Karma is a bitch and many times the manifestation of payback can provide some truly blood drenched results. “KillerKiller” is not a horror film that started off on the right foot with me. The audio was pretty crummy and the story began like a typical slasher film, but as the story progressed, “KillerKiller” won me over. Not only is it a great little horror film, it’s a great survival film, and a very good branch off the “strangers in a house” sub-genre tree that soon becomes a fascinating glimpse at predator and prey formulas. In Higgins’ slasher mystery, the victim is the murderer and soon the killers will make for the body count. A horror movie of this gamut with such a low budget would usually fall flat on its head, but thankfully it doesn’t.
Knocked Up (Unrated Widescreen Edition) (DVD) (2007)
I love Seth Rogen, I’ve loved Seth Rogen since the days of “Freaks and Geeks” when he was the often difficult supporting character Ken, who popped wisecracks, I loved Seth Rogen when he was in “Undeclared” as almost the same character, and now he’s finally leading a film that’s a much deserved turn the man. “Freaks and Geeks” fans know the man can headline a movie and Apatow proves that. As the character Ben, he’s probably one of the many complex characters that Apatow has such a talent for concocting.
Josie and the Pussycats – The Complete Series (1970) (DVD)
Out of all the Hanna Barbera series to stem from the sixties and seventies, I’d have to say that “Josie and the Pussycats.” Sure, it was in essence a pure “Scooby Doo” rip off, with a Shaggy character voiced by Casey Kasem, a Freddy character with an ascot, goofy animal sidekicks, and even re-using its chase music on many occasions, but it’s just so much better than “Scooby-Doo” which I’ve always considered an overrated franchise to begin with.
Legion of Superheroes Volume 1 (DVD)
This new WB series featured the introduction of a new style of animation for the new Millennium of DC audiences. Once WB broke out of the Bruce Timm era, “Teen Titans” ushered in a semi-anime style that was influential and hipper, arguably. The quasi-anime was appealing to the pre-teens and tweens who didn’t quite like the Timm blocky style. “Legion of Superheroes” is a much more dramatic turn for the animation aside from the goofy and often over the top “Teen Titans.” Inspired by “The Animated Series,” the Legion needs the help of their god, the one and only Superman. The Legion now lives in a reality where Superman is the one and only inspiration for young avengers, even with monuments built in his honor.
Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told: Director's Cut (1968) (DVD)
“Spider-Baby” is without a doubt one of the oddest cannibal movies I’ve ever come across. And it’s not because it’s old, but because the cannibalism ends up becoming much more implied than explored in the end. There isn’t exactly anyone eating other folks here, but there are often the signs. Young Virginia collects ears, and eats bugs, while Elizabeth attempts to guilt her into her natural urges, even though she’s experiencing the same cravings to give in.
After (2006)
The apocalypse. I love it. I love everything about it, I love the potential for story and human study is presents, I love the whole idea of society crumbling under the threat of some force, and I revel in writing about it. “After” is yet another take on a zombie apocalypse, except this time… it’s through the eyes of a zombie. After a presumably horribly bloody death, three survivors, held up in a large house, draw their attention elsewhere as their father lays in the next room slowly dying. Through his eyes, we watch his last sights as his children run back and forth planning an escape from the zombies outside. He then emerges and begins wandering the house, with his children struggling to fend him off without killing him.
Hobo with a Shotgun (2007)
Now living as an online cult gem, “Hobo with a Shotgun” has an interesting history. Around the time the craze for the Tarantino-Rodriguez “Grindhouse” rolled around, there was a lot of excitement. Fake trailers, the Grindhouse feel, and two big movies, and then they offered young filmmakers at SXSW a chance to create their own fake trailer to be featured during the actual movie. “Hobo with a Shotgun” won out. Granted, it only was featured in a few theatrical showings across the US, it was praised as one of the few entries to capture that truly trashy atmosphere that made Grindhouse so much fun. And shockingly, Eisener captures the time much better than Rob Zombie’s trailer did.