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Category Archives: Revenge Horror Films

TAMARA

TAMARA-United States/Canada-2005

Jenna Dewan as Tamara Riley

Matthew Marsden as Bill Natolly

Chad Faust as Jesse

Gil Hacohen as Patrick

Katie Stuart as Chloe

Directed by Jeremy Haft

Written by Jeffrey Reddick

ACT AS IF NOTHING EVER HAPPENED…

Tamara (Jenna Dewan, “Step Up“, “American Horror Story: Asylum“) is an unattractive teenage girl who practices witchcraft and lives with her alcoholic deviant of a father. The popular kids hate her; she wrote an article drawing the ire of the school’s star athletes Shawn (Bryan Clark) and Patrick (Gil Hacochen, “What Women Want“) detailing their rampant steroid use; so now the two jockstraps are out to get her. She only has two friends; Chloe (Katie Stuart, “Wild Things 2“, “The Girl Next Door“) and Mr. Nattolly (Matthew Marsden, “D.O.A.: Dead or Alive“, “Resident Evil: Extinction“), her English teacher. Tamara is in love with Mr. Natolly and even performs a spell so that whatever stands in the way of his loving her (his wife) would be eliminated; but she backs out before she can finish. Meanwhile Shawn and Patrick devise a plan to get even with Tamara. Without going into a lot of details and spoiling it for everyone I will just say that their plan, which now involves an unwitting Chloe, her boyfriend Jesse (Chad Faust, “Saved!“), Shawn’s girlfriend Kisha (Melissa Elias) and Roger (Marc Devigne), an AV geek, backfires and Tamara is killed. She is dead, deceased, taking a dirt nap, sleeping with the worms…need I go on? Shawn blackmails everyone into keeping their mouths shut; they bury Tamara in the woods and then return to school the next day as if nothing ever happened.

OH, BUT IT DID HAPPEN…

It should come as no surprise when I tell you that Tamara comes to class looking as if nothing ever happened. No, that’s not entirely accurate; Tamara comes to class looking smoking hot, sizzling and sultry. Along with this new look comes a new attitude and some new powers; our gal Tamara has the mojo to make anyone she touches fall in love with her and persuade them to do whatever she tells them. Whatever she tells them would include Roger the AV geek cutting off his ear, tongue and stabbing himself in the eye (See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil), bulimic Kisha eating her own fingers to the bone; and persuading Shawn and Patrick to play pitcher and catcher with each other before sending them out to kill Natolly’s wife. When I say pitcher and catcher I don’t mean baseball; these two nitwits play with a completely different bat and balls. This is Tamara’s way of revenge and she is having some evil fun with it.

PRAY IT DOESN’T HAPPEN AGAIN…

The first time I saw “Tamara” was 4 years ago on the FEARnet cable channel. Seeing as how it was free I wasn’t about to pass up a viewing; especially after getting a look at Jenna Dewan in that red dress she wears for the last act of the movie. For this review I watched it for free on Amazon Prime for the same reason: Jenna Dewan and that red dress. This is not the first time that I’ve been lured into watching a bad horror movie because of a hot girl. In fact, it’s not the first time I’ve been lured into watching a horror movie because of a hot girl period. Eliza Dushku worked her magic on me in “Wrong Turn.” Still, you think I would have learned by now that pretty girls do not necessarily a good horror movie make. Aside from some fairly cool gore effects and a likable performance from Katie Stuart as Chloe, the only reason that I can recommend that you see this film is because I get some sadistic thrill out of sharing bad movies with others. I don’t; so I’ll just say that when they buried Tamara they should have dug the hole a little deeper, tossed in the writer and director and filled the damn thing with cement just to be sure.

TRIVIA

The color red is scarce throughout the film. Its only presence is on Tamara.

In the original script, Chloe was a closeted lesbian.

Patrick’s insult to Tamara early in the film, “trailer-trash whore”, was ad-libbed by the actor. This was not in the script since writer Jeffrey Reddick himself grew up in a trailer.

