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Category Archives: Films Released in 2009

THE FINAL DESTINATION

Oct 28

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THE FINAL DESTINATION-United States-2009

Bobby Campo as Nick

Shantel VanSanten as Lori

Mykelti Williamson as George

Directed by David R. Ellis

Written by Eric Bress

Based on characters created by Jeffrey Reddick

I can’t sleep in a moving car. If I close my eyes I start to imagine everything from 18 wheelers to locomotives bearing down on the vehicle and sending the driver and I mangled and dismembered to the pearly gates. It’s weird, I know; but it happens. It also serves as a good segue into the movie I’m reviewing today; The Final Destination. This is the fourth film in the series and while it is about the final destination, it is not the Final Destination as there has been one more in the series since then. For those of you keeping score the tally so far has been a big fucking plane crash, a big fucking multi-vehicle interstate pileup and in Final Destination 3 we had a big fucking rollercoaster accident. For The Final Destination the accident du jour is a bad fucking day at the stock car races. We’re talking tires decapitating, metal bisecting, rods impaling, dogs and cats living together mass hysteria. This is of course followed by the seven or so people who were supposed to die meeting horrible ends that are all gross and bloody.

Can you tell that I am running out of things to say about this series of movies? Don’t misunderstand me; the Final Destination movies are a guilty pleasure for me. I love watching these movies and seeing the accidents play out. But there is only so much you can say about the damn things. The Final Destination has to be my least favorite of the series. While the beginning accident was pretty cool, the rest of the deaths were just kind of ‘okay’. Face it; people who watch these movies watch them to see what horrible deaths the writers can come up with for the hapless victims. I say that the best so far have been ‘giant pane of glass becomes giant pain in the ass’ in Final Destination 2 and ‘twin tanning bed barbecue’ in Final Destination 3.

So, this brings to a close my reviews for the Final Destination series. That is until they decide to make a number 6 and I find myself racking my brain for something to say. The bad part is that I’m actually looking forward to it.

TRIVIA

The race track is called “McKinley Speedway” which was the name of the Town, High School and character Ian McKinley (Kris Lemche) in Final Destination 3.

The film’s opening titles recreates death scenes from all three of the previous Final Destination films.

When Nick is driving he pulls up to a sign that causes him to have a premonition, the sign is clearly marked Clear Rivers Water. Clear Rivers was a central character in both Final Destination and Final Destination 2.

The Final Destination series began when Flight 180 crashed in Final Destination. At the race track, the victims are seated in area 180 (as shown on a sign behind them) and the video camera footage briefly shows the number on the screen and a bus in the final scene is clearly marked on the roof as number 180.

The first film in the series where the music was not composed by Shirley Walker, as she passed away in 2006.

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Posted in Films about Death, Films in the Final Destination Series, Films Released in 2009, Movies, Sequels

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THE LOVED ONES

Oct 4

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THE LOVED ONES-Australia-2009

Xavier Samuel as Brent

Victoria Thaine as Holly

Jessica McNamee as Mia

John Brumpton as Daddy

Written and Directed by Sean Byrne

Alright, okay you’re going to have to give me a minute to wrap my brain around this one. There are so many fucking images dancing like maniacs in my head right now. I see the cast of The Breakfast Club and all their screwed-up personalities; I see Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed because he didn’t want to be alone; I see Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles; I see the killer in Wolf Creek; I see Glenn Close and that boiled rabbit in Fatal Attraction. Oh, sweet heaven, I see so many images in my brain and none of them go together and it’s all because I just watched The Loved Ones!

After the death of his father in a car accident that he himself was involved in, Brent (Xavier Samuel, Bait, and Eclipse) retreats into a world of marijuana and heavy metal music. He cuts himself to ease the pain that he feels. His mother, though she loves him, silently blames him for her husband’s death. His girlfriend, Holly (Victoria Thaine), is his only lifeline.

