Bloody Ballet

Bloody Ballet

       When a ballerina dancer named Adriana lands the lead role in the upcoming performance of The Nutcracker, she is excited for the role of a lifetime. When the stress of the pending performance begins to weigh on her, Adriana begins to have vivid nightmares while jealousy and tension among the dancers provoke supernatural elements. As a result the ballerinas begin to die one by one.

       The film starts off showcasing a grisly murder scene on a cold winter night and cuts to Adriana (Kendra Carelli) experiencing one of her nightmares. Right away Bloody Ballet shows us there's a lot of ground to be covered and promises a nightmarish and stylish journey is coming. With undeniable influence from Suspiria, Bloody Ballet in several scenes drapes itself in reds, yellows and blues creating a dreamlike atmosphere that effectively blurs the worlds of nightmares and the supernatural with reality. The confusion of reality is taken even further by the wonderful art deco theater setting with the large and empty play house implying all life's a stage, even when no one is watching.

       Along with the dreamlike atmosphere of the film are several bloody deaths and stark, often creepy imagery. A dead girl covered in a gripping black, gooey substance rising out of a bathtub is a chilling sight. A young Adriana venturing through a cave-like tunnel to find demonic figures seemingly expecting her adds a dangerous quality to the story. These scenes and more combined with the bloody deaths at the hands of a mysterious masked killer raise the stakes as the film progresses and Adriana's condition worsens. Bloody Ballet moves at a fast pace creating a sense that time is rapidly running out for Adriana and the rest of the ballerina dancers.

       Adding to the strong filmmaking and script of Bloody Ballet are the great performances from the cast, especially from lead actress Kendra Carelli. Carelli never clumsily goes over the top and handles Adriana's mental decent with careful, fearful attention while displaying genuine panic when gripped by her nightmares and visions. Horror staples Caroline Williams as Ms. Valli, the ballet instructor and Debbie Rochon as Adriana's doctor, Dr. Cassinelli, are great supporting players in Adriana's journey and give excellent performances.

       Bloody Ballet is one of those movies you would have found lining the lower shelves of the horror section at the video store, those hidden gems you'd rent again and again. The death scenes are blood soaked with grisly practical effects that show every detail of the kill. One scene in particular that takes place in a bathroom is one of the most inventive transformation/plot twist scenes I've ever seen. And the fantastic performance from Kendra Carelli pulls everything together and made Bloody Ballet one of the best slasher films I've seen in a long time.

Bonehill Road

Bonehill Road

       Mother and daughter Emily and Eden (Eli DeGeer and Ana-Rojas Plumberg) escape a dangerous domestic disturbance in their home. As they're on the road they encounter a more dangerous threat as they are run off the road by a bloodthirsty group of werewolves. Taking shelter in a nearby house, their problems only get worse. Now they are fighting for their lives and faced with potential death on Bonehill Road.

       The film gets off to a promising start with Emily and Eden on the run in the car. As they drive through foggy, back country roads, they are run off the road by the werewolves. I was excited by the beginning and looking forward to how Emily and Eden would survive the night. Unfortunately the fun and promising beginning is where my excitement ended as the film progressed.

       The biggest problem for Bonehill Road are imposed on itself by the script. When Emily and Eden take shelter in a house, the entire middle third of the film is consumed by a group of women being held captive and terrorized by a cannibalistic madman. The scene has the frenetic, dangerous, and crazed feel of the dinner scene from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. But with the madman not having anyone else of his kind to play off of, he comes across as an over the top delirious clown who has no foundation or basis for his craziness. He's just crazy for the sake of crazy and the character just comes across as lazy. His antics coupled with the well-intentioned but melodramatic fear of the captive women make the entire sequence laughable.

       The other problem with the scene is the uninteresting madman takes the place of the villain role for a big chunk of the movie while the werewolves fall by the wayside. We get random shots of them gathering around the house as they hear the screams of the women. These shots are basically just the werewolves standing there in front of the house and growling. The werewolves are obviously way more interesting than a generic madman and I wanted more of them.

