Catcall 2 (2019)

Catcall 2 (2019) - Canada

Directed by: Patrick Fortin

ABOUT THE FILM:

(Special thanks to Patrick Fortin for providing me with a screener for review!)

Catcall 2 is the latest film from Quebec-based filmmaker Patrick Fortin, wherein a pair of women continue an onslaught of hyper-violence against the pigs daring enough to taunt, harass and follow them, topped with a noisy soundtrack by Smegma Pile and Kids Kill Kids.

REVIEW:

Similar to the first Catcall, this sequel dishes out over-the-top gore and guts without skipping a beat. Heads are smashed and bashed into smithereens, men are shot until they are nothing but unrecognizable matter, and greasy, bloody stains coat the walls and the streets.

Sounds like a great time, right? It definitely is, but there are a few small complaints I have. For such a short film, there is very little story to take in and some of the scene transitions feel confusing, such as a dance/party sequence following a hyper-gory killing spree near the end. One other issue is the inconsistency in the special effects. The special effects were executed courtesy of Camille Monette and Gore Gore Dave, with additional props provided by filmmaker/effects artist James Bell. The props vary in quality, with some looking great and some looking noticeably fake and cheesy, such as a prop head that has its eyes gouged near the start of the film. There are also several shots where blood tubes are visible without having to look for them, which can be distracting.

With those gripes aside, this is still a really fun short that I can recommend.

RELEASES:

Catcall 2 was released on DVD by Goriest Production et Macabre Édition on a 

limited run of only 30 copies, along with a few bonus short films:

Fucker Apocalypse (great title!)

Young Blood

Fisheye

Sequelle

Extremism Breaks My Balls (2000)

Extremism Breaks My Balls (2000) - Sweden
Directed by: Nicholas Debot

ABOUT THE FILM:
A 5-minute short film about a young couple who are making love, when suddenly, a pair of thugs burst into their bedroom and castrate the young man with a meat cleaver for committing adultery and for voting for an extremist right-wing party.

REVIEW:
Without attempting to bring any personal biases or political views into this review, Extremism Breaks My Balls certainly gets its point across in its short runtime. There are some people who feel a little too strongly about politics, to the point where they will commit acts of violence against others. Sometimes, these extremists are allowed to work in the government, and will go out of their ways to force their views onto others, even if it means invading their privacy. I personally think that the castration sequence is symbolic of such a concept, and the way it is presented is not only graphic, but very effective in driving the message.

RELEASES:
-Extremism Breaks My Balls was included as an extra on a double-bill DVD of Pearls Before Swine and Bloodlust, released in Sweden by Njutafilms.

Nocta (2019)

Nocta (2019) - Germany

Directed by: Master W and Crippler Criss

ABOUT THE FILM:

Nocta follows 40-year old Ernst, a sheltered, devout Catholic man who 

goes above and beyond effort to live a life free of sin. Come his 40th birthday, his pal 

Till decides to throw him a birthday party and help him make new friends, including hooking him up with a woman. Till invites his Afro-German friend Shabbi, who is a believer in the Islamic faith. Although dubious at first, what with their religious differences, Ernst tries to learn to overcome these differences and find trust in Shabbi and his new friends.

As the party starts, Ernst quickly grows skeptical of his surroundings. There's alcohol, marijuana, obnoxious music, strobe lights, dancing and sex. However, Ernst is distracted as he's introduced to Nocta, a beautiful young woman who he believes to be more than human; an angel, if you will.

Nocta is quite the contrary, as she smokes marijuana and talks extensively (and rather graphically) of how alcohol triggers her menstrual cycle in the worst possible way.

Till ends up making Ernst and Nocta unknowingly consume alcoholic drinks, in

the hopes that the two will be driven to have sex. Shabbi and Nocta then tempt Ernst to smoke marijuana, stating that the oils were once used by Jesus. Ernst is blinded by love and wants nothing more than to express his love toward Nocta. Unfortunately, she becomes sick in the process, as she doesn't believe in love, coupled with unknowingly drinking alcohol. She finds herself vomiting and bleeding simultaneously, and everything escalates as startling revelations are made...

REVIEW:

Nocta is the latest film from P.S.Y.C.H.O. Productions. They are an independent

film-crew based out of Silschede that consistently pump out ridiculous and over-the-top, 

yet immensely entertaining splatterfests, of which Nocta is no exception. 

In fact, Nocta is so over-the-top and extreme that it transcends being a splatter film.

