Famine

FAMINE
Writer:Ryan Nicholson, Jeff O'Brien (story idea by Taylor Nicholson)
Director:Ryan Nicholson
Starring: Beth Cantor, Michelle Sabiene, Christine Wallace
Availability: DVD or Blu-Ray Available at www.plotdigger.com
Rating:

    So, I was talking to my good director friend Dustin Mills last night, and we were both talking about how fucking sick we are of this resurgence of people making cookie cutter slasher homages.  Look, I love slashers.  I could watch them all day.  When I say this, though, I'm referring to the slashers from the golden age.  These films were fun, because they genuinely wanted to be scary.  There's something endearing to me about the bad acting mixed with the nasty gore and gratuitous T&A.  Top that off with a classic 80s score, and well, I'm perfectly satisfied.  The problem with a lot of the modern takes on the slasher is they try too hard to be self-aware.  They don't feel genuine enough.

    There are always exceptions, though, and Ryan Nicholson's Famine is definitely one such exception.  If you aren't aware of Ryan's work, I have two things to say to you.  1.)Have you been living under a fucking rock, you goddamn hermit?  and 2.)Now get out from under the fucking rock and go seek out his work immediately!  He's definitely someone who's earned his place in the underground scene.  His work is high on gore and nudity galore, and often is quite funny in a very demented way.  Gutterballs and Hanger are essential parts of any gorehound's collection.

    Famine tells the story of a group of kids who volunteer to take part in a 24 hour famine held at their high school.  New teacher Ms. Vickers has organized the event for charity, and the students have agreed to do it for the extra credit.  After all, they can just sneak food in, right?  The rumor is that last time the school held a famine, the studly gym teacher Mr. Balszack was trying to have sex with the school's resident weirdo Cathy, when his face was accidentally disfigured by acid that fell as a result of things getting a bit too hot and heavy.  Why the fuck was there flesh-eating acid in there to begin with?  Who the fuck knows?  In the world Nicholson has created here, you learn to suspend disbelief very quickly.  Eventually, someone dressed as the school mascot, The Nailer, starts taking out the kids one by one, in absurd, gleefully over the top ways.

    First things first, the characters in this movie were all terrific.  Nicholson and co-writer Jeff O'Brien didn't want to just give us a bunch of asshole kids to get killed off one by one.  Instead, they fill the screen with some of the most eccentric weirdos I've seen in a slasher in quite some time.  Jenny, played beautifully by Christine Wallace, was easily my favorite.  Besides being absolutely gorgeous and *ahem* quite well endowed, she was also a total basket case.  The erratic way she delivered a lot of her lines had me dying.  Glenn Hoffman as the Nazi principal and Beth Cantor as the certifiably insane Cathy were also highlights.  That's not to say that everyone didn't do a great job, though, because while a few of the characters did fit the asshole teenager you want to see die persona, the movie's whacked-out sense of humor keeps anyone from ever grating on your nerves too much.

    Now, if you go into this expecting the same manic lunacy of Gutterballs and Hanger, you will be sadly disappointed.  There's hardly any nudity in the film, and while the movie delivers in the gore department, it still feels awfully restrained compared to his previous work.  That's not at all a knock against the film, though, because this isn't a sleaze flick.  It's a true, effective slasher throwback.  Plus, I can't stress enough how funny the film is.  There's an ejaculation scene and a scene involving an Asian and a sweet roll that are both fucking hysterical.  The camerawork is also quite excellent, which is something that's never been a problem with Ryan's work.  The man definitely knows what he's doing.  This movie was just an absolute blast from start to finish, with a few very inventive death sequences that will definitely please gorehounds.  With a brisk run time, lightning fast pace, and a whip-smart script, this is one that comes highly recommended.

    Until next time, my fellow freaks and weirdos...