Repugnant Review: ThanksKilling (2008) – Jordan Downey

You know, I\’ve been reviewing some of the greatest films that the exploitation and horror genre has to offer, so this was a good switch up for me, since this movie is just awful. Let\’s talk about the disastrous Thanksgiving themed slasher flick, ThanksKilling.

ThanksKilling is about a group of teens on their way home from college for Thanksgiving, and on the way they are stalked by a killer turkey. Apparently, the turkey was resurrected by a Native American necromancer, and every 505 years the killer turkey comes back from the dead to murder white folk. It sounded pretty funny after reading into it, but honestly, I just really didn\’t enjoy this one. I thought it was just straight up bad. Some movies can be \”so bad they\’re funny\” but this is just bad. I know it wasn\’t supposed to be taken seriously, but this did not pull off this \”self-aware bad movie\” thing that it was going for. The puns were awful, the violence was boring, and the whole plot just didn\’t make sense. Half way through the movie I almost forgot what this was about. If you\’ve read my blog before, you know I\’ve seen some questionable films, but I\’ve mostly enjoyed everything I\’ve reviewed. It was only a matter of time before I saw something I didn\’t like, and ThanksKilling just happens to be one of them.

Maybe I\’m being a little too harsh. I mean this film was made on a budget of $3,500, and based on that it\’s pretty impressive. The turkey puppet was pretty decent, so I\’ll give it that. Other than that, I wouldn\’t watch it again. For those who are interested I actually watched this for free on VUDU (with ads). The sequel, ThanksKilling 3 (yes, 3, there is no 2… THAT\’S A JOKE, PEOPLE), is also free to watch on VUDU (with ads), but I don\’t plan on checking it out anytime soon. Maybe after a few shots of bourbon and couple bong hits.

Repugnant Review: FETUS (2008) – Brian Paulin

So last week I went to Rock and Shock in Worcester, Mass; The biggest horror convention in Massachusetts. I had an awesome time spending an ass load of money on things I didn\’t need (Rock and Shock article coming soon) but I did need some new movies. I came across one booth in particular that had a really gross looking gory corpse on the table, Morbid Vision Films. One of the movies I saw on the table was called FETUS. Fucking FETUS, and the cover has a woman ripping a torso-less FETUS (get it?) out of her snatch! I had to get the this and watch it immediately. A couple days after the con I finally sat down, and watched. I was fucking floored.

So this film is a tribute to the ultra-violent splatter movies coming out of Japan during the 80\’s and 90\’s, very much like The Guinea Pig series and Naked Blood. As far as that goes, this movie nailed it. It\’s one of the most brutally violent movies I have ever checked out and it is just perfectly stylized with insane amounts or gore, and glorious practical special effects. The story of FETUS revolves around a man named Kevin (played by writer, director, and special effects guy, Brian Paulin), a grieving husband still suffering after the death of his wife, and his unborn child. Kevin does everything in his power to see his wife and child again, which results him buying a book on necromancy and brutally murdering innocent people to sacrifice them to a Demon that possesses him. There were many scenes in the film that made me wince and cringe, and I loved every second of it. I haven\’t seen a splatter movie as fun as this one in awhile, and I\’ll be going around and showing this to friends every chance I get. This shocker is quite the ball kicker, and I can\’t wait to check out the other Morbid Vision Film I bought, called BLOOD PIGS, which Rue Morgue Magazine declared \”Goriest Film of 2010\”.

If you\’re into the splatter movies like the Guinea Pig series and the August Underground trilogy, then FETUS will satisfy your hunger for extreme blood and gore. I still can\’t get that finale out of my head. This film as one of the greatest endings in splatter history, and if you can make it through the 74 minutes of brutal gore and murder that FETUS has to offer, this is the movie for you. Actually, this isn\’t just a movie, It\’s a FUCKING MOVIE. I\’ll post the links for Morbid Vision Films, and the link to actually buy FETUS and some other damn fine splatter-pieces.

Go to the Morbid Vision site HERE and you can buy FETUS HERE

Repugnant Review: Raw (2017) – Julia Ducournau

The French shocker, Raw, is one of the most talked about movies of 2016 (and released in 2017), and after I heard that people were fainting and getting medical attention after watching this, I just had to see it. Julia Ducournau\’s Raw is one of the craziest and most unnerving horror films I have seen in awhile. The film is about a young woman who starts her first year at a prestigious Veterinary school. After being hazed by the upper-classmen into getting covered in blood and forced to eat raw rabbit kidney, she begins to develop rashes and an intense hunger for raw meat.

This was honestly one of the best cannibal films I have seen in awhile. It\’s probably one of the most colorful, and well filmed horror film I\’ve seen also. The color scheme and cinematography reminded me of films like Suspiria and The Shining; everything was just so intense and vibrant. The woman who played the lead role of Justine, Garance Marillier, was absolutely convincing. Her decline into madness and hunger chilled me to the bone, and left me with a sense of uncertainty just because you just never knew when she was going to snap. The sexual aspect of the film also made for some of the most unsettling moments in the movie. I mean, it makes sense when you think about it. There isn\’t really a more perverted away of killing them than trying to eat them during sex. The ending just slaps you in the face, and it\’s now up there as one of my favorite twists in horror movies ever.

I originally watched this on Netflix, but I liked it so much I picked it up a copy at Wal-Mart. I highly recommend this, and it\’s honestly one of the best films to show people who are looking for something a little bit more extreme. It\’s the perfect blend of scary/disturbing and I think anyone who loves good horror films in general, will enjoy this one too. So go out to your local Wal-Mart, or Amazon, or whatever, and buy this cannibal shocker. Definitely a great film to watch during this festive Halloween season!

