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.
Showing posts with label post-apocalypse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label post-apocalypse. Show all posts
At 50 minutes, this post-apocalypse
comedy thriller is too long to be considered a short, yet too short to be
considered a feature. I appreciate that the director made it just as long as it
is supposed to be, without much filler, or a truncated story. Plus, it helps
with the micro-budget, which I respect. It is also a perfect length for festivals.
In a similar theme to “The
Last of Us” television series, this story is about the survivors of a fungal
infection that transforms the affected into zombie-like people, who seem to
want to spread the disease more than eat living flesh.
Filmed mostly in black and
white, we meet artist/videographer Diane Keaton (Alexandra Slade; any relation
to Noddy Holder? Sorry…), who survived a massacre in a secured basement. She
manages to get to another floor and meets gruff General Gore (Nick Young). He
makes no bones that he is a hardass, giving similar, yet militarily edged vibes
of the John Goodman character in 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016).
I am not sure if the virus
was caused by a war, or the war was caused by the virus, but there seems to be
very few survivors, either by the infection or by gunshot (hence the basement carnage).
The black and white gives
this a noir feel, and the lighting is impeccable; it could be now, it could be
a 1940s film, though the assault rifles are a giveaway. The constrained spaces
of the rooms, the steam pipes, etc., give it an eerie, almost claustrophobic
feel, especially Gore’s habitat (okay, room). They slowly make their way
through the underground complex, not quite sure where they are going or how to
get out. Or if there is anything worth getting out for.
Diane (whom Gore calls String
Bean), is a Lefty, and cigar-chompin’ Gore definitely on the militaristic war
mongering Right, yet they occasionally find common ground. His comments, such as
his hostility towards LGBTQ in his comments, betrays that leaning. But through
it all, he’s more accepting of everything, where she is, well, let us say grumpy,
having trouble accepting a situation she does not appear to remember getting
into. Gore seems to keep her around not just for the only company, but for
procreation to get the world restarted, with him as its leader, like it or not.
Meanwhile, Diane misses
her girlfriend, Eva (Kathryn Schott), who we see (in color; there are a couple
of other color sections) in archival footage shot by Diane in the prologue.
As with Alice down the
rabbit hole, Diane and Gore transverse the space running into unusual
characters, such as a hairy and philosophizing “rat” man, Berenger (Michael C.
Burgess), among other surprises. Is this real, or is it part of hallucinations
due to a supposed vaccine they take?
While esoteric at times,
this short feature (see what I did there?) never talks down to its audience,
but at the same time keeps the attention throughout. A really well-made film.
Available on Troma Now!,
TubiTV, Plex, Prime Video, Apple TV and Xumo, among many others.
Doomsday Stories Directed
by Derek Braasch, Marcelo Fabani, Phil Herman, James Panetta, Joel D. Wynkoop
Cheevies Film Productions; Herman Productions;
IkuZo! Studios; Lonewolf Studios Uruguay; Wynkoop Productions
120 minutes; 2023 www.facebook.com/search/top?q=doomsday%20stories
It has been a while since
I reviewed an anthology film. Personally, I like them as a concept, generally. It
is like reading short stories instead of a novel. And as I have posited before,
anthologies tend to fall into three different categories: the first is a series
of short films cobbled together, such as The ABCs of Death (2012); the
second is a few stories strung together to tell a larger story like Bad Candy(2021); and the third is the one where the stories are all
mixed up together, going back and forth with either overlapping characters, or
jump around. What tends to be the most common aspect that is usually present is
the wraparound story, which introduces either the premise at beginning and end,
or each “chapter.”
The second point I have
also noted before, is that COVID was both a curse and a blessing, in a way. The
former is obvious, but the latter has to do mainly with the arts: people stuck
at home have written or created fine art more, and filmmakers either were
forced to make limited, smaller films with few cast and crew, such as Prince of the Crimson Void(2022), or as a subject matter, for it creating the
apocalypse, e.g., Ravage Nation(2022).
For this film, the stories
are 30 years after the apocalypse. As the intro voice-over states, the end
starts with COVID in 2019, which developed into the “Meanies” virus in 2025,
which wipes out all but 8,000 people. Our tales begin in 2055. So, what we are
looking at, is the second form of anthology listed above. The narration is handled
by Michael Moutsatsos, who directed Ravage Nation mentioned above.
