Movie Review- Voice Of Shadows

Scatena & Rosner Films is proud to announce the North American release of the gothic horror thriller VOICE OF SHADOWS, the debut feature film from director Nicholas Bain. The film was acquired in a deal negotiated by Bain and Gato Scatena, Managing Director of Scatena & Rosner Films. Infused with nods to cinema classics The Exorcist, Paranormal Activity, and The House of Sand and Fog, the film stars Guillermo Blanco (The Queen of Flow) and Corrinne Mica (Always, Lola) as a couple caught in the clutches of a mysterious cult and a supernatural evil entity, and Bee Vang (Gran Torino) as a young priest trying to save them all before it's too late.

 VOICE OF SHADOWS will arrive September 17 on digital and streaming platforms, including iTunes/Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, Fandango at Home, Vimeo, and local cable & satellite providers. 

Voice of Shadows held its World Premiere at the Twin Cities Film Festival, and went on to hold a successful festival run winning multiple awards, including Best Feature Film at Romford Horror Festival, Latitude Film Awards, and Bestlov Festival. The film also won Best Visual Effects at Los Angeles Crime and Horror Festival, and had a successful screening at Lit Scares Festival.

 Starring Guillermo Blanco (The Queen of Flow), Corrinne Mica (Always, Lola) and Bee Vang (Gran Torino), VOICE OF SHADOWS follows Gabriel, a devout Catholic, who travels with his girlfriend Emma to the country where she stands to inherit a large estate. 

I was invited to watch an early screener of Voice Of Shadows.

The opening scene sets the tone for this gothic and haunting film. Gabriel, a young man who has come to the States from South America with his sister Celeste, confesses his traumatic past and the reason he has raised his sister on his own.

Later, Gabriel and his girlfriend Emma visit her aunt, a strange and obnoxious woman who treats Gabriel like a servant. I thought at first she was racist because of his nationality although she seemed to dote on his sister.

When Emma inherits her aunt's house there is a stipulation that Gabriel not be allowed to live in it. However, he and his sister both end up staying there, and creepy happenings ensue.

As a fan of religious horror, I enjoyed this movie. If there was anything I was not especially fond of, it was how very dark it was. I do not mean the tone or subject matter. I mean literally turn on a light sometimes! 

Even in bright daylight with sun streaming in the windows, light never seemed to reach the characters. Maybe that was done purposely, as some sort of symbolism but for me a few dark scenes go a long way.

Special effects were well done and the gradual build of tension as the house began to influence the occupants gave me the creeps!

I gave this film an 8 out of 10 on IMDB

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Midnight Mattress by Austin Mooney

 

A new employee works the overnight shift at a mattress store that sells beds full of monsters. A traveling student eats a fried tarantula only to find it bites back. A jogger is forced to use a kitchen knife and hammer to keep her neighbor’s skull and kneecap from fusing together. A young man running from his past gets wrapped up in a small fishing town’s bizarre ceremony for sacred beasts that lurk beneath the ocean’s surface.

In Austin Mooney’s debut short story collection, Midnight Mattress, horror and humor combine in 25 exciting tales that echo influences from Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, Junji Ito, H.P. Lovecraft, and 80s horror movies.

I have mixed feelings about this collection.

There are some excellent ideas. Minor editing could streamline several of these stories into 5 star reads. Unfortunately, many of them are weighed down by the excessive use of adverbs and adjectives. For example, I would rather read that an evil scream filled the room, instead of  "A blaring, sharp, agonizingly evil and terribly distressing expulsion of energy in the form of a scream filled the room."

Several stories held my attention, even if the writing style was not always to my liking. I will just briefly mention a few:

As children, we are warned against taking candy from strangers. It's a shame the women in Picnic have forgotten that lesson. They will regret accepting a sweet treat from the stranger who interrupts their fun.

Moss is another cautionary tale when it comes to accepting gifts from strangers. When a package is delivered with no return address, the recipient is at first intrigued but then horrified by the contents.

A strange malady is taking hold of anyone who hears about it in The Folding Man. When a woman tries to help her neighbor with his affliction she may be the next to suffer.

In the middle of a cold rainy night, 4 children in pajamas show up at a mountain inn begging for a room. The kindly owner provides shelter in One Night At Connor Inn.

Short stories are not easy to write. Every word needs to lead the reader through a concise beginning, middle, and end. The majority of these stories have a verbosity that distracted me from what would have been a good scare. If you can look past that you will see this is an author with an ability to come up with unique story lines. I hope he will continue to hone his craft because I see talent there.

My thanks to Austin Mooney.

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You Should Not Be by C.R. Langille

 Strange things happen between the stars and the deep timber. Things most folks don’t care to think about. Our grasp on reality is fragile at best. Sometimes only taking a knock at the door or a whisper on the wind to push us past the breaking point. Inside you’ll find 13 tales of terror spanning familiar places to locations best left unseen. Jump on in if you dare, but don’t listen to the dead, because they lie, and if you hear the woods creaking, it’s too late.

I love short horror stories, but as is sometimes the case, not all of these thirteen tales worked for me. I prefer definitive endings over vague, abrupt conclusions. Some readers enjoy filling in the gaps with their own imagination, so don't let me dissuade you.

A simple yet effective scare can be found in The Great Joining. A woman who is in the house alone is suddenly plagued by a banging on the door. Is it a stranger in need of help or something more sinister? I was completely creeped out! 

A student is bullied for being nonbinary until an unusual friend sticks up for them. Pun intended. You'll see why when you read about the old oak. I love stories where bullies get what they deserve so this was a hit with me.

Night of The Wormheads  is a story about a festival that is disrupted after a meteor falls to earth. This was just a lot of fun, and a little gross.

You Should Not Be, is a retelling of Oz from the perspective of the witch, after she has melted. 

These were my favorites, yours may differ.

My thanks to Timber Ghost Press.

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Dark Things Crawl Out by C. S. Magnuson

 

In silence she wakes. In silence she takes.

Four different men have been locked inside the new jail in the town of Tiefer Spalt, built from the limestone of the Hellion Ridge mines. But no one comes to check on them...No one comes to let them out.

And something strange waits in the snow outside, singing, inviting nightmares.

Four paths have met at the crossroads, and choices need to be made.

Their lives will never be the same.

One mountain. One chance. Will they be able to save themselves?

Something has awakened in the mining town of Tiefer Spalt. An ancient evil has been disturbed by the blasting and digging. 

An unusual number of snake bite deaths are occurring.

A rich man, a drunk, a moonshiner, and a serial killer have been left to starve and freeze in the jail. Nobody has come to check on them for days.

What do these events all have in common?  You'll have to read to find out.

Dark Things Crawl Out is a moderately paced folk horror told from multiple points of view including a depraved serial killer. I could not muster up much empathy for any of the characters other than the moonshiner, and I wish his wife had played a bigger role in the story because she was the most intriguing character of all. 

We learn through flashbacks how these prisoners landed in jail together, but it's not until much later that we find out the reason they have been abandoned there. I was getting antsy by then for the pace to pick up, but the ending made it worth the wait.

4 out of 5 stars

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My thanks to Horrorsmith Publishing.

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