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The Super (2010)
The Super - Indie horror at it's best (May contain spoilers)
By now, I'm sure that you're aware of the Support Independent Horror campaign that's been running rampant throughout the internet. There's a good reason why so many people are urging you to support the indies. That reason is because, for the most part, indie films are simply better than the big budget studio drivel, and the indie filmmakers are in the business of making films from the heart, because they love the genre, they love the subject matter of their films, and because they love what they do. The big studios make movies for the money. And nothing more.
When a filmmaker's work comes from the heart, the viewer can see this fact. You can see all of the love and hard work that went into the making of such a film. Can the same be said for most Hollywood movies? Not a chance. You can't see the heart, love and hard work put into them, but you can see all the money. But that's about it. Soulless money. No heart. No love.
Brian Weaver and Evan Makrogiannis have continued the carrying of the indie horror torch with their film The Super. Makrogiannis and Weaver co-wrote and co-directed the film about Queens, New York apartment building superintendent George Rossi (Demetri Kallas), a Vietnam vet whose descent into depravity and madness is exasperated by the sometimes crazy, always annoying tenants of the building of which he is in charge. George goes from a frustrated little man, who may be just a bit touched in the head, to an avenging madman, with the help of Russian immigrant Olga (Manoush), who may have as much of a penchant for homicidal behavior as she does for the sadomasochistic domination of men.
Kallas is as creepy as he is likable in the role of George Rossi. I found it hard not to feel some form of pity for the guy, regardless of some of the horrendous things he was saying, or the equally appaulling acts he was committing. This is only the second time Kallas has appeared in a film (his first was in Weaver and Makrogiannis' first film, The Turnpike Killer), yet he comes across as though he's a seasoned veteran. Simply, the man can act, and he is very believable in the role. I hope to see a lot more of him in the future.
Olga, the Russian immigrant who serves as a teacher of sorts for George, is played by the one-and-one Manoush (La petite mort, Philosophy of a Knife, Amélie )! Manoush has always been brillliant when it comes to playing roles in which she is a strong woman who is always in charge and usually quite vicious, and her work in The Super is no exception. From the moment she is first seen on screen, you know that this is not a woman that you'd want to mess with! Her Russian accent adds to how strong the character comes off, and it came with a bit of a cost for the actress. She recently shared a story with me about this fact, telling me the following:
"To be more menacing and frightening as Olga I spoke my dialogues as deep as my voice could do .. with the result that I ended every day of shooting with throat pains and my vocal chords really felt like sh*t."
It's hard to label this film with one title as it's so much more. Sure, there's plenty of gore, lots of violence, some gross out scenes, and there's even quite a bit of humor, but there are so many layers to the film that it's not easy to easily explain away as a horror comedy, dark comedy or even horror with comedic elements. Including elements such as revenge, betrayal, murder, love, comedy and tragedy, The Super has a rather Shakespearean feel to it.
In a film that is difficult to label, one label that does do this film justice is must-see! As I mentioned at the start of this review, in the world of horror movies, the indie film reigns supreme. And in this world, The Super continues the tradition of great horror with heart.
Zombie Atrocity: The Italian Zombie Movie - Part 2 (2010)
Zombie Atrocity: The Italian Zombie Movie Part 2 picks up right where Part 1 left off....smack dab in the middle of cheesy good fun!
Zombie Atrocity: The Italian Zombie Movie - Part 2 picks up right where Zombie Abomination: The Italian Zombie Movie - Part 1 left off.
In Zombie Atrocity: The Italian Zombie Movie - Part 2, the story continues as the zombie invasion has really begun to intensify.
We had many questions left unanswered at the end of Part 1, but they're all answered in Part 2!
Once again, there are so many classic influences apparent in this, the second part of Thomas Berdinski's The Italian Zombie Movie. For example, there is a scene involving a disembodied head that has Evil Dead/Evil Dead 2 written all over it. Another scene in which I noticed what seemed to be another influence involved Jeremiah doing battle with one of the zombies, where they are both using a stick to duel it out. It reminded me of the Tusken Raider attack on Luke Skywalker in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Whether this was the intention here or not, I'm not sure, but it sure reminded me of it, as the victor of the battle even celebrated by lifting the stick up and down over his head, just as the Tusken Raider did in Star Wars as he dominated Luke. There were also a few nice Three Stooges-like head knocking going on in the film.
