Review: HORROR HOUSE – PILOT EPISODE

Horror Hosts and Hostesses have a long history. Almost as soon as TV started running horror films they appeared, dispensing facts about the film and frequently dreadful puns and other jokes during commercial breaks. Vampira, Criswell, Ghoulardi and, of course, Elvira have all haunted the airwaves at one point or another. But as weekend afternoon and evening creature features were replaced by infomercials they became an endangered species. Of late though they seem to be making a comeback thanks to assorted retro cable channels and various streaming platforms such as YouTube, home to Malvolia, The Queen of Screams (THE QUEEN OF SCREAMS: A HALLOWEEN SPECIAL)

Now from down under we have HORROR HOUSE featuring Count Funghoula (David Black BADASS BUNYIP) and Mistress Boobiyana (Tritia DeVisha REVENGE OF THE GWIELO).As you can tell from their names this pair deals out some cheesy and somewhat raunchy humor in between three Australian made shorts and a music video. A format that should also make it a nice showcase for up and coming talent.

The pilot episode’s first short KALI GEISHA EROTICA GROTESQUE was a 3minute dialogue-free mix of film and still images concerning a put-upon geisha (DeVisha) and her bloody revenge. Directed by DeVisha and Jesse Martin it’s a quick, bloody and harmless diversion.

THE TALE OF BETTY BOOTS by Nicholas Burgess is next. Another short short this runs six minutes. It’s a riff of Little Red Riding Hood that substitutes three ghoulish looking creatures for a big bad wolf. It still plays out about as you would expect.

Last up is WATERBORNE an ambitious eight-minute piece about a ranger (Martin Blum) sent out to test water quality in rural Australia. What he finds is something in the water that can turn not just people but animals into zombies.

By far the best and most ambitious of the three it features some great effects in the form of a zombie kangaroo. Director Ryan Coonan shot this as a test piece for a potential feature. Unfortunately, nothing seems to have come of it.

The music video is from David Black’s band Darkness Visible and has a nice 80s goth feel to it.

The segments with Boobiyana and Funghoula, (who’s name comes from the fact he’s fun and a ghoul, not the Italian swear of course), is fast-paced and all over the place. It’s helped along with some great latex props as well.

HORROR HOUSE has some solid potential if it can continue to attract good quality shorts and music videos. You can keep posted on developments and when it will air via its Facebook page.