Charlie's Farm

Charlie's Farm

Charlie's Farm tells the story of four friends who are looking to do something different, looking to go on a little adventure. One of them gets the idea to go see Charlie's Farm, a homestead in the middle of nowhere that was the site of a murderous, cannibalistic family (headed by Bill Moseley in his usual, scene stealing performance) who were killed by a mob of local townsfolk many years before. The family's son, Charlie, was never seen after that night and while many believe he is dead, some say he still wanders the farm to this day.

Charlie's Farm begins with a great opening sequence showing two hopeless victims who are trying to escape a killer. The two are trapped in a basement and the scene is lit with a dingy green light that gives the picture a dirty and eerie feel as we hear heavy and fast footfalls above; this killer is a big guy. When the two meet their inevitable demise it's rough and quick and brutal with wonderful blood splatter sounds.

Unfortunately, that's the best part of Charlie's Farm.

We cut to a group of friends who are bored and decide to go see Charlie's Farm, the infamous scene of gruesome killings. What follows is a generic road trip sequence, complete with goofing around in the car as happy, upbeat music plays, as they travel several hours to the farm.

The idea of going to the legendary farm becomes almost an obsession with Jason and Mick (Dean Kirkright & Sam Coward), but it is never really understood why. Other than being bored and hoping to see “some cool shit,” no reason whatsoever is given for their sudden and strong desire to see the place. It's not as if they are counselors at a camp or break down near the farm or get lost on it, no, they just choose to go there. With no conceivable connection between the characters and the location that is the name of the film, I as a viewer felt a bit lost during Charlie's Farm with nothing to really latch on to or care about. Even with several warnings not to go to the farm, including some resistance inside the group from Natasha (Tara Reid), they are blindly determined to see it and push on. And with no one or nothing to ultimately root for, Charlie's Farm feels like a flat and lifeless picture.

The movie isn't without it's bright spots. The dialogue is written and delivered the way people speak and this helped the characters seem like actual people and I appreciated that attention to detail. Another part of the film that pays attention to detail are the special effects. There are some creative kills with solid practical effects work, a job well done by the effects team! And while the group is exploring the farm there are some beautiful shots of the surrounding scenery like old farm equipment, rusted fencing, and twisted up barbed wire.

When Charlie himself shows up (Nathan Jones), he is a big friggin dude. He looks like a hillbilly version of a possessed Sabertooth from the X-Men movies. Charlie grunts and yells throughout his killing spree and I found him a lot more effective in that opening scene where his quick, menacing, and heavy footsteps was enough to be terrifying.

And Kane Hodder shows up in a throwaway and meaningless role.

While Charlie's Farm isn't a terrible film, the good aspects of the movie aren't enough to save it, as it is a by the numbers slasher flick that doesn't try to offer anything new, it just...is.

Krampus

Krampus

While Krampus isn't exactly an “independent” horror film, I still found it necessary to review for a few reasons. One, it is the horror genres big offering for the holiday season. Two, it was written by Micheal Dougherty who is responsible for the cult, horror hit Trick r Treat. And three, it just looked awesome!

Krampus tells the story of Max, a pre-teen boy who wants Christmas to be like it used to when he was a younger child. While holding onto a belief in Santa Claus and the magic of the season, his family seems to have lost touch with the Christmas spirit. When relatives come to visit, the family dysfunction comes to a boil and Max loses hope and gives up on Christmas cheer thus unleashing the evil spirit of the holiday, the shadow of St. Nicholas, Krampus!

From the opening moments of Krampus, I knew I would love this movie. The opening credits play over slow motion filming of mad and frenzied holiday shoppers tripping over each other, trampling store employees, and fighting over items they want to buy. The silent scenes are accompanied by comforting Christmas music that plays over the juxtaposing crazed images. This opening sets the tone for the entire rest of the film: it's funny and terrifying, and brilliantly mixes a holiday horror story while relaying a classic Christmas message of family at the same time.

Krampus works so well because it is a a film that pays attention to detail. With a character based depiction of the average family, the stress and nostalgia of the holidays, and a blatant admiration for classic holiday movies, Krampus creates an atmosphere that almost every movie goer can relate to. A brilliant homage is paid to classic Christmas specials with a flashback sequence that is told using CGI that simulates the look of Rankin-Bass stop animation. The film also has the shadow of Gremlins hanging over it with the murderous little toys brought by Krampus squealing in high pitched mischievous giggles like the Gremlins themselves and the young Max (Emjay Anthony) resembling a young Zach Galligan.

The entire cast is spot on here and the comedy plays well within the horror. Adam Scott and David Koechner play off each other nicely as the two fathers with opposite view points on almost everything while Allison Tolman is very effective and funny in a subtle and strong performance. But it is the always great Toni Collette who stole the show for me. She plays the mother of Max as caring and sensitive and doing her best to have a nice holiday. But when the evil Krampus and his sack of killer toys come down the chimney, her performance takes on a tough edge that I found captivating.

