Review: Killer Rack

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

Killer Rack

Directed by Gregory Lamberson
Crow-Nan Productions / River Ridge Reels / Slaughtered Lamb Productions
97 minutes, 2015
www.gregorylamberson.com
www.facebook.com/killerrack

Before I start discussing the film on a deeper level, let me explain what we’re lookin’ at here: Betty (Jessica Zwolak) works hard for the Double D Collections company (“Proudly handling your assets”), but she is the only woman in the office with a low-end cleavage, so her chances of advancement by her boss (the irrepressible Michael Thurber!) fall kind of – er – flat. Her boyfriend Dutch (Sam Qualiana) is no longer interested, and even the horndog cat-callers on the corner won’t even give her the time of “woot.” She has such a low self-image, she can’t see that her friend and co-worker, Tim (Paul McGinnis) is in love with her. Even her therapist (Lloyd Kaufmann, King of Troma, plays an actual role, though it is a bit of an extended cameo, rather than his usual quickies) is on the snide side to her.

Debbie Rochon

She visits a shady doctor (who’s has the words “Plastic Surgeon” handwritten on a piece of paper and taped to the door) named Dr. Cate Thulu (Debbie Rochon, one of my fave queens of indie horror). Thulu has her own agenda, as she serves a Dark God by the name of Mammora (you heard me), and plans to help it control the world by… well, I’m guessing you’re already there.

This is a comedy on a few different levels. It is stupid and goofy as hell, but there is a very sharp intelligence that runs through it if you’re paying attention and can look up to it in the face. Similarly to Monty Python’s Flying Circus, you can get out of it what you want, but there is definitely more than it appears. I’ll get to that in a paragraph or three.

Most of the acting is expectedly just a bit over the top as well, but it’s definitely less demonstrative than the awful AC-ting work of, say, John Lithgow in 3rd Rock from the Sun. There definitely are some shining moments from most of the cast, especially from Rochon, who has a particularly good sense of comedic timing, even when her eyes are so emphasized; the brows look like they could be about six inches above her head. She and Thurber actually co-starred in one of my favorite films in the last few years, the very dark drama Exhumed (2011), though they share no scenes together in this one.

Shot around the Buffalo and Cheektowaga area (what, no Tonawanda?), City Hall makes its appearance in the first scene, a place I visited often in the 1980s when I would go and visit a record collector friend who worked there for many years. Most of the filming is actually indoors, but it is good to see some recognizable places. But, as I’m wont to do, I digress…

Jessica Zwolak,  Paul McGinnis

One of the great things about this film is the savviness of references that run throughout. Some are quite obvious, such as Betty showing up the first day after the enhancement saying “Tell me about it…stud,” but it’s the more subtle ones that made me laugh the hardest. For example, after the operation, Dr. Thulu’s assistant, Nurse Herbie (Robert Bozek) takes the exact same stance as Ernest Thesiger in the 1935 classic, The Bride of Frankenstein (see at 1:54 HERE).There is also a moment where some demonic-sprayed breast milk starts melting a businessman’s face, who whines, “Oh, no, not again!” This is particularly funny because he is played by Roy Frumkes, who wrote and produced the 1987 film, Street Trash.   

An alternative poster

Along with the bizarre non-sequitur musical showtune number in a dream sequence (“All you need is a pair of funbags”), there is a lot – and I mean a lot – of out-there humor. For example, there are take-offs of other films such as Tim saying “With great cup size comes great responsibility,” one frustrated co-worker of Betty snidely comments, about Betty’s enhancement, that for herself, “They’re real, and they’re spectacular,” and a great line at the end a comment made by two detectives that I can’t repeat because it could ruin the ending. Speaking of which, the two detectives? They are named Bartles and James.

Pay attention whenever Dr. Thulu and Nurse Herbie get together, because they are hysterical, and play off each other so well. For example there is this dialog:

Nurse: I don’t have any good lines! [he says breaking the fourth wall, reminiscent of a line from Monty Python during the mattress sketch, when Carol Cleveland laments, “But it’s my only line!”]

Dr.: You’re the assistant! All you need to say is, “Yes Mistress!”
Nurse: I refuse to be Igor; I’m way too pretty!

Rochon really does steal the film, and not just because I’m a fan. Just her reading of impatience at Betty’s getting undressed for an examination, saying “For the sake of the Dark One, would you take it off already?! C’mon, chop-chop!” gives some idea of her acting – er – chops.



One of the Killer Racks

I’m sure this will come into scrutiny as some heavy-handed killer female anatomy, but actually it’s quite a decent look at the way society views body image. Feeling inadequate due to small bust size is not male fantasy, but rather the way we are all mediated by prominence of the likes of the Kardashians and Kate Uptons. The film also addresses the male version of that at one point near the end of the film, which would lead perfectly into a sequel that I’m pretty sure is not in the plan (but would be welcomed by me). Speaking of which, stick through the end credits.

