Banshee Chapter (2013)

Mind control, hallucinogenic drugs, government experiments, mysterious radio broadcasts...These are all things that have at, one point or another, I have been curious about. The scary truth about most of these, is that we (civilians) do not know much about these things.  Government experiments alone are enough to make my skin crawl, not to mention the numbers stations.

Banshee Chapter is about Anna (Katia Winter), a journalist looking to uncover the truth about the mysterious disappearance of her friend James (Michael McMillian). The deeper she gets into uncovering the mystery...the farther she spirals into a world of government coverups, testing, and mysterious radio broadcasts.

Banshee Chapter is a film that blends many different styles of horror into one. Directed by newcomer Blair Erickson,  the film utilizes found footage, archival footage, and traditional shooting styles to portray its story. The film sets a nice pace early on, and it keeps it up throughout most of film. From the amount of things that are intertwined to comprise the story, the film could have easily been convoluted and hard to follow. Written by Daniel J. Healy and adapted for the screen by Blair Erickson, The film story is strong, and keeps you on your toes.

The acting was another big plus for the film. Banshee Chapter stars Ted Levine (Silence of The Lambs, Joyride), Katia Winter (Dexter, Fox's Sleepy Hollow), & Michael McMilian (True Blood).  All three did an amazing job with their roles, but Levine and Winter were outstanding throughout.  Levine's character Thomas Blackburn, resembles that of Hunter S. Thompson which was an added bonus.

The film is rather light on the gore. Fans of red stuff get a few blood sprays and some intestine entrails. The special effects of the film are subtle but pulled off well with lighting tricks and camera angles. We were also treated to deformed humans, which is a pretty cool treat.

Banshee Chapter is a smart and thought provoking film that will make you really think about what you think you know. The film is shot, written, and acted very well and was a very nice way to start the new year! GLP gives this conspiracy theorist dream a solid 4 out of 5 stabs for creative story, great acting, and solid effects. You can currently view the movie through most on demand providers such as amazon, itunes, comcast ect. The film is set to be released on February 4th, 2014 to DVD. For more information on Banshee Chapter visit the films Facebook page. View The trailer below.

GLP Rating:

Among Friends (2012)

When we have close friends, we like to think that we could tell them anything. Realistically the easiest way to not have a secret get out, is to keep it to yourself. What would you do if all your dirty secrets were recorded by someone you are close to, without you even knowing? What would you do if the person you thought was your friend, wound up being your worst nightmare?

Making her directorial debut, Danielle Harris’s Among Friends is the story of a group of friends attending an 80’s themed dinner party. This dinner party also has a twist. What starts out as a murder mystery, turns into a game of integrity, morality, and friendship. When the attendees realize they must play this game to survive, things take an interesting turn.

Among Friends is not a great movie. I wanted to like it, but I just could not stand behind the film itself. The characters are not lovable, and I found it had caring that any of this was happening. I tended to say, oh well, they deserved it. The only character I started to like was Jules (Brianne Davis). Her character was not great but, at some points the comedic element to her character was the redeeming quality. There is a character in the film named Blane (Chris Meyer), which initially got me excited (because my name is Blaine) but the character is a complete douche…

The direction is the best part of the film. Danielle did a great job with her first feature. The lighting was good, camera direction was good. Everything about the shooting was good. As for the writing by Alyssa Lobit, I was quite underwhelmed. As I said before, it was very hard to care about the events that were going on. I just wanted more out of the dialog, and character development, and general motive.

The gore is light but used well enough. There is nothing too over the top or spectacular. My biggest grip is the color of the blood. It looks more black than red. There are scenes that tried to push the envelope, but ultimately fail to deliver. The first scene that comes to mind is the balls scene, in the end it just didn’t deliver. The movie isn’t terrible, but by the same token, isn’t great. I found it to be entertaining enough, however at the end of the day it just didn’t deliver the goods.

In the end, Among Friends fails to offer solid character development, as a result you just don’t get behind any of the characters. I understand as the plot develops you suppose to turn on the characters, unfortunately the “evidence” they give you about the characters doesn’t really effect how you already feel about the characters. GLP gives this mediocre tale a 2 out of 3 stabs. If you’re looking for an easy way to kill an hour or two give Among Friends a watch. You may like it more than I did, which is the beauty of horror. To each their own. If you want to find out more about Among Friends check out the Website and Facebook page. View the trailer below.

