Bruce Campbell films are a bit of a guilty pleasure.  He has crafted a career out of being kind of so-so.  There is no denying him the praise that comes from his work with Raimi on the EVIL DEAD films and as Elvis in BUBBA HO TEP, well it just really don't get much better then that but if we are going to honest here he has also done more then his fair share of shall we say, stinkers.

Nice thing is Bruce realizes this and actually kind of embraces it and with his latest directoral effort MY NAME IS BRUCE he has fun with it.  A lot of fun.

Bruce is out on a national tour right now promoting MY NAME IS BRUCE and I was lucky enough to get an advance look and just had to sit right on down here and  let you all know about it so you all head on over to his official site, find out when he is coming to a town near you and get you asses out there and support this great little film.

Now, I had my doubts when the flick first started up.  A little to cliched for my liking a little to "tongue in cheek" for my taste and just when I was about to give up on it, BAM, it changes gear and becomes what may just be one of my favorite films of the year.

I think I have figured out what I didn't care for a the start of the film though.  In the first reel Bruce is playing a parody of himself, an over the top "through the fans eye" point of view of how I think Bruce feels is the way the fans see him.  A silly bufoon of a character with slapstick action and funny one liners.  Some worked, most didn't.

Then after the bar scene (you'll know it when you see it) and everyone heads on over to the gun store to "ammo up" the tone of the film changes.  More importantly Bruce's perfomance changes.

He quites playing himself and just is himself and then the film soars.

The last 45 minutes or so are pure horror gold and are so strong that you actually end up forgetting about the first half of the film.

The story line is simple enough.  A super fan kidnaps Bruce after he accidently unleashes an ancient evil on his hometown.  Being the Bruce fan he is he knows there is only one person that can defeat unleashed evil and that is the one and only Bruce Campbell.

Bruce plays along thinking it an elaborate stunt put together by his manager for his birthday and realizes way to late that the events are real and the danger all to scary.  As I mentioned Bruce not only stars in this one but is also the director and I have to say it is his most impressive work to date.

The film looks great from frame one.  The lighting looks great, the monster looks great, it all looks great.  Even though the film lags a little in story at the start at no point is the production quality anything less then top notch.  No problems there.

All in all I have to say that I find MY NAME IS BRUCE to be well worth the time for any horror fan and a MUST SEE for any Bruce Campbell fan.

Oh, make sure to watch the many faces of Ted Raimi in this one.  He's a great character actor and turns in another in a long list of great performances.  Great stuff.

CLICK HERE  head on over to The Chin's official site for all the details on his MY NAME IS BRUCE tour.

CLICK HERE for House of Horrors exclusive interview with Bruce.

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Hey there dear reader! Let's do something fun together. Let's make an Independent Horror movie cake. We'll take 4 cups of sexy girls, 3 cups of gore, 2 cups of unintentionally funny moments and 8 cups of 'What the f@ck did I just watch?' Then, we'll put it into a 350-degree oven and burn it, hell, let's light it on fire. We will call the cake A FEW SCREWS LOOSE.

The movie, written and directed by Craig McIntyre, didn't start off well for me. My puppy has the uncanny ability to sense if a movie is going to be watchable or not. I liken her to that ape that makes NFL Super Bowl predictions. As soon as I began watching A FEW SCREWS LOOSE she abruptly looked at the TV, looked over at me and proceeded to leap off the couch. On her way out of the room I could have sworn she raised her paw and flipped me off.

The movie starts off with young porn starlet Coco, who is filming a gonzo-style porno directed by a sadomasochistic auteur who goes by the name of Extreme Eric. We know Eric is extreme because during a scene he yells at Coco to drink his pee through some kind of urine-bong contraption and yells obscenities at her. A true lady would drink it out of a champagne class with her pinky raised but not our Coco! Anyway, everyone seems to be onboard with the insanity except for Coco's dad, who bursts onto the set with a machete.

The first victim, a Dirk Diggler-wannabe in a light blue track suit and backstreet boy-manicured facial hair falls to the ground and gets it in the head. Well, a mannequin head made up to look like him does anyway, complete with facial hair lovingly recreated with a black sharpie pen. You can actually hear the machete hitting the hard plastic head. Am I not hip enough to realize it as a joke done on purpose? Who knows but welcome to bare bones, independent filmmaking at it's finest. If Mr. McIntyre had sitting next to me I would have given him a big hug for the effort.

The movie basically goes in about 100 different directions after that and all of it plays out like a freaky, uncomfortable acid trip. The viewer is treated to a smorgasbord of insanity. We go from watching a main character being shown by his employer how to make an ice cream sundae (In real time) to watching him get his penis cut off in an impressive scene that will most likely have male viewers asking for the check. We see two young girls sucking on lollipops talking about sex and going to the grocery store. Then, we see a young girl being disemboweled in the woods; her insides wrapped up so that they may be consumed later.  

You might be asking yourself, Should I seek it out? That's a tough call my pet. AFSL isn't bad but it isn't good either. It's DIFFERENT. It's the movie David Lynch would have made if he had suffered a brain injury or if the Manson family had attended film school together and they all were asked to make a group film. Either you will appreciate it or you won't. There is no middle of the road here.  

