Red Victoria

The Movie:Red Victoria is an ultra-low budget horror comedy whose reach exceeds its grasp. The film has big ideas, and the film makers obviously enjoyed themselves making it. It fails more than it succeeds, but still represents a fairly impressive achievement considering the constraints under which it was made.
The story of Red Victoria is one that has a familiar ring to it. Our hero Jim, played by writer, director and producer Anthony Brownrigg, is a high minded screenwriter, interested only in "saying something" and high art. Unfortunately, he can't get any work and needs to make his house payment. His agent suggests that he write a horror script for some quick, easy cash. At first Jim is reluctant, but eventually succumbs, lowering himself into the gutter to pound out a horror script. Try as he might, he meets with no success, even going so far as to recruit the assistance of his horror fanatic acquaintance Carl (Edward Landers) for inspiration. It doesn't do any good. He is well and truly stuck.
Enter the eponymous Victoria, played by Arianne Martin, a dead woman who for reasons unknown and never explained (though they may involve quoting that Scottish play by Shakespeare) is sent back from the other side to be Jim's "editor", to help him understand the essence of true terror, and thus write a brilliant film. She also happens to kill people seemingly at random, apparently as part of Jim's education. Jim is understandably resistant to the senseless murder of his friends and associates, and the bulk of the film is made up of his scheming to either kill Victoria or somehow get out from her influence, all the while working on the script to placate her.
In the strictest sense, when viewed in comparison to the wide array of other films across genres, Red Victoria is not what can be categorically described as a good movie. It has good points. It is moderately humorous, and represents a unique twist on the old theme of writer's block and the misery that it wreaks. The performances are not terrible. On the initial viewing, the flaws outweigh the highlights, however. It is clear that the film was produced on a shoestring budget, which explains the sometimes hammy acting and numerous gaps in the logic of the story. Upon viewing the extra material on the disc, though, the true achievement of Brownrigg and company becomes apparent.
Red Victoria was made with literally no money. Brownrigg filmed at his own home and in locations which he could secure at no cost, using his own Panasonic DVX 100a camera. The actors were mostly acquaintances, and often manned the camera when a shot they were not in was being filmed. That is, when the camera was not simply placed on a coffee can or shelf. Arianne Martin even mentions (in the commentary) holding a boom mike steady with one hand off screen, while acting herself. The lights were all purchased at hardware stores. The score was done gratis. The film was edited on a Mac, and Brownrigg did all the digital effects himself. In scenes involving him alone, Brownrigg often just set up the camera and went to work, once even filming himself cleaning his own home for material.
This reviewer has watched hundreds of zero budget horror films, made by a group of friends over the course of a year and somehow getting a distribution deal. Red Victoria is to these lesser films as Lawrence of Arabia is to Ishtar. Judged merely in the context of no budget independents, Red Victoria is a towering achievement of subtlety and discernment. There are many flaws in the film. It could have been much more tightly written and done with some more intense direction of the performances. There are some issues with the sound and video quality. With its nonexistent budget, though, it looks and sounds about as good as is humanly possible. It is not a slap in the face to intelligent viewers, and employs actors who actually act for a living. That a film of this quality can be made with these limitations is astounding.
Because of its limitations, this reviewer cannot strongly recommend Red Victoria to a general audience. For the committed horror fan, or anyone at all interested in independent film production, it is a must see, particularly for the commentary and other extra material that provides scads of insight into the challenges and creative solutions available to the inventive film maker. Plus, Brownrigg and costars Landers and Martin are simply fun to listen to, coming across as funny and interesting people. If Anthony Brownrigg can make a film like this with no money, it will be interesting to see what he can do with an actual budget. This reviewer is anxious to find out.

Light at the Edge of the World

WADE DAVIS: You know the year that I was born, there were 6000 languages spoken on Earth...Language is a reflection of culture; it's a flash of the human spirit....and of the 6000 language, only half are taught to children.
Dr. Wade Davis is only 55 years old and the point he makes during the opening of "Light at the Edge of the World," is chilling. In a matter of years, half the spoken languages on Earth could be lost forever, and with those languages a wide variety of culture. "Light at the Edge of the World" is a four-part documentary series that examines four very different geographic locations and its inhabitants, who are at risk of fading into the history books. Hosted by Wade Davis (the man who decades prior researched the possible existence in Haiti that was turned into the semi-biographical, but highly fictionalizes horror film, "The Serpent and the Rainbow"), the viewer is treated to the beauty of these landscapes as well as the beauty of the cultures and people who call these places home.
The biggest asset "Light at the Edge of he World" has going for it, is Wade Davis. He is a likable narrator/host, and never talks above the audience. He speaks in a matter-of-fact fashion and his interest in the subject matter is genuine. I found all four, 45-minute episodes fascinating and informative. The locales are very unique ranging from the freezing climate of the Arctic to the serene beauty of oceanic Polynesia. Most importantly, the show, offers a glimpse into the lives of these cultures and raises the awareness of the impact their losses will have on humanity.
Each episode of the series is set up like a cross between a standard documentary and travel show. Davis integrates himself into the cultures he studies and brings the viewer along for the trip. There is no sensationalism in the series; the purpose is clear and simple: see how these people live their normal lives. The cultures appear to have been carefully chosen to represent a wide variety of daily life. In the Arctic, Davis travels with the Inuit, a society who hunts to survive. In Peru, the people are farmers, and in Polynesia, fishing is a huge part of life. Davis brings us along for a trip on a fishing boat as we learn, how despite using more modern vessels, the people still rely on amazing sea navigation skills passed down for generations.
The last culture Davis spends time with, Buddhist monks in Tibet is the most different of all the episodes. Davis spends time with the monks learning about their highly spiritual lives. Of all the episodes however, this may be the most clichéd, as Tibetan monks are arguably a more well known culture, especially following the 'Free Tibet' movement that gained a large Hollywood following. While the threat to this culture is well known, Davis includes short pieces on the threat these cultures face, ranging from suicide to the slow fading of tradition.
"Light at the Edge of the World" is a very satisfying set of programs and one I had never heard of until now. Anyone interested in other cultures or the world in general should give his a look. It's very accessible for all audiences and worth watching more than once if you find the people or topics fascinating as I did.

