Post War Slaughter: Blood Shed: An American Horror Story (2014)

Blood Shed: An American Horror Story (2014) (AKA "American Weapon")

Rating: *1/2

Starring: Amin Joseph, Maria-Elena Laas, Benjamin Mouton

War is something we try to avoid as a solution. Those who partake may see themselves returning home as heroes warmly welcomed by proud families and a grateful country, but there's always that chance they'll end up in a casket or as a damaged soul, the latter being the case of our loonie in this anti-war propaganda of a slasher movie, making this one of the few horror flicks I've seen to use shell-shock as a modus.

Like most of its kin, Blood Shed (2014) is about a group of 20-somethings enjoying a weekend up in the mountains with nothing but each other's company. What they weren't expecting is that their stay will be interrupted by a homicidal war veteran who couldn't let go and move on from his war-torn past. A good hour or so, this seems to be how the story will go, but around comes the final act and all things just started limping tediously.

For one, I can appreciate what this movie is offering; instead of using gimmicky casts and cheesy plot holes, Blood Shed (2014) has a serious tone that's relaying a message against war, showing the downside of training people to fight and kill anyone for the sake of a cause. This is quite a big gig for an indie slasher to tackle, perhaps too big and, frankly, I'm not really that interested; politics bore me to death and this movie didn't click right for me despite the good intentions. I guess I'm just the kind of guy whose brain switches off whenever I watch a movie of this sort, hoping for an hour and a half of escapism before I work my arse off the next day.

I also have a few beef with the killer and their killings; as mentioned above, the killer's an old veteran who gone cold-hearted crazy with the killings that he can no longer think or reason straight. He can't find any further meaning to his life so he just functions based on his programmed instinct. This is cool and all in a fictional horror film point of view but the age and physique of this guy is anything but imposing. He had a couple of scenes that would have made him memorable, stalking his victims wearing a George W. Bush latex mask, but these were short-lived as the rest of the film have him face-naked and spatting out his flashbacks like the old shell-shocked coot that he is. Scary? Maybe, but it's leaning to "eye-rollingly tiresome". The least the producers can do is juice up the killings a bit but, no, even in that department it's disappointingly dull.

Personal taste aside, Blood Shed (2014) is still a respectable slasher in its core that followed everything by the book. I'm positive this is a point up for those who are more forgiving and more open to their hack-and-slashing, especially for those who wanted something smarter roaming around their usual serving of shlock entertainment. I'm not saying this is a movie made for intelligent people but it did try something different for a change and we can all applaud it for that.

If I want military-themed slashers, I think I'll go with either The Prowler (1981) or at least the more popcorn-friendly Severance (2006). This is something for the rest of you curious ones; if you think you can stand watching a killer in his 60s and graying hair stalk and successfully kill teens who could easily knock him over then congratulations, Blood Shed (2014) is your date for the evening.

Bodycount:
1 female got her neck broken
1 female got her throat cut with hunting knife
1 male axed on the head
1 female drowned
1 male shot on the head
1 female stabbed on the gut with a shovel
1 male shot
1 male shot on the head
Total: 8

Cold Cuts: South of Sanity (2012)

South of Sanity (United Kingdom, 2012) (AKA "Anne", "Antarctica: Hell on Earth")

Rating: ***

Starring: Mathew Edwards, Paul Craske, Matt Von Tersch

As far as gimmicks come and go, South of Sanity (2012) has one thing going for and that would be its dedication to make the premise as realistic as possible.

Shot entirely in Antarctica, the movie deals with a group of researchers who find themselves pitted against an assailant who may be one of their own, stricken mad from too much cabin fever. Characters are introduced, interacted and soon killed, as we watch these hapless victims try figuring out who's donning the creepy mask and outliving one another, even if it means turning against each other.

If I could make any comparison to South of Sanity (2012)'s plot, I would say this is pretty much a slasher version of John Carpenter's The Thing (1982), minus the shape-shifting alien, the tremendous special effects and the gore fountain. In fact, the movie is really dry on the blood factor as the kills are simplified due to cost cuts. This may not sink well for those who are expecting a really bloody bodycount movie, even more with the fact its pacing feels like an old-timer walking their three-legged dog in front of you, but if you're good enough with sadistic chills that does have its moments, then this is where the film wins.