Krampus moves at a quick pace and it doesn't take long for the horror to settle in. The film is filled with random, loud noises when Krampus comes to town that are truly terrifying! The sounds swirled around the theater like the snowstorm on the screen and filled it with roar like screams and bangs and thuds and stomps that sounded like an intensified and possessed version of Jurassic Park. Giant killer Jack-in-the-boxes, little murderous gingerbread men, demonic dolls, and ghoulish elves invade their house and fill the screen in a holiday horror masquerade massacre of a climax that is an absolute balls to the wall blast to watch. Computer graphics are blended well with the many practical effects to give Krampus and his tidings of evil the look of a 1980's creature feature while the music of the film reflected the mayhem and horror of the situation with a touch of evil playfulness.

With Trick r Treat and now Krampus, Micheal Dougherty is 2 for 2 with creating classic movies to represent a holiday. Krampus is a big movie in every way, big on fun, big on detail, and big on storytelling. I'll find my way back to the theater to see it again before Christmas and it will find it's way into my regular yearly rotation of holiday must watches!

The Similars (Los Parecidos)

The Similars (Los Parecidos)

The Similars is the second feature length film from Mexican writer/director Isaac Ezban. The movie takes place on October 2, 1968 and it is a dark and very stormy night. It's a torrential downpour and eight strangers find themselves waiting in a remote bus station trying to get to to Mexico City. With the buses delayed due to the weather and no taxis willing to make the long drive to the station, the group struggles to find a way out of the bus station. Amidst their struggle and frustration being stranded at the station, they all start experiencing a strange phenomenon.

To say more of the plot would be entering spoiler territory and as with Ezban's 2014 feature The Incident, the less you know going in, the better. The Similars is high-concept storytelling at it's best; it takes a simple plot and runs with it while never losing sight of what it is trying to accomplish. Ezban makes The Similars work so well because after the initial set up, the plot is driven forward by the characters and every scene further develops the story. It was a completely mysterious and joyful experience watching this film because once the “strange phenomenon” starts to take place I had no idea where it would end up and I was mesmerized right through the end credits! The Similars is a throwback homage to old Twilight Zone episodes and Ezban pays those classic stories the best kind of compliment by bluntly allowing their influence on him to shine through without making it seem like he was ripping them off or simply mimicking them. He is the kind of filmmaker who knows his influences well and wants to celebrate them but has his own strong vision that makes his work seem fresh and exciting.

The Similars is a special film that had me feeling like a kid at a Saturday matinee. With the very faded color scheme that gave the film an aged, black and white look mixing with the crispness of the picture, The Similars felt like a strange yet familiar dream world. The excellent cast of actors elevate the dream world aesthetic of the film by portraying real people experiencing a hellish nightmare even as the direction hits upon tones of humor and outrageousness. The audience I saw this with laughed several times at genuinely funny (if not a bit disturbing) scenes. The tone of the film is superbly blended as The Similars pushes itself further into Twilight Zone territory by putting the audience in an uncomfortable and unimaginable and terrifying scenario and allowing their only means of release be either a gasp or a laugh. It's brilliant storytelling, and I can't wait to watch it again!

The Similars is a film that almost requires you to know as little as possible before you see it. Part of the pure enjoyment is watching the characters deal with this nightmare scenario and watching the events unfold right up to its smart and expertly tied together climax. Isaac Ezban has set the bar very high for himself, and I am very excited to see what he does next.

Bite

Bite
 

With over a thousand new types of insects being discovered every year, how are humans able to fully understand them? How could we know what they are all capable of? This is the question at the center of Bite, the new horror film from Black Fawn Films.

Bite tells the story of Casey (Elma Begovic), a bride to be who goes on a tropical bachelorette party getaway with a few of her girlfriends. While in paradise she gets bit by a bug that at first seems like just another bug bite, but upon returning home Casey starts to develop insect like traits...

Bite is one sticky, oozing, slimy mess of a film. And I mean that in the best way possible. It is old school body horror mixed with modern anxieties that features one hell of a performance from Elma Begovic. It is hard to believe that Bite is her first leading role in a film, she absolutely commands the screen, especially during and after her body begins to transform into an insect like appearance. I was thrilled watching her in full on insect mode, her head twitching with breakneck quickness, her eyes focused and sharp, and her body and movements seemingly leading her instead of the other way around. She was absolutely fantastic, and the rest of the cast all turn in solid performances.

