The Coffin, directed by Ekachai Uekrongtham will be released on DVD August 31, via Breaking Glass Pictures. It is based on a Thai ritual. The ritual involves a person who wishes to “cheat death and end bad luck” being sealed in a coffin and a funeral being performed over them. This is done in large groups.  People claim to have gone into a coffin with Cancer and come out only to be given a clean bill of health on their next doctor visit.  Some people believe in it and others believe it is hogwash.

Su (Karen Mok) is a young woman who left Bangkok and Jack, to whom she was going to marry. She hasn’t told anyone that she has lung cancer. She goes to Thailand to be part of a mass funeral. Soon after participating (possibly even on her way home from it as the movie suggests) she is involved in a serious car accident. She escapes with only bruises, but learns that she no longer has cancer. While recuperating, she is given some terrible news and begins to have disturbing visions.

Chris’s (Ananda Evringham) girlfriend is in a coma. He goes in to a coffin with her name written on a piece of paper. While in the coffin he has strange, frightening visions of a woman. He ends up having a seizure and is brought to the hospital where he is revived after his heart had stopped. His girlfriend wakes from her coma and they both start having visions of that same woman.

The film goes back and forth between the two as they struggle with these nightmarish visions and try to figure out how to stop them.

Now, you may have noticed that I used the phrase “cheat death” and suddenly had visions of tires crushing heads or perhaps more lovely images of sweet Emma Bell in another film of late. Let me assure you, this film’s ramifications for cheating death are far less flashy (silly) and over the top. They are terrifyingly psychological. The constant visions and slow, psychological torment these characters went through is much more satisfying than the bizarre, elaborate and sometimes 3D fuckery of The Final Destination Films. That’s because it’s not Death chasing them; it’s Karma. Karma won’t kill you. It will just make you full of regret and make you wish you were dead.

This film is creepy. It is dimly lit and mostly blue, gray and just feels cold all the time. In the beginning it resembled a National Geographic Channel documentary (not necessarily by that previous description, just because of the camera work). The entire film looked very pretty in stark contrast to the events transpiring, which just made it more creepy. There were moments in this film in which I jumped and possibly exclaimed an expletive. Complete out of nowhere scares. Then there were others that were not so clever, but at least they weren’t terrible. It is not often that I am startled during a film, so needless to say, this film had my entire attention.

The direction is excellent, the acting well done. There really isn’t anything not to like about this film. Especially the end. I won’t ruin it, but “lesson learned” is a nice way to put it. This is a great and interesting thriller, check it out.

Rania Ajami’s  Asylum Seekers will arrive on DVD on August 30th. There is really only one way to describe this film: batshit crazy.

The simple synopsis of the film is as follows: 6 people who can be categorized as insane for some reason or another, seek asylum (ha) from the outside world that is ever increasing it’s focus on excess and more more more. They arrive at a mental health facility that is very lavish and promises to take care of their every need. However, so popular is this facility, there is only one bed left. Much like an Ivy League college, this facility will only accept the best of the best insane people. So how do you declare the best of the best? Why, have a competition of course. What ensues is a brightly colored, blatant parody of several things, including American Idol and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

I will tell you this. This film is ambitious, well acted and even well directed. However. The film sucks.

The film loses itself in its own insanity. So much so, that it goes from entertaining absurdism,  to complete boring nonsense. I felt like the film had a point to make, but got so caught up in being nuts, that the point was abandoned being no longer relevant.

What pisses me off, is that there are some really decent performances. Daniel Irizarry is especially great as Dr. Raby, one of the potential patients. And the high level, over the top approach worked for a while, but then it just went too far and became almost unwatchable because it was too random. Even absurdism has a template it operates within. This where the similarities to Rocky Horror lie. Just, incredible, super over the top, gather a crowd and make your own dialogue foolishness.

That really is the film’s only fault. But it is a huge fault. Visually it is quite stunning and pleasing. The humor is more hit than miss. All of the actors are really absorbed into their roles. But, once it unravels, you lose the journey. It’s like an acid trip. You are in the moment, and have no idea what the hell happened 5 minutes ago. I get that this was probably done to simulate insanity for the viewer, but it was not successful.

