THE WRONG FLOOR

THE SETUP

Firstly, I just want to say thank you to brothers Marc and Carl Hamill (Marc who Co-Wrote and Directed the film and Carl who was a script editor), for allowing me early access to an online screener of their Action/Crime film, “The Wrong Floor”. The Wrong Floor is a micro- budget throwback to those cheesy B movies of the 70’s and 80’s. Action films that blend Sci-fi elements were all the rage back then, you know the ones about experimental drugs and shady corporate enterprises etc etc. In the fictional town of Haven Port City, Danny Green (played by Carl himself) is a young man investigating the disappearance of his Father, who was once a groundbreaking scientist. Danny takes a security job at the research facility his father worked at, in the hopes of finding some answers. He discovers the manufacturing of a green drug called “Haze”, the problem is so does everyone else. Gangsters, Toxic hobos, Secret agents, Desperado chavs, Street thugs, Mad scientists and A news reporter are just a few factions that cross paths in this mash-up of genres. The film also stars Heather Percival, M.J Simpson, Ron Hamill, Shane Buckley, David Hardware, Tom Robinson and Chris Postlethwaite. This is the first full length feature from Marc Hamill.

THE GOOD

Alright, let’s get straight into it. The hand sketched poster art for The Wrong Floor looks fantastic. There are some truly talented people out there and it’s great to see work like this on display, so kudos to graphic artist Thomas Hodge. There’s a guy called Devon Whitehead doing this style of poster art in the US so if you like it check it out. I like that the exploitation nod here is quite concealed. The brothers approach to that device still shines through but all the while still being presented quite modernly. It feels like a throwback to films like “Savage Streets” and even the early “Class Of Nuke Em High”. The Wrong Floor’s main plot point involving a mysterious and mind bending drug is clearly inspired by the more recent Grindhouse, indie flick “Hobo With A Shotgun”. Things begin on a positive note, with the combination of retro style credits and a super 80’s/90’s video game esq song to accompany them. The credits were presented in bright pink, much the same as the early films of John Hughes. A couple of the main locations are conferred through early establishing shots as we’re introduced to Danny almost immediately.

The estimated budget for The Wrong Floor was just $4,500, keeping in mind this is an 87 minute film and not a short.. so it’s not a great sum of money by any stretch of the imagination. I’m pleased to be able to say that the production value looks surprisingly high. I estimated the film’s budget at $10,000- $20,000, so the boys really got good bang for their buck. Most of the shots are nicely framed and all the camera movements are pretty smooth. I liked the odd zoom and clever focus shots that were placed throughout, as well as all the lighting. It was a smart decision to set most, if not all of this film during the day especially because on such a small amount of money you can’t afford to pay experienced gaffers and grips. The Wrong Floor is all about its music, 80’s synth music to be precise. Ninety percent of the score is made up of retro style, 80’s synth tracks pumping through the speakers and I loved it. Nicolas Winding Refn uses it perfectly in his films “Drive” and “Only God Forgives” more recently the style can be heard in films like “The Guest” and “Turbo Kid”. This soundtrack is every bit as impressive as the aforementioned films.

With a cast of over 150 people, some of who play multiple roles it can be difficult to keep track of who you’re watching and in what role. So here’s what I will say, Carl Hamill reminded me of a slimmer and younger Nick Frost (think Hot Fuzz). That Danny Butterman, kind of likable goof and because of that his character was the most interesting. His performance wasn’t perfect but he was relatively consistent in all of his scenes, the same cannot be said for some of the other cast members. My two favorite scenes in the film involved Mr Marcais (Ron Hamill), whose a gambler/crime boss of sorts. There’s one sequence that takes place in Spain, at Marcais’s palace overlooking the sea and another that involved a cool explosion of squibs using some nice effects. Firstly I’m impressed they shot the scene on location in Costa Blanca (which for a micro-budget movie is already impressive). Secondly, the cinematography and shot choices during that part highlight the films aesthetic professionalism. Marcais was a bastard character but entertaining all the same and Ron did a decent job in the role.

THE BAD

There’s a few basic things within the technical aspects that aren’t perfect but given that it’s a micro-budget film and a first full length feature some of it can be forgiven. The audio is crystal clear but there’s a huge amount of ADR (additional dialogue recording), in fact nearly the entire film. I’m going to assume most of the locations that were used weren’t audio friendly. You get varying results with natural audio depending on what sort of equipment you use. If you’re interested in low-budget film making you learn to read between the lines and look for reasons why filmmakers choose certain options. A lot of cameras don’t have high quality audio built on board and therefore if you don’t use boom mics and good quality gear so much of it can end up unusable. I’m going to assume that’s what happened with The Wrong Floor. On a positive note, at least you can hear everything properly even if it was all re-recorded in post. Some of the sound effects are a little punchy and don’t necessarily compliment the specific actions. There’s a bunch of scenes that feel cut off early and some continuity issues in transitioning scenes but those are common errors when you have limited time and resources.

The Wrong Floor has a lot of stale dialogue and most of the interactions feel unnatural and that’s the biggest problem. The first act introduces way to many characters before you’ve even got your bearings on whose who and what’s going on in relation to the criminal activity, the corrupt corporation and your one or two key characters. While your busy figuring out how it all relates you get another handful of players come along, some who arrive for a scene or two and others who end up becoming main characters, it’s all a bit of a mess. Simply put, there’s just too many characters. After chatting a bit with Marc I got some insight into his vision for the film and what he hoped to carry out versus what he did carry out. This film is the epitome of a collaboration. A lot of people put in plenty of time and effort to see it come to life, so I understand to a degree why there’s so much going on unfortunately I think it’s going to hurt the film and leave people a little confused though. Everything is pretty scattered for the first thirty minutes, relatively plain and uneventful then there’s a sudden shift in tone but without the urgency needed. The entire film is slow to progress and when some much-needed action should be induced it’s not. Instead they opted to introduce another set of characters, over complicating what should-be a simple formula.

You don’t feel any of the concern or panic surrounding what may or may not have happened to Danny’s dad. He doesn’t seem to be in much distress or at least no time is spent trying to convey it and considering all the things he doesn’t know about the situation, you’d expect more of a reaction. A majority of the secondary characters have little to no arc and in turn the acting comes off as pretty ordinary. Keep in mind a lot of the cast have no experience and on low-budget films you don’t usually have the money to afford professionals so you work with what you’ve got. A lot of these actors/actresses don’t have much to work with but what they do present us with falls well short of the mark. Heather Percival plays Heather herself (haha), an employee of the research facility and someone Danny begins something of a relationship with. This girl had a tough time. Her performance was disappointing, she had promise as the next most relatable character in the film but couldn’t manage to sell me on her fear, concern or desperation and when those things fail and that’s all you’ve got, Where to from there? Same went for M.J Simpson playing Dr Logan, the leading scientist at the facility. I couldn’t seem him commanding anyone’s attention. His requests and orders toward others was delivered without any vigor. Most of the other minor characters suffer from similar shortcomings.

The Wrong Floor is a tricky one to critique. It’s one of those B movies bound to divide audiences. First and foremost, to get any enjoyment out of a film like this you have to understand the filmmakers intent. It’s aimed at a very specific demographic and although I enjoy a good Exploitation/throwback, I’m cautious about them. The Hamill Bros film get’s plenty of key factors right. The poster art, the films core story (if you strip it back) and most of the technical aspects are all surprisingly well executed especially taking into account the experience levels and minuscule budget. There’s a couple of cool sequences involving Marcais and you have to take your hat off to these boys for traveling to Spain to shoot what was a very brief scene when they could have avoided it and settled on a ham-fisted end edit. The highlight of the film for me though was the nostalgic 80’s/90’s synth score, I could listen to that stuff all day, totally dug it! A good number of the nitpicky, technical things I can probably let slide. Sadly the stiffly delivered dialogue, mediocre performances and inclusion of way too many characters are three of the key things that I just can’t ignore. There’s failure almost right across the board when delivering realistic and appropriate reactions to anything and everything in the film. Obviously the script has to wear some of the blame because after all, the cast can only work with what they’ve got and in this case it’s not much. Even with all the criticisms I still take my hat off to these boys and their DIY approach. Not everyone is cut out for guerrilla film making and although the result is far from perfect I’m sure they learnt a lot and can hopefully apply that in their next venture. Fans of the genre should still take a look, maybe you’ll find something I couldn’t.

My rating for “The Wrong Floor” is 4.5/10

SHARKANSAS WOMEN’S PRISON MASSACRE

THE SETUP

This is a review for the pre-release, Region 3 DVD of “Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre” Directed by Jim Wynorski (Chopping Mall and Piranhaconda). Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre is a made for TV esq, Sci-fi/Creature feature about a group of women offenders who escape while on routine prison detail in a remote and heavily wooded area. Carl (played by John Callahan) is the officer in charge of keeping the group of colorful characters in line. With two law enforcement agents, Detective Patterson (Traci Lords) and Levine (Corey Landis) hot on the tail of the escaped inmates both parties are unaware that nearby fracking has accidentally opened a waterway where a prehistoric shark has entered. This group of misfits must band together if they’re to put a stop to the ancient beast. The film also stars Dominique Swain, Cindy Lucas, Christine Nguyen, Amy Holt, Skye McDonald, Oscar DeRosa, Chris Christopher and Tabitha Marie.

I’ve followed Jim’s work on and off over the years, he’s been at it since the early 80’s with films like “The Lost Empire” and “Chopping Mall”. I didn’t see any of his work through the 90’s but in the early 2000’s I started noticing his name popping up on hilariously amazing, pun filled titles like “The Bare Wench Project”, “Alabama Jones and The Busty Crusade”, “The Devil Wears Nada” and “The Hills Have Thighs”…. just to name a few (I could go on). I know what you’re thinking, Surely these must be porn right? Answer, yes some are. They tend to be on the soft core side but always showcasing a variety of buxom women. I’ve got four or five of Jim’s more serious films in my collection (most of which I still haven’t seen yet) Oh yeah and when I say serious I mean about as serious as this title I’m about to start critiquing (haha). What I can say about Wynorski thus far, is that he appears to have a great rapport with those he works with and is clearly all about just having a blast and it shows in the result.

THE GOOD

These days we’ve come to know what to expect from the modern creature feature. They’re usually pretty standard fare which involve either small groups of survivors post catastrophe, or a wealthy and untouchable corporation who while up to no good unleash a water/land dwelling, mammoth hybrid of sorts (or something to that effect). Now you’re thinking I’m going to say Wynorksi takes a different approach aren’t you? Well sorry to disappoint, he doesn’t but that’s part of the charm of this style of B movie. Sharkansas has a wonderful production value that instantly elevates it from the majority of films that air on the SyFy channel. This was shot in Marianna, Florida which looks like a gorgeous place. The arboreaceous landscape and its gullies of water make for some truly sublime cinematography early in the film. There’s a real cheesy but awesome piece of synth music with guitar backing it during the opening credits. Most of the soundtrack is fairly generic but that opening song was so damn catchy!

Tony Randel should be commended on his slick editing. The film only runs about 80 minutes, so there isn’t any of that pointless exposition no one cares about dragging it out unnecessarily. The sound department did a nice job of maintaining a consistency between dialogue audio and special/sound fx. I’m not sure if it was Jim’s decision to light the film like an episode of “The Bold and Beautiful” or whether you can chalk it up to the gaffers creative input, either way I thought it was done to parody those terrible day time shows, and though I found it off-putting it was also very funny. Even all the external shots have that white glow wash over the actresses faces. It’s like you’d expect to see them on a cloud of fairy floss or in someone’s dream or something, it was very odd. Given the genre and its usually lazy, by the book method I was surprised at the quality of the cinematography. There’s a lot of steady framing and smart shot choices, as well as some nice wide shots and careful tracking in the lead up to when we first see the shark. Hell, even most of the stock footage looks decent and is matched accordingly, which is extremely rare in these types of films. David DeCoteau take note.

If there’s a constant in Wynorski’s modus operandi it’s that he has a knack for casting some of the most gorgeous women, I’m not sure how he does it (haha) but I’m bloody glad he does! You can be sure anything of his is bound to shell out exuberant amounts of T & A, let’s face it that’s a big part of the reason you’d watch a film called “Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre” or “Cleavagefield”, “The Breastford Wives” I could go on, and on and on and on (haha). Okay, so the women, Where do I start? Right off the bat we are introduced to our 5 delinquents who are on route for some slave labor. Anita Connors (played by the voluptuous Cindy Lucas), starts off as the more discreet member of the group, that is until things go pear-shaped. Shannon (played by the lovely Amy Holt from Jim’s film “Dinocroc Vs Supergator”) is a sweetie (as much as a felon can be) and happens to be a pretty strong female character. Sarah (the gorgeous Sky McDonald) has a tonne of sass and isn’t one to take any attitude from her peers. Michelle (Christine Nguyen “Bitch Slap” and “The Devil Wears Nada”) is the oriental girl, constantly referred to as “Soy sauce” or any number of other racial slurs by her fellow convicts. She remains the nicest and most relatable of the characters. Lastly there’s Samantha (the pretty Tabitha Marie in her acting debut).

The most ludicrous thing about this group of attractive felons (besides the fact that they’re all far too attractive) is that they wouldn’t all be wearing cleavage exposed, white shirts and denim short shorts (haha). If they were potentially a danger to the guards or those around them they’d probably be wearing handcuffs and sporting orange jumpsuits, not frolicking around in the autumn leaves and that’s one of several things that make this movie hilarious. Check your attitudes at the door people, if you can’t tell this is intentionally B movie schlock you probably shouldn’t be watching it. As you can see I’m dissecting it like I would any other film, but at the same time fully understanding the end goal. Before I go any further I want to mention the sweet and bubbly, Dominique Swain who plays Honey in the film. I can’t say much about her character without some heavy spoilage but just encase you saw the IMDB and thought I missed her, I thought I better mention it. Most of the acting from this group of girls is pretty even. A few reactions here and there felt a bit forced and I really didn’t feel threatened by the ringleaders behind the groups escape (they shall remain unnamed). I’m not sure it was all down to their acting, probably more to do with the writing. I thought overall Nguyen and Holt delivered the best performances but most of the cast do enough.

Wynorski’s and Co’s Screenplay is laced with little cheeky jabs and moments of comedy, or on several occasions “attempted comedy”. Most of the banter feels natural enough and there’s some great insults thrown around by Honey, Anita and Sarah usually directed at Michelle. Some of the sequences don’t pay much attention to those before them and the attitudes of the girls end up changing on a dime. One minute we get a completely self-aware, hot girl montage with our wet-shirt, bombshells firmly gripping shovels and picks and slowly penetrating the earth’s core with them (much like that dance film clip…. yeah you know the one) then next they’re holding people against their will and getting in scraps with each other over nothing and tossing in jokes about “The Fugitive”, it’s all kind of uneven. I’ll make a quick mention of the CG and shark effects which were another element of Wynorski’s film that surprised me. Okay, so we don’t get to see the shark anywhere near as much as I would’ve liked. However, I acknowledge that’s clever in its own way especially if you don’t have a sizable budget to make it look good. Instead Jim opts for a realistic looking fin and when half of the shark comes out of the water it looks practical and far better than anything we’ve seen on the aforementioned SyFy channel, so kudos!

