Shorts can be fun tidbits of film, no matter the genre. Some genres can lend themselves to this format better than others, horror being one of them. So horror shorts with a grindhouse flare should be at the very least interesting. Here are four mini reviews of shorts by Tony Masiello that fall in that sub-genre. All of these shorts are part of anthologies that are out or about to come out.
Tag Archives: Horror
Hank Boyd Is Dead (2015)
Accused murdered Hank Boyd has died and his mother wants him remembered with a funeral and gathering at the family home. Sarah is hired to work this gathering for the local catering company. As the hours pass, the Boyd family grows stranger and stranger and Sarah must fight for her life.
Written and directed by Sean Melia for whom this is a first full length feature film, the story seems simple at first: A child murderer has died in a small town and his family is trying to keep a minimum of respect for him at his funeral. However, as more and more is discovered about the Boyd family, the more twisted the story becomes. It isn’t only about Sarah’s survival among this family but also about how crazy can one family really be. The story is fairly well written and unfolds at a good pace, never losing the viewer’s attention but also not exactly feeling like it’s doing anything new with the crazy family aspect.
The acting is decent from the leads and supporting cast. Standouts are Carole Monferdini as the aging and slowly losing it clan matriarch, Beverly Boyd, who alternates between sweet old lady and crazy violent bitch. Her performance is nuanced with a touch of bat shit insane. The other standout if Stefanie E. Frame as Sarah Walsh, the outsider who becomes captive and fights for her life. She shows a range of emotions from boredom to stunned surprise to desperation which adds to the viewers’ care for her character.
Hank Boyd Is Dead is a violent film but there is no gore and very little blood, the horror here is more psychological in nature. Yes, there is violence, but what is meant to shock is the story, the characters’ backgrounds, and the family dynamics, not the physical damage made to others (except in a couple of scenes). That being said, it is a violent film with some disturbing aspects, however for a more jaded audience, it’s not quite enough to have much of an effect.
The film has good performances in general, a fairly good story, decent dialogue, but nothing is really shocking or new. At 76 minutes, it’s a fairly short feature which allows it to not overstay its welcome. The twists are interesting but will be predictable to some. Nonetheless, the film is entertaining while not breaking any new ground in the crazy family with major issues horrific drama sub-genre.
Baskin (2015)
Five cops go on a very late night call to the middle of nowhere. On their way, their hit something on the road and crash close to the source of the call, as they head into the property, things take a turn for the very weird. Baskin is based on the short of the same name and is written by Ogul Can Eren, Can Evrenol, Cem Ozuduru, and Ercin Sadikoglu.
The way they built the film with dreams and flashbacks leads to a story that could have been muddled but isn’t as it works with them and integrates them well. Of course, this leads to a story that is not entirely linear and may not be everyone’s cup of tea. The direction by Can Evrenol demonstrates talent with only a few scenes showing that this is his first feature and that his directorial experience is not wide and varied yet. Most of the writers and the director are newer to completely new to making films, yet this shows only very, very scarcely, which is a testament to their pool of talent.
The cast here is also fairly new to the business with two standout performance by Gorken Kasal as Arda, the lead amongst a good group of actors playing cops going on an ill-fated call. Kasal gives a layered performance of a character with a childhood that is still affecting him, while trying to be the best cop he can be, he also shows a good emotional range. Also worth noting is newbie Mehmet Cerrahoglu as Baba, The Father, the cult leader Arda and the cops encounter. Kasal and Cerrahoglu play well against each other. Many scenes in “Baskin” are trippy and visually very interesting, leading to sometimes packing a lot in a quick scene which serves to disorient as much as engage the viewer.
As the film advances, things go from weird to seriously messed up and the gore factor goes through the roof. Blood, guts, everything gets thrown around. The effects for these are of varying quality. For most of the film, the effects are great, done practically and looking quite realistic, especially once put in a darkly-lit, fast-moving scenes. However, a few of the effects, seen in better light and for longer periods, look a bit cheaper, of lesser quality which can break the tension of the scene they are in. Adding to the visuals and the effects is the music which works well here, helping sustain the suspense and raising up the creep factor by underlining the fear felt by the protagonists.
Baskin is a movie once should see as it shows what short film makers can do when expending on one of their shorts such as what happened with Turbo Kid (but much, much darker here). It’s a tense film with scenes to make almost anyone uncomfortable. The story starts off with an effective opening, then keeps things more or less almost creepy until it suddenly amps up the creep factor and then the gore becomes prevalent making for a suspenseful experience with some gross out moments. By the end of the film, more questions have been asked than answered, leaving the viewer to think a bit and come to their own conclusions.
ChicArt Short Films Round Up
Sometimes, a bunch of shorts fall in my lap and I gather them for review under a theme. Like the recent piece on the shorts by production company 2AM Burrito, this group came from one company, albeit a PR one: ChicArt.
