Chillerama

Horror-comedy can be a very entertaining sub-genre. I can be a big fan of it. But... it can be the very best, or it can be the very worst. This film 'Chillerama' is the very worst, and not in a good way. I had this title on my Watchlist for quite sometime, because seeing the poster, the title and the description, I thought, that HAS to be something that I'm gonna love. Well, as it turns out, that is not a guarantee.

This is definitely not my kind of Horror/Comedy. A good Horror/Comedy in my opinion, first of all should be a decent watchable film. Just because you are doing the potentially fun and pretty crazy combination of comedy and horror (for some people not the most obvious combination of atmospheres) doesn't mean you can get away with everything. Just because you are making a parody of something, does not mean you can throw all seriousness overboard. In all reality, you are combining two genres in their own rights, something that the makers of Chillerama do a magnificent job at misunderstanding. You're combining Horror and Comedy, two potentially great genres, maybe even the greatest ones for a lot of film fans out there. But just because you are combining a genre that takes itself pretty seriously with a genre where apparently everything goes, does not mean you can get away with doing everything in a bad way. Campy does not equal bad. And parody does not equal being ridiculous. Good comedy is a serious business.

The 'cringe' is so strong here as to make the film totally unwatchable. You literally want to look away at how campy and unfunny everything is. You start questioning your own sense of humor, looking at how much fun the makers apparently had creating 'Chillerama', while you find yourself unable to produce even a single smile.

The segments in this anthology were just the worst combinations of bad taste, far-fetched plot, generally unlikable characters, cringy acting and unfunny jokes. Some of those elements can work well when done right, sometimes even combinations of them. But you have to see this film if you want to find out how they can NOT work in the most spectacular way.

Generally I think a Horror/Comedy works great if they manage to keep the fun, enticing subjects of a horror film and the exciting, spooky atmosphere, and combine it with genuinely funny jokes. Jokes that seem to be up for grabs when looking at horror, because let's face it, in general it's a pretty crazy genre with lots of clichés and elements that are easy to poke fun at, while still doing it in a way that respects the genre and the characters. Bus as with everything that seems easy and up for grabs, it generally isn't...

Also, a good Horror/Comedy should be more exhilarating than the average non-horror comedy film (because hey, there's monsters, suspense, murder, spooky locations and what not), while having such a great atmosphere that they can measure themselves with, even be an homage to the great films of the Horror genre. Besides not being very funny, this film lacks any kind of horror atmosphere that makes you love Horror. The Horror atmosphere is totally lacking. Yeah, it's superficially there because there's blood and screaming, but literally everything is done so badly that... it just doesn't work on any level. Instead, it manages to make you hate both Comedy AND Horror at the same time.

That's just my opinion, my attempt at putting into words what makes this Horror/Comedy genre work, potentially. All I'm sure of is that whatever the X-factor is, it is NOT to be found here, but there are plenty of genuine masterpieces in the genre to be found elsewhere.

If I may recommend some Horror/Comedy films that DO work: * Shaun of the Dead * Killer Clowns From Outer Space * Zombieland * Young Frankenstein * Dracula, Dead and Loving It * Return of the Living Dead * Fido * Once Bitten * The Little Shop of Horrors * Mad Monster Party * Nightmare Before Christmas * Corpse Bride * Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I guess you could call a Horror/Comedy crossover.

... and let's not forget films like Ghostbusters and Beetlejuice!

It's the closing night at the last drive-in theater in America and Cecil B. Kaufman (Richard Riehle) has planned the ultimate marathon of lost film prints to unleash upon his faithful cinephile patrons.

I had moderately high hopes for this film, and for the most part they were met. "Wadzilla" was better than I expected, and "Diary of Anne Frankenstein" far exceeded my hopes... it was, without a doubt the highlight of the film (the fake German was hilarious, Joel Moore plays a great Hitler, and Kane Hodder as a golem? Perfection). I also enjoyed "Deathification".

The problem comes with "I Was a Teenage Werebear". This is the segment I had the most hope for, and it was just boring. It slowed down the pace of the movie and made the overall film seem much too long. I appreciate the concept and the throwback to 60s beach films, but I think they blew it. I just did not find it very well developed.

I still recommend this one to all horror fans. If nothing else, watch the "Anne Frank" segment. Just downright hilarious. And see how many references to classic films you catch (some horror, some not). It is no secret that Joe Lynch and Adam Green are passionate about horror, and this film proves it.

Each of the four segments has its moments. The tributes are appreciated and there are a few laughs to be had. The Hitler/Frankenstein segment was probably my favorite. All that said, the grossness extends to a level where you cringe and want to throw up. This film makes you laugh as quickly as you want to forget. I would never willingly watch this film a second time.

From some of this generations most innovative filmmakers comes a film that pushes the boundaries of good taste and endeavors to bring the good ol' style of the drive-in right into your living room. Does it succeed? For the most part, yes! Segment One, Wadzilla, features star/director Adam Rifkin (Detroit Rock City)as a timid businessman who is given experimental medicine to increase his sperm count, only to unleash a monster of immeasurable horror! The effects are charmingly horrible but it is quite a funny ride.

Segment Two, I Was a Teenage Werebear is, unfortunately, the proverbial black sheep of the family. Tim Sullivan (2001 Maniacs) is a real talent but the short's taboo pressing plot line only serves to alienate this movie's target demographic (straight males). It is a rousing musical about a sexually confused young man who is bitten by a were-bear (long story) and struggles to keep his morality.

