Tag Archives: Bill Oberst Jr

EVIL vs EVIL vs EVIL vs EVIL vs EVIL etc., “Bigfoot vs Krampus” reviewed! (Ruthless Pictures / DVD)

Posted by Steven Lewis on

Merry Kirstmas to all!  “Bigfoot vs Krampus” on DVD!

With Christmas time approaching and the Illuminati forces on the retreat, the Allies are in high spirits. Space rough neck Van Helsing considers taking his relationship with Allied Forces leader Princess Kali to the next level. Unfortunately Satan is set to ruin the moment. From the depths of Hell, the wicked Lord Of Darkness summons the demon spirit of Christmas, Krampus to wreak havoc on the living. Upon hearing the news, the clone of magician Aleister Crawley joins forces with the reptilian form of General Stalin and the Illuminati to mount a Christmas Eve attack on the Allies forcing Van Helsing and Kali to take drastic action. With help from the rowdy space rouge Bigfoot, the Allied Forces bait a syndicate of monsters to help take down the fiendish Krampus and restore peace to the galaxy.

Usually, I write my own storyline synopsis for the physical releases I provide review coverage for as there’s something about firsthand accounts that interpret more clearly and is more detailed in story events than the tagline plot that can be misleading at times, whether be a false marketing ploy to sham potential viewers into watching or goes to the other extreme with a less-than-desirable summary of drab when really the movie is much more magical, but with the 2021 released “Bigfoot vs Krampus,” the bizarre synopsis is worth every word count calorie.  Coming off the heels of a decent bigfoot picture from 1976 (“Creature from Blake Lake”) and playing into the festive Christmas holiday theme with the anti-Santa folklore, I was fingers crossed and impossibly hopeful to be two-for-two in the Sasquatch saga that kills two birds with one stone in doing my duty watching holiday-horror.  Boy was I terribly mistaken.  “Bigfoot vs Krampus” is just a full-length computer-generated cog in the machine of writer-and-director BC Fourteen and is a part of his so-bad-they’re bad versus film lot of an unofficial science fiction, comedic and satirical saga of generally evil in nature icons facing off against one another….in space.  “Bigfoot vs the Illuminati,” “Bigfoot vs Megalodon,” and even “Trumpocalypse Now!” and “Trump vs the Illuminati” really speak the filmmaker’s political stance as well really speak volumes on the filmmaker’s wayward clashes of alternative universes that amalgamates characters from horror, sci-fi, folklore, and video games into battle beyond the stars cratered epic. From executive producer Tony Cliftonson and producer Randall Finings, both involved with “Tickles the Clown, another spinoff in BC Fourteen’s gonzo-galaxy epic, “Bigfoot vs Krampus” is a production and a presentation of indie distributor Ruthless Studios.

“Bigfoot vs Krampus” is total, 100% computer-generated graphics with only voiceovers to bring the highly kinetic, standing-in-place characters to resemble something that looks like life. BC Fourteen doesn’t stray too far from his regular voice talent as many of the same characters reoccur or popup randomly in this galactic gasbag of all talk and little action. When not voicing family friendly films, Marco Guzmán finds himself fouling the language barrier of space as he lends his vocals to the majority of principal leads and supporting char acters, such as the titular hairy primate Bigfoot who in the film sounds like a bastardized, sonorous, and raspy version of Fat Albert. Guzmán also voices another principal lead in Van Helsing, the 16th clone of the original vampire slayer. Known by his friends as V.H., Van Helsing looks less like a doctor with a stake and more like the Master Chief from Halo, never removing his helmet as he spews surefooted cockiness across the galaxy. Guzmán also voices the reptilian form of a reincarnated Joseph Stalin as well as the Egyptian sun God, Ra, who has ambiguous loyalties but can be useful to the allies as an all-seeing eye of the universe. Carli Radar voices humanities last hope and hero, Kali. The allied forces leader is pregnant with V.H.’s baby, a contentious sore point for Van Helsing who felt tricked into providing Kali a progeny, but has to become mankind and the illuminati, stereotypical green Martians with big black eyes and small mouths, last leader when the Illuminati’s Princess is destroyed by Krampus (who is oddly not listed as being voiced in the film’s credits), Satan’s partner in clinching power over the allies. The voice talent rounds out with Nate Trevors, Edson Camacho, Wes Bruff, Leslie Parsons, Simon Daigle, Carl Folds, Robert Forth, and BC Fourteen.

