MicroCinema Scene

They aren’t friends, but they do see each other in the hallways between classes. Occasionally they even say hello. Tracy and Chris, two students at fictional Hillcrest High — which could easily be any high school in America–are the protagonists whose lives unravel in heartbreaking detail throughout the course Maria Petros’ debut film Ascension. Hiding their deeply personal struggles under a thin guise of false smiles and mock indifference, these two corridor acquaintances are, in actuality, trapped in a private hell and nearing the precipice of their own emotional endurance.
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Jason: Return to Camp Blood faces off Jason Voorhees with his old nemesis Tommy Jarvis. What differentiated the Tommy Jarvis character from all of Jason Voorhees’ other adversaries—from the Carrie-like, Tina Shepard, in Friday the 13th: The New Blood, to the over the top super-villain, Freddy Krueger, in Freddy vs Jason, was that Tommy wasn’t super-human. He wasn’t blessed with telekinesis like Tina, nor was he able to hop in and out of people’s dreams like Freddy. Heck, he wasn’t even particularly brave. What he was though, was a reluctant hero. A guy simply a guy trying to do the right thing.

I’ve always liked the Tommy Jarvis character, from his emergence in Friday the 13th 4: The Final Chapter (where he was played by a young Corey Feldman), through his tryst in a mental institute in Friday the 13th 5: A New Beginning (that time played by a brooding John Shepherd), through to his re-emergence as a man obsessed with Jason in Friday the 13th 6: Jason Lives! (played by a wild-eyed Thom Mathews), his characters progression from film to film was a delight to watch, and his final act of heroism, calling Jason on, in hopes of diverting Jason’s attention from a cabin filled with children in Jason Lives! was the great last hurrah for the character. Tommy is, was, and will always be, one of those unsung (not to mention, unconventional) cinematic heroes from my youth. That’s why I was quite excited when I heard about this short film.

Jason: Return to Camp Blood picks up after Jason Lives! with a still traumatized Tommy Jarvis (played this time by writer-director Gary Mongar) being urged by his psychiatrist to revisit the camp, in hopes that by confronting his past he will be able to finally get over the horrifying nightmares that have been plaguing him. Evidenced in the opening scene, Tommy’s dreams are truly chilling, and involve Jason, in a pristine looking hockey mask, breaking into Tommy’s house and killing his older sister (Kayla Mongar). Conflicted by his past and wishing to get on with his life, Tommy decides to take the doctor up on his suggestion to go back – to return to Camp Blood.

When Tommy arrives, he finds the camp is tattered and deserted. Weeds obscure the cabin walls, and the forest around it looks dead - Tommy’s inner-pain manifested into the camp itself? Well, maybe I’m just reaching. After dumping off his stuff beside one of the cabins, Jarvis decides to get re-acquainted with the place by going on a nature hike through the woods. Eventually he comes upon an old dilapidated, creepy-looking shack deep in the forest. Venturing inside, he finds a collection of bones and something that terrifies him to his core, and confirms who the owner of this shack is once and for all. Anyone familiar with the ending of the Friday the 13th Part 2 will surely know what Tommy finds inside. For whatever reason, this sparks Jason, who seems to be buried in a shallow grave somewhere in the forest, back to life.

At this point, our group of teens (or rather, pre-teens) arrive to set up camp for the night. At first the children, played by Seth Light, Kayla Mongar, Ta Anderson, Andrew Thierer and Nicole Frederickson, make small talk and bide their time, waiting for their friend to arrive. It seems this friend has a key that promises to open one of the cabins. Eventually the kids split up and wander around the camp, looking for a cabin that might be open – somewhere to sleep for the night. Jason takes this opportunity to pick them off. Each killing is angry and violent, and the fact that it is actually children being sliced and diced this time around makes it all the more disturbing. Funny, I’m used to seeing Jason killing teens, and strangely, I’m comfortable with that, but watching him hacking up children, I found that hard to stomach.

The final confrontation between Jason and Tommy is, as expected, quite exciting, with Tommy facing down the big man Leone-style, while trying to save the last remaining child. This explosive climax, which develops a sort of comic tone, is dramatic and explosive—and, in the tradition of the source material, leaves itself open for a sequel.

Gary Mongar gathered his family for a weekend to shoot this short film, with each member of the family (and their friends) taking on one of the technical chores when not appearing on camera. The CG special effects, which include a car being tossed and a fairly massive explosion, aren’t that bad considering the budget for the whole film was probably what was in their pocket on that particular day. Kudos also to the cinematography, mindful of Fred Murphy’s turn in Freddy vs Jason, makes great use of blue, green and red filters. Divided into three segments, each piece—the dream, the return, and the show-down, are all represented by an individual color scheme. With all these things going for it, it does seem important to mention that it isn’t a perfect piece by any means. Hindered by amateur/high school level acting, corny dialogue and some really choppy editing, it is easy to remember that this is a fan film and nothing more.

Of all the fan films I’ve watched, I found this one the hardest to endure. The image of Jason hacking, slashing and even, at one point, mutilating, children, is just too much to take. Remember, if you do decide to download this film from Gary Mongar’s official website, well, let’s just say, you’ve been warned. For fans of the Friday the 13th series only.

Two and a half stars.

A houseful of female wrestlers enjoying a baby-shower for a friend find themselves staring down the wrong end of a maniac’s gun. That maniac is Sam Butler and he’s midway through his first-ever rampage. Beginning early that morning, Butler, played with unflinching intensity by Ari Levin, discovers his wife in bed with the local sheriff. In a spur of the moment decision, Butler grabs the sheriff’s gun and kills both of them.

