DEMON RESURRECTION (Screener Review)

RATED- Unrated
RUN TIME- 90 Mins
WRITER(S)- William Hopkins
STARRING- Alex Golightly, Damian Ladd, and Eli Kranski
DIRECTOR- William Hopkins



Synopsis taken from IMDb
In an isolated house, a group of friends battle supernatural forces as they try to protect a young woman from an evil cult.




First of all, I want to mention how professional this screener is. Most people just send you a burned disc, and maybe a small note. Well, this one came in a full-fledged DVD case, complete with movie cover and bonus features including a making of documentary and even commentary by writer and director, William Hopkins. So I was actually looking forward to this one, because it seemed to me that the filmmakers themselves took this project seriously, and aimed a little higher than just being a "backyard epic".

The film starts pretty quickly, introducing you to a few characters at an archaeological dig site who uncover some bodies said to be dead members of an evil cult. Then follows a brief explanation and some back story, allowing you to understand the whole picture before the proverbial crap hits the fan.

Then we go to a group of friends, who are oblivious to the fact that they're so close to the recently uncovered bodies and burial. They're in town for an intervention of their friend Grace, who they think is troubled and needs help. Eventually we get some more back story, this time from some of the characters, especially Grace, played by Alex Golightly. We find out how she's been forced to join an evil cult against her will, and was branded with the cults symbol. She was then bound and raped by an evil essence, which for the sake of the movie is green fog.

This of course, results in her pregnancy. My only complaint about her unfortunate events, is that I wish it were more depraved. I appreciate that they kept it cleaned up and to a minimum, but I think going the route of being a bit more graphic for the sake of the effect it would have had would have been the way to go.

The characters stumble into a few cliches such as there being no reception for their cell phones, but for the most part, "Demon Resurrection" is its own monster and offers up some good creativity, while nodding to certain classics in the genre such as "Night of the Living Dead" and "The Evil Dead". And make no mistake, this is no typical 'I'm pregnant with Satan's baby' movie.

I think my favorite part about the movie is the zombies. They're straight Lucio Fulci style, taking you back to the feel of the late 70's and early 80's era of zombie makeup. They're constantly surrounded by a green smoke and glow, like the smoke that impregnated Grace. And these zombies are pretty vicious, they fight back, and they scratch the hell out of you. Nasty gore, but throughout the movie it isn't overused or overplayed. 

As a matter of fact, there's a throat cut scene that rivals that of "The Crate" from 1982's "Creepshow". Not to mention, there's some gruesome throwback disembowelments to add to the awesomeness. The window scene in general is painful to watch, but the guy who meets such a cruel end is worthy of it, and easily the least likable character.

The evil within Grace is birthed as a creature that looked to me like a cross between a graboid (Tremors) and a Xenomorph (Alien). It's done old school with a puppet and not cgi, another throwback to older films. And although William Hopkins was open about what an aggravation it was to use a puppet, I appreciate that much more than I would have a computer generated creature.

The movie ends in a semi-happy way, but not really. Through the entire film, there's not really any score to it. I appreciate the way that using natural sounds keeps things in a more grounded level, and it is effective. However, I think a good score that gets your blood pumping adds in suspense, and would have overall improved the effectiveness the film has.

The makeup work is decent, I've definitely seen worse, and I've absolutely seen better. But, it works for the feel that the movie achieves. With some low quality lighting throughout, and some weak acting, this movie fails to be perfect. However, the good outweighs the bad, and there's some good dialogue between the characters. I just wish it was carried out in a better way.

One of the things that I disliked was the way the zombies meet their end, and wanted them to vanish differently. I guess great minds think alike, because after watching the film with commentary, I came to find out that William Hopkins actually wanted them to ignite into flames, but was restricted in doing so. I agree that would have been a better farewell. And I think that with the style of the zombies, that it would have been better if the whole movie were shot in a grainy Grindhouse type of look.

I also learned during the commentary how difficult it was to make this movie, the setbacks they had in pulling it off, and how it took a long time. All of which just builds more appreciation from me. The commentary also pinpoints some continuity issues that I honestly probably would have never noticed otherwise, and goes into how the zombies were designed to look retro, because they didn't look right in the films "Blair Witch" style. They also didn't hire friends to play parts, they hired pros, unlike most indie directors do. And they had to shoot eight pages of the script each day, which is a lot compared to a usual production.

