Jug Face (2013) Horror Supernatural

Jug Face (2013) - Sometimes ideas for independent horror there is a crystal of an idea that has to be  cut and polished up to be a gem. When that happens the buzz is palpable in the horror community, with everyone seeing and reviewing, and others talking the movie up on their podcasts. When that happens even the smallest of film making companies might recoup the cost of their endeavor, hell they even might make some money for the next film. We love it when this happens, its what keeps the independent horror scene alive and vibrant. Unfortunately there is another side where that crystal pretty much stays what it was, its pretty and has its own value but there may never be a demand for it. This is the case with the film Jug Face, it has its solid structure and an idea worth exploring but it just never quite shines.
Soresport Movies may be in the minority when it comes to this film as there have been some glowing reviews on it after it came out last year. (looked after wrote this review so apparently saw this differently than many.) The film is a small budget affair and the gore a minimalist variety that get the point across without costing the film makers too much budget. Bloody water, sliced throat effects and some scattered body parts give the impression of horrible savage violence without actually having to show any. Cloudy eye contacts also make serve a purpose to cue the audience to what is happening. Advertized as a "character driven" story one has to wonder if the person who wrote that copy watched the film since the story arc of the main character is really small and centers around an inevitable decision to accept responsibility for her quite reasonable decisions. My daughter Joy joined me in the viewing as I have been trying to get her to watch horror in a way that would allow her to contribute to this blog. She watched but very quickly tuned out and played on her phone. Multitasking is a behavior her generation does but I was surprised at how quickly the tune out came. At the end of the film her first response was "That sucked." I tried to steer the conversation to what she liked or didn't. In the end the most I got out of her was:
1. You never see the monster and it is never explained what it is or why the people would make a deal with it.
2. The main character is not very likable, she fucked things up for everyone.
3. The special effects sucked.
  Now I agree with her to an extent but I also felt that there was some value to this film. The plotting structure is well done. It leaks the story of these people a bit at a time until at the third act you know what the full picture is. Some things did not make sense to me though, and maybe the second watching will clarify my questions. A pretty good cast Ada (Lauren Ashley Carter) as the main character, Sean Bridgers as Dawai the potter, Larry Fessenden as Ada father Sustin,   and Sean Young as her cruel mother.  First during the images accompanying the credits we see the story of this community, a group who has given up on the existing organized religion that was in place but now instead prays to a pit of muddy water. We see them sacrificing their minister to the pit and later images of community members bathing in the pool at the bottom of the pit. We learn later that in the past during a smallpox epidemic ( maybe the big one 1775 - 82?) the people figured out how to make a deal with an entity in the pool in exchange for a sacrifice every now and again the pit provides healing waters. Now this deal when you think of it as a solution in the 1700s seems reasonable and it truly did become the religion for these people. When a sacrifice is wanted by the pit it puts "the sculptor" into a trance and that person creates a jug with the face of the next victim. The community then gathers and sacrifices that person at the pit. Now though we see in the film that the people in those hills have trucks and cars and interact with the town nearby selling moonshine for cash. So although presented as isolated  the insular nature of the community does not cancel the fact that health care is readily available in the civilized world. So really the thing that keep the arrangement going with the pit is that it has become a sacred relationship. To me it seems that the arrangement of killing one of your own so others can be healed is stupid when you can drive in town to a hospital. Talk about death panels the pit is a one entity death panel.
  Second I question is around the choice to make the main character unlikable. Ada is the main character and the plot is driven by her decisions. I think as a way to define the hill people as isolated we see Ada and a young man playing in the woods and having sex. Then we learn they are brother and sister and the whole thing is fucking creepy. Not just that it perpetuates stereotypes about hillbillies but  come on really the film has to go there that early. Later when we see the size of the community you have to wonder if resorting to incest was really necessary or just a gimmick.  It all fits the plot though and like I said earlier the pieces of information are well structure so we learn more of the full story as the film progresses. Pregnant from her brother and promised to another man she finds the jug face of the next sacrifice and it is her. Her story arc is that she hides the jug face with horrible consequences for all. She must come to her decision to take responsibility before too many innocents are taken by the pit. Since escape  from this community is never presented as a achievable option we know what she will have to do, its just who will have to die before the guilt gets to her enough for her to act.
  Helping her along the way is a ghost who is trying to convince Ada to return her jug face. He is a shunned one, a soul that can't rest because it was taken from the pit and as punishment for not fulfilling a sacrifice. The device is to give expository dialog to fill in the mythology but I am not totally sure that it works since the "why" would it communicate question is never really explained.
It is not really a happy ending film and you really expect anything good to come out of it. Instead you can marvel at the hill freaks who believe stupid shit and suffer for it. I am not sure that I am ready to give this film a recommendation I am a bit on the fence. Written and directed by Chad Crawford Kinkle,  It is certainly well thought out and the idea of an alternative religious centered group is okay. I just think that there was no outside the community characters to bounce the sanity of the belief system off so it just comes off as an acceptable way of doing things for these characters, when lets be honest it is not. I wished there was more money for special effects there is a problem when you have a monster but never get to see it. I wish the vague agreement this group had with the was more clearly explored because honestly the reasons for killing loved ones did not seem very strong. So I will pass on recommending this film. Note I am in the minority if you look around the internet.

