Showing posts with label anthology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anthology. Show all posts

Sunday, August 11, 2024

Foul Evil Deeds (2024) Locarno 2024


Richard Hunter moves into feature films with an anthology of seemingly good people doing bad things.

While this is a feature, and the stories are intercut so drag all the stories out, the truth of it is FOUL EVIL DEEDS kind of feels like a bunch of shorts. While they can pass as being related thanks to Hunters‘s style the fact is that these are all standalone stories.

To be honest this film didn’t really work for me. The low key presentation, due to the film  wanting to show that these bad acts are just part of life, and the mannered way some of the scenes play out make it hard to really connect to the events on screen. Additionally everything is shot in a similar style so we don’t always slip effortlessly from one tale to the next.

In fairness I’m not a big fan of director Hunter‘s short films so moving to a feature was a struggle for me. Additionally I’m not really a huge fan of people doing bad things to other people.

Thursday, July 25, 2024

The Killers (2024) NYAFF 2024 Fantasia 2024


THE KILLERS is a very good multipart film that suffers the fate of any portmanteau or anthology film in that the parts are uneven with the best ones making the others seem less thrilling.  This is especially true of this film where two parts are among the best films you’ll see all year.

METAMORPHOSIS concerns a man who runs in to trouble with the mob. He stumbles into a bar with a knife in his back and that’s where things get interesting. It’s a fantastic film that sets the bar impossibly high. It’s so good and the set up makes me want to see a feature sequel- particularly with the bartender.

CONTRACTORS is the story of a woman who pays for a hit and how the contract gets farmed out and the payment to the actual killer ends up getting less and less, It’s a wicked tale with a great deal of social commentary going on. It suffers following the previous story, but is still good.

EVERYONE IS WAITING FOR THE MAN is the second stunner. It maybe better than the first story. It’s the story of a bunch of hit men looking for a psycho killer and what happens when they run into a restaurant. It’s an ever twisting perfectly written tale that will make you lean in and anxious to see where it goes. It’s magnificent

THE KILLERS is the weakest of the bunch. Coming after two classics and a good  story the film ends up seeming like a form over content exercise. While it isn’t bad, it really either should have started the film or been released as a stand alone.

Reservations aside, I still love this film with the great parts making it worth the price of admission

Sunday, April 2, 2023

GIVE ME AN A (2023) Overlook Film Festival


Angry genre anthology made in reaction to the ending of Rowe V Wade.  It’s 15 short films and a wrap around piece of a cheerleader squad dancing.

One of the more uneven anthology films I’ve run across, GIVE ME AN A is a very mixed bag. Starting off with the very strong VOICELESS (a body horror tale that will curl your toes) the film then goes from pillar to post  for the remaining 90 minutes as moving pieces mix with screams of blood curdling rage. While all of the films are well made the rage frequently over whelms everything making them difficult to watch. I got to a point where I got tired of being yelled  at.  This is not to short change the cries of anger, more that it makes the film difficult to watch which will not change anyone’s mind.

I think I would have liked this film more if the films had been released separately as shorts instead of  strung together. (or perhaps if each had their own opening and closing credits so it played like a short film collection). The problem is that the cumulative effect of each film building on the next doesn't allow each film to stand on it's own and the rage is magnified making each piece harder to take on its own terms.

Definitely worth a look for the interested, though it maybe best seen in small bits.

Thursday, October 20, 2022

SINPHONY: A Clubhouse Horror Anthology (2022) Brooklyn Horror 2022


Opening Friday in theaters and on digital after playing the Brooklyn Horror Fest  this nifty horror anthology opens everywhere and on digital on Friday.  The film consists of nine short films from people connected to the audio platform Clubhouse its a fast moving ride on the dark side. 

I enjoyed the hell out of this anthology. What I particularly loved was that all of the films are actually pretty good, and while some are better than others there are no clunkers in the bunch. That's a rarity and the fact that I can't honestly say there was one or two that I would cut out says a great deal. 

While the film is creepy and spooky I don't think any of them are truly scary, though there are moments such as seeing weird spores in EAR WORM, or the the ringing phone faces in FOREVER YOUNG. 

Actually the  problem with this film is the running time, this should have been longer. A few of the films could have used a bit more time to build scares instead of just moving toward a gotcha moment (I'm looking at you LIMITED EDITION). I'm not saying the films need to be features but there could have been a little bit more breathing room. 

