Timid sociopath Andrew patrons alone at a low-end bar, sipping delicately on straight whiskey and waiting for the perfect opportune moment to approach the right lonely woman. Andrew is not looking for a one night stand. Andrew is on the hunt for a victim, but when the night’s odds don’t seem to be in Andrew’s favor, a lovely young woman approaches him at the tail end of the night and begins to make small talk. After a night of coincided flirting, the woman seductively invites Andrew back to her motel room for some provocative foreplay, but before Andrew can move in for the kill, he suddenly realizes that the woman might just be as more of a sociopath than he could ever imagine by turning Andrew’s moment of a gratifying kill into her tragic tale of a more experienced and assured killer.
Suspense thriller “The Anatomy of Monsters” is the sophomore film from the multitalented writer-director Byron C. Miller and stars Tabitha Bastien, Jesse Lee Keeter, and Connor Marx in a twisted narrative involving love, death, and the struggle between the two. Miller, unfortunately, wrestles to keep buoyant the scope of his story contained as scenes teeter when holding an airtight structure as Bastien’s character, Sarah, asserts her mortal coil. Her plight doesn’t grasp the attention needed to draw in an audience; instead, the back and forth between her present plea with Andrew and her past of leading a double life of affliction with whether to act on her killer instinct with the love of her life or not either passively regresses or just stands completely in place, not moving a motivational inch to take the much needed mile in making us believe in Sarah’s tragic love story and the story is actually, well, tragic by not building the passion between Sarah and Nick, played coyly by Connor Marx, as they just hunker inside Nick’s quaint apartment, affixed to his bed or couch while contemplating their instantaneous love for each other.
A part of the film’s indelicate sting comes from Tabitha Bastien’s performance. Sarah, in the very definition of the character’s persona, is a sociopath which denotes a monotonous person to be without empathy, to have an ice cold demeanor, and to be calculating in their actions. While Bastien epitomizes a sizable amount of emotionlessness, her presentation leans a bit more toward being ingeniously staged, emitting a phoniness that doesn’t naturally crossover. If I didn’t know better, I would have guessed Bastien was a T-100 cybernetic organism underneath a flesh and blood outer layer from “The Terminator’s” apocalyptic bleak future. What Bastien does attribute very well to “The Anatomy of Monsters,” aside from her mechanical display, is a pair of piercingly bright eyes set upon a unique belle face akin to that of the nice looking girl next door you peeping tom on through the cracks of your window shades. Jesse Lee Keeter opposites Bastien with a more genuine approach that favors a Michael C. Hall similarity complete with a kill kit. Keeter’s Andrew is an example of well-written hesitation, exhibiting more of a killer’s struggle to maintain a low profile whereas Sarah leaves nothing to the imagination, baring it all out on the proverbial table with the extreme potency of egocentric cockiness.
Along with Miller’s stationary script, the industrial rocker’s sporadic editing technique can be best described having a short-sighted attention span and his shaky handheld camera visually impairs the viewing pleasure of one monster’s monstrous thirst for death. “The Anatomy of Monsters” feature does play the role of being the quintessential independent product, but without stability and patience, Miller’s artistic craftsmanship suffers heavily from the technical aspects with really the only exception stemming from the minor gore scene during Andrew’s brief description of past murders, committing to a solid neck piece mock-up that realistically seeps blood in order to get the good throat slit shot.
A fond blend of John McNaughton’s “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” and Showtime’s “Dexter,” “The Anatomy of Monsters” is slated for a DVD and Video on Demand release on November 15th from the Philadelphian distributor Artsploitation Films. Certainly a film that’s an attestant to an American-horror, Byron C. Miller explores the corners of the dark and deranged minds associated with serial killers while meddling through the conventional intimate affairs of the masses, spurring an atomically explosive situation from a slowly, simmering boil. Though technically unattractive with arguably underwhelming and sulky performances, suggestions of a greater notion leaves behind an everlasting scar tissue from the necessary urges and the unquenchable desires of a killer can be appreciated.
Gore Reel Releasing and CAV Distribution is slated to release Matt Farnsworth’s “The Orphan Killer” on Blu-ray/DVD combo come 12/13/2016 and you can pre-book the title on Election Day 11/08/2016!