Nympha (2007) Horror Religious

Nympha (2007) - Sometimes the origins of religion are not what we think they are. Sometimes there is a darkness behind the myth that when exposed makes us wonder how anyone could believe and have faith in the religion. No I am not talking about Mormons, or Scientology but of the sect of nuns in the movie Nympha. Here we have a tale that is dark and contemplative about a woman's journey to find God but in the end only finds monsters. The story written by Ivo Gazzarrini follows the spiritual journey of Sarah (Tiffany Shepis) as she arrives in an Italian monastery to join the order of nuns at the bequest of her bishop. Introduced to pray through the concept of body mutilation by the order Sarah begins to have visions of past residents in the house and seemingly supernatural occurrences. Confused and hurt she survives multiple tortures to her ears, eyes, hands and tongue, with each mutilation comes more of the story of the house and its inhabitants. Ultimately she learns the story of the place and the secret of the nunnery but is it too late to save her soul?  The concept of spiritual journey is a interesting one, covered via the pain angle in the Hellraiser series of movies. Here it is a bit of a different take. The journey is through the loss of the body's which serves to narrow the focus of the supplicant. Either way it is a hard way to try to get closer to God.

   Shepis one of the hardest working actresses in the business never shies away from a challenging role and she is up to the task here. Her Sarah captures the anguish of not understanding the horrifying process she must endure, while showing the strength to persevere through it. The small cast and lack of action makes the film a tough watch. Even with the focus on Sarah it is hard to understand the lack of anything else in this film. No morning prayers, no people coming or going in their daily routines, really no activities at all. If the action primarily in the new torture for Sarah is not being shown it seems nothing at all happens at this nunnery.
  Shepis is forced to be half of this film and the flashbacks she sees in her pain are the story behind the story. She does well enough in the role but it seems a real script and directing flaw. The story becomes a weird not day, not night dream world in which only the small cast, four or five actors exist. If trying to capture the surreal journey Sarah is taking then it does keep the focus there but ultimately loses the audience with what is a slow developing back story about a crazy religious old man Geremia (Allan McKenna) and his slide into insanity. The secrets of that second story are dark and disturbing, if only the film was better at getting to those secrets it would have gotten better marks.
  The buildup comes from finding out what the past story of Geremia is all about. Early on we see him and his crazy daughter Lavinia (Alessandra Guerzoni who also plays Mother Superior in the film) at the farm and in what appears to be a supernatural rapeshe is impregnated. The religiously fanatical Geremia delivers the child himself but loses his daughter in the birth process. He believes God wants him to name the child Nympha and so he must raise her to be in the presence of his God. He is a crazy son of a bitch though and hears voices of God in his attic saying in Italian FAME (hunger) and so his fanaticism turns deadly for those who visit him. We watch his acts increasingly more aggressive as he has difficulty first with a neighbor and then with a doctor, until is seems his God is seeking a more personal sacrifice from him.
  The story only unfolds in pieces, with each new mutilation to Sarah in the present, there is another part of the story from the past revealed to her. Director Ivan Zuccon seems to created a fairly compelling mood in the film but the story drags with motionless scenes of minimal activity. There are some rather large reveals in that story in the past, not unforeseen by this viewer but those who stick it out may be a bit surprised by the late turns. The deceptive twist that happens to Sarah though ends up being all for not with an ending that is less than satisfying.
  I could have liked this film it it was a bit more creative in its presentation. Still I though the effects although hokie at times were well enough done. The physical effects to Sarah as she is mutilated are done well enough to be believable. There is some really unnecessary nudity in the film, but since the film drags a bit it was a pleasant distraction. Still not of it really needed to be in the story. An example, the first time Sarah is taken to have her ears cut by Doc Rinaldi (Giuseppe Gobbato), Mother Superior tells her to strip completely nude. Other than intimidation there was no need for it. After the surgery she wakes in her room bleeding from her ears and dressed with blood on her clothes. The only real reason was so the audience could see the beautiful Shepis without her clothes.
  Later in the film there is also a love making scene between the grown girl Nympha (Caroline De Cristofaro) and Shepis that again has no real bearing on the story but is there for those watching the film to see two lovely female bodies. It is almost like the director knew he had an actress that was fearless and since the pacing was so damn tired he used it to try to improve the movie. If there is one thing that has historically sold in the horror genre it is naked women. Or did the director each scene was enhanced by the nudity? Were the story aspects of the scenes thought out but not well enough for the viewer to "get it"? Whatever the reason Shepis probably does not have to show her body in every film she does. She is a good enough actress that she can start saying no to these skin shots. It added little to the story and probably could have been skipped.
  In the end this film does not get a recommendation from this blog. There were way too many times it leaves the viewer thinking, "Lets get on with it.". Although somewhat compelling in tone it just does not have what it takes to hold the audience all the way through. The acting is very good but the set design particularly the lighting were a weekness. The camera did not move enough to make the viewing particularly engaging and really at root the script lacked something.
Rating (3.7) 5.0 and up are recommended, some more recommended than others.