When Lola (Robin McLeavy, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) asks him to the dance, Brent rejects her on the grounds that he is already going with Holly. This is a big mistake on his part because it sets off a chain of events that include kidnapping, hammers, nails, knives and drills and they all find their way into Brent’s body courtesy of Lola and her father (John Brumpton, The Hunter), not to mention hypodermic needles, window cleaner and table salt. Looking back, I can think of a few clichés that fit quite nicely with this film; “You always hurt the ones you love” and “If I can’t have you, then no one can have you” come to the forefront of my brain; the latter a very popular one among psychos and serial killers. You can catalog Lola under psycho; this bitch makes Close in ‘Fatal’ look like Strawberry Shortcake in Sunday school.

I loved this film, it is such a tour-de-force and there are so many references and influences that it’s hard to wrap your brain around all of it. I saw nods to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Wolf Creek, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Fatal Attraction, Jeffrey Dahmer and The Hillside Stranglers. I could probably think of a few more given the time.

After the film was over with I found myself pondering the title. The Loved Ones; why would you title a film that is so psychotic with so sweet a name? Then, thinking back, it came to me; the entire film is about just that: loved ones. There’s Brent and his father, Brent’s mother and Brent, Brent and Holly, Lola and Brent, Lola and her father. The love may be right and true and it may be sociopathic and psychotic, but at the end of the movie it’s still love, sweet bloody love.

The Loved Ones is director Sean Byrne’s feature debut. It’s almost like he worries that he’ll never get another chance. Sean, I can assure you that after this one, there will be plenty more chances.

TRIVIA

Under the instructions of director Sean Byrne, Robin McLeavy prepared for the role of Lola by researching the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, as well as watching Misery, Natural Born Killers and the works of Quentin Tarantino.

½

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THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT

Sep 21

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THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT-United States/Canada-2009

Virginia Madsen as Sara Campbell

Kyle Gallner as Matt Campbell

Martin Donovan as Peter Campbell

Amanda Crew as Wendy

Elias Koteas as Reverend Popescu

Directed by Peter Cornwell

Written by Adam Simon and Tim Metcalfe

“The Haunting in Connecticut” is 102 minutes long. Look on the back of the DVD case and that’s what it says. That’s one hour and 42 minutes in length. That’s not bad; I’ve seen longer movies than that. So, at what I perceived to be the 60-70 minute mark I pushed the display button to see how long the film had left before it was over. I will tell you in all truthfulness that you could have heard the groan that escaped from me in the next county. A mere 23 minutes had elapsed. That is when I realized that this movie is going nowhere fast and that it’s taking its sweet time getting there.

Allegedly based on a true story, “The Haunting in Connecticut” is the story of the Campbell family; Sara (Virginia Madsen, “Candyman”, “The Prophecy”), her son Matt (Kyle Gallner, “A Nightmare on Elm Street“, “Jennifer’s Body”), Matt’s younger brother Billy, cousins Mary and Wendy (Amanda Crew, “Final Destination 3) and Sara’s husband, Peter (Martin Donovan, “Insomnia”). The family moves into a house that is closer to the hospital where Matt undergoes treatment for cancer. The first night everyone picks what room they want for their own; Matt picks the room in the basement. There’s another room down there, but it’s dark and it’s locked. We just know that there’s something creepy in that room and of course there is. Pretty soon there are plenty of strange occurrences going on in the house. Lights flicker on and off, doors slam, shadowy figures appear, food suddenly rots, and unseen birds flutter about; all that jazz. Being sick, Matt is the one who is most in tune with these spirits. He sees the same young boy each and every day; as well as people with their eyelids cut off and mysterious writing carved onto their bodies from head to toe. Matt calls a priest, Father Popescu (Elias Koteas, “Apt Pupil”) and he tells the family that the place is haunted and that it’s evil and that they should get out as fast as they can.  Isn’t that scary? It is, but only if you’re five years old.

