Empathy INC

EMPATHY INC was a very interesting film. It ticked a lot of boxes for me and worked on several levels from story through to acting and cinematography.












We have the story Joel who's managed to get himself in some trouble with his startup, so he and his wife are forced to move in with his in-laws until they can get things back on solid footing. He runs into an old friend who happens to have an investment opportunity that he really wants to get into - a virtual experience unlike all others where you can live as someone less fortunate as you. I'll stop there as not to spoil things. I will say that the film goes in some really interesting directions.

The film is more SCI FI than horror, but there are some horrific elements that come into play. And, well, it was a great film and I wanted it on the blog! :) Fans of classics like THE NIGHT GALLERY, TWILIGHT ZONE, and THE OUTER LIMITS will want to check this out for sure!

The cast and cinematography really make this film. While the story is grand, it wouldn't have worked without the solid acting chops of the cast. It would have been a silly disaster, honestly. But, they really work their arses off in the film and bring a ton to the table.  They are believable and manage to sell the concept. It's a friggin BEAUTIFUL film as well. The black and white presentation is stellar and the light and shadow work brings out the noir aspects of the story wonderfully.



Yedidya Gorsetman's direction is great as well. There are shots where you can see his mind at work and it's grand. I can't wait to see him tackle more in the future. Mark Leidner's writing was very solid as well and he should be working a lot more once people see this film.





The film did get a bit....slippy towards the end plot wise and had me scratching my head a bit for a few moments, but that eventually resolved itself when I reflected on it a bit more. While wacky in places, Empath yInc never stopped being highly entertaining.

A high recommend from me. Well worth a viddy! 





Credited cast:
Zack Robidas ... Joel
Kathy Searle ... Jessica
Jay Klaitz ... Lester
Eric Berryman ... Nicolaus
AJ Cedeno ... Sonny
Charmaine Reedy ... Vicky
Fenton Lawless ... Ward
Anthony Mangano ... Officer Cortona
Karen Lynn Gorney ... Miss Miriam

Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Brandon Engman ... Punk
Tom Kemnitz Jr. ... Craig
Trip Rockafellow ... Old Man
Ben Scheiner ... Homeless Man (scenes deleted)
Selima Smith-Dell ... Barista

Artist Spotlight: Uno Moralez

Agent Tony passed this gent over to me recently and I LOVE his work.

Uno Moralez was born in Bashkortostan; a republic in the Russian Federation. His work as this crazy, creepy quality that I adore. The distinctive look and feel reminds me a bit of David Lynch's work, but the style is utterly unique.

You can see more of his amazing work on his site:
https://unomoralez.com/

There's also a fantastic interview with his here:
http://www.tcj.com/uno-moralez/



Enjoy!

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Live Evil

HOT DAMN, I loved this movie! heheheheh   It's just a ton of fun.

Let's start off with the bad and get it out of the way. The film's ending came on rather abruptly and was not as strong as I had hoped it would be. It was solid, but just not as dazzling as the rest of the film. Now that that's done....

Deputy Hancock is due to pack it in for the night on Halloween, but one more call sends her to a mansion where someone....or something...very evil is. When she brings it back to the station, everyone there seems to see some "BIG BAD" from their past in Hancock's prisoner and they want to blow it away. They finally get a hold on the situation, but what are their small forces able to do against....Evil? Deputy Hancock and Sheriff Pete need to figure something out before time runs out on the world.

I'll say no more about the plot. :::grin:::

Like I said, this film is a ton of fun and a great watch. It's set to be released on AMAZON October 31st and I think it'd be a great Halloween Eve watch. Wish they released it sooner, really, but....what'r'ya gonna do?  The film has great dialog, fab music, and a peppy pace. A majority if it is presented in black and white with these fun, full color vision scenes mixed in that I loved. They also have a few comedy elements that play rather well for the most part. It's a tricky one - they play around with various horror elements and the humor has a placement that is more natural than forced. Hard to do that successfully with smaller films.

I believe that one of the main reasons the film works so well is the actors attached to it. They are all super capable and help to get the viewer invested in the film. Bad acting or a bad script can kill a film in minutes. (As I found out with another film earlier today....whew.)  Everyone in LIVE EVIL carried their own and really came off as believable.  Charlene Amoia's portrayal of Hancock could have sunk the whole venture if she came off as cardboard, but she was far from that. She was spunky, sure of herself, and tough without coming off as "I'm putting on my MAN costume and being tough."  Prague born Vladimir Kulich was fab as the Sheriff as well - again, for from a caricature.

LIVE EVIL had an Italian horror feel to me - like a take on Fulci's THE BEYOND. It had a great look and feel to it that seemed well thought out and which worked within the budget they had without over extending itself. For instance, there are masks used in the film which can be a bit distracting and..."meh". But, here they dolled things up and made the masks the overall stylistic look for the dead in the film, spicing things up with some visual effects work that was well executed. As a matter of fact, the visual effects bits were friggin spot on. Glowing eyes, muzzle flashes, strange dreamy sequences, and general "spice" peppered in perfectly. And, just when you think you've seen all the visual nuggets they have to offer, they switch things up and add some other cool scene that does another series of cool effects visuals.
 

