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Upgrade: A Fantastic Techno-Thriller That You Should See With an Audience

June 3, 2018

Upgrade is a bloody breath of fresh air that features top-notch production value, inspired violence and a solid lead performance from Logan Marshall-Green. It is a tiny-budgeted  ($3-5 million) exploitation movie that showcases the DIY talents of director/writer Leigh Whannell.  Whannell is the man responsible for the  Saw, Insidious, Cooties and Dead Silence screenplays and you can tell he has been fine-tuning his craft to get to Upgrade. What I appreciate most about Whannell is how he can maximize his tiny budgets and create new worlds that feel heavily borrowed and totally unique at the same time. I can’t think of the last time I wanted a movie to succeed so badly because if Upgrade pulls a profit it could open the doors for other tiny-budgeted exploitation movies to be made and released in theaters.

Upgrade tells the story of something terrible happening to a technologically averse man living in the near future. Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) is an analog man who fixes old cars, listens to vinyl and doesn’t know how to operate the driverless car that his wife drives. Things go terribly wrong after he and his wife drop off a muscle car to a tech billionaire’s insanely upgraded home when their driverless car is hacked and eventually flips after hitting a ramp. Grey’s wife Asha (Melanie Vallejo) is killed and he is left as a quadriplegic who becomes dependent on the technology around him. Things get really interesting when the tech billionaire Eron (Harrison Gilbertson)  shows up and says he can cure Grey’s quadriplegia by installing an enhanced microchip called STEM into his body. The surgery is a success but Grey soon finds out that STEM is smarter than it seems when it starts talking to him and has the capability of taking over his body.  Problems arise when the fully-mobile Grey starts finding and killing (via crazy methods) the men who killed his wife. The killings put him on the radar of a detective named Cortez (Betty Gabriel) and soon he is being hunted by an uber enhanced soldier who can kill people by simply breathing. It all leads to a gut-punch of a conclusion that builds a bigger world and opens up some neat sequel possibilities.

Some of the most impressive aspects of Upgrade are the creative fight scenes that showcase some very interesting choreography that plays like The Matrix met The Raid and became more bloody. Logan Marshall-Green does a fantastic job of pulling off the physicality of the brawls and acting like he isn’t doing any of the fighting because STEM has control. You will find yourself laughing as he mutilates people’s bodies with every weapon you could imagine. I’ve never seen fights like this before and that is a credit to Whannell who always finds ways to create something original with familiar elements. Take a look at the trailer and you will see what I mean.

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If you are looking to watch a beautifully inventive movie it doesn’t get any better than Upgrade. I can’t wait to see what Leigh Whannell does next and I hope Logan Marshall-Green is able to use Upgrade to catapult himself into some more interesting films.

 

 

John’s Horror Corner: Demon Wind (1990), a raunchy, cheesy, gory B-movie about lots of ugly mushy-faced monsters.

June 3, 2018

MY CALL: Pretty random, pretty fun. In many respects this is the typical aimless 80s B-movie, but it’s one of the more enjoyable ones and it smacks of Night of the Demons (1988). MORE MOVIES LIKE Demon WindI’d say Demons (1985), Night of the Demons (1988), Night of the Demons 2 (1994) and Slime City (1988) off the top of my head—even if only due to the obvious influences.

IMDB synopsis: “With the need to investigate the mysterious death of his grandparents, Cory and his friends assemble back to the old farm where it all began, sixty years earlier.”

Everyone they meet on their way to Cory’s farm is terrified of the place and stammers lies about it. You’d think these twenty-somethings might know better. But nope. They’re going anyway! It’s really hokey, but the cast is trying really hard and I can appreciate that. Once they arrive, the surrounding bewitched mists entrap them at the burnt down cabin.

The opening scenes feature strong imagery of gore and immolation. The budget is clearly low, but the special effects team is not holding back.

