All genres of suspense, terror, and horror will be reviewed by Richard Gary. His address to send preview copies supplied upon request to rbf55@msn.com.
Nazi Undead (aka Living Space) Directed by Stephen
Spiel Tru Dot Films;
Monster Pictures; Jingai; MVD Entertainment 80 minutes, 2018
/ 2020 www.facebook.com/livingspacefilm/ www.mvdb2b.com
Have Nazi’s ever really
gone away from the social or cinematic consciousness? Just looking at genre
films alone, dead/ghosts and zombie Nazis have been present for decades, in
films like Shock Waves (1997) and Dead Snow (2009), or footage of
them marching at the White House in MAGA hats. (November 2020). Wikipedia has a
whole bunch of them listed (HERE), and
there is even a book about it called Nazispolitation! The Nazi Image in
Low-Brow Cinema and Culture (by Daniel H. Magilow, Elizabeth Bridges, and Kristen
T. Vander Lugt, [Eds.], 2011).
This Australian film
is not in that Wikipedia list, just to show the topic goes beyond that inventory.
Originally released in 2018, it is now getting a wider release, including this Blu-ray.
Georgia Chara
Brad and Janet…. I mean Brad (Leigh Scully) and Ashley
(Georgia Chara) are an American couple of overaged college sweethearts (you can
tell by his letterman jacket) somewhere on tour in Germany, taking a rental car
to a getaway at a castle (I did this at Schloss Petzow, an hour southeast of
Berlin, but I digress…). They are obviously not getting along mainly because,
well, he’s a jealous and controlling dick (did I mention the letterman’s jacket?)
who doesn’t even help her with her luggage. Everybody sing: “Macho, macho putz…”
But as is typical, guys like that in films like this don’t listen to smart
women, all to the lack of their betterment.
After an incident on a dark road while being lost
(yeah, he’s driving), they end up at a house. No Frank N. Furter here,
but swings move by themselves and doors slam shut with no one there. Ashley is
also having flashes of Final Destination (2000-etc.) type dreams and
images, so she wants to leave, but mister letterman jacket won’t listen.
Leigh Scully
This is no ordinary home, but the spiritual resting
place of a family whose equally dick Herr Hauslehrer (Andy Mcfee, who
was in the also dark tale of 2005’s Wolf Creek) was a World War II Nazi SS
officer, and now their vindictive and malevolent ghosts are roaming the place,
causing malice, mischief and mayhem; I won’t give specifics, but some are
horrific, but look great, thanks to a SFX team led by Stephen Boyle.
If you have seen Wolf Creek, or some of the
work of Peter Weir, you know just how bleak and oppressive Australian cinema can
get. The house is quite small, so there is a strong feeling of claustrophobia,
and the tight quarters make the ghosts popping in and out effective for jump
scares, even after numerous times.
Needless to say, Nazi insignias are everywhere, on
walls, on knives, and with graffiti on a shed wall. The latter, however, seems
to me to be a bit anachronistic, as that was not a “thing” back in 1945, and
having someone having done it in modern times kinds of takes away from the
whole “lost in time” premise. Still, it’s not enough to divert my attention
away from the story.
Andy Mcfee
Nazis – especially dead (or undead) ones – are easy villains.
There is no need for any kind of soft-soaping or giving an empathetic side, because
in this cinematic world, there is no “good people on both sides.” What is the
motivation for the killings? Well, for the original murders, it was probably a
matter of death and “honor” before giving up to the enemy (the Americans or
Russians, perhaps giving this a 2000 Maniacs [1964] revenge vibe). For
the modern era, it could be because they are American, or it may just be anyone
foreign trespassing on Deutschland soil, which is the reference of the
film’s original title, Living Space.
The blurb for the film gives the indication that the
house is some kind of time warp (maybe they are Brad and Janet…), stuck
somewhere between then and now, which would explain why the house is in
relatively good shape, just as it was in 1945, yet time has not had an effect
on the edifice at all.