In the end, even with flaws, "Demon Resurrection" is an indie achievement. It was created and treated very professionally, and gives the genre a big high five. It's a low-budget B movie that doesn't let up.

3 stars out of 5

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE MARKED ONES misses its mark

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 84 Mins
WRITER(S)- Christopher Landon
STARRING- Andrew Jacobs, Jorge Diaz, and Gabrielle Walsh
DIRECTOR- Christopher Landon



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Jesse begins experiencing a number of disturbing and unexplainable things after the death of his neighbor. As he investigates, it isn't long before Jesse finds he's been marked for possession by a malevolent demonic entity, and it's only a matter of time before he is completely under its control.




Oh boy, where do I begin. This spin-off and fifth installment in the "Paranormal Activity" series is directed by Christopher Landon. Landon only has one other film to his credit directorial wise, and that's "Burning Palms" from back in 2010, which didn't get favorable reviews. This mark in the paranormal franchise is just plain weak. I was really hoping that they'd pick it up a bit after the mess that was "Paranormal Activity 4", but they dropped the ball again, and this time it's even worse.

"The Marked Ones" isn't scary at all. There isn't a single scene where I was the slightest bit scared or even amused. It's not suspenseful, and it relies on quick and cheap jump-scares even more than the previous films. It's the same recycled stuff over and over again. It really makes me wonder if they're honestly even trying anymore. I mean, it's totally amateur looking.

I know that these films aren't made in a lot of time, and I know that they aren't too costly. But, you can really start to see it now. This movie looks like it cost $100 to make. The whole concept is dead, and if they're going to try and keep this thing going, they're gonna have to reinvent the entire concept and get real creative. In my honest opinion, this installment in the series pulled the plug on a series that was surviving off life support. It really begs the question of how are they not straight to video movies by now?

The makeup effects and cgi are honestly laughable. I receive screeners for some independent films with almost no budget that have better makeup effects than the work done in this. Overwhelmingly underwhelming FX to say the least...

 And the characters aren't even likable. The lead characters are total morons and annoying. Stupid characters doing stupid things. What do you do when a demonic entity is catching you when you fall backwards? Apparently, according to the idiots in this movie, you make a great time of it and have jolly good laughs.

When briefly discussing time travel, Hector, the lead character Jesse's best friend, says "I'd time travel to the Bahamas." What the hell? I'm pretty sure genius Hector was thinking of teleporting. This whole ad libbing mess has got to stop if this is what the actors are saying. Again, were they even trying?

The Ouija board is out, and Simon Says is in, didn't you hear? Yeah in this flick the source of contacting the demon is through a Simon Says. Stupidity at its finest. Lame. I'd be ashamed to have my name on this movie.

The ending makes sense, and ties in with the ending of the very first "Paranormal Activity" film. However, it leaves a lot of questions unanswered. So I predict we'll be getting some answers in the next film, but I honestly don't care enough anymore at this point to find out the answers. They say you've jumped the shark once you cross a line, well this film just takes you to the ghetto and possesses one dimensional characters.

I'm gonna steal a line from Elvira here and say that this flick is "about an hour and a half too long".

.5 stars out of 5

BAD MILO is a complete blast!

RATED- R
RUN TIME- 85 MINS
WRITER(S)- BENJAMIN HAYES AND JACOB VAUGHAN
STARRING- KEN MARINO, GILLIAN JACOBS, AND PATRICK WARBURTON
DIRECTOR- JACOB VAUGHAN



Synopsis taken from IMDb
A horror comedy centered on a guy who learns that his unusual stomach problems are being caused by a demon living in his intestines.

Here is a film that I have seen a lot of publicity for, even though the advertising seems scarce. I guess I was just around the right places at the right time, and I caught word. Luckily I did. I motion picture about a guy who has a demon come out of his ass and kill people? I'm all over it.

I knew I was going to like it from the opening credits. Believe it or not, if you're a cinema junkie like me, you can honestly usually tell if a movie is going to be good based on the first five minutes of it. This flick has absolutely nothing great about it, in terms of acting or story. But, it's completely awesome! The entertainment provided by this horror comedy makes it great in it's own way.

