V/H/S (2012)

The hype behind this movie in the horror community was awesome! V/H/S was and still is being hailed as "Best of the year" by Fangoria, "The scariest, rawest horror movie of the year" by Rolling Stone, and Dread Central called it "A Phenomenal piece of work." Needless to say I was very excited to check it out. I had been following news on the film since hearing about it on Bloody Disgusting around the time it hit Sundance, so to finally get to watch it was quite a treat.

V/H/S/ is about a group of jackasses that are hired to steal a vhs tape from some old dudes house in the middle of nowhere. However when they arrive and find hundreds of vhs tapes depicting horrifying tales they realize they may have bitten off more than they can handle. V/H/S is a "found footage" and "anthology" which at first sounds like its gonna be a fucking mess, but the film develops a nice pace and before you know it your sucked into the TV.

All together there are 6 shorts in this film (including the main story). While I liked them all, I found some to be more effective than the others. The first and last stories Amateur Night and 10/31/98 were my favorites! I really feel with the time that each story had the respective directors and writers did a fantastic job. My only beef was with the short "Tuesday the 17th" I felt a little empty as far as the story. It left me with questions and I felt it could have been explained better. Regardless, it still found enjoyment in that short, so I am not extremely disappointed. The other 3 stories were good and I really have no criticisms.

The writers and directors Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg, and Radio Silence did a great job overall with their respective shorts. I was really impressed with the special effects of Radio Silence's "10/31/98" and David Bruckner's "Amateur Night". While Ti West's "Second Honeymoon" was a bit slow the ending was awesome. It left me with a chill and eerie feeling throughout.

For the gore hounds out there, there is plenty of the red stuff. Throat Stabbings, disembowelment, decapitations, surgical cutting, and plenty other body parts are removed, chewed, and violently torn off. As for the stories themselves I really liked the diversity, I felt there was something for everyone. Slashers, Monsters, Aliens, Demons, Ghosts and more prove that this film is not just a one trick pony. The found footage aspect was a nice tough, I felt like i was 10 years old again watching my favorite splatter pic on vhs again. I will say though that if you have trouble with dizziness, or nausea with handheld films like Blair Witch, Paranormal Activity and those alike that you may want to take an antihistamine or some sort of anti-nausea medication.

Lastly this film is heavy on the nudity! I for one love a nice T&A shot in a movie, but this film is FULL of them. The guys get about 4 or 5 different beautiful pairs, a full frontal, and some nice thong action. But wait thats not all, Ladies you're in for a treat too. The girls get some dudes with their shirts off, a full frontal male, and a couple of butt shots. Everyone wins!

In short V/H/S lived up to the hype for GLP. while a couple of shorts has some flaws, the film as a whole was extremely entertaining. Magnet Releasing did a wonderful job bringing the fans a worthy film, that will surely be a must have for a lot of collectors. GLP gives this effort 5 out of 5 stabs for originality, special effects, and overall badassery! For more information on the film visit the Official Site, and Facebook. Catch this film as soon as you can on-demand because it is scheduled for its theatrical release on October 5th and will probably be removed at that time. View the NSFW Redband trailer below!

GLP Rating

The Art of Scare

Since I am a moron my original post is being pushed till next week. I grabbed the wrong usb cable and can not upload pictures from my camera. But regardless I have and equally good post for you today.

I am a graphic designer by trade. I went to school for it and landed a rather kush job using my degree. I have always been fascinated with the illustrations of 80’s horror films. During the early 80’s most of the films used artists to design their posters and cover art. As a result, a lot of really cool and original artwork came out of it. Here are some of my favorite posters I would see as a kid rooming through left over posters at my moms old video store.

First on the list is Curtains (1983). I love this poster. The old lady mask in the background is a really nice touch, seeing as how the killer in the film wheres a mask similar to this. The creepy blank stare porcelain doll give the poster an air of unease. I really enjoy the mouth of the old hag tuning into curtains as well.

