Eyes in the Dark (2010)

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

Say what you want about the found footage sub-genre, but director Bjorn Anderson smartly takes from “Cloverfield” and builds an intriguing gimmick. Naming his movie “Eyes in the Dark” leads the audience in to a very tightly wound and spooky found footage horror film where a group of hapless individuals wander in to the Cascades and are stalked and hunted by glowing red eyes in the dark. Part of the fun is finding out what the red glowing eyes are, and the mystery of the unknown is a valuable tool that director Anderson implements for his audience.

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Kill (2011)

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

Much as I hate to admit it, “Saw 2” pretty much aced the concept of the strangers waking up in mysterious circumstances scenario that’s become so prevalent in modern horror. Directors Chad Archibald, and Gabriel Carrer don’t even seem to try with “Kill,” which is just another variation on the premise from “Saw 2,” except “Kill” is filled with so much more inconsistencies. Not to mention the cast is filled with terrible actors portraying obnoxious characters that literally do nothing but bicker and argue from the first moment they wake up in a mysterious house.

A group of people wake up in a house that’s been boarded up and barred down. They soon realize they’re being terrorized by a mysterious entity watching them, and proclaims that in order to survive and make it home to their significant others, they have to kill each other. Nope, this isn’t “Battle Royale,” although I’d bet the parallels aren’t a mistake. The surviving member of the group gets to go home. I think. Why are the victims awoken in white clothing? Who knows? What is the relevance of the connection that inevitably rises to the surface in the middle of the terror? I wasn’t sure, and I immediately stopped trying to care. What do the tiki men signify? What’s with all the imagery of knights and medieval drapery? And what are the TV’s even for?

Details and plot devices are brought up and abruptly rendered invalid moments later, and there’s just no plot progression until the final twenty minutes. There are even stunning moments of sheer stupidity, like when one of the characters confirms one of the victims has a pulse, prompting another character to ask “Is he alive?” And you have to enjoy how the characters break free from the house while a character screams “Stop! This is someone’s house!” The production is pretty poor as well, with bad editing, and really dicey direction that never fulfills the intended illusion of claustrophobia and paranoia. One of the most distracting elements of “Kill” that tore me out of the narrative was the bad sound.

I don’t know if the rooms on the sets echoed, or if there was ambient sound dripping in to the movie set, but every piece of dialogue sounds canned. So much so that you could almost swear the movie was dubbed. There’s a lot of really ambiguous plot elements brought up and featured with no real clarification, and truthfully I never cared to ponder what I’d seen. I was just happy it ended. “Kill” is terrible because it feels incomplete, rushed, and incredibly half hearted. Almost as if the directors just made points up as they went along. I’m also assuming the directors thought they’d lay the ground work for a follow up. I don’t think there’s any kind of material available for another droning ninety minutes of pointless violence and a script that’s one note and with zero narrative.

The Devil Incarnate (2013)

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

Gustavo Cooper skids the surface of a gimmick with “The Devil Incarnate” jumping from found footage, to pseudo-mockumentary, to classic narrative, and meta-horror erratically. And to the point where it becomes incredibly frustrating. “The Devil’s Incarnate” jumps between formats so much that it seems to try to unfold its narrative through these various formats to really emphasize the true horror of the scenario. And while you think that’d lead in to a very innovative and creepy horror film, it’s really just half baked and utterly mediocre when all is said and done. I can understand why people are sick of found footage movies, but what I’m sicker of these days are retreads of “Rosemary’s Baby.” And at least that story had something to say.

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The Shift (2015)

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

It’s pretty astonishing how much story Francesco Calabrese is able to tell and establish in just eight minutes. “The Shift” is both a horror film and a meta-film at once, exploring a very picturesque scene draped in pure terror. “The Shift” is set in the sixties. Or at least, the neighborhood we view looks very much of its time and Betty has just decided that it’s the sixties. In either case, all is not serene when we fade in to “The Shift.” When Joe returns home from work, he is knocked out awakens to find the ginger haired beauty Betty awaiting him.

