B-Movie Geek

Victor Crowley Lives! Hatchet 3 is GO!

noreply@blogger.com (B-Movie Geek) — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 01:24:00 +0000

Squee! So EXCITED! No real details yet regarding cast or crew, or even if Adam Green will be back in the director's seat, but I am hopeful on all fronts. The Hatchet series has been a real breath of fresh air for me in the modern horror scene. I'd love to see the lovely Miss Danielle Harris take another stroll through Victor Crowley's swamp. More details to come as Dark Sky Films releases them!

Squee! Hatchet III!

Super 8 - Movie Preview & Trailer Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 13:41:00 +0000

I can recall first seeing the original teaser trailer last May and wondering what sort of monstrous creation Abrams would treat us to this time around. The fact that legendary film director Steven Spielberg would be producing the film only helped solidify Super 8 as a "must follow" film. Below is the latest trailer for the J.J. Abrams' written and directed science fiction film, Super 8. Take a watch now if you haven't seen it yet, as I'll be subsequently discussing some of its elements.

As documented by the articles published in the early days of this website, the Abrams' produced Cloverfield managed to capture my imagination in a big, bad way. This was partially due to my own passions as a consumer of film, owing largely to my boundless love for giant monsters, or kaiju as they are called in Japanese. Cloverfield promised to be the perfect blend of American story-telling and special effects without just being another soulless creature feature. For the most part, I thought that film was successful.

I mention Cloverfield in reference to Super 8 only because of the initial similarities between the two properties. After the May teaser trailer for Super 8 hit, it seemed a foregone conclusion that another giant monster flick was coming our way. After the trailer above, I'm no longer so sure. Super 8 does not feel like a monster movie. All good monster movies of course have a strong human element at their core, but the focus here seems subtly different. Rather, Super 8 appears to be a coming-of-age tale built around elements of the fantastic, not unlike Spielberg's ET.

I have read the potentially SPOILER-filled article from Latino Review which may or may not detail the exact nature of the adversarial force in Super 8. Not to go into too much detail, but based on the atmosphere and the brief clips presented in the trailer, Latino Review's conclusions seem consistent with the tone of the film. Personally, regardless of the true nature of the "lost cargo," I suspect the film's true adversaries will be the military or adults in general. It seems like the kids in the film are being set up to have a life-affirming adventure and not simply running for their lives.

The latest Super 8 trailer has revealed a film that is quite unlike the movie that I originally envisioned. I am partially saddened that I will not be getting another "pure" giant monster film from one of the greatest creative minds currently in Hollywood, but I am also glad to see Abrams' expanding his vision and delivering a different type of film that still includes elements of science fiction. Regardless of my expectations, Super 8 looks like it will deliver a solid summer blockbuster with a bit more substance than we're otherwise used to. Super 8 hits theaters on June 10, 2011.

What are your thoughts on the Super 8 trailer? Leave a comment below!

Scream 4 - Publicity Photos

noreply@blogger.com (B-Movie Geek) — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 11:00:00 +0000

The Scream trilogy holds a special place in my heart, having been released right in the midst of my teenage years. This was the big horror series that, for each installment, I had to hatch some elaborate plan as to how to get into the local theater to see it (By elaborate plan I mean 'Have girlfriend make kissy-lips at the cashier'). I'll be the first to admit the diminishing quality as the series progressed, beginning with the hip post-modern horror flick that was the first Scream which ultimately regressed to the Scooby-Doo mystery-like mess that was Scream 3. Still, I think some time away from the series will help the fourth film feel fresh when Ghostface returns to theaters on April 15, 2011. Speaking of the new film, here's some recently released publicity photos for Scream 4. Enjoy!

I'd like to draw attention to the photo of the bloody murder scene. Frankly, it looks like an amazing visual -I don't recall any similar scenes of gore in the original trilogy, excepting maybe for the brief shot of Drew Barrymore swinging from a tree via her entrails in the opening of the first film. If this is an indicator of a bloodier edge to the violence in Scream 4, count me in.

Scream 4 was directed by Wes Craven, written by Kevin Williamson and stars David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Neve Campbell, Emma Roberts, and Hayden Panettiere. Scream 4 is in theaters on April 15, 2011.

Breaking: Cthulhu Apologizes for Charlie Sheen

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 01:39:00 +0000

Given recent developments, Cthulhu felt it best to preemptively apologize for the recent behavior of Charlie Sheen. He had not realized the extent of the madness to which Mr. Sheen's mind would be filled as a result of gazing upon his visage.

Little known fact: Cthulhu loves the smell, taste and texture of tiger blood. It is considered a delicacy amongst the Great Old Ones but is found only rarely within his house at R'lyeh.

The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu - Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 03:05:00 +0000

I hope that it might be understandable when I say that I approached The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu with some caution. I hadn't really heard anything about the film from my usual sources and only came across the title while randomly browsing on Netflix. I checked out the trailer and knew then and there that I had to give this one a watch. In case it had gone unnoticed by the casual web visitor, I'm something of a closet geek for the writer HP Lovecraft and his Cthulhu mythos. Tales of the Great Old Ones have long captured my imagination and are one of the cornerstones of my horror genre fandom. Unfortunately, there have not been too many good films based on his works. With Re-Animator as one of the few exceptions, I've been fairly disappointed with Lovecraft-based films in general.

The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu tells the tale of Jeff (Kyle Davis), the last living descendant of the author HP Lovecraft. Together with his slacker friend Charlie (Devin McGinn), Jeff is charged with protecting the Relic of Cthulhu and preventing it from falling into the hands of an evil cult. Having already resurrected the general of Cthulhu's army, Starspawn, the cult wants to use the Relic to awaken Cthulhu and thereby bring about the end of the world. It's a suitably heady situation to force upon the bumbling, unsure heroes and serves well as a framework for a horror-comedy.

I thought that the use of Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos was particularly inspired and congratulate the writers for making the idea work. It's not often that I think of the Great Old Ones and think comedy. The seriousness and gravity Lovecraft lent his writings provides the perfect juxtaposition for the tongue-in-cheek approach employed here. Further, I thought the film did a great job summarizing the mythos and simplifying story points such that the uninitiated should have no problem following along. A slick and entertaining animation sequence helps quickly cover large amounts of exposition, serving to fill in the back story and allowing the audience to watch Cthulhu brandish a decapitated Triceratops head as a weapon! A win-win situation, if there ever was one.

The acting is strong overall, but I feel that the supporting characters overshadow the lead. Kyle Davis plays a solid everyman-type hero but cannot compete with the boundless energy injected by Devin McGinn's performance. Although the majority of the film's runtime is spent on the two leads, the real highlight of the film for me was the nerdy sidekick character, Paul (Barak Hardley). Whether breaking both of his arms or awkwardly trying to give away a friendship bracelet, Hardley demonstrates superb comedic timing and is a real pleasure to watch. I hope to see more of his work in the future.

Another highlight for me was the quality of the overall production, which was generally quite high. This movie demonstrates good cinematography, particularly for an independent film. Further, it's not often that direct-to-DVD films have copious amounts of special effects, especially practical ones, and it's even rarer that the effects look as good as they do here. There are a few monsters with some fun, creative designs that get a decent amount of screen time. The way in which these creatures and effects are filmed and presented reminded me a lot of Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy films, by which I mean they are generally well-lit and unabashedly put on display. The filmmakers want the audience to see these creations and to celebrate in their other-worldliness. In short, the effects are as good as can be expected for a film of this budget, even if they aren't all exactly perfect (looking at you, fish-wolf things).

The Bottomline: The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu is a fun, entertaining film that horror-comedy fans will want to see. The film is hugely successful given its independent roots and budgetary constraints. Highly recommended and available now on Netflix. Three Bruces.

The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu

Directed by Henry Saine

Written by Tom Konkle & Devin McGinn

Starring Kyle Davis, Devin McGinn and Barak Hardley

2009 - 78 minutes

Scream 4 - Cast Poster

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 13:11:00 +0000

Well, here it is. This is the poster for the long-awaited Scream 4. Take a gander at its pure wonderment below!

While I am excited for this film, I acknowledge the decrease in quality that occurred over the course of the original trilogy. Still, the return of Wes Craven makes me hope this will be a strong genre entry despite some of his recent stumbling. Looking at the new cast members at the bottom I can't help but feel that they're trying to appeal to the emo-angst Twilight generation a little bit. I mean look at the size of that dude's hair on the right. I don't know, something just seems wrong when David Arquette is the least douchey-looking person on your character poster. Scream 4 is in theaters on April 15th 2011.

Best Worst Movie - Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 02:35:00 +0000

I rented Best Worst Movie, a documentary regarding the cult film Troll 2, with relatively few expectations. I knew that the documentary had been making the rounds on the independent film circuit, and had heard good things about it. I've also seen the film that the documentary revolves around, so I am well aware of the depths of wretchedness to which Troll 2 succumbs. Still, I didn't really know what to make out of a film that was going to attempt to chronicle the story of the worst movie ever made some twenty years after the original film's release.

Best Worst Movie is about Troll 2, but it doesn't really chronicle how Troll 2 was made. Yes, there are interviews regarding the atmosphere on set, but these moments sharing behind the scenes anecdotes are not the focal point. The documentary is really about the fans of Troll 2 and about the cult following that has risen around the film. It is about the idea that somehow this crappy little film from 1990 has managed to pervade the consciousness of pop culture and resonate with its audience in a manner never really intended by those involved in making it. In case it isn't clear yet, I really enjoyed this film.

Michael Stephenson is the director of Best Worst Movie and is also the child actor that portrayed Joshua Waits, the main protagonist of Troll 2. Like most of the cast, Michael has spent the majority of his life just trying to forget about the embarrassingly-awful film he starred in. As the years passed and young Michael grew, so did the cult of Troll 2 until it became a sort of living entity that would no longer be ignored. In making Best Worst Movie, Michael Stephenson has faced Troll 2 and owned it, transforming the film from a source of personal embarrassment and into an experience deserving of celebration.

Joining Michael on his odyssey to document the strange wonder surrounding the worst film ever made is George Hardy, the actor that portrayed Michael's father in Troll 2. A good portion of the documentary focuses on George Hardy and paints a pleasant picture of this enthusiastic and good-natured dentist from Alabama. George comes off as a genuinely nice guy, one perhaps surprised by the Troll 2 phenomenon but overly-willing to embrace it. The documentary jumps around the country, showing conventions and fan gatherings where throngs of people show up to watch Troll 2 and meet the cast members. George is our ambassador to these moments, clearly thriving on the crowds' reaction to him and his reciting of lines from the film. Whatever your assessment of George Hardy as a person or his prowess as an actor, it is clear that this is a man that loves to perform.

