[MOVIE REVIEW] No Tears in Hell (2025)

 

Title: No Tears in Hell

Genre: Horror / Thriller

Company: Scatena and Rosner Films

Directed by: Michael Caissie

Year: 2025

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: N/A

SCREENER REVIEW

Based off a true story of the Russian serial killer, Alexander Spesivtsev, the film features a young teenage boy named Alex who turns out to be a cannibalistic serial killer who lures his victims to his house and kills them on site.  His mother is also an accomplice to Alex's crimes and the film is spent on Alex killing his victims, while the police are trying to find Alex's victims before it's too late.

So, this film marks the first time that I ever received a movie screener and man, was I so happy about finally getting a movie screener!  I was actually surprised that I was given a horror and thriller film to review, since I tend to watch a lot of films that are thrillers and horror and I was glad to receive such a film to review.  So, the first thing that I liked about this film was the premise.  The fact that this movie was based off of a real life murderer was what made this film really intense to watch and I actually felt frightened for Alex's victims.  Also, I do enjoy watching films that are about serial killers and this film did a great job at making things extremely disturbing whenever Alex kills off his victims.  Another thing that I liked about this film was the gore.  This film has some of the most gruesome and violent moments that I have ever seen in any thriller film and it was horrifying seeing how Alex murdered his victims.  Another thing that I liked about this film were the performances.  Luke Baines did a fantastic job at portraying Alex, the serial killer, as he made Alex into a truly threatening character.

My biggest issue with this movie was that the pacing was incredibly slow.  Even though this movie was about a serial killer, the film took too much time in getting to the more interesting parts and I often got bored throughout this movie because of the pacing.

Overall, even though "No Tears in Hell" has a very interesting premise, a fantastic performance from Luke Baines and lots of gory scenes, the film suffers from very slow pacing.  If you are interested in checking out a film about a serial killer, then this film might interest you.  However, if you are looking for a serial killer film that has good pacing, then this film might not be suitable for you.

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[SHORTS REVIEW] Unedited Footage of a Bear (2014)

 

OR

Title: Unedited Footage of a Bear

Genre: Horror / Surrealism / Fantasy / Drama

Company: Adult Swim

Directed by: Alan Resnick   

Year: 2014

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: TV MA

Buy on:  N/A

WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE!

The short starts off with some cameramen filming a bear out in the wild.  But then suddenly, the short switches to a commercial called "Claridryl" and the commercial shows a woman named Donna taking the prescription drug and saying that her life has been better ever since she took Claridryl.  But then, the short starts to become a bit dark as Donna starts to see an evil version of herself out in the streets and her evil self tries to attack the real Donna.  Once Evil Donna leaves the real Donna in the streets, things take a dark turn once Evil Donna takes over Donna's life.

So, after I watched TOO MANY COOKS, I wanted to check out more of Adult Swim's Informercial series and man, was "Unedited Footage of a Bear" a wild ride!  Unlike "Too Many Cooks," "Unedited Footage of a Bear" doesn't have that much humor in the story, as the story is about a woman dealing with the side effects of the Claridryl drug and how it has a negative impact on her life.  What I really loved about this short was how the story switched from being about a bear to being about a woman dealing with a drug addiction.  This sudden switch in the story really made this short so interesting to watch and I was actually shocked by how dark this short got once Donna's hallucinations got worse as the short goes on.  This was also one of the weirdest shorts I've seen, besides "Too Many Cooks," as we, the audience, can't really tell what's real and what's not real as Donna starts hallucinating everything going on and we can't tell if the actions that she has committed throughout this short was really Evil Donna's doing or her own doing.  I also loved the fact that this short shows the realistic side effects of drug addiction (albeit in a weird way) as it's rare to see a short that parodies commercials tackle such a tough subject in such a creepy and effective way.

My main issue with this short was that it was pretty confusing.  I understand that this short is probably looking into Donna's madness as she becomes addicted to Claridryl.  But at times, I can't tell what's really going on with the story.  Like, is Evil Donna real or is she a figment of Donna's imagination and Donna was the one who was committing the horrible acts throughout this short?

Overall, "Unedited Footage of a Bear" is one of the most intriguing and dark shorts ever created by Adult Swim.  I would recommend this short film if you were a fan of "Too Many Cooks" and you want to watch another Adult Swim informercial that has a dark twist to the story.

• Too Many Cooks

• Slow Bob in the Lower Dimensions

• Quasi at the Quackadero

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[SHORTS REVIEW] Too Many Cooks (2014)

 

OR

Title: Too Many Cooks

Genre: Horror / Surrealism / Fantasy / Comedy

Company: Adult Swim

Directed by: Casper Kelly

Year: 2014

MPAA Rating / TV Rating: TV MA

Buy on:  N/A

WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE! 

So, the short introduces the Cook Family and the short basically started out as a spoof on the sitcoms of the 1980s and the 1990s.  But as the short goes on, it turns out that a certain serial killer has entered the show and he starts turning everything upside down...

So, when I heard about this short through Adult Swim, I was wondering about why everyone was talking about this short and why this short went viral on YouTube.  So, I finally checked out this short and man, was this short awesome and crazy!  What I loved so much about this short was how it subverted your expectations.  When the short first started, it was basically an affectionate parody of the sitcoms from the 1980s and the 1990s.  But as the short goes on, it suddenly turns into a surreal short full of horror elements, especially once the serial killer enters the scene.  Also, I loved how the short takes it time to build up the horror elements throughout the short and really made the tension in the story quite intense. Another thing that I liked about this short was the music.  The music essentially replays the theme song "Too Many Cooks" over and over again throughout the short.  Even though this would be something that would annoy many people, the repeating music actually helped made this short really stand out as the narrative is dictated by the theme song.  While the theme song sounds very catchy and lighthearted, it actually becomes much more disturbing once the theme song starts playing throughout the more morbid scenes of this short.

My only minor issue with this short is that it can be a bit confusing to understand, due to the short not really going into details about the characters' backstories.  Now, I understand that this short is not meant to be something deep (at least, on the surface).  But, I can't help but be curious about the backstories of these characters, especially of the killer.  I actually had to look up information about the killer in order to understand his character a bit more.

Overall, "Too Many Cooks" is easily one of the best Adult Swim shorts I had ever seen!  The fact that this short managed to subvert your expectations in such an intriguing and frightening way really made this a treat to watch!  I highly recommend this short if you are a fan of shorts that have unexpected plot twists and catchy theme songs!

• Face Like a Frog
• Slow Bob in the Lower Dimensions
• Quasi at the Quackadero

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