All genres of suspense, terror, and horror will be reviewed by Richard Gary. His address to send preview copies supplied upon request to rbf55@msn.com.
Louisville, Kentucky, where this film was shot, is
solid “Red” state territory, deep in the Bible belt, with Trump signs on every
corner during the last election and a cross nailed on multiple walls of every
house. It is a center of the New Republic of Christ, where the religious are
self-righteous, unvaccinated, and full of love for themselves and everyone
else, if’n yer not a heathen, or gay. Or vaccinated.
In this environment,
lives Anthony (Adam Freeman), who is both non-religious and openly gay. He
shares his home with his uber-righteous mother, buxom Barbara (the appropriately named Sondra Carver),
who has recently lost her husband and is a bit bitter. She’s also willing to go
to any extreme to keep her son (and others) away from the “lifestyle.” Even if
it involves knives. Y’see, Barbara is a bit like Kathleen Turner’s character in
Serial Mom (1994) in that she has a tendency to take what she considers
sin into her own hands, but without Turner’s ‘50s sit-com-like charm. (“God and
I have an understanding,” posits Barbara in a moment of delusion).
Sondra Carver
Be it her son’s lovers
or the pedophilic guy in the church, Bob (Douglas Connor), who has been found
out, Barbara is not going to stand for this outrage to her Lord. And in full
hypocrite mode, she is often at full ire and willing to judge others, including
her neighbors. No cheeks turned with this woman, it’s blades and burial.
There are other
interesting characters filling the story, such as Fran (Dixie Gers, the titular
Crazy Fat Ethel in 2016, by the same director), who is a member of
Barbara’s church and is actually closer to what Barbara is deluded to believe
she is, which makes her angry, and Anthony’s trans friend Geena (director Brian
Dorton), whose life is possibly in peril due to his association with Anthony
(though just friends) thanks to mommy. And there is a nice kill ratio here.
Adam Freeman
There are a few minimalist
levels to the film. First, and I am making an assumption here, is the budget.
This looks like a threadbare story despite the nice sized cast, and the
production looks like it cost about as much as the catering. I actually respect
that, seeing how much can be done with the bare minutest. The other minimalism
is the film’s presentation. There is no fancy editing, and even the acting
reminds me of the early films of John Waters and David Cronenberg, if you get
what I mean. And, again, I’m fine with it. The most common SFX in the film is
added scratches and the program to make the film look like it was printed off a
time- damaged negative.
Considering the overlapping genres in this film, it
should come as no surprise that there is nudity, but nearly all male (except
for a woman in a bathtub in a definitely non-sexual moment). As an ally, I have
no problem with man-on-man sex scenes, though I’m not turned on by it (same
with women-on-women, but I digress…). That being said, the male lead (Freeman)
and his partner in the scene are handsome men, I know a lot of my friends who
would happily raise an – er – eyebrow at seeing the bods, especially if you are
into bears.
Brian Dorton
This is a very dark comedy geared toward the LGBTQ
community, but not exclusively. There were lots of little things that made me
laugh, such as Barbara calling someone named Sloan (Athena Prychodko) as “Sah-lone.”
The third act feels like it is going to be a bit anti-climactic,
but instead, there is a really nice twist at the end that I didn’t see coming.
Well done! It’s a bit convoluted and left me with a big question, but still so
worth it.
When you decide to see
this film, and you should, I recommend making it a double feature with Death
Drop Gorgeous (2020; reviewed HERE)
The extras on the Blu-ray include
Deleted/Extra Scenes, Writer/Director interview, a Blooper reel, a Photo
Gallery, and Trailer, which can be purchased HERE.
The Torment of Laurie
Ann Collum is being considered a “throwback” film to the slasher days of the
1980s, which feels appropriate since it’s supposedly based on a “true story”
that takes place in 1988, in the small Florida town of Patoma. Now, just
because I cannot find anything about the killing on an Internet search, nor the
locale of Patoma, don’t mean a thing if the film’s got that swing (doo-dah).