And apologies for not doing a deep dive on all the films, the nature of most of the stories is such that if I talk about the plots there is the danger of spoiling the twist at the end,

Quibble aside this film is worth a look- hell there is a good chance it will end up on your Halloween playlist every year.

Monday, August 31, 2020

A Night of Horror : Nightmare Radio (2019)

Less feature film than a shorts collection A Night of Horror : Nightmare Radio is a film that on it’s face is Tales From The Crypt anthology film but in reality is just a collection of  10 short films linked together by a radio DJ “reading” horror tales on the air. The result is a very mixed bag.

To be honest I’m not sure what I think of this collection. I’m mixed on it, only in that I went in expecting a new horror film and I wasn’t really expecting to end up seeing a mix of shorts, some of which I had seen previously. While none of the films are bad the quality is all over the place, and none of them really stuck with me enough to right on them.

I think the reason I’m kind of torn about the film is that normally when you see a film like this you expect there to be some sort of connection, all the stories were from EC comics or by one author or something that ties into the wrap around story. Here everything is scattershot. If it was just a random collection of horror shorts I would have been okay but the packaging made it seem like it was going to be more than it was.

To be honest I liked it, but I didn’t love it.

Monday, August 17, 2020

Mortuary Collection (2020) Fantasia 2020

Ryan Spindell's MORTUARY COLLECTION is a blast. It is one the very very rare horror anthologies (ala TALES FROM THE CRYPT) where all of the films rock. Add in the fact that it is also one of the rare horror comedies that operates in the sweet spot between laughs and screams and it all works. Not to mince words this is going to be one of your favorite films of the year, it was one of mine.

The film takes place in the town of Raven's End.  At the town mortuary Clancy Brown (who creates one of his greatest characters) loves to tell stories and is the looking for a new assistant. A possible candidate for his assistant arrives in the form of a beautiful young woman. She is eager, and she wants to hear some the dark stories of the people who went through the doors... Of course the stories are told and to say more would be telling.

Well I will say that one story is about pickpocket, one is about safe sex, another about a husband and his sick wife and the final one is about a babysitter and intruder. I will also add that none of them really go as expected... Which is absolutely wonderful.

I can't say enough good things about this film. This is the sort of fun creepy films that made me fall in love with the movies. This is a Saturday matinee with a box of popcorn, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, and Twizzlers with my brothers and my mom. This is pure nostalgia updated and made modern to the point that it feels completely modern.

I absolutely love this movie and when it was done I emailed Ryan Spindell and told him so. I also told him I loved it so much that I was going to sit down and just watch it for fun. (I will say that this is a film that rewards multiple viewings- there is lots of riffs and hidden stuff)

This is one of the must sees and best films of the year.

(One word of warning - this film can be really really gross)

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Evil Little Things (2020) hits home video Tuesday

Multipart  horror tale about the stories a toy shop owner tells a young boy about the dolls in his store. It seems the boy is afraid of the monsters under his bed and is looking for a find to keep him safe. The first story tells the story of a leprechaun seeking revenge on a family.  The second tale involves and evil doll. And in the wrap around story the toy shop owner gives the boy a clown doll.

While the two main stories run a little long, they both generate genuine chills. I decided to cover the film because the trailer actually looked pretty good. There were some creepy images and a sense that the whole thing wasn't being phoned in. I was right and actually had a good enough time that I was emailing friends who hesitate in covering lower budget horror films to tell them to give it a go.

Is EVIL LITTLE THINGS going to be your most favorite horror film? Probably not but in an age where we are locked in side and our choices for good entertainment seem to be spotty, it will entertain you. More importantly it will be something you'll recommend

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Super 8 Time Machine (2019) Chain Film Festival

This 40 minute "short" is a collection of the compiler's super 8 shorts from when he was a teenager and young adult.  In one film dolls and toys amount a take over of the world, another is a spoof of a cooking show, another is fake documentary about New York, another is a film made for a friend and the final one are the remaining bits of a spoof of Shaft called Shift.

An interesting collection of films is ultimately a hit or miss affair with some being better (the dolls film and fake documentary) than the rest. Its kind of hard to really critique the films since they were probably never intended for mass consumption. On the other hand there is something here at times and had the filmmakers not been so goofy they may have made some truly great films beyond the dolls story.

As a former super 8 filmmaker I was intrigued and was tempted to pull out my fils and see if they hold up as well as these.

