Dead Mary (2007)

A bunch of friends meeting up to spend some time together in an isolated cottage in the middle of some woods. What could possibly go wrong? Yes, Dead Mary is another horror movie that proves to be derivative of both The Evil Dead and any horror that has used the ol' Bloody Mary urban legend. Being derivative isn't always a terrible thing, especially in the horror genre. It's not unheard of for films to be derivative and yet also manage to end up feeling fresh. Unfortunately, that's not the case here.

Dominique Swain plays Kim, and Jefferson Brown is Matt. The two have recently broken up, but are now joining their friends for a weekend that should involve alcohol, sunshine and plenty of reminiscing about old times. The rest of the group is made up of Eve (Marie-Josee Colburn), Baker (Steven McCarthy) and Lily (Maggie Castle), and Dash (Michael Majeski) and Amber (Reagan Pasternak). It's everything that you'd expect, with the various tensions and banter, until someone suggests that they take turns at Dead Mary. A few people give it a go, heading into the dark bathroom with a candle to look into the mirror and say her name a number of times, and that's when things start going downhill. It's not long until the friends are dealing with death, division and . . . . . . . . . strange goings on, to put it mildly.

Let me just say that Dead Mary isn't actually a bad film. The script, by Christopher Warre Smets and Peter Sheldrick, could be greatly improved, and the direction by Robert Wilson is pedestrian stuff, complete with fade-outs and fade-ins that give the impression that it was a TV movie (I would assume), but it does okay with the familiar material, and the cast do a decent job.

Swain seems to be the lead, although the film doesn't really have the required focus for viewers to really get behind her, and she does just fine. Colburn starts off as a potentially interesting character, but is then sidelined far too quickly. Which leaves Brown, McCarthy, Castle, Majeski and Pasternak. The latter two aren't as likable, simply due to the way in which they're sketched out, but at least everyone is identifiable enough, as opposed to the bland groupings that sometimes end up populating these generic horror movies.

The worst thing about the movie is that it feels so half-baked and muddled. Once things start to go off the rails it all becomes quite random, while also never reaching its full potential. Characters bicker with one another, and often about the most pointless things. Highlighting the problems with the script, the second half of the movie creates a dynamic which sees the group accusing one of their own for horrible events that they just witnessed, despite the fact that what they witnessed proves that something supernatural is going on.

One or two gore gags show that there was some good work done, yet more would have been appreciated. There isn't really any tension, and no genuine scares, so some blood 'n' guts sprinkled liberally throughout the proceedings should have been a nice, easy way to distract from the weaker elements. Alas, that didn't happen.

Dead Mary isn't a terrible film, as I already said. However, it is distinctly below average.

4/10

http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Mary-Unrated-Dominique-Swain/dp/B000ION762/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1404365857&sr=1-1&keywords=dead+mary

Blast Vegas AKA Destruction: Las Vegas (2013)

Or, the alternative title that I gave it, Malcolm In The Maelstrom.

Sometimes I already know, just from the title and the stars, that I'm going to love a film. It usually happens with films that turn out to be genuinely great movies, but it also happens with films that make me laugh from start to finish because of how inept they are.

Blast Vegas falls into the latter category. It's horrible. It's full of characters that you will struggle to care about. The special effects are pretty dire. Yet I loved it (never fear, my rating reflects the reality, as opposed to the fun I had, pointing and laughing at everything).

Frankie Muniz (oh dear, oh dear, how did he slide so far so quickly?) stars as Nelson, a young man on holiday in Las Vegas with a bunch of guys who will put up with him just because he can be their designated driver. Those same guys take some Egyptian relic and fool around with it for a while, bringing about some REALLY bad weather and the beginning of the end of Las Vegas. Nelson, amidst the chaos and carnage, wants to find a girl that he's taken a shine to (Olive, played by Maggie Castle) and is helped along the way by a club singer named Sal (Barry Bostwick).

I had fun with Blast Vegas, I can't deny it, but I'd only ever recommend it to someone who could approach the film in the same way that I did, ready to point and laugh at the thing and then never want to watch it ever again. The screenplay, by Joe D'Ambrosia and Tom Teves, is suitably silly. Nobody is going to watch this and expect to hear any memorable dialogue, but it's good to watch the events unfold, with the script embracing the ludicrous premise as an excuse to get some easy laughs (yes, there's an Elvis or two in the mix).

Director Jack Perez is, of course, also responsible for promoting the fun factor of the movie, helped no end by Barry Bostwick, who seems to enjoy himself immensely in his cliched, comedic role. Muniz and Castle are appealing leads, while Michael Steger, Andrew Lawrence, Summer Bishil, Jillian Nelson and some other people should all be remembered for . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ummmm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . also taking part in the proceedings. Okay, none of the supporting cast members really stand out, but they do what's asked of them. I think.

If it sounds like I had LOTS of fun with this movie, people may be wondering why I still rate it so low. Well, none of the fun really makes up for the ridiculousness that fills almost every scene, whether it's an opening sequence that features a cameo by John Landis for no apparent reason, some typically dubious special effects, or even the same stretch of road being used - albeit shot from different angles - when people need to try driving through the extreme weather. And, for anyone else who manages to watch the entire movie, if you can explain to me why people keep running in front of the ONE VEHICLE on an otherwise empty street, while a deadly storm keeps raging on, then please send answers on a postcard. Or, y'know, just post a reply below.

I've seen much worse than Blast Vegas, but that's mainly because I watch a lot of terrible, terrible movies.

3/10

http://www.amazon.com/Blast-Vegas-Frankie-Muniz/dp/B00HRD0FHQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389654599&sr=8-1&keywords=blast+vegas