Sins of the Dragon Review

Usually I get swamped with short horror films, gore-fests and Troma wannabe’s (don’t get me wrong, these are good things and I love stuff like that). Then out of nowhere, I received something a little different: A martial arts film that wasn’t a Godfrey Ho cut and paste movie or a Bruce-sploitation flick. So I got curious and checked out the trailer for a little short indy flick called Sins of the Dragon and let me tell you something… I was not expecting to see the awesomeness that I saw. (Editor’s note: I’m totally surprised to see that awesomeness is a word. That squiggly red line didn’t appear under it when I typed it)

Sins of the Dragon isn’t your straight forward martial arts flick. It’s also a fantasy film, so it doesn’t take place at any specific time in history or in the future. Hell, maybe not even this world. But where and when never come into question. Right from the get-go, they explain what you need to know: There are four separate territories and each is ruled by a dragon. Well, the dragon is actually a martial arts master that possesses superhuman abilities. So what do you think if, for example, someone decides they are going to kill the other dragons and gain their powers? They would rule the world, duh!

And it just so happens that someone is doing exactly that. He goes by the name Caligo and wears like this half Jason mask on the bottom half of his face. This is where the movie opens up at actually. We see Caligo fighting Master Sozen, who looks kinda like Raiden from Mortal Kombat (well, actually he is wearing the same hat, but to be honest, I forgot what those were called, so I knew you would be able to follow along if I made that reference). Caligo informs the Master Sozen, and the audience, that he has already killed two of the dragons and is about to make it three.

Once they’re done fighting, we’re introduced to the stories core characters, Cunri and Kaia. Cunri is broody, avoiding any conversation about his past and why he is on his journey, but his faithful friend Kaia follows along regardless, just for fun of the adventure. Along this adventure, they encounter countless ninjas, a gang of thieves and the two open up to one another. Cunri does finally open up to Kaia, since she is always asking him about his nightmares. Sins of the Dragon does actually build up their characters and makes sympathetic. Cunri lives with an almost uncontrollable rage, due to his village being slaughtered by Caligo during his quest to kill the other dragons. Thus, it orphaned Cunri, but as fate would have it, he is trained by Master Shaw and met Kaia. See, not all bad, right? Lose your family, gain awesome martial arts skills. Even Steven?

All of this boils down to the final showdown between Cunri and Caligo, after he and Kaia are attacked and exhausted by a group of ninjas. Cunri must use all of his skill to defeat the now almost invincible Caligo. But what of Kaia? What about her fate? Everything rests on this battle!

You’ve probably been seeing the phrase ‘martial arts’ a bit in this review and you must be wondering, “Is there actually any martial arts and is it any good?” To answer it simply: Yes. Oh lord, yes. Sins of the Dragon has more impressive fight choreography than any other big budget movie in the past few years. It’s actually very impressive.

The plot itself is also quite impressive. The characters have an anime vibe to them; Cunri being the brooding protagonist with his smart-arse she-sidekick as they encounter a group of buffoonish thieves; one who is the ‘brain’, one who gets lost in his own metaphors and the third is the silent type all on a quest to stop an evil villain. Sins of the Dragon definitely sets up a fantasy world and invites you in without overwhelming you with complicated mythos or an overabundance of unnecessary back story. It also has its share of special effects that are pretty decent considering the budget and type of film it is, but it’s not what it’s about and you won’t be paying any attention to it once they start roundhouse kicking everyone. It’s an easy film to sit down, watch and enjoy some major butt kicking!

Running in at just under half an hour, everything is well developed and fleshed out, you’ll feel like you watched an episode of some new anime and you want to see what happens next to these characters and you want to see where they go. In a short amount of time, you do feel attached to these characters and at times, you’ll wish there was a more fortunate path for them.

Sins of the Dragon shouldn’t be missed, whether you are looking for a martial arts film or something with some fantasy, it shows how far you can go with a little imagination. Now, run away to Platypus Underground’s website to watch it… before Caligo destroys you!

