Phil attends the 5th Annual A NIGHTMARE TO REMEMBER INTERNATIONAL HORROR FILM FESTIVAL hosted by Miss Misery at the Opera Plaza Cinema Theater-June 16, 2012

This past Saturday night I was very fortunate and extremely privileged to be invited to the 5th Annual A Nightmare To Remember International Horror Film Festival, held at the Opera Plaza Cinema Theater in San Francisco. The festival is organized and  hosted by the talented Reyna Young, better know to all of us here in the Bay Area as horror film hostess Miss Misery. She has appeared on local television shows, such as the late night horror show Creepy KOFY Movie Time on KOFY Channel 20-Cable 13 and at conventions all throughout Northern California. She started the festival back in 2008 to bring local, nationwide, and international independent horror short films here to the Bay Area.

The night began with horror fans meeting some famous celebrities in the theater's lobby. There was the great John Stanley who, along with his late predecessor Bob Wilkins, hosted the legendary local television show Creature Features. Scream Queen Debra Lamb, who has appeared in classic B-horror films such as EVIL SPIRITS, THE INVISIBLE MANIAC, BEVERLY HILLS VAMP, and the upcoming horror film DISCIPLES, was the celebrity judge for tonight's event. Also attending were two very special guests: actress Devanny Pinn (NUDE NUNS WITH BIG GUNS, SONG OF THE SHATTERED, and DIARY OF DEATH) and actor/writer/director Brandon Sleagle (VIViD, THE LOCALS, and THE MASK THAT THE MONSTERS WEAR). Also in attendance was independent filmmaker Dave Reda (BIT PARTS, MY UNDEADLY short film). After hanging out with both filmmakers and movie goers, Miss Misery begun tonight's horror festival.

The show began with some very cool trailers: AMERICAN MUMMY by writer/director Charles Pinion (which will be in 3D), BEAUTY BITES by filmmaker Shane Maus, and THE DEVIL'S CARNIVAL by director Darren Lynn Bousman and Terrance Zdunich, the creative team that brought us the cult hit REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA. After these cool trailers, the short films were shown!

First film up was BAPTISM BY FIRE. The film's about two injured soldiers Isaac (Charles Solis) and Oscar (Sam Salter) recovering in a military hospital. Issac is haunted by the casualties of war and what he has done.  Then one night Issac is visited by his former comrade Piggy (Raymond Garland), who was left behind by Issac and his platoon to die. But Piggy survived and now wants revenge Isaac. The film was directed by Craig Surko and it contains some interesting ideas, such as the psychological ramifications of those who fought in wars and the guilt that they carry with them long after the shooting stops. Creepy and atmospheric, this was a great film to start the festival off with. To learn more about the film, visit its official website at http://surkoc1.wix.com/baptismbyfire.

Festival Movie Poster (2011)

The second film screened was DOLL PARTS, a visually haunting and disturbing film by director Karen Lam. The film follows a serial killer named Edward (David Lewis) who while driving on a lonely stretch of road picks up a female hitchhiker (Sarah Lind). He ties her up, kills her and rapes her dead body. However there's just one problem: she's not dead! And she's not exactly human! Boasting some great acting, very cool gore and amazing special effects, this was one fantastic short film! Can't wait to see more from director Lam! To learn more about Lam's films and future projects, visit her official website at www.karenlamfilms.com.

Third film shown was Reda's MY UNDEADLY. In the film a woman is being stalked by an undead zombie, but this awesome horror/comedy has a fun twist ending that made the audience laugh! For those who wish to spice things up in the bedroom, take notes from this film! Reda wrote, produced, directed, and starred in the film along with scream queen Michelle Tomlinson. A cool bonus trivia: the film was shot in the original Michael Myer's house that was used in the original HALLOWEEN! Overall a great short film! To learn more about Reda and his production company Elftwin Films, visit their official website at http://elftwinfilms.com.

Film number four for the night was THE HAUNTED SHIP. Created by Alex Zinzopoulos, Jack Skyyler, and Joel Brook, the film's about four friends who break into the U.S.S. Salem, known as the "Sea Hag." Once inside, they soon discover that the rumors about the ship being haunted are true and must survive until dawn. The film was shot in both narrative as well as POV, with the last being influenced by the 1999 film THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT. In my humble opinion, the found footage idea has been done to death. However in this case, the amalgam of both of these styles proved somewhat effective, and the film does contained some believable acting. Also known as INFESTED SHIP, the filmmakers are in production of turning this short film into a full length feature. To learn more about the film and its directors, visit their website at http://www.dearskyyler.com.

