Review: Dropping Evil

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2013
Images from the Internet

Dropping Evil

Directed by Adam Protextor          
Wild Eye Releasing                        
82 minutes, 2008-2012      
Wildeyereleasing.com
MVDvisual.com

 The publicity for this indie is proud to state – and does so often – that they had the whole idea of watchers as some kind of overlords to a group of teens who are brought together in seclusion for a reason unknown to the youngsters way before the recent hit, A Cabin in the Woods (2012). And rightfully so. Do I think the makers of Woods ripped off this film? Highly unlikely, even though it took four years to film this one, but Dropping Evil is low budget enough that it probably wouldn’t have been noticed by the big boys.

This piece of cinema is definitely one of the more ambitious indie films I’ve seen in a while, and certainly a brave release. It’s not surprising it took so long to record and let loose. The question I have is as follows: how successful is it in reaching its goal?

Well, certainly, there are problems. Note that any indie film has its issues, no doubt, especially one with this vast a cast and ambition in story. And the sheer filming time frame must bring its own set of issues.

From what I can figure out through some of the story is that there are at least three separate levels going on (how very X Files / Lost). First, there’s the four life-long mid-20s high school students off for a weekend in the woods, including a couple (Tom Taylor, Rachel Howell), and as a possible set-up, a nerdy girl (Cassandra Powell) and a volatile religious fanatic (Zachary Lint; he even gets upset when his bottle of juice is next to a beer can in the cooler). Add a little tripping powder and “Mr. Jesus” (whose name is Nancy, by the way, which is never really explained other than his mother chose it) gets busy with an ax, as is seen on the DVD box artwork.

On the second story level, we view the ValYouCorp organization, who apparently specializes in artificial body parts and robotics (played by actors wearing motorcycle helmets), but who seems to be looking at a (evil?) larger picture than is let on at first. It is run by scheming CEO (played by name character actor Armin Shimerman; you’d know him is you saw him, e.g., as Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, or Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer). His vision, involving the four friends, could change the fate of the entire world.

The third level is more meta-physical and less clear. From what I can figure out, it involves God, who seems to be missing (shades of Kevin Smith’s 1999 Dogma), a host of other older gods and goddesses from the Classic Greek period, and even older gods than that called the Titans (whom Zeus defeated to become king of the gods in Greek mythology; scarily, I knew that without having to Wikipedia it. That’s right, I used it as a verb, wanna make somethin’ of it?). A new war coming? Again, it is reminiscent of another film, The Prophesy (1995).

This is a mixture of both a dark comedy and an occasional slapstick one, the latter of which is more successful. For example, one of the better moments is handled deftly by the lovely and underused ex-Troma actor and current exploitation queen Tiffany Sephis, who plays the goddess Dionysia (I met her once at a Chiller Theater Con in New Jersey during the 1990s, during her Troma days, and she was very nice).

Honestly, as original as the story is, and credit should certainly be given, it is also exceedingly convoluted. Half the time I didn’t know what anything meant to the storyline, and there isn’t really too much of a conclusion that explains it. I would, however, recommend following the film with the two deleted scenes and especially what is called the “sequels,” three shorts (between 15 and 20 minutes each) that come with the DVD in the extras. My guess is that it was either too much footage for put in the film, or too short amount to make a true, complete sequel. But it will definitely help fill in some of the questions (but not all) that are bound to come up. And besides, this is the only way to see any of the footage of ‘70s action star Fred “The Hammer” Williamson, in a bit of an extended cameo that is not really explained well¸ as is another short bit by Edwin Neal, who plays the POTUS; not bad for someone who started as the insane hitchhiker in the original 1974 The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

The film has a bit of everything (too much?). For example, when God is missing, people do not die no matter how grievous their injuries, and the dead also arise. This gives way to an amusing social bias between those who died before or after God’s disappearance. This would make an interesting full-length feature in itself, especially in our current zombie-fixated and partisan culture.

