Mile High Horror Film Festival 2011: Overview

There it goes. The highly anticipated Mile High Horror Film Festival for 2011. Three days jam packed with a slew of different activities and despite a slow start driving in circles looking for the damn place, my arrival was greeted with a rocking "And your name, sir?". All right, perhaps Blood Brothers Reviews isn't quite the epic review site that I'm the guy that earns trumpets when he walks in the room (you guys are getting us there though so go you!), but the vibe of the festival was accordingly festive. Props of horror and Halloween scattered about, bubbling cauldrons, folk dressed to the nines as goblins, witches, a giant 7 foot tall bloody rabbit...it was a party. Just the sort of thing I was hoping it would be and it was only kicking off for the long weekend.

The Mile High Horror Film Festival establishes such a ambitious vibe that its hard to wipe the smile off my face even a half a week later. It was professionally organized, utilizing the classic space of the Tivoli Theater in all of its old school glory, and the staff were more than supportive and helpful. The general efficiency of the festival is to be admired and director Timothy Schultz can be given a hand for that.

Even though the space and the organizers seemed well prepared for the onslaught of horror fanatics with booze and Red Vines (Mmmm...Red Vines), the films are the true highlight of this festival. Although I was unable to attend every screening, I packed in as much as I could (I'm kicking myself for missing the third block of short films which seemed to include all of the best ones I hear) and ended up spending around 24 hours total at the venue with a whopping 18 hours of that spent in actual films. The selections were STUNNING. As if the general party vibe of this gathering of like minds in religious manner to celebrate the greatest genre in film wasn't enough, the films shown included some of my favorites for the year - a task not as easy as it would seem. Spanning 11 countries, the slew of different horror films ranged from classic Grindhouse styles to artistic low key spins on well known mythos. The wide range of films and their well picked quality only showcases what The Mile High Horror Film Festival has to offer in the upcoming years.

This is all iced over with some great celebrity meet-n-greets. Directors, actors, and stuntmen all showed their appreciation to the fans by showing up signing what must have thousands of autographs and doing insightful Q&A sessions for those hungry to learn more. The list of celebrities was extensive and impressive including highlights like the ever kind Michael Berryman (who followed a showing of the classic film "The Hills Have Eyes") and directors Tim Sullivan and Adam Rifkin who presented their latest horror opus "Chillerama". Head over to the website HERE to see the impressive list of guests of honor.

I've been to a my fair share of special screenings, festivals, and underground horror events in my lifetime and The Mile High Horror Film Festival is the most fun I've ever had at a gathering of the horror inclined. It's crafted with heart and an obvious love for the genre as a festival catering to the ambitious crowd with overzealous effectiveness and the films shown are only of the highest quality and best diversity available. If you are reading this, this festival is the be-all-end-all of the best in underground horror and a must attend for those in the area (or fly out here you lazy maniacs). They have guarenteed a life time of support from Blood Brothers...that's for sure.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007) - 4/5

Although there were certainly elements to like about "Wrong Turn", it happened to just find itself floating in a river of 'meh' driving home a rather mediocre slasher experience. "Wrong Turn 2: Dead End" on the other hand, takes the franchise off into the right direction - that being an over the top, slightly tongue-in-cheek, and gruesome experience that earns director Joe Lynch into the "new directors to love" list at Blood Brothers and a series whose sequel actually out performs the original.

A group of haphazard and often ego maniacal reality TV contestants are driven back into the West Virginian woods for the latest 'survival TV' craze. Handled by survivalist Dale (Rollins) the group have to complete challenges and survive a fake apocalypse all the while being filmed for higher ratings. Turns out their survival fake out won't be so fake at all when a group of inbred/mutant monster people start to hunt them for food...

"Wrong Turn" was a by the numbers slasher film and interestingly enough, this sequel almost seems to poke fun at it. Although it certainly doesn't require seeing the original one to stand on its own (it does however have a few story elements that make sense better if you do), "Wrong Turn 2" takes the entire idea shoves its tongue down into the cheek and runs with it at a hundred miles an hour. The plot may be familiar, but the style and approach to what should have been a quick cash in script is hilarious and refreshing. Yeah, this film is not going to change the genre, but its a hell of a ride anyway.

