Film Review: PARTY HARD, DIE YOUNG (2018)

A group of graduates go to a Croatian island for the party of their lives until each of them start getting killed one by one by a masked killer in the slasher film Party Hard, Die Young (2018).  Julia (Elisabeth Wabitsch) and her friends have just graduated and decided to cut it all loose with a bunch of other graduates for a week long party that will define their lives moving forward.  Unfortunately on the first night on the island, while drunk and about to pass out Julia thinks that she saw her best friend abducted by a masked person.  While there is no evidence of her best friend being abducted, something is definitely wrong when a second member of her group suddenly dies.  It’s not long before Julia starts to think that someone is trying to kill the members of her class.

 

Julia soon discovers evidence that one of her classmates is behind the members but it isn’t long until everyone starts to believe that the murders has something to do with an incident that happened in their past and they need to discover who the murdered is before they all end up dead.

 

The film is like a sleeker version of I Still Know You Did Last Summer but not nearly as fun.  The film has some amazing cinematography but lacks anything new that would separate it from other slasher films.  The gore effects are also great and the film is a decent time waster but it isn’t anything that will set it above other slasher films with similar story elements.

Film Review: MAD MUTILATOR (aka OGROFF) (1983)

As bizarre early French horror goes, Mad Mutilator (1983) may be one of the most bizarre that I have ever seen.  Ogroff is a bestial and savage backwoods killer who pretty much kills every person he comes into contact with for no other reason other than they have come across his path.  Women, men, and children alike, they all are on equal footing when it comes to Ogroff.  There is no other plot to this film than that as there are no characters that the audience gets to know through the film.

The gore effects are sub-par as is pretty much everything on this low budget horror film.  For those of you with a curiosity for long forgotten foreign horror films than this film may appeal to you but for generally everyone else this is a completely unnecessary and useless film to even look for much less watch.

The film is written and directed by N.G. Mount, who went on to have a semi-successful career in the ‘90s with such low budget films as Operation Las Vegas (1990), Alien Platoon (1992), Trepanator (1992), and Dinosaur from the Deep (1993),  to name a few, before disappearing completely from the Brooklyn Cop (1998).

FILM REVIEW: JUST BEFORE DAWN (1981)

Five young campers are warned from going into the mountain wilderness by the local forest ranger Roy McLean (George Kennedy) in the ‘80s horror gem JUST BEFORE DAWN (1981).  The young campers are just trying to enjoy the weekend while also surveying the new property that one of them now owns but they soon run afoul of some locals and a killer that will protect and kill anyone that comes into his territory.  Now they must keep their wits and find a way off the mountain before they all become victims.

Jeff Lieberman directs and writes (with Mark Arywitz from a story by Jonas Middleton) this suspense filled horror film.  Lieberman’s other films include the popular SQUIRM, BLUE SUNSHINE, and SATAN’S LITTLE HELPER.  The film is very typical of other ‘80s horror films and has some creative kills but most memorable is the twist that comes halfway in the film that audiences aren’t expecting.

Kennedy is great as the “voice of reason” who tries to warn the campers and he’s given lots to work with as he returns during the third act.  Kennedy was a horror film fixture of the ‘80s with such cult films as CREEPSHOW 2, THE UNINVITED, THE TERROR WITHIN, DEMONWARP, and DEATH SHIP, to name a few.

JUST BEFORE DAWN isn’t one of the greatest horror films of the ‘80s but Lieberman crafted a film with ambition and therefore is an easily digestible time-waster.

Film Review: KILLER MERMAID (2014)

Monsters come in all shapes and sizes but it’s a rare treat when it comes in the form of a mermaid or better known as a Nymph (2014) also known by its US title of Killer Mermaid (original title Mamula).  Kelly and Lucy (Kristina Klebe and Natalie Burn, respectfully) are two Americans on a Mediterranean vacation catching up with old friends when a trip to an abandoned military base turns deadly when they discover that someone is feeding a creature trapped in a well deep in the bowels of the structure. 

The closer they come to discovering the dark secrets that have been left hidden the more danger they find themselves in as Kelly and Lucy and her friends are picked off one by one not just by a deranged killer but also a creature that can lure men to their deaths while playing on their wildest fantasies.

Despite having a very predictable story structure there is great millage that comes from the exotic local and the actual location itself is rich with atmosphere and production value.  What could have easily been a derivative killer monster movie is something a bit more especially when adding in local legends and background in Nazi Germany (they always make for good villains).

Mina Sablic is the Creature otherwise known as a mermaid and she is represented in a very traditional way especially as a siren to call men to their dooms and to change into a deadly creature that devours them as well.  The only problem is that the CGI for the film is sub-par and laughable in many parts.  The first two-thirds do a good job of building up the film which is then rendered laughable by the CGI effects.  This aspect of the film will ruin it for most as most horror fans have grown tired of the bad CGI in films and therefore this film will be easily forgotten as well.

Film Review: PSYCHO SANTA (2003)

The DV feature Psycho Santa (2003) is one of many brain-dead Santa slasher films trying to copy the infamous Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) but fails at every turn due to the low (or “no”) budget and sub-par production values. 

A couple is on their way to a friend’s Christmas party when one of them decides to tell the other several stories about a crazed psycho who has killed people repeatedly in the neighborhood.  Unfortunately, the stories that are told are conventional of every other slasher film making them uninteresting.  This style is an attempt to mask the fact that this is a simple anthology film with the same killer Santa killing different people each episode.  This could have worked if not for the weak stories and even weaker performances by generally the entire cast.  There isn’t a solid performance in the bunch.

This is a slog of a film to get through (if you even do) and it is a reminder of the early ‘00s when anyone and everyone decided that they were going to be a film-maker simply because they could acquire the means to do so cheaply.  The film is written and directed by Peter Keir (who has only directed one other film) and it is his debut feature and it shows as he makes all the mistakes of a novice director – weak script, bad direction of actors, uninspired cinematography, and the list goes on.  If there is one thing to recommend the film for is that it has plenty of female nudity (if that’s all you need in your “z”-grade horror film).

You’d be “psycho” to watch Psycho Santa.

Film Review: JACK’S BACK (1988)

It seems that there is a new serial killer in the Los Angeles area and he’s modeling his kills after the infamous Jack the Ripper killings from a hundred year ago.  This is the premise for the thriller Jack’s Back (1988) which stars James Spader as twin brothers John and Rick Wesford.  It seems that Rick’s brother John committed suicide and was the new Jack the Ripper serial killer.  This isn’t possible as Rick had a nightmare of this brother being hanged by an unknown man; he believes that his brother was killed and framed and will stop at nothing to find the person responsible.  He finds help in a co-worker of his brother by the name of Chris Moscari (Cynthia Gibb) and together they seek to discover the truth before the cops and the real killer get a hold of Rick. 

Jack’s Back is a tight mystery and suspense thriller with a strong yet subtle performance by Spader (which he was known for in the ‘80s and early ‘90s).  There is not much differentiation between the two brothers but that okay because even this early in his career Spader has an undeniable star presence and carries the whole film.  Written and directed by Rowdy Herrington this is a concise and straight forward thriller (similar to his Striking Distance – 1993 and A Murder of Crows – 1998).

This film ages better than most thrillers of this time period as Jack the Ripper is always a topical subject for films but it lacks the wham-bang punch of more modern thrillers (which I actually like the film more for) and may seem more passé to modern audiences.  Regardless, it remains a gem of Spader’s earlier exploits as an actor and that right there elevates it above the other cannon fodder.