In 1976, a film called Snuff was exposed to the world. Snuff is vile, gross, and just plain weird, but it’s excellent at the same time. But let’s back up a bit first.
I will admit that I’m not very knowledgeable about this whole Jersey Shore thing. I know there is a TV show with a bunch of people drinking and fighting, but that’s about it. One of them is called The Situation, which is extremely stupid. The only situation on this show is that they all suffer from being idiots. Now they’ve decided to start a production company—at least the person named JWoww or whatever the hell she’s called—and start making movies? Personally, I don’t really care what they are doing, all I know is that this isn’t film.
I’m pretty sure most people would agree that The Thing is one of the best monster flicks out there. Since its release there hasn’t been anything like it. Just a few years ago there was a The Thing prequel that I enjoyed to an extent, but it is flawed and doesn’t even come close to the original. Of course, we get decent monster flicks every now and again but John Carpenter made something very special with The Thing.
I watch and review a lot of found footage films so I feel I’m well versed in the subgenre. I’m one of those people who love these movies and want to see more of them. When Willow Creek was released I thought it was going to get pooped on because it was not only found footage but also directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, coming off films like God Bless America and World’s Greatest Dad. Following up these movies with a found footage horror film about Bigfoot is not what anyone would expect but I was pleasantly surprised with the idea.
Between artwork mishaps and title changes, distributors are getting worse at promotion. I understand their target audience perspective and get the logistics behind it, but that doesn’t change how dumb it is.
In the beginning of the year a film was circulating festivals with the title Nymph. That recently changed once the film was picked up and distributed in the US as Killer Mermaid. Of course the title Killer Mermaid is bland and straight to the point, but the title is the spoiler. I was pissed. While watching the film we are anticipating a mermaid and that’s fine, but it actually isn’t revealed until nearly the end of the film. The fact that it is a mermaid is meant to be the twist, but we are flat out told what it is in the goddamn title and the cover of the DVD.
Rat movies seem to sprout up every once in a while over the years. I’m pretty sure none of them have been big successes but they are always fun in a cheesy way. Seriously, rats are the things that are killing people? Just fucking run away! Unless you are dealing with humungous rats, I’m sure this wouldn’t really pose a problem.
Cover art for horror films these days can be very misleading. That could be said for every genre but I think horror is the one that stands out the most since it’s the one I’m way more passionate about. The cover of The Midnight Game is one of those covers you most certainly would look past at a rental store or Wal-Mart. It is generic and doesn’t grab you at all, even giving off a little torture porn vibe because it looks like a pentagram is carved into a woman’s back. These types of things make me want to pass but still, I will watch anything. I’ve been misled by covers before and I was definitely misled by this one.
Found footage films are getting more eyerolls every year, it seems. I’m a huge fan of this subgenre but I will be the first to admit there are some films out there that are not that great. Also, the ones that are not that great are the more popular ones for some reason and that I just don’t get.
Vinegar Syndrome has been going off the rails with the films that they have recently released. I freaking love what they are picking up. Now, they’ve unleashed a somewhat lost film called Runaway Nightmare. This is by far one of the most bizarre films that Vinegar Syndrome has released so far and one of the better ones as well. I can’t even begin to tell you what you are in for with this movie.
These days when we see Nicolas Cage’s name pop up in a title we all giggle. He is like that annoying uncle that we love. Personally, I still like Nicolas Cage but I dislike most of the films he is in these days. When I was younger I dug him quite a bit; Con-Air, Face/Off, Gone In 60 Seconds, and many more of his films from the ’80s and ’90s still remain some of my favorites.