We have yogurt vomiting, pulsating flesh, toothy-mawed homages to Demons (1985) or even Night of the Demons (1988) at every turn, poltergeist-y telekinesis, some evil children turn someone into an exploding doll, there’s a Necronomicon-like diary and a backstory about raising the Devil, a cheap beguiling boob ghost temptress that turns into a melty-skinned Freddy Krueger mess of a monster, a redneck zombie murder family, loads of mustard goo bloody gore (much like Phantsasm or Slime City), a spin kick decapitation, and even a tongue strangulation scene! I should add that the demons (and their monstrous make-up) get loads of screen time. Bravo!

The random factor is pretty high here. I should also point out that the monster effects (i.e., murder zombie demonoids) get loads of screen time as a tour de force of pus-filled cyst-faced monsters.

Written and directed by Charles Philip Moore (Dance with Death, Black Belt, Angel of Destruction), his very first film and only horror film is an ambitious B-movie worthy of bad 80s cult status. It starts somewhat slowly, but with surprisingly likable characters (written with some actual “B-movie” effort), and culminates in a ridiculous ending complete with the classic Elm Street dream-turned-bad.

John’s Horror Corner: Parasite (1982), another wonderfully gory Alien (1979) rip-off featuring a mutant tadpole-hagfish and Demi Moore!

June 2, 2018

MY CALL: This is exactly what you want out of a B-movie: the plot and acting isn’t too bad (actually, it’s fine), the gore is abundant and solid quality, and the creature effects transcend the low budget. Oh, and it’s got LOADS of action and effects scenes providing excellent pacing. MORE MOVIES LIKE ParasiteFor more low budget Alien (1979) rip-offs, you should seek Contamination (1980; aka Alien Contamination), Alien 2: On Earth (1980), Scared to Death (1980), Galaxy of Terror (1981), Forbidden World (1982; aka Mutant), Inseminoid (1982; aka Horror Planet), Creature (1985), Creepazoids (1987), Blue Monkey (1987), Nightflyers (1987), Deep Space (1988), The Terror Within (1989), The Rift (1990), Dark Universe (1993) and Zombies: The Beginning (2007).

IMDB synopsis: “Paul Dean (Robert Glaudini; Wavelength, The Alchemist) has created a deadly parasite that is now attached to his stomach. He and his female companion, Patricia Welles (Demi Moore; Bunraku, Ghost, The Seventh Sign), must find a way to destroy it while also trying to avoid Ricus (Luca Bercovici; Frightmare, The Granny, Scanner Cop), his rednecks, and an evil government agent named Merchant (James Davidson).”

Director Charles Band (Meridian, Doctor Mordrid, Hideous!, Head of the Family) gets this low budget Alien-riff off to a solid start with excellent pacing—a most unusual perk for low budget horror of its era… or most any horror of any era. I’m so accustomed to opening a film with a solid scare or death or gore scene, followed by 40-60 minutes of dragging exposition before the monsters are on screen and the deaths finally stack up.

In the present case, we open with a nightmarish scene of someone tied down probably for some sort of experiment; after a laboratory accident a scientist is parasitized by a leech-like-tadpole-thing that uses its acidic fish slime to dissolve through his skin; slow-motion fist fights and laser guns garner a kind grindhouse throwback; and exploitation shots (although this is no exploitation film, really) featuring nudity and sexual assault and even a topless fight with a feral woman. That’s a high level of action and effects to kick things off, and all this happens in the first act. Bravo, Charles Band. You have my attention!

These old B-movies make me giggle so much. Welcome to “the future”—1992! The world is populated by 80s punk-gangs of miscreants, silver is the main currency, and we have laser guns! Doctor Paul Dean is wandering the modern wasteland, staying in seedy B&Bs doing hotel room research to find a cure for his ever-growing stomach parasite. But once the local gang takes an interest in him, they steal his coffee Thermus which contains a much larger acid-slimy facehugger-chestburster-tadpole thing that, of course, kills someone in a goofy creature effects scene.

