Review: Dark Whispers: Vol 1

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2021
Images from the Internet

Dark Whispers: Vol 1
Directed by Angie Black; Jub Clerc; Lucy Gouldthorne; Katrina Irawati Graham; Janine Hewitt; Briony Kidd; Isabel Peppard; Marion Pilowski; Madeleine Purdy; Megan Riakos; Kaitlin Tinker
Deadhouse Films; Hemlock and Cedar Films; Gold Hawk; Stranger With My Face
100 minutes, 2021
https://www.darkwhispersanthology.com/
https://www.facebook.com/darkwhispersanthology/

Nice. This release not only comprises short films made by women, but also exclusively from Australia. Perhaps they should narrow it down further to Wednesday afternoon between 3 and 4 PM? I kid because I am impressed. There are 10 stories here, so let’s break ‘em down and see whuts whut.

The wraparound story, “The Book of Dark Whispers,” is directed by Megan Riakos, who curated the anthology. In it, a woman, Clara (Andrea Demetriades) finds her grandmothers book with the title of this piece that has been passed down to her mum, and now that mummy is no more, she is the owner. She then proceeds to read it, giving us an opening and framework for the stories we will be seeing. These tales have been gathered together for this anthology.

First up is Angie Black’s “Birthday Girl” (2008). In this short tale, a sad woman (Sarah Bollenberg) takes an elevator in a hospital, and is visited by a spirit. This story is not scary, but rather is sad as you can feel for her. It’s beautifully shot, with lots of close-ups of her face. It was very touching and beautiful.

Next up is “The Man who Caught a Mermaid” (2014) by Kaitlin Tinker. What happens when a delusional older man (Roy Barker) who collects classical LPs and is obsessed with fishing – specifically to catch a mermaid – actually nabs one? Why, he chains her (Bilby Conway) up in the garden shed, of course. She is both scary and, in a way, beautiful (thanks to Sharp FX), and our anti-hero is fixated on her, in a male gaze kind of way. Is he any better than someone who kidnaps women and puts then in a secure place, even if she is half fish? And what happens when his lonely wife (Verity Higgins) finds her? These are the questions answered in this fish tail – I mean tale. The make-up is stupendous, and the filmmaking is spot on. This one, with a really nice twist or two, kept me on the edge of my gills.

For a step in a different direction, Isabel Peppard gives us “Gloomy Valentine” (2006) a stop-motion animation tale. Without dialogue, we meet the sole character, a humanoid-like doll with a porcelain face and a rag, sewn body. It is after a hard break-up with another human-like character. Slowly, her pain starts to manifest around her, threatening to swallow her up. The artwork is beautiful, and the action is smooth, rather than jumpy, as can be with this kind of animation. The backgrounds are worth paying attention to, as well, as the detail is nicely handled and interesting to look at. I watched it twice, once for the character, and then again for the “sets.”

Similarly, in the wraparound, between each short piece, we see the stories slowly and increasingly start to influence Clara’s world in small and then more tangible ways. Like Talking Tina, this is a book that will not go away.

Briony Kidd’s “Watch Me” (2016) deals with ego. An aging actress (Astrid Wells Cooper) likes attention. Craves it. She says, “When people stop looking at me, I fail.” But failing seems to be the least of her problems. It seems she needs to have somebody looking at her at all times, such as her failing relationship with her boyfriend (Tosh Greenslade) or a compromised assistant (Jazz Yap). What happens when there are no eyes to admire her, to acknowledge her existence. That is the premise of this story. It’s short and works well. Cooper does a good job at both loving the limelight and fearing the alone.

From the Aboriginal side, there is Jub Clerc’s tale of “Storytime” (2005). A tween girl, Cecelia (Verna Lawson) is out hunting overnight with her grandparents, some other men, and a group of kids around her age. Over the campfire, they hear the tale of a local creature, the Gooynbooyn, who kidnaps kids. Being that this is a campfire tale within a film about stories is an interesting idea in itself. When Celia and a “dare you” boy named Jhi (Jhi Clarke) set out to find the creature, that’s when the terror level rises a few notches. Beautifully shot among the gnarly mangrove trees helps to put the viewer in a state of unease. Cryptid stories tend to be fun, as is this one.

