BABYSITTER MASSACRE

Bought to us by Independent Entertainment is the 80’s inspired, low-budget slasher film “Babysitter Massacre” directed by Henrique Couto (director of Bleeding Through). The film centers around Angela and her group of friends Lucky, Arlene and Linda, who are all getting ready to head off for college but want to see the year out with a Halloween party. The girls were part of a local group of babysitters years ago, when one of their friends was abducted and murdered by a masked stranger. Little do the group know that the faceless man is coming back for the rest of them. The film stars Erin R. Ryan (Midsummer Nightmares and Skinless), Marylee Osborne, Joni Durian, Tara Clark  and Odette Despairr.

The only member of the cast I was familiar with was Erin Ryan, whom I had seen in a couple of Dustin Mills’s pictures. I am always keen to see if a film can capture that nostalgic feel of the 80’s slasher, the question is did Babysitter Massacre succeed??

THE GOOD

Let’s start with a few of the technical aspects most of which hit the mark. The framing and steady camera work is something worth mentioning. A lot of these films fail on the filmmaking front and given the fact that this has a very low-budget feel about it the parts that worked really stood out. I’m not sure but I would estimate the budget to be somewhere between $20,000- $100,000. The camera never gets to close to the actors faces and avoids other familiar mistakes like shaky cam and focus issues. The audio is managed very well too, nothing sounds like it was recorded and dubbed later. The only issue I found was when the girls were screaming, the levels varied and therefore caused the sound to peak out, that was a little bit harsh on the eardrums. The look of our faceless killer closely resembles, intentionally or not, that of the mythical “Slender Man” minus his fancy attire. I don’t really have a problem with that because the entire concept for the film isn’t an original one, it was clearly made by fans of the genre, for fans of the genre so why not go all out, I’d expect nothing less.

From the very opening shot we get some pretty sleazy, voyeuristic nudity which continues for majority of the film. Obviously being a guy that doesn’t bother me some of the girls looked pretty good but your film can’t rely so heavily on just one ingredient in the recipe. I liked the fact that these girls were real girls and not what you see on magazine covers. They were nice enough to look at and clearly comfortable being in front of the camera in their underwear etc, the confidence definitely showed. That’s about as far as things showed though…..

THE BAD

Where do I start with the bad? Some people are going to accuse me of being to harsh on a film of this nature and failing to take it for what it is. Yes, I have a standard and some people will question some of the titles I watch but I still know exactly what this is, or should  have been. Most slashers are all about the body count, the quality of the kills and the effects, Am I right??. Let’s start with something a little less important here, the story. Now I don’t need a whole lot of plot details when it comes to a fun slasher film but I need some. Broken friendships and a crazy but non threatening killer is not even close to enough. During one of the countless pointless and annoying conversations poorly disguised as filler, the girls seem totally uncomfortable with each other. There is zero chemistry, so each of them has to change into seductive lingerie as slowly as possible (for no real reason haha), to keep you half interested. No one says anything even remotely related to what little plot there was with the exception of an old boyfriend. It’s all about the boyfriends or a lack of confidence or comparing bodies etc, all the crappy slumber party gossip, things we couldn’t give two shits about. After 30 minutes you realise how annoying and self-absorbed every single one of these girls are, even the gothic/emo girl and you’re just over it.

There’s a lot of really poor editing and scenes that are cut way to quickly to make you think they probably didn’t need to be there at all. The entire film is riddled with a cheesy score and not that so bad it’s good cheese, just the blue stuff. It’s pretty much a given that when your music sucks your suspense is probably going to miss the mark too, and it does here. The acting is about what you’d expect from an in-experienced cast but Erin as Angela, has some credits to her name and is slightly better than the rest. The filler scenes that feel like it’s just you and a group of people chilling out are acted fine (but why wouldn’t they be),  When it comes to actually acting during those emotional “I’m being chased by a psycho” scenes, everyone feels like they are either totally under or over playing it.

By far the most crucial aspect for success in any slasher film is the quality of the gore. Babysitter Massacre doesn’t make the cut, quite literally. Majority of the killing takes place off-screen and only the aftermath is shown. The after effects of some of the kills did have some nice detail and looked pretty decent given what the crew was probably working with but the action leading up to it leaves a lot to be desired. My argument is simply this. If you can make after effects look cool where was the attention to detail in the action scenes. For starters, none of the girls being tortured put up much of a fight which isn’t a realistic reaction. The kills mostly take place in the strangers basement/lair, which is horribly lit (probably to hide the lack of gore). My advice would be that the special effects and makeup team spend more time focused on the wounds as the killer inflicts them and less on what they look like after they are dead (because that’s secondary). I suppose the film does capture that old-school vibe of less is more. Think of a film like Maniac Cop where very little gore is shown, don’t get me wrong I like that but you also have to modernise your film for the new ages too.

Babysitter Massacre is a poor addition to the slasher genre and of all these types of films being released every year this one will hardly be remembered. If the rudimentary stuff were there this could have been a much better film. The aftermath of gore and the nudity kept me watching but a non-existent or uninteresting plot along with some crappy editing and fast cuts to hide the sub-par acting couldn’t possibly result in success. Plenty more of the red stuff and a rewrite/recast was needed to give this thing any hope at all and I’m disappointed to say I do not recommend this to anyone.

My review for “Babysitter Massacre” is 3.5/10

GARDEN OF HEDON

Garden Of Hedon is the latest film from indie filmmaker Kevin Kangas (Fear Of Clowns). If my memory serves me correct this film was shot back in 2012 but was only officially released earlier this year. I’ve been following it throughout the entire process and was pretty keen on getting myself a copy. The trailer gave me a vibe of a stylish film/noir crossed with something like Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut”. Garden Of Hedon is about a detective named Owen (played by Richard Cutting), who wakes up in a mansion with no clear memory of how he got there. He begins to search the house and discovers a young women’s body in one of the bedrooms. Eventually he finds an entertaining room where he meets Tom, a strange man (John C. Bailey) and Leon, a priest (played by Carl Stevens). Owen is told that the purpose of the house is for those who wish to partake in each of their own hedonistic desires forever. As Owen continues to search the house looking for the murderer as well as the answers to how he arrived at the house, the true meaning and purpose of the mansion begins to reveal itself. Danielle Lozeau, Beau Peregino and Andrew Ely are amongst some of the other cast members.

THE GOOD

Albeit not a completely original idea, the premise for Garden Of Hedon is a pretty interesting one. You can see that the film draws inspiration from those classics like “Eyes Wide Shut” and “Clue”,this is a fairly dark screenplay that doesn’t contain the comedy element that other films in the genre have. One of my guilty pleasures is a film from 2003 called “Taboo” and I could see a lot of similarities here with the mansion (one location) and the cat and mouse game that several of the characters play with each other. The poster artwork is something that definitely catches your eye. That and Danielle Lozeau, a young up and coming actress, were my main reasons for purchasing a copy.

This is low-budget filmmaking so keep that in mind if you decide it’s a film that appeals to you. It’s set in primarily one location with minimal main characters and a bunch of really average secondary characters. I thought Owen recording a lot of the investigation as he navigated the house was a cool aspect. Richard Cutting is a dead ringer for a Cary Elwes/ Bill Moseley type, it sidetracked me a little if I’m being honest (haha). The opening act has a wonderful atmosphere and the entire score is really enthralling, I loved it. There is some of the old style film/noir sound effects mixed with a more suspenseful M Night Shyamalan inspired score. In my opinion that and the impressive practical blood and gore effects were the two best aspects about the film. The action is pretty scarce (blink and you might miss it on a few occasions), but we are given some stabbings, face crushing and some others that I won’t spoil for you, when their there they look cool. The look of the servant doing all the killing was an obvious nod to EWS, but none the less still very cool.

THE BAD

As I begin to talk about the mounting issues with Garden Of Hedon, keep in mind this is not a bad film, nothing stood out as horrible about the overall finished product it’s mostly just a lot of small things along with a few deal breakers that I can’t ignore. Lets begin with the majority of the acting. The secondary characters that are just there to fill the scene and make up the body count are pretty poor, but that’s not what bothers me, I sort of expected that. However, when two out of your three main characters deliver really underwhelming performances it’s going to make for a tough sell (pardon the pun). Danielle Lozeau as Maria turns in the only consistent and or interesting performance of the bunch. The character she plays has a lot of mystery about her which made for a few very odd but entertaining scenes. Towards the end we get some idea of her mindset and the journey she has taken. Richard Cutting is just flat and stale in my opinion. It’s a fine line between attempting to pay homage to the film/noir private dick style of character and stumbling over into something that feels so forced you can’t possibly take it serious, an ultimately this is a serious film. Those opening few scenes when he supposed to be concerned and on alert after discovering a body and that a murder has taken place were as flat as a punctured tyre. John C. Bailey wasn’t a whole lot better but I think it was more the mannerisms of the character and the tone in which he speaks that ruined it for me, not the performance.

There are constant audio issues throughout the entire film. Some of the dialogue is crystal clear, almost as though it was recorded in the studio and dubbed into the final mix. Yet other sections of dialogue are hollow and riddled with an echoing, mostly when the characters conversing are all in the same room (and that room isn’t a church…). There are a lot of lighting issues as well. I think it was supposed to set a certain mood which failed mostly because there wasn’t any real suspense generated while Owen is investigating. Some of the editing choices were a little rushed and others (the opening 2 minutes come to mind), were just bizarre and should have been completely cut and had no bearing on any of the other events in the film. The introduction literally comes back around in the last ten minutes without adding to anything we didn’t already know, it’s totally unnecessary. The camera work is pretty solid for the most part but some of the framing could have used a bit of work. I think the potential for interesting shot choices was limited because of the one location, which they were trying to pass off as endless rooms in an endless house.

Garden Of Hedon’s biggest issues are the drawn out running time of 118 minutes (geez..) and the slow pacing through the middle act. There could have been an easy 30 minutes cut off the film to keep a modest entertainment value. The mood that’s set with such an atmospheric and cool score, along with the practical effects and the nods to a good film/noir gave it hope. Unfortunately all is lost with mediocre performances, a complete lack of action, unimportant dialogue and that overall lack of entertainment you’d hope to get after reading the synopsis and looking at the poster. I tried really hard to like this but it’s hard to warrant spending 2 hours on something that only delivers for a quarter of that time. It wasn’t for me but if it seems like something you want to check out go to Kevin Kangas’s website.

My rating for “Garden Of Hedon” is 4.5/10

NIGHTCRAWLER

“Nightcrawler” is the debut feature film from Dan Gilroy, who is mostly known for his writing credits over the past several years. Nightcrawler follows Lou Bloom (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) a young, ambitious and hard-working man hoping to create a life for himself through dedication and perseverance. Happening upon a chance accident on the freeway, Lou finds himself getting involved in crime journalism after filming a victim at said accident. He’s see it as an in and begins to get involved in the business taking his footage to local news stations. Before long the lines between observer and participant start to become blurred and Lou finds himself becoming the star of his own news. The film also stars Rene Russo, Bill Paxton and Riz Ahmed.

