8 Films to Die For (2015 Series)

Back in 2006, After Dark Horrorfest’s 8 Films to Die For series began and it allowed horror fans (and filmmakers) to get some of their low budget and independent horror films out in a big way. The films all got physical releases on DVD and it was a great way to see some fun new horror films. The series continued on for a couple more years before blooming into After Dark Originals and then somewhat disappearing for a time. In 2015, the 8 Films to Die For line up returned with eight new films for fans to chew on and I was stoked to dig into the films.

ZMD: Zombies Of Mass Destruction - 1.5/5

Despite its initial zombie appeal (what zombie movie isn't somewhat appealing to those of us writing for and reading Blood Brothers?), the final film for me to watch of "After Dark Horrorfest 4" is a solid let down. "Zombies Of Mass Destruction" takes itself too seriously to be a comedy and is far too humorous to be taken seriously. Not to mention it beats you in the face with its religious/political/ethical agendas. Not that those can't be present in a zombie film (watch any of George A Romero's early "Dead" films) but "Zombies Of Mass Destruction" fails to really do any of it well.

A group of survivors on a small island called Port Gamble find themselves in the middle of a zombie outbreak. As it spreads and the tensions rise, the survivors look for reason and explanation to disengage their panic. Soon they turn on each other using religion, race, and sexuality to becoming worse than the things outside. Oh, and its supposed to be funny too.

When you start using stereotypes to try to make a point, whether it be for your own point or not, you run a line of insulting a lot of different people. "Zombies Of Mass Destruction" fails to really catch its own drift here and ends up producing completely 2D characters to represent various subcultures of humanity. What this does is create people that don't even seem like real characters. This somewhat defeats the intentions of the film. Instead of preaching its political and social agendas in ways to open the audiences eyes, it becomes a series of semi-serious and often awkward situations that become rather cartoonish. Thusly undermining its own intent. Which is where the film fails on its more serious side.

As for its humorous tact, its rather hit or miss. As I watched it, I knew what was supposed to be funny but I rarely found it funny. It forced a lot of its punchlines and only occasionally succeeded in working its moral agendas towards its humor. There are a couple of pretty damn funny moments that very much pull on classic horror/comedies like "Evil Dead 2" (with one moment in particular that has a zombie eat her own eyeball that was well timed) but more often than not the timing was off for it to work like it should have.

The best part of "Zombies Of Mass Destruction" is the horror element of the film. There are some solid special effects (sans some random CGI ones that tended to be out of place) with some nice gore moments that brought to mind Peter Jackson's over the top style on his older films like "Dead Alive". When the film throws aside its political satire and focuses on its zombie action is when it actually works and earns it a star and a half.

Despite some solid special effects and nice zombie moments, "Zombies Of Mass Destruction" is a large letdown. It tries so desperately hard to convey its message it turns down its viewers by bashing "open thinking" into their skulls. Perhaps its just this reviewer, but I would rather not have a sermon preached to me in my zombie films. Great idea here, its just poorly executed. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Final, The - 3.5/5

Moving forward with the fourth After Dark Horrorfest, "The Final" finally hit my viewing pile. Despite some pretty atrocious films littering this year of the releases (see "The Graves"), there has been more than enough to make up with surprisingly solid indie Horror films. "The Final" sits in this latter section. Although the concept of the film seems a bit daft initially, the dedication towards the film and its eventual ending that plays out in solid execution. This saves "The Final" from drifting down the path that too many independent Horror films tend to anymore.

A group of outcasts, lead by the seemingly weak Dane, have devised a plan to get back at the group of bullies and snobby high school students that have made their lives a living hell for far too long. This group of off kilter teens are planning to throw a costume party in an abandoned barn for their enemies. When they all get there, they are planning to torture them and teach them a few life lessons about treating people with decency. With nothing left to lose, its now time for revenge, but who will be able to get out before things go too far?

What makes "The Final" such a surprisingly well devised revenge/torture flick is the heart at which these kids are giving their characters. Normally, these cliche tortured student teens run the same thing over and over again coming off as 2D characters, but this film does a nice job really building them up. Granted, it still could have gone farther with their character arcs in the latter part of the film when the tension between them should be riveting and only comes off as intriguing. Yet there are plenty of cool builds that make it work (like the tall lanky kid's talk with his father for example). This makes the rather cliche concept work best.