Although mostly positive in the tone, there are a few lingering moments of near-heartbreaking poignancy. The director of Troll 2, Claudio Fragasso, although happy for the attention surrounding this nearly-forgotten film clearly has some reservations accepting the film as being the worst ever made. George Hardy also has a moment of self-realization at a horror convention where none of the fans seem to know or like Troll 2. He makes the observation that fans of Troll 2 and fans of horror in general may not have a large degree of overlap. This point is reinforced by George himself over the course of this segment, unable to correctly recall the title of genre heavyweight "A Nightmare on Elm Street" at one point. I've personally spent some time thinking about this over the last few days as I am one of those people that love both horror and B-movies. I'd never really considered that my point of view might be the exception rather than the rule.

It's clear that the reputation of Troll 2 is one that has grown organically and as a result of a genuine love from B-movie fans. The cast and crew of Troll 2 did not set out to make the film that now exists, but there are some of us that will be forever thankful that things turned out the way they did. I'm glad to see that at least some of the people making these films get as much enjoyment out of them as I do, even if it takes them a decade or two to realize it.

The Bottomline: Best Worst Movie is a thoughtful look at both B-movie fandom and the effects of cult followings on those involved in the making of these films. This is a balanced documentary with some thoughtful points to make. If B-movies are a hobby of yours, you'll be as happy as I was to see the genre get a love letter as well made as this. Four Bruces.

Camp Slaughter (Camp Daze) - Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 01:42:00 +0000

Camp Slaughter (AKA Camp Daze) - 2005

Director: Alex Pucci

Writer: Dravem Gonzalez

Starring: Kyle Lupe, Anika C. McFall, Matt Dallas

There are a lot of low budget horror films where kids at a camp get cut down in creative ways for breaking the various rules of slasher lore. Sure, the slasher sub-genre can be repetitive as hell, but isn't that really sort of the point? There's a certain comfort in the slasher formula. The films are just as much about rooting for the villain as they are about hoping that the protagonists survive. As I've mentioned before, part of the joy of these films is discovering just how these films deviate themselves from the expected story beats, whether just by creative death sequences or something more involved.

With that in mind, Camp Slaughter (AKA Camp Daze) is a pretty creative entry into the over-saturated slasher market. The screenwriter, Draven Gonzalez, clearly had the beginnings of a unique and fun plot when the project began. The story starts like any slasher flick, with a group of college-age students on a road trip. They manage to break down close to Camp Hiawatha, a standard sort of summer camp filled with your usual assortment of counselors and teenage campers. When kids start turning up dead, it quickly becomes apparent that something is amiss. Our lead characters band together and manage to survive the night of terror- only to wake up the next morning to find everyone at the camp is safe and sound.

This is where the film is at its most interesting. Our protagonists quickly learn that they are stuck in a sort of Groundhog Day time warp. Everyone at the camp is doomed to relive their final day over and over again, cut down at the hands of the slasher ad infinitum. Worse still, some of the camp residents seem to be aware of their fate, but are helpless to stop it from occurring. The main characters come from a time and place similar to our own, and are key to finally putting the spirits of these doomed teens to rest. Having main characters from the modern age is a fun idea and allows the movie to break the fourth wall without just shamelessly winking at the audience. The premise is Camp Slaughter's greatest strength.

Unfortunately, the rest of the film pales in comparison to its imaginative plot. The script itself is a mess of awkward dialogue, made worse by poor performances pretty much all around. This is a self-feeding negative loop, so its hard to know if the script writers or the actors are really to blame. Shot composition is passable, but overall quality looks like the movie was shot on video. This last really isn't a complaint, but know that low-budget means exactly that.

The make-up and general special effects are nothing special, but I did appreciate the elaborate set up to at least a couple of kills in the film. In these, the killer has left his victim strung up in some compromising position, hooked up to simple trap apparatuses that is sprung by the arriving help. These deaths really made my think about the typical slasher trope of the survivor girl stumbling upon the bodies of her deceased friends. This modification does the traditional cliche one better by ensuring the victim's final moments are witnessed by the protagonist. Although one could argue this has been played out by the Saw films for several years now, I'd like to see this idea expanded upon in other slasher films.

Ultimately, I did enjoy Camp Slaughter, but I feel like it fell victim to its own desire to be a smart slasher homage. The time travel premise is smart but needed additional thought and script-revision to be considered well-done. The intentionally cliched 80's characters are fun but one-dimensional and not particularly well played. There's little gore, there's zero female nudity, and the killer lacks a unique gimmick. Further, the reveal regarding the killer's identity is an overcomplicated twist that makes the film feel like it's trying to do too much. The story would have benefited by concluding the time-warp storyline it initially presents in a straightforward manner.

The Bottomline: There are a lot of mediocre slashers out there, but Camp Slaughter at least attempts to do something fresh and entertaining. You have to give points to the filmmakers for that. I hope they get another opportunity to do some genre work, hopefully with a larger budget and reduced scope. Worth a rent from Netflix for slasher fiends, but other genre-hounds may want to skip this one. Two Bruces.

Haunted Overload 2010 - Haunted Attraction Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 03:45:00 +0000

After attending Haunted Overload the past two years and subsequently writing about my experiences both times, I wasn't sure that there would be anything left to say about this stalwart of the haunt industry. Last year saw fantastic progress for Haunted Overload, featuring a longer trail with all sorts of new set pieces and effects; it seemed like another annual review would hardly be necessary. If you've read my past reviews of the 2008 and 2009 seasons, then you know my opinion that Haunted Overload is the physical embodiment of the very essence of Halloween. I had resigned myself to the fact that there seemed to be little left to say about the fantastic and terrifying Halloween experience that is Haunted Overload. And then, the unthinkable happened.

Haunted Overload lost its home.

For the past three years haunt mastermind Eric Lowther had been staging the event at the Coppal House Farm in Lee, New Hampshire. It was around the second week of April when I heard the news- Haunted Overload would not be able to return to Coppal House for the 2010 Halloween season. I was genuinely upset at first, but good news was right around the corner. Within a matter of weeks, Haunted Overload was able to secure a new venue, that of DeMeritt Hill Farm, also located in Lee, NH. Despite this stroke of luck, the immediate implications were staggering- Eric and crew would only have six months to build an entirely new haunted trail.

This may come as a surprise for the casual haunt fan, but professional haunted attractions are typically year-round endeavors. The moment a haunt closes following the Halloween season, work begins on next year's edition of the haunt. Six months is simply not a lot of time in this industry. Even with having secured a new location, I honestly wasn't sure that moving Haunted Overload would happen in the time-frame that remained. For Haunted Overload to return in 2010, and for it to be anything other than a ghost of its former self, it seemed like a Halloween miracle would be needed.

Despite being a holiday typically associated with the supernatural, the only miracle that occurred at Haunted Overload was good, old-fashioned hard work. It is clear that many long weekends and sleepless nights were contributed by a great many talented individuals. Collectively, they have managed to achieve the miracle that Haunted Overload needed. There is no greater testament to the skills and dedication of the Haunted Overload crew; the new haunt already looks like several years of work have been put into its creation. The elaborate sets, the detailed props, the giant monsters, the expert lighting- they're all still here. Haunted Overload is awesome as ever and, dare I say, better than ever before.

The new location is a big part of what elevates the new Haunted Overload over previous annual editions. The land set aside for the haunt takes the patron down a forty-minute trail deep into the woods. There is no manufactured substitute for the primal dread that comes from walking through the woods at night. Take away the actors and the impressive sets, and the woods are still genuinely scary in their own right. Dripping with this natural atmosphere, the woods at DeMeritt Hill Farm are the perfect place to set an outdoor haunted attraction.

The move to a new physical location practically necessitates that every major set-piece is a brand-new construct. Although I missed several of the previous large set pieces, the clown tent and vortex tunnel in particular, the new buildings definitely make up for those left behind. The new main gate through which patrons enter the haunt is especially impressive. The towering facade displays the glowing visage of a demon, its giant horns towering over the beautiful, eerie lights of pumpkin alley. Other notable set pieces include an off-kilter shack whose wildly exaggerated angles wreak havoc with your sense of balance, and a spooky old mineshaft whose downwards sloping entrance makes it seem as if you're actually headed under the ground.

The quality doesn't end with the buildings. Many of the highly detailed props and giant monsters made the move to Demeritt Hill, and they're accompanied by some brand new brothers and sisters. For those of you that have never attended, there's simply nothing else in the industry like the thirty-foot tall monstrosities that loom over Haunted Overload. Smaller siblings are also abound, with the fully-articulate, twelve foot-tall Death Stalkers returning from last year, and similarly sized scarecrow-like monsters making their debut. I really liked the dark, amorphous faces and hand-sharpened stick teeth of these latter creations. Other notable pieces include chainsaw-carved trees; artful sculptures with ghastly contorted evil faces. These tree-monsters are wildly imaginative, looking like something out of a Hollywood movie when lit up at night. The monstrous trees are definitely one of my favorite ideas on display at Haunted Overload and, to my delight, they are placed directly in the center of the walking path, allowing me to appreciate their finer details as I passed by.

Having made known my appreciation for the inanimate elements of Haunted Overload, I want to give credit to the flesh and blood that help bring the haunt alive each night. The trail itself is a spectacle to behold, but without the volunteers and actors it would feel like an empty tomb- disquieting, but not terrifying. The costumed denizens of Haunted Overload complete the experience, engaging the patron and perpetually keeping them on their toes.

Moving beyond the superficial costumes and make-up, both of which are top-notch, I've been consistently impressed with the actors' performances. Haunted Overload is one of the few haunts where the actors are seemingly well-coached and encouraged to fully realize their characters. Some of the actors will speak to you and engage in conversation, while others remain completely silent. Depending on their character, actors may imitate animals, mumble incoherently, or simply even gasp or hiss. These performances are appreciably varied, breaking the trend of simply screaming until hoarse, an annoyance all too commonly found at other haunts. The use of low noises, breathy gasps and raspy growls almost too low to be sure I even heard them, are unsettling in ways that really add to the atmosphere of the haunt. Actors aren't afraid to work together either. More than once I witnessed an actor pass up their opportunity to scare and to serve as a misdirection of the patron's attention while their unseen comrade moved in for the kill. Teamwork like this ensures that the scares are constantly flowing and really helps elevate the overall experience. I can think of no greater praise than this: Having worked in the industry for several years and having attended half-a-dozen haunts during the 2010 season, the only place that made me scream was Haunted Overload. Special kudos to all involved!

