The Guest

Movie House Mayhem's Mighty Mayhem Pick for the month of September is The Guest starring Dan Stevens as David, an Iraq vet who pays a visit to the family of a deceased army pal from the war.  Director Adam Wingard delivers this Halloween treat which manages to fuse thematic elements from several memorable thriller and horror classics of the 1980s while keeping an identity of its own as a visually stylishly slick, campy cult classic.

Enjoy the unbridled badness of the dark comedic dialogue and action interwoven into the framework of the story much on the same level as Heathers.  The Guest also pays homage to The Terminator and is set to driving techno dance tunes and intense situational standoffs and revenge-guided ruckus.

Brendan Meyer plays Luke, the young son who is perpetually bullied at school and Maika Monroe plays Anna, the older teenage daughter with something between a crush on and suspicions toward the family's enigmatic guest.

This is a Mighty Mayhem Pick to put on your Netflix Watch Instantly list.
Director:  Adam Wingard

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead and Reading Rainbow

I was perusing new releases on Netflix for the month of August and found the selection to be a tad sparse. However, a couple titles worth mentioning are The Hurt Locker and Casting By. For this review I chose one film and one show, one that's naughty, one that's nice.

Benny: [upon firing his shotgun] Oh shit, he wasn't a zombie?
Barry: No he fucking wasn't!
Benny: Is he alright? Is he ok?
Barry: His head is fucked!

A wickedly funny scene from Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead (2015), a most twisted tyrannically terrible treat which resembles The Walking Dead but without the soap opera. Bianca Bradey delivers a standout performance as Brooke and I hope to see more of her in the near future. Not since Sigourney Weaver in the Alien franchise has a woman believably kicked so much ass.

Directed by Kiah Roache-Turner, Wyrmwood's style reminds me quite a bit of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead I and II. If you loved the campy vibe, extreme camera angles and darkly dank frights of those films, it is a pretty safe bet you will enjoy this one, so get out the popcorn and dig in for the ride. Not just any ride, but one that runs on zombies (thank me later). Wyrmwood makes my personal zombie top 10 list. Speaking of which, I am looking forward to reviewing my favorite (The Battery) once that film is available online. I should also mention there is an evil scientist in Wyrmwood--think Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs in a hazmat suit. 4/5.
Directed By: Kiah Roache-Turner Written By: Kiah Roache-Turner, Tristan Roache-Turner


Also new to Netflix is Reading Rainbow, the perfect follow up to a couple hours of extreme zombie gore. You know, get your mind right. I don't think there is a person on this planet who is more likable than LeVar Burton--especially remembering his roles in the late 80s and 90s when he was on a hit streak with Star Trek and Reading Rainbow, incredible! Anyway, Reading Rainbow appeals to audiences of all ages even though it is intended for children. An enormous amount of work and detail went into every single episode, which is quite obvious, and no one could have done such an outstanding job helming the show for so many years as LeVar (ok, well maybe Jean-Luc Picard). Psst, the theme song isn't so bad either right? 5/5.
Stars: LeVar Burton, Jennifer Betit Yen, Arnold Stang