All genres of suspense, terror, and horror will be reviewed by Richard Gary. His address to send preview copies supplied upon request to rbf55@msn.com.
Directed by Chris Ethridge Making Monster Productions / Blue Dusk
Productions Apprehensive Films 93
minutes, 2014 www.afcinema.com www.mvdvisual.com
The
fictional town of Morningside is in New Jersey, and the two top cops are a local
(Tom Haulk, played by Robert Pralgo), and one from the Bronx (Klara Austin, embodied
by the underrated Tiffany Shepis, who started out in the Troma camp). I really didn’t
get a Jersey vibe from the film (it’s based on the more rural Wharton area; I
drove through it on 80 more times that I remember) mostly due to the lack of
Tri-State accents, but considering it was filmed in Lawrenceville, GA, that’s
not surprising. All I’m sayin’ is it goes
without sayin’, as I once overheard someone say.
Someone
is gruesomely (of course!) killing off some local drug dealer scumbags while
wearing a hooded robe and a cool ritual mask (see the DVD cover above). Using
various devises such as power slicers and a kind of mace, victims are immobilized
and have internal organs removed; sometimes this happens while they’re still
alive.
There
is nothing exotic or artsy about this film as far as form goes, but sometimes
meat and potatoes is just what is needed. Skip the weird shadows, the strange
angles, the symbolic lighting, and just get to the “meat” of the matter.
Director Chris Ethridge, in his first full length release, cuts to the chase
and gives the audience a taut and bloody drama without the bells and whistles,
just gristle. Perhaps, over time, this will change, but that’s okay, too. I
believe that many directors try too much on their first outing, and find out
that it’s harder work than was necessary to advance the action. The fact that
this release has won a bunch of awards in festivals shows that it’s definitely
reaching where it is needed.
You
know what’s a good sign? I didn’t figure out the killer for a while, which is
rare. I made guesses, and was wrong on three of them. When I did figure it out,
about 20 minutes before the end, I thought “really?”, sometimes the trickiest of
all choices is in front of your face.
For
a first full feature, Ethridge manages to find some real talent, with lots of
credentials. The two leads, for example, are seasoned professionals, with
Pralgo being in a bunch of high-level cable shows and major films, and Shepis has
a long history in the genre. The big name here, though, belongs to Nicholas
Brendon, who was Zander in the popular series Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. Okay, yeah, he’s a pretty one-note
actor, but there is no doubt he is known.
For
me, the fault that is in the film – and this is true of most genre releases
both big and small – is the shallowness of exposition. Why is someone from the
Bronx the Deputy Sheriff? What is her background? Who is the Sherriff’s girlfriend (Catherine Tabor)? The bad guy’s wife
(more cameo than anything by the lovely April Bogenshultz)? There is,
fortunately, some indication of why the Sherriff is so committed to his best
bud’s wife (Amber Chaney, who played Avox in The Hunger Games)?
On
the flip side, what is great about the writing is that it isn’t cut and dry in
that the “monster” is not – er – unhuman (e.g., Jason, Michael). Mistakes are
made, and people who should not be involved become victims by accident. I think
this is a real bonus and one I’d like to see kept up in other films. Kudos. Also,
there is a great red herring a bit over half-way through that is not only well
played, but well placed.
Nudity
is kept at a minimal, and the gore effects look really good. There isn’t an
overabundance of visceral matter, but what is present is nice and messy. Most
of it is post-attack, rather than the actual action.
The
extras are a couple of trailers and an interesting commentary track with the
director/co-producer, writer/co-producer Jayson Palmer, and co-producer Michael
Harper discussing the production, actors, and all that. Though I don’t remember
who is saying what (one of the problems with three or more people on a track),
it’s kind of irrelevant because it’s the info that matters.
I
like that the film doesn’t do the usual killer pseudo-teens + sex = death
(though there is a bit of a nod to that), and that most who die deserve it, so
when those who aren’t “worthy” bite it, it actually makes it more moving. It
may be meat ‘n taters, but as I said, sometimes you can get more accomplished
by going for why the audience is there in the first place.
Text by Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films,
2014 Images from the Internet
Discussed here are two films based on short
stories from about a generation on either side the turn of the 20th
Century. The writers of these tales, HP Lovecraft and Rudyard Kipling, are
known for their verbose language and tales of the wild side of life. Free PDFs
of the original Lovecraft short story can be found HERE, and the Kipling one HERE. The adaptations are updated to the
present, but retain their original pastiches, including first-person narrations.
The 1933
H.P. Lovecraft short story, with the same name on which this film is based, although
apparently considered one of his lesser literary works, has one of the great
and memorable opening lines in 20th Century horror literature: “It
is true that I have just sent six bullets through the head of my best friend,
and yet I hope to show by this statement that I am not his murderer.”
