Showing posts with label Disturbing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disturbing. Show all posts

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Horror Short: Ave Maria (2013)

Written and directed by Skip Shea
Staring Aurora Gabrill & David Graziano
Director of Photography Nolan Yee

A clergy man abides his sentence from three women in the woods, as a recording of Ave Maria drowns his screams. Skip Shea's Ave Maria is an eloquent twine of gore, music, and enacted karma. It's a pair to Shea's acclaimed Microcinema and in that the two are both lovely masterpieces that speak of violence in our society. There's no dialogue, the six minute run time a symphony of music and constructed torture. Shea as a director understands the appropriation of blood in a film and doesn't opt to show more than necessary. Though he is guilty we are never witnesses to the clergy man's crimes as Shea trusts the audience to display the revenge first and unveil the fulsome truth later. 

Aurora Gabrill returns as Missy, the white masked crusader of justice, whom is our anti-heroine, if you so will. Gabrill again plays a brave part in an unconventional female character in cinema, horror and non alike. Cinematography speaks for itself as it's balefully set in midst of the woods, the beautiful view of nature to timid the cringing horror. It will make a few squeal in its single act of violence but is a simple, beautiful piece to add to a collection of interesting works. In tradition of his works Ave Maria will not be for everyone as the religious text and the film's bizarre approach will off-put some, but for a horror aficionado it rings unique and gorgeous, leaving enough for the viewers imagination but volunteering enough visually to leave you averse and fascinated. Ave Maria is a lovely edition from the director that I suggest is best watched as a double feature to its more masculine counter Microcinema. However the feminine side of this story stands on its own and must be seen regardless if you liked the prior.

Ave Maria will be making its way around film festivals so watch for it. You can follow the director and its star on twitter for updates.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

American Horror Story (2011)

WARNING: Contains too many spoilers

Viven and Ben Harmon are looking for a new start, well Ben more than anything. After being caught having an affair with one of his college students Ben believes that moving to a new home across the country and reopening his practice is what will save his broken family. Viven however is not as willing to move on as the pain she feels from her husband's indiscretion doesn't match that of the pain she feels from her miscarriage. Willing to fix her family though Viven moves with her husband and their only child Violet to California in an old house that has a very colorful history. The most recent being the previous owners, a gay couple, who died in the house by a murder suicide. Not only that but several other murders have occurred in the house dubbing it 'The Murder House'. But the limitations don't hold to the house either as their neighbor, Constance Langdon, is a strange and somewhat unnerving individual. And Ben's new teenage patient, Tate, whose mental stability is that of teeter totter has taken a liking to Violet. As the Harmon's attempt to settle into their new lives their past horrors will come back to haunt them, as will the ghosts of the house's past.

I have a very destructive and defining love hate relationship with American Horror Story. At moments the brilliance of the show is so sheer in sight that it's almost difficult to handle. Then there are times, equally as frequent, where the show convinces me that it's alright to stick in my head in the oven. Most of the time AHS lost focus with it's main story arc of the real horrors of the Harmon family in contrast with the house. I'm also let down that the house has a good eighty so years of history to its name and they only took focus to Tate's story. I loved the school shootings, it was so tragic and the true definiton of horror that it again rung brilliance in script writing, not to mention being pulled off so well by actor Evan Peters. But then the revalation that Tate was also the Rubber Sex Suit Guy (will not get tied of that) who raped Vivian took a really hard turn into bad writing. I'm pretty confident, from what actors have said and other clues, that the script for each episode was written on a weekly basis, not giving the writers time to reflect and even less time to edit. Not to mention the occasional plot hole that tends to slip in when your rushed in writing that way. Next season I do hope for more refinement.