““The Orphan Killer” is a tour de force murder flick that defies classification. It goes far beyond current trends in gore and breaks open a new suffering genre of horror. Marcus Miller is a serial murderer hellbent on teaching his estranged sister Audrey what it means to have family loyalty. His lessons are taught in massive doses of vulgar and unimaginable pain. Throughout her brutal torture we learn that Marcus is not the only Miller with Killer in the bloodline as Audrey proves to be a formidable adversary.”
Cast: Diane Foster, David Bachhaus, Karen Young, James McCaffrey, Matt Farnsworth
Special Features Include: Behind The Murder – Exclusive Video Diary
Trailer
Teaser
Music Clip
Slideshow
Blu-ray/DVD combo Specs:
SRP: $34.95 UPC: 881190600498 Cat: RGR004
Color 83 minutes In English with Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese subtitles
All Regions Widescreen Anamorphic 2.35:1 DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround
“Vampyres” director Victor Matellano takes the time to answer a few questions about his latest film, working with José Ramón Larraz, and working with Marta Flich and Almudena León on difficult scenes!
Check it out!
How did you become interested in José Ramón Larraz’s “Vampyres?” And what possessed you to write and helm a remake? How did you meet Larraz and was he initially on board and enthusiastic with the project? How was the dynamic between you two?
Larraz I met many years ago, in 1996. We were introduced by the actor Jack Taylor and we became friends. Larraz was a good conversationalist, very friendly and fun. At that time I only made short films and had just published a book. Over the years, whenever we saw each other we were talking about doing something together. After releasing “Wax” we planned to make a film together. Why not go back to “Vampyres”, we said. He thought he could make a new version with some changes and I liked very much to work on original material. We reviewed the history, worked up a new script and thought about directing it together. But his illness did not let him. A shame because the idea excited him. Although he came to shoot the teaser presented at the Festival of Sitges.
How much of a challenge was there to recreate, and to slightly modernize, the foreboding atmosphere in “Vampyres” that the original film embodied?
It was certainly a challenge. The idea was to generate new atmosphere. And update characters and situations. Although from the beginning I thought it was necessary to make a timeless atmosphere. If the characters don’t use a mobile phone it is perhaps not so easy to know what time the action takes place. Actually the story of the film is legendary: a group of young people (who would be our Hansel and Gretel) wind up in a forest that is the home of witches who threaten them, offer them sexual pleasures, and eventually devour them.
The original 1974 “Vampyres” is followed by a select niche of fans and has really kept out of the limelight of mainstream horror. Was funding difficult for this type of remake where audiences have probably never seen, or ever heard of, the original film?
One of the things we talked about, executive producer Angel Mora, Larraz and I, was that perhaps the first version was a cult film, but a film generally well-known among horror fans. For this reason we decided to make a new and commercial version. Perhaps investors were too crazy to follow our idea …
Usually, when many production companies are involved, creative differences sometimes cloud the director’s vision, a sort of too many cooks in the kitchen type scenario. Were there, if any, issues with the way “Vampyres” was being formulated and/or being handled from a writer-director/production point of view? Did you feel you had total creative control?
I had a lot of freedom to do “Vampyres”. Angel Mora, my executive producer, reviewed the script, but then gave me freedom to do things my way on the set and I always had Larraz previous ideas. Having several co-producing companies in this case has not been a problem for style or creativity in the film.
Your rendition of this story feels like a thoughtful tribute to José Ramón Larraz’s work and amongst the lost art of European horror. Was making “Vampyres” the direct result of having a pure love for this Larraz’s film and what kind of reaction we’re you anticipating when screening for audiences?
Well, “Vampyres” is a mixture of film tribute to a kind of cinema, and it’s own entertainment simultaneously. I always had (in my head) wanted to combine respect for the original film and its values, to make a divertimento of horror. Some might discover it as a result of loving gothic literature and cinema, but those who just have fun with blood and sex will also find it.
What kind of preparations (if you know) did Marta Flich and Almudena León (phenomenal casting by the way) tackle in order to portray Fran and Miriam? Were they comfortable with the extreme sexual nature and blood thirst required their roles? Casting tests were tough and demanding. Actresses were needed with great determination, courage and strength. Marta and Almudena are very strong and at the same time very funny. They approached the filming of the toughest sequences with humor and much involvement. It is not easy to kiss while being showered with 75 liters of artificial blood above, or to demonstrate sufficient balance between perversion and sensuality. Both the sex scenes as torture are difficult to shoot if you do not have good actors. And they made it easy. The whole team got involved and made it easy. The atmosphere was total concentration.
