Film Review: SLEDGEHAMMER (2017)

Original Title of Article: “Violence in Joshua Miller’s SLEDGEHAMMER!”

Originally Published by ScreamFix

If there was ever a film about the dangers of drug use it would be writer/director Joshua Miller’s Sledgehammer (2017).  Yolner (Stephen Miller) is having a bad day.  He is late for work at a construction site because his car is out of gas and he must take the city bus, which he almost misses because the driver forgets to stop for him.  Also, his girlfriend Sibby (Samantha Green) decides to breakup with him over the phone because he is too boring and does not enjoy any of the things she does.

When two co-workers spike his coffee with drugs, he descends into anarchy thinking he is a Nordic God armed with a sledgehammer who must rid the world of generally anyone he comes across.  This leaves killer Yolner on a crazy odyssey of chaos and murder throughout the city with no one able to stop his carnage.

Now, on the surface this might be an interesting idea for a horror film like a warped version of Falling Down (1993) but unfortunately this film lacks all the elements that make that film so enduring.  Yolner is not a very interesting character as he is someone whom you think deserves everything that is happening to him and everyone he kills is so random and haphazard that they just come off as a simple body count of carnage similar to the violence seen in infamous director Uwe Boll’s Rampage trilogy (which I actually do not mind).  Unfortunately, this film decides that because Yolner is on drugs everything needs to be viewed through a drug induced state of CGI filled carnage edited to heavy metal music which if that is what you crave then this is perfectly suited for you.

If you have seen the Neveldine/Taylor directed Crank films then you know that this could have worked out to some amazing advantages but you kind of wish Miller had taken full advantage of the aesthetic. The over use in CGI backgrounds and use of black & white footage for no reason actually take away from the film as does as the side stories of random characters that are not established enough or given any type of back story before they are killed.  Yolner has a great gimmick in the sledgehammer as a weapon of choice and the fact that he comes from the construction job is also inspiring but  once he steps away from all that, the film descends into madness and not always in a good way.

Believable gore effects could have smoothed over the film’s rougher edges but that is lacking as it is done in a cartoony way that after the first few kills it becomes repetitive and less interesting and unfortunately Yolner kills a lot of people so you have to sit through a lot of extraneous cartoon violence.  It is like a Loony Tunes cartoon of violence and depravity which will appeal to some audiences.

One of the bright spots is the use of locations in the film as the sequence where Yolner chases three bike riders across the city streets is quite interesting as is the final sequence that takes place in a rock-climbing quarry.  Some of the film’s best cinematography is used in these sequences which makes you wish that the rest of the film were just as good.

Overall, the best way to truly enjoy this film is to be drugged just like Yolner, which may not necessarily be a bad thing after all.

Film Review: THE COOK (2017)

Original Title of Article: “Snake Handling the film THE COOK!”

Originally Published for ScreamFix.

Writer/director Joshua Miller’s The Cook (2017) is an odd mixture of backwoods slasher movie, drug movie, and religious cult thriller rolled into one.  When his younger sister is hit by a car during a drug infused meltdown, Jim and his other sitter Jena (Jeremy Castaldo and Ashley Pierce Davis, respectfully) hold a party in Morningside Park with a few close friends.  Unbeknownst to them, a religious zealot known to the locals as The Cook (Wade Blevins) is on his own crusade to rid the area of sinners wherever he may find them.   For those he deems worthy, he subjects them to an ordeal where death may be the only way out.  As Jim’s friends slowly disappear through the night, he comes to a personal dilemma of his own which involves his career as an actor in a successful TV soap opera and a possible new love interest Imogen (Amber Tranum), whom Jena does not take an immediate liking to.

 

People are sliced and diced in every direction and in increasingly gory ways (which should appeal to the gore aficionados) as The Cook makes his way through everyone he comes into contact with especially Jena and Imogen, who he takes a liking to and must ultimately see if they are worthy of his attention.  Jim may be the only one that can help them.

 

Now the film starts off with great potential as it has some really amazing cinematography at the beginning to simulate drug induced psychosis which plays into the theme later with The Cook who is suffering some type of PTSD from the way in which he was raised in a religious cult  that uses snake handling as a means to communicate with their God.  The Cook just uses what he learned in his upbringing in more morbid ways to decide who is worthy of his God’s attention.  This artificial psychedelic state is used throughout the film not only to show the mindset of characters (either induced via drug, alcohol, or religious means) but also to create suspense and unease in editing throughout the film.  At times, this works extremely well whereas when it has no purpose it makes the film fall flat.  This is most evident in the scenes when it is used while none of the characters are experiencing mental or psychological instability and when the POV of the video camera (or still camera or security camera) is used when none of that is within the scene; this type of artificial style takes away from the film as it seems out of place and just there for style instead of substance.  There is also an over reliance on over exposed daylight scenes which seem out of place (unless used as a POV for The Cook). 

 

The characters are not uniquely drawn as the required group of backwoods hillbillies and stock slasher film fodder are very present but what does stand out is the well-executed makeup FX which will appease gore fans to no end.  There is a love for ‘80s horror films that is very present here which should entertain the hardcore horror fans and either leave you loving the film or hating it for all its apparent mistakes.