Thursday, April 26, 2012

Looking for Heart in Scary or Die: A Movie Review

*full disclosure: a screener of this film was provided by Phase 4 Films.

**here be spoilers.

Director: Bob Badway, Michael Emanuel, and Igor Meglic.

Writers: Bob Badway, and Michael Emanuel.

Cast: Corbin Bleu, Bill Oberst Jr., Andrew Caldwell, Domiziano Arcangeli, Nikki Moore, Charles Rahi Chun, Christopher Darga, David Reivers, Elizabeth Di Prinzio and Maxie J. Santillan Jr.

Scary or Die is a horror anthology from Bob Badway, Michael Emanuel and Igor Meglic. Badway is known for his other horror outing titled The Uninvited. Emanuel might be known for 2009's Maneater, but he is likely best known for his many acting roles. This is Meglic's first go as director. There are five stories within Scary or Die, with Emanuel directing the bulk of them ("Clowned," "Lover Comes Back," "The Crossing"). Meglic produced one, titled "Taejung's Lament." The worst story of the bunch, "Re-membered," is not attached to any director.

Emanuel is at the heart of this anthology and his shorts are the best of the lot. "The Crossing" is the first story and this title takes on the theme of illegal Mexican immigration. Prolific actor and friend Bill Oberst Jr. stars in this production as Buck. He has a thing for beautiful women, funny one-liners and shooting Mexicans. But it is hard to put down a Mexican zombie! This title had some funny moments. However, this showing seemed lackluster in the story department. Next up was "Taejung's Lament." This tale involved vampires, a lonely man and a late appearing Van Helsing. Taejung does not get that orgy he wanted and instead, he is just another bloodsucker victim. Two stronger stories were to come with "Clowned" and "Lover Comes Back." "Re-membered" was completely forgettable and not worth mentioning.

"Clowned" was the strongest showing. The character of a boy-eating clown is hard to forget. His teeth are equally memorable, pointy and ready to tear into victims. "Clowned" is the longest of the shorts and this tale of family and infection is definitely worth seeing. Special mentions go to actors Corbin Bleu and Elizabeth Di Prinzio. "Lover Comes Back" rounds out these five tales. It is the shortest of the bunch. Yet, the prose narration and thrilling visual style creates for a scare or two.

All of these tales create for a fairly standard outing. There are some highlights ("Clowned," "Lover Comes Back") and there are some lowlights, too. The DVD screener reviewed here had only moderate production values. The film seemed grainy and the colours appeared drained. Other elements seemed average, as well. The music in "Clowned" was best with amusing pipe organs. Meanwhile, the soundtrack in other shorts did not heighten the film's tension enough. There was too little dialogue in "Re-membered" and the intercutting with a zombie on a keyboard between stories was less than tense and even boring to see. Something stronger was needed between scenes.

Scary or Die can only be recommended for die hard fans of horror anthologies in the vein of Creepshow (1982) and Deadtime Stories (2009, 2011). Overall, this outing lacked a more solid punch in storytelling and production. "Clowned" was enjoyable, but are one or two good stories enough to recommend the others? This reviewer would say rent this title rather than own it, if it released on DVD and Blu-Ray. To show May 1st on video-on-demand, Scary or Die could have used a few more scares and perhaps a few more laughs. After all, these are Mexican zombies and cannibalistic clowns we are dealing with here.

Overall: 6 out of 10 (the writing is okay, production values are moderate, acting is good, directing style is average).

The film's homepage is here:

The Scary or Die Homepage

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