Strix

So far ratings have been one or ten. Both seem a little too polarised.

Stumbled over this one on Amazon and have to say, I loved it. Totally silly, cheesy, really funny, and seemingly determined to not give one, about whether anyone likes it or not.

Basically, if you want earnest art cinema, you may not last long on this one, but if you want no-apologies ridiculous trash cinema, this is definitely worth a watch. The characters are cardboard, yet likeable. The bounty hunter is preposterous, the villains veer between camp bloodbathers and absurdly trivial conversations. The attempt at a 1970s vibe is surprisinmgly effective. Turn off brain and have fun.

I really enjoyed it.

In October 1978 children that visited the Rio Skating Rink are being abducted from the old Sheol Woods and grown ups are being killed by the STRIX witch cult whose women bathe in the blood of their victims. Roller Rink employee has a psychic connection to the murders and when the child she babysat gets abducted she tries to track her down. Also on the trail are a relentless bounty hunter named Thief and his goofy partner Royce as well as the way out of their element fuzz.

Strix had a great '70s feel about it but there were too many characters and they tried to cram too much into the run time. The goofy male cult members were kind of funny at times and our hero Thief was a genuine badass but I just couldn't get into this one.

If you want to hear the same "sloppy tacos" one of their Mum's made "jokes" over, and over. Then this film might be for you. I watch a lot of independent horror, so I can forgive things not being perfect if they're fun to watch. But it just doesn't land for me.

Like there's even a bit were some people are murdering some people, and it had the potential to be funny, but it just didn't land. Like a lot of the conversations are too unnatural, and so awkward that it just really snaps you out of what's going on. It feels like a chore to watch.

The idea, and set up could have worked, but the script really needed working on.

This was an awesome slash em film that kept me laughing while also leaving me a little hungry and horny, which is weird, but I definitely 10 for 10 recommend. Strix has just the right amount of one liners with an entertaining dialogue mixed in with chainsaws, large blades, gun shots and blood splattered luv-jubblies. So how can anyone not enjoy that? If you've got time to read this review, then you've got an hour and a half to peep this film. If you don't watch it then you're obviously making poor life decisions and need to reconsider how you're handling your pitiful existence. Strix was directed by Abel Berry and Jennifer Michelle Stone so Midnight Devils is now up next on my watch list as I'm sure they nailed that film like they did Strix.

Stoneberry hasn't made a bad film yet but that these films could be so much better screams that more budget is needed in the right places, namely sound and editing and perhaps a few more days of production time. I mention production time because 80% of their films are stylized where the cinematography thrives, but 20% always seems rushed where cinematography wasn't given enough space.

Each of their films are plagued with bad acting sporadically. Two of their standouts are Paula Marcenaro Solinger and Billy Blair who are in each of the three films. They both act their asses off for Stoneberry. Abel and Jennifer themselves are solid performers as well and appear in their own work. Beyond them almost all of the rest of their casts are amateurs and that's where s great deal of their films fall apart. Supporting actors, very poor sound mixing, and edits that desperately need to be strictly tightened to make many of the line exchanges feel natural and work, would benefit Stoneberry highly. Some of the comedy in their films would be much funnier if the edit was cut for comedic timing.

I'm a fan of Stoneberry and know what to expect when I watch their work but I desperately want to see a film they make not plagued with these issues. Ultra low budget can work without having these issues.