Chromeskull: Laid To Rest 2 (2011) - 3.5/5

The first "Laid To Rest" garnered some praise for its mixture of modern style and throwback slasher motifs. It was also a film that suffered from both of these as its acting and plot logistics overcame the solid directing and very awesome villain. This is why "Chromeskull: Laid To Rest 2" intrigued me so. It had to improve on these elements to create a better film and it certainly does. Not to the extent I would have hoped as it still suffers a bit from the same flaws, but its new directions and increased presence of pacing certainly help.

Three months after the events of "Laid To Rest", a mysterious organization that the silver skull wearing serial killer runs has kept the villainous knife wielding maniac alive. Now our last remaining survivor Tommy (Dekker) must work with a police unit hunting down Chromeskull before he starts his killing spree again. Can they stop him before he gets to them first or will upheaval in the ranks of Chromeskull's organization crumble the entire plan?

Where the first film very much structured itself and followed the blueprint for 80s slashers as close as possible, "Chromeskull" takes the franchise towards a more modern slasher style to match Robert Hall's solid directorial look. Although it still highly enshrouds the villain in cloak and dagger, it does bring this "organization" to light and gives us a new villain in the form of the efficiently dangerous Preston (Brian Austin Green) who also happens to be the best actor in the film. Even though much of the logical progression of the plot seems to be secondary to its pacing (people drive very quickly from place to place here), the rather interesting directions that Hall takes this sequel and the dynamics of the villains makes it worth watching just for that.

For the other part of "Chromeskull", Hall and company continue with the slasher run-around. Our heroes are rather weak honestly as protagonists and the actors match it with their rather lackluster performances. The first half of the film has some stunningly awesome kill sequences, but it gets a bit repetitive by how it goes about weaving in the slasher-ing with the secondary plot of the organization. It's not until the last act when it all comes to a head that "Chromeskull" truly pushes its slasher moments to full speed and that's when the film works best.

"Chromeskull" has to work its ass off once again to overcome its budget restraints and plot inconsistencies, but with an even more clever idea, another bout with an awesome slasher killer, and some seriously great special effects this sequel actually outperforms the original one. It takes the chances and they pay off.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Red State (2011) - 2.5/5

With a floundering career as a director/writer in comedy with the likes of "Zack and Miri" trying too damn hard and "Cop Out" not trying hard enough, Kevin Smith decided to jump ship and head over to a genre where the bang for his buck is probably more worth it. Horror. Thusly we are given "Red State", a rather odd horror film that rarely feels like horror and tends to over preach against both state and church. It certainly has its moments, the black humor is quite fitting and its wicked quick pacing works, but overall "Red State" disappoints. Not unlike the last handful of Kevin Smith films.

Three teenage boys are tricked by the promise of quick sex into becoming hostages by an over zealous church oriented and generally hateful family whose anger towards the unGodly is only matched by the stockade of firepower held in the compound. When the government gets involved via the shaky hand of ATF Agent Keenan (Goodman), all hell might break loose in the name of God.

What's so frustrating about "Red State" (and for many independent horror films in general) is that the concept and potential for this film is quite intriguing. A religious group who abducts kids for their sins against God and the investigation into it. It's like an even more controversial sounding version of "Hostel". For both good and bad though, this film was directed and written by Kevin Smith.

This means that a) some of the oddly timed humor will work and there will be a fairly solid style to the film. It also means that b) its never going to shut up. Talk, talk, talk. This film gets so damn preachy about government, guns, and God that it reminded me why I quit following Kevin Smith on Twitter. We get it. Don't beat our skulls in with your concepts. Smith certainly piles it on and rarely leaves anything for the audience to think about without it being shouted. Luckily, the acting is quite impressive (including John Goodman and our villain Michael Parks) and can sell most of the main parts. The supporting cast is wishy washy but that's due to....

...To the rather ridiculous plot progression. The story is interesting. The characters are too, but the film never really feels like a horror movie. It starts off in a rather cliche horror fashion with isolated kids being threatened by death at the hands of nutty people. Then it takes a turn, ignores the kids, and goes straight into a Waco like scenario leaving the audience with really no one to root for or any care to what actually happens in this awkward circumstances. It's like two different films sort of glued together. Awkwardly at that.