Hot on Dean’s infected trail is the laser-pointer-toting Merchant, who drives around in a mega-luxury car and lases the crap out of everyone. That pen-laser thing is deadly! Meanwhile Dean is racing to find a cure to save himself and keep the monster from reproducing millions of spores that would surely mean the end of mankind. All the while the parasite has grown to the size of a small dog and looks like a tadpole and a deep sea hagfish produced a toothy-mawed nightmare spawn similar to a juvenile larva in The Deadly Spawn (1983). Effects-wise, it’s a slimy rubber hand puppet, and I love it! Just about the right size for Dean to try to capture it with a blanket as if it were a stray feral cat.

The gore is actually just as fun as the creature effects. We see monstrously emaciated victims after the parasite feeds and it bursts out of their face (much like in Alien 2: on Earth), there’s stomach-bursting gobbledygook, and the closing shot of a flesh-melted char-broiled burn victim is just excellent.

As far as B-movies go, I just love this. And Demi Moore plays a major role in it. Enough said.

The MFF Podcast #131: Solo, a Star Wars story, a man-eating Wookie and a giant space squid.

June 1, 2018

MFF

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SUMMARY: This week we discuss the Star Wars prequel Solo (2018) and wonder how giant space monsters feed themselves. If you are a fan of the Star Wars world and like podcasts that get incredibly nerdy about it, you will love this episode. You will hear about spoilers, Lando and his droid, cameos, Easter eggs and all the behind-the-scenes drama that happened before the movie hit the screens.

For more Star Wars and podcast discussions, check out…

Episode 110: The Last Jedi and Green Milk
Episode 86: Rogue One, Two Capes and Three Death Stars
Random Data and the Star Wars Universe
Solo: A Star Wars Story makes the ‘Han shot first’ debate even messier
The Five Step Guide to making a great standalone Obi-Wan Kenobi film

 

Download the pod on iTunes, PodBean, Stitcher or
LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.
Please SUBSCRIBE, REVIEWRATE and SHARE.

John’s Horror Corner: Alien 2: On Earth (1980), a gory Italian Alien (1979) knock-off about spelunkers and a confusing tentacle monster.

May 31, 2018

MY CALL: An aimless story in a B-movie populated by insignificant events, the occasional exploding head, and some gory tentacle attacks. MORE MOVIES LIKE Alien 2: On EarthFor more low budget Alien (1979) rip-offs, you should seek Contamination (1980; aka Alien Contamination), Galaxy of Terror (1981), Forbidden World (1982; aka Mutant), Inseminoid (1982), Creepazoids (1987), Blue Monkey (1987), Deep Space (1988), The Terror Within (1989) and The Rift (1990). If you need reinforcement to avoid spelunking as a hobby, try The Strangeness (1985), Mutilations (1986), Indigenous (2014) and The Descent (2005).

Honestly, I’d struggle to offer an informative plot synopsis other than “some spelunkers are attacked by ridiculous cave monsters with confusing biology.” This film’s story was completely incoherent and random like so much other Italian horror. IMDB offers a bit more: “A spaceship lands back on Earth after a failed mission, but the astronauts have been replaced by hideous creatures that can penetrate people’s bodies and make them explode. A group of cave explorers are attacked by the monsters inside an underground cave, but the survivors are in for a surprise when they finally manage to escape the trap…” Given the title Alien 2, it seems to imply that this all soooort of occurs after the events of Alien (1979)—which is the “part 1” predecessor of this film.

This film suffers from boring pacing for the first hour, but finds its more entertaining footing once the gore and creature is introduced. When we first meet our monster it’s in the form of a blue “something-or-other” and it apparently gorily removed a child’s face—we don’t see how this happens. It struck me as a pulsating blue rock that eats faces at this point.

Written and directed by Ciro Ippolito (as Sam Cromwell), this B-movie’s best attribute is its cavern sets. Despite idiotic dialogue and exposition, our characters wander a truly awesome subterranean scape which our alien monster made its lair. And what, again, is this monster? Well, as the film progresses we slowly learn more about this alien aberration, although we understand with no greater clarity its nature.

