Pig Hunt (2008)

Pigs are far out, man

Combining aspects of "Deliverance" with backwoods folks and a sense of adventure, along with "Razorback" and a setting with a life of its own and a legendary creature hiding in the midst, "Pig Hunt" produces a mishmash of genres that's more fun than completely serious with a hippie cult that's both prone to Zen and violence thrown in for good measure.

A man with the fitting name of John Hickman heads out to his late uncle's ranch in the sticks with his girlfriend and three other friends from the city for a hunting weekend. Their first stop is the general store that leads them to the legend of the Ripper--a supposed 3000lb pig--as well as a confrontation with a muscled, sword-wielding guy who looks like an ancient warrior walked into the wrong movie or thought he was at a convention for "Xena: Warrior Princess." The area isn't known for its steady employment, so a share of the dwellings look run down and lived in by dirty, grumpy rednecks who use the local forest for perfecting their aim at the animals.


They tentatively team up with John's two old childhood friends who've since took the path of drugs, alcohol, cruelty, perversion and good ol' hunting in between to everyone else's discomfort. There's a share of posturing with each person thinking they're the best to the point of a who-can-puff-out-their-chest-the-biggest contest rather than who can actually shot the straightest. There's a building tension in the air that could burst at any moment that's both annoying with no one but John and possibly his girlfriend Brooks, who's proving she's got the stuff, to lean on with a backbone. But it still proves to be somewhat engaging as to who or what could set off the balance thinly held together by condescending remarks. Soon enough the boars are called, someone gets injured, human remains and marijuana crops are found, and then ulterior motives come into play. The characters go separate paths and it turns over to a human on human blood sport on someone else's turf. Though there's a third party lying in wait that makes the local degenerates in town look a few steps closer to normal.

The third act feels a little underrealized but still comes as a surprise and carries some mystery about how, where and why. Though it's most likely for the best because the more it's thought about the less it makes logical sense. Some of the transitions and editing have places of awkwardness but a share of events flow from one heated aspect to the next. There's some subtext attempted with John and a past in Iraq but then it's dropped to keep it more in light of exploitation. "Pig Hunt" is not a movie that causes the brain to kick in but hits enough surface sensations to keep the popcorn moving from bowl to mouth without pause unless it's a choke or a what-in-the-heck remark. The quicker pacing doesn't give time to scratch beneath the surface but a number of in-the-now events happen to keep one's attention locked and focused with surprises and a share of uncomfortableness about being so far from home and encountering unwelcoming people that seem like from another place and time. Like "Razorback," the wild boar is shown the least amount while the human characters are developed more till they meet up. Les Claypool, the frontman from the band Primus, layed down the music and played a smaller part as a "preacher" who lets his gun do all of his sermons. The soundtrack is a mixup of almost genreless music apart from itself with unconventional and discordant layers and an almost boondocks feel with an acoustic and gibberish twang.


This is more of an offbeat adventure-thriller than an outright horror, but that doesn't stop it from including point blank injuries and a share of gory wounds anywhere from knees busted in to eyes gouged out. "Pig Hunt" is no doubt an out there story that's about as unlikely to happen than being held hostage by a group of clowns robbing a donut shop with flamethrowers, but this is never short of something bizarrely humorous or to leave one ill at ease, not to mention some individual characters with their own personality to remember, while others can be forgotten but were most likely there to up the body count which us blood-thirsty viewers crave.

Rating: 7/10

Director: James Isaac (The Horror Show, Jason X, Skinwalkers)
Stars: Travis Aaron Wade, Tina Huang, Howard Johnson Jr., Rajiv Shah, Jason Foster, Nick Tagas, Bryonn Bain
Link: IMDB

The Graves (2009)

Flawed moviemaking at some of its ugliest

Usually I break into describing a film and then unfold its positive and negative points to be fair, especially to give a reader a chance to form their own opinions as well. Though I'm going to come right out with it: the pacing, character motivations, storytelling, dialogue, sense of the dramatic, music, you just name it with this film and it frequently misses the mark. "The Graves" attempted to tell an original story along with some horror conventions intact to show its homages but the end result felt like a cringe worthy amateur stab at filmmaking. It makes me as a terrible writer look even more terrible mind you just trying to describe it. I've met the director/writer/producer Brian Pulido at conventions and even talked about cool horror vids and whatnot before this came out, but even so, the experience just doesn't work. I have to say there is still passion here and they take it seriously rather than this being anything other than a genuine attempt. It's a learning lesson that shows how much filmmaking can be a pain in the neck to get right.