American Horror Story served a lot of pre-season buzz from its grabbing previews and its campaign for owning a clue (I got one, via email that is, a jar of some body part that never made itself present in the show). If you went to Yourgoingtodieinthere and explore around the house as I did you'll remember the dead bride, bloody champagne bottle, Heather from Dead Central's Demon Bunny, and a thousand of other bits that never made them self on the show. Of course they still have room on season two but its not the same house so why do that? Why not update the website with the new location? A lot of pre speculatioin suggested this to be a Psycho-sexual-thriller with that post of Mrs. Harmon and the Rubber Suit Sex God, pulling towards each other. It wasn't. Another disappointment. I think AHS suffered from too much marketing, as did True Blood season 3, in that it built up expectations that either were never reached or never intended to be reached. Of all the things I loved in American Horror Story, the horror references are the most fun for a horror addict like myself. Within an episode you could see the influence of a film or films that was to inspire the episode, that varied between old school horror like Rosemary's Baby to new iconic images like the masks in The Strangers.

Of the Harmons the only one I liked was Viven played by Connie Britton. She has the ability to just say how it is, and not in that blunt Violet way. She also had an asshole husband, a moody daughter, and is living in The Murder House. Plus I'm fucking jealous of her hair, it curls so nicely. Dylan McDermot was alright as Ben Harmon, I believe more of the problem lay less in the acting and more in the character itself. Ben was an asshole, and there's no way around that. Crysterbating to the maid doesn't help your case much either. Violet was on my 'Characters I hate list' at the beginning of the show. I wasn't all sympathetic to her moody demands, pregnancy statistics, and her relationship with Tate. It was, again, never so much Taissa Farminga's acting, as she was good, it was the character. But the episode 'Piggy Piggy' not only showed the full potential of the actress (she was excellent in that episode) but the full potential of the character. As the season went on she improved and I liked her much more towards its end.


Not to gush too much but Jessica Lange is the reason I watch this show. Like I do like this show but the reason I watch is for her captivating take as Constance Langdon. The character itself is complex and layered beyond anything a twelve episode show could cover, but Lange is able to let way to all the hidden past and repressed emotions of her character. It's as if she's stuck in the house's decaying age with her old school comeliness. The acting is nothing I've seen before. Absolutely fabulous and I recommend watching an episode for this reason alone. My second love of this show is Evan Peters as Tate Langdon. Tate was not my favorite, to put it lightly, at the start of the show. His 'I'm crazy rampages' paired with Violet's weird girl suicides made for a unlikable teen angst couple, that I did not care for. I use to call him Taint, just to be spiteful. The Halloween episodes though Tate made amends for his bad behavior and started getting interesting. Then of course I fell in love with the dysfunctional relationship him and Violet spawned in 'Piggy Piggy'. I also grew to love Evan Peters acting, not necessarily the touching side to Tate (though that's well played too), but the darker bits. When he pretended to shoot himself with his finger gun it was really chilling. Like a lot of actors it seems it just took a few episodes for him to settle into the character, and the character to settle into the show.

Again, even Murphy and Faulker's angle for next season, a new haunting, new characters, but same actors creates a battled cloud of emotions. I'm disheartened by the loss of Tate and Constance characters, as well as the maybe inconclusive anti-christ story but at the same time I'm intrigued because it hasn't been done before, which is to be quite honest brilliant. Then again this all may be premature, I don't know how season two will play out or if that's even the direction they will go in. Maybe it'll all tie up in the end and I can just back away and be in awe. But aside that the Harmons still had a rocky storyline. At the end I'm conflicted, I don't know how to feel about American Horror Story. It has bad plot structure but its beyond addicting. At the basis you'll either love it or hate it.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Horror Short: Familiar (2012)

Written and directed by Richard Powell
Staring Robert Nolan, Astrida Auza, and Cathryn Hostick
Director of Photography Michael Jari Davidson

Sanity fights an inner monologue as husband and father John Dodd increasingly begins to lose his mind, taking his inability to tolerate the mundane of his life to a drastic end. The name Cronenberg is being thrown around with this short and short duo (director Powell and producer Zach Green), for good reason too as they create a film with a very much body modification horror but without the schlock that came with Cronenberg's early films. Which I'll address first more than anything is the exceptional special effects by The Butcher Shop, good not only for a low budget short film but good for any film with an illimitable amount of money. Richard Powell's script is the essence of fear as his character John Dodd engages in horrifying acts, the first which occupies the build of the story and the latter which proves for a flinching climax.

