DVD REVIEW: Saw 3 Unrated

Saw 3
Directed by Daren Bouseman
Starring Shawnee Smith, Tobin Bell, Behar Soomeki

The Most amazing thing about Saw 3 is its actually a pretty good movie. The premise of the Saw Movies seemed to me like one that would never really work beyond one film but I was surprised at how good Saw 2 was and even more surprised at how Saw 3 really seemd to bring it all together and make a really good Horror trilogy.

Saw 3 finds our favorite cancer patient Jigsaw (Tobin Bell) laid up and unable to have much of an active role in his games. Amanda (Shawnee Smith) has taken the reins and is running a new game while trying to keep jigsaw alive. This time the story revolves around a doctor brought in to care for Jigsaw and a man who's is put through a series of test to forgive his son's killer. Surprisingly Saw 3 manages to take events that happened in the first 2 films and weave them into this story in a way that certainly makes it seem like this story was planned out years ago and always meant to be a trilogy which we know to not be true. Credit has to be given to story creators Leigh Whannel and James Wan to have made all this work and tie together.

Director Darren Bouseman returns to the Saw franchise again after a successful turn directing Saw 2 and does a very coherent job of making sense of all of Saw 3's storylines. I have to say the only real story problem of the film is that it is so complicated and demands quite a bit from its audience. So much from the previous films is tied into the storyline of part 3 that for those who only watched the first 2 once it could be hard to remember all of it. Bouseman is a very competent director and I'm hoping he now moves on to something other than a Saw film next time.

Say what you will about the saw movies. I know its popular in many horror circles to rag on these films but they movies are really better than they deserve to be. The powers that be have kept the franchise, thus far, from falling into Freddy or Jason's often comical territory. Now that Leigh Whannel and James Wan have implied they they will have limited to no involvement in Saw 4 the next question is will the streak continue or will it become a joke next time out?

I liked Saw 3 but it is starting to feel played. About midway through it seems to drag a bit and the finally lacks the punch that the first 2 had. Shawnee Smiths performance kind of rides of the line of being good to being over the top. She does well but there's a couple times where I just wanted to slap her character for being so irritating. However its still better movie than it really desrves to be so its worth checking out.

DVD Extras:

The DVD contains behind the scenes documentaries on the props and effects of Saw 3 which are pretty interesting if a bit brief. There's a director's diary for Darren Bouseman that gives viewers some incite into the making of the film and his responsibilites as the helm. Again it's a bit too short to really get much out of it and it shows more comical horseplay between the actors and director than all that much else.

Finally there are not 1 but 3 commentaries on this movie. The best one features the producer, director and writer discussing the ins and outs of the story and directing. Its provides a lot of incite into the characters and the story although like most group commentaries, differentiating betweeen who's speaking takes some time. The Director several times talks about alternate cuts of the film and an original cut that was over 3 hours. I imagine we'll see a directors cut released in time for Halloween 2007 when Saw 4 hits theatres so if you hate double dipping you might want to wait out for that one.

Film: 3 1/2 out of 5 bloody axes

DVD Extras: 3 out of 5 bloody axes

REVIEW: Altered

Altered

Director Eduardo Sanchez

In 1999 Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick together brought the world The Blair Witch Project. Say what you might about the film, but there’s no denying the impact and the success the movie had. From its unrivaled grass roots marketing campaign to its “mockumentary” movie tie ins, the film had millions duped into believing it was real. The Film was extremely successful however for these 2 first time directors the bar of expectation had been set pretty high.

The Duo went on to write the follow up to the Blair Witch, Book of Shadows, which is an underrated psychological horror gem. But since then both directors have been pretty quiet. Finally, in 2006 both directors announced plans to direct new films. Eduardo Sanchez first film since Blair Witch is called Altered and with it he’s proven that he’s not a “one-note” director.

