Review: Bubba the Redneck Werewolf

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2016

Images from the Internet

Bubba the Redneck Werewolf

Directed by Brendan Jackson Rogers

And You Films / Two Rubbing Nickels / MVD Visual

80 minutes, 2014 / 2016

https://www.facebook.com/bubbatheredneckwerewolf

www.mvdvisual.com

Southern humor has been the subject of film fodder for decades, at first sequestered in the Drive-In circuit, but breaking out into the mainstream in the mid-sixties, with Smokey and the Bandit stoking the fires to big box office.

Most films with a Southern fried bent tend to be political dramas, murder mysteries, or balls-out/boobs-out yee-haw broad comedies. From the title, I’m going to assume you realize that this film doesn’t fall into the “political” or “detective” range. After all, one of the first images you see is a sign that states, “Beware of dawg,” in front of the Barkham Asylum Dawg Pound. While I was totally impressed with that pun, that does tell you which kind of swamp you’re putting your steel-toed shoes into. It should be noted, at this point, that this is based on a comic book series that originated in the 1990s, which would explain a lot.

Filmed in Deland, FL, about halfway between Daytona Beach and Orlando, the story all takes place in Broken Taint, Florida, part of Cracker County, where the drawl is deeper than the thoughts. Which brings me to our hero, the shlubby, balding and thick as a stump Bubba (pre-werewolf Chris Stephens), who works in a go nowhere job (happily), hangs out at the local saloon to buy the cheapest booze they have, and has an unrequited love for Bobbie Jo (Malone Thomas). But she’s involved with town bully, Dangerous Dwight (David Santiago), a man who proudly knows how to cut arm holes in his shirts.

Bubba will do anything to get her back, including making a deal with the Devil (excellently played by Mitch Hyman, also the comic book’s creator), who turns him into the titular wolf-man (post-wolf Fred Lass). Now, this isn’t a Lawrence Talbot full moon kinda werewolf, but rather one who is in the skin, as it were, permanently. Is he scared? Is he evil? Does he terrorize the town? Hell, most people think it’s pre-wolf Bubba with a beard. Ironically, the only one who doesn’t recognize him is Bobbie Jo! And now that the Devil’s in town, he’s going to make due.

The humor here is quite broad, and definitely geared towards a certain audience; it’s completely Trumpville, as equating college students with zombies, and Bubba makes a meal out of a “liberal Democrat” (off-screen) as a throwaway punchline. Even so, this is quite funny. I’m sure there’s a joke or two I didn’t get as a New York liberal Democrat, but all of it still comes across as good natured and fun. Speaking of which, make sure you read all the posted signs that appear often throughout the film, even if you have to freeze-frame, or rewind a bit.

Some of the cast comes across as locals of where it was filmed, and many parts are the actors’ only IMBD listing. Either this is a relatively fresh cast, or they are using pseudonyms due to the title. Even so, the acting is quite at the right level (though the one really over-the-top is humorously done by the director himself). In a broad comedy, however, this is a given, so I had no problem with any of it. It should also be noted that some of the cast was also some of the crew. It all part of the tight-knit world of indie filmmaking that I love so much.

This whole creature feature is not really scary, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to young’uns for the following reason: while there is no nudity, there is a lot of innuendo, and plenty of blood and gore. Sure most of the splatter is highly digital looking, but it is still effective, and that doesn’t count some of the more gruesome appliance effects, which look really good. The gore aspect is not surprising considering it was written by Stephen Biro, who directed the intense American additions to the Guinea Pig series. Of course, however, this being a broad comedy in the modern period, there are the fart jokes, the vomit jokes, the drool jokes, and the ones involving (dog) shit. Again, appropriate for the genre.

What about the werewolf, you may ask; how did he look? Quite decent actually, in a non-threatening way. Wouldn’t want to meet him in a back good, but in this context, he’s a happy camper to be around, as long as you don’t try to mess with him. The make-up was designed for the actor, who manages to show emotion through it, which is a compliment to Lass. The overall appliance is okay, but he makes the most of it.

The humor is broad enough that it can incorporate other nods, such as one to Abbott & Costello, which fell a bit flat to me. But at the same time, when not dealing with bodily fluids (and gasses), the humor is quite warm and works well, usually.

I have to give a nod to the music by the Blast-Offs. Their stuff is a mix of rockabilly, old time country, and those “Hot Rod Lincoln” kinds of talk-songs with a doot-doot-doot backbeat.

For extras, and there are lots, so let’s start with the 16:08-minute “From Page to Screen: the Making of Bubba the Redneck Werewolf.” It’s the usual mix of on-set interviews, behind the scene b-roll, and covers several topics, including the stage from comic onward, the make-up, the music, some great anecdotes, and reactions by the cast/crew. It was all so very well done so that I enjoyed it throughout the length.

