If Red State had been the efforts of amateur filmmakers, I’d have chalked it up to being one hell of an try in the horror genre. But knowing Kevin Smith inside and out, I’m inclined to say that Smith seems almost disingenuous in his efforts to create an independent film that may or may not be independent when all is said and done. Smith knows his way around the camera and while I can’t fucking stand a single film from the man, “Red State” is a film that disappointed because the man does nothing with the genre that we haven’t already seen. And he’s working in my genre, the horror genre, so I expected big things from this considerable clunker. Rabid Christian fundamentalists, torture porn, commentary on religion, it’s all on the menu from a god fearing man like Kevin Smith who can never be sure if he’s putting religion to task for corrupting us, or merely just showing that religion has a bad side like it has a good side. “Dogma” was in fact an unbridled celebration of the mythos behind his religion, now “Red State” takes it to task and can never be quite certain what kind of message it’s trying to convey.
Tag Archives: Horror
Creature (2011)
If you’re looking for a good old fashioned horror film with a man in a rubber suit painted to look like one ferocious motherfucking monster, you need look beyond “Creature.” What is “Creature” but a poor man’s “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” a movie about a bunch of tourists, and a backwoods monster in New Orleans who has a hefty appetite for attractive women and muscle bound men. Shocking enough, “Creature” is a theatrical release in 2011, and tells the tale of a bunch of American tourists–a few of whom happen to be Navy Seals (this is important for the second half of the film)–who happen in to the back woods of New Orleans in search of adventure. Little do they know that if you come across Sid Haig on any adventure, you’re bound to find trouble and terror. It’s just common sense. Granted, Haig is an icon of the horror culture, but he should be in the horror rule book as a word of warning to anyone seeking adventure.
Attack the Block (2011)
As a product of its environment, “Attack the Block” is not only the definition of an independent film, but one of the finest films of the year. A true testament to the ingenuity capable by filmmakers under a small budget and limited resources, director Joe Cornish’s “Attack the Block” is that rare cinematic adventure that manages to live up to expectations and surpass them at the same time. It’s one of the most pleasant experiences I’ve had at the movies in years mainly because it’s so competently made and well imagined that it doesn’t require the respective movie goer to do much except watch mankind fight some alien monsters in the middle of the UK.
Puppet Master (1989) (DVD)
Even twenty one years after its release, I’m still very enamored with the “Puppet Master” series. Ever since the introduction of individual miniature terrors like Blade, Jester, and Leech Woman, I’ve been in love with the Charles Band Full Moon franchise that teamed the world of cruel human beings against the unforgiving dolls that threatened to bring down any and all menaces to their personal well being; I can still remember being a child trying to get as much from the series as possible from the video stores on my small allowance. “Puppet Master” is one of the more restrained installments of the series that features a slow burn premise about a group of psychics who infiltrate a local hotel to investigate the goings on and mysterious secret of life that has been mastered by puppeteer Andre Toulon.
Full Moon Friday: William Shatner's Full Moon Fright Night (DVD)
Ah two of my favorite things: Full Moon films, and William Shatner’s over the top comedy shtick that no one finds funny but him. You have to love “Full Moon Fright Night,” the 2002 television series that originally aired on the Scifi Channel in America and lasted about eight or nine episodes is finally here to collect on DVD for rabid collectors of Full Moon Fright Flicks, and what collection it is. For the first boxed set we’re given “The Vampire Journals,” “Head of the family,” and “Hideous!” all to the tune of William Shatner and a monster butler bringing us the frights in only the best manner possible a la Joe Bob Briggs.
Shatner isn’t exactly known for advertent comedy so it’s a treat to see him genuinely chewing scenery for these productions while introducing us to Full Moon movies that are quite terrible. Episode one brings us to the foot steps of “Vampire Journals” is very much in the tradition of “Subspecies” as an existential chronicle of a young man who staves off blood lust and pain in Europe as a vampire and charts his existence day by day including facts about his fellow vampires and what occurs in the life of such a being. Shatner occasionally interrupts to bring us a commercial break, but the films remain generally untarnished to the breaks offering their own Full Moon magic that make them terrible to the average movie goer but entertaining to any Full Moon buff.
Puppet Master 2: His Unholy Creations (1991)
There’s a new puppet introduced in “Puppet Master 2”: The Torch. He’s a bullet toothed flame throwing foot soldier of Toulon and he’s a force to be reckoned with. For the so-so “Puppet Master” there’s the even better sequel, a mixture of murder mystery and the paranormal that teams a bunch of paranormal investigators with the puppets whom seek to undo their work at every turn. For this sequel’s faults (Toulon was buried outside the famous hotel, why?) there are a lot of pluses, the one being that the puppets are given much more screen time thus much more screen time that allows them to stomp around the hotel and commit their misdeeds.
Director Patrick Rea and his Gallery of Nailbiters
Patrick Rea is probably one of my favorite independent directors at the moment and while all of his films may not be home runs, he’s created a veritable gallery of short horror and darkly comedic films that have stormed the worldwide web and spawned a following of folks just waiting his newest yarn that always ensure surprise twists and turns, sharp storytelling, and top notch performances. Ambitious and enthusiastic about his art, director Patrick Rea first started sending us his short films after we began reviewing the shorts we discovered on the net and since then has remained a contact for Cinema Crazed.
In the midst of directing his new feature length horror film called “Nailbiter,” a film that’s remained under wraps and mysterious to most online entities, Patrick Rea took the time out from his hectic shooting schedule in scorching heat to indulge us in an in-depth interview to learn where Patrick Rea honed his skills and how he went from film school student, to Fangoria filmmaker, to co-founder of SenoReality Pictures. If you haven’t seen any of Patrick Rea’s short film we suggest looking for them as they present a keen eye for detail and dark tones while always ensuring a surprise or two that will leave you wanting more.