Amityville Uprising

 Good day Readers of Rotten, I was staying away from Horror until I was looking through IMDB and saw bombastic and snooty remarks made on Thomas Churchill's creation. Thomas Churchill as many of you may remember as a writer and director of the following: The Day of the Living Dead, Check Point, The Emerging Past Director's Cut, The Rack Pack, The Hard Way, Nation's Fire Xenophobia, and The Amityville Moon. So what's with the hatred? With the collective production companies of Action House, Church Hill Productions and Lions Gate Entertainment, we have an environment survival horror/action film. This is Amityville Uprising.

Seriously doc, crack a window in here. Phew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes I know, folks are tired of the title Amityville usage but several Indie Horror films have managed some clever concoctions, so let's give it a chance before we have preconceived notions.

A small town adjacent to an existing military base is going on about its usual daily activities. Unbeknownst to the townies, the base was involved in a highly experimental conglomerate of chemicals that would have dire effects. "He tampered in God's domain." So with our plot device into effect, a massive explosion blasting the town of Amityville. The aerial shots covering this was quite impressive, as the facility has gone completely tits up, the military assigned find bodies strewn all about. With this assortment of chemicals released into the atmosphere, a pending bout of acid rain will happen, the people have been warned but you have seen how well Americans reacted to Covid, so expect mass stupidity.

Ox Hungry!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attempting to keep the peace, civilians are running in droves as the acid rain produced something else. Walking corpses rising from the ground they dropped on and in the search of fresh meat.

With the cops being swarmed by civvies and the undead, our team are trying to keep their cool and smoke some Zed Heads.

With level headed Sgt. Dash (Scott C. Roe of Dollhouse, The Stalker Within, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, J. Edgar, Road to Marakesh, NCIS, General Hospital, Megalodon, Alien Warfare, The Dawn and Big Freaking Rat), Lt. Howie Stevenson (Tank Jones of The Devil's Tomb, The Broken Hearts Club, Dollhouse CSI: Miami, Breaking Bad, Easy Rider 2: The Ride Home, The Sparrows: Nesting and Union Bound), tattooed bad ass Detective Lance McQueen (Mike Ferguson of Axegrinder 2, Meathook Massacre Part VI: Bloodline, The Devils Heist, 5G Zombies, Angry Asian Murder Hornets, The Beast Beneath, Arachnado and A Cry in the Dark) and officers Malloy (Troy Fromin of Street Soldiers, The Perfect Weapon, Saved by the Bell, A Doggone Christmas, A Doggone Hollywood, Bikini Car Wash Massacre, Horndogs Beach Party, Killer Waves 2, The Stalker, High Rise and Amityville Uprising) and Rossi (Kelly Lynn Reiter of Holy Terror, The Z Virus, Harker: The Awakening, Halloween Pussy Trapp Kill! Kill!, Dead De La Creme,How to Get Over a Breakup and Nation's Fire) are all that can hold back the zombie onslaught.

Aw man, I got brains on my shoes! Damn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not enough crazy in this fustercluck? How about Dash and his son Jimmy(Kole Benfield of YA Campaign Ambition, The Rack Pack, Nation's Fire, Amityville Uprising and Devilreaux)having a strained relationship DURING A ZOMBIE OUTBREAK. Dammit boy, keep that crap down until the crazy is handled. It is an actual heartwarming performance between the two. I saw something similar in 30 Days and Night but that portrayal came up short compared to the Dash family. Emoting and having a rapport between a father and son in the course of virulent epidemic? How many films successfully pull that off?

 

The biggest complaint from critics of this movie has been the pacing. God forbid a bit of foreshadow and putting characters together showing strengths and weaknesses, right? The pace for me felt like how an 80s action drama was setting everyone, the plot and the major antagonists into play against our heroes. Personally? I am grateful of fleshing out the players and allows for more of a connection to these people, making you wonder who will survive and who will sacrifice themselves for the good of the others? That's how you build suspense.

I would like to take the time to point out Thomas Churchill has also acted. My favorite to date is his fixer/bar owner character from Syndicate Smasher. The team dropped a couple of keys on his table and we both screamed "What the F*ck?!" He was genius in that. His rant would have impressed Joe Pesci. Yes that last tidbit was really for me.

Back to his technical prowess, this aerial shots, low pans, looks like some handheld giving a near claustrophobic sensation as we get into the police station. Hell even the lighting set an eerie as Hell mood. Grab your Raccoon City green herbs, boomsticks and flashbang grenades lady and gents.

The vibe I got from this flick was a mixture of Romero's Dawn of the Dead and Lucio Fulci/Bruno Mattei/Claudio Fargasso's Zombi 3. With the outbreak, civilian mass panic and seeking aid from the cops alone, and yet they question why they aren't doing enough. Ugh. Poor cops.