At times the film does tend to want to build a larger story then it should have. With a focus on the tension between characters and building the suspense on what is coming up next to whom, this film may have not had to divert attention to other aspects like the subplot with the war veteran that feels like padding. When the film does this, it works. When it tries to get moving in other directions (with its somewhat preachy monologues too) that's when it weakens and falls apart.

"The Final" did come off as a surprising win as a little Horror film. Not the greatest, it still needed a bit more tweaking of its pacing and story focus, but its dedicated actors and heart rise it above the rut it could have been stuck in. Definitely one of the better films out in this series for this year.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Reeds, The - 1.5/5

Being lost is scary. Being lost on water is even scarier. Being lost on water with something horrific in the reeds around you is fucking scary. "The Reeds" is not. Despite an interesting concept and proposal for a nightmarish journey, this little British film falls ass over teapot into its own muddy banks and accomplishes very little in the ways of utilizing its own scares. Too bad, cause it could have rocked it too.

Six friends hobbled out of their city lives to take a trip on a boat through some sort of marshland to get a bit of relaxing done. Unfortunately, there happens to be something in the reeds that wants them to never leave. So it uses all kinds of ghostly tricks to turn their lovely vacation into a trip of terror.

"The Reeds" might have a pretty stellar concept to give its audience a decadent scare ride into ole Horror-ville, but it fails. Straight up fails at a lot of things. Half the time the film feels unsure of what it wants to be (A monster movie? A ghost movie? A time lapse film? Who the fuck knows.) and the other half of the time its story line progression is so blurred with its own attempts at being artsy and scary that it fails to recognize it needs to make any sense. It just meanders from one moment to the next with needless drift as we try desperately to put two and two together.

If it wasn't for this senseless lack of cohesion and continuity of plot, than this film might have worked. The cast does decent enough to get by and the look of the film has a nice raw 80s feel to it (despite its obvious modern style). Other than that though, its hard to find a whole lot going good for this overly stylized Horror flick.

"The Reeds" just ends up a muddled cliche gamble of moments squashed together. Not too clever, but not dumb enough to a fun romp either. With the potential of its source material it makes it feel even more of a disappointment.

BONUS RANT: Um, who the hell thinks a boat ride into fucking marshland for a couple of days is an actual vacation? I'm not even all that into leaving the house, but even that seems like a pretty weak idea of fun to me. They had this coming to them for taking such a shitty getaway. That's my opinion.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Lake Mungo - 4/5

It's films like "Lake Mungo" that make me want to watch "Unsolved Mysteries" again. Using stories and a technique that has been around for ages (being the ghost of a recently lost loved one haunting a family for truth and the documentary approach respectively), this little Australian gem really works its socks off to make everything work as well as it does. Although the film does suffer from its own devices at times, "Lake Mungo" makes the faux-documentary approach for film making look like play time as it easily drags its audience in. One more solid After Dark Horrorfest to chalk up for the fourth year.

Alice Palmer was your average young girl. That is until she mysteriously drowns while she is on a picnic with her family at a nearby lake. Her family, including her parents, brother, and various other close friends, are stricken by the loss of their beloved young women and in their grief begin to see and hear ghostly apparitions around their house. Whether or not these ghostly images and noises are real becomes only part of the larger questions that come to surface as this family finds that Alice wasn't everything she seemed and held some dark secrets of her own.

What impressed me so much about "Lake Mungo" was how well the film makers (mostly Joel Anderson and his writing/directing abilities) were able to utilize the style to create a pretty intense atmosphere and attention grabber of a film. With its cleverly structured use of pictures, old and new footage, and of course the ability to have the audience looking one way just to have them shocked to see something somewhere else in the frame, this film crafts itself mightily with what its working with. Having a stellar cast that somehow makes it feel like a legit documentary helps an insane amount too as they discuss prior events whilst acting out both. In this sense, "Lake Mungo" nails the style.

The film does fall prey to its own devices though as its attempt at selling a 'true' story makes some of its supernatural tendencies fall short in the latter half of the film. The film transitions for a ghost story to an alternative family drama towards the end and even with its clinging attempts to revive the 'ghostly' aspect of the film with the final interviews and duel commentary, it loses some steam her. Still a good movie in that sense with how they worked it like a real documentary, but I felt they could have pushed it even more.

