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Review: ‘Black Water: Abyss’ Flounders In The Dark

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There’s just something about predator animals and natural disasters that really strikes a nerve with the primal psyche. Asa species, we have advanced to the point where we don’t have to worry about something above us on the food chain taking a bite out of us. But yet, the fear remains. Which also explains why real life incidents of animal attacks are so newsworthy. Every time a bear or a shark attacks someone, that’s a headline. As was the case when in 2003 when a trio of young people went out into the Northern Australian wilderness and found themselves under siege by a voracious crocodile. This served as the basis for the 2007 movie, Black Water. Now, some 13 years later, a sequel arises from the outback with Black Water: Abyss.

 

Taking the setting back to Northern Australia, Jennifer (Jessica McNamee) spurred on by her daredevil boyfriend Eric (Luke Mitchell) and friends Yolanda, Viktor, and Cash (Amali Golden, Benjamin Hoetjes, Anthony J. Sharpe) decide to go spelunking in the wilderness. Descending into a newly formed and seemingly untouched cave system. As misfortune would have it, a storm hits, flooding the caves and sealing them in. And if that wasn’t bad enough, they have some very hungry reptile guests to deal with.

Image via IMDB

Director Andrew Traucki co-directed the original story of crocodile survival in Black Water and did work on the similar animal isolated danger of The Reef featuring swimmers vs sharks. Now, returning solo, he has gone back to his roots with this spiritual sequel. Unfortunately despite the potential of the setting and plot and the everlasting terror of crocodiles, the movie in’t that enthralling. In the wake of such movies as Crawl and 47 Meters Down that managed to up the stakes to as high of a level as they could go. So, while Black water: Abyss has an interesting premise that promises a lot of danger, the action and horror of the crocodile foes tends to slog on.

A major focus of the plot often falls to the characters many dysfunctions and in-fighting as they struggle to survive. Which is good to filling out their character’s depths more, but at the same time falls into soap opera like drama. Such as Viktor’s recovery from cancer and some rather overt twists and turns in the characters relationships and revelations. And let’s face facts, we’re here for the monsters, in this case, the crocs. With the way the movie is filmed we don’t get as much of them as we’d like and the scares aren’t wholly effective.

Some of my favorite scenes in the movie are actually at the beginning during the prologue of sorts. A couple of Japanese tourists (Louis Toshio Okada, Rumi Kikuchi) are bickering in the outback when they accidentally crash down into the croc cave systems below. It makes for a real burst of adrenaline despite being short. And the movie does make good use of the Jaws like credo of the less you see, the scarier it is. Some of the more tense moments are when characters have to wade through the occupied waters, unsure when one of those scaly beasts will attack.

It’s not really groundbreaking, but if you’re in the mood for a quick story of spelunkers vs crocodiles underground, this is for you.

Black Water: Abyss hits VOD on August 7th, 2020

Image via IMDB

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Watch ‘The Burning’ At The Location Where It Was Filmed

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Fangoria is reporting that fans of the 1981 slasher The Burning will be able to have a screening of the film at the location where it was filmed. The movie is set at Camp Blackfoot which is actually the Stonehaven Nature Preserve in Ransomville, New York.

This ticketed event will take place on August 3. Guests will be able to take a tour of the grounds as well as enjoy some campfire snacks along with the screening of The Burning.

The Burning

The film came out in the early ’80s when teen slashers were being churned out in magnum force. Thanks to Sean S. Cunningham’s Friday the 13th, filmmakers wanted to get in on the low-budget, high-profit movie market and a casket load of these types of films were produced, some better than others.

The Burning is one of the good ones, mostly because of the special effects from Tom Savini who had just come off of his groundbreaking work on Dawn of the Dead and Friday the 13th. He declined to do the sequel because of its illogical premise and instead signed on to do this movie. Also, a young Jason Alexander who would later go on to play George in Seinfeld is a featured player.

Because of its practical gore, The Burning had to be heavily edited before it received an R-rating. The MPAA was under the thumb of protest groups and political bigwigs to censor violent films at the time because slashers were just so graphic and detailed in their gore.

Tickets are $50, and if you want a special t-shirt, that will cost you another $25, You can get all the information by visiting the On Set Cinema webpage.

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‘Longlegs’ Creepy “Part 2” Teaser Appears on Instagram

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Longlegs

Neon Films released an Insta-teaser for their horror film Longlegs today. Titled Dirty: Part 2, the clip only furthers the mystery of what we are in for when this movie is finally released on July 12.

The official logline is: FBI Agent Lee Harker is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes unexpected turns, revealing evidence of the occult. Harker discovers a personal connection to the killer and must stop him before he strikes again.

Directed by former actor Oz Perkins who also gave us The Blackcoat’s Daughter and Gretel & Hansel, Longlegs is already creating buzz with its moody images and cryptic hints. The film is rated R for bloody violence, and disturbing images.

Longlegs stars Nicolas Cage, Maika Monroe, and Alicia Witt.

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Exclusive Sneak Peek: Eli Roth and Crypt TV’s VR Series ‘The Faceless Lady’ Episode Five

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Eli Roth (Cabin Fever) and Crypt TV are knocking it out of the park with their new VR show, The Faceless Lady. For those unaware, this is the first fully scripted VR horror show on the market.

Even for masters of horror like Eli Roth and Crypt TV, this is a monumental undertaking. However, if I trust anyone to change the way that we experience horror, it would be these two legends.

The Faceless Lady

Ripped from the pages of Irish folklore, The Faceless Lady tells the story of a tragic spirit cursed to wander the halls of her castle for all of eternity. However, when three young couples are invited to the castle for a series of games, their fates may soon change.

So far, the story has provided horror fans with a gripping game of life or death that doesn’t look as if it will slow down in episode five. Luckily, we have an exclusive clip that may be able to satiate your appetites until the new premiere.

Airing on 4/25 at 5pmPT/8pmET, episode five follows our final three contestants in this wicked game. As the stakes are raised ever higher, will Ella be able to fully awaken her connection with Lady Margaret?

The faceless lady

The newest episode can be found on Meta Quest TV. If you haven’t already, follow this link to subscribe to the series. Make sure to check out the new clip below.

Eli Roth Present’s THE FACELESS LADY S1E5 Clip: THE DUEL – YouTube

To view in the highest resolution, adjust the quality settings in the bottom right corner of the clip.

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