Corey (Elisa Lasowski) and Bald (Natasha Cashman) are space hunters who find a rather large ship piloted by Vascan (Anders Heinrichsen) and Lago (Christian Erickson), two overworked and underpaid men astonished to find two women alone on a planet and eager to get to their ship.
However, once they get to work, the space hunters unleash an artificial intelligence which takes the form of a beautiful naked women called Mima (Joëlle Berckmans). So, the ship has to chase this mysterious woman through the depths of space in order to retrieve what they believe is theirs.
Blood Machines is a new short series exclusive to Shudder that showcases the mind of director Seth Ickerman and what his visual effects team are capable of accomplishing. Inspired by 80’s science fiction, Blood Machines harks back to a time where the visuals were stunning, the plot was bizarre and nothing really made sense, but was a lot of fun.
Like those kinds of movies from the 80’s, Blood Machines has a very impressive visual style. The short series reimagines a retro aesthetic, giving it a modern twist so that the audience’s imaginations are fully realised on the screen which was stopped short by budgetary constraints at the time. The thumping synthesiser soundtrack is extremely catchy and although the plot is very thin, the visuals are certainly enough to keep audiences entertained. Even if it’s just to wonder how it was all pulled off.
However, Ickerman’s short film was never meant to be split into three parts and it shows as putting them into this format weakens the already shaky story and a jarring title sequence halfway through the second episode hints at what it should have been.
Also, not unlike most science fiction films of the 80’s, there’s more style than substance and while it may look impressive there really isn’t much that hasn’t been seen before. Whereas the idea was to lovingly and authentically recreate the 80’s throwback style of a science fiction film the audience thinks they remember, Blood Machines is probably the reason those kinds of films aren’t so well remembered.
Being able to put all the elements together is quite a task and the results are bound to please those who share the director’s interests. However, making a psychedelic Lovecraftian Bond title sequence may not be what everyone is looking for.
Keola Racela could very well be a rising star in the director’s chair. Having directed three short films before (having written two of them), all with very different settings, characters and moods it seems that Racela may be able to lend his artistic eye to anything. Now with the help of Fangoria that enabled Porno to have a virtual theatrical release, Porno is Racela’s feature debut, a horror comedy that harks back to a simpler time where a group of teens unleash a succubus that wants to torment them before dragging dragging them to another dimension.
I had the good fortune to be able to sit down for a chat with Keola over Zoom (as is the style these days) and we talked about his influences, childhood movie trauma and even a shared love of an 80’s Peter Jackson horror movie. Although we had a little trouble deciding what it was called.
Ok to start with my favourite question, how did you get involved in making Porno?
(laughs) The writers of the film (Matt Black and Laurence Vannicelli) are old film school friends of mine and a couple of years after school they moved to LA and asked me if I wanted to make a movie. They had no idea what movie they wanted to make, they were just going to tell people they were making a movie and ask for money. I didn’t even know if the movie was real, but by July 2017 we had something and started shooting through October/November.
Porno is your first feature length movie, was there anything more daunting to work on a feature rather than a short film?
I wasn’t too nervous as I’d directed before, it was just about figuring it all out. I was lucky enough to have worked in the art department on Prince Avalanche with David Gordon Green so I learnt a lot there too. A short film can take five days to shoot and it took 25 days to shoot Porno and it was all shot in one location, with a small crew. We were only allowed to shoot short films in film school, so it was an amazing thing to be a part of because of the bigger process being so unknown. It made me less nervous because I’d already done things before, it was just bigger.
What’s your favourite horror movie?
The Lost Boys, I watched it as a kid and didn’t consider it to be a horror movie. It’s set in a town called Santa Carla, but it was filmed in Santa Cruz where I went to school and I lived near the Santa Cruz boardwalk, so I knew the location in the movie. I also watched a movie called House and it messed me up. It’s a silly movie about Vietnam vet who’s writing his memoirs that stays at a house that he inherited from his aunt and it turns out that the house is alive. It’s a bizarre amalgamation of post-Vietnam war PTSD and horror, but the creature effects were good. I didn’t even get the connection to the Vietnam war when I was a kid. It was a good time for men with big blonde curly afros.