Where is Robert Nolan in mainstream horror? Nolan delivers an aberrant performance in John Dodd, a man lost in his own head and life. Powell's direction is on par with his script writing. He and Nolan are made for each other on screen as he directs one of the most bleak horror shorts I've seen. Again my favorite use of a real life horror act paired with an inhuman one creates a more faceted horror film. Photography for the film is subtle and makes for a fitting background to Dodd's disturbance. The contrasting darkness in the bright suburban home sets a dense mood and easily reflects the character's emotions. Green and Powell's twenty minute short film is not only a testament to independent budget film making but an effectual addition to the genre itself. It stands without sympathy or generosity from the limitations and is by itself a rather chilling horror film. The ending may not be for the squeamish but if you can stomach it this a definite short film watch.

As usual Familiar is making its way around film festivals so look for it. You can keep updated with Familiar on its Facebook page and follow Fatal Pictures on Blogspot for more info on this short and others.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Horror Short: Waffle (2010)

Written and directed by Rafael De Leon Jr
Staring Kathryn Neville Browne, Kerri Ford and Andrea Shannon Young
Director of Photography Anthony DeRose

There's something a little off about Wendy, and it becomes apparent when her classmate and new friend Dana comes over to Wendy's house for dinner one night; her mother foul and overbearing and Wendy seemingly a psychopath. However not all madness is unprovoked and when the true nature of Dana's visit is revealed at dessert a horror of its own comes to life. I'm aware that the film only runs a few minutes in length but the plot seemed very one note, the characters not really, but as to why the reason Dana was at Wendy's house could of been adjusted to something a little bit more engaging or maybe something horrifying. Again the aim is to 'shock' the audiences, and it does, but a little forthcoming because you know there's something not right with Wendy. The concept is how at surface value and within a person there are truer more darker natures but it really just felt a bit bland for me.

I attest that the obtuse execution laid in the writing by De Leon Jr, who was fair as a director but tried a little too hard to create a disturbing use of dialogue. Acting also contributed to the dull script, a good portion of it being overacted, especially by Browne who played Wendy's mother. Even in the cover art the photography for Waffle is what I like the best, a very dark contrast of colors paired with this distorted strawberry pink creates a very nice visual piece of lighting to look at. Also by keeping the camera off Wendy's face for the majority of the film proved effective when a direct shot of her face is revealed, taking you back at the very least. Waffle isn't a horrible film by any means, nothing like Bunny Boy, but overall I found it to be a little dull and fairly mediocre. Not a waste of five minutes but not a need-to-see short film either.

You may follow the film on its blogspot and watch out for its appearances at film festivals around the world. 

As a side note I'm running a little short on short films so if you have one you'd like me to review please email me at bleedingdead22@yahoo.com, or contact me by my twitter.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Horror Short - Bunny Boy (2010)

Written and directed by Brandon LaGanke
Staring Mitch Webb and Teymur Guliyev
Director of Photography, Ruben O'Malley

My viewing for the film Bunny Boy came to me from no other than the lovely Mile High Horror Film Festival, where the majority of the Horror Shorts I'll be doing are also birthed of. The film's poster caught my eye and it was what led me to pick the Shorts slot over a film like Chilerama or I Saw The Devil. The five minute running time tells the story of a boy, who sees a man in a bunny suit, sitting by the side of the road, seemingly dead. A silent conversation pursues when the boy tries to feed and give the bunny water, what the boy doesn't realize though that there is a reason this particular individual is sitting by the side of the road, in a bunny suit, not really being all the way there. Maybe the moral of this short is don't talk to strangers?

Bunny Boy was likely the only horror short I absolutely loathed at the MHHFF, so much in fact I feel wrong just writing about it. I'm a horror fan so violence doesn't phase me but I prefer when it has a purpose, whether it'd be comedic or to send a message, I don't care, as long as its not gratuitous. Bunny Boy misses this mark severely at showing violence just to be weird, and to attempt to disturb you. I found it disturbing, but not on an artistic point, rather at the idea itself. I feel sorry for the other films that missed the available spot from whoever voted to keep this in. Maybe I missed the point. I'm not ashamed in admiting I don't always understand a films intention but really as far as my viewpoint it lacked purpose and thought, a pathless walk trying to classify itself as horror. I'm too pissed off about it to even note any light points like the cinematography. I hated it, don't waste five minutes of your life watching this. Please...

