Ghost of the Needle (2003)

So, tonight I'm planning on curling up on the couch, my black cat Havoc on one side, my wonderful boyfriend on the other and a big bowl of popcorn (perhaps even kettle corn!) on my lap to watch Dark Remains. I've been expectantly waiting for this particular movie to arrive after suffering a "very long wait" on my Netflix queue. Tonight, it should be at home!

Before I watched this film, I wanted to get a little taste of what I had in store. I ordered a film with the same director as Dark Remains, entitled Ghost of the Needle. I'm not sure what I was expecting, probably a badly done serial killer indie with lots of typical blood and misogyny. I couldn't have been more wrong. Ghost of the Needle proved to be a genuinely scary and taut movie, filled with suspense the entire way through.

A landscape photographer named Jacob relishes in taking girls back to his studio, conveniently located in the basement of an abandoned factory that his father owns. Once there, he injects them with a poison and takes photographs of their propped up, dead bodies before vacuum-sealing them in plastic. His agent has lined up an art show for him that will increase his exposure, but Jacob is sketchy about showing his private collection of gorgeous black and white landscapes. Still, his agent bullies him into doing it. One condition is that he must take a picture of a particular bridge at exactly noon on a specific day for the client. When Jacob arrives there, he meets Aimee, whom he takes back to his lair. She is a feisty thing, though, and doesn't give up without a fight. Jacob takes a tumble down the stairs while chasing her and takes quite a hit to the noggin'. When he wakes up he begins experiencing vivid hallucinations which lead him to believe that those he has murdered are out to get him...His client and his wife are somehow involved, and it seems that even his own father knows to much. Is Jacob losing his mind or are there sinister forces out for revenge?

I cannot think of one gosh darn bad thing about this movie, which makes me super-duper excited to see the director's (Brian Avenet-Bradley) third movie, Dark Remains. I kept jumping throughout the whole movie and was wholly engrossed in what was happening on-screen. I didn't even wanna get up to go to the bathroom because that would mean pausing the creepy sucker!

Everything was great about it, from the acting to the directing to the beautiful cinematography. I was a bit sketchy when I saw that Avenet-Bradley was also starring in the film as Jacob, but he pulled off both the direction and the character of Jacob flawlessly! For an independent film, I was mightily impressed with the overall production. Beautiful and creepy lighting, gorgeous cinematography, believable acting and an interesting and engaging story to pull everything together is what you can expect from Ghost of the Needle. The score and overall sound of the flick were great as well and really lend themselves to the at-times surreal atmosphere.

If you are looking for a suspenseful and gripping story that'll make you jump sky-high in your seat, look no further than this wonderfully done independent feature. I can't wait to see what Avenet-Bradley does next!

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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994)

Being a huge fan of the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre, I had avoided seeing any other sequels (except, of course, for the beloved Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2), remakes, reimaginings, or whatever else they are calling them these days. I was pleasantly surprised by the remake with Jessica Biel (it was mindless, entertaining fun) when I finally did see it, but horribly let down with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (my #1 worst pick for 2006). I really did love the 2nd movie, and have yet to see the 3rd, entitled Leatherface. For Christmas, my boyfriend wanted to add to my TCM collection so he got me a movie I had avoided seeing for a loooooong time: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation.

Still, I was intrigued...could it really be that bad? I mean, you've got Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zellweger, so you'd at least get a laugh, right? RIGHT?! WRONG! Oh, so very sadly wrong...The Next Generation has got to be the very worst in the entire series, if not one of the worst movies ever made! I haven't seen numero tres, but by all reasoning it has to be better than the steaming pile of crud I was subjected to...

I mean, I don't even want to talk about it...I think it was so bad that I'm now traumatized by watching an overacting McConaughey play a baddie and a lost Zellweger trying to play a scared high schooler. Not to mention Leatherface! Poor Leatherface - once the most frightening horror icon, in this piece of trash he is relegated to being a cowering, scared lost-little-boy type who enjoys dressing up in drag.

The rest of the cast is as pretty bad as McConaughey and Zellweger. They are all annoying dimwits! The dialogue they spew is truly awful and the acting...ummm...ya, let's not even go there. Let's just say I'm surprise anyone had a career after starring or being involved with this movie.

Arrrrrghhhh! There are no scares, no creepy moments, nor anything of value for that matter...this is one film that has truly no redeeming qualities. If you value your eyeballs, don't set sight on this sorry excuse for a movie lest it burn them out of your sockets.

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Feast (2006)

I finally got to see this gory treat over the holidays...let me tell you, it is good, gory fun!

A group of strangers are at an isolated bar in the middle of the desert when a man busts through the doors and tells them that there are creatures outside ready to rip them all apart. Their only chance of survival, he says, is for them to listen to him and follow his lead. A second later, he's pulled through the window as dinner for the monsters. And so begins quite a fun ride...