Without
giving away too much, Daniel (Rob Dalton), the rascally rich lifelong pal of
the narrating character, Edward (David Bunce), falls for a mysterious woman
named Asenath Waite (portrayed by the film’s writer, Mary Jane Hansen). Asenath
has a dark reputation as a hypnotist at good moments, and a necromancer/witch
at less forgiving times. Added into the mix is Daniel’s pregnant wife, Marion
(Susan Cicarelli-Caputo). This is a major variance from the original story, as
Marion is barely mentioned by H.P., but is thankfully given full personhood
here.
As time goes
on, it is pretty obvious that Edward and Asenath’s relationship is becoming
increasingly mystical and toxic. I’m grateful I read the original (see the link
in the blog’s opening paragraph) before seeing the film, for a few reasons. The
most obvious is that I could compare the two. Also, there were a couple of gaps
here and there in the film that were not major flaws, but the story helped fill
in. For example, the first couple of pages explain the relationship between
Daniel and Edward, whereas in the movie adaptation, which has been modernized
to the present, they are friends, but the exposition is kind of iffy.
One of the
aspects that interested me is that it is generally known that Asenath is one of
the few strong female characters in Lovecraft’s literary camp, but the two points
that stick in my craw is that (a) she keeps wishing she were a man because men
have stronger brains, and (b) she may only be a woman in meat puppet form. I
was wondering how the film would present this men’s vs. women’s argument, which
it does, but writer Hansen balances it by having Asenath make the same argument
only to be refuted by Marion. I believe bringing up this argument from the book
and addressing it in this way was a brave – and somewhat necessary – thing for
Hansen to do.
Hansen
actually takes some other wise steps, like adding in a psychological aspect on
top of the pure mysticism of the original. She does this without losing the
power of the story, and considering this is her first screenplay, that’s quite
impressive. Asenath’s session with psychoanalyst Marion gives the impression
she is talking about Daniel, but there is more afoot that will come to light.
In the book,
Asenath is attractive but weirdly bug-eyed (not in those words), but Hansen is
quite fetching in a young Blythe Danner sort of way. She is just one of a relatively strong albeit
mostly unknown cast.
Shot in
Saratoga Springs, in Upstate Eastern New York, Gliserman gives the film a
dated, eerie feeling, making it almost claustrophobic with many close angles.
Even an overhead shot of a car on the highway seems limited in space. This is
achieved in part by muting the color tones into a sepia-filtered light, so it’s
in color, but there are no bright hues. There is also some interesting shots
and editing, giving it an arty feel without going into the obtuse. Gliserman
did the cinematography, and job well done.
For me, the
flaw of the film, as it were, is the title creature, which looked a bit like it
needed the touch of someone with a more SFX experience. Otherwise, the creep
factor stays high. Lovecraft is hard to adapt, given his language (for which
the dialog here gratefully borrows plentiful) and the more than 80 years since its
release. Sure, you could just totally revamp it, like Stuart Gordon’s infamous Re-Animator (1985) and From Beyond (1986), but it takes courage
to keep it loyal even with the updating.
Rudyard
Kipling was more known for fantastical stories of India, where boys live in the
jungle and converse with animals, or brave British/white men fight battles
against raging local/Indian wild jungle men. But there is also a darker side to
Kipling, who would occasionally write about the more mysterious, dangerous, and
supernatural view of life.
Mark of the Beast, in the original 1890 story,
also has its loci in the dark wilderness of India, but in this retelling, we
are logically and micro-budgetedly moved to (possibly) rural America, where
somehow natives (I am assuming they mean Native Americans, though it could just
be a cult, it’s not explained well) still manage to worship a monkey god.
The basic
premise of the story is that Fleete (genre writer and Film Threat editor Phil Hall) is a drunken lout, and manages to
offend the monkey god worshipers by putting a cigar out on its alter. He is attacked
by a leper (in the States, while extremely rare, can be apparently contracted
from armadillos, I kid you not) or something more sinister for his misdeed, who
is known as the Silver Man due to the way the light reflects off his…er…skin. Fleete
starts quickly turning into a similar creature, gnarling and gnashing, eating
raw meat and attacking others, but that is only the beginning of the story, and
I won’t give away much more.
As with many
of the fictions of the period, most were written by men about men. In the
original short story, there is talk of a nurse, but all the main characters are
male. Co-directors Gorman and Seymour not only take a turn at the gender, they
have the lead and first-person narration personified by Debbie (in the original
story, the narrator is unnamed) voiced over by B-Queen goddess Debbie Rochon,
giving yet another top-notch-yet-underappreciated performance; I would arguably
say she gives the most naturalistic performance of the lot. It’s kind of a shame
that the person who receives top billing, who seems to be there mostly so the
film has a name, is the diminutive Ellen
Muth, the star of the spectacular Dead
Like Me series. It is good to see her work as I certainly enjoyed the AMC
show, and she is a superb actor, but she doesn’t really do much here more than
be in the shots as a brought-along friend (lover?) of another character (Margaret
Champagne) who was not in the Kipling story. Yeah, it’s great they’ve added
women roles, as I said, but I would like it to be more substantial than just
peripheral characters who are there to scream and panic, or be fodder for… nah,
not giving it away.
