Blood Runs Cold (2013)

Director: Sonny Laguna
Notable Cast: Hanna Oldenburg, Patrick Saxe, Elin Hugoson, Andreas Rylander

It was always a complaint of mine that not enough horror films take place during winter, particularly slasher films. It's a great 'gimmick' and it is not used enough. Somebody must be hearing my prayers because here comes "Blood Runs Cold" a smashing low budget slasher that homages the late 70s/early 80s style and does it with enough creative flair and tension to sell its often under scripted premise. Throwing back to the early style of Sam Raimi "Blood Runs Cold" is far from original, but the suffocating tension and intense slasher brutality is enough to cater to any old school horror fan.

Winona (Oldenburg) simply needs a break. She has become a successful artist in her own right, but she needs to dig back to her roots. Her manager rents an old house on the outskirts of the town she grew up in for her to escape and it seems like it might be the breather she needs. Even when she runs into an old boyfriend, everything seems to be going smoothly and when she invites him and his two friends over it seems like a great time. Until people start to disappear into the winter. Until Winona begins to wonder if the house was ever empty to begin with...

In a slasher film, putting your head up to the door is just asking to have your face stabbed.

So it's a slasher film and its pretty obvious that the script isn't going to pull many punches with its simplicity, but it's that same simplicity that allows writer/director Sonny Laguna to do some unique things. The dialogue is very basic and very limited throughout the film and I've read a few reviews that seem to think this is a bad thing. Occasionally, there feels like moments drag on a bit too long but I was more aware of the tension of the isolation of the setting that it creates. Nothing is more sinister than silence and Laguna uses that quite a bit here. The camera work is delightfully thoughtful with lots of angles and odd shots (think Raimi mixed with a little bit of early 80s Italian giallo at times) and Laguna slathers on the atmosphere using the house and the villain to maximum effect for its budget.

Oh yes, the budget does hinder the film at times. Although it creates an early 80s style to the film, the acting is, overall, pretty bad and the actors are definitely not quite fully comfortable in the English language (I guess they were really gunning for that American slasher feel). The special effects are remarkably well done considering the budget and in true slasher form, the film guns for a couple of great gory moments that seem fitting for this film and the intensity it has at times. I was definitely surprised at how they accomplished some great effects with editing (including a thrown ax that hits a pole next to one of our heroes) and despite the flaws I was definitely digging the potential talent buried in the film.

As simple as it is, the killer is actually quite effective in how he looks.

"Blood Runs Cold" is not original, nor is it going to be impress those critics out there who nit pick every little detail until the big picture is lost. The acting is bad, the budget hurts the film for sure, and it's a very simple plot for us to digest. Dammit, it's a slasher though. It's got gore, clever kills (who saw the machine gun coming? Not me.), and a very creepy villain with snow caked goggles and a weird hat that comes off a pretty memorable for how limited we were on details about him...which was more fun for the few subtle details we got at the end. It works in an homage sort of way. "Blood Runs Cold" is buried in thick atmosphere and killer slasher moments that showcase the potential for the people involved...specifically Laguna as a director. Slasher fans definitely need to take a stab with "Blood Runs Cold."

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Pack, The (2010)

Director: Franck Richard
Notable Cast: Emilie Dequenne, Benjamin Biolay, Yolande Moreau, Phillipe Nohan

French horror films have seen a massive resurgence as the likes of "High Tension", "Martyrs", and "Inside" dominated the extremity of the genre. When I finally was able to get around to seeing "The Pack", a shape shifting genre flick that was likened to the films mentioned above, I was excited to see what else the French horror landscape had to offer. The end results of "The Pack" though are a rather mixed affair that borderlines significantly disappointing. Sure it has some moments to love and the concept is delightfully twisted, but the overall product ends up falling quite short of the high standards set by its brethren.

When Charlotte (Dequenne) picks up a strange hitchhiker Max (Biolay) on the side of the road, she seems to have no fear of anything. Together they road trip for a while before eventually coming to a little restaurant off the beaten path run by an odd elderly woman (Moreau). It is here that Max mysteriously disappears. Charlotte later returns to 'investigate' what happened to Max only to find that the restaurant is meant to feed more than hungry customers...

