Title: All Through the House Writer/ Director: Todd Nunes Cast: Ashley Mary Nunes, Jessica Cameron, Melynda Kiring, Natalie Montera, Lito Velasco Year: 2015 Min: 88
Rachel (the lovely Ashley Mary Nunes) has come home for the holidays during her college break. But, there are two mysteries that she and the rest of the neighborhood doesn't know the answers to, still to this very day. Those are: what happened to her mother and what happened to the little girl, Jamie, that was Rachel's neighbor. In the meantime, Jamie's mother, Gia (Melynda Kiring) is trying to put up the last of her Christmas decorations in and around her house. Rachel tells her that she will give her a helping hand to do just that. She gets her two pretty friends to accompany and help her out. Gia it ends up being, is going on a "date" leaving the girls alone in the admit ably creepy house. The thing is a scary and psychotic guy dressed in a Santa outfit that is heading to that exact house and has been racking up the body count on his way there, with the three of the girls being next.
I am a sucker for a good Christmas horror flick, and All Through the House is just that. In fact, it ranks with the best of the lot. A bloody slasher, it is a great throwback to the sub-genre's heyday. It's fun and gory and is sure to become part of your annual Christmas horror viewing habits.
The movie moves at a quick pace, leaving little quite moments during it's 88 minute duration. From beginning to end, it just flat-out rocks. In fact, it really takes very little time to set-up, as drop dead gorgeous scream queen and horror filmmaker Jessica Cameron (below) gets offed early on. Jessica has quickly become one of my favorite scream queens in the genre. And as such, it was great to see her in this movie. Although her role is short, her death scene is one of the movies most shocking scenes. The pull no punches aspect of this kill sets up the tone of the rest movie, as not only is super gory and explicit but also accompanied some admit ably funny tinges of humor.
writer/ director Todd Nunes has a great use of Christmas imagery in way that is super-creepy. Gia's house is filled with some of the scariest shit, I have ever seen used for Christmas decor! His use of Christmas colors and lighting adds a nice and stylish look to the movie. He also delivers a kick ass and suspenseful climax, as the film really hits on all cylinders during the last 15 or 20 min or so.
The gore FX that are a big draw of the film. These bloody kills would NEVER get an R-rating. Our killer Santa has an affinity for using garden sheers to end the life of his victims. This causes some gruesomely realistic splatter that includes: breast stabbings, graphic (and funny!) castrations (yes plural!), stabbings, sheers to the head, eye gouging, and more. Another wonderful special effect is the movie's beautiful female cast. So, that it hits all that is needed for a destined to be loved slasher.
The acting of the cast ranges from adequate to quite good. Ashley Mary Nunes (below) and Kiring really shine in their roles. Nunes, who is an absolute stunner, makes for a great and tough final girl. She is put through the ringer and really delivers in her role. Kiring is simply great as the unhinged Gia. She is given a lot to do and a chance to give different emotional levels, which she handles with much zest.
As with most slashers, it does fall under most of the trademarks and beats of that type of movie. However, it's done in such a fun manner and flair that it works. You can tell and feel that it is being done by someone who has a real love for slashers and does it out of his love of them, and not cause he is some unoriginal hack.
Try not think to much about our killer though, who seems to pop in front of victims at each and every turn, even when it makes no real logical sense. Maybe he is actually Nightcrawler from the X-Men? In a lesser movie it would totally sink it further (Friday the 13th Part VII: Jason Takes Manhattan anyone?), here it is done in the context of such an enjoyable film that I just shrugged it off and enjoyed the movie, itself. Also, the killer, himself, looks creepy as fuck. You gotta love that mask he is wearing being accompanied by the Santa suit. It's just a fucking great look for him!
All Through the House is a great time to be had. It's fun, super bloody, filled with pretty girls, and has a real love for the subgenre(s), as in both slashers and Christmas horror movies. Moving at a breakneck pace and leading to kick ass climax, it is destined to be a cult favorite. Make sure this Christmas season it joins your viewings of Black Christmas, Silent Night, Deadly Night, Gremlins, and the rest of the holiday horror flicks you watch. And, I predict that it will continue to do so in years to come.