The film does end on a rather high note, blending Smith's penchant for dark humor with a clever spin, but by that time I had already checked out due to the rather preachy nature of the dialogue and the choppy script progression. Smith's directing is solid and modern and many of the performances are much better than they should have, but the film's foundations are too flawed to really make it work like it should have. Respect goes to Smith for the rather intense leap of style, but the film isn't what it could have been.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Quarantine (2008) - 3.5/5

Brace yourself, just when you thought it was safe to praise "[Rec]" as one of the best horror films of the last decade the Hollywood remake machine pumps out their own version (within a year, mind you) in the form of "Quarantine". A fairly efficient remake, it does happen to be damn close to being shot for shot in similarity with only a few new scenes and bit of dialogue added. Just not as good as the original in any aspect. It's close, but fans of "[Rec]" will be more than happy to skip this and rewatch the superior Spanish film.

Angela (Carpenter) and her cameraman are up late filming a feel good story about the late night firemen that work so hard in city. When the call comes in to help an old lady in distress at an older apartment complex, she tags along to film the highlight of their night with the fire department. Unfortunately, the routine call ends up getting them all quarantined under mysterious circumstances with a rabid virus that seems to be turning the people in the building into ravenous zombies.

For those of you new to either film, "Quarantine" pumps up the zombie genre with some nice intensity. The 'found footage' handheld camera throws the viewer straight into the panic. As with the original, this version ably supports this idea by replicating the isolation element of this run-down and often far too small apartment complex and pummeling it with disorienting camera work that leaves one unsure of where things are and how it will play out. The zombies/infected (any difference at this point with modern films like this?) are downright vicious and fast and it just adds onto the rather dense atmosphere of the film. These two elements are well executed and surely will have viewers leaping from their seats at many moments.

To its fault, "Quarantine" does have a hit or miss cast. Although Jennifer Carpenter works her leading lady role to her best, its hard to shake the sister character she plays in "Dexter" form my notions of her and the supporting cast sports quite a few recognizable faces that sort of ruins the 'in the moment' experience even if someone does a decent enough job at what needs to be accomplished. In a way, the cast just isn't strong enough to make me forget that its actors.

For those unfamiliar with either film, "Quarantine" is an efficient film that ably blends the zombie outbreak intensity with great atmosphere and the chaotic style of the handheld camera. It's rather style driven though with its hit or miss cast/acting and for those who have seen "[Rec]" it just sort of falls quite short of the brilliance of that independent modern horror classic. My suggestion goes towards the original, even though this film does as admirable job at replicating it's successes. Solid, but not as great as the original.

BONUS PRAISE: The few scenes they added really don't do much more than pad the general plot with a few more details, but the addition of the infected dog was quite a clever twist. Not to mention it gives us a great moment of when the survivors have to get back on the elevator with the vicious canine. IT'S HAMMER TIME.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Amer (2010) - 4/5

Throwback horror in this day and age isn't all that original. It's either done with complete earnest to idea like the tense "House Of The Devil" or done with enough tongue in cheek to remind us of why it was so much fun like "Chillerama". Rarely though, does any one homage the now very distinct and punctuated giallo style of the 60s and 70s (sans the nods via Rob Zombie). This is what makes "Amer" so unique. Not only does it run with the style at full force, but it makes it a full on art form for the full length of this French thriller.

Ana (as played by three different actresses discerning each age group) is traumatized as a youth towards the mysterious and sexual. After years of dealing with these issues that leave her somewhat disjointed, he decides to return home to chateau where it all began.

