Review: Prince of the Crimson Void

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet, unless indicated

Prince of the Crimson Void
Directed by Dakota Ray
R.A. Productions
58 minutes, 2022
https://dakotarayfilmmaker.wordpress.com/

In his ninth film (I think I have reviewed all of them), Denver's auteur filmmaker / writer / absinthe guzzler Dakota Ray happily strikes again with his newest opus. And, as always, he and his instantly recognizably idiosyncratic, gravelly deep voice and a monochrome filter (this time red) presents another tale of depravity.

As usual, Ray plays the lead character, in this case Fabian, who is a serial killer, drug user, and absinthe drinker (the film uses real absinthe, since Ray is a connoisseur of the beverage). His world is full of death and delusion, of evil and self-glorification.

As in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), Fabian has a companion-and-competitor in the form of Kimball (Darien Fawkes). But as in Henry, do not trust a serial killer. In the opening narration monologue, Fabian states he plans to kill Kimball (aka the Necro Wizard), who is as murderous as he, and absorb not only Kimball’s soul but the souls of all his victims. So, this story is going into the supernatural deeper than Ray’s previous films. In many of the earlier ones, Satan has played a role in either influence or presence, but this delves deeper into the metaphysics.

Dakota Ray

Fabian and Kimball are the only two living humans in the film (though there are plenty of corpses in various conditions), and nearly all their dialogue is done in the form of narration. Written by Ray, these inner conversations run from the vile and expletive, to the nearly philosophical…and expletive. There are, as is typical in Ray’s releases, title cards scattered throughout to denote chapters of a sort, with names like “Descending into the Blackened Catacombs of the Necro Wizard.”

There are also lots of shots of close-ups, be it faces, eyes, or mouths, especially as they imbibe in their vices. We also see lots of full moons and clouds, and thunderstorms to represent the mood of the moment. It has nearly a gothic feel to it, especially considering the mood.

After Kimball’s demise, when Fabian delves deeper into the world of Absinthe, oxycodone, and white powder, he feels the power of Kimball inside of him, making him believe he is “god.” This film, as with many of Ray’s, has a central character that has visions of self-grandiosity, and it is this that actually makes him weaker (“need”) and more unhinged. Think about those people who took LSD and thought they could fly, as their last acts. Psychologically, that is where Fabian resides, especially post-Kimball.

Darien Fawkes

But like “The Tell-Tale Heart” (1843) by Edgar Allen Poe, Kimbell’s spirit is haunting Fabian; whether it is real or in his imagination is up for grabs, but considering the number of substances (and lack of food) that are absorbed – to the point of nosebleeds – it can easily go either way.

The SFX – all practical as far as I can tell – look excellent. They were done by Ray and S. Donatello, and it is one of the highlights of an already interesting film. That it is just under an hour is actually perfect, rather than trying to bloat it out with filler, and besides, it was filmed during June through October 2022, which means Covid was still a factor, so the small cast makes sense.

I like that there is a narrative line to the story (some of the early works are a bit sketchy in this area), which is the backbone, but not the appendages, which are all the add-ons, such as the sky shots, the asides (e.g., a body in a basement), and the overwhelming, pure atmospheric mood. If you want to get a taste of Ray’s releases, some of them are available on YouTube, but I must say Ray keeps improving over time, so this latest release is one of his better, for those reasons alone.

IMBD listing HERE

Review: Dante’s Shadow of Sin

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2021
Images from the Internet

Dante’s Shadow of Sin
Directed by Dakota Ray
R.A. Productions
75 minutes, 2021
https://dakotarayfilmmaker.wordpress.com/
www.facebook.com/Dantes-Shadow-of-Sin-A-Film-By-Dakota-Ray-113284927789069

And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you’re going to fall…
When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
“White Rabbit,” Jefferson Airplane

I ask you: in the time of Covid, what’s a man supposed to do? Easy, just down a glass of absinthe, get a new and sharper lens for your camera, and direct your eighth film of nihilistic behavior, as has done Denver-based director/writer/cinematographer/editor Dakota Ray.

Usually I would hold off on this kind of comment until near the end of a review, but let me point out right from the start that even with Ray’s characteristic use of monochrome-colored filters, in this case one that is a rich, dark blue hue, the new lens really is incredible at showing details, which can only help spotlight the sheer insanity; the film highlights this clarity as you can practically count every hair on a close-up of a severed head.

As is his wont and right, the title character is played by the director and his insanely deep voice, who in the first line, explains the nihilism that clouds his very soul: “My name is Dante, and I serve no man but myself.” He is remorseless, unhinged from reality, and a complete narcissist (perhaps he can become president like the last joker!). We meet him staring at himself in a mirror. Yeah, this guy is not someone you are going to want to mess with in any circumstances.

