October Belongs to Horror #1: Dead Before Dawn (2012)

Dead Before Dawn (2012) a.k.a Dead Before Dawn 3D
WANGO Films, Canada, 2012.

Halloween is near, so it is time to watch horror films. Finnish blogger ...noir challenged bloggers to watch eight horror films during October, so October Belongs to Horror (Lokakuu kuuluu kauhulle).

My first choice is a Canadian indie horror comedy. 

Casper Galloway (Devon Bostick, known for "Diary of a Wimpy Kid") is a clumsy college kid. He goes to help his Grandpa Horus (Christopher Lloyd) to take care of occult shop. His friends come shopping and an ancient demon is freed. Bit like "Ghostbusters" they have to select the form of pestilence, so they conjure up wacky rules involving idea of suicidal people turning into half demon half zombie monsters who infect the cursed by giving hickeys.

...
..
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Right-o.

Casper Galloway

Horus

So everyone they look into eyes start killing themselves and turning into zemons. Along with Casper there are Casper's secret love interest Charlotte (Martha MacIsaac, known for "Superbad"), charmingly ditzy cheerleader  Lucy (Brittany Allen, who will appear in the next "Saw" movie "Jigsaw"), Caspers friends Dazzle (Brandon Jay McLaren) and Becky (director April Mullen), mug entrepreuner Seth (Tim Doiron who wrote the script) and Charlotte's meanie boyfriend jock Patrick (Kyle Schmid). There is a way to break the curse but the time limit is tight. If the curse is not broken before next morning they will all die. The night will be long and bloody.

Charlotte and Lucy

Dazzle, Seth and Becky

Hillbilly zemons (Max Topplin and Marty Adams)

There are so many zombie horror-comedies that it is refreshing that someone tries to have some new ideas and create eccentric characters even if they are basically stereotypes (a loser, two jocks, two cheerleaders, pothead and a tough girl). Although some of the jokes are more lame than funny, there are many moments of genuine hilarity. There was a funny way to show flashbacks and one of the character was obsessed with hotdogs. Christopher Lloyd is always good and in one scene he uttered his famous quote: "Great Scott!" As far as the action went, it was semi-gory, not showing the bloodiest kills but still there was more gore than would be expected from the Finnish age rating 12. Has the The Finnish Board of Film Classification been sloppy? Otherwise the tone was not too serious, even with some basically tragic events. But so it is usually with these zombie comedies, and this makes a fun Halloween viewing if you like dumb humour.

Lucy's weapon of choice

Seth's new friend (Kent Churly) comes to visit

This was the first Canadian 3D film. I do not believe that I missed anything by watching the 2D version. Couple of CGI-explosions looked awful, otherwise the effects were okay for the budget. As the actors had a lot of experience of films and TV-shows, the acting was good (although comically ver the top) and the actors were clearly having fun.

Rating: Good

Starring: Devon Bostick, Martha MacIsaac, Christopher Lloyd, Brandon Jay McLaren, Brittany Allen, Kyle Schmid, Tim Doiron, April Mullen, Kevin McDonald, Ellen Dubin, Rossif Sutherland, Dru Viergever, Benjamin Ayres, Max Topplin, Marty Adams, Jacob Ewaniuk, Boyd Banks, Melissa Jane Shaw, Michael Xavier, Meg Walter, Melanie Mullen, Mickey Moon, Tammy Young, Kent Churly, Kevin Jennings, Jack Benard, Byron Abalos, Chris Baker, Adam Buller, Luke Higginson, John Benard, Darryl Doiron, Nicholas Spencer Murray, Daniel M. Veldman

Director: April Mullen

Movie Review: Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise

Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise
Twentieth Century Fox, Interscope Communications, Amercent Films, American Entertainment Partners L.P., USA, 1987.

After gaining a victory for nerd-rights against Alpha-Beta jocks the Lambda-Lambda-Lambda nerds Lewis (Robert Carradine), Poindexter (Timothy Busfield), Lamar (Larry B. Scott), Booger (Curtis Armstrong) and Wormser (Andrew Cassese) travel to Fraternity Conference in Fort Lauderdale. Gilbert (Anthony Edwards) stays home as he broke his foot while playing chess. In sunny Florida bikini-girls are plentiful and that suits perfectly for the nerds.

Lamar, Lewis, Poindexter, Wormser and Booger

Sunny

Buzz and Roger

In the hotel they meet new friends: friendly hotel trainee Sunny (Courtney Thorne-Smith, known as Alison from  "Melrose Place") and pre-nerdcore era rapper Stewart (Barry Sobel) but also old enemies are there. Alpha-Betas are there with the bellowing jock Ogre (Donald Gibb) from the first movie, with his classic line: 'Nerds!' The hotel manager Buzz (Ed Lauter) does not want nerds in the hotel. Conspiring with jock-president Roger (Bradley Whitford) they evict the nerds. The nerds are forced to move to a sucky hotel, but the jocks are still not contended and try to kick them out of the conference. The nerds find themselves stranded on a deserted island and have to put their brains to use to get out. 

Ogre

Nerds With Attitude

Although the permise is not as original as in the prequel than the first, I somehow enjoyed this more. The second Nerd-adventure rolls smoother than the previous, having less paartying and more plot and slightly more clean jokes. The basic idea is the same, the nerds try to get accepted but the jocks play dirty. However there are plot holes that look like the script was rewritten on the fly. Stewart has little meaning to the plot and it seems that originally Sunny was supposed to have romance with him, but the story arc was abandoned and in the end Sunny is hugging Lewis. Betty (Julia Montgomery) is seen only as a portrait that Lewis packs in his suitcase. Lewis, you womanizer. However in the third Nerd-movie Lewis and Betty are happily married so everything is well again (I don't have the sequels). Much of the events are silly but it is a fun and genuinely a 1980s comedy.

