I appreciated so many aspects of this tight thriller that I'm disappointed that I was disappointed in the final product.
Widow Violet, who was in an abusive relationship with her late husband Blake (Michael Shea), decides to date after being a single mother to Toby (Jacob Robinson) for many years. Violet counsels abuse survivors, healing vicariously through them, and decides to take the next step herself and go out with too-good-to-be-true photographer Henry (Brandon Sklenar). Smart aleck sis Jen (Violett Beane) comes over to babysit, and Violet meets Henry at an impossibly beautiful restaurant that's located in a towering skyscraper.
The couple goes through the awkward first date motions as Violet begins receiving threatening AirDrops (labelled as something else) on her phone. I'm not gonna lie, I had to look up exactly what the heck these were, and I never thought of myself as technically inept. Someone in the restaurant wants Violet to kill Henry, or else a mysterious masked man now in her home will kill her sister and son. The game is on as Violet tries to figure out who in the restaurant is terrorizing her without telling Henry too much.
I read a few reviews where Fahy's performance was criticized, but I thought she did a fantastic job as the formerly abused Violet. During the more threatening, angry aspects of the mystery dropper's campaign of terror, Violet would remove herself from the situation- putting on a blank expression and pulling inward- and her performance was very effective. Sklenar as Henry is very good and they have a great chemistry, but this is Violet's story and we spend the most screen time with Fahy. The restaurant locale is a triumph of set decoration and design. Along with the fantastic cinematography, the restaurant, bar, cage-like entry tunnel, and even the bathroom are memorable and menacing. I also appreciated that director Landon or the screenwriters did NOT have Violet read her messages out loud to herself so the audience would know what was happening. The film makers made great use of text and images onscreen, reading what was being sent while watching Violet react to the messages as we were reading them. Violet is not former special forces/commando, so that was another plus.
Unfortunately, as with many films of this ilk, the filmmakers could not maintain the intensity of the opening act as things began to get more ridiculous. I started to question character motivations and scene placement- there's a strange man beating your sister and child at home, but we're going to pause to open up about our feelings to our new date? Are we going to circle around to the immediate danger later, after dessert and coffee? The final few minutes of the film are especially disappointing, losing me and my timeline belief suspension completely.
Landon's direction is certainly enthusiastic and interesting, and I was glad we didn't try to stretch this tight little story into a two and a half hour running time just because we could. I was hoping to get a lean-and-mean tone, but "Drop" will probably drop out of my memory as soon as I post this review.
Stats:
(2025) 95 min. (5/10)
-Directed by Christopher Landon
-Written by Jillian Jacobs & Chris Roach
-Cast: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson, Reed Diamond, Gabrielle Ryan, Sarah McCormack, Jeffery Self, Ed Weeks, Ben Pelletier, Travis Nelson, Saoirse Hayden, Fiona Browne
-(US: PG-13)-(UK: 15)-(Au: MA15+)- Physical violence, gun violence, some gore, some profanity, adult situations, alcohol use
-Media Viewed: Amazon Prime Video Streaming
Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Saturday, November 8, 2025
Film Review: "Meteor" (1979)
If Hollywood award gold is your benchmark for excellence in cinema, "Meteor" should have been one of the greatest films of all-time. The first nine credited cast members were all Oscar and Emmy nominees and winners sometime in their careers before and after the movie's release, with more golden talent further down in the cast list, credited and uncredited. Likewise with the director, screenwriters, soundtrack composer, cinematographer, editor, production designer, set decorator, and costume designer. It was nominated for an Oscar itself for Best Sound- the film's only nomination for any award from any awards group (getting beat by "Apocalypse Now"). However, the film craters thanks to an uninterested cast, hilarious special effects, screenplay padding, and its arrival a few years too late in the cooling disaster film subgenre.
Paul Bradley (a terminally angry Sean Connery) is called back in to his former employer NASA. A giant meteor is headed for Earth, arriving in six days. Paul was involved with the installation of nuclear missiles in space to thwart such a situation that will never happen, so instead the United States pointed the missles at those Commies in the U.S.S.R. As luck would have it, the Russians had their own system, and likewise pointed theirs at the United States. Neither country has the necessary firepower to destroy the meteor, but if we can just work together (any Cold War kid/Generation Xer remember détente?) we can defeat a common enemy and save this crazy screwed-up planet!
There's a germ of a good idea, copied many times later for straight-to-video and basic cable television pablum. A little online reading shows that some of the special effects companies involved were hired and fired, with the budget shrinking each time. I give plenty of leeway when it comes to special effects from the films and television of my childhood, but I couldn't help but shake my head at a lot of this. The production company was American-International Pictures, a studio known for its low budgets. It looks like their money was spent entirely on the cast. Natalie Wood doesn't appear until a third of the way through the picture but is involved in the best scene featuring duelling Russian translators. For a big piece of rock traveling at 30,000 miles per hour, this is one slow moving meteor. The nuclear missiles also move at a snail's pace, adding a few precious minutes to the running time. The underground command center looks like something out of a Bond film, disconcerting when you consider the film's lead. There's an argument during a Cabinet meeting that had me muttering "you can't fight in here, this is the war room!" as Landau portrays a typical Hollywood unhinged military officer, more concerned with the Russkies finding out about our missiles than trying to save the planet. Speaking of typical Hollywood unhinged military officers, a surprising amount of supporting cast members also guested on the television series "M*A*S*H," a show whose episodes I have seen many times over thanks to syndicated blocks of programming on over-the-air stations.
Like the previous year's "Avalanche," "Meteor" comes at the end of the disaster film cycle, which gave us classics like "The Poseidon Adventure," "Airport," and "The Towering Inferno," and the genre was skewered a year later by "Airplane!" The Best Sound Oscar nomination was a surprise, but considering the Special Visual Effects Academy Awards nominees for that year, there was no way "Meteor" was going to score anything else- Visual Effects winner "Alien," and nominees "The Black Hole," "Moonraker," "1941," and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."
I remember wanting to see "Meteor" when it was released (I was eleven and already a rabid film fan, recognizing most of the cast names), and then when it appeared again on HBO. I never seemed to get to it, not even clips, so watching it on a streaming service was a bittersweet nostalgia.
Stats:
(1979) 108 min. (2/10)
-Directed by Ronald Neame
-Screenplay by Stanley Mann & Edmund H. North, Story by Edmund H. North
-Cast: Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Martin Landau, Trevor Howard, Richard Dysart, Henry Fonda, Joe Campanella, Bibi Besch, Clyde Kusatsu, Peter Donat, Sybil Danning, Philip Sterling, Johnny Yune, Roy Edward Disney, John Spencer
-(US: PG)-(UK: PG)-(Au: PG)- Physical violence, mild gore, profanity, alcohol use
-Media Viewed: Amazon Prime Video Streaming
*Academy Awards*
-Best Sound (lost to "Apocalypse Now")
Paul Bradley (a terminally angry Sean Connery) is called back in to his former employer NASA. A giant meteor is headed for Earth, arriving in six days. Paul was involved with the installation of nuclear missiles in space to thwart such a situation that will never happen, so instead the United States pointed the missles at those Commies in the U.S.S.R. As luck would have it, the Russians had their own system, and likewise pointed theirs at the United States. Neither country has the necessary firepower to destroy the meteor, but if we can just work together (any Cold War kid/Generation Xer remember détente?) we can defeat a common enemy and save this crazy screwed-up planet!
There's a germ of a good idea, copied many times later for straight-to-video and basic cable television pablum. A little online reading shows that some of the special effects companies involved were hired and fired, with the budget shrinking each time. I give plenty of leeway when it comes to special effects from the films and television of my childhood, but I couldn't help but shake my head at a lot of this. The production company was American-International Pictures, a studio known for its low budgets. It looks like their money was spent entirely on the cast. Natalie Wood doesn't appear until a third of the way through the picture but is involved in the best scene featuring duelling Russian translators. For a big piece of rock traveling at 30,000 miles per hour, this is one slow moving meteor. The nuclear missiles also move at a snail's pace, adding a few precious minutes to the running time. The underground command center looks like something out of a Bond film, disconcerting when you consider the film's lead. There's an argument during a Cabinet meeting that had me muttering "you can't fight in here, this is the war room!" as Landau portrays a typical Hollywood unhinged military officer, more concerned with the Russkies finding out about our missiles than trying to save the planet. Speaking of typical Hollywood unhinged military officers, a surprising amount of supporting cast members also guested on the television series "M*A*S*H," a show whose episodes I have seen many times over thanks to syndicated blocks of programming on over-the-air stations.
Like the previous year's "Avalanche," "Meteor" comes at the end of the disaster film cycle, which gave us classics like "The Poseidon Adventure," "Airport," and "The Towering Inferno," and the genre was skewered a year later by "Airplane!" The Best Sound Oscar nomination was a surprise, but considering the Special Visual Effects Academy Awards nominees for that year, there was no way "Meteor" was going to score anything else- Visual Effects winner "Alien," and nominees "The Black Hole," "Moonraker," "1941," and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture."
I remember wanting to see "Meteor" when it was released (I was eleven and already a rabid film fan, recognizing most of the cast names), and then when it appeared again on HBO. I never seemed to get to it, not even clips, so watching it on a streaming service was a bittersweet nostalgia.
Stats:
(1979) 108 min. (2/10)
-Directed by Ronald Neame
-Screenplay by Stanley Mann & Edmund H. North, Story by Edmund H. North
-Cast: Sean Connery, Natalie Wood, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Martin Landau, Trevor Howard, Richard Dysart, Henry Fonda, Joe Campanella, Bibi Besch, Clyde Kusatsu, Peter Donat, Sybil Danning, Philip Sterling, Johnny Yune, Roy Edward Disney, John Spencer
-(US: PG)-(UK: PG)-(Au: PG)- Physical violence, mild gore, profanity, alcohol use
-Media Viewed: Amazon Prime Video Streaming
*Academy Awards*
-Best Sound (lost to "Apocalypse Now")
Film Review: "Objects" (2021)
*Get "Objects" on Amazon here*
*Get Directions to Myself: A Memoir of Four Years by Heidi Julavits on Amazon here*
*Get NPR Funniest Driveway Moments: Radio Stories That Won't Let You Go Audiobook on Amazon here*
*Get "...And God Created Women" on Amazon here*
*Get The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson on Amazon here*
This short documentary is misunderstood almost as much as its three subjects.
