The Unrepentant Cinephile

by Jason Coffman

  The main attraction here, though, is the special effects, which are a bit all over the place. Some of the Heavies have a realistic physical presence while others look crudely composited into scenes (and all played by Men in Suits star Douglas Tait). The worst examples of the latter are the flashback scenes to the large-scale assault on Earth by the aliens, most of which look exceptionally unconvincing even with layers of video noise and digital glitches trying to mask their inadequacies. As expected, the best effects in the film are the practical ones, and ones that blend both CG and practical approaches like a dark interior sequence late in the film that doubles as its most impressive set piece. It never reaches the level of Blomkamp’s startlingly realistic effects (the primary saving grace of his recent Short Circuit riff Chappie), but for what was probably not a big-budget production Raisani and his crew pull off a few impressive tricks. While the action is frequently shot with a little too much shaky-cam, it often does a commendable job conveying the intensity of close-quarters combat.

  Shout! Factory has given the movie a solid Blu-ray presentation that looks and sounds great, including a full 7.1 surround mix. There’s a lively, informative commentary track with director/co-writer Jabbar Raisani and director of photography/co-writer Blake Clifton, a 16-minute “behind the scenes” featurette with cast and crew interviews, a little over three minutes of deleted scenes, and theatrical trailers. There’s nothing here that hasn’t been done before and/or better, but it still just might scratch that particular sci-fi/action itch.

  Alien Trespass (2009)

  Originally published on Film Monthly 22 July 2009

  Alien Trespass opens with a fake Movietone newsreel establishing the cultural climate of the time in which the film was supposedly made: America, 1957, nearing the end of the golden age of the science fiction film. Somewhat confusingly, the last segment is the story of how Alien Trespass has been shelved due to a clash between the film’s star and the money men who run the studio that produced it. This is a pretty telling start to what ends up being a somewhat muddled and confusing experience– while the opening would be a fine piece of marketing on its own, as a part of the film it’s just baffling.

  The conceit behind Alien Trespass is that it’s a “lost classic” that’s been sealed in film canisters for 50 years and finally released after being discovered by accident by a construction crew on an old studio site. The film itself is an amalgam of various 50s sci-fi classics: a spaceship crashes on Earth, releasing a malevolent one-eyed monster called the Ghota and stranding its pilot Urp until he can destroy the beast and repair his ship. Urp’s actual form is a 7-foot-tall silver humanoid, so he uses his alien technology to “borrow” the body of a local astronomer Ted Lewis (Eric McCormack) in order to blend in with the locals and stop the Ghota before it multiplies and eats all of mankind.

  The supporting cast includes Ted’s concerned wife Lana (Jody Thompson), inept police officer Vernon (Robert Patrick), plucky waitress Tammy (Jenni Baird) and a trio of teens who saw the saucer crash and get caught up in the hunt for the Ghota while trying to get a picture of the ship to make their fortune. Trying his best to keep out of the way is Chief Dawson (Dan Lauria), two days away from retirement and in no hurry to get involved with any intergalactic hijinks. Urp wanders around the small desert town and stumbles into a tentative flirtation with Tammy while the Ghota pops up in various places turning people into puddles, while the locals are typically slow to catch on until it’s too late.

  The filmmakers ably recreate the look of the period with some great production design– sets and costumes look great, but unfortunately the super-clean look of the film betrays the fact that it’s made with modern filmmaking technology. The opening saucer sequence features obvious CG effects where pie pans and spray-painted globes would have sufficed, and the structure of the film is upset by the fact that the credits are placed at the end of the film. Ironically, one of the DVD extras features a trailer in which the footage has been degraded to look like aged film. If the entire film had looked like this, a lot of the film’s other anachronisms would have been easily overlooked.

  Still, the tone is dead-on and the film is refreshingly unironic. The filmmakers clearly have a great love and enthusiasm for the sci-fi classics to which the film openly pays tribute, and the cast is agreeably game to replicate the broad acting style often prevalent in those films. The Ghota is endearingly cheap, and its reign of terror is as relentless as any good 50s-era movie monster. Alien Trespass is a fun throwback and a fine way to spend and hour and a half, even if the illusion of authenticity isn’t quite as convincing as it should be.

