SAMURAI ZOMBIE (2008) Review

Directed by: Tak Sakaguchi

Starring: Mitsuro Fukukoshi, Issei Ishida, Tak Sakaguchi

A lot of Japanese zombie films such as BIG TITS ZOMBIE, ONECHANBARA, WILD ZERO and a whole host of others tend to be in that really over the top goofy, cartoony style that the Japanese seem to love so much. As such they really present themselves as almost parodies rather than actual horror flicks. And when you look at the filmography of actor / director Tak Sakaguchi and see such films as DEADBALL, BATTLEFIELD BASEBALL and TOKYO GORE POLICE it would be easy to assume that SAMURAI ZOMBIE is going to be just another wacky Japanese zombie flick with gallons of blood. I was however surprised to find that it takes a much darker and more serious approach to the genre and as much as I love a batshit crazy splatterfest I found this to be a refreshing change.

A man and his family are on a road trip through the quaint countryside when out of nowhere a man appears in the middle of the road pointing a gun. Unable to stop, the driver ploughs through the gunman before skidding to a halt. Far from dead the man with the gun rises and takes aim once again when suddenly a volley of gunshots rings out and bullets rip through his back. A second gunman appears along with his female partner and they take the family hostage, forcing them to drive through the cursed countryside where the dead never really die.

The rest of the film is basically a siege with the handful of people trapped and being stalked by deadly Samurai zombies. The main zombie in full Samurai armor looks totally badass and acts as almost a Japanese Jason Voorhees, constantly getting up after being knocked down. He decapitates his victims and uses the blood from their severed heads to raise more zombies. All of the zombie effects here are surprisingly good and a far cry from the simply greenish grey facepaint I'm used to seeing in Japanese zombie flicks. And the zombies are only really zombies in the sense that they are resurrected corpses. They're not the usual shambling, neck chomping sort but a more aggressive and even intelligent type. In fact in a way the film plays out more like a ghost story.

The story which follows the main group of people is pretty weak and very confusing as not a lot is ever really explained. There is what I assume is supposed to be a twist at the film's end but it just made things even more confusing and felt tacked on in my opinion. There is also a bit of subplot involving two police officers which adds a little humor to the movie but not much else. The acting is not exactly what you'd call award-winning but it is a lot better than I expected and everybody does a decent job. Even though I mentioned this isn't as bizarre or over the top as something like TOKYO GORE POLICE or THE MACHINE GIRL you can see a bit of that Japanese trademark creep in during the decapitation scenes which are followed by an impossibly huge fountain of blood spurting from people's neck-holes. All in all though I actually thought that SAMURAI ZOMBIE was a decent effort if a little bland and quite confusing. But if you're expecting another Japanese splatterfest you will be disappointed.

GUTTERBALLS (2008) Review

Directed by: Ryan Nicholson

Starring: Alastair Gamble, Nathan Witte, Dan Ellis

I like to think that I have a pretty diverse taste when it comes to horror films. I love a good intelligent psychological horror, I love creepy shit with plenty of scares, and I love a good ol' balls-to-the-wall gorefest, when they're done right that is. GUTTERBALLS fits nicely into the latter category, and before we start I will mention that if you're not a fan of gratuitous violence, rape scenes and a more than casual dropping of the F-bomb then you may as well stop reading right now because this movie has all of this plus more.

GUTTERBALLS is my first introduction to the films of Ryan Nicholson who is a guy I have heard quite a bit about, especially in regards to his 'more is more' mantra. It's a rape/revenge slasher set in a bowling alley after hours with two bowling teams pitted against each other. There is more than a little bad blood between the two teams which leads to a brutal gang rape scene. During the ensuing bowl-off the participants start to get picked off one by one by a sadistic killer armed with weapons fashioned from bowling pins and wearing a bowling bag on his head. As the Bowling Bag Killer piles up the bodies the yet-to-be-killed desperately try to escape.

