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NETFLIX: Horror Films Streaming This July
This month is pretty weak sauce when it comes to horror films streaming on Netflix. But each and every passing day brings us closer to October, which means a glut of genre fare coming out way.
Things won’t ramp up until August, but July still carries quite a few titles that are going to hold you over, such as John Carpenter’s 1986 masterpiece, Big Trouble in Little China, and Guillermo del Toro’s Blade 2, which is easily one of the best comic book movies ever made.
Here’s the full list:
July 1, 2016
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Kurt Russell plays hard-boiled truck driver Jack Burton, who gets caught in a bizarre conflict within, and underneath, San Francisco’s Chinatown. An ancient Chinese prince and Chinatown crime lord has kidnapped a beautiful green-eyed woman, who is the fiancee to Jack’s best friend. Jack must help his friend rescue the girl before the evil Lo Pan uses her to break the ancient curse that keeps him a fleshless and immortal spirit. Directed by John Carpenter.
Blade 2 (2002)
Exploding from the pages of Marvel Comics comes the thrilling follow-up to the blockbuster “Blade.” Half Man … half vampire, and consumed by a desire to avenge the curse of his birth and save the human race from a blood-drenched Armageddon. In this newest action-packed adventure, Blade (Wesley Snipes) is forced to team up with the very vampires he hates in order to overcome a new type of monster which threatens to eradicate both races. Directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Death Race 2 (2010)
Death Race 2 takes place in the very near future, as the United States economy begins to decline and violent crime starts to spiral out of control. To contain the growing criminal population, a vast network of for-profit, private prisons springs up, creating a lawless subculture ruled by gangs, cold-blooded killers and sociopaths. The worst of these prisons is Terminal Island, where inmates fight each other in a highly rated televised death match, where there are no rules, and the winner is the one who survives the gladiator-style, no-holds-barred competition. Convicted cop-killer Carl Lucas (Luke Goss) arrives on the Island to serve his life sentence just as ruthlessly ambitious television personality September Jones evolves the death match into the ultimate reality show – Death Race. A brutal prison yard demolition derby that pits prisoners against each other in steel reinforced, heavily armed vehicles, Death Race offers the winner the ultimate prize: freedom — if he can survive to enjoy it.
Death Race 3: Inferno (2013)
“Repentant convict Carl Lucas (Luke Goss) — aka Frankenstein— is a legendary driver in the brutal prison blood sport known as Death Race. Only one victory away from winning freedom, Lucas is plunged into his most vicious competition yet: the first ever Desert Death Race. Through South Africa’s infernal Kalahari Desert, Lucas is pitted against ruthless adversaries and powerful forces at work behind the scenes to ensure his defeat. Also, starring Danny Trejo and Ving Rhames, Death Race 3: Inferno is an insane, action packed thrill-ride.”
Inspired by Roger Corman’s cult classic Death Race 2000, the film is directed by Roel Reiné (Death Race 2, Scorpion King 3) and produced by Paul W.S. Anderson and Jeremy Bolt, as well as Mike Elliott (Death Race 2, The Eye). The film stars Luke Goss (Death Race 2, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Blade 2), Danny Trejo (Death Race 2, Machete, “Sons of Anarchy”), Ving Rhames (Death Race 2, Mission: Impossible franchise, Pulp Fiction), Dougray Scott (Mission: Impossible II, “Heist”), Tanit Phoenix (Death Race 2, “Femme Fatales”), Fred Koehler (Death Race 1 & 2, “Lost”) and Robin Shou (Death Race 1 & 2, Mortal Kombat).
Pandemic (2015)
“Pandemic” is set in the near future, where a virus of epic proportions has overtaken the planet. There are more infected than uninfected, and humanity is losing its grip on survival. Its only hope is finding a cure and keeping the infected contained. Lauren (Rachel Nichols) is a doctor, who, after the fall of New York, comes to Los Angeles to lead the charge in the hunt for uninfected civilian survivors.
Lauren’s objective is simple – lead her team into the field and rescue survivors. Lauren and her team: Gunner (tactical command), Denise (navigation), and Wheeler (driver), put on their anti-contamination suits, complete with cameras so their experiences can be used for research, and leave the compound. But nothing could have prepared them for the mayhem they are about to walk into.
Twisted (2004)
Recently promoted and transferred to the homicide division, Inspector Jessica Shepard (Ashley Judd) feels pressure to prove herself — and what better way than by solving San Francisco’s latest murder? However, as Shepard and her partner, Mike Delmarco (Andy Garcia), soon discover, the victim shared a romantic connection to her. As more of Shepard’s ex-lovers turn up dead, her mind starts to become unstable, and she begins to wonder if she could be the very killer she’s trying to track down.
