Patient Seven

Patient Seven

Patient Seven is a rather clever anthology film that focuses on Dr. Marcus (Michael Ironside), a renowned psychiatrist who is researching mentally ill and dangerous patients in a mental hospital. Throughout the interviews, the 6 patients begin to tell of the horrors they committed as Dr, Marcus learns there is one patient who ties them all together.

The set up of the film is ripe for the picking as far as horror anthologies go. We get 6 different stories from severely mentally disturbed patients being told to a doctor who just may be as crazy as they are. That's why Michael Ironside was a great choice to play Dr. Marcus, the guy just looks crazier than any of the patients he interviews and he plays the role perfectly.
The mental hospital has a sterile and dirty look at the same time. This is conveyed by the bluish florescent lighting that drapes over every scene giving the film an untouched yet grimy appearance. It's a fitting tone given the purpose and intent of hospitals as it also hints at the unconventional and dangerous methods used by Dr. Marcus. It's an uncomfortable and cold look that keeps the viewer at a distance and in a state of distrust toward anything that is happening on screen. It creates the perfect language for the film as events begin to unfold and the story plays out.
The stories being told here are creative and unpredictable. The best part is all of the patient's stories are all so different from each other. Some are funny, some are scary, some have action, and all are entertaining and populated with strong performances and great makeup an effects. Grace Van Dien plays Patient 5 and although she doesn't have a lot of screen time she really stood out to me. Her eyes and facial expressions were haunting and sharp and I'm curious to see what she can do in a larger role. Corpses, ghosts, zombies, demons and Vampires fill this surprisingly even anthology film that is all killer and no filler. Another surprising aspect of Patient Seven is how well the film gels together. Each segment is helmed by a different director but the movie never feels out of sync with itself and maintains a consistent tone throughout. Some segments being far better than others is often a fault of even the best horror anthologies I've seen; Patient Seven doesn't suffer that fate and for that I give it very high praise.
Horror anthologies like this seem to be getting more and more popular and when they are as enjoyable as Patient Seven it really benefits from the binge watching mentality that has come about the past few years. Movies like this are like watching several Tales From the Crypt or Are You Afraid of the Dark? episodes in a row. If that doesn't sound enjoyable to a horror fan than I don't know what does! Check out Patient Seven for several different and solid horror stories with an overarching connection, it's perfect for Halloween time!

She Kills

She Kills

She Kills is a tale of love and revenge in the most grind house way possible! When Sadie and her husband are attacked by a gang on their wedding night that leaves her husband dead, Sadie discovers she possesses a legendary curse known as Fire Crotch, a condition where Satan has laid claim to her vagina. After a failed genitalia exorcism, secret hidden powers are unlocked within her and she uses her lethal femininity as a deadly weapon in her revenge against the gang that killed her husband.

If that story line grabbed your attention then prepare yourself for an outrageously awesome and hilariously brutal time with She Kills! This movie is so over the top and so absurd that it would be easy to write off as just being plain stupid. But if you've seen a few grind house and exploitation films from the 1970's you should have nothing short of a blast watching She Kills. I appreciated the knowledge writer and director Ron Bonk displayed in crafting this comedy based off the style and tropes of the trash style films from the history of cult cinema. She Kills even has the look of those films with a very rich, over saturated, slightly grainy looking picture. It's not so much an homage as it is a spoof, a ridiculously over the top, and laugh out loud funny spoof.

The cast are all up to the comedic challenge and there isn't a weak performance in the ensemble. Jennie Russo is fantastic as the innocent turned revenge driven, Fire Crotch possessing Sadie who looks like a pimp and call girl in one with her big white furry jacket and tall black boots and heart covered eye patch. Trey Harrison as Dirk, the leader of the gang, sports the greatest mustache of all time and Martha Zemsta as Beatrice is wonderfully deadpan and eye catching. The effects are cheap, corny, and purposefully obvious and had me cracking up. The whole film is pure, gory, sex filled, whacky b-movie heaven.

