S&Man (2006)

Though the DVD cover of S&Man is extremely misleading (it makes it look like a crappy slasher), rest assured that the actual film is pretty damn brilliant, challenging and powerful. I was surprised to find that director J.T. Petty (The Burrowers, Soft for Digging) made this film and that I hadn’t heard of it sooner. Though it had a festival run way back in 2006, the film wasn’t released on DVD stateside until October 2010.

S&Man (aka Sandman, not S & M Man, like I originally thought!) is a film that explores the seedier side of horror that encompasses the “hardcore” mock-snuff films like the August Underground or Guinea Pig series that are infamous for their shock value and hyper-realism.

Set up like a documentary, S&Man was originally supposed to be a vehicle for Petty to do a film on a local peeping tom from a suburb he grew up in, but this plan fell through when the man refused to do the film. However, Petty still wanted to pursue doing a film on voyeurism, so he turned to the underground horror world and found three purveyors of low-brow horror films to feature.

First and probably the most well known is Fred Vogel of Toe Tag Pictures, creator of the August Underground series. Vogel is certainly not the originator of fake snuff films, but over the years his extreme films have probably become the most well-known. Featuring brutal violence on grainy film, stunts including real bodily fluids (vomit, feces, you name it), graphic nudity and so on, Vogel’s films, most of which he stars in, really do look like home movies of serial killers.

The next filmmaker is the seemingly perpetually drunk, middle-aged metalhead Bill Zebub, whose films usually feature  busty women in distress, some blood, and not much else. Zebub’s films aren’t really fake snuff or as extreme like Vogel’s and come off as little more than exploitation. He states he makes films for perverts and not much else, which is pretty much echoed in all the scenes shown from his films. In one sad scene he putters around a set in a bar for hours while one of his actresses is forced to lie ass up in a spread-eagle position wearing a thong, bikini top and not much else. The exasperated and bored look on her face pretty much says it all!

The last filmmaker interviewed, Eric Rost (Erik Marcisak), is the only fictional one, as Vogel and Zebub do exist in real life and you can purchase their films. At first, Eric appears like any other horror fan-boy with dreams of making it big with his own “vision” for horror films. He shows up at a horror convention Petty is attending and gives Petty his own horror films, called the S&Man series. The series is very voyeuristic, and features women being filmed seemingly without their knowledge before they are kidnapped and killed. The films look entirely realistic and Petty spends the documentary trying to get more information from Eric, like if he can contact the actresses that appeared in S&Man, but Eric isn’t very forthcoming. In fact, Eric won’t give Petty a straight answer on whether he obtained consent from the women before stalking and filming them. Petty soon becomes suspicious and thinks Eric may be a real snuff filmmaker who is killing his victims.

In between talking with these three filmmakers, Petty interweaves interviews with psychologists, a self-professed “scream queen” (can just any woman that bares her boobs in a few crappy horror movies be considered a “scream queen” nowadays?), and feminist author of Men, Women and Chainsaws Carol Clover (yay, one of my favorites! I adore this woman!). These interviews add to the overall weight of the faux documentary, but the most interesting scenes occur when Petty turns his camera on the three filmmakers.

I found S&Man to be a challenging film to sit through at times, but the issues it addresses like voyeurism, gender, exploitation of actresses and how this exploitation eerily mirrors the exploitation of real-life victims, how far is too far, etc., etc. are what ultimately makes it rewarding. If you are anything like me, you’ll be equally parts repulsed and intrigued by Petty’s film, though in the end it will hopefully make you think and question your own personal limits.

Buy it on Amazon!

Something Just (2010)

After being impressed with Scott W. Perry’s film Insatiable, I was eager to check out his new short film, titled Something Just.

Something Just stars Alan Rowe Kelly, Jerry Murdock, Evan Robert Smith, Joslyn Jensen and Joseph Zaso. It was written, produced and directed by Scott W. Perry and co-produced by Jeremiah Kipp. If you are a fan of indie horror, more than one of these names is probably familiar to you!

Synopsis: In order to stop a child killer, the guardian of one of his victims seeks the aid of a shady figure from his past.

Alan Rowe Kelly, a regular figure in the independent horror scene, stars as the creepy child killer and delivers quite an imposing performance as a psycho. The first scene where he kills a young girl is very disturbing. It’s not that there’s a lot of blood, but the scene has more of a psychological impact with the disorienting score and echoing effects of the sounds and images on screen.

Don’t expect this film to be your cookie-cutter psycho story, though! Perry weaves a surprising twist into the proceedings with the introduction of one of the victim’s guardians who would do anything to stop the killer, including dealing with a mysterious man from his past. I like how this twist makes the film unique and gives it a much more layered, complex story. And the ending, which I won’t give away, is both surprising and satisfying!

The film also looks fantastic and the cinematography by Dominick Sivilli is great. In the beginning we are in the killer’s dingy house and dark basement, but later the film takes on a dreamier atmosphere with soft, washed-out colors and a park setting.

Something Just just goes to prove how much Scott W. Perry has grown as a filmmaker. Not only has he put together another fantastic cast, but the film feels more mature than previous efforts and deals with the more serious subject matter of child predators. With this steady progression, I can’t wait to see what Perry does next…perhaps a full-length film?

Eyes Beyond (2010)

Two brothers share the same house. One day they invite their next door neighbors over for a house warming dinner. What the neighbors don’t realize is that everything is not as it seems with the brothers and they soon find themselves in a game of ultimate humiliation and degradation. They’re at the mercy of their captors and the only thing that can release them from the nightmare is death – or is it?

When I first started watching this short 26-minute film, I figured it would be another boring torture flick. The two brothers do some pretty nasty things to their guests, but no matter how shocking the torture was, I just couldn’t seem to get into the film. Luckily, things get interesting pretty quick and any assumptions I had about the plot got turned topsy-turvy.

The film is best seen going in blind and I don’t want to give too much away, but I must mention that the filmmakers aim in making the film was to bring awareness to mental illness. In fact, the film is very personal to writer/director/producer/actor Daniel Reininghaus, as he himself deals with bi-polar disorder. He wanted to create this film to not only bring awareness to mental illness, but to also reach out to others with mental illness that could relate with the character(s).

Speaking of the characters, all of the actors did a superb job portraying them. Daniel Reininghaus was especially brilliant as Gabrielle, one of the two brothers who tortures the neighbors. I loved his character arch and the many surprises that are unveiled. All of the other actors did a fantastic job as well, not an easy thing to boast in an independent film, especially considering each character’s multi-faceted development.

As I mentioned before, there is a fair amount of gruesome torture at the beginning of the film. Ears and fingers are cut off, people are beaten and raped and other violence is meted out to the unfortunate neighbors. For a low-budget picture, the quality was impressive! Even for a seasoned horror fan like me there were instances where I was cringing.

Also impressive for an independent short was the overall high quality of the picture. The film looked professional without looking too slick. I also appreciated that there was an important message embedded in the film and that it aspired to do more than to just show bloody torture. Writer/director/producer Daniel Reininghaus and his cast and crew should be commended for tackling such a personal project and succeeding brilliantly.

Eyes Beyond is a very dark psychological film that is as disturbing as it is enlightening. Not only will horror fans be pleased by this hallucinogenic journey, but those that suffer mental illness will also appreciate its message of awareness. From the harrowing performances to the gruesome torture to the surprising twists and overall message, Eyes Beyond is a short film that shouldn’t be missed.

Visit the Official Site!

2:22 (2009)

2:22 is the new short film from Abyssmal Productions, written and directed by Steven Shea and produced by Tim Anderson. The short had its world premiere at the prestigious Stiges Film Festival in Spain and also screened at Screamfest Film Festival in L.A. as well as dozens of other festivals last year, and it looks like after securing distribution it will gain an even bigger audience now!

This seven minute short was shot in a whirlwind three days and spent three weeks in post-production before being rushed out for the fall festival run last year. The filmmakers’s are extremely proud of their cast and crew, and extremely excited to see their vision come to cinematic life.

