Deers Sort Of Getting Their Revenge

For the first time in almost half a year, I have reached double digits! I admit that I wasn't so sure I would when this month began. I think what helped me get back into the mood was that I had so many movies to watch lately. With the Instant Watch stuff ending, which I am still writing about now, and then watching all those movies at the convention as well. Not all of these movies have been all that exciting to write about, but I at least feel the desire to write about movies and such again. Being off all week has helped too. I don't feel so pressed for time. The next movie I watched a while back was called The Hunt (2006). If you look closely at the movie poster for this one, you will probably get the general idea of what is doing the hunting.

Jack (Joe Michael Burke) has an idea about making hunting videos. He believes that what is out there for hunting videos doesn't cover how to hunt with a bow very well. So he teams up with his friend Atticus (Robert Rusler), who was once a camera man for a news station. Because of that, Jack feels that Atticus has an eye for detail. Jack is also using this as a way to bond with his stepson Clint (Mitchell Burns). After getting some funding from his father-in-law (Cliff De Young), they set out to hunt down a deer.When they first get to the area they will be hunting in, they are warned off by some guy. Since they paid to hunt on the land, they head in anyway. After tracking and wounding a deer, they follow it to a fenced in area. Having not found another deer all day, and wanting to get all their footage, they go into the fenced in area and become the hunted. Days later a search party is sent in to find them. What happened that caused them to disappear?

The Hunt is a low budget film by co-writer/director Fritz Kiersch. I found it a little confusing at first because there are two stories going on. There is the story about Jack and Atticus, and there is the story of Jon (the father-in-law) trying to find out what happened. There is a constant back and forth between the two stories. Dates are provided, and the time of day is always given. This does help a little so we know which story is being followed, but I found the constant time showing up to be annoying. It doesn't help move the plot along at all so why bother? In a way the second story serves a purpose by cutting back to it. Before we get to know the characters, we find out that something happens to them that causes them to disappear. We find out that the government has shut down the search, but why? There is also a scene where someone is found, but Kiersch is smart enough not to reveal who until after the main story gets to that point. So in a way, despite the annoying back and forth, it does serve a purpose of helping to build suspense.

There isn't really anything for effects as far as gore goes, but the things that do the killing are interesting looking to some degree. Even though it is probably obvious what the things are, I'm still trying to spoil the twist. The things look cool, but the use of CGI to make them appear to move super fast. The acting wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. While all the main actors could have been a little better at times, I still didn't have any major complaints about anyone. I especially liked Joe Michael Burke. I liked his acting even more so when he was being host for the video they were making. He should consider doing that for real.

If you don't know the directors name, he also directed that 1984 version of Children Of The Corn. I didn't know it at the time but I found it pretty cool. I haven't watched anything else that he has directed so far though. For me it was his first directors job, and his last...so far anyway. Anyway, I was starting to wonder if anything exciting was going to happen in The Hunt. Hunting animals isn't exciting for me, but the second story about the search for them did keep it interesting a little bit at least. I still think the two stories could have been handled a little better to make it less confusing. Even so, The Hunt wasn't an all that bad of a movie. Not a great film, and I'm sure many will find it to be too slow. If it does sound interesting to you though, give it a watch someday.
3 out of 5 Would have been more fun if the twist was deers getting their revenge

Cursed To Eat

As I work ahead some, I'm not writing the reviews so much as I am just making a few notes. I decided to do this so I wouldn't forget things I wanted to talk about in each of these reviews. Six movies is a lot to remember for, plus watching other movies as well as doing those reviews. If I had known with more advance that I would have a bunch of movies to watch as I neared my 900th post, I would have gone with a different favorite, and not one in a series. Of course I didn't have to watch the entire series, but I said I was going to do a series review, so that is what I did. Ah well, not a big deal really. Just means I have a lot of writing ahead of me. Good for my blog since the numbers are real low anyway. This is a review for the 2006 film Trespassers.

Tyler (Brendan McIvor Fleming) has found a great surfing spot. Him and his friends have the beach and surf all to themselves with no locals around. He calls up his brother Colin (Kaiwi Lyman) to tell him to get down to Mexico to join up with him. Colin then invites his friends Lucky (Alex Feldman) and Javier (Jon Ada). He also invites his girlfriend Ashley (Michelle Borth) and her friend Rose (Joleigh Fioravanti). After some minor adventures with the drive there, they make it to the beach that Tyler told them about. They found some dirt bikes, but they can't find Tyler or any of his friends. Thinking they all took off to a nearby town, they decide to start enjoying the water. That is until Lucky goes off on his own and finds the camp that Tyler and friends made. What is found there changes everything.

Trespassers is a low budget film by co-writer/director Ian McCrudden. Things start off a little slow since the movie doesn't get right to things on the beach. This period, and even the period before things start to go wrong, was kind of fun though. There was some funny moments, and a touch of nudity to throw in as well. We know from the start of the film that something bad happened to Tyler and friends, but we don't know what for sure. It was easy to see that Trespassers is a low budget film for a couple of reasons. One was the complete absence of effects. Sure there is a little blood, but when someone is being attacked, there is nothing there to be seen. To hide the fact that no effects are being used during the attack scenes, we get a camera that moves around a lot. This hides things, but it very hard to figure out what is going on at times and the close ups don't always help either. This doesn't really take away from Trespassers, but it doesn't really help either. I watched this through Netflix, but there are plenty of people complaining that the box makes this movie sound like a zombie movie. There are quotes comparing it to other zombie movies apparently. This is not a zombie movie. I don't want to give away too much, but will say it all has to do with a curse.

There is a scene where we get to see some dead bodies, but even that wasn't a great effect. These weren't bad effects, just nothing that stands out. The acting was much the same way. I didn't have much of a problem with any of the leads, but no one really stood out to me. Kaiwi Lyman felt a bit on the flat side, and he is one of the people we have to deal with the longest.

