CYBER VENGEANCE (1995) * ½

Will (J. Gregory Smith) is a guard/computer programmer in a virtual reality prison where inmates are kept in a state of perpetual virtual historical warfare.  When the sleazy warden (Robert Davi) finds out he’s befriending the prisoners, he puts Will into the virtual reality simulator.  He then pits Will in virtual combat against a bunch of rich fat cats who pay big money to hunt the prisoners in virtual reality.  

The early scenes are the best.  The opening sequence where Will is working the bugs out of a virtual reality fighting game held a lot of promise.  Not only does it feature Debbie Rochon as the video game princess; we also have Matthias Hues as “Thor”, the video game villain.  Shortly thereafter, there’s a great moment where Will is having sex with a big-boobed bimbo and his wife walks in to find him humping the couch while wearing his VR helmet.  Sadly, it’s all downhill from there.  

The rest of the film is a slow moving, dreary, bore.  It haphazardly hops around from genre to genre, which makes it hard to get your bearings.  Parts are like Tron, Lawnmower Man, The Most Dangerous Game, and Mortal Kombat.  None of it ever really gels.  

The early VR scenes are a heck of a lot more fun than all the historical battles and fights.  The virtual warfare scenes take place during Vietnam, the Civil War, and the Revolutionary War, among others.  (The Prohibition and western scenes are particularly draggy.)  The lurching back and forth between time periods gets monotonous almost instantly.  It often feels like the filmmakers just had a bunch of leftover props, costumes, and sets from other movies and tried to write a feature around what was available.  Either that, or it was one of those deals where they filmed a television series where each time period made up an entire episode.  Then, they realized they couldn’t sell it, and re-edited it into a feature.  That would go a long way to explaining the completely unsatisfying cliffhanger ending.  

Davi returned for the sequel, Absolute Aggression the following year.  That flick might explain what the heck happened after the abrupt ending of this one.  I’m not exactly itching to find out though.  

AKA:  Nexxus.  AKA:  Virtual Hell.  

GNAW: FOOD OF THE GODS 2 (1989) *** ½

A cancer research center is constantly pestered by college students who protest the fact they conduct tests on animals.  When the protestors break into the facility, they accidentally unleash some lab rats that ate a bunch of experimental growth hormone.  Pretty soon, there’s a bunch of giant rats on the loose and only scientist Paul (Chopping Mall) Coufos can stop them.  

I don’t know why they waited thirteen years to make a sequel to Bert I. Gordon’s The Food of the Gods, but I’m kind of glad they did.  Directed by Damien (Abraxus, Guardian of the Universe) Lee, Gnaw:  Food of the Gods 2 is the kind of bad movie I enjoy.  It’s certainly a lot more fun than the original.  While the first one had a big-name cast fighting giant chickens, worms, and rats, this one has a bunch of Canadians fighting giant rats.  (A scientist does wear a chicken pin on his lab coat, which I think is a nod to the original.)  

Oh, and there’s a subplot about a giant toddler too.  (Three years before Honey, I Blew Up the Kid.)  The effect for the (big) little boy is just as bad as something Gordon would’ve done.  You’ve got to love the fact that even though this movie came out thirteen years after the original, they were still using the same (if not worse) effects.  

As dumb as a lot of this is, I have to admit it is dumb fun as there is some hilarious stuff here.  I especially loved the scene of the hero scientist working in his lab that is scored and edited like a Rocky training montage.  I also got a kick out of the exterminator who looks and acts like Clint Eastwood whose preferred method of killing rats is a flamethrower.  Then there’s the insane part where a scientist cuts his finger on a slide containing the growth formula mixed with cancer cells and he turns into a giant, pulsating, dripping tumor man!  My favorite moment though was when Coufos is having a hot sex dream and then he starts growing to absurd size during sex!  Who needs Viagra when you got that experimental growth formula!  

More stupid, but irresistible shit:  The trusty Jaws subplot that rears its head in the final act.  (Maybe they just should’ve called it Gnaws?)  Even though there are giant rats on the loose, the dean refuses to close the campus because the synchronized swimming competition must go on as scheduled!  I couldn’t make this shit up if I tried, but I’m glad screenwriter Mike Werb (who would go on to write Darkman 3:  Die, Darkman!  Die! and Face/Off) did.