A disclaimer before continuing: I’ve known fellow horror critic Tim Anderson for quite some time and was very eager to check out 2:22 after hearing so much about it before, during and after its production. Make no mistake, though, even though I am acquainted with Anderson I certainly won’t sugar-coat my review.

Here is the film’s official synopsis:

After an incredible night out with her girlfriends, Vickie Palmer (Tara Lightfoot) is wrenched from her peaceful slumber and cast mercilessly into a world spinning out of control.

Writhing half naked on the cold porcelain tile of her bathroom floor, Vickie desperately tries to piece together the tragic turn of events that has twisted her once carefree life into a nightmare of pain and suffering.

But when she discovers the truth, will it be too late to save her from eternal damnation?

After watching the short, I can tell you I was not disappointed or let down! The first thing I noticed about the film was its high quality. Most independent films, short or feature-length, usually look like they’ve been shot on a camcorder from the ‘80s. This poor quality doesn’t hurt my opinion of the film if the story is good enough…but it usually isn’t. So, it was nice to see a short film look spiffy for once!

It didn’t disappoint with the story either…from the first scene I was completely engrossed in Vickie’s story. She wakes up at 2:22 AM, hollering her head off, and rushes to throw up some fairly chunky blood…yeesh, what a hangover! As she tries to alleviate her pain by praying to the porcelain god, we are shown what really happened hours before, when she was carelessly dancing the night away at a club. Minute by intriguing minute we learn what has caused this waking nightmare for Vickie. There were so many red herrings to cause of Vickie’s malady that by the time the finale rolled around I was genuinely surprised (and delighted) at the twist at the end!

I also must mention what a great job the actors did…Tara Lightfoot as Vickie was the obvious standout (and I’m sure all you guys will appreciate her nekkidness throughout the short), and she really gave Vickie the perfect balance of sexiness, desperation and strength. Though the other actors didn’t really have any lines (but then again, neither did Tara, unless you count screaming), they did a great job conveying emotions through body language.

2:22 is a short film full of sexiness, seduction and surprises. Not only does it have an intriguing storyline, but it also has a professional polish that seems rare for short indie films. 2:22 is a masterfully crafted short film that grips you by the jugular and doesn’t let go!

Babysitter Wanted (2008)

I’ve been waiting (and waiting) to check out Babysitter Wanted for quite some time. Its official release happened in 2008, but it hadn’t hit DVD until this past July. By that point this flick had kinda fallen off my radar and it wasn’t until a friend asked what I thought of it that I remembered this film and eagerly checked it out.

From the cover art you’d assume this is a typical slasher, but remember what your mom told you about judging a book from its cover? I made the same mistake, but was pleasantly surprised by the turn of events in Babysitter Wanted.

Starting off much like the awesome House of the Devil (review), Babysitter Wanted finds the sweet Angie (Sarah Thompson) arriving to her new community college campus to study art history. Her brand new roomie doesn’t have a bed for her, so our dear Angie is in need of some cash…and fast. While poking around the sparse campus, Angie befriends a cute boy, notices some “missing person” posters, and appears to find the perfect babysitting gig. That Friday night she sets out for the isolated farm of the Stanton’s (Bruce Thomas and Kristen Dalton), where she’ll be babysitting their young son Sam (Kai Caster). All seems well until Sam wakes up and eats some unusual food for a little kid…and then the weird phone calls commence and strange noises outside convince Angie that someone is trying to get in. Police Chief Dinneli (Bill Moseley) isn’t much help, but promises to come around to check on Angie. Meanwhile, Angie discovers something unsettling about Sam, the intruder outside and the Stanton’s…will she survive the night?

Ok, I will try not to give anything away in this review because this film is best seen cold, without knowing much about it. I believe the surprise factor of its twists and turns really heightened my enjoyment of it! Be warned, though, spoilers may be present, so proceed with caution!

The film may start off like a slasher, complete with Angie feeling like someone is stalking her. Then when she is babysitting the weird phone calls start…heavy breathing on the other end, but no speaking. Of course, I thought the film was heading into familiar territory, especially when someone started rattling the door and eventually forced themselves into the house and Angie was forced to hide. However, it then took a completely sinister turn that really knocked me off my rocker! The rest of the film was peppered with the occult, torture and black humor. And I don’t wanna say any more because it would give too much away…

For an independent film, Babysitter Wanted looks great…it’s spookily lit, competently shot and features great direction from co-directors Jonas Barnes (who also wrote the film) and Michael Manasseri.

Also excellent is the acting. Sarah Thompson really shines as the innocent Angie who later gets tough as she battles the bad guy(s). Despite her “pure” nature, she’s not annoying and you come to care for her through her sweet and vulnerable nature. As things progress, she forces herself to toughen up and her transformation from innocent to kick-ass comes naturally! I also enjoyed Kai Caster’s performance as the creepy Sam, as well as Kristen Dalton and Bruce Thomas as the parents. Even genre-fave Bill Moseley turned out a good performance, this time as a good guy!

My complaints with the film are few, but I felt the pacing towards the beginning was a bit slow. Also several plot holes bothered me…the roommate angle was dropped pretty quick, so why show it at all? It’s like she was just used for convenience in explaining the disappearances around campus and disappeared herself after that. Also, what ever happened to Angie’s boy toy? He pretty much disappeared until the end and it was never really explained why (unless I missed something?).

Despite these annoyances, I thoroughly enjoyed Babysitter Wanted. It certainly threw me for a loop and uses many different tropes from the horror genre to create surprise and suspense. Despite the many different aspects it uses, it still manages to remain grounded and is a hell of an entertaining good time!

Available on Amazon!

The Perfect Witness (2007)

What was it that grabbed my attention and made me want to sit down and watch this flick? Well, it certainly wasn’t the crappy DVD artwork or the generic name (thought its other title, The Ungodly, is just as clunky-sounding). No, this film was in my queue for a long time before I realized that hunky Wes Bentley was in it, which shot it to the top of my must-see list! Yes, call me shallow but I’m a sucker for the blue-eyed, dark-haired actor and would pretty much watch whatever he’s in! While his scruffy, “independent filmmaker” look in this film didn’t do him justice (no offense to all the fab independent filmmakers out there!), I nonetheless found myself riveted to The Perfect Witness.

The story is about struggling documentary filmmaker Mickey (Wes Bentley) who plans to make it big by tracking down and filming an elusive serial killer. He finally catches up to his subject and films him brutally killing a girl. He then blackmails the serial killer, named James (Mark Borkowski, who also co-wrote the film), into being interviewed on camera in exchange for Mickey not turning in the video of James murdering the girl. However, the tables are soon turned as a tense cat-and-mouse game begins between the filmmaker and the serial killer.

Surprisingly, this film was pretty engaging! It’s definitely not a “perfect” film (hardy har har), but it is an underrated little flick. The use of hand-held camera footage actually works within the film and never once becomes annoying. Plus, the direction by Thomas Dunn is well done…there are several scenes that are nicely framed and he really captures the grittiness of the city setting. In fact, the dingy surroundings – back alleyways, dark apartments, etc. – really add both character and atmosphere to the film.

As for the story, penned by Dunn and Borkowski, it may sound similar to films like Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, but it has enough twists, turns and distinct characters to differentiate itself from other flicks. Though James, like many other serial killers, had an abusive upbringing, the film really takes a different direction with the backstory, bringing it to the forefront of film instead of using it as a convenient “explanation” as to why James is the way he is. I loved how his childhood demons came full-circle by the end of the film (in very surprising ways, I may add).

The chemistry between the characters of James and Mickey was spot-on – at first there was uneasiness between the two of them, then acceptance, then a tense trust and then…well, let’s just say that the turn of events is surprising towards the end. Bentley and Borkowski do a really bang-up job portraying their characters. Of special note is Borkowski, who just oozes danger despite his character’s penchant for charity work. He always seems on the verge, and when he finally snaps it is quite explosive!

