?      The story is about a group of Social Justice Warriors who go out into the woods looking for Cropsey, an urban legend in the area.  They then take a local he

       A few months ago I started Bottom Shelf Reviews  and decided to go the extra mile and actually reach out and contact filmmakers on social media.  The very first person I did was Johhny Daggers  after watching and reviewing his film Blood on the Reel .  Mr. Daggers doesn't just focus his talents solely on film as he is also an accomplished writer with is his book Neverlasting .  I finally got a chance to interview Mr. Daggers ask about his directing style and how an independent horror directors can make it in the underground film world.       Bottom Shelf Reviews:   So lets start with an obvious question, when did you decide you wanted to be a filmmaker? Johnny Daggers: I honestly did not choose to be a filmmaker, it chose me. That is really the truth of it. I had always aspired to be a professional musician. I had a record deal in the early 2000s, which left me feeling a lot of disdain for the record industry.  It wasn’t until 2010 that film became an artistic out

      It's been a while since I have done a review on here.  Amazon Prime does have a lot options as far as films go which is both good and bad.  It's good because unlike Netflix, Amazon Prime does give a lot of indie directors a chance to showcase their films and give them a shoot at finding an audience.  The bad part of the equation comes in when you have to sort through all the garbage to find something moderately watchable.   Blood on the Tribades falls into the good section.       Blood on the Tribades   is a throwback to simpler time of exploitation film that actually has ideas instead of schlock for the sake of schlock.  A village of women are being killed off one by one as a cult of men await the return Bathor (God? Demon? You be the judge) while a group of vampire women watch from the sidelines.  Two lovers, Chloe Cunha and Mary Widow, seek to perform their sacred ritual before the men's plan to eliminate all the women is completed.      What sets this fil

     There is a great documentary called Blood, Boobs, & Beast    that details indie horror director Don Dohler and his efforts to make his low budget features.  There is a part where he is talking to his fellow collaborators about how not having the "three b's" will hurt there distribution sales.  I feel the creators of Creature Feature must have taken that same advice.        Creature Feature is about a collection of horror stories that are told by party goers during a Halloween party.  The stories included a killer clown, a werewolf, zombie, sirens, and general macabre and do flow pretty coherent through out the running time.  I say this because some anthology movies tend to just be a mash up of random shit that doesn't hold my attention (I'm talking to you Slices ).   I found that is movie is maybe a step up from Terrortory which honestly I really did enjoy, but felt some scenes were rather forced.      I found Creature Feature very well m

    Remember that film friend of yours that was always trying to make it big, but you just didn't have the heart to tell them they suck?  The friend that would force you to watch the a new "movie" they made and it's exactly like that last they did.  The same lame jokes, awkward editing, and just poor production you have seen numerous times in their work?   She Wolf Rising reminds me of that friend I use to have and learned to distance myself far away from.  You should do the same if this movie shows up on your Amazon Prime listings.       I review movies on here that are in the underground horror genre and I can forgive a lot their shortcomings.   She Wolf Rising has zero excuses as far as I'm concerned for how bad it is given the money spent on the production.  If a movie like Forgotten Tales  can show talent and ingenuity from a low budget stand point then  She Wolf Rising shows how to not to make movie.  This movie had a budget that most indie horror

     A lot of people my not know this about me, but I was once in an "underground" indie horror movie.  The year was 2009 and I vividly remember the box of foam penises and the bottles of conditioner used to simulate male ejaculate.  While I won't go into detail about other aspects of the production I can only hope that the tabloids don't use that film against me when I am nominated for Best Short Film.   Blood on the Reel   fondly brings back those memories corn syrup and wishing for 24 fps on a consumer camcorder.       Johnny Daggers ' documentary is about the little known indie horror genre that is still well regarded in some circles.  I would classify these kind of movies as Z-grade movies that use to thrive in grindhouses back in the 70s and 80s and attracted the special kind of individual you would expect to see in the theater.  Indie horror isn't held to the limitations of a studio picture, but like most of the stuff on Amazon Prime the good ones

      Amazon Prime has really become a place to find great low budget indie horror.  If one has the patience to go through the pile of crap, then you can find a hidden gem in all the trash.  I first became aware of Reyna Young with the interview she did for Johnny Dagger's documentary Blood on the Reel .   She seems legit from her interviews and you could tell she just really loves making movies.  I figured I would give Forgotten Tales a look and I can say I was surprised by the talent I watched.       Forgotten Tales  connects three stories (Ghost Story, The Babysitter, and Audition) in a fashion that is reminiscent of George A. Romero's Creepshow .  The opening graphics really do give a sense of the horror comics my mother wouldn't let me read growing up and it adds production value to the movie.  I did enjoy the little hints of stories connecting each other and that is sign of talent on Ms. Young's part.  The movie does have the acceptable level of bloo

     I'm a sucker for low-budget horror movies, but I do have my limits of what I will subject myself too.  Being an amateur filmmaker, I use that term loosely, there are certain elements of a production that I can forgive.  Bad lighting, acting, and special effects are hallmarks of this special genre, but like the stripper that won't go away even when a five dollar bill is finally tossed it can grow tiresome.  Fortunately, I can honestly say that Frankenstein: Day of the Beast  is a cut above that rest.      Scrolling through Amazon Prime I decided to give this one a try.  The credit sequence alone gave away how much time and attention to detail that director Ricardo Islas has given to this production.  The cold snowy vista does give a sense of isolation and the looming dread of what is to come later in the film.  Mr. Islas isn't afraid to move his camera and after watching so many other films in this category it really is a nice welcome to watch craftsmanship