YOU'RE NEXT: A perfect slasher film?

YOU'RE NEXT goes to the next level of horror that most horror movie makers do not even know how to get to.  It is the last of a trilogy of popular horror films where masked individuals invade a home and terrorize the family or occupants inside.  First came THE STRANGERS which had its moments but otherwise was rather predictable and somewhat of a let down.  Five years later (Really?  Five years?  Time flies by doesn't it.) came THE PURGE which was awesome.  A few months later came a little known film that was so well made that despite a low budget and a cast of relative unknowns made its way to theaters.  YOU'RE NEXT is the best of the bunch.  I really do think this is a perfect slasher film.  It has some iconic villain masks, realistic gore, a clever script with a great sense of humor and the movie is pretty darn scary too.

A family get together is violently interrupted by a trio of masked crazy people laying siege to the house killing everyone inside one by one.  Unfortunately for the trio, one of them fights back.  That is all you need to know.

YOU'RE NEXT may not be the scariest film ever made but it does have its moments.  What the film does well is give you a cast of characters that you genuinely care for.  That is very important because when the horror stuff starts happening you are invested in everyone's well being.  The children are all grown up and they have brought their significant others to this little family get together out in the middle of nowhere.  We see how they get along (Or not get along.) and we form some very uninformed opinions on them.  We see at the end just how uniformed our opinions were.  Weaved through the mayhem is a little bit of wit that comes out in small moments.  One of the characters may say something funny but you may have missed it because you are too worried about what is going on in the immediate situation.  You really have to pay attention because the movie isn't going to slow down and point out the funny parts.  In other words this movie expects more from its audience.  It expects you to be engaged and it won't insult you.

This is not your typical home invasion movie.  Where other horror movies fall short is giving the audience someone strong to root for.  We need a hero.  YOU'RE NEXT gives a strong heroine (Erin played by Sharni Vinson.) who fights back. This movie is too well written to have her just crawl into a corner and scream like most other horror movies out there.  When the bad guys kill she kills back.  We need more heroes and heroines in our horror films.  We franchise the villains when we should be franchising the heroes.

The blood and gore effects are all practical.  You will never be disappointed in the work by special effects wizard Mike Strain and everyone at his company FANTASY CREATIONS FX.  The gore doesn't reach cartoon levels to the point you can't believe what is going on.  The violence is visceral and as close to real as possible....Well maybe not the blender part but it was still pretty cool.

People probably thought this was just another "Guys in masks committing a home invasion"  movie.  I think that is why the general audience stayed away.  Still the marketing campaign was genius with the iconic white animal masks appearing on other movie's posters and at other movie's panels at Comic-con.  They had fun with it but to no avail.  The movie is simple but very profound in the Slasher genre if you pay attention to the details.  You may think it at first but by the end you will realize that this isn't the same slasher movie you have seen before.  This movie plays to a different beat.  Things happen unexpectedly whereas movies like THE STRANGERS follow the same old tropes where the villains are always one step ahead of our protagonists and they always seem to be in the right place at the right time.  The masked killers of YOU'RE NEXT are not so lucky.

YOU'RE NEXT had a good amount of success for being a low budget film.  I still think it deserves more attention than it has received.  There is a story told that doesn't insult the audience by pulling it's punches to set up a sequel.  You may go into this film with high expectations and be put off by how simple the concept is or you may have low expectations and be caught off guard at the clever script and effective use of blood.  Either way you will be entertained.


Jason

THE PURGE: ANARCHY

THE PURGE: ANARCHY doesn't try to but ends up being the modern day ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK.  It just has that vibe to it.  The film presents a recognizable future similar to our modern times with a slightly dystopian twist.  In ESCAPE the government controlled America entirely and sent anyone who disobeyed to prison that happened to be the entire city of New York.  ANARCHY has no walls but an annual government sanctioned event called The Purge where everyone can "purge" the beast within by killing just about anyone they want and it is totally legal.  Both are action movies and both have an action hero lead.  I think that is one of the big surprises with ANARCHY.  I wasn't expecting this film to be so action packed with a strong badass hero.  I also didn't expect this film to a slight variation of the zombie film either.