Shannon Scott
Filmed just north of
Orlando, FL, including Ocala, the making of the release seems as interesting to
me as the story itself. Let me ‘splain (as opposed to mansplain): while
there is a decent sized cast for a mini- (make that micro-) budgeter, there are
actually only three people involved in what is described on IMDB as “90 percent
of the film.” This includes the main titular character played by attractive and
toothsome Shannon Scott, the hair-follicle-challenged Sheriff Parks (director
Mark Dossett), and the invisible boom (sound) guy, Reynaldo Rodriguez. This
makes for a much lower cost scale, of course, and an interesting read of the credits
as the two leads play not only multiple characters (more on that later) but
most of the crew. I love that they were brave enough not to feel a need to use pseudonyms.
Speaking of playing
with names, I would like to imagine that Laurie is in part named after Laurie
Strode, from Halloween (1978), and Sherriff Parks is named after Michael
Parks, who played a similar police-related role in both Robert Rodriguez’s Planet
Terror (2007) and Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof (2007). But that’s
just me, and I digress.
And now back to our
story: Laurie Ann is a homebody, as she’s developed agoraphobia, a common
mental misfunction to those who have suffered from trauma. It’s been used a lot
lately, such as with Ouija Room (2019), as it’s a great tool for there’s-someone/thing-in-the-house
genre, as the PTSD-inspired illness makes the viewer wonder if the threat
is real or imagined by the character in question.
Mark Dossett
Laurie Ann, who’s mom
is away, is happily watching television (including Bugs Bunny!), having a Tom
Cruise moment of miming rock into a stirring spoon, and eating a lot to take up
some time. To paraphrase Monty Python, try to explain to the cell phone/Internet
kids today, and they won’t believe it.” But weird things are starting to happen,
and there may be someone else in the one-level house with her (no running
upstairs here!). Or is there? Ahh, there’s that PTSD questioning thing that happens!
She calls the cops, which is how Parks gets involved.
The first act is a
light touch of curiosity, the second is more intense interactions, and by the
third, we’re into the torment/terrorizing. There is a bit of a nod to some
other films sprinkled throughout, such as When a Stranger Calls (1979), the
closet and use of a wire hanger like Laurie Strode in Halloween, and
just a wee bit of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974).
Part of the problem with
the “based on a true story” trope is that there is a tendency to put in a title
card at the front stating the end result of the character(s), usually in a
vague way. This is also used a lot in found footage. To me, this is a mistake
as it takes some of the suspense away. If we already know the character will live
or die, that removes the big question. Though in this case, I’m sure people
will still pay attention because of the “Torment” part of the film’s name (as a
side note, to me the title sounds like a ‘70s porno flick directed by someone
like Gerard Damiano).
I have to admit, I figured
out who the masked person was in the first five or ten minutes of the film, but
honestly, I still enjoyed staying until the end; and make sure after you read
the credits, to stick around for some important story info afterward.
One aspect I both
enjoyed and was baffled by was the use of religious tropes throughout the entire
story. Yeah, I get that it’s small town America and the Church is a factor in many
of their lives, but it was never really explained. For example there is a Christian
magnet on the fridge, we see a shot of a church but it doesn’t invest in the
story, and one of the songs is the splendid “Down to the River to Pray” (a different
but also harmonious version than the Alison Krauss one from 2000’s O Brother,
Where Art Thou?).
Most of the secondary
characters are pretty superfluous and not a great source of acting, but the two
leads do really well considering it’s their first film and play multiple parts
(though, please, Shannon, don’t attempt a New York accent again, and I say that
with kindness). Dossett moves in and out of the story but is memorable as Parks,
but it is Scott that holds the film together as she is in a large majority of
the scenes. Luckily, the camera likes her, and she carries Laurie through from
carefree (albeit agoraphobic) to terrified.
