Hatchet III (2013)

Hatchet III (2013)
directed by:  BJ McDonnell
starring:  Danielle Harris, Kane Hodder, Zach Galligan, Caroline Williams, Derek Mears, Sean WhalenRobert Diago DoQui, Rileah Vanderbilt     
Format:  Netflix Streaming
Tagline:  Some Legends Never Die

(out of 5)

     I waited so long to see this after the travesty that was Hatchet 2 with it's far inferior special effects and pretty much everything else.  Quite obvious to me that Mr. Adam Green just rushed through Hatchet 2 as fast as possible or maybe he just didn't have the good support the first and most excellent original had.  Either way thank you to BJ McDonnell for getting things back on track for Victory Crowley.  What a gory thrill ride that is everything Jason Goes to Hell:  the Final Friday should have been.  The SWAT team scene was spectacular and all I kept thinking was why didn't they do this in Jason Goes To Hell.  But anywho back to the star here Victor Crowley and his onslaught of blood and guts.

     Maybe my expectations after 2 were just so low I don't know but Hatchet III had me glued from the get go.  I mean the man or monster here just cannot die.  Shotgun blast to the face, multiple bullets, an rpg, nothing brings Victor down and his rampage throughout his forest territory is just mind boggling for a gorehound like myself.  There needs to be more movies like this, just a non-stop action packed rollercoaster of fear and awesome disgust.  I say awesome disgust because frankly I'm not disgusted.  The fx were on point unlike the previous sequel and the red stuff was flowing and spraying all over the place.  Decapitations, severed limbs, guttings, ripped open torsos, this forest freak/slasher flick has it all.  Definitely adding this one to my Halloween weekend marathon this year.

                                     

Slasher House

Director - MJ Dixon (Creepsville)
Starring - Eleanor James (Dead Cert), Adam Williams, and Wellington Grosvenor
Release Date - 2012
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Four killers.  One girl"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

      The slasher film has always been a sub-genre that has always relied on the same storyline but with different killers. We rarely see someone step out of the ordinary and give us something a little different with the sub-genre.  I am completely fine with that because I personally love the sub-genre the way it is but I am always open to see films that step off the beaten path.  A few months back, before my wife was hospitalized, Chemical Burn Entertainment sent me a few films for review and the film Slasher House was among them.  I had heard of the film from a previous review written by Denver Johnson.  I really wanted to see Monkey Boy, which was a huge let down, but Slasher House really sounded fun.  Once I threw the film in I knew this would be a different kind of slasher.

     The film begins as a young red-haired girl awakens nude in a cell block of sorts.  She has no idea of who she is or how she got there but she searches her surroundings and finds some clothes.  She looks around and discovers a helpless young man who is just as confused as she is.  The two start looking around and discover other men locked in jail cells.  In a matter of minutes one of the cells opens as a clown wielding a cleaver gives chase.  After dealing with him another homicidal maniac is released and is able to snag her and her nerdy friend.  This maniac tries to do brain surgery on the man and is thwarted by the red-haired young girl before another killer is released.  While dealing with him she remembers who she really is and why she is there among all the monsters. 
     When it comes to slashers we rarely get in depth with the characters unless it revolves around the killer. Lucky for us we have four slashers to look at and dive deep into their back stories.  I love character pieces like Thirteen Ghosts and the video game series Twisted Metal.  They give us so many back stories and with each character the film goes even deeper.  If there is one thing I can say about this film is that it gives us a lot of character detail and that is killer.  It is something we don't get when it comes to slashers making this story stick out over the others.  The acting in this one is hit or miss.  Eleanor James, who played Red, was great in her role and was great at portraying an innocent girl and then switching it up to being a bad ass that can kill baddies.  However, her nerdy counterpart is hard to watch.  He has a lot of charisma on camera but lacked experience.  The remainder of the cast did a great job as well and really deserve stand alone films.  Finally, the film does have several deaths and kill scenes but they were kind of a let down considering the film's premise.  I was expecting a lot of gory deaths and insane kills but was given stock slasher kills that just did not hit the spot.  Overall, Slasher House is a great character driven slasher flick that has a story that surpasses so many others.  Check it out.  You will not be disappointed. 

