Movies

Scherzo Diabolico

Scherzo Diabolico is a slow-burn tale on a person’s decision to take his life into his own hands in the worst possible way.

Directed by Adrián García Bogliano (Late Phases, Here Comes the Devil), Scherzo Diabolico tellls the story of a man who gets passed over for a promotion and does not have a good relationship with his wife. We see him spend considerable time stalking a high school student before eventually kidnapping her.

I do not want to go into too much farther into the plot than that. This movie has twists and changes your expectations regularly. The very final scene still sticks with me. Very simple to produce – very heart wrenching.

One caveat, this is a subtitled movie. And it is a slow-burn movie.

Scherzo Diabolico is currently streaming on Netflix.

Starring: Francisco Barreiro, Daniela Soto Vell, Jorge Molina, Milena Pezzi, Vita Vargas

Vía Letterboxd – AngryTownsman

Bloodsucking Bastards

Work. It sucks the life out of you.

Bloodsucking Bastards is not your typical vampire movie.

Evan is working as the acting sales manager at a telemarketing company. His girlfriend, Amanda, is head of human resources and his friend Max is a sales person. Just as things appear to be looking up for Evan, he is passed up for a promotion that is given to his arch-nemesis, Max.

Slowly, Evan’s co-workers get really pale and really productive at their jobs. Evan has to stop the threat with the few employees not yet turned.

I liked the concept of a “corporate” takeover of a company by vampires. We get some comedy and plenty of gore.

Starring: Fran Kranz, Pedro Pascal, Joey Kern, Joel Murray, Emma Fitzpatrick, Yvette Yates, Justin Ware

Official Site: http://www.bloodsuckingbastards.com/

Vía Letterboxd – AngryTownsman

Wyrmwood

wrymwood_brookeThe Zombie genre can feel played out. But Wyrmwood is a nice entry from Australia. Very Gorey with shades of Day of the Dead.

We start off with an action scene with 4 armored men retrieving a truck surrounded by a horde of zombies. We get some flashbacks from a few of them when the zombie outbreak started. One man was forced to kill his family as they turn. Not from being bitten though. From the air itself. His sister gets kidnapped by a pseudo-military outfit and experimented on.

He and his friends make their way to her last known location, not knowing she was taken.

Whatever is in the air reanimating people also does something to flammable liquids like gas that make them no longer flammable. I love their solution around this.

We slowly get to see the effects of the experiments which lead up to the finale of the movie.

Wyrmwood leaves itself open for a sequel, but doesn’t really need one.

Starring: Jay Gallagher, Bianca Bradey, Leon Burchill, Keith Agius, Berynn Schwerdt, Luke McKenzie, Cain Thompson, Catherine Terracini

Vía Letterboxd – AngryTownsman

Attack of the Morningside Monster

Starring: Nicholas Brendon, Tiffany Shepis, Catherine Taber, Robert Pralgo, Antonio Madison, Amber Chaney, Mike Stanley

Site: TheMorningsideMonster.com

I kind of enjoyed this low budget horror entry.

The movie starts out with someone in a dark robe killing someone. That body later turns up after some teenagers have a small get-together in the woods.

We are introduced to the Sheriff and deputes of Morningside. We get a glimpse into the community’s normal flow. From low-tier drug dealers to high school teachers.

As more people die a ritualistic death, the hunt is on for the killer.

You’re probably going to figure out who the killer is, but this was still a fun popcorn movie for October.

Vía Letterboxd – AngryTownsman

Vamp

This is a childhood favorite vampire film for me. It is one of the three vampire films I watched over and over as a kid – including Near Dark and the Lost Boys.

I just picked up the Arrow entertainment blu-ray. It is a huge improvement over the earlier bare bones blu-ray. Other than one brief scene, the entire movie is remastered. It has nice special features, but is missing the commentary that was on the DVD release years back.

Vamp opens with a botched fraternity initiation for Keith and AJ. To get into the fraternity, they promise to procure the services of a stripper for a party later that night. They go to Duncan to barter for the use of one of his cars. The price? They have to pretend to be his friend for a week.

Keith and AJ

Along the way to the strip club, Keith, AJ & Duncan run afoul of an albino gang. After an … interesting … way of getting out of the situation, they manage to get to the club.

snow

While Keith and Duncan are watching “ringside”, AJ is flying solo at the bar. After an odd performance by the owner, Katrina, AJ decides that is the act he wants for the fraternity. As he goes backstage to broker a deal, a waitress, Amaretto, talks up Keith. She mentions remembering him and them having an encounter in the past. All of which Keith does not remember.

Amaretto Keith Duncan

AJ has an intense encounter with Katrina that leads into the guys and Amaretto dodging vampires and the albino gang for the rest of the night.

Vía Letterboxd – AngryTownsman