With this entire convolution, what actually annoyed me was the shoddy camerawork. It felt like a high school project. Shaky cameras are bad enough, but badly handled shaky cameras are something else. There are also some larger choice questions I had, such as: if ValYouCorp can make a camera that that fit inside someone’s eye without being detected, then why does their hit team need to film their excursion into the woods with a 1980s sized camcorder?

Despite my whining, there are a lot of imaginative uses of the image, such as thoughtful switching between color and black-n-white, stylized imagery (including with the hit team mentioned above), and the occasionally really smart use of contrast and lighting.

There are a few good giggles in there, and at least three times I found myself laughing out loud. It’s a fun film, but it does take some work to watch (i.e., it can’t be put on in the background if you want to make anything of the plot), and whether you think it is or not, could depend on factors such as some history with J.J. Abrams and Chris Carter material, how stoned you are at the time of viewing, and level of patience. Especially the latter. I enjoyed the experience, but felt exhausted.

As a sidebar that has nuthin’ ta do with nuthin’, I find it cool that the actresses of the two couples of youngins have last names that rhyme.

VOD [HERE]

 

Review: Profane

Text © Richard Gary/Indie Horror Films, 2012
Images from the Internet

                            

Profane
Directed by Usama Alshaibi         
ArtVamp                                           
78 minutes, 2011    
Artvamp.com
profanethemovie.com
MVDvisual.com

This film touches a lot of cultural hot button topics, such as sex workers, and both the assimilation and strength of Muslim culture into the West (in this case Chicago). One of the areas not often breached is the blending of both.

Iranian-born director Usama Alshaibi takes a peek at the mixture of the two in an experimental release that is both explicit and artful. As Usama is male, it is no surprise that it also has a patriarchal perspective. There is a certain level of titillation that may not be as strong a focus if this were directed by a Muslim woman. But I jump ahead.

The story focuses on professional dominatrix Muna, beautifully portrayed by the lovely and full lipped Manal Kara (yes, I am a self-admitting patriarch). Usually accompanied by her Western cohort Mary (Molly Plunk), she moves seamlessly between her work, her life, and her boyfriend (also a Westerner), with the help of drugs, alcohol and attempting to reconcile and reconnect to her faith.

This begins to change, however, with two overlapping events. First, she starts hearing voices that she is convinced may be a djinn (an Arabic demon, pronounced as “gin”) whispering to her in the nights and when she tries to pray. The second is that on the way home one night from a gig, Mura and Mary get picked up by a cab driven by Ali (Dejan Mircea), a religious Muslim who believes it is his mission to save her both from her hedonistic life, and from the djinn (it is he who names what is occurring to Muna). She is confused and conflicted by both these happenings.

While a loosely narrative film in linear time, it is not necessarily undeviating from the story. Played more like a documentary (though not as “found footage” per se), there are many departures from the scope of the story with arty shots that under a less talented tout ledge, would be a mess, but Usama uses the additions to show that life is not all straightforward, and that there is even beauty in the unconventional.

Part of what is uncomfortable (well, for me anyway), are the explicit S&M scenes, as Mura and Mary (among others) stomp on scrotums, use clients as bathrooms, and abuse willing masked men in various ways, all in detail. In real life Kara and Plunk actually are sex workers, and from what I can tell from the credits, these are some of their real-life clients. While I am sure that this is prurient for some of those who will watch this, it is not for me. Sure, I love a horror movie where someone gets their face chewed off in close-up, but I can distinguish in my mind between the appliance/CGI and reality. Here, there is no question that what is happening to those men and their penises are real. In the credits, they are listed with such names as Slave Jeff, Slave Drum and Footpuppy.

When I worked in a movie theater in my youth, I remember that whenever there was a scene where some man was kicked in the nuts, immediately even man in the audience went “oooff,” followed by all the women laughing. I’ve never been sure if they were laughing at the action on screen, or the reaction of their partners. But I digress…

There is some interesting moments, whether intentional or not. For example, each scene with Ali driving the cab must have been done the same night, because it seems to always be snowing. I’m not sure if this means that it does all take place in one ride cut up into out of sequenced snippets, or they just taped it in one night, and it is supposed to be different times. Just part of the enigma of the film, I guess.