Stake Land (2010) Horror Vampire

Stake Land (2010) - Opening on a country road in Pennsylvania the voice over from our lead character Martin (Connor Paolo) sets the tone immediately. "But lets begin at the beginning, I was like every other kid. I had a family. I went to school. I didn't believe in the bogeyman, but then the world woke up to a nightmare." Kicking off how Martin's family was killed by a vampire and just how he ended up in this car driving with this man only known as Mister (Nick Damici). The scene is well done and really relays everything we are going to need to be part of this world. Dad is frantically working on hi car, trying to get it running. On the radio reports of attacks by creatures are spreading across the country. People are being told to hunker down. Mom is holding the baby and fretting about whether running is the right decision. When Martin chases the dog out in the rain you think he will see a creature but instead the attack happens back in the barn. His Mother screams and his return inside is to see his bloody Mom on the ground. Mister shows up and with Martin kill the vampire that killed his Mom and then fed on the baby. His bloody gurgling father is finished off by the stranger. Traumatic for sure for Martin. He is just a teenager and if Mister had not shown up hunting this monstrous creature his incompetence would have been his downfall. We learn that you have to kill those who have been bitten or they change. Why else kill the father in the aftermath. That the vamps are animal in nature, the monster vampire instead of the romanticized version.
Now we know what we are in for in the world where a vampire plague has spread and people are few and far between. It is a solid start for a film that really is a road survival movie at its core. Martin journeys from the scared teen to capable vampire fighter trained by the experienced hunter as they travel looking for a place where they can settle down. This place New Eden is in Canada since the vampires, cold blooded do not like the weather. It is a goal and while Mister and Martin move towards it the film captures the need for connection among humans as well as the growing up that young Martin must do.
There are some more interesting ideas also, of course the expected militant groups of survivor running there self protected communities like military camps. Surprisingly though there are also more liberal places in the world where the people struggling to survive realize that protection can come without an iron fist if people work together. It is something rarely seen in these kind of films and was welcomed. Then there is the antagonist group, the Brethren. They are a group of fanatical religious zealots that believe the vampires are doing God's work driving new followers into the cult and when God's will is done they the vamps will be taken away by God leaving the Brethren to inherit the earth. Martin and Mister save a nun, Sister (Kelly McGillis) who has been raped by a couple of these thugs. Mister kills them running afoul of the group since one of the thugs was Brethren leader Jebedia Loven's (Michael Cerveris) son. This group is captures the writer's feelings about this group perfectly when in Martin's voice we get "In desperate times, false Gods abound. People put their faith in the loudest preacher and hope they are right." When captured by this group, Mister's punishment is to have his hands bound and left for a group of vampires. Sister and Martin are to be kept as new sheep in the flock. What is great about this film is that all along all the new decisions Martin has to make are training and he becomes more complete and likely to survive. I skip scenes in this review of Mister attacking vampires so Martin can practice killing them, at first not so well. When Mister is left to the vamps Martin runs from the group, now brave enough to make such a bold decision. He makes it back to the car to find Mister who also found a way to survive. Making it back to a safe town they pick up Belle (Danielle Harris), a young pregnant singer they see in the gathering place. She joins the group and it is something I like about this movie, people in it need connection to each other. It really is human nature and Mister is a vampire hunter but also a human looking out for those who need looking out for. Soon a fourth joins there party, Willie (Sean Nelson) an ex marine who is primarily there to fill some of the back story of how the government and military eventually broke down as the plague spread.
