30 Days...

Happy October everyone!

My holiday season has begun, and I'm so excited to get out to theaters and go watch all the chilling, creepy, terrifying... Carrie.

Wait, hold up.

That's right, the totally unnecessary reboot of Brian De Palma's 1976 classic (which I'm still actually really excited to see) is the only wide release horror movie in October 2013. Who decided this? I don't know, but I am seething. Come on, Hollywood. Milking audiences for money is the one thing you do! No horror for Halloween? Screw you guys.

I feel like a splintery wooden stake has been jammed through my heart.

So, as much as I'm excited for Carrie, let's show those corporate tools what's what.

Five Indie Horror Releases You Should Check Out This October

#5 Don't Go to the Reunion

Release Date: October 5, 2013

Synopsis: A prank goes too far for the popular students at Hamilton High as they begin to pay for their actions 10 years later at their high school reunion.

Trailer: 

OK, so this one really doesn't look very good. But hey, it's a slasher so I'm gonna go see it anyway. Also, Hamilton High? Total Prom Night reference. Also, the character list on the IMDb page continues the venerable slasher tradition of naming characters after famous horror directors. We've got classics like Craven, Lynch, and Carpenter, as well as more in depth cuts like Cunningham (Friday the 13th), Holland (Child's Play), Miner (F13 Parts 2 and 3), Buechler (F13 Part VIII), and even Wynorski (Chopping Mall) and Kaufman (the co-founder of Troma).

The movie is likely to be just as rife with references so I'll dig it no matter what.

#4: Haunter

Release Date: October 18, 2013

Synopsis: The ghost of a teenager who died years ago reaches out to the land of the living in order to save someone from suffering her same fate.

Trailer:

Basically a spin on (SPOILER ALERT) the twist ending from The Others, but with an actual antagonist. But hey! Abigail Breslin! The high concept is sure to spark at least a few interesting scenes and the trailer makes it look like a 6/10 or above, even with the strikingly bad teen acting on Blondie's part.

#3 Skinwalker Ranch

Release Date: October 30, 2013

Synopsis: A scientific research team investigates and documents the supernatural phenomena surrounding the disappearance of a cattle ranchers 10 year old son. Inspired by true events that shocked the paranormal community around the world.

Trailer:

Here we go! The day before Halloween... Found footage with a seemingly pretty good budget. Now we're talking. This film is the closest we'll get to our annual Halloween tradition of a new Paranormal Activity movie but with a chance of maybe not being blisteringly insipid.

#2 All the Boys Love Mandy Lane

Release Date: October 11, 2013

Synopsis: A group of high-schoolers invite Mandy Lane, a good girl who became quite hot over the summer, to a weekend party on a secluded ranch. While the festivities rage on, the number of revelers begins to drop quite mysteriously.

Trailer:

You know how You're Next was kicking around in Lionsgate's back pocket for two years before getting a wide release and being totally awesome?

You know how Cabin in the Woods got stuck in Production Hell for three years before getting a wide release and blowing open the horror genre?

Well, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane has been languishing for seven years. Now that it's going into (limited) release, you do the math.

#1 Escape From Tomorrow

Release Date: October 11, 2013

Synopsis: In a world of fake castles and anthropomorphic rodents, an epic battle begins when an unemployed father's sanity is challenged by a chance encounter with two underage girls on holiday.

Trailer:

Filmed guerilla style at Disneyland and Disney World, this film manages the astonishing feat of merely existing. Disney is a soulless corporation that rules its lands with an iron fist, and the Disney Secret Police are everywhere. The fact that it looks pretty good is an extra bonus.

So go out and prosper! Support indie horror! Throw rocks at Hollywood executives!

A Happy October to us, every one!

Word Count: 695

Horror on Party Beach

For our podcast episode about this very film, please click here.

Hello! The time has come for my big announcement!

I just got hired to write for an indie publication called CinemaBeach. It's unpaid, but there are some press perks and it's a very exciting opportunity.

I will be running a horror column called Killer Waves and reviewing new indie horror releases, which means I get to go to the Laemmle Theatre in Beverly Hills (and the nearby Sprinkles Cupcake ATM) a lot more often.

I will of course keep posting here. I like to review every movie I see and CinemaBeach has no use for mainstream movie reviews.

However, when I write a post for the website, I will link to it here and consider my work done for the day. One post a day is my goal and I don't think anybody can complain if that post is in a slightly different format.

My first official review in my new capacity is of the Australian import 100 Bloody Acres, and please check it out. I'm very excited.