 

There actually is a history (subgenre perhaps?) of one aspect of the film, which is body extensions, be it for evil or not. On the not side, of course, there’s Marshall McLuhan’s image of technology being the extension of the body, such as the pen for the hand, glasses for the eyes, and computers for the brain. The evil side is more Cronenburg’s early work, such as Rabid (1977) and Videodrome (1973). More recently killer female anatomy could be seen in Teeth (2007) or appendages from transplants such as in Dustin Mills’ Night of the Tentacles  (2013).

I’ll admit I was looking forward to this as a bit of empty-headed fun. What I got instead was a multi-layered social treatise that was intelligent, psychotic, and yes, goofy. It was one of the more enjoyable films I have seen this year because it was so smartly ridiculous. And if you’re into it, as a drinking game, take a sip every time you recognize a reference. If you’re a film maven, I guarantee you’re gonna get smashed (not that I’m recommending that…).

 

Review: Frankenstein’s Hungry Dead

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

Frankenstein’s Hungry Dead

Produced, directed and edited by Richard Griffin
Scorpio Films Releasing/ Wild Eye Releasing
85 minutes / 2013 / 2015
www.wildeyereleasing.com
www.mvdvisual.com

When I was watching Frankenstein’s Hungry Dead (that’s actually the DVD release name, with the original being the more colorful and painfully accurate Frankenstein’s Wax Museum of the Hungry Dead), I had a nagging thought bouncing around in my mind throughout the whole thing. It’s kind of Hammer Films-like, but it’s broader than that. Just couldn’t put my finger on it. Then as I watched the credits at the end, it’s almost like the director, Richard Griffin, was prescient and he answered my query. He thanks Jess Franco, and that was the lightbulb moment. Then I watched the film again.

In some ways, Jesse Franco (d. 2013) was the Ed Wood Jr. (d. 1978) of modern Euro-sleaze cinema (and long titles), like The Women of Cell Block 9 (1978) and Mari-Cookie and the Killer Tarantula (1998). Many of Jess’s films had Nazi elements (as villains), lots of gore, cheesy dialog, and beautiful women who screamed a lot. On many levels this film, in trying to capture his zeitgeist, the pupil exceeds the teacher.

In The Breakfast Club (1985) fashion, a group of miscreants in a Salem, Massachusetts high school – all of them attractive – are brought by their teacher to a horror-themed wax museum, the real Count Orlok’s Nightmare Gallery (HERE); the correct sign is seen out front, but in the back a computer printed sign says [Peter] “Cushing Wax Museum” (no big whoop, especially since I was a card-carrying member of the British-based Peter Cushing fan club in early 1970s).

Okay, since I’ve already started, I’m going to do my ridiculous nit picking first, though I usually do this at the end, because (a) I think it’s funny, and (b) I like to show off. The big anachronism here is when the film takes place. For example, a student goes missing and the date listed on the “missing” flyer is 1979. However, the posters on another student’s wall (probably from the Griffin’s youth) is of Thompson Twins and Duran Duran. While both this bands were formed before 1979, at least the latter band didn’t have any hits until 1981. And lastly, in the wax museum, some of the figures include the clown Pennywise and Darkman, both from films released in 1990. Man, I love indie cinema (not sarcasm).

A

Shannon Hartman and Johnny Sederquist

nyway, our group sneaks back into said museum so at least some of them can have sex: the straight couple in a casket, no less, and the gay couple in a threesome with a wax figure. And, of course, all the rest of the group are there for – er – moral support? This turns out to be a bad thing because the person running the museum is Charles Frank (a wonderfully crazed Michael Thurber), who has shortened his last name of course, and copying his great-great-grandfather’s experiments. Thurber kind of looks like the progeny of Chris Lee and Peter Cushing (as if that was possible, and again, a compliment), and being the incredible stage and screen actor that he is, he knows how to play maniacal well.

Like every version of the Frankenstein bloodline, there are previous failed experiments running amok, here in kind-of zombie mode in that they stumble around and eat people, but they don’t have the virus that turns their victims into flesh-eaters themselves. When they eat, they kill, and at least two deaths here are similar to a particular slaughter in Romero’s Day of the Dead (1985).

The body count is high, and the characters, both female and male, are attractive albeit leaning towards snarky and/or not overly smart, but that’s okay, because everyone is really funny. Of course, it helps with the screenplay co-written by Griffin and Seth Chitwood. According to the commentary track, some of the gags they came up with were at the last minute, including the hysterical coda (which indirectly indicated that there might be a sequel?).

One of the interesting aspects about seeing a director’s film out of context, i.e., not in the order they were released, is that you often get to see early parts after seeing that same actor(s) in leading roles. And since Griffin has been blessed with a wonderful and ever growing troupe, the viewer can see the same ones at their various stages (so far).