While special effects involving red-dye corn-syrup isn't this movie's forte, much of the focus and energy are instead put into a workable direction and atmosphere. The barren nature of its filming location, as well as the fully functioning yet barely crowded set, ticks off the right nerve when it comes to uneasiness, making it one of a few films that effectively brings isolophobic chills as help is nowhere to be found and the casts are set to defend themselves in a nearly hopeless situation. (Again, much like Carpenter's The Thing or even 30 Days of Night (2007))

With a cast full of unknowns, performances are quite good but the audio often muffles their lines into echoes. The killer also have their reveal in the end and give us quite a motive for their killings. Not sure if everybody will buy it but I've seen and heard worse, this being one of the milder ones. 

South of Sanity (2012) is really nothing but your standard slasher with a real case of the colds, but effective enough in transition to deliver what movies of this sub-genre do best. Not much else to say but that it's watchable for the true hardcore bodycounter, so long as they set their visceral expectations low.

Bodycount:

1 male found dead with stab wounds
1 male and 1 female blown apart inside a decompression chamber
1 male hanged
1 male had his throat cut through thin wire,  hacked on the head with an ice axe
1 male hacked on the chest with an ice axe
1 male killed, method unknown
1 male powerdrilled through the head
1 male shredded through snow plough
1 female slaughtered offcamera
1 male  hacked on the head with an ice axe
1 male hacked on the chest with an ice axe
1 male killed with an ice axe
Total: 13

One Angry Preggy: Inseminoid (1981)

Insemonoid (1981) (AKA "Horror Planet")
Rating: ***1/2
Starring: Robin Clarke, Jennifer Ashley, Stephanie Beacham

For me, I will and forever consider Alien (1979) as a fine example of a proto-slasher, favoring on the point that most of that movie's later scenes resemble a stalk-and-slash movie with a big, mean and lean alien in place of a human killer. Of course, this favorable review puts me into dwelling the movie pile in search for other similarly themed titles and among those I found was the Video Nasty Inseminoid, one of the few closest (if not direct) resemblance of a slasher in space and perhaps the trashiest with its B-movie exploitative notion of alien rape, unnatural pregnancy and gruesome gore sequences.

Some time into the future, a crew of Xeno Project scientists have been assigned to explore a newly discovered planet that may once housed intelligent life. What they find in that planet back up their theory of alien life as ancient descriptions riddled on the walls of a cave system leads to a collection of dangerous crystals with enough power to send one of the crewmen into a homicidal rage, forcing the rest to put him down for good.

Hoping to find some answers, two of the the team return to the cave to gather samples of the crystals but things go for the worse when they are attacked by a bug-eyed alien and the female co-scientists gets taken to a chamber and undergoes a surreal insemination. She is soon found by her crew and brought back to the station, but as a sudden bloodlust takes over her, triggering another series of murderous attacks.

Catching fire from the success of Ridley Scott's Alien (which was released a year prior to Inseminoid), much of the marketing and notoriety of this film have focused on the horrors of alien rape, only here it is done literally (Hence the not-so-subtle title) and the monster is none other than one angry pregnant woman. More or less, the real pointer that brought this movie down into the Video Nasty list is the nasty (albeit cheap) gore pieces from the later attacks and murders, all of it pretty methodic and often involves maniacal usage of powertools. This being said, I'm confident to say this ravenous space-age terror is bodycount friendly enough to satisfy a humble gore baby.

Then again, the low-cut budget may induce 80s VHS nostalgia for many, but for some this is pure garbage. And who could blame them? As if having a murderous mother-to-be cook people alive with a blowtorch isn't disturbing enough, but to have this as a reason to beat up a pregnant woman is downright upsetting. Thrills are honestly cheap, aiming more on shocking the viewers with enough gruesome moments to keep them interested but with the lack of strong compelling characters and plot development, Inseminoid will always be a cheese-induced popcorn-horror.