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THINNER

 

THINNER-United States-1996

Robert John Burke as Billy Halleck

Joe Mantegna as Richie Ginelli

Michael Constantine as Tadzu Lempke

Kari Wuhrer as Gina Lempke

Directed by Tom Holland

Screenplay by Michael McDowell and Tom Holland

Based on the novel by Stephen King, writing as Richard Bachman

THE FAT 

Billy Halleck (Robert John Burke, “Robocop 3“, and “Limitless”) is a small town lawyer with a big appetite and the girth to show for it. He’s so fat, in fact, that his wife worries for his health and is continually monitoring his caloric intake. After Billy successfully defends crime boss Richie ‘The Hammer’ Ginelli (Joe Mantegna, “The Godfather Part III“, “Criminal Minds“), he takes her out to dinner to celebrate. On the drive home, she does something for Billy to help take his mind off of food. I don’t want to be crude, so let’s just say it starts with the unzipping of his pants and you can use your imagination for the rest. It’s kind of sad, though; Billy forgot car sex rule number one: keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel*. Caught up in the moment, Billy runs down an old gypsy woman, killing her. One mock trial later, with his friend the judge residing and his pal the traffic cop testifying (lying), Billy walks away without points even being taken off his license. If only it were that easy. With the stroke of his hand on Billy’s cheek and the whisper of a word, “Thinner”, the old gypsy king Tadzu Lempke puts a curse on Billy. As the days go by, Billy loses weight at a rapid pace. Not wanting to believe that Lempke put a curse on him until it’s too late, Billy does what any normal red-blooded American asshole would do; he blames his wife and her ‘oral talent’ for his predicament. Suspecting her of infidelity, first Billy wants the curse removed. Then he wants revenge.

THE SKINNY

“Thinner” is not a movie that I would include in my top ten list. It’s not even a movie I would want if I were stranded on a desert island. By all standards it’s not even a good movie. It’s overacted and directed with too much emphasis on tongue in cheek humor than on the main message of the story; revenge is a dish that is best served cold, but it should never be served at all. Revenge is not justice and it will not bring the dead back to life. Add all that to the fact that you don’t feel sympathy to any character in the movie and you have a recipe for disaster. With all that said, why do I find myself coming back time and again to this movie? It can’t be because I’m a Stephen King fan because I’m not. I like the majority of what he writes; but I don’t go bonkers every time the guy puts out a new book or movie. I can’t even call “Thinner” a guilty pleasure because I don’t feel one bit guilty about it. Despite everything my brain tells me, I like this movie. End of story.

TRIVIA

Director Tom Holland wasn’t happy with the ending; the producers changed the original one (which was faithful to the novel) because every test audience hated it.

Stephen King:  the author appears as Dr. Bangor (Bangor, Maine, is where King lives).

UNRELATED TRIVIA

Robert John Burke (Billy Halleck) spent several days at Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks, assisting with search and rescue. He has since become a certified New York State firefighter.

*My apologies to Jim Morrison and The Doors for lifting from ‘Roadhouse Blues’.

½

 

MARTYRS

MARTYRS-France/Canada-2008

Written and Directed by Pascal Laugier

At the beginning of “Martyrs” a young girl, clad only in a t-shirt and underpants and covered with welts and bruises is seen running from a building and down the street. Her name is Lucie and she has been held captive for a long period of time. We do not know why, nor do we know by whom. Lucie goes to live at an orphanage where she becomes friends with Anna (Morjana Alaoui, “Special Forces“). It is while Lucie is in the orphanage that we discover that she believes she is being tortured by an emaciated woman with cuts and scars all over her body.

