Red Eye

Red Eye

Red Eye is the debut feature film from Deranged Minds Entertainment made up of filmmaking duo Tristan Clay and Destinie Orndoff. It tells the story of a group of friends who set out into the backwoods of West Virginia to document a local legend known as 'Red Eye'. But when their lives are put in severe danger, they realize they have taken on more than they can handle. Right off the bat I noticed how good the film looked. The deep, bright colors and crisp, rich image were beautiful to look at. Major kudos to Cinematographer Robert Filion for capturing both the beauty of the location and the brutality of the story. I also loved the camera movement in the opening scene and throughout the film that captured the actions of characters in a few sweeping takes instead of constant cuts. It offered a nice sense of closeness between the characters and a feeling of events happening in real time that I thought worked wonderfully with the story. On the same note, the aerial shots were fantastic and offered the viewer a solid understanding of the remoteness of the location these characters were heading into.
There's a lot of old school slasher goodness going on in Red Eye: A lot of blood and a lot of screaming and running through the woods. There's also a few cringe worthy scenes that are almost unwatchable. No spoilers here, you'll have to find out what those are on your own. With very cool and different death scenes, gore fans and slasher fans should find themselves more than happy with Red Eye.
The cast does a solid job as a whole and Heather Dorff continues to impress me. She was great in Truth or Dare and does fantastic work here; she's an all around damn good actress. Scott King as Gage does a lot with his role in an effective and smart subtle performance and Destinie Orndoff shows her strong screen presence and even stronger pipes; that girl can scream!
The one criticism of Red Eye is the dialogue is uneven at best. The opening scene, for example, is stiff sounding and awkward at times. The follow up scene in the car, however, comes across as more natural, spontaneous and playful. Another dialogue issue comes whenever a character has a “moment”, or a scene that creates a back story. I appreciate character development and while the back stories do play a part in the story, there's a lot of lengthy exposition explaining them that I felt could have been heavily edited.
There's a lot of references to classic horror movies that are fun to hear and often cleverly placed. Destinie Orndoff's character, Rykyr, addresses being an outcast in school because of her love for these classic horror films and for her alternative appearance. Although these proclamations are a little too on the nose and sound a bit more preachy than I'm sure the writers intended, they serve as an extended hand to all misfits welcoming them into the world of Deranged Minds Entertainment. Even their short film Used reaches out to a group of misfits as if to say, “it's ok, you're not alone.” Whether intentional or not, Tristan Clay and Destinie Orndoff are building a community through their films and it's a fascinating development to watch.
As young filmmakers, Clay and Orndoff are ahead of the curve. They know how to craft a story with character development and set up story lines that lead to pay offs later on. They also know their horror. If Red Eye is any indication, it'll be exciting to watch what Deranged Minds Entertainment produces next.

The Night Watchmen

The Night Watchmen

The Night Watchmen is about a group of bumbling security guards at an office complex who find themselves battling a bloodthirsty group of vampires after a corpse is accidentally delivered to their building. 
The set up for the film is simple and to the point with a brief news montage playing over the opening credits explaining the the mysterious death of Blimpo, beloved clown, while performing a show in Romania. When Blimpo's corpse is delivered to the office building, the carnage begins as he is not really dead, but a vampire! Well, as the film calls him, a clownpire. And this clownpire looks pretty cool, like Pennywise mixed with the make-up from Night of the Demons. 

The film is fast and fun, never taking itself too seriously but looking to entertain with every scene. There are constant laughs during inappropriate situations (“Oh good, it wasn't Karen,” says one security guard, referring to the hot girl in the office, when rolling over a dead female), and the soundtrack features a very 80's sounding, drum machine driven song that plays during a very 80's arming up/geting-ready-to-fight montage. Plus we get a fierce, bloodthirsty and totally bad ass Tiffany Shepis in a too quick, but completely awesome scene. If its got Tiffany, count me in. 

The cast has a great onscreen chemistry as they clumsily figure out how to fight the vampires and often hilariously argue about what the best course of action to take is. The standouts among the cast are Ken Arnold and Kevin Jiggetts as 2 of the very funny security guards and Kara Luiz as the attention commanding Karen. 

