Shorts can be fun tidbits of film, no matter the genre. Some genres can lend themselves to this format better than others, horror being one of them. So horror shorts with a grindhouse flare should be at the very least interesting. Here are four mini reviews of shorts by Tony Masiello that fall in that sub-genre. All of these shorts are part of anthologies that are out or about to come out.
Morty & Chester’s Grim Return (will be in Frames of Fear Anthology, 2016)
Three college friends meet up at one of the girls’ dead grandpa’s house to party and take it easy for Halloween weekend. Soon after they tell scary stories and play with an Ouiji board, things start going weird, beginning with grandpa’s ventriloquist dummy coming to life. Written by Tim Ritter and directed by Tony Masiello, this short stars Amy Woo, Sheena Irwin, Alice Rosenberg, and David S. Hart. The writing here is basic grindhouse while attempting to fit in some 80s slang for dialogue and honestly, this leads to some lines that are just grating to this 80s cinema fan.
The direction is decent and works with the material. The acting in this, on the other hand, is just horrendous, overacting and hamming it up does not make a performance grindhouse or SOV-style. This short has more than its fair share of nudity from ladies who are refreshingly regular, full-figured women. However, no amount of boobs and titillation could save Morty and Chester’s Grim Return. The style and “shocking” factors of a puppet going after human women was much better executed by the Lewis brothers in Black Devil Doll, a film that has something to offend everyone.
The Tape (featured in HI8 aka Horror Independent 8, 2013) (13min approx.)
When a video store closes, the owner hands a box of VHS tapes to his buddy who heads home with them and promptly starts watching them. He eventually finds one titled Bloodgasm and becomes obsessed with it, going to crazy lengths to see the missing ending. Written by Matt Hill, directed by Tony Masiello, and starring Andrea Adams, Bobbi Beach, Mike Burnell, David S. Hart, and Travis Hoecker, this one is better than Morty and Chester, the dialogue is not grating but not really great either which could be due to a delivery problem. The acting from the lead is ok while the killer is a bit too over the top. This short is meant to look and feel like old school shot-on-video fare and it achieves that with flying colors. Its acting is passable, the effects are good considering the budget, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Cannibal Vampire Call-Girl Hookers From Outer Space 3 (featured in Grindsploitation anthology, 2016) (4min 47sec)
This short is a fake trailer for an inexistent film made for the fake trailer anthology Grindsploitation which includes a large collection of efforts from varied directors with a varied level of success. Cannibal Vampire Call-Girl Hookers From Outer Space 3 is about a group of female aliens on Earth killing as many men as they can, but also hellbent on fucking their brains out first. This one is a collection of scenes written and directed by Tony Masiello and starring some of his regulars (IMDB only has Masiello listed as a cast member for it).
This “trailer” does bring back memories of grindhouse and exploitation movies from the early 80s, with gritty images, plenty of nudity, and lots of violence. The short scenes thrown together make it hard to judge the writing, directing, and even the acting as none are long enough to give a good idea of these aspects. It all comes together to make a mish mash that seems made to showcase naked girls, and excuse to have boobs bouncing on the screen constantly, and to have few scenes that borderline on porn. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is left to each viewer to decide.
Love Me In Pieces (featured in Sleepless Nights anthology, 20??) (14 minutes)
A man who meets woman after woman from dating sites and films his exploits thinks he’s found the perfect girl for his evening. They go through the usual first date chit chat while having some wine and waiting for dinner to be ready at her place. He thinks he’s found the perfect new victim, err woman, she also thinks he’s the perfect man for her needs. Her goals are however very different from his. Love Me In Pieces was the last of Tony Masiello’s shorts I’ve watched and possibly his best one.
This one boasts decent writing and directing and some good acting from lead actress Nikki Tamburro who shows restraint at first and then glee as her character has found the perfect man for her plans. Playing opposite Tamburro is Masiello regular Travis Hoecker who turns in a decent, creeper performance. This short is the more thought out one story of the bunch and it doesn’t get as much in your face with sexuality and gore, the latter turning up in the end as the story develops slower than other works from this director. The story does owe a big debt to the Lucky McKee film May. Also, fans of Lou Rusconi need to pay attention and play spot the artwork.