Given the hardships that proceeded the 2010 season, I was thrilled to see Haunted Overload rise above and provide the quality Halloween experience for which they are known. The silver lining is now clear- Eric Lowther and the rest of the Haunted Overload crew have an entire year to expand and improve the new trail at DeMeritt Hill Farm. With the basics now established, it is time to see what new horrors the creative minds at Haunted Overload dream up next. I look forward to being surprised, startled and scared in 2011- and you should too!

Did you attend Haunted Overload in 2010? Feel free to add your comments below!

All images courtesy of Eric Lowther at Haunted Overload and Artifact Images.

Vamp - Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:04:00 +0000

I can remember Vamp from my childhood. No, I didn't actually see the film when I was a kid, but I do remember it being listed in the TV Guide, schedule to play during a late night time slot on one of the premium movie stations. To this day I can remember reading the listing as a teenager and being tempted to set my alarm for early in the morning, tempted to sneak downstairs to watch on the family television. In my defense, the promise of both vampires and strippers contained within a single film is almost too awesome for a thirteen year old boy to ignore. I remember the box art on the shelf at the local rental store, the cool fluorescent lights glaring off the clear plastic sleeve covering the VHS tape. I may not have known the exact content of the film, but there was something about that lipstick kiss on the VHS box that told me this film was naughty. Despite renting countless R-rated horror movies, I never could work up the nerve to bring this one to the check out counter.

So why do I mention, at great length no less, my personal history of admiring but never actually watching this film? I think it's to impress upon you the feeling of nostalgia that overcame me while watching this film. While I possess no previous knowledge, or therefore love, for the film, I still felt an incredible affinity for its content. Vamp is the sort of film that, even if you've never seen it, might still hold some value if you grew up during the right period of time.

The film is a product of its time, a combination horror film and teenage sex comedy. It vaguely reminds me of a John Hughes film but with vampires, a feeling no doubt reinforced by the presence of Gedde Watanabe from Sixteen Candles. All of the characters are incredibly rooted in late 1980's culture, from their dated costumes and hair to the slightly too old actors portraying them. Still, the movie is sharply written and ably acted. The two male leads are fun to watch as they engage in snappy, rapid fire dialogue. Robert Rusler in particular is extremely watchable here, and horror fans will recognize him as Grady from the earlier A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge. Also deserving mention is the undeniably cute Dedee Pfeiffer who gives a strong performance while wearing her tiger-striped leggings and zebra-print jacket with pride.

The plot of the film almost seems like a predecessor of sorts to the Quentin Tarantino written/acted vampire-stripper opus, From Dusk 'til Dawn. As part of their initiation, two college buddies are tasked with traveling to the Big City (which one? I don't know) and bringing a stripper back for entertainment at a fraternity party. They borrow a car from the rich kid, played by Gedde Watanabe, and make their way to the After Dark Club. The boys quickly outstay their welcome, discovering first hand that this wannabe bordello is actually staffed by bodacious vampire stripper babes! Needless to say, the protagonists go on to have a pretty bad day.

For a film focused on obtaining the services of a stripper, there's surprisingly little nudity in the film. Although, that's not to say that scantily clad vampires don't fill the frame for a good portion of the film's ninety-three minute runtime. Most times clever costuming hides the naughtiest of naughty bits, leaving the film with only a few bare breasted shots. Rest assured, there are plenty of flat 80's asses on display though. Most perplexedly, the head vampire stripper is played by the androgynous yet striking Grace Jones. I can't be sure how it played back when the movie was first released, but her main-stage strip show doesn't even begin to approach the adjective we now know as 'sexy.' It's even more odd to watch the strip club patrons within the movie applaud her act, as though they were watching a different show than we, the viewers, were privy to. Story-wise, I'll just attribute it to her otherworldly vampiric allure and move on. I also appreciated the sarcophagus and other assorted Egyptian imagery. It suggests a much deeper back-story in regards to the origins of these vampires, even if it is never directly addressed.

There's not much here in terms of gore or creative deaths, but a few people do get munched on and a few vampires do get staked or burned. There are a few action sequences, car chases and the like, and the budget is clearly being stretched in those sequences. But really, special effect aren't the driving force of this movie. The fun teen flick atmosphere and constant tease of probably nudity makes this a schlocky if somewhat hollow good time. The charisma of the lead actors will probably be the deciding factor for you, and I found their performances to be engaging right from the opening scene.

The Bottomline: My experience with Vamp was a fun, nostalgia-fueled celebration of a begotten time in cinema. My only unfulfilled wish is that I no longer have the chance to take the suggestive cover art and slap it down on the counter at the local rental store. Three Bruces.

Alien Raiders - Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 02:42:00 +0000

Alien Raiders (2008) is an entertaining, low-budget, alien-infestation flick owing much of its plot to John Carpenter's classic remake, The Thing. The biggest factor working against this film is its generic title, leaving the would-be rental customer with the distinct impression that this film might have been made as an Asylum or SyFy channel original. Don't get me wrong, I love Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus as much as the next guy, but its the sort of film that you watch when you're still waiting for Netflix to ship out your latest batch of celluloid goodness. With a title like Alien Raiders it would be easy to assume that this film shares a similar heritage whose results could only be described as dubious in quality. However, if you can overlook this unfortunate first impression and still happen to pick Alien Raiders up off of the rental shelf, I can assure you that you will likely be rewarded for your 85 minutes and the minimal monetary investment.

The premise is simple; a group of armed gunmen storm into a small-town grocery market and quickly announce their intentions to rob the place. Something is immediately amiss, as instead of taking the money and leaving, the gunmen take the customers hostage and chain up the exits. The situation quickly escalates when a small-town cop takes it upon himself to draw his gun and take out the gunmen, but not before notifying the local precinct. The cop is quickly subdued, but the police show up outside and we have the beginnings of a standard bad guy-cop negotiation plot-line.

Not exactly sounding like an alien-infestation movie yet, is it? It's an interesting set-up at a glance, definitely a refreshing approach to a film of this type. Story-wise, it turns out that the gunmen have no intention of robbing the market, but are instead searching for people infected with an alien parasite. Given that the alien host looks like a normal person, there is no knowing who is and who isn't infected, so the gunmen set out to test each and every customer in the store. It's a lot like The Thing, although the test is a bit more gruesome. I also appreciated the added intellectual element of the hostages versus the gunmen. In the early portions of the film, the audience identifies more closely with the hostages. We feel what they feel- maybe, just maybe, there are no aliens and the gunmen are simply insane.

The film is competently made, but the low budget does begin to show in the special effects. Luckily, the movie is smartly scripted and the effects shots are actually rather sparse. Oddly enough for a genre film with such a campy title, Alien Raiders unfolds as more a slow-burn and is a better film for it. One choice affecting both aesthetics and story was having one of the gunmen run around with a camcorder. Some of this footage is interspersed into the movie proper, providing brief low-fidelity glimpses at the frequently chaotic proceedings. This same mechanic also serves to provide some back story. Although this does make for some interesting visuals, having a hostage taking, gun-wielding bandit running around with a camcorder is an odd choice from a story standpoint.

There aren't any stand-out performances from the main protagonists, but all of the actors are perfectly well-suited to the material they're given. Given the background of the gunmen as explained in the film, I thought the characters weren't written in a way that properly reflected their origins. This is not an issue with the acting, but rather scripting and maybe casting. I understand the desire for the gunmen to come across as some serious bad-asses, which they do, but this does not mesh well with the background they are given.

The Bottomline: Alien Raiders is an entertaining, low-budget film that offers some new twists on the standard alien-infestation storyline. Some scripting inconsistencies might rear their ugly heads, but overall it's a solid rental. If you can get past that ridiculous name. Three Bruces.

Spirit Camp - Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 05:13:00 +0000

It's been awhile since I sat down and watched a fun slasher flick, and I'm happy to report that Spirit Camp (2009) is a perfectly serviceable film that helped scratch the itch. The set-up is similar to countless other genre films: a group of teenage girls attending a secluded cheerleader camp are stalked and picked off one by one. There's the usual cast of characters, including the Bitch, the Slut, the Ditz, the Fatty, and the Loner. This roster is joined by a handful of characters with the convenient purpose of doubling as red herrings. Over the course of the hour and thirty minutes, we will watch as these unfortunate souls lose their dignity and their lives at what should have been a fun summer romping around and getting laid at Cheerleader camp.

Spirit Camp is a fairly paint by the numbers experience, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Let's be honest for a brief moment- the formula is one of the reasons why we fans continue to watch these films. Sure, they're predictable, but that's just part of the fun. I love watching these films to see how they deviate from the expected, to see just how they intend to carve out their own niche. Spirit Camp does this by making the loner character the main protagonist. Played ably by the attractive Roxy Vandiver, the conflicted Nikki is the only character written with any depth and is thus the only character the audience ever really cares about.

The film hinges on Nikki's likability, given that she's the only competent character that displays any use of logic. This is an interesting juxtaposition since the character's loner punk-aesthetic and criminal background seems initially intended to distance the audience from her. The beginning of the film is written in such a way as to reinforce this feeling as she is the last of the primary characters to be introduced. Further toying with the audience's expectations, Nikki is one of only two characters to appear bare-chested, and she does so twice. This subliminally helps cement her bad-girl attitude and is really trying to make you doubt whether the character will survive or not. It's both an interesting and a refreshing approach to the Final Girl concept.

The main group of girls arrive at the camp and it doesn't take long for the killings to begin. It's sort of odd when characters start disappearing and no one really questions where they've gone. This is of course mentioned in some passing dialogue, but the subject is quickly dismissed by the disinterested characters. As I've pointed out before, directly addressing a plot hole does not excuse lazy writing. Still, given the overall quality of the film and its low budget nature, I'm inclined to give them a pass on this minor nit-pick. Just be aware that some of the standard slasher tropes definitely still apply.

As long as we're on the topic of the standard slasher tropes, there are so many red herrings in this film it's laughable. There's the old, eccentric gas station attendant, the pervy local sheriff, the backwoods camp handy man, the elder mother whose own child died at the camp years ago, and so on. Red herrings are part of the slasher formula, and the screenwriter wasn't shy throwing them about. Sadly, I felt like the final reveal was telegraphed a little too early in the film, so most of these false leads rang a bit more hollow than they maybe should have.

On the technical side of things, I feel like I have to acknowledge all of the hard work that filmmaker Kerry Beyer poured into this movie. This man acted in, directed, wrote, edited and did the cinematography for this film. There's good use of lighting and composition, and some creative editing that make good use of several composite matte shots. Given how well made the film is technically, I'm very interested to see future projects from Mr. Beyer. My only request would be to work on the make-up effects. Many of the kill sequences were repetitive and I'm fairly sure I saw the exact same axe-wound appliance used on more than one actor.

The Bottomline: Spirit Camp is a predictable but solid slasher film. It is well made and competently acted. Definitely worth a rental for genre fans. Three Bruces.