Though there are some disturbing scenes of violence (one in particular involving a home invasion and subsequent murder of a waitress is particularly cringe-worthy), this is more of a psychological film than anything else. While this might turn off some viewers, I actually appreciated the slow build-up of the film and its increasing tension. The story, acting and direction kept me engaged, and the topsy-turvy ending was just icing on a very satisfying cake!

The Perfect Witness certainly isn’t the best thriller out there, but it was a surprisingly interesting film that kept my attention, especially with its strong acting and story, making it well-worth checking out.

Available from Amazon!

Peacock (2010)

John Skillpa (Cillian Murphy) is a timid, socially-awkward bank clerk living in tiny Peacock, Nebraska who prefers to keep to himself. This might have to do with John’s secret: he has another personality no one knows about, a woman named Emma, who each morning does his chores and cooks for him before he starts his day. However, everything changes when a train derails into Skillpa’s backyard, exposing Emma to the curious neighbors, who assume “her” to be John’s wife. As John struggles to maintain control over his other personality as well as keep up the façade that she is his wife, his already disturbed psyche becomes further unbalanced.

Peacock is an above-average thriller, but I’ll tell you right now it definitely won’t be for everyone. It’s a slow, subtle character-study about a man with a fractured psyche that plays more of like a drama than a thriller (though it’s pretty darn suspenseful!). If you aren’t put off by languidly paced films, however, Peacock is an intensely psychological experience that I definitely found to be worth my while, despite its flaws.

The best thing about the film is no doubt Cillian Murphy’s amazing performances as both John and Emma. These are two completely separate people, with distinctly different ways of talking, walking and different personalities and facial tics, but Murphy makes them both believable and I even starting thinking of them as two separate people instead of one man. How Murphy didn’t receive more accolades for his performance is beyond me, because he is purely brilliant in this film.

Rounding out the cast are several other famous faces – Ellen Page, Susan Sarandon, Bill Pullman, Josh Lucas, Keith Carradine. Not even against these accomplished actors is Murphy’s performance diminished, though the other actors do a fine job as well. Page played the role of a desperate young mother, Carradine and Sarandon played the wealthy mayor and his wife, Lucas the town cop and Pullman the annoying boss at the bank. While each character adds another layer of complexity to the story, some of these extraneous characters felt like they weren’t really vital to the story. Perhaps the connection between some of these characters and John/Emma never really meshed for me, but something was a bit lacking in their development.

Nevertheless, the best parts of the film were when John/Emma went behind the others’ back to interact with the townsfolk. When Emma would approve something (like a political rally in the backyard), John would find out later and just lose it! John was so out-of-control that you came to prefer Emma’s cool-headed way of approaching problems, even if she was manipulative and calculating. As she slowly took over more and more of John’s life and became the more dominant personality, John really begins to panic and this unbalance creates a lot of tension and suspense.

Now, a lot of people have commented that it’s not at all believable that the townspeople couldn’t tell that John/Emma were the same person, and while watching the movie I tended to agree. However, looking back I realized that if Murphy’s performance was so convincing to me, I suppose it would also work on the townspeople. Plus, the two separate personalities had completely different ways of moving and speaking. However, I still think it would have been more believable if writers Michael Lander (who also directed) and Ryan Roy had just made Emma John’s sister or cousin. At least that way it would explain the striking resemblance between the two!

Despite this, I found myself getting sucked into the twisted, dreary story. Besides the fantastic performances, director Michael Lander creates a somber, post-Dustbowl era (the movie could be set anywhere from the 1930’s to the 1950’s) atmosphere. The film itself is beautifully filmed and its dark tones create a melancholy, ominous tone. Even the obligatory backstory of John being an abused little boy or the previously mentioned flaws didn’t really sully the hauntingly filmed movie.

Peacock doesn’t work all the time, but if you are looking for a sophisticated, tense psychological film it is worth checking out!

Available from Amazon!

Triangle (2009)

Triangle is a surprising straight-to-DVD flick…when I first watched it I hadn’t heard anything about it, so I wasn’t expecting too much out of it. However, it’s a great little flick that offers plenty of twists and turns that will keep your mind reeling!

I’m not even sure how to describe it so I’ll let the Netflix description do the synopsizing:

“Murder strikes the Bermuda Triangle in this gripping high-seas horror starring Melissa George, Liam Hemsworth and Rachael Carpani. Jess encounters the first of many bad omens when her car kills a seagull near the local harbor. Later that night, her yacht hits a storm, forcing her and her friends to board a mysterious deserted ship. The clock on the ship has stopped — and so has any sense of safety. Christopher Smith writes and directs.”

Though the synopsis mentions the Bermuda Triangle, it’s never explicitly mentioned within the film and the above synopsis doesn’t quite do the movie justice. When Jess (a perfectly manic Melissa George) and friends board the ship, a strange time loop occurs and Jess must essentially battle future and past selves to get off the ship. Ok, so it sounds a little hokey, but rest assured it isn’t! The film is played as straight as can be with plenty of shocks, suspense and scares! This is certainly one film that gets inside your head…even when you think you can relax Triangle surprises you with more twists and turns.

Christopher Smith, who writes and directs, did a fantastic job creating an ominous atmosphere, both within the story as well as with the visuals of the film. I really didn’t know what was going to happen and the script kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time! Also, the decrepit old ship was definitely foreboding, especially with its dark mazes of hallways and the washed-out color palate Smith used when shooting above-deck or on land. The visuals helped create a sense of disorientation that mimicked the emotions of Jess as she tried to figure out what was happening and how to stop it.

Along with messing with your head, the film also features some pretty impressive violence. People are shot, stabbed, choked, drowned and so on. This isn’t a “gore” film by any means, but I thought the amount of blood was quite appropriate for the tone of the film. It also boasts plenty of creepy scenes, like when a masked killer is going after Jess and her friends. My favorite scene? When Jess stumbles upon the duplicate bodies and bodies of her friend who, in this strange time loop, has died again and again and again and again…

Just awesomeness…

I think it’s better to go into Triangle with little or no expectations, so I don’t wanna blab and give too much away. This horror flick comes highly recommended from yours truly…and just wait for a jaw-dropper of an ending!

Available on Amazon!

Book Review: How to Make Friends with Demons by Graham Joyce

William Heaney is a man well acquainted with demons. These demons are not his broken family – his wife has left him for a celebrity chef, his snobbish teenaged son despises him, and his daughter’s new boyfriend resembles Nosferatu – nor his drinking problem, nor his unfulfilling government job, but real demons.

Demons are real, and William has identified one thousand five hundred and sixty-seven smoky figures, dwelling on the shadowy fringes of human life, influencing our decisions with their sweet and poisoned voices.

After a series of seemingly unconnected personal encounters, William Heaney’s life is thrown into a direction he does not fully comprehend. Past and present collide. Long-dormant choices and forgotten deceptions surface. Secrets threaten to become exposed. To weather these changes, William Heaney must learn one thing: how to make friends with demons.

Though not a straight-forward horror novel, How to Make Friends with Demons is an absorbing genre-bender from author Graham Joyce. The character of William Heaney is immediately likable. From his charitable work with GoPoint, a shelter for the homeless to his “everyman” problems, including his strained family relations – we can easily relate to Heaney’s thoughts and actions. Yet, we also learn that Heaney runs a forgery ring, copying rare literature and using charlatan’s methods to sell the forgeries. However, he always donates all his profit to GoPoint. We also learn about his more sinister side and how he came to recognize demons. It seems that back in his college days a dorm mate of his conjured a powerfully evil demon from an incantation Heaney himself had put together. Even since those fateful events and subsequent consequences Heaney has been able to recognize demons that plague humans, even his own. As you can see, William Heaney is a very complex character, and despite his flaws and poor choices, Joyce has written him in such an “Average Joe” way that the reader can identify with him.

