Melvin

No one else has posted a comment on this so I guess I'll be the first. I caught a screening of this last week at the Bijou in Eugene, Oregon. The movie centers around a nerdy college student named Norton Pincus, a troubled science major and his attractive love interest, Wendy Purvis. Norton's body is taken hostage by undead teenager Melvin Purvis, who happens to be Wendy's half-brother. I won't spoil too much of the movie but there's gore a-plenty and some very funny moments.

For the miniscule budget, the cinematography is very nice and while the writing feels like it could use another polish it's a strong effort from a first-time film maker.

I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to a low-budget flick, I have a tendency to stay away from most of them. The reason; those movies usually end up being sh!t. However, there are those few (i.e. Re-Animator, Dead Alive and anything with Lloyd Kaufman's name on it) that I watch constantly… to the point that I actually own numerous copies of each… and boy, let me tell you that 531 Productions first feature film, Melvin, is going to end up being one of those movies that I'm probably going to have to order a few times.

Melvin plays out a little like this: A nerd named Melvin (Leif Fuller) gets picked on a lot by three punks from school. The punks do numerous things to ruin Melvin's life and go as far as tossing him in the back of a car and leaving him on some train tracks to scare the f*ck out of him. But since they aren't the smartest punks alive, it doesn't dawn on them that if you duct tape a person's mouth shut and then toss them into the trunk of a car, said person will eventually run out of oxygen and die. Not wanting to go to jail the punks cover it up and go on with their lives. Fast forward a bit and these punks are now tainting the soul of another nerd; this one named Norton (Patrick O'Driscoll). They don't go as far as killing Norton, but they do spike his drink at a party, which makes him act stupid, and c-block him big time. Embarrassed, Norton ventures back home; unfortunately, Norton gets attacked, and bitten, by a zombie Melvin. From there on out, the film turns into a gore filled horror movie with cheesy, but amazingly done, special effects that are reminiscent of a Troma movie.

Henry Weintraub (the writer, director, producer and editor of this movie) puts together a fantastic film that is probably one of the best new movies I have seen in the past few months. The special effects, though cheesy, are done really well and you have to give 531 Productions props for being able to do these things on such a small budget. Two of my personal favorite death scenes in this movie involve a possessed Norton ripping off the head of one of the punkers (which is clearly fake, but hilarious to watch) and Norton taking a mop and stabbing a punker and his girl through their throats, which leads to a gloriously bloody death. The movie's two main stars, Fuller and O'Driscoll, own their roles in this movie. Though I don't know either man, they seem perfectly casted as the tortured nerds in the movie.

However, as this is a low-budget movie, it does have some problems. The movie does suffer from some low-budget acting, but hey, no one is perfect and with time, each actor in the movie will grow accustom to it and may actually end up being a pretty decent actor. My other gripe with the movie is that it runs a little short for my liking. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the hell out of this movie, I wish it was longer.

Besides the little qualms with the movie, I think Melvin is the f*cking T!TS. It isn't for everyone, but if you love cheesy comedy/horror movies with massive amounts of blood, then this movie is for you.

This little film has some very cool moments about anti-bullying and romance.

The special effects are really well done and consistent to deterioration of the flesh.

There was even some little touches of true friendship and how that can even bridge the gap of those dying and those undead.

OK,Lots of drinking,drugs and Rock & Roll to please those grunge loving party animals , "Who just wanna get their drunk on and watch a wild ride of a DVD.

SO,Awesome effort from a new and up & coming production studio.

I was tricked into seeing this film by the reviews on this website, I don't know if the reviews are genuine or if they are all left by people involved with the film, but any of the positive ones are complete and utter nonsense.

The cinematography is weird, it's not as bad as all of those terrible 'found footage' films, but it isn't good either. The quality is on par with a YouTube celebrity who managed to buy the most expensive equipment they could afford at a local Walmart.

Any special effects or gore are terrible.

The dialog is awful and so are the actors. The entire time I was watching this film, I was either cringing (the bad kind) or shaking my head at the choices that were made.

There is gratuitous nudity in the film, placed there just to barely keep your attention. Unfortunately, even there they failed. Anyone getting naked in this movie are either butterfaces or flat skanks of the highest caliber.

I can only assume this was a student film of some sort based on the quality and it wasn't very good. When compared to other trash such as "Ghostbusters VS Freddy Krueger", Melvin still fails miserably on almost all levels.

The fact the entire thing is free on YouTube, with barely any views or likes is telling of the quality of this junk.

This film was a great blend of zombie gruesomeness, solid acting, and humor. The makeup was amazingly realistic and the story line was unique. The main characters --- Norton, Melvin, and Wendy were well developed, and the actors who played them did a fabulous job. I especially liked the scene involving a shovel. It was fun to have the "film within a film" ---The Night of the Driller, featuring Lloyd Kaufman. The cemetery groundskeeper added lots of humor, and the dangers of falling in a liquor store are emblazoned on my mind! After seeing the premiere I bought the DVD and enjoyed the added features, including an entertaining commentary by the director Henry Weintraub and actor Patrick O'Driscoll. It's well hidden in the "audio" section of the menu.