"Lake Mungo" succeeds at doing what so many other films have failed to do with this faux-documentary style. Although it does crumble a bit towards its finale, the ride was a fun and clever one, making other films that try this pale in comparison. Its a surprising win for me to watch and a definite must watch for a change of pace for your average ghost flick nowadays.

BONUS PRAISE: The final credits (the beginning at least) were the best part of the entire film. I won't give the trick away, but it makes you want to instantly skip back to the beginning and start re-watching the film and pausing it quite often. It was a wonderful and creepy way to end the film. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Hidden (2009) - 4.5/5

Most of the films that come through the After Dark Horrorfest are massively hit or miss. Most of them are great ideas but rarely come through as executed in ways to match the concepts. This is not how "Hidden" accomplishes its successes. In fact, its story is so relatively simple with its twists and turns being done to death in the psychological Horror sub genre, that its a shock that this film didn't just fall under its own 'too smart for its own good' weight. Its the vision and execution on this rather basic script that make "Hidden" the intense and atmospheric watch it is.

Kai Koss (Joner), or KK as he is known to the people of his home town/area, is coming home 19 years after he ran away. His mother has just died and he has come to finish some business. His childhood memories have been suppressed for so long, since his mother terrorized and tortured him as a child, that when he comes back his sanity seems to be teetering on the edge of breaking. When he discovers that on the night of his escape another young boy went missing he desperately searches for answers on some hunches. To make matter more complicated people are starting to fall prey to an un-faced killer and he's looking more and more to be the suspect.

The heart of "Hidden", also known as "Skjult" outside of its release in the After Dark Horrorfest, comes from the chemistry that director Pål Øie has to spark from Kristoffer Joner (whom plays our lead) and the atmosphere of the film. Since Joner has to essentially carry the film with just his eye work and decent into madness (or is it truth?) acting due to the film's serious use of potent but sparse dialogue and minute secondary characters, its vital that the audience connects with him and he connects with atmosphere of the situation. He does. His collapse before our eyes is impactful. Although many of the supporting cast never reach near the chemistry that he exudes, its his work that truly carries this film.

It also helps that our director Pål Øie has a serious eye for subtle detail work and solid pacing to help it out. Although the film does feel a bit over long at times with so many red herrings and plot shifts that are obviously done to keep it more intense than realistic, it really works on the nerves of its audience nicely and uses its scenery and sets beautifully (the thick forest and run down house make for some nice scares in the dark).

By the end of the film, "Hidden" hits a lot of great successes in its time. The blurred lines of reality, sanity, and guilt make this film great for some artsy film discussion and the execution of the film is expertly done. Although at times it seems the story is a bit more cliche than it wants to be, "Hidden" pulls a lot of positive elements out of thin air. That, if there is anything great in film, is respectable at least. One of the best films that After Dark Horrorfest has released.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Kill Theory - 2.5/5

The impact of "Saw" on modern Horror cinema is something to be admired. It changed the game. That's why we have movies like "Kill Theory" now by the dozens. Although this film, released as a part of the fourth After Dark Horrorfest, does seem to run through the motions as a morality slasher film, it does give it a mighty good try and accomplishes a bit just through pure effort. It's still your rather run of the mill 'people in a trap that have to make the ultimate choice/sacrifice' that we see over and over again now, but it does have heart.

A faceless psychotic man is out to prove his 'kill theory' as truth. His theory is that no matter how close you are to your friends and loved ones, that if you are forced with a choice then you will kill them to save yourself. To test this theory, he enlists (alright, 'traps' if you will) a group of graduating college friends out for a trip a secluded cabin. They have until 6:00 am to kill one another until only one is left. If only one is left at that time, then that person lives. There is no escape either because he has rigged the place with traps and sabotaged their vehicles. Now its kill or be killed in a test of how far you would go for your closest friends and loved ones.

"Kill Theory" does have a lot of heart for what it is. The problem that plagues this from from beginning to end is that is suffers from being a bit too amateurish. At times it doesn't trust its audience to get things (like having the entire back story of the killer done as the prologue instead of letting it play out during the events), the dialogue seems to be simplified down quite a bit, and it comes off as rather predictable and when it does have twists they seem rather forced. These are all amateurish flaws that bog down the experience of the film.

On the other hand, I was impressed by the genuine effort the film puts out. Despite its flaws, it keeps pushing itself at 110% and the charm of this does show through. This film honestly tries and I have to give it some credit for that. The actors do their best and give it their all (although some are definitely better than others) and the writing might seem a little too surface, but it puts it all out there.