The Burrowers

"The Burrowers" promises amazing things just with its premise alone: a monster movie set loose inside the western genre. Perhaps not a novel concept, but it's a fresh perspective in an industry consumed with torture shenanigans and the constant remaking of mediocre Asian ghost stories. "Burrowers" is ripe for a rough and ready Midwestern gorefest throwdown, but that's not the film writer/director J.T. Petty wants to make. The filmmaker is pursuing a more measured, sympathetic take on demons that feast on the gelatinous innards of innocent victims, manufacturing a tediously wandering picture that craves substance while itching to entertain its absurd grindhouse sensibilities.
It's the 1870s, and within the expansive Dakota Territory young Coffey (Karl Geary) has hopes to marry his love. When the young girl and her entire family go missing, foul play at the hands of the local Native Americans is suspected, pushing Coffey to join up with a search party (including William Mapother, Clancy Brown, Doug Hutchinson, and Sean Patrick Thomas) looking to bring the clan home safely. Crossing the land on the hunt for clues, Coffey and the men come across a series of bodies buried in shallow graves; unresponsive, but still living witnesses to a mysterious threat. Learning a race of bloodthirsty creatures known as The Burrowers are on their trail, the gang finds themselves without much hope when the beasts attack, leaving victims in a state of slow paralysis before a buffet of organ munching begins.
It's apparent throughout much of "Burrowers" that Petty is a clear-thinking filmmaker trying to subvert genre expectations with his film. He's giving the core demographic what they want with monsters and carnage, but the director makes the audience work for their sinewy, goopy comfort food, trusting the western trappings might be able to sink in and surprise along the way. To stand outside of "Burrowers," it's easy to value the special effort made by Petty and his crew. Sitting through this glacial picture is an entirely different story, as both imposing sides of the screenplay fight for attention, leaving a muddled, middling final cut behind.
Petty puts major emphasis on characterization, hoping to build a squad of western archetypes (e.g. The Ex-Slave, The Outlaw, The Powermad Military Leader, and The Affable Prairie Detective) the audience can saddle up with, increasing the payoff reverberation when the third act comes around. Again, an effort to favor dramatics over crass stupidity is a wonderful thing, but Petty doesn't properly juggle the horror and gravitas, often mistaking dry oatmeal sequences of bonding as nuggets of suspense. "Burrowers" drags considerably when the monsters aren't around, leaving much of the film in the hands of the cast, who either turn on the Hormel (Hutchinson and the borderline incomprehensible Mapother) or play up reserve to a point of possible vocational disinterest (Brown).
A race of spider-legged meat-eaters who prefer a nice rotting meal of human flesh, the Burrowers are a fascinating creation, only held back by Petty's low budget. Close-ups of the creatures showcase some cool puppetry and needed strings of slime, but once these babies move, the CG takes over and it's not pretty. In fact, lousy visual effects routinely break the nail-biting spell Petty is hopeful to cast, injecting substandard technology into a picture that's more comfortable with the tranquility of the Earth, nature's splendor, and pioneer fundamentals.