Phil Herman
For the wraparound, a lone
man, Zorack (Phil Herman, curator of these tales and director of the
wraparounds) comes across a notebook with some stories in it. He roams the
countryside (which looks like it could be either the Jersey Shore or the Pine
Barrens) and narrates out loud to himself (hell, I do that too). When his
memories – which we see in stark and vague backsplashes – get too much for the
lonely guy, he reads the stories in the marble-themed scratcher. What we get to
see is the realization of those tales. Whether these stories are supposed to be
the writer’s fiction or memories is unclear, and unimportant, but worth noting.
The first of these, “A
Broken Promise” (directed by Derek Braasch) is a about a man and his dog (no,
not Don Johnson). Rick (Justin Bower) wanders around a lot for food and water,
showing kindness to some and killing others by defending himself, while mooning
for his late wife, Emma (Lillian Lamour) and infant daughter, seen in
flashbacks. Most of the story is of him roaming through some rusty truck
graveyards (coolest thing about this one). The story is way longer than it
needs be, but it does tug the emotional heartstrings as well as having some
nice practical SFX.
Justin Bower, Lucy
In “Bomb Threats” (directed
by James Panetta), annoying phone-addicted Katrina (Debbie D, aka Debbie Dee, who
also wrote this section, and had appeared in a few Bill Zebub films) is getting
ready for a nice vacation the next day, when the titular bombs start a-flyin’
and she’s rightfully a-scared. The Meanie virus is just starting to take hold,
so she coerces a business associate, Alvin (Jim Ewald), to let her stay
overnight in his bomb shelter (that looks like a garage). I will not say how,
but things do not quite work out as planned. I will note that one of the scenes
reminds me of a classic image from a particular Hershell Gordon Lewis film in
the early 1960s.
Filling in for the Zorack
stories are some of his own, that show up occasionally with Herman in a bad
blond wig and baseball cap whiningly phoning various people he knows who are in
the “turning point” of the Meanie virus, such as much tattooed Kate (Constance
Payne), cute Kelly (Alba O’Neill), and his pal, Frank (Carl J. Grasso) who has
a thick Long Island accent. I am guessing these segments were filmed during the
actual COVID pandemic, because each person’s story is shot individually.
Alba O'Neill
“Forever Man” (directed by
Marcelo Fabani) uses some decent animation and SFX (along with some cheesy
ones). The main character who does not speak is Frank 21 (Chandra Mouli Nandy),
though we hear his inner narration. The area he lives in, post-Meanies, where
in this case turns people into zombies rather than maniacs, demands its
denizens to sell their organs. In doing this, Frank 21 becomes a cyborg killing
machine. I think. To be honest, this segment tried too hard to be artsy in both
visuals and dialogue, and it becomes befuddling.
With an interesting
concept, “Joel D. Wynkoop’s 187 Times” (directed by Joel D. Wynkoop), James
Kirk (Wynkoop) had a wife, Diana (M. Catherine Wynkoop), that was killed, and
he spends the titular number of times going back in time from the year 2050 to
try and save her. But, of course, he keeps screwing up the timeline. He is
aided by an Alexa kind of electronic voice called Aistda (the voice of M.
Catherine). In this tale, it also explains how the whole Meanies virus got
started. There appears to be snippets from other films, probably made by
Wynkoop over the years, which is a nice choice. In one sequence, he goes back
to 1977, and I was thinking, dude, while you have the chance, go see the Ramones!
But I guess his priorities are different than mine…
A question I have is as
follows: It has been a while since the apocalypse, so water and food is understandably
scarce. So why are so many still overweight, and especially, why are they clean
in both body (including hair) and clothes? You would think washing…anything
would be an issue. For example, someone has a non-stained KISS shirt that looks
right off the rack, though the Motörhead one appears lived in a bit. While I am at it,
why are people scrounging for canned good?. Does no one grow anything? I have a
garden and that does pretty well for us most of the year. There is also no leaves
or weeds on what looks like freshly mowed lawns, and parked cars are shiny and
clean. And there is still electricity and television? Just sayin’, not
complaining. These tend to be true across many post-apoc films. There is a lot
of inconsistencies through the stories, but then again, if I read this right,
they are just stories written in a notebook, so that would explain the
differences from tale to tale.