Roger Cobb in House, a blonde curly afro that was the stuff of nightmares
Which directors do you admire?
I think that when it comes to horror there’s John Carpenter, Sam Raimi and when getting back into horror to make Porno it made me go crazy for their work. Dead Alive (Braindead in the UK) directed by Peter Jackson is another one I loved.
I think there was a weird shift in the 80’s where films like that used to be aimed at children, but changed to appeal to teenage boys. Watching Ghostbusters now you realise that it’s for adults and they don’t really make those kinds of films for adults anymore. My earliest memory in a theatre was watching E.T. being terrified when they find him all white and dead in the river and you wouldn’t see that in a movie aimed at children today.
Spoilers, Christopher Lloyd traumatising children since 1988
There is one particular scene in the movie that will make every male member of the audience recoil in terror, how important do you think gore is in a horror movie?
It doesn’t have to be, but I think that there’s something very visceral about it. I was excited to be working with visual effects, but torture porn movies don’t really appeal to me like the Saw franchise, so I wanted it to be effective rather than it being the focus of the movie. That scene has quite an effect on an audience and many people react in different ways.
I remember seeing Drive with a big audience and during the scene in an elevator where Ryan Gosling stamps a guy to death, the audience burst into laughter. I think people need to laugh to alleviate the tension, horror and comedy go well together in that respect, like a release valve.
Is building tension or creating jump scares more effective in horror?
I think that the best jump scares come from tension and the best jump scares are the fake outs. It’s the worst thing when they don’t work though and just put in when they’re not needed. The Exorcist III has the best jump scare where a nurse opens a door in a hospital and the audience are expecting a jump scare, there’s silence as she goes in and there’s a few seconds before she comes out. Then at the last second the jump scare happens as the audience see her being followed by a ghostly figure. I’ve always loved that one. Though jump scares can be good, I think that tension is all part of building a dramatic story.
A quiet hospital corridor, what could possibly go wrong?
There are some very religious characters in Porno, do you think there are ways in which religion can have a positive effect on people’s lives?
Absolutely, there’s a core set of values, a sense of community and I have friends and family that grew up religious. Although a lot of the characters in Porno have a lot of faith, Matt Black felt it was important not to just dump on religion and there are progressive ideas outside of religion in the characters that show that they’re not as far gone as to not find some level of acceptance. We wanted to play their experiences for laughs, but also have them find growth that comes from that.
If you were in a horror movie, which character would you be?
I don’t know, I think I’m moderately intelligent and not going to risk running off by myself, I think I’d get pretty far. The ones who get killed are the dumb ones or the ones that run into danger without thinking. It also depends on the villain.
Is there anything you’re working on next that you can talk about? I understand life is in hiatus at the moment, so anything at all you’d like to mention would be fine.
There’s not a lot right now, but I just finished a script with Laurence (Vannicelli), a horror that I’m super excited about. There’s a lot of things I’m excited about right now, I just need to dedicate more time to doing them. It’s a difficult time, but your priority needs to be with people right now. Things have changed right now, but people have learnt to adapt. The drive-in movie theatre nearly died out and right now there’s a kind of boom because of what’s going on. A movie called The Wretched is doing extremely well because people can just sit in their cars and watch a movie and still stay safe, that may have not happened before with a small movie like that.
Whether it’s the vulgar insanity of Tim and Eric or the cringe-worthy dedication of Nathan Fielder, awkward comedic sensibilities have become an accepted new norm in the genre. Acting as the brain-child of that style mixed with a surrealist edge, Michael Reich’s directorial debut She’s Allergic to Cats goes for broke in its embrace of the uncomfortable. While it will certainly draw divisive reactions, Reich’s effort thrives as an inventive experience that pushes its form to its absolute limit.