Heaney isn’t the only well-developed character, though. Joyce has populated the book with some very memorable, very colorful characters. These include Heaney’s forgery partners-in-crime artist Stinx and model-celebrity Jaz, inspirational GoPoint founder Antonia Bowen, Heaney’s mysterious love interest Yasmin, a disturbed ex-soldier named Seamus, college dorm mate Fraser, and of course, Heaney’s estranged family.

The fascinating characters could have been enough to make an entertaining novel, but Joyce pushes it farther and places the characters in intriguing storylines. I was captivated by all the different events, past and present, surrounding Heaney’s life, and how in the end they all came together to form a cohesive and stimulating story. There isn’t that much “horror”, but the quick glimpses of shadowy demons and the occult circumstances surrounding some deaths during Heaney’s college days were decidedly creepy. Surprisingly, though, the novel ends on a more heartfelt and uplifting note. Throughout its pages it also hits on many different themes, such as alienation and redemption, which everyone can easily associate with.

How to Make Friends with Demons is a rare find in horror literature these days. It presents true horror in the form of human’s own cruel nature and also shows us how our demons can be overcome. It is an intelligent and interesting novel for anyone wanting a more low-key and realistic approach to horror that features unforgettable characters and many intriguing plot twists.

Check it out on Amazon!

Shutter Island (2010)

From the previews, Shutter Island looked like another slam dunk for legendary director Martin Scorsese. It looked like it was chock full of chills and thrills, from the surreal sequence of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character holding a woman who turns to ash to the foreboding look of the island itself. It continues to top the box office and even the reviews for it have been mostly positive.

However, I wasn’t too terribly impressed with this ho-hum thriller.

It’s 1954 and U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonard DiCaprio) arrives on the high security Shutter Island, home of some of the most criminally insane patients in the U.S., to investigate the disappearance of a female patient with his new partner, Chuck (Mark Ruffalo).

As Teddy and Chuck get deeper and deeper into their investigation, twists and turns appear around every corner. The man who caused Teddy’s wife’s death is supposedly a patient at the institution, there appears to be some mad Nazi-like experimentation going on with the prisoners, a mysterious lighthouse stands guarded day and night, the missing woman either vanished into thin air or had help, and the patients seem to be cooperating with the doctors to hide something from the Marshals. Through all this, Teddy has nightmares about his wife as her death haunts him.

As Teddy uncovers more secrets, he starts to believe that there is a conspiracy afoot and starts to believe he will never make it off the island.

I had been looking forward to Shutter Island ever since I first heard about it, but after seeing it I can say I expected a little more from it. I’m not saying it’s a terrible film by any means, but if you can guess the big twist just minutes into the movie, it’s safe to say it has some flaws.

Before we get to the flaws, though, let’s discuss its merits. The first thing I enjoyed was the woefully gloomy atmosphere. From the dilapidated cells of the institution to the constant stormy weather (oh ya, they experience a hurricane) and grey surf that pounds the rocky island and drab clothing of the nurses and orderlies, the film just gives off a dismal feeling. And the cinematography – from the dizzying heights of the high rocky cliffs to the claustrophobic cells of the institution – is breathtaking.

However, no matter how pretty it looks the film starts to drag after the first hour or so. There also aren’t very many “scary” instances, though there are quite a few horrifying ones. One occurs when Teddy sees an old woman with only a few clumps of hair on her head as he arrives to the institution (see preview). There are a few other startling patients Teddy has encounters with, but not many. And if you hope to see more scenes like the one where his wife turns to ash in his arms (as seen in the preview) you can probably forget about it – the main focus of the film is Teddy and his partner digging for clues in the rain as to the whereabouts of the missing patient, and later, what the institution is hiding.

While Shutter Island wasn’t a bad film, I was expecting something a bit more complex and interesting from a Scorsese “psychological thriller”. Yet, Shutter Island didn’t really thrill me and I left the theater thinking “meh”. Am I glad I saw it? Sure, but would I ever want to see it again? Probably not.

Available from Amazon!

Book Review: The Death Panel - Murder, Mayhem and Madness edited by Cheryl Mullenax

Comet Press follows up its fantastic short story collection Vile Things: Extreme Deviations of Horror with The Death Panel: Murder, Mayhem and Madness. Like Vile Things, The Death Panel is edited by Cheryl Mullenax and she definitely knows how to pick ‘em! The Death Panel is chock full of vicious, ultra-violent and hardboiled short stories from authors Randy Chandler, Tim Curran, John Everson, Brandon Ford, Kelly M. Hudson, David James Keaton, Scott Nicholson, Tom Piccirilli, Zach Sherwood, David Tallerman, Fred Venturini, Erik Williams and Simon Wood.

The collection starts with a bang with Randy Chandler’s Lipstick Swastika, a story with a ‘40s noir feel about a hotel security guard that suspects a buxom German blonde to be an escaped Nazi war criminal. The story is full of smoky rooms, irresistible broads, hard men and steamy sex contrasted against explosive violence.

The violence continues with Blood Sacrifices & The Catatonic Kid by Tom Piccirilli. This is about an older gentleman in a mental institution and the “The Catatonic Kid,” who one day snaps and escapes the institution, leaving a bloody wake behind him. Things aren’t always what they appear though, and the story features a you-will-never-see-it-coming twist!

One of the most imaginative of the stories is Kelly M. Hudson’s What Makes An Angel Cry, which creates a world where angels run Queens and Satan runs Brooklyn and the two sides are always fighting like rival gangs while humans try to steer clear. I really enjoyed this one, just for the sheer whimsy and creativity of the author, but there is also plenty of bloody fighting in it for the gorehounds out there. Hudson really develops the main character, a human named Billy who runs a bar, and the story has a gruff, New Yorker feel to it that just rang true.

In Brandon Ford’s disturbing tale The Neighbor, he keeps us on our toes as a trailer park wife suspects her neighbor may be a serial killer. This is a nitty-gritty tale that ratcheted up the suspense and kept surprising me with its many twists and turns.

The hits keep on coming with The Name Game by Scott Nicholson, about a snitch that loses his new identity only and the only way out from the mobsters he’s running from.

Next is one of my favorites, Fly by Night by Tim Curran, about some criminals who picked the wrong truck to hijack…and now must pay a very pissed creature of the night with their lives.

My absolute favorite of the collection, though, is Fred Venturini’s Detail. Precise and perfect, this short story had me by the short hairs. It’s about a car detailer that cleans up after people’s “accidents” and is known for being discreet, yet he keeps evidence against his clients in case he ever needs it. A fiber here, a blood sample there, all stored in a safe and carefully filed for potential future use. When he falls in love with a client who had been cheating on her husband, though, things take a tragic turn. Just like the stories title, it’s all about the details in this one and Venturini fits them together beautifully.

Parental Guidance by Simon Wood is about the perfect all-American family, the Barnes, and father Preston Barnes’ secret and extreme method of keeping his kids in check. Rindelstein’s Monsters by David Tallerman is a murder mystery filled with supernatural beasts confined to a mental institution. The Hooker in the Backseat by Erik Williams is about a grim father/son reunion after the son gets out of prison for covering for his pop.

The most shocking story of the collection is John Everson’s The Mouth, about a prostitute whose mouth is a vagina and whose vagina is a mouth. Apparently it gets pretty confusing for a john and he sticks it in the wrong place and impregnates her neck. Things don’t end well…

Nine Cops Killed for a Goldfish Cracker by David James Keaton is a surreal urban tale about a junkie trying to pay rent on time but having to face innumerous obstacles. I loved the inventive writing style of this one, but it’s definitely not for everyone.

Zach Sherwood’s Board the House Up end the collection with an uneasy story about a cop on suspension that decides to check out a burglary in progress but finds something much more horrifying than robbers.

There is not one bad story contained between the pages of The Death Panel: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness. I eagerly read the noir-tinged and hard-boiled stories of crime, violence and horror and eagerly await Comet Press’ next release, because they and editor Cheryl Mullenax are really making a name for themselves in the horror community!

