'Grimm' Series Premiere Review

'Grimm' Series Premiere, October 28^th 2011 (NBC- Fridays 9/8c)

(As always, with windows you need to right click all links and choose open in new window/tab in order to stay on this page! At least until I figure out how to change that! Clicking pictures will take you to Amazon.com!)

My Synopsis: Grimm's scary tales are real! I f'n knew it!

For those that lament the state of the oldest and greatest broadcast network they have a new offering for us! Some would say their jumping on the bandwagon by running a show steeped in monsters, special effects, and mystery. But for a network whose current best programming is limited to syndicated crime dramas, comedies, and reality competition shows, 'Grimm' could be the show that gives them back some legitimacy. Sure it's up against AMC's 'The Walking Dead,' ABC's 'Once Upon a Time,' 'Supernatural,' and countless CW Vampire et al dramas but it is the only one that brings the closest adaptation of the brothers Grimm fables into the modern world, and that is one thing I have to applaud. So how does the premiere to 'Grimm' look and is it worth tuning in to NBC on Friday, October 28^th?

The premier episode pays homage to Little Red Riding Hood. Now The Brothers Grimm's tales are a collection of fables told amongst the villages in which they lived. That is to say they are stories that convey a lesson of the time in which they were created. They are nothing like the Disney bastardizations we have come to love and abhor. So what does Little Red-Cap (aka Little Red Riding Hood) teach? On the surface it's pretty obvious... little girls who walk through the woods are likely to get themselves and their grandmothers eaten by wolves if they don't prove that they and grandmother aren't craftier. There is no Hunstman in this telling and The Big Bad Wolf doesn't get to eat grandma whole and therefore have his stomach ripped open to find a living, breathing grandmother inside. Instead Red and G'ma out smart Big Bad themselves.

In this premiere we have a Red Riding Hood serial killer, no grandma, but a couple of dinner leftovers and an abduction. Our hero Nick would be the Huntsman, out to save the abducted Little Red and rid the world of one Big Bad. It is a well crafted episode that has elements that harken back to Ledger and Damon's 'The Brothers Grimm' (2005). It almost feels like Nick is a present day descendant of the hapless reluctant heroes in that movie without all the frantic slapstick. The humor that does exist is dark and surprising, like we would expected from the producers of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.'

Now it's not quite explained why it is that all of sudden rookie homicide detective Nick is capable of seeing the Grimm monsters that live among us but his creepy aunt does offer the explanation that everything we thought were fairy tales are real. He is a descendant of the Brothers whose famous stories were actually a chronicle of the monsters and how to beat them. This is pretty close to how the Winchester brothers got started in 'Supernatural' with the exception that Grimm's stories really exist. We also find out via Eddie that many of those creatures are 'reformed,' carrying on normal human lives, and that he is pretty much the narc of the monster world. In the end, with the help of his partner, his aunts info, and the wolf-narc Eddie, this Big Bad might get caught but the episode also leaves us with a chilling realization that there is more than one non-reformed Big Bad in the world looking for Little Reds to eat. The implication being we haven't seen the last of the Red-Cap chronicles.

Based on the pilot I would say this series has great potential. At first I was impressed and pleasantly surprised by the opening ten minutes which pretty much plays out like every crime show beginning- we meet the victim, the perfect song helps to set the scene ('Sweet Dreams' by the Eurythmics) and then a murder happens. Cut to meet the detectives! I want to comment on the use of 'Sweet Dreams,' normally when it comes to Little Red Riding Hood interpretations the most commonly used song is 'Li'l Red Riding Hood' by Sam the Sham & The Pharaohs. It is a pretty creepy song that implies something a lot more illicit than murder and I must admit I expected it to be used to define the setting of this episode and would have been disappointed by the cliché. Fortunately I was pleasantly surprised, the use of both versions of 'Sweet Dreams' to open and close the episode tells so much! This episode is about Nick's transformation from the ignorant happy dreamer in The Eurythmics to the jaded and creeped out nightmares of Marilyn Manson. Kudos music department!

The episode is also visually stunning. The colors are dark and vibrant, like a fairy tale should be (this could be partly due to the Oregon setting, forget 'Twilight' was also shot there, please), and the effects don't feel strained or over done. My greatest concern with the episode is the acting. With the obvious exception of the masterful Silas Weir Mitchell as Eddie, the others seemed wooden and out of place, Especially Nick's aunt who looked and sounded more like she was reciting the Gettysburg Address than giving important background information. Upon reflection I realize I felt the same about 'Buffy,' 'Angel,' and 'Supernatural' so my hope is that, like them, with a few more episodes the actors will fall more casually into their roles and maybe grow on me more. Of course with NBC's record let's hope the show lasts long enough to get comfortable with itself!