Nicholson proves that he isn't afraid to push things to the extreme to achieve his vision (especially when viewing the uncut version), beginning with the nasty rape scene which makes you look forward to the perpetrators getting a taste of their own medicine (and believe me they sure as hell do) and continuing on through every graphic death scene. Buckets of blood, insertions, dismemberments and decapitations, it's all here. Keep an eye out for the particularly inspired scene where a couple are killed simultaneously mid-coitus.

I mentioned swearing earlier and believe me when I say that this movie is full of it. Almost every other word seems to be 'fuck'. Is it overkill? Probably, but it makes a hell of a drinking game. Have a shot every time you hear the F-word and I can guarantee you will be hammered after about the first half hour.

The neon filled bowling alley acts as a great backdrop and there is a definite 80s feel going on here.
The acting is pretty lousy but honestly, who the fuck goes to see a slasher flick for good acting?

Every single character in GUTTERBALLS is completely unlikeable which works when they start dying off, but I had the feeling that some of them were just a little too unlikeable. Mainly Steve (Gamble), I mean I really can't imagine anybody being that much of an asshole in real life. There are some stupid moments and the writing isn't the greatest but that's not what will attract people to this film anyway.

This is the kind of movie you watch when you want to see a completely over the top, gratuitous gorefest with plenty of violence and sex. If that's not what you're looking for then stay away. For all of it's shortcomings, I personally loved it and I look forward to seeing more of Nicholson's films.

THE PUZZLE (2008) Short Film Review

Directed by: Davide Melini

Starring: Cachito Noguera, Alessandro Fornari

Recently I was contacted by director Davide Melini who had a couple of short films for me to review. Following this review for THE PUZZLE I will also be posting a review for another or Melini's films titled THE SWEET HAND OF THE WHITE ROSE. 

As short films go THE PUZZLE is very short indeed, clocking in at just under 5 minutes including the opening and closing credits. It begins with a woman (Noguera) receiving a phone call from her son (Fornari) and it is soon obvious that they don't have such a great relationship. Apparently he is asking for money but she refuses, telling him that he always spends her money on stupid things. After slamming down the phone she decides to spend the rest of the evening relaxing and passing the time with a puzzle. But as the pieces fall into place an uneasy feeling creeps in and it's obvious that something is not quite right.

This is easily the shortest short film I have seen so far, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. While a lot of shorts run for 15 or 20 minutes or more, a lot of them feel a little too padded. THE PUZZLE however overcomes this problem by stripping out anything unnecessary and just getting straight to the point before finally finishing off with a bang.

Though the synopsis may not be very deep, this short shows that writer/director Melini knows how to handle a camera and is able to hold your attention for as long as need be. 

As for the acting there is not really much to speak of, but both actors do a good job of what is required of them. Noguera only has a couple of short lines at the beginning which she delivers competently while the rest of the time she spends doing mundane things like piecing together the puzzle or boiling a pot of water.

The only real criticism I have is that THE PUZZLE may have benefited more from a slightly darker presentation as I felt it was a little too bright. Other than that though it was a great, bare-bones film with a creepy and somewhat ambiguous aspect.

To check out a whole bunch of goodies including posters, stills, movies, interviews and reviews of Melini's work you can head here.

Horror Feast: Zombies & Nazis

Saturday was just one of those days. One of those days where I really couldn't be bothered doing anything at all. So I grabbed a six-pack and a pack of cigarettes, parked my ass on the couch and decided to just watch movies all day. I have these days every now and then, so I've decided to use them as a chance to blog and do some short mini-reviews of the movies I watch.
On today's menu: Zombies & Nazis.

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD (1985)

An absolute classic. I'm sure I don't need to go into the details of the plot, so I won't. I've always been a bit unsure on how I feel about this movie. My personal idea of what a zombie should be is basically what was shown in Night of the Living Dead. A mindless, shambling, reanimated corpse which acts purely on instinct. The zombies in ROTLD are very different. They are reanimated corpses but they can talk, use tools and even formulate plans. Despite these problems however, I can't help but love this movie. The awesome soundtrack provided by bands like 45 Grave, The Cramps, TSOL and The Damned. The famous naked graveyard dance. And of course the movie gave us Tarman, who is one of the most badass zombies ever. This is one of my favorite zombie movies, and if you haven't seen it then make sure you do.

