
Greetings, all. Ambush Bug here with another AICN HORROR: ZOMBIES & SHARKS column. And here’s another batch of films to satiate you appetite for terror!
(Click title to go directly to the feature)
Retro-review: THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953)
Retro-review: THE PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES (1955)
WRECKER (2015)
ANGER OF THE DEAD (2015)
CONDEMNED (2015)
OVER YOUR DEAD BODY (2014)
THE VISIT (2015)
THE GREEN INFERNO (2015)
DEATHGASM (2015)
DISTILLER (2015)
And finally… Matthew Forte’s LOVE ETERNAL!


THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953)
aka MONSTER FROM BENEATH THE SEA, PANIC IN NEW YORK, DINOSAUR IN NEW YORKDirected by Eugène Lourié
Written by Lou Morheim, Fred Freiberger (screenplay), from the story “The Fog Horn” by Ray Bradbury
Starring Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods, Lee Van Cleef, Steve Brodie, Ross Elliott, Jack Pennick, Ray Hyke, Paula Hill, Frank Ferguson, King Donovan
Retro-reviewed by Ambush Bug
Plunging a bit deeper than THE PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES (though I’m not sure about the League to Fathom conversion scale), THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS is a stop motion masterpiece that actually turns out to be a bit more disturbing than most mad monster parties that Ray Harryhausen took part in.

Before getting into the stop motion stuff, the body horror-esque nature of the bacteria from the monster is actually what impressed me the most about this film. This kicks the threat up a notch, and though it isn’t really the centerpiece of the action, it distinguishes this film from the rest of the giant rampaging monster films by having it be a biological weapon by simply walking around. All of these films symbolize a foreign threat rampaging on American soil, but this may be the first one involving biological weaponry. I have to say, seeing the destruction and the people evacuating New York City was very reminiscent of 9-11 (and GODZILLA 1998, but it’s best we just forget about that film) as people scurry through the streets and the military moves in to contain the threat.

THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS is by far my favorite of this Special Effects Collection, which celebrates stop-motion monsters. The film is thrilling from beginning to end and while it does end abruptly, the memorable scenes of monster mayhem surely make up for it.
SON OF KONG
THEM!
MIGHTY JOE YOUNG


THE PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES (1955)
Directed by Dan MilnerWritten by Lou Rusoff (screenplay), Dorys Lukather (original story)
Starring Kent Taylor, Cathy Downs, Michael Whalen, Helene Stanton, Phillip Pine, Rodney Bell, Vivi Janiss, Michael Garth, Pierce Lyden,
Retro-reviewed by Ambush Bug
Wading far into the shallow end of the gene pool in terms of sea monster movies, THE PHANTOM FROM 10,000 LEAGUES is a man in suit monster flick with traces of mad science and international intrigue.

This film makes the mistake of many a monster movie: it thinks the audience is at all interested in the budding romance between the spy and the scientist’s daughter and focuses most of its time on this rather than, you know, the phantom from 10,000 fathoms. Too much time is spent on boring moments between the young lovers back and forthing, and it really slows this movie to a crawl numerous times.

There are some decent details in the film. The bodies of the victims aren’t just mauled by the beast; they are rendered radioactive and burned to a crisp because of the beast’s radioactivity. There’s also a cool moment where poison is put inside the tank of one of the divers that was actually pretty cool. Still, the suit kills all attempts at taking this film seriously. Never going more than ten feet from the shore, the Phantom never really reaches the depths the title suggests, both figuratively and metaphorically. Still, if you’re looking for a throwback to no budget horror from the Fifties, this one is soaking in retro (yet unintentional) laughs.

WRECKER (2015)
Directed by Micheal BafaroWritten by Micheal Bafaro
Starring Anna Hutchison, Andrea Whitburn, Jennifer Koenig, Don Knodel, Michael Dickson, Kurtis Maguire, Lori Watt
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
While I know the bulk of the moviegoing public has a very poor memory and a low tolerance for revisiting anything made before the turn of the century, I really would rather recommend DUEL any day of the week before I would tell someone they should check out WRECKER.

