The Beta Project – review

Directors: Brett William Mauser & Dane Berkshire

Release date: 2025

Contains spoilers

Based on a one-off webisode called The Project, as far as I could tell, this was an interesting little film that resolved in a way that was a tad unsatisfying (as I’ll explain) but did an awful lot right despite the low budget. From a TMtV point of view, whilst there is talk of demons, and we do get Lilith (Dane Berkshire) as the Mother of Demons, there are monsters within, referred to as crusties, that have fangs, can turn and can be staked through the heart.

Lana in the storage area

It starts off with Lana leaving a building and going into what looks like a large storage area. We see a head pop down behind her in the dark and eventually she finds herself surrounded by two men and a woman. The older man starts a sales pitch, essentially, offering her life, happiness and eternity. This is observed from the shadows by Mike (Brett William Mauser) who is slightly startled when Rose (Katrina Nash) comes up behind him.

offer accepted

Mike confirms there are three crusties and he was about to introduce himself. Rose stops him. Lana has been offered a choice and so they can’t intervene – Mike hates that rule. The film has a lot to say about free will and destiny (and the mutually exclusive nature of the two things). Lana accepts the offer and is bitten, falling to the floor. Mike and Rose go in, she taking on the younger pair of crusties with a sword and Mike going after the older one. He shoots him and then puts a bullet close to the heart (enough to slow but not kill). By the time he gets info out of the crusty – Lilith, thought dead, is back – Rose has despatched the other two and, after Mike feigns letting the third go, she kills him.

Lilith and Colleen

Six months later and an operation is in place, led by Hank (Trey Bayer) for the Project. They have used Stan (Brad Scribner) as bait. He is in a warehouse, where he has been beaten for four hours. This is at Lilith’s behest and watched by Colleen (Jane Dare Haas) – I didn’t pick up on exactly who Colleen was but it is inferred she has political ties – Lilith takes over the interrogation using femininity (and, one guesses, demonic power) to try and find the location of the Desert Rose (at the end of the film revealed to be a sword). Stan, of course, doesn’t know but he does spill he is working for the Project just as they are making their entrance. Colleen and Lilith look, separately, to get out and Lilith kills all the agents. Interestingly Colleen, after this, stabs Lilith with a small blade that causes the Demon Mother an injury and, we discover later, is magical in nature as monsters that can spontaneously heal fail to do so when injured by it.

Mike and Rose

Having failed to eliminate Lilith, Rose initiates the Beta Project – which involves pulling a team of four women together. These end up being selected as Mehnkah (Gidget White) – an accountant at the Project chosen at random by Mike, Ajay (Cristina Cruz Rodríguez) – a smuggler, Worm (Allie Smith) – who is in a crew with Ajay, and Joy (also Dane Berkshire) – a rogue DEA agent who is described as a banshee (but unaware of this, it seems). They manage to pick up Ajay at a deal gone south but Worm is captured by Colleen’s people and Joy is captured by Lilith, posing as a cop…

dusting a crusty

All of which is great and there is some nice character building with regards Ajay and Joy – with actress Dane Berkshire working with herself really well, with both characters feeling unique and the interaction feeling totally natural. Where the film left me unsatisfied was in the end where the rescue missions end and so does the film itself. It felt more like the first act of the film rather than the first film of a series. It is, however, testament that (as it comes in at feature length) the film did not drag despite only feeling like the first act. So, the film delivers an opening premise but with a huge amount left to explore. A strong 6 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

Shadows of the Past – review

Director: Luz Cabrales

Release date: 2025

Contains spoilers

A portmanteau film, where the anthology is made up of films that seem to have been created for the film, rather than just tying unrelated shorts together, should be welcome. However this one struggles due to its poor framing of the narrative and, frankly, lack of chills.

There is no traditional vampire in this, rather there is a banshee that is part of the wraparound. Banshees do actually appear in Bane’s Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology but generally are not thought about as vampiric beings. In this I would argue she is.

the youths

So, before I get to the banshee, let me talk about the framing. It starts with a group of teens running. One asks why Mario (Jamie Dougherty), leader of the gang and only guy, made her do it. *It* is shoot a woman – a senseless slaying, as another gang member says that she was going to give them all the expensive items in the museum. It just feels hokey, like a story sketched but not thought through. They head for a mansion and duck in the unlocked door.

Dan Frederick as the Caretaker

Inside they meet the caretaker (Dan Frederick) and the gun is aimed at him. However, he talks them down by saying if they leave they’ll get caught but if they stay and keep him company then he’ll give them all the valuables. Again, hokey and not great storytelling or realistic sounding dialogue. Nevertheless, they stay and each story the caretaker tells is a segment of the portmanteau. When Mario demands the treasures, we get the wraparound’s backstory.

the Langstones

It centres on a ring, that the caretaker puts on, and the owner Collin Brooks Langstone (Karl Barbee), a 19th century gang leader and businessman who was given the ring by a banshee (played by several actresses). The ring would grant his desire so long as he kept on luring souls to feed to the banshee – the souls/life (both are mentioned interchangeably) kept her young. However, he met and married Rose (Tara E. Kojsza), the banshee grew jealous and killed her, cursing him. The dialogue says he was “condemned by the banshee’s dark mind” and then “the mind turned mansion” – indicating that the mansion is a manifestation of her mind and, as she is an energy vampire, the mansion is a vampiric building.

supping a cup of blood

Now, where this goes further awry is that it is indicated that the caretaker is Langstone in another form, and the curse can be lifted if he passes the ring (and thus the curse) to someone as evil and greedy as he… the inference being Mario. However, then the kids are hunted through the mansion by the banshee and the ring is not passed on. A cop, going door to door, shows up in the morning and Langstone answers. He is asked about what he is drinking (we only see the teacup) and he says tomato juice, it keeps him “young, rich and vibrant” and “he just made a fresh batch”. This implies it is blood that he drinks but, as a concept, comes from nowhere.

vampiric building

It is very crude storytelling, certainly for the wraparound, and whilst the segments feel a tad stronger it isn’t by much and they fail to chill. It is a shame as dedicated anthology/portmanteau films are very welcome in general and this might have been a welcome entry in that genre. Rather it is a damp squib. The use of a banshee as an energy vampire is unusual. 3 out of 10.

The imdb page is here.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK