THE ORPHAN KILLER

THE SETUP

Since I’ve had my site up and running, I’ve had the opportunity to watch plenty of different films for review purposes. Some were sent to me by filmmakers, others were ones that I inquired about. A while ago I found out about Vimeo on Demand, which is the current platform being used for initially releasing a film online. It’s a site where you can pay a very reasonable price to either stream a particular film (available for you to view for up to 48 hours), or for that bit extra, buy it and watch it whenever you like. I think this is a rather useful tool, especially for indie filmmakers who wish to promote their work, which may otherwise never end up being distributed or officially released. While randomly searching some of the horror content on the site, I came across “The Orphan Killer”, a film that was made back in 2011, but wasn’t released until 2013 (I think, but don’t quote me on it). The film is directed by Matt Farnsworth, and at a guess I would say the budget mustn’t have been more than $100,000. You’re able to watch film trailers at no cost, which is another cool aspect of the site. I watched The Orphan Killer trailer and thought it looked pretty impressive, so I went ahead and bought it and have since just finished watching it. The Orphan Killer is a slasher film about serial killer, Marcus Miller (played by David Backus), who has his mind-set on teaching his estranged sister Audrey (the lovely Diane Foster), a lesson about the importance of family. As young children, the two experienced an extremely traumatic ordeal, and haven’t been the same since. Audrey is a teacher at a catholic school, trying to live some kind of normal existence in the hopes of leaving events with her brother in the past. What she doesn’t know is that Marcus is hellbent on exacting his revenge and is coming for her. The film also stars Matt Farnsworth and Edward Winrow.

THE GOOD

If this was shot for around the budget that I’ve estimated it at, the production value is even more impressive than I first thought. The film opens with a bloodied and bruised girl on top of a roof, trying to fend off a masked, axe wielding maniac, and then cut. No that wasn’t her being cut (haha). Instead, we get a bunch of nice establishing shots of a car driving through the city, and eventually lands on the aforementioned girl, as she kisses her boyfriend and walks inside a church/school. This is the first time we get to see into Audrey’s life, and thus begins some pretty early character development. The film contains a sufficient amount of background information on both the killer Marcus, and his sister Audrey. Early on, some of the girls at the catholic school divulge some of the history about Marcus and what happened years before. As the film progresses, a couple of scenes showing the two as kids, and what their family life was like, are interwoven with what’s happening present day.

Most of the shot choices are really smart and effective, and the camera work is mostly good. Occasionally they opted for a few odd angles or unnecessarily complicated shots, when something easier would have sufficed. At the beginning there are a lot of aerial shots that were pointless and didn’t add anything to the look of the film. I couldn’t figure out if it was stock footage or not, I’m not sure why they chose to shoot so many of those. The audio got better as the film progressed, but in the beginning I noticed some inconsistencies between scenes in the church and school, in comparison to those where Marcus was located. Most of the lighting really helps set the mood, and other than a few shots in the church, it all works well. I liked a lot of the heavy metal and hardcore song choices as well. I’m a fan of that genre of music, so usually I like when those songs are incorporated, but The Orphan Killer didn’t need those heavy tones. I think the movie would have worked a lot better with a much more classic, suspense score. The suspense is the aspect that’s missing here. It’s obvious during several scenes that the tension is totally lacking. You should feel like your on the edge of your seat, but you don’t. Don’t panic just yet though, The Orphan Killer saves itself, by making you squirm during some of the more graphic sequences.

Perfectly segueing me into the part all you horror buffs want to know about, the blood and the gore. Does The Orphan Killer have what it takes to stand out from the masses??, yes and no, I will get to the basis of the story and the no later (haha). This is very ambitious when it comes to the blood and gore department. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the kills and the aftermath of them. I’m happy to report that inside the first ten minutes, we get the first of a series of extremely brutal kills. Anyone who has read a horror review here at adamthemoviegod, knows my Rule 1 of Slasher 101, is that you kill someone off inside the first 15 minutes. The kills here are delivered at break neck speeds, and the copious amounts of blood is ridiculous. When I say ridiculous, I mean ridiculously cool! Kudos to the entire makeup and effects crew, but most importantly it’s truly a credit to the actors and actresses, because they went balls out for the entire duration. Every single person in this film got saturated in blood and gore, and it all looks absolutely amazing, and more importantly it’s all practical. I don’t want to spoil any of the action sequences so just let me say, you will not be disappointed. This is one of the goriest indie film’s I have ever seen, it’s up there with the best of them, so well done guys!

THE BAD

I touched on some of those early establishing shots and the inconsistent audio already. But as far as technical aspects go, most things were solid. Some of the editing and cuts were a little rushed here and there, and the color grading seems to change in several shots. Most fans of the genre know, those are the types of inconsistencies you see when working with a small budget or time constraints, so it’s somewhat forgivable. I forgot to mention the acting in this one, which is of a pretty good standard when you take into consideration the limited experience of the cast. A few of the reactions from the secondary characters were a bit forced, and it would have been nice to see the victims put up more of a fight, but that’s just my usual griping (haha). It’s really Diane that has to hold this movie together, because she appears in just about every scene. She looks great, and emotionally she hits her mark 90 percent of the time. You can’t ask for much more than that from your lead actress, so well done Diane!

The biggest issue with The Orphan Killer, is that it’s clearly guilty of borrowing a lot of its content and structure from iconic films like Halloween and Friday the 13th. I know that we are all influenced by certain things we see, and you have to get inspiration from somewhere. However, everything from this core plot idea of the estranged brother and sister battling each other, to the mask wearing killer, that looks like a mash-up of Jason, Chromeskull, and a member of Heavy Metal band, Slipknot it’s all be done before. I can’t think of anything that The Orphan Killer brings to the table that hasn’t been done before, and that’s not a good sign. Bare with me through this though, I’m not one of those critics that’s going to slam something for being unoriginal, or for even engineering scenes that are straight out of other films. Sure you have to dock the stars accordingly when you rate it, but you don’t have to count it out. It’s more about the way in which The Orphan Killer is structured, that makes it more noticeable. The momentum is stifled several times throughout and mostly because of the sequencing.

The structure of this, makes it difficult to understand the hatred Marcus has in the beginning. Keep in mind, the viewer doesn’t quite know the details surrounding what’s happened with him and his sister in the past. Eventually, all the details come out so you know Marcus’s motive and overall goal, but it would be much stronger if a little more time was spent in building that part up. Some of the content feels all over the place, and even the locations become confusing at times. It almost feels like this whole movie was shot in one place, and I’m sure that’s not the case. From what I could see (maybe I missed something while jotting down notes), the school and church were one in the same. I’m assuming the basement was the basement of the school too. At one point, Marcus is in an orphanage, but other than the flashes of memory surrounding the past, the location still felt like the school, nothing seemed clear at all. The details were only obvious when they wanted you to identify with something. Such as, Audrey’s police officer boyfriend, Mike Hunt (played by Farnsworth himself). It seemed awful convenient that he was a cop. Personally I thought it was a rather lame plot point. I’m not sure he had any relevance to the story, other than obviously at the very end (in which I was hoping for a slightly different outcome). Those of you who are like me, will be hoping that Marcus sticks his head out and get’s it lopped off, while the rest of his body falls down the ladder underneath him, sadly no (haha), maybe in the sequel.

After I finished The Orphan Killer, I read a lot of other reviews for it. Most of which were unfair in their attempt at actually critiquing it. It’s rare you find a film that’s going to reinvent the genre, so do us all a favor and either lower the bar a bit or stop watching these types of film’s, because you frustrate me. You will get no argument from me, when it comes to the unoriginal killer and story content in this one. If you are watching these types of films solely for story or a new fresh looking killer, then most of them are going to disappoint you. In this day and age, it’s not a realistic mindset to have while watching something like this. I try to focus on the positives where I can, and I didn’t find anything in this movie that I really got hung up on. The Orphan Killer is shot crisply and interestingly, and it’s got a great lead performance from the gorgeous Diane Foster. The most important thing is that, finally something delivers on the blood and gore that it promised. The effects, kills, and body count are all super impressive, fans of the genre have to buy this movie. You will regret it if you don’t!

Below will be a link to the official website where you can purchase a hard copy of the film, please also rate this for free on Imdb, it’s travesty that it sits at 3.8!!.

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My rating for “The Orphan Killer” is 7/10

ATTACK OF THE HERBALS

THE SETUP

Firstly, I just want to say thanks to David Ryan Keith, director of the low-budget Horror/Comedy film “Attack Of The Herbals”, for giving me access to a newly edited online screener of the film. This film was originally released back in 2011, and I recently purchased the DVD that you see above. However, after a few discussions with David, I found out the issues he had with the movie (personally I think he was being hard on himself), but I suppose some of his hangups were justifiable. I was going to watch my copy of the film regardless. Though this version I’m reviewing has now been re-edited, and extra time has been spent on some of the technical aspects to improve them. This is a review for this new screener, and not the original cut. Attack Of The Herbals is about Jackson (Booth), a young man who has come back home to live with his grandparents. Russell (Steve Worsley), is an old friend of Jackson’s, also living in this small coastal town in Scotland. Russell happens upon a mysterious crate that’s washes up on the shore, and decides to clue Jackson in on it. They find the contents inside make an addictive herbal tea, that turns the inhabitants of their small town into zombies. How can they maintain the high demand for tea, and keep their friends and family safe. The film stars Calum Booth, Richard Currie, Liam Matheson, Lee Hutcheon and Claire McCulloch.

Late last year I reviewed David’s latest film, “The Redwood Massacre” see review * https://adamthemoviegod.com/the-redwood-massacre-review/. I was really impressed with Redwood Massacre’s technical aspects, and of course the script and copious amounts of gore didn’t hurt it either. I thought it was one of the best horror films from last year. Even though I knew this first film of his had a lot smaller budget, just an estimated 15,000 pounds, I was just as eager to check it out. Please ignore the marketing ploy trying to convince you it’s “Shaun Of The Dead” meets “Hot Fuzz”, because other than being a film from the UK, it has next to nothing in common with those. I was chatting to David about the marketing of the film, and they didn’t do him any great favors by making comparisons to  really popular films that both had expensive budgets.

THE GOOD

This is such a fun screenplay, and no more ridiculous than any of the other horror/comedy’s being released these days. This reminded a little bit of Chris LaMartina’s film, “Witches Brew”, which was also made on a similar budget. Other than that one, it’s got a hint of “Boy Eats Girl” about it too. The movie opens with some crazy Nazi’s experimenting on a bunch of different people. It’s accompanied by an awesome score, and some really quick cutting on the use of different objects appearing in each frame. The whole film is really quickly edited, and I really enjoyed that, it keeps things moving along at a steady pace. The only part that wasn’t clear, was whether the events in the beginning were taking place during World War 2? I assume they were. A year or date number, on-screen would have solved that, I may have missed it while jotting down notes though.

The audio is crystal clear, and even during shots that frame the actors from a reasonable distance away its still loud. I know a percentage of the movie was re-dubbed, I could tell in certain parts, but for the majority of the running time it’s spot on. The most impressive part about AOTH, is the quality of the camera work, which alone is worth watching it for. It’s rare that I see a director with little to no experience, who really takes the time to get the basics right. David Keith has a freakishly sharp eye that’s going to take him a long way in the film industry. He uses such smooth panning, and I don’t even know whether he used a dolly in this film, if he didn’t you wouldn’t pick it. Wonderful shot choices structured perfectly throughout the film, and its entire color grading being so sharp, is what makes it really work. Might I add, It’s nice to see Scotland not looking so grey and cold (haha).

Some of the intended puns and jokes fall a bit flat, but that’s not to say Attack Of The Herbals doesn’t have it’s moments. The character that projects the most, personality wise is Danny (Hutcheon), he kind of talks like a pirate and he’s got this crazy hair, and a bunch of odd tattoos (haha). The gag that felt the most awkward and effective was the battle between Roadrunner vs the wheelchair lady. It reminded me of something that Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz) would have done. Some of the acting isn’t great, but most of it’s passable when you take into account the experience levels and budget. Though, certain lines of dialogue are delivered without any conviction. The emotional melodramatic stuff isn’t handled well either, especially by characters like Jenny, who are extremely wooden. Attack Of The Herbals makes up for its shortcomings with some really fun kills, that use practical blood and gore. It’s just a shame David didn’t get to the action a lot faster. Although, after chatting with him about the issues on this film, having such a small crew and budget, I can see now why it didn’t blow the viewer away right from the start.

THE BAD

Most of the technical aspects of the film are incredibly well executed, but it’s not without a few flaws. It’s a lot of the small attention to detail and things that were missed, which is quite a common theme on micro-budget films. The lighting during the scenes in the bar with Jackson and Russell was quite harsh. In a few frames it’s extremely bright, and then it switches to a very shadowy look. Several conversations had a lot of forceful profanity that didn’t gel with the rest of the dialogue. The humor was very inconsistent, and in fact probably could have been done away with. The strongest aspect being the violence and splatter element, just aids in showing us how many of the gags actually felt flat. I thought the entire score on its own was brilliant. But when it’s accompanying those real slapstick moments, it doesn’t fit the tone. A lot of the music is piano based, and feels a lot more emotional than it should. Considering the film doesn’t have any real emotional weight, it’s oddly out place. There was no blood and gore effects in that opening segment with the Nazi’s which was disappointing. It would have definitely benefited the whole movie, by delivering a much bloodier introduction.

I don’t think the fact that the townspeople were zombies was all that clear, if I have to question whether they are, or their just simply possessed, it hasn’t been conveyed in a clear-cut manner. The lack of detail in the makeup, was originally what made me question whether they were possessed. Some of the extras had contacts in and some blood around their mouths, but they didn’t walk, and or run like zombies and their veins weren’t obviously protruding. Once again, that’s probably because of time restrictions and the budget, but it would have been nice to see it done a lot better. The two things weighing down Attack Of The Herbals, are the sluggish pacing and complete lack of action during the first three-quarters of running time. I believe the original cut of the film was about 100 minutes, this one only runs 80 minutes and it still feels generous. Sadly it’s that first hour, with the false character development, lack of back-story, and randomly placed humor that suffocates itself. I just wish we could have seen more of the on-screen violence, and the productive use of all of those cool weapons, but hey that’s micro budget film-making for you.

