Hole In The Wall

HOLE IN THE WALL
Directors: Derrick Carey, Cory J. Udler, Rob Michels, Greg Johnson, Carolyn Baker, Kevin Summerfield/Steve Goltz, Andrew Shearer
Starring: Greg Johnson, Draven Wagner, Rob Michels, Tom Runnings, Judith O'Dea, Heather Dorff, Tom Lodewyck, Matt Kenyon, Alyssa Spangler
Availability: None at the moment
Rating:

    I'm starting to be quite convinced that the folks over in Wisconsin are batshit insane.  I don't know if there's something wrong with the water there, or if the governor has been unleashing poisonous gas into the atmosphere.  Either way, they are nuts.  Derrick Carey is a guy I've been talking to for quite some time on social media.  He turned me on to a movie he was involved with called Swamphead.  This was a true definition of underground cinema.  It was crude, strange, hilarious, and wrong all at the same time.  Needless to say, I loved it.  When he told me I was a handful of people he was trusting with screening Hole In The Wall, I jumped at the first opportunity to upload it all over the internet.

    Hole In The Wall is a strange little anthology made with a certain type of audience in mind.  This isn't the type of film that a typical horror audience is going to know what to do with.  I was asked not to give spoilers, so rather than talk about boring stuff like plot details, I'm just going to try to express in words the "experience" of Hole In The Wall.  Fuck!  Now I'm sounding like one of those pretentious armchair critics with a stick up his ass and shit in his smile.  Scratch the experience bullshit.  I'm just going to talk about the fucking movie, and we'll leave it at that.

    The movie starts with a very Criswell-like opening from the great Andrew Shearer.  We then jump right into the wraparound.  The wraparound comes from the warped imagination of Derrick Carey, and is actually one of the most unique wraparounds I think I've ever seen in an anthology.  (This compliment was paid for by Derrick Carey...check awaiting approval.)  The first wraparound leads into Scumbag, from director/actor Rob Michels.  Holy fuck, this was absolutely vile and repulsive.  I actually found myself laughing hysterically, because I couldn't believe how far Michels took this short.  It's possible he meant for it to be funny, or maybe I just have a depraved sense of humor.  Definitely a highlight, especially if you're one who loves to have the contents of your stomach removed all over the living room floor.

    The next short comes from exploitation wunderkind Cory J. Udler, the wicked cool daddy-o who gave us Mediatrix, the Incest Death Squad films, and The Girl Who Played With The Dead.  His short here is Ed Gein DDS, a wonderfully warped, inventive, and hilarious short that is by far one of my favorites.  Cory never ceases to amaze me with his originality of vision, and while Ed Gein DDS may lack the depth and gravitas of his earlier work, it still shows that he's a force to be reckoned with in the indie film world.

    The next short is Last Dance from Greg Johnson.  It's probably one of the sillier shorts of the bunch, but still good for a laugh.  The last two shorts are where things take a turn for the surreal and artistic.  Carolyn Baker's short Siren might be my favorite short in the bunch.  It was beautiful and stylish, surreal and cerebral.  I've never seen any of the films the Screaming Like Banshees team has done before, but when I see a film like this, it makes me want to remedy that real quick.  Powerful stuff for sure.

    This leads us into Derrick Carey's second contribution (aside from the wraparounds), Our Song Is My Blade.  I didn't know Derrick had something like this in him.  Taking a page from E. Elias Merhige's Begotten, it was definitely the most experimental of the bunch, and was the perfect short to close the film on.  I hope Derrick directs more often, because I was blown away by Our Song Is My Blade.  It was a real piece of bravura film making from a man who has a real love for the medium.  Fantastic stuff.  There is a post credit short from Slasher Studios.  To be honest, I found it sort of stupid, so I'm not really going to talk much more about it.

    Hole In The Wall is exactly the sort of thing I look for in an anthology.  You have several unique, original, gifted voices joining forces to create a film that, while showcasing their individual talents, still feels like a cohesive film.  These films belong together.  You have something for everyone here.  You have a little John Waters, a little HG Lewis, some Lynchian surrealism, but all infused with that Wisconsin personality.  This isn't a film that dares to be perfect.  It's a film that dares to be different.  It doesn't want to entertain the masses.  It wants to speak to the weirdos like us who not only embrace high art, but also appreciate the beauty of trash culture.  Try shaking this film from your memory, and you will find a barrage of fantastic images that will inevitably stay with you for years to come.  This was a truly one of a kind achievement in underground cinema, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

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

Hell of the Living Dead

aka Virus, Night of the Zombies, and Zombie Creeping Flesh

 Director(s) - Bruno Mattei (Rats, Zombi 3) and Claudio Fragasso (Troll 2, Monster Dog)

Starring - Margit Evelyn Newton (The Final Executioner), Franco Garofalo (The Violent Breed), and Selan Karay (Last Stop on the Night Train)

Release Date - 1980

Genre - Horror

Tagline(s) -  "There is no escape from NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIES!" "When the creeping dead devour the living flesh!" "Get ready... It's gonna be one hell of a Night..." "If only they would die..." "Pray it will never happen." and "They eat the living!"

