Crypt of Gore

Jenifer was the fourth installment in the Master of Horror series season one, and was Dario Argento’s contribution to the series, and I am sorry to say the master disappoints. While I like Dario Argento’s work, Jenifer is a typical example of the master stuck in his routines.

Jenifer is by all means a typical Argento movie, but then without the plot twists, resembling a lot of his recent work, and less of the masterpieces in his past like Suspiria. Jenifer revolves around a deformed girl only known as Jenifer. We first meet her at a park where Detective Frank Spivey and his partner are having lunch. There they save her from a deranged man, who tried to kill her with a meat cleaver.

Jenifer is initially taken to an asylum, but Frank feels sorry for the poor deformed woman, who is only severely deformed at the face, and therefore cannot speak.  He brings her to his own home, while he intends to sort the matter out himself.

While there, he gets seduced by Jenifer, who besides her deformed face has a perfect body, and we also get to see her other side: The deformed lady has a growing appetite for raw meat, preferably human. When rank finds out, he takes her to a secluded cabin, and there things really turn sour.

The above plotline, is a typical one for Argento, and though it certainly is one of the better episodes in the Master of Horror series it most definitely is not his best work, when compared to his other masterpieces like Suspiria, in comparison Jenifer falls short and can’t compare.

Jenifer is an enjoyable, yet predictable movie, and fans of the genre will have guessed the outcome after watching it for five minutes tops. Yet it has all been decently crafted, with good actors, and excellent camera work, but the effects are lacking, and for such a horror drama to have effect there needs to be some very visual horror, which is almost absent in Jenifer.

The story is not an original one either, as the theme of the siren seducing men has been done several times before, and also the beauty and the beast concept has been beaten to death in the horror drama genre, Skillful screenplay and acting, can’t hide the fact that the “Master” in question, apparently went through the motions while creating Jenifer, without adding much of his original blend of horror to it. From the creator of master pieces like Suspiria and Inferno, one would expect a more original story, better effects and most of all, lots of plot twists, instead of the straight arrow screen play that was dished out with Jenifer. The fact that Jenifer is actually one of the better installments in the series, does say something about the series itself, and one has to wonder if the term “Masters of Horror”, truly applies.

So the outcome of this review is good as well as bad, because as a series, Jenifer definitely is one of the stronger installments of season one, but from an original piece by Dario Argento, I expected much more in terms of plot and  effects.

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Halloween is a time for ghostly fun, but sadly it is also the excuse for the movie companies to dish out crappy low budget horror crap that would not even scare my grandma. Fortunately Trick R Treat is not such a movie, but actually one of the best Halloween movies I have had the pleasure of watching for a long time. Michael Dougherty, of course is a name that raises some expectations, having been the co-writer on blockbusters like X2 and Superman returns, and while he did slip up on the Superman flick, with Trick R Treat, he managed to produce a horror movie of the purest kind.

Trick R Treat is one of those horror flicks that fall back on the kind of story telling like Creepshow and the Twilight Zone. It consists out of four short horror stories that all connect, and the whole movie is being held together by Sam, a diabolical child, who always is near harm’s way, or even the cause of it. He is the red line throughout the movie, where we meet up with a school principal, who is a serial killer in his spare time, werewolves, undead children and a very nasty demon.

All stories are straight up to the point gore fests, that do not rely on an in depth story to get to the good stuff. Trick R Treat is by no means a blood and gore flick, but instead relies on simple yet interesting stories, involving the supernatural(As it should with a Halloween theme).

Dougherty did a great job casting, and the characters are all interesting without too much need for in depth character development. The effects are okay, and perfectly times, while the decors and settings are just perfect. It has been a long time since I have seen a movie of this kind, and enjoyed it as much, as I enjoyed Trick R Treat.

The stories are being held together by the Halloween rules every kid must adhere to or die, which are: Never to blow out a jack o lantern during Halloween, give treats, wear a costume and check the candy received., and if one of those rules is broken, well you will have to watch Trick R Treat, to find out what happens then.

