American Mary, Canadian Love *spoilers inside*

I’ve tried to start this review several times, but keep starting over. This movie is far too unique to be easily described. There is just so much to appreciate. It is the latest film from the Soska sisters, who’s previous film “Dead Hooker in a Trunk” I am a big fan of, and shows a HUGE creative leap forward for the twins. It stars the always sexy and fantastic Katherine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Freddy vs Jason), who once again demonstrates her talents and proves why she is my perverted fantasy Queen. The story is anything but typical, and is easily the best film I have seen so far this year, Horror or otherwise.

The story concerns a young and beautiful student named Mary, who is studying to be a surgeon, with a bright future ahead of her. Money trouble leads her by chance into the dark realm of underground surgery, which after a traumatic rape by her professor leads to the extreme body modification world. We see the evolution of Mary from a promising student, to sympathetic character, to victim, to tormentor, to somewhat a villain. All the while, we retain full sympathy and empathy for the character. Even when she is performing terrible and gory acts, somehow they seem justified. There are several other films that use a rape/revenge angle and depict a victim becoming the tormentor, but rarely does this extend beyond taking revenge on those who have wronged the subject. Mary continues her downward spiral, and seems quite comfortable in her new crazy boots. Watching the evolution of the character, it’s almost like we can see the light in her eyes dim to shadows.

One scene in particular stood out to me. It occurs just moments after Mary has killed two men, and used the help of Lance, an intimidating Strip Club Bouncer to cover it up. Lance relates to Mary the story of how his own mother had died violently, and how much he wished for a fitting revenge. He tells her that what she does has value, and the world needs someone to do the things that she has been doing. Then he gives her a chocolate milkshake. She takes a drink as she contemplates what he says, then it’s like a shadow lifts from her. For a brief moment, we see that familiar light return to her eyes. From a creative and technical standpoint, I found this film utterly beautiful, but it is on the strength of the portrayal of the characters that this film really shines. It’s a Beautiful film, that just so happens to be soaked in blood.

Check Your local listings from screenings, keep your eyes open for the DVD/BluRay release… whatever you have to do, SEE THIS FILM!

9/10 Skulls

I enjoy what I do…

Everyone knows a Horror fan. Just like everyone knows at least one sports nut, or car enthusiast, or what have you. We’re generally pretty easy to spot, because we wear our obsession on our sleeve, sometimes literally. It should come as no surprise that I am the token Horror nut in my office, and as such I take it as my responsibility to recommend (some would say promote, but I don’t give myself that much credit), quality horror films to my co workers. My recommendations range from the classics, to newer releases, and all in between. What really makes my day, sometimes even the best part of my day, is when a co-worker comes in to the office, and immediately seeks me out.

 

“Holy shit Vince! I watched *Insert Horror title i had recommended to them* last night! OMG! It freaked me the fuck out! I actually screamed out loud! I got almost no sleep! OMG! …What else do you recommend?”

 

Yeah…that right there…that makes me a happy Doctor Havok 

Now I know my ABCs…

Alrighty, so last night I to a Sinister Cinema special presentation of The ABCS of Death. It was grand fun. The film is not new to me, as I had already seen it, but nonetheless, it is always fun to watch a film on the big screen, as well as support special events like these. The film is a very unique and ambitious anthology piece comprised of 26 shorts with 26 different directors. If i remember correctly, I heard that 15 countries are represented in the completed work. The styles of film vary, sometimes vastly from short to short, and some segments fall a little flat. Some are beautiful, others are confusing, some are hilarious, others are mesmerizing…and some are balls out insane! All in all, it is a fun and exciting film experience. A Sequel has already been confirmed with the same 26 director format. From the first film alone, I have a list of directors to check out! They even allowed fan submissions (T is for Toilet). In a previous entry, i wrote about my excitement with the direction the horror genre is going, and this film is a perfect example. It exposes us to new talent, fresh ideas, and fearless ambition. I welcome more and more and more! The Sinister Cinema series has two more dates coming up, May 30th is American Mary, the newest entry from the Soska Sisters(aka the Twisted Twins), and starring one of the longest running queens of my perverse fantasies, Katherine Isabelle. The final presentation on June 19th is No One Lives. When I first heard that it was a film from WWE studios, I had my doubts despite my love of wrestling, but after seeing the trailer, I have high hopes for this film. Check http://www.cineplex.com/Events/sinistercinema/home.aspx for theaters and times in your local area, support the genre, and as always feel free to contact me with any questions, feedback, or if you just want to chat about this, or any other film, or anything in general.

I won’t be making any new entries over the weekend, as I’ll be catching up on some much needed beauty sleep. I’m sure i’ll be making a new entry soon though.

Stay sexy, Creeps!

