Bloodrayne (2006)

Posted on October 11, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Look at those… sharp swords…?

Crushing every bit of potential for a great movie under the weight of his own abysmal vision, “Bloodrayne” is yet another video game adaptation that fails to deliver to its audience. “Bloodrayne” doesn’t attempt to appease the intelligent movie-goers, yet Boll aims for the young teenagers and utter dimwits by transforming his adaptation from a horror fantasy about a female heroine in to pure exploitation. Prepare for a ton of blatant nudity and sex that has no relevance to the narrative, or any real point, for that matter. Bloodrayne is yet another leather-clad fetishized Goth whose character emphases is based on her line “I have no family, I am an orphan.”

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Dead Body (2015) [Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival 2016]

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Emilie Black

Post-graduation, a group of high school friends meet up at one of the guys’ father’s cabin in the woods. There they hang out, drink, argue, and play a game called Dead Body. As they start dying off one by one, they must figure out who is the real killer and try to survive. Directed by Bobbin Ramsey and written by Ian Bell and Ramon Isao, the film boasts nine teenage characters that are all fairly generic stereotypes of teenagers and how they should act. What makes the film interesting is not as much who they are or how they act but the whodunit angle to the story. Of course red herrings and false red herrings are thrown left and right from the beginning.

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Black Christmas (2006)

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Glenn Morgan’s remake of the Bob Clark 1974 slasher film is one of most preposterous, blatantly awful films I’ve seen in the last two years. As a remake and as its own film, it’s awful. Director-Writer Morgan seems to aim for the exact opposite effect the original established, and does so through often hilarious methods of murders, and vague characterization. All the characters are loud, one-dimensional, and despicable, none of the actors give stand out performances, there’s an awfully predictable plot twist involving our killer, gross out gore for the sake of gross out gore. Of course, Billy uses every element of Christmas as a method of murder for his victims.

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Supernatural Horrors Shorts Block Part 1 [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2016]

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Emilie Black

Mona (Kosovo) (2016)
This interpretive dance short by Lorena Sopi is a beautiful haunting piece about a dance reflecting on life and the accident that changed it. This short has fantastic, dreamy lighting and makes good use of Christmas lights and snow fall. The acting is soft and appropriate while the dancing is fascinating to watch.

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Bad Blood: The Movie (2016) [Philadelphia Unnamed Film Festival 2016]

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Emilie Black

In a small town, a girl gets attacked by something near a gas station. The station attendant saves her life and explains her new situation to her, leaving out crucial details. Writer/director Tim Reis takes the usual werewolf tropes and applies them to an amphibious being which turns things on their heads a bit. His film is semi-serious and has plenty fun in store for fans of slightly over the top horror. His characters are fairly typical but this does not take away from the fun. This is not a film made to make you think a ton or to be philosophical, it’s made for entertainment and it does that very well. The films premise is fairly simple but it works and the characters involved work in an odd group of people forced together.

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Human Killers and Psychological Terrors Shorts Block Part 1 [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2016]

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Emilie Black

Dante’s Penance (Music Video) (USA) (2016)
A rap music video showing a man ready to commit murder for a beautiful woman based on the 9 circles of Hell, this video written and directed by Dante Moran who also did the cinematography, editing, casting, was a part of the effects team, etc is a visually interesting but its story feels as though it’s part of something else, something as of yet incomplete. The cast led by Thomas Gunter gives decent performances and the effects look good. It will be interesting to see how it ties into the bigger Penance project.

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They Call Me Jeeg Robot (Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot) (2015) [San Diego Italian Film Festivale 2016]

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Emilie Black

A small time criminal, Enzo, jumps in the Tiber River to escape his pursuers. Little does he know, the river hides a secret and he gains super strength. With this new power, he starts off looking out only for himself until he gets to know his neighbor Alessia. Written by Nicola Guaglianone and Menotti and directed by Gabriele Mainetti, They Call Me Jeeg Robot is an interesting take on the superhero myth and how a person who is at the basis bad would take the powers and run with them. The characters built here are majorly flawed people, starting with the hero, Enzo Ceccotti who finds himself with this super strength while also being completely broke and in need of something to get him out of the hole he dug for himself.

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