My Mission Statement is to bring you positive reviews of movies that I see. There is far too many reviewers out there that Have nothing nice to say about the films that they review. I am here to help you find a movie that you will like and not to tell you what not to see.
Showing posts with label Danielle Harris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Danielle Harris. Show all posts
Okay Kiddies again I am pretty late to the party and I again
offer my apologies. I can’t think of a more appropriate Segway for a flick like
this.
I have in fact been following this flick for a while as many
of you are aware that I am a fan of the director.
I admit that I do expect great things from Danielle Harris
due to her experience and sometime actors make the best directors.
Anjanette and I interviewed her in 2012 regarding the film
and I was looking forward to checking it out here on The Video Creep…Well many
of you are aware of the setbacks that we have had during that time and now I am
finally able to bring you a review.
The film is the basic one location story casting familiar
faces of working actors.
Following a small group of friends that are attending the
going away party, The flick showcases the individuals that include friends and
lovers. After all arriving in a Limo driven by Kane Hodder the group soon
arrives at the home of their host and soon realize the malicious intent of the
party.
Drugged and bound the group’s darkest secrets and mistakes
are soon revealed and taken to effect and torturous consequences take place
alongside betrayals and revelations.
I found the flick entertaining despite the lack of decent
characters and when you see some characters that you think have potential they
are soon revealed to be the worst among them.
With the torture of the characters including scalping and
dismemberment the film took some creative directions to avoid showing
particular scenes including a surreal drug trip where the cast of the film is
shown behind the scenes with cameos from industry professionals including Michael
Bein among others.
As I stated earlier the flick uses only a small amount of
locations and with the wardrobe selections giving the flick the color and a
look and style that makes it unique as opposed to many flicks of it’s kind. It
also helps. The Script is clearly the star of the film and the cast’s talent still works for the film though the star
of the film is clearly the director.
Many people have asked me about my thoughts on Women in the
Film industry. To which I have often replied that I have no issue with women
directors. Women do in fact bring much to the table as Filmmakers. I have to
admit that I was trained by a woman Filmmaker and I have to admit that I am
surprised that there aren’t more of them in the industry working in the
mainstream. This goes for both narrative and documentary filmmakers alike.
I had the pleasure of meeting and shooting a QnA with Jen
& Sylvia Soska this past May at Texas Frightmare Weekend and I had to admit
that I wasn’t a fan of theirs going into the QnA but I definitely became a fan
afterwards especially when I found out that they were the directors of See No
Evil 2.
I am also familiar with some of their other works with the
films Dead Hooker in a Trunk and American Mary, as well as their contributions
to the Drafthouse’s ABCs of Death.
Glen Jacobs aka Kane is one of my favorite wrestlers and
that is not a new revelation. Naturally I am a fan of his “Brother” so
naturally I would become a fan of the other half of The Brothers of Destruction.
The truth is that Kane has come into his own especially in
the past few years. As for the man behind
Kane, Glen Jacobs has become his own man away from the WWE, which would explain
the direction that his character has taken in recent years.
Glen Jacobs is 7 feet tall and a monster of a man and I have
stood next to him on a few occasions and I can tell you that he is
intimidating. Add in the fact that he has been playing the character of the
Demonic Sadist Kane and you have the perfect antagonist for a horror film.
Kane debuted the character of Jacob Goodnight in 2006’s See
No Evil which was the first film to be produced solely by WWE Films and
released by Lionsgate.
Needless to say as a Fan and Shareholder in WWE I was there
on the highly pushed date of May 19th where in order to keep fans
knowing the date the WWE did a storyline where Kane would savagely attack
anyone who would say the date as it reminded him of the Fire that was his
origin.
Well I was there and even I as a filmmaker, Movie critic and
fan had to admit that this flick wasn’t one for the books. Not that it wasn’t
bad because it wasn’t it just didn’t make an impact like I would have liked it
to.
The plot of the film follows Jacob Goodnight (Kane), a
powerhouse of a serial killer who after his childhood being abused by his religious
crazed mother becomes God’s interment of Death wielding an Axe and a Hook on a
Chain while ripping out his victim’s eyes.
Officer Frank Williams finds Goodnight and after shooting
him in the head when Goodnight kills his partner, Williams while on leave of
absence assembles a small group of troubled teens to help restore a hotel on a
work release program.