Blackbags Review

When I decided I would take over full responsibilities for reviewing screeners, apparently I had no idea what I was getting myself in to. I thought I could sit here comfortably as the movies either came to mailbox or my links would be sent to my email and I would watch whatever creation young filmmakers were trying to bring to life.

This is where Blackbags comes in. I hadn’t heard about it before, which is fine. A lot of good stuff is usually below our radars. But this… this is something else altogether. It’s a short film, running just under the twenty minute mark and that’s where my first personal issue with the film is: I’m not sure if I would call it a film, really. Blackbags gives you that impression you’re watching something your friends shot and cut together in one night while they were drunk and they thought it would be funny.

Before we go any further into detail, does Blackbags have any substance? Well, kinda. It does have a plot. The story centers on the cleverly named Ski Mask Guy, who literally grunts every word of dialogue while gritting his teeth (I have to admit, this is pretty hilarious). This is about how high the comedy gets. Speaking of getting high, his chronic smoking chronie, Meathead, who speaks like he has a distortion box over his voice, is bringing down all kinds of heat on them. You see, he can’t control himself, whether it’s drug abuse or killing hookers. And the hookers in this movie (there are only two, so don’t worry about losing track) are played by the same actress. So maybe it’s the hooker’s twin? Couldn’t they have at least changed her hair style? I don’t know and consistency doesn’t really matter here.

But that’s not all. The cops in this town, or at least just one who is dressed like a kid who is dressing up in his dad’s suit and fedora playing detective, are breathing down Ski Mask Guy’s neck to get a fix and if he don’t he gonna end up in the clink, see? Is that how the kid’s say it? Anyway, this is all getting out of hand apparently, so Ski Mask Guy thinks of a plan to fix it all that is so crazy that it just might work…

I could go ahead and spoil it for you, but I won’t. I’m trying to be a better person and not do that. Now is it the most original and thought out plan? No. Does it work? Yes, actually it does. For this run time, the film tells a story and wraps it up. But by now, I know what’s on your mind: There must be more to it than that in twenty minutes. Nope. At least not from a story telling point of view and I know this is where you might be thinking I’m being over critical and you would be right. It’s just an independent short film with little to no budget. Alright then, let’s talk about the technical aspects. Right from the start, you’ll notice something very distracting and ugly about Blackbags. A grainy, pixilated filter runs over the entire course of the film. That’s right, it looks like you’re watching early 90’s security footage or playing a Sega CD game on a small black and white TV. It can be distracting and turn you off from the movie. But this isn’t the only visual distraction. During the film’s more intense moments, it begins to do this throbbing effect, similar to a heartbeat and quickly zooming in and out of the scene, only it’s done digitally and not optically, so it can become a bit distracting. Although, this technique happens during heightened or stressful situations, so it does add to the effect.

But maybe that’s where the charm is in this film. I know it sounded like I was beating this film down and I was being harsh, but it’s a different kind of breed then what we’ve been conditioned to view as to what is a ‘film’. Sure, this wasn’t in 1080p, wasn’t running 24fps and more than likely wasn’t shot on a DSLR or an entry level professional camcorder. But this is the sort of film where you can recognize the heart behind it. It’s a group of friends with a desire to make something with a basic idea, regardless of technical limitations and sometimes that’s all it takes. Now Blackbags isn’t for everyone and some may find the video and audio off-putting, but behind it is actually a hilarious get-together of friends.

Blackbags is getting some hype, so you can check out some info and the trailer here on their official Facebook page.

Freeze! Get down the The Lost Highway to read this review along with others!

Check Out Sins of the Dragon Trailer

Ever since I told Steve Jencks at The Lost Highway that I would take all screener viewing responsibilities, I had no idea how many I would receive! So far, it’s been a fun and interesting experience to say the least, but today I received an email from director Joey Corpora of Platypus Underground about their upcoming ninja/fantasy movie, Sins of the Dragon! The fighting in this looks pretty sharp and promises to have some gore alongside a really cool story, so I thought I would share the trailer with you all. Check it out and be sure to give them a like and a follow on ol’ Facebook and Twitter.

You can also check out their site, featuring all of their productions at Platypus Underground.

