Bad Apples

<< no spoilers >>

Now remember, I have a strict "IF YOU DON'T HAVE SOMETHING NICE TO SAY, DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL" policy, but this film needs to be talked about because there is good stuff within it. I don't want it to come off as mean, bashing, or hurtful. If I didn't enjoy the film, I wouldn't write about it.


Ok....this is what I think happened with BAD APPLES.

Honestly, I think they found these awesome masks. They put them on in a store - hell, maybe they even made them from scratch - and said, "MAN! These are creepy masks, right?! We have to use them for a movie!"

Bryan Coyne (writer / Director) went off and wrote the film at once, thrilled by the masks and how creepy they were. However, once he started filming, he really didn't have enough script to fill out the runtime. So, he started patching things up a bit to make things work and got the film made.

That being said, I wasn't bummed that I spent time watching it. The masks are really off-putting and the way they are used in the film is fantastic.





The acting is good overall. All the leads are solid and things don't seem like a low budget production. Brea Grant is fab, Graham Skipper is his charming and funny self, and Alycia Lourim and Heather Vaughn were GREAT as the sisters. ( Though, part of me was hoping the TWISTED TWINS would have been the reveal! heehe )





The thing that hit me was the fact that there were SO MANY OTHER THINGS that could have been put in here from a plot perspective. It made me a little sad, really. The opening was ripe for a really wild and interesting yarn. Something - maybe with supernatural overtones - that could have been revealed early in the third act and carried through to the conclusion. A modern folk tale sort of situation. A new Halloween tale to be told down through generations. Or, maybe just a really "BAD APPLE" tale of two sisters that were just doomed from birth to be bad. I'd take that, too. I think that's in here for sure.

"Better Play on Halloween or the Sisters Will Get Ya!"

Something.

But, it ramps to a shuddering conclusion, presents something that had real potential, but even that is let loose for an ending that just re-tells what we saw in the beginning. Honestly, I didn't understand that. Like I said, it really did make me a little sad. heheheh 

But wait! Don't write this off. This is a good film! 

The film is good. It's solid film making. The sound was a bit dodgy in parts, but it really held my attention. I just wish Mr. Coyne asked someone ( maybe even me! ) what could be added to the story to seal the deal. It wouldn't take more cash, just a few more script revs.

ANYWAY....I wasn't asked.   :)

BAD APPLES is a fun watch. It's a worthwhile watch. I think that horror fans will enjoy the ride and the creep factor of the masks and the acting behind them. GINGER SNAPS-like in many ways from a nutty sister perspective.

Well worth a viddy. Let me know if you agree with my assessment!

Bad Apples is released on VOD through Uncork’d Entertainment on February 6, 2018.

What Have You Done To Solange?

"Not after what happened to Solange...."

What Have You Done To Solange? is a hard watch for sure, but it's a grand giallo and one that holds up over time. The subject matter is rough, so be warned. However, it's a fun mystery with some fantastic character development and beautiful cinematography with a haunting score by Ennio Morricone. 

Fabio Testi plays Enrico 'Henry' Rosseni - a teacher at a girls school. The dashing Rosseni is having an affair with one of the girls and is with her when she sees a knife flash in the woods. The gruff Rosseni is annoyed with Elizabeth (Cristina Galbó) for stopping their make out session over a silly delusion, however her vision of the knife proves to be a reality that Rosseni becomes helplessly involved in as the mystery unravels around him. 

We have another relationship playing out in the film in a similar way to WHO SAW HER DIE? as Rosseni's wife Herta comes to grips with the fact that her husband is cheating and pulling further and further way from her every day. And of course we have an inspector looking into the case. :)

The acting is top notch in the film and the pace keeps things moving along nicely. Relationships seem real and play out in very interesting ways as it becomes very obvious that there's something deeper going on at the school. 

