Review: From Dusk Till Bong

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

From Dusk Till Bong
Directed by James Balsamo
Acid Bath Productions
90 minutes, 2022
www.jamesbalsamo.com

Man, there are a surprisingly large amount of horror spoofs that rely on the word “bong” in the title, such as Bong of the Dead (2011), and the entire and incredibly numerous Evil Bong franchise from Full Moon. And speaking of prolific, there is Long Island to Los Angeles transplant director James Balsamo.

From the title of this release, there is no question that we are talking about a comedy. Well, it’s Balsamo, and that’s his genre: horror and action comedy. What I find interesting is that this is closer in feel to Shaun of the Dead (2004), though this deals with vampires, so I’m willing to bet that’s why the name was adapted from From Dusk Till Dawn (1998); besides, there is no arguing that the present title revision is witty, coming from James “Mr. Pun” Balsamo.

Balsamo’s character (yes, he likes to star in his own films, what of it?) is down-on-his-luck millionaire playboy Tony Canoni, a character who was introduced in Balsamo’s BiteSchool (2015; yes, this is a sequel, or at least an off-shoot) who starts by narrating his expository introduction to explain why he’s screaming while holding a chainsaw, riding a giant bat (puppet), bathed in a monochrome red filter. This is followed by a brief bit of madness and extreme over-emoting by once mainstream A-lister Eric Roberts in a blink-and-miss-it cameo

To begin the crux of the story, vampire slayer Screaming Jay Pigeons (professional wrestler The Supreme Fighting Machine, Charles Wright, who is in the WWE Hall of Fame) is dressed in New Orleans’ type white skull face paint, sort of doing a more profane version of Dr. van Helsing, killing off a couple of neck biters as a nekkid image of his wife Leonora (J.E. Scripps) pops in and out. He is aided by his partner, Father Gill O’Teen (G. Larry Butler). This is merely some introductory buffoonery (meant bemusedly, not insultingly) that one comes to expect in a typical Balsamo film: fun, a pun, and women’s buns.

This is a common theme in my reviews of Balsamo’s films, so please pardon the repetition, but it is important and a key function of the auteur structure of his filmmaking: Balsamo’s films, because he shoots them overlapping with so many other projects of his own design, tend to be episodic, or set pieces strung together. This is not a negative comment, just an observation. This can lead to some clever gags, and sometimes it means things jump around from one thing to another, and then back again without rhyme nor reason. Well, the reason is, I am assuming, opportunity to film or an getting down an idea while it comes up. So, the film jumps back to Canoni and his vampire bat stuffy-doll-sized pal named Spat (about as big as Chucky but cuddlier and fuzzier, it is also voiced by Balsamo in a falsetto voice) as they discuss what has happened since Bite School 2 (2020; while I have seen the first release, I have not yet seen the sequel, so this is helpful). Balsamo is a big proponent of conversational (or narrative) exposition.

Cameos are a bit less abundant here, but many of the actors do come from the worlds of either professional wrestling or music. For example, there was the momentary Eric Roberts exposure, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and some decent (and over-) acting from Robert Felsted Jr. (of the band The Moonshoots, and was also good in a lead role in 2019’s slasher film, Hanukkah), as Canoni’s friend Bill Diamond. 

The film, which I am assuming is shot guerilla-style (filmed in Nevada, with other shots using green screen to imply that it is the desert), mostly uses natural light and sound. This means on occasion, the sound varies (such as Canoni’s voice fading in and out when talking to his bat friend outside the Pit Stop Restaurant), and occasionally the scene is dark or washed out as a lot of it is shot either in a cave or during bright sunlight (these vampires have no probs with solar light), but as I am a fan of shooting off the cuff (i.e., not paying for a license), I’m okay with it. Besides, it beats lugging heavy lights around when you’re always shooting on the move. I say, save that money for the special effects and catering.

There are a lot of vampire-fighting combinations going on between Screaming Jay, the Padre, Diamond and Canoni. The final act of the film is mostly in a cave and occasionally hard to make out, but thanks to a flame thrower, that lights up more than just the neck (and dick, apparently) biters. Many a vampire – er – bites the dust, including Raven Van Slen…I mean Bill Victor Arucan as a Chinese undead who hops like a rabbit. No idea why.

