Reviews: The Necro Files; Necro Files 3000

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

The Necro Files
Directed by Matt Jaissle
Visual Vengeance; Threat Theatre International Inc.; Wild Eye Releasing; MVD Entertainment
72 minutes, 1997 / 2022
www.facebook.com/thenecrofiles/
www.wildeyereleasing.com
www.MVDEntertainment.com/
This film is a classic in the home movie subgenre. Essentially, what that means it that it was shot on video. Visual Vengeance is one of the few companies that are rereleasing the lowest quality looking films imaginable, which is, well, fantastic. The reason? Because of the imagination behind it. The execution? Well… Note that this film has been cleaned up significantly, and the quality of the visuals are quite good, unlike most of the VV fare which is seen in their trailers.

Named after “The X Files,” you gotta love a film that starts with the obligatory shower scene with full frontal nudity (Theresa Bestul). Serial killer and rapist Logan (Isaac Cooper) is not far behind, chased by a couple of police detectives:  the ultra-violent after a bomp on the noggin Martin Manners (Steve Sheppard) and his partner, the mustachioed Orville Sloane (Gary Browning), that latter of whom has a personal stake in the whole affair as his sister was a previous victim.

Steve Sheppard and Gary Browning

Long story short, dead killer, who is raised from his “slumber” by a group of Satan worshipers by killing the baby of the rapist’s victim (yes, an obvious doll). Be careful what you wish for because what arises is a flesh eating and extremely violent zombie.

Two of the surviving Satanists (who were in the group to hopefully get laid), the not-too-smart Barney (Jason McGee), who wears a Smashing Pumpkins Mission to Mars tee which is apparently quite rare these days and selling in the hundreds of dollars, and Jack (Christian Curmudgeon; like others in the cast, such as Ann R. Key and Drew Burymore, I am going to go out on a limb and say that’s not his real name), who wears plaid flannel (remember, this is filmed in Olympia, WA, in the ‘90s), try to resurrect a demon that will take care of the zombie, but instead raise the baby (again, it’s a doll) that flies around, also killing people while it searches for its zombie daddy. You read that right. I am only expressing this here because that is part of what makes this film so infamous among the subgenre. Well, that and the extreme level of gore.

I will be honest, and posit that I do not like scenes of rape, even if it is with a zombie and a 12” prosthetic dong/dildo). Never did. If you will pardon this soapbox paragraph, I once got into conversation with Frank Farel, the producer of Street Trash (1987) at a private pre-release showing of the film about how I objected to the rape scene in that film, and that it was gratuitous. I enjoyed the rest of the film, but that part just seemed so unnecessary and sexist. Then again, it was the 1980s, and envelopes were purposely pushed. But I stand by my conviction.

Isaac Cooper

The gore level in this film is over the top, and of course, that’s a good thing in this case. Piles of offal more than blood fill the screen often. For a gorehound, it is a pleasure, especially since it looks like they got it from a slaughterhouse; and yet, it is so extreme, it is almost cartoonish at the same time. Good times.

The acting is horrendously wooden, but I will chime the same tune I have been stating since the beginning of this review, and that is, it is what is expected in this subgenre. If you are looking for, say, Halloween (1978, 2007) quality, you are looking in the wrong place and will not be satisfied. If, however, you are like me, and marvel at how something this low budget and independent managed to do as much as they did with the means they have, this film is actually better than most.

Part of the relative success of the release, in my opinion, is the camerawork and editing by the director, Matt Jaissle, who works with the material (cameras, etc.) at his disposal, and has made this to look, well (and I mean this as a compliment), better than it should. Sure, the story itself (by first-time screenwriter Todd Tjersland, who also plays the head of the Satanic cult) is kinda ridiculous; the flying baby is priceless.

Speaking of fake names, it comes to the crew as well, such as “The X Files” related Dana Duchovny and David Fox, but the one that caught my eye was Gilles de Rias (if you are into serial killers, he’s worth looking up on Wikipedia; I have known about him for decades).

The music is often a varying hum, which actually works well for the film. There is some humor woven into the story (especially around the flying baby and the sounds it makes), though I would not necessarily call this a comedy.

Having heard of this film for years, I was not sure exactly what to expect from this, but I was not disappointed. In fact, it was much better than I was expecting, and again, I give that credit to the director who took a really silly story and, on some level, made it all work.

