Dear Mr. Gacy

Reviewed by Shiva
Film Information:Dear Mr. Gacy




I read The Last Victim, the book written by Jason Moss many years ago, and was surprised to find a film adaption.

And very much like the book, I felt that there were an awful lot of creative liberties being taken when it comes to how sociopaths and college students interact and how lax prison security can be. I could be very wrong, but I have my doubts that I am. I've not been able to find any verification, save for quite a few people out there who felt Moss was full of it too.

I knew it was going to be an interesting film nonetheless, given what is known of John Wayne Gacy and his various pen-pals while sitting on death row.

Gacy is very well portrayed by William Forsythe. He's disturbing yet respectable one minute, and then he makes you terribly uncomfortable the next. Hands down, the best I've seen when it comes to tackling Gacy's character.

Jesse Moss plays Jason Moss, (There is no relation between the two.)a boy who decides to do a project for school on the inner-workings of Gacy's mind by posing as the perfect victim. Given the questionable material provided by the Moss-author, I thought that Moss-actor was pretty convincing.

There is a fair dose of disturbing conversation here. Gacy leaves few taboo stones unturned in his correspondence with the young man... everything from suggesting prostitution as an easy way to make money to having sex with his younger brother for kicks. It can get uncomfortable, but it doesn't even cover half of the claims made in the book.

Regardless of the questionable "true" part in this Based On A True Story film, it is worth taking a peek at.





Similar Films: Gacy - The Crawlspace, 8213 Gacy House, The Silence of the Lambs

Films with William Forsythe: Highway Hitcher, Hammerhead, The Rock, Russo, Direct Hit, The Last Letter, G-men From Hell, The Devil's Rejects

The Reef

Reviewed by Shiva
Film Information:The Reef



Ever see the movie Open Water? If you have, then you already have a pretty good idea of what you are in for while viewing The Reef. people get stranded in the middle of the ocean and basically ring the dinner bell for sharks.

Look at the movie posters, for cryin' out loud. That pretty much tells you everything you need to know.

It's really hard to expect much from a film when it doesn't even bother to hide the idea that it is riding such blatant coattails.

This film is also supposed to be based on a true story. I don't know the story itself, and asides from the nagging feeling that I'd seen this story before I had a very hard time believing that this actually happened.

Let me clarify my reasoning here. I'm not altogether unfamiliar with great white sharks. I know that the Jaws genre movie-goers were raised on the idea that white sharks will relentlessly hunt down humans and consider them to be a fine delicacy.

But they aren't. They don't even like the taste of us. Almost all accounts of great white attacks are exploratory bites... just enough for them to figure out that we aren't seals. If they take a nibble of something they like, they are also prone to executing a surprise attack from below.

Tiger sharks, on the other hand, will follow a food source and gobble up damned near anything that looks even remotely edible. Including turtles.

That being said, I had a hard time buying into the true story angle as soon as I identified the shark. (At least Open Water did a good job casting its sharks!)

But there was another thing that really did me in on this film. It plodded along slowly and relied heavily on red herring scare tactics for over an hour. (aka "AHHH.. oh, it's just the cat" moments.) That is the problem with plots involving a small cast stranded somewhere without a lot to play off of... if you take away all the false starts, scenery coverage, and stock footage you just end up with an expensive short film.

While the characters were fairly believable once the shark showed up, I really didn't care about them. Nor did I root for the shark to eat any particular one of them.

One thing I will say, they did a decent job with the shark attacks. Kudos to the editor here. I imagine that anyone with a serious shark phobia would hit the ceiling multiple times while watching this film.

But overall, I really didn't care for it. I honestly wanted to turn it off after going about 70 minutes into it, but decided that I'd waited so long to see the damned shark that I might as well just ride it out.




Similar Films: Open Water, Jaws, Jaws 2, Jaws - The Revenge, Great White/The Last Shark, Shark Attack, Tintorera

Other Films by Writer/Director Andrew Traucki: Black Water

Simon Says

Reviewed by Shiva
Film Information: Simon Says




Ever wonder exactly how crazy Crispin Glover can play a character? If so, this is the film for you.

Simon Says is a story about some college kids who decide to spend a weekend camping at a very remote spot near a minuscule-sized town that seems to be sparsely infested with twins. Unfortunately for them, they also meet a pair of very unusual brothers who have a lot of family issues and one of them likes to play with pickaxes.

Glover plays both Simon and Stanley in the classic good twin/bad twin combo. It's also one of the darkest roles I've seen him in. When I see him starring in any horror film, I expect him to play a twisted character like Willard or Montag in The Wizard of Gore. He's good at playing strangely charismatic but completely batshit crazy.

Glover's charcter(s) demand a wide range from him and he rises to the challenge. The supporting characters were stereotypical but still convincing. The violence was clever although the story was somewhat predictable when all is said and done.

Overall, I thought it was a fun little horror film.




Similar Films: The Hills Run Red Hatchet Bloody Murder The Hills Have Eyes

Films with Crispin Glover: Hot Tub Time Machine Alice in Wonderland The Donner Party Freezer Burn: Invasion of Laxdale Beowulf The Wizard of Gore Epic Movie Drop Dead Sexy Charlie's Angels - Full Throttle Willard Like Mike Charlie's Angels The People Vs. Larry Flynt The Doors Wild at Heart River's Edge Back to the Future Friday the 13th - The Final Chapter

Hobo With A Shotgun

Reviewed by Shiva
Film Information: Hobo With A Shotgun




I've dubbed this film: "What Troma would do if they had a big budget".

This was just a fun movie. It didn't take itself too seriously and went way over the top without any apologies. it has a nice cast of outrageous characters and a very simple revenge story. And it's nice to see that Rutger Hauer still has it when it comes to playing a psycho.

A hobo (Rutger Hauer) rides the rails to a town that is completely over-run by crime and corruption. After getting his ass kicked for trying to rescue a kind-hearted prostitute (Molly Dunsworth, he decides to start cleaning up the town by blasting away the scumbags with a shotgun.

It is a bloodbath, but in the campy sort of way. The showy villain (Brian Downey) has never met a debauchery he didn't like and his two sons are stumbling over one another to walk in daddy's footsteps. You can almost picture the writers sitting around a table and thinking of the worst possible things you can do... like set fire to a busload of children or start a "Kill the Homeless" campaign.

Don't expect a lot of gripping suspense or deep drama here. Just sit back and enjoy the messy ride.




Similar Films: Black Dynamite The Toxic Avenger Sin City

Films with Rutger Hauer: Dead Tone Minotaur Batman Begins Sin City Bone Daddy Redline Mr. Stitch Blind Fury The Hitcher Blade Runner

Films with Molly Dunsworth: Jesse Stone: Innocents Lost The Tenth Circle The Memory Keeper's Daughter