V/H/S Viral

In 2012 I brought you a look at a new direction of Horror with V/H/S which was an amazing utilization of Found Footage and recent technology with a look at both the supernatural and the darkest sides of Human Nature.

Featuring works from some of the upcoming directors in the genre V/H/S gave us a glimpse of Amateur porn gone demonic, an ill-fated reconciliation on Vacation, a Halloween night of terror as well as aliens on Webcam.

An instant hit on the festival circuit V/H/S was met with critical acclaim as well as massive fanfare and a year later V/H/S/2 arrived on the scene.

This time the film showcased the works of many established directors telling the stories of a GoPro filmed Zombie outbreak, a camera implant that allows the patient to see the dead, a Asian cult, and an alien abduction.

Now I have admitted here on The Video Creep that I was not too much of a fan on V/H/S/2 as with many sequels I had high intentions but being that V/H/S is a tough act to follow and there were many that were fans of the film and I say that to each their own.  I am pleasantly surprised to say that it was not the final entry in the series.

That being said V/H/S Viral was announced this past Summer with a premiere at the 2014 Fantastic Fest. Now I have to admit that I am late in bringing you this review as I made the decision to wait for the BluRay Release of the film as it featured a short film and special Features that were exclusive to the release.

Like it’s predecessors Viral features a wraparound story following characters that are shown the videos and the chaos that ensues. Viral however takes a different direction with Vicious Circles helmed by Dead Girl director Marcel Sarmiento.

As the title suggests the videos featured in this film are in fact viral. Now for those of you that aren’t aware what is viral video?

“A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email.”

Primarily following a young Videographer Kevin and his girlfriend Iris that he spends most of his time filming until one night a police chase of an Ice Cream Truck goes through his neighborhood and looking at the chance for 1,000,000 Hits video on the net at first decides to pursue the chase. 

However after the truck passes him Iris soon goes into a trance clearly hypnotized by a video on her phone and begins to follow the truck with Kevin in hot persuit.

This story is told in between the segments however occasionally the narrative shifts to different characters that Kevin encounters in his persuit of the truck and these characters are followed leading into the next film.

As for the Films, They take a different direction than their predecessors as the films while maintaining the Found Footage format are more documentary films or feature GoPros among other cameras allowing for more edits and cutaways.

Dante the Great the first film directed by Gregg Bishop is one of my favorites. Following a Magician who acquires a magic cloak that allows him to perform real magic however the catch is that the cloak has to be fed humans and it is not too particular or who it is fed to keep the magic going.

The film follows the authorities trying to stop the Magician who has become too powerful to stop and his assistant is the only one that can stop him.

Spanish filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo contributes Parallel Monsters. Another interesting tale treated to us internationally in which an inventor invents a machine that opens a doorway to another dimension where he meets another version of himself however he finds that this is not what he thinks it is. Trust me this one is Fd Up!  Fans of ABCs of Death will like this one.

The directing duo of Justin Benson and Aaron Moorehead bring Bonestorm to the Table. Following a group of teens in Highland Park who head to Mexico to film a Skateboarding video where they encounter a group of the walking undead where they must fight off to return to the border. The effects of this piece is amazing with the use of practical effects along with the occational CGI and the use of the GoPro cameras make you at times think that you are playing a first person shooter video game.

Finally after the film and you stay after the credits you are treated to Gorgeous Vortex. Tulsa native Todd Lincoln gives us a strange film about a unknown organization of faceless masked strangers that are stalking a female serial killer for unknown purposes.

While visually amazing I had trouble following the film’s plot and narrative which I think was the point but it was still a great film.

I really liked V/H/S Viral and I hope that it isn’t the last in the series but it would be a great way to end the series in a trilogy.

35 Dead Bodies

4 Breasts

14 Beasts

Arms Breaking

Compound Fractures

Exploding Skeletons

Skateboard Bashing

Penis with teeth

Stomach Vaginas with teeth

Skeleton Fu

Skateboard Fu

Camera Fu

Taxi Fu

As I said Earlier fans of ABCs of Death will like this

3 Stars

Check it out

The Town That Dreaded Sundown 2014

There are far too many times that the train is passing me by.

As many of you know I have been an avid defender of The Town that Dreaded Sundown and I have been hearing about this upcoming film for the past few years and last year it was finally Green-lit and I basically sat it out.

Now let’s face it I would not have worked on the film anyway so I am not going to be bitter about that fact and I have also been dealing with much in the past couple of years and…well I am not in the Union.

Some of the scenes were in fact filmed in Texarkana but most of the film was shot in Shreveport, LA where the film incentives are better and they will only hire local crew so that they can get the incentives and…well you have heard that rant from me before.

