This week the Grue-Crew face getting lost in the woods with The Ritual, fear the haunting tones of The Lullaby, and race to solve the terrifying mystery within Midnighters. First up is the feature The Lullaby from director Darrell Roodt where a new mother suffers the paralyzing fear of her waking nightmares. "Killing Is Easy. Getting Away With It Is Murder" teases the tagline for  Midnighters from director Julius Ramsay. Up next is The Ritual from director David Buckner - this film is making waves on Netflix since it landed there a few short weeks ago. The hunt is on for the diamond in the rough. Doc Rotten from Horror News Radio and Jeff Mohr from Decades of Horror: The Classic Era are joined by Rafe Telsch and Vanessa Thompson. 

Gruesome Magazine Podcast - Episode 008
The Ritual – Midnighters – The Lullaby

The Lullaby

Returning to her hometown, Eden Rock, and overwhelmed by the birth of her firstborn, Chloe van Heerden (19) tries to come to terms with motherhood. Despite the support from her loving mother, Ruby (35), Chloe struggles with the demand of being a new mom. The incessant crying of her baby, the growing sense of guilt and paranoia sends Chloe into a dark depression. With a heightened urge to protect her son, Chloe sees the danger in every situation. Distraught she pays a visit to family psychologist Dr. Timothy Reed (40s) who diagnoses her intrusive thoughts and feelings of anxiousness to a mild case of baby blues. Yet the thoughts grow worse and more violent. Chloe starts to hear voices and humming of a childhood lullaby and sees flashes of a strange entity around her child. Convinced that the entity is real, Chloe does everything in her power to protect her son. Her decline reaches fever pitch, and everybody seems to be moving against her. Desperate, Chloe finds solace in the arms of her childhood friend, Emile Hess (20s). The world around Chloe implodes and it becomes clear that she and her child are in imminent danger. But from what? Is Chloe haunted by evil or is it just the baby blues?

Director: Darrell Roodt
Cast: Raine Swart, Thandi Puren, Bandon Auret, Deandre Reiners

Midnighters

Midnight, New Year's Eve: when all the hopes of new beginnings come to life - except for Lindsey and Jeff Pittman, whose strained marriage faces the ultimate test after they cover up a terrible crime and find themselves entangled in a Hitchcockian web of deceit and madness.

Director: Julius Ramsay
Cast: Alex Essoe, Perla Haney-Jardine, Dylan McTee

The Ritual

A group of college friends reunite for a trip to the forest but encounter a menacing presence in the woods that's stalking them.

Director: David Buckner
Cast: Rafe Spall, Arshar Ali, Robert James-Collier