Reviewing the experience by Robert Long II ©2022

Starring Felissa Rose, George Stover, Tuesday Knight, Chris O’Brocki, Beverly Randolph, Lyon Beckwith, Rick Jermain, Rebecca Rinehart, Alfred Guy, Frederick Cowie, Vanessa Rae Bent, Julio Bana Fernandez, Luba Hansen, Sasha Graham

Written by Brad Twigg, Chris O’Brocki, Todd Martin, Douglas Snauffer

Produced by Daniel Brooks, Kevin Kangas, Chris O’Brocki, Brad Twigg

Directed by Brad Twigg

On February 27, 2022 I attended the World Premiere of Brad Twigg’s SHRIEKSHOW. It was well attended considering COVID-19 conditions. I wasn’t happy to see so few people wearing masks, but was glad to see that Twigg – the man of the hour – was. Good for you, sir. Lead actor Chris O’Brocki hosted the festivities and the movie promptly started at 6PM. Most of the cast and crew were present at the small town theater in PA that it was held at.

This is a comedy/horror/anthology movie. The story goes that four young people head out to an abandoned circus sideshow tent on Halloween night. Ignoring obvious red flags (lights still work, the clown tunnel is spinning), the group encounter a flashy character who calls himself the Ringmaster (Chris O’Brocki). While waiting for others of his group to appear, he proceeds to tell them three tales of terror.

The first story is about a couple of FBI agents (Lyon Beckwith and Vanessa Rae Bent) that are sent out into the field to try to locate several missing people that have vanished near a small town. What they encounter is more than they bargained for.

Beckwith and Bent have great chemistry on screen and were the highlight of the performances in this section. There is also a lot of action, fights, and special effects worked into this piece. For this viewer, it also felt like the most complete story. I think I enjoyed the first half over the second half.

The second story deals with a group of gents (Including Alfred Guy and Frederick Cowie) going on a weekend fishing trip. A farmer (Rick Jermain) in town shows them a great spot – way out in the country. Things get kind of nuts from there on out.

Outside of some dodgy OTT acting in the opening scene, this one was a lot of fun to watch. It has a funny cameo from Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp) and it was packed with nudity, blood and guts. I wish certain aspects of the story had been fleshed out better, but overall it was a lot of fun.

Bear in mind the wraparound story with the Ringmaster and the group of young people is happening between stories. More on that later.

The last story has more of a serious tone to it. With wonderful cameos from Tuesday Knight (Nightmare on Elm St 4) and the legendary George Stover (countless genre movies), this one deals with a young man (Julio Bana Fernandez) haunted by the nightmares of a killer clown that’s stalked him since his fated birthday party as a child.

This has a great feel and look to it, and the acting is quite good. Brad Twigg and his production crew have really stepped up to the plate on this movie, and it has a superb polish and sheen to it. My only complaint would be that the clown’s backstory needed to be filled in some.

We end up at the finale with the wraparound story. No spoilers other that it involves a gaggle of grisly clowns and some excellent drone camera work. Because the driver of the car had to be the one that carried the idiot ball in the story, he’s gotten himself and the other young adults in a heap of trouble.

If you’ve ever watched Twigg’s first movie “MILFs VS Zombies,” you should know that this current movie is as different as night and day from that one. Twigg has grown much as a filmmaker, and Shriekshow boasts good lighting, cinematography, editing, pacing, and some excellent locations and production values. Aside from a couple of bad performances, the acting is rock solid.

As of this writing, the movie has just premiered. I believe the plans are for it to hit streaming services, as well as blu-ray and DVD in the near future. Let’s hope the hardcopies come loaded with extras. At the end of the day I really enjoyed the movie, and was happy to see everyone involved climbing up the skill ladder and improving themselves.

6.5/10 stars. Catch it when it comes out.

What’s going to happen in HALLOWEEN KILLS? Spoiler Alert. These are educated guesses by me based on the trailers. If you don’t want anything spoiled for you – DON’T READ THIS. 

