Berenice – 2014 – Based on a story by Edgar Allen Poe

This is a story that originates from Edgar Allen Poe. As such I had high hopes for it but it turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment. The story itself is gruesome enough but I find the acting lacking a bit against the usual standards in Jeremiah Kipps films. It’s interesting that it revolves around mental illness I some sort though. I love movies like that. However I think this suffers a bit too much from being too short. As this is the third Jeremiah Kipp short I’ve written about in a short while I see a pattern. I want them longer, but still as intense as they are now. I don’t know if that’s even possible but I can dream can’t I?

This short is included in an anthology that’s out on the market right now. I haven’t seen the other segments but you might want to check it out. It’s called Creepers, a fitting name don’t you think?

7/10

http://www.creepersfilm.com/

Painkiller – 2014 – a truly gruesome little piece!

It’s not often movies really give me the creeps but this one do! The story revolves around two scientists that try to create the ultimate painkiller. It’s an organic organism really and it’s inserted into the test subject’s body. It attaches itself on the spinal core with the idea to absorb all pain the person feels. Sounds good if not even great in theory doesn’t it? Well of course it goes wrong and the organism integrates with the person and requires pain to continue living. And if this painkiller doesn’t receive enough pain the person dies ultimately.

It’s truly gruesome piece which indeed shocks me. I can’t take it when people gets inflicted with more and more pain and actually enjoys it. When it’s, in fact, is imperative for their very existence.

Just as TheMinions, also directed by JeremiahKipp, I wish this was a feature film. It would have been interesting to see how it would hold up over a bit longer time than just 15 minutes. I’m not if I could take it! It’s not that it’s a very gory film and that might be the strength about it. Less is so often more. That doesn’t mean it’s totally without gory effects either. If you’re into August Underground Mordum you might be disappointed but if you’re just after the discomfort this film brings you, it should hit the spot!

8/10

The Minions – 2014 – A new short from Jeremiah Kipp

I’m Jeremiah Kips greatest fan! I guess I’m not but for the time being lets pretends that it’s so. I admire his way of taking a very simple setting and make it very suspenseful. That is a great talent and he clearly makes use of it in this short. There doesn’t even have to be much of a plot, most of it is mysterious in this one. It’s still very suspenseful and you can’t wait ‘til you se what really going on. Of course this comes as a surprise of sorts in the end.

Most of this short is told in past tense but what really happened is hidden from us. We can only guess. For me it was somewhat of a surprise to watch the end. I had not expected that ending. I knew something was coming, a twist of some kind, but not exactly what. The only thing wrong with it really is that in IS a short. I would have liked this to be a feature film. That would have been amazing! Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a very rewarding film!

8/10

Infliction – 2013 – not just another found footage flick!

If you thought that this was just another found footage flick, you thought wrong. Sure, it has some flaws, but it certainly has a story to back up the concept. It may not be visible at first but soon you realize that the two brothers, who record they’re killing spree, has a grand motif. They don’t record their bloody deeds just for our amusement. In the description of the movie we’re told that director Jack Thomas Smith just showing us genuine recordings of the two brothers’ tapes. It would be tempting to believe that’s the truth but I don’t but it. At most, this is a story based on real events but I don’t know if even that is true.

Anyway, we get to follow the two brothers when the break in to a victims house after another. At first it seems just random but soon you realize that they have a real agenda and a goal with what they’re doing. I could describe it for you but I don’t think I won’t. It’ll take some of the suspense away from the experience. Let’s just say it has something to do with their upbringing to do. There are clear morals told here and there and what is right and wrong is sometimes somewhat debatable. What about vengeance? Is that excusable if it comes to punish those who did you wrong in the past?

At times it’s a really bloody experience but I think you should look past the blood and focus on the morals that are told. There are doubts among the brothers if what they’re doing is really right. But in the end it’s justifiable by they’re pasts. That’s one way of looking at it anyway. You might find another answer for yourself when you see it. In short, it’s about a tragic upbringing and what lies beneath.

I really like the idea as it’s a subject that lies close to my heart. There may not be the best the actors around, not from the victims anyway. But I can live with that. I would have preferred it if they could show fear on a higher lever for instance. But I’ll settle for less when the story has such a depth.

7/10