Reviewing Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter Because Hey, Why Not?

In many ways Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter is immune to reviews. Once you hear the premise: our sixteenth President carved a swarth through armies of bloodsucking fiends while armed with his trusty silver tipped axe cum shotgun and they'll know right away whether they're on board or not. There's next to nothing a litany of reviews and websites can say-this one included-that's going to change many minds in either direction. What's fair game is whether the film delivers a good time from its goofy premise.

On the positive side, Benjamin Walker gives a charming and engaging performance as the future President. The film plays like a traditional biopic beginning with Lincoln as a young boy, and we don't see the stovetop hat and bearded Lincoln we remember from history until act three. The bulk of the film focuses on Lincoln as a young man as he hunts the vampire who skilled his mother (Martin Csokas) under the tutelage of Henry, a human-friendly vampire (Dominc Cooper). We see Lincoln learn the ropes before becoming a lean  and mean vampire chopping machine and we witness his pursuit of the lovely Mary Todd (geek favorite Mary Elizabeth Winstead who is a much easier sight on the eyes than the dowdy Todd we've seen in history books). 

It's not until the last act when the story kicks into overdrive. It's a great "what if?" scenario where vampires join the Confederate army and lay waste to Union troops in the first days of Gettysburg. Knowing what he's up against, Lincoln and company race to get as many silver equipped weapons in the hands of soldiers before they're routed. Events culminate in a high speed locomotive sequence that given the sad state of our education system many audience members propbably don't know who won the battle of Gettysburg (or the Civil War for that matter) and will find it rife with suspense. 

The biggest failing of the film stems from Bekmambetov's greatest strength. Since his debut with Night Watch he's perfected the Matrix bullet time style. Each action sequence in AL,VH is peppered with a half dozen moments where the camera slows down to the point of freezing and then swoops around in crazy angles. However, after watching The Raid obliterate expectations for what can be done on film with its fluid, frantic, almost ballet style of knockdown drag out fighting done in real time, Bekmambetov's hyper stylized action looks quaint and dated. It doesn't help that he dips into this well over and over again, never upping his game when the on screen stakes are raised. Whether Abe's taking on a single vampire in a back alley or hacking and slashing his way in a desperate one-against-a-horde scenario, Bekmambetov applies the same technique. Granted there's some fun to be had-a sequence involving close hand to hand combat and a chair whizzing across the room stands out-but by the sixth time you've seen the same technique apple, you'll be yawning in your seat. 

This could be forgiven if the film allowed itself to have more fun with it's ridiculous premise. Perhaps it goes counter to what you'd expect as a sort of defense mechanism from criticism, but the film plays the material too straight. The problem lies with Seth Grahame-Smith's script, which he adapted from his own novel. Graham-Smith has one glaring problem as a writer. He comes up with fun, whacked out premises (a presidential vampire hunter, Jane Austen meets zombies) then wrenches any sense of joy and mirth from his ideas with his bland, overwrought prose. 

What you're left with is a film that has it's fun, popcorn-munching moments of big screen velveeta, but it doesn't commit enough to the premise to get a ringing endorsement. I'm not saying it needed to fill the film with cheesy one liners (If I heard anything along the lines of "Emancipate THIS!" or "Four Score & Seven Years Ago I Staked Your Vampy Behind!" I'd probably have left) but the proceedings often feel like a forced march with any sense of fun and whimsy sucked out of them. While it has it's moments, Vampire Hunter never quite lives up to the goofy promise of its premise. 

Do You Love Kick Ass Horror Clothing? Yes? Then Help Fright Rags Win A Grant!

While as a general rule of thumb we don't promote merchandise on this site all that often, as someone who owns a number of shirts from the incomparable tee shirt emporium Fright-Rags, I felt the need to share this email with our readers.

Living Social is awarding a dozen $250K grants to deserving small businesses, and Ben and the crew over at Fright-Rags are tossing their hat in the ring. What they need is your support and your vote. Please take two minutes, read on and give he fine folks behind the 'What Would Jason Do?' tee shirt your support.

While the grants will most likely go to soccer moms that want to follow their dream of turning their love of baking cupcakes into full fledged operation that outgrows their kitchen (you know the secret ingredient in those addicting bundles of flour, cocoa and sugary icing don't you? It's METH!), it would be killer if one of our own got a life changing chunk of dough to grow the company and to bring even more badass designs we'll proudly wear across our chests for many years to come.

Read on!

I generally don't like asking for much, especially from our customers. In fact, your support over the years has meant more to me (and the rest of us here) than you can imagine. However, I recently became aware of a contest that will award twelve deserving small businesses a $250K grant to be used to grow their business. Many great companies have entered, and after giving it much thought I decided to submit our application to be considered as well. However, to even qualify for this grant, we need 250 votes by this Saturday. We're well over halfway there, but we still need more. And if we are one of the twelve companies chosen, I promise to use these funds to bring you the best possible products you haven't even begun to imagine yet. We have tons of ideas...and while we are working very diligently to bring them to life, we still need help...$250K will go a long way to get us there. So today all I'm asking for is your vote. All you need to do is follow the simple instructions below. It will only take a moment of your time...but it could lead to years of kick-ass products from us. From the bottom of our bloody hearts, we thank you for your undying support. Ben FRIGHT-RAGS FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS TO VOTE! 1. click this link: http://www.missionsmallbusiness.com/ 2. Click the blue button (lower right of the page) that says LOGIN & SUPPORT 3. Login with your Facebook information 4. Once logged in, search for Fright-Rags (exactly like that, with the hyphen!) 5. Click the blue vote button!

Joe R. Lansdale's "Edge of Dark Water": Afloat on a River of Despair

Edge of Dark Water (2012)

Written by Joe R. Lansdale
Publisher: Hodder and Stoughton
Edge of Dark Water on Amazon.com



If there's one common thread found in the best Joe Lansdale stories, it's this: Folks with no reason to get along are somehow able to unite against a common foe. In the pages of tales like Cold in July, Bubba Ho-Tep, and in his wildly entertaining Hap and Leonard series, you'll find unlikely alliances getting past their differences, kicking ass, taking names. In his latest novel, Edge of Dark Water, readers will find eccentric partnerships are still a big part of his oeuvre as a motley crew of teens and adults come together to honor the passing of a friend. Lansdale works with an ensemble of cunning teens longing for adventure, and damaged adults looking for redemption. In true Lansdale fashion, they'll need to overcome prejudice, dependency issues, shocking violence, and nature itself in order to succeed.   



Edge of Dark Water takes us on a trip down the winding, treacherous Sabine River.  The story opens with 16-year-old Sue Ellen and her friend Terry assisting Sue Ellen's father as he poisons fish from the river. Their lives in rural East Texas are wrought with poverty, drunkeness, and racism. Sue Ellen has a strong friendship with Terry, designated the town "sissy" because he’s a little neater and cleaner than everyone else. Rounding out a trio of friends is Jinx, a black teenager whose spiritedness lands her in constant trouble. Despite the rampant prejudice in their segregated town, the three get along swimmingly. Allied against lynchers, addicts, and lecherous fathers, the three friends are just about the only family they've got.

