Dreaming Purple Neon

I was invited to the ACME Theater to watch the film Dreaming Purple Neon, not really knowing what to expect. When I entered the crowded lobby, I was surprised to meet the director, Todd Sheets and some members of the cast and crew who were in attendance. This was just one of many serendipitous events that unfolded during the screening. First was the touching introduction to the film from the Director. It was informative and heartfelt and really helped put the film in perspective for me. The next pleasant surprise was the film itself.

Dreaming Purple Neon is a Horror film that could have existed in the 80s, maybe even the 70's. It truly brings back a feeling of that era, when I would go to the old video stores and search row after row of incredible artwork adorning big, over-sized video boxes. The movies would rarely live up to the images on those boxes when I would rush home to watch them. Dreaming Purple Neon actually does. In fact, it actually lives up to what my imagination would conjure in those fun VHS days. It's hard not to wonder why you never see horror movies like this anymore with crazy practical effects and the "anything goes" storyline. But don't mistake the nostalgia for a lack of originality. This film is like nothing I have ever watched before. It's so relentlessly shocking, gory, nasty and over the top that it's a hilarious, wild and fun good time, and that's what these '80s horror movies were best at. Blood splashing and splattering in every direction. There is also some relevant underlying themes about the dangers of drug addiction, and there are some surprising scenes with characters that I actually cared about. That's just the kind of movie this is: there are absolutely no limits, and anything can happen at any time. It's far from boring like many modern exploitation movies, and it has just the right combination of complex story and entertaining kills to make for perfect Friday night viewing with friends.

Dreaming Purple Neon is catnip for die-hard horror fans, and the 1980s style soundtrack and detail to Horrors of the past, the homages and in jokes, ad to the fun considerably. Seriously, I found myself wanting to raise a fist and make the "devil horns" while screaming HELL YEAH!!! It is a depraved, decidedly trashy, and rather stylish fright fest that oozes with style, incredible effects and true touches of micro-budget brilliance. Director Todd Sheets seems to be channeling Lamberto Bava's film DEMONS, HG Lewis, A bit of John Waters, the lighting of an old Argento film, a bit of Fulci's dream-like style and a bit of Evil Dead. Throw into a huge horror blender and you'll have a slight idea where this film takes you. The very low budget that the film was created with makes all of this even more shocking. It is simply unreal what they did on so little money. In his introductions, Director Sheets let us all in on his budget. Let's just say, it is lower than I could have ever imagined.

Not for the faint of heart and is sure to shock and surprise many viewers, the story, atmosphere and great gory effects create a splatter movie with grace, full of heart and passion. A trashy yet irresistible allure pulls you into the film from the first frame to the last. It takes you on a true journey into places that stick in your head long after the really fun end credits roll. And stay for the end, more surprises wait.

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!

The movie starts off with a little bit of character development, to give some more story to the insanity that will be following. Expect a major shift a little ways in, some very good times to start when it reaches the point in the movie where it starts to deliver the goods at about a half hour or so in. Oh the glorious insanity & fun that comes up soon after (w/a lot creative ways to deliver the loads of blood & gore). This movie also fills your screen with full on frontal nudity from both men & women though it's nothing sexual happening, just people playing the part of nude cult members except one woman that gets, uhm, eaten, lol. It has a fun plot that this revolves around. The plot plays on a connection of drug use & drug dealing that's tied to an evil religious plot from the villain. This movie dips into a little blaxploitation and gets into a bit of religious exploitation you could say but not to be confused with being a blasphemous film though, darn it, lol. But hey, you get to see a woman with demonic horns for nipples. ;)

Many people will notice influences from various past films, so much so that it will feel like it's giving a nod to a lot of other good films that came before it but yet, remains to do it's own thing and not lose it's creativity while showing it's influences and/or nods.

The gore in this is spectacular and off the charts, just wild, creative, insane and over the top fun. I can't stress that enough. Often you will have your screen filled with "disgusting" scenes but so entertaining/humorous that you can't look away and will be wondering "what the heck is this going to throw at me next" on screen. A lot of the story and things I could describe would sound dark and morbid but it's actually more comic book like, really over the top and far from seeming like something dark & morbid though there's a hint of such in some scenes of some darker elements but nothing too long lasting or deep in that way. And that ending, that's probably the most dark/morbid part of the whole movie and you won't be expecting to see that when it comes but I don't want to say more to spoil anything. It's just off the charts as well but a bit in a different way than how the film had been.

Some example hints of what you will see in the gore dept here include a full on nude woman being eaten out, in both meanings of that saying. Another is when they pull a part of man's a** insides out through his a**hole and it's humorously sick to see. Another involves what I think was a sanding machine and another is a Gwar looking birth scene that's disgustingly fun and what happens after the birth is something a movie will rarely do due to being too much taboo for a film maker wanting to get into. I can only think of a couple films off hand that many people may have heard of that such a taboo thing wasn't shied away from.

Another thing worth a mention (especially because of the title) is that this movie uses some different neon color tones of lighting in some scenes that add more flavor to this. There's also some computerized effects used as well but only briefly in a couple scenes it seems. Don't worry, such is minimal compared to all the practical effects and it truly does add to the experience where used. You won't see much of that though except for the KILLER ending where it does use such more heavily but you will be happy they did so when you see that ending.

