THE FOLLOWING (season 1) *** AVOID ***

THE FOLLOWING (season 1)

A tv show starring Kevin Bacon as an FBI agent.  Created by Kevin Williamson (Scream, Dawson's Creek, Gossip Girl exec producer).

The story: a serial killer who, while in jail, gains a cult following of people willing to become serial killers and follow his every command.  They break him out of jail and set out to capture his ex-wife and son, whom he loves.  It is up to the ex-FBI agent (Kevin bacon) to come back and catch him.

Was it good?

No.  Don't get me wrong, there is a lot to like about the show.  Kevin Bacon is always interesting and James Purefoy, who plays escaped serial killer, is great.  The idea of a cult of killers is interesting as well.  The problem is that every acts incredibly stupid.  The serial killer wants his ex-wife back, but his plan is basically just send people with guns to any place he might think.  The FBI agents are also stupid.  Seriously, they let the cult agents get the drop on them every episode.  It's amazing how often it happens.  These agents look less competent than Paul Blart, Mall Cop.

Unfortunately, while there is a lot of interesting elements in the set up, nothing is really explored.  A cult of serial killers?  Cool.  But does it explore that?  Not really.  It's just a cult.  Go with it.  You get more insight into character in an episode of CRIMINAL MINDS.  And for all the backstory about the characters (the FBI agent fell in love with the killer's ex-wife) there really isn't anything going on interesting there either.  The way it is set up it is supposed to be a chess match, but there's nothing that either side is playing for.  The killer wants his ex-wife back.  Why?  And how does he think he will get it?  Again, there's an idea but it's just an empty one, a placeholder so you will watch people run around with guns.  What does Kevin Bacon want?  There's also no clear end game.  Chess works because we know what the endgame is -- checkmate.  You can guess from the FBI side it is capturing the bad guy, and yet there's almost nothing about locating him or capturing his people.  And of course, there's the ex-wife who is at the center of it all and is as well developed of a character as a table lamp.

Maybe the show was exciting in its original run, with episodes spread out a week apart.  But marathoning this show just makes all the empty, stupidity of it way too obvious.

*** AVOID ***

KILLER HOLIDAY (2013) *** AVOID ***

KILLER HOLIDAY (2013)  *** AVOID ***

A horror movie by Marty Thomas.  Stars Michael Copon, Rachel Lara, Julia Beth Stern, Alex Mandel, Rachel Wixom.

The story: a group of friends go on a road trip and visit a closed amusement park where they are stalked by a sadistic killer.

Was it good?

No.  No, no, no, no, no.  It's horror that has absolutely nothing scary about it.  And that could work if it were entertaining in some other way -- if there was an interesting dramatic thru-line or if it was funny...but there's nothing here.  the killer is just this guy who acts like he is auditioning for Beetlejuice (without realizing this isn't a comedy).  Slasher films can work easily in one of two ways: (1) give us characters we like and build the horror as they are killed off or (2) give us characters we don't like and build the enjoyment from watching them die.  Of course that helps if you have a villain who is scary or imposing in some way.  This is just this guy.  Seriously, I don't even I would be scared of him and I'm a wuss.  What would be nice is if directors thought for a few minutes about what is actually scary when constructing their scripts instead of thinking they can just copy the copy of a copy of a movie that made an impact 30 years ago and think it will have any impact.

This isn't a movie to avoid simply because it is bad.  Bad movies can be fun when the filmmakers are trying to explore something they think are interesting.  It's a movie to avoid because it's just a crappy, lazy copy.   Why bother?

**** AVOID ****

BOUNTY KILLER (2013) ** RENTAL ***

BOUNTY KILLER (2013)

A post-apocalyptic action comedy with sexy bounty hunters.  Directed by Henry Saine.  Stars Matthew Marsden and Christian Pitre with appearances by Kristanna Loken, Beverly D'Angelo, Eve,  Alexa Vega and Gary Busey.

The story: After corporate greed has left the world a giant wasteland, white collar crimes get a death penalty.  Bounty Killers are the people who go after them and are celebrities with fans.  The story follows Drifter (Matthew Marsden) and Mary Death (Christian Pitre) as a bounty is placed on Drifter and they team up (after she goes after him for the bounty) have to evade killers and gypsies to track down the council to find out what is going on.

Was it good?

It was entertaining for a bit.   The strange mix of desolation and celebrity was interesting, and this is certainly a movie that tries to do a lot more than most low budget films.  The co-star Christian Pitre is beautiful and energetic.  This is a movie that just wants to be a B-movie, almost more homage than
real film.  Where as other movies like DEATH RACE 2000 and MAD MAX used the concept to delve into something more, this is just all superficial fun.  Unfortunately, like most movies that are 70% recycling, the humor isn't funny, the characters are cardboard, the plot doesn't make sense and ultimately the movie feels like a pretty empty thing.

Still, Considering the title and cover, you get the feeling the renters will know what they are getting, and while it doesn't have enough to it to make it a cult classic, it has enough for people who like action, sexy women, and ridiculous sci-fi a watch.

***RENTAL ***

HATCHET 3 (2013) *** RENTAL ***

HATCHET 3 *** RENTAL ***

This is the third (and last?) in the series for HATCHET, the horror series by Adam Green.  Green doesn't direct this one, but he wrote and produces it.  Directed by BJ McDonnell.  Starring Danielle Harris, Kane Hodder, Zach Galligan, Caroline Williams, Robert Diago DoQui, Derek Mears.

The story: Picking up where HATCHET 2 left off, Marybeth Dunston(Danielle Harris) kills Victor Crowley (Kane Holder), then goes to a police station where she is immediately made the prime suspect in the murder of all the people from HATCHET 2.  First the police, then FBI go to  Honey Island Swamp to investigate.  Meanwhile, Amanda Fowler (Caroline Williams), who wants to write a book about Crowley, tries to interview Marybeth, telling her that Crowley can't be killed because he is already dead.  Now the police are attacked by a rejuvenated Crowley and Marybeth with Amanda will try to find a way to stop Crowley once and for all.

Was it good? 

It was, especially the first half.  Starting with a bang, we get right into the action.  Then having Dunston locked up while the police investigate was a nice twist to the standard horror plot and keeps everything interesting.  The writing and acting aren't anything special here, but Danielle Harris does a nice job and it's good to see Zach Galligan (who starred in one of my favorite movies of all time -- GREMLINS!) here as well.  The story really bogs down when the rejuvenated Crowley begins attacking the police, where everything starts to feel very by the numbers.  By the end I didn't really care which side won.  Crowley kills people.  They kill him, but he isn't really dead and he kills a bunch more and they kill him again, but he isn't really dead, etc, etc.  Just crazy repetitious.  Some of the beats were entertaining, but you never like or hate the characters enough to root for or against them. 

Still for all the predictable parts and not-funny dialog, there is still enough here that I liked to recommend it to horror fans.  This isn't horror that will thrill, but for a slightly twisted group looking for a group looking for a fun Friday night splatter-fest, this will fit the bill.

*** RENTAL ***