For a very simplistic and cliche storyline, Feast is a lot of fun! I love the intro to each of the characters where their stats (including their life expectancy) pop up. Character development isn't a big focus here, but we get a pretty good idea of who each of the characters are with their stat cards before the action commences. The film also features some clever, comedic bits that are pure gold! We get Jason Mewes playing Jason Mewes and Henry Rollins as an inspirational speaker who ends up in some tight pink shorts! Those two performances alone made this movie worthwhile...

The action and gore is relentless as the quickly dwindling bar patrons struggle to defeat the monsters. Sometimes, though, the action is a little too fast. In some scenes, especially the attack scenes, the editing is so fast and choppy that it is difficult to see what is happening. This editing, some silly dialogue and the bare bones story are my only complaints.

This movie is one big, fun rollercoaster ride with plenty of gore and splatter. Gorehounds will be delighted as the film is basically bathed in blood and guts. If you are looking for a night of mindless, bloody and comedic fun, Feast is for you.

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A Blade in the Dark (1983)

A Blade in the Dark (La Casa con la Scala Nel Buio) is directed by Lamberto Bava, but displays little of his skill. It is slow-moving, predictable and fails to entertain.

A musician moves into a villa to write a score for an upcoming horror film. Meanwhile, a killer on the property brutally murders women and hides their bodies. The musician starts to suspect that a killer is on the loose and is hiding the bodies in the large house. More and more women who show up at the villa end up disappearing. Are these disappearances (and killings) related to the former tenant in the house? How is the film that he is working on connected to the strange disappearances?

I was so disappointed in this movie...I was expecting a fun ride but all I got was a trip on the SS Snoozeville. I couldn't care less about the characters, the acting was pretty iffy, the plot didn't go anywhere, the pacing was offensively slow, I figured out the killer by the middle of the film and the killer's motivations were sorely lacking and unbelievable. This film is chock full of unnecessary scenes that seem to exist solely to fill time. The pacing is slower than molasses and in serious need of a kick in the pants. There is no suspense and no tension. If you are a giallo fan like me, you will know who the killer is halfway through the film.

The kills aren't very memorable, though there are a few bloody bits; nothing we haven't seen before, though. There are a few great camera angles, such as the one used underwater in a pool. Unfortunately, this wasn't a kill scene.

Unless you are a collector, skip this borefest and rent one of the many better giallos...perhaps even a Mario Bava (Lamberto's father) film.

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The Dark Hours (2005)

The Dark Hours is a psychological horror film from Canada that features some cringe-inducing bits and a solid (if familiar) plot.

Dr. Samantha Goodman works at a mental hospital dealing with dangerous patients, most of whom have committed sex crimes or have violently assaulted and killed women. Her husband is a writer and her sister is his research assistant. The two go up to a cabin for a weekend, and after seeing the results of a CAT scan, Samantha decides to join them. When she arrives, she tells them that the tumor inside her brain is growing and there is no cure for the rare condition. As they look on with shock, sadness and disbelief, the doorbell rings. An awkward and twitchy 20-something comes in, looking to get out of the snow while he waits for his friends. He's not he's all he appears to be, though, as seen in one shocking scene. He takes the trio hostage with a gun until Harlan Pyne arrives to take care of business. He is Dr. Samantha's patient and had been stuck in a coma for years. He has now arrived to give the psychologist a taste of her own medicine. He plays mind games with the family, trying to get the ugly truth out of all of them. If they don't play along with his games, things could get pretty messy...but he shares more with Samantha than any of them think...

I love that this movie, from the first shocking turn of events, keeps its fast and tension-filled pace. The psychological terror that Harlan puts them through is intense, and yet his intelligence and wit kinda makes you like him. There are a few solid scares in the film and some great gory parts, such as when Harlan forces Samantha to rip her own pinky finger off with a pair of pliers.

The performances are all great and very believable. I love Aidan Devine as escaped psychopath Harlan Pyne and Kate Greenhouse as Samantha Gordon. For an independent film, everything looks great and I love that the director chose to focus solely on the horror of the mind games being played instead of using flashy camera tricks.

My only quibble is that I saw the ending coming from the first 10 minutes of the movie! The woman has a tumor...hmmm...and it's growing...could this lead to hallucinations? An altered reality? The rest of the film follows the basic home-invasion plot that has been done many times (with the "twist" thrown in to change things up a bit), so it's all pretty predictable. Yet, it is the acting and the sheer brutality of the proceedings that make this movie work.

I also love anything that's not your typical Hollywood-style, dumbed-down slasher flick. Check out The Dark Hours yourself, if anything for something a lil' different than the standard fare nowadays.

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Love Object (2003)

Love Object is a dark, twisted and perverse film that abounds with layers of meaning while still managing to be wholly entertaining.

