Slash-Mess Day Twelve: The Taint (2010)

We reach the critical mass of Slash-Mess with a brilliant Australian entry, The Taint (2012).

What if Lloyd Kaufman (Toxic Avenger, Poultrygeist) directed Cabin Fever (2002)? What if Shaun Of The Dead (2006) was directed by a misogynistic, survival horror fan like Tobe Hooper (original Texas Chainsaw Massacre)? What if the The Driller Killer (1976) had a large cast and a disturbing sense of humor? What if H.G. Lewis shot Gruesome Twosome (1967) with a respectably sized crowd-funded budget in 2010?

These burning questions and more are all answered the full-throttle, Richmond, VA. made hu-mon apocalypse movie, The Taint (2010) the final film of this unholy holiday of Slash-Mess.

Critics hate it. The people love it. It's everything that is right with horror movies and it's fun. The shocking use of special effects and practicals remind you that you are watching a horror movie and not groan-mantic comedy dressed up as a horror film like Twilight or the even less watchable True Blood series on cable television.

The score is solid cheese, aged since the 1980's when it was created by Kraftwerk, and given new life today like a aerobics class full of zombies being led by a badly decomposed and upbeat Richard Simmons. It's Shaun Of The Dead with bigger balls and less coherence. Your ol' pal The Sleaze-A-Saurus highly recommends this film and rates it with four outta a possible four manling skulls.

References:
IMDb, The Taint (2010)
The Taint, Official Site
Planet Terror, The Taint (2010)
Tony's Trash Cinema, Taint (2010)

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Slash-Mess Day Eleven: Zombie 108 (2012)

The Zombie Apocalypse strikes Taiwan and all beautiful women survive? That settles it. I'm moving!

What is more infectious than zombie movies? They are being made in Cuba (Juan Of The Dead), The UK (Shaun Of The Dead, The Horde) and even Norway (Snow Dead) by the dozen but the genre actually started as an American production with White Zombie (1932) referencing Haiti's "zombo" and witchcraft related phenomena.

Today, not to be left behind, Taiwan has produced their own modern gem called Zombie 108 (2012). This movie features all the best from it's recent predecessors plus adds the one of the most incredibly sexy creatures on Planet Earth - the long-haired, long legged, brown-eyed, Yvonne Yao.

She is truly beautiful to look upon. And to make this movie even more appealing she is not alone in the beauties featured through out Zombie 108!

The concept of the Asian Woman is long lusted after in the West. Hu-mon males in the Western Hemisphere are known to greatly desire attractive asian females for her physical perfection, thoughtful obedience, willingness to please, trim figure, delicate bearing and rich inner tapestry of emotions. This is a syndrome called "Yellow Fever" and - it is not always fatal.


Winner of the Most Attractive (and also edible) Female Hu-mon for 2012 - the comely Yvonne Yao.

Now, let's do the math. Yellow Fever plus Zombie Fever (fatal) = underground hit!

In this film, the zombie virus strikes the over-populated heart of Taipei already boiling over with a population of 6.9 million people. The Taiwanese Army and SWAT teams attempt to oversee an evacuation but repeatedly fail against the enormous tide of undead, Mad Max styled thugs and good old human panic.

Caught in the middle is Yvonne Yao and her daughter Chloe. They have managed to survive streets and supermarkets full of hungry zombies only to find other survivors that have been maddened by the zombie related-events.

They take refuge in the once trendy, outlying neighborhood of Ximending where a gang of criminals that control the city don't want the police involved in their sanctuary. They are more than happy sniffing mountains of coke off of the trim, naked bodies of dozens of dark haired china dolls. And you know? Who on Earth would blame them?

These gangs attack the police and the military but when both find themselves under attack by zombies there is an alliance as they try and escape from the worst of the zombie plague.

A very interesting, raw feature film directorial debut by Joe Chien who is inventive even in the increasingly "tired" zombie genre. This movie has many good qualities and performances that have made it stand out in this genre.

References:
IMDb, Zombie 108 (2012)
Wikipedia, Taipei
Yvonne Yao.com, Official Actress Blog
Horror Talk, Zombie 108 Review

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Slash-Mess Day Ten: Grave Encounters (2011)

Do you wanna see something really scary? Really? Press play. Once.

Horror movies posing as documentaries are nothing new in Hollywood. For the past two decades film makers have been eager to capitalize on utilizing this genre within a genre as horror masquerading as "found footage" (see REC, Quarantine, Blair Witch Project)^[0]. This is an accessible method of creating a sense of credibility then immediately bypassing the audience's ever-present skepticism.

This Vicious Brothers movie (funded by Tribeca Film) features Lance Preston (Sean Rogerson) and the crew of "Grave Encounters", a Ghost Hunters type of reality television show, who plan to shoot an episode inside the spooky ol' abandoned Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital.

