31 Nights of Terror 2015 #37 - Juan of the Dead (2011)

Juan of the Dead (2011)
Director: Alejandro Brugués
Starring: Alexis Díaz de Villegas, Jorge Molina, Andros Perugorría
Format: DVD

Plot: A group of slackers face an army of zombies. The Cuban government and media claim the living dead are dissidents revolting against the government.

Another recent pick up at the Armageddon convention, this is one I've been wanting to see for a while now. I'm a huge fan of Shaun of the Dead, and the name of this movie is obviously meant as a reference to that. And it's Cuban - not sure I've ever seen too many Cuban movies.

Juan of the Dead isn't some kind of remake of Shaun of the Dead. It shares a common starting point in that a zombie apocalypse breaks out and our protagonists are probably the last people you'd want to have to rely on to save you during it. 

Like Shaun and Ed in the English film, Juan and Lazaro are just coasting through life, but a point of difference is that they are always out to make a buck, and try to cash in on the zombie outbreak by setting up a "zombie exterminator" type business. Also, whereas Shaun of the Dead has a romance at its heart, here the "loved ones" trying to re-establish their relationship are Juan and his estranged daughter.

I loved the many references to the Cuban lifestyle, especially how the government tries to pass off the zombies as "dissidents" who are working with the Americans.

In terms of comedy, Juan of the Dead is funny. I didn't find it as hilarious as Shaun, but it's still got some golden moments. I do wonder if maybe some of the comedic timing is lost because it's in Spanish and you're busy reading subtitles (the characters talk damn fast). But overall it's funny and has heart (Juan and Lazaro have great chemistry, which is key to making this movie work).

The special effects are pretty good. There's some good blood and gore and while some of the CGI is a bit dodgy overall it works well.

If you're a fan of horror comedy along the lines of Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland and Return of the Living Dead, you need to see this one.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #4 - [REC] 4: Apocalipsis (2014)

[REC] 4: Apocalipsis (2014)

Directors: Jaume Balaguero
Starring: Manuela Velasco, Paco Manzanedo, Hector Colome
Format: Netflix

Plot: Television reporter Ángela is rescued from the building and taken to an oil tanker to be examined. However, it is unknown whether it is her who is carrying the seed of the mysterious demonic virus.

Bringing the Spanish series REC to a close is part four, which wraps things up by bringing back news reporter Angela from the first two movies (she was missing from the third as the focus moved to a side story happening at the same time). But this time she's not in the claustrophobic apartment building, having been transported to a ship in the middle of the ocean.

Joining Angela on said ship are a few other survivors of the zombie attacks (two cops and a family member of the married couple in part 3), a team of scientists (studying the effects of the outbreak) and a shitload of armed soldiers/guards. Of course, things go haywire and soon everyone is fighting for their lives.

As a closing chapter, Apocalipsis unfortunately falls short. It does manage to tie up all the loose ends, and having Angela back is a nice touch, but apart from that it's your standard zombie action flick. The change of venue to a boat could have allowed for some of the same suspense and tension as in the first two parts, but director Balaguero (who co-directed the first two installments) doesn't go that route. Instead he fills it with jump scares, action and smatterings of gore.

The biggest disappointment is that the religious/demon aspect is abandoned altogether in favour of a more scifi approach. The result is a long way short of the out-and-out chills of Tristana Medeiros creeping around in that blacked-out penthouse in parts 1 and 2. While part 4 isn't terrible, I kept wishing they'd gone back to the old building to wrap things up.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #3 - [REC] 3: Genesis (2012)

[REC] 3: Genesis (2012)

Directors: Paco Plaza
Starring: Leticia Dolera, Diego Martin, Ismael Martinez
Format: Netflix

Plot: A couple's wedding day turns horrific as some of the guests start showing signs of a strange illness.

Continuing the [REC] series, we move on to the first one so far that I haven't seen before. I liked this one but for different reasons than I liked the first two. Whereas the original and its first sequel are identical in style and atmosphere - found footage, creepy dark building, lots of suspense - part three does away with all of that.

For the first time the action ventures away from the claustrophobic apartment building to a much larger and more open wedding venue, where couple Clara and Koldo (dig the dude's name, sounds like a Star Trek bad guy) are celebrating their nuptials. One of their relatives works at a vet's clinic and was bitten by a sick dog - you can guess where it goes from there. Switched-on viewers will of course figure out that the dog in question was the one owned by the family from the first movie.