There are two female de facto leads in this: first, there’s Ashley, played by the diminutive yet nevertheless powerful Shannon Hartman as the beautiful bitch girl, and yet to me seems to use that tone to manage to stay alive (or not, not giving it away). Highly emotional, it’s very different than the still and seething character she would play in Normal (2013). Like the Rachel McAdams character in Mean Girls (2004), she manages to be really offensive, and remain hot. And here, she sorta wears a Freddy Kruger sweater (not exact, but close).

Jamie Lyn Bagley

The other female lead is Katherine (Jamie Lyn Bagley), the frumpy-yet-cute outsider girl who is smarter than most of the others, and has really bad hair and choice of clothing that accentuates what you don’t want highlighted. I’m looking forward to more leading roles with her in the future (Richard, hint-hint). Being that diamond-in-the-rough role in this type of film, it’s the fear that turns into anger that will help her (or not). Or, by the end, is she as insane as everyone else?

The titular role, as I said, is a be-wigged and eye-patched Michael Thurber, Griffin’s genie in a bottle (or soundstage, anyway). As I’ve said in previous reviews, Thurber really does know how to play the straight (i.e., non-comedic) role, as he did in the superb Exhumed (2011), the completely over the top insanity of Future Justice (2014), and the Euro-trash nutsoid-naziod that was common in the 1970s, and especially in the video boom of the ‘80s. Like most of the actors here, he is stage trained, and knows how to play to a role, and sometimes, as in here, lets the role play him to some extent.

The second male lead in his first full length feature is Johnny Sederquist, who plays the very openly gay Sam. It’s humorous that he has a nice love scene with Aaron Peaslee (as Troy), who he would also share a tongue with in The Sins of Dracula (2014). It is interesting to compare Sederquist’s role here with his later lead actor in Accidental Incest (2014). Here he’s emotional, but by AI, he will make a leap from being a character to becoming that character. Good actor here, he definitely has grown. It’s all good, and he is extremely funny here; you can see his good sense of timing and emotional manipulation of the character and the strength to sacrifice… okay, others… to survive (or not).

The heart of the film, Michael Thurber

As with most of Griffin’s films, there is a large cast, some part of the main group, and some more in the periphery. For example, the “lead” zombie is played by Nathaniel Sylva, who would go on to play the main character in Future Justice, as he does stoic so well (compliment). Jesse Dufault plays a punk rocker musician (in some ways similar to NuWave he’d personify in The Sins of Dracula. He wisely plays convincingly with his eyes, one of his strong features, as he’s also a bit of a loveable comedic teddy bear, which also works for him. His real-life brother, Jamie Dufault, who often plays leads in Griffin films such as Murder University (2012), has a cameo role here as a zombie, and I found it amusing that he almost bites Jesse (I’m sure that was intentional, and good on you). One of the better and funniest bits has do to with a David Byrn…I mean a talking head named Fritz (hilariously dis-embodied by Sean Carufel), a definite – er  – nod to the B-film classic The Brain That Wouldn’t Die (1962).

If you’ve never seen a Jess (nee Jesus) Franco film, this could be a good way to start before delving in, because as purposefully goofy as this is, it’s nowhere near as insane and sometimes unwatchable as some Franco films. Griffin has taken the best elements and motifs that make Franco’s films so interesting, and put his own twist on it to make it a fun joyride through someone else’s backyard mess.

The extra is a commentary track that has way too many people in it, including most of the primary cast and the director, but Griffin actually manages to keep it in check most of the time so it doesn’t become a “I’m talking over everyone else to express my ego” fest. Despite the occasional overmodulation due to everyone laughing at once, it is surprisingly coherent.

I’m not one who usually finds “Easter Eggs” on DVDs, but if you click on Thurber’s eyepatch in the Special Features window, you can hear a web-interview with the director on Nerdgasm where he talks about a lot of his career and gives some perspective of how he learned what he knows. For example, I found out we both share a love of Bug Bunny cartoon, and how his comedies are filmed versions of those ‘toons in some elements. ‘Nuff said.

 

Review: Normal

Text by Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films
Images from the Internet

Normal
Directed by Richard Griffin
Scorpio Films Releasing
89 Minutes, 2013
www.scorpiofilmsreleasing.com
https://www.facebook.com/NORMALTHEMOVIE

And it is no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

2 Corinthians 11:14

Many directors it seems, especially ones known for releases generally having some level of humor, at some point want to make a “serious” movie. Most, such as Woody Allen with Interiors (1978), are arguably not successful (it was a beautiful film that critics loved, but it bored audiences). Director Richard Griffin had tried this before with much more success with his bleak, black and white noir thriller Exhumed (2011), which I rated as the best indie film I had seen that year.



