New Horror Releases: Night of Something Strange (2016) – Reviewed

Something strange is definitely going on in this new horror release that is currently available on VOD, with a Blu-ray still in the works. There has been a host of weird and strange films that have come out in 2016, such as The Greasy Stranger, Der Bunker, and The Swiss Army Man. This is unequivocally hands down the weirdest picture of the year, a totally hilarious gross out horror comedy that pushes the boundaries as far as they possible can go and then goes even further. It is reminiscent of the total insanity that comes with anything produced by Troma, Full Moon Features, and Japanese motion pictures like Calamari Wrestler and The Machine Girl.

The story is the ultimate safe sex or abstinence video as a zombie plague inflicts people through a sexually transmitted disease. A group of high school students end up knee deep in zombie peril while on their way to the beach. The STD angle sets the stage for literally every disgusting event that your sick little minds could dream up, resulting in a picture that is more comedy than horror. There is still more than enough gore and violence to satiate hardcore gore fans, but it never really elicits any major scares. There is some very funny dialogue that could become quotable should this end up gaining a cult status.

The acting was actually good for this type of movie, the main characters all seemed very believable and many of them got the chance to deliver some funny dialogue. Almost every actor had one at least one scene that was either so disgusting or funny that they will always end up being remembered for it. A huge amount of respect has to be doled out to this crew that really were put through the ringer, similar to what Lloyd Kaufman would do to his cast or what Sam Raimi did to Bruce Campbell in Evil Dead.

The directing from Jonathan Straiton and cinematography from Rex Femscared is excellent for an indie horror picture and looks far better than you would expect. There are nice looking shots, decent camera movement and placement, interesting angles, and well done close ups and pick up shots. The score is what you would come to expect in this type of movie, but it is effective nonetheless. The special effects are superb, with a number of outlandish props and gore sequences.

Dude, I got this from that nasty chick the other night!

While the comedic element might turn away some of the hardcore gore fans, this one is just such an insane amount of fun that you have to check it out at least once. It does cater to a certain type of disturbed humor that is present in the above mentioned flicks, which is probably why I was so entertained.


Share the strangeness.

View my Flipboard Magazine.