Scary Film Review: November 2009

Monday, November 30, 2009

Holiday of Horrors 2009

This December 2009, Scary Film blog will push forward through a new list of holiday horror movies. Anything Christmas, Thanksgiving or related will be featured this month on this blog.

If you remember last year on this site, I tried to make sure to do the same thing, but had a harder time than ever. This year, I had time to prepare and even went on ebay to purchase several specific out of print vhs tapes to review for the site. If you follow along this month You’ll see all new reviews on holiday horror films.

Last year’s list was interesting, and here are the links from 2008 Holiday of horrors on scary film blog:

Silent Night Deadly Night Review
Silent Night Deadly Night 2 Review
The Search for Christmas Horror
Christmas Evil Review
Holiday Horror News
Silent Night Bloody Night Review
Santa's Slay Review
Jack Frost Review
Chopping Mall Review
A Real Santa Claus Killer

If you have suggestions, or want me to review a certain film, please let me know via a comment and I'll try to squeeze you in. We will begin the holiday of horrors 2009 December 2, 2009!

If anyone of you readers out there wants to review holiday horror movies let me know via a comment or email sirjorge AT gmail dot com with a link and I'll link you. If you want to be a guest blogger, let me know and I'll give you a slot in the order. If not, then that's all good, enjoy what is to come!

Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.

Friday, November 27, 2009

End of the Month Death Toll November 2009 Edition

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Bundy Review

Well, the last review of November (2009) is upon us. I’m cooking up something good for the month of December, and it’s almost all ready. I’ll just say that it’s going to be an update to last year’s hit or miss program of holiday horror. Only this time, I’m doing it right! You’ll love it, but before we go to that, we’re talking about this film that was released recently about Ted Bundy. Now, you might remember that I reviewed a Ted Bundy Film before, but I reassure you that this film is different than that film. Although, the topics are the same, the films are different…somehow.

The movie starts at the end of Bundy’s life, and we immediately go backwards in time, to where it started and work our way towards the present/past, whatever you want to call it. Immediately the film looks low budget, with sequences that just aren’t quite there. The film grain is there and it looks like there was a budget overall, but it isn’t quite as good as a mainstream film. Could there be a mainstream film on Bundy? Maybe. This one isn’t it though, it’s still holds up though, because the movie is shot on “film” or at least looks that way. The movie is not really a “straight to dvd” quality film in the way it’s shot, that’s for sure.

The movie has some decent acting, at times, but most often than not this thing is almost a parody of sorts, as the acting just feels awkward. I am not sure why the balance of things is quite odd, but it works through to make a halfway decent movie.

Bundy really fails to capture the cunning of the real life crimes, and while it does paint a broad portrait of the serial killer, this thing really doesn’t fit. It just doesn’t seem to be well worth the trouble of making a movie, when there are already two other movies on the topic.

There are a few saving graces for this film. First and foremost, the guy playing Bundy really does a good job creeping out the audience. He has some genuine moments that will only lead to his lasting legacy amongst horror movie fans, serial killer readers, and so much more. He seems to have this creepy element to his facial features that when struck in certain context, leads you to believe that you’re watching the real thing. The second saving grace to the film is the musical keys and set up shots. There is an attention to detail given to how a scene moves from one location to the other, and the musical points are there to make the film somewhat sustainable.

Is Bundy a scary film? : No.

Ted Bundy’s story is a scary story. The real life story of Ted Bundy is all alone a scary thing in regards to true crime. That being noted, this film is not really the complete picture of Ted Bundy. Sure, it’s a portrait, a glimpse, or even a caricature but it’s just not genuine. It feels very obvious at times that this is just not the same kind of film that was made earlier in the years.

My complaint about the first film was mainly in regards to the rough sex that portrayed. The other problems I had with it was in regards to the pacing, so I thought this film might change things a little. In a lot of regards this film actually empathizes with the character, at least early on in the story. At one point you really think that you’re watching a romantic comedy, rather than a serious horror film.

This film seems somewhat of a struggle for both the film makers and the actors, as it just snowballs into the meat of the story, with of course the slaying of several women. Horror, in my view, doesn’t really get chewed up and spit out because of it’s uncanny ability to be predictable. In fact, I rarely hate a film that I can see the middle and end without watching the full thing. However, with genre pieces of pseudo-biographical horror film, like this one, the weight of the film needs more than the actions and gore of the characters.