It's really hard to properly describe "Amer" as a plot or characters. This film ably pursues and succeeds at being atmosphere. When I say that this thriller takes what Dario Argento or Mario Bava was doing with the style and makes it art - I sincerely mean that. For a thriller, the film rarely has any plot, villains, or dialogue for that matter. It's an almost wordless character study of a mind collapses done in throw back form complete with wicked effective framing for shots, outrageous color schemes including blasts of red, yellow, blue, and green, rapid fire edits to balance out the long paced shots, stupendous acting done with the majority of it through close ups of the eye or various other body parts, and (of course) a legitly augmented 70s style score that only bursts at the most impressionable times. In these ways, "Amer" completely envelopes the viewer in its giallo style with so much intensity it hurts.

Why then is "Amer" not a perfect film if it perfectly exhibits the style in all of its throwback and distinct glory? That's just it. Directors Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani do it so well as an art form that the film feels completely out of context as a film. The relatively plotless plot seems to meander a bit too much in the middle section (particularly when our main character is a young woman out to town with her mother) so that by the time we get to the to the finale, where it begins to bring it full circle to its stunningly well down first third of the film, the interest in what will happen has waned a bit. Luckily the film ends on an extremely well executed high note that ably brings back a killer's POV and gloved hands that were so distinctive for the style to begin with.

Although I have to admit the visceral journey that "Amer" takes the viewer on with its bombarding giallo force is a spectacle that any well versed horror fan should take is amazing, the film itself gets almost too artsy for its own good really faltering on giving us the reasons to give a rat's pajamas about the outcome of the characters or film. That being said, "Amer" will please any fans of the long forgotten genre and hopefully brings about a revival movement for this highly underrated film style.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Hisss (2010) - 1.5/5

I had really been looking forward to "Hisss". Jennifer Lynch caught my eye with the surprising "Surveillance" and the idea of a cross India/US horror film based on a snake goddess simply hit my curiosity chord. The lacking news about its US release killed some of the hype behind it and its rather magical appearance in Red Boxes without a legit release certainly got me worried. My worries were justified. "Hisss" can now be filed under the MASSIVE DISAPPOINTMENT column with its asinine artistic flourishes, B-movie grade script, and awful SyFy looking visual effects.

A police inspector (Khan) becomes baffled by a rather vicious series of murders. It would seem that Indian legends might be true, as the Nagin (Sherawat), a snake goddess, has come to reap vengeance in an attempt to free her trapped lover from a deranged American (Doucette) looking for immortality. Can he put aside his logical thinking to save the lives of civilians or perhaps let the Nagin do her thing?

Let me begin by saying that not everything about "Hisss" is a massive disappointment. Khan as the police detective does an admirable job with the role giving it a nice human touch and Robert Kurtzman showcases some great make-up design with the physical special effects. The transformation scenes into snake/person thing are very cool and well done. Even Jennifer Lynch seems to craft the occasionally solid artistic moments here and there for some moments worth the time watching.

These are just not enough to over come the massive flaws that are created by some poor character development, shoddy scripting, and Jennifer Lynch's over bearing attempts with making it all an 'artistic venture'. Our resident villain for the film (which is not the snake lady mind you) is over acted and over the top, our supporting cast are shades of real characters, and the script they have to follow is as just as over the top silly as the horrible CGI snake effects particularly those of the giant man sized cobra. This is partnered with far too many scenes that will have you scratching your head in confusion as the "artsy" edits and random moments (like a crying naked woman that hangs upside down on a lamp post) seem to come out of left field. At times I wasn't sure if I was supposed to laugh or cry at the sheer ridiculousness of this film.

Maybe I'm the idiot. Maybe I don't get the Bollywood references and cultural differences that are certain to be shoved into this film since I can't stand the Bollywood look and feel. Maybe "Hisss" is just one of the biggest WTF moments for this year. Doesn't matter though as many of you may agree - this B-grade horror film is just that done with enough faux artistic moments to make it confusing and silly beyond its own concept.