There have been some descriptors of the picture as being part of the Cinema of Transgression genre, which I can both understand, and yet with which I cannot totally agree, which is in no way indicative of how strong a film it is. Transgression brings to mind the likes of Richard Kern, Nick Zedd and Lydia Lunch. Most of this style is incoherent, played strongly for shock, and totally low-budget DIY. It’s for good reason it was closely associated with the New York punk and No Wave movement when it started. And none of this is meant as any kind of implication questioning its worth. Yes, this release has a lot of its elements, but there is a level of art and professionalism that raises it above Transgression, though it certainly does push some envelopes. Perhaps I am wrong, and ease of technology has redirected Transgression into a higher level. After all, the genre has been around since the late ‘70s, and change gotta come, as the band X-Teens once posited.

Now, this is a blog about horror films, so what does this piece of artiness about Islam and S&M have to do with horror, you may be asking yourself. It’s in the djinn (hey, I’m a poemist, as Tommy Smother’s said). Apparently, Muna was mistreated by someone in her faith in her youth (school? Clerics? Parents?), and was forced to undergo a traumatic exorcism, a somewhat common, albeit uncomfortable practice in some parts of the world. Perhaps she really was possessed, and the djinn returned? Or is it all in her mind?  Perhaps PTSD?

There is a lot of graphic and real sex-related content in the film, nearly all of it literally torturous. This is lingered upon what felt like longer than it needed to be, and while Muna and Mary are supposedly in charge, they are also slaves to their own, well, demons, such as the aforementioned drugs. There are also lingering shots of nudity, some sensual and others not, but it is obviously looking through the male eye. While I don’t think there will be many turned on by this, even with the publicity around 50 Shades of Grey, there are also many solo sensual shots of Muna in various states of undress that feel gratuitous at times. While I am not one to buck at a shower scene or something unjustified in something like Zombie Babies (2011) or The Worst Horror Movie Ever Made: The Re-Make (2008), it feel different here, and perhaps it would be less so with a woman’s perspective?

Anyway, it’s sort of a moot point, because despite the high level of real sadism and masochism present, this is an incredibly beautiful looking film, and if your stomach is up for it, it’s an interesting ride that will at the very least get you talking.
 

Review: The Dead Matter

Text © Richard Gary/Indie Horror Films, 2013
Images from the Internet

The Dead Matter

Directed by Edward Douglas        
Midnight Syndicate / Precinct 13 Entertainment            
89 minutes, 2010 / 2012    
Thedeadmatter.com
Midnightsyndicate.com
MVDvisual.com

A modern vampire story with no werewolves? Wow, I am unsarcastically impressed. At least there are zombies. But I get ahead of myself, sorta. The whole film has a really good look, for the $2 mill budget, reminding me of quality fantasy television shows like Supernatural or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Despite whatever problems I found with the film, it’s an enjoyable viewing exercise, and worth the rent.

The film opens in a small town in Germany with a bunch of zombies stumbling along in the thrall of a vampire, rather than wanting to eat some wet bits. Well, at least they have the mandatory gray shade and blood/gore attached to their faces.

We momentarily meet the main vampire of the story, Vellich, played by Andrew Divoff, who was also in the film Wishmaster (1997) and on television’s Lost. He tends of overact, but it’s good. The odd thing is he wears this long, flowing white wig that is so obvious, and makes no sense whatsoever, and it nothing less than distracting. The director says during the commentary that it is very much along the lines of Hammer Films, so I’ll give him that.




Andrew Divoff on the right

What Vellich and the zombies are in search of is a scarab-shaped amulet, being protected by the bearded Ian (Jason Carter, of Babylon 5) and the muscular Mark (Brian van Camp). They escape and take the necklace to a “mystical nexus,” or as we know it… wait for it… Ohio.