Afterwards, Sam contemplates his actions, and decides that his wife, and all women for that matter, are to blame for what had just transpired. Sam’s pure hot rage erupts into a violent rampage. With his wife’s decapitated head by his side, Butler prowls the streets of Las Vegas looking for victims. The first victim, a hooker, played by Tina Prunty, protests vigorously and winds up having a blade driven through her mouth in a shocking scene which is filmed in broad daylight in downtown Las Vegas. With her severed limb dangling from his bumper, Butler drives away nonchalantly, looking for another mark.

At the same time, a group of female wrestlers are having a baby-shower for their friend Barbara. Innocent fun turns into a hellish nightmare as Sam stumbles upon the group and, after tying them up, begins to dispatch each one of them in incredibly gruesome ways—including one controversial moment which involves an abortion and subsequent fetus removal. Not even a good samaritan with a bat, and a couple of flustered cops, can halt this bloody thrill-ride. A final shot of Sam sitting in a blood-filled bathtub, holding his wife’s head, is absolutely jarring.

Las Vegas Bloodbath is bottom-rung filmmaking, for sure. From its minimal story, to its horrendous editing and uninventive cinematography, this is about as shoddy and amateurish as you can get. Released in 1989, this shot-on-video feature also has the distinction of being, possibly, one of the most disgusting micro-films ever made. Special effects wizards William Darold McDonald (The Corpse Grinders 2) and David Dalton, who also did the music for the film, are able to produce some very realistic looking gore scenes; definitely too good for a film this inferior. Interesting to note that only William Darold McDonald went onto have any kind of career in films, often working for horror legend Ted V. Mikels. The rest of the cast and crew would never make, or appear in, another film.

Sadly, whatever credibility the special effects bestow upon the picture is immediately stolen away by the poor acting ability of the cast. Too many times people can be seen looking at the camera or even smirking when they are supposed to be expressing horror. The most egregious moment comes late in the film when one of the women begins to laugh as she’s being murdered, eventually turning her head away from the camera. Nothing pulls a viewer out of a film faster than that kind of stuff – noting how important it is to have a good editor on staff.

Ari Levin, who seems locked into a sort of concentrated pose throughout, offers a brief glimpse of his limited acting ability when he stops to reminisce about his honeymoon with one of his victims, in a rather unorthodox scene.

To his credit, David Schwartz, who wrote, directed and produced the film, is at least willing to take chances. He really is quite brazen, evidenced by shooting one particularly gruesome moment—which also features the actress being disrobed—in a back alley in broad daylight as cars drive by. This is daring stuff that most other directors might have retreated from in favor of something less risky.

Las Vegas Bloodbath is a technical mess that is redeemed only slightly by some very superior special effects.

One star.

Frank D’Agostino has had quite a storied career in the movies, which spans over a decade. Since 1996, he’s performed everything from producing to writing to working as an extras coordinator on a handful of films, including the Drew Barrymore vehicle Fever Pitch. In 2001, he even worked alongside one of my favorite directors, Jay Woelfel, as an A.D. on his films Ghost Lake and Demonicus.

However, it wasn’t until 2005 that Frank D’Agostino finally decided to take the ultimate plunge and direct his first film. Thus, I was quite excited when I received a copy of his obscure debut effort Killer Campout in the mail. After throwing it in the old DVD player, the first thing I noticed was that he was using his pseudonym—Victor Franko. Not a good sign, I thought. In hindsight, whatever professional concerns he had about attaching his real name to the project, which apparently cost around five hundred dollars, seems almost unjustified. This is a very good first effort, considering.

The plot revolves around a group of seven teenagers who decide to get away to the woods for a weekend camping trip. All sounds well except that the fairly isolated forest area where they intend to set up camp is near the spot where a couple of girls were murdered only a few weeks earlier – as exhibited in a harrowing opening sequence.

D’Agostino takes great care in the first twenty minutes, introducing the seven characters who will become obvious worm nourishment in the second forty minutes The first couple, Jason, played by bodybuilder Patrick Hickey, and his girlfriend Betty, played by Jessica Cabrera, aren’t so much interested in experiencing nature as they are in experiencing Brad and Cindy, the other guy/girl couple on board.

Anthony Goes, bearing an uncanny resemblance to mainstream actor Jeremy Sisto, plays Brad, the attentive boyfriend to the effervescent Cindy, played by Jillian Swanson (Cold Heart of Crystal Lake). Brad, who is shown fleeing his abusive father in an early scene, and Cindy, who chooses to bring along her mentally-challenged pal despite objections by her friends, are great together and work well as the film’s moral center. You can bet money that they’ll make it into the final act.

The third couple, characterizations obviously borrowed from Sleepaway Camp 2, are a pair of camo-clad apathetic stoner girls, Dilly and Dolly, played by Channa Yem and Jana Granville. These two, obviously created by D’Agostino with the intent of upping the body count tally, lack any real development or interest. Their sloppily-scripted discussions involve only a handful of forgettable topics including getting high, arson, and freaking out Cindy’s brother with overblown stories of a monster lurking in the woods. Lastly, James Granville (A Stranger Within) is totally over-the-top as the nerdy, mentally-disabled Ernie, who tags along on the trip at the urging of his friend Cindy. You can almost bet money that Ernie won’t make it even one minute into the second act.

Across the board the performances are great, and with the exception of Dolly and Dilly, the characters are rich and absorbing, from Jason’s trepidation at asking Brad and Cindy to swing, to Cindy’s loyalty to Ernie, it’s easy to suggest that D’Agostino spent a good deal of time developing his characters – something I wasn’t expecting when I sat down to watch the film.

