I also found a new cache of old articles that I thought were long gone, and seeing as how this site was founded to post all of my older stuff and give it a home since some of the sites I used to work for are no more, as well as reprint my reviews and other articles from my UAB days, I'm going to try and post those whenever I don't have time to do something new, like I did in the early days of the site. That way, you all have new(ish) content on a more regular basis.
My schedule seems to have gotten back to normal, now that the holidays are done, and I don't anticipate any changes there in the near future, but I'll let you know if there are any. I will get back to my old columns soon enough- that means the return of Monster Mondays, Wayback Wednesdays and Flashback Fridays- but first, we have to do some 2019 housecleaning, via my end-of-the-year lists.
As I mentioned before, I'm going to do two movie lists: one of the films I've seen to date, and another about mid-way through the year that collects a best-of-list of the 2019 movies I saw in the first half of this year. That way, I get to watch more stuff and recognize it at a later date, unlike in previous years. No man is an island, and it just wouldn't be possible to watch everything, and I haven't even come close this past year, TBH.
By doing two lists, I hope to rectify that. I'll also do at least one music-related list, probably more, as I did last year, and perhaps a TV one, if I have time. If it doesn't get done this month, then I won't do it- that way, we go into February clean, with a new slate of articles, not counting any reposts, of course.
As with last year, I'm going to start us off with a look at the New Year's-themed horror movies I watched over the holidays. Let's get it started! First up...
Not to be confused with the 2014 sci-fi movie with Olivia Cooke and Brenton Thwaites of the same name, 2007's The Signal is a pseudo-anthology horror movie with three distinct parts written and directed by three different people, in this order: David Bruckner (no stranger to anthologies, having directed segments of V/H/S, Southbound and Shudder's Creepshow revival), Jacob Gentry (the My Super Psycho Sweet 16 series) and Dan Bush (The Vault, The Dark Red).
I say "pseudo" because all three segments are interconnected and feature some of the same characters, albeit with varying approaches to the material. Part One, aka "Transmission One: Crazy in Love," is presented as a gory splatter action film; Part Two, aka "Transmission Two: The Jealousy Monster" is presented as a dark comedy; and Part Three, aka "Transmission Three: Escape from Terminus," is presented as an apocalyptic love story.
The overarching storyline is that of a transmitted signal sent out over the radio, television and telephone, which causes those who are exposed to it for an extended length of time to go crazy, often turning violent. If this sounds familiar, that's because any number of films, TV shows and books/stories have tackled a similar plot, such as David Cronenberg's Shivers (aka They Came From Within), George A. Romero's The Crazies, Stephen King's Cell (which was also a movie), M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening, and episodes of The Twilight Zone and The X-Files, among many others.
Be that as it may, this was a pretty entertaining variation of that common storyline, helped immeasurably by the different approaches taken and the relatable, likable cast. Headlining the film is horror regular AJ Bowen, arguably best-known for his collaborations with Adam Wingard (A Horrible Way to Die, You're Next, The Guest) and Ti West (House of the Devil, The Sacrament). Here, he plays Lewis, a man being cuckolded by his wife, Mya (Anessa Ramsey, Devil's Knot, Rites of Spring- also with Bowen), with co-worker, Ben (Justin Welborn, Justified- he also cropped up in The Crazies remake).
Considering he plays a murderous lunatic, Bowen is remarkably sympathetic, and lest we forget, he is under the influence of a signal that amplifies his worst tendencies, in this case, his jealousy, which proves to be not unfounded, as his wife is, in fact, cheating on him. However, the hallucinogenic properties of said signal does cause massive confusion, which leads him to take out his ire on the wrong people, thinking them to be the culprit that has done him wrong. That Bowen remains likable even after racking up quite the body count is a testament to the inherent charm of the actor himself.
The same can be said in a different way towards both Ramsey and Wellborn, whose characters, after all, are having an affair behind Lewis' back. As much as one tends to favor the wronged in such situations, as far off the reservation as Lewis goes here, one can't help but feel sorry for the two, even though we don't get much of a glimpse of what Lewis and Mya were like before the signal takes effect. For all we know, they were a pretty happy couple and Lewis was a nice guy once upon a time.
Whatever the case, I liked how the movie kept propelling the plot forward, in spite of bouncing back-and-forth in time over the course of the three segments. Part One mostly follows Mya, Part Two focuses on Lewis and Part Three tells the story from Ben's perspective. This lends the proceedings a sort of neo-Pulp Fiction-style approach, as we get a little more information with each segment, eventually tying everything together by the end. The ending is also left a bit open, but not in a bad way, more like it's left up to the viewer as to whether it's a happy ending or not, which I kind of liked.
