Category: Film

“Pure O” – Reel Review

Posted on by Mark Kelly

FORMAT DETAILS
Short Dramedy
DURATION: 19:28
LOCATION: Dayton,Ohio, United States COMPLETED: July 2018

Purity, the lead singer of the newly signed indy rock band O, wakes up to begin the last day of her bands independence. These are some of the opening moments of “Pure O”, a quirky comedic drama written and directed by W.M. Weikart and BlueBeard Productions. As we follow Purity (Stella Singer) through her daily routines we meet an eclectic cast of family and friends that have differing opinions about Purity’s hobbies, the decisions she makes in her life, and who she is as a person. We also begin to find out that Purity has hidden issues that she is struggling with internally, and that she may have to make some tough choices in dealing with these struggles that will change her life forever.

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Schlock du Jour: Leaf Blower Massacre 2

Posted on by ReelRat

directed by Anthony Cooney
runtime 60 mins

A beloved pastime of horror fans is talking about how many “Massacre” films there are. From The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to Alien Beach Party Massacre, and pretty much anything you can fathom in between (I’ve yet to see a Purple Weasel Massacre, but I’m sure it’s in production). So when I heard there was a film called Leaf Blower Massacre, I was as surprised as I was to find out Roman Reigns is facing Brock Lesnar at Summerslam for the Universal Championship. That is to say, not at all.

Leaf Blower Massacre is a 2013 short approximately 12 minutes in length. In it, we are introduced to a killer that is a dead ringer for the nail gun killer in Nail Gun Massacre, except instead of a high-velocity carpentry tool, the killer is wielding none other than the eponymous leaf blower. The fact that the weapon needs an outlet to work is a funny way to poke fun at the killer’s weapon trope. This short is all in good fun, even if it does seem to get confused about what it actually is, much in the way the WWE creative team is confused about the character of Roman Reigns. What would have been more compelling is if our 12 minutes of attention were met with a relentless onslaught of killing randos in clever ways with a leaf blower. But I’m projecting.

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“SAM” Reel Review

Posted on by Mark Kelly

For the month of July CinemaSlice has chosen to highlight the short sci-fi film “SAM” for the Indy Film Spotlight. Directed by Zac Deering, “SAM” follows a seemingly homeless wanderer, named Doc (Jarret Ross), as he scavengers the outer city for parts of an unknown project he seems to be working on. In an abandoned building he soon finds a stack of cardboard boxes where he discovers a powered down android (James Hudson). After getting the android back online we begin to learn more about Sam and find out he may be more than what he seems.

Zach Deering has been featured before in the Indy Film Spotlight with his film “Nano Addiction” and just like this previous film, “SAM” features the same stunning visual effects. It’s always a treat to see indie filmmakers take such care in making special effects believable with such a low budget. A lot of these films end up looking campy or cheesy, while “SAM” maintains its credibility throughout.

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Meet the Slicer – Kevin Hosey

Posted on by Nic White

Sup Slicers!?

It’s our pleasure to introduce another talented CinemaSlice contributor, Kevin Hosey.

Kevin has written 4 episodes of our horror anthology series, A Slice of Fright, is a member of the jury panel for A Slice of Fright Film Festival— and has even designed/produced props for the short film, Hell to Pay. 

Kevin Hosey is an author, editor and cartoonist. His short stories have appeared in several publications, including the “Star Trek Strange New Worlds” anthologies (Simon and Schuster), “Hint Fiction” (W.W. Norton), “Bigfoot Tales” (Open Casket Press), the sci-fi magazine “Beyond Centauri“, and the retro sci-fi adventure site 365Tomorrows.com.

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Expected NonSense – “Gerald’s Game”

Posted on by Pete Socha

Hey gang, Pete here again to give you my thoughts on the Netflix original Gerald’s Game.

Anyone who knows me is quite aware of my fondness for Stephen King and his works. He his hands down my favorite author. Love him or hate him, one cannot deny his impact on the horror genre both in the literary world and on the silver screen as being substantial. His stories about just any subject on Earth are descriptive, engaging and usually more than relevant.

So it stands to reason that Hollywood would want to capitalize on King’s success.  Many of his works have be translated to the big screen. From The Shining to Carrie to the many television miniseries including Salem’s Lot and the adaptation of my favorite novel of all time, The Stand, there are volumes of King’s works filmed for the unconstant reader. Continue reading “Expected NonSense – “Gerald’s Game”” →

Expected NonSense – Hereditary

Posted on by Pete Socha

Howdy gang. Once again, Pete Floyd here delivering the straight poop on yet another film that is generating buzz: Hereditary

In a sea of blockbuster sequels, comic book movies and reboots, this unconventional horror film is a throwback to the scary movies of yesteryear. I’m reminded of films like The Shining that work not with cheap scares or over the top effects to terrify you, but instead rely on psychological terror to get the heart beating.

