DVD Review: GEORGE: A ZOMBIE INTERVENTION (2009)

GEORGE: A ZOMBIE INTERVENTION (2009)

LABEL: Vicious Circle Films
REGION CODE: 1 NTSC
RATING: Unrated
DURATION: 93mins
AUDIO: English Dolby Digital Stereo
VIDEO: 16:9 Anamorphic (1.78:1)
DIRECTOR: T.J. Seaton
CAST: Peterr Stickles, Michele Tomlinson, Lynn Lowry, Carlos Larkin, Shannon Hadson, Eric Dean

J.T. Seaton's debut feature film GEORGE: A ZOMBIE INTERVENTION is a quirky indie zombie comedy the likes of which I haven't quite seen before. The films sets up straight away that zombies are a fact of life, not all zombies are flesh-eating lunatics and some can actually be productive members of society. This conceit is set up through a fun and ingenious PSA styled advert at the top of the film.

We then meet the focus of the film, a zombie named George (Carlos Larkin) who's definitely not what you would call a productive member of society, dead or alive, he's a bit of a slacker zombie who lounges around his home in a bathrobe and a tie-dye t-shirt watching TV and occasionally gnawing on a human from time to time. It's this appetite for human flesh that has his best friend Ben (Pete Stickles, SHORTBUS), sister Frannie (Shannon Hodson), ex-girlfriend Sarah (Michelle Tomlinson, BRAIN DEAD) and her douche bag boyfriend Steve (Eric Dean, OFFICE OF THE DEAD) concerned. Fearing that George may be turning to the dark side of zombiedom they stage an intervention at his home with the charmingly inept interventionist Barbra (Lynn Lowry, THE CRAZIES) presiding over the event.

While George attempts to evade his well meaning friends and family his hunger for flesh human grows and when the group take a time out from the intervention people start turning up dead around the house including a couple of Mormon missionaries, some ditzy strippers and a door to door salesman who ends up a prisoner in the basement where the bodies keep piling up. The thing about a only half eaten corpse is that it tends to become a zombies themselves which proves problematic to the proceedings.

I gotta say I really enjoyed this flick, it's smartly written and capably acted. Carlos Larkin as the slacker zombie George is a ton of fun, such a likable guy even when he's sinking his teeth into a nice slab of stripper breast looking like Sylvester with a mouth full of Tweety when he's caught. It was a treat glimpsing Lynn Lowry of SHIVER, THE CRAZIES and SCORE as the interventionist and Troma impresario Lloyd Kaufman appears in one of his patented cameos. The group dynamic totally works, the dialogue really is quite funny while there are horror elements this is a straight up situational zom-com with loads of deadpan humor.

DVD: The screener from Vicious Circle Films presents the film in 16:9 widescreen (1.78:1) with English language Dolby Digital stereo, with no subtitles. It's a bare bones disc and did not include any of the special features which include director's commentary, featurette, alternate takes, deleted scenes and a short film.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Deleted/Alternate Scenes
- Cast and Crew Commentary
- Behind-the-Scenes Footage
- Zombie Rehab Center - Group Therapy
- Lloyd Kaufman Alternate Takes and Bloopers
- "Sunday on the Street with George" - Short Film

VERDICT: First time feature length director J.T. Seaton has crafted a fun, quirky zom-com that manages not to quirk itself right into the realm of annoying which is a rare feat. Zombie purist may scoff at this irreverent take on the tired zombie genre but if you enjoyed FIDO, AAAH! ZOMBIES or SHAUN OF THE DEAD this should prove entertaining, it's not rewriting the zom-com but it's a fun entry in the sub-genre. 3.5/5

DVD Review: Ninjas Vs Vampires

NINJAS VS. VAMPIRES (2010)

Label: Vicious Circle Films
Region Code: Region 1 NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 89 mins
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo
Director: Justin Timpane
Cast: Jay Saunders, Daniel Ross, Cory Okouchi, Devon Marie Burt