It's built on cliches and views them as such. How do we get the most asinine and characteristic people in the woods? How about build it as a faux reality show with all of the various range of douche bags, heroines, jocks, and skanks in tow. How do we get more intense death sequences? How about adding in abandoned mills, traps, and Henry Rollins as a survivalist/Rambo-wannabe expert. It takes all of the cliches that we get in these sort of films, rolls them in ridiculousness, and force feeds them to the audience whether you want it or not. It's a riot to watch.

Of course, "Wrong Turn 2" isn't all spades, the acting is hit or miss (although Henry Rollins might have needed to get some sort of award for his character here) and some of the special effects are a bit lacking, but the way that Joe Lynch approaches the entire project makes for a hilariously rambunctious time for any self aware slasher fan. It's gory, funny, and completely fist pumping in its eagerness to feed the audience what they want from slashers. All to its own benefit. Impressive for a direct to DVD sequel to a mediocre slasher.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Chillerama (2011) - 4.5/5

What can really be said about "Chillerama" except that its a cult film for cult film fans made by cult film fans. Although here at Blood Brothers we have been fans of each of these four directors for some time (with highest praise for Adam Green), it was only obvious that a film who homages classic horror with four separate short films dedicated to certain time periods would rank up there quite high...even if it is done completely tongue in cheek the entire play time. It claims to be the ultimate midnight movie and it ranks up there with my favorite midnight movies for sure.

When a local drive in theater is about to be shut down, a final showing of a handful of short horror films seems to be the perfect send off. Modern classics like "Wadzilla", "The Diary Of Anne Frankenstein", and "I Was A Teenage Werebear" are all on the selection tonight...but when the dead begin to rise these young folk may just have to find a way to survive their last drive-in experience.

I won't get into each section and analyze those for you...because honestly, it needs to be seen to be believed and if you are a fan of any kind of 'cult' style film making then this is a MUST SEE. Each of the four directors brings their own flavor of over the top humor and pushes the limits of each short only to succeed over and over again. Although its sure to gross you out more often than not (Joe Lynch and his "Zom-B Movie" goes to some significant extremes to do so), the way that these young horror fanatics homage their respective eras is impressive. The musical numbers of the greaser era in "I Was A Teenage Werebear" are delightfully silly and fitting, the poor background screens for "Wadzilla" bring back young memories of watching horrible Godzilla films perfectly, the black and white and obvious low budget of "Anne Frankenstein" makes for some hilarious moments, and the sheer aggressiveness and grotesqueness of "Zom-B Movie" certainly brings to mind those late 70s and early 80s schlock films. This of course is why you MUST SEE it.

On top of its beyond clever concept and stellar directorial work, "Chillerama" succeeds in getting all of the stories pieced together in quite an efficient manner. Although not quite as complicated as "Trick R Treat", "Chillerama" gives us a reason to see all of the different stories in styles in a way that makes the whole film feel like a whole film rather than a bunch of smaller films tacked together. Not only do they do it, but they make it a hoot to watch in the process, which sells the idea even further.

If you are looking for more of a straight horror film, that's not "Chillerama". It's outrageous, completely tongue in cheek, and a fantastic watch for those versed in classic genre films. These directors/writers just keep getting better and better with their careers and this latest anthology film proves that they have the foundations to go even further.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

I Didn't Come Here To Die (2010) - 3.5/5

Sometimes it's the best choice to go into a film with no expectations whatsoever. This is how I went into "I Didn't Come Here To Die" and it left me with a rather pleasantly surprised experience. Of course, its neither the most original film not is it going to knock you dead with its rather by the numbers plot progression, but the oddity of its style and strong final half do much to impress.

A group of volunteers, each with their own reason to be there, head out to the middle of a remote woodland area to begin work at building a new summer camp. The group of youth kid about the legends surrounding the area, but when some very frightening accidents begin to happen, the line between the supernatural stories and the volunteers' sanity blur.

