Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 8th, 2014
On the heels of the reality TV Pentecostal preacher dying from a snakebite, Holy Ghost People delves into the dark side of religion and how those who believe can be corrupted and taken advantage of. It’s not that the film is looking to exploit or demonize a religion or anyone’s beliefs, but instead it explores the people who have no problem using another’s beliefs and weaknesses to manipulate them. Though the film takes place deep in the backwoods of the Appalachian mountains, it could just as easily be about a chapel just up the street; after all, faith and corruption are everywhere so long as there is someone eager to believe. Charlotte (Emma Greenwell) does what she can to make ends meet while working at a small town bar. She’s been saving up all her money with the intention of finding her sister who has joined a community that calls itself the Church of One Accord. With no way to get to the community she asks for help from a stranger, Wayne (Brendan M\cCarthy) whose wallet she finds after he gets beaten up outside her bar. He offers to drive her up to a place called Sugar Mountain where the community is said to be.
The film wastes no time in getting us to the community and into the middle of one of the services. The congregation sings along and cheers on Brother Billy (Joe Egender) as he reaches into a box with the word SATAN written on it, and from inside he removes a giant rattlesnake. Brother Billy continues to tell the congregation it’s the power of the Holy Spirit that protects him. Charlotte and Wayne can see through the act, but for how long?
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 8th, 2014
Ever watch one of those reality shows and wonder what would happen if someone got killed, or what if one of the cast members turned out to be a psycho ax murderer? Well, I’m not ashamed to say the thought has crossed my mind from time to time in hopes that it would make the season of Survivor mean a whole new thing with the stakes raised, and instead of a vote off you were literally cut out of the show. Well, HazMat tackles this very notion of a reality show breaking from the script (come on, we all know by now reality shows are scripted) after the show’s participant gets the thirst for blood.
Jacob (Norbert Velez) has this obsession with an old chemical plant where his father died. It’s an obsession that is about to ruin his friendship with his best friend Adam (Reggie Peters), but Adam has a plan to fix that obsession. He gets in touch with a reality show that specializes in being a prank show that terrifies its cast members. Adam figures if he can get a good scare out of Jacob, and he comes to terms with the brief humiliation on national TV, that it’ll snap him back to reality. Things clearly don’t go as planned after Jacob accidently kills one of the show’s cast members, and once he discovers the truth behind the TV series, well, let’s simply say Jacob does not enjoy being the butt of anyone’s joke.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 4th, 2014
The H.G. Wells invasion story has been told numerous times from a radio show when it allegedly caused a panic when Orson Wells made his infamous broadcast to the more recent imaging brought to the screen by Steven Spielberg. It’s the alien invasion story that has captured our imagination and will continue doing so for decades to come. In the new 3D animated release of War of the Worlds: Goliath, the tale of science fiction is simply the jumping-off point to a new and bigger story about the war that was waged between man and those from outer space.
It begins in Leeds during the original invasion in 1889. Eric Wells is only a child at this point and witnesses the murder of his parents by the giant alien machines that have invaded our planet. The guilt of their death continues to weigh heavily on him as he arrives in New York; now he is an adult and a Captain in the military (Peter Wingfield handles the voicing for Eric). Though there is fear of the impending world war, there has been a recent discovery that the aliens could possibly be planning another attack. Thankfully, though, Tesla and other scientists have been able to use the alien technology from the previous attack to develop battle-tripods they call Goliaths.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on April 2nd, 2014
“…I’m packing an ounce of killer shrooms, and there be monsters in need of pummelin’.”
When I first think of how to explain Knights of Badassdom, what comes to mind is that it’s Evil Dead 2 meets LARPing. The only experience I’ve had with LARPing came in the form of watching Role Models and having to review the documentary Skull World. What director Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2 and actor in Holliston) has done is create a world that invites both fans of role-playing and horror and thrusts them together to create a blood-and-gore-soaked romp filled with laughs and the beautiful fan boy favorite Summer Glau (Firefly and Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 30th, 2014
It’s been quite some time since The Chappelle Show went off the air, and it would appear Comedy Central has finally found its replacement. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the two shows are on the same par, but what Keegan Michael Key and Jordan Peele bring to the small screen is something that has piqued my interest and shows some potential. Both Key and Peele got their big break from working on the sketch comedy show MADtv, and it would seem they are taking their talents and what they learned to bring us something that is a little familiar but still fresh and keeps its audience laughing.
