VOD Review: Happy Death Day (2017)

"There's something fun about this movie, even if it is a bit tame."

When it comes to the movies that Blumhouse Pictures churns out on the regular, it's safe to say that many of them are a mixed bag.

For every Hush, Sleight, or Viral that we get, we also have to endure the underwhelming mediocrity of titles like The Gallows, Exeter, or The Veil.

Then there's the next level down, where movies like Mockingbird, The Darkness, or Unfriended exist... and that is truly shit-filled level.

As Teen Terror flicks go, Happy Death Day is a step up for Blumhouse, although it feels fairly sanitized and tame, which holds it back from being great.

Tree (yes, that's actually what people call her) wakes up on her birthday, on Monday, September 18th, in some guys dorm room, where she ended up after a night of hard partying. She does her walk of shame and sets about her day, which involves her being a catty mean girl, and making us fine with the fact that she's about to be murdered over and over again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MEAN GIRL!

You see, as her birthday draws to a close, she's murdered by a masked killer. Then she wakes up and it's the same day again, only she's still alive. So she sets out on her day again, experiencing a huge case of deja-vu at every turn, until she realizes that for some reason, she's reliving the same day over and over again, which includes dying in a new, painful way each time at the hands of her killer.

ARE WE SUPPOSED TO ROOT FOR HIM OR HER?

Pissed off at dying repeatedly, Tree, with the help of her nice guy love interest, tries to figure out who's killing her, and why.

Lots of things ensue over and over again.

AH, ROMANCE.

Everyone who has seen Happy Death Day has already said that it's basically Groundhog Day gone the Slasher route, and it bears repeating, because that's exactly what it is. It's pretty sad that there's no Bill Murray in this one though, because he's the goods.

HDD is a fun movie. It's an inventive movie too. It would have played much better though had they not restrained the material so much. Director Christopher Landon's last feature, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (review HERE), laid on the gore and crude humor, which made us love it. HDD feels neutered by comparison, and that hurts its enjoyment factor.

Maybe that's because as clever as the script was, we found it to be just as weak: what is causing the time loop?; why so many fake endings?; why was the reveal of the killer so random, and why did it feel like it made no sense? When a script is weak, visceral thrills tend to gloss over such weaknesses, and this movie needed those extra touches.

"PEEK-A-BOO!"

Plenty of inventive, and even fun, kill scenes throughout this one, although most of them are not very heavy on the blood.

THE MASCARA FLOWS FREELY THOUGH.

No such luck.

SUCH POTENTIAL.

This movie knows what it is, and that's cool, but it's short on likable characters, and some of its plot points feel stretched in order for them to make sense, but hey, this movie is about its gimmick, and it's at least a good one.

Just wish it had contained more R-rated elements. And answers.

C+

Happy Death Day is available now on VOD, and hits Blu-ray & DVD now.

Happy Hottie Day.

VOD Review: Mayhem (2017)

"An oddly timely movie."

If the idea of Glenn from The Walking Dead and the hottest Babysitter ever (review HERE) running around an office, killing vapid, assholish business types in a variety of nasty, bloody ways doesn't pique your interest, then we're not really sure what will.

Mayhem is like a hybrid of The Belko Experiment (review HERE) and Office Space, bringing overt violence and black humor together to make a statement about how corporate America is killing the little guy, and then allowing that little guy to get the kind of payback that will no doubt strike a chord with anyone who has been wronged in the same way.

Timely, indeed.

The Red Eye Virus is making its rounds across the country, causing those it infects to lose their inhibitions, and act impulsively. That can mean that they turn hyper sexual, but mostly it means that when someone who is infected gets pissed off, they attack others around them, which usually results in someone being killed in a nasty way.

LIKE THIS GUY. DID HE RALLY DESERVE A PEN TO THE NECK?

Derek Cho is an up-and-cummer at the Towers and Smythe law firm, but he's having a bad day. Not only has his shark-like co-worker set him up to be fired, but the building has just been put on lockdown, due to and outbreak of the Red Eye Virus. And then there's Melanie, a sexy girl who has come to the firm to plead her case, only to have Derek turn her away. She's pissed, he's pissed, and they're both infected with a virus that makes them want to kill.

WHAT A CUTE COUPLE.

Together, Derek and Melanie decide to take their complaints to the top floor of the building, where management is waiting out the viral outbreak, and kill them all, because they're all assholes and they have it coming. And because Derek and Melanie are infected, they basically get a free legal pass to kill whomever they want to.

