Review: Day Zero

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Day Zero
Directed by Joey De Guzman
Reality MM Studios; Regal Entertainment; Well Go USA Entertainment
82 minutes, 2022 / 2023
https://wellgousa.com/films/day-zero
www.hiyahtv.com
#DayZero @WellGoUSA

This release is not to be confused with Night Zero (2017), as Day Zero also goes for the almost-zombie throat.

Remember back in the late 1960s and early ‘70s when the Philippines was a place that released numerous “B” horror releases (many starring John Ashley; d. 1997), be they cheesy, such as Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968) and The Twilight People (1972)? 

Well, this has shown the quality has quite improved for Filipino fright flicks (presented in Tagalog, Filipino, sign language, and some English, with easy to read English subtitles) over the years, and are still cheesy fun, but a lot more sophisticated, professional looking, and relatively make more narrative sense (relative to the topic at hand).

Brandon Vera

As the prologue tells us, there is an outbreak of dengue fever “also known as break-bone fever, a viral infection that spreads from mosquitoes to people” (paraphrased from Wikipedia). But like Covid, for this imagining, it has mutated into turning people into (fast) flesh-biting zombie-ish creatures; they are not into eating as much as biting and infecting, sort of like Korea’s Train to Busan (2016). While they are merely hyper-infected, they look like classic zombies; the make-up is incredibly well done. Though they can run, they move quite spasmodically and only communicate through screams. It can seem a mix of [Pick a time of day] of the Living Dead and …28 [pick a timeframe] Later, with a bit of [*REC] (2007) thrown in for good measure. And of course, we cannot forget the granddaddy of all violent bite infection flicks, Rabid (1977).

Our central character is the heavily tattooed former U.S. elite soldier Ramon “Emon” Marasigan (Brandon Vera, aka “The Truth”; retired Filipino-American World Kickboxing Association [WKA] Super Heavyweight Champion, ONE Championship Heavyweight World Champion, WEC 13 Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion, and inducted in the Grappler's Quest Hall of Fame). He is in a Filipino prison for aggravated assault. Hell, he is so big, he could cripple me with a strong stare.

Mary Jean Lastimosa

His estranged wife, Sheryl (Mary Jean Lastimosa) and young, deaf daughter, Jane (Freya Fury Montierro) wait in what looks like some overcrowded poor area at a seven-floor walk-up apartment building. Due to the outbreak, Emon breaks out (see what I did there?) of prison with his friend Timoy (Pepe Herrera). Meanwhile, Sheryl gets separated from Jane in the apartment melee. It was pretty obvious that the story would be the quest of the three finding each other again.

Also understandable, thankfully, is that there will be a lot of fighting by Emon, be it prisoners, zombies, or what all. And it certainly does not fail in that regard: MMA-style moves, crude objects (e.g., boards), and eventually tactical armory (see the trailer).

Pepe Herrera

The cinematography by Mo Zee is quite well done, with some camera effects that work well with the storyline and keeps the eye on the screen. This is a gross generalization, but Asian cinema really does present action scenes with pizazz.

Vera acts his role well, albeit mostly stoic or angry (though there are some emotional moments), but most of the major cast, including Herrera and especially Lastimosa, project their fear and angst well without it being cartoonish. Most of the action, once Emon and Timoy get out of prison, is set in the apartment building (hence the [*REC] reference), giving a feeling of grime, purposeful bad lighting (no electricity) though easy to see for the viewer, and a sense of claustrophobia. The single location helps with the budget, and I respect that, as well as “locks” the viewer into the locale. The set design for these scenes is excellent.

So is the SFX, which uses great prosthetics, and while there is some CGI, most of it is practical. For those interested, like me, there is a lot of it spread throughout the film. Technically, there are three acts, but each is ruthless.