Perkins' 14

It's hard to believe that the third annual After Dark Horrorfest movies are already being released by Lionsgate on DVD. The yearly collection of "8 Films To Die For" has become a perennial favorite, offering horror fans particularly visceral independent fright flicks (and admittedly some duds too) in a festival presentation. March 31, 2009 saw the most recent octet of films arrive in stores, and this time Lionsgate provides some rather nice art in the form of lenticular slipcovers.
Perkins' 14, directed by Craig Singer (who also helmed the first Horrorfest's retro slasher flick Dark Ride), has one of the more clever concepts of the Horrorfest collection. Its creepy story by Jeremy Donaldson can be almost evenly divided into two halves.
The first half deals with the Perkins of the title. Dwayne Hopper, a veteran police officer, is haunted by his son's abduction a decade ago - the 14th and final unsolved kidnapping in the quiet town of Stone Cove. Hopper's wife is cheating on him and his punk daughter is about to make "a big mistake" with the local guitar-playing loser. Things are about to go from bad to worse, however, for our morose hero as he encounters Ronald Perkins in a jail cell. Through some conversations, Hopper begins to suspect that Perkins is responsible for his son's kidnapping, and he turns to progressively illegal methods in order to wring the truth out of Perkins. And thus, the first half is a dialogue-heavy exercise in foreboding, a sort of low budget version of Silence of the Lambs.
Given the film's title, it's probably not spoiling anything to say that the second half of the film deals with the 14. Perkins has indeed hidden away the 14 children for the last decade, and after so much abuse, they're not quite . . . human . . . anymore. Hopper sets in motion a chain of events that unleashes these 14 onto the community of Stone Cove, and the movie then transforms into a kinetic explosion of bloody violence. The 14 are reminiscent of the fast-moving zombies in the latest Dawn of the Dead and the plague victims of 28 Days Later, and they're just as hungry as those monsters were. The resultant violence is filmed quite similarly - and effectively - to those two films.
While there are echoes of better films here, I still appreciated the originality of the premise - and the script handles it okay if rather unbelievably. The acting isn't bad either. Patrick O'Kane is well-cast as Hopper; his portrayal convincingly presents the character's darker traits while still preserving his humanity, which helps make the character a credible hero. Richard Brake is suitably creepy as the child-abducting Perkins.
However, the movie does have its faults. Two primary issues are the editing and the score. Several sequences of the movie, especially ones involving flashbacks, involve rapid edits that are too clever for their own good and disrupt the film's pace. The score, at times, is far too aggressive and / or abrasive, especially during the opening credits and the first extended sequence in Perkins' house.
Still, by the time the credits rolled, Perkins' 14 won me over despite its faults. It's entertaining enough for horror-goers to justify a mild recommendation.

Ashton Kutcher Defeats CNN to Be Twitter's First Millionaire; Is Oprah Next?

Ashton Kutcher beat CNN in the race to amass one million Twitter followers, but he may soon be eclipsed by Oprah Winfrey.The talk show hostess sent her first tweet during Friday's taping of her show — with the help of Kutcher and Twitter CEO Evan Williams — a day after starting her own account. She had accrued more than 70,000 followers — before she tweeted anything. (You can follow TVGuide.com on Twitter, too!)"HI TWITTERS . THANK YOU FOR A WARM WELCOME. FEELING REALLY 21st CENTURY," Winfrey first tweeted at 10:13 am/ET.She followed 10 minutes later with a request: "hi jimmy order a reuben for me."Kutcher, who tweeted that he's going to "stay live on twitter" during his Oprah interview, hosted a live-stream countdown to the historic micro-blogging moment he hit one million followers, which occurred at 2:13 am/ET Friday. "Victory is ours!!!!!!!!" he tweeted.The former That 70's Show star challenged CNN to the online brawl ("It's the web versus the world.") earlier this week when he noticed the two accounts had approximately the same amount of followers. Kutcher said he would donate 10,000 mosquito nets to stop the spread of Malaria if he won. Sure enough, he made good on his promise as he wrote a check to the Malaria No More fund over the live stream.

Drew Barrymore On Justin Long: "I Think It's Very Confusing"

Though Drew Barrymore and Justin Long have been seen together a lot since breaking up last July, Barrymore says their relationship is purely platonic.
"We're good friends and we're doing a film this summer and I think it's very confusing," Barrymore said during her appearance on Ellen on Friday to promote her new HBO film, Grey Gardens (premiering Saturday at 8 pm/ET). "We're dear friends. I guess people find it a little confusing. I totally understand. It seems like, 'What is the deal with them?', but we just adore each other."
Barrymore said her ex is a "great guy and he deserves the most happiness." But she said she's "just not ready" for a relationship.
"I've spent two years really with a very different life than I've had before," said Barrymore. "My priorities have changed. I directed a film. I did this drama [Grey Gardens]. It was something I've never done anything like, these two challenges, and I don't know how to maintain a relationship, to be honest, while I'm doing all of that."

Heidi Klum Pregnant with Fourth Child

Heidi Klum is pregnant with her fourth child, husband Seal announced.Sharing the happy news at his New York concert Thursday, the singer told fans: "[The] topic of debate outside our hotel is, 'Is Heidi having another baby?' Heidi and I are having another baby!"The bundle of joy is due in the fall and will join sister Leni, 4, and brothers Henry, 3, and Johan, 2. Leni is Klum's daughter with Italian businessman Flavio Briatore.Klum and the children were in the front row at the Radio City Music Hall show when Seal announced the news, Us Weekly reports.Klum's pregnancy comes on the heels of Project Runway's lawsuit settlement, which frees the show to air on Lifetime this summer. A casting call for Season 7 is also out. What's a season of Runway without Klum pregnant?