WRECKER is DUEL with two girls in a fast car rather than Dennis Weaver in a clunker. The film really doesn’t make any attempt to explain who or what is behind the wheel of the evil truck, but I can’t fault the movie for that since DUEL didn’t do it either. The problem is that WRECKER doesn’t really bring anything new to the table, and simply does a low budget version of a film that was already low budget to begin with. In doing so, WRECKER feels rather offensive, as if it were trying to do something new and innovative for those who don’t know enough about film to know a better film exists with the same plot.

Pair that with some rough acting and you’ve got a pretty difficult film to keep your eyes open through. I was able to withstand the tedium, but it’s doubtful many will. WRECKER attempts to reinvent the wheel without the proper tools to do so or the ingenuity and energy to even fake it.

ANGER OF THE DEAD (2015)
aka AGE OF THE DEAD, APOCALYPSE ZERODirected by Francesco Picone
Written by Francesco Picone
Starring Aaron Stielstra, Michael Segal, Marius Bizau, Désirée Giorgetti, Claudio Camilli, David White, Ally McClelland, Roberta Sparta
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
There’s nothing particularly wrong with the Uwe Boll-produced ANGER OF THE DEAD. It’s a capable zombie film, but in a world where the number of zombie films surpasses the number of actual shambling cadavers in a zombie apocalypse, you have to be more than capable to stand out.

ANGER OF THE DEAD’s worst crime is being typical. It follows two stories: one about the mother desperately wandering the landscape after the tragic events in the opening, the other following an escapee from a test facility run by sadistic madmen. The two stories tap one another occasionally (just not occasionally enough), but mainly they are flimsy excuses to have a bunch of people roaming around and running into zombies. Because this film’s characters aren’t really compelling or fleshed out, aside from the mother from the beginning, it’s really hard to care about any of them. Because of this, the film tends to plod on and on with forced drama that doesn’t really work and the occasional zombie chomp.

Also, while the facial appliances for the zombies are well done, that seems to be all that was within the budget here as none of the bodies of the zombies are paid attention to. Some are spattered with blood, but you just can’t have a decomposed face and then have perfect flesh all over your arms and legs. It just doesn’t sell your zombie.
ANGER OF THE DEAD seems to fall in line with previous Boll-produced zombie films like EATERS, ZOMBIE MASSACRE and ZOMBIE MASSACRE II (not HOUSE OF THE DEAD, tho). All of these films seem to kind of function in the same universe and occasionally share characters. That’s kind of fun to see, but aside from some interconnectivity, they really are simple and uninspired zombie films that just don’t bring anything new to the table, which is the film’s greatest sin and why ANGER OF THE DEAD just doesn’t stand out from the zombie herd.

CONDEMNED (2015)
Directed by Eli Morgan GesnerWritten by Eli Morgan Gesner
Starring Dylan Penn, Ronen Rubinstein, Genevieve Hudson-Price, Lydia Hearst, Honor Titus, Michael Drayer, Kea Ho, Michel Gill, Johnny Messner, Jon Abrahams, Anthony Chisholm, Michael DeMello, Perry Yung, Jordan Gelber, Tuffy Questell, Kevin Smith Kirkwood, Nick Damici
Find out more about this film here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
While those who have seen REC or QUARANTINE are going to feel they’re watching something pretty familiar, CONDEMNED offers up enough character, grossness, and downright oddity to make it worth checking out.

Yes, this sort of story has been told before. It’s sort of a mixture of STREET TRASH with Greg Lamberson’s SLIME CITY with the aforementioned REC/QUARANTINE bits tossed in. But just because this film is an amalgam of previous grossout tenement building flicks doesn’t mean that it’s bad. It’s actually filmed with an attractive indie sensibility, with some awesome punk tunes on the soundtrack—which is fitting with the grunginess of this film. Like the Henenlotter and Ferrare films of the Eighties, this film really seems to capture the attitude and sensibilities of New York with all of its lived in, grungy aspects. The film really does feel like it knows the city block this film was made on intimately, and there’s a love for it despite its eccentricities. There’s even a speech from one of the infected later in the film where the character goes off against Maya and her kind for moving in on daddy’s pension and turning all of the culturally nuanced neighborhoods with loads of character into a soulless and selfish landscape. If there’s a point to this film, it’s the difference between the tourists and the locals of New York.

