MIDNIGHT MOVIE (2008) - BigFoot Entertainment - 84 mins

"The New Face of Horror!"

Without hesitation, one would venture that this is a pure slasher flick based on the DVD cover itself. Upon first glance, we have a grisly-looking fellow with a skull-mask holding what looks like a drill or some kind of cutting instrument with a lot of blood dripping all over the place! Yes...definitely a slasher flick!
I'd suppose the challenge here was for the makers of Midnight Movie to try to get away from the cliche-ridden, done-to-death, typical slasher flicks which pollute horror cinema and try to present something unique or original...if at all possible. That's only if the movie makers weren't looking for a quick cash-grab.
Regardless, being a horror buff and a writer/reviewer of horror flicks of all types, I still needed to watch the movie for myself before ranting:)
The opening is interesting enough as twisted director Ted Radford is locked up in an insane asylum after having become obsessed with his low-budget horror film. Soon enough, he breaks out of the asylum, leaving a few dead bodies in his wake.

We are then fast-forwarded to 5 years later where Radford's movie "The Dark Beneath" is being shown at a midnight screening at a small-town movie theatre which is attended by a group of teens, a burly biker and his girlfriend, and a couple of cops who fear the crazed escapee Ted Radford might appear at the premeire of the movie to cause havoc.

As "The Dark Beneath" gets underway, the film being shown seems somewhat of a parody(or homage) to the 70s classic "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" where a group of friends experiencing car trouble go milling around in some isolated farmhouse only to end up being butchered by a masked madman with a cone-shaped, cork-screw blade and a gimp leg who bears a slight resemblance to Leatherface although not quite as husky but with murderous intentions all the same.

Soon we go from what seems to be typical slasher to supernatural slasher, as now the skull-masked killer moves from celluloid to reality and soon...begins a bloody rampage on the theatre-goers themselves, one by one. The events of each individual killing are still taking place on the silver screen, leaving the movie-goers with the impression that it's all just part of the horror film...before too long...

From that point onwards, we're treated to quite a few gory killings which won't disappoint fans of the slasher genre including the always trusty throat-slashing, to a dramatic electrocution, to the more startling heart-torn-out-of-chest method which actually is done surprisingly well considering budget restraints.

Some of the meager bits of the movie include less than plausible performances from the younger cast who don't really seem to express fear as you'd generally expect in a situation as tense as what they're experiencing. There is also considerable cheesy dialogue and no real explanation of how the skull-masked killer is able to jump out of the screen and kill the movie-goers.

What Midnight Movie lacks in terms of acting and dialogue, it tends to make up for it in entertainment value which is normally the whole point of B-movie slasher flicks. Other than a topless scene, there's no sex or partying-leading-to-sex, nor is there a whole lot of suspense as the film resorts mainly to jump scares which again is a standard technique used in Friday the 13th movies and other slasher films.

It's unlikely that the skull-masked killer is going to become an iconic villian of horror cinema on par with Leatherface, Jason, and Freddy, but he still does have a sort of charismatic and grim presence about him and could possibly be a mainstay in supernatural horror-cinema depending on if Midnight Movie is to spawn a sequel or two with more thrilling and twisted killings.

Overall, Midnight Movie delivers as a solid B-movie teen slasher flick with appetizing killings sure to fulfill hungry slasher-fanatics. Best viewed in the dark and preferably after a few drinks to help you contend with the lackluster dialogue. There are worse movies you could rent on a lonely night I'm sure. No real lesson to be learned here though since it's not likely that a madman with a thirst to kill will jump out of your tv screen to get you!
Grade* C+

DEAD END (2003/I) - Sagittaire Films - 83 mins

Plot: "On his way to his in-laws with his family on Christmas Eve, Frank Harrington decides to try a shortcut, for the first time in 20 years. It turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life."
I rented this one from Blockbuster during Christmas vacation back in 2004. I watched it once and remember enjoying it immensely and by chance I watched it again when I saw it was playing on TV recently. Definitely review worthy!