It’s there that the amulet gets hidden before a big fight, and is found by two couples. More about them later. Meanwhile. Vellich runs into a new order of vampires in the Buckeye State, who are under the wing of Sebed (make-up and effects wizard /actor / legend Tom Savini). He envisions an almost mafia-like vampire society with himself as Don, while Vellich is old world / old school. And we all can guess who is going to come on top by the end.

Now, does any of this sound familiar? There are a whole lot of themes from other films here, and I’m not saying this in a negative way, exactly, I’m just noticing the trend. For example, taking the trinket to somewhere else to destroy is right out of Lord of the Rings (2001), modern vs. old zombie clan(s) could be Blade (1998), Underworld (2003), perhaps Twilight (2008). During a séance featuring the aforementioned couples, amorphous shapes come out of the amulet and swirl around and through the participants, straight out of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

But, let’s get back to the aforementioned foursome. Y’got your nerdy scientist dude, Frank, played (sorta) by Christopher Robichaud. This is his only credit. He plays the role like someone in a cheap ‘50s horror film. Actually, he reminded me of the main character of the classic Equinox (1970). His clothes look like that as well (checked yellow-tan shirts, and the such; at least they didn’t give him glasses). The director and producers are solidly behind Christopher, so maybe it’s me? Frank works for a corporation making a diet product.

Next up is his newish girlfriend, Jill, portrayed well by CB Spencer. Where Frank is logical and scientific, she’s more Wiccan closer to the supernatural. She’s pretty solid in the role.



Sean Serino

The hero (does anyone still say heroine) is Gretchen, played by the amazingly cute Sean Serino. Killer smile, dude. Gretchen is in pursuit in finding a way to contact her brother, who died in a car accident while she was the driver. Nearly a Candide figure (look it up), she tends to look at the positive side and be cheerful, even when there’s a zombie at the door and vampire in pursuit.

Her boyfriend is Mike, acted by Tom Nagel. Mike may be the logical one who help keep it real for Gretchen, but he comes across as just a bit of a dick (sort of like the husband on that show The Medium). Truth is, the part is seriously underdeveloped, and you can tell that Nagel is a better actor than as the role is written.

That may be the biggest problem with the film to me – which is actually quite enjoyable, despite all the flaws I’ve mentioned – in that with the exception of Gretchen, there really is little context or character development.

I found it amusing that one of the better characters is a nearly voiceless zombie under Gretchen’s control. Brian van Camp does a spendid job keeping us interested in Mark, even though all he does basically is stare into space while eating, drinking, and other things asked by Gretch, or whoever else touches the purple-glowing amulet.

While not a comedy, there are definitely some fine comic moments. One is Gretchen putting one of those car pine-shaped odor eaters around the zombie’s neck before an amusing montage as she takes Mark for ice cream (relevant to a memory of her brother) and to a merry-go-round. Another is the following dialog (which is included on the IMBD page, so I don’t feel like I’m giving anything away):

Jill: A zombie?
Frank: They prefer to be called Post-Mortem-Americans.

While the story is occasionally incoherent (why does the vampire want the amulet exactly? Okay, it controls the dead, including vampires (who are dead), fingernails and hair, apparently, but why he wants that control is never really explained. And why do the new vampires want to get their cohorts addicted to a drug? Yes, there is a positive side effect explained in the film, but not enough to make them drooling junkies shooting up.

There is a decent if not abundant amount of gore, such as a ripped off head and a yank-removed jaw. There are also some fun surprise moments, especially towards the end that alone make this worth the view.

There are a few extras that are noteworthy including a gag reel and theatrical trailer. There are also a bunch of music videos that are okay in the spooky or death metal way. The longest is a feature-length documentary called “Maximum Dead Matter” in which the screen is broken up into four simultaneous sections. The top left is the film running, and the other three are full of interviews, original art, behind the scene shootings, and make-up. It is the most interesting when they involve the actual scene that’s running at the moment. It gets tiresome at times, but I watched the whole thing and wasn’t sorry.

