Ralph vs. Doug – The Mist Debate!

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS ABOUND! 

Oh, little did Doug know that posting this blog on his MySpace page would spur a weeklong debate.

DOUG: We just got back from seeing it and wow!, the most depressing movie about giant bugs you will see this year(or any year for that matter). I thought it was quite an outstanding film. If you like your horror dark, mean and depressing, this is your flick. The film pulls no punches, and the ending, well, lets just say, I can see a lot of people becoming uncomfortable or outraged by it. As for me, I am still reeling from it, and I am impressed with the choices they made. Jenn and I both need a couple of comedies after this one. I made a joke before the movie to Jenn about the film “Jude” being one of the most depressing things we have ever seen. Little did I know, this would be the new “Jude”. I say all this with the utmost respect towards the film. It is indeed a compliment. A truly horrifying film.  After sitting thru a lot of recent horror dreck, where I walk away feeling nothing but boredom or disgust, “The Mist” shook me and won’t let go. Once again we find that the true horror may not be the spooks, goblins or boogeyman, the true horror, is in us.

RALPH: BOO! I disagree – the ending was completely out of character and a cheap way to get a emotional response from the audience. Let me start from the beginning. First, I didn’t care about the characters. THE MONSTERS? They were all REALLY BAD, VIDEO GAME STYLE, Monsters. The military project excuse, really lame. The preacher woman – annoying. I did not care about those people – we’d have to discuss this in person because I have too many issues and I don’t feel like typing them now. Wait till you have a kid – because I assure you that when you do that ending will make you say, “no way.” It’s such a poor excuse for an ending, a cheap way out – I didn’t read the novella but I wonder how it ended. The ending wasn’t what put me over the edge – I didn’t care for the movie before that happened – I was bored to tears, but when they decided to cop-out with that ending, that was too much. One positive thing – when a certain loud-mouth someone got killed the audience broke out in unifying cheers and applause – that’s nice and rare and could be used against me as proof it was good. However, I think it was because they wanted something dramatic to happen, and that was about the only thing – the rest of the movie was ho-hum and everyone went right back to texting on their cell phones. My other complaint is they showed the monsters (if you want to call cheesy resident evil video game cgi things as monsters) way too early. Oh, well – I’ll be in the minority with this one – I feel like everyone else saw a completely different movie than me.

DOUG: Ralph, I think I understand your complaints, but I do disagree with you in some respects. We will have to talk about it in person. The ending is HIGHLY controversial, and I know what kind of buttons it will push. I still have a hard time with it. The novella (novel?) did not end so bleakly. This was definitely an new ending. I can see it pissing off a LOT of people, but I stand by the choice, it was horrifying the way it was supposed to be. If you didn’t care for the characters, then I don’t know what to tell you, it wasn’t anything more than it was trying to be. It was a horror film about giant bugs (with undertones of politics). And the true horror was the people, not the creatures. Like films that were made in the 70’s (Vietnam era) , it is a bleak film mirroring the bleak world we live in. I haven’t seen a better horror film in a long while. 7 hours later and I still am thinking about it.

RALPH: The ending didn’t “piss me off” and I didn’t find it “upsetting” – what bothered me was that I found it to be a lazy attempt at being shocking. And I hate religious people more than most people but the woman in this movie was too much of a caricature (I know there are people like this.) But I think it would have been more effective if they had her not sooooo hateful and possibly have written it so that maybe watching it you might see her side – I’m sorry but there really isn’t anything about CGI bugs in revelations. I know the true horror was the people but it felt very phony to me – it’s basically Maximum Overdrive with bugs instead of trucks. The movie did not get me emotionally involved and I like dark, disturbing pictures. I really wanted to like it. Maybe if it was done super low budget and we never saw the monsters. And how did that one woman survive – the one who went to get her kids? What happened to the lawyer – that story was never finished – I think there were a lot of holes.

