The Bottom Line
Pros
- Intelligently written
- Good cast of recognizable character actors
- Good sense of humor
Cons
- Acting is a bit spotty
- A little slow at the beginning
Description
- Starring David Naughton, Ken Foree, Gunnar Hansen, Brian O'Halloran, Ellen Sandweiss, Gerry Bednob, Vincent Butta
- Directed by Stevan Mena
- Rated R
- DVD Release Date: July 22, 2008
Guide Review - 'Brutal Massacre: A Comedy' DVD Review
The Movie
The third horror-themed mockumentary of 2007-08 (along with American Zombie and Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon), Brutal Massacre is the most fun-spirited of the lot, with nary a serious moment to be found in this warts-and-all look at moviemaking.
The story follows cult filmmaker Harry Penderecki (Naughton) -- director of such B-movies as The Untrained Surgeon, Bowel Movement and Teasing the Gorilla -- as he seeks to make his big comeback from a string of flops. We watch as he gathers his wacky crew and heads to rural Pennsylvania to film, hitting roadblocks every step of the way.
Securing financing means surrendering artistic freedom for T&A shots, which leads to a rift with the lead actress. Location scouting leads to a perfect house with an imperfect owner and some nosy locals. The grip/gaffer would rather be somewhere else, the D.P. has anger issues and the makeup effects guy is certifiable. The truncated final product is a hilarious mess.
Brutal Massacre isn't just a mockumentary; it's an insightful parody of the independent filmmaking process and the frustrations therein. You get the sense that writer/director Stevan Mena, who does a complete 180 here from his chilling debut Malevolence, wrote mostly from experience.
As with any indie, some of the acting is stiff, but the humor is smart and well-written. (See the scene in which Bert asks Penderecki if positive reviews inflate his ego, to which he responds, "I'm sure they would.")
The film takes a little while to warm up, but once the production scenes begin, it's laugh-out-loud funny on several occasions. Hansen's and Bednob's loony characters in particular get the lion's share of guffaws in a film that could become as big a cult hit as Bowel Movement.
The DVD
Special features include a faux "making of" featurette and 17 extended/deleted scenes.
Movie: B-
DVD: B-