Haunted Overload 2009 - Haunted Attraction Review

noreply@blogger.com (B-Movie Geek) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:46:00 +0000

The colors of fall blur by your car window as you travel down the secluded back roads of Lee, New Hampshire. The sun is just beginning to set, and you'll arrive as the shadows start to slowly blanket the land. You can almost physically feel yourself begin to slip into the twilight, the world between the physical and the fantastic. The excitement you feel in the pit of your stomach begins to grow but so does the dread in the back of your mind. What have you signed yourself up for? No time to wonder, there's a sign post up ahead- you're almost there. You turn off the main road and onto the loosely paved gravel, the final road leading to Haunted Overload.

You find a place to park in the expansive green fields and exit your vehicle. Immediately, you feel that there is a spell about this place, an almost tangible mood hangs in the air. The sun is quickly fading now, and other cars are just beginning to arrive in numbers. You turn towards the farmstead and begin to make your way towards the ticket booth. As you make your approach, your eyes cannot help but be drawn to the twenty-foot monstrosities towering over the walls of the indoor/outdoor haunt. You're not even in the haunt proper yet, but you've never seen creations like these. You're in for a wicked night.

For the uninitiated, a haunted attraction is a Halloween-themed locale where costumed actors attempt to surprise and scare fun-seeking patrons. Although this is still an apt description of what physically occurs within its walls, to call Haunted Overload a haunted attraction almost does it a disservice. Haunted Overload is not your average haunt. You will not find the same store-bought props and costumes that populate many other attractions of this type. Lead by haunt creator Eric Lowther, the entire cast and crew of Haunted Overload clearly have a deep love and respect for the season. The sheer amount of time and hard work that goes into preparing the haunt for each year is astounding. Their passion is obvious when one observes the countless hand-made horrors found within. If you have an eye for such things, you will quickly recognize the artistic merit that permeates the entire Haunted Overload experience.

The various set pieces are impressive for a multitude of reasons. As a direct example, early in the haunt there is a large structure, a wooden tower whose front has been crafted into a demonic, gaping maw. The scale and carpentry alone would suffice to impress, but the tower is also functional. A costumed actor can be seen pacing around this elevated perch, calling doom upon the mortal patrons passing below. The element that truly transforms this tower is the careful use of colored lights to add dimension and depth to the demon's face. The final product is a majestically spooky set piece, much more than the sum of its wooden planks and colored gels. No longer a mere tower, the wrathful demon, its head jutting forth from the earth, struggles to break free and unleash itself unto our world.

Beyond the artistry of the sets and props, special mention is due of the haunt's actors. The set pieces create the mood, but it is the actors that drive the tempo and give the haunt its scares. First, the costumes are incredible. It seemed to me that everything is either hand-made or modified. It is my understanding that many of the actors put together their costume and create their ghoulish persona on their own. To these people, I give my applause. Their hellish creations are both imaginative in appearance and demeanor. The actors give life to their characters in ways that compliment the artistry on display elsewhere in the haunt. I was especially impressed by the use of low moans and guttural growls. Quiet noises serve to change the tempo, mentally putting patrons off-balance, and thereby making the next big jump scare that much more effective. All of the actors seemed to understand the importance of this oscillation well. Special mention goes to the actor who portrayed the demonic crow last year. Your terrifying caws and unsettling neck movements earned you the favorite spot amongst the group with which I attended.

Being that 2009 was my second year visiting Haunted Overload, I wanted to keep an eye open towards how the haunt had changed from the previous year. I'm happy to report that the journey through Haunted Overload was substantially different. The path itself had been re-routed, with various returning set pieces being visited in a new sequence. Although I recognized some of the same buildings, the interior set pieces had been shuffled, replaced, or redesigned. Modifications in actor placement and routines were also apparent. For example, in the cornfield you encounter a tall demon with a melted face. The previous year, this demon was played by a live actor, menacingly banging his chain against his wooden shack. As I approached the demon, I kept waiting for him to lunge at me, but he never did. As I passed by, I realized the ugly brute was now a statue. A simple change, but one that worked off my own memories, misleading my anticipations.

There were also several additions to the haunt that were completely new for 2009. The graveyard was expanded in length and several 12-foot tall grim reaper statues were added. I found these creations to be extremely impressive based on their detail alone, but that feeling was furthered by the disclosure that the statues were designed to be fully articulate and pose-able! There was also a new ghostly, skeleton-horse, affectionately known as Mr. Ded. Between the lighting and the detail work, you'd swear this deathly horse were the real thing. Another honorable mention goes to a spooky automated rocking chair, which I stared at for several minutes trying to figure out if the seated witch were real or not. Finally, amongst my group, the most impressive new feature to Haunted Overload in 2009 was voted to be the swirling green-fog vortex tunnel. My friends lost themselves in the effect of the swirling lights and I loved the way that the actor portraying the ghostly miner would fade in and out of vision depending on how deep he stood in the tunnel.

Although the Coppal House Farm was the host location for Haunted Overload in 2009, the 2010 edition of the haunt will be moving to Demeritt Hill Farm. The new location is primarily based in the woods and promises to be terrifying in whole new ways. The main event haunt typically runs during the final two weekends in October. The haunted walk itself takes approximately forty-five minutes if you pace yourself but, if you're easily startled, you may find yourself rushing ahead at an accelerated pace. Tickets are sold via the Haunted Overload website. All tickets must be ordered in advance and the showings have been known to sell-out, so be sure to get your tickets early. For $3 per person, you can visit the haunt during the day to further appreciate the finer details of the props and set pieces. These daylight outings are subject to farm hours, so be sure to call ahead. Furthermore, if you're a parent with a young child, you can choose to visit on a 'Fright Night Lite,' a special evening where you can come and see the haunt at night and meet some of the actors, but without the worry of the haunt being overly scary

More than just the movie quality sets and the high quality scares, it's the plainly apparent appreciation for the season that makes Haunted Overload the definitive Halloween destination. The love and passion combined with the home-grown atmosphere has completely won me over. Eric Lowther and his crew have succeeded in crafting an experience that captures the very essence of Halloween. Much more than the sum of its sights and sounds, Haunted Overload is a celebration of the outer boundaries of the human mind. I look extremely forward to the upcoming season and seeing the new venue in 2010.

As always, comments are welcome below. If you enjoyed this review, may I suggest checking out my review of the 2008 season at Haunted Overload.

All pictures courtesy of Artifact Images and http://www.hauntedoverload.com

ThanksKilling - Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:24:00 +0000

In honor of the impending holiday, the Geek has chosen for review the 2009 low-budget release ThanksKilling. You know to expect great things from a movie billed as the ultimate in low budget horror, but I was not ready for what I experienced the moment I pressed play on my Netflix Instant Streaming media player. Don't get me wrong, this is not a movie that any one will ever put on a list of their favorite films of all time. This isn't even going on any lists of must-see so-good-it's-bad films. Still, for the entire hour and seven minutes the film lasted, I was entertained by the sheer lunacy of the proceedings.

The film's opening is tits. Yes, literally, the film begins with a lingering shot of a lone nipple on a large breast. Normally this would be a positive for a B-movie, but sadly the quality of this breast is below the standards of what I expect from modern indie cinema. Back in the 1980's, you would frequently come across nude actresses who really ought not be nude. This opening scene reminded me of this staple of a long forgotten era, as the older blonde woman whose tits are hanging out of a costume-shop puritan ensemble, really should not be naked. This is not to say she is unattractive, in fact for an older lady she's holding up very well, but still I could have done without seeing the goods.

The tits serve as an introduction to the opening chase, in which we watch the topless pilgrim fleeing through the forest with all the haste of a tranquilized turtle. During this sequence we are first introduced to a recurring purple, psychedelic camera perspective than is clearly meant to represent the view of our unseen assailant. The scene concludes when our hapless protestant trips over a rock and comes face to face with our antagonist, a rubber turkey-demon puppet. The foul adversarial fowl spews forth what might be described as a one liner were is humorous, and then dispatches the nippley milk maid with his Native American ceremonial axe.

Cue title screen.

Still with me? Really? You're still on-board for a movie about a demonic, wise-cracking turkey? Excellent. The fact that you're still here means that you know exactly what to expect from the rest of this film. We jump to the modern day, meet a group of thirty-something teenagers on their way home from college for Thanksgiving Break, and quickly get to the killing. Of the so-called "teenagers," we have aa strong showing of all the cliched characters that the genre is known for. We have the Jock, the Slut, the Nerd, the Fat Guy, and the the Last Girl are all represented. The only real surprise is we never see the Slut's rack despite a tease early in the film. The acting is uniformly terrible, partially a result of inane dialogue and poor scripting, but if you're actually still watching this movie, you clearly aren't one to care about those sorts of things.

The turkey is a ridiculous rubber hand-puppet that can only be used in extreme close-up, which only serves to reinforce how damn rubbery it is. The one-liners he spews aren't particularly clever, but really did you need anything more ridiculous than a talking, killer turkey? The methods by which the turkey dispatches his victims are mostly varied and imaginative, a strong plus for a film of this type. We're even treated to a sex scene, surprisingly lacing in nudity, in which the Slut unknowingly has sex with the turkey before meeting her untimely fate. My favorite kill of the film is awarded to the Fat Guy, who undergoes a fun food-fantasy sequence that ends similarly to the chest-burster scene in Alien.

In terms of the cinematography on display, I feel that some special mention should go to the psuedo-animated scene explaining the turkey's backstory. The drawings here are fun and fit in with the cartoonish feel of the rest of the film. I'm not sure why this scene is included, whether they didn't have the time and money to costume and film live actors or if it was a aesthetic choice, but either way I felt the sequence worked well within the context of the film. The cartoon drawings make another appropriate appearance later in the film, for the previously mentioned Fat Guy food-fantasy.

As ridiculous as this film is, as bad as the script and acting are, for how little money was clearly spent putting this film together, I nevertheless enjoyed ThanksKilling. I could string together a thousand complaints about the film, but none of them matter. This is an entertaining, low budget B-movie that makes no apologies for what it is. To that same end, I cannot make an exception based on intent. Make no mistake, this is not good cinema. Then again, you're reading a site called B-Movie Geek; you probably care as little about good cinema as I do. You may need a beer or two and group of friends to enjoy it properly, but ThanksKilling could be a great way to spend the evening after Thanksgiving dinner. Just don't think Grandma is going to enjoy it.

The Bottomline: This Thanksgiving the Geek would like to give thanks to the filmmakers for having the balls to put together a script about such a ridiculous antagonist, gathering the actors and funding, and then actually making this film. There is no reason for this movie to exist, but I'm glad it does. This is what low-budget filmmaking is all about. Two Bruces.