       If the script dropped the lazy device of the madman, created a struggle for survival and shifting power dynamic between the women in the house as they tried to keep the werewolves out (a la Night of the Living Dead), Bonehill Road could have been a much stronger, more focused, and interesting film.

       While the lack of werewolves and uninteresting madman holding the women captive wasn't a winning formula for me, I do give a ton of credit to filmmaker Todd Sheets for using practical effects for the werewolves and gory scenes. The best parts of the madman holding the women captive are the excessive blood and gore scenes, and there are a lot. Sheets does not hold back as the camera captures full on plenty of blood and very gory open guts, which will more than please gore hounds. The werewolves look great as well and perfectly capture the essence of a low budget midnight movie. A lot of effort went in to these practical effects, and I applaud the filmmakers for that.

       Unfortunately Bonehill Road as a whole didn't live up to the very cool looking posters or the fun practical effects featured in the film. With a script that seemed devoid of werewolves until the final act and an ill advised tendency for overly serious melodramatics and bland characters, Bonehill Road is all growl and no bite.

Strange Nature

Strange Nature

       Strange Nature is based on true events that happened back in the mid 1990's when thousands of deformed frogs were found in the waters of Minnesota. The film follows Kim, a former one hit wonder pop star and single mother, who moves herself and her 11 year old son back in with her father in an attempt to build a new life together. When the deformities begin to move beyond just frogs, the hope of a new life is derailed by a deadly, town wide threat.

       The film does an excellent job setting up the characters that populate the small Minnesota town and giving each a sense of depth. The script takes the time early on to convey the different attitudes of the townspeople towards the strange mutations taking place. Some show concern and want to look into the matter further, others say let it be because the local pesticide company is an important part of the farming community's economy. It's a solid script that smartly focuses on the characters and makes the viewer root for Kim from the beginning. It also shows what's at stake right from the start, making the tension slowly rise as the situation worsens.

       While the film shows that people at local companies and the chemicals they've spread around the area may be responsible for the mutations, it also focuses on people taking care of each other. Kim moves in with her father to take care of him as he slowly dies from cancer of the liver. Trent (Faust Checho), the high school science teacher, lives with and takes care of his sick mother. So the script is careful to not completely demonize humans altogether, but rather show them as flawed at worst. It's this depth of character along with some lighthearted moments that make the largely serious script work so well.

       In addition to the script, the cast as a whole does great work bringing the characters of the town to life. Lisa Sheridan as Kim is extremely like-able and portrays her fallen from fame character with the perfect blend of humility and regret. Bruce Bohne is equally as like-able as the sweet, stuck in his ways dying father and character actor Stephen Tobolowsky is perfect as the sincere yet cautious Mayor Paulson. The only disappointment would be the severely limited use of Tiffany Shepis, who is only utilized in a single scene. Shepis is one of the best indie actresses out there and deserves much bigger roles than a mere cameo.

       As the deformities turn into a larger and larger threat to the town, director James Ojala gets to show off his skills at special makeup effects. Along with the deformed frogs we get a family with birth defects, a newly born baby with heavy mutations, and a dog that is losing its skin. It's the final act, however, where Ojala lets loose when a monstrous, mutated dog viciously tears through the area and savagely rips apart several characters. There's plenty of guts and insides on display and a lot of spurting and dripping blood. It's a rousing and violent finale and the practical effects are what horror fans love to see.

       First time feature film writer and director James Ojala shows a real talent behind the camera. Strange Nature is a tightly written, superbly paced eco-thriller that does more than simply aim to shock with deformed makeup effects and mutated animals. It's also a study on human behavior and the constant battle between those who seek the truth and those who choose to deny it.