THE BAD

You’d think with so many positive things to say about Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre there wouldn’t be much left to cover. However, with these types of films I like to be thorough and give readers a sufficient amount of information to base their decision on whether to watch it or not. From a technical point of view this is probably one of the best creature feature’s that I’ve seen in a long time. My only nit-pick is that some of the external shots show glimpses of harsh light, shining through the trees into the frame which is a little off-putting but other than that all the aesthetics are great. All of my complaints lie in the writing and some shortcuts that were taken in creative choices that could have improved the overall result. Traci Lords was the one person that missed the mark in a huge part of this film. She’s the most experienced member of the cast so naturally I was thrown off by her stumbling through scenes, unassured one moment to jittery the next, I’m not sure if it was the OCD style character or her acting but either way it missed the mark. Corey Landis playing her partner Adam Levine (not Maroon 5’s front man) was only marginally better. The detective work, minus a quick scene was essentially non-existent and they don’t ever share any scenes with the women in question. Both roles seemed to lead to dead ends and in the greater scheme of the narrative they weren’t needed.

A couple of unnecessary characters are just the first hiccup in the script, some of the dialogue leaves a lot to be desired too. I get that it’s a stupid idea and all the specifics are completely impractical so why would the interactions be any different? But lines like “More sooner than later” and the constant use of “Crap on a cracker” when things don’t go according to Honey’s plans gets a bit much to swallow after a while. On the upside, other than the light-hearted racial taunts Jim’s film doesn’t have any profanity (a rarity these days) so I’ll commend it on that maybe just try something like “H E double hockey sticks” or something equally corny as to mix it up so it’s not all about crackers and crap. Segueing me perfectly into a couple of the downright dumb sequences that desperately needed a re-write. At one stage, Carl and the group of women are supposed to be looking for something or someone (I don’t remember who, Sarah I think?). They are all out in the woods standing around, no more than 5 or 6 meters apart pretending to look for something when just over to the side lay a body part which one of the girls discovers, and then proceeds to yell out to the others who are right within earshot…. come on guys, that’s lazy writing Didn’t anyone pick up on that on set? Obviously not, but I did. Carl being the brains trust that he is, also decides the girls should make a dummy and smear some blood on it to attract the sharks who are circling around the lake house the group are hole up in. Let’s just say that the shark thought it was as stupid as I did. Of all the potential plot points to act as a catalyst that was the best option? Surely not.

The other key aspect to the success of a creature feature comes down to effects and action sequences you introduce. Overall there’s a lot of shortcuts and lack of details in that part of Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre. The makeup application to the characters wounds lacked attention to detail. They opted to only use some basic makeup patching and put a few blood stains here and there, on the actors arm or on their clothing to try to maintain the continuity. The first sight of a decomposing body should have been gruesome and stomach turning instead, the body prosthetics even from a distance look cheap and fake with complimentary sound effects of flies added to the mix. I always go into a film like this hoping to get the three core basics, Nudity, Action and Gore, if I get two out of three I’m usually satisfied. Although these women make for some lovely eye candy no one get’s naked, partially or otherwise. There’s nothing wrong with keeping it PG but one has a certain expectation especially if they know Jim’s previous work. I can forgive that side of it but unfortunately the lack of on-screen kills and missing blood and gore, minus a couple of average CG sprays puts a damper on the re-watch ability factor. If the estimated budget is anywhere near close to the IMDB figure, there was plenty of funding for the whole nine yards and I’m disappointed to not have gotten that.

Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre is the first film of Jim Wynorski’s that I’ve reviewed here at Adamthemoviegod and I’m sure it won’t be the last. He’s had over 30 years in the industry and it shows on-screen and with his cast and crew. I was pretty excited for Sharkansas and from a technical point of view I wasn’t let down. The production value is impressive, the strongest characteristics being the location and standard of cinematography. As expected, the film is carried by a cast of stunning women who for the most part do a solid job of bringing their characters to life and making them entertaining. Some of the banter is humorous and the absurdities of the finer points of the writing make for a very fun 80 minutes. To top it off, what we do see of the prehistoric shark looks surprisingly good. Much to my surprise, whenever Lords was on the screen it was a hard sell and the scenes involving her and her partner never felt like they fit. The script has some embarrassing dialogue at times and a couple of dim-witted scenes to help advance the plot didn’t bolster it. The kicker is that Wynorski’s film doesn’t have the Nudity and Action one might be expecting, so just a heads up. As I’ve advised filmmakers before, if you’re going to make one of these films make it action packed, use detailed gags and plenty of the red stuff because it’s what your target audience hopes to see. Regardless, I still had fun with this and I look forward to watching Jim’s other films that are in my collection. Bring on his next venture CobraGator!

My rating for “Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre” is 6/10

SISTER HELL

THE SETUP

Firstly I’d just like to say thank you to Writer/Director, Fredrik S. Hana for allowing me access to an online screener of his 15 minute, Psychological Horror/comedy short “Sister Hell”. Please excuse the pixelated version of the above poster art, I couldn’t get access to a high-resolution photo so it will have to do for now. Sister Hell is the story of a reclusive nun who decides to leave the monastery in order to become the curvy and voluptuous women she truly sees herself as, but it might come at a cost. The film stars Thomas Aske Berg, Espen Hana, Oliver Hohlbrugger, Anders Hommersand and Johanna K. Rostad. Fredrik has directed a handful of other short films but this is the first time I’ve seen any of his work.

THE GOOD

Hana’s script is quite an interesting one. Through careful pacing he manages to capture that innocence and naivety with which our young protagonist approaches her goal. The core theme in Fredrik’s script is discovery. Specifically where and how we fit into the world. Being able to comfortably exist in one’s skin without fear of judgement or in this case, eternal damnation. Sister Hell approaches its body modification surgery in a similar way The Soska Sisters did with “American Mary”. The procedure plays out with fast cuts as we see a mix of slapdash cutting and stapling. You can imagine the aftermath… it’s realistic and rather disgusting. On the other side of the coin, most of Hana’s aesthetics feel like they’re straight out of the 70’s. There’s a magnificent looking church, very old and distinctive making for a great primary location.

The camera work is very smooth and carefully constructed. Smart and simple shot choices on display, along with some well placed tracking shots in a few scenes. Though the running time is brief the film is still edited superbly. The acting is solid but the dialogue is scarce, most of the messaging is conveyed through visual intensification. The aspect I enjoyed the most in this one was the incredibly jolting, unnerving sound effects. The score reminded me a lot of Robert Eggers film “The Witch” (not a great film but a fantastic score). For the most part the siren effect that’s used, combined with the instrumental sounds helped build everything up (even if it was slightly overused).

THE BAD

I thought it was a little too easy and convenient in the way the back alley business was revealed to us. She’s only just arrived and then all of sudden a neon sign offering cheap surgery appears. I would’ve liked to have seen her have contact with someone else in the city or find a business card etc, maybe that’s how she finds out about the place (just something different). I didn’t like the piece of music playing in the nightclub scene. It wasn’t necessarily because I don’t like the style, I just thought it was a plain and poor piece of music. I was hoping for a clearer message from the themes that were covered. Something with some weight behind it but instead the ending I got was a bit bizarre for me. It was made worse by the decision to mute all the sound during the climax, making it even harder to decipher the deeper resolution. It’s all a matter of personal preference I suppose and I think stories with religion based sub-text tend to lose me.

Sister Hell was an exploration of a common enough topic but definitely executed in a different and memorable way (no matter how you look at it). It felt to me like part “American Mary”, part “The Witch” while still managing to maintain a certain level of originality. The acting was solid, the camera work/audio well-managed and the eerie sound effects topped off what was a technical success. I would have preferred a few different specifics within some of the writing and a clearer more impactful finale. All the same, Fredrik has made an enjoyable little film that will only take up 15 minutes of your time so be sure to check it out when it becomes available!

My rating for “Sister Hell” is 7/10

THE SMILING MAN

THE SETUP

First off I’d just like to say thank you to Writer/Director, A.J Briones for allowing me access to an online screener of his 7 minute Horror short, “The Smiling Man”. I’ve made contact with a lot of different filmmakers through my interest in these types of short films. AJ was a contact I found through Gabriel Olson, a mutual contact and filmmaker who directed “The Bridge Partner” *see review *https://adamthemoviegod.com/the-bridge-partner-review/. The Smiling Man is about a little girl (played by Abbi Chally) who while home alone, comes face to face with a malevolent stranger (Strange Dave). The film also stars Mellissa Chally and The Smiling Man whose voiced by Richard Dorton. I was surprised when I saw the long list of credits to Briones name. Turns out he works as a visual effects artist and previsualization supervisor. His list of credits include “47 Ronin” another film I reviewed, plus “Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes” and “Tomorrowland” just to name a few. It’s rare I get the opportunity to review a film made by someone who specializes in a completely different department.

THE GOOD

I initially caught a brief snippet of the trailer for this one and thought the premise really looked like it suited the short medium. Although it’s not necessarily original, it’s very well conceived and an entertaining seven minutes all the same. The creepy use of balloons to lure the little girl into a false sense of security made for quite a nice build up. There were a couple of nice jump scares that were generated through sound effects and score, rather than just conveniently placed where the audience might have dropped their guard. The camera movement was the most impressive facet of The Smiling Man. AJ applied some nice simplistic framing, as well as throwing in some gentle tracking shots to help convey the tension filled situation the little girl finds herself in. There’s one aerial shot used right before the main unveiling that took something away from the conclusion though. The orchestral and piano based score was reminiscent of some of Shyamalan’s work (“Signs” and “The Sixth Sense”), the sound effects were also effectively arranged. Young Abbi does a fine job in the lead role but it’s Dave as TSM that steals the show. The theatrics he displays for the characters look and movement is what helps sell the experience.

THE BAD

Even though The Smiling Man is an unsettling figure, the longer the camera stays glued to his face the more the viewer gets used to the look and feel. Though saying that, the red-faced demon from “Insidious” never became less frightening the more often you saw him, in fact it was probably the opposite (a true testament to great writing and design). The one plot point that took me out of the film, as much as one can be with such a short running time was the lack of reaction from the little girl. Are we led to believe she supposed to be the toughest, most care free child not phased by anything. I find it hard to believe she wouldn’t scream or react hysterically to such a hideous figure. I understand with AJ’s script it probably doesn’t work the same if she over reacts and runs away but regardless it’s a bit of a stretch. My only technical complaints are that I would’ve liked to have seen the film on a larger aspect ratio (but it’s a screener so you have to keep that in mind), and the entire audio channel could’ve been lifted so I didn’t have to pump the volume up so much.

The Smiling Man was a pretty eerie and enjoyable short. It’s great to be constantly watching and reviewing these really effective shorts being made by some truly talented people. AJ is new to this side of the film making process but you wouldn’t know it. Here he handles his technical aspects proficiently but knows a thing or two about writing as well. I particularly enjoyed the approach to the end reveal, as well as the chilling sound effects and suspenseful score he implemented. A more plausible reaction from our lead child was the one thing I needed to immerse myself entirely in what was otherwise a great little story. I look forward to seeing this again down the track, hopefully on a bigger scale with a slightly improved audio level. If you guys like this style of slow-burn horror, I definitely recommend checking out The Smiling Man when it becomes available. Great work AJ and I look forward to hopefully checking out your film “Carolina Parakeet” at some point!

My rating for “The Smiling Man” is 8/10

ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE

THE SETUP

First off I’d just like to say thank you to Writer and Director, Todd Nunes for allowing me access to an online screener of his Horror film, “All Through The House”. I’ve followed this film for the better part of twelve months so it’s great to finally get an opportunity to see it. All Through The House is a slasher flick set during the jolly Christmas season. A deranged, mask wearing Santa, arrives in Napa, California to wreak havoc on a local town. Rachel Kimmel (played by Ashley Mary Nunes), is a college student home for the holidays and looking for some downtime with her friends Gia and Sarah (played by Natalie Montera and Danica Riner). Rachel’s families uncertain past appears intrinsically linked with their neighbor Mrs Garrett (Melynda Kiring). All hell is about to break loose as the body count rises and twisted secrets come to the surface on this most fateful of nights. The film also stars Jessica Cameron (The Sleeper and Silent Night), Jennifer Wenger (Sharktopus vs Whalewolf and Tales Of Halloween) Jason Schumacher, Johanna Rae, and Cathy Garrett. The problem with waiting for a particular film for so long is that certain expectations build in your mind and you often end up let down. I’m particular about my Christmas themed horror films and I set the bar pretty high, So how does All Through The House compare to some others I like? Such as Steven C Miller’s “Silent Night” as well as the cult classic “Jack Frost”.

THE GOOD

Let’s start with the poster, it’s great. Fantastic clear artwork, a real throwback to Slasher films of the 80’s and that particular style of poster. It’s obvious Nunes is an old-school fan of the genre. It shows in his choice to shoot a very specific holiday themed slasher, which of course were all the rage during that time period. The camera framing and editing were both pretty solid. The POV (point of view) shots were the most effective, a clear throwback to some of John Carpenter and Wes Craven’s work. The voyeuristic, killer is watching his victim technique is always beneficial in creating a sense of the unknown. It will remain a timeless and productive method for shooting specific sequences in the genre. I first saw it used in the opening sequence of Carpenter’s “Halloween” and to this day it’s still one of the best uses of it. Mrs Garrett’s house is the key location for most of the film, it can be difficult to maintain engaging visuals in just one place. However, I was impressed with Todd’s ability to implement some interesting aerial shots without using cranes and large equipment. The film is nicely lit too. It’s always a priority in showcasing the aftermath of your action and effects with good lighting. Far to many awesome sequences in Horror can’t be fully appreciated because they’re so dark that you can’t see properly. It was refreshing to see all the dialogue driven scenes lit according to the mood and then adjusted during the “horror” aspect.

All Through The House doesn’t use conventional songs as its source of music, minus a really snazzy introductory theme song. Most of the bass and orchestral sounds are low in the mix and only start to build when its necessary. They are somewhat overshadowed by the startling violins that accompany the handful of jump scares. I thought it enhanced the response so it was enjoyable but it does overpower the score at times. The story takes some cues from the finer points of Wes Craven’s “Scream”. I could definitely see parallels in the fallout of Rachel and the Garrett’s family matters, to Sid’s in the aforementioned film. The exposition and development here is adequate for any given slasher flick but there’s nothing that elevates its standing. Not for nothing but All Through The House is the second or third film I’ve seen lately with a cast made up almost entirely of women and I dig it. We’re all fans of the “final girl” and strong female characters in Horror so why not make more of these? It was nice to see Jessica Cameron pop up in a brief but enjoyable role. In fact, all the secondary cast members characters were likable and looked great. Todd’s sister as the leading lady Rachel (who I remember making a brief appearance in the hidden gem “Redd Inc” aka “Inhuman Resources), puts in an even and direct performance while I was surprised to see the MVP (most valuable player) go to Kiring as the unstable head of the Garrett household. With only a handful of short credits to her name Melynda managed to give off a hint of Betsy Palmer in the original Friday the 13th.

Onto the good stuff shall we? The blood and the gore. Not only does our psychotic Santa-slayer look cool with his peculiar mask, he also has a new weapon of choice in those garden sheers (I’ve never seen them used on-screen before). Todd has done his research in Slasher 101, writing a nasty death sequence at the 6 minute mark of his film, Yes you heard me right… 6 minutes. On top of that there are actually four or five deaths in the opening act of the film (20 minutes). It’s very rare to see modern slashers doing that these days, they waste far too much time on exposition irrelevant to the story. The body count is high and the blood flows heavy as any 80’s inspired Horror film should. They were all well executed using practical effects and the consistency of the blood was good. The deaths were reasonably generic but a fresh weapon made for some interesting impact wounds. I’ll explain later in more detail, some of the choices that could’ve been made to make this aspect even more eventful.