So let's look at the overall. Plot device for the pandemic? Check. Likeable characters? Check. Replay-ability? Check. We got a solid zombie story with some gruesome gores, next to no lame ass jump scares and it does grip you. Really think Mike got some of the best one-liners in this. He delivered. Frankly, I felt the pace was at a good speed, allowed for a build-up by the 40 minute mark and then just balls out guns blazing, zombies getting smacked. So naysayers; if you feel you have to bash a film, give me something more tangible than it's so slow or this sucks. 

 If you haven't sat through a Jesus Franco movie, you don't get to tell me what sucked. 

 

Contortionist zombie! Run!

 

Horrortales.666 Part 2

 Hey there, Readers of the Rotten! I was requested by producer/writer/actor/director Phil Herman (Hell on Earth II: The Arena of Death, Burglar from Hell, Tales for the Midnight Hour, HorrorTales.666, Into the Woods,Sickened and Morbid Stories) with C Word Productions (Lycanimator, Slimoids, Ouija Mummy and Hey Alice) along with production of cult and B movies, The Sleaze Box (Amerikan Holokaust, Cannibal Claus, Chaso A.D., Death-Scort Service, and Earth Girls Are Sleazy) to give today's movie a gander.

This would be an indie horror anthology. I know that sounds so unusual on my blog he said sarcastically, but I am more than willing to give it an objective view.  All kidding aside, our story starts with a burglar breaking into the wrong house with the promise of Hell or journey through dark tales. This is HorrorTales.666 Part 2.

 

Do farts have lumps?

 

 

 

 

 

Our movie opens with a dedication to the late, great Scream Queen Julie Strain (136 films) who passed away in January this year and graced the original film with her role. Our credits with a speed metal number unveiling what is to come but offers no insight to what the film is going to be about. I like that as it gives some suspense, instead of those indie films that use footage of the movie and basically give you a barrage of spoilers you didn't ask for and ruins the overall vibe of the film. A quick text side scroll tells us the burglar is back from the previous film, giving a highlight of what occurred last time.

18 years prior, a burglar (Joel D. Wynkoop of Wicked Games, Creep, Addicted to Murder: Tainted Blood, Scary Tales, Evil Tales 3: The Final Chapter, HorrorTales.666, Before I Die, Joel D. Wynkoop's the Bite and Always Midnight) snuck into a house, found a computer loaded for taboo stories of darkness and he couldn't look away, reading one after the other. That's how he got pinched the first time. . 18 years later, that same burglar broke into yet another house with more disturbing stories for his reading pleasure. The nagging wife is driving him crackers about getting a job. Yeah because viable work is always available to ex-cons. There's...convenience store clerk after midnight, um...collecting recycling as early as 5 a.m. , maybe mopper at the nudey booths. Okay petty thievery may be his best option. 

 

Heckraiser.

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, this time an actual threat appears in the form of a deranged voice and then he manifests into...well either a rocker or possibly an evil hippie devil. (director/writer/producer/actor Jaysen Buterin of Monster X, Strange Events 2, Kill Giggles, Doctor Who: The Ginger Chronicles, Bombshell Bloodbath, Fix It in Post and Hellarious) Our devil taunts him, giving him the choice. Creepy as hell stories or the eternal agony of Hell itself. With as many options as a fish and chip shop, our burglar sits down for another round of terror induced tales.

Our first story is Open House. No doubt a happy couple trying to get a home of their own and something goes awry. Yes, yes I know. Jake, don't be so pessimistic. An absolute doll of a girl is busying herself with some arts and crafts...while two bodies are laying slump and had plastic bags used on them. Yes, I think we should question the little girl too but I am not sure if she didn't have anything to do with it.   In walks a shrouded killer who merely glances at the little girl and walks out. Yup she'll be fine.  A few inexpiable homicides, serious psychotherapy, eh she'll bounce right back.

Well, don't eat Taco Bell.

 

 

 

 

 Sue (Noellie Burger of Matthew and Ophelia's Wonderful World of Fun, Social Distance, Massacre Academy and 13 Fanboy)the new realtor has been tasked to get that property looking swanky and available for those new potential owners. I wonder if her firm does full disclosure. "Yes the kitchen is roomy, great countertops and we had a double homicide here ages ago." Beth and co-worker Kate start to prep a collective of pranks that could end badly for all.

Next story is The Last Farewell of Mr. Perez is a tale of Mr. Perez's final days on Earth. Ordinary I would expect an expensive bottle of hooch and a myriad of "Woe is me" when Perez has a true epiphany. An eye-opening experience, to know what his true purpose in life has always been. With the minuscule budget our film has, the effects are pretty impressive for this movie. While it feels more science fiction in appearance plot-wise, it's still a solid story.

As we move on to the next story, we gaze into the cheating heart of Mrs. Claus via Slay Ride. Yes Mrs. Claus is getting holly and jolly with one of Santa's little helpers. She's claiming his candy cane for the season. Unfortunately for these merry and bright, Santa is all too aware of this breaking and entering and seizes the opportunity to put them on the naughty list. Santa enjoys a wank before his murderous rage. Yup, you guessed it, there's titty. I know some of you were waiting to ask that. The gore gags could have been better but it covers it well enough.