Attack Of The Herbals isn’t anywhere near as bad as some critics would have you believe. I think in this case, even David is being far to hard on himself. The camera work/color grading and audio are all fantastic. Given the very small budget, those core aspects go a long way to presenting audiences with a professional looking film. The story isn’t really that strong but it doesn’t need to be. It’s only really the inconsistency in humor, and quality of acting that hold this one back. Unfortunately, the first hour is incredibly drawn out, making it difficult for one to maintain their enthusiasm. Attack Of The Herbals saves face though, mostly because of its ambitious intent with blood and gore. Although the blood color lacks consistency, it keeps in theme with the fun and silly nature of this film. David you’re not quite on the ball like a Peter Jackson film (Brain Dead), but you can hold your own.

My rating for “Attack Of The Herbals” is 5 to 5.5/10

CAMP MASSACRE

THE SETUP

“Camp Massacre” or “Fat Chance”, as it was previously known, is a brand new horror/comedy that’s Co-directed by Jim O’Rear and Daniel Emery Taylor. It’s available through online platforms like Solar, Vimeo and ITunes. Camp Massacre, is about a group of 10 obese men, who appear on a reality TV show aimed at weight loss. The show is hosted by Warren Gilley (O’Rear), and takes place at a campground in the middle of the woods. Shortly after the game begins contestants start winding up dead, Who is responsible? And who will be left to claim the prize?. The film was shot for an estimated $10,000, and it stars Jim O’Rear, Daniel Emery Taylor, Nicholas Huntsman, Megan Hunt and Al Snow. I’ve got to make a conscious decision to lessen the amount of films I review, simply for the fact that I have so many still to watch. I couldn’t resist the urge to write one for Camp Massacre because it really does stand out (haha). Question is does it stand out for the right reasons or the wrong ones??

THE GOOD

$10,000 isn’t a great deal of money to make a full length feature with, so you have to keep that in mind when watching this one. The film opens with a cool little cameo from Ex, (I think??) porn star Bree Olson, and she actually does a pretty good job. Although I suppose with her “acting” experience, we shouldn’t be surprised (haha). No, in all seriousness not only does she look gorgeous, she seems very genuine and delivers her dialogue pretty well. Fans of Bree’s will be happy to know that she does get naked for a brief period, so keep your eyes peeled early on. I will get to discussing the relevance of her scenes a little later on. Moving along, the camera work and shot choices are solid and the framing looks good too. Much to my surprise, the soundtrack was pretty cool and the theme song in the beginning was a nice touch.

The movie does have its comedic moments, but sadly they are few and far between. The slasher element doesn’t deliver either, so therefore the comedy needed to be the standout. A lot of the jokes are your typical fat jokes. I suppose it’s good that these overweight guys are able to laugh at themselves, so when the audience finds it funny they don’t get offended. I’m one of those people who don’t mind a few low brow jokes from time to time, but at a point I almost feel sorry for these people and I don’t really want to laugh at them. I know it’s just a film meant for entertainment, but obesity is a serious issue and I can’t get behind joking like that at their expense. Jeremy (played by Nicholas Huntsman) and Stefani (Megan Hunt), were the only two vaguely interesting characters, that actually developed throughout this film. The acting from both of them was a little better than the rest of the cast, so that was something. Everybody else just seems to be making up the numbers, I couldn’t remember half of their names.

THE BAD

If you read most of my reviews, I’m not one to kick people when their down. I try my best to be constructive when criticizing a film, and you should be respectful towards someone who has put time and money to try to entertain us. I think the respect needs to go both ways though, and unfortunately Camp Massacre has no respect for the viewer. Now, I recently spoke with Daniel and he said the design and marketing campaign is all down to the distributor. So as I get stuck into the promotion for CM, keep that in mind. Sometimes these issues are the trade-off for getting distribution instead of independently releasing something. If the distribution company weren’t all about the dollars, we wouldn’t have Bree Olson on the front cover, who only appears in the film for five minutes. Not to mention the gorgeous girl on the right hand side holding the chainsaw, who I’m pretty sure isn’t even a character in the movie, Come on guys, Are you serious??. I know you want to be serious about marketing the film and trying to make a buck, but that’s just a blatant misrepresentation of a film two guys probably put a lot of work into. All you’re going to do is piss off your audience with tactics like that. I’d be incredibly pissed off if Bree Olson was the reason I went out and bought this film, fortunately I didn’t. She appears at the start, in what would have to be one of the most pointless and irrelevant scenes in any film I’ve seen in a long time. It’s not part of the fat camp, nor does it take place at the campground, none of the characters in the beginning are ever seen or mentioned in the film again, very poor. The only part they marketed correctly, was including Al Snow on the front cover, he’s at least in the film for 20 minutes or so.

There are some technical issues as well. Audio levels are inconsistent between scenes shot outdoors, to stuff then inside the cabins. The set design is incredibly simplistic, and the location doesn’t even seem remotely like a camp. In fact, that’s another misleading detail, the show is supposed to be for reality TV, yet it isn’t called Camp Massacre, So how is it a camp at all?. The editing is sloppy throughout and there’s a handful of pretty poor continuity issues to boot. The acting from majority of the cast probably supposed to be cheesy. However, there’s good cheesy and then there’s bad, and this falls into the latter. The “drill” Sargent was embarrassingly bad. Giving his over the top, not even slightly intimidating, rendition of R Lee Ermey’s, Sgt Hartman from “Full Metal Jacket”. Like I said, most of the dialogue consists of constant fat jokes, and the serious stuff feels quite scripted, and in turn is performed that way.

The last and most important issues with Camp Massacre, are the incredibly lame action sequences and detail of the kills, along with the film’s running time. One positive thing, is that the body count is pretty high. Sadly the kills and choreography are generic and shoddy. The machete looks like a plastic toy you’d buy from a pawn shop, and no one even attempts to use any creativity, in finding a cool way to kill off any of the characters. I’ve watched great low-budget slasher flicks deliver on the blood and gore, proving it can be done with a small amount of money. Making matters worse, is the thin motive behind why the killer is doing what he’s doing, they don’t ever allude to a reasoning earlier on in the film, so it falls flat. Now for the most important part of the review. Who on earth thought this screenplay warranted a 128 minute running time?!, yes you heard me correctly 128 minutes, that’s 2 hours and 8 minutes for a horror/comedy film! I don’t care who you are, or how solid your story is, this genre of film shouldn’t be longer than 100 minutes. Combine its slow nature, with a complete lack of character development and uneventful kills and this is what you end up with. I am gobsmacked at how long this film runs, to make it a half way watchable movie, it should have been cut down to 80 minutes.

I love a good Horror/comedy, but Camp Massacre throws everything out the window when it comes to basic principles of the genre. It doesn’t excel in either department, its slow burn nature, along with the excruciatingly painful running time, kill any enjoyment one might have been able to get from a viewing. I wanted to turn this thing off just over 60 minutes in, but I had to see the running time to believe it. Yes it’s true, it really does go on and on and on and on. Aside from a few jokes, Olson’s cameo, which should have been written as a main character, and the competent camera work, this film offers nothing and I mean nothing. Sorry to say it, but It’s 128 minutes that you will never get back (I’m still thinking about those minutes). The harsh truth is that the editor, or whoever was in charge of final cut should have taken a much more in depth look at this film before ever releasing it, and undoing anything the directors might have intended.

My rating for “Camp Massacre” is 3/10

ZOMBEAVERS

THE SETUP

“Zombeavers” is a creature feature Horror/Comedy, from first time director Jordan Rubin. I’ve been anxiously awaiting this release, since I first heard about over 12 months ago. 2014 was a year that bought us low-budget gem’s like “Wolfcop” and “Sharknado 2”, but it was really Zombeavers that caught my eye. Aside from the obviously hilarious title, and the poster artwork which is now actually laminated on my wall (not kidding), Zombeavers promised the use of practical effects and animatronics. These are two of the aspects that set it apart from the ever-growing competition. Zombeavers is about a group of girlfriends, led by Mary (Rachel Melvin), who head out to a cabin on the lake for what supposed to be a boy free weekend of relaxing. The trip is mostly for Jenn’s benefit (played by Lexi Atkins), who’s going through a rough patch, with her asshole cheating boyfriend Sam (Hutch Dano). The girls don’t know that the boys plan on surprising them, but there’s been a toxic waste leak in the water that nobody knows about, which has turned the local beavers rabid. The film also stars the lovely Cortney Palm as Zoe, along with Jake Weary, Peter Gilroy and Rex Linn.

THE GOOD

All beaver joking aside, this is one awesome idea for a horror/comedy, its genius. It helps if you understand what these types of films are about, and the intent behind them. Critics and casual movie-goers tend to judge these film harshly, for no other reason than it’s just not their thing. I can understand and respect if you don’t like it, but if your going to critique it harshly, you better be able to back those points up with facts. These films are often made simply because of love for the genre, and I think that’s what Jordan has done here. Zombeavers isn’t a huge budget film, but Jordan ended up with a great overall production value regardless. The location is beautiful, I think it’s set in the south, making for some gorgeous cinematography throughout. I don’t think people understand that you can still do a lot of things right, even in a film as silly as this. The lake, the cabin and the lush surroundings bring out the brightness of the Blu Ray quality picture. A lot of the shot choices here are really smart, and just about all of the camera work is fluent and precise. I thought most of it was going to be shot conventionally, but much to my surprise there were a bunch of really impressive crane shots. It’s not normally something you see on an independent film. Zombeavers has something we always like to hear, and that’s it’s very own cheesy as hell theme song (haha). The film opens with an original, 80’s inspired music theme, accompanied by some distinctively constructed credits. The setup for the beavers is laid out for the viewer right from the start, this doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is.

The opening scene is of a couple of guys driving a toxic waste truck. One of those men just so happens to be played by Bill Burr, one of my favorite stand up comedians. It was great to see him in another film, he’s been doing a bunch of cameo roles in bits and pieces lately. Shortly into the film we get to see some gruesome and fun practical effects, which is good because it does take a while to get to the action later on in the film. I was entertained by most of the characters that make up this group of immature young adults. It’s pretty clear this screenplay wasn’t going to revolve around character development, but given the genre I think that’s forgivable. Rachel Melvin was hilarious in the role she had in “Dumb and Dumber 2” late last year, it took me a while to work out that she was Mary in this film. She does a pretty decent job, and her character has that bit more to her then some of the others do. Lexi Atkins is pretty new to the scene but manages to hold her own, there were only one or two slightly forced reactions, everything else was good. The male cast doesn’t really have to do anything special, because most audiences are going to hate them right from the start (haha). They serve their one-dimensional purpose, with their lame bromance and constant sexual innuendo, but I guess it’s what’s required when you’re a douche (haha). It’s Cortney Palm as Zoe, the wild one of the trio, that I really enjoyed watching though. I’ve been a fan of hers since her small role in “Silent Night” and more recently, the brilliant “Reservoir Dogs” inspired “Sushi Girl”. I’ve had the chance to chat a couple of times with her and she seems lovely. I dug Zoe’s sass in this film, Cortney looks gorgeous, and I really felt that connection she had with cute little Jacky, because I know she is an animal lover in real life, (FYI Jacky’s what I’m calling the jack russell in this film haha).

Some of the humor didn’t quite hit the mark, but I still chuckled several times throughout this one. Like I said, Bill Burr’s few lines were funny and some of the beaver jokes were silly but worked. Sam thinking the beavers had some kind of agenda was amusing, along with the impromptu beaver version of Wac-A-Mole haha, easily the funniest and most random scene in the movie. The standout aspect in Zombeavers is those practical animatronic beavers. I watched the behind the scenes clip of how this idea was conceived, and genuinely surprised how good it looks. Opting for remote-controlled practical beavers keeps with the vibe of this 80’s cheese-fest. CG just wouldn’t have worked, and I’m so glad that Jordan didn’t take the easy way out. At times they look real, and at other times they look like puppets (haha), but I like that it adds a certain charm to the whole thing. The first half of the film doesn’t have much action, but the last part is where it starts to pick up. From what I could see, majority of the blood and gore effects were done practically and they all look solid. Because the comedy wasn’t as consistent as one would think, I’d hoped for some more extensive prosthetics within the kills to make up for it. I understand that probably wasn’t the intention for the film though, I just love my gore!

THE BAD

If you can take the concept for exactly what it is, you’ll find it very difficult to fault. I suppose the consistency in the comedy could have been better, some of the jokes are rather crass or feel to awkward and tasteless to be funny. The truth or dare game comes to mind when I think of some humor that didn’t work. The idea of humans becoming infected by the beavers is probably taking the “zombie” portion of the film a little too far. I know given the absurd nature of a film like this, the rules are limitless but I still found that plot-point kind of stupid. It did help set up some of the action in the last act, so that counts for something. I didn’t see any warning signs, or bites to one of the characters in particular which set off that chain of events. I half expected a scene showing said character getting bitten, unless it was and I just missed it?. I touched on the fact that I wanted to see more gore, and it was disappointing that most of the action sequences are left until the final act, where the ending feels really rushed. One character uses an ax in the closing stages of the film, unfortunately we don’t get to see it. That was the point where the effects team could have delivered a lot more on-screen carnage, rather than just using the sound effects to accompany the action.

 I had built up Zombeavers in my head for such a long time, that I feel like there was no way it could live up to that expectation. Then I realized that it’s just that, expectation vs reality, and in reality you won’t find much better than this. It’s technically flawless and incredibly polished, made even more impressive by the fact it’s Jordan’s debut film. The characters are fun, the chemistry is natural and there’s enough gags humor-wise, and in the blood and gore to warrant recommending people purchase this one. Much like in one of my other favorites of the year “Wolfcop”, that one decision to keep it practical plays a huge part in the success and tone of the film. Who would have known that manufacturing practical, messed up looking beavers would actually work (haha). It’s quick 70 minute running time guarantees fast entertainment, watch it or don’t, either way you’ll be dammed

My rating for “Zombeavers” is 8/10

WYRMWOOD

THE SETUP

I had the opportunity last night to go to a one-night only, screening of the Aussie, Action/Horror film “Wrymwood”, co-directed by Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner. I’ve been following the film for several months via social media, so it was great to finally get the chance to see it. Wyrmwood is set on the eve of a post-apocalyptic zombie outbreak, that follows the journey of three different characters. Barry (Jay Gallagher), a skillful mechanic and family man, whose life is shattered when he has to do the unthinkable to his wife and child. Barry’s sister, Brooke (played by Bianca Bradey), who lives in a different town and finds herself trapped in her garage when the outbreak starts. Then, rounding out the group is Benny (Leon Burchill), a young aboriginal man whose brother turned while they were on a hunting trip. Barry and Benny team up in the hopes of finding Brooke, who unbeknownst to them, has been taken by a team of soldiers in gas masks and delivered to a mad scientist (played by Berynn Schwerdt). The film also stars Luke McKenzie, Keith Agius and Catherine Terracini. Wyrmwood is the first full length feature from this duo, I don’t know the budget here, but I’d estimate it to be between $500,000- 1 Million dollars.

