MicroCinema Scene

Eternal Gaze is a short film based on the life of Alberto Giacometti, an Italian artist of the twentieth century who used images of darkness and death to express his love for shape and sculpture. Chen is a filmmaker who decided to use computer animation to bring to life the story of Giacometti’s death.

Sam Chen’s animation is flawless. Not only is it the result of painstaking detail and enormous artistic talent, it’s all done in the style of Alberto Giacometti’s death-like, and morbid, art. Instead of making a short independent film about the artist Alberto Giacometti, Sam Chen opted for the less-traveled, and much harder, path of making an independent animated short. Chen uses art, Giacometti’s own tool, to harness emotion, intellect, and power into one very amazing short film.

Beautiful, gloomy, and eccentric, stylistically magnificent, intricate and emotional, brutal and heartbreaking; these are the feelings that this film evokes. Chen uses colors and shapes to show Giacometti’s pain and frustration with art, the tortuous process through which he expressed himself. No dialogue mars this tale. Using only the power of music and sound effects to enhance his visual creations, Chen’s Giacometti is haunted by images of death, shadows that his own fears made real in art.

Chen explores Giacometti’s death and his love for the macabre in his art. The world of Giacometti, down to the minuscule, is consistently brooding. Chen has an eye for style and knows how to evoke emotion without using real actors. The haunting music competes the film, both technically and actually. Eternal Gaze is the most amazing and intelligent animated sequence I’ve ever seen.

You have to give Chen credit for attempting what most people could never accomplish; a Pixar-quality film done independently, and in one’s free time, all in computer animation. He also deserves props for making an intellectual film that is also beautiful.

Four stars.

Storytelling within a story: great idea. The ever-satisfying tale or urban legend that ends up becoming a nightmarish reality has not been overdone, no matter what anybody says. Just look at a great film like Gotta Make Them Angels and you’ll see that I’m right.

Allen Hooper and Gregory Cover wrote a script that demanded a depth of character as well as a penchant for the traditional cat-scares of slasher flicks. Depicting both the harsh truth of sexuality, going from family drama to brutal murder scenes in an instant, and creating very intense feelings for a trite genre of film (teen horror urban legend), Angels is a packed 24 minutes of intensity and fun.

Playing on an urban legend, four young twenty-somethings get involved in a frightening tale in a modest suburban home. A story about a mother who murdered her children in a fit of madness when she came home and found out what they were doing behind her backs sets the background for the film. Mixing subtle humor with frightening happenings in a very Rolfe Kanefsky way (Think There’s Nothing Out There), Greg Cover directs a storyline filled with both styles. Telling a terrifying urban legend, then moments later having one of the characters point out the holes in the story, is a great example of the nature of this mixed anecdote.

For a low-budget film Angels makes great use of the sets and the cinematography (by Greg Cover). Greg shows scenes from the best and most interesting points of view available. The excellent framing of shots helps lessen the impact that a low budget can have on an independent film, as it does in this one. Using that witty, ironic bullshit dialogue that is so popular and thereby poking fun at independent films, Angels is not just a dumb horror movie. It actually has interesting and intelligent characters. Good acting carries the entire story and basically saves it from falling into the abyss of backyard micro cinema. Traditional horror motifs do prevail, however: the wisecracking asshole, the slutty girl….

I liken this film unto a wittier, albeit shorter, Scream. It makes fun of horror while still remaining suspenseful. It’s not homage to horror films past; it’s just a traditional updated urban legend. With a healthy dose of sex. And also people eating McDonalds while drinking champagne. Excellent indeed.

Three stars.

Cohen Phillips knows how to create a fun atmosphere while still making scares happen. Playing more like a live-action cartoon (think Scooby-Doo) than a hardcore horror film, Voice’s characters have an animated quality to them that is a sign of good acting, and good direction. Amateur, but quirky, fun characters and a fast-moving plot keep things entertaining.

Using war images and stock footage from various black and white films, Voice of the Dead creates a strong and lasting impression on the viewer with images of soldiers marching off to their eventual death. Though sound quality is poor and resolution is not great (it’s available for screening online), Blair Witch-esque video footage makes a great backyard indie genre short even better. Never really frightening, Voice lays off the excessive gore and jokes as well and tries to present some real character development in the thirty minutes.