Format - Blu-Ray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

      If you asked a horror fan what their favorite zombie movie was before 2010 you would usually get the answers Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead. These films from the master of horror, George A. Romero, has been an inspiration to thousands of filmmakers and has influenced film after film upon their release.  Several films have set out to expand on the story set forth in NotLD.  Several have tried to create an origins story while others tried to pick up where the original left off but none have been able to make a film as amazing as that work of art.  DotD has also been inspiring and went on to have countless films imitate it in one way or another.  However, not many films were made that combined elements of both.  In 1980 Bruno Mattei made the film Hell of the Living Dead (aka Virus, Zombie Creeping Flesh, and Night of the Zombies).  Using the same score by Goblin from Dawn of the Dead, he set out to make an origins story for Night of the Living Dead that borrowed heavily from Dawn of the Dead.  I first saw this film when I graduated high school when I bought the Anchor Bay The Walking Dead Fright Pack.  The film did not leave a lasting impression on me and over time I forgot my real feelings on the film.  I caught wind that Blue Underground was releasing this film as a double feature with Rats so I reached out to them for a review copy and I checked this one out one more time. 

     The film follows a special task force that is under direct orders of Interpol as they are sent to New Guinea to see what has caused them to lose contact with a research facility.  Once there they save a reporter and her cameraman from people that has been infected with something that has turned them into flesh eating fiends.  They push on through the jungle and encounter the natives who are mourning the lose of their loved ones that have died at the hands of the undead.  The dead return back to life and attack the natives forcing the squad, reporter, and cameraman to run for safety.  They have several run ins with the undead and lose a member or two of their party before they reach their destination.  It is here that they learn the reason behind the dead rising from the grave and of their mortality.
      Italian zombie films have a look all their own and that has earned them the reputation for being far superior among horror fans. The Italians have a way or creating suspense before hitting us with some serious gore.  That is what Hell of the Living Dead does.  It gives us some great atmosphere and suspense but fails to keep a consistent pace.  The acting in this one is over the top with several characters making their roles unbelievable.  Horror fans love the Italians films because they are so gory and brutal but when you have goofy characters it ruins the vibe of the film.  This is not typical of Italian horror and fans of Lucio Fulci may find this annoying.  The story for this one is fun but borrows heavily from several other films.  The most obvious being Romero's Dawn of the Dead.  The film has a scene that is rivals that in DotD in which the elite task force penetrates a building full of immigrants to save them from the undead.  Hell has a scene very close to this and it even borrows the same music score from Goblin.  With that being said, it is a fun horror adventure film that is very character driven even though you may not like them all.  Finally, the film has tons of on screen kills and special effects.  Compared to other Italian zombie films this one is a little weak when it comes to the kills but it is way more powerful than any American production of the time.  It has a lot of gut chomping and flesh ripping kills and decent special effects to pull them off.  Overall, Hell of the Living Dead is gut-wrenching zombie film that may not be for everyone.  However, if you like bad movies then this one may be right up your alley.

Profile of a Killer

Director - Caspian Tredwell-Owen
Starring - Joey Pollari (The Inbetweeners), Gabriele Angieri (The Old, Old Story), and Emily Fradenburgh (Horror House)
Release Date - 2012
Genre - Thriller/Drama
Tagline - "Attention is power"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Review)

Rating (out of 5):

