Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023 Images from the Internet The Breach Directed by Rodrigo Gudiño Hanger 18 Media; Lightbulb Distribution; Raven Banner Entertainment; Strike Media 93 minutes, 2022 / 2023www.strike-mediahttps://lightbulbfilmdistribution.com/ This film is so Canadian, it should come with maple cookies (they are so good, eh). It takes place in the small town of Lone Crow, in Northern Ontario (filmed in lovely Parry Sound, Ontario). Based on the novel by Nick Cutter and screenplay written by Cutter and Ian Weir, the main protagonist is the Chief of Police, John “Hawk ..read more

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023 Images from the Internet Witchtrap (aka The Haunted; The Presence) Directed by Kevin S. Tenney Moonstone Entertainment; Cinema Plus; CGO Pictures; Mentone Pictures; Magnum Entertainment; MVD Rewind Collection https://mvdb2b.com/s/WitchtrapSpecialEdition/MVD12465BR 92 minutes, 1989 / 2023 One of my favorite ghost sub-genres is when a group of parapsychologist scientists go to a haunted house to investigate it. No, not like those silly “ghost hunting” shows on cable, but films with a darker turn, such as The Haunting (1963, based on Shirley Jackson ..read more

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023 Images from the Internet The Dogman Triangle: Werewolves in the Lone Star State Directed by Seth Breedlove Small Town Monsters; 1091 Pictures 74 minutes, 2023 www.smalltownmonsters.com/ www.facebook.com/smltownmonsters #IndieHorrorFilms #DogmanTriangle #SmallTownMonsters #Cryptid #werewolf Growing up watching the classic Universal monster films as a kid, creatures hold a soft spot for me. This is especially true for werewolves, for some reason. Where is Larry Talbot when you need him? But director Seth Breedlove goes beyond into the realm of cryp ..read more

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023Images from the Internet The Sound of Summer Directed by Guy (aka Guy Pierce, Guy Fragments) Sculpting Fragments; Unearthed Films; MVD Visual 75 minutes, 2022www.unearthedvideo.comhttps://mvdb2b.com/s/TheSoundOfSummer/UN-1150 In James Clavell’s 1975 opus, Shōgun, he posits, “The Japanese have six faces and three hearts.” Society is incredibly different in the present than in feudal times when the novel took place, and life has become more in sync with the West. But when viewing art cinema, even in the Asia extreme cinema category, this quote can b ..read more

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023 Images from the Internet The Tank Directed by Scott Walker Corner Stone; Ajax Pictures; GFC Films; Happy Dog Entertainment; Ingenious Media; Well Go USA Entertainment 100 minutes, 2023https://wellgousa.com/films/tankwww.hiyahtv.com #TheTank @WellGoUSA To be honest, I found the title a bit confusing: an armed military vehicle, or something like a septic tank? Well, it is kinda-sorta more like the second. But what it holds is hardly bodily discards. Remember, this is a horror film. What is more, it is a creature feature, always one of my favorite g ..read more

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023 Images from the Internet Eat the Rich Directed by Kermit Merl Key Frog Labwww.facebook.com/FrogLabLLC 78 minutes, 2023 Over the past few years, I have seen tee-shirts that read “Eat the Rich.” While not a cannibal myself, I understand the deeper meaning of this slogan. Now let us add a little Covid and some H.P. Lovecraft, whaddya say? This was filmed in Indiana during the Covid crisis (yes, it was real), and right away during the b-roll’d credits, lots of people are wearing masks. Cool cloth types, not the n95 medical ones. I still wear mine in ..read more

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023 Images from the Internet Smart House Directed by John Oak Dalton Midwest Film Venture; ITN Studios www.itnfilms.net/ 76 minutes, 2023 Director John Oak Dalton is known more as a screenwriter (many involving sharks and the Polonia Brothers), but this is only his third directorial effort, after The Girl in the Crawlspace (2018) and Scarecrow County (2019), but both exceeded their budget and are well worth the watch. Technology has always given way to genres in the arts. For example, the atomic age led to a glut of sci-fi novels and g ..read more

Horror Animated Shorts of Jason J. Cross Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023Images from the Internet A nice thing about animation is that you can do things that cannot be done on a small budget. Created in the stiff but “humanesque” iClone software, the shorts are entertaining to look at. While the movement is a bit boxy, the faces look sharp. All these films were written (with one exception) and directed by Jason J. Cross, and are available in links at the bottom of each review. They are released by Four Sides Cross Productions. These are not in a ranked order, but rather how ..read more

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023 Images from the Internet Day Zero Directed by Joey De Guzman Reality MM Studios; Regal Entertainment; Well Go USA Entertainment 82 minutes, 2022 / 2023https://wellgousa.com/films/day-zerowww.hiyahtv.com #DayZero @WellGoUSA This release is not to be confused with Night Zero (2017), as Day Zero also goes for the almost-zombie throat. Remember back in the late 1960s and early ‘70s when the Philippines was a place that released numerous “B” horror releases (many starring John Ashley; d. 1997), be they cheesy, such as Mad Doctor of Blood Island ..read more

Text © Robert Barry Francos / Indie Horror Films, 2023 Images from the Internet Supercell Directed by Herbert James Winterstern Thomasville Pictures; Bay Point Media; Short Porch Pictures; Streamline Global Group; Volition Media Partners; Highland Film Group; Strike Media 101 minutes, 2023www.strike-media.com Natural disaster films are hardly new. The first I remember is Earthquake (1974), but it goes back at least until The Hurricane (1937), or arguably even Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928). In recent years, cheapie weather-related knockoffs have been prolific on cable. It is worth mentio ..read more