Legions of filmmakers working today would love to make a feature horror piece rife with political relevance, originality, poignancy, and, to top it off, something that is *actually* scary. Luckily for we viewers, Phil Guidry, Simon Herbert, and David Whelan managed to do just that. Welcome to Savageland, a place you’ve probably been before if you followed the 2016 US Presidential election (or really if you spend any time watching the news these days).
Legions of filmmakers working today would love to make a feature horror piece rife with political relevance, originality, poignancy, and, to top it off, something that is *actually* scary. Luckily for we viewers, Phil Guidry, Simon Herbert, and David Whelan managed to do just that. Welcome to Savageland, a place you’ve probably been before if you followed the 2016 US Presidential election (or really if you spend any time watching the news these days).
Indie-horror movies seem to be not only growing in number, but also rising with respect to their all-around quality. With so many cookie-cutter horror movies being released in theaters throughout the year (not to mention the multiple sequels that are sure to follow), it’s always refreshing to see low-budget, indie films from the horror genre that attempt to accomplish something different. This seems to be exactly what writer/director Matthew T. Price and writer/producer Kelly Morr sought out to do with their 2015 debut feature film, Other Halves. Part sci-fi thriller, part dark comedy, Other Halves is a satirical and gruesome look into the dangers of technology, urging us to reexamine how much of our lives we share on the internet.
Devon (Lauren Lakis) talks shop with fellow programmers Shawn (Sam Schweikert), Beth (Megan Hui), and Jana (Melanie Friedrich).
Taking place almost entirely in a San Francisco office over the course of one night, Other Halves centers around a team of programmers, working diligently to prepare their revolutionary new dating app, "Other Halves", for its next-day release. This app sets itself apart from all other dating apps on the market by pairing people together based on an analysis of their entire internet history. As the night goes on, the programmers (who we learn are also long-time friends) discover a bug in the app’s code which, upon loading, causes the user’s full internet history to be displayed in rapid succession, on the screen of their device. The result of this odd glitch is, instead of finding the user’s “other half” in another individual, the app brings out a side of the user that is both depraved and murderous. One-by-one, the programmers begin to fall prey to the power of Other Halves.
Shawn and Beth gettin' their code on.
I was particularly impressed with the casting in this movie. The group of programmers, who essentially make up the entire cast, are almost all female! The lone male of the group, Shawn (Sam Schweikert), seems to serve as little more than the hopeful love interest to Beth (Megan Hui) - which, I must say, is a refreshing reversal of what I have come to expect from movies; especially those set in the world of IT. Newsflash: ladies love technology, too! While I feel the cast, as a whole, delivers solid performances, Lauren Lakis’ portrayal of programmer Devon is arguably the strongest of the bunch. She brings a level of personality and realism to a character who might have easily fallen victim to the film’s often underwhelming and unnatural-feeling dialogue. There are more than a few moments where the progression of the film’s fragmented narrative tends to get lost by the characters’ delivery of technical exposition and overuse of quips.
Devon heads towards the "dioramas of death."
The movie also contains a surprising amount of nudity. While I’m no stranger to nudity in horror movies (topless ladies are a common and familiar trope), the nudity in Other Halves feels misplaced and baseless - though I do appreciate the inclusion of both male and female nudity. Despite its few shortcomings, Other Halves has quite a bit going for it. The film offers up some rather impressive and visually striking shots. One of the most exciting and unforgettable scenes is when Devon walks through what Price refers to as the “dioramas of death.” Everything from the lighting, to the editing, to the sound design works to create a thrillingly disturbing series of shots. Almost every frame feels like something that could easily have been plucked from any number of classic horror slashers.
Despite my initial confusion with why the programmers are working at night, with such low lighting in their office, the use of low lighting is successful in creating an atmosphere that can be either comfortable or suspenseful. It helps to create a sense of unease for the viewer. Price also utilizes neat digital tricks, which he and co-writer Morr refer to as “codebrain”, to give scenes a trippy, sci-fi feel, while illustrating to the viewer that a particular character is losing their grip on reality. He also employs the use of text message bubbles to show conversations taking place between characters. I personally love the use of on-screen text bubbles in movies and think their employment in the film was one of the smartest decisions made. They provide such a clever and visually interesting way to conveniently show character interaction while, at the same time, moving the plot forward.