THE BAD

On the technical side, the audio levels were quite low overall. But to be fair I was watching it via computer speakers (which is not ideal), so that could very well be different when played through a home entertainment system. Some of the piano orientated score didn’t have any verve, it just sounded out-of-place. Early camera shots in the opening scenes were taken from the ground or waist height and weren’t really ideal. There’s a few shaky camera movements and focus issues in that first scene as well, I think Todd was just getting his bearings on how things were going to look because it got progressively better as the film went along. Most of the cast put in even performances but there were moments throughout the film where they didn’t quite sell it, especially when things were turned up a notch and it required more emotion. Both Natalie and Danica did the best they could with their extremely bland characters, neither of which possessed any personality or arc within the story. If and when these types of characters are killed off you need to feel the loss, the friendship needs to mean something and there’s never any time spent cluing us in on that bond. Schumacher does enough in his role of Cody, Rachel’s boyfriend/ex-boyfriend (I dunno they had something sort of going on), but I’m not sure he was really needed. It just stood as another plot point that remained an unsolved mystery, no emotional connection behind it.

A few of the other faults lie with the stories predictable nature, its lack of strong characters and its shortcomings with suspense during the final act. Like a lot of slasher films there’s plenty of random deaths in this one that involve people who aren’t from the past or related to the motive of the killer and or killers. There’s a continuity issue involving another neighbor in the beginning of the film. We see Rachel speaking with Mrs Garrett and offering to help her set up for Christmas and then as she leaves, it cuts to a dog walking through someone’s garden and into another yard where said neighbor appears, it was all a little confusing. I was hoping to see some of these girls put up more of a fight to offset the lack of expansion in the writing. Other than one stalk and chase sequence the action happens all to quickly, in turn missing the opportunity to create some much-needed suspense. Todd had no qualms about making this a relatively straight forward story (well to me it was anyways). In the beginning of the story a specific character, who plays a crucial part in important revelations was acting pretty damn crazy, making it easy and predictable to see the turns this was going to make. There’s nothing wrong with a by the books approach but it does curb the re-watch ability factor somewhat. The one thing that could have made me disregard some of these pointers would have been even more gore, or more specifically prosthetics. I saw the opportunity for at least two characters to have body parts lopped off, but alas. There’s a scene involving the gorgeous Jennifer Wenger that could have taken its cues from Eli Roth’s “Hostel”, as well as a bloody neck and head that looked ready to come off but didn’t. Those are refinements that would personally win me over in a film like this.

All Through The House was the first film of Todd Nunes that I’ve seen (I think he’s done one other full length feature) and it was a pretty solid and entertaining Slasher flick. I thought the lighting and editing were great. The clever use of aerial and POV shots (point of view) was the most impressive technical feat, playing to that 80’s nostalgia perfectly. I love the look of the Santa-slayer and it was awesome to see a new and inventive weapon being used for once, I just wished I could have seen it do some more damage (I mean either way people die but yeah, haha). The body count is high and it builds quickly, utilizing plenty of practical blood and gore in fun scenarios in which to do so. To top it all off, Ashley Nunes and Melynda Kiring give pretty impressive performances. The technical stuff could have been a little more polished, along with altering and improving the score. For me to fully invest in All Through The House the writing just needed to be a bit better. The characters needed fleshing out and written so they were more worthy of your support. They were all a bit bland and most of them didn’t give a yelp when their time was up. The predictable nature of most of the stories specifics hurts the result a bit. Even with its shortcomings All Through The House is a solid entry into the slasher genre and I love supporting low-budget independent filmmakers. I’m interested to see what Todd and possibly his sister, get up to in his next film. Well Done!

My rating for “All Through The House” is 6.5/10

PINUP DOLLS ON ICE

THE SETUP

This is a review for the brand new Horror/Slasher film “Pinup Dolls On Ice”, Written by Michael Penning and Co-Directed by Geoff Klein and Melissa Mira. This latest endeavor is the sequel to Klein’s 2009 film “Bikini Girls On Ice”. Pinup Dolls On Ice sees a couple of  actors/actresses return in new roles but the cast are mostly made up of fresh faces and that’s a much-needed boost. The Pin Up girls are a 5 piece, hot retro striptease act who are invited by their friend Joy (Suzy Lorraine from “Bleeding Hearts” and “Bikini Girls On Ice”) to a secluded campground to perform at a long weekend show. The brutish and deranged Moe, who has an obsession with ice begins to stalk the girls one by one, Who will survive the night? Will anybody? The film also stars Karine Kerr, Kyla Shinkewski, Jordan May Antoinette, Emily Crighton, Ashley Laventure, Matt Popoff and William Jarand as “Moe”. Anyone whose been following my site since its inception knows that I like to try to say positive things, or give constructive criticism where I can. This is only Geoff’s second film and I’ll be honest I saw Bikini Girls On Ice back in 2010 and was completely let down, as were probably a lot of Horror fans who saw it. There’s a few do’s and dont’s, haves and have-nots when it comes to the Slasher sub-genre, in a nutshell Bikini Girls failed to deliver on all counts (except for maybe the bikinis… they were in their). When I heard this follow-up was being made I got my hopes up again because I feel like Geoff owed something better to his target audience then what he dished up the first time, so on with the review we go.

THE GOOD

It goes without saying that the first positive thing about Pinup Dolls On Ice is Geoff’s willingness to take another shot at the Slasher format,  to try to rectify what went wrong the first time. It’s easy to get deterred by those who think poorly of your film but in the end those people (myself included) have never made anything so we don’t know the hardships involved, although speaking to a lot more filmmakers and people in the industry I’m starting to gain more insight into the business. I read somewhere that Klein and Actress/ Co-Director Melissa Mira, chose to finance it themselves and really spent the required time and effort to make it the best film it could be. At the forefront of this sequel is Penning’s carefully written Moe. More vicious than ever and portrayed with vigor by Jarand, something that didn’t figure prominently enough in the previous film. Although it’s pretty cookie cutter detailing, we finally get an extensive amount of back story on Moe’s childhood and how he acquired his fascination with ice. I could feel Jarand’s demeanor this time around, bringing the character to an all new level with every grunt and berserk outburst. I’m not sure if that’s simply down to superior writing or Jarand approaching the character and his mannerisms differently.

This was shot in Lancaster, Ontario and I really enjoyed the setting. A simple location, camp grounds and an isolated bar but effective all the same. It made for more interesting scenarios and action than the gas station setting of the first film. The quality and style of lighting was another huge step up. The bar in which majority of the film is set, makes for an easier approach to the lighting. Most of the camera work was vastly improved as well, some nice early panning in the opening scenes with Kristy (the gorgeous Ashley Laventure) along with smart and snappy shot choices as things progress. The audio is extremely clear and if memory serves me correctly that was one of my biggest gripes previously. I’m assuming some ADR was done (additional dialogue recording) just to get the consistency in changing locations, either that or Gordon Neil Allen (one of the dialogue editors) really knows what he’s doing with audio. It was nice that all the sound effect impacts were blisteringly loud and in sync during the action sequences, it helped sell the raw nature of these kills. Let’s talk about the gorgeous women on-screen because they are truly something. It’s by no means a stretch to have these women playing burlesque style dancers because each of them are sexy in their own way and sell it convincingly. There’s some T and A for the male audience, sadly there’s not much to see for the ladies (other than other ladies if that’s your thing). Ashley as Kristy sets the sexual tone by baring all before an intense chase sequence, leading to a graphic climax (pardon the pun).

The group of sassy women is made up of Fiona (Kerr), Caylin (Shinkewski), Malone (Mira), Vivian (Antoinette) and Lauren (Crighton). Each of the ladies are quite compelling as they fight their way through the night, some lasting longer than others but all refusing to go easy. Those are the type of strong female characters audiences want to see and were the same ones missing from Klein’s last film. For me Kyla and Melissa gave the two standout performances and each for different reasons. Kyla’s Caylin was just extremely likable, probably one of the nicest and most mature of the group with such a strong will to live. Melissa plays the opposite persona. She’s much more of a hard ass and ruthless type, which made for an extended and interesting showdown with Moe in which we got to see Mira’s impressive acting chops. Gore hounds will be happy to know that this time around the practical blood and gore effects hit early and flow a little longer. In my opinion, the standout action sequence occurs in the first 15 minutes but later there’s also some pretty messy prosthetics. The attention to detail in Moe’s dwelling was grungy and personal and all the aftermath effects provided the most visually. I always like to see more on the blood and gore front, there were several different options they could have gone with for killing characters off but chose to cut away (maybe due to budget). I figure with such a strong deranged killer, the kills should have been even more forceful.

THE BAD

Pinup Dolls On Ice probably meets its quota on the red stuff, sadly the same cannot be said about the consistency of suspense. There’s a handful of telegraphed jump scares that you’ll see coming a mile off and the overall tension is clearly lacking. It’s a difficult thing to gauge in a Slasher film  because for the most part people just want to see the kills, that’s what they pay for. I however, like some solid suspense for the moments that aren’t about the blood flowing but seldom do they get it right and it’s hard to please everyone. The music was the other quality that didn’t do much to convey the fear, most of the score was extremely mellow and sappy, it sounded completely out-of-place. Once things start to escalate there isn’t much dialogue, at least nothing of importance but some of the conversations between the group while setting up their arcs, were a little crass and immature. For a movie with this many lovely women in it, it wouldn’t have gone astray to include at least one sex scene too. There’s a handful of finer points in the writing that I wasn’t completely sold on either.

Clay (played by Popoff) is the token, sleazy creeper that works at the bar but other than adding to the body count his character served little purpose. I preferred that this was basically an all female driven movie because there aren’t enough of them being made. The Sheriff character who clearly had a past connection with the bar owner Joy, seemed to know a lot about the escalating situation yet he couldn’t put two and two together about what was actually happening, or who was responsible until it was way too late. He knew all about Moe’s back story and congruent modus operandi, so I found that pill a little hard to swallow. I won’t mention names but one of the girls whose arc is seemingly setup for her to become the “final girl” of sorts, is written out without warning (bar a very brief flashback). Now up until that point of the film she was by far the most respectable character, I feel like the audience needed to feel that shock and loss with much more of an impact. Her friends don’t even feel it so how can we? The last plot point, and this is just a personal preference more so than anything else, I don’t agree with sexually related violence depicted on film unless it serves a particular purpose (mostly in exploitative genre films). It wasn’t a crucial aspect to the story or inner workings of the character so I think we could have done without it.

I had my reservations about Pinup Dolls On Ice but I tried my best to go in with an open mind. In the end I was more than happy with the result. It’s a worthy entry into the Slasher sub-genre and comprehensively better than its predecessor. All the technical aspects were far better developed and included neat camera work and wonderful audio/sound effects. Michael Penning’s writing was quite detailed and William Jarand was able to raise Moe to the heights he should have reached in the first film. All the girls are gorgeous and believable as burlesque dancers while still turning in consistent performances. Lastly, there was clearly more time and money spent on practical effects and better choreographed kills because it shows. Other than some stale music and a lack of tension made more noticeable by routine jump scares, most of my issues lie within details of the script and the writing continuity. I want to thank both Melissa and Geoff but predominately the latter, for taking another stab and coming up with a far superior film. Filmmakers should place a great deal of emphasis on improving their craft and that’s exactly what Klein has done here. The hard copy should be out in the US and Canada very soon and I suggest you check it out if you like independent slasher flicks.

My rating for “Pinup Dolls On Ice” is 6.5/10

DIE! SITTER! DIE! : RUPERT

THE SETUP

Firstly I’d just like to say thank you to Co-Directors, Lee and Sam Boxleitner for allowing me early access to their 26 minute Horror/Thriller Short, “Die! Sitter! Die!” aka “Rupert”. Rupert was shot as a proof of concept for a full length feature anthology which would be centered around various babysitters having to survive the night. Die Sitter Die features Alison (Caitlin Reilly), a young woman taking a babysitting job because she’s neck-deep in debt. She neglects her boyfriend (played by Demille-Cole Heard) and works three other jobs trying to make ends meet but with overdue study fees and a $12,000 invoice for her mother’s cancer treatment, it’s not enough. Shortly after arriving at the house Alison realizes she’s in for one hell of a night and all is not what it seems in this dignified, 1920’s Pasadena mansion. The film also stars Lee Boxleitner. This review will remain spoiler free (for the most part).

THE GOOD

I’ll admit I’m a sucker for a good babysitter orientated story, so while Rupert grounds itself  in quite a familiar setting it still manages enough surprises to separate itself from its counterparts. It begins with some intense music and a busy opening title sequence which I really enjoyed. The beautiful and spacious house makes for an aesthetically pleasing look, which allows the Boxleitner brothers to shoot everything on quite a grand scale. The camera work and shot choices are very well crafted. The film opens using some close-ups to introduce us to an extremely overwhelmed Alison, then eventually switches to some gorgeous wide shots as her boyfriend arrives. Once she gets to the babysitting gig there’s a multitude of effective tracking shots throughout the mansion, helping to convey the sheer size and unfamiliarity of the premises. The audio levels are strong and the style of natural lighting particularly inside the house, fits the age of the property and the desired effect. A distinct use of red reflections during the sequence in the basement was also a nice touch. The soundtrack consists mostly of synth and bass with an emphasis on some real low-frequency changes during some of the more suspenseful scenes. It’s never front and centre though or really manipulating the emotional drive, although there’s still some creepy light keyboard music comparable to what you’d hear in the paranormal sub genre.

The performances were great and the strained dynamic between Alison and her overlooked boyfriend was believable given her predicament. Reilly makes Alison very relatable, finding the balance in her personality traits to make you get behind her. She’s frustrated with her lot in life and does what we all do and lashes out but that has to be conveyed sensitively for it to work. Because at the same time she’s going above and beyond for the one thing she has in her life and that warrants understanding and compassion. Doing my best to avoid spoilers, just let me say Co-director Lee Boxleitner is the surprise packet here. I had no idea he was going to be able to gauge a real level of fear or deliver that standard of intensity, especially because his character is so outlandish. Die Sitter Die is more about the dialogue and the build up and less about action but saying that, the blood and gore effects we do get to see look stellar. There’s one very violent outburst that could set the tone for this anthology (if it gets made). In closing, the three cast members two in particular, really had to get hands on with some of the grotesque specifics the script required and I commend them on doing so.

THE BAD

Majority of the interplay between Alison and Rupert either created suspense or progressed towards the climax, but a sequence of counting down for hide and seek didn’t work so well. It’s always predictable because we know the tormentor is never going to give the hunted any time, it’s all part of the game and the audience knows that. I didn’t feel the suspense and the dialogue was rather lack luster through that section. My only other complaints are in the initial discussion of the babysitting job. The first is a continuity point. Alison calls the number to see if the job is still available and says she’s able to do 5 until midnight, it immediately cuts from that scene to her arrival at the mansion. I would have preferred to have seen some time passed before arriving (maybe one more scene between her and the boyfriend), or even change the job to 7pm start time or something, it just seemed rushed and her boyfriend didn’t know she was doing the job until after they got in the car, So where was he originally taking her? Secondly she arrives to find a note on the door that says something like “Was running late had to leave, go ahead and help yourself to whatever you like” etc etc. For spoiler sake I can’t mention the particulars of that plot point but it clearly foreshadows things to come. Surely Alison would have thought it was a little strange, wouldn’t she? Maybe redial the number and check in just to make sure everything is okay before entering the home. If you owned a house that extravagant would you let someone you hadn’t met inside if you weren’t there?

Die! Sitter! Die! or “Rupert” was a highly entertaining, quite out there Horror film from a couple of very talented filmmakers. Lee and Sam wrote a disturbing story, got a small and capable cast together and managed to lock down a stunning location. On top of that, the camera work, audio and lighting were intense and a vital part of the reason this comes together so well. There’s some cool music and some practical effects on display too. There’s just a few hiccups in the writing of some of the setup details and moments that aren’t necessarily as tense as they could have been but all in all this is a great short. I hope to see it getting some good exposure in order to help these guys bring their full length feature to life. Well done!