There is a whopping number of extras on the region-free Blu-ray that took me quite the time to get through. They include (but not all) a new, full-length audio commentary with the director, Matt Jaissle, where he has lots of good stories about the filming, and what’s going on in a particular scene you may not have noticed. A second full-length audio commentary is with Matt Desiderio of the VHS distribution label and podcast, “Horror Boobs,” and Billy Burgess of the Druid Underground Film Festival. They are knowledgeable about the film, and yet are not clinical, as I find some of the commentaries for, say, Fulci films. They seem to be there to have a good time and share that. It’s also amusing how they attach things that aren’t related to “show off” a bit (I would do the same), such as calling the opening shower scene a nod to Psycho (1960), and the Cassio soundtrack reminiscent of Blood Feast (1963). They are there to do a job, but because they are having so much fun doing it, that is transferred to the listener.

Next up is a brand-new video, “A Chat with Director Matt Jaissle” (7 min), as he roams around a cemetery with a handheld camera (with no stedi-cam) as he discusses other films he’s made, his influences, and getting The Necro Files started. It’s short and sweet. This is followed by a couple of Matt Jaissle’s Super 8 Short Films from when he was a teenager: “The Paroxysm Plague”, a zombie flick, and “The Adventures of the Walla Monster” (which includes a homage to Leatherface, Michael, and Jason). They are as amateurish as you can get, but that’s part of what makes it so much fun. A third 8mm short, “The Corpse” (1987; 9 min.) is a bit better realized along storyline and execution.

The Chilean Talk Show Segment (4 min.) is okay, except I do not speak Spanish. However, I am impressed they showed some of the graphic details (including dildos) both sexual and violent, while the group of hosts laugh it off. I wish this was captioned. More importantly is the documentary, “Dong of the Dead: The Making of The Necro Files” (20 min.). This is essentially a one-shot of Jaissle (with some brief clips) where he once again talks about the beginning of the film, the shooting, and especially the reaction afterwards (including a Chris Farley story!). It is engaging. Then there are also some Visual Vengeance trailers, including two original ones for the main film.

Included is a bonus Movie, the sequel Necro Files 3000 (2017) and its trailer, the film of which is reviewed below.

Some of the physical extras include a Limited Edition Slipcover for the first pressing, a retro VHS sticker set, the Necro Files Official Condom (yes, you read that correctly), a Reversible Sleeve featuring the original VHS art, a Collectible Mini Poster, and a 2-Sided Insert.

IMDB listing HERE  The trailer is at the bottom of the reviews.

 

Necro Files 3000
Directed by Matt Jaissle
Superpuppetanimation; VidEvil Video Company; Carilliam Pictures; Gravehill Production
62 minutes, 2017 / 2022
www.facebook.com/necrofiles3000/
This is actually the second sequel for the film, the first of which was The Necro Files 2 (2003), which Jaissle only had a limited contribution. It took 20 years for this second and official sequel to be released.

In the beginning… is the prologue. It shows a clip of the Satanists in the first film, raising up Logan, but in black and white. Instead of Isaac Cooper, we get a rapacious and cannibalistic… skeleton marionette. Yes, you read that right. In fact, from this point on, which is in color, all the characters are either puppets or dolls; the women victims are Barbie-esque, reminding me of Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987), which also used dolls. The obvious question is, of course, how does a skeleton (never mind a puppet) rape with no foot-long schlong as did the original Logan, never mind a plastic one?

Professor Blackthorne and Phineas Hogweather

We are then introduced to the protagonists of the film, Professor Blackthorne, an expert in the occults whose beard and eyebrows are drawn on with a marker, and Logan is brought to his attention by an investigative journalist, Phineas Hogweather (the latter is played by an elfin-eared “yokel” puppet; is that a commentary on modern journalism? Neil Postman would be proud).

Odd thing is, the gore level is high, and actually looks decent next to the plastic “victims” which are torn asunder. Not only that, but his plan is to resurrect “a death god to roam the planet,” exclaims the professor. They chase skeleton Logan to different parts of the globe, such as the Amazon Forest. Apparently, Logan travels to these destinations via supernatural portals. Then again, I’m watching a film about puppets. There are humans in the film, usually in the background or B-roll, shot in Ann Arbor, MI, such as trick or treaters, or crowd shots. Being shot around Halloween makes some nice costumes.

Victim and skeletal Logan

While the film tries to be funny, it kinda doesn’t achieve it much, but is still fascinating to me to watch how far they’ll go. For example, in a somewhat racist scene in the Amazon, there is an almost direct reference to a particular Bugs Bunny cartoon where Bugs meets an Aboriginal tribesman from Australia (“WhadIsay?” was Bugs’ response, rather than the professors, “Oh, shit”).

