Review: Satan’s Little Helper

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

Satan’s Little Helper
Directed by Jeff Lieberman
Intrinsic Value Films; Synapse Films; MVD Entertainment
96 minutes, 2004 / 2022
www.MVDEntertainment.com/
Yeah, I know, the focus of this film is on Halloween night, and we are well into the seemingly never-ending Xmas season. But my assumption is that whoever is reading this is a horror fan, and it is Halloween all year ‘round. I will take this film in that – er – spirit.

The main focus here is on the Whooly family, who live on the fictious Bell Island. There’s the mom, Merrill (Amanda Plumber!!!), Dean (Wass Stevens), sister theater majors Jenna (Katheryn Winnick; Lagertha from “The Vikings”) and her new boyfriend Alex (Stephen Graham) who have come home for the holiday, and especially nine-year-old Douglas, aka Dougie (Alexander Brickel).

Joshua Annex

Dressed like the debbil for Halloween, Dougie is obsessed with a handheld video game called “Satan’s Little Helper,” where his avatar helps Satan kill people. The game is above 8-bit, but lacking by today’s standard. He is fixated on this theme, and hopes to meet the red guy on Halloween and help him. Meanwhile, he is totally possessive of his sister, and is not happy about Alex (something tells me a future action will occur).

While Winnick dresses like a Renaissance slut (and lookin’ good in it) and Alex decides to also dress like Satan hoping to bond with Dougie, while Dougie is walking the Halloween Day streets looking for the real Satan. But he does find the next best thing: a non-speaking serial killer in a devilish mask (Joshua Annex). Actually, the mask looks great. He goes to various houses, kills the occupants, and puts them out in front of the house as Halloween decorations, right in public. In this way, Dougie fulfills his fantasy of being this Satan’s little helper.

Alexander Brickel, Annex

While everything that has happened before is enjoyable (other than a pet killing), it really picks up in the second act, when Dougie brings the killer home, and he is mistaken for someone else, so is incorporated into the family unit. Yet, still, he manages to get around the town with Dougie long enough to cause numerous deaths and damage; Dougie so fixated, he has trouble distinguishing reality from the game, so he does not believe the carnage to be real, even as he watches, and in some ways, participates.

The devil comes home to roost when he returns to the Whooly house – er – and all hell breaks loose. And let me add, Dougie is not the sharpest stick in da woods. Actually, none of the cast seems to be fully conscious. For example, and I will not give it away, but there is a thematic device is that is used twice. People will probably figure it out at least the second time (I did on the first, but I’m a stable genius). You would think one of the characters who was involved with the first one would recognize the pattern for the second one. But nooooooo.

Katheryn Winnick, Annex

Despite this, I have to say this is the first slasher film I have seen in a while that made me smile in its imaginative take. Yes, there is a sense of humor to the whole thing, but my enjoyment went beyond that.

The SFX is practical (thanks to a low budget) and looks really great. The acting is also worth noting (did I not say Amanda “Honey Bunny” Plumber?). The Dougie character is a bit annoying, but I do believe it is not the fault of the actor. The cast also works well together.

Amanda Plumber (far left), Annex, etc.

To start off the extras is a full commentary by the director, Jeff Lieberman. His tone in kind of flat and monotone here, unlike on some of the other additions, but the information is worth the listen. He is still an engaging speaker (though the sound was a bit low and I had to turn the volume way up), and there are a lot of good stories – just the various locations and how they were all edited together alone was fun – also giving some info on the film that I did not catch during the first viewing. Worth the watch.

Next is a “Behind-the-Scenes of Satan’s Little Helper” featurette (5 min), obviously done in 2004, when the film was released. With narration, they dissect three scenes and show the viewer how the magic was done. Fun. This is followed by another featurette, “The Devil and the Details: Making Satan’s Little Helper (33 min). This brings us into 2022, giving us interviews with the director, other crew members such as the guy who designed the mask, and an adult Dougie (who’s “look” is similar to middle period Weird Al Yankovic). Interspersed with scenes from the film that are relevant to the conversation, it makes for some compelling viewing, unlike many other featurettes I have seen of late.

“Mister Satan's Neighborhood” is a tour of the filming locations with director Jeff Lieberman (32 min). Showing some towns in Westchester, New York, and Connecticut, Lieberman (holding the killer’s Satan mask throughout, even talking to it) takes a very detailed look at some of the locations, but also tells some (in Dougie’s words) cool anecdotes about filming in these spots. More detailed than most, though he did not show any of the Maine spots. Filmed in 2022 by Synapse Films, this is, again, one of the better location shot mini-docs I have seen of late. The last extra is the film’s promotional trailer, which gives away too much of the fun.