After infecting a member of our spelunking team with its “facehugger-like” stage, it then rips its way out of her face (like a chest burster). And although none of this really makes any sense, it’s a gory delight and it revels in what it accomplishes with its humble budget. My favorite part had to be the gore-slathered upside-down decapitation gag. Prime b-movie gore!

Spelunkers die, show their boobs, and run around stalagmites in a panic. During this journey we encounter yet another stage of our monster shaped like a big stalagmite with gory tentacle-like pseudopods that lash about and mutilate faces. Additionally, these monsters can mimic their victims to create infected pod-person-clone decoys much as we find in The Thing (1982) or Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978). So now I really have no idea how their biology works, but we also can now imagine the threat these beings pose to humanity should they escape this cave system and find their way to a city.

This odd rock monster actually reminds me of the weird flower monster in Blood Beach (1980).

This film works best when tentacles are lashing and no one is trying to move the story along. Whenever the plot does find development, it’s messy at best. So, watch this for what it is: a shameless Alien rip-off boasting fun gore.

John’s Horror Corner: The Babysitter (2017), a visually striking horror-comedy populated by Raimi-esque blood-spewing, pop culture references galore and truly lovable characters.

May 30, 2018

MY CALL: Along with Happy Death Day (2017), this film is setting the new standard for the horror-comedy. Wonderfully written, acted and shot, filled with great characters, and on top of that it’s both hilarious and gory, yet never scary. MORE MOVIES LIKE The Babysitter Few films compare, but Piranha 3D (2010), Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010), Final Destination 5 (2011), Cooties (2015), Deathgasm (2015), Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015) and especially Happy Death Day (2017) come to mind. For yet more horror comedy in general try Critters (1986), Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh (1991), Leprechaun (1993), Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever (2009), Chillerama (2011), Piranha 3DD (2012), The Cabin in the Woods (2012), Bad Milo (2013), Warm Bodies (2013), Burying the Ex (2014), Smothered (2014), Housebound (2014), Zombeavers (2014), The Voices (2014),  He Never Died (2015), Ava’s Possessions (2015), The Final Girls (2015), What We Do in the Shadows (2015), Krampus (2015; not exactly comedy, but occasionally hilarious), Love in the Time of Monsters (2015) and The Greasy Strangler (2016).

I’ve just gotta’ say WOW. In the first 10-20 minutes of this film I had completely forgotten I was watching a horror movie as I was introduced to an array of wonderfully lovable characters. From our over-worrisome preteen Cole, to his endearingly mean bullies, his nice neighbor (Emily Alyn Lind; Lights Out, The Haunting in Connecticut 2), his awesome yet credibly funny and refreshingly “real” parents, and ultimately his off-the-charts perhaps coolest ever (to even her angsty, heavily crushing evening charge) babysitter Bee (Samara Weaving; Mayhem, Ash vs Evil Dead)—we can instantly gather how much the writer, director and cast cared about what would transpire on film. This is so funny, yet not quite over-the-top while still being over-the-top, that I could watch them on a sitcom or in a PG-13 comedy all day.

Director McG (Terminator Salvation) is an expert at likeable characters (Charlie’s Angels), feisty sexiness without being overly raunchy (Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle), and being occasionally over-the-top. And, you know what, it really shows here. He has clearly mastered his craft and did so crossing genres! No simple feat! It’s like McG is speaking to us of what he loves most about fatherhood, marriage and (mostly) adolescence through these characters. Cole’s boob stare was totally understandably human for a boy with a hot, geekcentric, cinephilic babysitter. We’ve all lived that moment of weakness and the scene didn’t feel cheap at all. Plus, she was so awesomely full of pop culture references! How could he not have a crush on her?