These four travel through Brethren country together, up the back roads to the colder mountains of New York State. Here Mister gets some sweet revenge on Jebedia when they come across him manning a checkpoint. Of course this can't be the end for the main bad guy we are only two thirds the way through the movie. Leaving him cut for the vamps though is a nice payback at the time. Finally reaching the border the group can relax. When they have to leave their weapons with the people running the town I knew that something really bad was going to happen. When Belle and Martin dance at the towns party, and Mister joined in I thought "Oh Oh this is not going to end well." Then when they see Sister and the group is complete I knew the bad was just around the corner.
The attack is awesome and I will not get into it here but it was surprising and really a cool thing to do. Our group gets out of it and heads for the hills going high to the cold country. When the car dies they are on foot, an older Sister, a pregnant Belle and the three guys. They seem safe from vampires but it is taking its toll on them. Even as they grow closer struggling together they are getting weaker and Belle is quite pregnant. Martin in the ever present V.O. says "Away from people I stopped thinking about the past and my family, I've found a new one." Since that was a bright and positive sentiment something bad has to happen. They come down from the hills because it is also too cold for them. They camp in this large traffic jam of abandoned cars that had been heading to the now really close Canadian border.
After another very good tense attack scene we have our survivors hold up in an old bus. Mister senses something amiss but can not put his finger on it. When another member of the group vanishes we get the big turn in the story. It is nicely done and although veteran horror film fans could figure it out I bet a fair number of people out there won't. Building to a climax as the last three remaining in the group get so close to safety only to have to fight yet another battle. When the final group of three are hold up at roadside diner, after the climax we see the journey's end for Martin as he is a proven survivor and vampire killer. The happy ending is well done and expected.
What I liked about this film is that it never lost track of whose story it was. At its heart it was always about Mister and Martin and it held true to the relationship. Although the voice over always in the voice of Martin showed that he was the main character from the beginning. Still the story of Mister played a very complementary role inter connecting with Martin but never drowning his story out. It was well done. I do wish though that more character development was done with interactive scenes instead of using the V.O. so much. Way too much we are told about the connections of characters instead of them showing us the connections they are developing. Some of the characters are less developed and thus obviously expendable. Overall this is a wonderful entry into the genre, instead of big loud and super action filled it is quiet scary, a study of people. A bit on the predictable in what must happen, with some characters obvious feed for vampires but also some surprises. The music was a real mood setter and I am not always sure it is the mood I wanted in the movie, some really melancholy tunes more appropriate for a dreamy summer road movie than a survival one. I think that they were going for a haunted mood but I wanted a bit more tension. The vampire presentation was just excellent and monstrous, the feel of the vampire attacks was closer to the 28 Days Later feel but less frantic, so positives there. Writer/Director Jim Mickle does a nice job with what he has and he with co-writer Damici have created a worthy film for lovers of horror that I think general audience could also enjoy.
Rating (6.7) 5.0 and up are recommended, in the Zombiegrrlz system Go and see it!