BUT if you must Bunny Boy is making its way around film festivals (horror and non horror alike), so look out for it.

*Update: I've decisively found a place for the Horror Shorts now, it'll be the second Sunday of every month. I would like to do it at least twice a month but as of now I'm limited because I've only seen so many. Again if you have one you'd like me to watch and review send me a link on my twitter or at bleedingdead22@yahoo.com.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Horror Short: The Cleansing (2011)

Written and directed by Gary Marino Jr.
Staring Kimberly Laurenne, Erika Robel, and Ashley McDonald.
Director of Photography Gary Marino Jr.

Initially I didn't set to do these on a weekly basis as I do not have access to enough short films to cover fifty two viewings, if not more. Therefore I hadn't anticipated a horror short review for you this lovely Sunday night but was led to a viewing of The Cleansing and decisively changed my mind, as of twenty some odd hours ago. As usual I pose caution towards raw sentence flow and bad grammar, begging you to pay attention to the context rather than the content. The Cleansing is one of six short films from Fractures Films, "a collection of short abstract films examining the macabre, the twisted and the obscure textures of life". This particular film takes focus to Michelle and her newborn son who's been possessed with crying, by natural or maybe unnatural means, leaving her sleepless and agitated. Lost in a post postpartum depression of sorts Michelle is at the edge of her sanity and the baby doesn't appear to be stopping anytime soon. The Cleansing covers a wide range of topics from new motherhood to depression but ultimately serves as a horror film. As I'm coming to find with these short films the idea is to capture you as an audience within their short running frame and the most effective way to do that is by shocking you. After the twist is revealed the film runs for a full minute, which converted to full film is rather like twenty minutes, and you're constrained to endure the reality that's been imposed upon you. It's an unpleasant feeling, one that left a pit in my stomach in all honesty.

Kimberly Laurenne is deeply disheveled (as a compliment) in her role as Michelle, she ranges from the annoyed mother, to the despaired, and then changes her tune completely for the ending. An ominous and almost empty slideshow of pictures account for the subconscious of the film and of Michelle's mind. The lighting, the brief abstract shots, and the music was all very reminiscent of the tone in The Ring. The film has a professional appearance to it but it doesn't have an IMDB page or any other signs of big studio release outside Fractures Films website; accreditation for Gary Marino Jr. who did the directing, writing, and served as DP for the film, three notes which I enjoyed very much. If I had to dissect and choose a negative for the film I'd say the baby was clearly not real, but seeing how I don't really care neither should you. In my argument I'd say The Cleansing is a really dark piece, it takes you back in nature but holds you in its cinematography. It's available, as well as their other five films, for a free watch on Fractures Films website. Also while you're there go to their About section for a unique description of what they've set out to do. I quoted a bit from it earlier, feeling it said more about the film than I could say myself. You may also follow them on Twitter for more updates on their films and such.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Horror Short - Microcinema: Improvisation Can Be A Killer (2011)

My blog has been getting a little bit of attention thanks to my followers and people on twitter retweet my reviews. At the same time though I only do one review a week, spare for the Irrelevant Post Friday's which basically do nothing but let me compose a horrific display of random thoughts, all for the public to view of course. A review a week isn't all that encouraging in bringing readers back and since I've been wanting to do something else for awhile I came up with Horror Shorts. It's the same as a film review only where I review horror shorts available via youtube or websites or however else they become accessible to me. The length will be cut into two paragraphs and I'll link to where you can view the short. I'll do these as often as I come across them, so if you're a filmmaker and have one you'd like me to review please send it my way.

