Change Your Image
sullysull78
Reviews
The Hills Run Red (2009)
'Wrong Turn' meets 'Scream'
At first one would think that 'The Hills Run Red' is just another 'teens in backpacks get hacked about by backwoods psycho' flick, but the movie is much much more. It tells the story of a group of a friends who trek into the wilderness to find the long-lost reel of a legendary 'cropsy'-style horror film. Once this group arrives at the various locations used in the mythical movie, they discover a horrifying secret about the director...and the cast.
There's more to it than that, but I don't want to spoil the (numerous) surprises in store for the audience including an ending that will make you doubt your own faith in humanity. Yeah, it's dark. But it's also scary and - amazingly - often funny. Young directer Dave Parker brings a real zest to the proceedings with some ingenious set-ups and environments. The third act is a roller-coaster of sick gory setpieces that are choreographed expertly and put recent, more bigger-budgeted films like 'Friday The 13th 2009' to shame. The cast is also above-the-cut for this type of genre, including the gorgeous Sophie Monk who is given a juicy role and runs with it. Throw in some interesting character dynamics, subtle in-jokes for horror fans, well-built tension, and amazing nudity (a staple of the genre and done very professionally here) and you have a modern horror film that calls back some of the best slashers of the early 80's.
Saturday (2006)
Funny as hell movie
Saw this at a film festival recently and was really, really impressed. Done on a low-budget, this is a cool companion piece to movies like 'Swingers' and 'Go'. It's really funny too - watch how the three lead actors (brand new guys - as far as I can tell) riff off each other, you really think they know each other in real life. Same with the three girls - they're awesome. My favorite part takes place at the rave (watch for it). Anyway, the audience I saw it with seemed to really dig it too. I think this is coming out on DVD soon after a small theatrical run so definitely check it out. It's really well-written and directed too. We need more indie films like this - movies that just want to have a good time.