I’m starting 2014 with some devilish fun. “Alpha Girls” is one of those films that caught my attention immediately when I first heard about it. It look like it was going to be one of those fun films that I would enjoy.

The film is about a troubled student (Falon Joslyn) who goes to a new school and joins the sorority Alpha Beta. Her initial experiences in the sorority are bad as she and her rush class are humiliated. She becomes close with another pledge (Beverly Rivera) who has a mystical gift. Soon, she begins to discover that something devilish is going on at the Alpha house. The house is possessed by some demonic force. She must find a way to save herself and put an end to all of the devilish things that are going on in the Alpha house. “Alpha Girls” also features special appearances from Ron Jeremy (The Boondock Saints) and Schoolly D (Aqua Teen Hunger Force).

Going into “Alpha Girls, I was expecting something campier considering the fact that the beginning felt that it was going that way. To my surprise it didn’t go that route, which helped make the film a better and effective film.

One of the things that I liked about this was the direction. Directors Tony Trov and Johnny Zito did a very good making the film fun while having a horror/comedy vibe to it. It really shows, as I enjoyed the way that some of scenes were directed. Whether it’s the way the film was shot to how the horrific scenes were looked, it did a good job keeping my interest. The other thing that I liked about their direction was the fact that the main performances were good. Trov and Zito did made sure the performances were just about right in terms of how the characters are supposed to be. The performances didn’t feel too campy or over the top, as it helped me get into the film’s story and made me interested in the material.

The other thing that I liked about the production aspects was the way the film looked. The look of the film had the feel that it was professional shot, as it helped make look visually pleasing. Cinematographer Rory Hanrahan does a very good job making sure that he gets that aspect of filming to stand out along with the film’s story. He made the film look much better than it was supposed to on its limited $28,000 budget.

Trov and Zito’s screenplay also helped made this film entertaining. One of things that makes this screenplay good was that it develops its characters. The screenplay spends a good amount of time developing the main characters. It made them interesting to watch and it also made the story better. The other thing that this screenplay does well was that it played like a straight horror comedy than a camp fest. By them doing it that way, it allowed for the dark humor to work and made the horror scenes effective. Trov and Zito also toned down the camp factor, as the story focused more on the characters and the film’s plot. It made the film better, as I was expecting something completely different.

“Alpha Girls” is devilish fun, as it has a good story and very solid direction that keeps you possessed.

To see this film, you can goto: http://www.amazon.com/Alpha-Girls-Satanic-Sorority-Slasher/dp/B00E9F47R4 or any participating VOD providers.

For more information on this film, you can visit the film’s official website at: http://www.alphagirlsmovie.com/ 

Review Rating Three and a Half Stars.

One of things that attracted me to “The Stone Roses: Made of Stone” was the fact that it dealt with 90’s rock music. As a big fan of that period of rock music, I’ve enjoyed the fact the songs had pure emotion and music was loud. With a great track record of great rocks documentaries lately such as “Pearl Jam’s Twenty”, “Hit so Hard: The Life and Near Death Story of Patty Schemel” and “Foo Fighters: Back and Forth”, I decided to check out this film.

The film directed by “This is England” director Shane Meadows. It follows the rock band The Stone Roses as they reformed the band for the first time in sixteen years. He uses his style of directing to document all the emotion and humor the band encounters throughout their career. From rare interviews and never before seen archive footage to following the band during rehearsals of their reunion tour, it a portrait of one of Britain’s most popular rock bands of the nineties.

Going into this film, I wasn’t that big of a Stone Roses fan. The only song that I remember of the band was the single “Love Spreads” which I first heard in 1995 on the radio. Still, I was interested in this because it was a 9o’s rock documentary and the fact that the film was from Shane Meadows, who did the excellent film “This is England” years ago. Thankfully, I decided to check this film out, as I thought this was a very interesting documentary.

Shane Meadow did a very job with making this documentary work for those who may haven’t heard of the band. One of the things that I liked about this was the way that he blends the archival footage/interviews along with the footage that he shoot during his time with the band. It made everything feel interesting, as I was interested in the history of the band and what was going on during their reunion. The other thing that makes this part interesting was the fact that I liked how he presented the footage was shot. Whether it was in black and white during the rehearsal portion or full out color for the big performances, the look of the film had a music video feel to it. This really helped made me glued to the film to the point that I couldn’t take your eyes off it.

The other thing that makes this documentary good was the fact that it was a little unconventional by including the director’s thoughts through the rehearsal process. It gave a glimpse to what the director was experiencing on the road with the band. Whether it’s about the band that he likes to the troubles that occurred while following the band, it was nice that you get hear it from his point of view. It provided an interesting look while not being too intrusive to the point that the film feels like a tabloid piece.

“The Stone Roses: Made of Stone” is an interesting portrait of one of Britain’s most popular bands of the nineties. This is worth checking out for movie fans that are into the alternative rock scene of the nineties.

Review Rating: Four Stars

 

When I first heard about Diabo Cody’s new film “Paradise”, I was surprised that this was not being distributed by any of the major studios. It gave me doubts that this was going to one of those films that would waste my time. I was still curious about this considering that this was from Diabo Cody.

The film follows a young woman (Julianne Houge), who almost was killed in a tragic accident. She begins to realize that the world is bigger than what she was exposed to by her parents (Holly Hunter, Nick Offerman). The woman sets out on a trip to Las Vegas. Along the way, she meets a lounge singer (Octavia Spencer) and a bartender (Russell Bland) who show that there is more to life.

To realize this, she has to a find a way to survive the various lights and the crazy bars of Vegas.
I was very surprised with this film. “Paradise” is one of those films where it manages to keep its certain charm throughout. It helped make this film a very enjoyable film to watch, as it felt one of Cody’s earlier screenplays “Juno” at times.

Speaking of Diabo Cody, her direction was very good. One of the reasons that makes her direction work was the fact that the scenes were directed in a way that helped the flow of the film. She carefully makes the scenes keep your interest through the style of the backdrops and the way she uses her narration device. It made the film have its nice quirks and touchy feely tone. It made me feel something, which is what you want with a film such as this. The other thing that makes her direction good was the way that she handles her cast. I thought, the performance were very good and the cast had good chemistry. Julianne Hough, Russell Brand and Octavia Spencer helped bring this film to another level with their performances. This film could’ve felt like a TV film, but their performance made the characters interesting to watch.

Cody’s screenplay was better than I thought it was going to be. The screenplay does a very good job with the way that it handles the narration device. It helped make the main character more interesting, as you get a glimpse into the main character’s state of mind. The other thing that I liked about it was the fact it provided more depth to the character. By doing that, it makes me more interested in the character and make that part of the film have a purpose. I also liked, the way that main character was developed. Cody does a very good job showing how the character is effected by the experiences she has and the people she meets along the way. This really helped make the character interesting instead of being dull.

This is a film that you go out of your way to rent, as this had a “Juno” like feel to it. With very good direction and a solid screenplay, “Paradise” is an entertaining film that is worth seeking out.

Review Rating: Four Stars

Now for a little change of pace, as most of reviews lately have been horror or genre related. It’s been a while that I’ve reviewed an actual comedy that didn’t deal with anything horror or fantasy related.