She’s Allergic to Cats follows Mike Pinkney (Mike Pinkney), a down-on-his luck dog groomer who spends his time day dreaming about a career in the film industry while crafting his own bizarre low-fidelity projects. He is awoken from his downbeat daily cycle when he meets Cora (Sonja Kinski), a girl who he aims to impress despite his low-status lifestyle.
Crafting a plot description for Reich’s intentionally bizarre, semi-autobiographical project does the film a disservice, as behind its thinly-veiled narrative lies a plethora of unique pleasures. Most low-budget efforts try to hide their budgetary restrictions, but She’s Allergic to Cats wears them as a badge of honor, with Reich developing a lucid, low-fi style that allures the audience into its madcap reality.
There’s some genuine artistry to appreciate here, with Forrest Borie’s manic editing style blending Reich’s surrealist imagery into a bewildering concoction. Thankfully, this approach isn’t a vapid exercise, with the film’s stylistic identity acting as a representation of Mike’s absent-minded mental state. It’s also a suitable vehicle for the film’s boldly self-aware comedic voice, with Reich’s screenplay thankfully never winking at the camera in its portrait of its film nerd protagonist.
Whether it’s Mike revealing an anecdote about his confusion towards the sexuality present in Howard the Duck or the character’s attempts at making Carrie with cats, the oft-kilter frequency Pinkney’s performance operates in draws a heaping of belly laughs. It’s a joy to watch a film so brazen and self-assured in its approach, throwing shocking gags at the screen with reckless abandon for audience’s reactions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu9I9FBPBR0
She’s Allergic to Cats throws a lot of darts at the board, but this approach creates its fair share of blemishes. Its abrasive style is cleverly quirky when it works, but there’s also several gags that range from pointlessly crass to downright bewildering (a gag involving transvestites stealing a cat comes to mind). Reich’s project is also too narrow-minded to engage with its thematic potential, missing its opportunity to act as a rumination on male fragility and the empty pretensions of want-to-be-artists.
Meandering to its predictable conclusion, there is a level of unevenness present through She’s Allergic to Cats’ runtime. Even with that being the case, I had a pleasant time living in Reich’s outlandishly unkempt world, with the writer/director already displaying his own idiosyncratic voice in his first feature outing.
Chris Evangelou was known during his professional boxing career as ‘The Flash’, performing live on Sky Sports when signed to Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing promotions.
He received the news that no professional athlete ever wants to hear when a hand injury forced the talented champion from Enfield to retire prematurely.
Despite the unexpected blow, he abruptly turned straight back to his first love – acting. He dove headfirst into his new career and has been rewarded handsomely for his industriousness and tenacity having landed several leading roles and most recently appearing in a Guy Ritchie film.
Now 34, no longer is Chris known as ‘The Flash’, as he’s now reinvented himself as ‘The Actor’.
What inspired you to change careers?
“So, my first love was acting when I was very young. I’ve always been a showman, always wanted to be the centre of attention, I was a talkative kid, really active, and a little bit naughty you could say! My first memories of acting was in my church, where my dad is the minister, doing sketches to make people laugh but with a biblical theme behind it.
After I was presented with a special award for getting a 100% grade in GCSE Drama and becoming the first ever student to achieve that, I went on to continue my studies at Woodhouse College in North Finchley, regarded as one of the most successful sixth form colleges in England, where I achieved a 94% score in A-Level Theatre Studies.
When I was 17 going on 18, I was a boxer and actor at the same time, then I had a sparring session with a pro one day, and I was really sluggish and didn’t perform well because I had an acting job the day before and they had kept me there for 14 hours, so I had to decide between the two – either acting or boxing – I can’t do both. As boxing is a young man’s sport, I decided to put acting on the shelf and didn’t do another acting job for 10 years while I focused on my boxing career.”
Do you have a mentor?
“Yes, James Cosmo, who was recently in Game of Thrones. I actually first met him when I was sparring in Manny Pacquiao’s gym in LA. I sparred his son Ethan over 10 years ago now and we have remained friends ever since!