Zombie Atrocity contains something perhaps never before seen in any film; a living dead machine! This machine, called an M-4, is reminiscent of the ED-209 robot from Robocop, has the brain of a dog, and cannibalizes zombies.
In the film, we are also reintroduced to the feminist gas station attendant (The station sells gasoline and ice cream, and is referred to as the pump & cream. Adult humor hidden inside a seemingly innocent name. Nice!) who has now become one of the undead, however she has learned the secret to controlling all of the zombies. She describes the key to by stating, "Have sex with a man and he'll do whatever you want"! True not only for controlling zombies but also the method by which all you gals out there are able to control us men.
I'd like to take a moment at this point to say, M. Night Shyamalan, eat your heart out! There are more twists and turns in Zombie Atrocity: The Italian Zombie Movie - Part 2, than usage of the F word in Scarface! Just when you think you know what's what, when you think you understand how it all happened to get to where things are, you learn just how wrong you were! The story always keeps you on your toes, and continually keeps you guessing. I had laugh repeatedly when, just as I thought I knew what was what, I had the proverbial rug pulled out from under me and saw that I was way off. Again, as was the case with IZM Part 1, Part 2 is a film that is so silly and senseless yet it can somehow still leave the viewer trying to figure out answers. This serves as an example of how great of a filmmaker Thomas Berdinski truly is.
This film has it all;
Secret Army experiments Government conspiracies and cover-ups Zombies Aliens A succubus Souls being sold to the Devil Zombie Kungfu fighting Decapitations Disembowelments A living dead machine Corpse reanimation Corny dialog Cliché' after cliché' Giant 20 foot tall zombies Characters who all have something to hide Intentionally cheesy acting Sexy women A kinder, more gentle version of The Michigan Militia Trading of body parts ESP driven flies Toys tanks and trucks posing as the real McCoy, Mocking of the disabled by a total jerky Perverts Implied zombie sex A spaceship Elaborate plot twists One thing that this film has, that all movies should have, is heart. The film is an obvious labor of love.
As I mentioned in my review of Zombie Abomination: The Italian Zombie Movie - Part 1, Zombie Atrocity: The Italian Zombie Movie Part 2 as well as Part 1, is an homage to the the Italian zombies movies that many of us grew up with, and even more fans of the horror genre hold very dear in our hearts.
With the upcoming remakes of Plan 9 From Outer Space, I have to say that they are all for naught. If you'd like to see a modernization of Plan 9, all you need to do is see Thomas Berdinski's The Italian Zombie Movie Part 1 & 2. Aliens, zombies being raised from the grave with the use of alien technology, corny dialog and a movie that is fun and is entertainment personified. The above description applies to both Ed Wood's classic film Plan 9 From Outer Space as well as to Thomas Berdinski's The Italian Zombie Movie Part 1 & 2.
Berdinski and Wood have a lot in common. They both make (or made in Ed's case) movies for the love of filmmaking, this fact is apparent in the films of both men. And they both can (could for Wood) take an insanely small budget (Berdinski even more so than Wood) and what they come up with is nothing short of amazing!
Again in this review of Part 2, I should note that this film is an extremely low budget, or DIY, film. It was made on a super low budget, and all that Berdinski accomplishes with that minimal amount of money is truly phenomenal.
Zombie Abomination: The Italian Zombie Movie - Part 1 (2010)
Zombie Abomination: Thomas Berdinski's first part of his 2-part Italian Zombie Movie series is pure awesomeness (Is that a word?)
A few parts of this review may be what some would consider to be spoilers. I don't think they are really, but to be safe, I've included a spoiler warning.