Robert Krulwich is a journalist and reporter who has amassed a few things from his years in front of the camera and microphone. One of those treasured items is a handful of dead grass he brought home when he was a teenager, remembering a date with his girlfriend to Central Park. Heidi Julavits is an author whose crowded apartment is what you picture an author's apartment to be- books everywhere. Also there are some of the belongings of the European actress Isabelle Corey, and she begins imagining the life of the actress who suddenly turned her back on stardom for a life of anonymity. Rick Rawlings' family was constantly on the move thanks to his father's job. One day, he had been invited to a birthday party on the same day they were leaving town, so he stopped to say goodbye to the friend whose party he couldn't attend. The friend handed him a sugar egg, and Rick held onto that fragile piece for forty years, keeping it in a wooden box whose construction through materials of his childhood is also wrapped in memories.
I have a checkered history with objects. Stuff. Things. I've been married twice, and both marriages saw me bring absolutely nothing into my new households. You might think that due to my upbringing, I didn't have a lot of stuff and that is partly true, but I was also raised in a household(s) where physical items took precedence over familial relationships. When moving overseas (two tours in Japan, one extended visit/stay in the United Kingdom), it usually fell upon me to get ride of my "unnecessary" stuff first through forced garage sales or simply tossing items away. The Air Force would pay for a certain weight of household possessions before charging the personnel with the overweight total, and I don't think we ever made the cut off point before Dad would have to shell out money for items we "couldn't live without." Dad was an officer, so appearances had to be kept up, but with the deaths of my parents within the last few years, I got an inside look at their possessions before they were dismissed into the world through internet auctions and garbage. I gave up my cherished books, comic book collection, toys, record albums, journals, drawings and more, so Mom could drag a broken grandfather clock across three continents for six decades on the hope that one day it would be repaired. It wasn't, and sold at an online auction for sixty dollars. That was just the tip of the iceberg. For thirty years of my adult life, I had four photos of myself from when I was a child. It took my parents' deaths before I got my hands on more pictures. Even then, the photographs inexplicably stop at about the time I was ten. I went to eight different schools from first grade through twelfth grade, and only have yearbooks from Grades 4-6, and 12th; granted, I threw out my 8th grade yearbook because no one would want to relive the kind of traumatic year I was having except through intenstive therapy.
This film is unfairly maligned for being boring, and highlighting three weirdos who are holding on to innocuous items that no one cares about but them. In such a disposable society, I can see that point of view, but to the three individuals their objects are remembrances of a happier or different time, and really aren't hurting anyone. I used to watch hoarding shows on cable television, having absolutely no sympathy for the hoarders, thanks to my upbringing. My childhood households would never be considered a hoarded household (remember, appearances were everything- including a clean house), but I totally sympathized with tearful family members who realized the hoard was being chosen over them. Thanks to therapy, I was able to come to terms with being second best (and fourth best in the sibling pecking order), and didn't have to witness the chaotic descent of my family after retirement set in. I stayed on the opposite side of the country, built a life, and suffered through parental annual visits (complete with the delivery of more stuff that I did not want), before the parents were too old to drive to visit.
Krulwich, Julavits, and Rawlings are a little sheepish and apologetic when showing off their objects. I'm sure they've heard it all before, and shyly explain why the objects mean so much to them. It's their interests, their objects, and they aren't hurting anyone. When one of the subjects lets their object go for a badly executed idea and it gets destroyed, I felt almost as bad as the object's owner and the people responsible for the object. I knew the pain of being told you had to get rid of something, or worst yet, it being wrenched away from a life you were trying to build on your own. There was life and memories in these objects, but once you go (the old saying "you can't take it with you"), who's going to take care of the tuft of grass, the sugar egg, or Isabelle Corry's sweaters and make-up mirrors? This is why minimalism is all the rage right now- cluttered house, cluttered mind, and so on. I do have belongings, but often unintentionally refer to our possessions as my wife's possessions (I sleep in her bed, etc.). I have about a thousand films on physical media, another thousand books, but as a stay-at-home dad to three kids under the age of eight (one with special needs), there is absolutely no time to watch those films or read those books. Thanks to this documentary, the three subjects are able to explain how they got their items and what they mean to them. There are millions of people out there who don't get that chance, and when they pass away, it's up to family or strangers to get rid of the items. This probably explains why I'm also obsessed with reselling, collecting, urban exploration, and abandoned storage unit videos- I sometimes see something I owned as a child and teen, and then look upwards as if my departed parents were seeing the same thing- "Good thing I had to throw out that Japanese toy robot, it's only worth two thousand dollars today." I try to imagine an abandoned building back when it was a home. I never had a hometown until I finally labelled the town I spent the most time in as if I grew up there.
By film's end, I was fascinated by these objects. I have almost nothing from my childhood, and the accumulation of items since I reached adulthood and independence doesn't provide the same rose-colored memories that these three documentary subjects have. If anything, I am still bitter about the things I was brought that weren't my own, and have been on a quest to get rid of them for decades now. When my parents passed on, a lot of their stuff passed out of my house, too- donated, recycled, or thrown since I didn't need anyone's permission to get rid of them anymore. They meant nothing to me, and nothing to them since they dumped them on me. I hope Julia, Rick, and Robert hold onto their items and memories of how they made them feel, but like the internet meme of a horrified adult grandchild in front of a giant china hutch full of dishes, "Swedish death cleaning," and a popular decluttering book tells us- "nobody wants your shit."
Stats:
(2021) 63 min. (9/10)
-Written and Directed by Vincent Liota
-Featuring Robert Krulwich, Rick Rawlings, Heidi Julavits, Isabelle Corey
(US: Amazon Prime Video Rating 18+)- Mild profanity
Media Viewed: Amazon Prime Video Streaming
*Get Directions to Myself: A Memoir of Four Years by Heidi Julavits on Amazon here*
*Get NPR Funniest Driveway Moments: Radio Stories That Won't Let You Go Audiobook on Amazon here*
*Get "...And God Created Women" on Amazon here*
*Get The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter by Margareta Magnusson on Amazon here*
This short documentary is misunderstood almost as much as its three subjects.
Robert Krulwich is a journalist and reporter who has amassed a few things from his years in front of the camera and microphone. One of those treasured items is a handful of dead grass he brought home when he was a teenager, remembering a date with his girlfriend to Central Park. Heidi Julavits is an author whose crowded apartment is what you picture an author's apartment to be- books everywhere. Also there are some of the belongings of the European actress Isabelle Corey, and she begins imagining the life of the actress who suddenly turned her back on stardom for a life of anonymity. Rick Rawlings' family was constantly on the move thanks to his father's job. One day, he had been invited to a birthday party on the same day they were leaving town, so he stopped to say goodbye to the friend whose party he couldn't attend. The friend handed him a sugar egg, and Rick held onto that fragile piece for forty years, keeping it in a wooden box whose construction through materials of his childhood is also wrapped in memories.
I have a checkered history with objects. Stuff. Things. I've been married twice, and both marriages saw me bring absolutely nothing into my new households. You might think that due to my upbringing, I didn't have a lot of stuff and that is partly true, but I was also raised in a household(s) where physical items took precedence over familial relationships. When moving overseas (two tours in Japan, one extended visit/stay in the United Kingdom), it usually fell upon me to get ride of my "unnecessary" stuff first through forced garage sales or simply tossing items away. The Air Force would pay for a certain weight of household possessions before charging the personnel with the overweight total, and I don't think we ever made the cut off point before Dad would have to shell out money for items we "couldn't live without." Dad was an officer, so appearances had to be kept up, but with the deaths of my parents within the last few years, I got an inside look at their possessions before they were dismissed into the world through internet auctions and garbage. I gave up my cherished books, comic book collection, toys, record albums, journals, drawings and more, so Mom could drag a broken grandfather clock across three continents for six decades on the hope that one day it would be repaired. It wasn't, and sold at an online auction for sixty dollars. That was just the tip of the iceberg. For thirty years of my adult life, I had four photos of myself from when I was a child. It took my parents' deaths before I got my hands on more pictures. Even then, the photographs inexplicably stop at about the time I was ten. I went to eight different schools from first grade through twelfth grade, and only have yearbooks from Grades 4-6, and 12th; granted, I threw out my 8th grade yearbook because no one would want to relive the kind of traumatic year I was having except through intenstive therapy.
This film is unfairly maligned for being boring, and highlighting three weirdos who are holding on to innocuous items that no one cares about but them. In such a disposable society, I can see that point of view, but to the three individuals their objects are remembrances of a happier or different time, and really aren't hurting anyone. I used to watch hoarding shows on cable television, having absolutely no sympathy for the hoarders, thanks to my upbringing. My childhood households would never be considered a hoarded household (remember, appearances were everything- including a clean house), but I totally sympathized with tearful family members who realized the hoard was being chosen over them. Thanks to therapy, I was able to come to terms with being second best (and fourth best in the sibling pecking order), and didn't have to witness the chaotic descent of my family after retirement set in. I stayed on the opposite side of the country, built a life, and suffered through parental annual visits (complete with the delivery of more stuff that I did not want), before the parents were too old to drive to visit.
Krulwich, Julavits, and Rawlings are a little sheepish and apologetic when showing off their objects. I'm sure they've heard it all before, and shyly explain why the objects mean so much to them. It's their interests, their objects, and they aren't hurting anyone. When one of the subjects lets their object go for a badly executed idea and it gets destroyed, I felt almost as bad as the object's owner and the people responsible for the object. I knew the pain of being told you had to get rid of something, or worst yet, it being wrenched away from a life you were trying to build on your own. There was life and memories in these objects, but once you go (the old saying "you can't take it with you"), who's going to take care of the tuft of grass, the sugar egg, or Isabelle Corry's sweaters and make-up mirrors? This is why minimalism is all the rage right now- cluttered house, cluttered mind, and so on. I do have belongings, but often unintentionally refer to our possessions as my wife's possessions (I sleep in her bed, etc.). I have about a thousand films on physical media, another thousand books, but as a stay-at-home dad to three kids under the age of eight (one with special needs), there is absolutely no time to watch those films or read those books. Thanks to this documentary, the three subjects are able to explain how they got their items and what they mean to them. There are millions of people out there who don't get that chance, and when they pass away, it's up to family or strangers to get rid of the items. This probably explains why I'm also obsessed with reselling, collecting, urban exploration, and abandoned storage unit videos- I sometimes see something I owned as a child and teen, and then look upwards as if my departed parents were seeing the same thing- "Good thing I had to throw out that Japanese toy robot, it's only worth two thousand dollars today." I try to imagine an abandoned building back when it was a home. I never had a hometown until I finally labelled the town I spent the most time in as if I grew up there.