I clapped and said, "HA! I love this F#$%*&^ film!" out loud. (Sadly...all by myself, as usual.)

There was a nice little Day of the DEAD reference in here as well that I smiled a big, wide smile at. Very cute.

And...TONY TODD!  Yeah, you can never have enough of Mr. Todd.

I'll be owning this film in the near future. I want to support this effort from Ari Kirschenbaum and Team. Kirschenbaum's writing and directing was a ton of fun and I want to see more.



Now...odd thing about this film. I think it might have been held in some sort of HORROR GULAG - IMDB has it listed as a 2015 film. However, we all know this can happen for sure. (TRICK 'R TREAT) I really should set up and interview - I'm just at a loss as to what I'd actually ask. I don't want to get on a call and just gush about how much I love someone's movie. While I'm sure they wouldn't mind hearing it, it's probably not the best use of their time. Heh.

I've seen a bunch of screeners over the past few months and this has to be one of my A LIST picks for sure. I highly recommend that you grab a few friends and give this a viddy this Halloween! 

Don Henley - Everything Is Different Now

Have you SEEN this nugget from 2009?!?!?!   One of my favorite videos and so damn strange. I really need to do some research on this to see who came up with this idea - Henley or the studio. Headless strippers, zombies...and Don Henley?

Well, he was ahead of the curve, that's for sure. Way to go, Mr. Henley!

:::stumbles around the Internet for a minute....:::

Ah, the song was written for his wife Sharon Summerall. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, sadly. The song makes a little more sense now, though the video still seems out of his wheelhouse.

::::more digging::::::

...and, directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino! Ahhhhh.....
Videos for Madonna, Bowie, Björk....


Check it! It's dark!

Don Henley - Everything Is Different Now (Official Music Video). Watch more top selected videos about: Don Henley

HALLOWEEN LIST 2012: Fear in Black and White

Ah...a grand era for film - the days of black and white. A time where wonder and imagination seemed to blossom and go wild. I love it.

I'm not old enough to remember seeing these films in the theater, of course, but I do remember sitting down with my parents - my Mother is a HUGE sci fi and horror fan - with a big bowl of popcorn on Saturday afternoon and watching on TV.  My mind almost exploded when I saw THE THING for the first time. I already have a movie list ready for when my two year old is old enough to start watching these with me!




Yes, there are other black and white classics, of course, but you most likely already know and love those.  These are just a few that you might have missed or might not have seen in a while.


YouTube embedding has not been kind to load times, so I'll keep things to a minimum on that front. If you have younger children and want to do some Halloween movie watching with them, older films like these may be the ticket for you. Some of them still pack a punch!

THE THING (...from Another World)
Storytelling, dialog and a great pace make this film a personal favorite. Iconic scenes like the one to the left are plentiful and the whip-crack pace of the dialog is fantastic. Howard Hawks at his best.

This is a must see.

Keep your eyes peeled for scenes of doors opening. Someone pointed it out to me once and it's a very interesting thing to pay attention to. There are many doors opening and closing in this film. And the makeup work on James Arness is awesome even today. Suggestion: Watch this the same week you watch the remake - it is wild to see the same story told in far different ways. Both are classics.

THEM!

Giant ants. Yes, THE BOMB and fear of what radiation might do had a lot of these giant insect movies popping up, but THEM! holds a special place in my heart. I've re-watched it recently and it's a fun film.

Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Can't....stop....laughing! :) This is classic comedy paired with classic monsters. We have The Wolfman, Frankenstein and Dracula paired up with the brilliant comedy antics of Abbot and Costello. The result is pure gold.
A fun film for the whole family!

 
Creature from the Black Lagoon

The Gillman is a movie monster that tends to get second billing, but he's still number one in my book. Sure, I love the other movie monsters, but the original concept and fun, action adventure setting of this film really make it for me.







 


Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Communists....I mean....aliens.....taking over the world. Brilliant.
This classic is chilling on several fronts. The metaphor isn't lost in translation and it still holds up wonderfully today. Don't fall asleep!









 
The Tingler

William Castle greatness. He even rigged seats with a minor electric shock when the film originally came out. You can't beat that for old school showmanship! (...that would have people running to their lawyers today!) Vincent Price is grand in this film as well.

What makes a shiver run down your spine? THE TINGLER!











 
Night of the Demon

This movie is another one that was watched every time is came on TV. Story plays a major part of this movie. It unfolds like you are reading the original story it was based on and is thick with atmosphere and great performance. Love it. 







 
Dementia 13

Francis Ford Coppola cut his teeth on this twisted tale of greed and family secrets. It has some gritty and creepy visuals that still manage to creep me out when i watch it late at night. If you like a little mystery with your shivers, this is perfect for you. 

The ever chilling CARNIVAL OF SOULS

Carnival of Souls

Madness. This film is madness. Part of me would like to see a "re-envisioning" (remake) of this film, but I know it would just fall flat. This is a perfect film to toss on around 11pm so it starts to wrap up a little after midnight when your mind is a bit mushy and you are sleepy and vulnerable! It's just a creepy film with some great visuals. Be warned, it's a tad slow in parts, but the end is well worth the wait!

And...of course....