The style of the shorts here is very different, so this is where the comparison ends. Without further ado, ChicArt repped shorts.
Jeepers Creepers 2: Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray] (2003)
With the follow up to the criminally overlooked “Jeepers Creepers,” director Victor Salva completely loses all sight of the potential for his first film and embraces the B movie roots of the Creeper. That’s not to say that’s a bad thing, but “Jeepers Creepers 2” ends up being a brutally silly movie that offers a solid diversion, even in spite of its massive flaws and lapses in logic. To add to the unusual experience, the follow up to the original is filled with so much homoeroticism and subtle sexual overtones, you’ll feel just as uncomfortable as the characters do while they’re being stalked by the Creeper.
Jeepers Creepers: Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray] (2001)
Victor Salva’s “Jeepers Creepers” is a pretty excellent and haunting horror gem in the early aughts when horror was pretty stagnant for a while. A mix of Duel and a genuine monster movie, director Salva presents a well paced and very scary film that only accentuates how terrifying films on the wide open road can be with the proper premise. Justin Long and Gina Phillips is top notch, keeping the film afloat with their memorable chemistry and fantastic interplay. They play siblings Trish and Darry, two college students tasked with delivering a car to their cousin across the country. Along the way as they bicker and deal with boredom, they’re confronted with a menacing truck that nearly runs them off the road.
While mistakenly crossing its path, they find the truck and its menacing driver seemingly sliding corpses down a storm drain. Deciding to investigate it, the pair arouses the anger and obsession of the truck’s driver, who slowly reveals himself to be anything but a simple psychopath. Quite obviously working on a limited budget, director Salva keeps a lot of the elements of the villain ambiguous and left wildly up to speculation by the viewer. Rather than piling on a lot of knowledge, our characters literally drop right in to the lair of our villain and slowly realize the severity of their discovery and how it will greatly affect their lives if they don’t get off the road and back to civilization.
The terror is amped up minute by minute, as both protagonists slowly run out of options in their efforts to get home, and try to outwit the monstrous driver who reveals himself to be much more clever and vicious than they ever imagined. Long is especially very good as his sanity slowly dwindles the deeper in to this nightmare he and his sister drop. Phillips plays well alongside Long, keeping up with his strong turn as a very strong heroine. A lot of “Jeepers Creepers” is beautifully paced and well edited, allowing for a ton of simple but brutally creepy moments. Some of the best scenes involve an attack on two beat cops in the background as our characters drive ahead of them, and the final reveal of our villain which is both jarring and shocking.
What would have been a simple “Duel” knock off spirals out of control in to a bonafide tense monster movie that keeps its pace pretty brisk and introduces us to a twisted new horror fiend with survival instincts that make it relentless, vicious and remorseless. What’s more is that many elements are introduced that are very supernatural and out of the ordinary with ideas about premonitions and fate that either favor this being’s hunt for prey, or ultimately work against it. “Jeepers Creepers” is a fine horror yarn, and one that goes criminally under appreciated mainly for Salva’s very public sordid criminal past, and the sub-par sequel.
Disc One from Scream Factory includes an audio commentary with director Victor Salva, whose work on this feature is informative, if kind of tedious. The second commentary features Salva with cast members Justin Long and Gina Phillips. It’s a fun little reunion, as the trio seems very casual and friendly toward one another. On Disc Two, there’s the thirty seven minute “Jeepers Creepers: Then And Now” a collection of interviews with the cast and crew. “From Critters To Creepers” is a twenty minute interview with producer Barry Opper, who discusses in length his career, working with legends of horror, and his involvement with the film.
“The Town Psychic” is a seventeen minute interview with Patricia Belcher who plays the town psychic introduced in the second half. “Behind the Peepers” is an hour long HD transfer of the original Standard Definition documentary. It’s a six part making of for “Jeepers Creepers,” with cast and crew interviews, video clips, production stills, the creature designs, and so much more. There’s a seventeen minute “Deleted Scenes” reel containing extended scenes and alternate openings and ending. There’s also the original trailer, a radio spot, and a trailer gallery with production stills, on set photos, and concept designs for the creature.
My Five Favorite Movie Masks
Whether or not you like “The Purge” movie series, the third film in the franchise entitled “Election Year” is on its way and looks to be pumping up the schlock we saw from the first two films. The wise move the studios have taken is placing better, and larger emphases on the villains and purgers of the film, rather than just giving us posters with the protagonists. The villains have been the most eye catching aspect of “The Purge” series mainly because they always have the best face paint and masks. In honor of the excellent one sheet recently released, I thought I’d narrow down my top five favorite movie masks of all time. It wasn’t an easy feat, but it sure is a fun one.
What are some of your favorite movie masks of all time? Let me know in the comments.