One of the
comments often made about the original story is that there is a bit of torture
thrown in by two of the main characters, including Strickland (Dick Boland) who
is a police officer trying to get information, and to help his obnoxious friend
(acquaintance?), Fleete, recover. In the original, Kipling skips over this part
and a couple of other gruesome moments as the narrator refusing to put it down
to writing. But now, we live in a post-9/11, Homeland and 24 world.
Many people in the West are having attitude changes towards getting information
any way possible because of their fears, real or imagined. For example, the
torture report about the CIA under the Bush Administration is released to a
resounding “Is Miley pregnant?”
attitude. Now, during the commentary the directors say they are against the practice,
but there is a bit less of the shying away of Kipling’s to the technique. Here the camera lingers on
the gruesome inflictions.
There are
some nice additions and touches added here, such as uber-Christian Strickland
trying – with Debbie’s help – in an exorcism. Strickland, once realizing that
Christianity isn’t going to change anything, and that the monkey god may also
have some power in the situation, decides he and Debbie need to take matters in
their own hands, with cudgels in hand in a nicely blue tinted day-for-night
chase. Going from God loving to torturer seems like a natural progression. And
what does one gain if one loses their own soul, is the – er – soul of the
story, both the original and this interpretation.
What I find
amusing about adaptations like this, where they take a story from another time
and culture zone and update it is how they leverage the older with the modern.
Even though some of the language is the same, the addition of profanity seems
to be a way to say, “Hello! This is now, people, not then!” I don’t believe
it’s a good or bad thing, just a bemused observation.
The make-up
effects look better than the budget implies, with the blisters and dusky, scaly
skin of the leper working into the story. The bite marks left by Fleete look
appropriately gory in an almost modern zombie touch, if shown – er –
fleetingly. Much of the cast also doubles as crew, including producers and many
other hats. That is a sign of dedication that I respect, being willing to work
hard on both sides of the camera, and more than just as a cameo appearance
(such as the opening party scene), which is always needed in a micro-budget
indie.
Filmed
around Voluntown, Connecticut, the woods look mysterious and deep, and isolated
(the sign of decent camerawork). The footage is color graded to give
impressions, such as the previously mentioned blue-hued night shots. Unless
used garishly in extremes, such as in, say, Creepshow
(1982), if used correctly as it is here, it can convey subtle moods and
ambience, pushing those micro-dollars quite a bit further.
I think it’s
important to note that the film has added a really nice touch to the ending of
the story, beyond where Kipling tread, showing the futility of… well, I’m not
going to say. This is definitely a film worth watching, but know that there are
squeamish parts because of the humanity/inhumanity of it (unlike, say, torture porn) for those mainstream
viewers. For the genre fan, this may actually seem a bit mild in the action,
but in the larger picture, it points to the flaws in the way we may think or
believe.
The “Making
of The Beast” extra is 12 minutes of
the first and last day of shooting, and keeps it interesting as we meet the
make-up mavens, introductions to most of the cast, and general discussions thankfully
on-set as opposed to talking head interviews, which can be fun but are less
in-the-moment. Other extras are two of the film’s official trailers, and two
winners of a college contest for best editing of a trailer and teaser. They
take Sergei Eisenstein’s posit of editing = action seriously, and both are well
done. However, the feature itself actually uses very lax editing, using longer
than usual shots, which is noted with joy by me in this post music
video/mainstream action film world.
Lastly,
there is the Commentary Track with the two directors. They had previously
directed the Bikini Bloodbath series, so it’s good to hear them talk about the
film from various technical as well as personal aspects. They are obviously
knowledgeable about cinema history, not just horror, so the pace keeps up.
There is a bit less of goofiness between them here, and more actual film talk
so I can say positive things about the track, as they take it seriously, but
not dryly so. The biggest revelation to me was that they intended this to be
vague as far as time and location, though considering the lack of melanin (with
one exception in a b-roll cameo, who was also part of the crew) and tans of the
cast, I can only say “USA.”
I’ve watched
it twice now, and it has kept its integrity throughout, so I say go for it.
Written and directed by Giorgio Amato Jingai Films / Dania Films / Manetti
Bros Films 98
minutes, 2012 / 2014 www.mvdvisual.com
At
last, a new found footage film! Haven’t seen one of those in… okay, enough with
the sarcasm.
Closed Circuit Extreme is
an Italian film shot in English with thick accents (though I had no problem
understanding the dialog). Its premise is simple, if not overly logical.
