LOUD KRAZY LOVE: A Love Letter to Korn Fans and Christians Alike

          KoRn is a band that is not usually associated with Christianity, or religion in general. However, over ten years ago, Brian "Head" Welch left the multi-award winning band to pursue a new life. This was a story that I had heard before as I had started following Head after the release of Save Me From Myself  a decade ago.

        Head's album is what got me into KoRn. At the time, KoRn was putting out albums without Welch, and many would say that they were struggling during his absence. Loud Krazy Love tells the story of Welch hitting rock bottom and how God changed (and continues to change) his life in the process. Head would be the first to tell you that he really was at rock bottom. Drugs had a hold on his life and were getting in the way of raising his daughter. Regardless of who or what you believe in, and if you are religious or not, when watching this doc it is abundantly clear that Welch went through a tremendous change.

TL;DR    9 out of 10 

          I cannot recommend this enough. This is a great documentary for both KoRn fans and believers alike. This is by no means a Christian documentary, which I think makes it that much stronger as it reaches a whole new audience. There is explicit language throughout, particularly from KoRn front man Jonathan Davis who seemed to be the only band member who was/is anti-religion, but the documentary never claims to be about anything more than Brian Head Welch's life since leaving the band, and his later return. This might not be one for the kids, but nevertheless I highly recommend it. 

THE DOMESTICS: A Post-Apocalyptic Horror Drama About a Marriage On the Rocks

If you've ever wanted to see Kate Bosworth rage to Goatsnake while downing a bottle of whiskey, you've come to the right place. 

     The Domestics is by no means original. Like many genre films these days, it's a hodgepodge of recycled ideas and tropes that have been overplayed for the last couple decades. However, this doesn't mean that it's not worth watching and it certainly doesn't mean that it's not fun. 

Maybe this makes me a "bad critic", but you'll learn that I often find silver linings in even the worst pieces of garbage.

     The Domestics follows Nina and Mark West after what we're led to believe has been a countrywide "poisoning", only leaving those who are "immune" behind. Early on we learn that Nina and Mark's marriage is struggling so, as a last ditch effort, they have decided to travel to Milwaukee to visit Nina's parents, whom they have recently lost radio contact with. As you can imagine, what ensues is a re-imagining of Mad Max and all the clones that it spawned. Like in Max Rockatansky's universe, The Domestics features warring gangs that each have their own unique sadistic ways of traversing and ruling these lawless lands. The scenes with these faction leaders, if not completely original, are usually enjoyable to watch. I also really appreciated the decision to use practical effects in favor of CGI, bringing that Ozploitation grindhouse feel to the movie. 

     At its core, among all the cannibals, killers, and perverts, the movie is really about the West's failing marriage, and amidst the carnage and fight for their life, we see them grow closer and fall back in love. By the end of the movie, Nina has gone from a timid, quiet woman who is against violence, (particularly violence involving guns) to a gun-toting, pedal to the metal heroine who will do anything to save her marriage. 

TLDR:     6/10  

The Domestics is a Mad Max clone that, while often derivative, is fun to watch and features more than enough action and psychopathic wastelanders to please horror and action fans alike, and at points is pretty funny too.

     

B Movies Aren't a Bad Thing: OVERLORD Is a Wolfenstein/Reanimator Hybrid and It's a Hoot and a Half

Close your eyes with me for a second and picture this. It's a Friday night in 2006 and like me you're just now hitting puberty and life doesn't make much sense, but none of that matters because you're scanning the 8 foot high stacks of DVDs at your (my) fortress of solitude, AKA your local movie rental store, more specifically Movie Gallery.

For you young ones, this is what we did for fun before Netflix took over and became the behemoth that it is today.
It was a simpler time...

You see a movie that looks interesting in the "New Releases", so you turn the cover around and see this on the back...

From a very young age horror fascinated me, but 9 times out of 10 if it was rated "R", I knew that my parents would most likely say no. But that's ok, because I only had to wait 2 years for it to hit FX where it would most likely be heavily edited!!! Awesome!!

Quite an intro, I know. But I said all that to say that movies like Overlord were what shaped me in my teen years. These were the days when Shaun of the Dead constantly played on MTV on repeat (arguably the film that influenced me the most, but that is for another time). Back then in the early aughts I was introduced to unapologetic gorefests like From Dusk Till Dawn, Planet Terror, Slither, and The Punisher (the Thomas Jane one). These were movies that didn't care what people thought about them, they just wanted to have fun, and for those who didn't have a stick up their butt and could enjoy "mindless" violence, these were very refreshing to watch. 

Sadly, for some reason it seems like we see less of these type flicks now. In 2018, in this current climate, everyone is so concerned with political correctness that we get these fluffy, pretentious films, instead of hilarious bloodbaths. What ever happened to going to the movies to have fun?

OK, enough of my cynicism. I'll get to Overlord. 

Like I said earlier, Overlord is a throwback to the movies that I fell in love with in my young adulthood, and am still in love with today.

On the eve of D-day, a group of paratroopers are dropped into a small town in France, where they have been tasked with destroying a communications tower that has been set on top of a church in town. The group comes to find out that the Nazis are experimenting on the townspeople, and have created a serum that brings the dead back to life. It is reminiscent of the low budget found footage movie Frankenstein's Army, which I would also recommend. 