And what happens when the prof and Phineas hack into the Pentagon’s deadly Godzilla-sized Killbot 9000 (referencing Alex Jones conspiracies, of all people). This leads to the irony of the story, that P&P are responsible for killing a multitude of more people than Logan. While all that is happening, can you find Waldo? (I did.)

Stick around for the blooper reel in the credits. Okay, so much of the film is just ridiculous, but I certainly enjoyed particular aspects of it, like the bravery of the crew creating this in the first place, and for $1000. Also, there are a lot of cool references that pop up here and there (like the Waldo thing). Do I recommend it? For the right frame of mind, certainly. If you have a low threshold of insanity, well…

IMDB listing HERE  

Review: The Puppet Monster Massacre

Text © Richard Gary / FFanzeen, 2011
Images from the Internet



The Puppet Monster Massacre
Written, puppeteerd, edited, executive produced, and directed by Dustin Mills
MVD Visual, 2010/2011
70 minutes, USD $14.95
MVDvisual.com

There is a sub-sub-genre of puppet-charactered horror and exploitation films that goes back a few years. Some titles include Mad Monster Party (okay, that one was rated G), Peter Jackson’s early Meet the Feebles, parts of Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated (reviewed in an earlier blog), the all-out hardcore Let My Puppets Come, and now this new splatterfest. These are hardly Puppetoons you would show along with Frosty the Snowman to the kiddies.

With tongue in cheek (and hand in felt) writ large, Dustin Mills does an homage to the early plethora of cheesy video-era horror flicks; this one takes place in 1985. Some of the puppets, which look similar in style to the Henson variety, were created by Dustin’s mother, with varied and imaginative looks. It’s not just the gore (of which there is plenty, some of it CGI splatter), the nudity or the sex, it’s the writing that that truly makes this something worth seeking out...other than the novelty of an all puppet exploitation film, of course.

The central theme is that the evil scientist Dr. Wolfgang Wagner (voiced by Steve Rimpieri) and his sidekick penguin, Mr. Squiggums (aka, the comic relief), has built himself a monster parasite that he plans to feed through inviting some town teens to come stay at his house under the premise that if they spend the night, they get… one million dollars.

The first teen (and main character) is Charlie (Ethan Holey), who is afraid of his own shadow, especially compared to his apparently loony World War II hero grandpa (supposedly, grandpa kicked Adolph in his Hitlers…actually – and I doubt this would make Final Jeopardy – the German leader actually only had one testicle, FYI); shame Grandpa (Bart Flynn) couldn’t have been in the movie more as he is so much fun (the crusty and vulgar old man film stereotype that Alan Arkin has embodied so well), though he is actually in the film just the right amount for the story. However, Charlie wants to restore the family honor by reopening the family dollar store (what, you’re looking for sense in a horror puppet movie? What is wrong with you?).

Also invited is Gwen (Jessica Daniels), the hoodie-wearing girl Charlie has been in love with since kindergarten and is now his best/only friend, but is afraid to ask out. We all know where that relationship is heading (some cliché’s remain true), if you’ve ever seen any of a thousand Sixteen Candles kinds of flicks. She comes across smarter, braver and more logical than him, but remains unassuming.

Third is Raimi (an obvious tribute, voiced by Mills), an Elmo-colored film geek/freak who talks in quotes and references. He is buck-toothed, has what I’m assuming are pimples (though they could be blotches; they move from one side of his face to another in different scenes), and has a Wolowitz kind of relationship with his mother (also unseen here). Actually, his oversexed, under-experienced annoying nature is also similar to the Big Bang Theory character, but is hardly a rip-off.

The fourth invitee is a bald tough guy named Iggy (of course) with a too-thick Cockney accent and lots of piercings, who is obviously monster fodder (ah, but will he have a comeuppance? Or is that a comeupuppetance?). Iggy (also Bart Flynn) brings his uninvited gothic, mohawked girlfriend, Mona (portrayed by Mills’ real-life girlfriend, Erica Kisseberth; also the voice of Raimi’s mom), who supplies the “nudity” in a couple of occasions. She is tough as nails and has more than a larcenous streak to her.

The five show up at the Rocky Horror-inspired house, turrets and all, of course on a rainy Friday night. Plot-wise, what happens from then is highly clichéd, but there are moments of lunacy equivalent to the Bugs Bunny cartoon where a horse is walking in the middle of the air who states, as Bugs flies by in Superman style, “A rabbit? Up here?” There are bunny farts (actually there are a lot of farts from numerous characters) and, well, isn’t bunny farts enough? But there is more.

