Review: Nicole

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet

 

Nicole
Directed by James Schroeder
Dopp Kit Media
74 minutes, 2020
www.nicolethemovie.com
www.schradesproductions.com

To paraphrase the late, great Leonard Cohen: “Nicole takes you down to her place by the river… / You can spend the night together / Then she’ll chop your perfect body with her axe…”

When we meet budding artist and daytime office assistant Nicole (Tamika Shannon), it is easy to tell she is a woman with issues. Chugging back vodka upon awakening and playing lovingly with knives, she keeps people away by using ear-buds around the office. She may be lovely, and men are constantly staring at her in that toxic-masculinity way (man, I hate the open-office workplace concept), but you know right off the bat that there is something – or multiple things – off about her. But then again, is it real or her imagination? It seems like everybody – male and female – is into her, including a creepy jogger (Tre Lockhart) and a nice comic relief turn with a goth hardware store clerk (Madeline Brumby).

Though a man who works with her (Ke’Shawn Bussey) who is obviously one of the good guys (every other male is kind of stereotypical), asks her out to see his band play, and she rebuffs him. The viewer’s heart goes out to him, but she’s arranged an online first date with charming John (Stephen Green), who’s handsome demeaner also hides a broken personality: he imbibes with lines of white powder and has a tendency to pull a Cosby on women, and then throw them away after getting what he wanted. Nicole and John seem to be not water-and-oil, but fire-and-fire. It’s hard to tell who is the fox and who is the henhouse. Fifteen minutes in and I am itching to see where it goes.

Tamika Shannon and Stephen Green

This is mostly a two-person film, as Nicole and John are two celestial bodies orbiting around each other, with other characters being their moons: part of the system but on the outskirts. It is interesting to see the way the two of them interact, her being stiff and unsure, and him being loquacious to the point where you want to give him a throat punch, making really bad jokes that are red flags the size of a city block. He’s a playa on the move and the question is will she be moved by him. The second act starts as the date begins.

The sheer number of substances that this couple imbibes is quite impressive, probably more in their one day (including his snorting) that I have done in at least 10 years in total, if not more. Alcohol culture has always confused me (the appeal of it, anyway), and this film is definitely a reason why. At least no ciggy-butt addictions; watching people smoke has always been a turn-off for me, but not as much as when films show tooth brushing, of which we get to enjoy more than once here.

This is a very dark comedy that is beautifully shot in black and white, except for Nicole’s inner thoughts or desires, which is a reversal of the usual trope of memory portrayed on film. It presents the drabness of her life, as she stumbles through it. But color shows not only her memories, but her hopeful delusions as well. As for the lessons of this film, it is double-directed: first, women, never leave your drink unattended, especially around someone you don’t know well; and second, men, do not be a Cosby because (among many reasons) it may not work out as you intended.

The film really picks up steam in the third act, when the line between reality and what is going on in one’s head starts to – er – bleed. Is what we’re seeing real, or imagined? I love that kind of story, as the possibilities are unlimited. The conversations start to become a bit surrealistic and way more interesting.

There is a nice touch of blood and body parts, without being overly graphic (though granny may not be too happy), in part to the director’s nimble touch, and I’m certain the budget restraints helped. Blood always looks better in monochrome.

The dialog, written by the director Schroeder is sometime sharp, and politically nuanced, such as one character saying, “That’s what you get you Harvey Weinstein motherfucker.” That made me smile. The acting is sharp; 40 years ago, Nicole might have been played by Pamela Grier, but Shannon does well to show the shades of emotions and thoughts that run through Nicole’s head. John is a bit more one-dimensional, but Green also plays him realistically, I’m sorry to say (what I mean is that John is not a nice person).

This is Schroeder’s first feature, and his only non-documentary credit. Yet the way the film is presented, it almost feels like a documentary, with the way it is shot and the black and white helps, as well. This gives the film a cool and calculated look that works for its subject matter. I look forward to more fictional features from him.

The film is available on Amazon and TubiTV.  