Another thing that annoyed me some is when Colin and Ashley are running around trying to hide, they find time to have sex. Then again, it was funny when they get caught and have to defend themselves on the fly. Despite the problems, I did enjoy this one. The back story for the reason behind what is happening was a little different and interesting. It also didn't end the way I figured it would, which was really a good thing. I just had this feeling it was going to end in a certain cliche way, and was happy when it didn't happen that way. Not that the ending was great, but I was still happy with it. Trespassers isn't a great film by any means, but if you are willing to give this movie a shot, I think most will find it to be an okay film. It kept me interested in what was going on, which is a lot more than I can say for other films.
3 out of 5 No plans for me to visit Mexico, curse or not

There Really Are Phantoms

As I write this, I am working a bit ahead. I haven't started the series reviews for Phantasm yet, which will be up before this one. I discovered that a bunch of movies I have in my Instant Watch queue will be taken out soon. Six movies and five days to watch them all in. I know I don't have to watch them all, but I will get to them quicker this way than I will by moving them to my DVD queue. I may not get them all wrote up before I get them all watched, but I figure I will try and get some of them done. First up is a movie I added way back when I did a rare guest review for And Now The Screaming Starts. I wasn't sure which movie I was going to review there, but I had it down to two movies. The Phantom Of The Opera (1925) was the movie I didn't go with at that time.

In an opera house in Paris, the owners are selling the opera house to a pair of new owners. As they ink the deal, they are warned about the phantom that haunts the opera house. Laughing it off at first, they are told that he stays in a certain balcony. When they investigate that balcony, there is someone there. A lady that works there says all she knows about the man is that his name is Eric. He watches each performance, and seems to like one woman more than the others. Before the opera of Faust, the lead singer Carlotta (Virginia Pearson (1925) or Mary Fabian (1929)) gets a note warning her to give up the role or something bad will happen to her. In her place will be Christine Daae (Mary Philbin), an unknown, but the favorite of the phantom. Eric (Lon Chaney) has plans for Christine, but what could they be?

I admit that I haven't watched very many movies out of the silent film era. If my memory is correct, this is only the fourth such film that I have watched. I'm not a big fan of the movies to be honest. It isn't because they are silent films, or because they are in black and white (for the most part). It is mainly because so little is told in text that I feel like I am missing something important. Of course if it was important, they would put it up one the screen for us I suppose. Still, I see people talking and wonder what is being said. I get why people like this version of The Phantom Of The Opera. There are actually a lot of versions of this movie out there, and I don't mean ones that came after. There seems to be a few different run times for this movie, sometimes depending on the country. From what I was reading in the trivia though, when The Phantom Of The Opera was re-released in 1929, parts of the movie was changed. Either it was edited differently, or parts was completely reshot. Even though Netflix lists it as 1925, I still had to wonder which version I was watching.

If the silent movie era has impressed me with anything, it is the fantastic sets that they used. It is something we just don't see much in today's horror films. I noticed that The Phantom Of The Opera was heavy in atmosphere, which was probably the best thing about this movie for me. I didn't care much about the story itself though. I sure didn't get why Christine was in love with Eric, considering she had never seen him. I guess it would be like the internet today, but having a guy hide behind a wall while telling me things is a bit creepy to me and not romantic. I also didn't get the boyfriend. Raoul seems more worried about his own appearance than anything else.

There are stories of women fainting during the unmasking scene. It reminded me of the stories of The Exorcist actually. Lon Chaney's makeup, which he designed and did himself, is truly remarkable. I have never watched The Phantom Of The Opera up until now, but the clip of the unmasking has been used many of times, so it lost its impact for me. I think the makeup for Eric would still hold up today. Something that surprised me a lot was that some scenes had a touch of color to them. It was a bit confusing when color started to show up, since I thought this was just a black and white movie. I was trying to figure out if this was part of the movie or added in later. As it turns out, some color was used.

Something that annoyed me was the mob towards the end. I know not all horror movies ended this way back in the day, but it sure seems like a lot of them did. I don't know...I see why The Phantom Of The Opera has managed to be popular even today, but at the same time I wasn't really feeling it. I'm sure it will always be considered a classic, but for me it was just an okay film. I think it has more to do with always hearing about it since I have become a big fan of the horror genre. It is why I have avoided some of the classics. They get so hyped up that they can't be as good as you believe once you do get around to it.
3 out of 5 Be leery of people that you never met that claim they love you

Exposing Movies From The Philippines

In between the two movies that was screen Sunday, there was the Friday The 13th Part VI panel which featured writer/director Tom McLoughlin, Thom Mathews, David Kagen and NancyMcLoughlin. It was the only panel that I went to over the weekend. It was an interesting panel, with some fun stories about the movie. I don't usually go to the panels just because I usually have a hard time hearing what the people on the stage are saying at times. I was close enough this time I could hear everyone fine even without a mic. I stuck around after for the last film of the weekend: Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010). It got a late start because we were waiting around for Sid Haig to come in for an introduction. I think many of us thought this was a film like all the others shown, but it is actually a documentary.

Machete Maidens Unleashed is about the film industry that took off in the late 1960s through the early 1980s over in the Philippines. Prior to the late 1960s, the Philippines was churning out movies, but none of them were given an international release. But that all changed, and quickly. With cheap labor and some beautiful land to film on, directors flocked there to make movies. With a few exceptions, they were never big budget films, but they were a hit with drive-in theaters. Machete Maidens Unleashed is the story about this boom as told by the people that made the movies.

As much as I love watching low budget films, I can't say that I have watched all that many films that have come out of the Philippines. While Sid was introducing the movie to us, I noticed a couple of people get up and leave, and a few more left after the movie had been on a while. Even though I wasn't all that interested in the subject of the documentary, and I was ready to start heading back home, I still stuck through it. I figured I had watched all the other screenings, why skip out on the last one? Machete Maidens Unleashed mostly puts its spotlight on Roger Corman. It highlights films that Corman produced during this time. There are all kinds of interview clips from Corman as well. He isn't the only one though. There are also clips from Joe Dante, John Landis, R. Lee Ermey, Pam Greer and of course Sid Haig. There are many, many others that give interview clips as well.

