DVD Review: Nightmares (1980)

NIGHTMARES (1980)

Label: Severin Films
Release Date: Jun 28th 2011
Region: ALL REGIONS NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 84 mins
Video: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono
Director: John Lamond
Cast: John Michael Howson, Jenne Lamond, Jenny Neumann, Gary Sweet, Nina Landis

NIGHTMARES (1981) aka STAGE FRIGHT (not to be confused with the similiar themed Michele Soavi film) is directed by Ozploitation erotic film pioneer John D. Lamond (FELICITY, THE ABC OF LOVE AND SEX: AUSTRALIA STYLE) and was co-scripted by Colin Eggleston whom is well known for directing the nature vs. man ozploitation classic LONG WEEKEND (1978). The film pretty much boils down to Lamond seeing John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN (1978) and thinking like so many others - I think I can do that, and like most everyone he came up a bit short.

The film begins with a young girl Cathy (Jeanie Lamond, the director's daughter) walking in on her mother getting it on with a man who's not her father - bad mom. A few days the promiscuous mother and child are on the road, it's raining something fierce outside and the young girls nods off in the backseat only to awaken to the startling sight of a man groping her mother in the front seat. She interrupts the perceived assault that in actuality is just more lusty shenanigans, causing her mother to lose control of the vehicle and strikes a car. The crash throws her mother through the windshield, her body lays half in and half out of the car. In an attempt to help her mother Cathy attempts to pull the injured woman back into the car inadvertently slicing mum's throat on the windshield, killing her. Years later Cathy is now known as Helen (American actor Jenny Neumann, HELL NIGHT) and is an actress in a Victorian stage comedy alongside Terry (Gary Sweet, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER) under the direction of a tyrannical director George Dalberg [Max Phipps, ROAD WARRIOR] who becomes more crazed throughout the production under the persecution of obnoxiously fey theatre critic Bennett (John Michael Howson, FELICITY). When Helen becomes romantically entangled with her co-star Terry her traumatic childhood proves problematic and triggers a series of violent nightmares in which someone is slashing through the cast members of the production with shards of glass. Are these really nightmares, is someone else knocking off cast members or is the cracked actress perpetrating the grisly string of murders herself?

While very stylishly shot by cinematographer Gary Wapshot (FELICITY) the rather pedestrian script leaves a bit to be desired with a cliched finale that's not nearly the shocker it may have once been, if even then. The killer's identity is seemingly meant to be a bit of mystery but it's telegraphed pretty early on. What Lamond film is not stuffed with lurid sexploitation, certainly not this one, Lamond fans fear not for it is most pleasing in that respect. There's plenty of Steadicam tracking shots and a seemingly endless parade of POV perspective though the point-of-view stalker shots don't all equally work, it's a bit overused, under lit and often without a payoff. The kills are nicely staged but are mostly relegated to splashes of blood here and a smudge there, but no real grue to speak of.

As I find with many slashers its a case of sacrificing substance in the name of style and aesthetic and on that level NIGHTMARES worked for me for the most part. Lamond's films while perhaps not painterly in their presentation are quite sumptuous visual feasts, and in this instance I'm not only talking about the copious amounts of nudity. A few things that I loved about this film aside from it's visual acuity were a fantastic scene in which the killer interrupts two lovers, dispatching the man and then stalking the nude woman through the backstage and out into a rainy alleyway, it's great Steadicam shot and the best kill in the film hands down. Second, the weapon of choice is shards of broken glass. The killer typically breaks a window or mirror for each kill and I rather enjoyed that reoccurring facet of the film, it made for some nice visuals.

DVD: Here we have Severin Films doing what they do best - giving us a delightfully sleazy film in it's proper uncut presentation. As the DVD cover proclaims "Totally Uncut and Uncensored for the First Time Ever in America" and perhaps even in the world outside of it's native Australia. Presented in it's proper 'scope' aspect ratio of anamorphic 2.35:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, no subtitles are offered. The print looks pretty fantastic and my only critique would be some minor blurring in the motion at times which may stem from it's conversion from the interlaced PAL to progressive NTSC by Severin. I'm quite pleased to suffer some minor blurring for the sake of a progressive scan DVD, thanks Severin.

