Oculus is a 2013 American horror film from Jason Blum, the producer of Paranormal Activity and Insidious. It was directed by Mike Flanagan (Abstentia) from a screenplay by him and Jeff Howard. The film stars Karen Gillan (Doctor Who, Outcast), Brenton Thwaites, Rory Cochrane (Dazed and Confused) and Katee Sackhoff (Riddick, Battlestar Galactica). A US release for April 11, 2014 is scheduled by Intrepid Pictures/Relativity.

Ten years ago, tragedy struck the Russell family, leaving the lives of teenage siblings Tim and Kaylie forever changed when Tim was convicted of the brutal murder of their parents.

Now in his 20s, Tim is newly released from protective custody and only wants to move on with his life; but Kaylie, still haunted by that fateful night, is convinced her parents’ deaths were caused by something else altogether: a malevolent supernatural force­­ unleashed through the Lasser Glass, an antique mirror in their childhood home. Determined to prove Tim’s innocence, Kaylie tracks down the mirror, only to learn similar deaths have befallen previous owners over the past century. With the mysterious entity now back in their hands, Tim and Kaylie soon find their hold on reality shattered by terrifying hallucinations, and realize, too late, that their childhood nightmare is beginning again…

IMDb

In Secret is a 2013 American erotic thriller film with macabre undertones directed and written by Charlie Stratton, based on Thérèse Raquin, the 1867 classic novel about murder, lust and revenge written by French author Émile Zola. It was originally titled Thérèse. The film stars Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Felton, Oscar Isaac and Jessica Lange. It was screened in the Special Presentation section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival and is due to receive a wide release on February 21, 2014.

Kate Winslet was attached for a long time to star in the lead role of Therese Raquin. Jessica Biel then replaced her with Gerard Butler as Laurent. In the fall of 2011, Elizabeth Olsen was announced as a replacement in the lead role. Glenn Close was originally cast as Madame Raquin but dropped out and was replaced by Jessica Lange.

The story is set in the lower echelons of 1860s Paris. Thérèse Raquin (Elizabeth Olsen), a sexually repressed beautiful young woman, is trapped into a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin, Camille (Tom Felton), by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin (Jessica Lange). Thérèse spends her days confined behind the counter of a small shop and her evenings watching Madame play dominoes with an eclectic group. After she meets her husband’s alluring friend, Laurent LeClaire (Oscar Isaac), she embarks on an illicit affair that leads to tragic consequences.

Wikipedia | IMDb

Patrick: Evil Awakens (formerly Patrick) is a 2013 Australian sci-fi horror film directed by Mark Hartley (Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!) from a screenplay by Justin King. It stars Charles Dance, Rachel Griffiths, Sharni Vinson, Peta Sergeant, Eliza Taylor, Martin Crewes, Damon Garneau and Rod Mullinar. Richard E. Grant was originally cast as the doctor but had to withdraw due to a scheduling conflict. The film’s score is by Pino Donaggio (Tourist Trap, Dressed to Kill, Crawlspace). The film is a remake of Patrick (1978) which previously spawned an unofficial sleazy Italian sequel Patrick Still Lives (1980). The movie premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival on July 27, 2013 and was officially theatrically released in Australia in October 17, 2013.

Plot:

After killing his mother and her lover some years before, Patrick is the comatose patient in Room 15 of a remote, private psychiatric clinic run by the secretive Dr. Roget, who treats him as guinea pig in his bizarre studies of life and death.

When Kathy, a nurse who has recently separated from her boyfriend, begins working at the clinic, she is instructed to care for Patrick. She is disturbed by Roget’s treatment of him and somehow feels that Patrick is trying to make a connection with her. When Kathy realizes that the lifeless murderer can communicate, she is shocked but compelled to prove her theory. Patrick has psychokinetic powers, which he uses to talk to Kathy by transferring his thoughts to her computer. As Patrick’s communication becomes stronger, strange and terrifying events begin to occur. Patrick has feelings for Kathy, and his affection is about to manifest itself as a deadly, bloody obsession.

Reviews:

‘Laden with simple jump scares and backed by a tone that’s both brutally violent and darkly amusing, Patrick is a good example of how to remake an obscure but admired horror flick: remake a little, rewrite a lot, always respect the source material, and if you can actually address a few of the original flick’s shortcomings in the process, well that’s just a cool bonus.’ Scott Weinberg, FEARnet

‘The setup is decent, the actors are good and even the script and direction initially seem like they’re going to rise above the pack. But then convolution and an overwhelming chintziness set in (alongside gore effects that conceptually rub the wrong way against the film’s tone) and it becomes a slog to the finish line. I felt like I knew every maddening, repetitious beat like the back of my own hand and was just winding down the clock.’ Evan Dickson, Bloody Disgusting

‘Yet rescuing the film from its weakness for cliche is its strong cast, with Dance – the go-to guy for condescending hauteur – a huge improvement on the original’s campy Robert Helpmann. Vinson makes a convincingly feisty heroine, Peta Sergeant is a live wire as her chief ally, Nurse Williams, while Griffiths rescues a potentially over-the-top character by underplaying. Scoff, you may, at the moments reeking of Camembert, but the extended climax is a satisfying onslaught of madness and mayhem that should leave viewers suitably drenched in perspiration.’ Lynden Barber, The Guardian

‘Because the film is so highly stylized, it’s easier for Hartley and screenwriter Justin King to get away with some of the more implausible death sequences, but it must have also been difficult to craft kills that weren’t too ridiculous. Because the tone is established and maintained, it allows Hartley and company to be almost limitless in their creativity. Also, because Patrick has control over circuit boards and can use his will to travel through electricity, new technology is used to the film’s advantage without undermining its roots, staying true to the original film in some respects. It’s so inventive and these types of kills are rarely seen on screen, so the joy felt watching them and how they compliment the premise make it much easier to go along with the outlandish.’ Drew Tinnin, Dread Central

Wikipedia | IMDb

Zombeavers is a 2013 American sex comedy horror film co-written (with Al and Jon Kaplan) and directed by Jordan Rubin. It stars Bill Burr, Cortney Palm, Rachel Melvin, Hutch Dano, Jake Weary, Rex Linn, Brent Briscoe, Robert R. Shafer, Peter Gilroy, Lexi Atkins, Phyllis Katz and Chad Anderson.