15 years pass and Lucie (Mylène Jampanoï, “Hereafter” ) invades the home of the couple she believes is responsible for the torture that she endured during her period of captivity. She murders everyone in the house, including the teenage son and daughter. She calls Anna and tells her what she has done and Anna arrives at the house. At first she believes that Lucie may have murdered the wrong people; but Lucie is insistent that the man and woman are the ones who hurt her. Later, Anna discovers that the woman is still alive and tries to help her, but Lucie catches her and bludgeons the woman to death. Lucie is then again attacked by the emaciated woman. She cuts Lucie’s arms and slams her head violently into the wall. Anna only sees Lucie hurting herself and realizes that the woman is a figment of Lucie’s imagination. Lucie runs through the glass door and into the pouring rain. Before Anna can stop her, she cuts her throat, committing suicide.

Later, after Anna has brought Lucie inside and prepared her for burial, she finds an area underneath the house that is exactly how Lucie described her place of captivity. She finds a girl, chained and blindfolded. The girl is murdered before Anna can do much to help her. Anna is then captured and the cycle begins again. A mysterious woman (Catherine Bégin, “The Uncanny“) explains to her that she belongs to a society that is hoping for the discovery of the afterlife through the creation of martyrs. Anna is chained and left in darkness. Every day she is beaten mercilessly and treated with absolute violence until she finally breaks.

The one thing that I usually don’t do in regards to reviewing a film is to give a long descriptive narrative concerning the plot. Halfway through watching “Martyrs”, I realized that there was going to be no other way to get my point across about the film. You need to feel for these girls the same way that I did. You need to understand their pain. “Martyrs” is one of the single most disturbing films I have ever witnessed. At times I found myself checking the clock, hoping that it would be over soon. But then to my dismay I found that I could not tear my eyes away from what was happening onscreen. “Martyrs” is not a film that you can think you know from reading the plot. “Martyrs” is a film that you must discover for yourself. I must give you fair warning; for better or for worse, it will change you.

TRIVIA

In Pascal Laugier’s previous film House of Voices, the main character is called Anna Jurin. In Martyrs, Anna is one of the female leads’ character names, whilst Lucie Jurin is the other.

JOHN CARPENTER’S THE WARD

JOHN CARPENTER’S THE WARD-United States-2011

Amber Heard as Kristen

Mamie Gummer as Emily

Laura-Leigh (left) as Zoey

Mika Boorem (left) as Alice

Jared Harris as Dr. Stringer

Directed by John Carpenter

Written by Michael Rasmussen and Shawn Rasmussen

John Carpenter’s still got it. If you don’t believe me, then by all means check out “The Ward.” Despite the fact that it has nearly every cliché associated with films set within mental institutions (the Nurse Ratchet type nurse, the orderly that catches you at every turn, pretending to swallow the pills they give you, shock therapy) and an ending that was telegraphed from the next county, “The Ward” is a triumphant return to horror for a director that’s been gone for far too long. It has not been since “Insidious” that I have found myself clutching my chest and breathing heavy as I just did while watching this film. Carpenter turns the tension up to ten and keeps going until he shatters our minds with terror and fear.

Kristen (Amber Heard-”All the Boys Love Mandy Lane“, “Zombieland”) is placed in a mental institution after setting fire to a farmhouse and watching it burn. Like R.P. McMurphy before her, she bucks the system and attempts every possible way to escape the confines of the ward. Unlike our old pal R.P., her reason for leaving is quite a different story. It seems that all the friends (Mamie Gummer, Danielle Panabaker, Lyndsy Fonseca, and Laura-Leigh) that she’s made on the ward are being murdered by an angry and vengeful ghost named Alice Hudson and Kristen just so happens to be on her shit list. Why, you ask; I’ll never tell. That would be cheating. Watch the film and see for yourself just like I did.

I will tell you this much; “The Ward” is John Carpenter’s best film since “The Thing.” It is a welcome return to form for a director who long ago strayed off the beaten path of his vision. Bow down to the king, peasants.

TRIVIA

John Carpenter’s first full-length feature film since Ghosts of Mars, and his first feature not shot in Panavision since his debut Dark Star.

On the audio commentary, Jared Harris asks John Carpenter why he did not compose the soundtrack, John replied “quite frankly, I’m just too old.”