Review: Slayed

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet

Slayed
Directed by Jim Klock and Mike Capozzi
Code 3 Films; Terror Films; Frozen Vapor Productions
73 minutes, 2020

Not to be confused with Slade’s best album, 1972’s Slayed?, this film is Xmas oriented with a homicidal Santa Claus roaming around with elfin mischief and murder on his mind. Now, this is not new territory, as there are more than a dozen killer Claus films out there, but generally they fall into two categories: the first is the rarer real Santa as a demon, and the more common trope is someone dressed in the red and white while doing malevolent deeds.

Well, the makers of the religion-themed Red Letters (2019; reviewed HERE), Jim Klock and Mike Capozzi, have joined together for this holiday romp, to bring new life to an old motif. Not only do they co-direct, but once again they also star in the film. Luckily, they are skilled both in front and behind the camera. 

Mike Capozzi and Jim Klock

Though it was filmed in Northern Virginia, the film takes place in Harris County, Arizona, opening with the obligatory set-up prologue in 2014. With a bit of taunting carnage and a couple of murders containing some decent yet minimal gore, we are brought to “5 years later,” taking place in 2019, before COVID-19 (I bring this up because the film was actually shot during the pandemic).

The horrific acts of the short opening piece took place in a water treatment plant, which is in the process of being shut down, led by Nicole (scene-stealing Coel Mahal), while worker Crandle (a very muscular Capozzi) tensely walks the grounds on Xmas Eve, smoking cigarettes furiously and making sure everything is working honkey-dory while spouting lines like “I know you’re out there, you son-of-a-bitch. Let’s dance.” Nicole gives us a hint quickly on, in a hilarious phone call bit, that while this may not be classified as an official comedy, there is some definitely tongue-in-cheek approaches as well as the terror of mutilation. Five minutes in, and this is looking like it is going to be a fun sleigh ride.

Placing it in Arizona is actually a smart move, because as it was filmed in 10 days during the summer, something Klock admits “was a push,” it makes sense that people are walking around in short sleeves during the holiday season. And what is it about Santas and hatchets; is there some tradition I don’t know about? But I digress…

Into the mix comes security guard Jordan (Klock in a semi-comedic relief role). He plays cops often in his films, which is not surprising, because he has worked for years as an officer in Virginia. Unfamiliar with the place, he’s got spunk (though Nicole doesn’t like spunk), and it’s just him and Crandle on the job as the Eve turns into night. Until reports of a kidnapping come over the radio. Santa redux.

Okay, I’ve talked about this before, and I am going to repeat it as often as possible. When a rescued kidnap victim, Heather (Kyra Kennedy, who was also in Red Letters) wants to call the coppers, Jordan stops her because (a) he is afraid, and (b) because Crandle told him to “stay down.” Why do men blindly listen to other men, but not intelligent women in these movies? It’s a disease, I tells ya!

Remember the really old Bugs Bunny cartoons, when he’s being chased by Elmer or whomever, and there’s a hallway with many doors, and the characters keep coming out of one and going into another? That’s kind of what the second act feels like here, as various people are either looking for the killer Claus or trying to escape, while the evil, hatchet carrying miscreant pops up here and there, always just outta reach. It is both effective with the building of tension, and wearying at the same time, like filler songs on a really good album, such as “Creature From the Black Lagoon” on Dave Edmunds’ 1977 Repeat When Necessary.

When the action ramps up in the final act, it comes at the right time, and the action becomes more intense, with really fine performances by Klock and Capozzi, as does Kenny, making the most of her role which is, honestly mostly whimpering (I say, if you can write women as smart, also write them strong). As I said earlier, Mahal is a joy to watch.

As with Red Letters, there is a bit of religion thrown in, but here it’s more casual (well, it is Xmas) with some Bible quotes thrown in near the end. As for the SFX, they are all practical, done by the team of Coel Mahal (a woman of many talents) and Nui Agustin. There is a fair number of slays (yeah, I went there) so there is a nice amount of blood and gore, without much in the viscera department. It is all incredibly well done, being just the right amount without being stingy but not over the top.

