Low Budget “Hardware” Delivers the Post-Apocalyptic Horror Goods

Slasher StudiosHardware

Horror movie killers traditionally disguise themselves with masks when stalking their prey. Hardware takes this process one step further and disguises the whole film as science fiction. Beneath the robots and dystopian future images, Hardware is all slasher film, and holds its own against any challengers.

In an overpopulated and violent world, Moses Baxter (Dylan McDermott from “American Horror Story”) brings his girlfriend home a busted-up robot for her scrap metal sculptures. Intended as an apology for his time away from home, the robot resurrects and rebuilds itself and sets about exterminating any human beings that cross its path.

Underneath the metallic sci-fi imagery are all the genres standards of traditionally slasher movies. Hardware has the unstoppable killer, the despicable creep, the tough guy, the druggie, and plenty of gore.

By disguising its horror roots in sci-fi trapping, Hardware ups the stakes. The threat is no longer limited to a camp or a small town in Illinois. The killer is not a singular entity, but one member of an endlessly repeatable series of robotic monsters.

Hardware marries a post-apocalyptic setting with the surrealism of nightmares. The strobe-filled lighting, extreme contrast in colors, and industrial rock soundtrack create a unique vision that separates this movie from other films.

—Axel Kohagen
@mrhorrorpants on Twitter

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Tim’s Horror Tweet Reviews: “Voices” (2008)

Slasher Studios*Horror

Tim Schilling hasn’t had a lot of luck with the horror genre lately. Our resident Twitter film critic has given 1 “Teddyhead” to four of the last five horror movies he has reviewed. Today he is back with a brand new review of a After Dark Horrorfest selection “Voices.” Will it break his “bad movie record” or will it be another terrible flick to add to the burn pile?

Thoughts before the film:
#Voices is the only movie from After Dark Horrorfest 3 that I haven’t seen yet, hopefully it ends on a good note! Also, this movie is in Chinese or something and has subtitles and isn’t dubbed. This may be difficult.

Thoughts while watching:
0:03 Whenever I watch an Asian film I can’t tell if the actors are really good, or just don’t care about the performance.
0:05 I wish my high school had fencing as a sport.
0:08 I wonder If she’ll really get in trouble for hugging a guy…
0:14 Geez, these guys know how to make a fucked up movie.
0:20 I’m kinda scared to go to any Asian country with all of these curses their movies say they have.
0:27 You must be kinda crazy if you’re the smartest kid in an Asian school.
0:29 The school doesn’t call her parents that their daughter killed someone…?
0:33 Your teacher tried to kill you, why don’t you tell anyone!?
0:40 Everyone wants this bitch dead, if she would die so many other lives would be saved!
0:41 I don’t get it, are there police in Asia!? Just call them!
1:02 Trust no bitch.
1:09 Use your fencing skills and fuck shit up!
1:09 …or get stabbed before you can even get to the sword.
1:17 Just die so you can stop this curse already!

Final Verdict:
I haven’t seen many Asian horror films, but I really dug #Voices. Good story that was really messed up, shot very good and awesome music, It was kind of depressing how messed up it was though. But I’ll be watching more Asian movies soon if they’re similar.

To follow Tim on twitter: https://twitter.com/schillingt
To follow Slasher Studios on twitter: https://twitter.com/slasherstudios

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Terrifying New Wordface Concept Art from IFC Midnight’s “Rites of Spring”

Slasher Studios*Horror

A Slasher Studios Exclusive! We have for you two brand new concept art pics of mysterious monster “Wormface” from all the new IFC MIDNIGHT film RITES OF SPRING. The film is written and directed by Padraig Reynolds and stars AJ Bowen, Anessa Ramsey, Sonny Marinelli, Marco St. John and Katherine Randolph. Keep an eye out as Slasher Studios will have a review for the brand new flick before the end of the week!