Sarah Nicklin and Michael Reed

Taking a step into even darker material – albeit this time in color – Griffin once again joins forces with his Exhumed leads Sarah Nicklin and Michael Reed, only this time with Reed as the focal point rather than Nicklin. But as with most films that pair them, they are some form of a couple, such as in The Disco Exorcist (2011).
Let me say, as a straight Ally, Reed is one handsome fella. Luckily, he does not really need to rely merely on that as he is also one damn fine actor. He plays Jim, who owns a run-down apartment building in Boston (he even drives past the Citgo sign, giving me fond memories of The Rat[skeller] club, but I digress…), apparently co-owned with his brother, Tom (Nathaniel Sylva giving a solid and emotional performance). Jim is also the not so handy superintendent, unsuccessfully able to fix fluttering hallway lights or thermostats, thematically matching his mind and moods, perhaps. Now, his brother is pressuring him to sign away the building to be sold for his own – yet understandable – reasons we come to learn. So, poor Tom is feeling quite some pressure in his life.



Elyssa Baldassarri and Michael Reed

Along with his brother, there is also strain from a number of the tenants who desperately seem to want something of – not just from – him through some form of affection and attention, including both genders (yes I know gender is more than binary, but let’s move on). Through flashbacks and verbal hints, the viewer learns some of the key secrets of the story at the end of the first act, but that certainly should not have you give up, but rather put a little additional jam on the toast, if you will, because the ride is just getting more interesting.

The tenants and a couple of visitors are part of what makes this film so… disturbingly curious. For example, there’s Reed’s companion who often comes and goes named Shelley, played by the amazing… Sarah Nicklin. That pause is because I was going to call her a Scream Queen, but honestly, you can tell she can play beyond the genre. Let me further say, as a straight Ally, Nicklin is an attractive woman. I’ve seen a few of her films, and when she and Reed have scenes together, there is definite magic as they play off each other so well.

The mysterious Michael Thurber

There is also a married couple (Monica Saviolakis and Rich Tretheway, who just keeps getting better in every film I see him in), two women who almost remind me of the twins from The Shining (1980), amusingly named April and June (Samantha Acampora  and Shannon Hartman, respectively), the older man who has a crush on Jim (David Erin Wilson), and a woman constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown (Elyssa Baldassarri, also giving an extremely strong performance somewhere between pathos and scarred; I’m looking forward to seeing her first lead role in Griffin’s latest, Accidental Incest: The Musical, which was just released, and soon to be reviewed here). Then, of course, there is the mysterious stranger, sharply portrayed by Griffin regular, Michael Thurber. Thurber can sometimes be over the top when he should be, in comedies like Future Justice(2014), Dr. Frankenstein’s Wax Museum of the Hungry Dead (2013) or The Sins of Dracula (2014), but when he hunkers down to serious roles like here and Exhumed, man, is he a force to reckon with.

Samantha Acampora

Griffin’s sense of the scene, placement of the camera, lighting, and mood are impeccable. There’s one shot of Tom leaving a bar with the soon to be full frontal Patrick Keefe, which is so well done, I actually backed it up to watch three or four times, with each viewing I noticing something different. From the dull, yellowish lighting to one that is bright and glaringly stark white to show, again, state of mind, the direction is nearly a character in itself.

While the symbolism runs higher than usual, unlike with, say, Interiors, it never gets in the way of the story, a fault that tends to run in those trying to make “art” instead of a good film. There is a reason why so many quality actors flock to and then stick around for other Griffin films, because (a) it really looks like they are supported by the director, (b) the roles are juicy as get-out, and (c) he makes quality films. There is no other director I know who is this prolific (18 full features and a few shorts in 11 years) and retains the high level of quality.

Helping along of course is the writer, Lenny Schwartz, who has penned a couple of Griffin’s other films, including the above mentioned Accidental Incest. Schwartz has a very sharp sense of humor, a touch of the deranged, and knows how to tell a story. I mean, if he can give away key plot points a third of the way through and still not have it be anti-climactic, that really is saying tons.

One would be hard pressed to call this a splatterfest, and blood is kept to a minimum, but its presence is more meaningful than your average killer film, but that’s because Normal delves us ore into what makes one do terrible things, and yet manages to keep us in suspense, as a thriller should.

As usual, Schwartz and Griffin play with cultural gender roles, with no character necessarily being 100% anything other than themselves,  and giving the audience enough credit to accept that. As it should be. Just playing with the theme of what is normal and what is “not” can be taken on many levels here. Sure, there is the mental question, but where does that line fall, and more importantly, who is to say what is “normal?” Greenwich Village? Indiana? Fangoria? Me?  

There are a bunch of points I would love to discuss about the ending here, but won’t for obvious reasons. Let’s have some tea, and we can talk.