A lot of the make-up/masks look pretty good, especially one with a face on his cheek, and the puppets are silly looking, but again, it’s not trying to be a Rob Bottin creation (nor a John Carpenter budget). There is lots of cleavage and nudity (all female), so I guess that’s something? All the better for one of Balsamo’s SexyTime compilations. 

Except for the darker scenes, you get what you get with a Balsamo film, and I’m always happier after seeing one. There are a lot of cool throw-away lines and gags (such as fighting a flying bat with a baseball bat), so you may want to pay some attention between spliffs (again, I’m straight-edge…seriously). Speaking of which, as the title, implies, there is a bunch of jokes about the big bright green pleasure machine, and surprisingly limited images of an actual bong.

As Canoni mentions, he’s off to fight Robot Dracula, so I’m pretty sure we’re going to see more of him.

IMDB Listing HERE 

 

 

Review: Mandingo Sex Addict

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

Mandingo Sex Addict

Directed by Sean Weathers
Full Circle Filmworks
87 minutes / 2015
www.fullcirclefilmworks.com
www.mvdvisual.com

Tracy Spencer (Sean Weathers) is a bit of a nerdy guy: a part-time sports writer who has a strong belief in Jesus. He’s in love with Felicia (Catalina Dias), who has just left an abusive long-term relationship and is not ready to just jump into one with Tracy yet.

In a sad state, Tracy runs into the now grown-up sister of a school chum, leading them to form the creature with two backs and smoke something out of a pipe, like many good Christians would do (especially if they’re Republican, apparently, but I digress…). She nonchalantly tells him about the suicide of someone close to him that happened a few years back. He hits the bottle, depressed because everything is going bad for him. There’s even a poster of Edvard Munch’s The Scream in the bedroom to reflect his attitude. Luckily, this narcissist has a bestie, Nick (Weather’s regular onscreen sidekick Waliek Crandall); unfortunately, the double dog is trying to make moves on Felicia.

Anyway, she has a change of heart and being the guilty Christian he is, Tracy tells her the truth about his fling, so she rejects him. These events start him on a downward spiral that leads to the title of the film.

Tracy is both similar and polar opposites of Weathers’ last few roles in Scumbag Hustler and Ace Jackson is a Dead Man. The other characters were full of false bravado fueled by addiction, but Tracy is more of a conservative cliché who cries and whines often, with glasses and Andy Williams-style sweaters (scarily, the gray one is almost exactly like one I own), but with sliding down the razor blade of his titular sex addiction, he de-evolves into a crazed, shell of himself.

Like many of Weathers’ films, there is a the introduction of a bit of a larger social aspect, such as one of Tracy’s friends, Brent (Kevin J. Williams) having distaste for Nick’s use of the N-word. However, this same character has no problem referring to women by the B-word, so I’m not sure if the message is just not use the N-word, or the hypocrisy and sexism. Kinda works looking at it both ways.

Speaking of which, obviously from the title, there is a lot of sex, all involving Weathers’ character. Sean is not afraid to show his nads, ass or anything else as he beds woman after woman. And, adding a bit of sexism myself, they are stacked, Jack. Cleavage aplenty and nudity overflowing as body parts and appendages swing wild. This is easily Weathers’ best looking female co-stars to date; acting levels vary, however, but that can be said historically across the board in any low budget genre.

Also amid the high drama, there is also quite a bit of humor, such as when the character Crayon (?!?) Jackson (Adonis Williams) goes into full gangsta mode and threatens Tracy (e.g., if the viewer takes a shot for every time he uses “dawg,” they’d possibly die of alcohol poisoning).

Using guerilla-style filming around New York City and Brooklyn during winter, it’s nice to see Coney Island, and especially the Narrows between Ceasar’s Bay [sic] and the Verrazano Bridge, very close to where I grew up. Aswad Issa also keeps getting better with the camera, so a special nod to him.

The ending is a bit abrupt, but actually it’s probably how it should end; no, I won’t go into details, but I can see debates about it down the line between film geeks like myself, which is a wonderful thing. The only unsatisfying piece is the incomplete credits (e.g., the cast and characters), and that’s pretty minor in the scheme of things.