The cinematography is top notch.

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Reel Review – “Vulpes: Prologue”

Posted on by Mark Kelly

Today’s Reel Review is for a horror/thriller film, Vulpes: Prologue, by Benjamin Helmeczi.

Animal abuse is not something that you can get away with a fine or jail sentence.

VULPES 2017 Horror Short Teaser

Posted by VULPES: Prologue – horror/thriller on Sunday, January 29, 2017

Trapped in a dark and dingy room filled with various instruments of torture a man is struggling to escape his confines. This is the scene that is set in the opening moments of “Vulpes”, a short horror/thriller written and directed by Benjamin Helmeczi. The man, played by Szabolcs Kelemen, is bloodstained and confused, but we soon come to find that even though he is in this very troubling situation maybe he isn’t so much the victim that he appears to be.

A disturbing take on the idea of “What lengths will I go in order to defend my pets”, this film seems to draw inspiration from revenge action films as well as gory realistic horror. If you are a fan of the “John Wick” and “Saw” franchises, and ever wondered what would it be like if these two cinematic worlds collided, then this film is for you. I also want to mention the great acting of the “villain” in the film, a character named Vulpes played by Ifj Pal Elek. Well done visuals, good acting, and the beginnings of a interesting story are what make this horror short a very intriguing watch.

I also left this short with the strong feeling of wanting more. This story is to strong to be confined to only roughly 8 minutes and I genuinely wanted to find out what happened to characters after the events that take place. I also understand the idea of teasing the viewer and I hope I see more in the future. Some versions of this short I have seen are titled “Vulpes: Prologue“ so I hope this is a sign of a full film coming soon!

4 out of 6 reels.

Collaborating on Art

Posted on by Nic White

Art can be an extremely personal thing– the manifestation of an idea that originated inside of the deepest part of your psyche.

I’ve had the extreme pleasure of working on on film and video projects for the past 20 years, and I understand the importance of collaboration. As much as I want to write, shoot, direct, and edit (and I have on several projects)– it’s just not practical to think one person can be successful in all of these roles (Although we can all find an example to prove me wrong: Charlie Chaplin, etc). And at the end of the day, it’s just not necessary.

If you surround yourself with competent contributors who you trust to pull their own weight on a project, you have more energy to hone-in and focus on specific portions of the project. More importantly, when you lean on others to help produce a piece of art, the end result is an amalgamation of ideas and input from various perspectives.

Tom Cox, Nic White, Vicky Cox, Michael Welborn at 2018 Indy Cinema Sunday Event

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Expected NonSense – “Solo: A Star Wars Story”

Posted on by Pete Socha

Howdy gang. Your friendly neighborhood Momo Pete Floyd here delivering my review of Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Folks, if you are not up to date on Star Wars in any fashion and for some reason you are going to start your journey to that Galaxy far, far away with this movie, you might not want to ever journey back.

Now I know some purists may not agree with my appraisal, and that’s ok. However, even the most die hard fans will agree, what the film could have been was SO much more than it actually was.

First is the fact that this is essentially two movies. Switching directors mid-stream is never a good thing. It was pointed out to me that knowing this I may have carried that resentment into the theater with me.

Perhaps.

However the film just seemed… Scattered. Like my thoughts about it.

There’s definitely a desire to know more about our favorite characters from the beloved franchise. But is it really necessary? The mystery and allure of Han Solo is a big part of the original film. And it carries into the rest of the series. So by detailing his past, I feel as though part of the magic is taken away. Continue reading “Expected NonSense – “Solo: A Star Wars Story”” →

“Center City” – Reel Review

Posted on by Mark Kelly

CinemaSlice.com’s Indy Film Spotlight for the month of June is the noir short film “Center City”. Directed by August Aguilar and written by Frank Aguilar “Center City” centers around the seemingly simple plot of a woman, played by Jenny Moon, being driven around Philadelphia while having a conversation about the local landmarks with her driver, played by Mike Raymond. After being dropped of at a hotel for awhile and arriving back to the vehicle with a man, played by David Pelella, we begin to find out that this is no innocent tryst and that there are far more sinister motives to this meeting.

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