After settling into the camp, the seven teens quickly see their numbers slowly whittled down one-by-one by a deranged backwoods killer—the proverbial boogeyman who never really emerges out of the closet (or in this case, out from behind the tree), long enough for us to get any sense of his reasoning or purpose. Clad in a pillow case liken to the one used by the maniac in the 1977 cult film The Town That Dreaded Sundown, he comes off as more caustic than frightening.

To the film’s credit, there’s a pair of interesting and totally unexpected twists that will surely leave the viewer with their mouth agape in stunned disbelief. I know that I was caught off-guard, and will probably never enter a tent without checking first.

Lyndsey Purchon (Harrison Macauley Is Going to Kill Me) does an absolutely amazing job of providing some realistic gore/make-up effects here, including one gruesome scene where a person has their head smashed to pieces by a large mallet. The soundtrack by Bill Lumb is also surprisingly good. Filtering out the two opening songs, which sound lifted from a swanky 70’s porn movie, the music is unsettling and really helps lend some atmosphere to the proceedings.

The film tends to lose traction by the sheer over-abundance of slow-motion shots, as evidenced in the pivotal final moments where numerous shots are loitered to twice their actual running length over and over again. After a while you get the sense that the editor was doing his utmost to pad out the running time, much to the detriment of the overall film.



Killer Campout is a rather harmless entry into the slasher genre, made good by some really high energy performances, realistic gore, and a great soundtrack. I recommend.

Three stars.

Spanning three decades, Ryan Graham’s comic masterpiece Livelihood has elements of a standard zombie film, in that the dead rise from their graves and wander the streets – however, that’s about as far as the similarities extended. Livelihood, for all intents and purposes, is about as removed from a standard zombie film as you can get.

Existing in an almost parallel reality, a nondescript calamity has forced an earthly ascension of those who have long since deceased. Pustular and smelling of decay, these nauseatingly repellent beings, zombies, quickly make their way out of the graveyards and into the cities. However, this is where director-writer Graham chooses to flex a creatively ambitious muscle by having these zombies attempting to acclimatize, rather than feed.

Standard zombies these are not, as their minds and human desires remain intact. These ‘people’ act as though they’ve simply re-emerged from a long nap, although a little tattered in a physical sense, they are only interested in getting back their lives. There is some prejudice against them, of course, and they look and smell a little odd, but they adjust fairly well.

This plot definitely has elements of a good idea, but sadly the writer (or, in this case, three writers) isn’t clear on how to expand on it. Graham’s spasm of avant-garde thought gives way to three distinct storylines which feel recycled from any of the multitude of pedestrian soap operas. Not to say that it’s a bad thing, cause it really isn’t, it’s just that I wish more could have been made of Graham’s initial idea; the social, financial and religious implications of it all.

The story follows the life, death and resurrection of three very different people, and their attempt to reclaim those things they enjoyed before fate, or whatever, took it away.

First off there is Billy Jump (Stephen B. Thomas), a 1980s Big Hair Rock God whose fall from grace, enhanced by a never-ending infusion of drugs and alcohol, has left him snarly and mean, a veritable shadow of a person barely in touch with his own sanity. Following an awkward scene where Billy angrily fires his bandmates, he decides to lock himself away in his dressing room for a night of unprecedented excess. In an interesting irony, his own livelihood, his electric guitar, would play a prominent role in ushering forth his eventual demise.

Next up is Alexander Keaton (Scott P. Graham), who is possibly the most sympathetic character of the bunch, playing slave to both his cantankerous girlfiend and his lecherous boss. The ultimate optimist, Keaton has only one desire, to live the all-American dream; a wife, kids and a white picket fence.  Sadly, the road to prosperity has some really sharp edges – something he learns all too well early in the film. Working late into the night destroying documents for his boss, Mr. Endicott, Keaton finds himself facing down a man dressed in a Samurai suit. He doesn’t fare well, as Keaton is decapitated in one smooth slice.

The last person in our story is Vida, played by Michelle Trout. Although their piece features some of the best acting, it is ultimately the least absorbing of the three story lines. Jean (Amy Smith) and Roger (Lewis Smith) appear to be a very loving couple, at least on the surface. However, the continued presence of Roger’s mother, Vida, has started to take a toll on Jean, who finds herself unable to live up Vida’s unreasonable expectations of what a good wife would be for her son. Jean has sought therapy, but it doesn’t seem to be doing much to ease the problem. One day while fixing dessert Jean adds an extra ingredient, a poisonous substance, into Vida’s tapioca pudding. The end result, Vida dying into her half eaten bowl of pudding, is to Jean’s liking. Those pangs of guilt that Jean is supposed to feel, in light of her nefarious transgression, remain absent. This is elaborated on in a strangely written follow-up scene between Roger and her.

Focusing mere minutes on the whole ‘dead-rising-from-the-grave’ segment, Graham wastes little time moving into the second act. When you realize that his intentions aren’t in presenting another prosaic zombie flick, you quickly understand his reasons for refraining from routine.

Three new, interesting and unexpected elements arise as our main characters, now zombies, attempt to reintegrate themselves into their former lives. Much of the film is shot cinema verite style using a hand held Sony VX1000, which gives us a more intimate feel for the characters and their individual dilemmas. We can’t help but sympathize with them, for the most part. We feel their sadness, their anger, and of course, their happiness.

Billy Jump, the longest deceased, and most outwardly decayed, is seeking to get his band back together. A changed man, Jump sees his resurrection as a chance to make right the things that went wrong before and even maybe finally get serious about his chosen vocation. He seeks out his former friend, deaf keyboardist Beat Ovin (Mike Bennett), the only member of his band he felt possessed any talent. This storyline has the greatest potential for comedy and it delivers all around. From Billy’s loud speeches in falsetto, to Ovin’s wide-eyed attempts at comprehension, this is pure hilarity. Their recruitment of various bandmates, which play in a series of witty sketches, is also very funny. When Billy and his newly-formed band jump up on the stage at the end of the film to belt out a song, you’ll find yourself rejoicing in their triumph of spirit, while laughing at the sheer absurdity of it all.

