Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films,
2013
Images from the Internet
Trailers for the films are at the end of all the reviews
Acid Bath Productions
Wild Eye Releasing
90 minutes, 2011
www.WildEyeReleasing.com
www.MVDvisual.com
I Spill Your Guts
Produced, written and directed by James Balsamo
Acid Bath Productions
Wild Eye Releasing
90 minutes, 2012
www.ispillyourguts.com
www.WildEyeReleasing.com
www.MVDvisual.com
As
for the music, there’s a lot listed, including by the Meatmen and other screamo
/ death metal bands of whom I am honestly not familiar (possibly where the budget
went?). They should have used Chesty Malone and the Slice-Em-Ups, in my opinion.
Check them out, James.
Cool as Hell
Produced, written and directed by James Balsamo
Acid Bath Productions
Wild Eye Releasing
90 minutes, 2012 / 2013
www.WildEyeReleasing.com
www.MVDvisual.com
Images from the Internet
Trailers for the films are at the end of all the reviews
That
bon mot is true, y’know: location, location, location. That’s the
only way anyone can really explain the cameos that appear in Balsamo’s films. I
mean, Lloyd Kaufman (king of Troma), Debbie Rochon (a queen of scream queens), Lyn
Lowery (early indie horror goddess), Tim Ritter (fellow low-budget director of some
classics like Creep), Andrew W.K. (overrated
rock singer), Dave Brockie (GWAR’s Oderus Urungus), Joe Flieshaker (the rotund Mayor
of Tromaville) and even Tom Savini (the Chuck Berry of modern gore SFX) If these
films had been shot anywhere else than around New York City, the odds of this caliber
of presence would probably never happen. My guess is that he met many of them at
horror-cons, most likely the NJ Horror-Thon (I still remember going when it was
called the Chiller Theatre Con). And by the way, Acid Bath Productions has a great
animated logo. I’m just sayin’.
Hack Job
Produced, written
and directed by James Balsamo Acid Bath Productions
Wild Eye Releasing
90 minutes, 2011
www.WildEyeReleasing.com
www.MVDvisual.com
Within
the first five minutes, you know you are going to see a brain-dead film that will
be fun from beginning to end. The devil (and his minons), who claims to have brought
on the Holocaust, 9/11 and The View, sends
a film script to two “idiots” who decide to take the three stories and make an independent
movie. These two maroons are the director,
James Balsamo, and his frequent partner in crime, Michael (“Mike”) Shershenovich,
the director of the film Bloody Christmas
[reviewed HERE];
they also share many of the same cast. The song in the opening credits informs you
of what the tales will contain (just follow the bouncing skull). Obviously the filmmakers
are taking this project as an act of joy, so fuck it, why not do the same.
As
a sidenote, after the first couple of episodes of Gilligan’s Island started, the producers also gave it a “fuck it,| and
made the decision not to focus on the reality of where all the clothes and props
came from, or anything else, deciding to make it story-based episode by episode;
a similar philosophy is apparently present here, for the better.
The
first story, “Tomb of the SS,” is starts with some present day Nazis (one has a
thick New York accent, who is watching two topless women dance like the models in
the Robert Palmer “Addicted to Love” video, except in SS hats). The New York Nazis
take over an archeological dig in Afghanistan (looks like some beach out on Long
Island), where they force the hero (director Balsamo) to read some hieroglyphics
that raise an army of Egyptian (in Afghanistan?!) mummies that attack the group,
even though he never does get around to any translating! Somehow a Russian air force
pilot (Shershenovich) gets involved. It’s all done with great bravado and in heroic
tones, with Balsamo talking in that cinematic condescending tone to humorous effect.
Hell, while there is no surprise and the blood and gore couldn’t look more fake
(as is true with the rest of the film), the story is a hoot. I could see it in another
dimension being a solid Amazing Stories
episode with different writers, actors and director, of course).
The
second story is called “Earth is on the Menu,” not to be confused with the classic
Twilight Zone, “To Serve Man.” In this,
a meteorite a la The Blob, takes over
some people via pink vines up their noses, and winds up at a local Battle of the
Bands (held at Lulu’s Village Pub, Port Jefferson, NY),
where it’s a greaser group vs., well, Balsamo on a stand-up bass. Obviously none
of them play an instrument and barely try. The creature finally pops out of someone
and is essentially a bend cardboard sheet with what looks like either silly string
or really thick, colorful paint on it. Oh, and did I mention the very visible strings
moving the tentacles (see the trailer)?
Of
course, a defender from another planet aka Dave Brockie as Oderus Urungus, appears
(he also has an extremely funny take as a bartender sans mask). Nothing like having
a being from another planet scream out, “He’s got me! Jesus Fucking Christ!” It
comes to a battle of the bassist and the beast. Nah, I’m not gonna tell ya the result.