Next is a sweet and neat 2:39 minute Blooper Reel, and a 3:03-minute Deleted Scenes. While I agree with all of the snips, I’m glad they put this in. Doesn’t add anything to the story, but still sets some nice moods.

Lastly, there’s the Make-up Process featurette at 2:37, which is b-roll played over some of the Blast-Offs material, the title song video again by the Blast-Offs that is made up of a mix of behind the scenes b-roll and film clips, and the trailer.

I would like to add one final thought, and no disrespect is meant for anyone, but if I was a fictional character living a fictional life in this fictional town, and I would have walked into the bar where most of the action takes place, my choice would have been to cozy up to the bartender, Jamie Sue (Sara Humbert). Just sayin’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yy86IgcrAWA

Review: Camp Massacre

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

Camp Massacre

Directed by Jim O’Rear and Daniel Emery Taylor
Deviant Pictures / itn distribution / MVD Visual
129 minutes, 2014 / 2015
www.mvdvisual.com

Slasher spoofs range from the good (such as Bloody Bloody Bible Camp [2012]) to the bad (A Haunted House [2013]). This one, originally released under the title Fat Chance? Well…

After the seemingly mandatory opening killing during a mandatory full-nude shower scene, we are presented with a behind the scenes story (not found footage, gratefully) of a reality television show called “In for a Pound,” where the winner of $1 million will be whomever loses the most weight in the month of shooting.

Among the group is a few Redneck bullies (one well played by co-director Daniel Emery Taylor – which is not surprising as it was filmed in Marion, ‘Bama), an exceedingly offensive gay stereotype, a jumpsuit wearing paisan from Jersey (Soprano’s reference, I’m pretty sure), an old white rapper self- branded as Two Ton, a Marilyn Mason-type goth named Darc Ness, a Latino who doesn’t speak Ingles, and the nice and shy guy who writes poetry named Jeremy (Nick Huntsman in his first film role, a great horror actor name if I ever heard one). He has a crush on the show’s inadequate nurse, Stefani (Megan Hunt), and she just may be warming up to him – or not – or…

Among the others surrounding this gaggle-plus-three of bears (you heard me) is the sadistic exercise coach (G. Larry Butler, a kingpin in manga voice-overs), an equally sadistic “babysitter” to make sure the contestants stay in line (professional wrestler Al Snow), the also equally sadistic food nazi, Arthur (David Coffin), the also sadistic power hungry host, Warren (co-director Jim O’Rear, in the first role I have ever seen anyone vaping), a New Agey Dr. Phil-modelled doctor, James (Carl Donovan), and the one sane and somewhat professional person on the entire crew, the producer Natalie (Ava Cronin).

Oh, and the masked killer is a wonder, and possibly the funniest thing in the film. Diminutive, with an apron on (food kind, not industrial), and for a mask a bucket from a chicken shack that has two small holes cut out for the eyes.

Using what I call the James Balsamo School of Cameo (meant totally as a compliment), the top liners of the film who are actual “names” are all in it for brief periods, probably available for the day. In this case it’s ex-porn star Bree Olson of Human Centipede III (2015), the above mentioned Snow, Scott Tepperman of the Ghost Hunters International cable show (which I’ve never seen), and classic genre actor Dick Warlock. But that’s not fair, in this case, because most of the cast has a huge screen credit list (though most of them are sort of One Day Shooting appearances, as well).

The idea of the film works well as an homage to the genre, and Independent Film Quarterly’s quote on the back of the DVD box, “It’s The Biggest Loser meets Friday the 13th” is actually quite accurate, but much of the humor falls flat in its reach for the gross (partially melted chocolate bars under man-boobs and a slab of human crap-in-the-face for example). But the SFX, which is appliance rather than digital, is superb. Lots of blood, guts, gore and mayhem, and the using various weapons is amazingly effective.

Also impressive is that I did not figure out who was the killer beforehand, which is rare. I made a guess (though I wasn’t sure why), and was completely off. Kudos on that. Plus there is a fight scene with Snow that is funny and feels somewhat partially improvisational. What drove me crazy, though, was sometimes it seemed the humor outweighed (pun unintended) the reason we are there. For example, the blade of the machete that the killer uses is not only way too thick and looks plastic, but at one point, the killer actually grabs the damn thing by the blade. Purposeful? One would hope.

