Kill Theory 2009 - REVIEW

By mid-year, I usually have a list as long as my leg of films I want to see. Some I come across on my own and some I pick up from Twitter or Facebook. Occasionally I'm even surprised by a gem or two that comes up on Chiller TV. They are notorious for showing films that most channels just kick aside like a little homeless kitty. But it works out for them because I'm seeing their name and logo pop up more and more every day in the social networks. (Go Chiller!!) What I like best about Chiller is that their main focus is to shed some light on Indie Horror and I gotta say, "It's about fucking time someone did!" Because let's face it, that's where the good horror is coming from these days, not Hollywood.

Wow, I got off on a little rant there, my bad! My point was that somehow, some way, this one slipped by me. Which is strange, especially since it's an Afterdark Horrorfest 4 selection. I caught it on Chiller one night, recorded it and waited probably months to watch it. Again, my bad. "Normal" life tends to keep me too busy to be able to sit and watch films on a regular basis. I'll keep working on that.

A group of friends take off to a secluded vacation home to celebrate their upcoming graduation. The fun doesn't last long when a sadistic psychopath shows up and forces them to participate in his deadly contest. The rules are simple -- in order to survive they must kill each other. As tension builds, and relationships begin to crumble, they realize that only one can make it out alive. Could you trust your boyfriend? Your girlfriend? Your best friend? Only one can go home. So who will be the last man or woman standing?

Patrick J Flueger and Agnes Bruckner lead this 20 something cast of up and comers and I was pleasantly surprised by the performances from the whole bunch. I think their reactions to being in a kill or be killed situation were remarkably realistic. Personally, I think the most genuine and natural performance came from Daniel Franzese. He's portrayed as kind of the odd man out, the friend that we've all had in our lives at one point or another. The fun, chunky, lovable guy that everyone wants to be around. I predict Bruckner, whose been on my radar ever since I saw her in Venom a few years back, is going to have a very lucrative career in this genre. She just seems real to me, not to mention she's incredibly gorgeous! Pretty boy Flueger manages to hold his own as the level headed one of the bunch. His nice guy thing gets a little irritating at times but not so much that his character becomes unlikeable. I'm not a huge fan of Taryn Manning, could be because I haven't seen too many of her films. I liked her ok in The Breed and she did a decent job here too. We never see much of Kevin Gage but seriously, why do you even need to see him when you can just listen to him? He's got a voice that I will put right up there with Stephen McHattie and Lance Henriksen. It's like BUTTER! As for the rest of the cast, it wasn't anything spectacular but as a whole they appeared to play off each other well.

I don't know why it took me so long to figure out that it was Project Greenlight's Chris Moore who directed. That explains why it was done so well. Together with first time screenwriter Kelly Palmer they managed to create a shocking and unpredictable tale, which is rare these days. It's also not hard to tell that they were inspired by the Saw franchise with all the video tapes and traps but it's done in a subtle, classy way. It was well paced and had some extremely brutal kills but what really stood out for me was the psychological mind games the characters played on each other. It's enough to make you wonder what you would do in a situation like that or better yet, what would your friends do? Palmer obviously put a lot of thought into the script (it would be interesting to find out how many re-writes there were) there are some very interesting twists and turns. He also manages to do all this without the typical horror cliches. There is no big breasted virgin that finds her inner strength and defeats the bad guy and if you think you know who the last man standing is... think again.

Kill Theory was originally slated for a theatrical release from Lions Gate Films but instead went straight to DVD with a theatrical release only in Russia. Which is where my next complaint comes in. How can Lions Gate theatrically release shit fests like Disaster Movie but lock up a clearly superior film like it's an evil little step-child? It makes no sense to me whatsoever. Kill Theory is engrossing and entertaining and in my opinion with the right promotional campaign would've done just fine in theaters. It has a solid story line, it's well written, well directed and has some solid acting. I would definitely recommend it to someone looking for a taut psychological thriller.