In the film, a group of kidnappers abduct the daughter of a wealthy socialite and hide out in an abandoned school in the middle of the woods. But feelings of guilt soon overtake the kidnappers, dividing the group and putting their entire plan in jeopardy. The evening further spirals out of control when their poorly chosen hideout becomes a hunting ground for a mysterious creature that requires springtime ritualistic sacrifices.

In Theaters and Available Nationwide on IFC Midnight Cable VOD and Digital Outlets (SundanceNOW, iTunes, Amazon Streaming, XBOX Zune, Playstation Unlimited) on July 27, 2012.

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Horror Comedies That Rock: John Waters’ “Serial Mom” (1994) Review

Slasher StudiosSerial Mom

I’ve been an admirer of John Waters for as long as I can remember. I grew up with movies like Cry Baby and Hairspray. As I grew older, I went to college and discovered Waters made movies that I had no idea even existed. I grew up in the drive in era and even I wasn’t prepared for movies like Pink Flamingos and Desperate Living. They were shocking, revolting, and disgusting. I loved every minute of them. It amazed me how in a Waters’ film the hero was normally the character that would be the villain in any other Hollywood made film. He made (still makes actually) movies that were not on the fringe of society, but movies that of their own society. Characters that felt like families. Crazy families yes, but families nonetheless.

Today I will be talking a look at a movie of Waters that fits somewhere between the two extremes. It isn’t as “light” as Cry Baby or Hairspray but not as in-your-face as Pink Flamingos. The movie in question….1994’s Serial Mom. Serial Mom came at a time in society in which America was becoming obsessed with the mass murderer and giving “killers” celebrity status. How else can you explain the thousands of marriage proposals Ted Bundy received in prison after confessing to the murder of over 20 young women? It may be a serial killer but isn’t he dreamy! Nobody is perfect, right? Well, Serial Mom takes that celebrity obsession and turns it on its head.

As Serial Mom begins we meet Beverly Sutphin (in a go-for-broke pitch perfect performance by Kathleen Turner). She appears to be a typical suburban housewife living with her dentist husband Eugene (Sam Waterston) and their children, Misty (Ricki Lake) and Chip (Matthew Lillard) in the suburbs of Baltimore. Behind her Doris Day façade, however, she is a serial killer, murdering people over the smallest criticism, insult or slight. We open on the Sutphin family having breakfast and Beverly carefully taking care of family’s every needs until two police officers arrive to question the family about the mail threats and obscene phone calls to a fellow resident of the area, Dottie Hinkle (the wonderful Mink Stole). “Now who on earth would ever want to harass poor Dottie Hinkle,” Beverly states. Well of course it is Beverly. As we see a brief flashback, Beverly is still upset over Dottie stealing her parking spot at Jo Ann Fabrics. No, seriously.

The first murder she is known (the movie plays out like a true crime reenactment complete with time stamps) to commit occurs after Beverly attends a PTA where Mr. Stubbins, Chip’s high school math teacher, criticizes her son’s morbid fascination with violent horror films and recommends therapy for Chip. She runs him over with her car, killing him. How DARE he disrespect the horror genre! Bastard had it coming.

The following morning, Misty is upset when she gets stood up by a date, Carl Pageant, proclaiming her desire to kill him. Beverly cautions Misty about using words she doesn’t mean and subsequently sees the police investigating her trash cans and her car. Beverly skillfully deflects the cops’ questions before her husband asks the cops to leave. Later, seeing Carl with another girl at a local indoor swap meet, Beverly impales him in a men’s restroom with a fireplace poker that Rosemary, who came along, had purchased.

A death by blow torch for not wearing a seatbeat and a killing by rack of lamb to the tune “Tomorrow” from the movie Annie for not rewinding Ghost Dad are two more deaths for Beverly before she is arrested. Now it is on to the trial and this is where the movie really kicks into high gear. Selling everything from Serial Mom t-shirts to Serial Mom books…everyone is off to make a profit off Beverly. Even Suzanne Somers (in a wonderful tongue-in-cheek performance as herself) who plans to play Beverly in the soon to be made mini-series.

