Showing posts with label tiffany shepis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tiffany shepis. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

10 Hipsterish Things Some Horror Fans Say and Do

I wrote on my Facebook page:

Everybody should calm down and stop being elitist horror fans for a sec because you saw Battle Royale. How about the fans who READ the book? They're more hipster than the ppl who saw the movie. But they better not make a film about Ennis Preacher or I'm gonna bust heads....

Well don't I sound all fuckin hipserish right??? It got me thinking that we horror fans say and do some hipsterish things (sometimes we realize it, sometimes we don't). Oh I do them too, don't get me wrong. But when you think of horror fans in their late 20s, early 30s and older there is a level between these age gaps that have them acting like the vile Williamsburg scum we all despise. We are all guilty. Girls, that dark eyeliner is horror hipster-nista. Dudes, that beard you're growing? Alpha hipster. Here are few of the things I notice. I'm gonna get shit from this I know. Fuck.

1.) Anything made in the 70s and 80s is a fuckin cult classic

Remember, millennials think Scream is a cult classic and that was made in the 90s.

2.) We tell noobs to see the originals before the remakes

Sure Hollywood bastardizes the originals but some of our "originals" are remakes too.

3.) We're too good to see a movie based on a bestseller because we saw a cult movie based on a cult best seller

What could I be talking about?

4.) We all wear ironic horror t-shirts with humorish text or 80s slasher nostalgia

Yup I own a few of these Fright Rags.

5.) We constantly refer to Cannibal Holocaust and Blair Witch Project as the best found footage flicks. Everything else sucks.

Many of you will disagree with this. I just want another cannibal movie.

6.) We rage when Hollywood skull fucks our childhood by remaking horror movies, yet we go en masse and see these shitty movies

How ironic right?

7.) We all have horror blogs

I just called myself a horror hipster douche bag. I'm a sonnavabitch.

8.) We tell noobs that we've seen obscure, foreign, hard to find, banned video nasty films.

Most of these are on Amazon.com.

9.) We also say the French, Japanese, Chinese, Canadian, British, German make the best horror flicks these days.

We don't watch any of these because we hate subtitles.

10.) We've all met Kane Hodder, Ken Foree and Tiffany Shepis at some horror convention.

And we've all made that our Facebook profile photo.

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Guilty as charged? What other shunning the mainstream things have horror fans done they may not be aware of? Now I'm going to watch Addio Zio Tom because you never heard of it.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The Frankenstein Syndrome (Review)

The Frankenstein Syndrome

The Frankenstein Syndrome (2010)

Directed by Sean Tretta

[screener provided by MTI Home Video]

There are preconceived notions when your film stars Tiffany Shepis. You expect lots of screaming and blood from our beautiful scream queen beauty. However surprisingly, The Frankenstein Syndrome tones down all those things.

Don't get me wrong. Tiffany looks hot in hospital scrubs, she screams and she gets blood on her but this film which starts off with Tiffany in a mask detailing her story to two FBI agents got my interest peaked initially. However, it lost me in the middle and then got it back towards the end.

It's an up and down ride for this film by Sean Tretta. Lots of inconsistency abound in this retelling of Mary Shelly's classic novel. But what it lacks in budget and in pacing it gets back in creativity. But at the end of the day it's an average sci-fi turned slasher flick that makes its mark by reworking the classic monster run amok. If you dig that ole story, you'll probably find this film interesting to say the least.

Boring Plot-O-Matic

A group of researchers conducting illegal stem cell research discover a cell anomaly that has the potential to regenerate dead tissue. Unable to conduct legal human trials, the researchers turn to corpses to test their serum.

Awesome Review-O-Matic

Tiffany is Dr. Elizabeth who joins a group of medical doctors who try to evolve stem cell research into ludicrousness. She quickly makes breakthroughs because she's mega smart and the team is resentful but equally impressed. As this is highly illegal research, they are funded by a world re known doc who's hired gangster henchmen to make sure everybody is scared shitless.

