Change Your Image
justin-298
I have always had a touch of Hollywood in my veins. Every Halloween became a valid reason to learn more about special effects and make-up and costumes. So once I had the right time and the right people around me, becoming a movie maker was the only logical thing to do.
You can see some of the films I've worked on at www.temperedzealot.com (the production company I work under)
Also, there are several other movies that I have worked on that have yet to be released.
Reviews
Compound Fracture (2014)
They Don't Call It Compound Fracture for Nothing'
Compound Fracture: written by Renae Geerlings & Tyler Mane, directed by A.J. Rickert-Epstein, and starring Tyler Mane, Muse Watson, Derek Mears, Leslie Easterbrook, Alex Saxon, and Renae Geerlings. Todd Farmer and Daniel Roebuck also make a special appearance (which was pretty awesome).
This supernatural thriller of a horror flick deals with rituals, old family bloodlines, & modern day family drama twisted up with a great story about ghosts. It reminded me of something you'd see on the show Supernatural, but if the Winchesters never showed up. What starts out as a simple visit to Michael's family home to take care of his aging father, quickly turns into a nightmare, visiting old sins of the father back on the whole family.
The most notable thing is the great chemistry between the actors. They all did a phenomenal job, but I have to say my favorites were Renae Geerling and Muse Watson. Derek Mears was extremely intimidating and scary, though his character didn't have much scope. His story was a very integral one being he is the main baddie in this flick. Tyler Mane did a great job achieving a very father figure/head of the house/normal guy yet heroic role. It was almost, but not quite, weird seeing him as the hero when he's sitting on my DVD shelves as a bad guy in everything. Bottom line, everyone did a fantastic job.
The story was really good, mostly because of its originality. It not the same old ghost story and it's got a lot of great details in it about certain lore and history of the supernatural. When you're done watching the movie you can tell two big things... 1. They did a lot of research. 2. They had a blast making this film. Their story translated very well to the audience and at points I was thinking "well played" because they totally got me on several occasions. They are really good at the "show them left, but then they go right" kind of thing. Much of the story is unexpected, including the extremely fun ending.
I'll be honest and say it did take a while to get to the parts I was waiting for. All the scares leading up to the main course was fun, but I was really pushed off my seat for the last third of the flick. Tension is well presented in this movie and builds to palpable levels, so much so that I noticed I was uncomfortable sitting in my seat at one point and even wanted to cover my eyes because of some of the disturbing violence that took place. They don't call it "Compound Fracture" for nothing. That's not all though, every great horror story needs a bit of humor and this has it for sure. It's not comical, but it's got some great moments that will make you laugh.
My hope is that this movie goes on to propel the group at Mane Entertainment to making some even better flicks for us fans to eat up. I mean, simply getting this specific group of people together is an inspiration in itself, but seeing what they did together gives me great hope for the future of horror entertainment. There are still people out there with new stories, new ideas, and the ability to put something together with little money that will still scare your pants off while keeping you entertained the whole time. I want more of that! As a filmmaker myself there was a lot of me thinking "how'd they do that" when it came to so many of their effects. I should know better, "hollywood magic" and all, but still, they left me curious because they did it so well and it was very cool to see.
Director A.J. Epstein was great too. He put together a very fun horror experience with a comprehensive story. Getting to meet the guy was pretty cool too as he can relate to many of the people I used to work with as a filmmaker. He mentioned having made several short films and that this was one of the first he'd be known by. I'm sure it's something he'll be proud to be known for because it's pretty awesome! The entire group who showed up, Tyler, Renae, A.J., they all were very humble and very friendly and it was so much fun to hang out with them and talk with them. They were very welcoming to every individual who came out and did a fun Q&A after the flick. I won't say much about it because I don't want to ruin anything for anyone, but like I said before, you knew they had a blast putting this together.
The one thing I never got to ask (because I thought it'd be a dumb question) was to see if this was at all a commentary about what it would be like for Jason and Michael to throw down. ;) - Mr. Frights
The Cabin in the Woods (2011)
Could Be The Horror Movie of the Year!
The Cabin In The Woods I love movies like this because they are made for the fans. More than that they are made for the people who love horror movies. I don't mean love them the way a fan gets all excited about them. I mean the people who love them the way you're supposed to love your children. How, even in the face of some pretty great mistakes, instead of getting all angry and beating them up you instead hang your head in disappointment but hug them and let them know it's OK and they can try again the next time. These movies, like The Cabin In The Woods... these are the ones that last a lifetime.
I went into this movie sort of forcing myself because I didn't pay much attention to it. The trailers didn't really excite me, though it looked fun. I think that's mostly because it wasn't familiar to me or maybe it was too familiar where it looked like another Hollywood train-wreck. With all the good word of mouth and a free weekend when it opened, as a representative of the horror genre, I felt it was my responsibility to go see this thing.
I have to tell you that I'm pretty good about judging if a movie is going to be a lot of fun or not for myself and I was genuinely surprised. I went in not sure what to expect, but ready for being less than happy with it the way I honestly felt about Scream 4. I mean I am a HUGE Scream fan, but something just never sat right with me and the last movie. I always hated that. I dig the flick, as a fan of the franchise it was still fun to see all that they showed us, but it just felt foreign to me. Well, with Cabin I kind of started out feeling that way before I even thought about going to see the movie.
I left the theater feeling excited and really happy about where this movie took me. The journey was familiar, yet new and unexpected. When they say you don't know what this movie is about even if you think you do... they are not kidding.