The
last story, “The Mark,” is the most convoluted and ridiculous of the three, or to
but it this way, the most fun of all the pieces… and the others had me laughing,
too. There is a lot of religious imagery in this one, from both the Christian and
Jewish perspectives. The central character is a man (Balsamo, again) who is into
astral projection, or as his ex-girlfriend calls it, “asshole projection”. He’s
worried about what he’s doing while he sleeps (apparently killing evil people by
pulling their spine out of their eyesocket), so he seeks out his rabbi, Lloyd Kaufman
(!), who has the payot (hair curls) attached via a band on his head, like earmuffs.
He offers Balsamo a plate of bacon and mentions a woman coming to teach a topless
Torah lesson. Oy!
This
segment, which was originally supposed to be a kung fu flick as shown in one of
the extra deleted scenes, ends up being a hot mess, with ridiculous and dubbed over
dialog, absolutely no sense of sequence (it’s not for nuthin’ that a common theme
of the film is a distaste for narrative filmmaking), utterly no continuity, and
possibly a hint of racism. How nuts, you may ask? Well, the title refers to a mark
on the main character’s back that is mentioned a number of times, but is never shown.
In other words, ten pounds of crap in a five pound bag that – if you’re like me
when it comes to indie horror films – you will be happy to be immersed.
Between
the stories are fake commercials, trailers, and other bits, including an extended
promotion for Troma Studios with Kaufman, as well as the masked later versions (as
opposed to make-up) of Toxie and Sgt. Kabukiman. The Kaufman bits are funny if hammed
up (pun intended), though the Tromaville P.D.
etc., bit is kinda whatever.
I found
it interesting that this movie was obviously filmed over an extended time, probably
as shorts put together with a thread. The quality of the actual images changes pretty
often. For example, in one of the between bits, with Lyn Lowery (over)playing a
script agent, suddenly the visual is of much lesser quality, sort of like it was
film on VHS and transferred.
Extras
include the trailer, a blooper reel of the first “Tomb of the SS” bit, and the aforementioned
unused kung fu clips of “The Mark.”
This
film is, undoubtedly a waste of time, but what a great way to squander an hour and
a half. Think I may watch this again, now… I’ve got time to kill.
Produced, written and directed by James Balsamo
Acid Bath Productions
Wild Eye Releasing
90 minutes, 2012
www.ispillyourguts.com
www.WildEyeReleasing.com
www.MVDvisual.com
In
the middle of a gun battle in (Afghanistan?) (Iraq?), two besties get caught in
an ambush, resulting in an act of cowardice that causes the other to get shot in
the throat. Informed that his injured friend will probably die while in a German
hospital, the unharmed Joe Bava (Billy Walsh) smugly tells his pal, Dennis Berkowitz
(director Balsamo) that he is taking the credit for saving the supposedly cowardly
Dennis, which includes a medal and honorable discharge. This makes Dennis angry
enough to live and seek revenge on anyone associated with Joe.
Berkowitz
(really? A multiple killer named Berkowitz? Hasn’t that been done enough in real
life?) busts out of the hospital leaving a trail of bodies of the doctors who saved
him (?), where he really could have just walked out. Hmmm.
We
come back to New York (referred often in title cards as “New York, NY” rather than
just “New York City”), where Joe is a drunken, braggart ass, and Dennis kills just
about anyone who runs across his path in various and semi-imaginative ways (e.g.,
a sandwich shoved down a throat and a pair of hedge clippers). Meanwhile, there
are numerous scenes seemingly thrown in as filler, such as someone giving a wrestling
lesson, or the bizarrely tattooed in real life barbell boy Tim Dax. Oh, did I mention
that there is another serial killer thrown in for one scene for whatever reason?
Hey, this all leads to a decent body count.
The
cast in this film is huge, with nearly 50 roles listed in the IMDB, most of which
have speaking roles, many of which seem to be ad libbed. While this never seems
to be confusing, as the revenge story line is paper thin and the rest is just short
pieces (pun intended) of the disposal of people. To tell the truth, I’m totally
okay with that. Why invest in a fodder character when their screen time is so limited.
Besides, it’s the killings that we want to see anyway, right?
As
par the course, the writing is okay, though there are some genuinely intentionally
funny moments (and quite a few of the other kind). The acting is kind of, well,
there, kinda-sorta, with some genuinely decent readings (Rochon, for example, clearly
and literally phones in her role, but she comes across quite natural in the moment).
One
of the major characters of the film is also the largest filler: multiple shots on
the streets of New York. Mostly it’s just a few seconds of buildings or crowds,
and it’s fun to pick out where is what (there is one shot that I am totally baffled
by, perhaps in a borough). Yes, this does make the film longer, but that’s exactly
what Easy Rider (1969) did, though in
that case, there was more music over scenery than actual story. At least it certainly
felt that way. But I digress… Like most of the film, these shots are single-camera
and handheld. I would recommend that if the budget does not permit a tripod, then
with all the filmmakers involved as cast, surely someone must have a spare to be
borrowed, please. Then again, I’m grateful this is not a “found footage” level of
shaky.
While
the acting is questionable and the writing passable, the effects do range from laughable
to quite decent. There’s quite a bit of spatter, though the actual event is not
shown in very much detail. For example, in the opening scene, there is a totally
naked male body, sans head (upper; lower is intact). Or you’ll see a sharp object
get raised, a quick close-up of something, and then the person dead in whatever
bloody shape. Of course, there’s lots of nudity, piercings and tattoos.