One of the interesting things to come out of this documentary was that the woman involved in the movies felt that they were doing something important with them. Even though a big chunk of the movies showed women having bad things done to them, the women playing the parts still felt that they were important roles because they always came out on top despite of things. As they pointed out, women didn't get the lead roles in action films back then, except for these movies. I found Machete Maidens Unleashed more interesting when it got to this section of interview clips.

There is some interview clips from native directors, but really they aren't highlighted much. Since I don't know the history of these films at all, I don't know if it was because director Mark Hartley is just in love with Roger Corman, or if those films just didn't have the same impact. Still, it gives an decent over view of the films that were being made through this time period in the Philippines. It was also interesting to hear about the stunt work, and how dangerous it could be for the stunt people. Sid Haig pointed out before the movie that while he was working on The Big Bird Cage, extras were being paid $1 a day. He said most of them didn't care, they just wanted to be in a movie.

Machete Maidens Unleashed is an okay documentary. Sometimes it jumps around the movies being talked about that it is hard to keep track. I thought they were talking about one movie, only to discover they had moved on to some other movie. There are plenty of clips from movies they talk about, but not having watched any of them, they were somewhat pointless to me. The interviews were fun, and a lot of the things said was getting people to laugh at times. Horror movies that were done, which didn't seem to be many, are touched on, but not talked about for very long. Unless you are really into these films, or are interested in learning more about them, then I can't suggest going out of your way to find this one.
3 out of 5 Thinking they could have found a better title

Puppets Attack!

I'm getting close to be done with the reviews from the screenings this last weekend. I posted a review over at Top Horror Movies Club for the movie Chillerama, which turned out to be my favorite of all the screenings. Check it out when you get the chance. After the second screening Saturday, I went out and got the autograph I told Dawn I would get, plus I checked out the line for Anthony Michael Hall. It was real short so I got in line for him. He is a super nice guy. I also got an autograph from Alex Winter, who is also very nice. I loved him in the movie Freaked. I didn't have much to do Sunday, but there was two screenings to go to. The first one was called The Puppet Monster Massacre (2010). Writer/director Dustin Mills was there to talk about his movie.

Charlie (Ethan Holey) gets a letter one day offering him a million dollars if he can spend the night in a house that is supposed to be haunted. Unknown to him, but he quickly finds out, others have also been given the letter. There is Gwen (Jessica Daniels), who Charlie likes but is too afraid to tell her. Raimi (Dustin Mills), a film geek who is always trying to hit on the women. Iggy (Bart Flynn), a punk rocker, and his girlfriend Mona (Erica Kisseberth), who wasn't invited but shows up anyway. They all head to Wolfgang Wagner's (Steve Rimpici) house, who is an Nazi scientist who has engineered a monster. In needs something besides bunny's to eat though, so Wagner has gathered together the lowest life form known to man: teenagers.

The Puppet Monster Massacre was done using, if you haven't guessed yet, puppets. Dustin Mills said that he made the film for about $3,000, with his mom making all the puppets. This was his first film, and he has hopeful plans on a sequel that will be bigger. Mills also said that he grew up watching things like the Muppets, so wanted to do something in that vein. I admit that it took some getting used to, see puppets in a horror movie. Despite the puppets though, The Puppet Monster Massacre is not for kids. There is plenty of jokes about sex and even some puppet nudity, along with a real woman shown on TV. The backgrounds looked like they were done with CGI, or possibly paintings for some shots. I have read some reviews that complained about the backgrounds, but I liked them. To me they gave the puppets their own little world, and helped set the mood of the movie. The only complaint I found about the backgrounds is that when they were the main focus and the camera was moving across them, it would look choppy. It wasn't real bad, but noticeable. The story itself was fun, and I liked the characters. Raimi was probably my favorite, getting scared by any little thing.

Another review talked about how he would have liked to seen stuffing come flying out when something bad happened to one of the puppets. While this would have gone better with some of the jokes made in the film, there was something about seeing blood squirting out that appealed to me. The voice over work was well done, but there was times I thought the lines came a little too rushed.Someone would be talking and change the subject all in one breath it seemed like.

Even though the run time is only 70 minutes, The Puppet Monster Massacre was starting to wear thin towards the end of the movie. Some of the jokes were starting to run on a little too long and getting old. Still though, I enjoyed it. For the budget that was put in, Dustin Mills does a great job with it. As Mills pointed out, it is a movie to laugh at and poke fun at. Worth checking out if you can find it out there. Oh, if Dustin Mills's mom should happen to read this, great job on the puppets!
3 out of 5 I wonder if I would make a cute puppet

Exploding Women In Argentina

After exploring the convention some yesterday, I got in line for Kane Hodder. I promised Dawn, a friend I have made over at Top Horror Movies Club, that I would get his autograph for her. The line was actually short, so I thought I would have time to get it before the Cold Sweat (2010) screening began. There was a woman in front of me that was next, but someone was taking forever to get their things signed. Hodder had a photo op around the same time as the screening, so he was taken away for that before it was our turn. I gave up my place in line so I could get back to the screening. Don't worry though Dawn, I went back after the screening and was able to just walk right up to him. I went by a few minutes after that and there was another long line for him. Funny how things work out at times.

Sometime in the 1970's there was a political uprising in Argentina. A group known as Triple A came across 25 crates of TNT after a raid. When the political status changed, the headquarters of Triple A was raided, but the cases of TNT was never found. Now in present day we meet Román (Facundo Espinosa) and his friend Ali (Marina Glezer). Román can't find his girlfriend. She has left him for a guy that she has met on the internet. Thanks to his friend Ali, who has been talking to the same guy, they have traced the emails back to this guy's house. As they sit there, Román gets an email from his girlfriend basically telling him to forget about her. The email sent is the same IP address as the guy she went to meet up with, so Ali believes she is in the same house. Ali gets the invite to go into the house, so she does. After a long time, Román starts to get worried and sees an old man trying to cross the street. He decides to help the guy, who then goes into the house that Ali went into. Now that he really worried, he finds a way into the house and finds Ali has been tied up and along with some other woman. This other woman is being asked by the old guy if she knows what the meaning is of something that has been written down on a chalk board. After she stalls for a long time, the old man tells his partner to lower the woman, and when she hits her head on a board, her head explodes. What is going on in this house?