Title: The Final Girls Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson Writer: M.A. Fortin, Joshua John Miller Cast: Taissa Farmiga, Malin Akerman, Alexander Ludwig, Nina Dobrev, Alia Shawkat, Thomas Middleditch Year: 2015 Min: 88
Teen girl Max Cartwright (Taissa Farmiga) awaits for her beautiful mom, Amanda (Malin Akerman) who is an actress and is at an audition. Unfortunately it seems as it was a bust, as she cannot escape being connected to the cult classic 80s slasher flick, Camp Bloodbath, that she was in. Even worse, they get into a car crash, and Amanda dies. Three years later Max is still devastated by the loss of her mom. There is a double screening of Camp Bloodbath and Camp Bloodbath 2: Cruel Summer that is going to be held at the local movie theater. Her friend Gertie's (Alia Shawkat) stepbrother Duncan (Thomas Middleditch), and huge horror fan, convinces Max to be present at the screening, being her mom Amanda is one of the victims in the stalk and slash flick. It also happens to be the anniversary of Amanda's death in real life.
At the screening they are joined by crush Chris (Alexander Ludwig) and his ex and Max's former friend the bitchy but super-hot Vicki (Nina Dobrev). They sit and watch the movie when suddenly a fire starts. They head to escape through the back of the movie screen. But, something happens, and they end up inside the movie, itself. There they encounter all the films characters, including it's brutal masked killer Billy Murphy (Dan B. Morris), as well as its' victims, among them Nancy, the character that Max's mom played, and the movie's badass final girl (IE the virginal girl that in a slasher movie battles and defeats the killer), Paula (the gorgeous Chloe Bridges). Emotions run high as they see that they cannot escape the movie and decide to team-up with characters to survive and kill Billy. Max, of course, also sees this a chance to save her "mom", from her death, which in playing with slasher film rules, means she must remain a virgin.
The Final Girls is an excellent meta-horror, comedy that deserves all the good reviews that it got. I actually attended a panel at New York Comic Con last year (the only panel I got to attended, might I add), but I never got to see it until last night when I popped in my recently purchased Blu-ray. I wish I hadn't waited so long to see it, cause it definitely would have made my top 10 movies of 2015 (at the number 6, if you must know), had I seen it then.
The movie is an almost pitch-perfect mix of hilarity, a truly loving tribute to slasher movies, and movie filled with heartfelt moments of pathos. Combining these elements isn't easy to accomplish, not by a long shot. But, goddamn this movie does it! The humor is really funny. I was laughing my ass off at many points in the film. The horror fan, in me, saw that the filmmakers loved and cared about slasher movies, as they are treated with respect and reverence, yet an acknowledgment at how silly they are. But, what surprised me the most was how touching it was. The relationships with the characters were excellent. Especially when it came to Max and Amanda/ Nancy.
They are the heart of the film.And, I cannot lie. There are moments that I actually made me tear up. So this film made me laugh, cheer, and cry. That's no small feat! The acting from everyone is great. I have been a fan of Akerman since The Watchmen, and she is magnificent here. She adds depth, heart, and a hint of sexiness to it all. Farmiga, best known for American Horror Story, is excellent as well. This young lady's acting ability blows many older actress out of the fucking camp. I have never watched a single episode of The Vampire Dairies and honestly only knew Dobrev as the pretty girl in that series. Well, she is phenomenal here, being funny, bitchy, sexy, and yet, in the end, very likable.
When I first heard about this being PG-13, I wondered how can you be a slasher flick homage and be that rating? I mean most, if not all, PG-13 slashers suck dick and swallow (shit a bunch of R-rated ones do, too!). But, somehow, this movie got me so engrossed that I didn't care about the rating. OK some more graphic gore would have been appreciated. Some nudity would have been fucking great, especially from Angela Timbur, who plays the dizty and slutty character of Tina. As such, she baring her naughty bits would have made sense. But, again, this somehow didn't bother me, too much. Well, not enough for me to lower my views on this film, anyway.
Honestly, my one and only complaint was the ending. I called it and when it happened, I was a little disappointed. But, it is off-shot by the very last thing that happens before the credits role, which is pretty fucking badass. If not for the ending, Lord only knows, how much more I would've loved this movie.
The Final Girls is a phenomenal slasher comedy. One that mixes humor, horror love, and tons of heart seamlessly. It deserves your full attention. The Blu-ray, put out by Sony, looks and sounds perfect. It has some good extra features, including some interesting deleted scenes (no, there is nudity or more gore here, in case you were wondering). If you, like I, made the mistake of not seeing it last year, rectify that shit right now and see it! Oh, and be careful not to see Final Girl released the same year and starring Abigail Breslin, thinking that it is this one. I haven't seen it and, thus cannot pass judgement on it. I'm just saying be sure you see this excellent movie, first.