While not for all tastes it is an interesting look at a time gone by when amateur filmmakers had to do more than pull out their cellphone.

For tickets and more information go here

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Release (2019) Tribeca 2019

Screening as part of NOW HEADSPACE as part of this years Tribeca Film Festival Release is a web series concerning the spread of a disease which has an outward sign of black blood. The episodes are 8 minutes each. There are 6 episodes and 2 are screening at the festival.

PILOT - concerns a young woman who is just released from prison. On her ride back to the city the van she is in hits a car driven by two infected people.

SHELTER- has a young man show up at a bomb shelter of his friend. He was promised a place but he arrived late...

Two solid  and independent episodes show a lot of promise. The promotional material says that the episodes could be expanded. I can see expansion in the second, the first is actually a perfect little film with a sting in it's tail,

You will forgive me, but it's hard to write about the series. I've only seen two parts but I'm curious to see how the story goes.

Does it have the potential to go anywhere? Yes it does, especially if it can avoid the pitfalls of similar series.

That said the first episode is a perfect short film that is both perfectly self contained and promises something bigger.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Tales Of Poe (2014)

Scream queens Adrienne King , Caroline Williams , Amy Steel, Debbie Rochon and Lesleh Donaldson team up in a trilogy of films all based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe and recast to put women at the center of the terror. Its a very clever updating of the tales that more or less works all the way through

Chapter 1- Tell Tale Heart
The story is reset in the psyche ward of a hospital where a nurse recounts what happened while she was taking care of her patient, a silent movie star with a weird eye.

Chapter 2- The Cask
On the wedding day of a wine aficionado weird things happen

Chapter 3- Dreams
A bedridden woman dreams

While not without problems, TALES OF POE is that rare horror anthology that actually keeps our attention. Its use of female protagonists and the expansion of the stories in the first two films work wonders. The films generate their own visceral sense of horror beyond the chills of the Poe stories. For example in Tell Tale having a back story to the relationship makes what follows understandable. Additionally setting it in an asylum allows for additional shocks.

The only real problems with the film creep in during the final section. The dream like Dreams is under cut by the occasional use of sheets or clothes as back drops in several sequences. They clash with the opulence of the rest of the piece. It looks like the wrong set of cheap and completely wrecks the mood. And with Dreams mood is everything because the piece is a largely wordless dream and the visuals have to carry the film. The sheets undercut that. The other problem with this section is that it is the longest of the three stories running almost 45 minutes, its a couple minutes too long. As interesting as the visual poetry is there is a point where interest begins to sputter

I really like the film a great deal. As a horror fan I am always pleased when I stumble on a good horror film, especially when its in a sub-genre like the anthology which is littered with clunkers and missed opportunities.

With Halloween less than a week away TALES OF POE is recommended for anyone wanting to go outside of the box and see a horror film that isn't filled with your typical and well established screen villains. It is actually the perfect film to have the classic tales turned on their head.

TALES OF POE is currently out on VOD and DVD from Wild Eye releasing

Friday, April 22, 2016

Steve takes on MADLY (2016) Tribeca 2016

MADLY feels like a full evening of films. Comprising six short films on the subject of love the collection is rare in that the films are not only all pretty good, but actually solid enough that they could function outside of the collection on their own terms.

The first thing that you need to know if you’re going to see MADLY is that none of the films is what you expect. Saying the collection is about “love in the modern world” is a poor choice since it implies they are romance and they are for the most part not. The films cover any sort of thing that could be considered love. If you go in with any sort of expectation you are going to be disappointed.

CLEAN SHAVE concerns a married woman who has a closer relationship with a younger man. The relationship seems to be romantic but they are just good friends. When she takes steps to make herself more modern her life explodes as her husband assumes there is an affair in the works. It’s a moving small film about how we see the world and ourselves.

AFTER BIRTH is a very strange film about a single mom who has a weird relationship with her new born. I honestly don’t know what I think of this film other than it is very off kilter.

DANCE DANCE DANCE is a great little film about a teenager’s life which goes sideways when his feelings for his best friend force him to come out to his parents and he’s forced onto the streets. It’s a moving film which I’d love to see expanded into a feature

LOVE OF LOVE is Sion Sono’s confection about how an engaged couples love of a sex club changes the lives of her family. Its quite funny

LOVE OF MY LIFE is Gael Garcia Bernal's WTF film about a couple with a large age difference trying to navigate things. I am not sure what its about or why I should be watching it. The weakest film in the collection, the press notes contain all sorts of information none of which is actually in the film. (talking to several other writers the film had everyone scratching their head)

I DO is the story of a bride and a ghost and a wedding. It’s a nicely off beat little film.

