The Children (2008)

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

As much as I wanted to love Thomas Shankland’s horror film “The Children,” it’s yet another genre entry that’s all build and no bang. In fact the first hour of the whole film is nothing but build-up and off screen chaos, and there’s almost no pay off to anything that occurs. Whenever Shankland has a chance to blast the audience with carnage and havoc, it’s all so abruptly ended. You assume a movie about a mysterious chemical that turns children in to rotten maniacs merciless in their pursuit to murder adults would be straight forward and frantic. In reality it’s very slow, and there’s nothing straight forward about anything here.

Continue reading →

Disturbing Behavior (1998)

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

Director David Nutter and writer Scott Rosenberg take a page from Ira Levin’s “The Stepford Wives” to offer nineties kids a modern take on the author’s novel. Who am I kidding? The pair rip chapters from author Levin and basically just retro-fit it for a modern audience, when all is said and done. “Disturbing Behavior” is basically “The Stepford Wives” except replacing the commentary on conservative men adjusting to the rising tide of feminism, we’re given a town of parents so unwilling to work on their kids they’d much rather just operate on them to make them in to model citizens.

Continue reading →

Pinocchio’s Revenge (1996)

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

With “Pinocchio’s Revenge,” it feels as if Director and Writer Kevin Tenney concocted an entire script based on a serial killer whose spirit inhabits his beloved Pinocchio doll and begins wreaking havoc on a hot mom and her daughter. And then mid-way he thought that perhaps it’d skirt legal issues, and then he suddenly transformed it in to a dull whodunit dramatic thriller. That’s the only way I can figure the logic for the title, at all. There’s no actual revenge, and in the end there’s not a lot of reasoning for Pinocchio to commit these crimes. But at least there’s still the hot mom.

Continue reading →

Good Conduct (2014)

Posted on October 15, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

Director Patrick Rea and writer Michelle Davidson offer audiences a complex and deep narrative that only spans a little under ten minutes. In such a short time, director Patrick Rea is able to convey so many emotions by sheer body language alone. He films intricate moments involving human contact and gestures that often times manage to speak waves about these characters without suffering through clunky exposition.

Continue reading →

The Battery (2012)

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

I wish more zombie movies could be like Jeremy Gardner’s “The Battery.” The problem with most modern zombie films is that the writers forget that the humans should be the centerpiece of the film, and not the zombies. Director Jeremy Gardner’s “The Battery” is the prime example of how to handle this kind of genre entertainment with a low budget. Rather than flood the screen with zombies, the monsters are used sparingly and for great moments of terror and memorable scenes, while Gardner focuses primarily on character, building two complex and unique people we can love and hate, in many ways.

Continue reading →

Best Friends Forever (2013)

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

I’ll be honest, I’ve been crushing hard on Brea Grant since her days on “Heroes,” so when I heard she had a movie out where she starred, I made it my mission to watch it. Thankfully, “Best Friends Forever” is a low budget but incredibly well realized apocalyptic horror drama with a geek edge that Grant is now known for. Grant is so adorable in “Best Friends Forever,” she may garner a few more fans. “Best Friends Forever” is basically “Harry & Tonto” meets “A Boy and His Dog.” Except with two beautiful women. To boot, it garners immense heart and rather fantastic performances by Director/co-star/co-writer Grant and co-writer/co-star Vera Miao, both of whom play friends uncertain of their future that realize the world around them has no future.

Continue reading →

Carrie (1976)

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Felix Vasquez

Upon first glance, you’d think Brian DePalma directing a Stephen King Adaptation would be something disastrous. DePalma has spent most of his early career emulating Hitchcock, and delivering cerebral gems like “Sisters.” It’s a treat though that he ends up becoming one of the most crucial elements of “Carrie” and its adaptation. Because what the director can’t convey through special effects, he conveys through some amazing camera work and editing that still wows me to this day. “Carrie” is easily one of the best horror films, and revenge films ever made. It’s a brilliantly cast and deeply tragic story of a girl whose powers became the judgment day for many cruel individuals who preyed on the innocent.

Continue reading →