Retro Review: "Temptation"

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Originally posted on Film Arcade on 10/30/2010. 

Lately there really hasn’t been any vampire films out there. With “Twilight” setting the subgenre back years and the “Underworld” being the guilty pleasure that it is, there really hasn’t been that great vampire film that combines the elements of gothic imagery with a dark story.

Temptation” is the debut feature film, from director Catherine Taylor. Isabel (Caroline Haines) is a beautiful young and professional woman, who is out on the town with her friends and had one too many to drink. She gets a ride from a stranger after wild night. Unknown to her, that person is serial rapist. She tries to out run him, but he catches up to her. Then Aurelie (Rachael Waters), a mysterious woman, save her from this person. Unbeknownst to her, she bites her and turns her into a vampire. Now, Isabel has 48 hours to decide to give in to the ecstasy and lustful cravings or end it all before its too late.

I’ve seen many foreign film for this site and on my own time. There’s always that foreign independent film that’s able to grab your attention It’s even more special, especially if it’s a vampire film because that‘s my most favorite horror subgenre. In age where vampire films rarely any bite to them, it was very nice to see a film that has a bite to it and then some.

“Temptation” is most gothic vampire film that I’ve seen in a very long time. Catherine Taylor’s direction was dead on. One of the things that makes this very different and very good, there is very dark and gothic atmosphere to the story. I liked how she a good job keeping that tone throughout the whole film. She does that through gothic imagery and eroticism. Those elements are done in a way that it doesn’t feel exploitive and delivers its purpose to bring a gloom and doom feeling, which is the film‘s tone. It’s something that’s been lacking in recent vampire films, since “Interview with A Vampire” came out sixteen years ago. Another thing that Taylor does very well, she is able to get the acting to fit the film’s tone, especially with her leads. I liked, how she was to get her main actresses to make their characters very dark. It really adds to the film’s tone.

The screenplay written by Julianne White does a very good job in making the everything that goes on, so dark and gloomy. One of the things that she does very well is creating a story that’s very gothic. I like how she spends the majority of the story focusing on the drastic changes that are happening to Isabel and Aurelie’s obsession that she maybe her long lost lover. It brings the darkness that’s needed to make this very gothic and gets you drawn into the dark atmosphere. Another thing that I liked about this screenplay was the fact it’s different from the “Underworld” and “Twilight’s” of the world. Instead of having the atmosphere either be chaotic and dull, White makes the atmosphere have very dark. That’s something that has been lacking in vampire films recently. By having that feel, it draws you into the dark world of the film and gets you caught up in all of depravity that takes place. I wished more horror films would go the same route.

In an age where glittering vampires rule the big screen, it’s nice to actually see a vampire film that doesn’t cave into the mainstream film mentality that the subgrene has been putting out as of lately. This film should be considered as the gold standard when it come to vampire films. “Temptation” is a gothic vampire horror film that has a lot bite.

Review Rating: Five Stars.

Retro Review: "Return to Nuke 'Em High Vol 1"

“Return to Nuke’em High Vol 1” is the latest from Troma president and creator of “The Toxic Avenger” Lloyd Kaufman, who has directed some crazy and entertaining films like “Tromeo and Juliet”, “Terror Firmer” and “Poultrygeist”.

The film takes place at Tromaville High School where Chrissy (Asia Paredes), a high school blogger falls in love with Lauren (Catherine Corcoran), the new rich girl at school. Meanwhile, an organic food company that was built over the ashes of the Tromaville nuclear power plant is selling containment food to the high school. The food starts turning the smart people of the high school into mutant and rebellious cretins. Now, the two must solve what cause these mutations and save the high school from these cretins.

It’s always amazing that every time I watch a Lloyd Kaufman film, I always have a fun time.  Whether it’s the zany characters that appears in his films to the over the top violence, I never get tired of it. It was the same case with “Return to Nuke’em High Vol 1”, as I had a great time with this film.

Co-writer and director Lloyd Kaufman does a very good job with the film’s direction. What makes his direction work, he handles and balances the film’s humor and horror elements. Kaufman does a very making the humor funny. Whether it’s the raunchy gags to the some of the film’s laugh out loud moments, everything comes off as funny and entertaining. The other thing that I was impressed was the way that he uses the film’s gore and slime effects to his advantage. I thought that aspect looked a lot better than in previous Kaufman films. Everything comes off looking very good on screen and it helps drive the horror aspects of the film as it comes off as horrific.  

The acting was over the top but it works very well with the film’s story. Kaufman does a very good job making sure that his cast has chemistry with each other. He takes his time and makes sure the performances gel very well. It helps with a film like this, as I was interested in the characters and all of the happenings that went on during the course of the film.  It made the film very entertaining and fun.