It’s all very amusing, and I can understand why this won the 2011 Motor City Nightmares Film Festival’s Best Animal Film award. In the end credits, Mills lists some who inspired him to make films, such as Guilliamo Del Toro (imagination), Kevin Smith (zippy dialog and lower-level humor situations; even in Smith’s best film, Dogma, there’s a shit demon, or “poopy-boy,” as Muse/Selma Hyack calls it), Robert Rodriguez (action pacing and editing; his Planet Terror is a joy to watch for that), the aforementioned Peter Jackson (certainly not for his Lord of the Rings work, but rather his also excellent early films), and Jim Henson (well, that’s kinda obvious, doncha think?). Bugs Bunny (hey, bunnies run through the film, so why not this review?) and/or Scooby Doo can be added in such scenes as when Raimi and the monster duck around each other in varied directions.

There are two commentaries, one by Mills alone, and one by him and assistant director Brandon Salkil. While Mills mentions that he feels the one both of them is better, in actuality, they are both excellent. In either/or, he details how the film cost $3500 (for copyrights, camera, computer, software, felt), and goes on to explain that “An average day of filming was two Jackasses [Mills and Salkil] in my living room with a green screen and bunch of puppets.” Two of the characters are portrayed by professional (i.e., as Mills explains, they’ve done it for money before) voice actors: Rimperi and Flynn; they emailed in their readings, and Mills has never actually met them at the time of the commentary).

Mills goes on to explain why he made the film, his plans for the future, scene by scene his finest and least favorite (a certain CGI shot) moments, and the experience as a whole. He does a better job than most in keeping in the moment on both tracks, which is appreciative as so many other commentaries are wastes of time (including by one of his inspirations, Kevin Smith). There are also two short examples of monster styles that were not used, the second not too bad.

You really have to be of a certain type to like this kind of film, and I’m fortunate that I am, because I had a lot of fun watching the whole she-bang, and listening to all of the two commentaries. Whether there is a sequel or not (there is a typical ‘80s-style hint of it at the end), I hope these guys keep going. Texas Puppet Massacre? Last Puppet on the Left? Night of the Puppet Dead? Puppetzilla (Mills mentions that he has a thing for giant monster films)? It! Puppet From Beyond Space? The Puppet of Gore? Incredibly Strange Puppets Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed Up Marionettes? Okay, I’ll stop now while you order this film…

This review was originally published HERE

Review: A Meowy Halloween

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2018

Images from the Internet

                                  

A Meowy Halloween

Directed and edited by Steve Rudzinski

Silver Spotlight Films

48 minutes, 2018

www.silverspolightfilms.moonfruit.com

https://www.facebook.com/SilverSpotlightFilms

                                                                                                            

Yeah, I know, this isn’t really the kind of film you’d expect me to be covering. Well, it’s an indie, it has a horror topic, and it’s directed by the creator of the likes of CarousHELL, Everyone Must Die, and Captain Z and the Terror of Leviathan (all of which, and more, have been reviewed on this blog). The fact that it’s geared towards children (kinda sorta) is a positive thing, as it helps bring in the next generation of fans to keep genre films going. Besides, this is also a sequel to last year’s also holiday-themed A Meowy Christmas.

Most of Rudzinki’s stories revolve around a mysterious force that comes from the unknown, or in the case of Captain Z, conjured up, but even then the force behind it is a supernatural entity that originates from occult worlds.

Our main cast of characters in this live action comedy (who we hear think) are a cat named Whiskers (played by Gizmos and voiced by Amie Wrenn), a pet rat who goes by Chuck (Kida, d. 2018; voiced by Aaron Fletchersmith with a cartoonish Noo Yawwk axc’nt), and a human who is a New York City Police Detective called Wally Griswold (played and voiced by Rudzinski). As you may devise from Rudzinski’s character’s name, this film is a non-stop pun mobile. Oh, and Griswold’s police partner is Rick (Ben Dietels, who directed and starred in last year’s horror comedy, Slaughter Drive, also reviewed on this blog).

There are two plotlines going on at the same time, which is never confusing. On the job, Griswold is staking out a house where he believes a witch, Lisa (Cerra Atkins), is doing something nefarious, as kids go in normal and come out monsters. He is obsessed with this. Oh, and Griswold is not very bright, but generally cheerful, which is explained in the film’s prologue.

Meanwhile, the household animals are trying to figure out if the house is haunted, and will go to wild measures and expenses to figure out the mystery. While Whiskers is not exactly anywhere near a rocket scientist (after all, she’s a cat), she certainly more computer savvy than your average kitty; for example, she uses Griswold’s credit card to order a copy of the Nekkomeownicon. But she is also a bit obsessed in her own right with a television show hosted by a guy (Bill Murphy, co-writer of the story) who has his own mumbled and rambling fixation on conspiracy theories (an obvious smirk at InfoWars).