Put together by the same
people who did the Horrortales.666 anthology franchise, this goes on
longer than it needs be (especially “Broken Promise”), but this is true indie
filmmaking with a budget of miniscule proportion. They work both as individual tales
and as a collective, which is nice. If you get a kick out of the duct tape
level of cinema, as I do, you might find this interesting. Not for anyone who
likes cohesive storylines or an artistic flair, but this is solid meat and
taters.
This movie is available
for $20, which includes postage. It can be acquired through contacting Phil Herman
or Joel D Wynkoop on Facebook Messenger. Add it to your post-apoc pile.
Post-apocalyptic dystopian future features are
becoming more and more popular, though usually in the sci-fi (the danger of
technology) or zombie universes. This film, shot in Bulgaria with local actors
(with one cameo exception, noted below) spoken mostly in English and some
Bulgarian (I believe) with subtitles, takes a different, action-based approach.
It was directed by Valen Milev, who more famously gave us Wrong Turn 6: Last
Resort (2014).
The basic premise has been told numerous times before,
such as Captain America: the army intends to create a “super-soldier,”
but things go awry. In this case, which takes place post-World War III, the
soldiers are melded with pigs (say what?), who essentially take over the world
until there are a few non-swine humans left, and the pig-soldiers are out to
eradicate them through ingestion. Sort of like a pork-ified Terminator.
Doroteya Toleva, Timur Turisbekov
When our story begins 25 years later, our hero is Rob
Justice (Timur Turisbekov) and his scarred assistant/lover Nina (Yana
Marinova), who we see living in a shell of a city, battling some of the “Muzzles.”
Y’see, them Muzzles are now the top of the food chain, with their favorite
meals being of the human kind. Humanity has been caged like we do with cows
and, well, the other white meat.
During the exposition by Rob to fill in the viewer
what has happened, we briefly meet his father in a cameo by the great Danny
Trejo (who still looks amazingly fit and gnarly for his mid-‘70s).
Meanwhile, those who are still out in the wild (as
well as those captured) are physically filthy and dirt smeared. Well, so are
the pigs, but in the real world we’re used to that, as pigs lay around in mud
(to keep cool; they have no sweat glands, which makes one wonder about the expression,
“sweating like a pig,” but I digress…). Oh, and let us not forget that there is
a lot of pig shitting, the smell of which is apparently how they identify
each other. Just be glad this isn’t in John Waters-style Smell-O-Rama.
Semir Alkadi
Even among the humans, there are traitors who are
willing to sell out their fellow survivors to the muzzles, led in part by one
of the more ridiculous characters, assassin Raphael (Semir Alkadi), who always
has wind blowing through his long hair no matter where he is (and even if it
affects no one else), usually wearing next to nuthin’. Sure, there’s going to be
some sort of showdown between Rob and Raphael at some oink… I mean point.
Rob is part of the resistance and is sent to New York
to kill “the mother,” who keeps producing all these pig mutants. Ok, let’s step
aside for a sec here. This may all sound far-fetched, but hooo boy, this
film is incredibly out there. Accents are thick, one muzzle has a face like a sphincter
with balls under his chin that basically looks like a butt from the back whose
name is, I kid you not, Benedict Asshole (Alexander Ralfietta), some time
travel, and a whole lot of narrative inconsistencies. Camera glares abound and
blood gets splattered on the lens. Then there is Rob’s sister and lover, a freedom
fighter, Rakska (Doroteya Toleva), who has a mustache like her father (Trejo). I’m
not sure if this is meant to be a dark comedy or not, but the shear level of
insanity definitely had me laughing – in a good way.
Benedict Asshole
There is a lot of sex and nudity (full both male and
female), and even some gay overtones here and there, though none of it is
really explained. That’s the thing about this film, it is both engrossing, and
yet has no problem making you scratch your head and say, “What the hell did I
just see?” While we mostly view things through Rob’s experience, he’s kind of a
Billy Pilgrim who has become unstuck in time, but nothing seems to be what it
appears to be, and don’t look for answers. I guess the viewer has to accept it
for what it is. This is also true of the accented dialog, which consists of
lines like, “Bullets are always just! They are birds of justice, made of lead.
If they don’t belong to you, they’ll never hurt you.” Saywhaaaaat?