Honestly, Bundy is not that great of a film. There are some creepy moments, but the overall film and storytelling lacks something intangible. This film really feels like a student project, rather than a serious contender for horror film. While I don’t recommend watching this one, I do think it has its place in horror movie history…just not the abridged or condensed version. It’s true, truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, but this film takes a crap on the notion. I didn’t like this film. However, it had enough moments to make it into my screen and not throw it away…unlike some other horror films that I reviewed on this site.

Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Battle Royale Review

I’ve been hearing about this movie since I was working in Los Angeles, as a casket store salesman. I never really got around to watching it, mainly because I had put it aside for some time now. However, with being unemployed, bored and tired, I was able to garner a copy of this film and finally saw what the hype was all about. This 2000 Japanese film is an interesting take on a lot of different intellectual factors, but to really consider those things, would be a disservice to the horror fans that seem to like to read this blog…all two of them.

Battle Royale starts with a simple premise, and an interesting visual. A young girl survives some sort of horrific game, she smiles, and the news reporter and fans seem to be going nuts. This is where we start our journey, and boy is it a journey.

The prologue to the film starts:

"At the dawn of the millennium, the nation collapsed. At fifteen percent unemployment, ten million were out of work. 800,000 students boycotted school. The adults lost confidence, and fearing the youth, eventually passed the Millennium Educational Reform Act—AKA: The BR Act..."

With this in mind, a group of students are taken and put into a room, they begin the game. The rules? They must kill each other until 1 is left! They are put on an island and good luck and good night!

If you’ve seen the movie “The Condemned” then you have the right sort of idea in regards to this film.

This is quite the film, it’s not direct to dvd quality, it’s “film” quality. This thing packs one hell of a punch, it features the most gore I’ve seen in a movie in some time. When I say gore for a Japanese film, I usually mean “Tokyo Gore Police” stylized gore, but not this time. There’s some legitimate use of gore. For instance, in the beginning of the film, a kid’s necklace (which everyone is wearing) explodes and a shower of blood comes out, but not to the extent of cartoon violence.

After the initial rules, the kids start to ask questions, and the game seriously begins.

Battle Royale was originally a Novel by Koushun Takami. The novel wasn’t critically well received, and later on became a best seller, and of course a film adaptation, which we are reviewing here. It was later turned into a bestselling manga comic, and translated into several different languages. You can find it if you look hard enough, and it's essentially similar to this movie, only more graphic...if that's at all possible.

This film, despite not being dubbed, is a great piece of exploitation film. It breaks several taboos, the main one being killing children. Children are not usually seen explicitly being killed on film, but in this film we not only get the complete horror of the situation, we also get explicit killing sequences involving adolescents which is not something normal in horror at all.

Is Battle Royale a scary film? : No.

Battle Royale is a good example of modern day exploitation film. I found the film to be quite good, but I don’t think that it’s a scary film. The story takes place on an alternative plane of existence, so right from the start we get a science fiction edge to it. However, being an adult and not living in Japan, and not knowing the school system, I found it hard to visualize this sort of deadly game.

However, using our imaginations, we can place ourselves in the shoes of the characters and then formulate the horrors that could be possible. For the most part, I didn’t really think this movie was too scary on its own.

This film does a great job showing desperation, and the will to live. It makes you ask some serious questions if you dwell on the scenario.

Battle Royale might frighten those with a weak stomach. However, you must realize that the true horror exhibited here is the human heart. It has been said that the Human Heart is the most wicked and deceitful thing, well, here is a showcase of the heart. A heart condition where you must kill to survive, and the question that this film left me and others with is definitely a simple one with a complicated answer.

Would you kill to survive?

I don’t know. Battle Royale is a good Japanese exploitation film that relies heavily on frenetic, stylized fight sequences, without romanticizing the style (ala kung fu film), and packs a serious punch. Whether you read the political undertones or not, this is a good overall example of exploitation, imagination, and horror all rolled into one package.

An American version was being worked on, but has been halted since some idiots decided to profess their love for this film and kill a bunch of innocent people. Will it be remade one day? Maybe. Until then, you’ve got an English Subtitled version to placate your bloodlust. Battle Royale is an easy target for being one of my favorite Japanese horror/exploitation films of the modern era.

Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.

Friday, November 20, 2009

REWIND: Hatchet Review

This is a cool horror movie. They don’t make them like this anymore, that’s for sure.

The plot focuses on a couple of friends in New Orleans, on a trip into a haunted tour of the bayou. Things go wayward when, the boat the young adults are on stalls, and something in the water begins to attack.