When one of their test subjects offs herself, they test the new developed serum to bring her back to life. Later David, one of henchman is sacrificed for the greater good and is also brought back to life with a more improved serum. He quickly heals, has psychic powers and can literally turn water into fruit punch.

But as the medical staff try to poke holes into our new Jesus guinea pig, he has other ideas which lead to chaos at the underground medical center. Dr. Liz is our final girl and has to survive against the new "monster" she's created.

Got all that?

Let's start off with Shepis. She is actually solid in this role, playing the doc with the moral dilemma and struggling to survive. It's a different role for our horror veteran and she makes the most out of it. Dr. Travelle (Patti Tindall), the group leader plays mother to the new more evolved super human David. David (Scott Anthony Leet) is clearly a conflicted monster and Leet does a decent job in this over the top role even reciting Shelly like prose as he passes judgement on the hospital staff.

But as the horror goes, it starts off with some bright ideas but never really follows through. The flick has ideas of what is right and wrong but focuses on going with the wrong and showing us the consequences. There is a lot of conversations that make up a bulk of the middle of the movie. This is where I kinda got bored. Had there been some monster craziness in the middle of the flick, we'd get more conflict from the monster vs the researchers and antagonism between the doctors themselves.

The Gore-ipedia is wicked cool as the red stuff gets sprayed all over. It's precision like beheadings, face-off wickedness but also your standard blood on walls. Coolest effect? Gunshots in the head.

The Frankenstein Syndrome takes the old classic, has it reworked by indie horror and bakes up a decent horror dessert. It's not the best thing you'll see this year but it's not the worst. The ending opens up some possibilities but you'll have to ride a roller coaster to get to it.

If your goal is to see every Tiffany Shepis flick (and boy she's in a lot of flicks) then add this one to the library. It's not your typical Shepis flick and for that it's definitely watchable.


Nude-ipedia

No Shepis nudity...BOOOOOO!

WTF moment

I wish I could turn water into fruit punch

The Jaded Viewer's Final Prognosis

If you think watching this film is the equivalent of reading Mary Shelly's book, you'd be wrong. Very wrong.

The Vitals
Rating:


Check out the trailer.



Thursday, July 02, 2009

Home Sick (Review)

Home Sick

Home Sick (2007)

Directed by Adam Wingard

I first heard about Adam Wingard and E.L. Katz when I first viewed Wingard's short Laura Panic. It starred this hot Scarlet Johansson lookalike Hannah Hughes and I was entrenched by the short short too short story.

So of course I IMDBed Wingard and saw he'd directed two flicks, this one and Pop Skull.

We here at the jaded viewer told you about this flick in July of last year. Well I finally got around to watching it.

It seems Home Sick went on a horror festival run and from what I've read from the horror-sphere people dug the flick tremendously. Standing at a solid 90 minutes, we've got a stallar cast of Chiller regulars. The horror queen herself, Tiffany Shepis, Bill fuckin Moseley and Tom Towles.

So what's the hyperpalooza over Home Sick. Home Sick is a macabre dream come to life, acting by actors who should not be acting and buckets and buckets of gore.

It's the splatter that stands out far above the rest of the film (other than Tiffany Shepis's perky, voloptuous breasts).

Boring Plot-O-Matic

A maniac with a suitcase full of razorblades unleashes a super human killer upon a group of kids in a small Alabama town. They must take up arms with a insane Chili enthusiast if they want to survive.

Awesome Review-O-Matic

Home Sick seemed like a flick made by a group of friends/horror regulars in Jersey over the weekend while they were attending a Chiller or Fango Weekend of Horrors convention. Seemed like the director was like "Who wants to make a movie?" It just has that feel of almost video maybe this could be film sorta feel. It's extremely low budget, but the effort to please the horror-core is ever present.