Keaton, with his head firmly tethered to his shoulders, attempts to return home, but finds his girlfriend in bed with one of his female co-workers. His girlfriend, who is about as sympathetic as an ice storm in the arctic, sends him packing. After scrounging up enough courage to ask his old boss for his job back, he is rewarded with a lowly caterer position. Making the best of his situation, Keaton strikes up a friendship with Endicott’s attractive daughter, Zoey, played by the extremely talented Kara Webb. Zoey is the black nail polish, goth variety girl, but she’s got a kind heart and despite her father’s objections (or maybe because of it), she decides to pursue a romantic relationship with Keaton. It’s a relationship that truly becomes the emotional center of the movie. Eventually all the sneaking around they go through to be together pays off when they stumble upon some very important, and very illegal, information regarding Zoey’s father. There’s also another neat twist involving the samurai from earlier, the one that killed Keaton, which will probably bug you until the final revelation. I know it bugged me.

The last story involving Vida returning home to torment Jean some more, while getting re-acquainted with her son, plays out as a low-budget take on the Lopez-Fonda vehicle Monster In-Law, but with a darker whimsicality. I’ve never been a fan of dark comedies where the main characters spend the film hurting each other, and this segment is no different; plus, it’s just plain vulgar. It’s like Graham was saving his gross-out humor for this segment, and sometimes it’s a little much. There are moments when the characters act in such a way as to advance the plot, or at least set-up a joke, but sadly, it’s a glaringly obvious and the pay-off doesn’t always work because of it. The acting by Trout and Smith is really quite good, and collectively, the two make for some great moments, but the piece, so dark and mean-spirited, sticks out like a sore thumb. On a plus side, some of the physical stuff between the two actresses plays out as interesting, if not a little fun, and the final twist, involving the son, is quite good. Lewis Smith, who underplays his role, coming across as the stoic Roger, almost weak in the first half, has a surprisingly effective about-face in the finale.

Although Graham resisted the urge to use his film as a discourse for some kind of grand political statement, he does manage to get in the odd jab. Between, breaking up each story with a humorous commercial hawking some product for zombies, and the executives at Kashgrab Records, who are the first to see the possibilities of successfully marketing a real-live dead singer, you get the sense that Graham is making a pronouncement about how the US has become a overly-consumerist, over-commercialized culture. Outrageous as it may seem, you get the sense that it’s not that far from the truth. He also makes broad statements about racism, corporate corruption and the widening divide between socio-economic classes. If I would have dug a little deeper, I’m sure I probably could have found more.

Overall I was quite impressed with the film. Graham has an interesting and unique and original vision, and it’ll be interesting to see where it will take him in the future.

Three and a half stars.

America’s obsession with home renovation reality shows like “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” and “Homes By Design” is given a shot in the arm with this latest Dave Wascavage production. Filmed on digital video and on a relatively meager budget, Zombies By Design satirizes everything we’ve come love and hate about reality-tv, from its all too perky hosts, to its flamboyant designers, to its cheaply produced, often over-the-top, presentation of what it suggests is authentic. Dave also manages to take a swipe at our consumerist, television-addicted culture—a culture that has more people voting for reality show contestants than for Presidential candidates.

Jill Hildebrandt, in a very good performance, plays Jay Blackheart, a woman who senses that her husband, Lex (David M. Sitbon), an embittered military weapons engineer, is becoming increasingly obsessed with his inventions. It’s starting to take a toll on their marriage. In a bold move, she invites the crew of a national home renovation reality show, ironically titled Reanimated Houses, to stop by and make-over her house during a live broadcast, in hopes that it will spruce up her marriage. Under the guise of winning a contest, the show’s other host, Brett Sanders, played by Bill Ushler, and his cameraman, played by Jim Hanna, whisk an unsuspecting Lex away in a limo to a commercial resort known as Heaven’s Gate.

As the Reanimated Houses’ production team, made up of host, Tara Lee (Diane Leoni), designer Charmaine Tomae (Michelle Bonavita) and carpenters Erin Pascale (Mary Wascavage) and Mark Mason (Juan Fernandez), move into the Blackheart residence, which is stationed beside an old spooky-looking cemetery, they quickly discern that this isn’t your usual suburban home. After stumbling upon an extra hidden room in the basement, complete with a dead body on a table, their suspicions are confirmed—Jay’s hubby Lex is up to no good.

Back at the resort, Lex has dispatched the overbearing host with a nicely-placed shot to the neck. He later reanimates him using a strange device which he attaches to his head. The cameraman, Hanna, is horrified, but forced to go along with the broadcast, or risk being killed. Lex’s plan, to use the reality show as his own personal commercial to sell his latest weapon (an interesting irony, for sure), quickly materializes, as he, with a remote control, sends his WMD, the zombie in the basement, on a bloodthirsty rampage which engulfs the neighborhood… and most of the town. The fluffy live broadcast quickly becomes a video document of the group’s fight for survival, as the Reanimated Houses’ team, with Jay Blackheart, must fight off hordes of zombies, all while trying to stop Lex.

Much of the film harkens back to the original 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead, with the protagonists holed up inside a house trying to devise a means of escape. Where Wascavage moves away from the original is in its overall tone. This is where Dave really tinkers with the formula, offering up something slightly more original… and fun. This film has a real comicality to it that most zombies films don’t, including one sequence where a group of zombies use a skeleton as a battering ram. Another moment, where a woman has her eyeball quite literally ripped from her head and dangling by a vein, asks the group, “Is it that bad?” Hilarious. There’s even an odd love-story that emerges between Fernandez and Leoni’s characters – which seems all the more absurd when you consider the circumstances.