A group of college kids staying at a riverside cabin are menaced by a horde of deadly zombie beavers. A planned weekend of sex and debauchery soon turns gruesome as the beavers close in on the terrified teens who must fight to save their lives…

‘Horny co-eds, severed feet, the great outdoors, and undead beavers chomping their way toward crotch, Zombeavers is more than just a simple film. It will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will inspire great interest in mother nature, and it just might teach you something about love. For instance, in one scene a man says, “I’ve never seen a beaver up close.” His girlfriend responds, “You should try going down on me once in a while.” See? Life lessons.’ Lacy Donohue, Defamer at Gawker.com

IMDb

Dracula: The Dark Prince is a 2013 American horror film directed by Pearry Reginald Teo (Necromenta, Dead Inside/The Evil Inside) from a screenplay co-written by him, Steven Paul and Nicole Jones-Dion. It stars Luke Roberts, Jon Voight (Anaconda), Kelly Wenham, Ben Robson, Holly Earl, Stephen Hogan, Richard Ashton, Poppy Corby-Tuech and Vasilescu Valentin.

Plot:

In his search for the Lightbringer, Dracula crosses paths with a beautiful crusader named Alina who bears a remarkable resemblance to his murdered bride. One look at her and Dracula is immediately smitten. Could Alina be the reincarnation of his long-dead love? Dracula has Alina kidnapped and brought to his castle…

Review:

When I was a kid, Dracula was the horror character. The king of the bad men – no ambiguity, no white-washing. Dracula was scary, whether he was Christopher Lee and any lesser version. Then things began to change. I’ll put the finger of blame on the influence of Anne Rice and the 1979 Dracula, which first began to reinvent him as the tortured romantic character (Love at First Bite did likewise the same year, but at least that was a comedy). Since then, it’s almost guaranteed that Dracula movies (and vampire movies in general) will follow the same pattern, retooling the character as swooning material for teenage goths.

This depressing state of affairs plummets to new depths in the truly appalling Dracula: The Dark Prince (not to be confused with Dark Prince: The Legend of Dracula or Dracula Prince of Darkness), a film with all the charm and finesse of a SyFy production, but with none of the eccentricity or charm of those films. The only saving grace this film has – and it’s no saving grace at all, given how ham-fistedly it is executed – is that it at least tries something different with the Dracula myth. However, no-one was really crying out for a Dracula film that is a low rent sword and sorcery tale.

The film opens with clumsy animation setting the scene (and, in retrospect, acting as warning) as we see the Coppola-inspired origin of Dracula in 15th century Wallachia. A hundred years later, Dracula (Luke Roberts) is the master of… what, exactly? He seems confined to a castle, recruiting a useless army of desperately-trying-to-be-sexy female vampires (a few gratuitous boob shots being the only clue that this isn’t s SyFy Original) and a handful of warriors, alongside creepy assistant Renfield (Stephen Hogan in one of a handful of Bram Stoker name nods) where he frets about nebulous enemies.

These include would-be slayers (attention, Buffy fans!) Alina (Kelly Wenham) and Esme (Holly Earl), who are transporting miraculous weapon The Lightbringer to Leonardo Van Helsing (Jon Voight), when they are set upon by a band of brigands led by Lucian (Ben Robson). Before you know it, Lucian has joined forces with Van Helsing, the two Slayerettes and an unlikely viking Andros (Richard Ashton) to defeat Dracula, though why they are bothering isn’t entirely clear, given how little he seems to do. Alina is captured, and wouldn’t you know it, she turns out to be the spitting image / reincarnation of Dracula’s long lost love. Yes, the most well worn and annoying of the Dracula movie cliches is shamelessly trotted out again. Soon, she is torn between the personality free Dracula and the unpleasant Lucian, as the remaining good guys storm the castle.

The central idea behind the film is that The Lightbringer – a sword with assorted attachments – was used by Cain to slay Abel! As such, only a descendent of Cain can use the weapon and only a descendent of Abel – which includes Dracula – can be killed by it. The film does it’s best to convince us that these are two rare groups of people, when surely they would make up the whole of humanity if we believe the Bible. A quick check reveals that this weapon is not included in the original Cain and Abel story.

Shot in Romania – though you’d never know it, as any opportunity for location authenticity is buried beneath CGI and the sort of murky lighting that crap films mistake for atmosphere – this is a real mess. The acting is generally pretty shocking, the accents are all over the place – most of the leads speak with the sort of wooden, middle-class English stage school flatness that you find littering British TV, while Andros is curiously Northern and Voight adopts a scenery-munching Eastern European accent that makes no sense at all. The performances are also at soap opera level, so it’s hardly a surprise to find that Roberts is a Holby City veteran. Here, decked out in an unconvincing long blonde wig, he displays all the personality of a log and the idea that he is either a seductive charmer or a threatening monster is frankly laughable. He’s almost certainly the weakest Dracula ever seen.

Worst of all though, the film is numbingly dull. Little actually happens, and the few action scenes are clumsily handled. For the most part, it’s a series of scenes of people spewing exposition, wandering through dimly-lit woods or Dracula mooning over Alina like a lovestruck teenager.

Of course, the film might have somehow pulled all this together in the final five minutes, miraculously turning into a masterpiece of cinema. As my screener had a fault that rendered these final moments unplayable, I’ll probably never know, but I’m willing to go out on a limb and suggest that it remained as awful as the preceding 90 minutes.

