SUSPIRIA

THE SETUP

This is a review for the 1977 Horror/Mystery film “Suspiria”. Directed by Italian born, Dario Argento starring Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Alida Valli and Joan Bennett. Suspiria follows the story of Suzy Bannion, a young American girl on a Ballet scholarship in Germany. Upon her arrival, she witnesses a girl in distress attempting to leave the academy. The next morning she’s informed by Madame Blanc (Bennett) the head of the academy, that the troubled student she’d seen the night before had been violently murdered and the police were now beginning an investigation. Suzy finds a way to settle into her routine and ends up befriending another girl named Sara (Casini). Together, they do some investigating of their own coming to the realization that the school may be a front for something supernatural and sinister. Argento made a name for himself in the 70’s and 80’s with his avant-garde style of film making, giving audiences something very different for the genre. I’ve only seen a couple of his films “Deep Red” and “Tenebre”, both of which I found very stylized but lacking substance. Suspiria has been hailed as one of the greatest Horror films of all time, let’s see if that’s true shall we.

THE GOOD

The two distinct things on show as Suspiria’s first act plays out are how crisply everything looks, and how brilliantly crafted the shots are. As well as the vibrant color palette on display that decorates and lights everything. The desired effect was to go cinematic, so there’s a lot of wide shots and gentle panning and it looks great. Whenever there’s a conversation taking place that might involve an important revelation, a gentle zoom is applied. The aerial shots are another interesting choice. There’s a voyeuristic and slightly surreal sequence where Suzy and Sara are swimming, and the camera focuses on the stillness of the water, it’s very effective. Argento’s screenplay is carefully structured and quite subtle. It relies on audiences using their imaginations to paint a picture, not giving you the typical on-screen shock value or telegraphed jump scares you may be used too. The opening few scenes help to set the tone perfectly. As Suzy arrives at the airport, you hear a nice light synth score that steadily builds as she heads out the door and jumps in a cab to make her way to the dance school. Accompanying that opening piece of music, is an extremely effective use of red. Red lights seeping through the windows into the terminal, as well as reflections, from what I guess are probably cars or traffic light beams. Suzy is denied access to the school initially because there’s no one around to verify who she is, so she gets back in the taxi and leaves. Following the scene, a score starts to build with a heavy focus on drum and bass, clearly designed to give you that unsettling feeling that you know something climactic is about to happen.

The set design and the look of the academy is very unusual and original, it definitely broke new ground for its time. The only other Director with such an innovative aesthetic approach around that time was Stanley Kubrick (A Clockwork Orange and Lolita). It’s clear established filmmakers like David Lynch, and more recently Nicolas Winding Refn (Only God Forgives), got their inspiration at least in part from Dario’s technique. The architecture here is old and the tone of Suspiria is an odd fusion, made up of equal parts mythology, fairy-tale and superstition. He makes the most of the one location majority of the film takes place in. As you enter the building there’s a large foyer, with a gradually winding staircase. At the top, there’s a corridor with dorm rooms leading off it where students of the academy stay. There are other areas that feature prominently, they include the change room and the main ballroom. Every one of them have their own unique style. Suzy spends a brief period bunking with Olga, another one of the young girls at the school. Her walls and floor are decorated almost entirely with black and white flower wallpaper (as can be seen above), reminding me of something out of a fairy tale. The rest of the building is heavily coated with red’s, pink’s and purples making it look rather tacky, but in certain light it can seem elegant.

Suspiria is measured in its storytelling and the narrative creeps to a culmination. With the exception of an intense opening, only snippets of action can be seen in the rest of the film. The special effects shown all seem to have been achieved practically, and given it was 1977 that’s pretty impressive in and of itself. The blood is fairly thick and the color is almost like a red children’s paint, but it works in the confines of the internal flair of the house. The last act of the film has some of the best visuals I’ve seen in any film in a long time. The distinctive changes in how each of the areas are lit, along with the colors that are used, make for a visual spectacle. As the film gradually becomes more intense so does the music and the rapid transformation of color. The wall  you see before the finale kicks in was truly something (those of you who’ve seen it know what I’m talking about).