I missed out on director Justin Timpane's previous film NINJAS VS. ZOMBIES (2008) but here we are with what I assume is a direct sequel, NINJAS VS. VAMPIRES, a schlocky action-horror-comedy genre mash-up that begins with a painfully awkward maneuver by Aaron (Jay Saunders) as he attempts to break out of the dreaded friend zone with his best friend Alex (Devon Marie Burt), it's painful to watch as she shoots him down, he's a brave man for trying. Luckily for him the failed bid is interrupted when a group of blood thirsty vampires attack. They're goners for sure till a mysterious groups of Ninjas rescue them, staking the vamps who go up in a blaze of flames, it's a very BLADE-like effect. The next day Alex doesn't seem to recall the prior nights events, she's been "glammered" TRUE BLOOD style but Aaron recalls everything, seems he's immune to the glammering,  and sets out to in search of the mysterious saviours which leads him to the Ninjas whom are led by comic shop proprietor Cole (Cory Okouch) and his band of vamp fighting LARP-ers which include a sorceress named Ann (Melissa McConnell), a wisecracking ass-kicker Kyle (Daniel Ross) and a vampire who fights for human kind Lily (Carla Okouchi). Aaron is initiated into he group and thus begins a fun good vs. evil romp pitting Ninjas against vampires.

The vampires are lead by the smug and smartly attired overlord Seth (Kurt Skarstedt) who along with his blood sucking clan are out to destroy all humans using the power of a mystical amulet. His fanged brood consists of his Major Domo (Paul Siebe), Seth's brother Manson (Daniel Mascarello) who dresses like Michelle Pfiefer's Catwoman and speaks like he's channeling Christian Bale's Batman, he one of those so evil he'll kill his own kind types, the cloaked-masked figure The Bishop (P.J. Megaw) who looks like G.I. JOE's Destro or Dr. Doom, and two MAD MAX looking barbarian vamps.  

This micro-budgeted film is a pretty good watch, it plays with vampire conventions and pokes fun at itself and the genre. There's a lot of camp here but it's all in cheesy good fun with tons of action, violence and comedy, it's a well assembled flick but it's hamstrung by some heavy CGI use which I think is the bane of the indie horror flicks these days but I found it tolerable. The film's 89 minute running time moves along at a good clip enhanced by some tight editing and a pretty kick-ass alt. rock/metal soundtrack. The story is a bit convoluted, the jokes are a bit much at times and there's too many characters but it the end it's all in good fun and plenty entertaining.


Highlights for me were actors Daniel Ross and Jay Sanders, very funny guys with some cheese-tastic one-liners, a MATRIX-style training montage, and the overall goofy tone of the film. I was definitely in the mood for a schlocky horror-comedy and that's what I got. The ending of the film sets up a possible sequel that would probably be titled NINJAS VS. MONSTERS - I'm totally game for that, would love to see it ion 2012!

DVD: The film is presented in anamorphic widescreen in Dolby Digital stereo with no subtitles. What we were sent for review is a typical Vicious Circle Films DVDR screener with no menu, no features and a reoccurring "Property of Breaking Glass Pictures" watermark. I can't comment on the features but they are listed below and seem plentiful. The audio and video quality of the screener are decent,  it looks shot on consumer grade digital video, the audio handles dialogue, effects and the heavy rock soundtrack quite well.

Special Features:
- Three Audio Commentaries - Cast - Producers - Director
- Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary
- Bloopers
- Solarice Music Video "Again to Die" NINJAS VS. VAMPIRES Theme
- Exclusive Sneak Peek NINJAS VS. Comic Books
- Alternate Ending with Optional Commentary
- From Zombies to Vampires Featurette
- Theatrical Premier Featurette


Verdict: NINJAS VS. VAMPIRES is an entertaining flick with tons of action, swordplay, hand-to-hand combat and an over-the-top sense of humor that may not agree with everyone but I dug it. While the CGI doesn't ruin the film for me I would have loved some old school splatter but based on this I'll definitely check out Timpane's previous genre mash-up NINJAS VS. ZOMBI'S. It's a cheesy good time that lovers of schlock are sure to enjoy.
2.5 outta 5

http://ninjasvsvampires.com/

NINJAS VS. VAMPIRE Screen Captures

DVD REVIEW: Bleading Lady (2011)