This is a silly film, and is intended to be, as nods of self-reference and word play abound. It’s a kids film the way Bugs Bunny was a kid’s cartoon, with humor that will obviously go over the head of wee ones.

Short and sweet, it’s worthy of a gander if you’re after a hoot, or you have some 10-ish kids around (it may be scary for younger than that, though with what’s available online these days, who knows). It is being made available on Prime Video, free with subscription, or as low as 99 cents to rent. You can get a physical copy from the company website.

Bonus Review:

A Meowy Halloween

Directed and edited by Steve Rudzinski

Silver Spotlight Films

55 minutes, 2017

As I said, although this came out first, I saw it second, so please accommodate some of my comments in that direction.

Underachieving and over-emphatic Wally Griswold (Rudzinski) lives in a neighborhood that is being besieged by robbers during the holidays who like to open the Christmas presents and they pick and choose what to take. Meanwhile, one of the victims, Irene (Renee DiAlisandro) has asked Wally to watch over her family heirloom, a huuuuge ruby worth… a lot.

The two burglars, Barb (Aleen Isley) and Larry (Blake O’Donnell), get wind of this, and decide to make the Griswold household the last stop down the chimney, as it were, and get the jewel as they head out of the country. However, they don’t realize what they are up against with Wally’s pets: Chuck the rat (voiced by Aaron Fletchersmith) and the kitty Whiskers (voiced by Amie Wrenn), who has a fear of Extra-terrestrials taking over the world thanks to the InfoData show she watches, misunderstanding the term “illegal aliens” (again, she’s a cat)

Steve Rudzinski

Both films are full of references to other ones, such as part of this nod to Home Alone (1990), but rather than a bratty little kid setting up snares and traps, it’s a cat and a rat. And they’re practically as successful without actually putting the burglars’ lives in danger (seriously, a paint can on a string, Kevin?; you’re lucky you weren’t sent away).

Also like HA, the burglars are bumbling, though not as nasty as Pesci and Stern, but rather are merely more incompetent. An amusing aspect is that Larry and Wally are probably equal on level of brain power, and both get glee out of little things such as opening presents or pets.

Are these two slices of short cinema a bit over-the-top saccharine? Oh, you bet, but because of the context of the film and the way it is written and acted – not to mention it’s short length – that’s more part of the charm than a hindrance.

Fun stuff.

Review: Housesitters

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2018

Images from the Internet

Housesitters

Directed by Jason Coffman

Tomorrow Romance

62 minutes, 2018

www.facebook.com/pg/HousesittersMovie

www.housesittersmovie.com

Man-oh-man-ohhhh-man! Though this is showing my hand way too early, what a fun ride. At just over an hour, this horror comedy that is partially shot on iPhone is short at just over an hour, but I happily watched it twice in a row.

In the story, some friends put a video out on the ‘Net that they are looking for a job as a housesitter (I know people who actually do this). Of course the house that comes their way is nice, has a platinum card for ordering food (and a lot of it)… and, oh yeah a Little Bastard of a demon’s familiar created by the horror puppet master himself, Dustin Wayde Mills.

Peter Ash, Jamie Jirak, Annie Watkins

At the core of the story are two friends, Angie (Annie Watkins) and Izzy (Jamie Jirak), who riff off each other so well that the actors playing them get a writing credit, and rightfully so. While the situation is supernatural and their reactions are hardly what would happen in the real world, the pace and tone of their comments feels like these guys actually are friends (I have no idea what their relationship is beyond the camera, of course).

This is a first feature (relatively speaking, length-wise) film for Jason Coffman, and I certainly hope it’s not the last, especially if he keeps Jirak and Watkins in tow; the three of them certainly make a strong team. There’s lots of pot, mixed drinks, and porn (the latter is not shown, just discussed while viewed off camera… yes, by the women).

There’s a lot to unpack, including demon possession, a small body count, the undead, a house with boundaries, time travel, and a whole bunch of smart-assitude that had me laughing. Joining the women are Izzy’s kinda lame boyfriend, Zach (Peter Ash), even though he is the most clear-headed of the group as far as the situation goes, Angie’s crush Mark (Ben Schlotfelt), and Zach’s annoying pal Dan (Jay J. Bidwell, who’s had one of the more extensive credits of a mostly newbie cast).