He kindly played the role of my dad in a film I co-wrote and co-produced, ‘Shadow Boxer’. When I originally asked him, he was due to be out of the country, but by a stroke of luck he became available and stepped in and I was so pleased.”
What character has been the most fun to play?
“Mason Mendoza from ‘Shadow Boxer’ because I was able to get back in the ring and have a pro fight for the cameras in front of crowds just like I was fighting again, and also because I got to show my skills as a boxer, so that was fun to play.
Because of it being so big, ‘Primetime’ from ‘The Gentleman’ was such a cool character to play. I’m in this amazing Guy Ritchie film and I just had a lot of fun with the character.
Guy Ritchie was so great to work with, he leaves it to you how to play the role, he’ll tell you what he wants but most of the time its up to you how you play it, because he doesn’t necessarily micro-manage his actors and will only pull it up if it’s not right.”
What character has been the most challenging to play?
“I think playing Tony Sparks in ‘Card Dead’ was probably the most challenging because the character was such a way off from who I am in real life. So I had to really think about just why this character is such a nasty guy; the swearing, the abuse, the violence. I’m an actor so I can play the roles, but I needed good motivation as to why he was the way he was, so I researched and came to a conclusion why, because there had to have a reason for him being like that.”
What makes a good scene partner?
“When you rift off each other, you understand where you’re going together. Everything as an actor is a collaboration, you need to work with each other, you need people that go where you want to go.
Some can want to be a scene stealer, but others will work with you, they’re on board, and that’s someone I like to work with. Me and Steve Aaron-Sipple had a scene together in ‘Card Dead’ where we’re in the toilets and I threaten to beat him up and he knew he had got under my skin, but it worked out so well because of our chemistry and it was just a good chance for us build the scene together.”
What do you usually do during filming breaks on set?
“Usually I like a bit of a joke on set depending on what type of set it is, of course! Generally, you talk to each other, get to know your fellow actors, and I like to keep the morale up.
Working with colin Farrell, it took 40 minutes to set up the lighting, so I used the time to learn quite a lot from him. Obviously, it’s also a good chance to go over any lines and adjust to what’s next.”
Which actor you have worked with has taught you the most?
“On the business side of acting and how to make it in the industry, it’s definitely Colin Farrell. When you talk directly to someone about how they made it, especially a guy at the top, it’s great and, say you want to learn how to be a boxer and you get chance to speak one on one to a world champion, if you get that chance to ask questions to one of the top actors in the world, then you take it.
James Cosmo is an amazing mentor to me, whenever I come up to a crossroads in my life or a big decision, he has been able to answer me when I have had no idea what to do. If I needed to make a choice on something and I was worrying about it, he just tells me ‘don’t stress about it, this is what I would do if I was you’, and it’s just great to hear that and takes away the fear.”
Have any of the roles you’ve played ever affected you personally long after filming has finished?
“Yeah, it would be Mason Mendoza, definitely, because it was pulled from inspiration in my life that left with me those feelings. It was a story based on personal experiences and anxieties I felt.
I do make myself feel what the character is feeling, so it stayed with me the rest of the evening after we filmed it, and the next day because I was recalling, reliving all those old feelings.
I feel proud that I can conjure up those emotions and use them in my acting, which is pretty much what acting is – telling the truth about the character – so if it comes from within then it’s the truth. You are only that character for a certain amount of time, so I am able to return to reality eventually.”
What medium to enjoy the most?
“That’s a tricky one, because it depends. I love theatre, I love a musical, my favourite is Les Miserable. I love a good TV series where I’m really involved in the character for a longer time. I just like everything there is to offer!”
What was challenging about bringing the Shadow Boxer script to life?
“The challenging part was to get it exactly how I wanted it to come across – the feelings I had, the message of what that boxer – me – went through.
It wasn’t literal, so we wanted to come up with an interesting way to keep people involved in the story and put the message across.