One issue the film suffers from is it sometimes allows certain jokes or gags to play out too long. One scene features a Kung-Fu like fight that gets more silly as it progresses and while it admittedly has funny moments, it goes on for about 4 minutes and could have been cut back. There's a lot of potential for situational humor in a film like this and I can understand the urge to go all out to cover all the bases, but some tighter editing and slightly quicker pacing would have heightened the humor even more. In my opinion, of course.

That being said, She Kills is a hilarious time. It relies on the lowest form of entertainment but is full of heart and an unabashed love for exploitation cinema and comedy in general. It's in your face and crosses comedic boundaries to great effect. It's on Amazon Instant Video and available on DVD, check it out and have a good time, I sure as hell did!

Blessed are the Children

Blessed are the Children

Blessed are the Children tells the story of Traci Patterson, who after getting an abortion begins to suspect that something sinister is following her and her friends.
It's a simple set up that never gets any more complicated than that but Blessed are the Children isn't just a simple horror film looking for scares and a body count. I was surprised to find the film is a character driven story centered around the struggles of the main character Traci (Kaley Ball). We get to know Traci over the course of a few days and see she is in a tough spot in her life and feeling a bit lost dealing with the loss of her father and feeling the pain of a recent break up.
As a viewer I really liked Traci and found Kaley Ball and her performance to be just wonderful. She comes across as both mature and naive and unabashedly dorky. And that is a compliment. She's real and she's naturally quirky at times and has a very patient way of delivering her lines.
The likability of Traci and the innocent, anything goes interactions with her friends Erin and Mandy sets up the carnage that soon follows in an interesting and unique way. The first half of Blessed are the Children plays out almost like a romantic comedy with elements of horror mixed in. The overall feeling of the film is a smooth cross between Sex and the City and Black Christmas and this mash up of genres is handled nicely by filmmaker Chris Moore.
When Taci gets an abortion the films tone shifts into full fledged horror mode as she starts to get followed by protesters who were outside of the clinic that she went to for the procedure. The masks the protesters were wearing have a truly unnerving, pouty, man-child look to them as if they were aborted fetuses stuck in infancy never to grow old. It was a thought out and powerful appearance.
The protesters begin to follow and hunt down Traci and her friends, referring to them as “sin enablers” through vicious phone calls with a voice that once again recalls the voice on the phone in Black Christmas. The kills are gruesome, the effects are solid, and the blood flies while a great, 1980's slasher style score plays over the horror. The filmmakers are students of the genre and that's on full display in the execution of Blessed are the Children.
There is one issue I had with the film and to say it outright would be a spoiler so I'll have to remain a bit vague. There's a surprising but very questionable choice made about half way through the film that is unexpected to say the least. This choice actually had me thinking if watching the second half of the movie was even necessary! It's a unique but questionable structural decision that unfortunately hindered the pacing and tension of the last half of the film.
With that said, and although I didn't agree with that particular choice, there's plenty to like about Blessed are the Children and the promise that filmmaker Chris Moore shows in this film. It pays homage without ripping off, boasts solid production value, and is executed with knowledge of the genre. The ending even offers some twists and turns that leaves the viewer guessing and wondering just who are these killers? That definitely makes Blessed are the Children worth checking out!

