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John’s Horror Corner: Revenge (2017), a different flavor of revenge movie.

April 5, 2020

MY CALL: A very well-made addition to the revenge subgenre. It’s nice to see a rape-revenge movie that focuses less on the rape (for its on-screen shock value) and more on the revenge. Tolerably far-fetched, enjoyably feisty, and still managing to pack some intensely gory punches. MORE MOVIES LIKE Revenge: Well, I’d simply not compare this to the likes of The Last House on the Left (1972, 2009) or I Spit on Your Grave (1978, 2010).

Cheating on his wife with his young mistress, Richard (Kevin Janssens; The Room) sweeps Jen (Matilda Anna Ingrid Lutz; Rings) away to his luxurious desert vacation home for a weekend tryst. Such behavior can certainly come with its share of consequences. But for Jen, those consequences are not as expected when a pair of Richard’s hunting buddies unexpectedly drop in for the weekend as well. They seem nice… at first. But we watch as their congeniality quickly transmutes into lustful aggression and a general apathy regarding her sexual battery. Yeah, this doesn’t play out well for Jen.

Soon everyone feels scared and threatened (for very different reasons) and all three men have turned against Jen, who desperately runs for her life barefoot through the rocky desert where she is pushed off a cliff her death. But, oh… she survived that!?!?!?!

At this point a strong suspension of disbelief is important for one’s enjoyment of the film. From here on, most things that transpire feel like the product of a graphic novel and little is credible. But if you can just let that go, there’s definitely great fun to be had…

Brutally mangled, impaled, struggling to even wheeze for breath and oozing blood, Jen fights to survive via ludicrous actions against ridiculous odds. And then she begins to hunt her offenders as they also hunt her. The violence is surprisingly abrupt, a bit brutal and unapologetic. The exploding head gag is a gory mess of awesome. Things just get more bloody and extreme as the film approaches its end, with the splatter-festiness amplifying to MAX in the final scenes. Moreover, we observe more male nudity than female for change (and little to never does it feel exploitative).

Sure this film wanders into incredulous bonkers town in some (in my opinion, at least) forgivable ways, but it is actually quite engaging and occasionally even fun watching Jen exact her vengeance on these horrible men who have wronged her.

I read some comparisons to some mean rape-revenge films like The Last House on the Left (1972, 2009) to which I say NO. These are not similar or comparable films. One takes you on the vicious on-screen journey of mean-spirited rape and victimization, and the other doesn’t show it happen. Yes, it’s a horrible concept. But one of these films is clearly much easier to watch than the other… and gorgeous to watch. As if emulating Michael Bay, the colors are bright and the film boasts some great cinematography of xeric-scapes and caverns. Tackling her first feature film, writer and director Coralie Fargeat succeeds with style.

This film spins the revenge subgenre on its head by steering clear of sensationalizing sexual assault and tilting the execution of its revenge into staggered moments of Evil Dead (2013) intensity. At one point a completely naked person is murderously chasing someone down a blood-doused hallway with the ill-dexterity of sprinting across a sudsy Slip’n’Slide. It’s intense, but you’ll probably squeak out a laugh at the mania transpiring before your eyes.

This is a fresh and more tolerable flavor of revenge movie, but not at the expense of thrilling intensity. Strongly recommended.

 

40 Movies You Can Currently Stream for Free!

April 4, 2020
You can watch Miami Connection for free!

Since many people are currently working from home or social-distancing, I hunted through Crackle, Tubi, Vudu and IMDb to find some fun movies you can watch for free! Hopefully some of these options save you some money!

Hopefully, you find some fun gems in here!

Crackle

  1. Adaptation
  2. Animal Kingdom
  3. Attack the Block
  4. Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
  5. El Mariachi
  6. Gattaca
  7. The Last Dragon
  8. Hot Rod
  9. Layer Cake
  10. Melancholia
Melancholia is a beautiful looking film.

Tubi

  1. Night of the Comet
  2. Day of the Dead
  3. Fist of Fury
  4. Donnie Darko
  5. Airplane!
  6. Evolution
  7. Train to Busan
  8. Dogtooth
  9. Haywire
  10. Hours (Paul Walker is really good in it)
Gina Carano crushes people in Haywire.

Vudu

  1. Gone in Sixty Seconds
  2. Dead Presidents
  3. Judgement Night
  4. Bloodsport
  5. Maggie
  6. Dark City
  7. Thelma and Louise
  8. Battle Royale
  9. Sing Street
  10. Bubba Ho-Tep
Watch Sing Street!