     When I was in high school I developed my love of no-budget films after watching years of 80s b-movies.  This started with the jump from VHS to DVD.  When the local video store started grabbing titles on DVD I noticed a huge jump in his horror section going from big budgets flicks to no-budget flicks I had never heard of.  After renting a few I was hooked and have been following the indie scene ever since.  When I started writing reviews on the blog a few doors opened up and I was taken deeper into the indie scene.  However, once I started writing for Horror Society I was fully submerged in the indie horror scene.  Most of the time, at least 99% of the time, I get films to review that were made on just a few thousand if that.  These films are usually fun and filled with heart.  With that being said, I sometimes get films that have a much bigger budget.  These films usually surprise me and catch me off guard.  I recently received the film Profile of a Killer for review.  I knew nothing of the film other than what the press release told me.  The film looked fun so I popped it in...and it blew my mind.
     The film follows a killer profiler named Saul (Angieri) as he investigates a series of murders.  The bodies have been horribly mutilated and the police are baffled so they call him in.  While in his hotel room he receives a knock at the door late at night and it is a mail carrier delivering a package.  He thinks the driver and shuts the door.  He opens the package and discovers an amputated arm inside.  He realizes that the mail carrier is the killer he is looking for.  He opens the door to give chase and the killer snags him.  He awakens in an old farmhouse to the killer, a teenage boy named David Jenks (Pollari), cooking him eggs.  David is a young boy that craves attention and wants Saul to profile him while playing games with his captive.  While this is taking place the police is frantically searching for the killer before he goes too far and kills Saul. 

     Some may say that horror is my element, and I would agree with that, but I would have to say my favorite area is the indie micro-budget flicks.  I hardly venture to bigger budgeted films but when I do it is usually a treat.  It is even rarer for me to tackle the drama and thriller genres.  Usually when I check those out I never enjoy myself because the films are too complex and go over my head.  Profile of a Killer looked fun but I was afraid it would be one of those films that require too much thinking and not enough entertainment. However, Profile of a Killer was nothing less than an enjoyable movie watching experience.  The acting in this one is a little uneven.  Joey Pollari and Gabriele Angieri are absolutely amazing.  Both were a force to be reckoned with in every scene they were in.  They both fed off each other and made this film memorable.  I did a little looking on imdb.com and was fucking shocked when I saw Angieri had not starred in more films.  This man really needs to be in front of the camera.  I also enjoyed Pollari and I think this young man has a long career of acting in front of him.  The remainder of the cast was nowhere near the level as these two gentlemen.  The story for this one is simple and very effective.  With that being said, it should not be brushed off just because it is simple.  The film flowed well and never took you where you thought it was going to take you.  The film does offer some slow scenes but the dialogue and character interaction picks the pace up.  Finally, the film lacks on screen deaths but more than makes up for it with outstanding special effects.  The dead bodies look fucking fantastic and rivals any modern horror flick.  Overall, Profile of a Killer is well crafted thriller that will stand out for years to come.  I highly recommend this one!