THE GOOD

I promised the guys I would do a write-up for the film upon its official release, so here we go. The film has been marketed as “Dawn of the Dead” meets “Mad Max”. That’s some sort of company to be in, but it also raises people’s expectation. I think the style in which this is shot works. Most of it has a Steadicam look, and that helps maintain an intensity that goes hand in hand with this genre. There were a few nice uses of crane shots as well, just to help break things up somewhat. The color grading also works in the films favor, it has a similar aesthetic appeal to that of John Hillcoat’s “The Road”. Everything has the washed out look, the use of a lot of grey and dull greens for the terrain. For a country and landscape that’s already dry, Wrymwood does a good job of making it feel like the end of the world. Majority of the film takes place on roads you would take when traveling from city to city. It’s unrealistic at the same time though, because including zombies in that environment, when they would most likely be found in the city doesn’t ring true. The audio levels are pretty good and the fast editing style/overall pace of the film suits it.

This is an entirely new bunch of faces to me, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I’m even harsher on Australian films than I am on just about everything else. Simply for the fact that we don’t make the best films, that’s not to say we don’t have a lot of talent, it’s just the films themselves often accomplish nothing. I really liked the fact that the Turner’s included Aboriginal actor Leon Burchill, in one of the lead roles. Sure there were moments of typical humor surrounding the Benny character, with the beer jokes and some other cliches, but for the most part he was a really fun and entertaining character. I’ve never seen an aboriginal in a lead role before, so I really respect that decision. Gallagher does a pretty good job too, considering he is in ninety percent of the movie it’s a lot of material to learn. Some of his more emotional scenes fell a bit flat, and or forced, but that’s in part because of the writing. I felt the lack of character development, in regards to the  family bond he was supposed to have played a part in that. We all know one of the most important aspects of a zombie film, lies in the effects department. Considering this isn’t Dawn Of The Dead, or any other number of huge Hollywood films, Kiah and Tristan boldly deliver on most fronts. Everyone knows I like my blood and gore levels through the roof (haha), I don’t want to spoil any of the kills in this, but we see the use of chains, needles, handguns, rifles, drop saws and even a huge harpoon gun (haha), the only thing missing was the classic chainsaw. Most of the effects work is practical and looks great too. The odd use of CG blood sprays was okay, but they do look a little different to the real stuff.

THE BAD

The opening of the film is hurried and some of the editing frenzy, especially with a lot of the fast cuts during the early action sequences. On several occasions you get 20 or 30 different shots in such a short space of time, it can get hard on the eyes. It’s clear very early on, that the film is going to cover at least two or three different characters and their journeys, but I think the story might have benefited from some narration. After all, It helps the audience get into the mind-set of your main character. I liked the plot point of having Barry trying to reach his sister in Bulla Bulla, but Brooke’s (sister) character arc, could have been very different and worked just as well. I understand with the zombie premise you can be as ridiculous as you want and get away with it. However, the mad scientist, and the mind control, seem like aspects from another genre and don’t really fit that well in the context of this story. Why couldn’t she have just been trying to survive, while trapped somewhere??. Instead the brothers have taken the familiar trope of military experiments, and dished it up in the same fashion we’ve seen so many times before. The story feels like its going to be all over the place in the beginning, but worry not it finds its place after the first twenty minutes. Some of the overly Aussie jokes fall rather flat, coupled with an exaggerated amount of profanity that often feels forced. As I mentioned previously, the acting is pretty decent but some of the emotionally heavy, dramatic themes either don’t work because of our Australian ways, Or it’s the writing, I haven’t figured out which one yet.

The zombies in this film look very good, given the modest budget. I doubt the crew would have had the time to do such extensive makeup on every one of the actors playing zombies. So It’s hidden pretty well, only in the odd frame can you see certain zombies haven’t had as much detail done. The continuity, concerning the amount of blood Barry is covered in throughout the film isn’t perfect either. Sometimes it’s not as fresh as it should be, other times the amount on his body varies from shot to shot. The scene with his daughter turning, where he continues driving in the car without being attacked by her, didn’t seem realistic enough. Neither did certain zombies being killed by a nail gun, as a rule something so simple doesn’t usually keep them down. There’s plenty of action here though and most of it is choreographed well, but the final fight of the movie was rather lack-luster. It reminded me of that final fight in “Elysium”, but not as good, and full of forced Aussie banter. The film also foreshadows the use of the boomerang (haha), to be fair it does get used, but not in the way I was hoping. The action could have been even more brutal, and I expected a decapitation at some point, especially when it’s a zombie flick. I’m probably being extra critical here, when regarding the experience levels of those involved and their available budget, Wyrmwood does it pretty well.

Wyrmwood is quite a treat, it doesn’t reinvent the genre, and it does cash in on the success of its predecessors but there’s also a lot of stuff to like here. The brothers show a solid grasp of the technical aspects of film-making, along with the eye for most details. The fusion of carnage and dry humor works in a very similar fashion to another Aussie gem called “100 Bloody Acres”. Topping it all of, the effects are admirable I was just hoping to see even more of them. There are a few issues in the writing that needed fixing. Changes could have included, a less thin reasoning for the outbreak, along with a more powerful ending. One maybe involving a boomerang chopping someone’s head off?? (haha), just a thought people. Other than those minor hiccups, this is some of the best independent work Australia has seen in a long time. Well done boys! Keep an eye out for the official release in April.

My rating for “Wyrmwood” is 6.5/10

CHILL:THE KILLING GAME

THE SETUP

Firstly, I just want to say thanks to the team behind the Murder mystery, Horror film “Chill:The Killing Game”, for sending me the link to an online screener before its official release date. I have been following this film for over 12 months, so it’s great to finally have seen it, and now to be reviewing it. Chill (as it was previously known), is about a group of college students that take part in the ill-fated game of “Chill”. One player is labelled the killer, and they must pretend to kill the opposition players before their identity is revealed by anyone. The game was originally created back in the 80’s, but after a group of students were actually killed during the game it was banned and long forgotten. Jared Creston (Brad Arner), is a cocky young student who’s sure he can profit from re-creating the game, and turning it into a viral web-series. He enlists his best friend Kyle (played by Roger Conners), to look after all the cameras and edit the footage. Unbeknownst to this new group of players, someone dressed in a black overcoat and a bird mask is slowly killing off the players for real. The group must stick together if they are going to find out who the killer is. The film also stars Kelly Rogers, Jason Orr, Angelia DeLuca and Rick Montgomery Jr.

THE GOOD

I want to start by saying that this a micro-budget film, made for an estimated $3,000, so please keep that in mind as you read this review. I watch a lot of these types of films so it’s nothing new to me, but don’t count it out simply because of the lack of money. Some of my favorite horror based films have been made for under $10,000, so it is doable if you have a good story and a capable crew. This isn’t an original screenplay but it’s relatively well written, and the production value is pretty good. For starters, I was impressed by the camera work. The shot choices were smart, and they didn’t go crazy with a lot of poor hand-held scenes. Most of the framing in regards to the actors faces was good, and no shots lingered for a long period of time. It’s also pretty well-lit, considering a lot of the film takes place in dark corridors and small rooms. On a few occasions, there’s some shadowing or a harsh glare, but you’d expect that with a film made for $3,000, it would be naive not too. The editing was another thing worth mentioning, the running time is maybe 10 or 15 minutes longer than it needs to be, but the transitions between most of the scenes are solid.

There were a bunch of fresh faces in Chill, most of whom have either little to no experience, making the quality of acting all the more impressive. A few of the more emotional scenes are rather wooden, but the general dialogue and back and forth between cast members feels real enough as a viewer. Roger and Brad are arguably the two leads, they give the best performances out of the group. I’d like to give an honorable mention to Angelia, who plays Maddison, one of the girls competing in the game. I found her character really likeable and genuine, she played it with a certain amount of sass and just to top it off, she was rather nice to look at. Most of the kills, or at least the impact of those kills, take place off-screen but that’s not unusual with a micro budget film. What I really respect, is a crew that has a go with the effects, they try to do everything they can to deliver something, anything. I commend the special effects team here, because although the kill sequences were generic and couldn’t be effectively shown due to the budget, they made up for it with gruesome aftermath shots of practical blood and gore. By the same token though, if you can have that kind of detail in your aftermath, Why can’t you have it during the action?

THE BAD

Chill is guilty of the obvious hitches or complications that occur when shooting a super low-budget film. The awful inconsistency with the audio dialogue levels, and it’s editing, is the biggest and most obvious failure here. Anyone who’s seen this film knows what I’m talking about. I had high hopes, because some of the audio in the beginning was level and nice and clear, but that doesn’t last long. Making matters worse, was the choice to shoot in a proper college auditorium that echo’s like a church. I probably would have opted for a different location. Simply put, you wouldn’t have the time, nor the resources to spend, in order to edit all that audio accordingly. When characters yell or scream the mic level starts to peak out, it’s not at all pleasant on the eardrums. Keep your hand on that volume button, because you will find yourself adjusting it at least a dozen times throughout this 105 minute running time. A few of the shots also appear to have camera and background noise that wasn’t edited properly. In addition, there are some poorly constructed CG establishing shots of the moon, when it supposed to be late afternoon and not night-time. Also there are a few other continuity issues, but they are mostly small things.

The score is pretty standard and doesn’t help build any real suspense, coupled with the fact that a lot of the music choices either didn’t fit at all, or were just arranged in the wrong order. Initially, I thought the idea of shooting home video style footage for the game being played back in the 80’s, was a good one. However, what I didn’t like was that all the players were mysteriously killed, and not only do you not see any of it, you don’t see any aftermath either. It’s a rather bland way to begin your film, considering the large gap between the intro, and the next bunch of action sequences. All the characters were very one-dimensional which made it hard for me to really care about any of them. In fact, for most of the film I couldn’t even remember a lot of the characters names. Kyle and Maddison at least had some personality, but the rest were totally forgettable. The two most disappointing parts about Chill have to be, the total lack of tension and the on-screen action. Taking into consideration this is a murder/mystery, the suspense is a fundamental aspect that should have been present and wasn’t. The lack of blood and gore during the action, can be slightly forgiven because of the low-budget. Even still though, I’ve seen films on similar budgets, such as “Blood Runs Cold” and “Porkchop”, that did more with their on-screen action than Chill did. I did enjoy the revelation of the killer so that was something, but the outfit is very similar to that of the killer from both “Scream Park” and “An American Terror”, both of which I reviewed.

Honestly, I hope I haven’t been to critical of Chill because it’s actually, decently made and entertaining enough for the genre. Sure, it has its issues but so does your $3,000 car (haha), But it still gets you from A to B, doesn’t it??. I like and admire the enthusiasm behind Chill and that counts for a lot. With a fun and capable couple of leads, some slick camera work and plenty of aftermath gore effects, this one does just enough. Try and ignore the erratic audio issues, and the indisputable lack of suspense and just see the effort. This is clearly a passion project and I’ve never had a crack at trying to make a micro-budget film have you??, So who am I to judge?

I feel like my rating for “Chill:The Killing Game” should be 4.5, but I’m raising it to a 5 just because I can (haha)

PERNICIOUS

THE SETUP

First off, I just want to say thanks to James Cullen Bressack, Director of the Horror film “Pernicious”. I appreciate you giving me access to an online screener before the film’s official release date. Bressack’s parents have had a lot of experience working in TV and Film, so it should come as no surprise that James, at just 22 years of age, has already directed 6 full length feature films. Some include the recent, “Blood Lake”, “13/13/13” and his first full length film, “My Pure Joy”. Not to mention, he has something like a dozen other projects in the pipeline, proving that he is as hard-working as anyone in the business. It seems like an eternity ago that I watched his unrelenting, home invasion film “Hate Crime”. I could see the potential he had for a long and successful career, which he is clearly well on the way towards, with his latest film Pernicious. Pernicious is a film about three beautiful, young American girls who are visiting Thailand to teach English for the summer. Julia (played by the lovely Emily O’Brien), is the level-headed one, with the steady boyfriend back home, and hoping to make a difference with this job. Rachel (the gorgeous Jackie Moore), is the sassy adventurous type, willing to take a walk on the wild side. Rounding out the trio, is Rachel’s stunning younger sister, Alex (Ciara Hanna). Shortly after arriving to the house they’ve been given, the girls notice an old, golden statue of a young girl. At first they don’t think anything of it, but little do they know what’s in store for them. With vivid nightmares haunting them, a group of guys they met missing and the statue having been stolen, they are led down a dark path of Thai folklore, that they might never return from. The film also stars Russell Geoffrey Banks, Byron Gibson, Jack Prinya and Sohanne Bengana.

THE GOOD

I’m not sure what the estimated budget for the film is, but it’s definitely not a huge sum, not that you’d pick it. The production value combined with the location choices, make for an incredibly polished look. The river, the old style villages and the green landscape, setup some impressive cinematography. James uses a lot of crane shots that look fantastic, and the smooth Steadicam work inside the house, feels smooth and precise. The crisp editing and fast pace of the film works in its favor. 90 minutes is the perfect length for something like this, I didn’t find any of the scenes were unnecessary. The dialogue audio levels were pretty good, and the oriental music style worked. It didn’t feel forced, like you were stepping into China town or something (haha). To top off the technical aspect, is some lovely mood lighting. All the scenes are lit so well, some are silhouetted by certain objects which helps give it a more mysterious feel. Although I own 3 or 4 of James’s films I’ve only seen one, so I don’t really have much to make a comparison. However, there’s no doubting he has a great understanding of how to shoot a film, the keen eye for what works and what doesn’t. Naturally the more experience you gain, the less mistakes you would expect to make, but that’s easier said than done.

Let’s talk about the casting, and the dynamics of the chemistry between these three actresses. I think Jackie and Ciara are really well cast as sisters, you feel that bickering and jealousy that some sisters have, right from word go. I think Rachel is slightly envious of Alex, but at the same time she’s the older sister and she wants to hold that over Alex’s head. Emily who plays Julia, helps keep everyone in check by being the level head. She runs the gauntlet, so as to avoid any conflict with the group and for the most part it works. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a majority female cast in a horror movie, actually pull it together. These girls seem genuine, they talk in a realistic way and the chemistry really works. All the performances are very good, and I don’t think anyone steals the glory from anyone else. The film can only work if these three girls are good, the story centers on them and this curse, If you don’t buy them, it just doesn’t work. I can’t pick a favorite of the girls (haha), they are all stunning but I’m going to say Ciara. If she’s the type of girlfriend you had, you’d definitely be constantly reminding her how beautiful she is, I’ll admit it I crushed out a little bit like a nerd (haha).