The script does a good job fleshing out the characters and giving them more to do than just exist in a horror movie, Casey in particular. There are back stories and real life drama going on amidst the body horror transformation. Casey is unsure of her coming marriage to Jared (Jordan Gray) and kudos to the writers for making him a cool guy who has his life together and not some easy to hate villain type. This makes Casey a more complicated character because it's hard to see what she is unsure of, and Begovic works these complexities superbly in a sensitive and sympathetic performance. The same can not be said for the future mother-in-law character as she is written a bit over the top with an unexplainable disdain for Casey.

As Casey locks herself in her apartment throughout the transformation and the inevitable changing of her habitat begins, it becomes an insect haven of horrors. We get thousands upon thousands of tiny little eggs that are constantly sliding around through thick, mucus like slime that covers every square foot of the apartment. They slide off of tables, slide down the walls, collect in slippery, sticky puddles on the floor. Where do all of these slimy eggs come from? Casey begins to throw them up along with gobs and gobs of thick drippy goo. Like I said, Bite is one sticky, oozing, slimy mess of a film. Casey's apartment becomes a dark brown sinkhole of slime adorned with giant, wicked cob webs that envelope her victims when she begins to crave human flesh.

The atmosphere in Bite is masterfully created and the strong and committed performance from Elma Begovic and the rest of the cast make this a fun and effective creature feature. The music really ties the entire film together as it is reminiscent of old school horror films from the 1940's and 1950's with it's blaring horn and brass score that sounds both terrifying and magical.

Black Fawn Films really put themselves on the map for me with this one and I would recommend to everyone that you check them out and their new film Bite because it is a fun and wild ride.

The Hive

The Hive

The Hive tells the story of a young man named Adam (Gabriel Basso), who wakes up in a filthy secluded cabin not knowing who he is, how he got where he is, and has to figure out how to save Katie (Kathryn Prescott), the girl he loves. The film plays out like Memento mixing flashbacks and the present as Adam has to put the pieces together from the clues he's left himself to figure out what is going on. We find out early on that a virus has infected him, Katie, and the human race that essentially takes over the mind and plugs it into one giant collective thought machine, creating a zombie/drone like race.

It's a hefty storyline for sure and The Hive offers something to say about the world being constantly plugged in and online with a growing addiction to social media. One pivotal scene in the film even hits it on the nose as a character explains the possibility for humans to share thoughts directly from mind to mind in what he calls, “the ultimate social network”. There's a lot of respect that must be given to a film that attempts to tackle such cultural issues in a creative and symbolic way, and The Hive certainly has that going for it. Another success of the film is it stylistic look and remarkable make up effects. The film is edited with constant quick cuts that make for a relatively fast pace and creates a sense of urgency for the main character to fight against. The quick cuts can also get a bit distracting after a while as it almost feels like there's more to keep track of in the film than is actually being presented. The make up and practical effects here are simply beautifully done. It's very reminiscent of the look Evil Dead (2014) had; very brutal and detailed as the virus infects the people. The lighting also emphasizes the make up with a very bleak and sterile look that makes the random blacks and reds on people's bodies really stand out.

One problem the film runs into is there are scenes that are dialogue heavy to explain what is going on and to connect the film together that seem longer than they are because they are surrounded by such quick cuts in the other scenes. I also felt that there was a bit too much explanation needed to make the lofty premise make sense to the viewer.

Perhaps what really saves The Hive, along with the appearance of the film and effects, are the performances from the entire cast. The film doesn't call for a one man show from Gabriel Basso but it does essentially rest on his shoulders and he does a solid job here. He is able to successfully portray a wide range of emotion and also comes across as likeable and relate-able with an everyman vibe. Kathryn Prescott also does a good job in her role and Gabrielle Walsh does fascinating and chilling work with her eyes and face as the doomed Jess.

While I didn't love The Hive as much as I wanted to, I did find it to be a pretty decent horror flick with amazing effects and solid performances. It also has something to say as a reflection of our social media obsessed and constant thought sharing culture. That's enough for me to see what writer/director David Yarovesky does next.

Last Girl Standing

Last Girl Standing

I was lucky enough to see Last Girl Standing at this years Eerie Horror Film Fest in Erie, PA. The film pitches a unique idea that instantly interested me: what happens to the final girl after the horror movie ends? The idea has been explored before in sequels such as Friday the 13^th, Part 2, where Adrienne King's Alice gets killed, Neve Campbell throughout the never ending twists and turns of the Scream series, and countless others like that. But what would happen in the real world to somebody who survived a killer straight out of a slasher movie?

Last Girl Standing focuses on the life of Camryn (Akasha Villalobos), the only survivor of a brutal massacre during a camping trip with some friends only to still be haunted five years later by the terrible memory and image of the killer. The killer wore an animal head with horns over his own in a sadistic manner and it was truly a disturbing sight! For a killer who is only on screen for about 5 minutes (he gets killed), the filmmakers did a good job in making him memorable.

