Digging Up the Marrow

Director - Adam Green (Frozen, Hatchet)
Starring - Adam Green, Ray Wise (Chillerama), and Will Barratt (Frozen)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "There's no such thing as the marrow"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Adam Green is a director that I just recently realized that I like.  I enjoyed Hatchet.  So much so that I went out and bought Frozen even though I have yet to watch it.  One of my favorite anthologies released in the last ten years is Chillerama which features a segment from him as well.  On top of all that, I recently checked out the web-series Holliston on blu and was really surprised.  This made me realize that I actually liked Adam Green and his career.  Not long ago a fellow writer for Horror Society announced the release date for the upcoming mockumentary film from Adam Green titled Digging Up the Marrow.  I reached out to try to secure a review copy of the film but was unable to get a reply.  However, I received an email just a few weeks later stating that there was copies still available and they were kind enough to send one my way.  Thanks for giving me the chance to check it out!

     The film follows director/actor Adam Green who is taking time away from filming season three of Holliston to explore a notebook he had received from an elderly fan William Dekker (Wise).  Dekker claims that he found an entrance to an underground world where the deformed and disfigured go to live in seclusion.  Adam is mesmerized with the idea and takes Will to film a documentary on the entire ordeal.  During one of the trips they find a creature and capture it on camera.  Adam then puts out cameras to capture more and leaves for a month long convention tour to return and find Dekker feeding one of the creatures in the hole on the camera footage.  They start to suspect that they were set up and head out to the hole to check it out without Dekker.  Something grabs Adam's boot and takes it off his foot.  He reaches into the hole to get it and Dekker arrives and tells them to run.  Shit hits the fan when creatures from the Marrow start attacking them forcing them to flee.
     Adam Green is a fan of the horror genre and makes the films that he would want to see himself.  That is clearly evident in his Hatchet films and his contribution for Chillerama.  When I first read the synopsis for Digging up the Marrow my jaw dropped by the amazing story.  I was concerned by how Adam would pull off the mockumentary/found footage angle but I still tried to keep an open mind.  The acting in this one is awesome by the entire cast.  The cast has a relaxed approach to the film which really helps with the mockumentary angle.  Adam is familiar with doing interviews so this comes natural to him.  With that being said, the legendary Ray Wise turns it up a notch from what we are used to and gives one hell of a performance.   The on screen cast is pretty small but the remainder of the cast does a decent job at making the mockumentary feel genuine.  The story for this one is so fascinating.  The premise really is interesting considering the scope that it could take.  The film has the potential to feature an entire underground city full of deformed and disfigured creatures.  Sadly, we don't get that wide array of creatures but we do get several that are fun and worthwhile.  The story also reminded me a lot of the horror classics Basket Case 2 and 3 which features a home for the disfigured.  Finally, the film does not feature any on screen kills or blood but it more than makes up for it with the different types of creatures.  However, the creatures vary in quality.  Some look fantastic and the practical effects are great, however, one of the creatures look down right silly and almost embarrassing to look at.  Overall, Digging up the Marrow is a fun creature feature that offers a variety of beasts but the viewer will be distracted by the documentary style the film was shot in.  Check it out because it is well worth the watch,

The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)

(out of 5)

The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)

directed by:  Charles B. Pierce

starring:  Vern Stierman, Travis Crabtree, Smokey Crabtree, William Stump, Louise Searcy, Mary Johnson, Fred Crabteee

Format:  Personal Collection NTSC:  Region 1

Tagline:  A True Story



     What is there to say here...The Legend of Boggy Creek is one of the oldest films in my film watching repertoire.  Oldest and most watched by far.  I throw this in when I'm tired to fall asleep to, I watch it usually around Halloween and when spring has sprung.  I will never grow tired or bored of this classic Pierce film which scared the bejesus out of me when I first watched it at a very young age.  Most especially the scene with the baby and the two young ladies left alone for the night played by Louise Searcy and Mary Johnson.  

