Before this, director Nacho Cerda was best known for the gruelingly beautiful short-film "Aftermath," which depicted some of the most graphic and vile acts of necrophilia and dismemberment next to Jorg Buttgereit's two "Nekromantik" movies. Compared to that stuff, "The Abandoned" (Lionsgate) is about as disgusting as "The Little Mermaid," but as a haunting tale of the supernatural, the movie is original, cinematically stunning and unsettling as a surreal nightmare.
Anastasia Hill stars as an adopted American who travels to Russia after she inherits her birth parents' decrepit farm. There, she meets the twin brother (Karel Roden) she didn't know she had and together, the two search for clues to their past and what happened to their parents. As the mystery deepens and turns blood-red, she and her twin find their attempts to escape thwarted, and the more they delve into the horrors of the past, the more they become a part of it until their past and present become inextricably linked and they come face-t0-face with their own ghosts.
While "The Abandoned" isn't especially grisly, the tale's dizzying storyline will keep you guessing and the imagery will keep you glued. Overall, it's a compelling and unsettling 90 minutes of fun, and a likely springboard for Cerda to break out of the underground and into the mainstream. This guy could be the next Peter Jackson.
Silk (Tartan) Compared to the slew of Asian ghost stories about long-haired apparitions that scare people to death, this Taiwanese flick is stunningly original. Combining elements of horror, science fiction and existential drama into a story that's somehow less confusing and more rewarding than many of its contemporaries, "Silk" claws at the psyche and tugs at the imagination.
The plot involves a team of government scientists that isolate the ghost of a boy with an anti-gravity device called the Menger Sponge, which feeds off of energy and is highly sought after for its potential military applications. While the ailing head scientist is conducting research for his boss, he has his own agenda -- to attain the pain-free immortality of the ghost he has discovered. So, he frees the ghost and hires an ace detective to follow the boy, using a liquid spray derived from the Menger Sponge to allow him to see the apparition, which can kill at a glance and leaves spider-like strands of silk between himself and his victims.
The detective is instructed to find out how the boy died and why his spirit hasn't left this realm, but the cop, too, has an ulterior motive. For years, he has kept his dying mother is on life support, and he yearns for some proof that what lay beyond is better than what she has left on earth. Wonderfully shot and acted, "Silk" is gripping and innovative proof that there's still life in the old ghost story. But as well as "Silk" holds up until the closing credits, the alternate ending on the DVD is far more satisfying than the original.
The Mad (Genius) For his third feature, director Johnny Kalangis wanted to create a horror/comedy in the vein of "Shaun of the Dead." But while "The Mad" feature a gory and absurd premise that leaves plenty of room for laughs, the scares aren't especially frightening and the comedy feels forced. The movie stars Billy Zane is a emotionally stunted dad who takes a family vacation to a backwoods town fair with his new girlfriend, his bratty daughter and her deadbeat boyfriend.
Before you can shout "dead meat," half the population in a diner consumes tainted burgers, turn into zombies and start to eat everyone around them. The action that ensues borrows the comedic styles of "Evil Dead 2" and "Return of the Living Dead 2," but somehow lacks the self-deprecating silliness. Even a pure moment of slapstick, like when an infected burger attacks a character's face, if feels like Kalangis is trying to turn trash into art. Or maybe living burgers, tangoing zombies and heart-to-heart father-daughter conversations in the middle of sock-em-up fight sequences just aren't funny.
Zombie Blood Bath Trilogy (Camp Motion Pictures) -- Taken as splatter films sharing shelf space with movies like "Dawn of the Dead," "The Evil Dead" and "The Beyond," there's little to recommend about "Zombie Blood Bath" and its two sequels. The plots are ridiculous, the acting is terrible and the gore effects are ludicrous. But as bad as they are, there's something endearing about the three signature movies of Kansas City's no budget video director Todd Sheets.
Clearly, Sheets loves to make gore movies that overflow with spilling innards, severed limbs and gut-munching zombies. And while he's been restricted by homemade effects, unpaid actors and logic holes the size of the Grand Canyon, anyone can tell he had a blast bringing these shot on video movies to life. Given a good script and a decent budget, you get the impression that he might just have the stuff for a few gross, enjoyable creature features.
It's not like he hasn't improved along his slippery organ-laden trail. While the brainless "Zombie Bloodbath" is practically unwatchable, its sequel is far better, and includes some flinch-inducing scenes of crotch-shooting and glass-in-mouth brutality that eclipse the zombie campiness. And the third movie even attempts to evoke empathy from the viewer, introducing elements of "The Breakfast Club" into a sci-fi slaughterfest that involves government-manufactured zombie soldiers that enter a timewarp and wind up in a space shuttle under a high school. Sounds like fun? Well, only if you're seriously jazzed by low quality gore, but Sheets clearly has his moments. Some of his shot sequences are moody and effectively cartoonish and a few of the effects aren't quite cringe-worthy. Also, judging from the bonus interview footage, he seems like a good guy and we wish him nothing but good fortune on his future ventures, including his higher budget remake of "Zombie Bloodbath." Now that's something truly scary.
Paul Booth's Last Rites Volume 1 (PaulBooth Films) The first film by twisted genius Paul Booth is more than a historical documentary, it's an expose on a burgeoning counter-culture and a glimpse into the lifestyle, philosophy and motivation of heavy metal's greatest tattoo artist.
In addition to depicting Booth inking members of Slayer, Chimaira and Cradle of Filth, there's footage of Booth on tour living like a rock star; clips of him and ex-Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo (Down, Superjoint Ritual) talking about horror films for an ill-fated TV show; shots of his co-workers tearing down the old location of his shop Last Rites and setting up his new place; and footage of his mom tattooing a heart on his lower leg.
And between the abundant footage of Booth and his clan are grainy clips of car accidents, assassinations, death row inmates shuffling to their demise and a kid piercing his bleeding face 15 times with a spike, which sustain a horrific tone and offer additional perspective of Booth's dark world.
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