Review: The Sins of Dracula

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

The Sins of Dracula
Directed and edited by Richard Griffin
Scorpio Films Releasing
80 minutes / 2014
The film can be obtained HERE.
www.mvdvisual.com

When I was an undergrad in Brooklyn, I was invited to a screening of a film on campus that was marketed to us as modelled on The Exorcist, and being the horror fan, I said sure. It ended up being sponsored by the Jews for Jesus and the Newman House Catholic Club organizations, with a mallet-heavy message of accept Jesus or burn! For the college newspaper, as its reviewer, I not only panned it, I ridiculed the message and had both those organizations try to kick me off campus. And this was a year before I started hanging out in CBGB’s.

There is a whole subgenre of accept Jesus or burn!!! films out there, this seems to play mostly on campuses and Southern high schools, or to teenage church groups. While it’s becoming more popular in the mainstream, with the Kirk Cameron Left Behind series at the forefront, it is still worthy of ridicule It’s about time someone did a spoof of it. Sure, Saved! (2004) did a nice job on the mentality behind these beliefs, this is the first I know to actually be modelled on the genre, and apparently Richard Griffin is just the guy to do that. The Sins of Dracula takes this sub-standard subgenre and methodically breaks it down, wisely taking the less-than-subtle message and making it a less-than-subtle comedy, using the same tropes to say the opposite.

Sarah Nicklin

If you haven’t been following Griffin’s career, this New England filmmaker has made some of my favorite films over the past few years, such as Exhumed (2011), The Disco Exorcist (2011), and Murder University (2012), all of which you can find my reviews elsewhere on this blog site. Also wisely, he has chosen a talented cast he is mostly familiar with from these other releases (I will use the initials of the films in which they appear from this list after their names).

Seemingly taking place in the late 1980s, if I’m judging the photos on the walls correctly, Billy (Jamie Dufault; MU) is a “pure” and innocent lad who sings in his church choir, but is itching for more. His girlfriend, Shannon (the ever exquisite Sarah Nicklin; E, DE) is a bit more… in the real world, i.e., her tempter Eve to his innocent Adam, and convinces him to join her theatre troupe (aka the body count). The company is full of out there characters, including the New Wave guy (who is more pre-Goth than New Wave, in my opinion), the shy gay guy, the hallucinating druggie guy, the nerd gamer girl Traci (the also exquisite Samantha Acampora; MU)… well, you get the drift.

Jamie Dufault

As preachy as this subgenre tends to be, this film, written by Michael Varrati, uses the form to be mockingly sermonizing in another direction, with such great lines as, “Your whole world is based around a man getting nailed to wood, and Lance’s whole world is based around getting nailed by a man’s wood,” or “I promise you, you won’t live to regret it!” There’s also a part where the main character is praying and he says, “Dear, Lord, it’s me, Billy. No, the other one? From choir? I know it’s been about a half hour since we last talked…” So many others, but I don’t want to show too much of the hand before you see it.

The over-the-top-ego and dressed all in red director of this theater production is, of course, named Lou Perdition (Steven O’Broin).  If you don’t know, Perdition is your time in hell after you die, if you follow Christian dogma. His assistant, the sarcasm-dripping Kimberly (the also exquisite Elyssa Baldassarri; MU), is equally smug with obviously a secret to hide (that I will not give away).

Samantha Acampora

It makes sense that the framework for the film revolves around an indie theater group, since so much of the cast has its history in local theater, especially Michael Thurber (E, DE, MU), who plays the titular character of Dracula with finesse and grace (of course), who also the founder and artistic director of the Theater Company of Rhode Island. What makes it even more charming is that Thurber is a graduate of Oral Roberts University. He is, one may say, Griffin’s acting muse, and has appeared in nearly all of his films. Thurber has shown a level of elegance in Exhumed and in a campy way that is appropriate for this release, he continues on that role. I’m definitely a fan.

This is one damn enjoyable piece of work, but at exactly one hour in, it ramps up and it’s almost like the same film on adrenaline. The comedy is more pointed (it was already sharp, but it goes from ginsu to katana), the visuals are bloodier, and the comedic drama even more enthralling. Fuck, let’s just break it down and say it gets even more fun. The dialog between Billy and the Pastor (Carmine Capobianco who is often a regular in James Balsalmo’s films, e.g., I Spill Your Guts (2012) and Cool as Hell (2013), both also reviewed elsewhere in this blog) had me laughing so hard, I actually had to play it again to hear the parts I missed!

Michael Thurber

Billy and Pastor Johnson head off to bring down Dracula and his minions. They are joined by an exorcising (another well-played short set piece reminiscent of Richard Pryor’s Saturday Night Live spoof from 1975) Latino hardass soul brother Pastor Gibson (Jose Guns Alvez) that could have been a replacement for Shaft. This is where I am going to stop with any kind of story description, because you really need to see this.