When the body of May Lynn, the town beauty, is uncovered - bound and weighted - from the river's bottom, Sue Ellen and her friends decide to deliver her ashes to Hollywood. It's their way of honoring a friend who spoke often of running away to become a famous actress. It's also a means of escape from a fate of ruination that only a crumbling and corrupt town can promise.



Sue Ellen’s quest is complicated when she finds in May Lynn’s diary a map to a stash of money. After burning May Lynn’s remains and unearthing the riches, the group crosses paths with the wrong people. A terrifying tracker named Skunk – a ruthless killer whose scent heralds his hulking presence - is dispatched to bring them back.  Sue Ellen and her gang take to the water on a stolen raft, avoiding dangerous water snakes and braving calamitous weather. Their journey will take them from the deep depression of home and into the heart of peril. Along the way, they’ll bond further through intense trials and an ardent resolve to see things through.     



Edge of Dark Water has the distinction of being one of a handful of books that have elicited a huge emotional response from me. I don't mean getting a little sentimental over a touching scene, or chuckling at a funny dialogue quip. I'm talking about being shaken to my core. In some ways, Edge of Dark Water is Lansdale's most brutal novel. I'm not speaking specifically of visceral brutality, though there is certainly plenty here. I'm talking about the core theme – the hopelessness, sadness, and confusion – of charging into the unknown, and putting on a brave face even if it's just for show. For each escalating peril faced by Sue Ellen, she hits harder, jumps higher, and cracks wiser because there is no turning back.

Every character in this book – from larger-than-life villains to willful teens - is wholly memorable and distinct. Sue Ellen and Jinx in particular resonate beyond the page and make this reader realize that my hardships are very small in comparison. You’ll see this novel compared to the works of Mark Twain, and that is an apt comparison. It’s not simply that Twain’s Huck Finn similarly charted his own destiny on a raft on the Mississippi. It's not the themes of abuse, racism, and violence that connect the two. Huck and Sue Ellen might have passed each other on that stretch of the Sabine. Maybe they do no more than nod knowingly to one another. Though their stories are decades apart (and written over a century apart), it's just possible that the two could have shared an intertwining moment on that dark, dark river.

I don't have any problem calling Edge of Dark Water a masterpiece. It's a book demanding your immediate attention, and a great companion piece to Lansdale favorites like The Bottoms and All the Earth Thrown to the Sky.

Review: The Devil's Rock

Written by: Paul Finch and Paul Campion

Directed by: Paul Campion

IMDB Page

No group comes as equipped for horror movie villainy as Nazis. Their atrocities boggle the mind, and no work of fiction comes close to matching the true horror of the Third Reich's actual deeds. As the horror of those days fade deeper into history books, the temptation to play the events for camp or exploitation has a strong pull. A quick glance at the cover art of The Devil's Rock suggests a sexploitation romp played for titters. Luckily, this New Zealand export from longtime Weta effects guru Paul Campion (stepping behind the camera for the first time) is a smart, scary thriller made all the better by the superb performance of its three leads.

Devil's Rock opens on the eve of D-Day with a pair of Allied special ops soldiers landing on enemy shores. They're sent on a special mission to blow up a German facility as a diversionary tactic meant to cast attention away from the pending Normandy invasion. The two carry out their mission, but the blood curling screams coming from within draw them into the installation. What appears to be a deserted facility in first glance is actual a charnel house of disemboweled Nazi soldiers strewn all over, with their blood painting the walls red. After they split up, one meets an unfortunate end while Captain Ben Krogan (Craig Hall) finds himself captured and at the mercy of the outposts commander, Col. Klaus Myer (Matthew Sutherland).

The cause of all the carnage is a shapeshifting demon summoned by Nazi occult experts for use as a secret weapon against their enemies. She possesses the ability to take the form of the loved one of any man that views her. Krogen sees her as his deceased wife Helena, who dies during one of the Blitzkriegs over London. Forced to work with the enemy, Krogen has to decide how much he can trust the nazi madman, and who the real evil in the build is.

For a low budget film, Devil's Rock has quite a lot going in its favor. There's the whip smart interaction between Craig Hall's allied soldier Krogen and Matthew Sutherland's nazi commandant. Campion also makes fantastic use of the isolated outpost. The early going scenes, where you're in as much of the dark as the soldiers is rife with tension. Hallways are littered with half devoured corpses and soldiers that died with a look of terror frozen on their faces. Blacked out corridors give the impression that something dangerous, something hungry lurks just out of view. Campion understands that the build up monster we don't see is crucial to establishing mood.

If the film falters, it's in the second act, which is short on action and long on standoffs. The pace grinds to a halt here as it takes a bit too long to set up the inevitable confrontation of the third act. Things rebound in the climax, and Campion puts his FX background to good use without going overboard. The design of the creature in it's native form is ghastly, looking like the love child of Darth Maul and Bib Fortuna.

As fewer survivors of the era remain, it can be difficult to grasp the true horror the Nazis unleashed upon the world. The acts of atrocity and the sheer number of victims is staggering and often difficult to wrap one's head around. The concept of turning them into cartoon villains is a comforting one as a means to dismiss the horror they represent. Yet despite the supernatural premise, Campion resists the urge to go big. Instead his commandant feels all too human, and all too real, which makes all the difference in this smart, nuanced horror flick.  

Lunchbreak Horror: The Horribly Slow Murderer With The Extremely Inefficient Weapon

Sometimes what you really need is something to break the monotony of work. You need something that's going to make you laugh so hard that you might lose control of your bowels and the morning's coffee will come squirting out, giving you a case of mud butt. Well the laughs haven't come fast and furious at my job as of late. Nope, it's been anything but a chuckalicious time these past few weeks as heavy duty travel and too many nights in hotels or days spent suffering in 95 degree temperature have left me overtired and irritated.

This might be the cure for what ails. Richard Gale's  The Horribly Slow Murderer With the Extremely Inefficient Weapon is as funny as its name is long. Poking fun of horror films and over the top trailers all in one fell swoop, it tells the story of the most annoying murderer in cinematic history.

Enjoy.

DEAD WEIGHT: Looking for Food, Shelter, Love in the Post-Apocalypse

Dead Weight (2012)
Written and Directed by Adam Bartlett and John Pata

Dead Weight Official Site
Order Dead Weight on DVD here from Head Trauma Productions

Why film producers with miniscule budgets choose the sweeping post-apocalypse story as their foray into microbudget filmmaking, I'll never know. It could be that they're ambitious artists with a passion for the challenges of such an undertaking. Maybe they're just fans of the genre, and long for the cathartic release of a bleak story. Perhaps it's simply because it's easy to market. Whatever the case, I applaud anyone with the gumption to tackle it.