The screenplay written by Kaufman, Travis Campbell and Derek Dressler does a very good job making sure that the screenplay has what you would expect in a Troma film. One of the things that I liked about the screenplay was the fact that the humor was funny. The writers did a very good job making sure the humor works with the story. Whether it’s the way the characters look to some of the film’s dialogue and gags, there were a lot of laughs in them and those scenes. They also did a very good job making sure the characters have certain traits to them. The traits in the characters is what helped made the characters work. Whether it’s the main character to some of the cretins, they had personality to them. It helps makes all the zany action works during the course of the film.

“Return to Nuke’em High Vol 1” is a very fun and crazy horror film that leaves you wanting more. Can’t wait to see how part 2 shapes up.

Review Rating: Four Stars.

Retro Review: "Killjoy 3"

Please Note: This is repost of my review from 4/18/11. This review took place during Reviews from the Horror Chamber over at Film-Arcade.net where the Horror Chamber got its start.

Going into “Killjoy 3“, I didn’t know what to expect with this film. I haven’t seen any of the sequel, so I’m relatively new to the series.

The film is about a group of college students, who find a mysterious mirror on the doorsteps of the house that they’re house-sitting. They decide to open up the package, even though it’s not addressed to the them. Once it’s opened, Killjoy wants to lure the students and have them play in his own realm with his group of friends. Now the students must find out who is Killjoy’s intended victim, before he and his sidekicks have their way with them.

When thinking about “Killjoy 3”, I can’t stop and think about what a wasted opportunity to make a good film. Writer/director John Lechago does a good job with the direction of the film, but the writing was less to be desired. Lechago does a good job with the visual aspects. I liked the way that he and his special effects team made the effects good. It didn’t feel cheesy or bad to the point that it distract you from what was going on. It helped cover some of the flaws in this film. What saved this film from being unbearable, the way that Lechago is able to get good acting from his cast. I liked , how he’s handles that aspect. One of the things that he does, he gets the performances that he needs to make it work. It kept my interest, even though I had problems with the screenplay.

Lechago’s screenplay was bad, as there’s no other way to put it. For the first fifty five minutes, this film felt like a comedy than a horror film. There wasn’t any attempt to generate some scares or intense moments, which really hurts this film. I was waiting for more action, but instead he just focuses on how many one liners Killjoy can get off. It’s one of the reasons that this film fails. The other reason, Lechago holds the majority of the horror action, until the last fifteen minutes. Even then, that isn’t even handled right. There was no suspense or intensity in the action, which made me feel bored. Thankfully this was a seventy-seven minute film or else it could’ve gotten even more worse.

“Killjoy 3” is a film that had promise with the direction, but the screenplay makes this film fall flat on its face.

Review Rating: Two stars.

Retro Review: "See No Evil 2"

When I first heard about “See No Evil 2”, I thought it was dumbest idea in the world. But when WWE Studios tapped Jen and Sylvia Soska as the directors for this film, I was on board with it after liking their previous films “Dead Hooker in a Trunk” and “American Mary”. Also the casting announce announcements added to my interest in this film.

The film takes place just right after the events of “See No Evil”, where the body of Jacob Goodnight (Glen “Kane” Jacobs) has arrived at the city morgue. A group of friends surprises their friend Amy (Danielle Harris) with a party at the morgue after Amy decides to work late and help out. But their night of fun turns into a night of terror, when Jacob Goodnight reawakens and starts terrorizing everyone. Now they must find a way to survive and leave Jacob Goodnight goes on another sadistic rampage. The film also stars Katharine Isabelle (American Mary) and Michael Eklund (The Call).

One of the reasons that “See No Evil 2” is far better than the first one was the direction from Jen and Sylvia Soska. The twisted twins did a very good job making sure the film had an intense feel to it. From the film’s death scenes to how it was shot, everything felt creative and had a very dark feel to it. This helped me feel like I was watching a serious slasher film than a guilty pleasure film like the first one was. It made the film more enjoyable for me. The other thing that both Jen and Sylvia do very well was to makes the performance very good. I liked, the fact that both of them made that aspect didn’t feel cheesy or try and copy the first film. The direction helped made the scenes work well and it made the characters more interesting on screen.

Speaking of the performances, the lead performances were very good. Glen “Kane” Jacobs performance was much improved from the first film. He does a good job making sure that his character has a serious and menacing feel. It helped with some with some of the action as it comes off as horrifying. The film also has some good performances from Danielle Harris, Kaj-Erik Eriksen, and Katharine Isabelle, as the performances really added to this film.

The main thing that I was afraid of going into this film was the screenplay. The first film didn’t do much to win me over in this department, but it still worked in guilty pleasure way for me. Thankfully, it doesn’t go that route here as I liked it. The screenplay written by Bobby Lee Darby and Nathan Brookes did their job in providing something different from the first film. One of the things that I liked about it was that it had interesting characters and an intense feel to some of the scenes. From the way they develop their subplots to how they approach the action in the story, they did a good job making the story and tone of their screenplay different. It helped keep my interest in the story throughout. The other thing that I liked was the fact that they tried to take this screenplay seriously unlike the writers of the first film. In the first film, the screenplay was lacking a lot as it mostly felt like a collection of kill scenes with good direction. This film didn’t have that same feel as they made sure that the characters were developed enough to make them interesting. It helped the film be a little more serious than “See No Evil”.

