Night of the Punks (2010)

Small town punk rockers The Brain Deads have their first out of town gig. But there are a few problems: The venue is totally deserted, the promoter is a creep, their bass player has gone missing, and the only kids in the audience are bloodthirsty monsters from hell. It’s gonna take a lot more than a few power chords and teenage angst to survive this night.

Night of the Punks is a sweet little slice of short film heaven packed full of gore, goo and groovy tunes! This is one of the most fun short films I’ve seen recently and it is a really fun throwback to films like Return of the Living Dead and Night of the Demons. It has such a manic, gleeful tone and perfectly balances horror and comedy. With a run-time under 20 minutes, the only flaw of this film is that it is not feature-length, because I would have loved to see the cast of lovable losers face off against more demons while trading witty lines.

Everything about this film was enjoyable, from the energetic punk soundtrack to the colorful characters to the direction to the gory effects to the overall high production value!! Director Dan Riesser (who also produced, edited and co-wrote the film) has created an instant cult classic with Night of the Punks. His direction really brought the story, written by himself and Mike L. Kinshella (who plays the lead singer “Spike” in the short and in real life is the singer for the horror punk band Murderland), to raucous life.

The cast also does a wonderful job with their characters and there wasn’t a bad performance in the bunch! I especially enjoyed Nick Mundy, who plays “Hooch”, the drummer, Luke Edwards as “Kenny” the guitarist and our underdog hero, and Aubrey Wood, who plays the band’s merch girl “Sarah”. Everyone else was wonderful as well, from the sleazy promoter played by Dominic Deleo to the band’s lead singer (Mike L. Kinshella) and bassist (John Bobek) to the actors that portrayed the gooey demons.

The gore displayed was also impressive, with the special effects and makeup design being done by Dizzworks Designs. You get your usual blood and guts, but there is also a gruesome face peel that was extremely well done! I also liked the demons’ makeup design, which makes them look like they’ve got a gangrenous skin condition. And their gooey green bodily fluids were pretty icky as well (I mean that as a complement, ya hear?).

Plus, the script is peppered with hilarious lines riffing on everything from the music industry to horror. Quips come fast and furious, and it’s worth a re-watch just to chuckle over the hilarious one-liners, such as:

Hooch: How do you stop a f*cking demon?

Sarah: I dunno Hooch, you’re the one who listens to Misfits!

Night of the Punks is an ode to ‘80s horror films filled with musical mayhem, demonic punks, gooey gore, colorful dialogue – all happening at a fast and furious pace. If there is one short film you see this year, make it Night of the Punks!

P.S. Word on the street is that the filmmakers are attempting to make a feature-length version of this film. My fingers are crossed that this happens!

Check out the film’s official site!

Halloween Music Mix 2010: 13 Alternative Halloween Songs

You know those Halloween songs that come out on those cheap-o comps and crowd the check-out counters of Halloween stores? You know, the ones that are filled with the usual holiday standards of “Monster Mash” or “Thriller”?

Aren’t you sick to death of hearing these, year in and year out? I mean, these overplayed songs are almost becoming as bad as Christmas carols! It’s not that I don’t love the old classics, but I think it is high time people got some fresh blood circulating through their iPods!

So, like in 2008 when I listed 13 Songs to Haunt your Halloween, I present to you a whole new list of alternative Halloween songs.

1.) “Halloween in Heaven” – Type O Negative (available on Dead Again)

“The dead they got that morbid beat
It goes deo deo
They dance upon decaying feet
With their black toes, oh no
Heaven, limbo, and hell
Purgatory oh well, oh well

Halloween in heaven
It’s Christmas in hell
Halloween in heaven
Oh well, oh well”

2.) “When You’re Evil” – Voltaire (available on The Devil’s Bris)

“And it’s so easy when you’re evil
This is the life, you see
The Devil tips his hat to me
I do it all because I’m evil
And I do it all for free
Your tears are all the pay I’ll ever need”

 

3.) “Orange and Black” – God Module (available on Let’s Go Dark)

“All the leaves have died
All the faces on the pumpkins come to life.
He’s coming home tonight.
There’s no where in the world that you can h…ide.
From the shape hiding in the closet.
The monster under your bed.
There’s no way that you can stop this.
It’s Halloween and you’re dead.”