Avatar - Commentary

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:53:00 +0000

It is official; I don't understand the hype surrounding James Cameron's upcoming science fiction/action hybrid, Avatar. It's not that I doubt Cameron's abilities as a director, after all this is the same man that brought us both Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. I consider those two films as the absolute best examples of the sci-fi/action genre in existence. Each film displays a perfect blend of story and character development, expertly balanced by some of the most impressive visual effects of their times.

At first glance, Avatar appears to continue in the tradition of these fine films. There seems to be a strong human element to the story, seeking to add a grounding point for the more fantastical alien elements. Cameron's last feature film before this was 1997's Titanic. In the time since that film's release, Cameron has worked on a steady stream of IMAX-style documentary films, no doubt using the opportunity to develop and hone the technology on display in Avatar. Given that Cameron has had nearly 12 years for his next project to percolate, it's not wonder that expectation have been so high.

In the months leading up the first trailer release, rumors have swirled regarding the highly realistic special effects in the film. This is a point that has been pressed by the early marketing campaign surrounding the film. I'm at a loss of words other than to say the effects are not that impressive. I'll be the first to admit that final textures and animations on computer generated effects are typically not in place until very late in the process, but for such a highly hyped feature, the trailer does not sell me on the point. The blue aliens and outlandish alien landscapes look about on par with what I remember from The Phantom Menace. Note I'm not saying they look bad, they just have a cartoonish quality to them and are not as photo-realistic as I had anticipated. As someone who plays video games, I don't think these effects are appreciably better than any of the highly praised Blizzard cinematics from the last year or so.

That said, I think the actual story of Avatar looks interesting enough. Sure, the idea of a human being "going native" on an alien world isn't exactly the most original tale, but neither was cybernetic killer from the future and look what Cameron crafted from that. The important thing here is Cameron is continuing his tradition of grounding his brand of fantastic sci-fi action with a very basic story about humanity. Context can be a wonderful thing.

Paranormal Activity - Commentary & Spoof

noreply@blogger.com (B-Movie Geek) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:04:00 +0000

The surprise hit of the year, indie horror darling Paranormal Activity took theaters by storm during the month of October, emerging from its theatrical run as the most profitable movie of all time. This is an impressive feat, one that seems all the more impossible when one considers the film's budget was a paltry $15,000, almost half what it cost to make The Blair Witch Project, the other well known and profitable first-person-camera style indie horror success story. It is that low budget that allowed Paranormal Activity to become the most profitable movie of all time, for if more money had been spent making the film, the percent return would have been that much lower. Still, a domestic box office total closing in on $100 million dollars is none too shabby for a movie filmed in the home of its writer/director, Oren Peli.

Given that this was shaping up the the genre event picture of the year, you can bet that the Geek got his butt into the theater to see Paranormal Activity when it was released locally. I enjoyed the film immensely, but I am more than aware that the film isn't perfect. This is a slow burn type of film, one that gore hounds and action junkies are going to reject as plodding and, dare I say, boring. Much like in The Blair Witch Project, the main characters of Paranormal Activity spends the majority of the film's runtime bickering and not listening to one another. The characters' actions, well-intentioned or not, only serve to compound their growing problems, resulting in a helpless and frustrating experience for the audience.

Allow me to reiterate, I did enjoy this film. However, the ways in which the characters interact make me suspect that I won't be rewatching it too many times. The Micah character responds to the growing threat in a way that any rational person would not. He chooses to ignore all of the signs that the situation is spiraling beyond his ability to control and illogically continues down the same misguided path. I understand that his hubris is a conceit necessary for the plot as constructed, but I would have liked to have seen a more realistic approach to the manner in which the characters address the problem they are facing. Instead of being bound together the escalation of events only results in widening the emotional gap between our protagonists, at which point the script devolves into an inane series of arguments and bickering. Not the most interesting turn of events.

All of that said, my mind began to wonder just how different the film would be if you took away the otherworldly elements. Given that there are few special effects, you'd have a film that was largely the same but whose focus was now simply the deterioration of a couple's clearly troubled relationship. You'd have a story that could pretty much belong to any person or couple in the world. At any rate, based on these characters, I don't think you'd have a very interesting film. Micah and Katie simply aren't dynamic enough to hold together a compelling narrative without the ghosts and demons supporting them. Without the paranormal activity, you'd end up with something pretty... normal.

Zombiemania - Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:30:00 +0000

I suppose there is always time for firsts, and today is the Geek's first critical look at a documentary. Zombiemania is a lovingly crafted piece chronicling the development of the current zombie craze that is currently permeating popular culture. The footage originally aired on SpaceCast, a Canadian television channel which in unavailable here in the States. I personally was able to catch Zombiemania on Netflix via their Instant Watch option.

The director, Donna Davies, is clearly passionate for the subject matter and does a commendable job presenting the inner workings of the genre in a way mainstream audiences will comprehend. Although one doesn't normally think of zombies as being the most complicated of movie tropes, there in fact exists a very rich history surrounding their origins. Zombies as villains can be traced back to some of the earliest films, but they were not the typical zombies that we think of today. In older movies, like White Zombie or King of the Zombies, zombies were the result of voodoo curses or other magics. These are normal, living people whose minds have been ensnared and their bodies enslaved to do their master's bidding.

When George Romero introduced the concept of the modern 'living dead' zombie, he subjugated an entire genre's worth of previous works and folklore. In the documentary, Romero himself admits that he never set out to categorically redefine the zombie as he has a deep seated appreciation for those older types. In fact, he claims, he initially did not refer to his living dead monsters as zombies, nor did he intend them to be interpreted as such. Despite this, each of the interview subjects give credit to Romero for being the father of the modern movie zombie.

Zombiemania talks to a number of people knowledgeable about the zombie phenomenon, from actors and make up artists, to authors and anthropologist. A couple of the more prominent names on this list include Zombie Survival Guide author Max Brooks, and special effects wizard Tom Savini. Each speaker brings their own unique views to the discussion. Savini, for instance, goes into detail about the types of make-up and effects that go into making a walking corpse look as realistic as it possibly can. His contributions shed light upon the various advancements in both effects technologies and application techniques that have occurred over the last thirty years. Max Brooks spends a good deal of time in seeming disbelief over the success of his two zombie-themed bestsellers, and showing his appreciation for the fans that are so dedicated to the concept.

Led by Brooks, the documentary spends some time exploring some of the more obscure facets of zombie movie fandom. One such trend that is gaining in popularity is the phenomenon of organized zombie walks. Essentially, groups of strangers gather together at a predetermined location, don costumes and make-up, and then make their way en mass to some secondary location, all while doing their best zombie impressions. It's presented as a fun, if somewhat sticky, way to spend an afternoon. As this sort of activity demonstrates, zombie fans can be very passionate and dedicated in ways that fans of other genres typically are not.

Zombiemania spends some time pondering what it is about zombies that appeals so strongly to the modern subconscious. The social commentary of the Romero films is touched upon, pressing the point that the underlying message of each of his films was always relevant to the decade in which the film was released. Night of the Living Dead has civil rights themes; Dawn of the Dead is about consumerism; Day of the Dead addresses ignoring the problem; and Land of the Dead about the increasing distance between the upper and the middle class. I have always felt that using societal context is a great way for Romero to add depth to his work. This lends a timelessness to his films, a property that endures even once the make up and special effects are long since outdated.

I really enjoyed this documentary, and felt it was a good use of the 56 minute runtime. Although there isn't a lot of material here that die hard fans are going to be unfamiliar with, it's always nice to see this information compiled into a single, accessible source. Having so much face-time with the big stars of the genre, both old and new, also helps to legitimize the proceedings for a wide swathe of an decidedly varied fan-base. That said, the documentary is not with its faults. The most glaring of these is the overly-energetic voice over work from a one-liner spewing narrator. I found that the humor contrasted poorly against the seriousness lent to the subject during the interviews. Given the ease with which one might be tempted to dismiss zombies as an academic subject, I felt the attempts at humor were somewhat ill advised (says the hypocritical man with humorously captioned pictures between every paragraph).

The Bottomline: Zombiemania is a loving tribute to a subject close to my heart. Although the lack of new information makes this geared more towards casual fans, any one who likes to see serious treatment of our chosen genre should be pleased. Three Bruces.

Happy Halloween!

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:45:00 +0000

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, stay safe tonight and have a fun, fright-filled evening! The Geek himself is off to Lee, NH for his second trip to Haunted Overload. This time I'm bringing a whole posse! I hope your Halloween is as exciting as mine. Happy Halloween! Until next time, stay safe and stay scared!

(Yup. Carved him myself. I told you my Halloween was exciting!)

Trick 'r Treat - Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:39:00 +0000

I promised myself that I wasn't going to let this review serve as a digression into hyperbole theater, but honestly I don't think I'm going to be able to help myself. Trick 'r Treat is the best Halloween-themed movie I have seen since John Carpenter's seminal holiday classic. With this single project, the film's writer/director Michael Dougherty has catapulted himself into my pool of names to watch. This high praise may come as a bit of a shock to casual genre fans, taking into account that many of them have probably never even heard of this film, much less seen it.

Like other recent examples, Hatchet coming foremost to mind, Trick 'r Treat was never given the wide release its content deserves. Approximately one month prior to Trick 'r Treat's slated October 5, 2007 theater release, the film's distribution company, Warner Brothers, chose to bump it from this date without providing any explanation for the delay. A theatrical release was rumored for 2008 and again for 2009, but these whispers never came to fruition and the film was instead unceremoniously dumped straight to DVD. Although official reasons for the delay have never been announced, rumors point to the involvement of Bryan Singer's production company which was involved in getting Trick 'r Treat the greenlight at Warner Brothers. When Singer's reboot of the Superman franchise failed to generate big box office, it seems as though Warner chose to give the cold shoulder to other projects that Singer had been involved with, Trick 'r' Treat being one of those targeted.

It's really too bad if this story is in fact true, because Warner Brothers really missed the boat on this film. With the proper marketing I could easily see this film, like recent genre titles Zombieland and Paranormal Activity, as generating high levels of buzz within the mainstream community. For the last several Halloween seasons, I have felt as though movie companies have not been catering to the needs of the horror audience. The only real push by a movie company worth mentioning is that by Lionsgate with the Saw films, but honestly I feel as though that franchise ran out of steam about four years ago. With a name like Trick 'r Treat, a simple title that is so strongly evocative of the holiday, it seems like a seasonal release of this film would be a safe, money-making decision.