Assassination Nation

Assassination Nation

       If everyone's phones, tablets, computers, and laptops were hacked and all pictures, videos, texts, and search histories were leaked for all to see, true chaos and rage would erupt in the streets. Families would be torn apart, friendships broken, trust would be eliminated, paranoia would rise, and revenge would be sought. This is what Assassination Nation so boldly lays out and it's one hell of a wild ride.
       The film tells the story of a major data hack that exposes sensitive information about the people in the small town of Salem. When 4 teenage girls get swept up in the controversy and all hell breaks loose, they must fight for their lives in order to survive the night.
       The setting of Salem is a proper one, given the witch hunt following the data hack that leaves many lives in the community ruined. The witch hunt in the film serves as a warning on many levels. The film smartly, and very stylishly, demonstrates that the initial reaction to having one's deepest secrets revealed for all to see is to lash out in self righteousness while brushing aside the wrongdoing that was exposed. It also shows the dangerous mob mentality from the people who were exposed seeking what they say is justice, but what is actually revenge.
       The world of Assassination Nation and its 4 young characters is slick and flashy and defined largely by appearances, boredom, and manufactured moments created for social-media purposes. Director Sam Levinson immerses the viewer in this world early on by utilizing several music filled, slow motion, montage like scenes. This momentary enhancing music video style gives the film a polished appearance yet creates disconnect and shallow feeling to the lives of the teenage girls. What this technique does later on is raise the stakes and creates empathy when the girls are forced to fight and find out what they're made of. When this fight or flight moment arrives and the girls take a stand, the music video style sporadically returns to show the girls are comfortable with the decision to fight.
       The performances are excellent across the board. Odessa Young gives an absolute star making performance as she perfectly portrays the deeply troubled Lily trying to cope with her own leaked data: intimate pictures of her found on the phone of an older, married man. When it comes time for her to fight back, Young boldly creates what should become a cult icon out of Lily. Her and her friend Bex (Hari Nef, in a very confident performance), are the two most fully realized characters in the film. I only wish Abra and the talented Suki Waterhouse were as realized and had more to do because the group of girls all had excellent on screen chemistry..
       A lot has been said of the social commentary of the film and its strong feminist stance. That's all true and has been the focus on the movie since Neon acquired it. I'm here to say there is so much more to this film than only that. This is American cinema at its finest. It's beautifully made with breathtaking cinematography. There's one long panning sequence circling a home towards the end that would make Hitchcock smile. There’s blood, guns, creepy masked mobs, murder, revenge, terror, and messages on top of messages. The film suggests that the world we live in is even scarier than we thought, that our secrets and privacy are thinly veiled and at constant risk. What's scarier is that not a lot of us seem to care until it's too late.
       Assassination Nation packs heavy handed punches and you may have to look down the barrel of a few guns to see its ultimate message, but I think the reference of 'assassination' in the title isn't just referring to physical violence. It also is referring to character assassination and how the self righteous, social-media, mob mentality of modern day America seeks to destroy lives by bullying and instantly deeming someone's life useless or not worthy based on bits of largely out of context information. 

        Perhaps the most honest scene in the film is when Bex sleeps with a guy she's had her eye on at a party. When the guy leaves and says, "you're not going to tell anybody about this, right," there's an all too familiar look on Bex's face. She realizes, as the audience does with her, that this has happened before; that a one night stand started with the hope of something more to follow. This sense of familiar abandonment shows not only her humanity but her femininity as well. As a guy, I recognized that look on her face, that power men have over women to hurt them in intimate situations. It's a brilliant scene that shows the film is coming from a deeply genuine place and gave weight and credence to the more extreme scenarios that followed.
       I'm not sure why Assassination Nation under-performed at the box office. One review called it Mean Girls meets The Purge and comparisons have also been drawn to Heathers. I'd have to say those comparisons are accurate and I’d like to say it’s American Beauty meets Taxi Driver. I’m left wondering why audiences didn’t turn out in droves for this film. But if there's one audience that without question should go see Assassination Nation, it's the horror loving, midnight movie audience. There's so much to love about this film if you’re a fan of smart, socially aware horror. And make no mistake about it: Assassination Nation is a horror movie. If The Purge feels like America's future, then Assassination Nation feels like its present. It's a loud, stylish, and in your face warning. And it's fucking awesome. Go see it, you’ll love it.

