Grand Piano (2013)

Running Time: 1hr 30min

Release Date: Sept 20, 2013 (Fantastic Fest)

Written by: Damien Chazelle

Directed by: Eugenio Mira

Review by: Stacey-Beth

Don't you just love going into a movie blind and coming out really enjoying it?  Grand Piano did that for me when I saw it was freshly added to Shudder's streaming site; I guess seeing that the leading names were Elijah Wood and John Cusack didn't make me turn away either.  Definitely not a horror film, but a good exercise in suspense, this one fell under my radar for far too long!

Horror Huddle with Stacey-Beth & Ash: Oculus (2013)

On this episode, we talk Mike Flanagan's supernatural horror, Oculus, starring Karen Gillan.

 --

"A woman tries to exonerate her brother, who was convicted of murder, by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon."

Enjoy and leave some feedback!

Find us on Instagram: staceybethh || e.txcountryboy

Holy Ghost People (2013) + Misery (1990)

Ash and SB decided to do something different and make another segment (Horror Huddle is still very much so a thing) where, at the end of the month, we each pick and discuss movies that wouldn't necessarily be considered straight horror. (Plus it's a great excuse for us to talk more about random movies we enjoy.)

p.s. We discuss it in the video, but we haven't quite nailed down a name for this segment, so any suggestions would be appreciated and rad!

That being said, on this first episode of "Not-Yet-Named", we discuss S-B's pick, 2013's thriller/drama Holy Ghost People, about a woman's search for her sister in a cult of snake handlers.  Then we talk about Ash's pick, the classic 1990 thriller, Misery, adapted from the Stephen King novel about a novelist who has been taken in by his "biggest fan" after getting in a car accident.

Enjoy and leave some feedback!

Find us on Instagram: staceybethh || e.txcountryboy

Horror Huddle: "Silent Retreat" (2013)

On this episode we talk about indie flick Silent Retreat.

Enjoy and leave some feedback!

Find us on Instagram: staceybethh || e.txcountryboy

Frankenstein's Army (2013)

Running Time: 84 minutes

Release Date: July 26, 2013

Review by: Stacey

 

Why the hell didn't anyone tell me to watch this movie years ago?  How did I manage to barely watch it this past weekend?  Help me out, guys! I think I kept getting Frankenstein's Army and I, Frankenstein mixed up because I've heard piss-poor things about the latter and kind of just shied away from any recent movie that had the name "Frankenstein" in it.  Well, hangover me decided to cross my fingers and click play and goddamit, I am glad I did.

V/H/S 2 (2013)

Running Time: 96 minutes

Release Date: June 6 2013

Review by: Stacey

 

Nowadays it's not often enough that we see a sequel sort of outdo it's predecessor but V/H/S 2 (previously titled S-VHS) definitely did just that.  It was crazier, gorier, and all-around violent as fuck- and it ruled.

Banshee Chapter (2013)

Running Time: 87 minutes

Release Dates: Aug. 22, 2013 (Fantasty Filmfest) & Dec. 12, 2013 (US)

Review by: Stacey

 

I watched this movie probably about 7 or 8 months ago and I distinctly remember being upset by it.  Not because it was scary or even very good, but because I didn't pay enough attention and had no idea what the fuck was going on.  At that point I just tossed it back into my pile of titles that I wouldn't care to ever watch again.  What I DO remember, however, was that the plot was actually really cool and covered a subject I have always been fascinated by.  Fast forward to now and I went back into that shameful pile and pulled out Banshee Chapter to see if maybe a second viewing would remedy whatever feelings I had initially had about it.

Neverlake (2013)

Running Time: 86 minutes

Release Date: Sept 4, 2014 (Mexico)

Review by: Stacey

Another blind Netflix pick, Neverlake sounds like your typical supernatural thriller set in some beautiful foreign landscape.  As you can tell by the cover art, it doesn't exactly draw you in (I have no idea why anyone would compare this movie to The Human Centipede) but it's my duty here at To Avoid Fainting... to watch the movies that most would typically pass over and let you know if it's watchable or not.  Which leads me to tell you that this movie was not as bad as some crappy poster would lead you to believe.

Carrie (2013)

 Running Time: 99 minutes
Release Date: October 18, 2013

Review by: Stacey

Any time news comes out about a classic horror film being remade, you immediately hear the angrily hurried clicking of the keyboards as horror fans all over spit and hiss at the very idea of some schlub ruining fan favorites.  I will not lie, I am usually one of those people.  Most modern remakes of horror films that we've all grown to love over the decades have been pure shit (*coughTheFogcough*), can you blame me?  Now this brings me to 2013's Carrie remake, which actually wasn't PURE shit but also wasn't good at all.