The big guns come out for “The Ride” (2011), directed by Marion Pilowsky. Filmed in England, it co-stars the well-known Aussie screen actor, Anthony LaPaglia, known for the many American shows he’s been in, such as “Without a Trace” and “Murder One.” He plays a Brit driver who picks up a university student (Ed Speelers; no small pataters either, having been a regular on “Downton Abbey”) at a deserted crossroad in the middle of farm country. The driver quickly proves himself to be a right wing, sports crazy racist who asks uncomfortable questions, such as whether the student has slept with “black girls.” Total Trumpite type. The action really begins when he hits an Asian man walking on the side of the road. Report it to the police? While the student freaks out, the driver calmly explains that it’s easier just to bury the dude. Kind of a reverse The Hitcher (1986). After, when he hooks up with his girlfriend (Emer Kenny, known to me as Bunty from the “Father Brown” series) back in the city, is where the knot is tied in the story. You’ll probably see it coming about 30 seconds before, but still worth the wait.

Another story in a story is Katrina Irawati Graham’s “White Song” (2006), dealing with Indonesian infamous ghost, Kuntil Anak. In Indonesian with noticeably clear subtitles, this time it is the spirit that is telling the tale, of a young woman, Raesita. She is a painter who is distraught at the death of her husband. She wishes her misery to end and that is where the Kuntil Anak comes in, telling Raesita’s story as well as her own terrible life in a patriarchal violent past. She is the only voice heard as she narrates in poetic fashion, while the dreamy images float by the screen in lovely sequences that seem lighter than air, despite the heavy topic. The whole story is elegiac and trance-like.

Told in black and white is Lucy Gouldthorpe’s “Grillz” (2015). Short and sweet, this is the story of Milla (Melanie Irons), who I must say, I almost wish actually existed. She scours the Internet dating scene and picks the scuzziest of men. And then, well, you’ll have to see. When she chooses a dentist (Tosh Greenslade, once again), it is for other reasons. What is a girl to do when she doesn’t like a mess? This is a black comedic tale with a nod to the side of the nose as it explores not only the Internet dating world and its precariousness – for both sexes – it also shines a light on the kind of toxic masculinity that would have no problem emailing dick pics. Very effective and fun to watch.

I was going to call this a black comedy, but perhaps a better description of Madeleine Purdy’s “Little Share House of Horrors” (2016) might be a “green comedy.” A young woman, Maeve (Georgia Wilde) gets ahold of a plant from a dicey shop owner (Colan Leach) and brings it home to the house she shares with three others, two of whom are hopeless potheads (Travis Jeffrey and Thuso Lekwape). She believes in all things natural as far as food goes, as they are into the natural stuff you smoke. The two doods mock her and suffer the unintended consequences that’s a toss between what the story is named for, and, say, Trolls 2 (1990), but with more credibility and less camp. Original part of the “Girt By Fear” Web series, it’s a fun tale of eco-power. And you can’t get cancer from this like windmills (snicker).

The final story is by Janine Hewitt, titled “The Intruder” (2005), which is a fun ghost story, in the classic gothic style, though taking place in the late 1960s or early 1970s (clothing and a rotary dial are the indicators). Zoe (Asher Kendie) is in fear of a stalker in her home, when she is visited by her friend, Angela (Bree Desborough). With the electricity out and lightening flashing as the sole light, it is a spooky situation that is also from the heart, as Angela asks Zoe for forgiveness. The story is well told, shot, and acted, and the ending has a curious back story. I actually wished this one was longer.

A lot of these stories are centered around loss: of a child, a parent, of a loved one, and especially of oneself, in various forms. Usually in a multi-storied anthology, there are a couple of clinkers, but not here. Each one is both individualized (even with the recurring theme I mentioned), in tone and style, and covers a wide gambit of emotions. A really fine collection, and I can honestly say I am excitedly hoping for a Volume 2.

Review: Gums

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films Blog, 2012

Images from the Internet

                            

Gums

Directed by Robert J. Kaplan        

Sinful Mermaid, 1976 / 2012

66 minutes, USD $24.95   

MVDvisual.com

If you look at the works of recent low-to-nil budget auteurs that use high-end video for their releases, it’s interesting to look back at some of the film releases that were actually shot on celluloid, rather than digi.

For a while, in its golden age of the 1970s, porn was a haven for the quickie film (as well as a training school for up-and-coming major directors). Back then, rather than a collection of shorts set pieces strung together as it is now, there was a story, even if it was threadbare or nonsensical.

That brings us to Gums, a semi-ambitious homage to the then-recent Spielberg hit, Jaws (1975). Rather than a shark, though, it’s a “Great White Mermaid” (or, spermus gobbulous) that is gulping people down (men and women), in more ways than one.