Outside of the more technical aspects of the film, the underlying story is perhaps not as polished and clear as would be ideal. Don’t get me wrong, the idea of technology causing seriously negative psychological effects on the human brain is one that I’m particularly fond of. However, what Other Halves has in the way of an uncommon and compelling idea, it lacks a bit in clarity and execution. I was slightly disappointed not to get any kind of scientific explanation of what was taking place between the technology and the characters’ brains. While I don't feel as if this lack of exposition significantly took away from the narrative, as a whole, I do feel it would have benefited the film to spend a small amount of time providing some of the explanatory science behind this unusual anomaly.
An example of "codebrain" in a scene with Devon and Jasmine (Mercedes Manning)
On that same note, by leaving the explanation ambiguous, it allows the viewer to create their own interpretation. For example, the idea that the app causes the characters to essentially lose all conscience and inhibition made me think of Gaspar Noe’s intensely disturbing 2002 film, Irreversible, and how he employed the concept of infrasound, also known as “the fear frequency”, in the film’s opening scene. In the first 30 minutes of Irreversible, the viewer is subject to a nearly inaudible background noise, with a low frequency of 28 hz (sound waves with frequencies at 20 hz or below are considered to be infrasound and are below the lower limit of human audibility). This was intentionally done to cause the viewer to experience feelings of nausea, dizziness, and vertigo. I felt like the physical effect this film’s titular app had on its users played with that same idea. It’s an interesting theory that, despite being infrequently explored, I feel lends itself really well to the horror genre.
Other Halves is a refreshing break from the seemingly endless barrage of sequels and prequels Hollywood keeps shoving down our throats (I’m talking to you, Ouija 2!). It uses technology and social media, things very near and dear to all of our hearts, and creates something evil that should be feared. Skillfully shot and admirably acted, Other Halves takes its viewers on an original and gruesome ride as it illustrates why people should be wary of how much trust they place in technology. Despite shortcomings with the dialogue and story, Other Halves is an imaginative and entertaining debut feature that is well-worth the watch for any serious fan of the horror genre.
One of The Bloodlust's OGs, Jamie has heard, "I can't believe you can watch that stuff" for most of her life. Though willing to give any movie a try, those involving time travel, home invasions, or cults tend to be her favs. She's also not ashamed to admit she loves found footage.
@jamiestamp
2015/NR
Director: Matthew T. Price
Writers: Matthew T. Price & Kelly Morr
Stars: Lauren Lakis, Mercedes Manning, Lianna Liew
The movie starts with a commercial for Other Halves, a dating app that looks at the usage on your phone and uses it to pair you with suitable matches. Sounds like a fascinating idea, right? If you're like me and spend way too much time attached to your smartphone, it would give you a pretty accurate match.
After the commercial, we are introduced to the group of programmers who are testing the app before its release the next day. The majority of the programmers are women, which is a refreshing change from the usual representation of computer gurus. While testing the app, they notice a glitch in the loading screen that causes anyone who uses it to black out and commit violent acts. Instead of finding their other half in another person, they find the darker other half within themselves.
This movie is especially impressive when you consider that it is a low-budget independent film. It looks like a film that easily could have come from a major studio. It is well-edited and has a soundtrack that adds to the general ambiance of the whole film. It jumps right into the action, yet still manages to leave the viewer guessing for a while, as to what is actually happening. It is refreshing to see a group of programmers consisting of mostly women and the film passes the Bechdel Test with flying colors. The acting is great and the actors have a nice chemistry that doesn't feel forced - it actually felt as if they've been acting together for a long time. I'm really excited to see what the director and writers come up with next.
- Karen (@karenmarsack)
2011 / NR
Director: John Geddes
Writer: John Geddes
Stars: Brian Cox, Mark Gibson, Dee Wallace
First off, Exit Humanity is not the greatest "horror" movie to hit the streets in more recent years. Nor is the time period of any real importance - not to mention, yes, it is just another zombie flick added to the already enormous dung pile. So why bother watching it (other than because the title is pretty damn attractive)? I'll tell you why...