Come Monday morning, Ralph couldn’t leave well enough alone and sent this email:

RALPH: You both know that I’m not a fan of “The Mist.” I just wanted to let you know that it made hardly any money – I think 13 million total from Wed and only 8 million over the weekend. It’s done – over – I guess they believed my review over Doug’s – Just kidding.

DOUG: Another great marketing move by the Weinsteins…put out the most depressing monster movie of the year on thanksgiving! Yay! heh. I know what you said Ralph, but i still stand by my review. It’s a B movie, and works as well as any B movie should. And the ending still haunts me. I am really surprised it made it thru the studio system.

RALPH: I can’t believe that ending haunts you – can you say Wuss? If you see the ending for what it really is – a big phony, you will cease to be haunted. It’s like people who like Cruel Intentions because “2 girls kissed” – people will talk about the man killing his son. B movies are better. I won’t be fooled.

“He didn’t get out of the cock-a-doodie car!”

Weinsteins really need to work on their marketing – I should send them a resume and tell them I’ll work for half of what the guy who is doing it now is making.

Every movie should come with an “AlterMIST” ending where the main character at the all is lost moment decides to kill everyone to find out he didn’t really need to.

Example: Wizard of Oz – The wizard of oz floats away leaving Dorthy stuck forever on Oz – no way to get home. She takes out a gun and kills Scarecrow, the Lion and the Tinman and then herself – The good witch arrives and finds them all dead – oh if only she waited a moment longer…

More to come…

Doug plays along:

DOUG: A Christmas Story…. Could end with little Richie (Did you mean Ralphie?) pulling out his real red ryder rifle and killing the family after learning there is no Santa Claus….

RALPH: Raiders of the Lost Ark: “Marion, close your eyes.” Indy takes his gun and kills her.

The Mist would have worked better if maybe he was about to kill them all and then they are saved but it doesn’t matter because their relationships fall apart because this IDIOT was going to KILL US! His son hates him for being un-heroic, the girl doesn’t like him anymore and the old people kick him off their lawn. Who put that guy in charge?

DOUG: David was working from hopelessness. Do I think it would have been logical to kill everyone? No, I couldn’t have done that to my own son. Or anyone else, but the idea of seeing my son EATEN ALIVE BY MONSTERS or die by my own hand? I might have to rethink it, although its the worst thing I think anyone would have to choose.  But, they were out of hope. They saw no way they could be safe. Imagine for a moment you just witnesses everything they did for real. Do you think your state of mind would be tip top to make the reasonable decisions?
Yeah is it convenient that 30 seconds after he does it, the army shows up? Sure, but another half hour of time spent showing him wandering alone thru the mist would’ve been too much to get to that point at the end. So it was compressed i guess… It was a shocking end to the movie. I can’t think of another movie in a long while that sticks it to the audience like that. I walked away FEELING something for it. It wasn’t pleasant, but it was something. Most movies don’t leave me feeling much at all these days. It’s as fine a B-movie as Planet terror is…the characters were just as cardboard in that flick too.

RALPH: Ok, but I’m getting from you that The Mist has something more – something compelling at the end that Planet Terror doesn’t. PT is what it is – plain old fun and silliness. The Mist never says that it is a silly movie. It is taken too seriously. I walked away feeling nothing from that movie – so much of nothing that I have been questioning whether or not there is something wrong with me. I’m wondering why I felt NOTHING from beginning to end. It’s because I think it was less than cardboard, less that Planet Terror. I like El Wray, he’s a great character – so are the cops in PT and even Bruce Willis. They are lasting. I can’t even tell you the names of the Mist characters. They were un-involving. IF the writing would have suggested that the main character was prone to end up killing everyone – someone who quits or can’t handle situations I would have bought it – but it didn’t. It’s sloppy writing – we aren’t talking REAL LIFE here – we are talking movies and movie writing. Watch American Beauty again – there is a bleak ending that sets all the characters up properly so when the ending occurs you go – yeah, I can see all this going down the way it did.