I'd assume a filmmaker without deep pockets feels like he or she has a unique story to tell. These types of films remain popular because of their immediate sense of urgency in today's political and social climate. Since it's a certainty we'll keep seeing post-apocalypse films, low budget films tackling this sub-genre should at the very least offer something fresh to compete with bigger budget fair like The Road. With the right tools, it's entirely possible to pull off a large-scale idea within a minimal framework.

Dead Weight is a feature film out of Wisconsin with its sights set at presenting an intimate look at a group of survivors when a viral outbreak hits Minneapolis among other major cities across the country. It's a character study, but one which branches out into the psyches of an ensemble cast. It's also a romantic drama aimed at putting a unique spin on the same old formula. While not wholly successful, I do applaud the effort of the Oshkosh crew behind it. Their DIY-or-die ethics, combined with determined know-how, delivers a technically sound film that stumbles a bit in its storytelling. It delivers a convincing atmosphere, but lacks a serious emotional punch.

Dead Weight opens up innocently enough with our protagonist Charlie (Joe Belknap) enjoying a bowl of cereal with his comics books. Charlie has just made the plane trip from Toledo, Ohio to Minneapolis to visit his girlfriend Samantha (Mary Lindberg). The two are riding out a rocky relationship after Samantha makes a career move to Minneapolis without consulting Charlie. Charlie is a bit selfish and childish in his behavior toward her rushed decision, but somewhat justified in being a little miffed at Samantha's own selfishness.

The shit hits the fan with a phone call from Samantha warning Charlie of  a viral threat and evacuation of the city. She informs Charlie that she's heading out with some friends on a canoe to bypass the hordes of desperate people jamming the freeways. Charlie, leery of Samantha's plan, arranges to meet up with her at a predetermined place once they are both safely out of the city. After the event, several hundred miles of rugged terrain, shady characters, and the infected population lie between him and Samantha.

After an indeterminate time, we find Charlie scavenging the frozen countryside with a ragtag group of survivors. They are a pack of strangers, united only in the fleeting safety of each others company. They've adopted Charlie's plan to reach Wassau, relying only on his map. Charlie is often the odd-man-out due to his inability to take anything seriously and lapses in judgement. Still, the group is a close-knit bunch determined to stay alive at any cost. Charlie has not given up on finding Samantha, but the regrets of his life haunt him throughout the struggle for food, shelter, and avoiding packs of "infected".  

Dead Weight looks great. The cinematography by Travis Auclair is suitably dreary, enhanced by the frozen landscape of Wisconsin where it was shot. The cast, indeed, looks very authentically uncomfortable. The stage is set for a very convincing post-apocalypse, one where the wilderness itself  is a character. Though there is no timeframe for the events (is this days or years after the outbreak?), the abandoned houses and landscape look suitably barren. The filmmakers utilize a small scale environment of farms and isolated homes, so it's entirely possible to put yourself in the mindset of this being the end of the world.

The problems I have with Dead Weight are in the script, particularly the dialogue and character interactions. The biggest offender is that Charlie is a sarcastic character. This isn't a bad thing per se. However, the dialogue is brimming with his quips throughout, whether it be in the calm stability of the "normal" world, or that of the post-apocalypse wasteland. His attitude belies the grim tone of the film. Often you'd see comic relief used to defuse tension, but here it gets annoying. I get that Bartlett and Pata are trying to inject an endearing realism into Charlie, but it didn't quite work for me. It makes the film feel almost schizophrenic at times, especially as it weaves in and out from past to present. The humor feels somehow inappropriate, though that may have been the point.  

Another shortcoming is that I wasn't completely sold on Charlie and Samantha's relationship. The moments they spend on screen doesn't feel like a couple that's spent intimate time together. There's a serious lack of chemistry between the two. I realize this could be due to the rigid shoot schedule, the unfortunate casualties being adequate rehearsal time and the lack of multiple takes. It could also simply be miscasting. Since the bulk of the premise hinges on us caring about Charlie and Samantha finding one another, it's a huge obstacle to overcome.

Charlie makes some destructive decisions in the final act. He's determined to reach Wassau by any means. We realize the true connotation of the title "Dead Weight". Bartlett and Pata deliver an appropriately downbeat ending that may have been more affecting had Charlie been sculpted with more sympathy.

Dead Weight is a film I really wanted to love. What kept me from complete enjoyment is a lack of investment in the characters. This is a huge liability when a film is character-driven. Dead Weight relies on achieving emotional impact, and, for me, falls short of that goal. I wouldn't discourage anyone from watching based on that alone. The film is competent in every regard from sound design to stunts to the mood-enhancing score by Nicholas Elert. At times, Dead Weight does live up to its promise of a bleak and brutal post-apocalypse film. It just didn't hit me in the gut in the way I hoped.

Dead Weight Trailer

All Things Horror Presents: IT'S IN THE BLOOD-July 13th

Hey Boston folks, our next indie movie night is just around the corner. This month's theme center's on family disfunction as our feature presentation and short film explore fractured familial bonds.

Starring Lance Henrikson (Aliens, Pumpkinhead), IT'S IN THE BLOOD, tells the tale of the prodigal son once again returned home (Sean Elliot, who also co-wrote the film). Scarred by family tragedy neither can move past, the father and son attempt to put the past behind them on a hunting trip. Before long the pair find themselves stalked and hunted by something unseen yet deadly, something that's hiding under the cover of mists just waiting for it's chance to pounce. If the duo have any chance of survival they're going to have to put their past behind them and work together under the most dire of circumstances.

We're also screening FAMILIAR, a short film that dives deep into the mind of a frustrated husband and father hurtling through middle age with a trunk load of hatred and regrets. Tinged with Cronenbergian body horror and anchored by Robert Noland's captivating performance as a pissed off Willy Loman-type, Familiar is one of the more disturbing shorts we've received this year.


When: Friday July 13th, 8pm
Where: The Somerville Theater Microcinema (Davis Sq. Somerville MA)
Cost: $10 (What a bargain!)

The Flawed Brilliance of PROMETHEUS

Walking out of Prometheus, Ridley Scott's first kick at the sci fi can in thirty years, I couldn't help but think I needed to see the film again to wash the taste of the internet out of my mouth before sitting down to write this review. It's one of the most argued over films of the year, with both detractors and advocates having legitimates cases to make.   Prometheus manages to inspire awe and invoke frustration, often within the same scene.

Whether you accept Scott's coy comments about the film merely “sharing DNA” with Alien or believe it to be a straightforward prequel (it's hard not to feel this way given the events) Prometheus stumbles from the tremendous weight of expectations. The film is unlike any other summer blockbuster found in cinemas. It's a spectacle film unafraid to pose big questions about where we come from and why we are the way we are, yet lacks the polish to answer them in any coherent fashion. I don't mean Scott and Lindelof need to hold the audience's hand and spell everything out on a dry erase board. I mean that it seems neither one worked out the answers in their own minds before committing the written word to film.

