Rachel: So how did you get involved with Terror Overload?

Joe: I met Jason from NFTS a few years ago at the premiere of their first film Off The Beaten Path.

Rachel: I haven’t seen that film. I just remember that Jason said he used the same location that we had for “Mongo Chupa” in Terror Overload. What can you tell us about Off The Beaten Path?

Joe: It was a fun film. Very low budget. Evil Dead meets The Blair Witch Project would be the best description. They seemed like cool guys and were definately huge horror fans that were very passionate about the genre. They asked me to play a cameo in their next film, Doomed to Consume and I had a blast doing it.

Rachel: I was in that, too. I was a zombie! That was so awesome!

Joe: That’s right. I forgot about that. I guess we’ve been in a couple of films together…although we
weren’t on set the same day for Doomed. How did the make up process go for you?

Rachel: I really enjoyed it. I was only there for 2 days, but Jon and Jason were so appreciative of me coming in to do it. Mary Karcz, the stunt coordinator, had to stand in for me on a third day, because the shoot came up at the last minute, and I was busy. If you watch the movie, you can tell when it’s her, because I have a big, colorful Gatchaman tattoo on my lower back, and she doesn’t. I loved my makeup. I thought the zombie face that Mike Etoll did for me was a lot of fun. He put the red maple syrup on my hair really early on, because he knew it would look better of it sort of congealed and crusted over. It did look good, but by the time Jason was ready for me, the smell was getting to me, and so were the bugs. That maple syrup was something else! Mary was saying that she had gone out for breakfast with a friend, and the friend had ordered pancakes. She said the maple syrup smell made her sick! It just wasn’t appetizing anymore! I used to love pancakes and hot maple syrup, but it just hasn’t been the same since Doomed.

Joe: Yeah. I had a similar experience. We shot on a sunday at a gas station that was closed for the day. The effects by Mike Etoll were pretty kick ass. They split my head open really well. I was covered in blood…again..the maple syrup based shit..which sucks. It stinks, it’s sticky. Plus it was the middle of summer, in Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes and 999 billion mosquitos so the bugs were nasty as fuck. Since it was being shot in public we had quite a few people watching. I even went and stood by the road for awhile waving at people. I guess I should be happy I didn’t cause an accident. It was a fun experience though.

Rachel: So you had a bigger part in Jon and Jason’s next movie. Tell us about that.

Joe: When it came time for their next film, Pajama Party Massacre they asked me to play the killer, which of course I couldn’t turn down. When it came time for them to shoot Terror Overload this past summer Jason asked if I’d play the truck driver in the wrap around segment and also if I’d be willing to write any of the shorts. At the time I was pretty busy with some other projects so I told him I could write one of them. I chose to write “Mongo Chupa” since it was the most bizarre and fucked up story of the bunch.

Rachel: Yeah, it was. My dialog was some of the craziest shit I ever had to say. It was hilarious, though.

Joe: Thank you. I went really crazy and weird with it. The group of actors we had for it were all very talented and funny so I really wanted to give them some crazy shit to say and react to. You’re a seasoned pro along with Ari (Lehman, who played Jason in the original Friday the 13th) so I knew you’d nail it, it was especially fun to see Leah, Bud and Mike jump in head first for their screen debut and do a kick ass job as well. It was a very fun shoot and I appreciate you coming in last minute to play the role of Bobbi along with the…ahem…other role in “Mongo”

In the end I also wrote the “Lot Lizard” segment, which you again played a major role in, the opening of the film and did a rewrite of the “Devil Driver” wrap around story.

Rachel: Since you did a lot of the writing, can you explain about the 4 short stories in Terror Overload, and how they are interrelated?

