Tag Archives: MVD

Based On Real Life Evil? “My Name is ‘A’ By Anonymous” review!

Posted by Steven Lewis on

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Based on the real life teenage ‘thrill killer’ Alyssa Bustamente, Shame Ryan (“Amateur Porn Star Killer”) directs “My Name is ‘A’ By Anonymous” to tell what may or may not have happened to murdered Elizabeth Olten by her neighbor Alyssa Bustamente. The story tells the story of a group of teenagers left to their own emotional devices and left to their own parentless neglect manifesting a dark world that sparks angst leading to murder.
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Shane Ryan mixes real life with an art film and the result doesn’t and won’t translate to most audiences. The non-linear story creates more confusion than clarity and being that this is one possible scenario on the murder of Elizabeth Olten, the scenario leaves more questions that perhaps vivid answers. One quality the film does do is color Alyssa Bustamente to be a thrill killer with self cutting tendencies, a dry attitude toward life, and the possibility of having a multiple personality disorder. Does this revolution around Alyssa paint a portrait that the film is more about a killer than about the victim?
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The expectation bar was set high for director/writer Shane Ryan. With the exploitations of his earlier work such as “Amateur Porn Star Killer” movies and “Warning!!! Pedophile Released,” there were hopes that this film would be more intense and graphic. Since Ryan decided to take a cheap and artistic route, the outcome will confuse, bore, and shred any bit of entertaining qualities to itty-bitty pieces.
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Marketed as being in the same vein of more infamous teen angst films such as “Kids” and “Ken Park” is very deceiving. Besides the killing, which was mostly described in sub context art form, and the implied incest-rape, also in sub context, there is really no comparison to “Kids” or “Ken Park.” Very few moments in the movie where the scene feels powerful and telling but these scenes are overpowered by lack of story telling and more of just teenage girls scenes of them brutalizing themselves and dealing with parental issue.
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I’m not a fan of this Wild Eye Release. I’m encouraging you, however, to try to have an open mind and give it a whirl. Ryan’s film is not for everybody and won’t be a stellar hit. “My Name Is ‘A’ By Anonymous” teases mostly in the same likes as “The Life: What’s Your Please?” teases the possibility of Denise Richards and Daryl Hannah, a pair of escorts, getting their freak on but leave the view limp all the way to the end. This film harks on that same flaws. Don’t get your hopes maxed out, but instead go into the movie, being released this Tuesday September 23rd, with a backup plan just in case of severe boredom.

http://youtu.be/a1GyyoiXVew%5D

Spying on Evil! Closed Circuit Extreme review!

Posted by Steven Lewis on

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Daniele and Claudia suspect their missing friend Francesca is dead and was at the hands of a predator named David De Santis. Daniele, being an expert at audio and video electronics, and Claudia set up spy equipment inside De Santis’s home while at work. But when the two try to retrieve the recordings, trouble finds them just as it found Francesca and there is nowhere to hide in the same abode.
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First off, I don’t believe that Giorgio Amato film deservers a low rating on IMDB.com. Sure, there are a few flaws with the film that can’t go ignored, but no one can deny the realism of the story. An average man living an average life trapping unsuspecting young women in his average home for his own sexual and disgusting kicks of rape and murder. Sounds like something we hear about every year. For example, the Cleveland man who locked and chained up three young women for years and did ungodly things to them.
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“Closed Circuit Extreme” is shot as court evidence which is all find and dandy, but if the “video evidence” is suppose to give the film a realistic, creepy feel then why put in character profile pop-ups in during a freeze frame of each character? There couldn’t be more invented ways to explain who these people were and why they’re there? I Like the idea that the cameras were motioned activated. This eliminates the inactivity and any dull moments in a life of a serial killer. Who wants to see a guy sit on his couch and scratch his ass for five hours?
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Some of the character decisions were poor to give the film less credibility to the characters (such as Claudia’s decision to stay in the house after being discovered), but doesn’t necessarily take away from the story because suspense has been achieved in a film like this. Veteran Italian actor Stefano Fregni gives a chilling performance as serial killer De Santis. Lonely, child-like, over weight describes most of how we experience serial killers, but De Santis is smart and that makes for a dangerous character. No doubt was revealed by Fergni that he can put us into the life of a disturbed individual.
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Lastly, the Rome set film is majority all in English. Was Amato’s film targeting American audiences? Perhaps. I find that the film’s release is very timely with the coinciding information that has revealed the identity of England’s Jack the Ripper. That could be a good selling point for the film, maybe? To get back on topic – I rather have a film set in Rome and speak the native language or else the film loses some authenticity.