Onto The Present with Larry (Kirk Sardonis of Drifter, Horrortales.666 Part 2 and Things 666) heading to his cellar to find his wife Julia (Roxxy Mountains of Drifter, Dark Zone Thirteen, Things 5, Horrortales.666 Part 2 and Things 666) and boy we wasted no time at all, right to the sex and the ultra ultra violence. Yes lady readers, there be even more titty. Yippey.

The last story, My Life this weird meta story line drags Dustin Hubbard and Phil Herman attempting to get work done on Horrortales.666 Part 2. Everyone under the sun and maybe a bit of Troma status is hounding the two for parts in the flick. 

 

Familiar faces like Shawn C.Phillips (MILFs vs Zombies, Director's Cut, Camp Blood 4, Camp Blood 5, Grindsploitation, The Killer Robots! Crash and Burn, Allusion , Bloody Island and Witchcraft 16: Hollywood Coven), Ari Lehman (Friday the 13^th, Night on Has Been Mountain, The Girl, House of Forbidden Secrets, Easter Sunday and Cheerleader Camp: To the Death), Debbie Rochon (Vampire's Kiss, Banned, Black Easter, Broadcast Bombshells, Santa Claws, Red Lips II, The Vampire's Seduction, In the Hood and Rage of the Werewolf) and Debbie D (Sorority Slaughter 2, Legal Entrapment, Play Dead, Destiny: Vampire Mermaid, Tales for the Midnight Hour, The Go-Go Girl Strangler!, Hayride Slaughter, Abducted! And Hayride Slaughter II).

With this film tallying out to an hour and 55 minutes, it does provide plenty eerie and morbid creativity. This shows clever directors giving it their all with a limited budget, proving they can compete with big budget horror having to push the envelope with more imagination. The variety of the films gives credence to an anthology. 

 

Hey kids! It's Debbie Rochon!

 

Geneiveve

What's going on Readers of the Rotten? Yes this many posts must be confusing. Suffice to say the freelance writing work has picked up, so it has been less time to do the blog.

That being said, I have a request by director Nicolas Michael Jacobs (Night, Urban Fears, Tales from Six Feet Under) to give his short story a gander and I am just getting to this four days later. Very sorry for that, sir. We have a dark tale of passing of a man's son, some shifty criminals and a possible killer doll. This is Genevieve.

Gilbert Gottfried in drag??!!

We open with a couple that were arguing, following by yelling and a gunshot. So typical Tuesday for some portions of the country. A cackling man putting the finishing touches on what I can only describe as one of the most hideous dolls I have clapped my eyes on. Brad Douriff's Chucky would be projectile vomiting looking at her. Cut to Title card and eerie composure to set the mood. The being horror if that was somehow lost on anyone.

An empty house is being burglarized for the sake of the doll because somebody thinks it will be worth a fair amount of coin. Yeah I need it add it to my Satanic brickerbrack collection. Really ties the room together, placed next to my grimoire. One assumes there is a black market buy going down, otherwise it's a discreet auction on Etsy. David (actor/producer/director Nicholas Michael Jacobs of Puppet Master X:Axis Rising, Night, Urban Fears and Tales from Six Feet Under), our would-be second story man creeps his way into the house of one Ted Morris (Shawn C. Phillips of Camp Blood 4, Camp Blood 5, Grindsploitation, Killer Waves, Witchcraft 16: Hollywod Coven, Cannibal Cop, Urban Fears, Axegrinder 2 and Camp Blood 8: Revelations) while Ted is away attending the funeral of his son. Yup David is a classy guy. Though to be fair, I don't really know the proper etiquette to loot a grieving father. I'll write Miss Manners about that.

a text exposition.  Texposition!

With a scope around the house, it is clear that the doll isn't anywhere convenient to find it so that means down in the basement. Oh goody, let's go down into the dark and dismal basement. Nothing bad ever happens in a dank cellar. Henrietta will pop up and demand his soul any minute. David's partner was very laxed on details of the doll leaving it open to all sorts of thoughts and interpretation. With the help of some patented POV, we go down the stairs. Naturally my brain is waiting for a pair of hands to reach through the stairwell and pull David down or cause him to trip and break his neck.

We make our way to a locked metal door where Genevieve is supposed to be behind and LOCKED DOOR says it all there for me, folks. That means no reward is worth this. David apparently feels different and makes his way to the door, only to stop due to a giggle and some light foot steps. Yeah dude, that was your danger senses screaming, "Get the hell out now," but of course why listen to that?

What you have a quick little story of bad things happening to a bad person. One who would profit from another misery and getting just desserts. With some nice lighting technique, some creepy laughter and a simple story provided enough scares to get the point across. Cursed items, dolls, relics, books and weapons are not new ground I grant you but Jacobs manages to bring about enough eerie vibes to cause a few scares. I got to talk with him about editing so I can pick his brain and make my own material look better. This film is only about 5 minutes long so don't run off and pop popcorn to settle in. Just a brief example that Jacobs has horror wired.