This is the nadir of the ‘romantic Dracula’ films. If nothing else, it should at least be used to show others why they should avoid going down that route ever again. Let’s get back to a Dracula who wants to tear the heroine’s throat out, not give her a bunch of flowers and promise to still respect her in the morning.

David Flint – The full version of this review is at Strange Things Are Happening

Buy Dracula: The Dark Prince on DVD from Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk

“The Dark Prince shows very little blood, no gore, and were it not for a trio of breast pairs briefly exposed here and there, it would seem that the film might have been intended for teenagers or mature women with its romance novel overtones.  Given how many notes it tries to hit on the heartstring and fantasy adventure fronts, it is indeed questionable who the target audience is.  Even with brief nudity, the eroticism is toned down.  Swordfights occur, but they are few and far between.  In their place are scenes involving a lot of bobbing heads that talk, plot, and scheme, without too much else of sustaining interest taking place.” Culture Crypt

” … the tone of the movie is SyFy, as for the acting… The girls do what they can with what amounts to two pretty shoddily drawn warrior women. Luke Roberts works well as the misunderstood Dracula but pretty poorly as the monstrous creature. Stephen Hogan is literally channelling Wormtongue. A lot of the film is built in CGI, its ok but it does show. I kind of feel it wanted to be castlevania but didn’t quite work out how to be epic. Nude boobs on show, for titillation purposes, just seem gratuitous. The film wanted to do something different, kudos for that, but it seemed to throw a lot in the mix, gave it a quick shimmy and hoped for the best.” Taliesin Meets the Vampires

Wikipedia | IMDb

Wolf Creek 2 is a 2013 Australian horror film co-written and directed by Greg Mclean (Wolf Creek, Rogue). It stars John Jarratt, Ryan Corr, Shannon Ashlyn, Phillipe Klaus, Gerard Kennedy and Annie Byron. The film is released in Australia on February 20, 2014.

The outback once more becomes a place of horror as another unwitting tourist becomes the prey for crazed, serial-killing pig-shooter Mick Taylor.

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Only Lovers Left Alive is a 2013 romance drama vampire film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, Mia Wasikowska, and John Hurt. It was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

After living for centuries, vampire Adam (Tom Hiddleston) is a reclusive musician who cannot get accustomed to the modern world and all of its new technology. Adam pays Ian (Anton Yelchin), his only human friend, to buy vintage guitars and recording equipment. Adam asks Ian to have a wooden bullet made for him, so he can take his own life. Adam survives on blood-bank donations regularly supplied by Doctor Watson (Jeffrey Wright), who is happy to take Adam’s money and not ask any questions. While Adam lives in a deserted area of Detroit, his wife Eve (Tilda Swinton) lives in Tangier, where she shares a regular blood supply with her friend, another vampire named Marlowe (John Hurt).

During a phone FaceTime conversation, Eve senses Adam’s depression with society and decides to leave Tangier to be with him. The lovers unite and are content enjoying each others company, eating blood popsicles, playing chess, dancing to music at home, and driving around the city at night. Shortly after Eve arrives, her younger sister, Ava (Mia Wasikowska), shows up from Los Angeles and disrupts the couple’s idyllic reunion. After a night out at a local club, Ava kills Ian, draining him of blood, and she is kicked out of the house by Adam. Adam and Eve dispose of Ian’s corpse. Ava’s impulsive behaviour cause Adam and Eve to have to leave Detroit, and hastily return to Tangier. Experiencing blood-withdrawal, the couple discover that their long time friend and mentor Marlowe has fallen ill due to a bad batch of blood. After a while, Marlowe dies in front of them. Running low on finances, and with no regular blood supply, the couple spot a pair of local young lovers kissing. Adam and Eve approach them, with their fangs out…

“Jim Jarmusch takes all the elegant longing, the romantic notability and insatiable moral questioning that had been sucked out of the vampire genre in recent years by faux-perilous teenage kitsch, and gives it back to us with Only Lovers Left Alive.” Eye For Film

“There is a lot that I loved about Only Lovers Left Alive, though I’ve no doubt that it’s not a film made to everyone’s taste. I might add that it’s barely a horror film, past the fact that it’s a story concerning vampires, but in some ways that’s apt. We’ve seen vampires done in many different ways and this might be as much a meditation on the vampire trope as it is a meditation on the ills of society and creative expression. All in all, it’s probably a film that gazes a little bit too much at its navel, but my, what an attractive navel it is.” Brutal As Hell

“For the first time in recent memory, a title has arrived that at least begins to scrape deeper in to the existential potential of vampire characters. Sadly, this brief glimpse squanders its value by otherwise wandering traveled ground. A certain momentum carries much of the first act of Only Lovers Left Alive, though this theoretically intriguing meander soon becomes the film’s ultimate downfall despite the involved talent. Jim Jarmusch does not intend to analyze questions but simply to put ideas out there, and as a result, his product ultimately feels lackadaisical and aimless.” Sound on Sight

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WH

Almost Human is a 2013 low budget American horror film – not to be confused with the TV series of the same name – written and directed by Joe Begos (Bad Moon Rising) for Channel 83 productions. It stars Graham Skipper, Josh Ethier, Vanesa Leigh, Susan T. Travers, Anthony Amaral III, Michael A. LoCicero, Jeremy Furtado, Jami Tennille, Chuck Doherty. The film is now showing in theatres and available on video-on-demand (VOD) from IFC Midnight.