Joe Vampire

Director(s) - Sean Donohue (Die Die Delta Pi) and Mike Niche
Starring - Mike Christopher (Dawn of the Dead, Make Them Die Sleazy!), Erin Cline (The Housewife Slasher, Within the Darkness), and Mike Dufau (Theatre of the Deranged II, The Housewife Slasher)
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "He's out of blood, He's old, His rent is due, He's Joe Vampire."
Format - Streaming (Online screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Vampires are something that I used to love as a child but have kinda grown out of in recent years.  This can be a direct result of Twilight and the generic vampire films that followed.  Since I started writing reviews I have not covered many vampire flicks with only two sticking out in my mind.  Those two are Blood on the Highway (an amazing horror comedy) and Fright Night 2 (a shitty sequel to the remake that also served as a remake).  I know I have reviewed others but those two are the only ones sticking out in my mind.  Anyway, vampire films are ones that I used to get excited for and was disappointed over and over again since the release of Twilight.  This is now the same thing that is happening to me and zombies since the release of The Walking Dead.  However, one film I have kept on my radar is the Sean Donohue film Joe Vampire starring Mike Christopher who is known for playing the iconic Hare Krishna zombie in George A. Romero's classic Dawn of the Dead.  I was even more excited when I heard my friends over at The Sleaze Box were behind the release.  I waited for the film's release but I let is slip by me while battling my wife's health issues.  While sitting in the hospital Chris Woods reached out to me to review the film and for that I have to thank him for giving me that chance!
     The film follows Joe (Christopher).  Joe is a civil war soldier who lost his entire platoon in battle.  Wounded, he wonders aimlessly through the thicket of forest until he reaches an abandoned camp where he is bitten by a vampire.  We then jump to present day and Joe is living the Big Lebowski life.  He is late on his rent and drinks cheap scotch to pass the time.   One night while at a bar he meets a younger lady named Melissa (Cline).  Melissa is an unusual woman that lost her family not long ago.  He becomes infatuated with her and sparks up a conversation.  She brushes him off and leaves the bar only to be assaulted by a drunken frat boy.  Joe arrives and kills him where he accidentally reveals his dark side to her.  The tables are then turned and Melissa becomes infatuated with him and the idea of becoming a vampire.  He agrees to turn her but an old friend of Joe appears and intervenes.  Joe's friend, Drake (Duffau) is an older vampire than Joe that feeds on humans.  Drake is also a member of the "network" and is trying to force Joe back into it, as well as, help him with a business venture.  He turns to Melissa to help persuade him and it works.  Joe agrees but only to the stipulation that he never contact Joe again.  Drake agrees and the two set out to a business meeting involving a little girl that was kidnapped earlier that day.  Joe is then betrayed by Drake and refuses to bring Melissa into his dark world.  She turns to Drake who is now using her as a pawn to get back to Joe.  Joe, once healed, embarks on a rescue mission to get Melissa back and stop Drake. 
     The Sleaze Box and Icon Films are known for releasing raunchy flicks that dives deep in to the sick and twisted side of cinema.  However, director Sean Donohue is known to craft some fine, polished films that can be described as the opposite of what The Sleaze Box and Icon Films is known for. Donohue's last film, the slasher Die Die Delta Pi, was a great slasher that showed style and knowledge of the horror genre.  Seeing that film really made me want to see Joe Vampire but I was afraid it wouldn't live up to my expectations but I was very wrong.  The film was strong and made vampires evil again.  The acting in this one is amazing.  The entire cast was awesome but I was honestly shocked by the skill Mike Christopher has in front of the camera.  He become a horror culture phenomenon when he donned his orange robe for Dawn of the Dead but I have not seen him appear in any other film's until I watched this little ditty.  This is a damn shame because he has some real acting chops on him.  I hope this is a new revitalization for him and he goes on to star in many more films.   I also want to point out how talented Erin Cline is.  She has a natural knack for being in front of the camera and her chemistry with Mike showed in each scene.  It also helps that she's smoking hot.  The story for this one is not that in depth nor it is that original but it does have Donohue's crisp look and feel making it stick out when compared to others with a similar story.  Finally, the film does have several bloody kills but they are what you would expect to see when you watch a vampire flick.  Nothing new nor groundbreaking there.  However, the kills are on par with every other vampire film I have seen.  The only real gripe I have for this film is the soundtrack and sound effects.  In some scenes the dialogue is faint while the music is playing.  We really needed the volume on the dialogue dialed up.  Also, the sound effects for most of the film was horrible.  Whenever a vampire bit their victims it sounded like some asshole opening a bag of chips in the middle of a theater while a movie was playing.  It was unrealistic and made many great scenes laughable.  Overall, Joe Vampire is a fantastic vampire flick that really puts the bite back into horror.  Check it out!

Black Water Creek: The Legend of Sasquatch

Director(s) - Marshall Ever (Salvation for the Lost) and Mark Shell
Starring - Sabree Anderson (Shadow of Blood), Rodney Bulls, and Marshall Ever
Release Date - 2013
Genre - Horror/Drama
Tagline - "Some legends are best left alone"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (screener)

Rating (out of 5):

   
     Some monsters and urban legends do not have a good track record in film while others seem to prosper.  Case in point would be Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.  Frankenstein and Frankenstein's monster has been the topic of hundreds if not thousands of films with a good portion of those films being kick ass.  However, others do not fair that well.   I am a huge crypto nut.  I love researching cryptozoological creatures and the most popular of those is bigfoot.  Sadly, films regarding bigfoot tend to be on the shitty side with the exception of The Legend of Boggy Creek, Return to Boggy Creek, and Dear God No.  Even though most of these films suck I am always on the lookout for new flicks with the hopes that one day I will come across one that is amazing.  A few months back the fine folks over at WWMM was kind enough to send me a screener for their new flick Black Water Creek: The Legend of Sasquatch.  The poster work (above) looked awesome so I was pretty damn excited to see it.
     The film opens with various individuals doing different activities in the woods.  This ranges from drinking a little moonshine with some friends to smoking a stogie with the some other friends.  After several minutes at these activities the people are then brutally attacked by an unseen beast with razor sharp claws.  We then meet a detective who is working a serious crime, or crimes, because the film never fully explains.  One of these crimes drags him out into the woods where he and his partnered is confronted by a criminal, as well as, bigfoot himself.
      The world of horror has seen so many films regarding bigfoot starting from the late 60s up until today.  With that being said, most of these films don't even try to give the beast a sense of dread.  In fact, most of these films seem to forget that bigfoot is even in them at all until the last minute and then decided to half ass the way the beast looks. This is fine if the film is campy and throws in a substantial amount of humor like the films of Thomas Berdinski and the biker throwback flick Dear God No.  This film, however, is not a campy film and tries hard to be a serious horror film.  The fact the film is butchered during editing making it hard to follow the story is almost passable as a film but when we finally see the shitty beast all hope for this doomed film goes out the window.  The acting in this one is fairly decent.  Most of the cast has worked on a few films prior to this one but not enough to get the experience neccessary to make their roles believable.  More hard work would pay off.  The story for this one is honestly hard to judge because of how this film was shot and edited.  Most of the film consists of randoms going into the woods and dying.  We then switch it up to a cop drama with bigfoot randomly killing the perps.  The film honestly felt like a web-series collided with a daytime cop drama.  However you want to look at it this film is beyond bad.  Finally, the film does have some bloody deaths but they are cheap and not very effective.  The special effects are amateurish and the beast is laughable.  Overall, Black Water Creek is a disappointment regardless if you are a fan of the unknown or horror.  Avoid this one.