     The Legend of Boggy Creek is played out like an old documentary about the creature of Fouke County Arkansas.  Kind of bigfoot style and I know everyone assumes and throws this in the bigfoot category but to be honest the creature has 3 toes.  According to the account of one of the interviewees in the movie who came across a track in the mud.  Now since bigfoot doesn't exist speculating on the body type is kind of silly but I don't recall seeing any bigfoot, sasquatch, yeti, or abominable snowman with 3 toes.  But that's just my own silly thought.  

     Anyway since the movie is done up like a documentary the players in the film mostly play themselves especially the Crabtree family who have many parts in the film.  Travis Crabtree in particular even has his own song, "Hey Travis Crabtree..." I can hear it playing in my head even as I write this.  All the actors in the movie were exact and natural and really it is a mockumentary and all but never once have I ever watched it thought, "Hey these guys are total actors."  They just all seem to do their own thing while Pierce was filming.  

     Is there a bunch of gore and violence, nope.  Swearing and sex, nope.  The movie is rated G and other than some scary, dark, foresty moments it really is for just about everyone.  I mean I'm one person who can't stand to see or hear about any human being actually trying to find a bigfoot but I'm all about a movie about it.  The best part for me was the sheer lack of the creature's physical details.  All you see are the same as the kinds of pictures people take of these "creatures",  fuzzy, out of focus, and dark.

    This movie can't get a higher rating from me.  It has history with me, it's very realistic, it influenced many films including the Blair Witch Project, and really has a lot of amazing swamp footage which for some is boring and meaningless but I love it, every damn minute and I will never forget the cry of the Fouke Monster.

Legend of the Hillbilly Butcher

Legend of the Hillbilly Butcher (2013)
Directed by:  Joaquin Montalvan
Starring:  Paul E. Respass, Theresa Holly, Chris Shumway, Doreen Barnes, Ron Jason
Format:  Director's Screener

 

 

 

   What can I say I was totally blown away by Legend of the Hillbilly Butcher.  The movie started out with an old man telling children of the Legend of the Hillbilly Butcher and it had me from the first minute.  Kind of mockumentary style...reminded me a lot of the films of Charles B. Pierce like The Legend of Boggy Creek and The Town That Dreaded Sundown.  We have the story of Carl Henry Jessup a backwoods moonshiner, murderer, and cannibal.  What else can you ask for in a hillbilly horror movie?  I was going in expecting just a typical hick slasher movie based on the cover...never judge a book by it's cover.  At first when I started the movie and the fuzzy out of focus scenes began with film lines and what not I thought it was the screener.  Then as the movie continued I figured out real fast this was purposely done in order to create the retro feel like an old film from the seventies.  Or at least that's my take on it.  Totally worked for me and in this day when films like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and even Rob Zombie's Devil's Rejects are claiming to be throwbacks to 70's style films it really shows how these examples flubbed the whole cinematic look.  You can't use expensive modern film cameras if you want this look.  Even Planet Terror by Robert Rodriguez tried really hard to have all the hairs, lines, and marks of older film to make it look old school and I don't know what it was it just got really annoying to me because frankly it didn't look like movies from the 70's at all.  Legend of the Hillbilly Butcher most certainly did and it wasn't even shot on film.  Neener, neener to all those you can only shoot on film people.  I'm sorry this movie outright proves that all wrong.  Video is just another medium and I'm proud to say I'm a video fan.



