Reviews From the Horror Chamber -- Millennium Crisis, Tree

Welcome to Reviews from the Horror Chamber. I am your chamber keeper, Anthony Thurber.

I could start off again in another rant, where I can bitch about “Insert Classic Horror Film” remake and why “Insert actor” is not going to be “Insert Classic Horror Character” in the remake or wine about people being fucking stupid in making “Insert annoying TV character” aka “Insert actress"’s concert being atop of the box office last weekend while destroying the cinematic experience, as we know it. But I want to be positive this and not getting into trouble with TonyD. I want to talk about a television show that Sci-Fi/Horror fans should check out, even though this is a film site.

Yes, I’m talking about the best show on TV that most people don’t know about or don’t have BBC America. I’m talking about Torchwood. Before I go into more about the show I want to give kudos to BBC America for airing the second season a month and a half after the first season ended. Usually back in the day, it would be six months to a year, for a season of a British show to air in America. But, now it’s only a week or two after its first airing, which is a good thing for us, Doctor Who/Torchwood geeks. Doctor Who fans might know that this is the first spin-off from the show.

This is the best show on television this season, by far. The show is about Captain Jack Hartness (who was introduced in the first series of Doctor Who) leading a renegade group outside the government and beyond the United Nations investigating the unknown and fighting the impossible in Cardiff, England. A lot of the show’s credit goes to its executive producer Russell T. Davis. I like how he and his writing team make every episode character driven. At least one character is going through a conflict in almost every show. They utilize all their main characters very well, which most shows here don’t even do. The acting and the characters are very good. But take from me, check out this show. The show is on BBC America on Saturday Nights at 9pm with a replay of last week episode at 8pm. Also, if you missed the first season of the show, it currently out on DVD via BBC Home Video. I highly recommend, you check this show out either on television or on DVD and see why I think; Torchwood is the best show on television. Now, on to the reviews.


Millennium Crisis

Year: 2008
Director: Andrew Bellware
Stars: Claire Stevenson, Ted Raimi, Ato Essandoh
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Shock-O-Rama Cinema
Running Time: 86 Mins
Review Rating: 2 Stars
Official Website: http://www.shock-o-rama.com/

Millennium Crisis takes place in the future where an alien race known as the Kluduthu, started a war to keep their own kind alive. Soon the group knows the Andromedeans, sent out their top-secret weapon to counter them known as a “Bloodmask”, a chameleon like android. That is what Auroda is. She has no idea of her powers, when the Kliduthu take to her planet of origin. Soon, she realizes that they have plans to incorporate her into their own killing machine. In order to stop them, she has to save herself and lead the universe against this alien race.

Millennium Crisis is film that looked good on paper but failed to deliver with the end product. The film tries to be an “insert futuristic film” rip-off. Most of the problem with this film was the screenplay. There’s not enough action in the film. The first half of the story moves at very slow pace and become uninteresting at times. The film really doesn’t pick up until Ted Raimi appears on screen, but that’s forty-five, fifty minutes into the film. Then, the movie finally picks up and the story becomes interesting. The special effects were very good for a low-budget film. The only complaint with the effects is that I could not stand the flash effect that is used in some scenes, as it was overdone and made me confused with the story at times. The acting wasn’t that bad considering the script here as the actors tried their best.

Overall, the film could have used a better script. Millennium Crisis is a confusing film that could have been more better if it more action and less confusion to keep my interest.



Tree

Year: 2007
Director: Michael R Steinbeck
Stars: Bill Elverman, Kate Berry, Avery Laine
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Gaslight Films
Running Time: 46Mins
Review Rating: 5 Stars
Official Website: http://www.thetreemovie.com/


Tree is a very highly rated short film that has been gathering critical appraise from various horror websites. It has already played many film festivals across the world, including the 2007 Eerie Horror Film Festival and the Short Film Corner over at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

Tree takes places after a tragedy strikes Tom Brueggeman (Bill Elverman, who also wrote the screenplay for this) and his family. They then move to the farmlands, where they get a new start on life. The family will soon discover once there is that a mysterious tree that gives them mysterious visions of the future. His wife and daughter seem to welcome these visions; Tom fears them, as it he thinks he sees a vision that might be a prediction of his own downfall.

Tree is very well executed supernatural horror film that PG-13 filmmakers could take lessons on making effective horror films from this. Director Michael R. Steinbeck is a talent that people take note of. His direction was great here. He captures the eerie scenery very well. I liked how he filmed the tree sequences, as it felt like one of the characters in the film. Some of images, looked like professional like. He also manages to keep the story moving in good pace through the editing. He also did a great job with his actors. I thought his direction with the actors was very good, which helped made this film a success. It’s a very rare to see great acting in a short film, but this film has it.

However, the screenplay is what makes this film. It felt like an episode of the Twilight Zone. I liked how Bill Elverman’s screenplay focuses on building suspense and character development instead of rushing things. He focuses on his character in the film and the character’s family in the first half then begins building on the suspense. I liked that he allows his screenplay to allow it to focus on his family, unlike in other supernatural films; you’re caught up on the suspense to the point that you forget about everything else.

Tree is a film that proves that you don’t need characters running around in a haunted house or tons of gore to provide effective supernatural scares.


If you’re a filmmaker, interested in having your horror film reviewed in the horror chamber, you can reach the Chamber Keeper himself at Anthonythurber@filmarcade.net or the head of Film Arcade TonyD at TonyD@filmarcade.net

Also, don’t forget to add the official myspace home of Reviews From the Horror Chamber at http://www.myspace.com/reviewsfromthehorchamber.

Well that’s it for this week’s edition of Reviews Form the Horror Chamber. Big edition next week, as I have not one but two advance reviews which I’ll keep under wraps until next week.

Until then, have a frightening week.