31 Nights of Halloween: The Jester, Chapter 2

The Big Night is here, and I hope you are ready for the onslaught of ghouls and goblins and ghosts that will be running wild in the streets. We also hope you show the appropriate amount of Halloween cheer (or is that fear?)... especially if you come face to face with the Jester.

The Jester first made his appearance at Terror Titans, exactly one year ago. Now he has returned....

The Jester: Chapter 2 (2018)
Starring: Michael Scheffield, Rebecca Rose, and Nick Lewis
Director: Colin Krawchuck
Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: A Tap at the Window

If tonight's short film doesn't creep you out, you need to check your pulse... you may be one of the walking dead haunting these 31 Nights of Halloween! This is one of the best film's I've featured this year!

A Tap at the Window (2018)
Starring: Cindy Pham and Dru Blohm-Craig
Directors: Jimmy Ren and Jack Vang
Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Pieces

I have a few major issues with the way this story of a woman finding horror while packing up her deceased grandmothers belongings unfolds, but the spooky atmosphere throughout and effective use of horror movie techniques that are annoying and cliched in the hands of lesser filmmaker make this film worth watching. It's well worth your attention on this, one of the final few 31 Nights of Halloween.

Pieces (2014)
Starring: Kristi Guest, Louise Willoughby, and Kate Sandison
Director: Dan Sunley
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Your Date is Here

A mom and her young daughter spend an evening at home, just hanging out and having fun, eating pizza, watching movies, and playing boardgames. What can possibly be spooky or horrorific about that? Well... this is the 31 Nights of Halloween, so it could be anything!

Your Date is Here (2017)
Starring: Becca Flinn and Dani Tiernan
Director: Todd Spence and Zak White
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Peek A Boo

Aubree Bowen returns for her second appearance during this year's 31 Nights of Halloween celebration, and she is once again haunted by 1990s technology. (It's also happens to be the second film titled "Peek A Boo"...)

Peek A Boo (2017)
Starring: Aubree Bowen and Olive Bernadette Hoffmann
Director: Neil Stevens
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Peephole

Tonight, a trip into the realm of nightmares starts with a knock at the door...

Peephole (2017)
Starring: Tim Leuke
Director: Jaron Henrie-McCrea
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Death in C Minor

Although I don't really get the "why" of tonight's film, it's spooky and more than just a little worthy of the 31 Nights of Halloween. (This is also the first of two appearances by Cindy Pham and the team at PixelGlass in this year's selections.)

Death in C Minor (2015)
Starring: Cindy Pham and Ellen Davis
Directors: Jimmy Ren and Jack Vang
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: The Visitant

If you like straight-up horror movies, then you're going to like this one about a mother, demons, and a big knife. This 31 Nights of Halloween offering packs more horror into 5 minutes than many films manage in 75.

The Visitant (2014)
Starring: Amy Smart, Sibyl Gregory, and Doug Jones
Director: Nick Petersen
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars


"The Visitant" was incorporated into the 2016 anthology horror film "Patient Seven". It was a well-deserved second life for this excellent bit of film-making.

31 Nights of Halloween: Sleepwalker

Here's a great example of "less is more" when it comes to horror films!

Sleepwalker (2017)
Starring: Isabelle Goddard and Aimee Piere
Directors: Sean Loch and Sammi Price
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Selfie Pride

Today's film is a cautionary tale about stupid online challenges. (The creators of this 2017 film are are unknown, and I don't recognized the star, but I give "Selfie Pride" Eight of Ten Stars for making me chuckle in the way "Tales from the Crypt" comics used to make make chuckle.)

31 Nights of Halloween: The Clapper

Anything has the potential to be haunted, especially during the 31 Nights of Halloween. Although sometimes the seemingly supernatural has a perfectly mundane explanation. What will it turn out to be in the story of Rachel, a young woman who just wants to make her life easier with The Clapper as she recovers from a broken leg?