Plot:

Mark Fisher disappeared from his home in a brilliant flash of blue light almost two years ago. His friend Seth Hampton was the last to see him alive. Now a string of grisly, violent murders leads Seth to believe that Mark is back, and something evil is inside of him…

Reviews:

“Competent acting and nice, gruesome effects (especially near the end!) help elevate Almost Human above its very low budget. While the decision to go for a more straightfoward slasher (albeit with an alien antagonist) might disappoint anyone looking for something deeper, fans of low budget horror films will find it a short, nasty treat.” Alex Riviello, Badass Digest

“Suffice to say, I really didn’t care at all for Almost Human, although I’d still say Begos has potential as a director and especially as a cinematographer. At the very least, the movie looks good, and the tight eighty-minute running time is spot-on, and never feels like too much of a chore. At the same time though, the writing and performances come up terribly short and keep the film from being anything more than a quickie gore flick.” Chris Bumbray, Arrow in the Head

“Almost Human has a nice emotional thread at play that concerns loss and grief.  It’s minor, but let’s be thankful a flick like this even has some emotional beats to hit.  When it’s not focusing on this angle, the film is full-throttle crazy town with Mark slaughtering those he meets in brutal ways.  Blood flows, folks.  Oh yes, blood flows.  And it’s gleefully executed in various practical ways.  Also, Mark reveals that he has a few extraterrestrial talents which are a hoot to watch and will make some squirm in their seat.” Ryan Turek, Shock Till You Drop

IMDb

Dracano is a 2013 American monster film directed by Kevin O’Neil and starring Gina Holden, Corin Nemec and Troy Evans.

A catastrophic volcanic eruption releases ancient dragon-like creatures on the surrounding areas. Scientists believe this could start a chain reaction of volcanic eruptions giving way to a global Dragon Apocalypse….

“Since the SyFy Channel has seriously scaled back their original movie docket, crap movies like Dracano just don’t have a real home anymore. Now we have to the find them, as opposed to them finding us. This doesn’t please me. Who really wants to look for this stuff? I’ll do it, because I have a sickness, but I liked it better when these crap movies came on TV for free.” Film Critics United

“Wild science, dragons, gruff military personnel, probing news media, not a bad way to spend 90 minutes. The action in Dracano moves along at a decent clip, and the acting is decent. I recommend Dracano, a 7 out of 10.” Dan’s Movie Report

IMDb

WH

The Sacrament is a 2013 American found footage horror thriller film directed by Ti West (The Innkeepers, House of the Devil) and produced by Eli Roth. The movie had its world premiere on September 3, 2013 at the Venice Film Festival and will have a wide theatrical release on May 1, 2014. The movie’s plot takes several elements from real life events such as the Jonestown Massacre of 1978 (previously filmed as Guyana: Crime of the Century aka Guyana: Cult of the Damned).

Plot:

Patrick (Kentucker Audley) is a fashion photographer traveling to meet his sister Caroline (Amy Seimetz) at Eden Parish, the commune she’s been living at since she left her drug rehabilitation program. Despite some misgivings over his sister’s vagueness over the commune’s location, Patrick travels to the commune with his friends and co-workers Sam (AJ Bowen) and Jake (Joe Swanberg), who suspect that they might get a story out of the travels. Once there, Patrick is met by his sister, who is happier and healthier than she has been in a while. His friends begin to film interviews with Eden Parish’s inhabitants, all of which speak of the commune in glowing terms. However they soon discover that there is a sinister edge to the commune that belies the seemingly peaceful setting…

Reviews:

“The film’s intelligence extends to its strong but suitably modest tech package, with the narrative involvement of Vice providing an alibi for Eric Robbins’ fluid, generously lit lensing; most films in the found-footage genre have no reason to look this good. Jade Healy’s production design is a particular asset, visually conveying the camp’s spartan, faux-organic principles with absolute authenticity. Sound design, as ever with the helmer’s work, is tack-sharp, as is Tyler Bates’ spooky score — even if it occasionally seems to have crept in from one of West’s more retro efforts.” Guy Lodge, Variety

” … if you sit down prepared to be a little bit patient (it’s not even a very long movie!) there’s a good chance you’ll appreciate the mystery, the suspense, the shocks, and the payoffs that The Sacrament has to offer. With all due respect to The Innkeepers and House of the Devil — two very good thrillers — The Sacrament may be Ti West’s angriest, cleverest, and most accomplished feature yet.” Scott Weinberg, Fearnet

“If you know anything about the saga of Jim Jones, you know where “The Sacrament” is headed. It’s an unfortunate familiarity that West makes no effort to avoid, instead recreating the horrors that urged the Jonestown community into the afterlife. The picture is violent, a necessary cinematic pressure to capture despair, yet West lingers on the suffering, studying a man gasping for life as he’s poisoned to death, while showing a little girl getting her throat slit by her mother. It’s gratuitous, especially when it becomes clear that the film isn’t going anywhere original with its overview of brutal self-sacrifice, instead lingering the details of awful deaths. “The Sacrament” bottoms out in its second half, with West too paralyzed by the particulars of his inspiration to craft an innovative take on a horrifying event in human history.” Brian Orndorf, Blu-ray.com

Wikipedia | IMDb

WH

All Cheerleaders Die is a 2013 American comedy horror film remake written and directed by Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson for Modernciné. It was screened in the Midnight Madness section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. The film stars Caitlin Stasey, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Brooke Butler, Amanda Grace Cooper, Reanin Johannink, Tom Williamson, Chris Petrovski, Leigh Parker, Nicholas S. Morrison, Jordan Wilson, Felisha Cooper.

The film is a bigger budget remake of the 2001 shot-on-video film All Cheerleaders Die, also written and directed by Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson. It will be released by Image in Spring 2014.

Plot:

Maddy (Caitlin Stasey) is a rebel and outsider at Blackfoot High, dead set on bringing down the clique of too-cool cheerleaders who rule the school. When Maddy turns up at tryouts to infiltrate their squad, you might think that you know where this film is going. But after things turn ugly at a bush party and Maddy’s wiccan ex-girlfriend Leena (Sianoa Smit-McPhee) interferes in her plot, Maddy, Leena and the whole pom-pom-wielding posse must become unlikely allies in a supernatural showdown against the boys, led by Terry (Tom Williamson), the captain of the football team.

