Welcome to Dreadville IV: Love, Death and Blueberry Pancakes (2009) User Reviews

Carla Westlund shines brightly in this dark thriller

[apalladi · 9/10 · 19 September 2011]

In Love, Death, and Blueberry Pancakes, a mysterious assassin has been hunting down gang leaders. Becoming caught in the middle is Anne (Carla Westlund), a teenager romantically involved with criminal Chino (Jason Patfield). Or at least that's how she sees herself; she's a typical suburban high school girl who wants some sort of excitement. Of course, her father (North Roberts) in no way approves and to Chino she's nothing more than a booty call. And as the body count rises, we will see that Anne plays a much larger role in the assassin's scheme than we think.

This one is my favorite of the latest three. It has suspense, some humor (it was particularly amusing when Anne called Romeo and Juliet "irrelevant"), and superb, standout acting from Westlund. The opening credits give her an "and introducing" billing, and I hope that she'll find her way into more things in the future. I also liked Anthony Brawner in his brief role as gangster Big John; quite different from his other Dreadville part as a social worker and plays it accordingly.

However, this is one in which you really need to see the previous shorts to make sense of the ending, as an important component of it comes from the audience's familiarity with a character from an earlier story. What happens can be understood just fine, but to those who don't know the character it will seem random and out of place.

In conclusion, I was made hungry for not only the title food, but also more Welcome to Dreadville tales.

Movie Cynics Review

[Bublenutz · 10/10 · 28 October 2009]

When last I left the twisted town of Dreadville, I was filled with questions. What were the good folks at Bublenutz Productions trying to accomplish? Where were they going with their eclectic low-budget horror series? It seems that things have settled down and the folks at Bublenutz Productions have decided to give the horror enthusiast a series aimed at wowing and impressing the indie horror fan. While the first five episodes had the feel of experimentation, it's clear from watching the latest two episodes, The Lottery and Love, Death, and Blueberry Pancakes, that lessons have been learned and quality has been improved.

Both of the episodes in question are of similar quality. The Lottery seems to be a little more artsy, while LDBP is a quick and brutal tale. In The Lottery, a loser with a gambling addiction finds that everyone he owes money is out to get him. Help arrives in the form of an ex-friend, who has some trouble with the infamous Dreadville Synidcate. Turns out he is wanted in the mysterious face removal of the mayor's daughter. Things get a little more complicated from there, and the best twist in the series is executed at the end of the short film.

Love, Death, and Blueberry Pancakes is a short but violent piece of short filmier. It features the best acting of the series and genuinely feels like a success. The story follows around a bunch of gangsters who are worried about their lives as someone has been traveling around assassinating all of the nefarious gangland leaders. One dude named Chino, who is supposed to be laying low, comes out of hiding in order to score a little under-aged pinning. The twists rear their ugly heads again, but just like in The Lottery, they are nicely handled. Yeah, the twists in this one are a little predictable, but the execution is fairly solid.

The direction on both short films is solid. The Lottery is a little experimental and some of the scenes featuring needless repetition of dialogs don't quite work the way they are supposed to. LDBP is almost perfectly executed. It has nice pacing, nice scenes of brutality, and is just plain enjoyable.

Both episodes suffer from a case of low-budget-it-is, but it doesn't completely ruin the films. Some of the sets are cheap and so fake looking that they can't help but be real places. The locations are definitely a letdown. The film quality is the best of the series, and the sound design is similarly improved. With a little tighter pacing, some more extravagant sets, and a slight upgrade in acting, these shows could really start to take off and find an audience.

Of course, the best parts of both episodes are the special effects. Honestly, I was sucked into the series right from the beginning as The Lottery begins with an awesome and surreal scene of some dude performing surgery on some chick. It's effectively done and represents the high point of Bublenutz Productions. The effects are practical and effective.

While the first five episodes of Welcome to Dreadville left me dazed and confused, the latest two episodes have me waiting for more. They're not for everyone; don't get me wrong. Only people with an appreciation for the art of indie horror and storytelling will get a kick out of these, but the creators behind this series aren't too far off now from creating something that will be capable of mass appeal. A little more tinkering in the Bublenutz Laboratory ought to do the trick… and more of that sweet sweet gore couldn't hurt either.

Final Synopsis: I truly enjoyed these episodes. Check out their site if you have a hankering for low-budget blood and horror. If you don't… go get yourself in an expensive and non-bloody manner. Click here to check out the Bublenutz site! Points Lost: -1 for some acting in The Lottery, -1 for some weak sets (even though they seem like they were actually real places), -1 for too much tinkering around with Trippe effects in some scenes, -1 for a couple CGI things that weren't quite on the level with the rest of the film Lesson Learned: Stay out of Dreadville.

Burning Question: If you could steal someone's face, who would it be? Welcome to Dreadville: Episodes 6-7 6/10