IMDb (in the US)

  1. Speed Racer
  2. Real Genius
  3. Ghost World
  4. The Never Ending Story
  5. Chef
  6. Blade Runner 2049
  7. True Romance
  8. Starship troopers
  9. Miami Connection
  10. Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Chef never gets old.

The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast #263: Bloodshot, Flour Fights and the Greatness of Wilfred Wiggans

April 4, 2020

You can download the pod on Apple PodcastsTune In,  Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).

If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!

Lamorne Morris is a lot of fun in Bloodshot.

The MFF podcast is back and this week we’re talking about the 2020 comic book adaptation Bloodshot. Directed by Dave Wilson, and starring Vin Diesel, this $45 million budgeted film is a lot of fun and is much better than the 30% Tomatometer score. In this episode, we discuss ill-fitting helmets, flour fights and the greatness of Lamorne Morris. We love this scrappy film, and we hope you do to!

If you are a fan of the podcast make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. We thank you for listening and hope you enjoy the episode!

You can download the pod on Apple PodcastsTune In,  Podbean,or Spreaker.

If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!

The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast #262: Ready or Not, Deals With the Devil, and Unique Screams

March 31, 2020

You can download the pod on Apple PodcastsTune In,  Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).

If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!

The MFF podcast is back, and this week we’re talking about the excellent horror comedy Ready or Not. We ran a poll on our Facebook page, and Ready or Not defeated all challengers to become our “Movie of the Month.” We were very happy about this because it’s one of favorite 2019 horror movies, and is loaded with excellent performances by Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Melanie Scrofano, Kristian Bruune and Henry Czerny (and more). In this episode, we discuss unique screams, terrible deals with the devil, and body explosions.

Samara Weaving is excellent in Ready or Not

If you are a fan of the podcast make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. We thank you for listening and hope you enjoy the episode!

You can download the pod on Apple PodcastsTune In,  Podbean,or Spreaker.

If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!

Avengers Disassembled: A Look at Which Marvel Cinematic Universe Characters Have the Most Alone Screen Time

March 30, 2020
Tony Stark spends a lot of time by himself.

After watching the excellent first trailer for Scarlett Johansson’s standalone Black Widow film, I started thinking about how much solo screen time each Marvel character has had in their Marvel Cinematic Universe film(s). I know it’s a shared universe that’s loaded with dozens of characters, however, I wanted to know which main MCU characters (original Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange) have the most quiet (or loud) moments to themselves. I dove into the viewings and started pulling the numbers, and what I found isn’t totally surprising, however, I think it’s neat and will give you something to look at while you’re stuck at home…….alone

A hero on IMDb named ninewheelso has already given us a break down of all the character screen time in the MCU (Reuters fine tuned the data), however, the data doesn’t include the moments when characters are allowed to exist on their own.

What do I mean by “exist on their own?” I looked for moments that focused solely on the characters. Take a look at the clips below for reference. I didn’t include one or two second takes, or conversations between characters that only have one person in the frame. For example, the fun conversation between Loki and Black Widow wasn’t included in The Avengers solo time, despite the fact that when they’re talking, they’re the only person in the frame.

Here are some examples for you.

  1. Scott Lang deals with house arrest in Ant-Man and the Wasp
  2. Tony discovers a new element and shows off his biceps in Iron Man 2
  3. Captain Marvel falls into a Blockbuster Video in Captain Marvel.
  4. Spider-Man is stuck in a warehouse in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
  5. Thor has a weird ride in Thor: Ragnarok.
  6. Captain America puts a hurting on punching bags in The Avengers.
  7. Doctor Strange shaves in Doctor Strange.

The first chart focuses on the minutes of alone time the main characters have in the 23 MCU films.

  1. Iron Man 1-3 – Tony Stark/Iron Man
  2. The Incredible Hulk – Bruce Banner/Hulk
  3. Thor 1-3 – Thor
  4. Captain America 1-3 – Steve Rogers/Captain America
  5. Spider-Man 1-2 – Peter Parker/Spider-Man
  6. Avengers 1-2 – Cap, Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor
  7. Doctor Strange – Dr. Stephen Strange
  8. Black Panther – T’Challa/Black Panther
  9. Ant-Man – Scott Lang/Ant-Man
  10. Ant-Man and the Wasp – Scott Lang/Ant-Man, Hope Pym/Wasp
  11. Captain Marvel – Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel
  12. GotG 1-2 – Starlord, Gamora, Groot, Rocket, Drax, Nebula
  13. Avengers 3-4 (OG Avengers, GotG, Ant-Man, Dr. Strange, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Ant-Man, Captain Marvel, Wanda, Vision)
The average is 8 minutes of screen time per movie

The next chart focuses on non-ensemble films (No Avengers or GotG).