The multiple time and special loops that run through
the story are really well done, even with a nod to Satanic (2016) and Groundhog
Day (1992), possibly Run Lola Run (1998), or the more recent Inoperable
(2017). That being said, it is not just a rehashing of old themes, as
director Spiel manages to throw some updating and modernizing into the genre
framework in effective ways.
Not counting the ghosts, there is a small body count
as there are really only two living humans in the main story, but the time
factors mean more than one event per character; again, I’m trying not to give
too much away.
So, the story is, as I indicated, a bit dark (usually
if there are Nazis abound it’s either dark or an extreme comedy, like Mel
Brooks), but it is well put together and told. From the editing (especially the
nightmare sequences) to the practical SFX, this release actually was way better
than I was expecting it to be. While the title is a bit more marketable, it also
gives the impression of a B-film. That being said, it’s still better than its
original title, which doesn’t give a clue about anything, even the genre in
which it is placed.
There are no stunning extras, just chapters and stereo
options, but make sure you watch at least the beginning of the credits to
marvel at the SFX work.
This
zombie extravaganza is a collection within a compilation. What I mean is that of
2-discs that was put together, one of which was already a set of two films. The
first was called Grindhouse Zombies: The
Dead Shall Inherit the Earth (WWMM loves the word “grindhouse”; that’s an
observation, nowhere near a complaint). The second is the solo film, Dead Walkers: The Rise of the Fourth Reich.
DISC ONE:
Zombie Factory (aka Zombie Field Trip, aka Zombie Isle)
Written
and directed by Robert Elkins
American
Eyesore Films / WWMM
110
minutes, 2014
While
played straight, this film is definitely handled tongue-in-cheek. It is
supposed to take place in 1978, and actually looks a bit like the style of Mother’s Day (1980). Though likely shot
on a digi-cam, the film has the appearance of washed out or discolored film
stock from the day. The tone of the
film is quite purposefully amateurish, reminding me of those ‘50s films they
used to show in schools like “My Body is Changing,” but without the rinky-dink
music behind it.
Also, it’s
obviously positing a miniscule budget; for example, when the local sheriff
gives one of the female students a business card, it’s hand-written. Mini-budget
in the 1970s or even 1980s was different than it is now. With a relatively
inexpensive camera, a film can be made for just a few hundred dollars or less
and still look damn fine. Back then, when it was shot on literal film, a micro-budget
meant inexpensive (sometimes past its expiration date) film stock and cutting
corners wherever possible.
The acting
isn’t quite as wooden as, say, Night of
the Living Dead (1968), but that is definitely the tone they seem to be
going for, and it is actually quite effective. Once you get used to the
discoloration (other than the red tones, which “pop”), the bad edits that are
supposed to look like the film broke and was edited back together (seen that
happen in person when I worked in a movie theater around the time this was
supposed to take place), the whirlpool of the effects become more secondary to
the action.
We join a
group of students and a randy professor named Grant Foster (no relation to the
sunglasses, I supposed…) with a stereotypical corduroy jacket, wool turtleneck,
pipe and beard, and his students as they look over a supposedly deserted island
for rare plants. The ship captain who takes them over is a decent additional comic
relief.
Once on
the island – excuse me, isle – they
set off in pairs, including the two dumb blondes who are actually more fun to
watch than annoying, the lustful girl and disinterested nerd, the militant
feminist and the horny chubby guy in the afro wig, and the professor and the smarter-than-the-professor
“cute one” (Kyle Billeter, who by far gives the best reading of the cast); he
tries to “mansplain” everything to her while doing a Cosby by spiking her drink
with booze. He continually proves he has possibly the least smarts of the
group. But to paraphrase the song, “Only the dumb survive” (for a while
perhaps…).
In pretty
quick order the last pair find a sign indicating the United States Army has
banned anyone from the isle (though that doesn’t stop them), and the zombies
come out in force exposing the viewer to a strong mixture of cheesy and well
done extreme gore. There are a lot of George Romero (d. 2017) references in
these zombie kills, but the better for it, in my opinion.