By film's end, I was fascinated by these objects. I have almost nothing from my childhood, and the accumulation of items since I reached adulthood and independence doesn't provide the same rose-colored memories that these three documentary subjects have. If anything, I am still bitter about the things I was brought that weren't my own, and have been on a quest to get rid of them for decades now. When my parents passed on, a lot of their stuff passed out of my house, too- donated, recycled, or thrown since I didn't need anyone's permission to get rid of them anymore. They meant nothing to me, and nothing to them since they dumped them on me. I hope Julia, Rick, and Robert hold onto their items and memories of how they made them feel, but like the internet meme of a horrified adult grandchild in front of a giant china hutch full of dishes, "Swedish death cleaning," and a popular decluttering book tells us- "nobody wants your shit."
Stats:
(2021) 63 min. (9/10)
-Written and Directed by Vincent Liota
-Featuring Robert Krulwich, Rick Rawlings, Heidi Julavits, Isabelle Corey
(US: Amazon Prime Video Rating 18+)- Mild profanity
Media Viewed: Amazon Prime Video Streaming
Thursday, November 6, 2025
Film Review: "Seth" (2015)
*Get "Dirty Girl" on Amazon here*
*Get How Not to Make a Short Film: Secrets from a Sundance Programmer by Roberta Marie Munroe on Amazon here*
*Get A Filmmaking Mindset: The New Path of Today's Filmmaker by Kelly Schwarze on Amazon here*
*Get Make Your Own Damn Movie!: Secrets of a Renegade Director by Lloyd Kaufman on Amazon here*
Actor Zach Lasry steps behind the camera for this funny short film.
Seth (a very good Logan George) wakes up and resolves to complete all of his goals in one single day. With the urging of his stuffed animal friends, he does indeed eat more corn, and reads inspirational Michael Jordan quotes. He checks each item off the list, and celebrates with a party before being called out by a stuffed bunny named Christopher for one uncompleted goal- Seth didn't impress his stoic father (Emmett Smith). Dad is attuned to Seth's bizarre behavior, and tolerates it for the most part, admitting he doesn't think much of his obviously disturbed son. Seth sets out to complete his goal anyway.
Because the running time is just fifteen minutes, Lasry jumps into the madness, not giving the viewer a chance to breathe. George is hilarious, embracing the character with little benefit (to us) of a back story. Smith is also great, and he and George work well together. The humor is bizarre and fast-paced. We even get a musical montage while watching the preparation Seth goes through. Not everyone will think this kind of thing is funny, but it caught me on the right day and mood. On the technical side, the film is flawless. A clear picture, nice editing, perfect sound recording- all of it scores. I don't know if something like this could be expanded to a feature length idea (think "The Jerk" on acid), but the likable two-man cast is fun to watch. You could do worse than spare it a quarter hour.
Stats:
(2015) 15 min. (8/10)
-Written and Directed by Zach Lasry
-Cast: Logan George, Emmett Smith
-(US: NR)- Mild physical violence, some profanity, brief nudity, sexual references, strong adult situations
-Media Viewed: DVD screener
*Get How Not to Make a Short Film: Secrets from a Sundance Programmer by Roberta Marie Munroe on Amazon here*
*Get A Filmmaking Mindset: The New Path of Today's Filmmaker by Kelly Schwarze on Amazon here*
*Get Make Your Own Damn Movie!: Secrets of a Renegade Director by Lloyd Kaufman on Amazon here*
Actor Zach Lasry steps behind the camera for this funny short film.
Seth (a very good Logan George) wakes up and resolves to complete all of his goals in one single day. With the urging of his stuffed animal friends, he does indeed eat more corn, and reads inspirational Michael Jordan quotes. He checks each item off the list, and celebrates with a party before being called out by a stuffed bunny named Christopher for one uncompleted goal- Seth didn't impress his stoic father (Emmett Smith). Dad is attuned to Seth's bizarre behavior, and tolerates it for the most part, admitting he doesn't think much of his obviously disturbed son. Seth sets out to complete his goal anyway.
Because the running time is just fifteen minutes, Lasry jumps into the madness, not giving the viewer a chance to breathe. George is hilarious, embracing the character with little benefit (to us) of a back story. Smith is also great, and he and George work well together. The humor is bizarre and fast-paced. We even get a musical montage while watching the preparation Seth goes through. Not everyone will think this kind of thing is funny, but it caught me on the right day and mood. On the technical side, the film is flawless. A clear picture, nice editing, perfect sound recording- all of it scores. I don't know if something like this could be expanded to a feature length idea (think "The Jerk" on acid), but the likable two-man cast is fun to watch. You could do worse than spare it a quarter hour.
Stats:
(2015) 15 min. (8/10)
-Written and Directed by Zach Lasry
-Cast: Logan George, Emmett Smith
-(US: NR)- Mild physical violence, some profanity, brief nudity, sexual references, strong adult situations
-Media Viewed: DVD screener
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Film Review: "Forgiven" (2016)
*Get "Forgiven" on Amazon here*
*Get "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" The Complete Series on Amazon here*
*Get "Kull the Conqueror" on Amazon here*
*Get True Strength: My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life by Kevin Sorbo on Amazon here*
Another mild Christian movie is presented to an unsuspecting public, as many faith film producers wring their hands and wonder why their entertainment is not connecting on a larger scale.
James (Casey Fuller) gets in a fight with his girlfriend, shooting her. Now armed, he runs and finds himself hiding out in a church with a pastor (Steve Flanigan) and his two daughters Elizabeth (Jenn Gotzon) and Naomi (Allee Sutton Hethcoat). James takes the trio hostage, and police lieutenant Morgan (Kevin Sorbo) arrives. Cell phone negotiating commences, as Morgan fights to keep his officers back, and Elizabeth starts telling James about God's capacity to forgive.
I honestly wanted to like this film, its heart seems to be in the right place, but it isn't even eighty minutes long, and there is absolutely no tension. Flenory is saddled with way too many lines about "ending this thing" to the point where it was unintentionally funny, more so when other characters mentioned "ending this." There seems to be little research into actual hostage negotiations, and it was frustrating to watch the production flounder with a small budget and uninspired script. The two stand-out performances are from Gotzon and Fuller, their scenes together generate a small amount of drama, and the film makers should have had more of that, instead of Morgan and Flenory's character pointing at the same diagram of the church for the hundredth time while background characters smile and pretend to talk on their phones.
"Forgiven" falls into the same trap that a lot of Christian films fall into. They are in such a hurry to get to the message, they forget to give the audience a reason to go along for the journey.
Stats:
(2016) 79 min. (3/10)
-Directed by Kevan Otto
-Written by Kevan Otto & Lloyd S. Wagner
-Cast: Kevin Sorbo, Jenn Gotzon, Casey Fuller, Allee Sutton Hethcoat, Steve Flanigan, Reegus Flenory, Kelsey Sanders, Renee LeeA Horton, David G. Baker, Glenn Cartwright, Marie A. Garton, Ben Graham, Maggie Schneider
-(US: TV-14)-(UK: 12)-(Au: M)- Mild physical violence, mild gun violence, some adult situations
-Media Viewed: streaming
*Get "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" The Complete Series on Amazon here*
*Get "Kull the Conqueror" on Amazon here*
*Get True Strength: My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life by Kevin Sorbo on Amazon here*
Another mild Christian movie is presented to an unsuspecting public, as many faith film producers wring their hands and wonder why their entertainment is not connecting on a larger scale.
James (Casey Fuller) gets in a fight with his girlfriend, shooting her. Now armed, he runs and finds himself hiding out in a church with a pastor (Steve Flanigan) and his two daughters Elizabeth (Jenn Gotzon) and Naomi (Allee Sutton Hethcoat). James takes the trio hostage, and police lieutenant Morgan (Kevin Sorbo) arrives. Cell phone negotiating commences, as Morgan fights to keep his officers back, and Elizabeth starts telling James about God's capacity to forgive.
I honestly wanted to like this film, its heart seems to be in the right place, but it isn't even eighty minutes long, and there is absolutely no tension. Flenory is saddled with way too many lines about "ending this thing" to the point where it was unintentionally funny, more so when other characters mentioned "ending this." There seems to be little research into actual hostage negotiations, and it was frustrating to watch the production flounder with a small budget and uninspired script. The two stand-out performances are from Gotzon and Fuller, their scenes together generate a small amount of drama, and the film makers should have had more of that, instead of Morgan and Flenory's character pointing at the same diagram of the church for the hundredth time while background characters smile and pretend to talk on their phones.
"Forgiven" falls into the same trap that a lot of Christian films fall into. They are in such a hurry to get to the message, they forget to give the audience a reason to go along for the journey.
Stats:
(2016) 79 min. (3/10)
-Directed by Kevan Otto
-Written by Kevan Otto & Lloyd S. Wagner
-Cast: Kevin Sorbo, Jenn Gotzon, Casey Fuller, Allee Sutton Hethcoat, Steve Flanigan, Reegus Flenory, Kelsey Sanders, Renee LeeA Horton, David G. Baker, Glenn Cartwright, Marie A. Garton, Ben Graham, Maggie Schneider
-(US: TV-14)-(UK: 12)-(Au: M)- Mild physical violence, mild gun violence, some adult situations
-Media Viewed: streaming
Film Review: "The Dead Zone" (1983)
*Get "The Dead Zone" on Amazon here*
*Get "The Dead Zone" Complete TV Series on Amazon here*
*Get The Dead Zone by Stephen King on Amazon here*
*Get "The Dead Zone" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Michael Kamen on Amazon here*
Johnny (Christopher Walken) is a mild-mannered English teacher in a chaste relationship with Sarah (Brooke Adams). He is involved in a car accident, and wakes up from a coma five years later. Sarah has understandably moved on, he has no job, and his only friend seems to be his doctor, Weizek (a sympathetic Herbert Lom). Johnny also starts having psychic episodes when he comes in contact with a person through touch, able to see into their past, present, and future. The film then follows Johnny as he tries to adjust to his new life, and begins to gain local celebrity notoriety thanks to helping the police with a series of assaults and murders. Eventually, Johnny runs into bombastic Senate candidate Stillson (Martin Sheen), and his ability to see the future has universal consequences.
Walken and the entire cast does an outstanding job in their roles. Cronenberg proves he isn't just a gross-out director, he can pull some great performances from a massive, recognizable supporting cast. The film isn't as epic as I remembered, but its smallness works in its favor. Screenwriter Jeffrey Boam was able to turn Stephen King's novel into a lean, empathetic drama with some horror and fantasy elements, and Cronenberg makes the most of every minute of film. Michael Kamen's memorable score is melancholy, showing us Johnny's plight, and the snowy locations (this was shot in Canada) are nothing short of chilling and awesome. This was an early adaptation of Stephen King's works, I read the novel back in the early 1980s and should re-read it today, and I loved it. King was one of my writing inspirations, and this film was icing on the cake. Later spawned a television series.