After the first forty minutes or so, we get into the juicy parts, and it turns into a nonstop battle against these Nazi abominations that features some pretty gnarly body horror and gore.

Listen I like well done gore ok? Sue me. 

Frankenstein's Army (2013)

So far Overlord, has been very well reviewed, but it was made for a niche audience, which means it probably won't make a lot of money. But it is a BLAST. I wish we saw more movies like it on the big screen, it's a B movie with an A movie budget. The last time I saw something like it on the big screen was probably The World's End  back in 2013. I'm sure there's been others since, I just can't think of any, not with a mainstream theatrical release (so I'm obviously not counting Mandy).

TLDR: 7.5/10

Overlord is one that I will definitely be watching again. It's funny, features great characters who you really WANT to win, and excellent Nazi bad guys who are even better when they're all mutated and ugly and gross looking. If you're one of those people who think you're "too good" for this movie, and only watch "high art" films released by A24, do yourself a favor.

1. Turn off your brain

2. Grab a friend         

                                3. Sit down, shut up, and enjoy Overlord.

P.S.   I don't hate A24 movies. Ex Machina, The Witch, and Hereditary were all works of art. I just get annoyed by people who hear about an A24 movie and automatically assume that it's going to be the cat's meow. 

Let’s Talk About MANDY

For anyone who had already seen Panos Cosmatos’s 2010 sleeper synth surrealist film

Beyond the Black Rainbow, early reviews of Mandy back in 2017 peaked our interest as we knew a Cosmatos movie starring Nic Cage would be interesting to say the least. And boy howdy was it ever. 

I was lucky enough to make a one night screening of it back in September, and I recently watched it on DVD, and I still don’t feel like I’ve seen it enough to accurately give my opinion on it. 

Let me start out by saying, Mandy will not be for everyone, this saddens me, but it's true. Mandy is an acid fueled (literally), vengeance driven thrill ride, and it's a blast to watch. The movie is a love letter to B-movie horror action thrillers of the 80's and a tribute to metalheads everywhere.

   

Ok enough Cage gifs, there are just so many good ones. 

Mandy is its own beast. It certainly has horror elements and will please genre fans, but it is first and foremost a satisfying revenge flick that is unlike anything I've ever seen before. It is something you can watch and fully immerse yourself in. But what makes Mandy as good as it is is sir Nicolas Cage, love him or hate him, nobody could have played the part as well as he did (watch the scene in the bathroom and tell me another actor who can go from full rage to sobbing in the course of a minute).

Ironically, Cosmatos originally wanted Cage to play the antagonist Jeremiah Sand, but Cage said he wanted the starring role. 

Mandy is by no means the goriest movie I've ever seen, but it's a gore-fest in the way that it comically uses its violence. Mandy is not a comedy, but Nic brings his fiery comedic charm that I appreciated before, but now love with a burning passion. I could talk about this movie all day, but I'm afraid I'll spoil something and you're better off going into this movie completely blind. 

TLDR:  10/10

For fans of horror, surreal, arthouse, or straight up weird movies, you CANNOT miss Mandy, I can't stress this enough. I've never done drugs, but I feel like Mandy is a safe (and satisfying) alternative, as it draws you sleepily in, by the end, spiraling into complete and utter gleeful madness. 

Sorry I couldn't resist.

    

THE TRANSFIGURATION: The Best Vampireless, Vampire Movie

Today was one of those days for me. It wasn't a good day or a bad day, but just an odd one that makes you ponder your greater purpose in life. This is a feeling that I imagine many have felt, and it is definitely felt by the major characters in The Transfiguration. This is NOT an easy watch and is a truly horrifying movie that shows what humans are capable of under great stress.

Milo is a die hard vampire fan who, we find out very early on, has developed a thirst for human blood. In Milo's mind, we are living in a world where vampires exist. He tells Sophie that "Twilight" vampires are not real vampires because they sparkle, but that he does believe that real vampires are not affected by sunlight. Milo says that movies like  Near Dark and Shadow of the Vampire feature "real" vampires (because in Milo's mind this means that he himself could be a "real" vampire), even Let the Right One In is "real" (Milo dismisses the vampire in the film's ability to climb up walls as unrealistic, but he still considers her a "real" vampire). 

Milo is a psychotic, troubled soul who we can't help but feel sorry for. He's not a "good guy" per say, but when we get a flashback of Milo's first blood feeding, we sympathize with him in a way, as it's made clear that his blood drinking is a twisted way of staying connected with this deceased individual. 

The Transfiguration features elements of self harm, depression, PTSD, loss, and all the different ways that the individuals in the movie cope with their problems. Sophie's way of dealing with her abusive home life is different than Milo's coping mechanism, but they are both just dealing with real inescapable issues, even if Milo's approach is more horrific.

TLDR:       8/10

The Transfiguration is not a "horror movie" per say, but I found it utterly terrifying and jarring. The scariest part to me is that (though given a few hints) we never really find out why Milo drinks blood, other than that he's been fascinated with them his whole life. Maybe he envies the complete freedom and power that vampires have, things which are missing from his life. Or maybe, vampires DO exist, and like Milo, have just been hiding in the shadows.

Memorable Quotes:

"You wouldn't like me in the end. I'm not good, I never will be."

"...if you can only exist to hurt people and you know better, then maybe it's better to decide not to exist at all."