Serial Mom is that perfect pitch black satire Hollywood never makes. The film was a bomb on its initial release grossing only $6 million on a $14 million profit and that’s a shame. From the game cast to spot on direction from Waters, everything works. This is the type of movie that you will either find hysterical or you will wonder where all the laughs are. This movie makes me smile like a naughty little kid and I try to watch it every Mother’s Day with my mom. If that isn’t love, I don’t know what is.

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Criminally Underrated Horror Comedies: “My Boyfriend’s Back” (1993) Review

Slasher StudiosMy Boyfriend's Back

Growing up I would classify myself as a “pure” slasher fan. I didn’t enjoy comedy mixed with my horror as I found that more often than not it diluted the effectiveness of the scares. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the comedy-horror subgenre. “Night of the Creeps” and “Return of the Living Dead” were two of my favorites from the subgenre growing up. Maybe it has something to do with zombies. I never was able to take them very seriously so they seemed to mix well into the comedy format for me. All of this brings me to one of my favorite horror-comedies from the early 90’s, the sorely underrated “My Boyfriend’s Back.” Hilarious from beginning to end with some of the driest dark humor to come out of the 90’s, the film was a box office bomb on initial release making less than $4 million on a budget of $10 million. With an all star cast (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Matthew McConaughey, Renée Zellweger, and Matthew Fox all appear in small roles) let’s dig into this film that deserved to be a hit.

The film starts in a flashback as we meet the young Johnny Dingle at the age of 6, he has been in love with beautiful Missy McCloud for as long as he can possibly remember. For a 6 year old, this is a very, very long time. It is Missy’s birthday and he plans to give her a heart shaped locket with the pictures of the two of them enclosed. This is the day where he finally is going to get up the courage to tell her how he feels. What do you know…he chickens out and keeps the locket safely tucked away in his bedroom closet. Someday will be the day, right?

We flash forward ten years to high school where Johnny (the wonderfully deadpan Andrew Lowry) is still in love with the still beautiful Missy (played by the very appealing Tracy Lind) but Missy has a boyfriend: the typical asshole jock boyfriend played with swarmy perfection by Matthew Fox. Johnny finds out through the grapevine that the two have recently broken up so he decides to make his movie in the most drastic way possible. She works at a convenience store and he plans to have his friend Eddie “rob” the place while he heroically saves her. She will fall madly in love with him and they will live happily ever after. The plan doesn’t go well and Johnny dies right after Missy says she will go to the prom with him. What’s a guy to do? Come back from the dead for his girl of course.

This results in some of the most delicious dark comedy I’ve ever seen in a wide release horror comedy as the town doesn’t seem to react much to the fact that Johnny has come back from the dead (well, besides the ones that want to burn him at the stake but…). In fact, this is a typical exchange:

Johnny: Sorry I’m late, Mrs. Cooper. You wouldn’t BELIEVE the trouble I had getting here!
Johnny’s School Teacher: I would believe it. And I’m not impressed. You get one demerit.
Johnny: But-!
Johnny’s School Teacher: Just because you’re dead does not mean that you can come waltzing in here whenever you like.

Make you laugh out loud? If yes, head to Amazon at the link below and buy a copy this minute. If not, maybe this dark comedy isn’t for you. With a game cast and some off the wall humor, it just puts a smile on my face. I hope it also puts a smile on yours.

I’ll leave you with just one more line:

Dr. Bronson: Okay, well, you’re dead. Which is unusual, because we don’t normally see this much activity in a dead person.

Okay, I’m done! Buy it!

To purchase: My Boyfriend’s Back (DVD)

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Underrated “Family Friendly” Thrillers: “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” (1984)

Slasher StudiosIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Ok ok ok, so this isn’t really a horror film, but it certainly has horrific images and it was the film that created the PG-13 rating, as the MPAA felt that the film was too much for young viewers but too childish for older viewers.

I love this film, it has always been my favorite of the trilogy and eventual Quadrilogy, it has a great mix of suspense, action and even some comedy involved. The whole film even develops a semi-love story, but it doesn’t seem to smack you in the face with it, it feels more like tension until the finale. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are a force to be reckoned with when they are together and this is a great reason why, the character are well loved by these two and they know how to tell a story.

