Tim’s Slasher Tweet Reviews: “Killer Klowns From Outer Space” (1988)

Slasher StudiosKiller Klowns from Outer Space

Tonight we bring you another excellent tweet-by-tweet review from our guest film critic Tim Schilling! I’m sure by now you guys are familiar with the concept: We take a movie and give you a running commentary through twitter. After the film is done, we will post the review over here at Slasher Studios. Tonight Tim takes a look at the vastly underrated comedy-horror epic “Killer Klowns from Outer Space.” Just remember, in space no one can eat ice cream….

Thoughts before the film:
80’s comedy horror, one of my favorite sub genres. I haven’t seen this movie in at least a billion years, and it scared the crap outta me back then.

Thoughts while watching:
0:02 Perfect 80’s music, check.
0:04 Oh please do keep your shirt on…
0:05 Cheesy 80’s special effects, check!
0:14 I bet the creators of Banjo Kazooie watched this high while making the game
0:18 Popcorn guns are terrifying.
0:21 Trippinnnn’.
0:22 This movie would have been perfect in 3D. [that may be the only time I’ll ever say that].
0:26 The sounds that these clowns make are gonna give me nightmares. Hopefully?
0:37 If I ever call the cops cause clowns are attacking they better believe me.
0:40 Alien popcorn.
0:41 …Alien popcorn that sounds like birds and then eats people.
0:43 Why do I think those shadow puppets are gonna eat/kill these people?
0:44 I wuz right, but does that mean the popcorn is people…?
0:48 Obviously this cop shoulda gone to college himself instead of complaining about all the kids.
0:51 Does this movie remind anyone else of Beetlejuice? There are a lot of similarities I think.
0:52 So far, it’s a great movie! I haven’t finished watching it but I would still recommend it.
0:55 Clowns don’t like it when they get shot apparently…
1:21 King Klown just gets poked with a pin and blows up…

Overall:
#KillerKlownsFromOuterSpace is another example that the 80’s were the best decade of film. From the great music to the cheesy special effects to the corny acting & one liners, #KillerKlownsFromOuterSpace is a perfect horror-comedy.

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

Share:

Craven’s Forgotten Classics: “The Fireworks Woman” (1975)

Slasher StudiosFireworks Woman

After a lifetime of repressing their desires, a brother and sister have sex with each other. But then the brother reverts back to repression, and becomes a priest, and his rejections lead the sister into rampant promiscuity. All of her escapades are revealed to him in confession, either by her, or the people she’s had sex with, and he’s finally driven crazy enough to pursue his lust, and incest prevails over faith, as it always shall.

It moves along at a quick pace, and has a pleasant dreamy quality, though there are still some rough scenes, and it’s kind of a troubling plot. The lead actress is pretty good, and nicely enthusiastic during the sex scenes. Wes Craven most likely directed (his position as such is not 100% confirmed, it’s credited to “Abe Snake”), and he also appears at random throughout, just hanging around and maybe keeping an eye on the lead. The purpose of his character is not entirely clear, but it’s fun to see him in it. Featuring incest, light S&M, rape, and orgies, it’s a good ‘70s porn film, with a great moody score, and is definitely worth a look for Craven fans. And/or ‘70s porn fans.

–Austin Wolf-Sothern

Share:

Spellbinding Horror Short “Familiar” Rattles Nerves

Slasher StudiosFamiliar

As many of you may know, Slasher Studios was honored to be in attendance at the Chicago Fear Fest last month in support of our slasher short “Teddy.” During the two day film festival we saw nearly a dozen shorts and a couple of features. Sadly, we were unable to see everything that we wanted to see. It is the curse of film festivals. There are always at least two movies playing at any given time and it is impossible to catch everything. As we went to the after-party on the second night, we began to hear buzz about a killer short psychological thriller titled “Familiar.” It was the talk of the room and we had at least a dozen people come up to us and ask whether or not we had seen this mind-bending little chiller. We sadly had not. It was no surprise to anyone to hear the film win for Best Short at the film festival. With a thank you to producer Zach Green, Slasher Studios has been given an exclusive screener in order to view the film. Does it live up to the hype and massive expectations of the Chicago Fear Fest or is it a case of hype overwhelming substance? Let’s crack open this thriller and see what we have in store.

