After
40 years the “Godfather of Gore”, Herschel Gordon Lewis, has finally made a
sequel to his trash classic ‘Blood Feast’. Fuad Ramses III (J.P.
Delahoussaye) is the grandson of the mad caterer played by Mal Arnold in the
original ‘Blood Feast’. He’s just recently inherited grandpa’s old deli and
when he goes to check out his property he finds a statue of the goddess
Ishtar left behind by his ancestor. Through the statue the goddess
hypnotizes Fuad, and with this divine inspiration as his guide he sets out
to prepare an “Egyptian feast”. As anyone who’s seen ‘Blood Feast’ knows,
an Egyptian feast requires some rather exotic ingredients and the only way
to get them is by homicide. ‘Blood Feast 2’ is as much a remake as it is a
sequel. The difference is this time the campy humor is intentional, which
in some ways works against the movie.
Part of the appeal of the original ‘Blood Feast’ was
the intensely earnest but utterly amateurish acting. That just can’t be
reproduced by real actors trying to ham it up. Lewis fared much better with
intentional humor in his 196- film ‘2000 Maniacs’. Some gags (John Waters
as a Catholic priest, for example) are pretty funny though. While most of
the film is shot in a competent but flat manner, the scenes of topless
frolicking are shot with some degree of creativity. I didn’t realize it at
the time, but the version I rented at one of the evil corporate chain stores
is missing most of the gore. If you do watch this, don’t make the same
mistake. It’s worth a rent, but unless you’re a real hardcore Lewis fan I
don’t recommend buying. (Bob Ignizio)
‘Mr. Show’ was, in my opinion, the funniest sketch
comedy series of the nineties. It was a mixture of absurd silliness and
biting satire and that mixture was at its best during this third season.
Bob Odenkirk and David Cross were the driving force of the show, but they
were more than ably assisted by top notch comedic actors like Brian Posehn,
Sarah Silverman, and Tom Kinney to name just a few. I’ve watched the
“Heaven’s Chimney” episode countless times, having taped most of these shows
when they first aired, but upon watching it again on DVD I laughed just as
hard as the first time I saw it. I especially love the “Hail Satan Network”
segment. Other highlights are “Fuzz: The Musical” in which the ubiquitous
shirtless redneck always seen on ‘Cops’ sings the emmy nominated (really)
song, “Ya’ll are Brutalizing Me” and a Sid and Marty Croft send-up called
“The Altered States of Drugachusetts”. As in ‘Monty Python’s Flying
Circus’, transitions from one sketch to another are accomplished in sort of
a free association manner. For example, when in one sketch a couple has sex
it’s represented by a montage of machinery chugging away that ultimately
leads to a roller coaster going back and forth and into a sketch about a
killer roller coaster called ‘The Devastator’. There’s probably something
on here to offend just about everyone, but it’s hard to get too upset when
you’re laughing so hard. Buy this now. (Bob Ignizio)
This
was better than I expected. Although the hyperbole on the box makes you
think ‘The Seekers’ is going to be similar to ‘The Ring’, aside from a
video tape figuring in to the story this is totally different. The
story involves the comic book guy from ‘The Simpsons’ (ok, it’s not
really him but that’s what he reminded me of) whose wife treats him like
dirt. We’ll call him CBG #1. He gets fired from his job at a comic
book store and comes home to find his spouse getting busy with another
comic book guy-looking dude (CBG #2). Our protagonist has had such a
rough day that he doesn’t stop to think it might be a bad idea to sign a
contract written on a piece of notebook paper at the behest of a spooky
goth chick who talks to him via video tape. It isn’t great, but it is
entertaining and that’s really all I ask. The acting is decent, the
film is well paced and edited, and for a shot on video flick the
production values are pretty good. There’s even some genuinely well
done shots in here. All in all ‘The Seekers’ is a decent effort and
well worth a rental if you like low budget horror. (Bob Ignizio)
Fans
hoping for a faithful adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft won’t find it here.
Despite its title, this Spanish anthology film adapts not just “The
Shunned House” but also Lovecraft’s “The Music of Erich Zann” and “The
Dreams in the Witch House”. It’s shot on digital video in a flat
lifeless manner that feels like a cross between an episode of ‘Doctor
Who’ and a high end porno. Probably the biggest problem is that, rather
than taking the tried and true anthology format of telling each story
separately with a framing device linking them together, ‘The Shunned
House’ cuts back and forth between two flashbacks and the present day
plot. Often this happens with no cues to let the viewer know a shift
has taken place. I’m not a moron, I figured it out. It just pulls me
out of the movie having to think, “Ok, where am I now?” every few
minutes. Even if this had been more linear, I doubt it would have
helped much. There’s just no atmosphere, no suspense, and very little
that could be described as “horrific”. Considering that these are some
of Lovecraft’s best stories, that’s just inexcusable. Don’t waste your
time on this turkey. (Bob Ignizio)
After
40 years the “Godfather of Gore”, Herschel Gordon Lewis, has finally made a
sequel to his trash classic ‘Blood Feast’. Fuad Ramses III (J.P.
