Blu Release – 3/5
The Dingleberrys
Director – Chris Seaver (Filthy McNasty, Die-B-Que)
Starring – Meredith Host (The Weirdsies, Evil Night) and Chris Seaver
Release Date – 2012
Rating – 3/5
Tagline – “You’ll crap your pants in fright… these turds have bite!”
My goal of eventually reviewing every film of Chris Seavers is slowly coming to fruition as I continue to update my DVD collection to his recently released blus. I worked my way through four Filthy McNasty flicks before moving on to some other films I needed to check out before their release date. At the beginning of the month I was at Cinema Wasteland where I was able to finally meet Seaver and I snagged his newest blu release of the Warlock Home Video Double Feature Volume 2 with Happy Helladays and The Dingleberrys. I reviewed Happy Helladays a few years back during the Christmas season but I decided that The Dingleberrys was the perfect movie for my October horror binge.
**Spoiler Alert** The film follows a group of youths looking to party and have fun who stumble across a group of poop balls that crashed to Earth from another planet. The dingleberries have a taste for human flesh and soon start rampaging through town with sites on the group. Hot on their tails is an intergalactic bounty hunter tasked with killing the dingleberries. **Spoiler Alert**
I went into this one expecting a fun Chris Seaver flick with a lot of poop jokes and some small creature mayhem. That’s exactly what I was given so I was shocked when I saw the warning at the beginning of the film stating that it was one of Warlock’s worst films and the cast and crew was ashamed of it. You can usually tell which films Seaver doesn’t like when it says it’s directed by Rudy Bellefonte instead of himself. They may have not liked their work but I enjoyed it. It was the oddball horror comedy that I was looking for.
The acting in this one is exactly what you would expect from a Chris Seaver film centered around space turds. The cast has a lot of fun in their roles and that translates very well onto the screen but that’s the extent of it. Some of the cast portrays similar characters to other Seaver films but they are still a lot of fun. I enjoy the close group of people that he works with and the acting makes the film in my opinion. The story for this one is a shitty parody of Critters with the Warlock Home Video sense of humor. The movie runs around 40 minutes so it doesn’t over stay it’s welcome and the humor works. The film does have a few slower scenes but the humor and horror references works.
Finally, the film has some blood and some tiny turd creatures designed and sculpted by my friend Tom Martino. We get some shit smeared on faces and funny critters that don’t look cheap. It’s a late night horror comedy so don’t expect a lot. Overall, The Dingleberrys is not the best film to come from Chris Seaver and his camp but I enjoyed it. It’s not as memorable as The Weirdsies and Death O’Lantern but it has it’s moments. I highly recommend checking it out.
Happy Helladays
Director – Josh Suire
Starring – Josh Suire (Stoinky Beach, Evil Night), Roxanne Roxanna, Anne Marie Nouvo (Death O’Lantern)
Release Date – 2011
Rating – 3/5
Several years ago I crossed paths with the Warlock Home Video page. I ordered a few movies then but didn’t have time to watch them until sometime later. Some were not my cup of tea but several others were extremely fun. Since then I have been on the hunt collecting anything Chris Seaver has worked on. He has went through several production company changes starting in Low Budget Pictures before forming Warlock Home Video and then settling on Midnight Kids Productions.
Several months back Seaver announced that he had several of his films up for sale. I needed a few to finish out my Warlock Home Video collection so I went ahead and grabbed what I could. One of those films is the 2011 holiday slasher Happy Helladays. With Christmas just around the corner I decided this was the perfect time to finally check it out.
**spoiler Alert** The film begins in 1974 when an infant is tossed against the door of a sorority house. We jump forward 13 years and the den mother has taken the young boy in and raised him as her own. The sorority sisters often pick on him which makes his life a living hell. However, one Christmas this changes when he is pushed too far and snaps when he doesn’t get the present he had hoped for. Now they all will die for the way they treated him. **Spoiler Alert**
People often forget that movies are meant to entertain. I love a movie that is fun. It can be childish and immature but it needs to deliver on the fun. Too many films are directed by someone who is sniffing their own farts instead of trying to give their viewer’s something entertaining. Warlock Home Video always makes a fun movie. Sure, they are bad and have zero budget but they still satisfy. This addition to the Warlock Home Video library directed by Josh Suire is no different.
The acting in this one is funny. The characters are extremely clichéd which was the intent. The has fun with the roles and it shows on screen. Their comedic takes on their roles only fits the tone of the film and they do a great job bringing the laughs. The story for this one is a an entertaining tribute to holiday slashers of the 70s and 80s especially the classic Black Christmas. It is predictable but god damn is it funny. Finally, this one has several death scenes but they are a product of not having a budget. The blood and gore is nonexistent which is a little disappointing. Overall, Happy Helladays is far from perfect but it does deliver some solid laughs. If you want some no budget fun I can’t recommend this film enough. Check it out.