James script isn’t perfect, or all that original in some of its content, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. We’ve seen curses and such before, but a lot of these types of stories seem very far-fetched, even taking into account the supernatural aspect. This one is a lot more cohesive. In the final act, we get some clear background information, including a flashback and that’s the type of detail the audience needs to see. Normally in a film like this, you probably wouldn’t get much in the way of blood and gore, being supernatural and all. However, I can safely say that you do with this one, and I’d imagine that will continue with any James Bressack film, because he seems to dig this stuff. I don’t want to spoil any of the action sequences, but just know that there’s some gnarly stuff in here, and you won’t be disappointed.

THE BAD

I had a couple of small issues with some details in the story. I don’t know this for a fact, but I’d imagine Thai people who speak English, would enter into English when speaking to an American. It’s a very small nit-picky thing, but I tend to notice things like that (haha). I’m also never really sold on people drinking drinks given to them by other people, especially if they don’t know them that well. I know stuff like that does happen in real life, I guess I just like to think majority of people are smarter than that. Without spoiling that section of the film, it’s probably the part I’m a little fuzzy on. The way that haziness unfolds, seemed to me like it was missing a scene or two, which would have made things a lot clearer. How were all three girls affected at the same time??. I didn’t think it was clear at all, I kept thinking maybe it was a dream sequence, but the shots at the end of the film show that it wasn’t. One more scene could have helped clear all that up.

Some slight adjustments with the suspenseful score, could have helped build the tension a bit better. A few sections of the film had good suspense, but others were ruined with telegraphed jump scares that lost whatever reaction they were hoping to get. I was hoping for more of the Shyamalan (Sixth Sense) approach where things are a little more subtle, it’s always scarier that way. The story is guilty of dropping a few plot points for an extended amount of time without returning to them, making you kind of forget they ever happened at all. I mentioned that the blood and gore is consistent and the kills are cool. Though again, I felt that James hinted at some more explosive death sequences, maybe involving heads (haha), that didn’t quite come to be.

I think Pernicious is the best Horror film so far this year, albeit there isn’t much to compare it to yet. It’s technically brilliant, the writing is realistic with plenty of story content and folklore. Casting these three beautiful ladies, who give great performances in those lead roles, and setting this story in Thailand helps give it a fresh feel. It’s quickly edited, timely in its length, and it contains plenty of really cool blood and gore for the gore-hounds. I don’t know that you can ask for much more from the genre, or from such a talented filmmaker at the very beginning of what should be a lengthy career. Well done James!, I look forward to watching and reviewing several of your other films in the near future.

My rating for “Pernicious” is 7.5/10

CIRCUS OF THE DEAD

THE SETUP

Firstly, I just want to quickly thank both producer, Melissa Land, and Director Billy Pon, for giving me access to the private screener of their film “Circus Of The Dead”. I’ve been following the steady progress of COTD for as long as I can remember, and I can now say it’s coming very soon, so keep your eyes peeled. Circus Of The Dead centers on a deadly morality game that ensues, between so-called family man Donald Johnson (played by Parrish Randall), and a gang of Sadistic clowns, led by Papa Corn (Bill Oberst Jr), who are in town performing at an old run down circus. The film also stars the lovely Chanel Ryan, along with Ryan Clapp, Rusty Edwards, Mike Williams and Kyle Mueller. The clown has long since been thought of as fun, children’s entertainment, but I’m really not sure why?? (haha). Their makeup is disconcerting, they can turn balloons into just about anything and they often mime entire routines. I don’t care what anyone says about them, their scary at the best of times. Which brings me to Pon’s, first full length feature Circus Of The Dead. Billy first made a Horror short, several years back called “Doll Boy”. I thought the raw idea behind the film was good, but the technical aspects, such as camera work and lighting let it down. Let’s see how Billy and Circus Of The Dead fair this time around.

THE GOOD

I’ll begin with the production value of Circus Of The Dead, which I think was estimated at $150,000. Other than a few minor issues with audio here and there, everything looks and sounds great. The opening shots to the film are so slick and polished, we get a look inside a trailer as someone prepares for a show. The combination of a 1920’s style bluegrass song, and a montage of great shots, help get you in the mood from the outset. The whole southern style soundtrack really works. Bill seems to have a better understanding of appropriate distances, when framing actors faces, not to mention the camera work throughout the whole film looks great. It’s a lot of subtle things, like shooting through a convenience store fridge, or panning over the top of an awesome looking Camaro. I spent the first act of the movie trying to work out where I knew Parrish from. When finally it dawned on me, it was the low-budget zombie film “The Quick and The Undead”. I didn’t like the film much, but I thought he was one of the better actors in it. His role in this is a very demanding one, and for the most part he does it well. Playing Don, a man who could potentially lose his entire family, if he doesn’t do as the clowns ask him. It involves a lot of struggling and screaming and doing things he never thought possible. A couple of his lines felt a bit to scripted and some reactions to certain revelations seemed rather forced. His character should warrant a lot of sympathy for what he endures, but unfortunately we don’t know enough about him to really get on board, so we just feel how we think we are supposed to feel.

I need to start a new paragraph as I talk about Bill Oberst Jr. What can you say about Bill? I’ve had a few discussions online with him, and he seems like a great down to earth guy. Those of us who have been following his work for years now, know that he is one of the hardest working guys in the independent film industry. He has countless projects in production, and or being released soon and continues to get involved with everything and anything. His work ethic reminds me of another Bill, that of the Moseley (haha). I’ve seen Oberst in plenty of films now, and he is fast becoming the go to man for anything horror related. After “Nude Nuns With Big Guns” and “Abraham Lincoln vs Zombie”, I quickly became a fan. I thought he had outdone himself with a performance he gave in one of my favorite slashers “Ditch Day Massacre”, which hasn’t officially been released yet. Make no mistake though, this is Bill’s show right from the get go. He steps up the intensity once again, in his role of Papa Corn, ringleader of the clowns. He brings such enthusiasm and intensity to an already incredibly disturbing character. The makeup, the overalls and the crazy Ralph E Wolf and Sam The Sheepdog style hair, (with that little patch flopping around on his head haha), just sell the fact that this is all him. The other lunatics are, Noodledome (Ryan Clapp), the giant, wooden mallet wielding cannibal of the group. Mister Blister (Rusty Edwards), who seems like the assertive/ prone to pedophilia type, and lastly Jumbo (Mike Williams), who’s the deadly dwarf clown. Each of them have their own personalities, but regrettably they aren’t explored, and that addition might have added to the chemistry of the group.

Now, How brutal is Circus Of The Dead??, I suppose it depends on what your comparisons are and how much you can take. Stephen King’s “IT”, has been sitting in my DVD rack, unwatched for about 10 years (haha). So the only comparison I have, is the Horror/Comedy, Clown film “Stitches”, which had some great gore but was all for comedic purposes, nothing more than shits and giggles. Nothing about Circus Of The Dead is giggly, except for maybe Noodledome (haha). Moving onto effects. Marcus Koch, who’s my favorite modern makeup and prosthetics artist, has worked on many of the B movie gems that I love. I don’t want to spoil any of the kills in COTD, but let’s just say you get an abundance of the red stuff. Once again though, this being as brutal as one would think, I still kind of expected more. It always impresses me when a filmmaker shows the attention to detail in aftermath shots, or shows as much as they can practically. I understand the film has to clear a rating, but I felt this could have been so much more brutal (think Ryan Nicholson’s “Gutterballs”. Although, the chainsaw in the last act was a nice touch, you have Marcus so please use him and never stop using him! (haha).

THE BAD

It’s actually very difficult to review a movie of this nature. It’s kind of like that freeway pile up that you know you shouldn’t look at, but you can’t bear to look away. I’ve read reviews for something like “The Devils Rejects”, where certain critics said it had no merit, and never would. I on the other hand, I’m not a violent person in the slightest, but I can find merit in just about anything. I get the feeling a lot of people wouldn’t have positive things to say about Circus Of The Dead. The script has some issues that mostly lie in the motive of certain characters. It appears this group of clowns operate on choosing victims that have “sinned” in some way, shape or form. That’s an aspect the audience can get behind, they can understand it. It may be a harsh punishment, but in the confines of the cinema world, it works, because people like to cheer for the deaths of truly shitty people (haha). The problem is that early on Papa Corn and his trio, abandon that apparent logic and start to kill more “innocent” people than guilty. Because everything is done with a particular malice, it makes it difficult for you to get behind innocent killing.

Some of the dialogue feels quite scripted, and there’s almost no focus on the psychological mind-bending of Corn’s approach to the victims. Oberst, makes some disturbing faces throughout the film, and I would have much preferred seeing a real game of cat and mouse between captor and captive, instead of some of the perverse deviant actions that we end up getting. Build the protagonist up, show the audience the mindset of both parties. How did Donald lose appreciation for the good things in his life? Show us his workplace, show us his friends and show us the daily grind, so we can feel like a part of his life. That way, when these horrific things start happening we really feel that struggle and not just sit back and watch it. I think the score would have benefited from a much more suspenseful theme during some of the stalking scenes. The continuation of those southern jams, makes it feel all to easy, but hey maybe that was the point. Other than a little bit of fun and stereotypical racial banter at the start, there was no comedy. For the most part, the black comedy also missed the mark. Unfortunately, anything that started out funny, wore out its welcome by dragging it out, and ends up feeling more disgusting than anything else. The fellatio in the trailer and the stage scene in the final act come to mind.

Furthermore, I didn’t realize that this was going to be more of a sexually violent film than action based violence. Don’t stress though viewers, because most of the sexually related content is only implied and not shown, it just surprised me was all. Unless I’m watching a film like “I Spit On Your Grave” or “Last House On The Left”, I don’t expect to see those sorts of things when I’m not prepared. A lot of that content could have been left out, because these clowns were already demented enough. Always an issue getting behind them when motives change, let alone the other kinds of acts that take place. Lastly, I just want to touch again, on my love for seeing more gags or elaborated death sequences. I felt several times the film was foreshadowing ways in which characters were going to die, that never ended up following through. Either they chose a different death all together, or what we wanted to see was only implied. You’ve got a chainsaw, big mallets, guns and knives, most horror fans want to see them used as much as possible.

I’m not sure what to make of Circus Of The Dead, it leaves me with that uneasy feeling, similar to what I had when watching “Cheap Thrills”. Billy Pon joins Ryan Nicholson, in balls to the wall genre films that are bound to disturb, and I can respect that. This one is morally bankrupt, cruel and twisted just because it can be, so if you dig that, you’ll dig this. I found it so dark and disturbing, that whatever message it started out with ended up getting lost in translation. No denying this is a really polished looking film, with one stellar performance from Oberst. Unfortunately, many more than just the guilty are punished, and we could have done without the sexual violence. Instead, write a more diverse character arc for your protagonist, and focus the build up on suspense before you flip the switch. When the audience is hook, line and sinker, hit them with the most detailed deaths, and let your effects crew showcase what they can really do. I see merit here, but in my right mind I can’t say I was really entertained. I’m still stoked to hear Billy is going to be making a sequel, so I will keep my fingers crossed for that one. Stay tuned after the credits on Circus Of The Dead, because there’s a little cross over that your going to enjoy!!

My rating for “Circus Of The Dead” is 5.5/10

DIE DIE DELTA PI

THE SETUP

Firstly, I just want to say thanks to Co-Directors, Sean Donohue and Christopher Leto, for allowing me access to an online screener of their 80’s inspired, slasher flick “Die Die Delta Pi”. It was written by Arturo Portillo, and made for an estimated $7,000. This is do it yourself style film making folks. Delta Pi is the name of a sorority that has been around since the 1980’s. In 1986, a serial killer was beginning to stalk the ladies of the house, simultaneously, a group of sisters from the sorority pull a prank on outcast, Marissa Chambers, that ends in tragedy. Skip ahead to present day, and the sorority is thriving once again. Now a hooded killer, who may or may not be related to young Marissa Chambers, threatens to wreak havoc on the new class. The film stars Andrea Alfonso, Kristin Avery, Kyle Ayala, Keisha Burchard, Lauren Mitchell and Lexi Balestrieri.

Die Die Delta Pi, isn’t my first venture into DIY, micro-budget film making. That’s the part I enjoy most about the Horror/Slasher genre, these are the types of films you can make, and make well, even if you don’t have much money. Of course you still need some knowledge of the technical aspects for sure, but it’s one of those things people experiment with for the love of it. Chris LaMartina’s “President’s Day” and Swedish born Sonny Laguna’s (Blood Runs Cold), are two wonderful examples of great micro-budget film making. How does Die Die Delta Pi match up against some of my favorites?? Read ahead and see.

THE GOOD

Let’s talk about the cheesy but awesome title and the poster artwork (seen above). The opening act of the film takes place in the 80’s which I dug. Along with the fact that it’s got a real 80’s straight to VHS, style poster that you would have seen for any slasher made in that era. The acting in these types of films is nearly always campy and over the top. When you have friends and friends of friends, attempting to bring these characters to life, it can be very hit or miss, and your chance of success is slim. Andrea plays the role of older, Donna Parker in the current day. She was a student in 1986, and present on the night of the tragedy. Her daughter, Diana (played by Kristin Avery), is the new college girl looking to join the same sorority that her mother was part of. I found these two actresses were the most convincing in their roles, and didn’t just say their lines like they were lines (like a lot of the rest of the cast). The eye candy comes in the form of Josie and Marie, who both looked stunning, played respectively by Lauren Mitchell and Keisha Burchard. There are a few topless scenes, including a very brief one of Keisha, and even one full frontal shot in the opening of the film. I like Slashers with scenes of girls getting naked, or even spanking each other as they do in this one, as much as the next guy (haha), but it did seem kind of like pointless filler. There are a bunch of other lovely ladies that include sexy blonde twins and a cute black girl. The sorority setup wasn’t the most believable of plot points, it basically consisted of a handful of girls sitting around a bonfire, going through the motions of some sort of sister tradition. I get that its low-budget, but the entire setup in the climax of the film could have been far more interestingly written. Considering it’s the deal-breaker of the whole screenplay, it comes up a little short.