You’ve got to hand it to Lee.  He knows how to stage a giant rat attack.  Rats bite hands, maul faces, chomp on necks, and tear off arms.  In one scene, a guy gets attacked by a rat while taking a piss.  It all ends with a cliffhanger that unfortunately never got paid off.  I for one would’ve loved to have seen Chomp:  Food of the Gods 3.  Heck, I would’ve even settled for Nibble:  Food of the Gods 3.

AKA:  Food of the Gods 2.

THE NASTY RABBIT (1964) NO STARS

The actual on-screen title is Nasty Rabbit:  Spies-a-Go-Go:  AKA:  The Nasty Rabbit.  Man, you know you’re in trouble when the title can’t even make up its damn mind.  

I’m a bigger Arch Hall, Jr. fan than most.  I enjoyed Eegah.  I think The Choppers is better than most give it credit for.  I also thought his performance in James Landis’ The Sadist was particularly good.  Well, Landis must’ve forgotten everything about filmmaking by the time he made this.  I have to say The Nasty Rabbit is one of THE worst movies ever made.  It makes Wild Guitar look like Jailhouse Rock.  Co-written by Arch Hall, Sr., it is an inane and painfully unfunny spy comedy.  

Russia plans to wipe out the U.S. by unleashing biological warfare using a white rabbit.  A Russian agent (Michael Terr) poses as a cowboy and heads to a dude ranch.  Meanwhile, rock n’ roller Hall arrives on the scene as the ranch’s scheduled entertainment.  Actually, he’s working undercover with the American government to stop the Russian’s idiotic plot.  A sexy double agent (gangster moll turned Z-movie actress Liz Renay) also shows up to complicate matters.  

I can usually sit through a bad horror movie just for the cheesy acting.  I can usually sit through a bad sci-fi flick thanks to the horrible effects.  Sitting through a comedy that has nary a laugh is a horse of a different color.  The Nasty Rabbit is a hodgepodge of lame gags, idiotic sound effects, cutaways to animal reaction shots, unfunny stereotypes, and comic rodeo footage.  Oh, and did I mention the rabbit TALKS?!?

I guess it goes without saying that Arch is the best part of the movie.  The only problem?  He’s barely in it!  He’s set up to be the hero, but most of the time is devoted to the various spies doing awful shtick, acting imbecilic, and generally making you want to pull your hair out from its roots.  Heck, Arch’s song is kind of terrible (which is saying something), but at least when he’s on stage singing, that means no comic relief putz with a thick Russian accent isn’t doing a pratfall or running around in fast motion.

The only semi-clever moment is when a cowboy spy uses a spy phone located in his saddle.  Hall’s Eegah co-star, Richard Kiel also shows up as a tall cowboy.  The joke of course being that he’s a cowboy… who’s tall.  

I’m a self-professed bad movie lover.  The Nasty Rabbit is so bad that it made me rethink my life choices.  It’s the worst of the worst.  

AKA:  Spies-a-Go-Go.

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: NEXT OF KIN (2021) *

Filmmaker Margot (Emily Bader) was abandoned as a baby.  Desperate to find her birth family, she decides to make a documentary of her journey.  After scouring the internet, she eventually learns she’s of Amish heritage and goes to spend some time on her family’s farm.  Margot gets permission from the sect to film the documentary and before long, she realizes something paranormal is afoot.  (The fact that she found an Amish family on 23andMe should’ve been a major red flag.)

It’s no secret that I am not a fan of the Paranormal Activity series, or of the Found Footage subgenre in general.  However, Next of Kin feels much too polished to belong in the franchise.  I know we have come a long way with technology in the years since the series began.  I know GoPro cameras and iPhones can give you a much better picture than the home video cameras of old.  It’s just that there are some stretches where it comes dangerously close to feeling like a “real” movie.  

