It's in the Blood 2012 - REVIEW by Scott Shoyer with Anything Horror

 

The first film I watched at this year’s Texas FrightmareWeekend 2012 was one I heard absolutely nothing about:  IT’S IN THE BLOOD.  The film has a very small main cast, is filmed in isolated and remote areas, and often times has a very hallucinatory feel to it.  IT’S IN THE BLOOD is an indie horror film that transcends the genre and ends up being a lot more than what it starts out as.

IT’S IN THE BLOOD is about a father, Russell (horror icon LanceHenriksen), and his son, October (Sean Elliot, who also co-wrote and co-produced) who’re trying to reconnect after not seeing each other for years.  A terrible trauma both binds them together and pushes them apart and it’s this horrific event in their pasts that they’re trying to move beyond.  They go out into the wilderness to hunt and try to bond and Russell ends up injuring himself bad (real bad) in what might be one of the worst compound fractures ever put on film.  With limited mobility and absolutely no supplies, the two are completely at the mercy of the elements, and just when they thought things couldn’t get any worse they realize some kind of creature is stalking them down with the intention of killing them.  From the few distant and blurry images we get in the beginning it’s obvious this is not your typical woodland predator after them.  This thing is big, intelligent, and fierce as hell.

The film unfolds with the father and son having to come together to survive, all the while trying to figure out what the creature is and what it wants.  At the same time, Russell’s compound fracture is getting worse (make that, disgusting), and October’s recurring nightmares about his past trauma, which includes the girl he loved, Iris (Rose Sirna), start bleeding into his waking state.  This is most definitely a “slow burn” flick and director/co-writer Scooter Downey does a really nice job controlling the material here.  We get scenes that go from the ‘real time’ in the film to flashbacks of the horrific event that changed all their lives, to hallucinatory scenes of the creature.  In lesser skilled hands, IT’S IN THE BLOOD could’ve been a muddled mess, but Downey masterfully controls all the various elements like a well-seasoned pro.  The film is also shot beautifully, really embracing the dark and the isolation of the situation, and the editing is phenomenal.  The dark and isolation become imposing characters themselves as they threaten and consume Russell and October.  Downey’s style here reminds me a lot of Lucky McKee’s style in THE WOMAN (my review here).  There’s a noticeable lack of a soundtrack in the first half of the film and he builds the story in a slow yet deliberate manner where you feel the tension building as if you were inside a pressure cooker.  Downey does a fantastic job here.

As great as the direction of the film is, it’s the acting from Henriksen and Elliot that really make this film.  You all know that I’m a huge fan of Henriksen’s.  He’s an iconic genre actor that’s been in some of horror’s best films.  His performance in NEAR DARK still sends shivers up and down my spine.  But lately I’ve been seeing him popping up in more and more B-movies.  Hey look, everyone needs to pay the bills and I’m just glad to see Henriksen still working.  But his performance in IT’S IN THE BLOOD will remind you why you fell in love with this man in the first place.  He’s absolutely amazing here in the range he plays and the depth of his performance.  He is the sheriff in this small, very rural town who lost his wife and had to raise his son alone (and who also adopted a young girl and raised her as his own daughter).  He’s a tough old man who fiercely guards his emotions and feelings and rarely lets anyone “in.”  He’s also a heavy drinker who hates where his life has taken him and who still can’t get beyond the tragedy that destroyed he and his family’s lives.  But beneath it all, Henriksen’s Russell loves nothing more in life than his son and is trying to find the way to reconnect with him and get them to both overcome their pasts.  And if you’ve ever wondered what Henriksen would sound like imitating a woman having an orgasm, IT’S IN THE BLOOD will settle that for ya!!

Sean Elliot is perfect in this role as Henriksen’s troubled son.  Elliot’s October is a highly intelligent guy with a photographic memory who essentially stopped living after that traumatic event in the woods that fateful day.  With both Elliot and Henriksen we get believable characters who do realistic things and react in realistic ways to the events they find themselves in.  The writing is excellent and the execution is pitch-perfect.  I know this isn’t usually the kind of film I rave about, but when there’s so few elements in a film, it only takes one small screw up to ruin everything.  The cast and crew in IT’S IN THE BLOOD came together and executed on a very high level and made something truly fantastic.  My only complaint is that the ending of the film got a little redundant.  The film ends but we get more.  It almost felt like Downey wanted to make sure we “got it.”