Charla Phillips steals the show as the witty and mad inventor of the “spook phone,” the contraption that allows the small group to communicate with the dead. Brooke Willhite and Cohen Phillips (the director) star as a couple that gets entangled in the mystery behind the haunting discovered by the spook phone. Cohen has a few great quips he hurls at Barbara’s character, like “Barb, what have I told you about sucking the life out of everything?”

With great sets like a forest and a haunted house, the film culminates in a confrontation with an evil spirit. If you like Scooby Doo, Ghostbusters, and independent horror (don’t we all?) then this film is a thoughtful, well-directed, and entertaining example of the genre short in its purest form.

This film is fucking funny. I can’t put it any other way. In a very Ben Stiller way, or no, rather, I’d go so far as to say in a very HBO’s Mr. Show kind of way; this film is so invigoratingly different from the usual gore and violence and sex usually found in independent films…In fact, this film has heart, tact, and a good sense of humor.

Instead of zombies, vampires, slashers, or drug addicts, this independent film is about beer. Beer is the staple drink of everyone in Barleyville. The whole town loves it. They drink themselves into oblivion at Al’s Bar–located in Al’s living room. Helped by his lovely (and funny) daughter Dorris (Carmen Jessee), Al runs the most successful establishment in town and everyone is happy.

That is, until Mr. Pinot Grigiot (Griffin Marks himself) decides he’d like to run the most successful business in town. However, it doesn’t seem like anyone would willingly give up beer….willingly being the key. With his dastardly plan in place, and his new right-hand man Willie Knuckles (Jesse Dunstan, as a sort of adorable thug), he will rid the town of all beer, forcing the inhabitants of Barleyville to buy his wine, making him a rich man and in control of all the alcohol.

That is, that was his plan until Bob Drummond, bartender, tries to stop him with some hilariously discovered superpowers…. It turns out beer is good for you, after all!

Bob (Bill Booker) is the nice guy of the film who lusts after Dorris, who ends up saving the day and finding out his real self worth blah blah blah… But my favorite character in this film (and there are a few that were constantly competing) is Trent (Matt McGuire). Trent is a 25-year-old unemployed busboy that has the best lines in the film and delivers them better than anyone.  Matt McGuire steals all of his scenes with ease and can portray a good guy who is kind of bad seemingly without any trouble. In fact, he seems so at ease in this role that one has to wonder if he actually is playing a role. That makes it even funnier. Trent adds to the soundtrack of the film by performing his hit “Little Orphan Slutbag” with his band the Vomit Gods at a funeral. Genius.

The camera work and editing are all very backyard. By backyard I mean amateur and micro-cinema (the budget must have been nothing), but the execution is essentially successful and there are few special effects that betray the budget.

What does betray the budget is the camera work and cinematography. Few angles and cut-aways, along with minimal lighting technique and audio, are the standout flaws of this film.  If you can forgive the low-budget technical difficulties, what you have left is a very engaging and entertaining film made by some very funny people who also happen to be pretty good actors.

Fans of The Simpson’s, redneck humor, and bold and original humor will enjoy this film for its originality and its style.

Three stars.

The story begins when Albion Moonlight, a salesman for The Corporation, crashes on a lonely and deserted planet on a routine job. Albion awakens, unable to radio for help. His partner, named only The Stranger, and Albion, both feel the reigns of the corporation loosened as their thoughts and actions are their own once again. Memories that cause pain torment Albion, while his partner is driven mad by his inability to understand his existence outside of the Corporation.

Meanwhile, back at Corporation headquarters, Gwen Klaus is an executive who is fiercely loyal to the Corporation. Captain Santop is completely at her mercy, for she is a beautiful, young, and cold woman who has control over his future at the Corporation. When it is discovered that Albion Moonlight’s ship is missing, there is some effort to retrieve the missing salesmen, but really Gwen has been so twisted by her power and by the power of the Corporation that she seeks escape more than she does the best interests of the Corporation.

While Albion and The Stranger search for a way to reconcile their existence with the Corporation, Gwen reminds us that there can be no such dual existence, for the corporation takes over every individual and replaces them with the machinery of capitalism and power.

Investigate

Indoctrinate

Demonstrate

Calibrate

These are the tenets that Albion Moonlight lives by. They are the dogma of salesmanship that the Corporation has drilled into his head. Through this indoctrination he has suffered identity loss and has repressed severe guilt involving the fate of his dead wife.