This begins in a remote stretch of land with battered cars strewn about. A husband, wife and baby come upon a black smith when they get senselessly attacked with the weapon the man was pounding away at. Megan and Abby Graves are going on a short road trip before the more in charge sister Megan goes off to New York to find the world's largest thermometer in Arizona. Meanwhile they film themselves in a comic book shop shamelessly plugging Pulido's books and then at a concert shamelessly plugging a horror punk band called Calabrese with none other than, you guessed, it Pulido himself announcing the band. Come on. Being two women, they get lost while driving--no more explanation needed. Jk, ladies. On their way off course they find a small town diner in a dinky place called Unity where the takes-himself-too-seriously preacher that they just heard on the radio walks in with a sense of command over the locals. The sister's tourist destination of choice is Skull City Mine that's supposedly haunted. Remember the description of the opening scene. Yep, they're headed right for there and it's about the only mode of build up that works here.

If you guessed this is going to be along the lines of "Children of the Corn," "Tourist Trap" and a little bit of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" then you wouldn't be too far off the mark. The clerk with the crusty yellow teeth at Skull City Mine should have been a tell-tale sign of trouble, yet they immediately find it within a short while anyway when following the trails of the ghost town. A man is savagely killed by the blacksmith and the sisters silently witness the attack. Some kind of deafening noise ensues and the dead body is left without eye sockets. Something more is going on than just a burly backwoods looking man with a bludgeoning hammer. I'd like to mention that I haven't seen such a ridiculous case of walking villain/running victim since "I Know What You Did Last Summer." Like other aspects in this film it's hard to tell if it's trying to be serious or taking a piss, or when it's transitioning to either or and back again.

Soon enough one bad guy is traded for another when they try and leave, only to end up back in the same spot they arrived at. This isn't exactly mindblowing stuff: two women in bouncy tank tops running around trying to survive a maniacal killer who thinks himself as witty. I'm sure it's been done effectively before in a low-brow but still entertaining way, but this just feels like run-of-the-mill stuff. At least one of them is tougher than possibly most men inside the film instead of tripping over her own feet or whining. This is one woman with a winning streak of confidence that you wouldn't want to double cross despite her delicate feminine looks. It gives some clues as to what it all means but then slows down to go with an element of a sadistic torture film that we've all seen 100 times and the leading lady with strength starts to crumble under pressure. It felt like progress turned in on itself again, especially when you think Abby is going to take over but stands by idle till it's almost too late. It might be fine in a graphic novel but seeing it in action looks choppy. They eventually get to the town and then go around in more circles. Do they really not have that much of story that the characters just roam about? Then its attempt at explaining what happens feels so nonchalant as to lose its punch that it was leading up to.

The tone of the picture feels all over the place. So when it attempts to transition to its scary moments it comes across as forced. One moment there will be a splash of humor or being in the way of having fun, then in the next you'll get abrupt music and something that wants you to take it seriously in a matter of moments. Usually these things require a steady build up to put the audience in someone else's shoes, otherwise the viewer watches what's unfolding from a distance since there's no perspective or connection to what is seen or happening. The characters are going to find more relating points with guys despite their gender. Though it was evident that the two leads put a share of effort into this despite what they're given. Tony Todd and Randy Blythe are performed so over-the-top with invented speech that it comes off as cartoonish. Some of this is measured out where you can tell time was taken on a particular scene or location, though at other points it has state-the-obvious dialogue and scenes that feel rushed or done in one take especially towards the end. Some of the over-the-top dialogue has its moments scattered about, though some other lines fall flat on delivery: "I ain't in no hurry...nope. However long it takes...it takes."

"The Graves" fails to come together like a unified piece. It feels exactly like it was made with contrasting influences, day-to-day temperament and filmed at different times no less--all the various modes that should be hidden or flush when the final product is delivered. Even the background story that's supposed to drive the picture has nothing to say about religious fanaticism, with followers that are one-dimensional cronies. It uses it merely as a mundane, throw away plot device.

The experience wasn't pretty...nope.