What do Bigfoot, Krampus, Megalodon, Clowns, The Terminator, Dummy Dolls, The Boogie Man, Werewolves, Satan, Anubis, Ra, and Jack Skeleton all have in common? BC Fourteen CGI’d their likeness into his…I don’t even know how to classify the film. I’ve had a run-in with a BC Fourteen film 8 years ago with 2014’s “Werewolf Rising” when the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-born filmmaker went under the name BC Furtney and aside from a stellar performance by the always captivating Bill Oberst Jr. and Irena Murphy baring a full moon going snout-to-nips with a werewolf, “Werewolf Rising received a mixed review but was still comprehensible with a start, middle, and an end. Though I stress the comedic and satire, a precaution must be instilled as the unfunny “Bigfoot vs Krampus” drags through the mud a trove of select horror and sci-fi pop icons in carbon copy tiny spaceships, flying around in a muddlesome mess, and rendered completely unnatural in an advanced resemblant version of the Goldsrc engine – you should see Bigfoot run down the ship’s corridors. If “Bigfoot vs Krampus’ were a series of cinematic story intercuts sewn together with gameplay axed entirely, I would believe it, and I’m sure, having spot check a few of the sequels, prequels, and spinoffs of the same caliber, that some animated scenes are recycled. There’s definitely recycling happening in this feature. If the war between the Illumanti-Humans-Bigfoot allied forces and every evildoer under the sun wasn’t thematic enough, the pseudonymous BC Fourteen throws in Van Helsing’s struggle with conscious as the cloned hired mercenary with legendary blood lineage skips town and on his baby’s mama because he does not feel appreciated in a fight that’s technically not his. The director also adds a subplot of Bigfoot checking in with old friend, and apparently cafe barista, Anubis to make sure the Sun Deity Ra isn’t fibbing about Van Helsing’s unexpected demise at the hands of Krampus. Everything does circle back around to an open-ended showdown for that next exposition heavy installment of intergalactic garbage made with no heart, no respect and very little effort.

If the synopsis didn’t frighten you off from watching the film, text pulled word-for-word from the Ruthless Pictures’ DVD back cover, I surely hope this review left you with a bit of common sense prior to watching a cool and kitschy what if versus scenario. The Ruthless Pictures DVD presents the glossy computer graphics in a widescreen 1.78:1 aspect ratio. I will admit the animation provides here-and-there tactile moments, such as battle scuffs on robots or the ridges, grooves, and lighting on Krampus’s curled horns. All the animation looks about the same throughout, leaving a one-note taste that’s hard to wash out, but the at times, the CGI provides that nice ragdoll feel for humanoids Van Helsing and Kali and the lighting/shading does make appear more luxurious. Compression issues include background banding and splotches in darker spaces, but for the majority of the feature, those issues are limited. Though no listed on the DVD’s attributes, my players states “Bigfoot vs Krampus” has a single audio option – a Dolby Digital 2.0. For a science-fiction baster war, the lossy format is a lackluster that doesn’t surprisingly match all the other qualities, pushing out a mediocre 5-6Mbps average. Option English subtitles are available under the static menu. The DVD is a bare bones release with zero bonus content. The DVD is encoded region free and has a runtime of a merciful 70 minutes. Bigfoot films are back in the dumps again for this reviewer as “Bigfoot vs Krampus” is a flurry of insipidity and, the worst part of it all, it doesn’t add anything to the Christmas holiday horror subgenre with the Krampus module built-in for the sake of impersonating a something about as old as it’s folklore, a space invader.

Merry Kirstmas to all!  “Bigfoot vs Krampus” on DVD!

Uncalcified Penal Glands and Designer Drugs are an EVIL Around-the-Clock Cocktail. “Synchronic” reviewed! (Blu-ray / Well Go USA Entertainment)

Posted by Steven Lewis on

A new over-the-counter designer drug called Synchronic has been at the center of a string gruesome deaths in New Orleans.  Simultaneously, two best friend paramedics, Steve and Dennis, individually battle their own life-altering personal problems while responding to the grisly emergency calls.  With each horrific scene of Synchronic’s doing, Steve decides to take matters into his own hands by purchasing the remaining supply in all of New Orleans after Dennis’ teenage daughter mysteriously disappears after ingesting the drug.  With no leads on the missing girl’s whereabouts and after being visited by the time abstract ramblings of the chemist responsible for creating the drug, Synchronic’s harmful hallucinogenic properties have more tangible dangers than what meets the eye leaving Steve no choice but to pop one of the pills to understand where, or when, his friend’s daughter may have disappeared to.

