Housebound - Movie Review - SHOCKTOBER 2015 - Movie #3

Doc Manson is back writing at the B-Movie Geek for SHOCKTOBER 2015! The quest? To watch 31 horror movies in 31 days. Today, we're talking about movie #3, a horror-comedy from New Zealand, Housebound, which is readily available for your consumption via Netflix Instant Streaming.

Housebound tells the story of wayward youth, Kylie Bucknell (Morgana O'Reilly), whom, after a botched ATM robbery during the film's opening minutes, finds herself sentenced to house arrest at her mother and step-father's creepy old house in the country. The disaffected youth has some difficulty adjusting to the quiet life back at home and, before Kylie has a chance to settle in, inexplicable happenings begin to occur. Before long it seems that the old country home might have some unwanted guests that never quite managed to vacate the premises after an untimely, violent end - if you get my ghostly drift.

I won't go into too many more details about the plot, as the film unfolds into a rather clever and satisfying little tale. Beyond the plot, then, I'd like to mention that the film has the honor of being one of the more subtle horror-comedies that I've seen in some time. Numerous events happen, but unlike a lot of films where slapstick elements rue the day, Housebound manages to keep an understated tone throughout its most humorous scenes. It comes across as a dry sense of humor, maybe unsurprising given the film's country of origin. It was a refreshing change from the more obliquely obvious comedic elements found in most other film's from the horror-comedy genre.

Shh! No spoilers here!

I feel like this review is a little short, but it's difficult to talk any more about the film without spoiling some elements of the plot. Given that I enjoyed the storytelling on display, I hesitate to spoil anything more here. Instead, I think I would encourage you to watch Housebound yourself. It's something of a slow burn, but the subtle humor gives it an energy that you don't often find.

The only other thing I'll say is to watch out for that cheese grater. Yeah, it gets used, and it gets used exactly like you think it will.

Ick.

Three out of four Bruces.

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Zombeavers Review - Shocktober 2015 - Movie #1

It's October and the B-Movie Geek, Doc Manson, is back to take the #Shocktober challenge! The quest? To watch 31 horror movies in the 31 days of October. The first flick? A fun b-movie creature feature and zombie combo called Zombeavers.

I found this gem on Netflix streaming, so if you're a horror fan with a subscription to that service then the barrier to entry is as low as it gets - no need to track down any kind of physical media. The movie starts with a pair of truckers making small talk with dialogue reminiscent of a Kevin Smith film. The action switches over to another car, this one filled with three sorority sisters with filthy mouths and filthier SnapChat accounts, seeking the refuge of a quiet, secluded cabin with no cell phone service.

Stop me if you've heard this one before.

The foul-mouthed dialogue continues with our sorority sister protagonists. I was a bit torn on the writing of these characters, as the amount of times I heard the word "bitches" in a ten minute period was approaching my personal limit. On the other hand, if I take a step back and try to imagine a groups of characters that might actually talk like this to each other, a group of coeds does fit the bill, even if it might be a stereotypical portrayal. At the end of the car trip sequence, I sort of had the impression that this was a group of college aged females written like stereotypical college males. I'm not sure if this was meant to be some sort of commentary by the screenwriter, or if this was just a male trying to write females the way that he hopes nubile young coeds talk to one another when alone.

After typing that last paragraph, I took a quick detour over the IMDB and found that Zombeavers has three writer credits, all of them male. Draw your own conclusions.

So, maybe I'm sounding a bit down on this film, but overall I enjoyed it a great deal. It has everything you want from a goofy b-movie. The zombified beavers are hilarious, and I appreciated the way that they seemed impossible to kill, even when in pieces, much like the zombies from the Return of the Living Dead series (You can check out my review of the first film in that series here). Zombeavers really explores its core concept, and even goes above and beyond my expectations for the film.

This might be considered a bit of a spoiler, so consider yourself warned.

Seriously, spoiler ahead.

Stop reading if you don't want the brilliance of Zombeavers spoiled.

Still here? Ok, last warning.