DOUG:

Ok, but I’m getting from you that The Mist has something more – something compelling at the end that Planet Terror doesn’t. PT is what it is – plain old fun and silliness.

No that’s not what I am saying, I don’t think it has something MORE, just two movies operating in the same genre, and doing it completely differently from each other. Planet Terror is great. No doubt. A modern classic. The mist, to me is great too, and both films left me feeling two completely different things after they were over. And that’s what I love. Planet terror was more fun to watch. The mist, even knowing the ending now, will not have the same feeling of “fun” the second time now that I know the dreary outcome. But I will see it again.

DOUG: I heard this is a bleak movie too (referring to Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead). I bet people get shot at the end… heh, I could be up for it…

RALPH: I’ll say it again – it isn’t that people get shot at the end that bothers me it is, as that last review I sent you puts it, “is untrue to all that’s come before it as to be a slap in the face to characters and audience alike.” That’s what bothers me. It is plain and simple, BAD WRITING. I don’t hate it because it’s bleak. That said I am looking forward to seeing Before the Devil Knows…

DOUG: Ayuh PT is plain old fun. With characters named EL WRAY, Cherry darling, how can you not forget them? And it helps to fill the cast with people you know, like Michael Biehn, Tom Savini, and Jeff Fahey etc. Of course you remmer them. Maybe they shoulda done what Zombie did for the Halloween remake,overload it with fan favorites? would that be more memorable if sid haig was in the supermarket?
The mist didn’t have the luxury of neat little names to give everyone, it was more based in the everyman’s story. People who seem non-descript on the surface. People you pass by in the supermarket.
It seems to me , that you don’t need to re evaluate your opinion of the movie, you have more people agree with your ideas.
I liked The Mist, I liked the story and i liked (for the most part) the uncomfortable ending. I will admit, i truly did not want to see it go that route. I kept hoping the final scene would come before the shots got fired. American Beauty is a great film, The mist is not trying to be that. It is just trying to be a modern B movie, with as much subtext as any old B movie like Invasion of the body snatchers or War of the worlds… I never saw cruel intentions….

RALPH: I disagree – in another Darabont/King movie, The Shawshank Redemption – characters like Andy Dufrane and Red are memorable – not because I know the actors or because the names are clever but because it is great writing.

And I disagree also that The Mist is trying to be a B Movie – I think in the aftermath, people are using “The B Movie” defense to defend sloppy filmmaking. Planet Terror was trying to be an exploitation film / b movie and it succeeded.

AND IF The Mist was trying to be a B Movie it failed at that as well. I love B Movies, Darabont obviously does not know how to make one if this is his attempt at it. I think he was trying to be something more, something important but picked the wrong story to preach it with.

DOUG: What could the mist possibly try to be any thing other than a B movie? ITS ABOUT GIANT BUGS FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION. Darabont knows this. Was he trying to elevate the material, sure. But  still any other reading of it is purely the work of the viewer. What we inject into the subtext. Darabont came up writing NOES:3, Blob remake in 88, FLY II, nothing but B movies. I think he knows his source stuff. Let’s just agree, thumbs down for you, thumbs up for me. heh. The box office has spoken anyways.

But Doug doesn’t let it go…

DOUG: Why is it bad writing? King himself said if he would have thought of it, he would have wrote that in the original story… The characters are operating from a PLACE OF NO HOPE. Yes it is incomprehensible to consider this, and adding a kid to the mix makes it distasteful, but these people were at an end. Two choices: Die quickly, with a gunshot, or walk around in the mist, and get picked off by monsters and ripped apart or eaten alive.Who wants to make these choices? I certainly don’t. I’m not saying its easy or nice. I don’t see it as unfair to the story. It was bleak all the way thru. They had no chance against the creatures and did what they could. And who woulda thought the MIST would create more arguments then, I don’t remember what movie caused this much of a stir….