The mono audio sounds good and handles the dialogue and effects quite well, including Brian May's score, no not that Brian May from the operatic rock band QUEEN, but the Australian composer who scored many classic Ozploitation films; PATRICK, MAD MAX, CLOAK AND DAGGER and even DR. GIGGLES.

Severin have also come through with a handful of tasty bonus features that is crowned by a brand new audio commentary with Director John D. Lamond and NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD Director Mark Hartley. The two are quite chatty and it makes for some oftentimes juicy commentary as the pair discuss the filming, the actors and pick at the film's faults, they're quite candid in their assessment of the film. A feature that is mirrored on Severin's BLOODY BIRTHDAY DVD is A Brief History of Slasher Film, an entertaining 15 mins overview of the slasher genre with Adam Rockoff, author of 'Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film'. It won't be a revelation for the initiated slasher fanatic but it's certainly entertaining, I watched it twice. Nicely rounding out the supplements are a theatrical trailer, a John D. Lamond Trailer Reel including THE ABC OF LOVE AND SEX, FELICITY, PACIFIC BANANA, BREAKFAST IN PARIS and SKY PIRATES  and a selection of Severin trailers;  PSYCHOMANIA, BLOODY MOON and Severin's newly restored HORROR EXPRESS which arrives on Blu-ray September 27th!

Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with director John D. Lamond and NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD director Mark Hartley
- A Brief History of Slasher Films (15:11) 16x9
- John D. Lamond Trailer Reel (15:18) 16x9
- Severin Trailers: PSYCHOMANIA (2:50), BLOODY MOON (1:39), HORROR EXPRESS (2:54) All trailers are 16x9 enhanced

Verdict: NIGHTMARES despite being a second rate stalk n' slash film in my opinion is still a sleazy psycho-sexual Ozploitation slasher that's worth a watch, though maybe not a blind buy unless your a slasher fanatic. Severin have put some effort into presenting the film completely uncut in progressive anamorphic widescreen with a nice selection of bonus features that are sure to boost your appreciation of the film.
3 outta 5

DVD Review: Transgression (1988)

TRANSGRESSION (1988)

Label: One 7 Movies
Region Code: ALL REGIONS NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 84 mins
Video: 1.66.1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono with English Subtitles
Director: Fabrizio Rampelli
Cast: Milly D'Abbraccio, Pierfrancesco Campanella, Giorgio Ardisson
Tagline: She Wasn't Just Another Dream

Angelo (Pierfrancesco Campanella) is an angst-ridden college student who fears that he will fail his impending test, so he does what anyone would do in the same situation - he decides to shoot some milky-white intravenous drugs into his arm in an attempt to chill the fuck out, not likely. Instead of mellowing out he begins to hallucinate like at an LSD fiend. While out of his drug-fueled mind he takes to the road where he gets picked-up by pervy businessman Mr. Roberto (Giorgio Ardisson). The older man gives him a lift and invites him back to his estate where Angelo meets his satisfyingly lusty daughter Valeria (Milly D'Abbraccio). That night Angelo makes himself at home as anyone would, spying on Mr. Roberto banging the maid through a keyhole and getting his voyeuristic rocks off while watching Valeria masturbate in her room - now that's what I call a sleepover!

The next day the none too subtle and completely naked Mr. Roberto makes a strong come-on slash attempted rape maneuver on Angelo on top of a billiards table when Valeria walks in on the shenanigans and cracks her father upside the skull with a pool cue. Ciao. Valeria and Angelo seem to bond over what should be traumatic event for both on several levels but before you know it they're on a demented kill spree that lasts for days, each killing bringing with it more sadistic delight and as the body count soars so to do their perversions.

TRANSGRESSION aka LA TRASGRESSIONE was written by it's star Pierfrancesco Campanella and his writing much like his acting leaves quite a bit to be desired. His performance is pretty bland and stiff, you just can't get behind this guy - even though Mr. Roberto certainly tries. Starring opposite him is Italian porn superstar Milly D'Abbraccio who's not Sophia Loren herself but at least is game enough to flaunt copious amounts of skin throughout this Italian drug-induced sex thriller. This is Fabrizio Rampelli only directing credit and I guess it's not surprising, the films competently shot but is quite rudimentary in it's form and lacks much style associated with many Italian filmmakers. Something about the film felt very 70's to me and if I didn't know this was a late 80's production I would assume it was mid 70's, it doesn't hurt it and I kind of liked it, weird.