The photography, handled by Emily Adams as DoP, is quite fine. A lot of the film takes place outside in the dark, and everything is really clear. There is also some really beautiful drone work early on. As with the imagery, I would also like to point out the editing is a fanciful mix of meat-n-taters and some spectacular work as well.

As for the identity of the killer, well, I won’t give it away of course, but I kinda figured out part of it about halfway through (I had another guess before that, but was proved wrong, thankfully). There are plenty of surprises and some decent jump scares paced throughout, not to mention some unexpected actions that took me by surprise, happily.

Yes, the canon of deadly St. Nicks is large, and this one is a fun addition that can be enjoyed during this festive season. It is certainly more recommended than your Aunt Phyllis’s fruit cake that suspiciously may have been regifted from last year.

You can find a decent interview with Klock and Capozzi on the Pop Horror blog HERE 

Review: We Still Say Grace

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet

We Still Say Grace
Directed by Brad Helmink and John Rauschelbach
Brothers Shamus Pictures; Dauntless Studios; 
Lexicon Entertainment; Room in the Sky Films; Vertical Entertainment
94 minutes, 2020
www.facebook.com/wssgmovie
www.westillsaygrace.com  

As I have posited before, there is no one scarier than a human monster; more than a supernatural creature to “tear your soul apart,” and I don’t mean humanoid slashers with machetes that cannot be killed (or will not stay dead), but “Furthermore, the hearts of men are full of evil and madness while they are alive…” (Ecclesiastes 9:3).

To be more specific, nothing is scarier to me than a human who believes they are backed by God and therefore are among the righteous, and have the duty to obey what they consider what God has “spoken” to them. I give you most of the Republican party and at least a third of the Supreme Court as examples. That is where this film comes in.

Before I even start, I just would like it to be known that I have been a fan of Bruce Davison since I cut out of school and first saw him play with rats in Willard (1971). He has had some major roles in blockbuster hits, but I still feel he is underrated. In this film, he personifies the human monster of which I describe.

Holly Taylor, Rita Volk, Arianne Zucker

Davison plays Harold, the “spirited” super-Christian patriarch of his family. This quartet includes his wife, Betty (Arianne Zucker), devoted older teenager Sarah (Rita Volk), and the protagonist of the story, younger and unsure Maggie (Holly Taylor). They live in an isolated farm house that looks like it is always filled with either smoke (candles?) or dust. There’s a bit of an Amish vibe going on, with Harold wearing suspenders – though unlike the Amish, he has a moustache on his goatee – and the women wearing old-fashioned and modest clothing. This is a close knit family… very knit. Essentially, they are a four-person cult.

My question is, with the closest neighbor being almost 30 miles away, and without a telephone or car, how do they get the gas to run the tractor and the generator, and how to acquire essentials like, say, toilet paper (don’t take me there)?

Like Jim Jones, Harold believes that his calling includes at some point poisoning his family, supposedly to prove their trust in their bloodthirsty god (must be Old Testament). While Betty is obedient but hesitant, Sarah is ready, and Maggie is questioning and scared. Things are about to take a turn for the even stranger when along comes a spid… I mean, three dudes of varied ethnicities whose car has blown a couple of tires down the road from our story locus. Knock, knock, they approach the house without realizing the insanity inside, and the unclear and present danger to their bodies and souls. So ya don’t get all worked up, this is only just over 10 minutes into the feature. You know things are going to go south.

Dallas Hart

Our little miss Maggie sees the trio – Fisher (Dallas Hart), Randy (Frankie Wolf), and the Biblically named yet profane Luke (Xavier J. Watson) – as a possible means of escaping an early dirt bed. In a house whose worn furnishings and appliances appear to be from the 1970s, along with the fatherly threat of eternal peace, it is no surprise there’s a desire to leave Maggie’s farm (sorry…). Obviously, the family does not employ cell phones (or any kind of communication devices, including radio and television), but it’s odd the guys don’t (they take pix on a polaroid). While it is not indicated, my guess is that perhaps this takes place before the millennium, which would explain the house décor a bit more.