Nightcrawler is ultimately a journey through the eyes of a man who is totally void of a conscience, living an immoral life. Lou is the worst of the worst, feeding off of people’s misfortunes and tragedy, possessing characteristics made up of the worst of capitalism, he will stop at nothing to achieve success and is in fact pretty proud of it. Even if you’re not satisfied when the credits roll, you can’t deny Lou, due to his charming yet disturbing personality makes for a very engrossing character study.

THE GOOD

Nightcrawler captures a certain brand of atmosphere that most Crime/Drama’s fail to and I think that’s due to the original take on this subject matter. References to film’s like “Network” and “Drive” have already been made, I can’t comment on Network because I haven’t seen it. Other than a similar soundtrack and a cool set of wheels Nightcrawler and Drive have very little in common. One is about a mysterious driver (our protagonist), who represents good while the other is part of the bottom feeders of society. The film opens with some lovely establishing shots of LA at night (I suppose in the same fashion Drive does), we quickly get to some fast and active camera work along with some really snappy and tight editing. The entire film is very personally shot, it’s a very voyeuristic style of film, much like David Lynch’s masterpiece “Lost Highway”. A lot of Nightcrawler is handheld (like Gyllenhaal’s previous film “End Of Watch”) and done incredibly well to boot. The score is very moody and reminiscent of “Drive” and I loved that. A nice blend of really cool sound effects along with some clever use of bass.

The witty and fast paced dialogue really draws you in. Jake delivers Lou’s lines perfectly. The timing is expertly crafted and his mannerisms are extremely creepy. If nothing else a very gaunt Gyllenhaal is something that people will definitely remember about this film. Countless pieces of dialogue begin with “I recently saw/read and or heard so and so” and on it goes. Lou seems to retain particular information like a book, but one about something which isn’t all the relevant to those around him, it kind of parallels how some people who suffer from Aspergers talk. The acting is solid by everyone involved but it’s Jake that steals the show and sells the film with his unbelievable conviction. Some of those small monologues that start out seemingly normal and quickly turn very manipulative make for some wonderful scenes. The look he gives himself in the mirror is just disturbing and that kind of intensity through the eyes is there for the entire 120 minute running time. Jake is quickly becoming one of the best in the business with the dedication he throws into his work and the research that goes into it. Some people have commented on what the film has to say about the news and the media and how they spin story’s to raise ratings etc. I’m not particularly interested in that side of it, the media does what it does and I have no control over that, I’m just there to be entertained.

THE BAD

 I can’t really fault the films intentions to depict Lou as this desperate man who will stop at nothing to make something of himself but it would have been nice to see where that drive actually came from. There is no background story, not even some loose information about the life he’s led or how he arrived at this point. You would think someone with a good work ethic and so eager to succeed would have been able to find a job long before he lucks into the business of nightcrawling. Jake has wonderful diction for narration so maybe a monologue or two discussing his thought process may have helped us get into his head a little more rather than just be an innocent bystander. There are a few scenes that just lagged a little and a missed opportunity to explain how one video he captures manages to turn him into some sort of prodigy overnight. He goes from driving a cheap little run around car and filming with your basic home video recorder to shooting with new and expensive equipment and driving to crime scenes in a Dodge Challenger (which did look epic). I wouldn’t have thought one video could make you that much money, a few neatly edited scenes could have touched on that in a better fashion, How long did it take him to get that reputation as the go to guy?.

The only other thing I will touch on is the character of Rick (played by Riz Ahmed), the performance itself was decent enough but he just didn’t seem to project much. Obviously he and Lou were never really friends it was very much a you help me and I’ll help you type of deal. Rick having been living an uneventful life obviously saw Lou’s job offer as an opportunity to make something of himself but he didn’t seem at all bothered by Lou’s reckless nature and frenzied persona, at least not enough to do something about it, or to even try. It was just a character I had little to no interest in and it took away from the enjoyment of those scenes involving the two.

Nightcrawler is a very well made film and in a year that didn’t bring us many truly great films, this one has to rank up there as one of the best. It lost my attention a couple of times throughout but for the most part it manages to entertain and keep you glued on watching Lou’s rise to the top unfold, (very much like the news keeps us glued). The moody score, camera work and intensity of Jake’s performance alone are reasons enough to see this film when you get the chance. I look forward to Dan’s next feature film.

My rating for “Nightcrawler” is 7/10

ROADSIDE

Roadside is a Hitchcockian style suspense/thriller that was shot back in 2013 by Arkansas filmmaker Eric England (director of “Madison County” and “Contracted”). I have been following all his films and this one since that time and was pretty excited to see it. Roadside is about a couple Dan and Mindy Summers played by (Ace Marrero and Katie Stegeman) (Fun fact, both have worked with Eric on previous projects Madison County and Contracted respectively). Dan and Mindy are travelling to Dan’s sisters where his family is spending Christmas together, followed by a visit to Mindy’s side of the family. Both are a little on edge knowing Mindy doesn’t care much for Dans side of the family and to make matters worse the two are expecting a baby any day now, making things a little more hectic. Shortly into the journey they come across debris blocking the road. Upon closer look the couple quickly realise they are not alone, someone is in the woods with a rifle pointed at them. They will have to outwit their captor if they are to survive the night and make it home for Christmas.

It’s difficult when you wait such a long time to see something because you build it up in your mind and most of the time your expectations aren’t met and its unrealistic to think they will be I guess. When you have that long to sit on something and imagine it you can set yourself up for disappointment but Eric shows us again with Roadside why he is a filmmaker to keep a close eye on in the near future.

THE GOOD

The very intimate screenplay and small cast make for a great building block to Roadside. Most of Hitchcock’s work was centered around simple plots and minor locations and characters that almost play out like a theatre production and this entry into the suspense/thriller genre is no different. Comparisons can be made between the opening establishing shots in Roadside and the introduction to “North By Northwest”. Personally I always thought that was one of Hitchcock’s by the books and rather dull films but I suppose it has a certain atmosphere about it that holds it in good stead. I absolutely love the Panic Room/Home Alone inspired score by Igor Nemirovsky which is used throughout the majority of the film. In fact there are a few really cool nod’s to Home Alone through dialogue. In one scene Mindy tries to recall if she left certain belongings at home or if she remembered to turn off all the electrical appliances etc, channeling Catherine O’Hara and John Heard for sure. It’s not a great stretch to say that Ace’s voice even sounds like John Heard’s in this (haha), I have no idea whether anyone else has spotted that or informed Eric but well… they have now and I loved it.

The audio is nice and smooth and clear, the shot choices are also very effective. Camera’s are carefully placed on the sides of door’s and windows along with some very solid panning. The use of unnerving sound effects and subtle musical notes help add to the suspense of the situation this couple find themselves in. It can be difficult to keep the audience engaged in something that is set primarily in one location with really only two characters, occasionally a third pops up but Roadside manages itself pretty well given the low-budget. From an acting standpoint I’m not sure Ace necessarily has what it takes to  play that leading man. Granted, I have only seen him in Madison County (which he was still solid in), who knows what the future holds for him but hopefully good things. Katie is commendable, playing the all to familiar pregnant and moody emotional wife. She had a cool little part in Eric’s last film Contracted and I’m sure it won’t be the last time those two work together. There are a few less important characters early in the film that also do their bit.

THE BAD

 It will probably surprise readers to hear me say that at just 82 minutes, including 12 minutes worth of really cool stylised credits, Roadside is quiet a slow-burn. That’s just a heads up for those who like their films at a fast pace, this isn’t. The technical aspects were all very solid with the exception of some of the cuts and edits feeling a little abrupt, one or two dialogue driven scenes that don’t really seem to escalate things and probably could have been cut. The most common cliché here is the familiar tropes in character background that go along with these types of films. Are the couple having marital problems?? Has infidelity driven them apart?? etc etc. I suppose you have to write some kind of base for your characters to ground them, it’s probably just because this isn’t the first suspense/thriller of this nature that it becomes that little bit more obvious and easy to fall into those specific trappings.

Our couple doesn’t always make the correct decisions which is somewhat realistic but a gunmen appearing to have no real motive would probably have a different mindset to what this one does. For example, Would he really let Dan and Mindy converse with each other that much? Sure, he keeps an eye on them but why take the chance that they could be planning an escape or trying to flag a warning. Make sure they know the rules right from word go. I thought the setup for the hidden gunman should have been written a lot better too. I don’t know if he has your regular action rifle or if it’s a sniper rifle?? But I would have liked to have seen a few more shots from the gunman’s POV, seldom do we see it and when we do it appears as though he is a reasonable distance up the treeline yet he can seem to converse with Dan without really having to yell and that didn’t seem all that realistic to me. The gunman could have left a two-way radio or something on the side of the road, hidden and then called for help, a distress call or something and sucked Dan in, he would have picked it up and then found out he was in a bad situation. But hey, that’s just me I didn’t write the thing (haha)

I would describe Roadside as a cross between “Phonebooth” and “The Hitcher”, two films that I rate up there with some of the best in the genre. Eric has created a film with a good atmosphere, minimal characters and locations and a few cool practical effects. Much like Contracted the film ends rather abruptly but unlike most of the haters, I think that’s a refreshing take. Due to some dialogue that lacks urgency or even any real importance to the overall plot combined with suspense that stumbles in the last 20 minutes prevents Roadside from really reaching its full potential. There was that height I hoped it would reach and it didn’t quite get there. None the less, Roadside is 82 minutes of pure entertainment and well worth your time. Keep an eye out for its official release date coming soon! Please support Eric and his other films cheers!

My rating for “Roadside” is 6.5/10

The following is a video review for the 2008 indie film “The Hide”

I SURVIVED A ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST

For starters, I would just like to quickly thank Zoe Hobson the producer of “I Survived A Zombie Holocaust”, for allowing me to watch and review the film while it’s still on the film festival circuit. The last film I watched with Holocaust in the title started with the word Cannibal and it was not a fun experience (eeek), thankfully Guy Pigden’s debut feature film “I Survived A Zombie Holocaust” was. Guy is a filmmaker from New Zealand, a place that has given us talented filmmakers like Peter Jackson and comedic talent like Flight Of The Conchords. I Survived A Zombie Holocaust continues the horror/comedy blend now know as horrody. Wesley Pennington (Harley Neville), is a young inexperienced student fresh out of film school who is given the opportunity to be a runner (fancy word for lackey haha) on a low-budget zombie film. He secretly has hopes of pursuing a career in writing and making movies himself but with an obnoxious director and self-absorbed actors making his life hell his determination to succeed is put to the test when real zombies take over the film set and a group of misfits led by Wesley himself must try to survive!

The film also stars Jocelyn Christian, Ben Baker, Mike Edward, Andrew Laing and the stunningly beautiful Reanin Johannink.

THE GOOD

Given the low-budget of ISAZH, the production value is the first thing I want to mention. All the technical aspects of the film are as good as anything I’ve seen in the genre. The camera work is really professional and the cuts and edits are clever and snappy they help add to the comedic nature of the events depicted in the film. The audio is smooth and ultra-clear, the kiwi accent is one of those ones that grates on me so I like to make fun of it (haha). This seemed to have a lot of over enunciating on purpose almost like a bit of a nod to the low-budget splettttter films (see what I did there…), that Peter Jackson made back before he had money. I could definitely feel Guy channeling some of that and I thought it was cool, after all you can’t be a New Zealander and not have loved those early films like “Braindead” and “Bad Taste” and Guy applies that same kind of guerilla film making to this.

