Uncle Sleazo’s Toxic and Terrifying TV Hour Review from Dead Vision Productions!
Severed Cinema is no outsider to anthology horror cinema. From the gory, to the extreme, to the ludicrous, we cover a lot. This time around we have an exemplary anthology, as a tribute to, not the over utilized Grindhouse era, but to late night cable access horror akin to the likes of Zacherley, Sir Graves Ghastly, Elvira, and Vampira, to name a handful. Now I present to you Lucky Cerruti’s Uncle Sleazo’s Toxic and Terrifying TV Hour!
Our film begins with a husband and wife going out for the night, leaving their son the TV remote as a babysitter. Quickly after their departure he hastily finds Uncle Sleazo’s Toxic and Terrifying TV Hour on the tube. Our host Uncle Sleazo (Jordan Hornstein) sits adorned in a suit and red bowtie, wild grey hair, with crudely blacked bags under his eyes via face paint. His set is ghoulish and campy, like that of items one would see in a Halloween haunted house, filled with cobwebs, and skulls. The casting here is exquisite. Uncle Sleazo perfectly demonstrates a fun horror host, with a squeaky vernacular, filled with horror puns akin to The Cryptkeeper from Tales from the Crypt.
Each short film is introduced by our festive horror host, intercut with commercials, news, and movie previews. The first short titled, Curse of the Beta Wolf, is a throwback to old-timey black and white horror serials of yesteryear.
Debra Sue (Sarah Dalton), and her boyfriend Lowell (Jameson Batt), sit in a car atop a lookout. Nervous, Lowell decides they should leave, and that he take her home before her father freaks out. On their way however they hit some sort of animal. Lowell stops the car to see what they hit and is brutally bitten on the arm, by a wolf, that then runs off. With his arm all grued up, he hides this from Debra Sue and takes her home.
That night being a full moon, Lowell squirms in pain, and begins transforming in that hokey over-lay fade sort of way, ala The Cross of Seven Jewels. In the morning he wakes up, his bed and legs covered in dirt, not remembering his transformation the night before. Venturing outdoors, he confronts a man following him Connery (Alex Hall), who knows more about Lowell’s lycanthropic activities, than he does…
This is when we bare witness to our first Saturday morning cartoon-style commercial involving ecstatic children and the hilarious Dahmer’s Apartment Playset! Wow, just wow, this one is a standout for sure.
Our next short film titled The Soulmate, is introduced by our horror host speaking to his twin ventriloquist dummy. The Soulmate is my favourite short of Uncle Sleazo’s Toxic and Terrifying TV Hour, which explores one of the most original plots I have seen.
Emily (Hope Stamper) takes her friend Laura (Liv Watkins) out to dinner to celebrate her purchasing a house. Afterword she convinces her to get her fortune told by Madam Althea (Matthew Sorensen). Apprehensive, Laura eventually agrees and when asked about a topic she would like answers to, she asks about where her soulmate is. Madam Althea expresses that most people will not meet their soulmate but will still live a happy life. However, there is something more sinister waiting around the corner for love-pondering Laura.
Our final short film of the anthology is Transferral which finds a Man (Bryce Stanton) out for a run on a wintery night. Along his way he finds a gaunt looking figure in the road. He attempts to converse with the figure, but to no avail.
He heads home, pets his dog, and speaks on the phone with his bro, when he hears something outside. Peering out the window he sees a disgorged grey cat. Thinking the cat’s demise was due to an animal he thinks nothing of it and ends his call. A knock comes to the door, and he answers. The same figure is now at his doorstep. He asks if they need help. He is returned by silence. Frustrated he states, “Look you can’t be here, you’ve got to go.” Continuing that he is calling the cops, our Visitor (Leslie Dame) responds, gasping for breath, “It finds a body it can blend in. It wants to stay hidden. It needs a body… to sustain it.” After some more dialogue the Visitor opens its shirt to reveal a crusty bleeding chest. “Oh my god, are you okay.” the man asks. Then the chest cavity opens, revealing insect-looking legs reaching towards the man. “What the fuck?” he cries before one of the appendages pokes him in the schnoz. Yes, what the fuck indeed…
Uncle Sleazo’s Toxic and Terrifying TV Hour presents three wholly unique stories, in one ghastly package. The acting is on point for an indie film where acting is usually secondary. A standout performance goes to Sarah Dalton as Debra Sue. Her old-timey panicky yet subdued dialogue delivery lends to the serial horror period precisely. Aside from top-notch indie acting, the film does contain some varying quality gore scenes, and includes some cool stop-motion in the third short. However, gorehounds shouldn’t venture into this if that’s all you’re looking for. Viewers need to venture into this with a childlike feeling of Halloween approaching. Not to mention there are tons of fake horror trailers to behold like Night of the Fetus 2, It Came from the Bile Duct, and Clown Cop, which are icing on the cake.
Uncle Sleazo’s Toxic and Terrifying TV Hour is a cornucopia of horror amusement perfect for horror fans pursuing a unique horror anthology with nostalgic flare. Each short film juxtaposed with faux-commercials, TV spots, introduced by Uncle Sleazo, gives off an authentic vibe that doesn’t try too hard or wear out its welcome. Much of the host, Uncle Sleazo’s introductions give off the same feeling I had as a kid watching The Hilarious House of Frightenstain, which is quite the achievement.
Be on the lookout for Uncle Sleazo’s Toxic and Terrifying TV Hour coming from Dead Vision Productions very soon.
Directed by: Lucky Cerruti
Written by: Lucky Cerruti, Matthew Sorensen
Produced by: Lucky Cerruti, Leslie Dame, Matthew Sorensen, The GalDukes, Sarah Hale, Benjamin Morningstar, Ryan Macdaniel, Morihiro Oishi
Cinematography by: Lucky Cerruti
Editing by: Lucky Cerruti
Music by: Lucky Cerruti
Special Effects by: Dead Vision FX, Puppet Bucket Productions, Relics of the Blind Dead, James Bell
Cast: Jordan Hornstein, Jameson Batt, Sarah Dalton, Alex Hall, Liv Watkins, Hope Stamper, Matthew Sorensen, Bryce Stanton, Leslie Dame
Year: 2022
Country: USA
Language: English
Colour: Colour, Black & White
Runtime: 1h 27m
Studio: Puppet Bucket Productions, Between A & B Productions
Distributor: Dead Vision Productions