Fans of the original Twilight Zone with Rod Serling and science fiction films of the 1950s will appreciate the black-and-white film, the retro spaceships, and the intensity of the script. Evocative of films with deep philosophical ideologies like The Day the Earth Stood Still and Forbidden Planet, and with the stark appeal of many of Kubrick’s films, Moonlight by the Sea generates some controversial and pessimistic images of a future without individuality where not communism, but capitalism, is the major threat to humanity and freedom.

“Deception by means of the Obvious” is a phrase Gwen repeats in Moonlight by the Sea, and that is exactly how Hennard fools us all into believing the planets, spaceships, and landscapes he films are really part of some far-off future. By using brilliant camera work and breathtaking direction, Hennard never shies away from his low budget props, but rather films them in a way that makes them appear fitting, even genuine, in the film. Tricky camera work made for a realistic launch, while as convincing a crash as can be made without a real spaceship adds to the drama of the story. This feat of amateur direction shows real ingenuity and talent on the part of Hennard.

Imagery is used splendidly in this allegorical tale. Albion Moonlight is attached by wires to his spaceship, making him part of the machine, both literally and figuratively, and the Corporation. The character of the Stranger is unable to think correctly without his connection to the computers of the Corporation. He coughs and sputters static like a broken computer, and eventually he loses control of rational thought altogether. Albion’s freedom from the company leads him through a disturbing train of thought as well, but his are understandable, and allow him to understand himself in a way the Corporation’s bond with his mind would never have allowed him to before.

Dreams and visions are used to tell Albion’s story with much success. Unable to distinguish between hallucinations, memories, and the present, the Corporation has twisted Albion’s mind so much that we only begin to understand the amount of brainwashing that has taken place.  Gwen Klaus, though at the top end of the Corporation, is no better off. Pretty, young, troubled, and addicted to escapist drugs, Gwen controls the lives of others around her because she has no control over her own. Part of some dramatically intense sexual scenes, Gwen is both arctic and desirous of heat in her miserable existence.

Some of the symbolism used may be too complex for ordinary fans of science fiction and horror films. Dream sequences involving graves and live burial, and constant references to drowning on a planet that is only desert, may confuse viewers who are not sophisticated enough to grasp the deeper meaning of Hennard’s film. Sometimes too much symbolism is exactly that, too much. In this case Moonlight by the Sea it may be ignored by people who cannot comprehend the intense and complex storyline for something with a more mainstream message.

Viewers able to appreciate the art and the vision involved will walk away from Moonlight by the Sea with this message: In order to stop the machine, we must first understand the machine, though understanding it may render us incapable of acting against it.

Three stars.

Imagine a film that starts out with four kids who make their way up to an isolated cabin in the woods, only to discover a satanic book and accidentally call upon demonic forces that turn them all into the living dead. How about four young people who make their way, in a van, up to an isolated wooded area where they find themselves stalked by the inhabitants of the property, who don’t like trespassers? Ok, How about this one: Four kids make their way up to an isolated wooded area where rumors of ghosts, murder, and ritualistic killings have spawned generations of legends, and they plan on filming it all on their two cameras, getting raw, uncut, and real footage?

If all this sounds familiar, it’s because it is. Now imagine if you mashed all of these films together into one. What would you call it? Texas Chainsaw Evil Blair Dead Witch Project Massacre? How about Off the Beaten Path? Off the Beaten Path is anything but. It’s a conglomeration of all the terrifyingly offbeat films that have defined horror in the past several decades.

The legend of Jasper Hagen is one of terror. In the small town of Gateway, Minnesota, Jasper Hagen ritualistically murdered a young girl. When the town found out, they formed a lynch mob and burned his house down, with him in it. Years later, a new family builds cabins on the old property. After a few years it is found out that the man who bought the property brutally murdered his family and then hung himself. With such a terrible history, the property has lain vacant for years.

That is, until Brenda Jacobs agrees to take filmmakers Randy Bodine, Chuck Stevens, and Dina Duncan to the property so they can complete their Internet film on the old legends associated with the property.

Despite Brenda’s increasing nervousness, the approaching evening, and Dina’s reluctance to approach the cabins, Chuck is determined to get some great shots of the haunted area. Unwisely staying at the property after nightfall, Chuck, Dina, Brenda, and Randy uncover some strange secret signs that they are unwanted, and eventually come face to face with the true horrors of Gateway’s most haunted property.