Definitely a strong release for Sean Weathers, and from what I understand he is going to be putting further Blaxploitation / exploitation / softcore sexploitation films aside for a while for some straight-up horror. That should be fun, too!

Review: Ace Jackson is a Dead Man

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

Ace Jackson is a Dead Man

Directed by Sean Weathers and Aswad Issa
Full Circle Filmworks
67 minutes, 2015
www.fullcirclefilmworks.com
www.facebook.com/acejacksonisadeadman
www.mvdvisuals.com

While I sometimes kid director Sean Weathers about his lack of making horror films any more, he really has nailed down the exploitation / sexploitation / Blaxploitation genres into a single category in a way that I imagine would make Melvin van Peebles smile.

As usual, a very toned and six-packed Weathers plays the lead, and also par is that the main character is not a likeable lot, up to his dick in violence, drugs, hookers and trouble. A lowest echelon wannabe gangsta (am I allowed to say that?), Jackson has picked up some pure coke from an evil tempered and dangerous dealer named Mr. Bigelow (aka Mr. Biggs), fully embodied by Adonis Williams, who does a magnificent job. Shit, I was at home watching this and he made me a bit frightened!

Even his hooker girlfriends are scary. One won’t give him the time of day (though shows us a whole bunch of cleavage) at first, and another, named Chelsea, is in for a penny-in for a pound of coke. She dances and twerks for Ace (aka, the audience), and then lots of flesh on flesh (the sex talk is right out of a porn playbook in a “Pin me down with your hot pussy!” kind of thing). As the writer, Weathers also gives himself lots of opportunity to co-mingle with all the female cast members onscreen. This gives him a chance to show off his physique, as well as act with some fine looking actresses in softcore sex scenes.

The Cramps once sang that “All Women Are Bad,” and while I don’t agree with that, here the Eve backstabs the Adam – or Ace – and the drugs are gone. Of course, this puts our little pal in a pickle to pay back the bad dude, hence the title of the film. That being said, while there are some devious dishy dames, it is also a couple of women who are the most pitifully entrapped in the lifestyle by our reckless protagonist (I don’t believe “hero” or even “anti-hero” would be appropriate).

Over a soundtrack of some classic way-back beautiful Blues songs, Ace roams the Brooklyn ‘hoods trying to find his way out of the possibility of ending up in a hole “with nothing showing but the toes.” But one thing to learn about this film is that comeuppance, the negative side of karma, comes hard to those who play by their own rules and greed.

This is filmed purposefully in a very grainy high-contrast black and white by Issa, and while some of the shadows are occasionally too dark and block out the faces, it is always the right level of moody, so it all works out fine in that aspect. Perhaps the darkness is meant to reflect the characters’ dark souls. Also the sound is clear, which is a plus. There’s still the occasional rough edit here and there, but the scenes flow well and enable the story, which is a pleasure.

One of the character’s names is Trayvon Martin, a nod to the teenager shot in Florida by psycho pseudo-cop George Zimmerman. No matter how racially charged and negative the characters can be in a Weathers film, the social justice level is definitely there as well, sometimes blatant like less-than-subliminal police crime photos of real murdered criminals and prostitutes (some are quite gruesome, including decapitated heads). Weathers effectively used this trick before, showing historic lynching photos to emphasize a point. There are also a number of times when the action between scenes is interrupted by text discussing social ills that may have helped lead to the crime story in the film, such as wealth of the 1%, poverty, and the need for social programs. Rather than a hindrance, this works on a level in lieu of character background.

As for Ace, well, he’s not a nice guy, and it’s nearly impossible to feel any kind of pity for him as he drags innocents into his twisted lifestyle. I would have liked a bit more of a background than someone saying, “I’ve always hated you” or some rolling text (though that was smart), I want to know why he’s developed into such the substance and person abuser that he has become.

Will all the violence and the mistreatment of just about everyone by just about everyone (with the rare exception of some dragged into the mess), there is also a delicate sense of humor that arises occasionally, such as a burglar wearing a Richard Nixon mask, stating they both were crooks.