I really liked this film a great deal. It’s a film that has haunted me since I saw it, hence my taking the time to write up a review in the middle of a very busy Tribeca. I love that it’s a collection of short films that are actually short films and not tests for features or show reels. I love that they are small movies. I freely admit that the film is not for all tastes but at the same time it is a film that is perfect for anyone who loves good movies

Sunday, April 17, 2016

Holidays (2016) Tribeca 2016 (Spoilers)

This collection of eight short horror films is the cinematic equivalent of having to work on a holiday after getting a piss poor gift. While one of the eight  films stands out, all have problems largely doing with the fact you know where the films are going from the set up.

The best of the bunch is FATHERS DAY which is the fifth film. The story of a woman who gets an audio tape recording made by her father who she thought was dead. The tape promises a reunion if she follows the instructions on the tape. Of course it turns her world upside down. While you kind of guess where it's going the film has enough dread and fucked up dream logic that you get creeped out and are willing to take the ride.

The rest of the films are a mess. Pretty much everyone strives to be either gross or funny or both over scary with the result that the film largely lays there. Its also painfully clear that none of the filmmakers really understand the short form of story telling.

VALENTINES DAY Maxie is a teen girl who is in love with her swim coach. She is mercilessly bullied by the other girls. But a kind gesture gives her an idea as to how to help with his needed transplant. I wouldn't care that you know where its all going if the director treated anyone with respect. He doesn't. The worst part is Maxie, our Carrie like heroine is treated as joke and contempt. We are supposed to laugh at her when instead she should break our heart. This is just ugly and nasty.

ST PATRICK'S DAY starts off promising with a conflict between a mute young girl and a teacher who wishes to be have a child, but it turns by degrees stupider and stupider as a terrifying be careful what you wish for is turned into an over the top comedy. The tension of the first half goes away rather quickly.

EASTER kind of almost worked. It certainly will mess up your head about what rabbits and Jesus have to do with each other. The trouble is outside of one truly fucked up character this film descends into nothingness as it simply stops. Its as if the director ran out of film. I could live with how nothng is explained if it had a conclusion. It doesn't and it had me muttering "well that was pointless" out loud.

MOTHER'S DAY has a woman going to a doctor because every time she has sex she gets pregnant. She is sent to the doctor's sister who she thinks may be able to help with spiritual means. Where this goes is nowhere because we aren't given a great deal to go on. Worse this is another film that just sort of stops. It might have worked had it been a genuine scare but it's the sort of thing you have to think about a second before it sinks in.

I spoke of FATHER'S DAY above.

HALLOWEEN.
Kevin Smith should just stop making films. He should also stop casting his daughter who is beautiful but not much else. This stupid film about three cam girls who jam a car battery powered vibrator up their pimps ass and then force him to show them his.... well I'll leave that if you're dumb enough to see this.  Suffices to say that this is a one note joke of the sort a psychotic ten year old might come up if he was trying to seem adult. Its gross, and stupid. Actually its mostly stupid, so stupid that coupled with the "funny" parts of TUSK and the reviews of what ever the recent feature he screened at Sundance  it looks like Kevin Smith should hang up making movies because his sense of what people want to see is gone. The segment is one of the most asinine things I've seen in ages.

CHRISTMAS
Everyone wants a new virtual reality headset which shows the wearer themselves. I don't understand why you would want to see your own life but hey. Actually the film is an interesting thing until the illogic of the plot comes into play as we are first shown that just by putting on the head set it shows you a unique thing for you. Later we are told you have to log in...a change that's made so that what everyone sees- the mayhem and murder can be seen by the next person to put on the headset. It might have worked if there was a payoff but there isn't

NEW YEARS EVE
Serial killer kills his current girlfriend then goes out on a date on New Year's Eve with a lonely girl. If you don't know where this is going you haven't seen enough horror films or read enough TALES FROM THE CRYPT comic books. What should have been a grand finale lays there, so much so that people started leaving the screening once they were sure where it was going.

Reaction after the press screening was mixed. From what I gathered genre fans were much less enamoured then those who have not seen better variations of the stories.