Rating: 1.5/10

Director: Brian Pulido
Stars: Clare Grant, Jillian Murray, Tony Todd, Bill Moseley
Link: IMDB

The Last Exorcism (2010)

A film crew, a Reverend and a troubled girl

"The Blair Witch Project" wasn't the first of its kind, but it did spawn a share of pseudo documentary films in the last decade. More recently "Diary of the Dead," "Quarantine" and "District 9" have embraced the style to give a level of in-the-now reporting, as well as to show how modern times have evolved with our obsession with recording anything and everything. "The Last Exorcism" has significance for the events that unfold with a special case that takes a different spin on the possession genre. It uses the format to put the audience in the moment by moment with some poetic license to make it less stiff and more entertaining than the usual documentary feature.

A Reverend named Cotton Marcus in Louisiana serves up his stimulating gospels at a small town church. Instead of getting his audience to pay attention with studious words and fine lessons, he's more gifted with a knack for enthusiasm and energy. He's a showman who loves attention and does everything from novelty magician's tricks to yelling and rapidly moving about to achieve that. He's full of tricks up his sleeves and isn't shy about that fact on camera. His honesty leads to coming right out by stating that he doesn't actually believe in demons--or possibly God--but provides a service to people to heal their mind regardless. He's still a people person despite what looks to be manipulation. Besides being good at it, one of the other justifications is money to provide for his family and to maintain the establishment of the church. Not only have preachers been in his family for generations but exorcists as well. The goal for doing the documentary is to expose exorcisms for what they really are from a little boy who suffocated in a past case from another practitioner who took things too seriously. There's a sort of self-made philosophy to his lifestyle but at times he still comes off like a too-smart-for-his-own good joker that mocks what he does.

Until he meets his match...

He goes out on a job with the usual antics and spiffy attire. On a small farm, he encounters the belligerent and unpredictable brother, Caleb, then a nice and somewhat naive teenage girl named Nell in question, and also their straight-shooting, meat-and-potatoes father. Their livestock is being indiscriminately killed in unusual ways and despite the girl's bloody clothing, they can't say for sure if it's her or not. Caleb is pushing away from a strong Christian upbringing from a previous family death, even though the rest are trying to keep their spiritual ties strong. Rev. Marcus plays right into the hands of what they want to believe anyway and declares that an exorcism is the only answer at this point to save the girl's life. Even after using his well-timed tricks, more truths come out after all the slick, prearranged smoke and mirrors clear about what's going on under the surface. Some of the characters are more dangerous than they originally let on and the film crew sticks around despite the new challenges ahead of the severely dysfunctional family.

For a story with interesting drama and charismatic characters, this movie definitely nails it to entice a viewer to want to see the rest of the story unfold. Patrick Fabian puts on an engaging performance as the Reverend and makes you believe he actually could be this guy due to there being a number of layers to his background story. Ashley Bell does both the nice and tormented transitions by being believably friendly or expressing hostility. For scares and atmosphere, this is the portion that has areas of feeling more scripted since it's more chaotic than the moderate pacing beforehand and you can notice some of the transitions don't always feel lined up as convincingly. For the latter portion this plays on a panicky cam that's usually accompanied by nails-against-the-chalkboard music to carry the state of confusion further. It's a transitional storyline that evolves at the same time as it escalates with more and more to show and tell.

Since this goes from a documentary/drama storyline to a horror, the fear portion behind "The Last Exorcism" was to catch the skeptics off guard rather than starting out by stating its intentions. Yet at times it went over its mark to not make a defensive viewer completely uncross their arms. Its beginning was often gradual and controlled but still intriguing, and then its conclusion was explosive, making it feel like it came out of no where and less grounded than it intended. The idea in itself is shocking, but where it came from or how it came to be was skipped over and it made this feel more fictional rather than going with the realistic perspective it wanted to originally achieve. It made the faux-documentary style feel a gimmick when it carried the same amount of suspension of disbelief as a conventional film. The ending tries to simultaneously wrap up the biggest questions it posed beforehand, show where the documentary takes the Reverend--since he's kind of riding between places--and then it attempts to make the experience shocking by being abrupt all at the same time. It does the last two somewhat effectively, if riding a little too much on its punchline, but it makes the first come with more riddling questions than when it began. I can imagine some might like that direct approach, as it gives the opportunity to get in and out and move onto the next film without lingering about, though it made the picture more distant to others that get a little more latched onto a concept.

