Gnomes
Directed by: Mike Storch
Released: June 2004
Preview Mike Storch is a great director who has made many short dramas. For his first full-length, he decided to dip into the difficult 3dmm genre, horror. How did he fare? Extremely well. Gnomes is a great movie about a family who move into a forest, only not all the 'neighbours' are friendly... The horror was done extremely well, bulding up the tension perfectly. The movie also had some drama elements, which were very good, although they stopped too soon. The visuals, as with all of Mike's movies, were excellent. The voice acting was superb, Justin Wawrzonek as the old man stealing the show. Overall, Gnomes has tiny flaws, but the superb direction and great script shine through. I have heard that there will be a live-action version, and hopefully it can live up to the brilliance of this. Review by Will Cheyney.

It was in the making for more than 2 years, and when it was finally complete it didn't disappoint. Written by Ramza Brave and directed by Mike Storch, Gnomes is truly the best horror film made in 3dmm. The plot is basic for a horror movie: New family moves into house, nearly forest area is haunted by evil... something. In this case it's killer garden gnomes. It sounds silly, but Mike made something that could have been incredibly cheesy be incredibly atmospheric and frightening. I've always thought Mike was really good at cinematography, and this movie proves that. The angles are perfectly placed, and they really give you a feeling of tension during every scene. I occasionally got shocked by a scene, which is a big thing in 3dmm. However, the horror element isn't all. The characters are also well-rounded. There's Henry, who's basically just a normal kid. Sarah is his friend, who has also recently moved to the area, and has a broken arm she is reluctant to talk about. The old man (expertly voices by Justin Wawrzonek) is the only one who knows about the Gnomes, and lives by himself after they took his dog. Sarah's mom is a pretty good character. Devastated by the loss of her husband, she takes her anger out on others, which is where the drama element comes in. Some people say it failed, but I think it added a nice touch to the story, and included the best line of the movie. The ending is kind of a let-down as not much seems to happen, but this is still the best 3dmm horror ever, and a damn good drama too. Review by Tom Bown.

Overall rating: 9/10 Download
Gnomes [9.27 MB]
Gnomes Trailer
Directed by: Mike Storch
Released: May 2004
Preview This is the kind of trailer where the music drives the bus, so to speak. While watching some rather graphic images to the sound of chirping birds and loud drums, you can't help but feel your appetite well and truly dampen for a slice of this slick horror flick.
Overall rating: 6/10 Download
Gnomes Trailer [729 KB]
Maybe Next Year
Directed by: Mike Storch
Released: December 2003
Preview Christmas 03 Film Festival movie #4. This is an excellently made, short but sweet xmas movie. The combination of haunting music, cinematic camera angles and solid scenery, create a very watchable experience. To reveal anything about the movie would ruin its effect; just download it. The small file size should also cause no complaints. Nice stuff.
Overall rating: 7/10 Download
Maybe Next Year [365 KB]
Memory, The
Directed by: Mike Storch
Released: April 2003
Preview You won't find anything new in this movie. Mike goes about the man comes home, sees man fleeing, goes inside and finds wife dead. What's different is the sheer stupidity of the guy who kills his wife (watch movie to see for yourself) and the pretty good use of the soundtrack. I'd download it personally, cause it wasn't bad, while at the same time it wasn't a blockbuster either.
Overall rating: 6/10 Download
Memory, The [981 KB]
Missing
Directed by: Mike Storch
Released: April 2005
Preview The last piece of work we saw from Mike was 'Gnomes' which had brilliant cinematography and was in all honesty, an excellent 3dmm horror. Mike also knows how to add drama to a 3dmm film. It's the combination of drama plot twists that make this movie alot better than Gnomes. It depicts the story of a man being held captive and tortured in someone's basement; Meanwhile his wife is searching for him. That's all I'm going to say for now so that I don't ruin anything for you. The 'twist' I keep going on about is an under-current running beneath the story - it's brilliant and something you genuinely won't suspect. Down to the technical details now. As with most of Mike's movies the scenery is beautiful and animation is smooth and fluid. The voices are perfectly matched to the characters and fitted well with the movies atmosphere. There really isn't anything I can fault. This is a must download for anyone in the community, especially for fans of Andres' scripts (he wrote the story) and/or of Mike's previous filography. Definitely something not to miss! Review by Ben Rice.

Missing is an atmospheric thriller backed by a compelling story and chilling dialogue. Mike Storch both borrows from and departs from the style of his previous thriller, Gnomes. Like Gnomes, Missing relies less on flashy animation and more on music and dialogue to propel the story forward. Missing employs a strong story penned by Andres de la Hoz, that follows two parallel stories that seemingly go together. The main story is of a prisoner, and a sadistic kidnapper, who establishes atmosphere early on with a chilling monologue about what kinds of torture he will inflict on his victim. The second story involves a wife searching for her missing husband, presumably one of the two characters involved in the first plot. These stories flash back and forth, building tension as we discover that the outcome of one story will ultimately determine the end for the other story. There are some holes, or unclear moments. Why has the man been kidnapped? What are the motivations? While these may have been purposefully left out to allow for interpretation, they leave the viewer slightly confused at the end. This is Mike Storch's strong point. Every camera angle was added for a reason. Storch doesn't resort to frivolous camera moves, or splashy scenery, because he doesn't need it. His camera work is atmospheric, evoking a claustrophobic, doomed feeling that serves the film wonderfully. I'd also like to note the chilling montage of torture tools shown near the beginning. This caused my stomach to drop, and set me up for the entire rest of the film. I've already mentioned that Storch doesn't indulge in splashy effects. His scenery is believable, consistent, and solid. Some effects are a little out-dated, such as the explosion-based rain, and some lacking textures. Otherwise, Storch's visual style of Gnomes returns in many of the outdoor scenes. The inclusion of suburban and domestic scenery does allow some departure from the constant rural setting of Gnomes. Andrew James Thomas has once again come through to arrange and produce (correct me if I'm wrong, please) a suspenseful, atmospheric score. Thomas is a fan of Silvestri, but it doesn't get boring. The score is one of the strongest aspects of the film, so strong that when I had to pause the movie, I rewound back to the music cue to experience it fully. Voices were well done. The torturer's speech stood out as a delightfully terrifying bit of dialogue. All the voice actors did Andres' script justice. Though the payoff at the ending was not as satisfying as one may have liked, Missing is a strong outing from Dark Gnome Productions. From the suspenseful story, to the atmospheric staging, Missing was well worth the download, and a movie that fans of Storch's work and thrillers should definitely take the time to see. Did I mention it's atmospheric? Review by Andrew Salter.

Overall rating: 10/10 Download
Missing [4.98 MB]
Mistake
Directed by: Mike Storch
Released: October 2003
Preview "Mistake" is a very short (about one minute long) film about a man who apparently kills his wife and newborn son. It is presented in a very unusual, almost preview-like format. No background is given regarding the story, and the film plays in a very slow and eerie tone. The music adds to the film well, and the few sound effects are well placed. About half of the movie consists of plain text, showing the man's thoughts, and in the few places where custom scenery is shown, it is merely average, but generally goes by too quickly to really be seen well anyway. There really is no animation in the movie, most of it is just quick cuts. While the idea behind "Mistake" is interesting, the format really just doesn't work very well in 3DMM. Up until the final scene, I was unsure whether this was a full movie or only a preview. This may be worth a download, but isn't something you're going to want to keep.
Overall rating: 4/10 Download
Mistake [550 KB]