huffmanhorrors

I had kind of written off the long black haired Asian ghost movies, but I have to admit I kind of really enjoyed this one. It takes place in Thailand and is about the "Ghost House" that is used in regards to paying tribute to spirits. It's not perfect, but it was entertaining for a low budget film. I always enjoy Scout Taylor Compton in any film I see her in. She has a quality that I like about her. While I enjoyed her in Rob Zombie's Halloween, I think she has done better work in movies like this one where she is required to carry much of the movie and she does great in that regard.

The direction is also very good in the film, even when the script fails. Some shots are composed in a elegant way, bringing the dark beauty of these shrines to life. It's not a gory film, nor should it be. It's simply not that kind of film. Still, there are some very creepy moments in the film and I really thought the dark force that threatens the characters was really well done and scary.

All in all a good low budget film, raised slightly be earnest performances from a decent cast and some truly creepy scenes.

After the online Facebook hype and the rave reviews, much like the film "Don't F**k in the Woods," I was looking forward to seeing this. It is an 80's tribute film, same things MANY low budget people are doing today. So much so that it has ALMOST worn out it's welcome and I LOVE 80's movies. This one has some nice production value and a nice look, even if some of the basics of film production seem to be ignored. And when a film uses a tagline promoting itself in the same breath as "Slumber Party Massacre" you had better deliver. It ALMOST gets it and then takes a nosedive off the deep end of the pool.

Why do almost all low budget films today have to have a group of people who are so nasty. First of all, they are all the same characters. Over and over. And the writers always make me hate them. Terrible people. I have no emotional investment at all in any of them. This is what the originals did right. Watch Halloween, Slumber Party Massacre and Prom Night. Why did I like them? I found people to care about. Even Terror Train and Motel Hell gave us defined characters. It is one thing to want to make a tribute to those films, but these low budget teams today are missing the vital points. They copy the music, they try and outdo the gore, they steal the formula. But they don't get it at all. Maybe when they are better at their craft.

I watched a PG film, Happy Death Day along with this. And I loved it. I normally hate PG movies, especially horror movies. If it would have been gorier, it would have been perfect. The same with Final Girls from a few years ago. Too tame in the gore for me, but great movies. Really good writing. This movie could have been as good, and should have been, but the writing let it down. And the gore. This film should have really went all out with the gore. I wanted to love this, but it was not bloody enough and I had no one to care about.

Still, I do see promise in the film. I would like to see what this team can do as they get better and have a few movies under their belts.

I picked up She Kills at Family Video. I was happy to find it and gave it a spin. I liked the film for the most part. One of the selling points was the tribute to the old style grindhouse movies. It was also my biggest problem with the film. Director Ron Bonk tried so hard to be a certain type of film he forgot to make this one more his own. It is like a greatest hits of scenes from other films I have seen. But they did it first and they were original. There have been many films it seems trying to do this type of tribute film. It's all one scene after another copied from better movies with a bunch of animated digital scratches thrown on it. Ron's film is better than most. I think he knows about these types of films and maybe even experienced them. But I also feel that this style he chose overall kind of hurts the film. She Kills has enough crazy and original ideas that it did not need the gimmicks. I really loved the Sadie character and I think Jennie Russo did a very good job. Overall the acting is in pace with the story and the overall feel of the film. It is over the top. Some of it is fun and pretty well done while some is a bit annoying.

Taking inspiration from films like "Thriller: They Call Her One Eye" and many exploitation films of the 70s, She Kills moves at a good pace and has good technical quality. The sound design is fun in places and the acting, while not great, is fun and ads to the insanity. It's a wild ride to be sure, and one that I intend to take again when I rewatch the film. There is so much going on, I am sure I missed some of the gags. Action moves pretty quickly and the lighting is really good as well. I have to hand it to Ron and his team for going places many films only hint at, without making me regret watching. It's still all in fun. So many films today seem to just push atrocities in my face and tell me it is entertainment. It's not. It is disgusting and I turn it off. Ron keeps things fun and light, no matter how nasty it gets.

Ron Bonk also did one of my two favorite Hi-8 segments so I am looking forward to what he does next. After the disappointing Empire State of the Dead, I feel he is back on track with this film. It is a good movie to watch with friends who are open minded and get a laugh out of movies like this. In the end, I was entertained and that is what we watch movies for. I gave it 5, and would have gone a bit higher if so much of this didn't feel stolen from other films. But I give it an A for effort! Makes a nice triple bill with Night of Something Strange and Dreaming Purple Neon. All films that express love for an age of cinema sadly long gone. And all of them, like this movie, are really crazy movies where anything can happen, and probably will.