Reviews:

“With its splashy paintbox palette and jaunty pop soundtrack, All Cheerleaders Die just about hangs together as a cheerfully goofy romp. The story has some of the pulpy energy of early Sam Raimi or Peter Jackson, but little of their subversive attitude or spiky originality. The characters are cartoonish, the pacing is bumpy and the plot illogical. Does this matter? Probably not to the film’s target demographic, assuming there is still an audience for knowingly trashy semi-spoof horror comedies which appear to be stranded somewhere the 1980s. A guilty pleasure, but instantly forgettable.” Stephen Dalton, The Hollywood Reporter

“All Cheerleaders Die is either a feminist film, or a particular type of man’s idea of what a feminist film could be. But it certainly is schlocky, funny, violent, clever and surprisingly sexy. It is a great unwind movie if you like this sort of thing and does what it sets out to do – entertain.” John Sharp, The Hollywood News

“Mashing together elements redolent of “The Craft,” “Species,” “Pet Sematary” and anything featuring toned young bods jiggling booty and tossing hair in slo-mo, “All Cheerleaders Die” has fun with its umpteen cliches. Still, the satirical edge is underplayed enough to make some viewers wonder whether the film is faux-stupid or the real thing … Even for those most receptive to the tongue-in-cheek tone here, McKee and Silvertson’s in-joke will likely rate just middling on the scale of subversive hilarity. It’s a fond, briskly diverting homage, but not a truly inspired one. Performances, visual approach, f/x and other major contributions all faithfully adhere to current B-horror stylistic conventions.” Dennis Harvey, Variety

Wikipedia | IMDb | Official site | We are grateful to The Hollywood Reporter for the poster image.

Afflicted is a 2013 Canadian action horror film written and directed by Clif Prowse, Derek Lee, both of whom star. The rest of the cast are Baya Rehaz, Edo Van Breemen, Zachary Gray.

Plot:

Two best friends set out on the trip of a lifetime around the world. Their journey, documented every step of the way, soon takes a dark and unexpected turn after an encounter with a beautiful woman in Paris leaves one of them mysteriously afflicted.

Reviews:

” … the film works so well is that you really care about these men and you feel the pain and fear Derek is dealing with both directly with him, and through Clif’s eyes. It is because these men matter, that they are important that the dire, scary situation they find themselves in resonates as well as it does. Often scary and with a real emotional core, Afflicted is an unexpected gem that I hope gets some serious support when released.” Flay Otters, Horror-Movies.ca

“Afflicted is a small concept thriller that attempted to fake its way into becoming a feature film, but there just isn’t enough story to sustain 45 minutes let alone this movie’s miniscule 85 minute running time. About a third of the way through the film should have ended, it had run its course and could have come to a close with a satisfying, creepy and freakishly humorous conclusion as Derek proves killing himself is not the answer to his newfound vampire affliction.” Brad Brevet, Rope of Silicon

“Afflicted is also really fucking scary. Lee and Prowse do not waste a shot, do not waste a moment, in telling their story. Through sound, the careful use of effects, and through great character work, Prowse and Lee take an intimate story and turn it into something larger than itself.  It explores the genre with true grace, intelligence, and terror; for a monster to truly work onscreen, you have to love it a little. Afflicted loves its monster, and so do we.” Ain’t It Cool News

“Afflicted is the perfect film through which one can cast off the negativity associated with found footage and simply call it what it is: a unique and engaging way to present the narrative. It doesn’t need to be a found footage movie, but the perspectives Derek and Clif give to his physical changes and the subsequent mess they find themselves in allows for some incredibly effective and creepy horror filmmaking.” Brad McHargue, Dread Central

IMDb

The Legend of Six Fingers is a 2013 American found footage monster horror film written and directed by Sam Qualiana (Snow Shark: Ancient Show Beast). It stars Debbie Rochon, Lynn Lowry, Andrew Elias, Tiffany Shepis and Tim O’Hearn.

Bloody Earth Films will release the film on DVD and VOD on June 24, 2014.

Two filmmakers, Neil and Andrew, set out to make a documentary about a rash of domestic animal slaughters in rural Western New York. After interviewing several local residents, the filmmakers learn the Native American legend of Yá·yahk osnúhsa? – “Six Fingers” in English, a bipedal creature not unlike Bigfoot, so named because it has three fingers on each hand. Believing that Six Fingers is responsible for the animal slayings, the filmmakers set out on a terrifying journey into the woods to discover whether or not the creature exists…

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We Are What We Are is a 2013 American horror film co-wriiten (with Nick Damici) and directed by Jim Mickle (Mulberry Street, Stake Land). It was screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. It is a remake of the 2010 Mexican film of the same name. The film stars Bill Sage, Julia Garner, Ambyr Childers, Kelly McGillis, Odeya Rush, Michael Parks, Wyatt Russell and Nick Damici.

A seemingly wholesome and benevolent family, the Parkers have always kept to themselves, and for good reason. Behind closed doors, patriarch Frank rules his family with a rigorous fervor, determined to keep his ancestral customs intact at any cost. As a torrential rainstorm moves into the area, tragedy strikes and his daughters Iris and Rose are forced to assume responsibilities that extend beyond those of a typical family. As the unrelenting downpour continues to flood their small town, the local authorities begin to uncover clues that bring them closer to the secret that the Parkers have held closely for so many years. While the town’s doctor who’s daughter was eaten by Frank watches, the daughters both decide to consume their overbearing father, by eating his flesh while still alive…

Horrorpedia opinion: While there is an inevitable backlash against any US remake of a ‘foreign language’ film, We Are What We Are shows the validity of such remakes. This is less a carbon copy than a new interpretation of the basic story, given a Southern Gothic make-over and arguably resulting in a superior film. It could be argued – and we accept that this is a contentious opinion – that remakes like this manage to improve on the story by giving a fresh look at the story. Not that all such remakes do this successfully, but when they do – as in this case – the resulting film is a potent, powerful variation that both compliments and expands upon the original story.