The most interesting and rather unique aspect of "I Didn't Come Here To Die" is how it blends the old school horror and the new school style. The directing is obviously done in a modern and sleek style utilizing lots of extreme close ups, rapid fire edits, and a bit of that modern shaky camera. This is partnered with a rather Grindhouse inspired aesthetic of gritty film, the creativity of working around its low budget for some interesting and brutal death sequences, and obvious homages in its intro (including a very badass title card). This combination proves to be a lethal idea that works well to embrace both worlds in harmonious combination of old and new. Certainly the highlight of the film.

"I Didn't Come Here To Die" also does well to keep its focus blurred with its writing. Normally, this is an aspect that would drive me insane, but the writing and on-screen delivery keeps the film balanced between having its motive be supernatural or whether its all in the volunteers' heads. Although I would have liked the film to further deliver in characters slowly becoming unstable mentally (the ghostly haunting of the girl in the gas mask works quite well even if the gas mask seems out of the left field), the film does balance it out to pristine measurements to make the second half a real nail biter.

Despite some hit or miss performances and a low budget, the cleverly blended writing and strong aesthetic brought out by the director fill in many of the weaker moments and gaping plot holes of logic. "I Didn't Come Here To Die" is not a great film, but the potential show by its artistic work and concept surprises in solidity and overrides many of its flaws.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Kidnapped [Secuestrados] (2010) - 4.5/5

How do you spell kidnapped in Spanish? As this little independent horror/thriller would indicate, you spell it I-N-T-E-N-S-E. From minute one of this Spanish film, the tension skyrockets out of the stratosphere and never comes down leaving the audience a ragged and often disturbed version of their former self. Throughout my theater going experience (thanks to the very amazing Mile High Horror Film Festival), I cringed and gasped and simply awed at the simplistic spectacle that "Kidnapped" brought out on a silver platter. For sure one of the best films I've seen this year.

Jaime (Cayo) lives in relative luxury with his wife (Wagener) and daughter (Velles) in their brand new home. When a trio of masked burglars decides to ransack the family in their household one night, this average family will find themselves in life or death circumstances. As the robbery increasingly gets thwarted and soured by unexpected flaws of plan, this simple family must decide whether fight or surrender...a choice that may cost them their lives.

Reportedly, I've read that "Kidnapped" was filmed in 12 shots, although other reports do indicate that many of the cuts in the film were spliced in obscenely well hidden spaces. Yet it remains whether this is true or not, that the film feels like it was filmed in the most limited amount of editing possible and its stunning to think about. That's what matters. The endless shots bombard the audience with a sense of realism and realistic time as we ponder and sweat out the eventual ending or our protagonists. This realism is only heightened by the gritty filming style, the more than impressive acting, and the relatively low key added effects including score. Although what score there was certainly undermined the whole film with a sense of dread and was perfectly fitting. This sense of realism is truly the most horrific part of the film and director Vivas brings it to life in the most disturbing ways.

Forewarning though, "Kidnapped" is not for the weak of heart. Not only is the tension at 11 the entire film and the realism extraordinarily strong, but the film goes to some dark places in the plot that are horrifying just themselves. The plot is simple. It's rather basic. We've seen house raid movies before, but the realism combined with some of the dramatic turns of events (partnered with enough artistic sense to pull it off without seeming like a grindhouse feature) will make your toes curl. I'll just leave it at that.

"Kidnapped" was impressive from beginning to its rather sudden finish. The execution was incredible and even though the plot was basic, the artistic sense to pull off many of its outrageous ideas (including some split screen moments that made me want to become an alcoholic with tension) makes this film a horror fan must see. It's disturbing, but the respect for how it was done is immense.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Killage, The (2011) - 3/5

Although crafting a satire on slasher films isn't new (it fell to new lows with "Shriek"), it can still be presented in such a way to earn its own merits as both a comedy and a horror film. This Australian slasher satire, as if you couldn't tell it be one from its rather cleverly silly title, is hit and miss all around though occasionally dredging up some legitimate laughs with its ridiculousness only to fall prey to the wishy-washy cast and sometimes too basic jokes.

