After Helen, a bike messenger, gets hit by a car, she awakens in the hospital and soon finds herself haunted and taunted by her twin who she absorbed during her development in utero. As Helen seems to lose her mind more and more, her evil twin makes more and more appearances and damage. Or does she? Written by Adam Seybold based on a story by himself and director Cody Calahan, the film explores the evil twin subject in an interesting manner as the viewer is almost never sure if it’s a twin, a ghost, a possession, or simply mental issues that are causing all the mayhem.
Mario Puzo’s The Godfather: The Complete Epic 1901-1959 (2016)
After presenting various cuts of “The Godfather” trilogy over the years presented on television, HBO has decided to offer up their own version of Mario Puzo’s “The Godfather” entitled “The Complete Epic.” Clocking in at a little over seven hours and presented in HD, the idea for “The Complete Epic” is that “The Godfather” and “The Godfather II” are spliced together telling the entire saga of the Corleones chronologically. They then injected a lot of deleted and or extended scenes for the purpose of exposition and further elaboration on plot points somewhat evaded and under explained in the aforementioned films. As well, what’s considered “The Complete Epic” does not include the often maligned “The Godfather III.”
Swiss Yodeling: 30 Years Later (2015)
In 1984, documentary filmmaker Hugo Zemp traveled to Muotatal in the Pre-Alps region of Switzerland to create a nonfiction feature on the traditional local style of yodeling known as “yootz,” which differed in many aspects from the more theatrical yodeling presentations that most people associate with Switzerland. After restoring his film, Zemp decided to return to Muotatal in 2014 as a follow-up, and he connected with Bernhard Betschart, who was a seven years old in Zemp’s original production.
Population Zero (2016) [FrightFest 2016]
Shot documentary-style, Population Zero follows director Julian T. Pinder as he investigates a triple murder in a national park, a place without population, hence the title, and where some laws apply differently or not at all. Director Julian T. Pinder and co-director Adam Levins build a film about an interesting case as these three murders were never fully investigated or prosecuted.
The Devil’s Dolls (2016)
A police detective investigating a serial killer takes a box of dolls with him. His daughter gets her hands on them, and then turns them into jewelry which gets spread around town by well-meaning buyers. Soon the wearers turn evil and things become bloody. Written by Danny Kolker and Christopher Wiehl and directed by Padraig Reynolds, The Devil’s Dolls takes the possessed item idea and multiplies it, sending multiple cursed/possessed items into a community to wreak havoc.
Steve Rudzinski, Director of “CarousHELL,” and “Super Task Force One”
Steve Rudzinski is an independent filmmaker out of Pennsylvania who is a very passionate fanboy intent on telling his own stories and making his own kind of movies. Though making movies is easier than ever before, the glut of films have made it tougher to find an audience, but Rudzinski has pressed on with very original and entertaining indies that tap in to his favorite corners of pop culture, and inject his own twisted sense of humor. I first learned about him after he released his ode to “Power Rangers” entitled “Super Task Force One.”
Ever since, Steve has unleashed a steady stream of horror comedies and fantasy, the most memorable is the recent “CarousHELL.” It’s a slasher film, sure, but it’s a guarantee you’ve never seen this type of slasher film before. Steve fills us in on the upcoming “CarousHELL” and his past with filmmaking.
Captain America Civil War (2016) [Blu-Ray/Digital]
It’s amazing what kind of feat the Russo Brothers have pulled off. Not only do they offer up a pseudo-sequel to the continuing saga of “The Avengers” but they also manage to squeeze in a superhero epic, and revenge saga that stretches out over the Marvel Cinematic Universe without ever missing a single beat. “Captain America: Civil War” finally brings the Marvel Universe full circle creating something of a wider scope now that Marvel has been able to acquire and introduce superheroes and characters that were long thought to be incapable of appearing. In just a two and a half hour movie, we’re able to watch a full fledged tale of friendship unfold in the face of a revenge plot, while being given marvelous and overdue introductions to iconic Avenger The Black Panther, and Marvel’s long awaited iteration of their iconic superhero Spider-Man.