Stats:
(1983) 103 min. (10/10) out of five stars
-Directed by David Cronenberg
-Screenplay by Jeffrey Boam from the novel by Stephen King
-Cast: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Martin Sheen, Anthony Zerbe, Colleen Dewhurst, Nicholas Campbell, Sean Sullivan, Jackie Burroughs, Geza Kovacs, Roberta Weiss, Simon Craig
-(US: R)-(UK: 15)-(Au: M)- Physical violence, gun violence, brief sexual violence, gore, brief female nudity, some sexual references, strong adult situations, alcohol use
-Media Watched- theatrical, streaming
*Get "The Dead Zone" Complete TV Series on Amazon here*
*Get The Dead Zone by Stephen King on Amazon here*
*Get "The Dead Zone" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Michael Kamen on Amazon here*
Johnny (Christopher Walken) is a mild-mannered English teacher in a chaste relationship with Sarah (Brooke Adams). He is involved in a car accident, and wakes up from a coma five years later. Sarah has understandably moved on, he has no job, and his only friend seems to be his doctor, Weizek (a sympathetic Herbert Lom). Johnny also starts having psychic episodes when he comes in contact with a person through touch, able to see into their past, present, and future. The film then follows Johnny as he tries to adjust to his new life, and begins to gain local celebrity notoriety thanks to helping the police with a series of assaults and murders. Eventually, Johnny runs into bombastic Senate candidate Stillson (Martin Sheen), and his ability to see the future has universal consequences.
Walken and the entire cast does an outstanding job in their roles. Cronenberg proves he isn't just a gross-out director, he can pull some great performances from a massive, recognizable supporting cast. The film isn't as epic as I remembered, but its smallness works in its favor. Screenwriter Jeffrey Boam was able to turn Stephen King's novel into a lean, empathetic drama with some horror and fantasy elements, and Cronenberg makes the most of every minute of film. Michael Kamen's memorable score is melancholy, showing us Johnny's plight, and the snowy locations (this was shot in Canada) are nothing short of chilling and awesome. This was an early adaptation of Stephen King's works, I read the novel back in the early 1980s and should re-read it today, and I loved it. King was one of my writing inspirations, and this film was icing on the cake. Later spawned a television series.
Stats:
(1983) 103 min. (10/10) out of five stars
-Directed by David Cronenberg
-Screenplay by Jeffrey Boam from the novel by Stephen King
-Cast: Christopher Walken, Brooke Adams, Tom Skerritt, Herbert Lom, Martin Sheen, Anthony Zerbe, Colleen Dewhurst, Nicholas Campbell, Sean Sullivan, Jackie Burroughs, Geza Kovacs, Roberta Weiss, Simon Craig
-(US: R)-(UK: 15)-(Au: M)- Physical violence, gun violence, brief sexual violence, gore, brief female nudity, some sexual references, strong adult situations, alcohol use
-Media Watched- theatrical, streaming
Sunday, November 2, 2025
Film Review: "Queen Crab" (2015)
*Get "Queen Crab" on Amazon here*
*Get Brett Piper Double Feature: Redneck Mutants/Buster on Amazon here*
*Get "Drainiac" on Amazon here*
*Get "Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan" on Amazon here*
Billing itself as a throwback to the stop-motion work of Ray Harryhausen, "Queen Crab" is a goofy sci-fi/horror flick with everything you would expect from those exploitation pictures of decades past- including promising more than it delivers.
Melissa (Michelle Simone Miller) is a young woman who keeps to herself on a patch of rural farmland near a pond. She has lived there since her scientist dad and harpy step-mother were killed in a lab explosion inadvertently caused by Melissa's new pet crab, Pee-Wee. She had been feeding it some of her father's experimental specimens- he seemed to be working on an early version of GMOs- and the crab started to get big. All grown up, and being raised by her uncle, Sheriff Ray (Ken Van Sant), Melissa threatens anyone who trespasses on her property. Old high school friend, now B-movie actress, Jennifer (Kathryn Metz) stops for a visit, and the two reconnect after years apart. Also stopping in the small Crabbe County town is Stewart (A.J. DeLucia) from the state wildlife commission. Local cattle have been getting slaughtered by an animal that leaves bizarre prints, and Stewart arrives to investigate. What the cast and the viewer eventually find out is that Pee-Wee the crab has grown to the size of a large pickup truck, and has started to have "little" babies (the eggs are as big as basketballs). Melissa tries to save her pet, Stewart wants to study it, Ray wants to kill it, and all the while Pee-Wee wanders from her home pond to wreak stop-motion and computer-animated havoc across the countryside.
Writer/director Piper is well-versed in the Harryhausen canon, and does a nice homage to the master. This is not complicated stuff, but neither is it scary or even smart. It serves its purpose- to deliver surface thrills and chills, while the audience waits for a scene that even remotely resembles the DVD cover art. In this day and age of winking "bad" films like the Sharknado series, Piper and his cast and crew jump on the bandwagon. The special effects are obvious, although they are a nice mix of old and new school techniques. The sound recording is difficult to hear, but the cast seems to be having fun and are in on the joke. Old chestnuts from those monster movies are trotted out, and I had a nice time reminiscing.
"Queen Crab" offers the viewer a warm, fuzzy feeling of nostalgia, and not much else- the gore is just over the PG13-level and there isn't any nudity. I smiled during most of it, I had fun watching it, but if anything I want to rewatch the original "Clash of the Titans" or "Jason and the Argonauts" again over this.
Stats:
(2015) 80 min. (6/10)
-Written and Directed by Brett Piper
-Cast: Michelle Simone Miller, Kathryn Metz, Richard Lounello, A.J. DeLucia, Steve Diasparra, Danielle Donahue, Ken Van Sant, Yolie Canales, Houston Baker, Liberty Asbury, Mark Polonia, Eugene Carlone, Bernard Van Sant
-(US: NR)- Physical violence, gun violence, gore, some profanity, alcohol and tobacco use
-Media Viewed: DVD
*Get Brett Piper Double Feature: Redneck Mutants/Buster on Amazon here*
*Get "Drainiac" on Amazon here*
*Get "Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan" on Amazon here*
Billing itself as a throwback to the stop-motion work of Ray Harryhausen, "Queen Crab" is a goofy sci-fi/horror flick with everything you would expect from those exploitation pictures of decades past- including promising more than it delivers.
Melissa (Michelle Simone Miller) is a young woman who keeps to herself on a patch of rural farmland near a pond. She has lived there since her scientist dad and harpy step-mother were killed in a lab explosion inadvertently caused by Melissa's new pet crab, Pee-Wee. She had been feeding it some of her father's experimental specimens- he seemed to be working on an early version of GMOs- and the crab started to get big. All grown up, and being raised by her uncle, Sheriff Ray (Ken Van Sant), Melissa threatens anyone who trespasses on her property. Old high school friend, now B-movie actress, Jennifer (Kathryn Metz) stops for a visit, and the two reconnect after years apart. Also stopping in the small Crabbe County town is Stewart (A.J. DeLucia) from the state wildlife commission. Local cattle have been getting slaughtered by an animal that leaves bizarre prints, and Stewart arrives to investigate. What the cast and the viewer eventually find out is that Pee-Wee the crab has grown to the size of a large pickup truck, and has started to have "little" babies (the eggs are as big as basketballs). Melissa tries to save her pet, Stewart wants to study it, Ray wants to kill it, and all the while Pee-Wee wanders from her home pond to wreak stop-motion and computer-animated havoc across the countryside.
Writer/director Piper is well-versed in the Harryhausen canon, and does a nice homage to the master. This is not complicated stuff, but neither is it scary or even smart. It serves its purpose- to deliver surface thrills and chills, while the audience waits for a scene that even remotely resembles the DVD cover art. In this day and age of winking "bad" films like the Sharknado series, Piper and his cast and crew jump on the bandwagon. The special effects are obvious, although they are a nice mix of old and new school techniques. The sound recording is difficult to hear, but the cast seems to be having fun and are in on the joke. Old chestnuts from those monster movies are trotted out, and I had a nice time reminiscing.
"Queen Crab" offers the viewer a warm, fuzzy feeling of nostalgia, and not much else- the gore is just over the PG13-level and there isn't any nudity. I smiled during most of it, I had fun watching it, but if anything I want to rewatch the original "Clash of the Titans" or "Jason and the Argonauts" again over this.
Stats:
(2015) 80 min. (6/10)
-Written and Directed by Brett Piper
-Cast: Michelle Simone Miller, Kathryn Metz, Richard Lounello, A.J. DeLucia, Steve Diasparra, Danielle Donahue, Ken Van Sant, Yolie Canales, Houston Baker, Liberty Asbury, Mark Polonia, Eugene Carlone, Bernard Van Sant
-(US: NR)- Physical violence, gun violence, gore, some profanity, alcohol and tobacco use
-Media Viewed: DVD
Film Review: "American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore" (2014)
*Get "American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore" on Amazon here*
*Get "American Guinea Pig: Sacrifice" on Amazon here*
*Get "American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock" on Amazon here*
*Get "American Guinea Pig: The Song of Solomon" on Amazon here*
Taking their cue from the Japanese "Guinea Pig" gory film series, Stephen Biro has created a penultimate gore film with little plot but some stunning practical special effects.
Two women (Cayt Feinics, Ashley Lynn Caputo) are kidnapped off the street in the opening scenes. They are drugged, rendered immobile, and tied to a couple of tables. Then a group of masked men sport various film and video cameras and record another man who must torture them to death as part of a snuff film production (but also to save his children, who are being held captive). The majority of the film is the slow, systematic, literal butchering of the two women, with a stomach churning final scene that thankfully isn't followed through with.
While other critics have complained about the skimpy plot, I appreciated that this wasn't just another serial killer/"snuff" film. No one bursts in the door at the last minute to save the victims, Jodie Foster or Denzel Washington don't study minute clues and gather suspects; the film is a record of the murders of these two women. One thing serial killer culture often ignores is the murders from the victims' points of views- something we are rarely privy to, and something I doubt is just like the movies or television.
Biro's film is claustrophobic, taking place in one setting after the initial kidnapping. The mix of media capturing the torture is inspired, and Biro's editing is fantastic. The "snuff" film isn't a slick production, it's grimy and disgusting, getting the job done. The cast is good across the board, as is the understated and creepy musical score. The pacing lags here and there, especially on Caputo as the second victim. The makeup and gore special effects are outstanding. I've seen a lot of mondo and gore films in my time, and the special effects here rate at the top of the scale- they are very realistic and effective, and put the viewer in a state of unease right away.
