With a 2024 film having a title like The Stalking, you’d imagine some form of retro-focused stalk ‘n’ slash afair-but it’s far from that!. What we have here is a pulpy, low-budget and fun slice of pumpkin pie horror. The film is set around Halloween- bringing together an evil witch, killer sunflowers, a bullied ‘teen’, and a reanimated scarecrow. Here from Wild Eye Releasing is a Blu-Ray release of the film, taking in a director's commentary.

The Stalking was jointly directed by Mark Polonia & Jeff Kirkendall, with Jeff writing the script.  If you have only a passing interest in low-budget horror fare you’ll know Mark, as he started his career back in the early 80’s making SOV classics with his brotherJohn like Splatter Farm and Hallucinations- he’s since gone on to rack up nearly one hundred directors credits.  Equally, You’ll probably know Jeff too-  as between the mid-90s and present he's had around seventy acting credits in a low-budget fair, as well as fifteen director credits. So two seasoned low-budget filmmakers.

The film runs at a tight/stripped-of-fat seventy-two minutes. We kick straight into things seeing a black-crowned & black ‘n’ white made-up witch stirring a potion in the woods, conjuring something/ someone up…and from the off you note the camp/ knowing nods to low-budget horror fare from the past, as she’s stirring it all up in a large/ everyday pudding bowl with a kitchen hand whisk!.

As we move on we meet a selection of meant-to-be teen characters- who are all played by folks in their late twenties/mid-thirties. There is- a being bullied/ sensitive boy, his bespeckled into making potions male friend, and their tom-boy buddy.  They are been bothered by a gang made up of a punk, a stoner, and a biker tough guy.

As the film unfolds sunflowers are popping up everywhere, using their vegetation tentacles to kill folks, and later evilly chuckling. There’s also a demonic half-plant/ woman creature,  a tree/ plant monster, and towards the end of the film a lumbering scythe-carrying scarecrow.

The whole thing romps along with a great feeling of fun & flare. Yes, the effects, be they backwards-filmed killer roots, bad CGI blood effects, or fleeting gore are very cheap. And the acting is decidedly mixed, at points badly hammed-up- but first & foremost The Stalking is a hell-of-a-lot of fun pulp horror fare, with true passion & commitment behind it…and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

The only extra here- aside from the trailer reel- is a commentary track with Mark Polonia & Jeff Kirkendall, it’s a most down-to-earth/ chatty affair. They begin by talking about how the pre-credit Witch scene was added on, as the film wasn’t long enough. We find out the picture was shot over two years- with different elements filmed throughout all four seasons, so they had several bags of leaves to use in the summer shoots.  They talk about the large cast of twenty actors- who bring together  Polonia regulars with new actors.  They touch on the effects which were created by Mark’s son Antony, point out locations, and say they saw the film as Goosebumps for adults- which I think is a good description of the film. They talk about the multiple vine shots they had to do, and joke about starting a spate of killer vine films- as a later film also uses them. Later on, they discuss the shaking/manipulation of the sunflowers. Talk about how there is never a dull moment in the film, and point out some of the actors. All in all a nice laid-back/ entertaining track

If you dig low-budget, pulpy, and fun horror The Stalking is a must- with the commentary with the two directors being a good addition/ worth a play.