The cast has a lot of fun in their respective roles. Harley Neville has the job of carrying the misfit group throughout the attack and he is more than up to the task. He is one of those everyday kind of people that makes you feel like you could take his place. You can’t help but sympathise with the guy as he does everybody elses grunt work, says all the wrong things, ruins takes (haha shakes head). Some of the more comedic scenes suited him perfectly. He acts with a very natural blend of awkward situational comedy and a very dry sense of humour. I cringed and laughed at “It’s the hiiiiiinggge” which gets said several times throughout the film as he fails in the timing department again and again (haha). Reanin was a delight and looked absolutely stunning as Jessica Valentine, the lead actress in the movie within the movie. She plays the spoilt lead actress hoping for her big break with such great enthusiasm. The playful banter between her and the muscular military style co-star provided me with a few chuckles.

The comedy consists of mostly awkward scenes involving Wesley and other crew members, in particular the chef Susan Ford (Christian), whom he has a crush on. Poor Wesley just can’t seem to say or do the right thing around her. A few jokes started out funny but carried on an extra minute or two and lost their initial gag. It’s a predictable kind of humour for anyone who has watched a horror comedy before, but that’s all you can ask for with a film like this. The film poster and introduction to the movie are great. I thought something seemed a little off in the opening scenes but then of course I realised what was happening. It’s played out a little bit like a soapie and then when the actors break character you realise whats going on. There are some cool but cheesy blood splatter effects and decent prosthetics. The action scenes were lacking and to be honest I was kind of hoping for more. I realise this is a blend of two genres and not meant to be taken seriously but in that case why not make it sillier and more over the top?? I think being such a huge fan of those early NZ splatter films I find it difficult to view a film like this as its own thing.

THE BAD

The opening act starts pretty strong with good development in each of the characters personalities. Most of the comedy works best in those early scenes and once it becomes evident an experiment has gone horribly wrong we get to the zombie aspect of the film but in the middle the script suffers and stumbles in momentum with a lack of action important to the progress of the story. The zombie sound effects and attention to detail is also evidently lacking, now that could be due to the low-budget or Guy’s intentions may have been to keep it more comedic and not about the killing. The lack of detail is most noticeable in one of the main action sequences when the zombies in the film within the film are supposed to attack (naturally it turns into a real attack from real zombies haha). I took particular notice of the makeup effects on a lot of the extras and the crew didn’t seem to bother with giving them each their own style or look and that’s just either a time/budget thing or maybe a pure lapse in attention to detail, but in zombie film most people would expect a bit better.

I found Wesley’s daydreams about Susan pretty cliché/lame and unoriginal too. We have seen that type of thing done a million times. Bedazzled which is one of my all time favourite comedies used that in several scenes and it really worked but the awkwardness of Wesley and his interactions with Susan worked perfectly fine on its own without having to feel the need to spell the obvious stench of desperation out to the viewer, Wesley is just desperate enough!

I Survived A Zombie Holocaust was 100 minutes of pretty good fun and I think for the most part that was the main goal of the film. I think given the budget and experience of this cast and crew the film serves a purpose and has a place. Does it excel in either the horror or comedy department? Probably not, but that’s no reason to write it off remember it’s not an easy thing to pull off that perfect blend. Thankfully a technical success combined with the comedic timing of both Harley and Jocelyn and their ability to generate a chemistry that works for the most part makes this a good time! Keep an eye out for the film’s release next year.

My rating for “I Survived A Zombie Holocaust” is 6/10

CHARLIES FARM

I recently had the pleasure of going along to an advanced screening of the upcoming Aussie slasher film “Charlie’s Farm” from writer/director Chris Sun. It was great to get the chance to meet some of the cast as well as Chris, at the premiere and ask them a few questions. Most of you probably don’t know who Chris Sun is but after this film is officially released on December 4, you may be hearing a lot more about him. I purchased Chris’s previous film “Daddy’s Little Girl” which was about the brutal capture and eventual torture of a convicted paedophile and murderer. It was a tough and gritty watch but a very safe environment in which to vent as an audience member about the weak penalties associated with crimes of that nature occurring in this country. Chris runs his own effects company called Slaughterfx, so not only does he have an eye for writing and directing he does all his own practical effects work and it’s great! anyway enough about Chris and onto the film…

Charlie’s Farm is about a group of friends consisting of Natasha, the token yank (played by Tara Reid “American Pie”) and her boyfriend Jason (Dean Kirkright, a dead ringer for “Wolf Creek’s” Nathan Phillips) and their friends Mick aka “Donkey” (Sam Coward) and Melanie (the lovely Allira Jaques), Ex wrestler Nathan Jones plays the role of Charlie. Needing a weekend away from the city Jason and Mick hear about the legend of Charlie’s Farm, the old home that was said to have housed a violent couple and their son Charlie, who were killed by a mob many years ago. The boys decide to keep the girls in the dark about the true nature of the trip and despite the warning from locals they head off, but shortly after arriving they encounter 7ft Charlie who’s all grown up now and wants his revenge…

The film also boasts horror heavyweights and fan favourites, Bill Moseley (The Devils Rejects and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) and Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th Franchise). This is the biggest budget and cast Chris has had the chance to work with and in the end the result more than speaks for itself.

THE GOOD

Where do I start, the production value of the film is wonderful. The Cinematography looks great, very rich in colour and containing a surprising number of wonderful shots of the  landscape, including forests, lake’s, caves and many others. The set design has such an attention to detail in how old things look and their particular placement. Generally those things go unnoticed in these types of genre films. Chris’s work behind the camera has improved ten fold, I suppose that’s natural to a degree with the more experience one gains. This is his third film and he is now starting to stamp out those technical issues that he had with his first film “Come and Get Me”. The shot choices and camera work are meticulously crafted so that each single frame looks like it has its purpose and isn’t just there as filler or a segue between scene transitions. The audio is very smooth and crystal clear and the lighting is set in its own unique way in each of the scenes. I thought it was really great to see a slasher film that  takes place mostly during the day, it makes it easier to see the quality of the kills and the practical effects. The music choices and score were both good additions as well. Most of it is your typical slasher score but enhances the intensity as the action sequences start to build.

The character development is another one of the several standout aspects of the film. Most of the time this genre is all about the killing, don’t get me wrong it is the key ingredient within the genre but it’s nice to see a filmmaker actually write really cool characters as well. Dean does a great job in the role of Jason, he is kind of the nice guy but he’s easily influenced by the far less mature Donkey (pardon the pun haha) and that gets him in trouble. Sam gets most of the acolytes from me because his character was just such a loveable goof. Equal parts Bogan and chubby monkey that you just want to hug (haha), Dave is pure entertainment. It’s good to see a multi-layered character here. You would think after the opening five or ten minutes and the few gags early on in the film that this guy is just here for comedic relief, but that’s not the case at all as he becomes a very main character. Allira and Tara round out the cast nicely. Allira is lovely and down to earth and very much suited to playing Melanie who is just a really likeable and happy-go-lucky girl caught up in a nasty situation. Allira didn’t even seem like she was acting, there was such a natural chemistry between her and the trio. I think Tara turns in the weakest performance of the four, which is odd given her years of experience. I thought she nailed most of the emotionally intense scenes but during regular conversation and building the layers of the character it fell flat. Maybe I just didn’t like her or rate her because the character was a bit one-dimensional, it’s written in such a way that it makes it hard for you to root for her.

The film will be taken much more seriously when people see Bill and Kane’s names attached to it and that’s great for indie horror in Australia. Bill’s character John Wilson, who happens to be Charlie’s degenerate father supplies us with a good flashback and some great imagery, I think it adds to the development of the back story and the part was warranted and Bill fills the role very well as he nearly always does. I am a Kane Hodder fan but honestly I couldn’t really see the point of his role here, there was no real purpose other than to add to the body count, maybe it was just to have another genre actor with experience attached to the project. Lastly, the kills and practical effects must be mentioned. If you have seen any of Chris’s work or looked on the SlaughterFx website you know what to expect. Once again he delivers in all areas with this work, we are given stabbings, choking, dismemberment, face ripping etc etc. I don’t want to spoil the intricacies of each kill for those who plan to see it next week, so I will leave it there.

THE BAD

I can’t say there is anything obviously bad from a technical viewpoint or as far as entertainment goes with Charlie’s Farm. There were a few small things such as the mentioning of Kane Hodder and the continuity issues with the introduction of his character. It was never really established who he was or why he cared about the situation so much. We only see him two or three times throughout the entire film, the first is a very casual conversation via phone, the next is him and a woman talking, maybe his wife?? Your never quiet sure about that. Then he makes mention of driving out to the area to see if the group is there and then he isn’t sighted again until the final act rolls around and he happens to be snooping around in the Wilson family home?? It was all a bit displaced. I wasn’t sold on the fact that he even needed to be included in the film at all. I suppose the more important parts of the film are shown and his role just isn’t that crucial, but that’s also kind of my point, why bother??. A few times characters make those stupid moves that you would never make in order to progress the story, normally I’m not bothered but when it’s Tara making them (who is already annoying) it’s like uhhhh… kill me now (haha).

The other scene that was a little to convenient was the setup to take this trip in the beginning of the film. It’s not all that realistic to just sit around and decide all of a sudden your going to take a trip. Something about people having work or holidays etc, probably needed to be included in the dialogue so it puts the decision into perspective. I would have liked a proper introduction to these characters in a slightly different setting. Also, even though I said I admire the choice to shoot the majority of the film during the day it does put a damper on the amount of suspense you can generate. There are a few attempts at jump scares which mostly fall flat and even though Nathan does a great job of thumping around and manhandling his victims I never felt truly disturbed or frightened by him. Although the makeup done on his skin was pretty horrific and looked damn cool!

Charlie’s Farm is an Aussie gem, rarely do you see anything this good come out of our country that has the ability to stand up against some of America’s best low-budget slasher films (relatively speaking). It’s got a great production value and gorgeous locations, along with wonderful camera work and entertaining and enjoyable characters. To top it all off, it’s got the body count and the practical gore effects you hope these types of films will deliver on but rarely do. Chris has said many times how proud of the film he is and so he should be! My congratulations to everyone involved with the film it really was a blast and Chris’s best work to date, be sure to catch it in limited release from December 4th!

My rating for “Charlie’s Farm” is 7.5/10

THE SCAREHOUSE

Firstly, I just want to say thankyou to Gavin Michael Booth, director of the indie Horror/Thriller film “The Scarehouse” for allowing me to view and online screener of the film. The Scarehouse is currently circling local film festivals in the US and from what I hear it’s having it’s fair share of success. The Scarehouse is a story about two old friends Corey and Elaina who get together to open a haunted fun house on Halloween. What appears to start out as just a bit of fun amongst the girls and their sorority sisters/guests for the night, takes a deadly turn when their true intentions come out and everyone’s past begins to catch up with them. The film stars Sarah Booth, Kimberly- Sue Murray, Katherine Barrell, Jennifer Miller, Teagan Vincze, Emily Alatalo, Dani Barker and Ivana Stojanovic

This will hopefully be a quick and mostly spoiler free review. I hadn’t heard of Gavin  or this film before but stumbled across the Facebook page after doing a write-up for another Horror flick and I’m glad I did because I think Gavin is going to be one to look out for in the near future. I apologise that this review has taken so long but due to work circumstances I wasn’t able to do a write-up but I watched the film several weeks ago.