Available on YouTube and Amazon Prime, so keep your eyes peeled. For previous work and future endeavors, try https://www.nmjfilms.com/ for your Indie Horror tastes.

Tiny Tina?

Doom Asylum

So back again with a fan request. Yeah (sigh) one of those. Look, I am very appreciative of fan feedback but some of these "films" are pretty painful to sit through. Maybe a nice Billy Wilder movie? Anyway, today's moving picture has a member of Sex and the City, a deformed slasher and a punk band that performs in an abandoned mental asylum. This is Doom Asylum a.k.a. House of Horror.

Grandma Rotty?!

Director Richard Friedman (Tales from the Darkside, Scared Stiff, Friday the 13^th: The Series, Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge, Baywatch Nights, Ground Zero, Halfway to Hell and Love Hurts) working with the script penned by Rick Marx (In Love, Nasty Girls, Sex Spa U.S.A., Maid in Manhattan, Bordello: House of the Rising Sun, Warrior Queen and Gor) so this could be a world of hurt. Of course the director that brought me a cinematic treasure like Darkwolf it...oh wait, I didn't care for that flick. Yup this is gonna hurt.

We open our movie with lawyer Mitch Hansen (Michael Rogen of Doom Asylum, Basket Case 2, Punch the Clock, Wings, Midnight Caller and Tribeca) and his bubbly fiancee Judy (Patty Mullen of Doom Asylum, The Equalizer and Frankenhooker) are cruisin' across the back roads for a 5 million lawsuit and naturally celebrating with champagne while driving. Rut Roh, this is moving into The BrainThat Wouldn't Die territory (FYI watch the MST3K version) and of course we have an accident.

Yeah Highway head. What could go wrong?

Before we go further, yes menfolk there's titty. I know, I know the mention of jiggly girls, nerds vs punks and a mangled serial killer just couldn't have possibly captivated your attention.

Well Mitch is up on the slab for his autopsy. I got to ask why would there even be a need for an autopsy? Booze will still be in his system, that's a quick tox screening and the car was smashed pretty good. Open and shut case, baby. Yes I know, suspend disbelief. 

With a face resembling beef jerky, Mitch has had a tough day, so adding incompetence of the morgue attendee and his intern should really make his afternoon all a flutter. Mitch awakes on the slab and it's good bye morgue docs. Five minutes in and we cut to title cards and opening credits. Lot of pan shots of the abandoned asylum of which a bulk of the film will be taking place in. I heard weird damn near orgasmic moans, cat yowls and manic laughter. The film font for our title looked like a WB cartoon from the 50s. Biggest gripe of this opening is the camera doesn't appear to be on a stabilizer, so we have unintentional shaky cam.

Throw us some beads!!!

10 years later (in the film, not how long it took me to finish this), a gaggle of kids are out and about for some boozing and screwing and babbling about urban legend killers. Say aren't these slasher tropes? Darnell (Harrison White of Se7en, Like a Woman Should, L.A. Noire, The Muppets, Replaced, Bones, Maron, Dads, Rizzoli & Isles and Venice the Series) and his Goof Troop (I mean friends. Yeah friends) Jane (Kirstin Davis of General Hospital, Nine Months, Melrose Place, Three Days, Sex and the City, Soccer Moms and Couples Retreat) Dennis (Kenny L. Price of Doom Asylum), Mike (William Hay of Doom Asylum) and Kiki (Patty Mullen playing a duo role, this time as her previous character's daughter). This outing reminds Kiki this around the area where her mother died in a car accident. WOOO HOOO!!! PARTY DOWN!!! Wtf?!

Kiki and Mike have a heart to heart and well her other friends...they're kind of dicks. "Yer mom's dead! Move on." "I'm hungry!" Yeah glad to be partying with these shitbirds.

There's a legend in these here woods. About a killer known only as Mitch! I mean The Coroner. That he does away with his victims with autopsy tools. Yup that's about it. I imagine you are disappointed with this legend as much as I. Seriously, no Jason Voorhees level back story of the tragic loss of Mitch's face and his dead fiancee. Nothing.

The asylum apparently has a theater stage. Was that for the nutty talent show every year? What sounds like a banshee with a tit caught in a Cuisinart is actually our half-assed punk band.

It becomes this mediocre squabble between the Goof Troop and the pseudo punkers. Seriously? Starting a punk band in 1989? Bit late for that movement, right? 20 minutes into the film we start thinning the cast of one dimensional characters and thank God for that. I don't normally just start trashing a movie due to low budget or having a bunch of kids that never acted and so on but wow this was awful. There is some comedy in this, some of the one-liners from Beef Jerky Krueger are decent enough but overall the lead punk's annoying cackle made me want to burn The Plasmatic albums I have.  Gore effects are fair, a smart move having one main set but unfeasible that no one would have fled from it on foot or in the car. The camera blocking was alright but I really felt a stabilizer would have improved several shots.