The best extra is the commentary track with the director, producer and co-writer. Even though it was hard at times to tell who was talking (i.e., three dudes), they explained some of the questions I had, and didn’t veer much from the shoot, which is a lot more interesting to me than joking around (even though they obviously are having fun doing it).

 So, yes, I was a bit hard on the film, but now having sat through it three times (original and two extras modes), I still found it enjoyable enough to say it’s worth the Saturday night viewing with the buds.

Review: Bloody Christmas

Text © Richard Gary/Indie Horror Films, 2012

Images from the Internet

Bloody Christmas

Directed, produced and written by Michael Shershenovich                 
Planetworks                                     
90 minutes, 2012    
Planetworksent.com
Facebook.com/BloodyChristmas
MVDvisual.com

Christmas horror is not a new genre. It arguably goes back to the kid-friendly likes of Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964), The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t (1966) or even possibly How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966). However, it wasn’t until the 1970s and into slasher craze of the ‘80s that we started to see Tales from the Crypt (1972; the “All Though the House” segment), Black Christmas (1974), Silent Night, Bloody Night (1974), Christmas Evil (1980), To All a Good Night (1980), Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), Santa Claws (1996), and yes, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). This is a new dip in the Christmas horror pool list, but does it get candy or coal in its dripping stocking?

The main theme of the film is the loss of Christmas spirit, and the result of it. A priest, Father Michael (Robert Youngren, who has played a lot of religious leaders in his career) laments that no one is coming to his church’s Christmas service, including his staff. Rich Tague (Steve Montague, who ironically has played Hitler more than once, including a film called Ultrachrist! [2003]), the film’s main focus, is a down-on-his-luck ex-action film actor who has just been fired as a store Santa (by a character played by the director), the check cashing place won’t touch his last payment, and he’s just received an eviction notice on his trailer for back rent. His anger and frustration slowly builds in him as we see flashes of his fantasies of killing those who offend him or his sensibilities.

Meanwhile, someone is killing people in the area of Binghamton, NY, including the son of Gaylen (Geretta Geretta, who looks a lot like Donna Summers; she was in the 1985 Lamberto Bava classic, Demons, which many feel had been remade as [*Rec] in 2007). Her first scene, which opens the film, is totally out of context and a waste. The police, led by the extremely underused Detective Steinman (Robert Arensen, who has practically made a career playing cops), believes it could be a serial killer.

The killer’s identity is not really a surprise at all, but that’s okay, all things considered, as this is a thriller, not a mystery, after all. The rough edge that runs throughout, though, is that first-time director Michael Shershenovich is still in the growing pains of filmmaking. For example, the digi-camera is nearly always handheld, making for some shaky viewing (though nowhere as bad as, say, Cloverfield). There are also some rough zooms and too many mid-close-ups, rather than alternating between full- and close shots. Also, he doesn’t always get the best out of his actors. It’s as though he rarely reshoots a scene, no matter how much the dialog gets trampled. But the most egregious sin is the total lack of pacing. For a slasher pic, it’s slow and plodding, with very little action and too much pointless dialog that doesn’t really add to the story. And don’t get me started on the weak fight scene that is at the climax of the picture.e There T

The gore level is pretty small and amateurish looking, with the exception of the last gunshot, which looked great. There is no sex, but a nice nude shower scene by the incredibly named (and built) Nova Lox. Like most of the rest of the younger women in the film, she has multiple ink and piercings.

Throughout the entire picture, there is a less-than-subtle pro-Christ in Christmas message, as characters comment about commercialism, the true meaning of the holiday, and the like. Yet characters have paper (Halloween) skeletons on the wall. It’s a bit too all over the place.

Extras include interviews with some cast members, a couple of nothing deleted scenes, and a the film’s trailers.

I don’t believe Shershenovich should take this too much to heart, but use the experience and criticism to make better films. My suggestion is to take on a crew who is more experienced, and can help him along. The best way to learn is to do.