THE GOOD

Right off the bat there is an eye-catching introduction with the credits rolling over the opening scenes, accompanied by a really cool electro/pop song and some quick cut editing. The audio and camera work are both very impressive technical standouts. Some of the shot choices for various scenes really gave the look of this film a particular polished style. Choosing to shoot in a fun house is a little bit of nod to certain genre film’s from the 70’s and 80’s and it’s always a pretty safe bet to go with a location that people know goes hand in hand with the style of film you want to make. The editing is all very fast and snappy, no shots linger nor do they feel like they are cut so short they have no relevance to the story.

I watch a lot of independent films but this was cast of entirely fresh faces and mostly consisting of all women. Intentionally or not that was kind of the original spin put on the film by Gavin and Sarah who I believe co-wrote it. You don’t see to many horror films these days that have nearly an all female cast, I liked that. Everyone does there bit for the most part and nobody steals the show from anybody else. It’s all pretty solid and about what you would expect from a film of this budget. A few inconsistent moments in some of the more emotional scenes bring the quality down marginally but not enough to squash the enjoyment.

The six core girls have such different personalities and different characteristics making the likability factor an issue. Although the girls are all beautiful and stunning in their own way, on the inside they are definitely not. It works both for and against the film, those hoping to see them get their just deserts should be pretty satisfied but those wishing to get behind a strong likeable female protagonist might struggle to find one here. The last thing I want to touch on is the cool practical blood and gore effects. This isn’t an effects heavy type of Horror/Slasher, it tends to ground itself in the character development and back story so don’t expect major bloodshed, but what we do get is pretty damn good.

THE BAD

Even though I enjoyed the way the film got the ball rolling immediately I didn’t like that there was no real introduction to our main characters. In hindsight I know that’s probably because Gavin doesn’t want to give away the details of his entire film in the first 10 minutes. However, I think a scene of a simple conversation between Corey and Elaina about what they might plan would have been a simple inclusion and not given anything away about their motives, rather than just open up with them setting up dummies etc etc. I would have adjusted some of the sequencing so as to not lose people in the timeline of when and what has taken place. Trading between some of the camera/found footage stuff doesn’t really accomplish much, given that majority of what was recorded is girls being girly at a slumber party. Now I know a couple of the conversations and ultimately what happens there is relevent to the rest of the story but their may have been a better way to convey that.

I think most of the characters reactions are realistic enough but I thought that Elaina’s initial reaction when the situation starts, assuming she knew what was going to happen seemed unlikely. I suppose people can have a bit of shock or an unexpected reaction going from something starting out as a plan then turning to action but clearly she becomes quickly okay with things escalating and I’m not sure about that. The opportunities to build the suspense were limited and ultimately if that misses the mark and your action sequences are also lacking it can end up a bit of a letdown. The dialogue between Elaina and Corey gives us some good insight into their mindset and the interactions they have are pretty good. But for every piece of dialogue helping the story you have countless C-bombs hurting it. I’m all for some profanity, most of my favourite films have a lot of it but it tends to be in context with the narrative, this wasn’t. Most of the bitchiness and crude stuff felt pretty forced and probably should have been cut. The actions of these characters said enough about them without them actually opening their mouths and saying it.

The Scarehouse is a pretty good film, I was thoroughly entertained for the 90 minute running time and I think Gavin has a great eye. It’s technically well made, pretty well written and contains a young and attractive cast who give mostly commendable performances. If a few sequencing and continuity issues were polished up to make things a little clearer this would be one of the best all female horror flicks made. I ended up with a vibe similar to Nine Dead meets Urban Legend. When this one becomes available on Dvd pick yourself up a copy, you won’t regret it! Good work!

My rating for “The Scarehouse” is 6.5/10

JOHN WICK

David Leitch and Chad Stahelski have both been involved in the movie business in one way or another for several years now but this is their first time behind the camera with the action packed thriller “John Wick”. The film stars Keanu Reeves as John Wick, an ex-hitman who comes out of retirement to track down Russian gangsters that have taken that last thing he had left. Boasting an awesome cast that includes Michael Nyqvist (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo), Alfie Allen (Game Of Thrones), Willem Dafoe (American Psycho), Ian McShane and John Leguizamo, John Wick hits all the right notes. I have to say that this is a film riddled with every cliché in the book and although the premise is similar to countless other films it doesn’t make it any less entertaining. So now you know what you are in for read on if you want. Some would say this is just senseless violence like “The Expendables” or any number of bad Steven Seagal movies but the difference with this is the style in which it’s shot and of course the return of Keanu!

THE GOOD

Given the nature of John Wick’s revenge plot you can be sure that the action is plentiful and packs it’s fair share of punch. The stunt work was mostly done by Reeves and it looks great. I can draw comparisons between this and The Kill Bill films with The combination of careful editing and brutal hand to hand combat making for some of the best pure action sequences I have seen for a long time. There are 3 big fight sequences, one in each act of the movie. We are introduced to John in the very beginning and we know very little about him other than a recent tragedy occurred to him and he appears to have no shortage of money judging by the house he lives in. It doesn’t take long and John’s former life catches up with him in the form of his ex-bosses son, putting him in a position he knows all too well. The music choices and editing are worth mentioning because they really helped enhance the entertainment value of the fight sequences.

I’m not a huge car person but the 69 Mustang John cruises around in was awesome and along with changing cars throughout the film, we get a few cool chase sequences involving the Mustang. The performances were pretty good across the board. For me, this is Keanu’s best acting job since “Hardball”. I still found during some of the angrier scenes he didn’t quite hit the mark but for the most part he is very good particularly in those early emotional scenes. Alfie Allen, whom we all know from Tv’s “Game Of Thrones” isn’t to far removed from his character Theon playing Iosef, the son of the boss of this group of gangsters. He is wild and crazy and you would expect nothing less from him if you have seen GOT. Nyqvist is wonderful as well, playing Viggo the boss. He is cold and calculated but also has a very odd sense of humour which provided me with a chuckle here and there. Rounding out the cast is Willem Dafoe. I’m a huge fan of his so it was great to see him play a character that you really can’t read until towards the end of the film. I will just quickly touch on Daisy the dog as well because that thing was cute as (haha).

THE BAD

It’s more the lack of originality and predictability of the script in the way in which it unfolds that weighs down John Wick. There isn’t anything here that we haven’t seen before but I think everyone involved with the film knows that. I think they were trying to write a script that would work as a fun and purely entertaining action flick. Most of the errors are things we see all the time in these films. Such as, John managing to wear a bullet-proof vest but being the only one who does, So nobody else thinks of that?? (haha, it’s not that hard and a bit of a stretch). They could have at least put a few of the bodyguards in vests to cover their bases. I enjoyed the changing and gearing up scenes but don’t hint at grenades being used and then never use them, that just disappoints the audience. There was one or two explosions but I don’t think they were from grenades. John uses cars as cover from heavy machine gun fire and it works pretty well, yet when he catches a guy on the roof of his car he can shoot through it with a handgun and hit the guy no problems.. you guys get where I’m going with this don’t you?? It’s just a lot of small things like that.

Technically the films only weaknesses are with some of the stylised lighting, which gets to be a little too much on the eyes after a while and most importantly some of the camera focus and zooming. The camera work and focus got a lot better as the film went along but some of the early scenes in John’s house were grainy and way out of focus. Think of what a pixellated image looks like on a computer and that’s what several of the shots looked like, it was poor. I appreciate the shots of something important starting out of focus in the background and then coming into focus in the foreground, that’s fine but not camera work that is just obviously out of focus. Given the massive budget I think that could have been smoothed out pretty easily.

Overall John Wick was an absolute blast. It was nice to see Keanu return to the fold with a fast, stylised smash-hit action film. This doesn’t redefine the genre in any way, shape or form but it serves its main purpose which is to entertain and it does it well. This puts films like Taken and it’s counterparts to shame, its one of the best action flicks I’ve seen since the underrated “Baytown Outlaws”, which happened to star Eva Longoria, who was a producer on this film (little fact for you). Check it out while it’s in theatres guys!

My rating for “John Wick” is 7.5/10

BILLY CLUB

Firstly I just want to say thanks to both Drew Rosas and Nick Sommer, co-writers and directors of the 80’s inspired slasher film “Billy Club”, for allowing me early access to the film before its official release date of November 4th. Billy Club is a film about four old friends that reunite after 15 years to remember two of their fellow little league friends and coach who were murdered by another teammate Billy Haskins back in 1981. Bobby, Alison, Kyle and Danny head out to a cabin for some time to reflect on events of the past. What they don’t know is that someone in an antique umpires mask has come to settle an old score. The film stars Marshall Caswell, Erin Hammond, Nick Sommer (writer/director) and Max Williamson.

Batter up! I have been following this film for over a year and keeping updated on news through imdb about the eventual release. I love the various artwork and posters for this film along with the cool concept of someone in baseball umpire equipment going on a killing spree. I think with such a long wait to build this film up in my mind and given the genre and budget it was never going to actually reach the heights I was expecting.

THE GOOD

I have already spoken about the premise of the film and the poster being really cool, I won’t speculate on the budget of the film because it’s not listed anywhere. It’s an independently made film so you can imagine there wasn’t a great deal of money behind it. The sound effects and audio were impressive right off the bat (pardon the pun haha) and there is some very impressive quick cutting and editing throughout most of the film, particularly the opening scenes. It’s not anything spectacular but just gives things a fresh feel. Edits involving the killer putting together his weapons, filing cabinet draws opening, people taking out news clippings etc etc. The acting for the most part is about what you would expect from a slasher flick, none of it is amazing but it’s all above average and believable enough within the confines of the story.

I liked the more comedic scenes involving Kyle and his sexuality (haha), they were awkward but gave me a few chuckles. I didn’t really care about the ten minutes that was wasted on mushroom tripping when there could have been killing and it kind of took me out of the film for a while. Let’s talk about the kills, a couple of them came very early on which was nice but they lacked originality and didn’t contain enough blood or gore. I was immediately thinking this isn’t going to be what I’m hoping for but fortunately the last couple of kills were both impressive. I won’t spoil them for you because although they occur late in the movie and are probably a little predictable, they are pulled off to perfection, I only wish that all the kills were of the same calibre.

THE BAD

The film circles back around in the final act but I found a lot of scenes had pacing issues. The camera work is pretty smooth and nicely cut together but in a lot of the internal shots the camera framed the actors faces way too close and it definitely loses something when you do that. I don’t think the film generated much suspense either but since it was kind of a homage to the 80’s films I can forgive that (because none of the 80’s films did). The lighting during a lot of the night scenes wasn’t perfect either. I liked the style in which the flashback scenes were shot but I didn’t like the look of the colors. I can’t remember the actual term for lightning or darkening a shot but it needed a few adjustments. The last thing involving the technical stuff would have to be the music choices. I found most of the background music was just a hinderance, no overly catchy songs or matched appropriately to the tone of the scene.