Prometheus centers on a pair of archeologists in 2089 that discover evidence pointing to mankind spawning from alien creators (referred to as “Engineers”). Uncovering what they believe to be a map to a distant galaxy, they are commissioned by an dying, eccentric patron to lead a trillion dollar expedition to this planetary cluster. Along with the frosty corporate executive Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), the laid back pilot Janek (Idris Elba), the mischievous android David (Michael Fassbander) and remaining chum, Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Naoomi Rapace) and Dr. Charlie Holloway (Logan-Marshall Green) set out to meet our Makers and discover the truth behind mankind's existence. What they stumble upon is a unimaginable horror with the ability and mindset to wipe humanity off the map.

Prometheus provides unrelenting visual beauty throughout. Scott wields the 3-D technology like few directors before him, crafting gorgeous set pieces that are a simple marvel to behold. It's easy to lose oneself in the extraordinary scale of the film, especially when marveling at the detail of the alien craft we spend much of our time in. Unlike any other film this year Prometheus makes a convincing argument as to why the cinema experience still matters. From the breathtaking natural landscapes of the prologue, to the intricate details of the space jockey fossils to the  massive extraterrestrial interiors that dwarf the characters and threaten to swallow them whole. Scott abandons the claustrophobia of Alien, choosing to burst the scope wide open and demonstrating how small mankind is in the face of the cosmos.  While I'm not always an advocate in 3-D, Prometheus benefits from the technology. In fact, if other projects used this technology with the smarts Scott demonstrates, critics and movie goers alike would be quicker to embrace the technology, rather than feel like studios are reaching into their pockets for an extra $3.

What Scott's glorious visuals cannot cover up is a weak script, inconsistent character behavior from one scene to the next leaps in logic that span galaxies. I understand that co-writers Lindelof and Spahits purposely leave questions open to audience interpretation and discussion, with no intent of providing direct answers. However, the old salesperson's decree says “never ask a question you don't know the answer to”, and in the case of Prometheus, I have little confidence the responsible parties for the script have answers of their own. The script often contradicts itself, and the need to shoehorn events in order to fit the Alien canon often come off forced and clumsy.

The most glaring issue remains the character inconsistencies. It would appear that the future downfall of mankind comes at the hand of its most intelligent scientists and at the hands of corporations. The most glaring example face palm inducing plot devices concerns the handling of two of the geologists that are part of the first survey team on the planet. Skeptics from the start, the duo freak out at the sight of the piles of fossilized, long dead Engineers. When a wind storm leaves them stranded from their vessel overnight, they panic at the suggestion of an unknown life form a click away from their vicinity. Yet moments later when they encounter the Prometheus version of a face hugger, one of them decides it's beautiful (it's not) and friendly (nope) and it decides to reach out and pat the thing. It's a total out of left field move that serves zero impact except to provide a brief action sequence. This is but one of may character inconsistencies that plague the film (to list hem all would bog down the review, but I highly recommend Robert Fure's The 10 Stupidest Crew Mistakes of Prometheus at Film School Rejects which lists more glaring examples). Many of the mistakes the crew make serve only to steer events towards clumsily edited consequence free action sequences that stick out like a sore thumb from the first act's slow build. By the time Guy Pearce turns up slathered in old man make up that reminds one of Biff in Back to the Future II, I started to check out of the film plot-wise.

Michael Fassbender's fascinating performance as the android David makes up for many of the flaws of Prometheus. While the remaining cast seems underdeveloped and underused, Fassbender delivers a nuanced, complicated performance that focuses on the main philisophical questions of the film. We first see David entertaining himself on the journey while the crew remains in stasis, admiring TS Elliott in Lawrence Arabia and even going so far to mimic the character's hairstyle. The Weyland corporation programmed David with a singular goal: find the key to immortality. What it didn't provide was a singular path for David to achieve that goal. Far removed from the villainous Ash, David is more of a tinkerer that manuvers the crew into situations just to examine different outcomes. Yet Fassbander's David gives off a sense of real longing even while the crew loom down on him as being less than human and lacking a “soul”. Every now and again  Fassbander's body language or the slightest facial tic suggest that there's more going on underneath his surface than wire and electronics.

The ultimate conclusion I arrived at is just because Prometheus isn't as great as I'd like it to be, it doesn't mean it isn't great. It has more than its share of flaws that no marketing campaign or brilliant series of trailers can cover up. Yet the stunning visuals, breathtaking scope and mere fact that it's a blockbuster summer film that dares to offer ideas to chew on as well as eye candy make it worth the investment.

PROMETHEUS: Colossal Mess or Epic Success?

Prometheus (2012)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Written by Damon Lindelof and John Spaihts
Prometheus Official Site

From the moment the teaser trailer for Ridley Scott's proposed "prequel" to the Alien franchise hit the web, it was near impossible to keep expectations at a reasonable level for Prometheus. Not only was Scott returning to science fiction after three decades, but also returning to the universe where he first captured the hearts and minds of legions of fans. The mythos of the Alien universe may not be as popular or recognized as Star Wars or even The Matrix, but it is every bit as prolific. There have been numerous spin offs in video games, comics, and even crossovers with other franchises like Predator. For many fans, this was to be *the* event of the summer. I'd consider myself part of that camp.

We'd been assured two things about Prometheus: One is that it would "share DNA" with the Alien series, but still retain its own identity and ability to breath on its own. Two, that it would be a mind-blowing journey into religion, science, genetics, robots, and otherworldly monsters. Promising both depth and spectacle, Prometheus was sure to be the antidote to dumbed down popcorn movies littering the theaters this time of year. A film in search of the architect(s) of the universe - fueled by one of the giants in the genre - should be a game-changer, right?

What I found is a film with cool space vehicles, an intriguing premise, and sumptuous visuals that flirted with profundity, but was also occasionally dumb and overblown. I'd consider it a success, but one marred by trying to shoehorn its Alien brethren into the formula. General complaints from reviewers and filmgoers seem to point to "unanswered questions" as being the main culprit in holding the film back. What I found was a film that was surprisingly straightforward. I would agree that the film had much loftier goals than say Battleship, but that Prometheus, for me, runs the risk of being forgotten by the end of the week.

I don't want to recap the entire synopsis of Prometheus. For posterity, it's the story of the crew - a collection of archeologists, geologists, linguists, and other scientists - of the Prometheus, a space exploration vessel funded by the mega-rich and powerful Peter Weyland (Guy Pierce) of Weyland Industries.  The ship is on a course charted by a "star map" uncovered by a pair of archeologists, Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charles Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green). Their hope is that the coordinates will lead them to our makers, a race of super-beings referred to as "Engineers". As Elizabeth states, "it's not a map, it's an invitation".