We all know of, and love, all of those crazy zombies movies that have come to us out of Italy. Super gory, sometimes excellent and sometimes beyond bad, the Italian zombie movies have a huge fan base. Whether they're good or bad, fans seem to love them either way.
Thomas Berdinski set out to make a two part homage to the the Italian zombies movies that we all hold in such high esteem when he made The Italian Zombie Movie Part 1 and Part 2.
This review will focus on Zombie Abomination: The Italian Zombie Movie - Part 1. A review of Zombie Atrocity: The Italian Zombie Movie - Part 2 will be published here on National Horror Examiner in the very near future, so stay tuned.
In this, the first of the two-part story, we meet a plethora of characters, each with their own personal story arc. Sgt. Bruno Deodato (Jeff Bromley) who must learn of the truth behind his twin brother's mysterious death, Bruno's dead brother's wife Catriona, a psychic who somehow failed to foresee her husband's death, Dr. Falluci, the afore mentioned rogue Italian biochemist who seems to be hiding more than a few secrets, the doctor's assistant Maria, who seems to be a succubus, and her asshole cop boyfriend Ruggerro, a friend of Maria's named Mariangela, another bearer of sinister secrets, Jeremiah and "The Colonel", a pair of Michigan Militia members who once served in the military with Bruno, one of whom is also hiding a secret or two, a man- hating feminist gas station attendant, the "local pervert" who dons a Mexican wrestling mask and, well, we're not sure what he does, but it's bound to be something really creepy, and two aliens, who look like your average human men, driving around in a van scanning people and cell towers with their hand-held scanning equipment. There are a few other characters roaming about as well but those mentioned here are the main characters of Part 1. As I mentioned, each character, or group of characters, has their very own story arc, upping the zaniness ante. Of course there are also zombies roaming about. Lots of zombies. Some emerge from the water, whereas others smash their way out of flimsy wooden caskets ala Fucli's Zombi.
An early scene in the film is sure to thrill fans of Lucio Fulci's Zombi. I won't go into detail about it, but anyone who has seen Zombi will know the scene when they see it.
Inspired by such films as Zombie, aka Zombie 2, The House by the Cemetery, Cemetery Man, The Beyond, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie aka The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue and City of the Living Dead, Zombie Abomination: The Italian Zombie Movie - Part 1 pays loving homage to the films made by such legendary Italian directors as Lucio Fulci, Michele Soavi, Ubaldo Ragona and Jorge Grau.
I'll gladly state that I believe if Ed Wood were still alive, he would be so proud of what Thomas Berdinski has done here with this film. It's tongue-in-cheek, yet serious. You get a lot of laughs with this film, but the story also draws you in. I should note that this film is an extremely low budget, or DIY, film. It was made on an estimated budget of around $1000, and all that Berdinski accomplishes with that minimal amount of money is nothing short of phenomenal.
If you're a fan of Italian zombies movies, a fan of horror spoofs/homages or a fan of movies that are fun, I highly recommend Zombie Abomination: The Italian Zombie Movie - Part 1.
The Giant Rubber Monster Movie: Sascratch Versus Afrodesious (2011)
The Giant Rubber Monster Movie - The most fun you'll ever have watching giant rubber monsters do battle!
Who doesn't have fond memories of those Saturday morning movies that played on the local UHF stations where some poor city was suddenly attacked by a giant monster, only to have another giant monster, acting on the behalf of innocent people, foil the evil monster's diabolical plans to destroy the city?
I've always loved these sort of movies so when I learned of Thomas Berdinski's short film The Giant Rubber Monster Movie I was eager to check it out.
In The Giant Rubber Monster Movie: Sascratch Versus Afrodesious, Dr. Sigmund Zoid (Played by none other than the one and only Dr. Sigmund Zoid, horror host legend.), an evil vegetarian from the year 25,000,000 A.D.(Apparently the whole 2012 end of the world theory is way off!), makes off with a time machine and heads back in time, to present day in an attempt to destroy all edible animals known to man. How does Zoid plan on pulling this off? By using a giant monster whom he has complete control over. The monster, Afrodesious, is equipped with a giant proboscis, something that is sure to please all of the giant monster ladies out there, with which he devours the animals as well as any people who happen to cross his path.
