Every Tuesday the direct to DVD horror market gets flooded with throwaway titles, so for me the genre is becoming stale. That’s why “Side Sho” was a surprise. It’s a film that I’d have rented when I was a kid and watched attentively as the carnage unfolded on screen, and it definitely rose to the top of its target market.

The story is a simple one that every horror fan knows well, a clean cut all American family is traveling down back roads in search of roadside attractions when they stumble upon a sideshow museum run by a family of deformed maniacs. Director Michael A’Anna does a good job with a small budget and seems to care about the genre. The film, which is obviously shot in HD looks good, and the locations are interesting as well, but what stands out here is that fact that the filmmakers created characters that I cared about. John David Hart was a stand out as John Goodall and did a great job as the dad fighting for his family. He reminded me of Bruce Campbell quite a bit and the filmmakers were aware of it because they throw in a “Groovy” line that was pretty funny.

Overall “Side sho” is a welcome return to back to basics horror filmmaking. It was fun, funny, and provided an ample amount of the red stuff that horror fans expect from a low budget genre romp. Add a case of beer, a few friends, a bowl of popcorn and this flick is a recipe for a good time. So check out “Side Sho” for sho because it is a killer film!