Massimo Dallamano's Direction holds attention and his cinematographer background shows. Joe D'Amato is the cinematographer (and a CID officer in the movie!) and you can see where his style is starting to really come through in this, his 10th cinematography credit out of a WHOOPING 167! 

 

Like I said earlier, the graphic nature of the kills is pretty awful, but the way it's played out is extremely tasteful. Well, as tasteful as it can be. And the overall tone of the film isn't exploitative, which helps a lot. We get a mystery that's solid with people undergoing many changes as the film rolls on. There are some smart and subtle changes as well, like the character of Herta shown and tight hair bunned and cold in the beginning of the film and softening a bit as she and Henry start to work out their marital issues. 

Now, the film isn't perfect. We still have a few moments where you question why Inspector Barth is working with Rosseni so closely - especially since he's a suspect at one point. And there is a moment of exposition towards the end that was a tad sloppy to say the least. ("Let me explain exactly why the killer has done what they've done. Where's that PowerPoint I created a moment ago...." )  hehehe   However, the story is well worth some of the more minor quibbles and it's still one of my favorite mystery gialli and well worth a viddy! 

Don't Torture a Duckling

 

I'm hitting a lot of 1972 films. Not sure why - I'm really not trying to. :)

Today we have DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING by the masterful Lucio Fulci and he doesn't disappoint in this brutal, giallo masterwork.

 

DUCKLING came shortly after Woman in a Lizard's Skin and many years before he hit his big sweep start with Zombie in '79, but this film packs a bunch of well placed gut kicks firmly in place as the mystery plays out and it keeps you guessing all the way through.  He mentioned that the film had some political commentary tied into the plot, but it really seems to be more of a "HOLY CRAP! FULCI IS KILLING CHILDREN ALL OVER THE PLACE!" more than anything political. 

IMDB sums things up nicely here:

A reporter and a promiscuous young woman try to solve a series of child killings in a remote southern Italian town that's rife with superstition and distrust of outsiders. 

 

We have some fantastic plot development here. It's a solid story ( Sorry, I love CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, but it's really thin on plot! hehehe )  with some fun characters and wicked....WICKED scenes playing out. And some seriously messed up items throughout as well including a boy of 13 or so being seduced and teased by a nude woman when he delivers drinks to her. Seriously disturbing! heh! But, as the killings keep happening, the gravity of the situation takes over. Who is killing...and why?

And of course we get to see the wondrous Barbara Bouchet and Florinda Bolkan :::swoon::::   Dreamy. 

A fantastic giallo offering I'll say no more about. :)

A must for Fulci fans!

Inner Demon

I caught INNER DEMON (2014) on Prime and thought that it warranted a mini-review.

This was a very watchable film, though I think it might suffer a bit due to the poster. Looking at it, I was thinking that this was a "demon tale" or something to do with possession, but it's really not. There's the other issue - Im not sure the film knows what it is, either. :::grin:::

From Amazon:
A teenage girl is abducted by a serial killer couple and manages to escape and find refuge in an isolated farmhouse, only to discover it is home to greater horrors and a malevolent spirit.


Yeeeeeeeeah....it has those elements in there. But, it leans way over to the serial killer couple stuff for what feels like 75% of the film. Now, it's done well and there are some good performances from the films leads, so even though I'm not a big fan of that sub-genre, it still held my interest and attention. However, I had the poster in my head and kept waiting for this demon thing which I found distracting. This happens - I get it. You have to sell the movie. And to be honest, if it leaned toward a serial killer poster, I probably would not have watched.




That being said, this "thriller, mystery, horror" (from Amazon's description) is well worth a viewing. Ursula Dabrowsky's writing and direction show really well in this. There are no wasted moves as we see things play out. There are interesting subsets of plot as well that had me questioning what it was I was seeing as well which made me sit up and pay attention in a good way. I'm looking forward to seeing more from Dabrowsky - she currently only has this film and another film called Family Demons (2009) to her credit.