An intriguing mix of camera work is used to great success in Off the Beaten Path. Using the guerilla filmmaking style that made The Blair Witch Project such a success, and the strange monsters-eye-view of the Evil Dead films, Off the Beaten Path provides an interesting framework of images for the viewer to appreciate. The low budget video scenes are attributed to the film within a film that the main characters are making, thus relieving the filmmaker of any responsibility for the shakiness or unprofessionalism. The unprofessionalism, in fact, adds realism in this type of project. It’s seamlessly filmed and effectively convincing.

Some aspects of the plot befuddle and don’t appear consistent. The characters don’t seem to have done much research into their internet film. They don’t know which spots they want to shoot, they don’t have a good idea of the history of Gateway, and they are relying solely on Brenda to lead the way and give them all of their pertinent information. Brenda seems strangely afraid for someone who volunteered to take three strangers out into this haunted place. She has no incentive to take them out, and yet goes out of her way to place herself in a deadly position.

Acting seems mostly improvisational in this film, especially in the scenes that use the Blair Witch-type filmmaking style. The acting is very natural and relaxed, and it appears to have been loosely written for the actors’ interpretations. Chuck (Todd Hansen) is terrific as the impulsive and heedless leader of the troop. Carrie Sizemore as Brenda is a thoughtful and troubled character, consistent and capable of saving some scenes that would otherwise have fallen flat.

Special effects are not bad, and are even creatively entertaining. The blood is fantastic and appears quite realistically done. The makeup on the “demonized” is a little ineffectual and could have been more imaginatively applied for the stark white lighting of the camera. Stephenson has a real talent for lighting techniques. He is capable of creating a mood and transforming a regular house into a nightmare through the use of his camera and a few lights placed correctly.

The Lovecraftian “satanic rituals on unhallowed ground” plot is very intriguing, but the ‘filmmaker” aspect of it is so similar to that of the The Blair Witch Project that it almost doesn’t hold water. Blended with scenes taken directly from Evil Dead 2, including the satanic book and some very ‘deadite’ zombies, is one shot of the girls sitting in their van, with the headlights on, in the pitch dark of the forest. They are being watched but they don’t know it, and they wait, terrified, for Randy and Chuck to come back from their deadly foray up at the cabins where the evil lurks. The lights from the van make a chilling contrast to the pitch black of the forest, and the van is their only anchor to reality and safety in the entire night. However, this scene was in the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

There are some real moments of inspiration in this film, that show true originality and an intense love of filmmaking and the horror genre. The most interesting scenes are those that are filmed in the filmmaker’s own manner, not the Evil Dead or Blair Witch filmmaking style. It’s almost a shame that we don’t get to see more of Jason Stephenson’s own vision, rather than the visions of other filmmakers that he admires.

Off the Beaten Path is a good example of a traditional, homage-paying, and frightening independent horror film that doesn’t take any real risks within the horror genre.

Two stars.

Landing somewhere between The Simpsons, Airplane, and Student Bodies, The Crotchening is a comedy-horror flick that stands out among its peers for one wonderful and painfully obvious reason: It’s made by guys who usually do comedy. That’s a good thing. Horromedies can get too caught up in gore, effects, and tributes to other horror films to communicate a truly funny joke, but The Crotchening is able to avoid these pitfalls. A totally original plot focuses on the wit, the joke delivery, and (dare I say?) the acting! This farce is the brainchild of the funny Nathan Quinn who wrote, directed, and starred in this film.

A “crotchening” is what happens when a mad, deranged lunatic goes on a serial crotch-kicking spree. Such is the case with Enid Endacrotche, a field kicker who was denied her place on the football team for some mysterious reason (that she was a woman?). Driven mad by her rejection, she goes on a crotchening binge, destroying the gonads of many a young and innocent male who happens to be in her path with a swift kick from her enormous clown shoes. Yes, clown shoes.

A team of “Crotchening Specialists” locks her up behind bars in a madhouse, stopping the insanity. Ten years later, Enid escapes, with a desire for more and greater revenge on those who dashed her dreams: Men. The same specialists, who have lost their funding for Crotchening Investigation, have to reunite and form a rag tag Crotch Specialist team in order to save the testicles of young men everywhere.

