31 (2016) movie review

31 (2016) d. Zombie, Rob (USA) (1st viewing)

Kicking the Seat podcast mogul Ian Simmons approached me with the notion of checking out the latest from Mr. Dragula Himself as a means of a) kicking off the Halloween season and b) maintaining our ongoing patronage of the ever-polarizing horror writer/director. (As documented in 2013’s review of The Lords of Salem, I find myself more and more to be a fan of the artist while not really enjoying the art itself.)

Interview with CLASS OF 1984 director Mark L. Lester!!!

From his directorial debut in 1971 to his most recent exploits on the SyFy Channel, Mark L. Lester has covered a lot of cinematic ground. Even if you don’t recognize the name right off, you know the movies: Roller Boogie, Class of 1984 (and its pseudo-sequel Class of 1999), Firestarter, Commando, Showdown in Little Tokyo. He’s worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Drew Barrymore, Linda Blair, George C. Scott, Pam Grier, Dolph Lundgren, Brandon Lee, and countless others. Somehow, through it all, he’s managed to keep his sense of humor and perspective, remaining an incredibly affable and accessible gent.

On the eve of Shout! Factory’s release of the Collector’s Edition Blu-ray of Class of 1984, Lester took a brief time out from his crazy schedule to chat about juvenile delinquents, killer androids, fiery catapults, and the dream team of McDowell and McDowall.

ANTIVIRAL (2012) movie review

Antiviral (2012) d. Cronenberg, Brandon (Canada)

Considering that we’re probably not going to see Daddy David return to his horror/sci-fi roots any time soon, it’s somewhat heartening to see his offspring picking up the mantle in such an unabashed fashion. That the subject matter lives and breathes in an identifiably Cronenbergian realm almost goes without saying, but it’s a brave gesture to embrace it so fully – knowing the temptation would exist for comparisons, BC opts to meet said criticisms head on by showing us what his version of body horror looks like.

EXCISION (2012) review

Excision (2012) (1st viewing) d. Bates, Jr., Richard (USA)

Writer/director Bates’ feature debut, based on his original short, is a fascinating mixed bag; a film as willfully weird, unique and occasionally tiresome as its lead character, (AnnaLynne McCord, impressively outside her 90210 comfort zone).

Much in the same way that McCord’s eccentric, abrasive adolescent acts out against authority figures and social standards, Bates’s cinematic beast may keep some viewers at arm’s length – I found myself observing without empathizing, critiquing without engaging, more distracted by the stunt casting than impressed. (Seriously, what are Malcolm McDowell, John Waters, Ray Wise and Marlee Matlin doing in this movie other than calling attention to their overqualified presence?) On the other hand, Traci Lords is terrifyingly good as the image-conscious matriarch, inviting favorable comparisons with Annette Bening’s Oscar-nominated turn in American Beauty; she is well-matched by beaten-down Roger Bart’s vanquished spouse.

Genre fans take note: the horror elements exist tangentially, via several well-realized fantasy sequences in which beetle-browed McCord envisions herself as a goddess-like sensualist, bathing in pools of blood and the like – this is primarily a quirky character study a la Juno or Napoleon Dynamite that finds its way into May territory in the closing reel.

Undeniably assured filmmaking, entertainment mileage may vary.