Sarah Jeavons, Kerry Ann Reid, and Andreas Sobik are SUPER solid in the film, turning in emotional and sometimes brutal performances that really rang true. (You did a great job too, Todd Telford!) Interestingly enough, I can't seem to see the younger child actress in the IMDB listing She was grand as well and didn't fall into the painful child actor arena, thank goodness. The situations are riveting and had me chortling at the uncomfortable nature of them from time to time.

And, when things do ramp up, they do so in a fun way that payed off, so all was well when I rolled out of this. I didn't feel like time was wasted and had a great time with it once I got over my "but, where's the demon hand coming out of her mouth come in?" poster drama. hehehehe

Detention (2011)

I'm going to go out on a limb and say DETENTION is a horror film for smart folks. A modern classic that deserves cult status along side....wait for it....ready? HEATHERS, REPO MAN, RE-ANIMATOR, BRAIN DEAD, JOHN DIES AT THE END and IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS.  

THERE! I said it. I liked this film as much as REPO MAN and BRAIN DEAD, gawd damn it! :)

Why? Because it's SO STRANGE and SO GOOD. The writing is amazing and odd - taking the viewer into slasher territory and leading them along through Twilight Zone scenarios and plain wacky bizarreness. It's thick with references that you'll need to Google up on a second viewing to appreciate the many levels of the experience.

There's no explaining the story. It really does start out as a slasher, but then it just runs RIGHT off the rails and and slams through several genres and styles in an amazing way. Stuff happens in here and the world that the flick lives in is so off center and strange that nothing seems wrong when...say....someone has a TV for a hand at one point. :)

Director Joseph Kahn does some amazing stuff in here. His music video background REALLY makes this film a kinetic fun house.

I'm not sure how the film did overall. It came out in 2011 and I could see the masses walking out, scratching their heads and mumbling, "I don't....get it...." while people like me were walking out feeling like kids again with massive smiles on our faces.

And, this was another odd release. Some sites list it as 2011 while others say 2012. The estimated budget was $10,000,000 and it came out in a limited release. Rotten Tomatoes has a very low rating of 38% and MetaCritic has a mixed 45, which makes me sad.  After seeing this film, I was SURE that it had some massive groundswell and that everyone saw it as a special bit of cool. I guess that wasn't the case.

PLEASE check this film out. I thought it was a funtastic horror comedy experience.

All Cheerleaders Die

 Well, Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson make a heck of a directing team. I've always dug McKee, but Sivertson had me shying away, to be honest. Just because of the negative buzz around I KNOW WHO KILLED ME. (...which I still need to watch. It sounds like a wondrous wreck! :) )  But, man, this is a fun film!

  There are these films out lately (JOHN DIES AT THE END, CONTRACTED, DETENTION) that are running free from the norm and it's working really well. They are blazing some new ground on familiar trajectories and I like it. ALL CHEERLEADERS MUST DIE takes a rather standard magical return tale - with cheerleaders - and spins it a little in a fun way. I like.




There are some fun twists and some odd ones, but all in all it was a fun, strange little ride. If you liked items like GINGER SNAPS or JAWBREAKER or HEATHERS - or would like to see what the baby would look like if these three films got together - you'll want to check out ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE. :)

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

My sister-in-law gave Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters a go recently and really enjoyed it. "It was fine. I mean...you know...it was just fun and light." I made note and gave it a go and she was right - it was just a fun film.

You know the drill - Hansel and Gretel story with a new twist where they continue their witch killing as youths, teens and into adulthood leading to the resolution where there is a major witch happening that they need to take on. There are "Van Helsing Style" steampunk weapons, a troll, bad humans and enough fighting and spell casting to make things interesting throughout.



The cast is fine and doing what they need to do to sell the story. Jeremy "Hawkeye" Renner is dashing and tough, the delicious Gemma "Quantum of Solace" / "so damn cute" Arterton is her so damn cute self and tough and the age defying Famke "Jean Grey / Xenia Onatopp" Janssen chews up everything in her path and plays the evil up to 13 in a fun, nasty witchy way. Man, she looks the same as she did in 1995. It's amazing.



