Perkins' 14

After All The Boys Love Mandy Lane another great movie with surprisingly plots came from Hollywood. Let me first say that Patrick O'Kane gives a great performance as a copper to found out what happened to his kidnapped kid. Another great performance by the serial killer Richard Broke. What a face he has, casting excellent. The way his face has been lightened, the use of light and shadow in other scene's, the use of editing for example the scene with felicity in the toilet, man, this is perfeclty done in an arty way, luckily it never becomes arty farty. The script is great too, for me there are two films in one, first part, the story of the serial killer, second part, story of his victims. And when you think everything is okay than you get smashed in the face from the plot twists. It became time that some independent film makers in the states made some gems like this and Mandy Lane. The effects are great too, the blood and the gore is explicit. Starting as a suspense who-done-it, turning over in a zombie flick is perfectly done. I've seen the full uncut, be sure to catch that one 'cause I can guess know what will be cut out. I'm not a big zombie freak but this one surely got me.

What starts as a very interesting premise, dealing with a pharmacist and the kids he's brainwashed into mindless killing machines, is hamstrung by terrible execution and shoddy acting. At the beginning I was intrigued but as the movie wore on I found my Interests waning exponentially, hoping that the film would just end already. When the end finally came it didn't even cause me a sigh of relief that the whole awful movie was over, but rather more mad that I ever watched it in the first place. The ending, be that as it may, was simply atrocious. Yeah who would've thought there would be an awful '8 films to die for' movie? (that's sarcasm by the way )

On the tenth anniversary of his son's abduction, Deputy Dwayne Hopper (Patrick O'Kane) thinks he might have the kidnapper in one of his holding cells. Ronald Perkins (Richard Brake) was picked up and all of the info he has been giving up isn't matching up. Sending an off duty buddy to Perkins' house, Hopper soon finds out that Perkins is indeed the Stone Cove Kidnapper and a man with a sinister plan. Part of After Dark Horrorfest III, this little film started off so good. It has a great premise and set up, but the major plot action ends at 40 minutes in, leaving me wondering what in the world they were going to fill the remaining 50 minutes with. The rest falls into standard "people being stalked" territory. O'Kane and Brake are interesting leads, both men having unique looks that set them apart from the usual shiny teen lead casts we see nowadays. Director Craig Singer (DARK RIDE) does an excellent job of disguising Romania for Maine and the film is incredibly well shot. Too bad he kinda blew it with the handling of the plot. Look for former Misfits replacement singer Michale Graves in a supporting role.

(2008) Perkins' 14 HORROR

It's called "Perkins' 14" because officer Dwayne Hopper's (Patrick O'Kane) son was the last 14th missing victim reported missing. Children who were kidnapped by a person who coincidentally happens to be locked up in a jail cell for a misdemeanor, who's real name is Ronald Perkins (Richard Brake). As we later find out that he was doing experiments on them for the attempt of turning them into savage ghouls or venom's for a silly retribution. From "Afterdark Horrorfest" and by looking at the big picture, one has to wonder why the FBI weren't involved in this case. Anyways, the gory make up is good, but the ending kind of sucked, which is a reminiscent of "Pet Cemetery".

Of all the '8 Films to Die For' that I've seen (which is most of them), this one is undoubtedly the best (though that isn't saying much). It's not what I'd call brilliant horror, and certainly could have been a lot better, but there are some really good ideas here and they're well carried off by the director and his cast. The film could be called a zombie film - although I think that isn't really an accurate description. The film does take some influence from said genre, but the monsters in the film aren't zombies - instead, they're teenagers high on PCP. The plot focuses on a small town cop, who is devastated by the loss of his young son some years earlier. He's called into work after one of the other cops took the night off sick, and is intrigued by one of the prisoners in his cells. He notices the guy is missing a finger, and jumps to the conclusion that he's holding the man who kidnapped his son. After sending another officer to the prisoners' house, all hell breaks loose when the fourteen maniacs being held in his basement are let loose!

The whole film takes place at night, and director Craig Singer (who previously made the half-decent 'Dark Ride') makes best use of this as it gives the film a tremendous dark atmosphere that serves the central plot line well. It's basically a film of two halves; the first half focuses on the interaction between the two central characters - the cop and the prisoner. The best thing about the first half is the suspense and intrigue drummed up as we wonder exactly what is in the guy's basement - the sequence that reveals it is really well done. The second half is much more action packed and sees the maniacs let loose on the streets, and then we watch as the cop desperately tries to keep his family safe. The film is rather savage in the gore department - though to the director's credit, he's restrained with the gore and uses it only when needed - which ensures the biggest impact. The fact that the special effects are well done is also to the film's credit. The plot line flowing throughout the film regarding the officer's son is interesting; but soon gets silly. It also has to be said that many of the character decisions throughout the film are questionable. Still, this is an interesting effort and I would say if you only see one 'film to die for', make sure it's this one.