A
man, David de Santis (Stefano Fregni) – as in “David of Satan” – is suspected
by a college age couple of being a serial killer, and of doing in one of their
friends. In order to trap this guy, they repeatedly break into his house and
set up a series of five CCTV cameras throughout, and then daily downloading the
footage (at his house…guess they don’t have Wi-Fi in Italy, ahem) while he’s at
work.
This
is a disagreeable couple. Daniele (Guglielmo Favilla) knows the danger they are
in, and Claudia (Francesca Cuttica) randomly touches and moves stuff, looks
through David’s drawers, all the while he’s yelling at her to stop. For once I
agree with the man in the story. Usually it’s the women who are more
even-headed. She seems pretty non-pulsed that they are in the house of someone
they believe has killed their amica.
The
entire film is edited from the CCTV images, which keep cutting in and out and
filled with repeated and annoying static noise. This is, I am assuming, to
remind the viewer that it is the CCTV they are watching, like anyone needs any
hints.
For
more than half the movie, we watch the possibly dangerous man as the eats in
front on the television, naps on his couch, and goes to sleep in his bed. Truly
the banality of evil, you might say.
Sporadically,
he interviews possible nannies for a child you never see, for him and a wife
you never see, and obviously neither exists. It’s well into the second half of
the film when you see David of the Devil for who he really is. His brutality is
shown in detail, with some nice physical effects thrown in, though nothing
really comes as any surprise.
Part
of the reason there is no bombshell is what the failing of the storyline is to
me: this is “police evidence,” so as we meet the characters there is an
on-screen blurb that tells you the name of the person, where they are from, and
the date they die (or not). This takes away much of the suspense, leaving just
the killings (etc.). Oh, this person dies. Oh, this one doesn’t die, we learn
on the introduction of everyone. Sigh.
The
scenes of brutality are few and far between, and the body count on screen is
pretty low. There is little gore per se, though we see a lot of blood on
clothes and body parts. In fact, this film could have been an hour and it would
have been enough.
The
extra is the trailer, but what I find confusing, is after the film between
minutes of black nothing, we see some silent clips of the film we just saw. Che cosa?
The
way in which the film is successful is that it really does show that evil is
just moments. Okay, here is a bizarre analogy, so bear with me. When you get a year-end
letter, where you read the exploits of someone you know, it seems like the year
was filled will events (e.g., “We went on vacation!” “I got a promotion!”),
when actually, most of the period was probably mundane and ordinary, when you
fill in the gaps. This film attempts and succeeds in showing that kind of “between”
moments, which makes the contrast of violence seem more shocking.
Where
it doesn’t succeed is, as I said, in TMI by broadcasting outcomes upon
introductions.
Rise
of the Black Bat Directed by Scott Patrick Tom Cat Films / Brett Kelly
Entertainment 80
minutes, 2012 / 2014 www.tomcatfilms.com www.mvdvisual.com
Around
the time of Batman’s first appearance in the 1930s (decades before I was born,
thank you), there was another character which was similar in a book called,
yep, the Black Bat. He looked similar to Batman, as he had the black everything
including a cowl, but without the ears, no utility belt, and a long black
leather coat instead of the cape (which seemed impractical to me, even as a
kid).
This
film is based on that other character, rather than the one we know so well. Mickey
Spillane-ish hard-boiled District Attorney Tony Quinn (Jody Haucke) is trying
to bring down seemingly untouchable Crime Boss Oliver Snate (Leo Frost), so on
the verge of getting the bastid,
Snate has Quinn blinded via an acid attack. With the help of some guy who for
some unrealistic reason has become his servant, Silk Kirby (Richard Groen) and
a revenge-minded socialite, Carol Baldwin (Dixie Collins), he goes to “the
Orient,” where apparently all medical staff is non-Asian. While there he has a
series operations. The result of all this is that he now has the power of sight
in the dark as green vision, which we
only get to see in use once.
Apparently
without any kind of training, he dons the black clothes, grabs a gun, and goes
after the bad guys.
You
may have noticed my snarky under tone in this. There is a reason for that:
simply put, this is a bad film. No, not “so bad it’s good” bad, just bad. The
acting is atrocious, that’s true, but the overall fault lies squarely on Trevor
Payer, the writer, and especially on Scott Patrick, the director. The dialog is
terrible; in fact, there were three separate places where I said what the characters
were going to say before they did. It’s that predictable. There are way too
many holes in the story, such as lack of training as I mentioned earlier, that
the people are unbelievable, and there is absolutely no sense of character
development, even with more exposition than action (mostly through first-person
narration in trying to sound like, well, Spillane).
The
film, which is a mere 80 minutes, with proper editing should have been about
half of that. For example, a woman is chased by two muggers down an alleyway
for nearly 4 minutes. There’s another scene where a shot on a nurse talking in
stilted dialog is seen in a (purposefully) fuzzy unedited one-shot talking to a
doctor and not really saying much for another few minutes. Then there’s the 80
shots fired in a short distance back and forth before anyone falls. And that
includes a machine gun.
