Tag Archives: Indie Film

Dead Sharks (2015)

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DeadSharks

Nic Barker’s short film is an idea that could have easily translated in to a compelling romance drama. Barker practices the idea of mumblecore and it works beautifully to convey a foursome of relationships that have either reach their expiration date, or are about to very soon. “Dead Sharks” is more of an ensemble drama based around the Woody Allen quote about how relationships have to move forward like sharks or they die. These relationships are attempting to move forward, but it doesn’t take a genius to see they’re dead.

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Occupants (2015)

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Occupants

For anyone like me who take interest in the concept of parallel worlds, director Russell Emanuel embraces the found footage sub-genre while also dodging the gimmicky trappings in favor of a much more intelligent genre title involving the scientific idea. “Occupants” explores the theory of parallel realities, and how it’s theorized our lives can align with alternate versions of ourselves. Much like “Paranormal Activity,” Emanuel sets his film primarily in one setting, but the similarities end there. Emanuel has his finger on the pulse of science fiction, exploring a realm where every movement is intricate and our characters begin to dabble in the God Complex resulting in some absolutely horrendous consequences.

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Avenged (2015)

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I wish “The Crow” sequels took as much of an advantage with a creative premise as director Michael S. Ojeda does with “Avenged.” While his film isn’t exactly a revenge masterpiece, it’s a strong contender for one of the finer revenge films of the past five years, working as a tragic love story, and a vicious horror themed tale of vengeance. Amanda Adrienne Smith is rather compelling as the victimized Zoe, a deaf mute who ends up at the wrong place at the wrong time.

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The Runaround Club (2015)

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Matt Rindini’s short drama suffers mainly because of its short format. And I mean that as a compliment because I really like the concept for “The Runaround Club,” but feel it’s a good short film that could transform in to a great dramatic thriller. It could work as a film about a crisis of conscience with two criminals, both of whom see a family committed to a more dead end life than their own. It could almost be like “The Desperate Hours” meets “The Ref” sans the comedy.

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B.C. Butcher (2016)

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Director Kim Bowling’s “B.C. Butcher” wears its self awareness and cheap budget on its sleeve, and doesn’t seem to care that it’s a bare minimum production. For folks that appreciate the kind of low budget schlock director Bowling practices, “B.C. Butcher” might serve as a fun diversion with a mercifully short run time. There aren’t many slasher revenge films set in the prehistoric era, and “B.C. Butcher” drives that concept home with some fun gore, slick kills, and a fun villain who also happens to be a caveman.

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Emilie Black’s Best and Worst of 2015

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Each year I tell myself I’ll make an end of year list of the Best and Worst movies I’ve seen during that year, but usually fail to make said list.  This year, I’ve actually done it.  Ok, I did it about a week late, but it still counts.  In 2015, I saw a little over 200 movies, not all 2015 releases, but still a “respectable” number considering I was mostly out of the reviewing business until July when the bug caught me again.  This means I’ve missed a ton of movies and am doing this list out of what I’ve seen.  2015 was as solid year for me with a lot of good to great films and very few bad ones which means this will not be a Top 10 Best and Bottom 10 Worst, but more of a collection of titles to check out or avoid.

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Our 5 Choice Indies of 2015

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Cinema Crazed is pretty much a one man operation, so as always, we weren’t able to watch every single film sent to us this year. We have so much to do, and so little time to do it in, but we try our damndest to watch everything that comes down our pipe. The year has been good for indie filmmaking, as Hollywood are taking more and more chances on indie filmmakers and budding storytellers.

As with every year, this is a list of the five best Indies we saw in 2015. While there were many A+ Indies, these five stood out and stuck with us for a long time.

While a few of these movies can be viewed online legally for free, we encourage you to buy these films. Buying them helps the filmmakers, it helps them go on to make another movie you might enjoy, and it helps the small companies that are funding these directors and excellent storytellers. The indie film community needs as much support as it can muster up. Without Further ado… Continue reading →