“Growing Pains” Shorts Block
Sadly, while I had high hopes for “Silhouettes,” I didn’t particularly love it. I think director Sarah Brill has a lot of potential as a filmmaker and I loved the tension leading in to the climax. That said, everything else is kind of routine and dull, while the film itself is in dire need of tighter editing.
“A Real Scream” Shorts Block
Laura Moss’s “Allen Anders…” is a beautifully bizarre bit of experimental horror that I kind of loved when all was said and done. Mimicking an actual worn out VHS tape, we’re subjected to a 1987 stand up routine of a young comedian named Allen Anders performing at the Comedy Castle. Anders looks worn, exhausted and covered in sweat while an agreeable audience looks on. While Allen is never exactly hysterical it never really matters as the audience responds to just about everything he says with nods and laughs. When he’s done with his skit, he’s called up on stage once again to repeat the very same routine.
“Midnight Movies” Shorts Block
I wasn’t completely won over by Samantha Kolesnick and writer Sean Richard Buddle’s short horror comedy, I’ll admit. It’s probably because the premise has been done to death, and I mean I’ve seen this premise done so many times on film that there’s really nowhere to go with this idea.
For all three of you fans of the “Poison Ivy” movie series wondering when we’d finally see all four of the films from the series on Blu-Ray, Shout Factory finally brings it to us with extras and restorations. Truth is I’m eagerly awaiting the “Devil in the Flesh” duology on Blu-Ray (Sidenote: Do you think anyone has the balls to release the entire “Wild Things” saga?), but for now we have this neat box set of some of the best worst erotic trash that’s ever been brought to movie fans from Warner bros. And just in time for Valentine’s Day and Women in Horror Month, too! You can ogle a pre-career renaissance Drew Barrymore, or up and comer Jaime Pressly, or a post-“Degrassi” Miriam McDonald.
There’s no wrong option, is the bullet point of my explanation.
“Social Horror” Shorts Block
Kennikki Jones-Jones’s short horror drama is a film with a premise that rang a bit too close to home for yours truly. Growing up in the Bronx, there are certain kind of boundaries and rules people are expected to follow. Often times children can be heard in the distance crying or being disciplined by their parents and it’s kind of a mutual agreement among many to ignore it unless it gets all too severe. And even then, people tend to turn a blind eye.
“Obsessions” Shorts Block
With the accessibility and affordability of modern technology, it’s become all too easy to spy on people. With a simple click of a button it only takes basic know how to sneak up on a stranger and watch their every move. Director Jill Sixx Gevarzigian sets her horror short on an all too common occurrence. It’s a heinous, intrusive, and perverse crime that’s equivalent to rape or molestation.
“Tainted Love” Shorts Block
I love the whole plot twist that ensues in the middle of “My Monster,” a short film basically about finding the right mate, and them showing up when they least suspect it. Brea Grant is always a pleasure to see pop up in these genre pictures, and she’s great in Izzy Lee’s holiday set fractured love tale.