The truth is that here on the Video Creep is that even if I don’t work on a project that I want to work on and it is still a good project I will still give it a good review and that is what separates me from some of the other reviewers and Bloggers on the internet. 

As I stated I had been following the progress of this film and I have to admit that I am impressed.

Now when I first heard of the film I heard that it was a modern day remake and I had to say “Please, Don’t do that” and they Listened.

Now for those of you that are new here to The Video Creep have probably read my article on the Town that Dreaded Sundown 1976 Film.

Please Click Here for the Article

Now I could have attended the Premiere of the film at Fantastic Fest but again I am still recovering from the fire as well as bringing my production company back from the dead so I had to sit this one out.

I am fortunate that I was able to catch this flick and bring it to you here.

Now this is in fact an interesting direction for this flick similar to some flicks that I have seen the film takes a strange Found Footage esc direction where it does try to market itself as a real incident.

Now again the 1976 film is based on actual incidents that took place in 1946 that is best known as The Phantom Killer or the Moonlight Murders where a masked killer took the lives  5 people and injured 3 others  in Texarkana and despite being pursued by the Arkansas and Texas State police as well as the Texas Rangers was never apprehended and to this day’s identity remains unknown.

The 2014 documentary film Killer Legends also features this story and even a comparison to the film and the actual events while also pointing out its connection to the Hook-man Urban Legend.

Now American Horror Story’s Alfonso Gomez-Rejon has taken the reigns for a film of his own and he has done his research on the tale of the Phantom Killer. However like it’s 1976 Counterpart this film changes the name in the historical facts of the case. I’ll talk about this shortly but let us move on to the film.

Taking place 64 Years after the original Phantom’s reign of terror the town of Texarkana hosts screenings of the Town That Dreaded Sundown (Which Really Happens) and after Corey (Spencer Treat Clark) and Jami (Addison Timlin) choose to leave the screening and park at a lovers Lane where they are attacked by another masked assailant who kills Corey and leaves Jami for dead to tell all that the Phantom has returned.

Jami has her own tragic past with the death of her parents at a young age that is in fact loosely related to the legacy of the Phantom Killer is being sought out by both the town as well as stalked by the killer.

The Phantom Killer at first chooses his victims in similar fashion to the way that they are taken out in the film and the town both tries to cover up the murders while assuring that this is not a repeat of over half a century ago. Needless to say the town once again lives in fear of the masked villain while Jami and her new boyfriend researches not just the case but look to the original film to solve the mystery of not only the Phantom’s identity but why is he here now.

I should mention that unlike the original film in this flick The Phantom Speaks, and makes calls which definitely gives the film a Scream feel and Scream did reference the original film.

I really like the fact that this film takes place in a universe where the original film was in fact made but referenced and Charles B. Pierce’s son does have a character while he is played by an actor. The film is also edited into this film and inter-cut with the action to make the comparison.

Now there are some issues with the film.

When the murders start up again once again a Texas Ranger that is nicknamed “The Lone Wolf” arrives on the scene to find the killer as well as his assistant “Spark Plug”. Now this is where I have to ask the questions such as What are the chances of this happening. Not too good and they are trying to make good references to the original film while trying to establish this flick as a remake but the characters are in the film only briefly and as the authorities are shown to be only supporting characters as well as comic relief.

Now that is probably my only issue with the film despite the fact that it was primarily shot in Louisiana instead of Texas but if that is my only issue that has to be a good thing.

Visually the film was outstanding especially with the earlier mentioned use of the original film but also the use of locations in the town as well and the opening credits have to also be mentioned.

The Cast is also amazing with Veronica Cartwright as Jami's Grandmother, Gary Cole as one of the Sheriffs and Anthony Anderson joining the cast as Lome Wolf and Danielle Harris has a cameo role in the film as well. 

Sadly this is among the final films for two of it’s actors as Ed Lauter who played one of the Sheriffs in the film passed away in 2013 as well as Edward Herrmann who passed away on New Year’s Eve in 2014.

13 Dead Bodies

2 Breasts

2 Beasts

1 Compound Fracture

1 Bullet to the eye

3 Stabbings

The Trombone kill Remains

1 Human Scarecrow

Hands Roll

Heads Roll

3 ½ Stars

Check it out.

  

Crave

Well another day of Fantastic Fest has gone by and I really wanted to see Room 237 which is a documentary about the Shining and talking about hidden messages in the film but I was too late to get into that one.

Well anyway I’ll catch that flick when it is released on some of the other venues so I decided to check out the other flick that I wanted to see at the same time and that flick is Crave.

What I find interesting is that Crave is the first feature of director Charles de Lauzirika who has worked for years producing DVDs and Blu-Ray releases of such films like the Alien special edition among others.

Needless to say I am pretty familiar with this man’s work so naturally I wanted to see this flick.