"American horror films have become increasingly safe and predictable.... the genre isn't taken seriously anymore. Our intention was to take things back to a time when horror films didn't play by the rules."

- The Vicious Brothers.

Collingwood is reputedly a place where unexplained phenomena has been reported for years since it's closing. In the name of Must-See-TV the crew locks themselves inside the building for a night to begin a paranormal investigation by capturing everything on camera.

The production crew quickly realizes that the building is more than just haunted - it's alive - and it has no intention of ever letting them leave.

In 2012, a significantly worse film written by The Vicious Brother was released as a sequel this time directed by John Poliquin as his feature length directorial debut. Poliquin's version focused on a younger crowd but used many of the same spooky special effects and style that made the first movie so entertaining.

Creatively entitled Grave Encounters 2 (2012), the sequel followed a group of spoiled teenagers, who had seen the original film, and were inspired to visit Collingwood to investigate for themselves. Yet the malicious force from the first film was all but gone very much like Blair Witch, Texas Chainssaw Massacre and Friday The 13th and their sequels - progressively watered down versions of what was once a scary and original idea.

Notes:[0] = Film makers do this in order to get around traditional conventions that horror movies (Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street) get deeply mired in. As an unintended consequence of obeying genre dogma - so do horror movie audiences.

References:
IMDB, Grave Encounters (2011)
Vicious Brothers, Hard Line
Horror Movie Blog, Grave Robbers Inc.

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Slash-Mess Day Seven: Bong Of The Dead (2009)

Genre confusion reigns supreme as Cheech and Chong meets The Evil Dead.

Genre confusion reigns supreme in red showers of zomboid blood as Weedsploitation (Super High Me, Dazed And Confused, Half-Baked) meets survival horror (Resident Evil, Night Of The Living Dead, The Walking Dead) in Bong Of The Dead (2009). Thomas Newman's British Columbia based Mind In Motion Inc.'s terrific short concerns two post-Apocalyptic stoners and their desperate search for the most excellent weed fertilizer known to man: rotting zombie brains. What else, eh?

At last, pathetic hu-mon brains are good for something!

Along the way, the two hapless and frantically jonesin' hipsters meet up with the spunky and adorable Simone Bailey (Battle Star Gallactica and Stargate SG-1). The trio sets out to the "Danger Zone" in order to harvest a bongload of brains.

This inventive cliche exploiting movie is being actively marketed and distributed with aa grass roots campaign that allows individual theaters, galleries and night clubs to book the film!

References:
IMDB, Bong Of The Dead (2009)
Mind In Motion Inc., Official Site
Bong Of The Dead, Official Site

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Slash-Mess Day Six: Fire And Ice (1983)

The creator of the first X-rated cartoon and the master of all comic arts create Fire And Ice (1983).

A cartoon on the 'Blender? And during the unholy holiday of Slash-Mess!?! WTF... Unprecedented! But, yes, it is true O scale-less manlings. The Sleaze-A-Saurus has an unquestionable rationale for posting Fire and Ice (1983)... Two of 'em actually. Two 1970's era art masters.

First, may I present to you, Mr. Ralph Bakshi. Bakshi is the infamous director and animator of underground classics including Heavy Metal, Wizards and the world first X-rated cartoon, Fritz The Cat. His work was at once breath-taking in it's artistry and also disturbing due to the heavy amounts of brutal inhuman violence, nudity and an obvious irreverence for Establishment thought.

Bakshi's leadership and vision is emblematic of the creator driven, original approach that has shaped so much entertainment today. In animation, The Simpsons and Ren and Stimpy are the result of one man's personal drive to realize an original idea. This is definitely not the case with mainstream animation as Disney and Warner Brothers idea is to create a uniform product with a broad appeal - a cookie cutter approach devoid of substance. It is an approach to animation that has dominated the entertainment industry for 100 years outside of indie or underground animation.

The second master artist involved in Fire and Ice was the late Mr. Frank Frazetta. Frazetta became a legend in his own lifetime for his brilliant work and prolific output. His art in comics, illustration and fine art is unparalelled. His attention to detail and ferocity of his subject matter has contributed to the art form. Frazetta's work raised comics and illustration up to a level not outside the scope of fine art.

Due to Frazetta's original, fine arts driven and action oriented approach to comics and art there are wave after wave of incredible artists working in the mainstream comics industry after he blazed a trail to prove that unusual and original work can find a broad following.

Please, scaleless manlings, enjoy the culmination of these two masters collaboration in... Fire and Ice!

References:
IMDB, Fire And Ice (19830
Wikipedia, Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta Museum, Home

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Slash-Mess Day Five: Warm Bodies (2013)

Rockers L7 predicted the zombie apocalypse and zombie parodies. I snack you not.

