DVD Review: BLUR (2007)

-------------Review by contributing writer Scott Baker------------------

BLUR

Directed by Nick Briscoe

Distributed by:  Anthem Pictures

I have to warn you up front: BLUR is not a horror movie. It's more like a psychological thriller with a couple of jumps and scares added in. Granted, the DVD case cover sure makes it look like horror, with the demonic, screaming face and all. But dig into the story, and you'll find the reason for the face.
If you're not familiar with BLUR, here is the synopsis courtesy of Anthem Pictures:

Artist Adrian Jonas toils in preparation for the biggest gallery opening of his career. The creative process takes Adrian deep into the depths of his mind, where he begins to experience premonitions of a terrible fate that awaits his beloved Iliana. Adrian grows to suspect that a mysterious neighbor is the phantom who means to harm his wife. Compounding the danger, a masquerade party planned for that evening allows unwanted guests to mingle unnoticed. As his premonitions begin to come true, Adrian races to interpret his visions while there is still time to cheat fate

One of the first things that drew me in to BLUR is the haunting soundtrack. The music from this film definitely belongs in a horror movie. It's enchanting and eerie at the same time, like a midnight-hour seance done in the calming surroundings of your bedroom. I'm a big fan of certain movie soundtracks (I'm looking at you, Danny Elfman!) and would definitely pick this one up on CD, given the opportunity.

The next aspect of the film that really caught my attention was the way it was shot. The camera work in this film is superb, with many moving-camera shots and spanning, slow pans. Likewise, the location for the film (basically set entirely on a single piece of property) is beautiful, set mainly in an older, brick-and-stone estate. I'm not sure where the site is, but I'd love to know if it's for sale.

As for the plot, BLUR is a finely-crafted thriller with a very nice twist towards the end.  I can honestly say I sure didn't see anything like it coming. The pacing of the plot is perfect and takes the audience on a nice trip, right up to the climax, which leaves no questions unanswered. My hats off to the script-writer(s) for creating such a vivid story out of almost nothing.

My sole complaint about BLUR is that it doesn't have any Special Features per se, except for some stills and the 'actual' video taken from a video camera used within the film. I was really hoping for some behind the scenes footage at least, especially if it were to contain the location of the filming set (ahem). What can I say? It's an awesome house and an awesome estate!

All in all, BLUR is a definite win for me, although (to reiterate) it's certainly not horror. But do yourself a favor and shift gears; give BLUR a chance, watch it through to the credits, and enjoy the ride. I certainly think you'll be glad you did. I know I am.

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer

CLICK HERE  to purchase the DVD

DVD Review: DEAD MOON RISING (2007)

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------Review by contributing writer Scott Baker------

DEAD MOON RISING

Directed by Mark E. Poole

Distributed by Anthem Pictures

Released: 2007

I think that most of the world knows by now that I’m a huge zombie fan. And if you didn’t know that, well, you do now…so make a note. I don’t know what it is, but those shambling, oozing, moaning, brain-dead bags of flesh and dust just really do something for me. So, as fate (and Hayes) would have it, DEAD MOON RISING dropped in my lap for review.

If you’re not familiar with the film, the plot is this, courtesy of writer/director Mark E. Poole on imdb.com:

A mysterious disease overtakes the world, and the infected develop a hankering for human flesh. Jim and his fellow Cheapskate Car Rental clerks are oblivious to the changes going on right outside their door, until it literally gets right in their faces. Jim struggles with disgruntled customers, hordes of cannibals, the barely legal April, his certifiable ex-girlfriend Vix (the sexy "Terminatrix"), reconciling issues with his brother, an aversion to guns, and the "pants thing." Can Jim pull it together and rally Louisville's remaining bike gangs and defeat the infected hordes? Maybe with the help of 1000 rounds a minute mini-gun...

First of all, I have to apologize to the distribution company Anthem Pictures. Hayes gave me this film to review a long time ago…but I somehow misplaced it and just now found it again. So this review is therefore past due. Sorry. I suck, I know…but oh well.

So…how did DEAD MOON RISING rate for me, since I am a zombie aficionado after all?

Well…the answer is a bit complex. When I first started watching it, I hated it. The dialogue is campy, the special effects are beyond terrible, the acting bites, and the zombies aren’t even really zombies. Sounds like a bomb, right?

BUT…after the movie ended, I looked at the film from a different point of view. Instead of scrutinizing it from a high-budget perspective (which is what the cover led me to believe it was), I started looking at it from an indie-filmmaker’s point of view (ok…Hayes and I only have one film under our belts, but that still makes us filmmakers!). Weird for me to change my mind, I know, but the whole time I was watching it, I kept thinking to myself, “Man…they put so much work and heart into this that I can’t really hate it…can I”?

Which is the very reason I changed the way I was looking at it. You can usually tell when a film project is actually a labor of love and not an attempt to earn money. There’s a soul, a spirit, a real true ‘essence’ to the movie. When the filmmakers put their hearts and souls into it, the result is nothing short of magic, regardless of the budget.

From an analytical perspective, the acting in the film is pretty bad…but I would bet most of the actors were not paid…just volunteers looking to add something to their resume. Also, the film style and cinematography are not pro-grade quality…but this is their first film, so they were probably experimenting and learning. The special effects are cheesy and the zombies are nothing more than people with yellow paint on their faces…but…ok, so maybe they could have put more effort into the effects…but what can we expect from shoestring budget pictures? Filmmakers do have to make cuts somewhere, after all.