Sadly that question is never answered. Unlike the other movies I had been watching this weekend, Cold Sweat, Sudor frío is the original title, puts you right into the mix of things early in the movie. The two old men that are doing things to women were apparently part of the group that was called Triple A. It was never said, as far as I know, but Ali comes to believe that. The cases of TNT that was never found shows up in the house. We see a couple of flash backs where the two guys, who are younger now of course, are buying the house and getting ready for a project. The project is never really explained though. What we do know is that this pair of old men manage to lure women to their home using some blond guy. The guy barely moves, but is alive, so I don't see how women would not think something is wrong. Once there, the old men put nitroglycerin on the women that they got from the TNT. Since this is unstable stuff, they can't move around to well so that makes escape something they can only wish for. Then they are asked about what is on the board. Ali believes it says "kiss me if you can read this", which pleases the old guy. Don't know if that is what it actually says though. He then goes on a rant about how women today only use on average of 200 words, when there is over 150,000 Spanish words out there. So what is the film trying to say? That these guys are psycho Spanish teachers?

Things only get worse when Ali goes to escape, but instead of doing so, explores the house. It amazed me that they could get around the house so well without ever being noticed. Once the girlfriend is found, alive at that, she is supposed to be covered in nitroglycerin. I guess that is where they get the title from because it looks like sweat in a way. Since her backside is supposed to be dry, she crawls around on her back a lot, but very slowly. There are all kinds of moments where people have to move very slowly. When an explosion does happen, it happens in slow motion. It would seem that writer/director Adrián García Bogliano is a fan of moving slowly. I get that this was supposed to add some tension. You don't want these people to explode or get burned by acid from the bottles that are placed on them sometimes, but it happens so often that it just becomes very boring after a while.

The effects were okay. It wasn't that they were badly done, just that there wasn't much of anything for effects. For having a few explosions, which sometimes includes people, we never really get to see much of anything. There was a bloody stump where the head used to be, but that was about it. The acting was also okay. There wasn't anyone that stood out, but I think that just had to do with the odd plot more than anything else. I was trying to figure out what the hell this movie was about instead of paying close attention to the acting. The old guys were fun at times because of their bickering back and forth, but that was about it.

Just to make Cold Sweat all the more odd, there are women being held in various stages of nakedness down in the basement. I have no idea why they were being kept. They weren't zombies of course, but they sure acted like them. Sometimes the sub titles would disappear before I had the chance to read the whole thing, so I don't know if I might have missed something, or if the movie itself was just poorly explained. Either way, I don't feel I was the only person that didn't care for Cold Sweat. I know the guy that was sitting in front of me was getting frustrated because no one would ever go on the attack against the old guys. The only part I did like was when Ali makes it out of the house, at long long last, and runs into the neighbors house asking to call the police. As soon as she says this we see that the neighbors were just getting ready to do some drugs. Unless you are a big fan of horror movies from Argentina for some reason, then I think it is safe to say that this one can be passed on.
2 out of 5 Be sure to move like the mighty turtle!

Making A Human Killing Machine

This post will serve a double purpose. Even though I still haven't set up my giveaway that I had planned on after my last convention, I'm going to giveaway what I picked up today! The first movie that screened today was a movie called D4 (2010). After the screening I had some time to walk around before the next movie. I discovered that I still hate conventions held in hotels the size of HorrorHound. Thanks to a badly placed bar by the hotel, the hallway was nearly impossible to get through, as well as the vendor room. My mission at the time was to find the booth that was set up for the movie. I got myself a copy, and then later I got another copy to giveaway. This is a DVD of the movie D4 that has been signed by writer/director/actor Darrin Dickerson. The review is below, so if it sounds like something you would like to have, just send me an email. If you don't know it, it is listed in my profile for here. Please put D4 in the subject line. I will randomly choose the lucky winner.

The story unfolds in two parts. A very rich woman has had her son taken by the government. She believes he is being held in a top secret location. The place, known as D4, isn't completely unknown though. Some people believe that the place is holding Bigfoots there and breading them for their on purpose. The woman's son has been in trouble with the law because of his drug use, but she doesn't understand why the government would take him. She is worried about him because he is epileptic and doesn't have his meds. She hires retired operative Sloan (Eric Berner) to put a team together and go in to get her son. At the same time this is going on, we also meet Old Man Dalton (Ted LeGarde). His young grandson is also epileptic. After talking to a doctor, he is given some meds to give his grandson, but when they make him very violent. The doctor then tells him that they will take his grandson in order to treat him with a new drug. When Dalton goes to visit his grandson days later though, no one at the office knows what he is talking about. The day he claims to have met the doctor was a day that the office was supposed to be closed, and the doctor doesn't look like the one he met with. Dalton is then tipped that his grandson has been taken to D4, so he heads that way as well. The two stories converge into one as they discover what is going on there.

Like all other movies screened so far, D4 is a low budget film. Shot on a $35,000 budget, the script was written and the movie filmed all within a year. It took another two years before Dickerson got the movie to the point where he wanted it to be. How do I know all this? Dickerson was there with us all and did a quick Q&A after the screening. The story was partly based on his own experience dealing with his own epileptic son and his violent moods when taking drugs to help his condition.

If I can say one thing about D4, it is that it takes its sweet time setting up the story. This isn't a bad thing really though. Things start off with three stories being told. There is the lady trying to hire a merc team, the grandfather trying to do what is best for his grandson, and the mercs coming together and being told what their mission is going to be. It was all pretty easy to follow despite the jumping around of story lines. Something that surprised me was that I was expecting an all out action flick, something in the sci-fi vain. Maybe aliens or something like that based partly on the poster that was hanging outside the screening room. While there is some action sequences, it wasn't the all out action I was expecting. I thought something that kept the movie interesting was the music. There was some nice music that really helped set the mood in this one.