Altered is the story of 5 friends that were abducted by aliens. Only 4 of them ever were returned, the sixth friends' fate unknown. Forward to 15 years later all 4 survivors are living broken lives. None of them have moved on from the experience and their all haunted by the memories. Three of the friends, Cody, Duke and Otis (played by Blair Witch Alum Mike Williams) have taken to conducting weekend hunts in the woods in order to capture one of their tormentors. The film opens with the capture of an alien by these 3 characters. With the alien tied up in their truck they go to the 4^th survivors home, Wyatt, who has taken to living a solitary militia type existence secluded deep in the woods.

Altered takes itself very seriously and that’s a good thing. The concept here can easily slip into silliness if not properly cared for. Luckily that never happens. The actors are top notch and on their game here. They truly seem like haunted people that simply can’t cope with what has happened to them. Cody, played by Paul McCarthy-Boyington, is the typical hot head you find in a group like this but with good reason. It was his brother that never returned from their abduction. Cody was suspected by his own family of killing his brother and burying him when he came back with his wild alien abduction story. Duke and Otis are both men who seem lost and completely altered by their experiences. Wyatt has become something of a hermit secluded in the woods in a house that doubles as a fortress. He has guns hidden throughout the house and seems prepared to take on anything that might come after him.

Sanchez effectively ratchets up the tension in this film as it progresses. From the opening scenes he manages to make a flash light shining through the darkness a frightening thing again. Shooting through doorways and from behind objects he creates an ominous and dark atmosphere that easily permeates dread from his subjects. Altered is a slick and polished horror / Sci Fi film with characters that are very believable and well acted. The only major flaw this film has is the captured alien itself. The creature when fully revealed looks more like a rubber monster from the 60’s than an alien. While the scenes involving the alien are frightening, it is diminished a bit by the aliens appearance. Its hard to really get lost in the moment with an alien that looks like a rubber suit but the acting and the directing greatly make up for it.

Eduardo Sanchez is definitely proving he can do more than hand a camera to some kids in the woods and call it a movie. In fact he’s proven he’s a very talented director and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can accomplish on a larger scale and budget.

4 out of 5 Bloody Axes

TV REVIEW: The Dresden Files

The Dresden Files
Sci-Fi Channel Sundays at 9PM

Sci-Fi Executives: "That Supernatural show on CW is doing pretty well. Maybe we need our own supernatural detective show."
Yes man: "Excellent idea sir, I'll start throwing one together!"

And thus the new Sci-fi channel original series, The Dresden Files, begins. Much like almost everything Sci-Fi does this thing stinks like a big Z-grade turd. Here's the premise: Supernatural Detective/wizard investigates and battles dark and powerful forces with the help of his ghostly dead wizard friend that lives inside a skull and pops out occasionally for comedic relief. He also gets a little help from a friend that's a local detective on the police force. The Dresden Files just feels like a knock off of something much better which is why I'm going to make some comparisons to other shows here.

Harry Dresden is a wizard and a detective. The premiere episode finds him trying to help a kid with monsters in his closet. To boot the kid is also followed by crows and ravens everywhere he goes. Still with me? Ok good. So Dresden gets embroiled in this plot to steal this kid because he has powers and along the way we find out that Dresden was in much the same position as a child. Dresden found out at an early age that he had powers and apparently he too had things after him for that power. But back to the kid in this episode. The kid is being stalked by a skin walker that can take the skin from others and wear it to impersonate them. However Ol' Dresden doesn't realize this really until after the kid is kidnapped by a clan of Raven people that can fly and dress like bad goth music fans from the 80's.

When the episode finally gets to its conclusion you'll either be asleep or have shut the TV off by now. The Dresden Files is a mediocre and typical Sci-Fi channel show that really is nothing new. The characters are one dimensional and the subject matter really just comes across as corny. They've taken the idea of a show like Supernatural on the CW and pushed it into the b-grade campy world of something like Buffy. However it doesn't even succeed on that level because the show, the characters and concepts are played so straight that the show had a couple unintentionally funny moments.