Joe: “Devil Driver” is the wrap around story. An attractive female played by Scarlet Salem, whom I worked with on Pajama Party Massacre, is broke down on the side of the road. I, playing the Truck Driver, pull over and give her a lift. During the drive I share with her 3 stories: “Dinner Date,” “Lot Lizard” and “Mongo Chupa.” I can’t really go into much detail as to what each one is about because I don’t want to give anything away. Let me just say they are bloody, crazy and fucked up. Initially the 4 stories weren’t inter-connected at all. As I did the rewrite on the wrap around story, I struggle with how you could be in all the shorts and have it still make sense. I think I came up with a pretty cool way forthem all to connect, which obviously you have a hand in since you are in all 4 segments. I think we’ve done a pretty decent job of taking four unrelated shorts and weaving them together in a way that makes sense.

Rachel: It was crazy how I ended up in all the segments. Jason had originally asked me to be in the “Lot Lizard” segment, but when I read the descriptions, I was more interested in the “Dinner Date” story. That was great, because I got to work with Landyn Banx. He and I have been in quite a few things together, but this time I got a chance to hang with him, and he’s really cool, as well as a talented actor. Then, I spoke to Nikki Kruex, and she told me that she was doing the “Lot Lizard” segment, which made me much more interested. It’s a lot easier to do something like that when it’s with someone you already know, and you’re comfortable with. So Jason got me a cool wig, and I ended up acting in the second one. He said he liked the idea of having me in more than one. He said it kind of reminded him of Rose McGowan in Grindhouse She plays two characters in two different stories, but has a different hairstyle.

While we were shooting “Lot Lizard,” Marv Blauvent suggested writing me into “Mongo Chupa,” since I was already in the other two. That’s when you came up with the idea of the clown cameo.

Joe: (Laughs)…yeah the clown stuff. I wish we could have done more but it kind of got rushed.

Rachel: I thought it went well, though. Another actress was unable to make it, so I stepped in to play both roles. Brant Johnson told me that he and Jason had discussed the possibility of having one girl in all the stories, and she would be like Karen Black in The Trilogy Of Terror. So it was kind of funny that this was what the ended up with, but almost by accident.

So what are some of your favorite movies?

Joe: Oh shit. There are so many. I love Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. The original film is probably the best horror film of all time. It’s just perfect in so many ways..however the sequel has a special place in my heart. I love Peter Jackson’s Brain Dead (dead-alive), Friday the 13th 3 and 4 (I dig the whole series but these 2 are my faves), Mother’s Day, Dawn of the Dead, Jaws, The Devil’s Rejects, Halloween 2, Nightmare on Elm Street 1-3…shit I could go on and on.

Rachel: That’s interesting that you like sequels! Do you think we could ever make a Terror Overload 2?

Joe: I think we could. There are definately ways for it to continue. That might be a way for Jason to continue to branch out with new filmmakers since that was really why he did Terror Overload in the first place. I would think any talk of a sequel though would be a ways off. I’m still pulling for the Pajama Party Massacre feature Jason has been talking about. I have a solid story idea and would love to put the mask back on, pick up the bitch slicer and carve up some naked ladies…all in the sake of art of course.

Rachel: And I would love to be involved in that, of course! So what about non-horror? Do you have any favorite movies outside the horror genre?

Joe: I love comedies. Clerks 2, Superbad, Half Baked, Dazed and Confused are some of my favs…and I will also go on record, and this will probably get me in some shit with the horror crowd, as saying Armegeddon is probably one of the greatest films of all time. There I said it. My wife still cries everytime she watches it.

Rachel: I cried when I saw that movie too…but I have to be honest, I cried because when it got to the end, all I could think was, “I can’t believe I have nothing better to do on a Saturday night than watch this movie!” That’s why it made me so sad. Ha! So tell is what your idea role would be.

Joe: To be honest, I would give my left nut, not my right since it’s my good side, for the chance to play any role, no matter how small in a Friday the 13th film. I love that series.

Rachel: What do you think about the remake? Would you be interested in playing a role in that series?

Joe: I look forward to it. I don’t hate remakes. Some are good, some are crap. I don’t think it hurts the originals at all. New takes are sometimes good. The trailer looks killer for F13th. I’ve gotten to know Derek Mears (the new Jason) and he is a very cool guy and very passionate about the series. He’s a fan and I have no doubt he’ll kick some ass in the film.

