Director – Johnny Dickie (Clampires and other Sterotapes)
Starring – Johnny Dickie (Burn in Hell), Joey Davalos (Creeps: A Tale of Murder and Mayhem), and Lloyd Kaufman (Science Team)
Release Date – 2013
Rating – 1/5
Tagline(s) – “More than just a bad movie” and “The last video tape you will ever watch!”
The last few years we have seen a lot of films inspired by certain films of yesteryear. We have seen a huge influx of films inspired and paying tribute to exploitation of every degree from blaxspoitation to hixploitation and nunsploitation. We have also seen a huge explosion of slasher films that attempt to recreate that same looks and vibe of those from the 80s. However, one style of film that never caught on in the recent film trends was the 80s shot on video, or S.O.V. films.
Most people have no idea what these type of films are but real horror junkies know. These films are Blood Cult, Revenge, Woodchipper Massacre, 555, and so many more. These films were literally filmed on video to make movies cheaper and have them readily available for the local ma and pop video store. These movies tend to be horribly bad but they still still had a great quality about them and were loads better than a majority of what Hollywood was shipping out. With all that being said, teenage director Johnny Dickie is a huge fan of S.O.V. horror and made this anthology film that the fine folks over at Wild Eye Releasing was nice enough to send to me for review. So thank you so much!
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows a young teen who steals a mysterious VHS tape from a local rummage shop. He takes it home in hopes of watching a really shitty movie but he gets more than he expected. Before he can pop it in the trusty VCR a blood soaked apparition warns him not to watch the tape.
Being the strong willed teen he is, he ignores the ghost and watches the film anyway. The film consists of various blood soaked shorts with each one separated by the young boys cries of anguish as he sits through rubbish that was filmed. The more the young boy watches the more nightmares leak from the tape into his world. Is the tape worth his own life to complete?**Spoiler Alert**
Before I continue I want to address something that has occurred in the past with my reviews. People take reviews as an attack on the directer, cast, and crew instead of seeing it as an my personal thoughts on a film and nothing else. I really want to stress this because I want everyone to know I did not like this movie but I have a tremendous amount of respect for this teenage director. He is accomplishing, at such a young age, what most horror fans only dream of pulling off. He has completed numerous films in which he has directed, edited, acted, and provided the special effects for. Though I did not like this film I will still follow Dickie and his career because this young director has the heart and determination to really become one of the greats in the indie scene. He just needs more practice and more experience.
Now for the movie. You can debate if this is really a S.O.V. flick or not but you would really miss the point of it. Dickie made this movie as a tribute to the video era and he definitely succeeded. Sadly, his efforts lacked quality. Once again, this film was a one man show but you can see that in every frame of every scene. The acting is not that good, however, with more practice Dickie could easily make a name for himself with his on-camera presence. He does have a certain personality about himself that transforms well on-screen but he let the camera get to him. In many scenes you can tell his is nervous in front of the camera and that transforms into awkward scenes. I say this a lot but more practice would benefit him greatly.
The story is something I have seen a lot the last few years. Films like V/H/S/ and Death By VHS have a very similar story where someone or a group of people watch a VHS tape and hell is unleashed upon them. Finally, those looking for special effects and on-screen kills will find their fill here. The film is blood soaked and flowing over with special effects. Sadly, these special effects are not that good. Overall, this film is not that entertaining but knowing it was handled, in every angle, by a teenager makes it very impressive. I don’t recommend this movie but I do recommend you check out Johnny Dickie and mark my words because he will be a huge name among the indie horror scene one day!
