Les Démons de la Cave (1998)

Les Démons de la Cave (1998) - France

Directed by: Yoann Malnati

ABOUT THE FILM:

Les Démons de la Cave is an early 44 minute effort by French cinematographer Yoann Malnati, who went on to work on many Canadian television series and films. This early horror short film tells a rather familiar story of a young French man named Franc, who finds an ancient relic in a box hidden away in a cellar. It is soon learned that anyone who touches this relic will become possessed by a demonic entity, and Franc spends the film attempting to fight off this deadly deity.

REVIEW:

Les Démons was produced and filmed in France on weekends over the course of over a year. Malnati wrote, directed and starred in the film at the young age of 17.

Within only about 10 minutes of watching, it becomes clear that Les Démons is a film with naked ambitions. Whereas there are a few clear nods and homages to films such as Evil Dead 2, the film maintains originality and takes its own twist on the classic lore of unearthing demonic spirits by newfound relics. For a 44 minute film, I never felt bored and often found myself on the edge of my seat, anticipating what would happen next. Every scene is carefully interspersed and well-paced; every movement of the actors and the cameras are well-choreographed and the editing for such a low-budget production is tight. The film, for the most part, takes place indoors and is well lit with a nice selection of yellows, reds and greens to give each scene the appropriate feeling and set an awesome atmosphere. Speaking of atmosphere, the film's original score is haunting, well-crafted and further helps set up an amazing atmosphere.

Director and star Malnati steals the show as Franc. Malnati is surprisingly proficient in exhibiting body language and is not afraid to go all out with his performance. This man bashes himself into walls and piles of wood and junk, flips over tables and pulls all kinds of stunts with style. While the actors aren't very good at conveying emotion through voice, all of the cast members deliver strong showings, which is surprising considering they're just a bunch of kids.

The special effects are also very well-done and nicely implemented. The gore effects are never over-the-top and feel moderately realistic, and are used sparingly but used well. The monster and creature effects are well-made and look really good for such a low-budget production! It obviously took a lot of time and careful attention to detail when crafting every mask, hand and other limbs.

Les Démons is probably one of my favorite movies that I've watched since I started To Obscurity and Beyond. Everything about it is awesome and I highly, HIGHLY recommend you looking for this film! It is absolutely worth your time, especially if you love creature features!

RELEASES:

-Les Démons de la Cave was independently released on VHS by Malnaski Production in 1998.

-The movie is officially available to watch on YouTube, courtesy of Malnati himself!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ainvNy8VhU8&t=126s

Das Weststadt Massaker (1991-1994)

Das Weststadt Massaker (1991-1994) - Germany

Directed by: Andreas Bethmann

BACKGROUND / ABOUT THE FILM:

Das Weststadt Massaker is the earliest available film from prolific German splatter/porn director Andreas Bethmann, who is better known for his works such as Dämonenbrut, Rossa Venezia and Help Me I Am Dead. Bethmann began making films at the age of 18 in 1988 with his debut film Begrabt in Tief (yet to be released), and he continued to make amateur films for 10 years until he could finally afford to make his visions come to life at a reasonable cost.

Das Weststadt Massaker was one of those amateur films. The film is combined of three separate shorts from 1991 and 1994, and the storyline is that of...a killer in a mask setting loose to wreak havoc upon any and all he finds in the woods.

REVIEW:

Of course, the entire thing is in German and there are no English subtitles available, but those really aren't even needed as you can easily follow the plot. The cast, more than likely Bethmann's friends and family members, are all amateurs and the few who actually try to act see laughable results at best.

The camera work is often very shoddy, shaky and poorly done. The poor editing can be forgiven when you consider this film was edited together with two VCR's, which is a very frustrating editing setup to begin with. Aside from scenes that seem to have been included for no reason, there are several slow-motion shots that will draw out scenes to unnecessarily long lengths, which reminded me a lot of an earlier shot-on-video movie called Sledgehammer.

Probably the only thing that makes this film truly worth it are the laughably bad gore effects. The gore, while not good, is available in abundance. There are plenty of scenes of decapitations, stabbings, castrations, eviscerations, dismembered limbs and people getting run over by cars. Each effect has a considerable amount of (watery) blood involved and plenty of meat and viscera.

Despite all of the bad things I've said about this movie, in some weird way it's still sort of entertaining; even funny at times. It just goes to show that no matter how bad films like this can be, there will always be at least a certain charm or element to them that makes them enjoyable! Even if it feels like your typical Violent Shit knockoff, Das Weststadt Massaker still stands as a moderately entertaining viewing experience and a collector's item for fans of German underground gore.

RELEASES:

-Das Weststadt Massaker 1 was originally released on VHS in January, 1991 by AB-Video Pro with an uncut runtime of 21 minutes.

-Das Weststadt Massaker 2 was originally released on VHS in September, 1991 by AB-Video Pro with an uncut runtime of 34 minutes.

    -Extras:

     Das Weststadt Massaker 1

-Das Weststadt Massaker 3 was originally released on VHS in 1994 by AB-Video Pro.

A Bad Day (1999)

A Bad Day (1999) - Germany

Directed by: Jens Wolf

ABOUT THE FILM:

A Bad Day is yet another obscure German amateur film from the late 1990's. The movie starts innocently enough, with a bunch of teenagers in the forest, until one of the boys gets pissed off with a girl and things turn ugly very quickly. The boy ends up brutally beating and killing the girl, and continues to hunt down and kill his friends as they try to stop him.

 

REVIEW:

A Bad Day is a genuinely entertaining first effort from then young director Jens Wolf, who later went on to create the zombie-splatter drama epic Noctem. I must say that I wasn't expecting anything good, considering the cover is just in black with the title and no screenshots, but boy was I wrong.