The Basement

The Basement

       The Basement tells the twisted tale of a deranged murderer named Bill known as the Gemini Killer. When the Bill kidnaps a man named Craig, he plays several different personas and forces Craig to play the killer so Bill can role play his own capture and brutal interrogation for the crimes he has committed. 

       The script for The Basement is surprisingly strong and clever. The film is largely a series of scenes between the two actors (Jackson Davis and Cayleb Long) telling the story of the Gemini Killer in a completely original way. At the same time, each scene reveals more about Craig as he pretends to be the killer in the role that has been forced upon him. It's interesting to watch Craig's character desperately navigate his situation in order to survive as long as possible. It's during the process of this navigation that Cayleb Long's performance as Craig grows stronger causing the tension of the film to grow stronger with it. 

       Jackson Davis as Bill, the Gemini Killer, does an excellent job portraying the several characters that inhabit his many personalities. Davis impressively adopts different physical traits and accents for each character and is believable in each role. He has fun and goes all out for each character but never goes over the top, which I'm sure would be an unintentional temptation for many actors. It helps that Davis has just a hint of madness in his eyes that makes each character unpredictable and that much more frightening.
       Cayleb Long does a fine job as the kidnapped Craig and it's hard to watch some of the brutal torture he endures. He earns the sympathy necessary as the straight character trying to survive a harrowing situation. Both actors enhance the others performance with their strong on screen chemistry and ability to successfully play off the other through eye contact and active listening.
       Although I loved where her character ended up, Mischa Barton as Kelly, Craig's wife, feels wasted throughout the film. Her character spends the film rightfully wondering where her husband is and being suspicious of her best friend that he and her are having an affair. She has little else to do with any semblance of characterization coming too late in the film. She is ultimately a necessary character, but it's a shame to see an actress with Barton's talent wasted on such a largely thin character.
       The Basement is a smart thriller with a tight script. It's smoothly paced and it kept me guessing the entire run time wondering how it was going to end. But it was the performances of Long and Davis that elevated this film to heights that exceeded my expectations. The Basement is currently in limited theatrical release and on video on demand and I highly recommend it.

Skeletons in the Closet

Skeletons in the Closet

       Skeletons in the Closet is the name of a late night horror TV show featuring The Widow and her dead husband, Charlie, who provide Elvira-like commentary to B-horror movies. Jamie, an 11 year old girl with a slight obsession with horror, is the their biggest fan and never misses an episode. Her horror viewing pleasure is interrupted when her parents go out for the night and leave her with an annoying new babysitter, Tina. Will Tina ruin Jamie's night? Or is Tina in for a surprise? Find out in Skeletons in the Closet!
       I absolutely loved the beginning of this film! The first 15 minutes are some of the most enjoyable moments I've had this year watching a horror movie. The spot on 1980's feel and set up and introduction to Jamie and her favorite show, Skeletons in the Closet, took me right back to when I was a kid staying up late to watch Tales From the Crypt on Saturday nights. Alaina Karner gives a wonderful performance as Jamie and she reminded me a lot of Drew Barrymore in E.T.
       Ellie Church as The Widow also does a fantastic job in the film and I would love to see more of her character along with her dead husband co-host, Charlie (Adam Michaels). The two have a very entertaining relationship that had me thinking, “get these two a web series!” Rounding out the strong start to the film was Elizabeth Stenholt as Tina, Jamie's babysitter. Stenholt nails the gum smacking, bored, Punky Brewster-ish 80's kid and reminded me of a young Jill Schoelen (Popcorn, The Stepfather).
       With this set up, everything about the film seemed to be firing on all cylinders and I was excited for what was to come. At this point the film shifts gears to focus on Chop Shop, the anthology film being presented by The Widow and her dead husband on Skeletons in the Closet with Jamie watching on in delight and Tina rolling her eyes. This is where the film stumbles and failed to live up to its magical start.
       Jamie and her horror themed show had a wonderful 1980's vibe with the filmmakers going out of their way to create a VHS look with 'ADJUST YOUR TRACKING' messages and static lines traveling down the screen. Everything was perfect and I loved every minute of those scenes. Despite being presented on a beat up looking VHS tape, when Chop Shop becomes the focus, the film feels and looks like a horror movie from today. It didn't gel at all with the show Skeletons in the Closet presenting it or in the world of Jamie watching it.
       This mismatch in style and drastic change in tone left me confused. It also didn't help matters that Chop Shop wasn't nearly as interesting as the set up or the characters introduced early on. The first film of the anthology Chop Shop is somewhat interesting and has a passable 1980's vibe. The following 2 parts just don't share the same aesthetic and it really brings down the enjoyment of the movie. The more screen time that was used up on Chop Shop the less interested in the film I became.
       The little girl, Jamie, is underutilized to a fault. She's adorable and captures the little kid in all of us staying up late watching horror movies. As the film cuts back to Jamie during commercial breaks, a news bulletin warns of an escaped patient from a mental institute in her town. However, the script never really follows up on this in any meaningful way. The more interesting moments are with Jamie and her babysitter and it's a shame that those moments and story are cut so short for the less interesting Chop Shop film. It could have been a lot of fun if the film shifted gears again to focus on how Jamie and Tina would deal with the escaped mental patient. However, there is a nice little surprise at the end that I didn't see coming.
       Perhaps if the film within the film, Chop Shop, had the same 1980's aesthetic as everything else in the movie, Skeletons in the Closet could have been a huge winner. It's just a shame that such effort and great attention to detail felt lost when paired with the forgettable film within the film. Skeletons in the Closet is not entirely a film to write off: it did create some pretty cool characters and have some great moments. Although as a whole I didn't very much like the film, I'm intrigued enough by The Widow and her dead husband, Charlie to see if Skeletons in the Closet could win me over with another presentation.

