Gross Movie Reviews #708

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Payday (DVD) – A Chase Dudley production which means an Indie film that looks great with usually a great cast also and this one was no different as this is more of an Action/Drama Heist film that goes sideways. A restaurant manager has been doing some illegal business with some of the restaurant’s money. As Adie is being called on it she already has in play a set up of her unlikely criminal element boyfriend who believes he is helping her out of love for them to runaway together. As Ben enters the restaurant and both believe they are in the clear, the police show up with Ben not running away but staying with Adie back at the restaurant that then turns into a no win hostage problem. From the beginning Adie is manipulating everything so she comes out smelling like roses! Chase plays up the tension with the one location and with Adie clearly the villain playing everyone inside against each other just builds the tension and gives the film bite. One major flaw is running time as I believe they linger all too long in the dialogue. All the actors were great but this thing runs at a long 106 minutes. With an edit especially in some of the long drawn out dialogue scenes, you get this at 76 minutes I think this Indie project has one hell of an impact as I give the film 2 out of 4 stars.

Die You Zombie Bastards! (DVD) – One of the most bizarre low budget productions that we have been blessed with in the 2000s! This project dares to mash up several movie plots together and comes up with a wild story about a serial killer’s wife being kidnapped by an evil Baron. Red is a lovable serial killer who just killed off a bunch of hippies as this evil dude kidnaps his wife which transforms Red into a superhero who goes on a journey. This journey is to help Red fend off the zombies the Evil Baron keeps sending Red’s way so the Baron can have his way with Red’s wife. Boobs, blood, chaos, absurdity, and scenes of some of the wildest things in a horror movie are what best describes this adventure as this 2005 film deserves to be rediscovered by film fans as I give it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.

SpookT (Blu-ray) – One of the few paranormal films that I found interesting as Rachel and Claire show up in small town, Pa., for different reasons to investigate a haunted house called ‘The Gibson House’. This house has been considered off limits because of Dr. Byler and his odd behavior several years ago but also the girl that went missing on a dare to go in the haunted house. One looking to debunk the legend, the other trying to prove the legend and possibly find the real reason the little girl disappeared. The investigators team up as they do not play this supernatural thriller for laughs as it dials up the creepy factor with its old school style of scares. Again not a huge fan of this genre but I do believe fans of 70s old school scares but get a nice kick out of what they did with this movie as I give it 2 1/2 out 4 stars.

Blown (Blu-ray) – This forgotten wild gem from 2005 reminds you immediately you are in for a treat when it begins with something called “Mastercrap Theater”. Right out of the gate there are three friends hitting the porn store to “find things to throw around during a bachelor party”. The trio finds the ultimate party favor for Bobby’s party… the blow up doll! Unbeknownst to the boys this ultimate sex doll isn’t your ordinary blow up doll. Once the stripper shows up that is when the fun begins as she is strangled by the blow up doll as the doll has a bloody rampage through the party. Is it disgusting, raunchy, and way beyond good taste… yes! But I laughed my ass throughout the film especially when its revealed its all because of voodoo as I give this project 3 out of 4 stars.

Blood Orgy of the Damned (Blu-ray) – This is a 2001 project from Abnormal Entertainment that I truly thought they may have kept to themselves as it is supposedly a lost film with no soundtrack? So the cast of the film do a riff track about a couple vampires brought back to life looking for a virgin. There are a few laughs at the beginning but for me this got old quick as there was some inside jokes and sometimes when you think a project is a great idea? Sometimes it is not in my opinion and should not put out there for public consumption as I give this project 1 out of 4 stars.

UFO: The Otis Files (Blu-ray) – A more recent project from Abnormal Entertainment that is a mockumentary about a man named Otis who has seen aliens in his small town Michigan. But locals are not so keen when Otis is getting the spotlight treatment talking up aliens even though they are actually trying to cover the whole thing up. A weird little project that may interest Indie alien project fans as some of these can test your patients on what you consider is an actual movie as I give this 2 out of 4 stars.

The Beast of Yucca Flats (Blu-ray) – A bad public domain film from 1961 that deals with a Soviet scientist on U.S. soil who is exploded to to a nuclear explosion that changes him into a beast that roams the desert. When the beast isn’t attacking random victims the movie moves at a snail’s pace to fill time as I give it 1 out of 4 stars.

Return to Yucca Flats: Desert Man-Beast (Blu-ray) – So in 2010 there was an Indie sequel to the horrible early 60s film where the beast survives? But which film is worse is entirely up to you? Not a whole lot going in this sequel as the man-beast continues his terror of roaming around ripping body parts off. Its meh to say at best as I give it 1 out of 4 stars.

Undone (Blu-Ray) – This 2008 twenty minutes short deals with a serious matter of a man in a very drunken state because of family tragedy asking for some alone time with a criminal. So an officer makes Travis’ wish come true by dropping off said prisoner to him as he has 24 hours to do whatever he wants just don’t kill him. Travis slowly tortures him but the criminal claims innocence as he laughs at Travis’ attempt to torture him. Then that’s when it gets a little intense with an ending that forces you to think ” How far would you go if put into this?” The short film project builds and builds into something quite disturbing and interesting as I give it 3 out of 4 stars.

Evil Flows Within (DVD) – This was Lisa Neeld’s first project as a director after working the Indie scene as an actor for the past several years. She goes the way of the silent film to tell the story of a vampire visiting her one evening. Using just music and actions of your cast to tell the story is always a tough and interesting choice for your first directorial project. Lisa also plays Marian in the film as everything is hunky dory in her life until a mysterious vampire visits her and changes her. Marian struggles with the concept of being a part of the undead but is it a horrific dream she had or did it all already happen as she dreams of being in a different world. Kudos to Lisa going for something different as it for sure will stand out when showing it at festivals as I give it 2 1/2 out of 4 stars.