BONUS RANT: Perhaps the strangest scene in the entire film is when our snake woman (in human form) actually has snake sex with her lost lover (in snake form) towards the end of the film. It's done in completely serious form that references the mating ritual at the beginning of the film. On paper it may have looked like something legit, but on the film...yipes...its just very awkward for everyone.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Last Exorcism, The (2010) - 3.5/5

Once again, I put off seeing this 'mock-umentary' due to the fact that a) it was another 'found footage' film and b) exorcism films in the last decade rarely do anything revolutionary to make themselves original. I ended up with it in my collection due to Eli Roth's name attachment and since it is Halloween-tober I decided to throw it in. To my pleasant surprise, "The Last Exorcism" holds its own and does so fairly interesting things with the concept. Despite some areas where it tends to run through the motions, the overall presentation works and it makes for a rather intriguing watch.

Cotton Marcus (Fabian) is a very charismatic reverend whose faith in God has certainly been shaken in the last few years. He continues to preach and perform the exorcisms that he was known for, knowing how well it helps those who need it, but decides to film how ridiculous the entire exorcising process is with some documentary makers. This leads them into Louisiana to help the Sweetzer family whose father has come to believe that his young daughter is being possessed by the devil.

Let's start with the strong points of "The Last Exorcism". Firstly, for its low budget (I read it was roughly 1.8 million dollars somewhere), it does some admirable things to sell its concept. Obviously, with its 'found footage' look it saves some money there, but hiring a young girl who has the natural ability to contort (along with some solid enough acting chops to see it through) and doing the few bits of quick camera work to build the tension to sell off some of the moments was just simply smart film making. Partner this with a solid performance for our lead and some interesting plot twists and "The Last Exorcism" has the makings to be a very memorable film.

Not all is completely brilliant though. Many of the scares are regular exorcism film cliche moments that adds a bit of that Japanese ghost looks with the hair over the eyes and are not all that 'scary', but the film makers certainly make it seem legit enough. Not to mention a rather left field twist for the ending is somewhat ruined with rushed pacing and lacking build. "The Last Exorcism" works on many levels but still falls prey to its genre in many others.

To be honest, I was certainly impressed with how well "The Last Exorcism" sold itself and the concept. It has some clever writing and directing that brings out the best out of a surprisingly good cast. It does run a bit cliche here and there and never really does anything unique with the found footage look - but for what it is, it does make it worth the watch. A big surprise.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Stake Land (2010)

Director: Jim Mickle
Notable Cast: Conor Paolo, Nick Damici, Danielle Harris

There has been some stunningly good horror movies released this year and despite the recent re-vamp-ed bloodsucker fad continuing to suck the life from the genre, inventive spins on the mythos thrives. Just take a gander at Stake Land. Combining the super depressing post-apocalyptic vibe of The Road and twisting it with a solid and visceral vampire hunter tale, this ferocious and artistic vampire film cuts deep with great directing, a great story, and more than able cast. Certainly a must have for those into artistic horror films.

Martin (Paolo) becomes an orphan when his family is slaughtered by a vampire, one of many stricken by a new disease that is wiping out most of the population in the world. By chance, he is saved by a grisly vampire hunter only known as Mister (Damici) and the lone wolf takes him under his wing. The two then begin their long trek north to Canada, evading religious zealots and vampires, while cutting through some towns of survivors and making their way to safe haven known as New Eden.

The premise is epic, but Stake Land focuses down on the nuances and subtlety of its characters to drive the messages and story home for the audience. The balance between the epic and often creatively visual storytelling and the well crafted character work highlights this film as being an artistic and devastating tale of a future for this world. Martin and Mister's story is one of heart breaking sacrifices and grasped hopes as we follow them and learn to love and hate the world they live in. The two leads are the heart of this film, brought to vivid life by stunningly well acted moments, a superbly written script, and an insightful eye for the details by director Mickle. It scares at all the right moments unafraid to show the horrors of the vampire scourge with visual efficiency (seeing a vampire drop a drained bloody baby with the extremely well executed special effects is enough to make one squeamish) and still packs in enough thoughtful human horror (the terrifying religious zealots and their devotion to God's wrath is just as scary as inhuman bloodsuckers) to create a tension matched with its writing.