“Vampyres” had an ending that was left wide open for potentially continuing the story. Do you think you, or Larraz, would pursue adding to the story, as a sort of sequel, if given the financial backing and you had a great script in hand?
I do not know … That version had an open end and this has that too. Perhaps because we are talking about two women (do not know if they are vampires, or cannibals, or psychopaths or ghosts …) who repeat the same ritual again and again as if they were spiders trapping flies. Who knows, maybe later, on occasion, we can return to this terrible story …
What projects are on the horizon that you can give ItsBlogginEvil.com the inside scoop?
I finished a few weeks ago a new movie, a very violent and bloody western entitled “Stop Over in Hell” which has Enzo G. Castellari in the cast. It has begun its journey through festivals with the Almeria Western Film Festival, the only one of its kind in Europe, where Clint Eastwood filmed “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. I hope that you soon may see it.
“Harley Neville is an Actor, Poet and Producer, his feature film credits include supporting roles in Second Hand Wedding and Older as well as lead roles in the films Ghost TV and most recently I Survived a Zombie Holocaust in which his performance received rave reviews from critics. Harley is one half of the filmmaking duo ‘Pigville Productions’ alongside Writer/Director Guy Pigden, together they have been creating content for 17 years, including two feature films. They are also YouTubers with 20,000 subscribers and more than 11 million views.
As a poet Harley has performed at TEDxRuakura and is a 2016 Auckland Slam finalist and his poems continue to find an audience online.”
I wanted to say first that I’m a big fan of “I Survived a Zombie Holocaust” (as you can my positive review here) and all of its actors and crew.
Lets get this interview started:
How were you approached (or coerced) to star in “ISAZH?”
Guy and I had been creating content together for about 10 years by the time we applied for the funding so the character was actually written with me in mind to play it, however that didn’t guarantee me the role, Guy had a say in the casting but ultimately it was the Producer that needed to be convinced and from her perspective I wasn’t necessarily the best person to carry a feature film, I was relatively inexperienced and I think that being ‘Guy’s friend’ actually worked against me because that was all the Producer could see when she looked at me. However I did 2-3 auditions and managed to convince everyone that I was the man for the job. The stakes were quite high for me because if I didn’t get the role of Wesley Pennington then there wasn’t really any other roles that I would have been suitable for, I would have been relegated to a small one or two line part.
Was funding very difficult to obtain for this zombie-comedy?
Yes it was, in fact it is the only funding we have ever received for any of our productions in nearly 17 years of filmmaking, it was a long, drawn out process that required a very in-depth proposal, we had to do a full budget as if we had the money already, we had to create video content saying who we were and what we had done, mood reels, a full script, character breakdowns etc, it was months and months of full time work.
What did you do to prepare for the role of Wesley Pennington, a dreamer and optimistic horror nerd who has just secured his first job on set as a runner? Comedy seems to come natural for you, did that help Wesley obtain his quirkiness?
I approach acting the same way I approach women, I walk up, I say my lines, and I leave before security ask me to. Just kidding. Mostly. Physically for Wesley I had to lose some weight so I was doing a lot of boxing, I was very poor at the time so my diet mostly consisted of toast, but somehow that worked for me. As far as preparation for the character goes, I like to know my lines inside out so I did a lot of rehearsal with Guy and the other actors, beyond that I simply let Wesley shine through, when the cameras were rolling it was almost as if he was possessing me a little bit..
Did the cast and crew tease you when shooting some of the more embarrassing and awkward scenes, such as your sex scene with Jocelyn Christian?
The cast and crew were far too busy to be giving me grief! We were on quite a tight schedule which meant that everyone always had something important to do, that being said we did all develop a great camaraderie. We actually had to shoot the sex scene twice, so if you look at how hairy my body is in that scene you will notice ‘back hair continuity’ issues, that is because the first time we shot it I wasn’t at full-power hairy because I had manscaped some weeks before the shoot, but when we shot pickups for it months later my body hair was fully grown. If you go back and have a look you will see what I am talking about!
Harley Neville and Jocelyn Christian
Wesley is a very demanding and physical role with a lot of sticky gore effects, was it difficult to stay in character sometimes?