Successful but socially awkward technical writer Kenneth Winslow (Desmond Harrington) just can't connect to people. He writes instruction manuals for a large company and his motto is, "It's easy if you just follow the directions." Alas, in life there are no directions. Isolated and alone, he decides to order a pricey but realistic sex doll, modeled after his newly-appointed assistant, Lisa. The sex doll, Nikki, arrives in a large crate at his apartment. Kenneth soon develops a close attachment to Nikki and starts treating her like a real girlfriend. His relationship with Nikki becomes strained as he and Lisa develop feelings for each other. Soon, he begins to suspect that Nikki is jealous and is trying to get back at him for abandoning her for Lisa. Kenneth's mental state becomes more and more fragile as he believes Nikki is out to get him. Is it all in his head or has Nikki really come alive?

Love Object can be read into for many deeper meanings including issues in relationships, detachment from people and more of a reliance on inanimate objects or possessions, objectification of women, a view on the state of mind of our society, etc., etc. First-time director Robert Parigi covers many levels of meaning in his very engaging horror flick. There is the motif running throughout the film of disease. Kenneth goes to a porn shop a few times and the clerk is horribly disfigured and has a red rash covering his face. The guy who delivers Nikki also has the same ugly red rash as the clerk does. Other people Kenneth comes in contact with who are somehow connected to either Nikki or the perverse lifestyle Nikki represents also have the rash. As Kenneth slowly changes and grows more and more crazy, he also develops a violent red rash on his neck. These small details by Parigi point to something much larger he wanted to make the audience think about.

Don't fret, though, because while it can be viewed on many different levels, this film is also very entertaining and has some great performances. Desmond Harrington does an especially great job as Kenneth, portraying his quickly slipping sanity with great believability. He sure is creepy when talking and *ahem* interacting with Nikki. I also enjoyed watching Melissa Sagemiller play a charming and likable Lisa (she was also the model for Nikki). The film also features Rip Torn as Kenneth's boss and Udo Keir as his landlord who lives next door to Kenneth and hears some very strange things through the wall...

There are many scenes that will make you squirm or look away in disgust, but, be warned, this is not a gory movie. It reminded me of a cross between American Psycho and May; a smart, quirky movie that features a brutal ending.

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Aftermath (1994)/Genesis (1998)

This feature delivers three short films by director Nacho Cerda. Cerda recently directed The Abandoned, which screened at the After Dark Horrorfest. After seeing three of his short films, I am very disappointed that I missed seeing The Abandoned in theaters. Cerda certainly has an eye for horror, disturbing imagery and a knack with crafting eerie and, especially in the case of Aftermath, brutal stories.

The first short is about six minutes long and is entitled The Awakening. A student dozes off in class only to wake up to find that time has stopped. Everyone else in class is frozen in time, but he moves freely about. He discovers that he cannot escape the classroom as the windows and doors are impassable. What's happened to him? What's happened to time? Made in 1991 and shot in black and white, this film looks like old footage from the '50s. The ending isn't shocking, but like the rest of Cerda's shorts in this collection, it is devoid of dialogue. The classical soundtrack carries the film and this technique is, in fact, Cerda's trademark. An ok starting point for the trio of shorts, but the best is yet to come.

The absolute highlight of the collection is the second film, Aftermath. In a cold and clinical morgue, two morgue workers are performing autopsies on two patients. They remove all the organs to weigh and measure them. This includes the brain, which they have to scoop out after sawing open the skull. The chest is cut open and the ribs are buzz-sawed to reveal the rest of the organs. The heart, liver, lungs, kidneys and other organs are all removed, weighed and thrown back into the corpse before it is neatly sewn up and hosed off. One of the coroners finishes up and leaves the other one alone as a pretty young dead woman is wheeled in. Now alone, the remaining coroner relishes his alone time with her, mutilating and defiling her. Shocking and morbid, this film only runs 30 minutes but you'll be left feeling sick to your stomach for hours (perhaps days) afterward. The best part of this film is how realistic it looks. The autopsies look (and sound) incredibly real. I loved watching the autopsy bits, as I'm fascinated with the forensic side of things! As with The Awakening, there is no dialogue, but the main actor playing does a great job conveying his sick emotions, even with most of his face hidden behind surgical glasses and a surgical mask. The action is also buoyed along by the classical soundtrack. The film is shot beautifully, with long wide shots showing the autopsy action and extreme close-ups of gore. Everything is filmed under harsh, bluish fluorescent lighting, giving the morgue a starkly clinical look. Aftermath is extremely disturbing, sick, realistic and not for the faint of heart. You may want to consider cremation after watching this film...

The last film is Genesis, and it tells of a sculptor who is haunted by the loss of his wife. He has made dozens of statues of her, and is currently working on a beautiful life-size sculpture of her. Strange things start to happen - the statue begins to bleed, then slowly cracks appear to reveal what appears to be human skin underneath. The sculptor also has a transformation, as he appears to be turning into a statue himself! Again, this is a beautiful and creepy film. It does not contain the gore that Aftermath features, but is still well done nonetheless.

Now, more than ever, I am eager to check out Cerda's The Abandoned and any other projects he may do. Do yourself a favor and check out his work, especially Aftermath.

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