“Free Sample” follows Jillian (Jess Weixler), a law school dropout whose life has landed her into endless spiral or boredom and drunken parties. Her best friend (Hailey Feiffer) begs her to work with in a rundown ice cream truck. This job forces Jillian deal with all source of people including oddballs, crazy people and a guy (Jessie Eisenberg) that she may have met before and passed out on. Could find some sort of direction that send out of the state of boredom that she’s in? Jason Ritter (Parenthood) and Trppi Hedren (The Birds) costars in the film.

Every once in a while, I come across an independent film that I never heard of and just loving it. That was the same case with “Free Samples, as this was one of the best independent film that I’ve seen in a while.

Director Jay Gammill does a very good job with the way that he handles his direction. What makes his film work so well was his able to keep the film moving. Whether it’s the way approached each scene of the film to making sure that the action keeps moving in the film’s one setting, it made everything work. That’s what helps makes the direction good, so you’re not worried about the film going off its tracks. The other thing that I liked about direction was the way that he handles his cast. The cast here was very good. What I liked about it was that Gammill is able to make all these supporting characters interesting. He manages to make some of them very quirky and fun to see. This could’ve been eighty minutes of the main character talking to various characters, but he does a very good job making these supporting characters stand out from one another. It help made those characters serve a purpose to the film and make the main character interesting in the process.

Speaking of the acting, you had good supporting performances but at the end of the day the film is as good as the lead performance. Jess Weixler’s performance was very quirky and entertaining. She does a very good job with the way that she approaches this role. It helped made the character excellent to watch. Weixler brings a very sarcastic tone to the way the lines were delivered. By approaching the character that way, it made the material even funnier than it is. It’s something that you need for a film like this.

The screenplay written by Jim Beggarly does a very good job with the way that it balances the comedic and dramatic elements. I liked, the way that he makes his main character insecure with the choices in her life. It helped the development of the main character, as it made her interested instead of her being annoyed about almost everyone she encounters. You needed that with this story considering that most of the story takes place in one area. He also does a very job good creating characters that are both funny and entertaining. The quirkiness to each character were different and they added something to the film. It made some of the film’s scenes funny on the page and very enjoyable for me.

I highly recommend that you check this film out, if you have some spare time. With great direction from Jay Gammill and an excellent performance from Jess Weixler, Free Samples is one of the best independent films of year.

Review Rating: Five Stars.

Back in 2009, I had the opportunity of reviewing Christopher Di Nuzino’s film “Livestock”. It was a film that I enjoyed a lot. Now fast forward to today, where he currently has a short film “Her Heart Still Beats” that is going to see distribution as an extra on the upcoming Independent Entertainment release “The Ripping”.

The film follows a man (Fiore Leo), who suddenly feels different when he looks at the eyes of his wife (Leighsa Burgin). The whole ordeal is starting to make him question everything in his relationship with her. He doesn’t know if he’s going paranoid or is there truth that she may have evil tendencies.

One of the reason that I enjoyed “Her Heart Still Beats” was the direction of writer/director Christpher Di Nuzino. His direction works so well because the film had a very dark and gloomy tone to it. It has the feel of an Edgar Poe Story, which the film is based on. It also helped that the film looked professionally shot. Di Nuzino along with his Cinematographer James Sullivan does a very good job making sure the look of the film fit with the film’s dark tone. It helped enhances the film’s dark aspects. This is one of the better looking short films that I’ve seen. Di Nuzino also did a very good job with the way he directs the performances. He makes sure that his cast had chemistry with each other. Both Fiore Leo and Leighsa Burgin did a very good job with the way that they approach their characters. They made them interesting, as they both worked very well with each other. The performances helped make the material work on screen.

Di Nuzino’s screenplay was also another reason that I liked this a lot. He does a very good job exploring the main character’s state of mind during the course of the film. I liked how everything wasn’t rushed. The screenplay takes its time developing the main character, as he descends into madness. By doing that it helped keep my interested, as I was interested in the character. The other thing that I liked about the story was the fact develops the main character and the story. Di Nuzino takes his time developing the main character relationship with his wife, so that it feels shocking when he goes into madness. It allows the film to have very gloomy tone, which is present throughout the story.

“Her Heart Still Beats” is a very effective thriller that keeps your interest through it story and very good direction from Christopher Di Nuzino. It should be checked out, when “The Ripping” DVD hits stores.

The film will be released as an extra on “The Ripping” DVD, which is scheduled for release on 11/19.

For more information on this film, you can visit the film’s official Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Her-Heart-Still-Beats

“Bounty Killer” is a film that I’ve been wanting check out, even since hearing about it for the first time. It recently played at this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival.

The film takes place when the major corporations have control of all of the world’s governments. Their drive for power and money led society to ruins. Out of all of this chaos, the council of nine rose to take over in the Dark Age. Soon all white collar criminals have warrants out for their deaths. The hunters that are hunting them for sport. Now, they’re out to end corporate greed and provide some sort of retribution to those who survived the apocalypse.

Going into this film, I was hoping that this would be a fun film to the level of “Grindhouse” or “Machete” type of film. Even though this film did meet my expectations, I was surprised that it exceeded them. I was very into this film from the start.

Most of that had to do with co-writer and director Henry Saine with the way that he handles the direction. He does a very good job making sure that everything moves a good pace. Whether it’s the style that Saine uses to get the film’s look to the way that the gory action scenes are directed, it made the film have its fun feel to it. It’s hard to do with the limited budget that he and crew encounters but they did a very good job making the film look right and have action scenes that kept my interest. The other thing that I liked about his direction was the way that he makes the performances work with the story at hand. Saine does a very good job making sure that his main cast made their characters stand out from each other. His cast show some personality to their characters, as they felt different from one another. It was another factor that made me like this film a lot.

The screenplay written by Saine, Jason Dobson and Colin Ebeling does a very good job with the way that they’ve created this grindhouse/pulp comic type story. The screenplay does a very job making sure that the story moves along. Whether it’s the out of control action scenes to the backstory of the characters, the writers did a good job making sure the story had a certain comic book vibe to it. It made the scenes work very well, as it made the film fun to watch. The other thing that I liked about the screenplay was the fact that the characters were good and fun to watch. They felt like they literally came off a comic book page. It helped make these over the top action scenes work for me, as I was enjoying this film. It’s something that you don’t see with these grindhouse type films.

Fans of films like the original “Death Race 2000”, “Tank Girl” and “Machete” are going to love this film. With its homage to grindhouse action films and pulp comics, “Bounty Killer” is fun filled action packed film.

Review Rating: Four Stars

When I first heard about “Gingerdead Man vs Evil Bong”, I was skeptical about the film, because the two franchises felt different. I figured I’d give this film a shot since I liked the first two “Evil Bong” films and liked the last “Gingerdead Man” film.

The serial killer cookie known as the Gingerdead Man is back to track down Sarah, the only survivor of his murderous rampage and finish what he started. His plan goes haywire, when Sarah meets Larnell, a stoner who’s is still in possession of an Evil Bong. Gingerdead Man leaves a trail of bodies, as the only thing that can help them is that dread bong. This leads to all sorts of craziness in bong world.

Going into “Gingerdead Man vs Evil Bong”, I thought the whole concept between two of Full Moon staples wouldn’t work considering that there different from one another. But for some weird reason, I was kept entertained and interested even though it didn’t have the feel of a horror film for most of the film’s running time.