My rating for “Die! Sitter! Die!” is 7.5/10

DEAD HEARTS

THE SETUP

Firstly, I’d just like to say thank you to Writer/Director, Stephen W. Martin for allowing me access to an online screener of his 16 minute, Horror/Fantasy short “Dead Hearts”. Dead Hearts chronicles the life of young Milton Mulberry (played by Valin Shinyei), a mortician whose carrying on the business that’s been in his family for generations. After classmate Lola Littleton (Dalila Bela) comes to Milton’s defense during a lunchtime beat down by a group of bullies, he knows he’s found love and will do whatever it takes to give her his heart. The film also stars Duncan Templeton, Nancy Bell and Thomas Orr-Loney as “Old Milton”. I knew next to nothing about Martin’s short prior to watching it. I saw that he had a few writing credits to his name and that this was only the second film he’d made. I’m fortunate enough to have a wide range of readers from all over the world following my writing at Adamthemoviegod. Stephen was one of those people so I figured I could repay the favor by taking a look at his Canadian made short.

THE GOOD

There’s a genuinely interesting statement behind Stephen’s film, not only is the premise unique its themes are universal. Those themes of love and its importance in our lives and what it means to be human are at the forefront of what is an extremely entertaining and heartfelt 16 minutes. There’s a “Beetlejuice” feel about the tone of this one, especially during and after the resurrection sequence. I’m a huge fan of the aforementioned and it was clear to me from the start that Dead Hearts had that kind or air about it. The production value is fantastic. All of the camera work is finely detailed, the shot choices delicate and polished. In the opening few minutes there’s a gorgeous overhead shot of a tray table showing all of a mortician’s utensils, followed by a sudden exertion from Milton which is edited perfectly. On another occasion, there’s a vertical shot exhibited from the table looking back up at Milton. Each of these various nuances make Stephen’s film aesthetically one of the best that I’ve ever seen. The audio levels are crystal clear and the sound effects nice and loud, especially during the parts involving action where they’re really put to good use. The editing is another feature here that’s incredibly energetic. Moments during the fight choreography there’s snappy zooming and swift cuts, moments later gentle panning as Lola prepares to leave Milton behind.

I’m picky when it comes to technical approach but as good as it is here, it isn’t really what makes Martin’s film so absorbing. Instead it’s the well constructed dialogue and distinctive narration that leads us through Milton’s tale, much like a time your parents read you one of your favorite bedtime stories. I don’t know who was behind the narration but it’s the driving force of the entire film, so kudos. It parallels that of the various world’s Tim Burton creates within his films particularly “Beetlejuice” and “Edward Scissorhands” (two of my absolute favorites). Although there’s very little dialogue during interactions between characters, everyone’s acting is still of a high standard. I thought Stephen’s approach to divulging the description of the story was what made the experience unique, and not just the usual character interaction that’s making revelations known to the audience. Both Lola Martin and Luke Moore were responsible for the wonderful music you hear in the film. At one point there’s some Spanish influence, followed by that “other worldly” sounding Tim Burton esq score, which moves along to some relaxing Jazz like something you would have heard in any of the film noir pictures. There’s even a bit of punk rock thrown in at one point, just for good measure.

Animation and practical effects were not something I expected to see in Dead Hearts but it was a welcomed addition all the same. There’s a cool array of animated images during the turning point of the story and then towards the end there’s some fairly graphic and random gore. This is the first review for any film I’ve reviewed that will not contain a section titled “The Bad”. In 16 minutes you’ll be hard pressed to find anything wrong with Dead Hearts, there’s only one minor issue and it lies with the stunts at the climax of the film. What we have is conflict between the older versions of Milton, Lola and the school bully Harold but it’s painfully clear younger stunt performers are playing those roles. Obviously right? Because seniors don’t usually do their own stunts haha, otherwise they might slip a disk or sustain other types of injuries and we wouldn’t want that. I guess it plays as somewhat comedic but none the less it’s an obvious flaw so that’s why I’m mentioning it.

It’s rare these days I watch a film without seeing the trailer or knowing some of its details  but every once in a while that turns out to be the best thing, as is the case here. What we have here is truly a hidden gem. From a technical point alone, Dead Hearts is so far advanced in comparison to most independent films. The camera work is exceptional, the audio and sound effects perfect. Each of the cast members make their moments on-screen memorable and the elocution within the narration makes for a fresh technique toward this kind of film. The quality of writing combined with Stephen’s approach to the storytelling makes for a simply superb result. The message and its humor within are important and topping it all off are some fun bloody effects that make this one a must see.  I’m really beginning to shine to short films and projects like Dead Hearts only strengthen that. This one takes the cake as the best one that I’ve seen, fantastic job to all those involved!

My rating for “Dead Hearts” is 9.5/10

DEATHGASM

THE SETUP

This is a review for the New Zealand made, Horror/Comedy film “Deathgasm” Written and Directed by Jason Lei Howden. Deathgasm is about a group of teenage boys led by Brodie and Zakk (played by Milo Cawthorne and James Blake), who inadvertently raise an ancient evil known as “The Blind One”, after rehearsing black magic disguised as a piece of music for their band. With the help of Brodie’s high school crush Medina (the gorgeous Kimberley Crossman), and friends Dion and Giles (Sam Berkley and Daniel Cresswell) they must reverse the curse and save their two-bit town. The film also stars Stephen Ure, Delaney Tabron, Nick- Hoskins Smith and Colin Moy. Deathgasm was one of my most highly anticipated films for the year. When I found out that this was shot in New Zealand it raised my expectations even higher because for many years they’ve been the benchmark for great B-movie, splatter films. Deathgasm had the potential to deliver an entertaining plot with both practical effects and plenty of dark comedy, Did it follow through though? Read on and find out.

THE GOOD

Deathgasm will be remembered as one of the most off the wall and wacky, yet completely entertaining films of the year and not just within its “Horror/Comedy” genre/label. It’s a clear throwback. A love letter to the early works of Peter Jackson (before he got all that Lord of the Ring money). For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, do yourself a favor and pick up “Bad Taste” and “Braindead” and prepare yourselves for the wildest of rides. I really respect that with Deathgasm, Howden put his own two cents in where story and its revelations are concerned. There’s even some light weight social commentary on the public’s perception of Heavy Metal music and its “Metalhead” fan base. I’m assuming he is a fan of the music himself based on the setting of the screenplay but it’s nice to see some of that self-aware dialogue included, discussing how ridiculous the style really is haha (and I’m a fan of the music myself too). Let’s face it Jason could have just cashed in on all the same gimmicks and approach that made both Jackson’s early films such a success (at least among the Horror community), but he didn’t.

The film opens with a really interesting credit sequence, containing hand drawn illustrations and a very heavy opening music track. Our young leading metal-head, Brodie narrates the beginning to inform us of his current lot in life and how everything eventuated. Introducing us to his small, dead-end town and estranged extended family which consists of cousin David (Smith), who bullies him at every opportunity. Brodie has a love for guitar and Heavy Metal music but his friends are the only thing keeping him grounded, and only because they have an even lower standing on the socioeconomic ladder than he does. Dion is a lover of role-playing, adventure games and in turn gets bullied because of it. Giles is the chubby one of the group who doesn’t project as much personality and just seems to go with the flow. Things start to look up for Brodie after Medina, a popular girl at school shows an interest in him. He also meets a fellow Guitar god and Metalhead in Zakk. The four guys start to practice under their new band name Deathgasm and Brodie appears on the verge of getting everything he wanted, that’s where the trouble starts.

Howden’s film is really well shot and relies on snappy editing to introduce characters and reinforce the comedic tone grounding it. The dialogue audio is nice and loud and with some of the talented Metal bands on display, it’s quite clear how important that music was to projecting the desired effect. A considerable amount of the comedy really works too. The film is funniest during its most awkward interactions between Brodie and Medina. She represents the bright-side and acts as an equalizer for Brodie, who has a certain amount of pent-up aggression boiling to the surface. There’s a memorable sequence that sees the two sharing ice-cream on a park bench, a scenario that couldn’t be more “sunshine and rainbows”, clearly contrasting with the public perception of  Brodie’s apparently dark mindset. On the other side of the coin we get a very random, albeit hilarious action sequence involving some of the undead being beaten with a double ended dildo (yes you heard me right). I thought most of the acting was solid and with the exception of Zakk I enjoyed watching all the characters. I understand there’s usually one character in a film like this that your supposed to hate, I just don’t think it should have been Zakk.

Milo’s narration is well delivered and you’re constantly rooting for Brodie throughout the film, much the same as you do for Medina. Kimberley has to be one of the most beautiful girls we’ve seen come out of New Zealand and she’s got some serious talent to boot. Medina is so lovable, not just because she’s gorgeous but because she’s not judgmental therefore proving that the stereotype of the cheerleader or popular girl always being vain and stuck up is clearly a misnomer. She gets put through the ringer in Deathgasm and is more than up to the task. So I’m guessing by now you want to get to the good stuff, the blood the gore. It’s always a good sign of success in a Horror/Comedy when the red stuff starts flowing early in the proceedings. I’m pleased to say that the opening act has some absolutely brutal practical blood and gore effects. The early kills hit with quite a force and with a combination of watered down blood and thick gunky dark fluid, it’s all a nice visual showcase. I don’t want to spoil the details in the action but know we’re party to some glorious axe kills, decapitation and a complete disembowelment using a chainsaw. Ninety percent of what you see in the film is practically done and it’s as good as anything I’ve seen.

THE BAD

I already touched on the fact that I wasn’t a fan of Zakk. Whenever the comedy missed the mark or the film lost a bit of momentum, it was usually due to his character. He didn’t have much of an arc so relating to him was difficult. He’s got such a sour attitude and for no real apparent reason, at least none that I could see so there needed to be more back story on why he was so fed up with people/the town etc, otherwise his just a walking cliché. A few of the emotionally charged scenes involving him didn’t really go over either. Whether he was arguing with Brodie or trying to take charge of the situation, it felt a little stiff. Some of his dialogue was pretty crass but I suppose it’s in the context of the story and his character, I just didn’t care for it. On a similar note, there’s a substantial amount of profanity some of which was warranted in specific situations but other times quite unnecessary. Language doesn’t really bother me that much but there’s definitely people I recommend films too that wouldn’t enjoy the multiple C-bombs in this one.

Being a guitarist myself I can’t help but think the musical composition that brings about the apocalypse was way too easy to play. I know, it’s a nit picky point but if the piece of music was secretly black magic surely it would be pretty difficult to play, not just four chords so as to avoid just anyone activating it. Secondly, there’s a substantial emphasis on metal and music throughout the film with all the various references to bands. Hence it would have been great to hear a face melting solo, Metalocalypse like during the battle climax. On the technical front, The lighting was rather dark in the old house where Brodie and Zakk steal the piece of music. There’s a cool encounter during said scene and it was unfortunate that it wasn’t a bit clearer to show the effects more carefully. Thankfully there’s only some brief CG visuals throughout Deathgasm because what we do get to see is fairly second-rate in comparison to the rest of the films effects. Lastly, and I say it with every film in the genre so it’s nothing personal, How much is too much when it comes to blood and gore? Obviously it’s all personal opinion but I can never seem to find enough to satisfy my appetite. Now that’s not to say Deathgasm isn’t a gory treat because it is (maybe I’ve just got issues), I’m just always left wanting more. All I say to these amazing effects artists is give us even more! Show us everything you’ve got, be inventive, elaborate on your gags to a greater extent we want to see it!

I had very high expectations going into Deathgasm and honestly I was very impressed with the result. I dug that it was equal parts an homage to Peter Jackson’s early work, while at the same time bringing a fresh approach and particular structure to the storytelling. All the technical stuff is well executed and the soundtrack gives you exactly what you’d expect to hear. The performances are all of a high standard but Milo and Kimberley remain the most appealing, each for different reasons but I’d watch this movie just for Kimberley what a stunning girl. The story is thoroughly entertaining and most of the comedy hits its mark, however the real reason to watch this is because it’s a bloodbath of action. The huge group of people responsible for both makeup and special effects should be lauded, fantastic job. These are inventive deaths that involve a multitude of different weapons and it translates to screen brilliantly. Deathgasm has its shortcomings but they’re few and far between when you consider this is Howden’s first full length feature, and what a feature it is. There hasn’t been a film this good to come out of New Zealand since the aforementioned “Braindead”, arguably the goriest movie of all time. Is Deathgasm as good? Not quite, but it’s a close second and I sure hope Jason continues making Horror films.

My rating for “Deathgasm” is 8/10

TICKLE

THE SETUP

Firstly I’d just like to say thanks to Writer, Haley Norman and Director, Corey Norman for allowing me access to an online screener of their 12 minute, Horror short “Tickle”. Haley’s got a handful of writing credits to her name already and Corey’s spent plenty of time behind the camera on projects such as “The Invoking 2”, “Suffer The Little Children” and “The Hanover House”, just to name a few. I was surprised to find his name attached to the upcoming horror anthology “60 Seconds To Die”, which I was tentatively writing something for, anyways onto the film. Trudy (played by Casey Turner) has been given the thankless task of baby sitting young Charlie (Andrew Lyndaker) for the night. He asks for a story so Trudy decides to tell him the legend of Tick Tack (not the breath mint haha). Rumor has it if Tick Tack sees the kiddies feet hanging out of the bed he takes them! Then again rumors are exactly that, Aren’t they? The film also stars Sean Carmichael, Daniel Noel and Dennis Healy as “Tick Tack”. Tickle was shot for an estimated $3,000.

THE GOOD

According to the poster the film only premiered a couple of weeks ago, so I’m very pleased to be one of the first, if not the first International critic to have seen it. I love the 80’s Slasher orientated poster and the simple setup of bedtime stories. I’ve seen a few other short films take a similar angle but each with varying amounts of success. They say you should never tell kids a scary story before bed and Trudy learns that lesson the hard way. With the exception of a few shots in the beginning, the films framing is outstanding. All the shot choices are simple and smart, indicative of what might be about to take you by surprise. There’s some fantastic subtle zooming during a scene that leads to Trudy calling her boyfriend Donnie (Carmichael). Later, there’s some direct panning in the climax of the final sequence and that’s great too. The audio is probably the clearest of any film I’ve ever seen on this kind of budget. It’s obvious from the opening shots Corey and Haley know exactly what they want, it’s super impressive.

There’s not that much room for dialogue in a film that only runs for 12 minutes but the cast all do a fine job in their respective roles. The music was another nice feature here. It opens with a mix of 80’s, TV movie suspense score and towards the end it moves to resounding, bass popping synth music both of which were awesome to hear. Tickle is a really well-lit film with warm colors, even in tone. In the most suspenseful scene there’s an almost foggy mist from the night air coming through the bedroom window, it sets up the atmosphere brilliantly. The makeup effects and the blood and gore I won’t spoil, so let’s just say they’re commendable and you’ll be surprised with the ending.

THE BAD

As already stated, the only technical thing I noticed was some slightly close framing of Trudy in the opening minute or two as she’s sitting on the bed. I suppose that’s more of a personal preference issue than a flaw though. Young Andrew has only done three short films, so taking into account his lack of experience he does a solid job. The only thing that wasn’t clear was the age he was supposed to be playing. Most of his lines were delivered in a little kid like manner, closer to that of an infant coming of age than a 6 or 7-year-old, which is the age I would have picked him to be. Maybe it was just lost in translation from the script to screen, I don’t know.

