Hidden in the Woods (2013) - Horror Abuse Exploitation

Hidden in the Woods (2012) - "En las Afueras de la Ciudad" starts with a horrific scene of domestic violence where the jealous husband is abusing his wife. He is dunking her head in a sink full of water trying to force her to tell him the name of her lover. Whether she actually has a lover or not is answered later in the twist of the film, now instead we see him find his two small daughters in the woods and tell them that their mother has gone to heaven. A horrible person this man and the story clearly wants you to see him fully as the monster he is.  It is a horrifying scene of the cruelty man happens to exhibit on a daily basis but most of us are not exposed to. An opening like this could set up a film showing the courage of the human spirit rising above the pain and abuse to find a life worth living. It could be the significant moment in the lives of the two girls as they are dealt a horrible hand in life. The moment that sets their story in motion to see how much the spirit can overcome adversity. There is in this film the misogyny and a basic horrific treatment  that could be explored but is just used as a prop for the story.
 The story jumps to when the oldest girl is the maybe twelve years old. If setting the table to have us pull for the girls director Patricio Valladares is giving them a lot  to overcome. Still living with the drunkard father the girls live a primitive life in the forest. Their father, a drug holder, (he hides the drugs for a big time dealer), a drunk we are subject to him raping his younger daughter and then a horrific scene as he and the older sister deliver the child, a deformed damaged infant that we see they raise but keep locked up in a shed. Treating it like an animal as time goes by with the implication that the younger girl continues to be the victim of rape as the years go on.  Another jump in years and the daughters now young women, fight with the father as he again tries to rape her again. Now close to adulthood they are still not strong enough to stop him but they do give him pause. The older sister Ana runs off screaming for help that she will never find. Instead the two girls are locked with the freak in the shed to wait for the punishment that is sure to come later.
  At about this time the police show up for a noise complaint and things begin to escalate as the girls yell for help.  This is where you would expect there to be a turn in the story, maybe developing how the girls taken from the arrested father will fight through their PTSD to become advocates for the abused? No not in this grim tale. While one officer helps the girls the other is attacked by the father. The second officer shoots him but he gets to her before being taken down. A gruesome chainsawing is what they get for trying to do their jobs. It certainly is an incident that will change the lives of the children forever. Wounded the Father calls his drug dealer boss to help him, he will get money so he can hide out for a while to heal. The drug dealer wants access to the drugs and the man keeps them hidden so that they can not be stolen. This arrangement really gives the man a way to get help instead of being cut loose. Unfortunately for him help is not coming and no one shows to the bus terminal to help him. Meanwhile the children have escaped into the woods and are hiding there. Alone they are afraid to go back and instead are forced to take up residence in the house where their mother was killed. It is now old and falling apart abandoned in the woods.  They do not know that the father is being arrested at the bus station. They have no way to know that this decision instead of being the safe thing to do will create an even greater spiral of misery.
  This sets up the drug dealers wanting to find the girls thinking that they may know where he hides the drugs. Really though this is a horrific film, the film itself is exploitative but the subject matter is dreadful. The pain and abuse of the main characters is so hard to watch and the film is unrelenting in dishing new traumas on these three innocent characters. The story by the director with help from screenwriter Andrea Cavaletto never looks to make these characters more than the victims they are in the first scenes of the film. In fact like many exploitation films from the past all that happens is more and more shit is piled on them with the bleak realization that there will be no happy ending. So is the point that we are forced to sit through the long spiral down when there is no character development and there is no glimmer of hope? We become the abused by having to sit through the horror inflicted on these characters? Is Valladares making a statement about the viewers willingness to suffer with a character when there is no hope of redemption? Interviews I have read with the director lead this reviewer to believe that is not the case. Valladares seemed more interested in the movie making and less interested in saying anything with his film. So is it art or exploitation? I lean strict exploitation. It is somewhat disappointing to here the director speak about the film. Probably somewhere in the later history if Valladares becomes a name I am sure like Writer/director Meir Zarchi and "I spit on you Grave" writers will reevaluate it giving it more meaning than it will deserve. Those involved will also white wash this exploitative mean spirited film and talk about how it forces the audience to experience what the character does and is somehow therefore a positive message. That bearing witness is somehow a value when really the initiative behind making the film is to make a few bucks. Bearing witness to real life injustice has value giving money a film so the creator can grow his personal career and fortune is another.  Bullshit. This film does not even have the revenge featured in that more notorious piece of trash. Instead Ana (Siboney Lo) the oldest sister spirals into a prostitute who blows men to earn enough money to keep her and her siblings fed. The second act is a cruel respite from the violence but not the harsh realities of these characters.
  The acting is pretty bad in the film and in those same interviews I learned it was because most of those involved were amateurs. The dialog full of swearing and the over use of "faggot" is hard to listen to over the wailing of victims. When Uncle Costello (Francois Soto) sends his men into the forest to find the three survivors it creates a third act full of continued violence and abuse, more rape more murder. Sure we learn who the girls Mother was sleeping with and why the father chose the second daughter to rape repeatedly but without a story arc of any chance at anything positive these revelations are hollow script tricks. Adding in the strange cannibalism piece only exploits the film industry and viewers looking for the bizarre. In the end even the dream of a happy ending is washed away in blood and the viewer is left hollow. This is really not a recommended film  and soon will hopefully be forgotten.