Not that this will always be a bad thing; like what I always say to most of the movies I review here in StickyRed, they will have an audience even if it's going to be a small one. As far as I can see, Inseminoid has a favorable cult following thanks to it's unintentional funnies and so-horrible-its-good nature. It's not a good movie, not with it's shitty editing, overacted casts and questionable special effects, but it is pretty entertaining for the right audience. Alien may have the star power and performance, but that doesn't mean we can't learn to appreciate, if not give a chance little cash-ins like Inseminoid!

Bodycount:
1 female froze to death under low temperature
1 male shot with a speargun
1 male mauled apart
1 female stabbed to death with scissors
1 male had his back burnt with a heat-sealer, brained with a wrench
1 female burnt to death with heat-sealer
1 male shot on the chest with a speargun, disemboweled
1 female hit on the leg with explosives, killed
1 female strangled to death with cables
1 female found with her neck bitten open
1 male disemboweled offcamera
Total: 11

Non-Horror Post: Busy, Busy Busy

Do forgive my lack of postage lately.

My job as a phone and online agent for first-step fixes on TVs, Bluray players and Home Theater system had finally come to an end and is now being replaced as a phone agent for money transfer.

So far the training's pretty steady and simple enough on their own but I fear the worse will come in a few weeks when we will be trained for "Loyalty Calls" (and cue in naggy customers who can't figure shit on their own. Ugh.) I'm gonna stick to this until I get a good grasp on what I'm dealing with but until then, I might post reviews and other stuff as regularly as possible.

On a semi-related side note, I've been reading this funny webcomic for a while and I found out that it's just what I need to relieve my stress once in a while. Check it out when you have the time (and no, this comic isn't in anyway slasher or horror related...unless you're scared of raccoons.)

Bad Dad and Company: Scream for Help (1984)

Scream for Help (1984)

Rating: ***

Starring:  Rachael Kelly, Marie Masters, David Allen Brooks

Here's one for (the late) Michael Winner, the director who brought us the cult favorite Death Wish series and this little obscure melting pot of a gem that blends in slasher sensitivities, crime thrillers and teen drama.

When young Christie begins to notice the strangely consistent series of accidents around her, she's pretty sure her stepdad is behind it all. Her mother, you see, is loaded with a handsome amount of inheritance, nothing but the best reason to have her dead.  But with very little evidence to back up her suspicions, she and her friends had no choice but to follow Christie's stepfather around and eventually gets the proof they need. Unfortunately bad dad ain't going down without a fight, and tagging along his own set of murderous friends, he's out to finish what he started.

Not much of a slasher per se but Scream for Help effectively used some of the cliches commonly found in such films and twist it to create some interesting role reversals and a grand taste of cheesiness that's so bad it's funny. Where else can you find a heroine who mourns the death of her friend by having sex with her late buddy's boytoy, or have an incredibly intense scene where Christie chases her dad's car while riding a bicycle? Might as well let this movie be known more for this unintentional funnies as the plot is sadly generic. (Shocking seeing this is written by Tom Fright Night, Class of 1984 Holland.)

Beating The Stepfather (1987) for at least two to three years on the plot, the story similarly tackles the universal fear of an untrustworthy step parent while throwing in some mild home invasion scenario. By then, our heroine turned the tables and shows her creative side by re-staging every murder attempt on her by her stepdad, effectively killing one goon at a time.

It's not for everybody; I do admit the cheap feel of the title does show from it's obscure writing and some questionable talents but as far as trashy B-thrillers go, Scream for Help delivers the goods for the right audience. Gore isn't sky-high and the kill count is a single digit with some of it occuring offcamera, but if you can tolerate a movie that resembles a Hallmark Channel original movie on crack then you might just be the kind of guy who could appreciate this.

Count this as the poor man's Stepfather cum Last House on the Left or not, Scream for Help is a decently hammy thriller that's more of the cheese and less of the serious stuff, deserved to be watched at least once and, if possible for you, loved as a hidden 80s gem.