The music choices were diverse and cool, with a lot of pop and rock tunage, which I enjoyed. I found a lot of the camera work to be pretty average, but I thought they did a great job of shooting those bonfire scenes. Most low-budget films have poorly constructed campfire scenes, that from a technical point of view look mediocre, so this one was a nice change of pace. The strongest aspect of Die Die Delta Pi, has to be the practical blood and gore effects from Marcus Koch, who’s worked on films like (Girls Gone Dead and Bloody Bloody Bible Camp and many more). Other than Tom Savini, I think Koch is the next best in prosthetics and gore effects. It’s really his show from the beginning, but I don’t want to spoil any of the kills, so I will just say there’s a lot of cool 80’s style deaths. Again though I’m left wanting, but hey maybe that’s just me. I’m a firm believer of going overboard with gore, and I know one day someone’s going to make a film with enough gore to satisfy me (haha). Compared to some of his other effects work, he seems to only do just enough here. He keeps things simpler, whereas normally with a bigger budget he would be able to showcase his talent with elaborate gags.

THE BAD

Unfortunately I was almost immediately taken out of the film, because of the conflicting camera work. During certain parts, like shooting the bonfire, the camera remains still and the shots are well cut together. On the other side of the coin we get backgrounds that are out of focus, and even trying to find themselves in the middle of the shot. Speaking of shots, the shot choices were very hap hazard, and some of the handheld stuff gets quite shaky. Making matters worse, it feels like the entire film is lagging just that half a pace, it’s almost stagnant by a second or two, it’s very strange. I’m not sure if it was the Vimeo link I was sent, if so I apologize, but I’m not sure what happened there. The audio is the other part that’s terribly inconsistent, and it’s the type of thing that’s hard to ignore. I can forgive some of it because of the low-budget, but those films I mentioned earlier focused a lot of attention to these finer points, and it’s what makes them work. A lot of nearby traffic from main roads can be heard over the actors dialogue. As well as trading back and forth between shots, where the wind is rapid one minute and still the next. I don’t think a lot of time was spent in the editing room, and frankly it shows in the final product.

Moreover, the continuity issues are a plenty. Most noticeably with our heavy breathing killer, who spends a lot of time hiding in the bushes. When the shot is focused front on to the girls talking around the campfire, the breathing should be coming from the side where the cover is, but it doesn’t it comes from front on. Here and there, it’s difficult to follow who is who from the 80’s intro segment, and cutting to present day. The cutting inside the sorority house in those opening scenes was way to fast as well. It seems very convenient that everyone that was somehow involved in 1986, remained living in this same town their whole lives, and end up putting two and two together by the end of the film. The dialogue in the beginning doesn’t sound or feel like the 80’s, everything ends up feeling totally scripted. It’s in part the cast, but mostly down to the writing. You can’t expect your cast to pull of anything with conviction with dialogue like this.

A few of the scenes with the girls were pretty entertaining, and the stuff by the campfire was solid. Bringing me to my next point, what is with the guys in this film?? Did they even need to be there??. There are three main male characters, all of whom have no bearing on anything that happens in the film. They were only referenced once or twice and could have only been there, simply to add to the body-count. Normally I’m not bothered by that, but in this case there were enough female victims to keep the body-count high without them. The only thing I will remember from their inclusion, was how horrible the scene of them calling emergency services was. It was so forced, and so unrealistic that they would have been better off playing it over the top comedic, either way it was not good. There’s just a lot of lack of attention to detail with this one. What about the extras walking the corridors of the college?, like normal colleges have, Wait there are none. People’s underplayed reactions to horrific deaths, the doctors at the poor excuse for a psychiatric facility, and the list goes on.

Die Die Delta Pi, with its awesome 80’s style poster and title, not to mention it’s fun, cheesy plot, great eye candy and Marcus Koch doing effects, this should have impressed. In the end we get barely enough to hold our attention. There isn’t a great deal of experience attached to this, and it is super low-budget so keep that in mind, but I’ve seen it done better. Concentration needs to be spent on getting the technical aspects right and the writing more cohesive and realistic. The raw idea here is good and the effects are pretty decent, the good news is these guys are new to it all, so there’s room for improvement. I commend these guys on giving it a crack, and if they made the flick they set out to there’s not much more you can do. Cheers

My rating for “Die Die Delta Pi” is 4/10

THE PICK-AXE MURDERS 3

THE SETUP

First off, I just want to say thank you to Jeremy Sumrall, director of the 80’s set, and inspired Slasher film “The Pick-Axe Murders 3: The Final Chapter”, for allowing me early access to an online screener. I’ve been truly overwhelmed by the amount of awesome films I’ve been able to watch over the last month, because of filmmakers like Jeremy. If my memory serves me correctly, this is the first of a planned trilogy, where the Director has chosen to make the final installment be the first one. I read somewhere that Jeremy feels like the last installment of most horror franchises end up sucking. His theory being, why not get that film and your lack of experience, out-of-the-way first and end with the good stuff (haha). I have to say that on some level I agree, because by the time you get to the end of your series everything’s been done to death. The Pick-Axe Murders 3 is about the legend of Alex Black. In the summer of 82, a group of campers were murdered in the quite town of Woodland Hills, but a young women named Adrienne was able to put a stop to Alex. A year later, more murders occurred at the psychiatric facility where Adrienne was residing. She had been committed, after struggling to deal with what she had been through. With the help of a young man named George Miner, Adrienne was able to stop Alex Black once more, or so she thought. All has been silent for 5 years, but now someone has found a way to bring him back to life one last time.

The film stars the lovely Tiffany Shepis, along with A. Michael Baldwin, Roxy Vandiver, Sal Governale, Ashley-Marie Zgabay, Elizabeth Redpath, Will Morgan, Ben Warner and Jayson Champion. I donated a little bit of money towards this film many months ago, so it’s great to see it come to fruition. I don’t know the actual budget, so I won’t say for sure but I’d imagine somewhere between $20,000- $40,000. I want to mention the film still has to be edited. There are some ADR corrections to make and some visual effects to add, so keep that in mind when reading this isn’t quite the finished product.

THE GOOD

Let’s begin with the casting and the acting. It’s always a blast watching Tiffany Shepis, and I really respect that she see’s the merit in horror films. Her role of Adrienne was very different to the type of characters she normally plays. Sorry boys, you won’t see Tiffany getting naked in this one. Adrienne’s a much more Jamie Lee (Halloween) style character, with plenty of issues but a good background story to roll with. Most of the cast that make up the group of teens who are heading to a local gig, did a solid job. Elizabeth, who plays bitchy, semi goth music lover, Jamie, had moments of acting that were a little too forced. I got the fact she was supposed to be the bitch, and some scenes went further than they probably needed too. Will and Ben, along with the other male actors that make up the douche brigade (yes I just invented that haha), did their bit, but it wasn’t anything we haven’t seen before. A bunch of very one-dimensional characters on display, but I guess in this genre it’s what you’d expect. The shining light of the group is Ashley-Marie playing Heather. At first I didn’t think she was going to sell the final girl routine, but a couple of her emotional scenes discussing Alex Black and everything that she knew about him, were quite impressive. I was genuinely surprised to see this was her first time acting, well done girl!

The quality of the camera work and framing also surprised me. This being, just Jeremy’s second film (correct me if I’m wrong), he has quickly gained important knowledge of what shot choices work and what style suits the genre. The manner in which the film opens, sets the atmosphere of the whole legend of Alex Black. We got two funny and entertaining characters, some great use of smoke to represent the cold air, a well-lit campfire scene and some raunchy sex. The audio levels were perfect in that opening 7 or 8 minutes, and the score put me right in that 80’s zone. Giving audiences some early humor, a sex scene and the possibility of an early kill, gives a slasher the best chance of success. I was impressed with Jeremy’s ability to light a scene too. A lot of theses scenes take place at night, and with a minimal budget it can be difficult to pull that off, but for the most part he did it well. Everyone wants to know about the gore now don’t they?. There were a couple of really cool and messy kills (which I won’t spoil), and the consistency of the blood looked good. My complaint is nearly always the same with modern slashers, there’s never enough gore to satisfy me. You have super talented people and this is their craft please le them showcase what they can do. This is grounding itself in the 80’s, I know things were tamer back then so I can understand it somewhat, or maybe it’s just a budget restriction. I enjoy the campy nature of the 80’s and giving it that feel, but can we get that cheese factor, combined with a lot more blood and gore because that would be great.

THE BAD

Like in most slasher films, the secondary characters are just there to make up the numbers, and give the audience a higher body count. I didn’t buy the Sheriff Matthews character or his “chemistry” with Adrienne. Not to mention the age difference is 16 years, and we are meant to believe they had some sort of fling together, I don’t think so. His reactions to the whole situation was very flat and unresponsive. Then we have Sal. I don’t mind a bit of Sal here and there, but he’s only suited to very small parts. This is a bigger part, and the writing for his character was just so unappealing. I know that’s the point but I just couldn’t get into it or believe he was for real. I think the girls in this looked good at times, probably the bare-ass clothing that sold me on that (haha), especially Jamie and a couple of the other less important girls. However, I do think with this being a slasher it would have benefited from some more conventional eye candy.

On the nudity front, we do get a passable amount of topless scenes and given this is supposed to be the 80’s, I can deal (haha). A lot of the dialogue feels like filler though, I liked the stuff giving us more back story on Alex and the situation, but a lot of it is a painfully obvious overuse of profanity, scoring (getting lucky) comments, and partying until you vomit everywhere etc. To be fair, it is the 80’s but I’m 28 years old, I was never really into that and I’m definitely way past that stuff now, so I can’t really relate too it. The character of Alex Black (played by Jayson Champion), basically looks like a distant cousin of Victor Crowley from the “Hatchet” slasher series. Funny enough, Hatchet 3 came to mind a lot while I was watching this film, now I know why. Because the premise is a carbon copy of everything we have seen before (and there’s nothing wrong with that), if you can find some form of originality within your story, you can help somewhat separate yourself from the pack.

Unfortunately this dude was big and he carried a wicked Pick-axe, but I never felt like their was any suspense, or that he was anywhere near as imposing as he should have been. Example being that brutal deaths go hand in hand with how menacing you might find a killer, so even though in Hatchet, Crowley looks pretty silly, his nature tells you everything you need to know. The movie seems as though its foreshadowing what might happen with the kills, but it quickly abandons that train of thought. Alex has several opportunities to cause havoc and doesn’t. A decapitated head here, a slice in half there, but sadly it’s just a bunch of missed opportunities. The gore we do get is cool, but it just feels like it’s holding back. A huge “Collection” style massacre during the club scene, could have brought it back around but the deaths seemed oddly cut together, and not nearly as graphic as they should have been. I apologize if it’s a budget thing, but I just saw a lot of missed potential. The audio after the opening to the film is rather inconsistent, but like I said there’s still ADR to be edited, so I’m sure that will be rectified. The lighting during some of the scenes inside the teens cabin isn’t perfect either. The only other gimmick I hoped for was a cool slasher theme song, I didn’t get but that’s okay it’s not for everyone.

For me, there are three things crucial to the success of your slasher film, Comedy, Nudity and most importantly Blood and Gore. The Pick-Axe Murders 3, get’s two out of three right, and that’s better than a lot of these films. It’s a fast paced, technically well made film. The back story is detailed enough to make up for a rather conventional looking killer, and the gore we do get is a lot of fun. Some of the chemistry between characters and their acting wasn’t perfect, and a lot of things were hinted at that never came to be. My advice, up the blood and the gore because it’s what the fans want. I think with an end result like this, Jeremy should be pleased. After all, if the two prequels are coming and this one is the weakest, I’d be pretty satisfied. The only way is up right?? I look forward to future installments!

My rating for “The Pick-Axe Murders 3:The Final Chapter” is 6/10

CANSWER

THE SETUP

I recently reviewed a short, of director Alfredo Salvatore Arcilesi called “For Clearer Skies” (https://adamthemoviegod.com/for-clearer-skies-review/). Today I’m reviewing his full length feature “Canswer”. A Drama/Mystery film that was dedicated to the memory of Alfredo’s father, who recently passed away. Firstly, I would like to offer my condolences to him and his family, and secondly thank him for sending me a screener of the film to review. Canswer is a film shot in one location, with minimal characters and made for just $10,000. It’s a story about Ellen (Sarah Cunningham), a young mechanic who is stuck on the roof of her workshop during a global pandemic. She spots a man named Cillian (Robert Nolan), who is screaming for help, she ends up rescuing him and helping him up a ladder to the safety of the rooftop. There, the two must battle starvation, dehydration and each other. The film also stars Kelly-Marie Murtha and John Migliore.

THE GOOD

The film opens with an interesting choice of dialogue over the top of the credits, which I thought was really different. Nothing overly important is being conveyed, but it’s basically the first interaction that Ellen and Cillian have with each other. It’s made even more impressive by the inverted camera shot, that slowly flips itself as Cillian finds his way onto the roof. It’s a really unique way to start the film. I respect the films attention to detail with the predicament our two protagonists find themselves in. No one makes any rash decisions, an act exactly how you would in a real life situation. The visual shots we get to see of the zombies are pretty good, and it feels realistic because of the use of lots of extras to fill those roles. The film’s potential for success, relies heavily on the performances from Sarah and Robert, and for the most part both are very good. I found a few inconsistencies in their acting during some passages of dialogue, and when frustration sets in Robert doesn’t quite hit the mark either.

I was disappointed that big portions of the film had no score, which definitely could have aided in setting the mood. However, there’s a lovely piano score that is heard a few times throughout the film, which I really liked. My favorite part of the film was the end, but in the same sense it was also kind of the most disappointing part. The revelation is a genuine surprise, albeit coming from a little out of left field. There are also some beautiful arresting visuals in the final act that really help bring it to life. It’s a technique that I saw a glimmer of in Arcilesi’s “For Clearer Skies”, and we get a little bit more of it here.

THE BAD

I’m going to do my best to be respectful, as I delve into the issues that I found with the film. Because I know this was probably a passion project for Alfredo, and it is dedicated to his father and I want to respect that. When you write a screenplay with only two characters and entirely set it in one location, you limit both visually and creatively what you can do. Brilliant films like “Sleuth”, “Tape” and even the indie home invasion flick “Home Sweet Home”, were exceptions to the rule simply because of fantastic casting, a certain palpable tension and most importantly, incredibly well written and multi layered characters. It’s not a task I would have taken on, but more power to Alfredo for backing his ability. Within the first 10-15 minutes, I was taken straight out of the film with the shooting style and camera work. Immediately, I noticed the color grading was purposely washed out. When I compare the shots from pictures on location to the end result, I can’t help but feel it would have been better to have kept this in its natural form.