Buy it on Amazon!

Deadgirl (2009)

Deadgirl is a beautifully twisted, if not slightly flawed, exploration of how childhood innocence is so easily lost in our disillusioned world. It is easily one of the most disturbing films I’ve seen in recent memory and while it’s a more coming-of-age drama than straight-forward horror movie, this film still managed to shock and deeply perturb me.

High school burnouts Rickie (Shiloh Fernandez, who looks like a mix of Joaquin Phoenix and Johnny Depp) and J.T. (Noah Segan) cut school one hot day and decide to seek refuge in an old abandoned mental institution. After trashing the place and downing some beers, they set off to explore the dank basement where they are shocked to find a seemingly dead woman’s naked body chained to a gurney and wrapped in plastic. While Rickie decides to high-tail it out of there, J.T. has nefarious designs on the naked dead woman…except he soon figures out she isn’t dead and, more so, can’t be killed!

Rickie soon discovers that J.T. has made the dead girl into his own personal sex slave. Yet, Rickie can’t bring himself to turn his best friend in, not even after more and more people find out about the dead girl and join J.T. in his perverse necromance. As the situation spirals out of control and the line between right and wrong blur, Rickie must decide where his loyalties lie.

Deadgirl is definitely not a fun film to watch, but then again I just couldn’t tear my eyes away from the grotesqueries on display. That’s not to say that it is at all gory or bloody, but instead the shock aspect of the film comes from the seemingly moral ambivalence of all the characters. It seems that no one really cares that what they are doing is wrong, and even Rickie, one of the few remotely likable characters, seems only worried about the repercussions if they are caught by the police. This is where the real horror lies…that these teens don’t seem to have any moral compass and that the scenario seems so plausible in real life.

Though the film never explicitly shows the many rape scenes, we know exactly what is transpiring. The film never eroticizes the rape, instead making it a vile, degrading act to watch (though the characters treat it very nonchalantly). The dead girl (played bravely by Jenny Spain) is like a hunk of meat to the characters, just another thing they can use to satisfy their teenage libidos. I’m not sure if the writer Trent Haaga or directors Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel intentionally wanted to make a statement about rape victims and their attackers, but J.T. and his cronies treat her like a rapist would treat his victim…they say “she’s not even human” and act like she is just a commodity to be used explicitly for their pleasure and then discarded. You end up cheering for the dead girl (the characters never even give her a name and we never find out her back story, making her appear even more like merely an object) but her rapists never seem to get the punishment they deserve.

Another theme the film explores is the “loss of innocence”, but more from Rickie’s and J.T.’s perspectives than from the dead girl’s. The characters go from rebels without a cause to perverse exploiters of human life rather quickly, and, as mentioned above, treat the dead girl as not even being human and repeatedly rape this “object”. Though “zombie” is never used to describe the dead girl, that is what she truly is and the film really turns the zombie genre on its head. Usually, the zombies are used as metaphors for our mindless consumer society, but in Deadgirl the living lead characters are the ones senselessly and coldly using up the “zombie” just as if she is another product. It says a lot about our society and how we as consumers voraciously devour any products we can get our grubby mitts on, without thought to consequences. Kudos to writer Trent Haaga for offering a new perspective and social commentary on the zombie genre. On the more distressing side, it also speaks of how ambivalent we as a society are towards rapists and the “boys will be boys” mentality.

On the visual side of things, directors Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel do a fantastic job of capturing the angst and alienation of youth in the film (especially accompanied by the moody soundtrack that includes Iron and Wine, Radiohead and Animal Collective). The opening scenes and subsequent framing shots really depict what it feels like to be an outsider in high school. It is a poignant journey until the twisted horror of the dead girl is revealed. From then on most of the action takes place in the dark, dank belly of the abandoned mental hospital, which J.T. slowly converts to his new crash pad, complete with softly glowing Christmas lights and a Lazy-Boy. The gritty setting coupled with the despicable acts the boys perform on the dead girl really makes your stomach turn. The setting reminded me much of Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door.
 
Despite a few shaky instances, the actors in the film did an amazing job. Noah Segan really made us hate his character of J.T. and Shiloh Fernandez made us alternate between hating and loving his character of Rickie. Other cast members did a terrific job as well, especially the dead girl herself, Jenny Spain, who we both felt sorry for and terrified by.

The film does have a few flaws, namely some slow pacing and failure to wrap up some loose ends. The film already has a pretty languid pace, but there are a few instances where the story really gets bogged down. I thought the subplot of Rickie’s mom’s boyfriend didn’t add anything to the story and could have been left out. Also, I really wanted to see some justice and prolonged torture befall J.T. and others for their part in making the dead girl their sex slave, but their fates were rather tame. The film’s grim ending was shocking (though you can see it coming), but it never followed up on what happened to some of the characters or the dead girl herself. Had the script and/or editing been tightened up, the pacing and storyline would have flowed much more smoothly, but still would have been no less perverse.

Deadgirl is a hard film to recommend. On the one hand, it is hard to watch, has its moments of misogyny and the rapists never quite get all they deserve, but on the other hand it is beautifully filmed and is just so damn disturbing! The moral ambivalence of the characters and the objectification of women speak to a greater extent of how we as a society have a nonchalant attitude not only towards the loss of innocence, but also towards rape. And that perhaps is the most frightening thing of all about Deadgirl.

Buy it on Amazon!

The Lost (2008)

Hanging out in the woods one night, Ray Pye (Marc Senter) and his two friends Tim (Alex Frost) and Jennifer (Shay Astar) stumble across two women (one who happens to be Erin Brown, aka Misty Mundae, in the nude) camping. After spying on them for a bit, Ray suggests they “pop” them with his rifle. He notes how exciting shooting rabbits is, but says it would be more thrilling to shoot these two innocent girls. Ray gleefully goes through with his plan, viciously shooting the defenseless girls while his petrified friends go along with it as well as helping Ray cover up the crime. They are as scared of Ray as they are enamored of him.

Four years later, the original detective on the case, Charlie Schilling (Michael Bowen), is still convinced Ray is the killer and keeps a careful watch on the womanizing charmer. Meanwhile, Ray’s despotic rule over his friends slowly crumbles as Detective Schilling applies pressure to him and the group.

The usually slick and smooth Ray finally snaps, going on a merciless shooting rampage and taking several hostages up in an isolated house. Can Detective Schilling find him before more people are brutally killed?

More about a group of lost, disaffected youths than about a budding serial killer, The Lost is Chris Sivertson’s film adaptation of the Jack Ketchum novel of the same name. Initially, I didn’t enjoy the film at all, but a few days after viewing it I found it had grown on me a bit. While I’ve never read this particular Ketchum book, his trademark dark portrayal of suburbia/society is evident in the film.

Ketchum’s trademark nastiness is most evident in the opening scenes as well as in the conclusion. The opening scenes capture Ray’s viciousness as well as his ability to manipulate those around him. While the opening scenes start with a bang (literally), the middle of the film feels more like an after-school special about the dangers of peer pressure, abusive relationships, and drug and alcohol abuse than a horror movie. There’s even a large chunk of the film devoted to Ray “falling in love” (obsessing is more like it) over the sultry Katherine (Robin Sydney). Things quickly feel like they are developing into a teen drama with the added love triangle between Ray, Jennifer and Tim. The horror finally kicks in again at the end, when Ray is wronged one too many times and starts brutally shooting people, but it comes a little too late.

Jack Ketchum himself has praised this adaptation (you can hear him on the DVD’s commentary track), but I just wasn’t completely sold on it. It feels a bit too uneven and I know many horror fans won’t enjoy this film. Blame mustn’t be placed on Sivertson, though, who does a wonderful job with the direction. Though his screenplay might be a bit rough at times, it always feels like Ketchum material, examining the nittiest and grittiest underbelly of society.