Then we
get introduced to the (of course) escaped Nazi scientist with the really
(purposefully) bad German accent that is behind it all. As escapist fun goes,
well, you are never taken out of the film, meaning that you are always aware
that you are watching a film thanks to all the jittery digital additions –
although all the appliances are real and well done – but that actually feels
like part of the parade, and this actually ended up being more fun than I was
even expecting. And don’t even get me started with the vengeful three-headed
monster added in for… well, why not?!
Who will
survive! Will the Nazi prevail? Will the zombies make it off the isle? Will the
living? All this and more!! Other
than being a bit too long, it was an enjoyable experiment in retro-zombie
cinema. I’m gonna like this film, even if the director is (still) a Trump supporter…
Zombie Holocaust (aka Flesh of the Living)
Written,
produced, cinematography and directed by Robert Elkins
American
Eyesore
70
minutes, 2012
What a
difference a couple of years make. Directed by the same person who did Zombie Isle, but a couple of years (and
films) before that one; there is a wide range of knowledge he seems to have
gained betwixt the two.
This
earlier film is less of a narrative than a series of set pieces intermingled
via editing. A solar flare has sent radiation to the earth, raising the dead to
become flesh-eating zombies. They are the stumbling kind rather than the
running, but they still manage to get up enough speed to cause some serious
damage.
The
earlier part of the film that introduces us to the gutmunchers takes place in a
cemetery (this definitely a love-letter theme to Romero, with his influence
present throughout), and then we move on to a night in downtown wherever this
is supposed to take place (filmed in Petersburg, VA), especially around the
fence of the IGA Supermarket, apparently.
The visual
effects are still quite well done with lots of ripping, biting and gnashing.
The exposed teeth appliances definitely look better in the than other film, but
are still nicely done. While it is certainly understandable due to budgetary constraints,
the digital effects, which consist of a lot of gunfire and explosions, look
just like what they are, relatively inexpensive digital effects… but I am
totally forgiving with that and it didn’t bother me, just that it was noticeable,
so when you see it, you will be aware.
While most
of the characters come and go, or are dispatched, there are some reoccurring
characters, such as the hard as nails Agent (Sarah Bella). Most of those who
reappear, though, are comic relief, like an often-interrupting news broadcast
with an increasingly sickened anchor named Harvey Leads (David Witt, who played
the Nazi scientist in the other film), some re-election adverts by right-wing
President Corman (Jerry E. Long, giving an anti-zombie agenda – “…for a
zombie-free America” – that actually sounds similar to what we are hearing now
with the anti-immigrant jibbing; I’m assuming the name of the president is a
nod to Roger), and Willie-Bob (director Rob Elkins) who, through a comic
character, is promoting not only his “indoor shooting restaurant and bar,” but
is also subtle-as-a-mallet pushing a pro-hunting message to the audience.
There is
lots of subtle humor scattered throughout, such as the newscasts, or a moment
when the zombies react to punk rock on a radio. While the film may be all over
the place, the effects are well done, which more than makes up where the plot
is lacking.
Also
included as an extra is Elkins’ 30-minute short, Chick’n-Head, from 2011. It’s a satisfying tale of revenge by a
homeless voodoo woman who strikes back at a trio of other street trash. I won’t
say much except Chick’n-Head looks just like the puppet that it is at first,
and a guy in a suit resembling an evil ball game mascot, but it’s easy for
forgive because the whole is greater than its parts here.
The only
other extra on this disk is some WWMM trailers, which are also fun.
British
director Philip Gardner has quite a few films under his belt, some of which are
fiction and many more “documentaries” dealing with the likes of conspiracy
theories and the occult.
The basic
plot elements here are that a secret agent of the British government, known
simply as Alpha One (Philip Barzamanis), is back from a mission and under
psychiatric care because of hallucinations and recurring dreams – make that
nightmares.