Obviously, extreme gore horror films aren't for everyone, but "American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore" is a pinnacle creation in the genre.
Stats:
(2014) 73 min. (7/10)
-Written and Directed by Stephen Biro
-Cast: Eight the Chosen One, Scott Gabbey, Jim Van Bebber, Rogan Russell Marshall, Cayt Feinics, Ashley Lynn Caputo, Curse Mackey, David Hood, Lucio Giovannelli, Lilly Dickenson
-(US: Unrated)- Very strong extreme physical violence, some sexual violence, very strong extreme gore, profanity, some sexual content, female nudity, sexual references, very strong adult situations, drug abuse
-Media Viewed: DVD
*Get "American Guinea Pig: Sacrifice" on Amazon here*
*Get "American Guinea Pig: Bloodshock" on Amazon here*
*Get "American Guinea Pig: The Song of Solomon" on Amazon here*
Taking their cue from the Japanese "Guinea Pig" gory film series, Stephen Biro has created a penultimate gore film with little plot but some stunning practical special effects.
Two women (Cayt Feinics, Ashley Lynn Caputo) are kidnapped off the street in the opening scenes. They are drugged, rendered immobile, and tied to a couple of tables. Then a group of masked men sport various film and video cameras and record another man who must torture them to death as part of a snuff film production (but also to save his children, who are being held captive). The majority of the film is the slow, systematic, literal butchering of the two women, with a stomach churning final scene that thankfully isn't followed through with.
While other critics have complained about the skimpy plot, I appreciated that this wasn't just another serial killer/"snuff" film. No one bursts in the door at the last minute to save the victims, Jodie Foster or Denzel Washington don't study minute clues and gather suspects; the film is a record of the murders of these two women. One thing serial killer culture often ignores is the murders from the victims' points of views- something we are rarely privy to, and something I doubt is just like the movies or television.
Biro's film is claustrophobic, taking place in one setting after the initial kidnapping. The mix of media capturing the torture is inspired, and Biro's editing is fantastic. The "snuff" film isn't a slick production, it's grimy and disgusting, getting the job done. The cast is good across the board, as is the understated and creepy musical score. The pacing lags here and there, especially on Caputo as the second victim. The makeup and gore special effects are outstanding. I've seen a lot of mondo and gore films in my time, and the special effects here rate at the top of the scale- they are very realistic and effective, and put the viewer in a state of unease right away.
Obviously, extreme gore horror films aren't for everyone, but "American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore" is a pinnacle creation in the genre.
Stats:
(2014) 73 min. (7/10)
-Written and Directed by Stephen Biro
-Cast: Eight the Chosen One, Scott Gabbey, Jim Van Bebber, Rogan Russell Marshall, Cayt Feinics, Ashley Lynn Caputo, Curse Mackey, David Hood, Lucio Giovannelli, Lilly Dickenson
-(US: Unrated)- Very strong extreme physical violence, some sexual violence, very strong extreme gore, profanity, some sexual content, female nudity, sexual references, very strong adult situations, drug abuse
-Media Viewed: DVD
Film Review: "Nico, 1988" (2017)
*Get "Nico, 1988" on Amazon here*
*Get "Nico Icon" on Amazon here*
*Get "Nico, 1988" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Amazon here*
*Get "The Velvet Underground & Nico" on Amazon here*
Maybe I shouldn’t have seen the brilliant documentary “Nico Icon” a few years ago before I watched "Nico, 1988" because this simple, experimental biopic doesn’t live up to that documentary film.
The film kinda covers the last three years in the now washed-up model/singer's life as she tours with "amateur junkies" throughout Europe while nursing her own heroin addiction, and a troubled relationship with her son Ari (Sandor Funtek), the product of a tryst with famed actor Alain Delon.
Trine Dyrholm does a fantastic job as Nico, yet another cast-off of Andy Warhol’s Factory days (there were a lot of “superstars” who eventually lost their favored status with the artist), but the film bogs down with secondary characters who may or may not have existed. Nico (aka Christa) had an off-kilter presence, so telling her story in an off-kilter way renders her almost normal- something she could never be accused of. I don’t like having to do an internet search to fill in a film’s plotholes or missing facts. This is interesting but slight, considering the subject.
Stats:
(2017) 93 min. (6/10)
-Written and Directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli
-Cast: Trine Dyrholm, John Gordon Sinclair, Anamaria Marinca, Sandor Funtek, Thomas Trabacchi, Karina Fernandez, Calvin Demba, Francesco Colella, John Dobrynine, Lucio Patane, Matt Patresi, Nico, Andy Warhol
-(US: R)-(UK: 15)- Mild physical violence, mild gore, profanity, some sexual content, some sexual references, adult situations, very strong drug abuse, strong alcohol and tobacco use
-Media Viewed: Amazon Prime Video
*Get "Nico Icon" on Amazon here*
*Get "Nico, 1988" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Amazon here*
*Get "The Velvet Underground & Nico" on Amazon here*
Maybe I shouldn’t have seen the brilliant documentary “Nico Icon” a few years ago before I watched "Nico, 1988" because this simple, experimental biopic doesn’t live up to that documentary film.
The film kinda covers the last three years in the now washed-up model/singer's life as she tours with "amateur junkies" throughout Europe while nursing her own heroin addiction, and a troubled relationship with her son Ari (Sandor Funtek), the product of a tryst with famed actor Alain Delon.
Trine Dyrholm does a fantastic job as Nico, yet another cast-off of Andy Warhol’s Factory days (there were a lot of “superstars” who eventually lost their favored status with the artist), but the film bogs down with secondary characters who may or may not have existed. Nico (aka Christa) had an off-kilter presence, so telling her story in an off-kilter way renders her almost normal- something she could never be accused of. I don’t like having to do an internet search to fill in a film’s plotholes or missing facts. This is interesting but slight, considering the subject.
Stats:
(2017) 93 min. (6/10)
-Written and Directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli
-Cast: Trine Dyrholm, John Gordon Sinclair, Anamaria Marinca, Sandor Funtek, Thomas Trabacchi, Karina Fernandez, Calvin Demba, Francesco Colella, John Dobrynine, Lucio Patane, Matt Patresi, Nico, Andy Warhol
-(US: R)-(UK: 15)- Mild physical violence, mild gore, profanity, some sexual content, some sexual references, adult situations, very strong drug abuse, strong alcohol and tobacco use
-Media Viewed: Amazon Prime Video
Film Review: "Marathon" (1983)
*Get Ordeal by Linda Lovelace with Mike McGrady on Amazon here*
*Get Exposed: How the Porn Industry Still Profits Off the Dead by Victoria Sterling on Amazon here*
*Get A Call to Purity: Living a Lifestyle of Purity by Richard and Brittni De La Mora on Amazon here*
*Get "Pornocracy" on Amazon here*
Considering I can condense the plot of this film into one sentence, this might be a short review. A costumed group of people, numbering over a dozen, have a sex party, which they move to a hospital room when they find out two partygoers were injured in a ski lift accident. Plot done.
The film is nothing more than two marathon orgy scenes, interrupted only when Jamie Gillis magically answers a non-ringing phone. The wasted opportunity boasts some well-known porn performer names, even if you are not familiar with porn- Gillis, William Margold, Sharon Mitchell, John Holmes, and Ron Jeremy, among others. Unfortunately, Gillis seems bored, and Holmes looks like he was hit by a bus on the way to the shoot. A recent DVD transfer is a bright and clear job, but the film wasn't worth the effort. Sure, there's a big name cast here literally going through the motions, but anyone looking for a clash of the porn titans will need to look elsewhere. Also surprising is Edgar G. Warren's writing credit, since no one can convince me anything you see onscreen was plotted beforehand. The canned music is more entertaining than the sex scenes, and when bored, you can count how many times Tobalina's camera finds the edge of the carpet on set, downstage from all the marathoning.
"Marathon" is a chore to sit through. You can almost spot the moment when adult films went from stories with explicit sexual scenes to nothing but anatomical parts clumsily bumping into each other. Director Tobalina shows only a few faces, so half the time you have no idea who you are watching have sex. Don't run this marathon.
Stats:
(1983) 85 min. (1/10)
-Directed by Carlos Tobalina
-Written by Edgar G. Warren
-Cast: Jamie Gillis, William Margold, Sharon Mitchell, John Holmes, Ron Jeremy, Herschel Savage, Mai Lin, Crystal Lake, John Stagliano, Drea, Carlos Tobalina, Jesse Adams, Misty Dawn
-(US: X)- Very strong explicit sexual content, very strong nudity, profanity
-Media Viewed: DVD
*Get Exposed: How the Porn Industry Still Profits Off the Dead by Victoria Sterling on Amazon here*
*Get A Call to Purity: Living a Lifestyle of Purity by Richard and Brittni De La Mora on Amazon here*
*Get "Pornocracy" on Amazon here*
Considering I can condense the plot of this film into one sentence, this might be a short review. A costumed group of people, numbering over a dozen, have a sex party, which they move to a hospital room when they find out two partygoers were injured in a ski lift accident. Plot done.
The film is nothing more than two marathon orgy scenes, interrupted only when Jamie Gillis magically answers a non-ringing phone. The wasted opportunity boasts some well-known porn performer names, even if you are not familiar with porn- Gillis, William Margold, Sharon Mitchell, John Holmes, and Ron Jeremy, among others. Unfortunately, Gillis seems bored, and Holmes looks like he was hit by a bus on the way to the shoot. A recent DVD transfer is a bright and clear job, but the film wasn't worth the effort. Sure, there's a big name cast here literally going through the motions, but anyone looking for a clash of the porn titans will need to look elsewhere. Also surprising is Edgar G. Warren's writing credit, since no one can convince me anything you see onscreen was plotted beforehand. The canned music is more entertaining than the sex scenes, and when bored, you can count how many times Tobalina's camera finds the edge of the carpet on set, downstage from all the marathoning.
"Marathon" is a chore to sit through. You can almost spot the moment when adult films went from stories with explicit sexual scenes to nothing but anatomical parts clumsily bumping into each other. Director Tobalina shows only a few faces, so half the time you have no idea who you are watching have sex. Don't run this marathon.