Rachel: I think there are a lot of bad remakes out there, but I agree that they don’t effect the originals at all. You can still watch the originals, if you don’t like the remakes. And I have to say, the American version of The Ring kicks ass. I love that movie!

Joe: I preferred the ring remake to the original. I think because I saw it first. That tends to be how it works. Which ever version you see first tends to be the one you like.

Rachel: Do you have any other projects coming up that you’d like to tell us about?

Joe: I have a handful out right now. Some I can talk about, some I can’t. Andrew Kasch, a friend of mine, turned one of my short stories into a short film and he really kicked ass at it. It’s called Thirsty. It’s from my book Twisted Loneliness, which features an introduction by Sid Haig. He did a great job with Thirsty. Joe Lynch, director of Wrong Turn 2 stars in it. Tiffany Shepis and Michael Bailey Smith also star. It’s a fun short and has played well at the festivals. I just did a rewrite on a script for MonsterPiece theatre called Rottentail. I’ll be playing a Killer Easter Bunny in that so that should be groovy. I’m playing Santa Claus in the film Christmas Stalking, which I also wrote. Black Friday is still being talked about and I hope that eventually gets made. It’s a killer script and has a shitload of cool people attached. Otherwise..shit…let’s see…uh…my script for THE PUZZLE, based on one of my short stories is being looked at by a few people and I expect someone to bite. It’s very different than most my other shit. I guess I should plug my book Zombie Bukkake which is finally available. It’s the book that got me on the history channel and also got me a death threat. People have been waiting 2 years for that to come out so I’m glad I can finally get it out there. Fiction writing is what I’m most known for, well that and the fact that I have my face tattooed on my ass.

Rachel: What can you tell us about your character, Craig Teller?

Paul:  Craig has a mohawk, can melt anything he touches and can fly like Superman.

Rachel: Really?  I must not have been on set the day they filmed that stuff…

Paul:  Am kidding. (Not about the mohawk.) Though Craig certainly reads comic books, which you’ll see in the movie. He’s the get-away driver for the team of art thieves that hole up in an abandoned warehouse following a heist. Craig is the outsider of the group, has very low self-esteem and wants desperately to be accepted. It’s his need for other’s approval that clouds his gut-instinct and ultimately destroys him. When I read the script, out of all the thieves, I identified most with Craig. I mean, don’t we all want to be loved?

Rachel: You’ve done quite a few horror films.  Are you a fan of the genre? 

Paul: No… Surprised? Let me clarify so readers don’t black list me. Playing Craig was a blast. I got to scream, cry, run around in an abandoned warehouse sporting a mohawk. It doesn’t get much better than that as an actor. So I do enjoy working in the genre, but I don’t always enjoy watching it. Truth is, I get queasy at the sight of other’s blood. Hard-core fans like yourself may consider me a wimp, but it’s in my genes. My dad nearly blacked out when my older brother was born, too much blood. When I rent a movie to cozy up on my couch with popcorn, I go for suspense thrillers with a psychological aspect. I like “What Lies Beneath” with Michelle Pfeiffer or director M. Night Shymalan’s “The Village.” Hitchcock’s “Psycho” & “Vertigo” are on my list of top ten faves.

Rachel: What did you think of “Tenebre”?  I remember that we got to see that one together when “13 Hours In A Warehouse” was in the Nevermore Film Festival.  Dario Argento is one of my favorite directors.

Paul: Yikes, yes. I do remember that movie. I shut my eyes a lot when all the blood happened, but I liked the plot twist at the end. Writing like that makes me happy.

Rachel:  What do you think of the film scene in Minnesota?

Paul:  It’s one of the little gems of filmmaking in the nation. It’s strong with crew & talent. Look at “13 Hours in a Warehouse.” It was shot on a shoe-string budget but looks like it cost a million more than it did to make, a big part of that is that the crew and cast were really good at what they do.