Rob Corddry and John Malkovitch co-star in Warm Bodies (2013) an excellent, original zombie parody due in theaters in February of 2013. This flick comes from an adaptation of Isaac Marion's novel of the same name, Warm Bodies. The book and movie both feature the central character "R" (as in "Arrrrr!") a self-aware zombie who falls in love with a human girl.

"R" played by Nicholas Hoult who played Beast in X-Men First Class (2011) and is also cast as Beast in the next X-Men movie, Days of Future Past due out in 2014, stars as the self-aware and conflicted zombie. Breaking with traditional lore "R"'s love for human woman may be the "cure" for zombies worldwide and not just a hunger pang. Love conquers all and that rot?

Nevertheless, Warm Bodies tears into the cheesy, incredibly bad genre of supernatural romances aimed at 'tweens, tools and spinsters such as the awful Twilight series and spoofs love, life, and eating brains.

This horror movie parody genre is an extremely exploitable genre with not enough notable entries. Shaun Of The Dead (2004) and The Bare Wench Project (1999) being the most popular and original takes on this all too serious genre.

References:
IMDB, Warm Bodies (2013)
Isaac Marion.com, Books
Facebook, Isaac Marion

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Slash-Mess Day Four: The Intruder (1989)

This late 80's slasher film gives "Lost In Super Market" a whole new meaning.

AKA "Night of the Intruder", "Bloodnight" and "Night Crew: The Final Checkout", The Intruder has come to us much like Return of The Living Dead and Night Of The Comet - a precious relic of 1980's American culture where hair was big and the good times - well, they were even bigger.

This slasher is set in a grocery store and tag-lined with "A new dimension in terror". The movie is notable due to the fact that it's the directorial debut of Scott Spiegel, the co-writer of Evil Dead 2 and features both Raimi brothers as super market employees.

Spiegel wrote and directed The Intruder as his first major Hollywood feature and, learning from Sam Raimi's example, was not afraid to bring out the gore and excellent bloody effects - including a mid-skull decapitation with a beautifully made practical!

This approach to horror would become a trademark on his next pictures including: From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999) and Hostel III (2011).


Heads up, people! I'm fresh outta Excedrin and I got a headache this big.

The Intruder is more of an effects movie surrounded by a lot of suspicious giallo styled plot. Bruce Campbell cameos as a cop, Sam Raimi appears as "Randy" and Ted Raimi (Sam's brother later be featured in Xena and Raimi's first Spider-Man) appears in the film as "Produce Joe". Emilio Estevez's sister and Martin Sheen's daughter Renée Estevez stars as Linda.

The Intruder has some decent scares, imaginative effects and rises above a lot of 80's slashers one-dimensional approach to serial killer flicks.

References:
IMDB, The Intruder (1989)
Wikipedia, The Intruder (1989 film)
Lost Highway, The Intruder
Girl Who Loves Horror, The Intruder

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Slash-Mess Day Three: ATM (2012)

Phone Booth versus Blair Witch? All I can say is: it was about time.

It's no secret that your old pal the Sleaze-A-Saurus loves it some Survival Horror. By the ten-fold eyes of the Sky Demon - he also loves him some Pseudo Documentaries, too! Any pathetic hu-mon running for it's life in confined spaces and on grainy first-person camera is more than acceptable for your supreme galactic Overlord's amusement! Indeed it is.

To get ATM (2012), take the rawness of The Blair Witch (1996) and add classic b-movie writer and director Larry Cohen's^[0] superb script for Phone Booth (2002). Now, we have something most interesting - something called ATM. Angry Torture Mechanism, from what I gather...

Taglined "No warning. No control. No escape." the movie begins deceptively slow with three yuppie hu-mon friends returning from a fine old time out on the town. The small group finds themselves in a regular type, glass-enclosed bank ATM late at night. From inside the structure, they quickly find themselves targeted by a mysterious hooded figure who has sprung out of the darkness.

The mundane and ordinary falls away as the three yuppoids fight for their very lives in the condensed world of a small 10x15 glass-enclosed structure where the majority of the movie is set, much like Phone Booth before it.

The acting from Brian Geraghty (David), Alice Eve (Emily) and Josh Peck (Corey) moves from standard to flawless. The script they work from sings as a result. I am forbidden to reveal to you the full extent of the twists and turns in this very SAW-like film which potentially is already in sequel negotiations as of this article's publication date.

ATM is based on a story by Ron Tippe and developed into a script by Chris Sparling. The feature was directed by David Brooks.

NOTES:
[0] = Larry Cohen has written dozens of hit horror movies including: The Stuff (1985), Q (1984), Maniac Cop 2 (1990) and part 3 (1993). He's also written It's Alive four times starting in 1974 and re-written it for a new movie in 2008.