A group of young men and women, all of cliche personalities ranging from the Goth girl to a beefed up knuckle head that goes by the name Jock, are off to a work retreat to figure out who in the new company has the stamina to be team leader. Unfortunately for this group of dim-witted campers, one of them happens to be a murderous psychopath. Which one of them is the killer? Is it the forlorn heroine? The nerdy photographer? The stoner? Can the mystery be solved in time before everyone gets knocked off in creative ways? Is this too many questions?

Often enough, "The Killage" does exactly what it needs to for the satire on slashers to work. Our group is perfectly by the numbers, the kills are clever but ridiculous enough to earn some laughs (a woman is killed with dental floss and an electric toothbrush), and the plot moves in ways one often recognizes as basic slasher premises. In this way, this Australian indie film succeeds in spades. It's delightful in many of the asinine conversations and off beat re-occurring concepts (including a nude joke with the Jock character that never seems to end - which is part of why it works so well) and many of the cast members play it up as much as possible, selling it. It's hard not to claim that I didn't laugh my ass off at many moments, including an incorporated parakeet riff that pops up in the most random spots.

Beyond the basics though, "The Killage" suffers a bit. As fans of slasher satires, we've been spoiled with films like "Scary Movie" and "Scream" who push the boundaries of the idea to new areas catering to their audience with unrelenting grace. Even though I admire that "The Killage" was unafraid to be offensive in many ways with its odd gore and stereotypes, it could have pushed it further. Take out some of the serious undertones towards the end, throw in some quips, quotes, and homages to classic slashers and it would have done it perfectly. It has the foundations down, but some more details that let us know that they know what they are talking about in its slasher/comedy and it would have nailed a home run.

All in all, "The Killage" is a hilarious time for those willing to pull back their horror pretensions for the sake of a few ridiculous laughs. Not quite as tight in writing or executions as some others that take the idea running, but its often silly enough to evoke the joy that we get out of B-grade slashers.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Demonic Toys 2 (2010) - 1.5/5

In an attempt to reclaim their former glory after years and years of pumping out pure crap, Full Moon Pictures decided to produce sequels to two of their biggest hits "Puppet Master" and "Demonic Toys". The first sequel was "Puppet Master: Axis of Evil", an extremely disappointing sequel that proved that Full Moon was still a shadow of their former selves. The second sequel was "Demonic Toys 2" (despite two crossover films made previously with "Dollman vs. the Demonic Toys" and "Puppet Master vs. Demonic Toys"). "Demonic Toys 2" ended up hair better than the new "Puppet Master" sequel but still proves Full Moon has a LONG way to go.

A collector of rarities shows up at an old Roman castle in order to collect an ancient toy unearthed by an archeologist. Of course he brings along a few demonic toys he picked up and an ancient evil brings the toys to life and possess the body of a psychic midget.

The continuity to the first "Demonic Toys" films is shaky at best (a character from the film "Hideous" even shows up). How did this collector get his hands on the toys from the warehouse in the original? It's never explained. Also not all the toys return so die hard fans will be disappointed that only Baby Oppsy and the demonic jack-in-the-box make an appearance but they might dig their new "Bride of Chucky" sewn-up appearance.

The production values are as low as they get, which isn't all that surprising. Director/writer William Butler does what he can but the film is still loaded with cheap-jack CGI effects and blood. The setting in a Roman Castle is no doubt due to budgetary reasons as it would be cost effective to film in producer Charles Band's personal property.

The plot is connect-the-dots loaded with the most cliché characters one can puke up onto a screenplay. Super smart, sexy archeologist, handsome love interest, creepy midget, and bitchy rich cunt all make their appearance and all the unlikeable ones predictably die off.

"Demonic Toys 2" was a valiant effort but it wasn't worth the 18 year wait after the guilty pleasure original. The cheap, digital look, bad CGI effects, bland plot and cliché characters makes this not near as fun. On the other hand it's far better than most of the shit Full Moon has been churning out for the past number of years.