Let's just say the Were-Beaver transformation sequence is amazing, and really fulfills the promise of the Zombeavers premise. I also appreciated the stinger sequence at the end of the credits, in which the filmmakers execute on a visual pun by suggesting that the zombie affliction is passed onto a hive of honey bees.

Now that is attractive.

Get it? Zom-bees? Oh man, that's good. Also, I'm pretty proud of my own pun that snuck into the paragraph above - "Stinger sequence." Yes, I'm a dork.

That's the quality on display in Zombeavers. The concept is well thought out and is executed as well as you could reasonably hope. Also, for fans of the tropes of the genre, I can report that, yes, there is nudity and violence galore to be seen.

Zombeavers was a great kick off to the Shocktober 2015 season. Highly recommended for fans of horror silliness. 3 out of 4 Bruces.

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The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu - Movie Review

I hope that it might be understandable when I say that I approached The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu with some caution. I hadn't really heard anything about the film from my usual sources and only came across the title while randomly browsing on Netflix. I checked out the trailer and knew then and there that I had to give this one a watch. In case it had gone unnoticed by the casual web visitor, I'm something of a closet geek for the writer HP Lovecraft and his Cthulhu mythos. Tales of the Great Old Ones have long captured my imagination and are one of the cornerstones of my horror genre fandom. Unfortunately, there have not been too many good films based on his works. With Re-Animator as one of the few exceptions, I've been fairly disappointed with Lovecraft-based films in general.

The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu tells the tale of Jeff (Kyle Davis), the last living descendant of the author HP Lovecraft. Together with his slacker friend Charlie (Devin McGinn), Jeff is charged with protecting the Relic of Cthulhu and preventing it from falling into the hands of an evil cult. Having already resurrected the general of Cthulhu's army, Starspawn, the cult wants to use the Relic to awaken Cthulhu and thereby bring about the end of the world. It's a suitably heady situation to force upon the bumbling, unsure heroes and serves well as a framework for a horror-comedy.

I thought that the use of Lovecraft and the Cthulhu mythos was particularly inspired and congratulate the writers for making the idea work. It's not often that I think of the Great Old Ones and think comedy. The seriousness and gravity Lovecraft lent his writings provides the perfect juxtaposition for the tongue-in-cheek approach employed here. Further, I thought the film did a great job summarizing the mythos and simplifying story points such that the uninitiated should have no problem following along. A slick and entertaining animation sequence helps quickly cover large amounts of exposition, serving to fill in the back story and allowing the audience to watch Cthulhu brandish a decapitated Triceratops head as a weapon! A win-win situation, if there ever was one.

The acting is strong overall, but I feel that the supporting characters overshadow the lead. Kyle Davis plays a solid everyman-type hero but cannot compete with the boundless energy injected by Devin McGinn's performance. Although the majority of the film's runtime is spent on the two leads, the real highlight of the film for me was the nerdy sidekick character, Paul (Barak Hardley). Whether breaking both of his arms or awkwardly trying to give away a friendship bracelet, Hardley demonstrates superb comedic timing and is a real pleasure to watch. I hope to see more of his work in the future.

Another highlight for me was the quality of the overall production, which was generally quite high. This movie demonstrates good cinematography, particularly for an independent film. Further, it's not often that direct-to-DVD films have copious amounts of special effects, especially practical ones, and it's even rarer that the effects look as good as they do here. There are a few monsters with some fun, creative designs that get a decent amount of screen time. The way in which these creatures and effects are filmed and presented reminded me a lot of Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy films, by which I mean they are generally well-lit and unabashedly put on display. The filmmakers want the audience to see these creations and to celebrate in their other-worldliness. In short, the effects are as good as can be expected for a film of this budget, even if they aren't all exactly perfect (looking at you, fish-wolf things).

The Bottomline: The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu is a fun, entertaining film that horror-comedy fans will want to see. The film is hugely successful given its independent roots and budgetary constraints. Highly recommended and available now on Netflix. Three Bruces.

The Last Lovecraft: Relic of Cthulhu

Directed by Henry Saine

Written by Tom Konkle & Devin McGinn

Starring Kyle Davis, Devin McGinn and Barak Hardley

2009 - 78 minutes

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