“Closed Circuit Extreme” lives up to it’s moniker of being extreme. If you’re not keen on kidnapping, rape, and gruesome axe wielding murder of young beautiful women, then this is certainly not your movie. If all that stuff is your kind of thing, then you’re a sick son of a bitch and this will suit you well!

How About A Nice Evil Plate of Hillbilly, Long Pig Meat? Legend of the Hillbilly Butcher!

Posted by Steven Lewis on

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Taking after his demented butcher of a father, Carl Henry Jessup (Paul E. Respass) is a backwoods living hunter whose local delicacy amongst his surround neighbors is serving up grade-A human meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Carl relives the past with the tragic death of a murder-suicide of his parents and tries to summon them to live again with the help a demon named Sam Bakoo. When the loner cannibal doesn’t get his wish from Sam Bakoo, he curses and rejects the demon starting a whole new set of problems for poor old Carl. All this is told in narrative story of the “Legend of the Hillbilly Butcher” to three young children by an old man who knows Carl and his murderous history.
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Director Jaoquin Montalvan could be considered the underground doppleganger of Rob Zombie in filmmaking especially in “House of a 1000 Corpses” or “The Devil’s Rejects.” In the “Legend of the Hillbilly Butcher”, all the makings of a Rob Zombie like film are accounted for with the exception of hard rockabilly music. White trash and white trash dialogue? Check. Grindhouse style editing and cinematography? Check. Cannibalism and demon summon horror genre? Check. It isn’t like Montalvan exactly mirror’s Zombie’s films from scene to scene. Montalvan makes this film his own in the subtlety of the work; many of the scenes are low key and not over the top with dialogue and heavy moments of stimulating effects. And the indie director does make this into a bit of a horror comedy. In a number of scenes, the characters will sit across from each other, have a meal or a drink of moonshine, and bullshit in a quippy could of way. End scene.
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The cannibalism story tangent takes a bit of a backseat to the demon that plagues Cary Henry. The quick switch in plot direction is a good, positive change for the Hillbilly Butcher as monotony would set in with the cannibalism plot line. Much of the “meat” effects were a bit scarce and cheesy. The dead bodies were not so realistic. But the quick edited dream sequences of Sam Bakoo and Carl Henry’s visions of Sam Bakoo were intense, surreal, and welcomed. What also helped was the performance from amateur actor Allen East as Sam Bakoo – a scrawny, bald man who can conform with the best of them like Doug Jones from “Hellboy.”
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Another good actor (or actress in this case) is Theresa Holly. A blue eyed, black haired beauty with a bust that would break hearts. Her character Rae Lynn, a friend of Carl Henry, is sweet and tender but when push comes to shove, her salvation lies with her fighting for her life. While there were no nude scenes for her character, Theresa Holly does do some bra and panty scenes in a, and again in a Rob Zombie like way, montage scene.
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With any cannibal archetype or cannibalism film, I expect a lot of gore and with a title like the Legend of the “Hillbilly Butcher”, there comes an expectation that meat would be separated from the bone for consumption. Well, prepared to be mostly disappointed with only one real scene of disembowelment. The scene is fairly gory and intestinally jarring, the movie is practically over by the time we get to this scene. The film does speak more to it’s tone toward placement in the world and in the afterlife; how the good become better and those who do wrong get what they deserve in the end.
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MVDVisual is releasing this 2012 festival hit on September 23rd, 2014 and while I won’t expect this to be flying off the shelves, reaching cult status in a matter of weeks, I do expect a pretty good following for poor old Carl Henry.

One Hell of an Evil Ride! Scream Park review!

Posted by Steven Lewis on

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I’ve never been big on a budget film, or any other film, riding the coattails of famous actors by name alone. The style of marketing seems like a scam, a racket, a trick, or a scheme since most of the time the actors or the actresses are in the film for a whole five minutes, if that. Scream Park pulls the same kind of marketing headlining the film with Hellraiser’s Pinhead himself Doug Bradley at the top of the DVD cover. Like any and all movies in que for a review, a chance is given and so I continue with my viewing of Cary Hill’s Scream Park with Doug Bradley. Bradley’s presence is a quick snapshot, but the entire film is worth a long take when a good slasher is considered.
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THe horror inspired amusement Fright Land is shutting it’s rundown doors for good and the handful of workers are looking to have one last after hours hurrah with booze and a little sexual mischief. Park owner (played by Doug Bradley) has another idea to spark more life into Fright Land that will have ride goers remember Fright Land forever. Hired killers lurk through the darkness of the park and one by one the teen workers are hunted down.

