PopHorror Let's Get Scared
It’s been a very long and tiring week, but one thing I was looking forward to was watching the new horror-comedy collection, Hellarious. This type of horror is usually the perfect remedy to a shitty week. I didn’t even have to question if it was going to be good. I was already familiar with some of the shorts, plus the man behind this creation, Jason Tostevin, is brilliant.
The seven shorts that consist of Hellarious are as follows: Lunch Ladies by Clarissa Jacobson and J.M. Logan, Horrific by Robert Boocheck (ABCs of Death 2), Death Metal by Chris McInroy, Born Again and ‘Til Death by Tostevin and Randall Greenland, Killer Kart by James Feeney, and Bitten by Sarah K. Reimers.
As expected, I wasn’t disappointed and Hellarious made me smile and cringe simultaneously numerous times throughout its runtime. Each short brings something fun, unique, and different to the mix, so there’s something for everyone. All of the performances are of the highest quality with great actors in each story proving that indie horror is where the magic happens. The soundtracks are awesome and some of the shorts included have the best special effects, makeup, and gore I’ve seen in a long time.
Out of the seven shorts, three were already familiar to me: Lunch Ladies, Bitten, and Born Again. I’ve always been a huge cheerleader for Lunch Ladies as it is hands down one of the best shorts I’ve ever seen and that’s saying a lot as I watch, review, and judge a huge amount of films every day. It’s hilarious and the perfect horror-comedy. Bitten always impresses me. Michael Curran plays and performs as a dog so well… it’s eerily wonderful. You get first-hand experience at what it would be like if your dog turned into a human overnight and it’s bloody brilliant and hilarious. Born Again is a special short to me because that’s how I first met Tostevin. He’s a brilliant director who is a master of better horror. Born Again is hilarious from beginning to end with endless laughs, misfortunes, and unexpected twists.
Killer Cart had me rolling. When I first saw the title, I didn’t connect with me that it would ACTUALLY be about killer carts until I saw the madness unfold and it is pure horror-comedy gold. When you see the karts come to life and start attacking people, you can’t help but laugh and think well maybe they deserve it. I always hate that people are too lazy to walk a few steps to bring back their cart. Payback is a bitch. Speaking of payback, ‘Til Death makes revenge an artform. It’s hilarious and could easily be made into a feature film. Perhaps everyone would think twice about killing someone if they knew they wouldn’t be “really gone.” Horrific was fantastic for many reasons especially the wack-a-mole- stove scene aka wack-a-chupacabra.
All of the shorts had great special effects, makeup, and killer soundtracks. However, I must applaud Death Metal for having the best fucking gore, blood, and special effects I’ve seen in a long time. They didn’t hold back at all which is a huge plus to me. No one was safe and it was deliciously unexpected. Internally I was screaming, “fuck yeah.” If you love Deathgasam, you’ll love Death Metal.
Final Thoughts
If you love horror comedies, Hellarious is for you. There’s something for everyone and this collection delivers the best of the best and I would expect nothing less from Jason Tostevin. It’s seven stories of pure horror-comedy gold and it will have you laughing, screaming, and impressed by how bloody things can get in such a short runtime! Preorders are now open for a limited edition Blu-ray and VOD release by distributor Film Spawn. Order by clicking – HERE.