  Alyce Kills (2011)

  Originally published on Film Monthly 23 August 2013

  Bloody Disgusting continues their covert release strategy (previously noted with their release of Blood Runs Cold) with Alyce Kills. Leaving the “Bloody Disgusting” logo off the packaging is a curious decision, as the site is an established brand in the horror community, but perhaps their hope is that saving the name for the opening credits will help lure in casual viewers who may be put off by the phrase. Still, it’s entirely appropriate for Alyce Kills, especially as the film reaches its gruesome conclusion. This seems to be one of the film’s biggest selling points, going by the text and pull quotes on the package, but is a violent third act enough to draw in the horror crowd?

  Alyce (Jade Dornfeld) is a quiet, lonely young woman working a soul-crushing job as a corporate accountant. Her best (and only) friend Carroll (Tamara Feldman) still taunts Alyce over what sounds like serious stalker behavior in their shared past. Carroll knows Alyce is obsessed with her, possibly dangerously, but drags her along to buy drugs and see her boyfriend Vince (James Duval) in a club anyway. After Carroll and Vince have a spat over some dirty texts Vince got from another mutual friend named Renee (Whitney Anderson), Carroll and Alyce head back to Alyce’s place to go get more drugs and hang out on the roof of Alyce’s building. Unsurprisingly, this does not end well. The next day, Carroll is in the hospital, miraculously alive after falling from the roof of the building (although seriously injured), and Alyce’s already fragile sanity begins to crack.

  Saying much else would ruin the few nasty surprises that the film has, which would rob it of what little enjoyment there is in watching it. The biggest problem with Alyce Kills is that Alyce is not a particularly sympathetic heroine. She mopes around her apartment, goes about her work making the rich richer, and seems to have little in common with Carroll and their supposed shared group of friends. She is obsessed with Carroll, but the audience is never given any real reason why this would be the case: Carroll seems like a steamroller barreling through Alyce’s life with no regard for what Alyce wants or what is best for her, and their conversations make it seem like Carroll had previously severed all contact with Alyce after Alyce stalked her. The peripheral characters are just as alienating, including slimy Vince and his friend Mike (Bret Roberts), who has about four lines in the film, three of which are abusive and misogynist. Even worse is Rex (Eddie Rouse), a cruel drug dealer Alyce inexplicably takes up with after Carroll’s incident.

  There are hints throughout that Alyce Kills is supposed to be some sort of dark take on Alice in Wonderland, but aside from the character names not too much is done with the concept. Despite a few fleeting moments of creepy surrealism, the film feels mostly pointless. For the most part, this is just a bunch of awful people treating each other horribly until a bunch of them are dead, and then the movie’s over. The Alyce we see at the end of the film is perhaps a different person than the one at the beginning, but she’s inarguably the worse for it. Watching a character spiral out of control can be compelling even if it’s not exactly fun, but by failing to make Alyce a relatable character in any meaningful way, Alyce Kills just feels like a miserable grind.

  Angry Nazi Zombies (2012)

  Originally published on Film Monthly 31 March 2014

  Well folks, there’s good news and bad news regarding Angry Nazi Zombies. First, the good
news: Angry Nazi Zombies is not actually a full-length feature about angry Nazi zombies. It is actually an anthology of short micro budget horror films all set during World War II and shot in the UK, and originally released there as Battlefield Death Tales (the title under which you will find this film, as of this writing, on the Internet Movie Database). Now, the bad news in two parts: there is actually one angry Nazi zombie in the film, and the title is as likely to put off horror fans sick to death of zombies as it is to draw in people who still find the concept of “Nazi zombies” novel. And it really is too bad about that title, because a good number of horror fans are likely to skip this film entirely thinking it’s a knock-off of Dead Snow, but it has more than enough of interest to recommend it on its own merits to fans of super low-budget independent horror films.