BLEADING LADY DVD

Release Date: March 29th 2011

LABEL: Vicious Cirlce Films
REGION CODE: Region 1
RATING: Unrated
DURATION: 76 min.
DIRECTOR: Ryan Nicholson
CAST: Dan Ellis, Sindy Faraguna, Nathan Durec, Nick Windebank
TAGLINE: Whatever You Do...Don't Yell CUT!

PLOT: Don is a chauffeur and a movie buff who takes his job seriously - very seriously. When his latest assignment takes him to the set of a low-budget horror film, he's overjoyed to learn he'll be driving Riversa Red - His favorite B-movie "Scream Queen." While driving his beloved idol, Don assumes the role of bodyguard and turns fiercely protective, especially after learning that Riversa has a stalker. Hell-bent on protecting his queen and fueled by paranoid fantasies, Don's usual temper tantrums go to fatal extremes. Soon he proves to be not only Riversa's biggest fan, but her worst nightmare as well.

FILM: I must say I'm always pleased to see a screener from exploitation DVD label Vicious Circle Films. The have released some genuinely good exploitation gems in the past few years including EASTER BUNNY, KILL! KILL! (2006),  RUN! BITCH RUN! (2009) and SOMEONE'S KNOCKING AT THE DOOR (2009), real bloody good sleazefests all of 'em. The only let down for me recently is the soon-to-be-released porno queen turned scream queen Tori Black werewolf  feature  HALF MOON (2011). One minor misstep aside and outta the blue comes BLEADING LADY (2011) (previously known as STAR VEHICLE) from Canadian director Ryan Nicholson of GUTTERBALLS (2008) notoriety. This is my first Nicholson film and after polling my trusted inner circle of imaginary twitter and faceboook friends it was a pretty fair split right down the middle between love 'em and hate 'em so with that in mind I went into Nicholson's latest film, the slasher Bleading Lady.

The film centers around Don (Dan Ellis), a short-tempered chauffeur on a low-budget backwoods horror film set. How short tempered you may ask? Well,  it don't take much... the film begins as he's transporting some obnoxious movie extras from the set when they push all the wrong buttons. Don pulls off the main road and orders them out at gunpoint, pulls out a machete and begins gloriously hacking the shit outta 'em. Blood is spaying everywhere, it's a real gorefest. Minutes later he back on the job driving a smoking hot scream queen named Riversa Red (Sindy Faraguna) to the set. Turns out not only is Don a deranged chauffeur but also a horror nerd (now that's a 50/50 mixture of nuttiness) and he knows pretty much everything there is to know about Riversa Red who's star seems to be on the decline. Don finds out that the starlet has a stalker and he takes it upon himself to become her own personal bodyguard, but who's going to protect her from the nightmare that is Don? Between his paranoid delusions, the snot-nosed actors and the wanna-be director of the film Don is in a real hack n' slash mood.  He begins fulfilling his paranoid fantasies by taking out cast and crew one by one until he eventually shows up on-set with a 9mm and forces the remaining cast and crew to film his own gruesome little hand-held horror gem which is interrupted by the starlet's stalker. .  

There's a bit of commentary and comedic satire on the current state of horror filmmaking vs. old school movie-making as Don takes aim at modern slashers and actresses in particular calling the current crop of scream queens "whores" who are merely pimping their bodies while Riversa takes a more sympathetic point of view. Commentary and comedy aside Bleading Lady does not skimp on the tits or gore. We've got blood spattered mayhem throughout the film including a gruesome crowbar to the face, the machette massacre and a gore-tastic beheading. The gore is really well filmed and the camera doesn't pull away for all you gorehounds out there.