As micro-budget
releases go, Dossett and Scott work together well to put out a freshman film
that is watchable. It’s not necessarily super intense nor overly bloody – there
is some sanguine stuff and one squeamish scene – but it holds up. Just not a
great lot of boo scares, which is fine as this is equally (if not more
so) a psychological study of the main character. Certainly enjoyable.
Just
to get it outta da way, an Enchiridion (the original name of the film) is the
Latin term for a primer, or handbook. Personally, changing the title to its
present name was a wise choice. “Bloodsucker” is bound to come up in a genre keyword
search more than that. Hell, I have a Master’s and had to look it up.
Cory W. Ahre
The
story, which takes place at the end of the 1960s, is essentially broken up into
two segments. At the first, it’s almost like a joke: “A guy walks into a bar…”
Here we are introduced to the main protagonist, a campus minister (priest)
named Father Gregory (Cory W. Ahre, who looks a lot like Kyle Mooney from “Saturday
Night Live”). He’s a bit slovenly, wearing an oversized gray suit jacket over
his collar and black shirt, and his hair is shoulder length and a bit scraggly.
He also smokes and drinks, so you know he’s going to be conflicted about whatever
is coming his way; after all, this is a genre film. Did you see The Exorcist? But I digress…
A
mysterious Federal government agent enlists him to talk to a prisoner, the titular
bloodsucker named simply Condu (Jeremy Herrera) – perhaps meaning “conduction,”
for the passing along of an evil current? He has apparently been writing the “handbook”
of the history of vampires in Latin (why not Romanian?), starting of course
with good ol’ Vlad the Impaler (aka Vlad Dracul). There is a question of
whether or not Condu actual is Vlad. Gregory
is also asked to translate the book.
As a
sorta sidebar, Vampire teeth seem to fall into two categories: there are the
classic large incisors a la Dracula,
and then the Nosferatu-ish extended and sharp two front teeth. This film plays
with both. While Condu’s lean towards the Nosferatu (though all uppers seem to
be big and sharp), other children of the night have the more Dracula-like
choppers. Mixing it up seems like a smart way to handle that.
As
for the other vampire tropes, well the story wants to keep with the legend, but
bends the rules just a bit. For example, crosses, sunlight, holy water, dirt
from graves, and blood-drinking of course, all are employed. However, what they
leave off is that vampires are shape-shifters, and can turn into animals such
as wolves or bats, or even mist. Of course, that would not work with this story
as Condu is chained up in some dark room, so that’s conveniently (and
rightfully) left out.
Gregory
and Condu seem to hit it off, as we see them in cat-and-mouse dialogues that
actually are quite interesting and decently written. While the acting is
questionable at times (more on that later), the story manages to hold the film
together, along with the other… stuff.
Jeremy Hererra
This
interaction leads to the second half of the film where Condu is out has escaped,
and the hunter-hunted takes the storyline beyond the verbal into the physical,
as Condu tries to get his book back and Gregory searches for the mysterious Edie
(Jessica Bell). She is seemingly an ex-girlfriend, though the Father seems to
have conflicting issues between religion and lust.
As polar
opposite stories like to point out, well as conflict we also see that both
Gregory and Condu have some similar issues, mainly with drinking, as one sucks
at hard alcohol, the other the sticky red liquid of life. Both have a strong
desire towards their fluids, but they also have a kind of detachment to it, as
well – even though Condu is probably more self-honest about the need.
What
I meant earlier by stuff is the
framework of the film. Mark Beal makes some interesting artistic choices that
take it to another level. For example, the second half is almost a noir
mystery, with a wild jazz score and a private eye named Valentine. And here is only
part of why I said stuff: Valentine
is a stop-motion dog puppet (literally) in a jacket. He is a “loyal” – err –
puppet (figuratively) of the Gregory side. On the Condu end, there is a
stop-motion puppet baboon (both nicely created by Richard Svennson).