The third short film from Fatal Pictures, “Familiar” tells the story of John Dodd, a 45-year old workaholic trapped in his very own mundane existence. In a chillingly intense performance by Robert Nolan, Dodd is a quiet, down-to-earth man who can and will snap at even given moment if given the chance. A man looking for a change in his life. Something different, something new, something fresh…anything really. He wants to be able to live again. With his daughter going off to college soon and a wife that is trapped in her own little world, he feels as if he is finally given the opportunity to escape from his very own hell. He doesn’t need to listen to his family, he knows what they are going to say before they even do. If he thinks that he will be given a chance to breakaway he is dead wrong, his wife is pregnant and his hell will continue for at least another 18 years. One manic turn of events boil to a conclusion that is as unsettling as it is horrifying.

“Familiar” is the kind of storytelling that is simply not made in Hollywood today. Filmmaking that is powerful in its intensity and raw to its emotional core. Director Richard Powell handles the story with care and doesn’t tend to over do the monotony of Dodd’s life and turn it into melodrama. In a short film consisting of about 80% voiceover, we are literally living the story through Dodd’s mind and seeing what he is seeing through his dark eyes of despair. I simply cannot say enough about Nolan’s performance. This is the kind of role that any actor would dream of and he relishes every juicy moment in a script full of twists and turns and some unsettling and stomach churning effects. The score is positively eerie in a way that builds real tension instead of delivering simply cheap and unwanted scares. “Familiar” won’t be for everyone but for those in the mood for a psychological thriller with a lot of punch, this delivers more in 24 minutes than most features do in 90.

Share:

“Friday the 13th” Meets Cheerleaders: “Spirit Camp” Review

Slasher StudiosSpirit Camp

I don’t think there is anything that I enjoy more in the world than a good “Friday the 13th” ripoff. Well, possibly a bad “Friday the 13th” ripoff but that’s a discussion for a different review. Anyway, there is just something about the “Friday the 13th” series that makes it so ripe for parody. The sex equals death equation mixed with creative death scenes and some over-the-top acting usually makes for a good time and it’s a recipe that just about any (and just about all) slasher films follow. With that being said, I sat down to watch “Spirit Camp” will little expectations. If a movie tries to be a parody of a slasher film, it usually falls flat. Why is that? Well, the answer is quite simple. Outside of the 1980’s, I don’t think any adult horror viewer would find anything scary or frightening in a film like “Friday the 13th”, it’s already close to self parody as it is. Going any further into parody would simply be overkill. With this bias out of the way, can “Spirit Camp” deliver the goods in what is possibly the hardest horror subgenre around? Or does it leaving you wanting more laughs and more scares? Let’s dig in.

“Spirit Camp” begins with a flashback. When a slutty cheerleader is turned down by her obviously gay boyfriend for sex, she returns to camp to find that all of her fellow cheerleading friends have been murdered. One ax to the neck later and we are now in present time, two years later. We find that a street smart “goth girl” (Roxy Vandiver) is forced to attend cheerleader camp as part of her rehabilitation from a juvenile correction facility. She clashes with the “popular girls,” and finds herself embroiled in a bitter rivalry with the bitchy ringleader Rachel (Julin). No, I’m not missing a last name there, her screen credit is simply “Julin.” Maybe she wants to be the next Cher or Madonna but based on her acting here…oh wait, we are talking about Cher and Madonna…yeah, that seems about right. Anyway, when members of the spirit squad start turning up dead, the girls must put aside their differences and struggle to survive the murderous rage of a crazed psycho-killer lurking among them!