One of the main reason that I enjoyed this was Charles Band’s direction. Even though his direction has gotten away from the Empire/Full Moon classics like “Trancers” and “Blood Dolls”, the films that he’s done as of lately have been different with the exception of “Puppet Master X”. What makes Band’s direction good, he’s able to make sure that the film keeps moving. Whether it’s the dialogue scenes or the action, you never feel like you’re never left disappointed with the end result. Band also does a good job making sure the acting added to the fun time. You’re never going to get a perfect story with a Charles Band film, but he almost always makes sure that his cast make their characters fun. It was the case here, as the performances were fun to watch. It’s not going to win any awards, but at least I felt entertained and was having a good time.

The screenplay from Kent Roudebush was good for the most part. He does a good job with the way he handles the dialogue of the film. It makes some of comedy scenes work especially in the beginning, as it was funny and kept my interest in the film. It was something that I didn’t enjoy with the last “Evil Bong” film. This film however has kept me entertained, considering most of it is spend on backstory.

Speaking of the backstory, there was two things that I felt about it. It was nice that it gave a chance to go over what the two franchises have done to this point. It gave someone, who hasn’t seen either the “Evil Bong” or “Gingerdead Man” films a recap of what previously happen with those two franchises. The problem that I had with it was, it felt like it took half of film to explain everything. Maybe it was a good thing in hindsight, but it felt long for me that has watched all of those films. It would’ve been nice to trim that a little bit, but this is a much better “Evil Bong” film than the previous film.

“Gingerdead Man vs Evil Bong” may not be the best film that Charles Band has done, but his direction and good humor makes this film fun.
Gingerdead Man vs Evil Bong” is now streaming on Full Moon Streaming. You can subscribe by clicking this link. The film will available on DVD in January.

Review Rating: Three Stars

“Unfinished Song” is a film that I’ve personally been looking forward too, since first hearing about it. What interested me about the film was the cast. Terence Stamp has been one of those actors that I always enjoy seeing. Whether in small roles like “Star Wars: Episode One” or major roles like “Get Smart” or my personal favorite “The Limey”, he feels like a welcome presence to any film. That’s what drew me into this film. It also helped that this has a very good supporting cast including Gemma Arterton (Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters), Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who) and Vanessa Redgrave (Howards End).

The film is about grumpy old man (Terrance Stamp), who lives life through a routine. One day his wife (Vanessa Redgrave) wants him to get out more and experience life. She take him to her a singing group that is led by a charismatic young woman (Gemma Arterton). He begins to form an unlikely friendship with this woman, which leads him to his discovery of music, which gives him reason to live and try and reconnect with the ones that matter to him most.

Going into this film, I was expecting to like this film given the cast. Was I ever disappointing at the end result. It wasn’t the cast fault, as they made it watchable. It was mostly the screenplay and the direction to some extent.

Paul Andrew Williams’ direction for the most part was alright. He does a great job with the way that he directs the main performances. Williams does a very good job making sure that the cast made their characters interesting. He does that very well, by making the main cast had good chemistry. It made some of the scenes work. The thing that I didn’t like about his direction was the fact the felt lagging at times. I don’t if it was this screenplay but there were a couple of scenes with the singing that made me lose interest. It felt like the scene were going a little long especially in the beginning. Thankfully, the performances were good enough to save this film from becoming a boring film.

Williams’ screenplay was subpar at best. He does a good job with the way that he handles the character development. It helped saved the story, once it got away from focusing solely on the comedic and singing aspects of the film and became focused on the main characters. I was interested with the characters, as this was an interesting story. You see how the main character changes during the course of the film. It made the main character interesting. Too bad, that it has elements that hurt the flow of the film.

There were two problem that I had with this screenplay, the film didn’t need the narration from Arterton’s character in the beginning and end of the film. It felt like the film was more about her than Stamp’s character, which is what the film is supposed to be about. It felt a little puzzling to me because this is his story not hers. The other problem that I had was that I didn’t like the fact that some of the comedic and singing scenes in the beginning felt too long. It slowed the story and the comedic scene didn’t feel funny. Thankfully the film tries to move away that and make about the characters, as it recovers in the second half to end strongly.

DVD Extras:
Sadly, there isn’t many extras on this DVD. The DVD only has deleted scenes and outtakes. It would’ve been nice to see a commentary track or a behind the scenes featurette here, as I would’ve liked some insight to how this film was made.

Final Summary:
Sadly, this film had a lot of potential coming in. This had a good cast that kept me entertained. But with direction that lagged at times and scenes went too long. Thankfully, the film’s recovers, but “Unfinished Song” at the end of the day felt like an unfinished film.

Review Rating: Two and a Half Stars
DVD Extras: One Star

John Carpenter’s “Halloween” has been a favorite of mine over the years. When I first heard about this new edition, I was excited because the film was getting a new transfer and the fact that this looked like this was going to be a very good blu-ray.

The classic horror film follows Michael Myers, a mental patient who escapes from the hospital on the eve of Halloween. He goes back to a town called Haddonfield, IL fifteen years later after killing his sister in cold blood. There, he begin to stalk a young girl and her friends. Once the night comes, his reign of terror begins and the only person that can stop him is his psychiatrist that knows that he has come home to finish what he started.

One of things that made this film a classic was John Carpenter’s direction. He does a very good job making sure the scenes build up tension. Whether it was the way the film was shot to Carpenter’s score of the film, everything kept you on the edge of your seat. It helped enhance the story and it kept my interest. The other thing that made his direction work was the way he directed the action sequences. Those scenes were suspenseful and scary at times. It kept you on edge of your seat, especially with last twenty minutes of the film. Every time Michael Myers appeared on screen, I felt scared which is very rare for a masked villain of this genre. It’s a combination of the look of the mask and the way the finale played out that has kept my interest for almost fifteen years, when I first saw the television version of the film.

The acting was also as good as the film itself. Carpenter does a very good job making sure the performances were as good as his direction. He takes his time to make sure the performances fit the film’s dark tone. It made the characters interesting and you’re invested in them. The other thing that I like about the acting was that both Jamie Lee Curtis and the late Donald Pleasances did a very good job making sure that the characters stood out from the film’s main character. The film can be as good as your villain, but you need actors to help make the villain feel scary. Whether it’s Curtis as one of the three stalked babysitters or Pleasances as the person trying to stop Myers’ reign of terror, both of them did a very good job making sure their performances were also crucial parts of the film to the film’s success.

The screenplay written by Carpenter and Debra Hill also was a major part in why the film is a classic today. One of the things that this did very well was to make everything have a dark and frightening tone to them. Whether it was the beginning of the film to the film’s final scene, it gave me that terrifying feel that you don’t see in many slasher films. The other thing that the screenplay does very well, it manages to keep you scared. The writers did a very good job writing scenes that were scary and kept you on the edge of your seat. That’s what made the film’s story work very well, as I was interested where the film was going and providing some very scary moments that are still scary to this day.

Blu-Ray Extras:

The extras start off with a brand new commentary track featuring direction john Carpenter and Actress Jamie Lee Curtis. This was a very good commentary track. The track goes over a lot of things like how the film was shot to how some of the scenes were created. They also provide interesting stories about the film and talk about Carpenter directing style. It’s definitely worth a listen for fans of the film.
After the commentary track, the next featurette is “The Night She Came Home”. The featurette goes into James Lee Curtis appearance at Horrorhound Weekend that took place back in November 2012. The featurette an interview with Jamie Lee Curtis along with interviews from Halloween fans talking about her appearance in the film. This feels more like a reality piece than a documentary. It goes more into her appearance at the convention than about her talking about the film. It was okay, but it felt too long.

