Well the Sony E3 conference just ended and all I have to say is wow. Just wow. Yes you read the title right, Resident Evil 7 was revealed with a very interesting trailer. When the trailer started I had absolutely no idea what it was about, then when it picked up and threw that awesome Resident Evil logo on the screen I couldn’t help but to jump and cheer.
Resident Evil 7 is the seventh installment in the main Resident Evil franchise. It is of course being developed by Capcom and will be released on PS4, XBOX ONE, and PC on January 24, 2017. This trailer is very interesting and I have to admit that I probably watched it about 50 times. I’ve noticed many people complaining about how different it looks from the others and I have to agree that it does, but so did Resident evil 4. Which ended up being one of the best in the series, so I would say that everyone should relax and wait until we get more information about the game. But as for me, I am incredibly excited and I salute you Capcom for going back to horror.
Joel, Darryl, and Roy are mates who work at an Australian telephone exchange. Joined by Roy’s daughter Emma, her boyfriend Lachlan, and his friend Ryan, the surviving group of six hold out in the exchange while the world crumbles around them from a sudden and vicious zombie apocalypse. Trapped and desperate, the survivors bicker amongst themselves in trying to formulate the best plan of escape and who should be recruited for the company cricket team. One shotgun with eight shells, two paintball guns, a machete, a tiny homemade cricket bat, and a grenade is all that stands between them and a cannibalistic horde of zombified Aussies.
Writer-director Declan Shrubb’s sophomore film stars an eclectic cast of veteran and amateur actors from the 20 years of experience and upcoming TV series “Wolf Creek” actor Greg Fleet to the hilarity of stand-up comedians and radio personalities of Jim Jefferies and Alex Williamson. “Me and my Mates vs. The Zombie Apocalypse” is a tongue-and-cheek zombie comedy straight out of Australia, a country known for it’s intense and respectable homage heavy renditions of America’s video nasties from the 1980’s while also combining brazen wit that hurts so hysterically good. Shrubb’s film nowhere nearly disappoints, living up to the whims and visceral intensity comparable to that of 2007’s “Undead.”
Just in the simply put title alone, “My and my Mates vs. The Zombie Apocalypse,” should warrant that the 2015 film doesn’t take itself seriously, but Shrubb blends together various facets of humor, slipping in countless forms of comic relief from crude sexual humor to the harmless play on words while also sprinkling throughout with off-color dialogue. A majority of the characters initially feel aloof or appear as pot smoking knuckleheads; yet, the characters can rise to the occasion at times seemingly becoming a formidable force against the living dead, labeled by the exchange workers as ‘Rotters.” Surprisingly enough, the characters’ dumb luck practically leaves them unscathed or, if really unlucky, placed in the folds of another hair raising scenario to only escape in a goofy fashion.
Alex Williamson is by far a fan favorite as the hapless company cricket team recruit Darryl who spits out off-the-way quips that make him a likable blockhead much in the same way Goofy is a smart klutz friend to Mickey Mouse. Then Greg Fleet portrays Roy, a pissed off father and cricket coach, looking for the easy way out without his balls turning purple (you’ll have to watch the movie to know what I’m talking about). Fleet’s character grows immensely, withstanding many personal pains from not only the zombies, but from his so-called friends. However, Roy is a tough bird, a real nut puncher when needs to be, bringing his character to the forefront of the film. The third friend, Joel, played by Jim Jefferies was a character that had a role reversal from the actor playing him. Jefferies is an actual stand-up comic, but Joel had to be the most serious and smartest character of the bunch, whipping up communications in a jiffy with meager tools while not being too funny about doing it.
Like always in Australian or New Zealand zombie horror, the special effects realistically pit our heros against a nasty, grotesque bunch of undead and decaying ghouls whom can dig out your innards in no time flat to make a delicacy out of them. The zombies didn’t appear cheap with rotting skin, gnarly gashes, and effective blood smears and were portrayed actively well, even if applied with some brain smarts to be able to get past Darryl’s homemade and shoddy powerful electric fence. The macabre wasn’t too shabby either with a very Romero-Savini-esque death sequences that’ll be stuffed with plenty of pig intestines.
UK home entertainment distributor Matchbox Films courteously releases “Me and My Mates vs. The Zombie Apocalypse” on DVD. The 90 minute film was sent to Its Bloggin’ Evil for review via an online screener link (as you can tell from the watermark on the screen caps) and a review of the audio and video qualities, plus any bonus material, won’t be critiqued. With that being said, the movie itself nails being impressively amusing. Your sides will burst, your throat will hurt, and your eyes will transform into a torrential waterfall as Declan Shrubb’s horror comedy bites hard into becoming an apocalypse of zombie buffoonery.
Buy “Me and My Mates vs. The Zombie Apocalypse” at Amazon.com. Currently on sale! The laughs don’t ever stop!