"Kill Theory" may not be the best horror film out there, but modern fans might get a kick out of it. It gets an A for effort, but the film never really blossoms into the heavy weighted morality suspense tale it could have.

BONUS RANT: At times it felt like the film wanted to make the villain climber man into a slasher killer with his weird ax and his smoker's voice. It never really does and because the story never really was built to make him that way, its sort of just a futile effort. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Dread - 4.5/5

Clive Barker is one of those authors that just has trouble being transferred to film correctly. It's only happened a handful of times, but this happens to be one of them. Stylistically savvy and chock full of intense atmosphere, its films like "Dread" that should be highlighted in the After Dark Horrorfest catalog and not some of the other crap that comes through (cough, "The Graves", cough).

A film student, Stephen, partners up with his new and crazy friend Quaid to throw together a fear study for his film class. With the help of his pseudo girlfriend as an editor, they use Quaid's idea that one can overcome fear and dread by studying it, as a thesis for their film. Unfortunately, Quaid becomes so obsessed with the idea that he begins to take the study to frightening and gruesome levels.

Based on a short story by the brilliant Clive Barker, "Dread" encapsulates both the great of new and old school Horror. Using more modern stylistic techniques of visual style spiced with the idea of humanistic torture horror and mixing it with a solid dose of old school character development and atmosphere, "Dread" comes off as both completely competent and fresh compared to most modern Horror films. The entire first two acts of the film is built on these characters shoulders (ably carried by a remarkably stellar cast) as the audience dreads where all this is bound to lead. The suspense is thick enough to see your breath in and the brief flashes of intense style, mostly within the nightmare sequences of Quaid like the odd and disturbing strip club scene, counteract the old school tension approach beautifully.

Sometimes the drab color scheme was a bit overwhelming for its style, but besides that "Dread" is a remarkable little film that does the short story justice in more ways than one. Considering its one claim to fame mainstream wise was Jackson Rathbone (known for his small role as one of the vampire family members in "Twilight"), I was surprised at how little mainstream calling this one got. Perhaps its for the better as its one of the few gems I've had the chance of finding this year for Horror.

"Dread" was an atmospheric fear ride through human horror (no fantasy elements here) that gives the genre another modern classic. A must see for fans of independent films and Horror films alike. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Graves, The - 1.5/5

Well my first experience with the fourth set of After Dark Horrorfest turns out to be more like a cliche-fest of epic disappointments. "The Graves" is a combination of some great cult classics like "Children Of The Corn" and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" all mashed into a ball of 'what the fuck is going on'. Not that the story is hard to follow, but it happens to be so poorly told and written that nothing can right this sinking ship. Not even some Horror icons like Tony Todd and Bill Moseley.

Honestly, this film gets a star and a half for those two men. Bill Moseley is always so intriguing in these films and he is the only actor in this film that can rise above his poor dialogue and even worse character development. Even Tony Todd has trouble dealing with his almost cartoon like preacher/leader of the town Unity. Otherwise this film pretty much blows from the get-go.

"The Graves" are two sisters (Abby and Megan Graves) who are going on a road trip by themselves for the first time when they stumble on a small town and decide to take a trip into the old abandoned gold mine community for a tour. This tour is from Hell though and suddenly they find themselves stalked by a renegade family of fuck-ups that slaughter tourists in the name of a local demon/savior that the townsfolk worship.

I feel bad for the lead girls as for the most part they try desperately hard to combat their awful dialogue and plot writing. Even Clare Grant (whom did a fine job in the Masters Of Horror episode "Valerie On The Stairs" also co-starring Tony Todd) tries to be charismatic in this shitty written film. Unfortunately, the cliche story, poor pacing, and 'tries far too hard to by stylistic' directing sink this movie before it even leaves harbor.

This film was just far too frustrating as a Horror movie watcher to be enjoyable. The odd continuity errors (especially with the blood splatter which is a HUGE no-no for Horror films) and odd plot shifts (first Meg is dying the then she's fine!) make this film hair ripping frustrating.

If you love low budget Horror films than only see this one for a laugh and to see your icons. Otherwise, its too cliche and too poorly structured for even the most casual film watchers. Don't bother is my recommendation. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Autopsy - 2.5/5

I definitely didn't have that many high hopes for "Autopsy". I mean the story is pretty standard anymore and with the general 'too big for its own britches' theme for this third year of After Dark Horrorfest, I just wasn't expecting Shakespeare here. For the most part I'm glad I didn't get my hopes up, but there are some redeeming qualities to "Autopsy" that I didn't see coming and was pleasantly surprised with.

