Carriers (2009)

Am I sick of zombie movies? Well, truthfully, kinda. With the exception of a few entertaining ones this year (Zombieland!), I really wasn’t feeling the gut-munchin’ sub-genre in 2009. It’s not that I hate zombie movies (I in fact LOVE them) but nowadays it seems like everyone is churning out a formulaic film with the same gory set-pieces I’ve seen a billion times before.

So, I was kinda iffy on Carriers, even if “technically” isn’t really a zombie movie (like 28 Days Later, the victims are called the “infected” and have a virus). Like I really need another unoriginal post-apocalyptic movie to put me to sleep! Luckily, Carriers surprised me with its intelligent and emotional take on Armageddon.

Carriers tells the tale of four survivors, two brothers and their two girlfriends, who are making their way across the desolate American landscape after a virus has annihilated most of the population. The virus is extremely contagious and once you are infected and there is no cure and you’re as good as dead. There is not much else to the plot, which pits the survivors mostly against themselves and other humans who are simply trying to survive in a world gone topsy-turvy. There are no big chase scenes, no hordes of infected pursuing the survivors, but, to tell you the truth, I thought this take was refreshing. I liked how the action focuses on the drama that occurs between the still-living characters instead of on the infected.

You can’t go into Carriers expecting it to be another 28 Days Later, Land of the Dead or even Zombieland. It can barely be compared to zombie films, because it really isn’t one itself. There is no breakneck action and it is a very slow moving, quiet film whose intent is to show the horrors of being alone in a world where most people are dead or dying. Writers/directors Alex and David Pastor have created a movie that shows how frightening that loneliness really is.

The direction by the two directors is breathtaking. There are lots of shots of the wide-open road, desolate towns and stretches of empty land as far as the eye can see. When the characters enter buildings that may contain the infected or other squatters, the directors build dread and unease with the claustrophobic and dark settings. They even managed some effective jump scares scattered throughout the film!

The acting is top notch as well. You’ll recognize Chris Pine from this year’s Star Trek as tough older brother Brian as well as Piper Perabo as his girlfriend Bobby. His younger, Ivy League brother Danny is played by Lou Taylor Pucci and rounding out their rag-tag group is Kate, played by Emily VanCamp. Christopher Meloni plays a survivor looking for help for his infected young daughter, but other than a few other people the cast is extremely small. Most of the action is directed towards the four survivors, and they all do a fantastic job portraying a weariness that seems far too heavy for them to endure at their young age.

I know some will complain that nothing happens in the film, but I preferred the horrific drama unfolding with the survivors rather than suffer through another brainless (hehe) zombie/killer virus/end of the world flick. This movie will make you think, could I do that if my life depended upon it? It will make you ponder how scary isolation really is and make you wonder if you could leave your loved ones (or even kill them) if they became infected. How far would you go to survive? Carriers really shows the brutality of the human race but how that callousness comes with a price, even when it is necessary.

Carriers is not your typical horror movie, but in a genre over-saturated with insipid zombie flicks and over-the-top end of the world movies, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A downbeat, bittersweet film to be sure, Carriers is something to check out if you want something a little deeper than the typical brainless horror movie.

Order it on Amazon!

Good Boy (2009)

Filmmaker Patrick Roddy follows up his dark, surreal short Mercy with the feature-length Good Boy. Good Boy starts with down-on-his-luck dreamer Max (Josh Marcantel) working a dead-end job in a dead-end Louisiana town. He dreams of moving out west, but lack of funds and his old truck that always breaks down prevents him from fulfilling that dream.

That is, until one night when he decides he’s had enough, steals cash from his employer and hits the road. The next day, his truck breaks down in the middle of nowhere and heads to the nearest house. Inside, he finds a girl chained up, but before he can help her captor, named Harley (Gary Shannon) returns. He witnesses Harley beat the girl into a pulp, but Harley’s other “pet,” named Princess (Hilary Bronwyn Gayle), sees Max. When Harley and Princess finally leave, Max tries calling the cops, but in this small Southern town word travels fast and soon Max finds himself in a cat and mouse game with Harley.

