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Welcome to another daily horror digest. Today’s movie is visually good, but a little uneven in the story department. Also, yesterday was a light news day, but we have some daily trivia as always!
Movie of the Day: The A-Frame
Today’s movie is The A-Frame. It was released this past Tuesday, and the trailers and marketing made it look like a fun, low-budget science fiction movie with potential for cosmic horror and body horror. The movie’s not bad, but the trailer sets up unrealistic expectations. The focus of the movie is more on drama and a simple thriller plot rather than horror, and it is certainly not a movie that “will have gorehounds howling,” as one of the trailer-used quotes exclaims.
The A-Frame follows Donna, a woman who needs to have part of her arm amputated to stop the spread of cancer. She is approached by a stranger named Sam who has an unusual alternative for her. He claims that he can cure her cancer completely with the use of an experimental device that shifts molecules through a parallel dimension. Desperate for help, she submits herself to the experiment. It seems to work, so now Sam wants to move forward with an even bigger, full-body experiment. What could possibly go wrong?
There are plenty of positives in The A-Frame. The things that stood out the most to me are the visuals. Whenever the device (a quantum dislocator) is used, the visuals used to imply parallel dimensions work exceedingly well. Images are layered on top of each other with quick cuts. It looks great. The effectiveness of this technique is enhanced when the motif is carried over into scenes when the quantum dislocator isn’t being used. It’s a visual way of telling the viewer that something isn’t right, and that messing around with dimensional boundaries is having a lasting effect.
On the downside, the overall story feels flat. The focus is spread out too far, which results in some plot threads adding little to the true meaning of the film. Despite all the science fiction, The A-Frame is really about learning to deal with a serious illness. It’s too bad that the focus on that idea isn’t stronger, because there’s a lot of potential here.
Star Rating: 3 out of 5 (pretty good)
As for “gorehounds” like me, there are a couple of brief moments with some bodily goop and small, but fun, creature effects. Those scenes are too short to elicit any howling, but I do appreciate their addition to the film. And overall, I appreciate this movie. If you want to watch, it’s streaming as a digital rental on platforms including Amazon Prime Video. If you want to know more before you spend your money, I did a full review on The A-Frame which you can read here.
In the News
- A trailer for the possession horror movie Traumatika was released yesterday. The film will be released in theaters on September 12th.
Birthdays
Keith Carradine was born on August 8, 1949. Keith has an extensive list of credits in film and television dating back to the early 1970s. His horror resume isn’t terribly deep, but fans of Fear the Walking Dead will recognize him as John Dorie Sr. in seasons six and seven of the series. He was also in the movie Afraid (2024), and he made a big impact in one of my favorite movies from this year, The Devil and the Daylong Brothers (2025).
Also born on August 8th, in 1981, is Meagan Good. In horror, Meagan co-starred in Saw V (2008) as Luba, the city planner who was taking bribes. She also appeared in supporting roles in One Missed Call (2008) and The Unborn (2009). Most recently, she played Jocelyn, the ex-wife of Jamie Foxx’s character in Day Shift (2022).
Events on This Day
On August 8th, 1991, Subspecies was released on VHS. As with other movies produced by Full Moon at the time, the VHS for Subspecies also included a bonus feature titled “VideoZone.” It was a video magazine that had news about other Full Moon movies and merchandise, as well as extensive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews from the movie on the tape you purchased. The VideoZone for Subspecies lasts about 30 minutes, and you can watch it on YouTube.
Thank you for reading! Be on the lookout later today for today’s new movie releases!
