Film Review: BLACK FOREST (2012)

Writer Frank H. Woodward has crafted a very interesting story of fairy-tales coming to life in the film Black Forest (2012).  Ben Cross is Cazmar, a local tourist peddler who takes people into the wild to catch glimpses of fairies and other otherworldly things only most of the tourists never believe him.  On this latest trek he’s assembled a great many people from different backgrounds to go with him including Saxon (Shaffer L’Abidine) who has studied folktales and legends.  Saxon and the unsuspecting tourists get more than they bargained for when one of the members of the group’s newborn baby is stolen by a fairy and they discover that they have crossed over into a fairy-tale land. 

They will need to start believing in the unbelievable in order to rescue the baby and figure out how to survive in a world where the fairy tales they’ve grown up with are all out to kill (or eat) them.  Time is running out for the group as a big bad wolf is also hunting them along with all the other creatures that inhabit the strange land.

Not a bad film considering that fairy-tales are kind of old hat but a lot of the success of the film comes from the very capable ensemble cast which work together to help create the fairy-tale world.  There is also a lot of great production design given to the film and even though the werewolf sequences aren’t the best there is plenty of other great sequences in the film that over shadow this.  Cross is at his most menacingly disturbed yet he always seems to be having fun (and in on the joke) making for an entertaining film.  I kind of wished he had been in the film more.

Not a complete time waster but will provide a pretty entertaining night at the movies even if you forget about it the next day.

Film Review: WRONG TURN VI: LAST RESORT (2014)

The Wrong Turn franchise is now one of longest running modern horror franchises since the 2003 original.  It thrives as straight to DVD/BD/Digital entertainment mixing gore horror with your typical teen slasher aesthetics.  Wrong Turn VI: Last Resort (2014) is the latest in the franchise.

Inbred-hillbilly family of Saw Tooth, One Eye and Three Finger return to menace a new group of people that happen to cross their paths in their forest.  The family now find themselves at a holiday retreat that’s famous for its warm springs and healing abilities and which also holds secrets that are directly associated with the family.  At the same time Danny and his girlfriend Toni (Anthony Ilott and Aqueela Zoll, respectfully) arrive just after Danny discovers that he has inherited the hotel.  With a group of his friends, Danny decides that he really needs to return to the retreat in order to learn who his real family was.  With a new location to hide in One Eye and his brothers have a whole new playground of playmates and new ways to kill.

If you’ve seen any of the previous Wrong Turn films then you know what you’re in for.  The only difference is that the focus has now turned to One Eye and his brothers and extended family as we learn more about their history and where they came from.  Written by Frank H. Woodward and directed by Valeri Milev this film is an improvement over the previous film but still suffers from what’s been plaguing the last few films which is uninspired death scenes (for the diehard gore fans) and the fact that there is no suspense to be had in the film because of the predictability.  To enjoy this film you have to want to know more about One Eye and his family.

The Wrong Turn franchise has run its course but by the way this film ends it is just beginning as the future of the franchise lies in focusing on the hillbilly killing family.