Good Boy is a stunning film and reinforces my belief that director Patrick Roddy is destined for great things! First off, Good Boy effectively captures the essence of the South. Remember the film Black Snake Moan? How it just oozed that Southern feel? That is exactly how Good Boy makes you feel. Also helping to evoke that feeling is the fantastic music used throughout the film. Mournful and soulful music in the style of country, blues and jazz capture the sorrow and hopelessness, as well as the never-going-to-give-up spirit of the lead character, Max.

Director Patrick Roddy also uses the wide-open landscape of the country to evoke feelings of loneliness, wistfulness, awe, etc. Cinematographer Jorge L. Urbina captures the run-down, expansive and eerily beautiful Louisiana backroads but also creates claustrophobia within the close, indoor scenes. Each shot, either expansive or claustrophobic, was crafted by both director and cinematographer with attention to detail and turned out beautifully! This film has such a polished, professional looking sheen that it looks like it was made for millions of dollars instead of its low budget! The cinematography itself could tell the story, without dialogue, and still be effective.

In fact, not much dialogue is used throughout the film, with writer Ken Henderson giving the actors room to stretch and really use their expressions and body movement to show emotion. I really enjoyed how the film had its quiet moments and didn’t feel the need to rely on useless chit-chat. Instead, Henderson made sure that the dialogue spoken was purposeful and used effectively.

Henderson also did a wonderful job of developing the characters. I liked how slightly odd they all were and reminded me of characters you’d see in a David Lynch or Coen Brothers film. He also created the perfect pace and tension throughout the story, with the direction and actors also contributing to the nice flow of the film.

The actors all did a fine job and should be proud to be part of such a fantastic film. Josh Marcantel really stood out and gave an electrifying performance as Max. He didn’t need dialogue to express how he felt, but showed it through his eyes and body language. He drew you into the story and kept you glued to the screen while you rooted him on. Also, Gary Shannon (who was also the lead in Mercy) plays one evil bastard and makes it look good! I loved how his character of Harley was so different from his character in Mercy. It just showed a whole new side of Shannon and proves his versatility. We also get to see Tiffany Shepis in a small role, which is always a pleasure!

Good Boy is an amazing effort by all involved, and though it at first appears to be a quiet film, once the action kicks in it shows itself to have quite the vicious streak! There is quite a bit of violence including fights, murders, car chases, sex, betrayal and so on in this film, which juxtaposes nicely with the beautiful cinematography. This psychological thriller plays out very nicely and I, for one, couldn’t take my eyes off the screen!

Good Boy is another success for director Patrick Roddy and really makes me excited to see what the future holds for him! If you can find this film playing at a festival or available for purchase, SEE IT! You’ll be happy you did!

For more info, visit Patrick Roddy’s Official Site!

Rest Stop 2: Don't Look Back (2008)

When I first saw Rest Stop, I was severely disappointed. To me, the movie had no redeeming value, was unmemorable and was an absolute chore to sit through. So when I heard a sequel had been made, I expected it to suck just as epically as the first one had (if not more so). Surprisingly, I found that Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back, while not a “must-see” horror flick, got things much more right than the original.

Tom (Richard Tillman) is on leave for 10 days from Iraq. He decides to take his time off to search for his little brother Jess (Joey Mendicino) who disappeared with his girlfriend Nicole (Julie Mond, replacing Jaimie Alexander from the first film) on their way to California. He takes his bitchy, alcoholic girlfriend Marilyn (Jessie Ward) and his goofy friend Jared (Graham Norris) along with him for the ride. On the border of California they find an old gas station attendant that remembers Jess and points the trio to the Old Highway where he and Nicole were last seen. Pretty soon the three friends are back at the same rest stop Jess and Nicole disappeared from and the driver (Brionne Davis) of the beat-up yellow truck with license plate number KLZ 300 is after them…

Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back was a surprise to me. It’s not the best or most memorable movie in the world, but it is far superior to its predecessor. My main praise stems from the fact that the story is much more fleshed out, though the script feels rushed and gloms over some new developments. For example, we learn more about the ghostly driver’s backstory and about an Indian legend that says if your eyes are plucked out and you are buried without them, your spirit is doomed to wander the earth. Still, neither of these plot points are developed very well, giving us just enough to kinda make sense of what’s going on. Also, the creepy fanatical family is back for a few scenes, though I’ve always thought using the religiously crazy in films shows a lack of creativity on the writer’s part. Despite these issues, I enjoyed the more developed supernatural story in Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back. 