With the change of venue comes a complete switch away from found footage style. I have to give points for the way this is done, tongue in cheek. While the switch to a straight-up movie is a bit jarring at first, I think it's the right decision. Going for the same look and feel as the first two movies would have just felt redundant by now. There's also a lot more humour involved, at the expense of suspense, but again I don't have a problem with that. The characters are likable and the laughs are done well.

What this movie isn't short of is gore, which is turned up to the Nth degree. We get an infected person chainsawed in half, a tongue ripped from a victim's mouth and a lot more grotesque set pieces. There's also some hokey romance stuff thrown in, but without giving anything away, the ending more than makes up for it.

Essentially, [REC] 3 feels like it belongs to a totally different series. In fact, while watching I began thinking that it might be one of those classic "shot stand alone and renamed into a sequel of a popular series to cash in" cases, until things started tying into the first two flicks. But while I loved parts 1 and 2 for their suspense and scares, I enjoyed part 3 equally for its gore, action and complete fun.

Part 4 awaits next - will it continue to switch things up or move back into more familiar territory? I can't wait to find out.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #2 - [REC] 2 (2009)

[REC] 2 (2009)

Directors: Jamie Balaguero, Paco Plaza

Starring: Jonathan D Mellor, Manuela Velasco, Oscar Zafra

Format: DVD

Plot: In order to ascertain the current situation inside, a supposed medical officer and a GEO team step into the quarantined and ill-fated apartment building.

Since my girlfriend and I started the 2015 edition of 31 Nights of Terror with the first [REC] movie, it only makes sense to continue with the series, especially since I have the first two on DVD and the next two are on Netflix.

This one I've only seen the once before, so I was fairly fresh going in. I like the way it continues on the same night as the first movie, kind of like Halloween 2, only this one stays in the same location. This time we've got new protagonists, with a SWAT team replacing the firefighters from part one, and a group of pesky kids thrown in for good measure.

[REC] 2 doesn't bring anything really new to the table, it's just more of the same from the first movie. Since the first movie was so great, that's not a bad thing. In the process they manage to expand on the background folklore, bringing more light to exactly what has gone on in the penthouse. And yep, that scary ass monster from the first movie is back to create more spinechilling moments.

I quite like the surprise twist at the end and am looking forward to seeing where they go for the third and fourth installments.

31 Nights of Terror 2015 #1 - [REC] (2007)

[REC] (2007)

Directors: Jamie Balaguero, Paco Plaza

Starring: Manuela Velasco, Ferran Terraza, Jorge-Yamam Serrano

Format: DVD

Plot: A television reporter and cameraman follow emergency workers into a dark apartment building and are quickly locked inside with something terrifying.

Normally when I do the 31 Nights of Terror (this is my fifth year, sixth if you count the first year when I only managed 21 movies) I pre-plan what movie to kick off the marathon with. This year I was a little busy and didn't have anything planned. Scanning the DVD collection with no idea of what to pick, my eye fell upon this fantastic Spanish scarefest, which I first saw on the big screen in 2009. My girlfriend hadn't seen it before, so it seemed a good choice.

And a good choice it was. I love this movie. Even though found footage movies are starting to get a bit old, and the same goes for zombie movies, [REC] stands the test of time. Found footage is done best when it is used to slowly build up the tension, as it is here. And this is of course no normal "zombie" movie. The infected people are more like the ones in The Crazies or 28 Days Later than a Romero zombie flick. These bastards are fast and fierce.

I also love how for most of the movie it's basically a "group of people try to survive zombie hordes" flick, but in the final act it changes tact completely, and boy does it bring the scares. Without ruining anything, the final monster is the thing of nightmares.

I haven't seen the American remake, Quarantine, and I don't want to. [REC] is fantastic, and those too lazy to read subtitles are seriously missing out!

June 20 - The People Who Own The Dark

The People Who Own The Dark (1976)
Director: Leon Klimovsky
Format: AVI (VHSrip)

Alright, a bit of full disclosure to start - I don't think I've seen a Paul Naschy movie until now. I know, I know, that's pretty shocking for any serious fan of horror movies. I'm well versed in the Italian branch of the Euro horror family tree, particularly the giallos of Argento, Fulci, Bava etc. But I've been quite lax in my efforts to investigate the Spanish branch, despite regularly hearing Naschy's name bandied around with that of fellow countryman Jeff Franco (another hole in my viewing experience).

Anyway, that admission aside, I do realise that The People Who Own The Dark is not a typical Naschy film. Here he has something of a supporting role, and a convetional one at that, but he does team up with regular collaborator Klimovsky, the Argentinian director who directed eight of his films.