To sum up Curtains basically an actress commits herself into a mental institution to study for a role. While there the director of the film in which she is studying has her officially committed and offers the role to 6 younger actresses that are all invited to the directors home for a weekend audition where one woman will be crowned. Eventually the girls start being picked off 1 by 1 by someone in an old hag mask!

While this film is a classic in the slasher genre is has not gotten an official DVD release, it has been featured in a horror 4 pack but offers up a horrible transfer and has left most of the genre junkies quite pissed about it! Find this movie and watch it!

Alone in the Dark (1982) is a film that I had to hunt down when I first saw it. I vaguely remember seeing this poster in the old poster bin at the video store my mother worked at. I have always thought this poster was one of the better of the genre films of is time. There is no chance of misinterpretation with this guy. The waist down depiction of the man with the axe really sets the focal point for this poster. The blood stained axe lets you know your in for some slashing, and the lone home in the background really captures the desolate feeling of films final showdown.

Basically the film is about 4 escaped mental patiants that go on a killing rampage. All the while after their doctor from the asylum. I would also suggest people see this film. I consider this to be one of the better slasher movies of the 80's. The story is very well put together and the acting is pretty good as well. Also the late Jack Palance is featured as a lead in this gem.This film is available on DVD through Amazon and most other online DVD retailers. Check this classic out!

Last on today's list is the ORIGINAL Prom Night (1980) featuring Jamie Lee Curtis in here 3rd film role and the late Lesile Nielsen. This film for me is a staple in the slasher genre. I always remember this seeing this film in the video stores, and actually seeing 2 different posters, the other being Miss JLC as prom queen with a bloody axe in a bouquet of roses. I always found this poster to be very effective. Seeing the silhouette of the killer and only his eyes and hand holding a glass shard really adds to the mystic of the films killer. Being that you don't know who the killer is until the final seconds of the movie this poster nails it. I like the simplistic approach to the poster as well, the artist didn't convolute the artwork with things that were unnecessary.

The basic rundown of the film is much like any other slasher film out. A group of high school senior are being stalked by an unknown killer in a ski mask wearing all black. For me, they story of why the killer is stalking the high schoolers is what makes me like this film so much. Prom Night is available on DVD but has had multiple released by different companies, and most of the transfers are not that great. But hey its the slasher genre so the transfers only add to the sleaze.

Thats all for today, I hope you like my artwork post today, let me know what you thought!

Critters (1986)

First there was Gremlins, then there was Critters. Critters is one of those cheesy sci-fi flicks that came out in the 80’s as an answer to a film by another company. While this is tactic has been denied, there are a lot of similarities between the two. Fans will never know what is true for sure, but at any rate we all received a very nice bit of 80’s cheese out of it!

Critters is about a race of small fuzzy aliens that escape from a prison asteroid, crash land in a small American town, and reek havoc on its inhabitants. Critters is all good fun, while its defiantly not cinematic gold, it has its charm. The creatures themselves are the best part of the film. They all have their own personality and in-turn makes the film a lot more entertaining.

The film boasts some nice puppet and practical effects, and one of my favorite songs from an 80’s movie “Power Of The Night” by the fictional rocker Johnny Steele. That song is just classic 80’s! The lyrics are so funny and the song makes about 2000 appearances in the film as well which add to the hilarity.

Critters stars Dee Wallace (Stone), Scott Grimes and Don Keith Opper. While the acting is defiantly typical 80’s, the actors add a bit of humility to roles. Dee Wallace screams some more and Scott Grimes causes entertaining mischief. The film also sports a younger, fuller haired Billy Zane in his second feature film role. Just wait till you get a load of that hair!

This film is just all around fun. I would recommend this to anyone who hasn’t seen it or is looking to kill some time with a fun sci-fi creature feature. This rather simple formulaic effort gets a 3 out of 5 stabs for the sheer fun of the film! If you are interested in purchasing Critters you can do so at amazon on stand alone DVD or 4 Disc Critters Collection Pack featuring all 4 Critters films. View the trailer below. On a side note, listen to music in the trailer below, does it sound familiar? Yes! New Line Cinema recycled the Nightmare On Elm Street score and used it trailer for Critters! Classy New Line.

  GLP Rating