The creepiest scenes (there weren’t any really scary or even tense ones) involved our protagonists’ interactions with ghosts…however these apparitions were very real and you could even reach out and touch them (ask Jared!). They would be there and in an instance they would just disappear. This kept you on the edge of your toes and towards the end you weren’t quite sure who was alive or dead…giving you some nasty and nihilistic surprises near the end.

As for the characters, they were all pretty shallow and unlikable. Tom is your typical buff hero, Jared is your typical goofy sidekick and Marilyn is your “typical” bitchy girlfriend. I say typical in quotes because I don’t know how anyone could stand her constant complaining and meanness. Not to mention she hits the bottle between every other breath. Why can’t anyone write a believable, likable female character?? Despite this, the characters redeem themselves towards the end, when we do start caring for them, but I think by then it’s a little too late.

Also, they sure show The Driver (that’s how he’s credited) a whole lot towards the last half of the film…perhaps a little too much. When they reveal the killer, showing his entire face and body, he loses some of the mysteriousness as well as his scare factor. I think they should have kept him shrouded in the shadows or just show bits and pieces of him, like in the original (wow! one thing the original did right!). Yet, actor Brionne Davis does a great job bringing The Driver to life by just using subtle facial expressions and not saying one word (unless you count the flashback in the Winnebago).

The rest of the acting in the film is pretty solid, even though the characterizations are shallow. No one really stands out as being either very good or very bad, so there isn’t much to say about the acting except for the fact that it works.

Despite being a supernatural slasher movie, Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back doesn’t have that more gore. Sure, there are freshly-plucked eyeballs, body parts drilled and hammered with nails and some bloody corpses, but most of the action is off-screen or obscured within the scene by people or things standing in the way of the money shot. Nonetheless, the lack of explicit gore actually helps the film and it doesn’t become just another run-of-the-mill “torture porn” movie.

Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back is a much better film than its predecessor, Rest Stop, but that doesn’t automatically make it a great film. It has its flaws and it’s not an entirely memorable movie, but for one night of mindless fun you might want to pull over and pick up Rest Stop: Don’t Look Back.

Available from Amazon!

Wrestlemaniac (2008)

There’s something about the mystique of Mexican wrestlers that always gets to me. With their faces covered by colorful masks and their identities hidden, Mexican wrestlers remind me a lot of superheroes…or supervillains. Wrestlemaniac is a new film that prominently features a fictional legendary wrestler, El Mascarado, in its plot with entertaining results.

A group of amateur pornographers is driving down to Old Mexico to shoot a little film, but somehow lose their way and wind up lost. At a run-down gas station, the attendant (a great cameo by Irvin Keyes) tells them they are but a few miles from the town of La Sangre de Dio, where the Mexican wrestler El Mascarado was banished when he snapped and started killing his opponents. The story goes that El Mascarado was assembled from body parts of Mexico’s four top wrestlers so that Mexico would have the greatest wrestler in the world. Things went awry when El Mascarado started killing his opponents in the ring and the government was forced to lock him away in the isolated town of La Sangre de Dio, where legend says he remains to this day.

Most of the group incredulously brushes the story away, but Steve (Jeremy Radin), a big fan of Mexican wrestling, believes the gas station attendant and knows the story. Still, they all head on and soon enough come across the seemingly abandoned town of La Sangre de Dio. The director, Alphonse (Adam Huss), decides it is the perfect location and the girls, Dallas (Leyla Razzari), Debbie (Margaret Scarborough) and Daisy (Catherine Wreford) start getting down to business while geeky Steve films and stoner Jimbo (Zack Bennett) stumbles around the deserted town.

Pretty soon, though, the numbers of the group dwindle and the remaining survivors realize they are not alone…El Mascarado is present and he is ready to hit the mat…to the death!

Though Wrestlemaniac follows the familiar formula of a slasher film (leave a group of 20-somethings in an isolated location and watch ‘em get butchered by a masked psycho), its character of El Mascarado is intriguing and fun! The story, written by Jesse Baget (who also directed), moves at a quick clip and is entertaining throughout. I really think it was genius how he used a mythical Mexican wrestler as the killer and the back story behind the character was well thought out and explained thoroughly.