The crew, led by the fiercely corporate Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), explores an ancient structure that houses multitudes of canisters, as well as the dead remains of the Engineers. Upon finding the supposed creators dead, the group is more than a little discouraged. When David, the android caretaker and translator of the mission, sneaks a canister aboard the Prometheus, he sets off a chain of events that will touch upon interstellar evolution, existentialism, religion, and genocide. In this, Prometheus is daring to go places other films only dream.

The cast is competent with Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron holding down the fort in their respective roles. Fassbender is no doubt the conversation piece of the film. His performance is riveting despite an overall feeling of being underdeveloped. Rapace channels pathos where events get a little ridiculous, such as a tense scene in an automated surgery bed. She honestly kept me from rolling my eyes where a less capable actor would have failed. She made it work. I was hoping Theron's character wouldn't have been so predictably cold, but the archetype did add an element of "is she or isn't she an android" into the mix. Although a lot of her actions belie any notion of prior programming, the question still looms.

Ultimately, Prometheus is just about everything it was supposed to be except for mind-blowing. Where the trailer literally gave me goosebumps, I did not feel the same during any moment of the full film. Even though Alien was made over 30 years ago, there was a true sense of awe and other worldliness I felt from the moment the Nostromo touched down on the Alien planet. Maybe I'm just jaded by years and years of other CGI "epic" fantasy and sci-fi films. Prometheus is certainly more purely science fiction than its predecessors. However, it may have been those eerie, scary, claustrophobic moments I was missing all along.  There's an anti-climactic feeling by the end that speaks more of the by-the-numbers action-packed cliffhanger ending than any hanging philosophical questions.

By no means am I suggesting you avoid the film. I'd just turn the expectation meter down a few notches. It's a case of ambition superceded by compromise. I'll still take this kind of film over Transformers or Battleship any day.

Prometheus Trailer

THE SWEET HAND OF THE WHITE ROSE: A Twisted, Bloody Fate

The Sweet Hand of the White Rose (2010)
Written and Directed by Davide Melini
The Sweet Hand of the White Rose Official Site
Davide Melini's Blog

Italian filmmaker Davide Melini is clearly a student of the stylish films of Mario Bava and Dario Argento. His films are shot in a colorful dream-like quality rich with visual flair. The striking visuals are usually strong enough to carry the story without dialogue. He follows up his intriguing short The Puzzle with the despairing short The Sweet Hand of the White Rose. The film is a story of star-crossed characters doomed to meet in tragedy. Melini has come a long way in expanding the scope here following up his nearly claustrophobic setting of the The Puzzle.

The film opens up in a loud and raucous music club where Marc (Carlos Bahos) has just had a fight with his girlfriend Mary (Leocricia Saban). He leaves in a huff, his car racing to escape his frustration and anger. Hoping to clear his head, he puts pedal to the metal. He is destined to meet the very young White Rose (Natasha Machuca), a young girl out enjoying the simple pleasures of the day. Their union is a collision course of blood and twisted metal in which Marc survives, but White Rose suffers a painful death. Yet, even in her death, their souls are forever entwined.Marc is doomed to meet White Rose a second time, but now she's returned to make Marc pay for his sin. Here it moves from tragic drama to outright horror as the blood-covered ghost of White Rose haunts Marc.

Melini and his cinematographer Jose Antonio Crespillo collaborate with Art Director Maria Cubiles to create some remarkably beautiful visuals. Religious iconography factors in heavily as Marc looks for forgiveness. He's not a bad guy, but he's made a terrible mistake. It's one for which he must atone. The images are symbolic and overt, and stunning attention-to-detail is given to the set design. Equally impressive is the camera and lighting work, clearly done by astute masters of their craft.

Melini's film is an overall solid, impressive work. I only have some minor complaints with the dubbing the English dialogue which felt a little awkward. Since the film is heavily narrated, it's a big factor. I might also argue that the opening scene in the music club feels like a totally separate body of work - perhaps as a genuine music video at some point - with the remainder of the film tacked on later. However, since both pieces of the film are so well done, this is easily overlooked. Neither detracts from the other, and I'm not even really complaining.

Melini informs me that he's currently working on a Giallo piece to be released in 2014. If anyone can accomplish the authentic look and feel of those atmospheric, nasty Italian films, it's him.

The Sweet Hand of the White Rose Trailer

A Film Only A Mother Could Love: MOTHER'S DAY

Darren Lynn Bousman's Mother's Day travelled a long, grinding path to see the light of day. On the eve of the DVD release Bousman detailed the troubled road the film took to see the light of day once production wrapped. After the initial distributor promised a two thousand screen push, the release date was pushed back without anyone telling Bousman. Calls went unreturned and Mother's Day languished on the shelf until Anchor Bay stepped in and bought the rights for a home release. It's a fascinating read as to all the things that can go wrong once a film is out of the director's hands.

Unfortunately, it's also far more interesting than anything in the actual film.

Bousman makes tortures films. I'm not just referring to the pair of Saw films under his belt or the violence, rape, death and maiming in this film. Bousman's films are often torture for the audience to sit through.

The skinny: An armed robbery attempt by three brothers ends with one bleeding out from a gut shot and a lack of loot. Panicked, the brother's make their way to their mother's house. What they don't know is mom lost the home and in foreclosure and the a new family and world's unhappiest couple is throwing a housewarming party that same night. When mother arrives on the scene, all hell is set to break loose.

If the above sounds like as unlikely and ridiculous scenario as you've ever heard, you'd be correct. It devolves from there. Mother's Day relies on increasing silly scenarios and an inability of a group of otherwise intelligent adults to make even a single smart decision in order to keep the ordeal going. It's the kind of film that eschews fear and tension for shooting a single mother in the face then callously dumping her body in a dumpster (though to everyone's surprise she lives). Violence  not as a natural occurence of the story, but a s away to fill beats every fifteen minutes. Anything not involving guns, knives or broken glass to someone's face is padding. Escape scenarios present themselves every other scene but are doomed to failure due to a run of bad luck not seen since the days of Job. Bousman dips into the “force two characters to do combat one another to prove a point” scenario a few times too many and watching De Mornay try to help get her wounded son's cherry busted just made me feel bad for everyone involved.

For her own sake I hope Rebecca De Mornay saved money from the Hands That Rocked The Cradle salad days. She deserves better fare than Mother's Day. Given little to work with, her performance consists of tight faced and bug eyed grimaces and spouting reassuring “mother knows best” platitudes delivered with the gusto often seen in what grandmother's call their “afternoon stories”. De Mornay gives it her all, but just can't raise the level of the poor material.

Unfortunately, it only gets worse once you get past De Mornay. The performances from the wounded brother Matt O' Leary and Warren Kole as the twitchy hotheaded brother would give Ed Wood pause. Try as I might, I couldn't bring myself to care for any of the captives. Jaime King takes on the nominal lead role among the group of hostages, but from the outset she seems a spilled glass of Chardonnay away from breaking down into hysteria.