All Through the House

All Through the House

All Through the House is an 80's style slasher film that features the jolliest and merriest killer of them all, Santa Clause! When college student Rachel Kimmel (Ashley Mary Nunes) comes home for Christmas break, she finds her neighborhood being terrorized by a deranged, killing, masked Santa Clause. As the bodies pile up Rachel discovers the menacing secret behind the twisted Santa mask.
I had a good feeling right away with All Through the House as the film opens up swinging in true slasher style with 2 gruesome and "Oh shit!" inducing deaths that don't spare the blood and are not for the squeamish. It's a fantastic and fast paced opening that gets you ready for the carnage that will be unwrapped as the film continues. And I'm happy to say that All Through the House never lets up.
The group of 3 friends led by Ashley Mary Nunes are great fun to watch. They have a good chemistry between them and really do come across as lifelong friends. Danica Riner as Sarah is especially good as the privileged, valley girl/former prom queen type and Natalie Montera as Gia has an endearing girl next door quality and wonderful comedic timing. The trio are all together charming and as a viewer I liked these characters. And Melynda Kiring also gives a great performance as the sweet, older neighbor with a secret.
The tone of the film is a wonderful mix of Christmas cheer and inevitable dread. There seems to be a Santa decoration of some kind in every other scene and old, slow, and almost ghostly sounding at times Christmas music to go with them. There's something inherently creepy about an over saturation of Christmas decorations and All Through the House exploits this expertly. With the barrage of holiday decorations that convey an off kilter and obsessive tone and the old, mangy look and simple yet off-putting mask of the killer Santa Claus, the film rightly makes you uncomfortable in what is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.
Gore-hounds and lovers of practical effects will be thoroughly entertained with what All Through the House has to offer. The kills are creative, gruesome and brutal and the effects are top notch and don't hold back. The blood sprays and drips and gurgles while certain body parts hit the floor like discarded fruit cakes. As for the killer himself, think Jason Voorhees in a Santa outfit.
All Through the House really is slasher 101 and covers all the beats that the genre has become known for and that fans expect. Writer and director Todd Nunes draws from slasher history and there is a clear love for classics such as Maniac, Black Christmas, and Halloween. One scene towards the end looks exactly like a famous screen grab from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This kind of smart and loving homage adds to the fun of All Through the House to make it one hell of a killer slasher flick and extremely entertaining! If you like your slashers dripping red (and your holiday horror as well), then All Through the House is a must watch.

The Barn

The Barn

It's Halloween 1989 and Sam and Josh are attempting to have one more memorable Halloween before graduating from high school. On their way to a rock concert, the two and a few friends find an old abandoned barn and accidentally awaken the evil creatures that lay dormant inside. Now they must protect their friends and the local town and defeat an evil curse before it's too late.

Writer and director Justin M. Seaman and the film crew involved did a remarkable job setting the tone and look of The Barn. Not only does the film look like it takes place in 1989 but it looks like it was filmed in 1989. It's apparent from the beginning that The Barn is an all out love letter to Halloween and the filmmakers don't hold back as the movie seems to be taken right out of our memories. From the cheap devil and skeleton face masks with thin strings to fit over your head to the decorative and colorful cardboard cut outs of smiling pumpkins and black cats, The Barn felt like Halloween when I was kid.

The film also makes use of all the Halloween specials associated with the holiday by creating the perfect late autumn atmosphere to fit the season. We are treated to the sound of distant crows and dried leaves crunching underfoot as well as gray skies and cornfields lined with old wooden fences. Like I said, it's a pure love letter to Halloween. To top off the 80's tone The Barn features appearances by Linnea Quigley and Ari Lehman. They both add a nice touch with Quigley playing against her sultry, scream queen persona and Lehman playing right into his loud, rock and roll image. And the music? Perfect!

As the first and second acts play out, The Barn is nothing short of a complete and total blast. To top off the wonderfully nostalgic and brilliantly realized 80's Halloween look, there's a story involving some new legends and folklore associated with Devil's Night as well as some rules that Sam (Mitchell Musolino) made up as a child. This nice mix creates a new and interesting story to be told and Justin M. Seaman does a fantastic job of both setting the story up and setting it into motion.

When the creatures come out to wreak their havoc the fun manages to kick up another notch. The creature designs are just awesome with a great mix of make up, costume design, and a touch of visual effects. They're memorable, they're scary, and I want to see more of them! The practical effects and gore is yet one more thing that will have fans smiling and yelling in their seats. The filmmakers demonstrate a strong and loving knowledge of 80's horror and I was in complete indie horror, Halloween heaven during the first two thirds of The Barn.