Crave follows a 35 year old recovering alcoholic Aiden (Josh Lung) that works as a crime scene photographer that has frequent fantasies such as shooting men on a train that are harassing a cute girl and also beating to death people that can’t stop talking at his AA meeting and then he meets his neighbor Virginia (Played by Emma Lung) who he is attracted to and then one day they hook up.

Now the problem is that Aiden can’t handle the relationship and in time manages to mess it up sending her back to her ex (Edward Furlong) which really sends Aiden to a point where he has to make the choice of what he needs to do.

The film has many subplots such as Aiden’s friendship with a police officer Pete (Ron Pearlman) who is also his AA sponsor  learning various crime investigation techniques. Other subplots include him finding a gun after a robbery and homicide at a crime scene and then his blackmail of a pedophile.

 

All of these subplots come to a head in a surreal climax that makes you wonder is this real or is this in his head.

One thing I like about some of the movies that I watch is when there is a character that I can identify with and as a result I can feel like I am in the movie.

As a professional videographer I have been in some of the situations like the character in Crave is in. (not all of them just a few) which makes the movie harder in some of the scenes where I want to yell at the screen for the character to walk away but I know that he won’t walk away because he is not me and this is a movie and it has to go into the next scene.

 

This movie also utilizes location and set design to continue the storytelling. Such as the fact that the film takes place in Detroit which anyone that watches the news will see that Detroit is a ghost town and looks like a place of bone crushing poverty where is the characters are living.

I’m sure that this flick will receive a main stream release and we will be seeing this flick and more from this director in the near future.

4 Dead Bodies

4 Breasts

1 Beast

1 Zombie

3 ½ Stars

Check it out

 

Wake in Fright

I have always been an avid supporter for film restoration ever since it had begun.

Personally I enjoy cleaning film I find it relaxing. I am also an avid lover of finding “Loft Films”

One thing that makes me happy about my new home here in Austin, TX is that I am among other film enthusiasts. With the film festivals here like Fantastic Fest I get to see movies that I had never even heard of and then I see that they are there and that they are receiving a limited release for courtesy of the Alamo Drafthouse.

One of the films that I am referring to is Wake in Fright. I saw this film advertised in the program and I decided to check it out.

The film’s director Ted Kocheff who was in attendance at the screen told an interesting story to the audience in the theater.

It turns out that despite the acclaim of the film it was not well received by moviegoers and as a result disappeared into obscurity and was lost for decades. It was not until someone actually searched for the movie that the negatives were found in a Warehouse in various stages of disrepair that it was realized what it was, and the negatives and audio marked for incineration.

Thanks to this person the film was saved and has now “returned form the dead”.

Now I will be completely honest this film got past me. I had actually never heard of it until now but I am very happy that I did.

Wake in Fright isn’t a horror movie like the title suggests it is the tale of an Australian school teacher going on holiday trying to get to Sydney and stops in a town called “The Yabba” and “The Hospitality” that they show him.

After getting drunk he goes gambling and loses all of his money for his trip and is trapped in the town.

Now when I say “The Hospitality” I am not referring to how badly he is treated in reality the people in the town are polite and want him to have drinks with them and such. That is where he has problems. HE gets drunk allot and when he gets drunk that ends up being where he gets in trouble.

There is a brutal Kangaroo hunt scene in the film.

 

I found out in the post screening QnA that at the time that the movie was being made Kangaroos were hunted and brutally killed during this time to make American Dog Food and the filmmakers were asked to keep the hunting footage in its entirety to show what really happens there being that the kangaroos were quickly becoming endangered. As a result Kangaroos are no longer killed for dog food.

 

It is common knowledge that I am a fan of Donald Pleasence I want to say that I had been a fan of his ever since Halloween in the immortal role of Dr. Sam Loomis the nemesis of Michael Myers that I wanted to see everything that he had played from one of three portrayals of 007’s arch nemesis Blofeld, to the henchman Lucas Deranian in Escape to Witch Mountain, and finally the President of the United States in Escape from New York. I have never seen Pleasence in a role like this as he usually plays clean cut and refined characters. In the role of Doc pleasance is anything but refined. As a matter of fact Pleasence is quite the opposite in this film, in a way that you have to see to believe.

 

0 Dead Bodies

8 Dead Kangaroo

0 Breasts

5 Beasts

Gratuitous Drunken Donald Pleasence

Impulsive Gambling

3 ½ Stars

Check it out

The Conspiracy

Well Here we are Kiddies another day of Fantastic Fest. I know that I seem to be a cheerleader for the found footage genre but here is the truth.

I am a documentary filmmaker, I like the narrative genre but I lean far more towards the documentary genre. It really goes back to my childhood and what scared me. When I was a child I watched everything from Halloween to Godzilla and none of it scared me. The movies and such that frightened me was both documentaries and the nightly news. I think the reason is that I know that most of the movies that I watch I know is fiction but documentaries and the news those are reality and the truth is far more frightening than legend.