½

DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW

DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW-United States-Made for TV-1981

Directed by Frank De Felitta

Screenplay by J.D. Feigelson

Story by J.D. Feigelson and Butler Handcock

We’re rednecks, we’re rednecks

We don’t know our ass from a hole in the ground

We’re rednecks, we’re rednecks….

-Randy Newman

Forget about this film being a TV movie; Dark Night of the Scarecrow is as scary as any theatrical film you are likely to see. This gem of a horror film about four stupid rednecks that gun down a defenseless and innocent mentally challenged man in cold blood, only to be picked off one by one by an unseen killer is the real deal. Director Frank De Felitta lets the tension build up and that only serves to make the scenes that we don’t see all the creepier. Remember, this is television in 1981; so they can’t actually show a guy getting chewed up by a wood chipper or the rotting corpse of a dead man. Everything has to be implied and that is exactly what makes this film a strong entry in the horror genre. Writer J.D. Feigelson gives us a teleplay that brought to my mind the demons that haunted my southern upbringing as I was growing up in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The characters in the film may look different and act different, but I was reminded of the crimes of Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins and of the Gaffney Strangler, both serial murderers of the South in the past. Don’t misunderstand me; the film has nothing to do with them. It merely revives those old memories of my past.

Charles Durning is redneck sleaze as the leader of the bigoted vigilante mob that brings about an end to the life of the innocent Bubba Ritter. I don’t think there’s any part that Durning can’t play. Quite frankly I believe he was unfairly looked over for a Best Supporting actor Oscar for “Tootsie.”

Although his role is short, Larry Drake reminds us all why he was picked to play the role of Benny Stulwicz on L.A. Law. Drake was so convincing in the role (as he is here), that people actually treated him as if he was slow. That is the sign of a talented actor.

Finally, Dark Night of the Scarecrow keeps us guessing as to the identity of the mysterious and unseen killer. We are given suspects, but one by one they are eliminated. That makes perfect sense. After all, doesn’t not knowing seem scarier than the truth? Oh, and not to mention a final scene that sent chills down my spine.

TRIVIA

Strother Martin was originally scheduled to play the part of Otis Hazelrig, but passed away before the film could be made. However, a few lines of script suggested by Martin remained in the final film, but spoken by Charles Durning, who eventually played the part.

Charles Durning did most of his own stunts of the climatic chase scene when he’s running away from the tractor. A double can be seen for a few shots with darker hair.

All the nocturnal scenes were shot night for night.

GRINDHOUSE

GRINDHOUSE

PLANET TERROR

Rose McGowan as Cherry Darling

Freddy Rodriguez as El Wray

Michael Biehn as Sheriff Hague

Jeff Fahey as J.T.

Josh Brolin as Dr. William Block

Marley Shelton as Dr. Dakota Block

Written and Directed by Robert Rodriguez

DEATH PROOF

Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike

Rosario Dawson as Abernathy

Vanessa Ferlito as Butterfly

Jordan Ladd as Shanna

Rose McGowan as Pam

Sydney Poitier as Jungle Julia

Tracie Thoms as Kim

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Lee

Zoe Bell as Herself

Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino

When I was growing up in Spartanburg, South Carolina in the 1970′s I used to go to the movies. A lot. I’m sure I told you that once already. One theater in particular that I frequented quite often was the Palmetto Theater. The Palmetto was a run down old theater with the stickiest floors, the smelliest bathrooms and some of the best popcorn I have ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth.The Palmetto played the B-movies and exploitation films of the era. Films like Dirty Mary Crazy Larry, Gone in 60 Seconds, the Hammer horror films, and any film with Pam Grier that you care to mention. I had so much fun at that theater that I can easily say it was some of the best times of my young life.