Sound scary? Well, it’s not. Sound funny? That it is. Billed as a “Friday the 13th” meets “Bring it On”, the film works because it takes its deaths seriously but places its tongue firming in cheek with everything else. With clever references to other horror movies like “Halloween” (the camp director’s name is Miss Haddonfield) and a sly winking to the camera with some outrageous but not too over-the-top death scenes, “Spirit Camp” surprisingly works. Want to see a bitchy cheer captain get an ax to the face while pleasuring herself with a giant pink vibrator? This is the movie for you. Nothing here is very subtle but for a low budget horror comedy, the deaths are surprisingly well executed and the make up effects on the killer (no, I’m not going to give away who it is besides saying that it is pretty obvious) are top notch. If you are a fan of 80’s slashers, you could do a lot worse than this one and you might even get a few quality laughs. For a direct to dvd horror film, that’s about the best you can ask for.

To order from Amazon: Spirit Camp (Special Edition DVD)

Share:

Underrated/Forgotten Craven Films: My Soul to Take (2010)

Slasher Studios*Slasher Studios Horror Film Club

This week is Slasher Studios Horror Film Club we are taking a look at the underrated and forgotten movies from suspense master Wes Craven. Today we have a review from Cody Landman on Wes Craven’s “My Soul to Take.” When the film was released in 2010, it received unbelievably hateful reviews and under preformed at the box office making only $15 million on a $25 million budget. Did the movie deserve the fate it received or is there something special beneath the surface? Let’s find out…

The underrated Wes Craven film of my choice is his 2010 film My Soul to Take. The story is about a man named Abel Plankov, aka The Riverton Ripper, who one night is gunned down after murdering his pregnant wife and almost murdering his young daughter. Plankov suffers from multiple personality disorder. The female officer says there is a myth that after death, a person’s soul can transfer to someone else. While on the way to the hospital, Plankov comes to life and slaughters the people bringing him in, ultimately crashing the ambulance truck and leaving it burn in flames. After that night, Plankov is never seen again. Years later, a group of teens gather who were born the same night Plankov was gunned down, gather around the wreckage of ambulance to celebrate all of their birthdays and embracing the year The Ripper will return. This year it is their sixteenth birthday, and each teen is being killed off one by one. Has one of the teens inherited Abel Plankov’s murderous soul, or has the actual Riverton Ripper returned? Fear ye The Ripper!

I personally find My Soul to Take an EXTREMELY underrated slasher film. The concept is extremely excellent with the idea that one person’s multiple souls can transfer to a newborn’s. The young cast actually fits the part of high schoolers, and they are all very well acted. Granted there could have been much better character development. The best acting comes from our lead Max Theroit as Bug, Emily Meade as the vicious Fang, and John Magaro as Bug’s best friend Alex. The script was written by Wes Craven himself, and has some great setting in the woods. I’m a huge sucker for woods scenes in horror, and it delivers these scenes excellently. There is also a great amount tension and suspense especially in the last 20 minutes. Another scene that I hear a lot of favoritism about is the scene where Bug and Alex present their class project of the California Condor. I really have no idea why this movie is hated so much, but it is definitely one of the most underrated horror films I’ve ever seen.

PS, love this trailer, has one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite bands in it. Love horror trailers with a good rock song in it.

To buy My Soul to Take: My Soul to Take (DVD)

Share:

Tim’s Slasher Tweet Review: “Cabin Fever” (2003)

Slasher Studios*Slasher Tweet Review

Tonight we have another tweet by tweet review from our guest twitter reviewer Tim Schilling! As you may know, we are just started a new feature here at Slasher Studios: tweet-by-tweet reviews. The idea behind the concept: We take a movie and give you a running commentary through twitter. After the film is done, we will post the review over here at Slasher Studios. Tonight Tim will be looking at one of my personal favorites, the highly underrated gorefest “Cabin Fever.” Does it deliver the goods for Tim? Let’s find out….

