Welcome back to Rotten Ink for another “From Horror Movie To Horror Comic” update. For this one we will be talking about the 2022 end of the world horror film Revealer that was released as a Shudder streaming original film, and of course this film also got a comic released by Vault Comics as the film’s screenplay was co-written by comic veteran Tim Seeley so it was a perfect fit. So if you are ready, let’s avoid the religious protesters and head to the peep booth as I heard Angie Pitarelli is dancing tonight and you know you’re in for a rock n roll good time when she moves to the grooves. Let’s just hope that the end of days doesn’t happen before we get there.

Let’s first start off by looking at the film’s main villain and King Of The Demons, who’s also called the Creature Of Judgment, Asmodeus, the dealer of death. Asmodeus is a very powerful demon who takes part in the end of the world helping cast judgment and punishment on those left behind to face the wraith and destruction of Satan’s rule over the Earth. He is all-powerful and cannot be hurt or killed with typical weapons and is super strong and can kill humans with his bare hands or with his mystical biblical powers. Just the sight of this demon can cause panic, fear and death as he is a horned being and is massive in size with a booming demonic voice. He is also very tricky and can mimic the voices of your loved ones to lure you into his trap, and will force you to judge those around you in order to save their soul or damn them. He also is joined by demonic snakes that have wide opening mouths and will force themselves down your throat to cause madness and violent tendencies to come out making them a very deadly part of Asmodeus’ power. Just him being on Earth will cause panic, death and destruction making Asmodeus one of the most powerful demons we have ever covered here. While Asmodeus cannot be killed or truly stopped, he can be slowed down if you can remove his head and then bash the skull to bits, you can also avoid him if you are being called home to Heaven or be true to who you really are. So as you can see, Asmodeus could be one of the most powerful monster we have ever covered here on a From Horror Movie To Horror Comic updates, and that’s saying something as we have covered the likes of Godzilla, Tall Man and Michael Myers to name a few.

So now that we have chatted about the demon Asmodeus, I think we should now take a look at the film he is from, and that is of course the Shudder original Revealer that hit the streaming service in 2022 and later would release on DVD. So like always, we will be taking the film’s plot from IMDB and after that I will be writing about the film’s production as well as my thoughts. So if you are ready, let’s head to the tunnels as I hear the trumpets playing and that means Asmodeus is on the prowl looking for souls to judge.

Revealer (2022)

“Tensions rise when a stripper and religious protester are trapped together in a peep show booth and must come together to survive the apocalypse in 1980’s Chicago.”

Revealer is an indie horror film that is based on the story by Luke Boyce with the screenplay being done by Tim Seeley and Michael Moreci. The plot is about the end of the world and how a stripper and protestor have to come together to survive. Luke Boyce would also step in to direct the film and cast such names as Caito Aase, Shaina Schrooten, Bishop Stevens and Buzz Leer with Caito and Shaina snagging the lead roles. Production and filming were your normal indie fare and the use of bright colored lights helped add to the dread feeling of the film, as did the conflict between the two leads over religion and judgment. The film would be scored by Alex Cuervo who had already done the music for such films as The Pale Door, Scare Package and Modern Society. The film was released as a Shudder Original on the streaming site and would be met with very mixed reviews from both critics and viewers as many of them thought the film was too preachy while others found it to be a fun end of the world horror fright flick. Over time, the film gain a cult following and when released on home media it found even more of a fan base. The film would be released alongside such other films in 2002 as Halloween Ends, The Black Phone, Smile, Terrifier 2, Thrust, The Barn 2, Dark Shade Creek 4 and The Menu to name a very small few. The film’s screenplay was co-done by Tim Seeley who many of you comic book readers know as the creator behind Hack/Slash among other comic series.

I first saw this film of course on Shudder and watched it right after the comic book was released, and I have to say while it is a horror film that is not everyone’s tastes, I really enjoyed the idea of two polar opposites being stuck together in a tiny sleazy peep show adult store while madness and death is raging outside and they must find a way to work together in order to survive and avoid damnation. The film was laced with messages about don’t judge people for what they do for a living, don’t let religion make you ashamed of yourself if you are gay and that women are just as strong as men and can face the odds and win…and I have seen some of the reviews that dislike it because of these reasons, and I say that is a silly reason to dislike a film. The film’s sets are pretty much the peepshow booths and then the underground tunnels, and the way the sets are lit make them work really well and add to the film’s spooky end of the world atmosphere. Actress Caito Aase is fantastic as stripper Angie Pitarelli and actress Shania Schrooten is great as protester Sally Mewbourne as the two have really good on screen chemistry together and make the limited sets and low budget work. The film also makes great use of sound as you can hear screams, sirens, trumpets and all sorts of odd noises in the background showing that the outside world is truly in chaos. The effects for the demon snakes and Asmodeus are well done for the lower budget, and for some reason the head of Asmodeus reminds me of a head of cauliflower with horns, no joke but I liked the design of the demon for what it was. Over all I have seen better and worse horror films about the End Of Times, and Revealer is a good quick watch film that works with the limitations it was given and makes it work to entertain for under an hour and half runtime.