Penn is a decent actress ,and it’s great seeing longtime character actor Anthony Chisolm in such a character rich role, plus the appearance of Nick Damici is a benefit to any old film. That said, the final half hour seems to have tossed out the script completely as the actors simply repeat themselves over and over as they are running from infected monster people. CONDEMNED is definitely a pretty person in peril film, but the layer of goopy grime over the entire film feels genuine, and it really pulls no punches, making it much more potent a film to gross out to.

OVER YOUR DEAD BODY (2014)
aka KUIMEDirected by Takashi Miike
Written by Kikumi Yamagishi
Starring Ko Shibasaki, Ebizô Ichikawa, Hitomi Katayama, Nakanishi Miho, Hideaki Ito, Maiko, Toshie Negishi, Hiroshi Katsuno, Miho Nakanishi, Ikkô Furuya
Find out more about this film here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Life imitates art imitates life in Takashi Miike’s newest venture into the macabre, which I found to be stimulating on an artistic and narrative level.

While it’s not as straightforward terrifying as AUDITION or as bug nutz as GOZU or THE HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS, OVER YOUR DEAD BODY is a complex exploration of relationships that sort of over-complicates itself by flipping locales between the real world of the film and the play the characters are acting in. It’s not a difficult film to follow, but it doesn’t explain all that is going on and may lose those who take things more on a literal level. The overall tone of the film reminds me most of David Lynch’s films as everyone spoke slowly, zombie-like, as if in some kind of dream-like trance and limply acting out the dialog. I teetered on being bored with this film during these listless lines, but thankfully Miike keeps things moving by switching locales, which in the end might have been the saving grace of what would have otherwise been a pretty boring cautionary tale against infidelity.

This being a MIike film, there’s also quite a bit of the standard gory and chilling imagery. While some, like the long black-haired pale GRUDGE-like woman Miyuki, has become standard what has come to be called J-horror, there are also some much more visceral and nauseating terrors to behold, which actually proved to be effective in intensifying my nightmares, thankyewverymuch Mr. Miike. With OVER YOUR DEAD BODY, Miike definitely adds to the beautiful yet terrifying imagery he has compiled in films such as ICHI THE KILLER, GOZU, and AUDITION.

OVER YOUR DEAD BODY is not Miike’s best, but it again shows us that he is a versatile and unique director like few others who isn’t afraid to take the viewer into the realms of uncomfortable, the unusual, and the grotesque. Here he seems to be making a statement about relationships, self-fulfilling prophesies, and revenge. Pretty simple concepts, but in Miike’s hands, it becomes the fodder for nightmares not long forgotten. OVER YOUR DEAD BODY is artsy horror, but delivers riveting moments and terrifying and beautiful visuals.

THE VISIT (2015)
Directed by M. Night ShyamalanWritten by M. Night Shyamalan
Starring Olivia DeJonge, Ed Oxenbould, Deanna Dunagan, Peter McRobbie, Kathryn Hahn, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Samuel Stricklen, Patch Darragh, Jorge Cordova
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
I’ve often talked about this phobia with friends and associates, but old people scare the shit out of me. Maybe it has something to do with the fear of my own mortality or some deep-seated trauma from my youth, but I just get creeped the hell out by oldies. M. Night Shyamalan’s latest attempt to regain the faith moviegoers once had with him is THE VISIT, which is a step in the right direction, though it will definitely feel like a desperate attempt to cash in on the fading found footage subgenre by a director in need of a hit by the filmmaker’s critics.

Save for some establishing shots of nature that suggest a little more skill than the teen director should have and more than a few instances where the camera falls or is dropped in the exact specific place to capture some kind of action, Shyamalan at least makes a capable found footage film that feels somewhat authentic. The fact that a lot of the actors involved are played by actors we’ve all seen before in other films kills the mystique of the believability that this is footage found, but this being a major release, I guess that is an inevitability.

One thing that is prevalent in Shyamalan’s films is the cyclical and somewhat poetic way problems are dealt with. Done decently in SIGNS with the dying woman’s premonition for Mel Gibson which comes back to factor in to the film in the end and rather clunkily in LADY IN THE WATER, here there is a serendipitous nature in which the weaknesses of both children in the film factor into how things pan out in the climax. While it’s done with some finesse here, it still is quite blatant when these weaknesses are introduced that there will be a scene later where the kids will have to deal with these phobias and sure enough, during the climax, factors fall into place where both kids have to deal with their fears in order to survive.

