Indie Scene: "The West Wittering Affair," "100 Tears," and "Drop Box"

Hey everyone, and welcome to the fourth edition of Indie Scene. The fact that it’s been going on for this long is surprising me and probably everyone else. I just want to bring attention to a few things. First thing is first, if you want to send a screener for your film for this article, send an email to me at either TonyD@FilmArcade.net or Screeners@FilmArcade.net. Secondly, I plan on doing two screeners an installment, plus one independent film that I look back at (excluding next week’s edition). So without further ado, I present to you Indie Scene: Take 4.


“The West Wittering Affair”
2006
** out of ****
Director: David Scheinmann
Cast: Danny Scheinmann, Sarah Sutcliffe, Rebecca Cardinale


“The West Wittering Affair” is a comedy that sounds oh, so much better on paper than what the final result turned out to be. The film, which is a mix of epic proportions of “War of the Roses,” “The Break Up,” and “Troll 2,” should be funnier, more aggressive, and DEFINITELY in better taste. Oh, and it should have not been offending the audience member. The film begins as Jamie spends a weekend with Kathy (Sarah Sutcliffe) and her friend Natasha (Rebecca Cardinale) in the country. He manages to get them drunk, then he sticks his “ping-pong” in BOTH of their “papas” and WATTA YA KNOW! One gets pregnant. He goes to a therapeutic, only to realize that his therapist (David Annen) is the pregnant girl’s boyfriend. And yeah, it’s “Knocked Up,” “Juno,” and “Waitress” all over again, except this one comes out on DVD in 2008 and this time it’s not nearly as entertaining as the last three were.

“The West Wittering Affair,” while lacking on laughs, packs a ton of punches with the acting. Some of the best acting of the film comes from Danny Scheinmann, and if you didn’t realize it from earlier, the guy is the brother of director David Scheinmann. Danny does an amazing job at acting, switching over from one emotion to the next. His role manages to be a role where he has to do something instead of standing there and look good for the camera, and being such a good actor in this film, I want to see him do more. The supporting cast does an alright job; none of them can really stand next to the awesomeness of Danny’s character. As far as checking out “The West Wittering Affair,” I say don’t. But if you want to check out some fine acting, go ahead. It’s better than the acting that will be played in “Drillbit Taylor” this weekend.

To get more info of the film, visit the film’s webpage at http://www.myspace.com/thewestwitteringaffair.

“100 Tears”
2007
**** out of ****
Director: Marcus Koch
Cast: Joe Davidson, Georgia Chris, Jack Amos


I have two weaknesses when it comes to slasher movies – they must be clichéd and the vicious killer is a clown. That being said, Marcus Koch’s horror film “100 Tears” is one of the best slasher films I have even seen, and that is an amazing achievement for an independent horror film. With enough clichés and a scary villain, the clown (Jack Amos) is one of the weirdest characters It begins with enough gore that can last twenty movies, and it’s only in the first ten minutes ALONE. And it has plenty of plot-holes, a shitty last minute ending, and bad dialogue, but that’s fine with me. Did you ever see a clown movie clear up all loose ends? Even “It” ended on a sour note at the tip of my tounge. But “100 Tears” picks “It” up, slams its faggot ass on the ground, and stomps inside its asshole.

“100 Tears” tells the story of Gurdy the Clown, a rejected clown with dreams of being in the circus. When tabloid journalists Mark and Jennifer (Joe Davidson and Georgia Chris) find out about Gurdy killing a group of people, they decide to slide away from their usual stories (you know, the ones that say that there are Bigfoot sightings) and they decide to discover the mystery behind this one. More people begin to get killed and the case suddenly becomes more dangerous than what it seems like. There is some brilliant acting from the two leads, but the one that is most noticeable is Jack Amos, who plays the clown. Never have I seen a clown so frightening since the clown from “Fear of Clowns.” The film is going to be really known for the hardcore violence. The first ten minutes makes the film alone and gives the film a great start. It grabs you and never lets you go. And it’s rated NC-17 for extreme horror violence, so if you don’t take it from me, take it from the MPAA. “100 Tears” is a fun-filled ride that doesn’t stop even after it’s over.

To get more info of “100 Tears,” visit the film’s webpage at http://www.myspace.com/100tearsmovie.

“Drop Box”
2006
**** out of ****
Director: Anesty Carasoulos, Spiros Carasoulos
Cast: David Cormican, Rachel Sehl, Cyprianos Carasoulos


I saw “Drop Box” last year around this time. I liked it so much that I decided to revisit it. “Drop Box” tells the tale of a pop princess (Rachel Sehl) who accidentally returns her sex-tape instead of her copy of Mariah Carey’s classic “Glitter” in the drop box of a video-store. She tries to get the video-tape back from the cocky and cynical worker (David Cormican), but it only turns out that he’s not willing to give it back until he gets to see the contents of the video-tape. “Drop Box” is a lot like Kevin Smith’s cult classic “Clerks.” It has some great dialogue that will have film geeks oozing with orgasms. Cormican’s character brings up the fact that he puts shitty movies in the employee picks section so he can punish the people with the shitty taste. It is some of the truest works of art since “Liar, Liar.”

“Drop Box” has some excellent acting from David Cormican and Rachel Sehl. The two have such great chemistry with each other; it feels like that they have known each other for their entire lives. Cormican never lets a scene down, playing a character that is in vein to Randal Graves. Rachel Sehl doesn’t fail too. She acts just like how a pop-star will act – totally bitchy and conceited. But goddamnit, is she just as HOT as a pop-star is. “Drop Box” is funny, truthful, and realistic, and it’s just GREAT that there is a movie that knows how to be an independent movie. I forgot what independent movies tasted like…

To get more info of “Drop Box,” visit the film’s webpage at http://www.dropboxthemovie.com/.


Well that’s it for this week. Next week, Indie Scene and Reviews From the Horror Chamber combine together for the week and each take half of the After Dark Horrorfest films. In order to see who reviews who, you’ll have to wait and see until next week. Indie Scene will be posted next Thursday, whereas Reviews From the Horror Chamber will be posted March 30. Have a great Spring Break. I know I AM.