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'Duel' is a powerful, riveting and intense action, psychological horror made for TV flick that turns a simple premise into a relentless nerve-racking thrill ride from start to finish. Directed by the legendary Steven Spielberg in his feature film debut and based upon the short story of the same name by Richard Matheson, the movie is a masterpiece of fear and tension and it's a prime example of not needing a big Hollywood budget to deliver big scares.

The Plot = David Mann (Dennis Weaver), a travelling salesman driving through rural California on a business trip. However, he soon finds himself chased and terrorized by a mostly unseen and psychopathic driver of a semi-truck.

This is a prime example of how effective the less is more approach works here with nail biting suspense filtered throughout its high-octane thrills, simple yet gripping narrative and enhancing the paranoia driven atmosphere which keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout its entire runtime. Even at this early stage in Spielberg's career he uses the film to demonstrate his remarkable talent for storytelling and his masterful use of suspense. Even decades later, the movie still feels fresh as it strips away exposition and character development to focus on raw fear and constant lingering dread, which totally works thanks to its well-written screenplay by Richard Matheson, it's tight pacing and a satisfying yet cathartic final showdown which ends everything on a high note and is what makes this such an underrated masterpiece in Spielberg's filmography.

The central performance by Dennis Weaver is excellent and despite appearing unsympathetic at first, he does a great job of getting the viewer invested in his plight as the movie goes on and therefore gives a well-rounded and engaging performance.

Overall 'Duel' is a taut, powerhouse TV movie thriller that goes beyond its limitations thanks to Spielberg's keen direction and turns this into an all-time classic.

'Hell House LLC' is a fun, refreshing and effectively chilling found-footage supernatural horror film that makes the most of its modest budget and limited resources to deliver one of the most authentically scary and narratively compelling entries in the found-footage sub-genre. Directed and written by Stephen Cognetti, this is an incredibly well-made production that delivers frights, tension and atmosphere in equal amounts making this a firm horror cult classic gem.

The Plot = Five years after 15 people were killed during a haunted house attraction at the Abaddon Hotel, a documentary crew travels back to the scene of the tragedy to discover what really happened.

The movie utilizes the found footage format really well as it conveys a subtle yet eerie tension throughout its runtime, leaning into creeping dread and lingering terror with its gradual buildup of suspense and mystery, along with some well-timed jump scares before the supernatural chaos kicks in. Honestly, it's rare to find a movie these days that genuinely delivers scares, but this manages to exceed expectations as you're constantly on the edge of your seat as everything slowly unfolds. However, this movie is not without its flaws as while the cast do deliver strong and grounded performances, none of them were really fleshed out and some of the shaky camera movements became annoying to the point where you couldn't make out what was going on. Then there's the ending which kinda fizzled out and left you wanting more. But this is still a great horror flick that truly delivers atmosphere and some unforgettable moments that will stay with you long after it's over.

Overall 'Hell House LLC' is an excellent entry in an oversaturated sub-genre, that while its not perfect, it's still a solid time that's well worth your time.

'Equinox' is a fantastically weird and awkwardly scrappy little supernatural horror film that achieves a great deal considering its amateur production values and limited cast. Originally made as a short film in 1967 by Dennis Muran, but wasn't finished until 3 years later by Jack Woods, the movie is something of an enigma due to its surreal tone and hodgepodge approach and while you couldn't call this a good movie in the traditional sense, it still manages to be a somewhat influential and yet highly entertaining mess.

The Plot = Four young friends, David (Edward Cornell), Susan (Barbara Hewitt), Jim (Frank Bonner) and Vicki (Robin Christopher) go for a picnic in the Californian canyon, where they stumble upon an ancient book used to conjure demons, soon the group find themselves under attack from a plethora of evil creatures.

The movie may be low-budget and wildly accepted as amateurish, but this strange combination results in a fun time that captures a certain atmosphere that's sorely lacking in modern day films. Featuring some impressive and highly imaginative stop motion creature effects and tons of off-the-wall moments that catch you by surprise and gives the production a certain charm. While the film achieves so much with the so little approach, there's a lot that holds back this from what could have been an even better viewing experience. The acting is dreadful, the continuity is questionable, the camerawork is shaky, and the writing is horrendous, but despite this the movie isn't the unwatchable mess it could have been as you can see the heart and ambition that the filmmakers tried to achieve which makes this rather earnest effort that did go onto inspire far better genre films such as 'The Evil Dead' series and for this should be celebrated as a cult classic in that regard.

Overall 'Equinox' is a fascinating case study in DIY horror filmmaking and while its far from perfect, it's actually quite decent.