Welcome to “Reviews From the Horror Chamber. I’m your chamber keeper, Anthony Thurber. Before I get into this edition, I just want to let you know that I recently posted an open letter which I emailed to Lionsgate President, Joe Drake about the rumors of Repo: The Genetic Opera getting a limited release instead of a wide release. You can read that letter at http://www.filmarcade.net/2008/09/open-letter-to-lionsgate-president-joe.html.
Recently I had a chance to do a short interview with the director of “The Wizard of Gore remake, Jeremy Kasten. He’s a director that burst on the horror scene in 2001 with “The Attic Expeditions”. He has a new film, The Wizard of Gore, which was recently released on Dimension Extreme. Here’s my quick short interview with him.
1) You have a new film from Dimension Extreme called "The Wizard of Gore," which is one of the best horror films that I've seen this year: Tell my readers about this film?
You just did. It's basically my horror wet-dream - as a fan of the genre - I mean Jeffrey Combs, Brad Dourif and Crispin Gloverr as the baddies. The Suicide Girls are the victims, genre favorites Bijou Phillips and Joshua Miller are in it - And its all a knid of post punk splatter noir through my neo-giallo colours and decaying art deco design.
2) Horror remakes have usually been bad experiences for me, after having seen such films as One Missed Call, The Eye and Funny Games. But this film was different and entertaining from those, as this was very dark and filmed with some of the most surreal imagery that you'll ever see. What made you decide to remake this cult classic from 1970 and has that film's director Herschel Gordon Lewis seen the film and commented about it to you?
My film is made with all the love and fanatical admiration of someone who grew up on the Lewis films. Herchell himself says he thought the original could've used a revisiting. When I set out to make this film I thought, "its not a remake, it's a COVER - like in music." I truly believe that. I wanted to take the bare elements of the first films, because, let's face it, that is really all there is there, and make a more compelling story grow around it. It was one of the smart things about Zach Chassler's script that the gore was front and center, but the really disturbing thing about the story was the fact that there is something much uglier and way more REALISTICALLY hideous going on with the characters. That, the gore being surpassed by something TRULY horrifying, that really appealed to me. He says he did. I wish I could've seen it with him in a packed theatre. It must be a very strange thing to see your little nasty film turned into a different but somewhat similar nasty bigger film almost forty years later.
3) You have a very interesting cast of horror genre favorites including Crispin Glover, Brad Dourif and Jeffery Combs. How did each of these people become involved in your project?
Through my casting director Aaron Griffiths. We would decide who we wanted to offer the role to and he would make an offer to their agents. It's fairly standard.
4) This film also features the Suicide Girls, as the illusionist's victims. What was the auditions process like in casting the models that you wanted to use for your film?
I discovered the site as we were developing the script. And then I did my research (I had two friends that had business connections there, including the late Dan Epstein) and they told me that to use the girls I'd have to really work from the inside. Become a member of the community and all. That the girls and the company were naturally distrustful of someone wanting to "audition" the girls for their "horror film". So that's what I did. I had girls who lived elsewhere send in tapes from where ever they lived, tapes of them performing a specific scene. Girls who were interested and lived in Los Angeles came in and auditioned. Those girls, hell that whole community, are some of the coolest folk I've ever deal with. I'm glad to say I'm very much a member of that on-line world now.
5) Finally, what projects are you currently working that you want to share with my readers?
Gonna keep this quiet for not as I don't wanna jinx anything.
I want to thank you for your time, Mr. Kasten and good luck with the success of your film "The Wizard of Gore, which is in stores now from Dimension Extreme.
To read my review of the film, you can goto: http://www.filmarcade.net/2008/08/wizard-of-gore-2008-dvd-review-written.html
The Wretched
Year: 2008
Director: Daniel B. Isel
Stars: Mark Booker, Melanie Gills, Chelsie Hartness
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Skyline Entertainment Productions
Running Time: 100 Mins
Official Website: http://www.thewretchedmovie.com/
To read my review of the film, you can goto: http://www.filmarcade.net/2008/08/wizard-of-gore-2008-dvd-review-written.html
The WretchedYear: 2008
Director: Daniel B. Isel
Stars: Mark Booker, Melanie Gills, Chelsie Hartness
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Skyline Entertainment Productions
Running Time: 100 Mins
Official Website: http://www.thewretchedmovie.com/
The Wretched is about seven students who campout near an abandon barn house, where they are researching for a class project. But there is a curse that lie in that area. Soon, it starts to get into the minds of these students. As the curse continues to haunt them, they are forced to find out what is haunting them and taking over their minds. They must unlock this mysterious curse before they’re added to the list of victims that the curse has taken.