The “Specialist” himself, played by Nathan Quinn, and his cousin and now Junior College Women’s Studies professor (Andy Hoffman) assemble this “rag tag” team of college students including the Professor’s teaching assistant (Allan Ross), an anonymous loner (Jude Simon), and a curly-haired guy (Jesse Gibbings). Enid Endacrotche is powerfully played by Nicole Lounsbury (she is also a producer of the movie.) Charley Cooper is the inept police chief bent on denying that there are any crotchenings taking place.

The Crotchening team must fight against time to capture Enid and get her back to the asylum where she belongs. But she’s slippery, and there is that whole problem with crotch zombies. What’s a crotch zombie? Well, if you get kicked in the crotch three times by Enid, you fall into a trance, start wearing pastels, and well, act like a zombie. Is there any hope? Can “the team” stop her and save the giant scrotum that is the town? Will the teaching assistant fall victim to the curse of the crotch zombies.

The Crotchening is marvelously successful in its endeavor for several reasons. It is very well written (though you get the impression that many of the jokes are improvised), and very well acted. Nathan Quinn’s portrayal of the “Specialist” is deadpan and sarcastic. His charisma as a comedian is undeniable. Andy Hoffman’s “Professor” commits grand theft movie by stealing every scene he’s in. Andy’s performance is so funny I literally had to pause the film several times so I could stop laughing before moving on. The real genius of this film lies in the ability of these two actors to communicate humor so effectively, while sharing a powerful on-camera connection. The supporting characters are also very good at “funny.” It’s not hard to imagine that it’s the result of some very winning direction by Nathan Quinn. Sure, as the name implies, there are many “crotch-kicking scenes.” But rather than let these moments carry the film, Quinn seems to understand that they are a passing laugh compared to the other jokes he sets up for the viewer.

Some bad editing makes The Crotchening seem more amateur than the script would suggest, but it is unable to actually deter one’s enjoyment of the movie. The soundtrack is not memorable, the cinematography is not exceptional, but the acting and script get A+’s. Did I mention I liked the acting and the script?

Humor reminiscent of films like Airplane and Naked Gun abounds. They stay away from poking too much fun at specific horror movies. Instead, they pick on the general clichés that all horror films have been criticized for using; revenge, hockey masks, and completely preposterous plotlines. By infusing all of their jokes with a strong dose of wit, they make it impossible for the film to come off as dumb. Silly, perhaps, and maybe absurd, but the humor is much too quick and intelligent to make this film just another horror comedy knock-off.

I highly recommend this film for anyone who likes to laugh, who likes to see grown men get kicked in the groin, and who appreciates a highly intelligent, well-acted, and hilarious independent film. Horror fans will not feel alienated, while fans of comedy will laugh their asses off.

Four stars.

As the Low Budget Pictures motto says, “It’s better than Committing Suicide.” And it is, it really is. But not better than watching almost anything else. Chris Seaver has done it again with his particularly crude sense of humor.

Employing the same sight gags and Troma-esque take on the world that he used in Mulva, Zombie Ass-Kicker, Seaver weaves a whole new story for our enjoyment. Two nerds in college, Liz and Julie, long to be cool and popular. Because they are plain, they don’t get invited to the cool kids’ college parties and they don’t get laid. If only there were a way to improve their looks so that every man wanted them!

Oh, but there is, according to Julien, a strange gothic boy who provides them with an answer to all of their problems. Julien is a witch and has the power to call upon a demon named Phil to help the girls with their unfortunate appearance. In return, Julien will finally get his own wish granted by the demon. He will finally have both male and female genitalia. Julien can now be the hermaphrodite he’s always dreamed of being.

Once they conjure Phil, the girls are transformed into beauty queens, and all the men in school find them irresistible. However, they soon learn that there is a terrible price to pay for their transformation and ultimately decide that they may have made the wrong decision…

Debbie Rochon comes back for her second Chris Seaver feature and she steals the show completely. As the best-looking woman in the movie and the only real actress with any semblance of talent, Debbie Rochon is magnetic as Julie. Julie is stronger than Liz, and she fights to keep her sanity and to save the lives of the innocent partiers who are falling victim to the whims of Phil. Miss Kitty as Liz is bubbly and less concerned with her fate as Julie is.

