Review: HOWL OF A GOOD TIME (2015)

by: Chelsea Opperman

I may be biased because Patrick Rea is a friend of mine...but his short films are so creative and fun.  His style really reminds me of Tim Burton.  He has the wacky stories, the whimsical atmosphere, and the soundtracks that really give his films a magical quality.  And they are consistently entertaining.  In fact, many of his shorts remind me of Burton’s Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985) in terms of aesthetics.  He may not have Large Marge, but he has plenty of memorable characters and scenes that are both frightening and hilarious.

HOWL OF A GOOD TIME is no different. I really cannot reveal too much about the plot without spoiling the magic for those who get to see it.  But I will say there is a charming Rialto-theatre setting, some questionable audience members, and a cameo by one of my favorite Devil’s Rejects. And watch out who gets admission and who doesn’t...that could come and bite you in the ass.

Sniff, sniff.

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HOWL OF A GOOD TIME is screening at our next showcase Monday, May 2 at Screenland Armour in Kansas City.

Review: THE INVITATION (2016)

by: Chelsea Opperman

Dinner party films are fun.  It is a scenario in which all audience members can certainly relate.  With some films that verge on the fantastic or absurd, viewers can gaze in awe but cannot truly put themselves in the movie.  But a dinner party with the awkward silences, stranger introductions, and questionable food is something we have all suffered through.  Often there are even ulterior motives, like selling Amway.  Or sometimes, the intent is much more sinister.

Karyn Kusama, the director behind Jennifer’s Body and Girlfight, weaves a chilling portrait of societal politeness and personal paranoia and delivers it in taut package, set high in the Hollywood Hills.  This beautifully shot film stars the handsome devil from 2010’s Devil, Logan Marshall-Green as Will who broods in a rich and layered character that is haunted by a dark past and an even darker future. We see through his eyes the unraveling of what seems to start as an awkward but mostly pleasant evening slowly change into the apocalypse it is destined to become.  With realistic dialogue and a great ensemble cast, this film places the audience as another guest on the sofa.  The sinister unknown visitor, the wonderful John Carroll Lynch and the eerie commune gypsy (Lindsay Burdge) elevate the guests’ growing paranoia and unease as the night creeps on.  Lewd games, fine wine, chilling stories, and odd philosophies set their teeth on edge, and as we arc towards the third act, the tension is so thick it can be cut only with a serrated knife.  

As beautiful metaphors of coyotes and red velvet cake allude to mercy killings and killers having no mercy, Invitation shows us a claustrophobic peephole view into grief, mourning, and the thirst to survive amidst pain.  A pinch of Hitchcockian suspense, a dash of You’re Next (2011), and a whole lot of Jonestown, this film is one of the best psycho thrillers of the year.  Accept this Invitation at your own risk.  

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Please check out THE INVITATION available now ondemand and in select theaters.

Review: HOOT (2016)

by: Chelsea Opperman

HOOT keeps it simple.  With a deliciously (and palette cleansing) straightforward storyline, you get a great picture. The visual textures of the pajama stripes, the frosty branches, the lonely middle aged man with a sad agenda all add to a laughable and fun show.  

And it's a story line we have all lived.  Remember that woodpecker that annoyed the fuck out of you?  That crow that never went away?  The boogeyman that never left the closet?

At this point, from what I have viewed of Patrick Rea's films, he takes whimsical and comical concepts and films them in a literal, visceral sense.  He makes fun of the everyday events and turns them scary.      

You surely can't be mad at a feathery antagonist...but maybe he's not the antagonist at all.  

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HOOT is screening at our next showcase on Monday, May 2 at Screenland Armour in Kansas City, Missouri. RSVP here.

Review: PILLOW FRIGHT (2015)

by: Chelsea Opperman

This is the most fun short you will see all year.  When you see ditzy, bubble gum snapping sorority girls gearing up for a night of pizza and booze, you just know you are in for a fun time.  Hell, Slumber Party Massacre is a classic, right?  Patrick Rea’s PILLOW FRIGHT uses this classic trope and turns it on its ass.  He gives life not only to the vapid pigtailed girls, but also their poor, undeserving victims.  Let’s just say he softly gives a feathery touch to his main antagonists, and oh yes, they will exact their revenge.  No one fucks with their family and gets away with it.  With fun special effects and oodles of creativity, this horror/comedy is not to be missed.  You’ll never look at bedding the same way again.   Rea is a great name in the short film biz.  

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PILLOW FRIGHT is screening at our next showcase on Monday, May 2 at Screenland Armour in Kansas City, Missouri. RSVP here.

Review: INNSMOUTH (2015)

by: Chelsea Opperman

The fabled town of Innsmouth, romantically named after H.P. Lovecraft’s fictional coastal town where rot and decay reign, is hiding something dark.  Something sensual.  

