Drew On Movies #19: Night of The Hell Hamsters (2006)

Night of the Hell Hamsters (2006)

Re-read that title once or twice and tell me you would not watch a movie with a title like that. If you say you wouldn't you have no imagination and no soul.

For some reason imdb.com had this listed under recommendations for me, and after I stopped laughing at the title I checked into it. The film is a short, sixteen minutes with credits, from Britain, and can be found on youtube. Being the curious person that I am, I gave it watch and while it was nothing special, it certainly lived up to what the title promised- a silly little horror short about killer hamsters.

Plot

The plot is quite simple, a young baby-sitter is visited by her boyfriend who has brought her something she has been begging for- a Ouija board. Unfortunately, he has intentionally forgotten the board so they can instead partake in what teenagers in this situation are expected to do. However the baby-sitter, Julie, played by Stephanie Ratcliff, is adamant, and rather then give up, she makes a mock up board out of one of her young charges alphabet puzzle and an empty shot glass. Her boyfriend Karl, played by Paul O'Neill, provides the final ingredient- blood from a bite given to him by one of the children's pet hamsters. A quick made up summoning speech is made, and as to be expected, the two wind up summoning something they shouldn't have- a something that decides to possess the pet rodents. You know what comes next.

Thoughts

Right off the bat, this movie is silly- it involves possessed hamsters killing people- you are not getting an Oscar quality flick here. That said, it is well shot- while not professional by any means, it could easily pass for an independent b-movie on the cinematography alone. Likewise, the cast, which is essentially the couple, are well acted- they play the parts of a teenage baby-sitter and her boyfriend as those roles are want to be played in a b-movie; not perfect by any means but enjoyable. The script is tight, sticking with cliches and movie quotes that tie in with the scenario, and an interesting twist at the end that while not spectacular just added to the film's charm. If this were to become a full length film I'd definitely watch it, because there is enough humor to be built upon and it'd be interesting to see how far it can go. However as a short it works, because it fits nicely into the genre it is a part of- it's funny, it's bloody, and it's cheesy. Hell, where else are going to hear the line "guinea pigs ate your mother?" and have it make perfect sense? That's what I thought.

Conclusion

I love bad movies, I love b-movies, I love cheesy movies- they are my bread and butter and I'd much rather watch them then some of the quote 'good' movies that are out there for one simple reason- heart. More often then not, it's the low budget b-movies that are made with the most heart, because they don't have much else to work with. They may not have the money, the cast, or the effects but they have a dream, a vision, and the drive to get it done one way or another, and that is something I respect. That said, it is killer possessed hamsters killing teenagers-if you don't know what to expect going in then you are a fool. Sit back, relax, and have some laughs for fifteen-sixteen minutes. It can't hurt, certainly not as much as the bite of an evil demon hamster.

3.5 Homemade Ouija boards out of 5

That's all out of me, until next we meet I'm the Drew and I Be Awesome

If you want to check out the flick here are the links (it's in two parts for some reason)

part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdcQ7lBro0s
part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcZIY9d6TNk&feature=related

Drew On Movies #16: Casey Jones (2011)

Casey Jones (2011)

Let me get one thing out right off the bat, pun intended- I LOVE the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I grew up in the glory days of Turtle-mania, watched the 80s cartoon, loved it, read the comics, love them, watched and own the first two movies, still love them (the third... let's not go there shall we) and owned the toys, almost all of which are still in boxes in my basement. I watched the new cartoon in the 2000s and loved it, and even enjoyed the TMNT movie.

So you could say I'm a fan.

Earlier this week I watched The Blockbuster Buster do a review of a short film that immediately peeked my interest- a fan made film about the Turtles sport loving vigilante pal Arnold 'Casey' Jones. The review was good and got me interested to check the film out, and low and behold, you can watch it for free on the filmmakers website(link below) which I did tonight, and let me tell you, as a fan of the character this was something I can appreciated.

As with my previous short film review I'll keep this short so as to not spoil the film too much. The story concerns a violent young man in New York's Lower East side, Casey Jones, played by Hilarion Banks. Casey gets kicked off his local hockey team for violent behavior, such as knocking his own cousin out after the other man mouths off a little too much to him. Casey returns home to his mother's apartment, attacking a young man painting graffiti outside along the way. That night while cleaning the youth's work off the building, Casey runs afoul of the punk's friends- members of the Purple Dragon street gang led by Dragon Face, played by Brian Villalobos. Casey attempts to fight the goons off but is over powered and left bleeding. His mother shows concern but tells him the streets belong to the criminals now and she is ready to leave, something that Casey will not allow, and so he begins to get in shape and prepare to clean up the streets his own way. With his trademark hockey mask and sport bag of weapons, Casey sets out to confront the gang and whoever else gets in his way, including some dangerous ninjas called The Foot, although he gets some help from some very familiar faces along the way.