The only thing that seemed too much of a stretch was the whole “let’s drive ALLLLL the way down to Mexico to film a porno!” It just didn’t seem believable. Also, the characters were pretty one-dimensional and most of them were annoying, from the chauvinistic director to the useless stoner…good thing they all died pretty quick. I did like seeing that Dallas could handle herself, though, and Steve was a very endearing character. Both Leyla Razzari (as Dallas) and Jeremy Radin (as Steve) were both standouts in the film. And let’s not forget about the masked wrestler himself, played by Rey Misterio, Sr.! He was certainly an imposing figure and made for a kick ass villain!

The gore was another great thing about the film. El Mascarado likes to unmask his victims just like a wrestler would unmask an opponent to finish him completely. Only, most of his victims don’t wear masks so he must make due with taking off their faces! That’s right, he cuts and peels the skin on their faces off! There are a few wicked scenes that brutally feature this, El Mascarado’s signature move! By the end of the film, the remaining survivors are literally drenched in blood!

Besides the blood-red gore, the film also looks fantastic. Director Jess Baget really has a great eye and all the shots have something interesting in them, whether it’s the stifling heat of the Mexican desert or interiors of an old abandoned town, Baget captures the feel of the moment. Though there are quite a few sleazy scenes towards the beginning with the three girls, these gratuitous scenes quickly fade as the real action kicks in. I also forgive Baget for all the shots trained on the actresses’ asses as well (or towards the end when a survivor’s short shorts get ripped off, leaving her in only her panties and thin tank top with no real point except to titillate) because of the overall entertainment Wrestlemaniac offers.

Though not without its flaws, Wrestlemaniac is an entertaining good time. It has an imaginative killer, great kills and a story that moves at a fast pace and is actually cohesive. Wrestlemaniac is the perfect party movie, one that you don’t have to pay much attention to and yet you’ll still be entertained.

Available from Amazon!

Reeker (2005)

You know, when I first espied the movie Reeker, I immediately assumed it would be a cheesy monster romp, only good for a laugh or two. The plot seemed awfully familiar, as a group of college kids are stuck in the middle of nowhere while someTHING picks them off. So when I finally sat down to watch it, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Reeker is a much more entertaining and clever flick than I initially gave it credit for.

Five strangers all pile into a rickety car to share a ride to a desert rave. Everything is fine and dandy until the appropriately named Trip (Scott Whyte) brags that he’s got enough E (which he stole from maniacal drug dealer Radford [Ugly Betty’s Eric Mabius], who just happens to be following the unsuspecting kids) to keep the five of them, plus a few hundred of their closest friends, pretty happy. The driver of the ragtag bunch, Gretchen (Tina Illman, who looks an awfully lot like Beetlejuice’s Lydia) isn’t taking any chances and insists on leaving Trip at the last highway diner-gas station-hotel combo they stopped at not 30 minutes before. When they arrive back at the diner, Gretchen’s old car decides to call it quits so they all troop inside to ask for help. One problem – the place is deserted. Half-eaten meals, overturned chairs and smoldering cigarette butts are all that remain to prove that just a little while ago, the joint was jumping. The hotel and gas station are also devoid of anyone and the kids can’t get anyone on the phone, much less on their signal-less cell phones. As nighttime settles on the stranded strangers, things get even more eerie. A creepy, and especially putridly pungent, specter appears and begins picking them off one by one…

I may not have had high hopes for Reeker, but I definitely got my money’s worth. Writer/director David Payne may have started with the stereotypical, kids-stuck-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-with-the-boogeyman-killing-them-off storyline, but by avoiding character clichés, throwing in some genuinely funny moments and creating a spooky, engaging mystery, he has created a pretty engaging flick!

First off, the characters are very believable. They aren’t caricatures of college students nor are they the stereotypical jocks and bimbos that seem to populate horror films. No, every character feels real, like you might know someone like them in real life. The actors do a decent job of bringing their characters to life, and you’ll even notice a few of them from other films and television, like Michael Ironside, playing a fellow stranded traveler and Derek Richardson from Hostel.