There are three major issues I had with the film. First of all, there are way too many dialog scenes that do nothing to further the story, and trimming them would have easily cut 20 minutes off the film length. For example, when the two romantic leads yak it up discussing each other rather than the events, it was repetitive and went on too long. Also, the obligatory opening with Olson and two others sitting on hotel beds discussing what to do with the evening just goes oooooooooon; I said to the television, in a British accent of course, “C’mon, move it along, there’s nothing here to see here.”

Speaking of the opening, my second point, other than having Olson there and her do a full frontal nude shower scene, it added nothing to the story, or at the very least was not well explained, other than a reference in the film’s coda (if the directors want to tell me what I’m missing, please feel free in the comment section; and why the scabs?).

For me, the biggest contention in the film, and this is true for many low budget genre flicks, is the bad and overacting is over the wall. Yes, I understand Lithgow did it and got a ton of awards for it on Third Rock from the Sun, but as much as I respect him for his work, I hated what he did in that show. Here, again considering the large volume of credits some of the actors have, I wonder if either there was a lack of commitment, purposeful scenery chewing to add to the “humor” or lack of competency. That being said, there was one standout in the film by a mile, and that was Ava Cronin. Her timing was mostly spot on, and you really got the feeling she was pissed off. When she spits out a line, I bought it. Yeah, there was some facial mugging towards the end, but mostly her scenes were the highlights for me.

So, it’s a mixed bag. The film was shot well, the gore effects (especially in the opening) were totally enjoyable, the sound was really good, the choice of music was enjoyable (my mind has erased the one rap song), the editing cohesive albeit a tad long, as I said, and the lighting was just right so it was easy to see what was going on at night; and then there is everything else I whined about previously. If you know what you’re going in for, though, you may actually find some of the faults charming.

To be fair, I would like to acknowledge that it did win Best Horror at the Dark Zone Film Festival, and was official selections at the Alabama Phoenix Festival, Marble City Comic Con, and the Creative Con.

Take it this next comment or leave it, and I understand why you would, but for a reality show, there really was a lack of cameras around. In fact, it’s only there in one scene. But that’s just me… Other than that and the DVD having no extras except the trailer, the only thing really missing is the Rodney Dangerfield jokes: “He’s so fat, when he sits around the house, he sits around the house. He weighed himself on one of those talking scales and it said, ‘One at a time, please.’ He’s so big, he has his own area code.” Thank you and good night. Try the veal!

 

Review: Takashi Miike's The Happiness of the Katakuris

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

 

The Happiness of the Katakuris (aka Katakuri-ke no kofuku)

Directed by Takashi Miike
Shochiku / Arrow Video / MVD Visual
113 minutes, 2001 / 2015
www.mvdvisual.com

Japanese director Takashi Miike (pronounced Mee-KAY) is no stranger to extreme cinema, having started with direct-to-video (you read right) films that mainly focused on violent underworld and cop-and-robbers themes, such as the Dead or Alive series. In the West, he is more known as the person who created such icky-fests are Ichi The Killer (2001), the creepy “Box” segment of 3…Extremes (2004), and most notably the graphic and horrific Audition (1999).

So, of course, The Happiness of the Katakuris is a…musical? Oh, but not just any musical, that is certain. A mixture of the love of family, death-death-and-more-death, horror, crime, comedy, dancing, and a snappy soundtrack; yes, we’re off to a Miike off-kilter special treat.



"We're a happy family / We're a happy family /
We're a happy family / Me, mom and daddy"

We are introduced to the six-member Katakuri family through the very young daughter, Yurie (Tamaki Miyazaki, in her only film credit), who is full of hope and contentment. Her mom, Shizue (the cute Naomi Nishida) is a single mother after a brief marriage (it is explained that she “falls in and out of love too easily”), Shizue’s brother, Masayuki (Shinji Takeda) is an ex-con recently out of prison but has a good heart, their parents who are laid-off shoe salesman Al Bund… I mean Masao (Kenji Sawada) and lovingly doting wife Terue (Keiko Matsuzaka), and Yurie’s great grandfather, Ojisan Jinpei (the then-80-year-old Tetsuro Tanba), who was a World War II soldier and still has an amazingly good pitching arm. There’s also a cute little mutt, Poochi. The whole clan moved out to the countryside to try and make a go at a Bed and Breakfast called the White Lovers’ Guesthouse, but are waiting for patrons to finally show up. The problems begin when they do eventually come. And go.

 

Through no fault of the Katakuri tribe, the customers rarely seem to last a night without meeting their maker by different means. Since the family doesn’t want to ruin their reputation before they have the chance to be successful, they must figure out what to do with the growing pile of bodies.

To add to the problems, Shizue has fallen for a con man in a Western Naval uniform named Richado, or Richard in the translation (Kiyoshiro Imawano), who claims to be the illegitimate son of the Queen of England’s half-sister. Through all this craziness, there is even crazinerness (yeah, I know it’s not a real word, lighten up) singing and dancing.