All effects were done by CGI. I could have done without them, but they aren't all the distracting, even if they do stand out somewhat. The effects are limited to gun shots and blood splatter, along with some CGIed sparks. The acting was better. I didn't have anyone that really impressed me, so the acting wasn't great, but it does the job just fine. You can find Clay Broker, Jeff Hime, Jaimee Gray Simon and Mike Ulm. The last name listed is the big guy at the top of the poster.

Dickerson said in the Q&A that he filmed the outside shots in D4 in what he called his parents backyard. The building that the mercs find towards the end of the movie was actually a church that was torn down a few months after filming. I have a hard time calling D4 a horror movie, even if it is making the rounds at horror conventions. I was glad that story came before action. I was happy that the beast they go up against is human. In a way I do wish that the story had set up a bit faster. I wasn't bored, but I was starting to wonder when it would move on from the set up stage. Even though I didn't fall in love with D4, it was well worth the watch. I wouldn't have picked it up otherwise.
3 out of 5 Those are some big muscles!

Finding Death Down The Road

As I sit here eating breakfast, I thought I would try and knock out the review for the other film I watched yesterday. Down The Road (2011) had a posted time of 8pm. So I showed up a little early, towards the end of a panel, and moved up once most people started to leave. The guys doing the hosting all left without a word, but there was a few minutes left yet. I sat there and waited, along with others. We were first told a few minutes, the later on told 20 minutes. Actually it didn't start until a couple of minutes after 9pm. If I had known that, I would have explored the rest of the convention some before returning. Still, a lot of people did show up for the screening, which surprised me.

The film opens in the year 2002. We see a party going on, along with a lot of drinking. The next day we see a young girl playing hopscotch in the street, while her dad looks on. We then see her get hit by a car that has drunk teenagers in it. The 12 year old girl is killed but the driver doesn't get much out of it for punishment. In the present day, we meet Jenn (Jen Dance) who has just gotten out of the hospital. Her parents want her to get out with some friends, which she decides to do eventually. Her group of friends pick her up and they all go camping. After they set up camp, one of them starts to tell a story about the girl that was killed. He says that since that time, people who come into the woods to party are never seen alive again. Of course they laugh the story off, but sometimes stories have a way of being true.

Down The Road is another movie in which the film makers were there. We were told that this was the first time the film has been screened, and then writer/director Jason Christopher, the producer, props guy, and Chelsey Garner (who plays Michele) came up on stage to talk about the film a little bit. Christopher tells us that he wrote the script when he was 17, filmed it when he was 22, and is now 23. His dad passed away when he was a young kid, so he dedicated the film to him. After the film they came back up to do a q&a with everyone. As someone else suggested, don't do a lot of drinking before showing off your film. I understand that they were all nervous, but it just gives the wrong impression. Chelsey Garner was the only one not drinking which gave the impression that she is as classy as she looks. After getting a half hearted response if everyone liked their film or not, the props guy goes into a little rant about how the film was only made for $40,000, so we should keep that in mind (that was the short end of what he said by the way). Having reviewed more than my share of low budget movies, I have learned not to care how much the movie was made for, but to look at the film like any other film.

Much like the movie before it, The Sleeper, Down The Road was being called a retro slasher flick. Maybe it was, but unlike the last film, this one didn't really remind of any of the films that came before it. I'm not saying that as a bad thing though. Sure the plot of people going into an area to party and have a good time, being warned off by a local and ignoring said warning only to be killed off like promised, has been done plenty of times before. What sets Down The Road apart from most other slashers though is that the killer has a purpose. Not all have a purpose of course, and those films that don't give a reason for the killing are usually just fine by me. It wasn't clear right away if it was the father going around killing, but once we see him talking about it, we know for sure. The film itself was a little on the slow side at first, but not real bad. The only thing that bugged me was that they made a point to show that Jenn was taking pills, assuming for whatever reason she was in the hospital for. They also make the point of showing that she loses them while running for her life. It turns out to be a moot point though. She never seems to act differently. She does start to ramble a lot at times, but I just assumed that had to do with her being scared, and not because she lost her pills.

The effects were pretty good. Nothing major was done, but they all still look good. At times it was hard to tell what was going on because of all the camera movement. Like I didn't even realize that one person had been hit until they showed him on the ground later on. I know where in the film he was hit, but because of the camera movement, I just didn't make that connection. The acting was also well done. Brian Gallagher does a great job playing the father that lost his daughter. He really gets across the pain that he feels, and the revenge that he wants. Another stand out was the guy that was the odd man out of the group. I believe he was played by Chris Ready. If I am wrong, I do apologize in advance. It was getting late and I had a long day, so the character name has slipped my mind. All the other actors did just fine as well. You can also find Shaun Paul Costello, David J. Bonner, Nikki Bell and Matthew Nadu.

I wasn't blown away by Down The Road, but I was pleased with it. The weapons used to kill may not have been the best choice, a sledge hammer was used most often, but it was different at least. I thought some things could have been done a little differently in order to avoid confusion, but overall it wasn't too bad of a movie. I did find it ironic that this was a movie about drunk driving, in a way, and then the film makers show up drunk, or at least well on their way. But that doesn't change my view of their film. Christopher did mention that if Down The Road does well on DVD, he would like to make a sequel. He has more of the story to tell apparently. The way this one ends, it could have a sequel if they wanted to make one. Worth checking out sometime once it is out there.
3 out of 5 Should have asked Garner how she liked getting her leg sawed into

ZZZ

Hello from Ohio. First day over at HorrorHound Weekend is over now. I have yet to see most of it. I spent all day either in the film room, or not at the convention at all. I got there a couple of hours early, mostly because I had no idea what the parking would be like. It is a pain in the ass to find a parking space at the hotel in Indianapolis, but it isn't a problem at all here. I didn't want an early in pass, since it is like $10 more for just two days of the three. The first movie started at 5pm, which was when I could get into the convention rooms. This was the movie The Sleeper (2011). After it was over, I went for a walk to find something to eat. I had breakfast, but nothing since then, so was feeling rather hungry. Once I got back, I didn't know that the other movie had been pushed back by an hour. If I had known that, I would have went walking around. Plenty of time to do that tomorrow though.