Bee is my dream girl. She includes a xenomorph egg, two Star Trek captains (from two different series) and the Independence Day gang in her intergalactic dream team, she breathes movie references dating back 35 years ago (e.g., E. T., Aliens, Predator), she’s geekathetic, and she’s gorgeous. From the time Bee rescues Cole from his bully to getting instructions from Cole’s Mom (Leslie Bibb; Flight 7500, Trick ‘r Treat, Midnight Meat Train, Hell Baby) and Dad (Ken Marino; Bad Milo) for her overnight babysitting gig, she is a charming joy to watch—and so is everyone else. I know, I won’t shut up about these characters. But they MADE THE MOVIE! And they made it awesome and fun and refreshing and rewatchable.

Best GIF ever. You’re welcome.

Bee and Cole proceed to enjoy the best babysitting day EVER complete with dance-offs, science fiction banter, swimming, homemade pizza and backyard movie projectors. After Cole goes to sleep, Bee’s friends John, Max, Sonya (Hana Mae Lee; Pitch Perfect 1-3), Allison (Bella Thorne; MTV’s Scream, Amityville: The Awakening) and Samuel (Doug Haley; Heroes) stop by for a game of Truth or Dare that takes an interesting turn into human sacrifice, witchcraft and what appears to be a flesh-bound Necronomicon.

Raimi-esque blood-spews ensue to maintain the grin-worthy nature of this horror comedy. Things turn into an occasionally gory mess, Cole rightfully questions Max’s shredded-abbed shirtlessness, cat-and-mouse victim hunting proceeds, and Cole finds clever (or accidental) ways to defeat his young adult foes as we are Ready Player One’d with yet more pop culture references to The Warriors (1979), Star Trek: TNG (1987-1994) and Friday the 13th (1980).

PODCAST SIDEBAR: If you want to know more about The Babysitter, check out our in-depth podcast discussion: Episode 129: The Babysitter. Mark did TONS of research on the film (along with a solid review) and the behind-the-scenes. You’ll walk away with an appreciation for how inconsiderate it was for Forrest Gump (1994) to eat Jenny’s chocolates, intergalactic space team assemblages, and whether Bee (Samara Weaving) is actually “evil” and how old she might truly be. You may also enjoy Episode 116: Happy Death Day.

That’s it, folks. I have nothing but love for this film and hope you watch and feel the same! Enjoy.

John’s Horror Corner: Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh (1991), a satisfyingly raunchy, cheesy, gory B-movie about a scantily clad chainsaw priestess.

May 30, 2018

MY CALL: Raunchy but not sleazy, this horror-comedy B-movie brings some satisfying gore and incredibly non-mainstream themes and humor to the table. MORE MOVIES LIKE Bloodsucking Pharaohs in PittsburghI’d go with Frankenhooker (1990), Brain Damage (1988) and Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988). Alternate TitlePicking Up the Pieces.

“Two cops and a detective’s daughter go after a chainsaw killer.” –IMDB

This cheap, B-movie, horror comedy boasts a tone that falls somewhere between a dark rated-R The Naked Gun (1988) and a more tasteful Troma film (if there is such a thing). This off-color atmosphere doesn’t really do it for me, or perhaps it was just the lousy dialogue and acting. However, its campiness was appreciated and by the end of the movie I found myself enjoying it. Maybe I just had to get into the right mindset. This is, after all, really ridiculous.

Getting past the weird tone, this cheesy movie dishes out a lot of premium B-movie cheap gore. As our detectives investigate a series of murders, the crime scenes are joyously messy with macabre chunkery. Culling the guts and brain matter aside, they discover obscure notes (inside the victims) written in Egyptian hieroglyphics.

The gore effects include an elaborate skull-sliced head, a silly autopsy, and an outstanding face-peeling scene. But the suction death was my favorite even though we see very little of it happening as the killer sucks the entire digestive tract through a woman’s mouth.

In order to conduct these murders, our killer travels about with a generator into which one must plug in the various killing implements which include industrial sucking machines, chainsaws and jackhammers—pretty much the kind of stuff you’d see on sale at Home Depot.

That moment when the Egyptian priestess in the sexy underwear and high heels strangles a hostage with a whip, taunts you with a chainsaw, and threatens to smush her in the trash compactor… that’s when you know you’ve hit quality B-movie territory.