Moving on…

• At Strode’s house, Myers escapes the burning building and decimates the Haddenfield fire department. He then takes an emergency vehicle and overhears on the dispatch that Laurie was taken to HMH.

• Laura’s getting patched up. The family find out Myers escaped and killed the firemen. Laurie rallies family and friends and towns-people to go out and kill Myers because “Evil Dies tonight!”

• Except a pissed off Myers has arrived at the hospital and starts killing babies in the nursery. Laurie lures Michael away using herself as bait.

• Laurie Strode dies for her trouble by Myers dropping her from the roof or pushing her out a window during their battle.

• The town rallies in the HMH parking lot to avenge the fallen. Among the growing crowd is Loomis’ nurse that hooks up in a car with a doctor and his wife.

• Lindsey Wallace finds kids in the park that are playing hide and seek with the shape. They haul ass as Lyndsey is attacked by Myers. She tries to take his mask off. 

• Loomis’ nurse and the doctor and wife get attacked in their vehicle by Myers very much like in the first Halloween. Myers kills them, puts halloween masks on the bodies and drags them to the park playground. Discovered later by Tommy Doyle.

• Lonny, son, and Tommy figure out Myers is heading towards Myer’s old homestead. This is also where the cemetery caretaker now resides. She dies.

• Epic battle takes place at the Myer’s homestead.

• Myers doesn’t die as there is a third film.

By Robert Long II copyright 2021

The CRAWLER DVD has been out for a couple of months at the time of this writing. I have only had a chance to get a couple of copies out for review. One to Joe Bob Briggs, and the other to Horror DNA. Today Zigzag of Horror DNA posted his review of the movie. It can be read HERE.

The review is very… middling. The movie comes out to be very average in the eyes of the reviewer. I happen to know Zigzag; I sent him the copy. I would expect him to be nothing but honest, and showing us no favoritism. True to his word, he gave an honest account of his viewing experience. After 15 years of work, it’s tough to hear that what was produced was… mediocre.

He brings up that Don (Dohler) had gone back to the well once again – for the fifth time – with the “alien lands in rural America and runs amuck.” If I am to be honest, I don’t know why Don kept going back to that same story, and just trying to vary it a little. It doesn’t show a lot of growth or range. Sometimes you have to get out of the backyard.

ZigZag also brought up that audiences shouldn’t expect an Oscar-worthy Hollywood effects team to have made the CGI creature with top of the line software. It was just a couple of guys using Photoshop, Blender, and Adobe After Effects to the best of their ability. Now, I’m very proud with how the creature turned out, but the fact that in the review – there is not ONE screen grab of the monster – is very telling. He goes on to state that the crew took there sweet time getting the effects done – due to real life getting in the way. Believe me, I WISH we had gotten it done a lot sooner.

Zigzag goes on to remark that there are still two Timewarp Films to be released. To be honest – between you and me? I don’t think that’s going to happen.

I have a couple more copies of the movie that I’m sending out for review. In the end, we got Don Dohler’s last movie finished and out for distribution. We did what we set out to do. Will there be a premiere? I doubt it. The Don Dohler fans seem to enjoy it, but then the Dohler fans are going to be biased to enjoying and approving it.

Bottom line is that I guess I’ll have to wait for more reviews to come in before I can take a real reading on the movie. We tried to honor a friend’s memory. Maybe the last 15 years have been a waste of energy. Time will tell.

Filmmaker Erik Kristopher Myers died this past September 12th, 2021. His body was discovered September 16th, 2021. He was 45. There is some speculation that he took his own life. 

Born in Hagerstown, MD on March 19th, 1976 Myers had held a variety of positions in the entertainment industry. He had done everything from editing to acting, directing to producing, writing to voice over work. He was well known for his drive and determination on the productions he helmed.

An extremely talented auteur, Myers was known for ROULETTE (2012), A SPLIT PERSONALITY (2013), and BUTTERFLY KISSES (2018). He was announced to start editing his horror comedy THE DEVIL’S PLAYTHINGS at the time of his death. 