The film is presented in two parts of “Invocation of the Demon God,” as “Episode 7” and “Episode 8.” I have no idea what that means, but I know I want to see more. It’s separated by an animated short that…well, you have to see it. That being said, I know the whole mandatory September 11, 1991 prologue is necessary to the story, but it didn’t really do much for me. Oh, if I may digress for a sec, but it seems to me the actor (Mariah Michael) is not a smoker, considering how she never drags, just draws and blows; in some ways, that sets the viewer up to the goofy level. Anyway, that may be, however, because of the high level of the rest of the film’s – err – story, thin as it is (and rightfully so).

Don’t get me wrong, this is silly-ass shit, and perhaps the reason there is so much cannabis inhalation is because they’re feigning to a stoner audience, but it didn’t have to be, in my opinion; it stands up on its own weirdness and attitude. The acting is a layer of goofy with a natural relationship between the women, and a bit of skewed feminism thrown in at a subtle level.

What makes me sad about this film, and I’m being serious about this, is that I wanted more. The ending is a bit up in the air and left me with some questions, but what I wanted was the story not to end because I was enjoying it so much.

Little Bastard

However, what I especially enjoyed about the story is that it takes you in a direction you are probably not expecting, and yet it’s comfortable with the world in which it takes place. For a horror film that is not based on body count, gore, or even a realistic-appearing killing creature (but Little Bastard does look cool), and yet also is steeped in silly dialogue and actions even for stoners, it feels somehow right in this context, and doesn’t overreach. An hour is the right length for this – even though I wanted more – without padding it out to fill the time with, say, people walking around with flashlights for minutes on end, or seeing spooks in the mirror (man, I’m tired of that cliché)¸or people in masks and sharp implements. It’s a bit of a different approach to an old theme, which is something one may not expect from a micro-budget broad comedy with horror elements. I’m grateful.

For those interested, the world premiere is at the Windy City Horrorama on April 28, 2018. As it was filmed in Chicago, it makes sense that the screening is at the Davis Theater.

This film is so much more fun than the 1992 Steve Martin-Goldie Hawn one with a similar-yet-singular name, and a fraction of the budget... but how did I miss the emu?

Review: Slimy Little Bastards

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2015

Images from the Internet

 

Slimy Little Bastards

Written and directed by Dave Parker

66 minutes, 2015

www.facebook.com/SlimyLittleBastards

 

I’ve never met Dave Parker, haven’t even had a real conversation with him online. However, I am still impressed by his progress in the genre. He started out (and continues in this capacity) as a video review vlogger under the name of MrParka (yes, one word, and worth checking out). Then he started acting (e.g., Bath Salt Zombies [2013] and Headless [2015]), and now he’s directed his first – er – filmella… so what do you call a film that is longer than a “short” but shorter than a feature? I just adopted the “novella” to film terms. No big whoop.

 

Anyway, for his first shot at fictional directing (he also directed a documentary short), it only makes sense that (a) it’s in the horror genre, and (b) he has people around him he’s been working with for a while, such as director/actor/SFX maven/puppeteer Mills, and actors Erin R. Ryan and Brandon Salkil. Wise move, m’man.

 

So, if you have watched hundreds of indie horror films every year, seeing some of the best and the worst, and you decided to hop on the wagon yourself, what would you decide to choose as your topic? Cleverly, Parker chose the anthology.

 

Brandon Salkil

The three stories have a wrap-around in the basement of a mysterious man in a red cape (Cary Ewell look-alike Salkil). He receives a shipment of three vials with, well, slimy things (looks like Jell-O). Y’see, he’s a collector of “rare creatures,” such as the (puppet) Nippler, who is somewhat reminiscent of the Scred puppet from early Saturday Night Live. He tells these tales to a gun-toting mysterious man (Keith Voight Jr.) who claiming his car broke down. Salkil chews more scenery than the slimy bastards munch on humans, but actually, that’s the role, and Salkil kills it with a humorous turn. I’ve seen him do some serious stuff (e.g., Skinless [2013]) and the man can act. Here, he ahcts!

 

First up is “Organic Shit,” about a shy, hungry man (Jeremy Ryan) who doesn’t talk and moves very precisely (autistic?). His apartment (I am going to assume its Parkers’ in real life as it is filled with DVDs; it is used in all three stories), after coming back from I’m presuming work, he has some strange green stuff coming out of his drain. He contacts the maintenance man (Mills) with a very funny and fake Russian?/Polish? accent. If you’ve seen the Blob, you may get some idea of the germination of this story. However, even with a few actual jump scares, it ends quite humorously (don’t worry, I won’t give it away), and definitely not how I expected.