Amy (Brittany Belland) has been invited by the sorority Alpha Gamma Theta in order to possibly become a pledge. The girls throw a party to hopefully welcome her, and her friend in, but only Amy decides to be a pledge. Little do the girls know though, someone (Jason Jay Crabtree) is watching them. Once in a while we see him sitting somewhere, drawing Z's on each girls picture. The picture he draws these on is the one that will die next. He will the call the house and mutter into the phone while whoever answered it looks puzzled. As the girls start to go missing Detectives Drake (E. Ray Goodwin) and James (Luke Frost) are called in. Will the be able to find the killer before all the girls are killed?

The Sleeper is a low budget film that was written and directed by Justin Russell. It was filmed in Ohio, I believe Russell said about 40 miles away from the convention. While watching it, I couldn't help but think of the movie Black Christmas. This film is set in the year 1981, and Russell admits that he wanted the feel from older slasher films such as Black Christmas. There are movies that will remind you of other films, and then there are movies that you remind you a bit too much of other films like it. The Sleeper even has a scene where a body is found in a rocking chair. I fully expected it to have a plastic bag over their head, but the person was killed in a different way at least. While I felt that Russell did a fine job directing his film, I wasn't all that happy with the story. It wasn't that it completely reminded me of another movie, but that there was next to no atmosphere to it. We don't really ever get to know any of the characters. There really isn't a main character to speak of. After Amy leaves the party, the attention turns to the girls in the sorority being killed off before returning back to Amy.

With each kill, there is a small pause while the next person gets a small spotlight on them before being killed off. This includes the worse basketball game to possibly be put on film. A dance sequence is also included. And sneaking up on someone in an empty indoor pool, not once, but twice. In fact I don't think I've ever watched a movie where people were able to sneak up on each other and never once be noticed except this one. I do have to give thanks to the straggle kill. It didn't take 5 seconds to kill the person like it seems to do in other horror movies. This one took a while, which it actually does.

The effects start off kind of bad with the first kill, which I believe Russell said was one he would do over if he was able to. It involved a hammer, which was the killers choice of weapon most of the time, being smashed into a face. It goes right into the head on the first swing. The effects do manage to get better from there at least though. The acting was fine. I did like Brittany Belland. She makes a pretty good scream queen. A special guest cameo can be found by John Bloom. You might know him better as Joe Bob Briggs though. You can also find Paul Moon, Tiffany Arnold, Jenna Fournier and Riana Ballo.

I really hate to down The Sleeper since it is a low budget film that was playing in front of its home crowd so to speak. There just wasn't much to the story and it was pretty easy to figure out what all was going to happen before it did. Another set back the movie has because it is low budget is that we never see much of any extras. Being a college campus, you would expect to see others around, but we see very few. I can't blame the film itself for this, and really it was a minor thing anyway. Even though I didn't care for The Sleeper, I still appreciated that Russell was there to answer questions after the movie was over. I would comment on some of the things he said, but he had a habit of holding the mic a little too far away. Some words could be heard find while I had to struggle to catch other words in the same sentence. As for The Sleeper, if it gets picked up for a DVD release, it is worth at least one watch.
2 out of 5 Still confused on how the second person was killed

Being Chased By Metal Balls Part Four

At long last I have made it to the last Phantasm film. I didn't intend to wait this long. I have some reviews that are waiting to be written up, and they are going to have to wait even longer now. I'm on vacation starting now! This weekend I will be going out town, HorrorHound Weekend, so I will be watching even more movies. I have things to get done next week, but I hope I can get in the writing mood and get a few reviews caught up. I just hope that by waiting so long, I can still knock out good reviews. I did get one review done last night. I even stayed up passed my bedtime to get it done. If you would like to read what I thought about the movie A Serbian Film, then click the link and head on over. It was a hard review to do, and not only because I liked my first draft that got deleted, by clicking on the wrong thing, much better.

Phantasm 4: Oblivion (1998) picks up where the last movie leaves off. Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) is off driving around after discovering what the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm) has done to him. Reggie (Reggie Bannister) isn't dead after all. He is confronted by the Tall Man, and let go. Reggie feels like he is done with everything, but Jody (Bill Thornbury) gets Reggie to go after Mike. While Reggies starts off to follow, Mike finds himself trapped inside a hearse that can drive itself. The Tall Man is taking Mike into Death Valley, but Mike doesn't really know what the Tall Man wants from him. As Mike starts to figure out that he can cross dimensions and time, Mike hopes to discover the secrets of the Tall Man, and end things that way.

There has been talks about a fifth film since before this one was filmed. Since it hasn't happened yet, I don't think it will now. Some fans, or Phans as they like to be called, are already complaining about the ages of the actors. The time between the first film and second film was ten years, and the actors of course aged ten years as well. The time between the all the sequels though was that they picked up where the last one left off. Of course they were not filmed back to back, so the actors aged a few years between films. We are talking about a twenty year period between the first and last movie, so to me complaining that the actors all look older than the story calls for is a rather silly argument. Sure Mike looks a lot older between the second and third film, but all the films have had a dream like quality to them anyway, so just go with it.

Phantasm 4 takes a little while for it to set up. With both of the main characters on the road, not a whole lot happens. There are breaks, like when Reggie meets up with Demon Trooper. Once again, writer/director Don Coscarelli drops the ball when it comes to the character of Tim from the last movie. It is easy to figure out what happened to the kid, and according to Coscarelli, he had planned on filming something to show what happened to him. Budget didn't allow for that apparently. Still though. Cascarelli could have included a line by Reggie with him seeing what happened and saying something like "Damn it...poor kid." Would that really have been that hard to do? Unlike the last movie, where he basically did the same thing, Tim wasn't that important a character, so it is easier to over look his completely ignoring a character.