July 8, 2016
The Invitation (2016)
In The Invitation, “Will and Eden were once a loving couple. After a tragedy took their son, Eden disappeared. Two years later, out of the blue, she returns with a new husband… and as a different person, eerily changed and eager to reunite with her ex and those she left behind. Over the course of a dinner party in the house that was once his, the haunted Will is gripped by mounting evidence that Eden and her new friends have a mysterious and terrifying agenda. But can we trust Will’s hold on reality? Or will he be the unwitting catalyst of the doom he senses?”
Trace gave the film a perfect score, while Patrick Cooper also raved that “tension absolutely seethes” in the must-see chiller!
The pic stars ogan Marshall-Green (Prometheus), Tammy Blanchard (Moneyball), Michiel Huisman (“Game of Thrones”), Emayatzy Corinealdi (Middle of Nowhere), and John Carroll Lynch (“Fargo,”Zodiac, “American Horror Story”).
July 15, 2016
Ghostheads (2016)
Documentary directed and written by Brendan Mertens exploring the many faces of Ghostbusters fandom and celebrating 30 years of one of cinema’s most iconic franchises. Featuring interviews with Dan Aykroyd, Ivan Reitman, Sigourney Weaver, and Paul Feig.
Holidays (2016)
A collaboration of some of Hollywood’s most distinct voices, the directors include Kevin Smith (Tusk, Yoga Hosers), Gary Shore (Dracula Untold), Scott Stewart (Dark Skies), Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer (Starry Eyes), Sarah Adina Smith (The Midnight Swim), Nicholas McCarthy (The Pact) Adam Egypt Mortimer (Some Kind of Hate) and Anthony Scott Burns (Darknet).
Rebirth (2016)
Netflix’s cast for Karl Mueller’s “Rebirth” features Fran Kranz, from Cabin in the Woods, as well as Adam Goldberg, Kat Foster, Nicky Whelan, Harry Hamlin, Andrew J West, Sheryl Lee, Pat Healy, Eric Ladin, Luis Geardo Méndez and Steve Agee.
“‘Rebirth’ follows a white-collar suburban father Kyle (Fran Kranz) who is surprised at his office by long-lost college buddy Zack (Adam Goldberg). Zack is as wild and crazy as ever, brimming with excitement about the self-actualization program he’s just finished. In fact, there’s a Rebirth seminar this coming weekend. Reluctantly, Kyle goes and stumbles on a bus full of Rebirth participants about to depart. He gets on the bus and hands over his keys, wallet, and phone. Thus begins his journey down an increasingly unhinged rabbit hole of psychodrama, seduction, and violence as a confused and increasingly desperate Kyle tries to escape Rebirth and discover what the weekend is really about. Rebirth is produced by Campfire.”
The twisted psychological thriller comes from writer-director Karl Mueller (Mr. Jones) and producer Ross Dinerstein (The Pact, The Nightmare)
Stranger Things: Season 1 (2016)
“A love letter to the supernatural classics of the 80’s, “Stranger Things” is the story of a young boy who vanishes into thin air. As friends, family and local police search for answers, they are drawn into an extraordinary mystery involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces and one very strange little girl.”
The show stars Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Natalia Dyer, Cara Buono, Charlie Heaton, and Matthew Modine.
July 27, 2016
The Wave (2015)
The Wave was directed by Cold Prey‘s Roar Uthaug.
Trace reviewed The Wave, calling it “A fun, yet typical disaster film with heart.”
Starring Kristoffer Joner, Ane Dahl Torp, Jonas Oftebro, Thomas Bo Larsen, “Nestled in Norway’s Sunnmøre region, Geiranger is one of the most spectacular tourist draws on the planet. With the mountain Åkerneset overlooking the village — and constantly threatening to collapse into the fjord — it is also a place where cataclysm could strike at any moment. After putting in several years at Geiranger’s warning centre, geologist Kristian (Kristoffer Joner) is moving on to a prestigious gig with an oil company. But the very day he’s about to drive his family to their new life in the city, Kristian senses something isn’t right. The substrata are shifting. No one wants to believe that this could be the big one, especially with tourist season at its peak, but when that mountain begins to crumble, every soul in Geiranger has ten minutes to get to high ground before a tsunami hits, consuming everything in its path.
Those ten minutes are some of the most nerve-rattling you’ll experience in any movie this year, but as The Wave continues the stakes only get higher. Ace director Roar Uthaug keeps things hurtling forward in a state of high anxiety until the very end. Giving Hollywood a run for its money, the film’s canvas is broad, its effects eerily realistic, and its scale immense. Here comes the flood.”
Home Video
‘Herencia Diabólica’ – 1993’s “Mexican Child’s Play” Finally Has a Blu-ray Release [Review]
Did you know that there is a Child’s Play-inspired film from Mexico? If you didn’t, you can thank Vinegar Syndrome’s new label Degausser Video for making 1993’s Herencia Diabólica available for the masses to watch. Or at least for the VS hardcore fanbase, Chucky completists and anyone else who needs something like this in their lives.