The unfortunate part of The Barn is the final act. The last 30 minutes feel just as long as the previous 60 as Sam and Josh figure out how to fight off the evil creatures. One problem is the ways they fight them off aren't creative or fun but rather very straightforward and frankly pretty dull and uninspired. For a character as creative as Sam with all his rules he made up to prevent the occurrence of ancient Halloween legends, I thought perhaps the ways of stopping these evil creatures would be more inventive.

Another issue that plagues the final half hour is the pacing. There were a few times where it felt like the film was ending only to gear up again for more action. I didn't feel as though each scene moved the action forward very effectively. It instead felt very choppy and back and forth trying to get to the end, which did have a nice little moment of revelation and keeps The Barn open for a sequel.

With no bad performances and a fantastic first hour full of everything you'd want from a Halloween movie coupled with inventive creatures and great special effects, I'll gladly say The Barn is worth a watch. It's a shame the last half hour has the pacing issues and loses steam as much as it does because instead of being just worth a watch, The Barn could have been a classic.

Tales of Poe

Tales of Poe

Tales of Poe is another entry in the growing number of anthology films to be released lately and consists of 3 Edgar Allan Poe stories: The Tell Tale Heart, Cask of Amontillado (in the film as The Cask), and Dreams. The stories that make up the film each give a unique and new spin on the classic tales and showcase such horror favorites as Debbie Rochon, Caroline Williams, Amy Steel, and Adrienne King.
I'm not going to pretend to be an Edgar Allan Poe expert, but I am particularly fond of The Tell Tale Heart and I found this opening to the film a masterful portrayal of the classic story. Watching Debbie Rochon not only act out my favorite Poe story but narrate it as well was a complete joy. Her performance once again demonstrates why she is an indie horror icon. It's an effective spin on the classic and when Rochon says the line, "mad men know nothing," it's bone chilling and an incredible moment in the segment.
My own biased familiarity with The Tell Tale Heart left me thinking it was a dangerous choice to open the film with such a strong story; opting to hook the viewer right away instead of saving the more recognizable fare for later and building up to it as the film progressed. That said, the second tale in the film is The Cask and it did not disappoint.
All seems well in The Cask as a wedding celebration is in full swing with seemingly good time being had by all. However, the music and close ups let us know something isn't right and a claustrophobic feeling of paranoia quickly unfolds around the presence of a mysterious dark figure as the party descends into the cellar in search of more wine. Naturally this is where the party takes an extremely entertaining and deathly fun turn for the worse.
Randy Jones gives a fantastic, melodramatic, and exhausting performance in this segment as the doomed newlywed husband. The performance is the stuff of indie horror legend: gloriously and desperately over the top and spot on. This fun performance is capped off with plenty of blood and a wonderfully eerie and smile inducing un-dead corpse that recalls Creepshow and the best episodes of Tales From the Crypt.
The third and final tale starts off very surreal and quickly becomes nightmarish with haunting visuals and terrifying sounds. It's without question the most artistic story of the film with very few speaking parts and a lingering and visual style that fuses Argento, David Lynch, and Terrence Malick. Dreams is a complete visual nightmare and the costume design and art direction in this sequence are stunning.
This segment may lose a few viewers as it requires plenty of patience and a willingness to allow the imagery to sink in and trigger an emotional response and it's a sudden change of tone from the previous two short films. However, it is beautifully done and populated with the likes of Caroline Williams, Amy Steel, and Adrienne King so viewers of the Dream segment are rewarded in more ways than one.
As a whole, Tales of Poe does not shy away from making the viewer uncomfortable. Whether it be the prolonged dragging of a table across the floor, the incessant ringing of bells, or devilish and maniacal laughter, the viewer is kept in a state of unease and is constantly reminded of the dreadful unpredictability of the stories.
With October and the Halloween season upon us, Tales of Poe is a wonderful anthology for horror fans to enjoy and revel in. And after watching this, I'm positive that plenty of people will be pulling Edgar Allan Poe books off their shelves and paying overdue visits to the Master of the Macabre.