The first PURGE film took place in a house showing the chaos of the world around them during the actual Purge event through quick glimpses of the television set.  The sequel takes us through that world led by a man with no name and a big gun who reluctantly helps out some folks who were being kidnapped and tries to lead them to safety.  The movie explores the different types of people who participate in the Purge as well as those who don't.  There are some refreshing ideas put on the screen that are not what I was expecting.  One of the best ideas is that most people do not participate in the Purge.  That is a big motivator for the bad guys in this film.  I won't spoil why but I just figured that in a movie like this the writer would just assume that most people are evil and would not spend a second thought to participate in legalized murder.  I believe most people are good and would not participate making the whole event pointless.  The writers take the same approach which adds a different level to the story.  There is a little more of a conspiracy brought out into the light.  Often action movies get muddled in complicated conspiracy plots made to make a dumb action film look smart but here the conspiracy stuff doesn't slow down the movie one bit.

Who would take part in the Purge?  You never know until it happens.  The Purge is a mindset.  The most unlikely of persons who seem peaceful in their everyday life could all of a sudden realize that they have an opportunity to right a wrong or get revenge and it would be legal and encouraged by the government.  It is your right!  Anyone could come to that realization even if they started out the night truly believing that murder is wrong.  That is where the "zombie" element comes into play.  Anyone can become a zombie just like anyone can suddenly participate in the Purge.  No one can be trusted.  It is an exciting concept exploited by this film.  There is a particularly good where this is demonstrated as we see a loving family torn apart because one of the family members decides to participate in the purge over jealousy.  In this society you better be nice to everyone around you because come Purge night they may just come after you.

Frank Grillo should be the next Punisher.  Grillo is amazing in this film.  He was perfectly cast as the man with no name.  He even looks like the freakin Punisher dressed all in black with a armored black car and a full arsenal on him at all times.  He knows exactly how to survive in this world of violence.  Without a doubt he carries this film and thankfully this film focuses a lot of it's attention on him.  He is a man out for revenge and nothing will stop him from getting it.  Will he?  The other characters that accompany him are likable and don't get in the way too much.  There are some genuinely good story arcs to these characters and you do by the end care about who lives and who dies.  Again I wasn't expecting that.

ANARCHY is a well filmed movie with a lot of it's more iconic elements coming from the disturbing costumes of some of the crazies that plan on participating in the Purge.  The camera does get a little frantic when some of the action takes place but it doesn't become excessive to the point you can't follow what is going on.  That is probably my only real complaint about the film.  While it is mostly grounded in reality the film isn't afraid to get a little crazy with some of it's premises.  I particularly liked the part when our heroes are kidnapped and put into an arena to fight some rich folks who bid in an auction to hunt them down.  It is something out of a comic but it doesn't get too crazy with it.  It is just another moment for Frank Grillo to demonstrate why he should be the next Punisher.  Marvel you better be reading this.

Go see this film and try not to think too hard about it.  You may just discover some plot holes I never thought of and that might ruin what is otherwise a great action/horror hybrid.


Jason

THE PURGE aka NATIONAL KILL ANYONE YOU WANT DAY!

THE PURGE is a great little movie.  It was a sleeper hit that simply presented an intriguing idea of a family surviving a night  during national Kill Anyone You Want Day.  The premise was so good that people went to see what this movie was all about.  It didn't have the biggest names in Hollywood and it was rated R.  It didn't matter.  People wanted to see what this movie was all about.  It looked good and it was.......Well at least I liked it.

Ethan Hawk (Sometimes called Kevin Bacon when I get confused) plays a business type guy whose business specializes in making security systems.  That is a very profitable business in a world where one night a year all crime is legalized.  He plans to spend Purge night indoors with his family.  Unfortunately a man shows up to his door being hunted by rich punks in scary masks.  Ethan's son lets him in and now his home is surrounded by crazy rich kids that want to get inside and kill everyone.

The thing that made me really like this movie is the quiet tension that builds quickly at the start of the film.  We are brought into the story hours before the Purge takes place.  We see a rich neighborhood settle down and get ready for the night to begin.  The rich are secure in their fortresses far from the bad neighborhoods of the slums where most of the killing and crime will take place.  The rich even throw parties for crying out loud.  The calm before the storm is scary and no one has died yet.  We see how everyone gets ready for the night.  Some hide behind their big mansions while others get ready to do their own purging.  Purge night is the one night where everyone can take off their everyday masks and show everyone who they really are.  How do you really know who your neighbors are before it is too late on Purge night?  What would I do on Purge night?  The film gives the audience some interesting thoughts to ponder before all hell breaks loose.