No, it wasn’t really a problem for me to stay in character for a couple of reasons, one was that it was at the time the biggest role I had ever had in my life so I was very happy to be there and took it very seriously, it was important to me that other people on set saw me as a reliable and passionate actor that would get the job done, I also had to prove to the Producers that they had made the right decision!
The second reason I was so focused was because I was personally invested in the production through my relationship with Writer/Director Guy Pigden, I would talk to him outside of the shoot and get the inside information on how things were going and what areas needed more time, so because I understood how time-sensitive the shoot was I did my best to nail every take. There was one take when I got shot in the eye with a brain cannon that was far too powerful and far too close to my head, the lens of Wesley’s glasses popped out and hit me in the eyeball, it felt like I had been punched in the face! I stayed in character as best as I could, however there was no chance of me delivering my next lines, I was in agony, so instead I just whimpered and cringed like Wesley would until they called cut.
How’s working with director Guy Pigden? This was Pigden’s first feature film; how was the director on set as far as confidence, direction, and stylistic creativity? Did you also throw in your two cents into the creativity?
Guy is great to work with, he always has a very strong vision but is also open to suggestions, which can be a difficult combination to find! On set he was confident and was definitely in charge, it was great to see this young, first time Director taking control of hundreds of people, I am very proud of how he held himself. Unfortunately due to the budgetary and time constraints he didn’t get much time for stylistic creativity, often times we were so far behind schedule that he just had to get what he could and move on, fortunately he always found time to rehearse with the actors before a scene which is why the performances are all so great. I put my two cents into the creativity but mostly in the writing process, months before we were on set.
You and Guy seem to have built up a strong relationship in the last 17 years, putting out a self titled mini-series television show together and a weekly podcast amongst other content. How did that relationship come about?
Guy and I met when we were 13, at first he didn’t like me but eventually we became best friends, when were were 16 we shot our first short film, it was a zombie comedy called ‘Superstition Bites’, we filmed it on a Hi8 camcorder and Guy edited it on two VCR’s, after that we continued creating content together and with each project we learned something new and honed our art a little bit more. We continue to be best friends and create content together to this very day.
Neville and Guy Pigden
Why do you think New Zealand horror is so far and few in between or so under the radar?
I think the problem is that New Zealand is a small country at the bottom of the world, we have four million people here so the film industry is actually quite small, which means that securing funding to shoot a local horror is difficult. I think due to our small population the people that hold the purse strings are more inclined to invest in content that is more likely to see a financial return, so we have an abundance of really shit reality shows and very little good, original, scripted local content.
American audiences don’t seem to be enamoured with New Zealand horror. What did the “ISAZH” team try to accomplish to appeal to audiences Stateside, if any?
Often times New Zealand cinema tries too hard to be ‘Kiwi’, the result is a lot of cringeworthy content that doesn’t appeal to either international audiences or local ones. We didn’t go into this film with a particular country in mind, we wanted to tell a universal story that happened to be set in New Zealand, ironically I think this is what helped increase our appeal to American audiences, the USA is the place where ISAZH has been the most widely distributed of any country so far, in fact it is playing on Showtime at the time of this interview which is a premium cable channel.
What can you tell us about “No Caller ID?” Do you think the story will go from short to full feature if received well?
No Caller ID just screened at Screamfest in Los Angeles, I attended and it was an amazing screening, people seemed to really love it. It was so nice to see a cinema full of people jumping and screaming on cue. The reviews have been universally excellent, the worst rating we have had so far is 4/5 Stars.
The interesting thing about ‘No Caller ID’ is that it is actually part of our second feature film ‘Older‘ which will be out in 2017. Older is a Drama/Romance about an aspiring filmmaker that released his first film and it was a smash hit, however despite it making a lot of money it was critically panned, and he hates it. We needed to show a couple of scenes of this ‘film within a film’ but instead of shooting just a few scenes we decided to shoot a standalone short film with the hope that it would turn out well and we could submit it to festivals. We succeeded! I don’t think the story will ever be developed into a feature film, but never say never!
YYou, Jocelyn, and Guy have teamed up once again with “No Caller ID.” Was this because of the chemistry with “ISAZH?”
We teamed up with Joce again because she is a great actor, easy to work with and a good friend of ours, she actually went to high school with us and starred in our second ever short film when we were 17, Guy and I really wanted to find a way to get her into ‘Older’ and we realised a great way to do that would be to cast her as the lead in ‘No Caller ID’
Are there horror projects coming up in the near future for Harley and team?