As this is an independent/fan film, certain elements can be forgiven for not looking perfect, although I won't reveal just what as it would ruin some of the film. Regardless, once you remind yourself that this is low budget you can forgive the film and enjoy it. You can also tell this was a labor of love made by someone who not only loves the character but the franchise as well. The familiar characters such as Casey, his cousin Sid, news reporter April O'Neil and others are all well acted and fit with the established characterizations- they don't try to change them, and this is to the films credit, as we know these characters well enough that we immediately connect with them. Casey himself is well written and played, as Banks has elements of Elias Koteas's Casey from the first Ninja Turtles movie both in appearance and attitude, so if one were to remove certain plot elements this really could be a prequel of sorts to the original film. This is actually quite a feat as it would likely have been easier to just make the film stand alone but the filmmakers obviously knew enough and cared enough to connect it with the continuity we know.

Honestly, the film's biggest flaws are those we could easily expect, as stated earlier- certain effects cement this as a fan made film, but again, I can forgive this. Beyond that, the only other issues I could find would be fan gripings, and the main one has likely been brought up in a number of other reviews so I won't waste my breath here. It's a slight change but eh, the movies changed stuff from the comics and the cartoons did as well- the basics are still there and that is what matters. The characters, especially Casey himself, are exactly as they should be, and that's the best one can ask for.

All in all, both as a fan of the TMNT universe and as a film fan in general, I enjoyed this film. It's not perfect, but hell, it was a whole lot better the Ninja Turtles 3, and likely cost a lot less. If you are a fellow Turtle fan looking for a good albeit violent film to kill thirty minutes watching, check it out.

4 Blood-drenched Pizza's out of 5

That's all out of me, until next time I'm The Drew and I Be Awesome.

Check out the Blockbuster Buster on http://blockbusterbuster.angelfire.com/ and www.thatguywiththeglasses.com
Check out the movie on www.caseyjonesthemovie.com

Drew On Movies #15: Aftermath (1994)

Aftermath (1994)

One of the joys I've discovered with Netflix is that it seems to have a very varied selection of movies and television series. Hell earlier in the week I watched the complete series of a show I'd never even heard of but really enjoyed. So it has a way of introducing a person into things they normally would not know. Of course, so do friends, and for the third time in a row, this review comes courtesy of a dear movie loving friend who also send REC and Victim my way.

In keeping with the past two, this film is not your average piece of cinema. It is also a short film, clocking in at a half hour, but that's fine- means there's less work for me to do.

Rather then break things down let's just jump into things. Today's film is a Spanish short from 1994 called Aftermath, which my friend informed me has been called creepy by those she knows who have viewed it. And while I don't disagree, I don't think creepy is the right word for it.

I'd use graphic.

The film has no dialogue, which adds to the atmosphere as the visuals do all the talking. It's after hours in the morgue, and the last two morticians are working on some corpses. I say working on because I don't really know what else to call it. One finishes quite quickly and leaves, while the other one, who has been established by his heavy breathing and empty gaze as a bit strange. Left to his own devices, the man pulls out the corpse of a young female car crash victim, and well... They say it takes different kinds of people to move the world, but this guy is a whole other kind of sick, let's put it like that. What he does to this corpses, which he photographs for posterity, defies words. It's sick, nothing else can really be said.

Again, I wouldn't call this creepy, at least as a whole. It has a creepy atmosphere, which is both due to the location- morgues aren't exactly known for being cheery places, the lack of dialogue, and the presence of the mortician. The actor who plays him really pushes the disturbing button- from the first time you see him, you can feel he's not right. Still, beyond that, the word that really comes to mind for this film is graphic- there is a whole lot of blood, organs, full on nudity, and a few things I really won't say here, and you see almost everything- I say almost because a few things are left to the imagination, but we still know what they are and while we may not see it all we hear it, and that's enough.

It is a sick film, but I'm not here to judge it's taste, I'm here to talk about the movie as a whole, and I have to say that it is a decent short film. It's well shot, the use of sound and location really amp up the atmosphere and the lone actor does a great job in his role. One thing I saw in a few reviews I read is the film has no story- this is true, but it's a short film and there doesn't really need to be a full fledged narrative. Really this film is just a quick look at a deranged and sick man and what is likely a typical night for him. That's all you need, and with that in mind I'd say the film succeeds.

That's not to say I recommend this film. Not that I don't, but this realy stretches the bounds of taste. Now I can stomach a lot, and as stated will watch almost anything so for me, this is somewhat tolerable. But for the rest of the film going public this is likely one to skip. Really, if you can handle sick and twisted imagery for a half hour, then give the short a watch. If not, walk away, you aren't missing anything.

3 Blended Hearts out of 5