Welcome to the new home of Creepercast.com. Where we let the fear creep in with all things horror genre. News, Reviews, and more! STAFF:
J.P.: Editor (EIC - Editor in Cheif), Writer (CC - Content Contributor);
Joel Kenyon: Editor (AE - Assistant Editor), Writer (CC - Content Contributor); William S Mayfield: Writer (CC - Content Contributor)
Over the next few weeks we will feature an alien film in honor of the 70 years that have passed since the Roswell Incident (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roswell_UFO_incident). None of them really have much to do with Roswell itself, but that shouldn't matter, alien movies are alien an important sub-genre to horror both then and now. That's why we present them to you randomly chosen, in no specific order, and in no way represents a complete list of horror aliens. If anything it is merely a smidge of what extra-terrestrial horror has to offer the alien fan. That much said, here is a list of aliens in horror to celebrate 70 years since Roswell!
The War of the Worlds (1953)
"Scientist Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry) and Sylvia Van Buren (Ann Robinson) are the first to arrive at the site of a meteorite crash. Soon after, an alien war machine emerges and begins killing at random. The Marines are called in, but they're no match for the aliens' force field. Forrester and Van Buren, however, are able to wound one of the creatures and procure a sample of its blood. They take it to Los Angeles where they hope, through testing, to be able to discover the aliens' weakness."
Inspired by H.G. Wells' epic and hysteria inducing radio play of the same name, 'War of the Worlds' is the original alien invasion film. There's nothing more nostalgic than this man-on-the-streeets coverage in glorious black and white and green. From antiquated space ships to over acted screams. "War of the Worlds' has set the standard for all alien films going forward, even the remakes. 'War of the worlds' was also the obvious pool of creativity Max Brooks drew from for "World War Z' and is as timeless as space visitors molding our history.
On this day in horror history.... George A. Romero completes his original 'of the Dead' trilogy with the release of 'Day of the Dead'. Not quite making it onto the big screen in its original, intended story line. This zombie film still held it's own among some of the greats and has held up well throughout these years. It also introduced us all to, Bub, the zombie. How can you not love Bub? One more thing, the death of Captain Rhodes is legendary, in more ways than one. (Watch the special features!)
As with all of my reviews of films for The Creepercast, I fully recommend that you check each and every one of them out. I am one man and this is my opinion. I've seen plenty of movies that received reviews that were the complete opposite of how I saw the film. These writers, directors, producers and actors all put a lot of time and love into these projects. They deserve to be seen and appreciated for what they are. Everyone has a dream and I fully support the people that take the time to make theirs a reality. With that being said....
Sometimes you're thrown a curve ball in life and sometimes you turn it into a giant ongoing gag, that never really worked to begin with. That seems to be the theme of this movie, 'Peelers'. Here, at The Creepercast, we try to always keep an open mind and go into each and every film with fresh eyes. No judgements, prior to a screening, just the desire to see as many horror films as possible and bring our thoughts on them to you. When I was giving the assignment of seeing 'Peelers', I had absolutely no idea what I would be in for. The poster was vague, at best, and I stayed away from any reviews. For all I knew, this was a movie about a strip club being targeted by some kind of serial slasher. What I got instead, was a bizarre mess of a zombie film that used a very odd premise, while attempting to be clever and original. Now, I give the creators credit for bringing something new to the table, but this was a mess of a movie.
The story begins in a hospital, with a sick man who is soon attacking the staff. Foreshadowing? We then move onto a rather clever intro, but one that feels more like a late night Cinemax film, than a zombie movie. Soon we're meeting our protagonist in the film, Blue Jean. A former stripper, turned strip club owner, who has a police motorcycle, a bit of a temper and a thing against being called “BJ”. The club, called 'Titty Balls', is in the process of being sold to a rather greasy man who seems to be a bit of a bad guy. As the night wears own, a group of 5 guys getting off of work, stroll into the bar. One of them is celebrating his birthday, but has been injured on the site. Before long, he's in the bathroom throwing up and turning into a zombie type creature. What happens next it an odd mix of 'From Dusk Till Dawn' meets 'Zombie Strippers'. We find out that these are not merely the undead, but some kind of oil infused living dead creature. Ones that are fully capable of using weapons and have some form of intelligence. It turns out that the 5 workers had stumbled across some kind of oily substance in the mine and were fairly certain this was their ticket to a fortune. In reality, it was soon to be the beginning of a potential apocalypse. The strippers, co-workers and Blue Jeans' son, are soon in a fight for their lives, as it seems nothing can stop these monsters from staying dead.
