Director: Kevin Losani, Richard Terrasi
Year: 2023
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Anthology
Plot:
While working on a cadaver, a late-night movie host introduces three segments while trying to get his latest creation to life.
Review:
Whispering Hollow Road-Picking up a stranger hitchhiking in the countryside, a man offers her a ride to make her the subject of his next snuff film where he films himself murdering hookers and hitchhikers, but when she has other motives finds himself in a dangerous situation. This was a fairly solid way to kick things off. The brief bits here where the early stages of his proclivity to film his serial killer antics get this off to a grimy beginning, while the ensuing meetup and conversation in the car offers the kind of uneasy tension that signals how each one has ulterior motives the other is unaware of. The final reveal of this is the only stumbling block, seeming to come out of nowhere and feels more like a shock-surprise ending than anything naturally built up throughout the segment's running time and is only made worse by the goofy effects to pull it off that are understandably evocative of the format's influences, but otherwise, there's not much else to dislike here.
The House-Aftrer visiting a house in the countryside, a couple looking for a place to move into are taken captive by the eccentric owner who’s looking for a way to carry on his werewolf bloodline using them as his means of doing so. This was another solid if somewhat slightly flawed segment. The opening setup with the couple trying to find a way of getting them out to the house where everything goes down and manages to offer up something creepy as the interactions seem friendly enough even though something is lurking beneath the surface. That comes about in the reveal of the lycanthropic owner who sets about a rather dark and creepy plotline for the couple involving a solid bit of werewolf make-up for the transformation sequence as well as it wandering around, decent gore, and enough to like that overcomes the bizarre matter of how matter-of-factly the werewolf reveal is treated like it’s supposed to be common knowledge they exist but not that he’s one of them. This is a strange setup with the way it comes off, but on the whole, this was quite fun.
Homebound Horror-Getting mixed up in a mob battle, a returning solider is captured and brutalized for a mistaken identity by the criminal gang, only to then be resurrected by an alien parasite that sends him on a gruesome revenge-based rampage against those who wronged him. This was a likable if convoluted way of ending things. The fact that there are way too many subplots going on here, with the military tracking the alien ships, the veteran returning home to propose to his girlfriend, the thug in hot water with the criminal gang, and the cop looking to retire being way too much happening at the start to try to figure out what’s happening. Thankfully, when it me concerned with unleashing a slew of gruesome grindhouse-style revenge sequences this one becomes an absolutely over-the-top blast with the numerous shootouts, gruesome kills, and fantastic scenarios present as the rampage that takes place is brutal and cathartic in the best way possible. Needing to connect everything together is also a bit overdone, but there’s not a lot to dislike here.
Overview: ****/5
A highly enjoyable and effective anthology effort, this one manages to have quite a lot to enjoy overall and comes off incredibly well with the segments being exceptionally enjoyable and only minor issues involved in each one. Those who appreciate this kind of effort or are massive fans of anthologies will want to give this a shot while most others out there should heed caution with it.
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