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“Scared Sh*tless”: Steven Ogg Plunges Fantasia Film Fest into Toilet Horror [Movie Review]

Published

2 years ago

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Who doesn’t love a good ol’ creature feature? What about a creature feature that takes place in toilets? What if we told you Steven Ogg stars in it? It’s all here in “Scared Shitless,” a Canadian feature that made its world premiere at Montreal’s Fantasia Festival.

Don (Steven Ogg; “The Walking Dead”; “Dark Match,” which ironically also world-premiered on the same night as this film at the same festival) is a plumber who drags along his adult, germaphobe son, Sonny (Daniel Doheny; 2021’s “Brand New Cherry Flavor” and “Day of the Dead” TV series), on a nocturnal visit to an apartment building for a routine plumbing job.

Unbeknownst to them, a destructive and refined creature, bred in a science lab, has escaped and is now scouring the building’s pipes. The father-son duo must team up to resolve this nightmarish plumbing issue, turning their ordinary night into bloody mayhem before this disaster slithers out of control.

Scared Shitless

Director Vivieno Caldinelli takes the steering wheel of his second comedy-horror feature film, while Brandon Cohen wrote the script for his very first time. The main plot is rather déjà vu and rehashed through the decades, but always makes for a simple-to-understand plot with infinite potential for entertainment.

The dialogue throughout the script is usually light-hearted and funny, though some jokes land better than others. Some of the hilarious secondary characters dispersed throughout that night’s adventure beautifully add to the film’s comical aspect. Caldinelli directs in an entertaining fashion, attempting to avoid extensive lulls and including innovative camera angles to enhance the experience.

Scared Shitless

One of the film’s major highlights is its use of practical effects, oozing in slimy gooeyness and adding a tangible sense of horror. However, the initial awe of these effects wears off as the film progresses. Additionally, there is some very perceptible CGI that stands out when it appears, though fortunately, it is used sparingly.

Scared Shitless

Steven Ogg delivers a standout performance, carrying the film on his shoulders with a charismatic and convincing portrayal of the plumber father; he is convincing and authentic in both aspects of the character. He shines far brighter than the rest of the cast, with the others providing decent performances that induce laughter for a moment but don’t step out of Ogg’s shadow. The dynamic between him and his on-screen son brings both humor and heart to the story. Speaking of the cast, look out for a neat little cameo by Julian Richings (“Anything for Jackson”; “Beau is Afraid”).

Scared Shitless

“Scared Shitless” succeeds as a decent comedy-horror that guarantees a good time. It’s a good old creature feature that doesn’t take itself too seriously, making it enjoyable for fans of the genre. The practical effects’ magic diminishes over time, and the occasional underwhelming CGI is a minor distraction. Even though there are some hit-and-miss jokes, the overall comedic elements help balance the horror.

Caldinelli’s film is a commendable entry into the comedy-horror genre, offering a mix of disgust and laughs that make for an entertaining viewing. While it has its flaws, the film’s star and its effective use of practical effects make it a pleasantly memorable experience without reinventing the wheel of its sub-genre.

“Scared Shitless” receives a score of 3 eyes out of 5.

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Self Driver Runs Out of Road

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12 hours ago

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May 12, 2026

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Every few years someone makes a movie where a desperate person takes the money and watches his conscience become negotiable. I am always there for it. Cheap Thrills. Would You Rather. The whole subgenre of moral erosion for cash that does not have a name but absolutely should. Self Driver walks directly into that territory and for the first half of its runtime, it delivers.

Nathanael Chadwick plays D, a cab driver trying to keep his head above water, who gets recruited onto a mysterious new rideshare app that promises fast money and asks for increasingly terrible things in return.

Writer-director Michael Pierro shot this on cellphones with a skeleton crew. That constraint should work against the film. For the first act, it does not. Chadwick earns your sympathy without doing anything obvious to ask for it, and Pierro keeps things tense enough that the premise does exactly what it is supposed to do.

Then the psychedelic angle shows up.

Self Driver

I want to be fair about this. I understand the intention. But it lands the way a plot fix lands. You feel the seam. By the halfway point the script has accumulated a lot of threads, and the psychedelic detour is where those threads stop being pulled. They do not resolve. They just stop mattering.

That is the consistent frustration with Self Driver. It is not short on ideas. It is short on follow-through. Almost every interesting thing Pierro introduces gets picked up, examined, and set back down before it earns its place in the film. The bones of something genuinely great are visible throughout. The second half just never shows up to finish the job.

Chadwick won Best Actor at Grimmfest for this role, and it is not hard to understand why. He is doing real work here. He makes D worth following even when the film is not fully following through on its own premise. That is harder than it looks.

Self Driver is out now on UK digital via GrimmVision. At 2.5 out of 5, it is worth your time if you have patience for low-budget genre work and can make peace with a film that is better than it finishes. Pierro has instincts. Watch for his next one.