Rachel:  What was your favorite thing about making “13 Hours In A Warehouse”?

Paul: Hmmm, besides working alongside friends, my favorite thing was being paid to act. Was yours getting all that special ghoul make-up put on?

Rachel:  Well, getting it put on was actually a long and tedious process.

Paul: Oh, here you go, bring out the inner diva. How about some cheese with that whine? 

Rachel: Dude, you weren’t there!  It took three hours a day!  But as for walking around set wearing it, yeah, that was my favorite part!  Everyone on set would stare at me when I walked into the room.

Paul: You realize it’s because you looked dead, right?

Rachel:  No, it was because we looked awesome!  The ghosts got to sit in the nice, air conditioned room, so that we wouldn’t sweat our makeup off.  We had people to bring us food, and even open our sodas for us, since we had makeup on our hands.  It was great!

Paul: So you don’t always have people peeling grapes for you while you are working on a movie?

Rachel:  No, I usually just walk to the craft services table myself.  And I open my own soda cans. 

Paul:  For readers who don’t know what a craft service table is, it’s a table with a variety of snacks, drinks, breath mints and first aid. 

Rachel:  There’s a lot of waiting around on set, and you get to snack a lot while you’re waiting.

Paul: Hey, what about the rumor I heard on set, the one where you’d finish filming your ghost stuff, go home and sleep with all the make-up on, then come back to set with most of it intact?

Rachel: Haha!  Yes, it was!  Although I would wash it off my face and hands, I left the rest of it on, if I was filming the next day. As I said, it took so long to put on that it saved me time sitting in the chair.  I would get done an hour or two early.  Crist Ballas, the makeup artist, just needed to paint my face and hands and touch up the rest.  Since it was body makeup, it wasn’t the easiest stuff to take off anyway.  I left it on just to save myself the trouble of scrubbing it off with baby oil, only to get up the next day and have it airbrushed all over me again.

Paul: Yuck! And that totally shatters the diva rumor I heard about you. Hey, if you kept your pillow case we could sell it on Ebay as the Tourin Shroud of Rachel Grubb’s ghost!

Rachel:  Unfortunately I had to wash it.  It really stank!  So what was your least favorite thing about making the movie?

Paul: My dramatic final scene in which Craig ends up half-naked on a filthy bathroom floor. I had to lie there, face down, on cold concrete for 6 hours without moving while they worked to get the shot. 

Rachel:  Aw, poor Paul…

Paul: Hey, now it’s my turn to say “Dude, you weren’t there!” 

Rachel: Actually, I was…

Paul: Along with the cold hard concrete, my abdomen and lower regions were pooling fake blood, which after 6 hours- dried. Literally I was stuck to the floor. I wouldn’t push myself up, because doing so would have left portions of my skin adhered to the concrete. I don’t know that it would’ve rendered me unable to have kids in the future, but I wanted desperately to keep everything intact, so the set was cleared of all crew and only Crist was allowed to come in with hot water, towels, and a spray bottle to help get me up. What would have been a very embarrassing situation was minimized. (Though I did scream once or twice.) Ouch! Oh, I ought to mention too that during that 6 hours, you drooled all over my backside. I suppose you’ll want to be the one to explain to the readers how it happens that your character has serious salivating issues and how you conveniently happened to be standing over me when I am glued to the floor?

Rachel:  Oh, God!  My character had a wooden bit in her mouth.  Crist showed me two sizes, and I thought the bigger one looked creepier, so I chose it.  It fit comfortably in my mouth when I tried it.  But I didn’t realize until the whole piece was done and strapped onto my head that I couldn’t close my throat.  I kept drooling!  The thing is, I’m totally grossed out by drool.  Dav loved it, though.  Every time there was a closeup up of my face, he would hold the take until the drool came out.  Unfortunately, one of those times, I was standing above you while you were stuck to the floor.  

Paul: Imagine yourself lying face down beneath a flock of sea gulls, never quite knowing when the drops are going to goo down, that’s the sensation.

