Shock Value

What do you do when you're a down-and-out Z-lister schlock horror filmmaker and you've witnessed a serial killer claim his latest victims? Why, you blackmail him into being the star of your next film, of course! Naturally, this is a pretty absurd premise for a horror film, but one of the great things about director Douglas Rath's latest film, the micro-budgeted SHOCK VALUE is that he and writer/co-star Anthony Bravo KNOW that it's absurd, and they play that absurdity to the hilt with incredibly clever writing, smart performances, and some really beautiful direction.

The film follows the exploits of Miles Fowler (Zak Hudson), a bad writer/director of Z-grade horror who is looking for his shot at the big leagues, and finds it quite by accident as he witnesses a brutal double-murder committed by serial killer Nick (Anthony Bravo), a wiry yet menacing "quiet loner". He enlists the help of his new producer, the shy and seemingly unassuming Justine (Michelle Campbell), and they confront him with an ultimatum: Star in our new film (entitled "The Whorehouse That Screamed"), or go to prison. Nick very reluctantly agrees, and as soon as Miles casts his leading lady and muse, the incredibly sexy and opportunistic Ashley (Janelle Odair), filming begins. Miles believes that the hook that will make the film work is having a real serial killer play a fake serial killer and then, after turning him in after filming is over, the resultant publicity will pack millions of fans of the truly macabre into theaters to see the film with the now-infamous serial killer. Of course, there are some problems along the way; an aging horror film icon and full-blown loon, Edward Dean Huntley (Malcolm McDowell) is awaiting a script from Miles, and Ashley's handsome and volatile hipster musician boyfriend Jeff (Will Brandt) is intent on wreaking havoc on the set. Complicating matters further, we see Justine's budding romantic inclinations toward Nick, with whom she perhaps sees a kindred spirit, and Miles' own darker impulses coming to life as the film nears its completion.

Rath clearly delineates the world of the film-within-a-film and the real world with some wonderful stylistic flourishes. Clearly lovers of the Italian horror sub-genre of Giallo, both Rath and Bravo give the look and feel of the film Miles is making a very Argento-esque atmosphere, with characters like Ashley playing clairvoyant identical twin sisters and Nick playing a cross-dressing, cleaver-wielding maniac against a 70's pop-psychedelia influenced backdrops of extreme purples and greens, while giving the real world a hyper-real feel a lot of clever Dutch angles, beautiful wide-angle shots, and long takes. The performances are all quite good. Hudson plays Miles, the pseudo-stylishly unkempt and egomaniacal bottom feeder, with gusto and increasing mania. Odair as Ashley is surprisingly vulnerable underneath her sex-kitten exterior making her a fully fleshed-out person and not just a cliché. McDowell seems to be having a lot of fun in his extended cameo as the crazed has-been. Brandt sadly doesn't really have a lot to do here except look handsome and be a huge jerk, and in a lesser film, that would be a greater sin than here, because he does play those moments exceedingly well. As Justine, Campbell plays her as an initially mousy and weak-willed but is in fact a smart, caring, assertive and lovely woman. But arguably, besides Campbell, the real star of the film is Bravo as Nick. With a sharp wit, a fearsome glare, and an outwardly calm demeanor cleverly hiding the beast within, he shows an incredible flair for comic timing, he plays his scenes of horror and drama as effortlessly as the comedy scenes.

And also worth a huge mention, Bravo's script is nearly flawless. SHOCK VALUE is part-comedy and part-horror, but with an undercurrent of metatextual commentary of modern horror tropes, as perfectly demonstrated in McDowell's scene where he lays out the idea for a 21st-Century "reboot" of Dracula which includes backpackers filming everything with their cell phones. Like its stylistic predecessors such as Wes Craven's SCREAM films as well as the Joss Whedon/Drew Goddard collaboration THE CABIN IN THE WOODS, SHOCK VALUE both lambastes and embraces the sub-genre it resides in, and does both with style and verve. The film also delivers a scathing satirical portrayal of what it takes to make it in the horror movie business that often reminded me of George Huang's brilliantly acidic SWIMMING WITH SHARKS. Also worth mentioning is the eerie, stylish score by Jeff Danna as well as the lush cinematography of Jeffrey A. Cunningham, that mostly belies the use of digital film.

Currently, SHOCK VALUE is only available for viewing on VOD platforms such as iTunes and Vudu, and as much as this film is worthy of a theatrical release, it might find a better home through VOD. With the scores of sub-par horror releases with semi-recognizable names and significantly larger budgets, this is that rare diamond-in-the-rough that stands head and shoulders above the very films that SHOCK VALUE is satirizing here, and is, in my opinion, the best VOD horror film I've seen in ages.

The first 20 minutes I wasn't into it at all, and I can see many people simply turning it off after that length of time BUT it actually got better after that, due to a somewhat original storyline (which we don't get too many of in the horror genre).

Don't get me wrong, it's not a 'great' movie but it at least went from a complete turd to passable time-waster.

The acting could have been better and the characters don't have many layers to them, but for some reason it didn't bother me as much as it usually does.

It's not really as dark or gory as the bloody poster would leave you to believe, it's more of a dark comedy than a full on horror (even though there are graphic scenes of violence and sex).

Oh and for Malcolm McDowell fans, Mac only appears for one scene (unless you count a film-clip that's being shown on a projector in one scene of him having sexual intercourse with a woman much younger than him in space).

I can't really recommend it strongly or anything but if you've started watching it I can recommend you continue doing so throughout the remainder of the running-time, there is always that.

I wanted to take the time to grab the attention of my fellow horror watching peers, especially of the middle-aged persuasion, so you do not overlook this film. This is the winner that you've been waiting for. The expectations that this movie excels at are excellent character development, steady pacing, great script and a very *don't want to spoil it for you* ending. To be honest, I was stunned to have stumbled on to this movie because I expected it to be a so-so low budget flick. Instead, I got sucked into this movie's world and remained fixated to the very end. What a ride! Savor this movie because it's story telling at its very finest in this genre of low-budget horror. Get in your comfy spot, with your favorite yummies, turn your off your phone, and get into it that frame of mind you had when you first experienced a rush from horror movies because you will not be disappointed. I also think one has had to do a certain amount of living to fully enjoy motivations of the characters presented in this movie.

I don't think this is particularly good, although not bad really. It's especially surprising that it isn't bad because horror film indies that are this small usually always tend to be crap, so the quality of the writing here was sort of surprising. Saying that, that's why I'm being more favorable, because I don't think it's very good. It's somewhat enjoyable though and entertaining, and the performances are adequate to good. They sort of come off amateurish at times, but mostly stay in note and it works. The cinematography and lighting is also decent, and the directing not very off-kilter as you would expect. Somewhat recommended horror indie.

I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this film. The pacing goes quite well between the bloody confrontations and "Oh Sh*t" drama between the characters. They take their time fully developing a few characters so that you actually care about what happens to them, while giving them ample flaws so that their terrible choices don't come out of left field. Getting to know the serial killer was especially intriguing, humanizing him somewhat when he's not in his element, the awkward real-life situations were a good parallel to the menacing silhouette that terrorizes innocent couples.

The comedy, on the other hand,was low key and sometimes very clever. There are a lot of asides to other famous horror movies and some very meta humor if you get all the references. One scene in particular starts at the end of filming the movie in the movie, then transitions into famous scenes from other horror movies before coming full circle. Mind. Blasted.

It's not that scary, it's not outwardly hilarious, but it is THOROUGHLY ENTERTAINING and a good *ss time.