V/H/S Violence

Hey folks, welcome back. Many of you are probably wondering where that Shaft Audio Review is and well...I accidentally deleted it. Yeah so I have to start all over again. But we are not here to talk about that.  SoCal Cinema Studios director/writer/producer Dustin Ferguson (Terror at Black Tree Forest, The Legacy of Boggy Creek, Escape to Black Tree Forest, Black Tree Forest III, Doll Killer, Die Sister, Die, Occult Holocaust, Gloved Murderess, Cheerleader Camp: To the Death and Shockumentary) asked me to give his new tantalizing tales of terror a visit and my thoughts on it. Apparently, he is under the belief that I am a decent writer and who am I to tell him otherwise, right? With an anonymous package of foreboding standing, a young woman decides to dust off her VCR and pop in this tape. This is V/H/S/ Violence.

3 Ninjas Kick Back?  The Hell?

With the trusty JVC working through the tape, our young lady starts to watch this VHS of unknown origin. If the little girl from the Ring pops out, just hook up the VCR to YouTube and share the film ASAP! We get a grainy intro and rocking opening theme. Excellent!!!

You get the general vibe this is an anthology and yup, you would be right. Along with Dustin comes Axemas 1 and 2's very own John Ward, Tony Newton (Welcome to Hell, Halloween Hell Night,Virus of the Dead and O' Bloody Night) Sam Mason-Bell (Toxic Schlock, Home Videos, A Taste of Phobia, Deep Web XXX and 2 Die For) and Jason Impey (The 12 Slays of Christmas, Home Videos, 60 Seconds to Die, Grim Places, Grindsploitation 4: Meltsploitation and Schlock-O-Rama)

Midwestern Art?

When open with a VHS camcorder viewing of what can only be described as a sex/torture dungeon and its various tools of infliction. Could be the beginnings of a snuff movie, could be a private director's collection. Two masked loopies stick and torment a guy they abducted. Or he answered an ad on Craigslist he is regretting in his final moments.

We cut to what looks like a early film school documentary with a buxom British blonde and yes guys, she gets naked. You have no idea how many times I get asked that. Also the cinematographer/director seems to have a vocal distorter on or it was done in post. Cut to a brunette machete chopping away. Looks a bit similar to the one Schuylar Craig used in Camp Blood 4 and 5. Just chaos happening here.

Dishy, right?

A segment looking like an audition in spite of the impatient couch casting director, the girl seems pretty compliant...or is she?

A stalker with a camera and clearly female voice trailing a couple, disgusted by what she sees. You can almost hear the hatred, the confusion and bile building up her moment by moment. Piece by piece. A dark epiphany happens and the girl will see it executed no matter what.

But enough of that darkness, how about a stroll through the local suburbs? Y'know, where everything is normal, happy go lucky and cheery. Appearances can be most deceiving though, can't they? With acts of violence, this film is woven like a dark tapestry. It's ultimate end, who is to say? Showing evil can happen whenever and however it likes, perhaps.

With a collective of new faces in this such as: Valerie Mulligan (Bikini Swamp Girl Massacre, Auteur, Cannabus Confessions, Steve's Garden and Troma presents: Mulligan's Monsters) Selena D (Party Bus to Hell, Meathook Massacre 4, Madame X and The Bread of Wickedness) Julie Anne Prescott (House of Blood, The Lost Girls, Scarred, Meathook Massacre 4, Hell Nurse, BAD ASS ANGELS and DEMONS and Night People) and Robert Mulligan (Bikini Swamp Girl Massacre, No Ordinary BJ, Cannabis Confessions and Steve's Garden)

I still see many a Ferguson regulars to the likes of: Jennii Caroline (Doll Killer, Die Sister, Die!, Gloved Murderess,The Amityville Legacy and Nemesis 5: The New Model) Breanna Mitchell (Cheerleader Camp: To the Death, Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival, Meathook Massacre, Tales for the Campfire, Night of the Clown Meathook Massacre II and Nemesis 5: The New Model) Jared Allen (Cheerleader Camp: To the Death, Invitation to Die, Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival, Demon Dolls and Conjuring Curse) and Justice Strong (Shockumentary and Meathook Massacre)

My only complaint would ruin the scope of the film, the lack of stabilizer was giving this photophobic, a headache. Not a severe one mind you, so nothing too bad there. With a unique blend of CGI post production effects, practical effects and grim story telling; it gives you a morbid fascination of what each tale is being told. A sort of nebulous fable if you will.

With some stories being mischievous, while others downright stygian, this film keeps you guessing if these men and women will ever know justice for their horrific acts.

Let's be clear. There is some creepy stories here but we are not approaching Faces of Death gross out factor. That being said, there is some clever, warped and bizarre segments in this movie and frankly I was impressed how certain components of this elaborate film unnerved me. I would like to see a collaboration like this again.

Professor Bobo could party in college.

Screener Review: Meathook Massacre II

Hey all. I am back with a special review of Dustin Ferguson's latest tale of terror, gore and gruesome behavior! Who you may ask? Shame on you as I have done a substantial reviewing of no less than 6 of his movies and with Rotten Ramblin' On my co-host Shawn and I had a great time interviewing with him.

Yup he is staring intentionally at the breasts, hun.

Nebraska's own Dustin Ferguson of 42nd St Productions (Terror at Black Tree Forest, Silly Scaries, Doll Killer, Occult Holocaust, Cheerleader Camp: To the Death, Invitation to Die, Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival, Meathook Massacre and Blood Claws) writer/director/editor has brought back this disturbing loony from a decade's hiatus. Ten years prior, a string of murders happened in a rural region of Nebraska. No one was safe and no one was punished for the crimes. With no sign of the bodies as one crazed girl swears by and 3 months worth of manhunt, the authorities don't have clue one what really happened.  Now, the disappearances start again. This is Meathook Massacre II.

