Red State (2011)

Lottttaaaaa Kevin Smith haters out there.  Did y'all not like Clerks?  Mallrats?  Seriously.  These movies rock and so does Silent Bob, and Jay for that matter.

Did you know that man in the picture to the left is Texas Ranger Earl McGraw, hailing from the one and only From Dusk Til Dawn?  Hard to tell, but apparently Kevin Smith wrote the preacher part specifically for him, and refused to make the movie without his sign-on.  Also, little did Smith know that dude sang with Johnny Cash before lending his vocals to Silent Bob's first horror movie.  Rock on.

So what exactly is Red State about?  Some horny teenagers, Travis (Michael Angarano), Travis (Kyle Gallner), and Billy Ray (Nicholas Braun) find a MILF on some sex website and decide to drive out to meet her.  Unfortunately, they've been lured into the trap of an anti-gay, fundamentalist Christian sect led by Abin Cooper (Michael Parks).  The teenagers are trapped, Saran-wrapped, and otherwise restrained, while the religious psychos preach on.

The ATF, including John Goodman (!!!!) get involved, and a firefight ensues.  Neither side is messing around, and are ready to fight to the death.  This movie was chock-full of socio-political commentary, and the infamous Westboro Baptist church was involved on several occasions throughout the screenings and distribution.  Kevin Smith calling this "straight-up horror" is a little bit of a misnomer...it's say it's more action/drama than horror, but the line is quite blurred these days as it is.

I liked Red State overall, and I'm surprised by all the horror community backlash.  Great cast, including some genre names, as well as surprises like Milton from Office Space and Oscar-winner Melissa Leo.  No predictable stoner-vibe Smith cast here. 

Random: 30 Day Horror Challenge Day 11

What's your favorite science fiction horror movie?

I've never been a huge science fiction fan, but for some reason Fortress came to mind as soon as I read this question.  I actually keenly remember exactly why I first watched this movie.  My sister and I are obsessed with the HBO version of Fortress and back in the 90s, we used to check the back of the TV Guide every week to see if it was going to be on.

One magical week, we jumped for joy as we saw Fortress listed in the movie section.  We claimed the TV for the airing time, fingers poised above the VCR record button.  We were highly disappointed to see that the movie was about some futuristic jail and not masked kidnappers.  However, we had already put so much effort into this debacle that we ended up watching the whole thing.

This movie is pretty cheesy and lame, but go on and hate.  It's got Christopher Lambert, the dad from That 70's Show and people puking up crazy stomach chips.  Also there are robots and computers that watch people have sex, and a mind eraser machine a la The Clockwork Orange.  My sister always had a crush on the guy who played Gomez.  She should friend him on Facebook ;)

Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows (2000)

I've always liked Blair Witch 2.  It has an interesting cast -- Jeffrey Donovan made it big in TV over the last few years, and Erica Leerhsen went on to become a bit of genre actress, appearing in flicks such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Wrong Turn 2.  

BW2 catches up with the town of Burkittsville, Maryland after all the hype created by The Blair Witch Project.  Burkittsville has now become a tourist attraction for people looking to see if the witch is real.  Locals are cashing in by selling rocks, twigs, and dirt "associated" with the witch and the landmarks mentioned in the first movie.

One especially entrepreneurial gentlemen, Jeffrey (Jeffrey Donovan) sells Blair Witch memorabilia on the internet, and has started organizing Blair Witch tours.  On his inaugural tour, he has Kim (Kim Director), Erica (Erica Leerhsen), Tristen (Tristine Skylar), and Stephen (Stephen Barker Turner). 

The first stop on the trip is Rustin Parr's house, where the group decides to set up camp for the night. They smoke and booze heavily, and wake up in the morning to their camera equipment and belongings destroyed.  They assume that they blacked out for several hours during the night, and rely on the tapes from the evening to piece together what happened.

They return to Jeffrey's house to watch the tapes, but quickly realize that all is not what it seems.   They all start seeing and sharing strange visions, and begin to turn on each other as they become more and more paranoid. 

