Slice (2018)

November 27, 2018

Directed by: Austin Vesely

Written by: Austin Vesely

Starring: Zazie Beetz, Chance the Rapper, Rae Gray

Quote: "So you're telling me, that my pizza place is built on a gateway to hell?"

Trivia: The opening credits have a strong resemblance to the opening credits of "night of the demons" (1988).


I really liked this movie! Somehow the movie came out this year without me hearing a thing about it. It wasn't until I was flipping through Amazon Prime Video that I came across the movie and recognized Chance the Rapper's face on the cover. Chance is surprisingly a really good actor and brings a lot to the film. The film also boasts a handful of other likable actors: Zazie Beetz (Atlanta), Paul Scheer (The League), Chris Parnell (SNL), and Hannibal Burress (The Eric Andre Show), among others. The world that writer/director Austin Vesely creates in the town of Kingfisher is also really fun and seems inspired by the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is a world where humans, ghosts, werewolves, and witches all interact. The movie has been criticized for being schlocky and a stupid B-movie, which it surely is. But what's wrong with that? Beyond the campiness, the movie also offers some insightful social commentary on American society at large. A bit disjointed, the movie is nonetheless a fun ride that I recommend.

The Lift (1983)

November 26, 2018

Directed by: Dick Maas

Written by: Dick Maas

Starring: Huub Stapel, Willeke van Ammelrooy, Josine van Dalsum

Budget: €350,000

Quote: "These damn machines will be the death of us all some day!"

Trivia: Dick Maas was fired halfway of the production because of continuing arguments with producer Matthijs van Heijningen about casting. However, he kept on working during that day and was rehired the day after, because Van Heijningen couldn't do it without him.


Shudder recently put up two of Dutch director/writer Dick Maas' horror movies, Amsterdamned and The Lift. I chose The Lift. I chose wrong. About 170 movies in and this was one of the worst movies I have watched yet (Demented Death Farm Massacre was by far the worst). The movie's description reminded me of Death Bed: The Bed That Eats, a movie that I watched on a goof that ended up being a interesting and fun movie. However, this movie lacked the inventiveness and humor that that movie had. I'm really behind on writing about the movies I have been watching so I'm going to make this one short.

New Year's Evil (1980)

November 24, 2018

Directed by: Emmett Alston

Written by: Leonard Neubauer

Starring: Roz Kelly, Kip Niven, Chris Wallace

Quote: "I'm going to commit murder at midnight. I'm going to kill someone you know. Someone close to you."

Trivia: During the first call made by the killer it is mentioned that the voice modulation makes him sound like 'the phantom' this is a reference to the titular character from 'Phantom of the Paradise' (1974)


New Year's Evil is another of the dozens of slasher movies released in 1980 that was trying to capitalize on the success of Halloween. Of the movies made that year, it is neither great nor terrible. If you're an old punker like me then you'll like that the movie's setting is more-or-less a punk rock show (although it appears the filmmakers only had a cursory understanding of punk rock). There are a few great songs, but "Dumb Blondes" played live by Made in Japan is by far the best one. While the plot is a bit rambling and the big reveal a let down, the killings are consistent, keeping my attention and making it an overall fun film to watch.

The Hills Have Eyes (1977)

November 22, 2018

Directed by: Wes Craven

Written by: Wes Craven

Starring: Michael Berryman, Dee Wallace, Suze Lanier-Bramlett

Budget: $350,000 - $700,000

Quote: "Baby's fat. You fat... fat and juicy."

Trivia: The movie is based on the legend of Sawney Beane and his family, a feral clan who inhabited and roamed the highlands of Scotland, in the early 1400s. They captured, tormented and ate several transients. They were eventually captured and the executions of the Beane clan all allegedly involved grotesque tortures, inspiring the aspect of the film that the Carter family become as brutal as their attackers when they seek revenge.

Wes Craven had made a name for himself within the exploitation genre with his 1972 film, The Last House on the Left, a brutal rape-revenge movie that did surprisingly well at the box office despite its extreme content (it made $3 million over its $87,000 budget). Despite the film's success, Craven found it difficult to make a second movie as producers and distributors were nervous about working with "the rape" movie guy. However, five years later, in 1977, Craven was finally able to make what is in my humble opinion, his best movie, The Hills Have Eyes. I was stoked to discover that this movie was the second film in Joe Bob Briggs' Dinners of Death Thanksgiving horror marathon on Shudder (the first was The Texas Chainsaw Massacre).