I wrote the story, but I had never met Craig MacDonald Kelly before, who wrote the screenplay, but I needed to trust him with my story, because it was mine and personal to me, but to be fair, as soon as I read the first draft I was so happy with it.”
What sort of person would enjoy watching this film?
“Not necessarily someone depressed or down, but someone who wants to see someone who isn’t perfect, they may achieve but still aren’t happy, because it’s something else they’re trying to get. It isn’t always achievement and materialistic things, it’s about self-development, and people that need to be inspired by themselves, not things.”
Are you looking to write/co-produce more films in the future?
“Definitely, 100 per cent, I would like to do more projects like this. When you’re in charge, you get to make those major decisions. I cast Humzah Awan and James Cosmo, who played my opponent and his coach, who was also my on-screen dad. Also, the directing of the actual fight, so I directed all the choreography because, naturally, I’m the fighter.
Sometimes, when you’re working on a project and you think something isn’t working, but you’re told to go with it still; well, when it’s your film it changes because you get to say what does or doesn’t go, you’re your own boss, so you get to make it exactly how you pictured it.
Although it was collaboration between Ross McGowan as director; Craig MacDonald Kelly as the writer, actor, and co-producer – they’re both part of Deadline Films UK – and David Hepburn who was an actor and co-producer too.
The full script for the feature film version is done and we’re ready to get investors now that we’ve written the whole story.”
Who would play you in a movie about your life?
“Jon Bernthal, he’s guy who plays ‘The Punisher’, he’s a wicked actor so he would be good.”
If you had a magic wand, which role would you give yourself next?
“I would love to be in the Lord of the Rings TV show that’s coming out soon on Amazon. I’d like to play someone like Legolas, I do like him but just don’t think I’m dainty enough to play an elf! So it would have to be someone like Aragorn or a soldier.
My ultimate dream role would be a Marvel superhero.”
A couple, Jibran and Lelani, (Issa Rae & Kumail Nanjiani) experience a defining moment in their relationship when they are unintentionally embroiled in a murder mystery. As their journey to clear their names takes them from one extreme– and hilarious — circumstance to the next, they must figure out how they, and their relationship, can survive the night.
When you go into a movie such as The Lovebirds, you have to recognize what kind of movie you are in for. Those that go into a film such as this one expecting anything more than a cute and easy-breezy romantic comedy are going to let down terribly.
That’s not to say that romantic comedies are bad or anything. They’re not usually the type of film I would put on when I want to watch something that will blow me away, but that being said, every once in a while I do enjoy a fluffy, lighthearted flick if it manages to tell a sweet enough love story and has some good jokes up its sleeves.
Gratefully, Michael Showalter’s The Lovebirds is exactly that type of film. It’s not going to stick in your head for weeks, months, or even years after you watch it, but it is more than likely going to entertain you while you’re watching it thanks to its genuinely great sense of humor and charismatic performances from its two leads.
Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae deliver some of the best performances of their career in The Lovebirds. They are one-hundred-percent feasible as a couple that are in the midst of a hard time and a shake-up here, working together to do whatever is necessary in order to clear their names and survive. Their chemistry is absolutely wonderful and always felt extremely natural and charming.
A lot of the time, we will jump between location to location here, ensuring that there is always something of interest happening on-screen. Sure, there are some dull moments that are a little bit boring, especially one sequence taking place at a theatre in the third act that felt like it would never end, but it’s usually always moving and fast-paced.
In addition to that, the script by Aaron Abrams and Brendan Gall is full of amazing jokes that managed to make me laugh and put a smile on my face. They’re not some of the best jokes I’ve heard in a movie in a while, but they were funny enough to keep me entertained throughout the running time.
At the end of the day, this is a completely watchable, funny flick that you can put on during a Friday night and just kick back and relax. Nothing about it makes you think and it’s not going to stay in your head for a while, but those that are looking for a fun escape should be in luck with this one.
The Lovebirds may be a little bit forgettable and formulaic but its great sense of humor and wonderful performances from Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae make it worth watching.