Along the way, there is a story told that there was a family of weird hicks, who had their house burned down. While trying to save the family, the father kills his son with a hatchet, and eventually dies of what they call a “Broken Heart”.

The tagline that got me to watch this film is awesome. Although I think it’s really not true.

“It's not a remake, it's not a sequel, and it's not based on a Japanese one. Old school American horror.”

This film is gorey. It shows people getting their heads torn off, disemboweled and completely ripped to shreds. The sounds during these scenes, doesn’t sound like what I believe something of that nature would sound like.

How would I know?

I don’t know. But this film was gorey!

As far as horror movies are concerned, I’ve been known to say that boobs and gore make for a good time. This film has two more things that make films pretty cool.

1) Humor
2) Visuals

The film does a great job of poking fun at itself, but still maintaining a slight edge. The actors have some good one liners, good dialogue at times, and while the plot is somewhat thin, it still delivers some freakish scares.

How can you go wrong with horror clichés like sawing someone in half, chopping heads off, man in rubber suit (chimera), ghosts, the funny asian dude, dismembering victims, bad teeth, Robert Englund, and well…boobs and gore!

This film is a great piece of horror cinema. It’s grotesque in all the right places, it’s serious in some spots, it’s a true testament of what horror should be…if seriously considered a throwback to the 80’s new wave of horror films that came out.

I liked it.

However, the “sluts” get really annoying, and I wish they died first.

Horror fans, rejoice! An original idea…sort of…and well worth the “unrated” marketing scheme! You can’t go wrong if you like Horror films. This thing is bad ass!

If you're still on the fence with Hatchet, then consider the old formula for horror movies:

A group of young adults head into the woods, where there is a monster/serial killer waiting to get them. The ones that give into sexual temptation are killed, the minorities are killed, and it's up to the reluctant hero and the anti-social one to escape...but will they? Or will evil reign? The Hatchet Dvd is worthwhile on all levels, even if it doesn't star an all star cast; they do a well enough job, all things considered.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Liberation Cult Double Feature Review

A while ago I got mailed a double feature dvd and wasn’t able to watch it right away. Liberation Media was kind enough to send me something so cool, that most companies never do for me, and I felt bad for a while. However, after moving from Seattle to Moscow Idaho, I was finally able to review this film. Wait, not just one film, two films! This is a classic drive in style b-movie double feature! That’s right up this blog’s alley too!

Liberation Cult sent me this dvd, and I packed in a box, but no box could contain the horror that was in this double feature. Up first I watched Mutant.

Mutant has a simple premise. Two brothers are on a vacation of sorts and they stumble upon something too scary for words! I like how the film began with a small tribute of sorts to the beginning of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 with the brothers getting driven off the road by a maniac truck driver. Whether the throwback was intentional or unintentional is really not known to me, but it was definitely reminiscent of that cult classic and favorite of this blog.

The movie moves forward fast, and we don’t see our mutant at first. We just see shadows and aftermath, with plenty of noise and slight gore effects. This kind of film making is always a plus, as you never really want to reveal your villain too early, especially when your villain is a rubber suit monster of maniacal proportions.

There are cliche's in this film initially of course the local law enforcement doesn't seem to buy the brothers story about a dead man at random. Meanwhile, they keep running into trouble with local rednecks. The movie then moves forward with some classic genre horror.

By the time you finally get the full story behind the monster in a rubber suit, you start to realize how cheesy the past generations of horror movies were. I didn’t mind this movie that much, as it had some classic lines and clever editing. The actor’s didn’t seem fake at all either, and there was a real down to earth quality overall. Sure this thing was meant for late night Channel Z type channels, or an Elvira classic movie late night showing, but it still has enough guff to push even the jaded fan to root for our main characters.

While it’s not the most gorey film, and while most people may not have heard of this film, it still packs a good enough punch to get your eyeballs into trouble.

Now, you have to really consider two factors to this film. The first being the presentation of the transformation of the mutations. The small town is being overrun by mutants, but you only see signs of "rubber suit" mayhem with latex effects and more. Things great really interesting when you realize that you're not watching a monster flick, you're watching a zombie film! That's right, a Zombie film!

The second part of our double feature is featuring killer cats…killer mutant cats of sorts. The film should not be confused with the Asian horror film “The Uninvited” even though it shares the name. This thing is the polar opposite in terms of film making, but still is cool enough to be part of this instant cult favorite of tag team horror dvd’s.