Phantasm 4 also features some of the found footage that was shot for the original film that didn't make it to the final cut. I had mixed feelings over this. It was nice to see what was filmed. Even so, some of the footage is hard to figure out where in the original film it would have been shown. At times it feels forced, not having much to do with the story line in this movie. The last time the lost footage is used does manage to wrap up this movie, and even the series if need be. I was happy to see that the dwarf's were back again. They aren't used a whole lot, but at least unfunny zombie people aren't running around in their place. I don't know if Coscarelli was trying to answer some questions that fans had, but all he really ended up doing was creating more questions.

I have come to believe that these films, for the most part, are just a dream. There are just too many things that happen that can only be explained in that way. The car for one gets damaged at times, only to have it completely fixed at the start of the next movie. Reggie throws away his four barrel shotgun towards the end of the second film, but Mike somehow has it at the start of the third movie. There are many other examples like those.

The effects are pretty good. The metal balls aren't used a whole lot this time around. In once scene, where we see a lot of them fly past, it is easy to tell that CGI was used for that. It doesn't look real bad, but it still stands out. There was a scene where Reggie finds the metal balls in a very odd place. The effects for this didn't really look all that great to me. You can easily see where the makeup ends, and the real person begins. Still, it was a cool scene, just not done as well as it could have been. The acting was also good. The only new person to show up was Heidi Marnhout. She does fine, even if they do tease us with some nudity from her.

After fans bashed the third film, Coscarelli apparently decided that he had pushed the horror/comedy as far as it could go, and thus decided to get back to the roots of the films. This was just fine with me, but I still found Phantasm 4: Oblivion a middle of the road sequel. It was nice to see the Tall Man before he became just that, but it doesn't explain much of anything. I actually am glad that most everything was left up to fans to figure out on their own, but when your characters are trying to find the origin of the guy they are fighting, some explanation should be there I would think. Some feel that the Tall Man was after Mike so he would become the next Tall Man, but I'm not so sure of that. Either way, Phantasm 4: Oblivion was a nice way to end the series. If you have watched the other movies, you might as well watch this one as well. If you haven't watched any of them yet, this one is of no use to you then. Worth a watch, but only if you have followed the series.
3 out of 5 Would like to know where Mike got the parts to change that engine

Being Chased By Metal Balls Part Three

The weekend is here! I had a short day at work yesterday thanks to some meetings I was required to be at. Since it only left two hours to work, we all got sent home after the meetings. It did help me get some things done though. One thing was getting my last review done. After I did that I had some running to do, which didn't take all that long. Once I got home, again, I watched Phantasm 3: Lord Of The Dead (1994). I figured since I don't really have any plans for tonight, I would start on this review, which I didn't get far on. I do have some plans for the weekend, so not sure I will get another review in here. I will at least get the next movie in this series, which is also the last for now, in this weekend. Oh, by the way, spoilers below!

Things pick up right at the end of Phantasm 2. Reggie (Reggie Bannister) watches as the hearse he was in with Mike (A. Michael Baldwin) and Liz (Paula Irvine) blows up. He runs over to where it blew up and finds Liz dead and being chewed on by one of the Tall Man's dwarfs. Reggie trips over Mike as he tries to get away, and they make their escape together. Once they make it to some house, they discover Jody (Bill Thornbury), Mike's older brother. Jody doesn't seem all that surprised when they tell him that he is dead, and tells Reggie and Mike to get out because the Tall Man has managed to get a lock on him. Sure enough, the Tall Man shows up. Jody turns into a silver metal ball, but is no match for the Tall Man. The Tall Man takes Mike and Reggie sets out to try and rescue Mike.

Phantasm 3 marks the return of all the original cast. After the last movie, Universal wasn't interested in another sequel, but did agree to put one out there if Don Coscarelli made another sequel. With no restrictions this time, Coscarelli was able to cast who he wanted, which meant Baldwin was back as Mike. It didn't take me long to realize that I had yet to ever watch Phantasm 3. It was all new to me, so that means the next movie will be as well. While reading peoples thoughts on the last movie, I had sort of figured out that I had yet to watch this one from the way people were talking about it. Many described this one as Mike and Reggie being on the run from the Tall Man the entire time, which isn't really true at all. While Coscarelli doesn't make this one as much of a road movie as the last one, it is still there some. Now that I have watched it, I wonder if Coscarelli should have went with what the studio wanted from the second movie.

Since Coscarelli didn't like the whole romance angle for Mike, even though he keeps trying to get one for Reggie, Liz was gone very quickly. While disappointing, it wasn't that big of a deal. What was a big deal is that even though Mike was knocked out at the time, he never once asks about her once he does come around. Of course he could have off camera at some point, but it would have been nice if Coscarelli had included something since Liz was supposed to be the love of Mike's life. Before we find out Liz dies, I found it funny that they went through so much trouble not to show James LeGros in the short flashbacks to the previous entry. Anyway, after the death of Liz, there is a nice little battle between Reggie and the dwarfs, but after this scene, the dwarfs completely disappear. This was mistake number two. Instead of the dwarfs, which have always been fun to watch, we instead get three people that were killed by Tim (Kevin Connors) turning into zombies for some reason. I guess these guys were supposed to add some humor to the movie, except I didn't really find them all that funny.

The effects were fine. Not as gory as they were in the last movie, but still pretty good. CGI was used in this film, the first time being used in the series. They were used for small things, like Judy turning into a metal ball or back again. And there was some light effects that were CGIed as well. The thing I liked most about Phantasm 3 is that we learned some things about the metal balls, and we see them do some different things as well. Even though they don't seem big enough to do so, they have the brain of a dwarf in them. Sometimes we even see an eyeball pop out as well.  While these things were cool, it wasn't enough to save the movie.