THE BAD

In the early stages of the film I thought some of the editing was quite abrupt, which highlighted what I originally thought were continuity issues. During the infamous suicide scene, I noticed some of the transitioning between frames lost a primary reference point, therefore the spacial awareness to everything in the scene confused me. I’ve read that Argento purposely clipped specific scenes and lengthened others to try to rattle the viewer. The technique works well in the latter part of the film but early on it felt like a burden. I didn’t know a lot of details surrounding the plot of Suspiria, so bye the end I was a bit disappointed with the mystery part of the film. Early on I picked a couple of the characters that I thought might be involved in the questionable activity, and that foiled some of the impact when it came to the final revelations. The script definitely isn’t perfect, but I’m aware that some of my objections would probably be more relevant if this wasn’t almost 40 years old. Shortly after Suzy begins to suspect something untoward is going on, she begins to feel delirious and collapses during a lesson. It’s played pretty over dramatically and comes off looking quite silly, although I’m sure they didn’t think that at the time. Much to my surprise, everyone seems very relaxed given the coincidental and strange events that happen in the first half of the film. It’s only when further investigating is done that people wake up and smell the coffee (so to speak).

The set design, with the walls having a door drawn on and steps heading in different directions reminiscent of something like Alice In Wonderland or Snow White.

Suzy and Sara mention very early on they need to find out where the teachers and head of the academy go after lights out. All students are told the staff don’t reside in the boarding house section of the academy, yet Suzy notices a pattern in the footsteps that suggests otherwise. They talk about investigating but nothing more comes of it, at least for a while. It’s not until several other mysterious events occur that Suzy seeks help from a friend. Other than the police arriving the morning after the murder to ask some brief questions, no one does anymore official investigating. The detectives are written out of the story without warning. Now that’s not necessarily a problem because it can help to progress the story, and in this case it does but I hoped they would at least use them in mounting the body count. I would have thought some more investigating should have been done earlier to make it feel more realistic. The standard of acting isn’t bad taking into account the time period. However, several interactions between Suzy and the staff feel pretty casual but on the other hand her scenes with Sara feel too stiff. Harper’s concerned facial expressions  resemble those made on any soapie in years gone by and don’t help you engage.

Even though the score sounds wonderful, most of the time it’s exceptionally loud in the mix. On several occasions it begins to mount with severe bass and deep drum/percussive sounds which are unbearable for more than a few seconds. After doing some reading on the subject, I now understand Argento’s intentions with building the score in that manner. Unfortunately I had the surround sound on and nearly went deaf in the process of watching the film and that bothered me. It would have done wonders to the overall result if the music had been pulled back a notch. On another note (pardon the pun), the suspense ends up feeling telegraphed because anytime said music intensifies you know something is about to go down. It’s so loud that you feel like the characters in the film are supposed to be hearing it, which they’re not. Another interesting bit of information I found out afterwards was that Argento purposely played, obnoxiously loud music on the set to help the cast get into character. In my opinion the volume levels are the film’s biggest hindrance and hurt what would have otherwise been a terrifying film (I guess some still say it is).

I was pleasantly surprised by Suspiria. The key to this was I got the much-needed substance found lacking in a couple of Argento’s other films. Visually this has to be one of the best, if not the best Horror film ever made. The cinematography and shot choices are meticulously crafted, and not a single frame is wasted. The diverse lighting juxtapose with the frenzied soundtrack (from the experimental band “Goblin”), is what generates most of the tension. The brief moments of action and their practical effects are well executed. On top of that, the subtle nuances throughout the script and the last revelation help to finish the film off on the same high note it began with. A few technical issues needed to be tidied up in the editing room, namely those overbearing volume issues. The same can be said for the missed opportunities in the script, such as following up a deeper investigation into the murder, as well as carrying out some better looking choreography. Harper’s movements and facials aren’t perfect, but she’s still likable and most of the supporting cast are solid. Even with my reservations, I thoroughly enjoyed Suspiria and I would definitely recommend it to those who like the stylized films of Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch and David Cronenberg.

My rating for “Suspiria” is 7/10

THE BLACK TAPE

THE SETUP

Firstly, I ‘d just like to say thanks to Writer/Director Ramone Menon, for allowing me early access to his directorial debut “The Black Tape”, before its official release in October. It’s part Horror, part Crime/Mystery and was shot for an estimated $50,000. The Black Tape is about Alana and Robert Wilson (played by Elina Madison and Allen Marsh), along with their three children Stephanie, Paul and Mary (Melanie Thompson, Parker Coppins and Viktoria Paje). They live in a quite neighborhood in suburbia America, but their world is turned upside down when an intruder breaks in planning to document a home murder film. The film also stars Bryan Jackson and Cassi Ellis. I contacted Ramone after I saw a teaser trailer that looked quite different. I’m a big fan of the Home Invasion sub-genre and am always on the look out for something new and unique.