All stories were great, but the werewolf story is my particular favorite, but that’s me because I have a thing for vampires and werewolves.

Last, I want to point out something about Trick R Treat I rarely point out in any movie, which is the particular score, that was used for this one, which is quite excellent. Normally I don’t pay much attention to scores, but this one has some terrific material by Marilyn Manson, which really fitted perfectly in the particular scene it was used.

Without spoiling it for all the horror fans out there that haven’t seen this one(But definitely should!), I can safely say that Trick R Treat, should be up there with John Carpenter’s Halloween, as required watching material for October, for every fan out there.

Crypt of Gore highly recommends this one! Film Rating 8/10

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When Bad Biology came out, I was anxious to see it. After all it was the first movie in 15 years from the man that brought us the legendary Basket case and to a lesser extent Frankenhooker.  Being a bit unpredictable, I was not sure what to expect. Would Bad Biology be an over top type of goofy gore fest? Or was this a “serious” movie, attempting to dish out some serious fear to the audience? After watching it, I am sorry to say it is neither. The  best word to describe this one would be boring.

The movie revolves around two people: a girl with 7 clitorises, and has a habit of killing her men, during sex, while the other a man with a giant penis, can’t keep it under control. They meet up and set forth to create, well, something, but what remains to be seen.

While these premises, make for an interesting story at least, it is disappointing to see that it comes down to some dated high school grade humor, and the worst part is that it is not intentional. Had they gone after an over the top horror comedy, this might actually have turned out to be a fun movie for a rainy Sunday, but to watch serious attempts at horror, only to have your funny bone tickled, not good to say the least.

The effects themselves are nothing to write home about either. Sure we get to see some blood and gore, but only sporadically and in ways we have seen beaten to death a million times before(pun intended).

Another factor is the speed of the movie, it is slow as hell. The first half revolves all around the girl in her quest for the ultimate orgasm, killing the men while having sex with them, and taking souvenir pictures afterwards of their dead bodies. The other half of the movie we follow the guy trying just about anything to keep his massive joystick under control. We see him watching large amounts of porn, use animal hormones, and all kinds of stuff. Perhaps it was supposed to be funny, but it bored the hell out of me.
During the last 10 minutes of the movie the two meet, and the climax, is a very unsatisfying one at best.

Overall this movie felt like it was pasted together from a collection of scenes that shared no common story line, with lots of freaky stuff going on that had nothing to do with the movie at all.

I expected a lot more from Frank Hennelotter, but I guess the last 15 years, had taken their toll, and the mojo he once possessed and delivered Basket case to us, have long since gone. I think I will turn on the Basket case series once more to see how the master used to create real masterpieces, because Bad Biology certainly is not it. My advice do not buy it, and leave it on the shelves at the video store, because it is not even worth renting.

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Proven by the success of movies like Cloverfield, and even The Blair Witch project, mockumentary type of movie making has gained a renewed popularity, which is still increasing. While critics may say that the term “contains shocking images” has taken on a new meaning, there is something to be said for this type of movie making in terms of realism. The feeling you get from seeing footage shot in this fashion, produces a result and feel, you simply cannot obtain from conventional camera work.

This being said, Jin Won Kim’s the butcher is such a type of movie, but in the extreme sense of the word, as we get to witness the creation of a “Snuff” movie from both angles: The victims point of view and vice versa. The creators are indentified as “the director”, his assistant and also the title of the movie in the process to be made is revealed as “Lunatic”.

We start off with four unlucky victims, of which two are dragged of almost immediately, to the location where the snuff movie footage will be shot. While in the “waiting room”, one of the victims to be makes an attempt at escaping, but to no use, and ultimately he and his wife are set to encounter “The Butcher” himself, up close and very personal.