Don (Ellis) is the strongest presence in the film, he's a straight shooting take no bullshit bastard and his performance reminded me of a bit of Richard Moll when Moll played weirdos in the late-70's and early-80's. He's a fairly developed character and Sindy Faraguna as the scream queen Riversa Red is also fleshed out a bit. Everyone else is more or less slasher fodder. The idea of a film within a film has always appealed to me and the concept of a slasher on the set of a slasher film is even better and it works wonderfully here, more so than the familiarly themed BRUTAL MASSACRE: A COMEDY (2008) or Israel Luna's FRIGHT FLICK(2010).

DVD: Ryan Nicholson's Bleading Lady (2011) comes to DVD in an unrated director's cut from Breaking Glass Pictures imprint Vicious Circle Films. The film is presented in 16:9 enhanced widescreen with a choice of 2.0 stereo or 5.1 surround audio. The film is definitely low-budget and it shows some flaws here and there plus the dvdr screener probably didn't help the image either.  The screener contained none of the special features but if you snag the film on March 29th when it is to be released here's what you'll find:

SPECIAL FEATURES:
- "Behind the Wheel: The making of Bleading Lady"

- "Left Coast TV presents "On the set of Bleading Lady"
- 8 Deleted Scenes
- Alternate opening
- Director Ryan Nicholson and Lead Actor Dan Ellis audio commentary
- "Bleading Lady" trailer
- Vicious Circle trailers
- Sexy Gory Stills Gallery

VERDICT: At a briskly paced 76 minutes BLEADING LADY is a blood-soaked definite good time, no slasher should exceed 92 minutes in my book. I give this a recommendation and I'm definitely interested in checking out Nicholson's previous films based on this, very enjoyable stuff. ***1/2 (3.5 out of 5 stars)

DVD REVIEW: Brain Dead (2007)

BRAIN DEAD (2007)

DISTRIBUTOR: Vicious Cirlcle Films
REGION: 1
RATED: Unrated
RUNNING TIME: 95 Min.
GENRE: Sci-Fo Horror
DIRECTOR: Kevin S. Tenney
CAST: Joshua Benton, Sarah Grant Brendecke, SDavid Crane, Andy Forrest
RELEASE DATE: Available Now!
TAGLINE: A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste.

PLOT: After an extraterrestrial parasite crash-lands in a backwoods American town – landing squarely on the head of a local fisherman – it sparks a fast spreading zombie infestation. As the brain hungry monsters multiply, three pairs of unlucky misfits convene on a fishing lodge for shelter. With zombies pounding at the door, the stranded, mismatched travelers must band together to stop the invasion – or serve themselves up as a main course. The problem is, they may lose their minds to each other before losing their brains to the zombies.

THE STUFF: BRAIN DEAD comes to us from director Kevin S. Tenney whose film NIGHT OF THE DEMONS (1988) is an enduring Halloween themed 80's horror-comedy that was recently claimed by the Hollywood remake machine. BRAIN DEAD is a return to his 80's horror roots with a nice gory helping of sci-fi splatter.

The film has a great opening as a asteroid hurls through the cold of space on a collision course with Earth. Upon entry into the planet's atmosphere the asteroid burns to a golf ball sized cinder and strikes a fisherman right on the noggin with a nice loud PLUNK! Nearly  instantaneously the the man turns into a zombified flesh-eating mutant. When his fishing buddy leans in to offer assistance he's grabbed by the the eye sockets and his head is ripped into two - great practical effects, gore hounds will be enthralled. Great start to a fun if redundant horror/comedy.

Alright, our zombie-creature is in place and infecting others via some black vomit. Now how about a ragtag group of victims whom through various improbable means and circumstance end up at the cabin in the woods which escalates into a siege situation as the group attempt to fend off the flesh crazed creatures? A lecherous priest, the young woman he lusts after, two escaped convicts, a park ranger, a police officer and two college co-eds. To be honest the names of these characters just aren't all that important. BRAIN DEAD is not only an apt title but more or less an ideal state of mind when viewing this film, it's a real no-brainer which is not to say it is without it's goofy and gory charm. 