I know this movie gets a pretty bad rap, but I actually really like it.  I think the story is pretty cool and the ending is interesting.  There were several really creepy moments in the movie and I think the actors carried them off pretty well.  I know I'm probably going to get crucified (or disemboweled at Coffin Rock...ha!) for liking this movie, but I'm sticking to it.

The Lost Boys: The Thirst

I saw a preview of this movie during a Corey Feldman/Lost Boys panel at the New York Comic Con a few months ago.  Over this past few months, and after watching all three of the Lost Boys, I formed a theory about Corey Feldman. 

I have to admit that Corey is a little quirky in person (and dresses like Michael Jackson) but let's be honest about something.  There is no denying that as a child/teenager, he was a really good actor.  Stand by Me.  The Goonies.  Dream a Little Dream.  The Lost Boys.  He actually explained during the panel (I will put these videos up one of these days, dammit) that he was really into acting when he first started, but that after a while, it was really his parents pushing him to keep doing movies.

So my theory is this.  Corey Feldman is the second coming of Bruce Campbell.  He knows EXACTLY how ridiculous and cheesy his acting is.  You can tell when he delivers his lines in The Thirst that he is hamming it up on purpose.  And the grunting?  I'm starting to think this is all a big joke to him.  No one's going to replicate The Lost Boys so let's make some corny laughable sequels.  You can't argue with that in my opinion.

So to The Thirst.  Edgar Frog is now pretty much broke and he's getting evicted from his trailer.  Jamison Newlander is back as Alan Frog, looking pretty worse for the wear.  Edgar heads over to the comic book store, trying to sell some of his comics to help pay the rent.  Shopgirl Zoe seems to have a little crush on him and offers to help him make some cash on the books. 

Meanwhile, he returns to his home/trailer to find he has a visitor.  This is Gwen and she has quite a story.  Apparently, a bunch of vampires are throwing these rave parties where they're handing out a "designer drug," which is in fact vampire blood.  This is all part of a master plan to create a new race of vampires.  Why is Gwen involved?  Her brother went missing at one of the raves.  And guess what?  The next one is coming to San Cazador.

Edgar is reluctant to help out, but ends up changing his mind, after much grunting.  But it's a little late and Gwen has hired reality show macho man Lars Von Goetz to help out.  They all suit up with weapons and head over to the island.  A vampire/rave battle ensues, and I have to admit, the twist ending was pretty good. 

I liked this movie too.  It was definitely better than The Tribe but they obviously had a little more cash and special effects to put into this one.  If you're a vampire/Lost Boys/Corey Feldman/cheesy movie fan, I would definitely recommend it.

Lost Boys: The Tribe (2008)

I don't care what y'all say.  I liked The Tribe.  Sure, it's no Lost Boys, but there's a lot of lousy vampire crap out lately and I didn't think this flick was too bad at all.

In this installment of Corey-Feldman-still-cashing-in-on-his-teenage-years, former surfer Chris Emerson and his sister Nicole move to Luna Bay to live with their aunt.  Their parents have died and they really have nowhere else to go.  They need cash, so Chris stops by Edgar Frog's surf shop, hoping to get a job.  Chris and Nicole hit a party later that night, where Nicole drinks vampire blood.  Overprotective Chris drags her home, where she starts to act like....guess it....a vampire!

Edgar Frog tries to save poor Chris from his bloodsucking sister, but he's not hearing that noise.  But after a bloodthirsty sexual encouter gone awry, Chris finally seeks out Edgar's help.  Edgar explains that if they kill the head vampire, Nicole can be returned to her human form (not sure why this is, but okay) 

Edgar and Chris locate the vampires' lair and, in true Lost Boys fashion, a battle ensues.  Who will make it out alive, and with their humanity?  Corey Haim (RIP) makes a quick appearance at the end, and I wonder if he would have played a larger part had he had his shit together at the time.  Tom Savini also appears for a bit (random).

Yes, I know that Corey Feldman's acting is horrendous.  After watching the two Lost Boys sequels one right after the other, and seeing him at the Comic Con, I actually have a theory about this.  I will share this theory in my The Thirst review.

Overall, I thought this movie was pretty good, and I will even venture so far as to say I would watch it again.  Haters gonna hate ;o)