Written by Lisa DeVita and co-written and directed by Sevé Schelenz, 'Peelers' tries too hard to be something new. It also attempts to push the envelope, riding somewhere along the lines of a Troma movie and an early Peter Jackson film, 'Bad Taste'. Sadly, none of it seems to really work. The special effects are above average and the music is good, although the pacing is so off that it doesn't help to maintain a kinetic story line. It's very disjointed and right in the middle of some very gruesome sequences, the characters stop to have heartfelt moments. They're so jammed into the scenes that it feels like the kind of thing a first year film student would try. The same can be said for the characterization of Blue Jean. The overuse of her love of baseball and the many bits of baseball themed dialogue that are thrown in, make her a very one dimensional character. Which is sad, because Wren Walker (who plays Blue Jean) is very charismatic and likable. You find yourself drawn to her and want her to succeed, but every time she says another throw away line about the world's favorite pastime, you lose a little more interest in her survival. They also take the bit about these creatures being oil based to a weird and unsatisfying resolution. Because of their primary substance being oil based, then of course, water is their natural enemy! Not since 'Signs', has their been such an audible groan from the audience. The revelation also leads to some rather unconventional killing methods. The use of beer as a weapon, as well as one of the strippers, who is pregnant, having her water break over one of the creatures. I get it, but I really didn't want too. Not because it shocked me, but because it was solely included in the hope of a gross out moment. However, on the flip side of that moment, when the pregnant stripper is killed. As she lays dying on the ground, BJ's son hands the baby to her, so she can hold it for the first time and the last. It's these kinds of things that the movie needed more of. Not moments like a creature on a motorcycle continually calling Blue Jean “BJ” over and over, before getting beaned in the head by a baseball bat while charging hero on the bike. Then getting pissed on, by her son, in order to kill the monster.
The overall film is not without some merit. As I mentioned earlier, the music and special effects are quite good. The cinematography and direction are pretty well done, for a low budge creature feature. Perhaps with a more clever script and a better concept, this could have been much more enjoyable as a film. Instead, by the end, I was counting the minutes until it was over. But wait, there's more! Throughout the first part of the movie, Blue Jean is asked how she came to own a police motorcycle. She never tells the real reason why, until we get a cut scene at the end. A rather long cut scene, that really didn't fit anywhere else in the film and could have been explained with some exposition at an earlier point. There was no need for this scene to even exist, other than to allow her to strip and get one more set of baseball themed antics into the story. However, that wasn't even the end. There's one last little cut scene after all the credits have rolled. As if we hadn't had enough already. I wish I had some more positive things to say about 'Peelers'. There's just too many negatives, to add up to anything positive. For me, it's a 2 out of 5 star film. I really wanted to like it, as it started off with some promise. I get what the writer and director were going for, but instead of making a bad/good cult classic, they just kind of made a bad/bad forgettable film. Even the posters for this one, left a bad taste in my mouth. Both of them had nothing really to do with the film we were shown and were a tad bit misleading. Maybe that wasn't the film makers fault, but it's three strikes and your out. This ball game is over.
If you'd rather see something else, check out: 'From Dusk Till Dawn', 'Zombie Strippers' or 'Braindead' aka 'Dead Alive'
On this day in horror history.... the iconic actress, Karen Black is born. With an incredible resume, not only in horror, but every genre.... Karen was a force of nature. She also breathed life in Mother Firefly. The matriarch of Rob Zombie's 'House of 1000 Corpses'. Sadly, we lost her on August 8th, 2013, but today would have been her birthday.
As with all of my reviews of films for The Creepercast, I fully recommend that you check each and every one of them out. I am one man and this is my opinion. I've seen plenty of movies that received reviews that were the complete opposite of how I saw the film. These writers, directors, producers and actors all put a lot of time and love into these projects. They deserve to be seen and appreciated for what they are. Everyone has a dream and I fully support the people that take the time to make theirs a reality. With that being said....
With the recent shift in horror film making and the dawn of 'Deathwave', we've seen a change in the narrative that makes up our beloved genre. It's no longer just about the most franchisable masked madman or how disgusting our special effects can be. We're seeing smarter and more emotional story lines. Characters are more drawn out and there is a deeper meaning behind all the murder and mayhem. There is also a stronger focus on the acting contained in these films and the desire to tell a story that may not even end up much bloodshed. Does this still qualify as horror? Absolutely. It merely is taking the groundwork, that was laid by our forefathers, and building a new addition onto an already towering structure. This new direction may have its detractors and naysayers, but that doesn't make it any less of a viable addition to the genre. You still have plenty of slashers, monsters and zombies roaming the celluloid cinescape to satisfy all of your blood lust and fiendish desires. For me, however, being a fan of the beauty in the grotesque. I'm always looking for something more behind the darkness. I have a passion for tales of love and longing and there's a certain poetry in the misunderstood monster. For too long, we've focused on scaring each other and avoided the most frightening part of the entire story, what lies beneath our heroes and villains. Sometimes, the darkest part of what creates the terror, is the reality that brought it to life. So, brings us to 'The Axe Murders of Villisca'.