This film is a bit of a legend in Japan, less so outside, because its cast at the time is off the hook as far as character actors known in the Islands country. For example, at the time, Imawano was the largest native rock star who occasionally acted. It would be like when David Bowie did Labyrinth (1986). Sawada, on the other hand, is one of the original rock’n’rollers in Japan, and on some level is known as the “Elvis of Japan” (except he can act). The rest of the cast, including the second and tertiary level, are easily identified character actors (Miike refers to Nishida, for example, as the “Meg Ryan of Japan”). Many have become known through Miike’s previous prolific and prestigious work, but most have come into their own through various work.



Original Sound of Music-like Poster

Even though there are references here to The Sound of Music, including the design and font used on the poster, this is certainly not a Julie Andrews lightweight megalith, but is very dark and humorous at the same time. For example, in Miike fashion, some the characters include a sumo wrestler and his obviously underage uniformed schoolgirl girlfriend, an TV announcer who has a bug climb into his nose, violence, zombies of a sort, and as I said, a nice body count. And did I mention the Claymation yet?

 

At the odd moment throughout the film, such as the enjoyable yet WTF opening sequence, suddenly everything and everyone turns to pixilated Claymation for part of the scene. You just never see it coming, but it’s hard not to enjoy it. It’s handled quite imaginatively, and it’s always easy to tell which characters are which, even though they are in clay.

There are certainly some Asian tones to the film that some Westerners may get, but not to the level of those in the East. For example, one of the musical numbers is very stylized in a music video way, set to a karaoke mode so the audience can sing along (if you can read Japanese, of course). As I experienced last year in China, karaoke is a big thing, and rather than being in a bar with everyone in the audience observing, one would rent a small room for private parties of a dozen or so people, drink and sing along to music videos on a screen, with the words highlighted underneath rather than just having the lyrics alone. It’s a socially fascinating thing to experience for a Westerner, but kind of common for the middle classes.

Another aspect that Western audiences may not get used to right away, even if they notice, is that there are some long, static shots rather than quick editing. Sergei Eisenstein may be correct that editing = action, as MTV videos promoted decades later, but Miike looks at it differently, and succeeds in still getting the action on high without cutting around quickly. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some effective jump-inducing scares here and there.

This was shot in Kyoto, and the film is actually a remake of another dark (sans music and dancing) Korean film, The Quiet Family (Choyonghan kajok) from 1998, but Miike definitely changes up the story enough to make it his own. It’s an exciting, sometimes experiential yet mostly a cohesive and comprehensive release.

While I won’t delve into it here, as usual Miike’s ending is a bit evasive, and I have my own theory of what happened that isn’t necessarily the filmmaker’s (and is just as fantastical as his), but I guess that’s my problem, right? Normally a “smiley” emoticon would go here.

Tons of extras abound on the DVD. There are a couple of trailers for this film, a 5:30 short on the Claymation process, an interesting 30 minute Making of documentary that includes interviews with the cast, a 24-minute analytical look at Miike’s career filled with clips made in 2015 called “Pimps, Dogs and Agitators” by academic critic Tom Mes, and a separate series mostly archival interviews – and one from 2015 – with most of the main cast members ranging less than 10 minutes each, though the latest one with Miike is 38 minutes (for honesty’s sake, it’s the only extra I didn’t watch all the way through).

Mes also does one of two commentary tracks giving the viewer a detailed-filled and precise look at this film. Most of his references are lost on me as I have only seen a few of Miike’s multitude of output, and Mes is kind of monotone, but it still kept my interest throughout. The second track is Miike and actor/film critic (and first guest of the B&B) Tokitoshi Shiota discussing the film. There are two versions available of this last track, one is in Japanese with English subtitles, and one is translated into English. Normally I would go for the original, but since I wanted to still follow the story through subtitles, I went for the translation one. There was a bit too much kibitzing, but there was still enough information about the making of the film for me to not give up and have fun with it.

Beyond all the events that happen to this family, the core of the film is actually quite sweet, a treatise about what is happiness. This is a bit of classic film in Japan, and it’s easy to see why. You certainly will not be bored, especially since it isn’t a typical and formulaic story or production.