Camryn has been living a quiet life in an apartment that looks like she hasn't finished moving into and working at a dry cleaners since the incident happened. Actress Akasha Villalobos does a stellar job in portraying the paralyzed stillness and tortured silence that Camryn's life has become. There are scenes that show her brushing her teeth when she will suddenly stop and look at her closed shower curtain as a heavy breathing fills the bathroom, unexpectedly back in the grip of the killer. These are powerful moments that are very effective and show the sudden dread that can take over her life at any moment. She may not have died that night in the woods, but her life stopped and Villalobos superbly encompasses this feeling in her performance.

When a new employee gets hired at the dry cleaners, Nick (Brian Villalobos), the visions Camryn has of the killer start to intensify. This is in conjunction with the 5 year anniversary of the killings and Camryn seems to not trust the new employee. Late one night a break in happens at the dry cleaner when Camryn is there alone and she sees glimpses of the killer and swears he is after her again. When the cops come, they advise her not to be alone and, having no where else to go, Nick offers his place where Camryn meets his roommates.

The film takes it's time as Camryn establishes relationships with these people and seemingly makes friends with most in the group. Although her visions of the killer resume as well as the belief that he is after her, she appears to have a support system with these new friends in place to help her. While the group question her believability and sanity, it is clear that something is following Camryn, they just aren't sure what. The pacing of the film is slow and really takes it's time to build up to it's final act. Don't get me wrong here, the slow burn approach is very effective and serves a purpose as it strongly establishes the necessary relationships that come in to play later in the film. After being immersed in the world and characters of the film, the viewer's patience is more than rewarded with a brilliantly set up ending full of chaotic slasher goodness! It's pacing reminded me of another brilliant independent horror gem from the past year called Pieces of Talent.

Last Girl Standing is a character study of the idea of 'The Final Girl' and what realistic effect such a label from a horrible situation could potentially have on a person. It's a smart horror film with great production value and strong performances from the whole cast. Last Girl Standing is on the festival circuit as of this writing and if you get the chance to see it do not pass it up, it will be the movie you are talking about when you leave.

Tales of Halloween

Tales of Halloween

Tales of Halloween is an anthology of 10 films that all take place in a small American town where the townsfolk are terrorized by ghosts, ghouls, aliens, and killers on Halloween night. Inevitable comparisons to Creepshow and the more recent Trick 'r Treat are justified and expected, but Tales of Halloween does more than enough to stand on its own in the anthology sub-genre.

Tales of Halloween is a love letter to Halloween itself and all the myths, superstitions, and lore that surround the fun and spooky holiday. There are 10 stories in the film that could only be expected to happen on Halloween and yet seem unexpected to the towns people they happen to. It takes itself seriously but leaves plenty of room for humor, mixing the scares and the laughs extremely well. There are plenty of practical effects on display that give the film that fun, lived in, old school horror feel. The makeup and lighting are also utilized to benefit the film and add to the creepy feel and atmosphere. One segment in particular had one character as a red witch who was shown in very effective red and black makeup with strobe light like movements and lighting that worked wonderfully and was truly terrifying.

There is some great talent walking around the streets of this doomed town throughout the 10 films in Tales of Halloween. We see Lin Shaye, Pat Healey, Tiffany Shepis, Barry Bostwick, Kristina Klebe, a blink-and-you'll-miss-her Felissa Rose, and a handful of others populating the stories. The one appearance that got me the most excited and felt like hearing a comforting blast from the past was Adrienne Barbeau as a disc jockey who worked as a narrator of sorts throughout the film to help tie the stories together. As soon as her voice came through the speakers to open the film in that smooth, inviting tone from “The Fog”, I had a big smile on my face and I was hooked! The actors didn't have a lot of time to flesh out characters or create many memorable moments due to the length of each short film, but I was impressed once again by Alex Essoe in her short time on screen, the first time being her commanding performance in Starry Eyes. She's incredibly talented and I eagerly await her future films and performances.

What makes Tales of Halloween work so well as a whole is a noticeable effort in the writing to provide original and fresh feeling stories. 'Sweet Tooth' offers a fantastic new Halloween legend, 'The Night Billy Raised Hell' provides the ultimate revenge trick on an unsuspecting young trick or treater, and 'Bad Seed' ends with a sinking feeling of lost hope. I could not begin to guess where a story was headed or how it would end once it began. The quick pace of the film was helped by the fact that every segment seemed to be about the same length. And while some stories weren't quite on par with others, there was no filler here and the film is solid throughout its run time. The stories were written with a Halloween loving audience in mind and the result is an anthology of films that are full of tricks but leave the viewer with one giant treat.

Tales of Halloween is available on video on demand and any fan of Halloween or horror should definitely give this film a watch, it's an all around great time!