I’m not gonna talk about the creature or the traumatic event in any detail.  This is a film I want you to experience in the same way I experienced it ... without knowing a damn thing about it.  But be warned; besides one of the most hideous leg injuries ever put on film (my leg aches just thinking about it), there’s really not too much gore in this film.  There are, thought, some really disturbing images that’ll satisfy the horror crowd.  Some may argue that IT’S IN THE BLOOD isn’t even a horror film.  I label it a horror-psychological drama.  It takes it’s time developing all the characters and themes here, but the entire time you can feel it building up in intensity.  This is a really great film.  It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but those of you that connect with it will have a really great experience.  Check this one out!!

 

My Summary:

Director:  Scooter Downey (& co-writer with Sean Elliot)

Plot:  4.5 out of 5 stars

Gore:  4 out of 10 skulls

Zombie Mayhem:  0 out of 5 brains

Reviewed by Scott Shoyer (Anything Horror) at the Texas Frightmare Weekend 2012

After Dark Action Hits On Demand

“AFTER DARK ACTION” OPENS THEATRICALLY AND ON DEMAND FRIDAY, MAY, 11TH

For locations and to purchase advance tickets, visit www.afterdarkaction.com/theaters

SYNOPSIS:

After Dark Films’ new action film franchise which combines the talents of Joel Silver, Dark Castle Home Entertainment and Courtney Solomon’s After Dark Films for a series of high quality, high-octane action pictures. AFTER DARK ACTION will showcase five original films featuring international stars such as Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Peter Weller, Jim Caviezel, Cung Le and Christian Slater.  The five films include:

TRANSIT – Starring Jim Caviezel, James Frain, Elizabeth Rohm, Harold Perrineau and Sterling Knight; directed by Antonio Negret and written by Michael Gilvary.

DRAGON EYES – Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Cung Le and Peter Weller; directed by John Hyams and written by Tim Tori.

THE PHILLY KID – Starring Wes Chatham, Neal McDonough and Devon Sawa; directed by Jason Connery and written by Adam Mervis.

STASH HOUSE -- Starring Dolph Lundgren, Sean Faris, Brianna Evigan and Jon Huertas; directed by Eduardo Rodriguez and written by Gary Spinelli.

EL GRINGO -- Starring Christian Slater, Scott Adkins and Yvette Yates; directed by Eduardo Rodriguez and written by Jonathon W. Stokes.

Killer Klowns From Outer Space 1988 - REVIEW

What is not to love about Clowns from outer space that kill people and wrap them up into cotton candy cacoons?  Since I just watched this the other night and realizing I haven't reviewed this yet, I felt it was my duty to do so.  Being a landmark movie of my childhood and all.

Debbie (Suzanne Snyder) and her boyfriend Mike (Grant Kramer) are at makeout point with plenty of others doing what people go there to do, make out.  Suddenly, what looks something resembling a shooting star shoots across the sky.  Catching the attention of Debbie  and Mike they leave the point to check out were whatever that was landed.  What they come across is a huge circus tent right in the middle of nowhere.  Mike is eager to check it out while Debbie has her reservations about doing some exploring inside.  Mike gets his way and they check it out.  What they find is far from normal.  They stumble across a room that has huge hives of cotton candy only to discover that there are dead people inside of them.  One of the clowns sees them and recruits some others to chase them out of the tent, but not before shooting popcorn all over them.  "Popcorn? Why popcorn!"  As Mike and Debbie go to the police station to tell this crazy story, Mike finds out the police officer is Debbie's ex boyfriend Dave Hansen (John Allen Nelson).  This is the least of their problems. The Killer Klowns have proceeded to take over the city.  Its going to be a long night filled with popcorn, cotton candy, and the ugliest looking clowns you have ever seen.

The Chiodo Brothers really out did themselves with this one.  Being able to mix a fair amount of scary moments with plenty of laughs throughout the film.  Probably one of the better Horror Comedies of it's time.  That's alot to say considering the stiff competition it had with the Evil Dead, but contrary to what others think I enjoy this movie more.  The casting of this movie was superb!  The lead roles were cast just as they should have been.  One little known actor and also a little known actress who is quite attractive I might add.  Sure there or other low budget movies with better acting than this, but Klowns is so much fun to watch you really do not notice. 

As you can probably already tell I am a HUGE fan of this movie.  Being probably around 8 or 9 years old when I saw it.  I appeared on HBO I believe quite often for a long time and everytime it was on I was sure to sit down with some popcorn and watch the Klowns try and take over this city.  One of the other great things about this movie is the sountrack.  Its pretty horrible but in a good way.  In the 1980's you could make a terrible song and it would sound good because that's just how most of the music was at the time.  The opening credits with the theme song Killer Klowns is so bad it's good.  When this came out on DVD it was featured at Best Buy for 10.00 and at the time thats about all I could afford.  I'm quite sure I have watched this more than 20 times since I purchased it way about in 2001 or maybe it was 2002.  Well I don't remember exactly what year it was but it's been awhile.  Stay twisted everyone!