Directors Jean-Baptiste Andrea and Fabrice Canepa have presented a nice little treat here for horror fans which was actually a film festival favourite and one of the top horror movies coming out at the time.
The concept is simple enough and the movie itself has shades of Twilight Zone with a bit of Blair Witch.
I tend to enjoy movies like this which have basic characters and a basic plot and the horrific atmosphere around them drives them to insanity and ultimately chaos ensues.
Dead End is obviously made on a small budget but a part of me thinks the cast and directors had some fun here while filming as it's completely character-driven and doesn't rely on tons of cheap thrills and special effects.
In the opening, we see a family of four including parents Frank and Laura with children Richard and Marion plus Marion's boyfriend, Brad, on their way to a relative's to celebrate Christmas. Apparently bored and secretly disgruntled father Frank(Ray Wise) decides to wayside the interstate and take a detour. After almost falling asleep at the wheel and causing a near collision with another oncoming vehicle, things soon begin to unravel after they pick up a wounded lady in white.

The family makes a stop at an isolated cabin in hopes of finding a phone to call for help for the lady in white which apparently leads to disaster as, within minutes, the lady has vanished and along with her, the daughter's boyfriend, Brad. Shortly after, Brad is seen in the back of a hearse which is driving up the highway past the family who give chase.

Brad becomes the first casualty in the movie and it's from here onward where we realize that nothing good will become of the situation, as soon, things begin to spiral out of control completely.
Up ahead, they discover Brad's mutilated body and further down, a baby carriage in the middle of the road...all the while, each occupant disappearing one after the other while the country road itself seems to have no end, leading the family to frustration and soon...complete madness!

 

Over the course of the movie, we see the characters spill the beans on their history and true feelings towards each other are revealed. Some of the funnier bits include the mother's breakdown and going into complete insanity.

There's indeed a bit of humour mixed in with the dialogue but the performances, especially by Ray Wise, are very well done although a bit over the top at times, particularly by the teenage son Richard who doesn't seem all that affected by what's happening and goes about dancing in the woods to metal music and soon...making out with the Lady in white in one of the film's more campy, yet still chilling, scenes.

The setting itself on the endless deserted road is eerie as the directors did a fabulous job of creating a claustrophobic and somewhat surreal atmosphere. There isn't a tremendous amount of gore although there are scenes which will likely cause you to turn your head, but it does leave a lot up to your imagination as sometimes, less is more, and can still be just as effective.

Overall, the directors have succeeded in creating suspense and tension rather than going the usual route we come to expect of B horror flicks with pointless gore sequences. With many cheap horror flicks, normally you'll find an empty shell once you strip them of gore and special effects whereas with Dead End, even if it were shot as a PG rated flick void of gore, the movie can still make an impression on your psyche just based on the reactions of the characters to their worsening situation. Although Dead End takes the situation of a long tail road to an unlikely extreme, it's still fairly easy to imagine oneself in such a predicament of being in strange territory in darkness, driving down roads one is unfamiliar with and not knowing where to go, causing frustration and panic.
This movie is highly recommended for horror fans alike. Dead End is best watched alone or with a partner, but in complete darkness, the way it should be. A definite staple on the list of top horror movies and a must-see for B horror enthusiasts. Lesson learned here is...avoid taking shortcuts during family road trips!
Grade* B+

DELIVERY (2007/I) - KSFilms - 94 minutes

"We deliver in 30 minutes or your KILLING IS FREE!"

