Renzie Reviews: Wicked Little Things

Recently-widowed Karen Tunny and her two daughters, Sarah and Emma, start a new life in a small Pennsylvania town up in the mountains, moving into an old house- which had been in the possession of her late husband's family for quite some time now.

What the Tunnys don't know is their new home is not so far away from the site of a horrible mining accident many years ago, where dozens of children were buried alive.

It doesn't take long for the family to realize that there's something strange going on- with their house, the surrounding forest, the townsfolk, and the town itself. Bit by bit, they discover the town's terrible secret- and the 'things' that wander the woods at night.

Wicked Little Things, in my opinion is definitely one of the better films in the After Dark HorrorFest lineup of movies. The rational part of me always tries to figure out the back stories and the motivation of what plagues the main characters- and this movie adequately satisfies my need for an explanation on what's going on.

It has a few 'I'm-at-the-edge-of-my-seat-holding-my-breath' moments, and has just enough gore to make certain scenes stand out, definitely not over-the-top. Well-executed, even more so knowing it was running on an indie film budget.

Final Word: You probably would have liked Wicked Little Things if you caught it at the After Dark Horrorfest from a year and a half ago. If you haven't, it might be worth your while to grab a copy of the DVD, and watch it on a dark night with some easy-to-scare friends for added fun.

Wicked Little Things theatrical poster from Wikipedia.

Cheers, everyone!

Renzie Reviews: The Hamiltons

I recently had the chance to watch the indie horror movie The Hamiltons. The movie came out in 2006, directed by The Butcher Brothers (Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores), and was part of the "8 Films To Die For" line-up of the very first After Dark HorrorFest in November that year.

If every family has its secrets, The Hamiltons sure takes the cake. The film, in essence, is a family drama, and revolves around the lives of the Hamilton siblings.

Our main character, Francis, has his trusty video camera, sets off to shoot a "school project" about his family. Bit by bit, we are introduced to the other characters. There's eldest brother David, normally reserved and subdued, who assumes the responsibility of caring for his siblings upon the accidental death of their parents.

Then we have the volatile Wendell and goth-chick Darlene; fraternal twins who seem to share a bond that keeps them apart from everybody else.

Everything seems to be normal within the Hamilton household, as the siblings deal with everyday life- school, work, family- but through Francis' camera, we slowly see what the Hamiltons are really all about.

Here's what I think about the movie. First off: I think it's great that an indie movie can deliver a captivating enough story, with minimal budget, virtually unknown actors, and not much in the way of special effects.

That being said, the movie didn't scare me at all, or disturb me to some extent. True, it is dark, but I was expecting a horror movie that would play with my fears somewhat, and not a family drama disguised as a horror flick.

Overall, I would say The Hamiltons is alright. Maybe a 3.5 out of 5. Worth watching, but manage your expectations somewhat. Probably worth getting the DVD, but only because it's part of a collection of a whole set of horror movies.

Despite my opinion, the movie is not only a fan favorite, it is also highly-acclaimed. After all, The Hamiltons is the winner of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Malibu International Film Festival.

Grab a copy of The Hamiltons and tell me what you think about it.

Renzie Reviews: The Messengers

I've had the chance to watch The Messengers on Star Movies the other day.

I have to admit: I had high expectations for the movie- after all, it's a project from The Pang Brothers. These are the same guys who gave us the Asian Horror favorite The Eye (and its sequels) and action-packed Bangkok Dangerous. Plus one of the brothers (Danny) had also worked on Infernal Affairs (and its sequel and prequel)- a great movie from which Martin Scorsese drew inspiration from for The Departed.

The Messengers is a thriller directed by The Pang Brothers, and produced by Sam Raimi. I initially thought there was an original Asian version of the film, but later found out that it was Hollywood-backed from the very beginning.

Weird things start happening in the Solomon household after the entire family makes the move from the city to start a sunflower farm. But only the kids- teenager Jess and younger brother Ben- get to see the worst of it all. Naturally, all this tension threatens to tear the family apart- until they find out what's really going on- which is what the whole film is all about.

Like I mentioned, I had high hopes for the film. But it didn't really settle well with me. I'd say it would probably be because the movie didn't offer anything new to me in terms of scares and horror. Even the ghosts in the movie- with all the writhing and scuttling about on the ceiling and everything- almost seems so common now.

I had at least hoped for a brilliant twist in the end, but unfortunately it was rather predictable through-and-through.

My gauge for a good thriller, or a good horror movie, is that it screws you up after you've watched it- it makes you avoid all the usual everyday things. The Ring (Ringu- the original Japanese version) fucked me up so bad that I'd hate to put in a VHS tape into a player, answer an unknown number on my phone or even look at a static TV screen. Nightmare on Elm Street made me afraid of sleeping when I was a kid. Stir of Echoes would make me think twice about going under hypnosis or whatever harmless party prank.

With The Messengers? Don't move into a run-down farm in the middle of nowhere. You know shit's gonna happen when you find yourself in the middle of a crow infestation. And for Bob's sake, listen to the kids sometimes.

Final Word: probably worth watching once, but I wouldn't get me a copy on DVD.

Cheers, everyone!

The After Dark Horror Fest, Revisited

I've had my eye on the After Dark HorrorFest since it started out in November of 2006. After Dark Films is a horror film production company and distributor founded by Courtney Solomon- the Canadian Director who gave us 2000's Dungeons and Dragons and An American Haunting.

