Author: dlepikcom

“Tape” (*1/2 out of four) was an impenetrable melodrama about an aspiring actress (Isabella Fuhrman) in NYC who crosses path with a series of freaks and weirdos and discovers the dark and seedy underbelly of this business and how low she must go within her soul and motivation to make it to the other side. Based on a true story but film wallows in tedium and unpleasantness for nearly two hours and offers no new insights except that acting is a tough business. Leslie Graves’ somber score and stirring music by Michelangelo Sosnowitz are film’s few virtues. If you must watch, try to see if you can make sense of Annarosa Mudd’s bizarre character and performance.

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“Two Heads Creek” (*** out of four) was a wildly uneven but entertaining romp set in Australia in which a brother and sister (Jordan Waller and Kathryn Wilder) venture to the outback to find the birthplace of their mother but find that the gentle and friendly veneer of the townsfolk hides something much darker and horrific in that many of them are cannibals who like to grind up and eat tourists! Certainly not for all tastes (and certainly inspired by the early works of Peter Jackson especially “Bad Taste”) but has enough screwball laughs and tongue-in-cheek goriness to keep you watching humorously. Waller also wrote the at the times very funny script.

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“The Dinner Party” (*1/2 out of four) was a bloody mess about a wealthy but deeply eccentric surgeon (Bill Sage) who invites a struggling playwright (Mike Mayhall) and his wife (Allie Hart) to their home for dinner with a promise to bankroll his latest play but have deeper/darker intentions and they soon struggle to psychologically and physically survive. Writer-director Miles Doleac has some flashes of style and macabre wit but it’s gory and mean enough to give anyone indigestion. Hardly a “party” worth attending, especially at nearly two hours.

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“Legacy” (*1/2 out of four) was a boring action thriller which unfortunately won’t leave much legacy of its own about a father and son (Louis Mandylor and Rentonx Pexa) on a hunting trip in the wilderness who suddenly find out they themselves are being hunted by unknown assailants and a mysterious stranger (Luke Goss) shows up to expose the ugly truth about their hunters and try to turn the tables on them. Fizzled attempt to re-tell “The Most Dangerous Game” is bizarrely low on action or intrigue and ends up firing blanks. Action fans would best hunt for “Surviving The Game” instead for a better version of the same story.

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“Variant” (** out of four) was a muddled thriller about a struggling female artist (Ashlynne Yennie) who meets a mysterious stranger (Dino Antoniou) and becomes entangled in his various twisted attempts to “relive the perfect moment in life” and her perception of reality becomes inside-out. Interesting storyline is awkwardly done as film fails to build or sustain any story tension or intrigue. Perhaps this may have worked better as a short story or on the stage.

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“The Deeper You Dig” (** out of four) was an overly cerebral horror thriller about a roadside accident and how its tragic aftermath affects a mother (Toby Poser), her daughter (Zelda Adams), and a stranger (John Adams) and blurs the line for all of them between the living and the dead and sanity and unsanity. Undeniably creepy at times and augmented by John Adams’ deranged music score and solid performances but film eventually wears you out with its unpleasantness and macabre touches. Both Adams and Poser co-directed and obviously watched Sam Raimi’s “Evil Dead” series and “The Shining” a few times before.

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“Hammer” (**1/2 out of four) was an earnest but limited melodrama about a father (Will Patton) who finds himself in the midst of a personal crisis when he finds his estranged son (Mark O’Brien) running from a botched drug deal and has to decide whether to help him and repair their relationship or to leave him to the wolves and to dying. Neither as powerful nor as compelling as it could have been, as story never shifts into high gear, but still holds you in its firm grip thanks to solid performances and writer/director Christian Sparkes’ involving storytelling. Similar story told with more grit and fire in 1986’s “At Close Range.”

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“Outback” (**1/2 out of four) was a mildly tense melodrama about a young couple (Brendan Donoghue and Lauren Lofberg) who go for a vacation in the outbacks of Australia but find themselves stranded in the middle of the desert with no water and no food and no escape and have to preserve themselves (and their sanity) to stay alive. Sturdy movie in the vein of “127 Hours” and “Castaway” holds you in its grip without ever being riveting or fully engrossing. By the end, though, film does connect with you enough on a tragic level to make it worth seeing.

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“Becky” (** out of four) was an over-the-top horror melodrama about a meek teenager (Lulu Wilson) whose weekend vacation with her father (Joel McHale) turns ugly when a group of convicts (Kevin James, Robert Maillet, and others) descend on their home and she escapes into the woods and has to psychologically and physically turn the tables on them to stay alive. James is actually pretty good as the head villain but that’s about all there is here for subtlety or originality. Film gets gorier, weirder, and more pretentious as it goes along but if you’ve ever wanted to see someone’s face ripped apart by a boat or bike motor, this is the movie for you.

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