Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made (2018)

One of the coolest things about Salem Horror Fest is the fact that this festival actually introduces you to some of the coolest content in the world. One of my biggest regrets about Salem Horror Fest 2019 is that I didn't get to see a film whose poster instantly caught my attention in Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made, but thanks to Amazon Prime I viewed the film for today. The film is considered to be cursed and that weird things have happened to those who have watched it from weird fires to unexplained deaths. For the first time, they found a copy and are showing it to those who dare. The film follows a young boy who just lost his dog and was told that he was not in heaven. So the boy and his sister go off to the woods to the spot where it was believed that they devil fell through on his way to hell (Antrum) to try and save the dogs soul before it's too late. The film stars Nicole Tompkins (American Horror Story) as Oralee, Rowan Smyth (NCIS: New Orleans) as Nathan, Dan Istrate (Dinner with the Alchemist) as Cassius, Circus-Szalewski (Bunker of Blood: Chapter 8: Butcher's Bake Off: Hell's Kitchen) as Hanzie, Shu Sakimoto (The Silk Road) as Haruki, Pierluca Arancio (The Imperialists Are Still Alive!) as Demon Amon, and the film was written and directed by David Amito (Beautiful World...) and Michael Laicini (Beware Pickpocket).

One thing is for sure and that is I love how far they went to make you believe that this was a real film and that there are consequences to watching the film. It reminds me of the days of the Cannibal films where people were questioning whether those were real films or not especially when they said it was documentary footage that was found. One thing I will say about the film is that it goes from being normal to weird and it just keeps getting a lot weirder as the film progresses to the point that some scenes are uncomfortable to watch like the scene where they stick a person inside the stomach of Baphomet while they heat it up. It's a lot like the ancient Greek torture device known as the Brazen Bull because when you scream inside of it, it sounds like the bull is making his sounds. Then there is just all the weird scenes that they throw in like the random shot of the demon who is just staring at you for what seems like an eternity or the fact that they made it look like it was shot on old 35 mm film which added to the film if you ask me. One thing I will say is that I saw the ending coming a mile away and while they don't show the result, you can assume that I was right all along. If you're a fan of horror then I think this is one film that you should check out because now it has me paranoid. With that being said, I am giving the film an A- for a final grade.

Mass Hysteria (2019)

Having grown up a resident of Massachusetts for so long, we sometimes take for granted all the rich history that we have in this area from Plymouth Rock, the Revolutionary War, and the Salem Witch Trials that took place in Salem, MA. I started going to Salem every year for the last five years and it's my home away from home so when I saw that Salem Horror Fest was premiering the film Mass Hysteria on Facebook Live, I had to jump on it. The film stars Geena Santiago (YouthMin) as Paige, a Salem Witch Trials reenactor who is about to take a job in New York City to finally live her dream out as an actress. All she has to do is perform one final show of Mass Hysteria on Halloween night in Salem which sounds easy enough until someone dies at the show and she is accused of being a witch. Now, Paige and the rest of the crew are on the run in this modern day witch hunt. The film also stars Jeff Ryan (The Way Way Back) as Turner, Scott Swayze (Headgum East) as Devin, Alexandra Dietrich (A Very Wompkee Christmas) as Margie, Luke Deardorff (YouthMin) as Charlie, Destry Allyn Spielberg (Rosie) as Triss, Robert D. Murphy (Brotherhood) as Officer Tom, Louis Cancelmi (21 Bridges) as Giles, Charlie Pollock (Elementary) as Chadwick, and the film was directed by Jeff Ryan and Arielle Cimino (YouthMin).

The first thing I want to do is thank the Salem Horror Fest and all of the presenters of the film for giving us the opportunity to view the film on Facebook Live. The film right from the very start was a ton of fun to watch and I had a great time laughing along with everyone else that was watching the film as well. When one is trying to develop a horror comedy, they need to look no further than this film because it embodied what a horror comedy is from providing the suspense when needed and also providing the laughs when appropriate. I feel as though we are living in a time when horror comedies are becoming more prevalent than ever before like last years Satanic Panic or the film Slice before that and you can also add Tragedy Girls to the list as well and what do they all have in common? They are all excellent films that did exactly what they set out to do and that was to  entertain so you can check that one off the checklist. One of my favorite things about the film was all the nods to various other films like the Mad Max: Fury Road scene or even the nod to The Toxic Avenger with the head crushing scene. There were so many amazing moments packed into this bite size film that I just want to watch it again and again. The acting was done very well especially from Chadwick who you should stick around to the closing credits for something special. The other selling point of the film is the amazing cinematography and the amazing shots of the City of Salem that are provided that you know exactly where they are in any given scene. If you've never been there and you are a horror fan then you need to go asap, but before you do that check out this film. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.