October 15, 2007
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Demons love drippy vaginas.There's a ton of juicy Internet buzz surrounding Fred Vogel's first cinematic foray into traditional mainstream storytelling, due in part to the talented director's outstanding snuff series August Underground. Perhaps this is the very reason I found his highly anticipated traditional horror effort The Redsin Tower to be quite the disappointment. For starters, Vogel and company have stylishly concocted a truly contrived screenplay, a veritable melting pot of all the films that have molded this ragtag collective into what they are today. Unfortunately, this makes Vogel's ambitious flick appear bloated, distended, as if stuffing several ideas into those poorly-paced 90 minutes would somehow transform their dodgy tale of teenage angst into a powerhouse of genre filmmaking. Even the gruesome special effects aren't as stomach-churning this time around, leading this jaded fan to surmise that good old-fashioned context is what made the August Underground franchise so impossibly difficult to watch. The last 30 minutes or so are certainly worth investigating, but I'm sure most will have cashed in their Toe Tag stock by this point. Vogel's latest project is a decent direct-to-video outing, but a remarkably lousy motion picture. Maybe I'm out of touch with the genre, or maybe, just maybe, The Redsin Tower isn't all it's hyped up to be.
Recipe For Disaster: Several Recycled Plotlines + Loads Of Weak Effects + Dialogue That Would Make Kevin Smith Cringe
How To Date Girls: If your high school sweetheart decides to break up with you after sex, I strongly advise against murdering her friends.
The best way to a woman's heart isn't through her chest with a hatchet.
2 Spasms:
I've had the opportunity to take in both Mordum and August Underground on many occasions but I pass it up every time. Based on your praise, I'm going to have to take them in next time they present themselves. I always let them slide because the concept seems very flimsy to me. Guinea Pig 2 really sated the monster in me that wanted to see sim-snuff in a realistic manner and from the reviews I've seen of the AU movies, the word on the street seems to be that all the people from Savini's school are capable of making are those movies.
I actually have this on the block for review as well, but I have half a dozen movies also in line and no idea where to begin.
The August Underground movies are worth searching out if you enjoy snuff-style features. Otherwise they'll just make you car sick.
The Redsin Tower, meanwhile, is just another supernatural slasher mixed with general teenage fiddle faddle. Most horror-related websites see this film as the second coming, while I, on the other hand, completely disagree. In fact, it showcases what's wrong with American horror these days, namely the desire to incorporate elements of influential movies into what is supposed to be an "original" concept. There's nothing new here.
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