Monday, July 21, 2014

Jailbait (Softcore Cash In...)

Score: 2 Out Of 10

         Before  get into this let me just give you a warning. If you are going to research a film with a provocative title (like "Jailbait") you should be very specific in your internet searches. I am pretty sure I am going to jail, now. "Jailbait (2013) was directed by Jared Cohn and stars Sara Malakul Lane, Erin O'Brien and Steve Hanks. The plot is about a young girl who murders her stepfather while he tries to rape her. Afterwards, she sent to a women's prison where she receives a crash course in violence, sexuality, drugs and mental illness. Because this movie likes to compare itself "Orange Is The New Black (2013)," so will I. "Orange" is a gritty and often funny television (internet?) show about a women who is incarcerated i the american prison system. It is poignant one moment and uplifting the next. It is overall a great show. "Jailbait" is a sleazy, exploitative piece of shit, much like the graphic novel was. It has no point to make and even the scenes that are clearly meant to inspire the audience are so poorly acted and poorly shot that they just fall flat.
     The interesting thing to me is that this is not the first women's prison film I have seen. I have in the past watched a lot of these movies and some of them have been really good. So why is this one bad? Because even if those films in the past there was a strong female lead. there was a woman  who was tough and angry and not willing to accept her circumstances that the audience can get behind and root for. In the case of "JailBait," (heh, heh... pun) the main character is week and spends ninety percent of the movie just playing the victim card and not doing anything to take care of herself (performing oral sex on the warden does not count. She was taking care of him...). That is why the movie fails... also because of bad acting, writing, directing and source material. Sorry, but this film is definately  not "in the vein of "Orange Is The New Black."

Love, 
   The B-Movie Guy
Twitter: @BMovieGuy

Monday, July 7, 2014

Texas Chainsaw Massacre (40 Years Later...)

Score: 9 Out Of 10

               This October will mark the fortieth anniversary of the "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's" theatrical release and in the past forty years a lot has been said about this film. So what I did was sat down and watched this film again. I tried my best to forget about the stigma that surrounds this movie. I tried not to think about the two people I know who saw this movie in theaters when it was released and still can not bring themselves to watch it a second time and the friend I had in high school who bought in to the "based on a true story" element so much he once confided in me that he believes Leatherface "is still out there." This time I just sat down and watched a movie and took it for what it was, ONE OF THE CREEPIEST FUCKING THINGS I HAVE EVER SEEN!! "Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)" was directed by Tobe Hooper (who I believe never got the credit he deserved for directing "Poltergeist (1982)," by the way) and stars Marylin Burns, Edwin Neal and Gunnar Hansen. The plot is about group of teenagers who are terrorized by a family of grave robbing cannibals. If that plot sounds familiar it is because it has been redone a hundred times over in a hundred different movies.

       When compared to horror/suspense films that are being released today there is not a whole lot of what would appeal to the younger generations. There is hardly any blood actually shown, there is very little profanity and there is absolutely no nudity or reference to sexuality and regardless if we consider that a good thing or not, these elements shown to excess is what seems to appeal most to the younger generation of horror fans. But what this film does have going for it is an unbelievable atmosphere. This film is the very definition of gritty. Like I stated earlier, it is incredibly creepy and contains not one but three of the most tense and uncomfortable scenes I have ever viewed and that is what makes this film great. This is the perfect example of how to make a horror movie with no budget and no special effects.

Love,
   The B-Movie Guy
Twitter: @BMovieguy