“The Haunting in Connecticut” is supposedly the story of Carmen Snedeker and her family. There was a book, In a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting that was written by Ray Garton in 1992. Garton has publicly distanced himself from the accuracy of the events he depicted in the book. That’s usually not a good sign for a tale that’s supposedly true. But “The Haunting in Connecticut” doesn’t suffer from bullshit; it suffers from boredom.

TRIVIA

Based on the story featured in the Discovery Channel documentary “A Haunting in Connecticut”.

The character of Reverend Popescu was supposedly based on John Zaffis, an investigator who worked on the case.

Ed Warren and Lorraine Warren, who are known for involvement in The Amityville Horror case, were investigators for this case.

Though Elias Koteas’ characters appears much older than Virginia Madsen’s, he is only six months older than her.

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JENNIFER’S BODY

Sep 5

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JENNIFER’S BODY

Megan Fox as Jennifer

Johnny Simmons as Chip

J.K. Simmons as Mr. Wroblewski

Amy Sedaris as Needy’s Mom

Adam Brody as Nikolai

Directed by Karyn Kusama

Written by Diablo Cody

I’m not one of those people that seek out the hidden messages in movies. I usually just watch the movie; think about what I liked and what I didn’t like and then write about it. This system has worked okay for me so far. “Jennifer’s Body” is no exception. But I guess if I had to find some kind of hidden message in the movie it would be that average looking girls should never have good looking girls for BFF’s (Best Friends Forever) or else they will steal all the boys away from them. The second message is that if the hot chick is possessed by a demon and becomes a hideous succubus she will not only steal the boy, she will eat him as well.

Needy (Amanda Seyfried, “Gone”, “Red Riding Hood”) and Jennifer (Megan Fox “Transformers”, “Jonah Hex”) have been friends since the days when they played in the sandbox together. Needy is your Plain Jane mousy type and Jennifer is her vivacious and beautiful friend through which she vicariously lives her life. But after Jennifer is sacrificed by an eyeliner wearing faux Fall Out Boy band and comes back as the town succubus, it’s up to Needy to figure out why her friend is spewing black goo and why all the boys in the town are turning up partially eaten. It’s what she’s always wanted; something to do on a Saturday night.

There’s not much I can really say about the movie. I will say that I was pleasantly surprised at Megan Fox and her portrayal of Jennifer. I have often gone on record as saying that I think she’s a horrible actress who gets by on her looks; but even horrible actresses have a good day every now and then. Amanda Seyfried was good as Needy and I felt that the movie moved along at a steady pace. All told, I liked the movie, but I find myself feeling guilty for liking it. It’s like I spent nearly two hours looking through a peep hole in the girl’s locker room. It was a fun thing to do at the time, but now I feel all dirty.

TRIVIA

The title is from the song “Jennifer’s Body” by Courtney Love’s band Hole.

To prepare for her role as a possessed living-dead teenager, Megan Fox lost around 15 lbs, bringing her weight down to a near-frail 97 lbs, and stayed out of the sun.

The demon who possesses Jennifer Check (Megan Fox’s character) closely resembles a succubus (plural succubi), from Jewish, Christian, and Sumerian mythology/theology. It is said that succubi seduce men, and fornicate with them until they are “drained” (in the movie, getting “drained” could mean getting drained of blood instead of semen). Some possible examples of succubi are Lilitu (from Sumerian mythology), Lilin, and Lilith (both from Jewish theology).

Jennifer’s surname ‘Check’ was initially intended only to be a place holder name. It comes from writer Diablo Cody using the phrase ‘check’ to express the filling of the various required roles, e.g “Jennifer – check, Needy – check” and so on. The name was never changed and features in the final film.