The next featurette is “On Location: 25 Years Later”. The featurette is imported from the film’s first blu-ray edition. The featurette goes into the locations that were used in the film. It was a good look at the locations that were used in the film, even though it felt short.
The disc wraps up with scenes from the TV version of the film, trailers and TV spots. The only problem that I have with this release was that it could’ve used a retrospective documentary on the film. It would’ve been nice to have it on the disc given the importance of the film, as I’m interested in that.

Final Summary:

“Halloween” 30th anniversary edition blu-ray was a good disc, even though it lacks a retrospective documentary. It’s worth the purchase for its great HD remastered look and it’s commentary track with John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Review Rating: Five Stars
Blu-Ray Extras: Two and a Half Stars

The review is for the 2D version

Over the last couple of years, I’ve been very entertained by the films of Dario Argento. Whether it’s the Three Mothers Trilogy (Suspiria, Inferno, Mother of Tears) or films like “Opera” and “Tenerbre”, they’ve managed to be suspenseful and entertaining. With his latest film “Dracula”, I wasn’t expecting much as this seems more generic than his previous films.

The film is a young man, who is sent to Dracula’s castle to catalog his library. He becomes enticed by Dracula and goes missing. A couple of days later his fiancée arrives to find out that he has going missing. Staying with her best friend Lucy who is under the spell of Dracula, she starts to find out about Dracula. Later, she runs into Dr. Van Helsing, who’s out to put an end to Dracula’s reign of terror. Can they find a way to stop Dracula before his reign of terror threatens the whole town?

Going into “Dario Argento’s Dracula”, I thought that I was going to hate the film. The film had a lot of bad buzz going in plus Argento’s last film “Gallo” was flat out awful. I thought that this was the film that was going make me lose faith in Argento. Even though this is not one of his best films, I still had a good time with Argento’s “Dracula”.

Argento’s direction was very good. He does a good job making sure the film had a very dark and gothic look and tone to it. It helped made the Dracula character very dark and right for the time period. It was also one of the things that kept me interested and liking this film. The other thing that makes Argento’s film work for me was the acting. He does a very good job in getting the performances to fit the film’s tone and made sure there was chemistry between his cast. Thomas Kretschmann who played Dracula in the film was good in the role. He made the character very dark and mysterious, which made the character very Gothic. It’s what the famous vampire should be like on screen.

The screenplay written by Argento, Enrique Cerezo, Stefano Piani and Antonio Tentori was good for the most part. One of the things that made this screenplay good was the fact the film had consistent tone. This was one of the most gothic and bloody Dracula films that I’ve seen in while. The film had a dark tone that gave the story its gothic feel. It helped kept my interest, since I like my vampire films to have this tone. The other thing that this screenplay does right was the way they made Dracula very mysterious like. Whether it’s the look of the character or the way that he supposed to interact with the characters on the page, it made this Dracula look very dark like in the Universal classic films or the Coppola version. It made the character interesting, as I was glued to seeing his next move.

Even though this is a positive review, there were a couple of things that I didn’t like and bugged me. The first thing was the editing. The transitions from one scene to another felt rushed and ruined the flow of the film a bit. It just felt it was edited too fast or didn’t transition well to the next scene. Thankfully, that was kept to a minimum as that didn’t become too distracting for the most part. The other thing that I didn’t like was the way that Van Helsing was used. I thought, he should’ve been used more in the story considering that he’s an important character in “Dracula”. But once the character came into the story, it was used properly made me forget that he was not there throughout the first half of the film.

This is one of those films that I’m going to get criticized for liking, but it manage to keep my interest despite the flaws. “Dario Argento’s Dracula” may not be a perfect film, it’s one of the most gothic adaptations that I’ve seen of the story in a while and its worth checking out.

Review Rating: Three Stars.

“6 Souls” is a film that I’ve waiting to see for a while, but haven’t had the time to see it. What drew me to this film was the fact that it had an interesting trailer and the film stars Julianne Moore, the star of such films as “Magnolia”, “Children of Men” and most recently “Game Change”.

The film follows Doctor Cara Harding (Julianne Moore), a person whose faith in god was shaken, after the death of her husband. She attempts to move on, when she is introduced to Adam (Johnathan Rhys Meyers), a patient who has multiple personalities and displays physical characteristics of his other victims. She rapidly finds out that those personalities are some of her new client’s past victims. As she digs deeper into her client’s past, she and those around her becomes closer to becoming his next victims. The film also co-stars Jeffery Demunn (The Walking Dead) and Francis Conroy (American Horror Story).

This was one of those films, where I felt very disappointed because I was really hoping that this would be entertaining. This looked like a good film on paper. It had a good cast plus I really liked Marlind & Stein’s last film “Underworld: Awakening”. Still that wasn’t enough to help me like this film, as this was a very boring film from start to finish.

One of the main reasons was the direction. This film felt like a three and a half hour film, as Marlind and Stein’s direction was very flat and lifeless. There was no energy to most of the scenes. You can’t have that with a film like this. If you’re not entertained by the way the scenes work through the direction, then you’re sitting there desperately waiting for the film to end. It felt more like a television film than theatrical film. The acting wasn’t better neither. The performances felt like had no personality to them. Marlind and Stein doesn’t do anything to make the characters interesting, instead it was hard watching the performances especially Julianne Moore. Her performance was very lifeless, as I didn’t care about her character. Maybe it had to do with the horrible screenplay, but still I was waiting for some life in the character. Sadly. I didn’t see that at any time in her performance.

The other thing that I didn’t like about the production aspect was the editing. I know this is not fully both of the director’s fault, but this was one of the film’s major problems. There is no reason why this film needed a 112 minute running time. It felt like most of the scenes went on too long or should’ve been cut. It made the experience much more painful to watch and it made the film feel longer than it should’ve been.

The screenplay was even worse than the direction. Michael Cooney’s screenplay was very lifeless from start to finish. One of the reasons was his characters. All of the film’s character had no personality whatsoever. Cooney doesn’t do anything to make sure that the characters are interesting. Instead, there was a bunch of characters playing only one note. When that happens, the characters are very dull and makes you not care about anything. The other thing that I hated about it was the fact the story was very boring. Maybe it was the story goes in too many different directions or that there wasn’t enough development of the character, but it wasn’t interested. It hurt this film in a big way, as this was one of the hardest to sit through this year.

This is one of the worst film that I’ve seen this year by far. “6 Souls” is a was very dull film with lifeless direction and running time that made me felt like I was watching a three and a half hour film.

Review Rating: One Star.

It’s been a while, since yours truly has reviewed a micro budget independent film for the site. I’ve been busy reviewing the latest releases on Blu-Ray here, but it’s good to be back doing what I like doing here on this site. Reviewing some of the latest films in independent cinema.

Going into this film, I was very interested in the film’s premise. The film is a romantic comedy that takes place during impending apocalypse. That’s the case with “Christ Complex”, a film that was made with a $1,500 budget.

The film follows Zoey, a young woman who doesn’t know what she wants if life. She spend her time saving trouble men to her own satisfaction. One Day, she meets Quinn. He’s convinced that he’s the savior and also believes fighting his best friend to the death is the only way to stop an impending Armageddon. Zoey must now find a way to help Quinn realize reality while confronting her own problems that have come back to haunt her.