This may not be for everyone, especially those who don't like a little comedy in their horror. To me, horror and comedy are like peanut butter and chocolate, both taste delicious on their own, but together they're even better. 

It takes almost no time for things to pick up get crazy, packed with laughs all the way. By far the best thing of it's kind since Frank Henenlotter's "Basket Case" from 1982, there's a little bit of everything to go around in this piece of cinema. The most current example I'd say this resembles is 2012's "Ted", starring Mark Wahlberg. It's every bit as immature, and every bit as touching and endearing. There's moments where I was laughing, and moments where I was a bit moved.

Ultimately, Ken (Ken Marino) puts up with so much baggage from his everyday life, that his self conscious becomes its own creature! Taking out Ken's aggression's for him by savagely murdering, the little critter is adorable and twisted. Ken names the being as Milo, a name he discussed with his wife for their future son. One of the many things Ken deals with is the pressure to have children, even though he's impotent and gets it thrown in his face almost daily.

Looking at things from a different standpoint, Milo is a creature from Ken's ass, we've established that. But, that's just a comic relief for the underlying story of the internal struggle we all have to not just blow up and take someone's head off when we're under severe pressure. Milo represents the demon in us all that we fight to stay at bay, and we're faced with the consequences and aftermath once we let that demon out. And for better or worse, it's always better to never let that hatred out, and instead move past it. Nothing good ever comes of these blow-outs except for a few moments of feeling justified but, then you usually just feel terrible once the self-righteous spaz passes. 

Watching this is like a blast from the past, it brings to mind memories of "The Ghoulies", and "Critters". There's as much blood and gore as there is laughs and entertainment. Regardless of any hate this film may catch, and I'm sure it will, (because a lot of horror fans love to think their opinion is law and not just an opinion), this film will be talked about for a long time. It sounds cliche, but it really is an instant classic! We haven't had a horror comedy of this caliber for a long time.  

On a side note, as good and enjoyable as this film is, it's still a film that doesn't take itself seriously and doesn't expect to be taken seriously. In the end, it's a film about a guy who craps out a demon on a regular basis. As entertaining as it is, I still have to rate it for what it is.

Speak No Evil Will Leave You Speechless

RATED- UNRATED

RUN TIME- 74 MINS

WRITER(S)- ROZE

STARRING- GREG BRONSON, ANNALISE CAVENDER AND ELISABETH CAVENDER

DIRECTOR- ROZE

Synopsis taken from IMDb

Speak No Evil is the story of Anna, a single mother, fighting to protect her daughter from demonically possessed children in town gone mad.

After speaking with Roze about his new film, I was eager to test it out and see what it's about. As a horror fan, I'm always looking for an original horror film, and this seemed right up my alley.

After viewing a private screener for the film, I can honestly say that this is one of the best screeners I've seen to date! While it's not very long, the beauty of it is, it never drags on, or gets boring. It doesn't outlive it's purpose. It's short and sweet and to the bones. This is undoubtedly an indie achievement.

With no time to spare, the film picks right up the ball and runs with it almost instantly. The whole film we're trying to figure out who kidnapped Anna's (Gabrielle Stone) daughter, Joey (Olivia Cavender). Was it her father? Or something else? We learn that Joey was taken by a demonic force known as Adramelech. As theories of Joey's whereabouts get discredited, the story becomes deeper and more mysterious.  

Anna is a single mother, struggling to keep things together in her personal life. After splitting up with Dale, Joey's father, the cops are lead to believe Joey's disappearance is a runaway case and refuse to give an valid help. So, Anna is forced to search for her daughter without the assistance of the police. Only she could never be prepared for what she'll discover.

Once more kids go missing, it starts an uproar in the town, forcing some into religion. At this point, everyone is certain it isn't humans doing the kidnapping, and that something supernatural has involved itself. The missing kids (including Joey) all return eventually, but things only get worse when we discover they're all possessed and vicious, and hungry. There are some really intense scenes that naturally, on instinct, make you want to turn away. Of course I didn't though, I was too intrigued in what was going to happen.

