#319: STARRY EYES

2014
Directed by Kevin Kolsch & Dennis Widmyer

Psychological Horror, Body Horror, Slasher

Now this was a real breath of fresh air! I don't keep up with modern Horror films as much as I would like to, but quite frequently when I do check out a new Horror film that is being hyped up, I often end up disappointed. Yes, even It Follows didn't hit the sweet spot for me! I was browsing the Horror menus of Netflix and after reading the premise of this film and seeing it had a high average rating, I decided to give it a go! THANK GOD!!! Starry Eyes hit all the sweet spots. The first discussion point, is that it is quite an original premise. A struggling actor working a crummy, demeaning job is so desperate for a role in a Horror film, but is she willing to do absolutely ANYTHING to land the role?

Starry Eyes starts off like a regular movie, but it isn't until leading lady Sarah goes on her audition that things start to seem a little odd and unsettling. Without giving too much away, this is a film that escalates in creepiness and gets more fucked up as it goes along. There are some surreal touches along the way that add to the creep factor, and the film never misses a beat. The performance of the leading actress Alex Essoe is fantastic throughout, giving a very physical performance. The cult like film producers are also excellent. Starry Eyes is quite a unique idea for a Horror film. The closest film I can compare it to is Black Swan, not only because it is about a woman pushing herself too far to land a role, but it has a lot of messed up Body Horror elements, and a similar duality of good an evil sides of one person. Starry Eyes is also a great satire of the Hollywood system. I really don't want to give too much away about this film, but it is very creepy and very intense the longer you get into it. If you want something fresh and exciting from modern Horror, this is it! 8/10.

#291: NIGHTMARE IN A DAMAGED BRAIN

1981

Directed by Romano Scavolini

Horror, Slasher, Video Nasty.

I first saw this film years ago when I was browsing the Horror section at HMV. The DVD had the most ridiculous artwork and description, with some of the most insane bloody and gory images on the back. I was sold! But unfortunately when I actually got through watching it, it turned out to be a cut version with almost every instance of blood and gore removed. In fact it was so bad that it actually interfered with the flow and plot of the film. In my state of confusion, I studied the DVD sleeve closer to find a tiny bit of writing, half obscured, that read "images may not appear in film". I got screwed.

So thank you to the gorehounds at 88Films for restoring Nightmares In a Damaged Brain in its full uncut glory on Blu-Ray. Fortunately the plot made a LITTLE bit more sense (I can't stress that enough) and yes, it turns out this film has the occasional brutal kill and over the top gory madness!

Even after seeing it restored, this film still brought back bad memories of when I first watched it (nightmares if you will). In true Italian style, it has a headache inducing narrative and the plot of this film is just dumb. Watching it feels like your brain is being bludgeoned with a hammer! But what's worse than, the majority of the film is actually very boring. It plods along at a slow pace, and has very few thrills, which is actually unlike even the stupidest Slasher films. The film looks incredibly ugly and it's vague nods towards Psycho and silly red herrings just annoy. A daft twist ending is the icing on the shit sundae. It's nice to see a film finally restored in it's ultimate form, but this one was probably better off being thrown under the bus!

On a bizarre side note, I was actually lucky to even get the 88Films Blu-Ray, as it ended up getting recalled from stores for mysterious reasons. Perhaps the universe didn't want it to be shown uncut after all! 3/10.

#290: SPLATTER UNIVERSITY

1984
Directed by Richard W Haines
Horror, Slasher.

I feel like I have now reached the point in time where I have seen so many low budget 80s Slasher flicks that I can't even tell them apart! I put the 88Films Blu-Ray disc in and 5 minutes in I was convinced I had already seen this film, yet I hadn't. Which goes to show how generic it is. Although it was released by the mighty Troma team, this one doesn't quite share the same blueprints as say Toxic Avenger. That is to say it isn't as wildly imaginative or as funny or crazy. It has your typical stock synthesiser score and 25 year olds playing 16 year olds who can't act or speak a word of dialogue to save their lives. I think the reason I found this so familiar is that Troma already released a very similar Slasher film called Graduation Day (also on the 88Films label).

Splatter University (though its set in a college) begins in a brutal fashion with two stabbings that lead to buckets of fake blood. In fact in the second kill the poor woman has her tit cut in half! But after an exhilarating start, the film swiftly goes downhill from there by being too lopsided. The killer isn't seen frequently enough, and inbetween his kills you have to tolerate badly written and acted teen drama, focusing too strongly on a teacher who cannot control her students, and a student who has fallen pregnant and doesn't know how to tell her boyfriend. It gets a bit too Saved By the Bell or Beverly Hills 90210 for a Horror film! I wish this one had more of Troma's crazy sense of humour and disgusting over the top effects. At 78 minutes, this film is tolerable, but not especially worth seeking out in the first place. 5/10.