Dominador de Corpos

After inadvertently putting a young man into a coma, a doctor tries to resuscitate him with a powerful new drug being tested at the hospital only for his murderous spirit to possess passers-by and kill them one-by-one for putting him there.

This one managed to be quite enjoyable even if nothing really sticks out afterward. The fact that this is based so much on a familiar, over-done plot-point of having the perpetrator seek revenge by body-hopping from one person to another going after the ones who placed him there is a tired, overdone cliché that really seems quite ludicrous the way it's presented here as being done through the tell-tale sign of a bloody nose after-the-fact, which manages to feel quite lame and ludicrous as yo be the overall source of the possession it really feels quite shorthanded. Though it does manage to have a rather credible back-story in the attempt to tie it in with the out-of-body experience from the experimental drug treatment, the fact that it's never explicitly stated how it's possible to do that makes for a really lame-duck explanation. As well, there's very little thought put into the film's final twist in terms of connecting it to explaining how the various crimes were committed, as this one manages to attempt something interesting in the final minutes only to undermine everything that's happened beforehand with the story to wrap everything up in how it played out, so in the end re-writes itself out of it's original storyline and produces a huge gap in logic rather easily. That said, there's still some good stuff here in the brutal deaths doled out which are quite fun and enjoyable in how shocking and nasty they get, as well as the concept of how it does these acts come about. Though it goes for mere shock value instead of playing about with suspense in these cases, it does work on the brutality stakes more than the actual scare factor. As well, the final matter of dealing with the body is quite ingenious and really unique, looking for a new way to actually deal with the threat that's never been done before and manage to work itself into the story rather nicely, in spite of the problems it perceived into the storyline. These made the film watchable and enjoyable, but it does have a few problems.

Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Brief Nudity and heavy drug use.

Irish film-maker Paddy Breathnach bored me to tears with the asinine drivel that was Shrooms, but being the reasonable fellow that I am, I was willing to give the guy a second chance at impressing me with his next movie, Red Mist AKA Freakdog (the fact that the back of the DVD showed hottie Arielle Kebbel in her undies had nothing to do with my decision—Scout's honour!).

Although this film isn't as soporific as Breathnach's earlier fungi-flavoured flop, at least delivering a few reasonable performances, it's still an ultimately unimpressive effort, with a derivative narrative that borrows heavily from several other horrors (most notably 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' and 'Patrick'), a thoroughly unlikable group of extremely clichéd characters, and a surprising lack of gore given the nasty ways in which the characters meet their fates (a juicy knife-in-the-throat aside, Breathnach misses every opportunity to really gross out his audience).

Oh, and the 'Kebbel in her scanties' scene lasts for all of 10 seconds... grrrrr!

In FREAKDOG (aka: RED MIST) a group of med students decide to mix narcotics and alcohol for a night of utter blotto-ness. Unfortunately, their shenanigans are witnessed by Kevin who records their antics on his cellphone.

Not wanting their future careers ruined, the quick-thinking students decide to get Kevin wasted so they can destroy the evidence. Things don't go exactly as planned.

If you enjoy paranormal horror-revenge movies with possession and lots of gory deaths, then this will take you to Nirvana! There's even some mad science tossed in for extra joy!

This film gets bonus points for originality and its novel approach...

"Freakdog", "Coma: The Movie", "Frickin' Stupid Doctors" or whatever the film wants to call itself, is unsurprisingly a very unknown film. I had never heard of it, critics ripped it apart and medical students were probably told to never watch it (unless they purposefully wanted to fail). Essentially it's "I Know What You Did Last Summer" meets "Flatliners", and it's just as predictable as both of those films. A group of medical students make a pact to try and kill a creepy stalker, whom recorded footage of them stealing pharmaceuticals, but instead puts him in a coma.

However, this is very very bad. Why? Well because he can travel out of his body, possess these students and kill them in elaborate ways. A slasher/revenge flick utilising an admittedly unique and imaginative premise. Just a shame that pretty much everything sucked! Putting aside the absurdly cheap aesthetic, editing and direction, the film's biggest issue is with its characters. Forcing literally everyone to be unlikeable, from the students to the experienced doctors, results in an entirely expendable cast. A consequence of this is that whenever someone pours burning acid down another's throat or crushed their head in a car door, it's all for nothing. No emotional attachment. No "ahhh but I liked that guy!". Nothing. Then we somehow need to comprehend how unintelligent these students really are. This is the future generation of doctors! Why are they are all so frickin' dumb? And why is a predominately British cast playing American characters? Just get an American cast!

The gore was unfortunately rarely shown on screen, which culminates the "horror" aspect and lays it on an uncomfortable hospital bed whilst we all watch it slowly die. Acting? Questionable. Camera shots? Zoomed in. Conclusion? "Red Snooze". Oh, and if you have epilepsy...watch with caution. (Although I recommend you don't watch it at all, epileptic or not!). Nearly caused me to have a nosebleed with its excessive flashing lights. Seriously! My retinas were burning during the last five minutes. It's coma time!

A group of potential doctors are caught doing drugs by a local man with a stuttering problem. In order to cover their butts and keep their scholarships, they invite the man to join them, sending him into a coma after the drugs hit him the wrong way. When one of the potential doctors (Arielle Kebbel) tries to help him, unexpected consequences emerge.

Reviews on this film have been generally negative, with some people saying it is "as bad as 'Shrooms'" (the director's other notable movie). I don't see where these people are coming from. Sure, there are some bad things about this film... for one, the story drags a bit at times, and one character more or less repeats his same speech every five minutes he shows up. We also have the familiar story, which is not unlike "I Know What You Did Last Summer" or any number of other films.

But I thought the visuals were well done, the action was intense, and the casting was for the most part excellent. The ladies were well-cast beyond a doubt. MyAnna Buring as Shelby was a good move, as she's not only gorgeous but has the horror veteran status ("The Descent", "The Omen"). Putting Arielle Kebbel in the lead was brilliant. I've had my eye on her since "American Pie" Band Camp", where I noticed that despite the juvenile film, she really stood out. I expect her to break into the big time any day now.

I also have to give the film credit for trying to tie in actual science to a paranormal theme. Far too many films will introduce supernatural elements with no attempt to explain them. Here, we have a psychic theme tied to a little-known part of the brain called the angular gyrus. According to Wikipedia, "experiments have demonstrated the possibility that stimulation of the angular gyrus is the cause of out-of-body experiences. Stimulation of the angular gyrus in one experiment caused a woman to perceive a phantom existence behind her. Another such experiment gave the test subject the sensation of being on the ceiling. This is attributed to a discrepancy in the actual position of the body, and the mind's perceived location of the body." So, there's at least some level of truth to what the film shows.

I enjoyed this movie, and I won't lie about it. I'm not going to say it's "the film of the year" or any of those bold claims that movie reviewers make all the time, because that's just simply not going to be true. But it's well worth seeing if you have a steady intake of horror flicks. Of the films I've seen recently, it was among the better ones. And Arielle Kebbel... I mean, she just sells a film, doesn't she?