Tickle was a film I knew nothing about. In fact I only came across it because I use the popular Horror website “DreadCentral” regularly. Both Corey and Haley are fast becoming proficient at their trade and it shows. Everything from the accurate camerawork and transitioning, to the crystal clear audio, atmospheric music and all the appropriate lighting. If those aspects alone aren’t a selling point, the entertaining and eerie legend that is the premise of the film should be. The cherry on top is some surprise action and a different type of ending. I don’t feel right saying anything is perfect, there’s always room for improvement but in this case my only advice would have been to clarify the boy’s age or make it clear through line delivery, keep the rest exactly how it is because it’s perfect. Keep an eye out for this masterful little short guys, you don’t want to miss it!

My rating for “Tickle” is 9/10

RESTORATION

THE SETUP

Firstly I’d just like to say thank you to Writer and Director, Ryan Oliver for allowing me access to an online screener of his 47 minute, Horror film “Restoration”. One day while playing hide and seek in the countryside, Yvonne LeMay (played by Lily Horn) gets stuck in the trunk of a 1950 Fleetline Deluxe. Over 50 years later Sonny Ray, a rev head (Brant McCrea) spots the car for sale in a newspaper ad. Shortly after the car changes ownership, it’s relocated to a mechanics clubhouse/workshop. Little do the employees of the workshop know Yvonne’s spirit still remains inside the classic car and she’s little to happy with the change in location. The film also stars Billy Favata, Norbert Caillouet, William J. Norris and Molly Brenan. Not only is the first time I’ve seen any of Ryan’s work it’s also the first “half film” I’ve seen.

THE GOOD

The poster was the first thing that caught my eye. I saw the tagline on a flyer for the film festival this was showing at and that’s how I ended up getting in touch with Ryan. Clearly inspired by the likes of Stephen King’s “Christine” as well as any of the modern “Paranormal” based genre films, Restoration supplies us with a fresh take on the supernatural spirit. It takes a similar setup and a few cues from King’s, 80’s Thriller while at the same time mixing an entertaining new blend of sub-genres. What if the once fancy car you bought for a steel wasn’t the thing haunting you, but instead the restless remains of a young girl. The film opens with some exquisite black and white photography. An entire  sequence of wonderfully presented cinematography, by Marcel Morin starts things off on the best possible note. The barn/shed and vast corn fields are the ideal location to set up a tragic set of circumstances. Those settings and the opening suspense score can be compared to that of M. Night Shyamalan’s “Signs” (a personal favorite).

All of the camera work is handled meticulously. The panning is perfectly implemented in crucial scenes and it’s impeccably smooth in transitioning. I was thoroughly impressed by all the camera movements and after finding out the budget was estimated at only $10,000, even more stunned with the results. The careful use of wide shots are as good as any mainstream film and all the framing in regards to the actors/actresses is excellent too. Ryan and his crew really know their craft and it makes for an incredibly easy watch, you might say somewhat of a rarity in low-budget film making. The sequencing of events is straight forward and the editing is neat. Several scenes have slow motion included in them and for the most part they work. There’s a haunting buildup showing the rundown vehicle, wasting away under shrubbery on the gorgeous property of Leander Humes (William J. Norris). Majority of the story takes place at night, so I was pleased to see it sufficiently lit for most of the scenes inside the workshop. There’s a striking, red tinge reflecting off the walls during the Action scenes that were a nice addition.

I figured the music was going to be a standout feature, given the opening credits sequence displays a retro jukebox playing 50’s tunes. The suspenseful score was quite plain but Oliver makes up for that with some cool period music and the casting of some “Rockabilly” extras in a party scene. The pacing of the film works, I think if this had have been 90 minutes it would’ve fell victim to the same trappings of every other film in the genre. Most of the deaths are brief or shown in slow motion, all but one are pretty stock standard but at least there’s on-screen kills. Taking into account the small budget here, you’ve got to respect all the effects which were done practically. Those of you who’ve seen it will agree that the last death takes the cake. It’s extremely inventive and completely brutal and although you see it coming, what ends up on the screen isn’t at all what you’d expect and I loved that!

 THE BAD

It could just be due to my computer speakers but some of the dialogue levels were a bit uneven. I could understand all of it but some scenes were louder than others. For the most part the stylized, slow motion sequences work but at times they’re still somewhat overused. I was looking forward to seeing some of the action play out in real-time, I think it would’ve had more of an impact. Most of the scenes aided as a catalyst to the escalating threat of Yvonne, but one in particular involving some idle chit-chat between gear heads at the workshop, could have been cut. Speaking of Yvonne, her makeup looked great but the suspense surrounding the character gets stifled early on. She’s revealed to the audience as the presence in the vehicle almost immediately. I know this only runs for half the length of a feature film but it may have benefited from a slower build up, and by not showing the audience everything in the opening act. The motive behind her explosive behavior is a little thin, given that half a century earlier none of the characters were even alive. Revenge is always the most logical plot point though and it’s a horror film so I digress.

With its exceptional production value and thoroughly entertaining fusion of genres, Restoration was a blast from start to finish. Ryan’s expansion and take on a similar idea to “Christine” made for a great little premise. The multiple locations, beautiful black and white photography and concise camera work are of the highest standard. Every frame of this film is simply superb and on top of that, the lighting is atmospheric and the 50’s inspired music coming through that eye-catching, jukebox is great as well. The action sequences were solid, one in particular was extremely well executed and gory as hell. The only issues lie with some minor audio inconsistencies and a slight excess in slow motion frames. There’s lapses in building the tension and a fairly predictable motive but that’s nothing to get hung up on. Restoration is a must see especially for all Horror fans and I highly doubt considering the budget, you’re going to see a film this good again for a while. Keep an eye out for the release its on its way soon!

My rating for “Restoration” is 8/10

SLIMY LITTLE BASTARDS

THE SETUP

Firstly I’d just like to say thanks to Writer/Director, Dave Parker for allowing me access to an online screener of his debut, feature-length film “Slimy Little Bastards”. I’ve been a subscriber of Dave’s YouTube channel for a while now so I was pretty stoked when I heard he was going to try his hand at shooting a film. Slimy Little Bastards grounds itself in modern Horror/Comedy but at the same time, it’s a love letter to the micro-budget creature features of the past. It’s a 66 minute film containing three different segments and a wrap around, each involving a different type of gooey monster. The wrap around sees Jack Barson (played by Keith Voigt Jr) having car troubles and deciding to ask a nearby neighbor (Brandon Salkil) for assistance. He’s invited into the strangers house and told of three different tales involving a mysterious gooey substance. The first story involves a Gaunt man who lives alone, he discovers a substance that he thinks stems from a maintenance problem. After a quick inspection things escalate from bad to worse. In the second part of the film, Sandy Calvin (Erin R. Ryan) is suffering from anxiety and depression, circumstances made worse by her overbearing and controlling mother. Dr Lance Archache (Dustin Mills) offers her the chance to trial a supposed miracle drug (a different gooey substance) but it ends up having some unexpected side effects. Lastly, a group of friends get together for their weekly fantasy game. What starts out as some regular down time quickly turns to shit (literally haha). The film also stars Jeremy Ryan, Matthew Hudson, Aaron Anthony and Dave Parker.

THE GOOD

Initially I didn’t know that this was Dave Parker’s film, regardless the catchy “Slimy Little Bastards” title made damn sure I wasn’t going to miss this one. It’s a very Roger Corman esq idea and a great setting for a low-budget affair. Now keep in mind, even Corman’s early work had a substantial amount of money behind it. Parker’s first endeavor see’s some of his closest friends come together in order to bring it to life. There’s no doubting that this takes the DIY approach all the way and while that adds a certain charm to the film, it’s not guaranteed to succeed. I’ll admit I’m a sucker for a throwback to the old style b movie, especially the creature orientated ones. Audio levels can be a difficult thing to get right when you’re working with a very small budget. So much to my surprise, the opening segment of dialogue was quite clear and a lot of the sound effects were loud too. The different sounds the monsters made, the squelching of the goo, it was all pretty amusing. The brief shot of miniature Claymation at the beginning of the last segment was a nice little surprise, so kudos to Dave for throwing that in there!

The cast clearly wanted to help out their friend, while at the same time treating this like a bunch of weekend hangouts much like Peter Jackson did with his friends when working on “Bad Taste”. The performances were okay but it’s difficult to judge. Tone wise the movie is rather out there and extravagantly presented. Erin, whose worked with Dave and on several other DMP Productions such as “Applecart” and “Skinless” *see reviews*, turns in the most consistent performance of the bunch. Dustin would probably admit he’s far more suited to being behind the camera than in front of it. He has some decent moments here but most of it feels scripted, the same goes for most of the cast. I’ve enjoyed a bunch of Brandon’s performance but he has that kind of flare that’s better suited to theater performances. I think he’s got plenty of talent but in his role of “The Curator” he seems to exaggerated (probably the intent though) yet in his other appearances offers very little (in part because of the writing). Several of the actors here play multiple parts in the film, much like they did in the aforementioned Applecart. Regardless of performance levels everyone still seems to be having fun and when you’re on such a small film that’s one of the key ingredients.

The two strongest aspects of Slimy Little Bastards lie with the ambitiously homemade, cheesy practical effects and the synth heavy soundtrack. The camera drifts around too much to really see any impact hits during the fight and action choreography, but what we are left with is some glimpses of a pretty blotchy aftermath. The gore is that paint colored red and the monster fluid is clearly made up of a combination of jelly and Coolade, or something to that effect. This kind of resourceful technique can be seen in a lot of low-budget films and you have to admire the work ethic. In this case I was reminded a lot of Richard Mogg’s “Massage Parlor Of Death” *see review*. The standout kill involves a complete smashing, a watery but completely entertaining mess. The glowing highlight in Parker’s first film has to be the music. It’s nice and clear in the mix and combines 80’s synth/pop with the use of a Glam Rock sounding lead guitar, like something you might have heard in a 70’s grindhouse flick, I totally dug it. The last segment shy’s away from those kind of sounds, instead opting for an oriental composition reminiscent of “Big Trouble In Little China”. Many congratulations to all involved with the music, bar some randomly placed Drum and Bass tunage, it’s all pretty great!

THE BAD

I’ll summarize the film first and then break it down into the respective sections. This being a first feature not to mention one on a shoe string budget, it may have benefited from simpler story telling. There’s no even that much of a story here, it’s more that the three segments which feature new characters often played by the same actors, feel drawn out and detached. Maybe the intention was to make a short film but it just happened to grow into something bigger over time, I’m not sure. The only common theme in these sequences are the mysterious goo these slimy little guys leave behind, I don’t even recall any exposition on how this stuff was concocted, if the information was there I must have missed it during all the shenanigans. At one point the substance burns characters, other times people rub it on their skin and begin to hallucinate, as can be seen in the second and third acts. No real rules or back story regarding the sole plot point are ever established. The wraparound was very predictable and only served as a minor introduction, the first and last sequences were definitely the more enjoyable. Most of my gripes about the film are technical based though, some of which can be chalked up to lack of funding, the rest  down to experience.

The issues with the camera work are down to the combination of framing and focusing. There’s a lot of shots that are just ever so slightly out of focus, it could be an equipment or lighting based issue that ends up highlighting it. The framing of Voigt as the Jack Barson character was shot far to closely to the actors face and the same goes for the group of guys at the table towards the end of the film, one of which can even be seen holding back laughter through most of his dialogue. Keep the camera work simple, basic shot choices and clean cuts. If it was just camera movement or imperfections I could handle it but combine those with the quick cuts and abrupt editing, it makes for a difficult watch. There’s several pointless cuts back and forth as the lonesome man waits for the maintenance guy to arrive. Said guy is supposed to be Russian, I’m not sure why Dave opted for that (maybe spice up the character? It only ends up being delivered quite unevenly by Mills). Some of the slow motion and fast editing in the second segment feels like a major shift from its prior course. I’m assuming the sudden jolts and impulsive editing are to depict Sandy’s state of mind but end up coming across as amateurish (but then Parker is an amateur so). Dave records a lot of videos for YouTube though so I was actually surprised the camera work wasn’t of a higher standard, however shooting on a tripod isn’t exactly the same as doing an entire film so I understand that. The dialogue spoken by his mother in the same segment is also too fast and ends up sounding like static.

In the end I found very little to like about the second segment, mainly because the technical stuff smothered it completely. The story of a young depressed girl and the opportunity for her to escape her demons is an interesting enough premise, but this time it was the audio hurting it. Throughout the first segment it was pretty smooth but then the dialogue was at a consistently low-level. As things get a little heated a lot of the dialogue starts pitching and peaking all over the place. A character would laugh or raise their voice during an interaction and that shrill sensation is heard and it’s not nice. There’s often background noise in a lot of the scenes but that’s a nit picky thing and par for the course when you don’t have equipment to muffle or edit it. The color grading is inconsistent and the lighting leaves a bit to be desired as well. The color saturation as the hallucinations/out-of-body experiences occur is rather uninspiring but those sorts of things are down to creative license and the filmmakers make those choices for themselves.

Despite its problems Slimy Little Bastards made for a relatively interesting and original watch. Unfortunately it’s bogged down by the usual technical glitches that often accompany the low-budget genre. It’s difficult to be objective when you review an acquaintance or friends work, so I try to approach it almost exactly the same way I would with anything else. First and for most I commend Dave and the entire cast and crew on getting this feature-length film made. It had an estimated budget of just $1,000, yes you heard me correctly. It’s got a cool title and some brief but impressive animation, passable performances and some really ambitious DIY, practical effects. The standout for me though is the original and eclectic score, it’s as good as anything I’ve heard in the genre lately. If a lot or all the technical aspects had have been rectified (whether that be through more time or money) this would have been much easier to watch and an enjoyable romp. Even still, it’s a far better film than others in the genre like “Mutantis” or “Ooga Booga”. I won’t sugarcoat it this film isn’t great but have you ever seen a film made for $1,000 that is? It won’t be for most people but I had a bit of fun with it and if you like and or can appreciate micro-budget films and the work that goes into them you might too. Please support Dave as well as the team at DHP Productions and check this one out.

My rating for “Slimy Little Bastards” is 4.5/10

THE BRIDGE PARTNER

THE SETUP

First off I’d just like to say thank you to Director, Gabriel Olson for allowing me access to an online screener of his 12 minute, Suspense/Thriller short “The Bridge Partner”. The Bridge Partner is about timid housewife Mattie Whalen (Beth Grant), who believes she hears her new bridge partner Olivia (Sharon Lawrence) threaten to kill her. Will it be a fight for survival or is it just her sanity that’s in question? The film also stars Catherine Carlen and Robert Forster. I was lucky enough to have Gabriel stumble upon the site and request that I review his film. For the most part its me chasing filmmakers and writers, so it made for a nice change of pace.

THE GOOD

I love the above poster art, it’s reminiscent of some of Dario Argento’s work and to an even larger extent Hitchcock. The script is incredibly well written (adapted from a short story I believe) and carried equally well by an experienced cast. The film opens with some extremely well framed and meticulous camera work. It’s always on the move sometimes with a voyeuristic approach, a gentle zoom or even a tracking shot other times there’s an emphasis on certain placement of something in the scene. The lighting gave off a very neutral and harmonious vibe, use of a lot of white’s and creams. The audio levels are sharp and the intense sound effects help to convey Mattie’s paranoia as it becomes heightened with each passing moment. Every sound seems fit to provoke Mattie, an in turn the audience. The clock ticking inside the hush walls of the Whalen house, the car doors and even the scratching of a nail file/cleaner, all act as a constant reminder.