The film is an anthology piece, consisting of four overlapping and interwoven stories. The film plays with the chronology of the events in a style most commonly attributed as being reminiscent of Tarantino. As an aside, I feel this comparison does the film a disservice as the filmmaker has a very firm grasp of the genre, and the film's overall feel is that of a genuine and original horror film. Trick 'r Treat does not feeling like a kitschy rehash of better films (Sorry, Quentin. For what it's worth, I once really liked Reservoir Dogs). The film earns itself a solid R-rating, featuring many themes that could not be explored in a PG-13 film. For instance, many of the characters are grade school-aged children, whose untimely and violent ends ensure that this film could not have simply been edited to play to a younger audience.

The stories of the film center around one basic concept; observing and obeying the rules and traditions of the Halloween holiday. Given that the holiday has its roots in long forgotten customs and religious practices, there is a wealth of history that the movie uses to define its own internal mythology. Admittedly, many of the rules that the film throws out as tradition are ones that I have never heard of, but the way that they are presented as fact meant I never questioned their authenticity within the world of the film. This world is very similar to our own, except this is a world where ghouls and goblins do exist and all of the old legends are true. It's an interesting setting and I would like to see this universe revisited sometime down the line.

The first of the four stories features the principal of the local middle school relating stories of Halloween traditions and customs to one of his misbehaved students. The second follows the events of four promiscuous college-age hotties attending a party out in the middle of the forest. The third tale sees a small group of middle-school students venture into the local rock quarry, seemingly investigating tales of a horrible bus accident that occurred there many years ago. The final story revolves around an elderly recluse being terrorized by a mysterious costumed fiend. I don't want to get into the details of the various stories because a major factor contributing to my enjoyment came from discovering the various twists and turns as they unfolded. Every time a character from one story made a cameo in another, I felt rewarded for keeping my eyes open and connecting the dots between the chronology of the unfolding events.

One of my favorite elements of Trick 'r Treat is the character of Sam, a child-sized entity wearing a sack-like scarecrow/pumpkin costume, whom makes appearances throughout all of the stories. There is an innocent, child-like quality to Sam that makes some of his later scenes that much more unnerving. The visual design of this character is really unique, especially in a world where grosser, nastier and more realistic villains are so commonplace. The simple sack mask that he wears is both creepy and immediately identifiable, traits that would serve him well should the world of Trick 'r Treat ever be developed into a franchise.

Typically, I do not care for anthology style films because they tend to fall into very similar trappings. In most anthology films, the individual tales are strung together by a group of characters relating the stories to one another. This is a convenient contrivance that is used because the script writers do not have to spend anytime determining how the stories are related to one another. Almost always there is a "twist" at the end of the film, showing the story-telling characters as suddenly being in danger because these otherworldly, supposedly-fictional terrors are real. This is a prime example of lazy story-telling to which Trick 'r Treat, thankfully, does not fall victim. Each of the stories are well thought-out and they are interwoven into an expertly crafted tapestry of terror.

The Bottomline: Trick 'r Treat is required Halloween viewing, deserving to be listed amongst the ranks of other holiday classics, like John Carpenter's Halloween. I simply cannot conceive of a true horror fan that doesn't find sheer joy in this film. Rent or buy it today! Four Bruces.

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Trail of Terror 2009 - Haunted Attraction Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:52:00 +0000

You see the signpost for North Colony Road and take the right-hand turn leading you off the well-beaten path that is State Route-5. The urban trappings around you quickly fall way as the road leads you down a decidedly less traversed path. You pass through the four-way stop and see the large grass field immediately on your right. It's quarter-to-six and the sun is still in the sky, but the field has already begun to fill up with cars and small groups of people. You park alongside the trees lining the field and exit the car. Despite your knowledge that the city is but a mile down the road, you feel as though you could be in the middle of nowhere. A paranoid sense of isolation slowly begins to invade your thoughts. The sun is setting fast and you start off down the old, uneven road, following the crowd as you make your way towards the entrance.

The Trail of Terror is a popular New England haunt that opens within the confines of the Polish National Alliance Park in Wallingford, Connecticut. It was once voted as the "Best Outdoor Attraction" by Fright Times magazine and was ranked by Haunt World magazine as the number 2 "Best Charity Attraction" in 2008. The venue is a highly complex, haunted maze-like walk comprised of numerous twists and turns. When you first arrive you have to pick which line to enter, depending on what kind of tickets you wish to purchase. For those of you whom choose to wait in the general admission line, the snaking, roped off corridors are dotted with mood setting props and some large and imposing animatronic figures. The lines pass by Big Dan's Trail Grub (a concession stand that is accessible without losing your place in line) and eventually wrap back toward the creepy old building that serves as the entrance way into the haunt proper. Distractions from your wait are provided for by appropriate heavy metal music and a highlight reel of horror movies playing on a nearby movie screen. Additionally, costumed actors will periodically make their presence known as frantic screams punctuate their path through the crowd. The in-line entertainment does not end there as, over the course of the night, several different skits will play out along the rooftops of the buidling standing at the Trail's entrance. Given that the wait in line is typically long, these efforts to keep the crowd entertained are greatly appreciated.

Once you finally progress into the trail proper, different scenes and set pieces meld and flow into one another, with a total of thirty different themed locales being represented in the 2009 season haunt. Not content to just present the usual rogues gallery, although demonic clowns and inbred hillbillies are present and accounted for, the Trail reaches out and includes more obscure horror fare as well. For example, one scene had been made up to look like old-time England and whose shadowy corners were populated by coughing, hacking, wheezing plague victims. Another scenario, this one returning from the year before, featured a strung up Santa Claus and a delightfully demented Mrs. Claus whom has apparently decided that she prefers the company of elfs. Dark parodies of Sesame Street and Alice in Wonderland help round out the cards with skits that one doesn't normally think of as being haunt material. I'm happy to say that in my experience they all came off as equally spooky and enjoyable, from the Cage Maze psychopaths to the girl with the human pin cushion skills just outside the entrance to the Freak Show.

The quality of the set pieces at the Trail of Terror is generally top notch. If you can find the time to stop and smell the roses, you'll see a lot of fine detail and craftsmanship has gone into your surroundings. The demonic clowns for instance are centered around a circus tent that, from the outside, is even complete with a lite-up, rotating top. The faux-rock walls used for Jason's Cave and the Mine Shack in this years haunt look very much like the real thing at first glance. High quality set pieces are especially important when you wander between so many differently themed spooky realms. The quality helps to immediately place you in the scene and help manifest the proper atmosphere for each sub-story being told.

If I had any complaints with the Trail of Terror this year it would be that some of the set pieces and costumes are recognizable as store bought items that one might find in any well stocked Halloween warehouse. I'd like to stress that this is a fairly petty and minor complaint when one considers the number of different scenes contained within the Trail of Terror and its approximate 45-minute walk-through time. For a haunt as big as this one, you simply need lots of props and actors to fill all of that space. Given that this is so, it is understandable that not every piece on display is a one of a kind item. That said, there are plenty of unique props, many large and elaborate sets, and some fantastic make-up jobs on display. Clearly many people with great passion and skill have worked long and hard to deliver this level of quality to the haunt's customers.

The level of interaction included in the Trail's skits is one of the largest and most welcome differences between the Trail of Terror and many of the other haunts I've been to. Interaction can come in the obvious form, with actors talking and reacting to you depending on how you respond. My girlfriend, for instance, was singled out by the deranged Mrs. Claus and berated when I gave away that she didn't celebrate Christmas. For this slight, my girlfriend was separated from the small group we were in and forced into the oven first. This brings me to the next form of interaction present at the trail, that of physical engagement. At times you will have to duck down under a miniature door to enter into Wonderland, crawl through ovens, and even slide down a ramp leading to the bottom of a certain spooky well. The ground along the trail is frequently uneven and given that many of the floors are man-made, this is clearly by design. They want you moving at a certain pace and they want to keep you off-balance, both mentally and physically.

Along these same lines, several scenes at the Trail of Terror generate their thrills by exploiting your basic senses. The Vortex Tunnel, a haunt-staple involving a walkway crossing the center of a rotating outer shell of a room, makes an appearance along the Trail. The sensations of movement and vertigo that this simple yet clever device is able to trick your mind into producing never ceases to amaze me. Another room utilizes strobe lights and walls covered in a polka dot pattern, creating an optical illusion that prevents you from being able to distinguish the dotted actors from the walls as long as they remain motionless. Other sections of the Trail with similar themes are perhaps less creative yet no less effective. One section requires you to continue onward through the haunt in near-complete darkness, using only your hands to feel your way forward.

I find that these scenes aimed at exploiting your senses are not only very effective at unsettling you, but also serve to incite fear within the primal-most sections of your mind. If you cannot trust your senses, your sight and balance, then how can you be actively preparing yourself in anticipation of the next scare. The Trail of Terror's commitment to this approach to fright is rather unique amongst the haunts I've attended. They're really trying to push you out of your comfort zone, a desire that led to the most entertaining and interesting part of my evening. I should probably warn you now that some spoilers regarding the scene at the end of the Trail lay ahead.

*** SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS ***

As my girlfriend and I approached the final scene, that of a basement morgue, with her clinging to my arm in what no doubt would be interpreted as a death grip, an actor managed to disarm her with a simple and friendly greeting. Perhaps forgetting herself, my girlfriend loosened her grip as the actor directed her, and seemingly our entire group, towards an open door directly in front of us. I noticed that there were a couple other actresses in the room and, oddly, only one other petrified-looking female patron. My girlfriend stepped into the room and the actor deftly slid his body into the door frame, blocking me from immediately following. "Not you!" he snarled at me, quickly fading into the room and closing the door behind him. As the door was swinging shut, I could see my girlfriend begin to turn around, her eyes widening as she realized I was no longer at her side. The door shut and we were separated.

Immediately, a previously unnoticed door to my left slid open. A blood splattered female orderly steps out, urging our group onward into the basement. I pause, my eyes still on the door behind which my girlfriend had disappeared. I wasn't sure what to do. Should I wait here or should I go on? The orderly clearly could see my hesitation. "Don't worry. You'll get her back," she whispers to me with a cackle. Powerless to do anything else, I obey and proceed into the morgue.

And that's how I felt walking through the entire last scene; unsure, powerless, and perhaps even a little afraid. Not that any harm was going to befall my girlfriend, certainly not, but I didn't know how she would react in a haunt off by herself. What if she were to freeze up? Or double back looking for me? At this point I didn't actually know we were near the end of the haunt and didn't know when or where along the path we would be reunited, if at all! Part of my fear was real; I couldn't remember if she had been carrying her cellphone. How would we find each other in the crowd? This was not just another jump scare; I was definitely outside of my comfort zone in a way that I think was quite intentional. Congratulations, Trail of Terror, you managed to scare me.