Despite these shortcomings I found a lot to like about this film. Rampelli's drug-fueled murder spree takes us to some weird places, good sleazy exploitation that recalled to me the demented exploits of ISLAND OF DEATH and the dark depths to which that film sank in it's depravity. Angelo tortures an infant, repeatedly stabbing the child with a needle which elicits a pained wailing, they burn a couple alive that they meet at the beach and they seduce unwitting victims and then delightfully murder them afterwards. There's even a scene wherein Angelo has an odd encounter with a farm animal much like what we saw with Island of Death, a film of which it shares many similarities though without the artful eye and direction of Nico Mastorakis.


DVD: One 7 Movies continue bringing us obscure Italian cinema to DVD and while the transfers aren't anything to boast about at least they're on DVD, and anamorphic, right? TRANSGRESSION is presented in 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen, what I would presume was it's original aspect ratio with Italian language Dolby Digital 2.0 mono. The print is not exactly pristine, there's print damage , heavy grain and the image is soft throughout plus the colors are muted but it's watchable enough. The Italian language mono is decent and handles the dialogue and score pretty well, there are also optional English subtitles. Special features include two deleted scenes and two trailers for the film.

Special Features:
- Deleted Scenes (4:47) 4:3 Letterboxed
- Original Trailers (5:48) 4:3 Letterboxed

Verdict: Not a perfect film but definitely a depraved slice of Italian exploitation that delights in it's own trashy perversion. If you've seen ISLAND OF DEATH and enjoyed it's pervy exploitation this will prove a fun watch and if you haven't seen it I recommend snagging that film first and then giving this a watch if you crave something similar afterwards. Coming in October from One 7 Movies we can look forward to more obscure Italian exploitation with Joe D'Amatos EXOTIC MALICE, Salvatore Bugnatelli's SEX DEMONS AND DEATH and Nello Rossati's EROTIC ESCAPE which are available for pre-order from Amazon. 2.5 outta 5
 

DVD Review: Ding Dong Dead (2010)

DING DONG DEAD (2010)

Label: MVD Visual
Region Code: Region 0 NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 70 mins
Video: Widescreen 16x9
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
Director: Creep Creepersin
Cast: Luke Y. Thompson, Julia Boyd, Nicole Sienna, Tara Strand, Julie Rose, Destiny Rodreguiez, Shannon Freyer, Dolce Death, Tara Cardinal, Vanessa Moreno, Megan Francis, Devanny Pinn, Chaile Wall, Elina Madison
Tagline: You Wanted a War? You Got One!

Doug (Luke Y. Thompson) is a recently unemployed schlub of a man, a bit of a loser in fact. A stocky little fellow whom refers to himself in the third person and obsesses over his sexy MILF neighbor Claudia (Elina Madison, SOMEONE'S KNOCKING AT THE DOOR, CORPORATE CUTTHROAT MASSACRE) while mumbling suggestive innuendos to himself like "you like it when I water my yard, do ya?" and then imagining her seductive response "I do, I like it when you water your lawn, I like it is so much. You know what it makes me wanna do to you?"until she overhears him and then he freezes up, like most of us would I guess.

Now unemployed Doug is left to wallow in his own crapulence and starts going a bit nutty left to his own devices without a menial job to keep him from entering the abyss of insanity. He sings songs to himself while cruising the internet for job listings, he talks back to the television set, y'know, the usual home alone stuff. He just seems like a sad little dude, this is something Creepersin seems to know quite a bit about and is touched upon in nearly all his films that I've seen.

After a late night run for a fast food Doug has a strange encounter with a mischievous girl gang known as the Ding Dong Ditchers, a group of gothy girls dressed in black who terrorize the neighborhood by ringing doorbells in the dark of night and running away leaving the homeowners dumbfounded, not exactly hardened criminals, yet. Doug calls the police over this annoyance and they intervene on his behalf. The triple D's are incensed by this and step-up their game from petty pranking to some low grade assault which quickly escalates to the point of no return.

Reservoir Bitches

The problem is that the DDD's don't realize how unstable Doug is; he's unemployed and a bit nutty, anyone who refers to themselves in the third person is not to be toyed with in my experience and the pranks are shredding his frayed sanity. During an egg raid on Doug one of the DDD's dies accidentally leading to an all out war between the  homeowner and the pranksters.

