[Interview] Steve Kostanski on Frankie Freako and The Love for Makeup FX!

“As much as I wanted to have way more elaborate stuff in Frankie Freako, puppet wise, the bottom line is it needed to be janky…” said Steve Kostanski.

Steve Kostanski and Frankie
Frankie Freako is available to purchase on Amazon USA.

Steve Kostanski always loved the magic that film offered at an early age, and when he was creating stop motion films in the garage, little would he know it would lead to a career in the special effects industry. While some people think of him as part of the Astron-6 collective, where they create 80s-centric, no-budget, mixed-genre movies, they have done independent works too, like this filmmaker has with Freddie Freako, to realise they’re a tight group says it all. His name is also there in The Void and Manborg, where he has co-director credit.

His efforts are to be commended since he loves the medium; he watched shows like Mega Movie Magic (1997-2004) on Discovery Channel to learn how film effects were created back then. And on that fateful day where he and his buddies saw Army of Darkness, he knew what he would do for the rest of his life!

“That was when it really clicked,” said Kostanski, as I interviewed him via Zoom. “For me, it seemed like they were normal guys having fun goofing around; except somehow it became accessible. What they made stopped being this nebulous idea from Hollywood and that led to me to seriously want to make it in the film industry.

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No, Your Monster Can’t Be My Pet Monster… But Can He in this Romantic Horror Comedy?

Sometimes, all anyone wants to do is let all that frustration out, and Your Monster is a film that shows how to do it right!

Your Monster Movie PosterVertigo Films
Release Date(s):
Oct 25 (USA) and Nov 29 (UK)
TBA for Canada
Potential Spoiler Alert

The question of what Your Monster is supposed to represent depends on how audiences want to interpret this film. Here, Laura Franco (Melissa Barrera) wants to shine on New York’s biggest stage. However, her time on the stage will be limited. In what I’m reading suggests she has to learn how to face her insecurities. Or she can learn how to fend for herself. That’s because nobody was there for her when she got her diagnosis. This feeling of being alone sets the course of the film. And as for why Jacob (Edmund Donav), her boyfriend, wasn’t present, I kept tabs on the flashbacks to figure out why.

As for what her monsters hiding in the closet represent, that’s a question which isn’t easily answered until more backstory is revealed.

Continue reading “No, Your Monster Can’t Be My Pet Monster… But Can He in this Romantic Horror Comedy?”

The Bonds Found in the “Spirit in the Blood” Are Far Stronger Than One May Think 

When help is needed, perhaps it is best to turn to the Spirit in the Blood rather than relying on those “in the sky” for help.

Spirit in the Blood Movie PosterElevation Pictures
Coming to select theatres beginning Nov 1

Being a tween can be rough, and for Emerson (Summer H. Howell) to change schools, to go live in a rural community looks problematical if she’s not careful. When the movie is titled Spirit in the Blood and marketing suggests this film may be like Stephen King’s Carrie, I’m ready to see what can happen. That’s because the early moments of this film suggets she has precognitive abilities. As for whether than ca help save her, that’s a question I hope will get answered by the finale.

When not everyone in the small town of St. Belvedere do not take a liking to this new family moving in, I have to wonder what their problem is. Thankfully, attitudes change when the body of a lost child turns up, but is that enough? The idea developed and directed by Carly May Borgstrom suggests there’s a lot going on not only for this young girl, but also the family. However, when the mystery concerning why her parents want to relocate here isn’t fully answered, even I’m curious by the end of act one.

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When The Film Masters’ Creature with the Blue Hand and Web of the Spider has a Nosferatu Connection with Klaus Kinski….

It’s a dose of Halloween, 60s style! Are krimi films a precursor to the Slasher genre? The Film Masters latest release, Creature with the Blue Hand, offers an answer and gives fans a double dose of Klaus Kinski too!

Creature with the Blue Hand Blu-ray
Available to purchase on Amazon USA

The Film Masters know who to love and Creature With the Blue Hand offers fans of 60s cinema a double (or dare I say triple?) dose of Klaus Kinski. His fame peaked in the 60s because of his work in five of Werner Herzog’s most celebrated films. But in recognition of tomorrow, All Hallow’s Eve, hd did wonders in Nosferatu, the Vampire (Amazon purchase link). He played the seminal count in this update, and made this villain all the more terrifying.

In Creature with The Blue Hand, Dave Emerson (Kinski), a suitably deranged murderer, escapes from the asylum and decides that hiding out at his family estate is the best course of action. When his twin, Richard (also Kinski), arrives, there’s a chance to turn his life around. However, he’ll have to dispense with his brother! In this crime drama, the sequence of events that unfolds concerns catching the killer in the act, and that isn’t easy! What I’m seeing is a very dangerous cat-and-mouse game!

Continue reading “When The Film Masters’ Creature with the Blue Hand and Web of the Spider has a Nosferatu Connection with Klaus Kinski….”

When Pranking is a Ghost Game, How is That Fair to the Victims?

Ghost Game (2024) Movie PosterNow available to stream/rent on VOD

The ominous tone that exists in the movie Ghost Game is enough to make me think twice about squatting in a haunted house! That’s never good; and in a film directed by Jill Gevargizian and written by Adam Cesare, perhaps it’s best to hope content creators Laura (Kia Dorsey) and Adrian (Sam Lukowski) get their just deserts! They believe spooking new homeowners is funny, and when their boss, Mr. Wattley (Aidan Hughes) likes the idea to include demonic possession (it’s a ratings winner), that’s a sign for disaster.

The reason is that these podcasters don’t realise the history of the house they’re “infesting” will endanger everyone, themselves included. To pile their shenanigans on top is guaranteed to cause things to go south fast, and when they don’t care about the lives they’re affecting, that’s disheartening. Although the story really pulled me into the drama, this film is one of those rare instances where you’ll either like these protagonists or hate them.

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Will The Real “Lore” Standup? The Struggle When The Title Is No Different Than Other Works.

Not every tale featured in Lore is from some British folk past. Had it been, there’d be more to appreciate from it.

Lore 2023 Movie PosterSpoiler Alert

Not to be confused with other similarly titled films, television series or graphic novels, the latest Lore offers four tales that tell a story over a campfire. Perhaps, if the film had come out in spring-time when the camping season was in full swing, it would have delivered a more chilling message than in October, when people were huddling by the fireplace for warmth.

That’s just my preference. While either season will do for this collection of shorts where four friends meet up with a creepy dude (Richard Brake) to huddle by a fire, I had high expectations. They are on an off-season hike to meet this individual, and pretty soon, he’s setting the mood for the remainder of this film.

Out of the four tales offered, only three of them really hit the mark in defining what British horror is like. One concerns a mysterious demon type thing haunting a building (tentatively titled “Shadows,”) the other is your classical ghost (“The Hidden Woman,”) and the third (“Cross Your Heart”) is with cults. It’s best not to give away all the details, since the last one (“The Keychain Man”) felt like let’s make a slasher film in a movie theatre. I’m not one who enjoys the slasher genre. Continue reading “Will The Real “Lore” Standup? The Struggle When The Title Is No Different Than Other Works.”