This film centers around a group of college pals (2 girls/2 guys) whom go to Mardi Gras to party it up. They meet a random Russian foreign student whom tags along when they decide to go for a ride drunk. Surprise surprise, they wreck on some backass Louisiana road and when an ambulance arrives it takes them to hell. Or at least a hospital that is only half a step above third world country standards, where a crazy doctor (played by genre man Robert Patrick) is doing some crazy shit!

So I like to start with the goods of each film and this one does have some pretty impressive sides to it. I have to give Adam Gierasch some credit where credit is due. At first, I figured this was going to be pretty straight up and run of the mill as the first half hour is your standard fare for Horror. It's when they get to the hospital that I was surprised. He pulls off some pretty cool shite there as he focuses on the nightmarish feeling that the hospital puts off. Odd angels of camera shots, ridiculous set designs, and very colorful lighting (think of old school Italian concepts of reds, greens, blues, and yellows like "Suspiria") just make this a visual monster once there. It's a wonderful contrast to the opening hum-ha style and it works like a charm. I was very impressed with how the film progresses into the nightmare, the wandering patients and emptiness, and it was a feast for my senses and he deserves mucho credito for that. Unfortunately, I didn't dig how nightmarish it gets by the end (its seriously to the point of not making a lick of sense anymore with randomness) but getting there was a hell of a ride.

On the frustrating side of the tracks some some of the acting performances (pretty much everyone sans the main girl whom holds her own for the most part) which tend to be a bit surface to the giant leaps in story and logic that the film makes. Actually, most of the issues that this film has come from its rather shallow script. There is so little character development that most of the characters I could give less then two shakes for (especially that Russian guy...what the hell was his purpose?) and when we do get some about half way through the film I already didn't care.

This was a decent film on the most part and I can't say I was completely bored with it, but its oddly shallow script undermined so much. Had it not been for its rather fun visual style I probably would have given up on it half way through. The dark humor did have its moments (with the three way stare down with the cop was pretty awesome) I will admit and that kept me keen too otherwise this is pretty lack luster. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Slaughter (2009) - 2/5

This film was a good case of waiting for something to happen...and waiting for something to happen...and waiting for something to happen...and YAY! Something's happening! And its dragging on...and dragging on...and on...all right. Let's end this...nope...not yet...okay...maybe...nope.

You get the point. For "Slaughter", another one of After Dark Horrorfest III's 8 Films To Die For, it was a test of patience. Although I appreciate a good suspenseful tale full of character development and tension building drama, this had almost none of that...well at least none of it that really worked. We spend a lot of time getting to know our main lady Faith and her fucked up life as she tries to run away from it and stay with a new found friend on her family farm. Although by the time shit starts hitting the fan in the third act, I had already tired of the premise. Just as things start getting good at the end...it starts to just...keep going. What feels like a climax turns out to be another half hour of film of an oddly placed power struggle between two women whom don't do anything that makes a lick of sense. We build and we build and we build for this? Damn.

But alas, the script may have had its cliche moments and sputtering pacing, but even some of the choices in the film were odd. The acting was hit or miss and so was the directing. Some solid moments sprung up here and there, but missed opportunities (like really building tension around the Slaughterhouse would have been nice) and missed focuses just undermined what was happening in the film.

I can't state that this was a bad film, per se, but it definitely wasn't good. It just missed out too much on some great elements that were hinted at in the script (some supporting cast screen time would have been nice here or there) and wasn't able to carry the film on the premise. It was just a very trying watch on my patience. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Dying Breed - 3/5

I must first say that the cover of this film is very poor. I usually try not to judge a film by its cover but talk about misleading. Definitely no martinis present in this film. But besides that...

Considering how many good things that there could have been in "Dying Breed", I felt a little let down. The premise was a pretty solid one that could have led to some very suspenseful and gritty moments, but alas the film tends to have a pretty standard 'cannibalistic community from hell' feeling throughout. Lots of potential and very little solid execution.

I will say that I was impressed with some of the performances in "Dying Breed" though. Nathan Phillips as Jack had some great moments of douche bagness and although you come to hate him pretty earlier its his comeback moments that had me by the throat. The main guy and main girl also both had some great moments although compared to Phillips they seemed a bit flat by the end.

