Film Review: BARRICADE (2012)

Psychological thrillers that take place with an isolated group of people in a cabin are a dime a dozen (I’m sure you’ve seen a few in your time) and you’ll be forgiven for overlooking the film Barricade (2012).  Terrance Shade (Eric McCormack) is still not over the accidental death of his wife Leah (Jody Thompson) but he’s been thrust into caring for his two young children.  In order to get to know his children better (because taking care of the children was what his wife did best) he takes them to their cabin in the woods where their mother grew up. 

The moment Terrance and his kids get to the cabin he is reminded of his wife and the guilt that he has over her death but that doesn’t scratch the surface of what he is about to be thrust into as he soon begins to think that maybe they are not alone at the cabin and that an outside force may be trying to get inside.  Now Terrance will do whatever it takes to keep his family safe but he’ll have to come to terms with the guilt over his wife and become the father he’s never been in order to not only save and protect his children but himself as well.

In any typical film with this set up I wouldn’t really give it the time of day but this film actually has a really intelligent script by Michaelbrent Collins who manages to always make the film about character instead of the next “jump scare.”  The film hinges on McCormack’s better than expected performance as Terrance, a man with newfound responsibility and journey to becoming a better father.  Directed by Andrew Currie the film has a great look especially when the action shifts to the snow covered landscape of the cabin.    The film betrays its horror film roots by actually continuing to be character driven even when fantasy and reality start to meld together in the third act.

This is one of the better films out there that definitely deserves a look at.

Film Review: HEAD OF THE FAMILY (1996)

The clan of Full Moon Entertainment’s Head of the Family (1996) is very much the same as Tobe Hooper’s Sawyer Clan of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre…only more “PC”.  Myron is the literally the “head” of his family as he is one of a quintuplet that each share the same brain but have different bodies.  Myron (the brains), Otis (the brawn and muscle), Wheeler (the eyes, ears, and smell), and Ernestina (beauty with the body) like to abduct strangers for their own personal experimentation and fun.  When local sleaze Lance (Blake Adams) secretly watches the family in action he decides to capitalize on the family’s misfortune by blackmailing them to make the husband of his mistress Lorretta  (Jacqueline Lovell) disappear. 

Myron doesn’t like being blackmailed and used and will do everything in his power to bring Blake down.  Like the Sawyer clan Myron’s clan each have their own strengths and weaknesses that are used to great effect in the film.  Myron plays a mental chess game with Blake to see who can out smart whom; he uses Ernestina to seduce men at their weakest moments; Wheeler is used to spy on Blake and get information with his super skins and Otis is the muscle that forces himself upon others (he is the Leatherface of the group).  They live in complete obscurity from the rest of the town but instead of cannibals they experiment on the people they abduct.

The film is actually better than expected as the film is anchored by the performances of Adams and Lovell  who have great chemistry with one another for a couple having an affair and Adams and J.W. Perra (as Myron) have equally great chemistry in their scenes.  The makeup effect are great and the film is better than most of the average Full Moon films.  The film also has a whit to it missing from these types of films that are aware of themselves giving it a charm that makes it worth seeking out if you haven’t already seen it.