Each different part of the movie is divided into its own chapter, with intercut title cards telling us about this next segment. It's a great way to structure this tense little story about a bunch of youngsters essentially having a bad day.

For a movie essentially made by what I'm assuming are teenagers, this one is surprisingly well shot and edited, as the director uses some creative and inventive camera angles and techniques. The lighting is all natural (as the film is completely shot outdoors), and is never too dark or too bright, letting the camera focus on the action.

Another thing I wasn't expecting was how gory this film is. There are many kills across the 40 minute runtime, including impalings, prolonged scenes of gory dismemberment with blood gushing everywhere, suicide and so much more. The effects actually aren't that bad either, although they reminded me a lot of Das Komabrutale Duell.

The movie also has a soundtrack made up of cool classic rock tracks. When else in your life will you watch a movie where someone gets cut in half to the tune of Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd?

It's obvious that Jens Wolf is a talented director who is more than capable of crafting an enjoyable movie. If you can find A Bad Day or any of Jens' other work, I can highly recommend it, especially if you're a gorehound.

RELEASES:

-A Bad Day was independently released on VHS by GOREProductions in 1999.

    -Extras:

    Behind-the-Scenes/Outtakes

The Last Days of Livermore (2016)

The Last Days of Livermore (2016) - United States

Directed by: Nathan Hine

ABOUT THE FILM:

The Last Days of Livermore is a short horror film from up-and-coming director Nathan Hine, the mind behind small independent film crew Hardgore Core Productions.

Hine has been active for several years on his YouTube channel reviewing and promoting underground splatter and horror movies, sharing his thoughts and his endless love for the genre and the community centered around it. Hine had been itching to make his own films for as long as he could remember, however, it wasn’t until 2016 that he had finally set out to do so.

The film's storyline focuses primarily on two individuals who are struggling to deal with issues they are having with their relationship. In an effort to better understand the situation and come to terms with each other, they travel out into the beautiful, yet eerie abandoned town of Livermore, Pennsylvania. They take a walk and end up at the local cemetery, where they talk and attempt to correct their troubles. It is then that things start to go horribly wrong.

 

REVIEW:

Being the first ever film produced by Hardgore Core Productions, it is not free from error and it is expected that there will be a couple of issues.

The sound mix is a little stilted in some places and you have the occasional line of dialogue that could have used another take. However, the few minor setbacks do not overshadow all of the amazing things that this short film has to offer. For starters, the cinematography is well thought-out and well-shot. Livermore, which is a beautiful real-life ghost town, was the perfect setting and made for some hauntingly gorgeous shots. The film successfully captures the unnerving atmosphere of the place. The script and story are simple, but both work well enough to be carried across the short 20 minute runtime.

The special effects are nothing short of awesome. The blood is realistic in color and consistency, yet flows like a firehose, which will please gorehounds, and the makeup effects are done well enough to get under the average viewer’s skin..

Overall, this is a solid first effort from the Hardgore Core crew.

Hine is hard at work at getting his first full-length feature film The Sideling Hill professionally pressed and prepped for distribution. Meanwhile, both him and the rest of the crew have just wrapped up shooting a new short film called Keepsake and continue to aid other indie filmmakers on their projects, namely Jim Roberts from Blind Sight Productions.

The Hardgore Core crew are obviously very passionate about the splatter subgenre and dedicated to delivering the goods. This makes them definitely worth looking out for.

RELEASES:

-This film was independently released on DVD by Hardgore Core Productions in 2018.

    Extras:

    -Intro

    -Director's Cut

    -Final Cut

    -Director's Cut Trailer

    -The Sideling Hill Trailer

-Released on VHS by UK-based Dead Format Films in 2017.

-Featured on the First Annual Short Film Compilation DVD from King of the Witches and Dead Format Films, released in 2017.

Nasty Nancy (2010)

Nasty Nancy (2010) - Croatia

Directed by: Sandi Mance

ABOUT THE FILM:

This low-budget Croatian outing features Nancy, a young, honest girl who is doing her best to pass her classes in a school where the teachers will only pass you if they can get in your pants. When she is failed on her final exam, after all of her hard work and effort, she sets out for revenge on the perverted teachers by sending out fake invitations to an orgy at an abandoned building. She dons a Japanese-style schoolgirl outfit, grabs a katana and then the bloodshed begins...

REVIEW:

It's quite unfortunate that (as far as I can tell) director Sandi Mance hasn't made another film since, because Nasty Nancy really has a lot going for it.

The only negative aspect is that the lighting is really bad in most scenes. Sometimes, scenes are so darkly lit that it's really hard to see the onscreen action and there is plenty of visual noise present, as this was shot with a cheaper camera. However, these negative aspects don't hold the film back.

The acting is stupidly hammy enough to pass for your usual Troma fare, but this actually enhances the viewing experience, because this film is not to be taken seriously at all. The movie is barely feature length with a runtime of 49 minutes, but it never feels boring and really delivers the goods.

Minus some obvious and fake-looking CGI blood, the gore effects are well-executed and there is plenty of dismemberment and bloodshed on display. The special effects were done by Miroslav Lakobrija, who also did the effects for the infamous A Serbian Film, so you know you're in for something awesome.

There's also several nods to the bizarre Japanese splatter films such as Tokyo Gore Police and Machine Girl, such as Nancy's schoolgirl outfit and katana, and the occasional Manga-style speech bubbles and Japanese writing.

If you're a fan of cheesy low-budget goodness, especially with a Japanese influence, Nasty Nancy may just be what you're looking for. I'm hoping to find more films from Croatia in the future.

RELEASES:

-Nasty Nancy was independently released on DVD by Castrum Films in 2010.

     Extras:

     -Trailer

     -Film Premiere

     -Bloopers

     -Photo Gallery