HorrorFest

Decrepit Crypt of Nightmares 50 Movie Pack
$29.98
ONE OF THE FILMS ON THIS BOX SET CALLED SCARLET FRYS JUNKFOOD HORRORFEST, FEATURES CALICO COOPER (ALICE COOPERS DAUGHTER) IS WORTH THE PRICE ALONE, THESE INDIE FILMS HAVE HEART, PLENTY OF GORE AND LAUGHS WORTH CHECKING OUT.

Horrorfest: 8 Songs to Die For / 8 Themes to Die For [CD on Demand]
$12.99
This product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

The Gravedancers - After Dark Horrorfest
$14.98
The Gravedancers is an original and frequently scary horror tale about a group of friends set upon by three vengeful spirits awakened after the friends danced on their graves. Okay, after 'a night of drunken gravedancing', as the back of the DVD case puts it - sounds like it has potential but also sounds pretty campy, right? Well, it turns out there's a bit more to it than that.

The formerly close friends had drifted apart over the last few years, but were drawn back together for the funeral of another member of their old clique. Their reunion brings back all the old feelings - the torches still carried in some cases, and all the memories of their good times together, and all the questions of why they ever let each other drift apart. In the middle of the night, the trio makes its way to the grave of their recently deceased friend with a bottle of wine to toast their friend and the old times. As the night goes on, they reminisce and drink too much and end up wanting to celebrate life and their friend's memory, and that's why they end up dancing, even though they're aware it's a rather bizarre place for a celebration-of-life.

In the days following the midnight celebration, strange and terrible things begin happening, and when the group is desperate enough to seek the help of a team of paranormal investigators, the 'dance in the cemetary' thing comes up, and the researchers are immediately horrified, as this is said to have the potential to anger and awaken old spirits. It gets even worse, though. On a trip back to that graveyard, it's discovered that their friend was buried in a part of the cemetary close to an old, long unused portion of the graveyard that the trio wandered onto in their dances - a section from decades ago that had been reserved for the burial of the worst criminals and psychopaths in the community, ones that nobody wanted buried alongside their own loved ones. And it's these human monsters that have come back, and have to somehow be exorcised quickly, as the longer the full cycle of the moon goes on, the stronger the spirits become.

The movie plays itself seriously and successfully, and the occasional moments of humor work surprisingly well but don't detract from the overall dark tone. Fine acting job all around; the most well-known member of the cast is supermodel Josie Maran who turns out to have a lot of acting talent (it makes me wonder why she's had so few movie roles). Josie plays Kira, one of the three 'gravedancers', the other two are played by Dominic Purcell (Harris) and Marcus Thomas (Sid); Harris's wife Allison (Clare Kramer) also finds herself haunted by one of the specters. The ghosts are abominable, sadistic creatures, and the visual appearance of one in particular are utterly ghastly. The special effects at the climax of the movie, with bigger, bolder supernatural happenings, aren't as strong, but that one ghost - hideously creepy and realistic.

Very intense and frightful, definately recommended for fellow horror fans.

After Dark Horrorfest Films to Die For (Unrest / Reincarnation / The Gravedancers / The Hamiltons / Wicked Little Things / Dark Ride / Penny Dreadful)
$104.86
I remember seeing previews for these movies when they were being shown at movie theaters and they looked pretty good. I know they wouldn't be the best quality films, but I had seen one on TV and it was decent, so I didn't expect a problem from buying these 7.

First of all, I was bummed that they didn't give you all 8. Why did you have to leave out that last movie? Was it really that much of a problem? That issue aside, these were mostly pretty lame movies. The story lines were interesting, but most of the actors ruined it. I can deal with cheesy low budget effects, but if you have that AND poor acting then there's no hope.

I didn't find a single one of these films "To Die For". Not even a single moment of any of them was scary. Maybe next time they'll have higher budgets.