Review: Pit Stop

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

Pit Stop (aka Acid Pit Stop)
Directed by Jason Wright
Summer Hill Entertainment; Silent Studios; Tomcat Films; MVD Entertainment
79 minutes, 2020
www.chipbakerfilms.com
www.mvdvisual.com

I am certain I am not the first (not likely not the last) to note that this film has nothing to do with the Jack Hill car racing film of the same title released in 1967 (reviewed HERE). And now, that I have completed this public service announcement, back to our feature presentation.

Callum McGuire, Megan Jenkins, Hal Hillman, Jennifer Johnson

In this British release, we meet two mid-twenties mates, stoner Paul (Hal Hillman), and practical joker / wise guy Lucio (Callum McGuire), who is a bit of an asshole. Paul has just broken up with his girlfriend Anita, and to cheer him up, Lucio is taking him to a party / rave that he organized for just that purpose.

Meanwhile, we meet two other mates, diminutive Anita (Jennifer Johnson), Paul’s ex, and Shailene and her bouncing cleavage (Megan Jenkins). Anita has just broken up with her boyfriend Paul, and to cheer her up, Shailene is taking her to the same party / rave.

The problems start when the car of the latter two literally run into the back of the former two on a less than busy road, so now they have to share a car. But first, Paul and Lucio stop off at a dealer’s house (Bruce Payne in a bad wig and an over-the-top one day’s worth of work cameo that gained him top billing) to pick up some – er – refreshments in the form of an experimental designer drug for which they don’t quite understand the dosage level. Payne does what one may just think of as the Bill Murray role.

Before long, the drug turns the party goers into starker blood-hungry and slow-moving zombies (okay, they’re not all dead, so let’s get beyond that “zombie” term strictness). For example, two topless ladies who are possibly lovers are now chomping on each other like it’s takeout at McD’s.

As the violence gets wilder, our four intrepid… schmucks?... hide out in the bathroom and have a discussion. Not that you can tell much of what they are saying; the sound quality of the film is absolutely atrocious, once the rave in in play. You can barely hear what any one is saying over the room echoes and the ambient sound (including the electronica music). The accents don’t help, either. The clam shell cover states there are English subtitles, but there are none.

Meanwhile, our four blokes are laughing it up, not taking this all too seriously, while trying to figure out a way out. On some level, this is a comedy, I gather, from certain moments, as it gets goofier as the film plays on. Or maybe it thinks it is funnier than it actually is, though there are moments that certainly made me smile.

The level of gore is decent, but far less graphic than one might expect. Bloody parts look a bit stringy and rubbery, but there is lots of blood. One thing I really liked is that the ravers look like normal people, i.e., friends of the lead characters (who are the best looking of the batch). No supermodels or of the pretty boys ilk, but all body types, from skinny to weighty, to wheelchair bound. That’s quite admirable.

Meanwhile, through the whole bloodletting, the rave music continues, and the zombies are dancing between chomping. My question is, as it was DJ-driven, who is spinning the discs? And will the two couples become couples?

The final act begins with the arrival of a gangster (Gbola Adewunm), his body guards, and some Hai Karate after-shave (I kid you not). Who will survive? Who will come back from the dead? Who will care? Considering the loss of life of their friends and acquaintances, the foursome don’t seem overly upset about that part.

The acting is generally over-done by just about everyone, and unfortunately, many of the jokes get lost in the accents and the aforementioned bad sound. Was this a good film? Generally, not really, but to be fair, there is a lot I lost in so much of the dialog being so badly recorded. Most of the third act could have been mime for what I was able to make out. I guess part of that could on me and my aging ears, but not all.

Generally, I like zombie comedies, such as Wasting Away (aka Ah! Zombies!!!; 2007) or Zombieland (2009), even when they are overly broad like Housewife Alien vs. Gay Zombie (2017), but this one either went over my head or out of my ass, I’m not sure.

Chapters are the only extras on the DVD disc.    

             

Review: Zombie Undead

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Blog, 2012

Images from the Internet

                            

Zombie Undead

Written and directed by Rhys Davies

Hive Films

83 minutes, 2010     

Hivefilms.co.uk

Zombieundead.com

MVDvisual.com

May I start by saying that when I saw the title of this film, I thought that it is redundant.

 I would have the same comment about something called Undead Vampires. But then I started to think about it a bit…

Generally speaking, there are three major turning points in the modern zombie film: the first is the Night of the Living Dead (1968), where zombies went from Haitian victims to flesh-eating undead. Then there was 28 Days (2000), where the maddened were not really dead, but rather rabid-like, yet it is still considered in the zombie genre (perhaps we need a plague subgenre?). This also started the ongoing and occasionally heated “fast vs. slow zombie” debate. The last was the addition of a comedy / absurd element with Shaun of the Dead (2004).Sure there was some overlap (e.g., Return of the Living Dead [1985] had some comedy elements) and even some borrowing (e.g., it could be argued that 28 Days was more The Crazies [1973] than NotLD, both directed by George A. Romero), but basically they revolutionized how we looked at the creatures.

Of the three, it could be noted that the latter two were British, who have been leading in innovation in the zombie field (though I would arguably say that some American low-budgeters deserve some more focused attention, such as Aaah! Zombies!! [aka Wasting Away, 2007; my evaluation HERE] and the recent Zombie A-Hole [2012, HERE] ). Zombie Undead is also from the British Isles.

This film, directed by Rhys Davies and written by Kris Tearse, both first-timers, borrows liberally from predecessors, including others not mentioned above, such as Dawn of the Dead (1979; e.g., mostly it takes place in a single building, and there are many debowelings).

What sets it all off – and I won’t give away much, I promise – is a biological terrorist’s bomb in a hub train station. From there, of course, things deteriorate as people who were killed by the blast rise up, and slowly and inevitably, of course, chomp.

We meet the heroine, Sarah (Ruth King), who has brought her father into a hospital after he is injured and bloodied. She passes out at the stress at some point, and wakes up alone in a corridor of the hospital (shades of The Day of the Triffids [1962]). She is quickly rescued by the hulking Jay (played by writer Tearse), with machete in hand, and they are joined by the sympathetic-yet-cowardly cab driver who took Sarah and pop to hospital, Steve (Barry Thomas). From there, they work their way to the top of the building to search for relatives – and to have an excuse to hang around the single structure set – where they meet others who have survived (for now), passed on, and who have returned to join the search for – er – food.

Considering that none of the core actors in the film have any previous experience listed on the IMDB, they do a truly splendid job. Yes, there is the occasional wooden reading (I’m assuming that it is supposed to be them being in shock more than anything else), but each one holds their own both in solo pieces and in a group. I’m hoping if Davies continues, he will have the opportunity to use the cast again, as indie filmmakers tend to use a cadre of talent repeatedly. There is usually a large range of emotion that is needed when these kinds of films go serious, as does this one, so with a novice film crew, it’s ever more impressive, even on a repeated viewing (hey, I hadda show it to my zombie-lovin’ hombres).

As with most British core cities, the one used here, Leicester (a 100-mile drive north-northwest from London), looks like a series of rundown row-houses and brick buildings with some parks (mostly golf courses, according to the maps I’ve seen). Actually, a perfect setting if one wants to do the geographical / cultural analysis of what the zombies mean (you know, how critics talk about Dawn of the Dead being about consumerism, etc.), but I like to take these stories for what they are, rather than find the commies-in-the-pea-pods, if you get my drift.

While I commented before about how there are borrowed elements here and there, it should be strongly noted that there are some really fine touches, as well, such as a tragic case of mistaken identity, which is all I will divulge  here, because the film is worth checking out. Yes, there are the occasional holes, but it could easily have been far, far worse. Just know that while this is a compelling film, it is a relentlessly grim story with no respite from beginning to end. It may not always be action-packed (thought it often is), but it will still keep your attention righthere.

Lastly, there is the gore element. The effects are mostly prosthetic, from what I can tell (kudos!), such as said intestines and other assorted body parts, and the blood is among the best in viscosity I’ve seen in a while: not too thick, not too thin, not too light or dark. Really good, considering the sheer abundance of it. And, do I really need to go into the question of a body count considering the subject matter and the aforementioned tone? Didn’t think so.

There are no extras on this DVD, be it commentary, bloopers, deleted scenes or even a coming attraction for this film, never mind others on the brand. Zip. Zero. Zilch. But I won’t disappoint you. Here is the trailer: