Time for a little B & W creepiness.

I can hold it, thanks!

"Rest Stop 2: Don't look back" is the sequel to the similarly named 'Rest Stop: Dead Ahead".
If you haven't seen the first one, I wouldn't bother with this one. It follows very closely and ties up some loose strings from the original. Or at the least, check out the first one before renting this.
The first Rest Stop was panned by critics and wasn't exactly a hit. But it is a real guilty pleasure of mine.

The second one starts off exactly one year after the events of the first one.

To recap, Jesse and Nicole have left (runaway) together, heading from their native Texas to sunny L.A. to get into showbiz (yeah, right!). They are well on their way, just having crossed the border into California when they make a pit stop at a rest area.
Danger and mayhem ensue and to get straight to the point - they never are heard from again.

Well, Jess's brother, Tom, has recently arrived home from Iraq (he's in the Army) and makes it his mission to go looking for his long lost brother.
(As if no one has ever searched for them or questioned the fact that they never even called to say they were in L.A. or that they were ok...)

Anyway, Tom takes his alcoholic bitch of a girlfriend (incidentally Nicole's best friend - how convienient!) and another friend - who had an uber-crush on Nicole -with him to hunt them down.
As stupid and unbelievable as it sounds, Tom and co. end up at the VERY rest stop that Jess & Nicole had all their woes. How ironic.

If you can check your brain at the door and just watch this for the fun of it, it does offer some good gore and a bit of backstory that isn't entirely mundane. There are alot of recurring characters that we get to learn more about, in particular, the beyond-weird family from the camper-on-wheels and of course, the driver of the menacing pick-up.

Rest Stop 2 really delves into the 'ghost' aspect of the story, which was briefly touched upon in the first movie - and this really does help alot to realize all is not as it seems. You know, the old "who is real and who is a ghost' thing? There are a few creepy and unsettling moments.

I must say I absolutely HATED the girlfriend character - she got on my nerves like a two-year old at a doctor's appointment for shots. I wished bad, bad things on her, and someone apparently heard my wishes, so that was gratifying.

There is some obligatory nudity, as well as some comic relief (the buddy character gets stuck in a port-a-potty with some rather foul results!) and like I said, the gore factor was fairly decent.
But there isn't alot to think about here.

If you can just relax and not continually criticize, you'll be fine.
In the extras, the director and writer hinted that if this does well (it was straight to DVD) they have many more 'stories' to tell about the rest stop. I think that would go over like a lead balloon.
Please stop now. You've said it all, I think.

All in all, not a total waste. Worlds better than the April Fool's Day remake!

Looks like the ivy-monster attacked this one...

Real shame about this one, it was special.

Creepy houses: not just out in the country, apparently.

Really looks like the house in the Blair Witch Project....

This house really gives me the willies.

Here's the abandoned house for wednesday.
Spooky.

Abandoned houses

I have a real like for creepy, old abandoned houses.
Places that look like they have a story.
Places that look haunted.

I've decided to hunt the web for some pics of places that look like I would most certainly not want to go there on a dark evening alone.

(When I was a teenager, however, my friends and I had a passion for checking these places out on weekends. I won't say we broke in, because most places were already falling down around us and weren't locked - some didn't even have doors. Or the door was hanging precariously off the hinges like in some horror movie... )
We lived for those 'haunted house hunting' weekends.

I can only think of one place that is actually still standing... and maybe at some point I will drive there and get a new picture of it for here on the blog.

But for now, I will do a pic of the day for the rest of October.
Tis the season!

Enjoy.

The joke's on me, apparently.

Oh. My. God.
Could this movie be any crappier?



I'm thinkin' no.

Let me start by saying I am a big fan of the original April Fool's Day (1986) and so I kinda veered away from this "re-make" (or maybe more like re-imagining)...
I would have been wise to just keep on veering.
As a matter of fact, I suppose I shouldn't even be talking about this movie as I actually didn't even finish it. I was lucky that I didn't pay any money to see it (at theaters or rental) - I watched (part of) it on Instant Viewing on Netflix.

This trashbinder of a film has really no reedeming qualities whatsoever. Pure excrement.
I really thought with Scout Taylor-Compton (Rob Zombie's Halloween) as one of the stars, it might be semi-worthwhile, but I would be mistaken.
The dark haired beauty on the cover in the red dress (Taylor Cole) would be much better suited for straight out modeling. She's pretty, but...
Well, maybe she's good in other parts - if she had better scripts to work with. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt.

The original April Fool's was campy and quirky and totally dated mid-eighties fare, but the acting was decent and the plot (though sometimes critisized as a cop-out) was fun. If you haven't seen that one, I'd suggest adding that to your must-sees.

The 2008 version has bad - no, AWFUL - acting, no real originality to the script, worthless death scenes (at least for as long as I watched it) and really un-likeable characters. I don't know why they made this film at all.

I just thought it was my duty to warn anyone reading this not to waste an hour and a half (or even 45 minutes, like I did) putting up with this debris.

So, to sum up - this movie sucks, if you hadn't guessed that already.
Steer clear.

Recommended reading: Part 2

Another review for my friends at my favorite podcast horroretc.com:

Review of 'Heart Sick" by Chelsea Cain..

It is a stellar first novel!

Not extreme horror, per se - but definately on that vein.
It's very grim, dark and disturbing and would be fantastic put to celluloid.

Synopsis:

Archie Sheridan is a semi-retired Portland detective with a past history of being abducted by a female serial killer who tortures him beyond belief. Gretchen Lowell is the serial killer ("The Beauty Killer") who he has finally imprisoned - she still has a hold on him, albeit emotionally, to this day.

He tracked her for ten years leading up to his subsequent abduction and her eventual capture.

He cannot get past it. He relives the time he spent with her every day, keeping some sort of sick feelings for her deep inside. Like Stockholm Syndrome a bit. She even left her calling card for him to remember forever the events: she carved a heart onto his chest.

Archie cannot let her go and continues to visit her in jail. He is addicted to pain killers - and Gretchen, like his medicine, is a sort of crutch for him. She uses this against him in a sort of sick game. She lives for it. Archie is the only one of her victims that lived. She designed it that way.

Because he cannot let the past go, he is compelled to ask her help (a 'la Silence of the Lambs) when he returns to help the force on a current case. A serial killer is killing and dumping teenagers after soaking them in vats of bleach.

Their troubling and unsettling conversations and questionable behavior is the root of the novel. Is Archie in love with Gretchen? How can that even be possible?

Also figuring into the mix is a reporter, Susan Ward - a punk-rocker type of young woman who is covering the case and in turn, working closely with Detective Sheridan. She is determined to get her angle - to follow Archie's return to the force and his hunt again for another serial killer and how that is affecting him with his dreadful past... She is wiser than her years and naturally develops feelings for Archie, though he is unable to reciprocate due to his strange and preposterous devotion to Gretchen.

This book is wrapped in layers of mental anguish, physical destruction, shame, deceit, addictions, mystery and fine character development. I highly recommend it.

As for the movie it SHOULD become:
I'm thinking maybe Cate Blanchett, Diane Lane, Carrie Ann Moss (The Matrix), or Demi Moore (though the part may be too complex for her talents) as Gretchen.

Perhaps Viggo Mortensen (because he can do anything!), Liam Neeson, Kevin Bacon, Kurt Russell, Robert Downey Jr., or even Richard Gere (stretch your imagination) as Archie Sheridan. And as for the younger, punked out journalist Susan Ward - how about Zooey Deschanel, Rachel McAdams, Anne Hathaway, or Selma Blair.....

I can seriously see any combination of these actors in this film.... except the Diane Lane/Richard Gere thing. Too much romantic movie history - wouldn't work. I especially like the Robert Downey Jr./Cate Blanchett combo.

Oh, and by the way - I am currently reading the just released sequel: 'Sweetheart'.

I'll let you know...

Dexter

I'm not fortunate (read: wealthy) enough to have Showtime as part of my satellite service (I choose to subscribe to Netflix instead) so I was unfamiliar with the tv show "Dexter"...

So when a friend of mine told me about it - told me it was right up my alley - I looked it up on Netflix to see if I could get Season 1 - and it was right there on the 'instant viewing' list! Which means I can watch the entire first season for free because I belong to Netflix. Yee-ha!

No, this is not a plug for Netflix - though it could be, cause I'm tellin' ya - they ROCK!

yes, you should subscribe!!!

So anyway, I sat down in front of my lovely 19 inch monitor at my computer and thoroughly enjoyed the first episode.