Scream Park starts right from the get go with the last few minutes of park operations and right into where our killers enter the park. There is no time to digest the cast of characters, but writer-director Cary Hill pens just enough information about each character to establish credibility of being. In fact, the killers don much personality as well. Former Skinny Puppy band member Nivek Ogre is a psychotic and deranged hillbilly with no real background other than those traits, but is there a real reason for murder? Ogre’s brute force, unspoken “Ogre” has the strength and measurability of a Michael Myers like killer.
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The practical effects are a nice touch in a computer generated effects world and the amounts of blood spilled warrants recognition. The death scenes are nothing out of the ordinary – a cut throat, a snapped neck, a strangulation – but there are a few that stand out and are nicely done with all the dramatic bells and whistles – see the axe to the head scene! Basically, the killers resemble English invaders of Scotland and commit all but pilferage the rickety old park.

The acting could use some work as the delivers come off as robot-like and scenes seem obviously rehearsed. Unnatural is the term that comes to mind. Kailey Marie Harris gives a jaw dropping performance when she takes off her top and exposes her mammoth melons – goodness gracious. Speaking of maturity, the cast will mature as I see potential in leading lady Wendy Wygant as the fear in her eyes is convincing. You can tell experience from inexperience in the five minute scene with Doug Bradley and leading man Steve Rudzinkski as the park Manager. Bradley has not lost his touch since Hellraiser and continues to be powerful and compelling even for only a short time.
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Scream Park is a good edition to any slasher collection. More low budget horrors should look to Cary Hill’s film as inspiration and as an example. Though the film was made back in 2012, I’m finally treated to a DVD copy by MVD and Wild Eye Releasing that is set to hit the streets April 22, 2014.

Grade A Evil! Murder University review!

Posted by Steven Lewis on

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Enthralled from last week’s viewing of Richard Griffin’s The Disco Exorcist (see review here) that I checked into the player another Griffin film entitled Murder University from 2012. A fairly generic titled college slasher with semi-comedic values that tries to blend in with similar genre slashers such as Urban Legend, House on Sorority Row, Black Christmas, or Sorority House Massacre. Comedy elements separate Murder University from the rest as well as Murder University doesn’t set itself in the present time of which the setting takes place. I’ll dissect Griffin’s film the best I can because my response post viewing teeters back and forth of a thumbs up for pratical effects and homage or thumbs down for storyline and dialogue.

Greensboro University has a notorious reputation for being constructed by a founder who ritualized satanic values and murdered people for years in the late 19th century. In the late 20th century, the New England university is once again plague by the cult-like killers who call themselves the Greesnboro Devils. A survivor of a recent attack and a shunned detective try to hunt down the motives behinds the killings and the secrets of a legacy of killers.
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The upside of Murder University stems from the use of practical special effects. Decapitations became an obvious motif for this film (though there was no reason to explain this and I can only guess that beheadings were a big way to die in the 80s) with a grand total of six axe-chopped decapitations. The detail in the severed heads had high marks as well as other death scenes in the movie. Another throwback from the 80’s is the music and Murder University’s soundtrack certainly have that synth, brit-rock feel in some scenes, but in other scenes, 90’s grunge ruled the screen a long with hairstyles and clothes of a more recent decade.

The downside holds more weight coming from the story and the dialogue. The story comes a part at the seems with lead character Josh Greene as his backstory is intertwined with the murders and to get more of that backstory from his past would have been better than the exposition given nature of who Josh really is destined to be and what Josh is destined to be comes off pointless by default. Was this the divine will of Satan? Were these killers psychotic? What were the motivations? That is the real questions. The dialogue also scores low marks for being off key, choppy, awkward, and explicatively gratuitous. Not everybody is Quentin Taratino and can pull of mouthy vulgarity with ease and the script with Murder University just seems too forced for comfort.
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Jamie Dufault has a solid performance as our hero Josh Greene coming from a nobody in college and transforming to becoming the ultimate domineer in the end, but Nat Silva gives an even more solid performance as the killer (when the killer has dialogue) and Samantha Acampora (Josh’s girlfriend Meg) is certainly the eye candy that we wish would show a little more skin than just her bare ass.

Murder University‘s retro entertainment keeps afloat just under chin level and won’t bore you to death. Richard Griffin is two for two in my little black book of directors and I’ll keep an eye out for more of his material in the future. MVD and Wild Eye Releasing release this Not Rated, widescreen disc with deleted scenes and two commentary tracks. This should be a fairly affordable, tongue-and-cheek horror movie if you’re looking for a cheap, yet entertaining, thrills.

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