Horror Bulletin Monthly December 2022: Horror Bulletin Monthly Issues, #15

By Brian Schell

The newest issue of the Horror Bulletin Monthly includes reviews of thirty full-length films and horror shorts-- one each day this month.

Each of the films contains a complete synopsis of the film, including spoilers (so beware!), as well as our commentary on the quality of the story and how well it holds up for viewers today.

Part One: Movie Reviews

1965 The Skull

1966 Island of Terror

1967 Spider Baby or The Maddest Story Ever Told

2002 Cabin Fever

2009 Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever

2013 All Hallow's Eve

2013 V/H/S 2

2014 Cabin Fever 3: Patient Zero

2014 V/H/S Viral

2016 Terrifier

2021 She Will

2022 Blood Red Ox

2022 Bodies Bodies Bodies

2022 Bridge of the Doomed

2022 Crimes of the Future

2022 Deadstream

2022 Fresh

2022 Incantation

2022 Night of the Tommyknockers

2022 Pearl

2022 Resurrection

2022 Smile

2022 Speak No Evil

2022 Terrifier 2

2022 The Sleep Experiment

2022 Watcher

Part Two: Short Film Reviews
 

1999 Short Film: Scooby-Doo: Blair Witch Project

2022 Short Film: AirBNB

2022 Short Film: Behind

2022 Short Film: Guts

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brian Schell
• Release date: Dec 2, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215106310

Brian Schell

Brian Schell is a College English Instructor who has an extensive background in Buddhism and other world religions. After spending time in Japan, he returned to America where he created the immensely popular website, Daily Buddhism. For the next several years, Schell wrote extensively on applying Buddhism to real-world topics such as War, Drugs, Tattoos, Sex, Relationships, Pet Food and yes, even Horror Movies. Twitter: @BrianSchell Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/Brian.Schell Web: http://BrianSchell.com

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the fifteenth issue of Horror Bulletin Monthly. In this one, we cover the reviews from November, and since every studio wants to release their horror films before Halloween, this is the busy season for us— except there weren’t enough days in October to do them all, so November has a lot of good leftovers to review.

HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS

There were a BUNCH of good films this month, just like last month, so our Highlights list is a lot beefier than usual.

Brian says there were too many excellent choices this month, including the original Cabin Fever, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Deadstream, Pearl, and Resurrection. He especially liked Fresh and Crimes of the Future, but realizes that one isn’t for everyone.

He absolutely hated V/H/S Viral, and Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever. He enjoyed the Terrifier series but doesn’t think it’s worth the hype it got on the Internet.

Kevin agrees that this was a month of really good stuff. His top choice is also Crimes of the Future. His favorite of the oldies was Island of Terror, which he barely remembered from his childhood. Pearl and Deadstream would be his other two favorites of the month. And The Scooby Doo Blair Witch mashup was the short he liked the best.

He didn’t care much for Incantation or Blood Red Ox, though he’d be interested in giving Blood Red Ox another watch, thinking he might get more out of it the second time around. He thought Cabin Fever 2 was a huge disappointment after how good the first one is. And he agrees with Brian that the Terrifier movies were good but a bit overhyped.

WEB STORE

You can now pick up ebook editions of all our Horror Guys Guides and all back issues of Horror Bulletin Monthly issues as well as our fiction stories at https://payhip.com/BrianSchell/ and then click on the appropriate category. Or pick them up at any of the usual e-book places.

Note that ALL back issues of Horror Bulletin Monthly are available from either source. Pick them all up!

EMAIL US

As always, we’d love to hear YOUR opinions on the films as well as critique our reviews. Contact us at [e-mail]

And now… Here. We. Go!

PART ONE

MOVIE REVIEWS

1965 THE SKULL

Directed by Freddie Francis

Written by Robert Bloch, Milton Subotsky

Stars Peter Cushing, Patrick Wymark, Christopher Lee, Jill Bennett

Run Time: 1 Hour, 23 Minutes

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lgq2zRSnVsg

SPOILER-FREE JUDGMENT ZONE

The set pieces and interesting POV shots elevate what would be a mediocre tale to something pretty good. As always, it’s fun to see Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee working together. As you might guess from the title, a skull plays a central part, and it’s a little far-fetched and weak in the story.

SYNOPSIS

We begin in a cemetery in the 1800s. The men there are digging up a grave. One man opens the coffin and cuts off the head of the man inside. He then leaves, carrying a small package…

Pierre, the phrenologist, returns home to find a woman in his bathtub, but he quickly throws her out. There’s work to do. He pours acid on the head, and soon there’s nothing left but… a skull! Credits roll.

