NEW BLOOD: GREEN ROOM

GREEN ROOM
A24 2015 Color
95 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Joe Cole, Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, David W. Thompson, Mark Webber, Macon Blair and Patrick Stewart star.
Written and Directed by Jeremy Saulnier
Rated R for strong language, violence, gore and drug use.

Green Room finally hit theaters this past weekend arriving on a wave of solid buzz. From the intense trailers and cool poster I was definitely interested from the get go. But watching the proceedings unfold left me a slight bit disappointed. Which might not be a bad thing. Let me explain. If you've seen the trailers and heard all the gossip the film is made out to be a sweaty palm inducing, goretastic horror flick. But it's actually more of a finely tuned thriller executed with realistic precision. It doesn't unfold like the standard genre film and doesn't fall into any clichés and by that alone it is an intriguing treat. The setup is simple enough a punk band playing a gig in what looks to be a sort of white supremacist club find themselves in peril after witnessing a brutal murder. They are than kept there by the brutal owner and his henchman who plan on murdering them before the night is through. What makes the film so satisfying in it's execution is how smart the characters are. When the two groups come head to head it never has the powerful zest you might have hoped for but makes up for it with sheer intelligence. The characters approach most scenarios in a proactive way most of which never have the best outcome. But it makes them likable and easy it to root for. The gore is executed seamlessly but doesn't bring anything new to the table and the film's intensity can be enjoyably overwhelming at times. It all culminates to a surprising and effective if slightly lackluster climax. My problem with the film really lied in my expectaions I honestly expected something more hardcore. And maybe in my 36th year of movie going I may have reached a point where just not as much shocks me anymore. That being said I do believe some of the charcters could have been etched out a bit more as well as their demises and the overall psychological terror could have been ratcheted up. That being said the film is solidly executed. It's well written, directed and features strong performances throughout especially from Imogen Poot and the brilliant, adorable Anton Yelchin who needs to be a big movie star already. A big deal has been made of Patrick Stewart in the press and he definitely has not played a character like this before but I don't feel it's developed enough to garner so much attention. All in all Green Room is a fun, taut, thrill ride that smartly plays against audience expectations and I strongly believe a film that will improve for me with more viewings with my adjusted expectations. Not because it wasn't as good as I expected it just wasn't the film I thought it was going to be. ****.25/5

NEW BLOOD: THE INVITATION

THE INVITATION
XYZ/Drafthouse
2015 color
100 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Logan Marshall Green, Michelle Krusiec, Aidan Lovekamp, Mike Doyle, Jordi Vilasuso, Marieh Delfino and Jay Larson.
Written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi
Directed by Karyn Kusama
N/R contains language, violence, gore and sexuality.

The Invitation is a slow burning, psychological horror film that erupts in it's final moments. The film centers on a young man named Will attending a dinner party with his girlfriend. The dinner party is being thrown by his ex wife and her new boyfriend. At first everything seems normal over some drinks but the night slowly begins to get very weird and Will seems to be the only one realizing it. The movie plays with audience expectations as well as perceptions. I don't want to spoil anything by giving it away. I just want to say that the ending is worth the wait. At times the film feels a little slow in it's setup but it's only to establish a thick, dread induced atmosphere. Even the most meaningless actions feel sinister at points, Always keeping you on the edge of your seat. Featuring solid work all around Logan Marshall Green is really great in the lead he pulls off his character seamlessly. And might I say that the beard and longer hair look quite fetching on him. It all culminates to an unexpected, jaw dropping finale. The writing from Hay and Manfredi is inspired with nods to Hitchcockian horrors of yesteryear. The cinematography fits the proceedings well. It's stylish and foreboding as is the simplistic but effective score. But this all comes together beautifully because of the taut direction from Karyn Kusma. An unknown film maker that explodes onto the scene with this finely tuned masterwork of nightmare cinema. Although the film is not perfect it does seem to drag a bit early on it quickly moves past it, establishing an immersive, curious atmosphere before dropping the hammer into your face. ****.5/5

NEW BLOOD (NETFLIX): HUSH

HUSH
Blumhouse
2016 color
82 Mins.
Horror/Thriller
Kate Siegel and John Galagher Jr. star.
Written by kate Siegel and Mike Flanagan
Directed by Mike Flanagan
Rated R for language, violence and gore.