Animals
play a big part in the film. For example, many of the bars that are visited
either are named for them (especially birds), but also have them inside the establishments,
such as a flamingo. Then there is the whole subplot about toad licking (which
we get to witness), reminding me of a Mason Williams poem. This is all part of a surrealism that crops up regularly.
Now,
most of the time surrealism is used, it is so
symbolic that its meaning can get lost. For this film, well, sure you could ask
why a dog or baboon, but generally speaking the surrealism doesn’t get so far
out there that it become opaque, for which I’m grateful. Other examples include
using stop-motion dolls to play out Vlad’s history, or the use of angles and
jump cuts to make it just a bit jarring at times. The use of lighting is really
interesting and stands out in a good way. Yes, it’s a bit distracting, but it
also raises the film to a higher plane. It’s this feature, as well as the
story, that rises above the acting issues I was discussing earlier. But even
that over-the-top-ness seems to work for this because of the sporadic surreal nature. That being said, even with
all the issues, Ahre comes across as likeable, and Herrera makes a compelling
foil, nicely working with the large teeth rather than tripping over them (impressive
for a first film, I might add).
Extras
include about 8 minutes of some meh bloopers
and a feature-length commentary track. Normally I would whine if there are many
speakers on a single one, and here there are the director, four key players and
a crew member. But everyone seems to be respectful of others so there is no taking
over and showboating, and even better is that not only are there interesting anecdotes
about the filming, we get to hear what the actors thought was happening. Better
still, we get to hear the director/writer discuss his own ideas. In a film like
this, that can be crucial in helping to fill in story blanks (I had a couple
that were satisfied).
Filmed
in Bryan-College Station, Texas (about 90 miles north of Houston), we see both
the sunny and darker sides (alleys, etc.) of the area, representing both
Gregory and Condu, relatively speaking. While this is an obviously micro-budget
film, and it certainly has its issues, I do have to say it kept my interest
throughout. A pleasant surprise, I really enjoyed it quite a bit, especially the
interplay between its two lead characters. Worth checking out on a rainy
weekend.
Dave Parker, aka MrParker, has earned
a reputation as a film collector / vlogging reviewer, and now he’s moving well
into writing and directing for his second release, under the tutelage of a
master of the micro-budget genre, filmmaker and puppet creator Dustin Wayde
Mills. They’ve been friends for years, along with stalwart actor / writer
Brandon Salkil, working and playing together into a cohesive unit.
After a nicely done first-person intro that
goes from day to day-for-night to a cool model house, we meet two witches (Joni
Durian and Haley Madison, who was great recently in CarousHELL [2016]). In order to keep our protagonist to stay until
a potion is ready, we get the three stories in this anthology.
First up is “The Babysitter,” a play
on the bad guy in the house theme, but also takes from the news of weird people
dressing like clowns to scare others. It’s kinda goofy, in a good way, and we
certainly get a result of what could probably happen in real life. The two kids
in the story are excellent, as is B.J. Colangelo in the titular role. She ain’t
no Mary Poppins, that’s as sure as the kids aren’t the Banks children, either.
For a story geared for the young’ns, there is an effective level of suspense
for everyone.
The second tale, like the first, is
directed by Mills, who happily goes back to what he built his early films on,
which is a peculiar level of ironic humor. Here, he takes on the
black-and-white tale of some schulb (Mills’ regular go-to actor, Salkil, the
writer of this piece) who is visited by “The Messenger,” a ‘50s leather
jacket-wearing Juvenile Delinquent spirit played with fervor by Parker. The
gross-out level is high here in a kid-friendly-yet-icky way. What stood out for
me is that both actors played against their own type. Salkil tends to play –
well, yes, schlubs (not counting Skinless)
or raving maniacs, but here he is more subtle, showing some more depth than
usual (knew he had it inim). Parker, who tends to play more constrained
characters, plays his role appropriately over the top in a way that is broader
than I’ve seen him before, showing he’s got some chops that go beyond his
online film reviews as MrParka. The story has a good youth message about not giving
up and persevering, no matter what comes knocking in the middle of the night.