I’ve said it once before and I’ll say it again, Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson are visionary filmmakers with a penchant for the larger-than-life and otherworldly terrors.  From their directorial of a mind-bending death cult in “The Endless” to their producing hand in Jeremy Gardner’s lost love and creature feature, “After Midnight,” and Amy Seimetz deathly contagious, “She Dies Tomorrow,” under Rustic Films, the ambitiously talented duo returns with “Synchronic,” an anything but plain spoken, time-winding, Sci-Fi tale revolving around themes of redemptive purpose and grateful circumstances stitched by the uncanny temporal effects of artificial illicit drugs.  Lying somewhere between the cognitive warping psychedelic drug and feeling disconnected from the environment of a dissociative drug, “Synchronic” sojourns random grooves with the needle of time in a culminating enlightenment that now, the present, is a gift worth enjoying.     Along with Moorhead and Benson’s Rustic Films, Patriot Pictures, and XYZ Films bring to fruition the filmmakers’ biggest production yet. 

Like most of us during pandemic times, but not quite exactly like us who are working stressfully from home, is Anthony Mackie acting comfortably in his hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana.  The “Captain America” star temporarily hangs up Falcon’s wing harness to play lonely paramedic Steve frequented by his tragic past that has led him down a path of casual flings and an inability to attach to anyone romantically.  Opposite Mackie is Irish actor and “Fifty Shades of Grey” star Jamie Dornan as Dennis, a man kicking himself hard for marrying and starting a family too early in life that’s created a bizarre Prince and the Pauper dynamic where Steve and Dennis are envious on each other’s life.  Mackie is pitch perfect in the timing of a seemingly tailored-to-Mackie script that is funny as it is engrossing and thought-provoking.  “Synchronic” is truly the Mackie show with Dornan playing second fiddle as a compliment to Mackie’s more clandestinely troubled character who aims to upend and mend many wrongs in his life, including those of his best friend, and weaves in and out through the fabrics of time with Katie Aselton (“She Dies Tomorrow”), Ally Ioannides, Ramiz Monself, and Bill Oberst Jr (“DIS”).

Time travelling is a finnicky concept.  Lots of variables have to be ironed out in order to break the planes of chronological, set-in-stone, thinking and construe time as an infinite recording always available for repeat and playback.  Time travel is perhaps science fiction’s most powerhouse model, producing some of the most influential and staple films of the genre in our time that include “The Time Machine,” “The Terminator,” and “Back to the Future” that have carried out repeated viewings of admiration, a franchise legacy, and been the source of inspiration and remakes.  Plot holes and flaws in these films go without saying and are considered expected, but if filmmakers can get away with convincing audiences otherwise, then expect a blast from the past, present, and future.  Moorhead and Benson’s “Synchronic” has a gripping and cosmically vast story done in only one small corner of the world, the historically rich and diverse culture of New Orleans, and that isolating effect pressed upon by the distant and ominous unknown, a supremely niche and bracing style from the directors.  “Synchronic,” like time jumping films before it, has the anticipated plot holes in the mechanics of the designer drug’s side effects that are seemingly straight forward to the experimenting character only after attempting a handful of pill-popping jumps.  There are also no adverse butterfly effects stemmed from any of the Synchronic’s users.  You’ll find yourself lost in time over these questions that routinely shoot up other films to smithereens in the ole inconsistency corral thanks to Moorhead and Benson, along with the riveting and hilarious performance from Anthony Mackie, who suck you in with their relatable and humanizing story premised around Steve and Dennis’ life regrets mended by an eye-opening slight tear in the fabric of time to understand what you have now could have been a lot worse then.

 

“Synchronic” is stylish, Sci-Fi craftsmanship coming to you onto Blu-ray home video from Well Go USA Entertainment. The film is also available on DVD and digitally. Presented in 16:9 widescreen format, “Synchronic” barrages with a somber and slick, yet almost alien, plating over the Creole and double gallery architectures in a mesh of robust multicultural with the grimy slums, envisioned by director of photography, Aaron Moorhead, who, in part with Ariel Vida, the production designer, is able to capture era slithers native to Louisiana lineage. The Blu-ray comes with an English language DTS-HD master audio 5.1 surround sound that’s crisply makes distinct every track element defined by individual scenes. Jimmy Lavalle returns to collaborate with Moorhead and Benson once again to compose an unique compositional score that can only be described as driving nails into your soul while also being powerfully moving without being an echo out of inspiration. The release is rated R with a runtime of 101 minutes and comes with a fair amount of bonus features including commentary with Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson, a making of featurette, a previsualization (a fancy word here for live-action storyboarding with a camera phone), a VFX breakdown (which is touched upon a lot in the making of featurette), a deleted scene, and an alternate ending that will doggone blow your mind! “Synchronic” is intense medication to repair a kindred friendship falling into disrepair in this literal mind-boggling must see it to believe it thriller. Expect more great things from Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson to come!

Order “Synchornic” on Blu-ray by clicking the poster above!