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raymio17
Reviews
Demon Slaughter (2003)
Cheap recession-proof fun
I enjoyed this movie. The cheapness didn't bother me at all except for the pop gun shootout at the bar. This looked and sounded like 5-year- olds playing cops and robbers instead of a supposedly violent gangster related gunfight. But the rest didn't really require a huge budget. Another Ryan Cavelline contemplation of God and good and evil this time played out by a gangster (very well played by Adam Berasi) who is on the run from his former cohorts and hiding in a trailer in the woods. There he meets several forces human or otherwise who make him confront his choices in life. One excellent effect at the end and several silly but still effective effects near the end. Many twists and turns and surprises make you reevaluate what has previously happened. In this money saving time, Cavalline gets every penny's worth from this film from the cheap effects to the hard working small cast. I would much rather watch a movie like this then an overblown predictable Hollywood movie with state of the art special effects.
Purvos (2006)
basic sicko stalker killer clown movie
Somewhat entertaining entry from The Tomb of Terrors collection (50 movies for $22.99 horror fans). Fat, slobbering, grunting, mumbling man dresses like a clown, stalks women around some small town and dispatches them in their bathtubs. This guy has more issues than the New York Times and his hysterical giggling and talking to himself make him seem pretty obvious as some kind of sicko but yet he walks the streets without a second glance. What town is this- Cleveland? The story's somewhat predictable and the acting is rather unconvincing but hey- the title song played throughout the flick is very catchy, the killings are believable, and the victims are mostly very pretty. And a twist ending and a cool killer's mask. Sing along now, "They call me Purvo"
House of Carnage (2006)
creepy fun
I really liked this movie. Obviously cheaply made but well acted and well written. Done in a documentary style, the movie contains interviews, flashbacks, and present-day action concerning the evil killer J R Sorg. There are some slow parts, some bad acting, and dumb obnoxious teenagers being promiscuous thereby sentencing them to serial killer death, but the underlying story is fascinating and one you will long remember. It's too bad you have to sit through the bad parts, but the good parts far outweigh the dreck. So put up with the teenagers and J R's irritating brother and absorb the utter ingenuity, novelty, and creepiness of the story and this will be a pleasurable experience. Also, one of the best surprise twists ever at the end...
Mummy Maniac (2007)
Leave at the curb on garbage day
This is just terrible. Shot for $1.95 it is the exciting tale of a fat dumb guy who in his spare time likes to dress up like a cop, pick up women, put them in back of his truck, take them to some isolated room and torture and kill them. He wraps a few bandages around their heads which gives him the terrifying title "Mummy Maniac". I got this for free at my video store and it still wasn't worth the cost. I'm really sick of these torture type movies which are very claustrophobic. And this one isn't even bloody. Buy a rental truck, rent a storage unit, hire some cheap bimbo actresses, and get your retarded brother to dress like a cop and you have this sorry excuse for a movie. No acting, no story, no blood, no boobage- I want my 80 minutes back damn it.
The Summer of the Massacre (2006)
running thru the woods wearing a dollar store Halloween mask
This movie was part of a 50 movie compilation pack from pendulum pictures called Decrepit Crypt of Nightmares. Most of the movies were pretty bad, this was actually better than most of them. Some psycho runs through the bloody English countryside wearing a cheap Halloween mask and stalks and taunts several unsuspecting blokes using his woods as a shortcut. Very basic, very visceral, obviously cheaply made but still somewhat effective on a primitive scare level. Lot of screaming and running through the woods. Not much conversation, plot development, character development etc., just wind up the psycho and have him chase bouncing busty blonds and their idiot boyfriends through the woods. Pretty good chase and fight scenes and those bouncing blonds make this an OK flick.
The Traveler (2006)
Not for the squeamish, but definitely for every true horror fan
Think you have a strong stomach and have seen so many horror effects that nothing can bother you anymore? Ask yourself that again after you've seen this flick. This is very bloody, disgusting fare but supported by a very interesting script that makes it all plausible and very entertaining if not always palatable.
The story revolves around an arguing couple lost while driving to an aunt's house and drawn inexorably to a strange house in the woods. Several horror pilgrims are camping out in this house because of the strange and bloody things that have happened there. Little do they know what will happen to them soon.
The horror works so well here because it is so unexpected and happens so matter-of-factly. And while gruesome to the extreme (things happened here that I've never seen before and I've seen a lot of horror movies) it is not just violence and gore for it's own sake, it is all part of a bigger story that unwinds to a fascinating conclusion.
I'll admit this movie had my skin crawling and that doesn't happen much from movies anymore. The direction is great, the acting passable, the effects phenomenal, and the writing is very original and entertaining. I highly recommend this movie but be careful what you eat beforehand...
Kill the Scream Queen (2004)
terrible worthless junk should be sent straight to the landfill
This movie was absolute trash. The director and stars(?)should be banished from making movies forever. The paper-thin plot concerns a sleazy director played by the sleazy director (now thats acting) advertising on the internet for women to star in a snuff movie.
There's no horror at all, the girls look strung-out and bored, the direction is pointless, the music is misplaced (heavy metal in a library scene?), and the lighting is awful. The director should have cashed in a couple more shopping carts full of aluminum cans and gotten a script, sober actors, and a few light bulbs. As it is, this is one disgusting, nasty, worthless mess of a movie.
Serial Killer (2002)
could have, should have been much better
I've seen four of Ryan Cavalline's films now and this by far the worst. The others (Dead Body Man, Demon Slaughter, and Day of the Axe) were just as cheaply made but were much better. This plot (what there is of it) is obvious and seems tacked on. I love nudity as much as the next guy but this does seem very tacky, exploitational, and unnecessary in this movie. And it takes up far too much of the movie. The acting is credible even at these dime-store rates, the music is great, the direction is good as always, but there's just too little story here. I seek out Mr. Cavalline's films wherever I can find them and this was my first disappointment. He's far too exciting and insightful of a director to settle for what was mostly exploitation.