The performances from the actors were extremely convincing, though I did want to knock some sense into Tim (Frost) and Jennifer (Astar) for being friends with Ray after all the abuse and threats they suffer. Also, while Marc Senter gives a maniacally charming performance as Ray, at times his portrayal felt a little too forced and over the top. Still, he makes Ray into a good-lookin’, smooth-talkin,’ intense guy and really made me believe people would fall for his charisma.

Fans of Ketchum’s book The Lost will no doubt be impressed by this film, but as for the rest of us…it feels a little lacking. Not even a short cameo by Dee Wallace Stone helped to perk things up. The Lost has intense opening and closing scenes, but the rest of the film is lacking suspense, tension or much else to keep your attention except for a few intense performances.

Still, this movie has “cult film” written all over it and I won’t soon forget it.

Available from Amazon!

Crawl Space (2007)

There are few films that make my jaw drop anymore. Or whose conclusions make me so grin wide. Or, for that matter, who make me want to give a standing ovation.

Crawl Space, an 11 ½ minute short from writer/director Michael Tiddes and Jury-Rig Films, made me do all three of the above in consecutive order.

A young married woman (Erin Ross) wakes up trapped in a crawl space under a house. After a frantic search to find out where she is, we see in a flashback exactly how she got there. While trying to figure a way out, she becomes witness to her darkest fears coming true. What she does in response will shock, horrify and satisfy you.

Writer/director Michael Tiddes wastes no time creating a tense atmosphere in the cramped and dirty crawl space. He and Director of Photography Steven Bernstein create a nail-biting atmosphere with extreme close-ups to magnify the terror of the lead character. The intense atmosphere is also heightened by the terrific score, composed by Sam Zeines. The result is a very foreboding atmosphere within just the first few minutes that continues to build as the short progresses.

The story, written by director Michael Tiddes, is told in a very engaging way and how it unfolds on-screen will keep your eyes glued to the action. The story twists and turns, leading to a surprising, bloody and satisfying ending. There isn’t much dialogue, as the focus is on the situation the lead finds herself trapped in, but when there is dialogue it flows realistically. The characters are developed just enough so that we know them and the actors do a wonderful job of bringing them to life.

The standout actress is Erin Ross, who packs a plethora of emotions into an 11 ½ minute short film. Her spectrum of emotions is very believable and the audience can readily sympathize with her character. Brad Schmidt and Lindsay Lorraine Jones are also excellent in their roles and manage to show us who their characters are, even with a short screen time.

The story and the acting aren’t the only things that shine in the film. Besides those two very important aspects of the film, the production values are also very high in Crawl Space. Everything, from the lighting, the direction, and to the cinematography, only adds to the polished look. All of these factors, including the script and acting, give Crawl Space a very professional feel.

I can honestly say that Crawl Space is one of the best short horror films I’ve seen in quite some time…perhaps ever! I eagerly look forward to what Michael Tiddes has in store for us, as both a writer and director, in the future. With this much talent behind the lens, Tiddes is one to watch!

If you want a jaw-dropping, grin-inducing, clever horror film that’ll have you clapping for more at the end of its 11 ½ minute running time, Crawl Space is for you!

Nailed (2007)

Have you ever experienced an especially vivid nightmare filled with bright lights, dark corners and ominous figures that you could swear was actually happening? When you wake up, you feel disoriented, spooked an uneasy?

If you have, then you’ll pretty much know how you’ll feel watching Nailed, a surprisingly effective horror film!

This under-the-radar film starts off like a crime drama, with two low-level thugs, Keller (Charles Porter) and Scott (Sam Sarpong), dropping off a drug delivery only to find out they are smack-dab in the middle of a huge bust. After a chase through inner-city streets, during which Scott gets shot in the arm, the two take refuge in a boarded-up house. They assume they are all alone, until they hear strange sounds coming from upstairs. When they investigate, they find a man, bandaged head to toe, lying in a bed begin cared for his “caregiver,” Adam (Wilson Jermaine Heredia). Relieved to find a doctor in the house, they force Adam to patch up Scott’s arm. Keller and Scott are forced to stay in hiding in the house because the cops are still looking for them outside. That’s when things begin to get a little strange…

I wasn’t expecting all that much from this movie…with a name like Nailed, I was half-expecting this movie to feature half the cast from Jackass, complete with copious amounts of unnecessary nudity and over-the-top gory deaths. Much to my surprise, it was completely different from what I expected. It actually had a tense atmosphere and had me on the edge of my seat, you know, genuinely frightened! Imagine a horror movie doing THAT!!

Director Adrian O’Connell utilizes the cramped space of the boarded-up house and capitalizes on the claustrophobic atmosphere. Sunlight streaming in between the slats on the windows forms a sharp contrast to the murky depths of the house, creating a disorienting feeling. The intensity of the situation is multiplied by the fact that Scott is slowly bleeding to death and Keller is freaking out over the moans and groans that the man upstairs is making.

The film is essentially carried by the performances of the three actors inside the house (I’m not counting the man in the bed, since he doesn’t do much but groan) – Porter as Keller, Sarpong as Scott and Heredia as Adam and all three manage to pull it off. Porter plays the secretive Keller as the strong, silent one until his sanity begins to slowly deteriorate. Things inside the house start getting to him and he turns from calm and collected to frantic and desperate. Sarpong plays the light-hearted but with-something-to-prove Scott with ease, and actually makes the audience care about him even though he has shot a cop and continually threatens Adam. Adam is played by Heredia in a very creepy, detached way. Adam acts calm and emotionless, even when a gun is waved in his face, which makes you think from the start that something is just not right with him.

The film builds slowly, first with a few strange things occurring, which the characters just brush off as due to stress, but soon the scares become more and more frequent. Keller discovers a doll house that looks exactly like the one they are in, complete with boarded up windows and little dolls that look like him, Scott, Adam and the man in the bed. Then he begins getting sores all over his body and starts seeing things a little more…ominous. The pacing of the film is excellent and even the beginning with the drug bust and ensuing chase fits in. Director Adrian O’Connell and writer Stephen McAnena have created quite a taut film with Nailed.

My only complaint was that the ending felt a bit generic and can be figured out when you actually get into the film. Other than that, Nailed is a solid horror film that focuses more on psychological terror and cramped spaces than grue or goo.

Check it out if you’re looking for a terrifying trip…or just go watch Jackass.

Available on Amazon!

Book Review: The Cellar by Richard Laymon

Recently, I finished the very quick and disturbing read that was the late, great Richard Laymon’s The Cellar. I found it a superb book that was equal parts disturbing, gross-out and suspenseful.

It tells the tale of Donna and her young daughter Sandy who flee SoCal for the North when Donna’s abusive ex-husband Roy is released from prison after doing a stint for pedophilia and rape. After having car trouble, the two are forced to stay in Malcasa Point, a small town famous for its Beast House. A vicious beast is said to live in its depths and many murders and disappearances have occurred around the house. During the day, though, tours are given of the house and this is where Donna and Sandy meet Jud (short for Judgment) and Larry. Larry is the only survivor of a beast attack and has hired Jud to kill it. With Roy hot on Donna and Sandy’s trail, the two decide to join up with Jud and Larry. Can the four face up against the cunning and cruel Roy? Better yet, can they survive the beast of Beast House?

As one of Laymon’s earlier (and slimmer) works, The Cellar works very well at creating a sense of dread and downright ickiness throughout the proceedings. The scenes of child abuse and rape are extremely hard to read, as are the scenes of “beast”-iality that pop up later in the book. Somehow, even though I wanted to put the book down or skip the particular parts in question, I just couldn’t tear my eyes away. The gore described within the book is nothing compared the disturbing sexual deviancy contained within its pages, but it is still pretty good.

Laymon has created a very tense book that made me want to keep reading. In fact, I finished the book in a very short time mainly because I wanted to see the bad guy get his just desserts and to find out exactly what the beast was. The reveal of the beast was pretty mundane, but the twist at the end was definitely a delight. Unfortunately, Roy’s demise is pretty quick and anticlimactic for a character that is so evil. I was really hoping he would be forced to suffer more.