Ultimately, it is a brave effort and I can say that it is worth a viewing. It is definitely entertaining and better than a lot of indie pics that are out there. Having the attention span of a ferret on crack will probably help.

Here’s part 2! We spend a lot of time discussing upcoming sequels. Also, Kenny finally admits that G.I.  Joe* may not be that good after all. Enjoy!

*I’m not linking that piece of shit.

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So, out of nowhere, Puck wanted to do a podcast. Then Kenny from UFG got involved. We started talking about movies and a 2 and a half hour conversation took place. I simply started recording so there is no formal introduction, just great movie talk. In Part 1, we cover Paranormal Activity, Battleship, Smurfs and I think I may have stolen a joke from Dane Cook. Kenny’s audio varies in quality, so you may have to turn your volume up a bit during his parts. Enjoy!

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Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights is inspired by, loosely based on or whatever you want to call it, the life of porn star John Holmes (at times, it even directly lifts dialogue from interviews with Holmes that appeared in a later documentary in which featured Anderson) . While the two are similar, it is more so a fictitious depiction of the lives of some folks in the porn industry during the 70s and 80s. It does have some true elements to it, such as the movement to get porn to convert from film to videotape. Ultimately, it is an examination of several people’s lives as they move in and out of the adult film world.

The main story of this film revolves around Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg), a 17 year old who works at a car wash by day and a nightclub at…well, night. Eddie believes that everyone has one special thing that they are blessed with. His special thing happens to be a penis that hangs around 13 inches or so. The particular nightclub that he works for, happens to be frequented by a porn director, Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds). Jack convinces Eddie to come to his home and ultimately audition for him by having sex with Rollergirl (Heather Graham). He changes his name to Dirk Diggler and as he becomes a star in the adult film world, much like a rock star, the more money he makes, the more ego, drugs and recklessness consume him. We witness an engrossing journey of a young man as he tries to handle the pressure of  fame and people’s fascination with large appendages.

In addition to this main story, the film is comprised of many vignettes that focus on the lives of other characters (porn actors/crew). Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly) is a magician, Buck Swope (Don Cheadle)  wants to open an electronics store and struggles to find his identity, Little Bill (William H. Macy) is constantly walking in on his wife fucking someone else, and many other stories. While vignettes are naturally isolated, P.T.A. does quite an excellent job of wandering between the straightforward narrative in to a vignette and then back.

Every single person in this film is excellent. Everyone has a very natural, and at times almost improvisational delivery of their dialogue that is quite pleasing. John C. Reilly gives his best performance in this film. At his first appearance he does his “ham and cheese” routine but as the film progresses, he demonstrates that he is actually quite gifted beyond being a staple in an Adam McKay  project (although I am fine with that). In particular, there is a scene in which Dirk, Reed and their fellow drug addict Todd (Thomas Jane)  attempt to rob a drug dealer. All three of them are quite brilliant in this scene as they react to multiple nerve wracking occurrences.  There is a moment in which Wahlberg is staring off and the camera lingers on him for what seems like an eternity and there is absolutely no indication of what he is thinking about (although you can infer many things). It is just as hypnotic for the viewer as it seems to be for Diggler.

Anderson’s direction is very satisfying. He goes for the handheld camera and it works quite well, especially as we follow people from behind as they walk. His script is also filled with delightful subtleties that couples with the camera work, make it seem like a documentary rather than a scripted film.

I can’t really say a negative thing about this film. Puck would delight in that Julianne Moore is also in it, and her performance is just as great as everyone else’s. A truly brilliant film indeed.

Filmmakers the BAPartists were kind enough to chat with us about their upcoming film The Taking. Also discussed were the struggles of making an indie film, Tupac and the obligatory Christopher Nolan. Check out the images from the film below. The podcast is below the last image. Enjoy!

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Exit 33 will be released to DVD on August 2 via Breaking Glass Pictures. It is directed by Tommy Brunswick and stars Kane Hodder. You may remember Hodder from his role as the best Jason Voorhees ever (in arguably the worst installments of that franchise). He has also appeared in Adam Green’s Hatchet films (and many others).