Chris Seaver reprises his role as the supernatural slayer Mr. Bonejack from Mulva, Zombie Ass-Kicker, and also appears as Chris Walk, a character who seemingly has no purpose in the film at all. Tim Ekkebus appears as Phil and Julien the Goth. Dave Antonino plays Max, the dumb jock bent on getting the two girls in bed after their amazing transformation into hotties, and Alie Kat and Casey Bowher appear as more “cool” people.

With more dirty jokes and sexual vulgarity than Mulva, Zombie Ass-Kicker, Filthy McNasty truly lives up to its name. Utilizing more camera angles and more talent for directing than in Mulva, Seaver shows that he can take us one step farther into his murky mind with more artistic shots and scenes. One of the funniest shower deaths I have ever seen is in this film, utilizing a strobe light to mask bad special effects with decent results.

A film that seems, despite its best efforts, to have an underlying moral (be happy with who you are and don’t try to change to fit in), Filthy McNasty is not the horrible failure it seemed surely destined to become due to the lack of talent of any of the film makers involved. It is wildly offensive and funny. Filthy McNasty uses strongly offensive language towards women and constantly refers to violent sex as a joke. So naughty it’s good, Filthy McNasty succeeds in infusing the storyline with enough humor to make you realize that the offensiveness is meant, like the entire film and all it entails, as one huge joke.

Three stars.

What does it mean to be ‘Gothic?’ Is it just the clothes you wear, the drugs you do, the color of you hair? What about how hardcore you are? How do you know if you can really call yourself “Goth?”

Goth can. That’s her name. She’s a strange and seductive woman that Crissy meets outside the gothic club she and her boyfriend Boone frequent. Crissy and Boone have just moved in together and are very much in love. Crissy herself seem almost too sweet and innocent to be hanging out with the oddballs at the club. Boone himself is an attentive and happy young man. Then why all the black makeup and the dark clothes? That’s probably what Goth is thinking when she invites Crissy and Boone out behind the club to try a new drug. Goth has her name tattooed on her chest, a strange symbol tattooed on her forehead, and she dresses and looks like every other gothic girl.

So what makes her so different? She has three rules that she lives by, and that she swears you must live by in order to call yourself Goth; 1) Embrace the Darkness, 2) Kill the Fear, 3) Live for Death. Sound confusing? Crissy and Boone are confused as well. It isn’t until Goth takes them on the strangest ride of their lives that Crissy even begins to understand. Murders, torture, and sexual experiences beyond anything they ever imagined lead Crissy to a place where she can finally call herself Goth, and mean it.

Crissy (Laura Reilly) is a demure and Katie Holmes-esque heroine. She gives the illusion of being unable to protect herself or Boone from Goth, but is actually a very strong and clever character. Boone (Dave Stann) shows his weakness by not being able to overcome Goth’s incredible physical and mental strength. Goth herself is an overwhelmingly charismatic character played by Phoebe Dollar. Goth is in control of every situation she puts herself in and seems capable of doing anything she desires. Her freedom is both seductive and disgusting as she torments those around her for her own pleasure.

Phoebe’s performance as Goth is overwhelmingly the best in this film. She has created a menacing, yet beautiful, character that is at once human and supernatural. Using the drugs to induce Crissy and Boone to actions they would never otherwise commit, she manipulates them into her dark and demented world, but retains an almost otherworldly hold on the couple even when they are sober.

Goth’s incredible physical strength (she is able to throw grown men around like rag dolls) is slightly unconvincing, and yet reinforces the idea that she might be a supernatural being of some kind. Laura Reilly’s performance is dwarfed by Phoebe’s throughout the film, and though you know you ought to be rooting for the “good guy,” the “bad guy” is so much fun you cheer for Goth. Special effects in the vein of Pulp Fiction (gunshot wounds, knife cuts, and generally small and realistic wounds) happen all throughout this film, but the gore level never raises to what a horror film lover would desire. In fact, this film is not so much horror as it is a thriller that happens to be set in the subculture of the Goths.

The story is an allegory for those in the world of goths who pretend to be something they cannot understand. Goth’s goal in taking Crissy and Boone into her world and showing them true darkness is to make them choose whether to be posers, or the real thing. ‘Embracing the Darkness’ is a way to accept what is evil and wrong with this world. Instead of trying to change it, one must become one with it. That Goths are above guilt, above right and wrong, and above promises, is proven when Goth takes the couple on a sexual exploration. They do things they would never dream of doing in front of each other, and to hurt each other. ‘Kill the Fear’ means to let go of all your inhibitions and reservations. Goths are above fear. Crissy and Boone aid Goth in a kidnapping and mutilation, and witness the crime without helping the victims. Though Boone cannot overcome his fear, Crissy understands how to enjoy it. ‘Live for Death’ is a difficult lesson for them both to learn, and the most complicated to explain. Boone never really seems to understand this point, and ends up paying for it dearly. Crissy slowly begins to realize that she herself is Goth, and has been living for death for years without even knowing it.