Harrison Ford is as good as ever as Indy, if you know the first film than you know he’ll end up on top, as this is a prequel but its still gut-wrenching to see him and his partners in life and death situations constantly, you still feel the dangers involved and you are on the edge of your seat hoping everyone gets out ok.
Kate Capshaw is fucking annoying in this film, she is the complete opposite from Marion in every way, she is the damsel in distress as well as being the “princess” type, who knows nothing about getting down and dirty. She does a great job in this role since that is how the character was written, she probably the only part of the film that doesn’t really evolve too much, but I don’t think thats too bad, I’m guessing she was meant to return eventually, but people loved Marion, so we got her instead.

Jonathan Ke Quan will be forever remembered for two roles, as Short Round in this film and as Data Wang in The Goonies, this isn’t really because he hasn’t done much, but because he makes such an impression in these two roles that you just love both characters. In this film he comes around as Indy’s friend and partner, its never explained why he isn’t in the last film or seen ever again, but this film comes in a time when a Japanese boy could have easily been made a joke of, in this he isn’t, he is head strong and courageous, but at the same time someone the child audience could relate too.

Amrish Puri, could I just say OMFG what a great performance, in every scene he is in he outshines everyone, including Harrison Ford, a great film is a film that has a great hero as well as a great villain and this has to be the best of them all in this franchise. I remember memorizing the chant he gives and creeping my sister out. I’m not religious at all, but I think they handled this religious side very well, Lucas and Spielberg made sure to give us an insight on both the good and evils of the religious, showing much respect.

The score is another highlight and one that needs to be talked about. Of course we have the familiar theme that was introduced in the original film, but we have some new themes, like when we get our first glimpse of the horrific surroundings of Mola Ram’s sacrifice pit, the score by John Williams is masterfully done and each theme adds to the scene its placed in. Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have never done a commentary and I can’t see it ever happening, but we do get plenty of behind the scenes footage to fill my knowledge up. If you haven’t seen this film than you must be a child or under a rock, cause its just not possible for a person to not have seen this on TV or by someone else film collection(whether its DVD, LaserDisc or Blu-Ray).

–Eric Curto

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Overlooked Horror on Netflix Streaming: “Ju-on: White Ghost/Black Ghost” (2009)

Slasher StudiosJu-on: White Ghost/Black Ghost

This film is listed as NR, meaning it is Not Rated and it is two short films put together as one film. I watched this recently on Netflix and was in awe at how well this franchise is still going, here in America we had a direct to video 3rd entry and it shows how easily we give up on a franchise when it doesn’t feel important anymore, in Japan they continue to thrive.

The tension in this film was amazing to me, it really struck me that Japanese film making is still very much into “silent” horror and how it can be more effective than countless jump scares, not too mention seeing a dead evil walking fast toward you making a strange noise can be very unsettling. Toshio makes a few cameos, but the stories established in the previous film are not part of those story(although, we do see the house seen in those films).

There isn’t much more I can say, because I think its important for you to see this film for yourself. I will watch it again as it’ll also give me even more insight on the films history, its hard to understand 100% when you are half watching the film and half reading the film. I will say the film does move slow at times, but again this helps to amplify the tension and uncomfortable factor. I definitely recommend this over the direct to video The Grudge 3, which is just wrong…

–Eric Curto

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Terror Hits Home: James Cullen Bressack’s “Hate Crime” (2012) Review

Slasher StudiosHate Crime

Today we have for you horror fans a Slasher Studios exclusive: an early review of the new thriller Hate Crime. The film is Written and directed by James Cullen Bressack, the 20-year old filmmaker who has been rocking the independent horror scene for a few years now. Shot in Big Bear, this film revolves around a family that has just moved to a new town. The young boy, Alex, is at home having a birthday dinner with his parents and siblings. Then, without warning, some unexpected guests show up to crash the party and change this family forever.