I suppose to provide closure on the story I should inform you that although we were separated and I had those countless worries running through my head, my girlfriend and I were reunited rather quickly as the morgue was the final scene of the walk. Turns out, while I had to crawl through a mock morgue freezer, she had been selected to take an alternative path. She and this other patron I had briefly seen were coaxed into laying down on an actual stainless steel gurney and passed into what she describes as a real-life morgue unit. As she lay there entombed in utter darkness, loud banging reverberating through the steel, the gurney was slid on a track leading through the wall and she was eventually released on the other side. What amazes me most about this branching path is that if my girlfriend hadn't been randomly selected to traverse it, I'd have never even known it existed.

*** END OF SPOILERS ***

Before I wrap up, I feel I must make mention of my one negative experience with the Trail of Terror. Allow me to preface this by saying I've personally attended this haunt every year for the last four years and, with the sole exception of last year, have always been impressed with their annual offering. On this particular night last year, I found that certain scenes contained too many actors while other sections felt too scarcely populated, and not in a deliberate way. Due to the sheer size of the haunt and the volunteer nature of its staff, it seems as though coverage can fluctuate a fair deal over the course of October. I assume that the root of this problem may stem from specific issues that only affected the one particular night on which I attended last year. However, since the quality of the haunt potentially may differ from night to night, your experience may differ from mine. That warning said, I was extremely pleased by my experience this year and you can bet that I will be back again in 2010. For my money, the Trail of Terror remains the single best haunted attraction in Connecticut. Great job to all involved!

The Trail of Terror is an elaborate and fun haunted walk that people come from all around New England to see. Proceeds from ticket sales ($10 General Admission, $20 Speed Pass) are donated to charity, which in the past has benefited the Red Cross. However, due to the recent closure of their local Red Cross branch, a different charity will be receiving proceeds from the 2009 haunt. The Trail closes at 11PM on Friday and Saturdays nights and closes at 10PM on Sunday nights. The attraction is immensely popular so you should either buy Speed Pass tickets online on their website or prepare yourself for a two to three hour wait in the normal ticket line. Over the past four years I've found it doesn't really matter when you get there, either before or after the gates open, as you'll spend approximately the same amount of time in line regardless. If you aren't buying tickets ahead of time, I wouldn't recommend arriving any later than 7 o'clock. Tickets can and frequently do sell out, so it is recommended that you arrive early.

If you enjoyed this review, may I recommend checking out my review of Haunted Overload 2008, the number 4 haunt in the nation as determined by Haunt World Magazine! As always, please click on an ad and join my Facebook fanpage to show your support for the Geek!

All photos courtesy of http://www.TrailofTerror.com

The Haunted World of El Superbeasto - Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (B-Movie Geek) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 04:40:00 +0000

Rob Zombie has spent considerable effort over the last decade trying to break into and legitimize himself in the horror filmmaking world. There can be no doubt that Zombie has shown himself to be very passionate about the genre and genuinely is trying to please the would-be fans of his films. Unfortunately for him, it seems that fans have largely been divided by Zombie's works instead of standing unified behind him. Part of this divide is no doubt due to the choice of his projects. House of 1,000 Corpses was an extremely rough, amateur outing and its follow-up, The Devil's Rejects, was action-heavy and pushing the boundaries of what I'd considered a genre piece. The Halloween remake was sure to be a polarizing experiences for horror fans regardless as to whose hands the project was placed, and the sequel certainly wasn't going to do anything to change anyone's minds on the matter.

Given this history, I appreciated seeing a project from Rob Zombie that seemed to step so far away from his previous releases. The animated film The Haunted World of El Superbeasto is a definite departure from his other forays into filmmaking. Part of this is no doubt due to the fact that although the story and directing nods go to Zombie, a lot of artist and animators were involved in crafting and influencing the final product. The project still wears Zombie's horror roots squarely upon its sleeves, featuring demons, nazi zombies, werewolves, and vampires at various points in the story. However, El Superbeasto is not a work of horror, nor is it really a horror comedy. This film is a sex comedy that is merely sporting the visual trappings of the horror genre as a way of defining its personality.

Although I felt much of the film was fairly incomprehensible, the plot itself is straightforward. Briefly, the evil Dr. Satan (a fun turn by Paul Giamatti) sends his lackey ape to kidnap the perpetually-naked, foul-mouthed stripper, Velvet Von Black (a ridiculously entertaining turn by Rosario Dawson). As the legend goes, once Dr. Satan must convince her to marry him so that he will be infused with the unstoppable powers of Old Scratchfoot himself. Conveniently, our hero Superbeasto happens to be in the strip club where Velvet is performing and has set his mind on banging the hell out of her. His desire to tap that ass provides his motivation in chasing after Velvet once she is kidnapped and serves as the central fuel for the forward momentum of the story. Really. Superbeasto is helped out on his quest by the ridiculously over-sexed character of Suzi-X, his crimefighting step-sister, and her perpetually horny man-bot sidekick. Hilarity ensues.

At this point in the review I feel the need to come clean. I don't know whether or not I liked this movie. Don't get me wrong, its sick and vulgar, humorous at times, and is definitely entertaining. But the story is so free-flowing and the events so random that the entire film feels somewhat disjointed and without purpose. For instance, the character of Suzi-X is introduced as she raids a zombie-nazi castle to steal/destroy the decapitated head of Zombie Hitler. Funny perhaps, and with winking towards Zombie's faux-trailer for Werewolf Women of the SS from the interludes in Grindhouse, but really completely unrelated to the rest of the film. In fact, the whole sequence comes off feeling like padding and, when your movie is only 77 minutes long, this suggests some fundamental problems with the scripting.

That said, the movie is entertaining. The runtime is short enough that although the overtly sexual gags and constant nudity stop feeling imaginative or edgy fairly quickly, they don't ever become grating. The animation helps with this because the novelty of watching cartoon characters perform these violent and sexual acts somehow remains strong throughout. This novelty is only helped by the quality of the animation, which is actually quite high. This should be expected considering the talent that worked on bringing The Haunted World of El Superbeasto to life are mostly industry veterans, whose collective credits include Pixar films, Disney movies, The Simpsons, and most of Cartoon Network's current lineup. You can tell that these artists had a ball drawing and animating the various depraved scenes on display here.

The Haunted World of El Superbeasto contains numerous nods and references to Zombie's previous works, film and music both. For instance, the iconic character of Captain Spaulding, played by genre favorite Sid Haig in Zombie's directorial debut House of 1,000 Corpses, makes an appearance here in animated form. Other regulars like Bill Moseley, Danny Trejo and Sheri Moon Zombie lend their likenesses and voices to the various characters in the film. In another nod to Zombie's previous works, the titular Superbeasto, a mask-wearing, egotistical, luchador superhero, shares his name with a successful single from early in Zombie's solo music career.

In the end, I'm conflicted about this film and must confess that the contradictions present in this review are a direct manifestation of those feelings. I think I liked The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, but I don't know if I'd favorably recommend it to anyone. At the same time, even if its shtick feels worn out by then end, the film is well made and does succeed at being genuinely entertaining. Given that, it seems as though a recommendation ought to follow in short order. Like I said, I'm conflicted. In the end, I don't suppose many people have ever seen a film quite like this one (except maybe those of you "lucky" enough to have caught Fritz the Cat). For the sheer novelty alone, I suppose this one is worth a watch. Part of me suspects that this is a film that I will look upon more favorably as more time passes from my initial viewing. Even as I write these words I'm beginning to feel the compulsion to watch it again. Perhaps a second viewing down the line will help clear up these mixed feelings.

The Bottomline: This film exists. I watched it. Maybe you should too? Be prepared for lots of cartoon violence and graphic nudity, although nothing dips into X-rated territory. Zombie fans should get a kick out of the numerous references to his other works. Two Bruces.

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Return of the Living Dead - Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:25:00 +0000

In 1968 George A. Romero's first film, the seminal classic Night of the Living Dead, was released unto an unsuspecting public. The film spawned 3 direct sequels (Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, and Land of the Dead) all of which were directed by Romero. Casual horror movie may have never previously noticed, but there is a subtle but distinct change in the naming scheme of the series beginning with the second installment. As part of an agreement with the somewhat lesser known Night of the Living Dead co-writer John Russo, Romero could go on tell more stories in the same universe, but Russo exclusively would retain the rights to use of the phrase "-of the Living Dead."

Return of the Living Dead is a cleverly developed concept from Russo that does not entirely forsake the Romero classic that came before it. The premise of Return of the Living Dead is based on the idea that the events that transpired in the original Night of- film were based on real events. As a character in the first act explains, the basics regarding reanimated corpses were true, but the filmmaker was forced by the military to change people's names and some facts regarding the basis of the outbreak. This scene retelling the release of the original film is sufficient homage to that which came before it but still allows for some new, fun twists along the way.

The film begins in a medical supply warehouse with the old caretaker relating the true story nature of the "Night of the Living Dead" zombie outbreak to a new employee. The old caretaker knows the truth of the story because their warehouse accidentally received a shipment consisting of a metal drum containing a bodyfrom the supposed outbreak. A mishap occurs and the metal drum is punctured, releasing the deadly reanimating agent 2,4,5 Trioxin into the basement. The gas spreads through the ducting system and ends up reanimating a corpse stored in the upper levels of the building. Eventually they corpse ends up dismembered and the owner of the medical supply warehouse calls in a favor with an old friend working at the local mortuary. They burn the still wriggling pieces in the furnace but end up releasing the reanimating gas into the atmosphere through the resulting smoke. A torrential thunderstorm carries the gas into the soil of the local cemetery releasing a horde of nigh-unstoppable, brain-craving ghouls.

The story follows two separate groups of people, the aforementioned warehouse employees, and a group of punkish teenagers partying in said local cemetery. These younger characters are most definitely a product of the times, sporting a mishmash of giant 80's hair, leather jackets with chains, and styling mohawks. The collection of young actors do a suitable job playing the collection of fodder for the hungry monsters. Of special mention is 1980's scream queen Linnea Quigley playing the role that most every teenage male will remember her for; the young, nimble nymphomaniac, Trash. In a role that helped solidified her legend, Quigley sheds her clothes in a full frontal dancing scene about 20 minutes into the film and remains essentially naked for the entire runtime, even in scenes after her transformation into a zombie. Stories of theater audiences cheering every time Quigley came on screen, incredulous of the fact that this girl could possibly still be completely naked, are passed down amongst fans even today.