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Devil Within Her, The [I Don't Want to Be Born] (1975) - 1.5/5

The 70s was loaded with campy horror films, films that were made be taken seriously but thanks to ridiculous plot elements and bad acting they became unintentional laughfests. Most of these campy efforts were "Exorcist" and/or "Rosemary's Baby" knock-offs. "Beyond the Door" and "The Manitou" are two rip-offs two films in this category that had me on the floor with my gut aching with laughter. "The Devil Within Her" (not to be confused with "Beyond the Door" which was released in Great Britain with the same title) is one of these unintentional campfests that makes an excellent triple feature with the afore mentioned films.

Joan Collins plays a dancer that gets cursed by an evil midget (you read that right) after she avoids his sexual advances after a performance. The curse leads her new born baby to be a little devil, having superhuman strength and the ability to morph into an evil midget to kill off her loved ones. Can she break the curse with the help of a nun before the baby drives her mad?

The whole concept of this film is beyond ridiculous and it's amazing that the cast can keep a straight face throughout the film. A midget cursing an unborn baby... come on! One can't help but laugh when the new born slugs unsuspecting victim's faces, breaking their noses.

What's amazing about these campy crapshoot horror films is that they always managed to get great casts. We get Italian cult icon John Steiner ("Shock"), Hammer Horror icon Ralf Bates ("Horror of Frankenstein", "Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde") and gorgeous Caroline Munro ("StarCrash", "The Spy Who Loved Me"). Sadly Caroline is mostly wasted as the best friend but her beauty makes it easily forgivable for this reviewer. Donald Pleasance ("Halloween") does what he can as a confused doctor but I'm sure at the end of the day he's happy to collect his paycheck. Joan Collins plays herself (can she play anything else) but she is damn beautiful, bearing nice amounts of flesh proving her 43 year old body looks like it belongs on a 25 year old.

"The Devil Within Her" is a silly, unintentionally funny hybrid of "Rosemary's Baby" and "It's Alive" that is unfocused in the hands of Hammer director veteran Peter Sasdy ("The Vampir Lovers"). The film ended up so bad that it tried to hide itself under multiple titles around the world, including but not limited to "I Don't Want to Be Born" (it's original UK title), "Sharon's Baby", "The Monster" and "The Baby." Under any title, it still sucks but it is much watch for fans of unintentional campfests. Alcohol is recommended for full effect.

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Prom Night IV: Deliver Us from Evil (1991) - 2.5/5

With the character Mary Lou failing to win over horror audiences as a franchisable character with the missed opportunity "Prom Night III", filmmakers decide to ignore the last two Mary Lou entries and take the series in a new direction. Gone is the comical overtones substituted for a deadly serious tone reminiscent of the first entry. Also gone is Mary Lou substituted with a killer Catholic priest. Though the new approach failed to win over audiences, it won over me and I find "Prom Night IV" to be one of the more underrated of all the slasher sequels that fill video store shelves.

Like "Prom Night II" we open with a high school prom in 1957 where a psychotic priest decides to brutally kill some sinning teens. The church hides the incident by locking up and drugging the Priest into a catatonic state. Thirty years later, he awakens, escapes and decides to make a Prom Night a living hell for two teen couples having fun at a vacation home.

The deadly serious tone was a needed shift from the overly silly third entry. I also dug the bleak, cold snowy backdrop of the film taking place in the dead of winter. The best part however is Ken McGregor as our killer priest. This guy is fucking psychotic! Definitely good enough to make slasher fans forget that Mary Lou chick from the last entry.

Director Clay Borris is also able to craft some actual scares. Hard to believe for a forth entry into a floundering franchise. I was shocked to be dished up some suspenseful kill sequences. Mix that with an attractive young cast (headed by cutie Nicole de Boer) and some amazing sex scenes and you have the must have ingredients for an enjoyable slasher.

Still, even with that praise, there's some plot elements that tend to annoy the shit out of me. One is how the church decided to lock up and sedate the killer priest instead of turning him over to the authorities. Really? Second is after thirty years the Priest hasn't aged a day other than having long hair.