‘What’s particularly impressive about We Are What We Are is what it changes (which is a lot) and what it chooses to keep; the central core of both films is very similar and yet fascinating for different reasons. The film also boasts strong essentials in the cinematography and score departments, while Mr. Mickle acts as his own editor, and the result is two disparate subplots that slowly converge in clever and intense fashion. This is a sober and serious horror tale, but it does remember to include some jolts, scares, and seriously bloody bits, too. It’s just a tight little package, all told.’ Scott Weinberg, FEARnet

‘The best element of the picture is how Mickle slowly, painstakingly builds both suspense and grotesque horror. Mickle is a natural born filmmaker and there is seldom a frame or beat that’s out of step. In fact there’s something very peculiar at work here in just how rich his approach is since there’s a genuine attempt to humanize its characters in a way where we often empathize with their situation even when they’re engaging in utterly horrendous actions. This is in stark contrast to the original Mexican version where its characters are pretty reprehensible as human beings…’ Glen Klymkiw, Film Corner

‘The movie saves most of its modest number of jolts for its last quarter or so, which makes them all the more intense. They stick in your craw – and be warned, they’re not for the squeamish… Mickle’s version has all the American Gothic trappings, maybe even pouring it on a bit thick at times. Despite the generally somber tone, there are a few moments when he seems to be tweaking genre buffs’ memories of movies by the likes of Wes Craven and Tobe Hooper.’ Walter Addiego, San Francisco Gate

‘Mickle takes a slightly different tack altogether, using the Grau screenplay as a jumping point to set more of a mood piece, using the gore to accent the feeling of anachronism he sets up with the central family. The violence of Mickle’s We Are What We Are, builds slowly toward a shocking and gruesome finale worthy of any horror fan’s attention.’ Brandon A. DuHamel, Blu-rayDefinition.com

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Devil’s Knot is a 2013 biographical crime-drama thriller film directed by Atom Egoyan. The film is based on a true story as told in Mara Leveritt’s 2002 book of the same name, concerning three teenagers known as the West Memphis Three, who were convicted for killing three young boys and subsequently sentenced to life in prison. The movie stars Reese Witherspoon, Kevin Durand, Stephen Moyer, Colin Firth, Elias Koteas and Bruce Greenwood. It had a limited release in Canadian theatres on January 24, 2014, and will be released in U.S. theaters and Video on demand (VOD) services on May 9, 2014.

Plot:

In 1993, in the lower-class community of West Memphis, Arkansas, three eight-year-old boys – Stevie Branch (Jurgensmeyer), Christopher Byers (Spink), and Michael Moore (Boardman Jr.) – go missing from their neighborhood. After an extensive search, their bound and beaten bodies are found the next day. The community and the police department are convinced that the murders are the work of a satanic cult due to the violent and sexual natures of the crime. A month later, three teenagers – Damien Echols (Hamrick), Jason Baldwin (Meriwether), and Jessie Misskelley Jr. (Higgins) – are arrested after Misskelley confesses after approximately four hours of interrogation. They are taken to trial where Baldwin and Misskelley are sentenced to life and Echols to death all while still claiming they’re innocent…

Reviews:

” … while Egoyan and Co. are to be commended for doing a tactful, dignified job with material that could have made for a ghoulish horror show, the result nevertheless comes across as a flat, ponderous proposition, transforming a fascinating tale of small-town prejudice and miscarried justice into a surprisingly staid courtroom drama.” Scott Foundas, Variety

“The plotting and pace are so scratchy as to deflate a story which, on paper, abounds in amazing revelations and horrible ironies. This is a morbid, mawkish misfire…” Catherine Shoard, The Guardian

“Tech values are consistently strong, with Mychael Danna’s score particularly effective. A closing dedication to the three murdered children is more moving than many such gestures, reminding us that while prosecutorial sins have kept this story alive as one of three teen lives stolen by the state, three even younger boys were robbed of something much greater.” John DeFore, The Hollywood Reporter

“Do we need a fictional version of this story? Does the Devil’s Knot add anything, be it intellectually or aesthetically to what has already been covered so extensively by other, greater works? Do we need this film? The answer, sadly, is a resolute “no”.” Jason Gorber, Twitch

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Horror Story is a Bollywood horror film written by Vikram Bhatt (RAAZ, Haunted, 1920: Evil Returns) and directed by Ayush Raina. The film stars Ravish Desai, Hasan Zaidi, and features the Bollywood debut of television actor Karan Kundra. It was released on September 13, 2013.The plot revolves around a night spent by seven youngsters at a haunted hotel.

Bhatt has stated that he did not want Horror Story to contain any songs or any sex scenes. He also remarked that he wanted to avoid casting “big stars” in the film, as he believed that they “cannot turn the audience fearful” in what he termed as a “hardcore horror film”. Ravish Desai has commented that the movie will be the first in a franchise and that planning for further films has already begun.