The Wretched is one of those films in which I would like to forget. Daniel B Isel’s direction felt unenergetic. He tries to make this film suspenseful but every time when the pace was building up and becoming good, it would go back down to its boring state, where you really don’t care for anything and it made my mind wondered off. This was one of those films in which I was waiting for something to happen to get me into it. But it never happened, because it felt boring throughout. His direction of the actors was okay, considering the lackluster script he had. I really don’t fault the actors, as the performances were okay and they looked like that they really wanted to be there, but it was just was the story and it’s concept that made this look pretty bad.
Scott Coleman’s screenplay was horrible. There were a lot of things that I didn’t care about this film. The characters that were created were some of the dullest and clichéd characters that I’ve ever seen, which really made me not care for any of them. They also seemed to be either lifeless or too stereotyped for me. Also, they weren’t fully developed neither, which hurt the film a lot. The film had a lot of time to do it, but it never has the chance to do it because the action wasn’t interesting and focuses the dull legend too much. Also, this film really felt like it tried to steal some ideas from movies like “Children of the Corn” and “The Caregiver”, which I also didn’t like that involved a killer stalling the fields in the middle of nowhere. The film didn’t have many scares. For a couple of scenes, I thought that there were going to be some scares, but those seemed false alarms, as the killings in the film were boring and uneventful, especially the last fifteen minutes of the film.
The Wretched is a film that’s a very dull and sleepy slasher film.
Review Rating: 1 Star
The Wretched is one of those films in which I would like to forget. Daniel B Isel’s direction felt unenergetic. He tries to make this film suspenseful but every time when the pace was building up and becoming good, it would go back down to its boring state, where you really don’t care for anything and it made my mind wondered off. This was one of those films in which I was waiting for something to happen to get me into it. But it never happened, because it felt boring throughout. His direction of the actors was okay, considering the lackluster script he had. I really don’t fault the actors, as the performances were okay and they looked like that they really wanted to be there, but it was just was the story and it’s concept that made this look pretty bad.
Scott Coleman’s screenplay was horrible. There were a lot of things that I didn’t care about this film. The characters that were created were some of the dullest and clichéd characters that I’ve ever seen, which really made me not care for any of them. They also seemed to be either lifeless or too stereotyped for me. Also, they weren’t fully developed neither, which hurt the film a lot. The film had a lot of time to do it, but it never has the chance to do it because the action wasn’t interesting and focuses the dull legend too much. Also, this film really felt like it tried to steal some ideas from movies like “Children of the Corn” and “The Caregiver”, which I also didn’t like that involved a killer stalling the fields in the middle of nowhere. The film didn’t have many scares. For a couple of scenes, I thought that there were going to be some scares, but those seemed false alarms, as the killings in the film were boring and uneventful, especially the last fifteen minutes of the film.
The Wretched is a film that’s a very dull and sleepy slasher film.
Review Rating: 1 Star
A Lovely Side to DarknessYear: 2008
Director: Juan Alcazar
Stars: John Kiernan, Steve Budd, Ellen Ho
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 15 Mins
Official Website: http://www.alovelysidetodarkness.com/
A Lovely Side to Darkness is about Chris, a young teen, who is living with his father after a tragic event happened in his family. Chris, then one wake up to find a mysterious note that slid under his closet door. Soon, his life becomes weird to him, when he starts to experience odd visions and eerie sounds. As everything becomes more intense, Chris begins to discover that someone is trying to tell him something before something bad happens to him.
A Lovely Side to Darkness is a dark and chilling short film. Writer/Director Juan Arcazar direction was very good. One of the things that he does well was the fact that he made the images darkly vivid, as it felt like one of those Darren Afronosky films with the images all over the place. It also helps make this film very dark. Arcazar’s direction with his actors was pretty well. I thought they did a good job, as the performances kept my interest.