RALPH: It’s bad writing because as a writer, it is his responsibility to make the ending plausible based on what the audience is given prior to the ending. You must plant seeds and then the ending is a payoff – this didn’t happen. The ending took no effort on the part of the writer. Might have just ended by writing, “and then the world blew up.” If he wanted to end the movie that way he NEEDS to set up character traits that would lead us to believe that ending was possible. He failed to do so.<

Blood De Madam Announced

Press Release: The Don of Pro Wrestling Keith Tomasso takes a step out of the ring and onto the screen with Horror film Blood De MadamKeith “The Don” Tomasso aka Keith P Stoddard’s Film Project, Blood De Madam, in which he wrote and will be directed by Darkstone Entertainments John Johnson is set to be filmed. Actors confirmed for the film is Debbie Rochon , Monique Dupree, Matthew Helms ( “Pancakes” from cabin Fever ), Alex Vincent ( childs play 1 & 2 ) , Christopher J Duncan , Mercilles Faith , Matt Cloude ( who also is co Producer ), Kevin “Pondo” Canady ( 2001 Maniacs, Internationally known Wrestling star) , Corp. Robertson ( JCW Champion ), The Gatanegrra, WWE star Scott Fowler, WWE star Frank Etienne “Malik” , and also in negotiation is The International music sensation The Insane Clown posse who also are in talks with doing the soundtrack for the feature film. This film will be a Great Gore fest horror film. Filmed in and around NC and VA.The film is inspired by true events about a Town that holds a secret about a street slaughtered one night and still remains unsolved. Keith Stoddard who is the writer of Blood De Madam made this film apart of a Trilogy which consist of Origin of Evil, Blood De Madam, and The Fallen Ones. Monique Dupree who signed on for the role of The Disturbing Cassandra Summerlon said in a Internet Radio Broadcast about the script saying it was very dark, very disturbing and she had to do this film. Debbie Rochon who is a huge name in The Indy Horror world said the script was Awesome and Scary and it wll be a great film to be apart of. There is alot more great Horror names to be added to this film and it is aiming start Production late Fall.5 friends set off to shoot a documentary on a Street that years past was the site of a mass murder which claimed the lifes of everyone who lived there. As the friends go off on there shoot they find out that some secrets are better left unexplained. One by one they are hunted and savagly tortured in some of the most sadistic ways ever reported. This film is inspired by a true story. The film is promised to bring a great mix of Scares, Gore, and madness. Keith P Stoddards vision was to bring in the factor of Horror as it once was in the early 70s & 80s. During that time Horror was breaking through the test lines and reaching out. This film is based on somewhat a reality that leaves the It can happen factor and not the What if This happened factor. Inspired by a part of a town called Hildebran in NC where a street many years ago just faced a fate that left the whole street empty. Around 26 homes, stores, all nested in a quite road now stands vacant, deserted and decayed. While Keith one day looking into the streets history confonted the town hall of Hildebran about the street. The reply he got was ” What street, I never been there “. A town hall just 5 min from the street actually on the same rd dont know about a history of a street thats strange right there. A street with a sign reading There is No God, a street that locals say was a victim of Murder, Witchcraft, a unexplained ordeal. One thing for certain its a town with a history, a town with a secret. This got Keith Stoddard inspired to write a script on a topic of what he came across. A Town, A story, A secret. We all wonder who your neighbor is when you never met them. We all wonder who the person watching us are while we walk alone at night. Well Keith wanted to take all the aspects of The Town with the past and the secret and make a disturbing light upon it.Check out the films official website at http://blooddemadam.angelfire.com/and The official Films Myspace page at myspace.com/blooddemadam

Eric Stanze’s Deadwood Park

Jacob flees his home when he gets some unexpected news from his girlfriend and heads back to the house he had spent his first 8 years in. The country bumpkin old town’s residents are sparse and wonder what the hell would someone want to come back to their town when most people are just dying to get out of there and move on to bigger and better things.

