Zombie Babies

"What's grosser than a pile of dead babies?"

Zombie Babies is one of the latest over the top cheese-fests being put out by Independent Entertainment. The film is directed by Eamon Hardiman, who is also behind the madness that is the Porkchop series. Given the director and the subject matter of the film this one is sure to turn some heads. The flick follows a group of four couples that are attending the annual abortathon. This little shindig is hosted by some degenerate rednecks that are attempting to step their game up after the recent legalization of abortions in their area. Little do the couples know they are in for a weekend that may be their last. Unfortunately the abortathon has been botched and is overrun by re-animated baby fetuses who are out to get revenge.

Just by the synopsis of the film you should know what you are getting yourself into. So if you're easily offended the best thing for you to do would either be to avoid the film altogether, or try to grow a sense of humor and bask in the gigantic chunk of cheese that is Zombie Babies. The film is very tongue in cheek and there are many comedic elements instilled throughout. So even with the "intense" subject matter there is nothing too disturbing about it. Sure it isn't politically correct but if all horror was we would have a very boring and vacant genre on our hands.

Zombie Babies is very reminiscent of the Ghoulies series once the babies spring up from the dead. So go into the film thinking Ghoulies with more abortion and feces and you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect. The effects in this film are not too shabby, and the kills throughout are absolutely awesome. The film features one of my favorite kills in recent memory involving an umbilical cord. I won't give away what happens but let's just say anyone that enjoys a solid, clever kill will get a kick out of this one. The re-animated babies are done in a very old school manner and while they may look crude at times it all adds to the fun factor.

The only real quarrel I have in this department would be the horrible green screen moment with all of the fog when the couples first meet up. I fully understand that this is a cheesy low budget flick but just getting a few shots in the woods wouldn't have hurt. I couldn't even direct my attention to what was going on in that scene because of how distracting that background was. Obviously, being a low budget flick the acting isn't going to be top notch all of the time either, but for the most part the actors do their thing and deliver decent enough performances. Dr. Burt Fleming stuck out in particular, by far giving the most zany, over the top performance in the movie. Without a doubt my favorite character.

Overall I applaud everyone behind Zombie Babies for delivering a nice and much needed breath of fresh air to the zombie subgenre. Being a category of horror that seems to get more and more saturated by the day it is extremely nice to see a flick coming out with a fairly original stamp on it. While Zombie Babies isn't the greatest film ever made it achieves what it was meant to. It is a very fun flick with wacky characters and some gross-out humor, simple as that. Recommended to those of you who can't get enough of the cheese.

Two Classic Tales Of Terror: The Tell-Tale Heart/The Oval Portrait

This dvd consist of two adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories. Edgar Allan Poe is a name that is frequently mentioned among fans of horror and the macabre and this doesn't come without reason. His tales bring the terror and stick in the back of your mind years after taking them in. Naturally, having such a notorious reputation as an author of the macabre his writings quite often get picked up by movie makers thinking they can properly put his ideas to film. Some are hits and some miss the mark by a long shot, luckily for this dvd the two films featured are fairly good representations of the stories of which they are based.

The Tell-Tale Heart (1960):

The first of the two films on this disc is The Tell-Tale Heart. Arguably one of Poe's most notorious stories and along with that one of his stories that is most often put to film. The film stars Laurence Payne and Adrienne Corri.The Tell-Tale Heart follows a man named Edgar who is quite pitiful around the ladies. He becomes obsessed over a woman who moves nearby him. Even with Edgar's obsession over Betty she hardly notices and goes for his good friend Carl. Carl being the great friend he is shrugs off Betty's advances for awhile but eventually can't help but fool around with her. Unfortunately for Carl Edgard was watching from his window and caught them in the act. Soon after Edgar beats Carl and hides him in the floor boards, but as time goes by the heartbeat he hears in his head robs him of his sanity.

This adaptation of the story adds a ton of new things to what was in the original short story. Considering how short the original story was this shouldn't be a surprise, creating a feature length film out of something so small would be quite the difficult task. Though it may not be a dead on retelling of the original story it still brings the same ideas and feelings that were originally intended. The elements that are added aren't necessarily the most original to ever grace the screen but in the end it still plays out to be a great film.

