I love the idea of a horror movie centering on heroines that also happen to be brawling roller derby babes. And I love the idea of a slasher film centered on the whole roller derby motif, but it seems that director Daniel Armstrong has a nugget of an idea for a horror movie centering on roller derby, and then really has nowhere to go with it. The DVD case describes “MurderDrome” as equal parts action, romance comedy, and slasher, and yet all three of those elements are never balanced out. Everything about “MurderDrome” feels painfully uneven, to where fans of either sub-genre will be anxious to see director Armstrong deliver. Truthfully the characters were so fun I wouldn’t have minded a romance comedy about roller derby squads, but “MurderDrome” desperately wants to be a horror movie. Even if the horror feels awkwardly tacked on.
Tag Archives: Indie Film
Werewolf Rising (2014) (DVD)
Director BC Furtney’s “Werewolf Rising” might be a decent werewolf horror film if it took its eighty minute run time and trimmed it down to forty five minutes. The rest of the thirty five minutes are nothing but padding, filler, and bad exposition that are meant to compensate for the obvious lack of narrative present. There is so much obvious padding that it actually becomes an endurance test, because while I was irritated at the script treading water, there is still so much here that could have become a great werewolf picture. Unlike most indie werewolf films, there is actually a good portion of werewolf action, with rampaging monsters, and transformations, and a chase through the woods, I just wish we’d seen more of that, and less people getting drunk in bars.
The Digital Dead: Rise of the Zombies (2014)
I honestly have no idea what to make of “The Digital Dead,” other than it’s at least worth watching for experimental horror fans. It’s surreal, unusual, disjointed, and incredibly unfocused, and yet it seems like beneath the head scratching moments, director Wendell Cowart has ambition to create something interesting. With a bigger budget and more resources perhaps “The Digital Dead” may have been good, but as of now it looks incomplete, is woefully under developed, and really needs to trim twenty minutes to its run time. “The Digital Dead” is part slide show, part computer generated opening for a computer game of some kind, and part loose use of public domain.
Dead Within (2014)
It’s always nice when a director is bold enough to take the zombie genre and try to transform it in to something completely unique. While “Dead Within” doesn’t re-invent the wheel, it’s definitely a gripping view of the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse. And I don’t speak particularly of the walking dead, so much as what happens when survivors have to live with one another and with the guilt and shock of the lengths they’ve gone through to survive. Is it worth surviving the end of the world if you aren’t really living? Can you really trust anyone once the world has resorted to the survival of the fittest? Can you justify murdering potential infected to your conscience? How do you outrun your fading sanity and crushing guilt when you’re stuck in a small room in dead silence?
The Eidolon State (2014)
There are endless internet memes and faux urban legends out there, but the one that tends to spook me most is the Slender Man. It’s been established long ago it was all made up for a contest, but it’s managed to achieve fame simply because the character is so menacing. Maybe it’s the blank face, the enigmatic origins, or the tweed suit. Who knows? “The Eidolon State” is one of the many indie films tapping in to the fanbase, and directors Dion Cavallaro and Paul Thomas know how to build a very atmospheric horror film.
Five Great Indie Filmmakers Suggest Five Great Films for the Halloween Season
Are you looking for a particular horror movie to watch for the month of October? For the Halloween season this year we spoke to five great indie filmmakers that have released some fine horror films recently, and asked them to suggest a horror film that they particularly find worthy of viewing for Samhain, be it so bad it’s good, infamous, or a masterpiece. These filmmakers currently working in independent film were kind enough to take time out of their busy schedules and recommend a title for our readers, so without further ado, five great films for the Halloween season as suggested by five Great Filmmakers.
What are some of your favorite Halloween season movies? Let us know in the comments section!
City of Rott (2014)
F. Sudol follows up his gritty and disgusting animated zombie thriller “City of Rott” with a sequel that’s now computer animated, wider in scope, and continues the narrative of the original. Sudol seems to have an interesting fascination with rogue warriors and the elderly, propping much of his heroes up in the same molds, and a refreshing change of pace from the typical sexy warriors we see in post apocalyptic entertainment.