Dollar Bin Horror Spotlight - BOLEYN - Tudor Vampire by Cinearae S. (Book Review)

Tudor England. It is during the reign of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. As her time in power nears an end, Anne is greatly disheartened by the false accusations of adultery, high treason and incest she is arrested for, and the cold-heartedness of her father for his lack of defense in her honor. Upon her death, she vows revenge on those who have wronged her, and the simple change of her death sentence from beheading to hanging grants her the opportunity to execute her wish on those who betrayed her. Once Anne rises from the grave and executes her justice among those who have failed her, the last and final question will be whether Anne will finally have peace, or find comfort in haunting England forever.

This book takes an imaginative and sinister look at the true story of Queen Anne Boleyn of Enlgand. In real life, she was beheaded but venerated as a martyr and heroine of the English Reformation by her Daughter, Queen Elizabeth, after her beheading. In this novel however, she returns from the grave to get her long due revenge against those who wrongly accused her. I like the way the author doesn't omit facts and has obviously done her research; she made me want to do research on the real person just to compare. While parts of the book are very dark and disturbing, it also has some funny graveyard humor moments and is very hard to put down. Its well written and Cinearae S. shows her great ability to take an existing story, which I think would make a great medieval crime drama, and turn it into a story full of horror, blood, betrayal, and revenge. If you like vampire stories, this one is a bit unconventional in terms of her turning into a bat or stuff like that, but Anne is on bad ass woman scorned that you will fall in love and root for. I would recommend this book in a heartbeat, so go check it out HERE (don't believe me? You can download 2 chapters for FREE and check it out for yourself!!!)

Dollar Bin Horror Spotlight - Dead: The Ugly Beginning by TW Brown (Book Review)

The unthinkable has happened. The dead are walking! Humanity's fragile thread may be reaching its bitter end. Individuals and groups struggle to survive...some at any cost. Will there be anybody left? Or, is this just...The Ugly Beginning?

This indie zombie book is not for the squeamish. It is an action packed novel with a great story and a great connection to each of the characters be them large or small. Even if a character dies , great attention is paid to their story. The point of view changes a few times but the transitions are easy to understand and don't confuse the reader. There is definitely great attention paid to details in the book and some very graphic scenes of violence makes it a must for bookworm gore hounds, yet the story itself is a great zombie story that isn't too over the top. It's believable, and that's something that lacks in a lot of indie stories these days. I found myself very much involved in the story while reading (AKA yelling at the book when stupid people were stupid) and when a book makes you do that, you know it's a great book. It has a cliff hanger ending, but never fear, there will be more where this came from! So if your a zombie fan and/or a horror fan (or if you just like a great read) pick up your copy HERE!

A Sharkathon ode to the most epic battle ever....

....May I present to you ZOMBIE vs SHARK from Zombi 2 as my submission for the Radiation-Scarred Sharkathon!!!

Contest Winners!!!

And the Winners of some awesome autographed posters and/or scripts from Redmoon Features are...

1st place - Cal Miller
2nd place - Zombie Hayes
3rd place - Joe Monster

Congrats to all the winners! Check your emails for further instructions!!!

Five Dolla Holla - Return To Sleepaway Camp

By: Brandon Sites (http://www.bigdaddyhorrorreviews.com/2010/02/return-to-sleepaway-camp.html)

I know I might be in the minority here, but I totally dug this sequel to the original Sleepaway Camp. At another summer camp near the sight of the original a series of murders are taking place that are seemingly connected to those responsible for bullying a fat kid around. Has Angela returned to even the odds? Is there a copycat at work?

Fans waited years for this film as it spent years being delayed and special effects sequences were redone. Was it worth the wait? In a word- yes! Well at least for me. This is the perfect companion piece to the original film capturing the essence and tone of the first showing kids being mean to mean in their day to day activities or when put together in large groups taking advantage of the lesser members of society. Yet it isn't devoid of humor either. It features some downright gruesome murders and a twist finale just like the original. Elements I also found to be refreshing was the play on switching the sexes this time around and throwing in various elements of mystery into the film's proceedings. Plus, it was a real treat to see stars of the original film in this film.