I was surprised that I enjoyed “Christ Complex”. Most of the reason that I enjoyed this was the fact that the direction was good. I wasn’t expecting something great, but director Jeffery Scott Richards made a very entertaining film considering the film’s budget. One of things that I liked about his direction was the fact that he keeps the film moving at a good pace. He does that, by balancing the film’s vulgar humor and the film’s story at hand. It kept me entertained through the film’s running time, as some of the scenes were funny. The other thing that Richards does very well was to make sure his cast brought personality to their roles and had chemistry with each other. The acting here helps cover the fact that this film was made on a small budget. In films like these, you need the acting to be entertaining enough that it covers up those flaws. Richards does a very good job with that aspect, as the performances were quirky enough to make the humor work on screen.

The screenplay by Richards for the most part was good. One of the things that I liked about the screenplay was the way the characters were giving quirky personalities. Richards does a very good job giving certain traits to his characters. It allows the humor to be funny and make the characters interesting as his cast delivers their lines. This is usually a good trait to have in a comedy film like this, because it makes the film fun. Speaking of the dialogue, it’s the other that I liked. It was very witty and vulgar in a good way. Richards does a very good job with coming up with lines that make you laugh instead of just being plain bored. It’s very essential to have that even if you’re making a very low budget film, because if the lines aren’t funny then most likely the film won’t work to the person who’s viewing it. Some of the lines in this film were laugh out loud funny.

If there was one problem that I had with this screenplay was the fact that some of the character development felt rushed. It’s probably more the fact that the film is only sixty-two minutes, but it could’ve used another ten or fifteen pages to flesh everything out. Thankfully it didn’t hurt it that much, as was enjoying everything else.

“Christ Complex” is a film that I had a very good time for a film on youtube. With funny dialogue and quirky performances, this film is sure to be fun time for those viewing it.

“Christ Complex” is available for Free on SDTC Productions’ Youtube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqGFmF0g5MA

Review Rating: Three and a Half Stars.

With the exception of “Scream of the Banshee”, Steven C. Miller’s films have been very good. Whether it’s his debut “Automation Transfusion” to his last film the remake of the classic horror film “Silent Night”, his films have been entertaining. With his new film “Under the Bed”, I was hoping that this wouldn’t be like “The Aggression Scale”. I liked that film, but I was worried that this might be the same film that I saw a year ago.

The film is about a teenager (Jonny Weston), who is returning home two years later after being exiled following an encounter with a monster that had tragic circumstances. Now living with his nervous father, his new stepmother and his little brother (Gattlin Griffith), he is hoping to get things back to where they were before that fateful night. But it’s not long before the monster returns to terrorize him and his family. Now with his little brother only believing him, he must find a way to kill the monster before it kills him and his family.

The fact that Miller was doing another children in peril so soon after “The Aggression Scale” was going to hurt any chances of me liking this film. Both films has similar theme with children in peril. Instead of hit men, you have a monster causing the danger. But, I was surprised the comparisons stopped there, as “Under the Bed” is a more terrifying and horrific film from his previous film with that subject matter.

Most of that had to do with Steven C. Miller’s direction. He does a very good job making sure the film has a very dark and intense feel to it. Miller does a very good job building the suspense and tension aspects that go along with some of the scenes, especially in the beginning. There was a lot scenes where it had me on edge. Whether it be the jump scares during the film or the final act of the film, the scenes were filmed very well and the action comes off as intense. It helped made some of the scenes come off as scary and not dumb. The other thing that Miller does well was his ability to work with his cast to get the performances that he needs. Like in all of his previous films, the acting was good. He’s able to get his cast to make sure that they make the performances fit the film’s dark tone. It made the characters and the story interesting as the film went along.

The screenplay written by Eric Stolze was surprisingly good considering the expectations that I had with that aspect going into this film. One of the things that makes his screenplay work was the fact that this didn’t feel like your typical monsters under the bed type of story. What he’s able to effectively was making using the elements and making it completely dark with some violence that you don’t see with this type of story. It made the film work very well as a serious horror film. The other thing that I liked was the fact that I liked the main characters a lot. Stolze does a very good job making sure that the relationship between the brothers and the family work. Everything was developed well enough, so that everything made sense in the story department. It helped make the better and I was more into the film than I thought I was going to be.

It’s amazing that I liked this film as much as I did, because I thought the film was going to feel like an episode of an old horror TV show called “Goosebumps”. But with its edginess and very good direction from Steven C. Miller, “Under the Bed” will scare the hell out of you.
Review Rating: Four Stars.

“Kick Ass” was one of the most rebellious movies (let alone comic book movies) to be released in the past few years. Unlike other movies of its ilk, it refused to play it safe and managed to balance out the humor and violence almost perfectly to where we enjoyed its gleefully dark and subversive tone. Despite the fact that “Kick Ass” only made about $48 million at the box office domestically, its cult following on DVD and Blu-ray helped ensure that a sequel would be made. Overall, it adds to the rebellious tone of “Kick Ass” that a sequel got made to it at all. While it didn’t get the same sized audience as “The Dark Knight,” “The Avengers” or “Iron Man,” nothing was going to stop this unique masked hero’s story from continuing.

Time has passed since Dave Lizewski (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Mindy Macready (Chloë Grace Moretz) retired their alter egos of Kick Ass and Hit Girl to go to high school and lead normal lives. Dave, however, finds himself getting bored and soon finds himself wanting to get back to his superhero fighting ways, and he gets Mindy to train him to be as powerful a fighter as she is. This serves as a reminder that Dave, while emerging as a hero at the end of “Kick Ass,” still wasn’t much of a fighter and really got lucky with a bazooka.

Mindy, however, is pressured by her new guardian, Sergeant Marcus Williams (Morris Chestnut), to retire her crime fighting ways. She reluctantly does so even though everything inside of her cries to protect the city from law breaking scum. Although we know she won’t stay away from being Hit Girl forever, it allows the filmmakers to place her in an environment she is completely alien to: high school. That is, when she’s not skipping school and going to her and her dad’s secret hideout to hide from the world.

Meanwhile, Chris D'Amico (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is still seething with rage at Kick Ass who killed his father in the previous film and he vows revenge. Unfortunately for him, his mother ended up throwing his Red Mist costume away, and he is forced to find a new masked persona. Upon finding some S&M clothing his mother, unbeknownst to Chris, had hidden from sight, he uses it to craft a costume that will reinvent himself as the world’s first supervillain. He soon calls himself The Mother Fucker, and he hires his own gang of ex-convicts and sociopaths to bring down Kick Ass.

The first half of “Kick Ass 2” is a lot of fun as it manages to maintain its predecessor’s incendiary fun as it found humor in its ultra-violent tale of crime fighting and vengeance. Dave ends up joining a gang called Justice Forever which has among its members Doctor Gravity (Donald Faison), Night Bitch (Lindy Booth), and Colonel Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey). With this group of people, Dave comes to see how his alter ego of Kick Ass has had a major effect on ordinary citizens. Each of these characters is unique in their own way, and I liked how they were eager to help people more than anything else. Of course, their ways of helping people can seem a bit unorthodox.

As with the first movie, Chloë Grace Moretz steals the show as Hit Girl. Seeing this unusual superhero get back to her ass kicking ways is something we have been waiting all summer to see. Some of the best moments in “Kick Ass 2” come when she is forced to attend the hell that is high school and try to fit in with the popular girls who are infinitely spoiled. Seeing Hit Girl’s reaction to them showing her a video of the latest generic boy band was alone worth the price of admission. Moretz continues to play this character with a superlative confidence that sets her apart from other actresses her age.