This is how I calculated each main character’s “alone” time. I watched the movies again, counted their solo screen time, then divided it by how much actual screen time they had (Thank you IMDb). Here’s an example:

Captain America has only 90 seconds of alone time during his 38 minutes of Captain America: Civil War screen time. So, that means he’s only alone for 3.95% of his screen time in Civil War.

Here’s another example. Tony Stark/Iron Man has 16 minutes and 25 seconds of alone time during his 77 minutes of Iron Man screen time. So, he’s alone on screen for 21.31% of his screen time in Iron Man

The average is 13.6% per movie
Quick note: I only included Ant-Man’s alone time for Ant-Man and the Wasp.

The next chart looks at the percentage of screen time of the major players in the MCU. Here are the characters and the movies they appeared in (that I counted).

  1. Captain America – (Captain America 1-3, Avengers 1-4)
  2. Iron Man – (Iron Man 1-3, Avengers 1-4, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming)
  3. Thor – (Thor 1-3, Avengers 1-4)
  4. Black Widow – (Iron Man 2, Avengers 1-4, Captain America 2-3)
  5. Hawkeye – (Thor, Avengers 1, 2, 4, Captain America: Civil War)
  6. Hulk – (The Incredible Hulk, Avengers 1-4, Thor: Ragnarok)
  7. Ant-Man – (Ant-Man 1 & 2, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Endgame)
  8. Spider-Man – (Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man 1 & 2, Avengers 3 & 4)
  9. Captain Marvel – (Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame)
  10. Black Panther – (Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, Avengers 3 & 4)
  11. Wanda – (Avengers 3 & 4, Captain America: Civil War)
  12. Doctor Strange – (Dr. Strange, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers 3 & 4)
  13. Groot – (GotG 1 & 2, Avengers 3-4)
  14. Gamora – (GotG 1 & 2, Avengers 3-4)
  15. Starlord – (GotG 1 & 2, Avengers 3-4)
  16. Drax – (GotG 1 & 2, Avengers 3-4)
  17. Rocket – (GotG 1 & 2, Avengers 3-4)
  18. Nebula – (GotG 1 & 2, Avengers 3-4)

I really hope there is an eventual Luis spin-off so I can include them in these charts.

How I came up with the percentages – Captain America has had 204 minutes of screen time in Captain America 1-3 and Avengers 1-4. In those 204 minutes he has 15.45 minutes of alone time. So, 15.45 divided by 204 = 6.28% of solo time. Basically, he’s alone for only 6.28% of his total screen time.

The average is 7.35% per character

This chart showcases the overall minutes alone for each major MCU character.

The average is 10.4 minutes of alone time per character

One last chart! I thought it would be fun to see their percentage of alone screen time when compared to the movies running time (without credits). So, alone screen time divided by the movies running time (without credits).

Next life changing question – Does the amount of alone screen time have an effect on Box Office or Tomatometer scores?

Tomatometer Averages

  • Minutes and Tomatometer average
  • 0-5 minutes – 83.7%
  • 5-10 minutes – 84.6%
  • 10+ minutes – 85.8% – More alone screen time equals a slightly higher average. Iron Man, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Endgame can be thanked for this.
  • Percentage of Time and Tomatometer average
  • 0% – 10% – 86%
  • 10% – 20% – 79.6%
  • 20%+ – 87%

Domestic Box Office

  • Alone Minutes and Domestic Box Office
  • 0-5 minutes – $411 million
  • 5 – 10 minutes – $362 million
  • 10+ minutes – $421 million
  • Percentage of Alone Time and Domestic Box Office
  • 0% – 10% – $349 million
  • 10% – 20% – $321 million
  • 20%+ – $357 million

Lesson Learned – MCU movies, on average, make more money and have higher Tomatometer averages when the characters have more alone screen time.

Conclusion:

MCU Character with the Most alone screen time – Tony Stark/Iron Man (53.8 minutes) – It makes sense considering he’s been in the most films and doesn’t have a group of a-holes to hang out with.

MCU Movie with the most alone time Spider-Man: Homecoming (20.5 minutes and 26.97% of all Peter Parker/Spider-Man’s screen time) – Tom Holland is a super likable actor, and the movie gave him plenty of opportunities to be alone. Check out the scenes here, here and here.

