"I enjoyed Dismal more than the original Wrong Turn" - MoreHorror.com

Dismal was the second feature reviewed by MoreHorror.com recently. While they may have taken a liking to Savage, there is no doubt they found a gem in the more grisly horror flick, Dismal.

Most audiences rush into a horror flick wanting KILL, KILL, KILL every second and every other second it's BOOBS, BOOBS, BOOBS. Okay, maybe that was us shouting that at the last horror flick but we're SURE other fans out there do the same. And while Dismal gives you a healthy dose of kills and your gratuitous boob shots, director Gary King and writer Bo Buckley felt all good stories come from its characters.

MoreHorror.com reviewer Jason Lees writes, "when the carnage finally does start..., I actually found myself caring about who was getting clubbed, and that’s a rare thing these days." On a low budget that's what really helps a film, well developed characters and strong acting, and Dismal delivers both. "Again, I was surprised by how much I cared when certain characters bought it," Lees adds.

Distributors around were concerned that there needed to be more blood in the first 1/3 of the film, but the filmmakers believe the added character development is what will set the film apart from other low budget horror indies. If you're not just looking for a shallow, hack 'em up horror flick Dismal is a good choice. While you'll get your share of creative deaths and grisly horror, there's so much more to the film.

Read the full review HERE.

"good monster movie with genuine indie appeal" - MoreHorror.com

FINALLY, a review we can get behind. One that looks at the depth in which we wove the characters, the effects, the stunts and combined them to form a different kind of monster flick. Not your typical straight-to-SyFy, too much CGI monster and bad story flick, and unfortunately, that's what some want, however, Michael Pickle at MoreHorror.com really appreciates a movie like Savage.

Director Jordan Blum wanted a monster movie rich with characters and based on Pickle's review he understands the many levels of the characters. "I quickly fell in love with the many interesting characters and their carefully woven stories that were just intricate enough to still leave room for the many subtle nuances as well as heart-racing and well filmed action sequences and gory kills," writes Pickle. When you watch Savage you won't get a kill a minute like most gory monster flicks try to throw at you but rather a story of characters and their relationships and how they all end up in this mess that is a savage Bigfoot terrorizing a park.

Another of Blum's choices was to keep the monster hidden and menacing, a philosophy lost in this age where horror films get lost in over-the-top effects rather than story and suspense. "Bigfoot doesn't make an appearance in every scene, but it's menace hangs in the air and saturates every other story building tension throughout," adds Pickle. That's what the filmmakers were going for and it's nice to know that it resonates with people. So we hope we left this reviewer wanting to see more of Bigfoot, but still pleased we didn't overdo it.

To read the full review go HERE.

"All good stuff" - Ain't It Cool News reviews Savage

Ain't It Cool News is all about the Bigfoot movies, so we're glad Savage was able to be included in their review section on Bigfoot movies. Ranging from Bigfoot (1970) to Legend of Boggy Creek to more recent indie flicks like Clawed and yours truly, AICN runs the gamut of reviews from the pretty bad to the super good. Savage is somewhere in between with scenes "I haven't seen before in a Bigfoot film," according to AICN. They give it 6 foot and 5 toes (who has any idea what that means).

"The highlight of the film", for AICN, was the Bigfoot. With costuming by Toby Sells and a stand out performance and stunts by Jack Harrison, the combination created a Bigfoot "with menace and power".

AICN sets it apart from other Bigfoot movies for "a cool premise, some decent acting from some, and more than a few nice Bigfootin’ scenes". They checked it out. Shouldn't you?

See the entire review HERE.

"A fun jog through the woods" - Hell Street Journal

Okay, so I must admit I've never been to New Zealand or Australia and from what indie horror flicks actually make it to the States, the movies are pretty good. I'm sure they have their own brand of "local" flicks that are equally as bad as our own run-of-the-mill garbage, so it's refreshing to know, if there is some saving grace, that Dismal was above that heap that leaves a sour taste in horror viewers' mouths.