Alcazar’s screenplay was good for the most part. The screenplay really helps make this short very dark and bleak, which is probably why this was enjoyable. He does that by creating a story that has a sense of this gloom and doom feel to it, when the main character was written in a way that you get that sense that the tone of the film would be dark and dreary. The major highlight was the film’s character development. Alcazar does a very good job establishing a relationship between the main character and the ghost. He does it in a way you don’t know why this ghost is haunting him until the very end, which also helped with it’s twist ending. Also, I thought that the kid’s relationship with his father was handled very well, as it shows why he’s tormented with sadness. If there was one thing that I didn’t like, it was the fact that Alcazar added the kid’s study partner to the story. I thought the character was wasted, as that wasn’t fully developed, to the point that you feel like it had a purpose in the story. There should have been a scene or two to give an idea to the character’s relationship to the main character.
But still, A Lovely Side to Darkness is a dark ghost story, which is well acted and directed.
Review Rating: 3.5 Stars
Also, I have reviewed a lot of horror films, interviewed a horror personality and wrote a open letter between now and the last edition. Click on the title to read each review or interview.
Open Letter to Lionsgate President, Joe Drake
A Lovely Side to Darkness is a dark and chilling short film. Writer/Director Juan Arcazar direction was very good. One of the things that he does well was the fact that he made the images darkly vivid, as it felt like one of those Darren Afronosky films with the images all over the place. It also helps make this film very dark. Arcazar’s direction with his actors was pretty well. I thought they did a good job, as the performances kept my interest.
Alcazar’s screenplay was good for the most part. The screenplay really helps make this short very dark and bleak, which is probably why this was enjoyable. He does that by creating a story that has a sense of this gloom and doom feel to it, when the main character was written in a way that you get that sense that the tone of the film would be dark and dreary. The major highlight was the film’s character development. Alcazar does a very good job establishing a relationship between the main character and the ghost. He does it in a way you don’t know why this ghost is haunting him until the very end, which also helped with it’s twist ending. Also, I thought that the kid’s relationship with his father was handled very well, as it shows why he’s tormented with sadness. If there was one thing that I didn’t like, it was the fact that Alcazar added the kid’s study partner to the story. I thought the character was wasted, as that wasn’t fully developed, to the point that you feel like it had a purpose in the story. There should have been a scene or two to give an idea to the character’s relationship to the main character.
But still, A Lovely Side to Darkness is a dark ghost story, which is well acted and directed.
Review Rating: 3.5 Stars
Also, I have reviewed a lot of horror films, interviewed a horror personality and wrote a open letter between now and the last edition. Click on the title to read each review or interview.
Open Letter to Lionsgate President, Joe Drake
Dead and Gone
If you’re a filmmaker and interested in having your horror film reviewed in the horror chamber, you can reach the Chamber Keeper himself at horrorchamber@filmarcade.net or if you have any film in any genres that you want Film Arcade to review, send us an email at screeners@filmarcade.net.
Also, don’t forget to add the official myspace home of Reviews From the Horror Chamber at http://www.myspace.com/reviewsfromthehorchamber. I also have an official homepage on Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/anthonythurber, where you can find all of my reviews and personal thoughts on movies and life.
In the next edition, I’ll have not one but two films that has Uwe Boll is some capacity, as I’ll review both “Seed” and “They Wait”, which he executive produced.
If you’re a filmmaker and interested in having your horror film reviewed in the horror chamber, you can reach the Chamber Keeper himself at horrorchamber@filmarcade.net or if you have any film in any genres that you want Film Arcade to review, send us an email at screeners@filmarcade.net.
Also, don’t forget to add the official myspace home of Reviews From the Horror Chamber at http://www.myspace.com/reviewsfromthehorchamber. I also have an official homepage on Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/anthonythurber, where you can find all of my reviews and personal thoughts on movies and life.
In the next edition, I’ll have not one but two films that has Uwe Boll is some capacity, as I’ll review both “Seed” and “They Wait”, which he executive produced.
And before I end this edition, this time around, I want to wish a happy birthday to the founder and boss, Tony DeFrancisco. Without you, none of this site's success, would be possible. Thank you and happy birthday.
Until then, have a frightening day.
Until then, have a frightening day.
Keep up the great work, Anthony!!!
Thanks for the wishes sir!!!!