Dorchester's Revenge: The Return of Crinoline Head

   

 Director - Tommy Faircloth (Crinoline Head, The Cabin)

Starring - Debbie Rochon (Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead, Splatter Disco), John Kap (Swamp Murders, WCW), and Jason Vail (The Cabin, Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies)
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "Legends don't die...they kill"
Format - Streaming (online screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Sequels and remakes are two words that often make horror fans cringe.  Horror fans are the most arrogant fans there is.  They have a sense of entitlement and most feel that if a filmmaker is going to make a new movie it needs to be something new and bold.  However, I am not your typical horror fan. I love when a filmmaker takes on a story I already love and enjoy. Sequels are able to take characters I already love and extend their story.  In the case of horror films it usually gives me a reason to watch some of my favorite killers do what they do best and slaughter the innocent.  Last year I met director Tommy Faircloth on Facebook where he sent me review copies of his three films.  Among those three flicks was the 1995 slasher Crinoline Head.  I really enjoyed the film though it was extremely campy and cliched.  Not long after reviewing that film I received word that Tommy was at it again and this time he was working on a sequel to Crinoline Head.  This sequel, that was originally titled Crinoline Head 2, excited the hell out of me so I waited...waited..and waited until just a few days ago when Tommy sent me an online screener.  Thanks Tommy!
     The film follows the students of Professor Paul Donner (Vail).  Paul was one of two survivors of the Crinoline Head massacre back in 1995.  He is now an esteemed college professor who is struggling to rebuild his life after his wife left him due to his obsession with Crinoline Head.  She was also a survivor of that dreadful day and wants nothing to do with it.  Anyway, Paul's students are working on small group projects when two students discover his dark past.  They request that Paul allow them to do a documentary style report on Crinoline Head and he agrees.  The students then steal all his work on Dorchester (Crinoline Head) and head to the spot that all this happened.  Tagging along for the ride is two young girls but more classmates decide to follow them and crash their report.  However, more things than school work is getting crashed when they soon discover that Crinoline Head is alive and well!  We also can't forget about the drag queens, bitches!
     Horror sequels are exciting with the possibility of seeing our favorite stories pushed forward into new territory. Sadly, not all sequels are worth a damn.  In fact, most could care less about the fans and their feelings and their only reason for existing is to cash in on the success of the first film.  With that being said, Dorchester's Revenge is the perfect continuation of the first film.  This is one sequel that does not disappoint.  The acting in this one is fun but several cast members showed their inexperience.  Horror vet Debbie Rochon made her role fun as hell and brought an extreme amount of humor to the film.  Then we switch gears up a bit and we have Jason Vail who delivers a serious role that was superb.  He is an actor I am surprised has not made a bigger name for himself.  The story for the film is fun and continues the story from the first film very nicely.  The film gives us even more insight on Dorchester, as well as, giving us even more camp and cheese.  The film also took the modern slasher back the their bloody roots and took us back into the woods.  This is a great throwback and a sequel!  Finally, the film does have a metric shit ton of on screen deaths.  Most of these deaths are very bloody and fun as hell.  They also showed a little bit of creativity reminding me even more of the slashers from the 80s.  Overall, Dorchester's Revenger is a fine horror film and possibly the best sequel to any horror movie that I have seen.  It is bloody, raunchy, and funny as hell.  I highly recommend this one!