With E3 starting this week, developers and publishers have been giving us glimpses at their new games. One of them happens to be a cool looking new horror game based on one of Lovecraft’s most famous stories.
Call of Cthulhu is an upcoming Horror/RPG based on H.P. Lovecraft’s ”Call of Cthulhu”. Players take the role of an investigator who must uncover the truth behind a mysterious town called ”Dark Water”. This is not a sequel to the 2005 game ”Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth” but rather a reboot of the game series. The game is being developed by Cyanide Studios.
I’m sure we will be seeing more information on this game this week, since E3 starts this Sunday. I am so excited to see what horror games will be announced, there have been some heavy rumors about a new Resident Evil and a sequel to The Evil Within being revealed. Looks like horror might make a return to mainstream gaming once more.
Unorthodox exorcist and hobby writer Richard Vanuk lives a depressing and humble life full of endless booze and filthy altruism. Driven by the need for alcohol and an underline desire to help possessed strangers for a small fee, Vanuk barely maintains his own sustainability. With each challenging case of demonic inhabitance, the poor full time exorcist, and part time writer, expels demons from their misfortunate hosts into his own wretched soul, draining his self-respecting humanity out of him one demon-expulsion job at a time. The deeper Vanuk spirals downward into nihilism and the deeper he goes into severe debt, the choice to withdrawal from the toll of exorcising demons becomes no longer an option, but a fruitlessly fateful venture to just surviving in a world that’s scarce of good people.
My second undertaking into a Daniel Falicki horror film has the “Awaken The Devil” director batting a solid hundred percent on the ever honest critique block, going a strong two-for-two with his latest film, 2016’s “Accidental Exorcist,” that’s drenched with a despair atmosphere that swallows the intentionally pathetic character who is granted only a glimmer of unattainable hope for a good life. The writer-director has a keen eye for developing horror in various comedic, dramatic, and absurdly berserk formatted segments, delicately defining details to capture memorable moments. Falicki also stars as his own character, Richard Vanuk, and Falicki charms the audience by creating a likable anti-protagonist whose cavalier about demonic possessions and begrudged by a “corporate” employer who pays very little for the precision of demon banishment; this same company performs a stigmata on him after every exhausting job, discarding his limp, unconscious body in a different snow covered park afterwards.
Falicki drowns Vanuk in vices and addictions. Aside from the obvious alcohol and constant inebriation, Vanuk needs the pain of performing exorcisms as much as he loathes the process and the people who employs him. The character can’t reform, can’t function properly in normality, as witnessed when his successful brother offers Richard a once-in-a-lifetime position at his mundane company of pigmentation for sports equipment. When the exorcism well runs dry, Vanuk goes into full blown, borderline psychotic detox as he’s cut off from his, one and only, natural born skill and the ceasing of his per diem position sends him into frantically gulping down bottles of cold medicine to get a soothing fix. Falicki punishes the audience beloved, unconventional exorcist by having Vanuk fall to the bottom by not being unlucky or plotted against, but by simply self destruction and having God turn his back on his loyal servant when the promise, or a test, of a favorable outlook reveals itself.
The casting couldn’t be much more perfect with a cast of talented b-movie stars such as Jason Roth (“Awaken The Devil”), Chris Kotcher, and Jeffrey Goodrich to quickly name a few. Falicki owns Richard Vanuk, embodying the character so brilliantly that I would have a hard time relinquishing Richard Vanuk from Daniel Falicki’s face. Falicki pulls out all the stops by putting every once of degradation the director can muster into the downtrodden exorcist with a performance that sells his hapless nature and spew-filled gigs. Every client Vanuk attends to is portrayed honestly and earnestly from Sherryl Despress’s role of a desperate mother turned possessed super sewer to Patrick Hendren’s blind and levitating demonic being who goes on to have a heart-to-heart with Vanuk after an exorcism recovery.
“Accidental Exorcist” is unapologetic and shameless; a real nasty bitch to love unconditionally. The fun soars above the summit and the ingrained heart bursts beyond the restrictive seams of the reel. The film is nothing I’ve ever scene before; yet, still manages to homage legendary films that “Accidental Exorcist” built it’s bones upon. Similarities to, of course, the iconic William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist” are apparent throughout with the almost beautifully grim and isolated atmospheric exterior scenes of foreboding destiny. Falicki’s film contains special effects so convincing by leaps and bounds when compared to other modern independent horror, portraying Vanuk so well within the confines of his dank and dejected existence that it’s as if he’s sharing his grime and his loneliness with us that’ll result with a quick shower when the credits roll.