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Phobia (2013)

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

It’s interesting that director Rory Abel’s horror drama “Phobia” works on various levels. As a movie about a man dealing with the trauma of a horrible accident that left him an agoraphobe, “Phobia” works. I found much of the material involving agoraphobia to be very compelling, and often very suffocating. Director Abel is able to convey a shockingly accurate depiction of agoraphobia, with actor Michael Jefferson giving a remarkable turn as a man confined to his two story brown stone. It’s when the movie transforms in to a more supernatural thriller is where it falters.

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ABCs of Death 2 (2014)

Posted on October 6, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

I had a real fondness for “ABC’s of Death,” mainly because it was so bold and creative, even when it was very polarizing. Sure there were junky segments like “M is for Miscarriage,” but it was a fun experiment, overall. I’d love to think of “ABC’s of Death 2” as a home run, but it’s a poor follow-up. Much of the segments have something of a self-importance this time around, and the more compelling shorts are few and far between. The tonal inconsistencies are just about gone this time around, but that also leaves the film feeling oddly monotonous. I found myself counting the minutes rather than really enjoying the segments and experience, which is sad considering there’s prime talent behind this project.

As I mentioned, the terrible segments just outweighed the good, and took down what should have been a great follow up. Some of the worst segments of the bunch include “C is for Capital Punishment,” an abrupt and rushed thriller about a man accused of murder in a small town, “Deloused” which seemed like random imagery and nonsense in a stop motion aesthetic, and “Equilibrium” which felt downright misogynistic. Not to mention it went on way too long just to get to the punch line. “Invincible” from Erik Matti is downright irritating, while “Youth” and “Zygote” felt like sanctimonious social commentary without much of a point. I’m all for horror with substance, but horror that’s actually menacing and leading in to something.

Among my favorites though was Evan Katz’s hilarious and sick “Amateur,” the utterly hilarious “Badger” from Julian Barrett, and the creepy approach to tentacle porn “Torture Porn” from the Soska Sisters. Vincenzo Natali provides audiences with a creepy short entitled “Utopia” about the perfect society, while “Knell” is a creepy silent short about the end of the world and one girl witnessing it all. “Masticate” from Robert Boocheck is a funny short with a great surprise ending, while “Falling” is a neat tale about irony and war time. I also shockingly loved Steven Kostanski’s “Wish” about two boys warped in to their favorite universe in the vein of “He-Man” and find out how utterly barbaric it is.

My two favorite segments that made “The ABC’s of Death 2” so worth the money spent is Juan Martinez Moreno’s excellent “Split,” about a young woman who is stalked by a hammer wielding maniac while her husband listens over the phone. The surprise ending is just genius. “Vacation” is pure dark comedy and madness personified as director Jerome Sable sets on a young man talking to his girlfriend over a phone cam during a vacation with his best friend. When his friend yanks the phone, he shows how the mundane getaway is anything but. I really wish I’d have appreciated “The ABC’s of Death 2” as much as the original. While there are a slew of talented filmmakers on board for the follow-up, the segments just lack variety and innovation resulting in a humdrum sequel.

Men in Suits (2012)

Posted on October 2, 2014 by Felix Vasquez

Director Frank H. Woodward’s “Men in Suits” is one of the best film related documentaries ever made. It’s an insightful and entertaining look at a rarely covered corner of Hollywood that’s gone unnoticed and uncredited since the beginning of film. “Men in Suits” is a fantastic chronicle of the facet of Hollywood films revolving around men that dress up as monsters for horror, fantasy, and science fiction, and bring to life many of the most iconic and horrific monsters ever put to film. Woodward chronicles how the art form began in the golden age of filmmaking, and has become something of a rare form of performance art in the era where studios are dependent on CGI and polygons.

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