Rigidly religious films are not the only model used here. There are a lot of Hammer Films influences, from Thurber’s take on Christopher Lee’s Dracula (who also did not talk much in the heady early Hammer days of the 1950s-‘60s) to the stark primary lighting of red and blue (and some green), which gives it an appropriate ‘80s feel, like something out of Creepshow (1982), or Dario Argento’s canon. Usually the sharper the color, the more intense the action, is how this works, y’see. If you didn’t know that, horror fans, y’need t’do some schoolin’.

Elyssa Baldassarri

On a sociological level, there are many aspects that one could note. For example, there is a lot of playing with sexuality (plenty of sensuality and sex acts here, but no nudity to note). In one instance, there is a mash-up of two separate couples, one straight and one gay, as if to say there is no difference. I like that one could interpret that as both are expressing love, or both are equally sinning (to paraphrase a bumpersticker I once saw, “Oh, Lord, protect me from your interpreters”). In another moment, someone comments on someone who is transgendered, though taking place in the ‘80s, so there is no “populous” word for it. That was a sly addition by Varrati that made my media theory mind perk up. There is actually a lot of justifying of actions through both positive and negative religious followings, which I believe is where this film’s tongue is firmly in cheek, as it were.

Thurber makes a strong-but-silent Dracula. He plays his character with his eyes and mouth a lot, as did Lee, and also subtly uses his hand movements to indicate menace, or acknowledgement (e.g., see the ring? Beeeeware!). One of the thoughts that went through my head is that the center of evil is actually the Theater’s artistic director, a role Thurber possesses in real life. I hope he got as much a kick out of that thought as did I.

There are three extras, all worthwhile. The first is a short, 10-minute fake trailer which is amazing called "They Stole the Pope's Blood" (pssst, you can find it on YouTube, but don't tell anyone). There are also two excellent commentary tracks, one with the director, Richard Griffin, and the writer, Lenny Schwartz, and the other with lead pair Sarah Nicklin and Jamie Dufault, and again, but not least, Griffin. It actually was worth sitting through the film two extra times to hear it, as it's full of interesting anecdotes rather than fluff. A great package altogether.

 

Review: Murder University

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2013
Images from the Internet

                            

Murder University

Directed by Richard Griffin
Scorpio Rising                  
96 minutes, 2012 / 2013
www.WildEyeReleasing.com
www.MVDvisual.com

 Okay, I’m going to admit it. Richard Griffin is becoming one of my favorite indie horror directors. He has covered many different sub-genres in his films such as The Disco Exorcist (2011) and the stunning Exhumed (2011), and now this one, which is homage to ‘80s slasher movies. Of course, the comparisons are inevitable with the Scream franchise, but I’m not going there; I don’t really feel a need to do that because the Wes Craven film had a budget of about $15 million, and this was shot for a mere $6,000, and yet accomplishes so much.

This picture follows many of the formulaic cliché’s that crop up in these kinds of films, but it is rarely done as well, in this tongue-in-cheek way. For example, there is the obligatory “prolog” that sets up future events. This takes place in 1983, at a college in Massachusetts (though was filmed in Rhode Island, as is most of Griffin’s releases). Most of the time, the rest of the film is in “the present,” but this one is set just a year later, with anyone hardly caring about the ghastly events that took place on the campus of “Murder U’ (i.e., “murder you”). Apparently there is a devil masked (and hooded cloaks, of course) group using sharp objects such as axes and knives to create some serious damage.

But let me back up a bit for a moment to make a comment on that opening sequence.  Did not see the surprise coming; I let out a big laugh and a wow, which is quite the statement after having seen slashers since Joan Crawford’s Strait-Jacket! (1964). This moment alone tells you that you are not going to see a standard, run-of-the-mill chop-em-up.

The story is written by Lenny Schwartz with flair towards both the gruesome and the funny bone. Most of the comedy is not played for broad laughs, but rather it’s done smartly and on occasion, such as a running joke with the main character’s mother. My favorite though, and this was extremely subtle, was the password for getting into a frat party by saying a password to a redneck (wearing a Stars and Bars toga) at the door, which is a line from James Brown’s “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud.”

But the writing is only one of the pillars that make this a strong and multiple (festival related) award-winning film. Another is the look of it. The picture is HD and clear, including the night scenes. The use of RGB colors for the lighting, especially in the night and forest locales is beautiful, giving it a nice ‘80s Creepshow (1982) feel, but with a clearer and sharper image, and applied subtly (there’s that word again) rather than garishly, as most use it.

The next pillar is the acting. Griffin tends to use many of the same folks in multiple releases, and this seems wise (though I miss the team of Reed and Nicklin). Many of the cast come from the New England the-yay-tah crowd, so they know how to nail a scene quickly and accurately. Yes, there is a bit stage overplaying here and there, but it seems less as time and films go on. The three main characters are strong in both writing and presention.