The original film wasn't well recieved when it first came, but over the years it gained a cult following and genre fans embraced it singing it's praises. In my opinion, this film seems to be following the same path of the first film. Who isn't to say that history might repeat itself and this ends up with a loyal following just like the original? Only time will tell........

My Internet is back and DBH News!

My internet is back up and running! So All the reviews I owe people will be posted over the next few weekends and the winners of our latest contest will be announced on schedule tomorrow! If you haven't entered yet, click HERE to find out how!
Now on to the big news. If you don't know yet, I'll be starting nursing school soon so my time posting on DBH will be limited. Luckily, I have some amazing friends who have agreed to become official staff members!!! Over the last few days, they have began to post and I am so happy and honored to have them as a part of the Dollar Bin Horror team! Brandon Sites and Eric Polk are both talented writers and bloggers and you can learn more about them in the Staff page at the top of DBH! So please give them a warm welcome! Their may one or two other new staff members helping me keep the blog running while I focus on getting my degree, so look out for more announcements in the near future!
And one final thing, I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for sticking with me through all of this. To everyone who has been supportive and understanding, you have no idea how much it means to me. Words can't describe how thankful I am to each and everyone one of my readers, staff members, and supporters. Thank you!

If You Had One Horror Genre Related Wish, What Would It Be? Part 3

In a series of ongoing horror articles, Brandon Sites of www.bigdaddyhorrorreviews.com (Big Daddy Horror Reviews) posed this simple question. Here is my answer!

Through all the bad remakes, stolen ideas, and plots that have been done a million times, the one thing I wish for in horror is an original movie that is actually scary! Remember how The Exorcist gave us nightmares? Remember how terrifying Freddy was the first time we saw him? Remember the uneasy feeling you got hiking in the woods after seeing The Blair Witch? Where the hell is the fear anymore!?! The new horror films coming out today are either bad remakes, or boring originals. While many people liked The Human Centipede or Splice simply because they were original, are they really scary? No. The Human Centipede's main objective is the gross out while Splice's main point is to...well actually I have no idea what it was meant to do but one thing is for sure, neither one of them scared me. It's actually been so long since I have been terrified at a horror film, I'm wondering if film makers forgot how to scare the viewers! Hell, I'm so desperate for a scary horror film, I'll take a great remake as long as it gives me nightmares! So to make a long story short, the one thing I ask of the horror film genre is to scare me, like a horror movie is supposed to do!

Dollar Bin Film: He Knows You're Alone

Written by Eric Polk of http://anotherdescentinto.blogspot.com/

In Rhonny's tradition of movies on the cheap, I chose Netflix and their very cheap 8.99/month package. One movie at a time, no fuss, no muss. Through this magical portal, I can view the current or-my preference-the obscure in horror and with that I introduce a new segment on dbh entitled "It Came From Netflix".

First up is 1980's He Knows Your Alone...

Released during what I feel to be the second golden age of post-World War II horror, He Knows Your Alone came along in the wake of Halloween, Friday the 13th, and other cheaply made slasher films,putting teenaged butts in the buckets and giving ammo to parents and other concerned citizens.

The movie itself is fairly simple:a young bride is murdered by the man she rejected for her soon-to-be groom, a police detective(who somehow figures into the story later). Several years later, the killer returns, sending more brides-to-be the way of platform shoes and Tab cola(though the latter would return in the late-90's for some unknown reason).

Naturally, the detective believes the killer of his beloved is the perp and the hunt is on. As Sherlock goes on the prowl, the killer has his sights set on young Amy and her two bosom buddies. In the meantime, Amy's own ex-fiancee,Marvin,returns to win her back. Speaking of bosom buddies, this film marks the debut of one Tom Hanks in an all-too-brief role.