Plot:

A group of seven youngsters – four guys and three girls decide to spend a night at a reportedly haunted hotel to celebrate the farewell of one of them leaving for the USA. Despite people’s warnings and other “signs” trying to ward them off from there, they enter the hotel, and then the truth dawns on them…

Reviews:

“Horror Story isn’t a masterpiece, yet it is one of the better movies to come of this genre. It offers cheap thrills, goose-bumpy moments and genuine shrieks unlike the giggle inducing comic moments other proclaimed horror movies. At the end ultimately it depends on how much you revel in movies of this nature. Are you spooked easily? Do you eye-roll at flying chairs, random screams and hackneyed false scares? Do you believe in ghosts/spirits? Whatever your take is, you may not hate or like this one in its entirety, but you won’t be bored either. Yes it’s not a great film, that doesn’t make it a completely bad one either.” Pooja Rao, Bolly Spice

“Debutant director Ayush Raina shoots the grisly goings-on with the minimum stress on conventional sounds and visuals associated with the horror genre. Belatedly the horror genre has chanced upon the relevance of austerity in putting forward the panic and terror of youngsters trapped in a situation where they cannot escape from a satanic annihilation.” IBN Live

“Horror Story is less than two hours long, mercifully has no songs or blossoming romances, and unfortunately no skin show or scares either.” Aditya Mehta, Mehta Kya Kehta?

“The film uses too many ideas from popular films like The Ring and lacks tremendously on elaborating the writer’s imaginative bent! It is a brazenly written, uninspired work lacking originality and freshness. You can easily give this one a miss unless you are desperate to scare yourself, in which case I assure you, the film will need a great deal of effort from your side to numb you off!” Mohar Basu, Koimoi.com

Indian horror on Horrorpedia: 1920: Evil Returns | Aatank | Aatma (2006) | Agyaat | Bandh Darwaza | Bees Saal Baad | Bhoot Returns | Bollywood Evil Dead | Cape Karma | Darling | Darwaza (1978) | Dracula 2012 | Ek Thi Daayan | Horror Story | Khooni Panja | Purana Mandir | Purani Haveli | Qatil Chudail | Veerana (1988)

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Borgman is a 2013 Dutch dark thriller film written and directed by Alex van Warmerdam about an enigmatic vagrant who enters the lives of an upper-class family and quickly unravels their carefully curated lifestyle. It was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Drafthouse Films acquired US distribution rights to the film just over a week after its red carpet premiere. It stars Jan Bijvoet, Hadewych Minis, Jeroen Perceval, Alex van Warmerdam, Tom Dewispelaere, Sara Hjort Ditlevsen, Elve Lijbaart, Dirkje van der Pijl, Pieter-Bas de Waard, Eva van de Wijdeven, Annet Malherbe.

Plot:

Charming and mysterious, Camiel Borgman seems almost otherworldly, and it isn’t long before he has the wife, children and nanny under his spell in a calculated bid to take over their home life. However, his domestic assimilation takes a malevolent turn as his ultimate plan comes to bear, igniting a series of increasingly maddening and menacing events…

Reviews:

“For the sake of descriptive economy, it’s tempting to classify “Borgman” (named for its oddly passive-aggressive chief villain) as another entry in the increasingly popular subgenre of the home-invasion thriller, but that would misrepresent the film’s more complex premise. “Home inveigling” or even “home infection” would be closer to the mark: Many of the most horrific domestic violations in this story occur with the permission of the family under threat, lending a Pinter-esque slant to van Warmerdam’s slow-burning narrative.” Guy Lodge, Variety

“The freedom to tell a story absurdly has mostly vanished. What audience conditioned to be literal-minded can put up with it? But van Warmerdam touches his brush lightly, dipping often into violence and vulgarity, and sticking to its commitment from start to finish to never, for one second, make any sense. ” Sasha Stone, The Wrap

“There isn’t necessarily an assertion that it’s this family’s bourgeois complacency that has led to their undoing, instead the focus is on the mercurial and mysterious Borgman, and his semi-supernatural powers of influence and persuasion. So the didactic tone that can sometimes, let’s be honest, make Haneke feel a bit of a slog, is absent here in favor of a playfulness that permeates even the film’s darkest moments (viz the stupidly beautiful and surreal shot of the dumped bodies in the lake shimmying gently in the current like aquatic plants in a fish tank). It’s not a film that despises its audience or wants you to ask particularly deep questions of yourself, instead it’s a fable, a good-looking parable about the mysterious ways in which evil can work.” Jessica Kiang, Indie Wire

“Obviously we’re in creepy, provocative and somewhat ambiguous territory here, but van Warmerdam also brings wit and humor that is often laugh-out-loud hilarious to the proceedings. It’s certainly dark, sterile and deadpan, along with pretty much every stylistic choice in the movie, but also whip-smart, inventive and often very surprising.” Brian Clark, Twitch Film

” … like the bastard child of Luis Buñuel and Micheal Haneke, with the influence of Dogtooth by Yorgos Lanthimos — an unusual, unsettling, and violent demolition of accepted social politics.” Russ Fischer. /Film

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13/13/13 is a 2013 American horror film written and directed by James Cullen Bressack for The Asylum productions. It stars Trae Ireland, Erin Coker, Jody Barton, J. Scott, Bill Voorhees, Tiffany Martinez, Jared Cohn, Calico Cooper.

For millennia, calendars have added an extra day every four years. In doing so, they violated the ancient Mayan calendar. Now we are in the 13th month of the 13th year of the new millennium, and the few who survive will battle a world of demons.

Reviews:

” …  a bloody intense film that has shades of a family drama as well as apocalyptic overtones. This is a sharp, gory horror film with star making performances by Barton, Ireland, and Coker and an eye popping  cameo by Jessica Cameron. Worth a watch for all involved.” Christopher M. Jimenez, Sinful Celluloid

“13/13/13 stretches itself out by having the leads kill more time than they do infected humans. The rest of the space is filled with more moments of maniacal laughing than an army of funhouse fat ladies at a supervillain convention. Between that and the absurd overacting, one wonders if the film might be trying to drive the viewer as batty as the cast. Anyone left with any sanity by the film’s end will learn that the movie is a schizophrenic zombie itself.” Culture Crypt

” … those looking for on-screen deaths should look no further because this film has a metric ton. The special effects are hit and miss but it does not take away from this bloody flick. Overall, Bressack delivers another film that feels like a punch to throat and does not let up.  I highly recommend this one!” Blacktooth, Horror Society

