A Dark Rome – 2014 – A Black Comedy from Italy

To be frank, my first impression of this was “what kind of amateurish crap is this?”. But then I started to watch it and I realized that what I initially thought was amateurish, was indeed part of the black humor. It has about as much presence of realism as a British drama, which is to say a lot. I believe in the characters in some weird sort of way. They are all exaggerated but still on the spot. It’s really nicely acted when you get it. Hopefully you will “get it” faster than I did. It took me three times before I really understood what I was looking at.

Don’t misunderstand me now. This is a good thing! I love it when I don’t understand the concept of a movie the first time. The experience of being “outsmarted” by the movie itself is just a measure of how well written it is. Some movies that you get right away might be very entertaining, but when they’re over, they’re just over. There’s nothing more to think about. Here it’s more like “what the heck did I just see?”. A very rare and pleasant feeling.

Part of what’s confusing me is that the story isn’t told in a conventional way. It’s more or less fragmented and skips in time back and forth. But on the other hand, this is way more common these days than it was a couple of decades ago. So this might be more conventional than I realize. Anyway, the story itself is about this guy who is hunted by the ghost of his murdered friend. I think this should symbolize the inner dialog; conscious of guilt and so on. They guy is involved to some extent in the death of his friend and is torn between doing the right thing, morally or what benefits him as a person the most. That’s my interpretation anyway.

By the end of the day, I find this a thoughtful piece of what’s morally right. It might not be very entertaining at first but it grows on you and if you dare to use your brain and think for yourself, you’ll see that this is by far more interesting than most of the mainsteam blockbusters out there.

I like it!

7/10

Trailer

The Perfect Husband – 2014 – Witty and disturbing!

What goes on in a deranged mind? I don’t know and I guess that no one without a deranged mind would either. Having that said I just declared myself sane, which might or might not be a lie… In either case, we get to follow a couple with a broken background when they try to find peace with each other and themselves during a country trip.

It’s obvious that neither of them feels very well. The reason is obvious if you keep your eyes open. And even if you don’t you’ll get the message later on. They have lost a child, a new born child. We get glimpses of a birth and a stillborn child. Nothing can be more horrifying in this world than to give birth to a non-breathing baby. This couple quickly gets my deepest sympathy.

It’s kind of a low paced story, almost too low paced at times but it does get really bloody and violent as it goes along. It’s really terrifying what a broken couple might do to each other in the moment of their worst anxiety. We aren’t spared any of it either. There’s a lot of violence that almost makes me want to turn my head away. That’s very unusual but there are a couple of things I feel very uncomfortable seeing. I can’t stand mutilation of hands and eyes for example.

It’s also pretty well acted which is a great asset when it comes to suspense. It’s a pretty exciting movie actually. It’s terrifying and suspenseful at the same time. It’s rather unusual I think, that a film as bloody as this one also manages to keep the audience in such suspense. As I watch it I’m curious on what s going to happen, and who is going to snap first. I mean really go over the edge. It’s obvious that it is going to happen, just not when. And I’m not disappointed at the final breakdown, I can tell you that. There might be one or two twists too many in the story but that’s not such a big deal. This is a great movie, no doubt about it!

8/10

Creeper – 2014 – a dualism, a contradiction, an oxymoron, a paradox

It was a few day since I watched this now. Some movies need that extra time to sink in before thought can be formed into words. I wasn’t sure what to think to begin with. There are parts that are really really gruesome and I wish they had been explored further. This could have been one of the most horrifying experiences all year, but it wasn’t. That doesn’t mean that it’s not good, because it is! It’s just not all horror, which I’d hoped for. There are also some in depth character visualization. We get to see what the main character (the killer) sees from time to time. It’s obvious that he doesn’t view reality in the same way as a “normal” person does. That’s good I think.

I was a bit disappointed with the movies length. It's about 54 minutes long and that means you are not given enough time with the story to really let it get to you. Once the bottom line starts to unravel it just… ends.

The acting in kind of uneven I think. Sometimes it’s just glorious and in the next scene it’s horrible. So my feelings about this are eclectic to say the least. Some parts are really very good and nicely made, whilst some parts are plain boring and badly acted/directed.

What about the main story? Well, it’s about this bloke who kidnaps young girls, keeps them in his cellar and tortures them. Its’ very painful torture by the looks of it too. There are saws and pliers involved, that’s all I can say. The only setback is that we don’t get to see that much. I guess the films budget stopped the development of special makeup effects. If it had the effects of a master or at least dared to show off a little it’d be beautiful.

I guess the story is inspired by real serial killers. I don’t know exactly who the most famous ones pop up in my head. It seems that this killer is based on the likes of Ted Bundy (his charm) and on others that are more gruesome in their killing methods. I like the character created here. It’s kind of a dualism, a contradiction, an oxymoron, a paradox.

The bottom line then? Well, as stated above I find it a bit uneven. It's still very watchable though, despite its short length.

7/10

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Have you heard about the small releasing company LAST EXIT ENTERTAINMENT? Well, if you haven't, no worries. They have released three or for DVDs by now but the real news here is that you now can actually BUY THEM directy from these amazing guys! Just click the link below to get there. Plus that you get all of the updates, news etc in the same spot. Isn't it glorious?

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Upcoming flick - Gore Orpahage!