Now, as for the guys who are on their road-trip-across-the-country summer before college, well, for a couple of them, I need to ask, who raised these kids? When someone invites you into their house, even if you don’t believe what they believe, you show some respect. I’m certainly not Christian, but I have been able to sit through grace before supper without squirming. It’s a matter of respect; of course, it’s Fisher, the white guy, who has the most manners and at least tries to be courteous. That bothered me on a few levels, but let’s move on.

Holly Taylor

Harold comes across as quite a benign, God-lovin’ man, who won’t tolerate drink (other than Sabbath wine) such as beer, and bristles at cursing, which he considers non-Christian. And you don’t wanna be non-Christian around this guy. Davison plays him to the hilt, with, at first, some befuddlement and seemingly kindness and then a deep anger towards these strangers who invade his sacred space (the farm) that has repercussions with what he views as his minion (i.e., his family), coz the Bible and God told him so. I could go into a whole – er – sermon on the evils of this level of religion, but I’ll put the blood on the doorway and move on.

While tensions rise, Fisher is caught between being loyal to his friends and not wanting to disrespect his hosts, thereby being placed in the middle, while Maggie has her eyes on him (of course it’s the white guy). While the tension slowly builds although always present like a steady beat, around the halfway point, the fanaticism ramps up and hits the fan.

Bruce Davison

The entire cast is stellar, as I have already discussed with Davison, but Zucker definitely deserves a notice. She plays her role to nuanced perfection. It is also worth noting that even with the action being sporadic, the tension is, as I said, always present. It is beautifully written with lots of surprises and a few legitimate jump scares (one effectively enhanced by the music). There is little blood other than a couple of scenes, but a few of the deaths are sometimes traumatic and somewhat unpredictable (with a few exceptions). Also noteworthy is the imagery, such as the stilted and musty air and the sepia filter tones used indoors, and sometimes it’s just glorious, including a scene near the end with Davison and a fire behind him (not going to give details) that is just stunning.

While ol’ JC is mentioned a few times, this is definitely Old Testament fire and fury, and blood sacrifices. The film reminds me of a bumper sticker I once saw that said, “Oh, Lord, protect me from your believers.” I am convinced it’s more accurate to say, “Protect me from your interpreters.”

The film is not anti-Christian, but more pointing out a mindset that sometimes religion causes to envelop certain megalomaniacal types. Most religious films I see have do to with Catholics, priests, and possession, or a crazed cult of kids who murder (Children of the Corn). Here, the human trait of the lack of humanity (or humility) is all the more terrifying. This is an incredibly well-done film.

 

Review: Phobic

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet

Phobic
Directed by Bryce Clark
Pale Moon Entertainment; StoryLab; Samuel Goldwyn Films
82 minutes, 2017 / 2020
www.facebook.com/samuelgoldwynfilms

There was a time when, generally speaking, sins were punished by humans (e.g., Se7en) and fears were inflicted by the supernatural. Phobic can arguably be considered a cross-over as the police procedural chases down a masked serial killer(s) who inflicts their death not by machete or knife, but the person’s own phobias.

Personally, I have no phobias. Sure, I used to be terrified of the dark as a kid, and I have a fear of bees (though respect them) or another Trump presidency, but nothing that would fall into the realm of scared-to-death. That is where this film starts up in the prologue when we meet the protagonist, Police Detective Riley Sanders (Jacque Gray), who suffers from, of all things, Selaphobia, a fear of flashing lights. Speaking of which, if the reader of this review is an epileptic, note that there is a lot of strobe lights, especially during the credits. Same warning about the credits for those who are also prone to motion sickness (it made me a bit queasy).