I wish that the film had a slightly better flow to it then it achieved. It starts off with some great character work but there is a mid section of when they first get into the forest on their own that just died for me. It seemed to drag on a bit longer then it should have and by the time the true Horror aspect of the film comes along I was kind of dead to subject.

I'll try not to give too much away but I also felt that the ending of the film rushed a lot of the loose ends together without a lot of logical thought. It pulls a "Lord Of The Rings" and ends like 6 different times after the climax of the film (which ended up being pretty lack luster for my tastes) and it made me numb to the subject.

"Dying Breed" had a lot of great things that could have happened throughout the story, but a fairly straight up directing job and some poor story flows hindered the cast from showing off their solid acting chops and letting the story unfold in a more natural pace. Still a good effort (especially for the Horrorfest catalog) but definitely far too cliche for a cannibal hick community film for it to reach new heights. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

From Within - 4/5

I was taken back by this movie. I mean, the third set of releases for the 8 Films To Die For has been a lot better in quality overall, but most of them tend to not live up to their conceptual uniqueness. But for the first time in this series (perhaps behind "The Broken" for me) this film actually was able to adhere to its concept very well.

There are still some aspects of the film that didn't quite hit the nail on the head, but overall this was a definite win in my book as a Horror film. It's not perfect but it tries damn hard and I respect that.

"From Within" is about a small Jesus loving town that suddenly comes under a rash series of suicides that are blamed on the local outcast family (because they believe in some sort of Paganism instead of Jesus) and hell starts to unravel.

Of course the supernatural element of the film that makes it a pretty solid creepy film is the 'curse' that makes the people commit suicide - the death scenes are actually quite impressive. The person sees their doppelganger (with white eyes and odd veins in their face) and their evil cursed twin is the one that makes them kill themselves despite their own will. Very cool concept and it was pulled off masterfully in my opinion. Very horrific scenes and great special effects made it work damn well.

But even with this well pulled off supernatural side of things, perhaps the best (and most horrific side) of "From Within" is how the film pulled off the Jesus loving town folk whom decide to take matters in their own hands in the name of God. It's your pretty average tale of religion gone hardcore, but great acting from the supporting cast and some great writing in dialogue just makes it work so much better. The scene with the main character's (ex-) boyfriend and his father the pastor of the church is pretty damn riveting as the pastor tells him that God wouldn't condone the uprising and his son essentially calls him weak in faith. Yeah! Good character trait flaws make a great story! Loved it!

Of course, as I said, this isn't a perfect film. Some of the acting tends to be a bit bland. The supporting cast does some great work, like the religious zealot of an ex-boyfriend or even the cousin Sadie whom appears randomly at the end of the film. It's the main ones that tended to be a bit wishy washy. Elizabeth Rice as the main character Lindsay is okay at best and gets better through out the film, but she seems a bit unaffected by all her friends dying. Ehhh, give me something a bit more. And Thomas Dekker (now somewhat famous for the failed "Terminator" TV show) gives us an over tired and too vague son of the hated family. He tries very hard to be 'subtle and apathetic' which just comes off as shitty acting. It's like he saw "Donnie Darko" and thought 'Geez I can do that too!' and failed at it. But they got the job done in the end.

I was just overly impressed with "From Within" maybe a bit too impressed at the end of the day, but I liked that movie. Its one of the best for this series so far, and if the next few I have yet to watch match this one then I'll be a happy camper. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Voices - 2.5/5

What we have here is a classic case of unfocused film work. Which is sad really considering that if the story could have straightened itself out a bit more and focused on the journey towards the conclusion instead of odd red herrings and off beat moments, then this would have been one pretty awesome movie.

As it is, this film has some pretty solid acting and strong visual presence and attack. On these two elements this film is probably sitting at a 4 or 4.5 out of 5 instead of 2.5. Conceptually the story is very interesting as this young woman slips into an ever increasing paranoid state of being where all of her family and friends want her dead. This in itself is a clever take on the 'duel personality' twist that so many films use, but the film tends to bog down the story with useless back story and odd tangents.

