Pulp Modern: Hand of Doom is a feature-length horror anthology that sets vintage weird tales in present-day workplaces. A sinister, sarcastic cockatoo named Cocky, voiced by Darren Casey, introduces five tales of mythical nightmare monsters. The unnatural bestiary includes an urban werewolf, killer badgers, zombies, giant mutant frogs, and a Kaju-sized subterranean demon. Cocky magically appears to dimwitted loser Garry (Matt Bissett-Johnson), who, in a moment of despair, offers to exchange his soul to be a “badass salesman from hell.” Cocky coaches Garry with an abusive mentoring style to improve his acumen as a salesman, which provides the framing story for the chapters of cheap thrills to come.
The Overtime segment reveals the challenge of a surprise party thrown for a man with a lunar phase problem, trying to beat the clock. In The Badger, Jenny (Stacey Daly) is a newly appointed “head of badger culling division,” and winds up putting in overtime on a particularly nasty infestation of savage badgers. The killer badger is clearly a dog in a costume, which makes for a riotously funny cryptid chase. The Dispensary of Death presents a distinctly Irish take on zombies when Kevin (Keith Singleton), recently bitten by a zombie, comes to see the lovely Laura (Niamh Branigan) at the apothecary for a cure. He’s totally smitten by her beauty and (ahem) brains, so he goes along with her radical approach to de-zombification. Just as the undead situation seems well in hand, the frogs attack in the Croak chapter. The final two vignettes and the film’s wrap-up are left to the viewer to explore. Your patience will be rewarded. Hint: Cocky is more than just an arbitrary exotic bird in a mall from hell who happens to have top-notch language and sales skills.
A workplace nightmare goes full splatter in Pulp Modern: Hand of Doom (2025).
“…a horror anthology that sets vintage weird tales in present-day workplaces.”
Six directors and eight writers have great fun riffing on the lowbrow context with a wink to the audience, none taking the assignment too seriously. Their cheeky, hysterical horror-comedy slots neatly into the pulp genre with the maniacal energy of demented celebrations of madness like Re-animator and Frankenhooker. Gallons of the red stuff are splashed, and a good time is had by all (with the possible exception of the mutilated victims of the various encounters). The production value is better than expected for a low-budget horror film, with startlingly good special effects and solid performances. The budget all wound up on the screen, and the film benefits enormously from that focus.
Pulp Modern: Hand of Doom is the second film from the publishers of the pulp fiction digest magazine, Pulp Modern. The vignette format keeps the action lively, while the tie-in to the magazine gives a solid Creepshow vibe for those who remember the 1980s George Romero/Stephen King anthology film. That movie used a comic book as a framing device for the chapters.
Soaking up the five stories of Pulp Modern: Hand of Doom makes for a bloody, delightful interlude with extreme, but cheesy, monster violence, gore, and macabre humor. It also features the soothing soundtrack of Greek metal band Thelemite. It’s party time for lovers of trashy horror.
Learn more at the official Pulp Modern website.
"…a bloody, delightful interlude with extreme, but cheesy, monster violence, gore, and macabre humor"