The dialogue and interactions between Mattie and Olivia start naturally enough, but quickly become tense as suspicions of hostility and aggression arise. You can sympathize with Mattie if you’ve ever been in a situation where you feel like you just don’t fit, or you find yourself the odd one out. A quick glimpse into her mundane home life with care free husband Don (played by Forster), implies that she’s not a terribly happy woman and just maybe she’s started to lose her grip on reality. The final conversation dissecting the nature between Dog and Sheep ends things in the most suspenseful of ways. The writing is among the best I’ve ever seen and the entire tone is comparable to that of the great Alfred Hitchcock. I’ve been a fan of Beth Grant’s for a while, she’s appeared in films like “The Artist”, “Donnie Darko” and “No Country For Old Men” as well as shows like “Everwood” and “Jericho”. She’s got a heap of experience and draws you into the life of Mattie with ease. Sharon Lawrence from TV’s “NYPD Blue” and “One Tree Hill” is every bit as good playing the mysterious foreigner with seemingly vindictive intentions. Although his role is brief, Robert Forster from TV’s “Heroes” and “Alcatraz”, rounds out the cast nicely.

Honestly I can’t say a bad thing about The Bridge Partner. I think it’s the best short film I’ve ever seen and reviewed. It looks like it was shot on a substantial budget, so that has to be taken into account given most of what I review here isn’t. The camera work and sound effects are superb, all the lighting and set design helped create the suspense and atmosphere. The performances are all top-notch and the dialogue, especially in the climax of the film is outstanding and very unsettling. My only minor issue is that it ends with a certain amount of ambiguity although normally I like that sort of thing, in this case I was hoping for it all to be wrapped up during that final shot. I suppose it creates a certain amount of debate about what the possible outcomes might have been and that’s not a bad thing. I can’t believe something this fantastic comes to us from a first time Director in Olson. I can’t wait to see what he does next and here’s hoping he sticks with the Suspense/Mystery genre, Brilliant stuff! Readers can keep an eye out for it in the near future.

My rating for “The Bridge Partner” is 9.5/10

THE SKIN

THE SETUP

Firstly I’d just like to say thanks to Justin Timms, Co-Writer and Director of the 8 minute Horror short, “The Skin” for allowing me early access to an online screener. After the mysterious death of her father, Lena (played by Claudine Quadrat) discovers that her sister Sarah (Elizabeth Paige) is showing signs of the same symptoms he had. After happening upon a local country hick named Otis (Martin Pfefferkorn), Lena puts a plan in motion to prevent her sister experiencing a similar fate.

THE GOOD

The film opens with a close look at a young woman’s skin, that of Sarah’s (Paige) as she moisturizer’s her arms and face with cream. She’s quickly interrupted by her sister Lena and told they need to get back on the road to head for their family cabin. The sequencing of events here is presented in a clever and subtle way, never once alluding to what may occur at the climax of the film. The audio levels are loud and clear and the color grading/saturation is nice and natural. I think the strongest aspect here is the clunky and unnerving sound effects/score. I wasn’t expecting something so subtle to be so eerie, it was great. Most of the film is neatly edited and there’s several great shot choices as well. The standout sequence involves some effective panning from one side of the road to the other when Otis happens upon the girls who’ve broken down. Not only do Claudine and Elizabeth do a great job in their respective roles, it helps that they look like they could be related anyway. The makeup effects during the films final moments were a great way to finish what is a striking short.

THE BAD

My only criticism of The Skin is that there’s some unevenness in camera movements when the Action/Suspense picks up. Everything up until that point is done using a lot of Steadicam and clear cuts. When things escalate out in the forest it falls down a bit with some of that familiar shaky footage we’re used to seeing, luckily it doesn’t last that long. In the synopsis for the film it states that the girls now deceased father was showing strange symptoms before he died, I would’ve liked to have known a lot more about that finer plot point. I understand that with such a short running time you can’t necessarily delve into details and back story though, so maybe that’s all going to be revealed in a later sequel, Who knows? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

The Skin is an entertaining and polished short, made all the more impressive by the fact it’s Timms first time behind the camera. He’s done extremely well to get most of the technical aspects to a high standard and his cast two female leads that really look the part. I loved the interesting direction it took and the sound effects/score were the highlight for me. Some of those camera movements could have been sweetened and I would have liked some more exposition and clarity within the plot details, maybe some newspaper clippings or something similar but that aside it’s a great watch. Keep an eye out for “The Skin”, which will be coming soon!

My rating for “The Skin” is 8.5/10

NIGHT OF THE SLASHER

THE SETUP

Firstly, I’d just like to say thank you to Writer/Director Shant Hamassian for allowing me to view an online screener of his 12 minute, Horror/Comedy short “Night Of The Slasher”. Jenelle (played by the gorgeous Lily Berlina) a young teenage girl, must break all the cardinal rules surrounding the do’s and dont’s of a horror film such as drinking, taking drugs or having sex. She aims to do this in an attempt to lure a masked killer (Adam Lesar) in the hopes of finishing him off once and for all. The film also stars Scott Javore, David Swann and Eve Constance.

THE GOOD

The concept of Night Of The Slasher takes me straight back to 1996, the year that gave us Wes Craven’s “Scream” (R.I.P Wes). The Horror genre was quite stale at that time and Scream ended up becoming the film to breathe life into the genre once again. In Craven’s classic, Randy the joker of the group explains the rules one must abide by to survive a Horror movie and that premise is the basis of Shant’s film. I dug the killers mask, he kind of looked like Spock from “Star Trek” (I’m not sure if that was intentional or not haha). It was creepy and his weapon of choice being the kitchen knife, comes across as a bit of a nod to the Michael Myers character of the “Halloween” franchise. The audio was nice and clear and the rock song playing in the beginning was a solid track. Some of the still shots while Jenelle and “The Bait” (played by Javore) were sitting on the couch looked impressive. Jenelle’s approach towards the drinking part of the night was entertaining. Side-note, the kitchen of the house draws a striking resemblance to that of Stu’s kitchen in the original Scream, so keep your eyes out.

Lily Berlina does a wonderful job of venting her frustration given her predicament and all without saying a word (well almost). She’s absolutely gorgeous and I can’t wait to see her in future projects. She has some enjoyable comedic moments, as does her unfortunate date for the night. His timing was great and the over zealous approach towards Jenelle tied in with his demise was very funny. That sequence is something a lot of the female viewers will probably roll their eyes at and be able to relate to. The practical blood and gore on display was of the highest quality. It builds to quite a ferocious finale that I think hardcore horror fans are going to enjoy.

THE BAD

It’s difficult to find fault in Night Of The Slasher given it’s only 12 minutes long, but here’s a couple of nit picks. One thing I’d mention was that the score was a little uneven. I understand this had elements of Comedy and Horror depending on how you look at it, but it felt slightly more “Twilight Zone” supernatural sounding than I expected. I also respect the fact everything was shot in one continuous take but unfortunately that leaves some rushed and jolting camera movements when the action picks up. It also creates problems with some of the consistency regarding the films framing. In a few shots the camera is rather close to the actors/actresses faces and doesn’t make the most of the scenes surroundings.

Night Of The Slasher is a welcomed addition to the “Short” film category and to Horror/Comedies in general. The traits and specifics in the genre are entertaining and nostalgic ones that are carried by a beautiful and talented lead in Lily Berlina. The comedy hits the mark, the killer is creepy and the blood and gore effects are a hell of a lot of fun. If this had have been broken up and cut together a bit more stylistically it would have suited me even more so. Hamassian’s film is still right up there with some of the best, such as Chris McInroy’s “Bad Guy #2” and Jason Kupfer’s “Invaders”, both of which I reviewed on this here very site. Night Of The Slasher is doing the festival rounds and receiving plenty of well deserved praise, so keep an eye out for it soon!

My rating for “Night Of The Slasher” is 8.5/10

BLOODY KNUCKLES

THE SETUP

Firstly, I’d just like to say thank you to both Eric Bresler of Artsploitation films and Matt O’Mahoney, Writer and Director of the Horror/Comedy film “Bloody Knuckles” for allowing me access to an online screener of the film prior to its official release date of October 27th. Bloody Knuckles is Matt O’s first full length feature film. The story follows Travis (played by Adam Boys a fellow Aussie), a comic book artist with a proclivity for the morbid. When a copy of his latest edition falls into the hands of Leonard Fong (played by Kasey Mazak), the local Chinatown crime boss who’s offended that he’s the current topic, Travis’s drawing hand is removed and his life spirals out of control when he’s hand takes on a mind/agenda of its own. With the help of both Amy (Gabrielle Giraud), a reporter and love interest and Homo Dynamous (Dwayne Bryshun), a gay, dominatrix dressing crime fighter of sorts Travis can get his life back. The film also stars Ken Tsui, Steve Thackray, Kent Leung and Tim Lok.

THE GOOD

Bloody Knuckles has an interesting and unusual premise, one that appears to have been inspired by the likes of “Idol Hands” and “Big Trouble In Little China”. The poster art is pretty cool and the opening title credits are entertainingly presented. There’s some really talented drawings on display with the “Vulgarian Invasion” brand of comics that Travis creates. I’m not a comic fan myself but I can see the talent behind that style of art, so kudos to whoever drew those. The film’s opening sequence was a great way to kick things off acting as an indication to what sort of business the China-man are into, as well as giving the audience some clever gooey practical effects early in the piece. Nearly all the camera work is expertly handled and the editing is nice and crisp. Audio levels were loud, and with my second-rate speakers that’s saying something. Bloody Knuckles is adequately lit and the subtle use of low-fi, synth music is great as well. There’s only a handful of locations in the film which helps to keep the cost down. There’s Travis and Ralphie’s (Tsui) apartment, an underground club and Fong’s Chinatown hangout.

I enjoyed a fair share of the humor on display in Bloody Knuckles. A few of the jokes were a little crass for my liking and some of the desperate stuff was rather obvious but most of it was fun. The awkward interactions and misunderstandings are among the films strongest moments, comically speaking. The “I don’t work with terrorists” gag and a majority of the serious, voice over communication done by Dynamous were the funniest things in the film. The constant talk of vengeance was humorous given the nature of the story, and for the most apart interactions between Travis and his hand were also pretty funny. Midst the entertaining movie references and silliness of the story, are serious undertones that establish contemporary issues regarding censorship and act as a social commentary throughout the mayhem of what’s ultimately a Horror/Comedy film. That aspect didn’t leave me any further informed on the subject but it also didn’t hurt giving the film another avenue.

All of the cast in Bloody Knuckles did a great job. Ken Tsui was entertaining and likable as Travis’s roommate and best friend Ralphie. Gabrielle realistically portrays Amy and supplies us with some of the films more serious moments because her character’s a little more well-rounded. It’s Adam Boys though that ends up elevating the film, he appears to know the exact intended tone of the character and just the film in general. You can sympathize with his situation, he’s basically rebelling against the system and what is and isn’t politically correct and let’s face it we’ve all wanted to do that at some point. The animatronic work that went into controlling the hand deserves plenty of praise. There’s several scenes where we get to see the hand exploring its surroundings much like “Thing” from “The Addams Family” film does. There’s also some great practical blood and gore effects on display, most of which can be seen in the second half of the film. The consistency in blood color varies from time to time, but when a character gets killed it’s always considerably messy and in particular one of the kills, but I won’t spoil it.

THE BAD

It’s clear that on the technical front Matt has learnt his craft well. With the exception of a handful of shots that could have been framed better and the early inconsistency in blood which was ironed out quickly, everything else is admirable. The other minor misgivings are in some of the writing and the fact that at times, the middle part of the film lags. The youngest of the Asian gang (can’t remember his name), but who holds Amy at knife point early in the film didn’t do his best work. It was obvious that he was the least threatening member of the gang mainly because everybody else did their bit. That could just be down to a lack of experience and he’s character might be seen as the new up and comer in the group but he didn’t sell me on his performance. Detective Frank played by Steve Thackray was okay but my issues stemmed from some of the writing involving his character. He’s shtick came across to me like a parody (maybe intended), where he’s just going through the motions and being extremely unprofessional. Even if you had a certain agenda or no interest in the specifics you wouldn’t conduct yourself in the manner he does throughout the investigation involving Travis.

Bloody Knuckles says “nobody has the right not to be offended”, but I’m sure there’s plenty of people who will watch this and won’t be, it takes a lot to offend some people. I wasn’t a fan of the BDSM sequence in the film but I guess it supposed to make you feel uncomfortable (which it did haha), and I know it had a purpose in setting up the arc for the Homo Dynamous character so it’s probably more a personal preference than a knock at the film itself. There’s an assortment of colorful language in here too. Some of it in context but other times it feels forced, bringing to mind the C bombs that get a little crass. There’s quite a lull between the time Travis loses his hand and when he comes to terms with deciding to take out the Chinese gang. There’s no real interactions of any importance throughout that part of the film and it turns into a bit of a chore as you wait for the showdown to ensue. The one thing I thought was going to have more of an impact simply because of the poster was Travis’s hand giving him the finger at some point. There’s a moment where we see a side on index finger after the hand has been thrown out of the window and hits the street, but I would’ve enjoyed seeing it during the final showdown maybe aimed at Fong. Speaking of the showdown it was over prematurely. I was hoping for a bit of back and forth and plenty more splatter! Maybe a certain characters head to explode “Scanners” style or something but alas.

Look “I know you don’t have ears but listen up” Bloody Knuckles is a bloody good time. It has that Asian influence/charm of “Big Trouble In Little China” mixed with the absurdity of the previously mentioned “Idle Hands”. Matt O’Mahoney is a filmmaker to watch out for in the near future, he’s created something with a great energy and high in production value. Everything from smooth camera movements, to clear audio and balanced lighting plus a nostalgic soundtrack Knuckles has more good than bad. The performances are mostly fun while remaining professional and the practical blood and gore effects are as good as any Horror/Comedy on the shelves. I could have done without some of the crass dialogue and desperate moments of comedy, as well as the slow middle section. A couple of writing hiccups could have been rectified and a lot more mayhem added to the film’s climax to just help put the icing on what is a pretty impressive cake. Bloody Knuckles is available for pre-order through Amazon I suggest you get yourself a copy!

My rating for “Bloody Knuckles” is 7/10

ALL I NEED

THE SETUP

Firstly I’d just like to start by thanking Dylan K. Narang, Writer and Director of the brand new Horror/Thriller film “All I Need” for allowing me early access to an online screener. I saw it was currently circling film festivals around the United States and quickly received a reply from Dylan. All I Need weaves parallel story lines that involve a desperate man named Andrew (played by Markus Taylor from the underrated Zombie flick “Deadheads”), whose down on his luck and having trouble supporting his teenage daughter. At the same time a young woman (played by the beautiful Caitlin Stasey), is trying to escape a motel room her and several other girls have been imprisoned in by a mysterious killer. The film also stars Rachel Melvin (“Dumb and Dumber To” and “Zombeavers”), Leah McKendrick, Sorel Carradine and Holly Twyford. This is the first full length feature from Dylan Narang.