There
are a number of extras, such as the trailer, deleted scenes (meh), a gag reel (pretty
funny), a music video of “Destructor” by Ghoul (who appear in a full-song, sync’d,
extended stage performance in the film), and an interview with the artist who drew
the DVD covers, Brooklyn-based Jeff Zarnow.
All
in all, if you’re into the whole Troma zeitgeist, this will fit in pretty way to
that canon.
Produced, written and directed by James Balsamo
Acid Bath Productions
Wild Eye Releasing
90 minutes, 2012 / 2013
www.WildEyeReleasing.com
www.MVDvisual.com
The third
opus here is just one of five flicks Balsamo has filmed or has in production for
2013. As par, this one is also sex and drug and rock’n’roll…well, death metal, anyway.
As with most, it is a horror comedy.
Don’t
get me wrong, I believe that Balsamo fares much better with comedy horror like Hack Job than with a more serious slant,
as with the more straightforward I Spill Your
Guts. The former is a lot more, well, forgiving
than the latter.
Here,
we meet the main protagonist, comic book store manager Rick (Balsamo, of course),
and his roommate and best friend Benny (stalwart Dan E. Danger). Both of them combined
seem to have a double digit IQ. Rich wears only Hawaiian-style shirts and has two-tone
hair which is often referred to in the story as a “cheetah” (though it’s just yellow
on top, dark on the bottom, rather than patterned). He talks rather like an AM disc
jockey, but at a junior high school level. A loveable schlub? Yeah, I guess. But
a monolog he has about a superhero comics shows why he strikes out so often.
In fact,
the tone of the film and these two characters just smack of early Kevin Smith, with
Balsamo being the (un-)Silent Bob and Danger the quirky, off-center Jay. Even in
the early days of Clerks (1994), Smith
showed more filmmaking competency than Balsamo, but you know what, where I found
Smith to be clever but dull, I enjoy most of Balsamo’s output more (with the exception
of Dogma [1999], but I digress…). There
is more of a level of whatever in Balsamo’s
work, possibly due to having so many films in such a short amount of time to really
concentrate on proficiency, but it’s just so stupid and inane, that it gives genuine
laughs.
The plot
(no need to use the work “thickens” here) is as sort of as follows (most of this
is on the DVD cover or coming attractions below, so I’m not giving much away): a
green demon named Az (Billy Walsh; great make-up) – short for Azmodius? – is somehow
enthralled to Rick, so of course Rick wants to use him to get laid. Did I mention
there is a LOT of female nudity (and even some softcore shots), as usual? Rick meets
the possible girl of his dreams, Ashley (the cute and toothsome Lauren Adamkiewicz;
I hope Balsamo uses her again, as this is among her only credits). Her boyfriend
is a macho loanshark bully / dick who abuses her (Balsamo regular Frank Mullen,
who is also the vocalist of the Long Island-based death metal band, Suffocation)
and is constantly threatening Rick. He swings the “fuck” word as much as most people
use “the.” Along the way, a portal to hell opens which releases a bunch of zombies
(again, great make-up on the few we see) onto the streets of New York – including
Patchogue, NY, where much of this was shot. Will our loser hero rise to the occasion,
even after being given a bong that never runs out of weed by a blue and yellow booger
named, well, Booghar?
A theme
that runs throughout the film, to an amusing albeit overdone motif, is Rick accidently
bonking into people who curse him out, including members of numerous death metal
bands that appear on the soundtrack, or actors he managed to shoot for very brief
cameos, such as David Naughton (the lead in An
American Werewolf in London in 1981). Many of the stars that appear on this
film, such as Laurence R. Harvey (of 2011’s The
Human Centipede II: The Final Sequence) and Tom Savini are there less than 15
seconds, so don’t blink.
For me,
the one major flaw in the film, other than the sheer stupidity of the whole thing
(for which I am grateful), is an extended scene with Ray trying to get money from
his brother-in-law. It has an ad-libbed feel that just does not work for that long
of an extended scene that doesn’t move the story along. It should have been sliced
up to a much smaller time, and perhaps added to a deleted scenes extra.
Speaking
of extras, this one is kinda skimpy at three trailers, but that’s okay. Who has
time for extras when writing and directing five films in one year, right? There
is part of me that truly wishes Balsamo would slow the fuck down and do perhaps
two a year, and really work on them, rather than just put down anything that goes
through his mind at the moment. That’s why something like Clerks became a hit. Here, there is too much inconsistency, no overdubs
to drown out the traffic noise, and more holes in the story than (put your analogy
here). But on the other hand, this is such a high level of guerilla filmmaking that
you can’t help but marvel at some of the stuff they pull off, such as a scene outside
a church where they never actually enter the church, which had me in stiches.
It is
interesting to see these three films over a short amount of time. There is definite
growth going on in skill (and especially non-digital effects), so I am hoping this
will only increase in time. And, for some reason, I look forward to more of James
Balsamo’s perhaps increasing competency, if not lunacy.
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