"We're going to France? That place it BR00TAL."

I will admit, the first third of the film was a winding and often quite engaging film. At one point the film feels like a slasher film only curve itself into a mystery before finally carting down towards a 'cannibalistic' family route. "The Pack"'s gene bending abilities in this artful and atmospheric first portion made for a rather unique and impressive start, leading me to believe that it just might end up clawing its way up the ranks of French horror. The acting here is subtle, but fitting while Emilie Dequenne made for an intriguing protagonist to take this trip with. As the film begins to truly show its horror tendencies above its mysterious opening, that's when it also begins to crumble right before your eyes.

Nope. Not a "Saw" sequel. Not that I could explain what the scene was doing in the movie.

The concept of the film is definitely a highlight as the final half begins to show its true colors. What started off as a mysterious slasher and torture-esque film, "The Pack" begins to unfold as an off beat zombie art house picture. Hints of a more mysterious almost witchcraft like subtext is there to tease you and most of the tension remains throughout the rest of the play time. Unfortunately, as the film digresses into more nightmarish moments that focus on these very creatively designed "undead" creatures who are awakened by blood in the soil, the film's focus goes with it. Not much from the opening comes back around to come full circle (leaving me quite frustrated as there was so much potential there) and the ending ends up leaving us with far too many questions for its own good.

Graboid people!

Director/writer Franck Richard seems to have this brilliant idea planned out, but some of the leaps of logic and forced artistic merit that are pulled at the end seem to undermine the general quality of the film. The special effects are quite impressive (the "undead" are vicious looking and make for some frightful villains), but the film feels the need to do some odd things that make us question just what the film is trying to do - including some daft ideas like having the "undead" seemingly teleport from place to place and never explaining just they want with our helpless protagonist. By the time the credits rolled, I was insanely frustrated by the lacking focus and uneven atmosphere.

What started off as a very unique and potentially impactful horror film quickly turns to skeptical leaps of plot hole riddled thought and unfocused/undeveloped concepts unveiling "The Pack" as one of the weaker horror films to jump over to the US from France. It is a film that definitely has it's moments, but for those with a bit more of a developed horror taste or looking for another strong French horror film...then I suggest looking elsewhere.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Yet, if you are a collector of French horror or as simply intrigued by the film's blending of genres, then feel free to click on the link below to pick up your copy right now.

Exit Humanity (2011)

Director: John Geddes
Notable Cast: Mark Gibson, Adam Seybold, Jordan Hayes, Bill Moseley, Dee Wallace, Stephen McHattie, and narration by Brian Cox

"Exit Humanity" had been sitting in my watch queue since the damn thing came out on home video and what better time to take a crack at this historical zombie film than during my horror-thon in October. Although this little independent film with its rather impressive set of supporting cast definitely ranked high on some levels of the concept, the overall execution was a mixed pot of zombie stew. I loved the idea of a civil war era set zombie spectacular, but "Exit Humanity" rarely invoked the kind of emotional and unique relevance that its concept could have carried.

Edward Young (Gibson) was there to witness the beginning of the end when he was fighting in the Civil War. Now it's six years later and the spread of the zombie plague has taken both is wife and son. In desperation to fulfill his duties as a father and husband, he takes to the road determined to have his son's ashes placed at a promised site. But the world is different now and friends and foes are hard to distinguish as he comes across a man desperate to find his sister and a rogue group of militants that are bound determined to find a cure.

Once again I stumble across an low budget horror film (almost plays out more like a drama here) that I desperately want to love. The concept of a zombie apocalypse set to the aftermath of the Civil War is damn near brilliant and there are plenty of moments where John Geddes does take the film to that level with artistic shots and some strong narration. Unfortunately there are two things that prevent "Exit Humanity" from reaching that level, the budget and inconsistency of execution.

Shoot first, ask questions much much later.

Budget wise, the film just doesn't quite have enough to really run with its concept. Although Geddes does keep the sets and costuming to a minimum for this sake - the film loses a bit of realism without those historical elements to remind us of the time frame. Our hero's jacket looks far too modern and the scope of the landscape is simply hindered by the lacking budget. The special effects for the zombies and the general look of the film is quite strong in this regard and its obvious that was one of the focuses of where the money should go, but it lacks the scope that would have really made it something to see.