 

Erin R. Ryan

The second tale is of the blue Jell-O, called “Brain Busters.” Poor Sandy (the underrated Erin R. Ryan) is going through a period of depression, thanks in part to a previous childhood bully (Salkil) and guilt-inducing mother (Melinda Parker…Dave’s mom?). She is under the care of a psychologist (Mills) who gives her an experimental psychotropic medication to put in her ear. Of course, the effects are not what are expected.

 

While this story also has humor, it is also a lot more dramatic and definitely more artistically shot than the previous one. Usually, the way many anthologies work, is they put a decent one to start, the weakest in the middle, and the best for last. Well, that’s not true here, nearly completely because of Ryan (I am a self-admitted fan from her previous work). She takes what could be a silly tale and turns it into an emotional one on a level you might not expect. My analogy is she’s like someone who takes a temp job and then just works the hell out of it and impresses everyone.

 

Also, as I said, Parker shows some bolder artistic moves, using stylish editing, some accurate casting and more thoughtful storytelling in general, even with something as goofy as this creature is, apparently.

 

Dave Parker (aka MrParka)

“The Crusties” is the third and longest piece. After meeting a crusty (pun intended) construction worker named Walter (MrParka) who accidentally eats some green goop that somehow got on his sandwich at a work site, we are introduced to a bunch of his friends, including most of the cast (sans Erin) playing themselves; they all meet to play a game of D&D (is that still a thing anymore?). There is a lot of scatological humor in this episode, and the one about gas station nachos had me laughing (and, bringing back specific, unpleasant memories). So while the guys are playing the game, in walks Walter who immediate hits the water closet, and squirts out more of the green goo, which turn into said juggalo Crusties creatures bent on killing our out-of-their-league – er – heroes.

 

Okay, I’m going to come out and say it, but please stick around. This story is stupid as shit (pun, again, intended), but honestly, I believe it was supposed to be. What I mean is, generally, you get to see some of the cast and crew having a blast together, and that transmits out to the audience, if you’re open minded to it. I do believe if you’re watching this, there is a good chance you’re in that fortunate frame of mind.

 

The Crusties

Much of the gore in the film is seen pretty often, albeit a bit cartoonish, with occasional bits being beautiful, such as the ear gag in “The Crusties.” The make-up and slime in the wraparound were mostly by Brandon’s (hey big guy, how youse doin’?!) spouse, Sherriah Salkil, also part of the Mills merry collective, and the puppets were created by Jeremy Ryan, which are as fakey looking as possible. In fact, it is to the point where I believe that it was supposed to be that way, for comic effect, leaning towards the Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) level (e.g., the floating “Crustie”). If that’s so, I consider that a success.

 

Making films can be like poetry or masturbation: it should be done for oneself, but except in the case of the latter, it’s one’s personal passion put out to the public. It’s important to know about the source as much as it is for the source to understand their audience. And this is definitely geared towards the Dustin Mills audience (and beyond-yond-yond [if this was audio, there would be an echo effect there]), especially since Mills has recently delved into the darker side of the Torment subgenre. This is a good way to reach The Puppet Monster Massacre (2010) audience that may have been felt left behind, but still like the Mills group.

 

Okay, I understand that Parker is not Mills, but it’s essentially the same body with a different head. I’m sure Mills was there helping along, and rightfully so… I would want someone with experience in my corner; when Young Frankenstein (1974) was created, for example, there were segments actually directed by Gene Wilder under Mel Brooks’ direction, to prepare him for helming The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother (1975). It’s all good.

 

Most of the cast is also most of the crew, as is common in micro-budget filming (the cost is listed as $1000, and I’ll bet most of that went to supplies for creating the puppets and gore, and largely for the cast’s food), and for a first time out, Parker was in good hands. The end result is something that is goofy, ridiculous, funny, and mostly an end product to be proud of, in my opinion. I’m looking forward to your next excursion, MrParka!

 

 

Review: A Black Heart in White Hell

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

A Black Heart in White Hell

Written, directed, edited and scored by Dustin Wayde Mills
Cumpleshack Films / Dustin Mills Productions (DMP)
32 minutes, 2015
DVD available HERE
VoD available HERE:

Western culture’s idea of Heaven and Hell is actually a relatively new concept. Oh, sure, there has almost always been a vision of the afterlife, be it hangin’ out with Ra or Osiris. However, while Heaven being a place of beauty and Hell of torment may have been sparked by the likes of the Bible that hinted at it, what we know of it comes from both later literature (such as Dante’s Inferno and Paradisio [both 1472], and John Milton’s Paradise Lost [1667]) and art (numerous paintings in the Renaissance especially were quite graphic; check out the gruesome work of Hieronymus Bosch [d. 1516]).