While this is a relatively serious film, there is some subtle humor that occasionally crops up, almost like easter eggs, such as one zombie wearing a tee that says, “Vin Scully is my homeboy”: baseball is huge in the Philippines. Also, as with most sidekicks, Timoy is a bit of a comic relief, but hardly a stereotypical screw-up.

There is an underlying premise that not all monsters are – er – monsters. While the band of survivors get picked off one by one, there is also brutality brought by grief and anger. Who needs to be infected to become violent when someone has lost a loved one? I believe that characterization is a real side of humanity sometimes. It is not really cynicism, if you just look around at the attitude of some televangelists and members of the US Senate about the LGBTQ+ populations.

On a side note, I wonder about films like this: if one can escape from the crowded apartment building, in a heavily populated neighbourhood, how would one get away, even in a vehicle? There are 114 million people living in the Philippines. Would it not be more realistic to pull a The Mist (2007) in that situation (but have enough ammo)? I would definitely want a quick out.

Once the action starts, which is right at the beginning, it is rare that the action lets up. We see our main group and others fight the transformed and infected. In a world where zombie (relatively) films are a dime a dozen, even though there are some formulaic moments, this is a good watch, full of action, violence, practical SFX, gore, and so much more.

IMDB listing HERE

Review: The Expat

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

The Expat
Directed by Gregory Segal
4Now Films; Badladz Productions; Spring Fairy Entertainment
96 minutes, 2021 / 2022
www.facebook.com/expatmoviephilippines

For some reason the term “Expat” (short for “expatriate”) has come under fire as being racist. I see this as a culture war argument, and will be ignoring it completely in this review. I believe if a person of any country of origin goes to another place, they are an expat of their own country, and an immigrant in the new. Race has nothing to do with it.

Anyway, there was a time in the late 1960s through the 1970s where the Philippines was a place to shoot grade C horror films that were so bad, they have become classics, such as Twilight People (1972) and Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968), most of which starred surfer boy John Ashley.

Lev Gorn

This film is a murder mystery, but a really seedy one that actually made me feel uncomfortable at times. Right away, we are introduced to the titular expat, Nick Spiro (Lev Gorn, from the TV series “The Americans,” a show about, well, immigrants). He’s an ex-Marine who has moved to the Philippines “to do things.” It is not clear what that is, or whether it is a “vacation” (he says “for a while”) or permanent. By the title of the film, I’m going with the latter.

And what does this representative of the US do first-thing? He goes on the hunt for women for sex, through a local website. Ugh, gives masculinity a bad name. And this isn’t even 5 minutes in, he’s walking around hitting on every attractive local female he can find. He is also not kind to the women who agree to his bed. The next morning, he’s “Okay, get up, time to get out, I’m busy.” But he’s not. We don’t see him doing anything other than roaming around. I already don’t like this guy.

As his ridiculously large amount of “conquests” builds, something strange is happening in that his partners are turning up dead in alleyways with slit throats. This guy is prolific in the bedroom so the body count builds up.

Mon Confiado

On the case is Detective Cruz (Mon Confiado), who is a weird mix of likeable, but has no compulsion in whacking a guy about the body to get information, including Nick. Thought he was going to be the good guy, but I don’t think there is a “good guy” in the story. That also seems to include some run-ins Nick has with another Ugly American, just billed as the Well-Dressed Man (Billy Ray Gallion), who I’m guessing ends up having a larger part in the story at some point, perhaps even as a red herring.

One of the things annoying me is the total disregard for the women involved, with the sole exception of Cruz’s wife, Angela (Lara Morena). As the bodies stack up, Nick is more worried about himself and keeps on keeping on, knowing the danger he is putting these women into without a care. Like someone knowing they have AIDS and still sleeps around unprotected. Even Cruz is more concerned about the effect on the “community” than the women themselves. But I would also add Segal, who wrote and directed this, as being complicit in this attitude. With rare exception (such as said Angela, or the one woman who has any substance in the film at all and possible love interest, Delilah [Lovely Abella], for example), most of the females are seen as expendable, occasionally topless, with no character behind them except as sex objects to be killed off after moments on the screen.