“Switchback” by Celldweller

Dawn of a New Dark Utopia

The title of this entry is far heavier than it really needs to be. It’s not the Zombie Apocalypse, Cthullu hasn’t risen, The Antichrist hasn’t risen. (*editors note* There is a Finding Nemo sequel coming out soon, focusing on Ellen Degeneres’ character…so i may have to take back my previous statement about the Antichrist) What I’ve referring to is what appears to be a new Boom Period for the Horror Genre. One could debate if it was Paranormal Activity, or even Saw that jump started it, or the rash of Horror themed TV shows that are enjoying great popularity (American Horror Story, The Walking Dead etc… I refuse to give any credit to that damn Vampire crap). Everywhere I look, I see Zombie this, or Zombie that…From a marketing standpoint, Horror is no longer everyone’s dirty little secret, but it’s been brought back into the open. Cycles like this happen again and again, it goes out of vogue for a time and almost becomes politically incorrect, then it becomes red hot again. Recent films such as Cabin in the Woods, Insidious, Sinister, Evil Dead, and Texas Chainsaw 3D, have been (in my opinion) superbly done, and set a high standard for following films to live up to. I find myself salivating for upcoming projects such as the next season of American Horror Story(Coven), and the new film from James Wan entitled The Conjuring. If your tastes fall a bit more towards the underground, There are enough classic re-releases coming out to make any horror fan salivate (check out Scream Factory, an imprint of Shout Factory for a good start). Right now, in select Cineplex theaters across Canada, you can catch special One-Night-Only screenings of some recent horror stand outs that you likely would never get a chance to see on the big screen, as part of their Sinister Cinema Events. Thursday May 23rd will see the screening of the ABCs of death, May 30th will bring American Mary, and June 19th will host No One Lives. Again, all screenings are one night only, so please visit http://www.cineplex.com/Events/sinistercinema/home.aspx, and check for which theater is screening near you. 

 

I’m fucking excited you guys…For someone who can’t get enough of the genre, it seems that for the time being, I get my wish…More and More and More.

I had wanted to post something a bit

I had wanted to post something a bit more wordy, but I’ll be honest…I’m really hung over and feeling Lazy as fuck today. Hopefully these two films will keep any of you readers busy while I’m in this Brain Dead state.

Faces of Death

The Original feature, in all it’s controversial glory

Night of the Living Dead

A classic from George Romero that has had a HUGE impact felt to this day!

Change of plans

Ok, so I was planning on writing about serial killers, their history, evolution, cultural impact, etc… But I got distracted and wound up watching “Run Bitch, Run!” and “Dear God, NO!” Both films are were made in the last few years, but try very hard to look much older. They are part of a new wave of exploitation films that have been produced in the wake of the Tarantino/Rodriguez Double-bill Grindhouse feature. These films are really hit and miss. The best of them are delightfully rotten and sleazy, exactly as an exploitation movie is supposed to be. The worst are the ones that try too hard to cram in too many exploitation cliches with poor execution. The best part is that the good and the bad are equally watchable and if nothing else are well worth a laugh. Often its hard to tell if these films are closer to Horror, or comedy, or soft-core porn…but I think it’s safe to say that Horror fans have adopted them as their own nonetheless. We love that Bad Taste kinda shit!

Run Bitch, Run! keeps it simple and sleazy, right from the get-go! A Trio of of degenerates beats, rapes, and kills two catholic school girls who knock on the wrooooong fucking door trying to sell bibles. Only they make one mistake…they didn’t make sure both were dead. The surviving girl comes back in a methodical quest to exact bloody revenge on the scum who robbed her of her innocence. It’s not pretty, it’s not complicated, and it’s fucking raunchy as hell! Not only did I laugh my ass off, but i also felt dirty for finding humor in the filth I was viewing. Thats the way it’s supposed to be. It takes itself just seriously enough to not be blatantly tongue in cheek, it establishes the villains as entertaining enough for us to watch their exploits for 90 minutes, yet despicable enough that we root for them to get their eventual comeuppance, The heroine has a classic 70’s look to her face, and the violence is rampant and brutal. About as brutal as the sex. Oh my lord the SEX! Sample dialogue from the trailer: “We’ve got White Bitches, Black Bitches, Asian Bitches, Holy Bitches, Nasty Bitches…We’ve even got Bitches on Bitches!”, all spoken in random 70’s soul-brother voice. Fuck yes! How can It get any better? I’ll tell you. The top billed actor is Daeg Faerch, who is promoted as playing young Michael Myers in Rob Zombies Halloween…and he has all of 3 minutes of screen time!  (Trailer can be seen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezYgTfRBWyA )

 

Anytime a film opens with a Biker gang(The Impalers) waking up from a night of Nun raping and slaughter amidst the freshly defiled corpses of said Nuns, you know that NOBODY is fucking around! Again, if I didn’t know better, I would swear this film was made in the late 70s. The production values and gore FX simply scream authentic 70s sleaze! The corpses look silly, and the blood is just a little too red and syrupy…we get an early example of this when one of the bikers wakes up, and immediatly walks over to the corpse of the nearest Nun, then proceeds to brutally kick her genitals bloody. Why? I dunno, I guess when you spent all night raping and killing nuns, its only natural to kick their crotch into oblivion the next morning. The more you know… After the Impalers lay waste to a rival gang called Satans Own, they are witnessed by a pregnant couple who are on their way to visit their strange scientist friend who lives in a cabin in the woods. Dr. Marco intends to share the results of his bizarre experiments with the couple, but this is interrupted by the Impalers tracking the couple to the cabin, and committing all sorts of unspeakable acts of nastiness on the couple, the Doctor and his daughter. But wait, oh no, its not as simple as all that…it turns out the Doctor is in fact a mad Nazi scientist who has his wife locked in the basement after his experiments turned her into a mutated nymphomanic that wont stop laughing…and Oh yeah…He made a Bigfoot. Yup. A BIGFOOT! Doc messed around with local wildlife, and made a Bigfoot. This is like an exploitation greatest hits! We’ve got Bikersploitation, Nazisploitation, Nunsploitation and Psychedelic all rolled into one fucked up package!

“It’s almost dark, I’m FUCKIN SOBER, and I ain’t gotten to kill ANYONE today!” You tell em, you hairy degenerate Biker, you! 

(Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHcAunRydZ0 )

428400_170220096475986_894843363_n.jpg