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Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls
USA 2023
produced by Clark Baker, Michael Mobley, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Andrew Bowser, Luke Adomanis, Ali Jazayeri (executive), Viviana Zarragoitia (executive), Matthew Baldwin (executive), Hunter Barrow (executive), Joseph Cisneros (executive), Matthew Harrow (executive), Christina Ho (executive), Geoffery L. Miller (executive), Adam Miron (executive), Kayla Monkres (executive), Leighton Teys (executive), Abigail Tompkins (executive) for Fortuitous Films
directed by Andrew Bowser
starring Andrew Bowser, Rivkah Reyes, Melanie Chandra, Terrence 'T.C.' Carson, Arden Myrin, Ralph Ineson (voice), Barbara Crampton, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Jeffrey Combs, Daniel Ross (voice), Jason Marsden (voice), Ryan Stanger, Madison Reed Dudley, Luke Adomanis, Matt Mahaffey, Donna Pieroni, Guy Wilson, Michael Monsour, Kareem Stroud, Shane McCormick, Griffin Quince Pillmore-Beaulieu, Skye Dalton Pillmore-Beaulieu; creature performers: Adam Dougherty, Kristin Dalleske, Ryan Wilkes, Miles Berwick, Calico Jones, Gus Williams
story by Andrew Bowser, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Luke Adomanis, screenplay by Andrew Bowser, music by Matt Mahaffey, special makeup effects by Eric Zapata, Stefania Madeiros, prosthetics by Ben Bornstein, creature effects by Adam Dougherty/KreatureKid, visual effects supervisor: Jeremy Hunt
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
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As his life is in shambles with him working at a burger joint and still
living with his parents (Barbara Crampton, Ryan Stanger), he has changed
his name to Onyx the Fortuitous (Andrew Bowser) and started to dabble in
the occult, inspired by his favourite rock musician turned cult leader
Bartok the Great (Jeffrey Combs). And Bartok has chosen him and only four
other fans - learned Mr. Duke (Terrence 'T.C.' Carson), goth girl
Jesminder (Melanie Chandra), ditzy Shelley (Arden Myrin) and nerdy Mack
(Rivkah Reyes) - to his castle for a Satanic ritual that will grant them
all eternal life. Of course, Duke and Mack soon find out that Bartok's
intentions are actually ulterior, and that he wants to use their souls to
raise demon Abaddon (voiced by Ralph Ineson), and through shere bumbling,
Onyx delivers them actual evidence. Onyx also gets more and more
disillusioned with Bartok's operation, as it seems the others are all
favoured over his lowly status. Thing is, Farrah (Olivia Taylor Dudley),
Bartok's right hand who has long grown tired of him, sees something in
Onyx, something that might help her own ends ... Above all, Onyx
the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls is a loving hommage to
B-horrors of the 1980s and 90s, and especially Charles Band's productions
for Full Moon and Empire before that come to mind due to the inclusion of
both Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton (even though they never appear
together on screen in this one), the wonderful if not always wholly
convincing practical effects, the rather (within budget confines)
free-wheeling script, and the inclusion of both humour and gore - and
quite apart from that, a parody of Meat Loaf's I Would Do Anything for
Love (But I Won't Do That)-video is not only a hoot, it also places
the film in that tradition. That said, this movie's more than just a
soulless hommage, it's also plenty of fun in its own right, based on a
welcomely silly story, carried by a solid cast with an intentionally
somewhat obnoxious lead, and directed with some verve and a definite
knowledge of both horror and humour - and the result is just very
entertaining genre entertainment. ... and if this has gotten you at all interested, this movie's currently streaming on
https://www.screambox.com/.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Thanks for watching !!!
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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