GLP Rating:

Come Out and Play (2012)

In the years I have been watching horror movies, numerous remakes have peeked their ugly heads out of the proverbial coffin. Remakes like Prom Night, The Fog, The Stepfather, and April Fool’s Day are some of the worst re-imaginings I can think of. Using the film as a jumping off point and then taking the story in a whole new direction, all the while, using the same title of the classic and alienating the longtime fans of the originals. This is not to say that all remakes are bad. Much to the excitement of most horror fans some of them have been quite good. Come out and Play is in fact a remake, however even with using the same premise they took creative liberties…but they changed the damn title. So to most people they have no idea that it’s a remake and acts as its own entity.  I personally like that. Don’t blemish the originals if you’re not going to stay true to them.

Come Out and Play is actually a remake of the classic 1976 film “Who Can Kill A Child?”. The films are basically the same, however COAP lacks the gritty 70’s exploitation feel of the original. The film is about a couple who are taking a vacation to a beautiful remote island before they become parents. When they arrive on the island, they realize that all the adults are missing, and only the children are left. Soon the couple figure out where the adults have been hiding and who is to blame.

Come Out and Play is not a terrible remake. The film is, however, a very barebones re-telling of the original, only without the grit and eerie atmosphere. Basically COAP is by the numbers, and generic. For me, I found myself getting very bored during the movie the pacing was off, and the film never really moved, It was all very stagnate.

The film stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Francis and Vinessa Shaw as Beth. Both actors did a good job, but that’s about all. Nothing was spectacular and as a result the film neither suffered nor improved. One thing that did really throw me off, was the films writing. My god, some of the films dialog is atrocious, not to mention some of the shit they had the characters do just didn’t make sense at all. At one point in the film the guy decides hers going to go look around, but he wants the wife to stay back and wait ALONE in the wide open area. Strange shit is happening and you’re going to abandon your pregnant wife to go look around…you sir are a giant douche.

Aside from the glaring screenplay errors, the films practical effects were really good. There is a lot of off screen kills but you do get to see the aftermath

which is pretty gnarly. The viewer gets decapitated heads, dismemberment, disembowelment, some gun violence, and a weird reverse abortion. These things really helped the film out.

Finally, COAP is not a terrible film, but it is misguided. Nothing about the film really stands out as a winner beside the great practical effects. I would watch the original over this but, I am only one dude and you may wind up liking it. I would suggest watching this if you have some time to kill. Other than that wait till it hits Netflix and or Redbox. GLP give this film a disappointing 2 out of 5 stabs. View the trailer below.

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John Dies At The End (2012)

The award for most spoileriffic movie title goes to..."John Dies At The End". All jokes aside this films is a solid watch. The hype for this film was almost annoying, it seemed like every site I went to was talking about this film. Did the movie live up to the hype...I will let you decide, but I had some fun watching it.

John Dies At The End is a film by legendary writer director Don Coscarelli. The man behind the Phantasm series and Bubba Ho-Tep. The film stars Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown, Glynn Turman & Doug Jones. The run down of the film goes somewhat like this, 2 friends get literally sucked into another dimension because of a new drug called "Soy Sauce". The drug takes you to another dimension  and defies the physics of time, allowing the user to jump from periods of time within seconds..or something like that. I have trouble putting the film into words because I feel like the film was very convoluted.

With all the hype surrounding the film, I was expecting more. What I got was a hot mess of a horror picture that did a lot of things right and a few crucials wrong. What did the film do right you ask? Well for starters the acting was very good. Chase Williamson (David) & Rob Mayes (John) carry the film. The acted the parts with justice, and the chemistry between the duo was evident. Paul Giamatti is good as usual, playing the cynical journalist. everyone else had smaller roles but all did them well. 

Another thing the film accomplished was the hilarity and gore. The comedy aspect was probably the most entertaining part of the film. At one point in the film a door handle literally turns into a cock and balls, and the reaction to the event was hilarious. Things like this riddle the movie and it was welcomed with open arms. The gore is over the top and full of red...just how I like it. The gorewhores get a solid red stuff with beheadings, head explosions, skin melting, and some decent monster violence.

Now lets talk about the bad. The film is adapted from a novel of the same title by David Wong. I havent read the book, but from what I have been reading...its great fans love it. However the film, like most, deviates greatly from the book. From what I've gathered is the book is a collection of short stories all involving John and Dave.Apparently Don tried to take elements from each story and weave them together. Unfortuantly is because of this the films story is rather incoherent and convoluted. I mean this was the breaking point of the film...it made almost no fucking sense. The imagery is great, effects,  gore, & comedy were all solid...but no fucking plot. It jumps around like a dude that has stubbed his toe & as a result your left with a movie that could have been AMAZING. Instead you get all filler no killer so to speak. 

