Warning:
This is a pretty ultra low budget super indie film, and to review one the same way you would The Avengers, is a complete travesty. I will be adjusting my expectations to eliminate too much discussion in regards to the unconventional actors, the lack of acting prowess, or the unintentional giggles that accompany this level of film-making.
Synopsis:
An urban legend in a small town just may turn out to be reality when two babysitters get caught in the middle of a twisted plot for revenge. Lana and Michelle are best friends. When Lana asked Michelle to join her for a weekend of babysitting, the two get some uninvited guests. It doesn’t take long before they find out they’re caught in the middle of a sinister plot involving a group of vampires obsessed murderers.
The character of the grandma is funny. After the initial few comments had caught me off guard, I settled into the fact that there was going to be some humor in this film of the INTENTIONAL kind. What I didn’t understand though, was what the hell she was crocheting? There was nothing on her hooks, and the amount of yarn on her lap wasn’t going to do much of anything. And the fact that the camera kept zeroing in on it either was constantly patting itself on the back for a yarn/crocheting joke that most people weren’t going to get, or just trying to be artsy despite the fact that no one knew anything about the art of crochet.
There is loads of original music, which is pretty foreboding and mood enhancing. There’s practically a full length music video at the beginning of the film for the credit sequence that highlights a female operatic Nightwish/Therion symphonic metal song that plays at least twice in fairly rapid succession.
There’s a pot smoking girl that smokes giant doobies in a car, there’s a crazy Karen neighbor that fights over the shitter with her man, and a dude that wants to score. All of characters gave me chuckles, but I am unsure if they are intentionally funny, or done from the poor acting. Either way, it’s charming and funny. The inflection of some of the lines reminds me of The Room. Like, I would think there would be more emotion when acting angry, or more excitement when talking about getting laid. There’s a random shot of a guy eating a dead bug, and some hilarious wigs. Not to mention the sex scene with a small thin ginger that has more back hair than a wookie. That’s on purpose, right?
One actress that nails it and I think might be the best actor in the film, is the girl that wears black with the red glasses, Jess. But she loses good acting points due to being involved with that horrid dance scene in the kitchen. I also really thought the effects were pretty bad ass, if not a tad too over the top, which pushes it from gross/cool into more absurd/funny. You know, the normal decapitation from a hatchet in one swing. Or the woman who loses her hand and has a death scene that lasts for what feels like four minutes, complete with an orgy of squirting blood.
Tonally, this is a mess. I don’t know if this is horror or comedy. The music and effects suggest splatter horror. The lines and some of the intentionally bad situations completely undermine the horror and renders our bad guys useless. And some of these situations are absolutely unrealistic in a stupid way. Did I laugh? Yes. Was it me laughing AT or WITH the film? It’s definitely aware of it’s humor, which would indicate I’m laughing with it. And if you can’t laugh WITH two girls in bras in a random pillow fight, what CAN you laugh at?
Per the usual, the main star, Brian Dorton, is not only an actor, but the writer and director. He reminds me alot of the wrestler Kevin Owens. The film is competently made. The music and effects are great. The film also stars Heather Harlow and Douglas Conner. I recommend it for fans of Troma, fans of ultra indie features, or DIY features.