The tagline itself gave me a chuckle when I received this DVD from an online DVD rental service. The cover certainly looked appealing enough with a big fellow wielding a bloody axe while holding a pizza box. I thought upon first glance that it was certain to be a very cheap slasher flick. The kind which have nice covers but appalling effects and are basically cliched junk, void of any originality whatsoever.
How cheap is it?  Let's say...it's actually cheaper than you could probably imagine! From what I read, it was made for $4500 and shot with a DV 24p.
That alone gives a struggling filmmaker some hope, especially considering the movie was picked up by Warner Bros.
I decided to give it a chance regardless so I sat down on a gloomy rainy evening while snacking on a pizza and beer. That surely has to be a suitable atmosphere for watching a movie about a killer pizza delivery guy I must say!
A large part of the movie dwells on Montgomery Goth's(Matt Nelson) traumatic past and his seemingly even more traumatic future as he's abused and humiliated by most everybody he meets. Working as a pizza delivery boy for 'Pie in the Sky', Montgomery(Monty) is haunted by personal demons and is often waking up in cold sweats due to nightmares of his family's past.

Some of the abuse Monty suffers is so over the top, it's borderline ridiculous. Basically chewed out by his boss daily and being humiliated anywhere and everywhere he goes, Monty slowly drifts from sanity over the course of the movie. It seems that an incredible amount of emphasis was placed on character development here and Matt Nelson does a very credible job in bringing alive the pain and suffering of his character. You can see it in his eyes and overall facial expressions just how upset, hurt, and frustrated he feels over the abuse he's suffered, mostly from the customers he's delivering pizzas to. Even children won't spare him his dignity.

  

Some things take a turn for the better when Monty meets the girl of his dreams in Bibi (Tara Cardinal) who seemingly finds something genuine and sweet in Monty to the point where she wants to take him home and cook him dinner and maybe...do other things:)

It still doesn't save Monty from being humiliated by a belligerent transvestite, a bunch of naked sorority girls, nor beaten up by a group of frat guys.

As Monty's life unravels completely after being dumped by Bibi and fired from his job, he goes on a full-fledged murderous rampage against those who pushed him over the edge.
To many, it would be impossible to sympathize with somebody who goes on a killing spree but to a degree, one would think the victims had it coming!

 A couple of the kill scenes are especially horrific, particularly where Monty beheads and makes a pizza out of somebody. On the other hand, you can quite easily see the budget limitations in another kill scene during a rainstorm which doesn't quite work due to lacking special effects.

In what I expected to be a typical brainless slasher flick lacking any kind of plot line, Delivery tends to offer a little bit more in substance. Though still plagued by cheesy effects and unbalanced performances ranging from campy to serious, it's Matt Nelson's portrayal of a disturbed and lonely individual that brings a new element often unseen in cheap slasher flicks(or big budget slasher flicks for that matter).
Character development is essential in making audiences care about the characters in a movie and if the audience doesn't care, then there is no movie to speak of and it becomes just another rubbish attempt by the producers/directors at 'cashing in' on a tired cliche. I felt genuinely sad for Monty and I'm not often engaged with characters in cheap slasher flicks which means Delivery as a whole did something right. Therefore on that note, the director Jose Zambrano Cassella should be commended for going in a slightly different direction with his movie and expanding on how and why the main character of the movie came to become what he eventually became.
Overall, I would recommend Delivery to anybody who is a slasher die-hard but who also appreciates a bit of backstory. While the kill scenes aren't nearly as fascinating or as thrilling as those in Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street, it's still a watchable flick just for Matt Nelson's performance alone. Obviously I'm not going to place this on the list of top horror movies on dvd, I can still rate it near the top of the list of independent student horror films filmed on shoe-string budgets. It was actually surprising in that regard considering what they were able to achieve on such a limited budget. Almost makes me think I could pull out my camcorder, grab a couple of locals, and put something together after seeing this.
Delivery is best watched while sober. It's easier to appreciate Matt Nelson's performance that way. If you only like slasher horror for the kill scenes, then just fast forward it to the last 20 minutes or so and enjoy. Although the kill scenes will be a lot more effective when you realize why Monty goes out to do what he does.
Grade* C+ (only for fans of low budget indie student horror films)