Stats:
(1983) 85 min. (1/10)
-Directed by Carlos Tobalina
-Written by Edgar G. Warren
-Cast: Jamie Gillis, William Margold, Sharon Mitchell, John Holmes, Ron Jeremy, Herschel Savage, Mai Lin, Crystal Lake, John Stagliano, Drea, Carlos Tobalina, Jesse Adams, Misty Dawn
-(US: X)- Very strong explicit sexual content, very strong nudity, profanity
-Media Viewed: DVD
Film Review: "Wrong Turn" (2003)
*Get "Wrong Turn" (2003) on Amazon here*
*Get Wrong Turn 1-5 Collection on Amazon here*
*Get "Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort" on Amazon here
*Get "Wrong Turn" (2021) on Amazon here*
This typical slasher flick has polite and sullen Chris (Desmond Harrington) sidetracked in backwoods West Virginia after a truck jacknifes on the highway. He gets lost, and accidentally rams his beautiful Mustang into a car belonging to half a dozen campers. Everybody is shaken up, and Chris, recently-broke-up-with-boyfriend Jessie (Eliza Dushku), sincere Scott (Jeremy Sisto) and Scott's fiancee Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui) head off to find help, leaving their two friends Evan (Kevin Zegers) and Francine (Lindy Booth) with the wreck. The foursome come upon a backwoods house full of stuff taken from other stranded motorists, the house's occupants come home and begin to hunt the group for food.
Stan Winston produced and provided some appropriately icky makeup for the trio of cannibals. It is neat, unless you ever saw the "Home" episode on "The X Files." Even mentioning the comparisons "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Deliverance" to this film just allows the viewer to realize this is not going to be anything you have not seen before. I enjoyed when director Schmidt would break out of the slasher mold once in a while with a unique camera move. The characters are not overly stupid, unlike most slasher film victims, and the musical score and opening title sequences are appropriate. The gore effects are great, and the set decoration for the cannibals' house is disgusting.
"Wrong Turn" is kind enough to set itself up for many sequels and a remake/reboot, and I could not bring myself to completely hate the film. It is eventually forgettable, but with a couple of good shots.
Stats:
(2003) 84 min. (4/10)
-Directed by Rob Schmidt
-Written by Alan B. McElroy
-Cast: Desmond Harrington, Eliza Dushku, Jeremy Sisto, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Kevin Zegers, Lindy Booth, Julian Richings, Garry Robbins, Ted Clark, Yvonne Gaudry, Joel Harris, David Huband, Wayne Robson
-(US: R)-(UK: 18)-(Au: MA15+)- Strong physical violence, some gun violence, gore, profanity, very brief sexual content, sexual references, strong adult situations, drug and tobacco use
-Media Viewed: theatrical, Amazon Prime Video
*Get Wrong Turn 1-5 Collection on Amazon here*
*Get "Wrong Turn 6: Last Resort" on Amazon here
*Get "Wrong Turn" (2021) on Amazon here*
This typical slasher flick has polite and sullen Chris (Desmond Harrington) sidetracked in backwoods West Virginia after a truck jacknifes on the highway. He gets lost, and accidentally rams his beautiful Mustang into a car belonging to half a dozen campers. Everybody is shaken up, and Chris, recently-broke-up-with-boyfriend Jessie (Eliza Dushku), sincere Scott (Jeremy Sisto) and Scott's fiancee Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui) head off to find help, leaving their two friends Evan (Kevin Zegers) and Francine (Lindy Booth) with the wreck. The foursome come upon a backwoods house full of stuff taken from other stranded motorists, the house's occupants come home and begin to hunt the group for food.
Stan Winston produced and provided some appropriately icky makeup for the trio of cannibals. It is neat, unless you ever saw the "Home" episode on "The X Files." Even mentioning the comparisons "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Deliverance" to this film just allows the viewer to realize this is not going to be anything you have not seen before. I enjoyed when director Schmidt would break out of the slasher mold once in a while with a unique camera move. The characters are not overly stupid, unlike most slasher film victims, and the musical score and opening title sequences are appropriate. The gore effects are great, and the set decoration for the cannibals' house is disgusting.
"Wrong Turn" is kind enough to set itself up for many sequels and a remake/reboot, and I could not bring myself to completely hate the film. It is eventually forgettable, but with a couple of good shots.
Stats:
(2003) 84 min. (4/10)
-Directed by Rob Schmidt
-Written by Alan B. McElroy
-Cast: Desmond Harrington, Eliza Dushku, Jeremy Sisto, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Kevin Zegers, Lindy Booth, Julian Richings, Garry Robbins, Ted Clark, Yvonne Gaudry, Joel Harris, David Huband, Wayne Robson
-(US: R)-(UK: 18)-(Au: MA15+)- Strong physical violence, some gun violence, gore, profanity, very brief sexual content, sexual references, strong adult situations, drug and tobacco use
-Media Viewed: theatrical, Amazon Prime Video
Saturday, November 1, 2025
Film Review: "Conversations with a Killer: The Jeffrey Dahmer Tapes (2022)"
*Get "Dahmer" on Amazon here*
*Get Monster: The True Story of the Jeffrey Dahmer Murders by Anne E. Schwartz on Amazon here*
*Get A Father's Story by Lionel Dahmer on Amazon here*
*Get My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf on Amazon here*
Acclaimed director Joe Berlinger delivers another entry in his "Conversations with a Killer" series. This time, the audio tapes covered are interviews conducted between lawyer Wendy Patrickus and murderer Jeffrey Dahmer. Patrickus is interviewed in the present, talking about her reactions to being a very young, female lawyer interviewing one of the most notorious serial killers in this country's history- it's a sad commentary on today's society to type a statement like "...one of the most notorious serial killers in this country's history," and I am writing this review a few days after the arrest of Rex Heuermann for the Gilgo Beach killings.
Berlinger jumps back and forth in time, covering Dahmer's upbringing and then skipping forward to his arrest and incarceration. The usual lawyers, reporters, and psychiatrists are trotted out, with the most effective interviews being with Patrickus, friends of some of the victims (one of whom was a suspect in his friend's killing), a neighbor, and a childhood friend of Dahmer. There is a ton of news footage of the aftermath, and hearing Dahmer's monotone voice on the audio tape is chilling.
Once again, this effort seems a little stagnant, a special effect shot of the inner workings of a miniature tape recorder is trotted out way too many times, but the many failures by "the system" to catch Dahmer makes for compelling viewing. Dahmer's murderous timing is also highlighted, as he killed within a homosexual community already being decimated by AIDS, and the vanishing of friends was a fact of life. I agree wholeheartedly with Patrickus- Dahmer should not have been released into the general prison population, and should have been watched much more closely before his own murder. We shouldn't be celebrating the person and his crimes, I'll never understand the underground murderabilia industry, but we should be studying these people to try and make sure it won't happen again, and in some cases, to bring closure to families. Dahmer's first victim was "missing" for thirteen years before his family found out what happened to him. Dahmer was arrested for sexually assaulting one teenage boy, and then purely by chance, ended up killing that victim's brother years later in the now infamous situation where the police returned the escaped murder victim to Dahmer's apartment.
I don't know how many more "...Tapes" true crime documentaries we're going to get, but I'm sure there's more out there. They suffer from the same complaint I have for most of them- skip interviewing the reporters on the story, and track down the victims' families. It's terrible that names like Gacy, Manson, and Dahmer are household names, but naming more than a handful of non-famous victims is difficult. I realize that people like Gacy's and Manson's children probably don't want the notoriety, but even if it isn't wrapped up in a streaming documentary series, we could learn so much from those who were closest to the murderers and their victims. We've seen books from Dahmer's father, Gacy's sister, and Dennis Rader's daughter, among others, and this is important material to learn from. Also, although not in Dahmer's case, there are literally hundreds of unknown victims out there, and talking to these murderers should bring closure to families and friends as well. Over four decades after they were killed, FIVE of Gacy's victims haven't been identified. Serial killers Rodney Alcala and William Richard Bradford took tons of photographs of people (Dahmer used to pay men to photograph them before he killed them) who have never been identified and may or may not have been victims. Alcala and Bradford are long dead, their true number of victims never known.
I do appreciate these documentaries being unsalacious as opposed to some basic cable television shows and YouTube true crime videos. It's ironic that we think of ourselves as a technologically advanced, highbrow society, and then wallow in lowbrow, exploitative material about serial killers. We need to learn from this, not enjoy it.
Stats:
(2022) 180 min. (7/10)
-Directed by Joe Berlinger
-With Wendy Patrickus, Jeffrey Dahmer, Heather Kelly, Eric Michael Hambury, Jeff Connor, Michael Ross, Vernell Bass, Lionel Dahmer
-(US: TV-MA)-(UK: 18)-(Au: MA15+)- Gore, some profanity, brief nudity, mild sexual content, very strong sexual references, violence involving children references, very strong sexual assault references, very strong adult situations, drug abuse references, alcohol and tobacco use
-Media Viewed: Netflix Streaming
*Get Monster: The True Story of the Jeffrey Dahmer Murders by Anne E. Schwartz on Amazon here*
*Get A Father's Story by Lionel Dahmer on Amazon here*
*Get My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf on Amazon here*
Acclaimed director Joe Berlinger delivers another entry in his "Conversations with a Killer" series. This time, the audio tapes covered are interviews conducted between lawyer Wendy Patrickus and murderer Jeffrey Dahmer. Patrickus is interviewed in the present, talking about her reactions to being a very young, female lawyer interviewing one of the most notorious serial killers in this country's history- it's a sad commentary on today's society to type a statement like "...one of the most notorious serial killers in this country's history," and I am writing this review a few days after the arrest of Rex Heuermann for the Gilgo Beach killings.
Berlinger jumps back and forth in time, covering Dahmer's upbringing and then skipping forward to his arrest and incarceration. The usual lawyers, reporters, and psychiatrists are trotted out, with the most effective interviews being with Patrickus, friends of some of the victims (one of whom was a suspect in his friend's killing), a neighbor, and a childhood friend of Dahmer. There is a ton of news footage of the aftermath, and hearing Dahmer's monotone voice on the audio tape is chilling.
Once again, this effort seems a little stagnant, a special effect shot of the inner workings of a miniature tape recorder is trotted out way too many times, but the many failures by "the system" to catch Dahmer makes for compelling viewing. Dahmer's murderous timing is also highlighted, as he killed within a homosexual community already being decimated by AIDS, and the vanishing of friends was a fact of life. I agree wholeheartedly with Patrickus- Dahmer should not have been released into the general prison population, and should have been watched much more closely before his own murder. We shouldn't be celebrating the person and his crimes, I'll never understand the underground murderabilia industry, but we should be studying these people to try and make sure it won't happen again, and in some cases, to bring closure to families. Dahmer's first victim was "missing" for thirteen years before his family found out what happened to him. Dahmer was arrested for sexually assaulting one teenage boy, and then purely by chance, ended up killing that victim's brother years later in the now infamous situation where the police returned the escaped murder victim to Dahmer's apartment.