While part of me wished that Dave was a little more past his socially awkward ways than in the first film, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is still terrific as the character. Just when you thought he was a certified bad ass, it turns out that Dave and his alter ego of Kick Ass still have a lot of work to do to get to that level. The workout sessions Between Johnson and Moretz feel quite painful, and they make for a great team throughout. Johnson actually has quite the role to work with here as Dave goes through the highs of being a superhero to experiencing the terrible lows that come with the real world, and it feels like his performance here will be one of the more underrated performances of 2013. Plus, he ends up wearing a t-shirt that I would just love to add to my collection (you’ll know it when you see it).

Christopher Mintz-Plasse still has fun making Chris D’Amico a hopelessly spoiled son of a mob boss, but his character also takes a much darker turn this time around. Still, Plasse portrays him broadly to where we realize that he’s not quite as evil as the company he surrounds himself with. While Chris is far more unlikable this time around, we still get a kick out of watching Plasse continually stumble around in an attempt to be cool. He also gets nice support from John Leguizamo as his right hand man Javier.

But for me, one of the real highlights of “Kick Ass 2” was Jim Carrey who played  Sal Bertolinni (a.k.a. Colonel Stars and Stripes). Now Carrey could have upstaged all the other actors in this film if he wasn’t careful, but he really comes across as a team player here. No one should have to be reminded of what a fine actor Carrey is. For crying out loud, they should have handed him the damn Oscar for “Man on the Moon!” As Colonel Stars and Stripes, he gives us a character that could have been a one-dimensional joke, but he succeeds in making him so much more than that. When you put Carrey in the right role, he can perform wonders.

I am bummed that Matthew Vaughn didn’t come back as director for this one or even for next year’s follow up to “X-Men: First Class.” What’s his excuse anyway? Oh well, Jeff Wadlow, who previously directed “Never Back Down” and “Cry Wolf,” takes over directorial duties on this sequel, and he manages for the most part to balance out the humor and violence presented here. Wadlow, however, is not quite as successful towards the movie’s finale where the comic energy loses steam and things become more nasty than funny. Still, I think “Kick Ass 2” is better than most film critics have made it out to be.

This sequel does suffer a bit as it is a little more conventional than its predecessor. You come to have a good idea of how things are going to conclude which robs the story of its suspense at times. I was also bummed to see Dave’s girlfriend, Katie Deauxma (Lyndsy Fonseca), get the Elisabeth Shue “Karate Kid Part II” treatment as her character was thrown to the curb for no reason other than the fact that the filmmakers didn’t know what to do with her character. Seriously, would Katie really be that quick to dump a superhero?

I also would have liked it if The Mother Fucker’s group of supervillains were a little more developed as characters. We get to know the vigilantes of the Justice Forever group in a lot more detail such as Colonel Stars and Stripes who was a mob enforcer before he became a born again Christian (don’t use the lord’s name in vain around him). I also have to say that Miranda Swendlow/Night Bitch (Lindy Booth) is quite the sexy superhero. But with villains like Mother Russia, they come across as a bit too one-dimensional and it feels like moments for pure satire are really missed out on here.

But when all is said and done, I very much enjoyed “Kick Ass 2” for what it was. There’s no beating Moretz as Hit Girl, Johnson makes you feel the pain of doing those one-arm pull ups, and Carrey is a welcome addition to the franchise. Here’s hoping that there’s a “Kick Ass 3” in the future. I’m still having a lot of fun with this series, and there is still a future worth exploring for these characters.

By the way, there is a post-credits sequence which spells out the fate of a certain character. It’s a little lame, but it’s there if you want to wait for it.

* * * ½ out of * * * *

“The Demented” is a film that I had no plans on seeing, until I found out the film was produced by the original makers of “A Nightmare on Elm Street”. It immediately grabbed my interest, even though I went into the film feeling a sense of caution.

The film is about a group of friends, who go on a weekend getaway to the Louisiana bayou for some fun. Their weekend is cut short, when rouge terrorists launch a chemical missile strike on the Gulf Coast. The aftermath of the blast released a biological agent that is turning people into crazed flesh eating zombies. As everything is spreading and everything spirals out of control, the group of friends are trapped in a hellish nightmare of out of control violence and flesh eating people.

I really liked “The Demented”. One of the reasons why this film is good was the direction. Writer/director Christopher Roosevelt does a very good job with the way that he directs the film’s intense sequences. He makes sure that the camera work along with the way that the scenes were planned helped create an intense and shocking feel. It helps keep my interest throughout. The other thing that makes his direction good was the fact that he manages to direct his cast. I thought, Roosevelt did a great job making sure the performances were very good. The cast did a very good job with the way that they handled the material. The performances is also what helped made this more intense than it should have been. Sarah Butler was very good in the lead role, as she made her character engaging with the way that she handled the action scenes and the way she approaches her character. The film also has a good supporting cast that includes Kayla Ewell (The Vampire Diaries), Richard Kohnke (The Carrie Diaries) and Michael Welch (Twilight). The performances along with the directing helped make this film work on a production and acting level.

The screenplay was also good. Roosevelt did a very good job with the way that he wrote the action sequences. The scenes had intensity that kept you on the edge of your seat. The action is what really kept my interest, as I was glued to the action and the story that was going on. The other thing that made this good was the fact that it doesn’t rush things. I liked, the way that he takes his time introducing the characters. The characters come off as very basic, but Roosevelt spends time setting them up that you’re interested in them. By doing that, it allows the characters to develop. He spends his time making sure that the characters are likable so that you’re into the film and you feel a reaction when a character meets an untimely end. When that happens, you become interested and it also makes the action more intense.

“The Demented” kind of surprised me, as I didn’t think that I was going to like this. I thought this would be a “28 Days Later” rip-off, but the intense action, good direction and a very good cast makes this film work.

Review Rating: Four Stars

“Detention of the Dead” is the latest high school horror/comedy that’s been released in a six month span. With a tag line like “When There is No Room in Hell The Dead Go To Detention”, I had to check this film out, Even though, it’s starting to become overkill with horror/comedies being set in a high school setting.

The film is about a bunch of teenagers, who end up in detention and can’t get along with each other. They include a lovesick nerd (Jacob Zachar), a Goth girl (Alexa Nikolas), a snobbish cheerleader (Chirsta B. Allen), her boyfriend (Jayson Blair) that likes to bully people for fun, a stoner (Justin Chon) that’s high and unintelligent football jock (Max Alder). Their day in detention takes a turn for the worse, when they find out that hoards of zombies have taken over the halls of their school. This makes it a much worse experience for them than it already is. Now, they must band together and put all of their personal differences to make it out alive before the zombie take over the school.

Going into this film, I wasn’t too keen about watching another horror/comedy that takes place in high school in short time span, considering that I’ve recently watched “Bad Kids Go to Hell” and the fact that I’m interested in watching Lloyd Kaufman’s upcoming “Return to Nuke Em’ High Vol 1”. I really wasn’t excited about “Detention of the Dead” going in, but I have to say that this was a better film than “Bad Kids Go to Hell”.

One of the main reasons was Alex Craig Mann’s direction. I liked, the way that he’s able to balance all of the horror and comedy elements and make them effective. You had some moments in the film that were downright bloody and moments where you laughing at some of the film’s funnier scenes. It made this enjoyable, as he able to make both of the aspects work well that it works both on a horror and comedy level. The other thing that I liked was that Mann does a good job directing his cast. The acting here was pretty good. He able to get his cast to make their characters have personality in their performances through various quirks and chemistry that the cast has. It made me interested in the characters and it also helped with some of the film’s humor. The acting really helped make this film fun to watch.