Dexter (for those who don't know) is a crime scene analyst - a specialist in blood splatter patterns.

And there is real reason why he is such an expert at this job.

He works nights as a vigilante serial killer.

A serial killer who kills serial killers and other bad perps. People who evade justice.
People who, in other words, deserve it.

Of course no one knows he does this, as he is quite good at his job. He covers his tracks so well and is obsessively methodical, no one seems the wiser.

By day he hangs at the office, where everyone seems to just love him. He's a likable guy! He brings donuts! The upper crust but wretchedly unintelligent female dept. head is in lust with him.

His sister works there as a cop as well. She's stuck working on vice as an undercover prostitute and is just dying to get into the homicide division. She appreciates Dexter's unique insights on crime and is hoping to use his smarts to her benefit to get ahead. She, of course, has no idea he goes all Bundy in the evenings.

There only seems to be one dude (a police sargeant at his station) who is creeped out and wary of Dex. But he is unable to catch him doing anything out of the ordinary, so Dexter goes about his business of weeding out the super creeps (i.e. pedophile murderers, rapists, snuff film producers, etc...)

Dexter and his sister were adopted as young children. There are flashback scenes to his childhood - scenarios with his detective father after Dad discovers Dex's penchant for killing small animals in the neighborhood. Dad knows Dex has problems. He knows he will escalate to killing humans and so he begins to teach Dexter how to recognize the 'bad guys' and use his homicidal urgings for the greater good.
Seriously.

Dex even has a girlfriend. She is perfect for him. Psychologically damaged from both mental and physical abuse from her ex-husband, Rita has no interest in sex. This benefits Dexter, because he cannot wrap his brain around caring about sex enough to get around to it. He is too busy plotting, scheming, and killing people to get emotionally involved with anyone.

"Yeah, honey.... I'll be there soon, I'm just finishing something up..."

This show is extremely well written and entertaining.
You cannot help but to like Dexter.
You find yourself actually rooting for him NOT to get caught.
Played with absolute perfection by Michael C. Hall, this is one show that if you are a horror fan, you are bound to LOVE.

So if you have Netflix, give it a shot.
If not, it is also for sale on Amazon for like, 20 bucks or so.
It's worth it!

Pic of the day

Morbid Poetry Rocks!

Some fun:

"The Gashlycrumb Tinies" is a book written by Edward Gorey in 1963.
It is a series of rhyming couplets that form a poem of sorts.

Each letter of the alphabet is represented by a child (A is for Amy) who has died in some unfortunate manner, and is illustrated with black and white drawings, as seen here:

I, being a relatively macabre person, found them imaginativly morbid and gloomy!
Perfect for this time of the season!

Click here for the whole alphabet. It's a hoot!

Recommended reading: Part 1

So you all know I am a big fan of the horror-genre oriented podcast: horroretc.com, right?
Well they are planning a show in which they are having listeners review horror novels that have not been made into movies (yet) but should be.

I would love to send them an audio clip but have no way of recording due to my incredible lack of tech-savvy skills. So, I told them I would send a few reviews their way and (sorry guys) they will have to read them on the show...

My first recommendation would most certainly be 'Heart-Shaped Box' - by Joe Hill.



Most people probably know this is written by Stephen King's son. If not, crawl out from under the rock you've been under and read this book. After you finish it you will realize that to be the truth. He has alot of his dad in his stylistic writing. He uses a fantastic amount of pop culture references to keep you right in the present, yet without dating himself too much for future re-readings.

It is, however, my understanding that this book IS indeed being made into a movie by Warner Brothers, who have tapped Irishman Neil Jordan (The Brave One, Interview With The Vampire, The Company of Wolves) to direct.
Folks, this is a book that begs to be a movie. Seriously. It would have been just about as good if just simply written as a screenplay.

In any event, Heart-Shaped Box tells the story of Judas Coyne, a middle-aged rock star (think: Ozzy, Robert Plant, Steven Tyler....) winding down from an illustrious (?) career of hard rockin, hard drinking, and hard living. He's used up alot of drugs and alot of women. Wait, this is sounding more like Keith Richards. Maybe anyone from Motley Crue?

Anyway... Jude is a collector of all things morbid - a cookbook owned by a cannibal, a hangman's noose, a snuff film - those kind of curiousities. One day, his personal assistant calls to tell him about a ghost that is being auctioned online (eBay no doubt) and of course that is like candy to children. He buys the 'ghost' for a grand, and it turns up by UPS in a - you guessed it - heart-shaped box on his doorstep. Inside is a dark suit, the kind you'd wear a hundred years ago at a funeral. Inside that, a malevolent spirit determined to cause considerable woe.

I must say, the book had me right there. What a cool concept. Ghosts for sale.

Jude, however, has no idea that the ghost is no gimmick, at first.
The previous owner wanted rid of the suit that belonged to Craddock McDermott, a man who turns out to be the step father of one of the many women that Jude did wrong throughout his life. She committed suicide. And Craddock is downright pissed.
The ghost starts showing up everywhere in Jude's life. Sitting in a chair by his bedroom, in his beloved Mustang - everywhere and anywhere. It's eerie, effective, and really creepy, even to read about it.

Of course Jude tries to contact the seller to give it back, but no dice.
Jude and his (much younger) girlfriend take to the road, in an attempt to run from the ghost and track down the truth about what really happened.

So many bad and unfortunate things happen in this novel, and I loved it. I couldn't put it down and I read it entirely on one rainy saturday afternoon last year.

I can't wait to see this as a movie. I could absolutely see them casting someone like Nicholas Cage in the main role of Jude - but I would be SO much more inclined to cast someone unexpected in the role - like Billy Bob Thorton, Vince Vaughn, or Josh Brolin.
For the role of Jude's groupie girlfriend Georgia, I could see Christina Ricci, Ellen Page, Kristen Stewart, or maybe Jessica Alba. And for the role of ghostly Craddock - why not Ian McKellen, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Lee, or Ted and Tony's fave: Lance Henriksen!!
(My dream casting would be Viggo Mortensen as Jude, Eliza Dushku as Georgia, and Christopher Plummer as Craddock. I will be excited to see who they pick.
Of course Johnny Depp would be great as Jude - but seeing as how the man hasn't aged a day past 25, he looks way too young for the role!)




Oh and I really would have to suggest a rockin' soundtrack for this film, don't you think?
Maybe modern alternative bands doing takes on old school rock songs, such as Don't Fear the Reaper, Dust in the Wind, Bad to the Bone, Midnight Rider.... etc.

So check out Heart-Shaped Box, I can't see anyone being disappointed in this fast-paced horror gem. Like father, like son.

magic muSHROOMS

I'm actually rather shocked no one thought of this concept before for a horror movie.

(If anyone did, let me know - I'm not aware of it)

Shrooms (2007), which in itself is a silly title, is an interesting little piece of film.
I cannot say I didn't like it. But I really wouldn't recommend it for an Oscar (or even a Chainsaw Award!)...
I do like the movie poster though - it rocks.

Shrooms involves a group of college students (of course!) who are off on a trip to Ireland (because all students have money lying around for intercontinental flights and vacations!) to meet up with a mutual friend of theirs who lives there (how convienient!) and knows all the 'good places' where psychedelic mushrooms grow.

Yeah, like I'd fly to Ireland to eat mushrooms. Right.

So.... the heroine (?) of the film is Tara (Lindsey Haun), who looks alot like that Veronica Mars chick whose name escapes me at the moment. She has the hots for Irishman Jake (Jack Huston), and I do too!

Looks like a younger Johnny Depp... yummy.
Ok, I might fly to Ireland to eat mushrooms...

Forgive me, I digress...

Tara and her friends (two guys, two gals - how sweet!) meet up with Jake and begin their adventure to the realms of the unknown. They head off a dark forest path (is there any other kind?) and set up camp.

While carelessly exploring the forest for hallucinogenic fungus, they stupidly split up.

Yeah, like I'd wander off in a remote forest area in a foreign country. Anyway...

Tara is kinda down and out because though she flew thousands of miles to see Jake, he really hasn't made much of a fuss over her.. so, unbelieveably, she eats a mushroom she thinks is the kind they are looking for. I guess she thinks if she is tripped out enough, Jake will want to have sex with her. I'm thinkin' she should have just straight-out asked him. Duh.

But while she was off galavanting on her own, Jake was warning the others again to make sure they differentiate between the safe fungi and the 'deathcap mushroom', which looks frighteningly similar. I think you can see where this is going.

Simply put, Tara eats the wrong one.

A side note -
Deathcap mushrooms are an actual poisonous mushroom:

It is native to Europe, and is at least found in Ireland, so that part of the story rings true.
Half of a mushroom cap is enough to kill you.
Apparently they taste fairly decent - probably why people die from eating them, they cannot tell there is anything wrong. At first. Till all your body systems start failing...

However, the shroom she ate in the movie looked like this:

Now, if you're thinking this is just a medical mystery-type of horror movie, you'd be mistaken. There is alot more going on.

After Tara ingests the mushroom but AMAZINGLY does not perish, she begins to have delusions, funky dreams, and can apparently see the future in frightening visions.
She is resting in her tent while the others sit around the campfire and Jake tells a story (now there'd have to be a story, wouldn't there?) about the abandoned children's home nearby in which a sadistic monk caretaker ate a stew with the deadly shrooms (that would kill anyone else)and proceeds to murder all the children in a ghastly manner - all but one child, a boy who was banished to the dog pen for unruly acts. Supposedly, the monk and this boy are still roaming the forest.
Tara progresses on with her freaky trip and sees all of her friends being slaughtered, one by one.

So there is alot of tripping out going on, weird visuals and the movie itself is just dark. I mean the lighting is nearly non-existent. But that didn't really bother me, it added to the creepy atmosphere of the film. There is also what one would call a surprise ending, but it left me a little flat, like I'd seen it somewhere before. Perhaps because I have.

Like it's vacation-oriented bedfellows, Turistas and The Ruins, Shrooms is rather a poster-child for 'what not to do on vacation'. The fact that these idiots actually don't take their cell phones into the forest with them (in case someone is tripping really bad and imagines things that aren't there and calls the cops or their parents, etc...) is pure lunacy. It would have been much more likely for them to take the phones but not get any damn service deep in the woods.

I should add that in addition to the over-used 'abandoned house on the hill' concept, they have thrown in a few freaky inbred people and a talking cow (seriously!) in this movie. Make what you will of that.

So I guess I would recommend Shrooms, as I have to admit I did enjoy it - if for no other reason than Jack Huston! I suppose guys would like the female stars and their cleavage.
It is a "watch instantly" movie on Netflix, so if you have that service, take advantage of it.

*In all honesty, even though I like mushrooms, I feel they are much too representative of the phallic symbol, and I would not be able to pick them anywhere without laughing.

An American Crime

Just watched 'An American Crime'- which, in my opinion, is a companion piece to
'The Girl Next Door' . It is more of an honest telling of the true crime of Sylvia Likens.

You can read all about the crime at the previous link. Suffice it to say, I feel this movie is a much better made film, with better acting ALL the way around. In 'The Girl Next Door', much was added and fabricated (because the source material was from a book "inspired by true events"). This movie is a retelling of the actual court documents and testimonies of what actually happened way back in 1965. I felt a bit more sympathetic to the situation of the lousy creep of a caretaker (Gertrude Baniszewski). I felt more fault towards Sylvia's parents, who left their children with a woman they basically knew nothing about.

Ellen Page was great (as usual) as Sylvia- she had a real feeling for the role, and it is obvious how talented she is. Catherine Keener played Gertrude quite convincingly. I felt her performance (which was Emmy nominated for the role) was top notch and loads better than the awful job done by the actress playing the same role in the other film.

I won't elaborate on the plot except to say it involves the seriously disturbing child abuse, torture, and ultimate death of Sylvia Likens back in October 1965 in Indianapolis, IN.
The poor girl was beaten, stomped on, burned with cigarettes, and made to live in the dank filthy basement with very little food and water. She was made to insert a Coke bottle into her vagina, and in one of the most shocking discoveries -she had the words 'i am a prostitute and proud of it' carved into her stomach. She died of a brain hemorrhage, shock, and malnutrition.

Unbelieveable.

See this movie - that's all I have left to say.

Recently watched:

Recently, there have been pretty slim pickings on new releases of horror movies.
I am here to report that I have seen three recently released films.
All of them used up 90 minutes or so rather sufficiently.
NONE of them are anything to write home about.
So I'm writing here instead.
First on the slab:

Prom Night.

NO, silly fools, not the one with Jamie Lee Curtis.
The one from 2008 that starred a very annoyingly vapid Brittany Snow in the female lead.
This version pretty much shares name only with the original from 1980.

