Popularity Killer

Following on from their excellent and deservedly acclaimed previous short Teddy, Slasher Studios have now brought us another excellent short, Popularity Killer.  And excellent it is, especially if you love a good slasher.  Like their previous effort Teddy, there's a throwback feel to it, but also like Teddy,  it's more than a mere throwback and is great in its own right.

Popularity Killer is great in many ways, but there's a core element that many everyday people can relate to - high school.  High schools are like jungles, and we've all seen the people who only care about being popular.  Then there's always the odd person who dreams of killing them all.  Fortunately for me, I was an 'inbetweener' but I witnessed this daily at high school, so for me this makes Popularity Killer all the more hilarious.  It's got great dark comedic elements to compliment that compliment the horror well.  It's an awesome satire of high school, as well as a fun-filled slasher.  And may I add that the villain looks awesome and may even creep out those of you who are the opposite of me (ie, not rooting for the bad guy).

It's an awesome homage to slasher films of the 80's and 90's.  Watching it, I felt a Wes Craven vibe.  There's also a nice homage to Romero.  It wears it's influences while bringing it's own identity due to how intelligent, witty and fun it is.  The best way to describe Popularity Killer is fun.  I've showed it to a couple of my friends and they felt the same way.  I genuinely believe that Kevin Sommerfield is a supremely gifted writer and Steve Goltz is a great and very promising director.  They deserve a chance to do a full feature.  Let's hope this propels them into the limelight they truly deserve.  It's great to see horror made by obvious horror fans.  They know what the audience wants to see and they deliver.  So, watch POPULARITY KILLER, watch their other short, TEDDY: IT'S GONNA BE A BEAR, spread the word and show some support.  These guys really are talented and I look forward to their future projects.  So, without further ado - Popularity Killer.  Enjoy.

HERE'S THE LINK TO WATCH:
http://vimeo.com/35726117

TEDDY: IT'S GONNA BE A BEAR (2011)

Anyone who reads my stuff knows how I like to share awesome short films I come across.  I enjoy sharing the work of up and coming filmmakers.  Teddy is a short I've loved since I seen it late last year, and one I've always wanted to review and share with you all.

Teddy is a throwback to 80's slasher movies brought to us by Steve Goltz and Kevin Sommerfield (be sure to check out the horror podcast for Slasher Studios and follow them on Twitter as it's great to listen to if you're a horror fan).  It's about a group of college kids who encounter a killer hellbent on revenge after the commit a hit and run.  The killer is armed with a hatchet and a teddy bear and he's out to get 'em.

Personally, I think the killer is great.  It's a great concept.  He's clearly disturbed and still childlike in many ways.  I love killers like that.  It's very reminiscent of some of the best killers from the 80's but at the same time he's fresh in his own right.  The addition of a teddy bear with a hatchet is genius in my opinion.  The college kids all do a great job as well with very solid acting, one of whom is a beer gulping legend who provides a great comedy outlet.  He's also the type you want to see get all cut up.  All the great slasher movies have a character that deserves what they get but they tend to be the ones you love the most.

Now onto the kills...

For a low budget short, the kills are actually awesome and very well done.  My personal favorite is both disgusting and hilarious and makes you think that ''no one should ever have one of those shoved up there.''  You'll know when you see it, I really don't want to spoil this.  The scene with the killer holding a severed head is another highlight for me.  It looked so awesome and twisted... Again, you'll see.


Teddy is 11 minutes of pure fun.  It's made in homage to a genre the filmmakers clearly love and that aspect shines throughout it.  It wears its love of 80s slashers on its sleeve without feeling dated.  The filmmakers have talent and I can't wait to see more from.  I really enjoy Teddy and I hope you do too.

Follow Kevin Sommerfield and Slasher Studios on Twitter and get details on some awesome podcasts here:

https://twitter.com/#!/slasherstudios

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Treevenge (2008)

Before the best movie of 2011 (in my opinion), Hobo With A Shotgun, a young Canadian director brought us the violent and hilarious short Treevenge.  This one made quite an impression at festivals with its unique point of view coming from that of everyone Christmas celebrating families holiday staple - the Christmas Tree.

I look at Treevenge as a statement towards the attitude of humanity.  We have a history of taking and taking and killing living things for our own gain.  Personally, I like trees.  I love forests and woodland areas, so when I watch Jason Eisener's critically acclaimed short, I root for the trees all the way.

Eisener, on the back of the hype of his trailer of Hobo With A Shotgun for Grindhouse, created somewhat of an internet buzz and many film fans were excited to see what he would churn out in future.  And not many were disappointed with Treevenge, as it was met with instant approval at film festivals around the world.  So without further ado, I present to you the amazing short by my new favorite director, Jason Eisener - Treevenge.  You'll think twice before hanging up your trees next Christmas.  Enjoy.

Chris R. Notarile's Fan Movies

I was wasting some time on Youtube a few months ago when I came across a short film called Escape From New Jersey made by a fan called Chris R. Notarile.  Now, as I'm a HUGE John Carpenter fan, and in particular a huge fan of both Escape From New York and Escape From LA, I just had to check it out, didn't I?  I wasn't expecting much from a fan made film paying homage to the Carpenter classics, I just assumed it would be some mindless fun (which it is), but it's much more than that.  It's a well made short that makes the most of its next to nothing budget.  Chris R. Notarile is a filmmaker I'd love to see make a feature.

Now don't go into this expecting a masterpiece.  It's low budget but that doesn't mean it's bad.  It's a fun homage to a classic movie, set after the events of Escape From New York.  Personally, that's a feature I'd watch as I believe Carpenter and Kurt need to make one more sequel and give us a trilogy.  You can tell Notarile really loves these movies and he's put a lot of effort into providing us with lighthearted entertainment.

Another great short by him is Krueger: A Tale From Elm Street.  It's a lot of fun, as are his other tribute shorts to other legendary horror icons, including my personal favorite - Maniac Cop.

I recommend you watch these and show support for an unknown with a lot of talent.  Each view is more recognition, and you'll have some laughs watching them.  I recommend you watch the shorts where Freddy is pursued by Pinhead who has recruited other horror icons to do his bidding.  I hope you enjoy them.  I just thought I'd share them and let you watch them for yourselves.