What BRAIN DEAD has going for it is some very good practical effects work though they are leveraged by some equally terrible Syfy level CGI and a familiar but fun premise, definite tones of NIGHT OF THE CREEPS (1986) here. What doesn't work are the rampant attempts at comedy throughout the film. I couldn't quite tell if the film was going for a 80's comedy/horror flavor or if the comedy was just stale and came across 80's style. I guess it doesn't matter if the effect is the same, right?

DVD: BRAIN DEAD comes to us by way of the always entertaining Vicious Circle Films and is presented in anamorphic widescreen with 2.0 surround sound. Not an astounding looking film nor particularly bombastic in the sound department either but adequate. A good amount of bonus content here none of which I can comment on as the screener was bare-bones.

Special Features
- Commentary by Director Kevin S. Tenney, Producer Greg McKay and members of the cast
- Behind the Screams - The Making of BRAIN DEAD Documentary
- Blooper Reel and Deleted Scenes with optional Commentary
- Theatrical Trails

VERDICT: A low-budget splatter-fest that's worth a watch. I'd place this along the lines of the Spierig Bros. UNDEAD (2003) or Jake West's DOGHOUSE (2009) which mine similiar territory. A decent indie horror interupted by some poor attempts at comedy. A medium recommend from me on this one.  **1/2 (2.5 out of 5 stars)



- McBASTARD

DVD REVIEW: Run! Bitch Run! (2009)

RUN! BITCH RUN! (2009)

STUDIO: Vicious Circle Films
REGION: 1
RATED: Unrated
RUNNING TIME: 86 Min.
GENRE: Exploitation, Horror
DIRECTOR: Joseph Guzman
CAST: Cheryl Lyone, Christina DeRosa, Peter Tahoe, Johnny Winchester
RELEASE DATE: Available Now!
TAGLINE: Payback's a Bitch!


PLOT: Catherine and Rebecca are two Catholic School girls going door-to-door selling Religious paraphernalia in order to pay for their books and education. Things go horribly wrong when they knock on the wrong door in the wrong neighborhood. Run! Bitch Run! is a throw back to the classic 1970's Rape and Revenge films like 'Last House On the Left' and 'Ms. 45'.

FILM: I've seen a lot of films come along that advertise themselves as throwbacks to the seedy 70's grindhouse and exploitation films with taglines incorporating phrases like "in the tradition of..." or "soon to be cult classic" to know they're mostly full o' shit. These hollow slogans are nifty selling points but rarely do the films live up to the hype or essence of the iconic genre films they namedrop. That said RUN! BITCH RUN! is a true spirited throwback to the straight-faced rape revenge grinders from the 70's like I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE (1978) and LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972) - it's sleazy stuff that's hard to watch but quite entertaining if you have the stomach for it.

Catherine (Cheryl Lyone) and Rebecca (Christina DeRosa) are two super-sexy Catholic school girls that are selling bibles door-to-door. They find themselves in the town of Mosely - a true shit-hole that's home to a few cranky-bitches, a junkyard and a cathouse run by a slimy drug dealing pimp named Lobo who hangs with a stuttering side-kick named Clint and a crazy bitch named Marla. The girls have picked a bad day to interrupt the goings-on at the cathouse. Inside Clint is getting busy while watching a nun-sploitation nudie-film called NUDE NUNS WITH BIG GUNS, Marla's in the shitter violently masturbating with wooden toilet plunger handle (Ouch! Slivers?) and Lobo has just blasted one his whores for swiping his heroin. As you might expect the trio aren't willing to let the girls leave. This is really when the elements from LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT come into play -  the sadistic male leader, the weak willed scummy sidekick and a sex-depraved bitch holding two young women hostage who are made to perform vile sex acts, pretty familiar territory. There's a true excess of nudity and demeaning sex acts here and it's all rather repulsive stuff. This is pure 100% rape revenge exploitation down to the acts of forced fellatio, rape, degradation and that old chestnut - necrophilia - not for the squeamish or easily offended because it is offensive. We also get some definite Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez flavors. The soundtrack recalls the GRINDHOUSE main title theme, it's pretty swanky stuff with a deep throbbing base and tasty desert rock riffing and a toe-sucking scene that would do Tarantino's foot fetish proud. Beaten, raped and debased Catherine is left for dead in the wilderness after a nasty game of hide n' fuck that is pure I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE homage. She limps her way through the forest and collapses along a road where she is discovered by a passerby. In a scene that strongly recalls KILL BILL Catherine wakens in a hospital room and dons a nurse's uniform and begins her methodical bloody streak of vengeance against those that have defiled her.