Hate crime is packed with non-stop action from beginning to end. Many scenes are very sick and twisted and if you are easily offended, you may want to brace yourself. This film is raw and disgusting in nature, I would be interested in hearing how life on the set was. With most of the film portrayed to be shot in real time, Hate Crime is sure to build interest. The masking of the cuts to enhance the real time feel was executed very well and is reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope.

The fact that this is also a found footage film also very likely to get people talking. With found footage saturating the market as of late, it will be interesting to see if audiences will take the bate. Although the film had a few production drawbacks, the found footage aspect creates a very forgiving environment and is actually not a bad way to produce an indy film on a small budget.

With only a small amount of gore, Bressack relies heavily on the acting performances to help deliver the uneasy feel. This troubled emotion is achieved for the most part, but unfortunately, the acting is hit or miss with some of the cast. Nothing terrible by any means, but as tensions run high for the characters, a few of the actors frequently leap into overacting mode. The raw emotions of these characters are such an intricate part of this film, the less than perfect acting, at times, takes away from the rush of emotions the audience wants and needs to feel. The winning standout is Debbie Diesel who plays Lindsay. She is by far and away the shining star of this film. With a solid acting performance and strong screen presence, Diesel plays her role as a very likable and believable character. You root for her from beginning to end.

With a running time of just over an hour, Hate Crime serves up a unique and well paced film. It’s extremely graphic and over the top, but if you believe you can handle it, be on the look out for this film as it is sure to find it’s way into festival play in the near future.

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Horror Movies We Love: “House” (1986)

Slasher StudiosHouse (1986)

A very interesting movie in my opinion is”House” (1986) directed by Steve Miner (Friday the 13th part 2 & 3, H20).

The movie is about a horror novelist and ex Vietnam veteran, Rogger Cobb who is in a middle of a divorce and goes to live at his aunt’s house where his little boy was lost some time ago under some strange coditions. Now he returns there in order to focus on his new horror novel and discover what happened with his son. Every door he opens in the house is a new nightmare for him. His mind plays strange tricks and starts revealing forgotten aspects of the Vietnam War. The deeper he enters the house the more he finds about what happened to his past and how things ended up like this in his life.

I think that this is a very entertaining flick with a great atmosphere which the House provides adequately in all through the film. The main character of the movie is very well shaped with deep origins and an interesting back story. So enjoy the film and … don’t forget to ring the bell!!!

–Panos Tsiros

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Trashy & Exploitative, “Maximum Overdrive” is a Maximum Guilty Pleasure

Slasher Studios*Underrated Slasher

Maximum Overdrive sputtered and died on its way to theater and television screens. It was a victim of heightened expectations for first time director Stephen King, and the movie underwhelmed the world with its cornball gore and throbbing AC/DC soundtrack. More than 25 years later, it may finally be time to appreciate this 1986 movie as the trashy exploitation film it was meant to be appreciated.

King adapts his own short story “Trucks” for the big screen. The movie trots out a flimsy “comet in space” story to rationalize a world where machines come to life and attempt to destroy humanity. From there, King places the action at a truck stop where a group of people, led by star Emilio Estevez, try to stay alive and escape semi-trucks aiming to splatter them up and down the highways.

The mistake people make in watching Maximum Overdrive is assuming Emilio Estevez is the star of the show. He isn’t: The AC/DC soundtrack is. The droning, electric blue-inspired buzzsaw of their greatest songs haunts the film and sets the tone. This isn’t a film about surprises or tension. This is a film about bad attitudes and bleak future outlooks. Critiquing the film based on plot and character development damns it quickly, but ignoring those elements to focus on the tone of the movie gives viewers a grisly, sarcastic view of modern frustrations.

AC/DC updates American blues music with a dirty, electric swagger. Maximum Overdrive, in a way, is the AC/DC of haunted house films. The “ghosts” have become the machines all around us. If the film lacks resolution, so does this electronic and mechanical world.

—Axel Kohagen
Twitter—@mrhorrorpants

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