Clocking in at an hour and fifty two minutes, Mother's Day is an exercise in just how much stupid one can cram in to two hours. Devoid of tension, a cohesive story, or a single character with a shed of empathy and a telegraphed, dour coda as you'll ever see in a film Mother's Day begs the question when the writers and director care so little for his own material, why should audiences?

JOE GOLEM AND THE DROWNING CITY: Of Monsters and Men

Joe Golem and the Drowning City: An Illustrated Novel (2012)
Written by Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola
Illustrations by Mike Mignola
284 Pages 
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Joe Golem and the Drowning City on Amazon
If you live in the Boston area, buy it at Hub Comics or Porter Square Books



You never know what you'll get on the plate when the chef hats are hoisted onto Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and prolific author Christopher Golden (The Ferryman, The Boys Are Back). Their previous collaboration, Baltimore: Or the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, was an exploration of world war history, but with a bloody vampiric edge. Mignola's knowledge of folklore blends seamlessly with his obvious love of history, detective stories, and good old fashioned horror. Golden, whose writing radiates with emotional depth, is the perfect co-conspirator. When the two work together, you can be guaranteed a concoction of grotesque monsters, strange machines, and a fascinating cast of characters. You can also count on a profound sense of sincerity and humanity amidst Lovecraftian levels of horror.

Their latest tale, Joe Golem and the Drowning City, is a nightmarish steampunk vision of lower Manhattan, now 30 feet underwater as the result of cataclysmic earthquakes and flooding. Fifty years later, fiery young Molly McHugh traverses the still sinking city via rooftop, avoiding scavengers, water rats, and worse. Her employer and caretaker, the once famous magician Felix Orlov, now ekes out a living as a psychic medium. After a botched seance, Felix is taken prisoner by a group of strange men in gas masks. Molly attempts to track them down, but finds herself pursued by the monstrous masked men.

Molly is rescued by the hulking Joe Golem, a stoic brute who speaks with his massive fists. They hide out in the home of Simon Church, a brilliant but ailing detective who keeps tabs on the strange underworld. Church's continuing life depends on a mechanical heart, keeping his ultimate foe, death, at bay for the moment. Church fears that a powerful, arcane device called Lector's Pentaljulum will fall into the hands of the evil Dr. Cocteau.Cocteau, ringleader of the gas-masked men, has plans for the device: plans that will have him communicate with otherworldly monsters to bring about the destruction of our world.

In this sort of high stakes tale you might expect character development to take a back seat to the action. This is not the case in Joe Golem. Though there are striking descriptions of the complex subterranean world amidst white-knuckle action, the characters are equally vivid. Molly is tough and cunning, but fiercely loyal to Felix. Joe is brutish, but possesses a kindness that runs counter to Molly's experience in the drowning city. The two form a bond, one that will have them take risks where otherwise they'd only look out for themselves. Their relationship is touching, and it speaks of the human connection for which we all long.

At the core of the story lies the question: What separates man from monster? If you're familiar with Mignola's work, you know there's usually more to fear from his human characters, and kindness can manifest in terrifying, hulking creatures. Joe Golem is akin to Hellboy in that his rough-and-tumble exterior is betrayed by a kind heart. One might find either of them petting a kitten shortly after pummeling a giant beast. Once Joe's true nature is revealed, it's remarkable he's able to feel much at all. Joe's back story fuels a bittersweet final act full of teary goodbyes.

Most of all, Joe Golem and the Drowing City is about finding family in unlikely places. When you're cold and alone, surrounded by rising water, attacked by masked monsters, what better comfort than to find companionship in a person whose very existence is to fight evil? That's one hell of a friend.

I can't recommend this book enough. Buy it. That's it.       

Scorpio Films Releasing Debuts MURDER UNIVERSITY Trailer

No sooner than Richard Griffin's last film was in the can, than he was already hard at work on the next. Scorpio Films Releasing has debuted the trailer for MURDER UNIVERSITY, a throwback to 80's campus slasher films.  If you're familiar with Griffin's work in films like Nun of That and The Disco Exorcist, you know there will be plenty of blood, boobs, and blasphemy.

Here's a peek at what might be Griffin's best offering yet. This homage looks to be a gory and hilarious work of beauty. The film stars Jamie Dufault, Michael Thurber, and Sammi Acampora. At Murder University, the tuition isn't the only thing that will kill you!

The film has its World Premiere on Sunday, August 5, 2012 at CinemaWorld in the Lincoln Mall in Lincoln RI. Screenings at 7 pm and 9 pm. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Lunchbreak Horror: THE DEVIL's BOARD

This week's short film proves once again why it's always better to break out the XBOX and not a Ouija board. as much as hypersensitive parental groups like to rail against the moral depravity games like Grand Theft Auto (by the way, does anyone else find it hypocritical that these groups protest against running down a pixilated hooker yet rail against prostitution as vice and sin?) yet no one ever had their innards turned to mush and their blood splattered all over the curtains playing a video game.

When three bored teen girls mistake a Ouija board for the new limited edition Katy Perry 12" vinyl, they decide to give it a go and play for a lark. When they make communication with a dead little girl, they discover that not all pigtailed cherubs are made of sugar and spice and all things nice. At five minutes and change, The Devil's Board moves fast and has a fantastic ending, especially the creepy voice you'll hear at the end. Enjoy!

MADISON COUNTY Adds Some New Spice To Slasher Comfort Food

Written & directed by Eric England

IMDB Page

Horror fans have a love hate relationship with the slasher genre. For the most part we keep a soft spot in our hearts for the classic franchises and one off films of the eighties. We'll often overlook or even embrace the glaring flaws of these films-the poor acting, the glaring plot holes, the rigid morality that punishes overt sexuality or cutting loose with a drink or twelve-as long as the kill scenes deliver. Perhaps it's feeling of contentment (similar to the feelings that her binky and teddy bear evoke in my two year old), the idea that we know what we're getting ourselves into, that brings fans back to the slasher.

Madison County's opening moments are familiar to anyone that's ever watched a slasher film. A battered, bruised and near nude young woman escapes from the back of a pickup truck and runs screaming down the road for help. Her captor incapacitates her and drags her back. What makes this scene different from the hundreds of others is the action takes place in full view of an old timer resting his heels on his front porch without a care in the world. The relaxed look on the codger's face clues the viewer in that this is just a typical afternoon in town and that Madison County will bring just enough new ideas to the table to make for an enjoyable time.

One of the biggest flaws of modern slasher films is the seeming inability to create likeable cannon fodder. Part of the allure of the classic slasher is the kids in the theater could empathize with the kids on screen. Post Scream, when the slasher film experienced a revival of sorts, studios began filling movies with the stars of CW dramas looking for a project in between seasons. Even worse, the thought of scripting compelling characters one could root for was chucked out the window and replaced with textbook douche nozzles and chuckleheads you couldn't wait to see bit it in horrific and painful ways. Madison County takes the time to a create likeable, if bland, group of college students en route to slaughter. Even the token jerk of the group is given a reason for his surliness (he can't stand his sister's boyfriend and tags along to keep an eye on him) and while he never warms up, he at least comes around to backing up his companions when called upon.