I was really hoping the movie would be better than it was. I loved everything but the damn story. the films runs around an hour and a half...I would say the about 30 minuets of the film were a letdown. Almost all of that time was plot/character development. Like I stated earlier it IS still a solid watch. For solid acting, gore, effects, and humor, John Dies At The End gets 3 out of 5 stabs. I would suggest everyone at least watch it once. It's worth a watch and the humor really saved the film. The film is currently ONLY available to watch on demand. You can also check out more about the film on Facebook. It has yet to hit theater but I have a feeling it wont do so well. Check out the trailer below.

GLP Rating:

The Bay (2012)

After a nice holiday break, GLP is back with a new review for your reading displeasure.

Upon deciding to watch this film, I really had no knowledge of the movie. I thought is was about some sort of alien, maybe some sort of monster. I did , however, go into watching this film with VERY LOW expectations. After I finished watching it I was not terribly disappointed, nor was I completely satisfied. It was not until I did my homework that I became really disappointed.

The Bay is about the small seaside town called Claridge, Maryland that has an "outbreak" on the 4th of July leaving the small town in a panic. The "outbreak is not that of zombies, but a parasitic one caused by major pollution to the town bay. The movie is told through the oh so OVER USED found footage theme, using different people's footage to piece together the events that happened before and during the outbreak.

Standing alone, the film had great potential, and is not a bad watch. That is about as deep as it gets. On the surface its got some good acting, decent CGI, and decent practical effects. The radio/ podcast interview with the town's mayor really stood out to me. I felt that was actually one of the best scenes in the movie, the authenticity of the interview was a very nice touch. 

My disappointment with this film came from behind the cameras. This film was directed by Barry Levinson. For those of you, like me, that don't particularly follow directors or behind the scenes guys in films, Berry & his previous films have been nominated for multiple Oscars, and He himself won "Best Director" for 1988's Rain Man. Berry has directed such films as  Diner (1982), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Rain Man (1988), Bugsy (1991), Toys (1992), Disclosure (1994) Sleepers (1996) Sphere (1998), Liberty Heights (1999), and Bandits (2001) just to name a few. You would think that a guy with connections like that, and a resume like that could make a movie better than it was. Unfortunately he didn't, and because I now know Berry directed this, I feel less excited about it. 

So lets talk about the premise without giving too much away, Basically this town is polluting the bay with something bad, and as a result it is causing a nasty parasite to mutate into an even nastier version. I really enjoyed the overall arch of the story seeing as it was creative, not entirely original, but still good enough. I felt out of all the aspects of this film, The story keep me at attention and as an end result made me like the film.

Found footage films need to be buried in the past. They were cool for a hot minuet but now it's getting to the point were EVERYTHING is being shot in the style. I feel this film could have benefited from solid camera work. Cinematography...not shitty handheld bullshit. This film could have been eerie, and frightening without the found footage effect, however, as a result it become hokey at times and sometimes laughable.

The film is not bad, it mainly suffers from bad decisions behind the camera. I really wish this film would have not used the found footage aspect, I probably would have like it a lot more. The story is good, the acting is decent, and the practical effects are good as well. The movie is just OK with good parts here and there, GLP gives The Bay a 3 out of 5 stabs. If your interested in checking this film out you can do so ONLY on-demand. Check out the trailer below.

GLP RATING

Cross Bearer (2012)

Usually I'm hot and cold with indie horror. I feel a lot of indie film makers use horror as a...means to an end, they are some of the easiest films to make, you don't need an extremely large budget, and almost everyone wants to "die" on camera. Needless to say when I had the pleasure of meeting Adam Ahlbrandt at Horror Hound Weekend in Indianapolis back in September, I was a bit skeptical. Don't get me wrong, Adam was a very nice guy and we had a very nice conversation about our favorite franchise (Friday the 13th) but ultimately I realize he was there to sell and promote his film. With that said I thought he was just trying to make a sale and hype up the film, I was wrong.  Adam is a totally awesome dude and after talking at the con, I hit him up on Facebook and asked to review the film. So now we are here.

Cross Bearer is a good movie, I was entertained through out its entirety. My warning to readers is that it is a genre film. My guess is that most casual horror fans will not enjoy this film...partly because of the content and the fact that they wont understand it. It's an easy story to follow, but the excess nudity and sleaze will more than likely turn away the casuals, While bringing out all of the true genre fans foaming at the mouth.

