Review: Ash and Bone

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Ash and Bone
Directed by Harley Wallen
Auburn Moon Productions; Cama Productions; Painted Creek Productions; Deskpop Entertainment
97 minutes, 2022
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I am right in the mood for a snatch and hide rural serial killer(s) film, reminiscent of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), or The Collector (2009). The prologue, intermixed with the credits, gives us a sample of what is to come. They also delve into the home invasion subgenre.

Into this mess comes vacationing couple from Detroit, older Lucas (director Harley Wallen) – he wears a Rollings Stones Tour shirt from ’76 – and his younger, new wife, Sarah (Kaiti Wallen), and Lucas’s obnoxious and rebellious teen goth daughter, Cassie (Angelina Danielle Cama), for whom it is hard to like, really. We meet them, as is par for the course in these isolated homes subgenre, in the car ride to Lucas’s brother’s vacation house in Hadley Lake, MI (population under 300).

Angelina Danielle Cama, Mason Heidger, Jamie Bernadette

I am a bit confused early on, because in an act of rebellion, Cassie heads to the small town center, in which streets are long and built up, and goes into a crowded bar. This is more like a town of 1,000-2,500. I have relations in towns of about 300-400 people, and it is just a couple of streets long and is deserted at night. Even the hotel/bar run is scarce in denizens. But here, in a bar run by Louie (martial arts legend Mel Novak, aka Mi’lan Mrdjenovich), she meets the local couple Tucker (Mason Heidger) and Anna (Jamie Bernadette). They tell her about the town legend of a murder house, which Cassie insists they show her. Not a good move, of course.

Naturally, at Cassie’s hubris, they enter the Sawyer…I mean McKinley house through a window, and the second act starts with the shit hitting the pain. Getting in was easy. Getting out is another matter. From here on, it is chills and thrills that I will not go into detail. Speaking of which, the big question for me at this point is whether Tucker and Anna are in on it, or will they be fodder. When I do know further on, I will not say. Same with Sheriff Vincent (Shane Hagedorn).

Jimmy Doom

The man of the McKinley family is heavily tattooed, shirtless-and-overalls-wearin’ Clete (Jimmy Doom, vocalist of The Almighty Lumberjacks of Death, a punk band from Detroit). Then there is his equally insane sister, May (Erika Hoveland). Naturally, not only do they look like they should be below the Mason-Dixon line, but they are cannibals: what better way to hide the “evidence.” Yee-haw!

There is a bit of subtle social commentary on the ease of getting weaponry in rural areas. There is also a nod towards small town communities, so when Clete and May come searching, they know where to look as everybody knows nearly everybody. And if they are new, where it is likely to find them, even lone wolves, like the McKinleys. I understand the small-town mentality, such as if you see your worst enemy stuck in a blizzard, you give them a ride home, even if not a word is spoken of it again. But if I was in the position of Tucker and Anna, I would not have rode to the McKinley’s with Cassie. She would have been on her own. Perhaps it’s my Brooklyn upbringing, but screw that.

Erika Hoveland

Between flashbacks and the “present,” Cassie proves that she is not reliable, and consistently makes bad decisions that one can see as “rebellion,” but they are just inconsiderate and mean. I am really trying to see her as the protagonist, but for the first half of the film, she is an anti-hero, I guess. Not a nice person. But I am sure there will be a comeuppance that will either mellow her out to appreciate her life, or kill her. Again, I won’t say which way it goes.

It may be a small town, but there is a decent body count, as the film moves into body horror. Thing is, there are a couple of opportunities that were passed, where we see the end results without the process leading to it. Gorehounds are bound to feel slighted. But then, there is the third act. It’s usually the third act when all the tension of the first two explode into violence.

Speaking of which, I was actually surprised at how little the violence perpetrated was shown throughout. Most of it is just off camera, or we see the results of what happened in the past, as I have stated before. That’s not to say it is mild, no, but it is not very bloody. Though I have to say what SFX is shown looks good (e.g., the blood is the right color and consistency).

The acting is quite good, though Hoveland as May is the standout. Doom is also good as Clete, though his gravelly voice often sounds forced. As for the focus of this release, Cama, she does well, though she purses her lips way too often. Minor quibbles I know.

This is a welcome addition to the canon, and is okay for those who like the violence, and for those who are a bit squeamish, this film does well in having a foot in both camps. Like TCSM, more is implied than shown, but it is still powerful.