Filmed in Ray’s house, in part, it was fun seeing the VHS stack with the likes of The Thing, An American Werewolf in London, and I believe Dark Shadows. There is a lot of fine editing by Ray, which improves with every film, between characters, objects (many look like they were bought at a Halloween store, and rightfully so), Satanic symbols, and insects in various states of health. These, their use as subliminal commentary on the action, all become characters in their own right in a way, rather than just be filler (more on that later). The soundtrack during the credits is emblazoned with “blackened doom” (the band’s wording) metal by the Italian trio Naga.

Two years after committing a horrific murder, Dante is contacted by an acquaintance, Mahoganny (gravel-voiced Fred Epstein, a heavy-emoting Ray regular) who has inherited the Boleskin House (referencing the Boleskine House in Scotland, owned by renowned Satanist Aleister Crowley and Jimmy Page, the once great guitarist of the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin). Mahoganny suggests they get together and go to the house. My question to Mahoganny is, “do you know where you’re going to, do you like the things that life is showin’ you?” (sorry…). In this case, the name Mahoganny is more symbolic for the hardness and darkness of his heart rather than skin color.

After picking up Mahoganny, whose beard and hair is long in classic (and ironic) Jeebus mode, they both head to the house to debauch. How debauched? Let’s just say I had to turn my head when Mahoganny dipped a slice of pizza into salad dressing (I am assuming Ranch). What’s next? Pineapple!?! Also, I wonder about a focused bit without explanation of Dante taking an antacid pill of Calcium Carbonate (designated by the serial number G171); perhaps it is in reference to Mohaganny’s fixation on laxatives? But I digress…

Throughout the film, we hear the thoughts of the two central characters more than words are spoken, which makes sense since so much of the planning of these two are secretive, so we become cognizant of just what the hell is going on. We also hear the drug-induced disembodied voices of objects such as dolls, a white rabbit and a goat head who represent the Satanic elements. Two other mute players are Mahoganny’s senile and silent 92-year-old grandmother (Maddison M.), and his bound and gagged, drug induced “slave” (Sholeh Behesht) in the bathtub. This also makes me wonder about using the name “Mahoganny” as a slaver…

Dante, though not redeemable, kills for a purpose, even if it is self-gratification. With Mahoganny, however, slow and painful control and sadism is more his speed. These two both know that the time in the vacation house will not end well, and each has a motive to be the only one out, but the build-up to the confrontation is a large part of what is going on through the story, listening to their thoughts about destruction in different forms, but with the same end result.

Although there are four characters in this, truth be told it is a two-person story, loco mano e mas loco mano. With hexes, drugs, alcohol and just sheer deviance of a multitude of natures, these guys have a deep hatred that Ray manages to convey quite strongly. Where did they go wrong as friends or acquaintances? Immaterial, because at this time, it a steadily intensifying to-the-death duel, both mentally and physically. The lightening in the sky is a foretelling of the bad actions to come.

It is also interesting to me that both of these dudes are into Satanism and curses, but they are individuals, not part of a Satanic cult, which is where it seems most films dealing with this topic tend to lay down. Again, while the leads are both similar in their desires for death and destruction, they are very distinct in their personalities and the means to achieve their comparable end-goals. Though, honestly, I am not sure how they manage to get their goals accomplished with the sheer amount of imbibing – including mushrooms – that gets consumed. Mind you, I’m a straight-edged punk rock nerd, so it is a different world than where I come from.

The film is broken into a number of chapters via long title cards, such as “Dante’s Switchblade Romance: Caressing her ghost and other demons from the past.” This is also common among Ray’s films. However, story-wise, this is the most cohesive of the eight, being rather threadbare in its plot. Rather than mixing a number of different stories into one, here he focuses on the two main characters, and yes, you could say that it still two tales into one, but its focus is more exact, with less opaque moments.

As much as I have enjoyed all of Ray’s releases, I think this one could be a turning point as far as a pathway. As much as I like the past ones, I look forward to the swing in this direction.

 

Review: Mind Melters: A Collection of Short Films

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2019

Images from the Internet

Mind Melters: A Collection of Short Films

Directed by James Balsamo

Acid Bath Productions / Tortured Soul Productions

90 minutes, 2019

www.facebook.com/Balsamosmindmelters/

www.acidbathproductions.com

Life is a journey, even for a horror auteur with a bad case of the puns. This release is a record of director / writer / musician / actor / etcetera James Balsamo’s passage. Like most other indie instigator / troublemakers, he started by creating short films that gained him some skills to create his feature films, many of which are reviewed on this blog.

