The Woods (2014)

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Director Remington Smith’s “The Woods” is quite an accomplishment, mainly because it’s a film set in the middle of a snowy tundra implementing zero special effects. The centerpiece of “The Woods” is our character’s surroundings and how she has to adapt to the snowy wasteland of the woods. Apparently Smith and cinematographer Joshua Yates used mostly natural lighting for their film, resulting in a masterfully eerie and haunting short film set during a fight for survival. There’s so much conveyed in “The Woods” and yet there isn’t single word of dialogue spoken.

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Dead Kansas (2015)

Posted on October 11, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

I won’t accuse “Dead Kansas” of being a masterpiece of zombie cinema, but damn it you have to appreciate Aaron Carter’s ambition behind this project. I assume if given a huge budget, Carter would have given us a damn good zombie movie. But since it’s mainly a film on a tight budget, he gives us the best movie he can, and at times “Dead Kansas” has glimmers of a strong zombie film. In between it’s mediocre fodder with shaky performances. But damn, you have to appreciate the inherent ambition here.

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Cooties (2015)

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

Directors Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion couldn’t have assembled a better troupe of character actors than the one in “Cooties.” If you’re going to cast some of the best, you’d best put them in a good movie, and “Cooties” is great. It’s part “Class of Nuke Em High,” part “28 Days Later,” and part “Night of the Living Dead.” The team of Murnion and Milott compose a sick and hilarious amalgam of horror comedy that actually manages to build a very difficult premise. How do you fight hordes of children? And even if small children were running rampant and eating people, would you be able to murder them out of self defense?

Clint is starting his first day teaching summer school at Fort Chicken elementary school and is preparing for a hard go of it with some rather bratty children populating his school. Things go from bad to worse when a young girl bites in to a tainted chicken nugget that infects her with a horrible virus that transforms her in to a flesh eating savage.

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Crimson Whale (2014) [Fantasia Film Festival]

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL

I was completely mixed with “Crimson Whale” as a feature, because when you get down to it, it feels like it pads its run time. It’s only seventy minutes in length, and a lot of it feels like its treading water to get to the inevitable confrontation with its titular foe that happens to be anomaly of nature. “Crimson Whale” isn’t the worst anime film I’ve ever seen. It just isn’t all that good. It gets the distinction of being middle of the road mainly because it’s just so damn gloomy and mean spirited. It’s violent, and dark, and definitely does not thrive on supplying a happy ending. It barely has an ending, when you cut to the chase.

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Haven (2014)

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Felix Vasquez

Michael Gabriele is a powerful director, and it’s proven by “Haven” where he films a beautiful vision of the apocalypse. Surely, it’s one that’s wrought with violence, and a disgusting death, but it’s also one that’s utterly mesmerizing. Some of the shots within “Haven” are magnificent, and he uses a lot of the settings to depict a desolate world where starvation is the order of the day.

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Vanishing on 7th Street (2010)

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

I never thought I’d hate a post apocalyptic movie for being too grim and miserable. But surely enough one of the biggest downfalls of “Vanishing on 7th Street” is that it’s so downbeat it cuts off any chance of entertainment. I know that grim and hopeless moods come with tales about the end of the world, but director Brad Anderson almost has nothing to do with his premise and concept, thus he revolves his story around a series of very unlikable characters. It’s a shame considering director Brad Anderson is such a competent often brilliant director, but he’s behind the camera lensing what is an obviously incomplete movie.

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