Search - After Dark Horrorfest 8 Films to Die For (Borderland / Unearthed / Tooth and Nail / Crazy Eights / Nightmare Man / The Deaths of Ian Stone / Lake Dead / Mulberry St.) on DVD

K. K. (GAMER)
Reviewed on 7/29/2020...

The Deaths of Ian Stone - A horror flick with the feel of Butterfly effect and a sci-fi twist.

Crazy Eights - This was loco with some crazy unexpected twists!

Here's To Next Year!

The Dude | Nowhere | 09/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I watched all of the first After Dark Horrorfest and some were good, some weren't that good. I haven't bought them all yet, but I'm working on it, but I was excited to see they had done another year. I started renting them, like I did with last year, and was impressed. These films surpassed the original 8, IMHO. I'll list them in order that I liked them in with a short review.

1) Borderland: This one received massive rave reviews and so I kept it for last. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed. Not a very familiar cast, but the story sounded good. Started off like torture-porn, but at the end, I was mortified. I think it helped that it's based on a true story. Shocking, gruesome, and downright scary. Sean Astin was phenomenal in his role. I recommend this one.

2) Frontier(s): While not being an official selection, I consider it part of the series. I hated Hostel. I'm not afraid to say it. This one was what Hostel should have been. In French, but very scary. Similar in style to Borderland, but stands on its own. The acting is well done and the effects are top notch. Superb ending.

3) Mulberry St.: This was the first that I saw, and I loved it. It started off slow, but the pacing really paid off in the end. Excellent acting and character development. Some shocks and jumps to be had. Very creative. The ending was the best of all of them. No real familiar faces in the main roles, which helps suck you in. You think of them as real instead of a face you see all the time.

4) Nightmare Man: This is a very cheap, poorly acted mess, but I really like it for some reason. Some scenes are genuinely creepy, and sometimes bends the rules of horror movies, but the ending was downright hilarious. Seems unfocused on where it wants to go, but it's not for everyone. The ending does seem to tread near the line.

5) The Deaths Of Ian Stone: This isn't so much a horror story as it is a sci-fi story as another reviewer said. Excellent concept and acting make it quite compelling. Slowly the story is unfolded, but the more that's revealed, the less I'm interested. The ending almost ruined a perfectly good story.

6) Lake Dead: The unfortunate titling of this one didn't make me all that interested, but I was quite surprised. It had some good effects and some pretty good acting, but the story seems kind of slow up until the end. Predictable and unexciting ending to a nice little slasher. Had real potential.

7) Tooth And Nail: This one was the one I wanted to see first, but held off. It had one of my favorite subjects of horror; cannibalism! I liked the look of the cast, as well, but Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones, and Robert Carradine are unfortunately cast. Had potential, but slow pacing and unexciting death scenes make it a bit of a snoozer. Ending, while good in parts, doesn't make up for the rest of the film.

8) Unearthed: An okay concept, poorly executed. The creature seems to have every skill short of magical powers. It seems very inconsistent with the creature. You don't get a very good view of it and the characters aren't very interesting. You don't seem to care for any of them and hope they die, but you barely get to see that. The ending slightly makes up for it.

9) Crazy Eights: Incredible cast! That's all it has going for it. I'm sure this will appeal to some, but seems too jumpy. There isn't much for scares or violence in this and the characters don't seem that interesting. The film is bizarre and afterwards, I still haven't figure out what I had just watched.

I recommend these films, and the original 8. I'm looking forward to the next batch. They can't seem to get here fast enough. These films seem better than most of the low-budget horror movies that I rent often. Take a chance, and let this annual event keep going."