There
is no nudity, but there is a
four-person bikini contest where they prance back and forth in front of the
camera for a reaaaaaally long time while the sound of clapping (obviously
looped as you can hear the break) is annoyingly constant. There’s also no blood
or SFX despite the occasional shooting, or even redness on the face or eyes of
Quinn moments after acid is supposedly thrown in his face. The only effects,
other than the cartoonish city overview during the credits, are the flash of
the gun muzzles and the sound of the gunfire repeated aud nauseum. Though there is the one time they miss it and the gun
just clicks, which made me laugh. No, it was not running out of bullets, because
the next shot fires as it is supposed to do.
If
this is going to be a franchise, I can tell you now that I am not going to
watch any of the sequels.
Isis
Rising: Curse of the Lady Mummy Written and directed by Lisa Palenica Tom Cat Films / Platinum Assassin Films 80
minutes, 2012 / 2014 www.tomcatfilms.com www.mvdvisual.com
That was no lady, that was your mummy! (Sorry…)
Okay,
just a few corrective notes before I get into the review itself. The myth of
Osiris is one of the most durable from all Middle Egypt, strong enough to
replace Ra (sun god) as the main religion of Early Egypt after papyrus was introduced
and could carry the story faster and further.
The Isis of myth
Osiris
and Isis were not just husband/wife and brother/sister, but were also twins,
the children of Nut (sky goddess) and Geb (earth god). Their brother was Set,
who was also married to his own twin, Nephyhys (absent from this film).
Director/writer Lisa Palenica does get it right that Set kills Osiris and chops
him into pieces, but Isis and Nephyhys find all the parts except one (yes, that
one), and after shaping a phallus out of mud, she is impregnated with their
son, Horus, the most popular god of the period (he has a bird head; the “eye of
Horus” is one of the most common cultural symbols to last the ages, along with
Isis kneeling with her feathered arms outspread). After Horus is – er –
created, Osiris becomes the Lord of the Underworld (not Hades, just death).
Unlike the prologue here, Isis is not killed. Hey, it’s the prologue, so get
over the spoiler alert, okay?
Osiris and Isis (Rai in a painted-on bra) of the film
Yeah, I’m a fan of the myth. Been to Egypt for
a college class and wrote a forty-page paper on the changes of funeral
traditions as the technology of the writing medium changed (from pyramids to
mastabas to papyrus). I’ve even stood in the Temple of Horus in Memphis, so I’m
going to be a little bit harder about the myth.
After
the prologue, when the modern story actually starts, we meet a bunch of
archeology students and their professors as they search for the “black magic” Book
of the Undead (filmed at the Mesa Museum in Scottsdale, AZ), which is also what
Isis is supposed to use to raise her dead hubby/bro and an army to take over
the world. This collection of students includes a couple of horndog jock surfer
type dudes (Michael Alvarez, Joshua DuMond), one of whom even wears his
baseball cap backwards. Really? Have you even seen an archeology student? They
don’t have time for that kinda stuff. Then there are their girlfriends,
including one with bleached blonde hair and lots of cleavage (the director of
this epic, of all people) and another who is slight and toothsome in a cute
way, and equally horny (Shellie Ulrich). Then there is the brilliant older but
horny Asian student (Jiang Song), and the shy but horny nerd (Robin Daniel
Egan). Mentoring them (i.e., using them) is the horny older professor (Randy
Oppenhiemer) and the handsome and not
horny prof-head-of-his-field (Seth Grandrud, during his best Fernando Lamas).
Add the lonely and horny museum curator (Judith Eisenberg), and the perv voyeur
(aka horny) security guard (“bear” porn actor James Bartholet), and you have
more hormones floating around that you would think to find at a research
project that would normally go to the top of the class, rather than the
remedial ones.
I
need to make a comment here, which I know should fall under the view of suspension of disbelief, but when one of
the students inevitably finds the Book of the Undead, it is an actual book, with a front and back cover,
spine, printed gilt letters on said cover, typeset text and equally sized
pages. Of course, this is not possible since books didn’t really exist in this
form until after Johannes Gutenberg’s press during the 15 Century,
in Europe, not Egypt. Papyrus was the mode of discourse when the story of Isis
and Osiris was spread, but at the time when they were supposed to exist, the best it could have possibly been was chiseled on stone walls. In actuality, since they
were beings from the beginning of time (not during the Middle Kingdom of
Egypt), there would most likely have been no writing at all yet. The Egyptian
Book of the Dead in its earliest form (Ra-inspired First Kingdom) would have
been wall carvings.
Okay,
I think I got that out of my system now, so I can focus on the film itself.
Thanks for your indulgence.