The Oval Portrait (1972):

The second section of this double feature is The Oval Portrait. This film is based of the story titled "Life in Death" (which is also known as The Oval Portrait). This, much like the previous movie was based off a short story. The Oval Portrait is the tale of a Confederate man who is injured in battle. He finds himself staying at a house owned by a Yankee after he is taken in by a beautiful woman. The soldier soon after falls in love with the owners daughter, Rebecca.

When Rebecca's father sees the beautiful portrait and discovers who had made it he breaks out in a fury and throws his daughter out of the house. In this fit of rage her father falls into a vegetable like state. Soon after a man who appears to be the soldier who painted his daughter returns to the home. With the completion of the portrait Rebecca loses her life. As the story unfolds this dark tale of romance is bound to be one you'll remember. Unfortunately The Oval Portrait is one of those Poe adaptations that tends to fade into obscurity. The story is compelling and even with some less than satisfying acting it still manages to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat up until the credits roll. This film has strange atmosphere throughout. It

Overall this dvd works as a great introduction to some of the Edgar Allan Poe adaptations of the era. In terms of picture quality it would be advised to not go into this expecting something crystal clear. The quality isn't bad but it may have some people who strive for the polished look a little bothered. All in all this comes out to be a pretty good set. The two films featured here aren't something you bump into that often. The disc is bare bones but it does come with some very insightful liner notes written by Tim Lucas. Highly recommended for fans of Edgar Allan Poe that are looking to get into some of the adaptations. Even if you have never read a page of Poe's work this will still prove to be an interesting viewing.

Psycho Holocaust

"Six innocent people. Three brutal killers. One night of madness and mayhem, you will never forget..."

Psycho Holocaust is a horror flick directed by Krist Rufty. The film follows a group of young adults that take a trip to a secluded area to have some time to themselves to break away from the reality of city life. Before the group even has time to get settled in a masked killer and his crazy group of acquaintances start picking them off. Obviously this is a plot that every horror fan has bumped into a least once. The group of villains torture their victims mentally and physically. A man is sodomized with a bottle and a pregnant woman is used as a canvas for a little blood finger painting session. While all this is happening the leader of the bunch is taking video and ordering his minions around to do his bidding.

Even though the movie has a very crisp picture it reminds me of some of the old school shot on video flicks. Though at heart Psycho Holocaust is a crazy cult/slasher film later on it turns into somewhat of a torture porn movie (a term that I despise). The main thing that made Psycho Holocaust enjoyable is the fact that there is still a little cheese sprinkled in even though the film is fairly mean spirited. Containing everything from rapes to decapitations this is certainly not a film for those with weak stomachs, these scenes of brutality look realistic for the most part and it is clear that Rufty doesn't feel the need to shy away from violence.

The acting in this surprised me. I was expecting the actors to all be below average but to my surprise most of them were actually pretty damn good. The cast is lead by a familiar face to low budget horror fans, Raine Brown. Many may know her from Barricade, Plasterhead, and Sculpture along with numerous others. Most of the actors are very convincing in their deaths (with a few exceptions). All around there isn't much of anything to complain about here.

The only problem is the sound quality. At times it is nearly impossible to hear some of the dialogue. This isn't a problem for most of the film but during the scene where the two girls are talking by the water the background noise simply overpowers what is being said. Another that adds to Psycho Holocaust's charm is the soundtrack. Whoever was behind the music in this went very old school with it and it definitely added a great deal to the atmosphere.

Overall Psycho Holocaust is everything a low budget horror flick should be. The movie was shot in six days and considering the short shoot it came out great. This is up there with the other excellent low budget horror films like Stockholm Syndrome and Chaos. The violence is unflinching and although it isn't anything groundbreaking it does what it does very well. The political aspects that are thrown in could've fell flat but luckily in this films case the concept worked. It is clear when watching that all the individuals that took part in this film worked their asses off to make it the best it could be. Highly recommended to all fans of horror, even if you aren't into the low budget flicks you should find something to enjoy here.