THE GOOD

Concept’s similar to The Black Tape have been covered before, but I liked that Ramone made you believe this could have been just a random tape that anyone could find. Not until the end does anyone’s name associated with the film actually pop up. As you can see on the above poster artwork, its been shot, cut, scored and sequenced by its fictitious maker and that’s an original marketing campaign so to speak. We are shown a disclaimer at the beginning telling us what we’re about to watch hasn’t been doctored in any way. From the outset I was impressed by the clarity in the dialogue. It’s made all the more impressive by the style in which the film is shot. The viewer spends most of the running time watching from the Intruders POV (point of view). They often have a camera with them while they are stalking the family, all of that footage was pretty well shot. At our core, we all have that voyeuristic nature in us. We want to know what’s behind the door or what people’s secrets are. Ramone takes that approach in The Black Tape and it offers up its fair share of eerieness and paranoia. My perception of the intent here, seemed to be to add some artistic flare to what might have otherwise been your typical home invasion caper. After seeing the film, I can’t help but think a more straight forward approach would have been the correct route.

The problem I found, were to many comparisons between this and a favorite film of mine titled “388 Arletta Avenue”. Stylistically they’ve traveled some of this ground already and even explored comparable themes in the aforementioned. This even paralleled the game of requests played in Bryan Bertino’s second-rate “Mockingbird” released late last year. The platform for the film is a decent one, but I was hoping it would go in another direction. The orchestral part of the score felt like a classic Horror film, and it heightened the level of insecurity you would have if put in a similar situation. The performances varied from tolerable to quite good. Elina Madison features quite heavily, especially in the second half of the film and she brings a certain amount of emotion to whats otherwise, a very one-dimensional character. Marsh is okay, he does enough with what’s on paper unfortunately Stephanie, the teenage daughter who just so happens to have the most interesting character arc, doesn’t get any real memorable screen time. I liked the inclusion of a faceless figure who appears to us on the tape, holding up signs revealing what the upcoming scenes may hold. If you get a bit confused with some of the plot details just wait, all will make sense come the end. The closing scenes were a nice touch but I won’t spoil what may, or may not be a twist.

THE BAD

Most of the technical things I didn’t agree with in the film were due to personal preference, it wasn’t anything Ramone did or didn’t do. For example, some of the score reminded me of Patrick Doyle’s music in “Sleuth”, which is one of my favorite films (the 2007 version). It sounded nice here but there’s no real cat and mouse game going on and it ends up feeling out-of-place. Same goes for the lighting. There’s an overuse of the blue and red palette that alter the tone, making this feel surreal when it’s not supposed to be. In any other themed film those sorts of layouts would highlight it. Some of the sound effects used during an attempted shock moment, were either implemented prematurely or you couldn’t see enough of what was happening to get the context. The mystery Intruder seemed far more sinister before they decided to start conversing with The Wilson’s. Once an agenda came to the surface albeit a fluff one, the raspy whispering from a feminine sounding voice on the end of the telephone telling the family what to do, had little to no sway in creating any sense of trepidation. As the situation between the mystery intruder and the family escalates, Robert, the man of the house contemplates not doing anything to potentially save a loved one. The viewer knows that’s never going to actually happen, and Why won’t it happen? Because it’s probably never happened before and wouldn’t be plausible if it did. Our loved ones are exactly that, and for a reason. That sequence of a supposed struggle could have been done away with completely because we knew the outcome.

The editing on the tape was sloppy, but for all intents and purposes I’m sure it was part of the fictional directors vision. However it still didn’t make for an easy watch, even less so when combined with high frequency grating sound effects. The Black Tape is more of a challenge to watch than it should be. Not for any obvious reason (at least to this viewer), it’s all revealed out of sequence, making some of the inner workings of the plot difficult to follow. Ramone could have incorporated a few scenes of the Intruder setting up some of their cameras and equipment. Yes that’s right, I forgot to mention that sections of the film play out on stationary cameras, like security would use. Initially I thought it was just a continuity issue and the intruder put the camera down, but it’s clear someone had to have placed all those cameras in the house when the family weren’t home. The identical plot point was used in “388 Arletta Avenue”. There were many scenes that had plenty of potential for suspense but never ended up reaching any great heights. Softening the blow somewhat, was the addition of some practical effects and an eventful finale. A motive out in the open for everyone to see isn’t always crucial to the success of these types of films. In many cases it depends on the level of character development, the amount of action or even who the film centers on. The Black Tape needed something more, there’s a missing piece of the puzzle here I just can’t put my finger on what it is.