With
all the sexual tension and implied scenes, there is no nudity, and little bloodletting.
There are a couple of cool SFX of limb removals, and kudos for that (done
digitally, I’m certain), but the scene where a head is removed looked good
except for the edit in the film where it jumps slightly between the head being attached
and the head being detached. Still, made me smile.
Shellie Ulrich and a dude
Most
of the time, the writing is actually okay, but every once in a while, it totally
works, such as after one of the bodies is found legless. The acting here is
thin, but Ulrich comes out as the cream of the crop. She freaks out, but not in
a cartoon or wooden way. By far the best actor in the batch. Actually, Song
does pretty well, too. Among the worst? Well, Rai comes across as fake as her
boobage, but shhhh, we won’t talk about that.
Come
to think of it, I am wrong. The most wooden actor in the batch is the one who
plays Set (Wilman Vergara Jr.), who performs like one of the extras in an
Italian sword and sorcery film from the mid-60s. Over the top and yet emotionless
all at the same time.
A
large-ish central cast isn’t just blood fodder; it works better if the viewer
has some connection or care for a character. And some of the tones just need
some tweaking to help with that. I applaud that Palenica has a history of
having porn actors do straight roles, and I applaud expanding niche acting to
cover numerous genres.
The
only extra is the trailer, below.
As
time goes on, I get the feeling that Palenica may have a career. As well as
editing, I would also like to humbly recommend she AD under a more seasoned
director, even an indie genre one, and get another perspective. It could help
her grow. For example, I know of a singer who wanted to play guitar, and the
advice she received from a well-known, international musician, was to practice
scales, and ask any guitarist she met on tour to show her one thing, and one
thing only. By that means she has built up a series of moves that makes her a
tremendous guitarist now. I’m thinking Palenica could use that from other
directors to build upon. Then, hopefully… watch out!
On many different levels, this film is a bit of a turning
point for Dustin Mills Productions. Up until now, the releases by director (among
other titles) Mills has either been a horror comedy or has strong elements of
humor. This film is different in that it is serious, from the first minute on.
There is still a few (meant to be) moments of uncomfortable titter, but this
film is done straight.
Essentially, this is a four-person piece, at least three
of them we get to see full frontal, but I’m getting – er – ahead of myself. Of
the foursome, three have appeared in previous Mills productions. The newest is
Allison Egan (not to be confused with Brit actor, Alison Egan). The first shot starts
right off with her in the altogether as Olivia, the girlfriend of the
soon-to-be-skinless titular character. As with many of Mills’ female cast
members, she’s tattooed and looks like she could beat the shit outta you and
enjoy it, but remains attractive. Her character has little back story, but her
screen time is limited, so onward.
Returning for a third time is Dave Parker, also known as
the horror vlogger, MrParka (yes, one word). He was in Easter Casket, and also Bath
Salts Zombies as an addicted stoner, but in this more serious role, he does
fine. His role of Neil, who controls the money to be meted out to scientists in
order to insure profit for the shareholders, is pivotal, but again, not much
screen time. Parker looks a bit young for the role which he is portraying, but
I’m okay with that (like I deserve to have a say, right?).
Erin R. Ryan
The female lead is Erin R. Ryan, who also starred in
Mills’ last film, Easter Casket. She’s
still-full-skin Pete’s roommate Alice, and less-than-secret love interest. She
is also a scientist and is, in fact, research partner with him. Ryan is an
attractive woman with a firm jaw and is capable of being both strong and
vulnerable in the same scene.
Pete Peel (really? Peel?) is the protagonist anti-hero,
strongly played by Mills’ hetero-life/work-partner and recurring lead actor,
Brandon Salkil. Petey is looking for a cure for cancer because his shoulder has
a ridiculously large melanoma (looks like a silver dollar sized hole). Not sure
why the girlfriend, Olivia, never noticed it. As Nirvana once said, “Oh well,
nevermind.” The important thing is that he’s on a literal deadline to find the
cure, and he thinks he may have found it in a worm whose secretions melt, well,
you know. And despite threats from Alice and Neil, I don’t think I’m giving
anything away (read the title of the film) by saying that he injects the
experimental serum into himself.
So far, the story is going along strongly, we’re somewhat
emotionally tied to the two lead characters in a star-crossed lovers way, and
you just know the big bang is coming. And as always, Mills does not disappoint.
Brandon Salkil
From here, though as enjoyable as the film is, and it
truly is, there is some resemblance to Cronenberg’s version of The Fly (1986). First healing strength leading
to the body disintegrating yet still strong, twitching, bodily fluids to melt
food and people, and of course the love interest trying to reconcile with the
whole thing. While Cronenberg had a budget of $15 million, Mills does damn fine
with a few thou and opens it up in ways that are new, partly by slowly closing
the story into a tight knot.
