Eight days till DEAD SHADOWS hits North American shelves via SCREAM FACTORY. The reviews have started pouring in and here are a handful of them. Obviously, I am focusing on the positive ones, I got enough negative joo-joo in my life, no need for me to dwell on the bad vibes. Here ya go!

DAILY DEAD: Definitely more of a Snake Plissken type right from the get-go is Chris’ gruff neighbor John. Played pitch-perfect by Arrow in the Head’s John Fallon, John is the type of guy who voluntarily takes the role of neighborhood protector with his own brand of badass belligerence. When he defends Chris from a group of thugs early on in the film, he tells them they’re out of luck because, “First, there’s only four of you…” Suffice it to say that John’s a fun character to watch, especially when he’s taking on tentacle-waving creatures in do-or-die street brawls. READ REVIEW HERE

POP MATTERS: There are some good performances, notably Blandine Marmigère as Claire, the hot neighbor who teams up with John both before and after the apocalypse begins in earnest, as well as John Fallon as John, a local thug neighbor who provides the anxiety-prone Chris with some much-needed muscle in facing down the evening’s monsters. Then again, the monsters might be the least of John’s worries. READ REVIEW HERE

HORROR 101: Arrow in the Head honcho John Fallon stars as the lad’s uber-badass neighbor, and if you didn’t love him enough already for his well-informed and nimble wordplay, his supercool presence here proves the man is a multitalented emmereffer. READ REVIEW HERE

DVD TALK: Only a few things really stand in the way of Dead Shadows being an instant cult classic. John Fallon is outstanding but kind of underutilized. I honestly would’ve loved to have seen Dead Shadows be a little longer to give Fallon’s ass-kicker another showcase sequence or two. There’s basically nothing in the way of Bruce Campbell’s flavor of endlessly quotable dialogue, and the attempts at upending one genre convention in particular (sorry, trying to keep it spoiler-free here) winds up kind of uneven. READ REVIEW HERE

THE EXAMINER: Dead Shadows” is one of those great “straight-and-to-the-point” movies. It doesn’t take thirty minutes of your valuable time gearing up and going through the motions. It establishes characters quickly and gets to the meat, potatoes, and gore. READ REVIEW HERE

HORRORNEWS: I have to call em like I see em…..this film is a really good find for Shout Factory to bring to the masses. If you only watch it for the creatures, you’ll still find satisfaction, however I simply found myself a fan of this oddity. READ REVIEW HERE

CINEMA CRAZED: One of the highlights of the film is John Fallon who plays an aggressive neighbor who not only senses the alien invasion beforehand, but is prepared to go to war when the shit hits the fan. Fallon really fits the character well, and I was disappointed he didn’t garner much more screen time. Director Cholewa is also a fantastic director, creating a real menace to the city of Paris, especially when the invasion begins. READ REVIEW HERE

ALIEN BEE: Dead Shadows is the best movie of its kind I’ve seen in a long, long time! This sci-fi thriller is a mixture of Lovecraft, Godzilla, Night of the Comet blended with a doomsday/apocalyptic element. This Blu-ray releases on April 29th and is definitely one you’ll want to check out. An instant cult classic! READ REVIEW HERE

HORROR TALK: Fabian Wolfrom does a fine job as Chris, our reluctant hero with a fear of the dark and an unfortunate habit of blacking out in strange bathrooms. The highlight of his performance comes during the party scene as he is forced to react to an increasingly dangerous and bizarre set of surroundings. There are a few inconsistencies in his behavior, but that is likely the fault of the writing and not his performance. John Fallon (100 Feet) and Blandine Marmigère as John and Claire are fine in their supporting roles, but they both disappear for long stretches of time before showing up conveniently whenever Wolfrom needs them. READ REVIEW HERE

I’ll be adding more reviews to this blog entry as they keep pouring in.

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