The People Who Own The Dark is an effective post-nuclear survival tale that throws together a group of rich, influential men (including Naschy; Alberto de Mendoza, THE CASE OF THE SCORPION'S TAIL; and Antonio Mayans, ZOMBIE LAKE) with a number of beautiful models for a weekend of pleasure in the basement of a castle somewhere in Europe - kind of an upmarket swingers' retreat.

But before they can get down to business, nuclear war breaks out. The guests are safe in their underground bunker, but everyone else in the surrounding countryside, including a nearby village, is left blind by the blast.

Venturing out to get supplies, the group of protagonists soon realises these blinded, half-insane villagers are not interested in becoming facebook friends. They want to kill the sighted (how they know the difference is beyond me, but what the heck).

Barricading themselves in the castle, the non-blind soon have to cope with the growing tension and paranoia in their group, as well as the villagers when they come looking for blood. Well, not exactly looking. More like stumbling.

Naschy is great as the snake of the group, who is only interested in saving his own skin. The women are all beautiful, none moreso than German softcore queen Nadiuska (who also played Arnie's mother in CONAN THE BARBARIAN), who is the only one to get fully un-kitted. The female cast also includes Julia Saly (NIGHT OF THE WEREWOLF), Diana Polakov (in a supporting role four years before her feature role in the rip-roaring SUPERSONIC MAN) and Teresa Gimpera (CRYPT OF THE LIVING DEAD). Maria Perschy (MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE) is simply stunning as the host of the party.

Klimovsky does a very good job of building suspense and dread with material that could have come off as corny. Scenes of dozens of blinded people surrounding a main character while waving walking sticks above their heads could have been campy, but instead is quite chilling.

Comparisons with Night of the Living Dead are unavoidable. Trade zombies for staggering blind people, Pennsylvania for the European countryside and a farmhouse for a castle and you've got basically the same plot. Even the ending is similarly-bleak.

But while it may be a ripoff of sorts, The People Who Own The Dark is effectively filmed with a great cast, so is definitely worth checking out.

May 21 - What kind of tomfoolery is this?

Supersonic Man (1980)
Director: Juan Piquer Simon
Format: AVI (VHSrip)

The first sign that Supersonic Man is a low budget movie is the listing of veteran actor Cameron Mitchell as "Cameron Mitchel" in the opening credits.

Coming two years after Richard Donner's Superman, this Spanish rip-off is directed by Juan Piquer Simon (PIECES), and stars Mitchell (THE TOOLBOX MURDERS) as Dr Gulik, a mad scientist intent on developing - what else? - a death ray.

An alien being is sent from an orbiting spaceshop to stop Dr Gulik's nefarious plans. In civilian garb he's suave, moustachioed Antonio Cantaforia (DEMONS 2). But when he utters the words "May the force of the galaxies be with me" he transforms into Supersonic, a masked superhero in a red costume with sparkly blue mask, gloves and cape. Interestingly, Cantaforia's moustache disappears in Supersonic form (actually because it's a different actor - Richard Yesteran, who played Tarzan in a couple of Spanish movies).

In between romancing the daughter of a good-natured scientist kidnapped by Dr Gulik (including using his superpowers to steal some champagne for a romantic dinner), Supersonic battles Gulik's stormtrooper-esque, laser gun-wielding troops and comes face to face with his fearsome killer robot (a man in a bulky,
restrictive suit).

Just about everything is played straight but comes off as unintentionally funny. Ironically, the comic relief (a drunk character who pops up several times) is about the only unfunny part of the whole film.

The special effects are hilarious. Marvel at the unconvincing green-screen work as Supersonic "flies" around New York City. Watch a car containing two baddies burst into flames for no reason after running off the road and down a gentle slope. Rejoice at the terrible model work involving houses, a helicopter, ships, submarines and more. Recoil in terror as Supersonic fights his way through jets of air, uh, I mean "corrosive gas". Gasp as he hoists a bulldozer over his head (which is clearly made of balsa wood).

Mitchell hams it up big time, providing a definite highlight of the acting on display. Some of the dialogue is awesomely cheesy (a scientist upon seeing the killer robot: "What kind of tomfoolery is this?"). The music is meant to be epic but comes off as a poor imitation of the Superman score, but Superman doesn't have banjo music playing during a bar fight, now does it?

All the ingredients for a B-movie classic are there. Unfortunately the end result isn't as good as it could have been, but it's still a good old time for any fan of cheesy, bad z-movies.

One last thing: Not once does Supersonic Man fly at above the speed of sound. But I guess Quitefast Man doesn't really have the same ring to it.