I Spit on Your Grave 2010 - REVIEW

Directors and actors these days have to be careful. Remakes of horror classics can make a lot of people angry. Me personally, I'm not a fan of remakes at all, especially when they're poorly done. I hate when film makers take originals and turn them into glorified garbage. When they twist the personas of the main characters to make them unlikeable nothings. Perfect example, and this is just my opinion you don't have to agree or like it, is Rob Zombie and his ridiculous interpretation of the Halloween movies. So now, director Steven R. Monroe teams up with writer Stuart Morse to revamp this very controversial 1978 classic. After hearing the news I admit, I was skeptical. Even as I sat down in the theater to watch I couldn't help but think I just wasted $10 and another 117 minutes of my life.

Writer Jennifer Hills (Sarah Butler) takes a retreat from the city to a charming cabin in the woods to start on her next book. But her presence in the small town attracts the attention of a few morally deprived locals who set out one night to teach this city girl a lesson. They break into her cabin to scare her. However, what starts out as terrifying acts of humiliation and intimidation, quickly and uncontrollably escalates into a night of physical abuse and torturous assault. But before they can kill her, she sacrifices her broken and beaten body to a raging river that washes her away. As time passes, the men slowly stop searching for her body and try to go back to life as usual. But that isn't about to happen. Against all odds, Jennifer survived her ordeal. Now, with hell bent vengeance, her sole purpose is to turn the tables on these animals and to inflict upon them every horrifying and torturous moment they carried out on her... only much, much worse.

Given that this was Butler's first major role in the film industry I wasn't convinced she could pull off such a complex character. I would imagine even a seasoned actor would have a hard time getting into this role. You have take into account what this character is subjected to throughout this film and the emotion that's involved. I'd love to interview her to find out how she mentally prepared herself for such a role. ANYWAY, I thought without a doubt she pulled it off. She brought a much needed innocence to the character and made it easy to feel for her. She is equally as effective when she comes back to exact her revenge if not more so. Chad Lindberg portrayed the mentally challenged man who's bullied by the thugs he grew up with to get in on the gang rape. He captured the fragile, but still capable of violence Matthew with perfection and when it was all over with, you actually felt for the character (even if it was just a little). He delivers a multi-dimensional, impressive performance and his talent shines through like never before. Those were the two outstanding performances for me so I wanted to make sure and highlight those. Not saying that Daniel Franzese, Jeff Branson, Rodney Eastman and Andrew Howard didn't do a great job because they did. I just had a certain appreciation for depth that Butler and Lindberg brought to their characters. And roll me in butter and call me a biscuit is that Tracey Walter I see pulling a cameo?? I think I remember him most for his portrayal of Arnold in Raggedy Man. That's probably an odd memory given as much work as he's done but I can't help it. God, I love him!

So, on to what I thought about the film. The rape scene is extremely hard to watch and no doubt most people will find it a bit uncomfortable. I know I did. It's shockingly brutal and so intense it's unreal. But that's what it's intended to be and it never apologizes for that. The intensity may dull down just a tad but it pretty much holds up the entire film. Monroe did a spot on job with the direction and captured the contrast between tranquility and chaos perfectly. Stuart Morse brings a brilliant script to the table with great dialogue and just the right amount of suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat. I know I've seen the original film but for the life of me the only scene I can remember is the one in the bathtub. Doesn't matter, the point is this film isn't an exact duplicate of the original, some things were changed but plot wise there's no difference at all and that's what makes it outstanding. So, who am I to judge how great or bad a film is? No one. So why does what I have to say matter? It doesn't. If you wanna see it, you're gonna see it no matter what I say. I'm not Dread Central or Shock Till You Drop I'm just me. A person who loves horror films and will tell you honestly what I think of them and my opinion of this film is that it's easily THE BEST REMAKE OF THE YEAR. Take it or leave it, like it or not. It doesn't really matter to me.