I had the chance to see this film at the Shriekfest film festival a few days ago and it was a hoot. It reminded me of some great horror films from the 1970s: shockingly gory, incredibly violent and a lot of fun. Half the fun of the film was the audience response. People covered their eyes, gagged loudly, and laughed in all the right spots. This is a dead-on, squirm-in-your-seat blood-fest with enough fun to make it a great film to watch with friends.
It opens with a scientist (well played by Louis Graham) injecting a dissected frog with some sort of life returning chemical. The frog comes to life all right, and attacks. Later the scientist uses the same mixture on some people and the the results are similar. He keeps trying new versions in an attempt to perfect it and some work better than others. His assistant, played by Gabriel Womack, and the assistants pregnant wife get tangled up in the whole mess when things go bad.
The plot line is very straight forward like a 1950s mad scientist movie, but the writer's take on it is very human and new. No one is a mustache twirling villain. Everyone is trying to do what they believe is right. I've seen a lot of movies lately where I don't like anyone. In this film I pretty much like everyone of the mains, and I believe where they are coming from.
Noted performances by David Reynolds (House of 1000 Corpses) and the woman who plays the mother. But in general, all of the performances were pretty good. Also, the little girl was very creepy.
They list the budget at a quarter of a million but in the Q&A after-wards the director said that that included a lot of unpaid and deferred costs. The producer said that she funded the whole thing by selling her house. Hey, why not. It looks really good for a low budget flick.
But the most striking thing about the movie is the blood. I have never seen such relentless violence in a film. A zombie gets tied up at one point and gets his head bashed in with a hammer and a mace and it keeps going and going down to the stump. It was incredible. And there are a dozen moments like that in the film. There is nothing out there like it.
To wrap up, this film is a bash and blast blood party and the Shriefest screening was great fun for all.
It opens with a scientist (well played by Louis Graham) injecting a dissected frog with some sort of life returning chemical. The frog comes to life all right, and attacks. Later the scientist uses the same mixture on some people and the the results are similar. He keeps trying new versions in an attempt to perfect it and some work better than others. His assistant, played by Gabriel Womack, and the assistants pregnant wife get tangled up in the whole mess when things go bad.
The plot line is very straight forward like a 1950s mad scientist movie, but the writer's take on it is very human and new. No one is a mustache twirling villain. Everyone is trying to do what they believe is right. I've seen a lot of movies lately where I don't like anyone. In this film I pretty much like everyone of the mains, and I believe where they are coming from.
Noted performances by David Reynolds (House of 1000 Corpses) and the woman who plays the mother. But in general, all of the performances were pretty good. Also, the little girl was very creepy.
They list the budget at a quarter of a million but in the Q&A after-wards the director said that that included a lot of unpaid and deferred costs. The producer said that she funded the whole thing by selling her house. Hey, why not. It looks really good for a low budget flick.
But the most striking thing about the movie is the blood. I have never seen such relentless violence in a film. A zombie gets tied up at one point and gets his head bashed in with a hammer and a mace and it keeps going and going down to the stump. It was incredible. And there are a dozen moments like that in the film. There is nothing out there like it.
To wrap up, this film is a bash and blast blood party and the Shriefest screening was great fun for all.