Johnny Gruesome

I was looking forward to seeing this upon its initial release, but didn't for one reason or another and finally came across it on Tubi. I dig Lamberson's other films and know the limitations of budget, but this far surpasses any of those limitations. A few of the supporting cast fall flat here and there, but this is a minor gripe as the direction, story and acting from our main characters more than makes up for it. The camerawork and edit are just great and made the pacing in my opinion spot on. Lamberson and cast could have fallen into serious schlock film territory given the scenario, but manage to pull it all together in a realistic and believable fashion with just a touch of dark comedy to take the edge off. The film gave me real 80's vibes for films like Trick or Treat and even Creepshow with the subject matter and shooting style. The makeup effects are cool and didn't rely on gore as filler. You can feel Lamberson's honest intention to just make an entertaining and original fantasy film that has serious 80's genre vibes. Johnny is just a cool character and I'd love to see a sequel or other films in the series. Original, fun and endearing.