I’ve always enjoyed a Weathers (and Issa) release that has a narrative thread rather than made up of various set pieces, and this one is definitely one of his better; and I’m not saying that because of the shout out at the end of the film. You’re welcome, Sean (and Issa).

Along with the main feature, there are three classic (public domain) criminal features included on the DVD, including Mr. Scarface (1976, aka I padroni della citta, with Jack Palance), Family Enforcer (1976, aka The Death Collector, starring Joe Pesci), and most notably for this DVD, High School Caesar (1960, with the ever wonderful John Ashley).

There are also two original shorts. The first is the 3:17 "Forgiveness," directed by Aswad Issa, is a beautifully esoteric and experimental piece consisting of objects always spinning, pixilation, and if I understand correctly, a baby who is doomed from the start.

The second, also directed by Issa,is a 4:27 piece titled "The Pimp Chronicles." In sepia, we meet two hookers who discuss their lives to someone off-screen (Weathers, I believe). This doesn't sound scripted, which makes it quite scary, in spite of the ease and banality of tone.

There is a lot to chose from here, so give yourself some time and work your way through. It's worth it.
 

Q&A with Director Sean Weathers about "Ace Jackson is a Dead Man"

Text (c) Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2015
Images from Sean Weathers / the Internet

The review of the Sean Weathers' starring/co-directed/edited film can be found HERE.

Indie Horror Films: You shot the majority of this film 5 years ago, why so long of a delay in releasing it?Sean Weathers: My partner [Aswad Issa]and I shot principal photography of Scumbag Hustler [reviewed HERE], Mandingo Sex Addict and Ace Jackson is a Dead Man in 2010, but then I took an unintended hiatus from filmmaking for four years. Life in general got in the way; the years went by quickly before I realized they were gone. Now here I am, trying to make up for lost time.

IHF: What went into your decision-making process to make this film a high-contrast black and white with added graininess?
Sean:  The world and the characters in this are very gritty, dark and dirty, and I wanted the look of the film to match that.

IHF: Why the old time blues and folk music?Sean:  There were a lot of parallels between the songs, the people who sung them, the time they were living in, and the Ace character and the world I built around him.

IHF: Why the stills of the dead bodies throughout the film?
Sean:  When writing this I imagined someone opening up a newspaper and seeing a B&W image of a thug that was shot in the head in the hood for a drug deal that went wrong. With that seed planted in my head, once I started editing I wanted to further emphasize the inevitability of death and how it’s always there waiting on us; no matter what we do or how hard we try it’s the final chapter for all of us. In this case it’s murder, so I wanted to show people who died savagely and prematurely.

IHF: There is scrolling text throughout the film telling us certain disturbing facts about government and corporate power. Why the decision to put that in the film and how does it relate to the story?Sean:  I think it’s easy to go through life and just focus only on what you see affecting you and not think on a wider scale. I wanted to show how macroeconomics – the government, the country, the banks, large corporations, etc. – can effect microeconomics, you.

IHF: How were you able to achieve a natural feel to the dialogue in the film?
Sean:  Most of the dialogue and about half of the scenes were improvised. I had written a script called “Man Hunt” that we never shot. We took the plot and cherry-picked some of the scenes from that script and made up the rest on set as we went. We were looking to shoot something very quickly; I’d say about a third of the scenes in the film were shot with one take. [Outtakes reel can be seen HERE]

IHF: The DVD also includes three classic crime thrillers: Mr. Scarface (1976), Family Enforcer (1976) and High School Caesar (1960), plus two original short films: The Pimp Chronicles and Forgiveness. Can you tell us a little bit about the other five films?Sean:  The three crime thrillers all have the same common theme with Ace, of a low level criminal trying to earn respect and work their way up the ladder. The Pimp Chronicles features a pimp off-screen interviewing three hoes about life in the business. Forgiveness is an award-winning short film directed by my partner that I helped co-produce.

IHF: Anything else about the film you want to mention, while we have the chance?
A - Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to talk about my film. Ace Jackson is a Dead Man, which is available for pre-order now on www.fullcirclefilmworks.com, will be officially released on June 23, 2015.