Rachel:  I knew it!  I knew that would be one of your least favorite things about filming.  Sorry about that, Paul.

Paul: Ahh, thanks. It does make for a good story though, and I’d do it all again. 

Rachel:  So you’ve got a role in Dav Kaufman’s next movie.  What can you tell us about it?

Paul:  It’s tentatively titled “The Psychosis of Ghosts,” but I haven’t read the script yet. Dav did tell me to learn Origami & be ready to live in the Men’s Bathroom as my on-set location again.  Aren’t you going to be in it too?

Rachel: And I’m going to be a ghost.  I think we’re both being typecast!

Paul: I do think Dav has some serious issues. We oughta find him a therapist.

Rachel: So what would be your ideal role?

Paul: I can pick one?

Rachel:  Of course!

Paul: I’d want to play Aaron Stampler in “Primal Fear.” Edward Norton did this role and he was amazing, I’d want a role like that, something to really dig one’s acting teeth into. I love characters that are misunderstood, or judged incorrectly at first by the audience, only later to find that the character isn’t what was first thought. Characters with a twist. 

Rachel: As for my ideal role (you didn’t ask me, but I’m going to tell you anyway!), in a perfect world, one in which Heath Ledger was still alive, I would like to play Harley Quinn to his Joker.  I’m a huge fan of the comic book, and he brought that character to life in a way I never thought possible.  I think I could learn a lot working with him.  So do you have any other projects you’d like to let us know about?

Paul:  I have been working on a lot of projects this year. One that I was really happy to be a part of was “Peacock” with Cillian Murphy, Susan Sarandon, & Ellen Paige. I have a tiny part (I say two lines) but it’s a great script and I can’t wait for it to hit theater’s next year. If people are interested they can always get updates on my projects at my blog: www.PaulCramActor.com/blog I enjoy comments and feedback! Thanks Rachel for the interview.

Paul Cram’s Official Website: http://www.paulcramactor.com

Paul Cram on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0186120/

13 Hours In A Warehouse Official Website: http://www.13hoursmovie.com

13 Hours In A Warehouse IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1065060/

13 Hours In A Warehouse on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/13hoursinawarehouse

The city had purchased the abandoned, decrepit, mental institution from the state of Minnesota for one dollar.  The contract stipulated that Fergus Falls had to either find a use for the building or destroy it.  So they invited Mr. Grap to visit their city and have a look at the RTC.  It’s the job of the film board to help Minnesota filmmakers find what they need to make movies.  So Chris contacted Dav to put this unique location to good use. 

Since he had already signed a multi-picture deal with “13 Hours In A Warehouse,” Dav decided to write one for the RTC next.  He started work on the script, and asked me to be a part of it.  The story was about a young psychology student who takes a job as a night watchmen in an abandoned mental institution, which is haunted by the ghosts of its former patients.  In July of this year, he and Chris Grap were invited back to Fergus Falls to check out the place. 

The inside of the building was a fascinating mess.  Dav walked up to the top floor and found himself knee deep in what he thought was gravel, but turned out to be petrified pigeon poop.  From the late 1800’s to the late 1960’s, the Fergus Falls State Hospital was a completely self sustaining community.  Those who lived there kept the grounds and did their own farming.  It was a building rich with history, and a perfect place to make a movie. 

The original plan was to begin production in January of ‘09.  But we soon learned that if the location was not put to use by the first of the new year, it would no longer be owned by anyone, and there would be no electricity or heat.  Nevermind the fact that we can’t run a camera and lighting equipment without electricity.  There’s a reason why we don’t make many movies in January in Minnesota.  There’s no way we’re going to drag a film crew up to an abandoned building in the middle of winter with no air conditioning.  So filming was moved up to October. 

It was then that things started to get a little sticky.  The Campus Development Group annouced a plan to rennovate the building and turn it into an international business college for Chinese students.  They knew nothing about the film but the genre, but they took issue with it anyway.  Their concern was that they didn’t think Chinese people would want to come to the school if they found out a horror movie was filmed there.  Dav offered the city ten thousand dollars for the use of the building, but the City Council still voted it down.  