4.) “Night in the Lonesome October” – Calabrese (available on Traveling Vampire Show)

“Like a bat in flight
Mortals go to hell
We’re already dead
Hypno eyes will turn
Virgin minds will burn
Taste of blood tonight”

5.) “Trick or Treat” – Nekromantix (available on Return of the Loving Dead)

“Trick, Trick, Trick or Treat
Open up your door and give me what I need
Thrill kill Halloween I’ll show you something
That you’ve never seen”

6.) “Michael” – Son of Sam (available on Songs From The Earth)

“I’ve been waiting patiently for this day to arrive and
I have spoken not a single word,
Now hand to hand my voice shall be heard

No Michael, not this time,
I’ve been waiting for oh so long, oh so long”

7.) “Spook City USA” – Misfits

“See the ghosts as you drive past graveyards
Spook City U.S.A.
Deathly souls in American graveyards
Spook City U.S.A.
Here is where I’ll die for sure”

8.)  “The Halloween Dance” – Reverend Horton Heat (available on Halloween Hootenanny)

“You do the step with the Psycho knife

You push a shopping cart like a Stepford wife

You stoop like a hunchback of Notre Dame

Now you’re doing the Halloween dance”

9.) “Autumn” – Bella Morte (available on Where Shadows Lie)

“When summer fades to silence
When winter’s still a dream
And solemn sleep to you is blind again
And the Autumn comes with amber eyes
Pale as the night
To enthrall your soul”

10.) “No Costume, No Candy” – Swingin’ Neckbreakers (available on Halloween Hootenanny)

“Trick or Treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat
No costume, no candy”

11.) “A Minute to Midnight” – God Module (Magic in My Heart Is Dead)

“I want to hang you on the wall like a Halloween mask

Do the things to you that you’re afraid to ask for

I knew you in the leaves and the pumpkins and the trees

Down on your knees in the cemetery”

12.) “October Skies” – Glis (available on Nemesis)

“As rain falls from October skies

I chase on into the night

Haunted by visions of past lives

As rain falls from October skies”

13.) “Kiss the Blade (Motherf*cker 667 Mix)” – Combichrist (available on Kiss The Blade)

“A glint of steel

In the night in the night

Darkness will arise

Behind a mask

A godless child

A force that never dies”

Melvin (2009)

It seems that nowadays every other indie horror film features zombies. And why not? Zombies are more popular than ever and a zombie film can usually be made on the cheap. Still, I wish zombie films would deviate a little from the standard story of zombie outbreak and a group of survivors fighting hungry brain-munchers. Luckily, there are those few indie projects that try something different with zombies, like Melvin.

Melvin is the new feature-length film from writer/director Henry Weintraub that was shot in Oregon with a local cast and crew of 50 or so people. Though low on budget, the film is big on heart! It has a few flaws, mainly the pacing, but overall Melvin is a fun, memorable and original zombie film!

Three years ago, the class nerd, Melvin (Leif Fuller), was accidentally killed during a prank gone wrong. His death was ruled “accidental,” but Melvin won’t rest until his death is avenged. Melvin has chosen fellow geek Norton (Patrick O’Driscoll) as his vehicle for revenge. Crawling out of his grave, Melvin bites Norton and Norton’s transition to zombie begins. Each night Norton “sleepwalks” and turns into a zombie while attacking anyone that gets in his way. He wakes up each morning not remembering what happened the night before, but Melvin haunts him during the day and persists that revenge will be his! To quote the official synopsis, “Melvin’s thirst for vengeance will take this dynamic dork duo on a mind-blowing streak of throat-ripping, vomit-spewing, head decapitating and much, much more!”

Couldn’t have said it better myself!