The film does a great job raising the stakes and nicely blending humor with touching moments as the importance of seemingly meaningless work acquaintances are proven to be valid life relationships when lives are on the line. It's a nice touch to an otherwise carefree and fun film that is light on any real meaningful drama. 

The Night Watchmen is capped off with a quick cut, colorful, action packed, Royal Rumble-like free for all. It's a blast to watch our rag tag group of heroes (I use that term loosely) get more and more covered in blood as they fight off the non stop vampire attack. Full of racial and gay jokes, the humor is no holds barred and almost every time ends with a laugh. It's never over the top or goes too far, and it works. (Yes, that stuff can still be funny). It looks like it was a lot of fun to film this movie and that feeling comes through in the final product. 

Definitely check this one out if you're a fan of blood soaked horror-comedies or just fun in general. I would love to see the further adventures of these night watchmen, especially if Kara Luiz continues to kick vampire ass in those black high heels.

Harvest Lake

Harvest Lake

Harvest Lake is about a group of friends who encounter a mysterious presence in the woods while on a weekend getaway. 

The beginning is very animalistic as we see a man and a woman naked in the woods. They do not speak, but we are shown a strong attraction between the two and that they are very familiar with each other. It feels like watching Adam and Eve; innocent and in love while frolicking in nature. The scene ends on an ominous and mysterious note as the two are drawn towards a presence in the lake, thus setting the tone for the rest of the film. 

The film is about little else other than sensuality and feeling, but it approaches this in a unique and thoughtful way. Human beings are so erratic and lost, always searching and the film presents a story that suggests, when in nature, people feel less inhibited and seek to lose themselves, in this case with sex and mood altering substances. But is this losing the beginning of finding one's self? Are people in everyday society how people actually are? Or is this animal behavior that comes out in nature how people actually are? The experiences turn scary at times with horrific alien like creatures that get inside and infect and the film pushes its own premise further by suggesting humans can't handle the true nature of nature itself. At least the nature of Harvest Lake, anyway. 

Kind of trippy, right? At one point, a character says, "nothing will ever matter again," if another character simply allows the painless infection to happen. It's meant as an enticing offer, but it comes across as a further dulling of life where everything else other than sensuality is muted. It's a psychological and philosophical mind screw of a film. 

We can choose what we succumb to, and it's in the choosing where we find the experiences that make up our lives. We just can't allow these experiences to consume us. And that's exactly what happens in Harvest Lake. 

In simpler terms, Harvest Lake is kind of like a mild version of The Evil Dead meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
Tristan Risk is untamed and this is the perfect role for her. Much like her performance in the upcoming film Ayla, where she literally comes from nature, in Harvest Lake she is surrounded by it and seems at one with it. And when shit hits the fan, Risk absolutely shines as the effected, sensual Cat. With her mischievous eyes and feral sensibilities, she belongs everywhere and nowhere all at once. Risk is simply out of this world in the best way possible.
Ellie Church excels in the more grounded role of Jennifer. She's observant and quiet but turns on a dime to become a lightning rod of sexuality. Her wide eyed, blonde hair, all American good looks offer the perfect contrast to the dream like, other worldly beauty of Risk. 

Jason Crowe and Dan Nye as Josh and Ben offer the most down to Earth characters in the film and are excellent in their portrayals of the Everyman. This applies especially to Ben, who, for his 26th birthday, only wants a modest weekend getaway at the lake with a couple of his friends. Ben is the only character who seems to feel truly comfortable in his own skin, making his encounter with the libidinous alien force all the more tragic. 

 Harvest Lake is a heady and complex film that pulls no punches in its smart, daring and unnerving approach. It's a challenging film to watch but a rewarding one as well. It made me think like few films do, and its intriguing story-line combined with strong production values makes Harvest Lake a shining example of why I love indie film and indie horror.

Ayla

Ayla

Ayla is about a man who is haunted by the death of his 4 year old sister thirty years ago. Still grief stricken all these years later, he mysteriously brings her back to life with dire consequences. 