If I really must go into details, I'll make it quick...
1) Donna (Snow) has been waiting her whole life (!) for her senior prom!
2) A few years ago an obsessed teacher stalked her and killed her family trying to get to her.
3) Surprise! The teacher/maniacal killer has escaped from prison and is on his way to the prom to find Donna!
4) Many of Donna's friends meet an untimely demise.
That's pretty much it.

Nothing new here. There was no stellar acting or anything. No tricky plot twist.
It wasn't awful, but it'll do in a pinch - like if all you have in front of you is this movie or say... Borderline Cult... then I'd go with Prom Night.

Next is "Lost Boys: The Tribe"

Wow.
Why on earth was this movie made?

The original was such a major 80's horror staple. Totally campy and fun, with a bit of horror thrown in and some pretty good actors in the leading roles. Almost believeable.

This is dreck. Although, the lead vampire is apparently played by Angus Sutherland - Kiefer's half brother. That doesn't mean he has the acting chops of big brother. I mean, I've never seen him in anything else and wonder if this is all just an homage to the older Lost Boys...

Same plot though. A brother and sister move to Santa Carla after their parents die in a car crash. They are going to live with their aunt, who in turn lets them rent (yes she makes them pay!) a tiny house she apparently owns. As if two kids (late teens if I'm not mistaken) could afford their own place... don't they go to school? I doubt working at the local Dairy Queen could pay the rent in coastal California.

Of course they almost immediately meet up with the vampires in town. The sister falls in love with the lead vamp (naturally!), and in turn the brother enlists the 'services' of Corey Feldman again to help extinguish the bloodsuckers. There is supposedly a cameo at the end of the movie, after the credits roll, with Corey Haim - but as bad as he now looks, I am half glad I ripped this out of the DVD player toot sweet.

Oh my. Anyway, I'd have to say it was more of a rip-off than a straight-forward sequel. And it wasn't even updated well.
The ending was really non-climactic and therefore rather boring.
Like Prom Night, it wasn't awful - and maybe it would scare some 12 year olds that snuck in to see it, but I thought it was a useless sequel (?) to say the least.

By the by, Tom Savini does have a short cameo role in the beginning of the film, but even it is way overblown and overacted - and not in a fun, campy way...
Shame on you Tom.



And lastly we have 'Awake'..


Now this is a movie that I thought had a very interesting premise.
A guy (Hayden Christensen) goes in for a heart transplant and once they load him up with anesthesia, the guy finds out that he can still hear the doctors talking, shuffling around getting things prepped for surgery, making some comments that he shouldn't be privy to, and then - in the most grim moment of the film - the scalpel is introduced to the flesh.

Ok, STOP.
I was pretty psyched up to this point.
Then when Hayden started screaming (in his mind of course) when the cutting began, it was just too fake. He did not sound realistic. Wouldn't you be literally screaming bloody murder? "No, no, aarrrgghh!" isn't gonna cut it, boy! I could just totally imagine him in a sound booth, cutting his dialogue. He didn't convince me that he was "awake" - I mean, wouldn't you just pass out from the pain if that actually did occur? Especially when they started with the rib spreaders...

There is a central mystery aside from just the 'anesthetic awareness' situation, but it isn't really very strong. Great actors such as Lena Olin and Terrence Howard are wasted. Jessica Alba plays Hayden's too-sexy wife (she's great at looking gorgeous in all her films and that's about it) - she has a secret. Don't they all?

So all in all, not a great trio to pick from. I suppose I liked 'Awake' best due to it's somewhat original storyline, but it still didn't have any major selling points. It was also so SLOOOOW.

Hopefully there will be some good stuff coming out soon - we are rapidly approaching the spooky season, you know.
I'm looking forward to seeing these upcoming DVD releases:
'The Strangers'
'An American Crime'
'Mother of Tears'
'Stuck'
'Rest Stop 2: Don't look back'
'Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead'
'Pathology'

And in theaters: my Halloween-time regular at the theater - the latest in the Saw series: Saw V.

Later!

Crazies only, please.

Insanitarium is a 2008 film starring the 'gardener' from Desperate Housewives, Jesse Metcalfe - who looks equally at home in a mental institution. (Equally as good-looking, too - even while heavily medicated and/or running from cannibals.)