What worked? Pretty much everything for me. Sure, it's derivative of the aforementioned genre rape/revenge classic, very much so, but the acting is good all around, it hits all the right notes and it has some decent cinematography which both Last House and I Spit lacked. It's a bit of a greatest hits and that fine by me. What didn't work? As depraved as the film is it seemed to shy away from the violence. There's not much gore here and I think the gorehounds will be disappointed as the headshots and shotgun blasts occur just off screen. This is probably a budgetary in nature and I can abide it. Some will take issue with it's derivative nature but as stated before it's a non-issue for me.


DVD: RUN! BITCH RUN! comes to DVD from VICIOUS CIRCLE FILMS. The film is presented in 1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen with a Dolby Surround 2.0 soundtrack. No subtitles option available. The film looks great, it's gritty and low-budget but looks awesome and well-shot, great stuff. The 2.0 soundtrack handles the soundtrack well including the sweet-ass film score. Tons of special features included none of which I can comment on
as I was sent bare-bones screener (sigh).


 Special Features:
- NUDE NUNS WITH BIG GUNS Short Film
- RUN! BITCH RUN! Original Trailer
- Sluts on Parade Magazine Spread Photo Gallery
- RUN! BITCH RUN! Screenplay (DVD-ROM Content only)

VERDICT: RUN! BITCH RUN! is a nasty bit o' grindhouse sleaze. It's offensive, it's derivative and it's entertaining. A fine-tuned homage to the exploitation classics that came before and a hell of a debut from director Joseph Guzman.  ***1/2 (3.5 out of 5 stars)


- McBASTARD

DVD REVIEW: Someone's Knocking At The Door (2009)

SOMEONE'S KNOCKING AT THE DOOR (2010)

STUDIO: Vicious Cirlcle Films
REGION: 1
RATED: Unrated
RUNNING TIME: 80 Min.
GENRE: Exploitation, Horror
RUNNING TIME:
DIRECTOR: Chad Ferrin
CAST: Noah Segan, Timothy Muskatell, Andrea Rudea, Jon Budinoff, Silvia Spross, Rocardo Gray, Vernon Well, Ezra Buzzington
RELEASE DATE: Available Now!

PLOT: A gruesome and graphic horror tale about a group of unsuspecting friends being terrorized by a pair of psycho killers. In a nod to those classic '70's indie splatter films, the story follows six college classmates on a drug - and sex filled week-end. When one of them is brutally murdered, it soon becomes clear that one by one they are being stalked by the unknown killers. Someone's Knocking at the Door is Russ Meyer meets Dario Argento, in which youthful, voluptuous bodies find their doom in a blood-splattered orgy of murder and sex. A unique and original grindhouse thriller that will keep you guessing right up until its unpredictable and shocking ending. (from BreakingGlassPictures.com)FILM:

FILM: Director Chad Ferrin has made a handful of well-written, shocking and highly entertaining features beginning with THE GHOULS (2003) and wickedly awesome EASTER BUNNY, KILL! KILL! (2006) and now we have the slasher mind-fuck SOMEONE'S KNOCKING AT THE DOOR (2009) which easily cements him as one of my favorite up and coming horror writer/directors. This time out a group of frisky drug-dabbling medical school students decide to make for the basement of a psychiatric center and shoot an unknown drug while reading case files and listening to audio recording of two infamous former patients John and Wilma Hopper who had the unsavory m.o. of quite literally fucking their victims to death with their abnormally large genitalia. How large you say? I knew you'd ask you pervs -  a 15" dis-member with a 4" circumference and cavern so large that it definitely has some head-room. Shortly after their drug-taking adventure the group find themselves being hunted one-by-one by the gruesome twosome and shockingly raped until death.