In the nothin’ to do with nothin’ department, since this was filmed near Detroit and Pontiac, MI, I am sorry they did not include Motor City’s own punk rockers, Choking Susan (who I saw play at CBGB), on the soundtrack. 

IMBD listing HERE

Review: Purgatory Road

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2019
Images from the Internet

Purgatory Road

Produced and directed by Mark Savage
Delirium / Purgo Road / Unearthed Films / MVD Visual
98 minutes, 2017 / 2019
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www.unearthedfilms.com

www.mvdvisual.com

Many a year ago, I remember seeing a bumper sticker that read, “Oh, Lord, protect me from your believers.” While this is true, I also believe a more accurate way to phrase it might be “Oh Lord, protect me from your interpreters.”

These days there are a lot of strange readings of the Bible’s contents, including an “every word is truth” fanatical faction: think Westboro. Well the main character of this tale makes them look like wusses when it comes to raining God’s punishment on mere mortals.

Gary Cairns

The main focus for this story is Father Vincent (Gary Cairns), who believes in the literal word and work of punishment as described in the Old Testament. Calling himself a Roman Catholic priest, in fact he has been defrocked by the Church for his fanatical beliefs, fostered by a tragic series of events from his youth, which is shown in the prologue.

In other words, Vinnie is a psychotic serial killer feeling justified in his ways, like Dexter, as he delivers what he believes to be God’s punishment on the wicked: salvation through death, via gun, knife, whatever. Helping him reluctantly on his path is his younger brother (“family sticks together”), Michael (Luke Albright). He is relentlessly picked on by Vincent as not being as supportive as he would like, even as he aids in chopping up the multitude of bodies.

The two travel around a region of Mississippi called Safehaven, in a beat up old camper, which has been turned into a traveling “confessional”; and if the Padre does not believe you are repentant, it becomes a bit of an abattoir. Of course, Vincent does not recognize his own foibles, including that of lust.

Trista Robinson

Meanwhile, a sweet and squeaky voiced young thang named Mary Francis (Trista Robinson) is on a murder streak as she is also a psychotic serial killer in her own right. She picks up on the brothers’ vibe and manages to widdle her way into their lives and livelihood by joining the band of blood. She has no hesitation in ending life. She and Vincent couldn’t be more similar, not counting the religious differences (i.e., Mary has no problem diving head first into her own lust). And you know at some point this trio is going to explode into violence among itself through viciousness and double dealings. In that way, it does not disappoint.

The moral compass of nearly all the characters is askew, as they make their way through the mire of sin, truth and forgiveness, and lack thereof. With wicked good lighting and angles, this is solidly atmospheric and full of gothic horrors that would make Hush…Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964) want to order a mint julip.

There is no shying away from the violent nature of the characters, nor their actions. It’s no surprise that it is released by Unearthed, because there are severed body parts a plenty, but without the surgical precision of body torture. That being said, there are some both physical and emotionally squeamish moments throughout, all handled beautifully by the great Marcus Koch and Cat Bernier Sowell (more on them later). To put it in another way, the film is sheer brutality from beginning to end, but the story keeps up with it. Never having been a fan of violence for violence sake, I like the story to bring the intensity, rather than the other way around. This one has both feet on the ground in that way, and it never lets up.

Luke Albright and Gary Cairns

The extras start with a commentary by Mark Savage and screenwriter Tom Parnell. Not only do they discuss shot by shot, but also go beyond into motivation of characters (in case the viewers have any question), and how they came up with the ideas. They also talk about what it was like to physically shoot the film.

Next is a 16-minute featurette called “The Grisly Art of Marcus Koch and Cat Bernier Sowell” which is a series of stills as make-up and special effects are applied. Cool stuff. After that is the 29-minute “The Actors Speak.” Essentially it’s the main three leads individually talking about how they got involved with the film, how good the story is, what their personal lives were like at the time, and so forth. The three are then edited into a precise swirl of actors (Cairns, then Robinson, followed by Albright, then Cairns, etc.). It’s a bit long, but most of them talk at a deeper emotional level than these things tend to be, so it was pretty interesting.

In a talk with the co-writer, “Tom Parnell: Beyond the Day Job,” Tom discusses how he is a lawyer in real life, but has a passion for both writing screenplays and acting (he plays a cameo role as a Sherriff here). He brings up how he got into the arts, and what he wants to bring to it. Good stuff at 9 minutes. Shot at a festival, the 20-minute “Purgatory Road Q & A” with the director and Cairns, then joined by other cast and crew. As is common with these things, the sound quality is not that great and it keeps going in and out. Of course, as the final extra, there are four Unearthed trailers, including for this film.