Director Alfredo Salazar, known for his writing connection to the 70s Santo film series, also serves as the writer here to bring us a film seemingly inspired from the Child’s Play franchise. While it has been recently labeled as the “Mexican Child’s Play” (there’s a special feature on the disc with that very title), the killer doll concept is where the comparison should start and end. Despite having some seeds planted by that franchise, Salazar delivers a story that blossoms into something unique.
Tony (Roberto Guinar) receives a letter informing him that his aunt has died, and he has inherited her estate in Mexico. He quits his job and uproots his life in New York with his wife Annie (Holda Ramírez) to relocate south of the border and move into his new crib. Now I know what you’re thinking, what person just quits their job and drags their wife to another country without having reliable monetary income? Tony does, everyone, Tony does.
And what’s the first thing they do once they arrive in Mexico and check out the estate? They hit the bedroom, naturally. We are treated to a sex scene with an erotica song that feels like a knockoff of “Sadness” by Enigma (remember them?). Sounds fun and all, but the scene takes place completely in the dark and we see absolutely nothing. Maybe that’s why the sexy-time tune was pumping, so we could know what was exactly going down.
While Tony goes on a job interview, Annie explores the estate’s grounds in a tedious chore to experience, going room by room, plodding along. But it does lead us to her discovery of our antagonist—the evil clown doll, Payasito! Of all the things in the house, she decides to bring this monstrosity down to show Tony when he gets home. What an exciting way to celebrate (sic)! Then out of nowhere, she spouts off some exposition about rumors that Tony’s aunt dabbled in the dark arts and now we know where our title Diabolical Inheritance (the English translation for Herencia Diabólica) originates. For those of you who keep score for things like that.
Before proceeding with this review, you really need to visualize what Payasito looks like to truly embrace the rest of the film’s shenanigans. While Chucky resembles a cute ginger child, Payasito resembles a small clown that is much larger in stature than Chucky. That’s because Payasito is performed by an actor (Margarito Esparaza) in clown cosplay whenever he’s on the move (like Mannequin 2), and makes some really horrible facial expressions. Chucky dresses in “Good Guys” overalls and a striped shirt, but Payasito wears a new wave Santa hat while sporting a Sgt. Pepper jacket and Peter Pan tights. As you can now tell, he is quite beautiful.
Back to our story, Payasito begins to spook Annie cerebrally until she becomes unnerved to the point of having a complete mental break down, making her easy prey to eliminate. She dies but the unborn child survives, with Tony believing that her death was caused by her mental instability. Fast forward some years later and the couple’s surviving spawn has grown into child Roy (Alan Fernando), who at this point has already bonded with Payasito to help him over the loss of his mother. Dun-dun-duuunnn!
Meanwhile wealthy Tony remains single, still grieving his late wife, until his blonde assistant Doris encourages him to move on with his life and start seeing other people. And by other people, she naturally means herself. As the old Kanye West song lyric goes, “I ain’t saying she’s a gold digger…”, and it seems that she might be until we learn more about her character. Doris is played by the stunning Lorena Hererra who has an extremely extensive resume in Mexico, and she carries most of the film quite well during the feature’s second half. The singer and former Playboy centerfold for their Mexico edition is by far the most recognizable face in the cast.
Doris and Tony do indeed hookup and she moves into La casa de Herencia, where she does her best to impress Roy and lessen his obsession with the doll. There is a scene where they go to a nearby park without Payasito that is filled with famous fairytale figures, such as Pinocchio, Cinderella and King Kong! What, you didn’t know King Kong is a fairytale? Me neither. But Roy continues to be obsessed with Payasito after their trip, much to Doris’ chagrin.
Her actions to separate him from Roy gets Payasito angry, setting up the film’s most memorable scene. We already know that Payasito is a devil doll like Chucky, but now we learn he also has the power to invade people’s dreams like Freddy Krueger! Does Payasito enter the dream world and concoct a creative way to kill Doris in her sleep? No, he harnesses his power to sexually assault her instead. Yes that actually happens. After she awakens, Doris grabs the doll and tosses him into a lake, only to find him waiting for her by the time she gets back to the house. So now we know he also maintains the ability to “transport” like Jason Voorhees too. This doll is the total package!
More insanity happens before we close out the film with the longest victim chase sequence ever. It makes the previously mentioned painful house search scene seem like an eyeblink. It feels like it’s the film’s entire third act, filled with so much padding that you could soundproof an entire three-story house.
So how’s the transfer? Considering it was created using a mix of VHS and film source elements from 1993, they did one heck of a job! The work they put into it is especially noticeable in the dream invasion sequence, with the pulsing multi-colored psychedelic visuals. Super trippy stuff. Even the film’s score provides a pretty chill vibe, during the times when Payasito isn’t on the prowl.
If anything you read has piqued your interest in the very least, you should give it a shot. But if not, it is best to leave this doll on the shelf.
Herencia Diabólica is now available to purchase at VinegarSyndrome.com.
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