This is one of those movies that has a strong beginning and an almost stronger ending.  Where it falters slightly is in the middle.  The middle where all the horror stuff takes place is for the most part good.  The killers trying to get in are fascinating and wonderfully psychotic.  They keep you interested but the Ethan Hawk's kids have a tendency to do dumb stuff like run off when they should be sticking close to their dad who is trying his best to keep them safe.  It really bugged me that something would happen when everyone was starting to get together and suddenly one of the kids runs off to danger just because the writer couldn't think of something smarter for the kids to do.  It is a poor excuse to keep the kids in harms way to pad out the running time.  That is the only thing I really didn't like.  Otherwise I thought the ending was brilliant and somewhat subversive.  What you think would happen doesn't.  The ending is rather bloodless for a movie all about violence.

I know I may be a little too forgiving of this film's possible faults.  I just don't see them like some others do.  I just really appreciate that a film like this can be successful.  It only goes to show that a good imagination or concept can make a good movie that people actually want to go and see.  I know some people were disappointed with THE PURGE.  I think some wanted something more.  They wanted to see more Purging.  They wanted something on a more grander scale.  Well they got their wish with THE PURGE: ANARCHY.....


Jason

THE AMERICAN SCREAM

Chiller Films presents Michael Stephenson's follow up to BEST WORST MOVIE.  It is a documentary about three families who every year turn their homes into haunted house attractions in the city of Fairhaven, Massachusetts.  People who do this are called "House Haunters".  The film details the challenges and stresses that go into making these attractions as well as the rewards for doing so for the families and the neighborhoods that they live in.  Oh, and the documentary is called THE AMERICAN SCREAM.  I probably should have mentioned that earlier.

The documentary starts off with Victor and his family.  Victor is a man that is focused on every detail of his haunt.  He wants it to be the biggest, scariest and most realistic looking attraction in the whole city.  He goes all out.  We learn that he didn't have a childhood that enjoyed things like cartoons, Christmas, birthdays and Halloween.  His attraction is more of a way of reclaiming some of that lost time.  A couple of blocks away Manny is also putting up an attraction.  He loves doing it but he doesn't get stressed with detail like Victor does.  He does it for fun and as a way to bond with his family more.  A few more blocks away is Matt and Richard who are a father and son team (I forget which one is which) who do not necessarily have the technical skill to pull off an elaborate haunt but they have big hearts and use their attraction to collect donations for charity and entertain their neighbors.  It is funny because you can see the quality of each attraction diminish as they move from Victor's elaborate and expensive sets down to Matt and Richards cheap and tacky but still creative decorations.  They all have different resources and work with what they got but they all have the same love and devotion to the holiday of Halloween.  Also scaring people is a lot of fun apparently.

This is a pretty good documentary.  It isn't nearly as good as BEST WORST MOVIE but it still has its own appeal.  My biggest problem is that I am not into house haunting unless it is real ghosts of course.  I am into movies which is why I love BEST WORST MOVIE so much.  However I do love Halloween which is why I find reason to be interested in the subjects of this documentary.  Also everyone is so dang likable.  You want them all to be successes which they are.  They all have to deal with their past and present day problems which everyone can relate to.  Those problems have a way of getting in the way of what they want to do with their lives.  These guys show us that you can succeed no matter how big and stressful your problems can be.

Really this is a movie about people doing what they want to do and following their dreams.  Victor wants to be a professional house haunter and he is given that chance to be that.  The message is to follow your dreams.  Manny wants to spend more time with his kids and watch them grow up.  Matt and Richard just want to make people happy.  Even though this movie feels a little dry at times you can't help but be touched by each one of these guys as they show us their love for their families, friends and Halloween.  By the end it is Victor that puts Halloween into a perspective I never thought of before.  Basically he said that Halloween is a holiday for the neighborhood.  Christmas and Thanksgiving are for families.  Halloween brings strangers in the neighborhood together to celebrate one night of the year.  There is also this understanding that each Halloween is precious.  It only comes once a year and you will only experience so many of them in your life.  The families in THE AMERICAN SCREAM make the most out of their favorite holiday.  They spend time with each other creating memories of putting up and taking down these attractions.  They together feel the excitement of opening their haunts to the public as well as the sadness of it being over.  Be sure you make the most of this Halloween this year as well as the many more to come.  You know I will.......probably.


Jason

BEST WORST MOVIE is simply THE BEST!

BEST WORST MOVIE is the best documentary I have ever seen.  It deals with the concept of what gives a film its "cult" status.  The documentary explores the weird fascination some people have for the movie TROLL 2.  The kid from TROLL 2, Michael Stephenson is all grown up and has become a film maker himself.  He takes us on a little journey learning just how much people truly love TROLL 2.  The film TROLL 2 has experienced a surge in popularity in the last few years.