Sure, there are the requisite shaky-cam and night vision sequences (the scene where Margot is being lowered into a deep cavern is especially nauseating), but some sequences betray the Found Footage format.  Take for instance the dinner scene where the Amish family rhythmically pounds their fists on the dinner table.  There must be ten or twelve cuts to various family members thumping their fists.  Did the camera crew have time to edit the footage before it was “found”?  

The looser-than-loose continuity makes it feel more like a one-off with the Paranormal Activity name attached than an honest-to-goodness continuation.  The finale, with its Gollum-like creature feels closer in tone to The Descent than anything in the previous movies.  There are also some visual cues from The Blair Witch Project too, which is kind of weird.  It’s like they forgot which franchise they were making a sequel to.  We do get one memorable bit involving a potato peeler, but for the most part, Next of Kin offers next to no entertainment.  

For my thoughts on the rest of the Paranormal Activity franchise, pick up a copy of my book, The Bloody Book of Horror on Amazon today:  The Bloody Book of Horror: Lovell, Mitch: 9781542566629: Amazon.com: Books

PIG (2021) ****

Pig is basically Taken, but with a pig, and starring Nicolas Cage.  That premise sounds like a joke on The Simpsons.  Considering the last couple of Nicolas Cage movies, it could’ve been a ninety-minute meme.  However, despite (or perhaps, because of) the oddball plot, Pig is a captivating and at times, moving drama.  

Cage stars as a hermit who lives alone in the woods with his pet pig.  His pig is not only his pet, but his business partner as its truffle-hunting skills helps keep the lights on.  One night, burglars break in and steal Cage’s pig.  He then makes his way to the seedy underbelly of Portland to get his pig back.  

Sometimes, it’s the notes you don’t hit that matter.  In Cage’s last flick, Willy’s Wonderland, he didn’t hit any notes at all.  Here, even though he is firmly in Somber Cage Mode, Nic’s brooding performance is almost mesmerizing.  He doesn’t say much, but when he does, it’s meaningful and has a lot of weight.  

Naturally, none of this would really matter if we didn’t believe the sacred bond Cage has with his pig.  The short, but memorable sequences of man and beast working and living together hit the right balance between heartfelt and offbeat.  Cage and the pig are so wonderful together than when the bad men came under the cover of darkness and kidnapped the pig, it really struck a chord.  When the pig let out a woeful, anguished cry, well… Dear Reader, I must admit, it put a lump in my throat.  From then on, I was right there with Cage on his quest for revenge.

And you know, for such a quiet, melancholic, and deliberate movie, it sure moves at a lightning pace.  First-time feature director Michael Sarnoski keeps things moving right along, all the while peppering the film with small, but memorable set pieces.  Highlights include a bizarre underground fight club that pits waiters against homeless people, and an interrogation of a chef that feels like something out of a Coen Brothers movie.  Then there’s the ending, which I won’t spoil.  Most revenge pictures end with a big action sequence.  This one ends in truly unique fashion.  

The glue that holds it all together, of course, is Cage.  Very few actors could lean into such an unlikely premise and have the audience walk away genuinely moved.  This is one of the best performances you’ll see all year, and this is one of the best films of the year.

DON’T LOOK UP (2021) *** ½

The reviews for Don’t Look Up have been all over the place.  Some love it.  Some hate it.  That kind of divisiveness is appropriate, seeing how it is about a divisive subject:  The truth.  

Scientists Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio discover that a comet will hit Earth in six months, obliterating all life on the planet.  Naturally, no one believes them.  It takes the President (Meryl Streep) to be rocked by a sex scandal before she will even set a plan into motion, if only to pivot away from the fact that she got caught sexting.  Even then, surefire plans to stop the comet from smashing into Earth are thwarted, if only because a billionaire media mogul (Mark Rylance) has found a way to make everybody money from mining the comet for precious minerals.  

The fun of Don’t Look Up is the feeling that the end of the world could very well happen just the way it plays out in the movie.  Sure, we would hope for an Armageddon, or even a Deep Impact type of scenario, but the truth is, nothing would probably get done until the tech giants and D.C. fat cats got every last dime they could out of the situation.  Also, the vital information on the comet would only be syphoned out to the public if and when the news cycle permitted.  (And if it happens on a news day when Ariana Grande announces her engagement, forget it.)  