Ayla from the beginning feels like a film taking place in a neglected world. Everything is sad, run down and tired feeling. There are shots of ragged, dog-eared books, spider webs in corners and dilapidated houses. There are people on screen talking and we can't hear them. It's an empty, lonely and dreary tone that wonderfully mirrors the life of the main character, Elton (Nicholas Wilder). Thirty years after his sister's death he remains deeply haunted by the loss, and the films atmosphere reflects that. 

An effectively, slightly grainy look coats the picture offering another layer of atmosphere. Like the character of Elton, the world of the film has lost its luster, lost its shine. It's an unsettling place, but the deep Earth tones reveal a beauty that still exists among the hopelessness. And it's from the Earth that Elton is able to bring his sister back to life as she literally comes from the ground from the roots of an old, giant tree. 

Every piano note, every drawn out synthesizer note, is the constant, otherworldly score inside Eltons head. Every tortured and longing minute is expertly given sound. Life has been toying with Elton and he's had enough. Ayla is a film full of an edgy, dangerous sadness. It's a tough film to sit through because of that, but it won't leave your mind anytime soon. Even with its more awkward, incestuous moments, the film haunted me like Ayla's death haunted her brother. 

As for Ayla, Tristan Risk is simply breathtaking. Watching her face and movements take in the world for the first time after her mysterious re-birth is a wonderful thing to watch. She is perfect for this role. The way she stands and stares has a hollow and eerie stillness which stands in contrast with her naturally wild beauty. She's as as mysterious as her character's return and she absolutely nails it in this film. 

Ayla is a sometimes uncomfortable but ultimately beautiful story. The film is 80% atmosphere with just enough character to create an intriguing and thoughtful story. Among the cast is Dee Wallace in her classic, motherly role and Bill Oberst, Jr. in a very Bill Oberst, Jr. dual role appearance that is a highlight of the film. With a hint of supernatural touches, Ayla is an interesting, deeply sad and beautiful film. If you're big on atmosphere and feeling, check it out, but know that Ayla is a deep film that doesn't give the viewer all the answers. It's a deep film that requires patience and an open mind.

It Stains the Sands Red

It Stains the Sands Red

It Stains the Sands Red is about a woman named Molly (Brittany Allen) who is stranded in the desert amidst the zombie apocalypse. However, she is not entirely alone as a ravenous zombie is tirelessly following her. The film starts out with the zombie apocalypse already having happened. The characters seem to still be getting used to the idea of their world being overrun by the undead as one comments, “they're not as bad as the news makes them out to be,” when the zombie first approaches their stuck car on the side of the desert road. I liked the story starting this way without any explanation of what happened. The script is smart enough to know we've heard it all before and don't need to hear it again. The film has a lot of surprising comedy in it as Molly tries to stay ahead of the zombie stalking her across the desert and it never comes across as unwarranted or out of place. Powered by a few bottles of water and cocaine in her backpack, Molly walks and stays mere steps ahead of the zombie, and it seems strangely natural when she begins talking to it. It's through this wonderful set up that we begin to know Molly, her past and her motivations. All of this is wonderfully portrayed by Brittany Allen. She's vulnerable and tough, out of her element and strong, and she plays every aspect with a relateable believability. She largely and expertly carries the film on her shoulders, no small feat for any actor. The film needed a strong lead performance in order to work, and Brittany Allen nails it. The zombie chasing her isn't the only life threatening thing with her in the desert. Along the way she encounters dangers from nature and from fellow human beings as well. It's the Wild West in this new world and Molly has to dig deep beyond her white furry coat, skin tight leopard print pants and high heeled boots in order to survive it. This is where the film really surprised me. Sure, it's a zombie flick but it's also so much more than that. It's a story about self discovery and finding out what you're made of. It's a story centered on the journey of Molly and her confronting her past. It's a story of redemption. It just happens to take place with zombies. It Stains the Sands Red is a completely welcome fresh take on the zombie sub-genre. It's full of thrills, full of humor and full of heart and humanity. It's gritty, well acted and makes great use of its desert setting. All of this had me really enjoying this cat and mouse film. Check it out for some fantastic zombie fun and a surprisingly strong and heartfelt story.