Festival Movie Poster (2011)

The fifth film of the festival was one of my favorite films of the night! Directed by Patrick Rea, HELL WEEK is about a fraternity pledge named Luke (Jerod Meagher) who finds himself tied up and at the mercy of three scorned sorority sisters: Aubrey (Molly Anderson), Mitzi (Meg Saricks), and Marla (Tasha Smith). This beautifully directed film was very slick looking, contained great production values, brilliant acting, and a killer soundtrack. Now this what a short film should be! To learn about the film and about the production company SenoReality Pictures, visit their website at www.senoreality.com.

The sixth film of the night was THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT, directed by April Wright. Kenny (Taylor Gerard Hart) is the new parking lot security guard on the graveyard shift. All seems going well until a woman (Jenna Johnson) overdoses in her car on his watch, but things are not what they appear to be. I had the privilege of meeting Wright years ago when her film LAYOVER was screened at the Cinequest Film Festival. With this film, she does an effective job of creating mood and some chills. To learn more about Wright and her films, visit her official website at www.april9entertainment.com.

Festival Movie Poster (2012)

Film number seven was another one of my favorites screened. Imported all the way of Spain, PROFESSOR BROFMAN was one funny horror/comedy! In the film, Brofman (Bruto Pomeroy) is called in the dead of night by a married woman (Lló Venturini) who suspects that her husband (Paco Maestre) is a vampire. And what role does the young, busty, and sexy maid Doncella (Beatriz Olivares) have in this scenario? The whole film is played for laughs, and comes complete with musical numbers, a love triangle, and a midget playing a ukulele! What more do you need? To learn more about the film, visit its official website at www.promofest.org/films/profesor-brofman.

The eight film up was the abysmal JESSICA, directed by Jason Mills. Inspired by true events, basically the film is about a young girl named Jessica who becomes possessed at a Bible Camp. She runs away. The camp counselors follow her. She stops. They stop. She then turns back to normal. Everyone is happy and relieved. The End. This was the worst film of the night. It contained no real plot, no character development, it had nothing. So if this was based on true events, then what was the whole point of the devil possessing Jessica in the first place? Why was this film made I have no idea, but it was totally unnecessary.

PHOTO was the ninth film screened and was my third favorite film at the festival. Directed by J. Enrique Sánchez, this suspenseful thriller (also from Spain) tells the story of a photographer (Juanjo Artero) and his customer (Patxi Freytez). The film's tag line is, "He only needed one photo. A good one." The film has a TWILIGHT ZONE ending to it, which was a complete surprise and the look of it was polished and well made. Overall a great film! To learn more about the film, visit its official website at www.promofest.org/films/photo.

Festival Movie Poster (2012)

The tenth film screened was a favorite among the audience, and it was my absolute favorite as well! FAMILIAR tells the story of John Dodd (Robert Nolan), a middle aged man who is looking for a way out of his mundane life and to escape from his work and his family: wife Charlotte (Astrida Auza) and his daughter Jordan (Cathryn Hostick). He hears a voice in his head and believes (as well as we the audience) it's his inner thoughts. He begins to act on them, but he soon discovers to his horror that the voice he's hearing may not be his after all. Director Richard Powell did an outstanding job with this film. The film is scares us right from the start, giving the audience chills that stay with them during the course of the film. Nolan also deserves a worthy note for creating one of the most disturbed and chilling characters in cinema, the like not seen since Norman Bates in PSYCHO. It was truly the gem of the night! This dark psychological creeper of a flick is required viewing! FYI: The film was also recently reviewed in the Canadian Horror magazine Rue-Morgue (June issue #123 to be exact). To learn more about the film and all future project from Fatal Pictures, visit their website at http://fatalpictures.wordpress.com.

The last film of the festival was LADY IN THE KITCHEN. Directed by Boi Campbell and Gino Oddone, the film stars Victoria Gauthier and is supposedly set in the 1980's (check out that aerobics attire and those big earrings). While cooking up something in the kitchen, she hears a strange sound coming from the kitchen sink. Is the garbage disposal backed up, or is it something else? Something demonic? This very short film (a whopping two minutes!) was quick, fun, and cool, with a nice blood soaked homage to FLASHDANCE at the end!