Thoughts before the film:
It’s been WAY too long since I’ve watched this movie.

Thoughts while watching:
0:06 …I forgot that was a boy…
0:11 You’re in the house for two seconds hot damn wait a minute.
0:12 Permanent friend zoned.
0:16 How does someone even crawl that fast!?
0:20 “Yes it is you fucking slut!”
0:36 Goes canoeing fully clothed and doesn’t even get wet yup.
0:48 How was this movie not nominated for best original score? Oh yeah, it’s horror.
1:10 Dog :(
1:21 Let’s go back in time and give #CabinFever a nomination for best score.

Overall:
#CabinFever one of the best scores I have ever heard from a movie, actually realistic for a horror movie, and perfect dark comedy/80s feel.

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

Share:

Light on Thrills, Heavy on Cheese: “Hard to Die” (1990) Review

Slasher StudiosHard to Die

I have been trying to write this damn review for over a week now and most of that time I have been staring at a blank page. How do I review a “film”, using that term loosely here, with the barest of plot and the barest of breasts? Screw character development, we’ve got boobs! If this movie succeeds at being a “bad” b-movie should I give it a passing grade or should the movie be “more” than that? What makes the perfect “bad” horror movie? What makes a good-bad horror movie work when a bad-bad horror movie doesn’t? I asked myself these questions at least a dozen times before coming up with some answers. Fuck it! I had a good time with this terrible B-film and God help me, I’m going to recommend it to everyone! Consider yourself warned!

“Hard to Die” (also known as “Tower of Terror”) begins as a “group of beautiful women get set to experience the most horrifying night of their lives- trapped in a deserted skyscraper, with a crazed killer at their heels. Soon their innocent overtime duty becomes an action-filled evening of terror and suspense- yet they choose to defy the odds and fight back…. Trading fear for firepower in a high stakes, all-out fight to the death. It’s female Die Hard full of thrilling stunts and explosive action!”

I’ll be the first to admit that I lifted that plot description straight from the box of the VHS box. If that doesn’t sell the movie, what does? What doesn’t that description mention? What’s actually the bulk of the movie. We have an evil monkey puzzle box that’s taken over the soul of one of the girls at ACME lingerie. Who is possessed and can the other girls stop the “possessed one” in time? Sounds like your kind of movie yet? Well, if that isn’t enough for you how about great B-movie actresses like Debbie Dutch as Jackie, the red head with the big breasts who hates elevators, delivering lines like “It’s a DEATH trap!” Get ready to laugh every time someone shrieks a line like “YOU SCARED THE SHIT OUTTA ME!” Get ready to cringe at the fact that Orville Ketchum (the crazy neighbor next door from “Sorority House Massacre II”) WILL. NOT. DIE. Do you like girls with big breasts getting naked with over-the-top humor with little to no gore? This movie is for you.

This is the only movie I can think of that introduces IMPORTANT characters mere minutes before the end credits. It’s a mess but an entertaining mess nonetheless. Speaking of a mess, I’m sorry if this review is a bit of a mess. It really is just a series of random ideas with lots of enthusiasm and a lot of heart. Funny…that pretty much sums up “Hard to Die.” This is the kind of bad movie that KNOWS it’s a bad movie and when it comes to horror, that makes all the difference in the world.