The movie also doesn't skimp on the gore, either, so horror fans are in for a treat. The rest of the cast is also effective, notably Rod (Sahr Ngaujah, Luke Cage), as Lewis' friend-turned-enemy; Anna (Cheri Christian, Jack O'Lantern), Lewis' neighbor, that is determined to throw a New Year's party come hell or high water, even if it literally kills her; and Clark (Scott Poythress, also of Devil's Knot), the landlord of Anna's building, who seems to know a lot about what's going on- or thinks he does.
I just loved the film- it was a lot of fun, and even though it wasn't really an anthology in the truest sense of the word, it was cool how each segment had its own distinct vibe, and yet, didn't mess up the ongoing storyline at hand. I liked all the characters, and the film had a great sense of humor. It was also filmed in my old stomping grounds of Atlanta- hence the "Terminus" moniker (for those who don't know, it was the original name of the city- note that The Walking Dead also paid homage to this)- long before it was de rigueur to do so. Definitely check this one out.
Next up, is 2013's Antisocial, a film with a similar premise. As with The Signal, it's New Year's Eve and all hell breaks loose when a social media website causes its users to go berserk, going on a violent rampage, at least until their brain literally explodes! Turns out that the inventors of the site inserted a subliminal element that makes users want to visit the site on a regular basis, some more than others. The more you use the Facebook-like site, the more you want to; but the more you do, the more likely you are to go mental.
It's impossible to watch this now without thinking about Mark Zuckerberg and his recent woes- many have also leveled complaints against him for not weeding out hate groups and unabashedly political posters, many of which lie through their teeth and have turned out to be Russian 'bots or other posers from other countries, looking to rile Americans up and make them rally behind the absolute worst people- looking at you, Mr. (Not My) President. Imagine if Facebook actually turned these people into homicidal maniacs- some would argue it totally has, in some cases- and you've got this movie, in a nutshell.
Star Michelle Mylett (El Camino Christmas) is incredibly appealing as Sam Reznor, a college student who has the worst day ever when her boyfriend dumps her, she finds out she's pregnant and the New Year's Eve party she begrudgingly attends ends up being attacked at all sides by zombie-like maniacs looking to kill anyone and everyone in their path. Mylett has a quality somewhere between Anna Faris, minus the comedy, and Nina Dobrev, at her most bad ass (aka in "Katherine" mode on The Vampire Diaries). She manages to be both vulnerable and sweet and believably tough, when the blood hits the fan.
I actually didn't mind most of the cast, though, admittedly, it hews close to the stereotypical horror archetypes: there's the hunky-but-sensitive leading man, perpetually stuck in the "friend zone," Mark (Cody Ray Thompson, The Umbrella Academy, The Man in the High Castle); the nerdy, web-savvy, possibly gay Jed (Adam Christie, Man-O); the would-be internet famous sexy blonde, Kaitlin (Ana Alic, Decline); and her hard-partying, dude-bro BF, Steve (Romaine Waite, TV's The Mist, Star Trek: Discovery). The fact that none of these people got on my last nerve is saying something for a modern horror flick.
Indeed, you do actually care for most, if not all of these people, making it all the more heartbreaking when most of them fall prey to the evil website and start going off the deep end. As with zombie movies like the original Dawn of the Dead, it takes a hot minute for people to go bad, so the viewer sees it coming often before the characters, making it that much more sad when they inevitably turn and have to be beaten to a pulp by their own friends.
There's plenty of action, and like most of the best horror movies, it clocks in at a stealthy ninety minutes and doesn't overstay its welcome. The gore is also pretty plentiful, and if things get a bit ludicrous at times- hello there, self-lobotomy! - at least they're rarely ever boring. And honestly, between this and the sequel, Mylett should already be a star by now. Probably the only reason she isn't is that she's Canadian, and has mostly stuck to the country for work, including several TV shows there. Who can blame her at the moment?
Speaking of the sequel, I watched that, too, and though it isn't really New Year's-centric, it's also worth a look, too. Like most sequels, Antisocial 2 has a bigger budget, a more elaborate plot-line, and turns everything you thought you knew upside down. There's lots of twists, even if you can see a lot of them coming a mile away, and the film, like its predecessor, isn't at all afraid to go dark in the end- or really, in general throughout the film.
I don't want to spoil it here, but suffice it to say that Mylett is involved in both, but that doesn't necessarily mean she gets a happy ending in either. Indeed, the second film is like the Day of the Dead in comparison to the first film's Night of the Living Dead/Dawn of the Dead vibe, which is to say, the first film mostly takes place in one home, while the second one mostly takes place in a possibly underground lab, just like that film, complete with the requisite mad scientist, Max (Stephen Bogaert, IT), who almost certainly knows more than he lets on about what's going on.
I also really liked the character Bean (Josette Halpert, The Other Kingdom), aka Max's daughter, who also knows a thing or two about a thing or two. Halpert has a sort of young Britt Robertson vibe going on, which I dug. I'll be keeping an eye out for this talented young actress in the future, along with Mylett.