I compare the show to Supernatural because it feels kinda like they watched that show and decided to take a more adult approach to it with older characters, much more magic and demonic silliness, and a serious tone. It just falls flat on its face. The reason a show like Supernatural works is because the stories don't insult the viewers intelligence and the characters are very well written and acted, so much so that its hard not to identify with at least one of them. The show also balances the seriousness of the concept well with the comedic relief of the brothers interactions. The shows never get too weighed down by the subject matter whereas the Dresden Files practically comes to a screeching halt because of it. The Dresden Files by comparison is just a poor imitator that just doesn't get it.

1 out of 5 Bloody Axes

DVD REVIEW: Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
Directed by Jonathan Liebesman
Starring Andrew Bryniarski, R. Lee Ermey, Jordana Brewster

Film Review

In 2003 the first Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake was released and pleasantly surprised most horror fans. While the original 1974 version will always be the best simply for its brutality and its timing making it a true American Horror classic the 2003 remake did offer a fun and brutal retelling. It also introduced us to a new Leatherface played by Andrew Bryniarski who has really brought the character into his own and portrayed him the best since the original’s Gunner Hansen. While the film itself certainly was slick and glossy the 2003 remake still presented great characters that you really cared about, making their brutal deaths all the more engrossing.

Now 3 years later Producer Michael Bay has decided to return to the Hewitt home with a prequel that details the origins of the family. The film begins with a look at the birth of Leatherface, on the floor of a slaughterhouse no less, to the birth of his murderous intents and the first hapless victims to wonder into his, and Sheriff Hoyt’s, net.

The film follows the Hewitt family and focuses much more on them than the unfortunate chainsaw victims. Leatherface is portrayed as a deformed slaughterhouse worker that loses his job when the health department closes down the business. Out of work and apparently still needing meat to hack apart he and his brother and New sheriff Hoyt decide to find other types of livestock for meat.

The Year is 1969 and the filmmakers have decided to try to do something timely with the film by introducing 2 brothers, Eric and Dean, and their girlfriends who are traveling across Texas so they can ship off to Vietnam and fight in a particularly useless war. The oldest brother, Eric, has been there once already and returned alive. Now he’s returning and his younger brother, Dean, has been drafted to serve as well. Dean however, is having doubts and sees how the war has changed his brother. All through the trip he is looking for the right moment to inform Eric that he’s not going to Vietnam and instead his running off to Mexico with his girlfriend. Of course this all resonates well with another useless war being fought in Iraq and its definitely something modern audiences can relate well to.

After a nasty Accident involving a rather large cow the all the brothers concerns about Vietnam quickly go out the window when Sheriff Hoyt promptly shows up and the horror begins. The 2 brothers and Dean’s girlfriend Bailey are quickly scooped up and taken to the Hewitt house. Chrissie, Jordana Brewster, quickly gets elevated to the films stereotypical heroine and is soon trying to find a way to save her friends.

R Lee Ermey is wonderful in this movie as Sheriff Hoyt. It’s really his movie. He spends more time on screen and chews the scenery with glee. He’s a sick bastard and is truly the most twisted psycho in the film. It’s a role that he was born to play and he plays it with a passion that is very evident.

This film is really a grittier and more brutal film than its predecessor; however so much of the film seems like a rehash of the first that you really start getting bored with it by the midway point. Nothing is really wrong with this movie. It well directed, well acted, especially by Jordana Brewster who has a wonderfully sympathetic pair of eyes that make it hard to not get lost in. Visually it’s a slightly grittier and more washed out vision of the first film befitting its more brutal kills and storyline. But it just feels like more of the same and I found myself feeling like I was watching a film that was a remake of the remake.

There movie really felt like a missed opportunity in many respects. While the telling of the birth of Leatherface is at times interesting it never seems fully realized. In fact the whole “Origin of Leatherface” opening sequences of the film seem to go by way to quickly and almost seemed rushed. On top of that there’s a subplot about a biker gang that is never used! How cool would it have been to see an army of bikers attacking the Hewitt house and leatherface and Hoyt protecting their family in sick and twisted ways? Talk about a big missed opportunity!

