A couple of months back we told you about a cool new contest that would put an aspiring filmmaker's work in an upcoming horror film from Pontypool director Bruce McDonald -- Hellions . Well, the contest is over and a winner has been announced!

The original V/H/S was a flawed but entertaining piece of work that I thought would be the final nail in the coffin for the found-footage genre. Surprise! It wasn't. In fact, they made a second one. And I watched it. Does it surpass the first? Stick with me. Searching for a missing student, two private investigators break into his house and find a collection of VHS tapes . Viewing the horrific contents of each cassette, they realize there may be dark motives behind the student's disappearance.

Everyone in The Basement -- and out, we don't exclude here -- who wants to make a short horror film and have it shown everywhere, raise your hand. That many? I thought so. Then give this video a watch, mofos:

Dark Fest 2012 has come and gone and Shawn and I are proud to report it was a success! There's a lot of surreal shit still reeling around in the grey matter but we figured the time had come to do some kind of post mortem here on the site. Hell, The Arrow already posted his :) First off, thanks to the man himself, John Fallon, for coming out and supporting our inaugural festival. The Arrow stepped up, lent us a hand, and wowed an enthusiastic crowd that came out for the Deaden screening. Some dudes even travelled three hours to watch the flick and hear him speak afterward. It was awesome! A few lucky folks walked away with some Arrow in the Head swag too, which added a fun element to night. Next up, a shout out to Skew writer/director Sevé Schelenz for taking it upon himself to attend the festival at the last minute. Dark Fest 2012 was his flick's first showing in B.C. and he was excited to see it play. Sevé and one of the film's stars, David Macauley, also chatted the fi...

Hobo With A Shotgun Shawn: Good for Rutger Hauer! It's nice to know he's still alive and thank you for starring in this movie. And good for Telefilm Canada for helping get it made. All too often I yell at movies "Show us! Show us this kills!" And this one does, most of the time. And it really crosses the line too, which is awesome. The Canadian accents do stand out and Abby's rallying-of-the-troops speech suffers a bit because of it, but why complain. This movie is great. But the rest of you will love it or hate it. I'm giving it a Good. Jason: Between Rubber and this flick there's proof that original, edgy and, yes, completely fucked-up cinema is alive and well. Basement cinema. I honestly can't believe this movie got made . . . and in Canada no less. It's off the rails. It's gross. It's weird. And it's great. There's also a believable relationship between the Hobo and Abby that is touching and real. That surprised m...

Months of work and planning have come to an end. It's time to unleash Dark Fest 2012 from The Basement and onto the big screen at Thompson Rivers University's Clocktower Theatre. What more can we say that hasn't been said? Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement along the way and to the Kamloops Film Festival Committee for allowing us to come on board and share the movies we love with the masses! And an extra big thanks to John Fallon, The Arrow himself, for coming and supporting our little festival. All you Basement Dwellers are invited to come out and say hello to him and the rest of The Basement Crew during the next two days. Also, we just learned yesterday that Skew director Sevé Schelenz is able to attend the fest this weekend! He'll be on hand to talk about his movie after it screens Saturday night. Tickets are $8 at the gate and $5 for students who purchase in advance. You can get your tickets at TRUSU, Bookland and Movie Mart.  Also, our spe...

There's been a dastardly change in the line up for Dark Fest 2012, with The Innkeepers unable to attend because of frightening circumstances. But those Basement Dwellers Jason and Shawn are proud to announce Hobo with a Shotgun will step in as the kick off film March 9 at 7 p.m. And this Canadian grindhouse effort, starring the great Rutger Hauer, is sure to please fans of gruesome cinema! From out of the cinematic basement and onto the big screen, the 16 th Kamloops Canadian and International Film Festival has plunged into a dark realm of B-grade movie entertainment with the inaugural Dark Fest, a loving tribute to the frightful side of cinema. To do so, the gentle Kamloops Film Festival Committee turned to a couple of guys who appreciate everything that's good about bad movies: Jason and Shawn, co-hosts of 92.5FM CFBX Kamloops' premiere film review show Film Reviews from the Basement. Jason and Shawn looked deep into the darkest corner of the basement to find four fi...

Hobo With A Shotgun Shawn: Good for Rutger Hauer! It's nice to know he's still alive and thank you for starring in this movie. And good for Telefilm Canada for helping get it made. All too often I yell at movies "Show us! Show us this kills!" And this one does, most of the time. And it really crosses the line too, which is awesome. The Canadian accents do stand out and Abby's rallying-of-the-troops speech suffers a bit because of it, but why complain. This movie is great. But the rest of you will love it or hate it. I'm giving it a Good. Jason: Between Rubber and this flick there's proof that original, edgy and, yes, completely fucked-up cinema is alive and well. Basement cinema. I honestly can't believe this movie got made . . . and in Canada no less. It's off the rails. It's gross. It's weird. And it's great. There's also a believable relationship between the Hobo and Abby that is touching and real. That surprised me, given al...

If Rubber was a middle finger to mainstream movie making Hobo With A Shotgun is the football to the groin. Jason Eisener's 2011 Canadian grindhouse film is as over the top and in your face a piece of exploitation cinema as you can get, and it hates logic and good taste with a passion. As was the case with Machete, Hobo With A Shotgun is a feature film based on a fake trailer. The question that begs asking is is here enough material there to fill a 90-minute film? And is that film any good? The presence of the great Rutger Hauer certainly adds interest, but how much mileage can Eisener get out of a hobo with shotgun? The answer to these and other questions comes when the July Special lands Sunday at 8 p.m. PST on iTunes, Facebook , podOmatic and right here on the blog. Our special episodes are stripped down versions of the radio show. Just a review and some lively banter. If you miss our hour-long episodes tune in Fridays at 4 p.m. at 92.5FM CFBX Kamloops, Shaw Cable 106....

We've talked long and loud about the fact we're reviewing the killer scarecrow movie Husk for our July Special, but some things have transpired against us. For one, holidays loom for Shawn and I, meaning we have to get our review out of the way tonight. It could also mean the special will land before our planned launch of July 31. We'll keep you posted. Secondly, we've had some trouble finding the film. The Basement has contacts everywhere who send movies our way. We're working on Husk, but because we're doing our review this eve, we don't have time to wait. But fear not, when we find it, we're reviewing it. No two ways about it. Lastly, four words: Hobo With A Shotgun. That's right, we've got our grubby mitts on the ultra violent, ultra weird Rutger Hauer grindhouse epic and we're going review it for you, Constant Listeners. We'll let you know what we think when we release The July Special on your ear holes. It will be a lot more f...