July 1, 2008 - New horror on DVD today... attack of the puppets!

There's only 6 horror films coming out this week, but it's not about quantity. This week it's about quality... and by that, I mean quality puppets. Absolutely loving the whole "Puppet Master" series, "Child's Play" and even "Dollman", there's always been a soft spot in my heart for killer puppets. This week, there's two killer puppet films out... and that alone makes this a good week for horror.

From the genius mind behind the "Leprechaun" series, comes "Triloquist"... about a killer ventriliquist doll... I think, anyhow. The original poster is a big puppet holding a bloody knife, so they certainly insinuate that it's about a killer puppet. Regardless, the plot is about a down and out ventriloquist with a creepy looking dummy (see poster), who kills herself via drug overdose as her two young children watch. It was written and directed by Mark Jones, who wrote all the "Leprechaun" movies, as well as directed "Rumpelstiltskin". It's distributed through Dimension Extreme... and, although the plot description doesn't mention killer puppets, it must have killer puppets.

"Puppet Show"comes from Monsters of Extinction, which I think is a props, make up and special effects house. It's only 65 minutes long and I can't find out that much about it, but... it's got nudity, gore, creative kills and a live action puppet. So, I'm positive that there's a killer puppet in this one. Further, check out the plot: "Ringmaster Rick rose to success with his children s show, Circus Town, by making a deal with a demon to bring his marionette, Charlie Chowderhead, to life! As tends to happen when people make a deal with an evil specter, Rick mysteriously turns up dead. The doll gets passed down to his granddaughter, Casey, who has no idea the doll is alive, let alone a killer." Killer puppet! Sold!

I don't usually cover collections, as they're usually rereleases or just an attempt to clear out some old DVD's from the warehouse, but I'm going to mention "The Zombie Apocalypse Collection" because it features "Scream Farm", which comes from friend of Dead Harvey, Jim O'Rear. Here's a link to a post we did on "Scream Farm" a few months ago... the other films in the set are "In The Event of a Zombie Attack", "Ghouls Gone Wild", "White Zombie" and "Brains w/ The Living Dead Girlz". To be honest, I haven't heard of those other films, so they may be previously unreleased. Either way, with over 4hrs of the undead in this collection, you can't go wrong.

"Dead and Gone" comes from first time director Yossi Sasson and it was written by Harry Shannon, who's a first time writer. It comes from Lionsgate and it's got Kyle Gass from Tenacious D, Zack Ward from Titus (who seems to be popping up in a lot of low-budget horrors lately), Chris Bruno from Dead Zone and scream queen Felissa Rose in it. The plot summary is a little long winded, so I'll try to summarize it... Guy takes comatose wife to a cabin where a man murdered his whole family, the guy turns into a bit of a freak and he starts to imagine that his wife is up and moving around, as well as being rude and taunting him, so he decides to kill her... and then, she won't die.

"Summer of the Massacre" is a British film from first time director Bryn Hammond, who also produced and wrote the script. It looks as though it was based on a novel, even though it's supposedly based on true events. So...? Is it real or not? It's about four teenagers who take a shortcut across the countryside on their way home from college. They arrive in an obscure town named Blackwood where they are terrorized by notorious serial killer, Hammerhead, who hunts humans and devours flesh... his favored tool of death is, of course, a large hammer.

"Unborn Sins" comes from Grey Ghost Film and was previously released with the "Tomb of Terrors" 50-Pack of films. It was written, directed and produced by Elliott Eddie... and I have to say, the plot seems very "Basket Case"-esque, which is awesome, of course. It's about a soon-to-not-be-pregnant woman who becomes the target of an assassin more terrifying than she could ever imagine... the very child she aborts! A demonic spell gives flesh and blood to a twisted, murderous version on the child she once carried. Basket not included...