“Who’s brave enough to talk to the dead?”
A horror-themed camping trip? Sounds awesome, my fellow fans of horror. And, as promised by its atmospheric opening, Lore, a new (and GRUESOME!!) Horror anthology from Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment absolutely delivers the evil needed to get us to the Halloween season!
Directed by James Bushe, Patrick Ryder, and Greig Johnson and featuring solid performances from Richard Brake (Doom, Hannibal Rising), Andrew Lee Potts (The Witcher, Primeval), Bill Fellows (Ted Lasso, Lady Macbeth), and Rufus Hound (Hounded, Queens of Mystery), Lore is sure to find an audience of wide-eyed horror fanatics thanks to its spooktacular tales of horror and gore, usually all resulting in one hell of a mess for someone else to clean up, as each one entangles these four friends - eager for some thrilling tales - with some unforeseen consequences.
Lore begins when four friends - Miles Mitchell, Dean Bone, Sally Collett, and Samantha Neale - head out into the great wide open for a camping trip unlike any other. And, thanks to some great locations as they make their way to their camping spot, we are already fairly spooked by the surroundings. It’s these nice details throughout the feature which work so impressively, immersing the audience in dangerous details which we must pay attention to which is appreciated.
As we get further into the forest, it suddenly becomes clear that this camping trip is going to be unforgettable. Their overnight stay will be helmed by Darwin, a strange-looking guide who will lead them through the forest, stay with them the night, and encourage them to tell the stories that even they are afraid to talk about. He’s definitely disturbed and that smile of his doesn’t help to calm anyone’s nerves . . . but it will encourage these campers to go for broke as they share some pretty dark tales around the campfire night.
And, as we disappear into each of these morbid tales of woe and wickedness (which are often punctuated with some pretty dark humor), the atmospheric lens of cinematographer Scott Coulter is there to guide us through the murderous macabre offerings. But is he offering us a path out of the madness or just leading us further in?
In fact, the whole production on this independent thriller is damn fine, featuring great gore, a love for the practical effect, and offers fans of the anthology formula some hope for the future.
Lore operates as a love letter to the classics which came before it. It also has a great twist at the end so make sure you stay through the credit sequences. You’ll be missing out as murder and mayhem come home to roost. Lore is premiering exclusively on the Icon Film Channel beginning August 26th.
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 92 mins
Director: James Bushe; Patrick Michael Ryder; Greig Johnson
Writer: Patrick Michael Ryder; Christine Barber-Ryder; James Bushe
Cast: Richard Brake; Bill Fellows; Andrew Lee Potts
Genre: Horror
Tagline: Some Stories Can't Stay Buried.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Before any man set foot on this soil, there was an evil here."
Distributor: Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment
Official Site:
Release Date: August 24, 2023 (FrightFest London)
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: Four friends arrange a ghostly excursion, their guide asks them each to tell the scariest story they have ever heard, but little do they know, those stories would have major consequences for them and others.
