The grue-crew encounter a number of trippy, zonked out horror films each year, but The Similars from director Isaac Ezban may be the most original, Twilight Zone infused masterpiece of the bunch for 2016. The film takes an interesting, deceptively simple premise and presents it in a uniquely fascinating and artistic fashion that manages to mix sci-fi, horror and comedy into a wonderful modern should-be-classic. You may never look at the other people in the train station the same way ever again.
For the What Have You Been Watching segment, the grue-crew dive into The Unspoken from writer-director Sheldon Wilson. The ghost story is a film in search of a second act. The movie begins with an interesting introduction and ends with a creative, surprising twist. But much of the second act involves a number of plot lines that go no where and only distract from the main theme which is too bad. Still, on the strength of the director and star Jodelle Ferland, The Unspoken promises to make a terrific Netflix watch for most listeners.
Doc sits in for Dave to guide the Horror News of the Week with a Cloverfield reveal, a trailer for Life, and a look at SiREN . The Black Saint is all set for the upcoming New York City Horror Film Festival extravaganza November 10-13, 2016. And don’t forget the Sick Chicks Flicks Horror Film Festival Saturday, November 5, 2016 in Cary, North Carolina. What a great fall season for horror flicks!
Co-hosts Doc Rotten, Santos (The Black Saint) Ellin Jr., Dave Dreher and Thomas Mariani are back again this week to give you the best in horror as they recap, review and obliterate all that is horror this week! Oh, and don’t forget – Stump the Saint! (Brought to you by Gruesome Magazine)
Horror News Radio
Episode 187 — The Similars (2016) — The Unspoken (2016)
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Feature Review: The Similars (2016)
One of the biggest surprise films of 2016, The Similars from writer-director Isaac Ezban is an easy contender for the top 10 list of horror film of 2016. Ezban is a true artist. He creatively utilizes his small cast and limited locations to his advantage. The set design is spectacular and the cinematography even better. The story is the true winning element though. The main idea behind The Similars is haunting, sometimes silly, sometimes frightening, and unnerving throughout. A gem of the year, check it out.
What Have You Been Watching: The Unspoken (2016)
Pascale Hutton, Anthony Konechny, and Neal McDonough join Jodelle Ferland (Silent Hill) in a ghost story with a twist. Sheldon Wilson directs The Unspoken from his own script. To his credit, Sheldon sticks the landing, giving his film a wonder ending that elevates the entire film. He also begins the film with a charged intro. During the second act, however, he spends too much time with a group of drug-dealing knuckleheads that do nothing for the story besides offering a body count. What works the best, Jodelle Ferland and Sunny Suljic (as Adrian), deserve far more attention and are far more interesting. Regardless, the film contains enough highlights and jump scares to make for a terrific watch on VOD or Netflix.
OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE
- [00:00:37] Introduction of the Grue-crew
- [00:03:46] Announcements
- [00:04:23] Thomas Mariani appears on the Geeks @ Large podcast
- [00:05:21] Sick Chicks Horror Film Festival
- [00:05:52] NYC Horror Film Festival
- [00:07:55] Horror News of the Week
- [00:08:13] J.J. Abrams reveals The God Particle is part of the Cloverfield franchise
- [00:12:39] The new trailer for Life looks familiar but no less fascinating
- [00:16:07] Amateur Night from V/H/S gets a spin off feature film titled SiREN
- [00:20:16] Scare Campaign Winner
- [00:21:47] Horror Pack
- [00:23:07] Feature Review: The Similars
- [00:47:14] Support HNR on Patreon
- [00:47:57] What Have You Been Watching: The Unspoken
- [01:04:11] Stump the Saint
NEXT WEEK ON HNR
Doctor Strange
GRUESOME LINKS
- Dragon Con
- Spooky Empire Horror Convention
- Knoxville Horror Film Festival
- Wreak Havoc Film Festival
- Patreon
- Gruesome Tees
- Horror Pack
- Thomas Mariani on Geeks @ Large
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Doc a lifelong fan of horror films, sci-fi flicks and monster movies first discovering Universal Monsters and Planet of the Apes as a young child in the 1970's searching out every issue of Famous Monster of Filmland (and, later, Fangoria). Favorite films include Jaws, The Car, The Birds, The Tingler, Vampire Circus and The Exorcist. Still a huge fan of horror films from the 70s, Doc continues consuming horror films to this day for the site, for the podcasts and for the fun of it all.