  The first entry, “Medal of Horror” by James Eaves, is easily the weakest segment. A young soldier (David Wayman) is sent on a suicide mission to seduce Jezebel (Tina Louise Barnes), the occult high priestess of the SS, and save a young woman (Jeanie Wishes) taken captive by German forces– discussing the reason the young man is chosen for this particular job would be spoiling the film’s modest surprises. The biggest problem with “Medal of Horror” is that it never establishes a coherent tone, veering wildly between serious scenes of grief and battle to nearly Troma-level hijinks. The lengthy fight scene between a Nazi zombie (the only one in the entire feature, making that plural title a tad suspicious) and a Japanese zombie makes no real sense and only serves to drag out the running time. “Medal of Horror” manages to reference Hellboy with a clockwork Nazi automaton, and then ends with a twist telegraphed well in advance. Unfortunately, as it’s first in line, it’s entirely possible that even those curious as to what this film is about will stick around for the rest.

  Which would be a shame, as the second segment, “Harriet’s War” by Alan Ronald, is the highlight of the film and an enjoyable little mystery. Harriet Price (Lara Lemon), paranormal investigator, is summoned to a small town to investigate the murder of a young couple under mysterious circumstances. Except for PC Jones (Cy Henty), the locals are less than welcoming: the local priest Father Hyde (Julian Lamoral-Roberts) is particularly against Ms. Price influencing the people of his town with her talk of ghosts and the supernatural. Undeterred, Harriet and PC Jones investigate, using her box of special steampunk ghost-hunting equipment and both of their wits. The humor is perfectly balanced by the darker elements of the storyline here, and the characters of Harriet and PC Jones are well played and endearing. The end of the short even suggests the possibility of more adventures for Ms. Price, which would be entirely welcome.

  The final segment, “Devils of the Blitz” by Pat Higgins, takes place in London during the Blitz. Ruth (Jess-Luisa Flynn) lives with her mother and grandfather in the city. Ruth’s brother has been dishonorably discharged from service for desertion, but his last letter to Ruth and his mother reveals that something supernatural happened to him and is threatening to come to London as the war drags on. Grandfather wants nothing to do with his grandson and kicks Ruth out of the house, but when she returns just in time for that night’s air raid, Ruth discovers that the horror of the battlefield has come to London in more ways than one.

  The budget of each short in Angry Nazi Zombies was clearly minuscule, and each one of them shows some seams as far as that goes. There are video issues with all three films, but different types and of different degrees, some of which may have come from the transition from PAL to NTSC standards. Others are clearly issues with low-quality digital video, this most clearly evident during the battle scenes that open “Devils of the Blitz.” However, charm and ingenuity can go a long way, so even the blatant anachronisms of the shorts can be overlooked thanks to solid writing and acting. Still, the creatures in “Devils of the Blitz” are a little too silly to be genuinely scary, although the concept behind the short is solid. Sound is mostly fine, although again in “Devils of the Blitz” it is clear that most of the sound in the film is taken directly from the in-camera microphone, which detracts from the dramatic impact of the film. Despite its (admittedly distracting) technical issues, Angry Nazi Zombies is surprisingly inventive and interesting, and well worth a look for fans of independent horror cinema.

  Animosity (2014)

  Originally published on Daily Grindhouse 10 September 2014

  Despite the popularity of The Cabin in the Woods, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s meticulous takedown of pretty much every conceivable horror story that could take place at a cabin in the woods, “cabin in the woods” movies have not seen much of a decline in the time since that film’s release. Fortunately, there have been a few filmmakers willing to pick up the gauntlet that Whedon and Goddard threw down in that film, perhaps most notably Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s Resolution. Writer/director Brendan Steere’s Animosity, one of the latest “cabin in the woods” films, is similarly interested in being more than just a standard slasher, although it doesn’t quite reach the mind-bending heights of the aforementioned films.

  Carrie (Tracy Willet) and her husband Mike (Marcin Paluch) move into their new home isolated deep in a forest. Carrie is a film composer and Mike is a research scientist, and soon after moving in Carrie begins to notice odd things. Things escalate quickly, and by the time their creepy neighbor Tom (Stephan Goldbach) points a shotgun in her face when she asks him to stop hunting on her property, she’s more than ready to head back to the city. Mike seems reluctant to do anything about Tom or take Carrie’s worries seriously, which leads Carrie to feel increasingly alone and desperate. Why is Mike so keen on keeping her away from the cops, and so ready to jump to Tom’s defense?