MCU Character with the highest percentage of alone timeDoctor Strange (16.90%) – He’s only appeared in four films, however, his percentage of alone time trumps all. It makes sense, Benedict Cumberbatch is an excellent actor, and Doctor Strange is about him finding his way after an accident. His personal journey from jerky surgeon to Sorcerer Supreme provides lots of time to be alone.

If you like this random data, make sure to check out my other data posts! Also, check out the Movies, Films and Flix podcast, we just started a new series called Final Fights, it’s about epic final fights in movies. Listen wherever you listen to podcasts.

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  3. Analyzing the Unsuccessful Trap in Predators
  4. How Far Did the Shark Travel in Jaws: The Revenge?
  5. How Many Calories Did Shaggy and Scooby Ingest When They Are The Cotton Candy Glob?
  6. The Dolph Lundgren Front Kick Spectacular
  7. How Far Did the Creature From It Follows Travel?
  8. How Many Bullets Missed John Matrix in Commando?
  9. How Long Did it Take Batman to Setup the Bat Fire on the Bridge in The Dark Knight Rises?
  10. Kevin Bacon’s College Degrees
  11. How Fast Does the Great White Swim in Shark Night?
  12. Zara the Assistant and Jurassic World Had a Bad Day
  13. A Look at Elektra’s sandbag trainer in Daredevil
  14. How Far Did Nic Cage Run While Dressed as a Bear In The Wicker Man Remake?
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  18. How Much Blood Dropped During the Blood Rave in Blade?
  19. Jason Voorhees Can’t Teleport?
  20. Michael Myers Loves Laundry
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  25. How Far Did Michael Myers Drive in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
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  27. People Love a Bearded Kurt Russell
  28. A Closer Look at Movies That Feature the Words Great, Good, Best, Perfect and Fantastic
  29. An In-Depth Look At Movies That Feature Pencils Used as Weapons
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  32. The Fast & Furious & Corona
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John’s Horror Corner: XX (2017), the horror anthology led by women in horror.

March 29, 2020

MY CALL: Perfectly entertaining horror fare with two very good and two not so good entries. But the great, I feel, outweighs the bad. So I’d recommend this to anthology fans. MORE MOVIES LIKE XX: Anthologies that adhere to a theme like The Field Guide to Evil (2018) with foreign folklore, A Christmas Horror Story (2015) and Holidays (2016).

MORE HORROR ANTHOLOGIES: Dead of Night (1945), Black Sabbath (1963), Tales from the Crypt (1972), The Vault of Horror (1973), The Uncanny (1977), Creepshow (1982), Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), Stephen King’s Cat’s Eye (1985), Deadtime Stories (1986), Creepshow 2 (1987), After Midnight (1989), Tales from the Crypt Season 1 (1989), Tales from the Darkside: The Movie (1990), Two Evil Eyes (1990), Grimm Prairie Tales (1990), The Willies (1990), Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993), Hellraiser: Bloodline (1996), Campfire Tales (1997), Dark Tales of Japan (2004), 3 Extremes (2004), Creepshow 3 (2006), Trick ‘r Treat (2007), Chillerama (2011), Little Deaths (2011), V/H/S (2012), The Theater Bizarre (2012), The ABCs of Death (2013), V/H/S 2 (2013), All Hallows’ Eve (2013), The Profane Exhibit (2013), The ABCs of Death 2 (2014), V/H/S Viral (2014), Southbound (2015), Tales of Halloween (2015), A Christmas Horror Story (2015), The ABCs of Death 2.5 (2016), Holidays (2016), Terrified (2017; aka Aterrados, a pseudo-anthology), Oats Studios, Vol. 1 (2017), Ghost Stories (2017), The Field Guide to Evil (2018), Shudder’s series Creepshow (2019) and Xenophobia (2019).

This recent anthology’s attraction is that its four short horror films directed and written by female filmmakers. This certainly drew my attention as I enjoy my anthologies more when there is a theme—e.g., The Field Guide to Evil (2018) is about folklore of different countries and Holidays (2016) focuses on a different holiday for each segment.

While not a story or story-linking device, the wraparound shots depict an unsettling living dollhouse in stop-motion animation making some sort of abstract journey. It’s intriguing and unsettling, so it sets a good tone.