The makeup is really well done. To be truthful, I was actually surprised by how good it was. A lot of indie films don't deliver on the effects or makeup, so I wasn't expecting much in that field, and it was a pleasant surprise. The Mule headed demon that is Adramelech looked fantastic! 

I really like that the gore isn't overdone. It's there, but they don't overuse it, and turn this into a gore flick. It's used when needed, like gore should be used. That with the mixture of dialog that isn't forced and seems natural, are two very key things to this film. The focus is all in the characters and story, the way it should be. I can tell that writer/director Roze definitely has good taste in horror films, because he made one that is classy, but still packs the scares and entertainment factor.

The movie was made on an estimated $150, 000, so it's not a big budget picture by any means. It is however, very well shot and the story is well told. Not to mention the originality of it. This just goes to show that not everyone out there in the indie circuit is an amateur, and some really do know what they're doing. The only negative thing that this movie suffers from is a bit of over and under acting at parts throughout the film by the main and supporting cast. 

However, these aren't pro actors and actresses yet, and it's an indie movie. So to watch this and criticize it for some of the acting is pointless, because nobody expected a Michelle Pfeiffer or Daniel Day-Lewis performance.

The last thing that I'll say is, if you like films that don't explain everything, you'll truly enjoy this. It doesn't explain everything to the viewer, there's mystery to it. I like that.

The Haunted Trailer will have you Laughing Out Loud

RATED- UNRATED
RUN TIME- 90 MINS
WRITER(S)- CHUCK NORFOLK, STEVEN SCOTT NORFOLK AND TIM NORFOLK
STARRING- RON JEREMY, JOE GRISAFFI AND JEREMY JAMES DOUGLAS NORTON
DIRECTOR- CHUCK NORFOLK



Synopsis taken from IMDb
Two goofy hick brothers (Elvis and Aaron), their crazy redneck Momma and sexy sister (Prissy) must exorcise their mobile home of an ancient demon set free to fulfill the 2012 prophecy, with the help of a low rent TV evangelist named Reverend Wiggems, or the world will end. A Raunchy redneck comedy/horror.




I first watched this film last night, at about 3:00 a.m. Seeing as I knew this was going to be funny, I made sure the mood and setting was right. I can honestly tell you that I was laughing 2 minutes in...

The thing about this film, is that it doesn't take itself seriously. If it did, this film would have a whole other effect. However, Chuck Norfolk knew what type of movie he was making. He wasn't aiming for Oscars. This is a true horror-comedy that comes off likes something you'd catch from Full Moon Features. It's very cheesy in a deliberate way, and stacks up the laughter. 
I've always been an avid fan of dirty, fart and crap jokes, and this film is full of flatulence and feces.

The fact that Ron Jeremy is in this film cracks me up. I always heard that he's a nice, funny guy, and now I've seen it for myself. Ron Jeremy haunting your house as an Indian...ridiculous...but hilarious! Joe Grisaffi had me laughing the most, his performance as momma was funny as hell. He has so many great lines, but my favorite has got to be "smells like cocoa butter and burnt pine cones."

When Reverend Wiggems comes into the picture, it becomes even more over-the-top than before. His attempt at exorcising the trailer is absurd! I always enjoy a movie that's meant to be pure entertainment. It really is enjoyable from beginning to end, even if you're only interested in the humor aspect of the film. Fans of comedy and or horror, will find something for them in this movie.

The acting is overdone, and can be annoying, but it's totally acceptable because this is that type of movie. Clearly, no one was aiming to steal the show, they were just playing dumb, ignorant red necks and they did a good job. They all have moments that'll cause you to laugh to aloud.

The best part about this film is waiting for Ron Jeremy to appear! I was eagerly awaiting his next appearance, because he always shows up at the best moments and does or says something that will make you smack your head and laugh. There's a dance scene towards the end that I found quite amusing, I laughed hard.

All in all, this is a very enjoyable film. It's got a little something for everybody, and it's good for a lot of laughs. Keep your eyes open for this one when it lands, you really shouldn't miss this one. It's not a perfect movie, but it's a damn entertaining one! Pure entertainment.

THIS FILM GETS 3 REAPER SKULLS OUT OF 5