And going along with that, "Exit Humanity" has really high points and really low points that are heavily influenced by its budget and other artistic factors. Brian Cox gives a riveting narrative to the film with strong moments that pop (perhaps coming out as the best thing about "Exit Humanity") and make our lead actor Gibson a bit more of a miss than a hit in the role. In fact, most of the cast is extremely inconsistent with their scenes where they are either nailing this moment of silence or totally botching an emotional break out. As much as I love seeing the great supporting cast they have here (Moseley, Wallace, McHattie) most of them seem on autopilot through the film and underdeveloped as characters. Geddes tries to grasp some things from the cast and from the script, but too often it fumbles right before the big score.

The hero screams for a third of his dialogue...at least.

There are also a few other oddities about "Exit Humanity" that left me unattached. Although the "chapters" of the film give the film its distinctive "diary" re-enactment structure, they are mostly irrelevant and the film will occasionally break into an animated sequence done in the style of his journal drawings that really pull the viewer from the experience reminding them that it is, in fact, still a movie. It's these elements that really make "Exit Humanity" an overall miss opportunity of execution.

For a low budget and independent film, "Exit Humanity" certainly shows promise for Geddes with it's ambitious concept and choice artistic moments. The film just can't carry that same energy throughout and leaves the end result mixed. I want to love this movie just for the idea...but "Exit Humanity" makes it damn hard to even do that.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Intrigued by a post-Civil War zombie epic? Feel free to use the link below to pick up your own copy of "Exit Humanity".

YellowBrickRoad (2010)

Director: Jesse Holland, Andy Mitton

Notable Cast: Michael Laurino, Anessa Ramsey

It has taken me a while to really wrap my head around what I watched in “YellowBrickRoad.” It really is a thinking person’s horror film with how it goes about crafting its simplistic tale of paranoia and the spiral into madness. Yet, I distinctly felt disconnected with the film and its characters despite some strong elements that made it a very unique and interesting watch.

In 1940, the small town of Friar New Hampshire vanished. They all got up together one day, left their belongings and trekked down a trail into the woods where some of them froze, were slaughtered, or straight up disappeared. Now a group of researchers have discovered the trail and have built a little expedition to follow in their footsteps...but what they find on this mysterious 'yellow brick road' may not lead them to the answers that they want.

There is a brilliance to how simply the film makers made “YellowBrickRoad.” The story is very basic in how it structures itself and how the characters are introduced and built upon. What the film does massively succeed in is really making the little things matter. The details are just as important to this film as are the broad strokes of character development and plot twists. It might be fairly cliché in how predictable it was towards the end, but there were a lot of little details in the strong dialogue that made it full circle to work in the end including the odd movie theater references that kept popping up and the repeated references to “The Wizard Of Oz” where this film derives it’s name from. 

"I'd like to request some serious chapstick here."

With that as a foundation, its hard not to feel like the film still played it a little safe at times. With the massive amounts of building paranoia and its focus on how the characters were slowly drifting into insanity, I wanted it to push it even further. It seems to focus on certain details and forget others like how I kept wanting the psychologist’s questions and answers with each character to go for the throat instead of dropping off half way through and only getting a single pay off. I kept wanting to see the madness of these travelers take more creepy paths instead of rather basic ones.

Oh the times of content after eating a big picni...wait a minute!

The film also builds nicely to one moment of gruesome awesomeness with a clear cut reference to the Scarecrow from “Wizard Of Oz”, but after that the film almost dwindles into a relatively flat ending. It makes some great circles with details, but after the Scarecrow incident I wanted it to even go further. To really push the limits and yet, it seemed content with just playing the same atmospheric and character driven style to the very end. It comes off as an ending that is too artistic that loses some of its power through its lacking persistence to make the audience feel insane.

I do recommend watching “YellowBrickRoad” for many of its unique aspects and strong atmospheric touches (the music plot element is definitely a creepy and fascinating touch…were they all imagining it?!), but it could have been a film to redefine horror rather than just one to give it a neat twist. Horror fans might find some love in it, but its flaws come out glaring in the end. 

Written By Matt Reifschneider