Oh and the movie has a few black actors, something I felt was nice to see in this type of film. I truly found that to be enjoyable (having at least a few black actors), especially with so many all white meat gore movies that are pouring out. Those actors did a good job in their roles too and added another level of entertainment to this. A couple of actors I didn't care for their performances and of course some people did way better than others and the one guy was great with his role.

Get with some buddies, light up the green stuff, pop open a beer, shoot up some "Neon Purple" into those veins ;) and have a good time with Dreaming Neon Purple. Even if you don't do any of that stuff and heck, the Neon Purple isn't even a real life thing, you are still in for a fun, wild ride. Now how that drug is made in the movie, that is quite an interesting concept. I wouldn't be shocked if some religious nut thought that stuff could be real just like some think the earth is flat, lol.

One of the most striking aspects of this movie is its wonderful ability to top each shocking moment with imagination and a true sense of never knowing when it can go too far. Nothing seems to be off the menu in Dreaming Purple Neon, a horror film that goes over the top and does so with no apologies or regard for good taste. And that is a good thing.

Director Todd Sheets, known for being a pioneer of microbudget gore movies has crafted a sort of low budget epic here, a wildly entertaining demon movie cramming a handful of incredible effects scenes with thought-provoking themes and some actual interesting political views poking through all the bodily fluids. At the heart of the film is a pretty strong story about a guy, Dallas, returning home to make amends with his ex girlfriend Denise, played by genre vet Eli Degeer. But the town is not the same as he left it. Seems an evil cult has taken control of everything through the spreading of a demonic drug known as PURPLE NEON. The cult is led by Cyrus, played with marvelous menace by newcomer Jack McCord. He makes a deliciously evil bad guy, only topped by another fresh face, Ricky Farr as Tyrone Kane. Ricky, along with Sheets' mainstay Antwoine Steele as his side man Ray Ray, truly have the best bad guy scenes in the movie, with their banter back and forth coming straight out of the glorious action movies of the 70s.

The breakout performance for me was Millie Milan as Cat. Her character seemed to be the reason the two story lines meet in the middle and all hell breaks loose. Millie makes Cat a likable character despite her flaws and we really feel for her as the story progresses and she pays for her mistakes. And so do all her friends, including Dallas and Denise. Another great character is the Dentist, played by Nick Randol. I enjoyed watching him go from mild mannered nice guy to demon ass kicking hero.

It's a horror exploitation film deep in its twisted soul and it certainly delivers. For every instance of naked flesh, blood and gore, there's an insightful sequence that propels the story and makes you give a damn about the characters involved, some scenes explore the nature of humankind and our nasty addictions, and the depiction of sex as an evil tool that leads to further corruption of the body. And there is an abundance of nudity here. Both men and women. Full and in your face with no regard for political correctness. I truly applaud the actors and actresses who had the guts to do these scenes. Some of them are truly shocking in a modern horror film. And the scenes do not feel gratuitous. It actually MAKES SENSE why they are naked, not like many horror films that just throw in nudity because they lack talent to do anything else. Not the case here. Director Todd Sheets shows true skill at making these scenes matter and doing so with a assured hand and some real style.

But this movie isn't really here to deliver a character study or deep, thoughtful moments between damaged people. It's about horror, splatter, gore and having fun at all costs. And with Dreaming Purple Neon, Todd Sheets delivers as much as his no doubt meager budget will allow. There is blood, gore, splatter, goop, slime and more blood. I have to give a special moment to the special effects team for all of this wonderful, old school effects work. It is all practical. And truly most of the film never uses CGI. There are some computer generated effects, but they are perfectly integrated at the end of the film, and considering the budget, they are very impressive. Without giving away spoilers, I will just say that the effects succeed in bringing Hell on Earth.

And Dreaming Purple Neon is a great looking movie. The visual approach points towards Suspiria, Alucarda, The Devil's Rain and other 70s demonic movies while also adding original artistic touches. The use of color is smart, not overdone, and emphasizes mood and atmosphere in important areas of the movie. The camera-work and composition show a great eye for detail that is both pleasing and busy enough to keep your attention visually. The location work, and the huge complex sets are lush by comparison with many other microbudget horrors, and Sheets makes sure to utilize them to their fullest potential. In many ways, these locations become almost as important as any of the characters in the film. In addition, even though it is an homage to 70s and 80s horror and drive in movies, The film shows some shocking originality throughout its running time. Clocking in at 1 hour and 49 minutes, it never feels slow or padded. Every minute of the running time seems needed to tell the epic story.

The final thing I want to mention is how much fun this movie was. It was actually a really good time! The pacing was perfect, really creating a rhythm that works. The editing is sharp, the composition is tight and the effects are perfectly splattery. This is one of my favorite movies of 2016 and I am ready to watch it again, this time with a room full of friends, a few beers and pizza. No better movie to watch with a group of horror fans! Part homage to classics of a bygone time and part modern horror with no rules, Dreaming Purple Neon certainly lived up to my expectations and actually shocked me a few times as well.

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!