So, If you like a big helping of strange with your horror then, yes, see this movie. Please keep in mind however that there are some things you just can't UN-see.

For ordering and additional information visit

www.afewscrewsloosemovie.com

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When you think independent horror the state of Minnesota doesn't automatically come to mind, but if more films like UNHOLY REUNION, written, directed and produced by Ric McCloud, come out of the land of 10,000 lakes that may very well change. When I found out this movie was shot in the small town of Shakopee, Minnesota, where yours truly spent some of her childhood, I was intrigued.

Was it kismet or was I about to experience another horror feature that gives it a good try but ultimately is like most everything else out there?

The movie starts out 25 years ago with two lovers (one of whom is Rachel Grubb who, in my opinion, is poised to become Horror's answer to Bettie Page) sharing a little afternoon delight. Unfortunately, for both of them, hubby decides to come home and crash their party. He doesn't just get upset, he turns into a psycho hell-bent on revenge and winds up killing them both and turning his wife's body into a stuffed and sewed up 'work of art', complete with painted images on her corpse. Two years after the murders we learn the crazed husband, Adkov Telmig, has not only killed the wife and her lover but countless others. He is arrested but somehow escapes the gas chamber and is given a life sentence. We also learn that Telmig and his murdered wife left behind a young child.

In the present day we meet Rebecca Davis and boyfriend Dixon (Jessica S. Lange and Stuart G Murphy) two recent law school graduates who are driving to see Rebecca's parents and partake in a party with friends and family to help congratulate the grads. What starts off as a happy homecoming however turns into a game of who can survive the night. It seems Telmig, nicknamed "The painter", has escaped from prison, is on the warpath and headed straight for the Davis home. Turns out Rebecca's dad, Daniel Davis, was the then prosecutor who put Telmig away. I don't want to give away too much but one of the partygoers is the spawn Telmig left behind a couple of decades ago. Remember the title?

Soon our camera-friendly youths are picked off one by one. Twists and turns follow (including one at the end that I didn't see coming) and what could have been a formulaic movie turns into something different. Telmig is never explained away as some guy who just loves to mutilate, there is a method to his madness. In his eyes he is taking individuals who are soulless and turning them into something, works of art to be admired and even loved. There is a lot to like here but what really stood out for me were the impressive fight sequences. I don't know if they were seriously choreographed moves or the actors just really beat the crap out of each other but it works. Genuine jump moments, nice effects and quality acting only add to the entertainment. Cameos from Troma's Lloyd Kauffman and American Movie's Mark Borchardt, along with some snappy one-liners and an original way of getting to the liquor store, help give the movie some humorous moments and give the feeling that this movie was as much fun to make as it is to watch.       

There are a lot of independent horror movies out there today. It seems anyone who is creative and can hold a camera can channel their inner Craven or Carpenter and shoot a horror movie. I support, heck, I am in awe of that process. As I have stated in other articles, It takes a lot of guts to make a movie, the sacrifice, the money and the time. Deciding to do that is a huge commitment and although the process is admired, sometimes watching the final product is like getting a root canal. Luckily for the viewer, UNHOLY REUNION isn't one of those movies.

'Reunion' is one of those movies that are reminiscent, to me anyway, of the video's we would rent in the 1980's, distributed by companies like Midnight Video or Vestron Home Video. Back when the video boxes were the size of cereal boxes and the videos were rented in weird places. (Joe's bait and tackle shop/video store, anyone?) It just has a certain feel to it.  

Mindless gore and boobs are fun but why not add a little storyline and substance every once and awhile? UNHOLY REUNION is the perfect pizza and beer movie with friends. A whodunit wrapped in a horror movie.

UNHOLY REUNION will be having a screening in Minneapolis, MN on the 30th of October at The Riverview Theatre. For more information visit http://www.ricmccloud.com/ or go to the Riverview Theatre website

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I have to admit, I'm a bit confused.  The SAW story has gotten so convoluted and weird that it really is hard to figure out just exactly what the hell is going on but lets face it, how may of you are actually heading out to see this one for the riveting storyline?

Yeah, that's what I thought, not a single one of you.

Anyone taking the time to head on out and see this one is going for one reason only, to find out what kind of cool traps they have come up with.

The film opens with a nifty little hand squishing guillotine slicing scene that is rather random and never really explained but still looks good and makes you wince a bit.  Once that's done things pick right up from SAW IV and the SAW saga gets even more convoluted and strange.

Lots of flashbacks and inserts from the previous films and all kinds of attempts are made to tie it all together all the while opening new storylines to try and keep the franchise running.

As with previous installments there are multiple storylines playing out at the same time and this film is kind of dark and hard to see so it is real easy to get confused and keeping track of just exactly what the hell is going on can be tough.  More then once I found myself losing track of characters and remembering who is who.  It's kind of maddening actually.  You almost have to keep a journal so you can remember who's who and why they are there, etc.

