WYRMWOOD: ROAD OF THE DEAD

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead Movie Review

A meteor shower leads to a zombie outbreak in Australia. Now Barry (Jay Gallagher), joined by a band of misfits and weirdos, is on the road in search of his sister Brooke (Bianca Bradey), the victim of a kidnapping at the hands of a military outfit working for a mad scientist (Berynn Schwerdt). This Australian comedy/horror is some strange hybrid of The Evil Dead, Mad Max, and Shaun of the Dead, and, for the most part, it works. The film primarily presents itself as a horror film in the beginning, with humor dropped in subtly here and there before becoming almost completely comedy, and finally finding a nice balance toward the end. This film attempts to introduce new things to the genre to mixed results--somehow (it's never really explained) things that were once flammable (gasoline) no longer are, but the gasses the zombies breathe out, as well as their blood, are.

Flammable zombie

Thus, in order to drive around, they have to find a way to use the breathing zombies to fuel their vehicle. Also, for other reasons never fully explained, the zombies stop breathing this stuff out at night, instead choosing to use it to fuel their own movements, making them faster. And somehow, somewhere in the story, the hilarious mad scientist...

this guy

 

...gives a girl...

this girl

...the power to control the zombies. So yeah, there's a lot going on in this film to keep you interested. On top of that it is filled with blood, gore, and absolute madness. The major drawback of the film for me is the heavy reliance on bad CGI for the gore and fire. Also, while the directing is really good for the most part, a lot of times it comes off as a direct rip-off of Edgar Wright and Guy Ritchie. Unfortunately, the movie may lose the viewer somewhat when it leans too far toward the comedy--some of it is just too obvious and not funny. Ultimately Wyrmwood comes across as a film most will either love or hate--if you're expecting a frightening zombie flick in the vein of 28 Days Later you will be disappointed--if you are expecting a zomedy as funny as Shaun of the Dead you will be disappointed--but if you're looking for a film that is a lot of fun and doesn't take itself too seriously, while still adding some gore and surprisingly touching moments, I recommend Wyrmwood.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

 

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead Movie Trailer

THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE (aka La notte che Evelyn uscì dalla tomba)

The Night Evelyn Came Out Of The Grave Movie Review

After his possibly cheating wife Evelyn dies, Lord Alan Cunningham (Anthony Steffen) fancies local strip clubs and hangouts looking for women to bring back to his castle so he can torture and kill them. Slowly diving into madness, Cunningham marries another woman and begins to believe Evelyn is coming back from the dead. This 1971 Italian gothic horror film is a true test of patience. The voice dubbing is horrible. There is little violence and/or gore in the film. The story is a dull one. It seems the director's approach to this film was "lets drag out an uninteresting story as long as we can, and keep the viewers attention by randomly throwing in scenes of hot, naked chicks".

Like this one 

It's not until toward the end of the movie that we finally see Evelyn back from the dead--but is she really? 

I'm convinced

If you can manage to make it through the over 100 minutes of this film you are treated to a somewhat interesting, twist-filled ending that goes a twist or two too far, leaving a potentially fantastic ending very disappointing. One thing I did absolutely love about this film is the transfer--the pops, the grainy film, the missing frames--the film was even off centered at one point. Outside of these few things, there's unfortunately not much going for this film. Skip it.

  

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 4



The Night Evelyn Came Out Of The Grave Trailer

THE NIGHT WALKER

The Night Walker Movie Review

After the death of her wealthy husband, Irene Trent (Barbara Stanwyck) seeks the help of her husband's attorney Barry Morland (Robert Taylor), as she is now having nightmares of her husband seeking revenge on her as she continues to have visions of her "dream lover". The question is this: is she, in fact, dreaming, or is all this actually happening. This horror-mystery comes right out of the gate swinging with an absolutely phenomenal opening sequence that is a combination of fascinating, frightening, and trippy.

Cool stuff

Director William Castle (House on Haunted Hill, 13 Ghosts) does a really good job setting the atmosphere of this film, and it truly keeps one guessing what's real and what isn't. The acting is good all the way around--Stanwyck is a convincing victim, Morland shines as the attorney, and Judith Meredith is wickedly outstanding (and gorgeous) as Joyce, the hair stylist friend of Irene.

Joyce giving Irene a massage

 

The music is really good as well (especially in the first half hour), the blind husband looks horrifying (both before and after death), and the marriage scene is so strange it's wonderful. The major drawback is the pace. Toward the middle of the film it hits a wall and absolutely crawls for quite some time--it's as if Castle and writer Robert Bloch could not find a way to advance the movie, which is strange because it actually is a really good story. This is particularly bothersome considering how good the opening is, so seeing it end up a dog chasing its tail is beyond frustrating. However, once the movie does get back on the tracks it delivers a really effective ending, complete with twists and turns. I honestly wasn't expecting much out of this one, but The Night Walker goes beyond the typical Castle gimmicks (which we all love) and is a good movie as well.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 7

 

The Night Walker Trailer

THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY

The House By The Cemetery Movie Review

After Dr. Petersen kills himself and his mistress, Petersen's colleague Dr. Norman Boyle moves his family to Petersen's house to continue his research, but once there they discover the murder-suicide isn't the only creepy thing that has happened in the mansion. This Lucio Fulci movie is truly a mixed bag of the really good and the really bad. Being the optimist I am, lets start with the good--the film is wonderfully bloody and gory. Fans of Fulci films come to expect this, and The House By The Cemetery certainly delivers. Beheadings, a knife through the skull, slit throats--it's all here. The special effects are, for the most part, really believable and effective (the bat scene notwithstanding). Fulci does a superb job setting a dark atmosphere throughout the film, and some of the scenes are very deliberate and spine tingling.

Like this

  

Unfortunately, as I said, there is a lot of bad with this film as well, and it all starts with this kid...

Bob

This is one of the most irritating kids in film history--yes, I know this film is Italian and the voice I hear is dubbed, but even taking the voice out, the way the kid acts, his facial expressions, etc, are just so bad they are distracting. Speaking of the dubbing--it's horrible. To me, however, the worst part of the film is the zoom shots. Used occasionally a quick zoom can be an effective way to jolt the audience and/or capture a moment of terror--used almost constantly, it becomes unbearable, and good grief, is it ever used constantly in this film. And then there's the bat scene--the fact that it was clearly on a string (I say clearly because, well, you can see the string) didn't bother me--it actually made me laugh. There are two things that kill the scene and takes away a lot from the movie--it is an unnecessarily long, drawn out scene, and the sound the bat is making is ear piercing to the point I actually wanted to jab a screwdriver into my ears.

The House By The Cemetery is still a decent horror flick--it has a really good ending and is worth checking out (especially if you are a fan of Fulci), but I came away from thinking more about what could have been than what actually was.

On A Scale Of One To Ten: 5

The House By The Cemetery Trailer