Effects

Effects is based on quite a clever idea - maybe even too clever for a slasher flick. The title, of course, refers to special effects - and that's essentially what the film is about. Effects is a slasher flick based on a bunch of people making a slasher film. The director seems obsessed with blood and gore and a cast member starts hallucinating - although that particular cast member had just been smoking weed. The director later shows his crew a film that may or not be a snuff film, and then the cast start getting picked off, though there's doubt over whether it's real or 'effects'. It really does seem that this idea was too clever for this film because it doesn't pull it off. A potentially interesting idea is turned into a snooze fest thanks to far too much talking by dull characters and a plot line that really doesn't ever get to the point. This film was apparently lost before someone resurrected it for DVD. The last 'lost' slasher film that I saw was A Night to Dismember, and like that film; this one shows that lost slashers really needn't be brought back. The most notable thing about 'effects' the fact that Tom Savini appears and does the effects, although he has had better days in both departments. We don't really get what we came for until the final third of the film and by then I was pretty bored of it. Overall, Effects is a pretty dismal slasher and I definitely don't recommend it.

Not that there's a specific shortage, but it's surprising sometimes that there aren't more thrillers and horror flicks that toy with film production; the possibilities are endless when the line blurs between fiction and reality. It's also surprising, perhaps, that such a low-budget and independent production should pursue such a tack, but then again, everyone involved in creating this already had considerable experience in the industry. Set these facets aside, and what's striking is that while we do get some keen horror-thriller flavors early on, there is no meaningful plot development until we hit the halfway mark. We're more than three-quarters through before the turn comes, and at that, comes from out of nowhere. Ultimately the premise is fulfilled and we get what we came for - in a manner that's unexpectedly shrewd and even more sinister than anticipated, especially as the story had seemed at first to be a little more plainspoken. I dare say the strength of the last stretch, and the revelations that it bears concerning all the preceding length, definitely help to elevate the whole and pick up the slack. I'd also be lying if I said this weren't very rough around the edges, and 'Effects' surely won't meet with significant favor from many viewers.

I don't know precisely what the history of the picture is, though I rather assume that given the overall heady, meta, if lo-fi approach to the conglomeration, larger production companies wouldn't have touched this anyway as being too unorthodox, and too risky a venture. That's unfortunate, because all told Dusty Nelson whipped up a(n adapted) story and scenario that's deliciously twisted, and if this had been produced in subsequent years I've no doubt it would have found greater financial support. This falls into that category of horror that's not scary, or even "fun scary," but which instead inspires giddy delight as the underhanded deviousness is unveiled. The foundation is very strong, and this boasts a lot of value in other regards, including excellent stunts and effects. To that point, the enthusiasm that everyone obviously had for the project is quite matched by the skill they contributed. The cast is terrific, all fully embracing their varied roles; Carl Augenstein and Toni Semple's cinematography is unrefined (likely just a reflection of the budgetary limits), but very capable and well done. Nelson's direction can probably be described in those same terms, for that matter, and Pasquale Buba's editing is very sharp. Broadly speaking this is well done.

Well done - but unpolished. It's very noteworthy that the writing effectively shoves all its plot and horror thrills to the last quarter. There's nothing wrong with this; plenty of other titles do the same, and in this case especially I don't know how the material could have been approached in any other fashion and still landed the same way. What's troubling, however, is how brusque and abrupt the shift is, for the incidents of violence in the last portion come so suddenly that if one were shaping 'Effects' as a parody then there might not be any need to drastically change anything. Prior to that, the dialogue is sometimes less than convincing if not just plain bad (note the passing and absolutely unnecessary tinge of homophobia), and the scene writing is variable. For all the good ideas that there are on hand, in the first half especially there's also a fair amount of frivolous nothing that makes one wonder when something is going to happen - an emptiness that only exacerbates the suddenness with which the plot kicks up at long length. I think the feature needed more discrete substance outside the major story beats, something to uplift the front end especially: more emphasis, perhaps, on the dynamics between the characters; subtle bread crumbs pointing toward the turn; more use of the multilayered framing to give us red herrings.

Again, this is all made better by the revelations to come in the last stretch, and overall the result is solidly entertaining. It's just that the last stretch shouldn't have had to do this much heavy lifting, and with a few tweaks, it wouldn't have. Of course, it's also possible that I'm just being overly critical, and nitpicking. All I can say is that I very much enjoyed this when all is said and done, with the caveat that I had a hard time even keeping my eyes open for a sizable portion of the runtime. Unless you're a diehard fan of someone involved, Pittsburgh-area film production, or maybe horror-thrillers that play in similar spaces, I don't think this is anything one needs to go out of their way to see, and I must repeat that the rough spots are an issue. Still, when you get down to it 'Effects' is clever, and a pretty good time, and it's worth checking out if you have the chance.

I bought this movie because I am a fan of Joe Pilato. When I bought it, I actually expected him to be a little like Capt. Rhodes (DAY OF THE DEAD). I was very wrong. This movie and his performance blew me away.

