Sometimes classic only goes with classic. If nothing says the Halloween season like the Premier Quartet’s That Syncopated Boogie-Boo than nothing says horror like the Amityville house.
Thus, director Henrique Couto smartly ends Amityville No Escape, his entry in the long line of sequels based around this spooky landmark, with the Quartet’s unexpectedly fun, eternally jumping tune.
Got your bloody boogie board ready? Well, then you’re all set to take on a few Scarewaves!
Ohio based filmmaker Henrique Couto and screenwriter John Oak Dalton will be attending a special screening of their horror anthology Scarewaves at Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark, in Chicago (naturally) on Saturday, September 12th.
Described as Talk Radio meets Creepshow, this seems like one movie event that Midwest terror freaks won’t want to miss.
Every time that Big Gay Horror Fan has tried to enact the whole suicide girl = revenge motif thing, he winds up looking worse than Fulci’s tubing strewn, ass seeking anti-heroine from (latter day effort) Aenigma.
Thankfully, writer-director Henrique Couto knows what he is doing in this situation. His recent, emotionally complex effort Bleeding Through offers up a painfully awkward, sympathetic heroine whom finally cracks under life’s injustices and evil torments.
After the unexpected death of her parents, college age Lindsey loses herself in mute shyness and distant, seemingly mindless preoccupation. Her concerned brother, unable to offer further financial support, informs her that she must move out of their childhood home within two weeks. Ignoring him, Lindsay concentrates on a new friendship with the outgoing Katie. But with her growing affections for Katie unreciprocated and tense encounters with her boss and a seemingly kindly college professor growing in extremity, Lindsay soon heads toward a violent end and blood-filled retaliation.
As a filmmaker, Couto works with a European-esque slow boil here, endlessly mining layers of tension as Lindsay works her way to a fluid filled denouement. Fans of films like Carrie and Ms. 45 will find much to like here but, only if they appreciate the work of creative figures like Roman Polanski, Ingmar Bergman and Lars von Trier, as well.
Bloodhounds will also enjoy the levels of greedy poeticism that Couto uses to film Lindsay’s final revenge on her enemies. Yet, savvy viewers who have enjoyed the mild percolation that has come before may find themselves wishing for a more prolonged look at their heroine’s final, devastating acts. Still, this is a powerful, well thought film whose resonance defies its limited budget.
As the tormented Lindsay, Sandy Behre offers up a nicely layered performance. She glows like a firecracker in a storm whenever someone breaks through Lindsay’s self-imposed manner and is rewarded with a luminous grin. Cuoto, himself, brings an honest raggedness to his role as Lindsay’s brother while indie horror queen Ruby LaRocca (Shadow: Dead Riot, Skin Crawl, Dr. Horror’s House of Erotic Idiots) brings an easy naturalness to Katie, the main proponent of Lindsay’s downfall.