My only TRUE complaints about DEAD MOON RISING are minor. It is labeled as a comedy, but it’s not really that funny. Also, the overall story is also not original for the most part, but the side-plot that deals with the main character’s childhood traumas is pretty good and entertaining. And the extended-length, gratuitous lesbian-kissing scene in the middle of the movie has no point and only detracts from the little immersion I was able to obtain.

This film will not win any major awards (honestly, I’m surprised it DID win any awards at all), but it is a whole-hearted attempt at something bigger and better. I would really like to see what the production crew could do with a bigger budget (and better actors). The result might not be awesome, but I do think it would be entertaining. Hopefully, it would be more so than this film.

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer

CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

CLICK HERE to visit the official website of Anthem Pictures

DVD Review: BUTCHERED (2010)

Now this is refreshing. A slasher movie that reminds me of the good 'ol days. The slashers from the 70's and 80's! BUTCHERED is a fun film that should appeal to any fans of the slasher genre.

Here is the basic plot from the Anthem Pictures website:

A group of teens decides to spend the weekend on a local island to say their final goodbyes before heading off to college. Little do they know, a convicted serial killer escapes from the authorities while on death row at a maximum security prison. Touted in the headlines of the local papers as "The Butcher" due to the manner he hacked up his victims in the local town deli, he takes cover on THE VERY SAME ISLAND. It becomes a battle for survival as the teens attempt to fight back against this unimaginable foe.

The killer in the film is known as "The Butcher". He is a brutal killer who uses a shovel, and axe, or anything else he can find to kill. There are lots of great "kills" in this film and plenty of blood to keep you gore hounds happy.

The acting is good overall, although a slight bit of over-acting done by a few of the the actors. You have your stereotypical array of kids in the film...including the jock, the preppy kid, the dorky one, etc. A few of the characters are somewhat annoying, but overall the majority are likable. The cinematography is excellent, with some very spooky scenes. There are a few scenes where the killer is shown back lit with fog all around that are very well done.

Overall this was a very enjoyable film and one I will be watching again. You don't see many good slasher flicks coming out these days, so I would highly recommend BUTCHERED to you.

One other thing to mention is the inclusion a short film titled, THE DAVID LONG STORY. It is an excellent complimentary film to go along with BUTCHERED. This short film tells the story of a guy who thinks he is meeting a filmmaker out in the woods to shoot a horror film. Little does he know, he will actually be starring in it...as the victim!! This is a great short film and is almost worth the price of the DVD alone!

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CLICK HERE to watch the trailer for BUTCHERED

CLICK HERE to purchase the DVD

CLICK HERE to visit the official website of Anthem Pictures

DVD Review: DEADLANDS 2: TRAPPED

The zombie genre never gets old for me.

As such, I am more than thankful there are tons of titles out there in the ‘land of the dead’ for me to choose from. But this blessing can be a curse. Directors cannot redo what has already been done otherwise the fad will start to fade. The trick to keeping the genre alive is to keep the ideas fresh and the plots original. Anyone can put a few walking corpses on film…but it’s what you do with them that makes the movie.

DEADLANDS 2: TRAPPED makes good use of a unique premise and location to help keep the zombie genre ‘alive and well’, if you’ll pardon the pun. Set primarily in a movie theater, the film follows six people who have taken refuge inside the building to escape a zombie infestation that has overtaken their town. The zombies are a result of a government biological-weapon test. When a new nerve gas is released into the town’s population, it kills the townsfolk but then reanimates them and sparks a zombie apocalypse.

For being a low-budget venture, this film is remarkably well done. The pacing is perfect and the plot moves quickly along. The camera angles work very well, however I have to point out that many of the scenes are so dark that it is sometimes difficult to tell what is happening. The special effects team is to be commended for their zombie effects. And although the gore scenes are few, they are definitely done with gusto and flair; my favorite one involves two zombies tearing a man’s face off. The acting talent in the film is spot-on also, for the most part. I have to admit that I was not too impressed with them in the pre-zombie- apocalypse scenes, though. The cast is phenomenal during the dramatic parts, capturing the intensity of each moment perfectly, but the small-talk and no-drama scenes lack a bit of plausibility to me for some reason.

The only part of this movie that completely threw me off was the very beginning. When the movie started playing, I thought for a second that I had put the wrong DVD in the player. The grainy image of an Elvira-like vixen in a graveyard made me wonder what it was that I was watching. But when this character turned out to be a sort of narrator, I began to understand what the filmmaker was trying to accomplish. As it turns out, Helena, the ‘Hussy of Horror’ as she dubs herself, gives us a very brief glimpse into the upcoming movie. I was disappointed to discover she did not show up at the end of the film however.

I have to give credit to the production team for the attention to detail they gave the film. They did an excellent job with the details for each scene, right down to every minor prop and effect. I especially liked the military uniforms and weapons. I found a short feauturette in the Special Features about the costumes and weapons used for the film. It was very interesting, as it was hosted by the military advisor to the film. As it turns out, the military uniforms and equipment used in this film were exact replicas of those being used in Afghanistan right now. The production team definitely did their homework. I also liked how the filmmaker gave a nod to his previous DEADLANDS production: in the background of one scene, the movie marquee lists DEADLANDS: THE RISING as one of the movies playing.

Overall, this movie is well done, entertaining, and definitely one to add to your collection. It is uplifting to see low-budget movies with this kind of quality. I will be surprised if I do not see director Gary Ugarek behind the camera of a major Hollywood motion picture production within the next couple of years.

CLICK HERE to watch the trailer for DEADLANDS 2: TRAPPED

CLICK HERE to view the official website of the DEADLANDS TRILOGY

CLICK HERE to purchase a copy of DEADLANDS 2: TRAPPED on dvd

CLICK HERE to view the official website of Anthem Pictures