Horror Shorts Reviews for July 2015

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

The Name I Know

Written and directed by Preston Corbell
6:29 / 2015
www.Facebook.com/thenameIknow  
This isn’t about the horror from without, but the more terrifying one from within. The viewer helplessly observes as an unnamed man (Preston Corbell) is buried under the weight of his profound depression, as he contemplates his next – or possibly last – step. For such a short film, there is some graphic gore as we not only hear his thoughts in emotionless monotone through a distorting echo, but also watch the world as he sees it. Both nicely done yet disturbing, you feel for this person, without any real back story, just his moment of pain. Beautifully photographed in color and B&W in a way that reminds me of the scene of The Graduate (1967) where Mrs. Robinson slides down the wall at the top of the stairs, it’s bleak, and the space around the character gives into the feeling of loneliness. Beautiful and intense. It is currently running occasionally on Indie Horror TV (IHTV).

Don’t Play

Concept and directed by Vicky (aka Vekky)
Jaaini Arts
4:44 / 2015
Filmed in the forests of India (though it looks like it could have been anywhere), a lone photographer (Satish Premalatha) does what I’ve done a thousand times: walked through the woods and taken pictures of what I find interesting. But what he finds is something else. Seemingly inspired by some of the popular Japanese / Korean horror films of the past couple of decades, something is stalking the photographer. Even given an idea of what is the end result if you’ve seen Ju-On (2002) / The Grudge (2004) or the like, this is a very nice and modern twist to the story that is quite effective. Beautifully shot, there is both a feeling of space and enclosure at the same time, and enjoyable from beginning to end.

Daddy

Directed by Lee Boxleitner
Blue House Productions
3:43 / 2015
A young daughter wakes up her dad. Happens every day, right? But it’s the most mundane events that can become the most terrifying, as well. This non-complex, simple premise is the core of a film that may actually make you jump. Incredibly well acted by the small cast, shot in one room, and basically two angles, and yet so much can be read into what you see happen. The cinematic equivalent of a “postcard novel,” it is also a stunningly good piece of micro-short work.

 

2AM: The Smiling Man

Directed by Michael Evans
Go For Broke Pictures
4:08 / 2013
Just imagine you’re walking home late at night through a suburban neighborhood, the air is just a bit chilly, and you notice a man a ways off down the street, by himself, with a strange grin and dancing sinisterly. What do you do? More importantly what will he do?  These questions are what is behind the mystery of these two strangers. This is an extremely unnerving short, mostly for the mystery behind it and the creepiness of the Smiling Man. You won’t know whether to wince, to jump or to laugh. This film is very effective for its mood, its two-person cast, and for managing to take a simple premise and make it work for its full 4 minutes without getting to the “C’mon already!” stage. Even the lighting is ordinary, easy to see thanks to the streetlights. But that doesn’t take anything away from the unsettling feeling you get throughout. Really enjoyable.

Crash Site: It Came From the VCR, Episode 1

Directed by Richard Griffin
Scorpio Film Releasing / Cut Rate Motion Pictures
19:30 / 2013
For some reason I really can’t fathom that this comedic film has gotten some strongly negative reviews. I know it’s one of the director’s favorites of his work, and I can see why. Sure it’s goofy, but I’ve seen such terrible crap on the big screen (can anyone say Bridesmaids (2011), or nearly anything with Seth Rogan, Adam Sandler, or most of the middle-to-later period SNL-alums.  But I digress...). After a spaceship lands and attacks a couple during the omnipresent “opening scene,” we are introduced to the main characters, three men and three women, in the woods, camping out. The “7th wheel” is Johnny, a green dude with three nobs on his forehead. Naturally, most of these amusingly dunderheads think it’s because he’s, well, European (perhaps, they ponder, from a BLOC country, like LEGOLAND?). I don’t think I’m giving away anything when I say that not only is Johnny an alien, but he has come for the men as sex slaves (as a proud Ally, I have never heard the term “power bottom” before).

Jamie Lyn Bagley steals most the film with her quips and sarcastic line reading, e.g., “Yeah, he’s gay, that’s the problem.” Also, Michael Thurber’s almost apologetic inserts as the character of the “producer” of the film, the way Woody Allen did in What’s Up Tiger Lily (1966), or William Castle with House on Haunted Hill (1959) and The Tingler’s (1959) trailers, are hysterical. As Johnny, Johnny Sederquist chews the drapes, the trees, and anything he gets his hands on, which is actually appropriate for an alien role. That is, it’s no more or less broad than John Lithgow’s hammingly [sic] Emmy-winning role in 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996-2001).

Coincidentally, I watched this the same day the Supreme Court green lit gay marriage, so I was – er – primed. From what I understand, many critics felt this film was gay bashing, which I am assuming is a result of people being “turned” gay, but as Richard Griffin perplexedly told me, many associated with the film are gay, so that never even occurred to them. I believe that those who are feeling that are being overly sensitive and reactionary, and not watching an enjoyable comedy about mores, and using and then turning the kids-in-the-wood tropes with a comic twist. Yeah, I recommend this, and take it for what it is: a fun and campy romp.