Monkey Boy

Director - Antonio Monti
Starring - Andrea Melli (Il Giardino Del Sonno), Giovanna Gardelli, Giampiero Bartolini (Ogni Volta Che Te Via)
Release Date - 2009
Genre - Horror
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

          I get a lot of films to review and I look forward to watching each and every one of them.  However, I sometimes get a film in that makes me a little more excited than others. What usually stirs my excitement is the name of the film or poster artwork.  A few months back I got the film Monkey Boy in for review from the fine folks over at Chemical Burn Entertainment.  The film's title really did peak my interest.  I did a little looking and discovered it was an Italian flick.  So I put it up until I had time to check it out...and I forgot about it.  I want to take a moment to apologize to Chemical Burn for forgetting I had their films.  Sorry guys.
     The film begins with a beautiful animated story about a king and his beautiful daughter who is tricked into losing his daughter to a cursed mirror and the magical dice the young girl carries around.  We then get to the film and we meet a disfigured man that is locked away in the basement who is cared for by an elderly woman.  One night the woman is attacked by two men and is severely beat and murdered.  The two fuck ups open the basement and the beast kills them both.  He then goes out into the world for the first time where he sees many wonders.  He crosses paths with a prostitute, a young girl who carries dice just like in the fairy tale, and the scum of humanity.
     I hate when I start watching a film and it starts out with a bang only to go out as a dud. Monkey Boy did just that.  The film starts out perfectly.  The animation, score, and story was so rich and amazing that I instantly thought it would be the best film I had seen this year.  Then the live action portion of the film popped up and the movie went down hill from there.  The acting in this film seemed great but it is hard to judge do to the film being in Italian.  I honestly hate reading a movie so that may be one of the reasons I did not like the film.  The story was very original and crafty.  The animated portion of the film was superb but the live action bit seemed thrown together and hard as hell to follow.  This could have been the editing but it was bad non-the-less.  Finally the film does have some great practical effects but not that much in the way of on screen kills.  Monkey Boy looks great.  The practical effects on his costume was phenomenal but the few kills we did get was stock and pretty worthless.  Overall, Monkey Boy was a great idea that was not executed properly.  The film does deserve at least one watch but it does not have any replay value.

House of the Witchdoctor

Director - Devon Mikolas (Salvation by Blood)
Starring - Allan Kayser (Mama's Family, Night of the Creeps), Callie Stephens (Drinking Buddies), and David Willis (Stalked: Someone's Watching)
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     The horror genre often goes through trends where big budget, and indie films, get stuck in a rut and we see a surplus of films released that follow similar stories or situations. Lately, we have seen more paranormal flicks than I care to count along with a metric shit ton of torture porn flicks.  Some of these can be fun but for the most part they end up being recycled garbage.  After I watched Lords of Salem last year I realized that we do not have near enough flicks involving witchcraft and voodoo.  A few months back I received a press release for House of the Witchdoctor which was said to star Bill Moseley.  I was excited to see how this film was handled and if Moseley was in it for more than just a cameo.  I reached out to them and they were kind enough to send me a screener.
     The film follows a man who was just released from prison as he and his friend head out to get fucked up and do a little fucking.  His first night out he rapes a drug dealer's woman before killing her and the drug dealer. The following day they head out for more havoc and cross paths with a group of college students as they travel to the parents of one of the young girls.  They try to force themselves on the college girls while their boyfriends watch but a police enters the room and they disband.  The group goes on to their destination while the young girl's parents leave for the night.  The two men head out into the woods looking to get fucked up again and find the car the group of college kids were driving and decide to break in for a little co-ed ass.  The two break in and tie up the men before raping the women.  They force themselves on two of the women while the third hides out in the basement until her parents arrive.  However, once they arrive things don't fair so well for the two gentlemen.  The man and woman of the house is harboring a dark secret and a mystical power that will make them think twice before breaking into another home for a good time.
     This was a film that I was extremely excited to see.  It had Bill Moseley, Brad from Night of the Creeps, and a fucking witchdoctor.  However, when I started watching the film I quickly realized it was nothing like what I thought it would be. In fact, the film was nothing like I hoped it would be.  The acting in this one is fucking top notch by the entire cast but I want to personally recognize Allan Kayser and his performance.  He really made the film what it is and without him the film would not be as good as it was.  After seeing him as Brad in Night of the Creeps and Bubba in Mama's Family I have to say he pulled a 180 and gave us a completely different character than what we are used to seeing him do. The story for this one is strong but wasn't quite what I was expecting the film was more home invasion that it was a flick involving voodoo.  The home invasion portion of the film was truly disturbing but the post artwork made me think I would see more of the sack-head character and that really let me down.  However, this House of 1000 Corpses meets Home Alone story was fun just not what I was expecting.  Finally, the film has a slew of on screen special effects.  Sadly, they are not that gory until the very end of the film and even then we don't really get enough that one would expect when looking at artwork above.  Overall, House of the Witchdoctor is one truly unnerving film that is filled with rape, voodoo, blood, and drugs.  It is definitely worth a watch. 