Are we meeting our skin quota?

This movie was shot in eight days in an actual abandoned nut house in Verona, New Jersey and was deemed Kristin Davis' first full-length feature film. Ah a proud IMDB addition to the filmography.

Overall take away from this 78 minute movie? A clunky trope-laden film with gore gags, over the top dialogue and cheesy one-liners. No clear direct motive of killing the kids with the exception, he's crazy. Hell even the trip out of creeper former nut house made no damn sense at all. Story wise I had no clue what was going on and it is happenstance Coroner Mitch even bumped into Kiki so their whole potential story arc was shot to Hell and back.

My take from this is: a fine film for drinking games. If you need to riff a turd, look no further.

Pleatherface...

Tales from Six Feet Under

Hey there, readers. Today I have been asked by rising director Nicholas Michael Jacobs (Night and Urban Fears) if I would be able to view his new Horror film. Naturally who am I to say no. I thoroughly enjoyed Night and Urban Fears was damn clever writing. Third time's the charm as the saying goes and let's see if that holds up. This is Tales from Six Feet Under.

Grandma Rotty?

Now let's keep in mind our movie is 45 minutes and would be considered by most viewers as a short film. That does not mean we are not in for a wild ride. In the story, we follow the bony skeletal figure known only as The Visitor. He is making his way through a moonlit and fairly creepy graveyard in search of poor unfortunate souls. (Cue The Little Mermaid song ASAP)

He stops to leave a flower on a grave and proceeds to cackle with a raspy and throaty sound that frankly made the hairs on my neck stand up as we gaze at the headstone of one Joe Roth (Brian Jacobs of Urban Fears and Tales from Six Feet Under) aged all of 17 years. Already the tone is dark, so let's dive deeper shall we? Our young lad has been instructed by Dad to go clean the basement and it had better be done before he gets home. Don't Go into the Basement fans are already screaming against that very idea. Noticing the vast amount of clutter, stored furniture, laundry piling up, various odds and ends I too was hard pressed to have an idea where to begin cleaning.

After a few minutes tidying and trying to get a lay of the land, Joe stumbles upon an Ouija board. Oh yeah that's never going to go wrong. Go ahead son, conjure up the forces of darkness. I'll wait.

Dad gives Joe a very vague but stern warning to not mess with the Ouija board so of course our rebellious teen is going to anyway. Parents! Listen, you want the little ones to not play dark and damned objects, give them a reason other than no. For the boys, tell them their penis will shrink. For the girls, their hair will fall out. Boom! Problem solved.

Joe decides to prank around with the board, asking those important questions of, "Is there anyone there?"and "Spirits, make yourself known.". One nitpick is the Ouija board is a current print. Should have hit a rummage sale for a battered old one. Like it was forgotten from the original owners of the house...who disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Okay, that's how I would have wrote it. So sue me.

A quick phone chat with his buddy, Joe finds out he can't possibly damn his soul without candlelight surrounding the witch board. Yes that is an old term for Ouija board. Sorry if I confused the younger readers yet again.

So naturally it is head long into the unknown and damn the consequences. So back to tampering with the dead, Joe realizes this game may just be more than he bargained for, as a creature made of silhouette and ominous glowing eyes (Gianna Jacobs of Night, Urban Fears and Tales from Six Feet Under) just manifests in front of him, the eerie incidental music kicks in and Joe knows this could be his last board game...ever.

My God...mildew.

Following the Visitor back in the graveyard, we are treated to a new tale of terror of one Sam Hooper. Not relation to Matt Hooper of Jaws. Yes I am a smart ass, what of it?

Sam, a young student simply wants to study for his big test without any distractions and quite frankly I don't think that is much to ask. A young med student is cracking open the books and is probably going to be there for a while. He may want to order a pizza, because he hasn't scheduled something pass making ramen noodles. Enough time elapses and he's done for the night.

Time for a slasher flick. Oh what luck, that's Urban Fears on. I always end up stuck with The Prowler or Mother's day. Our slasher delight is immediately interrupted for an emergency broadcast telling folks in the Riverside area to evacuate ASAP. What's the reason? Zombies? A scourge of vampires? Republicans demanding your vote? None of the above. It's a giant meteor being hurdled to that section of town. Well...didn't see that one coming. My guess was a gas leak or again, zombies. What a second, it was all just an elaborate video. Well, see if I trust the media any more. 

Bear in mind I am watching a screener but the Hooper storyline sound like Goblin is performing the soundtrack. Then a POV shoot which looks like his apartment got broken into, so yeah folks I am as confused as you are reading this. Sam has ideas but nothing coherently shot and edited yet. He hits on the idea of a slasher film but how do you make that unique and interesting instead of obscure but downright confusing. How? HOW??!!!