½

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DEAD SNOW (DØD SNØ)

DEAD SNOW (DØD SNØ)

Aug 8

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DEAD SNOW (DØD SNØ)-Norway-2009

 

Vegar Hoel as Martin

Stig Frode Henriksen as Roy

Charlotte Frogner as Hanna

Lasse Valdal as Vegard

Evy Kasseth Røsten as Liv

Jeppe Beck Laursen as Erlend

Jenny Skavlan as Chris

Ane Dahl Torp as Sara

Bjørn Sundquist as Turgåer

Ørjan Gamst as Oberst Herzog

Directed by Tommy Wirkola

Written by Tommy Wirkola and Stig Frode Henriksen

My wife has suggested to me for years that we should take some time off and go camping. Although it sounds like fun I still find myself coming up with all sorts of reasons not to go. So far I’ve come up with Bigfoot, the Wendigo, werewolves, vampires and the Blair Witch just to name a few. Needless to say, she’s not buying my bullshit. But now I can add a reason to the list that I know she can’t say no to: Nazi Zombies. All I have to do is show her “Dead Snow” and let her see what happens to a group of medical students who take a holiday in a remote cabin and are beset upon by a blitzkrieg of the undead. “Dead Snow” gives a pretty half-ass reason for the existence of this walking dead gestapo, but to be honest that doesn’t really matter. “Dead Snow” has helped me to realize that it doesn’t matter how the zombies were created. What does matter is how much blood, guts and gore can be spilled and how inventive it can be done. Axes, chainsaws, scythes, hammers, shotguns and machine guns all play a major role in this movie; not to mention a snowmobile that doubles as a zombie Cuisinart. “Dead Snow” is bloody fun from beginning to end. Just remember one thing: it’s all fun and games until the Nazi Zombies show up.

TRIVIA

Originally it was going to be called “Rød Snø” (or Red Snow in English), as an homage to the Swedish/Norwegian mini-series with the same name.

This film’s main trailer shows black-and-white World War II archive footage including battleships, parachuting and a command room featuring Adolf Hitler but this material is not seen in the actual movie.

The Nazi zombies in this film are a combination of typical zombies in popular culture and ancient Norse mythical beings known as draug. A draug is a undead being who would (like a vampire) inhabit graves. They would often out of jealously live in the graves of important men as they often had treasures in them and protect these treasures as if they were their own.

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ZOMBIES OF MASS DESTRUCTION

Jul 19

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ZOMBIES OF MASS DESTRUCTION-United States-2009

Jannette Armand as Frida Abbas

Doug Fahl as Tom Hunt

Cooper Hopkins as Lance Murphy

Russell Hodgkinson as Joe Miller

Cornelia Moore as Cheryl Banks

James Mesher as Mayor Hal E. Burton (Image not from film)

Bill Johns as Reverend Haggis

Ali Hamedani as Ali Abbas

Linda Jensen as Mrs. Hunt

Victoria Drake as Judy Miller (Image not from film)

Andrew Hyde as Brian Miller

Ryan Barret as Derek Blaine

Directed by Kevin Hamedani

Written by Ramon Isao and Kevin Hamedani

Zombies; they’re dead, they’re decaying and they eat the flesh of the living. If a person were to be bitten by a zombie then they in turn will become a zombie. We should fear zombies. We should kill zombies. If you will notice I just like saying the word ‘zombie.’

But what else should we be afraid of? I believe director Kevin Hamedani and writer Ramon Isao are asking that same question with “Zombies of Mass Destruction”. In the town of Port Gamble a zombie outbreak has begun. The townsfolk rise to the challenge as best they can; but many people fall down alive and rise up dead. Port Gamble needs a Bonnie Tyler montage. Port Gamble needs a hero and Port Gamble gets four of them.

There’s one little problem though; the people of Port Gamble are more afraid of the heroes than they are of the walking dead. There’s Frita Abbas (Jannette Armand), the American born woman of Iranian descent. She left Port Gamble for Princeton. God only knows where else she went. She might even be a terrorist.