I’ve been reading a lot of the articles in the Fergus Falls Journal about the situation, and it certainly seems like the majority of citizens in Fergus Falls were happy to have us.  They were grateful that we were coming to visit their community and use this unique building for our film.  I was very excited to visit Fergus and work on the film there.  The community seemed so enthusiastic and welcoming. 

Dav Kaufman has already received offers from three other cities to have “The Psychosis Of Ghosts” filmed there.  The movie will go on, as planned.  It may be this October, or it may be moved back to January, as originally scheduled.  But the Regional Treatment Center, the building that inspired the whole story, will not be a part of it. 

Alexandre Aja has earned a TON of goodwill with me. “High Tension”(2003) rests comfortably in my top 10 horror films of all-time. “The Hills Have Eyes”(2006) remake was a balls to the wall, kick ass horror film. It was easily the best horror film of 2006.  I saw neither in the theater. “High Tension” I did not become aware of until it was out on DVD, in it’s unrated, uncut version. When “The Hills Have Eyes” was released, with it’s 15 million dollar budget through Fox Atomic, I knew some concessions were made to get the nice theatrical release, and cushy “R” rating. Why spend 20-25 dollars (assuming you can talk your spouse, girlfriend, whomever, into going with you) for a version you know is not the directors vision or intent? Can GOOD horror movies be made within the confines of the MPAA ratings board? Absolutely. Is Alexandre Aja inteested in making a suspenseful terror film without his “pushing the limits” special effects? No. So, sorry Alexandre. I love your films so far. You’re batting two for two as a director, but I’ll wait and go to Best Buy in 3 months with my $ 19.99, (LESS than what I’d spend at the multiplex) to see the film you intended me to see, at home, on my big screen, in HDTV.

Adkov Telmig is an artist, at least, that is how he sees himself.  In the opening scene of Unholy Reunion, Adkov finds his agent in bed with his wife, Monica, played by yours truly.  He then goes insane, killing both of them, and smashing all his paintings.  He finds a more innovative way to make art and creates a new body of work when he goes on a killing spree.  He skins his victims alive and uses their hides as canvas. 

Here is the PG-13 version of the opening scene and title credits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK0z63Vr-Xs

Director Ric McCloud and F/X artist Mike Etoll made another version of the opening credits sequence with a prop depicting me as a human canvas–torn apart, dried out, stretched, sewn back together, and painted on. 

Mike Etoll and I had talked about getting together so that he could do a plaster cast of my face.  We tried to coordinate a time, but it didn’t work out.  Mike said he would figure something out, and that he could still make the prop, even without a mold of my face. 

Ric had told me that even before I had auditioned for the role of Monica, he had found a wig for the prop, which, coincidentally, looked exactly like my real hair.  And it did.  When Ric showed me the prop, it had long dark hair with bangs, just like me, and the face looked eerily like my own.  I don’t know what he did, but I believed it.  Watching the opening credits sequence, you’d never know it wasn’t me.

I remembered seeing a documentary about Dario Argento, one of my favorite directors.  There was a bit about The Black Cat, his half of a two part collaboration with George Romero called Two Evil Eyes.  Actor Harvey Keitel had a scene that required a fake head, made from a mold of his face.  He drew up a contract, which stated, “Mr. Keitel must not be shown the fake head.  Mr. Keitel must never be in the same room while the fake head is in use.  The fake head must never be mentioned to Mr. Keitel.”  And so on and so forth.  When asked why he required such specifications, Keitel replied, “It just freaked me out!” 

Standing in Ric’s house and looking at a prop designed to look like a dead, naked me, I couldn’t help but sympathize with Mr. Keitel.  “I figured out of all the people I showed it to,” said Ric, “you’d be the last one to be freaked out by it.” 

Well, ordinarily, I wouldn’t be, but it looks just like me! 