The girls not realizing one of their own has been killed launch an all out suburban assault on Dougie's home in search of their friend but they are unaware that Doug is having a mental meltdown. When the killings begin they come fast and furious and in quick succession; a choke-out, suffocation, cleavings a shovel to the throat and some dismemberment. The special effects in the film are quite minimal, not bad, just not focused on. While it's not a gore-soaked bloodbath there's a body count here that would do either Jason Vorhees or Michael Meyers proud. Something that made me laugh was that at one point during the invasion one of the gals decides to take a dump and Doug catches her on the toilet, quite a vulnerable position, which leads to a lethal swirly. Nice. This was quite an entertaining watch, Luke Y. Thompson's comic portrayal of a suburban schlub's descent into madness whilst dealing out some revenge is a recommended watch. 

Dougie's got a gun - and a sweet VHS collection!

DVD: DING DONG DEAD is presented in anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital stereo, there are no subtitle options. As with all Creepersin films it's a micro-budget feature, $1500 all told according to the commentary, and it looks pretty good, on par with CORPORATE CUTTHROAT MASSACRE though the night scenes are quite dark and grainy. I noticed the film is a bit brighter and has a more vibrant color scheme than his previous films which was appreciated.  I think some proper lighting might have gone a long way here but it's quite watchable. Creepersin handles cinematography himself and you can see his form improve with each film. The stereo audio adequately handles both dialogue and effects plus Kenneth Hampton's quirky score sounds great, definitely the best score on any of the Creepersin films, fun stuff. Special features include two fun commentaries and a behind-the-scenes featurette with cast and crew interviews wherein Creepersin talks about the inspiration for the film.

Special Features:
- Behind-the-Scenes Featurette (8:55)
- Audio Commentary with Director Creep Creepersin
- Audio Commentary with Star Luke Y. Thompson and Creep Creepersin

Verdict: It's been an interesting journey following Creep Creepersin filmography and he's come quite a ways from FRANKENSTEIN. This is a very quirky comedy with some nice horror elements. Much like Creepersin's last film CORPORATE CUTTHROAT MASSACRE the comedy is the strong suit here, the violence is not particularly gruesome but it is fun stuff. I would love to see a straight comedy from Creepersin minus the horror, his comedy writing is pretty great. 3.5 outta 5

http://www.mvdvisual.com/

http://www.creepersinfilms.com/

www.twitter.com/creepersin

 

DVD Review: ZOMBIE ABOMINATION & ZOMBIE ATROCITY - The Italian Zombie Movie Parts 1&2

ZOMBIE ABOMINATION AND ZOMBIE ATROCITY
THE ITALIAN ZOMBIE MOVIE PARTS 1 AND 2

Label: The Cult of Moi and Vous Film Producioni Company LLC

Rating: Unrated
Region Code: Region 0 NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 196 mins
Video: 4:3 Letterboxed Widescreen
Audio: English Dolby Digital Stereo
Director: Thomas Berdinski
Cast: Jeff Bromlet, Laurie Beckman, LaShelle Mikesell, Dan Grams, John Mikesell
Tagline: The dead are back - FOR A SNACK!

Film: How to describe Thomas Berdinski's THE ITALIAN ZOMBIE MOVIE leaves one grasping for words, it's a mondo-backyard zombie epic and it's chock full of flesh comping zombies, a succubus, a psychic, interdimensional beings, military black ops and the Michigan Militia yet this only begins to scratch the surface of the cast of characters and what your in for here.

The set-up here goes that during Operation Desert Storm the US Army funded a diabolical Italian scientist named Dr. Falluci (John Mikesell) to create an "Antitixoin" which would immunize out troops from virtually all chemical and biological weapons. Of course things go horribly wrong  during human testing on US soldiers, and so begins the cover-up. Enter Sgt. Bruno Deodata (Jeffery S. Bromely),  a member the Special Forces who's investigating the death of his twin brother Dario which occurred while on a mission to recover a lost shipment of Antitoxin. His investigation brings him in contact with Dr. Falluci and his sultry psychic assistant Katriona (LaShelle Mikesell) who sends him in search of the Antitoxin armed with a map of ...Italy? Bruno enlists the help of a former Special Forces friend Jeremiah and The Colonel who are both proud member of the Michigan Militia but one of 'em or both may have ulterior motives for assisting Bruno in his search for the Antitoxin.