The screenplay written by Craig and Rob Rinow (also wrote the play, which the film is based on) does a very good job in creating an entertaining and fun screenplay. One of the reasons that made this film fun, the way that the writers blend elements of films like “The Breakfast Club”, “Night of the Living Dead” and “Shaun of the Dead” into the film’s story. It made the story funny and entertaining instead of dull and lifelessness for ninety minutes. It also made sure that it kept you interested in both the characters development and the story aspects of the film. The other thing that Craig and Rinow did well was to make the characters interesting. This could have been easily a high school clichéd film with the typical characters and boring action. What the writers did here was to counteract that by creating funny scenes that have laughs to it and action that is bloody and intense that it covers up those facts. Never did I get a sense that these characters were from other films or the action was boring. When that combination of clichéd characters and action work in horror/comedies then you’re going to end up having a good time, which I did watching this film.

I had a very good time with “Detention of the Dead”. It’s one of those films, where you’re going to have a fun time whether or not you like the zombie genre. It’s got blood and very effective humor that will keep you entertained.

Review Rating: Four Stars.

“Hands of the Ripper” is the fourth Hammer film that yours truly has gotten around to see. The film is widely known as one Hammer’s most gruesome films. Still, I was interested in seeing because of the good luck that I’ve had with a couple of other previous Hammer films.

The film follows Anna, who witnesses a murder of her mother at an early age. The person responsible for her death is Jack the Ripper, aka her father. Years later, she is living with a fake psychic and forced into a horrible life of prostitution. One day, her caregiving is killed mysteriously. A doctor (Eric Porter) believes that Anna killed her, but can’t understand why she did it. He begins to use new Freudian psychoanalysis to find out why she committed the crime. He finds that she’s possessed by the spirit of the notorious killer. Now, he has find a way to stop this unspeakable evil before it too late.

Going into this film, I knew that this was going to be different from the other Hammer films that I’ve previously seen. Still, I enjoyed “Hands of the Ripper” for its dark gothic tone.

The direction here was very good. Director Peter Sasoy does a very good job establishing the film’s tone. Everything had a dark and eerie tone to it, which helped build tension for many of the film’s scenes and made everything feel very gloomy. He also handles the death scenes very well, as its very gory. The gore come off as very horrific and bloody and severed a purpose to the film. It made those death scenes feel a little more shocking for its time period. The performances were very good. I liked the way that he directed his cast. Sasoy does a good job making sure that the performances were good and the cast had good chemistry. It made the characters interesting to watch and kept my interest with the material.

The screenplay written by L.W Davidson was a good one. One of the things that I liked about the screenplay was that it had an interesting story. I liked how, the story focuses on its main characters. Davidson does a very good job with the way that he handles both Anna and Dr. Pritchard. He makes sure that he develops those characters enough that you’re interested in Dr. Pritchard’s obsession in finding out why Anna is murdering these people. The other thing that I liked about this was the way that Davidson made the tone of the film work so well. He does a good job making sure the films has this very distinct tone to it. Whether it was the way the death scenes were written to the psychological and supernatural aspects, everything had a very dark feel to it. It made the horror aspects of The film work so well. It’s a very solid screenplay from this time period of horror.

Blu-Ray Extras:

The first featurette is “The Devil’s Bloody Plaything: Possesed by Hands of the Ripper”. The featurette features interviews from film and Hammer historians, director Peter Sasoy and actresses Jane Merrow and the late Angharad Rees through voiceover. This was a very good featurette, as you got perspective on the film from a historical and filmmaking standpoint. From the production of the film to the various cuts that happened due fights with the censor board, everything was informative and interesting. If you like this film, this worth checking out after watching the film.

The next featurette is “Slaughter of the Innocents: The Evolution of the Gore – Motion Stills Gallery”. This features gory stills from past hammer films such as “Curse of Frankenstein, “Quatermass 2”, “Dracula” and “Kiss of the Vampire” to name a few.

After that, its “Hands of the Ripper” – Motion Stills Gallery. This featurette features a mixture of photos that includes film stills, lobby cards, theatrical posters and behind the scenes photos.

The disc then wraps up with U.S television introductions, original U.S. Theatrical Trailer and TV spots.

Final Summary:

Overall, “Hands of the Ripper” is a very effective psychological horror film with good direction and a solid screenplay. It’s not my favorite Hammer film, but it’s still a very solid gothic film.

Review Rating: Four Stars.
Blu-Ray Extras: Three Stars.

Continue the trend of reviews of remakes today. Going into this year, “Evil Dead” was one of the films that I was most curious about considering that the original film is one the great horror films ever made in my opinion. Even though there was good press from horror sites, I still was cautious about it.

The film follows a group of friends who head to the woods in hope of curing Mia’s (Jane Levy) drug addiction. Once they get into the house, they stumble upon the powerful book that can summon the undead. A person from the group accidently reads from the book and accidently releases unspeakable evil. The friends are forced to fight this bloodthirsty force before they become possessed by it. “Evil Dead” also co-stars Shiloh Fernandez (Deadgirl), Lou Taylor Pucci (Carriers) and Jessica Lewis (Cloverfield).

Going into “Evil Dead”, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. I liked the original and hold it in high regard, but I was very surprised that this was equally as good as the original.

One of the reason that made the “Evil Dead” remake work was Fede Alvarez’s direction. I was surprised that I enjoyed the direction considering that this is his first feature film. Alvarez does a very good job with the way that builds tension to the scenes. It allows for some of the horrific scenes feel scary and intense. The gore scenes were also done effectively. Alvarez and his effects team did a very good job in making the gore feel more horrifying than cartoonish. It made for a very effective horror film.

The acting here was very better than I expected going in. Alvarez gets very good performances from his main cast including Jane Levy, as the heroine Mia. Levy does a very good job making the character interesting, as you’re interested in the character and her struggles. It was a key component to making the character work for me. The supporting performances were also very good, as both Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci were very good, as they carried the film well during the time when the main character was possessed. Levy’s performance and the supporting performances is what helps make the film work so well from an acting standpoint.

The screenplay written by Alverez and Rodo Sayagues was very good. I liked that they didn’t try and copy things from the original movie. This film felt different. First, I liked that they didn’t include Ash in the film. I know that this might anger fans of the original. But if the character was in the film, you would had some sort of backlash that would’ve been a distraction for some as Bruce Campbell should only be playing Ash in the first place. The other thing that made the screenplay work was the fact that it had its terrifying moments. The writers did a very good job making the scenes intense. They were well thought out and had tension to them that generated scares. It made the film fun to watch.

Blu-Ray Extras:

The first featurette is “Directing the Dead”. The featurette focuses on the film’s director Fede Alvarez. It features interviews from Alvarez and couple members of the cast. It goes into Alvarez’s direction and how he approached this reboot. It also shows how he created some of the film’s most gory scenes, which made it more interesting.

The next featurette is “Making Life Difficult”. It goes into some of the intense scenes were created and how it took its toll on the film’s cast and crew. Interesting featurette on this subject.

After that, the next featurette is “Being Mia”. A good featurette that goes into the film’s main character. It features a brief interviews with actress Jane Levy and director Fede Alvarez along with some behind the scenes footage that Levy shot during the filming of the film.