What about Cheryl Banks (Cornelia Moore)? She’s a schoolteacher running for the office of Mayor. Word has it that she’s a liberal. I bet she don’t even like guns. Does the town of Port Gamble really need a woman like her running the show?

Finally, we come to Lance (Cooper Hopkins) and Tom (Doug Fahl). A lovely couple; Tom has brought Lance to his hometown of Port Gamble for one reason: to come out as homosexual to his mother. Let’s give him a little space. He’s a little nervous and his mom hasn’t been quite the same after being bitten at the supermarket. Oh wait, by their confession Tom ‘sucks d**k’ and Lance ‘receives’. Do we really want these two defending us against a zombie horde?

I hope you realize that I said all these things with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek. I leave the ignorance to the people in the film that oppose these four heroes. People like Mayor Hal E. Burton (James Mesher), Joe Miller (Russell Hodgkinson) and Reverend Haggis (Bill Johnson). These three men seek to oppose and convert our four heroes. It’s alright for America to have flesh eating zombies in our midst; but Iranians, liberals and gays? No way.

As for me, I’ll take my chances and I will aim for the head. It’s the only way to kill a zombie. Don’t you ever watch a George Romero film?

TRIVIA

The marching band at the end of the film is that of the local North Kitsap High School Vikings in Poulsbo, Washington. The fight song heard is in fact their fight song.

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AFTER.LIFE

Jul 2

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AFTER.LIFE-United States-2005

Christina Ricci as Anna Taylor

Justin Long as Paul Coleman

Liam Neeson as Eliot Deacon

Directed by Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo

Written by Agnieska Wojtowicz-Vosloo, Paul Vosloo and Jakub Korolczuk

Usually when I write a review I feel the need to add a nudge or a wink here and there to keep things on the light side. I don’t take myself too seriously because reviewing films is one of the few occasions that I can be myself and not have to feel angry about anything. Don’t misunderstand me; there are some films that anger me for their subject matter. You do recall that I tore apart a completely misogynistic film called “Broken” a while back. If it were up to me the makers of that garbage would be rotting in a cell. But wait, I am digressing as I am sometimes wont to do. Some films anger me, yes; but some just outright puzzle me. “After.Life” puzzled me.

Anna Taylor (Christina Ricci-”Monster”, “Black Snake Moan“) is in an auto accident and wakes up in a funeral home. Eliot Deacon, (Liam Neeson-”The Grey”) the funeral director, tells her that she is dead; that there is no air passing through her lungs and that she is already beginning to decompose. Funny, last time I noticed the dead don’t talk and they sure as hell don’t move. This is where the confusion sets in. Throughout the entire film we are never completely sure if Anna is indeed dead or there is something far more sinister to Eliot Deacon. Does he have the gift of speaking with the dead; or are they only dead after he is finished with them? Then there’s the matter of Anna’s boyfriend Paul (Justin Long). Does he believe that Anna is alive? What about the phone call he receives from her? While I’m going strong I might as well mention Jack (Chandler Canterbury), an 11 year-old boy with an attraction to the deceased. Does he see Anna? What is his connection to her? What is his connection to Eliot Deacon? I don’t like watching a film and not having at least some of the answers. “After.Life” holds its cards close to the chest. It never clues us in on what it’s trying to tell us. Are people more afraid of living than they are of dying? We use the expression that someone “doesn’t deserve to live”. Should it be that they don’t deserve to die as if death were the honor? Questions, questions, and more questions; if I keep asking questions I will slowly go insane. I guess it’s like the great but not yet late Tom Waits said:

What does it matter, a dream of love
Or a dream of lies
We’re all gonna be the same place
When we die
Your spirit don’t leave knowing
Your face or your name
And the wind through your bones
Is all that remains
And we’re all gonna be
Just dirt on the ground.

A story comes to mind about a man who was reading the paper one day. As he glances at the obituaries what do his eyes come across but his very own death notice. He calls the newspaper; “You’re newspaper reports me as being dead. I’m not dead.” The woman on the end asks him, “Sir, where are you calling from?”

