Phil's Horror Watch: ANTIBIRTH (2016) from IFC Midnight/Scream Factory- Sept. 2, 2017

ANTIBIRTH Blu-Ray Cover

ANTIBIRTH
Starring Natasha Lyonne, Chloë Sevigny, Meg Tilly, Mark Webber, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos, Emmanuel Kabongo
Written by Danny Perez
Cinematography by Rudolf Blahacek
Edited by Aden Bahadori
Produced by Cole Payne, Roger M. Mayer, Natasha Lyonne, David Anselmo, Justin Kelly
Directed by Danny Perez
Originally distributed by IFC Midnight
Released by Scream Factory

I've seen some pretty bizarre horror films during my tenure here on planet Earth. While entertaining, I've often found myself scratching my head and asking myself, "Why the hell am I still watching this?" It's a question I'm sure you've all asked yourselves quite often when you're watching a movie that is utterly and completely batshit crazy. Whether it's a Troma movie, an Edward D. Wood Jr. masterpiece, or a Roger Corman cult classic, there are some movies that are so far out there, you would need a telescope to fine the plot. Case in point, the movie that I just saw entitled ANTIBIRTH, that truly falls in that "batshit crazy" category that I mentioned earlier.

The film's official synopsis: Hard-drinking, pill-popping, bong-ripping Lou (Natasha Lyonne) and her best friend Sadie (Chloë Sevigny) spend their days adrift in a drug infused haze. But one wild night out becomes a bad trip that never ends when Lou wakes up with symptoms of an unexplained, highly abnormal pregnancy. Who—or what—is growing inside her? As her due date approaches with alarming swiftness, the fear, paranoia, and conspiracy theories begin to pile up. Spiked with blasts of hallucinatory color, surreal shocks, and subversive comedy, the audacious feature debut from Danny Perez is a no-holds-barred descent into delirium.

Original Theatrical Poster (2016)

Watching the film was the equivalent of taking a handful of acid while drinking the leftover Kool-Aid from Jonestown. It's a madhouse of trippy colored lights and filters, incoherent plotline and acting that borders on spastic avant garde and high school play. So yeah, it was a batshit crazy movie to watch.

I loved watching Natasha Lyonne in the movie though. She's always been an underrated actress in my humble opinion. Having seen her shine in the 1998 indie film SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS, she quickly became popular and starred in films like DETROIT ROCK CITY, BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER, SCARY MOVIE 2 and the AMERICAN PIE series. Today's filmgoers will recognize her from the hit Netflix series Orange is the New Black as Nicky Nichols and from the IFC series Portlandia. The film captures her eccentric and eclectic style of acting as Lou, who is balls out crazy and funny as hell. It's almost as if she's playing herself, which is like watching a brilliant trainwreck unfold before your naked eyes. Chloë Sevigny is the best friend that you love to hate cause of all the stupidly bad decisions that she makes. Together, these two fine ladies have great on-screen chemistry and bring their chaotic friendship to the big screen.

Writer/director Danny Perez isn't your ordinary, run-of-the-mill, wannabe Hollywood filmmaker. Oh no, that would be too boring and predictable. Nope, our guy wrote a script that is completely out of this world; landing somewhere between Ingmar Bergman and a John Waters storyline. It's wonky and bizarre with lighting and compositions straight out of a Dario Argento film. It's irrelevant, incomprehensible and just fucking weird. So it was pretty interesting for all the wrong reasons.

The film premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2016 and was picked up by IFC Midnight shortly thereafter. It was given a limited theatrical release before being distributed on Blu-Ray and DVD by Scream Factory in February of 2017.

ANTIBIRTH gets my vote for Best Cult Classic Film of 2017 award! If you find yourself questioning you place in the world and have difficulty accepting the sad state that your life is currently in, then this movie is right up your alley! 3 1/2 out of 5 stars! Worth watching!

ANTIBIRTH is currently available on Bu-ray and DVD. To purchase a copy for yourself, visit your local retailer or order it from Scream Factory by visiting www.shoutfactory.com. To learn more about IFC Midnight and their film library, visit their website at www.ifcfilms.com.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the show!