Devanny Pinn, Miss Misery, & Brandon Sleagle

After the screenings, Miss Misery called up both Devanny Pinn and Brandon Sleagle to receive their Miss Misery Coffin Statues and to screen trailers from films that they have collaborated on together: AREA 51 CONFIDENTIAL, VIViD, and SONG OF THE SHATTERED. Also receiving a coffin awards were Debra Lamb for work in independent horror films and the great John Stanley. Immediately thereafter, Miss Misery handed out the awards tonight's film winners: In third place was Reda's MY UNDEADLY, second place was PROFESSOR BROFMAN, and taking first place was, no surprise here, FAMILIAR! Miss Misery also handed out some very cool prizes for the audience, such as toys, graphic novels and passes to her horror convention coming this September. More on that in a little bit. After it was all over, everyone meet up in lobby were our winners and filmmakers posed for pictures for fans and photographers.

Overall the festival was a complete success! And I for one cannot wait for next year's fest! For those of you who wish to learn more about Miss Misery, visit her website at www.missmisery.net. To learn more about her company Last Door Productions, and all her future projects, please visit www.lastdoorwayproductions.com. Also as I previously touched on earlier,  Miss Misery will be hosting her Days Of Terror Sacramento Horror Convention at the Scottish Rite Center on September 28th and 29th. So make sure you mark these days on your calender! To learn more about the convention, visit their website at http://daysofterror.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil's Flashbacks: Phil watches BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (1992)-May 27, 2012

So I was reminiscing earlier today about all the films I have seen in my lifetime. One of those films I remembered seeing was on Comcast On Demand for free. So I treated myself a stroll down memory lane and I watched the film BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER from 1992.

Theatrical Movie Poster (1992)

The film stars Kristy Swanson as Buffy, your average, ordinary teenager. She's the most popular girl in school, she's dating the captain of the basketball team, and likes to go shopping with all her friends at the mall. Yup things are normal for Buffy, until a strange, mysterious man named Merrick (Donald Sutherland) shows up and informs her that she is the chosen one dubbed the "Slayer" who must stops a group of vampires led by the powerful and old vampire Lothos (Rutger Hauer) from taking over Los Angeles.  While trying to keep her normal life intact, she trains in hiding with Merrick and soon she begins to mature and starts to take life more seriously. With this new found maturity, her friends abandoned her, leaving Buffy to bond with the town's outcast Pike (Luke Perry). Soon they're the only thing that stands between Merrick and his vampire gang and the extinction of the human race.

The film also stars Paul Reubens, David Arquette, Stephen Root, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Tom Jane, Randall Batinkoff, Candy Clark, Sasha Jensen, and Hilary Swank! Also look for uncredited appearances by Ricki Lake, Seth Green, and Ben Affleck!

Creator Josh Whedon's script for the film was severely re-written to make the film "lighter." In the original script, Buffy burns down the school gym that the dance is being held in, in an effort to destroy the vampires. Also, Whedon was so frustrated by how much of his vision was being mishandled and how much of it was being rewritten that he eventually left the set during production and never came back. In 1999, Dark Horse Comics released a graphic novel adaptation of Whedon's original script under the title The Origin.

The film was also the debut for several big name Hollywood stars. This was future Oscar winner Hilary Swank's first film. Also look for Ben Affleck as a basketball player in one scene. Believe it or not, Seth Green has an three second uncredited cameo as a short red haired vampire. Ricki Lake also makes an uncredited cameo as Charlotte, a waitress in the scene where Pike and Buffy officially meet for the first time. Paul "Pee-Wee Herman" Reubens, who portrays vampire Amilyn, resurfaced to the public with this film after being arrested for indecent exposure in an adult theater in Sarasota, Florida (he also completely improvised his death scene, which was very comedic).

The film was released by 20th Century Fox on July 31, 1992 and grossed $16,624,456 in the United States. It received mixed reviews from critics and audiences, but it has since gone on to become a cult film. In 2009, the magazine The Hollywood Reporter reported that a revision/relaunch of a BUFFY movie was planned without Whedon having any involvement in it. In 2011, a script written by Whit Anderson was rejected by its producers and a search for a new screenwriter was announced.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is a flawed film, but it's still a hoot to watch, With it's absurd story and decent, if not over, acting, it's interesting to see how the BUFFY legacy began. While the show is far superior, this is a fun examination of a future pop culture phenomenon. Four out of five stars!