Comedy Central now releases Key & Peele as a Season 1 & 2 pack, and here you get more laughs for your buck.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 28th, 2014
When you get a film from Troma to watch, you have to view it differently than you would view just about any other film. After all, Troma is the VHS and DVD equivalent to the days of Roger Corman and the B-movie fanfare he could travel from one Cineplex to the next. Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman has been writing and directing B-cinema schlock for 40 years and has managed to make money off it, so for those naysayers out there, keep in mind he still is responsible for The Toxic Avenger as well as Tromeo & Juliet.
With Return to Nuke’em High, Kaufman seems to be taking on his most ambitious project yet. The film is broken up into two separate volumes, and volume one sets up the epic gross-out satire wonderfully. The opening sequence narrated by none other than Peter Parker himself (Stan Lee) about the previous events that took place in the 1986 cult classic Class of Nuke’em High. With the viewer now caught up, we meet Chrissy (Asta Paredes); she hangs with her crew of misfit friends, though she secretly blogs about the health and safety issues going on at the school all while keeping her boyfriend Eugene (Clay von Carlowitz) at bay from his sexual advances. But the boat gets rocked when rich new girl, Lauren (Catherine Corcoran) arrives and Chrissy sets her vengeful/lustful sights upon her.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 27th, 2014
It’s spring break, and you know what that means, college co-eds are taking a break from hitting the books and are up for getting into reckless debauchery, heavy drinking and plenty of things they hope their parents never find out about. It’s not as though horror films ever need an excuse to make mincemeat of bikini-clad girls, and for fans of the genre, the more bikini clad girls the better. Along with the pretty faces, though, we horror and gore hounds do enjoy a good story tacked on for good measure.
Horror fans can excuse a film for some bad acting or cheesy effects so long as a story is there. In the case of Machine Head, it starts off by hitting the right stereotypical notes but then quickly falls apart.
Posted in: The Reel World by Brent Lorentson on March 21st, 2014
In the wake of the Hunger Games and Twilight studios have been snatching up the rights to young adult fiction and gearing up for franchises all in the name of capturing the hearts and wallets of the legions of fans of these book series. Though there have been a few hits, the failures have been plentiful i.e.: City of Bones, The Host, and The Vampire Academy. As a guy approaching his mid-thirties, it’s safe to say I’m nowhere near being the target audience for this film, but call me crazy, I actually dug it.
Where the Hunger Games has its heroine Katniss, Divergent has us following Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley) along for her journey of not just self-discovery but finding where she truly belongs. In this new world, Chicago, a city in ruins and surrounded by an epic wall to keep any possible dangers out. But it is within these walls where are story unfolds, the city is divided into five factions, each based on the people’s moral aptitude. Each year a day is set aside where all those that have turned 16 must decide what faction they want to join, which means they may have to leave their families never to see them again. But to help these young adults with making their decision they are each given an aptitude test that tells them where they “should” go, but in the end the choice is up to them.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 20th, 2014
Remember the first film that kept you awake at night? The film that had you keeping the light on, when every strange noise you heard was that of some monster you were all but certain was lurking in the darkness waiting for your eyes to finally close? For me it was that thrill that got me excited about horror films, where every Saturday I’d watch Creature Feature, and in the evening I’d channel-surf till I found some horror film to keep me up into the late hours of the night. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Exorcist, The Beyond and many others were the films that I would grow up and hold up on a pedestal as the modern classics of horror. As I watch the new wave of horror coming out, sure, there are plenty of titles that are really fun, but the films that leave a mark, the ones we’ll be talking about 10 to 20 years from now, where are they?
Here Comes the Devil is one of those films.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 19th, 2014
Growing up, several of my favorite films were created by Tom Holland; in my eyes this guy is a legend. He’s responsible for writing and directing Child’s Play and Fright Night, two 80’s classics that most know about, but he also penned Psycho 2, which I know I’m in the minority but I actually like more than Hitchcock’s. But Holland also wrote this other film Cloak and Dagger with Henry Thomas and Dabney Coleman that was released in 1984, and this was just one of several movies I would watch over and over again to the point I’m sure it drove my parents bonkers. What’s with the trip down memory lane? Well, I just want to establish how much I do respect Holland and the work he’s done, because some of his films are responsible for the film geek that I am today. And it’s because of this when I had the opportunity to review Tom Holland’s web series Twisted Tales, I jumped on it.
The web series has a basic enough concept. Each episode is a short film that is introduced by Tom Holland; all nine episodes are directed by him, but he only gets credit for writing seven of them. The episodes originally aired on Fear Net which is also responsible for bringing the project to life. In concept this is great idea, but in the execution of some of these they not only fall short but are simply bad. Budget lends a hand to what hurts the overall look of the project, but as I moved through the episodes I couldn’t help but feel that most of these shorts were simply based on ideas thrown out or just never fully developed.