The limitations of the documentary style come out after it's able to unfold the background of the characters with one on one interviews, but it doesn't always get a chance to evolve the inner workings of the background of the town's people or even the surroundings, which at first makes it seem like some random area, instead of something tainted or unique, until it's too late to get under your skin. They mention it in passing, but that's as far as that goes. I can't say it was a total cop out because it uses the same ingredients as some other horror features, just the timing and amount of foreshadowing beforehand is what makes that kind of picture truly come together and feel like one solid, culminating piece. It's like a magician who performs his magic act by setting the stage, gaining your attention and then wowing its audience with the final slight of hand trick. The timing has to be precise as it's a culmination of everything before it to a single, highly devised revelation of its total parts. This was a little more elusive about its actions and didn't give its audience enough time to truly take it in. It can catch people off guard but I can't say it sustains that effect for very long. This is definitely worth the rental but not necessarily the purchase price for that reason.

It looks that "The Last Exorcism 2" is announced for 2012 and might clear up some answers.

Rating: 6.5/10

Director: Daniel Stamm (A Necessary Death)
Stars: Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, Louis Herthum, Caleb Landry Jones
Link: IMDB

The House of the Devil (2009)

A trap in the making

The '60s/'70s-esque title grabbed my eye when I first got ahold of this. I didn't even read up about it, which lead to being caught off guard as to how much of a homage it was to the '80s, not just with storyline but in style, music and even filmmaking mechanics and look. If Dee Wallace didn't look so much older in a guest appearance, I would have said this was a lost and restored find. They literally went all out with the recreation of this decade that had a mind and flair of its own. Yet they didn't completely capture the flashy and trendy side in actual '80s films, which still leaves room to also give nods to earlier time periods as well. Back when old Hammer films, "Rosemary's Baby," "The Exorcist" and "The Omen" were new and shocking with evil thoughts and questions about the stronghold of religion.

A young college student named Samantha Hughes wants to get away from her roommate situation and get a place of her own but first needs some extra cash to make that happen. By chance, she finds an add on a bulletin board at her dorm and sets out as a do-it-herself independent woman in the decade of the fitness craze and Walkmans. After some setbacks, the client desperately needs her that night and would pay double. How could she possibly pass that up? In her eagerness, she misses some of the subtle warning signs: eclipse that night, odd call backs, getting easily hired, must be there tonight, pays double, out of reach location.

With the exception of the opening title sequence, the film is often handled in a basic manner, where the pacing moves gradually and the performances are more unadorned to portray regular people. This is a horror film that doesn't always go for the throat even like other films that came out in the '80s. The tone is more '60s/'70s despite how everything looks. It builds up to a kind of realistic uncomfortableness at first, whereas other filmmakers would have had the settings look like something out of "Beetlejuice" to make the point obvious. The little things count though: the freakishly tall man with a cane, the overly inquisitive wife, the bait and switch. She's locked into the situation in an unfamiliar place and by now can't look back, not because of some supernatural hypnosis but instead due to manipulative forces that don't want to set off any red flags, not to mention are waiting for just the right time.

A little curiosity and snooping leads to finding out some information that puts her at unease. The locks of the doors and lights inside become her only friend, even her mind detecting different senses works against her. This is a slow creeper with some events here and there that would pertain to what it's building up to. The inevitable is coming, you just never know when, how or what--the key word is anticipation, with the title of the film looming over like a large and ominous shadow. They could have used a few more scenarios in the meantime as the balance is more tipped towards being nearly veiled. After a certain point, it played a little too much on the realism shtick since the audience is well aware of the house and an established atmosphere. The idea wasn't to force it, just some areas were played out somewhat safe and go in a circle. This works on your basic senses, such as being constantly uncomfortable and knowing something is not right, but not knowing what that "something" is, which leads to a series of doubts and second guesses. Ever been in that nerve-wracking situation before where you get to laugh it off later? Well, you've never been to "The House of the Devil"...

Rating: 7.5/10

Director: Ti West (The Roost, Trigger Man)
Stars: Jocelin Donahue, Greta Gerwig, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov
Link: IMDB

Drive Angry (2011)

A raunchy world where anything and everything goes

This is a modern day grindhouse-like movie, though it doesn't feel as innocent as it would have in the '70s when those films where fresh and pushing brand new limits, not to mention didn't have an over-blown budget where they had to instead get creative with what they had. It ultimately made those films what they were, flaws and all, and it's just one way of how unappreciative cult films were born. Flashy, exaggerated, crude, "Drive Angry" has an ensemble cast where everyone is a bad guy, cops and waitresses included, not to mention there's muscle cars and plenty of violence and sleaze to mop the floor with...and then some.