Joe Pilato plays Dom, a very likable cameraman. He's basically an every day guy. He is even funny at times. And he falls in love with his gaffer, Celeste (Susan Chapek). He is just an average guy. He wasn't the ***hole he was in DAY OF THE DEAD. Instead, the ***hole of the movie is Nicky (Tom Savini).

He is also the only one in this movie who is completely innocent.

After watching a home-made murder movie from the director, Lacey (John Harrison), he suspects the murder was real. Even after Lacey tells him it isn't. He gets very suspicious. It turns out Lacey is directing two movies. The low-budget horror movie with the set of actors. And a real horror movie with real horror and murder. It is all up to Dom to make sure that it doesn't happen.

A skeleton film crew travels to a woodsy lodge in rural Pennsylvania to film a low-budget horror film. Said crew includes easygoing cinematographer / special effects man Dom (Joseph Pilato, the original "Day of the Dead"), who is none too pleased to learn about the little side project that dictatorial director Lacey (John Harrison, composer for "Creepshow" and director of "Tales from the Darkside: The Movie") has going on.

Although scripted (by director Dusty Nelson, based on a novel by William H. Mooney), this likeable if modest indie genre flick has a loose, good-natured, improvisational feel to it *until* the final 21 minutes, when, as the saying goes, the excrement hits the fan, and Dom must run for his life. Some people may feel that the film is just a little *too* low-key, however, and find it boring. Personally, I found it reasonably interesting and entertaining, with typically solid effects work by Tom Savini, who also plays the key supporting role of the obnoxious Nicky. Nelson & company *do* have fun with the whole idea of "Where does 'reel world' end and 'real world' begin?".

The film is most noteworthy for the fact that, due to a major distribution problem, it never saw the light of day in either theaters *or* on home video. It finally got released on DVD in 2005, and now there is a Blu-ray release as well. It always is of some interest to finally see movies such as this that become "lost" for a long time. Genre buffs can also hardly fail to notice how many of the players are connected to George A. Romero and his filmography.

It's worth seeking out if you enjoy discovering more obscure films. At the very least, it's a decent little picture that didn't deserve its fate.

Six out of 10.

Some crew members of a company shooting a horror film begin to suspect that the "killings" in the movie are real, and that they are actually making a "snuff" film.

There are two things about this film that keep it interesting all these decades later. One is the abundance of George Romero-connected people involved: Tom Savini, John Harrison, Joseph Pilato, Pasquale Buba, Nancy Allen (but not THAT Nancy Allen) and others. Filming took place in 1978, around the time that "Dawn of the Dead" was made; it seems that many involved in "Dawn" were making their own film on the side.

The other interesting historical note is how this film for many years just never existed. Although it was shot in 1978 and seems to be copyrighted in 1980, virtually no one saw it in the 1980s or 1990s. Due to a distributor bankruptcy problem, the film never received a theatrical or home video release. It never aired on television, or got passed around as bootlegs either. The October 2005 Synapse Films DVD was the film's first official release anywhere in the world. The American Genre Film Archive (AGFA) is now (2017) releasing a Blu-Ray of the film mastered from a rare 35mm print that was made before the distributor backed out, so it can be discovered by a new generation.

Perhaps due to this film's misfortunes, Dusty Nelson did not return to directing until the "Tales From the Darkside" episode "The Unhappy Medium" (1986). Others involved (Savini and Harrison in particular) achieved great success in its wake. How such a movie went hidden for so long is something of a mystery. If its existence was known, it would be widely sought after. The film was such a secret, we never see it mentioned in interviews or even within in-depth books such as Joe Kane's "Night of the Living Dead".

The most logical reason it would fade into obscurity would be if it was an awful film. But, on the contrary, it actually happens to be quite good. While not the era-defining classic that "Dawn of the Dead" is, it is far better than many other independent horror features of its time. Heck, it even blows away Romero's early works (especially "There's Always Vanilla"). The film-within-a-film is creepy and effective. Dusty Nelson could have been somebody!

A historical footnote: The first known use of the term "snuff movie" is in the 1971 Ed Sanders book, "The Family: The Story of Charles Manson's Dune Buggy Attack Battalion". He alleges that the Manson Family was involved in making such a film in California to record their murders. His allegations were, for the record, false. The idea caught on, however, and we received the film "Snuff" in 1975, as well as this film. The most interesting thing about snuff films is not how they have captured the imagination of people who spread urban legends… it is that they don't exist. While it would be nearly impossible for such a thing to exist as an industry, it seems plausible that at least some killer would record their exploits and at least some of those tapes would get traded on a bootleg market. But apparently not.

The AGFA Blu-ray comes out August 22, 2017, featuring a new 4K scan from the only surviving 35mm theatrical print. We get an archival commentary track with John Harrison, Dusty Nelson, and Pasquale Buba covering their memories of a bygone era. These should be enough, but wait… there is also a "Beastie" short film by Dusty Nelson and a "Ubu" short film by John Harrison. Heck, we even have the "After Effects" documentary with optional commentary track!