A small group of friends (some travelling alone, some together) are going to their 5 year high school reunion. On their way, they come across Ike’s Last Chance Gas. In addition to owning the gas station, Ike (Hodder) is a bit of a taxidermist and also makes a fine venison jerky. His deer heads and jerky can be found in his store. This station lies off of Exit 33, which not often used (despite the 9 or so visitors in one night). Ike and his store seem a bit creepy. For good reason. Ike is deeply troubled and has a terrible secret. Unfortunately for some of his patrons, they find out exactly what it is.

Because of the legacy and popularity of the Friday the 13th films, most of the time when one hears the name Kane Hodder, they immediately think of Jason, as opposed to his many other films. This will not likely conjure recollections of Hodder performances where his character is not deformed or donning a mask and largely silent. Exit 33 has him playing Ike, who is just as insane as any other of his characters, but has never been killed and is not deformed. Thus we get to see Hodder act and deliver dialogue, face not obscured.

That being said, Hodder is excellent in this film. His madness is psychological and not supernatural, and thus more low key. He plays this just as well as he does an undead horror film icon. His glares, his line delivery, his humming. His character is very disturbing and believably so. Very enjoyable performance.

The rest of the film was a different matter.

No one else in the film could act. Actors sharing scenes together had no chemistry with each other (except Hodder). The script was also not terribly great which only hindered the actors’ already limited skills. While the basic framework of the story (creepy gas station) is nothing new, it is still decent enough and could have been much better with stronger actors and better dialogue.

The overall look and mood of the film was pretty creepy. It’s all at night in one scary location and the music added some nice discomfort, but the aforementioned grievances  were too much of a distraction for that mood to be consistent. Every time there was a gruesome, gory scene, it was interrupted by some dismal line delivery and questionable plot points.

This film had a budget of 1 million dollars, and you would have no idea. Not that a million bucks is a huge budget in the world of film, but I have seen better looking films with say $115,000, and from this same distributor.

Hodder’s performance is enough to keep a viewer watching until the end. Unfortunately after the film is over, there is more negative than positive. Better actors and a better script would have made a world of difference for this film.

Strangers Online is excruciating. Watching it is like watching one of those Cinemax movies that come on at 2am, but actually trying to care for and follow the plot. Yes, this film should be nestled right between Sex Games: Vegas and The Bare Wench Project.

Much like my relationship with this film, Hollis Parker (Noel Palomaria) is trying to forget the memory and stop the nightmares of when his wife was murdered 4 years ago. Currently, he hosts a web show called Strangers Online. Guests call via their web cams for sexual and relationship advice, to show their bodies, or sometimes just to be plain weird. Hollis’s show is quite popular, as is he. Hollis is in therapy, as he is guilt ridden over not being able to protect his wife from being murdered. This is what leads to his nightmares. He lives in seclusion with his girlfriend, Laura (Eva Frajko). A new intern, Karen (Tara Killian) has quite a crush on Hollis, which develops into an unhealthy obsession. Laura also appears to have someone obsessing over her as well, and things just get completely boring from there.

This is just terrible. It is so incredibly boring. The funny thing is, it so boring that when a sex scene occurs, you are kind of jarred. If this were a porno, then the alternating scenes of uselessness and sex would make sense. But since this a terribly lifeless “erotic thriller,” it’s kind of like driving down a long highway staring at miles of trees, then seeing a field of cows. You get all excited at first because it’s not trees, but then you are like, “Ah who cares, it’s just cows.”

The audio was quite inconsistent. A lot of times you  can’t hear the actors, sometimes you can hear them very well. You can always hear the terrible music, however.

This film is also a liar by way of its categorization. It is nether erotic nor thrilling.  It just kind of sits there and presents random scenes of little to no interest, much like a screen saver that is a slideshow of someone else’s photo album.

There really is not much to say about this film. It’s not funny, not suspenseful, not erotic, not thought provoking and it does not contribute anything to American Cinema. So, there you go. It’s crap.

In yet another porn to mainstream transition, adult film star Alexis Texas stars in Bloodlust Zombies. This film is sort of a piss poor combination of Office Space and Zombieland. And porno. It arrives on DVD on July 5th.

