FURY OF THE DEMON (2016) / ANTRUM (2018) Movie Review

Fury of the Demon (2016) d. Fabien Dulage (France) (60 min)

Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made (2018) d. David Amito / Michael Laicini (Canada) (95 min)

The concept of a “movie that kills” has been explored before, most notably in Ringu (1999) and its remakes/sequels, and also on the small screen with John Carpenter’s 2005 Masters of Horror episode, “Cigarette Burns.” Now, fans can enjoy a diabolical double dip of creepy cursed celluloid from both sides of the Atlantic, and while neither are perfect in execution, both offer enthusiastically macabre mythos designed to arouse imaginations and inspire conversations beyond the closing credits.

SILENT HILL (2006) Blu-ray Review

Silent Hill (2006) d. Christophe Gans (France/Canada/Japan/USA) (125 min)

Rose (Radha Mitchell), desperate to cure her adopted daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) of her nightmares and sleepwalking, takes her to the town of Silent Hill, WV, much to the dismay of her husband Christopher (Sean Bean). Following a violent car crash, Sharon disappears and Rose finds herself in the custody of motorcycle cop Cybil Bennett (Laurie Holden) amidst an ash-covered landscape. Together, the pair descends into the center of the twisted reality of the abandoned burg’s terrible secret in search of the lost child. Pursued by grotesquely deformed creatures and townspeople stuck in permanent purgatory, Rose and Cybil begins to uncover the truth behind the apocalyptic blaze that destroyed the town 30 years earlier.

BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF (2001) movie review

Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) d. Gans, Christophe (France) (3rd viewing) 152 min

Being that I’m currently performing in a stage production (The Man-Beast at First Folio) that addresses the same story, it was a no-brainer that I should revisit this unbelievably stylish, superbly produced period epic thriller. Springboarding from co-writer Stephane Cabel’s original scenario, Gans (who would go on to helm the big screen adaptation of Silent Hill five years later) serves up an incredible visual feast depicting the real-life period in history during which the 18th-century French province of Gevaudan was being terrorized by an enormous, bloodthirsty beast.