With Don’t Look Up, writer/director Adam McKay is able to have his cake and eat it too.  He is able to deftly go from absurd (but plausible) political commentary to quiet, human moments.  Yes, many of the major players are aloof goofballs.  However, the way things are going in America, the White House’s handling of the situation is probably spot on.  At one point, Lawrence tells some youthful protestors, “They’re not even smart enough to be as evil as you give them credit for.”

The performances help sell the reality and absurdity of the situation.  DiCaprio is great as the anxiety-ridden scientist who slowly learns to play the media game.  Lawrence is fun as his outspoken partner who is never once rewarded for telling the truth.  Streep is essentially playing an amalgam of Trump and Hillary and it’s just as nightmarish as it sounds.  It’s Jonah Hill though who steals the movie as Streep’s son, who also happens to be the White House’s Press Secretary who is basically a mashup of all the Trump kids rolled up into one.  

While the film is probably a little too long and some of the plot threads and character arcs kind of get lost in the shuffle (like Timothy Chalamet’s evangelical skater punk), it works better than it probably should.  Like I said, it’s a movie about the truth.  No matter how loud you shout it, there are always idiots who don’t want to hear it.  You could substitute the comet for any sort of problem, say… I dunno… global warming or COVID-19.  You remember how everyone sat down and worked together to solve those problems?  Sure, you don’t.  That’s basically how the grown-ups in the room handle the comet in this flick.  That is to say, we’re fucked.

FREAKY (2020) *** ½

You can tell the filmmakers really wanted to make Freaky Friday the 13th, a mashup of Freaky Friday and Friday the 13th.  The fact that Freaky Friday is owned by Disney and Friday the 13th is owned by Paramount (not to mention the fact it was made at Universal) probably prevented an official crossover from taking place.  That didn’t stop them from making the movie though, as they tweaked things just enough to avoid a lawsuit (or two).

“The Blissfield Butcher” (Vince Vaughn) is a serial killer who wears a wooden mask that is shaped very similarly to Jason’s.  Every Homecoming, he murders high school students in a small town.  When he stabs the Final Girl, Millie (Kathryn Newton) with a magic knife, they swap bodies.  Since the killer is in the body of a beautiful high school girl, she pretty much has free reign to go around and kill.  It’s then up to the Butcher to convince Millie’s friends it’s really her in his body before more people wind up dead.

The opening scene has a very cool Friday the 13th vibe and features some world-class kills that involve a bottle of wine, a toilet seat, and a tennis racket.  It would’ve been interesting to see how this would’ve played out if it was a legit Jason movie.  I mean the Friday the 13th series has already ripped off Frankenstein, Carrie, The Hidden, Evil Dead, and Alien, so ripping off Freaky Friday isn’t too much of a stretch.

However, if this was an official sequel, we would’ve been swindled out of a great performance by Vince Vaughn.  He’s intimidating as the killer, but once he becomes host to Newton’s character, he is a real treat to watch.  He resists the temptation to playing a caricature and exudes an air of femineity that is just pitch perfect.  Likewise, Newton is a lot of fun as the hulking killer trapped in a teenage girl’s body.  Her body language and facial expressions while having to put up with her annoying classmates and teachers are priceless.  I can’t quite say it’s as good as Travolta or Cage playing each other in Face/Off, but it’s definitely up there. 

Some touches will make you scratch your head.  Like why does the school have a cryogenic freezer in the girls’ locker room?  The answer of course, is that if there wasn’t a cryogenic freezer in the girls’ locker room, then they couldn’t have done a homage to Jason X, that’s why.  While the film is a lot of fun, at one-hundred-and-two minutes, it’s a little on the long side and probably has one climax too many.  These are really minor quibbles in the long run, especially seeing how Freaky adheres to the Video Vacuum’s #1 Horror Movie Rule:  If you’ve got to cut someone in half, cut them in half LENGTHWISE.