One of the least and most disappointing films at this year's Tribeca Film Festival

Friday, April 15, 2016

Ariela looks at love as shown in MADLY (2016) Tribeca 2016

I was looking forward to seeing MADLY. It was described as several stories made by different directors that explore love in different parts of the world. I thought this would be romantic,sweet and heartwarming, but it was anything but.

MADLY was six short stories;

Clean Shaven which took place in India and showed the end of a marriage after a woman shaved her public hair. This one was good but was also intense and depressing.

Afterbirth  If you want to hear a baby crying for 10 minutes or however long this short is, then see this. It made me cringe and made my ears bleed. Didn’t like this one at all.

Dance Dance Dance was my favorite of the bunch. It was very sad though. About a teenage boy who tells his family that he’s gay and they kick him out. Very relevant for this day in age and was well done. I would recommend this one. Very sad, intense too.

Love of Love took place in Japan and was about a family going to underground sex clubs. It was entertaining, but was very bizarre and twisted.

Love of My Life is directed by Gael Garcia Bernal and tells the story of a couple and how their relationship is affected by her pregnancy. Snoozefest. I think I dozed off during this one.

I Do which was about a girl who was about to get married..this one was just odd too.

I’d say skip this series, but if you can see Dance Dance Dance on its own, I’d recommend it.

Friday, October 30, 2015

Mexico Barbaro (2014)

Eight part horror anthology from Mexico has eight directors banding together in order to tell a series of gruesome tales.

While all but one of the films look good and all have intriguing premises none of them really work well enough to really generate any scares.There is tension but no real payoff. The result is a film that will haunt you visually but which you'll ever be hard pressed to watch a second time except to see the visuals. If only the directors had better scripts this might have been a truly scary film, now it just sort of is.

The worst part is that it isn't a bad film, it just isn't a scary one.

Recommended for horror fans and for those who want to see some really gory horror violence

TZOMPANTALI
A journalist talks to a member of a drug gang about the bizarre rituals they commit in order to make sure that all they do goes well. It's a short tale with a gotacha ending.

JARAL DE BARRIOS- fleeing robbers pick the wrong place to hide out. Its a great looking piece with some scary images but over all it's too long  for what it is and it never really is scary.

DRENA (Drain)
A girl must drain her sister's vagina of blood or else have her soul sucked out her anus. While the final images are disturbing  it leaves you more wondering WTF was that.

LA COSA MAS PRECIADA (That precious thing)
A couple staying at an out of the way motel are meanced by evil trolls looking to take Valeria's virginity. This would have worked but the doofy looking trolls and eye rolling by the actress kind of does it in.

LO QUE IMPORTA ES LO DE ADENTRO (It's whats inside that matters)
A young girl realizes that the homeless guy outside their building is up to no good. Incredibly gory but not much else.

MUNECAS (Dolls)
What is the terrible secret of the dolls in the swamp.

SIETE VECES SIETE (seven times seven)
A man steals a body in order to bring it back to life... a tale from the PET SEMETARY sub gere

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS
On the day of the dead a strip club full of abused women gets revenge on their abusers. Great looking and very bloody but rather one note.

MEXICO BARBARO hits US DVD and VOD on Tuesday

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Horror Network (2015)

Trust me the DVD cover does not do this film  justice

HORROR NETWORK is probably the best horror anthology of the last few years. Its one of the very few anthologies that works from top to bottom and start to finish. Its an ugly punch in the face and poke in the eye. Its so good that I can't recommend it enough.

Made up of five short films this film will curl your toes and straighten your hair. Its's a disturbing trip to the dark side.  Its so good that I want a sequel. Its so good that I'm not going to talk too much about the stories- I'm just going to tell you a little bit in order to get you to see this kick ass film...

3AM concerns a woman who keeps getting woken up by  calls at 3am.  When the woman decides to stay up to the appointed time- things get ugly. Creepy as all hell this film builds a glorious sense of tension. While I normally don't like films that rely on the manipulation of sound to produce effect, 3AM uses it for more than just jump scares, here the soundscape is a vital part of creating a mood. Its awesome and leaves you unnerved.

EDWARD is the longest of the stories. What begins as a movie obsessed patient talking to his therapist, turns slowly into something else. I thought it was going to be a a long talky film, instead it becomes something else. Yea there's a lot of talk but it creates one hell of a mood and leaves you chilled.