Buried in the subtext of the story is Wascavage’s obvious aversion to the culture, and how Americans are becoming increasingly dumbed-down, or ‘zombified’, by television and consumerism. It’s not by happenstance that Lex’s overall plan is to control the world through the television and, later, when Erin and Mark attempt to drag a generator out of a shed, they are able to fend off their flesh-eating attackers by simply turning on a television.

Wascavage also seems to be drawing a direct analogy to the current political climate in the US regarding the imposition of surveillance and the intimate relationship of the government and the military industrial complex. An opening shot of a homeless man tethered to a tree, later to be used as fodder for a government scientist’s first-phase weapon of mass destruction, is an interesting composite of the military as a whole and the distinct overabundance of poor to middle class currently serving as fodder in the nation’s various wars.

The acting ranges from good to great. Jill Hildebrandt, as Jay, is absolutely perfect. She nails her role, coming to life in two very different scenes that really give her character some genuine depth. During one rather heartbreaking scene, she bares her soul to a stationary camera, explaining how her marriage is unraveling and how she feels incapable of stopping it. Contrast that with an explosive scene late in the film, where she, butcher knife in hand, crashes into the yard and directly into a huddle of zombies, in the ultimate act of defiance. I absolutely loved both of those scenes. David M. Sitbon, as Lex, is also great. Sitbon quietly underplays his villainous character, which makes him seem even more menacing. Most b-movie villains are tempted to go as over the top as possible, but not Sitbon. David uses his eyes instead of his voice, well, minus his grating laugh, presenting a scheming, sexually ambiguous character, who seems capable of anything.

I also thought Diane Leoni and Michelle Bonavita (Suburban Sasquatch), and their running hatred for each other, was great for a few laughs. Mary Wascavage and Juan Fernandez (Tartarus) have an entirely different dynamic. These two puerile jokesters really pull it together when the chips begin to fall – taking advantage of their on-screen chemistry to save the group. I also enjoyed seeing Wes Miller (Fungicide) as a sleazy bad-ass congressman, and Dave Bonavita as the burly Reanimated Houses camera man. These two were great in their supporting roles.

Technically speaking, Wascavage’s use of CG special effects continues to improve with each new film. One specific shot of an army of cops converging on the Heaven’s Gate resort is absolutely fantastic. There’s also more than enough gore and severed limbs to keep an ardent horror fan tuned in and happy. Not to say the film isn’t flawed, because it is. There’s a huge lingering continuity problem. Many of the scenes are occurring between day and night, but, sadly, they are supposed to be happening at the same time. Also, a shot of Mary scaling down the side of the house is met with a laugh when you realize that her hair just isn’t hanging correctly. Personally, I found it quite hilarious but I’m guessing that the nay-sayers and nit-pickers will look past the comedy in favor of a chance to attack Mr. Wascavage.

Zombies By Design doesn’t necessarily transcend its well-worn genre, but it is far from the worst of its type and it has an honest comedic charm – something to contrast its hermetical observations, and off-the-wall gore. How can I not recommend this title? Another ambitious and entertaining film from a director who never fails to impress me. 

Bret A. Arnold’s first foray into writing and directing is a refreshingly funny, surprisingly witty, coming of age story. Spanning the course of one day, this film (shot in black and white) follows four high school friends on the first day of summer as they attempt to raise enough money to buy a twenty-dollar pizza. They’re not slackers so much as they, like a lot of teens, are just broke.

The four characters are Rodney, played by first time actor Ian Jung. He is, for the most part, the straight arrow of the group. His biggest worries seems to be whether or not to clean his cat Alderon’s litter box, or risk being wrestled into submission by his overbearing older brother, Butch. There’s David, played by Christopher Heltai (2005’s Arbie). He’s a well-meaning sort – he just can’t seem to figure out what to do with himself. Next, there’s Lenny, played by Pete Stone. He is the carefree burn-out of the group. Forever armed with his trusty pot pipe, Lenny’s blank stares and meandering speech helps to add a level of comedy to any and all proceedings. Lastly, there’s Steve, played by Jayson Schaal (2000’s The Debut). Steve is easily the most ambiguous member of the group. At first he comes across as a real bad apple, a kid with a lot of problems… and secrets, until a certain revelation late in the film, adds a whole other dimensional—and humanity—to his character.

Moving at an easy, relaxed pace, the camera seems to act as a fifth person, shades of Nick Gomez’s Laws of Gravity, casually following alongside these four friends as they peruse their humble suburban stomping grounds – beating a path up neighborhood streets, down winding bicycle paths, across a set of train tracks and even through a school yard, all in search of the elusive twenty dollars needed to buy that pizza. As they walk, they conceive of new ways in which to acquire the money, and with each idea (not all of which are legal, by the way), there comes another adventure they must embark on.

Every inch of their journey is alive and filled with the energy that comes from being young. These characters are at that age when the glimmers of understanding about adult life are there, but they still live, by choice, or otherwise, within the strange logic of their youth. Everything, from breaking into a car, to confronting a local drug dealer (with a certain staring problem) in hopes of acquiring the ten dollars he owes, to facing down a local bully, to fending off a crazed school security guard, who smells, strangely, like urine – each situation sparkles with the innocence and invincibility of adolescence.

By the end of the journey, you’ll have felt like you’ve spent the day with four of your best friends. You’ll find yourself sympathizing with them, caring about them, and even rooting for them to get that pizza – and wishing you could be there to share a slice.