Simplistic really works best. And this soon to be horror classic is a perfect example of what works so well in the genre. What seems to be just another home invasion flick soon transforms into something truly memorable. The film centers on a young deaf, mute woman in her house in the middle of the woods (never a good setup). She's a novelist working on her latest book. She's all alone and there is some backstory given to her having problems with her ex. Soon after a small setup she soon finds herself targeted by a masked madman armed with a bow and arrow. I don't have to tell you what happens next, it's pretty obvious. But it's the way in which the material is approached and executed that makes it so effective. Maddie played by Kate is not a run of the mill victim she's smart and the way in which her handicap influences her to look at the world works in her advantage. The movie moves along quickly at only 82 minutes. But every moment is taut, edge of your seat and thrilling. Most brilliant of all is the way Maddie approaches situations. Because she's a novelist she imagines different outcomes to the same scenario and bases her decision on that. Also smartly the writers and director give her an inner voice as to help the audience see where she's going. The combination of silence and darkly beautiful cinematography adds to the proceedings giving the material an artistic heft not often seen in genre films. It all culminates to an unexpected, sweaty palm inducing finale. I'm not sure why this film didn't find a theatrical release. Through a good marketing campaign and word of mouth this would have been a sure fire hit. Lucky for us it's available on Netflix, enjoy! ****.5/5

NEWISH BLOOD (HULU/AMAZON PRIME): VOICES

VOICES
Lionsgate
2014 Color
103 Mins.
Horror/Comedy
Ryan Reynolds, Anna Kendrick, Gemma Armeton and Jacki Weaver star.
Written by Michael R. Perry
Directed by Marjane Satrapi
Rated R for language, violence and gore.

I really wanted to love The Voices. All the elements seemed to be there but I had an underlying feeling after seeing the trailer it wouldn't blend as well as I would have hoped. Well my suspicions were correct. The Voices is by no means a bad movie and it has so many great elements, it just never decides on what it really wants to be. The film centers around Jerry played by a wonderful Ryan Reynolds. He's a shy guy, a little bit of recluse, nice with very little social skills. His best friends are his cat and dog who talk to him. The cat of course is instructing him to do very bad things, while the dog tries to lean him in the opposite direction. All goes south when his crush refuses his advances and things begin to get very grisly. What follows is a strange blend of whimsical comedy, dark humor and just oddity. The performance from the gorgeous Reynolds is solid. His Jerry has a surprising amount of emotional depth and it's a treat to watch the actor show a wide range while dealing with self imposed circumstances. The problem here is the direction. All though there are so many inspired touches, the movie has the potential to be a truly great, unique film instead it feels messy and a little unfocused at times making for an intriguing but ultimately generic experience. Some smarter choices would have held the film in it's fantasy state until it's final moments instead of inserting spurts throughout. It's a bit disrupting and keeps you from being immersed by the proceedings. In the positive the film is colorful and most of the humor hits. The performance from Reynolds is inspired but I feel as an actor he still lacks the commitment to get really ugly when need be. Not that I'm complaining he's built like a greek god. That being said The best part of the Voices are the musical credits after the film ends they are a potent reminder of the potential the film had but never truly achieved.
**.5/5

HOMOEROTIC HUMPDAY: DREAMMANIAC

DREAMANIAC
Wizard/Full Moon
1986 Color
82 Mins.
Horror
Thomas Bern, Ashlyn Gere, Bob Pelham, Brad Laughlin, Lauren Petersen and Sylvia Summers star.
Written by Helen Robinson
Directed by David DeCoteau