Ramone couldn’t have known the expectations I had built up in my mind for The Black Tape. Even if he did I don’t think he could have ever fully met them, because I expect a fair bit (haha). It was difficult not to draw a lot of comparisons between this and the extremely underrated “388 Arletta Avenue”. Ramone’s film has a few distinctive differences in the way scenes transition and the overall presentation that are worth noting. The camera work and audio are both very well executed given this is his first time making a film. The actors/actresses were serviceable taking into account the limited details of their respective characters, and the finale helped finish things on a good note. Unfortunately, I don’t think a lot of the artistic choices they made fit the tone of a film like this. When coupled with some rapid editing, in a story told out of chronological order you can see how it’d be easy to lose your audience. There were some opportunities missed in relevance to the setup in act one, along with ideas that weren’t fully fleshed out later in the film. There’s some good building blocks here for future projects, so be sure to check this out when it’s released. Thanks again Ramone!

My rating for “The Black Tape” is 5/10

 SHIVERS DOWN YOUR SPINE

THE SETUP

Firstly, I’d just like to say thank you to Writer/Director Matthew Kister, for allowing me to view an online screener of his Horror Anthology film “Shivers Down Your Spine” prior to its official release. He’s been a lifelong fan of Horror and formed his own production company called Dead Lantern Pictures with a group of his friends. Shivers Down Your Spine is a ten part anthology, that explores a host of different sub-genres including Spirits, Serial Killers and Vampires. An estimated fifty actors/actresses from Nebraska worked on the film, which took over four years to make on a combined $750. This is pure do it yourself indie film making, that saw a collection of people come together and achieve a common goal. It’s difficult to properly critique a film made up of so many segments, so what I’ll do is give you a rundown of what each short entails followed by an overall rating for each, and then a complete total rating.

OUT OF THE LAMP

Out Of The Lamp is the wraparound segment in Shivers Down Your Spine. It cuts back and forth before and after every story, as well as being the opening and closing of the film. Jeff (played by Steve Eaton) is sitting at home getting ready to microwave some pizza, when he finds a gold teapot/gravy boat (I forget which haha). After a quick rub (no pun intended) it unleashes the sexy genie that is Sabihah (the lovely Megan Shepard). Jeff is granted the obligatory three wishes but unlike most people, doesn’t want for the typical possessions. Instead he asks Sabihah to tell him some of her best stories, stories that are what the audience ends up seeing. The genie/Bollywood style score that plays when Sabihah appears and then vanishes was cool. The audio was pretty clear and the camera work simple but smart. On one occasion, Jeff breaks the fourth wall to confirm what the audience already knows, but it was done so in a self-aware style, a device I don’t mind. On top of that the short use of visual effects is well executed. The only let down here was that although some of the dialogue was humorous, some of the language felt unnecessary. Eaton’s delivery was a little scripted for my liking, while on the other hand Megan projected plenty of personality (didn’t hurt that she got partially naked either, and then Jeff had to ruin it haha).

7/10

DEADBOLT

Deadbolt is an 8 minute short about a girl named Cora (Jenny Chambers), whose settling in for a night of watching movies on Halloween. She just broke up with her boyfriend and now someone keeps ringing her doorbell interrupting the movie. Could it be him messing with her? Or something different all together? Deadbolt used its bass orientated score to perfection, it was very neatly edited and well-lit too. The aspects I enjoyed most about it were Jenny’s consistent acting, and Matt’s seemingly intentional nods to Wes Craven’s “Scream”. The movie night, the phone call and of course the popcorn, it’s all there. However I still found the audio levels were inconsistent and I didn’t like the amount of dutch angles that were used (tilting camera side on). Cora’s fall towards the end wasn’t choreographed realistically enough, and the sudden change in tone seemed out-of-place. The visual effects weren’t quite of the same standard as “Out Of The Lamp” either.