Michael Thurber

Griffin stalwart Michael Thurber is solid, period. Sure, he was a bit goofy in The Disco Exorcist, but his Exhumed performance was a nuanced tour de force. Here, he plays the aggressive, loner, verbally vulgar police detective Forresster with a deeply buried soft spot. From what I understand, this slovenly character, who wears a Columbo-type overcoat, is far from Thurber’s real personality (he wore a tux to the film’s premier, for example), but his naturalistic acting ability makes the detective come alive.

Samantha Acampora

His daughter and co-sleuth, Meg, whose mother had been killed by the demon-masked killers when she was a wee lassie, is portrayed by the very fetching Samantha Acampora. With those lips and doe eyes, man, I would have had such a crush on her in college. Luckily, she’s a naturalistic actor, and takes the kind of female-lead-yet-support role as if she were part of that personality, which is falling in love with the central character, Josh.

Jamie Dufault

I know I’ve seen Jamie Dufault, somewhere, but I cannot remember where. However, here he takes the lead. Though obviously diminutive (most characters tower over him), he creatively works both the shy-virgin and passive-aggressive sides of his character with conviction.  Josh is a shy lad with a sad secret who is starting college (like much of his classmates, he’s obviously older than the part he’s playing, but that’s pretty endemic in the genre, so I’ll move on).  He is a wide (blue) eyed youth who leans towards sweater vests (there is some kind a running motif where many characters wear horizontal striped shirts, including a Freddy Kruger colored one worn by Meg) and deer-in-headlight reactions. But you know there is an itch tugging inside him (again, the genre). One thing I found interesting, and this really has nothing to do with anything per se, but Jamie has a couple of interesting “tells,” where he will either turn his head or lick his lips as the excitement level is ramping up, or a key comment is about to be spoken.

There is also an exceedingly large support cast (all the better for sizable body count), and I need to comment here. Again from a theater background, they run from the average looking to the attractive (e.g., Elyssa Baldasssarri and Tonya Free). Plus there are a number of outstanding basically secondary or even tertiary characters which stand out, such as Sean Sullivan as a leather jacketed insane thug, and especially Aaron Peaslee as a tool DJ, Juicy K. Thunder (who, in a throwaway line, mentions his college radio show called “Morning Mishegas”); check out his dancing in the DJ booth in the background at a gay strip club (where Forresster frequents for – er – coffee). You may not notice him at first, but if you do, he’ll steal the scene. Oh, and there is also a police investigator who looks alarmingly like (but is not) disgraced ex-Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.

Griffin has quickly developed into a decent filmmaker. His shots inside a particular modernistic building are a good example. He uses the frosted glass stair landings in a way to show movement that is quite lovely, and the first time we see Josh walking through the building, the stairs and floors almost look like an MC Escher drawing.

Along with the remarkably large body count, there is also a fair number of gore scenes (without being “gore porn”) which are sometimes amusing, but most times well done. The only effect that gave me pause was a scalping that looks good for the effect itself, but it almost looks like the knife isn’t really touching either the head or the scalp. Otherwise, every other effect, from different levels of beheadings with a knife to more subdued killings (such as using shadows, or in one case, showing someone at knee level). What is also nice is that these killers are not gender specific. In other words, it’s not just females that are hacked, but rather everyone within range, including some guy getting an ax (the weapon of choice here), well, let’s just say sharp edge up.

The extras include some trailers (including two of Griffin’s I mentioned here) from Wild Eye Releasing and a deleted scene. There are also two commentaries. One of them includes a number of the cast (excluding the two male leads) which occasionally gets overwhelming trying to tell who talking, though it’s still worth a listen because they do manage to put out a lot of information. The other track is the director and writer, which is more interesting, though I suggest listening to both if that interests you.

It’s nice to see a horror film with humor that doesn’t rely on Adam Sandler-level toilet jokes, but rather is quite intelligent, along with some twists and turns that have some originality to them. And besides Thurber’s perfect nuances, Dufault has a delicious sense of timing, and can spit out dialog that is clear and emotive/empathetic. There are lots of surprises here, but one that isn’t is the consistency of Griffin’s output, as all his films have a shine on ‘em. I look forward to seeing the projects that came after this, including Dr. Frankenstein’s Wax Museum of the Hungry Dead and especially Normal.

 

Review: Exhumed

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2013
Images from the Internet
                            

Exhumed

Directed by Richard Griffin
Scorpio Rising            
Wild Eye Releasing                        
90 minutes,2011 / 2013
www.WildEyeReleasing.com
www.MVDvisual.com

Wow. Just…wow.

This is going to be a tough review to write because there is so much I could discuss, but to do so would be to give away too much of this thriller. But here we go.

The last Richard Griffin film I saw was a horror sex comedy called The Disco Exorcist [HERE]. Though made the same year, it is the polar opposite of this one, a dark, black and white noir set piece. Think of when Woody Allen goes all Bergman, except this remains interesting, from shadowy beginning to blacker end.