The second film isn't quite as action-packed as the first, and can be a bit meandering. It also, by virtue of expanding the back-story, adds much more in the way of plot holes to the premise, which is unfortunate. Still, if you dug the first one, you'll want to see this, and like I said, it isn't afraid to go really dark, which is gratifying, if you're a horror fan that doesn't mind such things.
The vibe is very different from the first film- it's more like one of those Y/A Dystopian apocalyptic future flicks- but the cinematography is much-improved, and the effects are pretty solid and plenty gory for splatter fans. Ultimately, I liked the first one better, but the sequel isn't bad, all told. I just wish it made a little more sense, but that's what happens when you expand a simple storyline. Still, you can't fault the filmmakers for their ambition, so I'm willing to let it slide.
Last, and probably least, there's 2009's Life Blood. I'm always game for a solid lesbian vampire flick, but I'm afraid this isn't one. For one thing, the whole lesbian thing is practically incidental- the main couple do nothing but fight for almost the entirety of the film, and barely show any affection for one another whatsoever. Indeed, one has to wonder why the main character, Rhea (the gorgeous Anya Lahiri, of the way sexier I Can't Think Straight), goes to such lengths for her GF, Brooke (Sophie Monk, Date Movie, Click), who's kind of the worst.
The semi-fun begins on- what else? - New Year's Eve in 1968, where Brooke intervenes when the sleazy actor, Warren James (Justin Shilton, Little Miss Sunshine) tries to beat and rape fan Carrie Lain (Scott-Taylor Compton, Rob Zombie's Halloween films), killing him in the process. Making haste, she grabs Rhea and hits the road, trying to put some distance between herself and the murder, however deserved it might have been.
When Brooke finally confesses, Rhea demands she pull over, and the two are killed by an ethereal vampiress (model Angela Lindvall, who does double duty in the film, also playing a waitress), who Rhea thinks is God. She tells Rhea that, for some reason, Rhea will hibernate for 40 years, at which point she will be resurrected as a vampire like herself, whose mission it will be to feed on the evil, which, in turn, will sustain her life as an immortal. However, vampire rules apply, so no sunlight, of course.
Rhea begs the goddess to save her GF, Brooke, as well, but she warns Rhea that Brooke is bad news. Rhea insists, so the goddess does as told, but warns her the time will come that she has to dispense of Brooke, too. Sure enough, no sooner are the two back on New Year's Day of 2009 than Brooke starts acting up, killing people with impunity. It doesn't take long before the two are at odds with one another again, with things coming to a head in a convenience store, dubiously dubbed "Murder World."
Eventually, the cops get involved, including Russ Meyer favorite Charles Napier (some may also know him from The Blues Brothers) as the local Sheriff; an amusing turn by Danny Woodburn (Seinfeld, Mirror Mirror) as his deputy; as well as the likable comedy regular Patrick Renna (The Sandlot, Fear Inc.) as the much-beleaguered clerk at Murder World. Robert Rodriguez fans will also recognize one-half of the "Crazy Babysitter Twins," Electra Avellan, as the daughter of the ill-fated couple that go into the aforementioned store.
I think this film wants to be sort of a cross between From Dusk till Dawn and something like Vampyres or maybe a lesbian-themed Near Dark, but boy, does it fail, and fail hard. The script is pretty half-baked, and the dialogue oft-laughable (and not on purpose), and the two leads are both pretty terrible, though I've seen them do good work elsewhere. And for people watching this for the obvious reasons, there's very little nudity, and none of it involves the leading ladies, who, like I said, spend most of the film fighting with one another.
Oh, and if you're watching this for Scout Taylor-Compton, you should know that, in spite of her top billing, she's barely in the film, and isn't particularly well-served by what part she has. It's a glorified cameo at best. I suppose if you're a fan of any of the other actors, it's worth seeing once, but know that it's not very good, with only a few fairly effective kills to recommend it. There's a reason this one was in the bargain bin when I bought it.
In fact, I wouldn't advise buying it, though the deleted scenes are amusing and one of them features some sexy stuff which looks to be actresses posing as the leads, rather than the leads themselves, so even that is a bit of a rip-off. This is bottom-of-the-barrel viewing, and not a good way to start my year off, as this was my first movie of 2020.
Fortunately, I quite enjoyed the other three films, so it wasn't a total wash-out. I'd say The Signal and Antisocial are keepers, with Antisocial 2 a decent, if not essential follow-up. But you should probably avoid Life Blood like the plague- or that virus in the other movies. You'd think a lesbian vampire movie would be near-impossible to screw up, but you'd be wrong. The ladies may be sexy, but the movie is not, nor is it worth your time. Skip it, check out the rest.
Alright, that about does it for now. Thanks, as always for reading, and have a Happy- if not bloody- New Year! 😎🎉
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