Some years after the U.S. Civil War has ended, a veteran/father/husband has one last act of humanity to accomplish while in the midst of a "sickness" outbreak. An act which is driving him increasingly towards a deep, dark depression that will soon consume him entirely. That is, until he meets a man of the living who happens to need an extra set of hands for an important task brought on by the all-too-common small group of assholes led by a general we viewers would think of as lacking proper "hardcore" essence.
Not the greatest plot or description of one, right? That doesn't matter. This movie is recommended by me, not for the lack of enough blood-spilling, not for the mediocre story involved, but because it is so abstractly well put together; unlike any other independent horror film out there. Right off the bat you have Brian Cox narrating, for Christ sake! Short, animated scenes are edited in throughout its entirety; filming locations are incredibly eye-pleasing; the acting is a little above decent; the score is professional as hell; and the directing? The directing is fantastic. John Geddes is involved in almost everything with this one (he wasn't involved with the soundtrack/score). It's incredible!
Truth be told, I had absolutely no intention of ever pressing play when stumbling upon Exit Humanity's trailer, but I'm glad I did. That being stated, if you're more inclined to give a film a chance due to its artistic vision, watch this one. However, the flip side of the coin, I probably wouldn't consider giving it a look if being somewhat frightened and/or gore is what you crave in horrors. If given a bigger budget, they definitely could have come up with a gem.
My ranking: 3 out of 5 stars
by Frank Frederico, Jr. (@frankjfrederico)
NR / 2014
Directors: Multiple (all directors are listed next to the title of each segment in the below reviews)
Writers: Multiple
If you've seen the first ABC's of Death, you know full well that the segments can range from "terrible" to "pretty great." The overall concept of ABC's of Death is an exciting one; "let's get some horror shorts from some of the genre's unknown filmmakers." By watching 26 different horror movies, you get exposure to new directors/writers that you, otherwise, may not have heard of. An exciting idea for any horror fan!
ABC's of Death 2 was a significant improvement over the first. While I, by no means, loved all of the shorts, there definitely seemed to be an improvement in overall quality from those in the first installment. I also particularly loved the title sequence/cards for each segment - they had a creepy, Victorian-type feel to them. With this second installment feeling like a much more polished and put-together collection, as a whole, I can only hope that the third (should they decide to make one) will be even better.
Call me crazy, but I am usually interested in seeing reviews of each individual segment so that's what I decided to do here. Since I give my thoughts on each segment, consider yourself warned that there be spoilers ahead. I'm really just curious if everyone was as confused as I was by the letter "P" segment in this movie, or if I maybe missed something. Scroll down and enjoy!
~ Jamie (@jamiestamp)
2012 / Rated NR
Director: David Guy Levy
Writers: Steffen Schlachtenhaufen (his last name means "battle pile" in german)
Stars: Brittany Snow, June Squibb, Jeffrey Combs
Would you rather chop off your arm or watch this movie from start to finish? My answer? I might seriously consider the chopping (and then immediately choose to watch the movie because ouch!). Ok so it's probably not that bad - definitely not the worst I've seen - but it is bad.
Brittany Snow is adorable, as per usual, in her portrayal of a sister willing to do whatever it takes to pay for her brother's cancer treatment. "Whatever it takes", in this case, means agreeing to attend an unfortunate dinner party, hosted by some wealthy guy. She becomes one of six participants in a sadistic game of "would you rather." The winner of the game will receive enough money from the host to essentially set them up for life. How could this not be a great idea??
The "game" escalates quickly from a simple "would you rather remain a vegetarian, with your convictions in tact, or eat an entire cow liver for $50,000" to "would you rather electrocute yourself or the person sitting next to you?" Nice, huh? This movie is a representation of torture porn gone terribly wrong. Even as someone who is often a fan of movies from the torture porn genre, I find this to be a pathetic attempt to capitalize on the success of the Saw and Hostel movies (though, to be fair, the third Hostel was embarrassing).