Share:

Slasher Studios Horror Webcast: “The Evil Dead” Trilogy

Slasher Studios*Slasher Studios Podcast

This week on Slasher Studios Webcast, our hosts Kevin Sommerfield and Steve Goltz will be taking on the immortal Evil Dead series directed by the one and only Sam Raimi. How well does the original stand up 30 years later? Which of the third films is our personal favorite? What are some of the secrets behind the scenes of each of the productions? Make sure to listen in Sunday night at 10PM central to find out all the gory details!! Let open up this Book of the Dead! Click on the link below to listen in live or to listen to an archive of a previous show:

Slasher Studios Horror Webcast

Share:

Tim’s Slasher Tweet Review: “Severed” (2002)

Slasher StudiosSevered

Four brand new tweet by tweet reviews in one week? If anyone can to it, it’s our guest twitter reviewer Tim Schilling! As you may know, we are just started a new feature here at Slasher Studios: tweet-by-tweet reviews. The idea behind the concept: We take a movie and give you a running commentary through twitter. After the film is done, we will post the review over here at Slasher Studios. Tonight we take a look at the ultra low budget “Severed.” Is it a diamond in the rough or is there a reason why it is forgotten. Let’s dig in!

Synopsis:
A ritualistic serial killer is beheading victims all over a city, and those surrounding the case are pulled into his world as they try and stop him.

Thoughts before the film:
2/3 good movies outta this $5 walmart 8 pack so far, make it 3/4 good ones!

Thoughts while watching:
0:01 I think this movie was filmed on a cell phone camera…
0:04 In a parking lot alone with nothing around, you don’t see or hear someone walking up to you?
0:07 That’s the second time they had the sound effect of a car turning on…The car was already on.
0:09 “he pulled a dumbo.” What does that mean?
0:13 Somehow there were like two opening scenes. Is that possible? Opening credits just now.
0:14 The music isn’t really horror film music, more mystery.
0:22 Completely changing plots 20 minutes in is cool I guess.
0:24 I can’t seeeeee, lighting is a good thing when you’re not trying to be in the dark
0:43 “Then it started every couple of days. If you do the math, that’s one body a day.” Even I’m better at math than that.
0:48 This movie has the worst lighting I have ever seen.
0:55 I’m not gonna make it through the whole movie…
1:01 Oh god that guy’s face was actually terrifying.
1:03 They literally have been running down the road and doing nothing else for the last two minutes.
1:20 One of the few things this movie has got going is that the killer is actually really creepy looking.
1:21 And this movie over uses the color red unlike the other movies in this 8 pack who rape the color blue…

Overall:
#Severed was more of a crime film than anything. Beyond terrible lighting and editing, but I did like the voodoo idea with the killer.

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

Share:

Tim’s Slasher Tweet Review: “Children of the Living Dead” (2001)

Slasher Studios*Slasher Tweet Review

Today we have for you slasher fans the tweet by tweet review that started it all: Children of the Living Dead. Have you seen this craptastic modern classic? If so we feel sorry for you but who doesn’t love a good-bad horror movie? Especially one that includes zombies and really bad effects. Big thank you to Tim Schilling for taking the bullet for us on this film. Please note that there are no minute marks as this twitter review has written before we started this feature on the website.

Let the horror begin…

Tim’s thoughts while enduring Children of the Living Dead:

Oh man.,. Here we go. I didn’t make it half way through the first time I tried to watch this.

I’ll still love Tom Savini no matter how bad this movie is gonna be.

That blue filter was annoying as hell.

According to #ChildrenOfTheLivingDead, zombies don’t eat kids…?

How is this supposed to be a direct sequel if the zombies don’t even act the same?

The dialog is matching the actors’ lips 1% of the time.

Lololol how does a zombie get stuck in a barn for 14 years!?

I hate calling someone else’s movie bad… But this is terrible.

I’m not sure which of the 43 plots I should be following.

Why does this zombie sound like a hyena?

Killed a dog, don’t like this movie.

That dog was a stuffed animal. What was this budget, $100?

I see you sneaky cameraman.

“Don’t make contact with their teeth.” why don’t you just say don’t get bit?

Where did hyena zombie go?

Oh no he’s alive still… Don’t make a sequel PLEASE.

Overall:
I truly hate calling a movie bad, but #ChildrenOfTheLivingDead was just terrible, and I’ll leave it at that. *hyena zombie noise*

Zombies are still fucking awesome though.

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

Share: