Netherbeast Incorporated

Saw it at the Dallas Film Festival where the whole audience laughed their butts off. It was one of those movies I'll need to see twice to catch the jokes I missed. Lots of great visual humor, too. Jeeves the stuffed dog and the cripple poster were so tasteless but so funny. I probably didn't need to see that dude with the thong, but even that was hilarious. I loved Hammand and Burns, truly outstanding performances. Judd Nelson was good and nerdy. I agree with others who said Dave Foley was wasted in the part he played, but he was still very solid in a more dramatic part. And finally Mewes didn't just play Mewes. Amy Davidson is cute as a button as the new human employee. I didn't recognize Robert Wagner (with a beard as President Garfield) until he spoke. Then I knew.

I really dug all the backstory parts explaining how the company came to be. I read a complaint here saying that the flashbacks looked like a power point project. Dude, it was SUPPOSED to be a power point project! You have to stick around until the end of the movie to discover why.

I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a good laugh and can appreciate a great tasteless joke.

Eye of the jackal, baby!

What's better than one Ronalds Brother? Two Ronalds Brothers. Oh, and don't let me fail to mention the great writer, playful cast and, for lack of a better term, FUNNY movie. There was considerable buzz surrounding NetherBeast Incorporated at the Phoenix Film Festival seemingly due to the recognizable names involved. But that simply wasn't the case at all. The buzz came from the audience who seemed to thoroughly enjoy the film. I was, personally, very excited about the Phoenix Film Festival this year because of the lineup. I got an opportunity to see a few of the films and NetherBeast Incorporated, hands down, stole the 'show'. I had heard they had a good showing at the Dallas festival so was intrigued. With witty and comical characters, such as Darrell Hammond's Turner, Steve Burns' Otto, Bob Rue's Bunyan Pritchett and Cathy Rankin's Jewel, the movie bled with refreshingly lighthearted vampirical humor. And who doesn't love a little vampirical humor??? Not only was the film original, but the players (in real life) were approachable and are genuinely deserving of the favorable recognition they seem to be getting. I know that I, along with my friends, thoroughly enjoyed the showing and look forward to experiencing this cinematic playmate again when it gets picked up for national distribution; which I have no doubt it will.

'NetherBeast Incorporated' has a fresh take on vampire lore. In the film, the vampires or NetherFolk, as they prefer to be called, are just like you or me. Except they eat human flesh. They're not monsters, nor do they kill their dinner. There are plenty of people dying these days to not have to do that. While the NetherFolk all work at Berm-Tech Industries, they also pretty much live, eat and breathe in the building. The film centers around this concept and delights in the overall design; including the original script, score, and visual satisfaction that we don't often see with first time feature length directors and producers. Right on Ronalds Brothers and thanks for the 90 minutes you've created.

Good cast. Original story. Funny moments. It just doesn't quite get to its potential. I can't even put my finger on why.

I had this movie described to me as a vampire comedy, so I figured I'd like it. It isn't, and I didn't.

The thing is, these creatures aren't vampires - they're a new type of creature that I hadn't heard of yet. Which is great, 'cause we need some original ideas in a world of remakes and sequels. Unfortunately, though, since these are new creatures the filmmakers spend most of the movie explaining to us who they are, their history, their likes and dislikes, how they live, how they die, etc. This goes on . . . and on . . . and on. It constantly interrupts the movie. The filmmakers try to make these scenes of exposition visually interesting but it all comes across like a Powerpoint presentation.

Exposition aside, the story itself is pretty good but I would have liked to have had things explained in a more sophisticated way.

The comedy is there in spurts but it is too uneven throughout the film. The opening scene and the film's climax are the two funniest things in the film. Throughout the rest, though, it felt like a big inside joke that I wasn't in on. Some scenes fall completely flat, some resort to toilet humor, and some make no sense.

As far as actors go, Darrel Hammond is funny doing what is essentially his Bill Clinton routine from SNL. His opening scene is hilarious, but unfortunately he takes a backseat quickly. David Foley is completely wasted in a flat role. I couldn't believe that they bothered to cast one of the funniest men alive and have him do nothing interesting. Jason Mewes pops up for a pointless buddy role halfway through the film. Judd Nelson definitely steals the show as the movie progresses and is at his best in the film's climax.

My other gripe is that the chemistry between the lead actor and the main girl felt very forced. I didn't buy their relationship for some reason.

Overall, it provides a few laughs but feels like a missed opportunity. I would suggest it on DVD only to fans of independent cinema who can get over things like horrible lighting and camerwork. This is one of those movies that will probably get a cult audience but everyone else will hate.

Darrell Hammond is really, really good in this as a smooth talker, and much of it is KIND OF funny/quirky. It had a lot of potential, but this movie commits 3 cardinal sins.

1. They directly contradicted everything commonly known about vampires and they did it with impunity, in this smartassed matter-of-fact kind of way from a really annoying voice. It is possible to do this to an extent at the beginning to set the "rules" for the world. But continually sarcastically making fun of and contradicting the very fundamentals of vampire folklore is NOT ON. If common vampire rules are so "wrong" then maybe they should quit thinking of themselves as "vampires" to begin with, it's not what they call themselves.

2. What the hell is with this using Alexander Graham Bell? My perception of Bell will forever be tainted by this nonsense. Bell did not agree to his name and image being used like this, I think it's so unfair to do this to a deceased person. I rarely even like watching fictional depictions of real people like for instance Darwin, because I cannot trust the depiction of it, but this is just ridiculous.

3. They should have done all the narration and backstory at the start, not continually narrated throughout the whole thing and continually butchering your perception of vampires by pretending these were anything like vampires.