THE QUIET has a young deaf girl getting off her school bus and walking home when her mother doesn't show up. She soon ends up in a cat and mouse game with a man in a blue van. While the film seems to cover similar ground  of other stalking films where it goes and how it plays out is something special and flips things.

MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS - I don't know. consider it a kind of hellish trip into the psyche of three people. Its a fucked up gory little nightmare that is like being trapped in hell. I saw it but I'm not sure what happens and to be completely honest I don't ever want to go back. ...well I do, if only to get past the gut visceral gut punch and understand what is really going on.  Emotion over rode reason and I want to get back to reason.

DEVIANT ONE is the story of two neighbors' interaction. Short and sweet punctuated by biblical verse this is one hell of a little confection.  Better in the short version that is part of HORROR NETWORK (an extended version is included as an extra) this film does what it does and gets off, leaving you wanting to stagger into the light.

This anthology is a must see when it hits home video Tuesday just in time for Halloween.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Tales From the Dark 2 (2013) Chinese New Year 2014

You'll forgive me for placing this film with in the confines of a happy Chinese New Year celebration but I've been looking for a place to this sequel to Tales From the Dark (which I reviewed back in July when it World Premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival) for some time.  Actually the term sequel is wrong the wrong term since this film was conceived as a second part to that film and was released on a few weeks after the first.  Like the first film this is a trio of short films based upon the work of Lilian Lee. None of the films are related to any of the others (though I'm pretty sure some actors criss cross the films but in different roles)

The first film in this collection is Gordon Chen's  Pillow. It begins when a couple has a fight when the woman can't stand that her boyfriend is still connected to an ex-girlfriend. Separated from her lover the woman begins suffering from insomnia.  Told by her boss to change her pillow she buys a new one. The pillow brings on dreams of an intense sexual nature with her missing lover.

The second film is Laurence Lau's Hide and Seek, about a bunch of teens who decide to spend the night in their old school. While there they play a variation on the game of Hide and Seek called Master and Ghost that involves some people being human and others being ghosts. The trouble is some of the ghosts that haunt the school decide to make an appearance.

The final film is Teddy Robin's Black Umbrella. This film was actually scripted by Lilian Lee herself. The film follows Robin's mysterious man with an umbrella who runs across a prostitute during the Festival of the Dead.

This is a  lesser collection of  horror tales that still has moments of chills. The problem seems to be that these stories had to be told in a set amount of time and were trimmed (or at least thats how it feels).The film runs a sparse 90 minutes where the first film ran 114 minutes.

The best of the trio is probably The Pillow.  I say that more because that's the only one of the three films that doesn't really feel rushed or shortened. This isn't to say that the second and third films are bad, they aren't, its simply to say that they feel terribly rushed. The films have a certain pace that gets suddenly sped up in the closing minutes. Its as if they had to remain under 90 minutes and come hell or high water they were going to get there so they rushed things.

What the films have in spades is creepiness. There are shots of ghosts and possible ghosts in the second and third films that really set a mood. There is so much effort in these small moments that one really wishes that the films didn't feel like they were jumping to the end. To be perfectly honest both Hide and Seek and Black Umbrella are scarier and more freaky than The Pillow, especially in some of the ghost imagery and blood letting, they just kind of stumble at the end. (What would those films have been if allowed to flow organically?)

Is the film worth seeing. Yes definitely. When the films work, they are great. But when you see this film you have to be willing to go with the moments and not the whole. The moments really are special even if the whole isn't up to those levels. If you like horror the films are worth seeing. Personally if I was watching the two Tales From the Dark films together I would  watch this one first so you can end on the high note of the first collections.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Tuesday at the Free Korean Movie Night: The Neighbor Zombie (2009)

Who doesn't love zombies, those cuddly, huggable, rotting creatures of the living dead? (Answer: nobody.) If you're a fan of those shockingly scary shambling sensations, don't miss the US premiere of 2009's The Neighbor Zombie! It's Tuesday, April 30th's free offering for Korean Movie Night:
Here comes the first Korean zombie movie! Why should Americans have all the fun when it comes to zombie outbreaks? In this tongue-in-cheek 2009 thriller, Seoul is overrun with the walking dead—and the government says it’s time to wipe them out! A six-part comedy/horror anthology from four cutting-edge indie directors, The Neighbor Zombie follows an unbelievable zombie outbreak as it spreads throughout Korea, examining the numerous people it affects in bizarre, wild ways. With an amazing $18,000 budget, it embodies the pinnacle of what a talented group of filmmakers can accomplish if they put their delicious, juicy brains together!
The Neighbor Zombie makes its US premiere at 7 PM, Tuesday, April 30th at the Tribeca Cinemas (at 54 Varick Street on the corner of Canal Street, one block from the A, C, E and 1 train Canal Street stops).

