When you think of a horror documentary set in the woods, it's hard not to make a connection to The Blair Witch Project. Fortunately, the folks behind the upcoming Rootwood embraced the concept, pitting a couple of documentary filmmakers against some THING in the notorious Rootwood Forest. I'll let the images speak for themselves: Yup, that's Sleepaway Camp's Felissa Rose as the Hollywood producer who prompts our young filmmakers to go into them thar woods. Scream Queen Elissa Dowling, and Tyler Gallant, are the documentarians. I dig that we actually get a look at the monster, and there's always the potential for some low-budget chills with a movie like this. What do you think? You gonna check out Rootwood when it hits DVD and Digital April 7? Source: High Octane Pictures

Although strictly a coincidence, it seems fitting a movie about an alien virus infecting a small town would come out amidst the real-world scare like the Coronavirus. So well played, High Octane Pictures, well played. Granted, the hapless victims in Neil Rowe's low-budget effort are hit with a lot more than flu-like symptoms. The virus in Alien Outbreak drives folks to off themselves in often gruesome ways. Naturally, it's up to a couple of police officers to try and sort everything out, and keep a few stragglers alive during what seems like a full-scale alien invasion. Rowe definitely did a lot with the few things he had at his disposal. Alien Outbreak employs a small cast, and a few limited locations, but to great effect. This is very much like The Thing or Night of the Living Dead that way. What money was at his mercy went toward hiring a decent cast, and into his special effects, which are great given the scale of the picture. I liked how Rowe didn't explain wha...

Often low-budget genre films can come across as a bit cheesy. No matter how good -- or fun -- they are when watched, they still carry the smell of fromage. That doesn't appear to be the case with Neil Rowe's upcoming Alien Outbreak. Visually, it looks pretty damn impressive, and is being sold as a special-effects extravaganza. And it sound intriguing as well, give the synopsis below "A small rural community is quarantined by an alien presence. Residents begin to behave strangely, and mass panic spreads throughout. Local police officers Zoe and Patrick unravel the mystery and soon discover all is not as it seems." Check out the trailer: Alien Outbreak is available On Demand and DVD Feb. 11. Source: High Octane Pictures

Leave it to High Octane Pictures to come up with some of the best mashup ideas, even if they aren't 100-per-cent successful. The latest is Blood Hound, a P.I. thriller from the producer of Adam Green's Frozen and Hatchet II. It looks like it employs the documentary approach of Nightcrawler, the serial killer aspect of Se7en, and then puts a spin on it. Although there's the usual low budget, the acting in this trailer impressed me a bit. Observe: Private investigator Abel Walker, along with his cameraman Jim, are on the hunt for a missing woman. As they unravel the mystery of her disappearance, they become caught in a sick and violent game that will end in murder. Jason R. Miller wrote and directed this one. Ed Ackerman, David Foy, Miles Dougal and Silvia Moore star. Blood Hound premiers on DVD and Digital Jan. 7, 2020. Source: High Octane Pictures

We try to find a balance here in The Basement between covering off the big Hollywood flicks and lower budget, indie fare. It only seems fitting as Shawn and I find much to appreciate in both. So after highlighting the awesome new Black Widow trailer earlier today, I figured it best to showcase a low-budget slasher that's hitting VOD today from High Octane Pictures. Blood Bags (great title) is about two friends who break into an abandoned mansion and discover all exits have been sealed off. Why? Because there's a creature inside, and it's hungry for blood! Observe the trailer: Emiliano Ranzani directs this one. Makenna Guyler, Emanuele Turetta and Marta Tananyan star. And it's out right now on DVD and Digital. What do yah think? This one to check out or not? Source: High Octane Pictures

That was a weak headline. I acknowledge it right out the gate. I blame the lack of coffee this morning. I really do. All kidding aside, the two legendary stars do appear in the upcoming thriller Red Handed, which tackles the all-too-real nightmare of child abduction. Adding to the film's pedigree is the presence of producer Nick Cassavetes. The plot itself holds promise; when their father is murdered, three brothers descend on an Oregon mountain to spread his ashes. After they arrive, one of their children goes missing. One of the brothers was himself abducted when they visited this same river 30 years ago, but he's blocked the incident from his mind. Only by unlocking the mysteries inside his subconscious, will they be able to find the child and return him to safety. Check out the trailer: Christian Madsen, Owen Burke, Ryan Carnes and Kenzie Dalton also star. Red Handed hits DVD and Digital Dec. 3. Source: High Octane Pictures

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe became a huge thing back in 1982. I'd just turned 10 (yup, I'm old) and remember seeing the commercial for this new toy on Saturday morning TV. It's one of those moments burned into my adolescent brain. Check it out:

I love water-based horror movies. Something about a terror lurking below the surface, waiting to get yah, unleashes a primal fear that is quite compelling. So I'm willing to consider giving High Octane Pictures' Drowning Echo, AKA Nereus, a watch, even if the terror beneath the surface lurks in an apartment complex pool.

Shawn and I dig us some alien-themed movies. Be they about aliens attacking a spaceship crew, or blowing up the White House, we're instantly on board. There's no shortage of these flicks out there, but most are direct to digital and lack a budget and scope. So colour me surprised when a trailer and poster for the upcoming Fighting the Sky appeared in our inbox, and offered something a little . . . bigger.

You read that right, it's the high-concept mashup you didn't even know you needed to see . . . coming straight to Video On Demand in August! Yup, director Chris Raney has made a medieval horror flick with dwarves, dragons and something sinister lurking inside a cave, and it's called Dragon Mountain.