Dust Up (2012) Adventure Comedy

Dust Up (2012) -This shockingly violent adventure is brought to us by Ward Roberts who wrote and directed. With a budget of almost nothing he has put together a schlock filled journey where the good guys ultimately win and the desert is made safe from the forces of evil. More than that though it is a redemption story where our hero, haunted by an incident in the past uses the present to make amends and finally allow himself to put the past behind him.
  When I saw the announcement for this film on All Things Horror Online with a guest appearance by Amber Benson I thought it would be a fun thing to do with my daughter while she was home from college. An important aside is that I really did not know anything about the movie at this point. So if you think I am likely to go to violent film where there is a scenes where a bar owner masturbates while choking the local Sheriff to death, killing him while he splurges on his face, with my twenty year old daughter , with knowledge of this you are wrong. It was a side effect of not doing my homework about the film. We of course know Amber as "Tara" from the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and saw it as an opportunity to meet someone from the series we both enjoyed. Well so much for safe bonding experiences.
  The last time I saw Amber Benson in a film it was the ridiculously funny alien possession film One Eyed Monster, where Ron Jeremy's dick is possessed by an alien, detaches itself and tries to mate with the human in the film. It was a funny but really not a very good film. Recently I watched a  movie she co-directed called Drones (2010) that I thought was witty and clever. She also writes and there were quite a few fans of her writing in the audience of Dust Up. Miss Benson was gracious enough to come to the screening and stayed all the way through to a question and answers session afterward, as well as pictures and autograph session in the Museum of Bad Art as well. I know her kindness made the night for my daughter and I so to Amber, Thanks.
  The film centers around Jack (Aaron Gaffey) a former soldier who is haunted by an incident while at war in the middle east. After an IED exploded near him, he in a dazed state shot a man who was approaching him only to later realize that the man was coming to help. The sight of the dying man with his crying wife and terrified child still wakes Jack from his sleep. He broke apart a family and the injury he sustains (lost an eye) and PTSD of his war experiences has left him a broken man. He now lives in the California desert working as the High Desert Handyman with few friends. One a young man, Mo (Devin Barry) pretending to be Native American in the most old movie "Indian" kind of look, but seeking a wisdom modern society does not provide seems his best friend. They don't have a lot to do and enjoy the quiet life.
  This quiet life is broken when Jack is called to the home of Ella (Amber Benson) to fix her muddy water problem. After assessing her problems and giving a price he returns to his life only to be drawn back in when Ella accidentally calls his phone while she is fighting with her husband (?) Herman (Travis Betz). Herman is a crack head who owes a good amount of money to local drug dealer and bar owner Buzz (Jeremiah Birkett) who is none too happy to use violence in the collection of the money. Jack comes into this situation seeing Ella and her baby and this loser husband he is struck by the guilt of the war experience he had. This spurs him into attempt to try to keep this family together.
  Now I don't want to give away the entire plot where this set up is the start of a violent and crazy few days for Jack, Mo, Ella and Herman. As mentioned before there is some really raunchy stuff in this film but it is done like a spaghetti western with the strange violence, impaling, scalping, drugs dance, exploding bars, cannibalism, all leading to a resolution for Ella and for Jack. This movie will not be for everyone but like the recent "Hobo with a Shotgun" for a hyper violence fantasy it is a pretty fun ride. When the film ended and the chat and pictures were done, Joy (my daughter) and I talked about it in the car. She was not quite sure what to think of it and since I have to admit I see a surprising amount of these kind of films I was okay with it. The violence is over the top and disturbing so those who are shocked easily will do well to avoid this film. Still it will get a recommendation from me.
Rating (5.5) 5.0 and up are recommended, some more recommended than others.

Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009)

Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009) - Jen and Silvia Soska present this really bad day of violence and death in this home brewed exploitation flick. Starting in a club we follow our lead "Badass" (Sylvia Soska) as she enters and has a drink with her friend "Junkie" (Rikki Gagne) but we are also there for the argument between the "Cowboy Pimp" (John Tench) and his "Hooker" (Tasha Moth) as they go at it in the bar. We get a forward flash where she is taking a baseball bat to the head, thus setting up the title of the film.
A look into the past shows us Badass as a little girl witnessing the death of her mother at the hands of her father. She as a child picks up the gun and shoots him, so we know what her issues are. That is how she got so Badass?, the trauma of having to murder your own father? No that's a starting point but unfortunately the film doesn't fill in the character any more than this. Instead we get to accept that the events of her past have slotted her into her personality. When she comes out of the memories She and Junkie go to pick up her sister Geek (Jen Soska) and head off in Badass's bad ass car to take Geek to her youth group. Geek on the other hand having avoided watching her mother die nor having killed her father has grown to adulthood a good girl. Thus the need to get her sister to drive her to pick up a friend at the church's youth group. There are a couple reasons for this, one is the fourth main character in the adventure that is about to start, Goody Two Shoes (C.J. Wallis) he is a holy roller who longs for the companionship of Geek but doesn't have the balls to do anything about it. The second is to have this really strange interaction with the Priest at the church. Probably because she is pure evil and going to hell inexplicably Badass catches on fire and he puts her out. Then he talks to a hoodie guy about Badass but thinks they should not mess with her. So it is quite obvious though that he is not quite right. This telegraphing makes the movie less fun but as violent romps go it doesn't take too much away. We certainly can sense that the Priest and the hoodie guy will show up again somewhere down the line.
The four head out to get some "shit" for Junkie, but a strange smell gets them to look in the trunk of the bad ass car and find the titular dead hooker. That is all the setup we really need to get because from here this film is a, this happened, and then this happened. It is a bad day that just gets worse while the entire time we wonder why the characters driven by Badass keep making poor decisions that make things worse. The first problem is since Badass and Junkie are a bit fuzzy about the night before they don't want to call the police. So begins the wild romp for the next couple days as they try to solve their problem without getting in trouble. They are being followed by Cowboy Pimp but seem oblivious to his vehicle just feet from them. So not just are they making bad decisions but they are not noticing who is around. Let me tell you last time I had a body in the trunk of my car, I became very hyper aware of my surroundings. You would think the characters in the film would too.
It all gets a bit strange from here which leads one to believe that maybe this is not just a poor low budget action film but instead a stealthy empowerment fantasy. That this is the hard core decisions making fantasized by a little girl who killed her abusive father. Instead of a scared traumatized child she sees herself as "Badass" the super decisive bitch you do not want to fuck with. It doesn't matter how stupid her decisions are, she will make them work with gall and spunk. Every curve thrown her way will be smacked out of the ballpark. Unfortunately I am not sure this is the case, so Badass becomes a one toned character who forces her will on those around her. She lacks a story arch that brings her from her starting point to somewhere new and surprising through the adventures of the day.
Deciding to bury the corpse instead of say, dumping it on the side of the empty road, or leaving it in the hotel room they got, or sitting it on a park bench to be found by a jogger, anything except keeping it with them for a day so they can depose of it. Note that although they have this body in the trunk of the car, they had no part in putting it there. They owe nothing to the hooker nor do they need to risk accessory to murder by touching it. Sure the setup is there that the police might blame them but like I point out above there are lots of things to be done with a dead body. Letting the hotel desk guy molest it in the car as payment for the room was pretty low on my list of things.
Geek has the very strange idea to call the cops on her sister. Really? The make believe that follows can't easily be explained nor can any real rationalization for the decision be made. The cops though do not end up looking very good after the music video encounter with Badass. She struts her sexy self well enough to leave them wishing they never responded to the call. It is much ado about nothing and in the end the foursome is back on the road with the hooker again in the trunk.
They head out get a fix for Junkie at her old boyfriends apartment, I use that term "apartment" as a very flexible way to describe a place to live but most human beings would not consider the pit he has to be livable. Cowboy Pimp is there again as he continues to track his Hooker, did he put the body in the trunk? Could he not ask them for the body? I believe he knows they have seen the hooker so whats the deal? Junkie gets a fix and a fuck with the boyfriend when for no real reason some Asian guys come and are going to kill them both. I am sure it is a money owed thing concerning drugs but again we shift into a long line of events with little organic origins in the film. There is some excellent gory violence while they are killing the boyfriend and cutting her arm with a saw. Lucky for Junkie that she has Badass for a friend. Saving the day with some more cool gory violence they get out of the situation now leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. Now she is a killer but since it is for the right reasons, saving a friend there is no reason to be appalled by it.
Meanwhile Geek is again calling the police, this sister rivalry has to stop! While that call is happening a hooded figure walks up behind her and cracks her in the head with a pipe. Down she goes her eye knocked clean out of her head. You are probably saying "What the fuck!" at this point as was I. Even the fact the Goody Two Shoes was in the car while Geek was being attacked directly outside the door was enough to almost make me turn this film off. They all end up back in the car driving away the whole while the Cowboy Pimp watches from the sidelines. When they stop on the side of the road and a passing truck takes the arm right off Junkie we know we are in a complete fantasy. Badass does punch out the trucker and pulls the severed are from the grill. A bit of duct take and bingo Junkie can make it until the hospital. Which I should mention is not NOW! No instead the film goes off the rails with the explanation of the arm reattachment, the single line "I can't believe this actually worked." I remind you that this was a completely detached arm and I don't care how high Junkie was there is no way that a severed limb is not going to be extremely painful and life threatening. Okay so there is no way we can continue to suspend disbelief, and even though I watched this strange piece of work to the end I was dumbfounded by the irrational twist it takes. Questions still need to be answered and I am sure you will be drained while finding the answers. Will they ever bury that damn hooker? Will the Cowboy Pimp ever make his intentions known? Who is the strange hooded attacker? Will the Junkie ever get that arm looked at by a doctor? Will the Goody two shoes ever get that kiss from Geek he so desires? Will this day and this film ever end? Hey and although I did not mention it we do find out how the Hooker gets in the trunk and who killed her. They why is what is so fucked up in this scenario.
So many more things just happen and the climax is energetic and all the loose ends tied up. No doubt that our sisters will come out of it relatively okay. When the line that sums up the movie is " I can't believe there aren't any repercussions for all the things we have did over the last... " Neither can the audience.
So will I recommend this film? No, but I have to say I have always sort of enjoyed gory violence and did so in this film too. In fact I don't know what it is about exploitation that makes me "want" to watch it. It is not like a Giallo where the violence and nudity is mixed in a mystery of a story. It is probably because the films in this genre are so straight up and in your face. In a time where everything is so packaged it is refreshing to see a blunt instrument used to cause the audience damage. It did not make a lot of sense but it is a ride of sorts. I also appreciated the pretty decent music in the film. When all is said and done you still have to give a lot of credit to the Soska sisters for creating a film that they wanted to create. They wrote , produced, directed, acted in, did stunts for and I am sure had a hand in everything else in this film too. They created an internet presence and have given themselves a start in the business. That is more than can be said for all us film lovers out there that write blogs. So props for the work they have done and who knows, maybe this won't be the last Soska Sisters review I will do.
Rating (4.8) 5.0 and up are recommended, some films just more recommended than others.