Where this movie seems to stray from the path that Hostel so nicely laid out is really in its overall plot and character development. Now, I'm not trying to say that torture porn films need to make a point to focus on character development, because they generally do not - but what a movie like Hostel may lack in plot and characters, it makes up for tenfold in its brutal and realistic gore. Would You Rather does not do this. Its weak story is coupled with scenes of gore that are almost equally as weak, especially for this genre (with the exception of maybe one scene involving an eyeball and a razor blade...). As for the plot, it's just boring. It wasn't an interesting story and, with nothing else to fall back on, it's easy to find yourself checking out, mentally.
Would I recommend this movie? No. No, I would not.
Title: Zombeavers
Released: 2014
Director: Jordan Rubin
Writers: Al Kaplan, Jordan Rubin, and Jon Kaplan
Stars: Rachel Melvin, Cortney Palm, Lexi Atkins
Old-school monster movies have never really been my bag. I've always found them cheesy and laughable, and not really in a good way. So when a movie manages to take the general idea of the old monster movies and make it actually funny, I become a fan. SyFy tries its best with movies like Sharknado and Sharktopus, but they just don't seem to cut it. Zombeavers, however, managed to gross me out with its gore and make me LOL more than a few times.
It seems to have almost all the right parts to be a great spoof movie - the acting is spot on for exactly this kind of movie, there are hilariously terrible beaver puppets, and the deaths are more than over-the-top with the gore. Not to mention, there are funny cameos by Bill Burr and John Mayer. The whole thing was just a pleasant surprise.
Don't watch this if you're looking for a serious "creature-feature" movie, you will quickly find yourself to be disappointed. Do watch this if you are of that certain state of mind where you want to watch something corny and funny. You will be pleased.
Would I recommend it? Yes. It's never going to win "Movie of the Year" but it is funny enough for multiple viewings.
Title: The Woman
Released: 2011
Director: Lucky McKee
Writers: Jack Ketchum, Lucky McKee
Stars: Pollyanna McIntosh, Sean Bridgers, Lauren Ashley Carter
I watched The Woman not too long ago (whenever it came to Netflix) and then, recently, decided to read the novel by Jack Ketchum as it had been sitting on my "to read" list for quite a while. It actually wasn't until I sat down to write this review that I noticed Mr. Ketchum wrote both the book and the movie, which makes perfect sense because the dialogue was basically pulled directly from the book. Verbatim, almost. Even the story line was essentially the exact same - save for a handful of small changes. But nothing like the changes you see in other adaptations. It was strange. Book purists would love it, I'm sure.
The story itself wasn't terrible - I've always been oddly fascinated by stories of feral humans and The Woman gave an interesting take on that. A feral woman is trapped and held captive by Chris Cleek, a misogynistic sociopath who wants to teach her to become civilized. Not all members of the Cleek family are excited about this new "project", however - though, the son is an obvious chip off the old block - and this split eventually leads to the book and movie's final, bloody conclusion.
The movie soundtrack was odd and ill-fitting. I'd go so far as to say it was my least favorite part of the movie. Soundtracks are supposed to help the audience know how they're supposed to feel during particular scenes. Sometimes a movie's soundtrack can even save it should it find that it suffers from a weak plot or poor acting. That is not the case in The Woman. Honestly, this movie had some pretty heavy scenes and to set them to indie-pop type music just served to negate the seriousness. All of the music is by one artist, Sean Spillane, who also did the soundtrack for Jug Face, which also stars Lauren Ashley Carter. However, I don't remember the music in that movie being as off-putting.
I'm confused what this book/movie intended to say about women. Obviously, it's a topic that the writer intended to explore - he did entitle it, The Woman. Yet, almost all of the women are savagely brutalized, at some point, by the father and son and, other than the final outcome, I never got the sense that any of the female characters had the upper hand over the men. It didn't feel well thought-out, over all. I mean...the writers should know that feral women wouldn't have shaved legs and armpits.
Despite having a pretty interesting story to build from, this movie was a poor adaptation of the novel. It suffered from a confusing message and even more confusing soundtrack.
Would I recommend it? The book, sure. The movie, no. I just can't, in good conscience, recommend it with that soundtrack...
What would I rate each? The book: 3 | The movie: 2
Title: Eat
Released: 2014 by Pretty People Pictures
Director/Writer: Jimmy Webber
Stars: Meggie Maddock, Nate Bakke, Elena Chin, Robyn Ashley Dennis
Tagline: "The story of a girl who finds herself - and then eats herself."
