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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/.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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