Much soul searching will be needed. Maybe a dummy or a dark force that warped a man into a mute antagonist? With a bit of improved shots, cut scenes and spatter effects, he will make a one man slasher movie as both the killer and the victim. Props for creativity but better make your slasher mute then. No catch phrasing ending up in Freddy territory or God help us, Killjoy.

This manual reads like...well a manual.

It's a bit meta but hell I liked it. Just not panning out with our young auteur.   He's close to what he wants but still wracking the brain figuring out what really is the horror he is trying to convey on film. Meanwhile an lunatic seems to be out and about stabbing victims and our boy gets a package...with a Charlie McCarthy ventriloquist dummy in it. BURN IT! Right now! Too many haunted, cursed and possessed dummy movies out there for you to not see the signs of bad things to come. Cleanse it with fire.

Moving on and yes for those keeping tally, this is anthology story going, we head to Jennifer Burton (Alexis Beacher of Night, Urban Fears and Tale from Six Feet Under). It's her birthday and so far it doesn't look like anyone is available to celebrate it with her. Yeah work, life, errands and raising kids can do that to you as you age gracefully or kicking and screaming. An unknown person wishes her a happy birthday thanks to social media blurting it out. Hey don't worry yet, hun. It didn't give up your age. Jennifer is cautious as this could be anyone creeping about. Anonymous gives off that vibe as many a girl can testify to, so she proceeds to ask who is messaging her. There is a lot of evasion and a slightly flirtatious nature to it.

Jennifer is starting to get creeped out and frankly it is at this point, I'm screaming, "Girl hit a mall, library, invite a friend or two over for shots. Something."

What I enjoyed the most is the handheld camera work, the POV creeper viewing and the tone being set by the music. Good mood and atmosphere established with some creative stories, combining old facets of horror story telling, with spins, twists and turns.

We could argue the spoiler factor of the cemetery showing us each a plot of these people but it gives enough of a nudge into our morbid curiosity to wonder what happened to these people, what was their final end and could it occurred at any time in their life?

We have a decent cast, clever tales and overall I was entertained. If this is what Jacobs can do with a meager budget, let's see if we can fund his next project and watch him go dark as possible. 

OMG! iPhone is the coolest!!

Press Release: Kill Giggles

As per request of writer/director/producer Jaysen Buterin (The Devil's Tramping Ground, Monster X, Kill Giggles) asked if Rotten Reelz Reviews would be willing to do a press release for the upcoming Kill Giggles.  All too willing to help Indie Horror.


Contact: Jaysen Buterin
Email: jaysen@madonesfilms.com
Web: http://www.madonesfilms.com

KILLER CLOWN FILM “KILL GIGGLES” ON INDIEGOGO!

Greensboro, NC – Earlier this year Mad Ones Films ran a successful crowdfunding campaign for their clown-killing thriller/horror feature film Kill Giggles. With the investment phase now completed they have launched a promotional IndieGoGo campaign to raise additional funds that will allow them to make Kill Giggles even bigger, better and bloodier when they begin filming this June.
“With the StartEngine campaign, as well as additional private investment secured, we met the minimum requirement needed to shoot the film! That means the cameras AND the clown heads will roll in June,” said Jaysen Buterin, writer/director of Kill Giggles, for Mad Ones Films. “We’re going to take a timeless terror trope and turn it on its rainbow wig-covered head by sending in the clowns to die instead!” The ethos of Mad Ones Films has always been to give a good deal to their fans and backers with unique and one-of-a-kind promotional items and movie merchandise for reasonable prices. Their IndieGoGo campaign is making signed copies of the film and other exciting merchandise available to those fans, investors, supporters, collectors and horror aficionados alike who may want something special ahead of the film’s eventual worldwide release.



“Some campaigns can feel like asking for an audience to part with money on the off chance of receiving what can be not a lot in return. With Kill Giggles we made real investments available to the public for as little as $100. Now that we’re able to produce a complete and profitable film, we also launched on IndieGoGo where our cast and special guest stars Judith O’Dea, Vernon Wells and Felissa Rose are all signing things fans will want!” said Callum Dougherty, Producer for Cubic7 Productions.

The campaign includes some thematically appropriate perks such as an autographed (inflatable) Bozo the Clown doll that was snagged within an hour, Kill Giggles-branded clown noses, a custom clown-a-gram, walk-on roles, and “Photo Roulette” where a disposable camera left on set every day will document the making of movie magic. After the film is completed the camera will be mailed to the backer along with a clown nose and signed DVD.
The campaign can be found at: https://igg.me/at/killgiggles

For more information on Kill Giggles, please visit the online circus at www.killgiggles.com or follow the film on Facebook: www.facebook.com/KillGiggles.
______________________________________________________________________________
SYNOPSIS: Tommy dos Santos wasn’t born a psychopath, nor was he made into a sociopath; he’s walking his own path – a path that will run red with the blood of the foulest most fiendishly frightening creatures ever conceived by man! Clowns!