I thought the aspects of the story were quiet good but the structuring was all wrong. I had a hard time following the timeline of events. For example Billy hunts down a women on Halloween night (whom I think was from the little league team years before) and it’s shot in the same flashback style as the 80’s stuff but she was an adult, so if it was only a few days or something before the events of the film then why bother?? Or was it supposed to have happened years before, but why would she be older? And if so why wait so long to kill the other team members? I don’t really know about any of it, it was all kind of muddled. The emotional scenes involving the accident that’s plaguing the four characters seemed a bit melodramatic. The opening campfire scene springs to mind, with those speeches about paying respects to those who died and what these team members meant to them, I mean it’s little league right?? I don’t remember kids I played hockey with at aged 12…. There are several scenes that just didn’t work. The pizza guy crashing his car in such a lack-lustre way and then being killed in an equally as unimpressive way, I don’t know maybe I’m just hard to please but I think Nick and Drew could have gone all out with the deaths given that the practical effects I did see looked fantastic!

Billy Club is a slasher that does a pretty solid job of capturing that 80’s vibe. It has some of the best editing I have seen, some good laughs, cool practical effects (I just wish there were more), and a fun little twist in the final act. I don’t know if this warrants multiple viewings (unless your with friends), but if you know what you are in for you can have some fun with it. Support these types of low-budget films and guys like Drew and Nick, I’m pretty keen to see what they come up with next, Cheers guys!!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2051831/?ref_=nv_sr_1

My rating for “Billy Club” is 5.5/10

FURY

A couple of years back director David Ayer released arguably the most realistic and powerful cop film “End Of Watch” which starred Michael Pena (Crash) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko). Ayer also wrote the script for “Training Day” and “Harsh Times”, along with many more gritty crime/drama films. I thought End of Watch was one of the best films of 2012 so when I heard that David was behind “Fury”, a war film set in April of 1945, where a group of allies begin making their final push to victory I was pretty keen to check it out. Fury is a little different from the majority of war films released over the last decade or two in that it deals with a Sherman Tank unit instead of the normal infantry divisions. A hardened army Sargent named Don Collier, aka Wardaddy (played by Brad Pitt) commands a Sherman tank with four other crew members as they head out on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. To make matters worse they are out-numbered, out-gunned and recently had a member killed in action who has now been replaced by rookie Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman). The film also stars Shia LaBeouf, Michael Pena and Jon Bernthal.

I had read a few reviews before seeing Fury and a lot of the critics had very mixed opinions. Some said it was typical American rah-rah action war with no dept. Others labelled it a masterpiece that truly captured the horror of war. After having seen the film I have to agree with the latter.

THE GOOD

The number one thing that stands out about Fury is the fact that the film is told from the point of view of this tank crew. Discussions on events they have been through and battles they have had together and the horrors that they have seen provide us with some amazing emotional filled scenes, one in the house of couple of German women comes to mind. The authenticity of the time period is as good as any other war film I’ve seen since Saving Private Ryan. The action sequences hit home hard and the anguish of what these men are going through is written all over the crews faces for the entire 134 minute running time. Some of the reviews said this was contained too much battle and war and not enough character development which they deemed necessary for audiences to get behind the group and their battle for survival. I have to disagree with that statement, sure we don’t get flashbacks of their lives before the war or much discussion about relationships or family but did we really need too? Did it lose anything? I don’t think it did. We are brought along for the ride and experience exactly what these guys went through and you know once it was all over and done with they would never be the same again. There is some character development most of which is with Norman, being that he is the youngest and the least experienced in dealing with the situation. When you see where he’s at in his way of thinking/mentality at the start and where he is by the end, it’s a deeply saddening journey but remarkably displayed.

Other reviewers said the dialogue was hard to understand and that none of the crew were really likeable. Firstly, I say please get your hearing checked because ninety percent of it was fine. I’ll admit Grady Travis (played with lots of enthusiasm by Jon Bernthal), can be a little difficult at times but mostly due to the thick southern accent. As far as them being unlikable, war and the things you have to see and live through would be enough to make you pretty jaded and broken and beaten down too. The film isn’t about finding people you really love or knowing the ins and outs of each character in order to have sympathy for them or want them to survive. The fact that they are so close to death each day should be enough for you to want them to live.

The aspect that elevates this film to one of the best of the year, if not the best is the calibre of acting from everyone involved. Most people know that Brad Pitt is amongst some of the best in the business and has been for a while now. The surprise packet here is Logan Lerman who has the responsibility of the lead character. Sure, he does have a fair bit of experience with acting and I believe he started when he was really young, back in “The Patriot” with Mel Gibson. However, to reach some of the heights he does in Fury takes a lot of raw talent and getting in that mindset and he just does it with ease. When you look at the other 3 actors it’s just all class as well. I have been a huge Michael Pena fan for a long time and the guy is one of the best character actors going around. He plays Gordo who is a little bit less serious than the rest of the group. LaBeouf has gotten himself in trouble a bit lately and I know a lot of people don’t like him. However, since the Transformer films he has gone from only an average actor to really impressive, particularly in “Lawless” and now in Fury playing Boyd aka Bible. He doesn’t have a huge amount of dialogue but he spends most of the movie being on the verge of tears and the look on his face is just unbelievable. Rounding out the group is the loudest and most obnoxious Grady aka Coon Ass. For most of the film he is just being a bastard towards everyone but there are one or two scenes where he shows his true self. Maybe if he was living another life and wasn’t thrust into the situation he is in things would be different.

THE BAD

What can I say was bad about Fury? Very little. Obviously you know it’s going to be a very raw and unrelenting war film that doesn’t let up and probably won’t leave you with that warm and fuzzy feeling as you walk out of the theatre. The only two very minor issues were just details in the final battle. If they hadn’t taken a bit of poetic licence the Germans would have only sent a handful of men further up the road to scout and once it was established the allies were there they would make a plan. Marching everyone up into the open with a tank that may or may not still have soldiers inside isn’t something they would have done. The second thing is when one of the characters is attempting to hide from the enemy he really doesn’t make much of an effort. He is covered by a tank but there is plenty of mud around to cover himself up with or tunnel under and instead he sort of just pretends to lay there. The writers could have taken a page or two from “Enemy At The Gates” and what they did in a similar scene.

Those are honestly the only two super minor things I can say were questionable about Fury. The acting is a pure master-class, the time period is captured perfectly, the action sequences are heavy and the dark humour mixed in gives you a break from what would otherwise be a pretty damn depressing and bleak film. It’s not just battle after battle for two hours which could have worn out its welcome in under two hours. This is every bit as good as Saving Private Ryan and the 15 year or so wait I’ve had for a war film to be anywhere near as good as that is finally over. In my opinion Fury will probably go down as the best film of the year, Well done!

My rating for “Fury” is 9/10

DORCHESTER’S REVENGE

Firstly I would just like to say thankyou to Tommy Faircloth, writer and director of the 2014 slasher film “Dorchester’s Revenge: The Return Of Crinoline Head”, for allowing me to view a screener before the film’s official release. I keep trying my luck with these low-budget indie filmmakers by showing interest in their films and for the most part the feedback is fantastic, so thanks to all of you guys for allowing me access to your films! Like me, most of you have probably never heard of Tommy’s first film “Crinoline Head” which was made way back in 1995. 19 years later Dorchester’s Revenge is the follow-up film to the events that took place in the previous one. A group of college students are given a school project that involves investigating and reporting local legends. Best friends David and James (played by Christian James and Gunner Willis respectively), choose to do their project on Dorchester Stewart known to most as the serial killer “Crinoline Head”. David and James along with their classmates Shelby and Donna (the lovely Kirsten Ray and cute Leah Wiseman) decide to head out to the location where the murders took place but they find that Crinoline Head might just still be alive!

The film also stars Debbie Rochon, Jason Vail, John Kap and the Julia Voth (Bitchslap) look-alike the beautiful Elizabeth Mears. I knew next to nothing about this film going into it and only discovered it through reading a review online. These films tend to be the type of low-budget independent slashers that I like to support, are they the most original? No, but that doesn’t stop me getting into it. Tommy seems to have had a fair bit of experience and given that the original film is nearly 20 years old, he would have a learnt a lot about filmmaking in that time and let me tell you it does show.

THE GOOD

Well there is plenty to like about Dorchester’s Revenge and one of the standouts is that it’s written in such a way that it’s not crucial to have seen the original film in order to understand whats going on here. The introduction to the film opens with events from Dorchester’s childhood in 1980. Shortly after that you are given a recap of events from the original film, so you need not worry about getting lost. The heavily wooded and beautiful landscape makes for a great location to shoot this slasher flick. I don’t know what the estimated budget for the film was but at a guess I would say $20,000-$50,000 (don’t quote me on that though). Anyhow, whatever the budget was no one can deny that Tommy is a talent behind the lens. Some of the sweeping and raised (crane??) camera work along with the unique points of view he shoots at make for some of the best camera work I’ve seen in a while. The score works pretty well, especially in the opening scenes and the audio is pretty clear for the most part. It’s inconsistent at times but mostly when characters are in the background and the boom mic’s havent been positioned correctly. Either that or the crew is using the original audio from the camera.

The acting from majority of the cast is pretty solid too. It was campy where it needed to be and serious when required. The standout’s were probably Gunner Willis, playing James just a loveable goof and Kirsten Ray as Shelby, the cute and reserved female lead. I have a soft spot for Janet (played by Mears), even though Janet is a total bitch she has a few good comedic moments and looks great! The weakest of the bunch was actually Debbie Rochon and given she has the most amount of experience that was a surprise. I didn’t care much for the character and her constant sexual innuendo was only funny for the first couple of minutes and then it got old pretty fast. The film moves along quickly and there is enough comedy included with scenes like the hardcore dance in the car and Janet’s constant Lol’s, Totes and Serials (haha), to keep you occupied. The addition of some catty drag queens heading to a bar was a pleasant addition as well (haha).

THE BAD

I’ve already spoken about Debbie, the inconsistent audio and the fact that the entire story isn’t all that original. However, most of those aspects can be forgiven because of the budget and experience levels etc. I feel that there were a few missed scenes though and had they been incorporated it might have cleared up a few things. Most of them are simple things like the introduction at the college, there are two scenes shot outside in the campus courtyard both of which should have incorporated extras (maybe 50) to make it actually look like a college not a movie set. During one of the action sequences they cued the forced and lame tripping over something scene (but tripping over what?? we don’t know, because we don’t get to see). The second group of teens arrive looking to steal David and James project idea and I thought wait, where the hell did they come from and how did they know how to get there??. Clearly we are led to believe they followed the car so why not show that lead up scene of them tailing the main group? It adds two things to the mix, more suspense and the fact that you could use it as a chance to kill off another secondary character.