God bless George Hardy.  What an American treasure and wonderful human-being.  He played the father in TROLL 2 and now in real life he is a dentist.  He is an extraordinary man living in a normal  ordinary world.  BEST WORST MOVIE follows him most of the time as he too discovers what a popular guy he is for playing the father in TROLL 2.  In the past George wanted to be an actor.  Now he is given a chance to experience a taste of what it is like to be famous.  He goes through the highs and lows of fame questioning whether or not he made the right decision in his past.  Ultimately he does come to realize that he has a great life now and that he did indeed choose the right path.  He is such a joy to watch on the screen as he cheerfully accepts his role as being in what a lot a people consider to be the worst movie ever made relishing the attention.  Often BEST WORST MOVIE breaks away from it's main story of George Hardy to also interview other actors from TROLL 2 and let us know what they have been doing and where they are now.  It is interesting to see the real people who we only thought of as characters in a bad movie.  I particularly like how the director, Claudio Fragasso tries to understand his own film's popularity.  He was trying to make a scary movie so when audiences are laughing he doesn't understand why.  The notion of what is "campy" is lost on him.  Maybe it is a cultural thing.

What BEST WORST MOVIE does best is bring to light the limited popularity of a cult film.  TROLL 2 has a following that seems rather small.  But when you get all the fans together at screenings we see just how big of a phenomenon the film has really become.  George Hardy and others involved in TROLL 2 see all these people and get the idea that this film is big everywhere.  But as the documentary shows when appearing at other conventions outside of TROLL 2 designated events the numbers of people showing up for Q&A's and autographs are almost nonexistent.  Not everyone appreciates TROLL 2's camp value.  Different audiences view the film differently (as we see at the Alabama screening for charity) and their reaction reminds us all as to why TROLL 2 is considered the worst movie of all time.

BEST WORST MOVIE is well put together and always entertaining.  I am very thankful to the documentary film makers for explaining how TROLL 2 ended up the movie it became and how it affected so many people.  I remember seeing TROLL 2 back when I was a kid.  I didn't like it especially with such an out of nowhere dark ending.  I did not become a fan making troll masks or writing TROLL 2 fan fiction like so many others depicted in the documentary.  I dismissed the film as craptacularness and went on with the rest of my life.  Still I often thought about the film.  I cannot deny that the odd and bizarre shenanigans of the film left an impression on me.  After watching so many Italian horror films I would think back to TROLL 2 and wonder if it was actually an Italian production.  BEST WORST MOVIE answered that question big time with a resounding 'YES'.  Now we know why the dialogue was so terrible and the acting so unnatural.  What the naive director thought was American behavior simply was nowhere near the realm of reality.

Overall this documentary is very honest and uplifting piece of work.  In the end it gives us film makers hope that no matter how bad a film is they all have an audience out there somewhere.  People can love a film for something other than the film's intended purpose.  Let us hope they make TROLL 3 just for the heck of it.  It wouldn't be the same but I would watch if George Hardy was back.

Jason

RagnBone's WHITE ZOMBIE (Screener)

RagNBones has taken on the ambitious task of re-imagining the Bela Lugoisi film WHITE ZOMBIE.  The original WHITE ZOMBIE is one of those films I have seen a hundred times yet I remember almost nothing about it but the fact that Bela Lugoisi is in it.  It is one of those films I have playing on the t.v. in the background every Halloween morning but I never just sit down and watch it.  I don't know why I do that.  RagnBone Productions was nice enough to send me a screener of their version of WHITE ZOMBIE.  Thank you so very much!

Madeline White and her fiance, Neil Bellamy plan to marry each other on a plantation on ZOMBIE ISLAND!  Actually it is not called 'ZOMBIE ISLAND' but that is what I call it because there are zombies everywhere.  The plantation owner, Gillies Beaumonde has convinced Madeline to come to his plantation for the wedding to try and convince her to fall in love with him.  Beaumonde will do anything to win her over including associating himself with Severin the local evil voodoo practitioner who everyone strongly dislikes because he is weird.....and I guess because he is evil.  With Severin's aid, Beaumonde poisons Madeline on her wedding day causing her to seemingly die.  With the powers of voodoo she is brought back from the dead becoming the prize of three men competing to have her for themselves.  While Beaumonde was planning on screwing Neil out of a bride, Severin was planning on screwing Beaumonde out of a bride and all his wealth.