The Uninvited that this double feature showcases is a 1987 b-movie that feels a lot more like an episode of Tales From The Crypt rather than a feature length film. A shady business man tries to escape to a remote island, and while things are going smooth with him and his spring breakers on a ship to a remote island, a local mutated cat jumps aboard and mayhem ensues. This film is laughable to say the least, but it shows that the imagination of the past was a bit more fervent than anything we are seeing these days. Sure it’s slapstick at times, but this thing is hilarious and a cool view.

The Uninvited isn’t going to be on anyone’s top 10 list at all, but it packs a comedic horror punch. Of course, I’m not one hundred percent sure that it was totally meant to be comedic, but hey, it happens.

As a whole I would recommend checking out The Liberation Cult Double Feature Dvd as it is a classic look at cult horror films. You’re not going to find this too often these days, as there was just a sense of finesse to these things that just seems better. I liked them, and think it’s a good deal to get this two pack. However, be warned, these movies aren’t exactly home runs, but hey, they are cult classics…well…they are trying to be anyways.

Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.

Monday, November 16, 2009

From The Mail Bag Mid November 2009 Edition

It's time once again to look at the mailbag for the latest and greatest comments from you, the fine readers. Well, not that there's a ton of readers, I'm still scraping by with minimal support. Oh and I'm still unemployed, because I'm an idiot and no one wants to hire me. So without further delay, here are the latest and greatest comments from the past 30 or so days.

M. Carter @ the Movies said in regards to my post REWIND: Ted Bundy Review:

Oooooh -- thanks for the suggestion! I am a connoisseur of true crime novels and serial killer lore, so I'm always on the lookout for movies about the likes of Bundy, Gacy, Dahmer, etc.

A few other great serial killer filims: "M," a disturbing German film based (supposedly) on Peter Kurten's murderous exploits, and "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer." The latter is quite possibly the most unnerving movie I've ever seen.

No problem. I reviewed that a while ago, and still think it's one of the more brutal horror films of our time. The sexuality and abuse in the film is worse than most of the porno I've seen, including the kink club sites. I wonder how the actresses were able to deal with the "acting" that was involved, it just seemed extreme to me. Oh well. It's true what they say, truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

the posturing (and admittedly rather irritating) little popinjay said in regards to my Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation Review:

Easily the best film that Renee Zellweger has ever appeared in and probably will ever appear in.

Yeah, she's annoying now, but back then? I admit, I think she was really cute. She's just been annoying ever since. I wonder how she was able to "act" when she apparently looked in pain, at least when she was getting choked out. I guess I should listen to the director/cast commentary someday.

Handsome Bryan said in regards to my Dee Snider's Strangeland Review:

This movie is absolutely amazing. The lines are classically hillarious such as the monologue given at the first crime scene from the guy with the thick East Coast accent and the neck tattoo describing body modification and how "different they are" from society. Captain Howdy has some hillarious speeches involving "the ampallang" and "rites of passage that must be physical." I have watched this movie countless times much to the dismay of my girlfriend. And whenever we need something in the background my reply is always, "hey, why donh't we pop in Strangeland?!?!?!"

Dee Snider did it well, and I hear there's a sequel in the works. I personally thought this film was great, it's still good. I don't think it's the greatest, but man, for being an independent film it hits hard and is as relevant today as it was when it first came out. Thanks for he comment, man, you're one brave dude to get your girlfriend to watch this...or at least request it often. I got lucky and married the only girl I know that says "yes" to anything horror related.

kelit thornell said in regards to The Witchunt Trailer:

I know these guys and can't wait to see this movie. They are in a band called White Collar Sideshow. Thier performance on stage is mind blowing and extremely intense. So this movie has to be even more so. Check them out www.facebook.com/whitecollarsideshow and see this movie as soon as it opens.

I'm hoping T. Benson gets funding for a major release, and to finish the film. I met him and his wife at Tom Fest 2009 and thought he was a genuine guy with a good band. Hopefully they continue to do what they do, and yes, I'll be watching the film when it comes out.

Well folks, I hope you guys are ready for next month, I know it's not here yet, but I will be reviewing All Holiday Horror Movies in December this year, once again. I have even gone out of my way to purchase Holiday Horror films on vhs that are rare and out of print just to make things worth it here on this site. I would also appreciate it if you guys (the readers) would use the amazon links to do your christmas shopping, because it would help me out greatly. If not, that's cool. I'll be reviewing a special "double feature" on Wednesday so stay tuned in for that, otherwise, keep the comments coming and thank you kindly for all your support and generosity. Email me, leave a comment or catch me on aim "thecorporatehero" with anything you've got to say.

Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Dark Reel Review

I admit, the only reason I even sat down to watch this film was because Edward Furlong was in it. He was in a lot of movies that I personally liked, and as soon as I saw his name on the back cover, I was sold. The movie however, despite being filled in 2008, is not exactly the most gripping of horror movies, and really shows a lack of imagination in a lot of ways. In fact, all things considered, Dark Reel, might be the worst movie I’ve review in quite a while, and that’s saying a lot because I don’t exactly have a long list of great horror movies I’m watching for review on this site.

Dark Reel has a simple premise. But it gets overtly complicated for no apparent reason. We start the film in the older times of Hollywood, with someone trying to make a screen test and career launch. The woman in the screen test is murdered and it sets up the backdrop of our film, for later on. The movie then moves forward with Edward Furlong, a movie fan and now winner of a horror movie contest. He wins a walk on role to a B-Movie and falls for one of the actresses. While on set, someone is murdered and people start to blame him.

Not the most unusual premise huh? Well, it gets creepier as starlets from the film get killed in a variety of creative ways, none of which are worth mentioning. The film is so formulaic that you see the turns way ahead of schedule, and that’s not something that you want out of any movie. These turns come to a boil in the final act, where we find out that there is a ghost haunting the film and the son of the killed starlet from the beginning of the film is killing of actresses, why? For revenge? It makes no sense, and he is foiled rather quickly in comparison.

There are sub plots that are featured here, but none of them are exactly that great. There is a tad bit of gratuitous nudity, which is nice, but the most awkward love scene happens after two hours or so, which really made me hate this film. Furlong looks like a teen, even though he’s thirty years old in this film, and man…it looks sick to see him in a love scene.

My major complaint about this film is the pacing. This film clocks in at around two hours and it is a long two hours. What “Urban Legend” or “Scream” did in about 90 minutes, this thing takes longer and harder to develop. Not only that, the ending and story is so convoluted and executed horribly, that you want to just kick your television. Dark Reel is not a recommended film, it’s not even that scary. It really feels like a made for television scary film for the scyfy channel, which can be a saving grace sometimes, however, not this time. I don’t recommend this film.

Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Next Generation Review

Well, well, the franchise that seems to never want to go away, at least in the slasher category. This time out, the increased budget is somewhat evident as the crisp and solid camera movement ties well with the dark and scary points of this film. Of course, the movie I'm reviewing is the 1990's entry into the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Series; Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Next Generation.

The movie moves forward immediately on some stereotypical stuff, a bad night at the prom. There are two major names immediately tied to this film, as you watch it. The first is a Renee Zellweger and the second of course romantic comedy veteran, Matthew McConaughey. Now, these two actors are not the cream of the crop of actors that you can get in such a film, but like Jennifer Aniston in Leprechaun, this film needed some fresh meat and while I had my doubts, these two put on a show in the third and fourth act that you can't really deny is epic.

The movie is your standard Texas Chainsaw fare, it just hs a bunch of teenagers lost in the woods, meeting up with a very ruthless family, about to get slaughtered. While that's the way this film goes, it does skimp out on the gore. This movie, for all intents and purposes is NOT as gorey as you would come to expect. However, if you watch the orginal film, (not the remake) you also notice that despite the naming convention of this series, it is not the most gorey franchise...until recent years.

The music selection was good, and it never really felt wasted, it felt spot on as the action unfolds. However, we get some sick sounds coming out of Leatherface, which I thought was definitely annoying. He not only seems a bit smaller, he screams and yells like a woman underneath the mask, and really doesn't add depth to the character.

The family and why they are there really gets no explanation, and there is some sick sexual tension going on. It almost feels like you're watching a Rob zombie film not another piece of the Texas Chainsaw franchise.

Is Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Next Generation a Scary Film? : Yes.

There are some seriously scary moments in this film. I found that the third act had some scary points for those that are not interesting in S&M. At one pint McConaughey's character is choking Zellweger's character with his right hand and the camera doesn't seem to cut away and for the moments it's unfolding, it looks absolutely real. Like he's literally going to kill his costar, and that makes for some scary moments indeed. Obviously, you know it's a movie, but it gets into kink territory the way he treats her, as she is tied to a chair. The amount of intensity in the kitchen during this film really makes you nervous, especially if you have the sound up and the lights out.