Daniel Brown's "The Intruder" 2010 (Short Film) - REVIEW

Everyone, well most everyone knows whats its like to live alone.  No one to talk to and only yourself to worry about.  You hear stories of burglaries and people being stalked and raped and you think that can never happen to you. 

A short 15 minute film about a woman (Katie McMeans) who lives by herself and is walking to her apartment coming home from a night out.  As she is going in the main door to the complex the door does not shut all the way because it is caught by a strange man (Daniel Brown) who follows her inside.  He explains that he forgot his key and she without question lets him into the complex. She is getting into the elevator and he is standing behind her, then when she turns around he is gone.  Not really thinking anything of it she proceeds up to her apartment. Where did the strange man go?  Will she run into him again?  Guess you will have to see for yourself!

I am going to get right into what this movie entails.  The production value is not very good.  The sound is weak, and the picture quality is not great.  Having said that the direction in this film is not bad at all.  There is essentially only 2 actors one man and one woman.  On a creepiness factor of 1 to 10 this film rates and 11.  The part of the intruder was played by the director Daniel Brown and did a fantastic job of giving the creepy vibe.  I did find myself enthralled to what would happen next.  The overall acting itself was pretty good.  There was not much dialogue at all which adds to the creepiness factor.  The tone is very dark and dreary much like the crappy apartment the girl lives in.

As an overall consensus I did enjoy The Intruder.  I liked the characters and they way they were portrayed.  There is something that can be said about a film that has minimal dialogue and is still able to keep the viewer glued to the screen.  In fact, if i wasn't so tired at this very moment i would have been on the edge of my seat.  I like characters that have a creepy and dark demeanor like the intruder does.  He is not a massive maniac serial killer such as Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees, but has a persona all of his own.  There is something to be said about a suspense film that is able to live up to the title of being suspenseful.  Stay twisted everyone!

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The Fields 2011 - REVIEW

Who doesn't love a good, creepy corn field movie? It's the stuff that nightmares are made of right? Oh, the things that can come out of a corn field... scarecrows hell bent on revenge (Dark Night of the Scarecrow), aliens intent on taking over earth (Signs) or winged creatures on a 23 day feeding frenzy (Jeepers Creepers II). I remember back in '84 when Children of the Corn came out, I don't know if it was because I was little or not but that movie scared the hell out of me. Just the thought that there could possibly be sadistic kids out there like Isaac (John Franklin) and Malachai (Courtney Gains) terrified me.

A young boy (Joshua Ormond) goes to live with his grandparents (Cloris Leachman and Bev Appleton) while his mother (Tara Reid) and father (Faust Checho) fight to save their failing marriage, and makes a horrifying discovery in the corn field behind their house during the Manson Family trials. Warned by his protective grandmother to stay away from the sprawling fields, young Steven nevertheless strays into the stalks and sees something he will never forget. Meanwhile, as the nightly newscasts offer all the lurid details of the Manson murders, something begins to stir in the corn field. By the time the family dogs disappear and the threat becomes real, it's already too late to run, and Steven must face his greatest fear head on.

I don't care what anyone else says, I thought there was solid acting throughout this film. Leachman was hilarious when she was suppose to be and serious when the script called for it. The relationship between her and Appleton as a married couple reminded me so much of my own grandparents it's was scary. At times it was like they hated each other, especially since they spent half the film screaming and cursing, but when it came right down to it, they really did love each other. Newcomer Ormond is a natural and I expect we'll see a lot from him in the future. Reid, donning a really bad wig, was her normal wooden self but as little as she was on screen, it didn't really affect the film at all. Checho I thought lacked a little with his performance as the abusive, domineering husband. I just didn't get that vibe from him which is great in the real world but not so good when the role calls for it.

Directing duo Tom Mattera and David Mazzoni do an awesome job building up the atmosphere of the film and succeed at creating a stylish, classy film. However, it wasn't without it's flaws. Let me explain... Having all the information needed to understand a film is a necessity and leaving things out can definitely hurt it. That said, adding elements that aren't relevant to the story can also hurt it. There's a happy median in there somewhere that this film just didn't hit. Some viewers will find the "too much information" bothersome but for me it wasn't so distracting that it took away from the film. Another issue I had with the film has more to do with the marketing than anything else. It's billed as a horror film when technically it's not. It's an uneasy, unsettling suspense thriller but it's not a horror. I would definitely recommend this film to fans of the genre. It's a great starter film so if you know someone who really isn't that into horror and you want to ease them in, this is the film to use.