Review: Accidental Incest

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2015

Images from the Internet

Accidental Incest

Directed by Richard Griffin

Scorpio Film Releasing

102 minutes, 2014 / 2015
www.mvdvisual.com 

Richard Griffin is a trans director. No, no, what I mean is that he readily and easily moves among various genres and sub-genres. And although he has remained somewhat auteur, he rarely keeps his feet on solid cinematic ground. For that, we, the viewers, are lucky. That I'm reviewing two of his films in two separate blogs in a row rather than combining them says something.

For the most recent, Accidental Incest, Griffin and writer / collaborator Lenny Schwartz (an award winning playwright!) delve into the broad bedroom sex farce. It’s quite extreme, but probably no more risqué than, say the absurdist budoir comedies of Tudor-period France, or Chaucer’s the “The Wife of Bath” in its Medieval days. That is to say, this is fuckin’ risqué, Jack!

When we first meet our two self-proclaimed douchebag anti-hero protagonists, they are performing acts of narcissistic revelry, for which they must pay in some form or another. They are unhappy with their life situations, but not necessarily with their lifestyle choices, which would fit in well in any sex(y)-addict group. After each survives a near-death experience and meet some cool and attractive guardian angels, and then their marriages finally dissolve with a bang not a whimper, they find each other in a seedy hotel hallway. It is lust and love at first sight. But there is a problem they eventually learn, which the title makes obvious.

On the relatively masculine side of the equation, there is Milton (a nice, Jewish boy we learn), played with wide aplomb by Johnny Sederquist. He makes the Sean character from the television show Psych look like a mellow dude. Whatever the gender, whatever the drug, whatever the experience, he is there, and ready-willing-and-able. You can just tell Sederquist is having a blast in this role, and embraces his character wholeheartedly. He sort of reminded me of a living emoticon, with all emotions in the extreme, eyes always fiery happy, excitedly surprised, or even when sad.

The Yin to his Yang is Kendra, with Elyssa Baldassarri embodying her wild and crazy ways with abandon. Comfortable in her birthday suit (as was much of the cast), her zaftig form looks lovely on the screen (again, as was much of the cast). Baldassarri, who is playing her first leading feature-length role, is an attention grabber (in a good way), wearing Kendra’s thoughts and emotions on her face, looking seamless and organic, which tends to be troublesome for some when playing comedy this broadly.

One of the aspects of this film that I found refreshing in so many ways is there are a number of twists and turns that I just did not see coming, bringing huge smiles to my face. In other words there are a number of WTF moments, but it still works in this case because, like having all those clothes on Gilligan’s Island, you learn to accept the unexpected as it comes, even as it surprises you outta your skivvies.

As always, and to no surprise, however, is Griffin’s way with the look of the film. While giving a nod to photographer Jill Poisson (also for her work on many other Griffin’s releases), the pace of the film never lets up, and that is due in part to Griffin’s editing. It really is a joy ride (in this case be it roller coaster or Tilt-a-Whirl) that never lets up.

While the two leads are both interesting and fetching, there is a very large cast that is very generous with their talents and bodies throughout. For example, Jose Guns Alves, who tends to play tough characters from ghetto-style exorcising priests to soldiers, acts against form as “The Anxious Man” (as the credits list him), showing a humorous and non-threatening side, despite the murderous actions of his character. Also against type is the usually loveable Jamie Dufault, who is perhaps a bit too comfortable looking being a sociopathic …well, I won’t give it away. And the lovely Tonya Free was spot on as a conflicted love interest for one of the menagerie of crazies we get to meet.

Filmed guerilla-style through Rhode Island, home of Scorpio Releasing, there is still lots of set pieces where there are little, imaginative touches, such as the use of framed album sleeve covers on the walls. I noted Frank Zappa, Roxy Music (Country Life), Tom Robinson Band (Power in the Darkness); Josie Cotton (rare 12” single of “Johnny Are You Queer”; I have this one), and Soft Cell. Also the choice of using both black and white and color is a strong choice for a purposefully powerful albeit comedic film.

In James Clavell’s Shogun (the novel from 1975, not the Richard Chamberlain tele-film), the reader is introduced to Japanese society, showing local lords to be powerful with control of life and death of the peasants, and yet by the time we get deep into the story, we realize that the lower lords are nothing compared to those above them. Why bring this up? Well, when we meet Milton and Kendra in their solo openings, we are presented (among others) M/F anal sex, adultery and affairs with druggies in Mexican prisons, and it’s shocking. But as the story progresses, much like Clavell’s book, we find these two to possibly be arguably the sanest people in the story. Power-crazy Christians, people locked up and treated like dogs, an obsession with a strange choice in a film star, and soooo much more are just part of an ever increasing insanity level.