My greatest issue with this film is how misleading the title is—not that this is an unusual case in B-movie history. The “blood-sucking” is limited to the suction death (which, yes, I did enjoy). I was hoping for a kooky kind of mummified Dusk til Dawn (1996) theme rather than a blood-bathing Egyptian ritual. But throw in some sexy Egyptian lady ninjas, a loony addiction clinic for smokers and a scantily clad chainsaw priestess (Veronica Hart), and I guess ass can be forgiven.

MFF Lists: 5 Characters the ‘Highlander’ Would Hate to Battle

May 29, 2018

This may seem like an absurd topic to write about but I felt the world needed this list. Just imagine that all of the characters below are immortal and are part of the Highlander world which means they gain power by chopping off each other’s heads. Thus, our hero Duncan MacLeod has to engage them in battle before they can become too powerful and potentially rule the world.

If you aren’t familiar with the Highlander world here is a very simple breakdown:

  1. The Highlander (Christopher Lambert) is somewhat immortal (long story… they need to die violently to become immortal, and can die if they don’t chop off other immortals heads once they become immortal)
  2. He stays immortal and gains more power (The Quickening) when he battles and decapitates another immortal (The Gathering). The last remaining immortal receives “The Prize.” However, if a jerky immortal wins the world goes into an eternal dark age

King Ghidorah – Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

Normally I’m very good at figuring out the logistics of cinematic battles and weird movie moments (read my data post here). However, I have no clue how poor Duncan would be able to chop off Ghidorah’s three heads because it would involve climbing, chopping and a whole lot of sawing. Duncan’s best bet would be if he wasn’t noticed because he is so tiny and his sword strikes wouldn’t even register enough for Ghidorah to notice. An added downside of this fight is Duncan would have to climb up and down every day and there is the potential Ghidorah could fly away at any moment which means Duncan would have to follow it and hope it was there when he got to the location.

Conclusion: It might be best to leave Ghidorah alone.

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The Juggernaut – X-Men: The Last Stand

It would be almost impossible to kill an unstoppable mutant who has a metal hat over his head/neck. Even if Duncan were to land a solid strike his sword would bounce off the metal and potentially break. Also, the juggernaut is a fast sonuvabitch who at the sign of danger would simply run through a brick wall and escape. I can’t think of anything more terrifying than the Juggernaut running towards me with a sword, and I’m guessing any immortal battling him would feel the same way.

Conclusion: Maybe attack the Juggernaut when he’s sleeping.

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The Headless Horseman – Sleepy Hollow

I added The Headless Horseman because the idea of the Highlander battling someone who doesn’t have a head is really funny. Imagine the absurdity of the situation as poor Duncan swings in vain as he and the horseman parry for hours. It’s safe to say that Duncan would tire out eventually and would have to retreat in shame when he realizes it’s impossible to decapitate a person who doesn’t have a head.

Conclusion: This might be the end of Duncan.

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Jeebs – Men in Black 

How annoying would it be to think you’ve won a battle and quickly realize you have to chop someone’s head off again (and again)? It would be exhausting to battle Jeebs because the thrill of victory would soon lead to depression when you realize all your hacking is for naught. The best bet is to go by Jeebs place once-a-day and chop off his head. It would be annoying for both of you, but at least you’re trying to attain more power and not taking up too much of his time in the process.

Conclusion: I feel bad for Jeebs.

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The Thing – The Thing (1982)

What would you swing at? Would it spit gross stuff at you? Would it look all nasty and squishy? Seriously, you would never know where its head is and getting close to the thing would mean certain death (via grossness). If you chopped off the head would it just grow legs and walk away? There are so many questions here it makes battling the four characters above seem easy (and less gross)

Conclusion: Call Kurt Russell and Keith David and let them battle it.

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What movie characters did I leave out? Let me know in the comments.

John’s Horror Corner: Charlie’s Farm (2014), a brutal and basic Australian horror featuring the monstrous Nathan Jones in a Leatherface-ian role.