Damn those pesky kids and their dog!!!

Joining the cast is Deborah Dutch (Graduation Day, Hard to Die, Dinosaur Island, Vice Academy 4, Caged Women II and Stop It, You're Killing Me) a regular bombshell with Fred Olen Ray and Jim Wynorski and producer/actor Dawna Lee Heising (My Science Project, Big Trouble in Little China, Forbidden Warrior, Outworld, Tales from Dark Fall, Waiting for Dracula, The Famous Joe Project and Awesome Girl Gang Street Fighter)

In this you feel a bit disturbed about the little girl character Jennii Caroline is playing as the movie unfolds, this crazy collective of cannibals are all residing in a cave along with Breana Mitchell so the "scream queens" are back in the fold.

A Craigslist casual encounter goes bad.

10 years ago, Dan's sister Dani was killed or made to disappear along with her friends disappeared with her girlfriends going to a Dragonclaw concert. The cops never found her, his folks have given up hope but Dan (Daniel Stier of Blood Claws, Camp Blood 5, Night of the Clown and Meathook Massacre II) won't accept this as fact until he sees for himself. Retracing her steps he will get at the truth. Maybe one of the girls lived that horrible night, maybe one of them like Bre (Breana Mitchell of Slumber Party Slasherthon, Black Tree Forest III, Doll Killer, Die Sister, Die!, Cheerleader Camp: To the Death, Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival and Camp Blood 5) is still alive. A trek out to Black Tree Forest yield more results that he was ever expecting as he's clocked in the coconut by Mother Dawna. Well more meat for the winter I guess. Dan wakes up to see these nuts and somehow realizes that the youngest of them is Breanna with more glazing out than a doughnut. Seriously that kid looked just gone.  Being a little playmate for Sissy (Jennii Caroline of The Legacy of Boggy Creek, Silly Scaries, Escape to Black Tree Forest, Doll Killer, Die Sister, Die!, Gloved Murderess and Silent Night Bloody Night2: Revival) who comes off as a mad goth girl similar to Sheri Moon Zombie's Baby.

Evil, twisted or Elven?  You decide.

You can really feel the influence of Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a touch of Rick Roessler's Slaughterhouse and just a dash of Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses with Dawna Lee Heising's Mother Dawna feels so much like Karen Black's Mother Firefly. Yes it feels like elements of camp but there is also a creep factor in this that raises the hackles easily. This time around, Dustin pulled out some stops, got great locations and brought the bizarre to your living room. I'm only pissed because I cannot see it in a big screen.

Mongo like candy.

Summer Screamer Screener: The Dummy 2

Good day to you all. At the request of horror director Dustin Ferguson (Terror at Black Tree Forest, Escape to Black Tree Forest, Doll Killer, Die Sister, Die!, Gloved Murderess, Cheerleader Camp: To the Death and Invitation to Die) I attend a screener of his current works which is a sequel to the 1995 Dante Falconi's The Dummy, in which a newlywed couple decided it was be a kick to get their fortune told, for the hell of it. The gypsy woman goes into her spiel and low and behold the couple act like jerks deciding not to pay her, mock her and off they go. The gypsy woman summons dark forces to imbue into a ventriloquist dummy to slay anyone the couple speak with on their first anniversary.  But that was all just a movie and no way that could ever happen.  This is The Dummy 2.

So that is the director's cut to 2001.  Anyone still awake?

21 years ago, the very dummy that cut a bloody swath across the country is being sold to a couple on E-bay for a tidy but fair sum.. except the part where it is a killer doll and going to maim and murder again. A close zoom pan on said dummy's eyes almost hints to a feeling of betrayal until you realize he is being prepared with dark forces yet again. With a few eerie optical exposure effects, blue lighting and even a little warped incidental music it is a quiet flick allowing your brain to fill in the gaps as you will.

I do love the fact Ferguson took advantage of the existing state fair for shoots. That must have taken very little convincing. The 8 and half minute intro seemed unusually long until I realized Ferguson was recapping the previous film. Yes the metaphysics strike again. Our young foolhardy bunch decide to hold a seance with the creepy doll and see if anything is true about its gruesome origins. But not before some weed, dancing and beer first off. Typical twenty somethings distracted by everything and anything so they prepare for the party/seance in their own time. Wow did I just sound that old?   You damn kids git off my lawn!!!   Fans of Jennii Caroline and Schuylar Craig will be happy to see them both again.

When Craigslist hook ups go horribly wrong.

A few constant niches in Ferguson's films are at least one person smoking, a fair amount of long pan roads to travel down, low level mood lighting and the girls can actually tone down their makeup to the level yes, you can tell they are wearing some but it is not pornographic overboard paint jobs. Little tip Indie Horror directors, find girls like Ferguson has that can act and have the ability to understand how to apply makeup with a series of brushes and not a trowel.

Thought there was quite a few local store visits too many, kinda dragging the story but again this is the screener and he will or won't trim what's going on.

While Velvet Acid Christ did music for Gloved Murderess similar to Goblin in Dario Argento's many films, Hate Dept and Kevorkian Death Cycle put their spin on the film.

While the established notion of The Dummy only being a film, the story arc for its sequel takes its time again and builds up a bit of suspense. The cat in the trench coat was killing me with his leers. You will have some fun watching this as much as it looks like the cast had fun making it.

So that's how you get Schuylar to come over.  Huh.  Well I did wonder.