I also laughed quite a bit at this film, as its gallows humor really does hit the mark more often than not. So while the kids may not talk or act like real life kids, the scares in THE VISIT often work, and Mr. Shyamalan delivers something not as effective as his first three films, but possibly slightly more effective than THE VILLAGE (which I found to have some merit, though that is not a popular opinion). If you’re creeped out by getting older and all of the problems that have to do with it and aren’t yet tired of first person POV-filmed horror, THE VISIT isn’t great, but it’s potent enough to deliver more thrills than I expected.

THE GREEN INFERNO (2014)
Directed by Eli RothWritten by Eli Roth & Guillermo Amoedo
Starring Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Aaron Burns, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Magda Apanowicz, Ignacia Allamand, Daryl Sabara, Nicolás Martínez, Sky Ferreira, Eusebio Arenas, Richard Burgi, Matías López, Ramón Llao as the Headhunter, and Antonieta Pari as the Elder!
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
It was interesting to me reading the talkbacks after Capone’s review of THE GREEN INFERNO the other day. The talkbacks lit up with a lot of Eli Roth hate and a lot of ire towards cannibal films in general. Now, I understand why folks might not like cannibal films. Some people have a tolerance for those types of films (I’m one of those who is pretty fascinated with this subgenre of horror) and others hear the premise or even the notion of cannibalism and immediately start up the negative responses. I understand that cannibalism is a taboo subject and there is also a form of prejudice going on with these types of films, but still, even the worst kind of subject matter can become fascinating in the hands of a decent filmmaker.

Going a bit deeper, maybe Roth’s HOSTEL and the torture porn films that came after which for the most part highlight a person strapped into a chair and feeling helpless while being taken apart piece by piece was a response to the helplessness the world felt after 9-11 as viewers sat in horror watching the towers fall. Maybe it is that feeling that filmmakers were able to tap into at the time with torture porn, and as society began to cope with and move on from those events, they grew more and more disdainful towards those feelings, and thus have the same disdain towards those types of films and their poster boy, Eli Roth. I eventually want to get to THE GREEN INFERNO, but I had to get that little rant off my chest before going into the film.

The thing that should be noted here is that this is probably the best produced, best acted, and best effects in any cannibal film ever made. For that alone, I have to give this film a positive nod as I am a fan of these cannibal films, but will admit that most are shittily put together and acted. Roth does a great job of soaking in the vibrant green landscape the film is named after. In contrast, the clay-covered natives’ red skin gives them an alien feel which immediately suggests danger. It’s this simple color palette that makes this film beautiful to look at. Even the gore, which there is plenty of, is represented in vivid Italian film crimson, again a standard in these films. Roth definitely shows he can capture imagery in a grander scope here, something a lot of horror filmmakers often have difficulty with as horror is so often an intimate experience.

This film is definitely a devious one in tone and theme. It’s not the deepest theme, but one that I never get sick of, that being the hypocrisy of man. Having literal babes in the woods go save the “poor” savages has been a common misconception for hundreds of years. Religious groups have just been replaced by social justicers who often naively pontificate just to hear their gums flap. Again, this isn’t a new theme (hell, it was the prevalent theme of the last RAMBO film), but it still is a powerful one to see these folks eat crow while they are being eaten themselves.

Still, there is something to be said about being the latest, best-looking, and most highly produced cannibal film you’re ever likely to see. The gore is very gratuitous, but while it will gross out teens that have never watched a cannibal film before and consider the height of horror to be the INSIDIOUS movies, it really doesn’t go any farther than most other gorefests readers of this column would likely see. THE GREEN INFERNO is a well-made cannibal film. There’s even a guide to the history of the cannibal film towards the end of the credits. If you don’t like Roth or this subgenre of horror, it’s not going to do anything to convince you otherwise. But if you’re a fan of either or both, I think you’ll be impressed at the quality of Roth’s homage to a type of horror film he obviously cares quite a bit about.