Also, the Beast House isn’t quite described with the detail that I’d hoped and the characters just aren’t developed that fully. Sure, we feel sorry for Donna and Sandy, hope Jud succeeds at his task and even take a special liking to the eccentric Larry, but some of the characters actions just don’t ring true. If I had a sicko ex-husband running around who wanted to finish what he started with his daughter, I probably wouldn’t leave her alone for a second, much less leave her alone to go bang a studly new acquaintance.

Nonetheless, The Cellar was a disturbing read that kept me on the edge of my seat. I won’t be eager to read it again any time soon, but it is highly recommended by yours truly. It is also part one of a trilogy. The next book is The Beast House and the final one is The Midnight Tour. After The Cellar, I am eager to check out Laymon’s other two books in the trilogy.

Available on Amazon!

Sympathy (2007)

Every once in a while, I’ll get a low-budget, under-the-radar film that rekindles my love for the genre and proves that an excellent horror film CAN be made with a small budget. Sympathy is one of those films, reportedly shot for an astoundingly low budget of $6,500. It was directed by Andrew Moorman and written by Arik Martin (and based on his play “Serendipity”), and despite its budget, Sympathy is a firecracker of a film that crackles and sparks with a crazy energy that feels like it will explode at any minute.

Sympathy concerns an on-the-run bankrobber, Trip (Steven Pritchard), and the smart-mouthed teenage girl whom he’s kidnapped, named Sara (Marina Shtelen). Trip decides to hole up in a ratty motel room to plan his next move. Sara isn’t giving the young bankrobber much respite, and so he handcuffs her to the headboard of the bed, but then accidentally shoots her in the shoulder. Trip isn’t such a smooth criminal, you see, but no one is quite what they seem…

While Sara continues her smartass remarks to Trip (bullet wound be damned!), he leaves the room for a bit. When he returns, he finds that an escaped convict, named Dennis (Aaron Boucher), has joined them in their hideout. Dennis soon worms his way into Trip’s business, takes control, finds out Trip robbed a bank and tries to scheme how he can get his own hands on the dough. Meanwhile, Sara tries to sweet talk Dennis into helping her escape and he seems to take a special shine to her, but we soon find out that all three characters have their own hidden agendas.

Soon, dark revelations and hidden secrets come to light and the three characters clash in a cacophony of violence and blood.

Sympathy is an absolute marvel of independent, edge-of-your-seat entertainment! With its twists and turns, its well-acted and complex characters and its bloody action, it kept me glued to the screen from the very first scene.

The acting alone was impressive, with Marina Shtelen as Sara being the absolute standout in the cast of only three. Sassy, intelligent, daring and keeping her cool, the character of Sara is who everyone wishes she or he could be if ever kidnapped. Steven Pritchard as Trip and Aaron Boucher as Dennis do a fantastic job as well. Pritchard is able to go from commanding to cowering at the drop of a hat and had me alternating rooting for him and against him. Boucher plays Dennis with such a fierce intensity that we are caught unawares when the tables are turned. I can’t say any more for fear of ruining this fantastic film, but trust me that all the performances are raw, believable and grab your attention.

Since the film has only one static location where the action occurs, you’d think that this might get monotonous and lose some of the film’s edginess…but this turned out to be anything but the case! Director Andrew Moorman (who also took on cinematography, editing and a slew of other roles) keeps things interesting by utilizing shots from numerous angles and constantly keeping the action going as the three characters interacted with each other. A split-screen is even shown during one particularly tense scene. Visually, as well as story-wise, Sympathy never gets boring.

The suspenseful atmosphere is also supported by the sound design, alternating between rising strings and dead silence. The professional-sounding score really adds to the tension and really gives the film that extra shove to make it truly great.

As the story progresses, the motel room takes on a crimson hue from all the blood splatter. There are point-blank gunshot wounds, dismemberment, stabbings, a mild case of cannibalism and plenty of other cringe-worthy bloodshed. Despite all the violence, though it is entertaining, it isn’t what drives the action forward. The action is still propelled forward by the interactions and tension between the three characters. This, you see, is why this claustrophobic and suspenseful film works so well.

My one complaint with Sympathy is that it leaves so many different subplots unexplored or unexplained. The twists come fast and furious towards the end of the film, and it doesn’t feel like all the storylines are tied up as neatly as they could have been.

Still, Sympathy shines as one of the best indie films I’ve seen so far this year. More psychological thriller than balls-out horror, this film knows how to ratchet up the suspense factor and throw in a few genuine surprises along the way.

Sympathy was the official selection for the Horror Hound Weekend a few weekends ago, and is also an official selection for the Los Angeles’ Screamfest in October. If you pass up an opportunity to view this film, I won’t have any sympathy for you…

Neighborhood Watch (2005)

My neighbor is seriously a pain…If we have people over or music on past 11pm, she comes over, bangs on the door and tells us to keep it down…even on the freakin’ weekend!! She’s an older, washed-up bag who doesn’t like to have any fun and doesn’t get out much as far as I can tell. One time she had the audacity to accost me just outside my door and ask, “Do you hate me?” Geez, lady, easy on the insecurities there! We are never that loud and she just needs to learn to deal. I’m tempted to gift her with some sleeping pills and ear plugs…

Like my own drama-queen-next-door, everyone has or has had a bad neighbor at one point in their lives, but I sure as hell hope no one has had a neighbor like Adrien Trumbull in Neighborhood Watch (aka Deadly End)

Bob (Jack Huston) and Wendi (Pell James) Peterson have just moved cross-country so Bob can take his “dream job” at a large corporation. They move into a seemingly quiet neighborhood on Wormwood Drive. Things are pleasant enough until strange things begin occurring. The old, deaf couple across the street crashes their Oldsmobile into the Peterson’s yard and from that point on keep driving up and honking their horn at them. A handyman with dark circles under his eyes acts creepily towards Wendi. Wendi receives a bouquet of poison oak from someone and her whole face swells up from its poison, resulting in an emergency room visit. Then the couple finally meets Adrien (Nick Searcy), who brings them a box of chocolates that gives them both a severe case of the Hershey squirts. Next, he brings them a jar of homemade grape jelly, but Bob and Wendi have wised up at this point and won’t accept it. Adrien breaks into their house and tries to poison their food, but Bob calls the cops. Unfortunately, the Petersons learn that Adrien is the deceased mayor’s son and the law is on his side. Bob is determined to stick it out and beat Adrien, even organizing a Neighborhood Watch meeting and changing all the locks on the doors, but Adrien continues to poison them, this time through their water supply. From there, things take a turn for the decidedly worse…

Neighborhood Watch is a hard to watch, subversively humorous and shocking independent film that is definitely something new and shouldn’t be missed. First and foremost, the characters are all great and quirky! Though Adrien is a sick freak, I just couldn’t wait until he made his next appearance. Nick Searcy does a fantastic job in the role and really takes on the twisted persona of Adrien. My skin crawls just thinking about his character! Both the characters of Bob and Wendi are very well-drawn as well, and both Jack Huston and Pell James do great things with their roles. I really enjoyed watching them both!

The story, written by Graeme Whifler (who also directed), is twisted and impossibly engaging! Besides all the horror, there is also a vein of black humor running throughout the film. Whifler has crafted a very scary, very realistic story that feels like it could actually happen. It makes you think twice about your neighbors and makes you wonder exactly what goes on behind closed doors.

The special effects, by Lenny MacDonald along with Steve Johnson’s Edge FX, were one of the highlights of watching the film. The effects look incredibly real – sutured wounds, incisions into abdominal areas, ripping out of guts and other organs, crusty sores – though not a gorefest, there were still several instances where I had to look away! One of those moments happened just minutes after the film started!

Though I viewed the screener copy, the production values looked pretty high for an independent film. The lighting was good, even in dark scenes, and the shots were all framed appropriately. The direction by Whifler was straight-forward, clean and sharp.

