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Writer's pictureJustin Whippo

The Monster Mash (2022)

Updated: Feb 24, 2023

My quick rating - 5,5/10. Looks like this one is going to be a b-budget anthology of sorts. Whispering Hollow Road is story number one and sees an older guy picking up a stranded girl story. We already see what it is he likes to film shortly before finding this new girl. Most of the time, they'll make it look like the car is moving with scenes out the window, maybe shaking the car. Not this movie. Just dead black and doesn't even bother trying to make it look like movement, just an occasional cut to a completely different scene from the driver's POV in dusk time which doesn't at all match the pitch black of the two and their one-sided conversation. Fill in the blanks on what happens after since I know you can. It doesn't surprise nor does it end up looking good effects-wise. Next up is The House. A young couple heads out of the city to check out a huge and secluded house for sale. This is a horror flick though so you can expect some sort of fright to be involved. I will say that the creative use of practical effects was pretty impressive for the budget until the final product of the transformation which is disappointing. But it is extremely mean-spirited in how it all plays out and had me pleasantly surprised they went as far as they did. And finally, Homebound Horror is billed as the feature presentation. Well, they are entirely off on the gun sounds. The story itself isn't too bad following a veteran finally back stateside that gets caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is animate about getting home. There are again some nice gore effects here that help to appease the fans. I would make it a toss-up between the second and third story for my favorite of the bunch while letting you know that none of them are great. The whole flick is hosted by an old-school announcer named Dr. Freudstein (Michael Gentile) who is adequate but never really caught my attention. His segments have nothing to do with the stories, just a Cryptkeeper like role. Overall, if you are impatient, fast forward the first story after you check out Justina Valentine and stick with the rest. It is a step up from what I was expecting. Sequel? I would be game since you can see some talent going on behind the camera

Aside from the obvious, I only get this "The Monster Mash is not available to stream with a subscription service." I also found an interview with writer/director Richard Terrasi and all he had to say as far as where to see it "The Monster Mash currently has official selections in a handful of film festivals around the world and hopefully will continue to gain more. But to answer your question, I'll keep my fingers crossed if it can get a good distribution deal where everyone all over the world can watch it and appreciate this love letter I created. For now only through film festivals."

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