Written and Directed by Skip Shea
Staring Alex Lewis and Aurora Grabill
Director of Photography, William Smyth
http://www.watchmicrocinema.com/

Microcinema: Improvisation Can Be A Killer follows Peter Martell, a snuff film fan who is tired of watching and ready to be an active participate in the dark film form he loves so much, but at Peter's peak of voyeurism things turn unexpectedly. The film is an immensely disturbing six minutes of the torture porn variety. As said, for lack of a better phrase, the film really grabs you by the balls and drags you in a direction not anticipated by the common thought. It really has one of those moments where you can honestly say I thought of everything happening BUT that. And in that it's rather disturbing and hard to watch, but all in a professional way; nothing to mimic the low cred snuff films that Peter is addicted too.

Skip Shea is an adept director with equal ability to write, his short film gets more across than most full length films. Acting is also quite proficient by our two leads; Alex Lewis falls into his role with ease, reading off Shea's dialogue as if he's the next Raymond Lemorne. And I most definitely must give my credit to Aurora Grabill for bravely taking a part such as this, one she also pulled off rather well. The cinematography is good, it's from the point of view of a video camera but the look and feel isn't the typical "found footage" style. My only negative I'd say for the film is the violence goes on a little bit to long in its short running time, for my taste at least. Highly recommended Microcinema is available here for a very worth it $0.99, (it's worth more, in my opinion). In addition to watching it you can also read through the description which gives an insight into its beginnings and its creator. You can also follow Skip Shea on twitter.

If you have a short please send me a link, you can contact me at bleedingdead22@yahoo.com or on my Twitter.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Deadgirl (2008)

Deadgirl is about two high school boys who break into an abandoned mental hospital and find a seemingly dead girl locked in the basement. When the supposed dead girl moves the two friends find themselves in an odd situation, sensibly Rickie wants to call the police but JT suggests a perverse taboo that hybrids necrophilia and rape fantasies to a horrifying extreme. Rickie rejects the idea but doesn't stop JT from delving into a sadistic addiction, or from encouraging others to join in. The boys now pressed even more as they are exploring dark passages and repelling against each other find that their new 'toy' is not all helpless, as a bite may give you her illness.

Deadgirl is a surprisingly deep horror film about the human mind paired with the desire of sexual need. It also has a supernatural element about it which adds to the films, surprisingly complex, layers. In one respect we see the chilling portrayal of the dead girl by Jenny Spain, a newcomer who has no films to date but this one, but she gives a creepy performance, and I'm not entirely sure if it's solely because of her facial structure or her ability to work her unconventional looks to her advantage. Then on the other end of the spectrum we have friends Rickie and JT who are committing a horrible act of rape repeatedly by keeping a sex slave, and while JT's true nature comes out under his fantasies Rickie's stays repressed and is fighting against his sanity. I have no idea if the writer and the directors had any intention of making Deadgirl more than just a disturbing film but it came out as a rather deep insight into human nature. The final scene with Rickie being strong proof of that.

As I've been doing research for the review I saw a few people mention how it was degrading to woman in it's brutal rape scenes. I have to disagree with both statements, degrading to woman would be more if they portrayed the sex slave aspect as a light subject that JT and Rickie should be proud of in contrast to the disturbing and sick one that was put out for us. And the rape scenes aren't brutal, in context yes, but highly explicit and graphic? No. There is really only two parts where we see any physical carnation of rape and the second one is treated so casually that it'd be hard to miss if you hadn't been following the film. The acting is also, surprisingly, good. And the character development, once again, surprisingly deep. The director of photography uses a color hue of greens and blues to capture the hospital basement in almost a musty feel for the darker scenes, and in contrast a cloudy sun day for the moments of character reflection.


I may be going too far for Deadgirl as I said that I have absolutely no idea if the film had any intention of being so deep, but seeing that's how I saw it that's how I'm reviewing it. There's also a bit of humor as the scene in the parking lot is good for a laugh. The soundtrack has an indie vibe to it which makes it feel more like a teen horror flick that may be tolerated. The negative I'd say about the film is that it's not a repeat watch, as good and as developed as it is, I don't have any desire to go back. But like all films about rape or a brutal nature as such you don't want to go back. A very good edition to the horror genre, one that I'd recommend to those who are looking for something unique.