Also caught up in the madness is an evil succubus named Maria (Laurie Beckerman) and her hysterically funny dumbass boyfriend Ruggero (Dan Grams), Sarrek and Image of Saragon who may or may not be aliens and The General who operates the Facility for Army Resurrection Management (aka "the FARM") - what's his stake in all this mayhem?And let us not foget The Gas Station Attendant It all boils down to a slightly confusing though fantastically gruesome zombie epic loaded with homages to 70's and 80's Italian zombie cinema from the likes of Lucio Fulci and Ruggero Deadoto with some George A. Romero influence thrown in for good measure, of course. Nearly everyone in the film is named after an Italian director or actor. Some might call the storyline bloated and convoluted (and it is) but I call it pure fucking genius, this was a blast to watch.

The special effects work is gloriously low-budget but effective at one moment and preposterously awful the next and about as nasty as you can imagine. There's perhaps more intestines in this film than in Night, Dawn and DAY OF THE DEAD combined. There's discolored urine discharge and a scene wherein someone shits their intestines which my wife saw and immediately walked out on, there's little doubt that if depraved gore is what you crave this film is not a let down in anyway.

The acting is appropriately over-the-top and goofy for such a low-budget production. Everyone is just having a blast camping it up and paying homage to the oftentimes shady acting in the Italian schlockfests of yore, it both pays tribute to and condescends at the same time. The one-liners come fast and furious, it's endlessly quotable, classic low-brow stuff. The film's humor is not only zombie-centric, Berdinski's stuffed the script with enough double entendre and masturbation jokes to appease even those who aren't zombie-nerds.

Now obviously I love this film, it knows what it is and works well within those confines even when it threatens to turn into a three hour sci-fi-zombie clusterfuck, which it definitely does, but I must say that THE ITALIAN ZOMBIE MOVIE is one awesomely entertaining film. That said, it may not be for you, but if it's not you cup o' tea then we probably couldn't be friends, just saying. For everyone else with a taste for gore and an obnoxious sense of humor grab a sixer on the way over and I'll have nachos ready when you get here.

DVD: THE ITALIAN ZOMBIE MOVIE is presented in 4:3 letterboxed widescreen with stereo audio. It looks rough, no doubt about it - it's a no-budget feature but is completely watchable and enjoyable despite some low-grade image qaulity with artifacting. This nearly three hour double-feature DVD  eliminates the bonus features that are included on the individual releases, but we do get a brand new cast and crew commentary track not available anywhere else and the short film THE GIANT RUBBER MONSTER MOVIE which will be a true delight for fans of Kaiju films and Japanese giant monster shows from the 70's, fun stuff. The commentary is a bit rambling and probably drunken, too, but like the film itself it's a wonderful ramshackle affair as the cast discuss the film with a steady stream of entertaining behind-the-scene anecdotes. It should be noted that both the ZOMBIE ABOMINATION and ZOMBIE ATROCITY stand alone DVD's contain a wealth of bonus materials and are anamorphic so if you're a supplemental-minded type who really wants a 16x9 enhanced image you may wanna spring for those separately.

Special Features:
- Director and Cast Audio Commentary Track
- THE GIANT RUBBER MONSTER MOVIE (14:37) Short Film

Verdict: When it comes to gruesome zombie mayhem few films are as epic as THE ITALIAN ZOMBIE MOVIE. Thomas Berdinski is a mad genius of schlocky no-budget zombie cinema and no fan of Italian zombie films, gore or a disturbing horror comedy should deprive themselves of this one. The goriest comedy since Peter Jackson's DEAD ALIVE, for real. Order the double-feature Convention Version of the film for only $5 for a limited time from Kunaki at http://kunaki.com/sales.asp?PID=PX00ZAZLGG otherwise head on over to the Amazon links below, now isn't that convenient?

http://italianzombiemovie.com/

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Italian-Zombie-Movie/74995029596

http://twitter.com/#!/Diretto

Theatrical Review: GREEN LANTERN (2011)

GREEN LANTERN  (2011)

Studio: Warner Bros.
Writers: Greg Barlani, Michael Green, Marc Goldenberg
Director: Martin Campbell
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgard, Mark Strong
Venue: Harkins SPectrum 18 Tucson, Arizona