e-Demon

e-Demon

       A group of college friends from around the country get together on a video-chat to hang out and catch up for a night of fun. When a prank pulled by a couple of the friends trick the rest of the group, they don't realize that what follows is not a prank at all until it's too late as an escaped demon transfers itself digitally to possess the group one by one. Not knowing who to trust, the group's night of fun turns into a nightmare. 

       e-Demon has a very simple set up when one of the character's grandmother speaks of a trunk in the home that must not be opened and this, of course, entices the character, Mar (Ryan Redebaugh) to open it. Unknowingly to Mar, the black magic is released and the dark force spreads through the group causing mayhem and acts of violence.
       This video-chat format of cinematic storytelling is becoming more popular with films like Unfriended and the newly released Searching. I'll admit I was skeptical of this type of format for a film but I've found it to be quite an effective delivery system. e-Demon takes advantage of the format by merging technical glitches like pixelation and blurring into supernatural happenings. The film also uses muffled, distant yelling and sounds from other rooms to great effect while the webcam focuses on an empty space. It's especially chilling when the distant sounds stop and all that stands between an empty room and someone entering it is silence.
       Another positive consequence of the webcam/video-chat format is the atmosphere and performances. e-Demon has a natural feel to it with realistic and familiar settings that make the characters feel like real people. All of this adds to the uneasiness of the situation and builds the tension as the story unfolds. And because the film is essentially one long scene, the story does unfold in a minute by minute manner. There's also nothing the other characters can do because they are all so far away from each other living in different cities. They, like the viewer, can just watch in horror as things escalate into chaos.
       Some of the dialogue is a little clunky at times as the script attempts to have characters explain what may be happening. The film also suffers from introducing the know all character at the end of the second act who understands black magic and explains to the group exactly what's happening. With the format of the film and the internet at the fingertips of each character, why not just have the group search and put the pieces together themselves? This would have kept the tension high and introduced some form of teamwork as the film begins to lag just a bit at the 2/3rds point.
       Overall I was pleasantly surprised by e-Demon and really enjoyed it. The film brings together the devil and modern technology by suggesting the old belief that a picture steals a small part of the soul. If that's the case, does video capture the entire soul? e-Demon makes for a great Halloween season watch and releases on video on demand on September 14 with limited theatrical runs in Los Angeles on the 14th and New York on the twenty first.