This is a top notch film that is full of thrills and terror that is palpable by the characters. The acting is solid, as is the writing and cinematography. It’s a perfect storm in a positive direction.

Reviews: The Zodiac Killer; Another Son of Sam

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2017

Images from the Internet

The Zodiac Killer

Directed by Tom Hanson

AGFA / Something Weird Video / MVD Visual

87 minutes, 1971 / 2017

www.mvdvisual.com

This until-recently-lost film is kind of infamous in the true story crimes micro-budget genre. Director Tom Hanson did not set out to either warn, to give information to the public about a real-life serial killer who besot California in the mostly late 1960s into the very early 1970s, or to make a profit. His purpose was to either catch the Killer at the premiere if he showed up. Man, that’s ballsy!

While it didn’t work since the Zodiac Killer (ZK) was never found, it did leave us this wonderfully bizarre and cheesy film that strangely is actually more entertaining than the bio-pic Zodiac (2007), which was completed with a budget in the millions, and starred A-listers such as Jake Gyllenhaal. When this film was released, though, the killing was still going on, which gives a chilling aspect to it.

Hal Reed

We meet two characters in San Francisco, a mailman named Jerry (Hal Reed, d. 2010) and a balding ladies’ man, Grover (Bob Jones), who is a delivery truck driver. These two guys, as are most of the (non-victim) men portrayed, are macho misogynist morons who have a deep-seated hatred of women, often casually using terms like “dumb broad” and, of course, “bitch.” Sadly, dudes like these who have a fanatical distaste for women and yet seek some kind of need for their attention are still a dime a dozen (hey, one is even the president of the United States). At one point, one older guy comments that he likes women who are “plump, and juicy…and dumb,” and another shouts at a waitress ex-girlfriend (Norma Michaels), “I’m not in the habit of having my broads walk out on me.”

But the men in the story aren’t the only ones here that get a harsh brushstroke, as many of the women come across as man-hungry; usually the more attractive and least dressed, the higher the level of desperation. For example, a woman in a bikini practically drags a character into a random and spontaneous –off-camera – sex act. Another is how many women throw themselves after the obviously bewigged Grover, even though they act surprised and mean-girlish when the toup is blown.

Bob Jones

While the story is occasionally silly – and yet still entertaining – there is actually an interesting mixture of case file reality stirred with unsubstantiated (i.e., made up) killings. But the Zodiac, who is linked to about a dozen known killings, claimed in a letter to have 37 victims at one point. This gives quite the leeway for the story to imagine possibilities.

The identity of the ZK does not come as a surprise in this story, as even though masked, the body type is quite easy to spot. Fortunately, it’s not long before the film makes it clear, so it can get on with the action at hand, and there is a lot of it. The body count is quite high here, even if the caliber of acting is not. There is a lot of hand-wringing type behavior and a lot of angry shouting with face twisting. But that is part of what is enjoyable, too.

We find out before long that ZK is completely looney (here’s one part I assume that is supposed to anger the real Zodiac), believing that those he kills are enslaved to him in a nearly ritualistic, messiah complex way. This is clear in a monologue where he refers to himself as “The Supreme Zodiac.”

A nice touch, on a second viewing, is seeing some things I hadn’t noticed before, such as the link to one of the first killings, and especially of the red herrings, including the motivation for the second couple-killing, which I missed on the first run through. It’s just a few smart touches in a largely ham-fisted script. As filmmaking goes though, despite the heavy-handed story and acting, it is shot quite nicely, and there is a decent level of blood. A stabbing scene is especially effective for its budget and timeframe. This is taken from the last remaining full 35mm print left, which had been blown up from 16mm to show in theaters. What drove me most crazy though is that throughout, ZK never wears gloves and yet touches everything that would certainly be tested for prints. Funny thing is, this bothered me more than the lack of acting chops.

Another amusing thing is that even back then, there is the “Indie Rule of Cameos,” with a brief (probably one day of shooting) appearance by Doodles Weaver (who is credited as Doddles Weaver; d. 1983), as an unlikeable older man.