When a viewer says, "We very much look forward to seeing what you guys have in store for the future," (from personal email), it's a much better feeling than when they tell you, "please don't send us anything else." We believe the peeps at Hell Street would welcome another project from us, and that's a good thing.

Hell Street admits, Dismal "ticks all the boxes" in terms of hitting the genre staples, hot girls, sex, teens, creepy locations, deranged, backwoods killer(s). And it also, as so many have before, appreciates the performance of one Bill Oberst, Jr. "Madder than a sack of rabid weasels his performance alone is worth navigating the films easily consumed 90 minutes." Bill proved in this film why he has been so busy working in Hollywood since. A must see performance.

Many thanks to the folks at Hell Street Journal for taking the time to review Dismal, although, unfortunately it's not yet available there for the public. Hopefully soon.

You can read the full review of Dismal HERE.

Bill Oberst Interviewed by Horror News

Bill Oberst, Jr. is quickly becoming a name for himself in the entertainment world, mainly as a genre actor. Like so many icons present at conventions across the country each year, Bill is moving up the ladder with every role he takes. Starting as the creepy cannibal ranger, Dale, in Fearmakers' own Dismal, Bill has be in numerous other scary flicks since then and each one gives us another disturbing look at Bill's ability to scare us with talent.

"The incredible thing about Bill's ability," says Dismal writer / producer Bo Buckley, "is he can create the feeling of dread through a performance without the need for gore or props." Bo adds, "Bill comes into a scene and it immediately heightens the tension."

It seems with each new project, Bill moves up another rung on the horror ladder, working with genre icons like Linda Blair and other actors who have appeared in large Hollywood films. Bill recently worked with Danielle Panabaker (The Crazies, Friday the 13th) on The Shunning directed by Michael Landon, Jr. Even on non-horror projects like the family film, Princess and the Pony, Bill wows audiences. In a recent review of the film by Observation Notes, "but it's the performance by Bill Oberst Jr. as the despicable carnival owner Theodore Snyder that steals the show." With each project, it seems Bill is always stands apart from the crowd, and for those that know the business of Hollywood, it's a large business but a small world, and word of mouth is key when it comes to getting that next role.

Read the entire interview of Bill Oberst Jr. for Horror News HERE. Bill suggests everyone check out Dismal and so do we. Thanks Bill!

"Buckley's writing develops the bait and switch... to hellish delight." - 28 Days Later Analysis

Now that Dismal has been officially released on DVD by Cinema Epoch, many people have scooped it up and posted reviews on their sites. While reviews for the film have been far from "raving" there have been lots of impressive comments, and sometimes those leave you to wonder. Many have found different elements that they find enjoyable about the film, the acting, music, unique kills, story, setting, cinematography and then there are others who are quite the opposite, and find those are the exact things that pulled them out of the film.

Who can say what one opinion means over another. It's safe to say you're pretty much on your own when it comes to a film and to each his/her own.

Here is yet another review, this time from 28 Days Later Analysis. The critic appears to be a fan of the acting by Bill Oberst, Jr. and Tim Morris and not so much for the rest of the cast. He likes some of the twists and dialogue which are delivered with "charm" and "hellish delight", but finds the movie mostly derivative and cliche. He takes points off for the music and the "wtf" ending.

Now if you find another review it might say the complete opposite and it seems rather than have a general concensus Dismal is a film that satisfies different tastes for each reviewer. Instead of posting yet another review without comment and saying "here ya go!", I felt the need to summarize nearly every review the film has received.

28 Days Later Analysis gives the film 5.5 out of 10. You can read the full review HERE.

"some truly frightening scenes" - Phantom Reviews

Here's another review of Dismal, this time from Phantom Reviews of the UK. Once again they really enjoyed several performances and some of the gruesome scenes and one particular line "out here if you want some sushi you better catch you some fuckin' fish." We like that line too.

Read the entire review HERE.