Once we switch from waiting room to slaughter house, the movie kicks into gear and this is where we are presented with some of the most violent scenes, I have seen in a long time.  As the victim has to give everything he’s got to survive, The Butcher comes at him with a passion, and ultimately the victim needs to weigh his survival instincts against his feelings for his wife.

Shot with a head cam, we get to see violence, maiming and lots of gore up close and personal, as we see victims beaten, stabbed, raped, clobbered in any imaginable way. I don’t care how much of a seasoned horror fan you are, seeing these scenes, will affect you, and stay with you long after the movie has ended.

The Butcher can be compared to Hostel one and two to an extent, but more extreme, and much more real. Because of the reality factor, there is not much of a story, and where all the violence is leading  also remains a mystery. In the few dialogues a few hints are dropped to a larger scheme of things, but it is clear that The Butcher was not made for those looking to lose themselves in a story, instead you may lose yourself in a relentless stream of violence blood and gore, the likes of which will haunt you for a long time after watching this movie.

In this regard we cannot classify The Butcher as a good or a bad movie, it certainly does what it is intended for, but it is definitely not a movie you will sit down with, watch and relax, it is an experience. Whether or not you go for this kind of flick, is up to the viewer, but I for one was impressed, with the power of such raw and violent footage.

Crypt of Gore highly recommends this film! Rating 7/10

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Lamberto Bava and Dario Argento return with this sequel to the cult movie demons that they created a year earlier, and once again it turned out to be a controversial horror movie, with just as many that hated it as there were that love it. Once again I am on the side of those that loved it, which is no surprise as I like the first one as well, and Demons 2 is in this reviewer’s opinion even better.

Where the original Demons lacked a lot in terms of story line, this was solved in the sequel, by having no real story line at all.

The movie starts at the birthday party of Sally, which is being held in her apartment, located in a large apartment building. At some point she gets away from the festivities, and sits down to watch TV(why?) On the tube, there is a movie about the events that went on in the original demons movie and then suddenly we see a Demon moving towards the television screen, and after that coming out of the TV. This by itself was an amazing effect to accomplish at that time, and Bava & Argento did the job perfectly.

This Demon takes Sally, who in turn joins the “festivities” of the birthday party. Needless to say, that in a matter of minutes, the whole apartment is re-populated by our favorite kind of growling, drooling and oozing Demons, ready to set forth and do some serious slaying.

They set out and start picking off the other tenants of the building, until a group of survivors(Many will recognize as victims of the first Demons) bands together in a last ditch effort to keep the demons at bay.

Those events should sound very familiar to anyone that loves a good zombie movie, and once again Demons 2 still compares best to that genre of horror movies.

While there is still a lot lacking in this sequel, it also has several original themes going, that became a hit in more recent horror movies. For example the first demon, that came out of the television, could have been a scene coming straight out of the Ring if the demon would have had some long black hair to throw in front her(It is a she) face. Once again, just like in part one, we get to see Argento’s vision on horror, many years before it actually catches on and becomes popular. The makeup of the demons is as great as in the first movie, and the acting just as bad, but the blood, guts and gore levels of the movie more than makes up for it, and any movie where a Benji like mutt is being turned into a demon mutt who eats a girl, gets my vote!

Overall we see Bava and Argento experimenting with minor new effects, like A mini demon emerging from another demon’s back, which was a less successful attempt at horror, as it all it did was trigger my funny bones, instead scare me.

Overall Demons 2 is the same “slash em all” barrage of evil creatures that we met in the original flick, and more of the same, which is not a bad thing because more gore is always good! However, it does have a few twists, and nice new effects. The fact that there is no real story(Where did the demons come from? How could they get through the TV?  Why at that specific time?) and there is no real character building to speak of, Bava and Argento simply recognized that a horror movie in that genre does not need that type of stuff which distracts from what these movies are all about, which is murder death, mayhem and lots and lots of blood and gore. Bava and Argento simply set out to do what they do best, which is creating terrible scenes, that we can’t help but love to look at.

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