Preview Review: Happy Death Day – In Theaters 10/13/17

The first thing that came to mind when I saw the title \”Happy Death Day\” was the song Dethklok wrote for Murderface on his birthday. But other than that… it looks stupid. A college student relives the day of her murder over and over again until she discovers the identity of her killer. Hasn\’t this scenario been played out dozens of times already to know that it hasn\’t really worked since Groundhogs Day? That what this reminds me of, like Groundhogs Day meets Camp Daze, and then MTV bought the rights to both films just so they could make a horribly trendy PG-13 horror film with a fuckin\’ bumpin\’ soundtrack that all of the kiddies will enjoy. I didn\’t have much hope in the film to begin with. These big budget PG-13 films are a complete disaster (most of the time, not all of the time. Insidious for example is a great PG-13 horror film) and considering the director of the film, Christopher Landon, who also wrote and directed such films as Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, and Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, I think this is going to be one huge stinker. I\’ll give him one point though, cause he did write Disturbia and I definitely enjoyed that when it came out.

Obviously these are opinion based and if you think this is going to a good film, then great, that\’s awesome. If this movie comes out and it\’s a hell of a lot better than I thought it was going to be, great, good for the people who worked on it. I got a couple more of these \’Preview Reviews\’ coming up in the future, so keep a look out. What are your thoughts? Let me know!

Repugnant Review: Hanna D, The Girl From Vondel Park (1984) – Axel Burger

What\’s up you Repugnant motherfuckers, enjoying the fall already? Whats a better way to ring in October than watching some sleazy, trashy, and depraved cinema. I found one you sickos might enjoy, and it\’s called \”Hanna D, The Girl From Vondel Park, directed by sleaze maestro Axel Burger (real name Rino DiSilvestro) and according to the DVD box, this film was saved from a bankruptcy auction in Rome. Thank fuck this film was found, because Severin Films took this nearly forgotten movie and restored it for our viewing pleasure. Hanna D is a brutal exploitation film following the torment of a young girl after she becomes a prostitute to support her drunken mother. This is what I call \”An Extreme Morality Tale\”, because it really reminded me of those anti-drug films from the 30\’s and 40\’s. Like \”Reefer Madness\” or \”Marihuana\”, but on bath salts.

The first thing I found particularly distressing right off the bat was that you didn\’t know how old Hanna was. The actress who played Hanna, Ann Gisel Glass, looked like she could of been 16, or 17, and seeing someone so sweet and innocent shoot up dope and fuck guys for money, it makes you squirm a bit. There are also very cringe-worthy scenes of drug use through out the entire film. It\’s almost too realistic, and considering how gritty the film was to begin with I wouldn\’t doubt a single moment that the filmmaker of this film cast real junkies and whores for this movie. It\’s a very brutal portrayal of a sweet soul cast out on the street, but it\’s also one of the most honest I feel. There are some pretty over the top moments in this film, but the story itself is fairly believable. There was one scene in particular though, that really made me jump and chuckle \”Holy Fuck!\”, and I just can\’t ruin it for you, but it does involve a hookers asshole and a vial of dope… use your imagination.

I really enjoyed the cinematography in Hanna D. It just had some of those gorgeous \”giallo\” shots and angles that really caught my eye. The acting, as far as most sleaze pictures I\’ve seen, was among the best I have seen. Ann Gisel Glass portrayed Hanna D beautifully, and Karin Schubert as her drunken mother was nearly perfect. I honestly felt bad for these characters, and what\’s better than actually getting into a film as nasty as this one. The exploitation elements just smack you in the face, but it\’s lined with some pretty deep drama, great acting, and fantastic cinematography. A great shocker overall and definitely one of my favorite exploitation films now. Like I mentioned before, you can pick up this film at Severin Films (I\’ll post a link below), and if you\’re interested, pick it up!

BUY THIS MOVIE AT THE SEVERIN FILMS WEBSITE

Repugnant Review: Bully (2001) – Larry Clark

Ahhh yes… the infamous Larry Clark, director of the uncomfortable portrait on teen life in New York City, Kids. Six years later, he hits again with Bully, a movie about a group of wayward teens who plot to kill their tormentor. Probably not as sexually graphic as Kids, but it doesn\’t make the subject matter any less disturbing. The most uncomfortable part of the movie, is the fact that it is based on an actual real life crime, and it\’s pretty damn accurate too.

Bully is based on the murder of Bobby Kent. On July 14th, 1993, Bobby Kent was murdered by seven people, including his best friend Joseph \”Marty\” Puccio Jr. Everything in this movie was accurate to what I read about the crime, even down to the gory details of how Bobby was stabbed, beaten with a bat, and had his throat sliced. I would of felt bad if it was just that, an innocent person murdered by his friends, but this movie painted quite the picture of Bobby Kent. Bobby was a grade A piece of shit. He abused his friend, Marty, constantly, fucked his girlfriend, raped her friend, and even tried peddling homemade gay porn to local smut shops. I\’m not saying he deserved it, but I really don\’t feel bad either.

With an amazing cast, including the late and great Brad Renfro (Marty) and Nick Stahl (Bobby), this movie is need to be seen. Larry Clark hits us with his gritty and realistic style, adding even more heartfelt and shocking drama to this already sad real life occurrence. The acting was phenomenal, and the cinematography was absolutely gorgeous. I bought this movie for just a few bucks on Amazon, so buy it, rent it, and tell me what you think. There\’s plenty more of Larry Clark coming up on The Repugnant Playhouse!