Sector 5 Films and Rotomation Studios courtesy produces “Accidental Exorcist,” that’s not related to the Joshua Graham novel, but the audio and video will not be critically reviewed since I received and viewed a press screener and the film has yet to be released onto a home entertainment platform. However, make no mistake that “Accidental Exorcist” strides cockily into the first half of 2016 horror season, flying unnoticed, under the radar, as sleeper agent dangerous to demonic possession film competitors. Director Daniel Falicki is on the up and coming watch list like a high target terrorist, striking the heart of modern day horror and putting fear, and comedy, into a cynical cauldron.
A four person punk rock band, known as The Dick-Punchers, kidnap an egotistical businessman named Todd because they suspect the white collar professional to be a vicious, man-eating werewolf. Confined to a chair in an abandoned warehouse, Todd is interrogated, threatened, and tortured to reveal his true beastly self, but as the night drags on, the band’s evidence weakens against Todd and tensions boil to a flare as the band’s leader, Schafer, starts to question their suspicions and motives. Doubts divide the band’s handling of the overwrought situation, especially when Todd’s wife tracks her husband’s phone to his exact location, hoping to catch him in an unfaithful act, but ends up becoming entangled in his internment.
Crafting a werewolf film on a microscopic budget is a daunting and difficult task to accomplish and having the resulting finish to be mediocre is a good achievement for any filmmaker whether working in the independent market or in the Hollywood limelight. Writer-director Kurtis Spieler found a conduit through the immensely barbed brier patch for his 2013 indie horror film “Sheep Skin” and came out relatively unscathed by the pricks. The ambitious werewolf flick was developed on the heels of his Spieler’s 2007 short film of the same title with actor Laurence Mullaney reprising his role of the kidnapped businessman, or maybe a werewolf in plain sight, Todd and with Nicholas Papazoglou returning as producer. With a little more backing behind Spieler’s Invasive Image production company, the director was able to recreate his short to a feature film on a reported $25,000 budget.
The budget amount surely gives a bit of hesitation when going into a viewing of “Sheep Skin,” but by cutting down location costs and maintaining afloat with the equipment already obtained, Spieler puts his heart and soul into the cast of gifted actors and a talented crew and into a story that’s nail-bitingly entertaining without the possibility of a werewolf ever making an appearance on screen. Along side the return of Laurence Mullaney, the relatively unknown Michael Schantz, who had a role in the Alistair Pitt episode of NBC’s popular espionage drama series “The Blacklist,” portrays Schafer, the vengeance seeking leader of The Dick-Punchers. Schantz’s rendition of the character is undeniably acute to the rampant emotions and stakes of kidnapping and holding Todd. Schafer’s band member and girlfriend, Dylan, portrayed by Ria Burns-Wilder finds an unwavering loyalty in her man. The two wild cards, Clive and Marcus, filled in fittingly by Zach Gillette and Bryan Manley Davis. Gillette and Davis play characters that contrast each other very strongly with Clive being more of a bruiser and a hot head looking forward to roid-rage mayhem while Marcus nervously questions his friends’ intentions if the situation goes south. Jamie Lyn Bagley is an It’s Bloggin’ Evil favorite (see our reviews for “Flesh for the Inferno,” “Sins of Dracula,” “Frankenstein’s Hungry Dead,” and “Future Justice“) and the upcoming scream queen becomes the last puzzle piece to a dynamic cast as Todd’s mistrusting wife.
The kidnapping portion of the story starts from the get-go, nabbing Todd as soon as he attempts to leave the office. After all introductions are completed and the plot is set, the pace slows down toward an uneventful position with characters vacillating. Schafer holds many sidebar conversations with his crew, as a good captain should always do, but makes for tedious anticipation instead of white knuckling action. The deceleration of content during this time doesn’t necessarily bore down the story as the characters react rightfully so due in part to Spieler intentionally incorporating doubt into The Dick-Punchers’ plan and when the snowball starts to roll downhill and the strain starts to disintegrate their plan and, ultimately, their friendship, “Sheep Skin” is a juggernaut of confined bloodletting.
Unearthed Films and MVDVisual courtesy releases Kurtis Speiler’s film onto DVD with a widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio that soaks in a noir style filter for a mysterious-horror atmosphere. The DVD offers an alternate black and white version of the film that’s preferable as the dark filter kept the image devoid of natural colors. Digital noise overtakes the brighter coloring in which DNR could have reduced the effect for a cleaner finish. The noise also affected the Dolby Digital 2.0 audio with a low lying hum throughout the background of the entire duration. Dialogue tracks levels vary heavily during calmer or character enclosed scenes while the soundtrack booms out LFE during abrupt moments. The DVD has a solid cache of extras including director’s commentary, deleted scene with director introduction, behind the scenes look at the making of “Sheep Skin,” the original short film, The Dick-Punchers music video, and the theatrical trailer. “Sheep Skin” isn’t an archaic werewolf tale, but a fresh suspenseful spin on lycanthrope mythos.
BUY “Sheep Skin” on DVD from Unearthed Films and MVDVisual at Amazon.com! Just clink on the above image.
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