Horror Huddle w/ Stacey-Beth & Ash: DEATHGASM (2015)

(This one was filmed back in January 2017, sorry for the EXTRA late-ness!)

On this episode of HORROR HUDDLE, we got together and talked about New Zealand's horror comedy DEATHGASM.

Enjoy and leave us some feedback!

Follow us on IG: staceybethh || e.txcountryboy

Kuso (2017)

Running Time: 1hr 45min

Release Date: July 21, 2017

Directed by: Flying Lotus

Written by: David Firth/Flying Lotus

Review by: Mike

We Need To Talk About Kuso: A Review...Sort Of

There has been an earthquake and it isn't pretty. Strange things are afoot. Surfacing in the aftershocks are all the potentialities of our dystopic present. This is Kuso. And we need to talk about it. I'm not going to lie to you, but neither am I going to tell you the truth. After witnessing this film, I admit, I can't be honest, and to be honest, I don't think you can either. So, let's find a dark corner and chat. I promise nothing here is real. It's only a film.

Except Kuso isn't a film. It's Japanese for "shit" and shit is as good of a description as any. This shit is an experience. It is an assault. It is an attack on your senses and your sensibilities. It is the murder of your subconscious. It is the rebirth of your dirty little id. It is you, you nasty fucker, in all your disturbed glory. Why would you watch this (and we both know you're going to, dear reader)? What the fuck is wrong with you?

There are two questions I hate  to be asked: "what is wrong with you?" and "Are you alright?" The answers have always been, "I don't know" and "maybe?" respectively. They are the questions my mother has asked most consistently over the course of my life. As a result, I ask everyone. At this point, I have a strong urge to ask Steve, the director of Kuso, the very same questions (probably in the same tone as my mother). I think I would probably get similar answers or worse answers or no answers at all. Maybe there are no answers. But still... wtf, Steve? I'm not sure I'm equipped to handle this shit.

For those of you that don't already know, Steve has an alias. His alter ego is DJ/producer/musician extraordinaire Flying Lotus. And, if you are aware of the work of FL, this shit might make a bit more sense. 

(Before we go any further, stop what you're doing and go listen to FL' s 2014 release "You're Dead!" I'll wait.)

Kuso is a lot like Steve's work as Flying Lotus: dark, jerky, offensive, assaultive. It exists on the outer rim of the modern avant garde. Kuso isn't representative of a "critical utopia in an increasingly dystopic moment" (Red Wedge Magazine). It is a near future nightmare firmly rooted in the extreme alienation and arbitrary violence of our late capitalist America. Here oral sex with a talking boil is the cement in an apocalyptic relationship. A shrimp like bug living in the asshole of a "doctor" cures phobias. The coat hanger is the official take home prescription for unwanted pregnancy. Interdimensional, weed obsessed alien house mates meet out "justice" on a date rapist. An incontinent schoolboy makes a validating discovery in the strangely enchanted woods. A woman falls after her baby through a hole that leads to hell. These vignettes form the topography of a world shaken by a cataclysmic earthquake and they are stitched together by a series of animated/musical interludes that are equally unsettling.

I realize I have beat around the bush. I warned you I couldn't be completely honest about any of this. It isn't my fault. If you want to know the truth, its your fault. You're the sick fucker that's actually going to watch this shit. What's wrong with you? I don't have the answer to that but, before I make my way out into the South Texas heat, I'm going to leave you with some tips. If I were you, I would pay attention (but we both know you won't). 

1. DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM! (I couldn't possibly be more emphatic here!)

2. WATCH THIS FILM.

3. Keep your eyes closed at all times (if you open them, I'll know)

4. Wear gloves.

5. Wear clothes (no one wants to see your bloated ass naked, especially you).

6. If you encounter a talking boil do not put your dick in or around it.

7. Tell your mom you're sorry (she didn't raise you to watch trash like this).

8. Avoid eating for the duration of the film.

9. Be sober.

10. Let the credits roll (patience is the hallmark of maturity).

Well, that's it gang. I can't say I enjoyed our time together, you knuckle dragging animals. Enjoy!

Pick of The Week: ROSEANNE: TRICKS & TREATS

Release Date: 2011

Running Time: 3hrs 6min

Roseanne will always be one of my favorite tv shows of all time (and I don't think I'm the only one).  The humor was always on point and surprisingly still relevant, but what I loved the most was the family dynamic.  They didn't give us a cookie cutter, tv sitcom family; they were real just like the rest of us, they had fights and financial troubles.  And they LOVED Halloween!

It's safe to say that the Roseanne Halloween episodes are the best of any sitcom (fight me on this).  That's why my "Pick of the Week" goes to Roseanne: Tricks & Treats dvd released by Mill Creek Entertainment in 2011.  Running at 3hrs and 6min, it features all 8 Halloween-themed episodes (season 1 didn't have one): BOO!, Trick or Treat, Trick Me Up, Trick Me Down, Halloween IV, Halloween V, Skeleton in the Closet, Halloween- The Final Chapter, Satan, Darling.

Now I'm going to be honest here, not every Halloween episode is AMAZING.  They really started to lose their spark towards the end of the series, like the rest of the episodes in those seasons, but those first few were classics!  BOO! was the first and probably the best- Roseanne and Dan spend the episode trying to one up each other with spooky pranks to determine who really is "the master!"  And Roseanne dressed as a male lumberjack in the second episode, Trick or Treat is absolutely hilarious.