“ … a take on The Crazies with supernatural twists. Unfortunately, it’s The Asylum’s take on that film, which means a tiny budget, brief shooting schedule and lack of quality talent, which results in the failure to deliver a compelling story. When the dialogue isn’t groan-inducing, the neverending score is just as grating to listen to. The filmmakers spend too much time showing people sitting around and laughing at each other because, well, they’ve gone bonkers.” J.D. Smith, Fangoria

“13/13/13 is typical The Asylum style film making. It’s silly. It knows it’s silly. And if you got it, flaunt it. All in all this movie will appeal to many of the same people who liked the movies mentioned previously. You’ll find plenty of cheesy dialogue, terrible acting, buckets of blood, and moments that will have you laughing out loud. Just one memorable line: “we’re all a little bit Asian”. GraveDave, Life After Undeath

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Zombie Night is a 2013 American zombie film produced by The Asylum and directed by John Gulager (Feast, Piranha 3DD), written by Keith Allan and Delondra Williams from a story by Richard Schenkman, and starring Anthony Michael Hall, Daryl Hannah, Jennifer Bini Taylor, Alan Ruck, and Shirley Jones. The film’s distinctive score is by Alan Howarth (Halloween II). 

Plot:

Zombies come out at night and two families must survive until morning…

Reviews:

“The ridiculous script would make a night in with friends a blast, and some great gore effects elevate this beyond pure B schlock. It’s not going to make the top of a favourite list, but this is a bloody head and shoulders above most of the zombie films out there.” The Film Reel

“What makes this movie all the worse is the potential behind it: directed by John Gulager, who certainly knows his stuff from the FEAST movies (and occasionally blinks and misses it with PIRANHA 3DD), it wields a decent cast of veteran actors, including ex-Breakfast Clubber Anthony Michael Hall, ex-mermaid Daryl Hannah, ex-Starfleet Captain Alan Ruck, and ex-Partridge Family mother Shirley Jones, and the make-up is practical rather than all CGI. And the plot is as basic as rice and peas: the undead rise one night, people die, society collapses, survivors bicker, die and/or survive. How the hell do you screw that up?” Anything Horror

“The cast is an 80s dream with Anthony Michael Hall, Darryl Hannah, Alan Ruck, and Shirley Jones- Wait a minute! Shirley Jones, what are you doing here? Oh, you’re trying to break the world’s record for overacting? Good luck! Some of the zombie makeup is pretty good and some is really bad. Speaking of inconsistent, the movie sets up some strange rules for the zombies. Does a zombie bite make you turn into a zombie or not? Why does the sun coming up mean that the zombie apocalypse will be over?” Doomed Moviethon

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The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill is a 2013 British horror film directed by Michael Bartlett (Treehouse) and Kevin Gates (The Zombie Diaries; Zombie Diaries 2) from a screenplay by the latter. It stars Mark Andrews, Michael Bartlett, Criselda Cabitac.

Plot synopsis:

In March 1963, a black mass was held at The Church of St Mary The Virgin, a ruined church in Clophill, Bedfordshire by a coven of dark witches. Tombs were looted, animals sacrificed and human bones arranged during a macabre ceremony. Further defilements continued at Clophill in the following years, with cattle in nearby fields found mutilated, evidence of necromancy discovered and perpetual sightings of paranormal activity witnessed at the isolated ruin. 50 years on from the original incident, the Clophill legend remains etched on the psyches of the local populace.

In 2010, a documentary team was assembled to investigate the legend of the Clophill witches and to try and uncover the truth behind the paranormal events. What followed during that long weekend was a terrifying journey into the unknown…

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Reviews:

” … a movie that’s definitely not for everyone – it’s for those of you out there with a genuine curiosity of the paranormal and the supernatural, and it’s also for those who can appreciate a good ghost story with deeply laid roots in reality. Suffice it to say that all of the participants in this project – including Gates and Bartlett – got more than they bargained for. A lot more. If looking for truly spine-tingling shivers is something that’s on your agenda, then this is without question your hot ticket!” Steve Barton, Dread Central

“It’s fair to say, however, that despite my losing patience during the second half, I enjoyed Clophill and it proved remarkably effective when seen late at night, alone in an empty house. There is a lot of low-budget ingenuity on show here from the use of night-vision – which naturally makes everyone look like a demon – to Pete Renton’s low-key and ominously rumbling music track. Indeed, the sound design of the film is immensely important and I strongly recommend that you watch the film on high volume.” Mike Sutton, The Digital Fix

“Clophill takes the bare bones of the now-exhausted found footage genre and gives it a desperately needed new lease of life by crafting a movie which is part-genuine documentary, part horror fiction. The real thrill for the viewer is that Clophill is put together with such inventiveness that it blurs the line between what’s real and what’s imaginary and it’s hard to tell where the documentary ends and where the fiction starts.” Paul Mount, Starbust Magazine

“There’s something slightly Blair Witch about The Paranormal Diaries: Clophill, but without the excessive snot and unfortunately the tension, acting skills or audience engagement. The film screams originality; however it is a real shame that it is executed in such a terrible way. We were expecting a lot more.” Faye Ducker, Bring the Noise

” … major credit should be given to the directors for taking a gamble on mixing fact with fiction. It could have backfired spectacularly, but it didn’t and because of that ambition we have an eerie, atmospheric movie that hopefully will be the first of many Paranormal Diaries.” Dave Wain, UK Horror Scene

“While PD:C may alienate a portion of the modern horror audience that has grown used to jump scares and gore the more discerning fan is likely to appreciate its attempts to do something different, shunning the predictability that this sort of film usually emits in great, stinking waves. One of the freshest and most enjoyable entries into the found footage genre we have seen in years, and one of the stand out horror films to come out of Britain in many years.” Ryan Tandy, Zombie Hamster

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