The film has a strong cast. Ferrin brings a few of his EASTER BUNNY, KILL! KILL! cast back including Timothy Muskatell as Det. Young and David Z. Stamp in a memorable performance as Det. Fullerand. Both gave unforgettable sleazy performances in EBKK. Joe Pilato (the immortal Capt. Rhodes from George A. Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD) who also appeared in Ferrin's THE GHOULS makes a short cameo. New to Ferrin's films is familiar face Noah Segan (DEADGIRL, CABIN FEVER 2: SPRING FEVER) as Justin, the most-likable of the group of friends and Ezra Buzzington turn as murdering rapist John Hopper is just brutal and disturbing and that's before you see his 15" death rod! Very guttural and grimy. You just see the guy and think "this motherfucker is gonna rape me to death, I just know it!".

The gore-effects in the film are truly stomach churning but surprisingly restrained as we often catch just a quick flash that only serves to make your mind wander and stagnate on some fresh hell you've only glimpsed of. I was feeling queasy a few times as watching someone having the circumference of their mouth bloodily enlarged via a throbbing flesh rocket might do, but it could have of been worse, trust me.

DVD: SOMEONE'S KNOCKING AT THE DOOR (2009) comes to DVD from exploitation grinders extraordinaire VICIOUS CIRCLE FILMS. The film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer and Ferrin and his cinematographer make the most of their indie budget with great colors and a snappy stylized look that  pops with 5.1 surround sound that utilizes not ramped-up audio jump scares but a jarring skronk and skree that makes you feel  uneasy, its effective stuff. I reviewed a bare bones screener (dang) but the retail version is jam-packed with a generous amount of bonus content.

Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with director Chad Ferrin and actor Noah Segan
- Audio Commentary with director Chad Ferrin and actor Timothy Muskatell
- 40 Min. Making-of Documentary
- Deleted / Extended Scenes
- Original Poster Artwork
- 5 Min. Black-and-While Film TALDON DRUG TEST SUBJECT #1
- Segan-directed music video "Say It" by Andrew Lynch
- Three SOMEONE'S KNOCKING AT THE DOOR Trailers
- Previews of director Chad Ferrin's EASTER BUNNY, KILL! KILL!! and THE GHOULS
 VERDICT: This is the 3rd film from Ferrin I've seen and it's an awesome bit o' disturbing. Strange, deranged and fucked-up - let the good time's roll. Is it redeeming, is there a moral? Kids, don't do drugs particularly those you've found in the basement of a psychiatric center. Definitley anxious to check out Ferrin's next project called DANCES WITH WEREWOLVES which i slated for a 2010 release. ***1/2 (3.5 out of 5 stars)

- McBASTARD

DVD Review: Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! (2006)

EASTER BUNNY, KILL! KILL! (2006)


STUDIO: Vicious Cirlce Films
RATING: Not Rated
REGION: 1
GENRE:  Slasher, Dark Comedy, Holiday Horror
RUN TIME: 90 Min.
DIRECTOR: Chad Ferrin
CAST: Timothy Muskatell (Remington), Charlotee Marie (Mindy), Ricardo Grey (Nicholas), David Z. Stamp (Ray Mann), Trant Haaga (Bum/Donald)
TAGLINE: This Year There Will Be No Resurrection


PLOT: From Chad Ferrin, the acclaimed director of the cult hit Someone's Knocking At The Door, comes this twisted and frightening low-budget shocker, a stylish and totally original confection where gore, violence, suspense and humor all intersect for a creepy and shocking good time. It's Easter, sixteen-year-old Nicholas' favorite holiday. When the mentally and physically disabled youth's mother, Mindy, begins a relationship with a psycho killer, bizarre events begin to unfold - especially  after Nicholas takes a seemingly normal rabbit into the house. But when home intruders, prostitutes and street trash are murdered in bizarre gruesome ways, just who is the bunny-masked killer committing these horrendous crimes?