I don't know how many more "...Tapes" true crime documentaries we're going to get, but I'm sure there's more out there. They suffer from the same complaint I have for most of them- skip interviewing the reporters on the story, and track down the victims' families. It's terrible that names like Gacy, Manson, and Dahmer are household names, but naming more than a handful of non-famous victims is difficult. I realize that people like Gacy's and Manson's children probably don't want the notoriety, but even if it isn't wrapped up in a streaming documentary series, we could learn so much from those who were closest to the murderers and their victims. We've seen books from Dahmer's father, Gacy's sister, and Dennis Rader's daughter, among others, and this is important material to learn from. Also, although not in Dahmer's case, there are literally hundreds of unknown victims out there, and talking to these murderers should bring closure to families and friends as well. Over four decades after they were killed, FIVE of Gacy's victims haven't been identified. Serial killers Rodney Alcala and William Richard Bradford took tons of photographs of people (Dahmer used to pay men to photograph them before he killed them) who have never been identified and may or may not have been victims. Alcala and Bradford are long dead, their true number of victims never known.
I do appreciate these documentaries being unsalacious as opposed to some basic cable television shows and YouTube true crime videos. It's ironic that we think of ourselves as a technologically advanced, highbrow society, and then wallow in lowbrow, exploitative material about serial killers. We need to learn from this, not enjoy it.
Stats:
(2022) 180 min. (7/10)
-Directed by Joe Berlinger
-With Wendy Patrickus, Jeffrey Dahmer, Heather Kelly, Eric Michael Hambury, Jeff Connor, Michael Ross, Vernell Bass, Lionel Dahmer
-(US: TV-MA)-(UK: 18)-(Au: MA15+)- Gore, some profanity, brief nudity, mild sexual content, very strong sexual references, violence involving children references, very strong sexual assault references, very strong adult situations, drug abuse references, alcohol and tobacco use
-Media Viewed: Netflix Streaming
Film Review: "Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes" (2022)
*Get "The John Wayne Gacy Murders: Life and Death in Chicago" on Amazon here*
*Get Killer Clown: The John Wayne Gacy Murders by Terry Sullivan with Peter T. Maiken on Amazon here*
*Get Postmortem: What Survives the John Wayne Gacy Murders by Courtney Lund O'Neill on Amazon here*
*Get Boys Enter the House: The Victims of John Wayne Gacy and the Lives They Left Behind by David Nelson on Amazon here*
Coming a year after the documentary mini-series "John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise," director Joe Berlinger and his "Conversations with a Killer" series looks at the life and capture of John Wayne Gacy, and suffers from over-familiarity if you are a true crime documentary viewer.
Starting with taped conversations made between Gacy and a member of his legal team, this mini-series concentrates on the search for Gacy's last victim, Robert Piest, while jumping back in time to cover his life and previous run-ins with the law. Both sides of the trial proceedings are interviewed, as are some of Gacy's associates and victims' relatives.
Gacy was a monster, and his crime spree still affects thousands of people to this very day. The victims' stories should be told again and again. However, this mini-series covers the same ground as other documentaries, and aside from a few factoids, doesn't offer up anything new. As true crime documentaries gain in popularity, these "Conversations with a Killer" series seem stagnant and sometimes exploitative. It does try to redeem itself with a coda about the victims, but I was still waiting on a documentary solely about the victims, and/or a no-holds-barred dramatization of Gacy's life and crimes. Getting Gacy's children or step-daughters, he was married twice, to talk on camera would also be a major coup.
"Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes" is adequate at covering the serial killer, but I would definitely recommend you seek out "John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise" over this.
Stats:
(2022) 180 min. (6/10)
-Directed by Joe Berlinger
-Featuring Kelly Green, William Kunkle, Robert Motta Sr., John Wayne Gacy, Lawrence Finder, Sam Amirante, Kim Byers-Lund
-(US: TV-MA)-(UK: 18)-(Au: MA15+)- Mild physical violence, profanity, nudity, some sexual content, very strong sexual references, very strong adult situations, some drug abuse references, alcohol and tobacco use
-Media Viewed: Netflix Streaming
*Get Killer Clown: The John Wayne Gacy Murders by Terry Sullivan with Peter T. Maiken on Amazon here*
*Get Postmortem: What Survives the John Wayne Gacy Murders by Courtney Lund O'Neill on Amazon here*
*Get Boys Enter the House: The Victims of John Wayne Gacy and the Lives They Left Behind by David Nelson on Amazon here*
Coming a year after the documentary mini-series "John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise," director Joe Berlinger and his "Conversations with a Killer" series looks at the life and capture of John Wayne Gacy, and suffers from over-familiarity if you are a true crime documentary viewer.
Starting with taped conversations made between Gacy and a member of his legal team, this mini-series concentrates on the search for Gacy's last victim, Robert Piest, while jumping back in time to cover his life and previous run-ins with the law. Both sides of the trial proceedings are interviewed, as are some of Gacy's associates and victims' relatives.
Gacy was a monster, and his crime spree still affects thousands of people to this very day. The victims' stories should be told again and again. However, this mini-series covers the same ground as other documentaries, and aside from a few factoids, doesn't offer up anything new. As true crime documentaries gain in popularity, these "Conversations with a Killer" series seem stagnant and sometimes exploitative. It does try to redeem itself with a coda about the victims, but I was still waiting on a documentary solely about the victims, and/or a no-holds-barred dramatization of Gacy's life and crimes. Getting Gacy's children or step-daughters, he was married twice, to talk on camera would also be a major coup.
"Conversations with a Killer: The John Wayne Gacy Tapes" is adequate at covering the serial killer, but I would definitely recommend you seek out "John Wayne Gacy: Devil in Disguise" over this.
Stats:
(2022) 180 min. (6/10)
-Directed by Joe Berlinger
-Featuring Kelly Green, William Kunkle, Robert Motta Sr., John Wayne Gacy, Lawrence Finder, Sam Amirante, Kim Byers-Lund
-(US: TV-MA)-(UK: 18)-(Au: MA15+)- Mild physical violence, profanity, nudity, some sexual content, very strong sexual references, very strong adult situations, some drug abuse references, alcohol and tobacco use
-Media Viewed: Netflix Streaming
Film Review: "Captivity" (2007)
*Get "Captivity" on Amazon here*
*Get Larry Cohen: The Stuff of Gods and Monsters by Michael Doyle on Amazon here*
*Get Larry Cohen: The Radical Allegories of an Independent Filmmaker by Tony Williams on Amazon here*
*Get "Captivity" wall decor on Amazon here*
The few defenders of this film have portrayed its detractors as a bunch of easily offended, pearl clutching sissies who were more affected by an aborted marketing campaign than what eventually showed up onscreen. I can attest that I never saw the original marketing campaign, and still feel this project is terrible.
Jennifer (Elisha Cuthbert) is a world famous model who is drugged at a party and kidnapped. She wakes up in a cement room and is terrorized by a hooded man. She has a fellow prisoner in the form of Gary (Daniel Gillies), who is not famous and can't figure out why he was abducted, too. The duo become closer as they look for an opportunity to escape when they aren't being violently tortured. In the outside world, the search for Jennifer continues.
Almost as shocking as the gore, anger, and violence of the film is the fact that it was directed by Roland Joffe, the two-time Oscar nominee for "The Killing Fields" and "The Mission." In one of the behind-the-scenes featurettes, Joffe seems excited to be helming something different- a claustrophobic thriller. Interestingly enough, in the second behind-the-scenes featurette, Joffe is shown directing the intense and unnecessary "torture porn" aspect of the film, and does not seem to have any of the enthusiasm that he had in the first featurette.
There are many versions out there, and the DVD I screened had a few deleted scenes and two absolutely terrible alternate endings. I don't know where things went wrong, but the R-rated version I saw, as released, is a gaffe-ridden, unbelievable film. Cuthbert and Gillies turn in awful performances. Scenes of violence play out with no context or purpose. Thanks to reshoots and alternate versions, Cuthbert's character is a mess of conflicting emotions, sometimes in the same scene. The climax is laughable, with the film makers trying to make a sociological statement that never sticks. Marco Beltrami's musical score sounds a lot like John Carpenter's incidental notes from 1978's "Halloween," except played in a different key. The film runs under an hour and a half, but I was often bored and checking the running time. The final motive for the murders is nonsensical, the script did not earn the taboo reason- not that the film makers give the audience any reason to care in the first place.
This is a mess, and I refuse to seek out any other versions to give the cast and crew a chance to redeem themselves. Maybe a "final edit" will come out one day, and join the "(R)-Rated," "Uncut," "Unrated," and "Non-Gory" versions but why bother? Escape this "Captivity."
Stats:
(2007) 96 min. (1/10)
-Directed by Roland Joffe
-Screenplay by Larry Cohen and Joseph Tura, Story by Larry Cohen
-Cast: Elisha Cuthbert, Daniel Gillies, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Michael Harney, Laz Alonso, Rebekah Ryan, Remy Thorne, Elijah Runcorn, Carl Paoli, Trent Broin
-(US: R)-(UK: 18)-(Au: MA15+)- Strong physical violence, gun violence, some sexual violence references, some violence involving children, strong gore, profanity, sexual content, some nudity, strong adult situations, alcohol use, drug abuse
-Media Viewed: DVD
*Get Larry Cohen: The Stuff of Gods and Monsters by Michael Doyle on Amazon here*
*Get Larry Cohen: The Radical Allegories of an Independent Filmmaker by Tony Williams on Amazon here*
*Get "Captivity" wall decor on Amazon here*
The few defenders of this film have portrayed its detractors as a bunch of easily offended, pearl clutching sissies who were more affected by an aborted marketing campaign than what eventually showed up onscreen. I can attest that I never saw the original marketing campaign, and still feel this project is terrible.
Jennifer (Elisha Cuthbert) is a world famous model who is drugged at a party and kidnapped. She wakes up in a cement room and is terrorized by a hooded man. She has a fellow prisoner in the form of Gary (Daniel Gillies), who is not famous and can't figure out why he was abducted, too. The duo become closer as they look for an opportunity to escape when they aren't being violently tortured. In the outside world, the search for Jennifer continues.