ZOMBIE LAKE (1981)

Wow. Going from ROTLD to this was a bit of a shock to the system. I'd never actually seen this before and I really hope I never have to see it again. ZOMBIE LAKE is at the opposite end of the spectrum to the previous movie, and is a strong contender for worst zombie movie ever made. It's about a bunch of Nazis who's bodies were thrown into a lake after they were killed by the French resistance. They return as zombies. I think. Basically they just look like men with a bit of patchy green paint on their faces. You can easily see some of them take a deep breath before they go underwater, and all they really seem to do is bite peoples' necks and then leave the bodies lying there. No flesh eating or brain eating. And then there's the ridiculous subplot which involves one zombie reuniting with his daughter. No joke. And I have to mention the horrible acting and of course the terrible dubbing. The only good part was all of the gratuitous female nudity. Stay far away from this.

RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD Part II (1988)

A military truck transports the 2-4-5 Trioxin barrels from the first film. They fall out of the back and one tumbles down into a river. Kids find the barrel, open it and unleash the Trioxin within.
Obviously this sequel was aimed at a teenage audience, which isn't good because it means there is a lot less gore than in the first movie. The inclusion of James Karen and Thom Matthews playing different characters than in the original film is pretty cool. They even refer to this fact, saying something along the lines of "I feel like we've been here before"
The soundtrack is pretty lousy (except for the inclusion of Anthrax) and there is no nudity. With basically the same storyline, you're better off watching the first movie. This sequel isn't too bad (better than Zombie Lake at least) but it's not great either.

OUTPOST (2008)

A guy hires a group of soldiers to escort him to a secret underground Nazi bunker. He promises that it will be an easy in-and-out job. But of course it isn't. They find the bunker, inside which are a bunch of bodies and one survivor. Before long they find themselves under attack from an unknown enemy. It turns out that the bunker houses a machine which the Nazis developed to create a race of unstoppable zombie/ghost/ghoul soldiers.
It's a good concept, but poorly executed. The inconsistencies in the enemy were terrible. At one point they can sneak in and out completely unseen, walk through locked doors and never set of a single trip wire or claymore. Then suddenly towards the end they come bumbling down to the bunker, tripping all of the wires and can't get through the locked doors. What the fuck? Apart from that it is a fairly good film and I believe there is a sequel on the way. Let's hope they address the problems from the first movie.

SHOCK WAVES (1977)

I'd never seen this before, but Peter Cushing? John Carradine? Nazi zombies? How could it possibly be bad?
A small group of vacationers are taking a boat trip around a group of islands. Suddenly out of nowhere comes a massive ship and sideswipes the small boat. They end up stranded on a reef with a damaged hull and when daylight comes they find themselves not too far out from an island. The island is inhabited by Peter Cushing who was a Nazi commander in charge of the 'Death Corps", a group of undead soldiers which can survive underwater. The undead soldiers return to the island and slowly start killing everybody off.
I was a bit disappointed. There was basically no gore, the zombies didn't look undead enough and Peter Cushing's German/British accent was terrible. It's a fun movie, but not a must-see.

EDEN LAKE (2008) Review

Directed by: James Watkins

Starring: Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender, Jack O'Connell

I first watched Eden Lake about a month or so ago, and was so pleasantly surprised that I actually watched it again during the same night. I honestly can't remember the last time I've done that. The plot definitely isn't very original, nor is any other aspect of the film really. But the fantastic acting, along with the mindless violence and bleak atmosphere makes this one of my favorite horror films of the last decade.

Steve (Fassbender) has organised a surprise for his girlfriend Jenny (Reilly). The plan is for the both of them to take a peaceful, relaxing vacation at a small isolated lake in the midst of a vast forest, where Steve can propose. But things take a turn for the worst when they come face to face with a gang of teenagers who harass the couple before stealing their car. 

Steve finds the teens and confronts them, but during the fateful encounter he makes a mistake that changes everything. The couple escape in their newly recovered car, but following a crash Steve is trapped and Jenny must leave him behind to go and get help. Meanwhile the teenagers stumble across Steve, and when Jenny returns, she realizes that if she doesn't save him, they will kill him. From there the film descends into a fast paced and dramatic quest for survival, and ultimately revenge.