Red Christmas

Red Christmas

Red Christmas is about a family who gets together to celebrate the holiday when a demented stranger shows up determined to tear the family apart.

I must say that I tend to love Christmas themed slasher films. There’s something about all the decorations and all the lights and all the joy that somehow mixes together to create the perfect atmosphere for terror and bloodshed. That being said, Red Christmas offers very little, if anything, to get excited about. And having someone as awesome as Dee Wallace as the lead, that’s saying a lot.

The first moments of the film put me on edge right away with a polarizing opening sequence as sound clips play back and forth highlighting the bumper sticker arguments for and against everyone's favorite topic: abortion. Granted, the topic does play a role in the film so having it here isn’t completely out of the question. It’s just such a distracting topic and perhaps a little steep to be offered as a plot device in a slasher film. In my opinion, of course.

While sitting around about to open presents, the mother and head of the family, Diane (Dee Wallace), wants everyone to say what they're thankful for. It wouldn't be Christmas without some good ol fashioned family dysfunction, so naturally they begin arguing. At this moment the doorbell rings. Standing at the door is a man who looks like a cross between Ghost Face and the Mummy and it is beyond comprehension that Diane invites the stranger into her home because, after all, "it's Christmas." At this point I was struggling to stay interested in the film. I can suspend my disbelief for the sake of a film, but this scene is one of the biggest problems in a very weak script. Diane inviting this shrouded, creepy stranger into her home is an action based solely on a forced necessity to move the story forward. From here we have more family dysfunction as the non-believer side of the family pokes fun at the religious side of the family by trying to get them to drink and smoke pot. I Suppose these scenes are meant to be played for humor… but I’d merely be guessing.

There's simply no fun to be had with Red Christmas. The introduction to the killer is absurd, the characters have zero personality being nothing more than stereotypes and the constant religion bashing just turned me off. Several scenes came across as having an agenda to push and I simply don't see that as a good time. To top it off, despite it's somewhat hokey, on the nose tone in the beginning, the film is devoid of humor of any kind.

Overall, Red Christmas is uninteresting in every way and takes itself way too seriously. Just skip this one.

Are We the Waiting

Are We the Waiting

Are We the Waiting tells the story of a group of friends who flee to a family members house in Canada to avoid being drafted for World War three. While there, the friends are locked in the house and terrorized by a ruthless killer named NEO. The group may have dodged World War 3 but they may not survive the night.
As the film begins, we meet the characters who are on the verge of being adults and it's evident they are struggling with growing up and letting go of their carefree youth. We see them playing video games and smoking pot in the middle of the day while the main character, Chance (Rob Pemberton), is thinking of proposing to his girlfriend. But without a job, he thinks twice. This feeling of inadequacy and a lack of direction is further proven by Chance fleeing the country with encouragement from his friends when the draft is reinstated and he gets notified to report for duty. It's a smart set up to show who these characters are and the lives they lead with the draft aspect working as a wonderful Mcguffin that leads us to the true story of the film: a psychotic killer preying on young people
There's a lot of conversation between the characters that takes place while they're sitting down, very still just talking and this approach felt a bit off to me and gave the first half an unnecessary slow feel. If the characters had been in action, working on a car or even simply walking for example, the film could have had a stronger sense of moving forward. It would have felt more lively with more movement.
On the technical front, the film is hindered slightly by some severely uneven sound issues that had me pretty regularly adjusting the volume up or down. There are some cool practical effects that I give the film crew credit for attempting on such a low budget. There's a number of knife killings and one that involves an axe and a head that looked good. All the actors involved did decent work here, with Pemberton and his onscreen girlfriend Kiya (Alyssa Cordial) being the standouts and doing a good job. Fun Time Production shows a lot of heart and effort in Are We the Waiting and it's obvious to me that with a little more style and some technical fine tuning they'll surely produce some great films. Are We the Waiting is a decent flick with a solid sense of story but it lacks a violent punch needed to really put an exclamation point on some of the scenes. That being said, this is a young group of indie horror filmmakers who show a lot of promise and have my attention. I look forward to seeing what they do with their next feature film, Night Howl.