I got this press release a few days ago and I finally got around to read it and watch the trailer. I can honestly say that I want to review this film so bad when it comes out! I'll let you in on the story and background via the press release below. AND there's a trailer! :-D

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Based on the most popular urban legend in the state of Ohio, Gore Orphanage was filmed in the summer of 2014. 

The film stars Maria Olsen (Percy Jackson/Paranormal Activity 3/Starry Eyes), Internet Tycoon Bill Townsend, Keri Maletto (Home Shopping Network) and introduces a trio of amazing child actors Emma Leigh Smith, Nora Hoyle and Brandon Mangin Jr. 

The film is a female-centered horror story directed by Emily Lapisardi in her directorial debut.  Filmed in 2014 in Scottdale, PA, the story is set in the 1930's and follows the life of Nellie, an orphan, who is brought to Gore Orphanage and discovers quickly that some things are worse than losing your family.

This is the fifth film produced by veteran independent producer Cody Knotts (Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies) and was filmed in Scottdale, PA with a cast of over 20 local children in addition to the actors listed above.   Knotts has worked with such horror icons as Doug Bradley and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper in the past.

The film was a husband and wife collaboration of Mr. Knotts and Ms. Lapisardi.  Mr. Knotts wrote the film to impress his then fiancée, who was inspired by a road sign in Ohio during travel for Knotts' film Pro Wrestlers vs. Zombies. 

Hans Cripleton: Talk to the Hans – 2014 – What did I just see?

What did I just see? I don’t think that question has ever been more valid. I had to watch this a few times before I “got it”. It’s actually a quite funny comedy; an indie comedy and not very politically correct at that. At first I thought it was a bit tasteless and making fun och disabled people. I don’t anymore. If it’s something it makes fun of, it’s inbred rednecks. I think all of the main characters are so exaggerated that it’s impossible to take them serious enough to be offended though. That’s my 2 cents anyway. I guess some might be offended but if that’s the case, you might want to watch smother else to begin with.

The acting is quite good. I totally buy the pseudo documentary. If I didn’t know better it would have me fooled. The acting is actually more realistic that the makeup effects. Those are cool but obviously faked. I think they’re supposed to look faked to make a comic point and together with the characters it’s all in good fun.

The story revolves around a family, and one of the in particular – Hans. He’s a authority in the horror world but he seems to take himself a little bit to serious after a while. This movie has the form of a documentary around him. It evolves to something more and before the end it becomes a family drama within this crazy family AND the documentary film maker. There is a zombie curse too if you’re into that kind of stuff, but even though it’s important for the plot and storyline, it’s not very much coverage of it. Not in imagery anyway.

You have never seen a movie like this before, nor are you likely to do so again anytime soon! If you are into indie flick you should see this one!

8/10

A Killer Conversation – 2014 – perfectly titled flick

Actually this movie is perfectly titled. I wasn’t really aware of it when I started to watch it but I soon found out it was a deliberate pun. At least that’s my interpretation of it; I can’t really see any other possibility. The main plot is that of a burglar breaking in and capturing the resident. Soon after, his ex wife comes into the picture. Then the burglar takes the part of some sort of counselor between them. The ending is inevitable but this came a bit as a surprise.

The accent spoken in the dialog is British. I don’t know if that makes it better or not but it surely makes it more comical. I was expecting a horror flick or at least a thriller but I got a quite a talky drama comedy.

I wasn’t sure about the acting at first. Neither of them will get an academy award for their contribution but when a few minutes have passed I realize that it’s nothing wrong with the acting at all. It’s all in the part of the style of the movie. It’s supposed to be geeky acted. That’s what I think anyway.

I’m a bit disappointed. Not by the movie itself really, it was entertaining anyway, but with my anticipation of it. I should have realized what kind of movie I was about to watch. Maybe I should have paid more attention to the press material. But on the other hand, I was given a film that I had not expected. That’s one of the most exciting experiences you can have when it comes to watching movies.

I think this flick will have a hard time to succeed. I think you have to be really open minded to ‘get’ the comic approach of it. And if you’re not patient enough you will miss the whole point of it all.

5/10

Trailer: Danish flick ESCAPING THE DEAD

Look quick for Look fast for Tromas Lloyd Kaufman!

Escaping the Dead" is inspired by a series of articles about the deathdrug "Krokodil" that was published about the same period of time when Ronald Poppo had his face eaten by a naked man hooked on bathsalt in Miami. It is the perfect zombie plot: a deathdrug that turns people into zombies.

The film has its starting point in a typical day for the lead character, David. David is the local marihuana pusher, but he is the kind of dealer that smokes more than he sells. In themeantime the country has been hit by a new deathdrug and when David and his partner in crime Ahmir is offered some exceptionally cheap cocaine they see it as an opportunity to earn big money at the big techno concert the following Friday, but the cocaine turns out to have a terrible side effect that creates a giant zombie outbreak that spreads acrossthe entire Copenhagen. In the film we follow David and his bloody fight out of the city.

Directed by Martin Sonntag and Bastian Brinch Pedersen, the film stars Bastian Brinch Pedersen (who is also the co-director and producer of the film) as David, Rama Øzel as Ahmir, along with Dorte Rømer ("Breaking the Waves") and Kim Sønderholm ("Cannibal Fog", "Run", "House of Many Sorrows") playing Lars the policeman. Recently Lone Fleming, legendary horror actress from the "Blind Dead" series and Danish origin joined the cast to play Davids mother. 

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3334746/