TRICK R TREAT

As I've grown into my film career, I've been accused at becoming something of a douchey cinema snob.  Perhaps this is true.  And the last two blogs I've posted might provide some evidence to that fact.

Perhaps it is out of my snobby love for classic films and television:  Creepshow or Tales From The Crypt or Twilight Zone or that it's just plain bad ass, I love TRICK R TREAT.  I couldn't recommend this flick anymore to you unless I drove to your house, tied you in a chair and made you watch it.  (Was that creepy?  Yes.  But that's the depths I'm willing to go.)

TRICK R TREAT tells four interlocking stories all taking place on Halloween night.  It features an all star cast  including Anna Paquin and combines the best elements of the Halloween holiday itself.  It's scary, it's violent, but there is a sense of fun and mischief behind it.  So the humor comes not from poking fun at the horror aspects at all, but by honoring the legacy of the holiday and hearkening back to the days of the old late night vignettes.  Many believe Halloween is the night where the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest.  The film captures that idea with playful aplomb.

So, I've spoken to people who hated this movie.  That it wasn't gory enough, scary enough, violent enough.  To them I would say that they don't get it.  A few folks I know, including my home boy Benjamin Jabe are also  devotees to the film.  He used it as inspiration for the LEGEND OF OLD MAN McGREGOR that will premiere at Scarlet Waters year.  I guess that makes he and I some "snobby film hipster douche bags."  There are worse things.

Trailer

BACKWOODS

You see, horror movies suffer under the weight of certain cliches.  We all know them:  "don't do drugs," "don't have sex," "don't play paint ball in the woods with a bunch of inbred rednecks."

It is this last one that comes to us in the form of BACKWOODS a straight to DVD horror film about a clan of rednecks that kidnap women and force them to become the mothers of the next generation, the lord's handmaidens as they're called.  The men are met with arrows in the head.

For the longest time, rednecks have scared horror audiences.  The idea of people who, through isolation, lose a certain sense of humanity is a common theme most famously explored in films like THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.  The problem with BACKWOODS is, its an attempt to carbon copy that film with out the same affect, right down to a deranged family with a cop/patriarch.

The film isn't bad.  It's pretty well acted, featuring Hillary Duffs older sister Haylie and a crazy matriarch give excellent performances.  There is a nice use of imagery and the tension in the movie is real.  The tone is dark and they aren't trying to wink at you through he movie.  It's well done and well put together if not a little...soulless.

THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT

Far be it for me to diss a "classic" or to rundown a visionary filmmaker, but, well, I am.  Wes Craven is a hero of mine.  Two of the greatest franchises in horror history come from his imagination.  It was hard to see any evidence of that vision or creativity in THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT.  Obviously, some slack will be cut since it was his first film.

The film suffers from a total lack of subtlety.  The girl proclaims that now she's "17 and a woman."  Her dad points out that you can see her nipples in her shirt (what dad says nipple to his daughter?) and we learn, through a radio broadcast (worst device ever), that the convicts have:  killed a dog, killed a cop, raped a woman and KILLED NUNS!  So, you see, they're bad guys.

Nothing about this film appealed to me.  It's pretty vile at times with girls gang raped and a girl is forced to pee on herself.  Sometimes, in a film, depraved moments can work to make a compelling statement. These scenes, including when the two girls are forced to have sex, play as if Wes was trying to see chicks naked and he was lucky enough to have one of the most powerful tools available - a camera.  If you can't throw a football or play a guitar, tell them you'll put them in a movie.  (I used to think being funny worked to get the ladies.  I was mostly wrong.  But that's a blog for another day.)

I did laugh at parts of the end, wondering if John Hughes got his HOME ALONE idea from this flick.

These issues of story are then magnified because it's Wes' first film:  so its poorly acted, poorly shot and poorly lit. All forgivable scenes if the story connects you.  In this case, it doesn't.

I was at a festival in 2009 and I saw a film that I can only describe as vile.  And I thought to myself "just because you CAN do anything as an indie filmmaker, doesn't mean you SHOULD."

TRAILER

PIRANHA

Roger Corman redefined the B Movie Creature Feature - well, B movies in general and helped create an entire generation of filmmakers.

His production of PIRANHA proves seminal b movie fare.  Weird creatures with a thirst for human flesh; hapless victims and boobies.  Ah, 70's boobies.

The plot is pretty common for the genre.  The government was trying to kill the Vietnamese by creating super Piranha.  The get into the river system and all aquatic hell (in Aquarena Springs no less) breaks loose.  The effect are cheesy, not really scary and there are plenty of Jaws references, including playing a video game named Jaws that is similar to a video game played IN Jaws.

Thankfully, the remake (which I love) is different enough that this one didn't pale in comparison.

At the end of the day, you're left with some bad, guilty pleasure fun.

Trailer.

BORDERLAND

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BORDERLAND was quite an interesting flick that Netflix thought I would like.

I did. It deals with a Satanic cult on the border between Texas and Mexico and features a wonderfully sadistic performance by none other than Sean Astin.

The story starts off rather gruesome with a couple of Mexico City cops raiding the lair of a cultist only to find themselves the victim of a sacrifice. Some torture porn ensues and one cop is left alive to tell the tale. Fast forward and a couple of college kids drive in from Texas for booze and hookers. Instead they find religion and one of their number is taken by the cult. He's left in the hands of Astin, a lackey who grew up in San Antonio and has a taste for rage. The cult taught him to kill with a purpose.

The friends look for the sacrifical lamb and, with the help of the cop, creates a situation where lots of people die.

I dug the flick. It was beautifully shot, well acted and I dug the hook. The ceremonies were creepy and the effects were pretty f-ing gross. Thanks Netflix. Now get your house in order.

Trailer.

SCREAM 4

My PIRANHA dvd didn't arrive on time so I will review that later. But I did pick up SCREAM 4 on blu ray.

Look, I love the SCREAM films. I think they are smart, well written and, at times, scary. SCREAM 4 is no different. Picking up years after the third film, Sydney has written a book about deciding to stop being a victim. It's a best seller that's taken her on a tour around the country. Her tour ends in Woodsboro where Dewey and Gail are married and Dewey's running the Sheriff's department.

In the 10 years since the first murders, the STAB movie franchise has exploded with 7 chapters. The start of the movie runs us through three or four of those in a most awesome opening sequence. Sydney arrives in Woodsboro and you guessed, Mr. Ghostface is there. The film also introduces and then butchers, a young, new cast. I delighted at the deconstruction of the modern horror genres. I'll keep the breakdown short to avoid spoilers.

So, I think the film is a worthy sequel to one of the great franchises in movie history. It ups the body count, really drives the suspense and remains very meta in its deconstruction of the horror genre.  Rumor is that there will be a 5 & 6. Count me in. And remember the first rule of remakes. “Don't fuck with the original.”

Trailer.

WOLFEN

I went into WOLFEN not knowing much about the movie, other than I remembering hearing about it as a kid and it being one of those movies I “couldn't” watch.

The movie was very well done with a great cast including Gregory Hines and a very young Admiral Bill Adama (Edward James Olmos).

The film plays out like a detective story. Deaths turn up all over NY and a rogue detective is determined to find the cause. The problem is....it's an animal attack. The case turns to a group of Native American shape shifters where we see a lot of Adama. However, as the investigation turns, we learn that the root of the violence is something more mysterious.

I loved the film. I thought it was well acted, well shot and the story was so much better developed than the typical horror film. I really enjoyed that the detective story played out like it did with the horror film playing in the background.

Last thing. OU SUCKS!

Trailer.