The entire film fails to generate any real suspense but I don’t think Tommy was really going for that vibe anyways but maybe he should have, which brings me to the blood. Tommy Tommy Tommy, if there is one thing Dorchester’s Revenge drastically needed it was a higher body count (shown on-screen I mean, not cut away) and plenty more of the red stuff. I was just waiting in anticipation for this to blow my mind with some really awesome and bloody kills and it just never did. The first kill doesn’t occur until 30 minutes into the film and left me feeling flat. Other than one really cool standout kill it’s just all a little too convenient. Now I apologise if this was a shoestring budget and the money for good blood and gore wasn’t there but judging by the ease in which Tommy makes the technical aspects look fantastic, I’d find that hard to believe. I mean you can’t have a character getting shot multiple times with no blood spray (cardinal no-no). C’mon?? Arghhhhh.

Dorchester’s Revenge was a fun film with some really cool and likeable characters, solid acting, beautiful girls and some fun gags. The blood and gore we all hope for just didn’t hit the mark and sadly it’s the one and only reason I can see that holds this film back from being one of the best of the year (on the indie circuit). I will still be purchasing the film because it’s something you can still enjoy and maybe watch with someone who hasn’t been exposed to as many slasher films as I have over the years (haha). Unfortunately I’m left a little disappointed because this thing could have been crazy-good!, anyways big effort from Tommy and all those involved well done. Be sure to visit the imdb page below and keep your eyes open for news!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3448124/?ref_=nm_knf_t3

My rating for “Dorchester’s Revenge: The Return Of Crinoline Head” is 6/10

SEE NO EVIL 2

Jen and Sylvia Soska are twin sisters and Canadian filmmakers who came onto the scene back in 2009 with a cool micro-budget grindhouse flick called “Dead Hooker In A Trunk”. After success with the film on the festival circuit three years later the girls managed to acquire enough funds and a distribution deal to shoot “American Mary” a very unique film about body modification. The film starred their close friend Katharine Isabelle. This year the girls are behind “See No Evil 2” starring Kane (WWE wrestling) or Glenn Jacobs for those people who know him. See No Evil 2 picks up pretty much where the first film left off. Jacob Goodnight and his multiple victims bodies are being transported to the local morgue. Amy (played by scream queen Danielle Harris) works at the morgue but is supposed to be having the night off to celebrate her birthday with friends. Instead she decides to hang around and help out her friend Seth (Kaj-Erik Eriksen) with the corpses. A group of Amy’s friends end up surprising her at work with an impromptu party while Jacob lay lifeless on the table… or does he??

The film also stars the lovely Katharine Isabelle (American Mary) as Tamara, Greyston Holt (Tv’s “Bitten”) as Will, Michael Eklund (The Call) and the gorgeous Chelan Simmons (Tucker and Dale Vs Evil). Firstly just let me say that this wasn’t written by The Soska Sisters they were just chosen to direct the film. WWE studios don’t have the best reputation for releasing quality films but I did enjoy “No One Lives” released last year so they can’t be all bad. I wasn’t a huge fan of the original See No Evil and I was hoping to get something more out of this follow-up, But did I??

THE GOOD

I already mentioned the Soska sisters small body of work in of itself is impressive given such the short period of time they have been involved in the business for. I was pretty keen when I saw that they were going to be directing this film. coupled with the fact that I’ve been a fan of most of this cast for a while now. I thought the introduction and opening credits were really cool especially mixed with the industrial sounding score in the beginning. The camera work is well executed considering the movie is shot entirely in one location. It can be difficult to hold the viewers interest when you spend most of the running time looking down corridors and around corners but the sweeping camera work down the passages work well. The morgue itself is a great location for the film it had that Halloween 2 (Rob Zombie’s), vibe about it. The cast has pretty natural chemistry and most of the performances hold up. The editing is nice and smooth and keeps things moving along. The most suspenseful scene of the film was the opening action sequence which doesn’t occur until about a third of the way in, the rest of the film fails to generate any real tension. The one scene involves the power going out and one quirky Katharine Isabelle with a box of matches to get your heart racing a little bit.

THE BAD

If there is one I thing I’ve learnt (that I kind of already knew) from watching See No Evil 2 it’s that studio backing and a decent budget don’t always end in success. I found the audio throughout most of the film was to quiet but  that wasn’t so bad because most of the banter and chit-chat dialogue was pretty hoaky and didn’t give much in the way of character development anyway. The concept itself isn’t overly original and when you know that you look for other aspects that might elevate the film from countless others within the genre. The acting at times is a mixed bag. Even though the character of Tamara was by far the most interesting, Katharine may have played it a little too out there (could have been written that way though). Most of the other characters have little to nothing going for them. Danielle is lovely and Amy has somewhat of a character ark and It was nice to see Eklund in the mix but other than attaching some names with a few credits to the project, I couldn’t see the point.

There are many issues (some of which can be forgiven) with the actual story and how things unfold. We are led to believe that Jacob is dead but all of a sudden when he rises there is a convenient and clunky explanation as to how he could have faked his own death…. hmm (not sure how that happened??). Most of these issues come down to the writing and not the directing. Someone forgot to write a security officer or someone of that nature into the script. Government buildings these days have security don’t they? It could have been two-fold with that inclusion because one, it gives a realistic approach to the scenario and two it’s an extra body for the count. The biggest issue of all with See No Evil 2 is the complete lack of blood and gore. With the exception of one decent action sequence/kill the entire 90 minutes lacks imagination and the level of brutality most slasher fans have come to expect just isn’t there. I don’t find Glenn Jacobs (despite his height and build) to be all that menacing and I don’t think the character is interesting enough to really root for the demise of the group and that’s problematic in this genre.

In my opinion See No Evil 2 was a swing and a miss and I should have known that going in because If you don’t enjoy the first film, it’s rare you like the second. However, I was hoping with the Soska sisters at the helm that this was going to deliver something gory and fun. I will continue to support the girls as filmmakers because whether you like their films or not you have to admire the way they go about it. Dead Hooker In A Trunk was made for under $3,000 and in less than 4 or 5 years they went from that into making American Mary and See No Evil 2 with a hundred times the budget. This pair worked as hard, if not harder than anyone else in the genre to get where they are and everyone who has ever done the same can and should respect that and the attempt.

My rating for “See No Evil 2” is 4.5/10

AMERICAN BURGER

Well, it’s been a long time coming for the release of the Swedish made Horror/Comedy film “American Burger”, co-directed by Johan Bromander and Bonita Drake. I have been following the film for almost a year and this week it was released to VOD worldwide and the online screener can also be purchased from the film’s website. American Burger tells the story of a group of young American high school kids on a bus trip sightseeing in Europe. On board you have the jocks, the cheerleaders and of course the nerds along with the caretaker teacher. After stopping at a burger stand in the middle of nowhere the class decide to do a tour of the “American Burger” factory. They meet the demented butcher (played by Fredrik Hiller) and discover that they are soon to become part of the fresh new batch of burgers. Nerds get paired with Jocks, Teachers stumble upon strangers in cabins and the Preppy guy and his fat friend aim to survive and score with the ladies and have the best summer ever!

The film stars Lena Bengtson, Madeleine Borg, Benjamin Brook, Liam Macdonald and Aggy Kukawka along with many more. It’s problematic when you go into a film with pre-conceived notions of what you’re going to get because often you are left with that disappointed feeling one has after watching a film involving Jesse Eisenberg. Sadly American Burger left me with a bad aftertaste.

THE GOOD

I was originally drawn into the idea of this film because of its fun, albeit unoriginal story of a madman feeding unsuspecting tourists burgers made out of American flesh (think Motel Hell and any countless other films). Combine the story with the cool artwork and the fun trailer and you are on your way to a successful end result. But the film opens with a rather dull introduction where a crazy chef is shooting some kind of ad for his American Burger franchise. Even though this film is a Horror/Comedy I found the scene very unnecessary. I think the audience can assume at some point the demented chef will appear and instead it should have opened with a gory kill sequence to get the ball rolling. However, the intro credits are really awesome they combine a unique and diverse score with some well illustrated drawings of some of the characters and scenes from the movie. The technical aspects like the camera work and audio are equally as impressive but with the estimated budget of a couple of million dollars I would expect nothing less.

The location choice and cinematography holds up against some of the best films this year in any genre. The heavily wooded areas are a luscious green and make for some wonderful backdrops. The music and score as I mentioned earlier were fantastic. It cuts between a score that is very American and patriotic and the next it’s like an Action/Thriller chase film. I enjoyed the fact that the characters don’t really have names that was a nice touch. The entire film is a cliché (on purpose), so why not keep with the stereotypes when it works. The action sequences and the blood were good but both were few and far between. Not much thought went into the blood it would mostly just shoot out when victims were being attacked which is okay but not great.

THE BAD

It could have just been my high hopes for this film but I don’t think the necessary ingredients were there to make a great Horror film nor a great Comedy. The campy over the top and or underplayed acting (depending on how you see it), works some of the time but when your trying to create a scene of suspense you have to be a little more serious. Most of the cast don’t have a lot of experience so I can forgive that but what I can’t forgive is the terrible accents of those who are supposed to be American kids! I don’t understand why the crew didn’t cast actual Americans…. Seriously there are English people in this and Liam Macdonald was born in my hometown of Adelaide, South Australia and the worst thing of all is that 80 percent of the cast is European and they are playing Americans but don’t even sound remotely American! I mean what the hell??!!

If you can look past the issues galore with the nationalities and accents of this entire cast you won’t be able to look past the clunky dialogue and the lack of any standout aspect. From a gore point of view there aren’t any impressive kills and nothing in the film’s short running time even resembles anything close to a prosthetic effect. It’s not like this crew didn’t have the budget to set up a few “Tucker and Dale vs Evil” style gags, they just didn’t care and didn’t bother. There are no weapons other than a few knives and machetes and the fighting choreography is pretty amateurish. From a comedy point of view it’s mostly guy talk about European fetishes and getting laid while on vacation. It’s the type of humour that won’t appeal to anyone over the age of 15 and can be likened to the emotional maturity of those that enjoyed this year’s “Bad Neighbours” (some were older than 15 roles eyes…)

American Burger doesn’t excel in the Horror department and it’s not anywhere witty or clever enough to being a successful Comedy which leaves it nowhere. I really built this one up and it’s probably my own fault for doing that but damn. Don’t worry folks It’s not all bad, it has a fast running time of just 72 minutes so I think it’s worth a look if you have nothing to watch. It’s got some decent blood and a few scenes worthy of a chuckle but sadly not even the sexy Madeleine Borg showing her bare booty due to lack of underwear can make this worthy of a second viewing… well I dunno… haha.. maybe.

My rating for “American Burger” is 4.5/10

BERKSHIRE COUNTY

First off, I just want to say thank you to Chris Gamble the writer and Audrey Cummings the director for allowing me an early access viewing to their low-budget home invasion film “Berkshire County”. You guys are the reason I get to review these really cool and impressive indie films that otherwise wouldn’t be seen by people like me on the other side of the world. Berkshire County is a film about, bullied and insecure teen Kylie Winters (played by Alysa King), who reluctantly agrees to babysit two children on Halloween. The family lives in an isolated mansion in the hills and what starts out as just a normal night quickly turns into a nightmare. Shortly after Kylie puts the kids to bed she gets a knock at the door and it’s not trick or treaters. Put in an impossible situation she must stand up and fight back if she and the children are to survive the night. The film also stars Madison Ferguson, Cristophe Gallander, Samora Smallwood and Aaaron Chartrand.

