The anthology style horror film is almost always a peach folks. The kicker is the fact that the stories are so short, if they suck so terrible thast you can't stand it, they're over before you really get a chance to express any real amount of anger towards the filmmaker held responsible; then it's just time for the next offering. Plus, the viewer gets to sample some flavor from multiple filmmakers in one sitting. An anthology with a wrap around story is even better, the wrap around acts as a bonus (yeah, an EXTRA story!) and since it comes and goes before and after each short, the same rule of thumb applies. I am a fan of the anthology, especially in the world of horror. It's much easier to make a short tale of terror work, than to drag out a 90-minute stretch mark.These things quite often work out better in the smallest of doses.

The latest offering from Brimstone Productions is a trilogy of tales held together by a recurring wrap around story called MONSTERSDOTCOM. The theme of course has to do with monsters (natch) and the whole affair has a very tongue-in-cheek, retro quality that I really admired. It doesn't all hit the mark (then again, what does these days?), but the fact of the matter is that MONSTERSDOTCOM is one of the most clever Brimstone Productions that I've seen in quite some time.

The wrap around story is entitled SPAM and it centers around a young man being held hostage by another man who is searching for his daughters killer. The computer is the centerpiece here and 3 links on the web lead us to our three individual stories that make up the bulk of MONSTERSDOTCOM. Before and after each story, we return to SPAM as the captor's true self is slowly revealed.

The first story entitled LAST STOP STATION follows a tabloid reporter out in the middle of nowhere and in need of gas. When he stops to fill up, he meets the most unlikely of gas station attendants. Are these attendants an incarnation of Death himself or are they just in need of a ride? Shot in B&W, LAST STOP STATION is a fun short that features some inventive cinematography and solid performances.

Next up is SHADOWS IN THE GARDEN, a story about a small town that has to contend with a murderer and a monster lurking about all at the same time. The monster itself is some sort of plant creature, and although feared by the populous, said creature could possibly have good intentions after all. The second story features a minimal amount of dialogue communicating wholly through onscreen action. The plant creature, while looking a tad silly at times, is still pretty effective. I found this short to be a nice homage to the classic b-movie creature features of yesteryear. Still serious at times SHADOWS IN THE GARDEN manages to retain a comic book quality about it.

The third story QUENCH, the least effective of the three tells the tale of a monster of another sort. A young woman, having a hard time keeping a relationship, relays her story to her latest conquest. The problem is that her insatiable lust for death may just be the reason that she can't seem to keep 'em around after all.

LAST STOP STATION is the real draw here, with its moody B&W photography and wicked sense of humor. I couldn't get a real grasp on the filmmaker's intentions for SHADOWS IN THE GARDEN, I liked it but was it for the wrong reasons? Was this a serious piece on understanding and revenge or was it meant to be a campy monster on the loose short? Despite these flaws and the cheesy monster costume, I still wound up enjoying it. For some reason I felt a connection to the sympathetic plant monster and when the filmmakers weren't taking themselves too seriously, it played off like an homage to the classic EC comics. It was all very Creepshow-esque, or more like the shorter story stylings of the classic TV series MONSTERS or Tales from the Darkside. The wrap around story SPAM featured some clever writing and effective performances as well, the only problem is once we veered off into creature territory, we got hit by the silly bug once again, literally this time.

Fans of indie horror and the world of anthology horror would be wise to give MONSTERSDOTCOM a once over. Made for very little money and with a lot of heart, that's truly what the world of indie filmmaking is all about. If taken with a grain of salt (and possibly a few shots of Vodka) MONSTERSDOTCOM makes for some inventive and fun indie viewing.

For more info visit Brimstone Media online by clicking here!