Towards the end, there is an attempt to “humanize” the ZK just a bit with his having issues about… well, I’m not going to say, but this is most likely another attempt to goad the real Killer. The inner monologue we hear towards the end is most likely meant to do the same.

As with many Blu-rays, there is a sea of extras, which I will unbox, out of sequence. First, there is a series of period-piece trailers that revolve around “Tabloid-Horror Trailers” (such as 1970’s Carnival of Blood, starring Burt Young). There is a 4-minute featurette called “Let’s Get This Guy: The Origin of The Zodiac Killer” (2017), which features interviews with director (and owner of a chain of pizza stores) Tom Hanson and producer Manny Nedwick, who briefly discuss how the motivation for the film came about and its aftermath. This should not be confused with the upcoming “Making Of” documentary called Zodiac Man: The True Story of the Man Who Made a Movie to Catch a Killer, which is due out in 2018 (and will undoubtedly be included on a future release of this film – or vice versa).

Hanson and Nedwick, along with members of “the AGFA Team” show up again in the commentary track. Sadly, Jim Vraney could not be on here since the Something Weird Video (SWV) founder passed away in 2014. Two members of AGFA spend the first 10 interesting (pun not intended) minutes describing their attraction to the SWV brand, and how they partnered with the estate to work on this release. Then they are joined by Hanson and Nedwick (one character in an early part of the film is named for him) who describe working on the film. Despite Hanson’s bad memory, thanks to some careful questioning by the curators, many interesting facts come out about the making of the film. It’s worth the view.

Other extras are that both a Blu-ray and DVD version of, well, everything, in included, and that there is a very nice booklet containing production credits and a print interview with Hanson. The last extra is an entire second film called, Another Son of Sam, reviewed below.

Another Son of Sam

Written, produced, edited and directed by Dave Adams

67 minutes, 1977

I don’t tell people this very often, but I went to high school with the Son of Sam’s final victim, Stacy Moskowitz. I didn’t really know her other than passing her in the hall, as she was in an entirely different social scene than mine (i.e., she was “popular,” and I didn’t have a “group”). It was still a shock, though.

This was filmed just after the Son of Sam reign of terror (but pre-trial) in New York City, though it was shot around Charlotte, NC. If you ask me, despite the title cards listing some then-recent serial killers and their body counts before the opening credits, this tale of a murderer on the loose is not really connected in any way to the infamous .44 Caliber Killer, but rather its title is intended to be a good way to grab an audience, in the same way unconnected movies are given “sequel” names (e.g., House II: The Second Story [sic] in 1987). For the record, its shooting title was Hostages.

                                                 

To be fair and more accurate, the basic premise is actually closer to Halloween (1978) than anything else, as a silent and deranged man, Harvey, escapes from an insane asylum and then goes on a killing spree. When he holes up in a college, the body count rises. There are a lot of his POV shots, peeking from behind bushes, attacking whoever comes across his path. When one is his psychologist, Dr. Daisy Ellis (Cynthia Stewart), her husband, copper Lt. Claude Setzer (Russ Dubuc) leads the entire police force out on the manhunt.

This is total psychotronic in that it’s a really cheesy film with terrible acting and a not-that-brilliant screenplay, but it is definitely an attention-keeper in its own bizarre way, if you’re into that kind of thing – which I am. There are a lot of meaningless and misleading – yet effective – jump scares.

One of the more intriguing aspects may actually be unintentional: it’s obvious that this print has been through hell over the years, with discoloration and other issues. Through the film, especially in early shots, there are a bunch of freeze frames; it could be that it was stylistic, but I’m guessing more likely the film was damaged so the images were eaten away but the soundtrack was okay. I’m hoping I’m wrong because it’s one of my favorite things about the film.

Some other interesting little bits about the film: (1) There’s some blood, but most of it is seen after the assaults; with one big exception, there’s very little actual violence seen; (2) most of the time we see Harvey, it’s pretty much the same shot of his face from above the mouth up, with shadowy lighting and his caterpillar eyebrows; (3) great period clothing on the cast; and (4) there is a scene filmed at the Treehouse Lounge nightclub (now called the Treehouse Whiskey and Fork) with Tampa Bay-based singer Johnny Charro doing his Elvis-meets-Humperdinck regional hit, “Never Said Goodbye” (which is also heard on a radio station in the film, and again with the end credits).