Donate to Plan 9 From Outer Space Cartoon

Plan 9 From Outer Space is legendary for its cheap props and special effects from film maker Ed Wood. Heck, you can even find some hilarious commentary for it courtesy of Rifftrax. I believe there is also a remake (unreleased at this moment) featuring Cinemassacre’s Angry Video Game Nerd himself, James Rolfe. It’s arguably one of the worst films of all time, but it’s so charismatic and memorable, made from a man who just loved to make films. Today I received an official press release from Nicholas Triarchos of Bad Aftertaste Animation about a cartoon based off the cult classic film.

PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE CARTOON REMAKE

Bad Aftertaste Animation needs your Angora!

NICOSIA, Cyprus – May 6th, 2013

Greetings, earthlings. You better turn on your dictorobitaries for the following
announcement.

Bad Aftertaste Animation would love to affect you in the future with this future event:
a cartoon remake of Plan 9 From Outer Space, featuring a complete new sound track -
voices, music and, as a change, acting! – and animated goodness, from special effects to
Vampira’s wooden movements. Yes, ‘ooh!’ I hear you say awestruck.

However, world domination cannot happen without your help funding this project,
since our electrode guns aren’t working, and dropping them on the ground doesn’t help. We
have started an IndieGoGo campaign trying to collect the necessary material for our attack on
mankind.

You can head over to http://igg.me/at/plan9/x/3152901 for our crowd-funding
campaign, or you can help spread the word. Either way, you’d be helping getting this saucer
where it came from: from up there!

About Bad Aftertaste Animation

Bad Aftertaste Animation was founded in 2012 by Nicholas Triarchos, a short-film &
TV director, writer & sound artist from Cyprus, whose work has been featured in the 2012
film Sinister by Scott Derrickson.

Bad Aftertaste Animation aims to produce dark comedy animated features & shorts to
further the boundaries of independent animation.

If you can, throw them a couple bucks. It’s cool ideas like this that need to happen.

Dust Up Review

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Here’s a movie that went completely under my radar, until I spotted the incredibly attention grabbing DVD cover: A babe with a gun, an Indian with a bow and an eye patched wearing man armed with a power drill while driving a 3-wheeler, all synced with an old west vibe. Now if that doesn’t say action/oddball neo-western, I don’t know what does.

I’m not sure how to go about telling you about Dust Up without making it sound like its overly ambitious or making it sound like it will give you an anxiety attack. Dust Up offers something for everyone: At its core, it’s a story about a man’s redemption with a Spaghetti Western tone, fitted with wide shots and close ups of character’s faces and the strumming of a guitar and rapid beating on a drum for the soundtrack to round off the tone. Then the movie shifts into high gear at parts, offering Sam Raimi style titled camera zooms on characters tweaking out, painted in bright green, pink or blue lighting like Giallo film, tuned to fast paced electronic music , like that of KMFDM. But don’t forget the dark or subtle humor littered throughout the film. You’ll be laughing at something and then question if you should be (but trust me, you should). Oh and we can’t forget the blood, murder, cannibalism and mayhem! Plenty of that for you gore hounds.

Right from the stylish opening credits (reminding me of Go With the Flow video by Queens of the Stone Age), you know you’re in for a ride. Shortly after that we are introduced to our one eyed main character, Jack, who is waking up from a reoccurring, vivid nightmare of a horrible past event that he relives every night from his Marine days and because of it, has secluded himself in the desert. Trying to live a peaceful, non violent life along with his hipster-Native American friend Moe (complete with headband, beaded chest piece and tube socks), they provide a great deal of the movie’s humor, especially Moe.