Secondly, the mystery they find themselves wrapped up in (has some catastrophic terrorist attack occurred? a natural disaster? something more sinister?) is entirely engaging. You might be able to guess the ending, but you’ll still enjoy sitting through the rest of the movie to see if you are right. Payne keeps the pace moving along with some additional characters that pop up, like the previously mentioned Ironside as an RV-driving vacationer and Mabius as the crazed drug dealer.

Reeker pays off again in the gore department. While blood isn’t generously splashed across the screen every second, there are some pretty shocking moments throughout the film. For example, the opening scene shows a family driving down a deserted bit of road, only to hit a deer and splatter their entire front windshield in grue. That’s not all…the family stops to inspect the damage and the family dog runs off to explore. A few minutes later the father goes off in search of the dog while the mom and son wait by the car. The whimpering dog emerges a few minutes later…dragging its broken and bloody body behind it. While the wife tries to help, the husband stumbles out of the brush, the whole half of his head missing! This opening scene is quite a lot to live up to, but Reeker delivers the blood ‘n’ guts in more than a few surprise scenes that’ll have you jumping out of your seat.

Unfortunately, this film does have its share of negatives. The one thing that bugged me the most was the overall appearance of the Reeker creature. The creature itself was pretty wicked and scary looking, but every time it was about to appear, hazy fumes, like the kind you see reflected off the pavement on a really hot day, would announce its arrival. I think the filmmaker’s aim was to produce something akin to the stink lines that wafted off of the dirty Pig Pen from the Peanuts comic, but here it just looked plain silly. Also, it’s never quite specified whether the Reeker is solid or amorphous in nature. In one scene, it appears that the Reeker can move through walls and be invisible, but in another it is affected by bullets. Bullets? Against a rotting and putrescent corpse-like creature? Seemed more than a little far-fetched…

All in all, though, Reeker is a rather solid effort that features an interesting premise, realistic characters, good performances, a nice twist and good-lookin’ gore. And thankfully, it doesn’t live up to its own name!

Available from Amazon!

Duel (1971)

I finally dusted off my copy of Duel, Steven Spielberg’s first major film, at the request of a friend who had fond memories of the killer semi-truck driver flick. Let me tell ya, I had reservations about watching a film that basically took place inside a car (bad flashbacks of watching Penny Dreadful) but Duel pleasantly surprised me. It was a rip-roaring, gas-guzzling good time!

The premise is very, very simple: A middle-aged business man named David is driving on his way to a business appointment in the middle of Nowhere, California and pisses off the wrong truck driver who is driving a souped-up but very rusty and old gas truck. From there on out it is a game of cat and mouse as the dangerous driver toys with the man.

I was always curious about this movie and after buying it a while ago, I’m glad I finally sat down to watch it. From the cool opening credits that show the point of view from the driver’s seat of a car to the explosive finale, Duel is definitely an entertaining film that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Dennis Weaver does a fantastic job as the business man who unwittingly picks a fight with a semi and its driver. He is the embodiment of a middle-aged man. He’s not heroic or courageous but entirely believable as he becomes angry, then panicked, then paranoid and eventually decides to stand and fight against his harasser. We never see the truck driver, and besides a few patrons at a café, The character of David is the only one we see or is developed. The semi-truck driver is never seen, and because of this the actual semi takes on its own persona. Every time the semi is seen in a rearview mirror, barreling down the road or stock still at a gas station, it fills you with a foreboding sense of dread.

The film is packed with suspense, much due in part to the fantastic camera work. There are some truly stunning shots in the film, many of them coming from within the car that David drives. There were some great shots where the semi can be seen in the rear view mirror before David sees it and it took all my strength not to scream out, “Look behind you!!”

I thought David’s interaction with the few other characters in the film ratcheted up the suspense even more. There is one scene in particular that involves a broken-down school bus and little kids milling around the road. Whew! Was I gripping the edge of my seat on that one! I also enjoyed the scene in the café where David’s paranoia gets the better of him and he believes anyone inside could be the truck driver.

Duel does tend to drag a bit in some parts and others have complained of the rather abrupt ending. The ending seemed fitting to me and didn’t bother me too much. The film does get bogged down a few times, but it’s only for a few minutes and didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the film.