This is all painted with a dramatic post-apocalyptic touch that creates a very 'real' world for these intriguing ideas and characters to gallop in. Mickle does a damned fine job balancing all of this in the film and still comes out on top even when the film seems to fizzle out towards its final moments. He paints it with an edge that brings to life the brutality of its woe, but does so that even the audience never loses hope for our struggling group of survivors even with its very limited dialogue. Enough so that when any one of them bites the dust its kind of devastating for our psyche.

Many vampire films have focused on humanizing the creatures as of late, but Stake Land does its best to make a world where its irrelevant to the morality of the monster. They are here, so people just deal with it. In a way, its refreshing, inventive, and quite realistic at how the main characters have to deal with it. This is what makes Stake Land the visually stunning and deeply written tale it is.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Cursed (2005) - 1.5/5

Wes Craven's career as a director had be in a pretty steady decline for quite some time at the point that "Cursed" was released and as unfortunate as it is, this teeny werewolf film doesn't help it at all. Granted, it's not all Craven's fault here, in fact his directing is probably the highlight of this film, but a very cliche and overly silly script collapses the film from reaching its potential and the obvious production flaws build a film that's shaky at best. It has some hilarious moments, but nothing can right this sinking horror ship.

Ellie (Ricci) does her best to balance her complicated life of raising younger brother Jimmy (Eisenberg), working a successful career in TV, and finding out if recent boyfriend Jake (Jackson) might be the one. It's made far more complicated when a car wreck leaves her and her brother bitten by a massive werewolf. A bite that seems to leave them discovering some new abilities in themselves and a curse that might not have been an accident...

The most distinctive thing about "Cursed" is how rather unmemorable it is. It sounds silly, but I only watched this film a few days ago and when I began this review I could hardly remember anything about it. Now I have it playing in the background just so I can refresh my memory of what the hell even happened in this movie. This is not a great way for a film to leave its mark.

Beyond its rather striking mediocrity on leaving its stamp upon the ole noodle, "Cursed" is about as middle of the road as they get. Never seeming awful in its execution with some solid directing from Craven and a rather fun performance from Eisenberg as the nerdy brother, its just so damn by the numbers. Blah blah blah. Mark of the beast. Blah blah blah awful high school sequences with shitty dialogue. Blah blah blah super shitty character developments. The fact that this film was supposed to focus on the brother/sister duo and their growth with their new discoveries should have worked...it doesn't. Horrible pacing that seems scared to let characters talk too long without some sort of hit or miss werewolf action ices over a script that was obviously reworked far too many times (the stories about the atrocity of this films production are more intriguing that this final product) and tries far too hard to be hip. It's frustrating to watch a film with potential fail over and over again.

Granted, the film occasionally has its charming moments (never thought I would see a werewolf flip somebody off before) but they come far too rarely to win over this ship wreck of a foundation. "Cursed" tries and it earns a few points for Craven's decent directing and attempts to make it interesting, but its super poorly constructed plot progressions and awful attempts at being smart with its character twists just becomes too irritating to overlook.

"Cursed" might earn some merit along the way for being a cult film that has some moments here and there, but the general mediocrity of its execution just can't save it from the awful script and rushed ideas. Was it the true atrocity that so many claimed? Not really, "My Soul To Take" would eclipse that, but it certainly couldn't climb out of its own grave either. Massive disappointment.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Woman, The (2011) - 5/5

Lucky McKee blew me away with the disturbing "May" and his Masters Of Horror episode "Sick Girl" was an exercise in extreme dark humor and his over the top social commentaries. Thusly, his latest and most controversial work "The Woman" continues to push the envelope for his style of horrific individuals and elevates his status as one of the best cult directors out there. This film makes the toes curl, makes one hate humanity, and never lets one let their jaw get up off the floor. This is horror at some of its greatest strengths.

A seemingly well established family living on the outskirts of town find themselves at a new set of moral crossroads when the over domineering father finds a wild woman living in the forest and captures her so that he may 'civilize' her. As his obsession with this new project grows, the rest of the family will have to make decisions about their lives and come to a head about how far is too far.

