Horror Movie Night Orgy: July 2010

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Horror Movie Review: Spring Break Massacre

Spring Break Massacre

Starring: Sarah Minnic, Reggie Bannister, Bob Farster, John Shumski, and Linnea Quigley

Directed by: Michael Hoffman, Jr.

Written by: Michael Hoffman, Jr. and Meghan Jones

Production Company: Disruptive Media

Release Date: April 2008

Let's face it, with a title like Spring Break Massacre, we can expect a few things...and you can sum it up by calling it a Cheesy B-Movie Slasher. But, I tend to find these fun, so all seemed good.

Well, I mean, the acting wasn't. And the film quality was pretty bad, but then we don't watch B-Movies for best of the line camera equipment and top rate actors.

It's spring break and Heather's dad is going out of town...which means, naturally, PARTY!

Unfortunately for Heather's boyfriend, she and her girlfriends want just a girls' night in. While the girls are having a good time playing cards, Truth or Dare, and planning to antagonize the boys, things turn creepy as weirdo neighbor Mr. Malone starts skulking around.

Meanwhile, Sheriff Yates gets word that a killer has escaped from prison.

So when the killing starts at Heather's house, the question remains: Who is it? Mr. Malone? Stanley Peterson, the convicted serial killer? Or is something else going on?

It sounds good, but unfortunately it was a little dull. The gore was subdued with most kills being done off screen, leaving most of the film was jokes about stereotypical girl sleepovers. Granted, that gives us a lot of tits and ass, which is great, but just not enough plot to keep things going.

Related Trailers

The Mangler Reborn

Reggie Bannister also stars in The Mangler Reborn. A decade after the original massacre, another man obsessed over his machine ends with several murders and possession.

Satanic Panic

Bob Farster also appears in Satanic Panic. Inspired by true accounts and the craze that took place in the late 1970's and early 80's, follows in the footsteps of classic horror films from that generation. In 1980, ten year old twins Toby and Cindy Richards were abducted by a group of demented satanic cult members. Cindy managed to escape, but Toby was never found. Twenty-five years later, a group of six friends take a canoe trip to re-kindle their friendship, only to find themselves in trouble with crazy, small town locals and the same satanic cult that took Toby years ago. Can the friends make it out of the town of Thornwood alive and in one piece, or will the become victims of sacrifice.

ROT: Reunion of Terror

John Shumski also stars in ROT: Reunion of Terror. 5 friends celebrate their 10 year high school reunion by renting a cabin in the woods. Little do they know, a killer is on the prowl. Meghan Jones wrote the movie.

Night Of The Demons

Linnea Quigley also appears in Night Of The Demons. A group of kids go to a Halloween party, only to have to face down a group of demons.

Sigma Die!

Michael Hoffman Jr. also directed Sigma Die!, which also featured Reggie Bannister, Bob Farster, and John Shumski. At the end of their college school year five girls decide not to go home but instead rent a house in town and thus the high-jinks then ensue. Meghan Jones wrote the movie.

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Horror Movie Review: Lemora - A Child's Tale Of The Supernatural

Lemora - A Child's Tale Of The Supernatural

Starring: Lesley Taplin, Cheryl Smith, and William Whitton

Directed by: Richard Blackburn

Written by: Richard Blackburn and Robert Fern

Production Company: Blackfern

Release Date: April 30, 1973

Horror movies used to be different beasts than what we think of today. During the "Back-in-the-Day" days, horror was less about making us jump and scream. Horror was more complicated and just surprising us with an unexpected killer in the closet and grossing us out with bountiful buckets of blood. It was all about atmosphere. Horror movies were supposed to give you a sustained sense of horror, of unease and disquiet, which would last longer than the jumps we get today. They were subtle and eerie, and in the midst of the exploitation horror and Grindhouse features of the 70s came Lemora - A Child's Tale Of The Supernatural, one of the creepiest movies to be rated PG that you will find.

Lila Lee is a young girl being raised by The Reverend who has taken her in. Lila receives a letter from her father, Alvin Lee, a villainous gangster. Lila runs away to go see her father.

On her journey to the town of Astaroth, the bus she rides is attacked by beastly vampires, but luckily she makes it to town where she is taken in my Lemora. But it's not long before Lila learns that Lemora is, herself, a vampire waiting to feast on her blood.

