“A Dark Place Inside” DVD (director: Mike O’Mahony)

(Serial) killer micro-indie

So, my expectations here were quite low, I don’t mind stating. The other films that arrived at Goatsden HQ from Sector 5 were pretty, shall I say, hideous, derivative, and unwatchable. Not the case here. “A Dark Place Inside” is a supremely sick and repugnant serial killer flick, with a believable villain (played well by newcomer Chris Dalbey), great camerawork, and a story that’s harrowing yet magnetic. 

So, the gist of “A Dark Place Inside” isn’t too complex. Loner Andy (played by Dalbey) works a menial job, has no social life, and spends his spare time stalking and brutally murdering women, some of which he dismembers and brings home to “admire”. Sure, some of the gore effects are a bit cheesy and visibly low budget, but the point is driven home well that Andy is one troubled individual. We’re shown interspersed clips of Andy’s childhood, and his brutal torture at the hands of his abusive father, so as to explain his predilection for cruel and inhuman acts.

Along the film’s trajectory, we meet some of Andy’s annoying coworkers, and even get a brief glimpse of something that could almost resemble a flirtation with romance, before our anti-hero lapses again into his murderous ways. Director (and writer and producer) O’Mahony does an admirable job with this one, and I actually enjoyed it. Well-done serial killer horror on a shoestring budget.? See, it can be done.

Sector 5 Entertainment

“Zombie Isle” DVD (director: Robert Elkins)

Living dead stinker

I hope George Romero is filthy rich. Or at least very comfortable these days. After all, he's been ripped off so many thousands of times, he deserves more. Or maybe he just has an awful lot to answer for? Regardless, this micro-budget indie further recycles the tired formula into a virtually unwatchable mess of scratchy digitally enhanced  "70s film" stylings, and a nonexistent storyline involving a group of students "researching" an abandoned and forgotten island, only to find military quarantine signs and, you guessed it, zombies!

To give some credit where it's due, some of the gory flesh eating is suitably foul and repellant. And the electronic soundtrack is actually well done. But that's where my accolades end.

Doesn't any good trash film require some sex, nudity, or at the least some breastage? Sure, this attitude will have me labeled a sexist. Oh well. Purists and serious horror fans will agree with me. So forget about cheap titillation during "Zombie Isle". You'll get no.such satisfaction here, despite the cast full of attractive ladies.

A shame that this has to fail on nearly every level. "Zombie Isle" does nothing but nail shut the coffin on a genre that, though trendy, hasn't seen any innovation or creativity in a very long time. Let the living dead rest and avoid this stinker!

World Wide Multi Media

"Mourning Wood (director: Ryan Convery)

Ah, another micro-indie splatstick zombie-comedy (zombedy?). This one doesn't fare so well, being a tale of a small-town informercial king who accidentally unleashes a mutant zombie strain in his "Shampube" genital-washing product. The result are silly undead who hump everything within sight and "expel" torrents of white goo (which, naturally, turns others into zombies).

Granted, some of the head-splattering gore effects are fine, but everything else here is just bad. It's a juvenile, "not-funny" comedy with a penchant for silly digital effects, bad acting, and a fratboy sense of humor. I lost interest rather quickly. (Brain Damage Films)

"An Unholy Exorcism: The Devil Inside (aka "Chronicles Of An Exorcism")" DVD (director: NIck G. Miller)

I don't like to be too critical of small-time indie films, but this one was tough to sit through. Why filmmakers (big or small) emulate past films (and ones of repute, even more bafflingly) is beyond me. Exorcism films, like shark attack films, have a huge legacy to live up to. "An Unholy Exorcism" comes across like a shallow, illegitimate, and amateurish simulation of the classic William Friedkin film, with a splash of "The Blair Witch Project". Call this one "The Linda Blair Witch Project", perhaps.

 You already know the story. Experienced priests are called in to "rescue" a poor girl from a demonic possession. This one's in an abandoned shack in a cornfield. And there's a local priest who's skeptical of the exorcist's motives. Shot in rough, grainy, faux documentary-style, this one hides behind the hackneyed camerawork, inane script, and virtually nonexistent effects. This is a silly film that isn't worth pursuing. (WWMM)