Mayhem ensues.

KILLING IT. LITERALLY.

Mayhem is a fun, bloody little movie that might not be as funny as we'd have liked it to be, but delivers the goods in such an entertaining way that we can forgive it for its shortcomings.

The cool thing about Mayhem is that it feels like a very timely movie. It seems like everywhere you turn these days, the powers that be are sticking it to the little man, mainly in the form of Washington taxing them more while paying less benefits; doing its best to kill Net Neutrality; and otherwise dividing the country to keep everyone focused on everything besides the fact that the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer, and there's not much that anyone can do about it.

Mayhem allows its hard done by, average Joe characters to rebel against the system that is holding them down, and maliciously so, and it does so in a bloody cavalcade of, well, mayhem.

Steven Yeun and Samara Weaving are what make the movie work so well, as the two have a great chemistry together. If we're being honest, it's really Weaving who shines brightest here; she's a star on the rise who chews the scenery in everything she's in lately, and she's and absolute treat to watch work.

NOT SURE WHAT SHE WANTS TO DO WITH THAT HAMMER, BUT WE'RE DOWN.

If Mayhem is anything, it's a gloriously violent and bloody movie.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD.

This one is really light on the sex. There's a bit of nudity, but if you blink, you'll most likely miss it.

SHE'S SEXY EVEN WHEN SHE'S A BLOODY MESS.

We're giving this movie a B+ because of Samara Weaving and Steven Yeun. The former is a wicked actress who is quick becoming one of our faves around here, and it's nice to see the latter in something other than The Walking Dead. Together, they make for a really likable duo in this one, and even though the movie as a whole could have been a bit tighter, they made it work.

B+

Mayhem is available now on VOD, and will hit Blu-ray on December 26th.

Samara Weaving is one of our faves starting now.

Shudder Review: Found Footage 3D (2017)

"A breath of fresh, different air."

The Horror world is filled with endless amounts of cheap, non-sensical Found Footage flicks where people inexplicably film horrific events so that someone can come along later and find the footage, and try to figure out what happened to them.

That usually involves a lot of shaky, grainy, blurred action that really sucks to sit through, and it's gotten pretty old.

Every now and then though, the tired sub-genre gives us a movie that transcends it shitty norm and delivers a smart, funny, and interesting story that makes us smile.

This is one such movie.

Derek and his small cast and crew are making a Found Footage flick called Spectre of Death. This one is going to stand out from the pack by being the first ever 3D Found Footage flick, even though that makes absolutely no sense. But it kinda does, given that this movie is meta like that.

The struggles of Indie filmmaking are front and center here, but the real fun begins when an evil shadow starts showing up in the footage, and begin messing with Amy, stalking her while she sleeps and clawing her arm.

THIS IS WHY YOU NEVER TAKE OFF INTO THE WOODS WITH A GUY YOU JUST MET AT A PARTY.

The producers of this movie know exactly how frustrating the average FF flick can be, and so it's a tiny stroke of genius that they went the meta route with Found Footage 3D, and did their best to decry their peers at every turn. Characters are constantly commenting on how stupid certain elements of their film are, or how things make no sense, and it made for a fun and humorous watch.

Of course, the movie ends up doing all of the things that it makes fun of other FF flicks for doing, but what can you do, it's a FF flick after all. It knows that the whole conceit is silly, but it still has to go there, because that's what it's made to do. 

Things actually get more Horror-oriented towards the end, where the vibe switches from fun to shocking, as the entity makes its move, and tears through the cast and crew. Aside from the part where the idiot driving the getaway van refused to watch the road while he was driving at breakneck speed, the third act was pretty cool. 

CREEPY PLACE, TOO BAD WE CAN'T STAY.

Things get bloody towards the end.

RUN, LIKE THAT WILL HELP.

There's a sex scene, but nothing too graphic.

THERE'S NOTHING QUITE LIKE A BLOODY TANK TOP, IS THERE?

At the very least, Found Footage 3D acknowledges the sub-genre's faults, and manages to entertain on a humorously meta level, while delivering some good old fashioned Horror at the same time. I have to give it credit for going a different route and making itself relevant in its own special way.

If you have Shudder, there's no reason for you not to give this one a go.

B

The 2D version of Found Footage 3D is streaming now, exclusively on Shudder. The 3D version hits the streaming service on October 26th.

The girls of Found Footage 3D.