Lemora, played by Lesley Taplin, is one of the creepiest vampires you'll find in a movie. Her pale face over her dark clothes makes it look like her disembodied head floats through many scenes. The bus driver who takes Lila to Astaroth is ana unsettling character despite his good intentions. And Lila, played by Cheryl Smith, tries to save herself and her innocence from the vampires of Astaroth.

Researching the movie, I discovered that Lemora - A Child's Tale Of The Supernatural caused a bit of a scandal when it came out and was quickly squelched from public view, which is why so few people have heard of it. Despite its PG rating, director and screenwriter Blackburn hit many erotic and taboo topics which Anne Rice uses in her vampire series. A scene with a naked (but covered, kind of) Lila with Lemora carries a hint of pedophilia, and, of course, lesbianism.

It's a classic tale of good versus evil with a child's soul at stake (no pun...well, ok...pun intended...). Lemora and the Astaroth vampires hope to make Lila one of their own, while The Reverend searches valiantly for hus ward. It's a strong, subtle story with an ending which will make you wonder who prevails.

Releated Trailers

Massacre at Central High

Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith, who played Lila Lee, who had just turned 18, also appeared in Massacre at Central High. A high school transfer student, pushed to the edge by a trio of brutal bullies, resorts to murder to reclaim the school from oppression, and later turns against the students wanting to fill the vacuum of their oppressors.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Horror Movie Review: Infestation

Infestation

Starring: Chris Marquette, Brooke Nevin, Kinsey Packard, E. Quincy Sloan, and Wesley Thompson

Directed by: Kyle Rankin

Written by: Kyle Rankin

Production Companies: Heavy Duty Entertainment and Icon Productions

Release Date: February 5, 2009

When I found Infestation, I found it being described as a horror-comedy with giant bugs...how can anyone say "No," to that? But as I watched, I was reminded that movie labels, such as horror, comedy, drama, etcetera, are labels often misused. And while we are on the subject, what's the difference between a horror and a thriller? Because I've seen some "thrillers" that I would label "horror". But whatever, these terms are often used as marketing ploys, not terms used to tell us truthfully what type of film it is. Which means we should take those labels with a grain of salt.

Infestation is a monster movie, so they weren't going for full blown, jumping out of our seats horror here. It does have a smattering of comedic elements, but it's far from a comedy. It's a survival story with some comedy relief.

The comedy comes mainly from Chris Marquette, who plays a slacker named Cooper about to be fired at his new job. He's regularly late, he plays childish games around the office, and he tells a disgruntled customer calling in to complain that he'll transfer him to his manager only to pretend to be his own manager. But a high pitched sound knocks everyone out.

Everyone gets coccooned and giant bugs regularly sedate them with their stings, but luckily Cooper's bug is a bit of a slacker itself and injects him in the cheek, letting the sedative ooze out of his mouth. He begins unwrapping a few people and they try and figure out what's going on and what they should do.

His group, including his boss's daughter Sara (Brooke Nevin), father and son Albert and Hugo (Wesley Thompson and E. Quincy Sloan), and Cindy (Kinsey Packard) head for Cooper's dad's house with its bomb shelter.

While certainly presented more lightheartedly that other survival monster movies such as 28 Days Later, it still bares many similarities, including a decent look at different reactions to the extreme dangers involved in survival situations. People turning on each other, Cindy seeking desperately for someone to protect her and care for her, Albert's decisions when he learns what will happen to him after he's stung, and Cooper maturing, slowly, to become a typical action hero, despite his father's reluctance to see him as such.

With any monster movie, you have to look for the creature effects, and Infestation does quite a good job with the bugs. In fact Infestation was nominated for an Outstanding Visual Effects award at the 2010 Visual Effects Society Awards.

There's more going on in Infestation than you usually find in your average horror comedy.

Related Trailers

Freddy vs. Jason

Chris Marquette also appeared in Freddy vs. Jason. Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees return to terrorize the teenage population. Except this time, they're out to get each other, too.

I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer

Brooke Nevin also starred in I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer. A group of teenagers in Colorado find themselves being stalked and killed one-by-one by a mysterious figure with a hook, exactly one year after they covered up a friends' accidental death.