And, like many others, the earlier the films, the more crudely made they are, many apparently in VHS or early digital format that is blurry and distorted; but that’s okay. Yes, I use the word auteur often with certain directors, and James Balsamo (JB) fits the description well. Sure, there are a number of mostly horror and comedy genres, but there are also police shoot-‘em-ups, commercials (real and fake), trailers (ditto), and so forth. In fact, there are 32 shorts here, ranging from about a minute long to about 15 minutes.

Of course, some are more successful than others, but as I said, you can see the growth from quick set pieces with distracting jump cuts to scenes that flow much better later on. This is normal in the process of learning any craft.

Taking them out of context (i.e., the order they are presented), I will combine comments with notes I took while watching this 90-minute collection. I’m not going to include all the shorts in the review for length.

At the beginning, we are given a number of trailers, such as the “Snake Women of the ssssSS,” a different and much earlier vision of “I Spill Your Guts” than JB’s 2012 feature (this one is particularly VHS-type blurry), the animated opening to “Cool as Hell II: The Quest for God’s Bong” from 2017, “Boonies” (particularly bad jump cuts here in this very early work), the digitally damaged “I Spill Your Guts 2,” “Hell for Rent” and the sword and fantasy “Cruller: Donut Defendor” [sic]. It isn’t until just over 17 minutes in that the actual short films start.

  

Frank Mullen

The first is the ridiculously titled “Gory Tits,” a somewhat inconsistent nonsense with a witch with uncomfortable looking contact lenses, a sex ring run by some fake Asians, and a serial killer (the ever demure Frank Mullen); Genovesa Rossi steals her scenes, here. I enjoyed the sheer experimentality of “[Classified],” which is in B&W and set in an asylum. JB sees version of the ape/diver from Robot Monster (1953)-meets-the skull-faced creature from Killer Waves (2016). It is reminiscent of silent comedies mixed with the disturbing Un Chien Andalou (1929) and perhaps a bit of Eraserhead (1977).

The thing about a lot of these shorts is that with many, there is no beginning or ending, just a couple of set pieces that may or may not make sense whether in or out of context, and yet are still enjoyable. For example, there an untitled piece with JB playing three parts, including a very funny stoner, an Andrew Dice Clay kinda guy called Wolf, and his wife Debbie (seen from the knees down). Wolf has this interesting monologue riff set to scat music that sounds like Beat poetry of the early ‘60s. Of course, Stoner guy sounds like late ‘60s.

There’s also a series of commercials scattered throughout, such as a short almost Japanese-style mock ad with Linnea Quigley (if you have to ask who that is, you’re in the wrong genre), a couple of real come-ons for James Balsamo’s Big Book of Bad Jokes and James Balsamo’s 100 Bad Joke Book, and a fake set of record collections for James Balsamo’s Crude Christmas, Vol 1 and 2 with songs like “Oh Christmas Pee”; JB proudly announces “over 1 copy sold.”

One of the centerpieces is the serial “Death Cycle,” an ongoing multi-part story which starts off as kind of a Dirty Harry (JB) vs. a Nazi drug gang, but continuing parts focus much more on the gang, which is good because that’s where the interesting characters are. JB would play coppers in latter films of his, so it’s good. Also sequentialized “Romancing the Stoner,” a number of short clips of JB doing stand-up comedy in New York clubs.

While “Party Crasher” is a bit of a WTF about a killer robot badger, there are some pieces that work really well, such as “It Came from the Microwave” which is a spoof of the Zuni doll segment of Trilogy of Terror (1975). Two among my faves were an untitled piece about a woman in emotional pain, and the results from that (not a comedy), and “PMZ Hollywood,” an animated television segment on a former child star turned werewolf that’s pretty damn funny.

Over the years, while JB’s style has grown (even if his humor is still stuck in Middle School), there are some consistencies that frequently tend to show up, such as, in no particular order, Nazis, nudity, death metal, pot/stoners, and cameos by actors and musicians.

Now, there’s a couple of thoughts about this kind of overview of his history, and I’m not sure what is better: should it all be jumbled up like this, or should we have been presented with it in chronological order, to keep track of the growth. Y’know what, it really does not matter. I’m just glad JB released this material. Like I said, it’s a bit of stuff and nonsense, but it’s definitely enjoyable all the way through, even with some of the tripping over trying to find his style and there sometimes not being a beginning, a middle or an end to a particular short.

With all the growth, JB still stays JB, and for that I’m grateful.