Ba-dum-bum!!

TRIVIA

Kate Bosworth was originally cast as Anna but was replaced by Christina Ricci.

The prop knife used by Anna (Christina Ricci) is the same one used by Alex (Glenn Close) in Fatal Attraction.

Alfred Molina was originally cast as Eliot but was replaced by Liam Neeson.

½

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CROPSEY

May 10

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CROPSEY-United States-2009

Directed by Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman

Written by Joshua Zeman

When you think of the Boogeyman, what comes to mind for you? Is it a childhood image of a faceless being that sneaks into your bedroom at night and turns those clothes you threw in the corner into a living, breathing embodiment of evil? Maybe your boogeyman is Michael Myers with his unfinished Captain Kirk mask, his 1000 yard stare and that butcher knife. How about Freddy Krueger? Now there’s a boogeyman for you; a burned child molester with razor sharp knives for fingers.

For the families of Jennifer Schweiger, Holly Ann Hughes, Hank Gafforio, Tiahease Jackson and Alice Pereira the boogeyman may or may not be Andre Rand. When I say ‘may be’ I mean that there is enough circumstantial evidence to show that Rand is the abductor and possible killer of these children. When I say ‘may not be’ I mean that Rand isn’t about to open his mouth and proclaim his guilt. That’s where “Cropsey” comes in. “Cropsey” is a documentary about the crimes, the trial and the aftermath of the case against Andre Rand. Was Rand a child murderer? Was he a pawn in the game of a satanic cult that trafficked in children? “Cropsey” the documentary gives us the information but allows us to form our own opinions as to Rand and his alleged crimes. But I don’t see a documentary about a possible child abductor/child murderer; I see an opportunity to help the families of the victims to have closure. A detective is quoted as saying that when a child is murdered and their body is found that at least that family has a place to visit their body. However, when a child is kidnapped and they have no idea whether they are alive or dead the family will continue to believe that their child is alive until the evidence proves otherwise.

I don’t intend to rate “Cropsey”. Instead, let the drops of blood represent the missing children and the hope that their families will find closure one way or another.

Holly Ann Hughes-Missing since July 15, 1981. She was 7 years old at the time of her disappearance. Her body has not been recovered. 

Hank Gafforio-Missing since June 9, 1984. 22 years old at the time of his disappearance, Hank had the mentality of a 15 year old. His body has not been recovered.

Tiahease Jackson-Missing since August 14, 1983. She was 10 years old at the time of her disappearance. Tiahease had a learning disability. Her body has never been recovered. 

Alice Pereira-Missing since July 7, 1972. She was five years old at the time of her disappearance. Her body has never been recovered. 

Jennifer Schweiger-Missing since July 9, 1987. Her body was found a month later. She had Down’s syndrome.

It is not for my benefit that I list these missing children. I didn’t come away from “Cropsey” as a critic; I came away as a concerned person who wants to help these families find closure. If you have any information regarding these children then please feel free to contact the numbers below. Thank you.

Richmond County District Attorney’s Office (718)-876-6300

Donna Cutugno, the Friends of Jennifer (718)-698-4053

*Note: The disappearances all occurred on Staten Island, New York

TRIVIA

Was awarded Hammer to Nail‘s Grand Jury Prize for best documentary at 2009′s Tribeca Film Festival.

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ANTICHRIST

May 7

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ANTICHRIST-Denmark/Germany/France/Sweden/Italy/Poland-2009

Written and Directed by Lars von Trier

I like to think that I’m a smart person. I like to think that, but sometimes what I think and the way I feel are two different things. Take the film “Antichrist”, for instance. I like to think that the film is about the stages of grief that a person or persons goes through after experiencing the sudden death of a loved one. The couple in this film remains nameless and is only referred to in the credits as He and She. Their names are not important. What’s important is their grief and how they come to terms with it. Then again, maybe I’m just blowing smoke out of my ass.