Synopsis: Struggling actress, Novella McClure (that name, right?!), is really striking out all over: she hasn't landed an acting gig in over 3 years, she is late with rent & on the verge of being evicted, her dating life is pretty uneventful, and to top it all off, she is struggling to manage her ever-increasing anxiety.
I was enjoying a quiet evening alone which, essentially, meant I would need to find a horror movie that seemed interesting enough to grasp my attention for the next couple hours. Enter, Eat. I judged the movie by its cover, I'll admit it. Ok, the cover and the tagline. How could I not possibly be intrigued by that?! So the tagline basically gives away the main premise in this film but I figured there would be enough character development or plot build-up to keep it entertaining. Boy, was I wrong.
I think I'll treat this review by discussing my main complaints/issues with the film and then talk about the couple things I did like.
Consider yourself warned, this review is littered with spoilers.
Did Not Like:
Character development & script/dialogue. The character development (or what little there is) is quite lacking and leaves the film with a cast of characters that I don't care about. The dialogue seems pretty unnatural and, at points, just plain laughable. I was very aware that I was watching characters read a script. Anyone who listens to the podcast knows how I feel about movies who use a character's name with unnatural frequency. For those that don't listen, I hate it. There was a bit of that in this movie.
Let's work down the list of characters, shall we?
Tracy: Her character could've been played by any young, semi-attractive woman. I think it was intentional to not make any of the actress characters overly beautiful. Having their looks fall in the more "slightly above average" area of the scale not only gave them a reason for not getting any jobs but made them more believable and relatable to the audience. If these were conventionally "gorgeous" women, it would be harder to believe that they're struggling to find acting work. Then again, I look at a computer all day and know nothing of Hollywood. It's later revealed that Tracy trades sexual favors for roles. It's also later revealed that she is a pathological liar so who the hell knows what's going on with her. Again, it's a character that you don't need to care about and you're only meant to hate because she's obviously setup as Novella's enemy.
Eesha: Eesha is Novella's sweet landlord who, for some inexplicable reason, really seems to care about Novella. Enough so that she keeps looking the other way, each month, as Novella fails to pay rent. There is even a moment when Eesha toughens up and sticks an "eviction" notice on Novella's door. However, she's soon guilted in to taking it down when Novella has to be hospitalized for taking a fucking bite out of her own wrist! Throughout the movie, Eesha is just outside of the apartment but always concerned about Novella and how she is doing. She's always telling her that she knows "she'll get the next one." She's very one-dimensional and serves as the caring motherly-type for Novella. Hers didn't even feel like a necessary character, though.
Novella: It's because of her wrist-biting "suicide attempt" (as the doctors choose to call it because who's going to say that she tried to eat herself??) that Novella is required to see a therapist - that'd be Dr. Simon. Before the wrist-biting, the most we had seen from Novella was some cuticle-chewing. It was some serious cuticle-chewing, though - a la Black Swan. We are told, in a seemingly short amount of time, that Novella has severe anxiety and she chooses to relieve this anxiety by biting off and eating parts of her skin. First it's her wrist, then her foot, then her ankle, then her arm, and, finally, a piece of her heart. She stresses that she isn't a cannibal, just that she has an intense desire to eat her own flesh...yeah. We get next to no explanation as to why she is the way she is. Though I don't feel a back story is always necessary, in this movie, it was and it was needed badly. We do find out, at some point, that her father died tragically when she was young and she's been living off of an inheritance. So, anyway, back to Dr. Simon.
Dr. Simon: He first meets Novella in a bar with her "scary" friend Candice. He's immediately drawn to her good looks and "charm." We get the sense that he's going to be the guy who is able to help her out with her wacky disorder. He's another character that could've been played by any 30-something, semi-attractive man. That being said, I think the actor playing Dr. Simon, did the best acting in the whole movie. That's not really saying a ton, but still...