The thing I found most refreshing about the film is the exceptional writing. The characters, from the local bully, to the record store employee, to the despotic older brother, are multi-layered and thoughtful. Arnold is not content delivering a composite, instead he opts to give each character, even secondary ones, multiple dimensions. The most explicit example involves the local bully, in a scene late in the film. While readying to lay a beating into a kid, the bully, Spike, whispers a quiet apology, telling his intended victim that he actually likes him and that he has to follow through with the beating in order to save face with his friends.

Another thing I should mention is Arnold’s insistence on outrageous dialogue, so raw and salacious it walks the line between cunningly witty and outright vulgarity. Since the protagonists here are teens, you can only guess that much of the dialogue focuses on sex – all kinds of sex. Just some of the topics they gleam include a friend who lost his virginity in a morgue (figure out the rest), to which celebrity they would orally satisfy, if it came to that. Don Knotts, yeah, Don Knotts, seems to be odds-on favorite. Other discussions involve who would be the victor if Ebert and Siskel were to throw down, and whether or not that dead cat they are carrying around is actually Alderon.

The acting, by a mostly inexperienced cast, runs from great to okay, with a few standouts. J.D. Evermore, who plays the local bully, Spike, has since moved onto more mainstream films appearing in Waiting… and Walk The Line. The record store employee, Shane Brolly, has also moved onto fame appearing in a major role in 2006’s Underworld: Evolution. Jason Schnuit, as the older brother, has become a prominent face in several b-movies (my stomping ground), working for everyone from Jim Wynorski to Fred Olen Ray.

When Stomping Grounds was premiered at the Hermosa Beach Film Festival in 1998, the panel of judges, lead by Roger Avary of Killing Zoe and Pulp Fiction fame, were so impressed they bequeathed the film with the prestigious ‘Maverick Award;’ and for good reason, this is a wonderful film.

Stomping Grounds reminds us that, in our youth, days and weeks seemed to last forever. Summer was not a season but a lifetime and our friends, those hazy days spent together eating pizza or talking about those things that seem so mundane in hindsight, the summer stretched out in front of you, examplified better than anything that feeling of being alive.

Watching this film was a pleasure. 

Dave Bundtzen’s vision of George Lucas’ Star Wars universe is played out in the film Star Wars: Rogue. Inspired only slightly by Dave Wolverton’s novel The Courtship of Princess Leia and the video game Rogue Leader, Bundtzen and writer James DeRuvo carefully craft a unique and charming Star Wars fan film in the flavour of the old style spaghetti western.

It isn’t stated outright when this story takes place within the context of the Star Wars franchise, but based on the mentioned destruction of Alderon and the indication that Darth Vader is still in power, it suggests that it fits within the space of Episode IV and Episode V. The internet movie database also implies this time frame as well.

In the opening stages of the film, a sprawling title card in the tradition of all other Star Wars films, introduces us to the situation at hand; Imperial atrocities have compelled Commander Jake Dinn to go rogue and renounce his loyalty to the Empire. A career military officer, Dinn had devoted his life to defending the Empire until the destruction of the Alderaan by the Death Star caused him to have a change of heart. His defection has sent shock waves throughout the Empire. Intent on preventing one of their most knowledgeable officers from falling into the hands of the Rebellion, Imperal forces are ruthlessly pursuing Dinn, intent on bringing him to justice.

When the film opens, Commander Jake Dinn, played by Karl Granehed, has been relieved of his position by Lord Vader himself. He is fleeing in a white Old Republic TIE fighter, with two grey TIE Interceptors in hot pursuit. After dispatching the two Interceptors during a thrilling explosive dogfight, Dinn finds his own craft locking up on him and before long he’s crash landing into the Nosfera surface down below. His hard impact in the woods is observed by a storm trooper, who quickly notifies base command.

Following the accident, Dinn awakens to find himself in the company of two villagers, Minerva, played by Victoria J. Coulson, and oupost leader Derran, played by Steve Myers. While Minerva seems like a gentle soul, her friend Derran seems motivated by something much darker. Where other films might slow down after such an explosive opening sequence, Rogue only picks up momentum. During an interesting sequence, Dinn greets his Imperial welcoming committee with a couple of well placed head shots. Anxious to flee the planet, Dinn takes Minerva’s advice and sets off to find an old wise witch who resides in a cave to the north.

Sparing any references to The Wizard of Oz, the witch is actually a Jedi Knight Amade, played Bonnie MacBird, who, along with her young apprentice, Tayla, played by Wendy Gough, have hidden away in the caves of Nosfera, avoiding all contact with people—and the Empire, that might very well be searching for them. Any association the two females Jedis might have with the Rebellion is only hinted at in passing.

Imperial Lieutenant Bora, played by Gregory Lee Kenyon, is dispatched by Admiral Keily, Osman Soykut, to seek out Dinn on the fairly isolated forest planet. It is Kenyon’s work as the cold and impersonal Bora that provides the greatest moments in the movie. Bora is cool, calculating and ruthless, and will stop at nothing to get what he seeks even if it means poking out an eye with a hot laser. Kenyon seems to be enjoying himself immensely here. During his scene with his superior, Keily, we witness an obedient, somewhat unctuous man, while later, during his scene with Minerva and Derran, his obedient posturing quickly changes to one of arrogance, condescension and disgust. Reminds me of the great performance given by Peter Cushing in the original Star Wars film.