Well, I tried to get the the mulitplex this past Friday to check out J.J. Abrams' SUPER 8 but my kids we're dying to see GREEN LANTERN, so being a good father (depending on how you look at it) that's what we did. First, let me say that I was cautiously optimistic for the film but my optimism was guarded. I like Ryan Reynolds well enough in the crude comedy WAITING and the more recent thriller BURIED but for the most part he's one of those actors that seems to be playing himself, a charismatic though slightly goofy looking pretty boy, and that's fine but he just wasn't Hal Jordan in my eyes. Say what you want about SUPERMAN RETURNS but I think Brandon Routh worked for me because he was a blank slate without the baggage of pre-association, sure they filled that slate with a caricature of Christopher Reeves, but whatever. Reynolds comes pre-loaded with cocky, smart-assery and that's what we get for the most part here. Separate from the poor casting for the lead the film's overall feel just felt wrong, too shallow, goofy, and bereft of any substance, it didn't respect the character of Hal Jordan. While I'm not well-versed in Green Lantern lore, always been more of a Marvel guy myself, but I realize it's a slightly goofy concept. C'mon,  it's guy with a magic ring that can summon anything his mind imagines. He battles evil with gigantic green slingshots, machine guns, see saws, cock and balls, whatever he imagines, it's goofy shit and the humor's inherent but here the goofiness seems cranked to 10. Hal Jordan is a potential destroyer of world's, a dark figure, the comics went very dark and this was a goofy origins story with some campy humor and an extraneous romantic interest played by Blake Lively. I guess what I wanted was a galactic sci-fi epic and what I got was a light-hearted, goofy superhero film.

There are things I liked about the film. For one it seemed pretty true to the comic origins though skewed in tone. Abin Sur (Temuera Morrison) is a mortally wounded Green Lantern who comes to Earth and bequeaths the ring to Hal Jordan (Reynolds), an air force test pilot who is then summoned to the planet Oa, home of the Guardians of Galaxy, who look great in the film by the way. There he meets other Green Lanterns; Kilowog, Tomar-Re and Sinestro (Mark Strong). Strong is awesome, he so looks the part but he's not given a lot to do here but what there is is pretty weighty - definitely the standout performance. The film felt like a rather drawn out precursor to the next film, in which I would anticipate Strong being a major part of.

The film's planet eating baddie is an entity called Parallax and an Earthly scientist whose become infected with Parallax's DNA. Parallax reminded me of the FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER's presentation of Galactus which is always a bad thing while it's infected agent on Earth's transformation brought to mind the transformation of Samuel Sterns aka The Leader who becomes infected with the Hulk's DNA in the INCREDIBLE HULK, it just felt borrowed. I'm not sure these characters exists in the comic world of GL. Overall, lame villains, both poorly realized.

Verdict. I really hated this film. What I liked about it just wasn't enough to stop be from groaning in disgust with it's clumsy handling of what could have been an epic sci-fi superhero flick. It's moronic superhero stupidity that harkened back to the bad ol' days of Joel Schumacher's BATMAN AND ROBIN. Skip it, rent it, watch it on cable but save your box office cash for X-MEN: FIRST CLASS or SUPER 8. I'd love to hear some feedback from fans of the film or comic with your take on it.

THE PUPPET MONSTER MASSACRE decimates DVD on July 26th

THE PUPPET MONSTER MASSACRE (2010)

Label: Dust Mill Productions / MVD Entertainment Group
Release Date: July 26th 2011
Duration: 70 mins
Video: Unknown
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Director: Dustin Mills

A wild and raucous love letter to the monster films of the 1980s!

This is The Puppet Monster Massacre, a wild and raucous love letter to the monster films of the glorious 1980's. Heads will roll and felt will fly in this visually rich splatter-fest.

A group of teens are challenged to spend a night in the Wagner mansion on the edge of town. Little do they know the owner (Dr. Wolfgang Wagner) has concocted a monstrosity in the basement and plans to make the hapless teens the creature's first big meal.

