landrupog Reviews

Death Factory (2002 Video)

Tiff rules!

[2/10 · 31 May 2007]

Some teenagers mess around in old factory, a demonic Goth-chick makes them wish they hadn't. That's it in a nutshell, fair enough in itself...

Yep, rented this one just to have a look at schlock princess Tiffany Shepis. This'll be the reason most viewers will give this dullish D.I.Y effort a chance. They'll be backing a loser on several counts unfortunately.

1] Shepis doesn't show any skin. 2} She only shows up in the last act of the film. 3} The movie sucks. The look of the film is ugly, and the acting not especially convincing even for cheap-jack horror. 4} Ron Jeremy in one his pointless cameos, god love him..

Sure, there have been a few gems shot on digital video, this ain't one though. Shepis looks impressive and is scary in her goth get-up ( somewhere between Mindy Clarke in 'Return Of The Living Dead 3' and Mimi Kincade as Angela in the 'Night Of The Demons' movies). The aforementioned are what the director maybe would liked the film to be like but just can't manage it on his budget. Yes, there's splatter but it's fairly ineffective. Yes, there's sex and topless scenes but they are cheesily filmed and repetitive.

I'm not a complete meanie, I'll give a couple of stars purely because I truly love the genre even the fringe efforts, and it's great to see film-makers getting out there a having a go with whatever resources they can muster. All power to 'em. But parting with your hard earned to buy or rent something of this calibre is another question, and I feel even the die-hard splatter fans would regret doing so.

Nightmare Man (2006)

Hazing director works wonders with a tiny budget.

[8/10 · 20 May 2007]

Rolf Kanesky is becoming the most interesting director working in low budget horror. Lord knows there are enough terrible hand-held efforts clogging up the rental shelves, although it's cool that people are getting out there and trying. Anyhow, Rolf seems to have a much lower budget on this one than on The Hazing, be he economises well and the make up and effects are good and it works to the films benefit that they are sparingly used until the climax.

Story concerns an unstable young woman who uses a wacko ancient fertility mask to try and improve her sex life with her husband only to end up having horrific visions of a spirit contained within the mask. The demon seems to come to life while she's stranded in the woods on a ill-fated road trip and ends up running for her life. In to the the mix is Kanefsky regular Tiffany Shepis and her gang of buddies hanging out in a remote cottage. They have their own complicated relationship issues. Shepis is a good actress who seems naturally uninhibited and doesn't look down upon B-movie roles and just has fun with it. She's great here, and has a sexy tough and funny role. Sure, there's nudity and gore, but who would want to see her as, say, Ashton Kutchers girl in a sucky comedy. The rest of cast are variable with the lead actress overplaying at times but improving as the film goes on and her responses look more appropriate.

I digress, sorry, violence and weirdness abound as the "nightmare man " descends upon the cottage, and the newly arrived guest ain't feeling herself. Some odd, surprising twists happen before the climax. Think the The Mask meets The Exorcist and you're there. Kind of..

I was lucky enough to have caught this on The Horror Channel and it's one of their best recent acquisitions. I'm not saying Nightare Man is a stone-cold classic but it is a gem and well executed considering the low budget and resources. I do feel this director will improve with each movie. Kanfesky knows how to be ambitious whilst giving the horror fans what they want.

Wishmaster 4: The Prophecy Fulfilled (2002 Video)

Wishsy-washy

[4/10 · 3 May 2007]

I guess compared to some of the abominable amateur digital horror efforts that seem to hit the rental shelves at present, this movie is quite professionally crafted.Which is not say it's good at all just, perhaps, that it could have been even worse. However, director Angel can't seem to decided whether he wants to make a horror movie or a Shannon Tweed flick.

I'll say this, though, Tara Spencer-Nairn is very hot and the more time the camera spends on her and her sweet curves the less you worry about how excruciatingly slow the first hour of the film is and how nobody bar her is much cop at acting. The Djinn in this one is dull and lacking Andrew Divoff's eccentric wit. And the fellow playing her bitter crippled boyfriend is just plain vacant and unlikable.

It's all about sex and sexual jealousy, with some other guff about the Djinn creatures wanting to come to to earth, conquer, order take-away, sow their oats. Whatever, who knows? Certainly not incompetent director Chris Angel who at least is savvy enough to improve on his last dire Wishmaster film but throwing in some cheap thrills to wake you up. He even manages to shoot a genuinely sexy love-scene as Tara succumbs to the Djinn's charms. Shame about the cheesy one at the start..

Notable also for one of worst sword fights I've seen in a film. Knock off two points if you don't watch it under the influence.

.45 (2006)

no point 45

[3/10 · 26 April 2007]

Maybe 3 is a little generous, it's a surprise to me that this movie has been so favourably reviewed by some. The director seems mighty uncertain about how to portray the material and ends up with somewhat of a half-baked mess. The humour and straight-to-camera monologues make you cringe, the dialogue if often shouted and is laden with swearing to try and make it all seem 'street'. Milla's performance is good at times but often desperately overplayed, Angus Macfadyen as Big Al gives a crude over-bearing performance with a rather baffling accent.

If you want to see a really realistic film about domestic abuse watch Nil By Mouth and appreciate Ray Winstones raw multi-layered performance, if you want a steamy revenge thriller ( as this tries to be later in the narrative ) pick one out of a guide because,chances are, it'll entertain you better than this. Kudos to Stephen Dorff and Sara Strange who actually manage to inject some humanity into their underwritten roles.

Skin fans who like skinny women might disagree but I found the nudity ( and I like nudity in film- sometimes it's the only thing to keep you awake watching a bad movie) gratuitous and unsexy. It's a bad one, steer clear.