TORSO

Made time to watch TORSO and...wow...it's SO GIALLO it hurts! heheheh  It's a great giallo primer, really. It has all the elements one needs to be aware of to dive into the world of Italian giallo horror mysteries. Violence, a crazy killer dispatching people left and right, an equally insane plot, MORE violence, gloved killer, and a ton of female nudity. If you watch this and hate it, no need to dive further into the genre. :)

The plot is super light. Basically, folks are getting killed in this small village. But, who is doing it...and why?

Yup...that's pretty much it. hehehehe   Braless women walk around and proclaim their friendship. EVERY MAN is a leering potential rapist. As a matter of fact, everyone in the film looks like they could have murdered someone.  The murder weapons is sold by a shady looking, sweaty perv. It's a rain wreck, really, but SUCH an enjoyable wreck and so much fun to watch.

Hint: There's NO way you're going o figure out who the killer is because you don't have the information. And, i really doesn't make a whole lot of sense when it's explained - by the killer, either. hehehe  Fun stuff.

Like most giallo films, this thing is held together by thread and tape. People are introduced, then killed off. You watch and think that you're seeing something develop, but then you realize that you're just looking at naked women and angry men and you give up. But, that's the beauty of giallo. The dialogue alone is well worth a viddy.

And violence abounds. There are the usual, brutal scenes of death and violence as well. I'm not 100% sure why the killer was doing what they were doing, but it's obvious that they are really upset about something. :::grin:::

All that said, TORSO does have a fair amount of tension and a hell of a third act that makes it well worth watching.

Murder Party

What a ton of fun! MURDER PARTY brings a cutting edge humor to the horror genre that I have not seen for a while. This low budget dark comedy jewel is packed with laughs and commentary on the art scene, but doesn't skimp on the gore either. Jeremy Saulnier's direction keeps this tight, 80 minute film hopping from item to item in a wondrous way.

The story is simple. A man finds an invite to a Halloween party on the street and decides to venture out and away from his quiet life in search of a little All Hallows Eve excitement. However - slight spoiler - it turns out that the MURDER PARTY he's stumbled into is for HIS murder. Several artists want to use him as the subject matter of their art pieces, but they fight over who's method of murder will be used and...who will get a $500,000 art grant they've been after for months.

And then, things get REALLY crazy and a hilarious way.


I found myself laughing out loud along with cringing and giggling as things played out. There are some truly hilarious moments in here. The acting is fun - it has a playfulness about it that made me think back on old 80s films like NIGHT OF THE DEMONS and RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD where the actors look like they had a lot of fun making the movie.





If you're looking for a fun addition to your Halloween Movie Lineup, MURDER PARTY is the perfect item. There's really not much more to say about it.

Tormented

I just watched Jon Wright's Tormented - the film he made before Grabbers. I'm not sure if I liked it, but I didn't hate it. It was strange.

Like Grabbers, there is some comedy involved here, but it's not as obvious as in his follow up. There's an awkwardness and clumsy quality to the whole of it that makes it uncomfortable to watch at times. The camera work is overly kinetic, the pace is odd and the story seems like it could be far stronger if the running time was shaved by 20 or 30 minutes.  


HOWEVER, this is not a "bag on it" review.  I still enjoyed the film. The point here is that Grabbers does many things better than Tormented which is a good thing. I was actually happy that I viewed the films in this order. It shows a progression forward that got me excited about seeing future works by Mr. Wright.

Tormented is somewhat basic. It opens on a school memorial service for a boy that killed himself. The boy's one friend calls out that various people in the school tormented (Heh? Heh?! ok...he didn't come out and SAY tormented...) the boy and that they were all hypocrites for being at the memorial. Long and short, there was a "Beautiful People" group that teased and harassed the boy to death. One boy one, said group gets nasty comments texted to them via the dead boy's cell phone. Death and violence ensues with - spoiler - graphic violence and some supernatural turns.

Tormented has another level to it as well. While the device of bullies and vengeance is really nothing new, there's a grand show made of the other end of the spectrum that is overlooked from time to time. Those folks that may not bully directly, but may not jump in to help the victim either. I liked this aspect of the film. Sadly, I've been that person before with disastrous results. (The girl I didn't stand up for in 3rd grade turned out to be a model later in life. She had the pleasure of smirking at me and slowly shaking her head no when I said we should hang out sometime.)  :)

While the main plot is very well known, there are a few fun twists and takes on this familiar, genre classic that I enjoyed. Again, while I wasn't thrilled overall, I wasn't sad about the time I spent watching, either.  All in all, it's worth a viewing. 

Jon Wright's OUR ROBOT OVERLORDS (currently set for a 2014 release) will be the tie breaker. Will it be even better than Grabbers or will it drop back to Tormented levels? I'm hoping the upward and onward progression continues.



TORMENTED can be found on YouTube at the moment.  

Tucker & Dale vs Evil

OH....MY....GAWD!



I have not laughed this hard in the theater....ever? Is that it? I think so! SO FUNNY.



This film was made for horror nuts. It takes all the horror classic “teens in the woods” scenarios and flips them around brilliantly. I was laughing out loud in the theater along with the rest of the audience and I didn't want the film to end. And the best part was that you could see that Eli Craig totally “get's it”. He knows how to make a film and knows what's funny.

The comic timing of Alan “Firefly” Tudyk and Tyler “Mad Love” Labine is perfection. I've never laughed so hard at splatter. It had me cringing and laughing so hard my eyes were watering.



A must see.



For added fun: Invite over every horror movie fan you know and get pizza and beer!

Spiral

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491162/

Ok...I'm going to say it.

“Modern day Norman Bates-like nutter” movie.

Joel Moore plays the disturbed Mason. He has some real issues. Nuff said.
Adam Green has a certain flair for the...well...frucked up! He knows how to make horror. He know how to shoot it and Joel Moore knows how to help write and direct as well. The film has a somewhat low budget feel, but was fun and creepy to watch. One of those films that you giggle at because it's smart.

No, there are no traps.
No torture.
No wicked villains with master plans or scary foreigners out to get ya.

These people are people you work with. People you know. (Hell, YOU may even BE one of them yourself!) That's what brings the horror home.
Check this film out. You'll dig it, I think.
For added fun: Watch it on a first date!