As a result I naturally gravitate towards the documentaries when I go to a film festival.

 

Today I thought I was doing just that when I heard of this film called The Conspiracy.

I went into this film thinking that it was a documentary about the search for a conspiracy theorist that goes missing. What it turned out to be was another Found footage film.

The plot here is like I said earlier two documentary filmmakers decide to make their subject a conspiracy theorist that they find on the street that talks to people passing by about conspiracies ranging from 9/11 to secret societies.

All goes well until one day the subject mysteriously vanishes without a trace and the filmmakers are left with too many questions as to where he went.

One of them reacts like it doesn’t matter while the other is more driven and will not let it stop. Eventually they are both brought into the world of a secret society that has far more power and reach than they ever thought imaginable and then they are invited to join and as they say the real terror begins.

Unlike many flicks in the subgenre this flick feels more like a documentary than a film. The use of actual footage like the JFK assassination as well as 9/11 footage gives this flick a far more real feel than other documentaries. This is definitely a flick for conspiracy buffs.

 

My Amityville Horror

Well it’s my first Fantastic Fest Here in Austin. Now I have to admit that I just have a daytime pass because I thought I was going to be working for a news network at the time but that didn’t pan out like I hoped and by the time I learned that all of the badges were sold-out.

 

However that doesn’t matter because there are some outstanding flicks screening there during the day so the daytime badge is still a good purchase. Not to mention some of the events I still manage to gain access to as well.

 

One of the flicks that I have seen so far at the event was My Amityville Horror.

Now this flick interested me like many after hearing the title of the film.

When you hear the name Amityville your mind goes to one place and that is 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville New York. This is without a doubt the most famous haunting in the United States.

 

What is it about this story that has us all intrigued? Is It the people, was it the movie?

Personally I give the credit to television shows like In Search Of back in the day.

In Search of was my introduction to the case when I was an early teenager.  I will never forget the image of the doll with the glowing red eyes in that episode. Needless to say that I immediately ran out to Video Works and rented the 1979 Brolin/Kidder flick as soon as I could.

I can’t say that I was obsessed with this incident but my friend Slick definitely was.  I remember him both reading the book as well as buying the box set.

The Amityville Horror was a classic horror flick from a time that I feel horror was at it’s best. Naturally it was going to get the remake treatment.

Well I wasn’t too happy about that but after seeing some of the sequels to the flick I figured that a remake can’t be too much worse than them.

 

I was fortunate to meet George Lutz in 2005 at Hauntcon. Even having a long conversation with the man sitting next to me showing me pictures of the house on his laptop and the images of demons that take shapes in the walls and even the famous picture of a child by the staircase taken after the Lutz family fled the house leaving all of their possessions.

 

Now I know that there are many people that doubt the events that happened in that house were genuine but I can tell you this, That man believed everything that happened.

Now that being said I have just left a screening of My Amityville Horror at Fantastic Fest and now this is an outstanding documentary.

Made by filmmaker Eric Walter this film is a must for any true Amityville fan. That being said Walter even said during the post screening QnA that this may be controversial.

What I truly enjoy is the fact that this is pretty much the same story from a different perspective. The perspective of the son Daniel Lutz.

 

The reason that this is said to be controversial is because in all incarnations of the Amityville Horror George Lutz is in many ways the protagonist of the films even in the 2005 remake where he is depicted more of a crazed Axe Murder than in the other films.

However this documentary paints Lutz as a Step father that had a bad relationship with his step-son even forcing him to run away from home to live on his own when he was 15 years old.

I personally believe the stories told by Daniel Lutz. The man I met in 2005 was a nice man but you have to bear in mind that I was a convention goer and like I said HE believed everything that happened but I am a fan and a paying customer so I am sure that the man I met was a different side than someone whose mother was married to him.

Remember there are always different sides to everyone that you meet. 

My Amityville Horror also focuses attention on the aftermath of the events in the house. The children weren’t allowed to tell their stories to the press as they were sheltered from it and at the time of the documentary Daniel was the only one of the Lutz children to speak out about the events of the film.

As a result I see much hostility in Daniel and a lot of it is directed to the filmmaker while this documentary is filmed.

What is also documented in the film is the reunion between Daniel Lutz and Lorraine Warren who with her husband Ed Warren was the lead paranormal investigators before the book was released.  

Eric Walter makes an effort to show as many perspectives of the story as he possibly can. He even interviews the skeptics and professionals that give their own theories of the events in that house.  

Yes the 1979 film is referenced however due to budgetary concerns no footage was used but the movie didn’t need the footage because it worked without it.

As I said earlier I definitely recommend this film to Amityville fans.