One of the downsides of the film is that it does drag a little towards the middle and it feels like nothing much is happening. Also, it was kind of hard to believe that the Petersons didn’t leave after finding out that Adrien was backed by the cops. I was also surprised the film didn’t delve into the “ghost town” aspect of story, which is lightly touched on by one of Bob’s co-workers, or Bob’s corporate job.

Still, Neighborhood Watch is an impressive indie outing with great acting, solid directing, a fresh storyline and cringe-worthy special effects that deserves to be seen. Plus, it’ll make you appreciate your crazy neighbors a little more…

Available on Amazon!

Salvage (2006)

Salvage is part slasher, part psychological thriller and even has a dash of humor thrown in for good measure. Written and directed by the Crook Brothers, Salvage is a smart, twisted and suspense-filled film that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Claire is a 19-year-old gas station attendant in a small town. After working the night shift, she waits for her boyfriend Jimmy to pick her up. Instead, a man named Duke drives up in Jimmy's truck, saying he was sent to give her a lift. Claire nervously accepts and after a creepy exchange with Duke she is dropped off at home. Claire locks and bolts the front door as Duke drives away, but fails to notice the back door is wide open until it is too late. Duke clocks her, drags her down into the basement and kills her. Suddenly, Claire is back at the gas station and her last day repeats itself. No matter how many times Claire changes the events of her last day or tries to figure out what is going on, Duke always finds and kills her. She is forced to repeat her last day over and over. Can Claire figure out what is happening to her and who Duke is before she is killed yet again?

Salvage really impressed me, as I didn't go in expecting too much. The story, written by the Crook Brothers, is taut and kept me wildly guessing what was happening up until the end. Is Claire crazy? Is she having premonitions? Is the town in on it? Is she imagining everything? Who is Duke and why is he doing this? Though the ending isn't difficult to figure out, that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the film.

An interesting aspect of the film is that unlike most horror films, Salvage is shot in broad daylight instead of nighttime. This gives the film an even more eerie, disorienting feel. You would think that showing everything in the daytime would make the film less scary, but the opposite is true. Daylight actually makes the film more frightening and fills it with dread. There are also some great camera angles (especially when Duke drags Claire down the stairs) and compositions that always keep the film interesting.

It also helps that the film has wonderful acting from the leads. As Claire, Lauren Currie Lewis is fantastic. She is believable, natural, smart and self-reliant. She has a very girl-next-door quality, and whenever Duke caught up with her I really felt for her. Speaking of Duke, he is played by Chris Ferry. From the moment that Duke first invades the screen I could sense his ominous intentions. Ferry plays Duke with a frightening intensity that shook me to the core! Even when he has his moments of dark humor, Ferry doesn't let you forget that Duke is a deadly killer. Balancing out the foreboding atmosphere of the film is Cody Darbe as Claire's boyfriend Jimmy. He is a comedic jolt that alleviates the tension throughout the film. I was surprised to find that this is Darbe's first on-screen role because he is completely natural in front of the camera!

If you are a gorehound looking for a torture flick, you're looking at the wrong movie, buddy. Salvage does not contain the amount of gore that would satiate most grue fiends, though the amount contained is appropriate for the film. There is a very nice "face lift" scene, complete with the sounds of flesh being peeled off, that was definitely cringe-worthy, as well as some brutal violence towards Claire. She gets punched, kicked in the face and further battered by Duke, but the camera remains at a distance. Still, these scenes of violence are pretty hard to watch and very believable!

If you are looking for something different that melds together the aspects of a slasher film and a psychological thriller I highly recommend checking out Salvage. It's a clever and highly entertaining way to spend a little under an hour and a half.

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Alone With Her (2007)

"1 in 12 women and 1 in 45 men will be stalked in their lifetimes."

"1.4 million people are stalked every year in the United States."

"76% of women killed by their intimate partners were stalked before they were killed."

These are just a few of the distasteful facts about stalkers that are revealed at the beginning of Alone With Her. As a woman, the dangers of "peeping toms" and stalkers have always been prevalent, but technology today is making it easier than ever for anyone to purchase cheap and tiny video cameras that can be hidden in alarm clocks, cell phones, pens, plants, teddy bears, eyeglasses, hats and clothing.

Doug (Colin Hanks) enjoys bumming around town, hidden camera shoved into a bag, and video taping women without their knowledge. He loves taping scantily-clad sunbathers at the beach, up girls’ skirts and down their tops at the store and the occasional pretty dog-walker at the park. It’s at the park that he first sees Amy (Ana Claudia Talancon) and is attracted to her vulnerability after she gets teary-eyed when watching a touchy-feely couple. Doug feels some kind of twisted connection to her, so he follows her home and bugs her house with tiny cameras – in the bathroom, in the bedroom, on the patio and in the living room. He watches her day and night, learning all her secrets, all her likes and dislikes and her schedule until he deems himself ready enough to meet her face-to-face in a “chance” encounter. The nebbish Doug manipulates Amy and uses his knowledge of her to infiltrate her life. After they become acquaintances at the coffee shop Amy frequents, Doug puts himself in a position to continually come to Amy's rescue. A budding artist, Doug designs her a site where she can feature her paintings and also gets her a gallery showing, where she sells her first pieces of art. Yet, when a new man comes into Amy's life or a concerned friend gets the heebie jeebies from him, he makes sure to clear the pathway so nothing and no one will interrupt his pursuit of her. He even goes so far as to get Amy fired, poison her, make her violently ill and give her a severe allergic reaction with a substance he puts on her sheets. How far is Doug willing to go to fulfill his obsession?

Alone With Her is an intelligent, socially aware film that scared me enough to lock all the doors, close all the blinds and peer suspiciously at my alarm clock as the end credits rolled. There's no doubt that after viewing this film you too will have these severe, paranoid reactions!

The entire film is viewed through Doug's network of hidden cameras. We watch along with Doug as Amy takes a shower, does her makeup, talks on the phone with her mom, speculates with her friend, plays with her dog or plays with herself. Even when Doug encounters her in real life he is wired to tape her every move. Writer/director Eric Nicholas and cinematographer Nathan Wilson wisely chose to give the film an all-too-real and immediate feel as they present the story through the hidden cameras. The result is an unsettling and even dirty feeling that settles over the viewer (and voyeur). I can tell you that after watching this film I felt like I needed a shower! The hidden cameras are invasive and the random static that pops up occasionally never lets us forget that we are trespassing into someone's private life. In fact, this invasion of privacy makes you yourself feel vulnerable and exposed, which gives you all the more reason to sympathize with Amy.

The performances in the film, by both Colin Hanks and Ana Claudia Talancon, are remarkable. Colin Hanks plays against his typical "aw shucks" character as the detached voyeur and obsessive stalker. Hanks as Doug, with his seemingly emotionless voice and twisted logic, is scarier than Michael, Freddy, Jason and Leatherface put together. He is real and he is out in the world, perhaps outside your window right now. Ana Claudia Talancon is vivacious, expressive and gorgeous as Amy. She comes across as natural and someone I would genuinely like to know in real life. This makes her situation all the more tragic and makes us really feel for her throughout the entire ordeal.

The script is never forced, but moves along at a slow yet natural pace. There is no gore, just a slowly building sense of dread as Doug moves in closer and closer to his prey. Let me tell you, though, the dread is almost palatable as the film nears its finale. By this point, I had grown so close to Amy's character that I wanted to reach through the screen and strangle the little twerp as he kept invading and messing with her life. When the film finally concludes with the inevitable, I felt sad, scared and disturbed.

Alone With Her hopes to bring to attention the voyeuristic society we live in. Reality shows rule the boob tube and we are told the government is always watching, so how soon before we start incorporating voyeurism into our own lives? Part cautionary tale, part wake-up call, Alone With Her succeeds in creating an unsettling, uncomfortable, and fear-soaked film with a message.

It comes highly recommended from yours truly.

Available from Amazon!