Director Jonathan Liebesman previous effort was a really awful movie called Darkness Falls. From what I’ve heard the film was basically taken from him and re-edited according to what the studio wanted. Now he’s come close to redeeming himself with his abilities on TCM: the Beginning. While the film has its flaws the majority of the blame lies on the producers and writers. Director Liebesman proves he does know what he’s doing and when given the opportunity can direct a scary horror film. He’s been attached to a New Friday the 13^th remake/ re-imagining and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do with it.

DVD Picture & Sound:

Not much to even talk about here. It’s a fantastic transfer, as to be expected, and the surround sound is well mixed. The chainsaw has never sounded better.

Extras / Special Features:

Directors and Producers commentary is on the disc. The Producers apparently were really the guiding force behind this movie because they really guide the commentary while Director Liebesman occasionally chimes in. Sometimes I almost forgot he was there. I wonder how the film may have been if they’d really handed over the reins to Liebesman and let him make the film his own.

There’s also a series of behind the scenes featurettes that range from the producers justifying the decision to make a sequel, beyond the obvious monetary reasons, to features on the director, the special effects and more. As far as behind the scenes featurettes go this one is pretty interesting and fun to watch, especially the KNB guys going through the gory details of all the splatter effects in the film.

FILM: 3 out of 5 Bloody Axes

DVD extras: 4 out of 5 Bloody Axes

REVIEW: Black Christmas

Black Christmas (2006)

Directed by Glen Morgan
Starring Michelle Trachtenburg, Lacy Chabert, Katie Cassidy, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kristen Cloke, and Andrea Martin.

Ah Christmas time! There's lights on all the houses, lots of cookies, friendship and joy, but usually no horror films for those of us who could use a break from all this good cheer. Enter the dynamic duo, Glen Morgan and James Wong. Previously these guys gave us some creepy X-Files episodes and the Final Destination films and now they've decided to take on Christmas. For the uninitiated Black Christmas is a remake of the proto-horror film by the same name that was originally in theaters in 1974. While the original was a low-gore, high suspense drama about sorority sisters being knocked off over the course of a couple days at Christmas the remake is a balls to the wall slasher flick for the holidays that takes the originals premise and expands on it quite a bit.

The story opens on a group of sorority sisters who for various reason are staying at their sorority for Christmas. Meanwhile a mass murdering lunatic who lived in the same house the sorority is in is escaping the asylum he's been imprisoned in so he can go home for Christmas. With the premise set up the killer can now start picking off the young ladies one by one for the duration of the movie. Where the original 74' film was a very subtle horror film that inspired such great slasher films as Halloween but this 2006 variation feels it has to pull the stops and deliver a high energy slasher film with blood splattering the screen every 10 minutes or so. The result is a movie that is a fun, gory & entertaining horror film that will drive away some of the holiday boredom.

The storyline really is nothing new but Morgan and Wong have expanded on the originals killer and gave him a much richer back story about abuse at the hands of a very disturbed mother. While the original was a great suspenseful movie that left a lot to your imagination this remake is simply made for fun. The characters aren’t as fleshed out as the ones in the original and the subplot now involves a sex tape rather than an abortion. However with all the changes this was still a story that kept my interest and didn’t slow down too often.

Going in to this movie I really had low expectations. The reviews I’d read beforehand from other major Horror film news sites called it a mess of a movie that was dull and boring. The rumors have abounded regarding the troubled production of the film however with all of that I still watched a pretty well polished horror film that gorehounds will love as well as those who just want a scary movie for Christmas.

With all that said it does have some problems here or there including a couple of jumpy editing moments and a CGI effect that just looked terrible. The ending of the movie follows the classic “is the killer dead or not?” formula that seems a bit much after all that’s already happened but it still managed to satisfy the audience I saw it with. While its certainly not going to be hailed as a horror masterpiece it certainly isn’t the bad movie that everyone has made it out to be so if you looking for something scary for Christmas then go see this one.

