There was something particularly haunting about director Michael Ballif’s short film “Two Hours” when I was finished. I have seen short zombie films over and over in the course of three years, but “2 Hours” manages to achieve a certain morbid and disturbing nature to it that will stick with viewers long after the credits have rolled. Shot on an apparently small budget that’s defined as “no budget” over the course of two years, director Michael Ballif manages to paint an interesting post-apocalyptic world based around the walking dead.
Category Archives: Movie Reviews
Alma (2009)
Director Rodrigo Blaas’s short film “Alma” presents the illusion of whimsy and magic at first sight, but deep down “Alma” is one of the spookiest short films made in years. Its entire premise seems to be a metaphor for child endangerment and how easily children could get sucked in to the darkness of the world and disappear forever. The sentient store in the story could very well double for a stranger offering a child a treat, while the young girl in the movie is the child submitting to the temptation and paying a deadly price.
Let's Make a Movie (2012)
In order for “Let’s Make a Movie” to be half as good as it is, it really had to cast the right performer for the character of Cassie Thompson, and director Elana A. Mudgan accomplishes that task with Hallie York. Granted, “Let’s Make a Movie” is a really good and entertaining dramedy about the obstacles of filmmaking, but Hallie York really is the heart and soul of the film. On surface level, York doesn’t seem like a polished actress, but York really manages to carry the film with her portrayal of the troubled and conflicted young Cassie, who is struggling to find a direction in her life. Badgered by her parents to find something useful to do with her life, Cassie quits her job to work on an indie film that she is convinced will grant her success as a film director.
After Porn Ends (2010)
Yet again, we have a documentary that pretty much intends to shed a light on the porn industry that hasn’t been seen before. It depicts the industry as anything other than fantastic and filled with raunchy sex. Director Bryce Wagoner’s “After Porn Ends” seems on a mission to show the human side of porn stars, and how many have fared after they’ve left behind the industry. But once you’ve finished “After Porn Ends,” not only will you have a new insight on the industry, but you’ll likely want to burn every pornographic film you’ve ever seen, and follow it up with a bullet to the head.
Cemetery High (1989)
Basically, Gorman Bechard’s “Cemetery High” is a comedy spoof of every rape revenge movie you’ve ever seen. Except when it tries to be funny, it fails painfully. When it tries for exploitation revenge, it manages to be a pretty absurd and interesting bit of revenge horror. I wonder why someone thought mocking this material would make for an entertaining movie. Granted, the tale of women striking down rapists isn’t exactly a dramatic bit of cinematic fare, especially in the late eighties, but mocking the material so incessantly feels so shoe horned, the comedy is awkward rather than unfunny.
Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies (2012)
“Emancipate this!”
The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself. And of course, flesh eating Confederate zombies. Those things are always a bugger on countries and whatnot. Those dang confederate zombies. After a prologue showing young Mr. Lincoln beheading his undead father with an axe, he soon discovers years in to his presidency that Confederate soldiers are rising from their graves and are spreading along the country to wreak havoc on the living. Abraham Lincoln takes it upon himself to lead the charge and stop the siege of the undead with a secret mission, and soon must fight for his life against hordes of the walking dead, alongside his brethren of pistol shooting suited men. “Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies” is basically “Night of the Living Dead” but with a very twisted historical context. Instead of a farm house there’s a military fort, and instead of a group of survivors, there’s Abe Lincoln, a young Teddy Roosevelt, and a bunch of other characters that double for cannon fodder for the zombies.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)
Though I never actually had the opportunity to read Seth Grahame-Smith’s original novel, director Timur Bekmambetov’s treatment of the revisionist novel is one of the more interesting horror movies I’ve ever seen. Not only does the film skirt the edges of camp, but it accomplishes the wonderful sense of surrealism and whimsy that Bekmambetov’s “Night Watch” films held so proudly. “Vampire Hunter” carries with it a lot of prospects for future installments, and it’s a very clever and often exciting bit of action horror that delivers on exactly what its title promises. There is Abraham Lincoln, and he does indeed stalk and hunt vampires for a great portion of the film.