Davin Liljenquist, Jacque Gray

Anyhoo, three months after the prologue, Sanders is partnered with veteran Homicide Detective Paul Carr (Davin Liljenquist, ex-host of “The Parade of Homes Show”). Of course, as is the nature of these stories, she resents him at first. As a sidenote, they always portray the hard-bitten detectives (such as Harry Callahan) as being “imposed of” by being a partner, but rarely do they take it from the standpoint of the partner, how miserable it must be working for someone that full of themselves, even though Carr seems to have boundary issues. This has no bearing on what I feel about this film, but it should be noted. And, as always, I digress, especially since they bond before any of the real action begins anyway.

Definitely a slow burn, this almost feels like a Scandihoovian murder mystery mini-series on cable, like Wallander, but it’s actually shot in beautiful Salt Lake City, UT, as indicated by the between-scenes arial shots of the city. The action picks up after someone has died/is murdered due to an extreme phobia. What I find really interesting is that this film does not always take the easy route of common fears, such as spiders, but mostly rather odd ones, such as phobias of a particular color (chromatophobia) or mannequins (automatonophobia), to name a couple, though not all. That is quite more intriguing, in my estimation.

Overall, despite the nice body count, this is pretty benign as far as blood goes, and watchable for those who are squeamish (unless you have one of the phobias highlighted, of course). There is, however, a lot of talking – which is common in police procedurals – as the new detective team discuss the case and get chummy. This is a large part of the slow burn I mentioned earlier.

As for the killer, a sackcloth mask is worn and who only speaks in whispers to hide the big reveal later on, so there’s hints but only sparingly. That’s a good thing. There is also a strange and I’m going to say obnoxiously evil psychiatrist, Elizabeth Holden (Tiffani DiGregorio) whose specialty is phobias, and her victims are the very ones she’s looking after. You can tell there’s something suspicious about her by her constant crooked-smile smirk.

This release plays into one of my main annoyances about these kinds of stories, in that the detectives always go to investigate seemingly abandoned suspicious buildings on their own, always by flashlight. This happens numerous times with multiple players, and I just say, “Oh, come on! There’s a whole police force out there, even if it doesn’t fit into the film’s budget!” Also, the characters give out too much personal information about themselves to relative strangers. For example, one says at too early a point in meeting someone, “What’s wrong with me?”

As with most of these films, the action picks up in the third act, as some things are explained through flashbacks and the killer(s) wreak havoc on our heroes. Who will live?! Who will die?! Tune in next week for… nah, I’m not going to give it away, but there are two moments at the end where I said to myself, out loud, “Henh?” (in a high-pitched commentary), even as the final credits started to roll.

The acting is pretty solid, especially by Gray as she slips in and out of varying emotions. Liljenquist seems a bit stiff on occasion, but fares well. DiGregorio sneers her part excellently, but seems too young for the role, honestly (a compliment, I promise you). That being said, it’s nice to see a film with mature actors (I’m going to say many in their late ‘30s or early ‘40s?) for once. I can see this playing on television without any cuts.

You can also tell this was a product of Utah, due to its lack of blood, cursing, nudity, or sex (though we see some wine drinking and hints of coffee consumption). That’s not to say there is not quite a bit of tense moments, squeezed between the talking and mood shots while Riley roams about her apartment (it’s almost worth seeing the film for the kitsch décor). While Mormonism is not mentioned (and I don’t recall any tan pants), there is definitely a skew to this film, including a large distrust of psychotherapy. As Robert D. Hunt and K.H. Blacker state in the introduction to their article “Mormons and Psychiatry” in Dialog: A Journal of Mormon Thought, “Among many Mormons there exists a genuine distrust of psychiatry. Apprehensions arise partly from misconceptions about psychotherapy and partly from a stigma that many attach to anything associated with emotional disorders.” This definitely comes across in the zeitgeist of the film.

While this film could have been a lot better with more involvement with the victims (we usually do not meet them until it is an investigated murder scene), and a lot less descriptive dialogue, such as the one with Riley, Paul and Riley’s dad, Jack (Ernie Lively) sitting around a table, eating, and yakking. Sure, the information conveyed was important to the story, but it just went on too long, as did another luncheon scene between Riley and Paul.