3 out of 5 axes

REVIEW: Head Trauma

Head Trauma
Director: Lance Weiler

Synopsis:After a 20 year absence, drifter, George Walker, returns home to settle his grandmother's estate. As if awakening from a long dream, he finds his childhood home condemned and littered with the remnants of squatters. In the midst of trying to save his past, George falls and strikes his head, triggering an onslaught of vivid nightmares and waking visions. As the horror intrudes on George's reality, his conviction grows that someone or something is trying to kill him. (Source IMDB)

HauntedHouse.com Review
There's nothing quite like the MindF*ck movie. Its a movie that takes you through the demented psyche of a character and if done right it can leave you shaken and provoke some good discussion following the viewing. I'm happy to say the Head Trauma is such a movie.

Head Trauma follows a drifter named George Walker who apparently has been just living homeless for the last 5 years or so. The film begins with George returning to his home town and to a house that was left to him by his grandmother. The house itself has been lived in by squatters for the 5 years since his Grandmother died. The house is a deteriorating, dark, spooky place. As George tours the house upon arrival he finds clothing, photos, drawings and furniture that has been left behind by squatters. His flashlight piecing the dark and hinting at what might have happened there and what might still be there. His first night in the place he hits his head and from that point on he becomes increasingly disturbed and haunted by a figure wearing a heavy winters coat. The story culminates and reveals why George has been drifting along all this time and who the coat wearing character is that haunts him.

This film is directed by Lance Weiler who is one half of the duo that created the Last Broadcast which was a shaky cam docudrama that inspired the Blair Witch Project. Here we get to see what director Weiler can do when he has a scripted horror film to work with and he doesn't disappoint. Even though this movie is done on the cheap the camera work and direction proves that Weiler is talented far beyond the limitations of digital filming. I have never seen a digitally shot low budget film that looked this good. Light and dark is utilized to good startling effect here and the haunting character that menaces George never fails to illicit a spooky foreboding feeling when on screen. For the limitations that are inherit in small budget digital film making, Head Trauma shines as an example of what the right people can do when motivated.

While the story is nothing that will shock or surprise the viewer the atmosphere, direction and music carry the film making even a rather obvious ending seem suspenseful. While Head Trauma has its faults it is overall a very good horror film that you won't feel wasted your time. No doubt I'll be making a point to see what Weiler and his team create next. I only hope he gets a larger budget to film something on a scale deserving of his talents.

4 Bloody Axes out of 5

Dr. Shrinkers Weekend of Horror

It has now been announced that Rotting Flesh Radio "The Haunt Industry's Podcast" is now partnering with Doctor Shrinker to be the Official Podcast of the Doctor Shrinker Weekend of Horror.




HERE IS MORE ABOUT THE EVENT:

This is Milwaukees First Annual Horror Convention, and will be held the weekend of September 21-23, 2007 at the Clarion Hotel & Convention Center.

Meet your faviourite horror actors and actresses from films like Childs Play, Friday the 13th, and more.

Participate in our costume contest, with the winning costume voted by the audience.

Meet and see regional/national model builders compete for various prizes.

See new upcoming films and independent films in our Screaming Room.

Purchase vintage and new toys, posters, tshirts, etc.. from the many vendors that will be here from all over the country.

Tickets will be available March 1, 2007 in various packages. From 3-day weekend pass to the Platinum VIP pass. Single Day tickets will only be available at the door. Each ticket holder will be given a FREE complimentary cd entitled "Dr. Shrinkers Sounds From The Underground" featuring music from rock, metal, rockabilly, goth, bands from all over the world.

And this is just the start of the announcements...to be kept up to date tune in to ROTTING FLESH RADIO every week and also check out the Event website below.

Sit, Back, Relax and Rot Away....

Vintage Halloween

Do you all love Vintage Halloween? I DO!!!



I love the golden days of Halloween and how fun it was to celebrate it and how accepted it was in society. The decorations were a blast, who could forget your parents paper skeletons hanging, or plastic pumpkin head scarecrow light? I certainly don't. Well, if you want to check out more about these classic items that reflect where we all got started..this is the site for you, and a few others tossed in too.

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN COLLECTIONS

And a Few Others For You To Enjoy

VINTAGE HALLOWEEN
SPOOKSHOW

WIN a Changinging Portrait from Haunted Ventures FX NOW!!!