    Grindhouse is a loving homage to the films and the theaters of that era. The film is a double feature exploitation extravaganza as directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. From Rodriguez comes the survival horror zombie epic PLANET TERROR. Led by the mysterious El Wray (Freddy Rodriguez) and the gorgeous and hilarious go-go dancer Cherry Darling (Rose McGowan), the survivors of a deadly gas that turns the infected into brain eating zombies make their way to safety. This is clearly Rodriguez’ best film since Sin City  and it is easy to see the love he has for the production in every single frame. I never understood why Rodriguez has never achieved a larger and more respectable reputation as a filmmaker. I’ve seen every one of his films (sans the SPY KIDS series, I only saw the 3D one) and I have never been disappointed in his work.

Then we come to the second half of our double feature, Quentin Tarantino’s DEATH PROOF. I went to see Grindhouse with my wife and both of us absolutely loved this film. My wife hasn’t been a Tarantino fan for as long as I have, but she’s coming around and this film is a big step in  that direction. Tarantino assembles not one but two groups of the hottest women in cinema today as the protagonists for this film about a deadly driver with his foot to the floor and homicide of the vehicular kind in his heart. This film works for two reasons. One, the driving stunts are done the old fashioned way, with real drivers performing real stunts that could easily get them killed. With DEATH PROOF, Tarantino commits one of the most harrowing chase scenes ever filmed to celluloid.

The other reason this film is such a huge success can be summed up in two words. Kurt Russell. Quentin Tarantino has said in interviews that although he enjoyed Russell in films like MIRACLE and SKY HIGH, but he wanted to see him be a bad-ass again like Snake Plissken or RJ MacReady. In DEATH PROOF Tarantino all but gets his wish for most of the film. If you haven’t seen the film you are missing out on one of the best performances from Kurt Russell since TOMBSTONE. He is totally bad-ass in this film. However, fair warning: Russell does a complete 180 degree turn toward the end of the film. You truly have to see it to believe it.

There are several small things in both films that add up to a worthwhile motion picture experience. The dialogue in both films is top-notch banter that you come to expect from a Rodriguez or Tarantino film. Both films use characters from each film (the Crazy Babysitter Twins are featured in PLANET TERROR and make a cameo in DEATH PROOF). Rose McGowan does double duty as two seperate characters in both films. I could go on and on. There are of course tons of references and homage to other Tarantino-Rodriguez films as well as several pop-culture references.

Okay, I’m finished blowing sunshine up your skirts about this film. See it. Buy the Blu-Ray that features the film as it was shown in theaters. It includes the original faux trailers as they were presented in the original theatrical release (with the exception of Machete).

Speaking of faux trailers…

PREVUES OF COMING ATTRACTIONS

MACHETE

Written and Directed by Robert Rodriguez

WEREWOLF WOMEN OF THE SS

Written and Directed by Rob Zombie

DON’T

Written and Directed by Edgar Wright

THANKSGIVING

Written by Jeff Rendell and Eli Roth

Directed by Eli Roth

TRIVIA

In the Death Proof (2007) segment when Kim, Zoe and Abby are in the Challenger, ready to go on their “test drive”, they pull up by Mary and Abby says, “Hey good looking, we’ll be back later for YOU!” This was a line in a commercial for a cheesy Ronco product, Mr. Microphone, in the ’70s.

The film is meant to be an homage to the double features that played in grindhouses. However, during the initial weeks of release, exhibitors were reporting that many audience members were leaving the cinema after the first feature (“Planet Terror” byRobert Rodriguez), apparently not realizing, or forgetting, that a second feature was going to be shown. One reason cited was that many of audience members were too young to remember when theaters showed double features. The distributor planned some changes in the campaign while some exhibitors solved the problem by posting employees by the auditorium doors to remind departing patrons that the program contains a second feature.

The hood ornament on Stuntman Mike’s car in Death Proof (2007) is an homage to the chrome duck ornament used in Convoy (1978).
The character El Wray is a reference to the town they are heading to in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996).
In Dr. Dakota Block’s office during the “Planet Terror” segment, you can see a notepad. Written on it is a checklist, the last item being “Kill Bill,” a reference to Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies.