In the modern day, we open at an auction. Christopher Maitland and Sir Matthew Phillips are competing for items at an auction. There are four demonic statues for sale, and Phillips has deeper pockets– he gets the figures by making a big jump in his bid. Afterward, Maitland asks why he paid so much more than they’re worth, and Phillips can’t even explain why he wanted them - something came over him.

Later, Mr. Marco comes to see Maitland. Maitland’s wife doesn’t like Marco, but business is business. He’s brought an old book about the life of the Marquis de Sade. It was rumored that the Marquis was into the occult and died with a hatred of all mankind. The book is bound with human skin. Maitland writes books on the occult himself, and he’s a collector of the macabre, so he’s very interested. Marco mentions that he may have another item tomorrow night. Marco goes home, and we see that he has the skull in his closet.

The next night, Marco returns, bringing the skull along with him this time. He wants a thousand pounds for it. It’s not just any man’s skull; this is the skull of the Marquis de Sade. We get a flashback to Pierre and his fate. As the executor of Pierre’s estate does an inventory, he throws the skull into a pile, but it soon moves to a better place. The skull takes over the man, and he kills Pierre’s mistress. Maitland thinks it’s too expensive, and Marco cuts the price in half.

Maitland says he’ll think about it. Maitland plays pool later with Matthew Phillips. He tells him about the skull, but he can’t verify that it’s genuine. Phillip says it’s genuine, as it was stolen from him. Phillips says he’s glad it was stolen and advises Maitland to stay away from that dangerous skull. He believes that the Marquis was possessed by an evil still possessing that skull. He thinks that the skull wanted him to buy those figurines at the auction.

Two men come to arrest Maitland. They don’t take him to the police station but instead to some weird kind of courtroom. They make him play Russian roulette with a loaded gun–three times. Maitland is locked in a room and gassed. He gets a vision of the skull– and suddenly, he’s in an apartment building. It turns out to be Marco’s apartment.

Maitland gets the money and goes back to Marco’s place for the skull. He finds a mummy– could that be Marco? He takes the skull with him. Marco’s dead body falls on Maitland as he leaves. He hides the skull and goes home.

Inspector Wilson interrogates Maitland about why he was there and so forth. Phillips warns Maitland that last night is just the first of several nights of rituals, and if he has the skull, he needs to get rid of it. He offers Maitland a protective amulet to ward off the skull’s evil. When Maitland goes back for the skull, Marco’s landlord is killed.

Maitland goes home, and late that night, he watches as the skull lets itself out of the display case and takes center stage on a table. The book from earlier floats over and sets down next to it. Maitland is in a trance and goes outside. Over at Phillips’s place, Maitland breaks in and steals one of the demonic figurines, killing Phillips in the process. He places the statue next to the skull and the book. He takes a knife and goes into his wife’s bedroom; when he sees her cross, he can resist.

Even later that night, the skull gets out of the display case again and wakes Maitland up. He once again picks up the dagger and plunges it into the skull. The skull turns over an hourglass and the knife appears elsewhere. Maitland screams for Jane to help him, but he’s trapped in a room. The skull flies from room to room and finally closes in on him…

In the morning, Jane wakes up and finds her husband stabbed to death in his bed. The inspector comes around and notices the similarities to the Marco case. They don’t pay any attention to the old skull on the table.

COMMENTARY

The sets, with all the antiquities and strange artworks, are really cool here. Pierre’s house, Maitland’s study, and even Marco’s apartment are filled to the brim with all kinds of weird things. We get several shots from the skull’s point of view, which is both interesting and a little silly. The flying skull doesn’t look too bad, but I doubt too many people would believe that it was real.

It’s got a really small role for Patrick Magee. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are the big draws here, although Lee doesn’t have much to do. Cushing does a lot with only a little material. The build-up in the first hour with Marco and Phillips was good, but his solitary battle with the skull was pretty boring.

It was a weak premise with good performances.

1966 ISLAND OF TERROR

Directed by Terence Fisher

Written by Edward Mann, Al Ramsen

Stars Peter Cushing, Edward Judd, Carole Gray, Eddie Byrne

Run Time: 1 Hour, 29 Minutes

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMPLzowjKQc

SPOILER-FREE JUDGMENT ZONE

The effects are pretty cool, the acting is good, and the story is pretty great. This one should be better known than it is. The Horror Guys both give this one a strong thumbs up. Horror Guy Kevin remembers being freaked out by it when he was a wee