The Nameless (1999) - Horror Cult

The Nameless (1999) - Writer director Jaume Balaguero ( Who directed both excellent [Rec] movies) gives us a story of a secret group creating pain for other in the hope it will be ecstasy for them. A six year old girl's mutilated body is found, the police identify her from a bracelet she found nearby and the fact she birth defect of one shorter leg. They tell the parents and the grieving begins. Five years later the Mother of the girl, Claudia (Emma Vilarasau) is still heartbroken, now divorced from her husband she still lingers in her daughters room(shrine) and is not functioning well in her job as an author/book editor. She receives a phone call from someone claiming to be her daughter asking for her help. What? Her daughter Angela is alive and needs her help? Is someone playing a cruel game with Claudia? Oh you can count on that and the fact that no parent would not act on such a call. Following some pretty vague clues, Claudia with the help of ex policeman Massera (Karra Elejalde) who was on the case when the girl disappeared. They soon start to discover a strange group of cultists called the Nameless. This group studies and wants to experience enlightenment through the pain of others. They seek to create acts of cruelty and agony in there victims and then rejoice in the pain it created. Supposedly this could have been the group that killed the little girl and after seeing in the early scenes the gruesome body of the child you can believe it.
This film takes quite a bit of time to get to anything and the slow pace will turn some people off. Cladia and Messera get one small clue after another and slowly get an understanding of this group, but because it is so secret and anyone could be involved they need a contact from within the group. Also helping is Quiroga (Tristan Ulloa) a reporter for a gossip mag who gets involved in finding the "Nameless" group. They find an abandon hotel that the group may be holding the girl with Quiroga getting there first, but his end is set in stone since he arrives alone. When Claudia and Massera arrive, he enters first and has her wait in the car. Now I am sure you have all watched this scenario before, does the waiting person ever just stay in the vehicle? She follows and ends up face to face with her daughter, but her little girl is changed. The ending is unexpected but makes sense to the idea of creating agony. It took a very long time to get to that point and I am not sure the payoff is there.
The film certainly has some issues. The idea that people getting off of acts of mutilation is disturbing and besides the early scene where the girls body is found shown and described it is not seen in the movie, there is some box cutter slicing of one of the characters but it is mild compared to the horrors this group represents. So if this is a film about the horrors of this group it is really not backed up. All of the clues are small and really not good connections to this secret group but they arrive at the right time. The only reason they get to the final showdown is because they are part of a master pan by the group to do the most harmfully shocking act yet. The final issue is it takes a long time to get there and some viewers may be turned off by the three quarter mark of the movie.
The film does a nice job at looking at the grief process and how it affects those in it. The couple splits after the little girls body is found, Claudia five years later is still not functioning well in the world, adding to the effect is the cinematography using a grayed out slate of colors. Massera connects with Claudia in this after losing his wife and unborn child in childbirth just a year earlier. They know the feelings of loss and sadness each other is feeling and it is well portrayed in the film.
When all is said and done I would still recommend this film. Although it drags a bit and the premise is a bit weak at its core, I think the acting is very good and although at time telegraphing the music is wonderfully effective. So if you can sit through the slow build you can at least be a bit surprised by the ending and come away with a decent film experience.
Rating (5.1) 5.0 and up are Recommended In the Zombiegrrlz rating system Rent It!