This is Adams’ only IMDB film credit, and relatively speaking, for the technology and the time period, it’s quite good, in a so-bad-it’s-good way. Sure, it drags a bit here and there, but mostly it’s good fun. If you’re reading this, odds are you understand what you’re getting when the word psychotronic is employed as a descriptor. All y’all enjoy!

Review: The Short Films of Dakota Bailey 2014-2015

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2017

Images from the Internet

The Short Films of Dakota Bailey 2014-2015

Written, produced, directed and edited by Dakota Bailey

R.A. Productions

About 30 minutes, 2017

https://Dakotabaileydirectorfilmmaker.wordpress.com

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If you are familiar with any of the trilogies of filmmaker Dakota Bailey’s work, you know his subgenre of super gritty and grainy life of the denizens of the lowest of low, consisting of nothing but serial killers, drug sellers and addicts, prostitutes and generally people with whom you would not want to be on the same street as, never mind the same room.

Like most auteurs, Bailey started small with short films as he developed his style that remains pretty unique, as there is no one I can think of who presents characters and situations so socially corrupt with a fly on the wall creepy feeling, and yet makes them feel alive and fearsome. These three shorts have now been released in a collection as a companion to his features.

As the director explains: “While these short films are not masterpieces, they are important because this is where our filmmaking style originated, and these shorts provided us with a template to build off of. Without these shorts, films like The Acid Sorcerer [2017, reviewed HERE], American Scumbags [2016, reviewed HERE] or My Master Satan: 3 Tales of Drug Fueled Violence [2016, reviewed HERE] may not have existed."

As most of his features are three intertwining tales, it only makes sense that this release is comprised of three of his shorts. The consistency of his characters, even if he considers some of his films in the horror genre and others not, makes this for an enjoyable WTF viewing (in a good way). I’ve enjoyed all of the Bailey films I have watched, even though they could practically all run together and it would still work. I have watched the growth from his first film right to his latest. He also shows that if someone wants to just pick up a camera and start filming, it can be done, much in the way so many people heard the gritty guitar of Johnny Thunders and wanted to start a band.

Scumbags: A Day in the Life of a Drug Dealer

8:08 minutes, 2014

Despite it being Bailey’s first film, so many of the footprints that would appear in his features are already there, such as the insertion of character description and story bit title cards, and the travelog footage of drug dealer Marshall (Matt Marshall) driving around giving way too much information about his crimes away on a cell phone (hey, Marshall, that’s illegal!) which also works for passing along exposition to the viewer.  There is an inconsistent sound quality as most of it is recorded straight onto the camera as it is shot al(though the reliability of it will improve with time and future films). In this story, Marshall wants to do away with ex-high school friend and partner, and now rival dealer, the heroin addicted Johnny (Bailey, already sporting his trademark knee-length short pants). The film, which is in mostly black and white, is short, and yet covers some nice ground as bullets fly and vapes are vaped. The pace is a bit meandering at times, yet there is still quite a bit of action in this short amount of footage. It’s a bit on the rough side, as it is most first films, but it’s also easy to see the kernel of what is to come. I am certainly enjoying watching the progression of a style that Bailey has since made great use of over the past couple of years.

Satan’s Coming for You

19:37 minutes, 2015

The longest film on this set, it appears to be a collection of outtakes and additional footage from one of Bailey’s other films, My Master Satan. Then again, in a chicken and egg paradigm, perhaps this was filmed first, and it was used to make up one of the three stories from Master. Again, in black and white with some color, especially during an acid trip, this is a loose yet somewhat coherent story about the revenge for Bubba (again Matt Marshall) and Alister (Bailey) against the person who was having the affair with Bubba’s since-deceased wife. With body exhuming from a cemetery and a bit of blowtorch behavior, Bubba and Alister go on said acid trip and meet up with Satan. From there on in it’s the two friends working through the kinks of getting away with literal murder.

I Spread Hate Like Herpes

2:12 minutes, 2015

This is a short-yet-not-sweet uncompleted fictionalized documentary starring “BK” (Brian Knapp). In its two scenes, BK discusses his own psychopathic behavior (while driving of coruse, since this is a Dakota Bailey film, and it’s a given someone will do that). There is no direction, no point, just a camera pointed at BK as he riffs. What I’m not sure of and wonder about is whether this is going to be part of a whole film on this character, if the footage is going to be included into a future Bailey feature, or was this just some goofing around that was too good not to do something with it. Too short to be boring and just long enough for head scratching, it makes a nice coda to the rest of the shorts.  

Trailer for one short is HERE.