Lieberman’s history is that he is mainly known for four films out of his career in the horror genre: Squirm (1976), Blue Sunshine (1978), Just Before Dawn (1981), and this one. His films are a bit quirky, lean toward black humor, and are exceptionally enjoyable. That is especially true for Satan’s Little Helper.

IMDB listing HERE https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380687/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

Older trailer without as much given away:

Review: Bad Candy

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

Bad Candy
Directed by Scott B. Hansen; Desiree Connell
Digital Thunderdome; Dread; Black Triad Entertainment; Epic Pictures; MVD Entertainment
103 minutes, 2021
https://epic-pictures.com/film/bad-candy
www.digitalthunderdome.com
https://www.facebook.com/BadCandyfilm/
www.mvdb2b.com

It is Christmas. So, what is a better time for an anthology film about Halloween, right? Both are about decorations, people in costumes (even if one is just ugly sweaters or red & white jackets and hats) and a whole lot of the “gimmes.”

Corey Taylor

All of the stories in this were created specifically for this collection, so there is a solid consistency in style and ideology. The wraparound story takes place at radio station 66.6 FM in a town called New Salem (of course; filmed in Atlanta), where a couple of disc jockeys are having their Halloween show, led by DJ Chilly Billy (Corey Taylor, better known as the lead singer of the band Slipknot); the other is Paul (Zach Galligan, of 1984’s Gremlins fame).

Zach Galligan

Right from the beginning, the very form of the film is interesting. Rather than the usual bookends and separate stories, this intermingles the yarns, sometimes in pieces, sometimes complete, and weaves them like a tapestry of terror. This way, the narratives can entwine into each other and overlap, which is fun. For example, there is an almost Krampus look at what happens to a nasty little kid that is complete, and then there is a longer tale of a young teen girl, Kyra (Riley Sutton) who wants to do trick-or-treating with her friends, but has to deal with her drunken bully of a dad (Kevin Wayne) who looks like he just stepped out of a Proud Boys poster (in a later story, there is a Brett Kavanaugh-type rapacious man wearing a backwards MAGA cap, so perhaps some subtle political commentary involved?).

However, the opening salvos, which would appeal to a younger generation, are just the doorway to a completely adult level of horror and gore to follow, including nail guns, necrophilia, razor blades in candy, and the like. It’s almost like “growing up,” progressing from one grade level to the next.

Riley Sutton

Beyond an obvious horror theme, there is also an almost psychedelic feel to the film that also relies heavily on fantasy, with some CGI enhancements, puppet monsters, and other wishful imagery. One of the nice aspects of all the stories by the same directors is the consistency of the look and feel, even as the tales take us to see events happening to people of various ages and emotion levels, from kids to teens to adults, some good people, many not as much. But this is a film of comeuppance for inner, personal malevolence by people taken to task by sentinel beings that are less than human.

Though I quite enjoyed that there is a consistency of style and look, there is also no uniformity on the use of whatever cine-magic takes to make the monsters come alive, be it – in part what I said above – CGI, puppets, practical SFX and demons in cool-looking clown costumes/make-up that are watchers for evil (almost slightly toned-down versions of the Killer Klowns from Outer Space from 1988). Also, the use of Halloween decorations and toys is a major theme throughout, as the camera zooms in around them and makes them into a Greek Chorus to “comment” on the actions on the screen. The mood, which is nearly another character in itself, is set with stark primary color lighting; it is a bit cliché, but still effective and well done here.

And what exactly is the “bad candy”? Well, that can depend on your perspective. It could be the razor blades, the drugs, imbibed drivers, the clown demons, or it could be most of the people we meet on their way to doing dastardly deeds.

All the stories are a bit silly (this is a light-hearted albeit spooky collection, after all), and yet they all actually work, without a clinker. My favorite, though, revolves around a few war veterans (including Derek Russo), but I won’t give more away other than I had a good laugh at the Lenny/rabbits connection (if you don’t get it, you may need a bit more literary edumacation).

The grand finale deals with a time-altering haunted house and the wraparound story that, while I am sure is supposed to be the Top Tier piece as it ties up so many of the bits, and it is really quite good, was more serious than most of the tone of the film, especially the wild piece that preceded it. Not a complaint in any way, it was still quite enjoyable and a good way to end the piece(s).