Needless to say this Hotel happens to be where Goodnight has
been hiding and seeking his revenge against Williams and the sinners that have come
with him. All of this leads to the twist in this flick is that the community helper that is
involved in the restoration is revealed to be Goodnight’s mother who is the one
using her son for her own agenda.
After Goodnight comes to terms with his abuse and what he
really is he turns on his mother before being stopped by the lone trio of
survivors and the loss of his eye.
I felt that despite having a good story the other characters
weren’t too likable…As a matter of fact the only likable character was Kane.
Now this is an issue for me when it comes to Horror and you find yourself
rooting for the killer.
I will give credit in the fact that the kills were amazing! With
kills like the girl being dropped outside of the building where she is soon consumed
by a pack of starving dogs and my personal favorite where Goodnight shoves a
cellphone down a woman’s throat.
While making constant references to the film on WWE as well
as the film’s frequent appearances on the On Demand services it was announced
in 2013 that the film would receive a sequel where Kane would reprise his role
as Jacob Goodnight and would be joined by Genre veterans Danielle Harris, and Katherine
Isabell as well as upcoming directorial talent of Jen & Sylvia Soska.
The first film was directed by a former porn director with
his own agenda The Twisted Twins are not just Genre Fans but wrestling fans as
well.
I knew that this film was in good hands when I was filming
the QnA and the Twins and the crowd broke out into chants of “YES! YES! YES!”
Now the reason that this is relevant is because there is that
respect for not just the genre but the built in fanbase from both Horror and
the WWE.
With the film Picking up basically where See No Evil left off follows Amy (Danielle Harris) a young Medical School Dropout working as a Coroner
on her birthday when the bodies of the victims of the first film arrive at the
morgue. to which Amy decides to pass on her birthday plans and stay with her love interest to aid with the large order.
Amy’s friends decide to arrive at the morgue to celebrate
her birthday along with her brother who disapproves of her life choices. This leads to a great deal of drama for our characters.
Amy’s friend Tamara and her boyfriend leave the party and
with Tamara being turned on by the Macabre choose to have sex near Jacob’s
corpse and soon Jacob awakens and for those of us that remember the original
film will know that this is a trigger for Jacob’s homicidal rages due to his
upbringing and …Well the film becomes a Cat and Mouse story of survival as Jacob
pursues the partygoers around the morgue leading to a final showdown.
While this flick is a basic Slice and Dice there are a few
areas to take into consideration that make the film unique for genre fans.
Let us begin.
One area that I really like about this film is that while
the original film featured many quite unlikable characters that you honestly
could not wait to see Kane take out in this film the characters are very
likable and you care for them and don’t want to see them die.
Looking at the characters we as the viewer are given glimpses into their lives and their characterizations as well as their relationships that make us identify with them and want to see them survive the ordeal that they are about to encounter.
If we want to see them get killed that takes away much of the horror of the film and well there are few scares and suspense to make the film worth watching.
This brings me to the next area in many horror films when a
character dies that is literally the end of the character and the other
characters don’t react to the death with the exception of the fact that they
are now in immediate danger at the hands of the villain. This film the other
characters react to the death of their friends and family members and even take
the time to grieve as well as try to attack the killer after he makes the kill
despite the fact that they are clearly outmatched. I really liked this fact.
Again we are shown the more human areas of our protagonists and that is a bonus for the film.
To sum up the film I have to say that it is a great step up
from the original and well worth the look and I am looking forward to seeing
more from the Twisted Twins in the near Future.
The film is definetly worth a look with it's talented and experienced cast and direction.
The lighting and editing is great as well and there is little in the film not to like.
Special Features include a Bio of the Twisted Twins and how
they are to work with on set. Also includes a special effects feature on how
the kills were created and finally a feature on Kane.
Now I know that I have been debating whether or not I wanted to do this final entry for my series on the Halloween Collection Box set since when the remake first came out is when I was starting in movie reviewing and because of this and my association and friendship with many in the Horror community I was sent to an early screening of the film in 2007 and my review was posted.
I admit that I am a loyalist to the original and Eric’s roommate at the time was with us and she openly mentioned my state of mind at the time.
Needless to say I was pretty upset at the time. Now I admit that the film has slightly grown me.
I have become friends with many in the cast and I have shot many interviews with them.
Now as for the complete collection of the Halloween franchise this is where I have to complain. There are in fact two different cuts of both of the Rob Zombie Halloween films with the director’s cut as well as the theatrical cut of both films and in the box set there are just the directors cuts of the films.