The whole idea of getting lost in the woods in an era without cellphones, has to be a little scary. Especially the notion that no one can help you, even if you scream. The ending is another piece of scary film making, as one main character escapes only to get into a wreck and dragged back by Leatherface. This type of classic horror is not seen very often in the modern era of horror films. This one even threw out a pair of boobs for no apparent reason!

Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Next Generation is not the greatest horror film, and it's not my favorite of the series. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 is my favorite, but this one isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. In fact, it had some great intensity at times, it had some sick moments, and despite this having to major stars of the future, it wasn't bad. I was thoroughly entertained, and liked it even more than say, The third film in the series: Leatherface. I recommend it, it's better than the prequel that came out recently, that's for sure.

Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.

Monday, November 9, 2009

REWIND: Ted Bundy Review

I finally found that double feature dvd that I was suppose to have reviewed last month, and I'll have that ready for this week. In the meantime, enjoy a classic review from the Vault, while I prepare more horror reviews to throw at you, including some special surprises.

In 2002 Ted Bundy came out and tried to chronicle the real life story of a man obsessed with sex and serial killing. Ted Bundy is a scary dvd, but more importantly was a scary individual to have running around our world.

Ted Bundy tells the complete story and unflinching at times in its show of sexuality, and brutality, it seems at times to be a made for tv movie, but its over the top fascination with gore and sex seems to point to a short run in theaters and/or a straight to dvd film. I’m not quite sure of the circumstances. However, this one is interesting on many levels.

Here is a trailer for Ted Bundy:

The story tells the same biographical story that most of these movies start out with. Introducing their childhood and an attempt to give you some background, but this one is nothing extreme. Since Bundy didn’t really start getting into some serious business until he was older.

The story is laughable at times as the character seems over the top, and stupid. However, it starts to thicken up quickly as a relationship goes sour for Bundy and he starts to go insane. What bothered me at this point was how quick this guy turned from slacker to serious, career driven Ted Bundy. He really turned things around and started dating two girls at once, and then he really started to get into a cycle of killing. The movie makes a point of showing a lot of rough sex between Bundy and his love interests. Apparently this is to set up his murders later in the film, but the graphic sexual scenes are done with some sort of sincerity and are not too unlike softcore movies that were once shown on the Spice Channel (cable). I’m not sure how the actresses felt about making these scenes because they are really taking some punishment at times, and it is way overdone for this type of movie.

We then move forward to the murders, these are done without remorse (at least the way they are shown) and Bundy is sly and quick in these. He gains the trust of several women with his good looks, and then comes the hammer. He knocks them out, sexually assaults them and at some point even has sex with corpses. This is pretty sick, and what makes it worse is that its not a fictional story.

If those things weren’t bad enough, the film shows Bundy getting letters from women offering all sorts of things to him. It even shows Bundy getting visits from women and then paying off guards to let him have sex with them in the “family meeting” room. Whether or not this is true it’s appalling to think that this could in fact have happened.

The film quality is right above straight to dvd levels. The visual aspect is dead on and even though the actors do seem played naïve and over the top, I went along with it fine. I didn’t really have a lot of problems with the visual storytelling in this film, even if I did find some of the edits and time frames a bit amateur.

Why Ted Bundy is a scary movie: The movie seems a bit too pretentious to be a horror film. However, it is in fact a horror film as it glorifies the violence a little too much to be a straight forward biopic. This film tries to make Bundy an anti-hero, as some of the 80’s slasher flicks turned several serial killers into fan favorites. If you weren’t keen to knowing that Ted Bundy was indeed a real person, you might be a fan of his slayings as fictional accounts. However, this is not 100% fiction, and the fact that he was able to slay so many young women and have police fooled is amazing to me. It’s scary to think that the human mind could allow themselves to get a level where they would habitually kill and sexually assault women. Not only is the acts scary, it’s scary to think that police were truly baffled for so long, and furthermore that Bundy was smart enough to get away with it for so long.

The brutality, whether implied or not, is disturbing to say the least. There is even a seen where Bundy is being prepared to go to the electric chair and they stuff him full of cotton. I won’t tell you how, but you can imagine the horror in this scene. There are a lot of bad things in this film, and I’m not sure if the director and film makers wanted to glorify such things, but they sure make an entertaining portrait of Ted Bundy in this film, and like Leatherface, Michael Meyers, and so many other fictional killers, Bundy can easily be placed on horror fans mantels as an icon of horror; if it wasn’t real!