Again, though I do see minor failings with this premiere I have great hopes and expectations for the future of the show. The premise is fantastic, anything that has to do with real life Grimm's monsters would be! In time the show could prove to be worthy of joining the ranks of its predecessors and with over 200 tales to choose from the series could easily last 5 seasons without repeating a story. So if you love closer than normal interpreted fairy tales I suggest not missing the premier when it airs on October 28^th and give NBC some love in the hopes they won't shoot themselves in the foot. They have to be running out of feet by now.

As always, check out the links and I welcome comments! I may follow this show for awhile just because I think it would be fun to compare the Grimm's tales to each episode.

'Til next we bleed,

J.P. (Jeff) Hunt

For more interpretations of Little Red Riding Hood...

Some Guy Who Kills People (2011?)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1568341/
http://www.someguywhokillspeople.com


My Synopsis: There’s this guy right, we’ll call him Every-Guy-Who-Has-Survived Childhood-Prosecution But-Not-Without-Several-Years-of-Therapy; or Some Guy works too. More importantly, he kills people. No, really, it’s in the title and this movie title doesn’t lie.

***Getting a hold of this movie was major for us at the Creepercast, written by Ryan Levin, Directed by Jack Perez, starring Kevin Corrigan, Barry Bostwick and Karen Black it is a truly entertaining dark comedic horror. For the full review we ask that you visit www.creepercast.com

Here's what the creators think of the review!
On Jun 13, 2011, at 2:36 PM, Ryan Levin wrote:

Thank you so much for the incredibly generous review. I’m extremely flattered you enjoyed the film as much as you did, and I’m extremely appreciative that you shared that enjoyment with your readers. I’m really just thrilled that someone would want write such an extensive and complimentary review of the film. Thank you both so much. The podcast will be a blast.
Talk soon.
--Ryan

Dear Jeff & Jason,

Just wanted to thank you for your extremely thoughtful and kind review of SOME GUY. Your examination was superb - you clearly "got" the movie in spades. So happy you enjoyed it. I'm really looking forward to the podcast and speaking with you directly.

Many thanks again!

best,
Jack Perez

So if you do a Google search for the as yet unreleased dark horror comedy - Some Guy Who Kills People - you will find my Creepercast review as the 8th result! If you haven't checked it out yet you should, help make it number 1! ;-)

In the meantime i will keep you all posted on the upcoming podcast review, interviews with Jack Perez and Ryan Levin, and anything else 'Some Guy' related! Follow me here, on the Creeepercast site, or the Creepercast facebook fanpage (http://www.facebook.com/creepercast) for more info!

Odd Thomas 2012

As some know I work two jobs. One is for a... will call it specialty store since I don't want to plug. So anyway I've been working with a local movie company to set them up with about 4gs in outdoor furniture which they ultimately intend to blow up. I love the movies and really want to see this happen to this stores products, lol. So, the movie is 'Odd Thomas' which is being shot in Santa Fe, they are still in pre-production phase (which makes sense, since they reportedly only have one star cast, Addison Timlin, and at least 2 big names rumored, Tim Robbins and Willem DeFoe). As a fan of the books and now having a secret in, I will keep you all informed. Especially if I get to see the explosion, lol. For fans of the books I'm sure you can imagine which scene wold require an outdoor furniture explosion! ~Jeff
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1767354/
http://www.nmfilm.com/in-production.php?id=3152&title=Odd+Thomas

Alice in Murderland (2010)

Alice in Murderland aka The Alice in Murderland Murders (2010)



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1753422/

My Synopsis: Somebody watched a bunch of B-rated slasher movies from the 70's and decided they could do one, while sort of adapting Alice in Wonderland.

Comments:
I love B horror as much as the next person. Hell, I'm even working on the script for one involving zombies as I write this review. What it is I love about them is their over the top camp (Piranha) overacting (Sleepaway Camp I - ??), insane story lines (Toxic Avenger) and ability to be taken seriously as a cult classic work of art (revisit those movies mentioned earlier). Of course there is also those low budgets that blew away all the usual conventions by being amazing on all levels (Halloween). I've always felt it was best to walk into B rated movies with very low expectations and let the film maker play with their low budget in the hopes that they amaze me with something I never would have expected. Usually that's delivered via fantastic cinematography, bad blood and gore, and/or kitchy humor that tells me even the film makers didn't take their subject matter too seriously. That is what seems to be the formula for the best B movies. Either it's brilliant despite it's low budget or it has no problem making fun of itself and the conventions it's playing with.