I’ve had the opportunity to see the most recent edit of Unholy Reunion, and I think you’re going to like it when it comes out.  It should be available in the next month or so. 

Here is the trailer for Unholy Reunion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYVYrM1v–Y

Unholy Reunion on the IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1160376/

Add Unholy Reunion myspace: http://www.myspace.com/unholyreunionmovie

Four Americans vacationing in Mexico decided to follow a German tourist to ancient ruins “off the beaten path.”  The first 20 minutes or so are typical horror movie stereotypes.  The teens booze it up, have lots of sex, follow a stranger into the woods, see some creepy silent children, etc… But, when the group finally arrives at the ruins things take a twist.

One of the group is quickly dispatched by some angry natives and the rest of the group is forced to the top of the ruins.  They search for a way to escape the natives but the only seemingly plausible method of escape is going into the ruins to retrieve a cell phone they hear ringing.

Without giving too much more away, I will say it would have been very easy for this film to come off as silly based on who the main “killer” of the film is.  But, it was done well (and minimally) enough that they were able to keep it from delving into you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me territory.

There’s a fair amount of gore to be had too.  Hacked off legs.  Plenty of skin slashing. Some cringe inducing stuff.

The DVD release is an “unrated” version which is so popular right now.  Other than a minor hand job scene (which was really silly in the context presented) there were only minimal differences between the theatrical cut and the unrated cut.  An extra 2 seconds at the end of the film provides a final twist not present in the theatrical version.

Hardly a game-changer in the genre, but nevertheless a solid effort that takes itself a little too seriously but manages to provide a good time.

Our good friends at MoviesOnline scored this poster for ‘Bitch Slap’.

The greatest thing about this movie is it stars Lucy Lawless and Kevin Sorbo, ‘Xena’ and ‘Herculues’ respectively. Here is a brief synopsis of the movie:

“Bitch Slap is a modern throwback to the “B” movie/Exploitation films of the 1950’s-1970’s, mixing hot girls, fast cars, big guns, nasty tongues, outrageous action and jaw dropping eye candy. “Bitch Slap” follows three bad girls (a down-and-out stripper, a drug-running killer and a corporate powerbroker) as they arrive at a remote desert hideaway to extort massive booty from a ruthless underworld kingpin. Things quickly spin out of control as allegiances change, truths are revealed, other criminals arrive for the score, the fate of the world hangs in the balance and they are forced to confront a villain much worse than they ever expected… themselves. It’s the ultimate morality tale as, one by one, they realize the whole “she-bang” was a set-up and one of the film’s characters may not even be human.”

On the films website they give their own rating for the movie:

A movie that is rated DD is my kind of movie! It is set to be released January 15th 2009. You can watch the trailer on the official site.

‘Murder Party’ looks fun, but does it hold up in the viewing? Hell ya! Written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier, and made in cooperation by the Lab of Madness, which is comprised of a handful of people who came up in the movie life together (indie, that is), this surprising little horror/comedy flaunts its legitimate horror-genre creds in your face, while maintaining an effective but low-key comedy underpinning.

Its Halloween and a lonely loser named Chris happens upon a mysterious invitation blowing along the street. The invite is to a “murder party” and, without any knowledge of the details, Chris decides to step out of character and into a home-made suit of armor costume made of cardboard boxes and duct tape. Chris sets out to attend this party instead of sitting at home, but he’ll end up wishing he’d been sitting at home all along. Once he arrives, he finds a group of eccentric artists sitting around bored in a warehouse, coincidentally surprised that Chris showed up at the party. They don’t waste time in tackling Chris and tying him up, explaining to Chris that he’s the entertainment. Actually, he’s an “art project” of the group’s leader Alexander, who wants to murder someone in the name of art. When Chris asks why they’re doing this, they simply refer to the letter and suggest that anyone dumb enough to show up to a “murder party” deserves to die. As the group of sorry artists goof off and bicker amongst themselves, Chris attempts to escape from his captors. Through a series of mishaps and sudden shifts unexpected changes in the plans, the tables quickly turn on exactly who the victims and killers really are.