Lars Von Trier’s “Antichrist” is one of the most visually striking and thematically confusing films I’ve ever watched and I’m not ashamed to admit that I have no idea what this film is about. At first I think that it’s about the stages of grief; but when I get comfortable with that notion the film shifts and I find myself watching a cross between Man vs. Wild, the Salem Witch Trials and a misogynistic rant. Then the film again shifts and becomes the most bizarre murder movie I’ve ever seen. Looking back at what I just wrote I sound like a madman who can’t form a coherent thought or sentence. There’s a lot of smoke coming out of my ass, but there’s no fire.

Instead of trying to figure the film out, maybe I should just give my opinion of it. It’s fucked up. There’s my opinion of it. It’s a fucked up mess of a movie that is both riveting and repulsive and beautiful and pornographic. It is a drama and a horror film and it rolls all of that up into one neat little fucked up masterpiece of a package. The biggest compliment I can give this film is that after it was over all I could think was “What the fuck just happened?”

TRIVIA

Eva Green was considered for the leading lady but rejected because her contract was too complex.

The story is divided into four chapters, “Grief”, “Pain (Chaos Reigns)”, “Despair (Gynocide)” and “The Three Beggars”, in addition to a prologue and an epilogue, all displayed over abstract designs by Danish artist Per Kirkeby.

The title was the first thing that was written for the film.

The aria being sung during the Prologue is called Lascia ch’io pianga from Handel’s opera ‘Rodelinda’. The libretto translates from the Italian as: Let me weep my cruel fate, and I sigh for liberty. May sorrow break these chains of my sufferings, for pity’s sake.

½

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DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK

May 3

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DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK-CANADA-2009

Written and Directed by Jen and Sylvia Soska

Yeah, okay so being a movie reviewer means that I’m always looking for new and different stuff to watch, to write about and to generally express my crazy fucked up opinion thereof. So with that in mind let me say that I was perusing bloodydisgusting.com for new ideas as to the level of depravity to which my cinematic mind would stoop. Lo and behold I see a title jump out me like a porn star on an appendage; DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK. Now I think to myself just how fucking fucked up do you have to be to name a movie something like that. The answer would have to be not very and pretty fucked up. The debut film from the Soskia sisters revolves around four friends and their attempt to get rid of the body of a dead hooker that’s been left in the trunk of their car. Pretty soon we are steeped in murder, torture, amputation and any word ending in -ion that you can fucking thinks of. The sisters Soskia load DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK with every influence that’s clicked in their pretty and twisted little minds since day 1. I noticed references to Martin Scorsese (tracking shot and introduction of most of the major characters) and Quentin Tarantino (POV shot from the trunk of a car as well as Pulp Fictionesque dialogue) within the confines of this movie. I’m sure that there are others that I haven’t quite caught on to, but it’s a fair indication that these babes mean business if they pay homage to these two directorial giants. DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK has its flaws, but not so much that they get in the way of the story line. If they play their cards right (shameful shameless cliché), then these sicko sisters may just have a place in the horrific horror genre. I’d love to see how they handle a remake of Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers.

TRIVIA

The role of Goody Two-Shoes was originally written for a female – as the whole main cast was set to be female. When production started for the feature, their original Goody dropped out two days before filming leaving the directors. Sylvia Soska and CJ Wallis went to a screening of his work where he played a character very similar to what they were looking for with Goody. He was cast that night and the script was rewritten with a male in the role.

The first screenings of the film took place in February of 2010. The very first screening being at the Ghouls on Film Festival in the UK with the second being the Pretty/Scary DOA Bloodbath Film Fest in Texas a few days later.

C.J. Wallis not only played Goody Two-Shoes in the film, but also edited, shot, sound tracked, marketed, and did all post on the film.

No hookers were harmed during the principal photography of this feature film production.

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Posted in Canadian Horror Films, Films Released in 2009, Movies

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