Duel was released in 1971 and it is considered Spielberg’s first major film. The budget may have been slim compared to his other endeavors, but even with his first film anyone could tell this guy had talent. Duel is packed full of action, suspense, great performances and stunning direction.

Available from Amazon!

The Hitcher (2007)

Ah…another day another remake. This time around it is The Hitcher. Was it worth remaking? Was it any good? Did I manage to make it through without falling asleep or yanking my own hair out?

A young couple, Grace (Sophia Bush) and Jim (Zachary Knighton), sets off on a road trip to meet up with friends in Lake Havasu on spring break. Their trip is going smoothly as they drive through the desolate but beautiful desert landscape of New Mexico. That is, until they nearly hit a hitchhiker (Sean Bean) on the side of the road. He doesn’t appear hurt, so they just keep driving. Unfortunately for them, they meet up with him at the next gas station. They feel bad about leaving him on the side of the road, so they offer to take him to the next motel. Things quickly turn ugly as the hitcher starts to get violent and threatens their lives. Jim and Grace manage to throw him from the car, but he continues to track them down and terrorize them, framing them for all the murders he has committed on the highway. Now Jim and Grace are on the run from the law as well as trying to stop the hitcher from striking again.

The Hitcher had its (precious few) moments, but ultimately it was another unnecessary remake that didn’t bring anything new to the screen. My main problem with remakes is that they hardly ever present anything new. It’s the same scenarios played again and again, perhaps given a slicker look and usually including pretty new faces. How am I supposed to be satisfied by that when the original was just fine?

The Hitcher does look great, but other than watching the pretty scenery going by, I was bored. It is almost exactly the same as the original. Sure, instead of one kid and a waitress who joins him as the leads now we have a college couple, but all the major events that took place were just copied and put into this movie. There is nothing new here and therefore there was nothing to hold my attention.

The acting was actually quite good, with the three leads of Knighton, Bush and Bean doing a great job. I still prefer Rutger Hauer in the original as the villain, but Sean Bean gave an okay performance. He just seemed a little too subdued for the role. I guess I was just expecting a little bit more from Bean. Bush and Knighton were believable as a couple, and most importantly, their actions were also believable. Most actors who star in big budget horror usually annoy me, but these two played off each other surprisingly well.

There were some spiffy chase scenes, especially one towards the end which I’d like to nominate for the most gross misuse of a Nine Inch Nails song. If it wasn’t for the horrible misappropriation of that song, that would have been the coolest chase scene in the movie. The gore, blood and violence are amped up in this one, and thank goodness they went for an R-rating instead of PG-13. There’s plentiful blood splatter that will keep you at least mildly entertained.

Come to think of it, The Hitcher is “mild” entertainment. That’s not to say it doesn’t have its brutal parts (it does) but it just feels completely shallow and doesn’t have any weight to it. If you haven’t seen the original The Hitcher, you might find this remake somewhat entertaining, but I still recommend checking out the original. The original may have its goofball and cheesy moments, but at least it has the tension and the unexpected to pull it through!

Available on Amazon!

Race with the Devil (1975)

This 1970s action/horror/thriller film surprised me quite a bit. Though cheesy and unrealistic in places, the tense atmosphere and the creepy pretense carry the movie through. Two couples are vacationing in their brand spankin' new motor home when they witness something they shouldn't - a Satanic ritual that uses a human sacrifice. They are spotted, and so begins the race.

The Satanists seem to follow them throughout the countryside, and the four people don't know who to trust. The ending of this film is the best part, as it is quite shocking. It reminded me of The Wicker Man, though much much better (I hated The Wicker Man, so much that I failed to review it).

It's a very simple movie, though it works very well. I hadn't heard of it until I read a review of it somewhere, but I think it should be seen by more horror fans. Like the classic Texas Chain Saw Massacre, it uses the city vs. country theme. It preys upon the idea that city people shouldn't venture into the country, and that backwoods people don't like intruders in their territory. It's these kind of movies that creep me out - the kind where you inadvertently trespass upon someone's personal space and they react with fatal consequences. It's like unknowingly walking right into a hornets' nest; one minute you are fine, the next you are completely panicked.

Check it out on Amazon!