If you like police procedurals, this is like an extended television show, so it’s a good watch – even though the visuals are on the dark side – but it could have been so much better with a bit more action and engagement with the characters for the audience. This is only the director’s second film, so let’s give him some time. There is promise here and a whiff of a possible sequel.

Horror Shorts Reviews: December 2020

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet

Horror Shorts Reviews for December 2020

Bath Bomb
Directed by Matt McWilliams
Crypt TV
3:00 minutes, 2019
A woman (Sarah Nicklin) prepares for a bath after what I am assuming is a long day. She throws in a bath bomb, for that lovely fragrance and the bubbles (I have used them myself, on occasion). But as the poster indicates, things go awry thanks to an unreliable bath products company. Even though the short plays it by the rules, at 3 minutes, the rulebook is brief and sweet, so don’t go looking for deep philosophical eruptions. Without dialog (ever notice how many shorts don’t have spoken words? But I digress…), we watch poor Sarah go from calm to terrorized in the drop of a balm.
Full film HERE

The Crimson Video (aka The Cursed Crimson Video)
Directed by John H. Shelton
Baydzone
3:54 minutes, 2020
This is as low budget as it gets, and they certainly do make the most of it. A video of the Crimson Creeper (prolific director Shelton), who is essential a man in a cool Mexican wrestling mask, is sent to a guy (Bayden Redshaw) by his friend Alan. The Creeper (CC) repeats the same things over and over, which you can see in the trailer below, in a deep, growling voice. He comments that “two men turn into one,” and “I’m watching you,” among other things. Needless to say, this freaks the guy out, who is becoming paranoid about the video affecting his real life. I won’t say much more about this but it is nicely creepy and is well underscored by Bobby Cole’s soundtrack. It looks like this may become a series, which I would like to see happen.
Full film HERE

 

Don’t Peek
Directed by Julian Terry
6:46 minutes, 2020
A young woman (Katie Cetta) in her bedroom is playing a version of the Japanese game, Animal Crossing, on her cell phone. As she plays, she notices that there is a crossover between the game and reality. Rather than freaking it out (as it would me), she is charmed by it. However, there is a malevolent force behind it, which should come as no surprise to genre fans. Without any dialog, we watch as she comes to realize that there is danger afoot. This can also be seen as a commentary on cell phone and/or gaming addiction (ever notice how many shorts have people playing computer games? But I digress…), because even as things turn for the worse, she keeps at it, until… Well, the ending is no real surprise, but there is a genuinely nice jump scare involved, and the film, while working old tropes, manages to put a feeling of dread into the process, so kudos for that. There is also some really nice photography considering the levels of lighting used. Worth a – err – peek. And if you’re interested, there are a whole bunch of reaction videos available for this film.
Full film HERE 

 

Larry
Directed by Jacob Chase
5:21 minutes, 2017
Poor Joe (Joe Calarco), stuck in a boring job as an overnight Car Park attendant, with a single car in the lot. Personally, I would have a book with me to read, but instead, Joe finds a Lost and Found box under the counter. In it is a Kindle, which contains a children’s story of a lonesome monster named Larry, who is looking for a friend (ever notice how many shorts have people on computers? But I digress…). With flickering lights and shadows hovering around in the near vacant lot, is there something there? Well, it’s a genre film… The story has a nice build to it with a couple of good jump scares, and yes, a somewhat cliché conclusion, though I found it enjoyable. Director Chase does well with the confining space and looming darkness beyond.
Full film HERE 

Numerus Duo
Directed by Nick Fiorella
Maple Films; Lil Red Hen Media
8:30 minutes, 2020
www.facebook.com/maplefilms/
Right from the opening, you know this is going to be a gorgeously shot short, as the skies cloud over above a Roman Catholic church. Inside, parishioners are receiving communion, but there is a devil afoot in this well-written, acted and directed comedy. Despite its short length, the theme is well developed right from the start and when you realize the link with the title, you can’t help but laugh. Possession films tend to be either dire or goofy (such as 1990’s Repossessed), but this one infuses both with a morbid theme and disgusting humor that one can help but shake their head and both admire the beauty of what you’re watching with the eww factor of what is happening. One of the better made shorts I have seen in a while.