Now most of you are probably thinking if you have seen one of these home invasion type slasher films you have seen them all right?? “The Strangers”, “You’re Next”, “Madison County” and so on and so on. In most cases I’d say that’s true but then again most people I know who watch these types of films know exactly what they are in for so don’t complain when it just ends up being more of the same stuff! I can say from a personal point of view I’m never going to get sick of armed intruders in masks holding people hostage and trying to get in their homes and if you’re not either Berkshire County might just be for you!

THE GOOD

Let’s talk about director Audrey Cummings, like me most of you have probably never heard of her but I guarantee that after this film you will because she has quiet an eye for the finer details. The little nuances that certain directors pull off in films like this help separate them from the mass of others directing these same types of films. Berkshire County opens with a glorious suspenseful score and what I can only imagine is some beautiful camera work shot from a crane of sorts?? Any who, whatever it is it looks fantastic. I really get a great vibe when a film starts off with something simple but effective. The crew for this film make great use of minimal locations and the mansion that most of the film takes place in looks amazing inside and out. It’s got hidden rooms, spiral staircases and old style architecture that gives the entire look of the film a different feel. The editing between scenes is very smooth and the music choices pretty diverse and most of the songs work well.

Now, these types of films normally don’t live up to the hype of their trailers. Home invasion movies are mostly only a success if the suspense builds and continues to build until the tension is at an all time high. I’m happy to say Berkshire County succeeds in that department. I think the film sells itself successfully by the level of suspense it manages to maintain throughout the running time. Most of it isn’t generated in the action or chase sequences like you would think, it’s in the chilling sound effects and creepy score as the masked intruders navigate through the house, Ohh boy I loved it! Many props go out to Chris Gamble for his ideas about the character of Kylie. The opening 20 minutes becomes a great setup for the rest of the film. Chris has written a flawed but realistic character who doesn’t have much self-confidence and that’s something we can all relate with on some level or another. When Kylie finally decides to face her fears and get up and fight back you end up getting a transition reminiscent of Sidney Prescott (Scream).

Majority of the acting is pretty impressive and the film relies heavily on young and inexperienced Alysa King but she just takes it all in her strides and plods along with a pretty damn convincing portrayal of Kylie. A few inconsistent moments probably hold her back from winning an indie performance of the year or such, but none the less I was impressed.

THE BAD

We cannot ignore the fact that the idea has to lose points on originality regarding the entire plot but mostly the masks aspect. Like I said, it doesn’t bother me all that much I really dig the masks, but yes even though they look great it’s been done before in countless movies and I’m sure it will be done again. I saw a poster floating around online showing the comparisons between one of the “You’re Next” posters and Berkshire County as well as “The Porkchop Series” or “Madison County”, but that doesn’t make this any less of a success. I thought the audio levels could have been a little bit higher in a few scenes and early on in the film the camera shakes a little bit but that’s quickly sorted out after the first 10 or so minutes.

A fantastic sketch of one of the scenes

The two weaker parts of the film were in some of the dumb decisions made by characters in order to progress the plot. At one stage Kylie has a weapon and is basically snuck up on by one of the intruders but she isn’t actually attacked and instead winds up dropping said weapon and running away(uh duh, hold onto it). I didn’t find the police to be overly believable and they took a long time to respond. As soon as you see signs of a struggle you tend to be a little bit more cautious moving forward, but this lot of dummies were definitely not. The action sequences are few and far between and occur mostly towards the end of the film but the couple that were shown looked pretty cool. I’m a harsher judge when it comes to blood and gore because I tend to like my horror’s with plenty of the red stuff but I understand that probably wasn’t the intention here.

A couple of cool simple twists couple with a technically well made film and some nicely executed performances make Berkshire County one of the best indie low-budget films that I have seen this year. I’m not sure what the budget was but at a guess I would say in between $100,000- $200,000, but don’t quote me on that. If you know what you are in for and you enjoy a good home invasion film you can’t go wrong with this one, it deserves the highest of accolades and trust me it’s “good until the last oink” 😉

My rating for “Berkshire County” is 7.5/10

DO NOT DISTURB

Do Not Disturb is the latest short film from P. Tavares and it stars Amber Higgins and Michael Carney. It runs 16 minutes long and is not to be confused with the full length feature from 2012 starring scream queen Tiffany Shepis. I had the privilege of stumbling across this film on the website Viewster and I believe it won second place in a short film competition. The story is about two strangers Meg and Tom who wake up to find their hands tied by endless ropes that are connected to bells. They are being stalked by something or someone and must try to find a way out of this maze before it’s too late.

THE GOOD

This short opens up with some really good mood lighting and it sets the tone for what is about to take place. The camera work and audio are both really professionally done and the editing remains pretty smooth throughout the entire running time. The loud use of sound effects and subtle score really helps raise the suspense and it’s done as well as anything I have seen in the genre. The strongest aspects of this are the little twist/spin in the way the action sequences play out with Meg and her Captors. It took me a while to work out what was so different about it but in hindsight it’s pretty obvious and most people will probably pick up on it. Amber seems like a really down to earth girl and it shows, she does a very good job of playing the frightened prisoner attempting to find her way out of this maze of rope and bells.

THE BAD

In just 16 minutes it’s hard to really fault anything but I did find some of the slow motion stuff a little bit unnecessary and over dramatic. Overall the only disappointing thing was the kill sequence because it lacked any real blood or gore and was rather basic and uneventful. I suppose this is a short that relies entirely on suspense though and in that respect it doesn’t let viewers down at all, it’s a great piece of work that everyone involved with should be proud of!! I recommend this to fans of The Collector and Hostel.

My rating for “Do Not Disturb” is 8.5/10

SHE’S HAVING A BABY

“Wakey Wakey I’m Ovulating”….Firstly this is not the film of the same name starring Kevin Bacon (haha). She’s Having A Baby is a short film written and directed by Australian brothers Chris and Robert Smellin. It’s a hidden gem that is only 15 minutes long but manages to accomplish a lot in its short running time. Jenny (played by Wendy Bos) wants a baby. She wants the baby to be perfect therefore the characteristics of the father need to be to her liking. Simon (Tommy Clifopoulos) is being held against his will by Jenny at a seemingly normal suburban house and she will stop at nothing to make sure she gets what she wants.

THE GOOD

This little short opens with an amazing score that sounds like a cross between Kubrick’s work on “The Shining” and John Hughes classic “Home Alone” films. It’s a very eerie and disturbing way to start the film. It’s amazingly well shot, using just one location and some really snappy and clever sound effects in the editing process to heighten the suspense. The audio levels are pretty good and the dialogue flows really well, especially from Jenny who manages to convey the desperation and loneliness that encompasses her life. To top it all off Wendy’s performance is very good, delivering her lines in such a monotone and creepy manner. Tommy was a bit slow to get going and I felt it was a little underplayed in the initial opening scenes but he comes alive in the second half.

THE BAD

I believe this was shot for just $4,000, so given the amount of experience and money involved this is some of the best short work going around. The only thing that I felt was missing was a little more research out and about on the streets from Jenny maybe looking for the “ideal” man which could have been the Segway into the capture of Simon. That would have been cool but hey it’s a short and they could only do so much. Other than elaborating on a few details and ignoring the fairly predictable climax (pardon the pun haha) in the final act, the film is genius.

I enjoyed every second of She’s Having A Baby (once again not the one with Mr Bacon haha), and I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys a good short film. This one can be watched and enjoyed over and over again. Great work Chris and Robert and I hope to catch some of your other work asap!

http://www.viewster.com/movie/1272-18220-000/shes-having-a-baby/

My rating for “She’s Having A Baby” is 8.5/10

THE REDWOOD MASSACRE

Firstly I would like to say thankyou to both Producer, Lorraine Keith and Director, David Ryan Keith for allowing me to view a screener of their new indie slasher film “The Redwood Massacre”. It’s filmmakers like you that allow me to keep my blog up and running and keep the viewers reading. The Redwood Massacre is a typical 80’s style slasher fare about 5 friends that are heading out on that all to familiar camping trip in the woods. This time it’s to visit The Redwood House, the murder site of a local legend. Little do the group know that someone still haunts the woods and is out for their blood! The film stars Mark Wood, Lisa Cameron, Lisa Livingston, Rebecca Wilkie, Adam Coutts and Lee Hutcheon.

THE GOOD

Well there are plenty of things to like about Keith’s Redwood Massacre, The quality in the production value is the first real standout. With an estimated budget of just 150,000 pounds, this looks exquisite. The cinematography and editing is fantastic and David makes perfect use of the location and it’s surroundings. The intro score was wonderful, it sounded like something right out of a Tobe Hooper film. The audio levels and smooth camera work are amongst some of the best technical work I have seen in the horror genre this year. At no stage does anything become to shaky or experimental, it’s all very concentrated and professional work. The acting from most of the cast is generally pretty good. I found the emotionally driven scenes to have much more substance then some of the general chit-chat dialogue. That’s pretty rare given that most performances feel forced when the actors really have to “act”. Lisa Cameron’s performance became a little bit tedious in the second half of the film but more because the character was quiet annoying (obviously written that way), so in a way I suppose she did her job (haha).

The Killers mask (I never caught his name, if he even had one??), although not very original still look super cool. Anytime you can’t see an actors face the character convey’s that little bit more doom and gloom and in the situation this group finds themselves in that really works. The two best aspects of The Redwood Massacre are the back story surrounding the legend and the films blood and gore effects. David must have read the handbook on Slashers 101 and I commend him for that. It’s key that you have at least one or two kills in the opening 15 minutes of your film because it gets the audience involved nice and early. A lot of slasher films these days are waiting for that body count and trying to give the viewers that extra bit of suspense but it comes at the cost of not delivering on what everyone paid to see. I’m happy to say that within 12 minutes David delivers with some action sequences (if you don’t count the opening scene, that is). The red stuff continues to flow consistently throughout the film’s 82 minute running time and it’s great!

THE BAD

Overall there isn’t much wrong with The Redwood Massacre and the things that I did pick up on were mostly small. Obviously ignore the fact that this thing can’t be passed off as overly original in design or execution but at the same time it’s not trying to be, it’s a slasher and we all know what we are in for. However, the characters lack any real personality. It’s normally those standout traits they possess that make them either loveable and you root for them to survive or on the other side of the spectrum you hope for their untimely demise because they are horrible. Our group of five don’t really project much and therefore it’s difficult to care about any of them. I suppose in a film like this it still works for you as a viewer if you want them to die (haha). I thought the way they were all supposed to be friends was a bit of a stretch too. I don’t know many friendships where the dynamics are the same as they were with this group. The fact that most of the film only has one guy was a little odd as well. I didn’t realise the english accents were going to be so strong and it definitely sneaks up on you. Most people would be expecting this to be an American horror film when it opens up but, alas.