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is currently available on both Blu-Ray and DVD. To purchase a copy, visit your local retailer or visit the Amazon website at http://www.amazon.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil reviews the UNDERWORLD TRILOGY: THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION for The MIdnight Horror Sinema Show-January 20, 2012

Good evening my cinematic thrillseekers! I just finished up my review for the UNDERWORLD TRILOGY: THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION Blu-Ray boxset for the Midnight Horror Sinema Show! With the release of the fourth film UNDERWOLRD: AWAKENING, I thought it would be fun to review this paticular boxset and give you all the details. What's also interesting about this boxset that it includes the exclusive Underworld: Endless War Animated Short Films bonus disc!So what are you waiting for? Click here to  read my review, and go buy a copy for yourself. Then rush out to see UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING in theaters today!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil sees UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING (again) in IMAX 3D at the AMC Mercado 20 Theater-January 22, 2012

Theatrical Movie Poster (2012)

Yes, I just saw this film Saturday night in 2D at the Camera 12 in Downtown San Jose. And yes, if you read my review, I really enjoyed watching the film. So you all must be wondering as to why would I see the same movies again the very next day? Simple answer really. I had forgotten that a good friend of mine gave me a free movie pass to the AMC Theaters. So while I was looking for a movie to see, I saw that UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING was playing in IMAX 3D! So I thought why the hell not?

Now is it worth seeing in IMAX 3D? Hells yeah it is!! The 3D effects were awesome, the digital surround was incredible, and to see Kate Beckinsale dressed in skin tight black leather while killing in 3D was so damn hot! So if you are a fan of the series and are debating whether to see it in IMAX 3D or not, do not hesitate! Go see this film now!! Just make sure you protect your snacks from Lycans and Vampires.

UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING in IMAX 3D is currently playing in select theaters nationwide, including at the AMC Theaters here in the Bay Area. To view showtimes, visit their website at www.amctheatres.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil sees UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING in 2D at the Camera 12-January 21, 2012

The fifth and final film I saw on Saturday was UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING, the fourth installment of the highly successful and popular franchise. However the screening I attended is not the 3D version, as the Camera 12 did not have that version of the film. So the version I saw was the standard 2D version. Just making sure we're all on the same page.

Theatrical Movie Poster (2012)

The film begins with a nice prologue that brings the audience up to sped with the series, then it kicks off on a bleak note. Set six months after the events of UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION, the human race has discovered the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans. As the result of this discovery, the humans have declared war on both factors, a mass extermination that has been called "The Purge." Trying to escape, Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is captured and frozen in cryogenic suspension. She is awaken twelve years later and escapes from a medical facility called Antigen, who are trying to make an apparent antidote to the virus that creates the Vampires and Lycans. Also escaping Antigen is a young girl named Eve (India Eisley), who revealed to be a hybrid daughter of Selene and her lover Michael, the only other hybrid to exist. Together they fight for survival in a foreign world to them, with the humans hunting them while the Lycans begin to replenish their clan.

Also appearing in the film are Stephen Rea (Dr. Jacob Lane), Michael Ealy (Det. Sebastian), Theo James (David), Charles Dance (Thomas), and Chris Holden-Reid (Quint).

These films are not true horror films, even though they do offer the monsters that have plagued the nightmares of theater audiences for the past 100 years. The UNDERWORLD series are more action than horror, but there are some elements of the horror genre that are predominant: blood, gore, violence, and monsters. But when the filmmakers meld these ingredients with the action/adventure genre, they discovered a had something that was original and unique. Audiences became enthralled with the series since the first film was released back in 2003, and now in 2012, we have the fourth installment to the series.

What I enjoyed with this film is the fact that the filmmakers took our favorite characters and expanded the storyline and took it to a whole new level. Instead of the present day, we and Selene are flung twelve years into the future, where her kind are on the brinke of extinction. Now this was a smart thing to do, and the film fulfills my requirements for sequels: it expands on the story of the series, while also having our characters evolve and grow. Complacency is what can kill off a franchise, rendering it in an abysmal mess and cause its audiences not to come back. Here the story transcends to its next level, our characters are transformed from what they were originally, and the environment they inhabit in has also changed, in this case it has changed for the worse.

Once again Beckinsale is both beautiful and deadly as Selene. While her mannerism hasn't really differed from the previous films, her new role as mother will be an interesting factor to watch. Also let's face it: the woman was born to wear black leather clothes and shoot up werewolves, and she still looks sexy as hell. Also worthy mention is young India Eisley, who really gives a great performance as the hybrid child Eve. Her ability to be cute one minute and a ferocious killing machine must be very trying at times, but Eisley pulls it off. Hope she is recast for the next installment.

Overall, UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING is a worthy entry to the franchise! Whether you see it in 2D or 3D, if you are a fan of these film. then you will not be disappointed with this installment. Definitely worth seeing on the big screen! Four out of five stars.

UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING is currently playing in theaters nationwide, including at the Camera Cinemas here in the Bay Area. To view showtimes, visit their website at www.cameracinemas.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!