A gun-toting man named Milton (Cage) is shown in a heated car chase with two shady guys in Colorado. He demands info to get a baby back after a satanic cult leader with a bad southern drawl named Jonah King (Billy Burke) snatched it for a coming sacrifice. After dealing with the two men, he heads over on a state by state hunt to find where they're keeping the infant. A small town bombshell of a waitress named Piper (Amber Heard) quits her job and picks up Milton on the way out. After boyfriend trouble, a fight breaks out and Milton gives a helping hand to the young, bloody-lipped vixen and they take off in her now ex's '69 Charger. From then on out she feels like a strategy to the script instead of an authentic person to either be self-sacrificing when need be, eye-candy when things lose steam and then force sympathy to make a small stab at being a well-rounded picture if it ever was one.

William Fichtner, from "Prison Break," puts on a decent and memorable performance as a more eccentric and supernatural suit and tie than the mentioned called "The Accountant" who sniffs the air and uses superhuman strength to track Milton. He flashes an imaginary FBI badge and uses hypnosis on the local police for their resources to find the fugitives. The movie does whatever it wants, where it wants, when it wants, whether that be violence, nudity, cursing, chases, stunts, out of place jokes or just general horniness with all included no matter the context. Part of this is fun but where it loses its replay value is practically every scene is made to be an exception to the rule and instead of breaking boundaries it feels far too easy due to being robbed of any consequence or challenge. Troma Entertainment has been pumping out movies like "The Toxic Avenger" for the last couple decades in a similar vein, though where those felt like down-in-the-gutter "clever trash" with unwashable offense and grime dripping all over it, this feels like a slicker and more spoiled Hollywood version, one where you know they're well-known, well-paid actors performing in front of expensively laid out sets that include blue screens and state-of-the-art CGI.

Nick Cage goes through the motions, puts on another bad toupee and never once flinches. I could see if he's going for a Clint Eastwood style with a no nonsense mission ahead of him to rescue the baby and head back, though he constantly stops to smell the roses with various indulgences but hardly thinks or gets surprised when a problem arises. Example: drinking liquor from the bottle, loudly screwing, while still wearing his cool shades and clothing, and then popping caps into random guys walking through the door while never "dismounting" in perfect sequence and timing, not to mention without being seriously scathed. Funny? I guess. Possible? Might as well give him wings and the power to breath fire while they're at it because there's nothing he can't do. This is indeed loaded with fast-flying action scenes, gory violence and vulgarities--which is a plus because it's getting away with more for a general audience theater movie compared to ten years ago--though the devil-worshippin' baby snatchers seem like old SNES archetypes with no purpose other than to be killed, while the main character has unlimited lives and never a facial expression worth remembering.

"Drive Angry" feels like the writers couldn't resist including anything they felt like, and even when they tried to set up a worked out scene or introduce a new character it seemed all too convenient and preplanned just to set up another. This makes everything so consistently simple and it becomes impossible to forget that you're watching a movie to momentarily escape into. Even the antihero persona Eastwood made infamous included some reserve and measurement so it would be easier to accept an over-the-top scene because he studies and does nothing but waits for it--this just seems like an adult Looney Tunes adventure. Imaginative, yes, but what the viewer is presented with--a marketable and forced "cult classic" like "Death Proof" and "Machete"--wasn't able to bottle all those free-floating ideas to make them worth reliving over again.

Rating: 4/10

Director: Patrick Lussier (Dracula 2000, White Noise 2, My Bloody Valentine)
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner, Billy Burke
Link: IMDB


Facts from the Black and Red:

- In its day, the '69 Dodge Charger R/T had a factory price of close to $3,600.

- On November 18, 1978, 918 people directly and indirectly involved with the Peoples Temple religious cult died at Jonestown located in Guyana, making it the largest single loss of American civilian life outside of a natural disaster at that point.

The Inheritance (2011)

Their heritage awaits

Ever fancy you were born into a wealthy and successful family: the lazy wish where you wouldn't have to struggle and things are easily lined up? "The Inheritance" is a story that puts a twist on that pipe dream by mixing aspects of ancestry, race, religion, folklore and the supernatural all together into a boiling cauldron of horror and drama with a little bit of humor about scary movies and black stereotypes. This is an original tale that has enough of its own to get by though some homage is given, such as "The Evil Dead" with the cabin in the woods and occult manuscript, "Candyman" with a slave having an injustice but gaining a vengeful upperhand, and "The Wicker Man" with sacrifices for the benefit of the tribe or family.

