Horrorphilia's 'Much of Madness/More of Sin' Podcast Episode #7
Not a lack of sleep or even the common cold could stop us from bringing you episode #7 ofHorrorphilia’s ‘Much of Madness/More of Sin’ podcast. In this audio version of Horrorphilia’s ‘Be Kind, Rewind’ VHS reviews segment, we’ve got reviews for 6 forgotten films that haven’t yet made it to DVD in the U.S.: ‘Mongrel’ (1982), ‘Terror on Alcatraz’ (1987), ‘Spine’ (1986), ‘Run…If You Can!’ (1987),‘Sandman’ (1993) & ‘Crowhaven Farm’ (1970) …plus the new independent zombie flick, ‘The Final Night and Day’ from DefTone Pictures and we start the countdown of our Top 10 horror movies of all-time.
Music by: 'Bob Schneider','Blind Guardian' and 'The Cramps''
Synopsis: A stranger (Patrick Breen) with mysterious intentions comes to stay the night at a secluded country home, but what he finds inside is a family torn apart by a violent past and a secret more deadly than he expected.
My Thoughts: The trick to making an effective slower moving thriller comes down to a few essential elements. The first and most important is an interesting story. A story that's not only original, but one that slowly reveals itself and keeps you guessing from beginning to end.
The second element is the acting, which is definitely one the strengths of this film. I thought the actors were well cast and their performances were somewhat believable.
Next is the mood. While I did like the film's eerie score and setting (you can never go wrong with a dark old house in the middle of nowhere), I thought the poor lightning in the outdoor scenes really took away from the effectiveness. This seems to be a common problem on smaller budget movies, so I guess we'll just write it off to a lack of funds.
Finally, there is pacing. A slow burning thriller can only be really effective when it's flame never goes out. Unfortunately, this one went dark a few times along the way and lost my attention.
My Rating:5 / 10
'The Bleeding House' does show some promise with strong performances and a sometimes eerie atmosphere. Unfortunately, the so-so storyline and the director's inability to keep my interest all the way through puts this thriller in my decent but forgettable pile.
You can purchase 'The Bleeding House' on dvd at newvideo.com.
Fat Foot Films started with making a horror/comedy about humping zombies called "Mourning Wood". During the production we made a promotional calendar called "Looks that Kill" for 2009 to help raise funds and grow awareness for the small Massachusetts based production company. The 2009 calendar had an extremely short deadline and we only had 3 months to create, print and then sell it. Even with time against us, we were still able to make it a success.
This past October 2010, "Mourning Wood" premiered to a sold out crowd of over 300 people. In January 2011 we came out with our second film, drama/romance "Joy and the Apocalypse" which went straight to T.V. All of our projects have been done with nothing more than a deep love for what we do and donating our own personal funds. We are currentlytrudging full speedahead on the newest Fat Foot Films creation, the “Looks that Kill” 2012 Calendar. This time around, we have more experience and better knowledge for creating the visions in our heads, and producing to you this amazing product.
Where's It Going and Who It'll Affect
Fat Foot Films wants to show you the beauty of horror, with gorgeous empowering females thrown into the macabre world of horror. The majority of funds raised will be dispersed to the printing process, which is the most expensive part of this project. The more funds that you all help us raise, the higher quality calendar we can provide to you as supporters and fans. We would also like to thank and give back to all of the people who made this project happen-the models, photographers, make-up artists, set designers and editors. They volunteered their time and energy, having no personal agenda but to help us bring this artistic collaboration to life, and we would like to promote and help them reach their dreams as well.
Synopsis:Gary Busey stars as Tom Sykes, a psychopath who after being released from a mental institution, which he's been at since killing his abusive parents as a child, decides to move in with Julie & Phil Dryer (Mimi Rogers & Michael McKean). The only problem is they don't know he's there. As a child Tom would escape his parents abuse by hiding in the most remote areas of the house and now he seems to be back to his old tricks. This time building a secret hiding space in the attic where he can once again feel safe. While spying on the Dryer's, Tom becomes obsessed with Julie. He decides if he's ever gonna be a real part of the family he's gotta get Phil out of the picture.
My Thoughts: I'll be the first one to admit this movie is cheezy. The story is just ridiculous. I mean a 200 lb. dude walking around in your attic every night and they never go to check it out. They just blame it on the wind and later send an exterminator up there (who's never seen again, btw). Also, it's got a little of that Lifetime movie feel to it. There really is no reason why I should be telling anybody to watch this movie ...but I'm going to.
Gary Busey has got to be the only actor on Earth that could pull this shit off. It's actually a little sad, but I think this might be the role that he was born to play. The rest of the acting was pretty decent as well. Mimi Rogers is always the same (not great, not bad) and it was nice to see Michael McKean in a non-comedic role for once.
This movie reminded me a lot of 'The Stepfather'. The tone of the film, the kind of violence that was shown and especially the way the killer carried the entire movie. Don't get me wrong, 'The Stepfather' was a much better film and Terry O'Quinn did a better job as the deranged psycho, but then again they didn't have to work with this piece of shit script.
My Rating:6.5 / 10
Gary Busey haters stay away from this one, otherwise it's worth seeing if you get the chance. So far it's only been released on region 2 DVD, but an old VHS copy will run you no more than $5 on amazon. I found one on ebay for a buck.
'I Saw the Devil' deals with a serial killer named Kyung-chul (Min-sik Choi), who meets his match. Soo-hyeon (Byung-hun Lee), the boyfriend of Kyung-chul's latest victim, sets his sights on finding her murderer before the police can. He then has planned a series of torture games for the killer, messing him up psysically in the process.
The film is very professionally made, especially the camera work. A couple of great scenes involved the killer murdering a taxi driver in a moving cab and an awesome fight scene in a greenhouse. Also, well acted by the entire cast. An outstanding performance by Min-sik Choi as the serial killer.
A great psychological horror film with its share of gore and violence. Keeps you interested throughout the story, however the ending is a bit disappointing.
Episode #18 of Horrorphilia's 'Much of Madness/More of Sin' Podcast is now on the air. Click the picture below to hear itover atHorrorphilia...or better yet, subscribe to the 'Horrorphilia Podcast' at itunes and be sure to check out all of the other shows in the 'Horrorphilia Network of Podcasts'.