     Carl Jessup is played by Paul E. Respass and I must say the man was perfect for the job.  Paul was a perfectly natural actor as was his sister partner in the film Theresa Holly who played Rae Lynn.  Another notable actor was Chris Shumway who played their friend Billy Wayne but really I had no real complaints with any of the acting in this movie.  No not all of the victims of our favorite Hillbilly Butcher were tremendous performances but in my humble opinion it worked perfect for a throwback drive-in style 70s movie.  I mean how great were some the films of H.G. Lewis and none of his movies had all that great of actors. 
     The killings were great.  No cgi blood no super special fx...nothing to take away from novelty of what I feel the filmmaker was going for in making sure the movie looked, sounded, and acted like a lot of my favorite old school ways of making movies.  Carl didn't like anyone trespassing, fucking, or stealing his moonshine.  He and his sister even take in their friend Billy Wayne and when Billy decides to rape and beat Carl's sister he as well ends up on the dinner table.  Yes Carl is a cannibal which is completely unknown to his sister who towards the end of the film discovers her brothers secret and...well I'll leave the end alone in this review.
I really must say in no disrespect to any of the other actors in the film Theresa Holly was the shining star.  She really showed an array of emotions most especially during her rape scene.  Let's talk about the rape scene for a minute for me it really had the feel again older rape/revenge movies most especially I Spit On Your Grave.  Rae Lynn is getting beaten and Billy is on top of her in the scene and then it fades to her walking through the woods to Carl's house.  All you see is her feet, legs and tattered, torn dress in a very surreal scene of helplessness and shame.  Of course the moment Carl finds out it was Billy Wayne he goes out in search of his old friend with a new batch of poisoned "shine" for him.  Billy pretends as if nothing happened and when Carl brings him a jar of poisoned moonshine and he is apprehensive at first but drinks it down anyway.  This death is one of my favorites in the movie for no other reason than it was different than the rest Carl got creative and I imagine it was the most painful of all the murders.
     Legend of the Hillbilly Butcher may not be for everyone and if you have no experience with either old school drive-in style grindhouse films or independent/underground movies then I'm sure you will hate it.  But if your movie watching goes beyond Hollywood theatre popcorn films then you should have a blast I know I did and can't wait to watch it again.  The cinematography of the old house and the woods around was enough for me to enjoy it.  The sounds of the crickets and frogs chirping as wekk as the old banjo music by K. Collins and the great fx by Erika G. just all came together creating one awesome independent film.  I can't wait for more Joaquin Montalvan.

The G-String Horror

Director - Charles Webb
Starring - Ed Bowers, Genna Darling, and Mike Gleason (Modern Marvels)
Release Date - 2012
Genre - Horror
Format - Streaming (Online Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     About a week ago I  was jumping from horror page to horror page when I stumbled upon a random horror review blog.  I was going through the list of reviewed films when one caught my eye.  The film was The G-String Horror and those that follow my reviews know I love cheese and sleaze. So I started looking around and found the official site for the film and reached out to them.  Director Charles Webb was nice enough to send me a link to an online screener and for that I thank you Mr. Webb.  I tried for a week to take the time to watch it but working full time takes a majority of my time and added to all that me and my wife celebrated our two year anniversary so I gave her my undivided attention for a day.  So here is my review for the film!
     The film follows a documentary team as they investigate a strip club for paranormal phenomenon.  A drug dealing janitor had a heart attack and died and a stripper named Baby Doll was killed in the basement and their spirits haunt the titty club.  However, this is all fictitious events as the film crew is attempting to create a faux documentary.  Unfortunately, their fictitious ghosts have became real and are now preying on the owner, the film crew, and a psychic medium. 
     I hate giving negative reviews especially if it is for a film that I done the initial contact for.  Nothing makes me feel like an ass than asking a director if I can review their film and then post an unsatisfactory review.  However, I have to be honest with myself and the reader. The film would have been highly effective if it was a lot shorter.  The film just seemed to drag on a little too long and the interviews were extremely bland.  The acting is hard to judge due to the film being set up in a documentary format.  However, the last few minutes of the film showed the cast actually acting and during that time they all did a great job in their roles.  As for the story, I fucking loved it.  The meshing of found footage and documentary while willingly acknowledging it was a faux documentary was pretty damn clever and original.  I also like the fact that the films fake ghosts turned real.  That was another great addition to the film.  Finally, the special effects are hit and miss.  The practical effects looked great and the spirits, especially Baby Doll, look fan-fucking-tastic.  This film shows how effective great practical effects can be.  Now as for the visual effects.  They suck.  I hated the whole specter "boom" that would occur randomly as someone was being interviewed.  It ruined a good portion of the film.  I also hated the shaky camera work whenever something would disappear.  I can think of many other ways to make that effect more effective than making the viewer sea-sick.  Overall, fans of blood and sleaze will love this one.  However, I found a good portion of it to be painstakingly slow paced and hard to watch.  It is worth at least one watch!