Dogwood Park used to flourish as a very popular amusement park until the child murders started and the tourists dwindled away to nothing and the park just became old skeletal frames of it’s former rides and roller coaster. As Jacob and Olivia walk around inside the deserted old park you get a good view at this vast broken down ghost town of a park and you can easily see why the people there nicknamed it Deadwood Park.

When Jacob gets to the house you can tell he is disappointed at its current rundown condition but refuses to stay anywhere but there. Paper thin walls with plaster sprinkled along the floors already cluttered with debris and fall’s crispy brown leaves. Memories of him and his twin brother Frances cloud his mind constantly as he stays in that house. Francis, unfortunately was the last one of the 26 victims over the course of 35 years.

I enjoyed everything from the abandoned park, to the mystery that slowly but surely rolls out in front you. Anyone who reads the likes of Weird NJ would be pretty fuckin smitten with everything about this film. The haunting in his childhood home is subtle yet very effective on the viewer. Stanze is a director that essentially thinks outside the box and the results on film are always clearly evident.

Happy Thanksgiving

Give Thanks for John Hughes

Thanksgiving is only a few days away. The past 5 years, it has become sort of tradition for me to spend Thanksgiving home alone. I get some Thanksgiving movies together and a turkey hoagie from Wawa and enjoy the day in peace. So for those of you who may not have somewhere to go or if you are looking for something to watch after dinner, here is a list of Thanksgiving movies to watch. There are 2 in the MUST WATCH category for me and I suggest you do the same. If you only watch one movie this Thanksgiving make it Planes, Trains and Automobiles – possibly John Hughes best film ever and I like a lot of John Hughes films. It never gets old and it is the perfect blend of comedy and drama – Steve Martin has you in stitches as he pokes fun at John Candy and John Candy turns it right around, bringing the audience to near tears when he states:

You wanna hurt me? Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better. I’m an easy target. Yeah, you’re right, I talk too much. I also listen too much. I could be a cold-hearted cynic like you… but I don’t like to hurt people’s feelings. Well, you think what you want about me; I’m not changing. I like… I like me. My wife likes me. My customers like me. ‘Cause I’m the real article. What you see is what you get.

This movie is genius and you can’t help but feel great after viewing it.

1. Planes, Trains and Automobiles: An advertising executive who just wants to fly home to spend Thanksgiving with his family is stuck with a loud but lovable salesman during an unbelievable succession of blizzards, transfers, strikes, and delays.
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – PANGS – Season 4: In the Thanksgiving Eve, during the ceremony of the beginning of a construction of a site at UC Sunnydale, Xander digs a hole and falls into an ancient mission, releasing the revengeful spirit of the Chumash Indians warrior Hus. Meanwhile Angel is advised by a friend that Buffy is in danger, and he comes to Sunnydale to protect her. Buffy is decided to have a Thanksgiving dinner with her closest friends, Willow and Xander at Giles’s home. Surprisingly Spike comes to the place asking for help, while Hus attacks the group.

The rest are Thanksgiving related movies – some suggested by TISS’s Doug. I will be checking some of these out as well

1.Pieces of April: Can cute, edgy Katie Holmes really cook a turkey? She certainly tries in Peter Hedges 2003 indie drama about an independent young woman who invites her estranged family to her East Village apartment for the holidays. All is well until the stove breaks.
2. Home for the Holidays: This all-star, all-too-familiar tale revolves around the Thanksgiving turkey that lures a young woman home every year to her typical American family only to be embarrassed all over again by her loony relatives.
3. Hannah and her Sisters: Woody Allen’s 1986 drama about three sisters is one of his very best. The film’s set piece is Thanksgiving, where Hannah’s (Mia Farrow) clan gathers together in a tremendous Central Park West apartment for the holiday celebration. The black maid polishes the silver, Mia’s mother drinks too much and plays the piano, hearts are broken and mended in startling ways. Barbara Hershey, Michael Caine, Diane Wiest, Carrie Fisher, and Woody Allen also star.
4. Ice Storm (WARNING: not a feel good movie):Oh, the Seventies in the suburban, when married couples had key parties to beat away the boredom and despair. Ang Lee adapted Rick Moody’s novel in 1997, and the tragic climax comes down on Thanskgiving day. Starring Kevin Kline, Joan Allen, Sigourney Weaver, and young rising stars Tobey Maguire, Elija Wood and Christina Ricci.