Following a tense interrogation scene, Bora takes advantage of Derran’s intense greed to find out where Dinn might be, even smirking at the notion that the Empire should reward the outpost leader for his traitorous ways. Indeed, the information helps Bora locate Dinn, and his his two Jedi companions—complete with a Mexican style stand-off. The defining moment of Rogue occurs in these final minutes, as a violent battle ensues pitting good against evil. In a visual style reminiscent of an old Leone spaghetti western, there’s even a unique twist on the stand-off, involving, of course, a light saber and a blaster. And in a sequence that can only be called heart-stopping, Dinn uses his knowledge of the Imperial Navy to narrowly avoid total obliteration.

The production values of Star Wars: Rogue are top notch, and definitely on par with any of the three classic Star Wars films. That’s quite an achievment when you consider the fact that this whole production probably cost less than what George Lucas now pays to cater any one of his last three films. The visual effects by Eric Johnson are absolutely stunning, and in keeping with the tradition of the film series. In some of the sequences, I found myself amazed by how much detail went into making the costumes, the ships, and their interiors, look so authentic. Even hardened Star Wars fans will embrace these FX.

What also gives the film a major boost of credibility is the inclusion of mainstream Hollywood actors Gregory Lee Kenyon (Ghost Lake, reviewed on this site) and Osman Soykut (The Hot Chick). Both Kenyon and Soykut have appeared in some very big budget films and their decision to appear in Rogue lended a certain air of credibility to the production - something that is usually missing from most fan films. The biggest name in the cast however is probably Bonnie MacBird, well known to sci-fi movie fans as the writer of 1982’s Tron.

Despite having staged a Star Wars fan film competition in Australia back in 2001, George Lucas has only shown a passive interest in these kinds of films. It is sad when you consider the great work that Dave Bundtzen and James DeRuvo put into Star Wars: Rogue. It is the kind of production that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as George Lucas’ more well-known epics.

By combining Peter Mether’s The Dark Redemption, Kantz’s Contract of Evil, Nick Hallam’s Broken Allegiance, Joe Monroe’s Knight Quest with Bundtzen’s Rogue and Shane Felux’s Revelations, a Star Wars fanatic could easily create one great ‘feature length’ Star Wars anthology movie. These six films stand as an example of Star Wars fan films at their absolute finest. 

Three and a half stars.

Early in Killers By Nature there is a scene where Cory Buckner and Jeffrey Mordrid have broken into the house of a former high school bully, Nick Baxley, with the intention of frightening him. Among other things, Cory recounts the time that Nick stole his dirt bike, and the time that he egged their house. At that point, Jeffrey stops him. “No, that was Benicio Campbell…. Benicio Campbell,” he quietly repeats. Cory realizes his mistake and abruptly apologizes.

This short scene, minor as it may seem, really helped set the tone for me, allowing me to enjoy the film in ways that many other people aren’t, or weren’t, able to do. Several reviewers have suggested that Spudic, in his first time out of the gate as a director (well, if you don‘t count Attack of the Bathroom Creature), really dropped the ball. They point out that the film, despite its powerful subject matter, ultimately fails to deliver any kind of real social commentary, hinting that Spudic has simply exploited the rash of recent school shootings (including, and especially, the Columbine tragedy) in order to render an excruciatingly violent, utterly pointless, film.

I saw it much differently.

I think this is a brilliant film and I honestly believe that Eric Spudic, although a little rough around the edges, in a filmmaker sense, has genuinely managed to fashion a very entertaining, albeit violent, low-budget film.

In the first ten minutes of Killers By Nature, the audience is given unfettered access to the lives of two lost, emotionally-desolate, social rejects as they convene in a cluttered kitchen. Jeffrey Mordrid (Eric Spudic), has just finished masturbating to a porno movie and can’t even be bothered to wipe off his hands before diving into his sandwich. When Cory Buckner (Jason Contini), Jeff’s best friend, arrives, the two head upstairs to drink beers and reflect on their past, their present, and, occasionally, their future. They tend to stay away from that though, content in their knowledge that the future—their future—holds nothing of interest.

We get the sense right away that Cory and Jeffrey’s friendship is neither traditional nor wholesome. Their relationship, which bypasses the usual macho-posturing, has developed into something intense and fiery. They share everything; their secrets, their personal pain, and, chillingly, their revenge fantasies.

In one long drawn-out scene, emphasizing their unique sense of boredom, we watch as these two young men cook up the ultimate revenge scenario. Energized by beer and nourished by one too many fantastical movie situations, which could have come from any of the countless posters lining Jeffrey’s walls, they quickly devise a plan of retribution against all those who did them wrong in high school.

After promptly hashing out a battle strategy, and a list of names, the two are soon gathering up their weapons of choice and heading out, in broad daylight. Within minutes, they are standing on the doorstep of their first intended target, Nick Baxley (Nick Hearne). Their plan isn’t too kill Nick, but rather, to simply terrify him. Of course, things go wrong when the victim/aggressor roles are compromised during the act. Cory and Jeff’s unrehearsed assailant characters don‘t easily alarm Nick—a guy who has apparently spent many years tormenting kids on various schoolyards, and is savvy enough to fight them off, somewhat. When Nick makes a mad dash for the street, a poorly placed shot from Jeff’s crossbow changes everything. They’ve gone from harmless tormentors to brutal killers.

While hiding the body, Jeff and Cory are confronted by Benicio Campbell (Rory Stumpf), another name on their list. What happens next changes the entire dynamic of the film, summed up in a follow-up scene where Cory and Jeff, absolutely caked in human blood, discuss whether or not they are becoming serial killers… and that the actual act of killing wasn’t really all that bad. Before long, we get the sense that these two social misfits have acquired a single, psychotic identity. With the two, there is no sense of guilt or pangs of remorse. As the bloodletting continues, the killings - - gruesome, sadistic and extremely violent—seem simply a means of gaining an adrenaline rush for the pair. Interestingly, the murders, which seem to cement their friendship early on, slowly drives a wedge between them as the film winds down.