BLACK WATER (2007) - Australia - 90 minutes

For my very first post, we'll look at this low-budget flick from the land down under which I picked up from eBay at the time of its release. Based on a true story, it's categorized as being anywhere from a horror to a psychological thriller.
The DVD cover itself is a bit shoddy and upon first glance I thought the reptile was a snake instead of a crocodile. Thankfully I don't judge DVDs by their covers(actually I always seem to pick out the ones that have fantastic looking covers before anything else...don't you?), but I tend to look at several things before actually purchasing. That being the synopsis(obviously), the distribution company or studio, and sometimes the budget. Of course the budget isn't actually listed on the cover but I tend to sometimes do a little internet research before heading out to a video store to buy or rent lesser-known or foreign movies.
Apparently the budget for Black Water is less than a million. I'm guessing for that amount they probably found a good team of computer-animation artists to put together the croc action scenes and a semi-talented person to write the script.
Actually I'm just being naive! I figure I'd just put the DVD in the player and see for myself.
The film starts off with Gracie (Diana Glenn), her husband Adam (Andy Rodoreda) and her younger sister Lee (Maeve Dermody) who go for a little fishing expedition in the Australian wilderness with assistance from a tour guide in, unknowingly, man-eating-crocodile-infested waters.

 The atmosphere seems pleasant enough as the trio cast their lines in the murky waters until suddenly a giant crocodile sneaks up by surprise and capsizes the boat!

 The guide ends up as croc-food while the trio are able to climb to safety up a nearby tree. This is where the real story begins as it becomes a tale of man vs wild as the characters are basically trapped while the hungry croc lurks beneath.

A large portion of the movie actually sees the characters remain trapped in the tree which might cause some impatient viewers to hit the fast-forward button in hopes of seeing more action but I found these 'sit and wait' scenes to be particularly engaging, more so for the fact that you could feel a sense of nervousness for the characters because of the sheer helplessness of their predicament.

The movie really doesn't drag all that much to be honest since the characters do tend to make an effort to escape by either trying to return to the capsized boat or maneuvering from one tree to another, although ultimately they are forced to climb even higher up the trees to escape the wrath of the unusually athletic croc!

What I really enjoyed overall is how gripping the movie is with its level of tension and uncertainty of events as the characters are fighting for their very lives. There aren't noticeably many cheesy one-liners and overall, the film opts for silence which is a method that can work if implemented correctly. The females aren't worried about the state of their nails and aren't screaming throughout like annoying bimbos either which is a norm in the majority of cliche-ridden horror films. I'd actually applaud the actors here for their performances, and would especially give a standing applause to the directors David Nerlich and Andrew Traucki seeing what they managed to accomplish here.
The crocodile effects were handled extremely well for a limited budget I must say, combining special effects with real documentary footage. The crocodile itself is hardly evil although it is a very menacing and fearsome presence with the intention to feast. Actually a crocodile trying to eat three innocent people can be considered evil now that I think about it although truthfully its intention is merely to survive just like any other reptile or animal in the wilderness. The only problem here is that the croc wants to eat people we come to care for.

Character development itself is somewhat limited but if we're to get the gist of it, the characters are merely just a happy young bunch enjoying a little fishing trip. Nothing wrong with that whatsoever.
A large part of the climax falls directly on Maeve Dermody's ability to sell the illusion of fear, pain, anger, anguish, desperation, and the willingness to stand and fight when face to face with the nasty croc.

Overall, Black Water is a blood-curdling and hair-raising experience which exceeded my expectations. A sure ranking on the list of top horror movies coming out of Australia, no doubt! With 5.1 dolby digital sound, the best setting for viewing this movie would ideally be a lazy Sunday afternoon. No real need to watch it with the lights out since the action takes place during the day and you'll hardly be going to bed wondering if there's a crocodile in your closet. Although I do believe you'll think twice before going fishing in the mangrove swamps of Australia!
Grade* B+