In our present time, Heaven and Hell have become more of a concept, with the punishment becoming honed specifically for the person to be penalized. A couple of examples of this include an amazing Richard Matheson story from the original Twilight Zone in 1960, Paul Simon selling his soul to the Devil and being stuck on an elevator for eternity as Elevator Music versions of his songs play on a 1980s Saturday Night Live, and even The Devil in Miss Jones (1973), where a virgin who commits suicide learns through multiple and varied experiences to need sex, and then is denied orgasms.

In a similar beginning to Miss Jones, at the start of this film we meet the multi-inked main character, identified only as The Woman (Reagan Root), who gets into a tub and grabs a gun after writing on the mirror, in blood (not saying whose) “Not Sorry.” As this is the slogan for the film, I don’t believe I’m revealing much. Well, the trailer will tell the story up to here, anyway.

She awakes in the room which is completely covered in white that is the locus of the rest of the film. All that’s there is an old computer monitor (with the cathode tube, which I’m guessing Dustin wisely got in a garage sale for real cheap), a couch and a garbage container.

I don’t usually do this, but due to the complexity of the story and the shortness of the film, there will be some spoilers in only the next paragraph. This is something I almost never do, so please forgive me, or just skip to after the picture.

The Black Heart of the title is reference to the woman due to her cold naturedly killing three dudes in graphic mode with various weapons, though it’s never explained why she did them in. I can live with that in a film of this length. That she has to apply those same weapons on herself I’m assuming is part of the punishment.

SPOILER FINISHED

Mills started his career doing weird comedies like Puppet Monster Massacre (2010) and Zombie A-Hole (2012), and then did the extremely serious and excellent Skinless (2013; all three reviewed elsewhere on this and another blog). In the last couple of years, his films have turned ever darker, delving into extreme images on line with the likes of Audition (1999) with titles such as Kill That Bitch (2014), Her Name Was Torment (2014) and The Hornet’s Sting and the Hell It’s Caused (2014). I have not had the opportunity to see those later ones, as of yet. But one thing is definitely clear: Mills’ output has been vastly improving. I mean, his skill as a filmmaker was actually better than most right out of the gate, but his artistic turns here using the sharp and highly contrast black and white, with no dialog other than a clip from the public domain and appropriate Betty Boop cartoon, “Minnie the Moocher” (1932; the entire short is available on the DVD among the numerous extras) are quite effective in setting the mood and the action.

Like most auteur genre directors, Mills has his tropes, which tend to crop up in his films regularly. Here you can find lots of blood, gore, nudity, and the occasional creepy and wondrous sock-and-latex-sourced monster puppets (he discusses the makings of these on his Facebook page, so again, not really giving too much info).

Two of his most common regulars also appear here, but rather than themes, they are people, namely Brandon Salkil (dude, you realize that you die in just about all of your friend’s films, right?), and actor/reviewer/director (I look forward to seeing his directorial review, Slimy Little Bastards) Dave Parka, who vlogs under the name MrParka. I’m a fan of Brandon from Zombie A-Hole Days as he is, in my opinion, the new Bruce Campbell (well, additional Campbell); Parker, a more recent Mills addition, shows that he is really improving in his acting chops, as he give a solid, albeit short performance here. Root also does an solid job holding up this movie as its central character, doing well in putting subtleties of emotion – or lack of them when necessary – still managing to make her somewhat pitiable by the end.

One of the aspects I also like about Mills’ work is the subtle way he uses themes we’re all familiar with, and incorporates them in a way that gives them a new twist so they come out as original. For example, there is the aforementioned Miss Jones opening, and also present is a bit of Groundhog Day (1993) and the Donald Sutherland version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978).

Mills gets a lot of his 30 minutes, that is both extremely simplistic in its presentation (much like Buddy Holly’s music, it is actually more detailed on closer observation), and complex in its messaging. I like the way Mills works, his trove of cast and crew members, and the way he uses latex and wool, in a fine mix of appliances and digital.

The extras on the DVD (not of Video on Demand) are plentiful, as I said, including the aforementioned Betty Boop cartoon, two original short films at 10 minutes per, and an audio commentary.

If you like some of the greasy and gooey, the monsters and the pain, then this will make a good introduction to check out and get you to jump on the Dustin Wayde Mills train, because as usual, he’ll take you on a helluva ride!

Trailer HERE