"Prom Night IV" is not a groundbreaking slasher but it works on revamping the franchise by taking the series back into serious territory. The bleak approach mixed catholic imagery works on giving the film a stark, attractive look. Sadly the film is overlooked by horror fans for the simple fact that it's the fourth entry into a franchise. That and for the fact the "Prom Night" series is inconsistent in its approach with serious entries, comical entries and lack of continuity in story and characters. If one can look beyond the inconsistency flaws I believe more people would agree with me that the "Prom Night" franchise is one of the most underrated horror series that seemingly no one talks about. Sadly, even though I actually liked this fourth entry, it marked the end of the series despite an open-ended ending allowing for another sequel.

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Prom Night III: The Last Kiss (1989) - 2/5

Producer Peter Simpson had a surprise success with the supernatural slasher "Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II", a sequel in name-alone that was riding the success coattails of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" films. "Prom Night II" introduced slasher villain "Mary Lou" and no doubt wanting to make a franchisable character in the mold of Freddy Krueger, "Prom Night III" marks her return. The problem is where "Prom Night II" was comparable to "Nightmare 3", "Prom Night III" is comparable to "Nightmare 4" and any horror fanatic knows that's a solid step down in quality.

We open with Mary Lou (now played by Courtney Taylor) escaping from her shackles from hell with a nail file (yes, you read that right). She proceeds to head to her old high school and seduces a young smartass. Who cares if she kills people doing you harm, as long as she's a good lay... right? He goes along with her plan for a while but when he decides to break their relationship off, all hell breaks loose.

The second film has some comical moments but it was well balanced out with the horror. It was always a horror movie through and through first. Much like "Nightmare on Elm Street 4", the filmmakers here opt to load the film up with comedy tarnishing the horror elements in he process. And like "Nightmare 4", most of the comedy moments fall flat.

The look of the film is also lacks the sleek, polished and well edited feel of it's predecessor. Could this be due to budgetary reasons? Possibly but it also makes me question as the film credits two guys as directors: Ron Oliver and Peter Simpson. Oliver was the screenwriter of the second film and Simpson of course is the producer. This is never a good sign as 9 times out of 10 the producer took over directing duties as he was upset with the job the director was doing. I don't know if this is the case or not but it doesn't bode well with directors credited in this manner.

Another problem with the film Courtney Taylor as Mary Lou. Lisa Schrage in "Prom Night II" was able to convey both seduction along with terror and sadism. She was sexy while at the same time being deadly making her perfectly cast as Mary Lou and it's a damn shame they weren't able to her to return. Taylor is easy on the eyes but she's hardly scary and never bought it for one moment that she was a killer. She was just a whiny, high maintenance bitch that happened to kill anyone posing a threat for her boyfriend.

The killings are also overly silly. We get a teacher cut up and filled with fruit and ice cream, a school counselor killed with battery acid raining from a hair dryer and even the star quarterback getting killed by a football made to look like a drill bit. These killings are so cheesy that even Freddy hit his head with frustration.

"Prom Night III" attempts to make a franchisable slasher icon with Mary Lou but thanks to poor casting for the character and an overly comedic approach to the subject matter, Mary Lou would be buried for good and never resurrected again for another sequel, despite a forth film appearing a few years later. "Prom Night III" proved to be so disappointing that it even debuted as a direct-to-video feature in the United States despite being made to be theatrical film. It's not completely worthless but considering how surprisingly good "Prom Night II" was, "III" ultimately became an utter disappointment.

Even more disappointing is the DVD release by Artisan. Obviously a VHS transfer, to add insult to injury it is a VHS transfer of the TV edit of the film. All the foul language is replaced with words like "frickin" and all the gore ended up on the cutting room floor. Even during the interesting climax where our heroine goes into hell to rescue her boyfriend (ala "Hellbound: Hellraiser II") the film has some video blips showing how wore out the VHS source was. A sad day for a DVD release.

Written By Eric Reifschneider