His
previous assignment, as we are shown, was to find a group of present-day Nazis
and eradicate them. However, they are using some occult or scientific force to
raise the dead to bring about, yeah, you got it, the Fourth Reich.
Most of
the film takes place in a warehouse, and it’s pretty easy to guess (not saying
I’m right, but it seems obvious) that the hospital scenes are shot in the same location.
Alpha One’s sleeping quarters just seems too…dingy, and the room where he is
questioned by Dr. Gavreel (Bob Lee, who reminds me a bit of a less slovenly Joe
Fleishaker [d. 2016]) looks like a shower room.
Through
flashbacks and dreams, we see either what Alpha One saw, imagined, or dreamed.
That’s actually something I liked about the film, that the question of what actually happened/is happening is left
up to the viewer (I definitely have my own opinions). In fact, that may be the
strongest positive in the film.
There are
a lot of references through the story, intentional or not (though I believe it’s
more in the former’s corner), such as the Wolfenstein
video game (no german shepherds, though), Ilsa
She Wolf of the SS (1975), and even Groundhog
Day (1993). The zombies, however, are based more on the Nazi undead subgenre,
such as Dead Snow (2009) or even as
far back as Shock Waves (1977, where the
living dead are more “killing machine soldiers for the cause” than just roaming
around for human flesh (unlike Zombie
Factory above, which takes the rare step to mix the Nazi and meat-eating zombie
genres).
One of the
problems with the film, right from the start, is that it tries way too hard to
be arty, but fails in that regard. For example, there is a lot of mixing of
color, grayscale, and especially blue or green monochrome to look like night
vision cameras, with electronic POV “noise” (such as when we saw through the Terminator’s
eyes). It is too distracting, especially since it’s never explained who is doing the watching (i.e., “them”
or “us”).
There are
a lot of fight scenes, especially with fists, but honestly they are even worse
and fakey looking than anything even Steven Seagal does. It reminds me more of
when MadTV did the Dolemite spoofs. I kept thinking, why
are all these Nazi pricks just attacking him barehanded. They have guns, so just shoot the fucker. This adds to the muddled mess of the story.
The male
Nazis are dressed in the typical – albeit modernized – Reich uniforms, but the
women are mostly seen in high boots and miniskirts, some with their cleavage
hanging out, and some in skin-tight leather (or was it vinyl?) clothes. While
the visuals were pleasing, it’s also seemed one-sided; that being said, at
least one reviewer commented on the attractiveness of the often bare-chested
and tattooed Barzamanis, so maybe I’m overreacting?
In all, it’s
not that great a film, and with all the repeating of action and bad fight choreography
(ironically, Barzamanis owns a company that supplies security to bars), it’s
easy to lose concentration on what the hell is actually happening pretty often.
Add in a fuzzy and low-toned vocal track often drowned out by the music, it
doesn’t do itself any favors in that regard.
Another
positive, though, is what few gore effects there are, they look decent, and it’s
a mostly attractive cast (male and female). Unfortunately, the acting is also not
that great, though considering what I could make of the storyline and dialogue,
there isn’t much really substantial to react against.
The extras
are a mostly electronic-based music video by Great Northern Hotel of “Cutz and
Collides,” and some decent and short interviews from Awesome Magazine Online’s “On
the Set of…” with lead actor Barzamanis, the DeNiro-looking (right down to the
mole) Nathan Head who plays the Nazi scientist Professor Matsema, and Eirian Cohen
who portrays the Nazi bitch Captain Orlax. All three of these are followed by
the trailer (yep, we see it three times, though it's different than the one below). There are also some other trailers by
the director included.
I’ve waxed
on about this before, but I’ll say it again: the biggest problem I see in indie
films is when a director also writes the script. There usually needs to be a
second writer or strong editing force to hone the story. A director knows what
the plot is about, but oft times has trouble getting that across. This release
is a good example of that.
