Horror Fest 2007

Saturday Night: Block of Orange

Knowing what to expect, we were more relaxed when we arrived at the theater for night two of Horror Fest 07. The theater was even less crowded than on Friday night, but we saw some of the same faces on night two. (In fact, some people sat in the same seats, so we followed suit.) As I sat there watching the exact same pre-movie previews and ads, I couldn’t help but wish that Horror Fest has put something together. Trailers for the other movies, something to keep us from watching the same old stuff and make us feel like we were at a festival of some sort.

Film #4: Lake Blood: This is the sort of movie that teases you a bit and switches gears. I like the way it acts like it’s going to be a monster movie, but ends up as your basic slasher in the woods flick. It also brings us some really twisted stuff that is actually kind of fun. The trouble with Lake Blood is that the acting is laughably bad. It’s the sort of flick where you giggle and shake your head when you should be scared. I swear the writer must have been paid by the word because he (or she) added the word “fucking” to virtually every line in the script. I wanted to like this movie, but the acting just killed it.

Film #5: Mulberry Street: What if all the rats living under Manhatten suddenly turned on humans and gave them a virus that turned them into crazed, flesh-eating rat people? That is the question at the heart of this movie. This is a gritty little movie that puts these ware-rats against a courageous ex-boxer and all of the damaged people he cares for. (Including his fresh-from-the-VA daughter who is trying to make her way home.) Mulberry breaks down and becomes an urban “Night of the Living Dead” complete with a nice little “F-You” ending. I wanted to like this movie, but the jerky camera movements during the rat-people attacks just feel forced. It was better than Lake Blood, but still provided more laughs than chills.

Film #5: Tooth & Nail: What happens to the world when the gas runs out? Apparently it becomes pretty much an American version of “Road Warrior” with a small group of survivors holed up in a hospital with Robert Carradine as their leader. They are discovered by a band of cannibals who pick them off one at a time. It really is straight out of “Road Warrior” complete with caveman wardrobe and disturbing hygiene. There are some tense moments during the film and even a few good scares. More of a violent action flick than a horror film, “Tooth & Nail” was by far the best of the night, but even with a hilarious cameo from Michael Madson, it wasn’t nearly as good as “Borderland.”

During the movies I found myself wondering about the attendance. It suddenly dawned on me that this is the second weekend of the festival. Perhaps it was better last weekend. I sure hope so because the attendance maxed out at around 22 during the night. That can’t be very good overall. I really hope they have another one next year because even the bad movies are fun. These aren’t the sort of flicks that would even see a theatrical release without some help.

Current Rankings:

6. Lake Blood 5. Unearthed 4. Mulberry Street 3. The Deaths of Ian Stone 2. Tooth & Nail 1. Borderland.

Six down, two to go.