During a public transit commute on Christmas, a mother and her two kids notice a man with a gift box in his lap. The son inquires “what’s in the box?” So the man politely opens the lid and the boy silently peeks in as we watch his curious and eager smile melt to emotionlessness. The days ensuing this intriguing exchange, the son politely refuses to eat, explaining that he’s just not hungry. Of course, the parents worry… and things get stranger.

Great filmmaking and acting along with some visceral gore satisfaction make this segment a very strong anthology opener. The Box (Jovanka Vuckovic; Riot Girls) seems to take a very subtle approach to Lovecraftian madness, with the mania setting in after mortal eyes befall that of the void.

Directed by a composer (St. Vincent, aka Annie Clark; The Picture of Dorian Gray), The Birthday Party shifts gears into black comedy. On the morning of her daughter’s birthday, a mother discovers her husband dead… and, becoming manic, decides not to tell anyone. Keeping his dead body a secret becomes a Weekend at Bernie’s-esque (1989) experience.

Probably the lesser segment of the anthology, Don’t Fall (Roxanne Benjamin; Southbound, Creepshow, Body at Brighton Rock) felt the least like a film and the most like direct-to-streaming horror drivel. A group of campers in the arid mountain wilderness find some strange cave drawings, and then one of them becomes a possessed generic-undead-demon-whatever-thing,

I feel as if Don’t Fall was the primary reason so many people gave XX poor reviews—which is why it took me so long to finally see it. Its mindless horror wasn’t without some entertainment. But following the stylistic short films, The Box and The Birthday Party may have set it up for failure. More delivered in the style of a mindless flick, Don’t Fall felt like it didn’t fit the tone, style and artistic level of its predecessors and the wraparound animation.

Her Only Living Son (Karyn Kusama; Jennifer’s Body, The Invitation) tells the familiar story of a well-intentioned mother raising the son of the Devil. Even witnessing some of his twisted deeds, no one seems as concerned about his behavior as his mother. This was another segment that disappointed—like a generic movie I’d watch and forget. It began with promise and wandered into the kind of milquetoast that would normally be the less creative entry of such an anthology. If Don’t Fall started to shift viewers’ opinions from great to questionable, then Her Only Living Son might have been the nail in the coffin.

But despite my strong criticism, Her Only Living Son was perfectly entertaining—certainly better than Don’t Fall. They both just woefully paled to the first two segments; paled by a lot. Overall, I think this is an enjoyable anthology even if the quality of the segments is harshly divided.

The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast #261: Tammy and the T-Rex Gore Cut, Wildfires, and Decapitations

March 26, 2020

You can download the pod on Apple PodcastsTune In,  Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).

If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!

The MFF podcast is back, and this week we’re talking about the 1994 cult classic Tammy and the T-Rex (or Tanny and the Teenage T-Rex). This insane gem was released as a PG-13 film in 1994 and it quickly faded into obscurity. However, it was originally intended to be an R-rated gore-fest that featured smooshed bodies, spilled guts and multiple decapitations (it’s the best!). In this episode, we discuss testicular standoffs, hungry lions and the excellence of Vinegar Syndrome.

We love this movie!

If you are a fan of the podcast make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. We thank you for listening and hope you enjoy the episode!

You can download the pod on Apple PodcastsTune In,  Podbean,or Spreaker.

If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!

John’s Horror Corner: Scalps (1983), a Native American burial ground B-movie about a cave man shaman… or something.

March 25, 2020

MY CALL: This B-movie is disappointing even with low expectations. But… I’ll admit it gave me my share of giggles. MORE MOVIES LIKE Scalps: For much better Native American horror, I’d direct you to The Manitou (1978) and Creepshow 2 (1987).

Our very first image is of an incredibly ugly, almost Cro-Magnon-looking man sloppily decapitating someone.

This zany random opener is equal parts laughably awesome and laughably stupid. Then, continuing in the spirit of batshit randomness, we cut to a lion-headed shaman basically just snarling on a mountain top as some old man finds a Native American artefact and stabs himself in the throat. No sense will come of these scenes in the ensuing 80 minutes… and those were probably the best 2 minutes of the movie.

A group of college students set out on an extra credit archeological expedition to excavate artefacts from the same Native American site where all that aforementioned bonkers crap just happened. On their way they receive a warning from a weird gas station loiterer—but naturally, they ignore it. Among the students, the sympathetic DJ (Jo-Ann Robinson; Malicious, The Devil’s Dolls) never wanted to disturb the Native lands, likening the act to digging up their graves. She was right!