Ted Bundy is a scary movie on a lot of levels, but the most horrific aspect of this film is the narrative of truth that it does spin. While the movie takes a lot of creative freedoms with the film, further investigation of Ted Bundy’s story will point you to one of the most prolific and smart serial killers ever to walk the earth.

I would recommend this film to anyone that likes true crime. The fact that this is based on real life makes it even more scary than anything fictional. It might even be true what they say, truth is stranger than fiction. Ted Bundy is available on dvd and is worthwhile in the same category as other “true event” horror movies.

Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.

Friday, November 6, 2009

Gangs of the Dead Review

There are so many zombie films out there. Seriously, just got to your local video store, or go to your netflix account and type in the word zombie. There's so many films dedicated to the zombie genre that you could make a whole site dedicated to the genre and never really run out of movies. In fact one such site has a podcast attached to it and it exclusively reviews zombie movies. However with a genre so diluted, there are a lot of bad movies that come out, and lots of serious contenders for worst movie ever seen, by me. I've seen a lot of different terrible movies on this site, but they all seem to take a backseat, at least momentarily in some instances with Gangs of the Dead.

Gangs of the Dead has two plots that run side by side, and that makes for a big of a confusing plot. One plot seems to be stealing ideas from "Boyz in the Hood" and "Menace II Society", while the other plot relies heavily on something that is not too unlike "Creepshow".

What can I say? This movie doesn't have a lot of weight in the world of horror films, however, it has an interesting premise in a lot of different ways. The good points are easy to see, but are only given to hardcore definitions. For instance, the gore. The gore is done quite well at times, although, it's also easy to see the flaws as well. There are arms getting eaten and pulled apart and while one is releasing a fountain of blood while the other is just kind of there. This happens in various scenes, and while it's noticeable you can tell that the people behind the film edited as tight as they could without making it obvious to everyone that they screwed up the effects, or simply didn't have the budget to fill the scenes with buckets of gore. You sort of expect gore to be on the forefront in a zombie film, and this one has some spotty moments.

The other side of the plot involves a meteorite hitting the earth, which is the source of the zombie outbreak. Now, the reason the film is called "Gangs of the Dead" is because two rival Los Angeles gangs fight for control of their city, even if the zombie apocalypse is breaking off!

Gangs of the Dead is not necessarily a scary film. It's interesting at times, but it's definitely more of a novelty act. I liked it in small doses, the movie really didn't keep me too entertained with the way the subplots were working, but I did think it was a good try to make something out of a zombie genre that is as saturated as the vampire genre. I don't recommend this film to a lot of people, but you know what? It's worth at least one viewing, as it has enough of a zombie element to gain fans who are deeply passionate about the genre. I'm not that passionate, because this isn't leaving a lasting impression like other zombie films have in the past.

Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Drag Me To Hell Review

Sam Raimi directed this somewhat lower budget film, and upon its release everyone I knew was telling me how good it was. I refused to believe it and didn't really go to the movies, and decided to just wait for dvd. I think in someways I was justified, with the pg-13 rating and the weak story, I can safely say that Drag Me To Hell is not as good as people wanted to say it was, however, that's not saying it was terrible.

Drag Me To Hell is a slick horror film, that moves fast, and takes no prisoners. It starts off with one of the horror taboo's I've talked about in the past. A lot of horror films stray from showing children being killed on camera. Well, Drag Me To Hell, jumps the gun and pushes you over the edge by showcasing the taboo in such a graphic way that you'll swear you're watching a different movie.

The movie's premise is simple. A young woman is after a promotion at her work, and when she refuses to give a loan to an elderly gypsy she is cursed and her soul will be taken from her, if she doesn't follow some instructions. The movie then progresses through the panic of the main character as she realizes that she has in fact been cursed. There are moments of jump scares, and there are great effects shown in regards to the spirit that is chasing her. The demon is reminiscent of the demons that attack evil people in the movie "Ghost". I know, it's a hard reference, but it's true, the demon is mostly in shadow and manifested in humans only when it over takes the body.

There is CG blood, which I thought was done poorly at times. The other CG is done crisp, and you can barely tell that there's been touch ups done for dramatic effect. Like I said in the beginning, this is a slick film with fast moving plot and good overall effects. While I thought the liquid cg was not done well, I did find it creepy enough of an addition to the story to make things worth watching.