Knowing the series of Jack Ketchum novels that this film continues from (luckily avoiding being a sequel to the horrible "Offspring"), I fully expected "The Woman" to continue with its slasher format utilizing the animalistic tribe people as the villains...Lucky McKee and Ketchum obviously had other ideas for this one. The twist in "The Woman" happens to be that the audience fully sides with the vicious and violent wild woman. This dark and disturbing take on how a "normal" American family and their deranged father hits a bit too close with how humanity can be its own worst enemy - not outsiders. With a stunningly well written script and McKee's eye for making the most mundane moments seem obscene, it's a partnership of idea and style made in horror heaven.

Controversy does reign over the use of men and women (and their social values) in this film and it's easy to see why. For such a simple plot, it's viciously effective in deepening how one sees how easy things can spiral out of control. "The Woman" never shies away from this controversial subject. It's a hard film to swallow and after my viewing at the most recent Mile High Horror Film Festival, it took a few days for me to digest it fully. Rarely does it feel like the conventional horror film with the first two acts that rarely use jump scares or significant amounts of gore to scare the audience. What the characters do, to each other and our leading wild woman, is what is so horrifying. The father's demented sense of entitlement. The mother's fear of everything. The children's desperate attempts to cling onto whatever role model they can. It's not until the final act that the film kicks into rampage mode and by then...you're hooked and want to see justice served.

"The Woman" blasts the audience with both a vivid and unnerving tension with its frighteningly real plot and well crafted soundtrack, then it uppercuts that with dark humored style thanks to the ever impressive McKee at the helm. The acting is beyond superb and it creates this overbearing horror film experience that is a must see for fans of anything with depth to the horror. McKee strikes again and "The Woman" is the aftermath of just how impactful a horror film can be in this day and age.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Midnight Son (2011)

Ironically, when I was at the Mile High Horror Film Festival watching all these great independent horror films "Midnight Son" took home the audience award for best feature film. This is ironic because, in all honesty, it was probably my least favorite of the pictures I saw there. It's far from a dismal film, its a well executed and atmosphere driven vampire flick that succeeds at what it is, but fails to really push itself to certain dark areas that could have left the audience truly jaw dropped.

Jacob (Kilberg) is a young man with a few problems. As a child, a rare skin condition prevented him from being in the sun and now he eats and eats and eats, but his body rejects the nutrition. It would seem that blood is the only thing that curbs his hunger. With a new woman Mary (Parish) who suddenly comes into his complicated life, he has to make some serious decisions about what direction he must take with his life including how to handle a police investigation and some pissed off drug dealers.

In a weird cross over between "Let The Right One In" with its atmospheric tensions and the romantic story of two star crossed lovers that touches on a bit of "Twilight" here and there, "Midnight Son" is odd blend of artistic drama ventures and a new low key spin on the vampire mythos. It's done in a gritty sort of Michael Mann realism with tons of realistic lighting and minimal over the top movie moments (like bombarding soundtracks or crazy stunts) that really bring forth the best for its relatively plausible plot. The lacking focus on the super human parts of our lead's transformation into a full fledge vampire is refreshing, taking away from outrageousness and delving down into the characters and their arcs as his life and his new found love spiral further and further out of control. To its artistic merit, "Midnight Son" does deliver.

Unfortunately, the film seems to love taking its sweet time getting anywhere. The first two-thirds of the film are so subtle in its detailing and character builds that at times it just needed something to break the tension. Some sort of action or intensity to break up the monotony. Eventually, it does pay off as the last act kicks into overdrive and the slowly spiraling and building stories begin to collide with some solid pay offs (including a suddenly power hungry vampire obsessed drug dealer). It takes some time, but it gets there.

The appreciation for the artistic viewpoint on the overly saturated vampire market is nice, half the time I felt like the film wanted to go to some certain places but never did. The power crazed drug dealer for one seems quickly dispatched in the third act and many of the police investigations are brushed over for the sake of continuing our cursed hero's plight. It was certainly a solid film that earned much of the praise it has been receiving, but there are other films out there doing the same thing and doing it slightly better.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Want to catch a copy of "Midnight Son" for yourself? Pick yours up at the link below!