The camera is often moving ever so slightly vertically. I’m not sure if that was a particular technique, or they just couldn’t keep it still, but it makes it very difficult to focus on anything else. During one scene, Cillian is walking on the lower part of the balcony and the camera is on the higher part, looking at him from an angle. The shot follows him for at least 90 seconds but it’s basically pointless. He doesn’t go anywhere and he doesn’t say anything. The most noticeable issue with the camera, was the rounded sweeping handheld shots. They were clearly done on purpose, but as a viewer they make for a horrible watch. As Ellen and Cillian sit back to back with a pole and box between them, the camera roughly sweeps around them continuously in a circle, as they talk. I’m sure some solid dialogue takes place while this is going on, but don’t ask me what either of them said because I wouldn’t know. I couldn’t think of anything else, but this wildly moving camera. It stood out so much because Alfredo’s camera work in For Clearer Skies, was so smooth and I much prefer that style. By the same token, I found the audio levels very inconsistent, although that could just be my PC speakers, I’m not sure.

Not a lot of the dialogue is overly interesting, or helpful in the development of these two characters, so the screenplay probably could have benefited from a few flashbacks. I tend to complain when flashbacks are used and not needed (haha), this time it’s the opposite. I can’t help thinking we would have had the chance to understand and like these characters a lot more. Ellen’s development wasn’t as important (depending on how you look at it), but Cillian was crucial to the entire story. I kept drawing the comparison between the location setting here, and that of Zack Snyder’s 2004, “Dawn Of The Dead”. An entire section of the aforementioned is set on a building rooftop just like this. Maybe Alfredo hasn’t seen the film and doesn’t know this, but he was either drawing directly, or indirectly from one of my favorite horror films. I’m not quite sure about the decision to even make this post apocalyptic world a zombie one. After all, it has been done to death and in the end I’m not sure that it fits all that well with the context of the narrative.

After really enjoying For Clearer Skies, I had high expectations for Canswer, but was left feeling pretty disappointed. It’s an ambitious effort with a small cast and a one set location, but ultimately probably would have been best left alone. It’s very difficult to succeed with a slow-burn drama at the best of times. But when it lacks engaging dialogue and nowhere to run, it’s a long way back. The first half of the film fails to generate much momentum, and the blow is only slightly softened with an offbeat, but cool twist ending. Just because this one wasn’t for me, doesn’t mean others won’t enjoy it. I’m sure Alfredo is happy with the end result, and from a personal point of view if he made what he set out too, you can’t ask for much more. Thanks again for the opportunity to watch this, and I hope to see more of your future projects.

My rating for “Canswer” is 4.5/10

MALLEUS MALEFICARUM

THE SETUP

This is a review for the second short film I watched from director Torin Langen, it’s called “Malleus Maleficarum”. I just want to say thanks again, for allowing me access to online screeners of these films. Malleus Maleficarum, which I can barely pronounce (haha), is a 17 minute horror short starring Erin Stuart, Rebeca Mackinnon, Eric Repke, Maxwell Lantz and Sam Varteniuk. It’s about a Sister, Brother and Auntie (played by Mackinnon, Repke and Stuart), who are living in a small town, where religious beliefs have found them stuck in the dark ages. Halloween has become a night of terror and violence, where potential sinners are sold to the general public, to do with as they see fit. Check out my review for Torin’s other short film “Fondue”, which is a kind of prequel to this. See under the heading, Short films.

THE GOOD

This Canadian made short film was shot for just $2,000, and like Torin’s other short, the production value is wonderful. I loved the old-school style 80’s intro theme and credits. The opening shot choices look fantastic, and the location makes for a great character in of itself. All the camera work, subtle editing and clever cuts are so well done. I watch a lot of films, especially in this genre, and it’s rare to find a young director with such a keen eye for the particulars. The film’s color grading is perfect, helping give it a much more polished and expensive look than what you’d think $2,000 would give you.

I can’t go into details about the specifics of the story, but it’s a really entertaining one. The cast all do a solid job of keeping things emotionless, and that’s kind of the whole point with this world they are living in. I was surprised that their was no dialogue for the entire running time, but surprisingly it works in the films favor. I think the strongest aspect is the diversity of the score. It opens with a Coen brothers (Fargo, Blood Simple), style crime theme which sounds great. Half way through, it becomes more orchestral based and sounding like something out of Kenneth Branagh’s, “Sleuth” (one of my favorite films). Just when you think you have heard it all, we get a piece of music reminiscent of something composer, Angelo Badalamenti would have written for “Twin Peaks”, I loved every bit of music in this film.

THE BAD

I can’t see myself using the words poor or bad, when it comes to something Torin Langen has done, or will do. From a technical point of view, he is as good as any director in the genre. Because of the lack of dialogue though, I questioned whether some of these characters were mute?. It may have been an interesting plot-point if they were, but I’m not sure. If you are a viewer that likes a motive in the resolution, you might be a little disappointed here. Personally, I think that it adds to the mystery of the experience if you don’t know the whole story, but each to their own. I’m not a fan of the dutch angle (tilting the camera on the side for a different effect), there were a couple of shots in the film like that, I didn’t care for. They aren’t necessarily bad, it’s just I prefer standard shot technique and because everything else Torin does looks great, those few shots are noticeably different.

Moreover, the actors faces are framed a little too close in several of the shots as well. These are nit-picky things and nearly always personal preference. I thought the action scenes, which I can’t describe without spoiling, needed to synch up better with the sound effects. A particular weapon didn’t match the chosen sound all that well, and although the blood looked good, the detail in the makeup after one of the sequences wasn’t perfect.

Malleus Maleficarum is an aesthetically pleasing film, that entertains from start to finish. The technical aspects are nearly all perfect. It’s just a couple of those artistic choices that weren’t for me. The acting is good, the color grading brings everything to life and Torin uses his budget wisely. I thought “Fondue” (his previous film), was nearly flawless and this one is pretty damn close too. Keep an eye out for Torin Langen, it’s a name I sure hope you continue to hear about in the future. Great stuff!!

My rating for “Malleus Maleficarum” is 8.5/10

FONDUE

THE SETUP

I want to start by saying thank you to Canadian filmmaker Torin Langen, for allowing me to watch an online screener of his 12 minute, horror short “Fondue”. The film stars the lovely Raven Cousens along with, Youp Zondag, Emma McDonald, Rebecca McAulay and Mickey Conde. Fondue is about a mysterious twosome celebrating Halloween, with an unusual excursion to purchase masks for something far more sinister than one might think. Torin contacted me a while back, about reviewing two of his short films. I was having some fast speed internet trouble, but have since had the chance to watch both of them. Stay tuned for the second review, coming soon!

THE GOOD

Fondue has an estimated budget of just $800, but you’d never know it. Given Torin’s minimal amount of experience, he has an extremely keen eye for the technical aspects of film making. This is wonderfully shot, with the focus on simple but elegant and effective shot choices. When they are all edited together they look fantastic. He uses a lot of clever little tricks throughout the short running time. Such as, intensifying the score in order to build suspense, while simultaneously muting the screams or dialogue of the cast. The editing is really snappy and the color grading really suits the tone of the story. I took particular notice of the lighting during the scenes inside the house. It’s really hard to find the balance in how much light to use, it all depends on the mood. I can clearly see that Torin knows his stuff when it comes to lighting. The performances were solid and Raven looks lovely. Unfortunately, once the Halloween mask goes on, it doesn’t come off (sad face). Speaking of the masks, they were quite generic but still pretty cool. The soundtrack was based around more of a blues style of music, which ended up working better than I thought it would. The wonderful intro theme gets you hooked and by the end, it’s a similar piece of music but played in a much more obscure and frenetic way.

THE BAD

I’m really struggling to find anything I can pick apart in this short 12 minute film. Having both key characters wearing masks, combined with the fact there is no dialogue from anyone, makes it’s hard to gauge a state of mind. That’s probably part of the mystery though, so it’s not really a fault it just depends on the viewer. A few lines of dialogue might have helped convey a darker secret, or something along those lines. I wasn’t sure whether a couple of things were in the imagination of a certain character or not. I can’t say much more without spoiling it, that was just another aspect that was part of the mystery I suppose.

Fondue is just simply fantastic film making, no matter how you look at it. From a technical point of view its flawless, and the short screenplay is eerie and incredibly effective. With a wonderful production value and Torin’s professionalism, I can safely say he’s used his small amount of money wisely, superb work!!

My rating for “Fondue” is 9/10

JURASSIC CITY

THE SETUP

“Jurassic City” is the latest creature/feature film made for the SyFy channel. It’s directed by Sean Cain (editor on “Sand Sharks” and director of “Silent Night Zombie Night”). I enjoy these low-budget movies, for what they are you know exactly what you’re going to get. I dug Sand Sharks for how truly nonsensical it was, plus I’m a Corin Nemec fan, so I was thoroughly entertained. Jurassic City is about a top-secret, government facility housing raptors for scientific purposes. One night they are accidentally unleashed in downtown Los Angeles, where Convicts, Black ops teams and Sorority sisters must ban together if they have any hope of surviving the night. The film stars “Twin Peak’s”, Ray Wise, along with Kevin Gage, Dana Melanie, Kayla Carlyle, Sofia Mattsson, Jack Forcinito and my fellow Aussie, Vernon Wells. I’ve enjoyed most of Cain’s films (the ones I’ve seen), and the fact he manages to get a lot of cool talent attached to his projects is a big reason for that.

THE GOOD

The beginning of the film was a blast. It get’s straight down to business, and that’s exactly what we, as viewers want. Majority of these low-budget creature/feature films spend a lot of time building character development early on. They end up missing the point of why people watch these kind of films, and it’s not really for that. The raptors are released in the first 5-10 minutes of the film, and then it cuts to the opening credits. They were fast and much more interesting to look at than most of these films introductions. I love the casting of Ray Wise as Warden Lewis, he has been a favorite of mine since Twin Peaks. I figured he might just wing it here, being a film of this nature and budget, but to my surprise he delivered a really solid performance as the most likable character in the film. On the other side of the coin we have Kevin Gage. He is nearly always a solid addition, and even though I didn’t like some of the writing for his character, he did it well. He plays “Doyle”, a serial sex offender and murderer, currently in jail awaiting trial. Jack Forcinito was the lead in Sean’s film “Silent Night Zombie Night”, which was a really cool low-budget horror film that flew under the radar. Jack plays Captain Talbot, who is army/black ops, whatever you want to call it. Fun fact, it’s the same character he played in SNZN, it’s almost as though this is a prequel to that film and I thought that was cool.

Not only do the males give solid performances, but this is the best group of young female actresses I’ve seen in this genre. Playing sorority sisters, Pippi, Sarah and Stephanie, Dana, Kayla and Sofia are really convincing. They portray each character with such diverse personalities, and they all look gorgeous. Eye candy is often missing in these types of films, made all the more noticeable when they do cast girls like this. The acting isn’t the only better aspect, when comparing this to its counterparts. The audio and camera work, are both a lot better than what we are used to seeing from SyFy. Also, it’s rare that the movie opens with a really cool kill with some practical effects, so that was new. The CGI is marginally better than what you’ve come to expect from these films. Depending on the backdrop of the scene, it can vary between looking straight off a computer screen (eek), to feeling like it does fit appropriately.

THE BAD

The music choices, editing and lighting could have used some improvement. It’s a very generic 3 or 4 note score, or when it supposed to be suspenseful, they go with a short shrill violin that’s better suited to a James Wan film (Insidious). Transitions between scenes are fine, but after something action based happens the camera cuts away far to quickly. Even if the kills look average when combined with computer graphics, you could still see a grisly aftermath if it wasn’t so short. The lighting in the prison is pretty decent, but in some of the other locations it leaves a lot to be desired. The suspense is non-existent, and seems destined to stay that way with these types of films. Because they are so silly in nature, it makes it difficult to feel like anything is building to something bigger.

The two things I was hoping Jurassic City would deliver on, was the body count/action with the use of some cool practical effects, and hoping there was a decent story to tell. Those are the biggest problems with most of these films. CG is the cheap way out and most of the time it looks terrible, So why not do things practically where you can??. On the story front, this is pretty generic. Government screws up some secret experiment, the military comes in etc etc, we’ve seen it all before. Hence why you need to deliver on action and effects, to keep people interested. In the beginning it’s literally one soldier patrolling a facility that contains an unknown number of raptors… seriously, just one then??? (haha), seems logical. The sorority house early on in the film, is far to small to be considered a sorority house. It’s basically just one room, and no one is ever seen going anywhere else in the house. The smaller attention to detail probably doesn’t count for that much, but when you have raptors as cargo being transported, and you don’t know where they are going or for why, you begin to question how well this screenplay really holds up.

The prisoner sub-plot was interesting enough but Doyle never felt truly menacing. It has nothing to do with Gage’s performance, the issue lies in the writing. Other than attacking a guard, he never has that threatening manner or screen stealing moment. He basically seems like a decent guy for most of the running time, it’s only at the end they have to remind you that he’s the bad guy, a little cliché. As far as the sorority sisters go, there’s no references to their parents, nor is it realistic that they be sent to lock up for such a minor infraction. A lot of stuff just doesn’t add up and the attention to detail is poor. Making matters slightly more disappointing is the action, or lack there of. Big chunks of running time are spent hatching an escape plan, as we (the viewer), are missing the carnage. I say it again, cheap and nasty CG blood and gore that doesn’t spray in a way real blood ever would, is never going to look any good. Abandon that approach and get your cast messy with some practical blood, it’s so much more professional looking.

Jurassic City entertained, it did. I never felt bored with it and I like the cast, from Wise and Wells, to the lovely eye candy. The audio and camera work are good and things move at a fast pace. If the screenplay was altered and re-written in places, this would have been a much more enjoyable film. I can deal with the average CG, which we have all had time to adjust to, but quit it with the computer blood and do everything in your power to do things practically. This doesn’t have the cheese appeal of Sand Sharks, but it’s slightly better than what’s normally on the SyFy menu.