As I already said, the acting was amazing, especially from O'Connell, who played the psychotic gang leader Brett. The visual effects were outstanding, and the sense of hopelessness from the couple lost in a seemingly never ending forest was brilliant. And I have to say, I definitely did not expect the movie to end how it did. I'm not saying that the ending was disappointing, as a matter of fact I thought it was the perfect ending. It's just an unexpected one.

Ruthlessly violent and spectacularly bleak, Eden Lake is the most enjoyable and disturbing British horror movie in years.

THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN (2008) Review

Directed by: Ryuhei Kitamura

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb, Vinnie Jones

This film is actually an adaptation of a short story by Clive Barker, who just happens to be one of my favorite authors. Although there have been good film adaptations of his work, (Hellraiser, Candyman) this isn't one of the best but at the same time it definitely isn't the worst. 

The film follows amateur photographer Leon (Bradley Cooper) who is trying hard to break into the world of professional photography. This leads him to some late night shooting where he accidentally stumbles upon something terrifying. It seems that there is a killer riding the subway, catching the late train each night and butchering unsuspecting passengers. 

The movie makes no effort trying to hide the identity of the killer (Vinnie Jones) and I actually liked this aspect. The acting is good all round (I'm pretty sure Vinnie Jones was born to play the role of a psychotic murderer) and the cinematography and technical elements are great. Although I did find the cgi to be a bit dodgy especially concerning the blood.

Even though the movie is full of flaws, (especially regarding the photography angle) and the story is a bit far fetched, (I just can't swallow the fact that all of those people have been murdered and nobody has caught on yet) the movie is fun and enjoyable. Definitely worth watching and it is a fresh take on the horror genre, both in the way it was told and also the subject matter itself.

ROGUE (2008) Review

Directed by: Greg McLean

Starring: Radha Mitchell, Michael Vartan, Sam Worthington, Mia Wasikowska

Australia isn't very well known for producing great horror films. In fact if you look at Australian films in general, they're mostly average with perhaps a handful of greats. But one thing Australia is well known for is it's deadly wildlife. Snakes, spiders, baby-eating dingoes and of course crocodiles. 

From director Greg McLean (Wolf Creek) comes this classic killer animal movie set in the remote Australian outback. It follows a group of tourists on a sightseeing tour down a river in the Northern Territory. Among the group are the American travel writer Pete (Vartan), a couple with their young daughter Sherry (Wasikowska) and some other less important characters. Then of course there is the tour guide Kate (Mitchell)

After a seemingly normal tour down the river (apart from a run-in with a smartass Sam Worthington and his mate) the group is all set to turn around and head back. But of course something comes up. A distress flare is spotted by one of the tourists, and as the boat's captain it is Kate's responsibility to investigate.

Eventually they find an overturned, half-submerged boat and everybody is starting to get a little creeped out. This is of course, the moment when everything goes wrong.

The group end up marooned on a tiny island when their boat is wrecked by a monster crocodile. And (surprise, surprise) the radio doesn't work! Well damn, I sure didn't expect that...

They soon realise that the croc is hunting them and won't leave until everybody has been killed and eaten. In the ensuing panic, mistakes are made and people die, and I noticed a couple of moments where I had to stop myself from yelling at the stupidity of some people. Fortunately those moments were not frequent enough to put me off however.

The performances are great all-round, especially those from Radha Mitchell and Michael Vartan. And Sam Worthington does an impressive job of playing an asshole. Thank god he doesn't have to fake an american accent in this movie. The scenery is great and the special effects are top notch, with McLean showing very little of the beast until the end, thus forcing your imagination to fill in the blanks.

Unfortunately however, there is only so much you can do with a group of people stuck in the same location. Eventually it changes from survival horror to man vs beast, with Vartan's character taking on the monster head-on. 

Although Rogue follows a predictable formula, there were a few unexpected moments and I think that overall it is a great addition to the killer animal genre and an extremely fun film to watch.