Return of the Living Dead departs from the standard Romero-Zombie mythos in several significant ways. Amongst the most noticeable to horror fans may be the ways that the zombies act and are dispatches. Foremost amongst these changes is the origins of one of the oldest zombie cliches. When asked what a zombie says, most anyone would immediately respond "Brains! Braaaaaains!" Despite this, the classic Romero-Zombie is incapable of speech. Not so in Return of the Dead. In fact, this may be the film that solidified that particular turn of phrase in the collective consciousness of pop culture. In another departure, these zombies do not just crave the flesh of the living, they crave the brain specifically and are quite vocal about their digestive needs.

Another major departure that many casual horror fans think is a recent invention of modern films like 28 Days Later and the Dawn of the Dead remake (2004) is the fast-moving zombie. In actuality, this particular zombie convention can be traced back to much earlier in the time-line of the genre. Return of the Living Dead features these fast moving zombies and even does one better over their contemporary counterparts; these zombies have intelligence. Although in later films the Romero-Zombies learned to use simple tools, these zombies show complex problem solving skills almost immediately, setting up traps and luring still-living victims into their midst using police and emergency radios. Worse still, the zombies in Return of the Living Dead are essentially unstoppable juggernauts that can only be destroyed by incinerating their bodies (or high electrical current, as in the sequel to this film). Destroying the brain or removing the head doesn't help as the rest of the reanimated body keeps coming.

Even with all the changes to the zombie mythos, the largest departure from the Romero films are found within the other components of the film, most notably to tone. The excess nudity on display here, a quality not found in any of the Romero films, is but one example of this shift in alignment. Return of the Living Dead is much more comedic, featuring elements of both black humor and slapstick. The score of the film consists almost entirely of popular heavy metal songs and also adds to the more light-hearted feel of the movie. Despite this, the film is still capable of producing an atmosphere of terror and dread. The constant screaming and moaning of the undead serve as a constants reminder of their presence and transforms the horde into an intangible entity even when off-screen. The only valid complaint I can lodge at the film is that its ending, while consistent with the internal logic of the unfolding events, comes entirely too suddenly and without enough build up.

The Bottomline: Given that my only major complaint is that Return of the Living Dead's 90-minute runtime is simply too short, you can guess that I was no less than thoroughly entertained by the film. With this film John Russo proved there was room for more than just Romero's vision of zombies within the horror genre. Four Bruces.

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The Midnight Meat Train - Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:31:00 +0000

Sometime back in 2007 when I first heard that one of the most visually striking Japanese directors was coming to Hollywood, I became immediately giddy with excitement. Back in my college days, Ryuhei Kitamura may have single handily inspired my love for foreign films, responsible for such inspired genre fare as Versus, Alive, and Aragami. My excitement for the potential project was only magnified when I learned that Kitamura would be working with horror master Clive Barker in an adaptation of Barker's own short story, The Midnight Meat Train.

I followed the project for some time but began to wonder about the direction the project was taking around the time I saw the first trailers for the film. The initial footage made the film look plodding and dull, an impression that delayed my viewing of the final product for some many months after its eventual DVD release. Along the course of its development, the film also seemed to lose the confidence of its production company This was evidenced by Lionsgate Films' decision to only release the film to second-run, discount theaters. In all fairness to the movie, this decision was based less on the quality of the final product than on a change in company management that was seeking to bury some projects green-lit by the previous administration. This was definitely a bum deal for Kitamura's state-side debut and did nothing to alleviate my potential concerns over the quality of the final film.

Having now sat through the full 100 minutes making up The Midnight Meat Train's runtime, I can now say that my initial impressions of the film were basically spot on. The film attempts to maintain a more realistic tone through most of its scenes. The story follows struggling, middle-aged photographer, Leon, as he roams around New York City attempting to capture images capturing the figurative spirit of the city. In the course of this late night adventures, Leon rescues a young woman from a gang of thugs, only to read about her death in the next day's paper. This event is the driving force that propels him to uncover a deep and far reaching conspiracy centered around a mysterious subway serial killer.

Technically speaking the film is pieced together well. The cinematography is nice and the city has a gritty, true to life feel about it. None of the writing or dialogue is noticeably bad, but none of it really stands out either. All of the actors are competent and I was surprised to see Brooke Shields appear in a brief supporting role. As far as the acting is concerned, everyone provides passable performances. I feel that Vinnie Jones deserves some special mention given that his character, the antagonist Mahogany, has only one line of dialogue in the film. Jones does a lot with the role given that it is an almost purely physical portrayal.

The Midnight Meat Train's greatest flaw is the disconnect that exists between the scenes forwarding the plot and the scenes showcasing the film's gruesome death sequences. For a movie whose plot and characters seem to be aiming for a somewhat realistic style, the overdone and ridiculously bloody murders simply do not fit. Geysers of CGI blood spouting from eye-bursting hammer blows to the head stand in stark contrast to the tone set by the rest of the film. Admittedly, these highly stylized scenes of violence showcase the very flair and visual adeptness that had me excited to see Kitamura attached to this project in the first place. However, the unexpected shift in tone was so great that the first few gore effects left me doubled over in laughter. Although entertained, I do not feel that my reaction was the same as that which the film intended to illicit from its audience.

A similar complaint could be leveled at the ending of the film, in which a supernatural component is suddenly thrust into the story. Although earlier in the film there are hints that not everything is as it seems, the true nature of the situation is not completely revealed until the final moments of the film. Because of the late reveal of these otherworldly elements, the final plot twist comes of feeling forced. Up until this point the film has done a good job presenting the audience with an interesting murder-mystery with its basis in the real world. As the movie has done a reasonably good job telling its story up to this point, the audience is interested in seeing the resolution of the conflict as presented. The twist not only robs the audience of the satisfaction of seeing the events played out to completion but also serves to undermine the illusion of reality that the film has carefully built over time.

I think my problem with the ending of this film is directly tied to the medium in which it is being presented. The Midnight Meat Train was originally presented as a short story by Clive Barker in his collection, The Books of Blood. I do not think I would have taken issue with the supernatural twist at the end of the tale if I had been experiencing it off of the written page. Reading fifty or seventy five pages of a short story seems like less of a time investment than watching a 100 minute movie, and, being a short story in a horror anthology, there are certain expectations associated with how the story will play out.

The Bottomline: The Midnight Meat Train is a solid experience with interesting visuals, a surprising story, and a healthy serving of ridiculous deaths. There are better movies that you could watch, but if you found the trailer intriguing, there are worse ways to spend an evening. Two Bruces.

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[REC] - Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:27:00 +0000

[REC] is a Spanish horror film that was released in Spain and the UK in late 2007. It film is presented in the first-person perspective via the somewhat common shaky-cam technique. Unlike some other shaky-cam films (Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield) the film footage still has a produced feel to it and helps the film feel like a more proper cinematic experience. After its successful international run, the rights to [REC] were optioned and a near shot-for-shot remake known as Quarantine was released in October 2008.

The story of [REC] centers around the host and cameraman for a local television program, "While You Were Asleep." They are tasked with accompanying the fire station night crew on their daily rounds, including any calls that should happen to come up. The opening scenes spend the most time establishing the character of the lead female, reporter Angela Vidal (Manuela Velasco). Occasional backstage footage showing Vidal dropping her reported persona reveals a no-nonsense, shrewd young woman whom isn't necessarily enjoying her current assignment. The cameraman, Pablo, is less fleshed out and his face never actually appears on screen. Pablo has very few lines of dialogue, almost as if the filmmakers want the audience to imagine themselves physically placed into this character's shoes. It is an interesting and subtle device that works well within the context of the film.

The firemen receive a phone call regarding a woman whom is trapped in her apartment. The film crew and two firemen respond to the call and promptly arrive on the scene. Two police officers have already arrived and are awaiting the firemen to help break down the door to the apartment in question. Angela and Pablo interview the tenants that have gathered in the building's lobby and discover that the emergency phone call was placed by another resident that had heard screaming coming from within the apartment. The film crew accompanies the emergency personnel upstairs and documents the events that occur inside.

Once in the apartment, they find a hysterical old woman whom does not respond to their attempts to calm her. The situation quickly escalates when the old woman tackles one of the police officers and graphically bites a piece off from the side of his face. One of the firemen and the other police officer help carry the wounded man downstairs to the lobby, leaving the other fireman to manage the situation with the old woman. When they reach the lobby with the quickly bleeding to death police officer, they and the rest of the residents find themselves unable to open the front door. Additional police and public health officials have barricaded the building and are initiating a quarantine, trapping the residents inside.

There are two aspects of the film that are likely to be dividing amongst horror fans. The first is a minor point but it needs to be addressed. [REC] is a foreign film and as such all of the actors are speaking in Spanish. The DVD does offer an English dubbed soundtrack, but the quality of the voice overs are of course substandard in comparison to the native audio. I would highly recommend turning on subtitles and watching the film in with the original soundtrack.

The second aspect in need of addressing is the first person perspective in which the film is presented. The shaky-cam gimmick can be somewhat difficult for some audience members to tolerate for the feature length. The only consolation I can offer those folks is that the shaky-cam is well executed and there are only a few scenes which I would identify as prone to causing motion sickness. I find that the general high-produced image quality of the film helps offset this to some degree.

A peeve of mine related to first person perspective mini-genre is the need by the filmmakers to directly address the "Are you really still recording?" issue. Simply put, in a real life emergency situation a rational human being would set the camera down instead of continuing to document the events happening to them. Instead of accepting that most audience members are willing to suspend their disbelief in exchange for this presentation style, some filmmakers feel the need to constantly justify the characters' actions through repetitive scripting and dialogue. I find this solution tends to make the situation worse as it serves as a constant reminder to the audience that there is a very large gap in logic within the film's continuity. I would personally prefer that the filmmakers ignore this conceit altogether and assume their audience is simply wiling to accept the trespass. Happily, although [REC] is guilty of this to some degree, it is much more tolerable here than in some other recent examples of the technique (Diary of the Dead - My Review).

[REC] is a very well paced movie whose creators are clearly very well versed in the mechanics of the horror genre. Given the film's relatively short 80 minute runtime, the number of effectively crafted scares are especially impressive. Some of the turns in the plot are a but overly telegraphed for my liking, but even when I was anticipating specific moments they were still delivered in unexpected ways. Like many other foreign films, although much of the action and horror of the premise is grounded in the real world, the ending of the film has decidedly supernatural overtones. If I had any complaints with the film it might be that these other worldly themes seems to come up only in the last moment and are never sufficiently explored so as to satisfy the questions that they simultaneously raise.

The Bottomline: A fun horror flick that should be seen by all fans of the genre. Quite frankly, it is movies like [REC] that justify my love for the horror genre. Four Bruces.

Seen this movie? Got a question? Disagree with the Geek? Leave a comment below!

The First Annual B-Movie Geek Awards!

noreply@blogger.com (The Geek) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:13:00 +0000

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