The main piece, though, is the third
tale, “The Familiars,” is written and directed by Parker, who also plays a
pizza delivery guy. So, one of these two not-to-bright comic nerd guys (kind
that still live at home way past their due) decides he wants to join the local
gang, The Cruising Bruisers. But as one of the two notes, “They don’t even
ride!” Now, this gang is, well, beyond dunces. There’s the leader (Salkil in
full jagged-up mode), a metal-head who only says “Metal” and makes the
two-fingered sign named Devil Horns (Mills), and one who amusedly only speaks
in very poor Spanish, named Macho (Aaron Anthony). Calling these guys idiots
would be an insult to idiots.
The two doofus dweebs perform an
incantation from a book similar to the one in Evil Dead, except that this one looks like it has the image of the
demon from Mills’ Easter Casket (2013)
on it. Mills got his start making horror films dealing with puppets, and he
contributes his skill to Parker’s vision by creating three demons right out of Ghoulies (1984), one of which looks
really cool (the cat), and two others that are more leaning towards the Paper-Mache,
but hey, still good-if-not-better than the Ghoulies’
rubber models.
With a nod to the Three Stooges – or
as Macho might say, “La Tres Estupidos” – the tiny creatures go on a rampage of
killing, with a decent amount of a body count considering the age-level for the
film. At half an hour, this is the longest bit, and a good companion piece to
the other two (and witchy wraparound, of course). This particular story is a
bit more violent and raucous than the others, but nothing that can’t be shown
on television uncut (or hasn’t been of late), with possibly one exception,
which involves the mentioning of a succubus. Now, even Bugs Bunny used to have
a touch of adult humor it in (sexy cross-dressing Bugs or Elmer, as an
example), but those days are questionable now. I mean, violence has always been
more accepted by mainstream media than, well, (read as sotto voce) S-E-X, or in this case, being implied.
I would say the age level for this film
is arguably over 10, when one considers the gross-out level (albeit mild), the
demon killings, the use of the word “crap” throughout (the strongest cuss word here), and that one character
has a cigarette (always unlit) usually dangling from his lip; that being said,
I remember the media uproar on television in the 1980s when a child character
said something like “bite me” to her bothersome brother. It’s a new world,
folks, and thanks to streaming services, kids are more accustomed to things we
didn’t see as a youth (which makes me think of Neil Postman’s 1982 treatise, The Disappearance of Childhood, but I
won’t get all theoretical on ya).
This is an enjoyable release, and
I’ve seen lots of good words about it around the Interwebitivity, and rightfully so. It’s funny on many levels, from
goofy and slapstick to “oh, yeah” connections that you’ll get even if the kids
won’t. It’s fun, it’s free, and it’s worth a view for children of aaaaall ages. C’mon, whatcha gotta lose?
To
celebrate the release of their recent – er – release, Winners Tape All: The Story of the Henderson Brothers (reviewed by
me, HERE), director
Justin Channell and his two writers / stars, Josh Lively and Zane Crosby, have
just re-dropped their zombie comedy film from a decade ago.
Zombie
comedies were timely when this first came out, soon on the heels of Shaun of the Dead (2004), yet before the
likes of Ah! Zombies!! (aka Wasting Away, 2007), Zombieland (2009) and Bong of the Dead (2011). This shows they
were ahead of the game without even realizing it!
This
crew specializes in “back yard” filmmaking, where they shoot micro-budget
features, and this is actually a loving and yet enjoyably demented. It’s a bit amateurish,
and yet they managed to keep it interesting, without losing any of the cheese.