The original name of this film was Accidental Incest: The Musical (a wonderful extension). While not a full-fledged musical in this version (perhaps a future Anniversary re-release?), in three different occasions, a character bursts into song, including a hysterical rap by God (Aaron Andrade, in a cool, polar opposite role from his turn as a hyper-soldier in 2014’s Future Justice). And Jesse Dufault, who was spectacular as NuWave in 2014’s Sins of Dracula, has already proven he has a decent voice.

Two quick notes: be sure to catch director Griffin doing a silent Hitchcockian cameo as a bar patron about an hour in, and there is a throwaway joke at Adam Sandler’s expense that almost made me want to say, “Oh, snap!” (but I didn’t; I’m not cool like that). Oh, and did I mention that there is a lot of nudity from various genders including full frontals and full – er – backals?

If you were to chart Griffin’s films on an X-Y axis, with his slasher-comedy Murder University (2012) being the median, this film would be as far to the side of outrageous comedy as the dead serious and excellent Normal (2013) would be on the opposite spectrum. I’m not sure that makes sense, but it works for me.

While mostly true for the male characters, there is nothing stopping the swapping of genders as a point of desire. Even with the occasional Seth Rogan-esk slur, such as “fudgepacker,” it’s generally acknowledged that people are sexual beings. However, I believe there does need to be some equal line-crossing on the female side; I’m not one of those who get off on watching lesbianism, but it’s only fair to make it even, doncha think?

And with that last paragraph in mind, I have a fantasy that this film would play in every single screen in Indiana, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana and Texas (at least), with mandatory viewing from the locals. Then I’d like to see Bobby Jindal, Mike Pence and Ted Cruz have to act out some of its scenes (I’m thinking the one’s with Kevin Killavey as Tool). That would be as much exquisite fun as this film.

* * *

Postscript in May 2016, as I had reviewed the VoD version and acquired the DVD later:

I finally had the opportunity to check out the commentary track, which is filled with about a half dozen people, such as the two leads, the director, the writer, and the producer. Other an an occasional overmoduation (i.e., a buzz) when they all laugh at the same time, it was quite an interesting conversation full of information, as well as stories. Everyone was respectful and not over-talking each other, thankfully. Enjoyable from beginning to end. 

As a personal note, it was great that the director referenced this very review (through quote, but not by name, which is totally fine with me) about Johnny at the almost 6-minute mark. Thanks, Richard!

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: Indie Director: The Director’s Cut

Text © Richard Gary/Indie Horror Films, 2014
Images from the Internet

                            

Indie Director: The Director’s Cut

Directed by Bill Zebub                 
Bill Zebub Productions                   
142 minutes, 2013  
www.billzebub.com
www.facebook.com/billzebubproductions   
www.MVDvisual.com

“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.” – Mel Brooks

It’s been a while since I saw a Bill Zebub release, and I’m happy to have the opportunity to do so again.

To me, Zebub is sort of the modern Ed Wood. Now, now, don’t be mean, I’m serious. His output is meagerly acted, slimly written, doesn’t always make sense, the director is often the lead, and is almost always a hoot. Like Wood, Zebub does it for the joy it brings him, as well as a career.

In one of his early features, Assmonster: The Making of a Horror Film (2007), he uses the story to explain why he got into the indie horror industry; e.g., films sell at conventions for large mark-up, and you get to see and touch lots of naked women while you film them. Also like Ed, Bill looks at the dark side of life, sometimes by mocking it. It is not easy sticking to a conviction, but over the years Zebub has become one of the leading Jersey indie film auteurs.

Like Assmonster, this is sort of an autobiographical tale with Zebub playing himself after having made a number of films (which are mentioned – ergo promoted – frequently). You could arguably say this is actually a sequel in the sense of that British film that looks at some people every seven years.

While the storyline is written, I’m willing to bet that much of the incidents involved, such as distributors balking at some of his titles, which include the likes of Jesus the Total Douchebag, Jesus the Daughter of God, ZombieChrist and The Worst Horror Film Ever Made: The Sequel (actually, the latter is one of my Zebub faves). 

I’m not bothered by the anti-religion tone, the death metal music, the sheer amount of nudity, but there is the frequent – and I mean a lot – of homophobic comments that are used as humor, such as Zebub describing the difference between “jazz hands” and “gay fingers” (aka air quotes). Any time he wants to insult a man, he calls him gay. This part I’m not impressed. That being said, as I once stated, I’m not really sure if hanging out with Bill Zebub socially would be totally cool, or totally tool (yes, I used that as a verb…wanna make somptin’ of it?). If he is like he is in his films, well, I don’t know if I’d want to have a beer with him because he really does come across as an asshole (rather than assmonster).