Blood Feast (1963) - Horror Killer

Part of Terrorthon 10 at the Somerville Theater in Somerville MA
Blood Feast (1963) - A woman comes home and gets ready for a bath, she turns on her really cool radio, a Zenith Royal 250 to hear reports that women in town have been killed and to stay home after dark. Since she keeps her book of Ancient Weird Egyptian Rituals nearby and the camera lingers on it we know it is important. Suddenly as she relaxes in her bubble bath a man appears and stabs her to death and then after she is dead takes a leg as a trophy. So begins this 1963 gore movie, some would argue started the genre of gore in movies.
This is not a good movie, it is poorly written, acted and lots does not make sense as you watch. An example of this is the two cops that are featured. The Capt. Frank (Scott H. Hall) overly dramatic with every line repeatedly through the film states there are no clues to who the killer is. That's because in this work the police have yet to develop the ability to take fingerprints. The killer makes no effort to wear gloves or avoid smearing blood all over the place, but apparently the police don't know the existence of fingerprinting.
Nor does this movie attempt to hide the killer from the audience. We learn in the first three scenes who the killer, Fuad Ramses (Mal Arnold) is, what his motivation is and what his larger plan is. I won't be spoiling anything here by saying that he worships the Goddess Ishtar and wants to perform the Blood Feast that will bring her back to life. Where our killer runs a catering service and has some kind of mind control abilities he easily convinces Dorothy Freeman (Lyn Bolton) to have such a Feast for her daughter (Connie Mason). It is not a spoiler because 15 minutes into this you are shown everything. So the rest of the film is about the inept cops learning it.
I love that the killer worships a store mannequin dress as the Egyptian Goddess. He is a strange character who overacts and limps badly but somehow is completely silent and can easily surprise the most cautious victim. Needing more body parts the killer heads out to the beach to find Tony and his girl making out. She wants to go home but he wants her to hang and "prove" her love. Fuad dragging his dead leg behind him in the sand, knocks out Tony and kills the girl. For some reason there is a boa constrictor on the beach, when the police arrive they do not have a clue and state that fact. Since they did not tape off the area all the walking around must have erased the trail left by the killer as he dragged his leg behind him. It could have gone something like this.

Capt. Frank: Well guys we are here a bit late again. If we could just find a clue to what direction the killer went.
Officer: Capt Frank there is this clear path here in the sand, looks like someone dragged something from over there, to where the kids were attacked and then off that way with something dripping blood behind it.
Capt.Frank: Good work kid, What's your name? Hey lets fallow that blood trail and see where it goes.

BUT NOOO! Instead they talk to Tony who is awake again and crying like a two year old who had his candy stolen. Then they bring the parents of the latest victim in to ask if they know who did it? You see this scene would not be necessary except that the writer Allison Louise Downe wants to introduce that Det. Pete Thornton (William Kerwin) is connecting the book from the first scene to this murder. Since there are more body parts needed for the feast there are more murders to come. The Captain and Tanielle return to a Miami motel drunk, we only see them from a distance but can tell they are drunk from their bobbing and weaving. Capt does not get to go into Tanielle's room probably saving his life. Ramses drags himself to her room using the railing of the walkway but since there are no finger prints in this world leaves no clues when he kills her and rips out her tongue. I loved that we know she is dead because she crossed her eyes.
Now we get filled in on the feast and it is through a lecture that Thornton goes to with his girlfriend Suzette Fremont (Playboy playmate Connie Mason) the daughter who will have the surprise feast. They are both interested in Egyptian culture and history and besides how will Ramses ever get caught if Det. Pete doesn't have a way to make connections.
There are more murders and on the night of the party the police close in on the killer. When they get to his catering store and find the latest victim they are shock and then figure out that Ramses is the killer and is at Suzette's house right now!
Suzette comes close to having her number punched but Ramses has to flee the cops before the deed is done. Dragging his bad leg behind him he manages to stay ahead of a bunch of cops for a very long time until he can hide in the back of a garbage truck. You can guess his outcome. The gore effect were pretty effective and I had a better feeling about this film after seeing the Herschell Gordon Lewis documentary after this feature, but as a film itself it was really poor.
Rating (3.2) 5.0 and up are recommended, In the Zombiegrrlz system I would tell you to Skip It!