Facebook posts in 2021 found Myers suffering what is perceived to be depression due to personal matters. He is survived by his son and his ex-wife. We here at Smash or Trash Independent Filmmaking offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends.  

CRUNCH! There’s something out in the woods hunting human prey. It’s intelligent, evil, and very hungry. CRAWLER has fallen from the stars, and brings a path of destruction with him. 

Crawler is a science fiction/horror movie that was finally completed. This is the final collaboration between Timewarp Films Producer Don Dohler and Director Joe Ripple. Main production shooting finished in 2003, but the special visual effects were completed in late 2019. It is now distributed on DVD through Alpha Video.

Anyone familiar with Don Dohler’s body of work will find CRAWLER fits right into it. A meteor crash lands in the suburbs of Baltimore. An intelligent creature emerges from the meteorite and begins to eat its way through the local population. Three U.F.O. fanatics clash with the military that have been sent to capture the creature before the mass populace gets wise. What follows is a blood bath. 

This motion picture stars Justin Timpane (Ninjas vs Zombies), Darla Albornoz (Vampire Sisters), Daniel Ross (The Disney Channel) with cameo appearances from Dohler mainstays George Stover (Desperate Living), Richard Dyszel (Nightbeast), and Don Leifert (Fiend).

Timewarp Films had finished and premiered DEAD HUNT in the Spring of 2006. Shortly afterwards, Don Dohler was diagnosed with two forms of cancer. Before his death in early December of that year, Dohler had discussed what needed to be done to finish CRAWLER, with visual effects artist Mitch Klein. 

Robert Long joined Mitch Klein in creating the visual effects to finish out the production. The reason it took over a decade to complete is that this is a low budget production and real life gets in the way. Family, jobs, personal emergencies, etc. get in the way. Plus the 3D software had to be updated after so many years… it got complicated. But at the end of it all, Mitch Klein and his visual effects team pulled through and completed the film in honor of Dohler’s memory. 

The CRAWLER team are looking forward to reviews from such movie reviewers as Joe Bob Briggs, HorrorDNA, and The After Movie Diner… among others. The DVD contains the feature presentation, the trailer, a making of documentary,  a Don Leifert tribute interview, and a couple of Easter eggs. It has monsters, boobs, gore, violence, and action! A must for any Don Dohler completist. Get it today!

I had the pleasure to e-chat with filmmaker Michael Leavy of Fuzz on the Lens Productions the other day. His company is producing a cool new horror movie, and wants all horror fans to be involved. The name of the project is STREAM.

With a stellar cast and crew (more on them later) the story is about a family that feels it may be drifting apart, decide to do some family bonding by recreating a vacation they had taken previously; they head to a quaint hotel. Unfortunately, at the same time four serial killers from the dark web are gearing up to play a game of “kill as many people that you can” at the same hotel. Makes me think the family might not have a good time…

STREAM boasts an INCREDIBLE cast including such horror luminaries:

• Danielle Harris (Halloween 4 and 5)

• Jeffrey Combs (Re-animator, The Frighteners)

• Dee Wallace (E.T., The Howling, Cujo)

• David Howard Thornton (Terrifier 1 and 2)

• Felissa Rose (Sleep Away Camp)

• Daniel Roebuck (The Fugitive, The Munsters)

• + a zillion more talented, familiar faces in horror!

The production is being done by Fuzz on the Lens Productions, in conjunction with other superb professionals in the biz – including Terrifier’s Damian Leone, George Steuber, and Phil Falcone. You know this is going to look DAMN GOOD.

STREAM is almost done. The majority of it was completed during the Covid lockdown. Safety was the primary concern for all involved, so there were scenes that couldn’t be filmed, and the Covid safety costs bit into the budget. The producers are gearing up to complete it now that things are safer, and want horror fans involved. So, an IndieGoGo campaign has been launched.

STREAM has set up a tier system of goals and perks to get completion funds. This will allow the team to hire the remaining talent, shoot the scenes that need to be done, and get into post production as soon as possible.  They’ve set up a great page to check out – INDIEGOGO – and a Facebook page as well. They got some damn cool perks!