This is a big improvement from the first “See No Evil” film. With its good direction from Jen and Sylvia Soska and a screenplay that is intense, “See No Evil 2” is one horrifying good time.

Review Rating: Four Stars

Retro Review "Repo!: The Genetic Opera"

This is a segment on the site call Retro Review. This will feature old horror reviews that I did for Film-Arcade.net. For my first retro review, I decided to revisit an old DVD review of a cult classic.

When I think about my favorite musicals, this is one of my favorites. One will always be “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” after loving since seeing it in 2012, but my number two favorite musical is “Repo!: The Genetic Opera”. Back in 2008 when I first heard about the film, I couldn’t wait to see it in theaters. That never happened, as it had a very limited theatrical release. I finally got my chance to watch and review the film in the beginning of 2009 when the DVD release of the film came out for film-arcade.net. After watching it, I felt like I just watched a film that felt something special. Fast forward to today, I still love and enjoy this film to this day as I have the same love for this film, as I do for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”. Without further ado, here is my 2009 review of “Repo” The Genetic Opera”.

"Repo! The Genetic Opera" is a film that have I’ve been personally been looking forward to as a fan of the horror genre. But what made me more curious about the film, when Lionsgate decided to release this film on a few screens back in November. I couldn’t understand why because it’s received the kind of positive buzz on the Internet from a lot of major horror sites like Dread Central and Bloody Disgusting. The film was also gaining a cult following online before the movie is even released.

The film takes place in the future where there is a worldwide epidemic of organ failure, until a biotech company finds a cure. But it’s comes at a price and if you don’t pay, your body parts and organ can be reposed by the repo man.

The film follows Shilo Wallace (Alexis Vega), a young girl who is forced to stay at her father in a gothic house after inheriting a genetic disease at childbirth. Her father Nathan Wallace (Anthony Steward Head) is very protective and is hiding a dark and murderous secret from her. She then begins to discover something from her mother’s past when Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino) offers her the chance to be cured from her disease. She will then journey out of the house to find her cure. During that journey, she runs into formerly blind opera singer (Sarah Brightman) that wants out of her contract with Genco after signing her life away to see again. While Shilo is away, Nathan is struggling with demons of his own while doing the bidding of his boss Rotti Largo. Largo is also having problems as he’s diagnosed with terminal cancer and can’t find a worth heir to his throne, as all of his three children are failures to him, because one is a murderer (Bill Moseley), the other is a rapist (Ogre from “Skinny Puppies"), and their sister (Paris Hilton) is hooked on a drug known as Zydrate and is addicted to surgery. Soon all of these characters will collide at Genco’s opera, where every secret and power struggled will be revealed as it’s sure to be one fun and bloody time at the opera tonight.

There are some films that you get a sense that you’ve just seen something special after seeing it for the first time. The last time that I’ve felt this way was back in early 2007, when I saw “Pan's Labyrinth" for the first time on the big screen. On that occasion, it was the fairy tale like atmosphere that made me coming out of theater thinking that was special. Fast forward to today after watching “Repo!: The Genetic Opera”, I felt that same way after watching it. The reason that I felt that way after seeing it was the vision and the originality the film has and it was a shame that it didn’t get a proper theatrical release that it deserves.

Darren Lynn Bousman’s direction was great. He achieves in making the direction good, by making the film feel frightening and its dark visionary look at the future. The atmosphere fits with the dark subject matter that this film tackles. Another thing that Bousman does very well was the way he tackles the back stories by using comic bookish storyboards and various types of film to give background on the main characters. It makes it very stylish and makes you pay attention to the character’s background. It’s very acceptable here, as this is a rock opera not a movie. Bousman also directs the musical sequences very well. I liked how the music sequences were non-stop as the film never slows down, which makes this very entertaining. The acting was great, as he makes sure that the performances fit the tone to what song each actor is singing. This is usually a hard thing, as the actors are singing the songs before and having to match the same intensity when lip-sync it on camera. Bousman achieves that very well, as it has the energy that cult-classics are made off.

The screenplay written by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich was very good. One of things that the screenwriters did very well was to make the music non-stop. They did that because they wanted the viewer to come out of the film and say that they saw an event, not a movie. The songs were also great. I liked how all the songs made sense with the film’s main plotline. It makes you very invested with the story. Their character development was very good, as they took their time and develop them in a way that you become interested with the characters. This helps makes these characters so loved by fans and devotees of this film.

“Repo! The Genetic Opera” blends elements of such classical films like “Blade Runner” and “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” into a dark and gothic rock opera that is sure to be talked about for years to come. Please support this film on DVD or Blu-Ray, so we can get the special edition and director’s cut that lovers of the film truly deserved.

Film Rating: Five Stars