I have to say, though, that the icing on the cake of these episodes were the costumes, by far.  But it wasn't Roseanne and Dan that were best dressed, it was the kids!  Darlene and Becky always had the coolest costumes that I'm still jealous of to this day.  Becky dressed as a mutilated prom queen, Darlene as Tippi Hedren in The Birds, or little DJ as Hannibal Lector complete with straightjacket- they were definitely winning best costume somewhere in Lanford.

That said, Roseanne: Tricks & Treats is a must-own for any fan of the sitcom and the Halloween season.  And you can't beat that price tag of $5.49 over at Amazon!  So go and buy it and stick around for our episode of Horror Huddle on Halloween when we talk in-depth about the episodes!

They're Watching (2016)

Running Time: 1hr 35min

Release Date: March 25, 2016

Directed/Written by: Jay Lender & Micah Wright

Review by: Stacey

Adam and I decided to stay in bed about an hour or two longer than usual on Sunday because, duh, lazy.  In between re-runs of Bar Rescue we started watching one of the many home improvement shows on HGTV because we'll never have the money to make unneccessary renovations to our house and because they're just plain addicting to watch.  Have you ever wondered what would happen if the crew from one of those shows had to film in rural Europe but ended up stumbling across some superstitious locals who have a heavy disdain for witches?  No?  Well, too bad, because 2016's They're Watching answers that for you.

Ava's Possessions (2015)

Running Time: 1hr 29min

Release Date: March 4, 2016

Review by: Stacey

 

I'm sure we've all seen our fair share of demonic possession movies to last us a lifetime.  What's not so common is a movie that gives us a look into what happens to these people affected by the possession AFTER all is said and done.  Writer/director Jordan Galland did just that with Ava's Possessions.  

Stomping Ground (2014)

Running Time: 1hr 20min

Release Date: March 8, 2016 (DVD & VOD)

Review by: Adam

 

Most of us have been there.  You’re meeting your partners’ family and friends for the first time; you’re nervous, skeptical, even worried.  Now toss in Bigfoot and you’ve got Dan Riesser and Andrew Genser’s “Stomping Ground.”  Ben (John Bobeck) and Annie (Tarah DeSpain) leave Chicago to spend Thanksgiving in Annie’s old hometown, bringing their relationship up the next level.  Quick to find out that his girlfriend might not be the person he thought he knew, “Big City” Ben learns of Annie’s drinking and partying ways and her love of Bigfoot hunting with Paul (Jeramy Blackford) and Jed (Justin Giddings).  Immediate tension grows between Paul and Ben over Annie, and drunken plans turn into reality as the group loads up the next morning to take “Big City” onto his first Bigfoot hunt.

You can learn a lot about a person by talking to the people they grew up with, and even more about yourself with how you handle it.  “Stomping Ground” takes you on that awkward journey of insecurity when dealing with your partner’s past, your future, and, oh, did I mention a SASQUATCH?!?  Co-writer and director Riesser takes a thriller and a rom-com and adds a splash of creature feature to make one of the more enjoyable Bigfoot stories I’ve seen in a while (“Harry and the Hendersons” and the “Jack Link’s” commercials are the only other ones on that list).  The players and the pacing all play their parts fantastically against the gorgeous backdrop of the woods of North Carolina, and I love being so invested into the characters that I almost forget where the story is heading.

“Stomping Ground” is a love story built on the back of a smelly, furry, Bigfoot.  Maybe it’s time to go on our own Sasquatch Safari.   

4/5

Check out the trailer below!

Out on DVD and VOD on March 8th!

The Visit (2015)

Running Time: 94 minutes

Release Date: September 11, 2015

Review by: Stacey

 

I'm sure I'm not the only person who's terrified of old folks, right?  And I don't mean your sweet, wise, grandparents who give you those weird watermelon hard candies and make inappropriate jokes when you're around large groups of people.  I mean the old people who don't know where the fuck they're at and just generally act like they've been taken over by some brittle-boned-loving demon.  M. Night Shyamalan's The Visit will seriously make you reconsider spending time with those grandparents that you just don't see often enough.

Tusk (2014)

Running Time: 102 minutes

Release Date: Sept. 6, 2014 (TIFF) & Sept. 19, 2014 (US theatrical release)

 Review by: Stacey

Let me start this review off by saying that I've never loved or hated Kevin Smith and his numerous film projects (with the exception of Clerks and Clerks 2).  I barely watched Red State last month, which I had heard was his contribution to the horror genre when it fact it was not horror at all, a lot of people hated it and it wasn't that good.  Except for Michael Parks.  So, when I heard that Smith would be making a film based off a weed-riddled conversation they had on one of his many podcasts revolving around a man being turned into a walrus and starring Michael Parks, I was like "FUCK YEAH."

What we got was an eye-opening look into WTFworld.  

The Happy House (2013)

Running Time: 120 minutes

Release Date: May 3, 2013
Review by: Stacey

 

Today was a lazy Sunday as Adam had to be in the studio all day and I was left home alone.  Obviously that meant movies and reviews!  I did one of those "blind picks" on Netflix and landed on 2013's The Happy House directed/written by D.W. Young.  It seems that The Happy House is Young's first feature length film (using his directing skills on shorts and documentaries for the most part.)  Before watching I managed to catch a glimpse of a few of the Netflix reviews and let's just say, most weren't too pleased with what they saw.