Review: Mark of the Devil

Text © Richard Gary/Indie Horror Films, 2013

Images from the Internet

Mark of the Devil: Yack Pack
Directed by Michael Armstrong
Cheezy Flicks Entertainment
96 minutes, 1970 / 2006 / 2012
Cheezyflicks.com
MVDvisual.com

This German film, originally known as Hexen bis aufs Blut gequält, is a classic in early torture porn. Obviously modeled after the increasingly sexualized Hammer Films of the time, it incorporated the ethos of the graphic violence of likes of Hershell Gordon Lewis.

Taking place in some European country - supposedly England, I believe, considering one of the characters played by Herbert Lom (d. 2012), is named Lord Chamberlain - it takes place around the 17th Century, a time of witch hunters (a role both Vincent Price and Peter Cushing played for Hammer).

Reggie Nalder

The small town that is the focal point of the film is under the thumb of the despotic local hunter, who uses his power to get what he wants, be it money, power, or sex. He needs to keep this control because he is one ugly dude. Named Albino, which strangely he is not, he has a face that was ravaged by fire (in real life) channeled by the underrated Reggie Nalder, (d. 1991), who made a career playing the heavy.

While Albino is supposed to follow Church law and have indictments and trials before the torture and executions, he just takes what he wants, and then burns anyone who he wants out of the way in an auto da fe (look it up). But his power comes under scrutiny with the arrival of said Lord Chamberlain, the governing Church-appointed witch hunter, as well as his student and an underling (who has as much morals as Albino).

Udo Kier

The student and hero of the piece, Christian (of course), is played by now-cult actor, Udo Kier, who would rise to fame just a few short years later as the star of such classics of bad cinema, Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein (1973) and Andy Warhol’s Dracula (1974). He looks much younger in this film; he was quite handsome in the two latter releases, but his blue eyes and baby face are stunningly handsome. I’m not attracted, I’m jealous.



Olivera Katarina

Catching the fancy of Albino and Christian is Vanessa, played by the very heavingly-buxomed, and actually not as pretty as Kier, the Serbian actor Olivera Katarina (last name credited as Vuco here). When Albino can’t have her, she’s declared a witch, and love-interest Christian is out to save her.

The secondary plot, which has some historical truth to it from what I remember, is that the Church gave the landed gentry who opposed the high taxes or balked at oppressive religious laws a choice: turn over their money and land to the Church, or be tortured and condemned to be killed and the Church would get their holdings anyway. That is Chamberlain’s purpose, apparently, which is a turn because at first you are led to believe that he is a savior, rather than an every worse criminal than what we are introduced to in the beginning. Whether he is out for himself or as a direct edict from the Vatican is something unexplained). This is also part of why the US Constitution has a separation of Church and State (the first government to ever do so).

It is sort of like the 1975 James Clavell novel Shogun, where the reader is introduced to the local government which has power of life and death, and then as you work your way through the society with the main occidental character, you find that they were just minuscule in reality to the larger hierarchy. The Church of those times was like that, with those in charge with absolute power (i.e., as Lord John Acton correctly posited in 1887, “…absolute power corrupts absolutely), and yet there were those more powerful above them.

I believe that while this is true, it is especially accurate when embodied by a religious order, who can justify it in their own minds as God makes right. The nastiest person I ever met was a born-again Christian who firmly believe that God wanted her to have what she wanted by any means necessary, even if it meant stabbing co-workers she didn’t like in the back (as she tried and failed with me; I guess God wanted her so bad, He had her join Him in her mid-20s via cancer – note that I believe if there is a God, there is no gender involved, so I’m just using her terminology). The Judeo-Christian West believes that Muslims are alone in their “God is Great” jihads, but Christianity (and Judaism in pre-Roman times) was just as fierce and cruel. There is a lot of injustice in the Bible, for example. Comedian Jackie Mason once stated that according to the Bible, the punishment is the same for adultery and eating non-Kosher food, to which he quipped, “I tried them both and don’t see the comparison.”