Bodycount:
1 male found electrocuted on a fusebox
1 female ran over by a car
1 female electrocuted on a rigged fusebox
1 male immolated by an explosion
1 male stabbed on the gut with a machete
Total: 5

101 Maniacs: Admin's Top Slashers 20-11

*As of 2014*

Inspired and tempted by this delicious countdown,  Here be my personal Top 101 Slasher movies that really stood out the most!

Note: These are in no particular order (save the last ten) and they're all personal picks, so, nope. Your faves or your orders does not matter here! Muahahaha!...ha!

101-91 Here

90-81 Here

 80-71 Here 

70-61 Here
60-51 Here

50-41 Here
40-31 Here

30-21 Here

20. Identity (2003)

Eleven strangers got stuck in a motel during one stormy night, wherein they find themselves dwindling down in numbers. Sounds pretty generic? Don' be fooled, this movie got more twists and bloody turns to elevate this "thriller" into a pure slasher movie. 

Bloody Best Bits: One suspect was left alone and later found killed with a baseball bat in a display most shocking. 

19. Evilspeak

Carrie (any version) may have the "revenge of the teenager with powers" in the bag, but Evilspeak does a little better for me since it had the guts (and blood. and dismembered heads) to give us a much more gorily satisfying finale as one bullied chap got his sweet revenge on everybody that wronged him with the help of black magic and a computer.

Bloody Best Bits: Again, the finale. Cheesiness aside, it's pretty badass and gloriously gory.

18. Scream (1996)

Wes Craven's bonafide 90s hit gets a warm welcome mat on this list for saving the sub-genre from obscurity and relaunching it for the mainstream audience. How? By giving us one wonderfully written whodunit about a small town terrorized by a ghost-faced killer, who may have something to do with a local girl who lost her mum a year prior ago.

Bloody Best Bits: The opening act. Seeing Drew Barrymore terrorized by a masked killer is devilish fun!

17. Freddy vs Jason

Dracula vs Frankenstein! King Kong vs Godzilla! Adam Sandler vs Ben Stiller! We all love monsters brawling it out, so seeing two slasher icons battle for blood and glory is a dream come true for us horror fans. Left powerless since the Elm street kids stopped believing in him, Freddy brought Jason back to life to spark paranoia under the Springwood Slasher's name. But when the masked hulk begins to murder more than what Freddy had hoped for, the two clashed for an epic showdown for slasher supremacy.

Bloody Best Bits: The fights. Both in the dream and the real world. Obviously.

16. Severance

A band of office co-workers from a weapon sales company meets grisly ends when mercenaries show up to make mince meat out of them. Chock full of laughs, gags and bloody mayhem, Anyone with smarts can find a chuckle-worthy time with this.

Bloody Best Bits: How hard is it for four people to remove a bear trap off their buddy's leg? Hard enough for them to mess it up and get said friend missing a limb. 

15. Inside/ A'Linterieur

On Christmas Eve, a lone pregnant photographer meets her worst nightmare on the form of a deranged woman breaking into her house to steal her baby straight out of her womb. What soon ensues is a body count, one mentally scarring film and a house with each room stained with blood.

Bloody Best Bits: There's this pretty grim scene where the villainess mercilessly murders a hooligan and then watches him death-rattle his way trying to hurt her. Of course, there's also the finale. (You cannot unsee it)

14. Urban Legend

An underrated 90s teen-kill, this fondue pot of slasher cliches passes with flying colors thanks to its creative streak of utilizing urban legends as the killer's MO, as the hooded maniac slashes their way through coeds in a murderous rampage.

Bloody Best Bits: I adore the opening murder, which is based on my favorite urban legend. Apart from that, there's also the pop-rock prank and one microwaved party animal.

13. The Burning (1981)

A vengeful groundskeeper returns to the old camp he used to work on to terrorize youngsters and counselors in a twisted sense of revenge. Accused of being a Friday the 13th rip-off, The Burning is a slow burn that does things right with brooding tension, a menacing killer and top-of-the-line gore effects courtesy of Tom Savini. 

Bloody Best Bits: The raft massacre.

12. Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Taking place some years prior the events of the 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot, we watch how Thomas Hewitt turn from a disturbed meat packer to a powertool-wielding cannibal juggernaut. I really don't understand the hate for this title; I find the story more interesting than the slasher-standard remake this title is supposed to follow, plus the kills are a lot juicier with the red stuff. 

Bloody Best Bits: Thomas gets revenge on his boss, and does a money shot with him and his first chainsaw.

11. New Nightmare

Perhaps the most unique entry to the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, taking place in the "real world" where an evil entity takes the form of Freddy Kreuger and haunts Heather Langenkamp as he murders everybody dear to her.

Bloody Best Bit: The opening act involving a possessed movie prop in a murderous rampage. And then there's that one scene that kinda tugged a few strings for me: Heather's young son crying out to his imaginary dinosaur for help. Yeah, childhood fears, right there.

Next: The Honorable Mentions
dun-dun-duuuun!

Spooked? Or Doomed?: Dead of The Nite (2014)

Dead of The Nite (United Kingdom, 2014)
Rating: **1/2
Starring: Tony Todd, Joseph Millson, Cicely Tennant

Found Footage and slasher films collaborate once again when investigating detectives uncover a video tape from a murder scene, in it recorded the last few hours of a five-team web-series crew hosting a live ghost hunt at the infamous (and fictional) Jericho Mansion.

According to the tale, there was once a disgruntled servant who murdered all of Lord and Lady Jericho's children before putting the sickle into himself, slicing off his face and putting a death curse on the land in which he'll return to slaughter anybody who dares enter the property. The land's caretaker (Tony Todd in a very small role) decided to humor the teens and allows them to do an overnight lockdown, investigating the manor themselves.

What they didn't know, however, is that they're not alone and something armed with a sickle has set its sight on picking them all off one by one.

One part supernatural, other part slasher, Dead of The Nite took a while before any of the gruesome stuff happens as the young investigators spend a good sample of their time doing some of the classic trappings in a supernatural horror flick, like setting up equipments and showing us the ropes, discussing the legend that they're supposed to be covering and even invoking the spirit by doing a ritual. (in this movie, the oh so popular Ouija board)

Seems to be going nowhere (save one scene that hints a shred of the paranormal) until a guy in a mask and hoodie shows up and starts hacking these teens up. It's kinda cool how this guy wants to show us the good stuff by holding the camera while he kills them but I have to admit it's still a bit hard to see a good murder if the camera shakes a lot. There are other shots present, but though due to the low-budget of the movie and probably to save some cash on effects, they're either  blocked in view by the killer or just occur offcamera and let the screams express the mayhem. The murders you do get to see, though, are kinda okay: despite shot in night-vision, they resemble the kind of slasher film hack'n stabs that you can find in any 80s released title, which is not bad.

Performances were rather good but feels a bit unimportant since the characters they play aren't all that interesting. Even the killer devolves from an intimidating silent stalker into a raving lunatic with a silly pompous mission, which is a shame; he's better off cool being mute and killing than gagging a victim and forcing them to listen to his cheesy I'm-the-guy-that'll-set-every-wrong-right monologues. Of course, there's a twist, or rather a surprise reveal, on who the killer is. It wasn't exciting and I find myself ho-humming the entire scene since I barely knew the guy outside his ramblings. 

So is Dead of The Nite a bad movie? Honestly, it has potential. I like the idea of found footage slasher movies and this one had a nice set-up and a darn slick looking killer. Unfortunately, the execution of the attacks and murders were arguably tricky and though this movie tries to make these scenes look menacing, it just wasn't enough. It's missing the blood and the creativity that make fans glued to these scenes, so, in a lack of a better description, the film's dry and tame.

Still, it's pretty ambitious so I could give the movie at least that. Dead of The Nite may not work all the way but concept-wise, it may worth a single night's rent.

Bodycount:
1 male hacked on the neck with a sickle
1 female strangled, thrown down the stairs
1 female hacked to death with a sickle
1 female hacked to death with a sickle
1 male had his throat cut with kitchen knife
1 male had his neck broken
1 male killed with a sickle
Total: 7