THE GOOD

The poster art is very 80’s. That hand drawn technique is all the rage at the moment and it looks great. On the surface All I Need appears to have a feel of something like “The Collector”. Depicting that brutish figure standing outside the door, weapon in hand you’d probably expect a bloodbath some of you might be disappointed to know that’s not the case here. The basis of the story is rather conventional but I don’t mind that, it’s not real clear if the path’s of Andrew and our unknown “final girl” (listed on IMDb as “Chloe”) will cross, and that’s probably due to some odd placement in the plot progression. You assume with a film like this it’s just a matter of time before there’s an encounter but that’s not always the case. The film gently fades in, identifying our mystery girl slowly coming too and quite clearly distressed. The setup and opening frames are reminiscent of the original “Saw”, it was nice to be thrust straight into the turmoil for once. The camera work is unbelievably personal, paying particular attention to every nuance the talented Caitlin Stasey presents us with. There are a multitude of different shot choices and most are effective. Some are taken from the floor, faintly through an overhanging bed sheet showing the killers work boots as he enters the room, others are aerial shots through a vent in the ceiling shaft. Given most of the story takes place in one location resembling a motel room, it’s a satisfying visage. The dialogue audio was nice and clear and the sound effects built adequately. Most of the score was fairly generic but the subtle uses of sharp violin were productive, played to great effect when the girls are weighing up how much time they think they have to escape before the mystery man comes back.

A photo from Production

As I already touched on, the production value and interesting visuals are to be lauded given this is a one or two location, minimal character type of film. The motel set was well dressed and had the appropriate amount of attention to detail. A Dilapidated bathroom with squalid walls and patchwork, old and stained carpet and tattered bedding in which any number of girls probably slept in are just a few examples of that. A majority of Narang’s film is also set during the daytime making it an extremely easy watch. Although it takes the potential away for any real surprise element it gives a different and sharper aesthetic appeal. Andrew is introduced to the story quite abruptly, he’s seen running late for work and its inferred that he gets fired. With bills and child support payments mounting up, his wife on his back about taking responsibility for his life, he’s given the opportunity to solve all his problems but it will come at a cost. After an unmarked package is dropped at his apartment door, Andrew begins conversing on the phone with a mystery man who offers him a delivery job if he wants it. On the surface it all sounds easy but there’s more to the job than meets the eye. Taylor does a solid job of bringing a certain amount of empathy towards Andrew considering we don’t get any interactions between him and his daughter, nothing to solidify their bond. Unfortunately there’s a lengthy period in the opening act of the film where he’s not cited, leaving us to put two and two together regarding the delivery job. Did he have a face to face interaction with the man? Did he find out if there was a particular reason he was chosen? Why didn’t he question the situation?

Another still from the production

Cailin Stasey is by far in a way the best thing about All I Need (not just saying that because I’m a fellow Aussie). I previously saw her in “Tomorrow When The War Began” and “Evidence”, I wasn’t a huge fan of either film but her performances kept me interested. She’s a gorgeous and talented young actress who delivers an honest and believable performance as our nameless heroin. One thing I’ve noticed in her performances is that she doesn’t overact, occasionally things are slightly underplayed such as her transformation between molds in this film but she can only do so much with the writing. It’s the little things she does that are great, a balance of frustrating whimper to muffled scream, the look of fear in her eyes and even the trepidation in taking action are all realistic reactions to have in a situation like this and she does them well. I’m glad she’s getting plenty of work in the genre because it definitely suits her, great stuff.

THE BAD

Other than its slow-burn pacing most of the issues with All I Need are centered around a few specific choices in the writing, as well as some stretches in the story. Even with a running time of only 85 minutes many of its sequences drag, failing to add anything extra to the scene or a desired effect. Right from the opening frames of Chloe struggling to get her restraints off, through to some of the extended gawking done by a couple of victims early on who aren’t even really looking at anything, it’s all quite slow. Even a choking scene in the finale which always acts as the payoff for everything you’ve seen up until that point, manages to overstay its welcome. The dilemma is knowing how much to prolong a scene in order to balance the build up and suspense all the while keeping the audience entertained. The opportunity to build suspense was there but it’s stifled because of the unnecessarily long takes. There’s a sequence where the killer is trying to get through a door while Chloe and another girl are trying to get up into the ceiling vent. Now there’s a TV cabinet blocking most of the door, so the madman is slowly trying to bridge a gap between it and the door so he can get through, all the while Chloe is doing her best to drag the other girl up into the ceiling. What started out as a “Shit, is he going to get her, quick hurry go” reaction, quickly turned to “Is this thing going to be on all week” and that’s just one of many lengthy sequences.

Not only does the aforementioned scene lose its suspense, you’d think the killer would try to get in the shaft himself. I suppose you could argue that he’s too big and she’s got nowhere to go which is why he decides to attack Chloe from underneath instead. To top it off, the frames that follow foreshadow the blood dripping from Chloe’s shoulder seeping through the small holes in the vent and let the killer know he connected. She also takes a while to realize there’s a vent in the room in the first place but somehow manages to slide a fairly weighty cabinet across the room to block the door. The killer whose three times her size takes an eternity to push against the door from the opposite side to move it out-of-the-way. The climax surrounding Andrew’s character arc was an intriguing one. Although somewhat predictable, the little extra twist in the film’s final moments made for a nice touch in what was otherwise a fairly straight forward finish. Unfortunately the motive behind the entire situation holds no real weight. We learn so little about the “puppet-master” so if there’s nothing to go on other than a bit of convenient exposition it makes it hard to feel their plight. Stasey’s heroin is clearly the most interesting thing about the film yet she never feels like the anchor. We don’t learn a single thing about her other than she has a lot of determination but for all that she’s still a great protagonist to watch, I just wish we knew something, anything.

A great still shot of the Bathroom set.

All I Need has a fair bit going for it but never enough to truly separate itself from middle standing. The contrasting camera work, bright lighting, minimal locations and accurate set design all make it a visual triumph. There’s some effective use of violin and the opposing story lines are inviting enough on their own but sadly they never come together with any pertinence. Caitlin Stasey’s performance was as good as they come and I thoroughly enjoyed watching her in a battle of wits with her captor. If it was only the plodding and  slow-burn nature holding this back that wouldn’t be a problem, but a combination of rather thin plot points, overly lengthy scenes and predictable plot revelations make All I Need a safe course. More relevant story development, shorter scenes and others replaced with key details plus a much more comprehensive story arc for our beautiful/engrossing lead girl would have made this much more memorable. Despite its shortcomings I’d still recommend checking this one out, it remains an entertaining 85 minutes and I look forward to seeing what Narang does next.

My rating for “All I Need” is 5.5/10

TURBO KID

THE SETUP

“Turbo Kid” is the first full length feature from Co-Writer/Directors, Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann- Karl Whissell. The trio previously collaborated on a handful of short films over the last decade. I’ve known about Turbo Kid for several months and am glad to see it  being released October 28th on VOD (video on demand). I knew enough about the film prior to watching it so my expectations were quite high. Turbo Kid is an Action/Adventure and Sci-fi Splatter film all rolled into one. Set in a post apocalyptic future “The Kid” (played by Munro Chambers) a young, comic book obsessed scavenger, begrudgingly faces his fears and becomes a hero by helping a peculiar girl named Apple (Laurence Leboeuf). Zeus (played by veteran actor Michael Ironside), is a sadistic tyrant and self-proclaimed leader of the wasteland. Armed with his Bmx, some padded protective gear, a mysterious superhero’s suit and Apple in tow, it’s up to the kid to stop Zeus and restore order to the badlands. The film also stars Aaron Jeffery, Romano Orzari, Edwin Wright, Anouk Whissell and Francois Simard.

THE GOOD

Turbo Kid’s script perfectly squares a unique blend of Dark Comedy, Drama and Action. The poster artwork is awesome and some of the pieces of fan art and retro designs I’ve seen floating around look great. This threesome of filmmakers are clearly very enthusiastic about their work and it shows on-screen. They are incredibly resourceful, as the production value exhibits. Made on what I can only imagine is a modest budget, they’re eager to execute this relatively basic story on such a grand-scale. The camera work is quite diverse, ranging from crane shots in the opening credits while The Kid rides his bike across the desolate landscape, to wide dolly shots to capture the vastness of the wasteland (with authentic looking digital effects backing it), as well as tight concise shots inside the local watering hole or Zeus’s lair, it’s all great. Sylvain Lemaitre was the head of set design, another facet of the film that is sure to impress its intended audience. The Kid’s lair has lost treasures resembling some kind of normalcy in a world that’s anything but normal. Old editions of his favorite comics, action figurines, posters and of course those slide projections inside those binoculars that were all the rage in the late 80’s early 90’s. His cave was like stepping back into that time period and it really fit the tone of the film. The contemporary hint of Turbo Kid is conveyed through the fact Cinematographer, Jean-Philippe Bernier chose a very vibrant look and shooting style, making it a far easier watch than a lot of the films it’s referring to.

The soundtrack was always going to be key in a film that has a nostalgic air about it. Turbo Kid opens with that beloved 80’s/90’s style, synth pop music and as the film progresses so does the mood and technique toward using that type of sound. Some of the heartfelt moments between The Kid and Apple have a lot softer cadence, then when Zeus and Skeletron (Zeus’s right hand man) decide it’s time to make a move the intensity picks up and it’s great. Much like this year’s earlier, outstanding short film “Kung Fury” see review * https://adamthemoviegod.com/kung-fury-review/. The music only enhances the viewing experience and I can’t wait to get my hands on this soundtrack. The entire cast knew exactly how to play their respective parts with the right amount of jesting. It’s a fine line between being natural and professional, versus that self-aware nature that you’re in on the joke. Michael Ironside’s portrayal of Zeus is great. He’s articulation of short monologues and grand speeches is better than most, he’s adept at playing roles of all kinds and the ease with which he does it is evident here. The two surprise packets though are Chambers and Leboeuf, who are actually both a lot older than you’d think. I have an extensive movie collection but I haven’t seen either of them in a film before. I know Chambers was part of the show “Degrassi” and Leboeuf has a sizable amount of credits to her name but these two are leaps and bounds ahead of most of the Canadian competition in their age bracket (at least the ones I’ve seen).

There’s plenty of creative license taken and unique complexities in the writing of Turbo Kid. The awkward manner in which The Kid and Apple interact make for a bunch of great comedic moments. Their interactions were reminiscent of a couple of characters in a specific episode of Season 6 of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”. The character Frederic (played by fellow Aussie, Aaron Jeffery) felt like the “Mad Max” influence of the film, he’s outback look, rough jargon and colorful vocabulary seemed to be paying homage to the Max Rockatansky character of the well-known franchise. Several of his one liners were great as were Michael Ironside’s, I particularly liked Zeus’s arc and that he wasn’t just the token bad guy, a final unveiling sets up a truly memorable finish to the film. It’s rare to see a futuristic world depicting life without gas and electricity, I thought that was an excellent particular to write, of course making it impossible to pass running time with endless car chase sequences. BMX bike chases act as the substitute for the aforementioned and they were surprisingly effective and a hell of a lot of fun to watch. There’s an array of homemade weapons on display, some of which I hadn’t ever seen used before and they’re cleverly implemented into the story.

Let’s talk a bit about the effects. After I’d seen some grotesque heads on sticks within the first five minutes, I knew this film was going to feature some expert practical effects, boy was I right. If the 80’s/90’s style visual effects, reminiscent of “Robocop” meets popular video game “Street Fighter” weren’t enough, then the brilliant blood and gore will be, I loved it. The color and texture of the blood is spot on, we even get a character that can bleed blue and it looks fantastic. The Action comes hard and heavy, never shying away from full-blown carnage and showcasing the aftermath. The kills are absolutely glorious and incredibly entertaining and inventive, something I felt was missing from the latest Mad Max. I’m still waiting for Hollywood to make a film that displays how talented these special effects and make up artists really are, that’s a big part of the reason I watch films like this. Not only is the body count high, the huge finale is exactly that huge and it should be. Often these types of films fizzle out ending on a bit of a lull, not Turbo Kid. Just when you think the fight’s over there’s one last advance, it never wears out its welcome. I want to tell you everything that happens so you know the extravaganza you’re in for but I won’t, go see it for yourself!

THE BAD

Most of the profanity had context, some of it intended for comedic relief and some outlining character intimidation. On a couple of occasions Jeffery’s rudeness felt avoidable and because most of the time it works, it’s quite obvious when it doesn’t. Although there’s a sufficient amount of back story on our hero Kid and how he came to be fending for himself and living off the land, the convenience with which he’s thrust into the role of protector, didn’t have the necessary setup I think it should have. Is the plot point of finding the vessel and in turn the suit, an indication that the boy we are watching is a character from a comic book? After all, he does find the suit at the exact time that he needs it and in the strangest of places. It would make sense that through imagination and his love for comics that he would take on that persona to give his life purpose. I would’ve liked to have seen that plot point unfold in a more straight forward manner is all, otherwise you could be led to believe that the entire story, the world we’re engrossed in and all its outcomes were already predetermined because it’s in a book. Or am I just reading too much into it? (haha pardon the pun, either way I think it’s an interesting point).

Turbo Kid had a lot of hype and in the end it more than lived up to my expectations, it’s a near flawless film. If you put the cheesy Action and dialogue of any episode of “Power Rangers” and fused it with the friendship/romance, coming of age theme of a John Hughes film then added a healthy dosage of Mad Max on BMX bikes, with any obscure Asian or European splatter film, you’d have something akin to Turbo Kid. The poster art, the inner workings of the writing, the synth pumping soundtrack and the set design are all amazing features. Each of the characters are entertaining in their own way, the performances incredibly even and carried mostly by two really good young actors. The amount of carnage almost entirely conceived with practical effects, as well as one of the biggest finales in any film should make you stand up and pay attention to this trio. The dedication towards attention to detail like that of “Kung Fury”, make it impossible to not immerse yourself in this world. Simply put, Turbo Kid is a masterpiece and if it’s not the best film of the year it has to be right up there. It’s what Mad Max: Fury Road should have been and if you understand the intent behind these films I challenge you to find one better. I can’t wait to get my hands on a hard-copy!

My rating for “Turbo Kid” is 9/10

FRANKENSTEIN VS THE MUMMY

THE SETUP

“Frankenstein Vs The Mummy” is the second full length feature from New York based writer/filmmaker Damien Leone, who had previously made the Horror film “All Hallows Eve”. Frankenstein Vs The Mummy follows college professor Victor Frankenstein (played by Max Rhyser) who is trying to balance his life involving secretly carrying out experiments trying to regenerate dead tissue, while at the same time attempting to keep up a personal relationship with Naihla Khalil (the lovely Ashton Leigh), a work colleague whose doing her own study of the mummy of a cursed pharaoh. As Professor Walton (Boomer Tibbs), head of the research department conducts his own analysis of the mummy and Victor takes his corpse to the next level, all hell breaks loose in the university as a showdown between creations ensues. The film also stars Daniel Rodas, Brandon deSpain, Robert MacNaughton and Constantin Tripes.

THE GOOD

The tale of Victor Frankenstein is hardly an original one, it’s been retold in various ways or style for many years. In Damien’s film, the core character and his rationales remain the same but they’re made a little more interesting by the inclusion of a mummy, as well as the excitement of a head to head. It put’s a very different twist on a classic story, that lately has become quite stale. I really dig the film’s artwork and it’s “Freddy Vs Jason” inspired hybrid. Most of the camera work and shot choices look good and the audio is relatively consistent. This is a low-budget film with minimal locations so cinematographer, George Steuber should be commended for his ability to make the film look interesting while it’s playing out in confined spaces. I noticed that all the scenes that take place in the basement of the medical facility, looked very similar to those in Leone’s earlier film. I thought that aspect was a nice touch, I believe his mother works at a hospital so the basement doubles up and acts as a cost-effective set. The soundtrack was a bit hit and miss for me. The best piece of music was a nice piano ballad that played during a conversation in the car between Victor and Naihla. Overall the score needed to be more upbeat and intense. It’s clear that Damien did his research and spent a lot of time on the script, all the dialogue is well written and most of it realistically articulated. No one can accuse it of skimping on exposition either, which is something these types of films are usually guilty of. I didn’t Google information or history on Pharaohs or Mummy’s after watching the film, so I can’t verify with absolute confidence that everything in the story is fact but I was pretty well sold (haha).