5.5/10

BIRTHDAY DINNER

Birthday Dinner is a 7 minute short starring Eric Moyer and Michelle Schrage. A husband and wife are sitting down at their dinner table, enjoying a birthday barbecue. The Man has a discussion with his wife about why their daughter wasn’t allowed to attend her own birthday party. Birthday Dinner’s audio levels were better than the previous segment. The camera work was sharp and the transitioning between the two characters dialogue was seamless. It’s really well-edited and Moyer delivers his lines with passion, and in such a way that his true intent remains unclear until the closing stages. Saying that, if you’re like me and have seen similar concepts explored in other films, you’ll probably find this one a little predictable.

8.5/10

I DREAM OF DJINNI

I Dream Of Djinni is a 15 minute short film about Robert (Jesse Hapke), a guy living on a disability pension with nothing to show for himself. He receives a package from a delivery man (Kevin Casey), which turns out to be the same teapot Jeff found in the first segment. It releases Djinni (played by Megan Shepard again), and Robert gets his three wishes. He wishes for the ideal women that can fulfill all of his needs, but he gets a lot more than he bargained for with the “young girl” played by gorgeous Taylor Melone. This one managed a consist audio level and simple but effective camera work. I liked that you could see the DVDs in the lounge room of the house that this was filmed in, as well as the reference to the postal service being a “low-budget” company (showcasing this groups love of films). Djinni’s lines were a bit rough but Megan’s sense of humor shone through. There were some audio issues in between the editing where sound cut out all together. I couldn’t get on board with the Robert character and the end, although darkly comedic was a bit too weird for me.

5.5/10

A BAD HEART

A Bad Heart is a 15 minute short about Jane (played by Christina Olson), who was stabbed in the heart by her boyfriend Ray Foster, aka “The Cupid Killer” on valentine’s day (Mark Popejoy). It’s one year on and Jane decides it’s time to get back into the dating scene. She meets a young guy called Peter (Dailen Cowden). On the surface things seem normal, but suspicions arise that he may have a bad heart so to speak. Once again, it seems Matt managed to improve the consistency in the audio as the filming of this progressed. A Bad Heart had a unique and disturbing concept, and for me that was the best part about it. Unfortunately again there’s an overuse of dutch shots, most notably in the restaurant and I found it off-putting. Majority of the framing is too close as well. Cowden’s line delivery felt a bit stiff and the chemistry between him and Olson wavered at times. I didn’t understand why Ray didn’t just kill Jane. Including an extra scene explaining how she got away, or revealing why he didn’t kill her would have been good.

5/10

LAST BREATH

Last Breath is a 10 minute psychological short about Beth (played by my new crush, the stunning Jazmyne Van Houten), is sitting at home questioning her boyfriend Greg’s (Will Griffey) ability to be faithful. So much time to run through scenarios can’t possibly be good for your health, and for Beth’s it’s not. Aesthetically Last Breath is one of the best shorts of the bunch. The camera work is methodically executed, with a particular attention on panning. There’s many clever focus shots that keep with the story’s psychological analysis theme. I love the complementary piano ballad that’s playing, as well as the unprecedented twists that are revealed later. It’s really Jazmyne that kept me watching though. Not only is she naturally stunning, she puts on an honest and endearing front. Other than executing slightly more realistic choreography that could have involved some timely movements and more of a struggle, this one is great.

9/10

CONVENTION GIRL

Convention Girl is an 8 minute horror short about David (T.J Roe), whose life has just been thrown into turmoil after killing a prostitute (played by Ali Aguilar), in his hotel room after a horror convention, or has he? The film also stars Steve Eaton as David’s friend Justin. I thought the black and white, flashback sequence showing David’s first interaction with the prostitute was a nice touch. It was great to finally see a practical, latex prosthetic and some decent looking blood. It’s disappointing that once again the over the top language feels like a hindrance. Don’t get me wrong profanity itself doesn’t bother me, but it has to have context in the storytelling. Right off the bat, I couldn’t take Roe’s performance seriously. He played it sounding like Kip from “Napoleon Dynamite”, now I love Kip but not in this environment. I never felt like these guys were in the dire situation they’re supposed to be selling , consequently I found Convention Girl the weakest in the anthology.