We are still deciding what our next project will be but there is talk of shooting a horror set in the world of New Zealand gang culture, watch this space! If people would like to keep an eye on our future projects please go to the Pigville Productions Facebook page.
What are your top three horror movies of all time?
I really enjoyed Rec, 28 Days Later and The Grudge (Japanese version)
I appreciate your time in between being a producer, actor, writer, poet, and a great beard enthusiast. Would you like to add anything in conclusion?
Guy Pigden and I do a weekly podcast called The Guy and Harley Podcast, it is about love, life and loss in the pursuit of filmmaking glory..
Cynically unimpressed Zina agrees to partake in a friend’s nature photo shoot with idyllic mountains and forest splayed in the backdrop. Soon as the shoot begins, two disfigured and armed mountain men abruptly interrupt the foursomes’ serene surroundings, kidnapping the city folk by brute force, and holding them hostage in the basement of a ramshackle distillery. Confused and scared, Zina takes action, fighting back for her life against a family of hillbillies yearning to mix their victims’ organic essences into a fine, smooth-tasting, down-the-hatch liquor that recently become popular in the region.
Horror has finally found a home in Slovenia with Slavic writer-director Tomaz Gorkic’s freshman feature, the whimsically titled film known as “Killbillies! ” Alternatively known also as “Idila” originally and “Idyll” world-wide, the hillbilly survival horror-thriller is an unique feature in it’s own right, being the first horror film to be produced out of the European nation bordered by Italy, Austria, and Hungary. “Killbillies” savagely pits the entitlement of urbanity against the underprivileged and judged rural community who will kill for what they desire in an intense tale plastered with unforgiving violence and human rancidity. Gorkic’s film rivals America’s “Wrong Turn” series containing murderous, inbred mountain people and sets the foundational work for a potential “Killbillies” franchise to put Slovenia on the map and instead of rehashing the cannibal market, “Killbillies” can go out on a tangent by turning terrified victims’ brains in a tasty homemade brew.
Gorkic decisively also lays the solid groundwork of separating the two classes of characters with the beautiful and sensible urbanites in the models, the photographer, and the apathetic assistant, and the deformed and unhinged states of the no nonsense hillbillies played convincingly, and terrifyingly enough, by the bear-framed Lotos Sparovec and the gangly Jurij Drevensek inside the detailed workings of some gnarly prosthetics to sell the hillbillies from hell. The ugly twosome seek to extract their moonshining secret ingredients from a tough Zina, a role executed well by Nina Ivanisin, a prissy up-and-coming model Mia, played by Nika Rozman, a quiet photographer named Blitcz in Sebastian Cavazza, and a middle aged hair, makeup, and wardrobe assistant named Dragica given to Manca Ogorevc. Each role tackles a unique persona that’s vital to their characters’ survival and Gorkic writes clearly the characters’ purpose in how they interact when pressured upon.
While the visually visceral “Killbillies” requires a minor tweak here and there to only fine tune upon character development and to be slightly more forthright into the intriguing backstory with the liquor and even with Zina’s life struggling puzzlements, Gorkic ultimately captures the bones and soul that genetically makes up that mechanisms of bona fide horror as when the hillbilly duo proceeds through the extraction process with one of the victims, a montage of scenes, sold with composer Davor Herceg’s romantic gothic score, delivers a living, breathing machine of unspeakable mad science without ever divulging a word, without ever being gratuitously gory, and without ever being overly or explicitly taboo. The gore is just enough to sate with head bashings, decapitations, and even a “Walking Dead,” Negan style overkill with a very large, very nasty axe.
“Killbillies” is the latest brazen DVD release from Artspolitation Films and the release is presented not rated in a widescreen 1.85:1 aspect ratio that gorgeously and cleanly contrasts the beauty of the trees, mountains, and blue skies with the vicious ugliness that quickly grounds you back to reality in an epic struggle of life and death. Aside from a simple static menu, chapter selection, original trailer, and an option for English subtitles and English SDH subtitles are only available. Raw and acute, “Killbillies” fears nothing by dipping it’s bloody Slovenian toes into the horror pool for the first time and able to tread water for the full length of the story that ultimately becomes a deadly cat-and-mouse game.
Get your Killbillies on DVD and streaming video at Amazon!
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