References:
IMDB, ATM (2012)
Wikipedia, ATM (film)

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Slash-Mess Day Two: A Lonely Place To Die (2011)

This Scottish "Deliverance" themed movie is even scarier than the American version.

This disturbing, independent Scottish film made by the British Gilbey Brothers starts slow but quickly gets serious. A Lonely Place To Die (2011) is a beautifully shot yet disturbing film released in the USA by IFC Films after a very successful run in the United Kingdom.^[0]

In it, a group of mountaineers hike miles into the lonely Scottish Highlands. They scramble across deep ravines, sheer cliffs and lush valleys before running into an even more life-threatening scenario. As the group climbs hundreds of feet up and down winding wildlands facing jagged rock faces that soar into the sky they encounter murderous madmen and a small child who seems to be their quarry!

The cinematography for the movie is astounding and panoramic. This is made all the more remarkable due to the fact that the camera men and crew were often required to scale even greater heights than the actors themselves climbed!

A Lonely Place To Die stars Australian actress Melissa George as Alison, a member of this mountaineering group that stumbles upon what they take to be strange sets of homicidal human hunters. These hunters appear to have set out well beyond civilization to stalk, shoot and murder random strangers. It is only later in the film that any context (i.e. the kidnapping) is applied to the insane situation. For the duration of the film the group is too busy to rationalize. Instead they ponder why, when or how they will be slaughtered in cold blood at the hands of total strangers led by the icy killer, Mr. Kidd, played by Sean Harris (Prometheus (2012) and the original series The Borgias).


Sean Harris's bone-chilling performance sets a new standard for the term "stone cold killer" as "Mr. Kidd".

While one set of hunters is sniping these unwary hikers ridge by ridge another set of hunters/stalkers is hot on their heels, ready and eager to carve them up. The movie features some very strange Deliverance (1972) styled delirium and rampages by these deranged hunters and their would-be prey.

A Lonely Place To Die also employs a great use of a unique soundtrack to enhance the overall spookiness of this insane situation. All of the performances are unusually good. The actors bring the tension of the scenes to a shocking life.

There's a low animal panic that rises from the beatific start of A Lonely Place To Die and moves quickly into the kill-or-be-killed thrill for these remaining survivors - survivors who are wounded and desperately running for their dear lives through the film.

NOTES:
[0] = A Lonely Place earned a whopping $25 million during in it's theatrical run with production costs coming in at $4 million - a $21 million dollar profit.

References:
IMDB, A Lonely Place To Die (2011)
IMDB, Deliverance (1972)
Wikipedia, Deliverance

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Slash-Mess Day 12: Dr. Jekyll And Sister Hyde (1971)

On the 12th Day of Slash-Mess my true love gave to me - one mixed up movie.

Merry Slash-Mess! On this, the 12th Day of Slash-Mess, the Sleaze-A-Saurus presents: Dr. Jekyll And Sister Hyde (1971).

Oh, unwary manlings! Your so-called "Sexual Revolution" pathetically epitomized your lack of clear identity within your own confused culture. The Sleaze-A-Saurus, being it's own self-contained civilization, scoffs at your befuddled attempts to re-arrange the role of your bifurcated species loins. This self-inflicted confusion has never been more apparent then in Roy Ward Baker's Dr. Jekyll And Sister Hyde (1971).

Dr. Jekyll And Sister Hyde's director was Ray Ward Baker. Baker was something of a legend in his own right which explains his knack for turning B-movie material into a thought-provoking film. Early in his career, Baker worked as an Assistant Director for Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938) before WWII turned vast areas of urban England into war torn rubble.

Baker signed up for the British Army Kinematograph Unit, a news reel production unit - the American Signal Corp being the American counterpart and documented battles against the Nazi's as well as the bombing campaigns in his home country. The experience undoubtedly shaped his future view of humanity as he went onto direct dozens of horror and suspense movies and television shows.

Selected Filmography:
The October Man (1947)
The Weaker Sex (1948)
Paper Orchid (1949)
Morning Departure (1950)
Don't Bother to Knock (1952)
Inferno (1953)
Jacqueline (1956)
Tiger in the Smoke (1956)
The Singer Not the Song (1961)
Quatermass and the Pit (1967)
The Anniversary (1968)
Scars of Dracula (1970)
The Vampire Lovers (1970)
Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971)
Asylum (1972)
The Vault of Horror (1973)

Roy Baker Ward published his memoirs Director's Cut: A Memoir of 60 Years in Filmat the age of 86 in 2002. In October of 2010, Ward reached the end of his remarkable life in London passing away of natural causes.

References:
IMDB, Dr. Jekyll And Sister Hyde (1971)
Wikipedia, Dr. Jekyll And Sister Hyde
Wikipedia, Roy Ward Baker
Imperial War Museum, Roy Ward Baker