This Blu-ray is jam-packed with extras, including a full-length commentary. Honestly, I had issues with this for a number of reasons. First, the sound of the film is too loud and clashes with the talking of the two directors and married couple, Scott B. Hansen and Desiree Connell. Hansen often gets lost in the films actual track, which is unnecessary since there are subtitles available; usually one would watch the commentary and read the already-watched film’s dialogue in text to follow along. Also, Connell, whose mic is louder than Hansen’s, tends to overtalk him. The info they share is both at times interesting (such as finding out Connell played the CGI-enhanced fairy) and mundane (e.g., “I like this set piece”; “I ate so much candy”). I gave up on the commentary after about 20 minutes, but none of this reflects badly on the film proper, just hopefully a lesson learned for their next release?

There are three Behind the Scenes videos. The first is the real Making Of featurette (4 min.). However, it is mostly very quick edited shots of production with a loud soundtrack that practically makes nearly all of it b-roll with no focus narrative. It doesn’t really go anywhere.

The second is a stills collection of the production, and the third is similar to the first (2 min.). Then there are the Deleted Scenes. It was a slow start, but the final three or four were so worth the wait. While I understand why they were cut, even as standalones they were a blast, especially the last one.

There are two Filmmaker Interviews. The first is with director Hansen from the British “The Romford Sessions,” on Nerdly.com, via Zoom (35 min.). He discusses his influences, how the production got on its feet, and the amazing SFX, among others. Definitely the most interesting conversation so far. The second is, naturally, with Connell, who was also executive producer and screenwriter, by Shannon on FILMFave.com, again on Zoom (27 min.). As with Hansen’s piece, it is nicely informative and interesting, making it worth the watch. She discusses, among other things, being a woman in the business as your own influence, which is great. Both of these are better than the full-feature commentary.

The B-roll Rockwell Mansion Tour gives an overview, inside and out, of the creepy house used in the final sequence of the film. As someone who likes to photograph old and decaying houses, this was a joy, albeit short (1 min.).

The death metal band Uncured’s music video for the song “Sacrifice” was obviously shot by Hansen and some of the footage was used in a party scene in the film (4 min.). Also included are the storyboards for the Kyra scene with her dad, which is B-roll. It is well-done comic book-style art. Last are three trailers for this film, and a trio for the Dread brand.

So far, Bad Candy has won 17 best picture awards and played at more than 65 festivals around the globe.  And what is the overall moral of the film? Do not abuse jack-o-lanterns, real or plastic!

IMDB HERE  

Horror Shorts Reviews: October 2021

Horror Shorts Reviews for October 2021

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

Filmmakers, please note: usually, I do not review films (unless requested) that appear on sites like Alter and Screamfest, because they have a known platform, which is great, while I would rather focus on films with no sponsored online affiliations.

 

Answer Your Phone
Directed by Benji Wragg
Crazy Moo Films; Taymaynari Productions
5:47 minutes, 2021
In this Australian short, a stressed young man (Oliver Midson) is on his way home with his phone getting messages from his abusive partner, Nancy (Rhiannon Newman; were her parents fans of Fleetwood Mac?), repeatedly asking where he is. However, he’s lost his car keys and rushes home the best he can. The tension is palpable, and when the payoff hits at the end, one understands the whys, if not the hows. I would like to have seen this stretched out a bit more, to get additional background to the story, but even as it is, it is effective. There is very little dialogue, and most of that is text messages. Lots of shorts seem to focus on the cell phone as a cinematic device to deliver the goods. Technology is both a life changing and yet also a trending object.
Full film HERE 

Beggar’s Night
Directed by Henrique Couto
Weekly Spooky
6:13 minutes, 2021
Alphonse (John French) is an angry farmer who sounds like he is from below the Mason-Dixon who has some issues. He needs to eat “heart friendly” (pizza without cheese? Personally, in this regard I agree with him), and he does not believe in that Satanic worshiping holiday at the end of October. You are not going to get any candy from this dude, even if he scarfs it down himself. Beggar’s Night is a regional Ohio term for going Trick or Treatin’ the nights before the 31st. But just because he does not follow local tradition, what about the spirits that do just that? Lessons to be learned and a night of scares is in store, under the monochrome blue light of night. This is shot quite lovingly with some wonderful editing skills. For such a short piece, the SFX make-up and creature designs look amazing. The timing of this release is perfectly – er – timed. Get yer Beggar’s Night/Halloween jollies on with this one.
Full film HERE  

Dead Frequency
Directed by Cindy Stenberg
Swedish Ghost Lovers
3:28 minutes, 2021
A man (John Hägglund) is living in a run-down small house that is under renovations in the middle of the woods in Sweden (where this originates). While chillaxin’, he hears a disjointed woman’s voice on a small walkie-talkie (I have a pair of those). The words coming out are full of static. They could be in Swedish, but it’s so garbled anyway, it really does not matter. This leads to some nice jump scares and a cool ending that I won’t give away. The director, Stenberg, who also appears in the film, manages to make a lot with a little time. The angles and shadows kick this up to another level. Enjoyable; just long enough to get the viewer engaged, but short enough to blast it away.
Full film HERE 

 

Parking
Directed by Abhishek Sachidanandan
3:19 minutes, 2021
There is a reason why so many films that want the viewer to feel uncomfortable, from horror to action genres, take place in lonely tiered indoor public parking garages. The light is gloomy, there is a feeling of dread, and who knows who or what is hiding behind a column or a vehicle. Mixing the place with technology, a man (Aloysius Shadi) gets into his car and starts to back up to pull out, when his car’s rear sensor beeps at him that there is something behind him, but nothing shows in the rearview mirror. The tension builds in this non-verbal scenario with the car doing all the “talking” through its sensors. Sometimes all you need is a simple idea and imagination to make an effective short story, and this one works for both.
Full film HERE 

 

Stall
Directed by Ryan Shovey
Creepy/Cool Pictures
6:59 minutes, 2018
My mother once actually said to me that the scariest thing was having to badly use the washroom when none was available. So, even though the entire film actually takes place in a public bathroom, the spirit of my mom’s comment is a focal point. A woman (Ariel Monica Putman) is in dire need of a loo, and there are two stalls: one is for handicapped, one not. The not one is occupied by an unseen and mysterious woman who apparently uses crutches. Irony? This puts our heroine in a dire situation of whether to hold it in (not a good option) or use the handicapped stall (personally, if the regular one was in use, I would enter the handicapped one in an otherwise empty bathroom without a second thought because desperate times/desperate measures…but she’s more socially conscious than I am). In this tale, however, there is a supernatural element, natch, and lights flicker, weird sounds abound, objects move on their own, and locker doors swing open. This is a nice, spooky tale and it is very well shot (without being claustrophobic considering the space) and acted. Putman uses body language quite well. While there are some really spooky moments, for me the cringiest thing was Putman kneeling on her bare knees on a public bathroom floor to peek under the stall door.
Full film HERE 

 

Unwelcome Guest
Directed by Andrew Johnson
11:50 minutes, 2020
A young man (the director and writer, Johnson) who is a photographer rents a house in the woods once owned by a State-executed serial killer. It’s a lovely, idyllic place surrounded by trees and has a lake close by, but of course that is not all that is attached. It’s a genre film, after all, right? The imposing ghost of the Lake Gillian Killer (Andrew’s dad, Eric) keeps popping up through the night doing evil things like rolling out the toilet paper. There is an almost subtle comic element to this film more than a frightful one that actually makes it a bit of fun. Johnson’s over-the-top emoting helps in that. The film comes off as a lark, meaning it looks like it was a lot of fun to shoot, and that gets expressed to the viewer. There is no dialogue but facial expressions and body language say a lot here. For me, the scariest thing about the film is just how much the central character is immersed in technology. For a country getaway, every move he makes involves some sort of electronic equipment, be it an HD TV, listening to his playlist as he sleeps, the camera plugged into a computer, and so on. For me, this was more invasive into the life of the “guy in the blue striped shirt” (as he is credited on IMDB) than the ghostie. A good, safe watch for othse who are easily scared.
Full film HERE 

 

The Visitor
Directed by Mark and Lindsey Palgy
Enjoy Cult-Classics; De4th Race Productions
6:40 minutes, 2021
An author with a writing block leaves his wife behind to take a solo weekend in the country to inspire him. You can see the affection between them. But what happens when you meet yourself in an Us (2019) kind of situation? The question presented is, simply, what is a natural response to that? And will your hairbun eat his beard? (Sorry, that’s a What’s Up Tiger Lily? reference from 1966). And what is the larger picture and meaning of it all? These are all questions that are answered in the film. It’s a nice little gimmick that works well. The ending was a pleasant surprise, as well. It is also well shot, with snippets of objects and close-ups, mostly, when needed. An interesting cinematic motif used is that the soundtrack is music, and when people talk, it is silent and we get subtitles; are people in Kentucky hard to understand? Could be the vocal track did not work well, or something else happened, and this was a smart way around it. Well, these Kentuckians know their stuff.
Full film HERE

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: The Barn

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2020

Images from the Internet

The Barn

Directed by Justin M. Seaman

Nevermore Productions / Scream Team Releasing / MVD Entertainment

98 minutes, 2016 / 2019

www.facebook.com/thebarnmovie

www.wildeyereleasing.com

www.mvdb2b.com

If you’re a horror fan, especially of a certain age, you remember how cool the 1980s were for the genre, and appreciate it for what it added to the canon. Special effects (SFX) were mostly appliances rather than digitally added, the latter of which looked really cheesy back then and tended to be reserved for electricity, lasers and supernaturally excites atoms; the paranormal digi appears here as well. The stories didn’t really need to always make sense, the acting wasn’t necessarily of “prime-time” level, and they were just freakin’ fun.

Nostalgia for these kinds of films are becoming more common, almost in response to the high level expected on the theater, television or computer screen: over the years, the gore and body horror have become ever more extreme, clinical and cynical. These can be interesting, but are not “fun” in the same way the ‘80s releases often tended to be, even when they were very bloody.

Lexi Dripps, Will Stout, Mitchell Musolino

Many indie filmmakers today are trying to bring back some of that excitement, such as with this one. The “throwback” aspect of The Barn is in many reviews and especially in the press releases I have read about it. But this one uses a trope that I really enjoy as an indicator of what they are trying to project: after the flashback scene that introduces the story (here taking place in 1959), rather than a title card saying something like “now,” it refers to the era it is trying to posit, in this case, 1989. That’s a cool thing which I appreciate, and the fact that there are no cell phones is also one less thing to worry about as far as being “realistic.” Every film that takes place in the now seems to rely on “we’re out of range” to explain away the phone.

On the Halloween Eve and night when this film mainly takes place, we are introduced to two smart asses who are seniors in a fundamentalist high school, Sam (Mitchell Musolino) and Josh (Will Stout). They butt heads with a conformist parent and especially the ultra-conservative church leader, Ms. Barnhart (get it?), who is played by the Cameo Scream Queen herself, Linnea Quigley.

Candycorn Scarecrow, The Boogeyman, Hallowed Jack

Together with some friends and possible love interests, such as Michelle (Lexi Dripps), who work at the roller rink (did they still exist in 1989?; they didn’t in disco-laden Brooklyn where I grew up), they sneak off for a concert on Halloween night, stopping at a town to get some trick-or-treat sweets for the church to shut them the hell up (oxymoron intended). The audience will know by the (sometimes literal) signs that they are not stopping in a good place, as this is the home of the titular barn.

Sam has rules for Halloween, similarly to Matthew Lillard’s character about horror films in Scream (1996). We get to hear some of them before the end of Act I, when we get to… (dum-dum-dah-dum) the barn. We learn early on that there are three demons who appear when the barn door is knocked, and you say “Trick or Treat” on Halloween. One demon is a scarecrow who eats eyes, another that carves out your skull that has a jack o’lantern head with a really cool flame inside his noggin, and the third is the miner, aka the Boogeyman (played by the film’s director), who uses his sharp nails and pickaxe to do some physical damage.

By letting loose the demons from hell – who seem more human than anything else in their reactions, albeit non-verbally – our intrepid gang have put themselves and a large number of the local town in danger. Luckily this means a high kill kount [sic], mostly via SFX, so there’s some great bloodletting that is fun to watch and cheer. Since we don’t know most of them, and thereby have no emotional attachment, it’s killed-for-kill-sake and lots of “woo-hoo” for the viewer.

For the extras section, there is a full length commentary track with the director and the lead actor, Musolino. It’s quite good as far as telling anecdotes of filming, digging a bit deeper on the meaning, and the epistemology of the story: apparently, this started out as a comic created by Seaman when he was just 8 years old, and this film is his lifelong dream (up to now). This kept it interesting from beginning to end. This is what a commentary track is supposed to be, in the cinematic home release world. Seaman backs up his history with this story by including “All Hallows Eve,” a 5:30-minute student film he made in 2002 that introduced the Boogeyman/miner character (placing himself as the victim).

Linnea Quigley

There are lots of other extras, too, including the film’s two trailers, a commercial for the video game, a music video by Rebel Flesh, four deleted scenes that were both fun to watch and rightfully excised, the Indiegogo Film Pitch (with the first Jason and Cameo Scream King, Ari Lehman, who also briefly appears in the feature), and more.

One of the comments Seaman makes in the commentary is that the acting is quite extraordinary for an indie feature. And you know what, he’s right. Musolino easily carries the picture without losing his boyish, devil-make-care air, and the supporting cast does quite well as – err – well.

From what I understand, the The Barn II sequel is in the works, starting some time this year. I look forward to it. This was an enjoyable film straight through, with few and min lags and just the right length. If you like films like The Gate (1987) and Night of the Creeps (1986), this may be right on your sights.