CGI is used often and wonky at best, which in this
case makes it humorous. Some of the multitude of people we see in a Muggle abattoir
of human flesh are real, and some obviously made of rubber: light in weight and
springy for tossing, but they look really good. Nearly the whole film is shot
with a sepia type of lens, taking out bright colors and giving everything a
brownish – again, dirty – look to it.
Did I enjoy the experience? Would I recommend it? Weeeeeeell,
it’s not that easy. This film is definitely a mind-fuck, and yet there is something
appealing about it in it’s inner insanity. I can accept the basic backbone to
the story abut the rise of the pig soldiers, as I have read Orwell’s Animal
Farm, which perhaps influenced the plot, but there are so many oddities
that come and smack you on the face throughout that I would think one would
need to be of a certain mindset to enjoy it. I will admit I laughed quite a bit
at the inanity of certain scenes, and more because of it than not, it
kept my attention. If I was a stoner – and it almost seems like it was geared
in that direction – I don’t know what I’d make of it.
I would recommend it, but cautiously. It’s entertaining
as hell, but equally confusing. If you’re in for a joy ride and don’t care
about “sense,” yeah, you might get a kick out of it. Honestly, I did.
Perhaps it’s a
post-Covid 19 world, or maybe even a zombie apocalypse. Whatever brought our
two characters into proximity to each other in the middle of nowhere, we are
there with them.
Humorously,
the joke is the “Black guy” is the first to get killed in genre films, yet here
we have a two-person story, both of whom are African-American. This is the
first feature I can remember other than Sleuth (1972) to consist of only
a duo of actors.
Darnel Powell and Joseph Price
Injured,
Joseph “JD” Dauber (Darnel Powell) stumbles upon the humble abode of elder
Henry LaMoe (Joseph Price) in the middle of some mighty hills (filmed in
California). Like 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), the homeowner is
suspicious of the newcomer, and promptly locks him in chains less than 5
minutes into the film, so hopefully I am not giving a spoiler to anyone. The
irony of a Black man chaining up another Black man is something that can be discussed
at length, obviously, but I am not going to go into that right now. Needless to
say, this is more of a psychological drama than an action-packed shoot-‘em-up.
Unlike John
Goodman’s modern and spacious underground lair, Henry’s home is more of a wooden
shack, with no running water (and though unseen, I am assuming an outhouse). It’s
a backwater hovel that is probably way more realistic to the situation than the
big budget Goodman sci-fi film.
The story
takes place with enough years after “the outbreak” (sounding scarily familiar
to our modern times) that JD, I’m thinking in his mid-20s, pretty much grew up
in the post-apocalypse to the point of where it has become somewhat the new
normal for him. Old school Henry is not as sure of his footing in this
abandoned world of understandable paranoia and clings to the cabin and his
past. Everyone he has cared about is gone, and he faces the world alone. That’s
when JD comes into the picture.
Naturally,
there is suspicion at first that slowly builds into a necessary friendship between
the two, though trust is harder to come across in this world of short supplies
and roving gangs. As much as the game of chess is a central motif, including
the title, Henry and JD try to figure each other out while keeping their own “king”
on guard against being hurt, or worse. For them, it’s a game of literal survival.
This is an odd
choice to be reviewed on this blog, because despite its internal time period, technically
the film is not what one would normally place in a horror or thriller genre. It’s
more a psychological piece of two strangers who are trying to survive their
surroundings as things change from what has become the routine. JD’s world
changes more often as he is roaming, but for Henry, it is much harsher, like
the lick of a cat: it’s something you may crave, but the roughness does not
always make it easier.
Both Powell
and Price fit their roles well, with JD being curious and almost casual about
what is happening around him (sort of a personification of the look Willem Defoe
gives Amy Madigan when she bursts into his room with a gun in 1984’s Streets
of Fire). Henry is more intense and tightly wound, having spent years on
his own with no one to share his thoughts. His humanity is on the line, and JD willingly
or involuntarily has the ability to shine some reflection on that area. Or,
perhaps, he has some other nefarious aims that come to light when Henry finds
out just how JD survives.
This is a
first full-length feature film for director Marvin Choi, who also wrote and
edited it. Man, if this is his first, I can only imagine where he can go, say, by
10 years from now. Again, if you are expecting a “The Walking Dead,” change the
channel. Sure, there is some serious tension here, but if what you seek is an
intelligent dance between two lost souls who are seeking out any hint of
humanity left in the world, I strongly recommend this release.
I
saw the first two films that Domiziano Cristopharo directed, House of Flesh Mannequins (2009) and The Museum of Wonders (2010). He’s
released at least 20 since then, so I was curious. His style is very artistic
and precise, so after nearly a decade, I’m glad to have the opportunity to see what this Italy-based
artiste was working on – even if this film is five years old, though now it’s getting
a new Blu-ray release.
As
the opening title card tells us (and I am abbreviating a lot), Desomorphine, a real opioid drug that originated in the US in the early 1930s and is now made
and used recreationally in Russia, Produced in this way, it’s made of corrosive
materials mixed with Codeine from over the counter products, and is nicknamed “krokodil”
due to the blistering skin around injection sites.
At a
snail’s pace, we meet Him (Brock Madson). He’s a mess on so many levels, spiritually
and physically. His clothes (when he’s wearing them) are filthy, including dark
stains on the bottom of his untidy whiteys, there is what looks like mold
everywhere, he is unwashed and unkempt, and is missing his two front teef.
We
watch much of what happens to him, as he repeatedly gives himself shots from
the same needle, goes through withdrawals until the next injection, and
segments of overseeing him fitfully sleeping. The viewer gets the feeling of claustrophobia
as he moves around his small room; he is practically the personification of the
description of the Divinyls song, “Elsie.”
While
filmed in Italy, this takes place in Russia; however, the inner monologs we
hear are in English. Because of his drug addled mental state, we get to share
what he sees, be it a giant Bunny Man (Viktor Karam) or a bandage swathed Monster
(Valerio Cassa), who are the only other characters in the film, albeit in brief
snatches.
The
only dialog we hear other than grunts and groans is Him’s inner thoughts, which
are usually a mixture of stories of his life (e.g., why a stuffed crocodile is
important to him), a description of his dream visions, or philosophizing about
his hallucinations. One example is when he sees
a mannequin face inside a hole in the wall, part of his existentialist treatise as he smiles is,
“God is watching me inside the eye; the whole universe is inside the eye. Even
I am inside the eye.”
Either
because of the corrosive effect of the krokodil drug, or perhaps what is going
on inside his mind (or both), his body is full of gross scabs and abscesses
that we see in detail. Him is convinced he lives in a post-apocalyptic world,
and perhaps he is, which would explain the lack of people in part, but he never
ventures from his hovel. How much of it is in his mind and what reality is mostly
up to the viewer.
Despite
all the grossness of picking at the wearing down of the flesh, this is definitely
in the category of art film. Sure, you may not see it on IFC due to its visual
content, but philosophically and stylistically, it would actually be quite comfortable
there.
Most
of the time the color is drained out of the image we see, as it is missing from
Him’s life; it’s only when we see him roaming around in nature (again, nude),
do we see a natural hue of any time. The sharp contrast is alarming, and shows
the levels to which Him has sunken – again, both spiritually and physically.
This
is not exactly what one might call the
feel good movie of the year, but it is a poetic and disarming – and sometimes
visually stunning – vision of what I would imagine being desperately addicted
to something that harsh to the body (I’m pretty straight-edge).
Madson
co-produced the film, and he certainly gives a full emotional range, much of it
without dialogue. It’s a strong character study, and he certainly is up for
the task. This is good showcase for him, even considering all the visuals.
There
are some nice extras, as there tends to be especially on a Blu-ray. First up is
the 2:30 Alternate Music Ending, which shows the end of the film with, well,
different music. It’s more piano based, with almost religious solemnity. It’s
quite beautiful, and in my opinion, works as well as the film proper. The Deleted
Scenes lasts 8:50. A combination of unused footage, some with inner comments,
it’s nice and interesting, but having it out of the film makes sense, too. It
does, however, help you get a little more depth on Him’s character.
The 2:42
Photo Gallery is set to the soaring “incidental,” neo-classical music. It’s all
shots taken from production, such as make-up, fooling around the set, and
scenery beyond the shoot premise; much better than just still from the film.
Last is the Nuclear CGI Test, where we see different versions of a digital nuclear
explosion that lasts for 1:14. There are also a bunch of trailers from Unearthed
Films, nearly all of them reviewed on this blog at one point or another, such
as the American Guinea Pig series and
Atroz.
I’m
still trying to figure out, visually speaking, if the film went too far, or if
it didn’t go far enough. That’s part of what makes this such as interesting
piece, though patience is definitely needed as you follow Him on his path,
painful minute by painful hour.
Written, produced, directed and edited by Jason Figgis October Eleven Pictures / Pop Twist Entertainment / A Man in Green Tub
Productions 106 minutes, 2012 / 2013 www.mvdvisuals.com
In our mediated culture, we have
bared lots of cinematic diseases that cause the apocalypse of modern
civilization, but most of them tend to be followed by zombies. For this film,
it’s a different, possibly more realistic, and dreadfully dower future.
Set in Ireland, a new viral plague has
hit the world where adults are susceptible. They start by becoming irrational
and psychotic, or sometimes it’s like a form of violent Alzheimer’s. Soon,
organs shut down, and they die. The children are left over to fend for themselves
in this new humanity.
Fran (Emily Forster) and Evie (Catherine Wrigglesworth)
The main focus of the story, taking
place nine months later, is two siblings, and their journey. There’s the older
sister, Evie (Catherine Wrigglesworth), who is in her mid-late teens, and her
younger ‘tween sister, Fran (Emily Forster). After the death of their parents,
they take off on foot, keeping themselves company and reading from The Railway Children to try to obtain
some semblance of home / normality, such as it is.
Before long, they run into a bunch of
other teens, who do not treat them well; the viewer also gets to know them as
well. One of the more interesting aspects of the film is the flashbacks of many of
the major characters and the moments of their parents’ decay to keep us up on
their motivations in the present.
It’s a very smart story, reminding me
of a similar themed, bleak book I had finished reading recently(without implying
they copy each other, because they don’t) called PostApoc, by Canadian Liz Worth. The reason I bring it up is because
I believe that the topic is triggered by two factors: one is the absolute
insane rise to power of genetic mutations with companies like Monsanto messing
around with genes of plants and arguably animals, and also said zombie apocalypse
movies and television shows that may make one think about “what would happen in
the real world if…”
This film never shies away from the
experience, nor takes the easy road from beginning to end, showing a new world
order in a similar way that the British film Threads did in 1984 (ahead of its time, for sure), in the latter
case being the struggle in post-nuclear Sheffield. If you’re looking for humor,
you’ve come in the wrong direction.
For this film, there are hierarchies and
cliques of teens that would make Mean
Girls (2004) look like a support group, and even a collective of cannibal
kids trying to survive, posing both the philosophical and pragmatic question of
what does one do for food after all the packaged and canned foodstuff is gone in a post-farm-knowledgeable society?
Beautifully shot, mostly in what
appears to be abandoned homes, the color saturation is drained, giving it a
gray tone, and the flashbacks are even barer, with a sepia hue that keeps just
a bit of color left.
The acting is all top notch,
especially Forster as the volatile Fran. She’s had just enough of the
quibbling, struggling and unnecessary pissing contests. She just wants to go
back to the way things were, while riddled with nightmares about her parents. But
part of her anger is knowing that is not possible.
Is this film right for you? Well, it
does have its problems and questions, as well. For example, what I kept
wondering through the whole film is: a lot of these characters
appear to be in their late teens, or possibly early 20s. Does that mean the plague
has passed, or at some point will all these people die when they reach a
certain, unspecified age? It’s not explained, but I’m guessing that is in part because
none of the characters know.
The problem for me is that there is
just too much damn repetitive talking that doesn’t progress the story, which
takes the power out of the events. If the dialog was tightened up, this could
have been a good 80 minute film, but they just keep on. For example, when the
sisters walk into the headquarters of the mean teen group, the conversation
that goes around carries on much longer than necessary.
The two extras are the trailer and a
short about the making of the music video connected to the film which leads to
said video. By the way, here’s a little secret you may not realize: if there is
no dialog in a trailer, odds are they’re trying to hide that it’s not in
American English; it’s a trick going back to the 1960s, at least. I’m not
saying it’s a bad thing, it’s just a thing. Oh, and the company that made this
is October Eleven Pictures, which is the date when Oliver Cromwell’s New Model
Army killed 3,500 in the Irish town of Wexford in 1649.