Phil's Halloween Horrors Marathon, Day 8: Phil reviews DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK (2009) DVD from IFC Films-October 8, 2012

Original DVD Cover (2012)

DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK
Starring: Jen Soska, Slyvia Soska, Rikki Gagne, C.J. Wallis, Tasha Moth, Lloyd Bateman, and Farley M. Gagne
Written, Produced, and Directed by The Soska Sisters
A Twisted Twins Productions
Released by IFC Films

Welcome to Day Eight of my Halloween Horrors Marathon! When you think about countries that have contributed to the horror and exploitation genre, majority of the time Canada has either been overlooked or forgotten. The films that our neighbors to the north have made are now considered to be classics among fans. Films like 1974's BLACK CHRISTMAS, 1981's MY BLOODY VALENTINE and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME (and recent additions like HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN and FATHER'S DAY) have been regarded as influential films that have inspired countless aspiring movie makers. Enter the Soska twins, Jen and Sylvia, who on a shoestring budget of just $2,500 have added another title to this illustrious list of Canadian films. The end result is that their debut film DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK is a modern day exploitation classic that lives up to the high standards set forth by its cinematic predecessors.

Taking place in the beautiful city of Vancouver, the film follows four individuals: Badass (Sylvia), her twin sister Geek (Jen), Badass' rock star friend Junckie (Rikki Gagne) and Geek's Bible thumping, Jesus loving friend Goody Two-Shoes (C.J. Wallis). The day starts off when Geek asks her sister Badass and Junkie to take her to pick up Goody from Youth Group. After they pick him up, their normal day of doing errands becomes more complicated when they discover a dead hooker in their trunk. This spirals into a journey of them trying to dispose of the body and figure out whether of not Badass and Junkie were responsible for killing the hooker. To make matters worse, the hooker's cowboy hat wearing pimp is hot on their trail as well as a mysterious hooded psychopathic killer who may hold the answers that the four friends are searching for.

Original Movie Poster (2011)

The film is filled with eccentric and over-the-top characters, a lot of violence consisting of hooker beatings, gun shootings, Junkie's arm being chopped off, then sewn on only to be torn off by a passing semi truck, brains being blown out, and a baseball bashing that knocks out Geek's right eye. So right there you know you're going to have fun watching this! And this was just the tip of the iceberg folks! Needless to say there's more but I want you readers to be surprised.

The Soska do their best to entertain you by giving you snappy and colorful dialogue, a good amount of Tarentino-esque violence, great FX and buckets of blood and gore that would make Troma fans gush with joy. Now some might complain about the shakiness of the camera. At first I was put off by this, but after viewing it a couple of more times I didn't even noticed it anymore. I was too involved in watching the hilarity and madness unfold before my eyes. My attention was focused on these characters and their nightmare situations they find themselves in. Plus in the world of independent filmmaking, the main thing is this: you make your film and you make it on the cheap. Half the time you can only get one take and that's it. A lot of the time you are shooting on the fly and forget about getting permits. Like the great Roger Corman said, "Just go out there and shoot!" So the Soska sisters are to be commended to their commitment of their vision and getting their film made.

The film is released by IFC Films as part of their midnight series. The special features include deleted and alternate scenes, a funny and interesting behind the scenes feature, an interview with filmmaker/EL MARIACHI star Carlos Gallardo who talks about indie filmmaking with the Soska twins. He briefly talks about his indie film SINGLE ACTION, which was shot on 16mm film for only $11,000, The interview is very brief and it would have been interesting to see more of this, but still it's very cool to see. There's also the film's theatrical trailer as well as several trailers for upcoming IFC Films releases, including the infamous THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE II: FULL SEQUENCE.

DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK is a fun-thrilled, gore soaked, feel-good exploitation ride of the year! The film also shows that Canada has more to offer than just hockey, beer, and Rush. The spirit of independent filmmaking is going strong there and it also shows that we will be seeing more of the Soska sisters in the very near future (their next film is the highly anticipated AMERICAN MARY). So if you're looking for a fun midnight movie to watch, then this is right up your alley. 5 out of 5 stars! Highly recommended!

DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK is currently available at your local retailer as well as at Jen and Sylvia's Twisted Twins Productions website. To purchase a copy visit www.deadhookerinatrunk.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the sreaming!

Phil reviews DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK DVD on The Midnight Horror Sinema Show-February 12, 2012

OK folks listen up and listen good! Over on The Midnight Horror Sinema Show, I just finished my review of DEAD HOOKERS IN A TRUNK, the film debut by the Soska twins Jen and Sylvia. Made for just $2,500 and shot in Vancouver, Canada, the Twisted Twins made a kick ass, balls to wall, no holds barred, modern day cult classic. The film was eventually picked up by IFC Films and released it as part of their IFC Midnight line. So if you're looking for a film that is not your typical cup of tea, then this is the film for you! I gave this film five out of five stars, so you know that you're gonna have a fun time watching it if I liked it. So read my review here and have fun watching this film tonight!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!