Right
from the beginning “prologue” scene, you know you are in for a decent film with
bad acting and lots of zombies and blood, for which we are shown relatively
plenty for the buck. And while this is an aside in a way, I’m impressed they
got the rights to songs by the likes of Canadian ska group The Planet Smashers
(I’m especially fond of their “Fabricated,” but I digress…) and Big D and the Kids
Table, along with so much other fun music on the soundtrack. My fave cut here,
though, was the inane “Fanny Pack,” by Rappy McRapperson (I kid you not).
Anyway…
The
two main protagonists are life-long pals Benny Rodriguez (Lively) and grammar nazi – which involve some great running
gag bits – Scotty Smalls (Crosby), who are reminiscent of characters from Clerks (1994), but with a punk rock vibe
rather than hipster. Benny has a very cute girlfriend, Liz (Ashley Goddard) but
also has a crush on redheaded Stephanie (Sarah Bauer), who seems to date losers.
As they say in the film, Benny’s definitely thinking with the wrong head. Perhaps
a good theme, considering the film, would be Loudon Wainwright III’s
“Unrequited Love to the Nth Degree.” Meanwhile, her over-jealous and body-modified
musician boyfriend Andrew (Jonas Dixon) is cheating on her. As all this is
going on, there’s a zombie apocalypse on the verge thanks to a leak at some nearby
secret lab. And this is only 7 minutes in.
Written
by the director and the two leads (as well as ad libs from the rest of the cast,
for which the credits acknowledge), those writing sessions seem like they must
have been a hoot and a half. And that arsine, juvenile humor translates into
the story quite effectively. Hey, to be clear, the company name, IWC Films, is
for the acronym “Idiots With Cameras,” and they take their silliness seriously.
Yeah,
it’s micro-budget, yeah the acting is occasionally (okay, usually) not top
notch – even though Lively and Smalls seem quite natural as though they seem to
be pretty much playing themselves (I’m assuming, as I don’t know the gents, but
I’m going by the “Making Of” featurette) – and yeah, there are the occasional
continuity quirks, but the end result is a film that is, well, funny in a way
that Clerks was meant to be but never
quite achieved, in my opinion (I was never a fan of the film; to me the only
watchable Kevin Smith is Dogma [1999],
but again, I digress…).
The
thing about this is that what I believe makes it so enjoyable is the fact that
they don’t seem to take themselves too seriously, and that they were out to
have a good time making this. At least that’s what comes across, and it
improves the viewing. If they had been as serious as some other micro-budgets,
such as the overrated and drippy nosed The
Blair Witch Project (1999), this would be excruciating, painful rather than
incredibly funny.
The
trio’s latest film, Winner Tape All,
is indirectly about the process of filming this very kind of film, and I’m
pretty sure is shot around the very same pool. Even though there is a decade
separating these two releases, there are some consistencies, such as a bro code of honor, and the sense that “a
nod’s as good as a wink to a blind bat.” In other words, they are not going to
shy away from anything that’s non-PC.
Being
a zombie apocalypse film of sorts, there is a lot of blood and latex, which
looks more cheesy than real, but it still works in the context of what the film
is focusing towards, which is unabashed amateurism; this works in their favor,
rather than against. Again, if they would have tried to do this seriously, it
would not work at all. And, that it seems to be modelled somewhat on the paradigm
of “I saw Clerks and I can do it
too!”
For
the mandatory cameo, there is Troma
founder Lloyd Kaufman, who plays a gonzo journalist named – I kid you not –
Floyd Faukman. Then the wonderful Debbie Rochon in kinda on hand as a disembodied
voice on ta phone, but her tone is totally recognizable.
I
was particularly amused about a bit concerning PF Flyers sneakers, and smiled
when they quoted the commercial about “running faster and jumping higher.”
During the early punk days of the mid-‘70s, most of us wore either PF Flyers or
Keds. Good enough for the Ramones, good enough for us.
The
film is snarky, there’s no getting around that, and there is quite a bit of
that non-PC humor, but the point of films like this is
to be just shocking enough to show “look how cool we are, we can break the PC,”
yet not get steeped in it by having other things be over-the-top outrageous as
well.
