Review: SINK HOLE (2011)

By: Chelsea Opperman

This was a curious 60 seconds. Most gentlemen have experienced the most extraordinary 60 seconds at least oncetheir lives, or maybe it was just a great and intense 10 seconds (at least the first time). But how far would you go to feel that again?  Greg Hanson’s minute long micro short is nothing more than brilliant and cringe-inducing.  The sallow color adds to the grim finale.  And words themselves can take on a quite literal meaning.  And Jesus Christ, don’t flip that switch!

 

Someone is about to lose every 60 seconds he could ever experience in his lifetime.  Forever.    

Review: SAVE YOURSELF (2016)

by: Chelsea Opperman

I have always loved movies within movies.  Like “Angels with Filthy Souls” in Home Alone.  Or to go darker than “pumping your guts full of lead”, the werewolf movie in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” amped up the zombie finale nicely.   And of course, lest we forget all the “Stab” films in the Scream franchise (God bless Heather Graham).  It gives the film a self-referential and richer texture, and also adds spoof and a meta take on filmmaking itself.

SAVE YOURSELF (2015), directed by Ryan M. Andrews, begins exactly as this:  A theater filled with horror fans watching tough as nails ladies in a violent “Charlie’s Angels-esque” scene on celluloid.  It is here, at the “film’s” premiere, that we are introduced to our protagonists.  Each of the 5 women we meet (who are either actors or members of the production team) display early in Andrews’s film their distinct personalities -  which is really refreshing.  Often times in ensemble casts, only one or two characters are fleshed out.  Here, we get a motley crew of ambitious and contrasting women, all gearing up to set out for their film’s promotional tour (road trip style).

At the center of the group, veteran scream queen Tristan Risk acts as Crystal Lacroix, the tenacious yet anxiety-ridden director.  She has no patience for dilly-dallying and insists her crew hit the road.  In true horror style, the road trip does not go exactly as planned.  A crew member is soon missing, the car is inoperable, cell phones are rendered useless, and the only choice left is to seek help a “few miles down the road.”  Where this could be stale (it’s an archetype often used in the last 5 decades of horror), SAVE YOURSELF keeps things fresh with characters who actually stay together and fight together.  When they stumble upon a rambling country house in a rural area, their on-screen toughness must manifest itself into a real life thirst for survival.  And there is a kick-in-your-ass twist that ups the ante on any wrong turn or chainsaw massacre, even in Texas.  

Andrews’ SAVE YOURSELF plays a wrestling tongue-in-cheek meet with clichés, slays with an awesome cast, and twists gore and psychological horror into 91 minutes of female-centric badassery.  There is far more than meets the eye here on this country plot.   

________________

SAVE YOURSELF is screening at our next showcase Monday, May 2 at Screenland Armoud in Kansas City, Missouri. RSVP here.

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.

___________________________

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.  

_________________

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.  

_________________________

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.  

________________________

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. 

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