The story starts as many do, an unexplained murder, a tenacious detective and a mystery to decipher.  But that is where the archetypal gumshoe tale ends.  We follow Detective Olmsted into a 10-minute-long odyssey into the underbelly of Innsmouth, one that seduces and destroys.  As far as the welcome she’ll receive, her cup runneth over.

The house in which the majority of the short is shot is a beautiful, yet crumbling Victorian, ripe with antiques, dusty taxidermy, and a lingering feeling of something stale.…. something tells me these things have been in this family for a long while.  And something needs to feed.    

As in all her films and stage performances, Tristan Risk commands the attention of the audience.  She exudes a tasteful sexuality, and something darkly sinister.   She fearlessly commits to the role of Alice Marsh, the unexplained but yet recognized head matron of this creepy seaward town.  You are drawn to her, you are seduced by her, you can’t take your eyes off her…and she can’t keep hers off of you.

To tell more would spoil the magic of this film, and oh yes, this is one to remember.

The story behind Innsmouth and its erotic, feverish rituals leave the audience wanting more of the story, more of the lore, the way a short film should.  Also, be on the lookout for a director cameo.  Izzy Lee is a talented indie film maker with a fiercely political and female centric agenda, and she breaks all the rules. 

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Please join us Monday, April 4 for a free screening of INNSMOUTH at Screenland Armour in Kansas City, Missouri.   More info HERE.

Review: HARVEST LAKE (2016)

by: Chelsea Opperman

In ancient Greek Mythology, the primordial deities were the first gods and goddesses born from Chaos, the primeval void, the first thing that has ever existed.  From these deities, Eros was created - the god of love, sex, and erotica.  Scott Schirmer’s HARVEST LAKE (2016) takes us deep into the watery birth of carnality, a reverse evolution into the salacious, and a trip down the rabbit hole.  This otherworldly Eros bewitches those who swim in his waters and with that first dip into Harvest Lake, we fall down a well of sexual desire - one where mushrooms take erotic shapes, “Eat Me” sugar cubes lead to newfangled experiences, and love is found in the unknown.  Follow the white rabbit you go.

In the beginning of this twisted celluloid, two naked and vulnerable humans leave Eden and descend into the lake.  They are leaving godliness and purity, banished from Olympus, plummeting into a psycho-sexual Wonderland...and there is definitely a crafty caterpillar calling the shots.   Soon after, a road-tripping Scooby Doo van filled with young adults looking forward to a relaxing weekend at the cabin arrives.  And with that, veteran scream queen Tristan Risk yells “Zoinks!” and the party begins.

Risk captivates as the confident raven-haired nymph, while Ellie Church brings the Alice - the blonde, doe eyed innocent girl whose nocturnal activities are becoming curiouser and curiouser.  Paired up with 2 men following their own steamy agendas, this party is about start.  The slow burn of this film is needed: we learn to care for our protagonists, we meet a mysterious stranger, and are slowly lured into the depravity of the Lake.  Coupled with intense special effects creatures and an erotic gaze, this film is very well balanced and a beacon for independent filmmaking.  Schirmer captures the atmosphere perfectly - it is eerie and enticing, wanton and haunted.  An Alice in Wonderland on porn.

This is a film, and an ending, to remember.  Enjoy your swim.
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Please join us next Monday, April 4th at Screenland Armour in Kansas City, Missouri for a FREE screening of HARVEST LAKE and short film INNSMOUTH.  Click here for more info.

Review: MONSTERS (2015)

by: Chelsea Opperman

The masked stranger is one of horror's most terrifying archetypes.  Why do they scare us more than creature features and zombie flicks?  Perhaps it’s the anonymity of the figure.  Or maybe it’s the lack of motive that emits a sense of helplessness, seen often in home invasion and kidnapping films. “Is this meaningless violence?” questions the audience. The victim himself asks, “What did I do to deserve this?”  When you are snatched by masked fiends from your creature comforts, there is almost a figurative castration - any sort of control you thought you had has been seized and exploited, you have resorted to a crying, mumbling shell of humiliation.  You are at the villains’ mercy.  This is a very real fear, deep rooted in the America today, ripe with gun control politics, police brutality, racial tension and violent outbursts, leaving us asking, “Who are they, and why me?”

Jacob Barrett's beautifully shot short film is a pleasure to the eyes and ears.  The lighting and cinematography are the real stars here, along with the jarring and eerie music, successfully evoking dread in the pit of the viewers' stomachs and fear in their minds.  And with these razor sharp elements, the film puts forth the question...who really are the Monsters?

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Please join us Monday, March 7th for a free screening of MONSTERS at Screenland Armour in Kansas City, Missouri.  Event info HERE.