Segment Three, Adam Green's (Hatchet, Frozen)The Diary of Anne Frankenstien, is a real treat. Although admittedly a little short on the horror aspect, it is actually quite funny. The Nazi's, led by Joel David Moore as Hitler, attempt to use Anne Frankenstien's journal to build a monster to help in the war effort. This segment is shot in a sublime old fashioned style and is subtitled as everyone speaks authentic German except for Hitler himself, who comes off as quite a bumbling fool.

Segment Four, Joe Lynch's (Wrong Turn 2) Zom-B-Movie, serves as the wraparound story and as the finale and it is just righteously over the top fun enough to completely win over this reviewer. A zombie outbreak threatens the people who had to sit through the last three shorts only to be threatened by a pack of sexually charged zombies. The real highlight is character actor Richard Riehle who gets to brandish a shotgun and quote more movies then any character in history.

For this reviewer's money, this movie succeeded at becoming exploitation without falling prey to insincerity like the similarly themed Grindhouse.

"Wazilla:" 9/10. "I Was a Teenage Wearbear:" 7/10. "The Diary of Anne Frankenstein:" 8/10. "Zom B Movie:" 8/10.

Chillerama is one great big homage to the drive-in films that were once one of the biggest ways to view a film. Now, we have midnight showings and regular movie theaters. Though the number of American drive-in theaters have decimated to almost the point of utter extinction, Chillerama proves that if this was the seventies, it would've been the main attraction.

This is an anthology film in the vein of things like Creepshow and Tales from the Crypt. It plays like true anthology goodness; several short stories and then a wrap-around story to conclude the spectacle, where all the characters come together, also making the narrative come full circle. I have rated all the segments on their own since they serve as their own mini-movie. I believe that it's impossible to give one final rating to an anthology film without rating each individual vignette and then finding the average of the numbers. Thankfully, every one of Chillerama's stories is of passable quality.

Since each short is directed by a different person and focuses on a different period of horror, it gives sort of an ambiguous presence off. We get the homage to the time period, and the director's way of establishing it showcasing his style and his way of storytelling. Our first short just happens to be the best one. The Adam Rifkin directed "Wadzilla" is a crafty, creative, and endearing short mimicking the goofiness and the cheesiness of monster movies that dominated the fifties. The story focuses on a man, played by Rifkin as well, who has been giving a pill because of low sperm count. After taking this pill multiple times, he realizes his sperm have enlarged, and after one "escapes" from his body, it runs dangerously downtown, destroying everything in its path. Its jokes at films like The Blob are noticeable, and the idea itself is so unique and witty I can't help but have an undying fondness for such a short.

The next short, while the weakest, still has plenty of flair and wit. It's "I Was a Teenage Werebear," a short that is supposed to lampoon Rebel Without a Cause, Grease, and The Twilight Saga. Funny thing is I didn't think of any of those films when watching the short. I feel this is more a homage to beach movies and quirky musicals of the sixties and seventies. You know? Where characters randomly broke out in song and danced the night away. Beach Blanket Bingo comes to mind. As well as The Lost Boys, for its use of an unlikely clan and The Rocky Horror Picture Show for its bizarre costumes. I didn't find the story all that exciting, as much as I did the little dance numbers and the overall vibe it shot through my screen. A fun little short, that's too out there to be ordinary.

After that, we have "The Diary of Anne Frankenstein" directed by Adam Green, another director I'm well acquainted with. Green directed both Hatchet and its sequel, as well as the chilling, no pun intended, claustrophobic horror flick Frozen. Green furthers his style of flashback filmmaking with this short about Hitler (Moore) who breaks into Anne Frank's attic and recovers her book about how there was a strange monster created in her family. Hitler plans to revive this monster in order to win World War II. The film is subtitled because of its German origin, and is shot in black and white. The short is supposed to remind us of strange, foreign black and white films that were popular in the twenties and thirties. This is another change of pitch for Green, and hopefully will continue his line of films that throw us back to a simpler, more involved time.

I forgot to mention that the shorts we are watching are being played in a drive-in theater in the film. There are a number of characters we become more familiar with between intermissions of the shorts. They all join together to fight a massive zombie outbreak in the closing short "Zom B Movie." The short is similar to the outbreak in Troma's film Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead, and mirroring the style of zombie films like Dawn of the Dead. This is beautifully directed by Joe Lynch, the same person who directed the great sequel to Wrong Turn.

If you've never heard of the company Troma then this film is worthless to you. You have to have a certain love for low-budget, throwback style filmmaking to develop the love for Chillerama like I did. I was rarely so involved in a horror film until I saw this and now I fear that I'll be expecting this quality next time I see an anthology film. Green, Lynch, Rifkin, and Sullivan have all proved themselves worthy of making a good horror-movie script and an uncanny talent of handling a camera. Maybe if we have a Thrillerama at one point we'll get more out of these four capable men.

Starring: Richard Riehle, Adam Rifkin, Ray Wise, Miles Dougal, Sean Paul Lockhart, Ron Jeremy, Joel David Moore, Kane Hodder, and Kristina Klebe. "Wadzilla" directed by Adam Rifkin. "I Was a Teenage Werebear" directed by Tim Sullivan. "The Diary of Anne Frankenstein" directed by Adam Green. And "Zom B Movie" directed by Joe Lynch.