Sin Nombre (2009) - Drama

Sin Nombre (2009) - Writer / Director Cary Fukunaga delivers an incredibly powerful film about our new "trail of tears" the train routes through Mexico immigrants take seeking a better life in the United States. From the beginning of this film until the end the story is sad, violent and touching and leaves the viewer emotionally moved. There are those who close down their feelings of empathy for immigrants in this country, but the stories of the long and hazardous journey of people just trying to improve their lives is a story we should be embracing. So many generations in this country have benefited from the bravery of their forefathers and mother to make this same trip, be it on a steamer across the Atlantic or a terrifying march across a desert. The impulse for humans to have a better life will always be a driving force in immigrations and what ever fences, laws, patrols or cameras a country has will not stop the flow.
In this story we see the journey and those who live on the trail , first with Smiley (Kristian Ferrer) and his older brother Willy (Edgar Flores). Willy a gang member, in the Mara Salvatchura in the city of Tapachula. He is having second thoughts about the life as a high ranking member in the gang, he has met a beautiful girl Martha (Diana Garcia) and does not want her mixed up in the gang. Smiley is prepubescent and just being allowed into the gang. Things take an nasty turn when Martha turns up at a gang meeting and Gang Leader Lil' Mago (Tenoch Huerta) while molesting her accidently kills her. He is cruel in he way of telling Willy, "The devil took her." This event sets up some really intense and compelling story later.

The second group is a father, son and Daughter named Sayra heading north on the tracks towards Estados Unidos. They have left Guatamala looking for a better life with family in New Jersey. He ihas done the trip before and the movie sets aside time to establish them. When Lil' Mago takes Willy and Smiley with him to rob people on the tops of the trains, things go from bad to worse. When Mago gets to the group with Sayra he starts kissing and pulling on her clothes. Mago obviously knows little about post tramatic stress reactions because I am sure Willy was going through it as he watched Mago attack Sayra. I am sure he imagined is lovely girlfriend in Sayra's place, being mauled by the gang leader. He strikes out with his Machete killing Mago and setting up the rest of the movie.

The story transforms into a thrilling road movie, or in this case a slow train movie. The Mara Salvatchura when they hear othe details upon Smiley's return set out word to their chapters along the tracks to look for Willy and Smiley having to prove himself to the gang has to go after his brother and kill him for the leaders death. We see the immigrants journey through Willy and Sayra as they travel north on the train, getting to know each other and avoiding Smiley and the gangs. This film is violent and frightening and the tale is very worth watching. The final scenes are amazing and so worth the build up.

Rating (8.1) 5.0 and up are recommended In the Zombiegrrlz system I say BUT IT!