The suspense missed the mark a little bit in a few scenes. The opportunity to build a kill sequence with some creepy music and sound effects wasn’t taken. Jess’s painted on eyebrows ( I don’t know if they were though haha), whatever those things were they were awfully distracting. I hope to god those are not her real eyebrows! the poor girl. There are a few errors in continuity and such throughout the film. A few of them include the stranger that appears early on in the film and then without explanation is there towards the end. I think some sort of connection needed to be made earlier on. There is an editing problem in one scene where the killer is right near one of the victims and then next minute she has been able to hide with literally one second to spare, not sure what happened there??. The writers missed an opportunity to incorporate a scene that would lead to the capture of Jessica and Mark (I think it is?) and the scene ends up feeling cut and pasted.

The Redwood Massacre aside from a few small issues is one of the best slasher film’s this year. Given the small amount of experience and somewhat of a low-budget, the cast and crew make the most of what they have. The only thing stopping this from being the best indie slasher of the year was that there was clearly a budget allowed for blood and gore but no time and effort was spent on prosthetic pieces for the wounds and that would have just created more authenticity to go with the realistic blood and gore, maybe next time! The Redwood Massacre epitomizes the 80’s slasher and just adds a dollop more of the red stuff into the mix making it better than the 80’s!

I just ordered David’s first film “Attack Of The Herbals” which I will have a review for soon. Be sure to support this film and check out the trailer and Imdb page at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3242756/?ref_=nv_sr_1

My rating for “The Redwood Massacre” is 7/10

MUTANTIS

Firstly I just want to say thankyou to both Writer, Mark Leake and director Kelly Fitzgerald for allowing me to preview an online screener of their Grindhouse style shot Creature Feature film “Mutantis” which is inspired by some of the monster films from the 60’s and 70’s. It’s due to be released later this month. I honestly don’t know how to go about reviewing this film because this is a clearly a project made as a parody point of view (not necessarily setting out to make a good film here) and therefore making it difficult to judge accordingly, but I’ll try. Mutantis tells the story of scientist Father Joy, (who also happens to be a priest sort of…. haha) who drags his stepchildren Dennis and Cindy out to the woods in search of a bigfoot, planning to use them as bait for scientific research. What the group find is Mutantis, a creature that was the result of a toxic waste spill. Only the adventurer William Fury might be able to stop the beast until he realises the beast being a hermaphrodite( yes that’s right… you read that correctly), has intent not just to kill but to procreate as well. Could this be the end of civilization as we know it??

The film stars Darren Bolk, Gary Brown, Mark Colegrove, Megan Mundane, Patrician Rosa and many more. If you are still with me after reading that obscure plot synopsis then Mutantis might be something you want to take a look at, read ahead and find out if you should.

THE BAD

It’s difficult to point out the aspects that are positive or good about Mutantis and the things that aren’t because honestly it’s all hilariously bad and that is actually the purpose of this movie! This is a cast and crew of people clearly looking to have some fun and make a fun little film for a small budget (I assume somewhere between $10,000- $20,000 but don’t quote me on that). The film is a parody of things like “Creature From The Black Lagoon” and “Attack Of The 50ft Women” as well as films set in the groovy 60’s and at times it also felt a little like the 70s (haha). There are some absolutely disgustingly bad wigs worn by the actors along with fake moustaches, full fake beards and actresses playing the roles of men… Mutants with big penises… it’s got it all (haha). The old school synth and bad porno style soundtrack was a solid backing for the style of film. Mutantis has some very crisp clear audio and although it is shot in an old school VHS style it remains pretty fluent and professional, given the money involved.

The cheesy narration from the news reporter (at least that’s who I thought he was haha), was a lot of fun as well. The rest of the movie contains horrendously bad audio dubbing which is ridiculously out of synch. Think of the Shaolin masters in old asian kung fu flicks (clearly made this way on purpose people, not a technical error), if you understand that was the point of this whole experience, you realise you can’t really critique it. The acting from everyone is painfully bad on purpose and characters lacks anything resembling an emotion. The character of Cindy has a really bad european accent (not sure if it’s real or not… haha I hope not), it’s totally unnecessary and maybe that’s part of the point, I’m not sure. The weakest part of the entire thing was having two different male actors play Father Joy, I have no idea what was going on there it was quiet bizarre and in all my years I’ve never seen that done. Some of the scenes that took place before the group get to the woods didn’t incorporate any extras and on the streets you would expect to see at least a few people around the place (you guys are rolling your eyes like seriously Adam… that’s what you picked up on haha).

I would like to know whether the actors/actresses got to say any of their lines or was it all mimed and then overdubbed with the voices in post production?? my curiosity is peaked. At times it looked like they got to say a few things and other times it just looked like they were pretending (haha). The drug tripping scene along with the unnecessary C-bombs were pretty poorly executed and the humour (which was mostly gross out stuff) fell flat on its beardfacae (Scrubs joke ;). The editing and incredibly lame “effects” of the plane and the mountains was just ludicrous. Mutantis looks like someone covered in some plastic leaves with a face full of wool and paper mache teeth (haha) but I did enjoy the cheesy and fun attack sequences with the blood and gore shown in the manner they would have done it in back in the day.

When all is said and done Mutantis sets out to give its hardcore audience the cheesiest of all cheese. Right from word go you know this film is trying to be bad and is going to do one hell of a job at it (haha). Personally, I’m not really its core audience. I love my creature features but this one is a little to out there (haha). I don’t know if many people would give this thing repeated viewings but I admire it when people set out to achieve something that isn’t what the masses want, it’s what they want and intend on. Mutantis has ridiculous gross out humour, no real story, shockingly dubbed audio, cheesy low-budget effects and a bunch of purposely poor actors walking around the woods and having fun. It’s a quick running time of just 73 minutes and I thought it was a bit of fun. I’m hard pressed to recommend this to the people in my life because I just don’t think they would get it. If the people behind Mutantis set out to make a bad film than well done!! if not…. eek, you probably would have stopped reading by now… but if you are I’m sorry, Thanks again guys!

Trailer link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttb40xc5JEQ

My rating for “Mutantis” is 3/10

FRANK

It was about a year or two ago that I saw Irish filmmaker Lenny Abrahamson’s indie film “Garage” and I can’t say I thought much of it. I may have missed the point or it might not have been aimed at someone like me but I just didn’t like it. Which bring me to Lenny’s latest film “Frank” starring Michael Fassbender (12 Years A Slave), Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight), Scoot McNairy (Argo) and Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter Films). Frank is somewhat of a coming of age film crossed with a black comedy crossed with a film about the creative process, sounds a little strange right?? that’s exactly what I thought. Jon (Gleeson), is a young wanna-be musician working a dead-end job in a small town then he lucks into playing Keyboard in an eccentric, psychedelic electro/pop band fronted by the mysterious and quirky Frank (Fassbender). While in the countryside recording an album Jon and the band try to find the right sound from deep within, all the while dealing with each other’s clashing personalities.

I didn’t know that Lenny Abrahamson was the man behind Garage until midway through watching Frank and I’m still not completely sure how to feel about it all. One thing I can take away from the film and relate to is Frank’s words “I always dreamed one day I’d have a band member who shared my vision of creating extremely likeable music”.

THE GOOD

Seldom does a film this imaginative with such an original concept come along. Like it or hate it Frank is a unbelievably unique film. I can draw the odd comparison between films like “Lars And The Real Girl” and “Me, You And Everyone We Know” in the sense that they are structured in a very similar way in the storytelling process but it takes somewhat of a deeper understanding of the human condition to get the full appreciation of this type of film. The cast is really good in this and it comes as no surprise that Fassbender excels again and showcases the wide variety of emotions he can convey in such a different role like this. This is nothing like a commercial “12 Years A Slave” but he approaches it with the same amount of dedication and professionalism. Frank is such an interesting and odd character. He’s searching for his true identity and is literally trying to rebuild himself from the bottom up through his music. He wears a giant head to cover his face, explaining in one scene that it’s not any different or stranger than the human face (haha).

Maggie has been on the scene for many years now and has become a very solid actress in these secondary roles. I have been a big fan of Scoot McNairy since his lead role in the low-budget independent film “In Search Of A Midnight Kiss” all the way up to his recent work in “Argo” and “Non-stop”. Scoot is quickly becoming one of the best in the business, his character of Don isn’t explored much here but he does a very nice job all the same. The surprise of the lot though is Gleeson, who I found to be really likeable and innocent in a way. His character learns something new about himself by the end of the film and that’s important in a film about a young man trying to find his place.

The film takes a lot of time making light of indie musicians and the creative process they go through when writing music. They tend to think they are doing something new and different and special with what they think holds artistic merit. Using everything and anything as an instrument isn’t all that clever and it’s where the black comedy tends to come out. I’m sure musicians that play the genre of music on display would probably be offended but let’s be honest, it’s not that far from the truth. The film has some great music in it, I hear a little bit of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds sort of tunes (given the odd style of course), along with a very quirky score and a lot of bizarre sound effects that add plenty to the atmosphere of the film. Majority of the film is told with wonderful narration from the character of Jon. He discusses how he is feeling about the band and what he hopes to achieve and considering he doesn’t really have any deep and meaningful conversations with anyone throughout the film, it gives the audience insight into what his hopes and dreams are.

The wonderful camera work and snappy editing round out a very successful technically well made film.

THE BAD

I couldn’t tell from the opening of the film and the costume design as to whether the film was supposed to be set in the 70’s or 80’s, that was quickly put to rest when Jon started Tweeting and Hash-tagging (haha). Speaking of which, the social media outlet part of the film was something that I didn’t care for. After all it’s a story about a very specific sounding band with obscure personalities, which couldn’t be further from the socially normal, yet we are given constant Twitter updates and ever-growing YouTube views throughout the film (a little out-of-place I think). Also keep in mind If you’re looking at the film from a realistic point of view you will probably find a lot of the reactions and decisions the characters make don’t make a lot of sense.

When Jon is gone for months on end you would think his parents would give him a call and find out why he quit his job and I dunno… ask where he has been this whole time. It’s not that difficult to write one 30 second scene like that into the film. I assume Clara (Gyllenhaal), was struggling with some form of depression or ADHD or something. She has a very narcissistic personality and is constantly lashing out at those around her and therefore she is never really someone who you care about all that much.

I don’t want to spoil anything but there is a particular scene/event that occurs just over half way through the film that I found unbelievably cartoonish and underplayed. None of the characters project anything close to an appropriate reaction given what takes place and that’s just not realistic. It was a very poor scene and it should have been scrapped or re-written.

Frank is such an odd movie to describe and or recommend, because it’s very much an acquired taste. It’s a mix of several different genres but at its core depicts a very basic story. There is an underlining sub-plot of mental illness and it’s effect on those suffering from it and those around them. It’s not a black comedy, it’s not a coming of age drama and it’s not a musical, it’s a little bit of column A,B and C. I can’t deny Lenny Abrahamson’s “Frank” is a wonderfully made film but it won’t be for everybody and I don’t even know if it’s for me but it’ something! How soon it will be before I revisit it? Who knows.

My rating for “Frank” is 6/10