Lewis, you dog.

Courtney Thorne-Smith is cute in her nice girl role. Regular Oriental old guy actor James Hong appears as Snotty, the Master of Gross. After the first film Ogre became somewhat a cult character and likewise Jaws in the "Moonraker", he is made more sympathetic here.

Snotty

Rating: Good

Starring: Robert Carradine, Curtis Armstrong, Larry B. Scott, Timothy Busfield, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Andrew Cassese, Donald Gibb, Bradley Whitford, Ed Lauter, Barry Sobel, Tom Hodges, Jack Gilpin, Anthony Edwards, James Hong, Priscilla Lopez, James Cromwell, Jason Julien, Marilyn Caskey, Richard Joseph Paul, Rhonda Waymire, Donna Rosea, Susan Vanech, Robert Goodman, Michael Fitzgerald, Huey Laborde, Raymond Forchion, Carmen Thomas, Miles Greadington, Victor Morris, Ed Knott Jr., Tom Boykin, Ruben Rabasa, Michael J. Carnevale, Noreen Compton, Janet Constable, Stephen Ray Cranford, Ellen Marguerite Cullivan, Ian Ng Cheng Hin, Scott Spinnuci, Kai Thorup, Todd Vittum
Director: Joe Roth

Movie Review: Revenge of the Nerds

Revenge of the Nerds
Twentieth Century Fox, Interscope Communications, Zacharias-Buhai Productions, USA, 1984.

Long before "Big-Bang Theory" or "IT Crowd" there was a film series "Revenge of the Nerds."

Geek-friends Lewis (Robert Carradine) and Gilbert (Anthony Edwards) (you have to know some chemistry to get the joke) go to college. Maybe they can meet some girls there. Unfortunately there are bullies who hate nerds. Ogre (Donald Gibb), Burke (Matt Salinger) and Stan (Ted McGinley) and other idiotic Alpha Beta jocks burn down their own frat house so with support from Coach Harris (John Goodman) they invade the freshman-dormitory kicking the new students out.

Lewis and his dad (James Cromwell)

Judy (Michelle Meyrink) and Gilbert

Ogre

The nerds are not accepted to fraternities so they decide to start their own. But the system is rigged so they are not allowed to do so. They join U.N Jefferson's (Bernie Casey) black fraternity Lambda-Lambda-Lambda and throw a party but the Alpha-Betas ruin it. The nerds plan a revenge with some juvenile pranks. Stan's girlfriend Betty Childs (Julia Montgomery) plays dirty tricks but ultimately can not resist love skills of the nerds.

Coach Harris and Dean Ulich (David Wohl)

Stan and Betty

Lamar, Takashi and Booger

Although starring nerds it doesn't make the jokes intelligent, rather on the contrary. College-comedy has similar raunchy and low-brow jokes as "Animal House." There is a lot of crude fun but somehow it could have used the nerd-theme better. There are many laughably bad jokes too. It has the usual elements of college-comedies, wild parties, topless girls and silly contests so the genre hasn't really evolved much since that. The cast has typical side-characters for the comedies of the era, Gay, Oriental Guy and Pot-head that are fun but do not quite fit the definition of nerd but represent the social outcasts of the college world. In the end, though, there is talk about tolerance and sort of declaration of nerd-rights. 

Sorority girls

Robot vacuum cleaner model 1984

Remember, mopery is exposing yourself to a blind person!

The Moper

Rating: Average

Starring: Robert Carradine, Anthony Edwards, Timothy Busfield, Andrew Cassese, Curtis Armstrong, Larry B. Scott, Brian Tochi, Julia Montgomery, Michelle Meyrink, Ted McGinley, Matt Salinger, Donald Gibb, James Cromwell, David Wohl, John Goodman, Bernie Casey, Alice Hirson, F. William Parker, Roger Carter, Kres Mersky, Marianne Muellerleile, Lisa Welch, Suzanne B. Hayes, Shawn Siqueiros, Sandra Katzel, Henry Kendrick, Fumio Kodama, Lance Lombardo, William B. Wilson, Carl Cherry, Adam Frank, Taylor Samuels, Brad Grunberg, James Anklam, Matthew M. Haugh, William C. Horning, Angela C. Gardaphe, Lisa Kolasa, Kristen Kinderman, Kay Strunk, Gamble Baffert, Brian Lover, Jerry Kurinsky, Tonja Sue Philbee, Monique Sorenson, Calon Blackledge, Scott Bird, David Moskowitz, Steven Duran, Thomas Obeid, Theodore Kerpez, Michael Urena, Vincent Lindsley, Laura Bell, Linda Felker, Deborah Bernstein, Renee Mintz, Donna Costello, Lillie Nusz, Romy Dushoff, Rhonda Tinsley, Felicia Fagan, Jennifer Wilcox, John Almon, Brian Nelson, Daniel Egan, Thomas Repp, Jay Galland, Andrew Salan, Dean Heindel, Scott Spangler, Robert Melton, Steve Yeatras, Madaline Blinder, Colleen Madden, Lucy Craig, Susan Myers, Jennie Gaio, Kristi Nelson, Carolyn Hoover, Melissa Perlman, Karen Knutzen, Lori Stock, Chris Stravolo, Kelly Reed, Lloyd Sherr, Malcolm Gregor, Clinton James Austin, Greg Berg, Kris Levario, Peter J. Wacks, Michael L. White

Director: Jeff Kanew