This straight-to-the-point chiller will have you thinking twice before deciding to play around with old gadgets you find laying about (or even those sent to you by Mom).


The Clapper (2017)
Starring: Aubree Bowen, Neil Stevens, and Lindsay Garvey
Director: Neil Stevens
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Ghosting

Tonight's offering is an excellent modernization of the gothic ghost story.

Ghosting (2015)
Starring: Allison Miller, Chase Williamson, and Lilan Boden
Director: Kim Sherman
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Unboxing

If I were to make a list of the many things I don't get the appeal of, "unboxing videos" would probably be somewhere near the top. Although that's an element of today's horror short, I got the scary parts here. The film also reminds of an episode of the "Hammer House of Horror" television series that sticks with me to this day and the featured actress here is really good. I hope you enjoy today's selection (even if, apparently, the writer/director has decided to stop making short films).


Unboxing (2018)
Starring: Alana Wallace
Director: Veemsen Lama
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Friend Request

You gotta be careful accepting Friend Requests from total strangers... especially during the 31 Nights of Halloween!

Friend Request (2013)
Starring: Emily Sandifer
Director: Nicholas Acosta
Rating: Ten of Ten Stars


This film gets everything right--even the jump scares! It's rating of Ten is well-deserved. (BTW, if you want to Friend me, you should probably do it via this blog and G+. My Facebook page is mostly rants, roleplaying talk, and repostings of goofy memes.But please let me know if you're a vengeful ghost first!)

31 Nights of Halloween: The Quiet Zone

Today's offering is spooky from beginning to end, and I think the least said up front the better. Check it out and prepare for scares!

The Quiet Zone (2015)
Starring: Jessica Bayly and Kasey Iliana Sfetsios
Director: Andrew Ionides
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars


The only complaint I have about this film is that ending doesn't quite work for me, because it strays into "hitting the viewer over the head with a hammer" territory. Everything else about it I love (even if I'm as squemish as ever when it comes to graphic violence (of which there is a little).

31 Nights of Halloween: Polaroid

I'm trying to decide if the unfortunate photographer in tonight's short film's biggest mistake was to shake the polaroid photos as they dry or to not run away after taking the first one.

Polaroid (2017)
Starring: Ethan Mikael
Director: Joey Greene
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Repossessed

Would you sell a house to this woman?

The realtor in tonight's short film tries to, as the 31 Nights of Halloween continue!


Repossessed (2002)
Starring: JoBeth Williams and Juliet Landau
Director: John Coven
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars


This is a nicely done chiller, featuring familiar faces and good performances. It would have earned at least another Star if there had been another twist or two. The scares here are EXCELLENT, though.

31 Nights of Halloween: Creepy Evil

Drugs are bad, mmmkay? Especially drugs referred to as "Scary Pills". That goes double during the 31 Nights of Halloween!

Creepy Evil (2017)
Starring: Michelle Perez and Tara Milante
Director: Alexander Henderson
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: The Bridge Partner

You don't see many slow-burn psychological thrillers during the "31 Nights of Halloween, not only because they're hard to pull off in the length of time films are limited to here, but also because they just dont' seem very "Halloweeny". However, tonight's offering is so good--the story, the pacing, the casting... everything is just about perfect here--that it HAD to be part of this year's horror mini-film festival.


And since the month has barely started, and the Halloween Creatures are just now waking from their slumber, I'm sure there will be no objections to something a little different.


The Bridge Partner (2015)
Starring: Beth Grant, Sharon Lawerence, Robert Forster, and Catherine Carlen
Director: Gabriel Olson
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

31 Nights of Halloween: Gamer Over

Let's get this year's 31 Nights of Halloween off to a great start with a little chiller that gives us treats and tricks, and illustrates the horror genres non-stop adaptability. Whatever new technology enters our lives, story-tellers will make it scary.

Gamer Over (2016)
Starring: Bobes Zabojnik and Emmka Rekova
Director: Viktor Rek
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars


My favorite part? Bobes Zabojnik's facial expressions!