One Too Many (DVD) – This 2024 short film stars Lisa Neeld as a woman who shows up to a bar one stormy night for a few drinks. But Lisa is pushed out of the bar because it closes at midnight. Drunk and sick she manages to make it to the boccie court out back only to puke then have a mishap. Waking after 3am she is witness to some ghostly weirdness learning nothing good happens after midnight but a lot of us already know that as I give this project 2 out of 4 stars.

Gross Movie Reviews #703

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Ticks (4K/Ultra HD) – This glorious creature feature came out in 1993 which also known as “Infested” had a young cast that would become household names in the industry since then but always will be known for the role that Clint Howard played. The gooey feature has some misfit teens that are forced to attend a camp to get out of the city and learn about nature. As the teens adjust to their new surroundings we are introduce to Clint Howard who is a war vet growing weed with illegal chemicals that of course mutates regular deer ticks. These things make quick work of Clint Howard as he also does self-harm trying to escape causing the mutant ticks to infest the woods. These sick bad ass looking giant bugs attack the camp and try to feed on the young campers who are forced to fight back if they wanna get back to the city.  For many years the no thrills DVD, which for the most part was a VHS rip was the only thing horror fans had. Even though this horror flick didn’t get its due even with all the cool names involved and the wonderful special effects has finally got its chance with this 4K clean up and extras for horror fans to drool over: Two commentary tracks including one of them being moderated by Joe Begos and a really cool three part making-of documentary that will make you love this film that much more! Giant bugs, slime, gore, and Clint Howard being the cause of the problem makes this a fun package for horror fans as I give it 3 ½ stars.

Hippo’s Revenge (YouTube) – A dad trying to reconnect with his daughter as they have drifted apart because of a death in the family try to save a mother hippo and its offspring by bringing them to their rescue preserve. But Mama Hippo is feisty and very protective of her young but goes missing off the preserve because of an evil animal kidnapper’s (Marx) minions trying to steal the animals because dad didn’t want to sell the hippo. It’s mainly bad CGI chaos with a very thin plot that has you wanting something else to happen other than what you watch as I give it 1 star.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Shark (Tubi) – Henry Jekyll becomes super protective of his dead wife as depression drives him to take an experimental drug called “Sharcopine” as he confides in a friend to tell the story of the changes in him? Henry goes insane as the drug turns him into a horny man-shark but the film gets bogged down with subplots that don’t go anywhere. He’s horny, he’s crazy, but the dude that gave us the glorious ‘Abomination’ instead gave us something nowhere as memorable with too much filler. My friend you should have taken notes from ‘Graveyard Shark’ before you had ventured into the “shark film genre” as I can only give this feature 1 ½ out of 4 stars.

Lost Faith (Blu-ray) – The great label “Saturn’s Core” has released an underground fan favorite that was released in 1992 from Joel D. Wynkoop who did his best John “Zombie Deathhouse” Saxon impression (write, direct, starred, produced, even sang a song) to bring his no budget Chuck Norris feature to life… and succeeded! Steve Nekoda is a good looking martial arts dude whose wife heads to a modeling agency for a possible part but when Steve returns to pick her up for their date he finds police and his girl missing. Some bad dudes used the model agency thing as a front to kidnap good looking women, hold them captive on a jungle island, and sell them into slave porn or something. Along the way Steve denouncing God: steals a car, gets in a bunch of fights, gets arrested, gets railroaded by the police, then scolded for losing his faith. A week after the disappearance the wife’s best friend shows up at the door to lead Steve to rescue his wife as this begins to restore his faith in finding her. This is the ultimate special edition SOV action package for Joel Wynkoop fans as there is a new extended cut of the film, an intro from Joel explaining how some of the film was shot in 1988, 1989 then released in 1992, a Joel Wynkoop commentary, an old making of documentary, alternate flashback film opening and ending, and a 2018 short film sequel called “Nekoda”. Through pure determination you got to respect what Mr. Wynkoop accomplished which also makes for an interesting deep dive into the early career of Joel D. Wynkoop and his impact on independent filmmaking as I give this package 3 out of 4 stars.

Blood on the Bleachers (Blu-ray) – A west coast filmmaker named Chase Dudley is starting to make waves in the independent film community as he is driven to make a difference with his projects that are well produced, in different genres, and with not much money. This slasher film centers on a masked killer who killed two years before at a high school with no witnesses. Now, a professor, Mr. Reynolds, challenges his senior students to group together for their class assignment to investigate. Not just rehash what happened but do a deep dive to see if they can come up with new theories or clues that the police have failed to find. As the students get serious about the project the masked killer returns to claim more victims in this great production that also sports a great cast. But as a viewer with it’s just over two hour running time it wore me down more than entice me to invest who the killer is? Again I know there is a few recent two hour plus horror films out there but I am telling you filmmakers and future filmmakers, people like a Roger Corman or Charles Band were not wrong about running times for your picture as I give the movie 2 out of 4 stars. Edited to 95 minutes I truly believe this film would have been a much meaner spirited slasher than it comes off.

Frankenshark (Blu-ray) – Every once in a while you watch a film that you question if it is an actual film or just something completely else hiding as a film? This Bill Zebub project is just that as the other title for this flick is “Dickshark”. The whole plot of this film is a so-called scientist has misplaced his experimental ‘penis enlargement cream’. When the cream is used somehow there becomes a shark dildo creation that gets loose in the water system then attacks naked women. With each attack the monstrosity becomes larger with no way of being stopped as said so-called scientist aka Bill Zebub goes on a weird political tirade with another character as different metal songs are played over lots of slow motion scenes throughout the movie. Bill Zebub has his detractors and also has his fans but this project left me asking “is this an actual movie?” as I cannot even give it a rating.

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