Melvin is a fun, energetic indie effort that tries something new with the tired old zombie genre and works! Writer/director Henry Weintraub has created a funny, inventive and entertaining film for genre fans. The story about a misfit returning from the grave for revenge for his wrongful death and infecting a fellow geek to carry out his vengeful plan is just so unique! Plus, I really enjoyed the amusing characters, from the punk bullies to the nerdy duo of Melvin and Norton. Weintraub infuses equal parts humor and pathos into the characters, so you really grow attached to them as the film progresses. You also love to hate the punk bullies, who are every bit as dumb as they are mean.

The acting is above-par for an indie flick! Really stand-out performances from both Leif Fuller as Melvin and Patrick O’Driscoll as Norton. I also really enjoyed the performance from Lilly Maher as Norton’s love interest, Wendy. The three guys playing the punk bullies, Ben Chinburg, Hudson Hongo and Yonatan Schultz also did a fantastic job as well! You usually don’t see such a high-quality of acting in indie films, but the cast of Melvin really impressed me. Also, there was a neat cameo by Lloyd Kaufman of Troma in a movie-within-a-movie (Night of the Driller…it’s a sick little added bonus! Watch for its faux trailer as the credits role!) that just proves that Melvin was made by horror fans for horror fans!

Now, for another part that made this film so much fun – the gore! Once the film got going there were lots of great gore gags! A guy’s head gets run over by a car, a zombie gets a beer bottle through the throat and spurts out blood through the bottle, a guy gets his eyes gouged out, a zombie gets decapitated, a guy gets his head and spine ripped off his body, two people get a pole through their necks, people get their throats ripped out and lots of other gory goodness! Plus, all the effects looks great!! Kudos to the makeup/special effects and editing people for making the effects look seamless!

I must also mention the excellent punk music they have throughout the film. It sets a certain reckless mood that fits perfectly into the movie!

Now, I do have a few complaints about the film. One is that the beginning of the film is a little on the slow side. Plus, it took a while to get to Melvin’s demise and really figure out what was going on. I think had they started right off the bat with a flashback of the complete story of Melvin the rest of the film would have gone much more smoothly. Secondly, I thought the ending was a bit anti-climactic. Though the effects were cool, it just didn’t feel like “the end” and that it needed a little something extra.

Overall, though, Melvin is an indie horror gem that is a rare discovery for horror fans! You can tell that the cast and crew put a lot of love and hard work into bringing Melvin to life, and all their efforts paid off! This quirky, original, gory and fun horror film is well worth the effort to track it down!

Available on Amazon!

Class of Nuke 'Em High (1986)

Class of Nuke ‘Em High is an utterly outrageous, gross-out spoof of the typical 80’s high school comedy from your favorite independent studio, Troma!

The students at Tromaville High School are noticing some strange things happening ever since the nuclear power plant next door had a suspicious leak. For one, the once geeky honor society now terrorized the halls as vicious, leather-clad, motorcycle-riding Cretins (really, their name is The Cretins). Chrissy and Warren, the archtypical “golden couple” at school get thrown into the confusion when they smoke a joint that contains radiation from the marijuana grown inside the nuclear plant. Chrissy gets pregnant, miscarries a squirmy, black worm-looking thing, while Warren gets some ‘roid rage (complete with pulsating pustules) and falls on the Cretins bad side after beating them up. It all leads to a final showdown at the high school between the Cretins, Chrissy and Warren, and the slimy, hungry mutant that’s been growing in the basement.

Probably one of the better done and more well-known Troma flicks, Class of Nuke ‘Em High delivers surefire zany fun. This is actually one of the first Troma films I’ve ever seen, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed the movie. It is completely over-the-top, farcical and features gratuitous nudity and gross-out gags, but I still loved it. My favorite aspect was all the crazy characters, especially the Cretins. I was pretty much rooting for them the entire time, especially the hot leader of the pack!

The gore was surprisingly very well-done for an early Troma film. One scene features Warren punching his fist all the way down a Cretin’s throat! A nerd oozing green slime out of his mouth was also a pretty neat scene. The best effect, though, was probably the mutant spawn at the end of the film. The creature was pretty impressive and looked great! And of course, what’s a Troma film without nudity? Class of Nuke ‘Em High has its fair share of boobie shots.