Now that we have taken a look at Asmodeus and the film he is from, Revealer, I think it’s time that we take a look at the comic based on it that was released by Vault Comics to go along with the film to promote it. And again I have to give indie comic publishers as well as Shudder much respect as they have done a couple of these horror comics based on films with the other being Spare Parts, and I hope that this is a trend that stays around for awhile as it would be great to keep getting these one shot issues based on their original films, and I am looking at you Vault & Behemoth Comics to keep this going. I would like to thank Game Swap Kettering for having this comic in stock and making this update possible. I would also like to remind all you readers that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So if you are ready, let’s see what this Revealer comic has in store for us.

Revealer # 1  ***
Released in 2022     Cover Price $4.99      Vault Comics     # 1 of 1

“Creature Of Judgment” The demon Asmodeus is running around Hell very cocky and even takes on fallen angels who have given up their wings, and after the battle Asmodeus returns to his demoness lover Sarah and she stabs him in the back and Asmodeus clearly has lost his rule of his Kingdom in Hell when is own minions attack him, and after being bound, tortured and his eyes removed his new job of being the Creature Of Judgment is about to start of the End Of Days on Earth is among us. “The Righteous Judgment Of Sally Mewbourne” we join Sally and Angie who are in the tunnels under the Peep Show Adult shop and are being confronted by Asmodeus who is ready to pass judgment on Angie and this causes Sally to find herself in a red room and being asked to say what is wrong with Angie and her life, and Sally takes a stand and refuses to judge her friend and this cause Asmodeus to be pissed off and he makes Sally face her own flaws…but she finds her inner power and Angie helps bring her out of it only after that is they attack and take down Asmodeus as Sally swings a mean axe. “Baby David” Angie is in her apartment practicing her stripper dance when she is shocked to find her nephew David home and asking if she is a sinner and if her dancing will lead her to Hell as he says his friends parents tell him these things, Angie calms him only for David to disappear and a demon baby version of him to appear in the apartment and attack her with his snake tongue…Angie then wakes up to find a leak in the ceiling and is forced to take extra shifts at her job of stripping to pay for the repair. “A Freaky Thing Happened On The Way To Revealers” Ray who works the front end of the adult peep show club is on his way to work and is kind to everyone he comes across as he lets the store clerk keep the change, buys a neighborhood kid a comic book, brings and older woman a rose and even tries to give a homeless man a dollar…but this backfires as the homeless man rips up the dollar and warns him that the end is near and this his hero complex of wanting to be the protector of women will be his downfall…and Rey mad heads to work with those words in his mind.

This is a very cool horror comic that fills in some of the gaps of the film and makes it a must read for fans of it. This comic has four stories that are based on the four top characters of the film and that of course are Asmodeus, Sally Mewbourne, Angie Pitarelli and Rey, and each part is very interesting and helps add more levels to their personalities and also showcases what they were doing right before the events of the movie so we see why Angie took an extra shift, what Rey was doing before work that day and the anger and torture of Asmodeus before he was sent to judge those left behind. We also get a look at what Sally had to see when she was dragged down one of the tunnels and seen a twisted version of Mary Magdalene. My favorite story of the four I would say is “Creature Of Judgment” just because I found it to be a fun mean spirited and twisted tale, but to be fair the other three segments are also very well done and help build the world of Revealer. The comic does a great good of building the set up for End Of Times and shows all the warnings that Angie and Rey face before the big event takes place. While the comic has some spooky moments and some tension of what is coming or in some cases is already here, the comic is bloodless and does not have any gore or death in it, but don’t let that scare you away as this is still a solid horror comic for fans of the film. But that is the thing I do feel that if readers have not seen the film or did and didn’t like it this comic would not be for them as it’s very heavily tied into the events of it making it a great promo item for the film. The cover I have for this comic is very cool and showcases both Sally and Angie and is eye catching with the use of the more neon style colors. The comic has a team of artists behind it as each of the four has a different one doing the art and these artists are in order of their story Ken Landgraf, Chris Anderson, Caroline Leigh Layne and Dean Kotz, and all do great work with Landgraf and Layne being my two favorite styles but not to downplay Anderson and Kotz as their work is also top notch. Over all this is a good read and is for fans of the film or even those interested in maybe reading to see if they would like to see the film. Checkout the artwork below to see the styles used for this comic.

Revealer is an indie Horror Film that has built is building cult following thanks to Shudder, and it was very cool that Vault Comics made a comic to help promote the film as to be honest buying the comic is what made me watch the film as I really am a big fan of comic books that are based on films of the horror genre. And while Revealer the film and comic are not for everyone, I do think you should give them both a chance and check them out. So with that I think that I should let you know that the next update will continue out look into comic books based on horror movies as we will be talking about Blacula and the graphic novel released about him. So until next time, read a horror comic or three, watch a horror film or two and as always support your local horror host! And now that I think about it, Revealer here was the first update in our countdown to Halloween 2024!