There is plenty of torture laid out for the viewer here (which is shown in the trailer, and why it is not included, as I don’t want this to be an “adult” site), including tar and feathering, burning at the stake, various mechanisms designed purely for cruelty (e.g., the thumbscrew), and in the most infamous scene, the removal of a tongue by pincers. The thing rarely talked about is that every one of the implements used is based on reality. The whole Church R&D team of that era was focused on finding ways to help the sinner confess and find God through the most gruesome means. Many are shown here. In college, I did a paper on the Spanish Inquisition, which no one unexpected, and many of the tools shown here are mentioned in detail in books about the period.

And with all this going on, there is an incredulous sappy love story that happens with gooey and tinny music played over and over as a lover’s theme, in typical European films of the time.

This is an absolute benchmark for what would become a genre that includes the likes of Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS (1975), Thriller – A Cruel Picture (1973), the whole Italian giallo (e.g., the zombie films by Fulci, and demon ones by Lamberto Bava), the abovementioned Warhol pix, and even continuing to today with the likes of the Saw and Hostel franchises, and A Serbian Film (2010). If you enjoy the genre, then this is a must for you.

There is one complaint I do have, and that’s more about the company that puts this out. Don’t get me wrong, Cheezy Flicks Entertainment re-releases some amazing period exploitative films, and I have never been sorry to see anything they’ve released. I mean, even this one actually has a replica vomit bag that was distributed when it was first released (kudos to Cheezy). However, I often find that my player had trouble reading the discs, and it tends to skip, much as it does with DVD-R recordings. I’m not sure if they’re going the cheap route or what, but it is annoying to have to keep going back to see the parts that were skipped, or to get the digital noise and stalling as the player tries to make sense of it all.

There are some cool extras here, including some retro-trailers and intermission ads that are on many of the Cheezy releases.

Review: The Color Out of Space

Text © Richard Gary/Indie Horror Films, 2012
Images from the Internet

The Color Out of Space

Directed and screenplay by Huan Yu                  
Brink Vision                                      
86 minutes, 2010 / 2012    
Brinkvision.com
Die-Farbe.com
MVDvisual.com

This is hardly the first adaptation of HP Lovecraft’s well-known 1927 short story of a meteorite hitting the earth, and the evil effects it has on a household (or community, depending on the version). Just off the top of my head, there’s Die Monster Die (1965) with Boris Karloff and Nick Adams, The Curse (1987) with Claude Akins and Wil Wheaton, and arguably the Stephen King episode of Creepshow (1982).

This version is also known as Die Farbe, or “The Color,” because this is a German production, though early parts are filmed in English, and the rest, which takes place in the Germany countryside, is in Deutsche with English subtitles.

The previous versions were generally really bad, cheesy horror films (i.e., fun), but this one has an arty-indie feel to it (i.e., not pretentious), to which the number of world-wide festival winning and nominations bend. It’s filmed in black and white, except for when the “color” appears, drenching specific objects in a purplish-pink hue.

It has been way too many years since I’ve read the original story to speak to its accuracy, so I am going to take this film on its own story merits.

In present time, a scientist who was an American soldier stationed in rural Germany at the end of Dubya-Dubya Duce, goes back there and disappears. His son investigates in the small town in which he had been, and is told by a local (and we see in a series of long and detailed flashback) how a meteorite landed in the village even before the war. The stone, however, starts to disappear / evaporate.

Soon, all the fruit in the area start to grow Monsanto size, with a weird aftertaste. Hit the hardest is the farm on which the space rock landed. Everything starts to die, the mom goes mad, everyone gets sick, and slowly the family starts to melt into lavender droplets.

Over time, this effect would have a lasting influence that… well, I’m going to stop there, because the film is worth seeing, and I don’t want to give it all away. The effects, both physical and graphic are worth seeing. The look of the film is astonishingly crisp, thanks to a home-made camera (apparently called the DRAKE) that evidently makes HD looks like 55mm film stock. While the movie is nearly completely humorless (sans a scene where a German native mocks an American’s grammar), it is also uses the contrast of light and dark to its utmost, and the digital effects are sometimes quite understated, and others a bit shocking.