Alive and Lubricated- A Butler brother’s home brew

The Butler Brothers have had me hooked on their films ever since I screened Confusions Of An Unmarried Couple. This time around I got to watch Alive and Lubricated and I can say it was a fantastic find. I laughed at the way they all rationalized what getting laid was all about.

The best was the porn/ pimp music that played every time Willy was about to come on screen, it was his cue. Willy loved big babes, a total chubby chaser- and since he liked to delve deep he managed to get laid on a regular basis. Poor Dickey had Rachael, a girl he loved who dumped him then decides to totally back track!

Ben is every guys nightmare the one who crosses the boundaries and bonds of male friendship and manages to break the cardinal rule that men live by. Big hearted Dickey decides to take life head on and talks Ben into a road trip that he feels will help him discover who he really is.

Since Ben is a total douche bag, Dickey is off to a new start on his own- finding himself, and distancing him from his ex slag of a girlfriend. Willie was cute how he was so excited to have a second date, I guess his classic hip swerving tune will prob cease to play now as he walks around town.

Heaven Help Me I’m In Love- a film from Mark Baranowski

More known for his horror movies Mark Baranowski takes his chances with a romantic comedy starring his wife Ryli Morgan, and Brinke Stevens. Mark plays Butch who is so smitten with Angie that he can think of nothing but her. She doesn’t like the company he keeps so she says she doesn’t want certain people around when she is.

Butch likes to hang out with Stu the stoner, listen to tunes and just sitting there kickin back the beers. As he bops around in his chair outside you notice that he has barettes in his hair and can’t help but wonder why. The sun is shining as Angie shows up hoping to go to the beach and spend some time alone with her man. 

I will admit it is alittle drawn out it was still a decent watch. Ryli Morgan is said to have the look of the girl next door smothered in sex appeal. She speaks softly with her southern belle draw but won’t hesitate to call you an asshole to your face. I liked at the ending where they told you what happened to everyone it was a nice touch!

Interview with Matt Cloude- horror film maker

1. How does it feel to have fulfilled so many of your dreams at such a young age?

MATT:  It’s great…i would’ve never imagined getting as far as i am at this age but now i just keep going further and further and the experience is great!

2. When were you struck with the urge, and you knew you loved writing?

MATT:  Believe it or not is was in school around 4th grade. We always had to write stories and such and one day i was like “hell how about i write what i love” so i wrote monster and horror stories…even sketched pictures along with it…ended up winning awards for my stories…so that kinda kicked off my writing…not to mention i was also inspired by Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft.

3. What was your favorite movie to work on with your FX expertise?

MATT: So far it is John Johnson’s Skeleton Key 2…it was just a blast. I was given alot of freedom and basically if i could make it, we used it on film…it’s a hilarious blend of gore and comedy.

4. Being a huge horror collector myself I know what fun it is to hit up the Horror Conventions. What are you usually cruising around looking for while you are there? What are you into?

MATT: Well i own over 300 horror movies but i’m always searching for ones i don’t have…as well as old school horror posters..i’m deff a collector. But i also love meeting the celebs and hanging out with them…i always find myself partying with them…sometimes a little to much.

5. Did you go to school for FX/Make up or did you learn it all from reading your how to books and listening to White Zombie?

MATT:  LOL Well i never intended to be a f/x artist but low and behold after teaching myself the art by watching monster/horror films growing up and working at a local haunted house for 5 years..well…lets just say it made me GOOD.

6. Did you ever feel like delving into acting or are you content with directing instead?

MATT:  Well it’s funny cause is a kid my mom always said i’d be a actor…so now every project i work on i make a cameo appearence.

