Monthly Archives: August 2018

Dead Shack – Horrific Comedy About Zombies

horror, , , ,

Directed by Peter Ricq, Dead Shack follows a family on a weekend trip that spins as a horror movie with some comic relief – the horror is deep and the laughter is based on your sense of humor. I didn’t laugh so much because the movie is pretty darn horrific.

Jason, played by Matthew Nelson-Mahood hooks up with best buddy Colin, played by Gabriel LaBelle, and he joins Colin and his family for a weekend trip to a cabin in the woods. They soon become aware of the fact that they are not the weirdest people in the rustic area.  The neighbors turn out to be zombie-like, and there is a dark mystery behind the missing townspeople. The adults hold a drunken party but it ends abruptly with a scene horror fans will go crazy over.

Colin’s older sister, Summer, played by Lizzy Boys, and their father, who is usually drunk, and step-mother, Roger and Lisa, work together as things quickly go wickeder when Jason, Colin, and Summer witness their seductive neighbor, played by Lauren Holly, feeding two locals to her undead husband and kids.  Realizing their own potential fate – ending up as a full course meal, the kids must work together to bash in several zombie skulls and save themselves from the neighbor’s morbid family. Jason, Colin, and his family prepare themselves for an attack and plan to get away from the area alive.

Dead Shack delivers what horror fans want – bloodthirsty eating zombies and more blood, and even more splashing blood.  Adding to the bloodbath are genuine performances from the cast. The comedy touch keeps the story moving. The story comes across well and Nelson-Mahood is excellent as Jason, a shy teenage boy. LaBelle is good at being Colin who is more outgoing than Jason.

The Blu-ray comes with Special Features that include Dead Shack Behind the Scenes and Dead Shack trailer.

The Last Warrior – Bloody and Epic

foreign films, history, , , ,

Directed by Rustom Mosafir and co-written with Vadim Golobanov, The Last Warrior is Mosafir’s second movie. The story delivers a brutal and unrelenting narrative filled with treachery and bloodshed against the framework of the turbulent 13th century Eurasia – joint continental landform of Europe and Asia.   

The movie imparts a new era beginning in Eastern Europe. Scythians, the proud warriors, nearly all gone and most of the few remaining descendants turned into ruthless mercenary assassins.  The story follows Lutobor who is a warrior and becomes involved in a conflict with two tribes. Lutobor sets off on a journey of peril with the intent of saving his family. His guide is a captive Scythian who is his enemy. They brave the treacherous wild steppes – a vast level area of treeless land in southern Europe. They journey toward the last haven of the Scythians. Their journey is fought with what might end up being their demise.

The movie is in Russian or English or in Russian with English subtitles. The cast includes Aleksey Faddeev, Aleksandr Kuznetsov, and Yuriy Tsurilo.

Very little information is available for me to share with you in regards to which actor plays which character and crew listing. The costumes and scenery are fantastical. Mosafir places the camera within the action and drama of the story. The imagery is gruesome and beautiful at times. Though, I don’t recommend the movie for those with faint hearts.

While watching the movie, I kept thinking what it must have been like living in Eurasia during the 13th century, lawless, full of superstitions, ignorance, and illiteracy.