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Indie Horror

Panic Fest 2026 Review: ‘Frogman Returns’ Is A Thrilling Sequel That Goes For The Croak!

Published

6 days ago

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May 6, 2026

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Horror as a genre has a greater propensity for sequels than almost anything else in the world of cinema. There have been scores of slasher sequels from the likes of Friday The 13th to A Nightmare on Elm Street to even sequels to seemingly stand-alone affairs like The Exorcist and The Blair Witch Project. While some may be seen as cash grabs or of diminishing returns, it cannot be argued that there have been some phenomenal sequels to horror films such as Aliens and Evil Dead 2 among many others. So imagine my pleasant surprise to see that 2023’s Frogman is back in the aptly named Frogman Returns!

The sequel picks up not too long after the original’s cryptid catastrophe. The Loveland, Ohio Frogman and surrounding cult that was exposed by amateur filmmaker Dallas (Nathan Tymoshuk) has since disappeared and the terror of the magic wand wielding amphibian seemingly ended. Having lost his friend Scotty (Benny Barrett) and a falling out with Amy (Chelsey Grant), Dallas has found a new life heading a cryptid reality web show. But when strange forces call him and his team back to Loveland, will he have to face the Frogman for a final battle?

I was a big fan of the original Frogman upon release, and was interested in seeing where director Anthony Cousins was going to take the story. I’m happy to report that he did the best kind of thing you can do for a sequel like this: made it weirder and wilder! Not only is there Frogman, but a number of classic cryptids have encounters as the genie is out of the bottle and Dallas irrevocably proved that there are truly monsters among us. There is a pretty memorable scene involving a run-in with the living pants-like Fresno Nightcrawler creature that establishes what a brave and bizarre new world things have become since the previous film. Monsters are basically a fact of life now. So, of course, people are finding ways to profit from it.

Dallas’ arc continues from the first film and I do like how he carries the weight and guilt of Scotty’s disappearance and his disconnection with Amy. There are real consequences to the ways things went wrong previously and Dallas is haunted by the consequences of his obsession. Now he attempts to make things right in some form as his adventures bring him back to where it all began. And for those here for Frogman… without spoiling too much, everyone’s favorite amphibious cryptid does make a triumphant return. With a neon explosive finale that left me craving even more.

Frogman Returns does a fine job of documenting the new adventure in the traditional found footage format, with the foundation of Dallas’ new reality web show keeping the cameras rolling. Combining that with ample and memorable practical fx for all manner of beasts and gore to see. Exploding heads, zapped limbs, and so much more get captured on camera in all their visceral glory.

Overall, if you were a fan of the first Frogman, then Frogman Returns is a more than worthwhile follow up to digest.

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Indie Horror

Panic Fest 2026 Review: ‘Creature Of The Pines’ Is An Interesting Found Footage Horror That Walks A Beaten Path

Published

1 week ago

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May 5, 2026

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There are certain parts of the world that have an inherent evil or cursed nature to them. The Bermuda Triangle, where so many ships have vanished in its waters. Death Valley, where many have met their end in the unforgiving desert. And then there’s The Pine Barrens of New Jersey. A woodland infamous for the cryptid named The Jersey Devil.

While The Jersey Devil may be the mascot or face of sorts for the area, there are other dangers within those woods. Specifically, an area known as Pine Hollow. Infamous for numerous disappearances of local and hikers. While some attribute it to natural hazards, others say the source of these incidents may be tied to folklore. An ancient mimic of indigenous legend that targets those wandering its woods. After a trio of hikers disappear and leaves only one shell shocked survivor and witness wandering the wilderness, a documentary crew attempts to clarify between fact and fiction… only to find themselves subject to their own torments.

Creature Of The Pines is a decent found footage/mockumentary endeavor, and I’m always a sucker for that kind of framing. I will also give points for taking an original approach on the region rather than using a more well known cryptid or monster. Instead, crafting their own beast with the shapeshifting demon of indigenous lore. It did make it more interesting than relying on a more infamous antagonist, allowing the movie to make up its own rules and history behind the titular creature.

Unfortunately, the story does fall into a lot of the cliches of the sub-genre as well. Lots of scenes building up strange sounds coming form the woods leading to some shaky cam segments as a character is dragged off by an unseen force and such. The talking heads portions of the mockumentary featured some decent actors and subjects that kept things fairly fresh. Especially the former forest ranger who discussed the dark and terrible history of Pine Hollow.

Even still, the third act was kind of a mixed bag with the final confrontation and reveal of the horror. Ambiguity tends to work better in found footage for a reason, sometimes its better to leave the evil up to the imagination. There’s also a twist to the ending that felt a bit obvious considering the build up.

But, if you’re a big fan of found footage and mockumentary horror like I am, (especially for New England based horror) then Creature Of The Pines is worth at least a watch.

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