The film also features some very black humor regarding the U.S. government and nuclear testing. Some might say it crosses the line of poor taste, but to me it was absolutely riotous!

The film’s only downfall is its meandering storyline that takes its sweet time getting anywhere. Many of the scenes, including plentiful shots of students just milling about the high school, were repetitive and unnecessary, almost like they were trying to pad the film for time. There isn’t even a stable lead character to latch onto and root for. The whole film is over-the-top, including the acting, which some people might be turned off by.

Still, despite its flaws, Class of Nuke ‘Em High is a very entertaining film for those that like silly, irrelevant horror-comedies. To me, it felt like a mix of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Rock ‘N’ Roll High School and, Troma’s earlier effort, The Toxic Avenger.

Whether you are a fan of Troma films or not, I recommend checking out Class of Nuke ‘Em High for some brainless, B-movie fun!

Available on Amazon!

Return of the Living Dead (1985)

I watched this movie for the first time last night, expecting a horrible, throw-away movie that I would never watch again. Wow was I surprised! I loved this movie!

Freddy is learning the ropes at his new job at a medical supply store. His supervisor, Frank, shows him where they keep the human skeletons, the fresh corpses, the dissected-in-half dogs and all sorts of other weird and creepy stuff. Frank tells Freddy that the movie Night of the Living Dead was based on true events. He tells Freddy that the government was in possession of a chemical that re-animates dead corpses. One such outbreak occurred at a hospital, and somehow those re-animated corpses were shipped to their medical supply store and reside in the basement. Frank and Freddy head down there to have a looksie, but Frank accidentally releases the chemical gas.

Meanwhile, Freddy's punk (and new wave and goth and preppy) friends are waiting to pick him up from work. They have a few hours to kill so they decide to go to the Resurrection (nyuck nyuck) Cemetery across the street from the medical supply store to get the party started. Freddy has a very diverse group of friends - preppy Tina, punks Spider, Casey and Scuz, goth-like punks Trash and Suicide and new-waver Chuck.

Back at the medical supply store, Freddy and Frank wake up to find dead things are coming back to life. They quickly call the owner, Ernie, and after the three of them chop up a re-animated corpse and it still won't die, they decide to go to the mortuary by the cemetery and cremate the remains.

Burt is the mortician and after Ernie explains what is happening, Burt agrees to let them cremate the still-moving body parts. After they burn the body, the smoke drifts up into the atmosphere, but soon comes back down to earth as it starts to rain heavily. The chemicals rain down on the punks, who run for cover after they notice this rain burns! Soon, corpses are digging their way out of their graves and going after the punks.

Back at the mortuary, Frank and Ernie aren't doing too well - the paramedics come and tell them that technically, they are dead. They have no heart beat, no blood pressure, no temperature, and yet they are talking and coherent. Hmmmm...imagine that!

Soon, the remaining punks join those in the mortuary as they try and escape from the zombie hordes who just want braiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnsssss...more braiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnns!

Wow, this movie was completely enjoyable! It was funny, it paid homage to Romero, it had its gory moments and a well developed (yet simple) story. The acting was kinda over the top or just plain bad at times, but this worked with the overall campy and fun tone of the movie. The shock at the end is great too - they finally call an emergency number for the government, thinking they will get help, but...KABLOOEY!!

If you haven't seen this movie, watch it - this is one that DOES deserve its cult status!

Order it on Amazon!

Wild Zero (2000)

Wild Zero is a Japanese movie that mixes rock 'n' roll (Japanese punk band Guitar Wolf features prominently in the film), an alien invasion resulting in flesh-eating zombies, a crazy short-shorts wearing club manager, and the theme that love (and rock 'n' roll) conquers all. This movie was B-grade GREAT!! It was silly, comedic, featured a great punk soundtrack and had zombies! Guitar Wolf was great and really hammed it up...I think I may just have to buy this now.

Plus, the Japanese rock 'n' rollers don't look half bad...and the drinking game in the special features is out of control!!

Buy it on Amazon!

Originally posted on Fatally-Yours.com January 20th, 2006.