Let’s talk about that last part. One of the things I
truly like about Mills’ work is that he knows how to make a small budget go a
long way. For example, nearly all of this film, with the exception of one
scene¸ takes place in a single house, and mostly in the attic and the basement.
This works well with giving the mild yet palpable feeling of claustrophobia, a
device that syncs well with what is happening to Pete, as his world gets
smaller.
Everything feels increasingly intimate, with a large
percentage of the dialog between the two leads, Pete and Alice, the Invisible Man style
clothes and mask Pete wears, and much of the surroundings being quite bare and
stark. I’m not sure if it was budget constraints, the house they managed to get
to for the shoot, or a director’s choice for mood, but it works.
There obviously isn’t a very high body count with a cast
of four (though if you look at it in percentages, that’s another story), but
the gruesome effects for all involved is incredibly enjoyable. Sherriah Salkil
(Brandon’s spouse who also contributes to the films in various roles) and Mills
do a great job with the make-up. It looks way better than the budget implies,
and I would say this filmmaker’s best gore effects yet. Still stringy rubber
innerds¸ but the blood and masks look way ahead of past films, and that’s
saying a lot considering how accomplished they looked before.
Since this is a Mills film, there must be a discussion of
the one thing that is recurrent in all his releases: puppets. He keeps it down
to a minimum, being a worm, a dog (or what’s left of it), and melted bodies. Sure,
the dog looks similar to the one in Bath
Salt Zombies, but it kicks butt (or bites leg?).
If there was any one complaint on my part (as I am wont
to do), it is that when Brandon wears his mask, it is sometimes hard to make it
out. If a bigger budget was on the table, I would say re-dub the voice.
The visuals are quite compelling. The editing is tight,
the cinematography sharp (and HD), and even the lighting is solid. And the gore
level is high and sticky. Mills has a talent for making fake blood (too many
films are the wrong color or consistency), and he is not afraid to apply it.
The one true piece of comedy that appears in this film is
over the credits, in the song “The Ballad of Skinless Pete,” by Mike Fisher, an
inappropriately folksy ballad that is the opposite of the metal shards that
usually accompany a Mills release.
Microbugets can either put a crimp in a film’s style, or it
will present the opportunity to be creative with what one has. This film
definitely falls into the latter category. That being said, if you’re a band
and you need a music video and can pay for it, or just want to support the
genre through an up-and-comer, checks out Mills site above and help finance his
next project, called SpiderClown. I
am already anticipating it.
Most
of the time when the world “Hillbilly” appears in the title, the film may be
fun, but it tends to be a bit on the silly side, especially in this genre. For
example, there’s Hillbilly’s in Haunted
House (1967), Cannibal Hillbillies
(2003), and Hicky: The Hillbilly Vampire (2014).
This one, however, is very serious, despite a few moments of mirth that peek
through.
We
are introduced to the titular Carl Henry Jessup in a wraparound by a granddad
telling this “based on a true story” tale to his three gran’chillrin. It should
come as no surprise that the favorite food of Jessup (Paul Respass, d. 2014) is
“long pig,” aka human flesh. After all, as someone says to him in the film more
than one, “Your bloodline is cursed, Carl Henry.”
To
be served on a plate, all you need to do is be someone he doesn’t know and show
up on his property, poachers, or if they just piss him off, such as date-rape
the woman who is his half-sister.
The
main part of the story has a retro 1970s-‘80s grainy, washed out look with pock
marks and scratches, reminding me a bit of part of the classic slasher Mother’s Day (1980). As we look deeper
into the mind and thoughts of Jessup (which we hear in an overdub), there are
flashes of arty camerawork and editing that elevates this to more than just a
typical slash a burn (or cook) slice-em-up.
Early
on, we meet the zaftig Rae Lynn (Theresa Holly), Carl Henry’s deep blue eyed
neighbor and half-sister who cooks for Jessup. Whether she knows what (or who) she is cooking is unclear for a while. On some level, Jessup
loves her, but not as much as his moonshine or his “daddy’s special” gravy.
She’s also the only one who can stand up to him without fear. And it’s pretty
obvious that she has a much deeper hankering for him, but he’s “kin.” Instead,
she takes a shine on their dumb-as-a-stump moocher friend, Billy Wayne (Chris
Shumway).
Poor
Carl Henry really misses his Momma and evil Papa, and is willing to sell his
soul to bring them back “alive and in the flesh.” Even though he recants his
wish, is that possible, and how much of it is “real” or in his mind? What about
the drunk ‘billy roaming around throughout the story (played by the director),
and how does he fit into the story? Of course, secrets are going to be revealed
and violence will ensue.
The
gore is aplenty and looks great, though the blood is occasionally too gooey.
I’ll forgive that since everything else looks so good (e.g., real pig
intestines were used). The editing is superb, and the throw-back look works
well.