There is also some “humor” talk about rape and domination. Again, I don’t mind film violence. Hey, pull someone’s arm out of a socket; stick a cleaver up somebody’s face; tie someone to two bound trees and then let them go…all good. But unless there is a revenge story on the other side (e.g., I Spit on Your Grave), or a point to it in the story, I find it hard when it’s a comedy, even if the rapist is Jesus (a common Zebub theme). To give you an example, the work title of the meta-project he is making is called Raped by a Rapist.

To be somewhat fair, he addresses this here. After a film of his is banned by “PayFriend,” he exasperatedly says to a pal, “I made a career out of doing everything wrong. Nobody else has blasphemy. Nobody else has racial humor. Nobody else depicts rape in movies, not even as a joke. I do things everybody else is afraid to do. … I wanted to test boundaries. ...The real balls are depicting the sexual sadist onscreen.” Despite finding it despicable, I also understand what he is saying. “Roughies” have a history in cinema, even dating back to James Cagney pushing a grapefruit half into Mae Clark’s face in The Public Enemy in 1931. There used to be an entire catalog of these kinds of films on a brand called W.A.V.E., in which some of today’s scream queens came to relative prominence such as the lovely Tina Krause.

Okay, enough with the moralizing and justifying. Let’s get back to the film, eh wot? Though quite pointed, this is still a comedy. Much of it relies on two things: one is an actor trying to keep up with Bill’s verbal bullshit and/or ad libbing, and the other is some of the stuff Bill says. Despite a number of repeated jokes (“See you later, crocodile” and jumping when his phone rings, for example), some of his word play is quite witty in that 12-year-old mentality; my favorite is when he says almost as a throwaway line, “I know you’re a methadone actress…” I wonder how many viewers actually caught that.

Unlike some of his other releases, there is no gore make-up and no laughable digi SFX (love the zomb-bees in an earlier film, or Jesus flying through the air still nailed to the cross). This is mostly set pieces of action, inaction (e.g., two guys talking while sitting on a couch), and any excuse to throw in some nekkid bodies, such as the bodacious Angelina Leigh, playing Zebub’s girlfriend, who we see the most – and most of – including on the throne (though her reading of putting that tail on words, like “I know-wah... It’s fine-nah” started to get to me by the end).

Ah, yes, let’s talk about Zebub’s women. As is common in one of his shoots, just about no women will be seen unless at some point they are not wearing a G-string (there is only one here). They range from very cute (such as the slim, braces-baring Sheri Medulla) to the big boobed and thick thighed. While not all stunning, he does have a wide range of body types, which I respect. However, one thing that is somewhat consistent (though not completely) is skin art. Most have multiple tattoos, including the very colorful ones of Stephanie Anders, who has a great one on her side that looks like her ribs are sticking through. Another actor has one of the worst tats I’ve ever seen. Seriously.

Getting away from all political comments about what is appropriate and what is not, the main weakness of this film is its length. There are too many scenes that could have been severely cut down which would have not made a hoot of difference to the story, such as Anders’ (purposefully) confused reading of what Bill was trying to say, or the scene where Bill is trying to film an actress, Svetlana (played by Clover St. Claire), who is completely distracted.

On the other hand, despite all the nonsense, if you pay attention to what is being said rather than how it is presented, this is actually quite a detailed primer on how (and how not) to not only make a micro-budget film, but how to deal with distributors, what to be careful of when it comes to picking financing and distribution, how not to get sucked into your own ego, along with some of the pitfalls of just everyday shooting and dealing with a cast who are more interested in their own promotion than the actual part. Amazingly, Zebub is the nutzoid voice of reason here. His nearly 10 years of experience of dealing with all these issues and frustrations are pure gold information for those wanting to follow the indie horror film path.

Just as a side note that has nuthin’ t’do wid nuthin’, I’m pleased there is an explanation as to why Zebub’s name is listed twice on the credits on the box. Plus, it’s cool that there is a death metal lesson at the end during the credits, as Bill Zebub has also directed some documentaries about the musical subgenre, such as Extreme Metal Retardation.

There are some jump cuts, but there is also some fine editing, including a nice slice between two actors saying the same words (“calm/down”).  Part of this was filmed at a horror convention, possibly the Chiller Theatre in NJ, I don’t know. There are shots of crowds in costumes, women doing hula hoops, creature feature miniature models, and I had a good smile when there’s a brief shot of the antichrist killer bunny puppet from Dustin Mills’ Easter Casket! 

There are a few extras, including bloopers and deleted scenes reel, each about 20 minutes long, and a bunch of Zebub’s trailers.