From front to back this thing is one big ride on the most perfect horror attraction that could ever be built at this time. The fun of it is in the story but also in being able to pick out all the special nods to just about every popular horror name in movies that you can think of. Once the DVD comes out I know I'll be watching over and over just to try to get them all. But it doesn't take away from the movie being its own thing and they covered it in this truly unique and imaginative way. I was really satisfied when it was done.
The only thing I can say that really isn't a negative but might be taken that way if I don't express this right... The ending isn't necessary. In almost any movie you wait and wait throughout the journey of the story for the payoff at the end. So many films have ended without the payoff and you get annoyed and feel like something was left out and you feel like the ending was crap and ruined the whole movie sometimes. Well, sometimes it's better to not have that payoff. The films that give in and give you what you're waiting for all that time can be fantastic, but after seeing the end to this I can pick out at least three places it would have been just as proper to roll credits as where they cut it. I think the film would have been better without that final cap at the end.
Don't get me wrong. This film was indeed outstanding and I believe that it will be something people will talk about for a long time and friends will have parties over it and make up games to it. I believe it will become as iconic as Scream did. If you are not sure if you want to see this or not, you should totally just give in and see it. There's no excuse not to see it and as a horror fan or even just someone who loves a good movie, you have a responsibility to go see this film to show studios what you want in a movie.
If you're thinking you'll wait for the DVD or wait until it's on TV or something, you'll be a little more disappointed because the big screen really works with this flick. You'll be glad you checked it out this way so you can appreciate the enormity of some of the things in the film. It will be just as great watching on your television or laptop, but you'd be doing yourself a favor by giving yourself this memory. Don't miss out on what everyone else will be talking about. And if you do, you have no one to blame for spoilers but yourself because people won't be able to stop talking about it no matter how much you throw a fit.
Take some time and enjoy the horror that is The Cabin In The Woods.
- Mr. Frights
Fright Night (2011)
Mr. Frights' Spoiler Free Review of Fright Night 2011
By now everyone has vented their frustrations about remake hell that all movies, especially horror movies, are going through. It's no secret that most people seem to hate the idea that FRIGHT NIGHT even got remade at all. I'm a genuine big fan of the original as Mr. Frights was actually inspired by my boyhood love for the character of PETER VINCENT. I on the other hand, am always willing to give something the benefit of the doubt before decrying how terrible it might be.
I was very much looking forward to this movie. It has some of my favorite actors in it. It looked like fun in the trailers and the Comic Con teaser video. It is horror. And I have a strong fondness for the original film and it's sequel. I loved Roddy McDowall and I love David Tennant from Dr. Who. When I got passes I was pretty excited. I tried to get a bunch of friends to go, but no one was interested. THAT RIGHT THERE BLOWS!! If you can't get people interested in seeing a film for FREE, what kind of chance does it have at being a success if it's any good, and what kind of chance will horror films from here out have if they keep posting crappy box office stats? I say complain if you want, but if you're a horror fan, if you're a fan of the original Fright Night film or any of the other stuff I just mentioned, then your ass should be in a theater seat watching this movie! So, are you curious yet? Do you want to know how bad the movie was? Well, you pre-screening critics will be disappointed to know it was FREAKING AWESOME!!! I don't think there was a time in my life where a remake took me so by surprise and body slammed all my expectations producing such an amazing film. And you can quote me on that and on everything I say from here on in this review.
I went in thinking that it might be fun but that's about it and left absolutely raving mad about the movie. The people who made this put together a genuinely terrifying leap from the original film to a brand new story that happened to have some characters named the same, in the same sort of situations, but completely different from the original. In that way, I can't honestly say it was a remake. There is no shot for shot anything, the characters are all different in a big way, there are more characters to consider, the things that go down are not the same from the 80's movie, and the differences don't stop there. Oh and don't be worried because every change that was made WORKED!! The story goes that CHARLEY BREWSTER lives in Vegas and that infamous vampire neighbor moves in next door and so Charley boy has to figure out how to kill him. That's the basics. He still has his girl Amy, his buddy 'Evil Ed' and a host of other characters as well as the great PETER VINCENT who is a Las Vegas magician act the likes of Criss Angel.There are even some surprises to be had as the movie progresses that I really want to leave alone because if your reaction is anything like my reaction then you'll appreciate it more having me not spoil it for you.
Colin Farrell is brilliant as Jerry the vampire. As I had hoped, David Tennant is brilliant as Peter Vincent, but does his own thing with it, not at all trying to take over anything from Roddy. Anton Yelchin, from Star Trek (he played Checkov), was really good too as was the rest of the cast.
The creators behind this new film (Craig Gillespie; Marti Noxon; & of course Tom Holland) took a lot of risks and put a lot more horror into this film. While still delivering on some well placed laughs, the movie is way more intense than the original. There's not as much hokey to it which serves it well to set it apart from Fright Night of the 80's. I have to say that at parts, this movie actually scared me and it's been forever since I've seen a horror film that could do that! This movie is a refreshing departure from remake hell even though it is based on another film and has the same sort of characters. I was really impressed with this production and it was even more impressive in 3D which I advise everyone to check it out that way. I mean horror movies are why 3D was created man!!! Don't miss out on that. Seriously. The kills alone, the deaths of the vamps alone is worth the 3D.
I want to rave on more about how awesome and brilliant and amazing this new movie is, but I can't give anything away. All I can do is tell you guys how wonderful this thing turned out to be and plead with you all to give it a chance and go see it! If there was EVER a horror film that deserved support and big box office numbers in recent years, it's this one. Mr. Frights would not steer you wrong, trust in me horror peeps, if you miss this in theaters you'll be spanking your own hams for it for a long long time. I'm already overly, excitedly, anticipating the DVD release.Hell, if I had the time I'd go see it three more times.
- Mr. Frights http://about.me/mrfrights