

by Wren Leach Staff Writer
I'm not even sure where to start on this one folks. I have no idea what the folks over at Brimstone Productions were thinking (or taking) when they thought it would be a good idea to film this little gem. Whatever they were on, they should have included some of it in the packaging so it would be as enjoyable a movie for everyone. The only real horror here was that this beauty was made at all.
I know you would love for me to tell you all about the storyline but I'm going to take things out of order here. Bare with me and I promise I'll tell you all about it. This movie was a little confusing. As it turns out, it's three short stories instead of one long story. There's nothing wrong with this in general but when they made the movie they didn't take the time to label each story as you go. What happens is a fade to black (just like every previous scene change) and then you have new characters and a new story. It's not until the credits roll that you have any idea what the hell you were just watching. I was sitting there stunned,(feeling betrayed by my VCR) staring blankly at the credits, when I realized I just saw three bad stories instead of one painfully long story that made very little sense. With that said, on to the storylines!
In our first story, we have a horror writer who's come home to reconnect with the girl who got away in high school. As it turns out, the reason the girl got away was her man hating, bible toting Grandmother managed to keep all men away. She knew her Granddaughter's animalistic tendencies and also knew that the sins of the flesh would bring out the beast in her. This family carries the mark of the beast so breeding is a really bad idea. Will our love sick hero take the warnings that are given to him or will he just write it off as one of his own storylines?
In our second story, we have two young lesbians in love. One of them is from a pure bloodline and the other wants to witness the power of the shape shifters first hand. It's nice when you can find a girl with a little something extra. Our pure blood just wants out. She's tired of the responsibilities of the bloodline and just wants to be human. There just happens to be a spell that can transfer the spirit of the line from person to person. It's risky but worth a shot. Will our lovers live happily ever after or is this just a poisoned relationship?
In our last tale (thank God) we get to watch a hunt in progress. An older gentleman is on the run for his life. His pursuers are never far behind and he's looking a bit tired. The question is, who is he and why is he being hunted like a common animal? More importantly, who are the hunters?
I think that the storylines, on their own, weren't horrible concepts. They could have been done well enough with a little creativity. I don't mind that a movie doesn't have a big budget but there are always things you can do to help a low budget along.
My first complaint (and I have many) is that the make up wasn't at all consistent throughout the film. At first, you can't see the werewolf because they darkened the scene to the point of barely being able to see at all. In the light of day they used a latex mask that wasn't great but it worked well enough. By the second story, I didn't know if I was looking at a werewolf or a New York sewer rat that found it's way into some toxic waste. For most of the film, you get to see the tip of the werewolf's snout and not much else. I think the camera man doubled as the werewolf and kept getting his nose in the scene.
For a horror movie, there was surprisingly little horror. Most of the werewolf attacks were off camera and there where times that it looked like the camera man was the one being attacked. There was very little gore in the whole movie. There was a scene where a werewolf ripped out someone's heart. It wouldn't have been to bad if the still beating heart didn't look like a whoopee cushion with some corn syrup on it. I guess it's the thought that counts.
The sound was a horror all it's own. There where scenes filmed on the street and you couldn't hear anything over the passing cars. Oddly enough, they seemed to have spent a good deal of time on the background music. It's probably a good thing they did because it's the only thing that was perfectly audible through out the movie.
One thing that would probably be a good thing to consider in a low budget movie is the casting. When you don't have a whole lot of money to spend on effects you can make up for it in casting. For example, if you have a Grandmother in a story, she should probably look older than the Granddaughter. The only thing that made this girl a Grandmother was a fifteen dollar Halloween Adventure wig and a really bad accent. If you can't pull off the make up to make the woman look older, find an older woman to play the part.
This movie was a mess. I don't think you could get me to watch it again if you paid me. I received a screener copy and (to be fair) if it had been in a release box, I would have been able to see it was three short stories by reading the back. That would have cleared up the confusion. Then it just would have been a poorly done movie. As it stands now, it's painfully drawn out with not a whole lot to make it worth the time it takes to rewind the tape. Thank God it wasn't on DVD though because I don't think I could have gotten through the special features without opening a vein.
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