Part
of what makes this enjoyable is that Montalvan gets such good performances out
of his actors. There is the occasionally moment of woodiness, but mostly they
manage of embody the characters, or more accurately, let the characters embody
them. The three main leads are especially strong. Paul has Carl Henry go from
raging to befuddled to scared (about making his pact), to nostalgic and annoyed
in the wink of an eye without being confusing or seeming to give conflicting
messages. Shumway has his way with being creepy in a very subtle manner.
Theresa is also well versed in creating mood without saying a word. The scene
at the table where Billy Wayne asks her out, you see her face go from flattered
to “what the hell am I thinking” to sad as she looks longingly at Carl in an
entirely natural and fluid way that is a joy to watch.
Even
without the supernatural aspects, this would be a good film. That being said,
it does add a touch that makes it differ from most backwoods slitters. In fact,
this low-budget exercise was more enjoyable to me than the more popular Jug Face (2013), another backwater
bloodbath with a mystical message. In other words, this was even better than I
expected. Thanks!
Lots
of juicy extras are included. Yeah, three different versions of the trailer is
great, and I say that without a whiff of sarcasm, but the centerpiece is the
hour-long Making Of documentary titled “Gutting da Hillbilly Butcher.” Most of
the cast is interviewed, including most of the crew, who discuss the aspects of
their contribution to the project, as well as how it was working with the film
as a whole. The director shines a light on many aspects including that part of
the production was shot in his back yard in Pasadena (the rest in a busy nature
preserve). Even some of the neighbors are talking heads here, a nice choice.
However, it is S.E. Feinberg, who played the narrator of the wraparound that
steals the show. I’m going to have that “Gimme that Long Pig” song stuck in my
head for hours now.
Also,
there is a 30-minute Internet interview with the director and two leads, on
“The Horror Happens Radio Show” hosted by Jay K (www.horrorhappens6.wix.com/show).
The cast is on camera via computer so you get to see their reactions and hear
lots of stories. It’s a nice addition, especially with Paul (possibly the last
piece of film of him) being beardless and looking quite different and non-menacing.
More
than once during these extras, Montalvan mentions an earlier short film titled Razor Blade (2012), which is also
included. It’s experimental, reminiscent of Luis Bunuel’s Un Chien Andalou (1929) in visuals and editing, and a bit of
content. Montalvan definitely has an eye for the arty side of horror.
As
for The Legend of the Hillbilly Butcher,
stick around until after the credits, by the way…
When
dealing with a horror anthology, I understand the need for a wraparound story,
or some usually humorous and/or sexy host to present it. Think Rod Serling in Night Gallery, or Elvira. This
collection of indie shorts is presented by three RV trailer trashees: backwards
cap wearing and fully bearded everyman Bo, mumbling professor Cephus, and the “smo-kin”
Daisy Duke/ripped tee-shirt clad Lulu. The box cover makes it look like it’s
going to be lascivious, but this group is pretty PG, television ready rated
stuff (even with the slight hint of stereotypical cousin incest).
Perhaps
it’s because it’s the first hour-long version of this “Hee Haw meets Creepshow” (the
PR description), but I didn’t find much personality with the trio here, as
with, say, Ollie Joe Prader or Larry the Cable Guy’s crowd. Pretty harmless,
though, but not as funny as the writers seem to think it is. Hopefully that
will improve, especially with the hype and commercial attention this is
getting, and I’ll hopefully be watching future episodes to find out. And I know
there are at least two more in 2015.
The
first story, “Franky and the Ant,” is a pretty solid crime/revenge tale that is
well acted and written, though it borrows quite liberally from the film (not
television version) Fargo (1996). It’s
short and sweet. This is followed by an insane slasher piece called “Amused.” We
watch a woman being chased through very The
Shining type weather. I saw the ending coming early on, but it was still –
er – amusing to watch. The actors all seemed committed. That’s part of why I
love indie films.
An
interesting piece of animation that cuts to the bone is “Doppelganger,” which
is reminiscent of one of my idols, Ray Harryhausen. I found this one especially
disappointing despite the excellent stop-motion photography.
Clearly
the centerpiece is the final short, “The Nest.” We meet a mother and son that
run a remote diner in farm country, who have a bit of a twisted relationship
(no, not that kind). Known for their award winning honey, the duo is at odds
with the local government man (a decent actor who is totally too young for the
role) and rancher. The latter sets up a series of events that does not end well
for nearly anyone. This is by far the best of the batch, and is well done from
beginning to end, including some nice effects (though the gore level is at a
minimum, which is actually true across the board in all the films). My only
comment that could be taken negatively is to question why it is called “The
Nest” and not “The Hive.”
I
can certainly see it as a series and I would enjoy watching it, getting the
opportunity to see some decent indie shorts. As with any anthology, there is a
mixture of quality, and this is no exemption, but it is (in my humble opinion)
a fun way to spend an hour.