The acting was just okay. Reggie Bannister does fine as usual. Again I didn't really care for A. Michael Baldwin, but to be fair, he isn't in the movie much. Even when he is, he is laying around for whatever reason. It confused me some. Coscarelli gives the role back to the actor that started the character, and then barely has the guy in his film. A couple of new people show up, such as Kevin Connors. There is also Gloria Lynne Henry. While both did fine with their acting, I think most people didn't like the characters all that much. Connors' character of Tim was something of a tribute to Mike from the first movie, at least that is what Coscarelli had in mind with it. Think Home Alone and you have a pretty good idea what this character started out as, except he was using deadly force. Henry's character is a Kung Fu type chick who feels out of place in the Phantasm world.

It is great that Coscarelli was able to make the movie that he wanted to make, but it just didn't work for me this time around. Maybe because the second in the series is so special to me, that it makes this one not so special. Phantasm 3: Lord Of The Dead does have its share of fans though. It has a pretty good average score of 5.7 average (as of this writing at least) on IMDb. While not a great average, it is far from a bad one. Even though I was disappointed with the movie, I am glad that I watched it. I sometimes feel a need to watch sequels no matter how bad they are, so I am glad that I went forward in order to see this one, and the next one as well. I will leave it up to all of you, if you haven't already watched it, to decide if it is for you, but as I said, I didn't care for it.
2 out of 5 Give Reggie some love already so he will shut up

Being Chased By Metal Balls Part Two

I have been talking about post number 900 for a while now, and it is actually here now! I plotted and planned things out so Phantasm 2 (1988) would fall into this spot. It worked out just right, sort of. I will get into that another day though. Writing again has been a blessing since I have been getting back into movies again. I'm really behind in my reviews though because of this series review, so I'm hoping I can get through the next two quickly. I have already watched a few movies to review here, and I have movies stacked up and waiting to be reviewed over at Top Horror Movies Club. In the meantime, I did get one review there done. If you would like to read my review for the next to last DVD release of the After Dark Originals, 51, then feel free to check it out. It could use some hits!

I remember Phantasm 2 so well mainly because it was a movie I first watched with my dad. That isn't the only reason that makes this one a favorite of course, but it ranks right up there with the other reasons. Even though he got me over my fear of horror movies, we really didn't watch all that many together. If I remember right, it was the first time either of us had watched Phantasm 2, and we both loved it. I admit it has been many years since I last watched this one. I don't have it in my collection sadly. When I bought Phantasm and Phantasm 3 on DVD, this one wasn't out yet in that format. It has since come to DVD, I believe anyway, but Netflix has it on their instant watch, so I just watched it that way yesterday.

For those of you that haven't watched Phantasm 2 yet, there was nine years between movies being made, and nine years have passed for the characters as well. Phantasm 2 starts off with Mike (now being played by James LeGros) being released from a mental hospital, where he has apparently been since the end of the last movie. Doctors believe that Mike now realizes that the events from the first movie never actually happened, but the truth is, Mike doesn't believe that at all. He heads to the nearest grave yard and starts digging up graves. This is where Reggie (Reggie Bannister) finds him, after the third one with no body in it. Mike tells Reggie about his dreams, where he feels a woman named Liz (Paula Irvine) is in danger because of the Tall Man (Angus Scrimm). Reggie doesn't much believe everything that happened, until the house his family is in blows up. Reggie and Mike decide to try and find this woman Mike has been dreaming about, and take the war to the Tall Man.

As I always do, I sat down to watch this one in order to refresh my memory before writing about it. I admit that it took a little while before I remember why I liked Phantasm 2 so much. It starts off in an odd way with Liz providing a flashback to the original movie and how it ended, and then some. The ending is actually extended here, which was all filmed just for this sequel. If I could change anything about this film, it would be the way the flashback was handled. Without knowing who Liz even is yet, or why she is important to the story, she is giving a recap of the original movie. I understand the reason behind it, it had been nine years between movies after all.

Phantasm 2 started off a little slower than I remembered it. The first major effect that is found still made me get a little wide eyed at it. If anything stands out about this one, it is the effects. From the face that comes out of a woman's back, to the gold ball getting stuck inside of a person, the effects really stand out. This sequel had the highest budget of any of the movies in the series, and it does show. There are also some real nice action sequences that have a mild mix of comedy thrown in. The fight that Reggie gets into stands out to me the most. Once the action starts, it doesn't let up for very long, which I think is the main reason I liked this sequel the most and it has become a favorite for me. That and the way the metal balls were used. The addition of the new gold ball was great, and added to things a lot.

At the time that I first watched this one, I don't know if I didn't realize there was a casting change for the role of Mike, or if I thought it might have been the same actor. Some fans resent that A. Michael Baldwin was not recast, and feel that James LeGros wasn't right for the role. Other fans feel the other way around. As it turns out, the studio (Universal) had their hand in this movie a little more than writer/director Don Coscarelli would have liked. Universal threw down some things they wanted for this sequel, like no dream sequences, a more linear plot, a love interest for Mike, and perhaps most the most important change is that they wanted both leads be recast. After fighting that last one, Coscarelli was allowed to keep one of the two for sure, so he went with Reggie Bannister, believing his role would be the hardest to recast. Baldwin was forced to audition for the role of Mike. Obviously he didn't get it with the reason mostly being he had not been in anything since the last Phantasm movie. Personally I didn't mind the recasting of Mike. It is nice when the same actor can reprise their role, and I do prefer that, but sometimes it doesn't always work out for the best when they do.

Even though Phantasm 2 is one my favorites, I didn't get everything about it. I already talked about how the flashback at the start of the movie was done, but I also didn't get the connection that Mike and Liz felt with each other. There is a point where the talk to each other just by using their minds. I think Coscarelli does try to explain it some, but it didn't really work for me too well. Even so, I liked the interaction between Liz and Mike, even if it wasn't much of a love story there. If you have never checked this one out, then you should at some point. It isn't the favorite in the series for everyone, but it looked like the majority of fans rank it either one or two in their list. It helps to see the first movie, but the recap gives just enough information that you don't really need to. Meanwhile, I am off to watch the third movie.