Thrill as an army of over 400 soldiers is helpless against a monstrous menace... Chill as a man collapses from the aroma of a thousand bunny farts... Shriek as puppets make sweet monkey love in a spooky graveyard! This is the low budget film you have been waiting for!

http://www.puppetmonstermassacre.com/

DVD Review: Corporate Cutthroat Massacre (2009)

Corporate Cutthroat Massacre (2009)

Label: MVD Visual
Region: Region 0 NTSC
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 70 mins
Video: 16x9 Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
Director: Creep Creepersin
Cast: Alina Madison, Charlie Vaughn, Chandler Maness, Robyn Leigh, Tabitha Taylor, Derek Du Chesne, Sunny Doench, Stephanie Jacksonm, Dudley Beene
Tagline: It's The Office meets American Psycho

This is the third film I've reviewed from the prolific director Creep Creepersin whose previous films Creep Creepersin's Frankenstein (2009) and He (2009) weren't anything more than one and done DVD watches for me, I just don't think I would ever rewatch them to be honest. Each film had points of interest and some cool ideas but the artistry and craftsmanship weren't there to form a completely watchable film, they were rough watches that screamed amateur micro-budget filmmaking. Creepersin's latest film is a psychological thriller/slasher. As I understand it the origins of Corporate Cutthroat Massacre stem from actor/writer Elina Madison, the nightmarish killer snatch in Chad Ferrin's Someone's Knocking at the Door (2009), coming to Creep needing help editing her short film Late Shift. The two came together and fleshed out the story a bit and CCM was born from that short film, which is a special feature on this DVD.

The film revolves around a group of late-night office workers and their office manager Brandi (Elina Madison) who is quite the cold-hearted bitch, real uptight. This night she's even more stressed than usual when corporate sends down word that sales are poor and two employees need to get the axe by the end of the day. She calls a staff meeting mere minutes before the end of the shift and tells them that one, everyone is required to work late to assemble their sales figures, and two, that those with the lowest sales figures are gonna get the axe. Of course everyone is quite pissed about this and as the night wears on co-workers start falling victim to a killer who stalks the office corridors. Is there a nut on the loose, is one of the co-workers trying to up the odds in their favor by removing the competition?

Well, it's not a very original idea and not perfectly executed either but the cast are a fun bunch. There's the bitchy boss Brandi, the kiss-ass assistant Shelton (Dudley Beene), the lush Beth (Sunny Doenche), the man-whore Bryan (Chandler Maness), the office slut Kim (Robbyn Leigh), the dork Bernie (Charlie Vaughn), a young engaged couple John (Derek Du Chesne) and Pennie (Stephanie Jackson), plus the creepy new maintenance man Rusty (Frankie Ray), a recent parolee. This is by far the most talented cast of actors Creepersin's worked with that I've seen, solid performances all around, very charming and engaging people. Great chemistry between everyone, a good group dynamic that was quite entertaining. After seeing He I must say it's a  relief that Creepersin sat this one out and stayed behind the camera.

Be forewarned that this is more a psychological-horror-comedy than an bloody slasher, there's precious little on-screen blood or gore, the violence is more implied than shown, which was a disappointment, some bloody kills would have kicked this up a notch for me. Also, I didn't care for the fact that no one seems to realize that coworkers are getting knocked off till the final 10 minutes of the film, just characters getting killed off and no one seems to notice anything, kinda lame - no stalk n' slash thrills. The film's psychological twist is mighty predictable and doesn't hold up to scrutiny, either. The office comedy is the strong suite here, the horror, psychological and otherwise, not so much.

DVD: The film is presented in the anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo audio. The films looks good, the best any Creepersin film I've seen thus far, but still definitely a micro-budgeted feature. The stereo audio handles the dialogue and goofy filmscore well. Special features include a couple of featurettes consisting of interviews with cast and crew. The Nightmare Job featurette features the cast and crew discussing their own nightmarish jobs ranging from shoveling horse shit, expressing anal glands at a pet grooming facility, various retail jobs including Blockbuster and a Mexican restaurant and Creepersin talks about a shady medical plan scam he worked for before it was exposed by Fox 11 news. There's also a director's commentary and Elina Madison's original 15 mins short film Late Shift which was the progenitor to Corporate Cutthroat Massacre.


Special; Features:
- Hostel Takeover Featurette (9:54) 16x9
- Nightmare Job Featurette (7:21) 16x9
- Late Shift Original Short (15:48) 16x9
- Director's Commentary


Verdict: Neither a wholly original or exceptionally well done film, but I'm pleased to say that Creepersin has grown as a director, there's some good production value, decent writing and it's a film that I would possibly watch again, that's saying something. A decently fun psych-slasher with some entertaining comedy layered throughout with a fun cast but it's too light on the horror. Not a high recommend but you shouldn't run screaming from it either. 2.5 outta 5