The problems are abundant in this film. The suspense is far from tension-filling, there is little blood, and most of the acting is below par at best. If you're going to make a bloodless horror film, you'd better crank up the psychological aspects of the killer, the protagonist, or both. Otherwise, you get films like this. I mean why did he chase Amy? It's never explained in the film. Tom Hanks does well with what has been given acting-wise, but other than him, it's wooden dialogue o'plenty.

Sadly, He Knows You're Alone tried cashing in on the early-80's horror craze and fails, not badly, but just enough to remain in obscurity. 5/10

Dollar Bin Film - Dance of the Damned

By: Brandon Sites of http://www.bigdaddyhorrorreviews.com/ (Big Daddy Horror Reviews)

Every once in a great while, a horror film comes along that offers something so unique, so different, so original that it really reconfirms why you fell in love with the genre to begin with. This film just happens to be one of those examples.

A vampire kidnaps a suicidal stripper informing her that she is going to be his next meal. However, before he does so, he wants a glimpse into her life, into what makes her tick. He also wants to find out what it is like to live during daytime hours.

How's that for a horror film premise? Two desperate characters trying to find something in one another, for the vampire a glimpse into life. For the stripper, a chance to just finally end all the pain. Their actions, what they do, how they interact with one another over the course of this one eventful night is what fuels the suspense of the film and gives it a spooky kind of quality. Director Katt Shea appropriately keeps things gritty throwing in smidgens of style here and there, helping to create a realistic atmosphere in which these characters live in. The dialogue that she has scripted is frank and it's insightful. Cyril O' Reilly as the vampire and Starr Andreeff as the stripper bring their characters to life and offer up honest performances. And to end it all, Shea offers up an ambiguous ending which could be debated over and over again as to what really went down. Aren't those the best kind though? They at least get you thinking and reexamining things over and over again. This little low budget film isn't afraid to take chances, it's daring, it has something to it.

Roger Corman was so impressed with the overall results, that he himself had it remade three years later as To Sleep With A Vampire. Let me tell you know, please stay away from that film. It is inferior in every way.

For the budget conscious consumer, the following film is available for FREE via youtube.com. I have enclosed part 1 of this film below. Enjoy!

On a personal note: While Rhonny's internet connection is down, I will be authoring some reviews in the meantime. For more info. about me visit the About Section of Dollar Bin Horror.

Greetings From The Dark Side of the Moon

Greetings DBH Fans,

My name is Eric Polk and I along with Brandon Sites of http://www.bigdaddyhorrorreviews.com/ have just been hired by The Queen of the Economically Feasible Horror Film herself, Ms.Rhonny Rheaper, to do guest reviews on this here fine website. I'm looking forward to working on this excellent blog and hopefully connect with other fans of the horror movie genre.

I promised Rhonny not to disgrace the good name she has established here at dollarbinhorror and I just hope I can keep my word.

So about myself, I am the creator of the blog http://anotherdescentinto.blogspot.com/, the author of the short stories "Rhapsody In Black" and "From A Serpent's Kiss...", and, in particular, a huge fan of the Italian horror film. Of course, I watch just about anything horror-related-even Showgirls-. Anyhoo, I can't wait to post my first review featuring the debut of Tom Hanks in 1980's He Knows You're Alone.

Shit has hit the fan for DBH

Hey everyone! Dollar Bin Horror is gonna be on a small hiatus for a few days to a week. Unfortunately, my home Internet and phone are not working and the phone company won't be able to check it out until Tuesday (I’m at the library right now and only have a limited time to post). Someone set an abondoned house on my street on fire and now ALL of our phones and internet services are out. Hopefully they can fix it and we'll be back on track. All reviews I owe people, I will post as soon as my Internet is fixed and I will announce the contest winners as soon as the Internet is fixed as well. I am soooo sorry for any inconvenience this may cause anyone but the situation is out of my control and I just ask that ya stay with me :) I'll be announcing some BIG news concerning DBH when I return so stay tuned and thank you for all your support!