Wound 2010 - REVIEW

We've all felt it at one point or another. That stabbing pain of guilt or grief. The unabashed desire for retribution that can completely consume you. People will tell you that grief is a natural process and that over time it will subside. But what happens when someone internalizes all those emotions to the point where they can no longer function? When they are so overwhelmed by it that the lines between what's real and what's imagined completely breaks?

A supernatural horror film that explores the dark worlds of mental illness, incest, revenge and death. We follow Tanya (Te Kaea Beri) as she searches for the mother she has never met - Susan (Kate O'Rourke) who gave her up for dead after being abused by her own father. Tanya returns from the dead to confront and possess Susan with all her deepest fears and desires, sending Susan into a state of madness and gore filled retribution. Is all this real or has the line between reality and imagination finally been completely severed?

The best thing about Wound is without a doubt O'Rourke. She conveyed the emotions of a mentally disturbed woman very convincingly. Her pain throughout the entire film seemed genuine and you couldn't help but feel for her character, at least I did anyway. Beri did a fine job as the long lost daughter who apparently picked up some of Mommy Dearest's mental problems in utero. There isn't really much to say about the other characters. Most of them were just there to help demonstrate the intensity of Susan's psychosis. Were they real or were they just part of her imagination? What about Tanya? Did she really exist or was she created by Susan out of the guilt she felt for giving her up? Damn, I think this film drove me nuts!

The one consistent thing throughout Wound is that it never slows down. It plays out at break neck speeds bombarding you with visual components that for the most part don't make sense. This can be a detriment to the film or it can be an advantage, depending on the viewer  I suppose. About 45 minutes in, I was cursing myself for even putting in the DVD so I turned it off and went to do other things to try and clear my head but the more things I did, the more I thought about this film. That's when I realized, I had it all wrong. I was "seeing" it instead of "watching" it, if that makes sense. Ok let's try this, director David Blyth created something that relies heavily on the viewer being able to take a step back from what they're actually seeing and think about the story. It's not a Michael Bay film where you only need the attention span of a gnat to understand it. Parts of it are delivered through surrealistic dream like sequences that require a particular kind of fan to be able to understand it. Not everyone will get it but there is definitely an audience out there for it. 

Under the Scares 2010 - REVIEW

When I watch a Horror movie I think to myself, "I could do this.  Make a Horror movie that would be easy."  When in all actuality its not easy to come up with the money, get good actors (not your friends), and have a good sounding product.  Anyone can pick up a movie camera and film their girlfriend running around in the woods with her shirt off and boobs flopping everywhere about to be killed by a hooded figure.  It takes so much more than that to make a product that people will actually watch from beginning to end.

Under the Scares is a documentary about the inside of low budget and the independent Horror industry.  From giving tips to young filmmakers to weighing in  with their opinions about how a movie is made.  This documentary is packed full of stars from some of the best independent Horror movies such as Lloyd Kaufman of Troma, Debbie Rochon, Brinke Stevens and Horror icon George A Romero and  many more. Do you want to know what it takes to make a good Horror movie?  Then you definitely need to watch this film.

Director Steve Villeneuve did an awesome job putting this together.  It gives people the inside look of the world of Horror that you have never seen.  Almost a how to type of show from what it takes to keep your actors happy, to how important it is to have a good sounding movie.  I did not realize that if your movie did not sound good that no matter how good it looks people will not want to watch it.  Steve did a great job gathering together all the filmmakers, actors and even effects specialists.  There is not much acting to speak of except for the commentary and interviews from the stars that have made this genre what it is.  The only acting is displayed in the clips from some of the better independent films, and don't worry folks the clips are all the good scenes.  Plenty of blood and gore to go around.

I am not a huge fan of documentaries but there are certain Horror documentaries that I am a fan of.  This is now one of them.  Under the Scares is an amazing film and needs to be viewed by anyone that is a fan of the genre or has any aspirations of making their own short or feature film someday.  They show you all the ins and outs and what it takes to make it in this business.  Whats even more important is you are being told by the people who have made this genre what it is today.  My favorite section of the film that had me intrigued was the section about creating the right sound for your movie.  Explaining in depth on what not to do and what to do to make it sound as good as an expensive film at the showcase cinemas.  If you think buying a camcorder from Best Buy and have all your friends try to act in your movie is the way to go, well you may be disappointed when no one wants to watch it.  Stay twisted everyone!

Visit the Under the Scares website at www.underthescares.com, and be sure to like Under The Scares on Facebook: Facebook.com/underthescares.com, or follow them on Twitter Twitter.com/underthescares.com