For example, we get this family tree sort of this where the young girl goes off to visit an old friend (or family member I suppose I never could figure it out). This section of the film was interesting on its own with the story of the young man and his wife, but in the context of the film it was practically irrelevant to anything in the story except for paranoia and to show her interactions with her 'mysterious' friend. Otherwise it was pointless and a waste of film and time. It was beautifully told and shot but completely off the map according to the story. The same goes with the supernatural elements. What the fuck is that red gooey person and why do they show up? Visually, its bad ass but again completely irrelevant to the story and never explained.

This odd flow of film and lack of attention to moving the story forward made this film a lot worse then it should have. With the talented actors and talented eye of the director this should have been a very impressive film, but alas, it comes off as being misguided and meandering. It's a shame really as it had so much potential. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Lake Dead - 1.5/5

"That's how you fuck family" - John Lake

This is the last of the 2nd series of '8 Films To Die For' for me to watch and what a hell of a way to end it. This is perhaps the worst of the bunch (its neck and neck with "Nightmare Man") as its pretty much a blatant rip off off of a solid handful of better slasher films out there.

The story revolves around some sisters that inherit a Lake Motel (clever name!) when their Grandfather passes away. And by passes away I mean gets shot in the face with a shotgun in an intro that is both horribly acted and has pretty poor special effects. Of course, this intro is just a nice dabble of the shit to come in this one, and while the story and characters that come next might make you think your about to watch a somewhat decent low budge Horror film, in reality it just rips on some classics and ends up spinning uncontrollably into a tale spin of disastrous proportions.

Honestly, this is awful acting (particularly by the secondary characters like Bill and that random female friend that tags along just for the film to have some nudity and a random forest sex scene) that tries to pull a sub-par script out from a sink hole of a film. The story is your basic 'incest driven hillbilly slasher family' that's been done a billion times before and a billion and one times better, and nothing sans some interesting camera shots saves this from being a complete waste of my time. Hell, half the time the story didn't even make sense and the stupidity of the script (really? A fucking twisted ankle and your down for the count?!) made me feel as though they thought I was as dumb as the 2 Leatherface knock offs characters named Cain and Abel. Yeah, seriously. Cain and Abel. I know.

I could really just tear this one apart at the seams if I wanted to but I'm done with it. I'm going to post my review and then I'm going to forget I saw this at all. Blank my memory of this work of shit. This is just a warning for those of you out there that are interested. DON'T BE. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Perkins' 14 - 3/5

With each year in the After Dark Horrorfest, the films get a bit more unique and satisfying. Although many of them still suffer their flaws, I find I have lots of respect for a majority of the releases. This includes "Perkins' 14". This is a film where conceptionally (like many of its peers this year) the film is far greater than its actual performance, and although it definitely could have used a few fixes here and there, is pretty solid on the watch.

"Perkins' 14" deals with a police officer father whose son had been abducted 10 years prior in a string of 14 missing children cases that was never solved. As he continues to deal with his loss (and demise of his family situation) a strange encounter with jailed man named Perkins unleashes a series of horrific events that rocks the town to its knees and brings the father one step closer to finding his lost son (and the other 13 children).

Pretty cool concept eh? I think so too and honestly its the one reason to really watch this film. It's concept is very clever and pretty unique. The first half of the film focuses on the father figure and his family as it tells the story of the missing children within flash backs. The acting is decent all around, although some scripting issues tend to forego and around what could have been some even greater moments. In fact, that's where most of my problems with "Perkins' 14" come into play. There is a lot of build up in the first half with lots of hints towards these things that Perkins did to the children and who he was, but the last half of the film tends to feel like a rushed together zombie flick that never answers a lot of questions.

For example, a large plot device that was built up was Perkins' connection with the judge and his release from jail. But it never explained why this mysterious monster of a man would have this connection or why it was so very important. It simply gets lost in the chaos of the second half. There are many very interesting plot points that are ignored this way and as an intelligent viewer I felt let down that they didn't quite give me what I wanted to see/hear. It felt like a cop out of giving us more for the sake of 'letting us make up our own minds'. I wasn't buying it.

Other than most of the odd plot movements and choices, this was a pretty solid film. Some odd choices and some moments that could have been built up (some of the deaths are just sort of written off at the end and the emotional aftermath wasn't ever really shown) hindered the second half even more than it could have been. I wanted to know more about Perkins and his connections to everyone and I wish they would have built him up a bit more as a major player. Too bad really, cause had they done that and fixed a few flaws here and there this would have been a modern classic with its concept and pretty solid elements. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider