Where do we point the finger for the theatrical failing of DREDD? An invisible marketing campaign? The hard R? The association with the previous, lunk-headed 1995 big screen adaptation of the beloved British cult comic book property?

One of the many struggles of independent horror filmmaking is finding a voice to attract your target audience, whether it’s devoting whatever budget you have to a bloodier body count or opting for a quiet, atmospheric tension as a result of limited resources. However, from the oversaturated opening credits onward, THE DEAD INSIDE prides itself on defying expectations, offering surprises within its low-budget boundaries that make it a unique and satisfying genre offering.

BEAST WISHES, an utterly charming documentary about Bob and Kathy Burns, is about 60 minutes long, but it’s still going to take you hours to watch the DVD. Barely a scene goes by that won’t have fans grabbing for the remote, freeze-framing the image and gasping, “Is that [iconic prop/model/costume/creature]?”

During a particularly fruitful creative period in the early 1970s, director Jess Franco was making somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 films a year all over Europe. There are those who consider these some of his most interesting years as a filmmaker, while others see this as a period of wild excess and slipshod directorial technique that was marred by a tragic misuse of the zoom lens.

This’ll be a short one, folks, since there just isn’t much to say about a flick that ignores every possible bit of entertainment that could be had watching people trapped in a sauna. What we’re presented with is a movie featuring taut young folks who have been spritzed down or smeared with oil to resemble sweat, panting their lines in scene after scene.

Warning: The review below concerns a product that is, as of this writing, sold out by its distributor (or maybe not… more on that below). NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1990) was issued this month on Blu-ray disc in a limited run of 3,000 copies by boutique label Twilight Time, almost all of which have been snapped up through mail-order by eager fans. If you feel sore about missing out and are hoping to procure this disc by spelunking the secondary market, please put the credit card down and read this first.

In its cryptic opening scene, THE COTTAGE shows the potential to become a creepy, interesting suburban thriller. However, despite moments of surprising effectiveness, THE COTTAGE is brought down by several problems that often plague low-budget horror films, most prominently the lackluster story developed out of its cool premise.