Extras
abound, such as the 58-minute Blooper reel, which feels a bit long, but
definitely shows the camaraderie within the cast and crew (many of whom
overlap). It also shows they certainly picked the right shots for the actual
release. Same is true, choice-wise, with the 4-minute Alternate Takes and
almost 3-minute Deleted Scenes. For the 40-minute “Behind the Scenes,” which is
mostly the cast and crew acting silly, it is way more than I needed to see, but
again, it’s clear that their friendships go beyond just working together.
This
is definitely a bro film, with most
of the males being somewhat loveable tools, but the women, as attractive as
many of them are, appear as either fantasy images, stereotypically liking the
one who treats them like crap, or they are fickle. To put it another way, in an
alternate dimension, this probably would have starred Seth Rogan as Rodriguez
and Jonah Hill as Smalls. Now, while I’m not a fan of those two actors (especially
in films where they appear together), I actually mean this as a compliment, as
this is actually funny, despite its
low-budget, early-career flaws. Hell, it’s from 10 years ago, and we’re more
evolved now, aren’t we? Well, Winners
Tape All shows that these guys have grown for the better, but this is still
a hoot to watch in the basement with the buds.
* * *
Post-review note from the Director, Justin Channell (thank you!):
Judging by the PF Flyers paragraph, I think you might have missed that most of the third act is actually an elaborate homage to the '90s family film The Sandlot [1993]. The characters are all named after the kids in the movie and since the movie is about the kids trying to get a signed baseball from a huge dog on the other side of the fence, we swapped it with pizzas and zombies. Just for the record, I actually hadn't seen The Sandlot until very early in the brainstorming stage. I had actually pitched a subplot where side characters order a pizza, a zombie kills the delivery guy, so they order a pizza from another place and it continues until their yard is filled with zombie pizza guys. Zane just said, "Why not just have them try to get the pizza and it's just like The Sandlot?" and they made me watch it and it all spiralled out from there.I liked the idea because the characters were guys who weren't bright and when they're in over the heads have to step up to save the day, the only experiences they have to reference are from movies. The Forrest Gump [1994] flashback was meant to really drive that home. There was also a flashback in the script that was written as a soapbox derby race that was the ending from Cool Runnings [1993], but we didn't have enough money.
Steve Rudzinski is certainly not the
most prolific of directors, but when he puts out a film, be it more serious (though still having some humor; e.g., Everyone Must Die!, from 2012, reviewed
HERE) or even more hysterically absurd (e.g., Captain Z and the Terror of Leviathan,
2014, reviewed HERE), the viewer is in for a quality show. Here is the thing about absurdist humor:
it can be really, incredibly stupid (e.g., anything by Seth Rogan), or it can
be way smarter than it appears to be (e.g., anything my Monty Python),
sometimes by mocking the genre’s own familiar tropes. Fortunately, Rudzinski’s
work falls on the side to the latter.
The film is so goofy, and yet remains
consistently hysterical. I’m not talking about a couple of scenes here and
there, I mean straight through. But pay attention for all the references. While
you really wanna punch out this little bratty kid and his big even brattier (is
that even a word?!) sister, but the
people at the party are as much fun to watch as the arcing story. One of the
running gags is a variation of the whole “Bronie”movement (male fans of My Little Pony,
as in Bro/pony), focused around…well, you should have figured that out by now.
Duke
We, the audience, hear Duke’s both
inner (thought) and outer (oral) “voice,” and his comments are as snide and pun
filled as a certain red and green sweater-wearing dream killer. Other people
can hear it, too, as the trailer below shows. Yeah, there’s a lot of profanity,
and there is more than a few “bitch” references, but Steve Rimpici does a fun
job of it, as he’s done in other voice roles. While there is little subtlety,
and certainly no pity towards Duke, there is absolutely many reasons to laugh
at both the wooden horse’s (I mean unicorn’s) words, and even – believe it or
not – actions: his “hiding” scenes towards the end had me rolling.