Sure to give Nightmare on elm st. 2 a run for it's money as the gayest horror movie of all time. The rarely seen Dreamaniac which features a poster that inspires you to think that it's going to be a female Freddy Krueger ripoff is in fact a softcore t&a horror flick at first glance. But when you stop even for a moment to think about it the homoerotic subtext is so abundant it becomes increasingly clear that the only exploitation going on here is of the male actors. The film centers on a young man who performs a ritual and ends up unleashing a succubus at a sorority party. The film begins with a nude young man walking slowly through a dimly lit hallway until finally coming upon a naked young woman taking a blood shower. It's of course a dream sequence as the effeminate Adam awakes horribly startled. His girlfriend (lol) soon arrives and tells him of the evenings plans. A sorority party if you can call it that with minimal paper decorations, a few bottles of liquor and like 7 people in which the boys out number the girls. The succubus makes her appearance and what follows is some of the most tragic, unintentionally funny sequences ever captured on film. Some examples include death by power cord while an white underwear clad young man slowly dances and touches himself, a young man that is stabbed while drinking out of a punch bowl in daisy dukes and touched up with some whipped cream and another guy killed while the succubus is giving him a blow job in a strange porn like angle. The guys are scantily clad throughout the movie while the girls remain mostly covered. It doesn't really matter what the film culminates to because it's a big hot mess. Although the main character Adam does like to slowly touch his chest and stomach and there's a scene where a girl who discovers her boyfriend cheating and throws up on the girl. Camp Gold. The film was of course directed by David Decoteau whose responsible for homoerotic treasures  like the brotherhood series, leeches and Voodoo Academy as well as some straight up hardcore gay porn films like New Wave Hustlers, Make it Huge, Totally Awesome, Fleshtone and Never Big enough. Dreamaniac's story line is messy and incoherent for the most part and the gore is cheap and silly. Full moon's transfer of this lost film is expectedly foggy with quick cuts and a messy soundtrack. So if your looking for a trashy, terrible film that only works because it doesn't work at all and features lots of scantily clad young men trying to be sexual while getting doused in fake blood than Dreamaniac stands way above the pack.A hidden, campy piece of cinematic coal from yesteryear. ***/5

I JUST HIT 2000 VIEWS TIME FOR A GIVEAWAY CHALLENGE!!!!!!

I JUST HIT 2000 VIEWS!!!!!

As a celebration I will be giving away one blu ray copy of It Follows to the first person who subscribes to my blog, shares the post, leaves a great comment and emails me at Rcavellero34@gmail.com with the exact dialogue that Hayden Panettiere's character Kirby says when the killer asks her the question about remakes in Scream 4. Good luck guys and keep on visiting for fresh updates on all things HORROR!!!!!!

Here's some cool horror gifs for you to enjoy!!!!

RETRO HORROR FIX: THE VAGRANT

THE VAGRANT
Canal
1992 Color
91 Mins.
Horror/Comedy
Bill Paxton and Michael Ironside star.
Written by Richard Jeffries
Directed by Chris Walas
Rated R for language, violence gore and sexuality.

I just discovered this camptastic little horror flick that was a little ahead of it's time. The film centers around a new yuppie home owner who moves into a quaint little house and discovers he has a mega creepy vagrant who lives to visit his newly purchased humble abode. His paranoia increases as things begin to move, people go missing and body parts begin to show up. This film is one of those oddball, very dark clever horror comedies that would be better accepted nowadays. In accordance with the nasty horror and dark humor the film offers a light social commentary on classes as well as an exploration on the anxiety of  buying your first place. Surprisingly the film moves along briskly and in truly unpredictable ways. It would have been easy to present the situation as something more accessible. But instead the film makers take a more challenging approach playing on audience expectations as well as their own fears taking the story far past where you think it would go. The culmination of events is shocking and innovative. Although with that build up it does leave a bit to be desired. And even though The Vagrant has a bit too much crammed into it's 91 minute run time which starts to make  the proceedings feel a bit stretched out. It's a surprisingly solid hidden gem. A film that's flown under the radar for me at least for most of my whole genre loving life. Definitely worth a visit if you haven't seen it! ***.5/5