Personally I prefer the theatrical cut of the 2007 film and the director’s cut of the 2009 sequel.
Halloween 2007 has become typical Rob Zombie Fare with the use of Horror actors in small roles as well as a classic rock soundtrack.
I agree with many about the low class aspect of the opening of the film and I have to agree as my personal preference with the film isn't knowing Michael’s origin. I felt that the movie made Michael Myers into the primary victim and protagonist and all other characters as the antagonist in particularly Dr Loomis.
Now I feel that Rob Zombie has some sort of obsession with Charles Manson as he makes references to him in all of his films and he stated in interviews that he based the character on Vincent Bugliosi who was the prosecutor of the Manson family at the time of the murders and had written many books based on the trial with movie deals before the book was even published and after cashing in on the trial became a media personality.
Dr. Loomis takes this direction in the films in the first film he is viewed as after leaving as Michael’s doctor he writes a book about the murders however he does pursue his former patient like his 1978 counterpart. In Halloween II Loomis is portrayed as a narcissistic ego maniac who cashes in once again on the murders of the previous film and denies that Myers is still alive.
Laurie Strode is shown differently in these films as well as she isn't the mousy virgin as in the original film where in this film she is shown rubbing Bagels over herself in front of her mother and dry humping her best friend before realizing that the children that she is babysitting are watching. Laurie is also depicted as a more modern teenager going as far to act annoyed at the children and wearing more rock and roll fashions.
In the sequel that takes place soon after the previous film Laurie is depicted as far more of a wreck suffering from PTSD and seeing a shrink. Her behavior is also far more self-destructive as her relationship with Annie has deteriorated and become more antagonistic with her one time BFF.
These films also mark the return of Danielle Harris to the franchise after her departure from the series in Halloween 6’s pre-production. Originally Zombie didn’t want to cast Harris due to the fact that she was in Halloween 4 and 5 but fans wanted her to be in the film and unlike her 1978 counterpart she did survive to be in the second film.
Danielle Harris also goes through a major change in between both films as in the first film she is more focused on sex with her boyfriend than any impending Danger where Laurie is more the responsible one and in the sequel she has reversed roles with Scout and is now the maternal character.
The remakes also focus much needed attention on Sheriff Brackett who is barely explored in the previous eras of the franchise as he departs early in part 2. Brackett is played in these films by Chucky himself Brad Douriff and has a far more disliking of Dr. Loomis.
Tyler Mane is a friend of mine as he and I have hung out at a couple of conventions as well as his wife and I actually liked his performance as Michael Myers. Tyler is a former professional wrestler and is best known for the role of Sabretooth in the 2000 X-Men Movie and he briefly took on the role of Rufus in The Devil’s Rejects and has also become a quite accomplished filmmaker in his own right.
He did bring a new dimension to the famous killer and in the second film did much without the mask which is a first for the franchise.
As I mentioned earlier there are two cuts of both films. The Director’s cut of the 2007 film features the main difference is the scene where Michael escapes and in theatrical cut Michael is scheduled to be transferred and the guards that are transferring him include many Devil’s Rejects Alumni Bill Moseley and Leslie Easterbrook who are dispatched after Michael breaks free of his chains.
The Director’s cut features a scene that I took issue with in place of this scene where Lou Temple and Courtney Gains are the guards and choose to sexually assault a new inmate in front of Michael who then attacks and kills the guards. The issue that I had with this scene is again Michael becomes a protagonist in the film.
Both Films have an increased emphasis on Michael's mother which naturally is played by Rob Zombie's Wife Sherri Moon Zombie, Shown as a stripper in the first film Deborah Myers is still shown to be the loving mother to her son despite the murders but unable to cope with the evil that her son she commits suicide.
She is featured again in the sequel as a ghost with a more sinister side as she talks to Michael giving him instructions and orders to make them a "Family" again. Michael is able to talk to her in the image of himself as a child.
The Sequel definitely features a different cut than the theatrical with a different ending where Laurie fully embraces her family heritage and has to be taken down by the cops.
Given the fact that Zombie is a Musician I am not surprised by the use of music in these flicks. I admit that I have often wondered what the significance of the song Love Hurts which is featured significantly in both films is.
The use of the Soundtrack in the Remake is my favorite for the film.
I still recommend checking out the films and they do bring their own contributions to the franchise and I look forward to more entries in the future.