Alice in Murderland aka The Alice in Murderland Murders (2010) is, without argument, as low budget as one can get. Now I haven't done the research and don't even remember how it came to my attention. But as is usually the case I'm sure the whole reason I got turned onto it in the first place was the title. It promised some inner workings that payed homage to a literary masterpiece that is scary and disturbing. That can't be a bad thing, can it? I'll answer that in a moment. All I'll say at this time is it looked, felt, and sounded like a student project film. Most likely controlled by one of the many women in it. But first, did it really have anything to do with Alice in Wonderland?

As quick as I can, the real synopsis in brief...
We open with a woman being shown a house to buy. The buyer and the seller don't appear to like each other much and we don't know why. Something that has to do with the buyers daughter Alice who is very young. Eventually the seller kills the buyer in the basement. Flash to college aged Alice and her college girlfriends. All of them have issues from being stupid to being morbid. The popular girl is also dating Alice's ex-boyfriend. Each girl pretty much represents a common stereotype. The 'I don't care about anyone' girl is Alice's best friend and is determined Alice gets an 'Alice in Wonderland' themed birthday party, conveniently enough, in the old house that her mother was killed in which is now owned by her professor/uncle. He is the only guy invited to the party which makes him either gay or extremely creepy. The actor does a reasonably decent job convincing as much. As the party progresses, a half dozen girls, one professor/uncle/house owner (all dressed as Wonderland characters, the owner/uncle insisted on being the Mad Hatter, further misdirection), and the ex/boyfriend who sneaks in, systematically get cornered and butchered by the uninvited Jaberwocky, singling out Alice, of course.

Wasn't it nice if me to not ruin the end for you? Well I guess that depends on whether you not you've been keeping up with the reviews. If a movie total and complete schlock I usually have no qualms with giving away endings. Though this one is far from worthwhile i don't feel the need to ruin it further because I strongly believe it does a good enough job for itself. That kind of self destruction is probably worth finding out for yourself. But I do have some criticism before you do.

The cinematography was less that not specially. There were no interesting camera angles or tricks. I'm pretty sure it sat on a tripod the whole time. The acting is best described as future porn stars trying to act. Yea, even creepy uncle/professor guy. The women all played static stereotypical characters. They didn't even play them well, mediocre at best and as stuck into one stereotype as they were they even failed to over act. With the possible exception of Alice, she started out blame and ended WTF? that is partially the stories fault but mostly cuz she wasn't any good. I think she probably wrote the film. Which brings me to story... The Alice in Wonderland connection was flimsy. It only appears in the form of the lead bing named Alice and that hey have a masquerade dressed as characters. The reason I won't give away the end is because it is your basic whose doing it slasher movie that by the end, given the information you're left with, you may find yourself not really caring. I guess what bugs me the most is the brutalization of a literary classic. Nothing concrete connects! I mean, in all reality I think a writer of porn would do better connecting to it. In fact I've probably seen that one, a Cheshire cat and Alice doing things I thought I forgot. Anyway, let's get to the gore!

Usually the use of gorein a B-rated horror is where you can expect to laugh, but in this I think it just comes off as pathetic. In one notable scene a victim is gutted and their innards explode onto the surface without the evidence of a cut even been made. Speaking of cuts, there was a lot if stabbing and spewing blood, who actually got stabbed and where the blood came from is unknown. Now the girl glued to the toilet seat was pretty funny when she got her butt cheeks ripped off.

So rating this one is a no brainer, which only makes sense because making it didn't require one either. With everything I've said I give 2 out of 5. It would be a great film to show to students as demonstration of what not to do. I give it a two because it does have one my favorite lines I've ever heard in a brain dead slasher spoken by the brain dead girl... "I don't see how she could be a Psychology major. She never talks!" isn't a psychologists job to listen? I really hope this was a student film, but hen find myself lamenting the state of film schools. I was in a better short then this and we didn't have any money or blood and gore. But there i go, making myself sound so awesome again. I do apologize, as the makers of this movie should.
To purchase visit:
http://www.amazon.com/Alice-Murderland-Malerie-Grady/dp/B004BZ5ANW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1300686346&sr=8-1
Til next we bleed,
JP