In the end, none of it matters.

I really don't see how they can keep the JIGSAW character going after this one I mean c'mon JIGSAW has been dead for two films now and yet they still are trying to find ways to insert him into this story.  This time it seemed really forced and actually pretty silly and I for one am getting pretty tired of  JIGSAW's moral diatribes that all seem the same now and are very lame.  It really seems that Tobin Bell is as tired of saying them as I am of hearing them.

Time to find a new gimmick.

Word is that SAW VI is already in the works for next year and that really kind of scares me a bit as SAW V while good looking and creative at points is really nothing more then the same old same old and offers up absolutely nothing new for fans. 

I've said it before and I'm going to say it again.  You have got to have a good story to keep it all working and this time around story was almost completely non existent. 

Lots of talented folks just going through the motions and it shows.  Look for a decently strong opening and then I think this one is going vanish pretty quick.  Hell, we could see it on DVD by the end of the year.

I've been a big fan of the SAW series but this one gives me little reason to recommend it other then some of the traps are cool.

Bottom line. SAW V is probably the weakest installment in the series and things are starting to seem forced and stale.  Those of you who are mega fans will probably find reason to praise this one, those that are lesser fans will probably find yourself confused and bored.

SAW V is theaters now but go see it fast.  I think we'll be seeing it in the second run houses shortly and then it will be gone.

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There really is nothing more scary then random violence.  Just the thought that someone can target you and throw your world into a violent chaotic nightmare is a realization that in and of itself will have you staring at the ceiling at night.

It is exactly this fear that THE STRANGERS plays on and plays very well.

Easily one of the most unsettling and disturbing films I have seen in a while THE STRANGERS while hard to turn away from does find itself falling victim to a lot of the same pitfalls that befalls a lot of genre fare.

The story opens with a couple of neighborhood boys stumbling upon the bloody aftermath of a night of terror and we are then transported back to the night before and watch the incidents play out.  Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman star as the couple that THE STRANGERS target and they more then pull off their respective roles. The real star of the film though is the high tension and sense of fear that director Bryan Bertino manages to place into almost every frame of this film.

The impending dread just oozes frame the screen and even though you know that this one is going to end bad for all involved you just can't look away from the screen.   

There is very little dialogue in this one.  Lots of screaming though and even more startled, confused looks of terror.  One of my pet peeves with horror films is the old "startled and confused victim's do all the wrong things and play into the hands of the bad guys" routine and THE STRANGERS is just chock full of those kind of moments.  A lot of things don't make a lot of sense but in the end none of that really does matter as the tension builds and builds and you just can't help but get sucked into the action on the screen. 

Another of my pet peeves is the "jump start ending".  Just can't let it end gotta for that one last scare and in this one that ending really does kind of end up ruining the film just a bit.

Even the "actual" ending seems forced and used only to set up the inevitable sequel that I am sure is already in the works.  The ending that is hinted at at the beginning of the film would have been much more effective and not reeked of that "sell out, just in it for the franchise" feel that I ended up leaving this screening of the film with.

With that said though I really would recommend viewing the film.  It is well made and effective on a ton of other levels that make those couple of "downer" points I made seem pretty small and insignificant.

Focus on the good, forget about the bad and settle in and enjoy and tightly wound, nerve racking little slice of horror that will have you making sure your doors are locked before you go to bed.

Here's all the official stuff on the DVD release which hits stores this Tues. Oct. 21st.

OVERVIEW:

Lock the doors.  Ignore the knocking.  Don’t let them in…no matter what.  Inspired by true events, this heart pounding, nail-biting frightener mercilessly explores our most universal fears, where simply opening the door to a stranger leads to a grueling night of terror one could never imagine.  Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman star in this relentless suspense thriller that will keep you up at night and make you never want to answer the door again!
 
SYNOPSIS:

The horrifying events that took place in the Hoyt family's vacation home 1801 Clark Road on February 11, 2005 are still not entirely known. Champagne. Rose Petals. Candlelight. It was supposed to be a night of celebration for Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) and James Hoyt (Scott Speedman). But after leaving a friend's wedding and returning to the house, everything had collapsed for the happy couple. Then came a 4 a.m. knock on the door and a haunting voice. "Is Tamara here?"  Writer/director Bryan Bertino explores our most universal fears in The Strangers, a terrifying suspense thriller about a couple whose remote getaway becomes a place of terror when masked strangers invade. The confrontation forces Kristen and James to go far beyond what they thought themselves capable of if they hope to survive.  The Strangers comes to DVD October 21st!

BONUS FEATURES: The following bonus features appear on the DVD and Blu-rayTM :

    * DELETED SCENES
    * THE ELEMENTS OF TERROR - A look at the production process of The Strangers. The influence of locations, sets and sounds to create fear are discussed by the crew, with anecdotes from Liv Tyler about the physical challenges of being terrorized.

BONUS FEATURES- EXCLUSIVE TO BLU-RAY

BD-LIVE: My Scenes Sharing – Create your own movie clips, then view and share your favorite clips with your best buddies at any time!

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