This is a powerful film, and it the
lack of having a direction in which to live by for the characters actually feels
accurate in the situation. It’s definitely a view of a darker dawn, and if you’re
up for that, this could be your – er – meat.
I
guess it’s kind of obvious that there are going to be references to the Wizard of Oz, even if you’re dealing
with a post-apocalyptic zombie flick. To give you just three quick examples
from the first 15 minutes and then I’ll leave it alone, promise:
1.It
begins in B&W
2.One
of the main character’s name is Emma, or for short, Em (i.e., “Auntie Em!”)
3.A
tornado.
There,
I got that out of my system, so let’s move on, shall we?
Emma I (Alexandria Lightford) and her dad Glenn (Aaron Guerrero)
We
are introduced into a dystopic Kansas that is a mixture of The Walking Dead and The Road
Warrior (1981). The zombie catastrophe has come and a significant time has passed,
enough for everything to “normalize.” Known simply as “Rottens” for obvious
reasons, everyone is pretty calm about them, and are more concerned about how
to survive food shortages, supplies, and apparently a lack of suitable – er –
mates, i.e., someone to continue the human race. It’s a very Republican way of
thinking in my mind: We barely have
enough food for ourselves, so to hell with birth control, let’s procreate!
An interesting
concept presented by Carter is that the viewer doesn’t get to see the Rottens,
but rather we get to occasionally see through their eyes, in black and white.
As
the film weans on, so does the desperation of the characters. One could see
this as a kind of Christian parable, being the protagonists are solid believers
in the big JC, while the bad guys follow the path of the unrighteous. Now I
know this is was filmed before the rise of groups such as those in Africa or
the Middle East, but there is a similarity between the gang mentalities of outlaw
macho men seeing women as slaves to sell. This is obviously a coincidence on
the film’s side, but on the other hand, it can also be seen as somewhat
prescient to what has occurred since its release, sad to say.
Antagonist, guitarist and Noddy Holder|look-alike Michael Camp
Another
“Biblical” indicator, knowingly or unconsciously by the writers, is that it is
the women who first become infected as Rottens that starts the apocalypse, then
turning on the men, is sort of the traditional Eve and Adam allegory.
The
film is actually a five-part Web series that has been collected into a single
set, which flows pretty evenly, coming across as chapters (indicated by title
cards). Because it was filmed over time, part by part, that means some actors
will be in some chapters, but not others. Hell, even the main character, Emma,
does a Darrin (or Becky, if you will), in the first half played by Alexandria
Lightford and Erin Miracle in the second. Actually, it felt a bit seamless,
though in retrospect, definitely different in the cheekbones. Still, it works,
and that’s what matters.
The two Emmas: Erin Miracle and Alexandria Lightford
The ponytailed,
wild-eye villain is played by musician Michael Camp, whose last name in this
case is accurate. Let me be clear, much of the acting in this film is either
over the top or wooden, but I really insist that it should not get in the way
of either watching it or affect the quality of the viewing. In fact, it’s part
of the fun in this case.
For
example, the only other female in the cast (other than part of the background)
is Juliette Danielle, who plays Emma’s mom in a flashback. She is known,
especially in the Canadian Prairies, as the lead in what is commonly referred
to as the worst film made in the 21 Century, The Room (2003), which has an enormous cult following (e.g., yearly
screening get sold out in Saskatchewan). Juliette comes across fine here; in
fact, she is one of the better actors of the troupe. My point is, it’s not just
the acting, or the writing, or the cinematography, it’s the whole enchilada,
and in this case, it’s worth the view.
I
think it’s a smart idea to (mostly) not show the Rottens. It’s sort of like in
General Semantics when they don’t use the “to be” verb. The crew needs to find
different ways around the story that enhance it by demanding difference, which
makes the film more of a psychological battle rather than just aim-and-shoot
gore. Lots of gun (and pitchfork) usage, as well as other action, but taken
from a bit of a different perspective. It also saves on the make-up budget, as
well, I assume. The addition of some comic moments also moves things along.
Movies
are a mindset. The biggest mistake mainstream viewers make is to approach a
micro-budget indie with the same standards as a multi-million dollar
blockbuster. That’s like going to see Clerks
(1994) and expecting it to be like Ocean’s
Eleven (2001), to pick another genre; it’s just not realistic, and gets in
the way.
Dead Kansas may
be just over an hour, but it goes quickly and mostly enjoyably.