The film is about a dancer (Natalie Jean) who is trying to turn her life around, after devising a plan with her girlfriend (Kacie Marie) figure out a way to turn their life around. Only there plan takes a drastic turn when they face the judgment of god. I think the story is great. I always find some form of fascination from religious yahoos, I mean people really do kill for their religious beliefs every day, that much is evident over seas. So when I see films and stories of people killing in the name of Christianity and shit like that, it puts chills down my spine. That shit could actually happen!

I think my favorite aspects of the film are the special effects and cinematography. I am not sure what the budget of the film was but regardless the makeup effects were very good. Gore Hounds should be satisfied with the amount of red stuff and over the top head bashing's. At one point the killer gets crazy with a head & hammer and turns a skull into brain soup. The cinematography was set up well in the beginning of the film offering some unusual camera angles, then once the action starts becomes a by the book slasher thrill ride that will leave you utterly satisfied. You may also notice some tracks from the band CKY which make an appearance in the film. Which is fitting due to former member Deron Miller is an avid horror film and CKY stands for Camp Kill Yourself.

The film has its share of faults. Some editing mishaps here and there and a bit of overacting, however it do not take away from the overall aspect of the film. There is a scene of banter between the cast that takes place in the car. while it is written well, and is a believable conversation, I felt the actress's delivery was forced. Almost as if she was reading straight off the script.

This film also has its fair share of sleaze. Numerous boob shots and sex scenes, strip club montage, and some hilarious horror porn clips that will leave you laughing. Unfortunately for the ladies, there are not much in the way of guys, better luck next time. For sheer nudity alone...A++

Collectively I enjoyed Cross Bearer. Writer and Director Adam Ahlbrandt did a really good job with making this project a reality. GLP gives this indie blood bath a 3 out of 5 stabs for great practical effects, cinematography, and creative story. GLP is very excited to see Adversary Films and Backseat Conceptions next pick The Cemetery. If you are interested in seeing Cross Bearer (which you should be!), it is available on Adversary Films webstore. For more information on the film you can check out its facebook and webpage. View the trailer below!

GLP Rating:

 

The Loved Ones (2009)

This movie is exactly why I enjoy being a horror fan. This film really grabs a hold of its indie nature and kicks you straight in the groin. Intense, Uncomfortable, and in some cases down right nasty are the best ways to describe The Loved Ones. The harsh reality of this movie is that it will probably not be seen by most casual horror fans. To most, they will pass this off as some straight to video, low rate horror flick and will not give it the time of day. That statement could not be further from the truth.

The Loved Ones was shot in Australia in 2009. While the film made the usual festival rounds shortly after it had trouble being distributed here in the States. Eventually the film was picked up by Paramount Insurge, given a very limited theatrical run in June of 2012 and released on home video on September 2012, 3 years after is creation. Why it took so long to be picked up is beyond me. Unfortunatly that is just an example of how good horror is overlooked so that overly generic PG-13 "Teeny Horror" can get massive studio backing and promotion.

At any rate The Loved Ones takes you on a twisted journey in the home and life of a high school psychopath. Without giving anything away, its prom time in Australia, and Lola is going to get what she wants. This movie is not entirely original, but it has great concepts and in some ways grabs influence from the infamous serial killer Jeffery Dahmer. however most don't realize it. I am probably twisted for noticing the similarity right off the bat. at any rate, The Loved Ones will, for the most part, keep you on your toes and at some points say "No Fucking Way" and make you wanna look away from the screen. In my book...they did well.

The story is good, but does have some plot holes, fortunately they are minor and easily forgotten about once the action picks up. I felt all the actors did great jobs and major kudos to Robin McLeavy & Xavier Samuel for their portrayals of Brent and Lola. I felt the dynamic and tension of the 2 together really helped their characters and made the film very entertaining. Written & Directed by Sean Byrne, this film stands as his full length directorial debut as well as first time writing a full length script.

As I stated before there are some small plot holes but I eventually didn't care due the the graphic nature of the film. The special effects where very good. you get a cleaver to the face (F13-4 style), some nice chest carving, knives trough the feet, hit and runs, and the best of the film drill to the skull. All of which look great. As for the nudity you get 2 sex scenes, one shows some female action and a dude shirtless, the other is a brief back of car scene where you don't see much of anything.

Overall I was very happy with The Loved One, its cleaver story and humor really make it worthwhile, while the atmosphere and acting make you really want to wash your hands. GLP give The Loved Ones 4 out of 5 stabs for great special effects, acting and atmosphere. If you wanna check out this movie is available on DVD. To find out more about the title you can visit the films Facebook. View the trailer below.

 

GLP Rating