Five cousins--two woman, three men--from rich, black families dating back to the 1800s meet at an isolated house during a snow storm for a reunion, along with--get this--a "token" white couple that one of the cousins used for a ride. Uncle Melvin (Keith David) left a note that he'll be there tomorrow but left alcohol and ganja behind to have a good time with in his absence. Everybody uses the substances to get loosened up by having fun and games until the prospect of money is brought up for their possible inheritance. Attempting to get the party back on track, one of them picks up a hand drum and rhythmically plays it, while another dances and someone else reads from an ancient looking book found next to it. Suddenly the last words read, "The flesh is the strength," appear on the outside window and the woman dancing freaks when she claims someone was there.

After sleeping off what was thought of as a bad trip, the elders arrive for the "family reunion," which is more like a traditional ceremony with a tale of how the relatives came to prominence. A flashback is shown during the time of slavery in the US with a man named Chakabazz who mysteriously arrived alone on a ship with crew missing. They attempted to lynch him but he survived. Something like a Wong Fei-hung with a dark side, he turns out to be a witch doctor who can help the desperate black community stand up against the intolerant white man and slave owners, help them attain their freedom, as well as give them wealth and prosperity, but all at an evil cost. Because nothing's free, right? Chakabazz accumulates followers who want in and requires the best and brightest of the people's children for a blood sacrifice, and for each generation after to maintain the riches they have to spill more of their own kin's blood. All of this is told to the young cousins who don't take it seriously until more things go awry and get spooky. Though if everything the elders said were true, it makes you wonder why they were even told at all since they're more than old enough to know better and fight back.

This is a story where money is the root of all evil: a young generation who wants a hand out and doesn't entirely care about family relations, and then an older generation that achieves wealth and success but at a price of sacrifices of their own blood relatives. Not really a win-win situation. The story is somewhat confusing at times, which interrupts the experience and pacing. It's mentioned that the current elders were once chosen themselves but it's skips over why they're possessed to the point of enjoying being sadistic--maniacal laughter and all--rather than doing it out of necessity. Though apart from the greed aspect, what's the message or the relating factor? Don't accept anything such as a handout you didn't work for? Don't meet at an isolated location during a storm? Don't trust your distant relatives, stick closer with your intermediate ones? Overall, this just seemed like it wanted to rush through the ground rules with the main intention of showing a bloodbath, except for such an oppressive horror tale you can minus the copious blood as killings are done off screen and there's very little gore.

Eventually this starts to feel padded with filler that goes into a repetitious circle: the elders and these strange straw-henchmen-like things appearing and disappearing and the cousins running back and forth to get away makes you feel like you're being strung along instead of providing answers or even substantial action. It doesn't even delve into if unreasonable traditions should be broken since they made more sense in slave days, or adequately show that these young folks have any growth, hope or strength of character instead of having them fumble around and strike lucky. It feels like the filmmakers bit off more than they could chew and got too far ahead of themselves, even with the ending feeling like a cop out and not as developed from previously having so much time invested in the cousin characters.

Even with everything said, "The Inheritance" had potential, as the performances weren't half bad, the music was well-timed out to lend some feeling, some specific scenes were indeed effective and somewhat creative, and with the budget considered this didn't feel entirely cheap. Though the script, continuity and pacing left some things to be desired. Multiple genres are ambitiously tackled and sometimes it's hard to know what the filmmakers want to portray or make you feel as a viewer. Not to mention random things happen at random times, which can make you scratch your head rather than grab your heart as the suspense and scares can feel somewhat forced at times. Though this does have a few that work more on being uncomfortable than frightening.

Rating: 4/10

Stars: Keith David, Rochelle Aytes, Golden Brooks, D.B. Woodside, Lanre Idewu
Link: IMDB


Historical questions from the Black and Red (Answers below, don't cheat!):

1. Which side proved victorious in the American Civil War? (Extra: Which year did it end?)
2. How many states made up the Confederacy and how many the Union?
3. Who put a cap in President Abraham Lincoln? (Extra: At which destination?)
4. Which ocean provided the slave trade?
5. Which amendment abolished slavery?




Answers:
1. Confederacy, jk. The Union/North. 1865.
2. 11. 25.
3. John Wilkes Booth. Ford's Theatre.
4. Atlantic.
5. 13th.