It’s refreshing to involve yourself with two really likable lead characters, both of whom are played pretty well by Rhyser and Leigh. They had quite a natural chemistry together and seemed to be having fun. With the exception of a couple of downplayed reactions spread out over the running time, I was genuinely impressed by the duo. Max doesn’t seem like the obvious choice for Victor but ends up carrying himself pretty well. I wasn’t expecting such a brutish figure, I thought that kind of character called for someone far more meek. I’d seen Ashton Leigh in two other films called “Demonic” and “Swamp Shark”. I wasn’t a huge fan of either of the films but her performances were consistently good. Some of her scenes here were very impressive. Her character was the most emotional player and her performance hit the mark when it needed to. The remainder of the cast do their bit but the surprise packet was the janitor, who was supplying and blackmailing Victor with the organs needed for his research. I searched long and hard but the actor doesn’t seem to show up anywhere, nor is he listed/credited for the film. His performance reminded me a lot of Dwight Yoakam’s character Raoul, in David Fincher’s “Panic Room” (a favorite of mine). That controlled type of crazy, crossed with a moment or two of unpredictability made him an enjoyable character to watch, so kudos.

This is a clear deviation from the Suspense/Gore based horror that was the focal point in All Hallows Eve, none the less Damien showcases his talent for practical effects yet again. Given the budget the creature effects (for lack of a better word) looked pretty solid. Though it seems that the attention to detail was more of a focus on the mummy than it was on Frankenstein’s monster. The way he was wrapped, the texture of the symbols on the hard exterior and the mask which I assume was latex, all looked authentic. On the other side of the coin, the monster was far more effective when seen in the shadows than actually on-screen. He ends up looking like a rushed version of The Crow meets “Victor Crowley” (the madman from the Hatchet films). I’ve gained a fair bit of insight into how difficult a number of things can be on an independent film, so I have a different outlook on those things nowadays. Knowing Damien, I assume it was a hiccup involving budgetary or time constraints because his work is usually of the highest quality. The opening action sequence looked great, it didn’t hit until about thirty minutes in but it’s well worth the wait. There were a couple of pretty brutal kills, one in particular but I don’t want to spoil it. All the gore effects and gags were done by Damien himself.

THE BAD

Some of the lighting was the only technical aspect that I could find fault in. A big part of the reason the film might appear on the low-budget side is due to poor or insufficient lighting. It’s not quite as bad as “Frankenstein’s Army” (possibly the biggest squander of potential for success), which was another low-budget film containing cool monsters, where the crew basically failed to light a single scene appropriately. With the amount of time Frankenstein vs The Mummy’s spends in labs, corridors and basements, is it any wonder how difficult it is to showcase quality aesthetics. They don’t make for the easiest locations to light realistically, but even conversations in the car and altercations at the house are far too dark as well. During some of the last scenes there’s some obvious imitation, CG fire which doesn’t look great but because it’s not a huge Hollywood film you can let them off the hook. I also have to mention a sequence involving the Janitor and a homeless man. It’s essentially straight out of American Psycho (in my top 10 films of all time), not that there’s any real issue with that other than it automatically takes me out of the film and into something else I prefer. The way in which the film opens clearly foreshadows some of the problems that will arise between the Janitor and Victor. I liked the first half of the Janitor’s narrative but then things got a little foolish, that could have been written in a better way.

There’s only really one conversation throughout the film which wasn’t entirely accurate and it involves Naihla and the Detective. Shortly after the officer has questioned Professor Walton about the whereabouts of one of his students, he asks Naihla a few questions. After they are done talking, she asks him “What exactly did he say to you” (meaning Walton), and the cop proceeded to tell her. By law, he wouldn’t be allowed to divulge any information regarding what was said by any of the witnesses or people questioned regarding the investigation so that’s a bit of a goof. The biggest aspect hurting Frankenstein vs The Mummy is the extended running time and its ponderous pacing. The story is quite slow to get to any real action so for those of you who are waiting for that inevitable confrontation between the Monster and Mummy, you might like to know you’re in for a wait. As far as payoffs go, it will depend entirely on what you expect to see in a Creature/Horror flick made for under $100,000. The battle isn’t exactly Freddy vs Jason but what we do get to see looks pretty cool and again highlights Damien’s experience at more than one facet of film-making, I thought it was fun.

I’ve done my best not to be biased when it comes to Frankenstein vs The Mummy because it’s Damien Leone, but in the end I had fun with it. It isn’t the best monster movie you’re likely to see but it’s a far cry from the worst. The technical aspects, the standard of writing and the thoroughly likable characters played by competent actors/actresses, make it a much easier watch than it probably should be. Even though the effects were a little more scarce compared to Leone’s previous work, they were just as bloody and impressive. The monster designs were at the forefront of this unique blend and that made for a nice change of pace. It’s the sour note involving a few revelations in the story and the slow-burn movement towards anything resembling action that stifle the film. Running 114 minutes long, only about 6 of which are spent on the supposed climactic battle between monsters, you can’t help but feel a little cheated. Damien could have tidied this up and done away with some of the over analyzing of information and shortened what felt like some real-time sequences and instead given us more of these larger than life creations going head to head, after all that’s probably the reason you’d watch a film called Frankenstein vs The Mummy isn’t it?

My rating for “Frankenstein vs The Mummy” is 5.5/10

SHE KILLS

THE SETUP

Ridiculously overgrown mustaches, uncontrollable diarrhea, kung fu, randomly placed film references, a killer vagina with dentures and fake male appendages a plenty are on display in Director, Ron Bonk’s latest film “She Kills”. It’s an homage to Exploitation and Grindhouse films of the 70’s. I just want to say thanks to Ron for giving me access to an online screener of the film prior to its official release, I really appreciate it. She Kills is a story about Sadie (played by Jennie Russo), a free-spirited young woman whose just gotten married to her sweetheart Edwin (Kirk LaSalle). Shortly after checking into their honeymoon suite at a local motel, Edwin is viciously murdered by a gang called “The Touchers” and Sadie is raped. The group are led by Dirk (Trey Harrison), a self-proclaimed ladies man sporting preposterously long facial hair. After Sadie is assaulted she discovers a dangerous secret about her body, she’s cursed with a condition called “fire crotch”. An exorcism of sorts gone wrong unleashes Satan’s control over her genitalia and all hell breaks loose in this blood soaked, bat shit crazy revenge flick. The film also stars Michael Merchant, Jody Pucello, David Royal, Martha Zempsta, Niecy Cerise, Mateo Prendergast and Matt Mendoza.

Prior to watching the film I saw the trailer so I knew a bit about what I was in for. I’m quite fussy when it comes to the grindhouse cinema especially if the cast/crew don’t have much money or experience, because it can be a hard sell. She Kills was made for an estimated $8,000, so how does it fare against the films it’s mocking?

THE GOOD

Even though I’m picky about these types of films, I do like a good throwback or homage to an era gone bye, when it’s done right. The poster looks like something you’d see for a 1970’s film, the retro and hand drawn designs are making their way back and I for one am glad. The introductory credit font and the recognizable static, film reel approach are both well conceived. Music is the big one for me, in most cases there’s some good and some bad. I’ve written and recorded music for over a decade, but it wasn’t until I became more interested in film that I realized how important it is in aiding to express a certain emotion. The soundtrack for She Kills is incredibly eclectic. For example, the opening piano composition as Sadie is innocently frolicking in the meadows, conveys her purity and easiness with which she carries herself. The scenes that ensue in the motel room become heightened in intensity and the music shifts accordingly, we get to hear some propulsive low-fi synth that builds until the scenes culmination. The latter part of the film has a couple more ballads as well as a complex song that drives the action, it’s made up of several different sounds and was the best aspect about that particular scene. Ron’s camera work and shot choices are a little more modern than you might expect in a film spoofing the 70’s but everything looks great regardless. The gentle zooms help highlight the voyeuristic nature of “The Touchers” (possibly the lamest gang name to be conjured up haha).

All of the dialogue audio is loud and clear, the intentional syncing issues surrounding the ADR (additional dialogue recording) were quite humorous. For those of you who don’t watch much of the genre or maybe this film is your gateway in, delayed dubbing was all the rage in the 70’s and 80’s. Some of the flashes of discoloration are another clever nod to films like “I Spit On Your Grave” and “Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia”. I also enjoyed some of the sound effects on display. The harsh jarring sounds in the opening act were straight out of something like “The Warriors” or a 50’s gangster film. Much like the dialogue audio, they had silly timing issues during impact hits in fight sequences (on purpose). The amount of comedy is obviously subjective, it will depend entirely on your sense of humor and what you might be expecting from a film this moronic. In my opinion it’s a mixed bag. The best parts involved Sadie’s Asian father, yes you heard me Asian father and his interactions with her half-brother Chung Lee the third (even reading that back has me going haha). Both dialogues were severely delayed, like something out of a Shaolin Kung Fu, TV show and made for a good amount of chuckling. The other was a simple “I’ve got my eyes on you” gag as Dirk leaves the motel room at the end of the first act, I knew how it was going to play out but it didn’t stop me from laughing my head off.

Jennie Russo playing the protagonist, has the difficult job of carrying this enigmatic mix of puzzle pieces but handles things pretty well. It helps that she looks like a young woman out of the 70’s and can also be likened to actress, Amber Tamblyn. Russo plays things sprightly, never losing sight of what this thing is actually about. There’s a handful of nude scenes that will be to the liking of the male audience, hell maybe even some of the female audience as well because let’s face it Jennie looks great. I’m not sure what to make of Trey Harrison’s portrayal of Dirk, I’m thinking Bonk probably told him to act as absurdly as he possibly could and in that sense he succeeds. I’m sure the Actors/Actress playing The Touchers are probably just giving their best with what’s written, but I’d imagine a lot of audiences aren’t going to like the absurd nature everyone airs here. The characters were just to exaggerated to take even remotely serious (the intention I’m sure), but in a situation where you’re supposed to be acting menacing it doesn’t really identify. Michael Merchant as Reggie, the “greaser” stereotype is the only other member of the gang that makes an impact when he’s on-screen. His “Hey Boss” thick New York accent was played up big time and accentuated how much of a schmuck he was. The characters of Poodle, the hispanic guy who just laughs for no reason, Blue, the childlike, mentally challenged oaf and Beatrice the leather sporting loudmouth don’t get the same stretch to display much of an arc.

What little back story there is shines through pretty clearly but I still would’ve liked some clarity regarding the mysterious, mask wearing Reaper who pops up from time to time. I’m assuming his evil ways or sorcery powers and what not are what set’s Sadie on her path of destruction. I can only say that because otherwise it’s just a random guy in a cheap, dollar store mask. The inclusion of a very short scene involving miniatures was completely out of left field but hilariously entertaining all the same. A re-enactment of a scene from “Batman Begins” is even thrown in for good measure, just encase you were thinking “Oh, that’s not so odd”. Don’t ask me the point of any of these little Easter eggs, because it should be clear by now that I don’t know. Lastly I want to commend Colby Flinchum who did a really solid job of the special effects. As previously mentioned, it’s less than a $10,000 film yet the practical effects are nicely executed. It’s all very cheap looking but ambitious none the less, you have to applaud the effort when so many other films don’t even try. I don’t want to spoil all the good stuff but my favorite kills involved a castration (of sorts) and a full head/face being smashed and ripped open and it looks marvelous! If that’s not enough for you, the last gag is particularly impressive because it switches from some shoddy CG, to an Actor physically inside latex material with his head hanging out of the top. It’s brilliant to see a crew even attempt something like that practically. The final swallow, bravo (haha) that’s all I’m going to say, bravo.

THE BAD

I’m over 1,300 words into this review and I haven’t even started on this section yet, so I can say this much about She Kills there’s a lot to cover. A lot of the dialogue in places is quite poor. Sadie’s dumb blonde shtick didn’t really gel with the character, given her strong nature and what she’s able to overcome as the film progresses. The relentless euphemisms for vagina become a bit much after a while, I get that these kind of films are linguistically crude but it feels a little played out. There are a few continuity issues here and there, but not anywhere near the amount one would think in a film with this type of budget. Edwin get’s a knee to the face while being attacked by Reggie but there’s no cuts or gashes during either the impact shots, or the frames that follow. There’s a moment involving some irregular stock footage of police and emergency services driving down a road (probably played for laughs, just incredibly odd). Considering most of the effects were done practically and looked great, you can imagine my surprise when I saw a lot of poor CG, blood splatter scattered throughout the final act. Knowing what indie films can be like, it was probably due to time constraints or budget but I just thought it took something away.

I found the biggest problem with She Kills is not that it’s so damn crazy, it’s that it’s not controlled craziness. It lacks direction and at times loses its momentum all together. It begins with a clear setup and opening sequence, only to then linger in no man’s land for an extended period. The Touchers start acting like cavemen and monkey’s for reasons completely unknown, and aren’t ever really made clear to the audience. What follows is an incredibly inaccurate rape sequence that lasts far too long, with actors and actresses giving the most farcical facial expressions one could make while performing that action. If it was played for shock value I could understand but it ends up looking and feeling incredibly awkward because everyone except for Russo is fully clothed. Don’t get me wrong, these people are all horrible human beings but it’s hard to justify what’s ultimately a revenge film if you can’t sympathize with that supposed anguish, and I just didn’t feel it, it wasn’t authentic. Then again, the film shifts this time to Sadie’s half-brother and their father in what has to be the dumbest fight sequence ever written (clearly for laughs), although this viewer didn’t get much out of it. There was the odd laugh but it felt like it lasted about twenty minutes and lost whatever the desired effect was.

The next time we see Sadie she’s got a painted face, reminiscent of Brandon Lee in “The Crow” as she enters a bar that The Touchers regularly frequent. After already having endured an earlier bar sequence, where a painfully long musical number played on the jukebox as the group danced to it in real-time, I’d had enough. This slow motion sequence had a mellow acoustic guitar accompanying it, while everything else in the film was muted. It’s not something that would normally be done in a film like this and didn’t fit the tone of the scene either. It’s a bunch of these types of scenes where the film loses its way. The visual effects during the “exorcism”, for lack of a better word are about what you’d expect to see in a film made for under $10,000. They’re pretty hokey but with a driving soundtrack complimenting the scene, it saves face somewhat. The points I have made here are mostly in regards to what I like to see, as I already mentioned these aren’t really my specialty and hardcore fans of the genre are probably going to be okay with the films shortcomings.

I’m not sure what to make of She Kills but it was by far in a way the most outlandish and resourceful entry into the Grindhouse/Exploitation genre that I’ve ever seen, and for that alone it should be lauded. The visual approach mirrors some of the classic films. The self-aware audio issues are a hoot and a mix of wonderful music top off what is a technically polished product. Some of the humor was spot on and all the little random gimmicks that were built-in, made it all the more entertaining. The cheap and cheesy, blood and gore effects couldn’t have been better they eclipsed some of the average visual effects and shoddy CG blood, so that was nice. Some of the rehashed writing, sloppy direction and loss of momentum end up hurting the film’s re-watch ability factor (at least for this viewer). I’m not sure the chipper and jubilant style of acting worked either but each to their own. In addition, there’s some problems with continuity and the assault sequence wasn’t at all what I expected. However, keep in mind this is an $8,000 film and I think true hardcore fans of the genre will find even more to like about it than I did. I look forward to seeing future films from Ron Bonk and his crew, be sure to keep an eye out for this one because it’s coming soon!

My rating for “She Kills” is 5/10