The company organizes this annual independent horror film festival- the first Horrorfest taking place from November 9 to November 11, 2006- which opened in over 500 theaters in 35 American cities.

The movies were supposedly not your garden-variety horror movie. In fact, according to the Wikipedia article, the 2006 films' trailer states "the content of these films are considered too graphic, too disturbing, and too shocking for general audiences."

The films featured in the 2006 HorrorFest run included:

The Abandoned

A film producer who was adopted as a baby and sent to America returns to her native Russia and the family farm. Once there, strange things begin to happen. After completion of the festival, this film was released to general theatres on February 23, due to being named the Fan Favorite.

Dark Ride

Ten years after he brutally murdered two girls, a killer escapes from a mental institution and returns to his turf, the theme park attraction called "Dark Ride".

The Gravedancers

A group of friends' lives are invaded by a trio of hostile ghosts after they engage in a drunken bout of gravedancing during a wake for an old chum.

The Hamiltons

A picture-perfect American family is always kind, loving and respectful to their neighbors… except that they usually wind up killing them.

Penny Dreadful

A young girl and her therapist take a road trip to help her overcome her phobia of riding in cars. This trip turns deadly as an escaped mental patient starts a new spree of killings.

Reincarnation

A film crew recreates a gruesome mass murder at a hotel only to find themselves suffer fates they are acting out in the film.

Unrest

A med student collapses upon sensing a "presence" about her cadaver. Her fears are strengthened by the mysterious death of a friend. She must discover the connection before an angry spirit can wreak further vengeance.

Wicked Little Things

Recently widowed Karen Tunny and her two daughters, Sarah and Emma, move to a remote mountain home which Karen has inherited from the family of her late husband. However, she is unaware that the home is situated near an old mine, the site of an early 20th century tragedy in which many children were buried alive.

Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror

The film is about three stories of residents who live in an inner city neighborhood whose actions in their lives determine their destination in the afterlife. This was a bonus ninth movie shown only on November 19th, which was only available for purchasers of all eight movie passes.

The Tripper

A group of young hippies set out for a drug-induced weekend of debauchery and fun. Unknown to them, a crazed madman obsessed with Ronald Reagan is lurking in the woods. This was a bonus tenth movie which played only on November 21st.

DVD's of 7 of the After Dark films from the 2006 festival- Dark Ride, The Gravedancers, The Hamiltons, Penny Dreadful, Reincarnation, Unrest and Wicked Little Things- were all released in March 27 of last year.

Being the fan favorite of the 2006 HorrorFest, The Abandoned was re-released to general theaters in February 2007, and was released on DVD on June 19. Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror was released on DVD on September 11, 2007, while The Tripper came out on DVD on October 23 later that year.

The After Dark HorrorFest continued on 2007 with an entirely new set of independent horror films.

With the success of the first film festival, 2007's HorrorFest lasted a little more than a week- and took place from November 9 to November 18, in over 350 theatres across the United States.

According to the same Wikipedia article, the 2007 festival's trailer states: "Horror - a genre of motion picture intended to thrill viewers by provoking fear or revulsion through the depiction of grotesque, violent, or supernatural events."

The films featured in the 2007 HorrorFest run included:

Borderland

Written and directed by Zev Berman, this film centers around Phil (played by Rider Strong from Cabin Fever) and his two college buddies who road-trip down to a Mexican border town to celebrate their college graduation. They run into a cult looking for human sacrifice and their weekend becomes a bloody test of survival.

Crazy Eights

Inspired by Virginia Woolf's The Waves, this film chronicles the tragic events that occur when six friends reunite after 20 years upon the death of a mutual friend and decide to unearth a time capsule they buried. Upon opening the time capsule they find the dead remains of a child, which begins to haunt their everday life and could lead to their death if they can't uncover the mystery behind the child's death.

The Deaths of Ian Stone

Starring Mike Vogel in the title role, along with Christina Cole, Jaime Murray, and Michael Dixon. The films revolves around Ian Stone who is in a constant cycle of dying at night only to wake up with a different life.

Lake Dead

A group of teenagers inherit a motel on a lake, only to uncover a series of dark and frightening family secrets.

Mulberry Street

Co-starring Debbie Rochon and directed by Jim Mickle, a film about six evicted New Yorkers fighting off were-rats.

Nightmare Man

Written, produced, and directed by Rolfe Kanefsky, and starring scream queen Tiffany Shepis alongside Gwen Davis, Robert Donovan, and Richard Moll.

Tooth and Nail

The film, starring Michael Madsen, Vinnie Jones, Rider Strong, Robert Carradine, and Rachel Miner, revolves around a group of people in a post-apocalyptic world fight to survive against a band of vicious cannibals.

Unearthed

Written and directed by Matthew Leutwyler and stars Emmanuelle Vaugier from Saw II. A mysterious creature in a New Mexican town is the reason for the disappearances of several townspeople, nature dying, and animals being murdered.

One of the movies included in the original roster of films shown at the 2007 HorrorFest was the Xavier Gens project, Frontiers. The film was given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA, and it was decided that it would instead be released to theatres separately in May, 2008.

DVDs of the 8 films were already released last month- March 18, 2008. Personally, I haven't completed my collection yet, but as early as now, I'd like to catch up on my After Dark viewing in time for this year's HorrorFest 2009.

If you're a horror movie freak like me, you may want to check out all those great After Dark movies. Visit the official website to get updates, be part of promotional activities, and more importantly, get your own copies of the After Dark HorrorFest DVDs.

Film synopses and pictures from Wikipedia.

Cheers, everyone!