Scarlett Shepard is absolutely iconic as Madeline White.  She is beautiful with a gleam of grace that summons images of classic Hollywood starlets from the golden age of cinema.  Her costuming is perfect.  The bridal dress she wears is elaborate and short making it almost resemble a ballerina's silver and white tutu worn for the grand production of SWAN LAKE.  That is rather appropriate since two of the antagonists in this movie have her dance around (Figuratively speaking, of course.) for their amusement.

The movie moves about from the three main characters, Neil, Beaumonde and Severin as they each do what they have to to get what they want.  Even though Severin is the main baddy with the coolest look and spookiest presence I like Beaumonde's character the most.  He has the biggest character transition in the film.  I single him out as the main character in the film.  A great deal of the film is focused on his plight to win the girl no matter the cost.  He learns the hard way that women are not objects and voodoo is not to be messed with unless of course its that hilarious WEEKEND AT BERNIES II kind of voodoo.

RagnBone's WHITE ZOMBIE presents a world bathed in night with zombies casually moving about aimlessly in the island cemeteries.  Voodoo is a way of life here and zombies are a common sight.  This world is brought to life through higher production levels and aided by some creative camera work.  The costumes look authentic especially when they are worn by great actors who come to life in them.  I particularly like Tom Smith as Dr. Bruner.  He looks  a lot different from that crazy cannibalistic yahoo dad he played in THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS.  What a transformation!  That is the complement of a great actor.  In WHITE ZOMBIE he looks like he is from that time period.

Even though this is a low budget film it doesn't feel like it.  Like all low budget films there are things to forgive but if you like independent film and want to see what great things other film makers are doing out there who care about the craft and want to tell a good story then I suggest you watch RagnBone's WHITE ZOMBIE.

Jason

THE HOUSE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS

THE HOUSE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS combines the popular 'Found Footage' genre with the 'TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE' genre of horror.  Our heroes/victims are three punks who plan on robbing a house in town and film the entire thing for kicks.  Unfortunately for them they chose the worst possible house to perform their crime.

Two of the punks are brothers.  Nathan (Played by Alec Drake) is the oldest.  The younger brother is Ray (Eric Sopko) who is also the guy filming their not very nice deeds.  Liz (Amanda Baker) is the girlfriend of Nathan.  Nathan is an extremely sadistic character taking obvious pleasure verbally abusing Liz.  He leads his girlfriend and brother along for the ride with his overbearing dynamic but sick personality.  Ray and Liz are not necessarily bad people. They just seem to be powerless to deny the frightful and eccentric older brother.  If Nathan was a nice guy then these characters would probably be getting jobs and bettering themselves instead of milling about and planning bad things to do to people.  Nathan is a very compelling and important character.  He is unique in this genre portraying someone who comes across as a very young and unsophisticated Joker.  He is definitely not your typical teenager in distress type.  He is a 'wild card' which makes you want to see how he handles the horrors of what awaits him in the house on the wrong side of the tracks.

The film uses the 'Found Footage' gimmick in a unique way.  Different perspectives of the characters are explored based on who is holding the camera.  The film starts off about a group of punks robbing a home then becomes about a family of psychos having fun with their new victims that have surprised them on one dark cold winter night.  When the true horrors begin to happen we see the burglars become the victims.  They must try and survive the night and find escape.  Meanwhile the family of crazies are having fun with the camera filming their exploits as they torture and kill their captives.  The camera reveals the house of horrors from top to bottom exposing what lurks inside the mild mannered home.  Watch out for Billy, the gorilla mask wearing son of the family.  He is the iconic monster of the film.  There is something so unnerving about a guy killing in a gorilla mask.  Seriously.....The mask is freakin ferocious.  He has an great moment with Liz who tries to befriend him as a way to survive but fails  miserably as she freaks the moment she sees Billy's face.  Amanda Baker steals the show a bit towards the end with that scene and her escape at the end with her apology when she gets back the camera.  Great job.

This is a low budget film so there are things to forgive.  That is just how things go when you don't have millions of dollars to do what you want to do.  I would have liked to see the Nathan character go head to head with the crazy cannibal family a bit more.  That would have provided a bit more conflict instead of just showing people tied to chairs getting cut on.  RagNBone Productions has made a good little movie that has some interesting and colorful characters accompanied by a great soundtrack by Bleeding Soul.  See it for yourself and support independent film makers.  RagNBone Productions could be the next big name in horror.  You read it here first.

Jason