Steve Rudzinski
As with many of Rudzinski’s films,
there are self-referential moments to his previous films, such as a bottle of Captain
Z’s Totally Accurate Pirate Wine, or the off-hand mention of his Web series, SuperTask Force One. Also, Rudzinski uses the film not just to get his ideas across, but also as an
acting vehicle for himself, not as the main character but a supportive-yet-pivotal
role. His style tends to learn towards the Edgar Kennedy school of
slow-burn-to-righteous-explosion. Rudzinski’s skill is pretty varied, as he’s
shown in previous films, but this method is among my favorites.
There is not much nudity in the film,
most of which is a response to one sleazy character’s (Chris Proud) cry of “show
me your [pick a word for female breasts] for a beaded necklace” at the party.
That being said, there is definitely one scene with the elfin cute pierced and tatted
Haley Madison that goes beyond what you may expect even from an indie…or
perhaps not, all things considered.
Haley Madison
The gore, however, is another story.
Some of it is kinda (purposefully) cheesy, but man, there is a lot of it, and most of it look
incredible for its budget. Duke seems to have access to any one of a number of
deadly weapons, from throwing stars to machetes, which draws a very funny
throwaway panicked line from the Pizza Boy (Rudzinski). I actually had to pause
the film to laugh, as not to miss anything. Come to think of it, there was more
than once I stop to rewind just a bit to either see or hear a bit again because
it was (a) WTF, (b) so beautifully done, (c) to laugh, or (d) any combination. It
should also be noted that there is a very large body count, so those into this
kind of film should find that fun, as I did.
CarousHELL
doesn’t answer a lot of question, which I think is fine (such as how this magic
horse… I mean unicorn, came to be). This is the kind of film that you just say “fuck
it” and watch it for what it is, without any guilt. If you actually sat down to
mull over it, there could be a lot of
questions that need to be answered, but the genre overrides the need for queries.
Cowboy Cool, aka PJ Gaynard
One of the more bizarre characters is
Cowboy Cool (PJ Gaynard), who not only swaggers in a John Wayne style, but
never removes his huge, mascot mask covered head. He seems to have the only gun
that can kill Duke (who is, I suppose, ironically and purposely branded after
Wayne’ nickname?). I think my fave characters are, however, the icky siblings
Pierre (Josh Miller) and Margot (Sarah Brunner), who have the worst French
accents possible (it sounds more German, actually). They are just so obnoxious, playing on the Francophone
stereotype.
Rudzinski is a bit of a meat and
taters kinda director. You’re not going to see many weird artistic flairs,
which personally I find can be really tiring, especially for this genre. He has
a message, and he gets to it. That’s a large part of the appeal. He takes the micro-budget
that he has and makes the most out of it. But at the same time, it doesn’t feel
claustrophobic in that it’s not all shot in one place, but rather in some nice
locations, including, yes, an amusement park (the same one from 2015’s Scream Park [Conneaut Lake Park, PA], in
which Rudzinski acts but not directs)? Oops, there goes those questions again… [The director responds: "It's not the same park. Conneaut was too far away and now multiple movies have shot there. So we went to an even smaller park in Southwest PA called Wildwood Highlands, which is more of a go-kart/putt-putt/arcade with a few rides. But it was Western themed so it worked beautifully.]
Rudzinski tends to make a film or two
every year for the past few years, but his quality has never dipped below
extreme fun. His characters tend to be not necessarily the same high school stereotypes
you usually find, and he goes through a lot of them. He also manages to find
actors who are well suited for their roles (for example, Marie just aces hers),
so I’ve seen most of the last batch, and have never been disappointed. That
says a lot, considering he works in the Pittsburgh area (I kid…). Seriously,
this comedy is worth a view on many levels for genre fans. Just don’t expect
anything super deep (or super shallow), and enjoy the references as they fly
by. Grab a bag of popcorn and have a blast.