It tells the story of Jack (Metcalfe) , whose sister Lily (Kiele Sanchez) has been institutionalized in an asylum that does not allow visitors. Apparently their parents are dead (and the mother had a history of psychosis as well) and Lily is all Jack has.

Jack unwisely decides to fake being nutso so as to get himself committed so he can see his sister and make sure she is alright. You know, just pop in, act a little crazy, get said sister, get out.
At first, things go alright - he is gaining knowledge about the place, meeting people who may be able to help him on his quest, etc. Then things all go downhill - the doctor in charge there (played by the always over-the-top Peter Stormare) is doing some kind of freaky tests on the patients using an experimental drug he designed - and the drug changes them into cannibalistic blood-lusting crazies. Lovely.
Jack does manage to find his sister, as well as a fellow friendly and not-quite-crazy patient, and a helpful nurse - and together they attempt to escape the institution just as the experiments go a little south and they convieniently have full-on psychos running amuck.

It's very much like an analogy I read: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest vs. 28 Days Later...
Once 'infected', these patients are just no-holds-barred whacko. There is bone ripping and chewing and blood and guts galore in the second half of this movie. Everyone seems to be covered head to toe in buckets of blood. In particular the human-eating freaks.

Good thing is, though, the freaks can die. They are not zombies, do not reanimate or come back to life, and once you sink a knife in them they are done.

But there are alot of them.

Not the brightest crayon in the box, this movie lacks an entirely cohesive plot, but it does make up for it in gruesome violence and loads of gore. Definately a B-grade schlocky film, but worth a look.

ELBISREVERRI

Ok, I have heard an unbelieveble amount of hype (good and bad) about this film so I thought it was high time I finally check it out. Glad I watched it alone cause I cannot imagine watching this with anyone else - not even someone I have been married with for over 18 years. It is best to experience this by yourself. Watch it and you will understand what I mean.

Irréversible is a movie that is written, directed, filmed and edited by the director Gaspar Noe.
I have no idea what gave him the idea to do this movie, and frankly, I don't think I really want to know.
It is a disturbing piece of work on soooo many levels.
It has actually won many critical awards. This is somewhat unnerving as well.

I will say this. It is different than anything I have ever seen.

I cannot really say I enjoyed it, as how does one truly enjoy watching a near-ten minute long nasty (and I mean NASTY) rape scene. Seriously!
I understand, on some level, the fame the movie has received, and I can imagine there are many people (in particular, horny guys) who see this film just for the stunningly pretty Monica Bellucci.

That aside, this is one screwed up mess of a movie. It has subtitles, which ordinarily do not bother me. However, it also has totally delusional, vomit-inducing camera work. The camera spins and turns and basically shows dim lit alleys, guy-on-guy sex, and creepy clubs spinning by. That, combined with the subtitles, makes for quite a dizzying experience.
I imagine the director is aiming to make a point of some kind. The entire movie is told in reverse chronological order, with the rape somewhere in the middle - even though it is the theme the whole movie is riding on. It actually works, though.

In the beginning (end?) of the film, Pierre (Albert Dupontel) and Marcus (Bellucci's real-life husband, Vincent Cassel) are frantically running through the streets of some French city, assumingly Paris, seeking out a low-life nick-named 'Tenia' (or in some cases, le tenia - literally meaning 'the tapeworm') because (as you eventually find out) he has (violently) anal-raped Marcus's girlfriend Alex (Bellucci) and beat her to a pulp so cruelly so that she is in a coma. Pierre is Alex's ex-boyfriend, so he & Marcus both have a vengence against this Tenia dude like you've never seen. They finally seem to track him down in a gay club with a choice name - RECTUM.
Oy vey.

That is pretty much the movie in a nutshell, and to say more would ruin this interestingly different movie that even with the grim subject matter and seriously annoying musical (?) score, I couldn't stop watching.
There is a scene involving a fire extinguisher that has been hyped a great deal, and it really does deliver a powerful punch. As does the rape. If you do not cringe, fidget in your seat, and feel dirty afterward - you are not human.
There is a bit of a surprise and devastating ending (or should I say beginning?) that many won't see coming.

In any event, I think this film is worth a look, if for nothing other than the intriguing way the director has put this thing together. I will say again, I've never seen anything like it.

That doesn't mean I ever want to see it again, though.