A cast of horror fan minions all attend a party. Who are these fresh fodder soon to be victims?

1.) Crazy gun happy redneck (this dude is the worst actor I've ever seen)
2.) Some Munster looking kid
3.) Tiffany "looking damn gothy yummy" Shepis
4.) Hipster looking dude
5.) Final Girl girl

A man carrying a suitcase of razorblades named Mr. Suitcase (Bill Moseley) crashes the party and starts demanding to know who everybody hates. As they tell him he cuts his arms with razorblades. Who the fuck knows why but to push the non existent plot along, this initiates everybody they name to be killed.

After getting that pesky plot outta the way, all the successive scenes are set up death scenes of various people. The hated get arms cut off, intestines spillage, hacked in the head, etc.

It's the top notch, anti CGI gore that is full of hip hip hooray. The effects are brilliant and well executed by our masked demon killer. The makeup is also to be applauded. Stellar effects in both gore and splatter.

The craziest scene has gotta to be a topless Tiffany Shepis rolling around in blood, laughing evilishly. If I could put this scene in the WTF Moment Hall of Fame, I would induct it immediately.

That's the good yip for Home Sick.

What's the arghhhh?

Well aside from Shepis and Moseley and the gore, everything else falls apart. Some of the actors seem to be improvising their lines...badly. This is not Tara Reid acting bad. Or Uwe Boll acting bad. This was cardboard cut out acting bad. I really wanted Keyboard cat to play these bad actors off.

Adding to the horribleness is Tom Towles as Uncle Johnny, a crazed Confederate gun toting old redneck geezer who the remaining survivors go to for help. A scene where the group eats chili seemed to be 10 min of filler.

The flick also suffers from being so dreamlike, it's definitely entering Herschell Gordon Lewis territory. It's almost like a Gregg Araki-ish horror flick combining a bizarro world with a slasher flick.

Home Sick is slightly above any other indie horror flick as the gore and splatter are in a stratosphere of awesomness. Add in Tiffany Shepis and a creepy Bill Moseley it jump ups a few notches on the horror belt. But it's still amateurish for Wingard's first feature which brings this flick down to Earth.

Experimentism in my horror I can take to a point. But overall, it's worth a look for the inner gorehound in you.

Gore-ipedia


Knife to the mouth
Sliced feet trauma
Ax to the head trauma
Heavy intestine trauma
Fingernail trauma
Split body trauma
Beheadings (x2)
Shotgun blast to the stomach trauma
Gunshot to the head trauma
Punch to the face trauma
Shotgun blast to the head trauma

Nude-ipedia

Tiffany Shepis A+ Boobs

WTF moment

More Tiffany Shepis giggling, vomiting and rolling around in blood....naked.

The Jaded Viewer's Final Prognosis

Wingard would follow up with Pop Skull which according to some is hit or miss. I wouldn't mind if Laura Panic turned up as his next feature. For Home Sick, if you get into the mindset that your watching this at a Chiller convention with other horror fanatics, you'll dig it. You'll need a few beers in you to get some laughs but it's been a while since I rewound some death scenes for multiple viewings.

Synapse films is distributing the DVD
with a bunch of extras and some shorts.

Rating:


Check out the trailer.







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Monday, September 22, 2008

Rule of Three (Review)

Rule of Three

Rule of Three (2008)

Directed by Eric Shapiro

Is Tiffany Shepis in every indie and horror movie this year?

I'm watching Rule of Three via Fantestic Fest Online and poof! there she is. And what else would she be playing but a hot vixen. And it's a most appropriate role and scene.

And what an awesome scene it was (we'll get to that in a second).

But the nitty gritty deal of Rule of Three is it's not a horror movie but more like a film noir, a mystery that looks more like a Broadway play than an actual motion picture.

Because in movies, shit happens on screen, movies show scenes and action that could NOT happen on a stage. Who makes a movie where it takes place in one place (in this case a motel room) and all they do is talk?