Admission is free, and all seating is first-come, first served. Doors open at 6:30 PM.

Run dead, don't walk dead, to see The Neighbor Zombie!

Friday, October 19, 2012

V/H/S (2012)

There is no denying that one of the biggest gimmicks used in film over the past 5 years, most notably in horror, has been the 'found footage' or POV - type of film making. For me this sub-genre has been a huge hit or miss. For ever gem that is released such as 2007's Rec, you might get two..maybe three absolute clunkers (ex. Apollo 18). Unfortunately, and I say that because I had such high hopes upon hearing about this project, the collective effort of V/H/S falls somewhere in between the cracks.

This latest horror anthology starts out with the premise of a group of hooligans that take a job to break into an abandoned house to steal a particular vhs tape. Who is behind this whole operation? What is on the tape they are looking for? Those such things are never revealed, but then again this is only the wrap around story. So once they arrive at the house, one by one each member of the group begins to view of the many unmarked vhs tapes that happen to be laying around. Each one having their own twisted tale to tell. The wrap around really does not offer much to the story, despite it taking up a decent amount of total screen time. You never get to really know these characters, aside from the fact that they get off on random acts of mischief. So you won't give a shit when *SPOILER ALERT* they meet their untimely demise.

Now I have to start with my major gripe here. That being the ad nauseam camera work that runs ramped throughout most of the film's duration. V/H/S uses the shaky cam effect to the absolute worst degree, and it's a shame.  Instead of helping what is on the screen, it becomes more of a distraction than anything.  

Anyway, so the first short up is "Amateur Night", directed by David Bruckner (The Signal) who's story follows three college kids who head out for a night of pub crawling, and well basically to get laid. After meeting a mysterious black haired, wide-eyed girl, things take a very odd turn for the worst. Easily the best thing about this story, is the main actress here. The girl in question quietly utters just one line continually that gives off a nice chilling vibe, that you know will be relevant to the end of the story. Despite the roller coaster type ride the camera takes you on, Amateur Night is one of the better offerings that V/H/S has. The characters and dialogue might be a bit amateurish, hence the title, but it's a fun trip.


"Second Honeymoon" is the title of the second tape shown. Directed by Ti West (House of the Devil, The Innkeepers), this one follows a couple on a honeymoon-type road trip when they encounter that they may not be alone.  Now if you are familiar with West's other films, then you should know what to expect here. It's more of the same, not much different. You'll get the most in character development, but West's slow build requires that you have patience. For me, this one just didn't work. I could never get into the story and just found the end result to be less than satisfactory.

"Tuesday the 17th", directed by Glenn McQuaid (I Sell the Dead) revolves around a group of young kids who head into the woods to party. This one plays out as a quasi-spoof of an 80's slasher flick, and results in EASILY the worst of the bunch. Its comedic/over the top tone makes it stand out like a sore thumb from the rest of the group. This could have and should have been left on the cutting room floor. That is all.

"The Sick thing that happened to Emily when she was younger", directed by Joe Swanberg takes place during a skype conversation between a couple, when suddenly strange things start to occur. This is the first tale that looks and feels different from it's predecessors, and you get that right off the bat. Their are some nice shots that happen in the background of these conversations that we watch, that add excitement to the story. But what threw me for a loop is the head scratching, WTF ending that you will not see coming. It's a nice little surprise, and certainly better than the last two stories.

"10/31/98", directed by a collective group of filmmakers known as Radio Silence, is the final tape shown and it turns out to be the saving grace for the film. A group of friends head out for a Halloween party but unfortunately end up in the wrong house. Some great special effects are used here, excellent camera work, and just a really solid creepy story to boot. They really did save the best for last. If anything, this could have been a little longer or if done correctly even a full length feature. It's that good.


Depending on your feeling regarding the found footage genre will ultimately play a factor in final thoughts regarding V/H/S. Overall though, it's just a mixed bag of horror. I give credit to the filmmakers for bringing something different to the table, it just failed to capitalize on it's potential. With a running time of just under 2 hrs, I can't help but think how much stronger this could have been if just trimmed down in certain areas.