Is Drag Me To Hell A Scary Film ? : No.

I didn't find Drag Me To Hell that scary. I found it entertaining, but definitely not scary. The film has a distinct vibe to it that makes me want to think that it's too long. It feels and progresses like an episode of Tales From The Crypt. It also ends exactly like one of thoe films or television shows that featured the Crypt Keeper, because you are almost shoved with a moral. The ambiguity of the ending and response to the overall tone is done with a bit of comedy, which makes you realize that you're not necessarily watching a Wes Craven film or something along the lines of Clive Barker.

The movie has some gripping moments of suspense, and while I wasn't scared, some people might find the supernatural elements extremely scary. I was surprised to see that the main characters didn't immediately ask a priest or a pastor for an exorcism or anything like that. They seem to trust Easter philosophical arts instead of Christianity, which is fine, but in Horror there's definitely a bone thrown towards Priests and others that fight supernatural elements.

Drag Me To Hell is a good movie. It's not a great movie, like many people said, but it's a good and tight horror movie. It features everything you want in a horror film, sans the blood. There is some blood, but no real gore, and everything is done to quite a disturbing effect. The ending was definitely a classic, the twists and turns are done in time, and you never really get bored, even though I said it was a bit on the long side. Sam Raimi really did a good job with this one as it feels like a bigger film, it has that "mainstream" movie feel, and while I didn't think it deserved as much praise as it did, this film does pack a serious punch to the horror nerve. Just like "The Exorcist" hit many people strong, Drag Me To Hell has some legs, and it will probably shock a new generation of horror movie fans.

Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.

Monday, November 2, 2009

The Haunted World of El Superbeasto Review

The Haunted World of El Superbeasto is a very adult animated film with horror references at every turn, and raunchy ideas at every piece of dialogue. Seriously, I haven't seen something this adult since I found El Mil Chistes as a child. If you're not familiar with this film or why I would review it on this site, then you need to remember the name Rob Zombie.

You see, Rob Zombie wrote a series of comic books called "Spookshow International" those were limited and if you have them, are worth a nice chunk of change. Yes, there's now a trade paperback of them, but before that you had to be a serious Rob Zombie comic book fan. He also did some work on Big Foot, fyi. Rob Zombie did Halloween, then he worked on this project with the voices of some great talent including his wife, Paul Giamatti, and Brian Posehn just to name a few.

The Haunted World of El Superbeasto tells the story of a womanizing professional wrestler and porno actor that really likes to shake things up in a way that you've probably never seen before. This film isn't overall scary, but it has references. You see all horror icons used as set pieces, characters and strange references, including seeing them killed, nude, or involved in sexual relationships. I do not simply mean calm nudity, I mean extreme nudity. Within the first ten minutes you see gratuitous nudity, people topless, and within the first twenty minutes you see a full pornographic scene filmed, featuring El Superbeasto and some devil women! I kid you not, I wish I was joking, this thing is hardcore.

As far as story is concerned, it's jumped together into a supernatural thriller mixed with a revenge plot. The hero wants to have sex with this hot vixen (El Superbeasto isour anti-hero), and finds that she's been kidnapped by a gorilla & dr. satan. So he decides to chase after her instead of eating hot wings. The adventure is linear but not without fast cuts, and quick edits and references not too unlike Family Guy's joke sheet.

While The Haunted World of El Superbeasto is not a scary film, it's chock full of things that horror movie fans will love. Not only has Rob Zombie paid homage to a lot of the villains of old, he has also created a unique adult piece of animation that is not just "adult" in nature it is nearly pornographic and at times is pornographic by nature. Rob Zombie has really pushed the limits of not only creativity here, but also what you can get away with, without getting an x rating. While I loved the animation, the crude jokes, and so much more in this film, I did find it too short and somewhat boring in the long runs. Yes, it's completely over the top, but it's suppose to be. You should definitely check it out, it's definitely a good mix of horror, comedy, and definitely sex. However, I can not stress this enough, it is NOT a kids movie and should not be seen by anyone under the age of eighteen, this thing is tough.

If you're not too keen on this one, you can hear/see an interview with director Rob Zombie below, cause that's how I roll...no no...I kid:

Looking for grindhouse, horror, or sci-fi films? Please check out our amazon astore featuring all things horror. Don't trust astore? Check out amazon.com, surprisingly they have more grindhouse,horror,and rare sci-fi than you may not have thought possible.