Mankind, and the poor critters of the world, are not without hope. It seems a young lad, named Miko, has stowed away aboard Zoid's ship, and with the help of a man named Ken, who just may or may not be a serial killer, Miko has a plan to save the world. He plans on summoning the mighty monster known as Sascratch, a half-man, half-Sasquatch creature who looks like a giant Tribble from Star Trek as he travels, and like a slightly hairier Carrot Top when he's ready for battle. Miko uses Sascratch to wage war against the legendary Afrodesious.
If Sascratch can overcome Afrodesious' propensity for the Kama Sutra, maybe, just maybe, the animals of the earth can be spared, and Zoid's diabolical plans can be squashed!
Fun. That's the one word to best describe this film. If you watch this without really enjoying yourself, you are far too serious and you are perhaps in need of some happy pills.
Berdinski isn't trying to make a serious monster film such as The Host or even Cloverfield. He simply set out to pay homage to the Japanese giant rubber monster movies that kids of the 70s, such as myself, grew up loving. Shows and movies such as Ultraman, Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot, Spectreman, The Space Giants and Godzilla are the obvious inspiration for this film. There's a lot of love for, and maybe a little poking fun at, these type of films present in Thomas Berdinski's The Giant Rubber Monster Movie.
I highly recommend The Giant Rubber Monster Movie to anyone who grew up with, or is simply a fan of, the giant monster movies of old, as well as anyone with a pulse and a sense of humor.
Pig (2010)
Adam Mason's Pig is an experiment in terror and psychosis
In Mason's latest film, "Pig", which he wrote, produced and directed, Mason has ventured into unchartered territory with both his filming technique as well as with his content. More on that subject later.
"Pig is not for the faint of heart, and has been described as gruesome, brutal, unsettling, violent, savage and a despicable experience. The film was shot completely in secret from fans and followers alike, and stars frequent Mason collaborator Andrew Howard, as an lunatic leading a family of psychopaths who inflict unspeakable evils on a group of hapless, captured victims" And that perfectly sums this film up. At first, this may sound like yet another "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" rip-off, but it most assuredly is nothing of the kind. Mason takes the theme of the crazed group of people abducting and torturing innocents that we first became familiar with in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and takes it to an all new, and extremely disturbing level!
Where "Chainsaw" had the look and feel of a documentary, "Pig" gives the viewer the sense that they are actually there, face to face with these maniacs, as they commit their atrocities. And these heinous acts are far more evil, twisted and sadistic than anything that the Sawyer family ever even dreamed of committing.
Welsh actor Andrew Howard (who you can next see in the remake, yes, another remake, of the classic exploitation film, "I Spit On Your Grave".), who stars as the lead character, (Note: none of the characters in this film, with one exception, have been given a specific name, however Howard's character refers to himself as "Daddy" often) is terrifyingly fantastic in the role. Watching him in action in this film truly feels like you are watching an authentic madman at work. Howard commits these horrendously violent and sadistic acts on his victims with such glee and a childlike joy that it is truly hard to watch at times, yet you find yourself unable to look away.
Getting back to the previously mentioned innovative factor to this film, the first hour and 26 minutes (as I counted) "Pig" is filmed in one take (A take is a single continuous recorded performance), with the remainder of the 1 hour and 34 minute film being comprised of multiple takes. This means that the actors (especially Howard who is on scene throughout most of the film) were able to continue filming without any mistakes, breaks,etc, for the entire hour and 26 minutes. A very innovative and impressive feat. It's hard enough to imagine a filmmaker, his actors and entire crew, being able to shoot such a long take without any errors or accidents, and given the fact that this is such a brutal and chaotic film, it is all the more unfathomable. Much respect is due to Mason, Howard and the entire production crew for being able to pull this off so perfectly.
Horror is meant to horrify. To disgust. To repulse. With "Pig", Adam Mason has delivered on all counts. The film is shocking from start to finish. With an ending that is guaranteed to be 100% unpredictable!