FATHER'S DAY (2011)

FATHER'S DAY (2011) (NR) Dirs. Adam Brooks, Jeremy Gillespie, Matthew Kennedy, Steven Kostanski, and Conor Sweeney

aka THE FATHER'S DAY MASSACRE
99 mins.

Like House of the Devil and Hobo with a Shotgun before it, Father's Day is recorded with the aesthetic of a late 70's or early 80's grindhouse flick. Specifically, it 's made to look like it was taped off the TV with a VHS, channel bumpers and all. There is even a fake trailer halfway through the film, a la the movie Grindhouse. Everything looks authentic; the film's frames are scratched and linty, the colors are saturated to a ridiculous degree, there are jittery splices in the footage, and the score is pure Moogy deliciousness.

 

The story revolves around the legend of the Fuchman. Chris Fuchman to be precise, an obese necrophile who likes to kidnap fathers, rape and kill them. When Fuchman kills a priest and kidnaps stripper Chelsea from the club she works at, it's up to three intrepid heroes, film noir reject and Chelsea's brother Ahab, male hooker Twink, and Father John, to rescue her and stop the Fuchman.

 

They follow in hot pursuit of Fuchman and Chelsea following the abduction, chasing Fuchman's truck, but ultimately lose him and fail to rescue Ahab's sister. The day is fading, so they pitch camp until morning. During the night, Twink and Father John eat hallucinogens and fuck.

 

The next day, they follow Fuchman's trail to a waterslide park, where they discover a corpse and a terribly wounded Chelsea. Ahab engages a fleeing Fuchman, unleashing a flurry of handgun rounds and shotgun shells into his body. After Fuchman falls, Ahab stomps in his skull and hurls the body off the side of a ledge.
 

 

The trio's victory is short-lived, although, as it is discovered that the Fuchman is actually a demon of sorts, a spirit that is reborn each generation. He has Chelsea's soul and is using her as his vessel. Yet Fuchman is in Hell. So Hell ahoy! Ahab and the boys load up a pistol and prepare to kill the Fuchman, on his home turf, and end his reincarnations.

 

Father's Day is vile, disgusting and hilarious. It revels in breaking taboos and making the audience uncomfortable. Male on male rape, Catholic homosexuality, abortion, genital mutilation, and incest, all make their appearances. The gore is both cartoonish and gruesome. The whole movie is brilliantly shot and edited, and the comedy mostly hits its mark. The acting is hammily self-aware and the many homages and parodies (i.e. Escape From New York, Twin Peaks, Phantasm) are clever and respectful.

 

Easily recommendable to gorehounds, Troma fiends, and fans of black humor. It's a goldmine, but as with most of Troma's fare, it's definitely not for the squeamish. 7/10

 

UNMASKED PART 25 (1988)

UNMASKED PART 25 (1988) (UR)
aka HAND OF DEATH aka JACKSON'S BACK
Dir. Anders Palm
New Zealand

 

Jackson, a disfigured mass murderer, has got it rough. His father drunkenly abuses him, he lives on the outskirts of society, and his deterministic need and filial-enforced imperative to kill has really got him down. Worse yet, the movie industry keeps reminding him of his despair by releasing dozens of movies capitalizing on his exploits. He just wants to be normal and not a horror trope.

 

Things begin to change, though, when on one of his murder sprees his meets a blind girl named Shelly. She shows genuine interest in poor Jackson and because of this, Jackson doesn't kill her, he dates her. What follows next is an extended break in the carnage as Jackson tries to change his ways and find solace in his new love. His new bondage-loving, sex toy fanatic love. Yes this movie is weird and often hysterical.

 

 

Jackson is clearly a parody of Jason Voorhees, sporting a hockey mask and enduring an overbearing psychotic parental figure who compels him to kill. This film recognizes these clichés and assaults them with self-aware humor. Hence the title (no, there are not 24 other Unmasked movies). Part slasher, part romantic comedy, this hardly-known gem is truly an excellent spoof of the genre, a la Student Bodies, that both revels in and pokes fun at its source material.

 

The humor is very reminiscent of classic British comedy, and the gore, at times, is fantastic. It perfectly mocks the trends of 80's slashers and the romantic comedy segments of the film are, in fact, some of the best scenes in it. It also sports a very grim climax that leaves the audience on a strong downnote. Despite its lowbudgetry and occasional bad pacing, fans of the genre definitely should seek this out.

6/10

 

 

Sorry, no link. This shit is rare, man.