No longer do they have the starring role in our nightmares, it is now the clowns who are the prey, running for their lives from a killer who won’t stop until every single one of them is dead.

After School Massacre

And I am back again. Hold your applause. So random fan requests seems to be the order of the day introducing me to Indie Horror director Jared Masters (Climb It, Tarzan, 8 Reels of Sewage, Hollywood a GoGo, Slink, Deadly Punkettes, Club Lingerie, Ballet of Blood and Amethyst). Not sure if this will be Cheerleader Camp gore/ T&A levels or if I am dwindling into Zombie Doom Andreas Schnaas territory. I have a brief stint of his filmography that IMDB has and you know how accurate they are. (Spoiler! They declared George Romero dead five times prior his actual death) So howzabout a slasher flick of a teacher gone crackers and stalking helpless girly girls in their panties? No? Too bad. This is After School Massacre.a.k.a. A Teacher's Day Massacre a.k.a. Blood School a.k.a. Teacher's Day

Jess, are your boobs real?

Ohhh, it has Alternative Titles so yeah I get it now. Cause I do that gag every so often throughout the years. We open with an exterior night shot and then into a slumber party? K. Well I don't see any cheerleaders thus far but they could be out of uniform. While the better chunk of this slumber party are bouncing on the beds and have a good old time, one girl Erica (Abby Summers of After School Massacre) calls her ex and gives a death declaration. Apparently he was a real douche, heart breaker and in dire need of being castrated. What a Debbie Downer, Erica! So a handful of pills and bathroom crash later, the party is kinda done.

Cut to a series of school notebook notes as our credits unfolding, what sounds like a Casio keyboard test beat and ADR of some of the girls channeling Valley Girl and...well it was actual clever for an intro.

Mr. Andersen (Bruce Kade of Angel of Death, Betrayal and After School Massacre) lays down the law and one rule most of all, no beanies. Yeah guess the kids can smoke crack or shoot heroin directly in an eyeball but absolutely NO HATS! Jess (Savannah Matlow of After School Massacre) wants her hat back and her friend Devon (Nikole Howell of Diary of a Black Widow, Slapped!, The Studio Club and American Poltergeist) wants to know why Mr Andersen is undressing her with his eyes but won't accept her friend request. OMG Mr. Andersen, what is your damage? Ugh, slay in my sleep if I write like this again. Yes these girls are that petty and arrogant, they are looking to get him fired. Instilling values, concepts and ideals is a wee bit challenging when their noses are buried in chats, tweets and texts.

Yeah baby I respect ya and crap. You do anal?

 

Even his co-worker Kara (Kelly De Vries of Camp Little Creek, After School Massacre and Deadly Punkettes) has similar problems and Teacher Day may be a holiday but plenty of papers to grade and students to scar for life. Dean Wheatley (Art Roberts of Parasites, Home Video, Good Twenty, The Book of Ten Years, Garden Party Massacre, Absolute Vow and The Big Noir) has heard the water cooler talk, knows the skinny and has to let Andersen go because of the impeding scandal he could cause...for telling one of his students her outfit was a bit short and she can attract creepers. I think I would have heard his argument better if the boom mic hadn't captured the hum of the fluorescent overhead lights. Seriously I wasn't even wearing my headphones and it is just vibrating so loudly.

The evening mail is murder!

From dedicated teacher to spree killer we fade to next scene and get a dose of exposition to Mr. Anderson's whereabouts. Of course the cops are flat out incompetent finding him. Think Angel City via Black Scorpion. Those bumbling jackasses. I'm kidding, mere hours have gone by, so I guess he hid the bodies and the same batch of girls are having another slumber party regardless of suicide girl Erica. So rude of her gacking herself during their party. Yup some real sweet kids.

Big sister to Jess, Dee Dee (Simone Wasserman of Waterfront Nightmare, Glimpse, Bliss and Cicada) managed to land her the alpha male jagoff. Yup wandering eye doesn't even cover it as he is constantly eye banging Jess and her "hot friends" and has serious issues eyeballing their mom. Dee Dee Darlin' super glue is cheap and effective. Seal all the holes God gave this moron. I got the biggest smile when Ms. Perkins was Dawna Lee Heising of Meathook Massacre II. Yeah I adore her.

The sum up vibe of this film feels like if you combined Mean Girls, House on Sorority Row and add a dash of Prom Night and you have your film.

Quick couple of side notes here. Aside from the lovely and talented Dawna Lee Heising and TV personality Mindy Robinson, I didn't know a blessed thing of the rest of the cast until I mildly recognized Officer Harris(Steve Crest) from John Dies at the End. So I looked up his filmography and notice a few choice films with a more...shall we say NC-17 standing. Here are just a few titles of his Adult filmography I felt were funny and PG enough for me to list on this blog.

Too Big for Teens 7

Office Perverts 7

Boffing the Babysitter 10

Latin Adultry 14

Naught Nanny 3

Big Breast Nurses 5

and

Busty Bartenders

The other ones that made me laugh, well they're really not up for print on a fairly kid friendly blog.