So there is this office building. In the building there is a lab where some kind of chemical is being developed and tested. At the beginning of the film, all we know about it is that it seems to make house cats insane. The boss and Andrea (Texas) are having sex when they accidentally tun the office intercom system on. The entire building can hear the fornication and react by laughing and/or mimicking sexual positions. Why, even the serious minded lab workers join in the fun and accidentally cause a spill. Someone gets bitten by an insane house cat test subject and BAM! There’s your outbreak. So, to be more factual, these would be blood lust infected, not zombies. It is later explained that the chemical was actually designed to be used in wars as a biochemical weapon. The intent was to administer it to our enemies, and they would become infected and kill each other. As a result of the spill, the building immediately goes on lock down; electronic door locks do not work, main power goes out. This goes on for a 25 minute period. During this 25 minutes, the nerdy scientist office workers turn into some kind of zombie dispatching commando unit, hurling bullets and bad jokes all over the place.

Now, you may be saying to yourself, “Hey. I like Office Space. I like Zombieland. I like porno. Surely the melding of these concepts would go together like a delicious sub sandwich that was just invented in a test kitchen.” Fucking incorrect.

There just isn’t much in this film that is very good. Not even the nudity is enough to make anyone care. The acting is excruciating. The comedy is not funny. The effects are weak at best. I didn’t care about one person in this thing, so it didn’t matter who lived or died. There is a security guard who is apparently related to Dante Hicks as he keeps repeating how he isn’t supposed to be there today. Even the music gets tired and annoying. There is a hand print on my forehead as I pretty much spent the entire film watching it with my head in my hand.

The one (and I mean one) thing that I liked was the idea of the zombie (infected) apocalypse being confined to one place where no one could escape. But all the boring bad comedians I had to deal with completely ruined that.

As you well know, we here at Movie Scum embrace the indie movie. There are some great pictures that were made on the flimsiest of budgets. You should run from this film. Run like it’s the infected.

The Anniversary at Shallow Creek is very reminiscent of other horror films. It’s predictable. It’s formulaic. And yet…I kind of enjoyed it.

College kids and lovers Sam and Paige have decided to take a nice vacation to Sam’s uncle’s house. Unfortunately, Paige’s brother Anthony invites himself and his girlfriend along, and then 2 more kids join. What was mean to be a romantic getaway turns in to a party for 3 girls and 3 guys. The house appears to be located in a desert or a just plain under developed area where the houses are so far apart, you can make as much noise as you want, and no one else will hear you. The name of the place is Shallow Creek, and exactly one year ago to the day, a young couple were murdered in the same area. Will history repeat itself? What the hell do you think? Drunken young people on vacation in a remote location where people have been murdered before? Well, I wont spoil it for you.

Yes.

So, here’s the thing about this film. You will probably figure out the killer before the halfway point of the film. You may even figure out the “twist.” Yes, the characters make dumb decisions. To be honest, there isn’t really anything new here. But if I restricted myself only to films that were unique and showed me new things, I would probably only be watching Inception, and even that is up for debate.

However, there are some things to enjoy. The deaths are pretty enjoyable and sometimes even startling (right up until the film steals from Saw; in fact, at one point this film becomes a kind of mix of Saw and The Strangers). The effects are pretty decent when someone dies.

The acting is a bit painful until the slaughter begins. Suddenly the ensemble works very well with each other and they deliver their lines much better. I will attribute that to the script being its worst when establishing the little to no characterization or exposition.

So what was it that landed me on the “enjoyed it” side of the fence? There are a lot of low budget films out there. Especially low budget horror films. Comparatively, this one is just fine. It does not look or feel that low budget. This film really used its budget wisely. There is some decent tension. Some of the actors turn in some enjoyable performances. There are a lot worse films you could suffer through. This may not be enough to make it “good,” but it is not unwatchable by any means.

This film is directed by Jon D. Wagner and is written by Eric Fisher and Brianna Lee Johnson. It’s clear that they love horror/killer films, and it is not a bad first effort. If I could provide direct feedback to them: On your next effort, steal less. Homages are fine, but blatant lifts from other films is another thing entirely.