The extras has a couple of the film’s trailers, the availability of subtitles in many languages, a “lost” scene, a 22-minute day-by-day making-of featurette (in German with subtitles), and a fascinating 6-1/2 minute special effects explanation that shows how they used layers of mattes so effectively. The under 7-minute “Science Horror” short is the one to really watch, as it explains a bit of the subtle ending, and tells about how Lovecraft’s story about an alien parasite has some scientific lineage.

There is little gore (certainly no more than an episode of Bones or CSI), and certainly no sex, just a good story that will keep you at attention. 

Review: Exit 101: Halloween Party Massacre

Text © Richard Gary/Indie Horror Films, 2012
Images from the Internet

  

Exit 101: Halloween Party Massacre

Directed by Doug Cole                
World Wide Multi-Media (WWMM)                       
105 minutes, 2011 / 2012  
wwmm.info/
MVDvisual.com

Sometimes a thematic cultural trend can get tiresome pretty fast, especially when it seems like it’s everywhere. But for some reason, no matter how corny or commonplace it gets, there’s something still appealing about a zombie movie, be it viral, radiation, braaaains, other fleshy bits, or just walking-and-decomposing corpses.

But the place where it is popping up the most, and is largely and lovingly touted, is in independent cinema. Lots of gore and make-up effects raise the possibility of a happy crew and cast. Whether overrun in the city or deep in the woods, a chompin’ cadaver is always welcome.

This indie film’s title place is real, making it a bit different right off the bat. Down in Cordele (renamed Lakeshear for the film), Georgia, at Exit 101 off highway 75, is the town attraction: a 15-foot Titan 1 missile frame. This is the focal point of the film, the hub where the action emanates.

We meet a group of (too old to really be) high school students whose hangout is at the missile’s site, where apparently in 1969, a failed secret military formula was hidden in the projectile. Of course, our noble drawling clique finds it a few days before Halloween, and on a dare, the green fluid is downed by intrepid Caleb (Joseph Lavender, who also wrote and produced the film).

The bunch of bananas includes the power couple of the cute dumb girl Stacey (Kasey Stewart) and the football player Blake (Dennis Proulx) who is a bit of a bully, the cool goth/punk girl Erica (the smokin’ Raina Ashley Strickland), the weird-nerd Colin (Sebastian Gruber), the hip token black guy Reggie (Devin Ray), the plain girl Sarah (Cassandra Johnson, who is married to Lavender in the real world) who is secretly in love with Caleb (i.e., she’s the heroine), and then there’s Caleb, who’s the slacker.

As Caleb slowly “turns” over the days, between blinding headaches for which he doesn’t think to see a doctor, he starts to eat raw packaged chopped meat and doing in a wayward pizza delivery boy as a bite, for starters.

Did I mention that this is a comedy? Thankfully not on the bad pun level of, say, ThanksKilling (2009), but rather more of a humor flavor throughout. Parts of this film was incredibly effective. There is one great scene, for example, where some rednecks meet pizza boy and things turn nasty. The three actors playing the back woods trailer trash just nail it.

Of course, our likable yet not overly bright group and the growing number of zombies are destined to converge at the big high school costume party in the woods, where blood, gore and humor come to a head.

The mentioned gristle is mostly fine, with an occasionally too thick blood to look real, but it’s excusable considering how much works well.

The extras are a gag reel that’s amusing in some parts (especially the rednecks ad-libing). The making-of doc is occasionally interesting. As for the commentary, it’s director Cole and writer Lavender. They vary from fascinating when they are on topic of the production information to a tad talking over each other. The only real annoyance is that Cole is too close to the mic so you can hear him breathing through his nose, and Lavender is occasionally too far from the mic, so he’s hard to hear.

But it’s the film that the important thing, and luckily that is well done and worthwhile.