Dreaming Purple Neon

To be honest, I really don't know all the history of "splatter/gore horror", so it's a layman's review from me... You can see SO much work went into the creation of this film. You want more guts than an Oscar Mayer production line? Gallons of blood? Blaxploitation era heroes? Hellish demons? This will NOT disappoint. Part movie, part haunted house exhibit voyeurism, every scene takes you to a new encounter in horror. Even if I didn't know this was a Todd Sheets film, I'd be able to spot his signature, and that's a film that is as much audio as visual. Every death drawn out for maximum viewer experience, you can hear every wet squish, stretch and spray. There are moments of needed comic relief- from the kid in the video store buying all Sheets' movies, to one-liner comebacks. Watching clear through the credits (and you want to!) it clocks in at just under two hours, but the BTS photos makes you wish you were part of the cast and crew. You can see a lot of love in this film. Just check outside when you're done to make sure all Hell HASN'T broken loose....!

Plenty of blood flowing, slime spewing and arterial spraying keep the levels of horror high throughout with the occasional moment for character development makes Dreaming Purple Neon tick all of the boxes in a "What makes a good horror movie?" survey. This film is an experience like no other. Featuring a pulsating and incredibly catchy score that drives the action and suspense, Dreaming Purple Neon end up being a surprising, intense and original movie experience. A script filled with quirky characters and snappy dialogue, a truly over the top amount of offensive gross out moments and it is a fun, gory rattlesnake of a film that contains just as much charm as it does slimy, grimy set pieces. Because while it has often darkly funny moments, it is also often crude, violent, and even disturbing.

One promise: you will see things in this crazy movie that you might not be able to forget. No budget, no problem. It's a Punk Rock finger in the face of traditional cinema and it dares you to guess what may be around the next corner. It is truly like a out of control dark ride at some seriously twisted carnival during much of it's running time. The exploitation, action and horror genres mix perfectly together here. The underlying romance, while well done and earnestly acted, gets lost amidst the chaos of the overall movie, but that is my only small nitpick. And if that is all I can say negative, you know this is a gem of a low budget epic. Well done everyone!

I got to attend the Hollywood screening of Dreaming Purple Neon. At First I was not sure what I was in for as Gore Horror Movies are not normally what I watch. This was by far the funniest, grossest, and most entertaining movie I have ever seen. I brought a few friends who I saw just laugh and completely enjoy themselves as well. I am still sharing laughs about it to this day. All of the characters had such great personality and the actors playing them for it well. I enjoyed the thought and detail that went into the Movie. Todd Sheets did an amazing job. I got to meet a lot of the cast. We all had a blast

I HIGHLY recommend this movie. It was a blast all around.

From the beginning of the low budget horror movie Dreaming Purple Neon, two things are obvious; One, this is a well made movie where care has been taken to give the production real quality. Second, this has an actual story to tell. It is not just another slasher movie and has more going on than a typical splatter mess. Not to say that there isn't a huge amount of nasty gore and bloodletting. There is more here than probably a few horror movies combined, but there is also care given to characters and a pretty complicated set up. It takes about 15 minutes or so to introduce the characters and lay the groundwork for all that follows. One good thing is that it moves very fast. Not one frame seems wasted here and the dialogue in the movie is fun and memorable. The performances, while not award winning, are pleasantly organic for the most part. The bad guys are over the top and that adds to charm.

And what follows is pure horror bedlam. Once all our characters converge and interact, things take a very crazy turn and it never stops. A relentless display of effective shocks, creepy atmosphere some actual suspense, Dreaming Purple Neon takes so many twists and turns that at one point I paused the film to catch my breath and collect my thoughts, reflecting on what I had seen. It wasn't because the film is confusing, it is more that it really moves at a fast pace and so much is happening that I really wanted to take a minute to let it sink in. Actually, it is a very linear and easy to understand story with so much going on and I never got lost.

But most fans of these type of movies do not watch for deep characters or complex story lines. They want to know if the film delivers the thrills, gore and nastiness that director Todd Sheets is known for. It does. In fact, gore is abundant throughout the film. One super gross out scene in particular is so over the top in it's chunky excess that I could barely rewind it to watch again. A couple of times. My ass still hurts. There are very few movies today that walk the line between horror and exploitation as well as this one does. For all the graphic scenes of violence this film contains, at its heart there is a wink-and-a-nod sensibility that has the viewer both rooting for the bad guys and waiting gleefully for their comeuppance..

And they do that in ways that I not will spoil here. The blood is plentiful and shocking and the special effects are pretty nasty and impressive. As this movie gets closer and closer to the ending, I honestly had no idea where it would go next. It is one of the most pleasing films in that regard. You can not predict the nest scene. Every new door hides new craziness. And the ending was perfect, but I honestly never knew it was coming. And then there's Gene Simmons. In a movie full of twists and surprises, that scene tops everything else and is worth waiting for. Trust me. Best ending in a movie all year. As a matter of fact, that part alone has made the whole movie shoot up my list and I would call it my favorite low budget film of 2016.

Todd Sheets has done an exceptional job here, crafting a tight thrill ride that is ambitious, original and really over the top. He has done it all with a budget so small that you would not believe it. It's barely enough to buy a good HD TV to watch it on. The lighting and style remind me of horror flicks of the 70s and 80s but also of the old Italian horror movies like Suspiria. But that is not to say it is just a retro rehash. The real pleasure comes from watching a low budget filmmaker who truly has a grasp of their craft, who actually knows how to make a movie, attempt to get as much as possible from a good location and a tiny budget. It is a fantastic horror film that embraces the lack of money and uses new ideas and audacious gore to embrace the low budget horror crowd. This is unpredictable horror and is undoubtedly an impressive achievement.

So I sat at the premier for this, knowing it was going to be a pretty gnarly film when it came to graphic content, however the plot was pretty damn well done as well. The acting was for the most part pretty excellent considering it was many of the casts first time ever acting, and you can tell people just had a very good time with it. I was surprised how much I ended up loving this film, and snagged a bluray the first chance I got (at the premier), and whenever you get a chance you should definitely check it out too. Lots of homage to 70's and 80's grindhouse horror flicks, awesome sets, crazy monster/demon designs, and a freakin rad soundtrack to top it all off. Thanks Todd Sheets, this was a great film!

Keep it up man!