This tension is further exasperated when Cory places Rory Emmerich‘s name on the list. Jeffrey admits that Rory was always nice to him in high school, and even protected him. To Cory, however, Emmerich was a violent thug, a bully who deserves to die. This sets up the final act, and a brutal confrontation between the film’s two protagonists that goes a long way in pointing out the sheer futility of it all.

As suggested early on when Cory had to be reminded what Nick did to them, it was obvious to me that Spudic’s message was that there was no message. Written one year before Columbine, this was a standard allegory about two lonely misfits, not unlike Leopold and Loeb, who decide to fill the void of their mundane lives by committing murder… nothing more.

Killers By Nature seems to walk a fine line between satirical comedy and outright horror. At times it’s easy to get lost, and elements of the film, including the rushed ending, don‘t really work. One thing is for sure, Spudic is clearly attempting to push the envelope with this. From the endless bloodletting, to the extreme and excessive violence, to the disgusting shot of human feces being flushed down a toilet, the film is intent on pushing those sensitive boundaries at every available moment. I guess when you’re being distributed on a label called ‘Extreme‘, it’s sort of expected.

The acting is impressive, with Jason Contini (2001‘s April Is My Religion) coming off as a real talent. He’s believable and even a little bit frightening. Eric Spudic (2003’s The Undertow), whose acting ability continues to improve with each new film he pops up in, is the most interesting character of the piece. Outwardly, Spudic projects the nicest guy in the world, but contrast that with shots of him cutting off a man’s hand, and you are left with something very unsettling. There is also a very nice cameo appearance by prolific b-movie actor William Clifton in possibly the film’s most gruesome killing.

Overall, the film is a fairly enjoyable, ultimately entertaining, diversion. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.

On a side note, Eric Spudic’s DVD commentary of Killers By Nature should be considered mandatory listening in my opinion. It’s possibly one of the most interesting commentaries I’ve ever heard. Spudic has an encyclopedic knowledge of films that far surpasses just about every other person I’ve ever heard—including some self-described film historians. With his mellifluous voice, he literally rhymes off hundreds of titles, including various director’s filmographies, just off the top of his head, including many films I’ve never even heard of. His enthusiasm for the cinema and love of the craft is on par with that of Quentin Tarantino or Peter Bogdanovich, for sure. Spudic also gives tips on how to shoot a film, including pointing out some of his more obvious mistakes. This will surely come in handy to anyone seriously considering making their own micro-movie. After listening to this commentary, though, you’ll understand why Spudic is one of the hardest working guys in b-movies. If anyone deserves success, it’s him!

Three and a half stars.

Inspired by James Cameron’s Aliens, this Canadian sci-fi knock-off stacks the decks in favour of those who love heaping helpings of action, while curtailing just about every other aspect of the film. For some, this will be an exciting enjoyable romp, but for others, this is sure to be just another in a tedious cycle of bad sci-fi flicks.

In a sprawling title card, not unlike the one in Star Wars, we are introduced to the situation. It seems about 15 years ago a group of aggressive aliens known as the Ma’hars (the Greys we’ve become accustomed to seeing in popular media) used their knowledge of humans “from years of abductions and probings,” to launch an all-out offensive on the human race. A few of the humans who survived used the alien technology to branch off into space. Now, with the humans building up a resistance, some of them have taken to launching rebel attacks on the aliens. This film follows a group of those rebels as they are sent to investigate, and clean up, a strange planet way off in the Caprini System.

The four minute introduction of these comic book-like uber-soldiers, called the “Power Corps,” plays like a ham-fisted rehash of Starship Troopers and works as the longest stretch of complete dialogue in the whole film. From that point on, it’s action action action.

The arrival on this planet, which was, essentially, a sort-of Bio Organic Weapon experiment facility for the Ma’hars, is fraught with every kind of genetic mutation conceivable. The Ma’hars vacated the planet when the situation became untenable, leaving behind a veritable orgy of cyborgs, demented aliens, zombies, water snakes, big-hulking killer robots, werewolves, metal-eating bugs and even a crew of crazed bikers; yeah, even bikers.

From the moment our soldiers arrive, they are under attack by these parade of mutations, and those attacks never stop coming until the final credits roll. Every epic battle is resolved only to lead into another epic battle that needs to resolved, and after a while, it becomes all very repetitive. The people, hardly characters, are the equivalent to the red-shirts in Star Trek, only hanging around to be used as fodder somewhere down the line. Amongst the never-ending barrage of bullets and explosions there’s a few that stand-out characters who emerge, namely Patrick Sarong as Gums, who has a crisis of conscience when told to shoot a zombie child. I loved that scene.

The CGI in this film is very impressive, and considering the sheer amount of it, that’s not an easy feat. The film has a very Hollywood-budget look, from realistic -ooking robots to an amazing aerial battle, the visuals are a delight. One scene, a headshot on a zombie, blows up on the screen in a sort of X-ray arrangement, following the bullet as it enters, plows through, and finally exit’s the head. This shot was amazing.

Christian Viel knows how to shoot action, that’s for sure, but he should really work on developing a good story and maybe some characters that are, at least, two dimensional. It was impossible for me to get amped up for these cookie-cutters characters, who spout lines like “We’re gonna get these bastards,” scene after scene after scene. However, the “Why would anybody mess with shit that does this shit?” line was pretty good.

The music, which reminded me of Eric Clapton’s work in Philippe Mora‘s Communion, is both haunting and memorable.

Fans of big action movies will assuredly love this film, but for myself, I found my overall interest waning as the minutes ticked down and the plot revealed itself to be nothing more than a series of elongated battle scenes.

Two and a half stars.