Below is a direct link to purchase the film

My rating for “Jurassic City” is 5/10

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR

THE SETUP

From academy award Nominee, J.C Chandor, who gave us “Margin Call” and “All Is Lost”, comes “A Most Violent Year”, a crime/drama period piece, set in New York City in 1981. The film stars Oscar Issac (“Drive” and “Inside Llewyn Davis”) and Jessica Chastain (“The Help” and “Zero Dark Thirty”). Abel Morales (Issac), was once an immigrant, who now finds himself in a powerful position, the head of a prospering New York oil company. The only two things on Abel’s mind, are buying up property and maintaining a constant cash flow, to support his wife, and business partner Anna along with their two kids. It’s 1981,  a very dangerous time in New York City, as Abel balances the running of his trucks, and keeping the men that drive them safe. Not to mention, dealing with the D.A’s investigation of illegal activity within his business, and all this in a day’s work. The film also stars David Oyelowo, Albert Brooks, Alessandro Nivola and Elyes Gabel.

THE GOOD

J.C’s last film, focused on the survival instincts of one man. That man was played by Robert Redford, and It worked so well because of the decision to cast him. In this one, J.C went with Oscar Issac, who has turned in some really nice performances over the last few years. Including one that saw him working alongside Albert Brooks again, and that was in “Drive”. Jessica Chastain has quickly risen to stardom with some captivating performances. Now, making her one of the best in her age group in Hollywood. These two turn in really solid performances once again. I think the chemistry between Abel and Anna was important to the story but it’s only briefly touched on. The audience could have benefited from seeing the path these two have taken, and how they ended up together. After all, Abel is an immigrant and Anna is U.S born, there’s a good story to tell there, which could have made for a great sub-plot.

Abel’s rise to the top doesn’t prevent him looking out for the little man (or so he would have you think). One of those men happens to be the luckless Julian (Gabel), a young Italian man who drives one of Abel’s oil trucks. He ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time, and gets caught up in the violence which Abel wants no part of and chooses to deal with him accordingly. I think another interesting sub-plot could have been explored within Julian’s character arc, but unfortunately we don’t get much insight into him. Abel does spend a brief period of time with the new sales representatives. Where he talks about mannerisms and the intricacies of closing a deal. The audience needs to see some of the drive in him that clearly landed him in a successful position, so that was good. The idea of telling a story during New York’s most violent year is an intriguing one, or at least it could have been. If the screenplay wasn’t so lifeless and the characters were far more interesting, or projected a lot more personality this could have been rich.

THE BAD

Before I discuss the finer points of the film, I have to say it’s rare that a film lacks focus like this, especially one backers spent $20 million on. The audio is surprisingly uneven in several scenes. Sound effects seem to punch through significantly louder than most of the dialogue. It’s an issue I normally find in low-budget films, not what I expect from a “Hollywood” made film. Some of the shot choices, where the camera follows a characters direction looked very ordinary. The backgrounds in many of the scenes shot in Abel’s house, are clearly out of focus. Entire backdrops of the beautiful Forrest surrounding their house, are totally blurry and I’m not sure why. The score was about as bland as they come. Majority of the 4 note, piece of music that’s on repeat, sounded like it was straight out of “The Godfather”. Don’t even get me started on Abel’s look, can anyone say Al Pacino!

When it comes to lighting and personal style, never have I seen such poor decisions made by a team. Ninety percent of the shots in this film are so dark, you can’t see anything in the scene. The other ten percent are made up of naturally lit scenes that blind the viewer, and pierce the actors faces. This is one of the worst lit films I have ever seen, given how much money went into it. The strangest thing is, I don’t know if it was done for some kind of artistic merit or not. If it was, it didn’t come off and if it wasn’t, J.C needs a new lighting crew. Everything from the transport units Abel has his business meetings in, to the D.A’s office, down to every scene in his house. It’s the most dark color palette ever created and all of it looks terrible. Let’s discuss the story for a minute. It’s clear from the beginning, Abel is quite a morally questionable character, with the D.A investigating him and all. Enter Lawrence (Oyelowo), an agent who has it in for Abel before he even starts inquiring about anything. It appears as though this will be a significant matter regarding Abel’s business and finances, but it never goes anywhere. There is a scene at a party depicting Lawrence as the insensitive type (typical haha), and a small wrap around scene at the end of the movie but nothing in between. Abel’s company is called “Standard Heating Oil”, or something like that. At one point Abel claims the oil in each of his trucks is worth $6,000, and that’s why they are being targeted by criminals. Not once did I see anyone have a discussion about what they would actually do if they got the truck. No one is ever shown selling the oil from it in order to get money or whatever, nothing remotely to do with that. The guys in the beginning just take it and who knows where they go?.

I’ve never had such a hard time working out the characters and their relationships to each other, or how they fit in the context of the story like I did with this. Julian becomes one of the main characters, but the whole time I was thinking how does this guy fit??. In the beginning he ends up in the emergency room. So both Abel and Anna go to see him. It’s at that point I’m thinking, maybe he’s a nephew or something and they’ve offered to pay his bills etc. Later in the film, Abel visits a women. She was either Julian’s sister, or maybe his wife??, I couldn’t really tell. Then add Andrew Walsh (Brooks) to the mix, as I’m guessing some kind of business partner/father figure, and an assorted mix of other secondary characters and it all becomes difficult to follow. At its core, this was supposed to be a film about New York City in 1981, but it never feels like the character it should in the story. The heart of New York is absent. No scenes were filmed throughout the city, nor are any of the iconic tourist destinations shown. If it wasn’t for them mentioning New York City in the beginning this could have been anywhere in the US. The accents don’t feel authentic and the violence doesn’t feel present, it’s a long and slow mess from start to finish.

A Most Violent Year could be the most misleading title there’s been for a long time. It’s a painstakingly dull film that contains basically no violence or suspense. It’s not an authentic New York setting, the character development is stagnant at best and the dialogue rarely gets above a whisper. The technical aspects are incredibly mediocre and the run time is drawn out. If not for the stellar cast and a few nice scenes this wouldn’t give a yelp. I love a great crime/drama and somewhere in here there was a story attempting to be told. A Most Violent Year is a two-hour business meeting, with people you don’t know, and trust me you don’t want to know.

My rating for “A Most Violent Year” is 3.5/10

ATTACK OF THE GORILLA

THE SETUP

Firstly, I just want to say thanks to Julian Francis Adderley, the producer of “Attack Of The Gorilla”, for inviting me to watch and review the film on Vimeo On Demand. Before I begin, I want to give my best wishes to the friends and family of, director Dave Shaw, who recently passed away. As well as playing Riggs Deardon, one of the main characters, he also wrote and directed this film. My sincerest condolences to those who knew him. Attack Of The Gorilla is a comedic homage to the 50’s b movie. Monster flicks that were all the rage, made by the likes of Roger Corman, Nathan Juran and many others. Anna (played by Sara Duplancic), discovers that some of her friends and family are becoming victims of  a killer gorilla. Along with her sarcastic, but logical thinking boyfriend Stephen (Francis Fisk), she enlists the help of alcoholic, former tv show host Riggs Deardon (Dave Shaw), who faced a similar beast many years ago. Also joining the hunt is Rigg’s ex-wife Mimsy (Sherry Thurig), and the daft local cop, Officer Landis (Paul Washer). Will the gang be able to stop the gorilla before it’s too late??. The film also stars Penu Chalykoff, Jenne Hicks, Kiersten Hanly and Julianne Carioto.

THE GOOD

The estimated budget for this 70 minute full length feature is just $10,000, the production value is pretty good, given the small amount of money. I watched the trailer before I saw the film, so I had an idea for what I was in for, but I’ll admit I thought this was going to be more like a 50’s b film, it was but it wasn’t. It’s clear that Roger Corman’s work was the biggest inspiration for Attack Of The Gorilla. It’s a difficult movie to review because it’s so self-aware, that it does everything but wink at you. There is nothing wrong with a self-aware film but if you’re going to do that, you have to pull out all the stops and match whatever it is you nod too. Step number one, shooting in black and white. That’s exactly what Dave Shaw and cinematographer Julianne Carioto have done, and it looks nice. Though, they opted for the static film reel look, combined with the black and white that then negates that 50’s style and makes it look more like a grind-house throwback. A lot of the still shots in the camera work are good and the cheesy, over the top (on purpose) acting and fun dialogue works for most of it.

Majority of the comedy and breaking the fourth wall was a bit too obvious for my liking. I’m not a huge fan of that acknowledgement, unless it’s done in the appropriate genre to suit it. The intermission pornography film gag was cool. It had some good one liners and a genuine awkwardness, making it one of the funnier parts of the film. The best thing Attack Of The Gorilla has going for it, is the unbelievable mystery/sci-fi sounding score. It sounded like it was straight out of the 50’s, also combining an X-files meets Twilight Zone feel. I’m not surprised that it’s the aspect of the film that won an award, its awesome! It’s not often you hear a score the entire way through a film, but with a run time of only 65 minutes the constant fits.

THE BAD

I already touched on the look of the film that the black and white looks awesome, the static stuff however, does not. In many of the scenes the actors faces are framed far too close up, that you lose everything else in the scene. I understand most of the locations are small but I think the crew just needed to take a few steps back and not shoot so close. Some of the audio levels were quite inconsistent, most noticeably in the different locations and also when characters were screaming. The action sequences are supposed to be cheesy I get that, but I didn’t realize they were going to be so far-fetched and silly in nature. The gorilla is just an actor in a suit, I’m not going to critique that part because it was clear that was the intention, I just think it looks poor. I thought this was going to be more of an homage, I don’t ever remember them going that over the top in years gone by. Some of the facial expressions early on, from secondary characters like Anna’s sister in particular, were embarrassingly bad. I’m assuming that was on purpose, none the less not anymore enjoyable to watch.

Another positive point was that a few of the characters really embodied that old movie feel. The reporter for one, acted with the perfect amount of tongue in cheek, and even used lingo that would have been heard in a 1950’s film. Unfortunately, on the opposite side of the Police Officer and News-reporter, we had multiple uses of the F word and it’s derivatives, which took me right out of the experience. They didn’t talk like that back then maybe that’s their modern spin on it, I don’t know. I think most of the comedy fell flat, a lot of that low brow kind of humor, and I’m not sure what was going on with the days of the week, I guess that was supposed to be funny but it just confused me. Come to think of it, the editing, and those days of the week seemed to mess with the continuity of the whole film. When you have to use the same location for two or three different settings, (due to budget restrictions), it can confuse matters even more.

Attack Of The Gorilla is aimed at a very specific audience. I think if you dig those extremely self-aware films, than you’re going to have fun with this. However, I don’t think it gets enough of the things it’s nodding too correct. I love the black and white style and the score is brilliant. Unfortunately it doesn’t excel at the modern spin of a b-movie and it doesn’t bring enough of that 50’s feel, to really label it a throwback. This film was dedicated to Dave Shaw. I didn’t know him, but he looks like he had a blast doing this with friends and family.Seeing it come to fruition is something to be most proud of. Just because it’s not for me doesn’t mean there isn’t fun to be had here!

Below is the link to the film support it by paying a small donation to watch

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/attackgorilla

R.I.P

Dave Shaw

My rating for “Attack Of The Gorilla” is 4/10

THE INVITATION

THE SETUP

Firstly, I just want to say thanks to Writer, Michael Putz and Director J.P Hoffman, for sending me their link to the 12 minute short film “The Invitation”. The film has just two actors, Tom Schmitt and Melissa O’Donnell. This is just one of several directors, who have sent me some of their work over the last two weeks, it’s been some great watching and really humbling. The Invitation is a horror/mystery short, about a young man Max who has a girl Lizzy, (an old flame), come knocking on his door wanting to see him, and wanting refuge. The two enter into conversation, which leads to the Lizzy being inviting in, where things take a turn for the worse.

THE GOOD

All the technical aspects in this one were just as good as the other Short’s I’ve been watching lately. The camera work and framing are exceptional, and the audio levels are loud and clear. The interest lies in pieces of the dialogue about what Lizzy’s agenda might be. I’m not sure how much experience Tom and Melissa have, but they did a solid job here. I can’t say much about the details without spoiling it for those who haven’t seen it yet. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen in this one, and that’s both a good thing and a bad thing (if you have seen it you know what I mean).

THE BAD

In all honesty, I thought this was going to be more psychological, and maybe Lizzy was recovering from a drug problem, and the guy just didn’t want to encourage her forward manner. I think it was intentional to keep you guessing, and instead this goes in a much different, all be it cool direction. The clues and the foreshadowing in what may have been happening, weren’t as obvious to me as they might be to some. It’s a little off-putting/frustrating, but rest assured crucial revelations surface by the end. I think a more mysterious and suspenseful score, could have helped set the mood a bit better.

The Invitation was pretty damn good. I didn’t really know what to expect. I wasn’t even sure what genre this was going to be, because I couldn’t find the Imdb page. The actors do a nice job, it’s technically a really polished product and the end throws you for a loop. It’s a little slow in the beginning, but it picks up and overall it’s really nicely made.

My rating for “The Invitation” is 7.5/10

When you hear the phrase “creature feature”, most people associate it with low-budget, poor CGI and soap quality acting. It’s a sub-genre of horror that spawned in the 50’s, with Director Roger Corman and his films like, “Swamp Women” and “Attack of the Crab Monsters”. The style of film relied on audiences to suspend disbelief regarding the subject matter, and the plausibility of how they unfolded. It wasn’t until 1975, when people realized what you could accomplish if you had a sizable amount of money. Steven Spielberg shocked theater-goers and the entire movie world, with his terrifying shark film “Jaws”. Using a full-sized practical Shark, was something that had never been seen before. Following the success of that film, Spielberg again surprised audiences with a different kind of creature/feature, when he released the critically acclaimed “E.T” in 1982. Fast forward to present day and modern era of creature/feature films and we’ve seen everything. From “Anaconda” and “Piranha”, to the more creative cross over films like “Sharktopus”, and “Dinocroc vs Supergator”. The “Sharknado” franchise has now become one of the biggest, if not the biggest film of the genre. Being a fan of the creature feature, I’ve spent some time analyzing what potentially makes them work and what doesn’t. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a matter of having the right idea at the right time. If it’s something creative, that’s extremely well promoted and generates buzz leading up to a release, you give yourself every chance of success. This brings me to the Australian made creature feature; short film “Waterborne”.