There are also a couple of Blu-Ray Exclusives on the disc.

First, it’s the cast and crew commentary track that features Director Fede Alvarez, co-writer Royo Sayagues, actor Lou Taylor Pucci and actresses Jane Levy and Jessica Lewis. It’s a good and entertaining commentary track. They all going into the production of the film. Whether its came from an actor’s perspective or from a writing and directing perspective, there were a lot of stories about the behind the scenes of the film. It also provided interesting information why certain scenes were cut or altered, which made it even more interesting. This is worth checking out, as this gives an interesting look of the film’s production.

The next featurette is “Evil Dead: The Reboot”. This was a very good featurette that fans of the original and new one will like. It features interview from producers Rob Tapert, Bruce Campbell, writer Royo Sayagues, actress Jane Levy and director Fede Alverez. They went into the behind the scene of how the reboot was conceived and talked about the comparisons of the old film to this film.

The Blu-Ray exclusives wrap up with “Unleashing the Evil”. The featurette goes into the book of the dead that was used in the film. An interesting featurette that features interview from producer Bruce Campbell and actor Lou Taylor Pucci, as they talk about the book behind the demonic hauntings in the film.

After that, the disc wraps up with trailers for upcoming Sony Pictures releases.

Final Summary.

I hope we get to see Fede Alvarez direct another horror film, as his direction is one of the reason that makes this reboot work so well. “Evil Dead” is as terrifying as the original. It’s a frightening thrill ride that keeps a hold of you from start to finish.

Review Rating: Five Stars.
Blu-Ray Extras: Four Extras.

It seems like almost every cult horror or sci-fi film has been remade or reimagined at one time or another. So when I heard “The Philadelphia Experiment” was being remade, I wasn’t interested at all, but was still curious as I enjoyed the original. Still, I had my doubts going into this film.

In 1943, the government started a project to gain an edge on the battlefield. They created a device that would able warships to be invisible. When they conducted tests on one of the submarines, the submarine and its crew disappeared into thin air. Fast forward seventy years later, the submarine reappears on a runaway where only one crew member survived the accident. But it disappears again, when a lawman enters the submarine. Is this the appearances something sinister or just a strange anomaly? Emilie Ullerup (“Sanctuary”), Gina Holden (SAW 3D) and Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange, Silent Night) star in the film.
Usually, I cringe at the idea of remaking a film that needed no such remake. The thoughts that I had after the remake of “The Philadelphia Experiment” made me wonder that maybe the whole remake crazy has run its course. This was a flat out horrible film from start to finish. I could tell that this might have aired on SyFy at one point.

Most of this disaster of a film has to go to director Paul Ziller. One of the things that makes this unbearable was the style, in which he choose to have the film shot. It felt like the film was going ninety miles per hour with the camerawork. It made the action too intense that it allowed the film to focus more on the action than the story itself. It also didn’t help that this felt like Asylum film where no one cared about anything on the production side. Everything looked cheap from the special effects to some of the buildings and locations that they used. It became distraction, as I was watching this film.

The other thing that I hated about the direction was the performances. The intense nature of the film severely affected his direction of the character. I could tell that the performances were dull and wooden. Holden’s performance was the worse of them all. I know that you need to be acting like a villain, but the performance came off like an annoying spoiled rich brat than being sinister. It made me loath the film even more. Like her and everyone’s performance in the film, Ziller doesn’t do anything to make the performance engaging or tolerable enough that you might be interested. If the performances were interesting, then maybe this would’ve been bearable to watch.

Andy Briggs’ screenplay is no better than the film’s direction. One of things that makes this screenplay dreadful was the fact that there’s no resemblance of character development whatsoever. He spends too much time with setting up the action scenes and giving me characters that I didn’t care about it. It would’ve been nice to have seen the film slow down and help address my complaints. When that usually happens, then the film goes downhill. The other thing I like didn’t was the way that Briggs handles the submarine jump sequences. It felt outrageous and cheesy, because you had one jump that landed on top of a building and another in the middle of the desert. It felt distracting to see that in those settings. It looked like that he was writing a disaster film, not a science fiction film. I know that you have to suspend disbelief for a film like this, but the placements of the submarines made it look stupid.

This film ranks up there as one of the worst direct to DVD/TV films that I’ve seen in a long time. I highly urge to skip the remake of “The Philadelphia Experiment and seek out the original film, as that and its sequel is better than this piece of garbage.

Review Rating: One Star.

“The Producers” is one of a couple Mel Brooks’ trademark films that I’ve never have seen. It’s one of those cases where I’ve been meaning to see but never getting around to it. The film recently was released for the first time on Blu-Ray from Shout Factory. This was the perfect time to see it.

The film is about Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel), a producer that has been down on his luck and he barely pay the rent. One day, he meets Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), a high strung accountant that joins up with him after meeting him for the first time. They discover that they could make more money on a flop than a hit. The two find the worst show that they could find and produce it on Broadway. Things backfire for Maz and Leo, as the show becomes a big hit. Now, the two find themselves in the middle of Boardway blitz that they could’ve never imagined.

After seeing “The Producers” for the first time, it made me wonder why I haven’t seen it sooner. This film ranks right up there with great Mel Brooks films such as “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein”.

This film was a laugh out loud riot from start to finish. Most of the credit goes to Mel Brook’s direction. One of the things that I liked was the fact that Brooks made sure the humor on the page translated well onto the screen. There were a lot of funny moments here. Brooks does a very good job getting the timing down, as everything felt funny in the performances and on screen aspects. I was enjoying every minute of it and wishing that style of comedy would return, as that has been missing in comedy films. The other thing that I enjoyed about this was the performances. Brooks does a very good job making the performances very funny. He takes his time making sure that both Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder’s performance are energizing and funny. If there performances weren’t that way than the chemistry between the actors wouldn’t have worked on screen.

The screenplay also written by Brooks was very good. Everything was well executed in the comedic department. The humor was written very well and the jokes were very creative. Whether it’s the situations or the way the dialogue was written, it made for a very enjoyable and funny comedy. The other thing that makes this screenplay work was the way that everything was developed. Brooks does a very good job making sure the story was entertaining as the jokes. He allows his story to develop during the course of the film in a way that isn’t too over the top. It doesn’t make you forget about it during the film’s funny parts. It makes the story aspects work to the point that you’re fully into this film. From start to finish, this was a very funny film.

Blu-Ray Extras:

First on the disc is “The Making of Producers”. The featurette is imported from the special edition DVD that was released by MGM. It’s a very interesting look into the film. Most of the film’s cast and crew including Brooks, the late Gene Wilder and most of the cast and crew go into the production of the film. There were a lot of stories shared about what happened during filming and its eventual release. This is worth checking it out.

The next featurette is “Max and His Movies: The Producers”. An original featurette that was produced for this disc. This featurette features an interview with Mel Brooks talking about the film. He goes into great detail about the pre-production and some of the filming aspects of the film. It’s a very good featurette that is also worth also checking out.

After that the disc wraps up with a short featurette called “Peter Sellers’ Ad in Variety”, theatrical trailers, sketch gallery and a deleted scene. Overall, the quality of extras help make the extras department a winner.

Final Summary:

If you’re a serious fan of comedy, I urge you to check out this film and the other films of Mel Brooks. “The Producers” is a laugh out loud riot that keeps you entertained throughout.

Review Rating: Five Stars

Blu-Ray Extras: Four Stars