Crissy is an intelligent, if boring, character. She tries to outsmart Goth several times, and at the crucial climax of the film. She has her own agenda that relates back to a dead sister she has, and who she believes that Goth murdered years before. As she acts out against Goth she unwittingly embodies all that Goth is; darkness, death, and fear all become parts of her. In the end it is Crissy who really understands what it means to be Goth, and that clothes, hair, and style are only a glimpse into the darkness of the soul of someone who can claim to be truly Goth, like Crissy can.

The DVD release comes with extras like deleted scenes, bloopers, interviews with the cast and crew, cast bios, and a photo gallery. Goth is seductive and, in and of itself, a very dark, brooding, and psychologically twisted story. This is a must-see for anyone who considers themselves gothic; not only will it be a fun ride, but they might learn something about what it really means to “live for death.”

Two and a half stars.

Review: “Laughing Stock”

By Heidi Martinuzzi

Mar 5, 2004, 08:21

Eight sketch comedy groups all on one tape…sounds like a plan. Unfortunately, if some groups are funnier than others, the contrast will be unmistakable. That’s what happens on the DVD Laughing-Stock. A compilation of eight comedy sketch groups doing what they do best. Laughing-Stock is a very funny film with comedic highs, and lows.

Depending on your sense of humor, you’ll either love this collection or hate it. Most of the skits reveal a sarcastic and witty line of jokes. In other words, the skits are intelligent. There is no groin-kicking, farting, or boob pinching. There is no profanity or nudity. All of the sketches are well delivered and well written. Even with all these similarities, all eight groups have their own distinct style.

The first group is HotDogBoy, a two-man group that illustrates the misadventures of the unfortunate in skits that always end with “to be continued.” Mildly funny and entertaining, but no side-splitting laughs here.

Wahltoons, headed by Dave Wahl of Washington, immediately shows a much more biting humor. Literacy Midget is their best skit, relying on Simpsons-esque irony to generate laughter.

Night Shift, rivaled only by All Filler, practically commits grand theft DVD by showing the funniest skits in the anthology. Reminiscent of HBO’s Mr. Show, Night Shift is headed by Dom Zook, who is an extremely talented comedian and actor who steals the show completely.

David Nixon writes, films, and stars in all of his own skits on this DVD, Five Short Death Scenes. With larger-than-life facial expressions and over-the-top physical humor, it’s slightly less intelligent but still worth watching. He deserves credit for being able to carry a comedy skit all by himself.

The Cupid Players are a musical group that sings humorous songs. Filmed live, their sketches lack a polished quality that the others have, and the audio is difficult to hear. Their humor is lackluster after the hilarity of the Night Shift team.

Unexpected Productions brings only one short to this compilation. Man behind the Motion is a mockumentary-style skit that looks into the life of the man who designs the moves of victims in car crash video games. In the fail-proof Waiting for Guffman style, Unexpected is successful in their endeavor to make fun of people with dumb jobs who take themselves too seriously.

All Filler is another extremely funny group that overshadows the others. With quite a few skits–each funny and distinct–their Kids in the Hall offbeat humor had me nearly vomiting, I laughed so hard and so long.

Troop! ends the DVD with a few zombie sketches that make fun of Night of the Living Dead, but it’s more like watching a bad Saturday Night Live episode after all of the excitement of All Filler. An episode, perhaps, with Gwyneth Paltrow.

All of these skits are funny in their own way.  Lovers of sarcastic, mocking, and sardonic humor will love All Filler and Night Shift, while people who like more mainstream humor will enjoy Cupid Players and Unexpected Productions. However, placing such different groups in succession on one DVD will always leave some of the groups at a disadvantage. Some have higher budgets, better cameramen, better sound, and always, different senses of humor. Viewers will enjoy some of the skits, depending on their senses of humor, but are unlikely to enjoy all of them because of these distinctions.

Three stars.