Lost Signal (2007)

a.k.a. Dead of Winter
"If you would like to make a call. Please hang up ...and die again."

Synopsis: Kevin Healy (Al Santos, "Jeepers Creepers 2", "Killer Movie") and Tiffany Matthews (Sandra McCoy, "Cry Wolf", "House of Fears") head out to celebrate the New Year and a new beginning in their 7-year relationship. In the midst of the celebration the young couple decide to mark the occasion by experimenting with Crystal Meth. Unbeknown to them, town bad boy Randy Martin (Alex Boyd, "Karla") slips LSD in their drinks, setting into motion a night of life altering events which will leave one dead and the other forever scarred. The young couple leave the party and quickly begin to realize that they are not alone, or so they think. After a car accident the two run into the woods to escape their stalker, with no protection from the elements. Attempts to call for help are futile when they realize that their cell phone signal is lost. Alone in the woods with the delusions of being chased the couple slowly begin to turn on each other. On the verge of being rescued everything falls apart in this fast paced, psychological thriller, leaving the audience on the edge of their seats.

My Thoughts: This film's kind of a mixed bag. I liked the premise, although the execution was so-so. The acting wasn't bad for a lower budget feature. The two leads were pretty believable and actor/turned first time director Brian McNamara did a decent job creating a creepy mood when the couple was lost in the desolate forest. I know it's already been done to death, but I'm still a fan of horror flicks in the woods.

McNamara probably could have tightened it up a bit with some editing. The movie did seem to lag at times, enough to where I found myself dozing off in the middle. It did finish strong with some nice kills and a pretty dark twist ending.

I've read a few reviews that compare this to "The Shining", one even calling it a complete rip-off. I'd like somebody to please explain this to me because the movie I just watched wasn't even close.

My Rating: 5.5 / 10








Overall, it's a movie with a message that unfortunately drags a bit in the middle, but still not a bad rental. Oh, the message ...don't do drugs!

"click here to see the trailer"

Manje (2007)

"Flesh is his feast and it's time to eat"

Synopsis: Nine friends decide to vacation in one of the most rural locations in the country in an attempt to end the mourning period of one of their beloved. Krista (Erica Franco) is dealing with the recent death of her father and relies on Marc (Chris Morgan, The Slaughterhouse Massacre) for comfort and protection. Unbeknownst to them a tenth member has joined the festivities, but with less joyous ideas in mind. When their friends start dying, Marc and Krista must unravel an old mystery to avoid becoming victims themselves.

My Thoughts: I picked this dvd up at one of the Hollywood Video going-out-of-business sales last summer for a quarter, so it would be almost impossible to feel cheated. Was it good? No, not really. It had it's moments though and never got too boring (which seems to plague a lot of these low budget horror movies).

The cover art completely misleads you into thinking that this is a zombie flick, even though it's really a slasher. The acting was hit and miss, the gore was totally cheesy and the killer well... his make-up was so fuckin' cheap that it looked like they used the stuff you would pick up at Wal-Mart for an 8 year old trick or treater.

The good points you ask, it had a couple. First of all, the story was actually pretty decent. It had a cool twist at the end. The guy that saved this movie from being a total disaster was Ray (David Moretti, Murder Dot Com) who plays a complete dick and had me rollin' throughout the movie. There would be no reason for these people to ever hang out with this piece of shit. His finest moment is when he has this chick (with one of the biggest racks ever in a horror flick) in bed with him and stops to try to sneak in a threesome. You gotta respect the guy for tryin'.

My Rating: 3.5 / 10








It's worth the 25 cents I paid for it. For a b-horror movie you could definitely do worse, but I probably wouldn't waste my time trying to find it.

"click here to see the trailer"