During a time when the industry was still located mainly in New York City (before becoming almost completely Los Angeles-centric in the ‘80s), so the fact that this albatross was filmed both in Long Island (NY) and Florida is quite a memorable note. It’s just a shame it did not live up to its possibilities. Why? Oh, the reasons are many. And while most of these may be a surefire must-to-avoid, it’s so bizarre in its way that it’s almost worth seeing just for all the things wrong with it.

Let’s start at the top. The director, Robert Kaplan, must have been stoned out of his mind because he handed in a product that had some excellent reasons to succeed, and trashed them all. Now, let’s get to the story and cast.

As the titular (pun intended) evil mermaid, is Terri Hall (d. 2007). She is completely nude in every shot, with the exception of a tiara, some bluish make-up that covers the top half of her face, and an occasional shell-strung belly chain. Her entire oeuvre is to swim around (sometimes in the ocean, and when at “home” under the sea, it’s obviously in a pool), including doing underwater cartwheels. When on solid ground (apparently mermaids not only have two legs, but can breathe in both water and air), she’s dancing, with Hall putting her classical training to use.

The hero of the piece is Sherriff Rooster Coxswain Jr. III (yep, you read that correctly), with Paul Styles playing the Brody role. With his thick New York accent and dazed look, it’s no surprise that this is Styles only film credit. Even the film crew recognized this, and I’ll get to that a bit later. Meanwhile, when the sheriff isn’t doing the wife (Rachel McCallister, aka Crystal Sync; she was also in the classic Bloodsucking Freaks [1976], FYI), he’s screwing a blow-up doll he shares with…

…Filling in for the scientist role as Seymour “Sigh” Smegma is Dryfuss-look-a-like Richard Lair. Who, you ask? Well, in “the industry” he was better known as Richard Bolla, or just R Bolla. Under his real name, Robert Kerman (from Bensonhurst!), he is a trained actor who got into the industry to survive, and later became a big star in Italian cinema, including seminal genre films like Cannibal Holocaust (1980) and Cannibal Ferox (1981). But for this film, he pretty much walks through his role, obviously ad-libbing and recognizing it for the WTF that it is.

The last main character is actually quite the shocker. Filling in the Quint role is monologist and “stand-up tragedy” comedian Brother Theodore (Gottlieb; d. 2001), as Captain Carl Clitoris. Through most of the film he is either dressed entirely in an SS uniform (riding crop included) or biker leather, all the more interesting when one realizes that he was a survivor of Dachau. Brother Theodore was quite the phenomenon in New York City at one time, having a one-man show for a large number of years in which he berated the audience for attending, and being at the core of the transgression theater movement. His many appearances on David Letterman are legendary, and worth checking into. To have him appear in a non-sexual role (mostly) here in full force alone makes this worth watching, as he sputters and curses, eyes rolling in his head.

Along with Jaws, there is also a strong Blazing Saddles (1976) feel through this, with people answering all at once for example.

So this mermaid comes to the town of Great Head (sigh) and the three intrepid idiots (along with the gay Deputy Dick, played by Ras Kean) are out to get her. Apparently, when she’s done with her (male) victims, all that’s left of them is their pecker (represented by a rubber dildo, side seam intact). This makes no sense to me, since if this is what she latches onto, why is it the only thing not ingested?

I am assuming this was a hardcore picture when it came out, but perhaps there were two versions of it. In this one, all the sex scenes are either edited so there is no visible penetration or mouth-on-johnson seen, but most of the time the image is blocked by some graphic, be a crude drawing of a plate of mussels, a lobster, or a sign that says something like “U.S. Government Grade ‘A’ Pork” or “Kosher for Passover.” They look period rather than added on in the current version, which is why the wonder of a double release.

To add even more weirdness, on the boat near the end of the film, there is a memo across the screen (in similar graphic form) that states “Get rid of the Sheriff, even a puppet can ACT better than him!!!” And from then on, you got it, he’s replaced by a marionette puppet, with larger than proportion dildo genitalia. Before long, all three of the main male characters are also puppets, which the mermaid orally attacks.

As a final topping, the song over the final credits is a “Mack the Knife” sounding “Thar She Blows,” which is just terrible, though it should be noted that it was written by Bard Fiedel, who would later go on to score the likes of The Terminator, True Lies, and Johnny Mnemonic! Oy.

The extra is three B&W loops of various women undressing, looking like they are from either the ’50s or ‘60s.

So, yeah, I thought it was a bad film, you’re most likely to think it’s a bad film….heck, even the film crew thought it was a bad movie. But the question is, is it worth seeing? I reservedly say yes, just for the ?!?!?!?! factor alone. Just go in knowing what you’re getting into, and that there is certainly no self-satisfaction potential involved.