THE REEDS

THE REEDS-United Kingdom-2009

Anna Brewster as Laura

Geoff Bell as Mr. Croker

Daniel Caltagirone as Joe

Directed by Nick Cohen

Written by Mark Anthony Galluzo and Chris Baker

The Reeds is the kind of movie that you watch because you want to see what happens next. It’s not that you’re interested, it’s just that since you’ve watched this much you may as well go a bit further. The film tells of a group of young Londoners who charter a boat christened the Corsair Star through the reeds of the Norfolk Broads. Now, seeing as this is a horror movie, we very well can’t have them make it safely through so they can go home and live happily ever after. No, we need frights. So, let’s throw in an enigmatic gang of youths that they encounter at different points in the film. How about the hooded figure carrying a shotgun? Or the skeletal remains in cages below the surface of the water. But wait, there’s also a twist of an ending that you see coming a mile away, or not.

There’s really not a whole lot that can be said about this film and therein lies the trouble with it. The cast is credible, but they really don’t generate any air of excitement among them. No character stands out and no scene stands out. As for any scary scenes they are telegraphed long before they occur.

It’s quite interesting that a film like this should be set on water. Simply put, it’s stagnant.

Trivia

No trivia for this film

HARD CANDY

HARD CANDY-United States-2005



Ellen Page as Hayley Stark

Patrick Wilson as Jeff Kohlver

Sandra Oh as Judy Tokuda

Directed by David Slade

Written by Brian Nelson

Sometimes a film will come along that is a pure bitch to review. Hard Candy is one of those films. It is such a great film, but at the same time it is one of those films that forces you to think. It questions your personal beliefs and opinions and raises new ones of its own. It questions not only the role of child molesters and pedophiles in society, but also the role of the victim. Do child molesters deserve death if they don’t actually kill anyone? Child molestation may not be an act of physical murder, but it is an act of murder nonetheless. It is a murder of innocence. Once that is taken away from a child they can never get it back. The same eyes that viewed the world with eyes wide open and knew the joy of growing up are now slits that view everyone and everything with suspicion and doubt.

Hayley Stark is a young girl of 14 who meets Jeff, a man in his 30′s at a downtown coffee shop. They have arranged the meeting via text messages. After small talk they go back to Jeff’s apartment. Hayley plays innocent, but laces her speech with subtle come ons. She offers to pour Jeff a drink. It is from that point on that things take a drastic change. Jeff awakens to find himself tied down and at Hayley’s mercy. She has been tracking him and believes he is a pedophile. Without giving very much away I will say that Hayley puts Jeff through hell on earth and then some.

To me, what makes a movie like this so good is that it raises questions. Does Jeff get what he deserves? Is Hayley angry at him for his crimes, or is there something deeper that drives her?  At the hands of a lesser director, this would be a vigilante film where Hayley carries a machine gun and a machete and goes around shooting pedophiles and chopping their penises off. However, this is David Slade’s first film and he makes the most of every scene. The film never really drags, except maybe in the scenes with Sandra Oh. The scenes with her do nothing to further the plot of the film and are unneccessary.

Ellen Page is chilling as Hayley. Even I found myself scared by her at some points in the film. Page is able to switch emotions on a dime and that is a very important requirement for this role. On the other hand, Patrick Wilson deserves major kudos for taking on a role like this. There are times in the film that you feel sorry for him and begin to wonder about his guilt. Slade keeps us guessing for most of the film before the big payoff at the end.

Hard Candy is one of those films that will get people talking. Better than that, though, it will get them thinking.

Trivia

The inspiration comes from Japan. Producer David Higgins had read reports of Japanese schoolgirls ambushing men who surfed the Internet for underage dates and later developed the story.

When they were filming the scene where Hayley implies that everything Jeff thinks he knows about her is a lie, producers asked if they could include a line where she states that she was actually 18 years old rather than 14. Ellen Page was adamantly against the suggestion because she thought it undermined the premise of the film.

Some working titles were “Vendetta” and “Snip Snip”. “Hard Candy” was finally chosen because it implies both sweetness and spice. The expression is also slang for an under-aged girl, amongst pedophiles who troll the internet.