7. You knew as a boy that you wanted to make movies, what inspired this decision?

MATT: We’ll it had to be after watching the old school universal, hammer monster films…and most of all john Carpenters Halloween, The Fog, and The Thing.

8. You recently wrapped up filming for The Creightonville Terror. Can you tell us little about the film?

MATT: Creightonville has been a brain child of mine for the past 5 years and i really wanted to go al out on it…but in a different way…i wanted to make it look cheap and low budget and give it the 70’s vibe…it’s in editing right now and we are adding everything 70’s to it…grainy scratches…bad audio, missing reels, circle burns in the film…even a dancing popcorn, hot dog, and soda intermission…i want al of the oldschool fans to take a trip down memory lane while watching it…but aside from all the corny fun, the movie is also brutal and hardcore…taking cues from Last House on the Left and I Spit on your Grave (which i am currently writing the remake) the film is very bloody with a high body count, rape, genital mutilation…and more blood…bring your mom.

9. What was it like working with Debbie Rochon? I really like her acting and the characters she portrays in film.

MATT: Unfortunately we didn’t get to work with Debbie cause of Time issues but luckily we keep in touch and will be working together on a film i’m producing called “Blood De Madam”

10. Have anything thing planned out for your next project? What are the future plans of Matt Cloude?

MAtt: Well i’m on a long hard road outta hell…i’m currently producing Blood De Madam…and producing and writing the remake of I Spit on your Grave as well as doing the fx…on top of it i’m working on my next film Splatter House and possibly on another project titled “Sasquatch vs. Yeti”….so my future is looking blood red!!! stay tuned CREEPS AND FREAKS..BOILS AND GHOULS!!!

It was great getting to know you better and we look forward to all the goodies you have in store for us. Good Luck on all of your future projects.

 http://www.myspace.com/darkcloudepro  

Interview with Eric Stanze

Eric Stanze is the Top Dog of leading independent motion picture production company. Stanze is an award-winning and critically-acclaimed producer, director, writer, and editor of multiple feature length independent movies, all currently in world-wide home video release.Stanze has also shot, produced, and/or edited educational videos, short films, documentaries, and music videos. He has provided voice over work for various radio commercials and independent movies. He has been a special effects creator for various independent films. He is also an actor in various indie features.Eric Stanze began producing/directing low budget movies for the direct-to-video market in 1990 (he was only 18 years old at that time). Despite his “Roger Corman” attitudes and techniques, Stanze slowly started becoming a standout name in the indie/horror arena. Gory and hallucinogenic b-movies THE SCARE GAME, THE FINE ART, and SAVAGE HARVEST were directed by a young Eric Stanze. These titles set the foundation that Wicked Pixel Cinema would be built upon. [Read more]

Bums- a Butler Brother’s film

Dave is pussy whipped to his blonde girlfriend Jill but she can’t seemed to keep her legs closed for every other guy around town. Dave finally gets the nerve to dump her, so he does it then goes to hang out with some friends. Don has started to harbor feelings for Lucy and you can seem him struggle with it until he finally gets the nerve to do something.

Dave is stressed and just wants to go out and get drunk and laid. His friend Steve goes along hoping to score some action himself, while Don and Lucy hang back and get to know each other better. As the night goes on the camera goes back and forth showing how each individuals nights going. These are characters we can all relate to or think of how it was when we were in that sort of position.

Jill and her witty friend Heather proceed to drink at the house as Jill wonders aloud who the fuck is he to dump her. How he should realize how lucky he was to even of had her ass. It’s great as you see her mind battle to figure out how she stepped into the twilight zone until there is a knock at the door and things get screwy as you think to yourself you gotta be kidding! Did he just do that?

I really liked when the bunch of them at their dealer/friends place and they are smoking a joint on the couch. The conversation is great as they puff puff give. The whole moral dilemma between two of the guys is irony at it’s best, too bad Don has already been reeled in by Lucy’s charm so it’s going to put him in an awkward situation with Dave….well that’s if Dave ever decides to fess up!

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