Delahoussaye) is the grandson of the mad caterer played by Mal Arnold in the
original ‘Blood Feast’. He’s just recently inherited grandpa’s old deli and
when he goes to check out his property he finds a statue of the goddess
Ishtar left behind by his ancestor. Through the statue the goddess
hypnotizes Fuad, and with this divine inspiration as his guide he sets out
to prepare an “Egyptian feast”. As anyone who’s seen ‘Blood Feast’ knows,
an Egyptian feast requires some rather exotic ingredients and the only way
to get them is by homicide. ‘Blood Feast 2’ is as much a remake as it is a
sequel. The difference is this time the campy humor is intentional, which
in some ways works against the movie. 
‘Mr. Show’ was, in my opinion, the funniest sketch
comedy series of the nineties. It was a mixture of absurd silliness and
biting satire and that mixture was at its best during this third season.
Bob Odenkirk and David Cross were the driving force of the show, but they
were more than ably assisted by top notch comedic actors like Brian Posehn,
Sarah Silverman, and Tom Kinney to name just a few. I’ve watched the
“Heaven’s Chimney” episode countless times, having taped most of these shows
when they first aired, but upon watching it again on DVD I laughed just as
hard as the first time I saw it. I especially love the “Hail Satan Network”
segment. Other highlights are “Fuzz: The Musical” in which the ubiquitous
shirtless redneck always seen on ‘Cops’ sings the emmy nominated (really)
song, “Ya’ll are Brutalizing Me” and a Sid and Marty Croft send-up called
“The Altered States of Drugachusetts”. As in ‘Monty Python’s Flying
Circus’, transitions from one sketch to another are accomplished in sort of
a free association manner. For example, when in one sketch a couple has sex
it’s represented by a montage of machinery chugging away that ultimately
leads to a roller coaster going back and forth and into a sketch about a
killer roller coaster called ‘The Devastator’. There’s probably something
on here to offend just about everyone, but it’s hard to get too upset when
you’re laughing so hard. Buy this now. (Bob Ignizio)
This
was better than I expected. Although the hyperbole on the box makes you
think ‘The Seekers’ is going to be similar to ‘The Ring’, aside from a
video tape figuring in to the story this is totally different. The
story involves the comic book guy from ‘The Simpsons’ (ok, it’s not
really him but that’s what he reminded me of) whose wife treats him like
dirt. We’ll call him CBG #1. He gets fired from his job at a comic
book store and comes home to find his spouse getting busy with another
comic book guy-looking dude (CBG #2). Our protagonist has had such a
rough day that he doesn’t stop to think it might be a bad idea to sign a
contract written on a piece of notebook paper at the behest of a spooky
goth chick who talks to him via video tape. It isn’t great, but it is
entertaining and that’s really all I ask. The acting is decent, the
film is well paced and edited, and for a shot on video flick the
production values are pretty good. There’s even some genuinely well
done shots in here. All in all ‘The Seekers’ is a decent effort and
well worth a rental if you like low budget horror. (Bob Ignizio)
Fans
hoping for a faithful adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft won’t find it here.
Despite its title, this Spanish anthology film adapts not just “The
Shunned House” but also Lovecraft’s “The Music of Erich Zann” and “The
Dreams in the Witch House”. It’s shot on digital video in a flat
lifeless manner that feels like a cross between an episode of ‘Doctor
Who’ and a high end porno. Probably the biggest problem is that, rather
than taking the tried and true anthology format of telling each story
separately with a framing device linking them together, ‘The Shunned
House’ cuts back and forth between two flashbacks and the present day
plot. Often this happens with no cues to let the viewer know a shift
has taken place. I’m not a moron, I figured it out. It just pulls me
out of the movie having to think, “Ok, where am I now?” every few
minutes. Even if this had been more linear, I doubt it would have
helped much. There’s just no atmosphere, no suspense, and very little
that could be described as “horrific”. Considering that these are some
of Lovecraft’s best stories, that’s just inexcusable. Don’t waste your
time on this turkey. (Bob Ignizio)