Rarely do films that are this gory attempt to challenge the viewer with a story. Often times,

they are made simply to showcase special effects. Sometimes whatever plot given is only there to build up around the gore scenes. However, Nocta slowly takes its time to build up to

the intense gore scenes, perfectly balances humor with gore and terror, and carefully fleshes out its characters. Ernst, portrayed by the talented Jim Aal, is a Catholic man struggling to find friends and love, who tries to live up to his racist father's expectations after the death of his mother. Shabbi, portrayed by Raping Ras, is a man who is faced with violent oppression because of his race and his religion, but he protests with peace and with reasoning. When the two work together, they work together well, differences aside.

As the story finally builds up to our gore, we are given gore in spades. Throats are slit, limbs

are torn apart and chopped in half, vital organs and jugulars are ripped out; blood and fecal matter

flies all over the place; there is so much blood that a dam should be built.

In addition to the blood spraying like a firehose, the effects, crafted by gore-wizard Sebastian Zeglarski, glisten with red beauty and will more than satiate the average gorehound's appetite.

Speaking of glistening, for such a low-budget production, Nocta is a very polished-looking film! Shot in HD, every gruesome detail pops out like an eyeball, and the lighting is goregeous in most spots!

There are few cons I can personally find with this film. The few that I have are a 

few minor technical errors, what with occasional visible equipment and wonky sound in some areas. But of course, these fleeting negatives are demolished by all the positives. The entire cast hams up their performances, but that only makes them even more entertaining and memorable.

I've been psyched for Nocta ever since it was first announced, and it exceeded my expectations. Nocta is one of my favorite German splatter films I've seen in a while.

I highly recommend Nocta to fellow gorehounds.

RELEASES:

-Nocta was released on DVD and Blu-Ray by P.S.Y.C.H.O. Productions in 2019.

-Extras:

Audio Commentary

The Making Of Nocta

Interviews

Bloopers

Jim-Aal Special

Music Videos

Trailer

-The film was also released on Blu-Ray in Japan!

Please consider supporting independent horror cinema and purchasing a copy of Nocta! You can buy it from the filmmakers here:

https://www.facebook.com/PsychoProductionsNRW/

The Man Who Lived Under the Porch (2019)

The Man Who Lived Under the Porch (2019) - United States

Directed by: Travis Vulture

ABOUT THE FILM:

The Man Who Lived Under the Porch is a brand new short film from haunted house scare actor Travis Vulture.

This experimental short plays out as a first-hand experience of a woman who has been captured and held captive by a demented man who lives under her porch. The man is filthy, donning tattered and torn, blood (and feces?)-stained clothing, and sports very greasy and nappy hair. He introduces himself to the woman as a self-proclaimed "encyclopedia salesman", and berates her for not purchasing one of his books. In a fit of rage, he destroys one of his books. As the short progresses, we bear witness as the man seems to switch personas, from a salesman, to a dancer, to a culinary artist.

The man becomes increasingly more hostile and violent towards his victim. He proceeds to cut out portions of his own hair and eat it on a sandwich, threatening to make his victim into a sandwich as well.

REVIEW:

This short film, while not necessarily scary or gory, is definitely intense and there are a lot of small details to digest.

Travis Vulture is a very convincing scare actor who truly proves to be intimidating in this lo-fi video romp. Travis successfully showcases his range as an actor through his character, as his character's change in persona is shown through his behavior. One minute he's screaming expletives at the victim, played by Emma Lenar, and tearing things apart, and the next he's eating a hair-sandwich and imploring the victim to have a bite. What I find interesting about this concept is that it takes a profession such as an encyclopedia salesman, which isn't usually considered scary, and actually makes it disturbing.

The man's state of mental decay is further emphasized not only by his own body language, but through effects and filters as well. I should mention that the short was shot using a Panasonic VHS camera, and was filmed in one take with no edits, barring a few in-camera effects that were used during filming. The home-video quality image only makes the given scenario feel more visceral and dirty. It feels as if I'm truly watching through the eyes of a victim who wants nothing more than to retreat back to their brighter life, when instead she is roped into the midst of this twisted man's world. Occasionally the image will invert, mirror or turn pixelated which further brings the madness to life, during which point the man is having a breakdown or transitioning into a different state of mind, thus successfully capturing his mental instability.

Lastly, underneath all of the madness we're treated to a couple of great brutal death metal tracks, courtesy of Wisconsin-based one-man-band Putrid Pile. The music fits perfectly when matched with a mentally unstable individual.

At first glance, the average viewer could brush off The Man as just another cheap YouTube horror short. But if one pays attention and examines the behaviors portrayed, it becomes evident how well-thought out such a piece is. This little piece of experimental performance art is absolutely worth checking out, and I'm looking forward to seeing more work from these filmmakers in the future.

RELEASES:

The Man Who Lived Under the Porch is currently available to watch on YouTube.

It can be viewed here.