James (Colley Bailey) is a journalism major investigating the truth behind a new book detailing the crimes of an unknown serial killer and a small town's complicity in covering his tracks. His potential girlfriend, best friend, best friend's girlfriend and best friend's girlfriend's surly older brother tag along for a ride to the back water town. The locals are, of course, none too helpful or happy to see the kids and insist the book is nothing more than a flight of fancy from the long-since left town author. Smelling something funky (aside from the deer musk the redneck hunters cover themselves in) the group sets out to investigate on their own.

We've seen this movie before and have a strong notion that things aren't going to turn out well for our Scooby gang. Yet writer/director Eric England brings just enough in the way fresh ideas along with a confidence in his own abilities to make Madison County a decent watch. For one, he's got a fantastic slasher killer in Damien (Nick Principe, “Chromeskull” in the Laid to Rest franchise). Sticking to the strong and silent mold of villainy, Damien still finds a way to taunt his potential victims through body language and mocking squeals when they beg for help or mercy. England also demonstrates a flair for framing an iconic shot, including a stalking from behind sequence (while our poor schlub is taking a leak no less. Can you think of a more undignified way to go, with your willy hanging out for the forensics team to find when investigating the crime scene?) and a landscape shot of Damien striding towards his his unaware prey. There's also a laugh out loud “missed connection” moment that kicks off the epilogue that displays fantastic gallows humor.

Not so out of the norm is Madison County's reliance on having otherwise intelligent characters take stupid pills in order to necessitate poor decisions that drive the plot forward. While there are precious few absolutes in life, I can tell you with certainty that one of them is if I never see another film where a group of friends stumble upon mysterious circumstances and decide to scatter like the wind and explore it will be too soon. In the thirty years of the slasher film someone out there MUST have come up with an idea to create tension n ways aside from having a young couple wandering aimlessly through the murder shack.

Also, I've always struggled to accept that a generation of Mortal Kombat playing kids that had the phrase “FINISH HIM” burned into their brains fail to press the advantage when they have a killer at their mercy. When faced with a human threat that believes washing himself in your best friend's blood will attract the ladies in a similar manner as Axe body wash, then taking one more swing of the pickaxe, or driving the business end of a shovel through the adversaries throat should be high on one's priorities list before hoofing it away on foot.

The overall impression Madison County left me with is it was like very good Chinese food. I knew what I was getting going into it, definitely enjoyed it while it was on, but found myself hungry for something more an hour or so later. Madison County manages to deliver a few nice wrinkles, but it's not too far removed from the norm. It's definitely worth the watch on a night you're looking for some comfort food. 

THE SKY HAS FALLEN: Pulling Off a Zombie Plague With Pocket Change

The Sky Has Fallen (2009)
Written and Directed by Doug Roos
The Sky Has Fallen Official Site

There are many ways thrifty filmmakers can overcome tiny budgets to produce a memorable film. Unique shot selections, a tightly written story, and a little elbow grease can go a long way in lessening the deficit. Filmmakers we consider masters of the genre used innovation in the face of ultra low budgets to deliver respected and revered films. Getting the most out of the building blocks - the script, actors, and location - is the first step in making true magic happen. It doesn't hurt to have a few stomach-churning special effects.

Microbudget filmmaker Doug Roos obviously has a love for the mavericks of which I speak. His self-funded post-apocalyptic zombie splatter feature The Sky Has Fallen is clearly a love letter to Raimi and Romero, post-apocalypse films like Versus and Stake Land, and even a hint of the Leone spaghetti western. Though his film is an ode to those masters, his film does fall a little short of displaying the dizzying innovation of his forebears. Roos - wearing many hats on this production - splashes buckets blood and gore across the film. However, amazing special makeup effects and wall-to-wall gore isn't necessarily enough to make up for shortcomings in the other categories.

The Sky Has Fallen is a character-driven zombie apocalypse film. It's the story of Lance (Carey MacLaren) and Rachel (Laurel Kemper), two survivors drawn together by the need for survival and companionship. The stoic Lance, a sword-wielding warrior, is reluctant to team with Rachel on his quest for vengeance against the "Leader" of a pack of vicious mutant zombies. Guilt prevails, and Lance agrees to let Rachel tag along. On the path, they encounter hordes of mutated undead creatures assembled from spare parts, as well as eerie hooded beings responsible for the disease. Armed with a sword, guns, and vitriol, the two turn the woods into an abattoir on their way to a showdown with the mysterious Leader. 

If The Sky Has Fallen was made to showcase the effects work of Roos and his fellow artists, then it is a success. The work here is impressive, especially considering the pennies at their disposal. A number of the creatures have been pieced together from numerous bodies by the Leader. The sight of their shambling bodies and gore-encrusted visages harken back to those classic Fulci zombies in Zombi 2 and City of the Living Dead. They aren't recognizable as once human, and they're quite repulsive. I'm not sure if a creepier group of zombies has been assembled in quite some time. 

I have to give Roos props because he did attempt to add some depth to his characters. Similar films use characters merely as vessels to get from one violent set piece to another. Roos tries to give some gravity to his characters by having them recount pieces of their personal histories to one another. Roos is at least trying to develop his characters, and he clearly cares about them. The problem is that the dialogue is stilted and cliche. Lance delivers the standard tough loner lines without a hint of irony. It doesn't help that both MacLaren and Kemper speak in a monotone bordering on wooden. I do understand the reasoning behind it. Roos has tried desperately to bring a level of sadness and longing to the table. I just don't think the actors are capable of reaching the appropriate level of emotion to pull it off.

Another problem with the film is that it's very repetitious. There are multiple scenes of Lance cutting down groups of zombies. These are followed by bonding moments between Lance and Rachel, walking and conversing in the woods. Roos uses nearly all close ups of faces and medium shots of swinging swords to show the action, and a similar assemblage of close ups for the non-action scenes. There isn't enough variety to get the full scope, so it sometimes looks like we're seeing the same few shots over and over. He's also missing longer, wider shots to establish a sense of place. His film takes place mostly in the woods, but there isn't much visual hint at the devastation to the rest of the world. This could have been something as simple as finding a dilapidated old factory, and getting some shots of wandering zombies there. I'm not sure if not having enough money is a viable excuse here. The real solution would be having a DP willing to take more chances and really get creative.

I'd like to comment on the film score which contains some very somber orchestral music. It's a great score by James Sizemore, and one that raises the level of the film. It also proves that Roos was aiming higher than what we get from the finished product. It's choices like these that I admire.

I'd recommend The Sky Has Fallen mostly to gore fans and those who appreciate a DIY approach to filmmaking. To Mr. Roos, I'd suggest spending a little more time polishing the screenplay, expand your shot selection a bit, and really work with your actors and you'll get there. Despite my list of complaints, there is a solid foundation here, one that hints at an artist with some great potential and a whole lot of heart.