But it works...slightly.

Boring Plot-O-Matic

A suspenseful film-noir that takes place at three points in time within a single motel room, viewing the events before, during, and after a college graduate's abduction.

Awesome Review-O-Matic

OK lets review this little indie flick shall we?

As the plot says, we have three distinct points of the movie.

1.) A father and his wife who are looking for their missing daughter (NOW)
2.) A young college couple who are looking for a menage a trois (BEFORE)
3.) A middle aged man looking to score with his distraught female friend with some narcotics (BEFORE THE BEFORE)

Ala time shifting, the movie puts the movie in non chronological order which paces it pretty well for a 85 min movie. As we view into the NOW part, the acting by the father (Ben Siegler) who is determined to find his daughter is very gritty and real that it sets up his scenes nicely.

But it's the young college couple scenes (BEFORE) that are absurdly interesting. Lo (Rhoda Jordan) who is black and Jake (Cary Woodworth) who is white are totally porno-ing inside the motel room. They want to get a threesome going (because it's every guy's dream come true) and they have conversations that are generally witty and keep the scenes flowing. Soon, Jake finds someone who might be willing and she says she's into it. Score!

And booyah! we get some naked Tiffany Shepis. But of course we don't see the good shit which is most unfortunate. It seems not everything turns out like a Vivid Video flick and everybody involved is ultimately scarred (emoitionally and physically)

Then the movie turns into some surreal territory where we have a middle aged dude tries to score roofies from a drug dealer so he can score with his bestest best female friend.

Shit hits the fan and people die.

The movie ends on an ominous twist which doesn't really fit the rest of the movie but intertwines all three points. Nothing M. Nighty, but a wicked curveball that makes you go "thats fucked up dude".

Not much more to say. I didn't love this movie and I didn't hate it. I was a little intrigued by the buildup but I knew the payoff would be non existent. This is an average flick as average flicks go.

Influences

Film Noirs
Mystery movies
Thriller movies
Tape (that movie with Uma and Ethan)
Brick

Gore-ipedia (if you want to be shocked don't read)

Not a drop of blood

Nude-ipedia

YES!!! Tiffany Shepis goes all full frontal for us. But for like 8 seconds.

WTF moment

The twist at the end. It really made me go "WHAT THE FREAKIN FUCK?" (That doesn't mean it made it good)

The Jaded Viewer's Final Prognosis

A very lo fi, indie movie that bubbles up some suspense and really gets you involved in the movie. But the low budget somehow prevented it from going away from the motel room and creating more tension and scenes that could have made this movie boil and be really good.

Good first effort by Eric Shapiro who is the author of books 'Days of Allison' and 'It's Only Temporary'.

It reminded me of Brick (which I really liked). It's a movie that's as average as could be, but if you get a chance, watch it. It's different and it's unique. That's worth 2 spinkicks in my book.

Rating:

The Trailer:





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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Home Sick and Pop Skull (Trailer)

We here at the jaded viewer do a lot of horror archeology. We dig and dig for the most obscure and not relatively known horror movies in the vast indie universe.

So with the help of the mainstream horror icon Fangoria, it's good to see we've finally found the fucked up movies of Adam Wingard.

I haven't seen any of these yet, but I am fully intrigued by the trailers.

Home Sick looks like a throwback to the grizzly 70s slashers (almost Abel Ferrera-ish) with its demented sicko carnage.

It stars Bill Moseley, Tom Towles and horror scream queen Tiffany Shepis.

The plot is chocked full of bloody goodness.......

A maniac with a suitcase full of razorblades unleashes a super human killer upon a group of kids in a small Alabama town. They must take up arms with a insane Chili enthusiast if they want to survive.

Comes out August 26th on DVD.

Home Sick (Trailer)





Popo Skull seems psychedellically insane. I'm not sure I'll get it if I'm not high.

Pop Skull (Trailer)




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