Almost as shocking as the gore, anger, and violence of the film is the fact that it was directed by Roland Joffe, the two-time Oscar nominee for "The Killing Fields" and "The Mission." In one of the behind-the-scenes featurettes, Joffe seems excited to be helming something different- a claustrophobic thriller. Interestingly enough, in the second behind-the-scenes featurette, Joffe is shown directing the intense and unnecessary "torture porn" aspect of the film, and does not seem to have any of the enthusiasm that he had in the first featurette.
There are many versions out there, and the DVD I screened had a few deleted scenes and two absolutely terrible alternate endings. I don't know where things went wrong, but the R-rated version I saw, as released, is a gaffe-ridden, unbelievable film. Cuthbert and Gillies turn in awful performances. Scenes of violence play out with no context or purpose. Thanks to reshoots and alternate versions, Cuthbert's character is a mess of conflicting emotions, sometimes in the same scene. The climax is laughable, with the film makers trying to make a sociological statement that never sticks. Marco Beltrami's musical score sounds a lot like John Carpenter's incidental notes from 1978's "Halloween," except played in a different key. The film runs under an hour and a half, but I was often bored and checking the running time. The final motive for the murders is nonsensical, the script did not earn the taboo reason- not that the film makers give the audience any reason to care in the first place.
This is a mess, and I refuse to seek out any other versions to give the cast and crew a chance to redeem themselves. Maybe a "final edit" will come out one day, and join the "(R)-Rated," "Uncut," "Unrated," and "Non-Gory" versions but why bother? Escape this "Captivity."
Stats:
(2007) 96 min. (1/10)
-Directed by Roland Joffe
-Screenplay by Larry Cohen and Joseph Tura, Story by Larry Cohen
-Cast: Elisha Cuthbert, Daniel Gillies, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Michael Harney, Laz Alonso, Rebekah Ryan, Remy Thorne, Elijah Runcorn, Carl Paoli, Trent Broin
-(US: R)-(UK: 18)-(Au: MA15+)- Strong physical violence, gun violence, some sexual violence references, some violence involving children, strong gore, profanity, sexual content, some nudity, strong adult situations, alcohol use, drug abuse
-Media Viewed: DVD
Film Review: "Blood Tide" (1982)
*Get "Blood Tide" on Amazon here*
*Get Voices and Silences by James Earl Jones and Penelope Niven on Amazon here*
*Get Jose Ferrer: Success and Survival by Mike Peros on Amazon here*
*Get Fire Below Zero by Nico Mastorakis and Barnaby Conrad on Amazon here*
This not-bad horror film was shot on a Greek islands, and features an Oscar-familiar cast.
Neil (Martin Kove) and Sherry (Mary Louise Weller) are newly married. They spend their honeymoon searching for Neil's sister Madeline (Deborah Shelton), who disappeared somewhere in the Greek islands- how romantic! Although they find her, Madeline is not her old self, spacing out and staring at the sea. The group is trapped on the island by evil mayor/sheriff Nereus (Jose Ferrer). Neil and Sherry also find Frye (James Earl Jones), a blustery guy diving on a site filled with ancient coins and a mysterious walled-up cave entrance, and Jones' girlfriend, Barbara (Lydia Cornell, relegated to yet another dumb blonde role). Frye inadvertently releases a mythical creature that the islanders used to sacrifice virgins to, endangering everyone. Lila Kedrova is wasted as Sister Anna, the local nun who does nothing more than cross herself and warn of impending doom. Madeline's reasons for being on the island are fuzzy. She is restoring an art print at the monastery, which reveals the monster/virgin legend, and she apparently brought Frye to the island, but how and why she is there is never cleared up; likewise with Barbara's presence.
For such an isolated island, they sure get a lot of American tourists. There is also an incestuous subplot between Kove and Shelton that is hinted at but thankfully never expanded on. Two B horror movie legends behind the camera, Brian Trenchard-Smith and Nico Mastorakis, are listed in the opening credits in various occupations, and they may have had something to do with many of the film's good moments. There are some suspenseful scenes, and the monster is pretty ugly and a little scary. The gore mostly takes place underwater, possibly a result of the film's low budget.
All in all, I liked "Blood Tide." Where else will you hear Deborah Shelton warble the end credits song that she wrote the lyrics to, or see the stoic James Earl Jones playing a lout in a scuba wet suit? I kinda recommend this one, although it is far from perfect. Also known "Bloodtide."
Stats:
(1982) 82 min. (6/10)
-Directed by Richard Jefferies
-Screenplay by Richard Jefferies & Nico Mastorakis
-Cast: James Earl Jones, Martin Kove, Mary Louise Weller, Deborah Shelton, Jose Ferrer, Lydia Cornell, Lila Kedrova, Sophia Seirli, Despina Tomazani, Rania Photiou, Spyros Papafrantzis, Annabel Schofield, Irini Tripkou
-(US: R)-(UK: 15)-(Au: M)- Physical violence, gore, some profanity, some sexual content, adult situations
-Media Viewed: DVD
*Get Voices and Silences by James Earl Jones and Penelope Niven on Amazon here*
*Get Jose Ferrer: Success and Survival by Mike Peros on Amazon here*
*Get Fire Below Zero by Nico Mastorakis and Barnaby Conrad on Amazon here*
This not-bad horror film was shot on a Greek islands, and features an Oscar-familiar cast.
Neil (Martin Kove) and Sherry (Mary Louise Weller) are newly married. They spend their honeymoon searching for Neil's sister Madeline (Deborah Shelton), who disappeared somewhere in the Greek islands- how romantic! Although they find her, Madeline is not her old self, spacing out and staring at the sea. The group is trapped on the island by evil mayor/sheriff Nereus (Jose Ferrer). Neil and Sherry also find Frye (James Earl Jones), a blustery guy diving on a site filled with ancient coins and a mysterious walled-up cave entrance, and Jones' girlfriend, Barbara (Lydia Cornell, relegated to yet another dumb blonde role). Frye inadvertently releases a mythical creature that the islanders used to sacrifice virgins to, endangering everyone. Lila Kedrova is wasted as Sister Anna, the local nun who does nothing more than cross herself and warn of impending doom. Madeline's reasons for being on the island are fuzzy. She is restoring an art print at the monastery, which reveals the monster/virgin legend, and she apparently brought Frye to the island, but how and why she is there is never cleared up; likewise with Barbara's presence.
For such an isolated island, they sure get a lot of American tourists. There is also an incestuous subplot between Kove and Shelton that is hinted at but thankfully never expanded on. Two B horror movie legends behind the camera, Brian Trenchard-Smith and Nico Mastorakis, are listed in the opening credits in various occupations, and they may have had something to do with many of the film's good moments. There are some suspenseful scenes, and the monster is pretty ugly and a little scary. The gore mostly takes place underwater, possibly a result of the film's low budget.
All in all, I liked "Blood Tide." Where else will you hear Deborah Shelton warble the end credits song that she wrote the lyrics to, or see the stoic James Earl Jones playing a lout in a scuba wet suit? I kinda recommend this one, although it is far from perfect. Also known "Bloodtide."
Stats:
(1982) 82 min. (6/10)
-Directed by Richard Jefferies
-Screenplay by Richard Jefferies & Nico Mastorakis
-Cast: James Earl Jones, Martin Kove, Mary Louise Weller, Deborah Shelton, Jose Ferrer, Lydia Cornell, Lila Kedrova, Sophia Seirli, Despina Tomazani, Rania Photiou, Spyros Papafrantzis, Annabel Schofield, Irini Tripkou
-(US: R)-(UK: 15)-(Au: M)- Physical violence, gore, some profanity, some sexual content, adult situations
-Media Viewed: DVD
Film Review: "Erotic Point of View" (1973)
*Get Ordeal by Linda Lovelace with Mike McGrady on Amazon here*
*Get Exposed: How the Porn Industry Still Profits Off the Dead by Victoria Sterling on Amazon here*
*Get A Call to Purity: Living a Lifestyle of Purity by Richard and Brittni De La Mora on Amazon here*
*Get "Pornocracy" on Amazon here*
A blocked author of sex books tries to get inspiration by observing various sex acts, some of which involve his blind secretary.
This film is as good as the scant plot description makes it sound. Another exercise in ineptitude, it commits a cardinal sin that many adult films commit- it is so boring. I found myself checking my phone instead of watching cast members try to improvise dialogue or watch some very cringey and uncomfortable sex scenes. There is no eroticism here, and I felt bad for everyone involved and hoped they went on to lead productive lives thinking this would never see the light of day.
How bad is "Erotic Point of View"? I've decided this might be the last adult film I'll seek out to review. I might see one from time to time, I've had a John Holmes project brewing in the back of my mind for years now, but yeah, that's all folks.
Stats:
(1973) 60 min. (1/10) out of five stars
-No Writer, Director, or Cast Credited
-(X)- Some sexual violence, profanity, strong nudity, explicit sexual content, strong sexual references, strong adult situations, alcohol use, tobacco use
-Media Viewed: DVD
*Get Exposed: How the Porn Industry Still Profits Off the Dead by Victoria Sterling on Amazon here*
*Get A Call to Purity: Living a Lifestyle of Purity by Richard and Brittni De La Mora on Amazon here*
*Get "Pornocracy" on Amazon here*
A blocked author of sex books tries to get inspiration by observing various sex acts, some of which involve his blind secretary.
This film is as good as the scant plot description makes it sound. Another exercise in ineptitude, it commits a cardinal sin that many adult films commit- it is so boring. I found myself checking my phone instead of watching cast members try to improvise dialogue or watch some very cringey and uncomfortable sex scenes. There is no eroticism here, and I felt bad for everyone involved and hoped they went on to lead productive lives thinking this would never see the light of day.
How bad is "Erotic Point of View"? I've decided this might be the last adult film I'll seek out to review. I might see one from time to time, I've had a John Holmes project brewing in the back of my mind for years now, but yeah, that's all folks.
Stats:
(1973) 60 min. (1/10) out of five stars
-No Writer, Director, or Cast Credited
-(X)- Some sexual violence, profanity, strong nudity, explicit sexual content, strong sexual references, strong adult situations, alcohol use, tobacco use
-Media Viewed: DVD
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Film Review: "Puzzle" (1974)
This Italian film tells the story of a man with amnesia who he may not have been a perfect angel in his former life. It's a reliable tro...
-
I appreciated so many aspects of this tight thriller that I'm disappointed that I was disappointed in the final product. Widow Violet,...
-
A Amanda Taylor: The Selfie Killer in Her Own Words (2025) American Guinea Pig: Bouquet of Guts and Gore (2014) Attack of the Doc! (2023)...
-
* Get "Lizzie" on Amazon here * * Get "Lizzie" Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on Amazon here * * Get Blood in Fall...