Note: Because the format is different on CinemaBeach and doesn't include ratings, I will post my usual information here along with a link to the article.

100 Bloody Acres

Year: 2013

Director: Cameron Cairnes

Cast: Damon Herriman, Angus Sampson, Anna McGahan

Run Time: 1 hour 31 minutes

MPAA Rating: UR

Leave it to the Aussies to find the fun in bloody mayhem. 100 Bloody Acres is filled with wicked glee ,whether it’s presenting a severed hand, a vat of carnage, or a local radio jingle. Taking place in a small town in the Australian Outback, the film follows a group of three teenagers who are on their way to a music festival. When their car breaks down (as vehicles in these types of movies are wont to do), they are given a lift by Reg Morgan (Damon Herriman) of Morgan Organic, a local blood and bone fertilizer company.

Unfortunately, times have been tough for Reg and his brother Lindsay (Angus Sampson) and they have been forced to cut corners in order to make ends meet. Lately Reg has been culling new blood and bone material by appropriating still warm bodies from roadside wrecks. He is in the middle of delivering a bloody metalhead when the hitchhikers discover the corpse and the brothers are faced with a tough decision.

On one hand, they could threaten them to keep their mouths shut and send them on their merry way.

On the other, they could really use fresh fertilizer for a big delivery this afternoon.

What ensues are hearty laughs, geysers of blood, and a comic examination of the interactions between country folk and city slickers. This horror comedy is decidedly more funny than scary (the filmmakers were more keen on making you cringe instead of shriek), but the humor is so devilish that the dearth of scare sequences is not to be lamented. Some would even go so far as to call this film a straight comedy, but the humor is hung on the framework of movies like Saw or Hostel, and in fact could not have existed without their influence. As it happens, the audience is too busy laughing to discuss the intricacies of genre.

A standout performance is Damon Herriman, whose Reg is simple, polite to a fault (even when taping someone’s mouth shut), and too scared of his big brother to raise a stink when it comes to his alternative business methods. Cute as a puppy dog, Herriman somehow manages to make Reg an audience favorite despite some of his more morally reprehensible actions. His inherent goodness hangs in the balance of a delightfully subtle portrayal for which the filmmakers should be immensely grateful. Drinking a juice box while covered in blood is a naturally funny concept. But with Herriman behind the wheel, it is not only a silly gag but an important character moment.

Also a standout is Anna McGahan’s Sophie, a strong woman whose role is key in subverting the historically misogynistic slant of the torture genre that the film is riffing on. There is a particularly vicious case of slut shaming at the middle mark that would make any feminist cringe, but the characters that view Sophie’s sexuality as immoral get their comeuppance in the end. In fact, a diatribe against her actions is explicitly detrimental to one character’s survival. It reflects very well on the filmmakers that they not only take a stance on a hot button issue, but avoid bludgeoning the audience with a “moral”. It’s obvious that we should root for her character, and we do. That’s all there is to it, no need to make a fuss.

One of the biggest strengths of the movie (besides Sophie being one tough sheila) is that every character’s actions logically follow from their circumstances and personality. Albeit that logic is somewhat twisted, but it makes perfect sense in the heightened cinematic reality of the film. There is a complete lack of dumb horror movie character behavior and, though mistakes are made, the setups are unforced and avoid the common “Don’t go in the basement, stupid!” pitfalls.

Regrettably, sometimes Australia-specific jokes or concepts will fall flat for American audiences (John Butler? Australia Day?), but in general the humor is broad enough for international audiences to enjoy and sharp enough that even if one doesn’t understand a particular cultural reference, it frequently adds to the absurdity rather than detracting from the audience’s understanding. But that is beside the point, because the film is necessarily Australian. Many plot points hinge on social, economical, and environmental structures unique to the country. For example, many horror movies accentuate the protagonist’s predicament by placing her in a far-off location where nobody can hear her scream – the mountains, a cabin in the woods, and sometimes even space.

In Australia, every single place is like that.

The movie is far from flawless, but the humor is satisfying and rich, the gore is suitably realistic and campy for the bloodthirsty horror faithful, and the underlying message is sincere but not too preachy. 100 Bloody Acres is a must-see for fans of comedy and horror alike, although more squeamish audience members may wish to sit this one out.

TL;DR: Bloody good fun, with a uniquely feminist and frequently hilarious riff on the backwoods torture genre.

Rating: 8/10

Should I Spend Money on This? It might be hard to catch it in a theater, but it's a worthy film to catch on demand for a night in.

Word Count: 908