The press release posits this as a Hammer-like film, but I humbly disagree. To me, it is more reminiscent of a twisted gothic noir Tennessee Williams, or more something that is a closer equivalent to WhateverHappened to Baby Jane? (1962) or Hush… Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964). Like these latter two, we are focused into the mysterious goings-on in a house where you just know it’s going to get bad. Also similar is the use of high-contrasting black and white, employed here more effectively than I have seen in a long time.

During one of the two commentary tracks, director Richard Griffin talks about how nearly everything clicked during the 11 days shoot, and it shows in the final product. He also states how he tends to muck around with scripts, but only made one (fine) addition to the original, by Guy Benoit. It is a story that beginning fuzzy as to what is going on and the possibilities of why and who everyone is in relation to each other, but as time goes on it focuses, while still leaving little mysteries scattered about like its characters.

The film starts out as a hunh? mystery, as you wonder about the relationship of the five house members who are stirred up by the introduction of a sixth. Each is distinct in their personality, each one bringing their own baggage, and all brought together for reasons that become clearer as the film plays out.

There is what could be considered leading roles, but honestly, this is a true ensemble cast, some of whom are part of the Griffin troupe of Rhode Island theatrical players, and others bring new blood (pun intended) to the stalwarts.

Evalena Marie

Let’s start with the somewhat peripheral yet pivotal characters. Lance, played by Rich Tretheway, who had a hysterical turn in The Disco Exorcist as a badly accented (Italian?) janitor, (un)wise in the ways of the spiritual. Here, however, he is a lonely and pathetic unkempt man living in the house, rarely seen out of his gray sweats and messy room. Where he is the “low” personality, Rocki, personified by the exotic and beautiful Evalena Marie, is the most hyper and spunky resident. She is the Loki character, the trickster and mischief maker¸ relative to the rest. Evalena keeps her quirky without being cloying or annoying, for which I am grateful. Well done.

Michael Reed and Sarah Nicklin

Michael Reed and Sarah Nicklin, the stars of the aforementioned The Disco Exorcist, appear as core players this as well. The married-in-real-life couple appear in many of Griffin’s films, though just after this was filmed, they moved from Rhode Island to California to strike out on a more – er –professional (?) career to increasing success. Again opposite of their previous “skins,” Michael has a bit of a subtle role as Chris, the newcomer to the house, but will he stay or go? Or both? Sarah’s Laura has been emotionally scarred terribly; she is now child-like and somewhat innocent, but definitely warped. Sarah has some great scenes where she spits out some wonderful dialog with just the right pitch and tones.

Michael Thurber

Giving an incredibly strong and nuanced performance, possibly the best in the film but only by a hair, is Michael Thurber. While apparently second in command within this strange group, he is also somewhat set apart from the rest, and probably has the most realistic view of the situation. His moves are subtle and relatively insurgent, such as the whole bizarre mannequin fixation, but Michael is interesting to watch. Bob Fosse-like, every movement of the actor’s body says something at all times.

Debbie Rochon

Then there is the unofficial matriarch, played strongly, scarily and at the same time with an undercurrent of sheer insanity (through desire of power? Self-righteousness? Zealousness? Fear?), as rendered by scream queen icon indie goddess, Debbie Rochon. Much of the more than 200 films she has made have been horror comedies, but she certainly proves her dramatic chops here. Her performance is nothing less than stellar.

It is hardly surprising to me that a number of awards have come out of this film, such as Rochon winning Best Actress at the Pollygrind Film Festival, Nicklin being nominated for Best Actress, plus many other festival nods. For a film that is dark in both story and image– no, I mean that literally as there is a lack of lighting, and while it’s easy to make out what’s happening, the level of shadow is extreme – this is just an example why this film deserves to be seen as a full theater project, rather than assumed as just another oddball indie film.

Even the extras are worthwhile. The making-of, shot by Reed and Nicklin and edited by Griffin, is 46 minutes long, and follows the taping nearly all 11 days. It is kept interesting throughout, seeing how much work, and also how much fun is had by the cast, getting it done. There are two commentaries, both also noteworthy. Watch the second one first, which is Griffin, Thurber and one of the producers. There is very little wasted time, but is nicely focused on the filming processes and interesting anecdotes. The second one to watch is with Griffin and the writer Benoit, who discuss the process of getting the film from idea to completion. You’d think to watch it the other way around, but this way is better for this particular flick.

I say this as a compliment: Griffin is going to have to work freakin’ hard to top this one, and I look forward to future projects to see him do just that. That being said, when I look at the trailer for, say, Hush…Hush Sweet Charlotte, I believe this film is actually better, in acting, writing and look, as well as effectiveness. One of the best films I’ve seen this year.