Written by Richard Barcaricchio and Ryan Coonan, as well as being directed by Ryan. “Waterborne” combines the flesh-eating bacteria of Eli Roth’s “Cabin Fever”, with the much-loved iconic Kangaroo, that almost everyone that isn’t Australian, seems obsessed with. The idea being, what would happen if a town’s water supply became contaminated with bacteria, and the wildlife drank from it, turning them rabid? The concept is genius. I think Richard and Ryan have been smart enough to see they are onto a winner with the addition of the Kangaroo, which hasn’t been covered before. One can’t help but get behind this incredibly entertaining short film, and see the potential for a worldwide viral campaign. The short film is only 8 minutes long and although every one of those moments entertains, it’s begging to be told as a full length feature. If you are a fan of the modern creature feature, and you love practical effects and not the cheap CG you see on the SyFy channel, get behind this film! Go to the Facebook page, watch the short when it becomes available and show your support for it. When you watch the short, it will become evident that Ryan knows what he is doing behind that camera. It contains gorgeous cinematography, perfect panning, crystal clear audio, a wonderful score and some of the red stuff. The focus is just as much on the high quality technical aspects, as well as doing everything possible to keep the effects practical. The lead character is a dead ringer for “Ash” from “The Evil Dead” (played by Bruce Campbell). Genre lovers and fans of being entertained in general, simply can’t deny the potential for greatness with a fun film about Zombie kangaroos. I’m going all in for this one guys. I’m hoping to do everything in my power to help this crew get the film made, and you should too!!, so check out the associated sites below

The trailer: http://vimeo.com/octopodfilms/waterbornetrailer

Facebook: www.facebook.com/waterbornemovie

twitter: @waterbornemovie

Octopod films website: www.octopodfilms.com

Article Written by Adam Weber

PAINKILLER

THE SETUP

“Painkiller” is the first, of director Jeremiah Kipp’s short films that I will be reviewing. Firstly I just want to say thanks to Jeremiah, for sending me a bunch of his work to review, I really appreciate it. Painkiller is a 15 minute short film about two scientists that are developing an organism that thrives on suffering, but counteracts the pain in terminally ill patients and turns it into pleasure. This way, the dying can spend their remaining time pain-free. Without proper testing something goes seriously wrong during the trial. The film stars Kelly Legault, Thomas Mendolia, Jill Donato and Jerry Janda.

THE GOOD

The film was shot for an estimated $15,000, and it looks and sounds great. Jeremiah has a lot of experience making short films, and that’s obvious with the structure of this one. The dialogue audio is crystal clear, and the sound effects in each scene compliment the overall tone. The suspense score is intense and creepy as well. He’s chosen a lot of really clever shots. The camera work in general is beautiful, very smooth and precise. The edit was really well cut together, and the story lays nearly everything out for you. I like that it was told from the Male scientists point of view. He explains to the mystery man investigating what went wrong, what the process was supposed to do and where it went wrong. Thomas and Jerry have the most screen time, and both of them do such a good job. I really like Thomas in particular, he seems like a natural.

THE BAD

In just 15 minutes, Jeremiah really doesn’t have much time to put a foot wrong. My only technical criticism was a few of those Giallo, cross noir tilt angles that were used in a few shots, I’m really not a fan of those. The mystery man’s motive wasn’t very clear either. I know it’s probably part of the mystery (haha), but I just wanted to know a little more how he fit into the situation. If I learnt one thing from Painkiller it’s, don’t put yourself out there as a guinea pig especially if you’re not sick. I would liked to have seen that whole plot point written in a different way. Maybe somebody else inserts the organism in her, or there’s an accident that causes it. Anything different, the way it unfolded wasn’t that realistic.

Painkiller is so professionally put together. Jeremiah shows a true grasp of the technical know how, as well as conjuring a wonderful, all be it disturbing body/horror short film. I can’t recommend this one enough guys

My rating for “Painkiller” is 8/10

THE MINIONS

THE SETUP

“The Minions” (not the cute yellow guys from “Despicable Me” haha), is another 11 minute short film from Director, Jeremiah Kipp. It’s a Horror/Mystery that centers on William (Lukas Hassel), as he stands in an apartment with the unseen Abigail (played by Lauren Fox), discussing a witches path. Shortly after, William leaves and crosses paths with two drunk girls named Sarah and Katrina (Christina Doikos and Robin Singer). He volunteers to walk them back to their apartment, it’s there where the girls start acting very strange as does William, and then things take a turn for the worse.

THE GOOD

This 11 minute short film was made for a little over $6,000. It’s got a very surreal feel about it, which makes the structure and plot details a little hazy at times. It opens with an amazing heavy bass, and synth orientated score that sounds great. Once again, the audio track is nice and clear and the camera work is mostly well done. I noticed a few irrelevant shots, but for the most part it sets the tone appropriately. I thought the acting from Lukas was probably the highlight of the film. The female cast is all very good too, but I started getting annoyed with the Katrina character, because she spent most of the time in a hysterical drunken haze and that’s not for me (haha).

THE BAD

After the introduction the score changes up, giving it an odd science fiction sound. I found the music they used early on helped with the mystery in generating the suspense, the rest of the music kind of lost me. Most of the scenes in the apartment are lit with small amounts of natural light which is fine. But a few times, they were really bright and became distracting. I think the story should have unfolded as more of an internal struggle with William, told through the dialogue. It would have made the ending a lot less predictable. I was almost sure things would unfold exactly how they did, despite the mysterious nature of the whole thing.

The Minions had a lack of clarity within the narrative. I wasn’t drawn into the film’s world, and therefore I felt this one was a bit of a let down. Technically it’s pretty good, and I loved that intro theme, along with the performances, but I’m still trying to figure out the purpose of it all.

My rating for “The Minions” is 6.5/10

BERENICE

THE SETUP

“Berenice” is a 19 minute short of Jeremiah Kipp’s, that I had the pleasure of watching. It’s part of an anthology film called “Creepers”. I’m only reviewing the one short and not the entire DVD. Berenice is about an elusive and strange girl named Berenice (played by Cheryl Koski), who comes to New York to stay with, long-lost friend Edward (Thomas Mendolia), and his parents. The two got together briefly years before, and now have a very complicated history, compounded even more by Berenice’s sudden illness.

THE GOOD

I’ve never really been a fan of Edgar Allan Poe’s work, and most of the film adaptions I have seen of his were pretty poor, so going in I didn’t have high hopes for this one. Technically, I think this is Jeremiah’s best. I’m not sure of the total budget, but the production value here is truly impressive. The way this opens up with shots from the outside of the house, which then pan to the inside was gorgeous. All the shot choices and camera work are on point. Perfect audio once again too. It sounds like an easy thing to master but it’s really not, it requires a lot of time and editing. I knew this was going to be good when I saw that Thomas Mendolia was in the lead role again. This short is much better lit, and the suspenseful score was a great addition too. Some of the characters reactions and the full workings of the story weren’t that clear to begin with, but I picked up on a hint of OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) from Edward, so that at least explained his odd behavior.

THE BAD

There’s a lot of different scenes in such a short space of time, almost a few to many. The editing appears rather frenzy in a few of those segments. Some sound effect details were missed as well. For example, Berenice starts convulsing at one point, and hits the ground without a sound effect to accompany it. Not to mention the very calm, and underplayed reaction from Edward about someone calling 911. I couldn’t make heads or tails of the mother and father either. They alluded to the fact that Edward had problems as well, but I couldn’t spot any warning signs so the ending really shocked me. I didn’t love it nor hate it, I just found it rather random, but entertaining none the less.

Berenice should be a how to guide, for people looking to get the basic fundamentals of film making right. Jeremiah hasn’t developed any bad habits, making him someone to keep an eye on in the future. Both Cheryl and Thomas’s performances are great, and this screenplay is a rather eerie one. It didn’t quite come together perfectly but I was still thoroughly entertained when all was said and done.

My rating for “Berenice” is 7.5/10

AMERICAN SNIPER

THE SETUP

This isn’t the first time, legendary Actor/Director Clint Eastwood has made a war film. First came “Heartbreak Ridge”, which focused mostly on military training. What followed, was a view-point from both sides at The Battle of Iwo Jima, with the American made “Flag Of Our Fathers”, and the Japanese “Letters Of Iwo Jima”. Last year saw director Peter Berg (Battleship and Friday Night Lights), tackle the true story of Marcus Luttrell, a navy seal who was the lone survivor of Operation Red Wing back in 2005. This year, Clint is back with a biography on the Elite, navy seal sniper Chris Kyle. His pin point accuracy saved countless lives during his four tours in Iraq. The film chronicles Chris’s initial training and each of the tours he fights in. The war is intertwined with his family life back home, with wife Taya and their two kids. The film stars a much heavier, Bradley Cooper (The Hangover), as Chris Kyle, along with Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner, Kevin Lacz, Jake McDorman and Cory Hardrict.

THE GOOD

Clint Eastwood rarely puts a foot wrong when it come’s to everything and anything film related, especially casting. He often says in interviews, that it determines whether your film is going to be a success or not. Clint took a risk on Bradley Cooper, a pretty boy with a body of work consisting mostly of comedic roles. With films like “American Hustle” and “The Place Beyond The Pines”, Cooper began to show audiences he could be successful in more than just comedy. I’m not sure anyone thought the lead role in an Eastwood biopic about the war in Iraq, would be the film to do it. Much to everyone’s surprise, it’s exactly what Bradley has done. When you do 4.5 hours a day of pure weight training to get yourself looking like the real guy, you’re already showing a true dedication to getting it right before you step on set. Combine the extra 40 pounds (I think it was), with a fierce beard, and Cooper really starts to become Chris Kyle. The credit goes to both Actor and Director for making it as real as possible. Sienna Miller is really cast as Taya, the wife of Chris Kyle. In the closing credits there are pictures of the two together and you can really see the resemblance in both lead actors. Sienna grounds the film with her emotionally torn performance.

There is such authenticity to the screenplay, in regards to the depiction of the war and Chris’s family life too. I haven’t read the book, which I believe is mostly descriptions about the situations Chris encountered during battle. He was deadly with a sniper rifle but didn’t just limit himself to high ground positions. He actually spent a lot of time going door to door with the ground combat teams. His passion to protect his family and country is evident right from the outset, it’s like he was built for that kind of life (as much as one can be, I suppose). The film covers how he met his wife and the birth of their two children, but doesn’t shy away from showing the tough times, when he feels like he hasn’t done enough and has trouble adjust to civilian life. It’s a pretty even coverage of personal life and war.

The camera work is pretty rapid and intense, which is what you would expect in the heat of battle. The style of shooting and shot choices are much more calm when representing home life, so you get the two extremes. The action sequences can be difficult at times, especially the scenes with young kids. They are necessary and the most powerful, but a difficult watch none the less. The forcible shooting style helps generate the suspense, and really depicts the struggle these guys go through in making the correct decisions. It’s a first hand look at what war does to your psyche. It’s never pretty and always confronting, exactly how it should be.

THE BAD

Since a video clip surfaced online of the fake baby they used in one scene, people have been quick tearing the film apart. I’m sure a real baby was used when Chris and Taya’s son is born, but for whatever reason (and I’m sure it’s a good one because it’s Clint people!), a real baby girl wasn’t used for the second child. Babies are unpredictable at the best of times, so I’m sure there was good reason for making that decision. Who knows? Maybe we will find out on the extras when the hard copy get’s released?. Deduct the movie half a star, hell even a full star if you’d like, but get on with the critique. It’s one very small scene in a 136 minute film, get over it. I found Cooper’s dialect a little difficult to understand for the first 20-30 minutes. I missed a few pieces of dialogue because of it. That’s probably on me and not the film, but it doesn’t help when the characters mumble.

The character development and content is all there, but some of the sequencing is very scattered and unlike Clint. Maybe being 84, he doesn’t have quite as keener eye as he once did. The films primary purpose is to show Kyle in action during those tours, the family stuff is as important but comes secondary. The first 30 minutes of the film gets most of that stuff out-of-the-way, so the viewer can see Kyle’s skill set first hand. The flashback to his childhood, the rodeo, his cowboy lifestyle with an unhinged girlfriend and the relationship with his brother seemed done and dusted before you knew it. Then 9/11 happens, and Kyle without hesitation decides to go and sign up for the Seals. A segment or two of the film shows the brutal training regime these guys go through in order to be classed as a frogman (seal). The setup for Kyle and Taya from their first encounter through to the wedding day, seems to happen so fast that the bond isn’t really solidified. The editing in between his weapons training and ongoing courting of Taya, seems like an odd parallel editing structure. Clint’s focus should have been on establishing the bond first and then cut to his preparation for war, or visa versa but not intertwined them.

Moreover, several of the plot details were either stopped dead in their tracks or were unclear. Kyle’s younger brother ends up being deployed in Iraq, but there is no form of contact between the two. Taya forgets to tell Kyle, which I wouldn’t think would be possible, what else have you got to talk about?. It’s not until Kyle is heading off for another tour, that he crosses paths with his brother at the airport. The two have a conversation which basically consists of “This is fucked”, meaning the war situation. Other than the beginning of the film, the two don’t share any scenes or have any contact with each other. I thought it may have been addressed when Chris arrived home, but alas. It was like a plot point that didn’t need to exist. In the flashback to their childhood it seemed as though they had a really strong bond that the writing would expand on. I don’t know the type of relationship they had in real life, so maybe that’s how it really was. Then we have a scene that takes place in the hospital just after Kyle’s daughter is born. He’s standing at the window as his daughter cries, but the nurses are ignoring him and the crying. He screams at them to help his daughter but no one does. Normally, it’s obvious if someone is dreaming because they wake up sweating or some such thing. Sometimes it’s even a manifestation caused from stress or paranoia, and they snap out of it. What was going on in that scene was about as clear as mud. Kyle’s actions hinted that he was on the verge of snapping, the example being the car ride home from hospital. He gets increasingly agitated with another driver but nothing comes of it.

American Sniper is a tragic story, but a well made film covering both aspects of Chris’s life. It’s important that people who are calling this American propaganda etc, know that it was the general public labeling Chris Kyle a hero, not himself. To make it seem like he enjoyed doing these things or they had no effect on him and he boasted about it, is just plain wrong. Like I said, I haven’t read the book so I can’t say for sure, but this appeared to be a guy who wanted to do everything to protect his brothers in arms, his family and his country. I wouldn’t wish what he experienced upon anyone. Clint has raised the bar so high over a lifetime with near perfect films like, Gran Torino, Flag Of Our Fathers and Million Dollar Baby. American Sniper just doesn’t reach that next level. Unlike 2013’s “Lone Survivor”, American Sniper lacks the urgency of Berg’s film, and a more evenly rounded cast and a neater structure could have given this more of an impact. It’s still a very solid film from the legend and I hope he keeps making them.

My rating for “American Sniper” is 7/10