Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Hate Crime (2013) Review

Hate Crime (2013)

Director: James Cullen Bressack
Writers: James Cullen Bressack and Jarret Cohen

Starring:
Jody Barton- 13/13/13, To Jennifer
Nicholas Clark- Sadistic Eroticism
Debbie Diesel- New Starlet
Ian Roberts- 13/13/13, Superman Returns
Maggie Wagner- Too many to list
Greg Depetro- 13/13/13
Tim Moran- Family Time


Plot: You moved into the wrong neighborhood!

I would say that the movie starts slow and builds the story, but James Cullen Bressack decided to take this film by the throat and slash it! What started as a Jewish family celebrating their youngest child's birthday, turns into a horrific night of violent crimes only JCB can tell! The film has one of the great ironic death scenes within the first 5 minutes of the film. The movie tests your ability to enjoy a movie with such violence and demented scenes, luckily for us, we loved it!

Notes:
  • I think Jody Barton is extremely underrated as an actor. His performance in 13/13/13, To Jennifer, and now Hate Crime should put him on everyone's radar. 
  • Ian Roberts once again plays a psychopath like no other. His Herculean build and devilish attitude is perfect for this film. He provides great comedy relief towards the end.
  • Poor Maggie Wagner. She puts up with some hellacious torture in this movie. She does it fantastically well.
  • Debbie Diesel is a new face, but has a great performance!
  • Nicholas Clark will have a future in this business. He has to go through some sick shit, but does it very well.
Overall: 5.5 out of 6 Skulls 
This is a true "Must See" for any horror fan. This is true horror!




Friday, January 17, 2014

The Upper Footage Review

The Upper Footage Review
By: D. Mack
Director: Justin Cole
Writers: Justin Cole
Genre:  Mystery/Thriller
Rating: 4.25 Skulls out of 6
Special thanks to Justin Cole for allowing us to review such a wicked and crazy film!

Review:
Is this real? What the hell am I watching? These were some of the first thoughts I had after watching this film. The film tells a story of a group of guys and girls who decide to have a night partying on way too much cocaine, and what happen when Jackie decides to have too much.

The film starts buy showing clips on YouTube and Entertainment Weekly of a scandal involving some of Hollywood’s elite. What happened to Jackie Spearo? The footage of a crazy night gets released and the viewer gets to see what really happens when you party with the wrong group.

The Good:
Great dialogue between the casts which makes you feel like this footage is authentic. It does give you the “Blair Witch” vibe because it does look like a group of kids just filming their adventure, of course this adventure involves way too much cocaine. The camera angles and acting were good. This movie has a great ending! Effects were good.

The Mediocre:
Although the dialogue is good, it still seems as if this film is very long and drawn out. A shorter cut of footage may make it easier to digest.

Overview:

Justin Cole directs a great film that leaves the watcher questioning whether it is authentic or not. I think Justin tells a great story and creates a movie that is a must see for any fan of found footage films. You can watch The Upper Footage on Vimeo VOD. 

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Order of the Ram Review

Order of the Ram Review
Director: Scott Lyus
Written by:  Scott Lyus
Length:  16 Minutes
Rating: 4.25 out of 6 Skulls
Special Thanks to Scott Lyus for letting SBE to review!
Review: Order of the Ram is a short film by Scott Lyus of the UK. It tells the story of Mary, who is socially awkward and has no friends. She soon finds out that her life has all been planned for her by the “Order of the Ram”. She soon finds out that her life has a greater purpose than she ever thought.
Production Value: For a short film, the film has excellent production value and acting. The camera angles were done very well.  
Story:  Order of the Ram has a good premise for a short film. It has an interesting ending which leaves you guessing.
Effects: Scott does well in trying to tie in special effects to his budget. Only issues I had was the rope scene and the throat cut. Aside from that, Scott does very well.

Overall: Watch Order of the Ram. It tells a compelling story and leaves you hanging at the end.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

To Jennifer Review



To Jennifer

Director: James Cullen Bressack
Writers: James Cullen Bressack, Chuck Pappas
PSYKIK JUNKY PICTURES
Starring: 
Chuck Pappas- Joey
James Cullen Bressack- Stevie
Jody Barton- Martin
Jessica Cameron- Jennifer
Genre: Horror/Dark Comedy
Rating: 3.25 Skulls out of 6
Special thanks to James Cullen Bressack for allowing Scary Business Entertainment to review his Bad Ass Film!
This review will be featured in our January Issue of 
Horror and Metal Magazine!




Review: 

James Cullen Bressack's "To Jennifer" is an interesting take on the "found footage" style film. I would actually argue that it isn't a "found footage" film, and lump it into a "Horror-Documentary". Joey (played by Chuck Pappas) and his cousin, Stevie (played by Director James Cullen Bressack) are out to document a journey to find out if his girlfriend "Jennifer" (Played by the beautiful Jessica Cameron) is cheating on him or not. He convinces his cousin Stevie to take the trip with him and to video document the trip. Along the way they meet up with Martin (played by Jody Barton) to join them on the trip after they have some issues involving an airplane. 

The Good: 
The film was produced exclusively on a IPhone 5. This should encourage young filmmakers that budgets shouldn't be an obstacle when you have a good story. The dialogue makes you believe that Joey is suffering from depression fueled from the possible cheating of his girlfriend "Jennifer". His friends give him shit for the camera documenting the trip throughout the film, which makes the story more believable. The characters in the film, especially Martin are a welcome addition to the film. There is a memorable part of the film that involves two "escorts" in a dilapidated motel that provides great comedy. There is a song at the end of the film, performed by "Joey" that is also very good.

The Bad:
The film is very long, even if it is only 1 hour and 16 minutes. There are certain sections of film that last much longer than I personally would have left them. The film has a nice twist, but I anticipated it about 45 minutes within the film. I think that James shows his hand way too early into the film. The ending of the film seemed rushed, even though the rest of the film was almost too patient.

James Cullen Bressack is a young filmmaker with a great reputation for making good films. Although To Jennifer is not his best outing, it does tell a great story with a low budget. Scary Business Entertainment definitely suggests fans of horror to watch this film. Currently it is available from Amazon.com along with other outlets.