 

Root of All Evil
Directed by Alex DiVincenzo
Lockbridge Productions
7:34 minutes, 2016
As part of the 48 Hour Film Project (for which this short won), this film incorporates the idea of the Halloween Tree (giving props to Ray Bradbury). In New England (where this is filmed), a gaggle of friends get together on Halloween to celebrate, led by witch-dressed Jessica (Jackie B. Fabian). Among her guests are Matt (actor/director Jordan Pacheco, who recently directed Blood Pi, reviewed HERE),l Harry (Jamie Dufault; congrats on your degree), and Sophia (Anacaren Delgado) and Brooke (Allie Marshall) – both of whom were in Blood Pi. The premise is kind of silly, with the tree taking revenge for being mistreated by most of the guests (ever notice how many genre films have plants that move, like Evil Dead? But I digress…). DiVincenzo (who also directed the short “Trouser Snake” the same year, reviewed HERE), takes this quite whimsically (it is a horror comedy short, after all), but never disappoints. The acting is a bit over the top in sit-com fashion, and it’s pretty meat and taters filmmaking, but there are some really nice gore SFX thrown in and an attractive cast. It was a smile-bringer because sometimes in this complicated world, you just want to sit back and watch some plants kill people.
Full film HERE 

 

Smiling Woman
Directed by Alex Magaña
ACM Official
2:44 minutes, 2019
At 1 AM, a young woman (Ariel Fullinwider) is sitting at an outdoor train station on her cell phone (ever notice how many shorts have people on cells? But I digress…), when a woman with a big smile dressed in yellow (lovely Merlynda Sol, who reminds me of Lesley Ann Warren) keeps popping in and out around her, either on the other side of the station, or closer. If you have ever seen the 2013 short, “2AM: The Smiling Man” (reviewed HERE), on which this is very similar, you know there is an evil element to the situation. and she is up to no good. It’s a well done, creepy short that works, even with a similar trope as previous releases. That being said, it amazes me how many films are duplicates of both “Smiling Woman” and “2AM Smiling Man.” One, titled “Smiling Woman (Stay Home)” even uses the same locations and yellow-dressed antagonist, literally spliced from one film into the other. Isn’t that plagiarism? Anyway, stick to the originals, they’re better.
Full film HERE 

 

Songs My Mother Taught Me
Directed by Doug Cook
Breakframe Digital
13:44 minutes, 2018
This Canadian release is a lot of fun. The basic premise is a group of friends – on Halloween of course – use a Ouija board (ever notice how many films have people using Ouija boards to negative effects? But I digress…), to contact a brother and sister’s (Brock Morgan and Ace Hicks) recently dead mother. Needless to say, using a Ouija board is never a good idea, especially in genre films, never mind on Halloween. Of course, this opens a door to demons that decimate the party (body count). What’s different than many other shorts is that while there is little gore (though there is one scene that is excruciating to watch), there is a large, bloody build-up of bodies. The effects, both SFX and digital, look really good, the acting is just fine, and the story is actually quite compelling. Excellent work from everyone.
Full film HERE 

Review: Backwoods

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020
Images from the Internet

Backwoods
Directed by Thomas Smith
Fighting Owl Films
70 minutes, 2020
www.fightingowlfilms.com

 Most of what I have seen of Thomas Smith’s films, such as The Night Shift (2011), Night of the Krampus (2013) and Demon Squad (2019) – all of which have been reviewed on this blog if you search for it – have been enjoyable, relatively horror fare lite with minimal blood, some good spooks, and a touch of 1940’s film-style banter and humor. Many of them seemed right for television series like “Supernatural” or “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.”