DEATHGASM (2014)
Directed by Jason Lei HowdenWritten by Jason Lei Howden
Starring Milo Cawthorne, James Blake, Kimberley Crossman, Sam Berkley, Daniel Cresswell, Delaney Tabron, Stephen Ure, Colin Moy, Jodie Rimmer, Nick Hoskins-Smith, Nick Hoskins-Smith, Erroll Shand, Kate Elliott, Aaron McGregor, Andrew Laing, Tim Foley, Cameron Rhodes
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
Did you used to draw disturbing shit on the front of your Trapper Keeper? Did you grow your hair long in high school? Did you used to (and maybe still do) listen to metal and rebel against the poofy pop the rest of the world called music? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, DEATHGASM is the film for you.

From beginning to end, this film is simply fun. Filled with death metal and gore, this film is a love letter to those who live outside of the norm and ever felt out of place in high school (which I’m assuming many of the readers of this column have felt a time or two). While at times the film becomes rather predictable in terms of the outcast first finding friends, then finding purpose, then finally getting the girl, it’s the details that make it all so much fun.

And while this film is dripping with those nostalgic feelings, it’s also sopping wet with blood and gore as well. DEATHGASM is bathed in a level of grue only achieved in such gore classics as EVIL DEAD 2 and DEAD ALIVE. But while it’s gratuitous and sometimes downright shocking as to the level of violence and gore that is going on, it also never fails to be funny all the way through. Heads are split and lopped off, intestines are slit and dropped, all forms of weaponry including the power of rock are used to splatter blood in all directions in the latter portion of this one, and it’s all frikkin’ glorious!

DEATHGASM may not be for everyone, but in a perfect world it should be. Rockin’ down the street with its hair flowing and its balls out, this film is proud to be a metal armored gorefest and should be celebrated by all. I laughed quite a bit at the outrageous gore and funny little moments of these outcasts finding each other and taking on the hordes of hell. It’s the kind of horror film that makes you proud to be a fan of the genre, and definitely worth your while to seek it out.

DISTILLER (2015)
Directed by Andy SchroederWritten by Andy Schroeder & Steven Sacco
Starring Amy Ciupek, Daniel Noonan, Steven Sacco, Jared Bashant, Julie Burns, Allison Cwiertniewski, Chris Cwiertniewski
Find out more about this film here and on Facebook here
Reviewed by Ambush Bug
This low budget take on ghost-busting is intriguing and creative fun from start to finish and proof that big ideas are all that is needed to make a movie worth checking out.

The most impressive aspect of DISTILLER is the fantastically creative ideas at play. Incorporating spirits with real evil spirits is a fun play on words, but even more creative details are utilized in the catching of the ghost. This is a well thought out process and a lot of fun to see unfold. Also, the variety of ghosts themselves is fun to see as dog spirits, spider monsters, gremlins, and all sorts of orbs and vapors haunt the party after the booze is cracked open. Seeing them all run amok at the party is a lot of fun.

Being a low budgeter, there are the usual production issues. While the camerawork and directing are pretty solid, the sound is off a bit and sometimes feels as if the film was dubbed. The acting isn’t bad per se, but the actors definitely have an amateur feel to their performances, as if this were a team effort by a bunch of friends banding together to have fun and make a movie. Ciupek, Daniel Noonan (who plays Blue’s brother), and Sacco do good jobs in the lead roles, but once the party starts it’s pretty amateur hour.
I also had some issues with the film’s ending as it kind of wraps up on a sudden note. Imagine the scene in GHOSTBUSTERS where Peck lets loose all the ghosts and they run amok in New York without the final showdown with Gozer at the tower. That’s kind of how this film wraps up and it definitely left me wanting for a more fulfilling final act. That said, DISTILLER is filled with all sorts of great ideas, cool and spooky moments, and fun effects. It’s a fun low budgeter and definitely has me interested in what director Andy Schroeder has up his sleeve next.
And finally…here’s a romancy, yet action filled low budget vampire flick focusing on the love between Dracula and his main squeeze Mina. Enjoy Matthew Forte’s LOVE ETERNAL!
See ya next week, folks!
Ambush Bug is Mark L. Miller, original @$$Hole/wordslinger/writer of wrongs/reviewer/interviewer/editor of AICN COMICS for over 13 years & AICN HORROR for 4. Follow Ambush Bug on the Twitters @Mark_L_Miller.
Look for our bi-weekly rambling about random horror films on Poptards and Ain’t It Cool on AICN HORROR’s CANNIBAL HORRORCAST Podcast every other Thursday!