May 24, 2018

MY CALL:  Basically, this is a low budget Australian Leatherface film starring a giant actor who does justice to the monster he’s playing.  MORE MOVIES LIKE Charlie’s FarmThis movie most closely seems to follow the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974-2017), Wrong Turn (2003-2014), Hills Have Eyes (1977-2007) and Rob Zombie franchises (e.g., Halloween I-II, House of 1000 Corpses). For more Australian horror, try Razorback (1984), Wolf Creek (2005), The Howling III: Marsupials (1987), Dark Age (1987), Rogue (2007), Black Water (2007), Boar (2018; also featuring Nathan Jones, by the way) and Wyrmwood (2014).

When you hear the tagline, you can’t help but to think these people (i.e., the cast of victims) had it coming… Two couples (including Tara Reid; Urban Legend, A Return to Salem’s Lot, Sharknado 1-6) venture Australia’s outback to intentionally visit “Charlie’s Farm,” a place with a horribly violent history. Now why would you go and do that?

Naturally, our vacationing explorers ignore the stereotypical harbinger and proceed to their ill-fated destination despite the fact that the two girls in the group find his creepy warnings more than a tad compelling.

Yup. This shot does look familiar. It basically mashes up the victims’ approach to the cabin in The Evil Dead I-II/remake (1981, 1987, 2013) with the house in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

Written and directed by Chris Sun (Boar), this Aussie Texas Chainsaw-ish movie is as troped as it is gory. It opens hard and brutal, then slowly drags for an hour of insufferably weak dialogue and exposition before releasing the Australian Kraken for the final (and thankfully exciting) third act. It’s not unlike Hatchet II (2010) and Victor Crowley (2017), in terms of pacing.

Flashbacks illustrate Charlie (Nathan Jones; Boar, Mad Max: Fury Road) as a child, his messed-up father John (Bill Mosely, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, House of 1000 Corpses, House), and the environment that reared his monstrous psychopathy. Such a childhood would easily yield a Leatherface or Victor Crowley, without a doubt.

As Charlie Nathan Jones is immense, working in the film’s favor. And, although the intensity of his presence has a short shelf life on screen, the head crushing, penis-slicing and force-feeding, lower jaw-ripping, and some nudity keep things rather lively.

At some point a concerned parent (of these twenty or thirty-somethings) heads out to look for them. It’s a nice role for Kane Hodder (Smothered, Death House Hatchet 1-4, Friday the 13th parts VII-X), and the Hodder-Jones fight more than a little satisfying even if the action lacked “splendid” choreography.

The movie strangely ends right on a kill. I guess they couldn’t be troubled to try and wrap it up. Or perhaps that was just another simple chapter in Charlie’s tourist-slaughtering Summer. But overall this was dumb gory fun, it was cool seeing Nathan Jones using his immense size to play a monster, and I enjoyed it for what it was. After all, I wasn’t exactly expecting much.

The MFF Podcast #130: Deadpool 2, Sugar Bears and Tiny Legs

May 23, 2018

 

You can download the pod on Itunes, StitcherPodbean, or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.

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

The MFF podcast is back and we’re talking about Deadpool 2 and its abundance of sh*t-spackled-muppet-farts. If you are looking for a movie that features wholesale murder, bodies ripped apart and a very lucky hero named Domino, you are in luck! Deadpool 2 is an absolute blast that does a great job building off the original and expanding its world to include the derivative X-Force and time travel. In this podcast, we will be going really deep into spoiler territory and we’ve done our research to make sure any of your lingering questions are answered. Get ready to hear about the production, cameos, spoilers and little tidbits that will make you understand how much work Ryan Reynolds put into Deadpool 2.

We love Peter (AKA Sugar Bear)

As always, we answer random listener questions and discuss if Spider-Man is a better dancer than Deadpool. 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 pod!

You can download the pod on Itunes, StitcherPodbean, or LISTEN TO THE POD ON BLOG TALK RADIO.

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