Candice: Finally, Candice. She's Novella's best friend, yet manages to get her into various types of shenanigans and is never truly there to help her out. Also, why does she call her "baby girl"? That doesn't even sound like natural speech. The two of them do little more than go to bars and get guys to buy them multiple rounds of drinks before excusing themselves to the ladies room. That's when they typically make their escape. I think the filmmakers try to make Candice look tough by giving her character really short hair and darker make-up...sort of a "I don't take shit from anyone" type of attitude. Oh, and she also carries a gun. But I never really bought into it. It all seemed very forced and too many of the other characters had to blatantly describe her as "scary" which took away from any chance of that being a natural characteristic of hers. The gun that she carries in her purse does come in handy after she and Novella are drugged and almost raped in a parking lot - she shoots both guys in the groinal area. When Novella freaks out, eats part of herself, and then tells Candice that she isn't doing well and needs help, Candice just passes out on the bed. She's not the most caring of friends. Finally, it's revealed at the end that she was in love(?) with Novella the entire time. Or at least had more than "friendly" feelings towards her. There was no buildup to that; it just came out of nowhere and didn't make much sense. She does prove her love, however, by committing some murders. Precious.
And that brings me to...
What I Liked
The Killin's & the Gore: It takes a lot to get to me and make me want to look away from the screen and I was tempted to look away multiple times during this movie. When Novella is chowing down on her foot and arm, the effects are really impressive. If only for the fact that they made me feel uneasy...so, "bravo!" to the effects crew on this film. Even the sound effects as she was chowing down were a bit much for me - meaning, of course, they were great.
How she basically chewed two toes off as well as a good chunk of her foot and then still managed to shove said foot into some pumps and walk around is beyond me. Then again, I have all of my toes and no missing chunks and any shoe with more than a 1" heel feels like straight-up torture.
I question, of course, how medically accurate any of this would be. She ate a lot of her foot and never sought medical assistance. At one point, it shows it looking a little gangrene-y (and I swear to god, if she had eaten that, I would've puked) so I'm confused how she managed to just play it off so well.
The majority of the gore is when Novella is eating herself, however, there's a fair amount of blood (and I think brains) when Candice decides to defend Novella's honor, after learning that Dr. Simon is just a jerk who bangs all of his patients (wasn't even true, btw), and goes to the good doctor's house and shoots him in the head. Then she rolls his body up in a shnazzy rug and presents it to Novella like a cat presenting her mouse kill. At some point, Eesha comes in the house to see if Novella is alright and is, sadly, shot in the head by Candice. She pulls the ol' "now we can be together" line. It doesn't work and Novella shoots Candice - for a movie called Eat which is, obviously, about eating, there are too many deaths by shooting. It doesn't seem to fit at all.
Once basically all of the characters (minus Tracy) are dead and Novella has clearly seen better days, she props herself up against a cabinet and stabs herself right in the chest. She doesn't stop there, though. She twists the knife around a bit to create a larger hole that can fit her hand. I suppose she figures, if she's going to go, she going to go satiated on her own flesh; she reaches into the hole in her chest and pulls out a piece of her heart and dies whilst chewing. Lovely.
To sum up...this movie had some interesting aspects to it: the actual skin-eating scenes were pretty rough and it actually attempted to cover autocannibalism, which isn't something one sees in a lot of horror movies. That being said, this movie almost felt more like a fetish movie with a slightly porny feel to it. The closest movie I could think to compare it to was Starry Eyes and that's simply because they are both about struggling actresses whose shit starts to go south, real quick. But, IMHO, Starry Eyes runs circles around this movie. Eat just wasn't fleshed out enough (pun was absolutely intended). It had an interesting premise and seemed to have a lot of pieces that seemed promising but just weren't put together in a way that felt cohesive. However, the movie itself seemed to be shot pretty well. There were a couple scenes, in particular, of her sitting alone on a casting couch, that I liked. As well as the shot of Novella lying on the floor of her bathroom, covered in blood - it was, actually, a beautiful shot. So I'd say I was more impressed with the production and effects than the script or the acting. But, to be fair, maybe the actors were just doing the best they could with the script they had. Who knows?
Here's a final image for you to go away with:
Would I recommend it? No, I don't think I would recommend this to most people. Those who are well-versed in horror movies or who have a penchant for gore may, indeed, like this movie.
What would I rate it? 2 stars
If you want to learn any more about Eat, here are a few ways to go about that:
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~ JSS