At the end of the day, no this is not a new formula as our killer enraged is moving into Vorhees' style of kills, the kids aren't really that sharp and gore is the order of the segments. I do wonder what was up with the synthesizer soundtrack that sounded like a gathering of 12 year old boys holding a farting contest and creating about 3 loops. Our kills are creative, the cast is all doing their job and there is a tad bit of over acting but it really works for the sub-genre of slasher film. Mild to next to no nudity. Brave move there, director. All in all, this is solid work, good technical and decent Indie horror. Let's get Jared some more work and money!!

Oh my, however will they pay for that pizza? Bow chicka chicka wew wew!!

Abomination: The Evilmaker II

Welcome back gentle readers. Well you got a dose of Indie Horror and to be honest, it wasn't bad. I am intrigued enough to delve further into John Bowker (Platoon of the Dead, Dreamwalkers, Beyond the Lost World: The Alien Conspiracy III, Housebound, The Seekers and Werewolf Tales) and as promised, there is a sequel. This is Abomination: The Evilmaker II a.k.a. Abomination.

They were merely Freshmen...oh wait.

I know, I know, there wasn't enough alternative titles this time around. This time around we catch up from the aftermath of the previous. Rachel (Felicia Pandolfi of The Evilmaker, Dreamwalkers, The Seekers and Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires) reached out with a psychic message (That old chestnut) to her sister Kathy (Kylene Wetherell of Dreamwalkers, Abomination: The Evilmaker II and Housebound), that it took her three days to get there? Were you crossing state lines or time zones, psi-sister? With a few flashbacks in sepia, we know this is images of the past.

Kathy seems to be picking up psychic resonance (vibrations or psychic energy residue of a paranormal activity) in and around the cabin. She is also exhibiting psychometry (The ability to discover facts about events and people by touching objects that were associated with them) as she makes her way into the cabin itself.

Remember, the girls were all here because Rachel thought Serena (Stephanie Beaton of Wicthcraft IX: Bitter Flesh, Zombie Gang Bangers, Witchcraft X: Mistress of the Craft, Monster in My Car, Eyes of the Werewolf, Witchcraft XI: Sisters in Blood and A Passion) had to get out after her divorce, so clearly girls' night or weekend in this case; the mini-van broke down and this was their only port of call.

Mmm, don't like this lip balm.

Over 4 minutes of wandering around the cabin but there seems to be a lack of anything aside from flashbacks. No gore in sight. Kathy heads out to the culvert... of DooOoOOoOm!!

Rachel appears to axe Kathy a question and it was all just a horrible dream. Cue opening credits after 15 minutes in the film. Trying to make sense of her visions, Kathy confronts Mrs. Parker(Betty Griffith of The Evilmaker and Abomination: The Evilmaker II) who will have none of it and blames Rachel for everything. Goth girls: Bringers of Doom as you know.

Ex-Cop Charlie no longer pursuing the case that is months old, he still cannot believe what happened, let alone Kathy's visions. With a bit of Johnny on the Spot exposition we learn that Serena may have gone crackers and is shacked up in the local whacko basket.

Silent Bob's cousin, Sleepy Charles.

Kathy will not be deterred and must find out what truly went on at that house.  Psychic Madam Vladmeria (Shannon Barksdale of Monster in the Garage, Dreamwalkers, Housebound, The Seekers and Bloodsucking Redneck Vampires) and friend Rebecca (Kelly Loux of Abomination: The Evilmaker II) thinks it's a bright idea to break into the cabin house and commune with the spirits. Yeah so you know this is going to go well.  Protection circle looks a little uneven, girls. Just an observation.

Kathy and Charles doing separate investigations as a body count starts building up as Rachel appears to be at the center of it all. Trapped between two realms as well as the paths of light and dark, perhaps Kathy is the only one that can save Rachel.

Upside to having full rights to your own material? Flashback candy, baybee!! Yes, this is handy for when you need to bring story, characters or simply move two stories closer together. Plus Bowker doesn't have to worry about greedy execs demanding more than what is due.

My final thoughts on this? While I really wanted to explore more with Stephanie Beaton's Serena, Kylene Wetherell's performance is sound, the story spirals into more supernatural happenings, the music is well-placed and the body count is as always with sequels higher. We have a decent ghost story in play and plenty to work with in spite of the budget.

Rather than rely heavily on gore gags, we have more camera angles, slight of hand and misdirection which builds better tension in my thinking.

That being said, I am almost wanting to own a copy of this just to re-render it but the pixels are just set too low. Methinks if they had a couple of 4K cameras it wouldn't be so bad. Again nothing wrong with the performances, story or continuation but this camera at such a low digital quality is killing my eyes.

Still my verdict stands, a follow-up to the previous and not too shabby at that. While it is a sequel, it really tries to explore beyond the previous and make its own way.

You kids get out of my yard!!