They quickly uncover several Native relics and strange things begin to happen. They are haunted by the lion-headed shaman, some mild supernatural manifestations are observed, and an exploding ghost shaman head in a campfire and possesses one of them (Richard Hench; Deep Space, Biohazard, Slaughterhouse Rock, The Tomb). Once possessed, he rapes, kills and scalps his girlfriend. Then he tries to kill the others.

After the gory opening scene, we wait an hour for any more excitement. There’s a really well executed throat slip followed by a scalping likely inspired by Maniac (1980). But most of the kills and all other action afterwards are pretty weak. When they defeat our black magic-practicing shaman, it couldn’t have been more boring and dumb. Director Fred Olen Ray (Biohazard, Evil Spawn, Deep Space) succeeds at making yet another film offering no more value than the intoxicated laughs you’ll get with your friends.

John’s Horror Corner: Pigster (2019), a low budget, slimy and raunchy flick about a pig demon.

March 21, 2020

MY CALL: If you have seen other films by John Lechago, you know what you’re in for… a low budget that only stretches its dollar on slimy gore effects and boobage. These movies are cheap and, perhaps, guilty pleasures at best. MORE MOVIES LIKE Pigster: Ridiculous monstrously anthropomorphic demon movies like Poultrygeist (2006) and Rottentail (2018) come to mind. Also, for similar style and quality movies (i.e., slimy gore and raunchy nudity), try Blood Gnome (2004) and BioSlime (2010).

Well, after only one minute of running time I was exposed to a momentary Biblical history of demons, a laughable attempt at a CGI Hellscape, a pig demon on a motorcycle, and a montage of writhing breasts. And when we are immediately introduced to “Pigster” the pig demon (John Karyus; Poultrygeist, Lo, V/H/S 2), all I can think is that it looks like Slimer from the Ghostbusters (1984) slimed Bebop from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II (1991) with just a touch of Pox from Legend (1985).

Right away, all seriousness is thrown out the window. As Pigster speaks, the creature’s mouth (and entire jaw) bobs up and down from the actor’s ill-fitted mask; and his rubber gloves bend and fold as his articulates his cloven hoof hands. Glazed and shiny with snot-like ooze, the demon negotiates with The Dealer (Robert Davi; Maniac Cop 2-3, Predator 2) to gather him more victims—i.e., naked women cowering around his torture chamber in cages (including Victoria De Mare; BioSlime, Killjoy Goes to Hell)—so that he may sacrifice their flesh to “the beast.”

The Dealer works as a palm reader of sorts, recruiting college students to sign a contract, make a wish, and experience mystic rites. The Dealer’s victims are then hunted by Pigster, but they also receive some warning and help from The Messenger (Clint Howard; Ticks, Evilspeak, Ice Cream Man, Leprechaun 2).

Directors John Lechago (BioSlime, Blood Gnome, Killjoy 3) and Al Burke boldly drop a film of only 64 minutes! From a filmmaking perspective, there’s nothing good about this movie—nothing. Sure, it’s entertaining. But it’s bad all over. All of the Hellish fantasy scapes appear to be recruited from 90s videogames and the writing is abhorrent—every time the characters interact, it pains me. However, much like BioSlime (2010), every effort was made to do as much gross, gruesome, gory effects as possible with every dollar spent. It may be of an obviously tiny budget, but the work was definitely put in with respect to the gore department.

Fake slimy bones and animal organs abound Pigster’s chopping block. All told, this is mildly entertaining cheap schlock.

The Movies, Films and Flix Podcast #260: King of the Ants, Revenge Movies, and The Asylum

March 21, 2020

You can download the pod on Apple PodcastsTune In,  Podbean, or Spreaker (or wherever you listen to podcasts…..we’re almost everywhere).

If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!

The MFF podcast is back, and this week we’re talking about Stuart Gordon’s revenge film King of the Ants. Produced by The Asylum (Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, Titanic 2) this low-budget film focuses on a paid hit gone wrong, and the incredibly bloody consequences. Featuring William Baldwin, George Wendt, Kari Wuhrer, Vernon Wells and Sean Crawley, this nasty little film hits above its weight and goes to some really weird places. In this episode we discuss revenge films, decapitated heads and whiskey drinking. Enjoy!

You’ve seen the poster….

If you are a fan of the podcast make sure to send in some random listener questions so we can do our best to not answer them correctly. We thank you for listening and hope you enjoy the episode!

You can download the pod on Apple PodcastsTune In,  Podbean,or Spreaker.

If you get a chance please make sure to review, rate and share. You are awesome!