This B-movie horror/sci-fi film is a case study on how to make a compelling, stylistic movie for $8,000. Director Christopher Sharpe shot the flick in and around Oklahoma City, using volunteer actors, producers and cameramen, and only paid for location shooting, food, special effects and makeup.
For this reason, the director's commentary that accompanies the DVD is especially interesting, revealing how the move dealt with numerous setbacks including late night shoots, lighting problems, uncooperative strippers and over meticulous makeup specialists to create a flick that's gripping, convincingly gory and, for the most part, unpredictable.
Sharpe's passion and vision, and Shogo Nakagawa's cinematography skills and creative editing compensate for the sometimes mediocre acting, amateurish fight scenes, continuity errors and plot holes, and if you focus on the storyline and the cool camera angles, Sex Machine (Anthem) will suck you in and keep you there.
Sharpe's greatest asset, despite his limited budget, is his love and knowledge of film, and throughout he and Nakagawa make nods to movies that inspired them, including "The Reanimator," "The Matrix," "Grease," "My So Called Life" "Rocky" and "Ichi The Killer." But "Sex Machine" can be thoroughly enjoyed on its own merits without a degree in geek films.
The story addresses a man, Frank, (John Howell), who finds himself covered in bandages and severely scarred from multiple operations he can't recall. Moreover, he discovers that his body parts have been assembled together Frankenstein-style from the limb of a black boxer, the arm of a sleazy tattoo freak and several other specimens that have driven him to a life of violence and retribution.
At a peak moment of realization, he bloodily extracts a metal implant in his neck and is suddenly flooded with snippets of memories from his past life. Hooking up with Claire (Jessica Alfrey), an ex-girlfriend who thought he died in a coma, and a friend, Owen (Sheridan Marquardt), who owns a local bowling alley, he embarks on a quest to find out how he became a monster and how he can exact a punishing revenge. But events don't go as planned, and Frank finds himself and his friends in the middle of a bizarre government conspiracy as combatants swoop down comic-book style, in an effort to snuff out him and everyone he cares for.
For fans of mad scientist flicks, "Terminator" style adventures and Dario Argento splatter, Sex Machine is a must.
Also of interest:
A Secret Handshake (York) - A terse psychological thriller about a man, Jacob (Robert Olding), who falls asleep one night and then wakes up in a hotel being tortured by a dominatrix. Eventually he passes out and arises from his slumber back at home. At first he thinks he just had a nightmare, but then he discovers that he was missing from work for days and nobody knows his whereabouts. Of course, his wife Carmen (Jessica Landon), friends and employers think he's crazy and he quickly becomes distanced from everyone as he continues to journey to S&M land in search of answers. Even he questions his sanity until his wife is sent a stack of DVDs depicting the grisly undertakings from the hotel room, and to her surprise, she's featured in the footage as well. The couple determines something truly unnerving is happening. Jacob has no recollection of his real life and Carmen can't recall anything that happened in the hotel room. By the end, both realize that they're world is a prison and the lines between life and death, reality and surreality become painfully blurred.
Swamp Zombies (Brain Damage) This is a super low-budget, low-production value and, well, low quality horror flick, but that doesn't mean it's not a blast. A scientist is working on an illegal formula to resurrect the dead. So when a government inspectors comes to town, the doc hires thugs to dump all of his specimens in the swamp. You can guess what happens next. Zombies rise from the muck and eat everyone they can find is this campy get-up to Romero, Savini and Raimi. Unfortunately, the gore effects are minimal and unconvincing, but the fight scenes are fun and it's pretty cool to see adult actress Jasmine St. Claire playing a bitchy research assistant. Scream queen Pamela Sutch and pro wrestlers Brian "Blue Meanie" Heffron and Dan "The Beast" Severin add to the merriment.
White Slave Collection (Bloody Earth) This anthology features three exploitation jungle films depicting cannibals, savages, animal attacks, topless natives and, or course, white slaves. The first film "Naked Amazon" is a 1954 jungle documentary, and while it includes a story about an adventurer and his wife exploring the Amazon, very little happens, aside from snake killing, turtle eating and jaguars attacking monkeys. The second flick, 1985's "White Slave," is the uncut gem here, one clearly inspired by elements of Umberto Lenzi's 'Eaten Alive" and Ruggero Deotado's "Cannibal Holocaust." In "White Slave," a well mannered school girl is vacationing in the amazon with her parents when all hell breaks loose and both of her folks are savagely murdered in what seems like an attack by jungle savages. The Indians drag the girl off into the jungle and raise her up as part of their tribe. But while she is fascinated by the culture to which she's exposed, she harbors a burning hatred for the warriors who she believes killed her parent. Eventually, after lots of topless prancing, she develops a romantic attraction to one of the Indians, but will the gaping culture gaps prevent the two from fulfilling their romantic aspirations? And how many people will die in the process? The final tale on the DVD, "Sacrifice of the White Goddess," is a poorly produced exploitation film about a two women and a man's trip into the Mexican jungle to hunt down hidden Mayan Gold. Nudie fans will delight to the skin exposure, but there's very little else of merit in this production. By the time the movie reaches its grisly conclusion, you'll probably breathe a sigh of relief that it's over. "White Slave Collection" offers some stellar moments and plenty of bang for the buck, it's just two bad that 90 minutes of that banging is pretty forgettable.
Ghost (Tartan) There are some nice moments in this Korean ghost story about a girl suffering from amnesia, who gradually learns the truth about her relationship with her mother and her status-conscious friends, who would rather watch a peer drown than jump in the water and get their clothes wet. As the plot progresses, the protagonist's former friends start to met untimely, watery ends. "Ghost" is filled with jack-in-the-box scares, mean teen pranks and creepy supernatural scenes that culminate in a major identity crisis and a sinister plot for revenge. As with many Asian horror stories, the finale is a little confusing, but there's enough that makes sense to piece together that which doesn't. Not the best Asian horror movie, but far better than most American J-horror remakes.
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