Sorry for not bringing you guy the usual Focus on the Frightful this week. Life just got in the way (as it’s wont to do, occasionally) but next week we will be back to the regularly scheduled programming. So, just for today, have a look at a random movie I picked from Prime. Enjoy!
Forces of Horror Anthology Series: Volume 1
A young girl goes to therapy to deal with nightmares she’s having. But sometimes nightmares aren’t just dreams.
Starring: Gracie Whitton, Stacey Lea, Joy Leigh
Release Date: 2017 | Runtime: 56min. | Rating: 3 out of 5 | Source: Watched through Amazon Prime
The Forces of Horror Review
I have to say that I wasn’t impressed with it at first. The opening credits looked like a very cheap tv show opening. I also wasn’t too impressed with the first ten minutes or so. It was a man and girl in a sparsely decorated room and the acting was a bit clunky. But I stuck with it and I’m glad I did. I can’t lie, the three stars is a bit generous but the movie overall was more enjoyable than I had expected it to be. The acting was a bit clunky throughout, the make-up effects were cheap and some of the effects were laughable (particularly the sped up footage). So why a 3 rating? It was interesting, dammit and oddly charming. The quality wasn’t top notch but you could tell they tried hard and some parts were genuinely funny.
Forces of Horror is an anthology split up into four different stories with a framing device of a little girl telling a therapist her nightmares. The framing device was an interesting idea and you could tell the little girl was giving the acting her all. The segments are unnamed, which is unusual, so I’ll name them myself.
Reaper: The first is Reaper, a story about an adoption and the family the little girl belongs to. This was an interesting start and it had a twist at the end that I thought they cheated with a little bit. It was decent, though.
The Zombie Next Door: This was by far the most entertaining segment of them all. The effects were a bit ‘eh’ but the story was pretty damn funny.
Monsters in the Closet: This was probably the weakest segment. It was a little on the dull side and the effects weren’t the greatest.
Killers: This segment was decent enough. The effects and the acting were a bit better (except for the ‘fast motion’, it looked ridiculous) and it was entertaining.
There are some unanswered questions at the end. I don’t know if they just forgot or what but
I honestly am having a hard time telling you why I liked it when Terror Tales didn’t click with me. Terror Tales looked like it had a bit of a bigger budget and the acting was slightly better. And, like I said, I am being very generous with the rating. The worst issue, and it’s a big one, was the sound quality. It was absolutely terrible. It would be loud, then quiet and in one of the therapist scenes there was a weird buzzing sound.
So, all in all, if you have a free hour (it’s pretty short) it’s worth a watch, just for the zombie segment alone.
GracieKat was the first co-host of Sci-Fi & Scary, Lilyn’s partner-in-crime, and sub-head of the Kali Krew. She reviews horror books, movies, and games for the site. She also does a weekly Focus on the Frightful feature, and is the site list-maker. She is also in control of the Sci-Fi & Scary podcast which will relaunch soon.