Even Delilah, Nick treats her more like a servant that a potential girlfriend. He has her cook for him, won’t help her with chores (“Laundry isn’t my thing”), and at some early point when she asks if he’s coming back, he just leaves without answering. Total toxic masculinity on display, and just not a nice person. The writing also hints that she is interested in him as a possible sugar daddy for her young son. That being said, Abella plays her role with charm.

That being said, my favorite character in the film is the Mindoro Police Chief (Leo Martinez), who does the frustrated comic relief, dealing with incompetent underlings. Other good points is that there is some beautiful scenery as there is a large use of b-roll around Manila and Mindoro. I’m not certain if it was shot for the film, or is stock footage. There is an attempt to show both the touristy areas of bright lights and beachheads, but there is also a wise emphasis on the poverty that is there, as well. To me, this was the strongest message of the film, which was secondary to the actual story and often not explained, just placed there.

Gorn, Lovely Abella

There are minor rumblings around some possible geopolitics and local ones, but the film’s conclusion fizzles out into a nothing burger. Considering the number of people who are killed (yes, all women, who are seen as expendable), there is no blood seen, the bodies are at a distance, and we only see them after the killing. There is hardly any action onscreen other than a couple of moments here and there.

I found this release totally frustrating. It moves at a snail’s pace with way too much dialogue where nothing of substance is being said, there is hardly anyone to really like, especially the main character, and it goes in circles. I think I would rather see some of those old John Asley horror films from way back when.

While most of the film is in English, there are some bits in Filipino, with easy-to-read subtitles. Honestly, it’s not that much if you are subtitle-phobic.

IMBD Listing HERE 

Review: Twilight People

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2018

Images from the Internet

Twilight People

Directed by Eddie Romero

VCI Entertainment / MVD Visual

81 minutes, 1972 / 2018

www.vcientertainment.com

www.mvdvisual.com

I have two converging thoughts about this release in a general way, before I get into specifics. The first is that I remember in the early-to-mid-1970s when there was a host of Philippines-shot films that were showing up in the theaters, though I was too young at the time to realize they were mostly directed by the same guy, Eddie Romero, including Women in Chains (1973, also known as Black Mama, White Mama). Most of his output at that time were about people being held against their will (either convicts or kidnap victims), and them being tortured and/or turned into some kind of monster, such as animal or zombie.

My second thought is about handsome actor John Ashley. He started out mostly in shirtless in a bunch of beach and gangster films in the early 1960s, and ended up making numerous horror films… wait for it… in the Philippines. And yes, for Eddie Romero, such as Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968), Beast of Blood (1970), Beast of the Yellow Night (1971; I remember cutting out of school to go see it), and this one, each directed by, yep, Eddie Romero. These even helped create a sub-genre called the Blood Island Films.

Now, while these films get accolades now, and Romero has won lots of awards (especially from the Philippines), the truth of the matter is most from this period and genre are cheesy messes; but the good side of the coin is that is also part of what makes them such a joy to watch. It is one solid WTF moment after another, be it story, make-up effects, acting, and so on. But I’ll get more into detail as I go along.

Sporting Tom Jones-level sideburns, soldier of fortune, adventurer and man-about-town Matt Farrell (Ashley; d. 1997) – who is repeatedly called by his last name throughout – is kidnapped while SCUBA diving by blond Robert-Shaw-in-From Russia With Love-wannabe Steinman (Jan Merlin, who perennially played bad guys, especially in Westerns) and the luscious but icy looking brunette Neva (Pat Woodell, who played Bobby Jo in “Petticoat Junction”; d. 2015). The man behind the plot is Dr. Gordon (Charles Macaulay, better known as Landru to “Star Trek” fans, and Dracula in Blacula; d. 1991).