The Hunted (2014)

Running Time: 89 minutes

Release Date: Oct. 10, 2013 (Screamfest) and Sept. 9, 2014 (VOD & DVD)

Review by: Stacey

Looks like we're back on the found footage trail this week with Josh Stewart's (The Collector, The Collection) directorial debut film, The Hunted.  I ain't even gonna lie, I love me some Josh Stewart, so naturally I was pretty excited to hear he had written/directed and would be starring in a new horror film.  I'm not even going to go over the "found footage" debate because I already discussed that in my last post for The Houses October Built.  I will say that while The Hunted suffers a few pitfalls of the genre and some of the mistakes that usually come with first-time directors, this film had more good than bad.

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (2013)

Running Time: 90 minutes

Release Date: Sep. 9, 2006 (TIFF) and Oct. 11, 2013 (limited US release)

Review by: Stacey

This was one of those rare movies that I actually went into full on cold watch.  I didn't even know what the premise was.  All The Boys Love Mandy Lane, that's basically all I knew.  I was a little hesitant because initially I thought it would be some kind of gross, teenage rape film.  I was way off.

American Mary (2013)

Running Time: 102 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 27, 2012 (London FrightFest Film Fest) & May 31, 2013 (US limited theatrical)

Review by: Stacey

I saw American Mary some time last year when it first came out on Netflix and being a film that was highly anticipated in the horror community, I thought I'd give it a shot.  What did I think?  Well, I didn't like it the first time I viewed it.  Maybe I didn't pay enough attention, maybe I didn't get it, hell, maybe I went to take a piss and missed a pivotal scene.  All I know is I didn't see what everyone was losing their shit about.  Okay, I think I know why and it comes in the form of fringe-haired, tall, brooding and very boob-y Katherine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps).  For that I can't blame y'all, but c'mon now.  Fast forward to today and I felt like the now-cult classic venture by the Soska Twins (Dead Hooker In A Trunk), who seem to have taken the genre by storm, deserved another watch to see if maybe my opinions had changed.

 

Blood Glacier (2013)

Running Time: 98 minutes

Release Date: September 6, 2013 (TIFF) & May 2, 2014 (US limited release)

Review by: Stacey

Blood Glacier.  The name alone reeks of cheesy B-grade horror.  I've been hearing the name float around in the horror community the last few weeks but surprisingly, didn't hear many reviews on it.  I imagined it was a movie about a killer glacier so I tried to distance myself as much as possible from it.  Then I saw it was put up on Netflix and decided to bite that bullet and sit down for a watch.  Wait, researchers (in a desolate, cold wasteland known as the Austrian Alps, fighting off otherworldly monsters that use humans or anything it lands on, really, as incubators?  Wait a minute...did John Carpenter make this?

The Happy House (2013)

Running Time: 120 minutes

Release Date: May 3, 2013
Review by: Stacey

 

Today was a lazy Sunday as Adam had to be in the studio all day and I was left home alone.  Obviously that meant movies and reviews!  I did one of those "blind picks" on Netflix and landed on 2013's The Happy House directed/written by D.W. Young.  It seems that The Happy House is Young's first feature length film (using his directing skills on shorts and documentaries for the most part.)  Before watching I managed to catch a glimpse of a few of the Netflix reviews and let's just say, most weren't too pleased with what they saw.

Would You Rather (2013)

Running Time: 93 minutes

Release Date: February 8, 2013

Review by: Stacey

On a whim I decided to check out Would You Rather as I have been slacking on making content for my precious blog here.  Sorry!  BUT, I have been lending my horror reviews to an amazing horror movie website, Horror Movies Uncut.  I'll make a separate post about that in the next few hours.  Onto the film at hand.

Skinwalker Ranch (2013)

Running Time: 86 minutes

Release Date: October 30, 2013

Review by: Chris

Skinwalkers. The yee naldlooshi. With it, he goes on all fours.
Growing up Native and spending the summers of my formative years with
my grandparents and extended family on the San Carlos 'rez' I am no
stranger to whispered second hand tales of malevolent shapeshifters.
 Spoken hushed in the afternoon, outside of grandfather's earshot-- Never around the campfire. Never at dark. Never out loud. For They
listen. They hear when named. They come when called. These
supernatural stories of dark magics and twisted men and spirits fired
the imaginations of a young boy and his friends. Children whose world
was still filled with mystery and wonder and awe. They were my boogey
men. My Cucuy. My Gurumāpā. So naturally when this review came across
my desk (okay I really don't have a desk), I was ready to jump feet
first, and revisit my childhood boogeyman.