The film follows the Van Helsing path, switching up the old tale with some new, alternate history madness where Gatling guns and tricky, self loading crossbows are weapons of choice. But, you know what? I'm totally fine with both films, really. At least someone is doing something interesting, fun and new-ish. And, they make use of some practical effects here as well. Good old fashioned makeup, prosthetics and costumes mixed in with computer effects. The troll was a lot of fun and felt like some of the Henson Dark Crystal work.

A small rant:
A recent view of THE BELL WITCH HAUNTING made me want to kick a...well...whoever greenlit the project, really. :::grin:::  It was more of the same, found footage nuggetry that is all over the place. All hell is breaking loose, yet people are still compelled to point a camera around. DEVIL'S DUE is running into the same madness. A man's pregnant wife is speaking like a demon and he doesn't fail to continue rolling tape. Mind boggling.  Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is just playing around. Tommy Wirkola knows what he's doing both behind the keyboard (writer) and behind the camera. However, as with his previous feature DEAD SNOW, I'm not sure people get that he's playing and having fun. I'm not sure what they are expecting, but to rail against this film is just silly. If you saw the trailer, you knew what you were getting into straight away.



It would be like me complaining if I went to see DEVIL'S DUE after seeing the trailer. I know it's not for me - why rip it more than I have already? :)

If you're not afraid to take in some fun, try out Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. It's a hoot. :)

Some fun PRACTICAL effects work in here as well. Like this fun troll, Edward. :)

Treehouse of Horror XXIV Couch Gag by Guillermo del Toro

Another brilliant TREEHOUSE OF HORROR intro. There is a LOT in this one. Movie and literature references galore!   Fun stuff.

Link: http://youtu.be/CtgYY7dhTyE

The Haunting Season

I just finished The Haunting Season by Michelle Muto. I picked it up on Kindle (on the iPhone) after a Tweet of hers stating that the novel was available for a mere $2.99. Wanting to recharge my reading passions and support an author I follow on Twitter, I didn't think twice about it. I just clicked the link and made the purchase. I didn't want to have a preconceived notion. I wanted to go into it cold and knowing nothing about it.

I dove in that night, sinking my teeth into it straight away as my toddler struggled with falling asleep in her bed. ("I know you don't want to sleep, Sweetie, but it's bedtime. Daddy is just going to sit and read now.") I started down the path and liked it, but got a vibe from it that I could not put my finger on. Was it the characters? The story? I just could not place the...distance?...I was going through with the book. I liked it - liked it a lot, actually - but, there was just something there. Like the lone, locked door of a mansion. What was there?

Of course it became clear a few days later when Michelle Muto posted that her novel won an award, evidently....for Young Adult Horror. THAT was the door. However, it didn't matter. I'm not sure I would have made the purchase if I had known it was a Young Adult novel, but after I was into it I didn't really care because I really enjoyed it up to that point and was drawn in. I was hooked and the intended audience didn't matter. I'm very happy that I kept reading.

It's a great, quick read with some fun characters, situations and a plot that was far from "Potter-like" tween fiction. No spells or magic or kid drama. Muto paints a fantastic picture a la LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE with a team of young adults tuned in on the paranormal testing out their abilities under the leadership of an older, wiser doctor. However, things go sideways as they should in a novel like this.

Low on blood, gore and violence but surprisingly high on tension, this fun haunted house jaunt is well worth a read through. (Especially if you prefer your horror on the less visceral and bloody side of the spectrum.) I don't want to say much more about it for fear of mentioning something that may set you off on a course. Suffice it to say that I tore through it and found myself nodding and smiling at some of the fun little twists and turns in this "Old, Dark House" gem!

CHECK IT and help to support Madame Muto! 
I want to see her doing a screenplay or two at some point!