Okay, so now that is out of the way, Farrell is brought to Dr. Gordon’s island fortress (where did he get the money?), to which Farrell presciently asks, “What is this circus?” It’s a good question because the good doctor wants to help science and humanity by combining humans with animals. If it sounds like HG Well’s The Island of Dr. Moreau (enjoyable book, by the way), you wouldn’t be the first to agree, and I would not either; hell it says it right on the back cover of this edition. But to add to the mix, I would say it also seems to rely some on 1958’s She Demons, also set on an island with a doctor playing havoc with the human form (mostly female, of course).

Pat Woodell and Pam Grier

Unlike those other two, however, this film really can’t seem to make up its mind to its genre, exactly. Okay, it is a horror, especially the Mad Scientist type, but at some point it’s a war film and a bit of a Western. There’s also some humor thrown in here and there, but I’m not sure if it’s intentional or not; either way, I’ll take it. And enjoy it.

Most of the humor lies in the transformed creatures, including a panther woman (an early role for the great Pam Grier), an ape man (Kim Ramos), a real bat man who steals his scenes (Tony Gosalvez), and a surprisingly touching romance between an antelope man (Ken Metcalfe) and wolf woman (Mona Morena). Oh did I mention that these two aren’t the only romance that develops in the plot? Of course, in a post-James Bond world it will come as no surprise. Near the end, though, is a nice twist.

There is actually a large albeit subtle level of sensuality/sexuality that surprised me a bit, even for its time period (Hammer Films was releasing cleavage-fests by then). There’s a (clothed) love scene, an almost rape, some formidable décolletage by Grier, a tight tee, Woodell is always in full makeup even in the jungle all night, and there is even some strong suggestion about mano-a-mano-amor. Of course, the only rolling-on-the-ground hand-to-hand combat is between two females (girl fight!): panther woman and wolf woman, who you might say were at it like – err – cats and dogs.

Wolf Woman and Antelope Man in love

So there is a ridiculousness level to the film, such as the make-up (by Tony Arteida), sometimes the acting, guns with never-ending amounts of bullets, the animal sounds on the soundtrack that are dubbed to supposedly be “dialogue” by our (mostly) friendly humanimals (even though they never match up to anything), and lots of story holes. What I mean by the latter is that things happen that are never explained (wait, you had the drop on him…), or the editing is confusing, and the whole finale is a “Hunh? You’re ending it here?”

It might be wise here to let you know that while there isn't a large amount of gore, there is some nice bloodletting, though the blood is a really bright shade of red. Being humanimals, there is a lot of throat-tearing.

The basic extras are the theatrical and TV trailers, but there is also a 58:40 minute interview with the director, Eddie Romero (d. 2013), that a bit dated as it looks like it was transferred from a VHS). It’s a single camera focused on the director as he answers off-screen questions about how he got into the film industry, discusses Filipino cinema history, and supplies anecdotes about his own films. He’s personable and it’s interesting; that being said, it’s a tad long, albeit historically important.

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Bat Man

Also included is a full-length commentary by film historian David Del Valle and low-budget genre director David Decoteau. Luckily, there are English subtitles available, so you can watch the film with the commentary and still follow the story. Their conversation is more film history, both horror and Filipino, than about this film directly, but I still recommend watching the feature first without the comments, and then listening to it to avoid distraction to either. It’s a bit dry, but I’m used to academic kind of lectures and certainly find film history interesting, but I would understand if it wasn’t everyone’s cuppa. While it definitely is thought-provoking from a film nerd point of view, and they discuss Filipino cinema in detail as well as the numerous actors, they don’t address the two key plot questions I have, which I won’t give away here.

Oh, and did I mention the package comes with both a 2K format Blu-ray and a DVD? This has definitely been cleaned up, and the picture quality is stunning in both.

My biggest question about this film though, is simply this: is it Twilight People or THE Twilight People. I have seen it both ways. Either way, it’s a hooterville-and-half.