Written by Owen Egerton and Kevin Abrams, along with co-writer and director Tony E. Valenzuela, 'The Axe Murders of Villisca' is more than a ghost story. It's more than a slasher film with paranormal ties. This is a deeper meditation on longing, loss and forgiveness. Not necessarily of someone else, but of yourself. The story begins with the origin of the house itself. Based on a true, unsolved, series of murders, we find the good Reverend Kelly (played by the iconic Sean Whalen) murdering an entire family as they slept. Fast forward to modern day, we meet Caleb (played by Robert Adamson), Denny (played by Jarrett Sleeper) and Jess (played by Alex Frnka). Three wounded high school students, who through a series of events, end up at the Villisca murder house to take a haunted tour. Caleb and Denny are old friends and part time paranormal YouTube investigators. Jess is recovering from the stigma created by a video of her having sex, that is being circulated among her fellow students. After Caleb sticks up for Jess, she returns the favor by coming to his home to thank him. When she arrives, Caleb and Denny are about to go on their last paranormal investigating together, before Caleb leaves town. He invites Jess to go along, as they head out to the Villisca house. While they are being taken through the home by Greg (played by Jon Gries), they learn about the horrific events that took place back in 1912. When Jess crosses one of the roped off areas, they are quickly ushered out of the home. Not too be the one to have ruined the investigation, Jess offers to help them break in, for a late night tour. While attempting to communicate with the victims of the Reverend Kelly, they awaken and evil that never left the premises and to fight to make it out alive themselves.
While on paper, the story may sound like something you've seen several times before, what you actually get with 'The Axe Murders of Villisca' is so much more. Yes, there are murderous spirits and possession. Yes, there are actual axe murders that take place. Yes, there is a haunted house aspect to this film. However, all of those things are merely a tool and a device to help our main characters come to terms with their own personal demons. It's not a film that is without flaws. There are some rather cliched tropes that are used as a means to an end, but that can be forgiven because the end result is a very satisfying one. Each character has their moment of clarity, where they have to look down the darkness inside themselves or be destroyed by it. Although, they all have to fight what's haunting them at the moment of truth, they each have each other to rely on as a pseudo support system. Teaching us that we don't have to be alone in our struggles with the past. We are not the sum of one event that seems to define us. Instead, we are a composite of all of the things we've done in our lives and all the things we have yet to do still. No one person is perfect or without flaws. It's how we take that pain and guilt and turn it into something positive. How we use it as a force for change or take on the burdens of others, who may not be as strong as we are at that moment in their lives. That's the resounding message that seems to come through in the end. All carried out through a tale of darkness, sadness and death.
If there was one thing I could change about this film, it would be the introduction of Rob (played by Kellan Rhude) and Connor (played by Riley Bodenstab) in the third act. It allowed for a slightly higher body count and a rather tacked on end sequence, but for me, it didn't really drive the plot forward. What positive things it allowed for, were some interactions with our main protagonists and allowed them to confront some of the subjects that might not have been touched upon otherwise. I'm assuming that was the reason they were included in the finale, but even with leaving all of their final sequences in place, we didn't need the last shot of them in the film. It left the overall tone with a bit of a bad taste in our mouths. That's a minor complaint among a lot of very positive things that did happen in it's, slightly shorter than average, run time. This film also contained some beautiful establishing shots and a very compelling score. All of these moving parts, made for a very moving and thought provoking journey. While I still have some misgivings about the picture as a whole, I can't deny that it made me think about things that play heavily in all of our lives. As not only teenagers, but as adults as well. 'The Axe Murders of Villisca' is a film that may not strike a chord with every viewer that sees it, but it's a solid addition to the ever growing lexicon of intelligent horror. Everyone involved in this film should feel proud of what they accomplished and I look forward to seeing what they bring to the table next. A solid 4 out of 5 star film, that could have spent a lot more time building up the back stories of our three main characters, but in the end.... didn't have too. What stands at the end of the day, is a solid piece of film making that should be viewed by those who like their films to be more than just another attempt at creating a new franchise.
If you enjoy this film, check out: 'Spring', 'The Battery' and 'Darling'