The Sky Has Fallen Trailer

MONSTER BED (Short Film Review)

Review by Sean Thompson

Written and Directed by Nic Pusic

Killer beds have been done before: the bed from the end of the first Nightmare on Elm Street and a flick from the 70’s called Death Bed among them. That said, Monster Bed is entertaining enough. It’s not ground breaking, but then, I didn’t expect it to be for a low budget short about a killer bed.

The acting is passable. Janice played by Kristina Esposito is okay, Sandra played by Victoria Lord same deal. Writer director Nick Pusic plays Mark and has about three lines, so he did all right for them, and he played dead well. The other two guys who are eaten by the bed, Jake played by Hani Zakaria, and Petro played by Tony Babcock are also passing. When I say passing, I mean you don’t watch them and go, terrible! You go, yeah okay, works for what it is.

The deaths aren’t anything spectacular. The special effects are practically non existent, but then those are hard to do with a low budget, and I doubt Nick had much of a budge for his 6 minute killer bed short. However, some playful camera tricks could have been employed to get around this budgetary constraint. C’est la vie.

The dialogue is, well it’s there. Not the worst I’ve ever heard, some of the lines give you a giggle, but the last line of the film makes it seem as though the whole short is one elaborate punch line.

I guess at the end of the day, the problem is in the point of it all. Funny; somewhat. Horrific; no, but I don’t think it was supposed to be. I’m sure it was fun to make, having made a couple shorts myself (they were terrible, don’t even ask) and it was better than some of the schlock I’ve sat through before. I just wish something new was brought to the bed here. The getting sucked through the bed thing is owned by the first Nightmare; there just isn’t anyway around that. The getting sucked under the bed thing is Poltergeist, minus the clown toy. I know, you aren’t supposed to judge a film based around other films; it should stand on it’s own merits and faults. But, even neglecting the similarities in bed attacks, this thing was still lacking some oomph. I give it three killer beds out of five.  

(Sean lives a quiet life, with a world of darkness locked away inside his fevered mind. He grew up in Central Massachusetts. In his free time he writes for his blog www.spookysean.com, and creates fiction your parents wouldn’t approve of.)

PRETTY DEAD: An Intimate Zombie Case Study

Pretty Dead (2012)
Directed by Benjamin Wilkins
Written by Joe Cook and Benjamin Wilkins
Pretty Dead Official Site

It's interesting timing that Benjamin Wilkins' chilling feature film Pretty Dead has come into my hands. Considering this horrific event and similar that have played out over the past few days, I'd say the film is damn timely. With the popularity of zombie apocalypse films, TV shows, zombie walks, and the like, the reality is that a zombie attack scenario would be anything but fun and exciting. Watching a loved one succumb to such a condition would be tragic.

Pretty Dead has two hurdles to clear: One is that it'll be lumped in with a multitude of zombie films great and small that have been released over the past two decades. Two is that it'll be grouped with a plethora of "found footage" films plugging up the multiplexes. While there's certainly no end in sight to these genre trends, Wilkins' film might be met with ire from jaded horror fans who are starving for something different.

Unbeknownst to them, Pretty Dead IS that antidote. It's a clinical, depressing, and horrifying look at a potential zombie outbreak scenario that is actually plausible. According to Wilkins and co-writer Joe Cook, they have created a medically accurate depiction of zombieism. Their presentation is emotional, intelligent, and frightening. Though the film is very minimal in scale, the implications are wide-reaching.

Aspiring medical student Regina (Carly Oates) has just passed her Medical Licensing exam. She, and her boyfriend Ryan (Ryan Shogren), have just gotten engaged. It appears all her dreams are coming true. After a night of celebration - hastily shirking responsibility for once in her life - she experiments with drugs that leave her very sick and hospitalized. After recovering from the mysterious illness, Regina finds herself with a newfound hunger for flesh that may or may not be caused by a parasitic fungus called Cordyceps.

Cordyceps attacks its host Regina in the blood. At first the effects manifest in a playful way, Regina taking a bite out Ryan while they're messing around. Regina plays it off, but Ryan is concerned by the wound that is much more painful than a hickey. Ever the scientist, Regina becomes her own test subject allowing herself to explore her desires in a controlled environment. Ryan entertains her cravings and hypotheses because he's also curious, but also because he loves Regina dearly. As her hunger grows, Regina exhibits other disturbing symptoms like slowing pulse, quick healing ability, and bizarre changes to her physical appearance. Regina's medical curiosity piqued, she and Ryan decide to document everything. The film is a culmination of their two months of shooting, as well as footage from various clinics and institutions.

Pretty Dead gets complicated when Regina takes to killing to satiate her need. As the fungal infection grows, it deteriorates Regina's mind. Ryan is at first supportive of Regina's study, but he soon grows to fear for both his and Regina's safety. After a failed suicide attempt, Regina is placed in the skeptical hands of the medical and psychiatric community. The doctors think her problems are psychological. Regina, degenerating to an zombiefied state, tries desperately to convince them otherwise.

As with most microbudget films, there are a lot of things to forgive. The sound quality is less-than-remarkable.The acting, particularly from the supporting players, is a bit spotty. It's sometimes a strain to believe the action in the scenes are spontaneous. A little more improv or candid moments may have helped lift the weight of the obviously scripted dialogue. A music score has also been added to the film. It's actually a very good score, particularly some string music in some tense scenes. Whether or not it detracts from the realism is up for debate, though I do think the music adds a discomforting atmosphere to the film.

Another criticism I have is that Regina and Ryan accept the flesh eating problem a little too easily. They are freely and casually discussing Regina eating human fat without batting an eye. I suspect the film is somewhat tongue-in-cheek in this regard, but it's occasionally a lot to swallow because it sacrifices the realism. Both characters could have been a little more freaked out by the events unfolding. This said, Oates and Shogren are still the anchors. Their relationship feels believable, and the two handle their roles with finesse. Oates displays quite a dynamic of acting chops ranging from uptight student to leaping snarling monster. She carries the film admirably.

The elements that are done well more than make up for some of the deficiencies. The story itself is compelling, and we do feel for the couple's plight. Cannibalism or zombieism can stand in for any sort of addictive problem like alcoholism or other severe dependency issue, as well as suffering from a degenerative disease. I think most anyone can relate to the struggles of this couple in some way. Sure, it might be weird that Ryan agrees to help Regina in some of the situations, but we'd do the same for a loved one.

Pretty Dead also contains some expertly composed, claustrophobic shots of decrepit institutions. The final sequence is edited very powerfully, and the climax resonates long after viewing. There's a kinship between Wilkins' film and Elias Matar's Ashes. Both strive for realism and medical accuracy, flying in the face of conventional zombie films. In my opinion, Pretty Dead is an important addition to the zombie canon, and as such, is one of the most intimate looks at the subject.

Pretty Dead Trailer