4/10

WHISPERING BOARD

Whispering Board is an 11 minute short about three sorority sisters Bryce, Tiffany and Alexis (played by Chianna, Julia Farrell and Jazmyne Van Houten), who use a whispering board to try to contact a recently deceased boyfriend. In the search for answers, secrets come to the surface and threaten to destroy the trio’s friendship. Both the audio and camera work were great here. There’s a lot of gentle zooming, nice shot selection and reactive editing. This is a story in which mood lighting can, and does enhance the desired effect. All the girls are lovely and the dynamic of their friendships feel real. The acting is solid all around but it’s Chianna who hones her character the best, achieving multiple facial reactions that are fitting to her character of Bryce. The only thing I would have liked to see done differently, was some better on-screen impact hits during the action sequences. The aftermath looks nice but practical blood sprays would have been far more rewarding.

8/10

SHORTLY AFTER NIGHTFALL

Shortly After Nightfall is where this anthology takes a turn in veering away from the familiar, Horror sub-genres and into a crime short that lasts 12 minutes. Risk for reward sometimes works as is the case here. Josh (played by Justin Milani) is a private eye/hitman who while on a job, gets wrapped up in a mysterious murder investigation at a motel. It also stars Kevin Casey, Danielle Brookshire and Rose Johnson. I knew from the moment Shortly After Nightfall faded in I was going to dig it. With its exquisite black and white photography rain begins to pour, as our private eye drives down the road on-route to his next job. This noir short inspired by the style of “The Maltese Falcon”, looks and sounds amazing. Milani’s narration comes as second nature to him, and his character of Josh more than looks the part. The bass heavy score works like a treat and the screenplay has a hint of “Vacancy” about it. I enjoyed the eventual outcome and sudden turn in action. The climax appeared to have involved practical effects but I can’t be sure. If that was the case, I’m very impressed with that last sequence. The audio in a few places needed editing, mostly in transitioning between frames. Josh’s modern car was the only thing that took me out of what was otherwise a 1940’s, style film.

9/10

A CHRISTMAS HORROR STORY

A Christmas Horror Story is the last and longest segment of the anthology, running 15 minutes. It’s an 80’s inspired, slasher short about a group of stereotypical teenagers who are decorating a theater on Christmas Eve, while a crazed Santa is on the loose. Each of the actors here played their stereotypes perfectly, one of the most memorable being Steve (Dailen Cowden), the douche bag who fancies himself with the ladies. Cowden delivers his lines with great comedic timing and cheesy diction, overall a much improved effort on his work in “A Bad Heart”. Jazmyne Van Houten makes yet another appearance, and personally I thought this was her best. She’s got the 80’s, pop princess Cyndi Lauper look down. Looking sexy as hell, Sporting the tight, bright blue spandex shorts and pink headband. She plays Melissa, the popular girl who chews gum and likes to dance while walking around with her headphones on. A special mention of Ted Perez is in order. He plays Jerry, the boss of the theater and his one liners were pure gold, hilarious stuff.

The clothing and music are clearly representative of the 80’s and 90’s. I think it’s Billy? (Jim Brodhagen), that’s rocking the “Weekend At Bernies” meets Vanilla Ice look, and Lauren (Kerrie Smith) wears one of those holiday sweaters most notably worn by characters in “Home Alone”. The audio is nice and clear and the choice to shoot this in the style of a bad, shot on video film was clever. Not only does Brodhagen act, he also composed the fantastic synth music that can be heard throughout ACHS. Below is a link to the main theme be sure to check it out, it’s so gnarly 80’s!! My only criticism here was that the revelation of the “killer” didn’t have much impact, and I envisioned brutal kills and elaborate effects that I didn’t quite get. Still, on such a micro budget “A Christmas Horror Story” is truly impressive. The film also stars Cody McDowell and Dale Schumacher Jr.

9/10

There’s great fun to be had with “Shivers Down Your Spine” (pardon the pun) if you’re a fan of anthology flicks. For a total of less than $1,000, this is low-budget film making at it’s absolute finest. I thought at least six of these ten films ranged from very good to excellent, and we got diversity and experimentation. Even the three or four less memorable parts still have their place and don’t feel to far removed. Keep an open mind, others may enjoy them more than I did. Matthew Kister, his cast, and his crew have created a very even anthology and that’s difficult in of itself, made all the more impressive given the aforementioned budget. “Shortly After Nightfall”, “Last Breath” and “A Christmas Horror Story” take the cake for me hell, they probably take the whole damn bakery. I can’t wait to see Kister’s next film, a full length feature called “The Eyes Of Isabelle”. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy of Shivers Down Your Spine as soon as it becomes available, and check out the link to Jim’s music below the review.

My rating for “Shivers Down Your Spine” is 7/10