Night of the Loving Dead

Director - J. F. Kinyon
Starring -  Jaquelynn Lunney, C.C. Kinyon, and C.J. Kinyon
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror/Romance
Format - Streaming

Rating (out of 5):

     No film has been as influential in the horror genre as the 1968 George A. Romero classic, Night of the living Dead.  The film forever changed the way we see the zombie sub-genre.  The film went on to spawn a very successful film series, a series of novels, comics, a toy line for a short period of time, unofficial sequels, and even several parodies with some of them belonging to the adult film world.  Recently, I began working on an article that chronicles Night of the Living Dead.  While looking for parodies and fan films I crossed paths with a short titled Night of the Living Dead.  This is not to be confused with the animated short from 2012 with the same name.  This particular short looked fun so I searched for it and found it on YouTube where I gave it a go.
     The film follows two siblings as they travel to the grave of a distant family member.  While there they encounter a man shambling around.  He grabs the young girl and her brother steps in.  The two wrestle before the young man in knocked to the ground unconscious.  The young lady runs to her car and the shambling man follows her.  Once in her vehicle she fights to lock the door but the man arrives and rips the flowers from her hand.  He then shambles down the road leaving her be.  He shambles aimlessly for several hours before arriving at a home.  He goes to the door and knocks where a woman, clearly a zombie like himself, answers it.  She grabs the flowers from his hands and then throws them at him before slamming it in his face.

     I love almost every aspect of Night of the Living Dead.  The acting, the country setting, the character development, and the story.  The story is so versable.  The dead can be manipulated, changed into something else (like living Jews), and placed in a different setting.  That is why I am a huge fan of Night of the Living Bread and Night of the Living Jews.  When I discovered Night of the Loving Dead my mind raced with the possibilities of what the dead was, and could, be doing in the film.  However, once I saw the film it was kind of a let down.  The story was clever and fun but just felt lacking.  It was a solid spin but fans of NotLD will feel a little let down.  The acting in this one is actually pretty solid and on par with the original.  I have to give the cast real props for their contributions to the film.  Finally, those looking for gut-munching kills and and raggedy zombies will not see it here.  Instead, you will see a stylish short.  Overall, Night of the Loving Dead is a solid short that is able to pull in the atmosphere of the classic film while giving it a new story.  Fans of the original will see the love this film has for the classic but could be disappointed with the undead.  I recommend this one.

Loon

Director - Brandon Tobatto (Blood for Blood)
Starring - Ryan Gray (Blood for Blood), John Nieman (Natural Disasters), and Trevor Moates
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "He's just a little out of his mind"
Format - Streaming (online screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     The modern slasher has been steadily on the rise and it has been leaving a bloody mark on the indie world.  These indie slashers are popping up here and there with a good portion of them being extremely entertaining while others end up being a steaming pile.  Sometime last year I became friends on Facebook with a producer who was currently working on a slasher titled Loon.  I was doing a little looking on Facebook and I found the page for the film.  The poster reminded me a lot of the slasher flicks I grew up on.  This brought in a wave of nostalgia and had me excited to see the finished product.  Sadly, the film was not scheduled to be released until the middle of 2014 so I had to wait..and wait..and wait.  However, last month that same producer reached out to me to review the film and I gratefully accepted. 

     The film opens with a brother and sister going in an "abandoned house."  I say "abandoned house" because it is clearly a small shed built just for the movie.  While looking inside they find a picture of a small dog.  Moments later a giant man wearing a clown mask appears and chases them off.  The two kids move away and return some years later and they are now teenagers.  They meet up with some friends and decide to venture out to the old house.  They cross paths with an elderly woman who warns them about going out there.  The teenaged youth do not take her warning seriously and venture out there anyway.  They search through the house until a few of them decide they have had enough and head off to smoke pot.  That is when the clown-faced killer strikes again.  He starts hacking his way through the group of teens before a desk-jocky cop intervenes and shoots the man before sustaining injuries of his own.  He awakens in the hospital and starts doing some research where he learns who the man is and that he is not dead.
     To pull of an 80s throwback slasher you have to make a character that could rival any slasher icon and toss him, or her, into a story that fits the character. That is what makes slashers so damn fun...aside from all the killing.  Sadly, Loon skipped on most of this.  The acting in this one is a little on the bad side.  The cast really showed their love for film but lacked experience.  This made most of the scenes hard to watch.  The story for this one would have been fun but it felt like it had more than one story going at once.  We had the teenagers in the shack with a killer story going along the cop's story and the old woman and the mentally disturbed man in the woods.  The film just felt pieced together and did not flow that well.  Finally, the film does have some brutal kills but most are taken off camera where they lose their effectiveness.  The special effects are not that great either but the camera tricks helped cover them up.  With all that being said, the cinematography is beautiful.  This is easily one of the beautifully shot films I have seen at my short time writing reviews.  Overall, Loon is a valiant shot as the slasher but does fall short.  Though the film is flawed it does deserve at least one shot.