 

Review: Auteur

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2015
Images from the Internet

Auteur

Cinematography and directed by George Cameron Romero
MVD Visual / Benetone Hillin Entertainment
75 minutes, 2014
www.mvdvisual.com

If you were an infamous and exacting horror director, how far would you go to make a scene successful? Would you give in to the mystic black arts to get your cast “motivated”? This is just one of the questions that is raised by this film by Cameron Romero, proving genes run deep (just ask Jason Reitman, Brandon Cronenberg or Jennifer Lynch). To get past it since I already brought it up, there is a second-long homage to Cameron’s dad in a video store shelf panning shot (shown twice, but that’s okay).

Ian Hutton

A found footage in documentary style, Romero mixes these to a mostly successful level, giving a nice twist to the subgenres. The plot is that film auteur (a cinematic version of, say, Phil Spector, who makes everything he or she directs their own, hence the auteur/author descriptor) named Charlie Buckwald (Ian Hutton) who has made an exorcism film called Demonic, and then disappeared with the only DVD of the completed film.

BJ Hendricks

The head of the studio sends his impulsive and not-to-bright ne’er-do-well son, Jack Humphries (BJ Hendricks, who inexplicable has Southern accent considering Jack grew up in Hollywood), to find Charlie and retrieve the lost film. In that framework, Jack is an unsuccessful filmmaker himself (can’t even get a break from his studio head dad, for example). How incompetent is Jack? After following around Charlie and then losing him, he asked the camera guy what he should do next (in my opinion that was a smart bit of insightful writing).

With elements of Hideo Nakata’s Ringu (1998) and Lamberto Bava’s Demoni (1985), we are given a strong hint pretty early on that things don’t go well for Jackie-boy (if it weren’t so close to the beginning, I wouldn’t mention it). Thanks to a provided clue that is no mystery at all who sent it though it dumbfounds Jack (as in “he don’t know Jack shit”), he tracks down the very edgy and neurotic / paranoid Buckwald (Hutton does focused director and nutzoid both pretty well and manages to make them both believable). The reason why the sender didn’t go to get the DVD unaided is questionable; yes, I understand the familial relationships (this comment will make more sense when you see the film), but it doesn’t jibe with the ending.

Much of the story is kind of predictable, I admit, but it was still an enjoyable ride nonetheless. Part of this is due to the high quality of acting, much stronger than most indie films and certainly better than the early works of, well, any of the daddies listed above.

Madeline Merritt

Top credit is given to name actor Tom Sizemore, obviously being a gentleman and helping a bro (i.e., a crew member; probably a Romero) out. He plays a version of himself (at least I hope it’s a “version”), having been an actor in the film-with-a-film Demonic and giving snarky and insulting answers while interviewed at a bar. With a voice that sounds like three miles of gravel road, he belittles poor Jack, questions his manhood, and is definitely a hostile witness. It also sounds like his dialogue was ad libbed, and if that’s so, it’s hysterically funny if not painful for the mistreatment of Jack. His screed against the number of deaths associated with the film and how it’s a lie, like the conspiracy theories surrounding The Exorcist (1973) show the actor’s/character’s need for ego dominance.

The lead actress of Demonic is Kate Rivers (the fetching Madeline Merritt). Her role in the whole Jack-meets-Charlie scenario is quite blatant, but Merritt’s strong acting (better than Kate’s) keeps the character interesting. From ingénue to seductress, she fits the part well. Also noteworthy are secondary characters Bruce Chaplin (Matt Mercer) and Allison Marx (Eli Jane), the latter of who explains, “on camera” that anyone who goes looking for info about what happened on the set “ends up in the dirt.”

Eli Jane

Watching Jack’s work post-editing, it’s easy to see why he’s unsuccessful. Though familiar with some of the filmmaking equipment Charlie has horded in his family home owned by his late parents (tell me again why he was hard to find?), he doesn’t really show much knowledge of how they are used. Romero, on the other hand, obviously grew up on sets and around the art of cinema magic, and it seems like he is at ease with the ways to make a story work, even one with holes that took three writers. Don’t get me wrong, the film is well crafted around dialog and scenery, there just needs to be more cohesion to the story. That there are two scenes in the film in which one includes two-camera editing rather than the one, hand-held camera of Jack’s, and another where the camera is obviously handheld, but the camera guy is no longer there for a private conversation.

As I’ve said a number of times before, when you look back at some of the early works of some auteur genre directors, yes, including daddy, there have been questionable moments in both acting and directing, but here, Romero puts together a really solid cast, keeps the interest going even with the issues in the story, and to me that shows quite a bit of potential. Romero has a half dozen or so films competed including this one (his latest to date), and hopefully he has the opportunity to keep stretching out.