FILM: Every holiday and cause for celebration seems to have it's own series of slasher films, Christmas has BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) and SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT (1984), Halloween of course gets HALLOWEEN (1978) and TRICK R TREAT (2007), THANKSKILLING (2009), MOTHER'S DAY (1980), APRIL FOOLS DAY (1986), MY BLOODY VALENTINE (1981), HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME (1981) and so on, there's a ton. The awesomely titled EASTER BUNNY, KILL! KILL! gives us one more reason to celebrate the resurrection of the saviour. The film is directed by Chad Ferrin (SOMEONE'S KNOCKING AT THE DOOR) and this is the first time I've viewed one of his films. I've since seen THE GHOULS (2003) and that is also a fun watch.

The film begins as lowlife drug abuser Remington  (Timothy Muskatell) is knocking over a convenience store at gunpoint on Easter's eve, he's also wearing a bunny mask. The teller hands over the cash and begs for his life but being the sick fuck that he is Remington sticks the gun in the clerk's mouth and blows his brains out all over the counter. He then casually grabs a chocolate Easter bunny and a bottle of cheap champagne and heads off to the girlfriends house. When Remington arrives at his girlfriend Mindy's (Charlotee Marie) door he discovers that she has a 15 year-old son Nicholas with special needs. Remington is none too pleased by this revelation but he plays nice with Nicholas while Mindy's around but as soon as she leaves the room he torments the kid to no end. It's despicably delicious the way he turns from sweet to nasty on the turn of a dime, he's such an unpleasant guy but a great character.

Remy stays the night and on Easter morning Mindy asks him to watch the kid while she goes to work. Remington obliges but as soon as the door closes behind her Remington calls a pedophile friend Ray to come over where the two exchange drugs and money in exchange for some alone time with Nic while Remy goes out whoring. The pedophile Ray is one of the creepiest characters I've seen in a quite while; a wheezing, overweight invalid who arrives with a briefcase full of drugs, sex toys and a camera. My skin was crawling as Remington explained there were to be no-marks and no-memories, stomach churning stuff. An agreement is reached and Remy leaves the boy alone with Ray as he hits the streets in search of hookers. At this point I'm thinking I have no interest in seeing this, but thankfully a mysterious rabbit masked avenger arrives on scene and brutally kills the child-rapist with a drill to the head.

Eventually Remington makes his way back to the house along with two coked-out whores he's picked-up as do a couple of disgruntled day laborers out for revenge against Remington. All are dispatched in a variety of awesome kills, not super original stuff but bloody awesome just the same. The film teeters from nightmarishly vile to grotesque dark comedy, it's a fine balance and extremely well done.

One of my few gripes is that Ricardo Grey as Nicholas takes it "full retard" and the performance is a bit too much. Muskatell steals the show as the sleazy boyfriend Remington, you just can't take your eyes off the guy, a ton o' fun. David Z. Stamp as the pedophile also give a strong but brief performance, you'll need a bath after his scenes. The gore in the film is great, very bloody and gruesome - a lil' bit of everything for the gore inclined.

DVD: The EASTER BUNNY, KILL! KILL! DVD from VICIOUS CIRCLE FILMS is presented in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen with 2.0 stereo surround sound. A good looking film on DVD, a bit of grain during the darker night scenes but no real complaints, good stuff. Unfortunately my DVD was a screener and contained none of the special features.

Special Features:
- 15 Minute Making Of Featurette
- F%@& UP Featurette
- The Casting Woes
- Director's Commentary
- Chad Ferrin Trailer Gallery


VERDICT: If you're making a indie-horror film please take note - this is how you do it. EASTER BUNNY, KILL! KILL! is a blast of sickening fun. Chad Ferrin's next project is a horror-western DANCES WITH WEREWOLVES and is slated for a 2012 release, definitely a talent to keep an eye out for. **** (4 out of 5 stars)