For his new release, this time Smith has delved into darker territory, both zigging and zagging a new course from anything I have seen from him. That’s not to say there isn’t some wit involved, such as the football team being the Owls (yeah, their slogan is the Fighting Owls, of course) named after Smith’s production company, and the playing field is dedicated after Khristian Fulmer, who starred in most of Smith’s films. But I digress, as this one is much more serious…

Isabella Alberti, Michael Anthony Bagozzi

You know your night is going to be bad when you wake up after a post-high school football party in your cheerleader outfit, bound and gagged, as does our protagonist Molly (Isabella Alberti). That’s the opening situation with which we are presented. Through a series of flashbacks we get to learn how she got there, and we see how she end up in the backwoods of Alabama (where this was shot), home of the urban legendary Hangman (Scott Alan Warner), a serial killer who was known to murder the men and “keep” the women. Supposedly he was killed years before by the coppers but, this is a genre film.

The central characters are Molly, her incredible asswipe of a boyfriend/jock Hunter (Matthew McCoy), her younger sister Olive (Angelina Alberti), and the bullied waterboy, Noah (Michael Anthony Bagozzi), who is Molly’s friend. Along for the ride are some of Hunter’s pals (aka the body count).

Jeremy Sande, Matthew McCoy

There are multiple bad guys: Hunter, an older drug dealer (Jeremy Sande) who lusts after Molly, and of course there’s the Hangman. And then… well, like Sweeney Todd, he wouldn’t want us to give it away. Each has their own unconnected motives and singular desires, and all will converge at some point. That’s how genre films unfold.

As for the Hangman, lots of local areas have their own stories that overlap with these kinds of legends, such as when I was growing up in the New York area there was Cropsy that was told around the Cub Scout campfire, a burned killer in the woods waiting to kill campers (that I grew up in Brooklyn close to a street named Cropsy Avenue used to weird me out as a young’n); The Burning (1981) was based on this story. The Hangman doesn’t need a mask, and his disfiguring is not shied away from in the chronology (i.e., when you see him the first time, he’s shown clearly). He has a mutant look that would fit well in the family from The Hills Have Eyes (1977).

Personality wise, the Hangman is actually more “human” than most either masked or deformed killing machines in these types of releases, in that one can almost empathize with him at times, and Warner does an exceptional job expressing emotions through the big rubber mask and hands. Sometimes the viewer can care more about him than some of the victims, though the dread is still there. He makes listening to Christian music a bit ominous (okay, yeah, it is anyway, right?).

Scott Alan Warner: The Hangman

The film can be a bit talky at times, seeming to delay the action, but then again it does help with the character development, so it’s still a win-situation, unless you’re so hyped up and conditioned by modern fare you need quick editing and random slaughter. There are certainly some fun kills here, don’t get me wrong, and they are surely enjoyable, but it takes time. Then again, this would not be considered a “slow burner” either; it’s kind of in the middle, which is a nice place to be situated.

Speaking of the kills, even though the main antagonist is known as the Hangman, we get to see a number of people die a varied of ways, rarely by hanging, ironically. This is actually fine, because the way it is presented gives us a bit more blood and general mayhem. The only thing of which I’m not certain (perhaps I missed it?) is whether this Hangman is the same as the legend, or perhaps a progeny. Either way, it opens up for a franchise, which would be welcomed.

The visuals are beautifully shot by Kris Skoda, who also fills a bunch of other crew shoes. It is well written by husband and wife team of Smith and Erin Lilly (the latter of whom has a decent cameo role as “The Feral Woman,” aka Karen, though I don’t think she’ll be calling the cops on strangers), with lots of twists and unexpected turns, and as I said, which does well to build some character development that is so rare in these kinds of slaughter films.

As a departure from the tone of filmmaking he usually employs, Smith does a really fine job at giving us a mutant slasher, with a fine balance between art and blood, twixt talk and terror. I can honestly say, in the number of films of his I have seen, I have never been disappointed, and that includes this one.

Backwoods Trailer: TBD