1/2

I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE-2010

A Rape/revenge film

Poster for the 1978 film

I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE-United States-2010

Sarah Butler as Jennifer

Jeff Branson as Johnny

Andrew Howard as Storch

Daniel Franzese as Stanley

Rodney Eastman as Andy

Chad Lindberg as Matthew

Directed by Steven R. Monroe

Written by Meir Zarchi (1978 Screenplay) and Stuart Morse (Screenplay)

The original I Spit on Your Grave was one of the most controversial films ever produced. To be honest I don’t think that’s going to happen with the remake. It’s a shame, really. It goes show just how desensitized and voyeuristic a society we’ve become since the release of the original film 34 years earlier. Everyone I know has some type of video device. Camera phone, digital camera, web cam, etc. A kid can get beat up at school and it’s on yahoo. On Failblog you can see numerous accidents and mishaps take place. There are websites with footage of the beheadings that took place in Iraq. Whether the footage is real or not doesn’t matter; we’ll watch it anyway. We have become a society of voyeurs and that is exactly the reason why the remake of ISOYG will no be controversial. In order for something to be controversial it has to be outside the normal realm of thought and occurrence. We are fed stories of rape, sexual assault, child molestation on the news, in the newspaper, the internet and therefore it’s no longer a controversy.

I’m not going into detail concerning the plot of the film. I reviewed the 1978 original and the plot is exactly the same. I will tell you that the acting is better and that the revenge scenes are gorier. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. The acting in the 1978 film lent a realism to the film that the remake loses from time to time. The photographic quality of the film is also a little too professional looking, too. The film makers  would have done better to shoot the film on a low quality film stock like 16mm. Better yet, they could have shot on 8mm to give it that snuff film quality.

Speaking of snuff films, I’ve been told that they don’t exist. But who knows, you may see one of those on Yahoo in the future.

Trivia

At the beginning of the film, Jennifer buys $19.78 worth of gas. 1978 is the year the original film Day of the Woman(1978) was released.

Roger Ebert gave this film zero stars as he did with the original film.

According to director Steven R. Monroe, the studio submitted an uncut version of the film to the MPAA to see if by chance they would get an R rating. The MPAA came back and said “look, you’ve got an NC-17 movie, but we don’t recommend that you cut it down because we feel like it’s really impactful.” They then decided against editing the film and released it as Unrated so it could play in more theaters.

1/2

SICK NURSES

SICK NURSES-Thailand-2007

Directed by Pirophan Laoyont & Thodsapol Siriwiwat

Starring

Dollaros Dachapratumwan as Jo

Wichan Jarujinda as Dr.Taa

Kanya Rattapetch as Ae

Chidjan Rujiphun as Nook

The Asians have got to be the producers of some of the weirdest shit ever put to celluloid. The culprit this time is Taiwan. The film is Sick Nurses. The beginning of the film starts off like a Girls Gone Wild video. The titular nurses are young, beautiful and dress the way a nurse would dress if she were part of some teenage kids sex fantasy. The film even includes a set of twins who make out with each other and tell one another that the other is “the most beautiful girl.”

But wait, there is a plot underneath all this frivolity. Before you know it Nurses Gone Wild turns into Nurses Gone Gory. Turns out this bevy of beauties was involved in an organ harvesting scheme and when one of their own threatens to expose them she is quickly murdered to keep her quiet. Now, if you have seen any Asian ghost film then you know that the ghosts do not take things lightly. Next thing you know you got this mysterious dark figure running roughshod over the nurses and killing them off in all kinds of sick ways.

If you like your foreign films to be sick and twisted, then this may be the film for you. But be forewarned. The plot is threadbare and sometimes not noticeable at all. It’s also got some pretty horrible acting. On the plus side, the gore is pretty cool and there is plenty of it.

Yep, the Asians sure put out some weird shit. Before anyone steps up and calls me me a racist or something like that I will tell you that I mean that as a compliment. I, for one, happen to like weird shit.

1/2

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