‘Murder Party’ reminds me of ‘The Last Supper’ except instead of radical liberals inviting people with opposing viewpoints over for dinner and a murder, its pretentious artists inviting the socially inferior to a Halloween bash to end them all. The film also takes on a sort of ‘Breakfast Club’ click amidst its players confined to their location as they interact, except this is a more adult-themed, hardcore plot than being sentenced to Saturday detention in high school. Made on a decisively low budget, the film could have easily fallen into the trap of poor production quality and bad special effects. Instead, the film thrives from a young but talented crew working for free on a project they believed in and outstanding, carefully chosen special effects that only enhance the remainder of the movie. The humor, as I mentioned, is low-key and subtle, but dark and sinister as well. Some of the best humor can easily be missed if the proper attention is not being paid to the film. In one scene (one of the best SFX shots), Chris is dispatching one of his captors with a chainsaw and, as the bloody mess splatters all over Chris, he softly utters “ooh, gross.”

The characters are all a load of fun and each one of them has their own quirks. Another of my favorite bits is the wolfman special FX, which I will refrain from spoiling, but you’ll understand why this scene is so cool when you see the movie. Chris captors are all dressed in costume, my favorite being Lexi dressed as Pris from ‘Blade Runner’. As if the film itself wasn’t enough demented fun on its own, its highly recommended that you watch the featurette afterwards. Its lengthy, but worth every minute… especially if you’re a movie geek who loves the “how” of movies. It gives the audience a really thorough and interesting look at what it takes to make a small, indie horror movie with little money and a short-handed crew.

Joe Dante offers up his second installment in the Masters of Horror series with ‘The Screwfly Solution’. Based on the Nebula Award winning novelette by James Tiptree, Jr. The film stars Jason Priestly, Kerry Norton and Elliot Gould. A town in Florida is hit with a mysterious epidemic of some kind that’s causing men to be driven mad by their natural sexual desire to a point of violent and deadly aggression towards women. Hold on ladies, this isn’t a film of extremist sexism or anything like that… just bare with me here. As the epidemic spreads, it seems as though its eerily similar with a phenomenon whereas certain species of insect breed out of control and cause havoc on their habitats ability to sustain. As a result, scientists bread a strain of genetically sterile males and released them in vast numbers into the wild, ultimately causing the near extinction of the species due to faulty “equipment”. Two scientists (Priestly & Gould) have a theory that there is more than just a bizarre coincidence at play, offering the military a similar human-based solution. As the story progresses and the cause of this tragic global outbreak appears to be set forth by God, as men afflicted with this raging condition, we find out that there’s a far more complex and amazing explanation for what’s happening that’s not of this Earth, but in what way may surprise us.

Michael take his girlfriend, Julia, on a romantic getaway to a secluded lodge with the intentions of proposing.  Upon their arrival, strange things begin to happen.  The doors are left unlocked.  The kitchen has been recently used and not cleaned up.  And then they meet the caretaker of the lodge, Henry, who’s covered in blood. He tells the love birds that he’s just carving up a deer in the garage and gives a few sinister looks.

While it’s competently directed, and the actual Lodge itself does add a touch of atmosphere to the proceedings, the film fails on most all levels.  There is absolutely no sense of pace.  The movie has a run time of 1 hour and 21 minutes and the first 10 minutes of the film are the opening credits.  In an attempt to add some atmosphere in between credits, the audience is bombarded by ‘eerie’ images of nature.  We’re introduced to the main characters and suffer through nearly an hour of dialogue and non-events before the action of the film sets in.  By this time, the audience has long since checked out.

The film isn’t helped by two bland and unappealing lead actors.  Neither stand out enough in their roles, although they are not helped by lack of clear character in the script.

There is an attempt at a ‘twist’ ending but it comes so late in the show that its only real purpose seems to be to leave room for a sequel.

A friend that I viewed the film with summed it up in one word: uneventful.  And I’ll have to agree with her.