Jack earns a living by being the desert’s handyman (that’s a lot of ground to cover when you think about it) and is summoned to the job when a young, newly mother named Ella has some issues with her plumbing… ahem (okay, bad pun, but seriously, mud sprays from her faucets). I should mention that Ella is played by Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Amber Benson, still looking cute as ever. Now we shift those gears again and get our glimpse into the psychotic, drug riddled world of Dust Up. Here, we meet Buzz. Resident bar owner, drug dealer, doper and shell shocked bi-sexual (and these are his better personalities). Buzz gets a call from the Sherriff demanding the money he is owed, to which Buzz decides it’s time to collect the money owed to him by meth addict Herman. Herman is assisted out of the bar by the well named Mr. Lizard, who just loves to squeeze balls… (let it come to you) and left to hitchhike. Did I mention Herman is also Ella’s husband? Well, he is and now you know how all these characters are connected! On his way back from Ella’s, Jack spots the recently kicked out the bar Herman hitchhiking.

Seems Herman is in a tight spot for money, so after offering Jack a ‘Handy J’ (hey, Jack isn’t the only ‘handy’ man in the desert!) in exchange for cash he kicks him out of the truck, but is later called back to Ella’s after a butt dial of what sounds like an argument. Being the self appointed hero, Jack springs into action and heads on over and learns of Herman’s dilemma and offers to loan him some of the cash (after all, that would be a lot of ‘Handy J’s’).

This is when things start to go south for all of the colorful characters. Jack and Herman head off to pay Buzz some of the money, along with Moe who is infiltrating Buzz’s bar incognito (you know, because he’ll blend right in…), but wouldn’t you know it? Everything goes sour and the boys end up blowing up Buzz’s place! And if things couldn’t get any worse, guess what? The Sherriff arrives and demands his money! Wakka Wakka! And then, the film takes an incredibly dark turn. To put it lightly, Buzz chokes the Sherriff to death while raping him. And remember, I said “lightly.” I’m wording this as non foul as possible.

Buzz and his gang decide to head on over to Casa de Herman and take over their residence, inviting all his bar patrons and having a ‘pig’ roast (get it? Because the Sherriff is a cop… pigs… ok), lacing the Sherriff’s cooked body with drugs, encouraging everyone to partake in cannibalism. Well, there is one way to do it: Appeal to a junkie’s needs. After a severe beating, Jack and Moe escape and rescue Ella, but as for poor Herman… Well, let’s just say that a dog ate his guts. All is still not right though. Buzz still has Ella’s child and Buzz is so insane that he will continue to hunt them down forever and ever. Time to nut up, as Jack, Moe and Ella tap into their inner Chi or Native-ness or whatever, don some war paint, load up and go to war in a hilarious and gory climax!

This movie is literally a trip. It will give you the illusion that you are watching it under the influence of narcotics and if you are on narcotics, prepare yourself for a freak-out. Dust Up is one of those rare gems where as chaotic as the characters and themes can be, mix perfectly together here. At times, it’s subtle and then escalates to over the top silly and is quickly brought down by threatening violence and topped off with some good blood. The music only helps to enhance the viewing, perfectly fitting each scenario from calming to heavily frantic (although sometimes it can be too loud and cover some of the dialogue).

I can’t stress it enough: SEE THIS MOVIE. It’s got a splash of Tarantino, Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone and maybe a dash of Oliver Stone. The disc boasts a lot of cool and funny extras as well at an affordable price (I found mine at a Best Buy for $9.99). Now that’s a price you can afford and won’t have to give any Handy J’s.

Howdy partner! Mosey on over to The Lost Highway to read the review and others!

Vlog: 04/28/13 Lords of Salem

Rob Zombie finally comes out with another original film, but was it worth the wait?

Lost Highway Podcast: Evil Dead

Join the Lost Highway mutant gang (Goon,Barry Goodall, The Doktor, and Tiger Sixon) and our guest reviewer Sarah Erwin as they discuss the 1981 horror classic Evil Dead.

http://www.the-losthighway.com/2013/04/09/lost-highway-podcast-004-evil-dead-1981/

Vlog: 04/04/13 Evil Dead

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The day has finally arrived. Is the remake of Evil Dead groovy? (CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Goon Reviews: Nightmare City

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After a long break, the Goon is back and views the Umberto Lenzi directed mutant zombie movie, Nightmare City! Will the nightmare be a reality? Hint: Yes.

Unboxing Tomb Raider

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I finally managed to pick up the new Tomb Raider Collector’s Edition. But what treasures await us inside? Unbox with me to find out!