So come on horror fans, “put some skin in the game.” Back STREAM.

Hello, hello, hello. So, I have been doing updates. WHAT??? Yes, I’ve been busy doing indie film stuff. I’m as shocked as you are. So CRAWLER… Crawler is coming – finally. The lockdown has been a pain in the ass and distribution has become even harder as many companies are working at half staff. So hopefully in a few months CRAWLER with be released on DVD. Not sure about streaming yet. More details as things get finalized, but the gears are finally in motion. After 18 years, Timewarp Films sci fi/horror movie will be available to the public. Stars Justin Timpane, Daniel Ross, and Darla Albornoz. While it won’t have a commentary track, we hope to have some fun extras on the disc. Joe Ripple and Don Dohler’s final team effort. Stay tuned.

I have tried to have a MUCH bigger footprint on Youtube, by doing segments for Smash or Trash Indie Filmmaking and Madhouse Manor. I’ve probably posted 20 new videos in the past year. Go check them out and like and subscribe, and ring the bell, and leave a comment. I’m trying to build my brand. Thanks in advance.

After 47 years, John Cosentino’s Star Trek fan film PARAGON’s PARAGON has been uploaded to Youtube. only 30 minutes of the 100 minute film, but it’s the most that has been seen of this production in decades. This film was featured heavily in Don Dohler’s Cinemagic Magazine, and is considered the holy grail of lost fan films. You can read about my restoration of the film HERE.

The last thing I’ll update on is that I’ve been doing some practical effects to help some friends finish their movie short MONSTER PLANET. Started in 1992, As the 30th anniversary of this is approaching, it’s time to get this sucker done! I plan to do a few videos on how I created the effects for this zero budget production in the future. The short stars Barry Murphy, Ann Frith, George Stover, Mitch Klein, Steve Rifkin and many, many others from the Baltimore area. – That’s all for now. Stay safe, and I hope to meet with some of you at some upcoming conventions. Take care.

It is with great sadness that I report the passing of Glenn Allen Barnes of Perry Hall, MD. He was 68. Glenn was known for a few things by independent film fans; he worked with his half-brother Don Dohler on the majority of Don’s films, and he played the title role in the movie GALAXY INVADER. A tribute page to Glenn with be posted to this site in the near future. If you knew Glenn, or were a fan of his work – feel free to give me stories (and/or pics) to post on the tribute page. my email is rembrandt36@earthlink.net. Rest in peace, Glenn. You are missed.

It’s with sincere regrets and sadness that I have to report that Burbank, CA Filmmaker Edward L. Plumb has passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 64. He is survived by his Sister Diane, his wife Carolyn and their daughters Elizabeth and Victoria. Edward was a motion picture and television producer with 65 credits to his name. He was also an incredibly genuine person, and a close friend; like an older brother. The friends he had in the industry goes into the 1,000s – he was that well loved and respected. A tribute page will be put up on this site to honor him. If you knew Edward, or were a fan of his work, feel free to email me a photo and a tribute to be included. My email is rembrandt36@earthlink.net. Rest in peace, brother. You are greatly missed.

In 2020 – since we were all inside – I got the chance to guest on Youtube video chats as well as some indie film podcasts. Here are some links to the shows I was on.

An indie actors/filmmaker’s podcast – basically covers all aspects of the entertainment industry – had me on to talk about my days of working in Hollywood. Michael R. Barton hosted the show and we had a great time talking shop. You can check it all out here at Fowl Player Radio.

Randall Patty is the host of the Youtube channel Shop31, which among other things covers horror movies. We had a great time talking about my role in the WNUF Halloween Special (on Shudder) and we talk about our favorite movie serial killer – Art the Clown of Terrifier. This was a Skype call and I look like I work behind the counter of an adult book store.

I appear on the 3rd episode of Live In The Hearse vidcast over on Youtube. Hosted by the delightful Kerri Jackson, we talk about all things under the sun, Madhouse Manor, and she gets me to do my bad Angus Scrimm/Tall Man impersonation! Ho ho!