Madam Cadaver's Horror Movie Reviews Showdown in Secret City (2026) "Artificial Intelligence vs. Low Intelligence" Genre: Horror / Sci-Fi / Comedy / A.I. Satire Where to Watch: Keep an eye out for this upcoming release. by Christi Newton 4 Skulls out of 5 It seems everywhere you turn nowadays, there are ads for A.I. Get an A.I. package with everything for only $59! Write a book using A.I. and sell it on Amazon! And most recently, I saw (gasp!) an advertisement suggesting you could make movies using A.I. These packages take away a person's creativity. That brings us to today's review of Showdown in Secret City, made by one of our Cadaver family members, Vinny Vineyard and Big & Funky Productions. Welcome to Talcott, West Virginia, sometime around 1870. One of the residents of this peaceful community is John Henry, a mountain of a man and a free Black gentleman. One day, a man named William arrives in Talcott with a challenge that will make John a legend. You may be wondering what this has to do with A.I. I'm getting there. The challenge is man versus modern technology. John must hammer more spikes than a machine designed to do the same task. They have only eleven minutes to complete the contest. When the time is up, John Henry emerges victorious. Sadly, shortly afterward, he succumbs to a heart attack brought on by the strain of the challenge. Thus, a legend is born. We now jump to the present day. Big & Funky Productions is in the middle of making a film when production is suddenly halted and the project is shelved. The crew is confused, especially Luke, one of the company's bosses. As a college documentary crew records the chaos, the filmmakers are summoned to meet with a mysterious talent agent. She informs them that they've spent years creating low-budget, "crappy" movies that consistently score 2 out of 10 ratings. According to her, audiences simply don't understand their films... except for one guy. The solution? Artificial intelligence. The A.I. representative tells them that an advanced computer named Fritz will create a blockbuster movie, while Big & Funky Productions will serve merely as human consultants. Better yet, they'll receive $1,200 for their trouble! The only catch is that they'll have to sign over the rights to Fritz. And who exactly is Fritz? He's an A.I. residing inside a supercomputer, the very same supercomputer that helped build the atomic bomb. Fritz has studied humanity and reached a simple conclusion: people love two things on the internet: cats and pornography. Therefore, a movie containing both elements is guaranteed to be a hit. Being men of principle, the filmmakers decide they'd rather create something else. Soon they're dealing with German Nazis, a woman who speaks with an English accent despite being raised by hillbillies, a talking dog, sex robots, angry janitors, and all manner of bizarre situations. Meanwhile, Kandi and Travis seek help at a local church. While there, they encounter a religious karate group performing demonstrations. The pair are given some special oil to help battle the forces of evil. Unfortunately, the "holy oil" turns out to be lubricant. Will Big & Funky Productions and their friends create a blockbuster movie? Will they stop Fritz before he takes over the world? I highly recommend watching this fun and timely film to find out the answers to these questions and many more. Showdown in Secret City is a blend of horror, sci-fi, and comedy packed with robots, A.I., laughs, and indie filmmaking charm. If you enjoy creative genre movies that don't take themselves too seriously, this wild adventure is well worth the ride! Trivia (Courtesy of Vinnie Vineyard): *** Showdown in Secret City is the fourth chapter in the Smoky Mountain Chronicles, an interconnected series of independent genre films. These movies are typically horror-comedy fables inspired by the legends and folklore of the Smoky Mountain region. *** There really is a "moron skunk" bit in the movie. (The Madam finally found the moron skunk in one of these films!) *** For Big & Funky fans, watch closely during a scene featuring a government worker reviewing security footage. The monitors contain clips from previous films in the series, along with sneak peeks at a few future entries. Yours Cruelly, Madam Cadaver HOME