  Revealing anything further would spoil Animosity’s surprises. Suffice to say that not everyone—Carrie included—is what they seem, and the film builds to a final act pitting Carrie against a bunch of people who definitely don’t have her best interests in mind. The story takes some interesting directions once Carrie unravels the secret of what’s going on in her own cabin in the woods, and the film is not one to flinch when it comes to the unsettling implications of its storyline. There is plenty of gore here, although it’s arguable that any of it is really gratuitous. In fact, it’s not hard to imagine this film being considerably more gruesome than it is, so the relative restraint with the great practical effects is admirable.

  Animosity isn’t perfect, of course. While it’s fine to leave some questions unanswered, some of the characters’ actions just don’t make much sense. This is mostly notable in the case of Lauren (Thea McCartan), the woman who sells Mike and Carrie her home. The opening scene featuring Lauren attacking a young girl with a circular saw definitely makes for a striking introduction to the film, but when we learn later what exactly was happening in that scene, Lauren’s behavior is somewhat puzzling.

  The cast is solid, but unfortunately the film’s sound mix is all over the place, with regular dialogue mixed too low and music and screaming (of which there is quite a bit) mixed much too loudly. This is a fairly common complaint for independent films, though it’s a bit disappointing that Animosity falls prey to this issue. Regardless of its shortcomings, Animosity is an above-average independent horror film, and one whose intriguing premise more than makes up for its familiar setting. It certainly earns its place as a worthwhile “cabin in the woods” movie, and that’s more than can be said for most of its similarly budgeted peers.

  Asylum Seekers (2009)

  Originally published on Film Monthly 29 August 2011

  Breaking Glass Pictures and Vicious Circle Films are creating quite an unusual catalog of independent genre cinema, ranging from super low-budget American films to interesting imports. Asylum Seekers may be the strangest film they’ve released this year, a bizarre absurdist dark comedy that defies easy categorization.

  Six highly dysfunctional characters enter an exclusive mental hospital to escape from the madness of the outside world, but are dismayed to learn that there is only one room available. In order
to win the only open room at the hospital, the characters must pass a series of tests and competitions watched over by The Beard, a faceless voice that observes everything, and administered by Nurse Milly (Judith Hawking) and her assistants Minnie (Ken Jennings) and Mickey (Joseph McKenna). These being supposedly insane people, however, things do not go exactly as the hospital administration may have planned.

  The closest thing Asylum Seekers has to a sympathetic protagonist is Dr. Raby (Daniel Irizarry), a sex-obsessed speech therapist prone to profane outbursts and outrageous tics. He is instantly attracted to fellow potential inmate Maud (Pepper Binkley), who has cracked under the demands of her husband and work, volunteering herself for the hospital stay after being caught faking a pregnancy at her job. Their principal competition is Paul (Lee Wilkof), a crazed patriot whose politics and conspiracy theories are so confused that he appears to be an Anti-American terrorist. Paul rallies the other applicants to his cause on the promise that he will take over and allow them all to stay in the hospital, but as the competitions become more and more bizarre, who is winning and who is lagging behind is anything but clear.

  Asylum Seekers was adapted from a stage play by writer/director Rania Ajami, and it carries over much of the feeling of a theatrical production, despite the often beautiful production design. The settings for the action of the film are a dizzying array of surreal rooms, from ancient libraries to Victorian operating theaters to a cold modern room with mirrored floors. Shot on RED digital cameras, Asylum Seekers is never less than nice to look at. Unfortunately, the writing is all over the place: while Irizarry is effective and often very funny as Dr. Raby and Binkley is fine as Maud, the outsized cartoonish characterizations of the other characters is ill-suited for a film. Especially irritating are Alan (Bill Dawes), a man who apparently believes he is Missy Elliott, and Alice (Stella Maeve), a girl who loves computers so much she likes to be electrocuted. These characters may have made a bit more sense on the stage, but they badly throw off the tone of the film.